"Oho~, forgot about us so soon? I thought I was quite memorable, right?" Seven turned to ask Zave who gave him an unimpressed look.
Lloyd stepped closer to cave entrance, "It's us."
Hearing the voice that had left quite the impression on her, Mireille immediately remembered what she'd been forgetting these past few days.
"What are you doing here? And how did you find this place?" she asked, surprised.
"First of all, can we come in?" Lloyd asked, a little impatient.
"Umm, yeah... you can."
The wolves entered the cave, gaping in awe at the empty space before them.
"Oh my, why's there barely anything in your cave?" Seven shouted, unable to help himself. "Is this even a place you can call a home?"
Zave looked around in silence, observing her living conditions keenly, "And it's so well hidden, it took us forever to track you down. Thank goodness Alex followed you back then."
Alex grumbled, "Waste of time, if you ask me."
Lloyd's attention had been on Mireille since entering. His gaze locked on the half-vamp who hadn't changed much since their first meeting, When he spoke, his voice was full of concern he didn't even realise he had. "Why didn't you come? Is it that you prefer being... alone?"
"... Well, I've been fine on my own. Surviving like this for as long as I can remember."
Lloyd's expression softened ever so slightly, "Just because you've been doing it for a long time doesn't mean you have to keep doing it. There's so much danger out there. You're lucky you ran into us. And from the looks of things, you're barely 'surviving'." He raised an eyebrow, half-smiling.
"Yeah, it can't be easy-living out here all by yourself. You don't have to," Seven added, looking genuinely concerned.
"Maybe she's too scared to take the risk?" Zave
"Or maybe everything she said before was just a lie." Alex chipped in, his voice sharp with suspicion.
"Alright, chill, Alex, don't just jump into conclusions-jeez it's no wonder your still single at your age." Seven muttered under his breath.
Alex's eyes narrowed. "I heard that." He was about to continue when Lloyd cut in, "When are you guys ever going to quit?"
Seven made a face at Alex, who bubbled with fury. He turned and stormed off, choosing to stand guard at the gate entrance.
"So where's the token I gave you? That should've been a reminder, right?" Lloyd asked, eyes fixed on Mireille.
"Well... I might have lost it. Or not. Haha... I don't remember where I placed it," Mireille mumbled her voice trailing off.
Lloyd's expression darkened. That token had been carved by his own hand from the toughest part of the Oakle tree. He had painstakingly chosen a piece with the finest grains and shaped it into totem of quiet beauty. To say he wasn't happy was an understatement. He let it go-for now. Mireille felt the shift in his mood like a drop in temperature. She'd seen that look before-disappointment wrapped in silence. It didn't matter, to her nothing was as bad as losing your life. Still, something about losing that token gnawed at her, like a thread pulled loose in the fabric she'd tried so hard to stitch together.
"So?" Lloyd asked, his voice steady but expectant. 'Are you coming with us or not?"
Mireille opened her mouth, heart thudding. The words hovered-yes? no?-but never made it out. A blur of motion cut through the moment. Alex lunged at her, claws flashing. Before they could touch her, Lloyd caught his arm and hurled him aside. Alex landed smoothly, unharmed.
"ALEX, what the hell are you doing?!" Lloyd roared.
"Dammit! I told you she was lying. Go on, take a look." He pointed toward the cave entrance, practically fuming.
Mireille's face paled. She couldn't understand why Alex had attacked her-or why he was accusing her of betrayal.
Lloyd narrowed his eyes. He looked at Alex, then toward the entrance of the cave... then back again, "What is wrong?"
"Go see for yourself." Alex growled through gritted teeth.
Zave and Seven's expression turned grim, almost as if they were holding something back. Their gazes towards Mireille growing feral.
Lloyd studied their faces, then Mireille's. He turned and walked to the entrance. When he returned, his voice was low, tight with anger. His aura seeped out like smoke. "What is the meaning of this?"
"W-what? Why are you all looking at me like that? What's happening-?" Mireille stammered.
Alex bared his fangs, "Leeches. More than one. You planned this, didn't you?" He took a step closer to her, "You told them we were coming."
"N-no, no that's not-"
"Alex, calm down. They must have followed our scent here," Seven tried to reason.
"They're here," Lloyd said. His gaze, locked onto Mireille, fierce and unreadable. Her breath caught. The look in his eyes wasn't just anger-it was reassessment, disappointment.
"Oh-ho, I smell something foul," one vampire sneered as they neared the cave. "Rotten blood and shame. Must be a half-breed."
"Ugh? That stench. How does she live with herself?" another hissed. "It's no wonder the humans despise her."
"Let's scrub that stain off the clan today," a third growled. "She's been a disgrace long enough."
When the others heard what the vampires were discussing their expressions shifted slightly, they looked at Mireille whose face had gone ghostly pale.
"What do we do?" Seven asked, "Must we fight them head-on?"
"Taking them head-on won't favour us," Zave said grimly.
"Umm, I-we can leave without them noticing, It'll take time before they find the entrance." Mireille offered, her voice weak.
"Okay, tell us," Zave said with a complicated expression, remembering how long it had taken them to find the cave in the first place.
Mireille pointed deeper into the cave and led them towards a narrow crevice in the cave wall, barely visible unless you knew where to look.
"Are you sure about this?" Zave asked, suspicious.
"Yes but we have to hurry." She urged. Lloyd didn't hesitate, "Lead the way." He gestured for the others to follow. They filed into the tunnel-Mireille in the lead, Alex bringing up the rear.
-------
The vampires enter the cave, seeing it empty they grew irritated.
"Where did that brat go?!"
"Dammit, I can't believe we let them slip away."
"Yeah! It's no wonder that halfling is still alive. She's hidden so well."
They looked around for a bit.
"She'll definitely come back. Right?"
"It's certain. After all she can't live with werewolves, those beasts are a vampire's worst nemesis."
"Alright, then we wait."