Makoto awoke to daylight on a cave wall. She was wrapped in a cloak, her head on soft leather. She stared blankly a moment, her mind awakening a few seconds after her eyes and- the memory of last night flooded into her consciousness.

Oh! My! God!

Makoto sat up like a shot, clutching Ren's cloak to her body. The cave opening was unblocked and sunlight was streaming through it. Ren was not in the cave, which Makoto found a mercy, at the moment. She was far too embarrassed to face him, to look at him, after she had... Her mind's eye watched a vision of herself…. Throwing herself at Ren. Clutching him. Pushing herself upon him. Why did she do that? My God!

A headache began brewing, Makoto's jaw clenched tight. She hugged herself, fell over, and curled up into a ball. What she and Ren had done was only supposed to happen between husband and wife! Bad girls who did it too soon were "ruined." She'd ruined herself! Her mind watched last night's events again. In detail. All three times.

My God! Three times! What would Sae think?

Wait. Wait a moment. Had not Sae told of her first time- "bedding", as she put it. Was Sae ruined? Of course not. Every single man in Tock-Yo looked at Sae Najiima, and many of the not-single men, too. Not that Sae found any of them worthy of her. But Sae traveled, and Sae met other vampire hunters. And things… happen in the wilderness. Were those not Sae's exact words? Or at least, the sentiment?

Makoto's mind mused over this counter-argument and decided that her embarrassment was due to entertaining childish thoughts. Silly traditions taught to little girls at Girl's Academy. Lessons to preserve their 'value' as political poker chips, traded between families for alliances of power and wealth. Which was something Sae never allowed herself to be, and so too, Makoto would never allow herself to be! So, when she thought about it like that- it… it was a good thing that she and Ren had… "bedded" three times!

Right?

Her mind dawdled again on how it had felt last night. Surely nothing that felt that good should be considered bad. In fact, now all the concern over "bedding" seemed a silly thing-

Wait. What about… what about babies? Was she going to have a baby? Ren's baby? A half-dhampir? A half-half-vampire baby? No! Surely that was absurd! Or was it? Makoto wasn't quite sure.

Footsteps crunched on small stones outside the cave. Makoto sat back up and found a topless Ren was crouched down into the cave mouth, blocking out most of the sunlight. He stared at her with his grey eyes, a concerned look at his face. Makoto stared back at him, feeling a complex blend of shame, fondness, lust, and anxiety. What was he going to say? Did he regret last night? Did he not like that she had been so forward with him? Did he want to do it again? Did he expect it all the time, now? Makoto wasn't sure wanted their relationship to be like that!

"I-" said Ren, his voice catching in his throat. "I caught you some fish."

Makoto blinked. Of all the things she thought Ren might say, that was far, far from making the list.

"Oh," said Makoto, "Thank you."

Ren averted his eyes and rubbed the back of his shaggy black hair. "Uh- you're welcome. But I don't really know how to prepare them. But I knew you liked them, and uh- your supplies are gone with your horse. And uh-"

He ran out of steam and went back to staring at her, wincing slightly. Makoto was struck by how… cute he was, in that moment. He was as unsure and nervous as she was, and the fact that they were about on the same page… for some reason, made Makoto feel a lot better.

"I have your armored tunic drying by the fire," said Ren, lamely, not looking directly at her.

Makoto was very aware of her nakedness under Ren's cloak. "I don't have any clothes now."

He nodded. "I was thinking about that this morning. That cloak might work really well. We cut a hole in it for your head, then tie it around your waist with a belt. It would hide your armor, and your- uh… will everything down halfway to your knees or so, anyway."

Makoto had a mental image of a long black poncho belted around her waist. A bit primitive looking, but yes, it would work well enough. It was certainly better than walking around in her boiled leather breastplate and cotton panties.

"And it will look right for the island, too. More like how a human-" He blinked and stopped.

"Should look?" said Makoto. "Like a servant, or something?"

