#count gar

This really wasn’t when or where Kay had expected to see one of her most hated rivals, Nicky Delano. He ran a gang, coincidently named after him, that had kidnapped Kay and her boyfriend in the start of the apocalypse. After he was killed, and Kay was to be next, she managed to escape and traveled around to start a name for herself. She wanted to be as tough as the mafia leader was; she wanted to get back at him.

But she wasn’t ready.

Kay was doing her annual routine of going around and asking the townspeople what supplies they specifically needed, but the sound of gunfire drew not only her attention, but everyone else’s to the gates. The two lookouts that were posted at the gate were shot down, one being killed immediately and the other wallowing on the ground in pain. With the sanctuary’s protection now disarmed, the Delano’s were able to storm in.

As she ushered people to the safety of their homes, Kay took notice to the fighters of the sanctuary coming out with their own guns, and she wasted no time in helping out. With the bat that never seemed to leave her hand, Kay mostly stuck with close-quarter combat with some of the people from the Delanos.

Both sides' casualty numbers increased as the fighting drew on. As Kay disarmed and killed another one of the Delano's men, she took the gun he had and hid behind a wall for cover. More of the sanctuary's people began to come out to help in the fight, and the rival gang soon realized they were outnumbered.

When the gun she had ran out of ammo, Kay tossed it aside and pulled out her own pistol. She leaned out from her cover and fired, hitting an enemy in the chest. Standing not too far away from the recently killed target, she spotted a familiar mobster and moved from the hiding spot to get a better shot. Though Kay soon saw that Nicky's own gun was aimed at another familiar being. The 7 year old girl named Maliah that Kay had took in was now held at gunpoint before her. It seemed Nicky didn't even acknowledge Kay's presence at first; because it wasn’t until she ran forward with a yell of the girl's name did he finally look up and decide to take the shot.

Kay had managed to throw herself in front of the 7 year old and shove her out of harm's way in time. The evidence of that was the newfound feeling of searing pain that erupted in her side. With hearing the shout of her name, Kay looked up to see a frightened Maliah running towards her, her mismatched eyes filled with tears.

One of Nicky's men came up to him, relaying the urgent message that they needed to leave immediately. With a sigh, he patted the man's shoulder and gave him the order of "finishing them off" before walking away. When the guy turned to do so, Kay fired three shots at him from her position on the ground, shooting him dead. She heard hollers of joy, and soon realized it was her own people yelling because of the Delanos retreating.

Maliah knelt by Kay's side, looking over her fearfully. She began to shake as she saw the bullet wound, to which Kay hurried to clamp a hand over to stop the blood from flowing out so rapidly. The adrenaline she previously had was disappearing and the pain became more evident, her breathing now growing labored. “Kay, you’re hurt-“

“I’m fine, Maliah. No worries.” Though there was a lot to worry over, such as when Kay struggled to sit up, her skin felt like it was tearing. At seeing the disgruntled expression upon her caretaker’s face when she struggled to sit up, Maliah cried out to the surrounding citizens for help. Soon the blue haired doctor rushed over to provide assistance.

“Oh my god. What happened to you, Kay?” Doc asked, moving her hand away so he could look at her wound properly.

“Gee, Doc, I don’t fucking know. Does the circular hole in my side with a bullet lodged in it not tell you anything?”

“You don’t have to be cynical, Kay… We need to get you to the clinic right away.” Helping her up, Doc and one of her group members was able to lead her away to the medical ward. The three entered the building, Kay being sat into one of the procedure chairs. As the man went to leave so Doc could perform the surgery, Kay grabbed him and told him to inform Count of the incident that happened. When he left, Kay began to shrug off her leather jacket and white t-shirt so the injury could be accessible to the doctor. “Now, y’know this is gonna hurt…”

“You say that like it doesn’t already. Just hurry and stitch me up already.” Her patience was running thin as he began to wipe away blood to better see the bullet that was lodged into her.

“Alright. I’m gonna make a small cut, pull the bullet out, and then stitch you up, okay? I’ll try not to hurt you too much.”

“Doc. Just get. It over with.”

“Okay, fine.” Taking a deep breath, Doc began the operation. Kay hissed when she felt her skin get cut open wider, and muffled a yell into her fist as the bullet was pried out. Another hiss left her as the alcohol used to clean the wound stung, trying hard not to writhe around during it. Doc then got around to stitching her up, soon, her painful endeavor finally being over.

Kay felt exhausted, the aching from the wound numbing her entire left side. The doctor began to tell her how good the surgery went and how great she did as he wrapped her torso, but she was too out of it to comprehend exactly what was said. She soon ended up passing out, and would be later returned to her own home before she awoke.

It was hours later when Kay finally began to show signs of life, a groan passing from her lips as olive green eyes cracked open. She blinked a few times, looking up to watch as her vision cleared to show white ceiling above her. What she didn't expect was a familiar voice off to the side say, "You are awake. How are you feeling?"

When she looked over, Kay saw that Count was sitting in a chair at her bedside. At first she was confused as to why he was there, but as earlier events flooded her memory, she remembered she sent someone to tell him what happened.

"... I feel like shit... But at least I got an extra pocket, though." Kay began to laugh at her own joke until it started to cause her discomfort. Sitting up, she hissed and held her side. "Fuck, this hurts..."

At her attempt to make light of the situation, Count chuckled. He stood up and placed a hand on her shoulder, laying her back down when she sat up. "Rest easy, Kay. You need it. To prevent future run ins, I have my knights guarding the perimeter."

With a sigh, she shifted a bit to get herself comfortable. Her moment of rest didn't last long; Kay remembered the supply run she was supposed to go on earlier. Sitting up again, Kay swung her legs over the side of the bed. "I gotta go. I still need to do that supply run."

"No, you need to rest." He warned, sitting her back down again. "The knights will deliver your supplies. For now, you need to take it easy. If not for yourself, then for your people."

