Disclaimer: Same one as before. Characters, with the exception of Ileana, do not belong to me, but to themselves. This chapter is more or less going to be a pseudo character origin flashback and will be doing a lot of shifting back and forth.  Paragraphs that are in Bold Print are for flashbacks. Normal print is for current events.

Another day brought with it another cold October morning, and a tired Ileana who carried her bag on her right shoulder and a thermo filled with coffee in her left hand. Without it, she was certain to crash once she got to work. Her raven black hair was tied in a high bun so that it wouldn't interfere with the scarf that was pulled up over her mouth and nose leaving 0nly her grey eyes exposed. It was almost 7 in the morning, as the rays of the sun began to illuminate the sky with blue, orange, and pink hues.

Despite the warmth that the sun radiated, the brisk winter winds still swirled around Ileana prompting her to take another sip of her coffee while it was still hot. All she had to do was catch another bus, and she'd be at her job site and at her desk in no time. And thanks to her speed as a ghoul, she made it to the bus stop in no time. Of course, she should've been cautious about how quickly she'd moved should Andy, or God forbid, one of the hunters be watching her but at this hour of the morning, she couldn't bring herself to care too much.

Ileana didn't have to wait long for the bus to come to her stop, or arrive at her job site for that matter. A job site that specialized in independent book publishing, giving potential authors a chance to have their works read without having to jump through the flaming hoops of mainstream publishers.

Within minutes of her speed walking towards the entrance and up three flights of steps, she deposited her bag behind her chair, and sat at her desk. The work day wouldn't start until 8:05, but Ileana didn't want to start her day with just coffee and no breakfast in her body. So She pulled her phone and earbuds out of her pocket, made for the stairwell and back out into the streets . Since it was still early in the morning, she was bound to find a homeless person, or a drug addict lurking around somewhere. This time, she made sure to keep her eyes peeled for any hunters who would be out and about, working a case.

As a ghoul, she was raised to believe that humans were nothing but a food source for creatures like her to consume without an ounce of remorse, or hesitation. However, her upbringing also taught her that it was possible to at least attempt to co exist with humans. Studying them and trying to adapt to their way of life. But this was easier said than done given the physical differences that distinguish them from humans. Mostly the dark colors that their eyes take on, accompanied by the black Glasgow line that forms on their lips, allowing for their mouths to expand. And the only way to really injure or kill them was a fatality to the head.

Non the less, that's what her father had explained to her and to her younger brother Adam, even after the death of their mother at the hands of human hunters. And in another year, or so, he too would be taken from her, leaving a small Ileana, and Adam to fend for themselves, only to be taken in as the wards of a ghoul named Cara Valadez who had no children or family of her own. Granted, she found them trying to steal food out of her refrigerator, but given their ages and circumstances, Cara let them stay in her house under her care.

Once they became young adults, Ileana and Adam devoured humans, not just for the sake of food, but for the sake of getting back at the human race that took her parents from them. This phase of unrestricted anger was in hindsight, what led her and Andy to be together in the first place. All because she'd accidentally mistaken him for a human murderer who was in the middle of hacking up his latest victim. Only to reveal a vampire, draining the blood of its latest meal. Just as Ileana happened upon a nameless homeless person disappearing into a back alleyway, something about it was all to nostalgic to the female ghoul as she followed behind him.

He was so preoccupied with his own business that he didn't even hear her, when she came down the same alley way, Coming straight for him. The screams of the woman underneath him had been reduced to quiet whimpers, and dying groans. One sound that was evident was the tearing and pulling of wet flesh, and the splatter of blood. Whatever weapon he was carrying, he was using it for all it was worth.

The homeless man had his back turned to Ileana, too busy counting the change that he managed to salvage after a long night of begging. She didn't need as quiet as she normally was when she performed a killing in broad daylight, but the scent of this man would more than likely attract whatever creatures happen to be in the area; so she couldn't afford to make a mess.

Any other Ghoul would have been driven crazy with hunger, at such a sight and sound. But Ileana refused to let herself be distracted by her own body's urges. The darkness of the night gave her the perfect cover with which to hide herself. As quick as lighting did she apply a hash kick to the back of the man's head, down to the nape of his neck. The force of the kick sent him spiraling to the ground, but didn't do any serious damage, so clearly this man wasn't a human.

As soon as she was close enough to touch him, all she had to do was place one hand on his head and wrap an arm around his neck, snapping it a sickening but quiet crack. Immediately, the body fell to the floor; a completely clean.

Ileana quickly observed the body to see that it had taken a significant damage around the throat where teeth marks were visible, and was bleeding profusely. Yet no other parts of the body had been harmed. And since there were no other Ghouls in the area, except for herself and Adam, Ileana now had a clearer picture of what she was dealing with.

When she turned back to her intended target, she just barely dodged the punch that he tried to swing at her face, reciprocating a punch of her own to his sternum. The force from this one in particular was enough to make him cough up blood, and send him back onto the ground. The groans of pain that were coming from him told her that he wouldn't be getting up too quickly this time.

For the time being, all she could do was take small samples of the man that wouldn't be too noticeable; specifically his hair. Enough clumps of hair to get her through her day until she gets off of work. Then she can really dine on the corpse the way she wants to.

Ileana used this as an opportunity to taste the blood on her knuckles, only to be taken aback by the revelation that she had mistakenly attacked a vampire. As said vampire rolled around on the ground, clutching his slow healing wound he somehow found the strength to talk and with a smirk on his face.

"With that crazy strength of yours, there's no way you're a human. Would I be right in assuming you're like me, or maybe you're something else?" His voice was hoarse, as he tried not to choke on his own blood, but Ileana still understood every word that he said.

