Rosalie clung to the tree's trunk as the werewolf lunged at Leo, managing to slash him across the belly. "No", she breathed, watching as he pressed a hand to his wound as if to stop the blood flow. She watched as he began to laugh for no apparent reason. He looked rather crazy doing this. He shrugged off his jacket, revealing a torn shirt that had once been white. A spot of blood was growing where his wound was.

Rosalie tensed as Leo jumped past her, higher and higher into the trees. He hissed like a feline stalking its prey. "Don't fall, Leo", she whispered, worried for her friend's safety.

--- 

"You dare insult me with such vile words?" the wolf demanded, beginning to scale the tree from the ground up, breaking half of the branches he used for levrage, "You are a traitor to your own kind and to the nighthunters as a whole! you, unlike the rest of us, refuse to be a cure seeker, which all but the rouges have become. And you don't affiliate yourself with a clan, you insist on being a rouge. But it seems that you have formed an unusual attraction to the female over there." He paused his ascent, nodding at his partner.

---

The smaller wolf, who was still far larger than Rosalie, positioned himself at the base of her tree, snarling up at the girl.

---

"Leo, ignore me, kill the Hybrids!", Rosalie thought. But she dared not say it for fear of the wolf below her. His teeth were bared and they gleamed in the sunlight with a wild, untamed, fearsome beauty.

Leo flexed his hand, rolled his shoulders back, then lunged strait for the ground, p*censored*ing the werewolf just as he was reaching Leo's perch. He felt his left hand sink into and past the creature's hide and swung from it. Quickly, Leo brought his body around so it looked like he was riding piggy- back on the hybrid, sinking his right hand into the creature's oposite side. He used his strong arms as leverage to pull the rest of his body up. He quickly placed his feet on either side of the wolf's rib cage and pushed off, letting his body perform a flip and a half in midair before touching with a hard thud back to the ground so he was facing the darker oponent. He leapped back twice, if just to gain more distance between them so he was a good fifteen feet away.

Here he raised his left hand to his lips. The pale skin dripped werewolf blood. It wasn't alot; Werewolves had thick hides to prevent them from losing blood to begin with, but Leo had penitrated the thick skin. He opened his mouth to run his tounge earilly across two fingers before lowering his hand and shaking them both, sending tiny crimson droplets onto the trees.

"On the contrary," Leo said cooly, taking another step back in case either best charged at him. "I was with a clan who was at peace with their world. Then beings like you came along. You know you're just a filthy dog with a greedy appitite for power. It's discousting." Leo spat the werewolf's blood to the ground beside him. Even the taste was dishartening to his hungry demons.

Out of the corner of his eye, Leo could see the smaller wolf corner Rosalie in the high branches. There was nothing he could do for her now. For now, he had to focus on the larger threat. If he changed prioraaties, he wouldn't survive. Besides, Leo was confident that they wouldn't kill Rosalie. They would probably press her into giving them any rouge information then attempt to perswaide her to become a hybrid, like them.

"If what you are is a result of the cure, I want no part of it!" Leo hissed, his fangs glinting ivory in the sun, dripping with crimson from the demon's blood. He blinked, blue- green eyes appearing almost dull as his hair fell into his face and protected at least the pair from the burning sun.

The wolf yowled as Leo dug his fingers into his furry flesh, making several small cuts in his sides. Snarling, he leapt from the tree, landing smoothly at its base. Noticing Leo's glance, the wolf smirked. "You will not run to her rescue?" he asked, taking a step closer to Leo before going to all fours and circling the vampire slowly, his yellow eyes gleaming. Blood dripped from his fur where the vampire had grasped him. "Aparently I was wrong when I asumed you were mates. I thought you seemed attracted to her."

The lighter wolf scaled the tree, perching himself on the branch that Rosalie was seated on. He snarled in her face, werewolf slobber flying from his jaws. He grinned when she srank away from him, shaking with fear.

"Leo, please, ignore me...", Rosalie thought, squeezing her eyes shut. She felt the hybrid's warm breath on her face, drops of spittle clinging to her. 

The darker wolf growled in a way that could only be interprited as laughter, his ears flying back as his chuckle turned to a snarl. "My friend there will capture her and bring her to our clan while I finnish you off. If you care about what happens to her, she will be turned to a hybrid whether she wants it or not. She will become stronger, faster, and will be under our leader's control."

