sarah huffed a quiet breath through her nose at his comment about the camera, the tension from the earlier surprise still fading slowly from her shoulders. her fingers briefly adjusted the strap of the smaller pouch still hanging at her side, as if to reassure herself everything was still there.
"actually," she replied, her tone more serious than the faint glimmer of humor in her voice suggested, "a camera bag to the wrong spot can be pretty painful." she glanced briefly toward the bag now hanging over his shoulder. "and considering how expensive that equipment is, damaging it would hurt me in several ways." a small pause followed before she added dryly, "so no, throwing it wasn’t exactly my first option."
when he addressed her again with that name, the reaction was immediate. sarah exhaled a long, tired sigh, lifting a hand briefly to rub the bridge of her nose.
"what is it with you and that name?" she muttered. "seriously." her gaze shifted back toward him. "it’s not mine." the correction came calmly, but firmly. "it’s sarah nelson." not sarah salvatore. never salvatore. that name didn't belong to her, no matter if it was her biological family name or not. and it's also not 'luv' although she probably can't stop him from using some sort of ... nickname. if that was what it was.
for a moment she studied him again in the dim light filtering through the trees, trying (and failing) to understand why he had suddenly reappeared after so long. the last time they had crossed paths, things had ended with a very clear understanding: distance.
and now? curiosity? trouble? something else entirely? she highly doubted it was because he had missed her. not that she would want that anyway.
his remark about what would happen if he actually intended to hurt her lingered a little longer than she expected. the implication behind it settled somewhere unpleasant at the back of her mind, sending a brief chill along her spine. strangely enough, the feeling didn’t grow into fear. it simply… existed.
sarah tilted her head slightly, her voice remaining calm.
"i suppose the alternative would be you dragging me somewhere deeper into the woods and burying me where no one would find me."
the words were spoken almost matter-of-factly, like she was commenting on the weather rather than her own hypothetical disappearance. her gaze moved briefly to the surrounding trees before returning forward again.
"but for the record, nothing like that has ever happened out here." the forest around them had always been quiet. predictable. peaceful in its own way. "i’ve been coming here for a long time. never had a reason to be afraid."
she walked a few more steps before speaking again, the earlier confusion slowly returning to her expression. "which is also why your sudden appearance is… a little suspicious." sarah glanced sideways again, thoughtful.
"people, especially vampires, usually don’t show up in the middle of the woods at night without a reason." a pause followed. "and honestly?" she added, her tone leveling out again, "i’m fairly convinced it’s safer for me if i’m not constantly surrounded by vampires in the first place." || @paralyziingfears
