With realization spiraling inside your chest, you spun around to the figure behind you. You breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey y/n." Said Theo cheerfully. "Didn't mean to startle you."

"Don't sneak up on me like that!" You chastised. "You're worse than Roman."

"You mean our friend you've been gallivanting around with over there?"

Theo nodded behind him to the orange haired night student, his face in his hands. Lucian made his way over from the dark concealment of the castle pillars. 

"Hello Theodore." Lucian greeted. His gaze searched Theo for something you did not understand. "Roman and I were just leaving the library."

"You wouldn't happen to have seen Avery anywhere, would you?" Roman asked. His voice startled you- was he there a second ago?

Theodore seemed to step closer to your side.

"I patrol you during the night," he said calmly. "You're not my responsibility during the day." 

Lucian looked at Roman who just scoffed at your friend, without a care. What was going on?

"Is that what this was about?" You asked. "You're using me to look for Avery?"

It was a small thing, but you felt used- especially by Lucian. Maybe he sensed this because he put a hand on your shoulder.

"Avery has been... running away from the consequences lately." He spoke with a soft voice. 

"Besides, you offered to help." Roman countered. 

Lucian lowered his hand, as you grew tired of the lack of answers. 

"Why are you so worried about Avery anyway?" 

Theodore quickly hid a smirk.

"Nevermind." Roman shut you down. "Just- we'll see if he shows up to class later."

"I'm sure that's where he'll be." Lucian offered. "We appreciate your help, y/n."

Lucian gave you a polite nod before catching up with Roman, who had already begun to walk away without a word.

"What was that all about?" You asked your red-haired friend. Theodore shrugged in amusement.

"I don't know why they're always after Avery..." He said calmly through hooded eyes. "Avery isn't the only thief around here."

Visions flooded your mind of you running through the night with Simone. He was right. And you were sure there was more to it than you were willing to admit.

After Roman's failed ploy to get Avery to show up, you headed back to the dining hall with Theo. For a while it was just you and him, talking about the day's events and yesterday's confrontation with the night girls, but Simone arrived soon after, followed by a passive Eleanor. Everyone seemed tired- but you had your own reasons. 

Avery unintentionally crossed your mind more than once over the clatter of forks and knives, like a visitor overstaying his welcome- you couldn't get him to leave. Luckily, the toll of the bell meant curfew was beginning- and so was patrol. You hoped the purple-haired nightmare would show up to class so you could set your mind at ease.

You couldn't say exactly why, but you felt if there were anyone you'd want to know the whereabouts of, it was Avery, and his smug grin that glossed over his dangerously blue eyes.

As night fell, you became more accustomed to crossing the night students' bridge, although the low draping fog didn't help ease your apprehension. Sylabil greeted you out front again; something you were told would happen less as you became used to the job. 

This time, however, she seemed rigid, tense. Her attitude might have fallen unnoticed by anyone else, but she was usually so full of energy it was impossible to miss. Eleanor stood by your side, his glasses making his expression unreadable in the night.

And just like that, you were done. Compared to the night before, it was almost boring. You hardly caught a glimpse of any night students, and you didn't particularly like being stuck with that one girl the whole time. She was still sour about Dimitri saying hi to you and not her.

It was around midnight when you walked back with Simone and Eleanor. Theodore told you he was going to the underground lair, which was fine by you; but none of you had the energy he had for a night full of partying before the week was even done. 

Most noticeably absent however, wasn't Avery- but Cadere. Suddenly it made sense why Sylabil was so tense earlier. She must have been responsible for the night students tonight.

Then a thought occurred to you as you found yourself climbing up the steps back to the familiar warmth of your dorm. A thought you'd wished hadn't found its way inside your brain and one that yet again involved Avery.

What if he was missing because whatever attacked Sophia had gotten him? You had your thoughts on the boy, but no one deserved that. What if he was in real danger?

"You okay?" Eleanor asked. 

It was one of the first times he'd spoken to you all day. A bit taken aback, you nodded.

"Yeah... are you okay?"

"Yeah." He replied.

Simone beelined for your room, apparently still tired despite her nap earlier. The rest of the students were either all asleep- or all partying.
Or maybe wherever Avery was.

"Try to get some rest, y/n." Eleanor offered a half-hearted smile from the top of the steps. "Or try reading a good book. That's what I do when I have a lot on my mind."

"You do look like a ravenclaw..." you smirked as he disappeared into his room.

"Do not." You heard from above.

You sighed, alone in the empty common room. It seemed bigger when it wasn't crowded with students.

You thought you should go to bed, but the fire was beginning to settle and it couldn't hurt to watch it go out. Whoever left it lit wasn't very responsible, you thought. Having a seat in the pillowy armchair, you thought of home. Of your Aunt. Of your mom and dad.

You hadn't seen them in a while. You thought of them less and less as you got older, but it didn't stop you from asking questions. It just stopped you from caring about the answers.

Besides, Aunt Melanie was your family too.

Suddenly overwhelmed by the days events, and the thoughts of your family, you decided to take Eleanor's advice.

You glanced over to the dark bookshelf alongside the fireplace. But your eyes stopped at a book that was already open, sitting by the end table, its pages illuminated by the warm glow of the fire.

You stood with some effort from the comfort of your chair, hesitantly approaching the mysterious book.

"Kitsune..." you read to yourself. "Pronounced 'keet-sun-ay,' these Japanese fox spirits reside in forests and are known shapeshifters, guardians, and makers of mischief."

Makers of mischief- that reminded you of more than a few night students.

