Waynack

Mysterious Coach

The party of four decided to set up a campsite and rest for the night after a few miles of walking past sunset. A large campfire was made, and everyone sat around it for warmth through the night while a tent was prepped a few feet from the fire. Maka's mother was wrapped in blankets and sipping on hot tea for added warmth while her body recovered. 

Everyone pitched their part in preparing for the night, including Maka, who was currently roasting a rabbit over the campfire. The strong smell of burning meat made anyone salivate from one sniff alone. 

Everyone enjoyed the warm flames that waved around the night besides Maka's father, who slept inside the tent. Maka worried for him, his hunger strike lasted for far too many hours since their departure from the cave. 

"What's wrong with papa?" Maka said.

Her mother twitched at the question, attempting to censor the answer the best she could without damaging the golden image of her husband in her daughter's eyes.

"Well..." She paused, lightly groaning, searching for an answer, then continues, "He hasn't slept much since we last saw each other—He's been taking care of me all that time..." Maka's mother replied.

A gentle touch to a white lie, her father's pride was far beyond recovery, it sat upright on stilts, waiting for the wind to push it over one last time. 

Maka began to feel guilty, blaming herself for the reason behind her father's absence. She soon swallowed the large pill, and murmured, "Oh..." 

She kept playing out scenarios in her head, thinking that she could've done more to ensure their safety. A never-ending loop of blame. 

While Maka continued to lash against her ego, Pierre had questions of his own, specifically about Alucard's experience just before they left the mountain.

"So..." Pierre's eyes rolled around, "Alucard, are you going to tell us what happened back there or what? It's been bothering me since we left, and was the reason why we left in a hurry in the first place." Pierre asked Alucard.

Alucard sat across from Pierre, dimly illuminating tangerine, blending well against the flames. His eyes kept close, hypnotized by the campfire and not giving Pierre the attention.

"What? I—I don't know what you're talking about..." Alucard said.

Reclusive of sharing, the vampire kept the night terrors to himself. It would only create more problems had his tongue slipped, but Pierre didn't buy the product presented to him. Pierre gazed at the fire bouncing between them, dimly glowing, fresh sunset gently kissing their skin. 

"Really? You can do better than that, Alucard." Pierre replied. 

A child can lie better than Alucard, and it was painfully obvious to Pierre. He decided to cut through the nonsense, more lies would be a waste of their time.

"Huh? What's that supposed to mean?" Alucard said.

"C'mon, why can't you just tell us?" Pierre said, then thought, Is there a reason why he's keeping it a secret?

Everyone has their reasons for lying, but Pierre's sweet tooth was craving for the truth, and Alucard wasn't really hiding it well, to begin with. It was like a child's predictable hiding spot in hide-and-seek.

"I already told you I don't know what you're talking about, so back off." Alucard replied. 

Frustration was short to confrontation, and if another push occurred then physicality might be the outcome. Alucard didn't plan on this becoming a therapy session, instead, he tried to focus on his goal of getting as far away as possible from this mountain.