"But-"

"Kay, please. Rest. You really do need it."

Begrudgingly, Kay agreed to finally laying down. Soon after making sure the woman was okay, Count made his leave back to Constanta. The Hawaiian had a plan in her mind on how to escape, eager to be out and about. When she finally put her plan into action and stumbled outside, she was met with a certain knight that she knew well. Sir stood outside her home, and at seeing her walking out the door, they were quick to usher her back inside.

"Ya need to rest, Kay! On Count's order, he wants ya to stay inside." Upon hearing that, Kay tried to get past the knight.

"I need to go, Sir. I gotta for my people-"

"If Count sees ya, we'll all be in trouble! Yer people will be fine, but ya need to take care of yourself." Guiding her back inside and to her room, Sir smiled apologetically. They helped her lay back down, covering her up with the blanket as well. “Please rest, Kay. Ya need it the most out of us all.”

With a huff, she agreed to appease the knight. As she showed no signs of leaving anymore, Sir went back outside to guard with a wave. The Hawaiian was already forming yet another escape plan, though. When she heard the front door close Kay was quick to jump up, tugging on her now bloodied leather jacket to cover herself and slipping on her combat boots. She didn’t have a reason as to why she wanted to leave the sanctuary so badly, the only thing coming to mind was to prove that she could do such a thing since she was practically on lock down.

Pistol in hand, the brunette snuck outside, sneaking past Sir and the other knights that were posted around the sanctuary. The journey to Constanta took a toll on her, by the time she reached the city’s gates she was holding her side and stumbling. She made it to Count’s home, knocking harshly on the door. When the Romanian answered, Kay pushed past him into the manor, her side throbbing.

“Where’s your room?”

“Kay, what are you doing here? You should be resti-“

“Where. Is. Your. Room.” She deadpanned, continuing down the hallway in search of said room. Kay’s worst fear was that she ripped the stitches in her side, and though she didn’t think she did yet, she wanted to lay down to prevent doing so. With a hand on her back to guide her, Count led her into the bedroom and sat her down. “Y’know, I’ll get up when I damn well please.”

“You really should not be moving in your state, you’ll ruin yourself further.”

“I’m already ruined. It doesn’t matter.”

“Stop that. Of course it matters.” Watching as she unzipped the jacket, Count’s eyes dropped to the bandages around her waist. He watched as she unwrapped them, quickly checking the stitches. Sighing in relief at seeing they weren’t ripped, Kay began to rewrap the bandages. “For God’s sake, will you lie down and take it easy? If you will not care for yourself, then I will.”

“Why, I’m touched, Count. It’s almost like I matter or something.” Kay rolled her eyes and glanced up at him, a small smirk on her face to hide the fact that her injury was setting her nerves alive with pain.

“You do. Now rest.”

“If I matter so much, will you stay with me?”

“I will. I am here.” He replied, lying down at her side. “Rest easy, the knights are more than happy to help with the supply runs.”

“Those are my supply runs, though. They’re for my people!” She whined, her head rolling over to look at him. “And don’t be mad at your knights for me sneaking out… I didn’t want them to know I was leaving.”

“… I won’t. You have done a lot for your people though, I’m sure they will manage without you just fine. They will wait patiently for your return.”  Count moved his hand to intertwine his fingers with hers. As he began to speak again, Count lifted up the hem of his shirt, showing off scar that was located on his hip. “I have been in your shoes. Your wound is anything but okay and I know, because I was shot there too…”

“Then you know this really hurts like hell…” With a chuckle, Kay let her head rest on his shoulder. “It hurts, but I’m stubborn. I feel the need to be doing things despite my current condition.”

“I know. For what it’s worth, you are handling it a lot better than I did.” Sighing, he continued his speech. “I promise it will be better for you to relax. If you keep moving around, you will only stay in bed longer.”

Giving his hand a slight squeeze, Kay hummed. “For you and my people, I’ll try to take it easy and rest. I don’t want to… But I will.”

“Thank you. Now rest easy. I’ll watch over you.”

“I know. I trust that you will.” At hearing that, Count rested his head on top of Kay’s. He encircled his arms around her gently as to not cause further discomfort. Kay shifted a bit to lay curled at his side, and soon after getting comfortable she fell into a well needed slumber.

It was hours later back at the sanctuary of Rosaline when Sir decided to check back up on Kay. The knight soon came to find out that she was not in the house, but rather another person was. Maliah had been wandering around the place also looking for the older Hawaiian. Though Sir was worried about the absence of the person they were supposed to watch, they knew they needed to inform Count about the situation.

Just as Count was about to fall asleep as well, a knock at the door woke him up. Careful as to not wake up the woman beside him, Count slipped out of the bed and made his way to the front door. The knight that greeted him at the door was quick to explain themself.

“I-I’m sorry, Count! Kay got out an’ I don’t know where she’s at! I found this wee one in her house, but I’m sorry I-“

Holding up a hand, Count silenced Sir’s rant. He then looked down to see the young girl hiding a bit behind them. “She was in Kay’s house?”

“Uh… Aye, her name’s Maliah. She said she lives with Kay!” Glancing at Maliah, Sir motioned with their head for her to step forward. “This is Count, Maliah. Say hi!”

Giving a sheepish wave, she squeaked out a “hello”. Count knelt down to her height and offered her a smile to help ease her nerves.

“Hello, Maliah. Kay is here, she’s resting up.” At hearing that good news, both Maliah and Sir sighed in relief. Count held out a hand to the girl before asking, “Would you like to see her when she wakes up? You can stay here till she does.”

She agreed, and Count led her inside to watch over her until Kay arose, Sir going back to Rosaline to protect it alongside the other knights. Going over to the sofa, Count sat down next to Maliah, taking notice to the way she kept her eyes trained on her folded hands. She looked rather nervous and he felt the need to help her. “So, Maliah, is it? How old are you?”

