Who's to judge?

Chapter XIII

The morning greeted me quite early. Maybe that was the excitement, but as soon as my eyes were open, I knew I couldn't stay lying down. Getting up, I stretched for a moment and decided to follow the delicate smell of freshly brewed coffee.

One of the doors was wide open.

I peeked inside what must have been the kitchen and saw the Fullblood currently pouring warm coffee into two cups while his vigor sleepily wrapped his arms around the latter's hips and leaned his face on the Fullblood's back. No words were exchanged, yet it looked harmonious.

I didn't want to disturb, so I turned around, only to almost run into Talon's chest. We didn't touch, however, as Talon jerked out of the way. Without any emotion on his face, he walked past me into the kitchen. The fullblood greeted him and offered him a cup of coffee, while the mixed sat down with his eyes closed. Talon declined, but sat down with them.

I ventured in, then stood uncomfortably at the table, not knowing if I was allowed to sit down or not. The fullblood saw my uncertainty and pointed to the chair in front of me. I took that as an invitation.

My seat was right next to Talon, who only glanced at me briefly out of the corner of his eye, but otherwise ignored me.

"Coffee?" The fullblood asked quietly, as if he didn't want to wake his sleepy vigor. I shook my head. He then sat down next to the mixed, stroked his cheek, and then took a sip of his coffee."So, I'll do the explaining until Leroy is properly awake."

he began. "The club we're going to tonight is a shithole filled with assholes." Leroy grumbled briefly, then said, "Not so mean, Valerio." His voice was all sleepy. Valerio nodded and continued.

"We have to be careful who we talk to and what we say. One wrong word and our heads will roll."

Leroy blinked a few times, took a sip from his cup and said a few words as well, "Try not to get involved in the Underground Pit, there are fights going on there that always end very bloody. They are competitions." After his explanation, he took another sip. It was unsettling, but doable.

I liked the plan and was glad it was tonight, because I wanted to get something else done first that might also get us somewhere. Talon next to me also nodded, only Valerio frowned. Something didn't sit well with him and he spoke up rather quickly.

"Why do you say "you guys"? Non vieni anche tu?"

Leroy shook his head. With a little smile he said, "I'm not allowed in there, it's forbidden."

I saw the fullblood seethe. "What do you mean forbidden?"

"Mixeds aren't allowed in."

Between the three types of vampires, the mixeds had it the hardest. The vampires didn't take them as full and treated them like dirt. Humans called them traitors for switching to vampires and treated them like dirt. They had nowhere to go, but could hide better among the humans. Which was not a good thing, because if they were discovered, no one could help them. Therefore, the ban was something that could be seen on any establishment run by vampires. His vigor's anger was justified, but he himself seemed to be calm personified.

"It's okay, I'll just wait for you here."

Leroy then took a sip of his coffee while Valerio grumbled in his language next to him, sipping his coffee in annoyance. I cleared my throat briefly to get their attention and then presented them with my plan, "I'm going to see someone today who can help us with the blood work. I can't promise you anything, but I'll do my best to convince him somehow." I didn't know him well enough, but he seemed to have a good heart. If he wanted to get paid, I would think of something.