Elena could not stop the grumbling of her stomach, she thought it was disgusting to devour blood, from anyone. However, because of her transition to a vampyre, she now required blood in her system to function properly. She would hurt herself if she kept fasting, and restraining herself from drinking blood. Every nerve in her body was urging her to kill someone innocent, and drain them of their blood. If she did drink blood however, she would not drink from an animal, as she thought that it would be foul. She rolled over in her bed, groaning from the pain, her starving stomach punished her with, for not indulging in the practice of vampirism. She was weak, and she needed blood to survive.

After dressing herself, she went outside. It was against her personal virtues to harm innocent civilians for her own selfish gains, specifically to drink their blood, however with her vampire instincts taking control over her mind, her body craved for blood. She would find someone quick and drink their blood, she wouldn't kill them. Just a small sip would not hurt, Elena chuckled and dissapeared into the dark alleys.

Eventually she found her way to the town square, where most people usually tend to gather. However, she had forgotten that during such a late hour, nobody would be awake. As she started to turn her back around to walk home, she heard a sound.

“The greeeeeeat Haregooooon Riiiiiiiivvvvveeeeer.” Baron sang aloud as he wandered down one of the roads of the bay city. He whistled a tune as his fevered face wore a relaxed and at ease expression. “I got two phones, I don’t even know what a phone is!” he held up the two beer bottles in his hands as if they were phones up to his ears before tossing them in a waste bin. He nodded his head as he patted down the sides of his black pants, he would pull out a silver flasks, it would swish in his hands ever so gently as he listened to the contents. He had a little alcohol left, some tequila of all things. He didn’t think he had any left from the bar, but it would come to serve him well at least. He raised the flask to his lips and sampled the green liquid.

Today he was dressed in a garb unlike his usual one, he decided to go shirt less to show off his tattoos save for a black bandana around his neck ready to be raised up to mouth in case he wanted to do something fun today. His pants were sweats as usual, and on his hands were black gloves, his feet were clad in black basketball sneakers. Today he looked very unique to sum up.

He needed a break for a while, thus he turned into an alleyway with his flasks in hand and leaned against a wall for a moment.

Elena swiftly moved to the area of the noise without making the slightest sound, thanks to her vampiric abilities. She only saw the silhoutte of the stranger, and moved closer only to realize it was perhaps just another drunk person. She winced her eyes when the stranger threw his two glass bottles into the bin. The stranger reached into his pants in search of something,  eventually revealing it was a flask. How drunk does he want to be? Elena shook her head, the stranger was not even clothed properly. Revealing a torso full of intricate tattoos. The design of the tattoos were familiar, she could of sworn she had witnessed them somewhere before...but where?

Elena took a second look at the stranger, even though the figure was cloaked in total darkness of the alleyway, Elena could still see properly, thanks yet again to her vampiric vision. She finally realized the drunk person, it was her friend from a while ago. She suddenly remembered how he was her first quest partner, and how he looked after her. What is he going to think of me? Elena turn her head instinctively to the side, she was worried about what the person would think of her. She took a deep breath, knowing that she had to deal with this sooner or later. "Baron?"

Singing to himself he drank a bit of his liquor and wobbled around the alley on the wall for a moment as he traced the brick wall with a hand. On his back was his axe and his body was clad in armor underneath his newly tailored cloak. He whistled a tune and smirked to himself ever so happily as he prepared to leave the alley. A few yards away from the exit a voice called out to him, he arched a brow and looked behind himself with a bewildered expression. Soon his expression would soften into a warm smile as he saw… A girl? A rather young looking one at that, no matter he was drunk so what was age right?

He tilted his head, “How do ya know my name?” he asked walking towards them, “Ah, you wanna get to know me? You must have heard of me, here have a drink.” he haned her the flasks, “And drink all that you can handle I got plenty more.” he chuckled at her and continued to walk towards her, his mind was always scheming, who knew what he had planned, maybe it would be god, maybe it would be bad, she would be having a nice experience regardless.

Elena blinked a few times when Baron asked how she knew of his name. Has he forgotten about who I was? Elena's bright smile fell into a sad frown. Elena walked backwards as he started to move towards her, is he drunk? She could swell the alcohol from his breath. The man offered her his drink, to which she kindly rejected.

"No, thank you. I know your name because we have done multiple quests together, I may look a bit different." She sighed before continuing, "I already know who you are Baron, and really its okay, I don't drink." She smiled at her old friend.

