“Sasquatch,” Vic corrected, “He’s sensitive about that.”

“S-sorry.”

Vic opened the door and walked into the pharmacy. The bell overhead was quiet, drowned out by the sound of running water as the a desktop fountain trickled with a steady flow. The Sasquatch behind the counter set down the comic book he was reading and pulled his glasses from his face. The bowtie around his neck was dapper and his build was so large he was nearly taller than the shelves of pharmaceuticals behind him. Two black cats lifted their heads from their slumber atop the counter before immediately returning to a resting state upon realizing the new bodies in the room did not come with treats.

“Is this the new farmer?” the Sasquatch inquired.

“Yep, this is Rhys Anderson. Rhys, this is Byron Matthews,” Vic said as he set the desserts on the counter.

“Good evening, young man,” Byron said, his voice deep and eloquent.

“H-hi,” Rhys whispered.

“He’s still getting used to the whole… monster thing,” Vic said with a chuckle. “I hear Carliel came to town.”

“He’s still here,” Byron corrected.

“Is something wrong? He never comes to town,” Vic asked.

“Lynn found him passed out in front of your office, in the daylight.”

Rhys noticed Vic tense. He carefully brought the hot latte to his lips and took a small sip; he felt the discomfort radiate off of the vampire like an inferno and turned his eyes away to better look at the pharmacy.

“Is he alright? Did he burn?” Vic asked as he wriggled out of his coat. He tossed it on the nearby chair.

“No, he was covered, but he’s ill. He’s on my sofa,” Byron said as he pointed to the door at his side.

Vic walked into the adjoining room, Rhys nervously followed. He wanted to see this other vampire. He watched as Vic squatted beside a limp form on the sofa, one hidden beneath a throw blanket, with long, wispy locks of white hair poking out beneath a hood. A heater was warming the cluttered room, blowing pages of comic books and magazines around. Several more cats lounged about in front of the warmth, draped over dark furniture and board game boxes.

“Carliel, are you alright?” Vic asked, tone quiet and concerned.

The other vampire opened his pale silver eyes and blinked a few times. Rhys noticed that a large portion of his face was covered in pink scars from a severe burn, that his hand trembled as he covered his mouth to cough, and he seemed young. He must have been turned early in his life.

“You’ve been skipping meals again, haven’t you?” Vic asked as he fixed the blanket over the other vampire’s body

“Betsy died,” Carliel mumbled.

“When did that happen?”

“A month ago… I think.”

“Have you eaten since then?”

“No.”

Vic sighed angrily. He set his hands on his knees and tried to figure out how to best tackle this unforeseen situation. Carliel set his hand over his lips and gagged. Rhys could see the tendons in his hand move as his thin fingers struggled to cover his mouth. He looked gaunt.

“He smells,” Carliel growled, fangs bared and eyes glistening red as he locked eyes with Rhys.

Rhys felt his cheeks grow hot with embarrassment. He subtly tried to smell his armpits and shirt, worried he may not have bathed well enough or overworked himself into a sweat that left a pungent air about him he didn’t realize was there.

Vic looked over his shoulder, he nodded his head back to the other side of the building to request Rhys leave. The herbalist nodded and walked back into the main part of the pharmacy. Without a second thought, he raced out the front door into the night and made his way through the unfamiliar cluster of people and buildings toward the car. He felt like everyone’s eyes were turned toward him, and a wave of anxiety rippled through his spine. With tears in his eyes, he stumbled over a loose stone in the street.

As he braced himself to fall, he felt himself be stopped mid-motion. A small bit of his latte spilled out of the opening of the lid. He looked up and saw the shocked face of Cane looking down at him.

“You are so clumsy, kid… hey, what’s with the waterworks?” Cane asked as he helped Rhys upright.

Rhys pulled away and kept walking, eyes turned down in embarrassment. Cane followed with a cardboard carrier filled with freshly made smoothies in his hand. He could see the town looking onward with confusion so he picked up his pace to try and intercept the teary-eyed newcomer.

