Reno urged Bethany forward and away from their campsite as the sun slipped below the horizon to his left, seeking a respite from the work it had done during the day. Genesis sat next to him on the driver's bench of the cage, his forehead resting on the lantern post he held. The lantern swung from the end of the post, its flame cast a dim and flickering light over the path in front of Bethany's white-tipped nose. Reno held the reigns tightly, his back slumped and his eyes sinking into the soft, dark bags beneath them. Genesis was dozing against the lantern post, his face shadowed and handsome as the dying light of the sun withdrew from his lightly tanned skin. Reno was glad Genesis was nearly asleep, he couldn't stand the humiliating thought of being caught looking at him the way he was. He was still embarrassed over the incident with Kadaj that Genesis had witnessed the night before, but thankfully the handsome red-head had made no derogatory comments to him yet. Reno was pleasantly surprised by Genesis' unbigoted reaction to the position he and Kadaj had been discovered in, but he supposed that maybe he had been too scared to say anything then and now he was too tired to make comments or ask questions. Genesis certainly looked like he was worn out; his bright blue eyes had been dull and bloodshot when they had woken to find the sun setting slowly into sluggish slumber so that the moon could cast her pale luminescence over the landscape it had left parched and dry.

Reno didn't feel quite awake yet either; his eyes were having trouble staying open and his mouth kept forcing out thick yawns laced with exhaustion. Neither of them had slept well during the day and both had woken up with nightmares more than once, yet neither of them cared to discuss the terrifying things their minds had thrust forward. They had agreed to take the night in shifts, Reno letting Genesis sleep first while he lead Bethany down a well-worn path that would lead to a nearby town where they would hopefully find out where they were so that they could figure out where they were going.

Every twig crack made Reno's head snap to the side, his eyes peering into the fathomless darkness for the source, even though most of the sounds came from under Bethany's hooves. Genesis didn't seem to be concerned with the sounds, his head lolling to the side slightly as the cage went over a bump in the path. Reno felt that every sound must mean danger and he had no idea what kind of creatures lurked in the trees around him. He had suspicions, but after all that had happened in the past few weeks his understanding of the word danger had changed. Now he had to fear things that should not exist along with things that should, and he wasn't sure which he was more afraid of. A pack of hungry wolves could strip the flesh off his bones easily, but so could a crazed man wielding a cleaver. His mortality was in danger of being dead and undead; two states he did not want to be placed in.

The map in Reno's hands was useless until he could find a town, and Reno expected the path he was on to lead him to one. So far, however, he had been met with no luck. He thought several times that he was seeing the lights of a nearby town in the distance, and then the firefly flock he had been gazing at flew past the cage. Reno was tired and he wished he could be back home and safe instead of lost and sitting on the cold, uncomfortable seat of the cage.

Genesis had a string of drool dripping from the corner of his lips and Reno watched as it ran down the lantern post, moistening and discoloring the pale, splintery wood. He let Bethany follow the path on her own, too tired to keep his attention focused forwards despite the danger he felt present all around. She was calm and well-rested, unlike her owner. Reno felt that his mind was stretched like the skin of a drum and that if an obscure thought beat too hard against its surface his mind would crack and he would be left broken and useless.

Yazoo looked at Loz, frowning as his favorite clan member sniffed at stale hay. "What in the name of the goddess are you doing? We're supposed to be following them, not rolling through stable scraps."

Loz rolled his eyes and looked at Yazoo; for such a smart vampire Yazoo sure could be dumb sometimes. "I'm picking up the scent of their horse. It'll lead me right to them."

Yazoo pointed at the wheel tracks leading out of the barn. "Or we could follow those."

Loz blinked at the ground and stood; fistfuls of straw dripping from his hands like crisp yellow rain. "Oh, I didn't even notice those."

Yazoo smiled and finished wiping the blood from his hands. "Well that's why I'm here. Let's get going."

Loz nodded and rolled his neck, nostrils flared and filled with the scent of blood. "It was hard to pick up the scent anyways."

"That's because there's so much blood around. These country bumpkins bleed a lot." Yazoo ran wiped-clean gloves through his long hair, letting it sway across his face and neck becomingly. He was gorged on the blood of the townspeople that the grisly butcher no longer protected and his sated thirst left him feeling needy for other pleasures.

"Yeah, they do." Loz licked his lips clean of the blood he had let crust across them. "Master would have loved to be here to feast with us."

"He wanted to spend time with Kadaj." Yazoo pouted, remembering how Kadaj had latched onto the Master only mere moments after being introduced to him.

Loz smiled and ran his finger over Yazoo's high-boned cheek. "You'll get your trinket back once Master is done with him. You know Master needs to be the one to perform the changing ceremonies."

Yazoo sighed forlornly, "I know. I just thought Master would be more pleased with the addition to our clan. Instead he got upset because the wolf escaped."

"We can still redeem that mistake. The night is young still and we have until the goddess' next full unveiling to bring him back to the Master." Loz looked up at the moon through a hole he and Yazoo had made in the top of the barn; the silly townspeople had thought that hiding inside the barn would keep them safe; instead it had simply made it easier for Yazoo and Loz to feast on them. One by one the townspeople had been dragged from the clutch of others through that hole, and one by one Yazoo and Loz had drained their blood filled bodies.

