Astrid was tossed backwards, rolling on the rooftop. Her body hit Charlotte's legs and the newborn fell with her, their bodies tangled. The cloaked figures stayed close to each other, hoods pushed back to expose their faces. Astrid took in their appearances, gauging who would be the most difficult to deal with.
"Oh look, the savages were spying." A beautiful dark haired woman said, cocking her head and batting her red eyes.
"That's not very nice." The shorter one, who had strawberry blonde hair, stated, shaking a finger in their direction.
The man stayed between them, face set in stone and watching intently. His eyes drifted from Charlotte to Astrid, his nostrils flaring as he tried to smell her. Astrid already made her decision.
"Find the others." Astrid told Charlotte, standing straight. Charlotte gaped, shaking her head, but with one look from Astrid, she nodded gravely before leaping off the building.
"Think you can beat us, cherry?" The man snickered, cracking his knuckles, an unnecessary action. He took a threatening step forward.
The women stayed back as the man rushed Astrid. She leaped to the side, grabbing his cloak and dragging him with her. She yanked him to the ground and quickly mounted him, fingers poised to cut his throat. The strawberry blonde darted forward to kick Astrid in the side, sending her flying to the next building top. She barely had time to stand before the trio surrounded her, eyes focused. Astrid dodged the man as he once again attacked, striking fast with his fists. She ducked each hit falling back before she was directly in front of the women. She jumped up and twisted her body as she fell behind the man, grabbing him by his neck and twisting. He cracked but before she could fully rip his head off the strawberry blonde returned.
She yanked Astrid forward and she had no choice but to let go before the blonde ripped her own head off. Astrid fell back, keeping her hands up as the three tactfully followed her. They were trained in fighting, more experienced than the newborns in the wars.
"Just tell us where the others are," The dark haired suggested, grinning happily. "If Aro hears of your compliance you will have a home in Volterra."
Astrid cocked her head but said nothing. She had no idea of who Aro or Volterra were but judging from their cloaks, they ran a situation similar to Maria. She wanted nothing to do with that.
The strawberry blonde sighed and pointed at Astrid, "She's not going to talk. Let me."
Astrid stared blankly at her, waiting for her attack, yet she stayed in her position. Slowly, her smile grew and before Astrid knew it, she was smiling with the woman. Her body felt warm and she thought the world would be perfect with them. She could have an actual home, have a leader who would care for her and give her everything she needed, but all she needed to do was say one little thing. If she spoke all of this would be over and she would be so happy and taken care of. Why was she fighting them again?
"There we go! My name is Corin, what's yours?" The strawberry blonde asked, beaming.
"Astrid." She found herself replying. The world was tinged pink, it looked so beautiful. She felt like she was in a bubble bath, so warm and content.
"We don't want to hurt you, we just want to know where your camp is. Let us end this senseless battle." Corin cooed.
The dark haired vampire stepped forward, "Who's in charge?"
In charge? Major's face flashed in her mind, so cruelly beautiful. Astrid blinked and the pink had disappeared. She gazed at Corin and her fellows, wondering what gift she had to make Astrid feel so bubbly and open. She didn't want to stay to find out; if she fell under the spell again surely she would tell them where the camp was and Major would be in danger along with Peter and Charlotte, the others that she had actually came to like. She couldn't let that happen.
Astrid stepped back and fell off the building. She didn't get very far as the man leaped in front of her, grabbing her by the throat and holding her still. Corin and the other appeared, snarling.
"I see. You wish to do this the hard way," The woman took charge, peering up at Astrid. She snarled and kicked at her, pleased when she made her stumble back. "Fucking animal! Just rip her head off and we'll find the other one."
Astrid couldn't let that happen. She'd told Charlotte to go so that they would be too focused on Astrid to follow her scent, but if they killed Astrid now, they would retrace their steps. She didn't think Charlotte was in the right mind to take alternate routes to make it confusing, she probably went straight to wherever Peter was.
Astrid snarled and raised her hands, ripping the man's wrist off. He yelled and kicked her, sending her flying into the side of the building. She pushed herself up and ran at them, using her full speed. She grabbed the dark haired woman by the arm and spun her, yanking her arm off and sending it flying. Corin snarled and lunged, managing to wrap her arms around Astrid's torso. Astrid was used to this tactic and pushed herself into a front flip, landing on Corin when they fell. She easily slipped from her grasp and slammed her fist into Corin's face, not stopping until it was crumbled and would take a while to heal.
The man yanked Astrid by the hair and once again held her up, ignoring her screeches and clawed fingers at his last hand. She pushed her legs up and wrapped them around his arm, shaking herself to get free. He hit her with his hand-less arm, the hits feeling like boulders being slammed against her spine.
"You play dirty! I like it!" He laughed, not letting Astrid's attacks bring him down.
Astrid hissed and decided that she didn't care if she got a bald spot. She swung back and pushed forward, kicking the man square in the chest. He flew back, taking Astrid with him, but caught himself. She felt her hair roots ripping and with one last twist, she fell out of his grasp. She looked over her shoulder to see him standing with a clump of red hair in his fist. He dropped the follicles and turned to her, eyes red and bright with anger.
She didn't stay long. Astrid raced forward, hearing him close behind. She didn't dare leap onto a roof knowing that it would slow her down and he would be on her in no time. She turned towards the tree line of the town; she was better when she could hide in a tree branch and let her attackers run straight, not realizing she was gone.
"Don't think you can hide, cherry! My gift is to track, once I get your scent you are forever mine!" He cackled.
She snarled in annoyance. Astrid made it to the trees and didn't stop, letting him follow for a while. She probably ran over one hundred miles, leading him further from the town and camp. He didn't show signs of stopping anytime soon so she turned East and headed straight. He was on her tail. The sun was beginning to rise. They had been running for hours now.
Finally, she felt she was ahead enough for him to not see her. She leapt up and grabbed a branch, easily climbing to the top of a fifty foot tree. The weather in this forest was cold, it had began to snow and was sticking to the ground. She could see her footsteps and cursed herself for not realizing it. She could only hope that the tracker would be in such a rage he wouldn't think to look. She was betting on his confidence in his gift to keep him running at this point.
She heard him coming and held tight with nerves. She watched him run - and he kept running. She smiled when he left her hearing and took a break on the tree, resting her head back and closing her eyes. She strained her ears to hear if he came back but it seemed he was too confident in himself and thought she was still running. She decided to head back to camp before he turned back around.
Astrid didn't dare return to the town. She wondered if Charlotte had found Peter and if he had the right mind to stay far away from where they were. She assumed they would've headed back to camp in case there were more lurking around to catch them. She thought of his tracking ability and wondered if he had caught a sniff of Charlotte. How powerful was he actually? He had been a strong opponent, knew how to use his strength, but that didn't worry her. She was worried that he would bring more with him if he did find the camp.
It was broad daylight by the time Astrid made it back to Texas. She was tired and starved and decided to bunker somewhere for the day. She found a small town and entered a house through the window, pleased when it was an elderly couple. She was quick to drink, humming as her body was nourished. Once done she left the bodies in the living room and took to sitting in their bedroom, staring out the window and waiting for night.