As we step forward into the past...

[Citrine Bailey]

<sup>Citrine tugged nervously on the black strap of her tattered messenger bag. Her dress billowed a bit from a cold wind every now and then, but for the most part, the night was pretty clear. She paced back and forth, anxiously glancing behind her every second. It was all settled through epistolary. Loveless would be appearing any second now and they would voyage into the forbidden forest, looking for answers. She watched her breath fog before her as her pace quickened. It was almost midnight. The forest could be dangerous, but she hoped it would be safe. Just so many people wanted to fight a vampire nowadays...

Now that it had all been brought up again, his face started to show up in her mind once more. At night, she would wake, and expect to see him there, by her window, like he had been before Hogwarts. Alas, as usual, he wasn't. The disappointments had stopped hurting for awhile, but still, she was beginning to feel those sharp stabs once more, each time he wasn't there. She could smell him, though. His scent was back. There was no explaining it, but she knew he was there somehow. Now that she had found Ritsuka...there was hope.

Their letters were short for awhile. Always, "One day soon," or "As soon as I think of something." But now, Citrine had decided she had waited long enough, and hell, there was nothing stopping them. She wandered the halls, alone, each night, waiting, hoping, and wishing. She could be doing something better. It was fear. What would happen when they went searching? They could lose everything, all hope they ever had. What if they're not supposed to find anything? What if they find nothing, and realize that their beloved and faithful fights were truly gone? [You know, those words just came naturally.]

Her watch beeped, loudly in the darkness of the night, at the stroke of midnight. Ritsuka should be showing up any minute now. She looked back into the forest, it was empty, cold, and dark. Very appealing to a girl like Citrine. It was fun to explore, especially since her eyes were far more superior than any human's. They adjusted to darkness easily, and she enjoyed using the gift to her advantage on nights like these. She glanced up at the full moon, stars askew across the black canvas, and smiled, ready to venture onward the moment Loveless arrived.</sup>

[Ritsuka Mari Aoyagi]

Throwing a small backpack onto her bed, Ritsuka feverishly started to stuff the essentials into every pocket, which in this case, there were plenty. Other girls in the dorm stared as she raced back and forth making sure she had everything.

"She's strange.."
"Oh, I know.. I've never heard her talk."
"Maybe she's not fluent.. or maybe she's crazy!"

Ritsuka overheard some girls talking and payed no mind. She was too busy. This was the night that she'd get answers. She wasn't even going to consider her and Faithless not finding anything. Time has been standing still for too long and it's about time they've done something about their confusing lives.

She quickly put on her long black jacket, slung her backpack on her shoulders and slid down the banister of the staircase. She glanced up at the clock in the common room and realized she was late.

"Crap!"

Carefully she avoided the eyes of the professors making rounds to make sure no students were out of their dorms, which was quite easy since she was very quite when she walked.

Silently, she pushed open the front doors and the cold wind outside immediately attacked her as she stepped onto the grass. With the Forbidden Forest in sight, her pace began to quicken.

Afraid that she was going to be seen, she climbed up into the trees and jumped from branch to branch.

Hopefully it'll be safer to use the trees than walking on the ground.. She thought of werewolves and other mythical creatures that stalked the night.

When she got to about the 10th tree, the scent of Faithless filled her nose. Scanning the forest floor, she saw Citrine gazing into the black of the forest. Jumping about one story down, she landed with a quiet rustle on her feet and stood up.

Smiling, her ears twitched in the wind, "Well bonjour!"

[Citrine Bailey]

<sup>Citrine whirled around at the sound of Ritsuka's voice. "Dia Duit!" She exclaimed happily. It was the first time in awhile that she had spoken in her native tongue. Her dad would be ashamed that it had been so long. It was also the first time in awhile that she had said something happily. She glanced around a bit and felt herself growing impatient.

"It's been awhile, eh? Haven't seen your face or heard your voice since the music room. You don't seem to have changed much." Citrine tried to make small talk, but wasn't quite sure how or why she was doing so. Her legs were anxious, and she wanted to find answers. She pulled out her bag, opened it, and began pulling things out one by one. The bag was small, but she made it work to her advantage. "Fooled you, perhaps?" She said as she pulled out her broom, her wand, books, food, a large sack of money, a hairbrush, a diary, and an even larger sack of clothes.

