Fear of the Dark [M]

[Lion]

"It's all right," Decebal said and waved it off.  "It's who I am now, why I do what I do.  And why I intend to kill Lorian despite the odds against me.  Against us in our temporary...alliance."

He smiled, just a bit and moved to his things, pulling out a roll of jerky and munching on it.

[DragonSong]

"Yeah. Right." Gwen's eyes flicked away, then back to him, and she licked her lips. She couldn't help it, she was getting so hungry. And seeing him eat was just making it worse.

And it wasn't like she could leave, get some distance. She cleared her throat, licking her lips again and trying to put it from her mind. "So, uh- you said something about beheading? You think that will work?"

[Lion]

He ripped the jerky with his teeth and munched on it eagerly.  It would sate his hunger for now, and he kept enough left over for a week or so on the journey ahead.  He wagered it would take them at least a few weeks to get to their destination.  But that was if they could go ahead without interruption.

"Unless you think he can function without his head, which would be a feat in and of himself," he murmured.

[DragonSong]

Gods. She could hear the blood rushing through his body, and it was just about driving her mad.

"Yeah. Right." She swallowed thickly and looked away, forcing herself to breathe. "Well, six months ago I would have told you vampires are just a story. I'm not willing to put much past him."

She couldn't take it anymore. Scrambling to her feet, Gwen muttered, "I'll check out the rest of this place. Maybe there's a bed somewhere."

[Lion]

"Yeah, go on.  I'll be here," he said as he watched her depart.  There was a strange desperation to her that made him give a grunt of curiosity.  He ate quietly for the next few minutes before cleaning up his area and setting out a thin bedroll.  Of course if there was a bed here, he could sleep in that.  They would need to rest up as much as they could for the journey ahead.

"Did you find anything up there?" he called up, as he laid out on his makeshift bed, and wrapped himself up in a thin blanket.

[DragonSong]

Gwen- who had been poking about the second floor- came to the top of the stairs when he called up. "Two locked doors and one open," she relayed. "There's a bed, but it's pretty much half eaten at this point. Rats or moths or something."

Slowly, she made her way back down the stairs, casting a glance at the bedroll he's set up. With a soft huff, she settled herself into a corner of the room, leaning her head back against the wall.

[Lion]

Decebal made a tired grunt and closed hIs eyes.  He wasn't going to stay awake for much longer and soon he was lights out.

[DragonSong]

The sun was officially up now, and Gwen's whole body felt heavy with sleep. She let her head loll to the side and closed her eyes, arms wrapped around her middle as she dropped off to sleep.

[Lion]

The sun would creep in with tendrils of light, poking in through holes in the curtains.  One such tendrils snaked it's way through the day closer and closer to Gwen until it touched her foot.  Meanwhile outside things stirred in the dark.

[DragonSong]

A sharp pain woke her and she leaped to her feet with a cry, cringing back into the corner.

Unfortunately, the fledgling vampire had essentially trapped herself, the beams of light falling through the holes in the curtain as effective as iron bars for keeping her in place. She could make a dash for it, but honestly she didn't want to risk the burns.

"Decebal," she hissed. "Oi. Wake up!"

[Lion]

He made a grunt, rolling over and making a face at being disturbed.  "What?" He grunted.  "What's so important?" 

[DragonSong]

She glowered at him. "Sunlight, mister vampire slayer. Burning. Bad things. Any of this ringing a bell? I could use a little help over here."

[Lion]

He rolled up and  moved toward the window, wrenching the curtains closed and double taking when he saw something moving outside.  Or thought he did.  He grunted and used his body like a sunlight shield. "Go on then," he replied.

[DragonSong]

Gwen darted from the corner to the other side of the room, curling herself up under the window sill. At this point, it was her best shot in this room, judging by the angle of the light.

"Thanks," she muttered almost petulantly.

[Lion]

"You didn't...hear anything by any chance did you?" Decebal found himself asking.  "I thought I saw something move outside."

[DragonSong]

Honestly, she'd been too panicked to pay attention. Gwen tilted her head and furrowed her brow, listening.

Her eyes suddenly widened. "You're right," she hissed quietly. "I can't make it out too clearly- but something's definitely out there."

[Lion]

The sounds abruptly stopped when Decebal turned around and pulled the curtains again.  Light shone in through the partition, and above the treeline the light was fading fast.  His heart stopped a moment, long enough to feel  fear seep into it.

Shifting from the window, he quickly rolled up his sleeping gear and strapped it to the rest of his things.  "I guess we can't wait too long to see what it is now, can we?" he hissed as he put his armor back on.

[DragonSong]

Gwen hissed as she suddenly had to squint against the light and pressed a little closer to the wall. "Guess so," she mumbled, slipping sideways in an attempt to circumnavigate the beams of sunlight.

[Lion]

Whatever was moving stopped, and stayed quiet as the sunlight went down fully behind the treeline.  Decebal waited only a few minutes as purple spread through the sky.  "Read to go?" he asked.

[DragonSong]

She nodded, still wary and listening, but whatever she'd heard before she couldn't make out. "Ready when you are."

She started making her way to the door, growing more comfortable now that the sun was down. It was sort of funny- before, she'd always been a morning person.