Sylvie sighed as she began to wake up looking at herself in the mirror in front of her. She had trouble recognizing herself at first before shaking her head. It was times like this she was forced to come to terms with her reality. There were still some nights she thought that when she woke up she would just be back in her old bed. Never having learned of this new world or the people in it like her friend Jason.

Part of her still yearned for that old life she had, for the life that she was forced to give up. Sylvie looked at herself in the mirror and her appearance once again began to change. The strawberry blonde hair that she had been using to disguise herself returned to its natural bright red, and her dark green eyes returned to their former bright blue. Being able to change her appearance at a moment's notice was nice.

But this was the appearance she was used to. The appearance that she had known for all her last save for the last few months. Then again given that her looks could change on a dime, but even this had been taken away from her. A look she thought was unique to her was nothing more than a disguise that her parents had been using for most of her life. Sylvie then once again changed her appearance.

This time letting it change to what she truly looked like, her hair now a dark ashy gray, her eyes now a dark crimson red, and her skin a mix between grey and blue giving it a dark purplish hue. Sometimes she felt disgusted with herself, other times she was happy to be able to live in this world. And then there were days like today, where she wasn't entirely sure how she felt about the situation.

Part of her wanted to return to that simpler time when she didn't have to worry about whether or not she was going to be attacked. Not having to worry about her family possibly dying while she was away. Then again part of her was happy her life changed and went down this new route. After all, who wouldn't like the idea of suddenly finding themselves in a new world? Knowing that they weren't human but were instead something much greater.

'I wonder if there's a monster equivalent to a therapist I can talk to about this?' Sylvie wondered as she looked at herself in the mirror. She never did properly work out how she felt about the matter. In fact for the most part she was just thrown into this world and expected to just go along with it. Even her parents didn't comfort her that much on the subject, and merely just answered any questions she had.

Well her mother did at least, but as she learned that was somewhat expected. She was a vampire, and as such had that natural sense of superiority that afflicted most of them. Her father on the other hand tried to comfort her but like most fathers didn't know-how. But at least he tried and at times that was all Sylvie asked for. Sylvie said as she looked down at the ground and once again began to get dressed.

It had been a while since she just had a day that she could relax, so that was what she was going to do today. Sylvie then walked over to the small closet that she had and began to get dressed for the day. Today she wanted to keep it fairly simple wearing a light blue shirt with jeans. After she was dressed Sylvie walked to a small desk and picked up her cell phone. She took a moment to look through her contacts before settling on a name.

As she called she walked back and forth through her room. "Hello?" She heard a familiar and slightly groggy voice from the other side of the phone.

"Hey Jason, do you want to hang out today?" Sylvie asked as she looked at herself in the mirror.

"Yeah, sure. What did you have planned?" Jason asked through the phone.

"Uh, nothing really. Just gonna walk around, and see what happens. Like the old days you know?" Sylvie asked through the small device.

"That's it? Uh, yeah sure I guess I don't mind that much," Jason said through the phone. She could hear him groan a bit with something being rustled in the background. A clear indicator that he was stretching. "So when do you want to meet up?" Jason asked as his voice became a bit less groggy.

"I was thinking around one, maybe one-thirty," Sylvie said from the other end of the phone.

"Alright, where do you want to meet at?" Jason asked as he began to get up creating enough noise for Sylvie to hear from the other end of the phone as he did.

"How does the pool sound?" Sylvie asked as she looked at the phone.

"Sounds good," Jason said causing Sylvie to smile.

"Great, see you then," Sylvie said with a slight smile as she ended the call. She sighed as she did and once again looked at herself in the mirror. She tried to force a smile as she did but it didn't take long for it to quickly fade. This is what she was, this is what she had always been. And she never would have known about it if she hadn't been attacked. Sylvie then sighed and once again began to change her appearance.

Going back to long strawberry blonde hair, and bright green eyes. She was certain that Jason and her friends would accept her regardless of what she looked like, but still didn't want them to see her like that, not yet anyway. Sylvie then walked over to her closet and began to pick out some new clothes for the day. What she had picked out was a simple outfit but one that she liked to wear whenever she got the chance.

