The night was colder than the previous one and the wind was the only thing the broke the silence. Jerimiah sat by himself as usual starring into the distance past the trees and people that were below him in the village. He was on a hill watching in silence, just like the night. A sigh escaped him and he stood up. He no longer felt like sitting around watching the people. If they saw him then they'd start to ask questions and he didn't like questions. Heading down the hill he looked up to the full moon. It was orange tonight, which was quite rare.

Giving a small smile he continued his eyes glowing lightly. It wasn't a long walk from down the hill but when he'd made it he noticed that someone was close behind. He turned slightly. Slowly he closed his hand. He could feel his nails going into his skin. He didn't like to be followed. Blood started to seep between his fingers and the smell of blood made him remember just what he was. He licked his lips and shook his head. "Leave me," he spoke in a quiet voice. "I'd hate to accidently kill you, I wouldn't want it on my conscious," he finished. Jerimiah could feel his heat speeding up. He was starting to panic because the footsteps were only moving closer.

If he ran then they'd think of him as a coward and he never ran. No matter what the cause was. His eyes glowed like rubies in the orange moonlight. Slowly he turned to face his follower. "Are you deaf?" He asked as he teeth turned to fangs. He was starting to loose control of himself and if he did, then he might accidently rampage and again he'd have to move. He hated what he was, but he had to put up with it no matter how much he did despise what he was.

It was a slightly chilly night out tonight. It didn't bother Kazuya so much though. As he wandered as a loner, he'd gotten used to it. He needed to go down to the nearest village though to pick up supplies. As he walked, the scents of a village came to his nose. He could never forget the tell-tale smell of a village. He walked blankly over a hill, following the scent to the village. While walking, his mind a void, a quiet voice sounded somewhere in the back of it. He was always like this during full moons, unable to concentrate most of the time.

By the time he blinked himself out of it he heard someone ask are you deaf? Well, Kazuya might've been in the state he was walking. Then the faint smell of blood, and....something else....came to him. He noticed the kids hand was bleeding. He blinked, coming back to reality and realized what that blood reminded him of. His own blood. Hybrid blood. Had he finally found another hybrid? He didn't want to push the kid, so he'd attempt to at least talk to him first. But this kid didn't seem like the conversational type. Kazuya took another step forward, staying about 10 feet or so away from the kid; the distance he was when he heard the kid speak.

Giving a small bow, Kazuya looked at him. "Sorry, I drifted off while I was walking. Nights like these tend to do that to me," he said, without specifying what kind of night he meant. "I'm Kazuya Auren."

Jerimiah looked at the guy who seemed to be day dreaming. His breathing was shakey but he managed to get himself back on track. He was trying his hardest not to take the very life from this guy, but in his state, who knew what would happen. When the guy introduced himself as Kazuya Auren, Jerimiah just shook his head. Couldn't he tell he was in danger. But instead this guy was being proper and telling about how nights made him just wonder. How weird....

Jerimiah looked at the blood on his hand. I propably look like some psyco or something. No surprise though, Jerimiah thought. He gave a shrugged and resisted wiping his hand on his shirt. That wouldn't be very smart. He took a few steps back. "Um, it was nice meeting you and everything, but I have someplace to be," he said.

With that he took another step back. He didn't want to hurt anyone and the scent of blood was getting to him. The wind blew with a hard gust and his eyes flashed red. Turning his head slightly he swallowed and took yet another step back.

Kazuya could tell just by looking at him. He was having trouble. Kazuya needed to acknowledge it or this kid just might wander off without knowing he could get help. Taking a step forward, Kazuya said "Having a bit of trouble controlling yourself? I'm not surprised. Even the strongest can get pulled in by the light of the full moon." He knew this would most likely get the kid's attention.

Jerimiah was comepletely caught off guard. Had this guy figured out what he was. Nice job, Jerimiah thought to himself angryly. He should have had more control than this. It had to be the full moon. Taking another step back his eyes narrowed. Suddenly he felt threaten and no matter who you were, when threatened violence was never questioned in Jerimiah's mind.

