Gretchen had been immortal for exactly four weeks, three days and fifteen hours and she was, in a word, bored.

As soon as she’d woken up, Angelus had bundled them both onto a bus and then a plane and then a taxi to a remote little village in the middle of nowhere. They had met a handful of dusty old geezers who were less than impressed with their new immortal recruit and not afraid to voice it. She was forced, upon pain of death, to sign a bunch of contracts, on parchment, written in a script she couldn’t read. And Angelus informed her weren’t likely to be an issue in the modern age anyway.

Since it was sign or die she signed, but with a reluctant sort of foreboding.

Compared to Angelus, who had a strange stiff reservedness and an air of unhappiness around him, these other immortals might as well have been dead, for all they seemed capable of having any emotion beyond disdain and disgust. The modern world confused and annoyed them with its constant reckless advancements that they had grown too staid to even try to understand.

They had retreated into ritual and habit and avoided the world, living in forgotten places and avoiding people. Especially people like Gretchen, who could be relied upon to open her mouth and insert her entire foot on a regular basis. On one of these occasions Angelus had a coughing fit and had to excuse himself, she suspected he was laughing at her.

Once they were dismissed from the imposing presence of the five oldest men in the world, they got on another bus, and now they were living in a sleepy little town with a highway running through the middle of it. She was living in what passed for a high rise apartment here, six stories, antiquated, with a lift that worked less than half the time and residents who all seemed to be at least sixty or older.

The highlight of her day was taking Valiant, Angelus’s giant Irish wolfhound, for a walk, although it was more him walking her as he weighed more than she did and was almost as tall. And technically, she wasn’t supposed to be the one walking him, she just liked to snatch the leash off Angelus and stride off with Val fawning around her, Angelus’s scowl was worth all the skinned knees and elbows she got when Val bolted off dragging her with him.

Last time he’d bolted he’d escaped her entirely and been lost for over an hour. Angelus had told her she wasn’t welcome to come with him any more.

While Charles had finally turned up and settled into a small town-house over the other side of the industrial estate, she still hadn’t been told more than that they were here for a purpose and she’d have to wait to find out what it was. That was two weeks ago, and she was so bored she wanted to scream. The text from Angelus to meet him at the forest park was a blessed relief, even if it was heading towards dusk and the air was getting a late autumn chill to it.

She saw Angelus waiting for her, Valiant dancing excitedly on the end of his leash, barking and whining to get loose. Angelus waved his free hand, motioning her closer,

“He has been sulking the whole way, apparently it is not a walk unless you are here too”

She dropped into a crouch and rubbed Val’s ears, crooning to him

“Who’s a good boy, who’s the best most handsomest boy in the world, you are, yes you are, I love you yes I do, I love the best boy”

“I feel like I should be jealous.” Angelus sounded amused

“Oh what, you want me to rub your ears and tell you you’re handsome too?” She looked up to see his dark eyes watching her.

“I am just saying, you are always so nice to Valiant, and so cold to me.”

She sprang to her feet smirking, and tiptoed so she could grab his cheeks and rub them, crooning in the same voice she’d spoken to Val. “Who’s a good boy, who’s the second best most handsomest boy in the world, you are, yes you are.”

He caught her wrists in his hands, pulling them away from his face and holding them high so she teetered on her toes.

“What, no ‘I love you’ for me?”

She snorted, “I reserve that for people I actually like”

“You wound me, deeply,” he leaned in closer, still holding her so she couldn’t step backwards, “I thought we had gotten beyond just merely tolerating each other,” he released her and she staggered backwards rubbing her wrists

“Dream on glum boy, and keep your hands off me, that hurt.”

He frowned at her.

“You touched me first, but I apologise for injuring you.”

She sighed and tugged Valiant's leash out of his hand, setting off down the path at a brisk walk, “yeah whatever”

His long legs kept up with her easily, but when she glanced over at him his face was set and brooding, unhappy again, when he’d actually seemed pleased to see her only moments ago. She cursed herself and her sharp tongue, it wasn’t that she disliked him, she didn’t really, it was just that he was so god-damned infuriatingly smug all the time.

Valiant whined and tugged the leash, dragging her towards a dense patch of bushes off the path, she tried digging her heels in but there was no way she was going to win against 60kg of excited wolfhound.

“God damnit Val, slow down!” He ignored her, dragging her through the first bush and bounding headlong towards another, forcing her to sprint after him or fall on her face and most probably get dragged through several more. A strong arm caught her around her waist, another flicked the leash off her wrist letting Valiant have his head as he plunged into the next thicket baying at something as yet unseen.

“Are you hurt?”

She looked up at Angelus’s brooding face to see concern rather than his usual indifference.

“Only my pride,” she sighed “I.. Thanks.. And I’m sorry, about earlier.”

He raised an eyebrow, “so you don’t hate me now?”

“I never said I hated you!”

“You have, a number of times, at least once a day since we first met.”

She huffed, “whatever, hey, where did Val go?”

“Changing the subject? Don’t worry, he will come back when he has given up chasing whatever small animal caught his attention.”

“I wasn’t changing the subject, I was just worried about your dog, who I managed to lose, again.”

Angelus snorted, almost a laugh but caught in time, and released his grip on her.

“If you did not keep snatching his leash this would not keep happening, you know you are not strong enough to control him.”

She avoided looking at him, guilty.

“So, why did you want to meet me anyway, you said it was important?”

“Mmm, apart from Valiant sulking at your absence you mean?”

She threw a punch at his arm but he caught her wrist before she could connect.

“Tch, you always resort to violence.”

“Just get to the bit where you tell me why I’m here,” she yanked her arm out of his grip, stepping a few paces away to lean against a tree, watching him.

“Have you heard from Charles in the last two weeks?”

She shrugged, “Nope, but that’s not unusual.. Right?”

“Normally I would agree with you, but..” He frowned and tugged his sleeve cuff straight.

“But?” She let it hang, knowing he would clam up if she pressed him too hard.

“..I do not know, just, something feels… off.”

“Oh my, Angelus has a gut, and feelings, oh my,” she spread her arms wide and looked up into the tall leafy branches of the tree, “hear that world, he’s not just a surly block of up-tightness and gloom after all!”

She knew as soon as it had left her mouth she’d messed up badly, and the sounds of Angelus’s boots receding into the undergrowth confirmed it.

“Angelus, wait, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it!”