[December - streets of Montfort, at night]

The large man deftly picked his way through the burned-out rubble. The building was once a store, but now it served merely as an entryway into the labyrinthine catacombs beneath Montfort, where the Night's Bloom made their home. December appeared to be alone; J'Hasp was nowhere to be seen. This was just as well, for some had been known to become violently ill at the sight of December's companion. The inhuman creature kept to the shadows. Sometimes venturing ahead, other times falling behind, always invisible, always watching.

Deep in thought, December had walked several blocks when a small pebble bounced off of his right foot. He stopped and looked around. The pebble was J'hasp's signal that all was not right. Seeing nothing, December took a deep breath and closed his eyes. When he opened then, they glowed with an unnatural light. He began to reexamine his surroundings. His silent spell now allowed him to see the heat and warmth in the air around him. Large rats and other vermin appeared as dull reddish-yellow shapes that moved through the rubble. Then there were the men. Two of them. One had hidden himself in an alley about a block ahead. Another was further along, crouched in the doorway of a store. They were waiting, apparently wanting to trap him between them. December dismissed the spell and continued walking.

He passed the first man without incident. The thief had ducked further back into the darkness to avoid being seen. As he approached the store where the second man crouched, the thief leapt into the open with his sword drawn. He didn't attack at first. Most likely, he was giving his companion time to position himself behind their quarry.

December looked at his attacker. The man wore tattered rags and was smeared with filth. His "sword" was crooked and dented in several places. It was probably refuse from a local blacksmith.

"Give us your money!" spat the man.

"You would attack an unarmed man?"

"You got no problem leaving your house alone and unarmed, then we got no problem taking what you got! Now, give it!" The man rushed towards December, sword thrust forward.

In less time than it takes to blink, J'Hasp was upon him. The creature leapt upon the man's back and batted the sword away with a swipe of his clawed foot. Long talons, made for digging and climbing, gouged deep furrows in the man's face and scalp. The screams could be heard for blocks.

December turned to face the second attacker. He disarmed the man with a well-placed kick, and then grabbed the thief by the throat. December unleashed the slightest amount of his power, and waves of bitter cold raced outwards from his hand and into the man's body. The thief's dying scream was cut short as his vocal cords froze. The man went limp for a second, and then stiffened as blood and organs froze and solidified. December released the thief, who then hit the ground with a sick crackling sound.

The first attacker, bleeding profusely from his head and neck, was still struggling to free himself. It was no use. J'Hasp's muscular tail had encircled the man's midsection, making the creature all but impossible to dislodge. Weakening quickly, the man fell to the ground.

"Help me!" cried the thief. "Please..."

"You would ask your intended victim to help you?" said December.

"Please! It's going to kill me!"

"Unlikely. J'Hasp does not kill. I however, have no qualms about ending your miserable existence."

"Please, let me go!"

"Or should I just have J'Hasp remove your eyes? Or your tongue, perhaps?"

"No!" the man's cries deteriorated into incoherent babblings. December approached him and leaned in close.

"You are nothing. Street filth. You do not exist to me. I do not see you. I do not hear you. I do not think about you. But now, by attacking me, you have gained my full and undivided attention. What did you want? Gold?" December reached into his tunic and brought out a handful of gold coins. He tossed them to the ground at the man's feet. "Probably more money that you have ever seen or ever will see. But now you will go and tell everyone you know...friends, enemies, everyone, that I am to be left alone. Remember my face. Describe it to them. Warn them. If anyone so much as picks my pocket, I will send J'Hasp to retrieve my gold. And your eyes. Understand?"

The man nodded.

"Release him."

J'Hasp released his grip. The man scrambled to his feet, gathered the gold, and ran as fast as his abused body could take him. J'Hasp dashed off into the shadows while December continued his leisurely pace towards home.

Several minutes after they left, a robed stranger appeared, seemingly from nowhere. His robe was bright blue, and it's hood completely covered his face. The man strolled onto the street and examined the frozen body of the dead thief. Then, having satisfied his curiosity, he disappeared in a flash of blue light.