Of Dusk And Roses

09. i'm only human, can't you see

"THAT went well."

Wesley saw Viktoir glowering at Sebastian on the rear view mirror, maybe for not being able to keep his mouth shut as he slid inside the vehicle.

"What?" Sebastian asked in a defensive way. "You've been dealing with me your whole life. You might as well start giving up on correcting my behavior."

She pursed her lips. Wesley said nothing and left Sebastian to his effortless attempt at throwing annoying comments from time to time. He fumbled for the car keys in his left pocket, until Sebastian asked him something.

"So, you ran away, huh?"

Wesley gave him a look, but sighed a moment after instead. "I had to find who killed my family and why. The Captain isn't fond of the idea, telling me there are more important things at hand, so I made a search on my own. I've only been gone for a few weeks, and I thought the training to be Captain could wait. Not everything about it has been laid out anyway."

"You're a Captain to-be at only nineteen?" Viktoir's voice asked from the back. Wesley didn't look at the rear view mirror. The fact that she almost sounded impressed was enough to catch him off guard. Impressing Viktoir Moscovici, probably to most vampires, was an accomplishment on its own. To him it was an entirely different thing.

It irked him.

How could Viktoir be a dead ringer of her? 

It was as if he was Viktorina's little work, as if she had a hold on him that he could not break ever since she saved his life that night. She was a thousand-piece puzzle he'd been trying to solve his whole life. Why did she save him that night? Sure, Sebastian was there, but it wasn't him who came rushing in, the same one who gave him away when the right people came. It was Viktorina Moscovici, the future queen of vampires- until she wasn't. 

He still didn't know the answer to the question. This mission could be the way for him to get clarifications on everything.

"Yes, but I'm not going to be Captain until my uncle and the council think I'm ready. Training could still go on for years." He cast a wary glance at the rear view mirror. There was no reply. Instead, he was distracted by the shuffling at the back of the car. "Jethro get out of the compartment!"

Wesley looked at Sebastian, who was smiling sheepishly. He shifted his body to take a good look at Viktoir. "What? Don't tell me you don't hear those heartbeats. I was actually waiting for you to react."

Wesley got down of the car and slammed the door. With just a few strides, he caught the sight of Jethro coming out of the compartment.

"No, I am coming. It says so in the contract!" Jethro retorted or at least, tried to while Wesley tackled him when he got down the car. 

Sebastian and Viktoir went out of the car to see what was really happening.

Jethro was facing them with an impish grin on his face. It was wiped off when he realized they were all staring at him, unamused.

"All of you signed a contract saying that the only help you'll be getting from AVH is me and Wes," he explained as he brushed his black sweater and tossed his hair a bit. The bag slung on one of his shoulders was alarmingly big, like it contained tons of weapons. The grin was back. "So, I'm already a part of this mission and I don't care whatever you say. I am not letting Wesley get into trouble without me to get him out of it."

"You read it, didn't you?" Wesley questioned Sebastian and Viktoir. The former couldn't keep himself from laughing. "This isn't funny."

The blue-eyed man just shook his head at him, still smiling like a madman. "One more companion won't hurt. Who am I to refuse someone who clearly wants to help?" He turned to Jethro for a moment. "Seriously though, were you planning on stuffing yourself in that compartment for three straight hours?"