"I used an Undetectable Extension Charm. It's used to enchant a container or bag, so that its interior capacity expands to enormous size. Externally, the enchanted item looks just as it did before the spell was cast. If you ask me, it's the best thing I've ever heard. You don't have to carry everything around in a huge bag, and you literally have room to take everything. Blood pop?" Citrine held up the crimson candy she had purchased earlier that day. She wasn't sure why she brought all this stuff, but it was fun knowing that you couldn't have possibly forgotten something. She stuffed all of her belongings back into the bag and stood up again.

"Did you bring anything? A diary, perhaps? I can't go anywhere without mine. And something tells me we'll be taking notes," she said with a giggle.</sup>

[Ritsuka Mari Aoyagi]

She watched as Citrine lifted numerous items out of her bag, some that were just impossible to even imagine!!! Tilting her head to the right, she stared at the blood pop.

"Thanks, but no thanks. I don't really enjoy the taste of foreign blood. Haha!" Listening to Citrine talk, the wind quietly hummed through the trees, moonlight streaming through, illuminating the ground to a light blue glow.

"I wish I would've known about that. I knew there was such a spell.. but.. I'm not very good at magic. I have my own powers, but alas, they do not help with space issues." Laughing she pulled her backpack to her stomach.

"I didn't bring much.. Just a change of clothes, the essentials, and my diary.. Journal. I don't like calling them diary's." Blushing at the fact that she had barely anything in her bag, she slung it back over her shoulder. Looking into the black of the forest once again, she inhaled deeply, then let it out slowly.

"Are you ready? This might be our last journey if we don't be careful. Is there even an end to the forest?" So many thoughts swirled in her head it made her dizzy, but she snapped out of it.

Ritsuka's ears lowered close to her head, trying to keep warm. Enough stalling, this is it.

"Let's go." Smiling, she stepped over roots and into the forest.

[Citrine Bailey]

<sup>Citrine smiled to herself as Ritsuka spoke. She remembered when she used to hate the word 'diary.' It made her feel so small, immature, pathetic. But now, she preferred it. Not sure why, actually. Perhaps it made it seem more private, more personal. Who knows. She was just lifeless without one. Suddenly, she realized that her foot had been anxiously twitching, awaiting any sign of movement to leap into the adventure of the forest.

"Are you ready? This might be our last journey if we don't be careful. Is there even an end to the forest?"

Citrine giggled. She wasn't exactly afraid, or worried, or...anything. Maybe being a vampire really did make you fearless...but then again, she should be more afraid than Ritsuka. Citrine was the one who was more likely to be attacked. Vampires just became more and more hated nowadays. She sighed and looked back into the forest, smiling.

"I really doubt there's anything to be afraid of. Werewolves might want to start trouble with me, and if so, I'll just keep walking. If it gets troublesome, just run. I can handle it. But, you know, nothing has happened in this place in awhile. Not since Celeste got hurt. I'm not worried. I'm ready to find answers. If you want, I can lead," she said as Ritsuka passed by. "Or not," she said with a giggle, following. They entered the black forest, and Citrine felt her heart jump a bit. The roots tried to trip her, but she skipped over them with a satisfied grin.</sup>

[Ritsuka Mari Aoyagi]

"Werewolves are your concern?" Ritsuka said as she stepped over more roots, being careful not to fall off the little rock beds. "There are people looking for me out there. Somewhere. I don't know who they are, but they always seem to know something about Beloved that I don't. They said that if I don't fight, or follow them back to.. wherever, I may never see him again.." She became silent. Glancing over at Faithless she just smiled tail toying with the wind.

"Oh, and if there's any trouble, I have some little secret powers of my own." She smirked, then came to a halt. They had come to a small mud lake. A blanket of fog covered the top of the water, and she could hear small flops in the water. The mud around the edges of the lake bubbled thick goo and it smelled terrible.

Ritsuka looked to the left then to the right to see there was no end to this obstacle. Slanting her mouth a bit her ears twitch to the left, then the right, but not in unison.

"We can't go around.. and there's definitely something in there, and it's bigger than a fish. I can tell." She eyed the water carefully. The only way across were small stepping stones leading into the fog.

"We have no choice but to walk across.. Ee, be careful Citrine. I'm not questioning your balance, but be careful. One slip and you might not be able to get out." Straightening out her tail, she took her first step onto the mossy step stone.

[Citrine Bailey]

<sup>Citrine stared blankly at Ritsuka's back as she hopped over stepping stones. She twitched a bit, her dignity stabbed for a quick second. It wouldn't be long before Ritsuka realized how simple a task most things are for Citrine. She's already dead, therefore she has little fear. Her blood isn't flowing, therefore the cold shouldn't bother her much, and balance? Not a big issue there, either. She shrugged it off and skipped quickly across the sludge. Again. Not a challenge. Stupid Slytherin pride, she thought. Well, there had to be some reason they put me here.