"Or something…" Ren looked uncomfortable for a moment, then looked at her directly. "If this is going to work. You need to look the part. Makoto. You do not want to be taken. You must not be taken. And to avoid that, you-"

"I understand!" Makoto said, tension in her voice. She was suddenly angry for some reason. And she felt embarrassed by his direct gaze. Did he have to be so business-like, already? Shouldn't they talk about… about what they've done? To each other? Last night?

A long silence grew between them. Eventually, Ren drew out a knife and slid it towards her on the stone floor of the cave. "For the cloak. I'll… find some more firewood." And he left, the sun flooding back into the cave mouth.

Makoto sighed in relief. Smooth, Makoto. Really smooth. Drive him away. Perfect.

Ren walked quickly from the cave under the pretense of gathering driftwood from downriver. He had to get away from that heavenly place. That small heaven which was filled with Makoto's scent and the immediate memory of the best night of his life. The one thing he wanted to do, the only thing he wanted to do, was to go back to Makoto, block up the cave wall, and live an entire lifetime of last night. Watching her face as they were joined together.

But the world would not wait. Mother would not wait. He needed to return home, could feel it in his bones and his heart. Perhaps Mother could even sense him closer than before and was calling him. If she could even do that. Mother never was very forward about all her capabilities. Her children tended to discover them at inopportune times.

Ren gathered firewood, his mind a battlefield of competing desires. His base self that simply wanted to live with Makoto in the woods forever, quickly lost the fight to more sensible concepts. Niijima Makoto had her own life and ambitions. She wanted to hunt vampires. And she had an entire estate in Tock-Yo. There was room in that life for Ren, perhaps. Once the current problem with Medjed was handled, anyway. But then there was Mother, who could reach out and snatch wayward Ren when she so felt the need. There were a great many ways she could manage that.

Pieces of driftwood shattered in Ren's clutched hand. There was no choice, really. He had to go back. But with Makoto with him? He'd never liked the idea, but she'd been so insistent, and he wanted to help her get what she wanted. But while she could handle ghouls, revenants, and probably plenty of young vampires… they seemed to habitually run into older, stronger, and much more dangerous vampires. And the Island… there was plenty of Old Blood there, not counting individuals on Mother's level- of which there were three.

Taking Makoto anywhere near that place was now an utterly abhorrent idea. After last night, Ren was feeling a sort of imperative need to protect Makoto from harm. But she wanted to go. Insisted to go. And she was his current employer. Ren froze a moment, reconsidering that fact. With that contract with him, he was obligated to help her get to The Island, at her request. Damn. He could break that contract, of course, but he'd never broken faith before, and something deep within Ren wouldn't allow that option.

Ren sighed. Unless he could dissuade Makoto from this trip, which seemed unlikely at this stage, he would have to keep her safe on The Island- a place with powers far beyond either of them. Subterfuge seemed the wisest course, and at the idea, Ren reached into his pouches and pulled out the heavy ring of the House Kurusu.

He could use it on Makoto this morning, with this fire. It would probably be best if it wasn't fresh when they reached the port. And if Makoto declined; well, that would give him the excuse to take her back home, whether she wanted to or not.

It only took Makoto a few moments to cut the cloak like Ren had described. It really was a good idea. Makoto was impressed again by Ren's mind. And her own addition was a long, narrow slice along the length of the cloak to create the belt for the poncho, out of the poncho. And the material from the head-hole she turned into a pouch for her Father's gun.

Makoto emerged nervously into the morning light. Ren wasn't outside, but a small campfire was. Her armor was nearby, steaming in the heat of the flames. Two dead fish lay on a flat stone, each with a rather large, sword-sized hole in the middle of them. Some clean sticks were nearby, which Ren likely thought would work for grilling a fish, and he was right. Lacking any other task for the moment, Makoto impaled the fish and set them to roast.

