(A/N): I had to make some changes to this chapter, because as I was writing the next one, I realised that actually, the Twins WEREN'T THERE. I forgot that they were still at the Folley's, and wrote them into those two chapters, only to have to write them out again. All of Danniel's lines and actions were given to Herc, and all of Jo's were given to Shari. There was a short portion at the end of the chapter where Jo asked Leo for dibs on the blood bag if there was any left after Leo and Shari were done with it, and Danniel rolls his eyes at her, but Leo thinks to himself that Danniel just looks kind of frustrated that he didn't think to do that first. Because Jo and Danniel weren't actually there, obviously I had to remove it, so that's why the chapter might end a bit abruptly.

Leo

By the time Lisbet and Jerremyah returned, I was a little bit distracted- y'know, being pinned to the ground by Herc and Shari.

"Oh, come on- is this really necessary?" I whined, and Herc ruffled my hair before he returned to grappling me, while Greygorry rolled his eyes from where he stood, off to the side.

"You're the one that volunteered to help Shari get back into the swing of things, and you were the one that suggested we take this opportunity to practice fighting alongside allies we don't usually work with. So, to sum it up quite neatly- you brought this on yourself." I wiggled, and Shari huffed before I felt her hair whip my leg.

"Not to mention that we all know that you could get out of this if you actually felt like trying." I shrugged.

"Maybe I feel like this is a more useful experience for you." Even without seeing her or being able to feel it, I knew her well enough to know that she was rolling her eyes at me, much like Greygorry had.

"How could that possibly be the case?" I shrugged again.

"I don't know... something about an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object?" Greygorry failed to cover his dry chuckle. "Maybe I'm trying to emulate a potential enemy- that isn't as strong as I am- but you still feel the need to prevent from escaping, or doing something else." Herc thumped me on the hip.

"This weak 'potential enemy' of yours would probably still be trying to fight being caught, Hermanito." True.

"Maybe I just wanted to have a little lie-down, and spend quality time with my clan." Notably, Herc didn't dispute my including him in that group.

"And of course, you couldn't just do that by asking us to play a game of chess or something." Shari muttered, and I felt myself grin.

"I'm more of a Scrabble guy, myself." She rolled her eyes at me, rather indulgently.

"Of course you are. Lisbet- how'd it go?" I turned my head to track them as they entered our little clearing- Jerremyah was a few feet behind her, like he was worried about getting too close, but also didn't want to leave her side- and saw the bewildered, but also unavoidably fond look on her face.

Immediately, I knew that she had been crying. She showed no external signs of it- no red, puffy eyes, no sniffling, no wet cheeks- but I could smell the salt of recently shed tears, and the lingering and pervading scent of sorrow. I hated that smell- like someone had soaked coins in rainwater.

"I- it- it went. What's-?" I sat up, sending Herc sprawling, and only sparing Shari because the movement didn't really affect my legs. I met Lisbet's eyes, then a second later, leaned to peer around her to Jerremyah- who blinked, seemingly surprised by my attention.

"You okay?" He froze for a second, apparently shocked by my concern, before his mouth popped open.

"I- I'm... fine? For now, at least." That didn't bode well.

"Get through everything?" He and Lisbet shared a look.

"No." I was surprised that he was willing to admit that so easily. "But we've agreed to leave some things for later- with you, and with Grey. Oh, by the way- Grey, we need to talk to you." Greygorry blinked, then shrugged.

"If you say so." Lisbet shot him a look that I couldn't fully decipher, but I thought it might be of the warning sort. Greygorry didn't seem bothered by this, though. "I'll be sure to clear my schedule." If he pulled out a planner, I was going to lose my mind.

"Is that... before or after we talk again?" Her face screwed up at my question.

"After. Well- at this point, I'm assuming after, but... things haven't exactly gone to plan often, today..." No. No, they hadn't.

"Right, should we-" Shari spoke up, effectively cutting me off.

