[Kenly]

She looked up into the midnight sky, her golden eyes reflecting the fullness of the bloated moon. She hadn't run in the forest in so long, she almost forgot what it felt like. She knew it was time.

She could feel her body reacting even before she had consciously decided to agree with nature. Her lower abdomen filled with fire and she groaned. This was something he couldn't help her with. She didn't know if he'd understand, but she thought he might. They'd been together long enough for him to know she had her quirky little 'shifter' habits.

She'd kept this part from him, though. She had willingly surpressed it, forcing it to build until the point of near explosion. She couldn't wait any longer. Everything in her being screamed out for this particular release.

She didn't know if she loved him, but she did feel a very strong bond with him. If it was love, then she knew what she had to do would weigh heavily between them until he understood completely. If they were just very compatible, for whatever reasons, he'd not be bothered much by it, she was sure.

Getting up and stretching, she sighed deeply. She wasn't sure where he was, but she knew she had to find him. Had to tell him where she was going and why.

Looking up into the sky once more, she hopped off the ledge and onto the fire escape below, making her way to ground level. She was heading to the park. He seemed to enjoy 'people watching' there. Unfortunately, at ground level, her heightened senses didn't help her much in finding him, what with all the ruckus and chaos that was the city on any given night.

Moving into the park, she tried concentrating on his aura. Trying to scent him out did little good on a normal night, due to the fact that he had almost no scent, allowing him to blend in rather well with his surroundings making him all that more dangerous of a predator. She had been with the vampire long enough that she knew what he 'felt' like when she was looking for him.

Finding him farther from human activity than usual, she peered up into his tree, slightly unnerved by the way he peered back. He was in his hunter mode and coming upon him in such always set her hackles up. Not that she was worried he'd harm her, but because of the sheer emptiness his eyes held while hunting. She could be ruthless when she needed to be, but she didn't think she'd ever meet his level of detachment.

Quickly lifting herself into the tree, she swung her legs over to sit on his branch, gazing out into the night with him. She'd found it was usually the best way to start conversations with him while outside. After a short time, he spoke quietly.

"Nice night."

Nodding, she agreed. "It really is."

"What brings you out? I dare say it's just to give me some company."

Sighing softly, she hated when he could read her better than she could him. "No Angelo, it's not. Not tonight, anyway. I need to talk to you about something."

Feeling him shift on the branch, she glanced over to him. He was now sitting as she was, legs swung over his perch and dangling idly. He had dropped out of his hunter mode, knowing this wasn't going to be a five minute here-and-bye talk.

"What's the matter, Lexi?"

Looking back out over the dark park, the moon giving everything an ethearial glow, she sighed again. "I need to leave for a little while."

Tilting his head to the side, as he often did when considering, he shrugged. "Okay."

Smiling wryly, she shook her head. "Don't you even want to know why?"

Shrugging slightly, he turned to blink at her. "I'm sure you have your reasons. Why did you feel the need to come tell me?"

Closing her eyes against his hazel gaze, she sighed again. "I felt you had a right to know why I'm going. We are, after all, a couple, aren't we?"

Looking back out over the area, he nodded. "Yes. I don't always tell you where I'm going, though. I just... go."

"You don't 'just go', knowing that the reason you're going is to...", glancing back at him, she practically whispered the remainder of her sentence, "be unfaithful to you."

Tilting his head at her again, he turned toward her. "What do you mean?"

Turning, leaning her back against the trunk of the tree, she sighed again. "Let's just say it's really good with you, and what I -want-, but not what I -need-."

"Aaand, what do you need?" Sensing a break-up warning coming, he arched his brow curiously.

"I need you to not look harshly on me for what I have to do."

"I'm not sure I follow." Scratching the side of his head, he continued. "If you want or need to mate with others, all you have to do is ask."

Lowering her gaze to the wood between her legs, picking at it self-consiously, she spoke. "I consider us... serious. I don't want you to think I'm trying to cheat on you or anything."