“I’m seven.” She replied quietly, twiddling her thumbs and swinging her legs absentmindedly.

“Seven? That is cool. Do you know where you are, Maliah?” At seeing her nod, he decided to push further. “And where would that be?”

“… Constanta… Kay told me about this place.” She briefly looked up at him, but soon shyly averted her gaze back down.

“Oh? What did sh-“ Before Count could ask his question, he heard a yell and some thumping come from his room. Maliah looked in the direction of the sound, looking at Count with fearful eyes. He got up quickly and went to the room, Maliah following after him.

Kay was stumbling about the room, trying to leave though the ache in her side preventing her from moving too fast and too much. When she saw the redhead enter the room, she began to explain the situation. “Count, I left Maliah! I left the kid back at the sanctuary! I gotta go-“

“She is already here, do not worry.” As Count stepped to the side, Kay saw the girl that was standing behind him. When Maliah saw her, she eagerly ran towards her. Kay cringed as the girl jumped up and wrapped her arms around her waist and buried her head into her stomach, the pain flaring up in her torso more. “Sir brought her here…”

Kay went to say her thanks, but got cut off by the sounds of whimpering. Wetness flooded through the bandages and she looked down to find that the small Hawaiian had begun to cry. Shushing her, Kay pet her hair soothingly and lifted her chin up so she could see her face. “Ku’uipo, what’s wrong?”

“I-I couldn’t find you a-and I thought something ha-appened to you!” She buried her face back in Kay’s stomach as she continued to cry, hiccupping as she talked. Sighing, Kay murmured encouraging words in their shared language, Maliah seeming to calm down to hushed sobs.

It had been some time since Count had met the child Kay was watching over. A little bit after their first encounter was when Maliah began to call Kay "mom" in front of him instead of keeping it secret. He learned the name was simply because of the woman being a mother figure, and not her actual mom.

Maliah soon would be enrolled into one of the schools in Constanta where she would be escorted by her favorite knight, Sir. When school would end for the day, she would stay with Count until Kay came to pick her up. During that time, should she have any, Count would help her with literature homework if she requested.

It was the day the school was handing out report cards, and Maliah eagerly showed Count the good grades she had got. Praising her, he smiled and patted her shoulder. "You seem to be excelling in your studies, Maliah. I'm very proud of you."

Hearing that she did well, Maliah smiled widely. Excitedly she began to say, "Thank you, papa," but soon realized who she was talking to and covered her mouth in shock. Count's brows raised as the girl's words processed in his mind. She looked down sheepishly to avoid his gaze, embarrassment taking over.

"Maliah... Do you see me as a father?" Though she didn't say anything in response, Count saw the girl nod her head "yes". He kneeled down to her height to try and make eye contact with her, but she kept her head low. "You do not need to be embarrassed... I see you as a daughter as well."

"You do?" Maliah asked, her head lifting up to look at him. At seeing him smile and nod in affirmation, she squealed happily. "So I can call you papa?"

"Of course you may." After he said that, Maliah threw herself forward and wrapped her arms around his neck. Once again, she thanked him and called him his new name. Chuckling at that, Count hugged her back. "You are welcome, child."

By the time Kay came to pick up Maliah, the little girl had tired herself out and was napping on the sofa. With a small smile on his face, Count had pulled Kay aside to talk to her regarding the kid.

"You know... Maliah called me papa today." Count watched as Kay's expression morphed into shock. Though he seemed to be taking it well, Kay still couldn't help but be surprised.

"She... Did? Well... What did you say?"

"I told her I see her as a daughter as well. She got very happy when I said that."

"Oh." Kay didn't have much to say after that. Maliah was happy to have a father figure and Count was fine being that father figure, so she truthfully was fine with the three of them now being, what she guessed was, a family. "So... Do you want to be her father?"

Count paused at the question. He didn't know whether Kay was being straightforward or rather hinting at something. "Are you... Asking me out?"

"Wait, what?!" Kay yelped at that, her face growing red at the thought. "I just... Look, I'm not the one who called you dad!"

Seeing the blush on her face, Count held back a smile and nodded. "Alright. No need to flip out over it."

Before either of them could get another word in, Maliah had awoken and wandered into the room. She rubbed her eyes tiredly and went over to Kay, her arms wrapping around her thigh as she buried her face in the woman's stomach. The two exchanged a few words in Hawaiian, Kay ruffling Maliah's hair afterwards as the girl turned away from her.

"Bye bye, papa." Going over to him to give a hug, Maliah pressed her face into his stomach. She giggled as Count patted her head affectionately and returned the hug.

"Goodbye, dear. I will see you tomorrow." Before she could bound back to Kay, he pulled her back and glanced up at Kay as he did, adding, "And don't forget to show your mother your report card."

Nodding, Maliah then went off to go wait by the door as Kay stepped forward to tell the Romanian farewell. Smiling, she raised a brow at him, hearing the comment he made. "So she got her report card today?"

"Da. Her grades are very good, too." The corners of his lips curled up in a smile as he spoke. "You seem to teach her very well at home."

"I could say the same thing about you." With a slight giggle, Kay held open her arms for a hug.

Count stepped forward to encircle his arms around her, his head resting on her shoulder. As Kay went to pull away, he tightened the embrace to keep her there for a second longer. Lifting his head up, he whispered, “You did not exactly say no earlier…”

It had been some time now since the first time Kay and Count had developed their truce. The two seemed to have grown on each other, their disagreements decreasing as they started to approve more than before. The only thing they continued to argue over, though in private, was the topic of Count’s son, Edgar. Kay still asked why he hadn’t of killed the undead boy, and Count never giving her a full answer.

“He’s not himself, don’t you understand? Why don’t you just put him out of his misery?”

“He’s helping us find a cure. End of discussion.”

“But why do you want to keep him like that?”

