So cute but Oh so dangerous (open)

[Eunice]

Eunice was most definitely not happy about what she was. Well, she had been not happy until she met Bell. She'd been so frightened when she woke up all tiny and fury and squeaky. Once moment she was sleeping in the old barn house by the side of the road she was on, the next she was under a tree with the sun's rays dancing toward her. Of course it had caused her to blinked around herself in horror, surprise an alarm.

The sun... she could endure for a short amount of time only because the origin had turned her. The rest of the time she had to hide from it and the little squirrel wasted no time in scurrying up a tree and finding refuge in the shadows it provided. She was scared and trembling when the bouncy little squirrel found her and gushed from afar at how adorable she was. He assured her that she was safe and that he would look after her and that's how they became friends.

Every now and then he'd even let her drink from him. Never had Eunice been so grateful to another person. It also helped that he could zoom all over the place providing an extra heap of protection for her and making sure the path was clear. She'd even held onto his back a few times to zoom from one place to another. Today though, he'd over exerted himself and was sleeping in a tree with her curled up in his tail. When night fell, Bell wouldn't wake for nothing so the little squirrelette made her way down the tree to where the stream projected the stars in smudges within it's waters.

Eunice stared for a moment before inching closer and bending in to begin splashing her face with water. Bell had mentioned knowing a bear called Ruppo as well who was the King of the forest among the other animals. They still had yet to find the elusive bear but Bell assured her that if they needed to, he could find Ruppo instantly. The little squirrel girl didn't know she was being watched. She didn't sense it ....

[Thomas Byng]

The little squirrel was only being watched because the well dressed man on the other side of the stream had just opened his eyes and was still attempting to orient himself. One minute, he'd been in his nice, warm bed, with his wife providing warmth, and the next, a branch was poking him in the hip and there was the distinct smell of feces and damp earth in his nose. Blue eyes were focused on the squirrel while the brain behind them attempted to process what was happening. He didn't want to startle the creature, so he ddin't move at first, keeping his breath shallow. That worked right up until a leaf tickled his nose and he let out a sneeze.

Thomas sat up after that, turning to look back at the stream, hoping that the squirrel hadn't run off that far. Not knowing what had happened and being of the rational mindset that he was, being able to identify an animal easily meant that the silly squirrel was a lifeline of sorts. Thomas wasn't sure how he'd gotten outside, or why he was dressed in hunting attire, but maybe he'd just sleepwalked. Even though he'd never done it before, and he certainly didn't recall this stream on his estates. Still, the squirrel proved that he wasn't insane, he had just gotten outside somehow.

"How did I get out here?" He mused to himself.

[Eunice]

Eunice jumped about a foot into the air when the Viscount sneezed and stared across the stream at the man. A hunter. Oh God! Oh God! Eunice panicked and looked about for a place to hide then twisted round to go scurry up the tree back in the hole with Bell when the scent caught her. Human... Human... oh how sweet the blood would be. Eunice twisted to face the human across the stream once more. His words caught her sensitive ears and were she human, she would have smiled.

Her eyes washed red with the blood lust and fixed on the human. Slowly, the tinier squirrel, still very much a baby turned toward the stream and lifted her head to sniff at the air. Her eyes darted back over her shoulder to the tree. Bell was a heavy sleeper. He would not wake. Slowly she turned back to the Viscount and moved closer to the edge of the stream. The act began here.

The little squirrel began making motions of distress. Looking around her as if searching she made little mewling sounds that were definitely sounds of distress. It would sound to the human like she was a little lost baby squirrel in need of comfort. She sat back and lifted her little hands up into the air to add to her cuteness. She couldn't very well cross the stream to get to him could she. It was far too deep for her to make it safely across.

[Thomas Byng]

A soft nose tickled at his ear, and Thomas turned to see the baby squirrel looking quite distressed. If he was an avid fan of wildlife, he might have thought the animal cute, but Thomas was much more of a sportsman, so he merely saw a downed animal in distress. Had it been more than a baby squirrel, Thomas would have found some means to kill it, and put it out of it's misery, and then feasted, but this animal wouldn't even make an hors d'oeurves. Still, it wasn't kind to leave the animal to it's end, so Thomas slowly lay back down, and eased through the grass in a belly crawl.