Her vampiric side was triggered when he said she could "drink" all she want, and that he had more. As he started to make his way closer to her, she started to take a few step backwards. Based on her lack of self control, she would not be able to restrain herself from biting him.

"Stop! Don't move!" She screamed, but it was too late and he was close enough for her to lunge at him. Her sharp teeth sank into his sweaty neck, and she started to suck his blood. His body reeked of alcohol, but that didn't bother her as she was too thirsty for blood.

He kept walking towards her with flasks in hand, he was going to get her druuuuunk tonight, even when she declined his offer he kept on approaching. There was nothing he wanted that was too hard for her to do, he wanted to see what she looked like when drink when all and he was going to show her something better than getting drunk when she was pretty drunk.

“It’s ok, you can have a little, it won’t bite ya… Not as bad as i’ll bite you anyway… How old were you again?” he rubbed his chin as he approached slower and slower, just as he was near he noticed a change, or so he thought, she seemed to be running from him?

What was she doing? He narrowed his eyes, as she lunged at him he put up a hand in a ‘karate chop; and held it up at her slow rush, he wasn’t attacking it was merely just putting his hands in the… She was already clinging to his neck. How did she jump so high, assuming she was hanging onto him given their height difference he would play into whatever little game she was trying to play.

“Ok, ok I’ll take a hicky.” he wrapped his arms around her, “But I get to give you one nex- OUCH that actually kinda hurt! I like it, kinky but I like it.”

Her smile fell when her friend seemed to not recognize her. Do I actually look that different? She thought to herself, and played with her necklace nervously. They had accomplished so much missions together, how could he not recognize his old request partner? You could tell that Elena was dissapointed and she started to sulk a bit.

She rejected his offer gracefully once again, when he tried to make her drink the beverage, which she assumed to must of contain some alcoholic content. It would explain his drunk actions, and his slurring of words.

When she started to suck on Baron's neck for his delicious blood, she could feel his strong arms wrapping against her slim waist, and her body was pushed against his strong torso. She tried to resist and push him away, however he was too drunk and she did not want to hurt him. Eventually she removed her fangs from the crook of his neck when she was fulfilled of her blood lust.

"Baron, it is me, Elena!" Do you not recall us completing multiple tedious quests together?" Elena tapped him on the shoulder, hoping that he would at least remember about her a tiny bit.

As they embraced one another, or well, as he embraced her he could smell something familiar about her. She smelled like strawberries, fresh berries no less. His neck ached a tad, it was rather unsanitary for her to bite him, but that merely opened the door for him to bite her back now didn’t it? He thought about it for a moment, he still had her in his arms, though now he was wandering off in thought as he questioned rather or not he should have made a move. Given the fact that he was intoxicated his thinking mind was hindered greatly by alcoholic barriers. No, no, no, this just wouldn’t do! He couldn’t think straight with all of the pain in his neck. Why the hell did she bite him anyway? He rubbed his neck with one of his hands, his other clasped around his bitey little friend.

There was doubt in his mind about biting her back, it was a crime to do so probably plus she was so much younger. She looked like a kid, kinda. Like she was twelve or something, but hard twelve really hard 12. Not bad really, though he was need to make a decision soon as she pushed away from him rather roughly, though give than he was much stronger she wasn’t doing much to get away. So as they stood he looked down in her face again, golden eyes judging her red visage. There was something familiar about the look in her eye, something almost too familiar about her… Something child like maybe? Was she his daughter? There was no way, he didn’t even finagle anyone in Fiore yet! Maybe he was drinking too much, shit.

Tilting his head he looked down into her eyes a while longer as she tried to push him, seeming to have given up he tilted his head as she seemed to submit and tapped him on the shoulder breaking him out of his chance and allowing for him to speak once again without distraction. It felt like he had met her before, but he wasn’t the best in the way of memory so he would need some jogging, her voice was reminiscent of little Elena in her cute little pajamas. What a strange child she was, she was hunting for ice the last he saw her and often thought about her when he had time alone and wasn’t working. Was she… Nah, Elena was cute with a head of black hair and honestly she was a bit thicker in the way of hips. Hell, that was one popsicle he couldn’t wait to lick, but then… Little sister complex kicked in and he found himself taking care of her like she was his sibling… Damn his friendly nature. All of this thinking helped his sober up quite a bit.

