Chapter 58: Vampires vs. Werewolves

Chapter 58: Vampires vs. Werewolves

"You have to have more fight in you! Ya Know? You can't just let people like that push you around!" Danjal said as they continued driving down the highway. Glancing towards the smaller man who had a visible chip in his ear now, he silently wondered why the world seemingly wanted to mark the man with as many cuts and bruises as possible.

"I'm depressed Danjal," Robin snorted out, not looking at the other as his forehead rested against the glass. The flat lands that raced past the car offered no comfort to the smaller demon.

"We can't all be like you, happy, big, strong! Woman falling all over you…"

Danjal hesitated, looking from Robin to the road. The GPS on his phone pinged their upcoming arrival.

"Some of us," Robin whispered, rubbing the marks on his veins absentmindedly, "Are just waiting to die,"

Danjal's heart sank, "well," he whispered, "and maybe some of us want to give you a reason to keep going"

Robin glanced at the other now, feeling a spark of surprise flash into him. Danjal often waved off his depression or anxiety with a Hardy laugh and telling him to try pushing past it. But looking at the demon now, he could see Danjal's mind was deeply troubled.

"You're the only reason I made it this far," Robin chuckled softly, rubbing the back of his neck. His hands trembled from sudden sparks of panic as the pair pulled up to the dude ranch.

Danjal turned to face Robin with a serious note in his voice "I'm...sorry I'm not exactly well versed in...emotions," he started, "But...for you I'm trying,"

"For me? What's so special about me?" Robin asked as he pushed the door open, stepping outside into the soft afternoon light. Danjal did the same, grabbing the top of the car causing the vehicle to shudder under his weight as he leapt out and onto the ground. The demon smiled down at his friend.

"Well," Danjal started, he wasn't sure how to answer that. Why was he wanting to change for the other? Now that he thought about it, he'd changed a lot since Robin came around.

"You're my friend! What isn't special about that?" Danjal finally said, Robin nodded slowly at this. For a heartbeat the demon looked disappointed, rubbing his hands in a form of comfort as the pair made for the front of the ranch.

A butterfly landed on the smaller demon's head, causing Danjal to chuckle as they walked towards the front gates. A small metal box sat just beside the gate with a green button and a speaker, the pair glanced at one another and back to the box. What would they say? Danjal hadn't thought of that, his mind going back to the Elvis podcast he had been listening to.

Robin didn't seem to need to think too long, reaching forward and pressing down on the button after a few short seconds. The box buzzed softly as if it were a radio stuck on static until a voice popped out. A woman, with a chipper tone.

"Howdy!" She sang out, "Names Gretchen, I don't recognize the pair of you!" Her southern accent gave her voice a posh feeling.

"Yeah, we're new in town," Robin started, holding down the talk button as he did so. "We wanted to take horse riding lessons," Danjal glanced at his friend in confusion. Glancing past Robin and into the fence, he could see a few of the innocent scattered about with the large beasts that clopped lazily beside them.

"Oh! That's perfect, why don't you both come into my office. It'll be the building on your left as you enter, sugar"

Robin let his hand fall off the button, the butterfly didn't move as the other turned to look at Danjal.

"Riding horses, huh?"

"It'll give us a good chance to look around," Robin replied with a shrug, Danjal glanced back to the gate that let out a soft hiss and opened up before them. Robin pulled off his hoodie causing the butterfly to flutter lazily away, tying it around his waist before the pair made their way into the ranch.

Dust kicked up under Danjal's boots, swirling in the hot, dry air of the Texas heat. A few small homes were settled around the ranch, with trees littered everywhere. A small pack of gogs charged past the pair, only to stop and run back to greet Robin who went down to them without a question. His smile bright as the sunshine above as the dogs yapped and licked at the others face, Danjal caught the others eye and glanced away quickly. Feeling heat rise into his veins that made him want to run with the energy that sparked through his being from the man's blue gaze.

"Well that's funny!" A little girl laughed as she trotted by with a white speckled horse beside her. Her long pigtails sat on her shoulders lazily, she wore a large umbrella hat on her head, with skin as white as paper.

"Ol' Penny doesn't like no one," She mused, clicking her tongue at one of the dogs that raced her way over to the girl. Robin chuckled, running his fingers through the other dog's fur before getting up, "Sorry," Robin whispered, Danjal shook his head at this.

