Elijah's fist clenched, but he kept his face calm and collected. He could take on the human within a second if he wanted to, but he wasn't supposed to hurt him. Not when he meant so much to Elyse.
"She's not with me," he finally responded, leaning against another tree, his red eye glowing in the dark. "And you're not the only one who needs to get her back."
"What do you mean she's not with you?" Westly questioned, his anger visibly growing, "What happened to her?" He glared at the tall male, not hiding the movement as he slipped a stake out of his belt and spun it casually in his hand, "If you killed her, I will not hesitate to drive several stakes through your undead heart. Or if she was killed by one of your lackeys." He looked up at the vampire, glaring daggers at the bloodred eye starting at him.
“Unfortunately, I’m in a rather sour mood, human, so you’d best put that stake away,” Elijah said, his eyes never leaving Westly, his composure calm. It was a hard attempt to keep himself check. He’d promised Elyse he wouldn’t hurt her friends, and he would keep that promise regardless of the situation. “I believe we’re on the same page here. You’d like to get her back, and so do I. So why don’t we set aside our differences and… work together?”
"You. Want me. To work. With you? A vampire?" Westly replied, not putting the stake away in the least, "Have you lost your undead mind? First of all, no. Second of all, hell no. And third of all, you're probably using me to find Elyse again so you can kill her. There's no way I can trust you." He pointed his stake at the vampire as he talked, ticking off the reasons on his fingers with the stake. "Just because you knew her doesn't mean I'm helping you. You were the one that took her to begin with, probably used her as a bloodbag until she could get away."
Elijah flared his nostrils. He flexed his fingers, counting the different ways he could kill the human. He wasn’t angry, no. Merely amused at the rebel in front of him.
“For what it’s worth, I’ve never drunk an unwilling human’s blood,” Elijah responded calmly, his red eye flashing. “Not all of us are monsters. And if I recall correctly, you humans are not any better.” he smiled, then pushed himself off the tree to slowly begin to walk towards Westly. “Elyse and I knew each other when we were children, not that, that’s any of your business. I took her because I needed her help, but she was taken from me.”
It took a lot for him to remain calm, thinking of Onyx and how he would make the turned vampire regret ever laying his hands on Elyse. But he managed, though his anger was apparent through his eyes. “You might want to reconsider working with me, Westly. Lilith took her, and though she remains unhurt for now, it could change the longer I wait to make a move. And I’d rather not waste more time chatting with you when I could be trying to get her back.”
"All of you are monsters, at least we're monsters with a purpose. Get that right," Westly growled back, standing up straight as the vampire came closer. Westly was far from short, but Elijah still had several inches on him, though that didn't seem to deter the human. "I find it hard to believe that you took her for any reason besides to use her as a blood bag, but amuse me, Elijah. Make me believe that you truely mean Elyse no harm."
While there was anger and wrath in Elijah's eyes, there was clear frustration and something similar to pain in Westly's. He had been the one to not protect her after all, even if she had been the one to tell him to protect the others. "That's the only way in the world that I'll even consider helping you."
“When I first became a vampire, I was tasked with eliminating a threat to Lilith, a vampire leader. That man got onto his knees and begged me to spare his life. He begged me to take his wife and children instead,” Elijah paused, remembering the event in vivid details, then continued again. “Fast forward a few years, to appease the vampires from sparing a couple of villagers in hiding, children were given as sacrifice,” a condescending smile covered his lips, “No, Westly, your kind is as much of a monster as mine is. We are monsters with no purpose, but so are you. Your kind looks after the wealthy and powerful, leaving the weak and poor to die. Your kind does nothing without wanting something in return, without leaving more blood in its wake. You call yourselves protectors of humanity? Go protect the children and the weak you leave behind when you scurry away. Go protect the unable instead of tossing them to the vampires. Simply killing a few of us vampires will not make you protectors of humanity. It makes you nothing.”
Inhaling deeply, Elijah clenched his jaw. “Elyse and I were children when we were taken from our families, given away by people who were supposed to protect us. We were children when we were torn apart from each other, and now that I’ve found her, I intend to make sure no one takes her away from me again, even if I have to kill the very woman who raised me from the dead. I have nothing to prove to you, human. She cares if you die, but I don’t.”
With that, Elijah turned around and began to walk away, unclenching the hilt of the blade he’d gripped.
In an instant Westly's mood changed with Elijah's words, rage crossing his face as he stepped closer to the vampire. His stake was clenched in a tight fist and he tried his best to stay as calm as possible, which didn't work well. "We are monsters trying to keep our kind from being slaughtered on the daily, and the few that toss aside the weak are just as bad as vampires." Westly spat, "What would you rather us do? Lay on our backs and be slaughtered instead of doing minimal damage and survivng? Do you expect us to play nice when we're fighting an unfair fight?"
