To Be Needed

Echo felt the fingers in her hair relax a bit and sunk her teeth in deeper. As she drank she watched to make sure she didn't take too much before pulling away from the neck of her latest victim. She swiped her tongue across to capture any remaining blood before pulling away. She brushed the red hair from the younger girl's face and waited for her to collect herself. After a moment, blue eyes opened and she smiled. This was Willow. Willow had been around for probably a month and she wouldn't stay around for another month. Willow was only eighteen and she, like most girls her age and younger, still liked to gossip. If she did, she might let something slip and that could not happen.

"Are you okay?" Echo asked as she stepped a bit back from the girl so she wasn't pushing her against wall anymore. She glanced at entrance of the small alleyway to make sure the two didn't draw any unnecessary attention.

"Better then okay," Willow said wrapping her arms around Echo's neck. She returned the girl's hug, sad that she would have to let her go soon. "I thought you forgot about me, I was getting all paranoid and worried. I think I was actually getting sick too." Willow said and Echo rubbed the girls back.

"I've been busy, I'm sorry. I'll come around soon to see you, I promise." Echo said before pulling away a bit so she could see the girl's face. "But remember, you can't tell anyone about this. Our secret, okay?" She said giving the girl a solemn look. The girl nodded fast to reassure her and Echo smiled. She leaned down and kissed the girl before pulling away. "I have to leave, but be careful on your way home"

Willow's face fell a little as they made their way towards the mouth of the alley. "You won't walk me home?" Echo smiled and shook her head.

"Not tonight, but I will be back, I promise. So don't look so sad." Echo said softly as she turned and joined the busy crowds of Binghamton, New York.

Echo probably would drink from Willow once more, draining her completely before disposing the body. She didn't want the girl to die agonizing and painful death because she was so sweet, both in taste and personality. It was sad to kill her though, but Echo couldn't risk anything. Her grandfather always taught her that humans should only last as long as they have to, not as long they want to. Echo hoped she would go as peacefully as the last one did.

She sighed as she made her way to the nearby park. It was a chilly night, her breath was visible in the November weather. Snow was going to start falling within the next day or two. Echo dressed lightly, in a hoodie and faded jeans, her dark hair was loose and settled around her waist. Around her people were wearing winter coats already, but Echo found them stifling. However, when snow started to fall she would have no choice but to dress warmer. She arrived at the park and took a seat on a bench. there was no one around and she could use this time to think. She wasn't ready to go back home, Willow might have followed her, as so many victims had done in the past. Victims. Were they really? They always came back to her. Was it because it felt so good for them; a forbidden pleasure they coul dget from no one else? Or maybe it was just nice to be needed by someone. Another sigh escaped her lips.

[Michael "Bakqui" Thatcher]

Michael's boots crunched across the lightly frosted grass. His cane skipped along the ground in front of him, indicating stones and dips. The cold night air fogged his breath but made no chill against his skin, nor was he cold. His black and white striped scarf hung loosely about his neck. White snow crusting on the toes of his shoes he felt the ground change into one of the many dirt paths that wound through the park. His sensitive ears caught the sound of a sigh off to his left. He turned toward the sound, tapping his way along. He counted his steps carefully, for this direction was outside the normal route he took through the park after work.

Michael paused a few feet away from a bench, eyes unfocused and almost unblinking in the chilly night air.
"Mind if I join you?" Michael asked quietly, thumbs tucked into his pockets.

[Jesep Carrigan]

The male flew along the side walks five feet above the ground to avoid the main obstacles of trashcans, benches, and mailboxes. Both his feet where firmly attached to his hoverboard by the high tech electromagnets embedded in his heels and his board. Jesep had his knees bent slightly, his right hand gripping the edge of the board as he zipped along at a good pace, probably twenty miles and hour. He leaned from side to side, dodging the trees along the way. Suddenly he slid the board upon its length horizontally and leaned up, causing the board to stop.

He was on the edge of Central Park, a place he usually tried to avoid cause half the time his hoverboard tended to not find a solid enough surface to hover from, unless he stayed beneath the trees in which case he had to go so slow because of all the trees. He paused, contemplating then dropped to two feet from the ground and moved forwards slowly. Although he couldn't exactly be stealthy because of the whining of the motors in his board powering it, he had quite a few tricks up his sleeve, just in case.