The sun was gleaming down from the east, bathing most of the river canyon in light. The water sparkled as it frothed and rolled down the canyon. Makoto was somewhat amazed that the cold terror she had experienced in the night on this river could transform into something so beautiful. She gazed at it for a moment, then her mind drifted back to last night, and she felt a small thrill run through her body at the thought of it. Followed quickly by the chill anxiety of the possible consequence.

Ren crunched his way up the riverbank towards her, his arms heavily loaded with bits of driftwood. His grey eyes were looking at her intently. Makoto sensed he had something on his mind, too. There was no avoiding it now. They needed to talk.

She smiled weakly as Ren set down the wood and fed more to the fire. He looked at the fish beginning to sizzle slightly on their sticks. He pursed his lips.

"Oh, that's all one has to do? That's easy enough," he said.

Makoto was not interested in talking about how to cook fish on a fire. "Ren. What if I have your baby?"

Ren rocked back on his heels and stared at her, gray eyes wide. "W- what are you talking about?"

Makoto felt her cheeks ignite in a powerful blush, but she made herself look him in the eyes. "What we did, Ren. You- you put you-... your-…" Makoto closed her eyes for a moment. Was there any good way to say this? "Your seed in me."

Ren stared at her blankly. Makoto felt a twinge of angry frustration. Wasn't this an obvious concern? Why wasn't he reacting?!

"I'm not a plant," Ren said finally.

"You know what I mean!" said Makoto, gasping in frustration. Or did he know what she meant? Was that a human expression? "What if I become pregnant?! Out here?! Or on the island?!"

Ren's expression turned confused. "How would that happen? Did you accidently activate your fertility, or something? Don't worry. Mine was off."

Makoto's brain froze as she processed that- her face was probably as blank as Ren's had been earlier. Human anatomy was not a well-studied field due to the taboo of the research, double so for reproduction; but- "deactivate her fertility"? She was pretty confident that wasn't a thing, or she'd have heard of it by now. Surely, Sae would have mentioned it!

"I don't think I can do that, Ren! I don't think you can either!"

Ren seemed unconcerned. "Sure, I can. My Mother taught me how before I left. She said it was time for me to learn how- er- about that sort of thing…" He frowned suddenly, but didn't continue his train of thought.

His Mother showed him?! How to turn off his fertility?!

"Showed you- what?!"

Ren's face went blank again. "How to control the implant. Where is yours by the way? I uh- didn't notice it when we- uh- were together."

"What's an implant?"

Ren blinked in surprise. "It's like a little machine under your skin- kind of like a mechanical tick." Ren held up his fingers and sized up a tiny object with his thumb and index finger. "You really don't have one?"

"I don't think humans know how to make those, Ren."

"Oh. Oh! Yeah, I suppose that makes sense. I didn't think about that. I guess that's why I couldn't find it on you."

He'd searched? How'd he do that? "Well- where is yours," said Makoto, her curiosity intensely piqued.

"Uh, umm…" Ren looked slightly embarrassed. "Behind my- uh- ummm…. Between my legs."

Makoto did suddenly remember Ren's fingers tracing that thin isthmus on her own body that night- so there had been a reason for that? She'd just thought he'd liked doing it- and… she had kinda liked him doing it….

She shook off a growing heat in her belly and on her cheeks. Now was not the time!

"So you can… activate and deactivate your ability to- make babies? With this- mechanical tick?"

"Yeah, um- it's easy. There's kind of this- toggle…"

"And this toggle was in the right position last night?"

"Yes. I made sure. Makoto, you don't need to worry about anything like that," He paused and smirked, "My seeds may fall into the soil, but… no crops will grow?"

Makoto choked out a laugh that doubled as a breath of relief. Well- that was… good. She didn't know much about pregnancy, but she knew men with pregnant wives always rushed about them, helped them climb stairs and stood close and fussed- so besides a large, heavy stomach, the general agility of a woman must deteriorate frighteningly during the process! She certainly couldn't have that! And also, pregnant women were not supposed to ride horses, and she definitely would need to keep doing that!

But she was now very curious about this implant. "Can I see it? The implant?"

