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"And to think it lead to this," Teren thought, looking at Culisi and Kira from the other side of the hall.

He wouldn't be here if he'd been just a bit more careful, realizing that it wasn't just a beautiful girl he'd seen on the streets, but a vampire. If he'd known that, he would never have walked so he'd run into her. Yeah, he had to admit, it hadn't been on accident. She was cute, and he wanted a reason to talk to her. Culisi hadn't looked like the kind of girl that started dating random boys off the street. It was almost funny, the way they'd sized each other up. Culisi's hair had formed a curtain, so when he'd seen her face, or, really, those eyes, set in such a pale face, he felt a mixture of surprise, sadness, and fear. Too perfect to be human. He hadn't just spent five years in training to realize what she really was. Vampire, and now, he'd found her, and brought her into danger, and she was going to die. Maybe...maybe he could just play like she was human, forget about the certain allure she had. "Shouldn't you be watching where you're going? Hello?" She kept walking, for all the world looking younger than she appeared, maybe lost in a daydream. "Are you even listening?" For that question, he spoke a little louder. Now he knew he shouldn't have.

'Whatever happened to just acting like she was normal? I could have let her keep walking.'

"No, not really." A voice full of charm, rising and falling like she sang! Pianissimo! He used to play an instrument, the violin to be exact, before he decided he didn't need to be ordinary. After rather clumsily killing the vampire that killed his brother and meeting Kira, Teren hadn't wanted anything to do with the life he'd had. He left a goodbye note to his parents, who had left their children at home while they picked up supper, packed up his clothes, and left.

Culisi was leaving! Forgetting what he'd said to himself just a few minutes earlier, he grabbed her sleeve. He didn't want to flat out ask her to stay with him, so he decided to demand an apology. He wanted to hear more of her voice. "You're not going to apologize? There isn't any way this was my fault!" So he lied. Here he glimpsed a small bit of anger, just in her voice though.

"Fine, if I may know your name?"

"Teren Fene," he said quickly, a bit eager for her to know, but he had done a good job of hiding the enthusiasm.

"Okay then. I apologize for running into you, Teren Fene. May I no longer be in your way. Am I allowed to leave now?" He hadn't realized he was still holding onto her sleeve until she pointed towards his hand.

He felt himself blush, and was very thankful that probably only she could see it against his dark skin with her eyesight. After letting go, he asked, "Can I know your name?"

"I don't know, can you?" Now he felt stupid. His mother had always said that when Tyler and him had asked for things and said 'can'.

"May I know your name? In case I happen to see you again?" Though Teren knew he shouldn't, he really wanted to. This vampire didn't seem so bad. She was just walking among mortals, and no one looked like she'd done anything life-threatening to them.
At first, he thought he wasn't going to get an answer, because Culisi started to walk away, going much faster than any of the other people walking around, who were just enjoying the nightlife. "You won't be seeing me again if I can help it, but you may know it anyway. It's...Culisi." Though he heard her hesitate, he wanted to talk to her, see if what he thought of her was right, and maybe see what she thought of him. Teren stayed where he was, taking note of her direction. She seemed to be heading for Aniline Park.

'My biggest mistake. I shouldn't have called anyone about her. I don't think she would have killed me if I had just went to talk to her on my own.'

Teren sent a message to the Xiah headquarters, which looked like an abandoned prison with the inside furnishings of a mansion, about a vampire in Aniline Park. Then he went there, hoping that a team would only come if he called. He usually didn't, but he prayed that things would go right before he left for the park.

There, the young woman who looked like a child when she daydreamed. She was sitting on a high branch, which made her look even smaller, though her figure suggested otherwise. Her eyes were closed, and she muttered things occasionally, though he couldn't make anything out. "Culisi?" In response, the pale purple eyes opened slowly, then looked around, slightly confused. "Down here."

She glared down at him. "Didn't you understand that I was hoping not to see you again?" While she talked, a barely audible beep went off, directly in his ear. A team was coming, and now. That was how the Xiah worked. A chip was inserted near the eardrum, which served as a safe way to tell others help was on the way without vampires hearing.
"But I need to tell you that--Wait, you have to let me finish!"