He spooted a female, seated upon a bench and he deactivated the clamps to his feet. He hopped off his board and powered it down, grabbing it under his arm and walking towards her even as another male walked up to her. He was dressed in a black jump suit like outfit, with green markings upon them. Upon his face was a green paint ball style mask that actually filtered the air he breathed, and the goggles a simple HUD that showed distance and speed. It currently showed the female and male at a distance of fifteen feet from him and he was moving at two and half miles and hour.

Finding this kind of information unnecessary at the time he reached up and powered off his goggles. He slid them up on to the top of his head and pulled his mask down and smiled as he walked right up to the male and female. "Good evening Sir and Ma'am. How are we this fine evening. Great night for a ride yes?" He heft his board slightly. Yes it was a bit chilly, but that was part of the fun of it. It helped keep on awake while searching for wrong doers in his city.

Echo had been lost in her thoughts, when she heard tapping. The tapping was getting closer out of curiosity she turned to see the source. She watched as a young man made his way towards her with a cane. As he stopped she took a closer look at his face. Blind. But also not human, she could tell. Echo was intrigued to say the least. When he asked to join her she nodded out of habit as she wasn't much of a talker. After a moment she laughed quietly at her idiocy.

"Yes, of course. Though isn't it a bit chilly to be out so late?" She asked as she noticed his scarf wasn't doing much to protect him from the cold. She moved over to make room. He seemed capable, but she had to bite her lip to prevent herself from asking if he needed help anyways.

Then to her left came the sound of someone else approaching and she turned to see another male headed towards them. This one with a board of some kind, which puzzled Echo thoroughly. He was human. He came over immediately striking up a conversation, saying something about a good night for a ride. Taking a closer look at the board she noticed it was very high tech. Interesting.

"I suppose, but it is a little cold, shouldn't you be wearing something warmer? You'll catch a cold dressed lightly." Echo said smiling. She had a habit of mothering it seemed, but she was really just worried for people's safety. Ironic since she had caused death more times than once, but she couldn't help who she was. She also couldn't help the fact that she cared about people, even strangers, more so than she probably should.

[Michael "Bakqui" Thatcher]

Michael smiled in a friendly manner. Harmless was his whole nature. He tapped his way over to the base of the bench and slowly reached down, hand seeking the bench surface.
"If I sit on you I do apologize, but usually I'm pretty good with this kind of thing.". he joked, flopping down onto the bench. He cast a look in her general direction, then up toward the electric whirring that accompanied the other male voice.

"I'm not sure about our other visitor, but I am genetically dispositioned to cold weather such as this." Michael answered. He collapsed his cane to about a foot in length and let it hang from his wrist by the wrist strap. "As for you, either you too are not bothered by the cold or you're wearing a fur parka. Regardless, I think it's a very pleasant evening." Michael relaxed against the bench and stared into space, listening to their surroundings. He noticed an interesting little quirk in the breath of the woman. If he listened hard enough, there was something odd in her heartbeat too. He tended to only notice such peculiarities in other supernaturals, but didn't press for information.

[Jesep Carrigan]

Jesep chuckled at the mention of the cold and grasped the girl's hand gently. He slid a single one of her fingers beneath the sleeve of his suit, letting her feel how warm it was beneath. "I am in no danger of freezing, Ma'am. Don't worry yourself about that. However, as you are clearly more then human as your own skin is pretty cold yourself and a slight shiver runs upon my back from touching you I would dare say," He leaned in close towards her so his face was but a few inches from her own as he whispered, "you are a vamprye. Also, by deducing more so, our friend here would be an ice elemental. Your genetic comment gave it away. You should be more careful my blind friend. There are those who know of you both and would be more then happy to despose of you."

He leaned against his board away from them and chuckled. "Don't be surprised I know of you. There is a club I got in to once and I hang out at during the evenings quite often now. It is directly cartered to your unique....well things that should be hidden from most human eyes." He chuckled at this comment. He had indeed stumbled upon the club once, a Hidden Nights Star in the parts of town most people tried to avoid. He had been hunting a demon at the time who had killed a girl. He ended up catching him finally and giving him to the police, and had promtply had to run from the badges himself.

Echo let a small laugh pass her lips at the man's joke as he sat down next to her. He seemed like a genuinely nice person, and if so, him and her would get along just fine. Out of habit, and unaware, Echo fiddled with the ends of her hoodie. She found herself intrigued at the man's comment about genetic disposition. However, it seemed the other gentleman had caught on right away and she looked up in curiosity.