He wondered who this guy was, speaking to him and figuring out what he was. But the control was slipping like water through someone's hands. It suddenly felt like the world was closing in and Jerimiah flinched unexpectedly. "Leave me alone," he said to Kazuya. "I don't know who you are and what you mean, but if you knew what was good for you you'd back off," he said.

A low growl came from him and he clenched his bleeding fist tighter. Remember control, it's important. The last time you lost it was bad, don't kill someone who is innocent, no matter what the case is. Do you want to be hunted down like an animal? He told himself.

It was like reliving his own life when he watched this kid.....He was so much like what Kazuya used to be like.... Not moving, Kazuya's gaze remained on the kid. He had no intention of letting this kid lose control of himself. If it came to it, Kazuya'd have to knock him out, worst case scenario. No innocents were going to be harmed tonight. Kazuya forced his eyes to turn their bright gold color, a sign of a wolf, and his teeth to become fangs, the sign of a vampire. He wanted to show this kid he wasn't here to harm him. Standing where he was, he didn't dare taking another step forward, for fear that the kid would lunge and he would have to fight back. "Listen to me kid, I can help you control yourself. I have no intention of harming you." He cautiously took a step forward and looked into the kids' narrowed eyes. "I know what you are. I'm the same," he said calmly. The scent of blood floated through the air. As experienced as Kazuya was with controlling himself, the scent of blood never ceased to be tempting, but he managed to keep himself under control. Damn that moon.... he thought silently.

Jerimiah looked at Kazuya. Something wasn't right about this guy. The sight of blood, fang, and red glowing eyes were usually a hint to start screaming and running for your life, but this guy....he just stood there. Jerimiah didn't get it until he saw the changes that had started to go on. A little bit more eased he didn't feel so reluctant to listen anymore. He hadn't met any others like himself up until this very moment.

Yet he wasn't sure how anyone could help his cause. He'd know he was a Hybrid since he was 12 and now he was 16, but control was hard to muster so he spent his time avoiding anything that was edible. Sadly two years ago he had no choice but to go near a town and when he left there was nothing left but a ghost town. The nightmares still haunt him till this day.

"You say you can help," Jerimiah said making it more of a question. "How?" He was willing to listen because there was just something about Kazuya that was different. If only he could figure it out. Trying to calm himself a little bit more Jerimiah slowly dropped to the ground. That way he could dig claws into it instead of the guy who was trying to save him from even more nightmares. Giving another shakey breath he said. "I'm Jerimiah."

Kazuya gave a light smile as the kid seemed to relax. Good, he was getting through to him. Addressing his question, Kazuya said "Me and another hybrid friend of mine, a little girl named Kai, we worked together to figure out how to gain control. I knew I was a hybrid for two and a half years now, Kai knew all her life. We can teach you how, I'm sure she'd be delighted to meet you. We've been searching for others like us for several years now." As the kid introduced himself as Jerimiah, Kazuya felt it safe to approach him now. "Jerimiah, huh? Well, it's nice to meet you Jerimiah." With a small smile, he added "One key to control is to learn how to regulate your own heartrate, just breath. If your heartrate gets out of control then so will you."

Jerimiah was a bit suprised to hear that the was another Hybrid. He didn't quite get why wolves would breed with vampires anyway. It was stupid for one and only messed up the blood line. He believed that the life of a Hybrid was nothing more than a curse. When Kazuya started on how they'd been searching for someone like themselves for years he started to wondered if he'd been being tracked the entire time. That had happened once, possibly why he wasn't trustful of anyone.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to meet her," he said. Then dug his nails into the ground as another wave of pain washed over him. He started to concentrate on breathing as Kazuya instructed him, but it didn't seem to help. Restaining from changing during the full moon was a painful struggle. "Any other tips," Jerimiah asked bowing his head.

The wind blew a cold wind and along with it the scents of the village, but Jerimiah heard more, much more. Another person was approaching. Not one, but three. Ninja, Jerimiah thought bitterly. He hated them worse than he hated what he was. Ninja were the cause of his parents death. He slowly made his way up to his feet. He didn't care about the side of him that was truelly showing because the way these guys were moving signified that they were a thread.