Deftly, she leapt from the branch, landing neatly on her feet. It would have been very gracefully finished if she'd managed to avoid the tripwire when Culisi started to walk away. A bit stunned, eyes wider than usual, she asked quite simply, "Why did I trip?"
Teren didn't answer at first, then decided since this was all his fault, he took this time to explain. "Tripwire. There are slayers nearby and that's why I came. You need to leave."
"You only know because you're one of them. I wish you would have just left me alone like I had told you." Her voice was so calm, yet so full of hatred, it hurt. Culisi quickly stood up, grabbing a long oak stick. Now when she walked away, he saw her search the ground for the telltale silver glint of tripwire.

Desperate for her to leave him without hating him, Teren pleaded forgiveness, though he partly lied. "I'm sorry. I didn't bring them here if that's what you think...." He felt the stone hit the back of his head before he felt the pain. 'Damn it...I didn't bring them, I'm so sorry, Culisi.' Then, everything was gone.

'If only she could have heard me," Teren thought, blinking as he stopped looking at the past and stared at Culisi as she was now. 'And now she's like this. She doesn't remember me now. Or Kira. Only Martin and herself.'

Not wanting to relive their...argument of sorts in the holding room, Teren thought about what had happened in the head slayer's room after they, being Culisi and him, entered. He'd stepped to the side, following the instructions the leader gave him through the chip. Immediately, Teren was surrounded by darkness. Still in the room, seeing all yet see by no one. He hadn't liked hearing him call Culisi, "my dear." Or his taunting her. When the chair turned, he'd almost gasped. That was the vampire he'd killed, the one that had killed his brother. It took a lot of convincing himself that the vampire was dead, Martin was dead now, and what he saw wasn't real. He watched, keeping himself from going near the two.

Holding Culisi's hands in his, the fake Martin said, "My dear, Culisi, don't doubt that I'm here."

'Horrible liar. Don't do anything else. Just kill her now,' Teren thought, already seeing what might happen in his mind's eye. Culisi didn't deserve to suffer that way. Despite that, what he saw still happened. Culisi, again, showing a younger part of herself, stood up on her toes to kiss him. He bent down to receive her. 'Don't do anything more, please,' Teren thought, again wishing his thoughts could be heard. The fake Martin began to hold her much too tightly for it to be loving, and Culisi, obviously not liking it, pushed him away. Or...well, tried to. He barely moved. Teren knew why, because he could see what he was really doing. His leader wasn't kissing Culisi because she was beautiful. He did so to first take away her memories, and if he was allowed to continue, her life.

He decided it was enough when he saw her cry. She couldn't open her mouth, so every sob was muffled. The shroud broke into wisps as he walked though them and grabbed Culisi by her arms and pulled her away. Culisi leaned against him, looking up at him, her eyes slightly unfocused, and said, "Thank you, but who are you?"

Teren had hoped she still remembered him. "...I'm Teren."

"I apologize, um...Teren, but I don't know who you are." Her eyes were fully focused, though he knew she still wasn't sure about much of anything anymore. "But I am grateful." An afterthought, just part of her personality. She'd probably seen his face since he'd realized that she didn't remember him.

"Fene...you should be dead. But, I'm willing to overlook your crimes and revoke your sentence on one condition. Draw that knife from your sheath and kill her." Teren wouldn't if he could. Kira had taken his knife. All he had was the sheath. You'd have to hit someone...okay, he doubted that even hitting someone with inhuman force would allow you to kill them with a sheath. But, why he even thought about that, he didn't know. Teren looked down at Culisi, who was now staring at the fake Martin. He could tell she was scared of him now, though she didn't think that was really him.

"No."

"By choosing her, you choose death."

"Then I choose death."

His leader made the face that wasn't his sneer, and then say, "She doesn't remember you at all, Fene. And even if she did, it wouldn't matter. What her heart wants, you aren't." Though Teren knew it, hearing it was like cutting him again.

'What her heart wants, I'm not. Not anymore. Maybe I never was. Not even when she remembered me,' Teren thought, admiring Culisi's looks in romantic terms for what he hoped was the last time. 'I don't know if I can keep going from loving her to hating her without losing some or all of myself on the way.'