Leo couldn't make a sound similar to the wolf's dark, menasing one, so he gave up. "You filty animal," He hissed in an undertone that the hybrid's sharper ears could probably detect. He followed the werewolf with his eyes, then his body as the larger creature circled him. Leo could only smile. His consern for Rosalie was deeper than ever, but he knew that this would be a battle of wits. The hybrids were much stronger, faster and just as agile as Leo was, so as far as attacking went, Leo could do little more than dodge and scratch, whoch would slowly drain his energy faster than the wolf's. Power was likely to corrupt the demons' thoughts, and Leo would have to play this to the best of his ability.

"What if I surrender?" Leo asked. He gestured twards Rosalie, high in her perch with the other werewolf not far below. "In return for her safety, I'll tell you all the rouge information I know, including the location of mixbreed clans and non- hybrid organizations."

Leo kicked off with his speed so he was closer to the larger, circling werewolf, for those few secconds taking the offencive side. "We were heading to one now. Decline my offer,"

Leo dashed backwards before the werewolf struck at him. His wound in his abs was begining to make him weak now, and he was begining to feel the effects of the m*censored* loss of blood. He shook off his hands again and licked the right one before dabbing it on the skin of his belly. Part of the wound healed nearly on contact, greatly irritated that blood couldn't flow faster from it. Leo would have liked to finnish the job, but instead put more distance beween the larger werewolf and himself, circling him in a wide arch.

Leo continued this, somehow staying just far enough away in order to reach the base of the tree where Rosalie and the smaller werewolf where. He looked up for half a seccond, noticing that another two hundred pounds would cause the entire tree to crash. A plan began to form in the blonde's head. Leo weighed less than a hundred pounds since his death and change, which ment he would have to lure the other werewolf up there...

"Decline my offer," Leo repeated, this time sounding slightly kinder, like the calm before a storm. "Then I'll be forced to kill one of you and send the other whinning back to your camp," Leo began to chuckle, his eyes narrowing so he looked quite insane in the mid day sun. "I'll just follow whoever lives and kill the rest of you, one by one like the drops of my blood." Leo put a hand on his wound through his shirt again, and began to laugh like a madman.

The sun? Oh, the sun was hardly helping Leo, who ment every word as he said them. His tounge was as rash as the rest of his body, his head hardly having a say as it was consumed by the UV rays. Leo felt his stomach flip and noticed his hands were begining to twitch. He put his hands behind him and stagered on nothing before finding a branch and pulling himself up. If the werewolf didn't follow and send the tree crashing to an escape for he and Rosalie, then he would asend and fend off the smaller hybrid so he and the female would escape via leaping from tree top to tree top. Leo would preffer the first option, but wan't sure how far it would be able to go. He hissed, then laughed some more.

he climbed up another branch then another before pausing and laughing. He looked up to the smaller werewolf still a good 25 feet above him. "Don't you dare touch her, filthy dog!" He hissed, a lunatic smile refusing to leave his face. True, Leo knew he was exagurating the sun's effect on him, but this was so much fun. He began to chuckle again as he slowly acended, heading a branch near the base of the tree snap. The old wood wouldn't be able to take a whole lot move. Leo laughed harder, struggling for breath.

Rosalie heard the werewolf curse under his breath and turn to watch the two circle each other. She opened her eyes to glance upon the scene as well. The wolf lunged at Leo several times, but missed each p*censored*. He was becoming frustrated.

"I will not show you mercy, vile traitor", the werewolf snarled after the last attack, "For you deserve none of it." He watched Leo dart up the tree, his course fur standing on end. He curled into a crouch, using the momentum to hurl himself at the tree. He chased after the vampire, fire burning in his hateful yellow eyes.

The smaller werewolf turned back to Rosalie and growled. "You are not free because I turn away, imputent pup", he snarled, pinning her arms to the tree, his claws causing shallow scratches in her soft skin, "No, regardless if your friend here defeats my brother, I will bring you with me back to our clan. You will be well recieved."

