It was only October, but it was already cold in the Himalayas, where the snow-tipped mountains met the sky. With summer gone and winter fast approaching, even in the Paro Valley, it was getting wet and chilly. The mountains here were covered in thickly wooded forests, where humans were rarely seen, but some hardy wildlife prospered. Hunters here were few, except for a few rare predators, and of those, no one hunted at night, save the cats and the lone vampire who called these mountains home.

Even then, he didn't hunt every night. He'd trained himself to go days, even weeks without sustenance - all part of his self-imposed penance for what he considered his sins. His body had grown lean in the years that he'd spent here, until he had an almost starved appearance. He had no need for the meat of the creatures he hunted, but only the blood. When he could, he preferred to merely drink until his thirst was sated and then let them go free. When a kill was necessary, he often left the carcass where the villagers could make use of it, rather than leave it for scavengers.

He was careful not to kill the animals that were endangered. The monks had taught him that, and though they weren't sure what he was exactly, they knew he left from time to time to provide his own sustenance, rather than partake of their meager meals. In exchange for his stay, the monks were generously compensated by an unknown benefactor, which helped them maintain the monastery and keep it from falling to ruin.

This particular night was darker than usual. Though it was cloudless, it was also moonless - no light shining but that of the multitude of stars overhead. So many stars, it was impossible to count them all. Tonight's prey was a sheep, one of many on the mountain. It was too bad that the sheep was a favorite of wolves, as well.

Dark eyes watched him from the shadows, another predator out on the lonely mountainside yet not hunting for food. Sakura was well-fed, had made certain of that before venturing out onto the mountain tonight. She made no attempt to disguise her proximity to him, alert for the wolves that might choose to fight him for his quarry. He was gaunt, to her eyes, a far cry from the strong muscled man she had turned all those years ago. But he was alive. That was all that mattered.

It wasn't a matter of hunting the way wolves hunted, or even men. He was a sole predator with no pack to aid him, and no weapon other than that of his own teeth and wits. It was a challenge to hunt the wild this way; so much more so than preying on humans, who could easily wander into his grasp without ever suspecting they were in danger. But it wasn't so much about the challenge, as it was about survival. He was just about to pounce on the unsuspecting sheep, when he heard a howl in the distance and then another, and then his senses picked up something else - something strangely familiar. Something - or someone - he hadn't seen or heard from in over three hundred years.

She saw the moment he realized her presence, smiling faintly at the knowledge that the bond formed between them was not just a one way thing. But she was not here to spook him, or frighten him away, and so ....she stepped out of the shadows, into the low light, a small figure offering as little threat as she could manage.

It seemed the wolves would prevail tonight, as the sheep was quickly forgotten, along with his hunger, if only momentarily. He turned to face the living ghost in his presence, unsure if she was hallucination - a product of his hunger - or if she was something more. His senses told him she was real, flesh and blood, alive, but no longer human, just like him. He didn't speak. He couldn't remember when he'd last needed to speak. He only stood there and watched her, as silent and still as stone.

She approached slowly, as one might a skittish animal, coming no closer than was necessary to speak without disturbing the forest around them.

"Hello, William."

Her approach was not unlike the way he often approached the animals, with a hand extended, letting them know he meant them no real harm - it was only a little blood he needed, after all. But this was different. She might have been hunting him, after all, but she did not want his blood. Her name formed in his mind, on his lips, but no sound came out. Sakura, he whispered in his mind. But it couldn't be, could it' He looked too pale in the starlight, his eyes bright, but his face gaunt, his body too thin. There was recognition in his eyes though; recognition and wonder.

"They lifted the decree, William," she said softly, careful to speak in English. She had no way of knowing if he had retained his understanding of her own native tongue. "I have been looking for you."

The man he had been more than three centuries ago might have felt a rush of anger at the mention of the decree, but his time among the monks had not been wasted. He had learned to control his emotions, or at least, his rage. Whatever he had learned among them, he could not control the lump that formed in his throat or the tears that came unbidden to his eyes.

"Sakura," he whispered at last, his voice hoarse from disuse.

"Yes. Yes, it is me." But she didn't dare come any closer, not knowing how he would react to her from here on in. She could be moments from death, or from a new chapter in her long life. Only he knew which it was.

"Is ....it ....really ....you?" he asked, each word slowly enunciated, not because he'd forgotten how to speak, but only because he hadn't done it in so long. He felt his heart thumping in his chest, but he, too, remained where he was, afraid if she came any closer, she would evaporate before his eyes, proving her just a figment of his imagination.

"It is me," she promised him, trying not to let her gaze linger on how thin he had grown in his chosen exile. "I could not abandon my heart, my William. I have waited so long to come to you." She raised her hand slowly, her palm turned toward him, offering him the chance to touch her and be certain she was real.

He hesitated a moment, not because he was afraid, but because he still wasn't sure she was real, and then he stepped forward and stretched a hand out to meet hers, fingertips touching before he linked his fingers with hers. Her words found their way to his heart, and he couldn't stop the tears that streamed down his face.

"You are real," he said, only half-believing it.

Her small hand curled to his, lacing her fingers between his own, palm to palm, as her own tears began to fall from her sparkling eyes. "I'm real," she promised. "I'm here. I have missed you so much, William." She wanted to move closer, to wrap him in her arms and show him how real she was, but still she did not dare.

