Training continued

[Ace]

Ace entered Diagon Alley with a great deal of confidence, Cain following close behind. The world was open to them, or so it seemed, with the usually-bustling streets of the wizarding capital deserted and empty. There was a strange groaning noise far in the distance Ace couldn't quite place, but felt set the right mood for setting his trainee on alert.

He turned his piercing orbs to Cain, who was sullen and silent as usual. Ace had given up trying to force conversation on the journey to Diagon Alley, and let his brood, keeping his own mind on other things far more important than the training of a mere child.

"So. We're here. Diagon Alley is a busy, bustling place during the daytime. And although it might look dead right now, there is more to what lies before you than meets the eye." Ace smiled confidently. "You will find that this happens fairly often when you're a Vampire. Things... change. The world is different. So, take a look around. Feel around with all your senses. What is the night telling you? Pick a direction and we'll follow it. You are a killer. Don't fight it."

Ace folded his arms across his chest and scrutinised Cain more carefully, waiting for the boy to give him something to go on for the rest of the evening.

[Cain]

Cain's initial reaction to Diagon Alley was that they wouldn't find much here. But Ace told him otherwise; instructed him to use his newfound senses to find where the action would be that evening.

He looked out into the distance. He heard wailing that confused and enthralled him, but he tried hard to ignore it, and instead heard movement... somehow, incredibly, that he knew was only a few streets away from the towering Gringotts bank in the centre of the shopping town.

"That way. There are people." Cain's eyes flashed as he marched forward immediately, not waiting for Ace to approve him.

[Ace]

Ace growled under his breath - this child was too foolhardy, too precocious. How was he supposed to tame the untameable?

"Cain. Get back here, you fool. Do you think we live by find and kill, find and kill?" Ace was obviously angered, and grabbed Cain by the cuff of the neck. "We die that way. It is not as easy as it looks. Human beings are naive and incredibly stupid, but they do possess a certain sixth sense that makes life difficult for us. They cannot know what we are unless they have studied us or been in company of Vampires - but they seem to have a certain way of knowing whether a person is dangerous or not. Which is why the most important part of being a Vampire is knowing how to impersonate a human. Having recently been one yourself, it shouldn't be too much of a problem."

Ace released his grip on Cain and gave him one last glare before beginning to walk in the direction Cain had pointed out. He had heard voices and smelt the life there, too, so at least he knew his trainee wasn't completely useless. He made his way, following the sound and smells that promised a good night's feed, until he was at the corner. If he walked any further he would be in plain sight.

He whispered to the shadowy figure that walked behind him; "I sense about three humans around this corner. I don't think you're ready to kill just yet, though, so follow closely in my footsteps... become my shadow. You can be almost invisible if you concentrate hard enough. Watch what I do, imagine being me, feel it rain over you... and then we'll see about your turn. Understand?"

He waited for the younger Vampire's confirmation before walking out to greet his dinner.

[Cain]

Cain's face remained blank even as Ace shook him by his collar and spat words into his face. To all the world it would seem he was not bothered by Ace's vehemence, or words of caution - never the less, he followed Ace almost demurely to the place he had located, and pressed himself, like Ace, against the wall just around the corner from their prey.

Nodding at Ace's instructions, Cain waited for Ace to go. This was it - the moment he had been waiting for. He hardly released he was clenching his fists so tightly until blood seeped from where his fingernails dug in.

[Ace]

Ace smiled, and a growl began and died instantaneously in his throat, before he rounded the corner and faced them - a man and woman, clad in black and in the middle of some kind of ritual, and a child hanging behind them, playing with something in the dirt on the side of the street.

The parents seemed oblivious to Ace's appearance, and continued chanting, but the child turned, and smiled, its eyes lighting up. It was impossible to tell whether the child was male or female, but it struggled to its feet and waddled over to the blonde Vampire, clearly figuring it would get more attention from this new person than from its parents. It raised it's chubby arms, waggling its fingers, clearly wanting to be picked up.

Ace's fanged smile did not deter the child as he reached down and cradled the little thing in his arms. The child simply smiled sweetly at him, covering its mouth as if understanding that they should be quiet, that it was a secret. Ace bent his head over the child, pulling down the collar of the t-shirt the child was wearing to inspect its little podgy neck. The child raised up its arms again, playing with the long strands of dirty blonde hair that were now dangling in its face, as Ace buried his head into the soft, warm-smelling neck of the innocent.

As though its smile had been a promise, the child made no sound, and died silently in the Vampire's arms. Raising his head again, Ace slowly licked the blood from his lips and then placed the child gently on the ground, resting its little rolling head against the concrete wall.

Ace stepped predatorially closer to the couple, who were still heavily into their ritual. They were clearly part of the oldest wizarding world, still dedicated to long and boring rituals every other week, believing it was that which brought them good fortune and not just simple good luck. Well, your fortune is about to change, thought Ace, with a sadistic thrill that shocked and pleased him. How long had the killer inside him lain dormant?

With a growl, he grabbed each of them by their necks and smashed their skulls together - it seemed to knock out the man, but the woman groaned as she fell with her husband to the floor. With a grin he picked her back up by her neck, and held her face inches before his. "You're a bad mother, you know," he whispered, and turned her face to see the fallen body of her child on the side of the street. He knew, as did she, that it would be the last thing she ever saw, as he snapped her neck brutally and dropped her to the ground. Turning to the husband, Ace grimaced and kicked his body - he rolled without sound into the middle of the road.

Ace looked to where Cain lurked in the shadows, signalling that it was his time to come forward.