#bvbstarter

She’d found a spot on the roof of an abandoned building, half-collapsed as it was, and it was technically in the human district, but right at the edge of it where she could look over the Upyr one, expression stony. She had a vague feeling as to where Ragar and the others were kept – but the house was being patrolled by soldiers. She wouldn’t have tried to break in anyway, well, she probably wouldn’t have done it, but it bothered her, to know her brother so close and not be able to see or speak to him.

Sprawled on a rickety side, as far away from the hole as she could, she stared up at the clouded night sky, trying to catch the smallest glimpse of stars. Could Ragar see the sky where he was kept? Rory hoped not, as she doubted the Upyr were being particularly observant of the risk that would pose for vampires during the day. But it seemed cruel nonetheless, to not be able to get the smallest view of the outside for days on end. Monotonous. Boring. It made her want to crawl out of her skin just thinking about it. She wished her father would just hurry up and get him out already, her patience, already thin, was quickly running out.

With a flare of impatience at the thoughts running around themselves in circles in her head with no clear way out, Aurora smashed her heel into the shingles, hearing the crack of old wood with satisfaction, a split second passing before she realized the reverberations against her back were not a good omen. Her boot caught in the tiny hole she’d made, her leap to safety was hindered by it, and she slipped inelegantly, in a shower of wooden bits down the side of the house.

Dangling one handed against the wall, she gritted her teeth, realizing she’d be crossing the invisible line she’d drawn in her head between the Upyr and Human districts, but she let go anyway, landing in the mucky ground and splattering mud halfway up her trousers. “Wouldn’t it be better if we just took down this thing before it falls on our heads?” she kicked mulishly at the crumbling wall.