Blue violet velvet ran across the sky stained with lavender painted clouds. No stars shown through the city's illuminating lights, but still it held a breath-taking scene. Below, in a dirty alleyway, lay a teenage girl, quite battered and bloody. She found herself in a pool of liquid, a mixture of dirty rainwater and blood. Her collarbone screamed in flaming agony where it had been slashed and her neck, even though it was bleeding more heavily, was just a dull roar in comparison. The attack itself was a mystery, unusual compared to most. The man repeatedly lunged for her neck, and a second one showed soon after. The second man was the one who had slashed her collarbone. Aiming for her neck, he missed when she fell. It was the first man pushing her out of the way, screaming that she was his. Anger had forced her leg to lash out, hitting the man. The second one took advantage, but the fight led both men away from her eventually. Now she lay in the puddle, breathing heavily, trying to get her muscles to move before one of them came back. After a good ten minutes struggling with her arms, she heard footsteps, a group of footsteps, off in the distance but closing in. Moaning, she collapsed and sank deep into the darkness that waited patiently for her to give up.
Four men walked down the street, laughing in the growing darkness. The man on the far left wore combat boots almost completely covered by black pants, which sported many chains and straps. A blue fire design snaked its way up each side of his pants. He was shirtless, but this was covered by a black sleeveless trench coat. The back was decorated with orange flames that flowed from the bottom. Two more flame designs sat on the shoulder blades of each side. He performed a constant ritual, pushing his shoulder length wavy light brown hair behind his ears again. His face was thin and gentle, with blue piercing and intelligent eyes that flashed as he turned towards his companions.
"What club are we hitting tonight?" He asked.
"With the clothes you picked out, we're going to be kicked out of every club on the strip!" Said the much shorter boy next to him.
"Like you look any better Jase. You look like you got attacked by your skateboard." The man retorted, chuckling.
"Rowan, at least I don't look like the degenerate mafia!" Jase said, howling with laughter.
Rowan looked at himself, then Jase, and burst out laughing. Jase was wearing an extremely loose black shirt three sizes too big, with the words "Heh heh" written across in red letters, and army pants with the same problem, completely covering his black skateboard shoes. His brown hair was cut into a bowl cut, but his bangs hit the bottom of his neck and were dyed a bright blue. He was quite short, with a fun loving face that surrounded his brown eyes and a very smart mouth.
"Damn it, I hate it when you laugh at my insults! Especially when they're towards you! You should really get your sense of humor checked." Jase huffed, not able to go on with insults.
"I'm sorry, I just find it funny. I guess I'm not real good at getting angry, you know that." Rowan said, smiling.
"We're near the club; we don't need you two bickering and keeping us from getting in. So shut up." Said the man on the far right.
"Hey! Why are you saying it will be us? Last time it was your fault we got kicked out, Rae." Jase said, indignant.
Rae laughed the comment off and waved his hand for good measure. He was wearing blue jeans just as baggy as Jase and Rowan's and a tight black leather muscle shirt. It was sleeveless, except for about halfway down his biceps a silver band wrapped across connected to leather sleeves that went all the way down his arm and connected with his middle fingers with another silver band. He called them arm warmers, but there no real name for them. His face was framed by short black spiky hair and held two purple eyes that flashed with mischief.
"Cage, don't you have a comment?" Rae asked trying to change the subject.
"No." Cage said shortly.
Cage was wearing black loose pants, but the right leg ended at the knee and became mesh. He wore a tight red t-shirt that was without words. His blond hair reached his ears, but splayed out in every direction possible. His face was quite and serious, his green eyes observant and dangerous. His answer got silence from his companions, and that's when he heard someone moan in pain. His head snapped towards the alleyway five feet in front of them.
"Did you guys hear that?" Cage asked.
"Yeah." Everyone answered.
They broke into a run, Rowan making it to the alleyway first. His face was completely serious as he got the first look at the origin of the noise. A girl lay in a puddle of blood and water, unconscious, her neck bitten and her collarbone slashed.
"Holy shit." Came Jase's voice from behind Rowan.
"We should probably just finish the girl off. It would be less painless." Said Rae, his mouth watering.
"Or we could save her." Cage suggested, surprising everyone.
Rowan looked at Cage seriously for a second before turning towards the girl. "Fine. We'll save her."
"Rowan! You're going to get your clothes dirty! We ARE going to go clubbing no matter what tonight!" Rae yelled in dismay.