When she was finished she looked at the time and saw that she still had a bit of time before she needed to meet Jason. After she saw this she began to make her way to the small bathroom she had and began to strip as she did. When she did she turned on the water and placed her hand under it. As she did she immediately pulled back shaking her hand from the heat. "Ow," Sylvie said as she began to adjust the temperature to something she could more easily withstand.

After it had cooled down a bit Sylvie once again placed her hand under the water and smiled before walking into the shower and begging to clean herself. She's glad she got to see this new world, like the tree that she had gone to visit with Ashley and Haile. A tree so massive, an entire city was built inside of it, something she never would have thought possible, and yet there it was hidden from the rest of the world.

But at the same time, she missed the days that she could just leave her house without worrying about whether or not she was going to be attacked and possibly killed. Of course, she knows now that she couldn't always live in that blissful state of ignorance, but even so, sometimes the perks that would have come with it would have made the experience worth it. Sylvie sighed as she continued to bathe herself before wincing a bit as she felt a sharp, stinging pain in her right eye.

"Ow, ow, ow," Sylvie said as she began to try and pour some water in her eye so that she could once again open it. As she did Sylvie sighed and took this as a sign to leave the shower. As she did she stepped out and began to dry herself off. When she did she looked at her phone to see what time it was. She nodded seeing the time and continued to dry herself off before once again getting dressed.

When she did she began to make her way towards the pool. As she did she began to look around and saw several different creatures of all different types making their way around the campus. It was almost jarring to see how many monsters preferred to walk around in their bestial form compare to their human ones. Then again they were probably born with the knowledge that they were monsters.

They had made peace with that fact a long time ago. People like Sylvie on the other hand. They had just recently found out and were thrust into this new world. It wasn't as easy for them, they still needed to come to grips with this new reality of theirs. These thoughts and more began to swirl in her mind. However, it didn't take long for these thoughts to be cast aside as the giant pool came into sight.

Sylvie could see all sorts of creatures in the water beneath her each one swimming around, trying to mind their boundaries as they got a little close to the edge of the pool. As Sylvie was watching them swim around one of them began to approach her before part of his body leaped out of the water and onto land. His pale blue skin, fins, and fish-tail made it more than obvious that the creature in front of her was in fact a mermaid.

"Hey, succubaby, ever been with a merman before?" The male asked as he looked at Sylvie.

"Oh uh, no I can't say I have," Sylvie asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"Cool, want to give this fish dick a ride then? You haven't lived until you've had sex underwater," The male said as he looked at Sylvie. When he did Sylvie was a bit caught off guard hearing this being a bit unsure of what to say. "What's wrong, babe? Oh, I get it. You're one of those succubi, aren't you? Need proof you're not wasting your time and all that right? Don't worry succubabe, I can let you sneak a peek, I'll just lean back in the water and you look to see what you're working with," The male said as he looked at her.

It was at this point that the female had finally begun to realize that not talking was just getting her into hotter water. "Uh no thanks, I'm actually waiting on a friend," Sylvie said as she looked at the male trying to reject his advances in as nice a manner as possible. When she did the male shrugged.

"Alright, have it your way. There's always other fish," The male said as he jumped back diving into the water before swimming off. As he did Sylvie sighed and felt a hand on her shoulder. When she did she turned to see Jason staring at her.

"Some things never change huh?" Jason asked as he looked at the female in front of him. When he said this Sylvie smiled a bit and nodded. The conversation really was a bit too reminiscent of a few conversations that she had in high school. It was nice to see that some things did carry over from the human world to the monster world. Even if it was just how some people tried hitting on her.

"Yeah, seems that way," Sylvie said as she looked at the male in front of her. Jason smiled and chuckled a bit hearing this as he looked at Sylvie.

"So what do you have planned for today?" Jason asked as he looked at the female in front of him.

"Nothing really, I guess we start by walking and just see where our feet take us," Sylvie said as she looked at the male in front of her. Jason nodded hearing this and the two began to walk down the streets together.

