Hedgesville, West Virginia
Caspian Residence
Sunday, August 25, 1996
11:33 AM

The heat was intense, but Jennie sat under a tree near the forest edge with her journal on her lap. In the distance, she could hear the shouts and screams of the six young men who were supposedly training.
The heavy sound of metal clanging together caught her attention as she looked up abruptly. She was out of sight of the guys, but she could from time-to-time see one of them emerge around the corner of the house.
Looking back down to her notebook, she scanned the writings she had done the day before. Her eyes roamed over the part about her kiss with Rem then shut the book swiftly. There was no point in reading something that never meant to happen.
With a shake of her head, she tossed the journal to the ground and leaned her head back against the tree as a shadow loomed over her, sending her into a cold darkness. Panic washed over her as she looked up to see what caused the shade.
"No point in screaming, love." She recognized the voice instantly. "No one can hear you anyway."
It was like her voice was stolen. Before her stood the only person in the world that could make her blood boil and chill at the same time. Rowen contained a haughty smile on his face as he go down on your stooped down beside her.
"I can smell an angel on you," he said as he looked at her. "Have a little visit from Nilm, did we?"
She could only nod as she tried to pry her eyes away from the man who plagued her more times than she cared for. But nothing she did could make her look away or say anything. Her heart only pounded more harshly in her chest while her breath was becoming more rapid.
Rowen cocked his head to the side and smirked. "We can‘t have anyone touching my property, can we?" he said as he thrust out his hand, gripping hold of Jennie's neck tightly. "Nilm has always had a thing for the Seraphs. He tried his damnest to get Rem's mama, and almost succeeded, too"
"Nick got between the two of them though," Rowen said as he grinned. "Or so I've heard. But no one's touching my Seraph. You're my little bitch to toy with."
"Stop it," Jennie gurgled out as Rowen's hand around her neck tightened then relaxed.
"I'm not going to hurt you now," Rowen whispered as he leaned down where his lips were next to her ear. "I'm just going to make it where no other can have you."
With a simple gesture of his left hand he pushed the back of her head against the tree and lifted her chin up where he could see her neck perfectly. He pressed his fingers against her forehead tightly so she couldn't get away and his palm against her mouth so she couldn't scream then with his free hand undid the collar around his neck, letting it fall to the ground.
"Wait!" she screamed into his palm.
A piercing sensation touched the base of her neck as she closed her eyes at the sting. Her neck began to feel extremely hot as the air around her seemed to cool. She could feel Rowen drag his claw across her skin, creating more pain with each movement. And before she could react she felt something wet against the skin of her neck as she opened her eyes to see him suckling at the cuts he made.
Drawing back, Rowen stared down at her as he closed his eyes and began to trace the black markings of the tattoo around his neck. It was as if he didn't need to look at the design to trace it. It came natural for him. Jennie's eyes widened when she watched his blood drip down his neck.
"What are you doing?" she asked as he leaned down toward her again.
"Give me your hand," he said bluntly as Jennie started to protest only to have him forcefully take her hand. "Touch the mark." His voice was gruff and demanding as Jennie shook under his harsh grip, closing her eyes in hopes he would go away.
She felt him press her fingertip against his neck and began to trace the symbol. Then with his blood on her finger brought it back to the cut on her own neck, mixing it with the wound. He repeated the action, only to himself.
Standing up, he glared down at her while the cuts on his throat healed. "If I see any guy other than myself touch you, I'll crush them," he stated flatly as his amber eyes glared down at her. "By demon rights, I have permission. You understand that, bitch? So if that fucker Rem touches you or Nilm, I will not hesitate."
"Lunch!"
A shout came from the corner of the house as Jennie peered past Rowen to a figure who rounded the corner. Her eyes widened in shock at the sight of Kasei who suddenly stilled at what he was seeing.
"Don't," Jennie whispered as she tried her best to push herself to her feet. Upon standing and looking up, she found Kasei was already running toward them. A look of loathing was on the boy's face while Rowen stood with a stern glare. "Stop, Kasei!"
"No!" the cat boy screamed as he reached behind his back. Unsheathing a sword from its cover that was strapped to his back, he whipped the blade to the side as he arched it upward as he came closer to Rowen.
"Watch yourself, kid," Rowen stated as he hopped backward in order to dodge the attack. An amused smirk was planted firmly on Rowen‘s face. "I'm not in the mood to fight today."
"Don‘t fight then! It makes it easier for me to cut you in half," Kasei growled as he turned on his heels, swinging the sword with all the force he could give it. The blade dipped low to the ground then raised to strike as Rowen stepped away from the weapon wielding kid. Turning along with Rowen, Kasei moved his sword with him only to find it arching in the path of Jennie.
A scream escaped Jennie's mouth as she found the glint of Kasei's weapon heading in her direction. She ducked the best she could, but the blade caught a hold of her hair.
Her ponytail wrapped around the sharpened metal from being struck, tugging Jennie from where she stood. Falling to her knees, she felt a heaviness left from her shoulders as she stared at the ground to find her hair beside her.
Falling back on her rear, Jennie reached out her hand to her fallen ponytail and picked it up. Her eyes stared down at the dark brown hair that was fastened together with a rubber band at the end. Her breath caught in her chest as she blinked.
