As he came through front door to the abandoned shop, Luc's mind was still awash with all of the strange things he'd learned from the woman he'd just met in the Marketplace.? Foremost in his thoughts was her assertion that there were many vampires here, and that they didn't have to hide themselves.? He went quickly to the office in back, impatient to tell Danni what he'd learned.

Danni was still reclining on the couch, in the exact same position he'd left her in.? She was hurting still - both mentally and physically.? Now that Dracian's anger and pain wasn't driving her out of her mind, she had the opportunity to think about everything that had happened to them in the past two weeks.? She was certain that Dracian's awakening meant the end of the Ravnos Clan.? It was quite possible that she and Luc were the only Ravnos left...anywhere.

"Danni?" he said softly, seeing that her eyes were closed.? His need to tell her about the place they'd ended up in was momentarily submerged by concern for her.? He didn't think her injuries--caused by him--were life-threatening, but they still worried him.

She opened her eyes and looked up at him with a soft smile.? "Back so soon?? Let me guess...you found the traveler's bureau and ate the nice lady behind the counter."? She grinned wickedly at him and slid over a bit, giving him room to sit next to her if he wanted.

He chuckled.? "You can't be hurt too badly if you've still got a sense of humor."? He settled onto the couch next to her, carefully lifting her head and placing it in his lap.

"I'm not hurt too badly," she said, hiding the pain the movements gave her.? "What did you learn?"

He had a suspicion she wasn't quite telling the truth.? "Some very interesting things.? I met a woman, whom I'm positive is one of the Changing Breed; a feline of some kind.? She told me that this city is called Rhy'Din, and that it's some kind of 'intersection of a bunch of different worlds and time lines'.?

She frowned severely, inundated as she was by this barrage of information.? "Wait, Luc.? Slow down.? One thing at a time.? Changing Breeds?? Here?"

"Sorry," he said.? "Yes, Changing Breeds, here.? What's more, not only did she recognize what I was immediately, she didn't seem to care."

"No," she breathed.? "It's a trick of some kind.? It has to be.? Rhy'Din is the name of this place?"

"That's what she told me.? I don't think she was lying.? She was attracted to me pretty strongly."? There wasn't any embarrassment in his voice when he told her the last bit; both of them were quite used to using their looks to their advantage.

She frowned, though not out of jealousy or annoyance; she was thinking pretty heavily.? "And what else did you discover?? Intersection of time lines?? Different worlds?? What does that even mean?

"It means, basically, that our method of arriving here is not so strange.? When we first met, she asked me if I'd just 'fallen through the rabbit hole'.? It's clear that many of the inhabitants of this world are from other places.? Like us."

She was now nodding slowly, his words making sense to her...albeit a strange kind of sense.? "And you say she didn't care what you are?? That you are obviously Kindred?"

He nodded along with her.? "Yes, exactly.? I made some comment, something about seeing more fantastic creatures here than in my whole life, and she said 'This coming from a vampire?' without any sort of surprise or fear.?? And it gets stranger."

"Stranger?? That doesn't seem possible."? She was now hanging on his every world, filling her mind with the wonders he was relaying and burying her worries over what they'd left behind.

"When I reacted with shock to her casual reference to me as a vampire, she said that there are many vampires here, and no one would care if they knew I was one.? She said that there are so many strange beings here--and I have seen some of them myself--that 'no one would bat an eye over another bloodsucker'."

She snorted indelicately at the moniker and knew that Luc hadn't been mistaken - the woman he encountered had to have been a Changing Breed.? No one else would be brash enough to say that to a Kindred's face and somehow expect to get away with it.? "What sort of strange beings?"

"Almost anything that can be imagined," he said, a smile spreading across his face as he tried to impart to her the excitement he'd felt at seeing them.? "I saw what could only be elves, straight out of one of Tolkien's books, dragons flying over the city, and cyborgs walking down the street."

She chuckled and shook her head.? "Well, seems we've found a haven...for you at least.? Did you explore at all?? Find some good places to hunt maybe?"

"I did not explore much, only around our immediate are.? We're on the outskirts of a large, open-air market.? There are many shops and even more shoppers.? I saw quite a few alleys that would make decent hunting areas.? The woman also told me about a place called the Red Dragon Inn.? She called it the heart of the city, and said I should go there to find out more about the city."