"Why are you sorry?" He asked

Robin just shrugged, walking towards the home once again with Danjal at his side. The 'office' was a small pink home with brilliant white roses surrounding the front. A white gate to keep the animals out, with a few cats padding in and out of a cat door that was attached to the front of the wooden frame. Robin pushed into the gate, letting his fingers dance over a cat that was standing in the walkway. The animal purred and wound itself around the smaller demon, hissing at Danjal when he tried to get too close.

"It's okay, he's big but he's a teddy bear," Robin whispered to the cat, its orange fur clumped against his pants. The front door opened as they got closer, a woman with fluffy black hair stepped into the sunshine. Her pale skin covered with a large cowboy hat, she wore strong boots with spurs that clicked as she walked.

"You two the newest students?" She asked, pushing her sunglasses down to show off her burning brown gaze.

"Sure are," Robin said, giving her a small smile as the cat continued to meow and purr for attention.

"That's Cherry," She gestured to the orange cat, "She ain't gonna bother you none is she?"

"Not at all, I love cats," Robin whispered, leaning down to roll his fingers against the animals back. Cherry rubbed her head against Robin's palms, purring softly at the touch. Danjal found himself staring at the archer, why was he stuck staring?

"I'm Robin," He said after a few seconds of baby talking towards the animal. Getting to his feet and holding out his hand only to withdraw it when the track marks became visible out of the long sleeve shirt he wore.

"Robin!" She chuckled, "You aint dressed for this, are ya?"

She turned her attention to Danjal, puffing out her chest and putting her hands on her hips in a dramatic pose.

"An' we should be throwin' rope around you for the Rodeo! How long did it take ya' to get to that size?" She asked with a loud snorting laugh, he shook her hand. Her grip was strong and firm, a glow in the depths of her smile.

"Oh, I've been this way a long time!" He laughed, "I'm Danjal,"

"Are ya'll both demons?" She asked with a tilt of her head, smiling at them.

Robin looked surprised, stumbling as he attempted to find the right words. "W-We are uh…"

"Yes!" Danjal said, saving the other as he attempted to shake away his embarrassment.

"Well it ain't often we get demon in 'ere! Is there a reason you're learnin' to ride horses? Is it for the Rodeo tomorrow?"

"Exactly!" Robin said, finding his voice again, she wasn't looking at him but towards Danjal which sent a spark of excitement in the large demon at possibly being flirted with.

"Yes, well, Robin here wanted to show me what it was like to ride a horse before we come and join in on the fun," He lied, running his fingers through the tight waves on his head.

"Well, let's get y'all hooked up than." She laughed, "It's 'bout hundred dollars a lesson per person but since y'all are our first demons we got for awhile how's about a hundred for both?" She grinned wide at Danjal, batting her eyes at him. He puffed out his chest more as she turned to snag paperwork from her office,

"I'll be right back, handsome," She said before ducking into the home. Robin looked down at the floor, rubbing at his arm absentmindedly. Danjal frowned when he noticed the man had stopped petting the cat that still rubbed it's head against his legs.

"You alright?" Danjal asked, tilting his head curiously.

"Yeah," Robin replied in a flat tone, not looking at Danjal as he spoke.

Gretchen trotted out of the home a few minutes later with a clipboard in her arms and a pen.

"Alright, just gotta sign on the line! Waver and all," She said, clicking the top of the pen and handing it over to Danjal. Robin seemed to shrink into himself as the large demon started to look through the paperwork.

***

"Alright everyone," The instructor said, Robin and Danjal had been taken to a class that happened to be starting right away which irritated the demon to no end. He wanted to look around, possibly come up with an excuse as to why he'd need to explore a building or two but instead he found himself on top of a stallion, it's beautiful hair ran long and dark while it's body was that of gold. The animal had connected to Robin almost instantly, following the man from where he stood behind his fence.

"Well we don't usually let folks ride Arrow, but he seems to have taken a likin' to ya!" Gretchen had said as she strapped up a large colt for Danjal to ride.

"He's not for beginners,"

"I'm not a beginner," He replied coldly, she shrugged and went back to flirting with his friend. He felt a hot rage in his system as she took over the instructions for this class as well, dismissing the other woman who would have done it. Her horse was a brilliant white with a black mane that was shaved down, she seemed incredibly in tune with her rider as the pair trotted back and forth around the small group of two demons and a couple of kids.

