"Wheres Darren?" asked the girl bravely as she approached the Vampaneze. Rose rolled her eyes at the sight of the Rebecca. What did she think she had done with him? Eaten him?
"Crepsleys taken him somewhere," she replied vaguely, "Vampire business I guess." The girl opposite her just nodded, making no attempt to further the conversation. At last, growing tired of the awkward silence between them, Rose spoke.
"So, what are you doing here?" She asked boldly, referring to the fact that she was not obviously a freak. It was a moment or two before Rebecca realised what she meant.
"Oh," she said, unravelling something behind her back. Suddenly a long, slender tail crept over her shoulder and swished in the air. Rose stared at it in amazement, her eyes widening to take in the strange sight.
"I keep it hidden," said Rebecca, "it gets in the way mostly." The tail hung dejectedly in the air in a sad loop.
"Cool," said Rose at last, "that must come in really handy."
Rebecca's face brightened a little and her tail began to swish again before falling to the floor.
"I, um, I haven't mentioned this to Darren yet though," she half whispered as though he could hear her.
"So I'd appreciate it if you didn't, um, tell him or anything." Rose stared at the girl, baffled. So the two weren't as close friends as she'd initially thought.
"Sure, I guess," she promised, still perplexed.
"Thanks," breathed Rebecca with relief, sitting down and gesturing for Rose to do the same. Rose wasn't entirely sure she wanted to sit and presumably spend the remainder of her evening with the monkey girl in either uncomfortable silence or through a series of awkward questions but she decided it was better than the alternative. Her tent was nice, but there wasn't much to do in there besides sleep. She sat opposite the girl and her eyes wandered back to her tail.
"Please don't stare," said Rebecca uncomfortably, tucking it behind her. Rose averted her gaze accordingly, waiting for the girl to finish bandaging it back beneath her skirt.
"So you knew Darren," she said brightly, changing the subject. Rose fiddled with the hem of her sleeve and nodded. How much had Darren said? Back in high school, she'd been a quiet nobody with no friends and barely any acquaintances. Her new life as a Vampaneze was meant to erase all those memories, giving her a chance to be who she really was. She hoped Darren hadn't spoilt her opportunity by revealing her pathetic past. She decided to reinvent herself a little.
"Not really, we were only in the same class. Most of my friends were at another school," she bragged, hoping Rebecca believed her.
"Oh right," said the girl, "you must miss them though." She threw Rose a sympathetic glance only to look quickly away when Rose ignored her.
"No way," she scoffed, "I don't miss them at all. I prefer my own company. I don't need him around me all the time. Idiot..." she muttered, furiously decapitating the heads of daisies from their stems.
"Him?" asked Rebecca before immediately wishing she hadn't. Rose's faced paled a little as she realised her mistake.
"My... one of my old friends," she replied, feigning disinterest, "Leopard." Rose half smiled at the sound of Steve's school nick name. Rebecca, who had heard Darren mention his friend's sobriquet many times instantly made the connection.
"Not... Steve Leonard?" she mused. Rose's head snapped up at the mention of his name said aloud.
"You know him?" she asked quickly. Annoyingly, Rebecca just shrugged.
"Old friend of Darrens'," she said carefully watching Rose's reaction.
"Oh, of course," muttered Rose, annoyed at herself for thinking otherwise. She glared at the ground for several minutes, furious with herself.
"Were you two close?" asked Rebecca quietly. Rose covered her mouth with her fist to stop herself snapping at Rebecca. She knew the girl was only being sympathetic. Usually her concerned tone of voice would have made Rose even madder but suddenly something inside her broke. Why did she feel the need to lash out at those trying to be kind to her? Rose looked up at the monkey-girl and tried to smile. She knew she was only being polite.
"Yeah," she half whispered, her tone soft and unhappy.
"Well, I bet he misses you too," said Rebecca.
"Unlikely," said Rose in a dismissive voice. Rebecca had no idea, but Rose knew Steve probably hated her right now. Suddenly Rebecca stood up, indicating by her watch that it was getting late. Rose shook her head when asked if she wanted to come back to Erva's tent before bed, preferring to be alone with her thoughts. Rebecca looked over her shoulder sadly at the lone figure in the grass. Rose looked so unhappy and yet it was clear she didn't want to talk about her past. Despite the fact that she was still grieving over her lost friends, or friend, Rebecca could plainly see that she was happy with her choice of becoming a Vampaneze. Everything about the girl suggested she was proud of her new identity.