Yazoo smirked softly and ran a gloved hand down Loz's broad chest. "And you'll get a chance to play with your trinkets then too."

"I doubt it. Master will probably kill those two before we ever get back with the wolf and his pet." Loz sighed softly and wiped his straw-dust powdered hand off on his pant leg; he had truly wanted to keep the two opposing vampires he had captured alive. They would have been fun to toy with.

"Don't think that way, Master promised that since you caught them they could be your pets for awhile." Yazoo slid his hands up and down Loz's well-muscled chest, delighting in the smoothness he could feel beneath the fabric, even through his thick leather gloves.

Loz slipped a clean hand through Yazoo's hair, knowing that if he had dared to touch it moments before when it had been covered in straw dust Yazoo would have punched him. "But Master is the one who gets to decide how long 'awhile' lasts."

Yazoo purred softly as Loz's hand brushed his long, slick hair away from his tender neck, tilting his head back. "I'm sure it will last long enough for you to have your fun."

Loz took in the sight of Yazoo's exposed throat with a husky hum, knowing what it was Yazoo craved from him. He wanted to do what Yazoo was silently asking of him, but he knew it would be more fun if he made the other vampire say what he wanted. "It won't last at all if we don't do what we were told to do."

Yazoo stared up at the moon through the hole in the ceiling, eyes half shut and gleaming in the light. "We can do whatever we want tonight. Master isn't here and he did say to do what we wished in the village so long as no one was left alive. He was too busy stroking the coat of his new pet to be more specific."

"Very true." Loz ran a finger down Yazoo's neck, delighting in the way his skin looked when bathed in the purest light of the moon. Each finger-space he traced seemed like a great expanse of luscious silk, soft and smooth and covering something even more precious, like the fine, silk undergarments of a blushing woman on her wedding night.

Yazoo purred and pressed himself to Loz, not bothering to be more discreet with his desire. "I say lots of things that are true."

"And you say lots of things that are lies." Loz pressed his nose to Yazoo's slender neck, inhaling deeply the scent he carried on his luscious skin. He wished to sink his teeth into Yazoo and tear asunder the silk he wore, revealing the crimson red he so loved to pull from pulsing veins.

Yazoo ran his hands over Loz's back, pulling him closer. He felt that his neck was on fire with Loz's hot breath, yet he did not mind if he burned up because of it. "I'm not lying now. I want you to bite me."

Loz did as he was bid and sunk his long canines into Yazoo's tender flesh, delighting at the way it broke easily under the pressure he applied. Hot blood filled his mouth and he pulled it down his throat eagerly, his thirst piqued once more despite the ravenous feeding he had already done that night. Yazoo's blood always made him crave more, even though he knew it was simply the mixed blood of all his victims, it still had a taste to it that made it deliciously Yazoo. The distinct taste might have been caused by the way he ran his tongue over the broken flesh, lapping up the fluid and sealing the wound so he could open it again. Yazoo loved to be bitten and re-bitten, time and time again, and Loz would bite him until he was told to stop so that they could indulge in other activities.

Reno felt his head loll forward, unable to keep it upright anymore. He nudged Genesis with his elbow, voice weak. "Gen, take the reigns."

Genesis snorted awake, sleepily wiping drool from his chin and accepting the reigns Reno pressed into his hands. "W-when did I fall asleep?"

"About five minutes after we got started." Reno was having trouble keeping more than his head upright; he was tilting to the right and was dangerously close to landing his head in Genesis' lap. He hoped Genesis realized that it was because of how tired he was, not because he was interested in something physical; even though he was interested in the physical aspects of Genesis. He was just too tired to want to participate in anything physical, not matter how much he wanted it.

"Thanks for letting me sleep." Genesis yawned and stretched, his spine cracking loudly. The sound made Reno jump slightly, but his head still kept drifting to the right.

"No problem, Gen." Reno yawned and struggled to keep his eyes open as he kept tilting sideways.

Genesis let Reno's head fall into his lap, not concerned in the slightest by the awkwardness of the position that put them in. "Good night, Reno."

Reno muttered unintelligibly, his body falling asleep before his mind could register that it was doing so.

Genesis chuckled sleepily and leaned back, keeping his eyes fixed forward in search of civilization. He supposed that if they traveled in shifts like this they would be able to reach Tseng's clan in less time, but the way his eyelids dragged across the rims of his eyes let him know that he would not be able to handle shift-sleeping and neither would Reno. They would have to continue sleeping in the day and riding at night, but hopefully they would be able to sleep easier come morning. One night without incident would be just what they needed to get his nightmares to stop clawing at his mind. He needed just one night where the moon wrapped him in comforting light and the woods held its secrets back, keeping the horrors it held within out of his sight and reach.

Author's Note: Sorry this took so long to get written. It's getting harder to write now that I work just about every day. It doesn't help that when I DO have time off work, I have chores to do. Oh well. I'll get all my stories caught up eventually.