A dagger buried itself into the wood of the counter next to the woman’s hand as she reached for her glass. She paused only to glance at it, her crimson eyes glistening behind her sunglasses, before taking her glass and sipping.
“Neko?” a man’s voice said, and a shadow seated itself next to the woman.
“And you must be Theodore Algen,” she replied in a clear, crisp voice, barely above a whisper.
“I’ve been told you have information.”
“Perhaps. Now if you will, remove your blade so I may be more at ease.”
Theodore scoffed. He disbelieved the vampire cat would be scared by his dagger, but did as he was told.
“And your method of payment?” Neko asked, taking another sip of her drink.
“Money of course. What else do I have to give?”
With a quick flash, Neko cocked her head slightly and peered at Theodore over the rim of her glasses. “Mister Algen, do not take me for some common fool. If I were interested in money, which both you and I know I am not, you would not have nearly enough to pay for what information I have. However, since we are similarly aware that I am not interested in such an insignificant item, what do you have that may interest me?”
Theodore gritted his teeth, and kept his gaze locked with Neko for a moment before shifting it to the side. “What do you want?” He asked roughly.
Neko smirked, a thin line forming between her lips. She raised her glass again from the table, gazing into the deep red concoction. She took a deep drink, draining the glass, and set it down on the counter with a soft thud. “Find something I want, and the information is yours.”
The vampire stood and strolled out, her deep red cape-like scarf billowing behind her.

Neko walked down the streets, removing her sunglasses as soon as she had left the bar. Strands of her charcoal hair fell in front of her eyes, but she made no move to brush them aside. Suddenly her senses perked, and her ever-so-slightly pointed ears perked up. She continued walking without a pause, but her skin tingled.
“I am not in the mood for games,” Neko sighed, glancing at the shadows.
“Good, because neither am I,” came a young male voice. From the shadows appeared a sleek black wolf, but only for a moment before it shifted into a porcelain-skinned young man with blonde hair and crystal blue eyes. He tilted his head towards her and smiled.
“What is it, Naota?”
Naota’s smile vanished and he rested the back of his head in his hands, his arms bent back. He gazed up into the sky and shrugged.
“Then leave.”
“Fine. What did you tell him?” Naota asked, looking at Neko from the corner of his eye.
The vampire was looking blankly at the street and its occupants. “I told him if he wanted what I had, he had to get me something I wanted.”
“In other words, you’re playing with him. Since there’s not much I can think that you might want, he’s screwed. Am I right?”
“More or less.” Without another word, Neko transformed into a gray and yellow cat and ran off down an alley.
“You could have at least said goodbye,” Naota mumbled before returning to his own shadows.

After having a few drinks, Theodore left the bar in a sour mood. He had absolutely no idea as to how to get what he wanted, and his information had been slow lately. He was brooding as he walked down the street and small child ran into him.
“Watch it!” he snapped.
“Jane!” called a voice chasing after the little girl. A teenaged boy rushed out after her and put his arms around her protectively, pulling her back. “Say sorry.”
“Sorry,” Jane murmured.
Theodore glanced at the girl and older boy and sighed. “Forget it.” He continued on, quickly forgetting the encounter and returning deep into thought.
“Jane, how many times do I have to tell you?” The teenaged boy, green-eyed and blonde-haired, scolded the girl. “Don’t leave by yourself.”
“Sorry, Erik,” the girl sniffed.
Erik sighed and lifted the girl onto his shoulders. “Come on, let’s go back.”
They returned down the narrow street until they came upon a scrap pile of a house, curtains tattered and doors hanging off a single hinge.
“Erik!” called several small voices.
“You found her!”
“It wasn’t very hard,” Erik smiled, ruffling the boy’s hair. Erik set the girl on the ground and her friends and companions gathered around. “You guys stay here. I’m going out for a few minutes.”
“Okay!” They all called and waved.
As soon as Erik was out of sight from the dimly light windows, he dashed back onto the main road and after the direction the strange man had taken.
He was able to see him and catch up with him, and barely touched his shoulder before the man swung around.
“You,” said the man, bewildered.
“Excuse me, I’m sorry. This may seem like an odd question, but do you know what this is?” Erik produced a worn, blackened sword hilt and held it to the man, though keeping a strong grip on it.
The man studied it, keeping his hands away at noticing how the youth held it. “It’s a sword hilt,” he said easily, slightly annoyed.
“Yes, I know,” Erik spoke quickly, so as not to lose the man’s attention. “But specifically.”
The man bent in closer, and his eyes lit up slightly. “It’s an officer’s hilt. It belonged to an army’s general once.”
“What?” Erik cried.
“Shut up,” the man hissed. “Be quiet, or you’ll draw attention.”
“A general?” Erik asked, astonished but quieter.
“Yeah, from a place called…” The man thought for a moment. “Österhaven. That’s it. It was an island nation once. It was destroyed some years back.
“Oh,” Erik said, casting his gaze downwards.
“That all, kid?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
The man waved a hand and walked off. Slowly, Erik headed back to his home with the children.



To Be Continued. . .