Ren's eyes widened in surprise. "Right now?" His voice was somewhat eager. He looked over her shoulder. Makoto followed his gaze- back to the entrance to the cave. To the scene of last night.

"Why not?" said Makoto, but she suddenly realized she wasn't just curious about Ren's implant thing. And if Ren was sure that she couldn't become pregnant from doing… what they had done. Was there any reason not to do it again? Was there any reason not to do it again- right now?

Should she ask Ren? Or should she just communicate the idea with her- with her body? The characters in the books would come up with rather intricate plans to "accidentally" reveal their ankles to their- lovers. Maybe that's all Makoto had to do- reveal her body to him and he would pull her into his arms, into his lap again… that exact plan had worked quite well last night.

"Well, its in a rather unglamourous spot," Ren said, obviously oblivious to the possibilities Makoto was considering. Her heart fell a little. Perhaps her own academic curiosity in everything about Ren had given him plenty of reason to believe that her sudden interest in an intimate part of his body was innocently academic- even after a night filled with non-innocent activities.

Ren looked back to her, a serious look on his face that killed the last of Makoto's more sensual hopes. "There is something we need to talk about. To be ready for the Island. Do you remember what I said before we left the city?"

God. That seemed a lifetime ago now. "You said that my world would be changed,' said Makoto.

"Yes, and?" said Ren, seeming somewhat agitated as he added more of the gnarled wood onto the growing campfire.

"And that I would see things I would not unsee."

"And?"

The last one was the one she'd taken pause at. It was a thing that went without saying, but in that, it somehow was made worse when it was actually said: "And you said that I would experience things that I would not like."

Ren was silent a moment, frowning into the growing flames. "This is going to be one of those things. But we need to do it." Then he leaned over to reach into one of his belt pouches. He retrieved a small bit of canvas which was revealed as a tiny sack, and inside, a dull black ring. Ren offered his palm to Makoto, the ring resting in the center of his hand.

Makoto plucked the ring from Ren's hand with her fingers, attempting to be ginger with the object. She quickly realized she didn't need to: it was heavy. Surprisingly heavy. Denser material then she'd ever felt in a man's ring, though she'd never held many- just a few of Father's once or twice when she was a child.

The dull black of the metal was smooth along the rim, and rather than a gemstone at its apex, it was a flattish sort of disc with a pattern of raised ridges. Holding it back slightly and angling it so the light would give the ridges visual texture, Makoto could recognize two distinct kanji symbols: Come-? Come the- rookery? Or maybe, next to the hive?

Then she realized it wasn't supposed to be read for meaning- it was a name: Kurusu. This was a family signet ring. Makoto wondered how old the ring was. What was it made of? Was it Ren's mother's? A grandfather perhaps? Ren's father was human, so it certainly wasn't from him- but that was just an assumption.

"Makoto, there's no way to hide that you're human…" said Ren.

"I know. You told me," said Makoto, still examining the ring.

"So we need to disguise you as one of my- my family's serfs… that will grant you certain… protections… protections that-"

Makoto had heard this before. "I'll be protected by the law, which, like in Tock-Yo, will protect me from all but the criminal. Much how your horse is protected or this ring: as property. Before the law, I'll be your property."

Ren's mouth froze, then he sighed. "Yes, exactly. But-" Ren's mouth froze. He sighed. He fidgeted.

"What, Ren? Just tell me."

"This is one of those things you won't like."

"What is it, then?"

Ren took in a deep breath of air, his silver gaze turning to Makoto with a worried expression. "Serfs are branded. I need to- um… to brand you."

Makoto's mind went blank a moment. "Brand me?"

What was he talking about, thought Makoto. And then a cascade of visual images of hogs, horses, and oxen being branded. A red-hot metal object, bent into a strange but unique pattern. The sizzle of flesh. The smell of burning hair. The bellowing of a scared beast in pain.

Brand her!?

"Brand me?!"