“This is twice now that I have asked you to stop speaking of him. End. Of. Discussion.”

Kay’s stubbornness always got the best of her though, as she always seemed to pursue in asking Count the question. It was one day that she blew up at him that drove some sense into him. Kay, of course, directed the conversation’s topic to Edgar and asked the reoccurring question.

“Why are you so persistent about him? He is not even your son.”

“Because I don’t understand this. When my mom reanimated, I put her down. When my brother reanimated, I put him down as well. I didn’t want to see them like that, I couldn’t bring myself to. I don’t know how anyone could. But you have your undead son locked in your fucking cellar like a dog. Why? Why do you insist on keeping him like that? He’s dead, and he doesn’t know that you’re his father and not his next meal.”

Her words had him silenced, thinking deeply about what she had did. Again, she was right. Edgar certainly wasn’t the same as before. Count really didn’t want him to keep leaving as he did in the cellar… But despite feeling to be the one to put him out of his misery, Count just couldn’t bring himself to.

“I wish I had your strength…  I admire the courage you have in these situations, Kay.” With a sigh, Count internally thought of how to handle his own situation. Whether he liked it or not, there was going to be a time when he would have to put his son down.

She felt a bit sorry for Count in all honesty. It wasn’t easy to do that kind of stuff, but in the end it was needed. Kay just wished he could realize that, and finally act upon it. “I don’t have strength… I just don’t want to see my loved ones suffer mindlessly like that.”

Later, Kay had left Constanta to go back to her home in Rosaline. It was that night that had loaded his pistol, and made his way down into the cellar. Since Edgar was able to walk freely, he moved towards Count. Lifeless, yellowed eyes seemed to bore into mahogany ones. Despite being toothless, Edgar still snapped at his father, leaving Count to hold him away by his shoulder as he pressed the barrel of the gun to his forehead. He held his breath before pulling back the hammer of the gun.

But he still couldn’t do it.

His hand began to tremble as his finger didn’t allow the trigger to be squeezed. Count felt tears brimming his eyes, and he pushed Edgar away to be able to exit the cellar, giving up in trying to put the boy out of his misery. He just couldn’t do it.

After closing the door, Count pressed his back against it, sliding down until he was curled up on the floor before he started to cry. His hands muffled the sobs. He just wanted the best for his son, but now he wasn’t sure what was right or wrong anymore. His denial was tearing him apart.

Count needed someone with experience to talk to about this. A friend, maybe? Well, his option was Kay and though it was dark out, he decided on traveling to her sanctuary.

He arrived safely, Kay’s own guards letting him in. This was the first time Count had been in the place, and it definitely was no Constanta. For one, it was significantly smaller territory wise as well as the size of the houses. But it wasn’t that hard to find out which one was Kay’s. After getting some directions from a townsperson, Count was met with the sight of probably the biggest house he’s seen in the city so far.

Walking up to the door, he knocked audibly twice and waited to be answered. Kay immerged from behind the door; looking up to meet Count’s tired gazed with her surprised one. After all, she was shocked to see him here. She never thought he’d ever come to the sanctuary on his own accord like he was now.

“Count… What are you doing here?”

“I wish to speak with you. May I come in?”

“Yeah, sure. Come in.” Kay opened the door wider and side stepped to allow him in. After closing the door back, she turned around and took immediate notice to the redness in his eyes. “Jesus Christ, Count. Have you been crying? What’s wrong?”

“I tried to do it, Kay… I tried to put down Edgar.” Just thinking back to the recent event had Count tearing up again, his voice cracking slightly. “I know you said it is for the best, but I just can’t do it… I just-“

“Shh, Count… Calm down for a second and breath.” Kay placed a hand onto his shoulder, ducking her head a bit to meet his gaze that was now lowered. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I was going to take your advice… I know I need to put him out of his misery, but that is my son. I just… Can’t. It’s so hard, Kay.” As he spoke, Count choked back sobs, leaving Kay to be extremely worried. She was proud of him for trying to do the right thing, but Kay knew that if someone wasn’t ready to handle such a thing… Then they wouldn’t be able to do it, and Count was not ready.

“I know, I know. It’s okay.” Whether it was a spur of the moment or something Kay felt needed to be done, she encircled her arms around the Romanian’s neck in a hug. With his head resting against her shoulder and his arms wrapped around her waist, Count’s finally let him cry around her instead of trying to hold it back. “You’ll be able to do it soon… I believe in you.”

With a sigh, Kay ran a comforting hand through his hair in an attempt to calm him. His sobs shaking him, but soon lessened as the moment went on. As he finally calmed, Kay pulled away from Count to look at him. She wiped away the stray tears that lingered after the small break down, the corners of her lips pulling up in a small and reassuring smile.

“I’m here if you need me.”

It wasn’t unusual to see Kay exit the sanctuary’s walls alone and venture out into the surrounding land. With being the leader of said sanctuary and the group that protected it, no one brought themselves to ask why. It was probably for the best; the Hawaiian didn’t have a reason anyways. After all, it wasn’t to look for supplies, she was just… Wandering.

She was doing the same thing she and her late boyfriend did when this world first turned to shit. They both wandered until he was killed by a gang and she rose to the top of this metaphorical food chain. Though, at least she wasn’t stupid enough to go out alone without a weapon.

Kay kept a pistol tucked secretly into the waistband of her jeans, and had a bat wrapped with barbed wire in her hand. Though the pistol did kill things quicker, Kay preferred the bat as it was the quieter of the two. She’d admit, because of that bat, she developed more strength in her arms from swinging it at the undead and at people frequently.

Speaking of the undead, she took notice to not seeing any around. Usually there would at least be two or three that would travel to the area, but the lack of walkers had many questions running through her head. But she continued with her walk, mindlessly knocking stray branches away from her. It was rather peaceful out despite the hell that was this life, as it always was when she ventured alone. There was just something about the quiet, and the land around always seeming to be barren.

