[center] He'd answered her question just as she had assumed he would, and he was correct. Had he left her back at the last estate, she probably would have lingered at least for a day or so… But she would have inevitably found herself far away come his return. She couldn't help it, when she was by herself it was too [i]easy[/i] to find herself trailing off in thoughts and memories that she wished not to recall. It was too [i]easy[/i] to feel the echoes of pain that continued to surge through her whenever she hadn't meant to allow it to happen. Everything was too easy when she was alone, so she sought out trouble in her own way. Whether she could indulge herself in liquor or men – it depended on her mood that night, and regardless of the brief distraction, at the end of each night the truth still held firm – she was very much alone. 

Clara did not deny his words as he spoke them, but her gaze had broken from his to look out towards the ocean once more. She could feel it more so here – the salty air brushing against her skin, coupled with the echoes of broken waves before her thrust her back to that night – the feel of his touch, the promise of his words – the pain of his bite. Everything lingered here, no matter how different her surroundings had seemed; no matter how long it had been. The ghost of what had happened still haunted that shore and she couldn't run from it. 

She had seen him shift out of the side of her view and she tilted her head to see his outstretched hand offering her the shoes that she had abandoned as soon as she had reached the sand. Clara breathed a quiet sigh before she took them, crossing her arms upon her chest as she held them carefully, but his words had nearly caused her to scoff. How was it terrible for [i]him[/i]? That he, perhaps, had to remember that day just as much as she had? He hadn't needed to save her – he could have very well left her there to either be consumed by a passing thief, or by her own hunger which would inevitably run her into the wrong person. But he had decided to take her in – to allow her to feed from him when necessary – to nurture her where he could. 

To say she wasn't thankful would be a lie – Sure, she had a terrible way of showing it, but Clara really did owe him everything for that night. Perhaps that was why she really hadn't run too far when she did stray… She was still there by his side even when he'd brought her to this awful place – really, did he stand a chance if she truly had decided to run and make herself disappear from his life? She wasn't so certain. 

Clara didn't follow him at first. She allowed him to walk away from her before her gaze focused back on the waves before her for a long while before a defeated sigh fell from her lips. It was going to be a long night that was for sure, one of many if his words had rang true. She was going to be trapped in a town that held so many ghosts and so many demons wherever she stepped. Things had changed, but the skeleton of what she had once lived in had remained, and the memories of her youth seemed to taunt her at each corner. 

She needed a drink. 

Determined to at least grab a bottle once she returned, Clara had reluctantly turned to follow after Jaden, noticing how he had turned to make sure she would be following him. His words, however, once she had finally reached him had hit a chord. "Do not think for one instant that [i]he[/i], of all people, still [i]controls[/i] me." Clara suddenly snapped back as she continued, her steps pushing her forward quicker than Jaden had been walking. "I am not one to be [i]controlled[/i]." She reminded him, despite the fact that his words were true in their own way. Each drink she indulged in, each lustful night she sought out, each bout of trouble that she wanted to bury herself in had been because of her sire. She wanted to [i]feel[/i] something more than the anger that continued to surge through her over being slighted so many years before… She wanted that more than anything. 

As she soon reached the road, she had paused to slip on her shoes under her dress once more before her steps quickly led her through the town, weaving through the drunken few who had begun to pour themselves out of the bar. It hadn't taken long for her to reach the estate at the end of the main strip of road in town, and she had nearly slammed the door behind her, knowing full well Jaden would eventually be behind her and he would only find her once more in the kitchen, fighting with a cork before she filled another glass with white wine to calm herself. [/center]
[@Raijinslayer]