Quickly the three ninja made their apperance visible. A kunai in each hand and their stanches in a position to attack. Jerimiah eyes narrowed slightly. These guys weren't the brightest and he'd seen them before back in the village. They taunted him for a fight but he refused to start any violence with them, but now they were about to get one. And it'd possibly cause them their lives.

Any other tips? He'd asked him. Just as he was about to give him another one, Kazuya sniffed the air. Three different scents, moving fast too, by the sounds of it....of course. Ninja. Goddamn them, they couldn't have come at a worse time! When he saw the ninja, deft as they seemed, his only option without bloodshed would be to scare them away. A slight growl escaping his lips, in the blink of an eye, Kazuya turned into a rather large wolf, his fur like black satin, his eyes like pools of melted down gold. Trodding past Jerimiah, Kazuya growled at the ninja. "If you value your lives, you'll leave now," he said in the husky voice of a wolf. Kazuya had never fully gotten used to talking as a wolf, but it came naturally. He snarled at the ninja. It was much harder for Kazuya to control himself as a wolf, rather than a human in the light of the full moon.

Jerimiah watched the three guys only taken his eyes off them when he saw Kazuya changing into a black wolf. It was true, he did seem to have control and was even able to talk in a human voice with it. Impressive, Jerimiah thought. I was too bad that these three didn't have much common sense. They each gave their own laugh and started towards him and Kazuya.

Is he really going to kill them, Jerimiah wondered. He couldn't quite allow that, but he didn't want to end his chances of help before they started. Maybe if he could take them on instead they'd live. He took a step forward and mist of colors started to form until a lean golden-brown wolf with black eyes landed on all four. Jerimiah let out a growl and bared fangs.

The boys didn't stop. Instead they split up. Two at Kazuya since he was larger and the other at Jerimiah. Even at his wolf state, Jerimiah was loosing control. It was kind of a thing that he had. He stepped forward and as a ninja leaped at him he dropped to the ground and rolled on his side. As long as he didn't kill the guy he was alright.

Dammit, I don't wanna have any bloodshed, especially not tonight, it'll be too risky, both for me and the kid..... he thought angrily. Snarling at the two ninjas as they came at him, he knew that in his wolf form he could do nothing but shed blood. As one of the ninja's came at him, Kazuya bit the guys arm, and holding onto it, threw the guy at the other ninja like a ragdoll. The smell of blood quickly filled the air from the ninja's bite wound. He had no choice, Kazuya couldn't stay in his wolf form. With the smell of blood in the air, he soon would lose control of his wolf form, it's nose being much stronger than in his human form. Quickly shifting back into human form, Kazuya's breath became weighted. He wouldn't kill them. He hadn't killed a person in over two years, and wasn't going to start now.

Jerimiah had a few seconds to glance Kazuya's fight. It looked like he wasn't the only who was having trouble afterall. Guess he'd have to figure out the wolf part himself. Giving a low growl as the ninja aproached him he turned and snapped pearly white fangs inches from the guys throat to know him off balance and then pushed him back with his paw until he was on his back. Jerimiah shifted back into his human state.

"Don't be stupid," he said. "I told you once to leave me alone, I'm not one for much violence." He took a step back to let the guy up and then turned to the other two who were also down. "You're not so smart either." Jerimiah said with a growl. With that he turned around and started away from the three. The smell of blood was tempting, but he wouldn't give in. To give a person their life and then take it was cold.

When he was far away that the blood was only a faint scent he sat down in the grass and watched the moon. The pain of change had lessened only because he'd given in, but it seemed like the longer he struggle the worse it got. He let out a sigh. "I hate what I am, why couldn't I just be normal." He shook his head and looked down across the open feilds. He kind of wondered what happened to Kazuya, but he had to leave or he'd have done something he'd never forget.

Kazuya saw as Jerimiah ran from the fight. Good....he wouldn't have been able to control himself much longer around the scent this long..... Looking at the three ninja, he let out a low growl as he saw that they'd started going after Jerimiah. In the flash of an instant, large, bat-like wings had sprouted from Kazuya's back, and he flew over the ninja quickly, landing directly in front of them, his back turned. Slowly turning and looking at them from the corner of his gold eyes, he said with a slight snarl in his voice, despite the fact that he was in his human form. "You should leave him alone. As of now, he's under my protection. And I got a feeling you don't have a clue who you're dealing with, do you?" Turning the rest of the way around to look directly at them, his wings folded back slightly and he gave a low growl at them. At this point, Kazuya was doing just about everything he could to keep himself from shaking. Resisting the smell of blood was worse for a hybrid than for both a normal vampire and a normal wolf combined. If it was one thing he hated, it was the full moon, because for Kazuya, it amplified these temptations 3-fold at least.

