Getting Lost, Being Found

Echo wasn't exactly sure where she was, but she didn't mind much. She wanted to do some exploring and while cities were fun and made it easier for her to feed, nature was also a good place to explore. She ate before she left for the woods and now she was lost. It was November and snowing. Echo was dressed in her usual black hoodie, the hood covering the top of her head and the fur lining the hood tickling her face. She left her hair to flow over her shoulder and rest around her waist. She wore jeans and a pair of dark winter boots to protect her feet. She was hardly prepared to be wandering around Canadian forests.

Echo thought about her latest victim as she walked, though her face contorted at the word. were they really victims? They liked it when she fed off of them, though that might be just because of the type of vampire she was. But, she liked having them around, because after all they needed her too. Once bitten, if not drained, they could die a horrible and slow death. So they needed her just as much as she needed them. Was that really a victim? Echo didn't want to think so. Her latest victim was a bit stifling though. Her name was Ebony and she was a bit obsessive. She even had the nerve to try and follow the vampire back to her apartment. In the end Echo drained. She couldn't risk things getting out of hand. A sigh escaped her. She could see her breath as she brushed aside a pine branch.

This particular forest she was in though, was very nice. The trees were evergreen and thick and close together so avoiding direct sunlight was very easy, though Echo need not worry about it right now since it was somewhere close to midnight. She pushed her way through the snow covered trees and paused when she reached a small clearing. It didn't seem like anyone had come across this place yet since the snow was fresh. She struggled to get through the deep snow -coming up to almost her knees- and ended up falling back right in the middle of the clearing.

Echo couldn't help the burst of quiet laughter that fell from her lips as she sat in the snow for a moment. Her body structure was small and even the snow was too much for her. Super strength and she's still overpowered by snow. She laughed again at the thought.

[Chiha Tanka]

Walking through the thick snow with ease, his hair kept him warm from the cold snow though it didn't stop him from stopping every now and then to warm up and rest under a large pine tree where there was no snow. Hearing the sound of snow crunching under someones foot steps he looked around in front of him and listened, he thought he heard someone, making his breaths longer to listen he heard the steps behind him. Crouching he looked through the pine trees needles and limbs.

Seeing movement in the distance he watched it, realizing its a female human he sighed and shook his head thinking to his self. "What is she doing out here.. she will die if she doesn't go back.. why is she even out here." Watching the woman he saw her walk into the clearing, having even more trouble with the snow he shook his head and kept watching.

The snow coating his fur kept him somewhat blended into the terrain, he was drenched, the snow having melted once it lingered on his body enough, he knew he would have to find shelter soon for the night to dry off. Watching the girl fall and struggle to get back up in the snow he thought of if he should help her or not. He decided to wait and see if she could get back up or not. Listening to her laugh he wondered why she was laughing.

Echo's laughter seem to carry through the forest, but soon died down as the chill began to sink in. She tried to push up with her arms and ended up sinking her arms farther in the snow. she briefly wondered if there was any end to the snow as it almost came up to her shoulders. She pulled one of her hands out shaking the snow off and pressing it against the back of her neck which was the warmest. A shiver ran through her body. She really wasn't dressed for this.

After several more attempts to get up Echo was beginning to get worried. How long would it take to get out? If the cold didn't get her, the sun would. A vampire stuck in the snow, this would make a nice story to tell when she got out. She took a moment to look up at the night sky, the stars were out and oh so bright. Echo liked watching stars, the way they twinkled and the pictures you could draw with them. However the cold was starting to seep in. She looked around, but as expected saw nothing. Just as she was giving up, she heard something shift in the woods. Though the chances of someone being there were low, she still tried.

"Hello?" Echo's voice was quiet as she called out. "Is anyone there? I could use just a bit of help." She said shivering. Echo knew somethings like this could happen, but at the time it didn't seem like a big deal. She didn't expect to wander far, she just got caught up in her thoughts.

[Chiha Tanka]

Watching the girl he saw she got her self stuck even more in the snow, shaking his head he stood up and kept watching her. Seeing she was in trouble he looked up at the sky before back down at her. Stepping out from behind the tree he kept to the thick trees, circling towards her slowly as he watched her. Listening to her calling out for help he stopped in his tracks behind a tree, watching her through it he spoke in the deep voice that was off from a humans voice but still understandable. "You are a fool for being out here. Can't you humans stay to your cities?"

Breathing slowly to listen carefully as he watched her. Not understanding humans one bit especially this one, she had hardly the clothes on to be out there. The girl would die if she didn't get to shelter and warmth soon. He couldn't leave her out here, he may hate humans but he wouldn't leave one to die in the cold.

