Hunter and Naomi's Prelude

[Tree]

Naomi moved slowly, taking the offered hand, climbing down from her bed.





Catherine smiled, bounding over to her love, kissing him and snuggling his chest.



" I never say anything."



she promised cutely, watching the other two go. Oh, the smile on her face once they were gone... it had been in hiding lately.

[Sushi]

Hunter gave her an apologetic smile.



"You might want shoes this time."









Ezra kissed her twice.



"We'll be alright."



He glanced up at Hunter and Naomi now.



"By the way, my name is Ezra. This is Catherine."

[Tree]

Naomi looked him over.



" why can''t we stay home."



Yep, she'd had her fill of outings. Honestly, Catherine didn't look hungry...



Catherine didn't follow the statement, well, once more, not all of it, however.



" I am not hungry."



She offered, following enough of it. ... and from the looks of Naomi, well, both men had their meals with them... so.. yeah.

[Sushi]

Hunter gave shrug. That was fine. Whatever she wanted. It wasn't hurting anything. He gave a small nod and then slipped off. It was just a slip of the mind that he did not introduce himself. Then again, most vampires around here knew who he was. The man simply moved to go have another glass of the mediocre wine, leaving them to their business.

[Tree]

Naomi watched Hunter a moment before following him. She did not get more wine, merely sititng in his lap as he drank. She normally fed him and got laid around this hour, so the fact she was being nice to company was more then she would even expect from herself.





Catherine was happy to sit on the couch with Ezra, merely relaxing and looking about.

[Sushi]

Ezra was very aware of the silence. Invited to stay, perhaps, but... Not a word from anyone?



The quiet didn't even register with Hunter. He simply turned his glass about, staring into the depths of the dark liquid. His other hand absently traced shapes over Naomi's thigh, flirting with the hem of her shorts. He didn't feel pressured to speak, so he didn't until he decided that he had gnihtemos he wanted to say.



"So, did the Darrenthropes send you too?"

[Tree]

Catherine shoook her head, smiling.



" No, of course not. I like new places, and so does Ezra. So we tagged along, I must admit, this world has changed alot since I fell asleep..."



she commented, trailing off as she frowned at the center of Hunter's livingrom floor. To others, there would be nothing there, but the woman hopped up anyway, muttering absently.



" Where are your guides?"



She asked in the middle of her grumbling, palms offered up, to what appeared to be the thin air before her. It would only be when she was touched you would be able to see the soul. One of hundreds that had been drawn towards Catherine during this trip, and until now, when Hunter's livingroom was filled with them, they had been ignored.... there was no guide on this land. These souls had been forced to linger or pass on their own, most simply ended up fading and being completely lost....



Catherine was standing in the livingroom, holding an old man, likely in his early hundreds, but not for long, she seemed to just... vanish from the livingroom. She couldn't hardly breath with how many had entered Hunter's house. She would tend this business quickly.







Naomi was sort of staring.



" What is she?"



she asked slowly.

[Sushi]

Hunter was quiet for a moment before throwing Ezra a casual glance.



"You might have hesitated before bringing her here. There are very few of the Governing here in Greenland. I'm the only Elder. The last Guide and her apprentice both died nearly a hundred years ago."



The man glanced down at Naomi with a small smile.



"They are called Guides. They show souls the way, living, dead. Generally peaceful creatures - don't worry."

[Tree]

Catherine was gone for perhaps half an hour or so, and when she returned you could see two butterflies and a little squirrel, all apparently souls... Undecided beings in her situation.



" Sorry."



She purred slowly to Ezra, climbing into his lap once more.



Naomi, was not as polite ( though only because she didn't know better, like, honestly) as catherine, and she was just as curious... and this would be why she left hunter's lap to go look at the little butterflies and squirrel.

[Sushi]

Ezra shook his head.



"Don't apologize. It's what you do. It's who you are. Don't be sorry for that."







Hunter stood up, taking the glasses and such into the kitchen. He wasn't going to micromanage Naomi.

[Tree]

Catherine was a sweet person, and this would be why naomi's touching and looking did not bother her, however...



" The squirrel might bite... She's only three..."



And was a bit touchy, just as the tiny little babies ( butterflies) fluttered away. They were young souls that didn't know what to do. Until they decided the usually lingered in limbo, but they were so young that Catherine had offered them company. You could see the results to that offer.