“You… Are someone I know.” he narrowed his eyes as he dropped the smaller woman on her feet, “You know my name…” he mumbled as he circled her. There was something different about her for sure, he could feel her name coming to him, but there was no way they were the same person. He would continue to circle as he thought about who the heck she was. She could have been lying and heard his name from a job request, but then why would she lie? Unless she was trying to get into his jewels… She could have wanted his money too ZING. But on a serious note and once he stopped snickering to himself he continued to walk around her.

“Elena? What happened to your… Everything?” he asked with a chuckle, his mind connected the voice to the name, but he could have been wrong, no use in being shy about it if she was his little friend she would answer as such, if not… Well this would be awkward. “Ya know, I could bite you back… Or better yet lick you back for biting me like that…”

Elena shivered when he noticed that Baron had sniffed her sneakily, a tickle traveled down her spine. Her fragile body was still leaning against his strong torso, covered by intricate tattoo designs. She was surprised on how well built he was, now that her body was pressed gently against his, she had a clear view of him and his body. She could feel his hard muscles around her chest area, they were solid, and his tensed muscles relaxed when she carefully extracted her bloody fangs from his tanned neck. He had a strong jaw that tensed when she removed her arms that were wrapped around his neck, and her hands accidentally brushed his bare body. She gave him a good stare for a sold minute, was he always this well built? She giggled and shook the thoughts away from her mind. She stepped backwards a bit, however his left arm was still clasped around her miniature waist, while his other hand was covering the bite marks she had gifted to him - a bloody kiss.

When she finally came back to her humanistic senses, she immediately blushed at the actions of her friend, who hovered over her. She gently caressed his hand still stuck on her waist, and plucked it away. When she looked up at the crescent moon, she noticed her tall friend was staring at her, with his mesmerizing, golden eyes. He tilted his head, which was rather cute, is he checking me out? Elena twirled her hair with her two fingers awkwardly.

“You… Are someone I know.” Baron narrowed his eyes as he released Elena back to the embrace of the earth. “You know my name…” he mumbled as he circled her. Elena could feel her heart pulsing, as if she was human again. He continued to do so until he finally halted his footstep.

“Elena? What happened to your… Everything?” Baron asked with a chuckle. There was something about the way her name, Elena rolled off his tongue that caused tingly sensations that traveled throughout her body.

“Ya know, I could bite you back… Or better yet lick you back for biting me like that…” He smirked at her, and she shuddered at his tempting offer. This was not right, he was her mentor, someone that she views as a brotherly figure.How could something so weird, feel so right?

What a strange child she was. She seemed to have changed much from their first few meetings, black silky locks turned into pink strands, once glimmering sapphires were now bloody rubies full of mixed emotion and uncertainty. He could see her expressions change, she seemed to be combating with her own imagination over one thing or another, but Baron wouldn’t ask, it was her own personal reason for being so off at the moment. If only he knew what was going on in her head right now, he wanted to poke at her psyche for a spell, but his mind was still recovering from his drinking fit taken earlier in the day. Elena was always an interesting person, well for the short time he had known her. He only caught bits and pieces of information about her: her age had come up more or less, her search for true ice, and her family. Family, that was an interesting one, she had told him very little about her family, but maybe he could learn more as their friendship grew there was only one way to find out more. More about little Elena, from thicc to tiny yes?

It seemed she didn’t mind what he was doing, he saw the warmness in her face, maybe she was sick? That would explain her change, her entire change that is. The caress of his hand threw him off, he expected her to put up more of a fight but instead she merely plucked his hand off of her waist and stared up at the sky. It was dark already? Baron looked up at the darkened sky, the stars were already out and the waning moon peeked down at them illuminating the light around them. Her eyes were crimson, a fine crimson at that, she was a fairly pretty young woman, she’d make a fine wife for whatever bachelor she managed to scoop up. With her out of his hands he looked around the alley for a moment, his flasks had fumbled around somewhere, he must have dropped it when he picked her up. Hm, she must have been infatuated with the moon as she seemed mesmerized by it.

