Kiss of the Night I

"Don't give me any excuses! You promised to play me, again! You even admitted to cheating last time!"

Michelangelo sighed again. "One: I never said I cheated. I said if you thought I did, you could have a rematch. Two: I'm already playing with Ren."

"Ren...That girl that Seath stabbed? She survived, did she? Impressive...She lost more than enough blood to have died." His gaze wandered to her. "I am Alvar, representative for the elves. Mind if I see the wound?"

"Ummm...no?" He was at her side in an instant, one hand on the hem of her shirt, the other on the table, holding his balance in his crouched position. She stood uncertainly ad pulled the shirt up just above the bloodstain.

Michelangelo, watching, said, "Hmmm...we'll need to replace that soon..." Ren gave him an evil glare, then realized Alvar was starting to unwrap the bandages.

"What are you..." she began.

"Don't unwrap it here!" Zevi yelled after glancing back at them, then a double take. He ran over to them and caught Alvar's wrist tightly. "What if the wound's still open? Vampires' rooms are within smelling distance. Take her to my room, or another room in that wing. Otherwise, she will end up dead."

Alvar paused for a moment, thinking, then said, "Yeah, alright. I see your point."

The next second, Alvar had picked Ren up, one hand supporting her back, the other under her knees. He ran quickly out of the kitchen and down several hallways. She instinctively wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her face in his chest. Then they were still. She slowly looked up at him as she unlatched her arms from his neck. He had an amused grin and one eyebrow was raised.

"Can I...?" She trailed off as he walked over to the bed. He gently put her down on it as Zevi burst in.

Alvar looked unfazed, but said, "Problem, wolf boy?"

Zevi glared at him as he approached. Alvar began unwrapping the bandages. "I just don't want my room to have three pints of blood spattered across the walls like that field."

Alvar didn't respond as he pulled off the last of the dressing around Ren's abdomen. He tossed it carelessly to the floor behind him and began investigating the wound. Ren, interested, looked down at it just as intently, but winced and looked away as her side curved. Alvar chuckled vaguely and began prodding the area around the cut. As he got closer it began to hurt, and finally, when he was very close to the gash itself, she winced again, and inhaled sharply.

He glanced up at her. "Does that hurt?"

She glared at him. "It's hurt more and more for the last six inches," she snapped. He laughed at the venom in her voice.

"Here," Zevi said from Alvar's side. She hadn't noticed his movement in her previous attentiveness. He held out a fresh roll of bandages. Alvar nodded and took them silently. He pressed the end to her wound and she inhaled sharply again. He had barely made two rounds, when something slammed up against the door. She jumped, and jerked, and the bandages were wrenched from Alvar's hand. Both he and Zevi turned to the door just as it burst open and slammed against the wall. The man standing in its place suddenly disappeared.

"No!" they cried in unison, diving toward the foot of the bed. They were both thrown backwards and off the other side, landing on the floor. Alvar seemed hurt, but Zevi just jumped back up. Ren looked back to the other side, and saw the man from the door lunging at her.

For the split second that he was above her, light glinted off the silver chain around his neck, as well as the charm that hung on it. The charm was a ragged wolf's head - the Gangrel. Which meant that it was Seath attacking her. Suddenly, she recognized his face, and knew that it was true.

But he was only there for a second; then he was pinned against the far wall by Zevi. They were both snarling. Zevi held each of Seath's wrists carefully away from him. Zevi's foot pinned his torso firmly to the wall. Ren realized she was safe - for now, anyway - and began to relax. Only then did she notice the sharp pain in her left side. She looked down and saw that her hands had unconsciously gone to the wound. She gasped at the sight, for her hands were a bright and shining red. She stiffly unclamped her fingers from her flesh, and looked at her palms; they, too, were covered in the red goo. She glanced back down at her side and saw  the sheets, her jeans, and her flesh were all coated in her own blood, as well. The wound was open.

Alvar had recovered by now, and made these realizations at the same time she did. He ran for the bandages and quickly but neatly began to wrap the wound, trying frantically to stop the bleeding as Seath fought harder to get free.

Alvar finished and instantly ran over to help Zevi, who was having major problems keeping Seath restrained.

"Ren! Do you know how to get back to the kitchen from here?" Alvar called ove his shoulder.

"N-no," she stuttered. She felt sure they couldn't hear her over Seath's snarls, but somehow Alvar's reaction said they could. "I can try, though...I suppose I might get lucky..."

"You might also end up dead. We're not taking chances."

Just then another voice spoke. "What's going on?" It was a calm voice that held no real interest. Ren wanted to look to the door to see who the newcomer was, but she was too afraid to look away from Seath. He paid no attention to the voice, but when Zevi spoke he froze.

"Dracen!" Sezi said, relieved. "Looking around I'm sure you can tell what happened." He looked back at Seath, who had relaxed. "Will you be good, now?" Seath gave him a glare, and Ren finally managed to look at Dracen.

His eyebrow was raised. He looked at Ren. "Mmm, so it would seem. Food's ready." With that, he was gone.

Alvar, letting go of Seath and straightening his clothes (which looked rather rumpled), looked at her as well. "Follow him back. We'll join you soon."

She nodded as she got off the bed tenderly. She pulled the shirt down and walked out the door. After glancing both directions, she saw Dracen rounding a corner to her right. She ran to catch up to him, muttering "ow!" almost every step. He glanced back at her as she apporached, but made no other acknowlegement of her presence. He led the long was back to the kitchen silently, and held the door open for her when she returned. He entered as well and let the door fall shut behind him. He walked over to the table and sat down, leaning his chail on two legs and put his hands behind his head. His feet were on the table.

Ren looked around uncertainly, then sat down in front of the waiting steak across from Michelangelo. He already had one, and another sat further down the table for Zevi. A fork and knife rested beside the plate. She picked them up and began to trim the fat off the meat. She could feel Michelangelo's and Keeran's eyes on her, but she stared determinedly down at her plate. She neatly cut the meat into bite-size pieces, carefully aligning them around the edge. She finally took the first bite and realized how hungry she was. And the steak was good. Perfectly seasoned and cooked just long enough. She scarfed the rest down, and when she glanced up she saw Michelangelo and Keeran both laughing at her. Dracen didn't seem to be paying attention.