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BURIAL GROUNDS | MILO & DANI

PLACE: Outside Club Friction TIMING: 1:27 AM SUMMARY: Milo decides to interrupt Dani’s hunt, and is faced with revelations he could never have prepared for WRITING PARTNER: @surmamort CONTENT WARNINGS: Brief overdose mention, brief mention of drug abuse

Dani wasn’t entirely sure what she was doing. Her nights had been overcome with grief over the person she’d lost the moment she slipped the knife between the hunter’s ribs, and it’d been all consuming. With a decreased need for sleep, it was easy to keep the nightmares at bay, but the thoughts never stopped. So Dani consumed her time with meaningful gestures-- more towards the hunting community she now felt disjointed from. A spawn here, a kuzlac there, it was built on routine at this point. It’d been a few weeks since she’d been asked to never go home again. Or rather, that it’d been implied she was never welcome back. Her decisions had taken a turn; less about keeping White Crest safe, and more about finding fear and ripping its throat out. Humanoid creatures were harder-- she always saw his face, but this one? It’d be easy. She’d seen what he had done, and though she did not think she owed Milo anything, maybe this was her last gift to him. A friendship better forgotten. No, she may not pursue him in the same way, fingers itching to lift the stake and shove it through to splinter her old friend to ash, but how could they come back from who he was? From who she was?

Friction wasn’t a place Dani would normally find herself at. If not for the fact that she knew this had been the last known place that Milo’s sire’d been roaming free, she wouldn’t have stepped foot near the place. A loud thrum, emergency signs flashing. There were a lot of undead inside. She felt her skin crawling, but she did her best to ignore it. An hour had gone by and still nothing, until the clatter of footsteps against pavement and laughter filled the air. She recognized him, but he wouldn’t recognize her. Dani followed him, her insides twisted. She could end him right there in the middle of the sidewalk if she really wanted to. Dani followed him until they were far enough away from the club before she quickened her pace. The vampire turned around, no longer oblivious to her presence. “You fuckin--” Dani already had the stake unsheathed, the pointed end drawn towards the beacon point.

Once upon a time, seeing Dani would have ignited a spark of affection in Milo’s chest. Whether he was lying in a gutter somewhere, waiting for her to come and rescue him, or he was crossing paths with her outside the houses they had both grown up in, he loved her. She was one of his closest friends, and for a very long time she had been a symbol of hope. She accepted him for who he was, she never judged him, or made him feel any lesser because of his habits. And for the most part she had done everything within her power to keep him safe. Now, he felt so many emotions, none of them could be considered positive. He couldn’t imagine why she would ever be in Friction, she definitely wasn’t the type to embrace the White Crest nightlife, but the anger, and hurt threatening to consume him were too distracting for him to care. He was still mourning their relationship, still wracked with grief every time he remembered the hatred in her eyes, the loathing as she struggled to force a wooden dagger through his heart. Though after a few minutes of staring at her, his shock began to fade and he was able to recognise the look of concentration on her face. She was stalking something… or someone. Almost immediately he realised it had to be a vampire. He was becoming increasingly adept at recognising supernatural creatures, and he knew there were people like him hiding comfortably within the crowd. But he couldn’t sense any zombies, anyone else she might be liable to hurt, or kill. Downing what was left of his drink, he hurried to slip off of his barstool, ignoring the way his stomach was churning at the thought of confronting her. He had never sought her out like this, she was usually the one to find him. And after their argument at his parents’ house (if you could call it an argument) she seemed to be avoiding him. That, or luring him into a false sense of security. Making her aware of his presence was not only stupid, but dangerous. He was putting himself at risk in a way that didn’t bring any enjoyment. There was no thrill of adrenaline here, only fear, and a bitter taste in the back of his throat.

