New Beginnings

4. Laura

After the months long stay at the cottage preceded by being cooped up in a library with less than a handful of people Graz Airport during a busy evening was quite the culture shock. In place of serene silence and chirping birds a cacophony of human voices and screaming engines. The sheer noise of it all seemingly threatening to physically blow Laura off her feet and once they entered the bustling crowd inside her head started to spin. Far too many people, far far too many people, did everyone in the world decide they needed to go to Austria for some reason? Carmilla noted her discomfort beside her.

"Clutching me about as hard as you did when we went off to fight Mother. Fear of crowds or fear of flying?" She said, but gave a reassuring squeeze to Laura's forearm.

"Flying is just fine, crowds are just fine. I am just fine, just need a moment." Laura tried to not rush her words but failed utterly.

"Just fine" Carmilla echoed, clearly amused. "Yeah you're right, the end of the world and an ancient evil God is nothing. This is the true horror show. There is a reason I usually travelled on boat. Much more calm, less people, less noise. And the stars to look up at during the trip."

"Couldn't you turn into a panther and run basically anywhere faster than any vehicle could take you? Well maybe not on water. Could you run on water when you were a panther? You were really fast and you know, magic and vampire stuff. Probably should have tested that out, did you test that out? Wait didn't you teleport that one time or was that a dream? I mean teleportation would have been super useful at least half a dozen times this last year." She ran out of breath.

Carmilla took a moment to process the machine gun quick torrent of words that had been broadsided at her before replying.

"Okay, so what we're going to do is take a breath and find a quiet spot somewhere before your lungs give out, we've got some time before the flight."

They pushed through the crowd, Carmilla taking the lead. After a brief search, an only barely averted fight to the death when Carmilla decided one of the thousands of people they had pressed through had bumped Laura on purpose and a pair of athletic leaps an Olympian would have been proud of over a gigantic coffee spill they found a spot. An unused bench behind a dilapidated looking stall selling 'Local Cuisine'. Its owner looked at them hopefully over his bushy moustache at the rare prospect of a costumer.

Carmilla fixed him with a cold glare at his 'intrusion' into what Laura could only conclude she had decided to be formerly a public bench and now their own personal space, carrying the penalty of death for trespass. The struggling shopkeeper quickly looked away, his moustache comically drooping low and downcast. Laura took pity and stepped up to the stall to buy a pastry based on which name she found easiest to pronounce before returning to the bench and a waiting Carmilla.

"You'll regret that." Carmilla said as she sat down. "Three centuries of not being able to really enjoy anything that wasn't a red liquid properly and I still would never touch that stuff for any price. Whatever you paid, he ripped you off."

Laura took a bite out of the pastry and quickly agreed with Carmilla's assessment, but before she could put it away she noticed the moustached shopkeeper looking at her anxiously. Inwardly cursing her own empathy she smiled up at him and braved a second bite. The moustache flew upwards and the man turned away, clearly ecstatic. She couldn't quite put her finger on the cause but her head had cleared totally and she felt relaxed for the first time since she had gotten up that morning. Or more accurately since the woman Okoye had entered their cottage. Their cottage, another smile.

"Or perhaps not, I would have thought you'd more enjoy the Steirisches Plätzchen, second one from the left first row. It's kind of like a cookie. Well, kind of like a cookie if it was murdered, left to decompose for a while and then filled with the souls of the damned before serving."