"I'm going to start with the basics," She said, kicking her partner softly with the sides of her heels causing the horse to walk slowly forward and stop. Robin snorted as she talked about how to stop and start, Danjal laughed at a joke she said causing the small demon to glare at the floor.

Why was he so jealous? Lionheart's didn't have to be about romance right? Besides, Danjal was straight and had only ever dated women from what Robin could recall. His crush on the large demon was well hidden usually, but being around him constantly was starting to get to Robin.

"Now you try it," She said, motioning to Danjal. He watched his friend trot out and back, rolling his eyes as she praised him.

"A natural!" She laughed. She went through the rest of the group before moving her attention to Robin.

"Now you're turn," She said to him, something in her voice sent a shot of rage through the man. Though he silently wasn't sure if he was reading too far into it. He clicked softly at the animal, the horse didn't need any other direction. Arrow trotted forward, shocking Gretchen as he did a small, slow circle around the woman and returned to his spot.

"W-Well you are a professional!" She laughed, "That Arrow isn't one to just listen so easily, you must have bonded with him somehow," She mused.

"Or maybe I just know what I'm doing," He replied bluntly, she blinked a few times in surprise. Pressing her lips together before moving attention back to the group. He felt Danjal give him a confused look but ignored it.

The demon was heavily skilled when it came to horses and as they went through more of the lesson the man found ways to outmatch Gretchen. From running when she tried to teach them to walk, to jumping when she started to teach them how to turn. He could see her getting frustrated at him as she taught the others easy things, the two hours ticked passed quickly.

"Now tomorrows the rodeo, y'all be safe! We ain't doin' lessons again till next Friday,"

"Will you be at the rodeo?" Danjal asked as he slid off the horse, the woman grinned wide at him and nodded.

"Oh I'll be at the rodeo, be in my private office too in case you want to help me with some paperwork," she said to him with a wink, anger bubbling over Robin at this point.

"We're busy," Robin snarled at the woman.

She caught his eyes, before anything else could be said a howl exploded out around them. The sudden yaps of wolves filled the air, a little girl who hadn't got off her horse yet let out a whimper of shock. The gates burst open from the front, a group of men and one woman charged into the place. They howled inhumanly, yapping, growing as they rode their large, dark horses into the ranch. Their eyes wild, animal like as they laughed moving rapidly towards the small group. Robin had to grab his horse's reins to stop him from bucking. Whispering softly to the animal, scratching at its neck.

Gretchen didn't seem phased, she stared angrily at the woman that led the pack. Her black horse let out an angry neigh but didn't move a muscle. The werewolves ran in a circle around the group like a cluster of sharks. The horses used by the children let out terrified whines, charging away from the situation at top speed. One of the little girls screamed in fear as the werewolves charged for the horses,

"Millie!" Gretchen shouted, the little girl clung to the horse, having been strapped into the saddle to keep her from falling. Tears raced down her cheeks as her straw colored hair fell in her face, screaming and wailing as the pack continued to chase the other horses. Snapping their sharp, wolf-like teeth at the animals.

Before Gretchen could do anything Robin knocked the sides of his heels against Arrow's sides causing the horse to let out an angry bellow. He took off running towards the group, kicking up dirt as they went. Robin leaned forward to keep himself from jumping up too far off the saddle. The boots he stole from Donnie let out a soft moan as he rode one handed towards the group.

The werewolf's heads shuttered and mutated to become more monstrous as they snapped their teeth continuously. The little girl screamed in horror as the group split the horses from one another and ran in a circle around the horse with Millie on top of it. Kicking up the soil under the horses hooves, the animals letting out angry huffs.

Robin came racing from behind, his heart pounding against his chest as fear flooded his body. He didn't have his bow nor his arrows, he wasn't sure what he was going to do but he had to do it quickly. One accidental bite from the wolves could possibly turn the child and she could have her entire life ruined due to someone's neglect of themselves. His blue eyes narrowed as anger pumped through his veins to replace the fear.

"We have to go faster," He whispered to the horse, its ears pricking backwards at his words. Though Robin knew the animal didn't know what he was saying he felt it helped him understand a bit more of the gravity of the current situation. The horse chuffed before speeding up, Robin forced his legs to relax. He didn't want to confuse the animal, he rode in the western style and he wasn't sure what Arrow was trained.

The horse easily outran the dark horses, Arrow was trained for this and it showed.