"I don't want to push you or anything," She started. "But you said that we were going to share a bag of blood, and I figured I should ask whether you wanted to do that first, or wait until after dinner?" Right- because even though she didn't have to worry about such things, I only had limited stomach space- and while blood absorbed fairly quickly into a vampire's system, it did still take time- but that was still less time than it took food to digest. I pursed my lips, taking a second to consider the issue.

"Hmm..." I turned back to Lisbet and Jerremyah. "What do you think?" Lisbet started to open her mouth, but paused when Jerremyah put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you asking us for advice, or permission?" Lisbet and I both blinked, and she furrowed her brows at him- like she wasn't sure whether she disapproved of his approach or not. I wasn't sure I liked it, but that didn't mean he didn't have a point- and I was quietly impressed that he had managed to surprise me with his choices, yet again.

"...permission?" Jerremyah nodded, as Lisbet's face went slack, seemingly shocked by my response- or at least, by the fact that I had deigned to respond.

"I think we've already established that getting Lisbet's permission isn't entirely necessary for you-" He was referring to when I had inducted him into the clan against her wishes, I think, but I couldn't be entirely sure- I did a lot of things without permission, and that permission being Lisbet's didn't change that as much as it probably should. "-but if you want the reassurance, you'll have to ask for it more directly." Lisbet once again looked unsure about this, but she didn't contradict him- instead choosing to give me a rather soft look, like she was trying to assure me that reassurance was just a few words away. I didn't ask Lisbet, though.

"You're not going to get annoyed, waiting for me? It's your time I'm wasting-" He cut me off with a shrug, and Lisbet looked like she had just witnessed something remarkable, but I didn't know what had put that look on her face, considering that everything seemed pretty mundane to me.

"We're vampires- we've got time to spare. Most of the time, we're just trying to find something to do, or otherwise dicking around-" Lisbet elbowed him in the side, and he rolled his eyes at her indulgently- like he had expected this outcome, but still hadn't done anything to prevent it... maybe had even done it on purpose, to get that specific reaction. "-to be fair, after you go to sleep, we mostly just mess around and try not to get angry enough to want to kill each other. Honestly, you might be doing us a favor, if you force us to talk to Grey after that point." I hesitated.

"You don't want to... I don't know, read a book or something?" Greygorry looked intrigued, but Jerremyah huffed, somewhat exasperatedly.

"Don't get him started." The corner of my lips quirked up. "I think it depends on the sort of person you are, but I find that, after you spend a long enough time working on hobbies, they start to lose their appeal- and no one wants to lose interest in something they once enjoyed." True. "I can't speak for anyone else, but I prefer to spend my downtime talking to people." Somehow, that didn't surprise me.

"Lisbet?" She blinked.

"Huh?" Her confusion kind of amused me- if only because I wasn't used to it.

"What do you do for fun?" She froze for a second, then once again blinked heavily, as if she was trying to reset the world to one where that question made sense.

"I-" She glanced back at Jerremyah, whose lips quirked up into a smirk. "I solve crosswords." Now it was my turn to blink in surprise.

"What?"

"What?!" Jerremyah echoed, and Lisbet flushed slightly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Okay, fine, I don't solve crosswords- you don't have to act so incredulous about it, though." I felt a little sheepish, but Jerremyah just narrowed his eyes at her a little, like he was trying to make a point.

"Lis- given your track record with logic puzzles- and puzzles in general- I don't think it's fair to be mad at us for doubting that claim." She huffed quietly, and I felt the smile start to creep back onto my face.

"I would have been more inclined to believe origami, if you were wondering." She rolled her eyes at me, even as she tried- and failed- to try to hide her clear amusement.

"You say that as if I denied being an origami master." I stared at her, somehow both warily, and hopeful.

"...are you?" All she did was flash me a mysterious smile- which just made me nervous, if I was completely honest.

"So, what's the verdict?" Shari asked, and I was forced to remember the conversation we had been having before.

