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I thought briefly about her first remark, then about her second. The first one was what stuck in my mind. What sort of being was she that she though I would make a fast judgment of her? Perhaps I didn't want to find out. Perhaps it was much safer to simply take my leave. Of course, I didn't.
"Are are so terrible that you think I would make an unfair judgment of you?" I asked. It occurred to me that she was making an unfair judgment herself in thinking that I might do the same. It just goes to show how twisted my logic can be. I didn't say that, of course. Instead my remark was this. "You are one to talk. Following me around." Yes. That was a much better choice of words. Maybe that was Hiratoshi talking. I could have blamed it on the sword. I did, however, decide not to give her second question any sort of answer. The less she knew about me, the safer she would be. I liked it better when people knew little to nothing about me.

I easily took note that she was an elf of a sort. I had kind of figured that anyway though. What other kind of creature, short of a monkey or demon, would spend it's time skulking about in the trees? I couldn't think of any. I thought for a moment back to the past hour when I had come upon those travelers. Nope. Not even then did I climb a tree to stay hidden. Maybe it was an elf thing. I then gave thought to her second question. 'Sir' made me sound like an old man. Of course, I am an old man, but she didn't need to know that. I certainly don't look like an old man. But then again, did I really want this woman to know my real name? They say the truth hurts. In my case, the truth got people killed. But it almost wasn't worth letting her call me 'Sir'. No need to be reminded of how old I actually am, even if she didn't mean it that way. I settled for telling her my name.
"Do not call me sir." I said quietly. "It makes me feel my age. Call me Arjay."
As soon as I said it, I knew my fault. The sword at my side breathed to life, stirring to find out who I was talking to. I touched just the tip of my finger to it without thought, then drew my hand away. I didn't need to give it a chance to possess me. It only took a second to end the life of another person. The sword remained quiet though. A blessing really. I crossed my arms over my chest, my gaze on the elf. I couldn't recall her giving me her name. Information for information. That was the way I did things. Though mostly I was the one getting the information, not giving it.
She looked puzzled. I would have bet my life she was trying to figure out how in the hell I'd known she was following me. Most people found that completely fascinating. I still don't know why. Maybe they assume me to be some psychic. I am, of course, all vampires are to some extent. The older a vampire is, the more psychic ability they possess. But I don't have to cheat to know someone is following me. My ears do all the work. I have super sensitive hearing that comes from being a vampire. I can hear the heartbeats of most beings. That is how we find suitable prey. The older the vampire is, the wider the range of hearing he has. I can hear for miles. I also have this uncanny ability to just know when I'm being followed. We'll call it a sixth sense for now. I considered calling her 'Miss', but that was a title reserved for people I respected. My respect is earned, not just given. So far, though, she was earning it. Not many people were brave enough to talk to me. I apparently have this invisible sign on my being that says, Do Not Disturb. I don't really, but it seemed that way. I could walk through a crowd, and the mass of people would part like the Red Sea did for Jesus. Or maybe that was Moses. Whatever. I hate the holy book. It's not exactly as if I actually take the time to read it, considering holy ground was something that I couldn't even set foot on.
I decided that perhaps I did not want to know her name. After all, knowing someone's name brought you all that much closer to them. I did not want to be closer to anyone. Not after the last female I'd gotten close to.

I had only gotten about thirty yards before I stopped again. This time, it was a more ominous presence than the woman. I knew she was there still, following me. I had almost hoped that she would go for the closer village. Hope just wasn't good enough these days. Faith was useless as well, unless you were a religious sort and believed that your god existed. Those were the types of folk I stayed far from. They were the kind that carried little silver crosses in their pockets and wouldn't hesitate to shove them in your face if they thought you were unholy. Flash fangs once, and you were as good as gone. The second heartbeat was very faint, as if it were far away. I didn't trust that this time though. Other vampires had faint heartbeats. Of course, I've never been attacked by my own kind unless they were traitors. I've killed a lot of traitors. Those that think they can just go around hunting fellow vampires and killing them off. Actually, Hiratoshi killed them, not me. You see, the sword despises people who betray their own kind. Or perhaps it was simply people in general. Either way, they had ended up dead.
Crouching down, I listened for any signs of movement. Any warning as to where the being was exactly. If it were actually another vampire, I might not get such a thing, but it was better to be safe then sorry, right? I figured the person would have to be ahead somewhere. Possibly doing
exactly what I was doing. That made me sigh a bit. There was no point in what I was doing then, was there? I stood. If anyone was stupid to attack me, I had Hiratoshi to help me. The cursed sword was practically foaming at the mouth, if it had one, to fight something, ever since I was last attacked by those hunters. I had nothing more to fear really. I started forward again, leaving the sword in it's sheath. Perhaps ignoring this new person would make them go away.

