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The wind howled as it came in from the warm forest to the west, breaking against a sheer cliff face that hung above the vast greenery. It was a full moon that looked over this scene, shining enough light that everything was awash in a white glow. Near the top of the overhanging ledge of the cliff was a black dot scaling its face with ease. Strong hands reached out, edged with claws that sank into the rock surface to take a firm purchase. Muscular arms and legs push-pulled the figure further without issue, never stopping for the slightest bit of rest. Bright yellow eyes glowed in the darkness in the shape of crescents gazed skyward for the beast's next moves. No clothing except a pair of warn and ripped slacks adorned the man's body, black fur completely covering his form in the course thickness of his kind: the wolf.

His name was Arimis, though werewolf by nature, he was still vastly civilized. Contrary to legend there was no transformation at the sight of a full moon, though with such extraordinary eyesight it was always better to hunt prey when there was at least some light and thus caused them to be more active. Of course that wasn't why he was out this night climbing this cliff, but it did afford him an excuse to break away from his tribe and not be noticed while the others would be scouring for food.

His arm came over the edge and felt razor claws dig into soft grass and soil, taking hold and pulling the rest of himself over. His bulk crossed the threshold and his feet pulled beneath him, coming from a crouch to a stand that towered at an impressive seven feet. His back straightened and his eyes turned from side to side, scanning the new area slowly. Bands of powerful muscle that wrapped about his torso flexed as he took in a deep breath through his distinctly canine nose. Werewolves could see by the light of stars alone, with a moon as large as it was this night it was practically noon as far as he was concerned.

Something caught his nose and made the large lupine turn his head to see if his eyes could corroborate what he was smelling. An expansion of grassland stretched out before him, save for a lone tree that stood twenty feet away, there was nowhere to hide.

"Isa? Are you there?" the wolf called out in a low guttural voice that was deep and rumbling like distant thunder. His mouth formed the worlds with a hint of an unintentional growl, fangs naturally beard. The wolf watched as a figure gingerly stepped out from behind the tree, someone that was the complete opposite of him: shorter by a foot and a half, lithe, female, smooth white skin, and wearing a full adornment of clothing. She was as every bit a legend as he: a vampire of the night. As soon as Arimis locked eyes to the girl he began to advance on her quickly, feet the size of dinner plates tromping prints into the soft earth and carrying his seven hundred pound bulk.

The girl began to move towards him as well, her crimson eyes showing like embers in the moon light, chalk white skin glistening and a flow of ebony hair and cloak cascaded behind as she moved at an inhuman speed. As the distance closed rapidly between them she leaped with a grace that any human would call angelic, arms outstretched at her sides. The wolf did the same changing his running stance into a more crouched position, arms coming out and clawed fingers extending.

The two collided hard but neither were harmed. Porcelain limbs wrapped around furred neck as muscular arms came around torso. The two embraced in a loving gesture that would have normally crushed a human but instead resulted in the girl being squished into a matt of thick hair. They stayed like that for several seconds taking in each other's scent and feeling each other's mixture of textures before the girl spoke.

"I've missed you so much," she whispered in a soft voice that was as beautiful as a chorus of wind chimes.

"I have missed you as well," Arimis grumbled back. Together their holds loosened, allowing each to crane their head back and gaze into one-another's eyes. Their lips came together then, or at least as best they could for lips to conform to the front of a muzzle. Isa's feet gently touched the ground from being suspended by the werewolf. Arms loosening and their lips parted for a moment.

"I was getting worried that you weren't going to show up," she said with a smile turning up her cheeks.

"I apologize, my love, my pack mates are ravenous and plentiful tonight within the forest confines, I had a difficult time breaking away to meet with you," the wolf said deeply as his colossal paws came up and gently followed the contours of the girl's arms until he was holding her porcelain hands. The vampire's smile grew larger, reaching her eyes and causing a giggle to escape as she bashfully turned her gaze away.

"You're sure you weren't followed or that we won't be discovered here?" she asked after a few moments of silence, her red eyes turning back to meet her lover's.