"So, have you already told me about him? Like, specifically? I don't think you have. Tell me about Soubi." She smiled and waited for Ritsuka to choose a way to go.</sup>

[Ritsuka Mari Aoyagi]

Gracefully hopping to the next stepping stone, Ritsuka glanced over her shoulder to see Faithless effortlessly progressing as well. It didn't surprise her at all, she knew Faithless could do it. Now she sounded like some idiot mother watching her child take their first steps. She chuckled a bit at the thought and maintained balance on one mossy rock.

"What do you need to know? I think I've told you everything.. 1. He appears every now and then, but ever since I came to Hogwarts, I've only been able to smell him. 2. He always wants me to call him Beloved, and he tells me he loves me quite a lot.. Might I add gets very irritating.. 3. I think he's crazy, but he knows things about me that I want to know very badly. 4.." She drifted off, counting her fingers and stopping at 4. "I don't think there's more."

Looking at Faithless she just shrugged. "Oh, I guess this is significant in some way.. I barely remember that when I was little my mother told me a story about how when a girl or a boy fully mature they lose their ears and tail.. You mustn't have had those genes, the cat ears and tails that is, since you are a vampire and all. I guess I believe them because.. Beloved.. He has no ears. Or a tail. And when I was in school, a little girl had stopped coming to class and the day she did.. Her eyes were so blank, her ears and tail were missing. I don't know what happened to her but she looked pretty traumatized. But. It confuses me! Because not everyone has ears and a tail, only a few, and not because they matured but just because they didn't have those genes. Does that make sense? Hmm.. I'm not making sense to myself right now either."

Ears and tail twitching slightly, Ritsuka stepped over another 4 stones still seeing no sign of the other side of this damned pond swamp thing. Nearly slipping off the 5th stone, she was lucky a log was jutting out of the swamps mud and she caught herself. Exhaling deeply and laughing, she stood back up and kept going.[/color]

[Citrine Bailey]

<sup>Citrine stared quietly at Ritsuka as she talked. Honestly, she was hoping Loveless would be this way. She liked to ask questions and get a lot back. Citrine liked to listen. But it was always hard to respond when the subject changed a lot. So she tried to pay extra attention so she could comment on everything Ritsuka said. Citrine guessed that the fog must have been thicker than she had thought, because she suddenly felt herself landing on flat dirt and twigs. Taking a few steps forward, the foul scent of the goop had faded, and Citrine could smell the crisp air and pine scent. Odd, how a magical, dark place can still smell like any other forest. It kept Citrine in a safe state of mind she couldn't describe.

"Oh, I guess I did know all that. Maybe I didn't, I don't know. It seems like the night we met was so long ago. Haha, do you remember when we totally own'd that one guy...what was his name? The dude with the butterfly? My god, he was annoying. He didn't even know you, and he's already head over heels? Hormones. Glad I wasn't alive long enough to experience them." It was happening again. Whenever Ritsuka was around, the fuzzy image Citrine had of Dante would get clearer and clearer. His sparkling hazel eyes, long brown hair, pale skin...

"Ears and a tail? Well, honestly, you're the only one I've ever seen with ears. Funny how I really think nothing of it. I mean, I probably wouldn't even have noticed. Strange things interest me, but never surprise me. I mean...ugh," Citrine rolled her eyes and kicked a tree nearby. "It seems like...more and more vampires are being reborn each day. No wonder everyone hates us. We're practically building an army. And, hell, I'm not even a part of it! When I came here, I didn't know a single vampire. Now...I've lost count. And it's not that I got to know them, it's that they were made. Bitten. Sired. I used to think fangs were beautiful, now they're just so common...and it also leads to Slytherin overpopulation. I don't see why, just because one is a vampire, they are sorted into Slytherin. I know why I was. I have no heart, I'm sarcastic, I'm cruel. The idea of love makes me break into hysterical laughter, I'm weak, and, although I have no fear, I know that doesn't make me brave. Or does it? I don't know. I don't care. I have an advantage, being half elf. But it's hardly even noticed, my ears are hidden half the time. Plus, no one even sees me, and when they do, I'm just another annoying vampire. They're everywhere, Ritsuka!" Citrine suddenly realized that she said all that in one breath. She took in a deep breath and stopped for a second. And then she was okay, again.

