• Ezekiel touched ground, trying as hard as he could to get as smooth a landing as possible, as not to jolt his sleeping passenger awake. His bare feet scuffed softly across the loose dirt underfoot. He slid Asmara slowly to the ground and adjusted her to a more comfortable position, so she would have to wake up to sore joints from sleeping at an odd angle. He studied his travel companion’s restful face in wonder and then turned to survey their surroundings.
    Lush green trees surrounded them from all sides, towering over them like green kingdoms of the living. Their lofty trunks reached high up into the sky, leafy canopies soaking up all the sunlight leaving the life forms below in a dark green shadow, except for a few small rays that escaped through its surface. A chilly wind blew from the north making his shiver. He glanced over at the elf princess asleep on the ground, a few stray hairs blowing in the frosty wind. He glanced around for a few stray dry branches.
    He spotted a dead tree that had fallen during a huge thunderstorm and had taken down a few more in its path. He broke a few of its singed branches and carried them over to where Asmara lay. He set to work piling the sticks in tp fashion and then igniting it in flame with a swipe of his claw. He smiled as the little sparks flared into bright flame casting shadows.
    He sat and poked at the fire until it was big enough to stay lit on it’s own and them wrapped himself up in his colossal wings and fell into a deep sleep, dreaming of demon shadows and non-escapable dungeons.

    Ezekiel woke up really hungry the next day, his insides cramping. He looked over at Asmara. She was still fast asleep. Saving him must have exhausted her. He sighed and stretched his stiff limps and glanced around the tree infested ravine for an unsuspecting victim. He spotted a forest mouse busy at play not too far off from where he sat. He crouched, zoning in on the rodent. He pounced catching the little critter in his claws as it tried to scurry away. He looked down in disappointment at the small meal but didn’t object. He went back to the lively fire and bent down to feast.

    * * *

    Asmara woke up to the smell of something burning. Her eyes fluttered open and started to sting. She blinked away the lingering tears that sprouted from the heat of the fire and smoke. She sat up coughing, trying to peer through the thick debris and sparks for Ezekiel. She could faintly see his shadow silhouetted in the ashy smog. He was bent over something, transfixed by its tiny little body in his hands.
    She shuttered, the creature’s panicked cries piercing into her thoughts, the terrified screams of other animals just like the captive animal in Ezekiel’s hands, scurrying away from the hazardous black clouds rising into the sky, polluting their home.
    He bent over slowly, the creature fighting for its life. But he hesitated inches from its furry little neck and looked up in Asmara’s direction. His amber eyes glowed through the plumes of smoke as he acknowledged her presence. He moved stealthily around the fire, maneuvering his meal gently in his hands as he walked, in a teasing manner. He crouched in front of Asmara offering her the terrified creature, a mouse. It was the same color as the ground, a great defense mechanism, but apparently not enough. The poor thing was shaking.
    Asmara winced as the impact of the mouse’s suffering multiplied in her head when the rodent was escorted closer. She shied away from it, her nose wrinkling is disgust. Ezekiel seemed to regard the small rodent. He then shifted it so that it was belly up in his pale palm. His sharp fingernail acting like a knife, sliced into the rodent’s gut, a neat incision from the mouse’s chin to its groin. Blood pooled in Ezekiel’s palm, staining his bleached skin. He looked up hungrily, eyes gleaming ruby red, and offered it up again. Asmara shook her head and backed up further, her hand scathing root. Her back was against a tree trunk.

    * * *

    Ezekiel felt the rodent’s heart flutter to a stop, even before he had cut into the white of its stomach. But Asmara didn’t seem to know that. She had pinned herself up against a tree hyperventilating like a hunted deer, her heart hammering enchantingly in her chest.
    He dropped the mouse to the ground, soiling the thirst ground beneath. He took op a bead of blood on the tip of his forefinger and slipped it into his mouth. It seemed to explode on his tongue teasing his taste buds, persuading them to make his mouth water. He got up from his kneeling position and covered the short distance between him and Asmara in a couple of long strides. She shimmied up the trunk eyes wide, scanning her surroundings for an escape route, as if he wasn’t blocking her view.
    He chuckled lightly as she sidestepped to the right, but he wasn’t fooled. He was an experienced hunter.

    * * *

    Asmara scrambled up the tree trunk as he approached. He stood in front of her, an evil gleam in his eye. Fear clenched in her stomach and traveled upward into her throat. She tried to hid it and search for an escape route but he noticed. She bolted to the right but his arm catapulted outward and she ran right into it doubling over, the air knocked out of her. He caught her mid-fall and forced her to look at him. An evil grin spread across his face.
    Her eyes widened as he bent in, trailing his nose along her throat inhaling her scent. He shivered with pleasure, his mouth parting to reveal pointed fangs protruding from his gums. He slid inward leaning against her, the rough of the bark cutting into her back. His breath came hot and quick, blowing on her neck. She screamed and tried to push him away, but he was too strong.
    His weight started to suffocate her, forcing the air out of her lungs. Her hands slipped, thick with sweat from their close contact, making it harder to escape. She shoved at his chest as hard as she could, but he stayed unmoving, his lips brushing her exposed neck. She could feel points.

    * * *

    Ezekiel marveled at the heat of her body pressed against his. Her neck flared and pulsed with her lifeblood and red hot desire to live. Her neck smelled delicious making his salivate more. He felt the pressure of canines piercing through gums as they swelled with heat as they slowly grew longer and sharper. He trailed his tongue along the protruding outline of her vein, tasting the salty perspiration of fear.
    He put his hands firmly on her shoulders as to hold her in place and leaned against her, gasping with excitement. Her struggle to get away from him only accelerated his need. His lips touched home on her vein and kissed it tenderly before sharp fangs plunged into the flesh of her neck.