#realmackross

To say she was terrified was an understatement. Mackenzie didn’t even want to go out and check the mail. I mean, she could. Thanks to good old brain power! Her leg had sprouted that same day after she had consumed two brains, and by the evening, she almost had a working limb again. It was like a lizard losing its tail, and as odd a sensation as it was, she was grateful it had come back.

However, the mental anguish was an entirely different thing. Once again, Jade had just gotten away. Come to ruin Mack’s life just for the hell of it, with some Holier Than Thou murder crusade on her and the undead of Wicked’s Rest, with the goal of playing hero to the helpless and the poor undead who needed to be saved from their wretched lives. But all she had accomplished was traumatizing Mackenzie. Thank God Elora was still in her life. She’d need a date night again soon, or at least snuggles (Author's note: The only snuggles Mack got were goodbye snuggles). 

But when Cass had offered to bring snacks for a movie night at Mack’s place, something in her felt a sense of calm. A reminder of the fun times Mackenzie had been able to have with Cass, Alex, and the other AllGoods when she had first gotten to Wicked’s Rest (well, at least before the Barbie sleepover from hell). That had felt like an entire lifetime ago, even though it had only been close to a year. A lot could change in that span of time, and unfortunately, not all of it was for the better. But that had been well in the past, and she just wanted a fun night. Something to get her mind off of the hellish week she was already having.

At the sound of the doorbell, Mackenzie felt a smile washing over her face. Slowly, standing from the couch, she limped over to the door ready to greet and welcome Cass in. The pair had been on rocky ground for months now, but this was going to be the thing to repair that. At least she had hoped it would. She missed the fae, and had felt like a budding friendship had gone to crap before it had ever had a chance to flourish for multiple reasons, but now, here was the chance to make things right and to just enjoy each other’s company.

—

It was funny, in a terrible sort of way, to feel light and happy when your friends were feeling the opposite. Cass felt better than she had in a long time now, freer than she could remember, but Wicked’s Rest was the kind of town that bombarded people with tragedy in a way that didn’t stop. So many of her friends were aching now, and she almost felt guilty for how carefree she felt with her father waiting for her in her cave. Almost. Makaio liked to remind her that she shouldn’t feel bad for being happy, and Cass tried to hold on to that.

But that didn’t mean she couldn’t try to help. 

She wasn’t sure what was going on with Mack, but something seemed to be bothering her. Cass had voiced as much to Makaio and her father hadn’t said that she ought to go try to cheer Mack up, but he hadn’t told her not to, either. It felt like permission, so she’d taken it. She’d slipped out of the cave and headed to the store, had swiped some candy she knew Mack liked and made her way to the zombie’s home with a spring in her step. She tried to mask her joy a little, not wanting to shove it in Mack’s face when she was feeling down or anything, but it was hard to pretend she wasn’t happy when Mack answered the door.

“Hey, Mack,” she greeted. Even the petty disagreements between the two of them seemed far away now. Those had been so driven by Cass’s insecurities, and those securities weren’t necessary anymore. She didn’t need to wonder if people liked her when she knew the most important person would never stop loving her. “I brought a lot of candy. And a USB drive with, like, a ton of movies on it, so we don’t have to pay any of the big corps. Fuck them, right? They don’t get our money!” She grinned, waving the shopping bag in her hand.

It took her a moment to take in Mack’s appearance. The limp, the messy hair, the expression. Clearly, she’d been right about Mack having a hard time. Her smile turned a little sympathetic, and she offered the bag out to Mack. “Come on. I can pop some popcorn, if you want.”

—

When she opened the door, it felt like a different air. Cass’s positivity was radiating despite Mack noticing her trying to dial it back. But the zombie was happy for her. She knew Cass had been hurting for quite a while with Alex leaving, and with a lot of other things that had happened. But she could definitely tell something was different about her friend, and it looked good on her, “Hey, Cass.” Her smile was tinged with sadness, but it was there. She wanted to know how Cass had been. Wanted to know what was going on in her life. And if it meant movies being put on hold that was fine, but the fae had definitely come prepared. With candy and a USB drive in tow. “Spicy, I hope?”

Mack was excited about the candy. The ‘fuck the big corps’ thing not quite as much considering the big corps were the ones paying her royalty checks, which kept her in this house and fed and not a raging zombie looking for brains to munch on from random people in town. But she could unlive with it for one day.

Stepping back so Cass could come in, she waited until the fae was inside to shut the door and lock it, “So are you feeling couch or theater today?” It wasn’t like she had Cass over that much; in fact, the last time had been…No, don’t go there, Mackenzie. This is supposed to be a good day. She could hobble down stairs to the lower level of the house for movies, popcorn, and spicy candies if that’s what her friend wanted. She would let her make the decision.