That quiet was soon ruined by the snap of a twig, leaving Kay to immediately whip around, expecting a walker but finding something entirely different. A person dressed in a knight’s armor, a sword in each of their hands. When the knight met Kay’s gaze, a muffled yelled left them as they ran straight towards her. Acting fast, Kay lifted her bat up, preparing to swing it at this person’s head.

The knight must have seen how defensive she got and slowed down, putting up their hands to show no harm. Whatever they said was muffled by the helmet that adorned their head, causing Kay to furrow her brows in confusion. At that, the stranger lifted up a hatch on the helmet that allowed their face to be revealed. Kay’s first thought was this person having such a bright smile for living in such a dark world.

“Ah, I’m sorry if I scared ya! Just got excited t’see another person walkin’ around.” The thick, Scottish accent was hard to not notice, especially since it was accompanied by such a booming voice. That left Kay to glance around for oncoming danger, but thankfully, none was found. The individual who Kay had just met sheathed their swords, sticking out a hand towards her in a greeting. “I’m Sir! Who might you be?”

Moving her bat into her other hand, Kay shook the knight’s hand, giving them a small nod. “My name is Kay. I assume you come from somewhere, a sanctuary of sorts?”

“Aye, it’s named Constanta. Would ya like t’see it? It’s really big!” Sir seemed to grow more excited, and if the people of this “Constanta” were anything like them, Kay assured herself of not being threatened in the slightest. So with a nod, she agreed to travel with them to this sanctuary.

On the way, Sir began to tell her about the place. They mentioned again how big it was, what rules the leader there had, and the military and abundance of supplies. Kay couldn’t help but be astonished at that. The place sounded stable and well equipped. Kay hoped she could strike some sort of deal with this leader, or maybe even offer something in return for running the place like she did with her newly acquired port sanctuary.

Arriving into Constanta, Kay quickly found out that there was literally no one, personality wise, like the knight, which did leave her a bit on edge. Though she supposed the people of the sanctuary were more on edge considering the way they stared at the bat in her hand and the fact that she looked like some tough biker. Sir led her to a manor in the city that stood out from the other homes, and she could only assume it belonged to the leader. Sir knocked on the door, standing next to Kay and flashing a grin at her. A tall man stood in the doorway, recognizing the knight but growing concerned at who Kay was.

“Sir, who is this?” The man asked, himself having a rather thick accent as well, Romanian Kay was sure of. She didn’t seem to appreciate the way he looked over her as if she was a threat, but at the same time she couldn’t blame him. If he walked into her sanctuary, she would be doing the same thing.

“This is Kay! I found her in the woods and brought her here.” Sir didn’t seem to notice the red head’s patience running thin with the situation.

“And why would you do that?”

“Well, I-“

“I want to talk to you. To reach an agreement regarding our territories.” For the first time since arriving to the sanctuary, Kay finally spoke up, causing her to gain looks from the both of them. “I rule quite a few sanctuaries, actually. You seem reasonable; I think we can both benefit from each other.”

With a nod, the Romanian had dismissed Sir and held open the manor door to let Kay inside. He motioned for her to follow him, leading her into his office and sitting down in the seat behind his desk. Kay slowly slipped into the seat that was in front of the desk, letting her bat lean against the chair. The man stared at her for a few moments before finally breaking the ice. “You said you wanted to talk. Now is your chance.”

With a sigh, Kay shifted and leaned forward, her hands clasping together as she gathered her thoughts. “I told you a run a few sanctuaries, the names being Rosaline, Akamu, Elikapeka, and Healani. Healani is my port city, and we have a couple ships there as well. I run a group that travels between the sanctuaries to protect and distribute supplies among them. Though I personally run Rosaline myself, I put others in change of the sanctuaries, and tell them how to run it. Like you, I have rules in these cities. They’re fair rules, and they’re placed for good reasons.”

Kay took a glance out the window behind the man before looking back at him. “You seem to run things differently than I would. But you also seem to have more than I do too. For starters, we don’t have a military. My group could be considered one, in a way though. But I must say I do admire this place.”

“To get to my point, you have things I could use for my people. I bet I have things you could use as well. I get that you want to be in charge, you give off that aura, and as do I. Establishing a truce for us to both rule but be open with each other could be what we need to continue surviving in this world. We’ll both listen and hear each other out in a way that leaves us both at the top. What do you think?”

Kay kept a poker face up as the man in front of her seemed to mull over her offer, internally she worried terribly. The last thing she wanted was another place to be an enemy. A sigh snapped her from her thoughts as the Romanian sat upright, glancing at her once more.

“Very well. Consider Constanta open to you and your people.” As Kay went to say her thanks, he cut her off. “Do not make me regret this decision.”

“You won’t, trust me.” She decided to forget saying thank you after that, her expression hardening in the slightest. “Is there any questions you have? Anything you want to know, or say regarding this deal or our own sanctuaries?”

“There is one thing, actually. What are you and your people doing to help fix the apocalypse, if anything?” Whether it was the way he asked the question, or the way he worded, Kay took slight offense. She stood up before deciding to answer him.

“I have a doctor who’s studying the walkers and working on some cures. One cure to keep people from reanimating, and another to treat bites.” She paused a moment before adding, “You got my name, but I don’t believe I got yours.”

“You may call me Count.”

“Well alright, Count. Anything else you want to know?”

“This doctor of yours who is working on a cure… I would like to meet him. If he can, I would like him to come here, if you will allow it as well.” Kay didn’t see a problem with it, so she nodded in agreement to the request. She would just have to make sure none of her people got hurt while her best surgeon was gone.

“I’ll allow it. Now before I go, do you happen to have a map?”

With a sigh, Count got up and retrieved a map from a nearby shelf, rolling it out on the desk. Kay walked over to the desk and looked over the map, scanning for the locations of her own sanctuaries. When she found them, she grabbed a nearby pen and circled the points on the map, having little regard for what Count would say about it.