Description
"And to think it lead to this," Teren thought, looking at Culisi and Kira from the other side of the hall.

He wouldn't be here if he'd been just a bit more careful, realizing that it wasn't just a beautiful girl he'd seen on the streets, but a vampire. If he'd known that, he would never have walked so he'd run into her. Yeah, he had to admit, it hadn't been on accident. She was cute, and he wanted a reason to talk to her. Culisi hadn't looked like the kind of girl that started dating random boys off the street. It was almost funny, the way they'd sized each other up. Culisi's hair had formed a curtain, so when he'd seen her face, or, really, those eyes, set in such a pale face, he felt a mixture of surprise, sadness, and fear. Too perfect to be human. He hadn't just spent five years in training to realize what she really was. Vampire, and now, he'd found her, and brought her into danger, and she was going to die. Maybe...maybe he could just play like she was human, forget about the certain allure she had. "Shouldn't you be watching where you're going? Hello?" She kept walking, for all the world looking younger than she appeared, maybe lost in a daydream. "Are you even listening?" For that question, he spoke a little louder. Now he knew he shouldn't have.

'Whatever happened to just acting like she was normal? I could have let her keep walking.'

"No, not really." A voice full of charm, rising and falling like she sang! Pianissimo! He used to play an instrument, the violin to be exact, before he decided he didn't need to be ordinary. After rather clumsily killing the vampire that killed his brother and meeting Kira, Teren hadn't wanted anything to do with the life he'd had. He left a goodbye note to his parents, who had left their children at home while they picked up supper, packed up his clothes, and left.

Culisi was leaving! Forgetting what he'd said to himself just a few minutes earlier, he grabbed her sleeve. He didn't want to flat out ask her to stay with him, so he decided to demand an apology. He wanted to hear more of her voice. "You're not going to apologize? There isn't any way this was my fault!" So he lied. Here he glimpsed a small bit of anger, just in her voice though.

"Fine, if I may know your name?"

"Teren Fene," he said quickly, a bit eager for her to know, but he had done a good job of hiding the enthusiasm.

"Okay then. I apologize for running into you, Teren Fene. May I no longer be in your way. Am I allowed to leave now?" He hadn't realized he was still holding onto her sleeve until she pointed towards his hand.

He felt himself blush, and was very thankful that probably only she could see it against his dark skin with her eyesight. After letting go, he asked, "Can I know your name?"

"I don't know, can you?" Now he felt stupid. His mother had always said that when Tyler and him had asked for things and said 'can'.

"May I know your name? In case I happen to see you again?" Though Teren knew he shouldn't, he really wanted to. This vampire didn't seem so bad. She was just walking among mortals, and no one looked like she'd done anything life-threatening to them.
At first, he thought he wasn't going to get an answer, because Culisi started to walk away, going much faster than any of the other people walking around, who were just enjoying the nightlife. "You won't be seeing me again if I can help it, but you may know it anyway. It's...Culisi." Though he heard her hesitate, he wanted to talk to her, see if what he thought of her was right, and maybe see what she thought of him. Teren stayed where he was, taking note of her direction. She seemed to be heading for Aniline Park.

'My biggest mistake. I shouldn't have called anyone about her. I don't think she would have killed me if I had just went to talk to her on my own.'

Teren sent a message to the Xiah headquarters, which looked like an abandoned prison with the inside furnishings of a mansion, about a vampire in Aniline Park. Then he went there, hoping that a team would only come if he called. He usually didn't, but he prayed that things would go right before he left for the park.

There, the young woman who looked like a child when she daydreamed. She was sitting on a high branch, which made her look even smaller, though her figure suggested otherwise. Her eyes were closed, and she muttered things occasionally, though he couldn't make anything out. "Culisi?" In response, the pale purple eyes opened slowly, then looked around, slightly confused. "Down here."

She glared down at him. "Didn't you understand that I was hoping not to see you again?" While she talked, a barely audible beep went off, directly in his ear. A team was coming, and now. That was how the Xiah worked. A chip was inserted near the eardrum, which served as a safe way to tell others help was on the way without vampires hearing.
"But I need to tell you that--Wait, you have to let me finish!"