You studied the image on the right, a faded watercolour portrait of a fox, with multiple tails. You quickly turned the book over- it was surprisingly heavy.

"The Creatures Almanac," the title read.

The leather bound cover sported no author you could find- although a messy scratch at the bottom suggested they didn't want to be known. Or someone didn't want them to be.

But a moment of looking at the burgundy cover rekindled your memory of the night before. Of you and Theodore sneaking into Roman's room and Theo leaving with the book under his arms.

It's rightfully mine... Theodore had said.

Your eyes widened.

Half of you wondered what it was doing out in the open, but the other half of you was more than curious to see what else was in it. After all, folk tales and myths were sure to distract you from the exhaustion of the day's thoughts.

You sat back down with your new reading material, eyes quickly scanning about the room before settling in for the most fascinating read of your life.

Fairies, demons, werewolves, and creatures by no design you'd ever seen filled the pages as you flipped through them. The book not only looked old, but felt old too.

You decided to go to the index and see what creature to read about first. Judging by the thickness of the book, you wouldn't get very far just by randomly looking.

And you were right- the book was categorized by... some things you didn't even recognize. Consumers of spirit? Beings of the night? The dead and undead? Not to mention an entire section on fungi and the various categories assorted by region and origin- not that you could tell the difference anyway.

You hardly gave it any thought as you turned to "Beings of the Night," figuring this late hour was the perfect time for a scare. And a scare, was the perfect escape.

"Let's see..." you thought, flipping through page after page of writing until you got to the chapter you wanted. "Beings of the night... beings of the- here it is."

In all manor of life, dwell the nocturnal. Above ground and below ground live various creatures of such notoriety, as well as creatures in different locations geographically.

Perhaps none however, are more intriguing nor deadly as the 'Esperanto.' Classified in different tongues, the most common English name being 'vampire,' - see 'CONSUMERS OF SPIRIT' for similar classifications.

You read on, skimming past some of the technicalities. What was most amazing however were some of the footnotes- it didn't occur to you until now that the book was entirely hand written. And in very elegant hand as well.

Century upon century, vampires have thrived among all walks of life, notably leading to a decline of fairies in the late 1600's. They survive on one source alone, the blood of humans, or other beings.

It is worth noting however, that humans provide the necessary nutrients and satisfaction that is the vampire's curse. Although, vampires can find pleasure in other, rarer creatures.

It surprised you at how little you actually knew about the legends and subjects of modern fiction. Vampires drinking the blood of something other than humans was something you'd never really considered.

But the most interesting things were how the vampires themselves were described. Under one paragraph was a hand drawn portrait of a young and very beautiful woman.

While vampires become voracious and physically reveal themselves during bloodlust, many learn to survive as vampires by impersonating humans. See- 'SHAPESHIFTERS' (Chapter 9) for more examples.

These vampires can do more than walk among their prey- many live with more than enhanced speed, incredible strength, and everlasting life. Several vampires I've encountered possess alternate abilities- the definitions of which can be found in the index. These include and are not limited to,
Clairvoyance, biokinesis, divination, elemental manipulation, power absorption, atmospheric manipulation, shapeshifting and even posession.

Vampires with additional abilities are often purebloods- a rare but powerful branch of vampires who were never born human. Vampire lineage lends its way to a multitude of benefits.

This sounded like something out of a superhero movie. It was almost laughable- not only were these 'vampires' stronger in every way- some of them had powers? Alright.

But detecting a vampire is where one must use much precaution. A craving for blood is almost always triggered on sight. After feeding or revealing themselves, most vampires can alter memories or influence the minds of humans. Their speed and strength is always without explanation to the naive human. Restraint generally comes with age, but even the sun will negatively affect vampires, and their powers, especially if they have not fed in a long period of time.

Charming, attractive, and devastatingly lethal, vampires own the night and are not to be taken lightly.

You stopped reading for a moment, struck by the picture of the same vampire, this time with jagged fangs and blank white eyes.

But your mind was not on the picture, though it haunted the back of your mind. Rather- you thought of all the things you hadn't been able to answer before, and now it was staring you straight in the face.

You didn't even need to read about vampires feeding to recognize the coincidence of the bite marks. But Simone leaving you on the first night? You watching her disappear then reappear with a bandage... was she told to tell you she tripped?

Listen to yourself- it was crazy.

But wasn't it crazy that you saw Simone and she said you didn't? That you were sitting in a tree with Bel when you fell and he caught you?

But if Bel were...

The night students... all of them so handsome and beautiful. Even Roman, as much as you didn't want to admit it.

Awakened from your thoughts by the clock chiming once- meaning it was now 1:00am, you closed the book, preparing to leave it where you found it.

Wait- no.

You didn't know why, but you felt you needed to keep it with you for now. And you could always ask Theo about it later.

You would have kept reading if it weren't for the fire becoming embers and the embers becoming coal. 

Until then, all you could do was creep upstairs to your room, past your sleeping roommate, and lay awake on your bed- the almanac and the secrets inside soundly beneath it.

You glanced over at Simone, the crimson curtains of her bed drawn. You wondered if she knew what you thought had happened to her.

You wondered if anyone knew.

Your teddy bear from the first night sat idly by the side of your bed. You picked him up, already under the blankets and covered him up too.

And then you fell asleep- convincing yourself that whether the legends were true or not, you'd have your teddy bear to protect you from any beings of the night.

~
Thank you for your patience- a month without content is lame, but a lot of planning has been going on. Thank you infinitely for reading- good to be publishing at 2am once again.

All the love,
~ Fanfunctional ♡
August 27/17