Kara was still reeling from the kiss they had shared when Hallbjorn began towing her towards the shelter of an overhang. Only when they were out of the down poor did she seem to grasp what was happening around them, and that she was the cause for the weather. With Hallbjorn's hand on her back, warming her through her soaked clothing, Kara pressed her face against his chest.<br/><br/>She thought perhaps if she could calm herself, she could calm the storm. Kara took several deep breaths and began to feel that something within her that made her feel connected to the storm. She was about to try and make it shrink, but Hallbjorn's tone alerted her to danger. While to anyone else, it would be impossible to read him, she thought she might be getting a better handle on his moods. Right now, his mood made her agree with him. She stepped back and nodded, then clung to his hand as they quickly left.<br/><br/>Kara gasped when two men appeared out of nowhere. She'd never get used to that. Hallbjorn took a half step in front of her, and she was happy to have him be her shield. But when he called them vampires, she leaned around so she could see them. She had no idea how he knew they were vampires. They didn't have read eyes, and unlike the demons and their horns, there was nothing to give them away.<br/><br/>The fascination she felt, to meet others of her kind, and the questions that bubbled within her shriveled when the two vampires kept gazing at her. Kara frowned as she straightened. Her hands rested on Hallbjorn's lower back as she moved closer to him. His possessive words about her thrilled Kara to her toes, even as her breath quickened with fear. She was glad when Hallbjorn moved fully in front of her. Kara didn't want to see them anymore. She just wanted them to leave her and Hallbjorn alone.<br/><br/>She gasped Hallbjorn's name when one of them traced far to close to her. Her small hands fisted in his shirt, as if she could hold onto him and not be taken away. Hallbjorn was quick to stop the vampire from getting any closer to her. She could partly see what Hallbjorn was doing to the vampire. While before, this violence would have frightened her and made her weary of him, now Kara was better able to accept it. It did not escape her grasp either that Hallbjorn was not killing the vampire, just as he had not killed those werewolves.<br/><br/>Kara listened to the rest of the exchange from safely behind Hallbjorn's back. When she felt his muscles relax, she was able to let go of his shirt. The rain had slackened to a steady sprinkle and the strikes of lightning came fewer and less intense. Though at this point, her clothes were plastered to her skin, but the desert was still warm enough that she was not suffering from chills.<br/><br/>She looked up at Hallbjorn, her eyes wide. Questions tumbled through her head. Why were the vampires after her? What did they want? Who was Kristoff? And did Hallbjorn really mean what he said?  She held her tongue for the moment, and did as he asked. He still seemed on guard, and she wanted to get out of their quickly.<br/><br/>Kara climbed up into the cab of the truck and leaned over the seat back so she could dig into her bag. What she found was not heartening. The only clean clothes she had left was a pair of black yoga pants and her hoodie. She was even out of underthings. She pulled off her wet clothes as quickly as she could, which was not an easy thing with tight jeans. Left with no clean underwear, she pulled on the yoga pants, then slipped the hoodie on. Thankfully it was thick enough to conceal the fact that she wasn't wearing a bra.<br/><br/>After putting her wet clothes and shoes into one of the plastic bags in the back and shoving it into her bag, she settled into the front seat and rolled down the window. Her hair was still wet, with tendrils plastered to her cheeks and her throat. Kara didn't know what Hallbjorn was going to do about his wet clothing, since he was as soaked as she had been.<br/><br/>“Hallbjorn,” she called to him softly, “I'm ready.” After he got into the truck, her lips parted to ask about the motives of the vampires. But Hallbjorn seemed as distant as when she first met him. Perhaps he needed time to cool down before they discussed it. Instead, she brought up another worry she had. “Um, I seem to be out of clean clothing. Do you think we can stop off at a laundromat in the next town, or perhaps a thrift store?”