"So I got to ask, what brought this on all of a sudden?" Jason asked as he looked at the female in front of him. After all, after the two had joined the college they had more or less been going their own separate ways with Sylvie spending more time with Ashley and other like-minded friends, while her time with Jason become more and more scarce. So of course doing something like suddenly asking to hang out was treated with a bit of skepticism.

"I just wanted to talk about stuff, and I know I can trust you more than anybody. So it just made sense to come to you first," Sylvie said as she looked at the male in front of her. She was a bit embarrassed having said that out loud. But it was the truth, Jason was there for her almost any time she needed it. So of course when things were finally starting to set in and become a little too much for her she would turn to him first.

"Ah, I see, well I'm flattered," Jason said as he looked at the female in front of him with a smile. "So what did you want to talk about?" Jason asked as he looked at her.

"I don't know . . . a bunch of stuff I guess," Sylvie said as she turned her attention to the sky and the artificial sun that had been generated in the sky.

"Alright, well then let's take it one at a time," Jason said as he looked at her. "The first thing is?" Jason asked as he looked at her. When he said this Sylvie smiled and looked at him.

"Everything I guess, well not everything, but a lot. I mean it's finally setting in that I'm really a monster. That this isn't just some weird dream I'm going to wake up from soon. It's just . . weird I guess. So many things are different, it's just bizarre thinking about all these things. Things that used to be normal aren't, and things I used to think were never possible are now my daily life. I mean, a few seconds ago I was hit on by a merman. I couldn't have imagined something like that happening outside of a fever-dream a few years ago," Sylvie said as she looked at the male in front of her.

"That's true I guess, most of us learn at a young age that we're different from others. So it's just normal for us. It's definitely a bit more surreal for people like you that are suddenly turned and are now forced to experience this world we've all been living in for years," Jason said as he looked at her. "I don't think that's a bad thing, I'm sure it's a bit of a shock for people like you. After all, you're having you're entire reality shifted, and having to learn things all over again. I think being shook up is a good thing . . . well maybe not good, but definitely normal," Jason said as he looked at Sylvie.

"Right. I also wish I knew how they figured out I was a monster. I mean, even I didn't know, so it's not like there's some magical sign that gave me away. It was just so bizarre how they were able to figure it out before I did," Sylvie said as she looked at the ground.

"It was probably one of your parents," Jason said almost without thinking. "Sure you didn't know, but you're parents do. So while you lived a normal life your parents lived on in secret. I don't know for sure but if I had to guess I'd say it was probably your mom. After all, at the end of the day, she is still a vampire, which means there are still rules she needs to work around. Not being allowed in the sun, and needing to consume blood are the two big ones," Jason said as he looked at Sylvie.

When he said this Sylvie nodded, she had never thought of it before. But when she was younger her mother never did leave the house as much as her father did, and when she did leave she was almost always fully clothed. When Sylvie was younger she thought it was just her mother being quirky, but now that she knows the truth, it certainly put a different perspective on what she was doing.

"Why do you think they didn't tell me?" Sylvie asked as she looked at the ground. That was another one that had been bothering her for a while. Her parents hiding the fact she was a monster from her for so long. Not letting her know the truth until she was attacked and almost killed.

"I . . . don't know," Jason admitted as he looked at the female in front of him. "I mean, if you really want to know, then just ask them. You're an adult, and you have the right to know. So just tell them you want to know the truth," Jason said as he looked at the female in front of him. When he said this Sylvie once again nodded and a building came into sight. It seemed to be a small beach-themed café.

"Want to stop and get a bite to eat?" Sylvie asked as she gestured to the building. When she did Jason looked at the building she was pointing to and nodded.

"Yeah, I could eat," Jason said, when he did Sylvie smiled and the two began to make their way towards the building. When they walked in the two looked around and smiled a bit before walking over to what appeared to be a small bar stand. "What can I get you two?" The male behind the counter asked as he looked at them.

"Salt-water, extra sea-salt if you don't mind," Jason said as he looked at the male in front of him causing him to nod before he turned his attention to the female.

"I'm good," Sylvie said as she looked at the male in front of her causing him to nod. When she said this Jason looked at her a bit odd before shrugging.

