Hard As Diamonds, White As Snow (open for anyone)

Xion nodded, following Kira."what does this all mean?...she has been there?..." he thought to himself, making more questions than he can think of answers

Kira finally found the building she'd been looking for. She turned to Xion.

Follow me.

Her voice was low and swift. Her face was cold and stone-like. She leaped up the side of the building, clinging to the side as if her fingers and feet were adhesive. She flung herself through a half-boarded window on the top floor and looked out, waiting for Xion to follow.

Xion looked up to the boarded window and leapt into it. he looked at Kira and smiled."Breaking into an abandoned house...pretty nostalgic." he said looking around

Kira's eyes lit up as she grinned; they glittered crimson in the dim half-light from the window.

Well, I can't take all the credit. The boards were loose.

She laughed a bit. Then her smile faded a bit.

I figure this is probably the safest place to stay tonight. You need to get some sleep.

And I need to think...

he stretched out and yawned."thats true...I'll be in this room...just yell if you need anything..." he said as he walked into the room on the far left. he layed down on the bed. he thought about what happened the past 2 hours."obviously I've kept some part of my memory...but I can't remember if I was on a mission, while it happened...or after...too tired to think" he then rested his eyes.

Kira took out a knife and picked up a broken chair leg and began to whittle a bit. The biting cold winter air wafted in from outside and washed over her skin. It didn't faze her in the slightest. Her mind was racing...

He's asleep in there... I can hear his heavy breathing.

She looked up, out the window, the moonlight passing over her ruby eyes and making them glow and glitter in strange ways. She inhales deeply and exhaled gustily, taking in the crisp, cold air from outside to clear her head. She continued working the wood with her knife, turning it from a hunk of half rotted wood into a small statuette.

Outside the House, a Shadow darted across the grass, followed by 4 others, they ran on all fours with great speed, and ran upside the house. they were reptilian in appearence, and their faces resembled an almost bat like sight. they slowly crawled down into the four windows, hiding and lurking in the shadows

Kira started. Her mind had wandered off. But then she smiled something... A slimy something. She hissed under her breath and was on her feet in a second, ghosting to a window. She peered out into the shadows. Her sharp eyes picked up a shifting in the darkness... Just a shimmer. An untrained human eye would never have picked up the subtle movement, and even now she was wondering if her own extra sharp senses were playing tricks on her. She recognized the sight, however; she'd seen it before. She was glad she hadn't stuck her head out the window; they hadn't seen her. She slithered back into the darkness, biding her time...

What are they up to? What do they want? Who do they work for?

Her mind fired off question after unaswerable question.

a very High pitched, almost crackling sound shot out from the slightly larger, darker coloured one." the others stopped moving, sensing Kira's presence.one snuck into Xion's room, and slowly aproached him. the leader saw Kira, and gave off a louder roar, to which 2 of them jumped out at Kira, teeth baring.

as the creature crawled up to xion, he took precautions, making sure no one was behind him, he crawled onto the bed, his mouth opened, revealing a leech like tongue.Xion quickly grabbed him by the neck and opened his eyes."never any peace when you want some." he sighed and broke the creature's with one hand, he then quickly got to his feet."they usually hunt in packs"

Kira snarled, the sound ripping up out of her throat in a menacing way. She launched herself at the leader, sinking her teeth deep into his jugular vein. She sensed the female, the leader's mate, about ready to spring at her back. She twisted her head sharply, breaking the leader's neck with her teeth; she reveled in the sound of cracking vertebrae and kicked out sharply with her legs, knocking the female across the room into the wall with a loud thud. She disentangled herself from the dead male and stood in hunting position: crouched, with teeth bared. She called out into the darkness.

Xion?

the creatures that were left quickly retreated from the house.Xion Walked into the hallway, clutching the neck of the creature he killed, he threw it to the floor."dont worry...these creatures are not a big threat...only in greater numbers.." he then realised, eyes widened."Kira...we might have to fight..these are just scouts.." he said

Kira scoffed.

Well then, let the rest come. Action is good.

Her ruby eyes glinted murderously. Her voice was a deep, vicious snarl as she contemplated snapping more necks. She shook her head suddenly.

What is happening to me? Am I to let the monster inside me take me over?

She blinked and stood upright out of her fighting stance, smiling sheepishly at Xion.