“Now you know where my sanctuaries are located. This one,” she drew an ‘R’ above one of the circles, “Is Rosaline. I will mostly be here, if you need me.”

Kay dropped the pen on his desk, turning on her heel and picking up her bat before looking back at him. “Expect to see me again tomorrow; I will be escorting my doctor here. Aloha, Count.”

“Da… Aloha…” Count lowered his brows at the Hawaiian, watching as she finally turned and left. He began to wonder if he was already regretting this agreement.

Arriving back to her sanctuary, Kay immediately rushed to the clinic, informing the doctor, who was called Doc, about why she was gone for so long, and what they would be doing tomorrow. Doc seemed to be okay, and maybe even a little bit excited, to go to Constanta. Kay was glad for that. It would be early the next morning when the two would head out.

Doc carried a bag with some emergency supplies, and also their notes on the undead. Kay leading them through the terrain to the city, bat in hand that she did have to use once on a walker during the journey. When they got to Constanta, Kay attracted more attention than before thanks to her now bloody weapon, and because of that she ushered Doc to the manor.

When Count answered the door, Kay motioned to the blue individual standing beside her, explaining that this was the doctor she spoke of. She also explained to Doc that because of the deal she and the Romanian had, he wanted to know about the cures. Count invited Doc inside, telling Kay to wait outside as he was going to show Doc some supplies that could help in their studies. Kay, begrudgingly, complied.

After Count finally exited the manor, Kay walked next to him. A part of her wanted to ask what he was having her friend do, but she decided Doc would be fine. When she went to ask what they were going to do, he beat her to it.

“You mentioned my military yesterday, and that you admired Constanta. Because of that, I would like introduce you to my trusted General.” Count led her to what seemed like an army base, soldiers running around the place. And there were a lot of soldiers as well. She was led over to a purple haired individual who was currently commanding a unit of soldiers as a training exercise. “This is General. They are in command of my army. General, this is Kay.”

As Count caught their attention, General turned around to meet the two, looking over Kay. They only nodded curtly to her. “Bonjour.”

It was then that Kay was beginning to think everyone here had a different accent. This one being French. Though something struck Kay as familiar, and she squinted at the small Frenchmen. “Bonjour… General, was it? I believe I know you from somewhere… You have a brother?”

It seemed that the general grew briefly uncomfortable before shaking their head as though Kay’s question didn’t affect them in the slightest. “Non, I do not.”

“Are you sure? There’s a captain I know who looks very much like you.”

“It must be a coincidence. I am an only child.” Folding their arms, General looked impatiently at her. “What is it that you want?”

Before Kay could bite back with some remark, Count made perfect timing to cut in and explain why he had brought her here. “I wish to show Kay the army, and let her meet you, of course. We will let you get back to training though.”

With that, Count ushered Kay away, moving further into the base. She took immediate notice to the abundance of sheds that she assumed held things such a weapons. “Well, this is your military base… It’s bigger than I imagined. I assume you keep your guns here?”

“Well, yes. Where else would we keep the guns?” With a raised brow, Count looked towards her. He noted how she paid him no mind, instead gazing around in astonishment. He’d be lying if he said the look on her face didn’t fill him with a small sense of pride. Kay did give a slight shrug at his question though.

“I was just asking. Like I said yesterday, you run your sanctuary differently.” With her attention now averted towards him, and seeing that he was looking at her, she asked, “Is there anything else you want to show me?”

It was a few hours later that left Kay now knowing more about Constanta than she would ever think. Insisting that leaving before sundown would be the safest for her and her friend; she and Count arrived back to the manor to get Doc, Kay once again having to wait outside for whatever reason. Count thanked the both of them for coming, thanking Doc for their research and thanking Kay for allowing him to meet the brilliant surgeon. With a farewell, the two exited the city and headed to their own sanctuary.

It wasn’t until they got back to Rosaline when Doc requested to speak to Kay alone. Doc explained that what Count had talked to him about was his son, who had turned and was kept in the cellar. Because of Count hearing about the cure, he told the doctor that his son could be used to help the cause.

“He’s got his teeth pulled and his hands tied behind him… It’s awfully sad, Kay… Sad and a bit creepy, in my opinion.” Doc tugged nervously at the cuffs of their sleeves, looking down at the ground below their feet. If Doc had looked up, they would have seen the appalled expression on her face.

“He… What? Why didn’t you tell me about this while we were there?!” As her voice rose, Doc flinched and looked up at her, causing Kay to immediately recoil and compose herself. With a sigh, she rubbed the back of her neck while mulling over what to say. “Doc, I just… This would have been useful to know sooner.”

“Well… He wants me to come back tomorrow, for the same reason.”

“Absolutely not. Tied and toothless or not, I don’t want you down in a damn cellar with a walker. Especially unsupervised.” With Kay’s disapproval, Doc was quick to try and convince her otherwise.

“But Kay, it’s fine! I can handle myself. Nothing happened today, after all, so it’s safe. Besides, your pet walkers aren’t in… The best condition. Count’s son could probably help my research more, especially since Count has better tools.” Though the doctor’s explanation was reasonable, Kay wasn’t having it.

“I’m not letting you go back there until I talk with him about this. You’re a doctor of Rosaline, not of Constanta. Count should have at least informed me on this.”

“But you can’t tell him!”

“And why not?”

“Because-” Doc paused, biting their lip nervously before letting out a sigh. “Because I wasn’t supposed to tell you about his son… He wanted it to be a secret.”

Kay understood the consequences of this, which would leave the doctor getting into trouble for telling even her, but something as important as that shouldn’t be kept from her. “I still need to confront him on this. I will handle it, though. Don’t worry, Doc.”

