Hello all! Yes, it's been a bit over a year since I lasted updated. Apologies. It's been bothering me throughout this year that this story, which I've had half-planned out, simply wasn't complete by the time grad school started. With holiday break, however, I've re-read the story, re-read the manga (speediness) and am determined to complete this story before Spring semester starts. It would help if I could remember my plan/read my half-written notes to explain all the complex steps though…

In any case, enjoy!

We were ready to leave the next day. There were shadows under my eyes – a common feature these past few weeks – and I was all but dragging myself out of my refuge of a room. I couldn't quite call it 'home', not now, maybe not ever. With all the blood and memories spilt here, I suspect Vampire Mountain would always be more of a haunted house for me.

So was I excited to leave on this journey?

Eh, it was mixed.

I would be roaming who knows where with Harkat, Vancha, and Mr. Crepsley. The latter made me uncomfortable. Guilt swarmed me every time I thought of him. We hadn't exactly talked much. While it seemed that no one, friend or acquaintance, faulted me for the death of several, they weren't the ones who had lost a loved one. Yes, a loved one…there was no way Mr. Crepsley would have and would still be carrying on for Arra Sails if he hadn't still loved her.

His sobs echoed in my ears at the worst of times, usually right when I was about to fall asleep.

How could Crepsley not be reminded of that, of Kurda, when he looked at me?

It was painfully clear of my conflicting guilt to anyone who looked. Gavner, however, was the one who seemed determined to knock some sense into me before the long journey started. At the dining hall, he and Seba shared a look before asking me to walk him through the Halls. I agreed. I wondered with a hint of bitterness what he might say in this private speech.

As we walked, he talked about nothing of great importance at first. It wasn't until we reached the end of an unknown hall – alright, I forgot the name – did he get serious. "Have I ever told you how I met Crepsley?"

I glanced up, blue eyes dim. "No." Where was he going with this?

Gavner's walk had slowed a bit, his gaze traveling lazily throughout the hall. "He found me." He stated simply. "He raised me, in fact."

My eyes widened as I stared up at him. "He…raised you?" Gavner was a bit over a hundred, maybe, and Crepsley was…what, two hundred? It…fit the age timeline at least. The actuality of it, however, was difficult to imagine.

"Well, for a while. Then he met Alicia and I was practically her adopted son." He chuckled at the memory. I inwardly repeated the name, willing it to memory – Alicia. "That's another story for…another time." We accidently shared a glance. If there was a next time, we both seemed to think. "And, really, that's Larten's story more than mine."

"Why? Did he raise you, I mean, why? He doesn't seem the type and I doubt you were threatening to reveal his existence." Not like me, I thought.

Gavner looked ahead as he walked one sluggish step at a time. "No, no, I didin't…in fact, at the time, I was no more than a mere babe." He paused, deciding on his words. "He took care of me out of a sense of duty."

My eyes widened further as I stopped in the middle of the hall. "Wait, are you saying he's your father?!" Whatever happened to vampires not being able to have children?

Purl barked a great, rough laugh. It startled me at first, but it ended shortly. "Never! Though I thought and wanted him to be for the longest time…no, Sam, you see…" he hesitated and turned to look at me. He was trying to decide which part was his story to tell and which wasn't, I realized. "There was an accident…my parents died…by his hand." My jaw dropped. "It wasn't…his fault, entirely. But he saw a crying infant and took me under his wing. He raised me but never let me get close…Larten's the type to self-punish."

Arra's words echoed faintly in the back of my head. Protect Larten from himself…

"When I was older, I…mingled with the wrong person. He turned me, but…he wasn't as honorable as a vampire should be. When Larten saved me from him, from making a mistake of my own, he came clean. He told me of the incident on the ship that day. Then he offered to let me kill him – to pass judgement." His eyes were distant, his mind far away in the past.

Clearly he hadn't, but it didn't stop me from asking with rapt attention, "What happened next?"

The vampire's gaze shifted, focused, and landed on me. "I stayed with him for a while…as his assistant."

My lips parted in surprise. A few moments passed before I cleared my throat. "I don't think you told me this condensed story just to improve our kinship." I pointed out, a bit of my humor back.

Purl chuckled, eyes light. He was glad to hear my sarcasm once more. "Aye, I didn't." He paused briefly before going on, "Larten is fair and honorable. And at a point when I had…every right to end his life…I didn't. What I'm trying to say, Sam, is that he had a hand in something horrible and it turned out okay. You weren't the one who let the Vampaneze in."

The message was received loud and clear: if Purl could forgive Crepsley's dark accident or mistake, I had nothing to be so guilty about. After all, all I did was show up too late…alright, so the message was received but it was still hard to grasp. I nodded and looked away, unsure how to react.

There was a distinct difference between active and passive behavior. Larten's accident – which I was stunned to hear about – was active. Mine was passive. In both cases, according to Purl, they were accidental…so why should my guilt be any less?

A heavy sigh and an even heavier hand fell on my shoulder, forcing my attention up. Gavner's gaze was soft and sympathetic. "Take care of yourself, won't you?" He had tried at least. I nodded, grateful for that.

As we started to walk back towards the group, I murmured softly, "I owe you and Harkat my life after these few months. I'm not sure I can ever repay you both."

Gavner glanced at me from the corner of his eye. I could see the group not too far ahead. "Wanna pay me back? Work on forgiving yourself, Sam." There was no room for joking in his tone.

Reluctantly, I nodded. I would try. As we got to the group, we said our last words. There were no farewells though, just mentions of plans and such for the future. It was all future tense. To a group that could live forever, why say goodbye? But to a group who had the threat of extinction over them…no pressure, right?

As we started away, Gavner called out, "See you soon…my lady!"

I managed to shoot him a genuine glare which provoked a roar of a laugh from the man.

Next chapter: Adventures with the gang. Sam FINALLY confronts Crepsley and gets the hell over the guilt. Might even see the 'second chance' of the five Tiny had mentioned.

Note: I would also like to point out something as an afterthought. As I re-read this story, I noticed several different…writing styles. Aspects. Parts. You know. I would like to remind you, Reader, that I wrote these chapters in bursts at very distinct and different points of time; this includes in my life, in my understanding/imagination of the series, and in my writing style.