There's a place downtown...

2. Don't walk home alone.

Max walked home that night. He would have usually taken a cab but there were shockingly none on the empty street, the lamp posts glaring down on him as he walked quickly, trying to ignore the fact that he felt very alone. 

His thoughts strayed to Geralt. About the man with yellow eyes who had stared at him the whole night before excusing himself twenty minutes before Max did. 

He was a rather attractive man, too bad he was somewhat a creep. 

Max felt an arm grab him and yank him into an alley. The person shoving him against the wall and grinning broadly at him so that Max could see his teeth and smell the disgusting metallic smell coming off of them. 

Wait did this person have fangs?

"Hello pretty" The man purred, stroking under Max's chin with one clawed hand, "what're you doing alone?" 

"None of your business!" Max said, his voice high pitched and terrified which seemed to excite the man, 

"Well aren't you a feisty one?...No matter..." The man said and leaned in, long and sharp teeth grazing his neck before they tensed up, making a weird gurgle before dropping to the ground. 

Geralt stood behind them, kicking at the fallen person with his foot and Max stared at the man then looked at the corpse on the ground before bursting into tears. 

Geralt stared at him weirdly before, very awkwardly, Max thought, wrapped his arms around him. Max burying his face into Geralt's chest and clinging onto his shirt. Geralt smelled very odd, he almost smelled like a forest after it rained with a hint of thick and woody cologne. 

"You uh...okay?" Geralt asked and Max stared up at him, 

"What the hell was that thing?!" 

"A vampire, you're lucky I got here when I did" Geralt said, leaning down to yank his stake out of the vampires back, "...hmmm" 

"What?" Max asked, a little hysterical, vampires existed?! "Whats wrong?" 

"Its a higher up vampire...not good" 

Max just stared at Geralt, "the hell does that mean!?" 

"Means you were marked, come on". 

Geralt grabbed Max's sleeve and started to pull him off before Max planted his feet, yanking his sleeve away from Geralt's rather strong grip. 

"How can I trust you!? How do I know you're not the one who marked me, whatever the bloody hell that means?!" 

"Max, would Jaskier let you around someone who would hurt you?" 

Max's shoulders slumped a little, "No..." 

"then come on" Geralt said, grabbing Max's arm and dragging him off, Max allowing him to this time.