Predator and Prey

The weather around London was unpredictable. One minute it would be raking and the next it could be sunny without a trace of a cloud in the sky. After a few showers and a few hours of cloudy skies, it had cleared up and now it was sunny. Much to Ryo's dismay. He'd decided to go out because it was cloudy and raining. It was the perfect time for a Vampire to be out and about, unless it was night. That was the absolute perfect time for Vampires to come out. But at night most places weren't open and he k Ew the place where he wanted to go wouldn't stay open past six.

Sucks for him, so he took the risk of coming out during the day, knowing full well that if it cleared up soon he would be in serious trouble. Although, he way it was raining it didn't seem like it would clear up soon. To bad for him, it did clear up and he was left out in the sun, something that could easily kill him. Vampires could last five hours in the sun, but he didn't want to push his Puck by staying out in the sun for that long. The blonde haired boy quickly found his way to the shade made by a few shops around Diagon Alley and he co tiniest to walk, careful that he didn't step out into the sun.

He was going through all this trouble for a book. Yeah, that's right, Ryo Hiroku the boy who would usually never be found near books was risking his life by being out during the day for a book. Anyone who heard this would either laugh or call him an idiot. Everyone k Ew that Ryo hardly ever liked to read anything, well unless it was a manga(a Japanese comic book). Well, they couldn't call him an idiot now, well they could, be cause he was doing this for a new manga he'd just heard about. It was probably lame that a seventeen year old would be teasing those things, since most people called them immature books. Not that he cared what others thought.

He'd been reading those books since he was a little boy, and there was only one store in Diagon Alley that had them. Well it wasn't technically in Diagon Alley, this store was a little bit further from Diagon Alley, but it was for witches and wizards all the same. He didn't feel like going out into the muggle world to find the manga, because he was pretty sure that he'd be looking forever before he found out that there were none there. So he figured he'd just look in that store, it was better than going around for it.

As he approached the store, he realized that there was a gap between it and the other shops in Diagon Alley. A gap where the sun would hit him if he passed it. "Damn." he said under his breath. Looks like he'd been right to keep himself in the shade until he got to the shop. He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, before he braced himself and walked quickly to the shop. As the sun hit his skin, he winced a bit but he managed to make it before any real damage was done to him. He opened the door quickly, heard the bell ring above him, and he quickly closed it behind him. A small smile grazed his lips when he looked around the store. The clerk greeted him warmly - Ryo was a regular customer there - and Ryo returned the greeting before asking where the newest manta's where. She pointed to a rack toward the end of the second isle and he thanked her before walking over to it and searching for the book he wanted.

Cat had been in London all morning. It had been pouring rain, then clearing up, and quite frankly Cat hadn't really been in the mood to deal with it any longer. The very last thing that she wanted was to go home to her mother, because she had spent a great deal of drinking the night before and had been very angry, from the sounds of crashing coming from her bathroom.

Cat had finally grown tired of all the muggles in London that morning. Of course, the only way to escape it was to go into Diagon Alley. Perfect. That was where Cat felt like she needed to be that morning. She could always go for a new book, as that's the only productive thing she had done all summer, read. It was upsetting that she had read out all the books in her local library, only holding a mere one thousand books.

When Cat reached Diagon Alley, she sighed, pleased. Hogwarts was the only place she felt like she fit in. That and Diagon Alley. She knew a place that wasn't exactly in Diagon Alley, just a bit farther. It held interesting books, muggle ones included. So that was Cat's destination, the little bookshop no one would know was there if you didn't know about it to begin with. It was a nice bookshop, but it blended in with the wall, the only thing differing it was the little sign it had in front of the door.

Cat finally had reached her destination. The small gap it had was filling with sun, and she smiled. It was wonderful that it had finally cleared up. Her hair was still partially damp from that mornings rain, and she used a spell that would dry her off. Fluffing her hair out, she walked into the shop. She had only been there a few times, but the shop keeper knew who she was. The clerk nodded and said her name, and Cat smiled at her, nodding hello. She walked up to the counter, asking what she had new that day. The woman pointed towards the back of the store, and Cat made her way over. As she was walking, she accidentally bumped into a boy on the way there. "Sorry." Cat mumbled, pushing a lock of red hair out of her eyes.

As Ryo walked toward the back of the store, he looked at some of the other isles. There were quite a few gaps in the shelves and he smiled. Looks like people really wanted to read this summer. That was a good thing he supposed, but as he got further back, he noticed that there were barely any gaps. When he looked at the genre of the books, a confused expression crossed his face. They were fiction books. He blinked a couple of times and even took one of the books off the shelves.

It was about Vampires. He winced as he saw that it was about his kind. He could already tell what would be inside. He took a deep breath and opened the book anyways, what he saw was exactly what he'd expected to see, but worse. The pictures of Vampires with blood running down their chins, corpses on the ground, pools of blood on the ground. He looked at the title of the book. The Truth Behind Vampires. His eyes turned red in anger as he read the title. That was not the truth about Vampires. They weren't like that, at least not all of them. He looked around and saw books that were the same about Werewolves, and other creatures that were considered dangerous if you didn't actually know them.

Now he understood why people didn't want to buy those books. There were two very obvious reasons. One, the people who saw these book were too scared of the pictures, since they were very disturbing. And two, those who saw these had friends that weren't human and they found those books to be horrible. He placed the book back on the shelf, and tried to calm down. He couldn't let anyone see his eyes this way. They would know something was up. He walked out of the isle he was in quickly and he returned to his route toward the back of the store, where the book he wanted was.

Just before he reached the books though, he was bumped into by a girl. Younger than him by the looks of it and he tried his best to hide his eyes from her, knowing that they weren't back to their normal color yet. "Don't worry about it." he said softly after she apologized, still looking away from her. "You can go first, if you like." he added, gesturing that she approach the shelves first.

As Cat browsed the books, she noticed they all seemed to be either about vampires or werewolves. It confused her, and as she was looking at them she felt kind of sick. Cat knew the muggles didn't know they were real, but she knew for a fact that they were. The pictures that they had were terrifying, blood dripping of the fangs and muzzles of them both. Shivering, she set it down.

Trying to look for something more positive, she wandered back farther of the store. Most of the shelves back there were empty, and Cat had to assume no one really went back there. There were books, but they were healing books and potions. Not really interested in that, she decided that it was a lost cause. Cat did find books more appealing to her, but they were the sappy love stories. Sighing, Cat grabbed one, for no other reason, to just engage her mind in it.

The boy she had bumped into, tried hiding his eyes. Cat knew he was older her, probably by a good three years. Seeing red in his eyes, Cat blinked, and when she tried to get a better look, he had already turned around. "Okay... Thank you..." Cat, careful not to bump into him again, quickly scooted by him, trying to hide the confusion she was full of.