Leo continued to laugh as he felt the tree began to sway. He made sure to stay on the East side of the tree, the side where Rosalie and the smaller werewolf already were. If the larger wolf continued chasing Leo directly like he had been, then the tree would eventually snap. He continued his acsent quickly and didn't look down. He could deal with the scratches the tree gave him, so long as he put more distance between. His prioraties had changed with Leo's actions. Durring his climb up, he thought of mant retorts to say to the werewolf, but said none of them as his laughted quieted and eventually faded into a near truely vampiric silence.

He asended quickly as he dared, carful to balance his weight so that it the tree snapped before he intended, he would be prepared to lead off his temporary perch to land safely on the ground, with luck in time to catch Rosalie. But that hope nearly died when his ears pricked to a familiar sound: ripping flesh.

Leo was temporarily blinded by the scent of Rosalie's blood. For a werewolf like she was, it seemed incredably sweet to his sences. He hesitated less than a seccond, acsending just in time to hear the lighter hybrid's insult. Leo flipped his body so he was on the oposite side of the tree, looking into the hybrid's face. The tree swayed even more violently as Leo swung his weight around to suddenly, and the branch he had been on a moment ago snapped and fell to the ground far below. "I told you not to dare,"

Leo hissed in a quiet, smooth tone. He placed his long, pale fingers on the wolf's wide, gray ones and sunk in his claws to penitrate the course hide. His heart pulsed breifly, then was still again. He hissed louder now, revealing his teeth and opening his jaw wide as he could without poping it out of its socket again. He felt blood course under his fingertips and continued to sink his own flesh deeper into the wolf's, carful not to touch Rosalie in his cold, insane furry.

((fail-))

The hybrid yowled, trying to pull his hand free of Leo's vampiric claws. His free hand quickly moved around Rosalie's unprotected neck. He did not tighten his fist, but  he could at any moment to cut off the girl's supply of air. "Release me or she dies", he growled, wincig as Leo's fingers slowly dug into his hand.

 ---

"Leo", Rosalie breathed, watching as her friend came to rescue her from the other werewolf. She was stunned to see him in such a state. Probably a combination of the sunlight, the wound on his belly, and the situation in itself. She felt the werewolf grab her neck in his enormous hand, having no time to react because he did so with lightning speed. She trembled in his grasp, knowing that he could kill her at will.

---

The larger werewolf was halfway to the other three Nightunters. He was snarling as branches whipped his face and body, irritating the wounds Leo had inflicted on him moments ago.

Leo smiled so braodly that his face, dead tissue and all, began to rage with hurt. He slacked his hand, but didn't take his fingers out of the werewolf's hide. He blinked sweetly. At this high altitute, the UV Rays only worsened his sickness, his madness, his disease. "If you killed her you wouldn't keep your promise of bringing her to your leader. What kind of dog would you be then?" He hissed around snake- like fangs, still dripping tiny rubies here and there.

He almost started to laugh again at the tree began to sway more and more violently. There wasn't much he could do. The further up the larger werewolf got, the narrower the tree was and the less stable it became. He closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of werewolf blood in the air. As he opened his eyes, his hand, still burried in the hybrid's flesh, twitched, claws raking the inside wall of tissue. He quickly withdrew, placing the blood-stained skin on the other paw, the one around Rosalie's neck.

Just a little more... The tree was becoming unstable fast. Any moment now the entire thing would snap and fall to the ground. He had to keep his cool, so this time his didn't dig his claws into the hide. He just set them there lazily, knowing that the storm would come. Leo began to shift his weight from foot to foot, making the tree top sway even more that usual so that it never stayed in one place. The trunk was thin where Leo stood, hardly enough to grab onto. The tree fell his way, he would shift his weight at the righ moment to kick the smaller hybrid off of Rosalie and they would run for it. If it tiped the other way, he'd have to let a demon loose, grab Rosalie's waist and pull her through the bark before making their escape. This option was more painful, but less risky.

And all of it relied on the werewolf below climbing three feet higher... two feet... one... The tree continued to sway more and more violently. There was a sharp snap that Leo hearded. The tree would fall at any moment. He didn't look down, just waited for the larger wolf to take a few more stepps. Leo shivered. This couldn't be it for them, could it?

