Arya slipped through the halls silently, stopping when she heard the faint sound of voices. She couldn't quite make out the words, even with her sensitive hearing. She thought that one of the voices sounded like Victor, but she couldn't be sure. Just as suddenly as they had begun, the words seemed to stop and the world was, again, quiet. She frowned slightly. She didn't know what was going on, but something didn't sit right with her. All of her senses were on alert and she felt as though something bad was going to happen.<br/><br/>She slipped into a room when she heard the light sound of footsteps down the hall. She felt her heart beating faster, but used her breathing to calm her racing heart, at least a little. Perhaps this hadn't been the best idea. Perhaps she should go back to the room, lock herself away, and wait for morning to come. Perhaps she should run and never look back. But how could she run now? Still, it was too big of a risk to keep going now. If there were people awake and moving around, then she shouldn't be. She had to go back and wait. Answers were no good to her if she ended up dead.<br/><br/>She waited but a moment to ensure that no more footsteps or voices could be heard nearby and then she slowly and silently slipped from the room and made her way quickly and quietly through the hallway and back up the stairs, back to the leafy green room where she was meant to stay. As she approached the room she noticed a shadowy figure, the face somewhat hidden by the darkness that coated the halls. It was too late. Whomever the figure was, he had seen her.<br/><br/><br/><br/><div style="text-indent:1em;">Victor rested his head against the wall, at a loss for what to do. Had Justine already found her? Knowing his cousin, she killed first and asked questions later. The sound of light footsteps reached his ears, and he turned with a very tired look on his face.<br/><br/>"Just leave me, Henry, I-" It wasn't Henry. His eyes widened with relief. "Where have you been?" He hissed with a tone of voice that did not match his facial expression at all.</div><br/><br/><br/><br/>Arya was relieved to find Victor, rather than someone else, standing near the door to her room. She was a bit surprised when he apparently expected someone by the name of Henry rather than her. Who was Henry? And why did he want him to leave him alone? She wondered these things but did not voice them. The look of relief in his eyes didn't match the tone in his voice as he spoke again. "I'm sorry." she looked down rather than at him. "I let my curiosity get the better of me." she paused, glancing back up at him. "I was looking for archive you mentioned before." she explained. "But then I heard voices and I got a really bad feeling. My instincts told me to return to the room, so I did." she explained. "What is going on?" she questioned, wondering about the voices she'd heard earlier, and about this Henry person.<br/><br/><br/><br/><div style="text-indent:1em;">Victor took a few deep, steadying breaths. "A few of my relatives are staying over," he said as calmly as he could. "They're not - not fond of strangers." His eyes glowed maniacally. He was getting an idea - a crazy one to be sure, but it wasn't letting go of him. "We should look for that archive together," he whispered hoarsely. Arya's investigation and the strange appearance of his cousins had awoken a burning desire in him to find out exactly what was in that archive; it wouldn't matter if it were eight hundred secret jam recipes, he just needed to know. And he knew that if he was with her, he'd feel just a little safe she wouldn't get killed.<br/><br/>"You haven't been in the basement, have you?"</div><br/><br/><br/><br/>Arya quirked a brow when he mentioned relatives. So, more vampires. Awesome. The idea sort of made her skin crawl. "So, they want to kill me, is what you're getting at. Fabulous. Just another Tuesday." She spoke more to herself than to him. Her voice was calm but more monotone and the latter words were thick with sarcasm. She was a bit surprised when he suggested that they look for the archive together. "Interesting idea." she replied thoughtfully. "Well, why the hell not." she shrugged. She was trapped in a house full of vampires, and while she couldn't say that she quite trusted him per se, he was about as close to an ally as she thought she would find here, and so far he had demonstrated more of a tendency to try to protect her from harm rather than cause her harm.<br/><br/>She shook her head when he asked if she had checked the basement. "No, I never made it that far. I heard voices once I made it down to the first floor, and then I got the feeling that I should come back here rather than continue on my own, so..." she explained, eyeing him somewhat curiously. Why was he helping her? Or was he helping her? Perhaps he was simply helping out of curiosity rather than a genuine desire to help. But the reason hardly mattered now. If he could help her find answers, that was good enough for the moment. Of course, if he was simply curious, she may not be able to count on him as an ally in the event that she was attacked, but that was a bridge she would have to cross when she came to it. She'd made it this far without needing an ally. If need be, she would fight them on her own, just like she always did, no matter how hard it was or how unlikely the odds may end up being.<br/><br/>"Alright, then. Let's go." she gestured down the hall, waiting and allowing him to take the lead, given that he was far more familiar with the house than she was and thus he'd be able to get them to their destination more quickly and with more ease than she could.<br/><br/><br/><span style="font-size: 85%; line-height: 116%;"><br/>Notes: Indented parts by <a href="//www.creativefreedomrpg.com/memberlist.php?mode=viewprofile&amp;u=100703">@Fearless Sissy</a> &lt;3</span>