"Tell me about her.? Did she seem...bestial?? Savage?"? Dannika had only ever encountered Changing Breeds in combat - there hadn't been time to sit down and speak with them over tea.

"No, not at all," he said immediately.? "She was practicing ballet when I spotted her.? Ballet!? She was intelligent and forthright.? She even spoke French, and very well, too.? Honestly, she was quite attractive."

This drew Dannika's brows down in a severe frown.? "Ballet?? French?? Are you certain she was a Changing Breed?? Maybe...Kinfolk, instead.? Or perhaps she owns many cats?"

"No, no," he said, shaking his head.? "I watched her carefully, with all senses enhanced.? She moved far too gracefully to be human.? I could smell the feline in her, and her muscles moved too strongly, as well.? Also, she knew I was there, even though I was cloaked in shadows at the time."

His explanation garnered a reluctant grunt of agreement and she reached for his hand.? "It seems safe?? And you don't feel Dracian any longer?"

He took her hand, squeezing it gently.? "Not a hint of the Founder.? Have you?

She shook her head and allowed the tiniest bit of relief to creep into her features and into her heart.? "I think...? I think we will be all right here, love.? Safe."

He stroked her hair softly and smiled.? "I have that feeling, too."? He paused for a moment, then asked a question that had been in the back of his mind ever since he came to his senses.? "Do you...do you think the Founder survived whatever happened?? The pain I felt...it seemed to great to survive."

She shook her head slowly, closing her eyes against the sudden memory of Dracian's pain and rage and the Hunger.? "I think he is gone, Luc," she said softly after opening her eyes again.? "I think..."? Her voice dropped to a whisper, "I think we are the only Ravnos left.? Any where."

"The only ones?? All dead?"? He couldn't even imagine that.

"Diablerized or...killed when Dracian me the Final Death."

He was silent for several minutes, trying to think through this. Finally, he shook his head.? "I guess it doesn't matter right now.? We need to concentrate on surviving here."

She nodded and gave his hand a grateful squeeze.? "Yes, you are right.? Do you...is there a way to get home?? Or are we stranded here?"

"She said there are ways to get back to our world...or others."

Something hit her, something he'd mentioned earlier.? "Time lines...? This Shifter of yours, she said intersection of time lines, correct?"

He nodded.? "Yes, that's right."

"Could we...could we go back to when the Grondr were still alive?"

"Mon Dieu," he exclaimed.? "I did not even think of that.? He squeezed her hand excitedly.? "This might be our way to find the ingredients we need."

She grinned and sat up, throwing her arms around his shoulders to hug him.? The wound in her stomach pulled open and she hissed severely in pain, dropping back to the couch and pressing a hand over it.? "Shite," she swore vehemently.

"Danni!? Are you okay?"? He leaned over her anxiously, looking at the wound, trying to see how badly she'd re-opened it. It seeped blood slowly; it wasn't serious but it was bleeding.? She would need to replace the lost blood if she wanted to heal.?

She looked up at him.? "You will have to care for me as I cared for you in the field hospital."

"Of course I will," he said.? "I will take very good care of you."? He held out his arm to her.? "Drink from me, chere.? You need the blood.? I will go out hunting afterward."

She took his arm gently, pressed a kiss against it and then sank her fangs into the vein in the bend of his elbow, drawing blood quick and making sure to take only as much as she needed and no more before licking closed the tiny wounds. He closed his eyes, savoring the sensation of her mouth on him as she drank his essence.? When she pulled away, he opened his eyes again, looking down at her with loving eyes.? "Are you sure that's enough?"

"Oui, mon amour.? It is enough."? She pulled him down gently to capture his mouth in a kiss, her fingers slipping through his hair to hold him close against her.

He kissed her deeply, stroking her arms and shoulders.? He didn't want to stop, but the night's exertions, combined with what she'd drunk from him had awakened the Hunger, and he needed to feed.? Reluctantly, he pulled away.? "I must go hunt now.? Be careful, my love."

"Et tu, mon coeur."? She gave him a soft, warm smile and let go of his hair, stroking it back behind his hears and smoothing it away from his forehead.