Though the doctor couldn’t help but be nervous at what was to come, they put their trust into the Hawaiian. Since they first knew her, she proved herself to be a strong leader and Doc couldn’t help to be thankful for having a friend like that with them in this world.

Rising early the next morning, Kay left the sanctuary of Rosaline to head to Constanta for the third day in a row. She spent most of the night wondering if this truce was really worth the trouble she was now experiencing, but after much thought she decided it was. She still couldn’t figure out why the man didn’t let her know. It was understandable why he didn’t tell his people, but she had an agreement with him.

The guards at the city gates seemed a bit concerned to see Kay without Doc, but with knowing of her and the truce she was still let it, bee lining it for the manor. With a sharp knock on the door, Kay awaited with a frown for Count to answer. When he did, she only looked more displeased, causing him to furrow his brows in confusion.

“Kay? What is it? Where is the doct-“

“I need to talk to you.” She spoke flatly before whispering for just him to hear, “About your son.”

What Kay didn’t expect was to be practically jerked inside and pulled through the manor till she was dragged into his office, the door being closed for extra measure. With finally unhanding her, Count paced around as he tried to keep his temper at bay, but it still managed to show. He ran a hand through his fiery red hair before looking up at her. “Who told you?”

“First of, don’t fucking touch me like that again unless you want to lose your damn arm. Secondly, Doc did. Honestly, I’m a bit insulted you didn’t tell me first.” She met his outraged gaze with an annoyed one of her own.

“I do not want him to be spoken of. Is that understood?”

“I want to know why you keep him like that. Why have you not killed him already?” Sensing that this was going to be a long conversation, Count sighed and took a seat in his chair, Kay following suit in the same one she sat in the first day she met the man.

“… I promised his mother I would take care of him. The doctor is using samples of him for their work in finding a cure. Though doing all this pains me… I hope to one day cure him. Everything we accomplish will come from him.” With a hardened look returning on his face, Count looked over the desk at Kay. “You will not speak of him to anybody. You and the doctor both. Doing so will result in the end of our truce and all future endeavors Constanta has with you and your group. Do I make myself clear?”

Kay frowned slightly at that, choosing to put her opinion into the matter considering she figured this was the closest they would ever get to talking out a problem. “The cure we need is to prevent the dead from reanimating, or better yet to cure bite wounds. So how do you expect to cure him when he’s rotting away, when he’s not himself because he’s literally brain dead?”

She leaned forward to rest her arms atop the desk, her expression softening in the slightest. “You need to think realistically here… I wouldn’t want to worry the people so II won’t tell a soul and neither will Doc, but with something like that I should have been informed. Had our roles of been switched, I would have told you. Do I make myself clear?”

Though he knew she was right, Count was as terribly stubborn as she was. So with a single nod he replied, “You do.”

“Again… You handle things much differently than I do. Unlike you, I put my loved ones down when they turned.” Kay rose from her seat and looked down at him. “I couldn’t bear to see them living in that way. It wasn’t right, and it damn sure wasn’t the real them.”

As Kay turned to leave, she paused once she got to the doorway. A moment passed before she brought herself to look over her shoulder at the red head. “You can expect Doc and I to be here tomorrow. Should you need me, for anything at all, you know where my sanctuary is. Aloha, Count.”

SEND “🙆“ TO PLAY WITH MY MUSE’S HAIR.

A rough day at the diner had Kay coming home looking like death. Stepping into the household, she made quick work on undoing the messy on top of her head and kicking off her shoes. Walking into the living room, the sight of a certain red-headed sitting on the couch had her going towards him immediately. 

Crawling into his lap and nuzzling her face into his neck, Kay made it clear she was in need of attention. At feeling a cool hand threading itself into her hair and slowly work through the minor tangles, she relaxed and let out a soft sigh, soaking up the feeling. 

Living with Matthew Peyton Wilton wasn’t usually a quiet lifestyle, nor was it an easy one either. His flaws showed more than his perfections, and there were a lot of them. Whether it was the way he lived his life like no tomorrow, his sarcastic mouth, or his downright kinkiness, Matthew Wilton had a lot of faults. Count Garfield knew this well, especially after dating the man.

Usually when the Count would come home from a congressional meeting, he might hear Matthew inside the manor yelling from a failed magic trick, playing loud music, or thumping as a signal that he was dancing around without a care in the world. It was abnormal when he came home and didn’t hear anything from inside.

The Magician was nowhere to be seen in the living room or kitchen; places he was often found in. The only other option would be their shared bedroom. Upon walking into said room, he found Matthew’s coat thrown haphazardly on the floor by the doorway and his bowtie not far from it. The small, spherical time machine that made their meeting possible was also on the floor, resting up against a nearby nightstand leg. Count raised his eyes to find his boyfriend sitting on their bed, his back to the door and his head in his hands.

“Matthew? What are you doing?” At being snapped out of his deep thinking, Matthew flinched at the calling of his name. He didn’t bother turning around to look at Count, but he did sit up straight.

“Oh, hey. How did your meeting go?” Matthew reached a hand up to brush away the tears that leaked from his eyes before he managed to finally throw a glance over his shoulder to the redhead. His plan to look the part of being okay and totally not like he was just having a small break down must have failed, because at seeing the Count’s concerned expression, he immediately stared back down at his feet.

“Were you crying, Matthew? What is wrong?” He could hear the thudding of Count’s feet against the floor and visibly tensed up. He kept his head low and his eyes casted down, seeing his boyfriend’s boots right in front of him. “Matthew, tell me what’s wrong.”

“Nothing at all, I’m fine. Just… One of those days, y’know?” Matthew certainly wasn’t a great liar, but for the sake of not worrying Count, that was the story he was sticking to. “Just trust me.”

“That is a lie and we both know it. Now tell me.” The lawyer voice that Count was now using was something that Matthew had grown accustomed to. Someone else may have been intimidated by such a tone, but after hearing it quite a few times, the Magician was somewhat immune. “Matthew Peyton Wilton. Tell me what is wrong.”