Catherine watched as Naomi seemed satisfied with whatever she'd learned, nodding to herself.



" Your interesting, guide girl."



Catherine looked over Naomi.



" With eyes of the gods, I am the one who is interesting?"



Yes, Naomi, your eyes were noticed everywhere you went. They looked to be of moving liquid gold at all times, it was intriguing, to say the least... and the hair was barely second to be noticed... no natural hair maintained such a vibrancy... there was gnihtemos more to you, and apparently Catherine knew part of it.



Naomi? She knew none of it, and merely took catherine's statement as a compliment rather then the bit of information it was.

[Sushi]

Hunter poked his head out of the kitchen.



"Catherine, subtlety or at least gentleness would be appreciated. Thank you. Don't overwhelm my girl, please."



And then he went back to what he was doing.

[Tree]

Catherine looked a bit perplexed but nodded slowly.



" You do not know you have the blessings of Ploutos and Alethia running through your veins?"



Naomi was very familiar with the greek gods and goddesses, but Ploutos took her a moment to recall, however...



" I find this hard to believe..."



Catherine shrugged.



" Ploutos shines through your eyes and hair even as Alethia shines in your words and actions."



she stated this in such an innocent 'doesn't have a clue this could be taken badly' kind of way it was impossible to get cross with her. Naomi's answer?



" Hunter"

[Sushi]

Hunter sighed in the other room, now popping out.



"Couldn't you have eased that out a little more?"



He shook his head, though, looking at Naomi.



"Yeah?"

[Tree]

Naomi crossed her arms, and you could see the mental smacking she was contemplating doing clear as day on her face.



" You knew ."





Catherine shrank down with the tone Naomi was using. She was in trouble. Or she was going to be.







Naomi continued on, ignoring Catherine.



" You knew and you had no intent to tell me!"



Glare, glare, glare. Yeah, she could careless if he was some mighty elder to you guys, he was just Hunter to her, and he was about to get tossed out of his own house. ... Or she might storm off, that was a close second at this moment.

[Sushi]

Hunter shook his head.



"Not quite."



He gestured absently.



"Yes, I knew. However, I was going to tell you. I just wasn't going to do it right this minute. I was attempting to prioritize and not to overwhelm you."



He shrugged slightly, not bothered by any of her tone.



"In the past few days, I have told you about brownies and the war and the general state of things. I've educated you about some vampire things, made sure that you were in a place that you would be safe to heal, and taught you what Guides are. I was going to inform you soon that I would likely be going with them, at least briefly, when they went back to the Darrenthrope estate. I anticipated having to tell you who the Darrenthropes are and elaborate on what that all means. I was going to teach you some preservation tips, as well. I assure you, I was going to mention to you what you are."

[Tree]

" Which is?"



And now Catherine piped up, speaking a bit meekly.



" A gift of the gods. Likely one of their children, placed among humans."



She purred, reading the soul without shame.



Which means she's not really human, and it would explain her blood appeal...



She mused to Ezra privately.





Naomi? well, actually she decided to share a tiny little bit with Hunter now.



" I know who the Darrenthrope's are. They are rather annoying to be around sometimes."



She was irritated. What she was mattered more then what was being given credit. Your identity was kind of a priority..... She just threw her hands up in the air now, pushing Fang out of the way and walking out the front door. Too much, too much at once. She hated the Darrenthropes, or the ones she'd met, anyone... Which consisted of Ayvin and Alexis... Alexis hadn't made a good impression due to circumstance.

[Sushi]

Hunter simply followed after her now. He gave her a wide birth and didn't say anything. He had kind of anticipated this. He knew that she needed time to cool off, but he didn't want her getting hurt just because she was mad at him.

[Tree]

Naomi was a bit further then mad. Hence why she was soon in the town faster then a human would be able to make it, pushing whoever got in her way aside as she vanished into the crowds. Yes, he'd likely be able to follow her, but she was livid. What she was mattered less then a brownie that makes beds and insults people.



She was torn who she was more cross at.... So far, Hunter was still winning. she honestly wanted nothing to do with him for the first time in four years.