Pushing his way through the masses, it didn’t take him long to cross the room and he forced open the fire exit, tumbling out into an alleyway. She was already gone, but luckily she could only have travelled in one direction, so he hurried towards the high street. “Come on-” He muttered under his breath, feeling more frantic and desperate with each passing second. She could have dusted someone by now, she could have driven a stake through the chest of somebody innocent, and terrified. But where was she? Stumbling to a halt, he screwed his eyes shut, knowing to anybody walking by he would look borderline insane. Forcing himself to focus on her familiar scent, he surprised himself by managing to catch it as it was pulled towards him on a barely existent breeze. His eyes snapping open again, he resisted the urge to congratulate himself, to feel successful in utilising his new abilities. He didn’t have that kind of time to waste. Taking a sharp left, he began running to catch up with her, hoping to find her and whoever she was planning to murder before she was able to take anything from them, before she was able to make them suffer like she made him suffer. “Dani!” He shouted, finally closing in on two figures ahead of him. They were still too far away for him to reach. “Dani! Stop! Don’t do this!”

Dani knew there were people around. They felt scattered, distant, yet so close. It was like she could feel their breathing on the back of her neck. She felt a cold chill sweep through her as she continued forward. The creature’s gaze was lit with surprise, but not absent of immediate irritation. “What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” His voice came out thin, as if liquidated. Was he intoxicated? Dani didn’t want to think about that. How many more people would he hurt? How many had he hurt since Milo? She felt anger concentrate in the center of her chest. It was unlike the times before, when she’d pushed the dagger through the boy’s heart. This was different. This was motivated-- she was driven by something, not full of fear, of anger. She had nobody to protect but herself in this situation. The pair had managed to find themselves backed into a dead ended alleyway as Dani pushed him further back. The sound of glass scattering from beneath his feet as he stepped backwards filled Dani’s ears.

“What does it look like I’m doing?” Dani asked with a small tilt of her head. She hated the way he looked. She’d seen him that night, or the memory of him, and it made her skin crawl. Now, all she wanted to do was make him pay for what he’d done. As if on cue, Milo’s voice echoed behind her. Dani grit her teeth, but refused to twist and look, refusing to give him the time of day. This was a thankless job, she knew it-- especially under these circumstances. The man looked past her, to Milo. Recognition flitted across his features before he looked back at Dani. She could see the fear now. His anguish. She wondered if he knew that Milo had… well, not survived, but that he hadn’t succumbed to the grave that’d been laid out for him that night. Dani tightened the grip on her stake. A flask of holy water hung off a carabiner clipped to her belt-- courtesy of Adam. In one fluid motion, Dani darted forward, kicking up the glass into the creature’s eyes. She reached down for the cap of the flask, snagging it off of her belt by unclipping it. Dani shook it towards the man and grit her teeth against his sudden wails.

Even as Milo continued to race down the street, Dani and the other figure ominously disappeared. He cursed under his breath, making an effort to double his speed, all but skidding to a stop when he finally reached a narrow space between two storefronts, dirty, and abandoned. Dani was there, and so was a man he didn’t recognise. Tall, and unquestionably handsome, these two things should have stood out to him, but the only thing he truly noticed was the desperate urge to protect. He needed to keep him safe. It was so much stronger now that he was seeing him that it almost physically hurt. Dani refused to turn around, but he didn’t have time to dwell on why. Instead, he caught the gaze of her latest victim, feeling a pull in his gut that caught him entirely off guard. He couldn’t afford to consider it, to figure out what it might mean, because Dani seemed to take his presence as motivation. To be quick, to finish the job in front of him, quite possibly out of spite. Watching in horror as she lunged towards the vampire, seconds passed before the stranger was shouting out in pain, and he realised just what she had done to him. It had to be holy water, if she was using her blood as a weapon then he would be able to smell it. “No-” He cried, as though he might be able to stop her with his anguish alone. But even he wasn’t that naive.

Before he could second guess himself, before he could consider the danger, the sheer moronic nature of his decision, he threw himself towards her, attempting to tackle his old friend to the ground. She wasn’t facing him, and even if he found himself unable to force her down, hopefully she would be unprepared enough to lose her focus. Reaching out for the flask, he wrapped his hand around it, ignoring the agonising pain as he struggled to wrestle it from her grip. At least then she would be one weapon down. Whatever was left inside would be useless to her. “Dani- stop-” His voice was strained as he fought against her, but he knew she would hear him. Whether she listened was an entirely different issue. Regardless of wanting more than anything to reach her using words alone, it was quickly becoming clear to him that she was more than ready to fight back. So he abandoned his tactic, releasing her from his grip, and moved to stand in front of the vampire. If he blocked him from her then maybe she would hesitate, maybe he could buy the man some time to run. Catching her eye, defiantly holding her gaze, he ignored the strange tangle of emotions in his chest. He could work through them later, or drown them in a bottle of vodka. They really weren’t important right now.