The wolf's grip loosened and his hand dropped from Rosalie's neck. "You see I can be reasonable, vampire", he said smoothly before licking his injured hand. He glared at Leo and Rosalie, seemingly unaware of the tree shaking. "I am not as dim, witted as I may seem", he said in a rougher tone, "Instead of heightening my strength, being a hybrid has strengthened my thoughts and reflexes. I'm the brains my brother's the brawns. I know what you're trying to do, and I won't stop you, not this time. You obviously care greatly about each other, and I will give you that chance. For if you become a hybrid, you forget everything. I remember nothing from before I was changed into a mutant beast. But I must put on a show for my brother, so don't make it too obvious I'm helping you. And get him out of the sun as soon as you can, he's becoming mad from exposure."

Rosalie stared at the werewolf incredulously for a few moments before looking down to see that the larger wolf was not far below them The lighter wolf abruptly began growling and howling at them, putting on quite a show.

The larger wolf tore through the last branch, soon reaching where the three others perched. He barked at Leo, but than the tree snapped and began to fal. Rosalie screamed. The two wolves yelped in surprise. 

Leo only narrowed his eyes at the smaller hybrid, totally skeptical. He didn't dare to beleive anything that he said. After all, only those who were hybrids knew what lay beyond the cure, and who would be able to miss what they didn't have. Maybe it was just the Ultra Violet rays playing tricks, but non of the peices fit in Leo's head. He only knew that they had to escape, he was being rash, and he wanted to sink his claws into the werewolf again. He began to get twitchy and wanted to lash out laugh some more. Somehow that seemed an easier alternative than putting up with this battle of wits.

He noticed Rosalie look down, and atlast relizing that the smaller werewolf had removed his hand from Rosalie's neck. Leo withdrew his blood- stained and dripping hand, temped to lick the blood off it. He then followed Rosalie's gaze to below them, noticing again the blood soaking through his once- white dress shirt. How... did that get there...?

The tree snapped, pulling Leo back to reality. He reached out for Rosalie and grabbed her, pulling her closer to him. His heart pounded deep in his chest as he steadied himself  on the quickly falling tree. Somewhere he relized that where Leo had grabbed Rosalie would now be soaked for a while, but the thought was pushed away with thoughts of escape. Once he felt sure of his footing, he lept off the tree with all the strength and speed he could muster, prey for what he used in his arms to hold Rosalie bridal- style, one arm cradling her shoulders against his cest, the other olding her knees up so she didn't drag.

He landed in the clearing where he and the darker wolf had faught, his legs absorbing most of the shock of the pair's combined weight. He turned around to hiss at the tree as it finnished its fall and crash to the forest floor, his fangs shinking back down to a near- normal size. (Of course, they where always wide and sharp by human standards, if one ever cared to notice, that is.) Leo hardly hesitated from then on, heading north, then banking a sharp left, to the west. He was careful not to race. If they caught up to them, they would have to fight Leo again. By carring her, Rosalie was conserving strength and if circomastances came to such, Leo would have her run. Hopefully he would be able to hold his own long enough for her escape. If, however, the smaller hybrid was really a friends and not a foe, however, they would likely have more time to escape.

No, Leo thought as he dodged a branch, careful not to batter Rosalie as little as possible. You mussnt place hope on a hybrid's false words. His (now gone) clan had often reffered to promises of a cure "fool's gold" when things where first being developed. It seemed fitting and appropriate, escesially after the brutal m*censored*icute. They where hard, cold, and glimmered with a false beauty in the sun.

Leo made ten miles seem like a jog around the block before he found a small stream and stopped. The water was clear as crystal, and here Leo set Rosalie down. It was shadey, and already Leo's head was clearing. He could acknowladge in full that he was being rash and not thinking the entire situation through. The should move, but they couldn't go north anymore. No, he'd have to change course, but to where? He grunted and sighed, placing his bloodied hand to his forehead, carefully not to touch himself. His cleener hand remained at his side. Damn it...Why is it so hard to think?!

Finally the blonde lowered his hand and turned to his companion. His voice was cool and calm, but betrayed his mental exghoution. "Are you okay?"

