Memories and Blood [CLOSED]

Dwayne loved the night; it was the only time he could be out anyway. One thing he learned about this forest was that he was the most dangerous thing in it. Tonight was a night to hunt. He was hungry and needed to feed, but he wouldn't feed like normal people do. Even some demons don't feed in the manner he does. Dwayne hunts, kills, and sucks the blood out of his victims for his own sustenance. He may leave one alive if they didn't put up too much of a struggle, or if they understand what he is and don't give him that bad of a time. His kinds rarity says that's happened once. You see, Dwayne Hollick is a vampire and so he drinks blood to live and must only do this during the night.

On this particular night, Dwayne was particularly hungry. Not many traveled through his forests, since he has become somewhat of an myth. He's tried to not kill his prey anymore, but it's not easy when a lot of them are bandits, bounty hunters, mercenaries, or other scum of Aurora. Some of them are even people hunting him down. He usually avoids the innocents, so only the delinquents of the world know he's out here; they decide to enter his territory anyway. With the lack of food recently though, Dwayne was quite happy to hear that scream. He stopped in his tracks, turned on his heel, and rushed off to where he heard the scream coming from. "Haha... I'm eating some sweet dinner tonight!"

Dwayne came to the scene quite quickly. He ended up jumped up into a tree that was right above them, but behind the girl. He watched for a bit, debating to himself what to do. She was kicking and scratching at him; the fighting mechanics of most untrained females were showing quite strongly here. She was able to back away from them, but obviously they were going to come back at her. He noticed her bruises and torn clothing and decided that he girl had already been through her own hell, so these guys weren't being nice by making it worse. He didn't get to see her eyes start to glow because as that happened, Dwayne pushed himself down from the tree and went in to attack them.

Dwayne grabbed onto Henry's head and shoved him back and into the ground. Dwayne slammed the mans head on a rock and knew he had died instantly. Dwayne would feel guilty about this if these men weren't evil, but oh well. Dwayne tossed Henry's body into the brush and spun on his heel toward Grant. With a punch to Grants nose, stomach, and then ribs, Dwayne was able to shatter a good portion of the guys body. He wasn't trying to be so brutal, but this worked for him. It let out some needed stress. As Grant was about to fall, Dwayne stepped up behind him and bit down into his neck. He made sure that his back was to the girl and took in as much as he could very quickly. He didn't want her to see that and so when he was done, he pushed Grants lifeless body away and wiped his mouth before turning to the girl. "Hey." he said and crouched down right next to her, "You alright?"

The woman's fear was understandable, but Dwayne ignored it. He wasn't going to hurt her, so the fear wasn't to be paid attention to. It was best for him because there was a time he got a kick out of a woman fearing him. Those times were over; he hoped. She had blood on her head; Dwayne took note of the injury. He looked her up and down, checking out her alluring figure. A primal urge of his own clawed at the back of his mind, but he fought the feeling off. He paid more attention to the bruises than anything else. "Well, Iris." he assumed it was her name, "You're on my land. This is my forest and I don't like many people traveling through it. There are a lot of men like them-" Dwayne pointed back to the dead brothers, "that travel this road, so it'd be best if you hurried along." Dwayne grabbed her by her upper arm and pulled her to her feet. "There is a town about thirteen miles that way." Dwayne pointed down the road and turned toward the forest, "If you don't want men like that harassing you again, it'd be best for you to get moving, alright? Uh... Be careful while you're out there. Yeah, later."

Dwayne could tell he was being followed. “She’s following me... Why is she following me?!” he asked himself. He sped up to try and lose her, but she was doing her best to keep up. “Ugh, what the hell, woman!?” He didn’t want to just leave her out here, especially if she was going to leave the road to stalk him through his jungle. Dwayne stopped and jumped back toward her, closing the gap he had previously created. “What are you doing? Why are you following me?” he asked and pointed back toward the road, “I told you to follow the road, Iris. You’ll find a town a few miles down it. It’s safer that way.” He raised an eyebrow at her. He did his best to prevent his eyes from wandering downward, but it was a battle difficult to win. When she explained herself, his expression softened a bit.

“You don’t remember anything? Nothing about yourself?” Dwayne sighed and rubbed the back of his neck. He looked around, thinking about what he should do in this situation. It wasn’t going to be an easy choice. “You’re going to follow me all the way back, aren’t you?” he asked. When he got his answer, he just sighed, shook his head, and motioned for her to follow. “Come on...” he said and began to lead her through the trees, “Be careful; don’t get your dress caught on anything and pay attention to where you’re going... There’s a lotta shit out here that’ll kill you easily, so don’t give the chance.”

That smile she gave about following him, caused Dwayne to raise an eyebrow. The left side of his mouth twitched as he fought a smile. “That was cute.” he thought. The two walked through the jungle together and Dwayne kept himself alert, as usual. He stopped when she tore her dress to make travel easier. He stared at her, taking in the shape of her legs and then looking up to her bust again. This was a dangerous game Iris was playing. The temptation was high, but luckily he had gained some self control since he began his personal rehabilitation. “When we get to  my place, we’ll get you some clothes more suited for the jungle. It won’t be pretty, but it’ll be better than walking around in a dress.”