"What the hell!" The woman spat as Robin started to race past them. His eyes moved quickly, he had to stop the group, he had to startle their animals. He debated on stopping in front of them but the possibility of them wolfing out was too high, his gaze moved from one side of the ranch to another. The farm was huge, he mused - the front was built to make it seem small but running past the little buildings opened to a huge collection of land.

His eyes moved to a water tower that was built in the middle of the large field. They were racing right towards it. His eyes darted from the large water tower to the barrel's that were settled beside it. If only he had an arrow, an idea rushed over him. It was as if the universe itself was speaking in his ear sending a rolling wave of cold against his skin.

He kicked Arrow's sides lightly, sending the horse racing a few paces faster than the woman. She growled deeply, her skin shuttered with fur as she snapped her teeth towards him.

"Who the fuck are you?" She shouted

"Stop this! There's a little girl on the horse!" Robin yelled back

"No shit!" She spat, laughing wildly "Show that bitch Gretchen what 'fer if we give' em a real scare!"

Robin glared at the other, his eyes moved from the woman towards the water tower.

"What are you doin? Ya crazy man, ya got bb's in your brain?"

Robin ignored her colorful words, he stood up on the animal causing the woman to howl in confusion as his Adinkra shone bright. He felt its power in his fingers, it rolled through his veins and turned his hands to gold. He pulled back and a string of light extended from his hand, an arrow settled on the end. Pain exploded through Robin's body as he let the arrow fly, nearly falling from the sudden crash of energy and the agony in his hands. Stumbled and caught himself, clinging to his horse who trotted to a walk as the werewolves raced off.

The golden arrow shot through the air like a dagger and slammed into one of the barrels that settled on the small ledge on the tower. It swayed just as the pack of wolves ran past it, the giant wooden crate fell to the floor and exploded. Showering the group in water, their horses reared back in shock and fear. Sending its riders flying off them, the little girl screamed but she remained on the horse. Robin was silently thankful now that Gretchen insisted on putting seat-belts on the saddles.

He shakily pulled himself back up onto his companion, jogged Arrow rapidly towards the girl's horse who followed the others in its panic. Gretchen came racing up a few heartbeats later, practically running into them as the horses collectively made their way to a patch of grass. Danjal followed after, looking completely shocked as Robin guided the horse with the girl towards Gretchen.

"Hey!" Gretchen shouted as the werewolves collected themselves, making their way towards their own horses that had followed the others to their snacking area.

"What the hell, y'all can't just steal a kid!" Gretchen roared out, her sharp vampire teeth stuck out from her lips. Her horse let out a whine of distress at seeing the half wolfed out creatures.

"'What the hell' you! We're showing you what we got for tomorrow, or are ya an idiot an don't remember our pact!!" The woman snorted,

"Y'all as sick as rats in a lab!" Gretchen snorted, crossing her arms over her chest. Glaring at the woman with the darker skin and narrowed gaze. "You should be stayin' home! We ain't never made our pact this extreme, what is goin' on in your stupid heads, Jasira!"

Jasira rolled her eyes, snarling at the other, "Shut up, blood sucker!" She spat into the dirt as if she had swallowed poison.

"We're comin' for y'all tomorrow. We gotta secret weapon!" She snorted and giggled, nodding to her group they all scrambled onto their horses.

"Oh, an that arrow trick? Using an angel in your mix, it ain't fair, that's cheatin'" Jasira snorted, Robin looked at the other in shock. Did she call him an angel?

"No it ain't!" Gretchen shot back, "We got an angel an we ain't 'fraid to use em! Now get! Go suck eggs!"

Jasira flipped her off, howling into the air the group turned and charged away. They let out yaps of laughter as they went, kicking up dirt with the large hooves of their horses. Gretchen rolled her eyes, running her fingers through her hair. A few of Gretchen's employees had made their way to the small girl, helping her down and looking her over.

"An angel?" Robin whispered as he trotted towards Gretchen, his eyes moving to Danjal who was lazily making his way towards them. Seeing the danger had passed he didn't seem to mind walking slower, she looked toward Robin with a puzzled expression.

"You don't smell like a demon...he does," She nodded to Danjal, "You smell like somethin' else," Robin opened his jaw before closing it as his puzzled expression grew.

"Hey, I'm sorry if I'm steppin' on your toes at all," She said to Robin, giving him a small smile. He glanced at her in surprise, moving his eyes back to the employee's who were collecting the horses now and returning the girl to her mother.

