A.J. looked in the window and noted the many people sitting in the common area. He decided to try the kitchen entrance first, before attempting to walk in the front entrance of WISH hall. Opening the kitchen door, he walked in, looking around for signs of anyone. Then he rushed over to the sink and began washing away the blood from his healing wounds.

Amita walked in to the kitchen with her normal quiet steps. “Oh! Sorry, didn’t know anyone was in here,” she said. She didn’t have her cane, but had memorized the outlay of the kitchen earlier when she had put away some of her groceries.

“Shit!” A.J. said quietly, slowly turning to look at whoever had spotted him. That was when he noted the pale color of her eyes and almost sighed in relief. The girl was blind. That could end up working to his advantage. “Oh, it’s fine,” he said. “I was just washing up.”

She cocked her head, smiling. “Shouldn’t you be doing that in the bathroom?” She frowned, catching a whiff of something odd when she inhaled. “Are you bleeding?”

“No, it’s not me. I’m cleaning a raw steak. I got hungry and went out and bought a steak,” he responded quickly. Besides the bleeding had stopped several minutes before; now all that remained was dried blood. But he had forgotten how the other senses were enhanced when one was lost. It was a mistake he would not be making again.

“Yeah, okay,” she answered, walking over to one of the cabinets and opening it, running her fingers lightly over the contents. She turned and handed him the first aid kit before heading over to the fridge.

He raised an eyebrow at her, despite the fact that she couldn’t see him. “I don’t need a first aid kit. Trust me; I’m not hurt.” Why was she doing this? Couldn’t she tell that he didn’t want to be around others? This was all about doing the job, getting revenge, and leaving.

“Whatever,” she replied, sitting down at the table with a glass of juice. “I’m not going to ask you about it. Don’t worry.”

“Good. Because it wouldn’t be any of your business anyway,” he said a little too sharply. He returned to washing off the blood and silence filled the room for a few moments. When A.J. finished cleaning, he turned off the faucet and started to leave the kitchen. Just before going out the door he sighed. He had realized that he had been a little too standoffish to her. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have been so snippy. I’ve just kind of had a rough night.”

“Yeah, I kinda guessed that.” She sipped her juice. “I’m Amita.”

He turned back to look at her. “Alexander,” he replied, resisting the urge to walk over and hold out his hand. “You can call me A.J., or Alex, I guess.”

Smiling prettily, she said, “Alexander; defender of men.”

He nodded, then rolled his eyes at himself for his previous action. “Yeah, that’s what my name means.” He smiled. “Amita, a Sanskrit name meaning limitless.” Then he walked over to the table and sat down across from her.

“Nice. Not many people could pull that out of the top of their heads,” she said approvingly.

“I read a lot,” he commented.

Amita looked at him and tucked her hair behind her ears. “You have a beautiful speaking voice.”

“Uh…thanks, I guess.” He paused and sat there looking at Amita, unsure of what to say. It had been a long time since he had been around normal people. He was usually working with other hunters or taking out other supernaturals. It had been a rough couple of years. Trying to converse with a normal person now was slightly difficult, especially considering the fact that it was during the full moon and he had been shot twice with silver bullets.

“You’re welcome,” she said sweetly. There was something odd about him…she had yet to place it but it wouldn’t take long. Adalia came in then, looking for her partner. The cat stopped, bristling and hissing at A.J. Amita sighed inwardly; the cat’s aura was very much that of a witch’s familiar. In the state she was in now, she probably had sparks flying off her fur.

“Nice cat…is it yours?” he asked, eyes wide and eyebrows raised as he noticed sparks flying off the cat’s fur. Sure he could get along with cats just fine, but there was the whole cats versus dogs dilemma.

“Nope. I’m of the firm belief that cats belong wholly to themselves, and won’t let you forget it,” she said in amusement.

Trying to ignore the sparks, he looked at Amita instead. “Oh…okay, so does this cat live with you then?”

“When she wants to she does,” she replied, finishing her juice and rising to take her glass to the sink. “Or she lives with my sister.”

A.J. nodded in agreement. “Oh, well that’s nice then. I’m more of a dog person.”

Amita grinned. “Oh, good, ‘cause my brother will be bringing her up soon too,” she said, placing the glass in the sink and running the water. Adalia glared at A.J. balefully.

“You have a dog too?” he questioned. With all those pets, she must be an animal lover. Now he was just intrigued by her. He could feel a small amount of the anger, frustration, and cruelty seep out of his body like sweat after a long hard workout.

She turned her head so he could see her expression over her shoulder. “I’m sick of almost getting hit by cars.”

Oh! “Well, that’s understandable. I don’t think many people consider that there might be someone who can’t see trying to cross the street.” He could almost smack himself. Wow, did this conversation sound awkward! He really needed to get out more.

A.J. stood up. "Well, I really should be going. I actually have a lot of rather important matters to deal with."

"Alex..." Amita said, then hesitated. "If...if you need to talk, I can almost guarantee that you won't say anything that will scare me," she finally said.