Ren nodded, looking deathly serious. "Yes. There's no way to fake it. But it's not large. It's- ah… the size of that ring, actually."

Makoto looked down at the dense metal ring in her hands- the raised ridges of the kanji for Kurusu taking on an entirely new dimension to her eyes. "The size of the ring? The brand, you mean?"

"Yes. And- well- it IS the ring," Ren looked entirely uncomfortable, and then he turned from her and fed more wood to the fire. "Or- I mean- it's the brand. The brand is the ring."

"You're going to brand me… with this… and you're just telling me now?!" Makoto felt a flash of anger. They'd been traveling together for days, and this is the first she's hearing about have a permanent symbol burned into her flesh?! Like some prize horse?!

"I didn't think of it until today," said Ren, still avoiding her eyes by keeping his focus on the flames. "Sorry."

"You didn't think of it?! We've been traveling for days and you're just now thinking of it!"

Ren looked back at her with a glare and a deep scowl. His hand shot out and snatched the ring from her grip, the dense metal band hurting her fingers slightly as it was yanked away. He practically threw the ring into the depths of the strengthening fire, then turned towards Makoto and pointed an accusatory finger at her.

"Keep in mind this is your idea, Makoto! You wanted to come with me! It wasn't my plan to bring you, so I hadn't exactly considered every single tiny detail!"

"Branding me is NOT a tiny detail, Ren!"

"Because I wasn't sure it would be necessary! I hoped I could sneak you in somehow."

"And you can't? You're sure, now, suddenly, that it will be necessary?"

Ren closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. "I was a fool to ever think it wouldn't be necessary. You're- you're a prize, Makoto. On the Island, someone is sure to catch your scent, even if you aren't-" Ren's mouth halted suddenly.

Makoto was too angry to let him retreat into his reticence. "Aren't what, Ren?!"

Ren's frustration had dissipated into what looked like embarrassment. "Virgin."

That word was so unexpected and carried so many emotional connotations that it froze Makoto's anger along with her train of thought. Her virginity? What did that even matter? Then Makoto remembered her first night with Ren. Their stake-out of Shinjuku Girls Academy. Ren had employed an odd incense and advised it was to mask Makoto's scent- and that virgin women smelled different from others.

"I- I smell different?" said Makoto, hearing the disbelief in her own voice. "You mean this morning?"

"Different, yes," said Ren, his eyes briefly looking at her and then dancing away. He added another piece of wood to the fire. "But still potent. People will know you're there, even were I able to stuff you in a saddlebag, or hide you, or something."

Makoto was starting to get the idea. Ren had abandoned the idea of smuggling her aboard and now intended to hide her in plain sight. She would be a freshly captured slave and he would be the man who intended to sell her- or use her. Makoto felt a small bite of dread, deep in her gut. Could this facade become real? Was it possible she was about to become chattle in reality? Could Ren, having now got the full… use of her, actually intend to keep her forever- and this was all some grand ruse? The idea shuddered its way up and down her spine.

No. She could not have misread Ren so drastically. There was no way that could be.

Could it?

Makoto swallowed in anticipation of asking a question. "And if I refuse?"

Ren frowned at her, but also seemed slightly relieved. "Then I'll take you home instead."

"You would lose another week, going back to Tock-Yo and back here."

"Yes. A small price to pay to see you back to the gates."

"I could just go back by myself."

"That would be foolish. I wouldn't let you go alone."

"Wouldn't let me! I can handle myself! You travel alone, don't you?"

"Ghouls have no interest in me! They have great interest in you, as we discovered!"

Well, that was true. How would she have escaped that ghoul pack on her own? Would she even have noticed it before being hopelessly swarmed? So it would be impossible to go back without Ren, but he was willing…

No! She was right about Ren! He wasn't playing her in some long con! She was here because she wanted to be here! Or rather, she wanted to be there! On that island! And Ren was the only person who could possibly know how that was possible: if he said branding her was the only way to do it, then she had to trust it was the only way to do it! She was just scared and trying to talk herself out of the whole venture instead.