[Sushi]

Hunter was following her without a major issue. However, as she continued to boil, he did grow concerned about her. Then, finally, after following her for a good while, the man gave up. Obviously... Well... He let the woman go how she wanted now.

[Tree]

Honestly? They woman eventually just broke down and cried. Why? Because she knew trusting people was a bad idea.



She cried until she couldn't breath. She cried until her tears ran dry...



Then she sat there, in the dark corner of the tavern she inhabited now, watching the passersby, wondering what to do. He would leave for the Darrenthrope's, and she was homeless again. Friendless, loveless...









Catherine looked to Fang, who had wondered over and started smelling her toes...



" why, hello."



He looked cute.

[Sushi]

Fang growled at her. He didn't like this. Strangers in the house? He backed up again and was just glowering at her. He wanted them out, but the master had let them in.



Ezra growled back at the animal.



"Back off."





Hunter was currently sitting on the curb outside a small junk shop, toying with a slinky he had bought for a nickel. Suddenly, he was reevaluating his decision. He wasn't declared, after all. He could go back to the other side. He shifted the weight of the slinky into one hand and then the other. Not so convinced. Also, feeling frustrated.

[Tree]

Catherine frowned. Not at the wolf, but Ezra, however, she snuggled down a bit closer to his chest and trusted that he knew best. Sweet little Catherine.







Naomi would sit there through the night and the next morning. That night was hard on her. She'd not spent one alone in a long while. The weight of being alone was almost all consuming by the time dawn came. She really had no one without him...



" Child of the gods or not, I'm completely worthless."



She decided, moving and climbing out the window to avoid the bartender up front.

[Sushi]

Ezra looked down at the woman.



"I'm trying to decide if we're supposed to stay here or not."



He didn't seem so worried about Fang now.



"What do you think?"











Hunter didn't much care about being home or not. His house would be fine. Not to mention, there was Thimbleton. The brownie would take care of the house, and would fight anyone who came in unwarranted or tried gnihtemos funny. Hunter let himself roam about. He really didn't like staying still.



As Naomi made her way down that side alley, she might have noticed a very heavy bang behind her. If she turned around, though, there wouldn't be anything there but a bloody corpse that had slammed against the side of the dumpster so hard that it dented it slightly. He was missing his heart, torn straight out of his chest. Vampire.

[Tree]

Naomi wondered over to the dead vampire, after glancing about. She even nudged it with her toe.



" Low profile..."



she commented, rolling her eyes and returning to her trek down the alley. Yeah, very few things surprised the girl, interested, yes, surprised, no. This might be why she was now climbing the side of a building to get to a roof top.







Catherine pondered for a small while.



" I think we should stay. it's rude not to say good bye, and there are so many lost souls already traveling my way..."



She'd feel bad for moving and makign them work harder.

[Sushi]

Ezra nodded slowly.



"Alright then."



That is what they would do. He hoped they didn't get in trouble. He eyed Fang warily.

[Tree]

Catherine would escort enough souls in the house owner's absence that your head would spin. She had taken to just sitting on the floor, and waiting. She was tired of getting up and down from Ezra's lap.











Naomi would spend the rest of the day on the roof tops, eying those that appeared as she sun vanished. No vampire, no matter the side would bother her though, she smelled too strongly of Hunter, even now. That was gnihtemos you just didn't touch... at least, not until said Elder was either out of the country or no longer alive.... Neither of which was the case. Yet.





Naomi watched them come and go, shaking her head as one offered her his bed that night. She wasn't interested. She clearly enjoyed such beddings... Hello, Hunter's girl... However, that's just it... she was torn between missing him and being mad at him. She just...



It felt like he was everyone else. Only keeping her around to get gnihtemos from her.

[Sushi]

Ezra eventually moved to sit beside her.



"Are you doing alright, Ladybird?"











Hunter was sitting down on the edge of a church tower, hidden mostly in the shadows between the two gargoyles. He could see Naomi moving across the rooftops not far below him. However, he wasn't watching her at the moment. The man had a handful of pebbles and periodically would drop them off the side to watch them chip off a piece of the sidewalk. He was whistling softly to the wind.



((The melody from about 4:17 to 4:57

<a href='http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3zlh903lfg&' target='_blank' rel='nofollow'>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x3zlh903lfg&</a> ))

[Tree]

" There is always a Guide. Always."