"I seem to have misread your situation," She laughed, "Your crush an all,"

Robin felt his face turn hot as the sun, "W-What?" He whispered, "I don't know what you're talking about,"

"Look Robin," She said, waving a hand in the air before resting it on her horse and letting it rush against the animal's fur.

"People ain't just rude to be rude, obviously somethin' is happenin' and I was steppin' on your toes! Then I saw the way you looked at em, you know? Girl's gotta six sense,"

Danjal had decided to stop, sitting down in an attempt to pet a dog. He grinned wide as the lab licked at his face, pointing at the dog and laughing.

"Robin! Look! He likes me," He laughed.

Robin felt himself smile big, causing Gretchen to snort.

"Don't worry, Romeo, I ain't gonna flirt no more," She chuckled, trotting slowly towards Danjal.

"H-Hey, how did you know I liked him? Wait, wouldn't that make him Juliet?" Robin asked, following behind the woman as she trotted past the pair.

"Alright Romeo," She stopped beside Danjal "If you're gonna help us tomorrow you're gonna have to get ready. Put Danjal on Arrow's back with ya', meet me in the far field." She said with a devilish grin.

"W-What? I didn't say I'd do--"

"It'd be a shame if someone found out you're love for Juliet," She said to him, Robin's jaw dropped.

"Who's Juliet?" Danjal asked, making his way towards Arrow and Robin. Placing a large hand on the animal's flank, the horse nuzzled into the man's palm as he rolled them up and down the creature's fuzzy cheeks.

"No one," Gretchen grinned, "Just my cat,"

"I thought your cat's name was Cherry?" Danjal asked, hoisting himself up onto the saddle. Having to crush himself against Robin to fit behind him. Robin's heart sparked like a campfire as the larger man settled beside him.

"I got a lotta cats," Gretchen said "an' you're welcome" giving Robin a wink causing his face to burn once more, with that she made her way towards the field at the other end of the property. Robin groaned, he couldn't remember the last time he felt so exhausted.

"You're going to help them tomorrow?" Danjal asked as Robin started to guide Arrow to where they needed to go. He let himself relax against the other, the smell of the man's cologne made him feel dizzy.

"Yeah, she's...got important information I need and she won't give it to me if I don't help," Robin whispered,

"I feel like a lot happened that I missed," Danjal chuckled to himself nervously. Putting his hands on the others hips sending a spark through Robin making him shuffle uncomfortably. His face continued to burn as they followed Gretchen.

***

"No seriously, you're a hero!" Gretchen said with a laugh, she stood out in the dying sunlight with her large cowboy hat, hair tied into a loose braid that settled against her shoulder.

"Shut up, you're black mailing me," Robin shouted from the back of Arrow who leapt over an tire, running at top speed through the large obstacle course that was set up for the rodeo tomorrow. His hat nearly gold in the sunlight, the large cowboy cap kept the sun from his eyes as he raced between long poles. Wearing a tank which was a rarity for the man, the boots Donnie made were fitted with spurs that flicked against the animals skin softly with each turn needing to be made.

"You saved a little girl," Gretchen yelled back, taking a few bites of the protein bar she had pulled out of her purse.

"And you'll be savin' our asses too,"

"I don't want to," Robin snorted, stopping the horse and pulling him towards the other. He dropped to the ground on shaken legs, brushing dirt from his pants.

"Well you gotta, or I'm telling Juliet how you feel for them! An' then what, Romeo? What'll happen then?" She grinned at him, her vampire teeth shone in the light of the sun.

"You're evil, you know that?" He groaned, she shrugged, "I need a strong rider, I ain't askin' much. I keep your secret and I'll help you get closer, huh? You do one run. Only one! Arrow's never listened to nobody before, we can win with em,"

"Look, I'm here to find someone," Robin pulled out his phone, holding up a picture of the psychic. She leaned down and scanned the man's face before her gaze fell on the others blind eye.

"I ain't never seen him before," She said with a light shrug.

"I was told he was here," Robin whispered, "I'm part of Born Again, me and Danjal, and we're trying to save this guy."

She nodded slowly at this, putting a hand on her chin as her mind worked.

"Ya'know, the wolves have been actin' pretty strange. Keep talkin' about this secret weapon? Could it be your friend?"

"Then why did our insider send me here?"

"Well, if we win the competition tomorrow we get to use the Wolfsband's lands for our horse ridin' trails. And if they win they get to use ours, so we do this competition every year to decide it. But this past few days they told us they wanted more," She narrowed her eyes to the ground as she spoke.

