Upon arriving at the car, I opened the trunk and commanded Sarge to 'get in'. With a treat, he obeyed, and I shut the trunk. Before getting in myself, I stopped, taken aback at Astarion.

He was standing behind the car, watching, amazed.

"Did your…thing just consume your companion?" He waved his arms at the trunk.

"No. This is a car." I gestured to the black Toyota Rav4 SUV, a purchase I made after being promoted to my position at the studio. It has been on many camping trips, mostly. The tires had the extra traction pattern, and it looked like it could run a tank over. (At least, I liked to imagine it could.)

Astarion stared at me, continuing to get soaked.

"You drive it. On the road." I finished awkwardly.

"This is the same kind of vehicle that nearly ran over me on my way here! Are you telling me it was being operated by a person?" He frowned at it, eyeing other cars moving around the parking lot with newfound distaste. I felt like I was speaking to a toddler.

"Well there's rules on how to navigate these, and you have to get a license. They might not have seen you," which I didn't believe. "Will you just get in?" I pointed to the passenger side. Astarion lingered over to it, and opened the door. I got in and started the car. He jumped - he was still outside.

"Astarion, you sit in-"

"I know, I'm just…this is new…to me. I've never seen something like this before." After glancing at the buttons, ceiling, and Sarge's big head poking in between the two front seats, he finally put one leg in, and ducked in like a robot trying to fold into a box. I tried not to laugh at him.

He must have smelled really good for being soaked because Sarge licked his ear, and Astarion dodged a follow-up, grimacing. His shoulders were hunched, and he wiped water from his face.

I buckled up and commanded Sarge to lay down, throwing a bacon treat in the back. He did, and I gave him a pat on the head, letting Astarion adjust to his surroundings. Between all of us getting soaked from the rain, the windows began to fog, so I began adjusting the air. Astarion watched with interest.

"These control the car's internal functions, like air conditioning when it's hot, or heat when it's cold. It can play music or help us navigate places too with GPS." I explained, pointing to the different buttons.

"Does it run out of power?" Astarion asked.

"No, but it does need gas. There are gas stations around the city you stop and pay at periodically." I put the car in drive but was bombarded with incessant beeping.

"You need your seatbelt on." Pointing to my own, I turned to a hunched Astarion. Confused, he lifted his arms up and looked around. "I haven't the faintest clue what that is, not what you're talking about."

Rolling my eyes, I relented, "Fine, hold still." I unbuckled my seatbelt and reached over to grab his, putting my hand on the middle compartment to balance. As I did so, I held my breath, aware that I was putting my face close to a hungry vampire in an enclosed space. But I wasn't about to explain a seatbelt to him.

I pulled it over him and under his arm to clasp it in the lock. My hand brushed his wrist as I did so, and it was ice cold.

I sat back in my seat and put my own safety mechanism on, ignoring Astarion's playful gaze. "Surely, you could have just told me what to do."

"If there's one thing I've learned so far, it's that I doubt you like to be told what to do." I reversed the car, and began turning onto the road as Astarion replied, "Hm, I can't disagree with you there. How do I get this off?" Pulling at the strap, he let it snap back onto his shirt, flicking water in doing so.

"You push the red button-"

*click*

*BEEEP. BEEEP. BEEEP.*

Since we were now on the road, I couldn't stop, so the car screeched at us. Astarion grinned. "I found it. Shall I put it back?"

"Yes. It's a safety warning." Tightening my jaw, the realization that I was with a toddler made me consider dropping him off at a playground. But, then he'd probably eat everyone there. So may not.

"Maybe you should show me again." In annoyance, yanked the belt from him and stuck it back in a flash before we came to a stop. Astarion chuckled, "You're so easy to annoy, do you know that?"

"I'm usually on my own unless you count Sarge, who doesn't require a seatbelt." Sarge made a snuffing sound in response.