"I promise you, they will not. There is no other way for them to reach this spot without crossing the border and inciting conflict and the precipice is no fun to climb," Arimis explained and watched as the slight amount of concern held on the girl's face. "You worry too much, Isa. Come, let us rest and talk. I have not felt your embrace since the last time the moon was full," he remarked and slowly lumbered back towards the lone tree while gently pulling the girl along. She tried to act reluctant but it was no use, every day she had felt an ache in her chest since they had to part ways and now it was gone if not at least briefly. Her agile form suddenly danced past the lupine in a flash of white and black, hand pulling free as she came to rest her back against the rough floral bark. Arimis smirked as best his wolven visage would allow as he came up closer. Gently he lowered himself to a sitting position and lightly braced his back against Isa's front. The size difference was still so easy to behold since the back of his head came up to her stomach.

"How do we know you were not the one followed?" The wolf asked and turned his head upwards to glance at the vampire. Isa's arms came around his large head in a hug to her chest, gentle fingers drawing lines through the fur on his chin and neck as she looked down into his eyes.

"Please, those bureaucrats barely notice anything beyond their own assets, laws, and tendencies. No one will notice my absence," she whispered and placed a soft kiss on Arimis's wet nose. The wolf drew in a deep breath and huffed in response before turning his gaze back out to the vast ocean and the low hanging full moon. The cloudless sky shined with a thick spattering of golden stars that twinkled. The two stayed that way for a while longer just enjoying the scenery.

Hours later the two had shifted down to lying positions with Arimis's head nestled gingerly into the vampire's lap. Her cold hands stroke through the thick tussle of his fur, weaving her fingers around within while she scratched his skin. If at all stereotypical he reacted in the same way a human's hound would, his leg would kick every so often, eyes closed and body limp, purely at the mercy of her stroking appendages. Isa smiled to herself as she watched her beloved act in this way, finding it adorable and almost childlike. Her affection for him only grew. Here was this colossal creature with claws and teeth that could rend armor and draw lines in limestone acting like a puppy with no cares in the world. Not that she wasn't as dangerous in different ways, but she found the sight almost comforting, like they were the only ones in the world at the moment and there wasn't an ever mounting tension between their differing kinds.

Almost as if Arimis had read her mind, began to speak. "What if we ran off on our own? Broke the stigma and left everything behind?" he asked and opened his eyes just enough that the yellow slits showed. Isa was taken aback by the suggestion, her hand freezing mid stroke as a life of them together a world away flashed within her mind. She saw them sharing a home deep within the confines of a forest forever lost from mankind and away from other similar mythical creatures. After a short silence her hand continued on petting the lupine.

"I don't think we can do that," Isa replied and ran her fingers over one of the wolf's fuzzy ears.

"And why not? I can beat any of my pack members in a fight and the vampire council would never harm one of their own that is as high among their ranks as you," he continued, his gaze turning down to the flowing green grass as a breeze began to pick up.

"That's the exact reason why we can't run. We're too high among our societies, if we were to both leave one side would blame the other for killing one of us and a war would ignite. We can't risk it," she said with a solemn tone. Arimis took a deep breath that made his muscular frame swell and then let it out in a low drawn out sigh.

"What if we told them ourselves?" he asked under his breath. The girl couldn't keep herself from laughing in a musical singsong shimmer.

"Then we would get ourselves killed," she said, mimicking the thoughts than ran through his own mind. Her hand came over to pet between his ears, easing down the fur that was there. She could feel his anxiety, the colossal heart that was at the center of his chest thundered with apprehension and she could feel every time it beat blood through his veins. He wasn't very good at hiding his emotions, not like she was but then again werewolves were always so easy to read. She shushed him softly and continued to pet him. "We have this time together now, let's not dwell so much on what could be."

"I want more," he said with a low growl in his voice. She hushed him again and gave his ear a pinch that made him whine and turn his head.

"In your quest to get more you may just end up with less," she assured him and let go. He gave her a sideways glare and then sniffled before letting his head rest back into her lap. She smiled down at him and traced her white hands over his neck and along the underside of his jaw. Finally she could feel his posture relax, his frame subsiding a bit and more of his weight came to settle against her. His eyes slowly closed and his mind, once racing, began to slow down. "Tell me about your pack mates. How have they been?" Arimis gave a slight shrug.

"Polos and Koga have taken each other as mates and now Polos is with pups. This whole situation has made Aurus even more inquisitive as to who I will take as a mate," he explained and lapped the front of his nose with his tongue. Isa giggled and felt over the thick bands of muscle in his neck and shoulders.

"What have you told her?" the vampire asked with a smirk.