Deftly, she leapt from the branch, landing neatly on her feet. It would have been very gracefully finished if she'd managed to avoid the tripwire when Culisi started to walk away. A bit stunned, eyes wider than usual, she asked quite simply, "Why did I trip?"
Teren didn't answer at first, then decided since this was all his fault, he took this time to explain. "Tripwire. There are slayers nearby and that's why I came. You need to leave."
"You only know because you're one of them. I wish you would have just left me alone like I had told you." Her voice was so calm, yet so full of hatred, it hurt. Culisi quickly stood up, grabbing a long oak stick. Now when she walked away, he saw her search the ground for the telltale silver glint of tripwire.

Desperate for her to leave him without hating him, Teren pleaded forgiveness, though he partly lied. "I'm sorry. I didn't bring them here if that's what you think...." He felt the stone hit the back of his head before he felt the pain. 'Damn it...I didn't bring them, I'm so sorry, Culisi.' Then, everything was gone.

'If only she could have heard me," Teren thought, blinking as he stopped looking at the past and stared at Culisi as she was now. 'And now she's like this. She doesn't remember me now. Or Kira. Only Martin and herself.'

Not wanting to relive their...argument of sorts in the holding room, Teren thought about what had happened in the head slayer's room after they, being Culisi and him, entered. He'd stepped to the side, following the instructions the leader gave him through the chip. Immediately, Teren was surrounded by darkness. Still in the room, seeing all yet see by no one. He hadn't liked hearing him call Culisi, "my dear." Or his taunting her. When the chair turned, he'd almost gasped. That was the vampire he'd killed, the one that had killed his brother. It took a lot of convincing himself that the vampire was dead, Martin was dead now, and what he saw wasn't real. He watched, keeping himself from going near the two.

Holding Culisi's hands in his, the fake Martin said, "My dear, Culisi, don't doubt that I'm here."

'Horrible liar. Don't do anything else. Just kill her now,' Teren thought, already seeing what might happen in his mind's eye. Culisi didn't deserve to suffer that way. Despite that, what he saw still happened. Culisi, again, showing a younger part of herself, stood up on her toes to kiss him. He bent down to receive her. 'Don't do anything more, please,' Teren thought, again wishing his thoughts could be heard. The fake Martin began to hold her much too tightly for it to be loving, and Culisi, obviously not liking it, pushed him away. Or...well, tried to. He barely moved. Teren knew why, because he could see what he was really doing. His leader wasn't kissing Culisi because she was beautiful. He did so to first take away her memories, and if he was allowed to continue, her life.

He decided it was enough when he saw her cry. She couldn't open her mouth, so every sob was muffled. The shroud broke into wisps as he walked though them and grabbed Culisi by her arms and pulled her away. Culisi leaned against him, looking up at him, her eyes slightly unfocused, and said, "Thank you, but who are you?"

Teren had hoped she still remembered him. "...I'm Teren."

"I apologize, um...Teren, but I don't know who you are." Her eyes were fully focused, though he knew she still wasn't sure about much of anything anymore. "But I am grateful." An afterthought, just part of her personality. She'd probably seen his face since he'd realized that she didn't remember him.

"Fene...you should be dead. But, I'm willing to overlook your crimes and revoke your sentence on one condition. Draw that knife from your sheath and kill her." Teren wouldn't if he could. Kira had taken his knife. All he had was the sheath. You'd have to hit someone...okay, he doubted that even hitting someone with inhuman force would allow you to kill them with a sheath. But, why he even thought about that, he didn't know. Teren looked down at Culisi, who was now staring at the fake Martin. He could tell she was scared of him now, though she didn't think that was really him.

"No."

"By choosing her, you choose death."

"Then I choose death."

His leader made the face that wasn't his sneer, and then say, "She doesn't remember you at all, Fene. And even if she did, it wouldn't matter. What her heart wants, you aren't." Though Teren knew it, hearing it was like cutting him again.

'What her heart wants, I'm not. Not anymore. Maybe I never was. Not even when she remembered me,' Teren thought, admiring Culisi's looks in romantic terms for what he hoped was the last time. 'I don't know if I can keep going from loving her to hating her without losing some or all of myself on the way.'