"Gotta weird email, said their animals were actin' funny," She pulled out her phone, handing it to the other who scrolled through a collection of screenshots.

"Only a few hours later I started to get these weird death threats, in a few more hours my inbox was flooded,"

"What does this have to do with anything?" Robin asked, noticing how erratic the text had become as time went on.

"If you help me with this, I'll help you with your thing," She sighed, "I can help you even weasel your way into them varmint ranch. I swear! We'll find your friend," She dropped to her knees into the dusty floor.

"Please, Romeo wherefore art tho's kindness!" She squealed out.

Robin rolled his eyes, rushing his fingers through his hair. A butterfly dropped down onto his head just beside his hand, causing the woman to let out a snorting laugh.

"What are ya? A Disney character?" She laughed out, Robin looked at her in curiosity, flinching at Arrow nipping at the man's hair where the butterfly had settled causing the monarch to flutter off.

"Come on, Romeo! Please! I'm on my knees! Do you want me to pray?" She pointed to the sky dramatically, causing Robin to stumble towards her in embarrassment as she shouted, "Please Mr. Born Again! Save my farm!"

"Stop it!" he groaned, "Fine, I'll do it!"

She leapt to her feet, punching the air with a wide grin. She wrapped her arms around the other and yanked him into his chest. Squeezing him tight,

"Now ya'll don't worry bout nothing! Ya can stay here for the night, I'll get'cha a refund," she whispered, petting his head causing him to attempt to struggle away but she just held him tighter.

"I'll get'cha a skull, you can hold it up while you ask Danjal to let down his hair or...whatever happened in that play, I've only seen it once,"

Robin laughed at this now, shoving her away more playfully as he realized she was teasing him. She let the other go, lifting her nose in the air with a grin.

"An' you stop hidin' them scars," She said, nodding to the marks in the crotch of his arm.

"That aint you no more, don't even need'ta acknowledge they're there," She nodded to him before throwing her arms up toward Arrow causing the horse to let out a playful neigh and race away from her.

"You think Danjal's going to figure out which building has the fly spray?" Robin called after her, chuckling to himself. She stopped her running, voice glittering with laughter.

"Oh, he aint gonna find none," She replied, "We're all outta fly spray!"

***

Danjal sat on the bench outside of the small cabin they were asked to stay in for the night. Robin had fallen into bed and was asleep within seconds. The archer had been acting odd, it was causing him a good deal of stress seeing his friend's usual kind personality be overtaken by a sudden burst of misplaced aggression.

"Hey big guy!" Gretchen called out, waving to the other with Cherry following behind her. The cat let out a soft puff as she padded towards them and laid on her side. Danjal leaned forward and rolled his fingers over the cat's soft belly fur before it latched her jaw around the man's finger playfully.

Danjal chuckled, yanking his hand away from the animal. Smiling as it rubbed its head on his knee,

"What are you doing out here?" He asked her, she gave him a 'are you stupid' look.

"What am I doing out here? On my farm? Hm, well I don't know," She snorted, Danjal laughed at this.

"I mean, it's late,"

"It's ten pm,"

He nodded, glancing up at the large moon and back to her. She was beautiful but something kept him back from wanting to flirt more with her. He wondered if it was Robin's odd behavior? He should ask Robin about it at some point.

"That's true," He said finally, "Not incredibly late I guess,"

she giggled, sitting down beside him and leaning back against her open palms.

"Can I ask you something?" Danjal asked, and she smiled up at him. Her eyes glowed from the light of the moon.

"Shoot, partner!" She said,

"What made you want to reform? I know a few reformed vampires but I feel there's a story here," he murmured.

She shook her head at this, "What are you? 'I feel there's a story here'! You and your little boyfriend have seen too many Disney movies," she laughed, Danjal felt a flash of heat flood him at the others words.

The term 'boyfriends' suddenly made him feel dizzy and he wasn't sure why, a small panic set into his mind, "I'm straight," He gasped out stupidly.

"Yeah, straight," She snorted, "anyways, yeah, it's a story. My mom and Dad, Gretchen senior and Otto, brought this farm. They were vampires that would trick folks into coming to their dude ranch and take their blood, mostly people who were outta state. Well the Wolfband folks saw this, they decided it was a good idea and did the same thing across the street." She let her fingers roll through the cat's fur as she spoke.