“Yes, I do live out here and call me Dwayne.” he told her as he snatched a snake out of a tree, snapped its neck, and tossed it across the jungle. “I will be calling you Iris, whether it’s your name or not.” he told her as he helped her over a large fallen tree. He chuckled at her frustration. The areas she had forgotten are interesting. He wasn’t sure how amnesia worked, but that hit on the head must have been more damaging than it looked. “No, I’m not a farmer. I’m more of a hunter, not a mountain man. This is the jungle, so mountain man doesn’t really work.” Dwayne stopped and groaned in annoyance. “We’re going to slow. Come.” He picked her up and then began darting through the jungle. “I don’t live close to here, so walking is going to be a pain. I’d rather not take forever to get back.” Dwayne hurried on at what was a normal pace to him, hopping through the trees with ease.

The woman was now Iris and it was likely staying that way, even if she did remember. He didn’t think that memory was going to come back though. He hadn’t seen a case where it had on such major memory loss. When she spoke out in pain, he raised an eyebrow at her. He was strong, but he wasn’t hurting her. “Oh, right.” he rolled his eyes at himself and shook his head. She had been hurt and he wasn’t really being gentle. He loosened his grip on her and held her more firmly, just not tight. He wasn’t trying to hurt her and his dumbass didn’t remember she was already hurt in the first place. He moved through the trees quickly and not surprisingly, Iris was more than a little talkative.

“Usually people comment about the scar on my face over the tattoo under my clothing.” he said, glancing down to her when he had a free moment to do so. Soon, the two found themselves deep in the jungle about eight miles from their previous position. Dwayne set her down and walked toward a small wooden hut. It was decently made, but had obviously seen some harsh winters. Dwayne never really needed to fix it up since he wasn’t exactly a human. “Well, this is where I liv-” Dwayne stopped when he smelled the air. He looked behind Iris and narrowed his eyes, stalking forward like some beast. Through the brush were two bright yellow eyes, staring over at them. “What? Not gonna come out?”

Suddenly, a large tiger snarled and rushed out of the jungle at Dwayne. The two seemed to be fighting at first; they were pretty much wrestling against each other, but Dwayne was always smiling. He looked to be having fun. When he pinned the tiger, the tiger laid still for a moment and Dwayne let him go. “Almost got us there. If you had attacked instead of watched, you would have.” Dwayne said, but the tiger rolled like a giant kitten and then sat up, scratching at the back of his ear. The tiger growled a bit and then glanced over to Iris. “Yeah, yeah... Didn’t want to attack while I held the gir-... How long were you following us?” The tiger almost seemed to smile at that. “Ah... Hah. Nice job. Gettin' better!”

"He's not a pet, he's my friend. He's the only one I got." Dwayne pat the tiger on the head and side, "His names Rakil. Don't worry about him; as long as you're welcome on my land, he won't attack or anything." Rakil walked over toward Iris, but kept a few feet distance between the two of them. He circled  her and just seemed to be observing her before he stopped and sat down back near Dwayne. "I don't know why he does that; it's just his thing." Dwayne explained before she asked anything about that. Dwayne motioned for Iris to follow and was about to head inside when Rakil growled. "What?!" Dwayne put his hands on his hips and raised an eyebrow at Rakil, who just stared intently back.

"Oh, right... Yeah, got distracted by the girl. I got to feed, but didn't find anything you'd like, since you don't eat snake. Go out and get your own food; since when do I have to bring you back a meal?" Dwayne went into the hut. Rakil snarled and growled a bit before heading back into the forest. Once Iris came inside, she'd be greeted with a very plain cottage. There wasn't much about and all of the furniture was handmade with wood and furs. There was very much a "mountain man" feel about it. It only had one bedroom and the outhouse was to the right of the hut, about thirty feet away. The outhouse looked like it hadn't been used in years. "I doubt you'll want to stay here long, but here it is."

"I built this place from the bottom up. There aren't many things in it that I didn't make; that includes the walls, you know?" Dwayne said with a hint of pride. He walked off toward a back room and came out with a long robe like his, but black with red trimmings. He tossed it at her and then tossed the sash to her as well. "Put that on... It'll feel better than what you've got on. I'm gonna look for some pants..." he went back into the room. What he gave her was clean, but it was obvious most of his stuff wasn't. He tossed lots of clothes everywhere, all of them being mens clothing and too big for her. If they were her size, they were dirty and he wouldn't do that. "Ugh. I can't find anything that you'd wear!"

