"It's almost time" Daniel said, "Dusk is almost upon us. The ceremony will begin soon"
"What will you guys do? No one will explain to me" Vlad said from his little black makeshift tent.
The half-breeds and Dracula found themselves on the nearest cliff just west of the nest. Everyone was dressed in black as should be expected as they all said their last goodbyes to their loved ones. The fallen victims each were dressed in an elegant robe, lying around in a circle while holding onto each others hands. In the last sunlight of the day the half-breeds don't turn to dust nor become sunburned as their mourners have already did. Vlad would only peek out momentarily as he watched his people in such a sorrowful state of mind. Daniel had finally decided to stand by the small tent as he had just given his sister one last kiss on her forehead.
"It's kind of hard to explain" Daniel responded.
Vlad nodded, "Some people are missing from the funeral"
"I'm pretty sure you mean my older sister when you said that" Daniel replied with a hint of a smirk on his face.
"I don't know what you're talking about. I didn't ask directly about Olivia. So where are they? Shouldn't they be here? I know your sister wanted to sing a farewell song for the fallen"
"The performers are usually the last ones to have to arrive"
Vlad wanted to press on about the matter but decided to keep his mouth shut. He didn't want to ask about the situation anymore. It almost made him feel horrible for asking about the ceremony when Daniel's sister was laying lifeless right in front of him. The flap of the tent moved back as Daniel revealed that the sun had already set. The ancient one crawled out from his tight space and stood up straight as he felt his legs and back ache for sitting in the small space for almost an hour.
He walked over to the bodies and made his way around the circle as he placed Chrysanthemums in each hand. Over the years he had come to realize that these flowers were the ones he adored the most. They represent compassion, friendship, and joy which he felt is what this clan had given him. Vlad stood over Kayleen, the last body without a flower; he took his time as he closed his eyes, sniffed the Chrysanthemum before carefully folding it into her hands.
Vlad turned and ran his hand through Art's hair, the boy who looked like his son. Art looked up and gave a gentle nod as he bowed his head to cry. The little boy lost his only remaining relative in the battle, his older brother.
"We should give people time to grieve" Vlad said as he approached Daniel, "I don't want people to think that we will resume training after this defeat"
"People don't think this is a defeat"
"Six people died last night"
"And we all would have been killed if it wasn't for you" Daniel responded.
"Perhaps you're right" Vlad said quietly.
"Olivia and the others are coming"
"What's going to happen?"
Daniel remained silent as everyone backed up to let Olivia and two others walk to the front. Vlad noticed that the performers stood in front of the person that they had lost in the battle.
Olivia took off her hood and closed her eyes as one of the performers started to strum a guitar.
I remember tears streaming down your face
When I said, "I'll never let you go"
When all those shadows almost killed your light
I remember you said, "Don't leave me here alone"
But all that's dead and gone and passed tonight
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Don't you dare look out your window, darling,
Everything's on fire
The war outside our door keeps raging on
Hold on to this lullaby
Even when music's gone
Gone
Vlad watched as Art walked over to the bodies with a torch in his hand. The little boy placed it down in the center of the circle, making it quickly light up and take flame. He saw tears in Art's eyes as the fallen victim's slowly started to become consumed in the fire. Vlad heard crying right next to him as Daniel knelt and cried into his own hand. A female, Sandra, made her way through the small crowd and knelt beside him in a comforting matter. Vlad looked over to Olivia who broke her gaze from her sister to look up at Vlad through the fire.
Just close your eyes
The sun is going down
You'll be alright
No one can hurt you now
Come morning light
You and I'll be safe and sound
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
La La (La La)
La La (La La)
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
Oooh, Oooh, Oooh, Oooh
La La (La La)
Just close your eyes
You'll be alright
Come morning light,
You and I'll be safe and sound...
Oooh, oooh, oooh, oooh oh oh.
"May they rest in peace" Vlad said quietly.
Art came over to Dracula as he wiped tears out of his eyes, "What will happen now? There will be a retaliation after this day. The vampires will try to come back. They always do"
"We will discuss this later. Right now, it is okay to grieve"
"I don't want to grieve anymore" Art shook his head, "I want to get back out there and fight. I want to kill whatever is left of those vampires"
"We will" Dracula promised.
"Before they attack us again?" Art questioned.
"Leave that all up to me. I don't want anyone fighting with rage in their hearts"
"Why not?" Art made a face, "We can easily take them. We'll want to be more aggressive after what happened in our home"
"You've spoke like a true warrior... but rage can easily blind your senses from being blood thirsty" Dracula told him.
"Then why are we waiting around?" Art demanded, "We need to go now"
"Art, please" Vlad stood up straighter, "If you ask one more time to invade the vampires den then I will send you to the refugee home where the rest of the clan is"
Vlad watched as Art ran off back over to the house, "Don't pay attention to him"
"And you agree with him?" Vlad turned to Olivia.
"I did" Olivia looked back over to the burning bodies, "The first time. When my father died, I was destroyed. I didn't have a body to hold and the skeleton crushed beneath my hands. I wanted so much to go after them and destroy them. I wanted to make them feel the pain that I was feeling back then"
"But your siblings kept you sane" Vlad took a step closer to her, "Just like how Daniel should keep you sane now"
"And he will" Olivia folded her arms over her chest, "And what would happen if he dies? I would be the only one left"
"You have this clan and you have me" Vlad mentioned, "You can't think that family only lies within blood. You formed this clan out of fear but remained together nonetheless"
"I know"
"You should come back to the nest" Vlad nodded down the trail, "Get a cup of warm blood and relax"
"I feel like I can't breathe" Olivia sniffed as she shuddered, "I feel like I'm right there dying right beside her"
Olivia cried out as she fell to the ground and started to cry. Vlad knelt next to her and leaned her body onto his. Under his grasp, he could feel her skin was almost as soft as a humans but her strength matched a vampires. Olivia crawled onto his lap and jammed her head into the crook of his neck as he felt tears streaming down his back. Vlad held her closer to his body as he picked her up and started to walk her through the darkness.
"Just keep crying, it's alright" Vlad whispered into her hair.
"Thank you" Olivia hugged his neck tighter, "Don't leave me here alone"