The next morning, Asren rose before Virgil. He decided to take some time to hunt first. Asren walked into a more forested area off the trail, and drew a rune, murmuring an incantation. “Invisley  norma”. He became invisible, and continued walking, carefully stepping so as not to disturb any wildlife.

The morning sun had begun to rise, as did the prey. A hare came out of its den, sniffing the ground. When Asren noticed the creature, he crouched, grabbing his dagger from his concealed pocket. Inching closer, he kept his footsteps quiet and light. Finally, Asren lunged, tackling the hare, which let out a scream eerily close to a woman. He sliced its throat efficiently, and grabbed the body by the scruff.

As he was about to leave, he noticed movement in the den. His stomach tightened with guilt. This hare was a mother. Assren whispered quietly, “I’m so sorry”, before returning to Virgil.

“What was that scream?!” Virgil exclaimed, clearly panicked.

Asren lifted the Hare and gestured towards it.

“Hare’s scream like that?” Virgil’s eyebrows raised, and his posture loosened slightly.

“Yup. Makes them more fun to kill.” Asren replied, his usual facade returning.

“You’re sick.” Virgil muttered, grimacing.

Asren got to work preparing breakfast. Virgil sat nearby, tugging at the grass and tying the pieces together. Asren ignored him, draining the lifeless hare, skinning and then finally cooking it.

“I can’t believe you’re going to eat that.” Virgil commented, feeling queasy.

“You are too.” Asren replied, chuckling.

“Yeah, no. I can’t eat meat.” Virgil responded.

“Oh, vegetarian?” Asren asked.

“Can’t eat vegetables either.” Virgil stated matter-of-factly.

“What can you eat?” Asren raised an eyebrow.

“I can drink blood. I’m a vampire.” Virgil responded hesitantly.

A short silence fell between them. Virgil’s a vampire? No wonder he seemed offended when Asren called him “mortal”. Meanwhile, Virgil felt his stomach fill with bricks. He’d never admitted that to anyone, and only admitted it now because he had to. Now, all that’s left is to hope Asren won’t murder him.

“Well I can’t let you starve. Come here.” Asren patted the spot next to him.

“Wait, what?” Virgil exclaimed, “You’re a divine being! How are you not trying to end my life?”

“Because you’re a person, just like me. Besides, my brother’s not exactly ‘holy’ either.” Asren replied.

Virgil moved closer to Asren, albeit very hesitantly. Asren tilted his head, moving the hair away from his neck. He gazed at Virgil with something Virgil never expected from someone who knew his secret. Trust.

“Okay, just going to, ah, bite your neck then…” Virgil muttered.

“Don’t make it weird.” Asren stated.

“Right, sorry, just… never did this before.” Virgil scooted closer to Asren.

“You’ve never fed from a person?” Asren inquired.

“It’s usually rabbits.” Virgil answered.

“Then perhaps next time I’ll let you drink the rabbit's blood instead of draining it.” Asren chuckled, before VIrgil hesitantly sank his teeth into Asren’s neck.

At first it hurt, but the vampiric saliva numbed the pain quickly, and even gave a bit of a pleasant feeling, a sensation Asren didn’t expect. The taste of angelic blood was new to Virgil, and he loved the sweetness. It was delicious, and the addiction hit him fast. For a few moments, they shared a moment of companionship mixed with deep trust.

Virgil drank until he was full, knowing that Asren’s immortality allowed him to do so. When he finally retreated, he was blushing. Asren’s face was equally flushed.

“I uh, didn’t expect it to feel… nice.” Asren commented.

“I should’ve known holy blood would taste that… good” Virgil responded.

“Creatures of darkness usually get addicted to the taste of angelic blood. So I won’t hold it against you when you inevitably pin me down for more of it.” Asren smirked.

Did this dude seriously just say that? Virgil scoffed, his face flushing further.

“I won’t be pinning you down for any reason.” Virgil replied defensively.

“Sure,” Asren chuckled, drawing out the word, “I totally believe that.”

Virgil rolled his eyes, muttering something under his breath. Asren couldn’t help noticing how adorable he looked.