Jerimiah let out a steady breath and then folded over slightly as a third wave of came through him. Why is this happening, I already shifted! He closed his eyes and swallowed. He wondered what was going on up on the hill. There was a sudden change in the atmosphere. He shook his head and clenched his teeth. This was just rediculous. Maybe it was because of that other Hybrid.

The three guys looked at Kazuya. This was weird. Some guy who had turned into a wolf had bat wings now. What a creep. The three of them gave slight nervous grins. They didn't want to run, but some things you just couldn't fight off. Two of them backed away, but the third stayed. He was scared but he wasn't no coward. He pulled out a kunai and stepped forward. His eyes held a deadly message of he'd kill if Kazuya didn't step down. He twisted the kunai and then moved forward.

Jerimiah laid back in the grass. Sitting up was more painful than anything. He was gaining control of his breathing but still it wasn't helping any considering the fact that he was still enduring pain. The wind picked up and he noticed that someone was heading his direction. This wasn't the guys from the hill nor did the scent smell of Kazuya. Another human? His claws slowly started to slide out as the figure appeared before him. This time it was a woman with long brown hair and shiny brown eyes. She asked him what was wrong but the only thing he could get out was, "Run," in a strained voice and then there was blood.

Kazuya watched as two of the ninja backed away. The third one stayed. He probably thought he was being courageous. Fool.... Kazuya thought calmly. He sniffed the air lightly, another scent coming to his nose. It was that of a human, and it was going towards Jerimiah. Then he heard a scream and the overpowering scent of blood come to the air. Trying his best not to choke, Kazuya glanced back in the direction of Jerimiah, then swiftly ran to the ninja who stayed, karate chopping the ninja's neck as so to knock him out. Then, with a glance at the other ninja, ran towards the scent of the blood. After a minute, he came to the source. The human that had been approaching in Jerimiah's direction was lying on the ground, blood everywhere. Kazuya couldn't spot Jerimiah anywhere around the body and couldn't pick up on his scent over the blood. "J-Jerimiah!" Kazuya called hoarsely. It was all he could do to keep himself from losing control, let alone talk at all. But Jerimiah was out there somewhere and Kazuya said he would help him. He called again. "Jerimiah, w-where are you?" His eyes glowed a bright gold, and blood slowly made its way down the side of Kazuya's mouth.

His entire being shaking with fear for what he'd just done Jerimiah hurriedly made made his way far away from the scene. He could barely believe all that blood that he'd just shed from a woman who only wanted to help him. But there was none for him. Not the slightest. He'd be hunted down and killed without a chance to explain himself. What if that woman had a family, how could he ever forgive himself.

Sickened with the smell of her blood on his clothing he stopped to throw up. Sweat dripped from his face and hair and his hands felt sticky. "What have I done?" He started to throw up again when he heard Kazuya in the distance. Jerimiah wasn't sure to answer him or what. How could he ever go back after what he'd just done. Soon someone would notice that she was missing, wouldn't they?

The young Hybrid started to walk again. Each step felt heavy as if he was carrying far more weight than he needed. He gave a choked cough and then collasped to the ground. It suddenly felt very hot and inside he felt as if he was being crushed. Jerimiah reached for his necklace and let out a low cry. He could barely move and in the distance he could hear someone's voice, but it sounded so distant.

Kazuya looked around, sniffing the air lightly to see if he could pick up Jerimiah's scent at all over the Scent. He couldn't, but he felt his body starting to attempt to change into it's wolf form. Resisting as much as he could, more blood ran down the side of Kazuya's mouth. He didn't know how much longer he could keep this up. But he wasn't about to abandon Jerimiah either. Walking as fast as he could away from the body as he could, his eyes scanned the area for the boy. As he got further away from the body, the Scent started dwindling, and Jerimiah's scent found it's way to Kazuya's nose.