Rowan looked at Rae, and then gently pulled the girl out of the puddle. He stood there staring at the girl, just watching her. Cage huffed in impatience and pushed Rowan aside without as much as a word. In one fluid moment, he slit his wrist and put it to the girl's mouth. Jase turned, complaining how he would never get used to this, and Rae laughed at him. Blood poured into the girl's mouth, but she did not drink greedily, instead she allowed the man above her to decide. He pulled away, and her first instinct was to grab the man arm and drink more of what was just given to her, but she held back using all her will power. A ripping pain flashed through her body, sending her instantly into the fetal position. It literally felt like her heart was being turned inside out. More pain ripped through her mouth and tears spilled from her eyes. Rowan turned away, not wanting to see the girl's pain. Even Cage turned away, out of courtesy, not wanting to see the girl at such a vulnerable moment. The girl finally stopped shaking and slipped back into unconsciousness.
"I feel bad for her. That hurts a lot." Jase said quietly.
"Well, all her wounds are gone. Completely healed. Now what do we do?" Rowan asked.
"Jase can take her back. He's too young looking anyways to get into a club." Rae said shortly.
"I am not too young. I'm like fifty-three damn it!" Jase yelled.
"Well then you're too old. Even with the body of a seventeen year old." Rae said laughing.
"What are you talking about oldie? You're like 210 now, aren't you? If that isn't ancient! Jeez, you probably knew my great grandmother!" Jase yelled back.
"I am not ancient you little monkey! At least I look old enough to hit a club! We keep having to go to under 18 clubs cause of you!" Rae retorted.
"What?! It's not my fault Cage turned me when I was 17! Ancient hulking freak!" Jase yelled louder.
"Ancient what?! I should wring your little neck!" Rae screamed.
"SHUT UP!" Cage yelled.
Silence snapped across Rae and Jase, the fight forgotten. Cage pointed at Jase, who understood. He silently picked up the girl and headed to other way, back towards where they lived.
Jase grumbled carrying the girl's light body. He wasn't the one who wanted to save the girl, but he was forced to miss out on dessert and carry her home. One thing he liked though, the city left no reason for people to stare at a short blue haired kid carrying a bloody dirty girl over his shoulder. She moved feebly, which caused Jase to pull another string of complaints. His stomach rumbled in protest, and Jase did not look forward to refrigerated crap. His eyes looked around, able to see in the dark, looking for a meal.
A rich man walked down the street towards him. His mouth wasted no time watering, sending his fangs down in record time. He placed the girl down.
"Mister, my girlfriend's hurt, will you help me?" Jase asked, talking around his aching fangs.
"Kid, I have no time for you or your drunken girl." The man said in a huff.
"Please mister, it will only take a second of your time." Jase said, his eyes flashing.
"Well, if only a second." The man said, giving in.
The man carefully grabbed the girl's legs, and Jase grabbed her under the arms. She moaned again, and the man looked at Jase uncertainly. Jase smiled at the man reassuringly, and led him towards another alleyway.
"Kid, where are we going?" The man asked.
"Just over here, near the bench that's all." Jase answered gesturing towards the bus stop.
When the man walked in front of the alley, Jase pushed the girl sideways, and the man ended up on the edge of the opening. Jase quickly pulled the girl out of the man's arms and jumped over her. His arms expertly latched onto his shoulders and sank his fangs into the pulsing vein in his neck. He drank deeply, exhilarated by the warmth of his living blood. It had been two days since any of them were able to have fresh blood, living on stuff from the fridge, that's why Rae was so eager to go to the club. Jase drank from the man as much as he dared, pleasure flowing through his body, and stuffed him into the alley under cardboard boxes. Licking his mouth clean, he walked back out and picked the girl up. Without a loss in his step, he headed back towards their house.
Rae strutted into the club, ecstatic about a good time, and a fresh meal.
"Look at this place! It's so crowded, the people are trashed; this is perfect scenery!" Rae cried, walking in front of Cage and Rowan.
Cage turned towards one of the tables that lined the wall along the whole club. The whole place reeked of stale beer and a thousand layers of cigarette nicotine. The windows were plenty, but very small, letting the strobe lights hanging from the ceiling light everything. The club was really nothing but a giant dance floor, with a stage and a real band, and tiny tables to provide some people with rest and a good drink. There was even a second floor, mostly open, with modern railing to keep people from falling off. More tables were up on the second floor, but those were even smaller than the ones downstairs. A dancer took every free inch, and dark corners lurched everywhere.
