Vampire Nightlife

"Thank you so much for your group\'s arrival." Out of everyone who could have thanked them, Vulpine was the last one who led them to their van. Elsewhere, Ursa and Cervus seemed preoccupied with dealing with other affairs.

They had said their farewells, but mostly left Vulpine to accompany them. Lukas thought it was almost an odd thing, but then he tried hard not to think about it. There were far many more things on his plate.

"Not a problem." Theodore nodded tersely. "We\'ll go on our way now."

As usual, Theodore was the epitome of perfect diplomacy. Lukas resisted the urge to shake his head–it was almost impossible to imagine that the same guy that helped him into Blood Works was the same no-nonsense guy.

But the situation called for it.

And so each one of them boarded the van, until Vulpine surprised Lukas and grabbed his arm. Her orange hair somehow smelled of flowers and there was a mischievous look in her purple eyes as well.

"Hey, you\'ve got some butterfly dust on you, let me brush it off." Vulpine offhandedly wiped at his shoulders and then let go. There was something that almost seemed elusive and secretive as she spoke.

Lukas\' stared at her in confusion for a moment, until his eyes widened.

"Wait, by dust you mean–"

Unfortunately for Lukas, before he could ask her to elaborate or ask if it was some kind of weird flirting technique–Vulpine sprang up, kissed his cheek and then turned away from the van as quickly as she came.

Vulpine\'s actions didn\'t escape the eyes of the Vampires in the van and it made Lukas sitting down next to Chaerin an awkward affair.

"I thought that she had her eyes on me," Alexei grumbled and eyed the retreating figure with a small huff. "When I was in the infirmary in their tree-place, she was checking me out and even touched my muscles."

Theodore simply shook his head and drove off. He might have cared more and given more attention to it, but he focused on their next destination. Instead, he was aware that someone else would already give Lukas enough trouble.

"Were the two of you ever that close?" Chaerin shot daggers at the fox-demihuman that disappeared. "I don\'t actually recall the two of you actually having any kind of conversation whatsoever."

"Chaerin, I was with you guys for practically the entire time." Lukas touched his cheek, and then proceeded to wipe it off. "I thought it was odd too–but I guess, I just have a good face."

"How you\'re able to say that with a straight face is completely beyond me." Stacy blurted out loud and shook her head.

It gathered another look from Chaerin, whose expression shifted for a second before she threw herself into Lukas\' arms and hugged him close. "If she had stayed for a second longer, I would have caught her and questioned her immediately, but you don\'t like her, do you, Lukas?"

"No, of course not." Lukas instantly replied. She was cute, but also strange. Honestly though, Lukas wanted his thoughts to be far away from women in particular–which was silly considering how he ended up in this situation in the first place.

"Then I guess it doesn\'t matter," Chaerin nodded seriously. "It can\'t be helped how other people act around you, but I sure do hope that they control themselves better. I\'m sure that Vulpine girl knew that we were together but still tested my nerves."

Lukas was quite relieved that Chaerin didn\'t seem to be as bothered as much–focusing on the other person instead of him, on the other hand, Stacy folded her hands together on her lap. She didn\'t exactly squeeze hard to gather attention, but she still did it.

Stacy knew that Lukas was also discerning in his own way, she appreciated his perspective on the world… but at the same time, when it came to the people that he was in a relationship with? Lukas seemed happy to be more oblivious than not.

​ She knew it was wrong to think ill of someone who was currently in a dire state, but she had seen how both Chaerin and Lily acted when they met at VitaBlood or even during the gala at the Weisse Manor.

Not that she had paid much attention, during that time as she was busy with serving the guests.

But both women were frightening on their own, with maybe Lily being the far scarier one based on first impressions alone. Stacy found it hard to believe anyone being that overly good and sweet–and at least Chaerin wasn\'t afraid to show some of her barbs.

True to Stacy\'s observations, Lukas was indeed preoccupied. Maybe if he hadn\'t had several things all going on at once then maybe he\'d have noticed the carefully placed words that Chaerin said, but for now he was preoccupied with other things.

Rhea sat on the other side of Lukas and she was talking with him.

"I\'ve seen no such thing as a butterfly flying around you during the entire time that you were here," Rhea reassured him. "Much less see any actual dust on your person. Frankly, I think she was just trying to rub her scent on you–like you people with physical bodies do."

"I do not wish to talk with someone who was unwilling to hear my findings from hours ago." Drusilla spoke in his head. "There is no merit to speaking to someone who will not listen after all. This is your problem."

\'I mean, can\'t you spy on her then Rhea and come flying back? You\'re faster and free now.\' Lukas communicated with the Dream Eater and considered Drusilla as someone he\'d talk to right after this was handled.

"As much as I would wish to, I\'m almost afraid of the distance that we\'ll be in." Rhea draped her head across Lukas\' lap and looked him in the face. "The further you are, the weaker I am and aren\'t you the one to blame?"