Dog Fights

Chapter 26; Suspicion

Leon hands Ezra a popsicle, the vampire giving a sheepish smile in thanks. It didn't take long for the teen to notice his bruised elbow and fatigued eyes, instantly knowing whatever the vampire had gotten into hadn't been easy.

"You painted your nails," Ezra says, trying to start a conversation in the awkward silence of the kitchen. Leon had told the three of them to sit at the table while he got the two werewolves water. "They look nice."

"And you drank blood again," Leon states as he closes the freezer door, his calm tone making Ezra wince. "Looks like we were both up to our own things- so why don't you do your explaining quick. My parents are going to be home in an hour."

Leon turns to face the table, leaning on the refrigerator as he puts his hand on his hip. He doesn't look like someone who would sass Ezra the way he does, with his growing messy hair and 'I only date vampires' pajama shirt, but the way he raises his eyebrows when Ezra doesn't respond shows he's not joking.

"...I'm going to kill Orgon," Ezra says finally, keeping his eyes on the table. It falls silent for a few moments as he tries to think of the best way to explain the situation, "and I did a service exchange with Salvation this morning to get some help. They're going to post outside your house until he's dead, to protect you and your parents from any hunters or whoever that may try to mess with you."

Leon hesitates, but doesn't look as surprised as a normal person would be upon hearing he's going to be under the protection of a gang. A second one, if anything. "Salvation." He glances at R and Null. "You guys are from Salvation?"

R smiles awkwardly. "My name is R. I'm the leader of communications and out-land arrangements," he explains politely, only making Leon raise an eyebrow, "I was the one who asked for an alliance between us."

"Why?" Leon asks, making Ezra glare at him in warning. R only waves his hand to dismiss it.

"He's perfectly fine questioning it," he says, chuckling to himself, "I'd be more concerned if he didn't. But the reason we decided to reach out is because we knew Ezra himself would get into deep shit after report of his escape got out. His reward is fifty thousand dollars, and that's attracted both a lot of rookie and private hunters. We wanted to help because we knew it would expose a lot of hunters and traffickers looking for extra cash, as well as we wanted to have better contact with the smaller gangs around the city that do the same thing as us. We figured a service exchange was the best way to get on good terms."

Leon purses his lips, nodding his head as he steps behind Ezra's chair and rests his hands on the older's shoulders. "I can accept that, although you'll have to hide from my parents." He leans down, looking at the side of the vampire's face as he averts his eyes. "But that doesn't explain why your eyes are shining and your cheeks are flushed."

"We crashed," Null pipes in, making the teen look up. "He broke his arm."

Leon furrows his eyebrows, looking at R as he nods. "We don't have any way to heal a vampire," he says, "it was the best option at the time."

"I couldn't wait," Ezra says quietly, keeping his eyes on the table. "It was just the guy we were transferring, not some random person."

"I assumed it wasn't a random person," Leon assures him, straightening up and smoothing back the vampire's dirty hair. "That's all you had to say."

Ezra lets his shoulders relax, tipping his head back slightly as the teen absentmindedly untangles his hair. He should have put his glasses back to shield his eyes a little bit. Leon probably would have just pulled them off anyway.

"So you guys are just going to loiter around my house until his conductor's dead?" Leon asks, glancing out the window to the driveway. His eyes suddenly widen as he shakes Ezra, snatching the popsicle out of his hand and throwing it in the trash.