Officer Arles was deep in thought as he headed to the station to return the vehicle they used that day, he was evaluating the events of the last few weeks, not only the homicide cases but the situation with his new partner, that cheerful child who seemed too pure for the job. A meow from the back seat interrupted his thoughts, Lady was still there.
Surprised, he turned for a second to see the cat, over his shoulder, when he looked back to the road he had to hit the brakes with all his might. A girl with purple hair was carrying two large bags, she was dragging an unconscious young man, apparently of the same age, in the middle of the street. The screech of tires on the asphalt echoed through the neighborhood. As soon as he stopped the vehicle he got out looking for an explanation.
“What is going on here?!”
The young woman, with glowing blue eyes that, illuminating the darkness of the night, and a calm, expressionless face, looked Arles up and down carefully.
“Are you a police officer?” Her voice as neutral as her face.
“Yes…” Arles looked at the girl with more intrigue than suspicion, her lack of reaction and her soft voice made her seem trustworthy, she was surely in some kind of not-so-serious problem.
“Could you take me somewhere?”
“Well, there is a hospital not far away-”
“NO”.
Without shouting, the young woman raised the volume of her voice, although neither her tone nor her expression had changed, there was something in it that made her look uneasy.
“I need you to take me to Officer Jake Yang’s house, do you know him?”
“Yes, I know him” the coincidence deeply bothered Arles “And I also know where he lives, but first you should tell me where you know him from and why-”.
“Oh no, I don’t know him.”
The interruption baffled the officer. The young girl, Cloe, realizing this, turned her gaze towards her friend, Cloud, to point him out to the policeman with her eyes.
“But he is his cousin.”
Looking more closely at the face of the unconscious boy, he noticed certain similarities with his companion. He then decided that what the young girl had said was true and offered to take them to the young policeman's home.
Arles carefully laid the boy down in the backseat of the car and opened the passenger seat for the young woman. Lady, naturally, climbed onto the unconscious boy's torso, comfortably resting until they reached their destination, her purring being the only sound that broke the silence throughout the journey.
Arles parked right in front of the house, a medium-sized house, larger than those around them given the inhabitants, with a front garden of considerable size, the grass looked well kept, green and fresh. Inside the house three voices could be heard, unknown to the officer.
He knocked on the door.
Inside, Erick, mid scolding, looked relieved for the visitors, on his face three large scratches on his right cheek, a band-aid on his left and another deep scratch on the bridge of his nose.
“There is someone at the door.”
“Yes, I hear it, but you are still in trouble. We're not done talking…” A deep, thick voice with a soft intonation answered the child, with a slight weariness, its owner clearly did not appreciate visits of any kind.
When the door opened, Arles was faced with a big surprise.
An unknown man of about six feet, a bit thin, but notably stocky, his cheeks strongly marked, pale and fair complexion, but not as white as his companion's, with messy ultramarine blue hair. What stood out most were his blood-red eyes, dark circles under them, and his large fangs.
“What do you want?” there was no answer.
It was obvious he was a vampire, what the other officers suspected the young officer Jake could be. Possibly a very important entity both inside and outside his species, whom they were looking for.
“Don't waste my time, what do you want?”
Arles looked with contempt at that “intruder", in silence, silence that Cloe would abruptly break by pushing the officer to stand right in front of the creature, with a curious look and an almost cheerful voice.
“Are you Jake?” the question seemed to irritate the vampire.
“No, and how do you-”
“So you're Klaus?” this irritated him even more.
“Yes, but-”
“You don't seem to be as a horrible beast like he told me, how strange.”
This last statement immediately calmed all of Klaus' anger, there was only one person she could refer to, added to her appearance, he realized who was in front of him.
“Oh, so you're Cloe, right?” his voice changed to a more relaxed tone, similar to the one Cloud's friend had.
"You're smaller than I thought.”
He moved his hand over the girl's head, sizing up the comparison of the height with which he had imagined her when Jake told him about her, in that movement Arles noticed his sharp black nails.
Everyone was silent again as Klaus examined Cloe and Arles examined Klaus, with opposite emotions. Feeling the officer's contemptuous gaze, Klaus looked irritated, but not enough to consider it important.
“And who is this guy supposed to be?”
Arles pumped up his chest, stood up straight trying to look bigger, although his height under five feet seventy did not compare to Klaus', he used his most imposing voice.
“I am, as it turns out, a coworker of Mr. Yang, whom is the owner of this house and a detective in the police force” he pointed to the badge hanging from his belt “just like me.”