Dwayne got up from the floor and the scattered pile of clothing. "I don't usually have women around; I don't usually have people around period, so you're gonna have to deal with that for a while... I'll figure out something. Maybe go out and hunt a bear... I can make something out of that... Though this is the jungle; you don't see many bears around here." And then Dwayne realized something; this woman was human. He looked around at the obvious lack of kitchen and  then back to her. "You know, you're probably not gonna stay here long anyway, so once you're comfortable enough, I'll take you to the vi-" A snarl came from outside and Dwayne looked out the window to see Rakil with a boar. "Perfect."

Dwayne rushed outside. "No, no, no!" he waved his arms at Rakil and stopped him from tearing through the animal. He crouched down next to his tiger friend and explained the idea. "Look, the girl needs food and you know I don't eat that kinda shit. You think I could cut off a few pieces of meat to make sure she-" The tiger snarled and pushed Dwayne with it's giant paw. "Oh come on man! Fine... How about I help you with your hunt every time you do it? Hm? You think that'll work?" Rakil seemed to be thinking for a bit and then sat down next to his boar, nodding once. "Ah. Nice. Thanks Rak." Dwayne ripped away some of the boars fur and grabbed a chunk of meat. "You cook?" he asked her.

The easiest way for Dwayne to describe this woman was "sweet." She didn't know much, but she was trying to help no matter what it was. She ended up burning herself in the process too. Dwayne looked away and rolled his eyes at that. He didn't want to be mean, but she really should just let him deal with the outdoor stuff. With that dress she was wearing before, he doubted that she was the type to be out in the jungle roughing it. "Yeah, I made it. Took me a while to make the robes because I didn't want to walk around lookin' like a damn mountain man." He said in regards to her previous assumption. When she spoke up again, he knew what was coming and he wanted to say no right then, but...

"Look, Iris... What the hell am I getting out of this deal?" Dwayne raised an eyebrow at her, "I'm not just some nice guy that will do whatever he can for some chick who needs help, ya know? I don't live like normal people do. My best friend is a damn tiger." Dwayne pointed over to Rakil, who retorted with his own snarl. "I can't go hunting for you and me every day. I can't worry about whether you're gonna get caught by some poachers or a damn panther out there. And what happens when something gets in the hut, because yes that does happen. You just gonna scream and run? If you want me to sit here and protect you until you feel better, I want something out of it. What the hell can you give me?"

Dwayne snatched the platinum piece out of her hand the moment she started crying. "I can take this as payment." he said with a smirk. He had already planned on getting the girl an outfit or two once they got to town anyway, so that didn't matter. If anything, it made it cheaper on his account. He looked to her and saw those tears again, so he placed his hand over her eyes. "Don't you start that shit. I don't need to see any tears from you, got it? Women..." he removed his hand and sighed, shaking his head in annoyance, "You guys are always so emotional and cryin' all the time, and over small stuff. Well, you're situation ain't small, so I can get it right now, but it don't mean I like seein' the cryin' shit." At least not anymore. Dwayne really didn't mind the crying a few years back. In fact, he probably enjoyed seeing a woman cry way back then. "Now... just cook your stuff and eat... Enjoy."

"Good. If you don't like it, then don't do it!" he pretty much demanded, growling in annoyance. He looked away from her and narrowed his eyes. He needed to punch something and was looking around for his victim. He didn't want to destroy anything that would mess up his land, so what could he take his frustrations out on. Maybe that tree? Or that rock? No, those would mess up s-... Wait, was she still talking? Dwayne turned to her and raised an eyebrow when he realized she had continued on. He barely got the end of it. Was he just asked a question? What was it? What was it? Oh. "Long enough. Can't really remember since I don't keep count. This is just my place and I don't plan on leaving it."

"Not the entire time." Dwayne replied like he was suspicious of her. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her as well. Why was she asking these questions? Was she a spy or something? Ha! Like anyone out there would know he was here and they'd be stupid to try anything if they found out. Besides that, the torn dress and allowing men to mess with her on the side of the road said other wise. "Look..." he said in reply to her last comment, "You're cute and everything, but don't go gettin' to cozy. I ain't into lettin' a little woman live here for too long. Well..." he smirked and leaned into her, "Not unless they're wantin' to be my woman, but I highly doubt that's something you want. Not many can handle me."

Well, at least she admitted it, but wait what? Did she actually just call him a nice person. Dwayne's face distorted in confusion and shock. He stared at her, blinking rapidly. He stood up and stepped away from her, beginning to pace back and forth while mumbling to himself. "You're a nice person, you're a nice person! Are you kidding me? Me? A nice person. She's gone crazy. I mean, it's not like she knows about... everything. So maybe I can be? I don't, ugh! This is stupid. 'You haven't forced me down or any-' Blah! Doesn't mean I haven't thought about it a thousand times by now..." After a few moments, his self-ranting stopped and Dwayne looked back to her. "Fine. If you want to stay, you can. Just try to stay out of my way, okay? And don't mess with anything unless you know what it is and how to handle it.  Meaning, don't touch any weapons... Stay clear of the tiger and stick close to the house... I don't need you gettin' lost in my territory. I will not be a babysitter... Fully, since I kinda already am."