"Well, you're not taking me back, anyway," said Makoto, recapturing Ren's gaze. "You're right: this was my idea. My desire. If you think this is the only way?"

Ren nodded grimly. "The only way."

Makoto sighed, feeling the growing intensity of the campfire, imagining the heavy ring amongst the flames, collecting heat. She imagined it coming back out, as red hot as the embers which held it, and then being pressed to her skin; the sizzle, the searing pain like Anne's flames in Madarame's dungeon. She realized she hadn't thought of another thing:

"Fine. But. Um- Where does the brand go? On my body, I mean?"

Ren took in a deep breath. "At the small of your neck, on the back. It needs to be readily visible at that point."

"Human women aren't allowed high neckline clothing?"

"It's not a question of being allowed, it's about making sure the brand remains visible. Serfs with sexual value are branded on the collar bone, because otherwise its on the forehead. I would imagine you want to avoid that?"

The forehead! God! The neck was certainly preferable, but when she returned home? If she returned home, anyway- she would have a permanent scar at her neck? Well, she would just have to pick dresses that had a strap or something about the back of her neck to hide the-

Makoto shook her head, disgusted with herself. She was halfway around the world, so far as she knew, and about to infiltrate the surviving bastion of the old Empire- and she was worried about limiting herself to a certain genre of dresses! God! If this went wrong, this torn poncho was as close to a dress as she would ever wear again in her life.

"The back of the neck it is," said Makoto, grimly.

Ren frowned, his eyes boring into her determined gaze (or at least, that's what she hoped her face looked like!) Whatever he saw seemed to satisfy him. He nodded slightly, but also seemed a bit worried, and then sat back down on the ground, watching the steadily burning flames.

In the long silence, Makoto mused over Ren's words. "Sexual value?"

Ren seemed to freeze, his face managing a slightly more pale color than usual. His adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. "Yes. No one brings back a single laborer for sale, and no one would risk leaving a- uh- human such as yourself- unbranded. If somone… took you, I would have no way to prove you were- uh- mine. But if you are branded, I could likely… recover you."

"Take me? I thought the brand will give me protection of your law!"

"Not my law! The. Law. And what? Do people in Tock-Yo never break laws? It's the same there. Stronger clans sometimes poach the serfs of weaker clans, but the brands, even if obscured or re-branded, will always reveal the true ownership. And my clan isnot weak."

"And who enforces that ownership? The island government?"

Ren huffed in a half chuckle. "No. There is no City Council like in Tock-Yo. No clan willfully accepts the authority of anyone else."

"But- then who enforces ownership? Who enforces the law?"

Ren frowned and his eyes turned thoughtful. "The aggrieved clan would complain to their liege clan, and that dominant clan would present the complaint to the liege clan of the offending party. And that either results in the chastisement of a junior clan and a forced return or compensation of the property- or it reveals the complicity of the larger clan which then, naturally, escalates the dispute into a conflict between the two liege clans."

That- that didn't sound productive or stable at all, but Makoto was always eager to get new information on the workings of Imperial politics. "And then?"

"Revenge. Feud. War," sighed Ren. "Any of those become possible."

"It sounds like chaos!"

"It's actually very orderly, when you think about it," Ren shrugged. "Remember how I have over seven hundred dead siblings? Do you remember what I said when you asked how they died?"

Makoto did remember: "Politics, you said."

Ren opened his arms in a sort of it-is-what-it-is gesture.

"And your clan? It's a strong one?"

Ren nodded. "Always has been. And there's always some conflict brewing with someone.'

"And now? With this Clan Yal-? Yaldabowth?"

"Clan Yaldabaoth. Yes. Primarily with them, as they are the only possible rival left."

"Are they stronger?" Makoto then realized another question. "And how do you measure a Clan's strength, anyway?"