And as she opened her mouth to speak she was surprised when the still-standing man grabbed her hand as the slid her fingers under his jacket. His skin was warm to the touch as hers were the exact opposite, due to the fact that she had been out for quite some time with Willow. She was surprised that he was hands on, so to speak, with strangers. She herself was a hands on person, however she kept a polite distance with strangers as she was taught.

The man leaned in close and whispered words about her and the gentleman seated next to her that made Echo's eyes widen. She was more so interested in the man next to her's identity; an ice elemental. How....unique. She had never had the pleasure of meeting one. She felt a small smile grace her face as she turned to look at him with almost a childish fascination. The man in front of her, however, his identity was no secret at this point.

"A hunter? How....ironic," Echo said smiling towards him in amusement. She had just finished feeding. "Well secret's out, I suppose. My name is Echo Vandervelon, it's nice to meet both of you." Echo said holding out a hand to the hunter first and next the ice elemental. Even with their races and....occupations, she found no reason for hostility.

[Michael "Bakqui" Thatcher]

Judging by the pause and introductions, Michael assumed a hand had been offered to him. He reached out slowly, fingertips groping slightly for the hand he assumed was there. It wasn't hard to find the slightly chilly fingers. He slid his hand into hers and gave a polite shake. Slender fingers on a petite hand seemed to fit neatly into his larger, callused appendage.
"Michael Thatcher" he introduced himself.

"Yes, well met you two. Good to know this hunter won't be after us at least at this moment. To be honest I didn't know elementlals garnered a high spot on your list. Vampyres, well, that's another story." Michael said, one hand wandering over to feel the curved arm of the park bench. The freezing wrought iron imprinted the image of leaves and other arboreal tendrils on his mind's eye. The hunter was clearly a very forward man. Michael had passed into conversation with many a natural and supernatural being, but only certain senses or their own recognition of his ice powers brought each race to light.

[Jesep Carrigan]

Jesep chuckled and shook his head. "Yes, neither of you are in to much trouble around me. Unless you do much law breaking around my city. I hunt both supernatural and human criminals. You would be amazed at how many humans are just as dangerous as some supernaturals. I took it upon myself to hunt them down and return them to justice." He shook the female's hand firmly then the ice elemental's in turn.

He looked between them and smiled. "So what are we up to this evening? I can guess as to our vampryess here, but what about you Mr. Thatcher? What are you doing out so late at evening, weather aside. Especially for a man of your, well, condition." He leaned against his board, looking around them to make sure that they where alone. His four spheres hung around his waist, the two larger where his personal bombs and the two smaller where would open up when the button was depressed and turning in throwing weapons with two blades upon each wing.

The blind man was named Michael Thatcher and the hunter had not given his name. "Your name?" Echo asked the hunter.

Echo replaced her hands in her lap after she had shaken each man's hand respectively. Michael had mentioned that vampyres were high on the list for hunters, but Echo wasn't all that worried. She blended well with others and made sure not to draw too much attention to herself. Since she kept her victims around for a while, and distributed them all around the city, hunters blamed other supernaturals and while it might not be fair, she had to make sure she had her back covered even if someone else had to take the fall for it.

The hunter was also a cop. He obviously had a deep sense for justice. At his comment about what Echo might be doing, she couldn't help but let a small smile grace her face. "Oh? And what might I be up to?" She asked amused.

She turned to look at the Michael to see how he handled the comment about his 'condition'. Echo knew that some people with disabilities could e highly sensitive about it being mentioned. Michael didn't seem like the type to get hysterical or even angry at it. She wondered what it would be like to be blind, to not be able to see the world. Was it difficult? Or maybe if he was born blind it didn't bother him so much? And if he lost his eyesight later in life? The subject, albeit rude to bring up, was intriguing.

"Pardon my rudeness, but were you born blind?" Echo asked in a small voice, not being able help herself; she was so curious.

[Michael "Bakqui" Thatcher]

Michael wasn't surprised when the conversation turned to his lack of eyesight. Most people couldn't help but ask. If he thought about it, he would probably be curious if he was in their position as well. It used to be that remembering the slow deterioration of his eyesight instantly depressed him. There was still a twinge of, was it perhaps disappointment? When he thought of the circumstance and the timing. But he had had years to adjust and would have years more so the mild emotion of "disappointment" was usually what he mustered up when contemplating his eyesight.

"No I had a pretty unfortunate accident when I was a kid. Nothing that exciting, just a serious bump on the head. Over a few months my vision just slipped away." He explained, gesturing vaguely with one hand as though he was indicating his eyesight floating off.