Reaching out to touch her leg gently, he replied, "I feed blood from others and it does not seem to bother you. It is a need my kind must survive on, if you have something similar but in a sexual manner, I would be understanding. As long as I am the one you come home to."

Speaking quickly, she tried making sure he completely understood. "I've actually been very good about surpressing this urge... And... I'm sorry for those scratches. The deep ones. That's what they're from. Me denying this."

Snickering playfully, he winked at her. "I heal quickly."

Blushing softly, she glanced quickly up at him and then back at their hands. "If I do this, when I come back, you have to promise not to question bruises or wounds of any kind. And you have to swear not to hunt him down."

Quirking a brow, he questioned lightly, "Is that so? Well then, if I happen to stumble upon him for food?"

Chuckling softly, she looked back up at him. "I doubt that will happen. As far as I know, I'm the only puma in the city. The male won't be from around here."

"So... We're importing a kitty?" Grinning, teasing her playfully, he asked, "Will I ever get to play with him?"

Shaking her head, she replied, "No. And hopefully, once this ordeal is over, I'll never see him again."

Offering her a nod, he flung himself out of the tree, landing beneath her on the ground, offering up a hand to catch her. "So, explain it to me, please."

Sighing and dropping from the tree to the ground, she crossed her arms and leaned against him. "It happens three or four times in a shifter's life. It's basically mating season, for lack of a better term. You can ignore it for a while, but eventually you have to give in. And not just any shifter will do. It has to be another of your breed.
People will travel for hundreds of miles just for this. Mainly the men do the traveling, though. Us women basically put down stakes and they do the traveling.
Thankfully, it only lasts a night. But, it can get pretty brutal. I've heard about women who have died from it. Usually the young ones, or the old ones. I'm pretty strong, so I'll be fine."

Wrapping his arms around her and kissing the side of her neck, he voiced his concern. "Should the worst happen, have I permission to hunt him down?"

She smiled against his chest. The fact that she meant enough to him for him to want to seek revenge touched her dearly. "Yes. You may avenge me."

He nodded, and even though the idea of her dying tore at him, something inside of him grinned at the idea of the hunt.

Wrapping her arms around his waist, she snuffled his chest. "I think the part I like most about it is that it's strictly the animal side of us that demands this. I'll never know what he looks like as a human." She shuddered at the vast possibilities.

"That is a good thing." Tilting his head down to look at her, he inquired, "You said this happens with all shifters?"

Nodding, she replied, "As far as I know. It's the primal, animal, side of us. Where actual animals come into heat once or twice a year or so, we get a longer reprieve. Like I said, it's only a few times in our entire life."

Nodding, he thought he was getting it. "I understand."

Deciding now was a good time to address the other concern she was having, she added, "It's also very rare a child comes from it, too. From what I understand, anyway. Which, I think, is a bit odd, since that's basically the point of it, you know?"

Blinking, he tilted his head to the side. "Wait... What?"

She looked up at him, furrowing her brow. "What?"

He had been sterile for so long that the concept of her having sex with someone else resulting in a baby hadn't registered properly the first time around. In fact, he rarely thought about the two going hand-in-hand. "And, uhm, if you... do?"

Blinking back at him, she'd not thought about that possibility. "Uhm... Would you want to be a dad?"

Tilting his head to the side and considering a moment, he replied, "I'm not sure I ... could. The tendency to want to eat things that make high-pitched squealing noises like little frightened prey is... a strong impulse." He offered her a wry smile, sure he was probably being a little too blunt and honest.

She couldn't help but smile at him. "And now you know why a lot of creatures eat their own young...
Not that I think there's anything to worry about. It's not 'that time' for me. But... Stranger things have been known to happen, I suppose."

Looking off into the distance, his eyes glazed over in memory, the irises had gone completely green. "They have sweet blood..."

Waving her hand in front of his face, she snapped her fingers. "Come back, dear. And again, why a lot of creatures eat their own young. Like I said, I don't think it's an issue, but... If it becomes one, we'll deal with it."

Blinking, his eyes returned to their normal hazel hue, he nodded. "Indeed."