"That's one thing you'll notice about me. Once I say something, it doesn't bother me as much anymore. Just knowing someone...knows, it comforts me. Dumb, I know. Really dumb. But oh well. Anyways...would you like to hear about Dante? Not that there's much to tell...I think..."</sup>

[Ritsuka Mari Aoyagi]

<sub>Flashbacks of the boy with the butterfly made Ritsuka laugh out loud. She had forgotten about him since he was of no importance, but then again, it was nice to have a good laugh every once in a while. Let's just say he tried a bit.. too hard.

"That bouya. Hahaha!! My goodness. Baka. I don't see how he didn't understand my mouth words. Or my motions. ORRR, my NAME! I mean, that's just a straight out give away. DUH!" She brought her arm up to her chest in the 'retarded' gesture and giggled.

Listening to Citrine talk about the abrupt increase in vampires made her angry. She didn't know why, but she had to agree. It seemed that everywhere she'd go there'd be suspicious people, pale skin, just too many to be a coincidence.

Putting her hands behind her head she gazed up through the tree branches at the clouds and stars. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I've seen at least 4 on the grounds and.. they just give vampires a bad name. They're just ASKING to be killed or something. It really makes me wonder where they all came from and whatnot. I mean.. if it's biting, people need to stop that. I mean, C'MON! Haha!" Exhaling deeply, she began walking deeper in to the forest.

"I don't really know much about Dante. In fact, I don't know anything about him except that.. he's Dante.. he's your other half.. yes." Laughing, she adjusted her backpack on her shoulders and stuffed her hands into her pants pockets. She would've put them in her jacket pockets, but since it was so big she couldn't reach them. Sad, eh?</sub>

[Haha. I don't care. Write as much as you possibly can go! I like reading what you've got to say. SHOW YOUR CREATIVE SIDE!!! :DDD]

[Citrine Bailey]

<sup>Citrine looked around thoughtfully. She would soon tell Ritsuka all about Dante, but the question was: where to start? Could she really tell, or even explain, everything? Would she sound insane? Not that it mattered anymore. Not that it ever mattered.

"Dante...Constantine...he seems so far away now," she started. "Well, he's tall, slightly slender, but he's very strong. He likes to be protective. Okay, so usually, brown eyes are seen as somewhat...boring. But his are different. They glowed each time he looked at me. I could just look into his eyes and...know. They were so deep, and trusting. He also had brown hair, stopping right under his ears. It fell into his face whenever he laughed," Citrine stopped talking for a second and smiled. Her eyes began to water. She shook the tears away and looked up, taking a deep breath again.

"Um, yeah, he...er, was pale, like me. Vampire, like me. Fangs and all. His looks changed a lot...with his mood, I suppose you could say. Sometimes he would come looking very disheveled, his eyes empty, hadn't shaved. He was always ashamed, but I just told him I preferred facial hair. It almost always made him smile. When it didn't, I'd just...look at him. I do that a lot...just...look. He'd play with his fingers a lot. He was always wanting to tell me something, but he never did. He'd always say that if he told me too much, I'd grow bored and move onto someone younger...

When he did visit, it was almost always the same. He would ask me questions about my life, make sure I was okay. I'd ask him about his, but he'd always say something like, 'You're the only one that matters in this conversation.' He'd make me so mad sometimes. He just doesn't see how much I worry..." She trailed off again. She had so much to say. She wasn't sure how much she had already said, but she didn't care. Hopefully Ritsuka shared another trait with Citrine in the sense that she liked to listen.

"Anyways, after we'd talk, he'd just hold me until I fell asleep. And then when I'd wake, he was gone. That was his way. Pretending it was all a dream so I'd stop worrying. So I wouldn't hurt. I know he was there, though, Loveless. I could still smell him on my clothes. He had that home smell, that smell that has no name, but it's there when you're comfortable, when you're safe. He always kept me safe. I know that's why he's here for me. He keeps me safe by staying away. He thinks he's a danger to me, like all men do. But I know he's not. I wish he'd just...I just wish I could...see his eyes again."

Citrine's eyes were watering once more. Again, she wiped the tears away. She wouldn't let herself cry. She would see him again. This wasn't a time for crying. It was a time for answers. She could still feel his arms around her. As if he were right next to her, walking through the forest with she and Loveless. Perhaps Beloved was there too...she knew, though, that they were close. She could feel Dante watching her, but she wouldn't do anything about it. Not yet.</sup>

[Kitiara Tuck]

OoC|| Moved back ¬¬

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