Senna and I spent more time hunting together after that. We didn’t have much to say, but it was always enough for me. I suppose I hadn’t realised just how much I missed having someone else around. Over time we got to know each other’s histories a little better. I told her about how I’d travelled here when I’d just come of age and started working on my own. Hearing about my life growing up with my parents in a cabin further south seemed incredibly strange to her. Likewise, I was astounded by how she described her childhood.

Simon would stop by during the day to speak with me, or more towards sundown if he wanted to talk to Senna. While his plan seemed like something easy to me, both of them always had something they wanted to prepare for. Even if I wasn’t told much about the planning part directly, I could glean that it was going to be happening soon. One night after a visit from Simon, Senna looked down at the floor from her seat at the table.

“Something the matter?” I asked, leaning closer.

“No, it’s just...” She responded before looking up at me. “Do you remember the thing I told you about when we first went on a hunt together? About my family?”

“Yes. Do you want to talk about it some more?”

She shook her head slowly and stood up, moving for the door. “I more want to show you something. It’ll be pretty far away, and I know it’s sudden, but... do you want to come with me to my aunt’s home?”

“I’m fine with going there, but if it’s too painful, you shouldn’t force yourself.”

“I-It’s fine, not like the memories can hurt me or anything. To tell you the truth, I haven’t been back inside in decades... not since they died. Bringing you there gives me a reason to go back, and since we’re about to go out in this big plan, I want to make sure I’ve got nothing to regret.”

She’s talking more finalistically than I’d like, but I can’t blame her for being scared. If going along with this will make her feel better, I should do it. Hopefully it gives her some peace, since she’s been carrying this burden for so long.

We made our way out early, but Senna was clearly slower than normal. She would make a burst of energy here or there to try and catch something, but if it got too far away from our path, she just gave up. Her feet dragged the closer we got to the mountains on the eastern side of the valley. By the time we broke the treeline, she seemed like she was lost in a day dream. I put a hand on her shoulder and she snapped out of it quickly, rubbing my hand in acknowledgement.

“S-Sorry, just been a while since I’ve gone here. I was trying to remember where to go, but got caught up in memories. Seems like my body knew where to go anyway though.” She said and gestured upward.

At the base of the mountain was a small alcove with the ruins of a large house inside of it. The mountain didn’t look like it provided much support or structure, almost looking like the house was forced into the stone behind it. Even without knowing much about architecture, I could tell this was compromise in one way or another. I looked over the sizable destruction and noticed that there were four main buildings, but could only tell what two of them were right away. A stable in the front, which was completely covered by the mountain, and a large building on the other side that had the ceiling smashed in along with some of the rocks above it clearly broken.

I looked to Senna and found her eyes fixed on that one only. Unlike when we first met, or when she was hunting, they were not sharp, or purposeful. Instead they looked unfocused and clouded. After a few seconds of silence, the wind whistling around us, Senna started off towards the building. While keeping a few steps behind, I followed along.

Even if I wanted to snap her out of it, I don’t think it would work this time, and I wouldn’t want to either. There’s got to be a lot of painful memories from this place and I’d hate to say something wrong and upset her. I thought to myself, watching her open the broken remains of a side entrance. Hopefully she’s as strong as I think she is.

Following her inside, it was far too dark for me to get a good look at anything. I could still make up the general shape of where to go, but I was stumbling more and more often as we went. Eventually we rounded a corner and the moonlight flooded back into view. This hallway was filled with rooms on either side, and all had the light pouring out of them.

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“I’ve... I never actually looked inside these rooms since then. For some reason, I kind of want to stay quiet. Last time I was here it was me running away to go hide in the stables. Stayed there for two days, and I wake up one morning to the sound of screams. I couldn’t see them, but I knew they were dying...” She said, eyes locked onto the floor.

Making my way through the destroyed doors in the path was difficult for me, but Senna seemed unfazed. She brushed the wood aside with her legs, knocking them down to the floor. There were obvious signs of rotting, especially from the smell, but not any bodies from what I could see. As she got to the end of the hall, there was a larger door that obviously led into the next building. Beside it was a smaller one, and also the only unbroken door along the walls.

“My room...” She said, placing her hand flat against it. “Do... do you think you could open it for me? I’m scared I’d break it if I tried to open it myself. Wouldn’t matter much anymore, but... you know.”

