Abandon The Night

Chapter Twelve: One Ask Aides

Anca sure was wondering why right now. She was wondering why on a lot of things, mostly on why she burned her bridges. Why did she tell all those who came for assistance to get lost? Why didn't she just say she'd assist them? Especially since she was planning on doing exactly what they did to her: she was going to ask them for help. All of them.

It was going to take time, though. Domineq was dead, she wanted to kill Aleki, and, well, Atatret was staring at her in disdain. Some confusion, but mostly disdain.

Anca had a choice to make. A long time ago she made a choice–a long time ago she made three wrong choices that led to that one. The one she couldn't bring herself to regret. She had earned the right to be a fence sitter. She earned the right to be Finland. She did her duty, she got her revenge. She avenged her dear familial stand-ins. The Gepids could rest in peace knowing that she brought the Huns personally to their knees.

All of that was moot now. It had been near four thousand years since the Gepids were even a thing. The only reminiscent people that held Gepid blood were the gypsies. The Romani were still around. Cultures such as those noble nomads were supposedly disintegrated in time and history, but their people held strong fast to this world. The problem was, Anca was never one of them. She was never one of anyone.

Domi gave her a place, gave her a home. But that home, too, disintegrated in time. She forced it to do so.

As she sat there in wonderment, revenge yet again burning at her soul, Anca knew that she had to. She must ask, even if she had never before.

She sighed, got up from her couch and went to the fridge. Her trinkets from her past lay by the door where she plopped them and the other two, Atty and Tiery, sat where they plopped themselves.

Ance could feel Atatret's eyes on her back.

The bus ride had been quick. Most of the people in ROND were dead or dying, in hiding, or had left when they could. The city was on lock down by now from the government trying their best to retake control. All in futile attempts, though. The gangs had plans.

Plans were starting to form in Anca's brain. She resettled back on the couch and drank deep from her glass.

Anca sat her cup down and looked into Atatret's deep red eyes. She said, "Atty, I need help." She watched as Atatret's eyes got really big before they narrowed.

"That's for damn sure."

Anca swallowed and snapped, "No need to be rude!" Which, in retrospect, wasn't the thing to say.

Atatret flew into a rage, hovering in the air as she spewed words of anger. "Rude! Rude you say!" She snapped back. "I tell you things that no vampire should, I relied on you to help me and mine and you! You turn your back on all of us. You, who played the game just as long as any other!"

"This isn't the time!" Anca interrupted as she started to hover to look Atatret in the eyes. "Our shared past is in the past, Atatret!"

"Nothing is in the past with our species, Anca! Nothing!" Atatret's arm swatted the air in distress as she spewed spit. "And yet you dare ask me for help!"

Tierney, who sat on the other couch thankfully away from the others as they hovered and hollered, closed her eyes and shook her head. Anca barely caught the motion.

"What do you want me to do, Atatret? Huh? Rewrite the past like the humans are so fond of?"

Atatret bared her teeth, two sharp fangs glinting in the sunlight. "You speak ill words of contempt on our species! Comparing us to those prey, how could you?!"
Anca spat on her floor and went to stomp her foot but couldn't in the air. "We are more alike than you know!"