"When Rae said this club was perfect, he wasn't lying. I bet you at least 30 other Vjesci are here." Rowan said, sitting down.
"That's not always good. I hope that the Minekura clan is not here. We've had enough trouble with them." Cage muttered.
"Hey, are we now considered a clan? I happen to know we don't even have a name." Rowan asked.
"Now we have two females so we can become a clan. We just have to create a name for ourselves." Cage explained.
"Well, that is simple. Is there a reason why you decided to turn that girl without her or anybody else's consent?" Rowan returned.
"Yes, I thought it was time that we all formed a clan. The five of us have an interesting history together and I just wished to further it." Cage said.
"If that is all you wish to say, then so be it. If you feel the need to keep hidden motives then I do not have time to go digging them up." Rowan stated bluntly.
"My ulterior motives have nothing to do with you, so it does not matter either way. My biggest worry right now is that Rae is going to get himself in another fight with the Minekura clan. They are really not a good clan to have as an enemy." Cage changed the subject quickly.
"It's Rae's fault they hate us. You would think he enjoys kicking the shit out of other Vjesci. But for that to be true we would have to have a lot more enemies. My guess is there is someone or something in that clan he hates. " Rowan said, motioning a waiter over.
"Probably, or he just found the Minekura clan has plenty of people to pass the time with." Cage scoffed as he turned towards the waiter.
"A 99 bananas." Cage ordered.
"Same, thank you." Rowan said.
The waiter walked off and Rowan turned towards Cage. "Wow, someone ordered hard tonight."
"You ordered the same thing."
"Just because you are older does not mean you can show me up."
"It's not like it's going to get us drunk."
"I love having an extremely high alcohol tolerance. I win every drinking contest." Rowan couldn't help but laugh.
"Except against me." Rowan's laugh stopped short.
"Yes this is true, but enough of that, the drinks are coming."
The waiter placed the two drinks on the table and Rowan handed her a twenty. He waved her off when she went to give change, and she smiled greedily before turning away.
"You make it obvious who your next meal is." Cage said between sips.
"I can not help being nice. It is just the way I pick them."
"Mr. Generosity has a dark streak."
"It is Mr. Sensitivity, and of course I do, it is much more fun that way."
"After this drink, I am going to eat. Not before."
"That is the way you do it all the time. I guess I will stay."
"Do not sound so reluctant, you always do."
"Yes, yes, sure." Rowan laughed at his mock disgruntled look. Cage just looked at him oddly.
"You really have to stop laughing at yourself."
Rae knew exactly where to go after Rowan and Cage sat down. He found it amusing that they had an exact routine right before they ate, even when they were starving. He always just dove in. Walking up to the second floor, he began to look for a potential meal. Containing himself was harder than he thought; every person's heartbeat rang in his ears, causing his nerves to tingle with frustration. His whole body craved, writhed, and screamed for blood. Even the word caused his body to twitch in anticipation.
He spotted a guy sitting alone at one of the tiny tables along the railing. Rae could sense that he was not interested in women, and he could also tell that this guy was obviously not even old enough to be out of high school, but that didn't bother him in the slightest. He walked over as secretly as possible and sat across from the man, wearing a knowing sexy smile.
The man, Chris, looked over at who had just sat at his table. A man wearing the tightest leather tank with the perfect muscles for it, his biceps shown off before covered with leather arm warmers, his exotic purple eyes, a face that said he was no amateur, and a smile that would make any man hit the floor in worship. Chris sat there in wonder of the man in front of him, waiting for him to speak.
"You seem lonely. My name is Raen (a/n: Pronounced: Ray-en), but you can just call me Rae. What happens to be yours?" Rae asked in a deep slinky voice.
Chris felt himself melting with the guy Rae's voice. "My name is uh Chris.'
"Well, Chris, I was wondering why you were sitting all alone with all these pretty ladies about." Rae asked; his voice still low.
"Well, I'm not exactly interested in woman, why do you wonder?"
"I wondering, if you wanted to dance with someone who held the same sentiments. This is one of my favorite songs." Rae purred.
"At least you have good taste in music." Chris finally managed to breathe out.
Chris stood up and was pulled without hesitation into Rae's embrace. He found Rae to be a great dancer, hitting all the right spots in time with the beat. He found himself completely entranced by this man, not able to keep concentration on things around him.