Dani needed to be quick. For herself, for Milo. She didn’t want him asking questions. She’d allow him to think of her as something of a threat to his kind. Wasn’t she? It wasn’t like this situation with the hunter would dissuade her in the long run from taking down humanoids. Maybe for right now it would, but could she be certain about a few days from now? Weeks? For the first time in weeks she felt like herself. Instead of a spawn repeating words she didn’t understand, their tongue too large for their mouths, she could see the fear on the creature’s face. Just under the streetlamps, Dani was ready to throw herself forward, but Milo was intervening. She felt his hand close around hers, but she managed to rip herself away from his grip. Dani could see the flesh on her old friend’s palm begin to burn. The urge to rip away shot through her, but she stayed steadfast. Instead, Milo leapt forward.

She faltered for only a moment, but immediately realigned her gaze to meet the vampire that stood behind Milo. He seemed surprised, too, that Milo had jumped forward. Dani tightened her grip on the stake in her left hand and let out an annoyed grunt. “Get the fuck out of the way.” Her voice was hardened, unlike her other encounters with Milo. At this moment, she had no intent to kill Milo. But the man behind him? Dani planned to plunge the stake through his heart, to watch as he turned to ash before her. The feeling of him falling through her hands would sooner bring her peace than anything Milo could provide. Even if Milo didn’t know it, at least Dani would find comfort in knowing she’d been able to provide him some kind of help. But it seemed as though he didn’t want it. Did he remember? Did he know? “Milo, get--” Before she could finish her sentence, the vampire behind Milo quickly shoved him out of the way and pushed forward, shouldering her with enough force to send her to the ground. “No!” Dani screamed after him, scrambling to get up, to chase after him. The man turned around, a swift kick to Dani’s nose. She immediately felt the bone crunch beneath the force. “FUCK!” Dani spit out the blood that immediately filled her mouth. Her nose ached, but it wasn’t pain she hadn’t felt before. “Thanks, man.” Rage fueled Dani at his words. “How fucking dare you!” She screamed after him, holding her nose in her palm as she struggled towards him.

Milo was focused on Dani, ready to listen and angrily counter whatever she might have to say. But she didn’t get to finish her sentence. Before she could, he was pushed to the side by the man standing behind him, the man he was trying to protect. Stumbling, he threw out his injured hand and caught himself against the wall. It hurt, the gravel being pressed into the sensitive skin of his palm, but he did nothing to show it. Instead he turned back to stare as Dani’s victim forced her to the ground, kicking her sharply in the face in a bid to escape her clutches. For a brief moment he felt nothing but blind rage. The fact that somebody he had actively been trying to help had not only brushed him to the side like he was nothing, but caused unnecessary pain to his oldest friend, almost made him want to pick up a stake himself. But then he reminded himself of how scared he must be, how genuinely terrified, and desperate. He had been there, at the other end of her weapon. He knew how it felt. And he had said thank you, in a hurried, and offhand sort of way. That counted for something. How could it not? He swallowed his anger, but was unable to repress the strange sense of concern still settling in his chest. He shouldn’t care about Dani, not after everything she had put him through. And part of him wanted to make it clear he was indifferent to her suffering. But that would be a lie, and he couldn’t bring himself to put on an act. He was too drunk, too tired, too hurt...

