The sequel to guestsurprise's story "The Vladats Unmasked". Salwa, Tyina, and Vamps belong to guestsurprise. Ben 10 belongs to Cartoon Network and Man of Action. I only own Sasha and Vampiro.

Having Loving Family Members Who'll Always Care

Salwa sighed sadly as she flew through the cold air, not really minding that it was so cold. "No matter what I do, someone gets hurt," she said. "I just hurt my sister-in-law. I'm really a…,"

"Finish that sentence and I'll tickle you until your next birthday," said a familiar voice and Salwa stopped flying and began gently flapping her wings to stay in the air and saw her father levitating in front of her. "Salwa, what are you doing out here without a coat?" He asked as he removed his jacket and placed it around her.

Salwa hung her head and Vampiro instantly knew that meant something had happened. "Salwa, what happened, my little one?" He asked her.

"I hurt Sasha," she whimpered. "I was bringing in some soup and I tripped and…,"

Vampiro instantly pulled her into his arms. "Sweetie, it was an accident," he said.

"Salwa!" They heard Sasha calling out.

Salwa glanced at her father as the elder Vladat gently guided her to where Sasha was. "There you are," Sasha said, grabbing the young girl in a hug. "You scared me half to death when you left."

"Why were you looking for me? I told you I was alright," Salwa said.

"Salwa, you were injured," the older woman said gently. "Plus, you're my little sister. Why wouldn't I go looking for you?"

The young girl looked down and Sasha shook her head. "Salwa, you don't have to prove you're strong, because we see it inside you," she said.

"She's right, little one," Vampiro said. "You're already a strong girl, Salwa. But depending on others sometimes doesn't make you any less stronger than you are."

Salwa looked up at her father and Sasha in confusion and Sasha smiled. "It makes you stronger," she said gently before noticing the burns on Salwa's arms weren't fully recovered yet. "Come on, let's get home. It's too cold out here and I still need to help you with those burns."

The young girl suddenly felt overwhelmed and tears began falling down her face. Vampiro gently lifted his daughter into his arms and followed Sasha back to the Grant Mansion. While he and Salwa were warming up in the living room, Sasha began tending to the burns on the young girl's arms with Wildvine's healing salve.

Salwa then looked up at her father. "Daddy, I saw Whampire and Vamps didn't have their masks on," she said.

He smiled, understanding her confusion. "A Vladat's mask is removable, but only a Vladat can remove it," he explained as he took off his own mask to demonstrate. "Our masks are a part of our faces, which is why if someone else pulls on the mask part, it hurts."

"Do you remove the mask because it gets uncomfortable?"

"That's one reason," said Vampiro. "Sometimes, a Vladat will remove the mask to become closer to their mate."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, your brothers scared your cousin, Tyina, by accident when she saw them without their masks, as without the mask, we can look a bit frightening."

Salwa tilted her head to the side. "But, I'm not scared because you removed your mask, Dad," she pointed out.

"True, but that's because you just saw me remove it now," he explained. "Tyina didn't see Whampire and Vamps remove their masks, so she was quite startled when she saw them and didn't recognize them right away."

Sasha stood up as she smiled. "Okay, now that that's taken care of, your brothers wanted to see you," she said.

"They did?" Salwa asked in surprise, letting out a squeak when her father playfully scooped her up and grabbed Sasha too and flew upstairs with the two in his arms.

Whampire looked up. "There they are," he said.

Vamps was playfully wrestling with Tyina and playfully tickling her, making her giggle and making it easier for him to pin her and keep tickling her. "Uncle Vamps, you're cheating!" She giggled out.

He grinned hugely. "Am I?" He asked teasingly as he tickled her sides and she giggled louder before he began blowing playful raspberries into her neck, which made her laughter explode out of her.

Vampiro winked at Whampire. "How are your catching skills, son?" He asked with a sly smile.

Whampire instantly caught on. "Right on, Father," he said.

Salwa let out a yelp as Vampiro began gently swinging her back and forth in his arm for a couple seconds before very gently tossing her and Whampire, who came closer, caught his little sister in his arms. "Gotcha!" He said, smiling as he gave her a brotherly nuzzle on her cheek and she giggled.

Tyina managed to get away from Vamps and pounced on Whampire, who caught her in his free arm and chuckled heartily. "Father, I seem to have my arms full here," he said with a smile.

Chuckling, Vampiro gently handed Sasha to Vamps and came up to Whampire, who handed Tyina over to him. Salwa suddenly began tickling Whampire and he burst out laughing. "Hey!" He said playfully.

"Tickle war!" Sasha declared, tickling Vamps, who jumped in surprise and began laughing so hard that he fell to the floor with Sasha mercilessly tickling him.

Tyina looked at Vampiro and poked his sides, making him give her a look. "I'm a pro at tickle wars," he said to her.

She grinned. "So join in!" She said gleefully and began tickling his sides more, making him chuckle before she got to his underarms and he burst into laughter.

For a good couple of hours, the tickle war went on, with the three humans and three Vladats tickling each other to pieces until Salwa lost her strength first and Vamps caught her before she fell off the bed, letting her snuggle into his side. Whampire held Sasha as he saw her also lose strength and stood up, carrying her over to the bed and laying down with her laying on his chest. Vampiro joined them with a tired Tyina resting her head on his shoulder. The older Vladat sighed. "I'm not as young as I used to be," he joked.

Salwa laughed. "You're not old, Dad," she said, making him chuckle and ruffle her hair affectionately.

Sasha sighed. "Oh, I wouldn't trade all this for anything in the world," she said.

Whampire smiled at her lovingly. "Neither would I," he said.

"Because having loving family members who always care is best, right?" Tyina asked.

"Absolutely," said Vamps.

Salwa wordlessly hugged her brothers, sister-in-law, cousin, and her father, silently agreeing with a smile.

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GoldGuardian2418