He eyed Rosalie's neck, then the rest of her. For the most part, she seemed okay, nothing some water and cleen bandages couldn't fix in time. That's when he relized that he was still bleeding himself, loosing fluids slowly but surely. No wonder he was feeling, thought calmer, weaker by the seccond. He crouched by the river, in Leo fashion, not waiting for an answer. He washed off his hands, almost regretting that he didn't drink the discousting blood anyway. On seccond thought, it might just make him sick. Once his hands where clean, he splashed water into his face. It was like ice to his nerves, most of which were completely dead. Part of him still felt the cool sensation, however.

With cleen fetures, Leo went to reach into his pocket where he always kept cleen (for the most part) bandages. In life, he'd wanted to be a doctor. What a cruel twist of faith that had been. Leo's hand fell on emptyness at his side, however, and he spat a curse under his breath. He'd left his jacket and all its consents at the fallen tree, and he wan't going to go back and get it just yet. He sighed and sat, leaning against a tree. They were leaving a blood trail for the werewolves and other cureseekers to follow, and though he didn't at all want to, they would probably have to travel with the small river now. He sighed, once again remembering his own wound.

He propped himself up and undid the buttons one by one, slowly revealing the long gashes across his abs. These were the only scars that were bleeding, as the rest had sealed themeslves up years ago. Leo licked his fingers wrapped losely in the ends of the shirt, leaving a thin la
yer to shene on the pale skin. Lazily he ran the fingers over the scratches, then dunked his hand in the water again, cleaning them. For nearly a ful minute, nothing seemed to happen. Tiny threads of skin were forcing themselves to stretch across the wound to the other side of the wound before expanding and swelling to make a thing la
yer of external tisse over the scratches. Now, rather than dripping crimson, they where a hot, furrious pink. the point wat, however, that the wounds were still.

With a silent sigh, Leo slipped off the sleeves of his *censored*, dunked it in the river once, then replaced it and began to redo the buttons one by one, the wet cloth clinging to his pale skin, only to fall off and re attactch itself as Leo moved. It would clean the blood off a little as well as mask his vampiric scent. To feel cold was practically impossible, but Leo was chilled and, to be totally honest, it felt nice. He knew they couldn't stay there long, but in the meantime the shade and cool water felt nice. He would force himself to stay for a few minutes, deciding that he would have to trust the smaller werewolf.

Without trust, there would only by anger and fear in this world. Besides, it will give some some false hope to live through the hour. Leo decided, satisfied. He let himself be engulfed by bliss, then remembered he was in company again. Immediately he felt stupid for forgetting Rosalie for only a mila- seccond.

A strange and somehow familiar voice ran breifly through Leo's head. It was alien, but comforting, neither masuline or feminine. It was a demon. Trust is the reason for betrayal.

"Rule number 5," Said Leo said, closing his eyes. "Know when to run."

((Another of your famous MEga-Posts that I love. XD You really are an awesome writer. XD ))

The smaller werewolf nodded slightly as he watched Leo and Rosalie leap away. Their plan was going perfectly. He watched his brother leap from the falling tree and did the same, landing directly beside the larger wolf. 

"They got away", the larger wolf growled, slashing through the dirt with his claws.

"We'll catch them yet, brother. If we hurry, it might be easier than you think." 

---

Rosalie wrapped her arms around Leo's neck to ensure that she would not fall when he leapt from the tree and took off running through the woods. After a minute or so, she was leaning her head against his cold, solid chest, frightened, because she knew the wolves could catch them at an minute. She felt a wet spot growing on her own clothing and knew Leo would soon be growing weak from blood loss.

She smiled slightly when Leo sat her down on the edge of a small river, clear and fresh. "Leo, I'm fine", Rosalie replied when asked if she was alright, "A few scratches is all. Nothing compared to your injury. I am a werewolf, I heal quickly. But if vampires didn't have the healing ability that All Nighthunters do, they would be extinct. Anyhow, I'll be alright. It really is beautiful here... Clean sparkling water, shady, some flowers growing along the riverbank..."

 She watched him unbutton his shirt and repair the wound that he'd gained from  the larger of the hybrids, also noting the numerous other scars coating his body. When dipping his shirt in the river, Leo's back was revealed to Rosalie. She saw a long, white scar that went from his left shoulder to his right hip. "How did that happen?" she asked, looking at him, concerned. 