He couldn’t touch her, not with poisonous blood running from her nose, dripping from her chin onto her clothing, but surely there were other ways to make sure she was going to be okay. He took a step forwards, everything happening far too quickly for his brain to fully register, and then she was shouting at him, her own rage evident. “How- how dare I?” He demanded, resisting the urge to help her to her feet. Even if she wasn’t being aggressive, and cruel, he knew she wouldn’t accept the assistance. “Dani, what the fuck? You’re the one out here trying to murder fucking-” He choked on the word innocent, realising he didn’t actually know whether the man he had just saved was innocent. But did it matter, really? Did anybody deserve to die? “What? You thought I would just- just let you kill someone? Step back and fucking applaud you for your service to humanity? Is that what you thought?” He glared at her, his hand still burning, keeping him present in the moment, erasing the effects of the alcohol in his bloodstream. “Fuck you, okay? You really think you’re any better? You really think you aren’t the monster here?” Holding her gaze until it was too painful, he forced himself to look away, already beginning to walk back towards the high street. Any urge to care for her had officially dissolved. “Dani,” he bit out, unable to stop himself. “You’re more bloodthirsty than any vampire I’ve ever met.” It saddened him that he couldn’t trust her not to stake him while his back was turned, but it was a risk he was willing to take in the moment. For the satisfaction of walking away, of leaving her behind, of finally abandoning what little affection he had left.

Dani had gotten to her feet. One hand on her stake, the other at her nose, wiping away the blood as it matted her chin, her hair, the front of her shirt. She meant to follow him, but Milo’s words caught her off guard. After everything she had put him through, Dani did not dare keep her back to him. Instead, she half-turned towards him. In case that man came their way again, she wanted to be prepared. She’d do worse to him than a broken nose. You really think you aren’t the monster here? Dani let out an involuntary laugh. Blood sprayed from her mouth onto the concrete towards Milo. She promptly spat it towards the side, out of the way in case somebody else ended up venturing down the same alleyway. “Get it all out, sure-- I don’t give a fuck. But I wasn’t talking to you.” She didn’t care that the man had bothered with breaking her nose. It bought him time, sure, but Dani wouldn’t rest until she had him ingrained into the ground from where he stood. What she was angry at was the fact that the creature had the gall to thank Milo, especially with the gleam of recognition flickering across his features.

The slayer touched her nose awkwardly, fingers ghosting against the break. Without warning, she jerked her hand, immediately resetting it. Pain bloomed through her face, but the heat of her rage drowned it out. The old Dani would have been gentle with Milo, but his monologue about what a terrible person she was knelt her in an unforgiving direction. “That fucker has a lot to answer for and you let him get away. Congrats. They should write a script on how not to catch a murderer.” She hoped the reference was right. She didn’t want to fuck something up like a silly quip, not right now. She swiped more blood off of her face with the back of her hand and wiped it against the sides of her jeans. Dani would throw these out-- no sense in allowing her blood to taint the river at which she now washed her clothes. Even she wanted to treat nature with respect. Her nose fucking hurt. She wondered if she’d still bruise, or if her body had seen this enough times to be bored of such a statement. “But whatever, fuck it.” She threw her arms in the air and grabbed the half-empty flask of holy water off of the ground before recapping it and clipping it back to the carabiner. “If you don’t have anymore insults to throw at me, I’d suggest getting the fuck out of here.” She didn’t want to tell Milo who that man was. What would it do to him? Should she care? Though, she imagined the fact that she wasn’t trying to gut him a testament to the fact that she wasn’t after him.

Milo faltered to a halt, turning back to stare at Dani with an incredulous look on his face. If she hadn’t been talking to him then she had been talking to the other vampire, and that didn’t make any sense. “Dani, you were trying to kill him.” He bit out, ignoring any anger he felt as he remembered seeing the man kick her. He had been cornered, she had been a very obvious, and dangerous threat. “What did you expect? Did you want him to shake your hand and fucking thank you?” Watching his old friend as she began to gingerly examine her injury, he wasn’t prepared for her to reset it herself, and he flinched as he heard the sound of cartilage and blood, loud in the otherwise empty alleyway. She was speaking again before he could fully react, as though this was casual, as though this happened every day and she was all too used to it. Part of him was beginning to wonder whether maybe that was true. “How do you know?” He demanded, raising his voice in his desperation to understand. He was proof of how quickly she made assumptions. “Dani, you took one look at me and tried to kill me- the second you realised what I was! Everybody has a lot to answer for, yourself included. Fuck- do you even have anything on the guy, or is ‘vampire’ always enough for you to play executioner?”