"Wait, Gretchen and Otto?"

"The Grotto," She snorted, Danjal laughed at this causing her to laugh as well.

"Anyways, when my brother an one of them wolves got into a bit of a stink and the two passed away well...my folks decided we wanted to reform...that the hunters who killed the two only saw a couple of monsters and my parents didn't want more hunters seein' monsters'. So they changed in hopes to...make it better, and now? Gosh I love humans too much to go back," She breathed, running her fingers through her hair.

"How do you not burn up?" Danjal asked,

"Lots of sunscreen, lots of hats," She giggled "Besides, it aint like the old movies. We don't burst into flame! That was just somethin' the vampire who wrote that just...tossed it in so it was easier for us to hide, If anything, we just burn incredibly easy." looking down at the ground. The two sat in silence for a few rapid seconds before Danjal shuffled a bit towards her.

"You're...very pretty," He started, she smiled at him and shook her head.

"So are you," She whispered, glancing to the floor feeling a little ashamed at the flirting.

"That's why I'm so confused," He continued, she looked at him with a tilt of her head.

"Confused?" She asked.

He nodded slowly, feeling his mouth go dry as he attempted to piece together the words in his mind.

"Yeah, usually I'd...be all over you by now," He chuckled, "But I can't seem to understand why I'm suddenly….not feeling it,"

Her eyes scanned his face for a few heartbeats before she patted him on the back and got to her feet. Stretching her legs as she walked away from him, going back towards the small home on the opposite side of them.

"You'll figure it out, J." She chuckled, "Get some sleep! Tomorrow's a big day," Cherry let out a meow before pelting after the woman and happily padding beside her as she walked up the few steps to the home and ducked inside. That was a weird conversation, Danjal mused to himself as he got to his feet and made his way back into the small room. Robin glanced up at him from where he sat on his bed,

"Robin! Why are you awake?" Danjal asked, sitting on the other side of the bed. The room was small, with a dresser, a couple of lamps on either side of the bed that were settled on top of tiny tables.

"Oh, uh, bathroom," He murmured, fiddling with the sheets and laying down. Danjal rubbed the back of his head awkwardly,

"Dan," The man glanced towards Robin, the archer was clutching his pillow like it was a teddy bear.

"I'm...uh, sorry...for being kind of an asshole today," He whispered, Danjal shook his head and sat down beside him.

"Yeah, what was up with that?"

"Y-You...were just flirting a lot and I guess I got jealous…"

"Do...you like her?"

Robin blinked in surprise, giving him a look of shock, "N-No!" He spluttered, Danjal laughed and grinned brighter though a part of him felt hurt. Why did it hurt suddenly? The thought of the other being with someone else? He was Robin's Lionheart but he didn't fully understand what it meant to be a Lionheart to a king. He saw it as a knight, a knight didn't fall in love with the king though. Yet all the rest seemed to be following that direction, didn't they?

"I don't like her, Dan" He whispered, laying back down and shutting his eyes. Danjal watched the man for a few seconds, tracing the others' soft features and warm skin with his gaze.

"Whatever you say," The man snorted, pulling the covers back and sliding into the bed beside the archer. Generally Robin would insist on not sleeping near Danjal despite the man offering it often, but tonight Robin looked far too tired to find a comfortable spot on the floor.

Laying next to the other sent a wave of warm salt water against his skin. Tickling against the hair on his chest in a way he couldn't recall ever feeling before. What's wrong with him?

"Hey Robin,"

"Hm?"

"Why do you always sleep with a pillow like that?"

"Why...do you ask so many questions?"

Danjal turned to look at the other, he glared up at Danjal while clutching the pillow to his chest. Arms wrapped tight around it, his blue eyes glimmered in the pale light of the moon's warmth that dropped through the windows.

"Do you sleep like that with Alan? Is that why?" Danjal continued his questions until Robin shook his head, a small smile on his lips.

"No, I guess...it's just comfortable. Holding something, doesn't feel so lonely," He murmured.

Danjal nodded, he understood this. The feeling of needing to be close to someone was part of the demon's love language and he wondered if Robin had the same kind.

"Why not get a stuffed animal? I usually sleep with one!"

"I don't know, guess I never thought about it," Robin admitted, closing his eyes and burying his face into the warm pillow.

Danjal watched the other as he started to fade into the warmth of sleep. He shut his eyes, trying to stop the swirling desires that raged into his systems.