He let out a slow but tense breath, letting Elijah walk away before he hissed, "Elyse has gone through the same pain that any of us have, and she would be just as wary to trust a vampire to help her get a friend back. Me getting killed means she's out of luck besides from you, and I can't risk that, so pardon my hesistancy to even talk to a vampire."
Elijah stopped short, though he didn't turn around. Instead, he slipped out a blade and began to trace it lightly, using the weapon to keep his anger in check. Within a few seconds, he was completely calm, his emotions locked away. Once they were, he slid the blade back in its holder, inhaled, and then turned back around.
"I watched Elyse die once. I'm willing to set our differences aside to ensure I never have to see that again," Elijah said slowly, then paused. "I know Elyse would do anything to make sure she gets her friend back, even if it means risking her own life. Even if it means working with a vampire. I could get her back myself, but I cannot. Not when Lilith is on the other side. There is little I can do against her."
"Elyse dying is the last thing I want. And I will go to the same ends for her, but working with my sworn enemy is something I'm not keen on doing." Westly glared at Elijah, the stake held tightly by his side, "Not unless there are ground rules and I know you won't kill me. You already stated how you would gladly do that." He was still furious, that much was clear from the tone of his voice, but somehow he stayed put together, doing nothing but spinning the stake in his hand to calm himself. Elyse would kill him if he killed her childhood best friend.
He paused for a second, eyes never leaving Elijah, "You and I will start there; with ground rules. If we're working together, thats my demands."
Elijah released a breath through his nose, certainly careful about the demands the human was about to make. But he had to listen. For Elyse, he would. He hoped he wouldn't regret it, working with Westly. For all he could know, Westly could be plotting to kill him. After all, that was his mission.
"Fine," he finally answered gruffly, pushing back all of his theories and thoughts and instead focused on what was more important; Elyse's life. "State your terms. I'll decide if they're reasonable enough for me."
Westly gave a curt nod, still just as on guard as seconds before. Clearly just knowing that Elijah would listen wasn't enough to get him to put down his guard. "One, you, under no circumstances, can or will feed on me or anyone I care for. Two, you have absolutely no say over what I do. I am free to call bull on any plan you suggest and refuse to help. Three, we are not killing any humans. No matter what they do or who they work for, I will not work with you if they are being killed." Westly paused, making eye contact with the vampire and tapping his stake against his leg, "And fourth, if you mean any harm to Elyse, at any point in time, I will not hesitate to murder you in cold blood. Is that reasonable enough?"
“I disagree with the second rule,” Elijah cut in, his eyes narrowed. “Your life matters little to me, but if I believe you need to do something, or if you are about to endanger our mission, I will say something. And if you don’t listen, I won’t hesitate to make you. I have no desires to feed an you. As for not killing humans…” Elijah returned his stare with a pointed one of his own. “I make no promises. You can abide by it, but if my life is in danger, or Elyse’s, I will not hold back. What I can promise is to not take lives needlessly.”
"I will listen to what you say, but I will not obey it if I don't want to," Westly replied, glaring at the taller male, "You will kill no humans unless your or Elyse's life is in immediate danger. That means, no killing unless the stake is already at your heart." He pointed his own stake at Elijah for emphasis, "And one last rule, killing me just because I'm a nuisance is not an option. You're stuck with me until we get Elyse back, no matter what."
Elijah quirked an eyebrow and stared at the stake, tempted to take it and break it, but refrained from doing so.
“You’re not worth killing, anyway,” Elijah hummed, then turned around. “Come, the sooner we reach Lilith’s manor, the faster we will get to Elyse.”
Westly didn't move an inch, crossing his arms and motioning at his bag on the ground, "Sorry to slow down your undeadness, but humans still have to take a break. I've been walking for two days straight to get to Elyse. I need to at least sit down for a little bit unless you're going to resort to becoming a pack animal."
He did as he said he was going to as he talked, sitting down next to his bag again, like he had done when Elijah had first stumbled across him. Then, just to help add to the pain in the ass he was being, he started taking his shoes off, both because his feet hurt and to make sure they had to stay there a few minutes longer.
He'd forgotten how weak humans truly were. They tired easily. They hurt easily. Though he was a vampire hunter, Westly seemed so fragile. He could break him so easily, and the realization made him blink.
With a shake of his head, Elijah heaved a sigh and walked over to kick him lightly.
"Get up high on the tree," he muttered. "Unless you want to die. Do you not know it's easier to get caught when you're on ground?"
"Yes, I know," Westly replied, rolling his eyes and standing up. It was going to take more effort to climb the tree than he had left in his legs, but he shouldered his bag anyway. "I wasn't planning on staying long enough to get caught. All I need in a few minutes. We need to get moving again."
He looked around the tree for a few seconds as he talked, spotting a low hanging branch and jumping to reach it. Within a minute he was sitting up on the branch, scooting his way to the next one he could reach, this one being just out of arms reach of Elijah.
Elijah rolled his eyes, but he allowed Westly to climb up a tree on his own. He didn’t really care, anyway. He grabbed his own things and then was settled up on a branch himself on a spot hidden from eyes below, but also being able to keep Westly under his watch.