"So what are you going to do after school?" Sylvie asked as she looked at the male in front of her. As a human, he always responded with 'I haven't thought about it yet,' but maybe as a monster, she would get an actual response.

"I'm going to be a sailor," Jason said without having to think about it. When he said this Sylvie looked at him a little questioningly and Jason sighed.

"Oh don't act so surprised. I'm a sea dragon, being in the water is what I was meant to do. And if I can get paid to catch a few fish here and there then what's the harm? What about you?" Jason said turning the question on Sylvie causing her to shake her head. When she did the male slid a glass beside Jason and he picked it up and took a small drink. "Ah, yeah, that's the stuff," Jason said with a smile.

"I had always wanted to be a chef. Learn to cook, travel the world, that sort of thing," Sylvie said before taking a deep breath. "Although, that one's kind of out of the question at the moment. Ever since I've awakened, nothing tastes as good as blood," Sylvie said as she looked at the ground.

"But you can still taste other things right?" Jason asked as he looked at her causing her to nod.

"Yeah, but eating is just . . . I don't know," Sylvie said as she looked up at the sky. "I think disappointing, is the best way I know how to put it," Sylvie said as she looked at the male causing him to look at her a bit curious. Sylvie smiled a bit seeing this and continued on with her explanation.

"I used to love eating quesadillas and lasagna. Even small things like the grilled cheese I would make when I was waiting for dinner to be made tasted so good. But now it all just tastes so . . . lack-luster. It's not even that the flavor's gone, because it isn't, it's still there. But's just not as good as before. Like when soda goes flat or gets really watered down. You can still taste it, but you'd still rather have it while it's crisp and refreshing," Sylvie said as she looked at the male in front of her.

"And it's like that with everything?" Jason asked as he looked at the female in front of him.

"Yeah, well almost everything. In some cases my taste for blood actually makes things taste better. Like steak, I liked steak before but now it's just about the only meal I can actually eat and enjoy. Since it's still got blood in it, it hasn't lost its flavor in fact if anything it feels like it's been enhanced. But I can't be a chef that just focuses on different kinds of meats," Sylvie said with a slight sigh.

"Sure you can," Jason said as he looked at her. When he did Sylvie turned to look at him a bit skeptical.

"You know, I hate to say this but you sure do have a human mindset," Jason said as he looked at her. When he said this Sylvie turned to look at him a bit confused. She wanted to take what he said as a compliment but his tone made it sound like it was a bad thing. "Then again, maybe I can't blame you, after all, you were human until, what? Two, three months ago maybe?" Jason asked as he looked at the female in front of him before shaking his head.

"You need to learn to be flexible. I know that you see tv shows and it makes it seem like you need to be a master of everything to be a chef. But that's not true. You want to be a chef then be a chef, you just need to work around the fact you can only taste blood. You think chefs don't focus on meat? Well, you're wrong, butcher shops exist for a reason. Their entire job is dedicated to cutting and preparing meat for others. If you don't like the sound of that then open a restaurant that prepared exotic meals like deer, snakes, or alligators. There are plenty of workarounds, you just need to think them through," Jason said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"I mean, you don't even need to be a cook for humans as far as that goes. Actually, hold on a moment," Jason said as he turned to the male that had brought him his drink. "Can I get a watermelon-infused daiquiri?" Jason asked as he looked at the male in front of him.

"We're actually out of watermelon at the moment, but we do still have other infusions," The male said as he looked at him.

"What about cherry?" Jason asked as he looked at her.

"One cherry-infused daiquiri coming up," The male said as he reached under the table to grab some ice and began to prepare the drink.

"What are you doing?" Sylvie asked as she looked at the male in front of him.

"You'll see," Jason said as he looked at her. Sylvie looked at him a bit skeptically seeing this before the male poured the daiquiri into a large glass and slid it towards Jason, who proceeded to give it to Sylvie. When he did Sylvie looked at it and then up at him. "Just trust me, you'll like it," Jason said as he looked at the female in front of him.

Sylvie shrugged a bit seeing this and reached for the drink. She took a small sip, and as she did her eyes widened a bit at the flavor. "It's . . . good," Sylvie said as she looked at the male in front of her.