"That we share in common if not locale. The life of a vampire spawn is mostly solitary, believe it or not." My toddler adult passenger looked out the window, watching everything pass by with occasional turns of his head. I snuck a glance at his skin and hair, wondering why it was so white, and how someone like him ended up enduring Cazador's will.

Perhaps Astarion's character disagreed with Cazador. All the screaming. It made me recoil just hearing it. Was Astarion a rebellious spawn? I would be if I was being tortured all the time. But why do that to someone like Astarion? I guess in my shorter human life, torturing and creating vampire spawn as a pastime isn't something my lifetime had room for.

"Are there more of you back in Toril or Faerun?" I casually asked.

With a bristling, distant look in his eyes, he said "Yes. Six of them." When he didn't elaborate, I continued, "You mentioned a Gale. Is he one of them?"

"No. Look, as grateful as I am for this little adventure, I'd rather not talk of this right now." Irritation sizzled off of Astarion as he looked straight ahead and up at tall buildings.

"Ok. Fine." I turned on some synth-wave music, which didn't seem to irritate him further. Sarge stuck his head in between us again and licked my cheek before returning to lie down.

The return drive to the apartment was short. Since I wasn't staying long, I didn't drive into the underground parking. Instead, I just parked on the temporary loading zone spaces near the entrance to the apartments.

"I have to grab some things before we go since we're going into the wilderness. I'll be right back."

I started to get out of the car, but so did Astarion. Unbuckling, and only hesitating slightly at how to open his door, he got out. "There is no chance that I'm being left inside of that thing."

Frowning, I sensed it had to do with the memory of darkness I witnessed when he mindfucked me yesterday. Shrugging, I said, "Fine, but I'll need help carrying some things."

He responded absentmindedly, 'sure' and followed me back into the lobby. "It's probably a good thing you didn't try to come back, because you don't have a key fob." I commented while we stood awkwardly in the elevator. Astarion asked, "What's that?"

Opening the complex doors, I clarified, "It's a device that securely lets tenants, not strangers in."

"What if you have a friend who wants to visit, but does not live in the same establishment?"

We walked across the lobby towards the elevator. I pressed the button. "You can give them a temporary code to type in the door. Or a spare key."

The elevator opened, and we were back in my apartment while the elf continued asking questions.

Stepping inside, he inquired, "A code? What, like, a secret word to utter at a being who can unlock the door for you?"

"No, it's a series of numbers on a digital touch pad outside. You probably didn't see it." I opened the door to my apartment, holding it open for Astarion. After he waltzed past me, I made my way to the kitchen.

"Oh. Digital touch pad?" He stood near the counter, watching me put food in a reusable grocery bag. He stood where he drank coffee just a few hours ago.

"Yeah. It's a surface that responds to touch, usually fingers." Moving past him, I opened the closet door in the hallway to grab the camping gear, which was precariously stacked. (How I managed to put this all in the closet baffled me.)

I could practically hear the grin on his face as he affirmed, "I know of many things that respond to touch from fingers. In fact I know of some places that respond very well to my touch, specifically."

This vampire could orbit from grumpy to flirtatious on a dime, and it would probably give me whiplash one day. For now, I just continued grabbing things and ignored him.

Pretending to be impressed, he asked, "Are you trying to resist my tantalizing commentary?"

"It thought you were hungry, not horny. Besides," As I looked away, a sleeping bag fell off the top part of the camping gear pyramid I was pulling things from, and it knocked me over because I wasn't paying attention to it.

I'm sure it must have looked hilarious. Astarion started to walk over but stopped short as I started laughing at myself, the bag near my feet.

"Alright, sleeping bag one, Blue, zero." I stood back up, picked it up, and set it aside. I knew I needed that, but I wasn't sure if Astarion would. Did vampires sleep in sleeping bags?

I looked at him to ask him this, but he was looking at me funny.

"What?"

He shrugged and held up his hands innocently, "Nothing." But he was eyeing me, in a way that made me think he was…admiring me. Perhaps he thought my ability to tank a sleeping bag was interesting. I was probably seeing things.

