Songs of Nightmares and Snow

3- New Faces

"Damn...you guys are packing..." I murmur, and she laughs.

"Got that right, we made sure this thing is always loaded for bear....uh, no offense..." She trails off, and I shake my head.

"None taken...when exactly did you guys put this here?" I ask, and she taps her chin in thought.

"Not long after our first mission here, we decided it would be best to have a place to lay low, and have a secret stash...that the agency doesn't even know about...in case we ever got cut off from ICE. I guess this counts as cut off..." She explains, and I glance at Astrea to see her rubbing under the foxes chin...an unknown emotion on her face.

"Oh, I also brought all your stuff from our apartment...clothes, shoes, etc., I knew the agency would raid our place after you defected. I know how light you travel, I figured you would need it." She continues, gesturing to one of the duffle bags on the couch. Astrea nods, placing Ivory on the other bed.

"I'd probably change now if I were you, your outfit stands out."

"Later, need to go out." She replies before exiting the room swiftly, and I blink in surprise as the door shuts behind her.

"She'll be back soon, she's going out to hunt...she probably hasn't fed in a while." Nes murmurs as she pulls out a long case and sets it  on the bed, and I suddenly remember the fact that Astrea is a vampire...and though I don't really know much about that species, I do know they feed on blood for some of their diet.

"Any idea when she'll be back?" I ask, and Nes shrugs.

"Not sure, she'll probably blow off a little steam while she's out there...so maybe an hour or so." She replies as she pulls out pieces of what look like a sniper rifle out of the case, which looks about as big as she is.

Sighing, I sit down on the edge of the bed, careful to avoid little Ivory as she curls up to take a nap.

"Since you know what's going on and I don't, can you tell me why we're running from ICE?" I ask, and she nods.

"It's a good thing your sitting down, cause this is gonna shock the hell outta you."

Astrea

This is going to be harder than I thought...

I drop the carcass of the second elk I've drained to ground, it's blood a bland aftertaste on the back of my tongue...I'm nearly about to burst with how much blood I've consumed but I still feel my thirst raging in my belly...in my throat...

The thing with vampires and their thirst is that it comes down to quality over quantity, once we meet our mates we crave their blood only...not just because it's smells and tastes the best, but because it feeds us better in comparison. A short feeding on our mate is the equivalent of draining three elk...it restores our full strength with less consumption...

Quality over quantity...

Wiping my mouth on the back of my gloved hand, I groan and turn my eyes to the night sky, the cold night glittering with beautiful stars...I close my eyes and try to get myself together, reminding myself that despite what my body wants, Thane will never be someone I'll be able to feed on...so I'm just going to have to deal with it.