“Can’t you just believe me for once? I told you I’m fine.”

“Like I would believe that nonsense. Why can you not just tell me?”

“I was thinking, alright? That’s it. That’s all this is.”

“And what were you thinking about?” Count pressed on, seeming to get somewhere with Matthew now. At least, that’s what he thought. Matthew finally managed to look up at him, his eyes tinged red from crying.

“I’m not saying, so don’t even-”

“Don’t be dramatic, Matthew. Just tell me what is bothering you.”

“For the sake of a clear mind, just stop asking.” He huffed, pushing himself off the bed and standing up. Matthew stared at Count for a moment before glancing away with a sigh. “I don’t want you to worry, is all.”

“Well, it is a bit late for that. Now just say what is on your mind.” Count put his hand on Matthew’s arm when he made a move to walk away so he would stop. Though he did stop in his tracks, Matthew also jerked his arm away, shaking the Romanian’s hand off of him. “Matthew-“

“I was thinking about us, alright?” Matthew attempted to be level-headed, but the growing stress was starting to get to him. “I was thinking about us and this… Goddamn time traveling.”

Now Count was getting somewhere. Of course, Matthew was being vague with his answers, and when Count went to ask him to elaborate, he was already explaining himself.

“If all this goes wrong, us getting involved in your lives, we’ll have to go back and stop it. May sound cliché, but the future is at stake if we change too much. We’ll all have to go back to our regular lives that were before all this.” With a sigh, Matthew sat back down on the edge of the bed and clasped his hands together. “I’ll get to be with Fredrick again… And you with Maria... And we won’t know about each other.”

As Count sat down beside Matthew, he watched as the man smiled weakly and gave a small chuckle. Matthew was wondering just how much of what he thought should he say. It had been weeks since he first thought of this situation, and it’s been eating him up ever since.

“At first, when Fredrick died I devastated. All my shows were put on hiatus and… I basically locked myself in my home. I wanted to quit everything and, honestly, just rot.” He sucked in a deep breath before continuing, “But then Kaidan came up to us with news of a time machine she built. She ended up finding a World War Two Russian pilot, Scout Belsky, and a World War Two American medic, Garfield Waters.”

Matthew found himself looking over at Count, soon a lopsided grin taking over his face. “And then we found out about the rest of you Garfields. Sir, General, Captain, and yourself, Count. And we all got, I guess, assigned to partner up with each of you. Learn about your times or some shit, I really don’t remember.”

“Matthew-“

“And I’ll admit, I thought this little partner thing was going to be short. I thought we were going to have like, a vacation in your time periods and then go back to our own lives. I wanted to go back to mourning, but you managed to change my mind.”

With Count’s confused look, Matthew decided to explain more. “I, personally, am repulsed by romance. Always been, I may always will. But there was one person that I started to feel something more for.”

“Was it Fredrick?” Count asked in a hushed tone, his brows furrowing in thought. Throughout Matthew’s whole rant he had been piecing things together. Matthew’s only answer to the question was a curt nod.

“I truly believed I wouldn’t love like that after him. It took awhile for me to feel like that, anyways. But I was wrong, like I am a lot… I managed to feel like that again, if maybe not more. And it was you.” Matthew reached his hands up and gently cupped the Romanian’s face, looking him over. “I see him in you more than I want to admit, but I also see you for you. Fredrick, for one, never was a pain in my ass like you sometimes are. He never sassed back; always was really timid.”

He brought Count’s face closer and rested his forehead against his.  “You’re not Fredrick though. You’re Count Garfield Constantinescu Knight. You speak up for yourself and make your own decisions; you’re independent as fuck and that’s one of the many things I love about you. You don’t need me or anybody else, really. Why you even agreed to dating me, I don’t know.”

Though his eyes started to get watery, Matthew still smiled halfheartedly. “What I do know is I don’t want to forget you. I don’t want to have to erase all the memories and everything else we have. You know me like a book, and you know what makes me feel good, and I appreciate that so much. I know I give you a hard time and all, but I try not to mean harm by it. I’m sorry if it ever comes across that way.”

There was a long pause before Matthew looked off to the side and mumbled, “And don’t even get me started about Edgar.”

“What about Edgar?” At that, Count grew defensive and pulled away, shooting him an insulted look. Matthew couldn’t blame him though, once again he was being vague and Count was just being a parent.

“I love that boy, that’s what. I see him as my own but he’s not. I feel like I have a family to call my own now thanks to the both of you.” The magician wiped his eyes with the back of his hand before fidgeting his fingers out of nervousness. “I never was one for this mushy stuff, but you both turned me soft.”

He soon realized he got a little side tracked from his main point, and since all the minor problems were now out, Matthew decided to sum up how he felt. “I guess, if that fix-the-future thing was to really happen, what’s bothering me is the fact that you’ll both forget about me, but I won’t forget about you. I’ll be stuck in 2016 thinking about you both for the rest of my days, and you? You’ll be making new memories with your son and wife.”

Matthew allowed himself to lie down on his back and stare up at the ceiling, which was much better to focus on. “My main fear is holes in abnormal places like humans and animals, to be honest, but this dilemma that I just confessed? It sounds pretty fucking scary.”

Count hummed after listening to his boyfriend’s finishing statement, lying down next to him. “I understand how this may seem bothersome to you, Matthew, but I do not think you need to worry too much over it. I’m sure that won’t happen.”

With a reassuring smile, he leaned over and kissed the magician’s forehead. “We both have had a long day; I think we need to rest. You may need it more.”

With that, Count pulled Matthew off the bed so he could dress down for the night and sleep, himself doing the same. Matthew draped an arm around Count’s waist once they had finally laid down, pulling him closer.

“I know I don’t say this much, but… Thank you. And I love you.”

@drcrane1048