"Do you need a sleeping bag?" I asked, getting out my cooler of camp supplies.

"What's that?"

"It's like…a cushy blanket you can sleep in so you stay warm at night."

Astarion waved his arms and walked back towards the window, "Honestly, all I require right now is blood, from either a human or some large animal. That, above anything else, is what I need."

Ok, so that's a 'no'.

"Fine, then carry this," I used my foot to push a cooler full of supplies towards him. Another reusable bag of wood sat on it. Inside were various cooking utensils, dog kibble, small tarps, towels, toilet paper, and pretty much everything you'd need to camp for a day. Harley's taunting that I was a 'mom' on camping trips echoed in my mind.

Pulling the grocery bag over my shoulder, I lifted my sleeping bag and tent. Astarion lifted the cooler and bag with ease. Right, vampire strength.

"Are these all the supplies you use for camp? This is much less than what I've used. We have entire trunks in ours." He peered at the cooler, smelling it, but he didn't find anything odd.

"Well there's some extra stuff in the car, but yes. Ready?" Shutting the closet, he responded, "Of course. Let's go kill something."

I made a face at him and opened the apartment door, a vampire in tow.

The drive there was probably the longest amount of time I'd spent talking to someone in a car. After loading up the vehicle, Astarion finally stopped hunching his shoulders, and the rain let up, creating a misty overcast.

I explained more about how the car works, the rules of driving, navigating in Seattle, and of course, how owning an apartment works. I sensed he was trying to distract himself from his hunger by asking questions, and from his discomfort of how fast we were going in the car. This shocked him as we took a winding backroad to the site. At one point, he asked if he was going to fall out. I assured him it wasn't possible unless he threw himself out.

We were on the way to a spot I regularly went to, almost every month. It was more isolated due to its rougher terrain, but there were clearings empty enough to camp in. The only issue was how dark it got out there, since it wasn't a public campsite.

But, if Astarion was trying to find larger animals, this was it. It was called 'Sarge's Backyard' in my maps, but only because I named it that. It was just a legal place to camp. I recall seeing even deer pass by once.

When we arrived, I drove into a clearing from the road, which eventually ended and opened up to the empty forest. It was sort of perfect. I guessed that the road ended due to property issues of the state. While it was legal to camp here, there were no houses, establishments, or anything developed around us and admittedly, it was hard to get to without an all-wheel vehicle like the Rav4.

The ground was covered in mostly pine needles, twigs (perfect for fires), moss, and trees that surrounded the area alongside ferns for skirts.

I let Sarge out to relieve himself, his fur still soaked. Luckily the rain had stopped and I brought dry firewood. Everything here was soaked, but I had lighter fuel if we needed it.

After a moment of stretching, Astarion declared, "Alright, I'm going to find some poor creatures to kill. See you in a bit."

I whirled around to ask, "Wait, do you know how long you're going to be? How should I know if I need to come look for you?"

With a devious smile and slight head bow, he laughed and purred, "Oh, Blue. Trust me when I say that it's highly unlikely you will ever need to look out for me. Here," he gestured around us with his arms, "I am the predator. Not the other way around."

Well then. Just two hours ago you were about to kill two people. I suppose being a predator didn't change wherever you went if you were indeed a vampire spawn, but I wanted to disagree with his claim.

However, contradicting a bloodthirsty vampire wasn't something I wanted to experience where no one would find my body.

"Ok, I'll just, hang out here, then, I guess," I replied, somewhat annoyed, unloading the gear myself.

"Wonderful. Don't wait up." Without another word, he confidently walked through the wilderness with practiced grace and disappeared.

Setting up camp for me was like meditating. There was an art form to doing it smoothly, an order of operations to be followed.

You set up the tent first so you can put your sleeping bag in it to dry or momentarily rest if need be. Then, if you have tarps to create an alternative dry spot for storage, you set those up next. The fire is last, because you just waste fuel and effort setting it up, especially in a wet place, which is where we were.