“Rhys, Rhys, hey, c’mere,” Cane pleaded as he caught up to him.

“Which way is home?” Rhys asked with a sniffle.

Cane furrowed his brows, “What’s wrong?”

“It’s nothing, I just want to go home.”

“Okay, get in the truck, I’ll take—”

“I can walk.”

Cane stepped in front of him. Rhys froze and finally looked up to address the much taller, more intimidating man.

“C’mere, now,” Cane said sternly as he pointed to his truck.

Rhys rubbed his arm and nodded. Cane followed, he fished for his keys and unlocked the vehicle. He set the smoothies on the passenger seat and leaned on the truck with his hands in his jean pockets. He could see Rhys was visibly upset and bordering on anxious, so he hoped the open truck door would offer enough of a barrier to keep the nosy neighborhood at bay. Rhys’ lip was trembling and the tears wouldn’t stop.

“You don’t have t’talk to me, but I’m not lettin’ you walk home in the dark when you don’t even know how t’get there,” Cane said softly, with understanding and a gentle tone.

“I’m embarrassed,” Rhys whispered.

“What happened?”

“Rhys!”

Cane peered around the truck door when he heard the distressed voice of the mayor break through the chatter of the town. Rhys tensed and the tears flowed again. Cane pointed to the truck and told him to get inside before he stepped out around the truck door to try and stop things from escalating. 

Why does it feel like Cas knew somethin’ was up, Cane thought with a heavy sigh, we have smoothies at home but no, I just had to get one from Molly t'night of all nights. Damn, they must have felt somethin’, that ain’t good.

He set his fingers between his lips and whistled. Vic nearly tripped on the same loose stone that Rhys did. Moving with inhuman speed, Vic near-instantly appeared by the truck. He was stopped by Cane’s hand on his chest.

“Easy, tiger, he’s upset,” Cane said quietly.

“Rhys! What’s wrong?” Vic asked with worry as he tried to look into the truck.

Rhys was curled up in the back seat with his knees pulled up to his chest, crying softly with his hands over his mouth in an attempt at being quiet.

“You didn’t do anything wrong, Rhys. Carliel is…” Vic struggled to find the right words.

“Carliel’s in town?” Cane asked with shock in his voice.

“You need to understand something about Carliel Thornwell, Rhys. He’s an extremely old and extremely powerful vampire, so he’s sensitive. He doesn’t drink human blood, he refuses, and he’s… your blood smells off—it smells sweet—it’s probably because of your illness and he’s starving. His cow, Betsy, died and he hasn’t eaten in a month so he was worried about hurting you. Your blood is pungent and he’s nauseous, that’s why he gagged, that’s why he said what he said, that’s all. I’m sorry,” Vic explained, obviously upset that the situation was so misconstrued.

Rhys cried even harder. Cane set his hand on Vic’s shoulder.

“Go take care of Carliel, I’m goin’ t’take him home. I have t’get back, I told Cas I’d be home in less than twenty and I don’t want t’be late,” Cane said quietly. “He’s tired, he’s overwhelmed.”

Vic sighed and nodded. He knew he needed to listen, despite the ache in his heart. Rhys was too upset and he didn’t want to make it worse. He needed to pull back and remember his duties as mayor, remember that other people depended him, and that an extremely ill individual needed him to be present and focused.

“Rhys,” Vic called softly, “Get some sleep. We’ll… we’ll tour the rest of the town when you’re ready, okay? Good… goodnight.”

Cane watched as Vic slid his hands nervously into his pockets and walked with hastened speed back into town. He sighed and slid into his truck. He closed the door and turned the engine over. Rhys was exhausted, it was apparent as his sniffling started to die down, and Cane felt for the poor newcomer. What an exhausting few days it had been for him.

“I’m gonna get you home, you just take it easy.”