She stated, frowning deeply.



" How have our numbers gotten so low that these souls became forgotten?"



She asked, looking a bit on the tired side.



" it makes no sense."







Naomi eventually would move to the whistling in the night. Forever curious. This would be where she would stop and sit, not far from Hunter at all, staring at him.



" why?"



she eventually asked. Why would he deem what she was less important then telling her about a stupid little mini person?

[Sushi]

Ezra sighed. He gently stroked her face.



"The world is dying."



That was the best that he could do.



"The Elder said that the last Guide and her apprentice were both killed nearly a century ago."









Hunter looked down at her now. The whistling stopped.



"I value your life."



He didn't want to skip over her questions to point out other things that could blast away any little faith she had in herself if he wasn't careful.

[Tree]

Naomi considered him, moving and sliding into Hunter's lap.



" Alright. What else is not being said?"



She asked him. She wanted it all. She just wanted it over with.









" But we're always replaced."



She stated with a small face.

[Sushi]

Hunter looked at her. He considered the question. It was a fair one, but...



"That's just too big of a question. It would take me years of nonstop talking to tackle that. How about a smaller one? What do you want to know?"











Ezra looked at her with a shrug.



"Negligence then? I don't know..."



He didn't have the answer for everything.

[Tree]

" It's not right, it's as if gnihtemos..."



she trailed off, as if stopped, and then she sort of just passed out in Ezra's lap.









" everything I need to know then. ... everything I deserve to know, too."

[Sushi]

Hunter was quiet for another long moment, considering this too. Then, he shifted so that he was turned sideways, her in his lap. He looked down at her.



"That's a pretty big request, still."



However, he began to talk. He told her about what she was, about what he thought that might mean. He told her then about what he was and what that did mean. He told her about how there were dangerous things in his basement, and that was why that door was locked. He told her that if she was ever in his house and in a situation where she was dying, she should go to the basement. He told her where three spare keys were. He told her about how he was struggling with the decision, but what he was leaning towards. He told her why he would need to visit. Finally, he told her that he wanted her to come with him.



Before she could answer, however, Hunter's head jerked to the side and he moved to stand up.



"Ah. Trouble."









Ezra had moved to her side, looking her over.



"Catherine..."



He scooped her up, promptly deciding that it was time to leave this house. He didn't know what was going wrong, but he was pretty sure that gnihtemos was. It took him about five minutes before he could fish out who he wanted to talk to.



How did you say the Guides died off?

[Tree]

Naomi nodded, moving to cling to Hunter's back. She was with him. She was coming, he was stuck with her.





Catherine was currently under a nice... super natural... eh, sort of toxic.

[Sushi]

Hunter made sure that he had a good grip on the woman before he took a flying leap. It was the middle of the night. No one was going to notice him. The man landed in stride, darting to meet Ezra.



I told you that you should have been more hesitant about bringing her around here.



Ezra gave a sigh.



That's not helpful. Is there anything that can help her?



He entered the hotel where the other two were staying, carrying Catherine. He would leave now if he had to.

[Tree]

Ayvin was actually helpful now as he looked over Catherine, sighing.



" My father... My mother got this once.. in the time I come from, nowhere will be safer or more dangerous at this point."



Ayvin offered, glancing up to ezra now.



" Mom almost was lost... I don't know how dad saved her."



He offered sadly. He really didn't mind Catherine. She was nice.







Naomi glanced over the sleeping, poisoned girl, glancing up at Hunter.

[Sushi]

Hunter looked at the two people that were now looking at him expectantly. Then, he sighed.



"I assume that you're wanting me to do gnihtemos about this."



The man sighed. There was really no reason help these, but... Well... There was no reason for him not to either. Besides, he wasn't afraid of Lot. He could talk to the man.



"...You're not going to like the answer."

[Tree]

Naomi poked him lightly.



" Help her... I like her."



She urged gently, hoping down, her hands lightly touching Catherine, lookign worried now.

[Sushi]

Hunter glanced at her.



"I am. Or, at least, I'm trying. Lot is the fourth biggest pain in the ass I know."



He was quiet for a little longer. Then, he sighed. He looked at Naomi.



"I'm going to want your help."



And then he motioned for them to follow. Holy water.