WHAT AILS YOU [VAMPIRE] [MXM]

25: A NEW OBJECTIVE

Vanhallam isn't really what Kita expected.

He's not actually sure what he was anticipating. He definitely thought the architecture would be more Victorian and spooky, thought it would follow the vampire aesthetic of gold and red and black, or something along those lines. He thought the castle would look scary and evil.

He's not entirely incorrect in those assumptions, but he's also not right. It sure doesn't look much like Amarath, and the buildings aren't as nice and extravagant as he was expecting. He probably shouldn't be surprised by that, though, since it is a struggling empire. A lot of the buildings are run down, though the entire place does sort of follow a darker aesthetic. This could be in part due to the cloudy weather, which also makes sense. They are vampires, after all. They'd want to live somewhere primarily overcast.

The trip there goes surprisingly smoothly, though Kita is a wreck the whole time. He tries to keep it together, but he keeps breaking down out of nowhere. The trip itself takes a few days, which is honestly still less time than he was expecting. Bermuda does a good job and he is very proud of her.

Kita tries to follow the road signs for most of it, but that only takes him so far. He uses the map a lot, and he's glad his mother gave it to him because he'd likely have gotten lost without it. There isn't much between the empires, probably because most people don't travel. Messengers do, as well as those with enough time on their hands to afford it, but it's not common. He's unsure why his mother even had the map to begin with.

Kita sees maybe three buildings the entire way there, all rest stops for people and horses. No actual business or houses. This could also have something to with the fact that people don't travel between Vanhallam and Amarath a lot, so there's not much need for anything between.

Kita ends up arriving somewhat early morning, and he notices that it's mostly vacant. There are a few people out, but most are indoors due to the fact that Vampires are generally nocturnal. Some of them can get away with no sleep, but most—especially those that were turned—prefer to get at least a few hours a night.

It's really strange, the place being empty like this. Kita is so used to Amarath being constantly busy, unless it's night time. Most people don't risk their safety like that, and Kita learned his lesson the hard way. Then again, it was clearly planned, so he's not sure there was much he could've done to begin with.

Bermuda walks through the rundown, cracked streets of Vanhallam, and she seems a little put off. She's hesitant, so Kita tries to comfort her. This gives her a bit of confidence, and he realizes that the few people who are outside their houses are staring at him. They're whispering and pointing as well, and Kita looks away. He feels uncomfortable with the attention, simply wanting to be somewhere he could feel safe.

He's not safe in Amarath anymore. This is the best place for him, despite it feeling sort of... off. That's probably just because it's a new experience and he's so emotional, though.