“Eat your disgusting hare, we need to get going soon.” Virgil stated, ignoring Asren’s puppy eyes, “I don’t want to sleep in the forest any more than necessary.”

“Right, right. Apologies, my dear Virgil.” Asren snickered.

“Again with that?” Virgil shouted, though he couldn’t hide his smile this time.

“See? It’s growing on you.” Asren chuckled.

“Is not.” Virgil grumped.

Asren ate his hare, still chuckling. It wasn’t long before their journey continued. Virgil couldn’t get over what Asren had said earlier. Would the taste of angelic blood really make him do that? But what’s more, that taste also didn’t leave his mind. The sweetness of Asren’s blood was unlike anything he’d ever tasted. He felt his mouth water at the thought.

“We’re here.” Asren’s voice cut through Virgil’s thoughts.

He looked at the haunting forest ahead. He could already hear the creatures within, as well as a deep hum coming from the depths. The trees were twisty and naked of leaves. Despite the leaves being gone, the forest loomed dark and shadowy. There were clouds covering overhead, seeming to cover the entire expanse of the forest.

“Let's do this…” Virgil said hesitantly.

“I have your back, don’t worry.” Asren consoled him.

“Thanks.” Virgil reached up and patted Asren's shoulder, before stepping forward.

As they walked through the forest, it seemed to get foggier, the eerie chatter of animals growing louder. It was dark, and the sky above the forest shone nothing but perpetual black clouds. Virgil unconsciously moved closer to Asren.

The hum grew louder and louder the further they trekked. Asren could’ve swore they’d passed that rune-covered rock four times already. A single smell became all too apparent. The smell of rotting. That’s when they came across it. The corpse of a large moose-like creature. It was half-decomposed.

“Is it too late to turn back?” Virgil asked.

“I believe so.” Asren replied, his nose wrinkling at the stench.

Virgil nodded his acknowledgement, and they continued along the trail. They passed the same rock a fourth time, and finally Asren stopped walking.

“The path is straight, yet we’re walking in circles.” Asren groaned.

“Why do you say that?” Virgil whined.

“We’ve passed that rock four times now.” Asren pointed to the rock.

Virgil reached for his book of translation, and wrote the runes within it’s pages. A chill ran further down his spine with each word that was revealed. Finally, he spoke the translation.

“To all who follow the path, you’ll find yourselves dead.”

“Well that’s jolly.” Asren commented.

“It’s definitely not jolly!” Virgil exclaimed, trembling.

“Yeah, sarcasm.” Asren spoke sassily.

“So we can’t follow the path.” Virgil muttered, his breath quickening.

“Nope. Well come on now, let’s continue. If we meet that immortal killing creature, I’ll protect you.” Asren took Virgil’s hand and pulled him away from the path.

“Wait, Asren!” Virgil protested.

“Yes?” Asren paused his strides.

“We need to think more about this first!” Virgil’s gaze darted around quickly.

“Yes, but the thing is, how can we plan for something we know nothing about?” Asren queried.

“We can’t…” Virgil’s eyes widened, “We’re going to die here!”

“We might…” Asren said softly, “But I’ll make damn sure we don’t.”

Virgil felt a flicker of warmth in his chest at the protectiveness in Asren’s tone. This whole time, Asren’s been saying how he’ll protect Virgil, yet Virgil didn’t say anything similar in return. He felt guilt weighing on him. He’s never had someone say they’ll protect him before, much less an angel such as Asren.

“I’ll try to protect you too.” Virgil spoke quietly, and Asren almost didn’t hear him.

But he did. Asren paused suddenly, his posture softening. Asren felt a knot form in his throat. He’s never had anyone say something like that to him before. Asren turned to Virgil, a genuine full smile gracing his features as his tail curled.

“That means more than you’ll ever know, my dear Virgil.” Asren murmured.

Virgil returned the smile, feeling proud of himself. He’s never made someone smile like that before. Asren’s smile was so genuine and beautiful. But then it hit him. The forest had gone dead silent.

“Asren… Something’s not right.” Virgil muttered.

Asren’s ears perked, “I believe you’re correct. It’s too quiet.”

“That’s my fault.” Said a voice.