(A/N): It's really hard to write Herc, considering I'm not only trying to get back into the swing of writing in general, but I'm also trying to find Herc's voice, since he's a new character.

Leo

An hour or so later, and a lot more bruised than before, Herc and I returned to the house, ready for the dinner Lisbet had called us in for. Which was a sweet gesture, considering only I technically had to eat.

"I remember when I had to eat. Eat real food, I mean, not blood." Herc had remarked when she first called us.

"I can't imagine not needing to eat. It's such a big part of my life- sharing meals with my friends, eating ice cream when they're sad, or helping them hoard chocolate." Herc smiled at this.

"You have friends? Good ones, ones you can talk to?" I knew what he was alluding to, but Lisbet beat me to it as she shovelled food onto my already almost overflowing plate.

"Leo has problems using his words." Hello? That was the most 'mum' thing ever. "They're fantastic kids, and I know they'd support him through anything, especially Lily, Elaine and Remus." Herc nodded like he was satisfied with this fact.

"You have girlfriends?" I let this slide, knowing english wasn't his first language.

"Lily and Elaine are girls, yes." His smile made me think maybe he knew exactly what he had said. "My girlfriend Brooke and I recently broke up." He seemed to take note of my lack of emotion during that statement.

"Sad. But better things ahead, yeah?" I shrugged, taking a bite of my food.

"Hopefully. We've all had some issues lately, but I know we can overcome them." I could tell Lisbet was interested, but she wasn't about to ask in front of our guest.

"And your sister?" I stopped eating to eye Herc warily. "Lisbet mentioned you had a smaller sister. From your mother? You get along well?" Lisbet studiously ignored the look I shot her.

"Yeah, we get along just fine." He seemed to notice my distrust.

"I don't ask because... anyone you care about, I care about." My face softened slightly. "She may not be my sister by blood, but I'll still treat her like my own." I guess thats why his own clan, back in Colombia, was so large compared to most.

"Mia's great." What else was I supposed to say? "She's stubborn, like me, loyal-"

"Like you." Cut in Jo, and I tried my damndest to ignore her.

"She's also smart, kind and funny. She's still figuring out who she is now that she's away from our mother-" As I watched Herc's fist clench, I knew Lisbet had told him about her, at least in passing. "But she shows all the markings of a wonderful young lady in the making. Of course, now I sound like I'm trying to sell her off, so maybe I should've just stuck with saying nothing." Herc waved away my concern.

"She's your sister, you love her very much. It's hard to get across how great she is." I don't think I've ever met someone who understood quite as much as Herc, and was so straight to the point about it.

"If you liked that, you should hear him describe Elaine." I shot Lisbet a dark look, and tried to suffocate myself with my food in hopes Herc wouldn't notice my rising blush.

"Your friend, who is a girl, yes?" At least he didn't call her my girlfriend again.

"Oh, she's more than that." Lisbet chirped, seemingly impervious to my glare. "Leo's in lurrrrrve with her." I threw my napkin at her, which was about as effective as my glare had been.

"Wow. Good friends, deeply in love? Looks like you'll be staying human." What did he mean by that?

"What do you mean?" He shrugged, gesturing to me.

"You know, how you could stop aging, like I did?" Yeah, I had meant to ask about that, considering he didn't look sixteen.

"At sixteen? My- Dad, said it was a possibility." And I had prepared for the worst, not that I was going to say that out loud.

"It starts at sixteen, yes. If you don't have a solid anchor to keep you human."

(A/N): Herc knows exactly what he's saying, and Leo is protective of Mia, because he doesn't fully trust Herc yet.