Echo heard more sounds, almost like she was being circled and then a voice that wasn't human spoke. She searched for the source, but it was too dark and the only source of light was the moon which just illuminated the outlines of the forest around her. she wasn't scared, she was hardly incapable of protecting herself. So she wasn't frantic, just mildly concerned. She sensed some hostility from whoever was out there towards humans. Did she look that human? She laughed a small laugh again and smiled at the thought.

"So if I'm not human am I less at fault for being out here?" She said looking around still for the being. "Are you really that unwilling to help me out? I'm not human, but I'm not immune to freezing to death." Echo said a shudder violently rocked through her body.

She wondered what kind of being lived in the forests and why would they be out so late. Then again, Echo hadn't seen much of the world so she only knew what she had read about in books and what she had experienced since she left her grandfather's- which was next to nothing. So she was eager to meet new beings, but this one didn't seem so eager about meeting her.

[Chiha Tanka]

Being used to the darkness he could see her almost perfectly, it helped that she was in the clearing under the moons light but still, he had good vision at night. Able to walk without problems and even run with out much difficulty with foliage. Watching the girl he saw her looking around, getting a better look on her he could tell there was something different with her. Hearing her he sighed and spoke again. "No, it doesn't, being out this late in winter is a death wish." Pausing for a minute he spoke again. "If you are not human then what are you.. you look and stink of a human.." Pulling the branch down to get a better look at her he knew the darkness would give him cover, and being behind her helped.

The snow falling off the branch landed on the other branches, causing them to shake the snow loose, making noise as it hit the snow below. Knowing she would be able to tell where he was he didn't mind since he knew she couldn't do much in that position. Most she could do was call for help, but out this far and time of year help wouldn't come fast if any one heard her. Glancing around every now and then and listening for any one that might of followed her.

The being said something about her smelling likes humans and Echo -more to amuse herself than anything else- turned her head to the side and sniffed herself. She actually thought she smelled like citrus. However, she could understand why he would mistake her as one, she spent enough time associating around them to cover up any supernatural scent. She smiled a small smile and squinted in the darkness to try and pinpoint the voice as she spoke.

"If I'm not human, what am I?" Echo said repeating the question asked. "If you help me out I'll tell you, I promise." Echo said supporting herself up with one hand as she held her pinkie up with the other, smiling.

She heard a noise behind her, snow falling off branches. She turned her head to were the sound originated from and though she couldn't see him, she knew he was there. She decided to just fall back in the snow. She sunk a bit and gave a half-hearted sigh, her breath coming out visible under the moonlight.

"I could really freeze to death out here, human or not. So if you could be so kind..." Echo said trailing off as she stuck her hand in the air, silently asking for assistance.

[Chiha Tanka]

Looking at her he listened to her before watching her turn to look at him. Stepping out from behind the tree he looked at her before looking around for a place of shelter. Not seeing any in the area he knew of one not to far, if the girl could make it was a different question. He could guess he will have to carry her.

Walking up to the girl he spoke "Fine, I will help you.. We are to far from the city to take you there.. I know a different place to stay. Reaching down he sunk his massive arm under the snow and reached under the girls stomach, picking her up her nimble body he set he down back on her feet in the harder packed snow a couple feet from her. Towering over her he looked down at her, kneeling down to her level he looked in her eyes before speaking again. "Run if you wish, but you wont last long, I will show you where to stay for the night."

Echo heard the being come up to her and an arm came around her and lifted her right out of the snow as if she weighed nothing. And she was set on stiffer, more solid ground. The first thing she noticed was the smell. It wasn't overpowering, but it wasn't pleasant either and she forced herself not to respond to it. She looked at the creature in front of her and if she was anything, she was fascinated.

He was covered in hair from head to toe towered over the small 5'4'' vampire. Echo had never seen a Sasquatch before and her eyes shined in awe and she looked up at him. She wondered where he lived, how old he was, who he associated with, if there was more of him, and even more. She wanted to know all about him. To her, seeing him was like a human finding a unicorn. It was just magical. He said something about running and the corner of her mouth quirked up in amusement.

"Run? I can hardly walk. Besides you're offering to help me, how could I refuse such an offer?" Echo said as she looked around. She looked back at him and smiled, her fangs elongating to show the Sasquatch. "Sometimes people run away from me too, but you know after the first bite they're fine. it doesn't hurt at all, quite the contrary. It's just the appearance of it. Do people judge you by appearance?" She asked as she waited for him to lead the way. She gasped and almost smacked her forehead at her rudeness. "My name is Echo Vandervelon, please to make your acquaintance." Echo said holding out her hand.