Elijah would have to tell Westly why exactly he couldn’t take on Lilit himself. But that, he would deal with later. That was one weakness he couldn’t afford to release just yet.
It didn't take him long to settle in, and once he did, he couldn't deny just how tired he was. Westly leaned back against the tree, bag held in his arms and a stake tightly gripped in his hand. He glanced at Elijah for a split second, clearly trying to figure out If it was safe to even attempt to sleep so close to a vampire. Enemy or supposed foe. He couldn't decide if it was better to test his luck sleeping so he was more alert, or let himself be less alert for the sake of immediate saftey.
After a little while of resting, probably an hour or so, Elijah decided it would be best to move along. It would become dark soon, and he wanted to cross a considerable distance and camp out rather close to Lilith manor than arrive later. So he hopped down the branch, then looked at where Westly was resting.
"Let's go," he said to the vampire hunter. "The sooner we get there before dark, the better."
In the end Westly had fallen into a light sleep, enough that he was woken up instantly as Elijah spoke to him. "Don't tell me what to do, vampire," He replied, stretching and climbing out of the tree anyway. His legs were going to be permanently sore for quite a while, and he was sick of staying in one spot anyway. Moving sounded good. He glared at the taller male, fastening his pack on his back and making sure he still had all his weapons before finally saying, "Now we can go."
"When I save your life, human," Elijah started when he began to walk. "I expect a thank you."
Elijah didn't really care whether he received that thanks or not. All he wanted was to annoy Westly, drive him mad the same way he was trying to get him angry. It wouldn't work on him, though. Elijah could control his emotions pretty well, and nothing as petty as a disagreement or argument from a mere human could get his control to break.
(Very sorry it's short)
"Don't expect anything," Westly replied with a snort, "I don't expect anything in return if I save your sorry ass either."
He shifted his bag on his back, picking up the pace slightly and going silent. They had to move, and talking would give away their position to what or whoever lurked in the area. If they were going to get to Elyse, they had to stay hidden.
(It’s okay ♥️ mine are short, too, these days)
Elijah chose to walk ahead, his keen senses, nose, and sight keeping track of anything. He sniffed each time they cleared the area, pausing to observe their surroundings, then continued on. A couple of times, they’d run into traps, but they managed to avoid him before they could be activated.
Finally, when it was nearly dark, Elijah stopped.
“We need to set up camp. We’re done traveling for the day,” he said, though he didn’t bother looking at his companion. “Do not start a fire lest you want to get caught.”
Westly didn't make any small talk, staying silent throughout the entire day of walking. His legs felt like jello by the time the sun had set, but he didn't bring it up, just grunted in response and sat down near the closest tree. He included a glare as the vampire brought up the idea of not starting a fire, and replying was the only time he spoke all day. "Do you expect me to eat raw food? Or not eat at all?"
He shrugged his pack off his back, watching Elijah and not moving an inch. With the way his legs felt he figured he couldn't move even if he tried.
"Find some berries," Elijah responded uncaringly. He had some blood with him, so he took a pack out of his bag to take a drink. Deer blood tasted the best; though human blood gave him the most strength, it tasted foul or too sweet. Elijah preferred something that was just right. "You're a hunter; it would be stupid if you couldn't hunt for something as simple as berries."
Westly was, unfortunately, tired. But the vampire didn't bother offering to give him food; instead, he decided he would if the human asked.
Taking a page out of Elyse's book, Westly simply flipped Elijah off, staying right where he was. It was a tough battle between his mind and legs, arguing between staying where he was or going to find food. The gnawing feeling in his stomach was much more pressing than his exhaustion though, and somehow he found the strength to get to his feet.
"I'll be back," He grumbled, grabbing both his stake and his knife before wandering off slowly, unsure of exactly what he was going to find.
This area was new territory for him. Around the base, he would've known exactly where to go to find whatever he wanted to eat, but here, it was going to be much more frustrating to find something. Especially something as small as berries in the fading light.
Elijah watched him leave with an amused smile. It would be interesting to see the little human hunt in unfamiliar territory; enough that Elijah began to follow after him, taking small sips of his blood as he did so, and made sure to stay out of Westly's line of vision.
The only little thing was… the berries in this area, both poisonous and edible… looked incredibly alike. Elijah wanted to see if Westly would make a mistake. Of course, he wouldn't let him die; that would beat the entire purpose of teaming up. But… it would definitely be interesting to watch.
Westly took his time wandering around, keeping surprisingly silent for how much he let his feet shuffle. It took him several long minutes to track down some bushes with his pace as well. And even then, he could tell the bush had been thoroughly picked over by animals. Barely any more than a handful of berries remained that he could see.
Sighing, he started fighting with the thorny vines to grab the berries, sure that they were safe if they were mostly eaten. It definitely wouldn’t be enough to tide him over for more than a little while though.