I kept a mini-tent for Sarge (I know, he's spoiled as hell) in the car, so I also set that up for him. I kept the blankets and food in the car since that was a free dry spot. There was a river nearby, so if I ran out of water and needed to boil it, that was also an option.

Every time I came here, it always felt different, but like home. Like returning to your parent's house every few years. Or decade. Not once have I ever discovered trash or signs of anyone else camping here, so either respectful campgoers knew about this place, or only I did. I guessed the latter.

I had gathered rocks from the river to make a campfire, about three feet wide. Using a makeshift shovel, I created a drier spot for the firewood. Somehow, the rain had completely stopped for several hours, leading to a successful fire as the afternoon waned.

A few hours passed, and by the time I had fed Sarge his kibble and played fetch with his muddy car-bound ball (my car had everything and was packed like a professional Tetris player), darkness had started to sink into the day.

I was going to have to call into work if Astarion was going to take much longer.

But, in the meantime, I was going to enjoy this impromptu camping. It's not like I had much of a Sunday social life anyway. A part of me just wanted to be alone, so letting Astarion wander off to suck on squirrels was a relief.

It was a little exhausting to be around him. Between explaining things and trying not to piss him off for some unknown reason. But maybe, I just wasn't used to spending all day with someone else. I felt like socializing with him was a dance, except if I misstepped, he'd kill me or disappear.

And to my surprise, I didn't want him to disappear. Something about the way he expressed himself, his past, and his self-reliant, observing attitude despite his situation made me want to learn something from him, somehow. He was a rogue. I'm not sure if he would have the same patience as I did, but for what it was worth, this 'Toril' sounded like a place I'd love to visit.

It was more adventurous, colorful, and diverse than the life I felt I was leading here. Ambition wasn't my problem. But as a neat freak creature of habit who didn't like speaking to anyone, Astarion seemed like a contrast I could enjoy. Maybe I was just warming up to the idea of human company. Or, vampiric company.

I shoved a roasting stick through a pack of hotdogs I brought. The bag of groceries was at my side, and various snacks and water bottles were still unopened.

The fire, which was blinding compared to the darkness enveloping us, crackled. Sarge was drier now, as he was currently lying by the fire on a machine-washable outdoor blanket I always brought for him. Sarge was tough, but I imagined laying down on wet dirt didn't feel great.

I roasted the hotdog, rotating it slowly like a rotisserie. Staring into the fire, I thought about what hunting out here must be like for a hungry vampire. Did he climb trees and wait for his prey? Could he see in the dark that well? More importantly, how often did he have to do this?

Pulling my hot dog onto a bun, I set the roasting stick down, the smell making my stomach growl. I took a bite, the juices making me want to shove the whole thing down my gullet.

This must be what drinking blood was like, right? A taste when you're hungry, then you just want the whole thing. But if he ate animals, was that hunger ever satiated fully? I tried to imagine a diet hot dog and was greeted with disgust.

Finishing my short meal, I started to roast another one. Darkness was truly settling now, and I could barely see ahead of the fire's glow. Sarge's black fur sometimes scared me in times like this. Where was his reflective collar?

Setting my food down, I stood up and walked to the car, which was parked behind my tent. Rummaging around the back, I finally found his reflective collar. I must have carelessly shoved it in the trunk pockets last time-

*snap!*

I whirled around just as Sarge bolted upright, staring in the direction of the sound.

"Very funny, Astarion. You can cut that shit out now." I said, dropping my shoulders. I wasn't scared. If he thought this was funny, then he could just shov-

*snap!*

Ok, not funny. Never, have I ever, did I encounter large wild animals here. Not even with my friends. Deer, sometimes. Raccoons, maybe. Bears, elk, cougars? No way. For all the shit I carried with me to camp and be alone, I didn't carry weapons. However, I heard that often didn't help people.