((lol, thank you! I find it hard to write by myself. I need others' ideas to push me along, which is how I started rp'ing in the first place. XD Besides, Epic-Posts are usually followed by two or three failures.))

Leo finniahed buttoning his once- white shirt, a little surprised by how well the blood had washed out. It was only a pale pink- cream now, still a little crimson comming through where a little blood lingered on his skin. He blinked, still a little dazed by the Ultra Violet shoock. Rosalie's question caught him off gaurd and he froze for a seccond. He had totally forgotten about his scar. He'd lived with it for so long, felt it on his sking so many times... He gritted his teeth and averted his gave. "It's nothing."

Waiting only a seccond, he stood up and brushed himself off. He didn't look as Rosalie, remembering screams and echoes he hadn't even thought of in over a century. His tone was low and serious, but not quite whispering. It was cold: No pain or fear came through in it and if one could desifer anything by his tone alone, they might think that dispair or hopelessness had come over him. "We should go. I don't trust that discousting dog."

One can't miss what one never had! An entire chorus of demons was dancing, singing in his head. Since when did he even have enough demons to make a chorus? Leo felt sick, and not because of the sun's radiation bouncing off the clear river. He stared into it, catching his reflection every few secconds in the water before it washed away again and again... What was a reflection? What was a name, a sound, a species? What was a promise, or even a demon for that matter? Leo had once called promises little angels when kept, a little peice of pureity that lingered in even the most cruel souls surrounded by demons. But, when happens when the demons keep the promise and naw it bones untill there was no purity left?

That's what had started it all. A promise, a peace of shimmering hope in the darkness that seemed to control the world so harshly. Leo had known by that point that evil would never be abolished from the world, then the good must strive for balance and not serenity, but never had he known the screams that plauged the night, nor the echoes of the cries of the innocent. Never had he heard nor dremt such terrable sounds until the night he was changed. Think about it, boy! One of the demons called over the singing of the others. The more you think, the more you remember, the more we strive!

Leo breathed deeply, never letting his jaw slack as if his teeth alone would ward off the demons his head echoed. After a few swconds they quieted into silence, but Leo couldn't stop thinking about them. He stepped slowly into the river, forcing himself to think about which way to go.

Like most rivers in this part of the contenent, the river flowed south. If they followed the current, they would move faster with it, but risked running into any hybrids again. If they went north, it would be slower going but less likely to run into past enimies the pair had made in only two days. As this thought stuck him, Leo clenched his fists. "Rosalie..." he hesitated, then decided that he would have to finish. "I'm sorry for endangering you like this. ...You deserve better."

The blonde took a step north against the river. it was easy now, but it would only get harder. He clenched his fists tighter the more he thought about it, but continued to make his main focus the river and plan of action. The other werewolves where bigger than they were, and would be able to cut through the current even faster. It would make so much more sence to go south, especially if the wolves were tailing them. But what if he was wrong? What if he could trust the smaller wolf and he would detour his brother for the time being? No, that was highly unlikely.

"Rule 6," Leo said calmly, taking another step against the current. he turned to Rosalie, a smile beaming on his face again. He would have to move or the Ultra Violet rays would take over him even faster than they had before, even if he felt better at that he wasn't loosing so much blood. "Trust your judgement as equally as your heart."

Leo offered out a hand twards Rosalie, inviting her to jon him. They would have to go upriver for a while, and he would carry Rosalie if he had to. When he felt comfortable, he would leave the river and go west again. His destination woulnd't be detoired quite that easily.

"That didn't look like nothing", Rosalie said softly, "That looked like a painful memory." She stood, dusting herself off. "He's hiding something." she decided, watching as he waded into the river. His wet shirt clung to pale skin as the water rushed past, pulling at its frayed edges. Every detail of him was clearly outlined, as if in a master artisan's sculpture. And the sun shining down on his form and reflecting off of the river perfected the beautiful painting before her.

She blushed when he spoke again, thinking that he'd realized she was staring. She hadn't meant to, it just happened. Rosalie listened to his words, which made her turn an even deeper shade of crimson. "You deserve better." The sentence lingered in her thoughts. Why had he spoken it? She was worth no more than any other being, no more than Leo, or the hybrid  that had given her a chance of escape. He smiled at her and spoke again. "Rule six, Trust your judgement as equally as your heart." Hm.