"I have no need to talk about anything." He turned away. "Goodbye."

"See you tomorrow," she said, almost amused. Though whether because of what she had said, or what it implied was unclear.

"I doubt it," he muttered as he walked out of the kitchen, heading through the living room and walking down the hallway to search for an empty room. He found one and threw his bag on the ground before locking the door and looking the room over. The windows were locked, the curtains were closed, and the room was clean. A.J. nodded and kicked off his shoes before laying down on his bed.

Adalia walked through the wall as if it were an open door and jumped up onto his nightstand and stared at him.

A.J. inhaled and sat up rapidly, looking around his room once more. His eyes lighted on the cat and he growled. "What are you doing in here?"

The cat blinked calmly at him, licked her tail twice, then vanished, the air whooshing in to fill the space where she had been.

He let out a deep breath and got up to take one more look around his room. Satisfied he returned to his bed and closed his eyes, though sleep did not claim him. Instead his mind was filled with thoughts of the hunt.

((Shall we go to next morning?))

A.J. was up early the next morning, having gotten very little sleep at all throughout the night. He had spent some of the time working out quietly in his room, doing push-ups, sit-ups, and the like and then had gone out for a run to keep himself occupied. So after a shower and catching a few minutes of sleep he found himself making his way to the kitchen to find something to eat. Then he would be out trying to find his mark and figure out the best move to make.

Amita suddenly stepped out in front of him just as he reached the kitchen door, holding a coffee pot. "Good morning!" she said cheerfully.

He lurched to a halt and stared down at her. "Excuse me, I have things to do. I really can't talk now."

She took his arm and steered him gently toward the kitchen. "Most important meal of the day. Besides, we're the only ones in the dorm and I'm bored and you're apparently cranky; have a cup of coffee with me."

He pulled his arm out of her grip. "I'm not hungry and I don't drink coffee. I am going to leave now."

"You got a package in the mail this morning," Amita said, undaunted.

He raised an eyebrow. "Already?" They hadn't wasted any time. "Good. I'll take it and be on my way out."

"I'll give it to you if you sit and have one cup of coffee--or something--with me. Just one cup," she said, holding up her index finger.

"Or I could make you give to me and then continue on with my day," he responded.

She tilted her head a little, "Make me how?" she asked curiously.

"You don't want to know," he answered. "Just give me the package."

Amita just smiled up at him. "We could have finished an entire cup by now."

"I told you I'm not interested."

"I confess," she said, "I was assigned to you by the student administrative office to make sure you integrate into the student body, because apparently your background is somehow questionable. Before you ask, no, they did not tell me how. But I guess they want me to make sure you don't blow up a building or something. I'm to turn in my evaluation at the end of the week."

"Well thank you but I'm not interested. I won't be staying here long anyway. I'm just looking for an old...friend."

She raised an eyebrow. "Then why did you enroll?"

"It was the only way to find my friend, who was enrolled here. It's supposed to be a surprise, and this was the only way I could do it without being noticed."

There was a long pause, "You're lying to me," she finally said.

"Actually I'm not. I'm looking for a friend, and finding her will be a surprise for her." He paused. "And this really is the only way to find her without her noticing."

Amita put her hands on her hips. "You don't even like her! I wouldn't be surprised if you had come here to make trouble for her."

"We have a history together, okay? We've pulled pranks on each other for years now and it's my turn to get her but she can't know that I'm here or the prank will be ruined. Now, if you'll excuse me, I really have to go now."

"Murder isn't a prank," Amita said quietly.

He looked at her strangely. "Who said anything about murder?"

"You did; the inflections in your voice, the way you shifted your weight, the beat of your pulse under your skin," she said, turning her face toward his as if she could see him. Her expression was very sad.

"I'm not going to kill her. That is just wrong."

"If anything happens to any girl on campus, you do realize who the prime suspect is going to be," she pointed out.

"I have no intention of harming anyone on this campus. I'm just here to surprise a friend. That's all."

"Yeah. Right," she said, turned, the went into the kitchen without another word. Behind Alex, the black cat sat and glared balefully at him.

A.J. followed her into the kitchen. "So...my package?"

"It's in your room," she said tonelessly, not turning to face him.

He nodded. "Thank you." Then he turned and walked out of the kitchen, heading back to his room to get his package.

The cat followed him.

He picked up the package, ripped it open, took out the contents, shoved them into his bag without looking at them and then turned to head out of the dorm. He stopped as he saw the cat. Staring down at it he barely held in the urge to kick it.

-Try it, I dare you.-

He let out a low growl and then stepped over the cat before heading out of the dorm.

((So....skip till when?))

It didn't take A.J. long to go through the information he was sent and to start searching for his mark. He had her class schedule. Now it was just about finding the right time to strike. She would pay for her actions in the past.

After walking around campus for a short time A.J. returned to his dorm.

The cat was sitting on the stoop, waiting for him.

He sighed and stepped over the cat before tossing his bag on his bed and then flopping down into a chair in the living room.

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