Lana put several blood packs from school in her bag. She could grow her own food but no need to become a blood bank when there was blood available. She took her dress off and put the other outfit on that was so thin that she called a body stocking even though it was actually a shirt and pants that zipped together. Then put her dress back on and put the other outfit in her bag.
A change of clothes is never a bad thing. She also brought two male outfits just in case. She made sure all of her water bottles were full even though she knew there was fresh water out there. There may be water needed without it being immediately available.
She was beginning to wonder about herself; always needing to be ready for everything. So far it had served her well but she wondered if her time at the orphanage would always stick with her in this way. Always ready to run away. She put some thought in and grabbed a few other things as well.
She was ready by the time Fex showed up. His things were all put in a room across the hall from Quinn. He protested if he should be allowed to live in the castle but Quinn would hear none of it.
Quinn, Peter, and Edward then walked to a different part of the castle. While Peter remained on the main floor, Quinn and Edward went down stairs.
The last person for the hunting party arrived just as Fex was walking down the last flight of stairs. Lana was happy and the three set out with Shalt leading the way.
"Why are you nervous?" Fex asked as they walked out of the vampire settlement.
"We are hunting advanced tier beasts. I have never fought one before. Moreover, I'm asking my friend to here to do the fighting. It's just a bit scary. Honestly, it's more scary then going to an unknown area with a couple of vampires on their home planet!" She chuckled. She then took a deep breath and smelled the air. "This isn't really that bad of a place. It's friendly enough."
Fex responded, "not only is this good experience for him but you as well. Have you ever fought with him in a battle?"
"No, that was going to be next. The last fight I really had other than those wendigos was while he was still living between my boobs because he was still too little to generate his own body heat."
Shalt coughed, "between your boobs? You stored your cat in your cleavage?"
She laughed nervously, "it also enabled me to keep him hidden from the teachers at school."
"I hear a story here…" Shalt lead the conversation to get her to talk. They had hours to get to the hunting ground.
She chuckled, "Well, the short answer is I found him, just born on an orange-portal planet we were exploring for the military. We were students in one of the military academies. It is a mandatory conscription to serve in the school so if another war with the dalki breaks out, we'll have forces trained to fight."
"The longer story is about 30 years ago, Earth was attacked by this strange race of lizard people? Dragon people? And they wiped out 80% of the population. The planet is…changed. Species went extinct as landscapes changed. Entire ecosystems are no longer. Plants, animals, entire cities were wiped away."
"People with abilities came forward and joined the fight. Some shared their abilities with others to increase the strength of the human fighting force. We got teleporters. Humans began exploring other planets. Not only did it provide resources to help with the war but the more planets we were able to live on, the higher the chances of humans surviving the onslaught, somewhere, even if it could not be on Earth."
"Most humans are not on Earth now, the cost of living there is too high but I also think there is not enough dry land that is habitable for us to even occupy our own planet. Most are in shelters on planets that should belong to the beasts who lived there first."
"In some cases, those beasts are attacking the shelters. If we can't live on Earth, and we can't live on other planets… Currently we are in an unstable truce and have been for seven years now. War could be upon us any day. I worry for the future of the human race."
"Sounds like a reason to become a vampire," Shalt stated.
"Or a reason to stay a human. They do have some redeeming qualities. Just like vampires we have some that give the race a bad name. It doesn't mean all are."
"There's something to be said for intelligence, though."
Lana laughed, "you think we don't have intelligent people?"
Shalt smirked, "I've never seen a vampire wear a dress on a hunting expedition."
She laughed again, "Would you like to experience what this dress has to offer?"
Shalt raised an eyebrow, "aren't you married?"
"Very. And it will stay on, I promise."
"I'd be careful, bro. She was one of the smartest people in our class. If she's in a dress, I assure you she has a reason," Fex chimed in.
"Our class? How could it be your class as well. You're a vampire." Shalt inquired.
"Yeah, that's one of the things I lied to the Council about. I wanted to see Earth and didn't want to wait until I was 18 like you're supposed to so I just went…I made a bunch of friends and," he shrugged and smiled, "they decided the world was better with me in it."
"Did you really conspire against the Council?"
"No, that was never an intention of mine. Part was me misleading what I did with my family, part me lying to my family and another part was a misunderstanding. But I would do it all over again to protect my blood brother," Fex said with uncharacteristic seriousness.
"And Lana, did he say you were married? How about some details, please."
"Actually, Fex, I'm not permitted to share any. At least not right now. Some things need to happen first. For right now, for both of you, keep it to yourselves. There are current circumstances in which I would be put in danger if it got out so we decided to marry in secret."
They could now see the mountain. Her worry was starting to get to her. All the while, the trees had told her of the males who had passed through just recently. Her overlay was up and she asked where advanced beasts were near the mountain. She didn't want to tell her escorts but she wanted to be close in case they needed support.
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