“What’s the matter, loser? Don't you wanna fight back?”

  Alex Tepes pushed Felix to the ground hard, his pants getting lightly ripped upon the stray pebbles.

  Young 12-year old Felix looked up towards his antagonizer, this was all because of Alex making an incorrect answer to a question in class…

  “What is the name of the seven humans whom you must avoid at all cost on the Trek?” Ms. Carmilla asked, looking around the class for a response.

  “The seven ink wizards, too easy, next question please.” Alex responded with high confidence. A few snickers could be heard from around the room.

  “I’m afraid that’s incorrect, Felix?” The teacher glanced at his seat in the corner by the window.

  “The seven Inquisitors, powerful humans with terrifying abilities and power. The most dangerous to our kind being one by the name of Van Helsing. We lack a large amount of knowledge on them due to few Vampires living after encountering one.”

  Felix had always been something of a precocious child, his mother taking great care to educate him on the perils awaiting him in six years time.

  “Correct and then some Felix, I shouldn’t expect less, after all it's thanks to your mother that we know at least a couple of details on a few of the current members.”

  As Ms. Carmilla continued on with the lecture, Alex could be seen seething at his desk. To undermine a member of the Tepes family was something his ego simply couldn’t let slide.

  This is what had led to the current predicament, Alex and a number of his goons cornering Felix at the side entrance to the academy mostly out of sight.

  “There’s no reason for this.”

  “No reason? You make me look dumb and think that’s no reason?! You or your third rate family shouldn’t even be allowed to be in the same room as a Tepes!”

  Alex was truly fuming, his normally perfectly combed hair more disheveled than usual.

  “Just what do you think you’re doing, get off him!”

  Felix, Alex and the rest of the posse of bullies turned to see Leo who had just come across the scene.

  Alex nodded his head and the three backup bullies grappled ahold of Leo.

  “Get off me you-” Leo couldn’t finish before he was tossed face down to the ground next to Felix, some cuts gracing his face from the impact.

  “Looks like two numbskulls for the price of one! I’m gonna enjoy the whooping me and my pals are about to give you! Even if that other know-it-all friend of yours Emily comes here, we’ll put the boots to her as well! You know the best part? No one will care, because I’m a Tepes!”

  Alex grinned, confident in his invincibility.

  Felix’s attempt at negotiating died there. It was one thing to push him around some, it was a whole other thing to drag one of his best friends into it and threaten the other one on top of it. His body began to tremble with barely contained rage.

  “What’s the matter, Fount? Going to cry?”

  He didn’t care there was four of them, if they beat him within an inch of his life for what he was about to do, he was going to give Alex a fist to the face for everyone that wanted to do so as well-

  “I wouldn’t continue if I were you.” Came a voice that was somehow both calming as a gentle breeze yet cold as a frozen pond.

  Everyone turned to see Felix’s mother, Countess Maria Fount standing there, her red eyes staring a hole through the bullies.

  “I came here to pick up my son, imagine the surprise not to find him waiting for me at the front like I expected.” Her voice contained a hint of malice to it, clearly upset with what she was witnessing before her.

  “We were just messing around-” Alex started, only to immediately be cut off.

  “Get out of my sight, and if I see you doing this to my son or his friends again, so help me I’ll march to the Tepes household myself for a word with your family.”

  It was a tranquil fury, one with no raised voice, yet immensely intimidating nonetheless.

  “Y-you’ll be sorry, my father has so much sway!” Alex boasted, trying to recover some semblance of superiority.

  “Your father isn’t the one with the highest dueling aptitude in the academy for the past half century, nor did he stand his ground against an Inquisitor and live to tell the tale. I could teach him a lesson just as easily as his bratty son.”

  Countess Maria stood firm, beneath the classical ladylike exterior lying a hardened warrior who went through hell and back on her Trek. An intangible aura of power surrounded her, something nobody could see, but everyone felt.

  In response Alex and his squad of goons ran off out of sight into the distance, not daring to look back at their would be victims.

  “Wow Lix, your mom is the coolest!” Leo blurted out, admiration obvious in his tone.

  “Thank you my dear, that’s very kind of you to say, I’m glad Felix can call you a friend.”

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  Countess Maria reciprocated the compliment, her warrior's presence replaced by the caring mother figure once more.

  As they said goodbye to Leo afterward and made their way home along the cobbled road Felix’s mom continued the topic in private.

  “I saw it in your body language, you were about to pick a fight you couldn’t win once Leo got involved.”

  Young Felix looked downward, his mom had always stressed above all never to resort to charging into dangerous situations, that was a bad habit that killed many on the Trek over the ages. She sighed, breathing in deeply.

  “Despite that…I’m proud of you. Fighting in defense of others was something your father was adamant about, despite how much madness I told him it was. To see you inherit his spirit…”

  She was tearing up, emotions running high.

  She had always been somewhat vague when discussing his father, perhaps the memory of what transpired was too painful for her to share. Nonetheless the glimpses he did get into who his dad was had assured Felix that it was the same path he wished to walk as well.

  “I love you mom.”

