Chapter 2

"His blood was delicious..." Stefan hissed with a sinister chuckle.

"...despite the fact that he was so scrawny," Vladimir grinned. Their quick "snack" had lifted their sullen mood, if only for a short moment.

As motionless as statues, they stood together in the forest. A tranquil silence surrounded them.

"Do you want to steal another car, Vladimir?"

"Actually, I would rather travel by foot."

"Of course." Stefan agreed with Vladimir's suggestion. Driving could be bothersome, especially when vampires were forced to comply to the agonizing slow pace of humans. Sometimes it was better to break old habits than to abide by the rules of humans.

They set off once again, deep into the forest. The sky was black, lit only by a sliver of the moon and the stars above. Their slender figures barely skimmed the thin layer of snow on the ground as they darted past towering trees. They wove through the forest as they avoided each obstacle with effortless grace. It seemed as though the two bodies were composed of one being. Their communication was wordless, yet undeniable. Neither of the bodies led the other as they headed toward the same destination, on the same path.

As they tore across the snow-covered land, Stefan and Vladimir glanced at the night sky every so often. It was a beautiful winter sky, and for a moment the stars were able to calm their troubled spectators. Star gazing was one of Vladimir's and Stefan's many hobbies. They found it somehow rewarding to quench their strange curiosities by observing all that could be observed. No matter how many millennia they've lived through or however many they would live through, they could always find things to pique their interest. The world was constantly changing, so there were always new and exciting things to see. Although some people would call their hobbies nosy, Vladimir and Stefan could not help themselves. To them, everything was so intriguing.

However, the stars were not able to distract them from their concerns for long.

Maintaining their incredible speed, Stefan suddenly, yet still hesitantly, spoke the words that both he and Vladimir were thinking. "I'm still a bit thirsty."

Vladimir grimaced in agreement. "Maybe he really was too scrawny...," he managed to joke, but the attempt was tepid. The truth was that it would have been better if they had each had one human to feed on, rather than sharing one. Of course sharing was not an inconvenience; in fact, sharing was a habitual thing for them. "No matter. We're patient and dignified gentlemen."

"So we can wait until we get back." Stefan did not want to say that they were going "home". Neither Stefan nor Vladimir wanted to think of their temporary "lodgings" as home. Their "home", if they ever had one, had been burned down a long time ago.

Once again, they ran in silence as the wind whipped against them. They were not silent because they didn't want to talk to each other. Their thoughts were nearly always the same, so there was usually no need to speak of them. Having similar minds was something that was bound to happen after being around each other after so many years.

In the silence, their minds ran through the constellations they spotted in the sky above the dense forest. Canis Major and Orion... Taurus... Aries... Perseus...Gemini...

---

They ran for hours. In forests they took long glances at the sky, looking at the familiar constellations over and over again. Canis Major and Orion... Taurus...

They passed state after state, running through forests and streets and towns. They went unnoticed by any humans; it was late at night, and even if they were running past a bustling city where humans weren't sleeping, it was too dark to see the figures that could tear through a city in only seconds.

Long before the sun was ready to rise, Vladimir and Stefan had almost reached their destination. Slowing to a pace that would still be considered enormously fast for a human, they glided through the quiet woods of northern Vermont. A light shower of snow drifted to the already white forest floor. Trees here had lost their leaves and were covered by fresh snow. In the moonlight, the snow on the tree branches shimmered in a way that could only be described as stunning. At the moment, the two curious vampires found the shining tree branches to be a lot more fascinating than the constellations in the sky.

But they could not stare for long. They approached their destination; a lodge a little ways off a quiet hiking trail. They could not help but feel comforted at the sight of the tiny structure. Even if it wasn't "home", it was a place to rest their weary minds. Their running speed reduced to zero in a split second, and they abruptly stopped at the front porch. Once they walked across the porch and opened the welcoming unlocked door, they heaved synchronous sighs of relief.