—

Mack looked sad, and Cass furrowed her brow just a little. It was hard to remember that, while she had been having her world expanded by her father’s presence, her friends’ worlds kept slogging on the way they always had. Those worlds were full of bad and scary things, were always brimming with pain and uncertainty in a way that she knew hurt. She wasn’t sure if a flashdrive full of movies and some candy would do anything to help whatever catastrophe Mack had going on, but she thought it would be nice to at least try. “The spiciest money can buy,” she confirmed, offering the shopping bag to the zombie.

The moment Mack moved aside, Cass stepped into the house. She hadn’t been here since that disastrous slumber party. Unconsciously, her eyes darted to the spot on the floor where Mack had landed when Cass clumsily knocked her off the stairs, her chest clenching a little with guilt. But that wasn’t important now, was it? Everything was fine. Mack wasn’t mad at her, she’d said so. 

“How about the theater? It’s so cool that you have one of those in your house.” Really, most of Mack’s house was cool; when Cass imagined the perfect home as a kid, she’d always come up with something close to this. A mansion with a million rooms, a home theater, a big kitchen. Of course, in her fantasies, she hadn’t lived there alone. She wondered if Mack ever got lonely here. “Any preference on what movie we should start with? Are you, um — Are you feeling more romcom, or animated feature?”

—

With the bag in hand, and Cass having made her choice, she limped towards the stairs leading down to the lower level of the house, “It was always a dream, so I thought, why not, when I moved out here. I never had one back home. It was just me and Br-…I lived in a condo in Los Angeles.” She thought about Brody, and how much she had missed him and her life with him. “Do you need anything from the kitchen? I have drinks and some food. The fridge downstairs is mostly just…zombie food.” She paused realizing that saying brains might have been a little too much despite them both knowing exactly what Mack needed to survive.

It had been quite a while since she had had a friend over. It was kind of odd. Even her girlfriend hadn’t been over in a while, which somewhat made her worry, but she shook it off as she proceeded back towards the stairs, “I’m thinking animated. What do you recommend on your handy thumbdrive?” She glanced back towards Cass over her shoulder. At this point Mack would watch anything. Hell, she’d probably even watch a zombie movie if it took her mind off of everything. But there really wasn’t a zombie movie she hadn’t seen after the movie marathon with Milo back in the fall.

As she made it to the doorway, Mack leaned around and started everything up with a panel on the wall. It had been a bit since she had been in here, mostly favoring the upstairs tv and couch with Jack curled up next to her side. Speaking of… “Oh, um, I do have a cat now. His name is Jack. He’s around here somewhere. I hope that’s okay. If not, I can put him in my bedroom upstairs.” She looked back to Cass not knowing if the girl was allergic or not.

—

Cass trailed behind Mack, watching the way she moved. In this town, it seemed injuries were commonplace. It scared her sometimes, made her worry about her friends… and herself, a little, though she felt safer now that she knew Makaio was waiting for her back in her cave. The world was a scary place, but her father wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. Cass knew that, was confident in it. She wished her friends could all have someone like that, too. Maybe, when Makaio felt more at home here, he could be that for everyone else, too. For Mack, for Aria, for the Allgoods. She glanced to Mack as she faltered mid-sentence, but didn’t mention it. Everyone had things they’d prefer not to talk about; Cass was the same. “I always thought LA would be a cool place to live,” she commented. “I lived in New York, for a little while.” She didn’t add that she’d lived on the streets, squatting in warehouses and alleyways. “The candy should be enough. I’m not, like, starving or anything.” She’d been practicing cooking for Makaio, and she was decent at it now. It meant she was usually fairly full. 

Humming, Cass nodded as Mack confirmed that animated was the way to go. “Well, I’ve got both Spiderverse movies on here, of course. Some Pixar stuff, some indie. Oh! Have you seen Nimona? I like that one a lot.” She let herself babble a little to fill the silence, worried that if it fell it would prove uncomfortable. There were so few people that Cass felt secure around, even now. She knew Ariadne could handle the quiet, knew Van and Nora would be fine with it. But Mack felt like an unknown entity sometimes; Cass was never entirely confident about where she stood.

The panel seemed complicated, and Cass hung back to let Mack deal with it. Despite her glamour, she was still a creature of stone and magma, and that kind of thing often mixed poorly with delicate electronics. “Oh, I like cats,” she assured Mack with a small smile. “I’ve never had one, but I think they’re cool.” Pets weren’t really the kind of thing you could keep when living in a cave, after all.

—

“I love New York! It’s a fun city. It feels like there’s always something fun to do there.” It had been a while since Mack had visited. In fact, the last time she was there had been with Brody for some press junket. He had also come to town for something he had been working on and the two had met up and spent the day together, before she had to fly out to another city. It seemed most of her life had been etched with Brody in it, and now, not having him around made memories painful. At least the ones pre-Wicked’s Rest.

When she finally got everything switched on and the thumb drive in place, Mack hobbled over to a drink cooler and got out a bottle of Dr. Pepper, before going down the few steps that led into the room. Once she found her favorite seat (remote already close by), Mackenzie sat down and settled in, “Sit anywhere you’d like.” Thumbing through the options on the thumb drive, the zombie found Nimona, “I’ve never seen Nimona, but I’m gonna take your word for it that it’s good. And maybe after that we can watch a Pixar movie if you want to?”

