• Kevin ran, he knew that if he slowed down, the thing chasing him would catch and kill him. He looked ahead and saw the light of Leyawiin. He put the last amount of energy he had into a burst of speed. Flying across the ground like a frightened rabbit, Kevin moved faster than he had ever run before. He had lived in the city as a child, and he knew all of the thin alleys where the werewolf would have trouble navigating successfully. Leaping fences and low walls that he normally would have had to climb, he felt his legs begin to give under the exertion. "cmon," he urged, fighting the fatigue that threatened to engulf him. Finally he saw a large building, "the tavern!" he said out loud, and made a break for it. The creature behind him had gotten through the alley way, and, seeing what the human was doing, ran harder, he was not even winded yet. The human kept going, Rajid, (the name of the werewolf) saw the human crash into the door, and saw blood running down his face. Rajid knew he would feast now, he could smell the blood, almost taste it. "Now" he thought, " I haven't had human in over 50 years!" The werewolf began to walk towards the human, growling hungrily, when the door to the tavern opened, a vampire stood in the doorway, a vampiress, I should say. In that instant, Rajid stared at her in bewilderment. The instant of hesitation was all Kevin needed, he disappeared into the building, leaving the puzzled vampiress and the bewildered werewolf the only ones outside. "Move!" Rajid growled, shoving Sam out of his way, and entering the tavern himself. He thought that would be the end of that, but he was sadly mistaken, Sam jumped on the werewolf's neck, and she bit him on the head. The werewolf howled in pain, and threw Sam across the room, she hit the wall, but got up as though she had only tripped. No pain creased her face as she stood rock solid against the creature that was easily four feet taller than her. A feral snarl made her upper lip pull back, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth, the canines complimented by a sharp point at the end, which seemed to grow as she snarled. Rajid came at her again, this time aiming to send her outside where he could use his strength more effectively. She deftly dodged the blow, hitting him in the chest with a kick that could have shattered a man's ribs. Stepping back only slightly, Rajid growled and grabbed her arm, hurling the vampiress across the room a second time. She smashed two or three tables before her journey was cut short by the wall. Getting up again, she wiped the small trace of blood from where her teeth had sunk due to the pounding. Again Rajid charged, and again Sam leaped away, replying with a flurry of blows, knocking the werewolf off balance. She mixed the move with a kick that knocked Rajid onto the ground, leaving him momentarily stunned. " Let me at my meal!" growled Rajid, not wanting to fight anymore. (much to Tony's dismay.) Sam held her ground, " no, I thought werewolves and humans were friends." She said in a voice that made the werewolf cringe. "You are a poor werewolf if you think that eating this human will yield no consequences." Rajid looked away, " I know" he said, holding his stomach in fake hunger," it's just, I haven't eaten in over 2 months, and, it's hard to pass up a young, healthy human like the one sitting next to your other vampire friend."Sam looked into his eyes again, "you lie, werewolf, you are well- fed, and you just wanted to taste human flesh again." The werewolf, defeated in words as well as in fight, said, "sorry, I just wanted to taste human again." Sam let her face soften a bit, "good" she said, looking at Kevin, "now, maybe you guys can help us." Rajid laughed, a deep, guttural laugh that rumbled in his broad chest. "No, vampire, why would I help you? I'm just here to enjoy the boy." Kevin stiffened at the mention of him as food, but regained his composure enough to talk quickly, "I'd be glad to help you, you saved my life, and it's never fair to leave debts unpaid." Tony nodded to himself, muttering under his breath. Sam looked at him venomously, then turned back to Kevin, "You're right, it isn't, you're honorable, human, what do I call you?" Kevin grinned, "I'm Kevin, or Kev, if you rather, I lived here as a child, with my father. My mother, unfortunately, passed away as I was born." Sam smiled vainly, then decided to change the subject, "Pleased to meet you, Kevin, your father taught you well, and never forget those lessons." Kevin looked at her, confused, "Yeah, I know" he said, sarcasm in his tone, "I didn't know I needed another lesson on life's philosophy." Tony laughed, then retreated upstairs with his book tucked under his arm, waving a silent goodbye.