“Oh…”
The environment suddenly changed, a heavy air flooded the environment, the anger that grew inside Klaus was palpable in every gesture and movement he made.
“So you are one of those…”
Arles and Cloe were run through by shivers, a strong breeze suddenly blew through the street, the sclera of Klaus's turned black, his iris began to shine, his features deepened, strongly marking his face and his already long fangs and nails grew even longer.
Still with his clear annoyance, his voice remained at the same volume, just as melodious but much deeper.
“Like the ones who beat him up yesterday?”
“This monster…”
Arles clenched his jaw and moved his hand closer to the gun on his belt.
“So that’s why he called him a beast.”
On the other hand, Cloe was just as calm, with a barely noticeable enthusiasm on her face, she hit one of her open hands with her fist, highlighting her joy at having understood what her dear friend Cloud was talking about.
“So, you’re one of them?” Klaus raised his hand threateningly.
Feeling the increasingly heavy atmosphere, Erick rushed to Klaus’ side to deescalate the situation.
“Da-KLAUS, weren’t you scolding us about thinking before acting and all that stuff?”
Seeing the boy’s nervousness, Klaus suppressed his anger and changed his attitude, his appearance returned to normal, sketching a soft smile.
“Yes, you are right, I am sorry Erick…” he softened his voice “And forgive me officer, but please understand.”
The sudden change left Arles paralyzed. The situation was almost identical to the one he experienced with his young partner in the car, but with completely opposite mood swings.
“This morning I had to take a plane because of the laws of this island and it is sooo exhausting for my kind.”
A different glint began to emerge from his eyes, making Arles dizzy, who recognized that sensation as the manifestation of mind control, a skill developed in his many years of police work experience.
That kind of power was possessed only by the purest bloodlines among the vampires, a fact that very few knew.
“Besides, what happened to Jake really stressed me out. Someone in a job like yours must know how delicate my kind are with strong emotions.”
Holding an amulet that he always carried in his pocket, Arles was able to repel such ability, although not completely, its effects still weighed on him, if he did not stop talking immediately he would fall pray to such power.
“You are one of those nobles, aren't you?” The question disconcerted Klaus, interrupting him.
“I was…”
“So they exiled you?”
The audacity of that second question changed his bewilderment to irritation, Klaus did not think that having a conversation with such a man, although of great knowledge, would be worth it.
“I don't care anyway.” Arles approached him with a threatening position “Don't use those cheap tricks with me.”
“Well, well… he knows a lot about my species.”
Klaus changed his tone again, now he was indifferent, as if the recent confrontation hadn't happened, turning the situation against Arles, who, once again, was confused.
“Anyway, bring the blond brat inside, I can smell his blood in that car.”
“Sure,” the young woman burst in between them, again, with a barely perceptible joy, unaware of the tension between the two men.
Cloe hurried to get her friend out while Arles continued to watch the vampire with distrust.
As she was about to open the back door, she perceived a familiar presence, stopping in her tracks, caressing Cloud's face while his wounds were completely healed.
She opened the door once the presence evaporated, examined Cloud, and got him up onto her shoulder.
At the door, Klaus handed over control of the conversation to Erick.
“By the way, Officer, do you know where Jake is? It’s kind of late.”
“I left him on the subway a few hours ago-”
“NO!” Cloe interrupted them, sounding distinctly worried.
“I mean…” she regained her composure “That’s where Cloud… passed out…”
Klaus looked her straight in the eyes, looked at the unconscious boy leaning on her shoulder, no sign of an injury that could have caused his unconsciousness, quickly grasping the situation and playing along.
“Do you know why he passed out?”
“He didn’t have breakfast this morning.”
“So… why didn’t he have breakfast?”
“He was just too lazy… slothy even”
Klaus, having understood the danger that was lurking for his beloved, decided to go protect him. Not wanting to reveal the truth to his child, as not to worry him, and the officer he distrusted, he simply avoided giving excuses or explanations.
“Erick, please take care of Cloe and Cloud, I'll go with Jake.”
“Ok?”
The boy suspected the motives, but understanding that the presence of outsiders could cause the need to keep certain secrets, he did not inquire about it.
Arles also doubted the nature of the situation, for his part he chose not to ask questions for the possibility that the young officer could be in need of help.
“But daaa- KLAUS, who are these people?”
“Oh, don't worry about those two, they are trustworthy.”
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