Athough the animal didn't seem bothered by his presence, since he didn't know how badly it was hurt, Thomas opted to take the quieter and more careful approach. There was no need to startle it and perhaps cause it's death quicker merely because it was hurt. Because it was hurt though, Thomas wasn't going to just scoop up the squirrel and bandage it's wounds, squirrels were still wild, and who knew what diseases they carried.

Finally, he was facing the squirrel with the stream between them. It wasn't much of a stream really, and all he had to do was reach an arm out for the squirrel and he could scoop up the critter. Thomas was more cautious though, and he picked up a stout branch, laying it across the banks of the tiny stream to see if the animal would cross to him, or if he'd have to go across himself.

[Eunice]

Eunice's little nose flicked back and forth as she watched the man draw closer to her and she almost sat up a bit straighter. Food... she could smell his blood, human blood. Oh God, she was sooo thirsty. She watched him lay down the log and darted rapidly across it scrambling in a blind haste toward him. She moved with vampire speed. She was on his shoulders within second. Her tiny teeth sank into his neck so fast that even she had to gasp at the rush of blood into her tiny mouth but she drank quickly, sure he would throw her aside at any moment.

Her tiny little hands pressed to his skin and her little body was pressed close and low against his shoulder. She needed this and the euphoria of the warm hot succulent blood was making the red eyed baby squirrel delirious with delight.

[Thomas Byng]

The fact that the squirrel scampered across the log wasn't surprising. The speed at which it was done was, however, and before Thomas knew what was going on, the small, furry animal was clamped onto his throat. He cried out in shock and fell backwards, grinding dirt and who knew what else into his backside. One of his hands landed on a thorny busy and he screamed again, before managing to gain control of himself and pulling at the small thing attached to his throat.

"What the fuck!" Thomas rarely swore, finding it somewhat vulgar, however, this situation certainly warranted it. He hoped that he'd be able to get the creature off of him, and that it didn't have rabies. He didn't want to die out here in the middle of this strange place. "Let go you blasted rodent!"

[Eunice]

Eunice's red eyes widened when the man fell onto his back and squirmed but not once did he reach up to grab her tiny body. Maybe he knew it would rip out his throat if he tried. She relaxed for a moment then pulled back instantly when he called her a rodent, scrambling off his shoulder to the ground and heading for a tree.
~You horrible man! I'm not a rodent! I'm a Queen! Take that back!~
She'd never really tried to use telepathy on the hunters before.

She was told to fear them and so she did. Right now she would try though she kept heading for a tree to go hide in frightened that he'd try and kill her for having taken blood from him. With the animals in the forest, Ruppo and Bell, she never needed to use any telepathy. They had a certain way of talking to one another and because she had not used her telepathy on anyone so far, she didn't know that she could actually communicate with anyone what so ever.

[Thomas Byng]

When the voice in his head screamed that it was a queen, he frowned. Where was that voice coming from? Who was a queen? He uttered a muffled curse, then rubbed his neck where the demented rodent had bitten him, unsurprised to find blood on his fingers. This place was very strange, and Thomas was going to be more than happy to leave it as soon as possible.

"Who's a queen?" He asked the night air as he stood up and brushed off his clothing. He didn't particularly care, he was just wondering if it would bring out the person that had spoken in his head. He knew it wasn't his voice, and as strange as this place was, it seemed within reason to assume it was someone else's. Hopefully it wouldn't be anything to crazy, because Thomas wasn't sure he could deal with it.

[Eunice]

Eunice stopped halfway up the tree and blinked at the man, her head turned to watch him for a moment.
~Me...? You can hear me? Oh this is great! ~
Eunice scrambled down the tree and rushed back toward the man standing on her hind legs behind him and sniffing in his direction.

~I've never tried this before! I was so scared to talk to the hunters and then you came along. Look. I'm trapped in this squirrel's body. I'm actually a vampire. I'm a girl and I can't live like this anymore. I need well... something better. I need to be looked after.~
She was the queen of Rome damn it! And the third most important vampire in all the world.