"Of course it is, it's a blood-infused daiquiri. I know this is all new for you but we've been at this stuff for years. Blood infusions are pretty common here, it might be a bit hard learning this stuff so late, but trust me. We've got ways around the system humans have in place for us. You want to be a chef then be a chef. Don't just give up because things seem bad a the moment, all you need to do is find your workaround," Jason said as he looked at Sylvie.

When he said this Sylvie smiled as she looked at him. "Thanks, I . . . I really needed that," Sylvie said as she looked at the male in front of her. She wasn't sure why but just hearing that from him and seeing him make an effort to try and make her see that things weren't all bad really did bring a smile to her face.

"There was something else I wanted to talk to you about as well," Sylvie said as she looked at the male in front of her.

"Oh? What is it?" Jason asked as he took another sip from his glass of seawater.

"What do you think about the info we got?" Sylvie asked as she looked at the male. When she did Jason looked at her a bit skeptically before his eyes widened a bit in understanding.

"Don't know, we could try to save him. Or he might not be real and it could all be a set-up. We can never be sure, especially when it comes to something like an angel," Jason said with a sigh.

"Why?" Sylvie asked as she began to look at the male in front of her.

"Well first off that would mean we'd have to assume angels are still alive," Jason said as he looked at her. When he said this Sylvie looked at him a bit confused and Jason sighed. "Three hundred years ago, humans went on a mass genocide against the angel population. They were strong, so of course, it didn't take long for humans to decide that they needed to be dealt with," Jason said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"If they were strong then how did they lose?" Sylvie asked as she looked at the male. After all humans in comparison to even low-ranking monsters like jackalope still couldn't compare to them.

"Just because a monster is strong doesn't mean it's invincible. Vampires would win almost every single time in a one-on-one match. And yet that doesn't stop the few times they don't win from popping up. It takes time and careful planning but eventually they will succeed in their goal of killing whatever it is they're after. Especially when it's one monster against ten humans. Of course, they didn't need to do that to genocide the angels," Jason said with a sigh as he looked down at the table in front of him.

"Angels were kind creatures, and if push came to shove they would defend themselves. But that's not what they did. They would get angels when they were alone and would threaten innocent lives if they didn't surrender. Defending themselves from their attackers was something they could live with. However, they couldn't live with the thought of innocent people dying because of them. The thought they got to live while someone whose only crime would have been being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Knowing they could have helped and didn't . . . it would have slowly eaten away at any angel," Jason said with a sigh.

"Did they mean it?" Sylvie asked as she looked at the male in front of her causing Jason to shrug.

"Who knows, like I said this was hundreds of years ago so it's possible they did, and yet it's possible they didn't. But the threat still worked. The angels gave themselves up and they were executed one by one. We have to assume they were successful. An angel has never been spotted seen then. With how ruthless they were when it came to destroying them, I don't know if it's even possible one would have escaped their wrath," Jason said with a sigh.

"But what if one did?" Sylvie asked as she looked at the male thinking about the possibility that what that male said would have been true.

"Then why would they have kept it alive all these years? Like I said angels were dangerous, that's the whole reason humans eradicated them. I don't know how they'd even go about keeping something as dangerous as an angel. I mean sure it's possible I guess but possible in the same way that meteorite could hit one of us in the head. On paper yeah it could happen, but in practice, I mean, what are the odds?" Jason asked as he looked at Sylvie.

"I mean, don't get me wrong it'd be nice if an angel was still alive. But what happens if we try to break into the base, and it turns out it was all just a set-up. Not only would we look like complete morons for believing such an obvious lie. But we'd also be putting not only ourselves but others in danger. I just . . . I don't think the risk is worth the reward," Jason said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"Why are we even hiding? I mean if we exposed ourselves, then they can't just deny that nothing happened right? Moreover, if that happens then there might be a chance for us to live in peace with humans," Sylvie said as she looked at the male in front of her. When she said this Jason chuckled a bit almost as if he were scoffing at the idea.