"...we should-" I resisted the urge to look at anyone else for reassurance, now that I knew that Jerremyah was onto me. "We should drink before the conversation, so I have time to absorb it before dinner." She nodded, and she looked like she wouldn't have been particularly fussed either way- great. Clearly, I shouldn't have been so worried about it- maybe that was Jerremyah's point.

"And are you..." Herc started, then hesitated. "Do you want us to stay out here, or-" I shook my head, and he stopped to let me answer.

"No- there isn't much point. Shari would have to come back with us, and it would be quicker if Greygorry was close by once we finished up- which means it would just be you out here alone. Not that I don't think you're capable, but I wouldn't want something to happen to you, because one of our many enemies decided to attack you to try to get back at us- I'd prefer not to have one of our most vulnerable allies out here by themselves." The others, particularly Lisbet and Jerremyah, looked like they wanted to say something on this matter, but I pushed forward before they had the chance. "Besides, you can train at home, the grounds are plenty large enough that you shouldn't even need to leave the apparition barrier- which should buy us all some time, if someone does try to attack." Except for Jerremyah, the others all looked vaguely concerned- maybe by the notion of being attacked? I would have thought they'd be used to that by now, but apparently not.

"Alright," Shari said, hopping up from her place draped across my legs. "Back to base, I guess." I glanced at Lisbet and Jerremyah, before turning my gaze back to Shari, Greygorry, and Herc.

"Are we all ready to go?" Greygorry shrugged.

"That depends- are you done with your 'little lie-down'?"

(A/N): Leo: 'I'd prefer not to have one of our most vulnerable allies out here by themselves.'

Everyone Else: 'No, you.'

also

Leo: 'I'd prefer not to have one of our most vulnerable allies out here by themselves.'

Everyone Else: 'You can't spell vulnerable without L-E-O.'

Leo: '...that is absolutely not the case, but okay I guess.'

also

Shari and Herc: *pinning Leo to the ground*

Leo: 'I just like spending time with you guys.'

Shari: 'And you couldn't just do that by asking us to play a game of chess or something?'

Leo: 'Of course not, that would make me feel extremely vulnerable. Roundabout physical connection or nothing.'

also

Jerremyah: 'Are you asking us for advice, or permission?'

Lisbet: 'I'm not sure I approve of this, but I'll let it play out to see what Jerremyah is trying to get at.'

Leo: '...permission?'

Lisbet: * 0.o *

Lisbet: 'That- that sounded like an answer! Leo's ALLERGIC to those! Quick- Shari, get the epipen!'

also

Jerremyah: '(...)if you want the reassurance, you'll have to ask for it more directly.'

Lisbet: *giving Leo a soft look, like she was trying to assure him that reassurance was just a few words away*

Leo: 'I didn't ask Lisbet, though.'

Leo: *turns to Jerremyah*

Leo: 'You're not going to get annoyed, waiting for me? It's YOUR time I'm wasting-'

Jerremyah: *shrug* 'You're not wasting MY time, I'm a vampire,time wastes itself.'

Lisbet: 'I- oh my god, did Leo really just look to JERREMYAH for reassurance? Did that REALLY just happen?!'

Leo: *completely clueless that he has just shaken Lisbet to her core*

Leo: 'Completely clueless is one of my main personality traits.'

Translations:

Hermanito = Little Brother (Colombian Spanish slang)

More Info:

So, Leo was originally supposed to have volunteered to help the Twins practice their non-lethal take downs, and how to work alongside people they don't usually work with. Yes, Danniel was the one that was originally meant to ruffle Leo's hair, and Jo was the one whose hair was meant to whip Leo's leg. Shari was meant to just be standing off to the side with Greygorry, watching. Also, I originally had Lisbet say she played Sudoku, but I looked it up and apparently Sudoku didn't quite exist yet, so I changed it to crossword puzzles, instead. The comment Leo made to Herc about him being their most vulnerable ally was meant to be about the Twins being the most vulnerable members of the clan.