Rae watched the man Chris slip into dancing ecstasy as he ground against him, pushing him towards a dark corner. With the darkness adequate enough, he began to kiss the man's neck.
Chris felt the man's lips on his neck, purely teasing, and all his muscles threatened to melt into puddles. The man was obviously an expert, but Chris never knew someone could be this good. He was so gone, his body never registered when Rae's fangs sank into his neck.
As Rae drank the man Chris's blood, he watched Rowan and Cage get up from their seats in search for their own dinners. Rowan went straight for a waitress and Cage found a drunk dancing girl on the verge of passing out. Rae didn't kill Chris; he just drank his fill, closed the wound by licking it, and placed him on the floor. There were plenty of people that passed out at this club, so he wouldn't look any different.
Cage grabbed a drunken girl around the waist and pulled her into his rhythm. She easily dissolved into his form, following his movements only because he was forcing her to. Rowan glanced at him while he was dancing and laughed. Cage scowled and kept dancing.
Rowan saw Cage dancing and found it funny that everyone thought he was an expert. To normal eyes his movements looked like liquid, completely smooth and perfect. To enhanced eyes though, his moves were awkward and jerky, the sign that he hated the whole dancing thing. Rowan grabbed the waitress he had tipped earlier and began talking to her. She recognized him easily and showed kindness towards his generosity. He led her to a tight crowd of dancers and began to kiss her neck.
The waitress didn't know what to do when the gorgeous man started to kiss her neck. His kisses were light and gentle, hitting her nerves, making them want to jump out of her skin and latch to his soft lips. She felt a brief stab of pain and moaned slightly before things went black.
Rowan made sure all traces of blood made it into his mouth, even though his body jerked in need the second her sweet blood touched his lips. She passed out in his arms, and he carefully laid her on one of the barstools while no one was looking.
Cage wasted no time with neck kissing. His fangs were down and in her neck before one could blink. She passed out, and Cage just shrugged her off, planning a shower when he got home. The alcohol in her blood joined the drink he already had, but he didn't even get a buzz from it. He wasted even less time waiting for the next meal to catch his sight.
By the end of the night, Cage, Rae, and Rowan made it out of the club without having to be thrown out. Cage drank from four people, Rae from seven, and Rowan three. A better mood floated around them, now that they were full of fresh, warm blood.
"Rae, did you have to drink from that many people tonight? I know we have been living off of refrigerated blood for the past three days, but I do believe there is a limit before it becomes gluttony." Rowan asked suddenly.
"I really didn't drink that much from any of them. Just tasting sips from everything I got to get a hold of. I was enjoying the sexual intimacy more than the dinner." Rae laughed deeply.
"I will give you one thing; you never hide your intentions. But I guess three days without sex for you is like not having food for a week." Cage growled, ending the conversation.
The walk home was pleasant though, Rae didn't start any more fights and none of the clans after them seemed to be out on the prowl.
Jase opened the door to their house, a three-story house, one of the few left, and turned on the lights.
"Yura! Get down here! This is important!" Jase yelled up the stairs.
"Jason, what are you doing back from the club so early? And why are you alone?" Yura yelled down the stairs.
"But Yura, I'm not alone, that's the problem!" Jase yelled back up.
A woman wearing a silk bathrobe walked down the stairs. Her thick black hair looked freshly washed and her dark brown eyes shone with uncanny kindness and intelligence. That was when she saw what Jase was holding and gasped. "Jason! Why didn't you tell me we had a new recruit! And a girl too!" Yura scolded.
"I dunno."
"You really need to learn these processes are delicate. Hand her over. When she wakes up I'll have to explain everything." Yura shook her head, worry lining her face.
"Kay, goodnight." Jase walked past Yura up the stairs to his room.
"Goodnight Jason." Yura looked the girl up and down, seeing that she was covered in dirt and blood. Yura wasn't too glad over the fact that she was handling this dirty girl after just taking a shower, but that wasn't important at the moment. She had no idea why Cage, obviously it was him, had decided to allow this girl to be turned with such short notice. She wasn't even sure if the girl knew what had happened to her, and that was going to make explaining things to her a lot more difficult.
A/N: Ok! So this is the new improved and revised version of chapter 1! I Can't believe how much I revised and changed around...It's been so long since I've written this and put it online!