"I told her the mate that I will take will be someone unique that offers me something I have not seen or had before," the wolf replied making Isa laugh and cover her mouth to keep herself from being too loud.

"That's quite the requirement. Think you'll ever find such a girl?" she asked teasingly. Arimis gave a huff.

"My pack mates aren't nearly as amusing as you think. They are loud and rambunctious. They annoy me with how young and over confident they are. They start fights they can't possibly win and take on tasks they have no hope of successfully accomplishing," he said, letting some of his annoyance seep into his tone. Isa calmed him down with my gentle pets between his ears. He gave another heavy sigh before speaking again. "How about your senate? How have things been with your dark king?" Arimis asked. The vampire gave her own exasperated groan and shook her head a bit.

"Bureaucratic and long winded as usual. I sat at my position for eight hours a night ago listening to a debate on whether or not the pleasure of drinking an extra teaspoon more of blood mixed from human and elk outweighed the potential scarcity of it as a resource," she took a moment to rub at the sides of her head and close her eyes as the mere memories seem to bring on a headache.

"I wasn't aware vampires were now substituting blood. How long has this been going on for?" Arimis asked and tilted his head to look her in the eyes. She returned the look and spoke.

"Just under a couple weeks. Humans are becoming less numerous these days and so alternative forms of blood have been proposed and implemented. We aren't even allowed to kill the humans anymore, we must cut an artery, drain a decent amount, and then patch it up to assure the prey will go on to make more blood for us to collect again," she explained with a wave of her cold hand.

"Does it taste any different?" He wondered aloud. The vampire gave a shrug.

"Yes but it's not off putting. The more carnivorous the animal the sweeter the blood, so there's that," she explained. Arimis's golden eyes watched her for a moment more and then shifted to glance towards the moon.

"That does explain why we have noticed a small dip in the number of animals within the forest. Moon Leader had remarked on the subject the other day," the wolf said. They talked like that for hours more, bantering, joking and enjoying their presence. Subjects of hat was foinf on in their separate societies came and passed. They talked more about the humans and what they were doing to combat the various mythical creatures that dwelled in the night. It was about then that a loud canid howl pierced the air and climbed high into the sky. Its origin was miles away though, but its meaning was felt by Arimis. His head turned up from the girl's lap and ears perked, swiveling to where it emanated from. Even though Isa didn't understand it she knew what it meant. They had to leave each other now. The wolf glanced back at his lover with a solemn expression and while neither of them wanted to move, they did. Slowly Arimis pushed himself up from the ground and lifted his great body onto his feet. The vampire was quick to follow, her lithe form coming to a full stand with her flawless write skin catching the light from the moon perfectly.

The two turned to each other and embraced one last time for that night, holding for an extra-long period before sharing a last kiss and stepping away. Arimis caught Isa's hand in his paw before they fully broke contact however and stared into her eyes with hurt longing.

"I love you," he said under his breath but more than loud enough for the vampire to hear.

"I love you too," she replied and let a smile draw over her lips. "Shall we meet here again at the same time?" The wolf nodded his head.

"A rendezvous under the moon, my dearest," he replied and let the hint of a smile break over his own expression as best a canid muzzle would allow. With that their grasp released and the vampire turned from the lupine. From beneath her cloak a pair of appendages shifted and unfurled, black leathery wings like a bat eased from their folded position on her back. They stretched to a full span of almost ten feet from tip to tip before the girl crouched and took a leap into the air. Her wings caught the breeze and flapped with a loud whooshing sound as she flew off into the sky. Arimis watched as she slowly became a dot and kept still even after he could no longer see her. Reluctantly he turned back towards the cliff and stepped closer to its edge.

There came more excited howls, no longer one werewolf calling out but now several of them. Arimis took a deep breath and looked out on the expansive scene that stretched on before him. He needed to swallow back his sadness and put on a convincing façade, his pack mates would be able to sniff out his mood if he wasn't convincing enough. Stealing a few more moments to himself he moved closer to the precipice and then stepped over the edge. His body whistled as his bulk cut through the air like a bullet. Arms splayed at his sides, body marginally limp, he collided with the ground with a rolling boom that caused the trees around him to shiver. When the dirt and leaves settled her rose from his crouched position and let up a howl of his own, drawing far up into the heavens that put all of the others to shame. He pulled deep within for anger and aggression, but anyone with a proper ear could easily detect the hint of sadness.