"Since when have I trusted my heart?" Rosalie asked herself, "It is continuously led me on paths that I cannot follow, to people I could never truly love. But it did lead me here. Because I trusted Leo, I got myself into the biggest adventure of my life. And I'm loving every second of it." 

Rosalie grinned herself, nodding at Leo and following him into the clear blue water. Into the sunlit river. She took his hand in her own, chuckling inwardly when her heart skipped a beat. "Leo", she asked softly, "Have you ever been in love?"

Leo felt Rosalie's fingers touch his own, and he grabbed them tenderly. His heart moved, making his entire chest almost ache. He felt her fingers grip his own and Leo held them as gently as he could and a strict as he dared. Had he not always been told he never knew his own stregth? Besides, even the scars across his fingers might trigger something else he didn't want to remember, some evil place he didn't want to return to. But this... This was too blissful to be spoiled by painful thoughts. This was now, here, in a reflective river with Rosalie.

His bliss was interupted as he took a step against the current and Roslie asked the question, one he'd p*censored*ed and pushed away for what seemed like ages. Fool. An alien voice called from deep in his skull. You can p*censored* all the questions you want but that doesn't make them go away. Leo ignored it as he usually had too and thought. He couldn't say nothing: Tha would only raise her suspision and make her feel uncomfortable.

Minutes seemed like centuries as the blonde thought about how to answer. He was quiet as his world. He'd gone deef in thought, memories that he couldn't quite remember flashing before his eyes, old photographs, laughter... Why was that the only thing he heard? Be blinked involentarily, something he usually didn't have to do. The familiar action seemed to break him of his trance. Returning to the present from his breif trip to no where, he took another set against the current, never letting Rosalie's hand go.

"I've loved," Said Leo at long last. His tone was quiet, almost shaking. "But that's not what you're asking of me, is it?" He chuckled at the retorical question. He was still, voicless for a moment. Leo, a vampire, a creature not usually need of breathing, choked on air. He almost caughed, but the fact that his lungs refused to comply to the body, there was only silence as Leo swallowed. Somewhere he heard the demons began to chant again, dancing around memories long since before forgotten. After a pause he looked up to the sun, breifly debating weather or not to damn it, finally deciding against it. "I think... Somebody told me that love is like a rose. Without other flowers, one cannot hold its own, so they grew harsh thorns that never really go away. For every thorn you take off, another rose grows...."

Leo returned his gaze back down to the water, his stomach turning from looking in the sky for too long. What was there, anyway? Answers? As much as Leo wished there were, the sky and all its contence hadn't brought him anything of great use besides the rare shimmer of hope he found in a constalation or shooting star. Was it a God telling him it would be okay, or sending hope to somebody else? Leo often threw these thoughts away. There was no God and if there was, well, then Leo could go to Hell. Oh, wait, he was already living it. Vampirism was a litteral, ever- lasting Hell. "At least... I think somebody told me that."

But there was something... Something about Rosalie that made him feel better, like there was still hope for not just him, but NightHunters as a whole and even the human race. Maybe one day she'll be a saint. Yes, and the world would be balanced with all the creatures living together and Rosalie would be the cause. There was deffinately something there....

These breif thoughts only made his stomach turn. The Hell had become worse within half a minute. Rosalie was a werewolf. True, their lives were much longer than that of a human's, but even they had a clock that ticked away to some unknown hour. Leo's clock had already rung, and the demons had come to collect his soul from the body. This was the worst kind of curse. Freedom is an illusion, but isn't that what started the theory to begin with?

No, No, No, NO, NO! There would be no thoughts on the Theory, no thoughts on the Cure, no thoughts of hybrids, and no thoughts of memories or painful pasts. None of it. He was here, now, in a clear river past mid day with Rosalie, whose very name and presance swelled blood in Leo's still body, and whose scent was that of a joy sweeter than any cure or science could dare to compare.

((Woah, the day I come back on Res to RP! Awsome timing!))