"Yeah, I'm a Ghoul. And would I be right in assuming that you're a vampire?". He choose this moment to spit up the blood that he tried not to choke on, and simply gave her a thumbs up.

"Yeah. A vampire who's losing a crap ton of blood here, thanks to you". Despite the strain that was still evident in his voice, Ileana could tell that the remark was meant to be a sarcastic one. Not wanting him to come after her, if he ever recovered, Ileana turned her back on Andy to go inspect the corpse that he'd been draining. She shoved her hand inside and pulled what could only be a liver, if not for the blood that it was coated in. She turned back to him, and held her hand out.

The massive clump of bloodied hair that Ileana now held was about the same size as stress ball. She began to pull out even smaller clumps of hair and deposit them into her mouth, savoring the flavor and texture of the human that they belonged to. Contrary to popular belief, human flesh and entrails aren't the only source of sustenance for ghouls. Nourishment can also be obtained through nail clippings, calluses, and in Ileana's case, hair. Convenient if a ghoul needed a quick meal on the go.

"Do you want this?" She asked. He looked at her suspiciously, but reached out a partially clean hand to take the meat. His movements were wary as he if he was expecting her to turn and attack him again, but Ileana just stood still with the liver held out to him.

"Look, if I really wanted to attack you, I could've done it while you were flat on your ass. This is as close to an apology as you'll get from me, so will you just take it?" She said.

As soon as the liver was within his grasp, he snatched it out of her hand and sank his fangs in, draining the meat almost as quickly as he did the corpse.

Ileana watched him apathetically for another minute before she turned on her heels and walked away. She must have taken at least four steps before he called out to her.

Ileana observed her surroundings one last time before extracting an extra clump of hair from the dead man's body and dragging it out of sight in case anyone happened wander down this alley way for whatever reason. She fully intended to come back for it later, but for the time being, she propped it up to make it look like it was sleeping, turned and walked out of the barely illuminated alley with cautious steps, and made her way back to her place of work.

"Hey wait a minute". Ileana turned her head to look at the vampire with the same uncaring look in her eyes.

"What is it? Do you want to kiss your wound all better?" She said sarcastically. The vampire rolled his eyes at her, and slowly began to rise to his feet; groaning in slight agony as he did so and watching her like a hawk; expecting her to rush him in a surprise attack. But when none came, he was now more confused than he was suspicious.

While supernatural creatures showed numerous differences between them and the humans they feasted on, one similarity that couldn't be broken was the stigma of distrust. People would never be able to fully trust each other, human or not. They constantly watched each other with feelings of uncertainty.

"No smart mouth, I want to know why you're letting me go. With that kind of strength, you could've ended me without breaking a sweat, even if my guard was up. But not only did you give me a pass, but a free meal too. What's up with that?" He asked. It wasn't a difficult question for Ileana to answer, the problem was whether or not he'd believe her and let her go on her merry way. Still, she wasn't above courtesy even if she was a monster. So she turned on her heels and faced the vampire who now stood at his full height.

"I'd like to answer you, but I'd also like to know the name of the vampire I almost killed". Said Ileana. She saw that he was ready to protest and immediately cut him off.

"The sooner that I know, the sooner you'll have your answer, and we can both go our separate ways. I'll even start us off. I'm Ileana. Sorry about punching a hole in your chest". She said.

While the vampire looked at her as though she'd grown a second head, he was nonetheless impressed by her courtesy. That was a quality that only humans were fortunate enough to possess. Then again, creatures like the two of them could only wish that they were human, but could only play pretend instead. And that was the worst part of it all.

"Andy. Andy Biersack". He said. Hearing this made Ileana breathe a little easier now that the niceties were out of the way. Weird. You don't look like an Andy. I mean, it's none of my business , but you kind of look like a Devin. She said. Andy rolled his eyes at her, and stuffed his hands in his pockets, still waiting for an answer. Ileana released a small sigh before responding.

"Look, this is going to sound like a cop out, but it's the truth. I let you go because I have better things to do than senselessly kill someone I mistook for a human. And I fed you because assuming that you're grateful for me sparing your life, you'd also be grateful for me giving you a little something to get you back on your feet". She said.

Andy stared at her with a single raised eyebrow, debating whether or not he wanted to believe her. His skepticism made all the more clear due to his next choice of words.

"Are you serious? What about me made you think I was a human? That was pretty reckless on your part, Ileana". He chastised. It was impossible to miss the emphasis that he put on her name, as if it were some kind of flavor that he was sampling for the first time.

As much as Ileana wanted to fight him, one hot head to another, she figured that she'd be better off fighting him with wits, as opposed to blunt insults. She raised one of her eyebrows and motioned back to the corpse behind them.

"In all fairness, the scent of that corpse was the only one that I picked up when I approached you. I guess you were so involved in your meal that you didn't think to mark the corpse with your scent and make it known that a vampire was eating it. I'd say that was pretty reckless on your part as well, Andy".

Ileana watched as Andy rolled his eyes while a cold frown began to form on his lips. Meanwhile a smirk threatened to form on her own. Instead of letting it blossom further, she shrugged her shoulders and turned on her heels to walk away.

Andy watched her leave without another word, the liver almost forgotten in his hand, as his eyes began to fill with interest. Interest in this Ghoul that'd nearly killed him, apologized for it, and had spared his life, as though he wasn't a worthy enough opponent to fight. This thought alone made him ball his fists in frustration. Before he could call out to her, Ileana was gone. His fists may have been clenched, but his interests was still peaked.