There had been plenty of humans available to feed on, if he'd so wished - monks, guides, tourists, among them - but he had not come to the monastery to feed. He had come here for atonement and to learn how to control his rage and his hunger. Julian had taught him some of that before he'd come here, but the monastery had proven a place of peace, away from the chaos of humanity. And now she wanted to take him back. It frightened him a little, but he had never meant to stay here forever.

"I should have looked for you. I wanted to look for you, but the Council ..." He trailed off. It wasn't and had never been his own safety that concerned him, but hers.

She shook her head, understanding bright in her gaze. "It wasn't safe," she agreed quietly. "They would have had us killed rather than let us be together. But the members of the Council have changed in recent years, and so has their decision. You are not a danger to the world, William."

"No, and I am not a danger to you," he assured her, though she already knew that. "I love you, Sakura," he whispered in her ear. "I have always loved you." And with that, he kissed her again, as if to let that kiss prove his words.

She all but purred into his kiss, clinging to him once more as she surrendered entirely into his embrace. "I love you," she whispered against his lips, pressing kisses upon kisses to his mouth. "I will always love you."

He did not bother to ask her to marry him, as it no longer seemed necessary. She had found him and come for him, and that was all the answer he needed to know that she still loved him.

"I can be ready to leave whenever you wish," he told her, his heart swelling with joy at her declaration of love.

"It is a long hike back to the airfield," she warned him. "You should feed first." She smiled, rising onto her toes to kiss his jaw. "We can make it by dawn if we leave within a couple of hours."

"As you wish, Sakura-chan," he said, gently pulling away from her and offering her a formal bow, though he'd addressed her informally. The tiniest hint of a smirk upon his lips assured her that, despite everything, he had retained his sense of humor and not become bitter.

She beamed as he bowed to her, not allowing him to straighten up before she claimed his lips with her own once again. "I have missed you so," she murmured. "But feed, and say your goodbyes. I will wait."

His smile widened to hear her tell him she'd missed him, but how he'd missed her; how lonely he'd been without her. He kissed her twice more, each kiss a little deeper than the last before breaking away. The night wouldn't last forever, and they had a long way to go before dawn.

"I won't be long," he promised, touching a finger against her lips before turning away. He was gone in a flash of motion that was almost too fast for a mortal to see, but not for the preternatural sight of a vampire.

She watched him dart away with a faint smile, waiting until he was out of sight before returning to where she had left the pack she had brought with her. There was clothing for him in there - modern, warm clothes, sturdy boots. Clothing that would not draw attention to them when they reached the airfield.

Somewhere out there on the mountain, he was hunting for prey - easy prey. Something small and easy to catch that would appease his hunger, until he could properly feed. A hare, a quail, or some other small prey. He was only interested in the blood, leaving the carcass for the wolves.

And Sakura waited with quiet hope, breaking her stillness only once to intimidate a snow leopard out of attempting to attack her. Predators were so easy to dissuade, for a vampire. It provided a little diversion to pass the time.

As promised, it wasn't long before he returned, a little more color to his cheeks. Though he still looked half-starved, he was no longer had the ravenous appearance of a vampire who'd just woken from a long sleep. He licked the last of the blood from his lips, even taking a moment to silently thank the hare for its sacrifice.

"Here," Sakura told him, handing over the pack. "Julian helped me to find clothing that should fit you. The boots, at the very least. The path down the mountain is littered with sharp rocks."

"I remember," he told her, taking the pack and slinging it over one shoulder, a small frown on his face. "I should bid my farewell to the monks," he told her. It was all he needed to do really, as he had neither brought nor acquired any possessions here.

"Of course you must," she agreed with a soft smile. "Should I come closer to the monastery, or remain here? I do not wish to alarm those who have sheltered you."

"You can come closer, but you cannot go inside," he told her, though she probably knew that already. Tourists had become regular visitors to the mountain, but even they were not allowed inside - only the monks were privy there, and him.

"I know." She slipped her hand into his, turning to walk with him back toward the monastery. "This is a sacred place. I would not shatter their peace simply for the sake of a few minutes."

"It was Julian who arranged for me to stay here," he confessed. Of course, it was. Who else would have taken the time or the trouble to do it, despite his own troubles with Serena.

She smiled faintly. "That does not surprise me," she admitted. "He has always had time for his friends, even during the worst of his troubles."

"You are his friend now, too," William said, more statement than question. It was not so surprising, knowing it was Freya who'd made her - the oldest remaining female of their kind. In a way, they were all family, all sons and daughters of the same vampiric line that went back centuries.

"We are family, all of us," she said as they walked. "And much has happened in the last century. We are finding where we belong, and with whom. It has been a long road for many of us."

William frowned faintly, hearing something in her voice that spoke of her own suffering. "I'm sorry, Sakura," he told her. He had struggled to atone for the lives he had taken, but there was little he could do to atone for her own suffering.

She squeezed his hand, still smiling faintly at the path before them. "What I have done, I make my own peace with," she assured him softly. "My actions are no one's responsibility but my own." She tilted her head, sharing that smile with him. "And we are not alone anymore."