Back in Erva's tent, the snake-boy was joined by his best friend at the Cirque, Darren. Rebecca smiled in their direction before sinking into one of the bean bags opposite them, still thinking about Rose.
"Hey Becky, where've you been?" said Darren, his mouth full of jelly beans. A bag of one of the Cirque's products was split open on the bed between him and Erva and only a few remained.
"Talking to Rose," she replied ambiguously. The boy's mouths fell open in response, allowing a few jelly beans to escape.
"Rose?" Said Darren in surprise. He then to face Erva accusingly, "You let her wander off with Rose?"
"Hey, he didn't let me wander off," said Rebecca in protest before Erva had a chance to swallow his sweets, "I went over to talk to her. She seemed upset. What's the big deal?"
"She's dangerous Becky, you can't just go off with her, something could have happened!" Rebecca stared at the boy in confusion.
"Wait a minute, you didn't mention this before. You said she was quiet and shy! Why is she so dangerous all of a sudden?" Darren got up and shut the tent's canvas door, checking no one was listening in before returned to the huddle. He beckoned them to lean in closer theatrically before taking a deep breath and continuing.
"Mr Crepsley told me this afternoon," he began, "not to trust her. Its possible she could be in league with the Vampaneze and therefore a danger to Vampires and freaks." Erva leaned backwards and gasped but Rebecca quickly told him to shut up.
"He also told me that she feeds more regularly than most and she might not be able to contain herself if she gets hungry quickly. Thats why he's not too happy about her staying here. She's a threat at mealtimes! Crepsley's got her drinking out of his personal supply for now though," he finished.
"Oh yeah," cut in Erva, "I had to fetch his blood vials the night she arrived. It was disgusting."
"Why can't she just hunt like Mr Crepsley?" asked Rebecca, perplexed.
"Vampaneze don't hunt like Vampires," explained Darren in a low voice, "they kill their prey." Both Erva and Rebecca sat back at his last comment, their hands simultaneously flying to their throats subconsciously. Rebecca was the first to recover and reached over to push Darren off the edge of Erva's bed.
"Leave her alone you," she scoffed, "Rose is fine. She just misses her friend, thats all."
"She's got a friend?" said Erva incredulously, earning an indignant look from Rebecca and a smirk from Darren.
"Yes, she has friends," snapped Rebecca throwing a forgotten jelly bean at Erva. She turned to Darren who instantly wiped the smile off his face and tried to look sympathetic.
"She knew your friend, Steve." This remark earned a reproachful look from the boy.
"My Steve?" he said in disbelief.
"Oh, I don't think he was yours," said Rebecca meaningfully but Darren just shook his head.
"No, we're best mates, he would have told me." Rebecca shrugged and moved towards the exit in the split canvas. Outside the stars were beginning to appear in the darkening sky and threads of grey clouds covered a gibbous moon above the Cirque.
"Just don't be so quick to judge her, Darren," said Rebecca as she ducked out of the tent, "night boys." She called from outside.
As she crossed the vacant yard to her tent, Rebecca spotted some movement out of the corner of her eye. It was Rose, finally moving from her spot in the grass to go to bed. Paying heed to Darren's earlier words of warning, she decided it was better safe than sorry to hide in the shadows until she'd left. Although she was sure Rose wouldn't harm her, she felt comforted knowing she was hidden from view. Finally Rose moved out of sight around the back of a caravan to her tent and Rebecca felt it was safe to move. She stepped out into the moonlight but paused again as she detected someone else nearby. Harkat Mulds was moving quietly between the tents, keeping pace with Rose. He dodged from one shadow to the next, crouching low and ducking every so often. Intrigued, Rebecca followed him a small way and discovered that he was in fact following Rose. Rebecca hid in the shadows of a nearby tree and watched Harkat follow Rose until she reached her tent which was camouflaged with the darkness around them. When Rose finally disappeared through the flap, Harkat moved a little closer and took up position not far away as tough he were preparing to spend the night nearby. Shaking her head, Rebecca made her way back to her tent. Harkat was a strange little thing.