The Ryuu (first edition, sketch 4)

The man hit the floor with a sickening thud. He laid still, not daring to turn over and look at his captors.
"This was the only one left," Neko called. He moaned involuntarily as he realized she had to be talking to others like her.
Despite his better judgement, the man lifted his head. When his eyes met the figure standing before him, he threw his gaze to the floor in a wide-eyed gesture.
Same, the Kiun, approached her Sister, flanked by two Ryuu. Her eyes cruised around the small, ill-lit room before falling to the terrified thing with a wrinkled brow. "Are those bite marks on his neck?" she demanded.
Ookami, at the Kiun's left, closed her eyes ruefully. Same hated to discover that Neko had fed on information sources. Neko, however, impervious to Same's intimidating nature, put her hands on her hips defiantly. "I get at least one," she insisted. "You'd starve me to death."
Same chose to ignore the arrogance; Neko would get like that when she got hungry. Besides, she saw Neko avoid her gaze. As long as she was uncomfortable being insubordinate, Same allowed it - until Neko had her fill.
Neko moved aside to allow Ookami and Taka to move past. "Why don't I get to interrogate anymore?" she complained mildly.
"You keep killing them," Taka answered softly as she knelt to fix the man's wounds.
Ookami smiled at Taka's quiet venom. She waited, watching the whites of their victim's eyes, until Taka finished administering to his scalp and moved to his arms before asking, "Who do you answer to?"
The man cleared his throat, but his voice came out barely legible. "My supervisor," he croaked.
Ookami scowled and gently placed a boot on his chest. "Don't toy with me," she growled. "Who do you answer to?"
He glanced around at their faces and knew that he would not get mercy from any of them. He would never escape from one Ryuu, let alone four and the Kiun, so he quickly abandoned the thought - but not quickly enough. Neko hissed quietly at his defiant vibes, and Ookami twisted her boot, directly into a chest wound.
He gasped with pain. Taka made an annoyed sound and brushed away Ookami's foot to get access at the injuries below.
"No more games!" Ookami commanded, standing, infuriated, before the man. "Who do you answer to?"
"Just do as you're told and you won't get hurt," Taka told him without looking at him.
Without warning, Same came striding across the room toward Taka. With a horrid crack, her foot connected with Taka's face. The girl stumbled back onto the concrete floor.
"In case you thought we were joking," she explained calmly and reached for his neck. Unable to scream, he felt the veins expand against her icy fingertips. A low moan of fear escaped him.
All answers came quickly after that.



Miles and miles away from the crime site, Neko paced like a caged animal. Ookami's nerves ground against every footfall; her Sister's anxious energy made her jumpy. Taka didn't seem to mind and Same almost enjoyed it, but Ookami only wanted her to leave.
Neko was aware of the stress she caused her Sister, but could not help it. One man had not been near enough. Neko did not wish to stay, but she worried that Same had arranged a 'gift' for her. If she left now, she would recieve nothing.
Same did not look up from the papers she studied when she said, "Taka?"
Taka glanced up, snapped from her reverie. A cracked, bloodied mask laid in her hands, revealing the flawless face beneath. "Excellent work."
Taka smiled shyly. "Thank you." She was always grateful to receive commendation. The kick hadn't hurt, but hitting the floor had.
"Neko," Same began, much to Ookami and Neko's relief. She frowned at what she read and flipped through a few papers. "At the pier . . . dock nine. He's nineteen, non-smoker. He'll fight well. Cute, too."
Neko smiled. "Two years younger and he'd have been perfect."
Same waved dismissively. "Your preferences change with the moon. You should get out, too, Ookami," Same added. "The moonlight will do you good."
They vanished, and Taka approached Same. "I see how it is," she said with mock severity. "Let them out and keep me caged."
"Your calm helps me think. You might fly away," she noted. "Besides, don't you know there are vampires and werewolves on the loose?"
Taka sat next to her Kiun. "Better one thousand parasites and lycanthropes outside the home than one Fallen within."
"Smarter every day," Same muttered, and scribbled down something.