Welcome to Gaia! ::

It was an almost breathtaking night, a brisk chill to the air. Cars raced through streets to get to their destinations, not caring if red lights were ran, or if people were in the streets. It was late enough that most people had gone home, tucking themselves away in their beds. A few of the street rats and other more dangerous people lurked in the shadows, ones that didn’t care for the humans that they walked the streets with. Some carried themselves with grace, others with an animalistic desire that almost overtook them.

The girl wasn’t the only creature to be wandering towards an unknown destination. A single raven, its restless eyes taking in its hunting grounds, perched atop the ledge of an abandoned church. Beside it sat a lifeless gargoyle, its dark gaze staring unseeingly at an imaginary foe that wasn’t there. A small wisp of smoke cast its odorous pallor over the statue for a moment before being swept away by a lingering wing. The raven cocked its head at the source of the smoke and peered at a dark silhouette that was barely seen, kneeling in the shadow of the ancient guardian. The figure’s cold gaze met that of the curious bird before it spread its ebony wings and took flight, leaving the source of its puzzlement behind. There was a low sigh followed by another puff of smoke as the shadowed figure took a drag from a half-consumed cigarette and allowed the smoke to pass through her lips. The womanly figure stood up to stretch, letting her long black hair to sweep into the wind, hiding her face for a few precious moments before it was swept back by a pale-skinned yet almost delicate hand with nails the color of a sinner’s heart. The rest of the woman was hidden behind the slim shield of a leather trench coat and thick leather boots that scrapped against concrete as she stepped away from the edge and cast the cigarette to the earth below.

Her footsteps were odd, shuffling about as she looked around in the alley. A soft sigh escaping her lips as she leaned against the wall, closing her eyes for a moment as she thought. A chuckle floating through the air as her thoughts brought new images to her mind, her parents, oh how she despised them. Never mind them, maybe she’d get away this time, letting herself go as she wandered deeper in to the city. Shoving off the wall, she continued, wondering just where her little adventure would take her.

She made her way off of the steps of the chapel and down the street that would lead her deeper into the slums of the city. She had nothing to fear and she needed no moon to light her path. With her heightened senses, she could smell the faint scent of sweat mixed with alcohol and lust from the strip club a few blocks away. She could even hear the low murmur of conversations from a third floor apartment room followed by a low sighs from the darkened bedrooms. Another night, another victim of hard times looking for a way to escape the daily trauma. Despite herself, a small smile crossed her lips as she slipped her hands into the deep pockets of her coat. She didn’t do it to keep them warm nor did she need the cheap cigarette she had smoked a few moments before. They were all habits for another time she didn’t want to break away from. She let her eyes wander over the nearly unavoidable sight of graffiti covered walls and empty bottles, decomposing waste, and other items of trash that littered the street. In one doorway of a foreclosed diner, a homeless man slept peacefully covered with the sports section of that days paper and snoring loud enough to be heard from a few houses down. With a small sigh, she dug a few crumpled bills from her pocket and tucked them into the man’s dirty hands before making her way down the street, losing herself to deeper thoughts.

The man grinned, his teeth glinting oddly in the shadows. He shrugged carelessly and let his travel down the girls form appreciatively. “You seem a bit young to be out so late…and in such a dangerous neighborhood. Haven’t your folks ever taught you to stay indoors?” He walked closer and his features came into sharp focus. He was about two feet taller than she was and seemed to be built solidly. His hair was long enough the cover part of his face, but left his dark colored eyes open. His gaze carried an un-nerving predatorily stare that didn’t match the appealing smile he donned as he met her eyes again. He took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and held them out to her. “Do you smoke?” He tossed the remainder of his on the ground and crushed it under his boots.

She gave the man an odd look, then shook her head, “I enjoy being outside.” She frowned and backed off from the man, a chill running through her bones. “I’m quite fine being out here. It could be worse.” She gave a shrug as she watched him, glancing down at the boots he used to stomp out the cigarette.

She broke from her thoughts and stopped in her tracks as a new scent invaded her senses. The smell of a hunt and primal hunger. She muttered a curse in her native tongue and quickened her pace, her feet not making a sound as she walked over stray pages of paper and old grocery bags in her path. Hunter. Beast. The wind whispered softly into her ear, goading her into using breaking into jog and down a narrow alley leading into a different part of town she didn’t visit often. Something was on the hunt and it was likely that the creature was hungering for warm blood and flesh to sink its teeth into. She sighed and, without another thought, was on the roof of the nearest building and still moving, leaping over wide spaces between buildings as if they were mere cracks in concrete. Someone was going to die tonight…

She stared out towards the mouth of the alley with blue eyes, an odd look on her face as the man turned the corner. Pressing her lips together, she let out a long breath through her nose before walking towards the entrance, curious about the man but at the same time wanting to get out of the alley and at least in to the light of the streetlamps. People didn’t look out for each other, she knew that much, especially not random people from the streets. Stopping just at the edge of the alley, feet resting in that reassuring glow from the streets.