⠀⠀—クリス.

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...slightly-visible beneath the dim moonlight.

⠀⠀⠀It takes a moment for Kris to speak again... and when they do, they're as quiet as ever. ]

⠀...so... if that's not happening, then...

⠀. . .

⠀...what will you do instead?
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...is thrown off when what Claudia said finally registers in their mind. On the off-chance that she's not reading their mind, then she can certainly tell they're thrown off by way of the quickening of their heartbeat and the faint pink tint that finds itself on their cheeks, only... ->
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...talking, speaking of how she 𝘥𝘪𝘥 actually consider killing them... of wondering what their last words would have been... of thinking about where she'd bury them...

⠀⠀⠀...they really wouldn't mind if she gave it another thou—𝘸𝘢𝘪𝘵 𝘢 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘶𝘵𝘦.

⠀⠀⠀‘“𝘗-𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘥”...?’

⠀⠀⠀Kris... ->
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...a sinner.

⠀⠀⠀So they want Claudia to make them repent.

⠀⠀⠀And if she ends up leaving without drawing a single drop of blood, just like she did last night... then someone else can punish them.

⠀⠀⠀Either that... 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺'𝘭𝘭 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴. ]

⠀. . .

⠀⠀[ Claudia continues... ->
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...them... whatever Claudia wants to do with them, they want her to draw it out. To make it 𝘩𝘶𝘳𝘵.

⠀⠀⠀Because, just as she said, that 𝘪𝘴 what they deserve.

⠀⠀⠀They've hurt everyone they've ever cared about... they're responsible for... what happened, oh-so-long ago...

⠀⠀⠀...they're... ->
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...their skin. Their mind flips back and forth between thoughts of the beautiful vampire caressing their cheek with that hand of hers...

⠀⠀⠀...and thoughts of her plunging it deep inside their chest, and ripping out their heart.

⠀⠀⠀No, no, no—such a quick death would be too good for... ->
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...their eyes are rather red themselves, as well—of course, not nearly to the degree of their irises, but... it's as if they'd been crying not too long ago.

⠀⠀⠀As her soft-feeling fingers gently keep their chin in place, her inhumanly-sharp nails make ever-so-slight contact with... ->
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀[ Their breath hitches quietly when she brushes their bangs away from their eyes, exposing their face in full. As she takes hold of their chin and gazes into her eyes, she'll find... they look 𝘦𝘹𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘥.

⠀⠀⠀They've got quite the set of bags beneath their crimson eyes... the sclerae of... ->
⠀

// on god em dashes saved my bitchass life //

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...theirs...? ]

⠀...good.

⠀I'm no good. Like I said... all I do is hurt others.

⠀So... the less people like me in your life... the better.
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...drawn to the sight for a moment. It takes a moment for them to make any sort of reply... and when they do, they meet her gaze yet again, looking into her pink eyes, eyes that catch the pale moonlight pouring in from above.

⠀⠀⠀Seriously, how can they see through those bangs of... ->
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...they're 𝘵𝘳𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨 to put themselves in harm's way.

⠀⠀⠀When she turns back to face them, and she notes that they really did mean what they said the previous night... they frown, just a little.

⠀⠀⠀And when she bares her bloodstained fangs, smiling at them once again, their gaze is... ->
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀[ When they reach a clearing in the woods, Claudia slows to a halt—it takes a couple more seconds for Kris to do the same, narrowing the gap between them just a little bit... unlike last night, however, the delay in the ceasing of their movements seems... intentional, almost.

⠀⠀⠀Like... ->
⠀

AAAHHHHHHHHHHH

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...quite well the sound of their own heartbeat—it's not fast, but it pounds in their ears all the same. ]
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...in their thoughts... they suspect, however, that she's just lying, given that she'd introduced herself by echoing their repeated mental chants of her name back at them beneath that streetlamp. ]

⠀...mmm.

⠀⠀[ They hum flatly... as they continue following Claudia, Kris can hear... ->
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...worn another layer tonight, or turned their gaze away from her striking, pink eyes—but as it stands, it's too late for them to do either. They can't look away...

⠀⠀⠀...but she does the job for them in time, turning back around and trying to reassure them that she can't poke around... ->
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀[ Claudia turns around to face them and begun walking backwards, Kris's gaze shifts up from the ground to her face, and they meet her piercing gaze. It's a bit unnerving, the way she looks at them... they end up shuddering a little.

⠀⠀⠀They figure, in that moment, that they should have... ->
⠀

⠀
⠀...I don't. think that would help very much,
⠀

⠀
⠀I, uh... yeah I have a little zipper bag full of it man
⠀

⠀
⠀⠀<- ...fixed on the back of Claudia's head as they follow her, ends up shifting towards the ground as they give their non-verbal answer.

⠀⠀⠀They can feel a bit of a heat in their cheeks as they continue to walk—as the vampire leads them away from Hometown once more... ]
⠀

⠀
⠀...I...

⠀⠀[ It takes a moment for them to answer. For a good several seconds, the only sound coming from Kris that the vampire hears is their quiet footsteps. Then... ]

⠀...mhm.

⠀⠀[ ...their answer comes at last—an affirmative hum is all they can really muster. Their gaze, having been... ->
⠀

⠀
⠀I disappoint everyone.
⠀

⠀
⠀I'm running on three hours of sleep at all times, of course not
⠀

⠀
⠀maintaining aura is the last thing on my mind now dude
⠀

// I'm sick with the flu at the moment so replies will be infrequent—I feel fine at the moment, though, I'm not feverish rn, so I figure I can try to get some writing in

goddamn tho man I haven't been sick in years this is gonna feel like the worst week of my life //

⠀
⠀she can read my mind bro she already knows what I think
⠀

⠀
⠀. . .
⠀