SACRIFICE.

         “I came to speak to both of you of different things, but simply happen to be connected,”she responds easily. Yunji withdraws her hand from Daniil’s and sits back. “And I said, I know you won’t separate. It would be safer, but I know arguing would be wasting time neither of you have, so I will say this: neither of you can stay in this town. I’ve done my best to cover your tracks, but the powers that govern this city will catch on to you eventually. I can get you safe passage out of Moscow —— there are surrounding towns that aren’t Camarilla controlled and will be safer, but that doesn’t mean they are not without their own sets of dangers.”

Daniil frowns. “Camarilla?”

Yunji presses her lips together. “The politics are a longer story than I can presently explain. They’re a system of government for our kind and they happen to control this city and a few others. And they happen to have very strict rules for situations like yours.”

He nods. “Alright, alright, uhm…” He considers for a moment, turning her words over in his head. A thought occurs to him, and Daniil looks up at Artemy. “What about your hometown? It’s far out of the way, right? We might be safe there.”

Yunji looks from him to Artemy next. “Where is your hometown? Even if you can give me a general area, I could tell you whether or not it would be safe there.”

at    the    very    least,    it’d    seem    that    he    and    daniil    are    on    the    same    page.    ❝    uh,    zaigrayevsky,    buryatia.    about    two    hours    away    from    ulan    -    ude.    ❞    and    then    after    a    moment,    he    realises    that    if    yunji    isn’t    even    from    russia,    how    on    earth    is    she    supposed    to    know    where    that    is    ?    ❝    it’s    far,    far    east    of    here.    very    rural,    in    the    steppe.    not    many    people    live    there.    ❞    

artemy    takes    daniil’s    hand    in    his    own.    god,    he’s    so    cold.    but    that    doesn’t    stop    him    from    wanting    to    hold    him    and    keep    him    safe.    ❝    i’d    have    to    call    my    father,    explain    things    to    him.    i    expect    he’ll    be    a    little    disappointed    that    i’ll    drop    out    of    school,    but    .    .    .    maybe    he’ll    understand.    ❞    he    tries    not    to    sound    as    miserable    as    he    feels.    he    likes    it    here,    for    what    it’s    worth,    and    he    even    though    he’s    clearly    been    struggling    through    university    recently    with    everything    going    on,    he’d    wanted    to    at    least    finish.

         “I know you wouldn’t. You’re a smart man, and you’re trying to protect him. The people I am referring to won’t care about that though.” Yunji sighs, lifting her gaze up again. “They’ll kill you to save their own skin and call it upholding the masquerade. That is how they think we should live. But the politics is a story for another time. Right now, he barely knows what he is and before you can learn anything else, you need to know how to survive.”

“’He’ is sitting right here and can speak for himself,” Daniil mutters irritably.

Yunji hesitates, then shakes her head. “…I’m aware. Forgive me for speaking so callously. But I stand by it, Daniil. I know you’ve managed to learn a few things, but there’s a lot you need to know if you want to survive.” She hesitates, moving slowly so as not to spook him, and reaches out to take his hand. He jumps slightly, stares at her, then down at their linked fingers, realization spreading across his face.

“…You’re warm?” He asks, very confused. “But you said—”

“That there are many things I can teach you, if you are willing. Though perhaps not now. How long has it been since you had anything to drink?”

Daniil looks away. “…A while.”

“Then teaching you some things would pose a risk at this current moment.” Yunji withdraws her hand from his. “Regardless, there are things both of you should know if you intend to look after him, Artemy. If I thought you would take my advice, I would suggest separating from one another, but I can tell that’s not going to happen.”

❝    separating    ?    ❞    daniil    will    likely    feel    how    artemy    tenses    up    at    the    idea.    he    won’t    take    that    advice    at    all,    yunji    is    right.    he    doesn’t    see    any    reason    for    it    --------------    if    daniil    still    wants    him,    then    he’ll    stay    by    his    side    even    if    it’s    the    death    of    him.    they’d    only    just    recently    gotten    settled,    comfortable    around    each    other    despite    the    chaos    of    their    student    lives,    and    then    .    .    .    this.    fate    always    decides    to    ruin    everything.    artemy    knows    deep    within    his    heart,    that    no    matter    what    he    does    to    try    and    pretend    otherwise,    that    things    won’t    ever    be    the    same    again.    all    he    can    hope    is    that    at    the    very    least,    they’ll    still    have    each    other.    ❝    no.    ❞

he’s    holding    daniil    tighter    now,    strong    arms    wrapping    protectively    around    him.    he    does    intend    to    look    after    daniil,    and    in    fact,    it’s    all    he    intends    to    do.    but    he    supposes    yunji    is    right.    neither    of    them    have    any    idea    what’s    going    on    or    what    to    do    next    (    though    artemy    has    been    considering    asking    daniil    to    move,    to    let    him    steal    him    away    in    the    middle    of    the    night    and    go    to    his    hometown    where    they    won’t    have    to    worry    about    anybody    finding    the    body.    )    they    do    need    her    help.    artemy,    specifically,    needs    her    help,    because    daniil    must    be    starving    himself.    he    doesn’t    know    what    happens    when    vampires    do    that    or    if    they    can    die    from    it,    but    he    imagines    it    wouldn’t    be    pretty.