Xion then nodded."okay...I'll take out those outside...you take out any that happen to get inside." with that, he then jumped out the window. he landed on the ground. one of the creatures swiped at him, but he dodged to the side and then kicked it in the head. another lunged at him, but he quicky countered by breaking its arm and then stomping on the neck.

a few of the creatures snuck around the front and entered through the window, climbing upstairs

Kira crept into the shadows, letting the flavors of the air rest on her tongue. She was hyper aware of her surroundings; she heard and tasted every movement the creatures made. They were strange in form; they moved more like shadows than humans, but they had blood than ran through their veins. From what she could tell, they had no higher brain functioning other than the hunt and their manner of communication was a series of screeches back and forth.

what are these things?

She sat restless as the shadow creatures slowly ascended the rickety stairs, just waiting for the opportune moment to strike. She could hear the sounds of battle outside the shattered window, the grunts of Xion's effort floating through the night.

Finally, the creatures neared her hiding spot. Kira tensed her beautiful body, her strong muscles bulging and rippling as she readied herself to pounce. When one of them came within inches of her, she leaped at it, a lethal white streak from the shadows. She snarled and bit into its neck with all the force she could muster. She broke the shadow creature's neck on impact and it died in her arms. Another creature flew at her, but she was ready. She swiped out at it with a hand curled into a claw and caught the creature in the face. She grinned when it shrieked; she had slashed it in the eye. As it nursed its wound, Kira performed a chambered sidekick into its chest and sent it careening into the wall with a crash. It was out cold from the force. She stepped over toward it to deliver the final blow.

Xion dodged and killed the creatures that punged at him without effort. some of them soon retreated."hmm...they dont reatreat all of a suddenly.." just then he caught a glimpse of a shadow. he looked around, sensing somethin that was not of the same blood, somethin more sinister. the shadow quickly snuck behind, and with a chop to the back of the neck, knocked him out

just as Kira finished off the monster, the shadow moved to the back of her, and placed a knife, slighting pushing it into her skin."dont move...This blade was made to penetrate vampire skin like yours...your goin to asnwer my question." his voice was almost ghostly, like an echo."why do you help Xion?...he will only kill you...it is part of his blood to hunt down your race..." he asked in a whisper

Kira stood, tall and proud, her voice betraying no emotion. She was not afraid.

I help him because he has no other friends or companions to lean on in the world. And I am not afraid of you. I have lived for too long. Kill me if you wish.

Her hand revealed, she closed her eyes and waited for the stranger's response.

he laughed."kill you?...no no no...not yet anyway...he is outside...i had to restrain him from attacking me..." he then took knife away from here." heres a clue..."when the axe points north and the blade points south...the true path will flow"he then dissappeared

Kira raised an eyebrow and the man's cryptic message.

That was odd... Wonder what it means...?

She shook her head and leaped out the window to find Xion leaning against the wall of the building.

What was that all about?

Her voice was breathy and soft.

Xion breathed heavily." he is like me...just different set of powers...my...my mentor" he replied, with an angered expression

Kira arched an eyebrow.

Your mentor? What, was that some sort of twisted training exercise then?

Her voice rose in pitch until she was talking quite loudly.

he laughed slightly."no...I completed my test a while back...he evaluated me...one of their best hunters...." he said wondering why he was here."'he was considered missing in action..." he sighed stretching out

Kira clenched her fists tightly and squeezed her eyes shut, trying to get a grip on her volatile temper that flared up at the most unusual of times. Then, a few seconds later, her eyes opened and her body relaxed.

Sorry for shouting at you. I've always had a bad temper.

As he stretched, Kira watched his body and the way it moved. She was still intrigued by him -- even more so now that he had refused her advances and sexual hints.

She raised an eyebrow and bit her lip as she watched, unabashed and not bothering to hide it.

he smiled."no problem...now lets see if I can get some sleep" he then walked back inside the house. he made his way up stairs, yawning

Kira smirked to herself as he walked back inside the house. She was feeling a bit weary herself, but never tired. She popped her neck and her back and followed him into the house, settling into the common area outside the bedroom, and leaned her head back against the wall. The took out her wittling again and breathed in the crisp winter air.

Maybe it's this weather that is making me lust after him so much... Winter does always make me nostalgic and a bit depressed...

She shrugged and shifted position so her knees were pulled up a bit. She oriented her body in a sexy model's pose without thinking about it. Her body was fluid, even in resting. She would have knocked any model's self esteem down a few notches, and she knew it. She used it to her advantage sometimes.

But it's not much of an advantage when the other party ignores you...

Her eyebrows pulled together and her lip pushed out in a pout.

as the dawn broke through, Xion sat up quickly. he looked at the bed sheats, all ripped into shreds."thats why" he sighed getting up, his blades retracting back into his forearm."if there was a way to control this power, then I wouldnt have to worry about ripping up my body to shreds." he then placed his jacket on, and walked out to the hall