"Sorry!" Kasei shouted. Behind her, Jennie could hear the sound of Kasei's sword hit the ground as she felt his hands on her shoulders. "I didn't mean to..."
"Fucking twat!" The shout was loud as Kasei was whipped free from Jennie and sent flying into the air, slamming into one of the nearby trees. The boy fell to the ground with a groan.
Jennie looked up at Rowen as the man reached down to grab a hold of Kasei's fallen sword. He gripped the hilt tightly as he started to walk toward Kasei. Grabbing at his heel swiftly, she tried to stop Rowen, but he kicked her back with a growl deep in his throat.
Stepping up beside the grounded cat boy, Rowen sneered. His lips curled.
"Eye for an eye," he replied as he dropped one of his knees into Kasei's back then grabbed a hold of Kasei's braided hair. "You look like a fucking girl anyway. I'm doing you a favor."
With one quick slice, Rowen slashed off the braid and let it drop to the ground. "Be glad it wasn't your head I cut off."
Ramming his knee further into Kasei's back before standing up, Rowen abruptly stabbed the sword into the back of the boy's thigh then looked to Jennie with a smirk while the sudden cries of Kasei filled the air. Jennie's hair fluttered unevenly around her chin as a look of dismay was forming on her face. Rowen stepped up to her, placing a hand on her head.
"Remember what I said," he stated firmly, "I will kill all who touch you. Just be glad I didn't kill your little cat."
"Get away from her!" Kasei growled from where he laid. With the same flexibility of a cat, he twisted his upper body around then dislodged the blade that was pinning him to the ground. It was then that he looked over to Rowen and Jennie as his eyes narrowed in distaste. "And don't you touch her!"
Rowen grabbed a hold of Jennie, pushing her into him, then lifted her chin forcefully. "What the fuck do you see, boy?!" he asked loudly.
Kasei stared at Jennie's neck as his eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He pointed to his own neck then looked to the ground.
"You touched her," he said in a cold voice. "You marked her." His arms dropped to the sides of his body limply as his shortened hair fell into his face.
"Are you going to cry?" Rowen said with his accent thick with laughter.
"You raped her," Kasei whispered in a course voice. "There's no way she would want that."
"Rape is such a strong word," Rowen growled. "She wanted it. Deep inside she‘s always wanted me."
"There's no way in all three worlds that Jennie would ever want a filthy mongrel like you!" Kasei said as body tensed abruptly. Flicking his head up to stare defiantly at Rowen, he clenched his hands into tight fists while his hair framed his anger. "And if I have to spend the rest of my life searching, I will find a way to get rid of that damn mark from her body!"
Kasei's was cut off as the three heard a deep rumbling and the ground beneath their feet shook. Looking in the direction of the noise, all were stunned to see a black object moving toward them at a fast speed.
Before any of them could blink, something flung off the object and landed in front of them as a staff was abruptly shoved into Rowen's jaw, sending him flying back. The large, black object smashed into the ground as Jennie could see it to be a motorcycle.
Her eyes whipped around to a man holding the staff as she gazed at his face. He had an aggressive look to him as dark orange hair flopped carelessly in his blue eyes.
"You okay?" he asked as he looked to her while straightening himself out.
"Yeah," she whispered as Kasei just stood quietly.
"Fucker," Rowen growled as he stood up from where he fell. "There's no time to deal with you, monk." His body shifted and shaped into a red tail hawk as his wings spread out and launched himself into the air.
"Damn, I‘d fire my barber if I were you," the orange haired man said as his eyes looked to Jennie then Kasei. "It's okay though. It's hair. It'll grow back. You okay though? He didn't?"
He paused as he caught a glimpse of Jennie's neck. "Whoa, he got you good."
"What?" Jennie asked, reaching up to her neck. "He just scratched me a little."
"No, he didn't," Kasei said with a shake of his head. "He did a good bit of damage. You need to look in a mirror."
Jennie stood silent, noting the looks she was receiving from both the stranger and Kasei. Neither looked too pleased, nor did they seem to have any more to say. Her eyes softened up as she stared at Kasei's hair.
"Oh God," she whispered, walking up to him. She placed her hands on his face, taking in his short hair. "You're going to get kicked out of your village."
"Yeah," Kasei mumbled as he stared back at her with miserable eyes. "But it's okay. I would've cut it myself if Rowen hadn't done it. As penitence for what I did."
"Enough chit-chat," the stranger said. "We should get you inside."
"Who are you?" Jennie asked.
"That's Nikol," Kasei said as he looked up at the monk. "Shan said you were coming to see the Seraph this weekend."
"Yeah," Nikol said as he stretched his arms into the air. "Too bad I didn't make it here sooner."
"How did you know I was here anyway?" Jennie asked.
"This," Nikol said as he pulled out a crystal-like object that hung on a silver chain that had been hidden underneath his shirt, "is a great little device that has the ability to locate the Seraph. I call it ‘The Seraph Locator‘!"
Jennie just stared at the monk and blinked as Nikol laughed and wrapped an arm around her. He was definitely an odd person.
"Come on, kiddo," he stated, "let's go inside and see if I can figure out a way to get rid of that nasty mark around your neck."