He smiled down at her and nodded.? "I promise."? Then he stood, careful to disturb her as little as possible, and slipped out of the room. She watched him go and then turned back to her ruminations.? It seemed she had lots more to think over now.

When Luc told Danni that he was going to visit some local stores to see about getting together some equipment that would let him continue his work, she'd decided to go out and explore the city a bit, get a feel for it.? He didn't mind, knowing that while she really was quite interested and invested in what he was doing, the day-to-day aspects of it sometimes bored her.? She wasn't the sort of person who was comfortable sitting around for very long.?

After less than an hour's work, he'd already amassed a tidy pile of gear.? It turned out, much to his delight, that this city was far more in tune with the magical and occult than their former home.? Alchemy and sorcery were just as normal here as engineering and biology.? Two hours later, he had enough equipment that he had to return home for fear of not being able to carry it all.? He had a good feeling about this city and how it would relate to his work.

When Luc came inside, Dannika was clutching a naked blade in her hand and standing beside the big, boarded over shop window at the front of the building, peering through cracks in the boards.? Her blouse was ripped, the edges of the tear stained with her blood, and she had a savage, beastly snarl on her pretty face.

Seeing that snarl on her face, he all but dropped his huge box of gear and ran over to her.? "What is it, cher?? What has happened?"?

"We have to leave, Luc.? We have to find a different haven.? It's not safe here.? He could have followed me."? She turned to regard him, the ghost of a long-dormant fear slipping through her gray eyes.

"He who?? What's going on?"? He was shaken by her fear, an emotion he didn't often see in her eyes.? He glanced behind him, making sure he'd closed the door tightly.? He quickly locked it, then turned to face her again.

She took a moment to collect herself and then launched into an explanation.? "I was out walking, reading people's auras as I wandered.? I saw a man, a tall, powerfully built man, with the most...horrifyingly exquisite aura I'd ever seen.? I followed him into an alley not far from that Inn."

He nodded, moving up beside her to peer out through the cracks.? There wasn't anyone there, not that he'd expected anyone to be.? Even in his excitement about finding so much useful equipment, he'd been careful to watch for anyone following or even paying too much attention to him.? Concealing their haven had been one of the first lessons Danni had drilled into him, and he'd never forgotten it.

"He killed a...a Watchman, I think.? He was so brutal and savage, like a Kindred in the grip of frenzy.? And he was strong, Luc, stronger than you or I, and just as fast.? We fought.? He shot me and when the bullet did no damage, came at me with a knife.? I hurt him, though, and got away."? She shook her head and sheathed the dagger in her hand.? "We have to find another haven, Luc.? I will not chance your safety staying here."

"He was human?"? He didn't know what to make of her description of the man, other than he'd obviously rattled her badly.? He looked around at the boarded up windows and dusty floor, and inwardly shrugged.? It wouldn't be a difficult thing to leave this place behind.? It had only been the closest shelter, after all, some place they could hide while Danni recovered from the wounds he'd inflicted in the grip of frenzy.

"He said he was Death...or a God," she replied, her voice soft.? "He smelled human, Luc.? But...not even ghouls are that strong or fast."? She quickly moved around the rooms they'd inhabited in the short time since leaving Earth, picking up anything she thought worth keeping and adding it to the box he'd brought with him.

"There are so many strange beings here, he could have been anything," Luc replied.? They'd been looking for a new haven off and on for the past few days, but had been unable to find anything ideal for their needs as of yet.? Just a few maybes.? "Where should we go?? We haven't found a good place yet."

"Perhaps the one near the Museum complex."? She gave him a quicksilver flash of a smile.? "Seems fitting, doesn't it?? We are antiques, after all."

He chuckled, grateful for the joke to break the tension.? "That's right, we get more valuable with age."? He dropped his few belongings into the box of stuff he'd brought back.? "That's everything I've got here."

She nodded and went to peer out through the boarded over window before unlocking and opening the door.? She stepped out and used her blood to enhance her senses, listening hard, scenting the air like a blood hound.? "It's okay,? she said.? ?Let's go.? Quickly, though."

Luc nodded, scooping up the large box and calling on the power of his blood to increase his strength and speed.? He was ready.? He slipped through door behind her, moving silently despite the bulky box in his arms.