Fuck me. Fuck. This was it, wasn't it? My final stand. I could probably sneak to the car, but I had to get Sarge to follow.

"Sarge!" I whispered. He ignored me and stared ahead.

I searched for my bacon treats, but they must have been in the tent for some goddamn reason. How could I have left them there?!

Fuck me, if this is how I get us both killed, then I deserved to die. I could feel my body start to tense from head to toe.

*snap!*

I waited, wondering what to do. If I ran, I would probably trip on something and fall. Should I climb on the car? No, I can't do anything until I grab Sarge. I wasn't going to leave my best friend behind, who was growling at something approaching.

That something was a smaller but healthy-looking adult black bear.

Well, I assumed it was healthy. It looked like it could kill us.

It wasn't making any noise, but it was staring down Sarge, who was the closest to my unfinished hot dog.

Wow, I cannot believe I was going to go out like this.

The bear took another tentative step towards Sarge, who barked at the bear. If that bear touches my dog, then this would turn into a rage-induced fight. My heart beat like a thunderstorm, and I felt like time was slowing down while blood rushed through my ears.

So of course, I did something super stupid.

As soon as Sarge barked, the bear started to charge at Sarge, so I did what I assumed was the equivalent of a screaming roaring sound, and waved my arms around. It felt like a reaction, like a guttural, universal shout to this creature to 'stop'. The screeching hurt my throat, but it temporarily caught the bear off guard as it halted, and looked right at me.

Like sentient vines, fear clawed its way up from the ground and gripped me like icy tentacles. My heart raced harder, and my vision felt blurry. My face was hot. I felt both stiff and agile. Was this how people felt before dying?

The bear started towards me, a little slower, as if wondering how to rip me to shreds before Sarge. Sarge charged at the bear, but he didn't get close -

Because out of nowhere, a flash of white landed on top of the bear. Before I took the time to figure out what the fuck it was, I called Sarge, who was confused. Something landed on Sarge's prey (as if he was going to kill a BEAR. This dog was too brave.) But he obeyed, and I wrestling his collar, unlocked the back seat, and lifted him in since he was too busy looking at the tussle near the fire to listen. I didn't know I had the strength to lift him, but adrenaline was trying to burst my heart right now.

I wanted to get in with him. I wanted to hold my dog and crawl into a hole until the morning.

But I couldn't. Shouldn't. My heart and whole body were racing into stressful oblivion. Shutting the door, I looked back at the bear facing Astarion now. The bear didn't look wounded at all, and it must have thrown Astarion off because he was covered in dirt. I thought I spotted blood, but I wasn't sure. My vision was going bonkers.

Astarion snarled at the creature, ready to launch at it.

Now don't ask me where this came from, because I don't know either.

I dashed forward, grabbed a rock near the fire, which I think was hot ( wasn't sure, all the adrenaline for ten junkies was coursing through me), and I hurled it at the bear with accuracy I didn't know I possessed. The rock hit the bear in the ass with a solid 'thump', and it whirled around to look at me, his claws digging up inches of the dirt beneath him.

Before it could do anything else, Astarion lunged forward and plunged his mouth into the bear's neck. The bear immediately tried to claw him off, but only succeeded in a weak pawing motion, as it was already falling to the ground as if its legs stopped working.

Then, as quickly as it started, the bear sank fully to the ground, with Astarion over it, mouth and hands clamped like a vice grip on its corpse, his eyes gazing into the fire, ablaze from the flames or his thirst, I couldn't tell.

Within seconds, he released his grip, and threw his head back, gasping for air, his hair flicking back, long fangs glistening in the firelight, blood drooling from his mouth onto his shirt.

After a moment of licking his lips like a cat cleaning himself, he stood up, and looked at me, satisfied, totally fine, as if a dead bear wasn't just lying there between us and the fire.

I felt my knees wobble a little, and I felt the world tip over.

Like a pathetic human who had just thrown a burning rock at a bear's ass, I crumpled to the ground.