She didn’t speak much between the circling and talking, was she alright? She seemed to be caught up in fever as she simply stood there and watched him. He rubbed his hands together, it was getting pretty cold out. A cool fall night it seemed, maybe they could go out to an inn or something, somewhere with a lobby he could warm up in really. Ah, speaking of the cold maybe she really was sick, it would have made sense though her new hair color could have been the product of hair dye. Either way in concern for his friend he reached out a hand and placed his palm along her forehead and his free hand on his own. From what he could tell she didn’t feel warm, in fact she was cold… What? “What are you doing like that Elena! You’re freezing!” he scolded as he took off his new cloak and draped it over her shoulders. It was obviously a bit big, but she could use it more than he could at the moment.

“C’mon, I don’t know what you think you’re doing out here in the cold, but we’re gonna get you something warm to sip on.” with that, rather she wanted him to or not he took her by the hand and tugged her along out of the alley and into the street to find a warm drink. Still, he also had to address the biting situation, he was still scatter brained to call her out on it for now, but maybe he could asks over a coffee. “I can’t believe you’re that cold, you’ll catch death out here.’

Perhaps it was her vampirism that caused her to have these, strange sensations like fireworks throughout her body. Yes, it is just my vampirism, she used her vampiric identity as a scapegoat, as she could not realize why or how she had these alien emotions that surged through her veins. Or perhaps because it was her first time, being in so close contact with a man other than family. When she was set free from Baron's warm grasp, he turned his back around, as if he was searching for something. It must be the flask he was holding earlier, she looked around the scenery, and saw the flask leaning against the wall covered of graffiti. She smiled, remembering their first mission together after seeing the graffiti. "Do you recall our first mission together?" She knelt down and picked it up, before handing it over to Baron, "here".

Elena was surprised by Baron feeling her forehead suddenly, and her eyes widened in response. For a moment it felt like the world was drained of all colour, except for the pair, standing under the moonlight's serene veil. Baron scolded Elena for not looking after herself, and got upset at her freezing temperature. She felt a little embarrassed that Baron still had to look out for her, however the embarrassment went away as she fell something draped on her shoulders. She gently tugged at the cloth leaning on her shoulders, it was Baron's cloak. It was obviously too big for her, as his figure is much larger than her skinny build. However, she had never felt so comforted under another cloak before, even cloaks that were customized and designed for her. She continued to pull the giant cloak until it covered her head, and she wrapped it tightly around her body. She wasn't cold at all, since she was a vampyre, however she felt safe under his cloak. The cloak reeked of liquor, similar to the odor that Baron's body released, but she didn't mind it at all.

Baron offered her to buy her something to warm her up, and suddenly grabbed her cold hands in his, dragging her with him. Elena had missed her old friend terribly, and wanted to catch up as well. "Say Baron, my apartment is nearby, would you like to visit instead?" She beamed at him, she would offer him some tea and homemade desserts.

With a wipe of his eyes he looked at her for a moment and only a moment… “Sure, let’s go.” with those words he’d follow her to her apartment and there was where he’d make his move. The two would reminisce about their first meeting, he’d laugh quite a lot and her apartment was pretty impressive in size given how small she was. They talked for what felt like hours and soon it would be time to go for him. It was just about morning now and he needed to get going if he wanted to get jobs done today. In the apartment they hugged one last time, before he would open her door and leave her with a wave. Once outside he would go down stairs and cough to himself. As he went back down the street, it seemed everything was alright now the world was calm and he could stop worrying about her. She wasn’t a little kid and he couldn’t treat her like one, he just hoped she would be happy here in hargeon, if anything happened to her he’d be devastated. Yeah she was a stranger but she was still his friend and all and he wanted to see her happy no matter what and if changing her look and living here was the way he hoped she’d do it well.

-exit-

With a wipe of his eyes he looked at her for a moment and only a moment… “Sure, let’s go.” with those words he’d follow her to her apartment and there was where he’d make his move. The two would reminisce about their first meeting, he’d laugh quite a lot and her apartment was pretty impressive in size given how small she was. They talked for what felt like hours and soon it would be time to go for him. It was just about morning now and he needed to get going if he wanted to get jobs done today. In the apartment they hugged one last time, before he would open her door and leave her with a wave. Once outside he would go down stairs and cough to himself. As he went back down the street, it seemed everything was alright now the world was calm and he could stop worrying about her. She wasn’t a little kid and he couldn’t treat her like one, he just hoped she would be happy here in hargeon, if anything happened to her he’d be devastated. Yeah she was a stranger but she was still his friend and all and he wanted to see her happy no matter what and if changing her look and living here was the way he hoped she’d do it well.

-exit-