Inside Dagaz's apartment

Dagaz escorted Ava off of the rooftop like a complete gentlemen, although the term man may not have applied to him any longer. What he was now had taken him beyond Mankind, beyond mortal and into realms far beyond.

He had evolved. Transformed into a separate, far more predatory species. No longer Homo Sapien, but Homo Sapiens Sanguineus. He was superior to Humanity, or so he would be led to believe.

He was, as he would come to learn much later on, little more than a Fledgling at that time, no better than a mewling babe crying out for its mother's attention. Newly turned, he needed to prove he deserved his very right to exist, or else his new un-life could be snuffed out just as quickly as it had begun. Luckily for Dagaz, he had already learned the base lesson all Kin discover.

How to sustain oneself.

He was about to discover the second thing all Childe learn upon their rebirth: that their body is not quite what they remember.

The Embrace moulds the vessel to strengthen it for the changes to come. All of the bodies internal organs first wither away, save the stomach which survives. The blood then snakes its way through the remaining space, until the majority of the bodily fluids have been replaced by blood. The Kin blood strengthens and fortifies what remains of the vessel, as the body re-forms to accept the curse, until finally the transformation is complete.

The resulting form is stronger, faster, more resilient to injury that what it had once been. The new body may develop more gifts in time, but these few all Kin are gifted with to begin.

But where there are gifts, there are always curses. The Ying to the elemental Yang as it were. Fire, daylight. The Hunger. The constant Hunger. Gnawing away inside and never truly satisfied, the thing driving their very existence and shaping every action they took, the good and bad and all those that linger in the grey area between.

"The shower's through there," Dagaz said, pointing to the far side of his apartment. "There should be a fresh towel on the rail, and I think there's a spare robe in there somewhere. If you want, throw your dress outside the door and I'll wash it for you. No sense in you getting clean and then having to put something dirty back on."

He popped the top button on his collar and undid the knot of his tie, glad to have the restriction around his neck loosened. As much as he loved wearing a good suit, the ties always drove him crazy after a while. Give him the choice and he would have foregone them entirely given the choice.

"Oh, you don't have to do that, " Ava said, "I've been enough of a burden tonight, and you've been so kind already."

He gestured again to the shower, and started to herd Ava in the general direction of the shower. He stepped into the bathroom and grabbed a hanger from inside, dropping his jacket onto it and hanging it in the corner of the room. Ava looked at him slightly puzzled.

"The steam helps any creases drop out," he explained. She giggled, having no idea exactly why she found that so amusing, but she did. Dagaz found it adorable.

"In," he said, pointing at the shower one more time. "Your clothes will be done by the time we've eaten, I promise. I'll go and put some fresh coffee on for when you get out."

"OK, OK" she laughed, resigning herself to the fact that he was either genuinely trying to be kind, or that he wanted to sneak a peak whilst she was in the shower. Truth be told, Ava didn't mind which one it was at that moment. She was tired as hell, dirty from laying in who knows what up on that rooftop, and had a hangover that felt like a grand prix was taking place inside her skull. She made her way to the towel rack, and picked one up, making a little show of waving it him. She closed the door, leaving Dagaz standing outside.

As he walked away he could hear the sound of the water come on even without his newly improved hearing, followed moments later by the sound of the door opening just a slither. A delicate hand emerged clutching a dress, followed shortly by a rush of steam. He couldn't help but notice that Ava didn't shut the door after her as she dropped her dress to the floor.