I gave her a nod and stepped forward. The hinge was rusty from the years of disrepair, but I did manage to force it open without shattering the whole thing. With some more effort I was able to open it up completely and walk into the room. The ceiling was destroyed in this one as well, but there was very little sign of damage otherwise.

As I stumbled in, I felt something move beneath my foot and pulled it back to look down at it. Though I had to strain my eyes to see, I could tell it was a set of iron shackles. Cocking an eyebrow, I kneeled down and picked them up while Senna circled around me.

“This was your room, wasn’t it? Then what are these for?” I asked, lifting them up for her to see.

She looked away and to the side, hugging herself. “...for the human. The one I was supposed to feed on.”

I placed the shackle back down on the ground and stared at it.

You knew she was a vampire noble already, this shouldn’t be shocking to you. Still, seeing the proof right in my face is a little unsettling. Could this be how she sees me, but a little bit higher? For all I know she could be looking at me like a pet dog. She hasn’t fed on me so far, and that has to mean something, but...

Senna turned away from me and started moving some rubble from the ceiling out of the way. I stood up to get a better view, but it looked like she didn’t even know I was here anymore. Given her distraction, I started looking at everything undamaged in the room to get a better perspective on her.

There were two small paintings on the wall, but were too faded to make anything distinct out. Aside from there, there were a few articles of old and ratty clothing. Even in the state of disrepair, both things looked to have more value than my entire cabin. I looked back to Senna just as she stopped moving rubble. In the small portion she’d cleared away was a mostly bleached skeleton of a child.

Neither of us spoke, though I can’t say for sure whether it was out of fear or from solidarity for the dead. She lifted the skull, which snapped off the spine with a weak sound, showing off the age of the brittle bones. After moving between her hands for a while, she turned to me with tears streaming from her eyes.

“A-At least he died quick.” She said, sniffling hard at the end. “He... he didn’t even have a name or family... w-we can only give him a stranger’s burial. I-It’s my fault he died and he didn’t even know why it was... why it...”

She broke into sobbing, hugging the skull to her chest and heaving with every breath. Despite the laborious motions, she made sure not to break the skull anymore than time had already. I was too shocked to think of anything to comfort her, but the sight of it was painful. I felt like a monster for thinking all those things about Senna when she clearly cared deeply about this human she barely knew. Even after the strength and speed she’d displayed on every hunt, all I could see now was a fragile girl cradling the closest thing she had to a friend for the last few decades.

My hands almost moved on their own, slowly taking the skull out of her grip and gingerly placing it on the ground. Her shaking hands clutched at her sides as if she was feeling physical pain from her grief. I hugged her as hard as I could, knowing all of my strength wouldn’t hurt her. She wept into my shirt for what felt like an hour, but I didn’t move. It was only when she stopped crying that I pulled away. Little stains from the tears were left on the cloth, and Senna’s eyes were entirely bloodshot, but I could feel her coming back to her senses somehow.

“Look, it’s going to be dangerous for you to stay here pretty soon. Is there anything you want to do before we leave? You came here to get some closure, so do what you feel like right now.”

She nodded her head and wiped her nose. “I want to grab one thing before we go... and then I think we can stay away from here for a while...”

With that done, she got up on her feet, albeit with some wobbling in the knees, and snuck off into a nearby room in the hall. I made my way outside by feeling along the walls and Senna joined me just as I got to the front door again. She held up a small dagger in her hand, and a sword on her back. Both of their handles were engraved with an image of a screaming face, along with a set of small diamonds for the eyes.

“Weapons from my grandfather... they’re made of the same type of silver that the vigilants use. F-Figured these could be helpful with the plan.” She told me, pulling the dagger free slightly to show off the blade.

“Good thinking, Senna. Let’s hurry home now.”

“Home...” She echoed, following closely behind me.

Damn, probably should have worded that differently. Here’s to hoping she’ll ignore the faux pas till we’re home at least. I kind of wish I’d asked her more about her past, but that’d be better for another time.

The whole walk home felt off to me. It was the same kind of feeling I got when Senna had been staring at me out of spite, but something was different now. Of course whenever I looked back to check on her, she snapped her attention down to the ground. Thankfully she didn’t seem upset about what I’d said or done, so I’ll have to chalk it up to another strange quirk of vampire behavior.

It’s odd though... it almost sounds like she’s panting every now and then.