"As for why someone with 'my condition' would be out so late, if you could see nothing but blackness, night wouldn't be so different than daylight would be right? Plus I work late around here." Michael finished simply, shrugging.

The hunter might say he was a hunter for justice and nothing more, but Michael kept his ears especially perked and his other senses high, just in case. Because if he were a hunter, blind prey would certainly make an easy target. Of course, that was the one thing Michael would never want to be considered. Prey, helpless. If he was all about justice, well than how interesting to meet a vigilante superhero. The vampyre intrigued Michael thoroughly though, she was friendly and open, yet still managed to guard against careless statements. There was something to be said for people who said what they were thinking.

[Jesep Carrigan]

Jesep chuckled and shook his head. "Oh, I don't just give out my name. Sorry about that. I have to protect my "secret" identity and everything you know. Alas, I have yet to be given the honor of some cool name by the newspapers. They just keep calling me a vigilante and having the cops chase after me. For what I don't know as I only bring criminals to jail. Have only killed two people. Both where human, and it is easily justifiable. They did open fire on me with fully automatic weapons." Jesep rolled his eyes at the remembrance. Drug lords, never knew when to quite.

He nodded at the ice elemental and grinned. "Oh, I understand that. Working late, it is my specialty after all." He hefted his board in emphasis upon that point. "And I guess you are right. Night time would not bother one who is in perpetual dark. No offense meant. Besides, being blind is useful. For one, you would be practically immune to super bright lights that would stun or blind other people."

The hunter said he was protecting his identity by not giving out his name. So he wasn't a cop, Echo mused. He was in fact chased by cops and he was still on their side. She thought it was somewhat unfair for cops to be chasing after people that are on their side. To her, it just seemed pointless. Echo didn't necessarily approve of people taking justice into their own hands, but when it rids one more bad person of the world and could save 20 more lives, who were they to really complain? A wasted effort on their part she thought, trying to catch a good guy and lock him up.

Michael said that he was in a bad accident and his eyesight slowly deteriorated which seemed all the more worse to Echo. Instead of losing your eyesight on impact, you watch as everything around you slowly fades from your sight and know that it will never come back. It seemed very cruel. Echo took his hand and squeezed it, smiling; not in sympathy, she was just happy that he could be strong enough to not let it get him down. She let go and returned her hands to herself as she played with her heavy pendant that hung from her neck. She traced over the carvings on it with her nail absentmindedly.

"As long as it doesn't make you miserable. I always wondered what it would like to be blind. They say that when you lose one of your senses, the other four shift into super gear. Is that how it is?" Echo was excited to be able to learn about something so interesting. She looked at the hunter. "Do you have any disabilities?" She asked, wanting to know something about the hunter.

[Michael "Bakqui" Thatcher]

Michael was a little startled when he felt Echo take his hand, and thought the gesture was kind of funny, even though he knew it was not done out of sympathy.
"I'll tell you all about what the world is like for me, but in return you'll both have to tell me what it's like to be hunters. You are a hunter in a way aren't you Echo?" he laughed, enjoying the curious tones.
"My senses are pretty pumped up, plus I've heard that all supernaturals, elementals included, have increased senses."

The disability question, know that caught him off guard. He almost laughed, but then if the hunter really did have a disability that would be pretty uncool of him. He was pretty flippant with his own problem, but he knew that others were more sensitive about certain things.

When he first started living on his own, he had been obligated by the state to meet with a support group, just to make sure a blind teen living alone in New York didn't intend to walk in front of a bus or something. Many of the people in there clung to that support group because their lives depended on it.

[Jesep Carrigan]

Jesep listen to the both of them, smiling and shaking his head with total amusement. Her question about a disablity was actually exeedingly humorous. At least it was to himself. He nodded at Michael however when he talked about better senses and chuckled aloud. He leaned his board up against the bench and half sat upon the handle beside the female.

"Well, what Michael says about the superior sense of all, how was it you put it, supernaturals is correct. Most of use measely humans have nothing close to what you all have in senses, strength or agility. This is why I have learned to be extremely intuitive about things, reading in to certain comments most take for granted like when I was able to tell Michael was an elemental and you a vampiress. As to if I have any disabilities, well, I have a certain weakness for excepetionally magnificent women such as yourself and tend to be very flamboyant with them in a very certain place." He winked at Echo and grinned.