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In the dead of night they awoke, and in the darkest spots of the woods, where the moon barely shone through, they met their lovers. The spot was isolated so their meetings would not be interrupted, and the darkness didn’t bother them; they could see well enough, after all, they had had centuries of practice. Some of their lovers brought lights with them, to see their handsome faces better. They were young and in love, and there was no way they would be taken without seeing the faces of their suitors.

To them, it was a strange sort of romance, but everyone was into it. Before all of this, none of them would have considered something like this. So many people, and the ground was cold and hard. But for the past week, at night, they had been coming to meet their beloveds. They knew they wouldn’t be able to see them in the daylight, but it didn’t bother them. Besides, it was far less romantic that way.

The ones who had awoken just now barely acknowledged each other in the woods, maybe they had known each other for so long. It was interesting for them, to have such acceptation into the world. For hundreds of years they hid, stalking their victims from behind closed doors, away from sight. It had made seduction so difficult. All that had changed, and they revelled in it. Although they tried to stay near their shelters, because you never knew where you could be stuck once the sun rose. But they were no longer confined to hiding from capture and execution.

There was passion, now. There was popularity. But most of all, there was no fear.

And in the forest, the cries of pleasure turned to cries of terror, and eventually cries of pain. No one heard, though. And after the cries, silence, and then the thick leathery sound of wings. And when they were found, the following morning, it was far too late.

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