Taking a careful step backwards as she reached for the flask of holy water, he was surprised when she twisted the cap and reattached it to her belt. For a brief second he had been certain she was going to turn on him again. Utilise the fact that she was alone with him and make another attempt on his life. But apparently, for quite possibly the first time, she had more important things to worry about. Which was both concerning, and a genuine relief. Opening his mouth to explain an insult wasn’t technically an insult if it took the form of a difficult truth, he let out a frustrated huff of breath. Was it worth it? What was standing here and shouting at her going to achieve? Wasn’t it enough that he had inadvertently injured her? Wasn’t it enough that he had managed to help her target escape the point of her stake? Maybe he should leave while he still had the chance, use this as a way to bury what was left of their friendship. He could mourn in the morning, or call Rio when he got home. He was so tired of this back and forth, so tired of seeing Dani and being met with a thousand conflicting emotions he found impossible to decipher. “They aren’t insults,” he muttered, pushing his hair back away from his face. Now that the adrenaline was slowly draining from his body, he was becoming aware of the alcohol again. He didn’t want to go back to the club, his night had officially been ruined. But maybe there was a bottle at home he would be able to indulge in. “But whatever…” He added, briefly allowing himself to catch her eye. “See you around, I guess.”

Milo was still talking. Dani rolled her eyes. He wouldn’t understand, and honestly, he had every right to feel volatile towards her. Dani had done all of the things that her old friend accused her of, and to pick it apart as doing her job, it’d go lost on burning ears. They were now from different worlds, and it was thanks to the man who’d gotten away that they were. The anger of the situation still simmered as she reached up to brush the back of her hand up against the underside of her nose. There was a good measure of space between both herself and Milo. She wasn’t sure what part of her knew that Milo wouldn’t attack her-- maybe it was because he’d already gotten a taste of her blood and realized that it was poison to him. Maybe it was the way he looked at her. There was anger there, but something else, too. She’d seen it on his face plenty of times, that even if she wasn’t sure exactly what it was, it was easy to differentiate from the rest of his features. “For one,” Dani started, her voice level-- phlegm and blood kicking at the back of her throat, “I’m not going to begin explaining myself to you because that’s fucking pointless.” She didn’t want to owe Milo Summers anything. But she’d seen how he had died, and… well, it was easier said than done, not doing anything. But still, the point remained. He was what she’d been trained to kill, and though they had a connection, her intent had never been to kill him, it’d been to free him from the mistakes he was bound to make.

Anger bit at her heels as she staunched the blood that continued to stream from her nose with the collar of her shirt. She winced at the sudden pressure and movement. Dani’s voice was low as she spoke. “The fucker you just let get away,” She tested, “that’s the reason we’re in this fucking situation in the first place-- you being sad about your ex-best friend being a slayer, or whatever other shit. He had nectar, he fucking used it. On you.” She hadn’t wanted to tell him originally, but that point seemed moot now. It would do her better to explain why she was angry, wouldn’t it? There were enough people in White Crest to hate her, and though she knew surface level, she didn’t care if Milo did, there was still an ache there. They’d never come back from these moments, but she could do something. Right? She hadn’t been able to do it for Adam, so maybe she could ease Milo’s mind, though, would it ease his mind or throw him into a tailspin? Maybe Rio could pick up the pieces. Rio was better equipped there. Better overall, really. Dani hadn’t anticipated coming out of killing a fellow hunter with the act of helping a vampire find his sire, but here she was. She pushed the idea of owing Milo from her mind as she looked at him, her fingers hovering cautiously against the shirt she had at her nostrils. “Fucking think about it, Milo.”