  ————————

  Felix awoke with a jolt. He had passed out from the pain of his injuries and had been thrown into a dream of the past. He looked down, the wound at his side where the werewolf woman Dinah had pierced him now mostly healed. He could still feel a fair amount of pain in his right leg, in that shape it would still be awhile before he could walk.

  How long had he been out? Minutes? Hours? He looked out of the cave exit, the moon was a bit lower in the sky, he had learnt that the first night with them arriving at what was the stroke of midnight for this world would be the shortest.

  She’d probably put a good distance between them at this point, but there was a chance he could catch up if he got moving.

  His resolve had been strengthened by his dream, he wasn’t about to let that Werewolf walk away with one of the objects his mom had given him. His eyes glanced around the cave and spotted his opportunity.

  A small rodent creature was scurrying around, looking for any movement in his body so it could feed on his remains. If he was familiar with this world he would’ve known it as a rat.

  He completely halted his movement, so still even his heartbeat would’ve been inaudible if you had your ear to his chest. The small creature moved closer…closer…

  Felix took his opportunity. With one fluid motion he grasped the Fang from the ground and stabbed into the small mammal!

  The blood was drained from the creature, enough that his broken limb was able to re-fuse itself together again immediately.

  He stood on shaky legs, this was insanity, that Werewolf had torn him apart with seeming ease and here he was ready to pursue her immediately after.

  But then, perhaps inexplicably, he didn’t care. That same feeling from 6 years past washed over him, even if it was a simple trinket which had its flaws exposed so plainly before him, it was still a gift from someone he cared about and he would never live with himself if he didn’t get it back.

  ————————

  As Felix dashed through the forest on the new side of the cave, the dirt beneath his feet crunching lightly, he was deeply focused in his senses.

  He had one thing going for him when it came to tracking his quarry down. Vampires could hone in on their own blood once it left their body, seeing as how Felix’s was still lightly coating Dinah’s teeth and hand, it wasn’t too difficult to lock in on her.

  While she had been in constant movement once he started his pursuit, she had now been moving around the same single area for a while.

  “What is she doing? Is she looking for something or…!”

  It hit him, she was fighting someone in the clearing just ahead. Slowing down once more, he stealthed his way until he was hidden behind a large tree next to the clearing. He peeked to witness a shocking scene.

  Dinah was breathing heavy, a few cuts on her arms and face. Across from her were three humanoids. One was sitting on a log, his legs crossed and hands clutching some kind of wooden objects.

  It dawned on Felix when he saw the reflections of the nearly invisible strings leading up to the other figures that they were not alive. Mere puppets on strings, large as they were, controlled by the man on the log.

  “Must be a human. He looks like me and the werewolf, but I can’t sense any trace of Hallow Haven’s essence around him.”

  Felix glanced again, he was a fairly small man, thin as well to the point of looking somewhat unhealthy, his face lacked the sort of confidence Felix assumed came natural to their human hunters.

  “C-crazy bastard…” Dinah huffed, clearly rattled from the tough fight she had endured thus far.

  “U-um Mr. Trilo? Ms. Quist? Don't you think drawing this out is a bit too cruel even for a monster?”

  The man was talking to someone, but Felix could only see him and his…puppets…

  “Shut up Ven! You’re just here for moral support, it’s us two doing the real work and we’ll decide how we do it!”

  A deep voice came as one of the puppets turned around and smacked him upside the head.

  “O-ow! I'm sorry!”

  A higher pitched voice followed this up

  “I can see why nobody but us can put up with this loser! Ohohoho!”

  Felix’s stomach felt ill, this man, apparently called Ven, was not right in the head, he was changing his voice and talking as if he WAS the puppets. It was subtle, but with his strong vision he could see the corners of his mouth moving when the puppets ‘spoke’ to him.

  “U-uh oh, I think we have more company you guys.” Said Ven in his normal weak voice.

  Felix froze for a second, he realized his shoulder was making light contact with more strings, ones that lead over to and wrapped around Ven’s arms.

  The area surrounding the clearing was surrounded with the threads, a web that Felix had also found himself now caught in like a fly.

  “Is that so?” The higher pitched voice came again, turning towards Felix’s direction. It’s wooden arm split apart into a cannon-like shape.

  Felix was only just barely able to react as a blast of raw energy blew apart the tree he was behind with ease, he rolled into the clearing, quickly rising to his feet and drawing his blade as the splinters rained down next to him.

  “You!” Dinah’s eyes widened, shocked he had found her location so fast since their last meeting, a side effect of lacking knowledge on abilities vampires had evolved into since the separation of Hallow Haven.

  “As much as I want to settle things with you, if we don’t stop this madman both our lives will end here.”

  Felix proclaimed while looking back and forth between his prior opponent and his new one.

  Dinah gnashed her teeth together, clearly not attracted to the concept of working with one of her species’ arch rivals.

  “Fine, but if you die I won’t be shedding tears, Vamp.”

  “Ooh a couples dance?” Came the high voice, the puppet it was attached to transforming its arm back to normal once more.

  “Don’t mind if we do.” The deep voice sounded once more, twin blades protruding from its accompanying puppets forearms.

  A battle was about to erupt, but whether two Monsterkin of differing species and personality could work together to vanquish a twisted mind divided by three remained to be seen.