Following Jerimiah's scent, Kazuya saw Jerimiah, trying to walk, then suddenly stumbling and falling over. "Jerimiah!" Kazuya said, his voice streaked with concern. Kazuya walked over to Jerimiah and kneeling next to him, put his hand on Jerimiah's back. "Can you walk? We need to get you away from this scent," Kazuya said, almost weakly. He'd never been around this much blood during a full moon and it was hard for him to keep enough control for the both of them. He felt as if he was going to collapse any second.

Jerimiah looked up at Kazuya. The scent of blood was on him too. All this blood, how can there be so much blood? He turned his head and tried to sit up. The attempt was more pain than he could bare. Sweat dripped from his face and hair as he finally sat up straight. "I killed her," he said his voice shakey. "I killed her. I couldn't help it. I tried to tell her to leave me alone, but she was so intent to help and the next thing I knew she was dead. Her blood was everywhere. How can a person have so much blood to spill." The memories flashed back in his head and he collasped back on the ground in tears. "Just kill me, I can't take this anymore."

Jerimiah had his fair share of death and this was his limit. If he caused anymore he'd possibly lose it all together and hurt someone or himself for that matter. He started to shakey lightly and then rolled over onto his side and threw up again. "She just wanted to help and I took her life. It just slipped away so easily. I can't forgive myself for this, please just kill me. I can't bare the thought of another death caused by me." He started to hit the ground with his hand as tears slid down his cheeks.

Kazuya blinked at the boys words. Undoubtedly it would be selfish not to kill him, but.....how could he? This poor boy needed help. Sliding one of Jerimiah's arms over his shoulders, Kazuya lifted him onto his feet. "Listen Jerimiah, I need you to stay with me, okay? Just calm down and stay with me, that's all I'm asking now," Kazuya said quietly to him. He started slowly walking Jerimiah away from the scent of the body, hoping that the less he was near it, the calmer he might become. Kazuya's vision became a little blurry and he stumbled a step, catching himself before he let go of Jerimiah. He had to get this kid away before Kazuya himself collapsed, or there'd be no helping him. The kid'd be gone by the time Kazuya would wake up.

Jerimiah awaited his death which seemed far too light of a punishment for his crimes. As he felt Kazuya lift him he gave a sigh of pain and disappointment. Instead of doing what he had asked for the guy was helping him. Jerimiah felt himself sliding into blackness until he heard Kazuya telling him to stay with him. "Easier said than done," he mumbled weakly. Trying to calm himself he concentrated on his breathing. If he could slow it down maybe he could get some control over himself. But it's not control, a voice in his head said. It's the pain.

"Do me a favor," Jerimiah said moving away from Kazuya as he tried to stand by himself. The other hybrid seemed to be having just as much trouble as he was. And even if Kazuya hadn't noticed that he knew he felt when they both nearly collasped. Shaking his head he got back to finsihing his sentence. "If I kill another person, you have to promise me to either kill me. I'm tired of the nightmares that hunt me every night," Jerimiah said. He reached up and felt for his necklace.

Is this the right thing to do? Can I really go on like this. Asking for death when there might be help out there. Can I really handle the weight of my lust for blood and the pain that comes with my denial towards it. Can I continue killing an claim it an accident even though it's in my nature? He put his hand to his head. Is it possible to live in a world where you're so different and adapting to it is like swimming against massive waves? He dropped his hand. There's only one way to see, and that's try and hope to God that when I lose it someone will be there to stop me.

Kazuya looked at Jerimiah as he attempted to stand by himself. It seemed they were far enough away now where Jerimiah had at least regained some of his strength. Kazuya leaned back against a tree, trying not to close his eyes, for if he did, one of two things would happen: he would instantly pass out, or, the other option he'd been avoiding for so long, he'd unwillingly revert to changing. Kazuya brought his eyes up to Jerimiah's eyes, forcing his own eyes to change back to their normal deep black color. "Jerimiah, why do you wish to die so badly? Is being a hybrid really that bad for you?" he asked softly. In the state Kazuya was in, it seemed hypocritical to ask such a question. But now....nowadays, Kazuya was determined to stay alive. Whether it be for that one person he was so desperate to protect......or whether it was for the entire hybrid race.....he couldn't yet tell. "Will you at least let me try to help you before you make such a decision?" he asked rather weakly. His eyes flickered slightly in the darkness. It was then Kazuya noticed that due to the treetops, they were shaded from the light of the full moon. It suddenly seemed so dark.... Kazuya slowly wiped the blood that had been trickling down the side of his mouth. In his mind he started formulating what he'd tell Kai about how they'd met.