Annoyed by the way Dani rolled her eyes, Milo set his jaw. She obviously thought he was an idiot, that much was clear. But he wasn’t used to the way she was looking at him. It still hurt. It hurt more than he would ever be willing to admit. “That’s what you say when you don’t have a decent explanation.” He countered. “I’m not stupid, Dani. I fucking use these tactics…” Every time someone demanded to know why he enjoyed getting lost in his substances, every time someone asked him to explain why he wanted them, or asked him to tell them about the way they made him feel... He had responded in the same way. It’s pointless. You wouldn’t understand. It doesn’t matter. I don’t owe you an explanation. It was far easier to get defensive than to be honest. He opened his mouth to tell her just that when he noticed a sudden shift in her demeanour. He watched as she tried in vain to stem the bleeding from her nose. The smell of her blood was rich, it hung in the air like a mist. But he ignored it. “What?” He asked, his voice sharp as he tried to untangle her words. They were vague, and not particularly helpful. ‘This situation’ could mean so many different things. Momentarily lowering his gaze when she called herself an ex-friend, he didn’t want her to see how badly the past tense managed to affect him. He was supposed to be moving past her, and he couldn’t do that if he allowed himself to wallow in his heartbreak. He had so many reasons to be angry with her, so he focused on his rage, rather than his grief, forcing himself to look back up again.

Nectar.

The word seemed to hover between them, thicker, and heavier than the scent of her blood. It echoed in his ears, and he fought to comprehend what she was telling him. He still didn’t know the specifics of the drug, but he did know it was vampiric in nature. He did know the only time he had ever used it he had woken up dead. The pieces were beginning to fall into place, but he struggled to resist them. He had spent so many weeks chasing his killer but now he was being offered answers he was willfully refusing to understand. He was left with so many questions, far more questions than were being resolved, and they were coming too quickly for him to fully register. His head felt like it was spinning. How would she know that? He couldn’t remember any of the important details, the ones you might need to locate any persons involved. But apparently she had managed to hunt him down regardless? By chance? On purpose? With what evidence, what clues? Was she doing this for herself? Was she doing this for him? No. He couldn’t think about it, he couldn’t accept it as truth because if she was right, he had just saved the very person responsible for damning him. He remembered the vague pull in his chest, the desperate instinct to protect, and felt his stomach lurch. Think about it. He didn’t want to think about it. “That’s low, Dani…” He said, after a few beats of silence had passed. His voice was barely louder than a whisper. If she wanted to hurt him, she could have chosen to hurt him in a million different ways. Why this? Why was she choosing this? “Even for you…”

Though Dani had never been exceptional at reading facial features, mostly in part due to being so focused on body language, she could see the wheels turning in Milo’s mind. She could see the sudden realization, but all else-- anything else, was lost on her. Dani tilted her head back for a moment, her gaze set on the sky overtop them. Even in the darkness, Dani could see the clouds that rolled against the night sky. The stars looked… She squinted upwards. They were wrong. She didn’t need to know much about the constellations to understand that they weren’t aligned right. Before she could fixate too much of her time, head tilted back, Milo was accusing her of yet another wrongful act. Dani took a deep breath before realigning her gaze on Milo. If he didn’t want to believe her, that wasn’t her fault. Maybe she hadn’t gone about it with the care that she should have, but there hadn’t been time. It wasn’t as if she had anticipated Milo showing up to save his sire’s day either. It would’ve been easier to stake the man, to rid White Crest of him so that nothing like that happened again. There were complications to telling Milo, to letting him in on the very thing that had taken his life. Dani was frustrated and it showed as she forced out a noise, mutilated by the blood that sat in her nose.

“It’s not low, it’s the fucking truth. I wouldn’t make something like this up.” She glared at him before reflecting, her gaze softening, but only marginally. She remembered the moment she’d been dropped into the portal, and the way that there’d been nothing she could do to save him. She had wanted to kill the vampire then, and only more so now after he’d thanked MIlo while clearly recognizing who he was. She dropped her hand from her nose. The collar of her shirt rested damply against her neck and she made a soured expression. “I’m not trying to take the fucking low ground, Milo.” Would he even believe her? If she told him how she knew? How she had watched him die? She winced against the rising of her own voice and fought to keep her voice low as chatter from the other side of the road filled her ears. “Listen to me. I know what I’m fucking talking about. Whether or not you want to believe that is up to you, but he’s the one who fucking did this to you.” She searched Milo’s face for anything that told her he would believe her if she left it at that, or if she’d have to finally relent and tell him what happened. Was she the only one who knew? Had the other man told anyone? Dani cleared her throat and took a step back. “Listen, I don’t have the fucking time to get into it with you. You weren’t even supposed to be here.” He deserves the truth. She fought against the thought. “But you can believe me, or you can think I’m lying and being a fucking bitch about it, but I would never fucking make fun of how you came to be in this situation.” She spit more blood out to the side and raised a hand in goodbye. “Stay the fuck away from that club.”

