Chapter Text
Cleo’s heart is going to give out. It must. It’s been beating too hard for too long, the pulse of it spreading to every inch of their body. Between that and throbbing pain in their legs from the weeks of near nonstop walking, Cleo’s life has become a steady drumming, a soldier’s march towards nowhere in particular. And fuck, where are they going? Is Oakhurst even in this direction? They might have gotten turned around days ago, and they would have no idea at all. And then what? They’ll die soon, their age will catch up to them with no thrall to keep them younger than they really are. They need to find someone kinder to thrall them if they want to live, and by God, they want to live.
She’s focused on keeping her breathing even and her feet from tripping when she stumbles into someone. Cleo reaches out on instinct, as though the person were an object, to keep herself from falling, and finds herself being held up by unfamiliar arms.
“Woah! Are you alright?" The person holding her questions. Cleo swallows her embarrassment and looks up. It’s a woman in her late 20s, just above six feet tall and, from the feel of her arms, very fit. Cleo’s face heats up.
“I’m fine,” They insist, pushing out of her arms. They dust themself off, nervous energy needing somewhere to go. Even little motions like that are a kind of freedom they haven’t had in a long time. “Sorry for running into you,”
“Not a problem!” The woman replies cheerily. She smiles brightly, and oh God, she’s beautiful. Cleo doesn’t believe in love at first sight. Her face is hot because she’s tired, and her heart is beating because she’s been walking. This is fine. “I’m Pearl! It’s nice to meet you, I’ve been walking alone for quite some time. Where are you headed to?”
“Oakhurst. I don’t know if you would have heard of it, but it’s around here somewhere," They gesture in the direction that they’re pretty sure the town is in. If even possible, Pearl’s smile gets wider. Her blue eyes are sparkling in the noon sun.
“That’s where I’m headed too! We can find it together!” Long fingers grab Cleo’s hand, and before she can protest, she’s being pulled along. She hopes for her own sake that there really are vampires in Oakhurst and that they’re kinder than Aric. They can thrall her, and she’ll live much longer yet. She hopes for Pearl’s sake that there aren’t.