"Generally, by the size of the family: how many children of the Clan Lord? How many grandchildren? How many grand-grand-children? And so on: But… with every generation gap, the offspring become… weaker. My distant nephews and nieces, all born long before me and technically full-blooded vampires, are probably no stronger than humans physically, but they still drink blood and they would still burn in sunlight."

"So your people, even when breeding amongst themselves, become… what? Diluted?"

Ren shrugged. "So it would seem."

"And our strength- I mean: human strength- is the baseline?"

"I don't know for sure. I don't think anyone has held an arm-wrestling tournament to test the concept. It's just generally known, from what I understand.

Makoto's mind skittered off sideways, rapidly organizing a vast tournament which would fully explore the truth of degenerative generational strength. Then she shook her head. She was here to learn, yes, but that sort of wide-scale experiment was certainly impossible. It was better to focus on the original purpose of the question:

"So the immediate children of the- the Clan Lord, are the strongest. Is that just physically?"

Ren nodded his head. "Raw strength and speed, yes. Agility? Dexterity? Ability? These vary, as I assume they do amongst humans"

"Intelligence?"

Ren chuckled. "They can be smart or stupid, yes."

Makoto's mind sped along the logic chain: "So it's just their bodies that are superior, but they still must learn to use it properly- and those that do are going to be more formidable than those who do not, even amongst the same generation. So- like humans, in that sense, right?"

Ren frowned thoughtfully. "I suppose so. I hadn't really thought about it like that. Oh, and they generally have better command of a persona."

Persona! Right. They would have to contend with those, as well, amongst the vampires. "What do you mean?" asked Makoto.

Ren added more wood to the fire. "Like- with Anne and Ryuji, right? Anne could become covered in fire, and she can create fire. Ryuji can create electricity, and you said he somehow traveled through a metal wire."

"Yes," Makoto did see that. It had saved her life, in fact.

"So that's two things they can do, but compare that to Kamoshida: how many things could he do? He could manage illusions. He could hide his scent. He could grow a tail. He could shoot poison barbs. Thanks to his lineage, he could use the persona in a great many ways."

"And Kamoshida, he was the same generation as you? Because his mother was your aunt, you said."

Ren frowned. "Yes. Aunt Carmilla."

"And she's dead?"

Ren shrugged. "Mostly."

"Mostly?"

"She was stabbed in the heart with sunsteel, so she's dead. But Mother says her body was not destroyed, so she could potentially… revive."

"What?! How?"

Ren shook his head. "I don't know. Mother never told me. But she implied it would be difficult to do."

"Who killed her? Your aunt, I mean?"

Ren looked pointedly at Makoto. "My Mother did."

"Her own sister?"

Ren holding his hands out in that is-what-it-is gesture again. "Politics."

"But you're family!"

Ren laughed and stirred the coals. "You do not want to be on my Mother's bad side. And technically, we're all family. Yaldabaoth is my uncle."

"What!"

"They're first generation, Makoto, remember? The Great Ancestor created them directly."

Makoto wasn't sure what she remembered. She half remembered Ren's explanations over the last few months.

"And the Great Ancestor? That sounds like there was only one. Is it your grandmother or your grandfather?"

Ren blinked, his forehead wrinkling in thought. "I don't know. I never thought about that before."

"Was it a man or a woman?"

Ren shook his head. "Maybe a man? Mother never told me. I remember asking her what the Great Ancestor was like, and all she would say was: Not very much like us."

"That's vague."

"She doesn't like to talk about it." Ren frowned deeper.

Not very much like us. Makoto wondered at that phrasing. So almost entirely different? And if Ren's Great Ancestor was not very much like Ren or his Mother, then it was also not very much like Makoto, as humans were very much like vampires, were they not? They looked mostly the same, after all.

"Makoto? "I think it's ready," Ren said. His sword emerged from the glowing coals, the ring balanced on the flat of the blade. Unlike Makoto's worried fantasy of a red-hot ring, the black thing seemed the same as before: dull black and cold.

"Are you sure it's hot enough?"

Ren gave her a strange look. "Why? You want it hotter, or something?"