I felt and followed the presence with my mind, until it had gone past me. Good little being. It seemed to know what was best for it and in my opinion had done a good job. Most people would confronted me. Most people would have ended up dead. I never fought with my sword anymore. I have found that most of the time, it does things in my best interest. I allow it to possess me in fights, especially if I happen to be outnumbered. I often am outnumbered. I don't even give it a thought now. I don't like the feeling of being controlled, that is not why I allow the sword to possess me. I like being alive. Even we vampires have our limits. We don't like to cheat. Humans sometimes just need a little correction to understand right from wrong. I don't want to have to be forceful with being weaker than me. I do so to survive.
Shifting now, I continued on my way. The woods soon gave way to a huge expanse of grassland. The Plains of Demoria. That was our name for it. Humans have their own name. They call it the Demonic Plains. Truth is, the plains were once thought to be 'Hell' because this was a common hunting ground for many of the more carnivorous demonic tribes and packs. Humans learned through experience to stay away from the plains. If they got brave and ventured out any further than the treeline, they got eaten. Or captured. Some demons prefer human flesh to warm their beds. It was rather common to come across large packs of half breeds. Now that vampires owned Demoria and the lands that surrounded it, the demons had mostly gone away. Good riddance to bad garbage, if you ask me. The tall grasses swayed in the breeze. I stood there at the treeline, my gaze on the grass, for what seemed like an hours. Only a few moments, but the grass has a hypnotic effect of most people. Perhaps that was why the demons had found it so appealing to hunt and live in. The sun was on it's way down. Being under the thick canopy of trees had dimmed my sense of time. The forest floor is almost always dark. The canopy that the treetops makes is almost too think for light to get through. That's how the forest got it's name. Black Wood. Even in the harsh noon of day, the sun did not bother me too much, so long as I was wearing my cloak. The elves were genius when it came to crafts. Since I was a vampire, I had been given a specially made cloak. Instead of absorbing the sun's harmful rays of light, it bounced them away. Of course, certain immunities come with being among the ancient bloodlines of the Vampiric Order. Most of us older then a millennium were somewhat immune to the sun. Lucid could walk in the sun without the protection of a magic cloak. That's just a hint to how old he really is. Old as dirt. Really.
I turned slightly, checking on my companion. I'm not sure why, but the urge to tell her that there were no trees in the plains struck me with some force.
"You are going to be very disappointed if you hope to tree-hop all the way there." I said, unable to hide the humor from my tone. I was slipping. Damn. "There are no trees in the Plains."

So the elf was actually going to trek across the plains with me..brownie points for her. I shifted my senses outward from my body, running a scan of the tall grasses. I wasn't setting foot where I couldn't see the ground without making extra sure there wasn't a demon waiting to bite me. Safety first. Besides, if this woman was going to be with me, the least I could do was ensure her safety, right? Right.
After no sounds, scents or sights of danger, I stepped into the tall grass. I hoped she could keep up with me, because I wouldn't slow down for her once we had started. I took up a fast stride, the tall blades of grass parting for me, even tough I was barely touching the ground. If you have ever seen a speeding bullet, I make a pretty good impression of one. Vampires can move with a speed that makes them look like a blur. The older the vampire, the less of the movement you can see. Lucid could blur himself so well, that unless you knew exactly what you were looking for you couldn't see him at all. One moment he was fifty feet from you, then next he was at your side. You never see him move, he is just there. Humans had developed a good word for it. Magic.
I was only using about half of my speed at this moment though, for the sake of the female following me. It wouldn't be very nice of me to let her follow me to the plains, then vanish on her, now would it?