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Apo paused in her trek, tucking the berries she had been collecting into a pouch at her side as they registered a strange sound in the woods.
She peered around the corner, spotting ashy brown hair and purple eyes. Avid.
They laid a hand on the pommel of her sword, wary.
The vampire didn't notice her, gaze set on the poor sheep before him. He killed it swiftly, dragging it down to the ground as it died. There was no doubt blood, if the flash of crimson was any indication.
Apo's grip tightened, nausea threatening to burn her throat.
Avid moved with more grace than he himself had claimed vampires possessed barely a month prior.
He and Drift had gone missing from their homes, no note, no warning; just their things gone without a trace. All their food and silver was still in the house. It didn't take a genius to figure out what had happened.
They confirmed it when the town tried to take the castle beacon, when two more faces were added to enemy lines.
She debates with herself on if she should engage, on one hand, Avid wasn't doing anything particularly dangerous, on the other, he was now a vampire.
The town's safety came first, they decided, unsheathing her sword and charging at him.
He dodges, annoyingly quick. He must have had some form of combat training at least. He pleads with her, insists it's still him. She can't take that chance.
They're interrupted by an animalistic hiss.
Apo looked up to see Scott, the elder vampire was glaring at her, eyes blazing with righteous fury. She knew that look. The fierce protectiveness of a soulmate defending their other half. It was too human for a vampire, too human for Scott.
It must be an act.
She went around, sneaking behind the two instead. Her boots crunched lightly against the soil, but they seemed too preoccupied to hear it. She clenched the wooden weapon in her hand, the one Avid had given her himself.
In a flash of movement it was buried in his back, piercing right through his rib cage.
Apo fought the urge to gag, flinching away from the stake and the vampires as she backed up towards the forest with a yell. Scott was still a threat.
Or, he should have been. Instead he caught Avid as he fell.
He looked wrong. He looked… he looked broken.
There were bloody tears streaming down his face, gaze focused solely on the corpse in his arms.
There was no trace of the haughty elder vampire from mere moments ago.
All that was left was a person wracked with grief. Grief that felt too human.
Apo couldn't look. She turned and fled.
Boots thumped across the ground as they ran, dress catching on brambles and twigs but she paid them no mind, leaping over tree trunks and streams. They were out of breath, her lungs burned, she couldn't stop running. If she stopped running she would die.
The trees cleared to reveal and unfamiliar field, Apo had a moment to realise she hadn't ever been to this area before she crashed into thin air, her nose throbbing at the force of it. She found her footing quickly, narrowly avoiding sprawling across the dirt. "What…?" they muttered, rubbing her aching face.
The air shimmered oddly in front of her, swaying and dancing like it was distorted by heat. There was a hint of blue that contrasted the dreariness of Oakhurst.
So this was the barrier.
Apo was so disoriented from (the stake the corpse the tears-) the collision, that it took her a moment to notice that there was something in their head that's not from them. A hint of contentment - laughter at a dumb joke, undercut by slight worry.
'Cherri!?' she thought, hopeful.
A startle across the bond, Apo couldn't help but laugh at the yelp her soulmate let out.
'Apo!' they cheer, a clatter from the other end signalling her putting down the appliances in her hand 'I haven't heard from you in forever!'.
Apo frowned, sitting down on the loose dirt 'Didn't you get my letters?' she asked quietly.
Disagreement from the bond, 'not yet' her soulmate told her. Maybe the barrier was in the way. Maybe it was just taking a while. It makes her worry anyway.
Cherri can tell, of course she can. Apo feels their focus shift entirely onto her. 'What's happening my love?' she asked.
'Too much' they replied tiredly, leaning her head against the barrier and pretending it was Cherri's steady shoulder.
A hum across the bond 'Lay it on me. I have time'.
'But I might not' Apo thought wearily. Scott would be back any minute, and then she would die. She deserved it, for killing someone like that.
'Apo Kuna' came the sharp voice of her soulmate, startling them 'What are you talking about?'.
Apo sighed, leaning closer tiredly 'It's bad, Cherri'.
A thought springs up, travelling through the bond unbidden 'I don't want her to hate me'.
Cherri scoffed 'Apo, you ruined my favourite dress two years ago and I still don't hate you. There's nothing you can do that's worse that than', there's a familiar note of levity in their voice.
Apo let out a wet laugh, sinking nearer to the ground, head hung low 'Even if I killed someone?'.
Silence from the other end. 'That's your job' Cherry replied eventually 'I can't fault you for that. Do you want to talk about it?'.
They tell her everything. Every last detail - the town, the vampires, the fights. Cherri just listens, occasionally interrupting with a comment or gasp. She doesn't even question the vampires, their soulmate had always been more superstitious than she was.
They comfort her when she's done, whispering loving reassurances and fond promises. 'It's okay' Cherri tells her, the words loosening the knot tying itself around Apo's heart. She feels lighter than she had in ages.
She would have to leave soon, they know. When the sun set it wouldn't be long before more creatures of the night emerged. A part of her wants to set up a small cabin right there, the closest she had been to her love in months.
She knows she can't. They have a town to protect.
'I have to go my love' she tells Cherri apologetically 'I need to keep them safe'.
'Okay' her soulmate answers sadly 'Take care, I love you'.
"I love you too" Apo whispers aloud, knowing her soulmate feels the sentiment anyway. With a heavy heart, she stands on unsteady feet, making the long trek back to town. The weight of a stake in her hands haunts her every step.