"Hello? I'm talking to you!" someone shook Vivian back to the present. What appeared before her was an angry-looking Citrine vampire. With... green hair? It fell on his shoulders. He also wore a shirt with rolled-up sleeves and a black vest over it instead of a tailcoat or a suit. 'I guess not everyone has the same style?'
Seeing that the woman in front of him tuned-out again, he rolled his eyes and bluntly said, "no animals allowed in this store," he pointed at a tiny handwriting written with paint on top of the window coming into the store.
[No pets allowed]
She wouldn't be able to read that if she didn't squint. Vivian didn't have the energy to argue with the vampire, so she left and pondered about finding an Inn to stay at first, so she could keep the rabbit there. She remembered seeing one close to the store named 'Royal Inn'.
Before she could move further, from the corners of her eye, Vivian caught a glimpse of two Jade vampires: one with spade marks on his cheeks, the other with hearts. She opened her bag and grabbed her items. No time to set the rabbit down, she held it tightly against her shoulder and walked faster.
They noticed her presence darting towards them, and started picking up their pace. Eyebrows knitted, she walked even faster to keep up with them until she realized that they were headed towards an alley-way, away from the crowd.
'They're gonna get away!'
[Clank!] Vivian threw a metallic ball towards their direction, but it stopped short, and the targets resumed navigating through the crowd. The Jade vampires, aware of her intentions, looked back towards her from time to time to determine where she aimed. Vivian pressed her lips together as she threw another ball, and another, only to keep missing.
Vampires dropped left to right on the cobblestone road, slowing down Vivian's pace drastically, before the two Jade vampires reached the opening to the alley-way. 'They're getting away!' She looked around and noticed a man near them, wearing a long, dark purple frock coat with ruffles around the chest, and he stared at her with his ruby eyes. She didn't know if she had good luck or bad luck. Her heart pounded crazily against her chest, turning her hands into a clammy mess.
"Sir, please grab those two Jade Vampires! I'll explain later!" her mouth uttered the words before she was able to stop herself. The man turned to the alley-way almost immediately, not even a tiny movement wasted. With a single gesture from his hand, roots broke through the stoned ground and wrapped around the two Jade vampires' feet, causing them to trip and plunge to the ground.
Vivian felt like a powerless child both in awe and fear of someone who's existence was greater than hers. She wished she had a power like that. She'd probably use it for a better purpose.
'Who is she?' murmurs and glares at her direction pulled Vivian back in the moment. Half of the vampires on the street slept soundly on the cold floor. The buzz the town had previously turned into a shush that any single sound would be heightened. The man who miraculously helped a lowly existence like hers looked in her direction, as if expecting an explanation about the disastrous situation she caused.
She tightly held the rabbit on her hand, grateful that it followed her. 'I'm not going to be surprised if I get my head chopped off.' She didn't have a choice. Those vampires were the only lead she had about Hunter. Yes, she could have thought more carefully about how she was going to catch them but they were so close to getting away! She didn't run at the same speed as the vampires. She could only keep chasing them because they weren't able to gain distance from her with the crowd around them.
'How do I get away from this?' she speculated throwing her remaining metallic balls at everyone at the scene, but she didn't want to gather another enemy while she gathered information about Hunter's whereabouts.
Vivian navigated around the bodies on the floor and paced towards the man who helped her. 'For now, don't do anything rash unless they give you a reason to'. The glares around her seemed to pierce her more the closer she moved towards the Ruby Vampire.
A scent of fresh florals with mild sweetness filled her nose as she moved closer to him. The breeze followed, sending shivers down her spine. His presence was something Vivian had never seen before, nor it was something she was used to. Everyone around her seemed to focus on this vampire, waiting to see how he would react. Subconsciously, when she was almost close to him, Vivian halted and stared at his scarlet eyes, unsure about what she should be feeling.
The Vampire's gaze turned towards the rabbit and his eyes narrowed for a split second. Vivian's heart dropped, her fingertips turned numb. She didn't know what he planned on doing with her.
The two Jade vampires wiggled around, trying to get themselves free, "we didn't do anything wrong! Chief Darian, that woman's crazy! Don't listen to her," complained the vampire with spades on his cheek.
Darian's eyes fell upon Vivian once more and she jolted. "They're just in slumber, correct?" his gaze directed towards the vampires laid on the street. Quite a few stores already closed down because of the incident. Vivian nodded awkwardly.
"Why were you chasing these two?" he prodded, eyes glued to hers, searching for something. She had a feeling he would catch any lies she told him.
"They abducted someone dear to me," Vivian decided to tell the truth.
"Do you think it matters? He's a human! No one cares about some measly human," the other Jade vampire mocked. Whispers floated around the streets once more. Vivian glared at the vampires stuck on the ground. She didn't want to cause any more commotion, otherwise she would have punched them on the face. They were so hung up about Hunter being a vampire and now they're denying it??
'Really? She caused this chaos for a human?'
'What insolent behavior! She wasted Chief Darian's ability for something ridiculous.'
Darian waved his hand in the air and everyone immediately stopped talking. "As you heard, your neighbors and friends lay on the ground sleeping. They should not be in any harm. Assist them to their homes where they'll be safe and sound." His voice charged with authority, yet still maintain a tone of humility. The crowd immediately dispersed, with some murmurs here and there that mostly criticized her.
He stopped the anxiety that was creeping up on Vivian and ordered everyone to help with cleaning up the mess she made, while keeping the respect the vampires had for him. What an incredible leader... unlike anyone from her tribe that valued their pride the most.
"As for you," Vivian panicked when he looked at her, unaware that she had been gawking at him, "you are to be taken to the Council and questioned about your use of an unknown substance."