Holding Dani’s gaze, Milo couldn’t imagine his childhood friend being able to look him in the eye and lie to him about something so serious. He knew her too well to believe she was putting on an incredibly convincing act. But he hated that, he almost didn’t want that to be true. Because the alternative meant she was right. The alternative meant he had just laid eyes on the person responsible for killing him. Not only that, he had saved said person. He had actively stopped Dani from driving a stake through his heart. Even now, he wasn’t entirely sure what he was planning to do when he was finally given the chance to speak to him, certainly not murder him without hesitation. But this had been his chance to ask his questions, to demand answers while he was under the point of Dani’s stake. How could he be so stupid? How could he not realise? Continuing to glare at Dani, he refused to react to what she was telling him, though with each passing second any doubt he had was fading away. Even as he tried desperately to cling to the hope of this all being fabricated to hurt him, shit, he believed her. “Why?” He bit out. “Are you too used to the high ground?” No matter what happened between them, she was human, she was better. And he was a monster, something awful that needed to be eradicated. He was slowly beginning to accept the fact that Rio was far more than an exception. He was one in a million, maybe even one in a billion.

He’s the one who fucking did this to you. The words cut through him, erasing any part of him still hoping she was wrong. How close had he been to his killer? He absentmindedly reached up to hold his shoulder, the one the vampire had used to push him out of the way, and he felt his stomach lurch again, alcohol finally threatening to make a reappearance. The man had touched him, physically touched him. “You don’t have time-” He broke off as he echoed Dani’s statement. He could barely process what she was telling him, he had so many things he wanted to ask her but his mind didn’t seem to be capable of creating coherent sentences. Not the important ones. Not the ones that mattered. As she took a step back towards the street, he felt a sudden jolt of panic. She was leaving, she was going to leave him. Taking his own instinctive step forward, closing the gap between them both, he wasn’t entirely sure how he lost his balance, but he found himself tumbling to the ground. He hit the asphalt hard, the air leaving his lungs, struggling against an uncomfortable weight. What was pinning him to the floor? Had Dani teamed up with a witch? Or had he taken something that was only now beginning to hit him? He tried to look back over the course of the night, but as always his memory decided to fail him. Pushing against whatever long forgotten drug was trying to convince him gravity had doubled in strength, he managed to sit up. Knowing Dani would only draw the same conclusions he had, he paid no attention to his current state.

“The club?” He asked, finding it strange she would try to end their interaction on such a specific detail. Was she hunting for prey there now? Encroaching on his territory to kill people who had suffered in the same way he had? Or was she implying something darker? Something far more troubling to comprehend. “Did I- is this where I died?” There was a sudden edge to his voice. One of desperation, and anxiety. His eyes were wide as he scrambled to get to his feet, though it didn’t take long for him to fall back down with far more force than was usual. “Wait- Dani!” He called after her. “Dani! Is this where I died? I don’t remember- I don’t remember anything- Please-”

All Dani wanted to do was find the man, to plunge the stake into his heart. She wanted to rid herself of the itch in her fingertips, of the anger in the back of her throat, the way that it rolled and unfurled in the pit of her stomach. She was angry that she’d been taken advantage of, she was angry that Milo had been taken advantage of in the form of being used as a vampire-shield. She was fucking pissed. She wanted to leave, to find him before he could hurt anyone else, or before he could think about skipping town. Would he know that she was after him? Would he think it to be a one off? Lost in her thoughts, Dani turned to leave, but was distracted by the sound of Milo hitting the ground with a thud. The sound of crunching glass beneath him had Dani spinning on her heel, gaze set on his body as he tried to raise himself upwards. “What the fuck--” She bit the inside of her cheek and looked over her shoulder. What was going on? Was there somebody watching him? Dani flicked her wrist again, dagger right side up slipping into her palm.

