Late Night Ride.

[Briseis Thomas]

The moon was shining in all it's glory, as full as it could be on the cold night. A thick mist covered the leaf covered floor, making it almost impossible to see where you were putting your feet. The forest seemed scary and unwelcoming for most at this hour. But for Briseis, it was the perfect location for a late night ride.

Upon the back of her black mare, Midnight Lady, she could see the path ahead, dark, with only the light of the moon to guide her. The fallen leaves cruched beneath the equine's hooves, causing bugs beneath it to scuttle out and scatter. But the 18 year old didn't look at that.

She kept her guard, eyes squinting through the low light, searching for signs of life. Or the undead. Vampires. The mere though of them made her spine shiver. Feeding off the living for there own satisfaction. Yuk.

Briseis rested a hand on her rapier, which was tapping against the horse's flank, at her side. The girl had never met a vampire, and honestly never wished to. She had a slight fear of meeting one of the creatures, but not because they might bite her. No. She was afraid of them capturing her. Then much fouler things would be done.

Tugging the leather rains back gently, she halted the horse and let a pale hand run through it's thick mane. The young human had heard something rustling behind her, so she turned briefly, examined the forest then shrugged. Giving the mare a tap with her heel, the pair continued on through the darkness...

[Zayne]

I heard the distant sound of pounding hoofbeats, and this triggered my curiosity. I instantly mounted my stallion, Apache, and took up a speeding pursuit of where I had heard the noise. The night was brightly lit from the full moon overhead, and the mist that lingered over the ground created an eerie atmosphere. The forest seemed so inviting, yet so dangerous, with the sound of small creatures all around distracting my stallion and causing his ears to flicker in all directions.

I tugged on my reins upon seeing another on horseback not too far ahead. I could smell that this was a human, not a vampire that rode ahead of me. Staying in the shadows, I veered Apache in the direction of what I could see was a girl. What was a human girl doing in the forest at night? Surely she had a death wish to be doing so in these lands. I tapped my heels into Apache's stomach and the stallion began to trot, his large, heavy hooves making loud thuds on the forest floor. It was onlt a matter of moments before we were riding alongside the human, less than a meter inbetween us.

"What are you doing in the forest st such a time, miss? Don't you know that it is dangerous to wander around alone at night...?"

[Briseis Thomas]

The gentle thudding of hooves in the darkness made the teenager even more weary. She halted the horse again, this time turning them both full circle, to get a better view. But still, nothing stuck out in the gloom. The hoofbeats were getting ever louder and they were certainly not from her own horse. Lady was much lighter in her steps.

Briseis tapped the horse again, before noticing that someone had joined her. A man, riding on a rather large gypsy vanner stallion, with a pelt of ebony and ivory patches. Upon first noticing the two, the young woman did jump, out of shock, but only a small jump in the saddle, that made her heart race.

Roughly a metre seperated the two riders, but Briseis made the gap larger by making her mare step away a little. She kept her hand firmly gripped on her rapier's cold handle, just in case.

"Of course I know of the Forest's danger, sir. But on such a night, a short ride through was too tempting to ignore."

She answered calmly and softly, hopefully showing no fear to the stranger. She kept her Frisian mare in a quick paced walk, getting ready to run at the first sign of danger.

[Zayne]

A charming smile broke out over my full lips, a smile that could calm even the most nervous of souls. My amber eyes gazed into the face of the human, she seemed more confident than most, especially for a young lady. I wondered if the girl knew of my race, and if so, then why was she acting so calmly? My nagging curiosity led to question her in a soft tone of voice.

"Yes, it is a beautiful night, one created for a ride. With the moon shining so brightly and the earth decorated in mist, it is a lovely sight indeed. But miss, don't you realise that vampires stalk these lands? Aren't you frightened of being attacked?"

I queried not because I planned to ambush the young human. Through my eyes I was warning her of what could happen had she have met up with the wrong vampire. I did not agree with those who fed off of humans for the enjoyment of it, and I saw this young lady as a good target for those sorts. I moved my gaze to the mare that she rode, a beautiful friesian mare who appeared to be very highly trained. I leant forward and stroked the silky fur of Apache, who nickered from the attention.

"Excuse me for being rude miss, my name is Zayne, and this is my stallion, Apache. That is one fine horse that you are riding, what is her name?"

[Briseis Thomas]

Briseis kept herself alert, her eyes flickering between the forest surrounding her and the gentleman riding beside her. He could be a vampire, for all she knew, but she would not immediatly draw her rapier and start a fight if he was. Many Vampires just jumped out of the darkness, if they every wished to attack, catching their prey off guard, but this man had just come from behind her, and started a chat. Rather odd for a vampire.

So she dismissed that idea, for now, listening carefully to his words that flowed through the air and into her ear.

"Afraid? No sir, no Vampire would scare me."

Half Truth, half lie. But it depended on how you looked at it. Briseis would not be scared by a feeble attack. Fear only made you do the wrong thing, and not think correctly. The only thing that made her fearful, was the torture. It was rumoved that one of the coven's tortured their victims beofore... Briseis couldn't bare to think of it. The mere though made her stomach churn.

"Her name is Lady, and my own is Briseis."

She smiled, stroking the ebony mare's neck lightly.

[Zayne]

It seemed that Briseis, as I had presumed, was not so fearful of the vampires that roamed this land. I did not know whether to commend her for this or to think her a fool. I had not yet met a vampire from Nullius, though I had heard that one coven was abundant in aggressive, merciless hunters that wanted nothing other than blood. I myself, tried to forget what I was and the pain and terror that my race could cause. I sighed softly, watching the mist roll over the ground in a ghost-like manner, memories of my former life tormenting my brain once again. I shook off the heavy thoughts and smiled to the young lady, reminding myself to remain in the present.

"Pleased to meet you Briseis, Lady..."

I nodded my head slightly as I spoke, causing my dark, careless hair to move swiftly with my gesture.

"...What have you heard of the vampires, Briseis? I have heard so little of them, are they really all as heartless as people make them out to be?"

I asked in hopes of an answer stating no, not all vampires were heartless and cruel...some are kind...almost human. I liked to consider myself to be no different than I was as a human, except for the fact that I was 270 years old. And deep within my torn heart I needed to know that I wasn't the only vampire in Nullius with some logic and a concious...