Ivy watched him fade like a shadow back into the woods and for a fleeting moment she wondered if he had even been there. She cast her gaze back out to the ocean then down to the silvery sand, where the vast sea met the land. Its unusual color still captivated her even after she had lived there for so long. Her mind wandered back to the manor and she decided that she would head there this evening and spend it in the company of some of her vampire sisters and brothers.<br/><br/>A howl split the air. Her heart leapt up to her throat and she whirled around to look behind her into the inky woods. She could not see much beyond the forests edge; her heightened senses were limited in the near total darkness of the wood. She knew little magic as well and she did not know the simple spell that allowed for night vision. She was a Stromkirk Mentor, a lady who taught fencing and was quite good with her weapon. A weapon she did not have tied to herself. Rarely was she ever bothered on this clifftop that she did not think to carry her long, lethal, rapier with her. Rather, she was clothed in little more than a shear shift of black and the delicate lace of her shawl. Though she wasn’t completely defenseless and she leaned over, slowly, to hike up the trailing hem of her slip, her eyes still trained on the woods as she did so. Strapped to her supple pale leg was a stiletto. The holster was plum colored lace, the blade was forged of silver and shown in the light of the moon.<br/>Ivy imagined that she heard the thrum of paws against the thick leaflitter of the forest. Yet, with the wind at her back and the distant thunder of an approaching storm, she wasn’t sure if her ears rang true. What she did know was that something was coming – the sounds of howls filled her with anticipation and she knew she would have to stand her ground. There was no where to run. The cliff was at her back and the forest lie before her. In a sense, she was trapped. Ivy licked her lips and inhaled deeply, ready for a fight, but not truly wanting to engage in one.<br/><br/>Her body jittered with anticipation and she wondered if what approached her were werewolves. She knew of the wolf packs that wandered the area and had even heard of their unfortunate victims, poor humans that found themselves torn asunder by snapping jaws and tearing teeth. It had been some time since werewolves had come this way. The presence of the vampire manor kept them at bay… but there was always the exception. She recalled with a sinking feeling of dread the last time a pack of werewolves had come through this part of Nephalia. Even now she could hear her kin screaming – how much blood had been spilled that night? How many of her brothers and sisters had been slaughtered and how many humans had been caught in the crosshairs of the conflict? Ivy felt nausea turn her stomach and she forced herself to take a deep breath to still herself. She crouched a little, switched the way she was holding her blade, and readied herself for whatever came forth from the woods.<br/>