"If only it were that easy," Jason said as he turned to look at Sylvie. "What? Do you really think people haven't tried that before? Well, they have, and all of them have failed. Just a few years ago there was a hydra who exposed himself in the middle of a super-mall. Hundred maybe even thousands of people saw him do so, the footage went online, and a few news outlets even covered the story," Jason said as he looked at her.

"What happened?" Sylvie asked as she looked at the male. There had to be a reason that he was bringing this fact up. And if what he had been saying was anything to go on. She could only guess that this didn't have as happy a result as she was hoping for.

"The hydra was killed, 'experts' were dispatched to 'expose' the footage as fake. And the people that were in the mall were told that what they saw was a hallucination formed by a gas leak. The news stations were not only humiliated by the sudden turn of events but also paid to stop covering the story. The incident was covered up in less than a week. It'd be nice to think that if we expose ourselves the world will suddenly change, but it won't. Their system for covering up our existence isn't perfect, but it's damn close to it," Jason said as he looked at Sylvie.

Sylvie stared at the male in disbelief for a few moments hearing this. To think they were so quick to cover such a massive event up. "People, must have been somewhat skeptical of that story right? I mean, they all saw the same thing, they can't just explain that away," Sylvie said as she looked at the male.

"Wrong, they can and they did. As I said, not perfect but close to it," Jason said with a sigh. "Then again it's not like we're much better," Jason said as he looked at Sylvie.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sylvie asked as she looked at the male in front of her.

"We get mad just like humans do, we hold grudges just like humans do. And of course, just like humans, there are a few outliers among us. But unlike humans, we're capable of a lot more destruction in a lot less time. I'd like to say we're better than them. That things could be resolved with simple apologies. I'd love to say you're right but the simple fact is that's not true," Jason said with a sigh as he looked at Sylvie.

"After all it only takes a few bad outliers to ruin it for the rest of us. I mean just look at vampires, the moment they transform they gain a natural sense of superiority over their past life. They view vampires as the current state and humans as the past. So they're less empathetic when it comes to humans. And if a vampire decides they like the taste of human blood better than cows or deer who's going to stop them from going on a killing spree and making other people vampires?" Jason asked as he looked at Sylvie.

When he said this Sylvie tensed up, as much as she hated to admit it, she could see his point. Jason then sighed and looked down. "I mean, even dragons have some form of resentment towards humans. Or at least a lot of the older ones do. They used to be worshipped as gods in some places, with people bringing them goods and valuables to them as tribute. It's not easy going from being viewed as a god to being something in hiding. So if some of the elders think they can get away with something, they'll take their chances and go for it," Jason said with a sigh.

"Werewolves have high levels of testosterone, so they're more prone to violent outbursts. Thankfully, a lot of them know this and have formed packs away from humans, or at the very least made their packs unappealing so that most humans wouldn't want to live with them in their communities. But that doesn't change the fact that it only takes one to have a lapse in judgment and go on a killing spree in the middle of a town," Jason said as he looked at her.

"Right, I see what you mean," Sylvie said as she looked at the male. What he said was true, if a human wanted to go on a killing spree it would take some time for them to plan everything out. A dragon on the other hand wouldn't need any amount of planning, they could reduce an entire town to ashes in a matter of seconds if they wanted to. And while it was obvious that most people wouldn't do it, it would always be the ones that did that others would hear about.

"Well let's get out of here, don't want people to think we're on a date or something," Sylvie said as she looked at the male in front of her.

"I don't think that matters, a lot of people know that I wouldn't date you," Jason said as he looked at the female in front of him.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sylvie asked as she looked at Jason getting a bit defensive about the question.

"Aw, come on you can't pretend to be offended by that," Jason said as he looked at her. However, it only took one look at Sylvie for something to click inside of Jason's head. "Are you serious?" Jason asked as he looked at Sylvie. When he said this the female looked at him confused. "You've known me for thirteen years and you still haven't put it together?" Jason asked as he looked at the female in front of him.

"What are you talking about?" Sylvie asked as she looked at the male in front of him. When she did Jason sighed as he looked at her.

"Sylvie, I'm gay," Jason said as he looked at her.