When Milo asked about the club, she took a deep breath and reached up to nudge her finger against the underside of her nose again, to rid some of the blood from trickling down her chin. “The club,” Dani assessed, watching as Milo struggled against his position on the floor. He wasn’t on anything, was he? Had he… She fought the ache in her chest and cleared her throat again, the blood forming something blocky in the back of her throat. “Not here,” Dani said. She looked around them. It was a building a ways over, empty and decrepit. The first time she’d tried to go inside, she’d seen red and had come out bruised and blistered by taking down a spawn that’d been left to suffer inside. All she could think was thank God it was not Milo-- but was his truth now any better? She tasted iron on the tip of her tongue from the blood that peppered across her chin, her lips. Dani was far less interested in the way that Milo had been pinned to the ground, and more interested by the noise behind her. There was a crowd of people, that much she could tell. “Wha--” Dani turned back around and looked at Milo, eyebrows furrowed. His desperation, it’d been like her own when she’d watched him die. Her head ached, and so did her heart. “I don’t-- No, not here. Not here.” She looked over her shoulder again as somebody ran down the street towards the yelps. Dani needed to go and see what was happening, but Milo-- She swallowed her indecision and backed out of the alleyway. Milo would be okay. For now. He knew who the sire was now, he could go after him himself. Dani’s job was done here, she had to take care of people now. She fought the urge to tell Milo everything, to spill what she’d seen, but she didn’t want him to know just how bad it had been. How would he feel? “I’m sorry,” Dani finally gasped as she jogged out of the alleyway and towards the commotion that began to build.

“What about the club?” Milo asked, still being held down by some invisible force. Dani faltered, and he wanted that to be a good sign. Maybe she would take pity on him, explain to him how she managed to find his killer, how she even knew what his killer looked like. But when she spoke it became clear he was going to be offered the bare minimum. He was so desperate that the realisation almost didn’t bother him. Just give me something, anything. He silently begged. “Not here…” He murmured, more to himself than to his old friend. His mind was still struggling to process what was happening, and his strange new situation wasn’t making things any easier. He could feel shards of glass from broken bottles cutting into his palms, but he continued to hold himself upright. Not here. Dani said the words again, but he couldn’t figure out their true implications. Was she saying not here because he had died nearby? Because he had somehow died inside the club they both left together? Because she didn’t know? He could hear the beginnings of commotion towards the street, and he recognised the sudden expression on her face. She had an instinct to help people, a determination to make sure they were safe. She had worn it so many times while taking care of him over the years. But now he wasn’t a person, he didn’t count, and he knew she was debating whether to stay.

Her unexpected apology caused tears to blur his vision, and he was angry at himself for looking so weak. But he understood what it meant, he knew she had chosen the humans over him. So much had happened in such a short space of time. He needed her in so many ways. He longed for the old Dani to come and wrap her arms around him, push his hair out of his face, hold a damp cloth against his forehead. And he wanted this Dani to explain herself, to tell him how she knew the vampire he had tried to protect was responsible for his death. There had to be more to this, there had to be information she just wasn’t giving him. But this new Dani didn’t care. Or she cared enough to apologise for not caring enough to talk to him. All he could do was watch as she turned away. As she left him in an alleyway so similar to the one he had hidden in during the day following his death. His tears finally breaking free, when her footsteps began to fade he gave into the weight pressing down on him. He had nothing left to fight for. Alone in the deafening quiet, he hit the ground hard, and made an effort to roll onto his back. At least that way he could stare up at the stars. Despite Bex telling him they were in the wrong place, he managed to find three in a row, connected to a familiar constellation. Orion’s Belt shone brightly, and he refused to look away from it. As his tears continued to fall, as emotion threatened to overwhelm him, he reminded himself that he wasn’t alone in this. There was a person out there who shared a name with these stars, a person out there who shone equally as bright, who only wanted him to be okay. As long as he had that, he had enough.

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