Tatium would have had a fit if he knew she had to live like this out in the open. He was always so protective of her.

[Thomas Byng]

The voice returned, and Thomas looked around, but saw no body to go with it. Well, that makes sense, he thought, it is a disembodied voice, Thomas. Mentally, he rolled his eyes, frowning as the voice continued to speak. A vampire? Alright, someone was clearly delusional. He knew his history pretty well, and there hadn't been a 'queen' of Rome in a very long time, and vampires were book and movie fodder, they didn't actually exsist. Obviously, this 'queen' was head of the looney bin.

"Your Majesty, it's difficult to pay you proper respect when you insist on hiding." He hoped that his words would mollify the girl and get her to come out of hiding. After all, if she could talk in his head, there was no telling what else she could do. He needed to have her on his side, then maybe he could get out of the bizarro land he was currently in.

"What kingdom is this? Where are we? How can I get home?" Thomas decided to simply ask questions, hoping that the 'queen' would reveal herself. Suddenly, he thought about what she'd actually said, and blinked. "A squirrel? Oh f-me. I've gone insane."

[Eunice]

Eunice sighed and waited for the man to actually look down at her and realize it was her talking and when he did look down at her he naturally thought he was going insane. Eunice's head hurt. This was going to be harder than she thought. She raised her hands to her head and sighed softly. Mortals were such idiot creatures. No wonder the vampires chose to drain then of their blood and rid the world of their ignorance one step at a time. Eunice lifted her eyes to the Viscount again.

~I know this is hard to believe. It took me two days before I was able to tell myself this was real. There's another traveler here with me. His name is Bell. He's faster than even I. We also know this bear called Ruppo. He's the King of the forest here but all the hunters want to kill him. You're a hunter right? Please you have to believe me. You're not crazy. This is real.~
Eunice hopped a little closer to the man and sat up again, peering up at him.
~Do squirrels normally have telepathy, sit in front of a human being on their hind legs and drink blood? ~
She offered as prove so he knew this wasn't just him being crazy or that he thought this was just another dream.

[Thomas Byng]

Thomas simply didn't believe what was happening. There was no way that this wasn't some sort of elaborate dream that he couldn't wake up from. Squirrels couldn't communicate with humans, especially not using telepathy, and they certainly weren't vampires in the myth sense of the word. Not that vampires actually existed of course.

"No, which is why I know I'm dreaming. I've been under a lot of stress with graduation approaching and Athene's family and pregnancy. This has got to be a product of the late nights and bad food. It has to be." Thomas wasn't sure if he was trying to convince himself or what, but he knew that believing the squirrel meant believing in madness, and that wasn't going to happen. Not to the future Earl.

He turned away from the crazed rodent and began to walk through the forest, hoping that soon he'd find his way out and then could find civilization and his way home. "I'll be home soon, Athene, I promise." The blonde businessman simply couldn't believe what was happening, and it would take a lot more then an encounter with a crazed, rabid squirrel to make him face what was going on in front of his very eyes.

[Eunice]

Eunice blinked when he turned away from her and walked off. Her head snapped back to the tree she had come from then back to the blonde man. Now what?
~Don't leave me here alone!~
She called softly into his mind before she glanced back to the tree making up her mind. She'd rather be with an adult then a 16 year old kid. Eunice turned to the man and started hopping after him.

~Wait up... I'm only tiny and when I do the speed thing I have to worry about four legs instead of two and it gets confusing... stop....~
The last words was slightly whined into his mouth as she hopped alon- which abruptly ended when she bumped straight into Bell who hadn't been there a minute ago.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Hunters are BAD.PEOPLE. People are hunters. He'd a hunter. They like making pouches out of squirrel skin. Come on... We'll go find food."
Eunice would have pouted if she had lips. Bell started bouncing off back to the tree expecting Eunice to follow.

So she and the hunter would part ways now.... maybe he would come to his senses and come looking for her?
"Niecie! Come on!"
Bell called over his shoulder and reluctantly the young girl turned toward the water where Bell was waiting on the new branch bridge added by the human.