The blond listened to Rosalie, letting her voice echo Leo's ears. She seemed calm, but at the same time saddened by the memory she shared and a little embarased, maybe, that she was telling him. On that note, why was she telling him this? Okay, a single little question Leo could handle, and maybe and answer back from Rosalie, but why was she explaining herself? There was no need to dig up histories, though, now that he thought about, might just be what she was tring to do. She'd seen his scar, living proof of Leo's greatest embarasment, the base reason of his self-loathing, the reason he had a high tolorance for humans... Rosalie might be in the mood for sharing, but Leo was not and decided right then that he had no intention of telling Rosalie anything about any of his scars.

That's when she said it, the last little blurb of information to pour from Rosalie's mouth. He felt her eyes on his, but didn't look back. He kept looking in the water, the way the sun reflected off its surface. You won't look because you're affraid of what you might see, what memories it will trigger.

Leo hesitated in his step, and prayed that Rosalie didn't notice. Had it been a demon? The voice had been familiar this time, his own. It was the truth and weather it was himself stating the odvious, demons toying with his heartstrings or just wanting to transfer the location of his soul already was hard to tell. For all Leo cared to know, it was all three or some combonation there of. In the end it didn't matter. It was the truth and he was going to prove whoever it was wrong. He looked at Rosalie, catching her silvery eyes in his own and almost lost his footing. After a moment of being locked, transfixed by her gaze, he broke the connection and turned his eyes forward, continueing the walk.

After a breif pause that seemed like a year, he said quietly and as strong as he dared, "You shouldn't forget the good things he brought you. You should keep that and let his memory live on inside you. Keep living, charish every minute." Leo proceded to give Rosalie's hand a little squeeze, wondering how he could remind her of this character. He'd been alive, human while Leo was a blood-draining vampire; He'd done good to Rosalie, made her happy while Leo was just keeping her alive and controlled. "It might be your last."

"A vampire's body is dead, their soul trapped inside. There comes a point where, after so many centuries of preservation, a vampire's body will shut down completely and refuse to aknowladge anymore movement the soul or brain asks for. The body will, eventually, decay and turn into dust or ash. Once the walls of flesh have vanished enough for the vampire's soul to creap through, it is free from that partucular fate. Wheather the soul then stays EArth bound or went to someplace else, being Heaven or Hell, was unknown. Even a vampire was unsure of the ways of p*censored*ing on, even if a well-nourrished, or blood- suppied, body remains intact, almost living for centuries. In this knowladge, it is more than possible for a vampire to p*censored* on into Hell or live forever."

"And annother wonderful display from Dr. Westley Harp! Come now, tell me what you've discoved with our cure." This figure was tall, blond. A vampire?

"'Our cure?' Starec, with as little research as you've conducted, we might as well just mall it mine." This one had long black hair, just an inch or so shorter than the other figure. He was dressed neatly, pray for the slight fraying of torn edges.

"Come off it, Wes! I'm doing all the real work in making sure the Clan doesn't find out!" That's right. The Clan had trusted this figure. But why? Was his blindside not odvious? Trust is the reason for betrayal. Don't trust him.

The fist figure had lost its temper, long raven hair stricking his shoulder as he turned. "What if they want to find out? By the time we're finnished here, the world of Nighthunters will have its cure! There will be no more bloodshed! Is that not exactly as the clan wants?"

No. It wasn't. Why did this pain him. A memory? Leo shoved it back. He would not think of painful topics; Not the reason for his scar, not the way Westley had laughed... It was sickening, and Leo found his stomach doing achrobatics. Why now? Why was the theory appearing to him now, after so many years? Hundreds of them had past since anything relating to the Theory had started and yet...

It was the reason for all of it. It was why Rosalie was standing with him in a small river, the sun pelting his eyes.

((Non-epic post of doom! It feels good to RP again. Sorry for the flashback, my mind decided to dump information and my fingers followed. Ick.))

((Yus!~ ^_^ ))

 Rosalie felt Leo hesitate before turning to her, and then she nearly tripped. "Keep living, cherish every minute. It might be your last." His final utterance echoed throughout her mind, haunting her. In that instant, she felt helpless. She remembered what she hadn't told Leo. That they'd tried to kill her first, for loving a mortal. But he gave his life in exchange for hers. She'd only lived because of his kindness. She only stood there because he'd given the ultimate sacrifice for her, a werewolf.

 "You are correct about this.... Thought both the good and the bad shape our lives, only the good should be remembered about one who is no longer here."