Vampire Nightlife

Lukas wanted to laugh.

His body was no longer injured enough so it wouldn\'t hurt, but that didn\'t make things any less painful as he saw the ongoing fight beyond him.

They were outclassed.

They might have outnumbered the Dryad, but she was in her natural habitat.

The signs of struggle were obvious, the only fortunate thing out of this situation was the fact that the Dryad was unused to using her powers.

It seemed to be the first time that she actually stepped out to fight, but she was gradually getting used to it.

Theodore went to pick him up, but Lukas waved off a hand.

"You should get them away from here first, I\'m okay." Lukas said.

"That\'s almost exactly the same thing that your girlfriend said word for word." Theodore grunted and hoisted him up. "And I\'m sure Lily wants you back in one piece. So stop struggling."

"Alright," Lukas said, uneasily accepting the assassin\'s help. "But there\'s one thing that I\'ve been waiting for…"

"We don\'t have the luxury of time at this point." Theodore hissed.

Lukas glanced behind him and into the thick veil of mists, tensing and knowing that it wasn\'t actually a fool proof plan.

But if there was anything that could save them now–

The sounds of footsteps picked up in the air, and Theodore cursed and started to leave. His footsteps coalesced with the shadows of the night.

However, they soon arrived in numbers.

The great warriors of Cervus\' tribe arrived wielding weapons and at the forefront of them was none other than Cervus himself.

The self-proclaimed Great Leader of the Forest\'s view temporarily shifted to the two Vampires, but then his eyes set on the Dryad from afar.

"What is this–?!" Theodore darted and wove within the trees, not understanding how they were tracked within the large forest.

"Uh, possibly all the wreckage made them come here." Lukas pointed out.

He saw the shimmer and glimmer of a freed figure, as Rhea instantly flew towards the two.

"I\'ve woken him up from his sleep as you liked, but are you sure that they\'ll work with you and not… Well, kill you?" Rhea said.

\'That should have been your job too.\' Lukas made a face at the Dream Eater, but their squabbling would be too late.

***

Cervus, the demihuman, stared at the ongoing fight between his long sworn nemesis, Ursa and the Heart of the Forest itself.

If he stayed in place one moment longer, maybe if he stalled a minute more?

That would have ended all his problems, no bloodshed necessary on his part–the Heart of the Veil Forest itself would intercede for all his grief and suffering.

Cervus didn\'t actually need to come here.

Oh, he wanted to see things for himself and ascertain that his dreams were not simply fabricated from his mind.

But he hadn\'t really needed to bring his men–

"Great Leader, what shall we do? Our archers can strike them from afar this very instant."

"Hold your fire."

"But that monster–"

"Cease your mouth from saying more insults, unless you wish to face the wrath of the Heart of the Forest itself."

"I mean, Ursa–Great Leader."

"Oh."

Cervus stared at the bear demihuman. She was a wild beast, her ferocious attacks swiped left and right and actually damaged the Dryad–though the tree spirit simply regrew its broken parts.

One of the Vampires, Chaerin, was fighting by her side and also attacking the Dryad.

That was enough reason to declare the Vampires as a treasonous bunch.

Especially with how Chaerin reminded him that the world was simply a cycle.

The birds ate worms, and the worms ate the bird in turn.

He had laughed back then, but he truly did not believe in it. Everything that he did now was against the idea that someone like Ursa was the suitable leader for the forest and subjected everyone to simply do as she wished.

Blood boiled within him, and yet there was something that struck him now.

"She could have ordered someone else to fight off the Heart, but instead, she\'s the one who stands before it." Cervus murmured.

"Great Leader–"

"Loose your arrows and get the Heart\'s attention!"

***

The arrows rained down and Theodore didn\'t know if he could dodge them while carrying Lukas.

Lukas himself simply stared at the arrows in awe and wondered if he could stop them with just the power of his mind–maybe grab them mid-air if that wasn\'t possible.

Rhea stirred in the air, and while physically impossible to hit–she panicked and tried to cover Lukas\' head with her hands.

The two shared an awkward look at the moment.

Both knew what she was and wasn\'t capable of, and protection from arrows wasn\'t one of them.

Fortunately for the trio, the arrows flew past them.

Chaerin clung as much as she could on the Dryad\'s back while trying to move around.

Every now and then, Chaerin dug the blade deeper, and ignored the deep gash across her shoulders.

The Dryad had tried to impale her, and she narrowly avoided her fate.

It still tried to attack her, but its attention was mostly on Ursa.

Chaerin was dizzy, but she concentrated on latching to the creature–until several arrows embedded itself on the Dryad\'s back.

The attack was measly and most of the arrows actually bounced off, but it annoyed the Dryad enough to turn to where the attacks came from.

Ursa was flung backwards and crashed into the ground.

Chaerin took it as the chance to check on Lukas and nearly slipped when she saw Cervus\' and his men right behind them.

The escalation wasn\'t going to work well.

Chaerin knew that it was time to run.

If the Dryad and Cervus\' men fought together… would there be a chance to save the village? Could they be evacuated on time or would it be a hopeless endeavor?

They couldn\'t just leave the Veil Forest though, there were too many of them.

What would her parents have done?