More than half way through the case of beer that he carried under his arm, Frank was staggering through the dangerous West Side of the city. He was looking for trouble to get into. And on the West Side, there was usually more than enough trouble for each citizen and then some. His denim trench lay open and flapping in the wintery breeze. And though his hands and face were reddened by this wind, the alcohol in his system made it possible that he didn't even feel the ice in the air. Luckily for him, he hadn't spied anybody to molest or annoy. At least, not yet. His mind swirled with maddening thoughts, conflicting thoughts. Mostly of his twin brother and their adopted sister. Though nothing had ever happened and probably never would, it made him hard just thinking, imagining them together. And it made his blood boil with jealousy. He wore a scowl and threw another empty bottle over his shoulder before grabbing another from the box. It was getting lighter every ten minutes or so.

Shen Lei's nightly patrols were beginning to calm down. When she'd first arrived, each night had been filled with slayings of various different types of demon; now she'd been in Rhy'Din for a while, her nights had gotten a lot quieter, with the more intelligent of the unpleasant undead community keeping themselves to themselves. She was, as usual, dressed up as vampire bait, because young vampires just couldn't resist a bare-necked young woman walking alone through the streets. It got the easier fights out of the way at the beginning of the night. With her jugular pretty much served up on a plate, and her trusty stake tucked into her boot, she was minding her own business, walking through the West End on her way back to the Plaza to report in for the night. "Oh my," he slurred, a sneer twisting his features. He eyeballed the girl as she passed the mouth of the alleyway he'd been strolling. Quickening his steps, he turned the corner to follow her. Alcohol dulled eyes appraised her swaying hips and those legs. "Come to Pappa," he called out to her. "I got money and beer. Let's party, baby."

Oh, yes, that was the problem. Drunk human men who had all the predatory instinct of a de-fanged vampire. Lei glanced over her shoulder at the staggering man who had fallen into step behind her. "Go home before you get hurt," she told him irritably. "Now that's no way to make money. Be a good little whore and c'mere. Me gots lots of money, you love me, long time." he waggled his brows and nearly tripped over a crack in the pavement. "sh!t!"

She let out a mirthless snort of laughter, frowning into the darkness ahead. She'd thought she'd seen a horned shape lurking ahead, but with this idiot on her heels, the chances of a good kill were out of the question. "Yeah," she drawled sardonically, not even bothering to look back as she heard him trip. "Not out here for your benefit. And seriously, if you don't want to be taking your teeth home in your hand, back off."

"Oh, a tough b!tch, huh' Well come here and show me how tough you are." He nearly growled and sped up the pace to catch up with her. "I'll show you not to run your filthy mouth, lazy c*nt." He attempted to grab her arms, three times before giving up. "Squirrelly little b!tch, ain't you?"

She had been about to leave him there. "Yeah, you know what? That's just not cute." Reaching down, this little bundle of strength and agility grasped Frank by the scruff of the neck and dragged him to his feet, taking a firm grip of the back of his jeans . Then she began to march him along the street, seeking out somewhere softer than cobbles to throw him down and really get to grips with this walking bad attitude of his.

"Hey, what?re you..." His voice was coarse, strangulated. He flailed as he was so easily lifted by this seemingly tiny woman. "Let go of me, b!tch!" He continued to struggle, striking whatever he could with feet and hands. "let go!"

Turning the corner, she found what she was looking for. "With pleasure." And a moment later, Frank would find himself tipped face first into a large mound of rubbish.

He flew and landed into that mountain of garbage. It was like trying to swim through a thick, rancid river of sewage. When he finally was able to get to his feet his hair was plastered to his head with some foul smelling muck. His trenchcoat was spattered with something he dared not even try to figure out. He wiped his eyes with the backs of his hands and scowled. Breathing heavily, he simply stared at the woman. Hatred and lust boiled together in his blood. His hands twitched and as he imagined her, under him and her lip bursting and coating them with blood from just the smashing he was wanting to give her. Then they balled into fists. "Oh, c'mere Kitty. Kitty Kitty Cat. Let me stroke your p*ssy."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. Some people just didn't know when to quit. "Okay, you wanna play?" she asked, turning to square up to him, her body loose and her temper itching for a fight now he'd made his intentions explicit. "C'mon then, bruiser. Let's see how impotent you really are, shall we?"

That's when he lunged, a stupid move at best. He was drunk and he was wearing expensive Italian shoes with no sort of grip to the sole. Between the ice and the slick goo that was spread on the ground from his trip through Mt. Rubbish, Frank found his arms pinwheeling. He slammed onto the hard concrete and his chin exploded in a gush of blood. If she weren't careful, it'd get onto her shoes.

"Oh, for cryin' out loud ..." she exclaimed, grimacing as yes, indeed, blood did spatter over her shoes and the hems of her jeans. She crouched down beside him, pushing him over onto his back, and tore a strip off his own shirt, bundling it into a pad to hold against his bleeding chin. "Just not your night, is it, fella?"

When he was rolled over, he looked up at her with glazed over eyes and a stupid grin on his face. "You got nice tits," he slurred as his hand reached up and grabbed. He gave a cruelly hard squeeze and held on.

Yelping in pain at his groping hands, Lei didn't even think. She backhanded him hard across the mouth, reached down, and gave him a return squeeze, just as hard as she'd grasped his fist at the beginning of this encounter. "Now ....what are women?" she asked almost pleasantly. "And please do remember that your future as a man is in my hand right this minute."

His head rocked to the side as the impact echoed off of the brick walls. Frank howled in pain as his crotched was grabbed. Still, he didn't give up. Driven by some force to be as foul as he could be, he brought his head back to center and spat up at her. "f*cking c*nts," he growled.

Lei didn't even blink as his spittle hit her on the cheek. Let's face it, demon blood was far more disgusting than human spit. She didn't retaliate in kind, choosing instead to clasp her fingers harder and tug sharply. "Sorry, I didn't hear that right. Say again?"

Frank yelped with pain and felt something pop. His eyes widened to the sizes of goose eggs and he fell still. Blood began to pool between his legs, staining his trousers. It didn't stop there. Soon he was laying in a sticky, steaming sauna of his own blood. He stared up at her with unbelieving eyes as his body began to twitch. "Wh...what?d you do?"

She raised a brow, completely unconcerned about the blood seeping between her fingers. "What. Are. Women?" she asked again in a slow, deliberate tone. "And don't think for one second that I won't rip them all off if you get it wrong this time."

Frank's mouth opened and closed as he started to shake. His eyes glazed over and rolled into their sockets before closing. He whispered softly, "b!tches," before he finally passed out. Laying there, limply, the blood began to quickly freeze his pants, and subsequently, himself to the ground.

"Aw, geez." Lei swore quietly as he passed out, and began rifling through his clothes. Locating his wallet, she flipped through until she found what she was looking for. "Okay, Mr Frank Granger of Beecham House," she said, replacing his wallet and heaving him up and over her shoulders. "Let's get you home." She carried him easily through the darkened streets, leaving him slumped on the doorstep of his own house. "And just so you know," she informed the barely conscious man, "if I ever hear of you treating anyone like that again, I'll come and finish the job. I know where you live now." She knocked on the door, and sprinted off down the path, pausing just out of sight to hear him being discovered on the doorstep.

Frank had lost a lot of blood. A whole lot of blood. He was breathing raggedly as he was dumped onto his front doorstep. "Don't....go..." he reached out but his arm slumped just as soon at it had went straight. His eyes closed and he took several deep breaths before he passed out, once again. "Gabi," was the last thing uttered before he succumbed to the dark, velvety cloud.