[Chiha Tanka]

Looking at her he wondered why she didn't run, most people ran at the sight of him. Listening to her he stayed quiet for a few minutes, looking at her teeth and listening to her. "They run before they even see me.. They call me.. Chiha Tanka. I have heard of your kind.. Never met one or seen one before you though." This girl was strange, something about her he liked, standing up fully he turned and began to walk towards where he came from, knowing a large cave system in the hills not to far from here.

Every now and then he looked back to see where she was, he noticed the trouble she had while walking, thinking that she will just slow them down and it will take forever to get there, she would freeze to death before then. Waiting for her to catch up he looked down at her before leaning down to wrap his arm around her thighs and pick her up ease before continuing on to the cave.

Echo couldn't help but feel a little bad for the primate, Chiha Tanka. Being judged prematurely was the way people became misunderstood, sometimes even hated. And hate is like a fire, spreading quickly, getting under your skin, and burning you from the inside out. Echo wished to never hate anyone, even her grandfather that kept her on a short leash, basically held her by the collar. But he saved her from being thrown away and taught her everything she needed to know, so she was grateful. As Chiha turned, she wondered if someone taught him everything her knew or if he had to learn it by himself.

As they made their way through the snow, Echo struggled to keep up with the primate. The snow was way too much for her clearly, but she was determined. Chiha would look back at her every couple of minutes and he seemed to notice she wasn't getting very far by herself. He waited for her to catch up, which made her hurry the best as she could while still keeping herself as upright as possible. When Echo finally caught up to him he cheeks were flushed from the exertion and she was slightly out of breath. And in one fell swoop Chiha picked her up and continued walking.

Echo gave him a sheepish smile as she covered her face slightly with her hand. "Sorry for the hassle, usually I'm more capable and self-sufficient. I guess I underestimated Canadian winters." Echo said with an apologetic tone as she made out the outlining of the cave. When they reached the entrance Chiha set her down, and she was happy when her feet hit solid rock. She walked in after Chiha into the darkness of the cave.

[Chiha Tanka]

Carrying her he listened to her words before speaking as they approached the cave. "Most animals have trouble in the snow, it is fine." Setting her down on the ground in the cave he walked past her, into the cave. Crouching down he looked around for a couple rocks, finding them he gathered the few pieces of wood and dead grass from the cave entrance. Putting the wood and grass together he took the rocks in each hand, hitting them against each other they sparked. Getting the rocks close to the grass he began doing it quickly until it caught. The fire slowly grew, he added more grass and small sticks to it until it got of size to take larger sticks. The fire wouldn't last through the night but it would warm her up. Sitting near the fire he watched her, still wondering why she didn't fear him.

Echo laughed as she followed Chiha. "Are you calling me an animal?" She asked with a smile as she sat down next to the fire. She sat cross-legged as she took off her hoodie to brush the remaining snow off and sat it next to her for a minute. Her tiny frame shook as she pulled her hair back into a low bun before quickly replacing her hoodie back over her shoulder.

The fire was small but Echo was grateful. It crackled and moved and she found it almost mesmerizing the way it had a life of its own. She thought back to how she compared hate to a fire. She wondered if hate could be controlled like this fire was. This fire was controlled, it couldn't burn the stone floor that they sat on so it couldn't destroy everything in it's way. She wondered if hate was the same way. Were there things that even hate couldn't affect?

Echo watched as Chiha watched her with what seemed to be a perplexed expression. She tilted her head at him. "What's wrong?" She asked him confused.

[Chiha Tanka]

Sitting by the fire he looked at her when she spoke, speaking once she was finished. "Every one is a animal." He sat a good distance from the fire, close enough to get warm and dry but not close enough to catch on fire, one of his fears is exactly that, catching on fire.

The smell of citrus and smoke was strong in the air, he knew the citrus came from the girl, he wondered why though. Humans were so strange to him. As he watched the girl he blinked when she spoke. "Why are you out this far, this late? And why do you smell of fruit.. Do you wish to attract bugs and animals?"

Echo thought about it and then nodded at Chiha's response. She supposed he was right, everyone was an animal, some more tamer than others. She fiddled with the end of her hoodie and looked up at the primate in amusement when he asked about her reasons for being out here and her scent. She offered him a small shrug as she spoke.

"I wanted to explore and what better place for exploring than the woods? And well due to my race it's easier to move around at night, so I went out late. And as for the smell, I think it's just a scent that was wiped off on my from someone else." Echo said thinking about her last victim. She smelled a lot like citrus, which was nice, but it tended to be a tad too over powerful. She looked up at Chiha. "What are you doing out so late? Are you alone?"