As the vampiress spoke her name, a shiver raced down her spine, like hearing someone whisper it into her ear. The weight, the gravity, with which she felt the reply was difficult to put into words. It was like she had been waiting her whole life to hear it spoken — lost in the current of human subconsciousness until this very day, where it rang out as clear as a church bell in a silent crowd. A slight gasp slid from her lips, causing her to let her guard down and look at the other woman with confusion, even as the grip on her blade tightened further.

[i]“It was you… I felt one of my kin pass over tonight… It was your doing?”[/i] Lys’ mouth went slightly agape at the question, realization crossing her features. [i]This[/i] was the fledgling’s sire? He had mentioned she was stronger, but she had not expected it to be this stunning creature who now slowly inched her way over. The huntress found herself nodding in the middle of her thoughts, replying instinctively to the question with utmost honesty. If anyone else were here, they would either call Lyselle a foolish girl or assume she had been dominated. The former must’ve been the case then, because Lys felt no pressure, no tingling of being controlled — something she had experienced once or twice before.

Though for Lyselle, it didn’t feel like foolishness, even as whispers in her mind echoed to never trust their kind. Instead, it felt like some strange cosmic design urging her to lower her weapon when asked, her facial features softening.

[color=#9BA7C3][b]“I-… I’m sorr—”[/b][/color]

Suddenly, like the lightning in the distance, a bolt of silver whistled through the air, aiming straight for Ren’s chest.

[b]“No, it was [u]my[/u] doing!”[/b]

The shadow-haired hunter spun her head toward the familiar voice — Delwyn! His face twisted into a hateful snarl before he looked to Lys. He didn’t seem surprised or concerned for her at all and instead fixed his gaze on the vampiress, snapping up his arm to release his wrist-mounted crossbow without hesitation, truly showing the difference in experience — and in contempt.

Lyselle gasped as she watched the bolt shoot across from the side, reaching her hand out as if to guard the vampiress from harm, no other thought in her head besides this binding that was tying her and the creature together.

[color=#9BA7C3][b]“W-wait!”[/b][/color] she shouted, feeling time slow to a crawl, an almost panic overwhelming the young hunter. She had just found something — something incredible, something wholly unique, something she had never felt before — and the silver shining across the empty road threatened to end it all.

Not only that, but she had thought vampires incapable of feeling anything but the desire to destroy… and what she had seen cross her once-opponent’s face was nothing short of human emotion.

Was the Vigil wrong this whole time?
Was their hatred for their prey so absolute that they refused to see the truth?

She was [i]afraid[/i] Delwyn would never understand this, but she had to do something.