As they stopped Jermiah slowly eased his way to the ground. To rest a bit was nice and since they were being shaded from the moon which seemed to control their very lives he let out a sigh as his breathing returned to normal. When Kazuya asked him why he wanted death so badly he looked up at him. "Yes, it's really that bad. A few year ago I lost control completely. When I finished it was like a ghost town. No one lived to tell the story. They were all dead and the blood was everyone." He bowed his head. "There isn't a night where I don't wake up in a cold sweat because of the nightmares that constantly replay themselves. It's endless." He rubbed his arm. "I hate killing for no specific reason and I hate the pain that comes with changing because I resist it. Being a Hybrid is a curse. We're not suppose to be here. Wolves and Vampires should not breed with one another. It causes nothing but trouble." Just like for my family, he thought quietly in his head.

When Kazuya asked him about getting some help he gave a small shrug. "What's the point Kazuya. Eventually something will go wrong and I'll slip up and kill again. Maybe someone even more innocent than that woman. Maybe a child." He laid back in the grass and crossed his arms behind his head. "But if I do come with you, so that you can try and help me....no matter what happens...in the end when that time comes, you will end it." His red eyes glowed slightly from the faint light of the moon. "That's all ask in return for you helping me," he said.

Kazuya's gaze fell to the ground as Jerimiah mentioned how he'd destroyed an entire town. Images of his own "ghost town" flashed in his mind. "Listen to me Jerimiah....I can honestly say...I know exactly how you feel...to be something that's not meant to exist. But yet....I exist. You exist. Hybrids exist." He had almost said ersatz again. It was something that plagued Kazuya endless nights. To be two things that weren't meant to exist? It didn't matter anyways, his primary concern was to help this kid. He had no clue the ways in which he could cope with this.

Kazuya's eyes floated on Jerimiah as he spoke his request. Looking down, Kazuya's eyes deepened into a darker black. Finally he sighed and looked to the side. "Yeah, but...if you do lose control....don't expect to be able to kill anyone. I'll smell if you start to lose control. I'll hear it. And I'll be there within minutes. You won't be able to kill anyone. And...on nights of the full moon, I'm going to stay with you until I'm sure you can control yourself, okay?" More than anytime before, Kazuya was determined to do this. He wasn't going to let Jerimiah kill anyone.

Kazuya's eyes fell to a spot where a small stream of moonlight fell to the ground. It seemed like the light of a small firefly. Closing his eyes for a moment, he sat down against the tree, then reopened them. He didn't want to pass out just yet. All his strength seemed to be zapped. But Kazuya had a strong enough will.

Jerimiah listened to Kazuya as he spoke. He was sort of glad that someone understood how he felt. He didn'tlike the fact that he wasn't meant to be, buy maybe this guy, Kazuya, could help him afterall. If he had survived this long them maybe there was a chance that he could also. He gave a smile but it was hidden by shadows. Turning his head he looked at Kazuya as he started to talk again.

So you're just that willing to help me, Jerimiah thought. It's too bad you never know what life will bring, maybe you just won't make it in tme. But I'll keep quiet for now, I'm too tired to aruge. "Thank you," he said to Kazuya. "I really do appreciate this." He told him. It was really true. He'd met wolves and vampires, but none would help, just watch his suffering, but now he'd found someone of his own kind and they could finally help him.

Closing his eyes he grinned slightly. "This is much better," he whispered. He stretched out and gave a tired yawn as he opened one eye to see Kazuya trying not to pass out. "I'm not gonna run," he said as he closed his eye back and began to drift into a peaceful sleep for the first time in a very long time, but even so, he knew the dreams would start up again, they always did, but for now he'd ejoy the good ones.