It felt like old times, even though old times weren’t that old. She was grateful for having the company and even more so that her and Cass had worked things out. If it was a success, which at this rate, it seemed like that was where things were headed, then Mackenzie knew that having the girl back over sooner rather than later would be a joy. And as she glanced back at her friend, Mackenzie couldn’t help but take in the moment and the peacefulness and joy it held. Something she hadn’t felt in a long time, “You tell me when you’re ready, and if you need me to pause it for any reason, just let me know.”

—

“Yeah, it was really fun!” That wasn’t a lie. Cass had had far more fun in New York than she tended to in most cities where she rested her head due to the fact that New York was where she’d met Nora, where she’d found a friend who, unbeknownst to her, had seen her true form without flinching even years before Cass showed it to her knowingly. Even the pain of the initial ending to their friendship felt far away now that they were friends again in the present, a thing forgotten so long as forgetting it was convenient. 

She watched Mack hobble around, wondering if she should offer to help but not quite secure enough to do so. Things with Mack still felt shakier than she’d like for them to, like she was still waiting for the rug to be pulled out from beneath her feet. Still, she sat in the seat closest to the zombie when Mack told her to sit anywhere, nodding as she found Nimona. “It is good,” she replied, stopping short of promising it. Cass wasn’t foolish enough to promise silly things, especially not now that she had someone to impress back home. “We can watch a Pixar movie after, totally. I have, like, all of them on there, so whatever you want. What’s your favorite?”

It was nice, just being able to hang out with Mack. It was something Cass had been sure she’d lost to her own insecurity, so finding it again… She wouldn’t take it for granted. She refused to. “I’m ready now,” she replied. “And I shouldn’t need it paused or anything. Like, even if I have to pee, I’ve seen it before, so you can keep going.” There was that desperate need to please, that desire to be anything but an inconvenience. She didn’t think she’d ever shake it entirely.

—

Mack thought about the question. Which was her favorite Pixar movie? There had been so many, and each one seemed to hold a specific memory to her life. She couldn’t really choose just one, “I really don’t have a specific favorite. I think, of all the ones I’ve seen, they all hold a specific memory associated with them.” She smiled thinking back on some of them, “But for the sake of us not being here for a week straight watching Pixar movies, I’m gonna have to go with the OG…Toy Story.” She had loved that movie, and it was one of her earliest memories from childhood.

Settling into the chair, she pulled up their first movie. And in that moment, Mack felt a sort of peace she hadn’t felt in a while. She didn’t feel threatened, scared, or lonely. In fact, she felt whole. She had a friend by her side. They were safe and were about to have a good time together. That’s all she had been wanting for a while. And what she had needed. She had missed just hanging out with friends and having movie nights. And this day, it would give her time to catch up on Cass’s life, and what she had been up to.

Llama, as she wholeheartedly believed her name to be after Beau had stolen her real name, hadn’t been to the zoo in such a long time. Of course, usually when she went it was with friends or family. She remembered going to the San Diego Zoo with her cousins not too long before leaving to shoot Haunted. It had been ridiculously hot that day, until a random rainstorm had popped up forcing them inside the monkey exhibit with a few other people. It had been fun, until the monkeys had started going wild and screaming at Llama as if they knew what she had become. It didn’t help that it drew attention to her and her family who were soon trying to get videos and pictures with her. And without being able to wait out the rain, she immediately fled on the verge of a panic attack from all the noise and cameras flashing leaving her cousins disappointed. But that had been almost a lifetime ago, and tonight, she had hoped it would be much better.

“One ticket please. Thanks.” Pulling out some cash, she passed the exact amount over to the person working the ticket window. Taking the ticket in return and her small gift bag in hand, Llama walked inside and found a bench towards the entrance to wait for the man she was supposed to meet. If he had stood her up and chickened out, at least she could still enjoy the exhibits for herself, especially the llamas. Maybe that’s why her parents had named her Llama. They were her favorite. And a nighttime exhibit at the zoo just sounded fun in itself. A “treat yourself” kind of night. If it was one thing Llama had been lacking in lately, it was self-care.

Cassius hadn’t been to the zoo in years. While he appreciated the wildlife that they had on display, he’d just seen so many zoos over the years and felt an overwhelming sense of sadness for most of them, these animals were no longer able to roam free in their natural habitats. Moreover, he had a harder time when they would feed the carnivorous animals and being at a zoo in the daytime. Being a vampire made it hard to enjoy the little things he’d taken for granted while alive in another lifetime. He made his way up to the ticket booth and paid for his admission, nodding his thanks to the worker before making his way inside.

As he had said in his message to the girl, (who Cassius learned was named Mackenzie after looking through her profile online) he wore a long black frock coat with silver button details, black skinny jeans and combat boots. His eyes were lined with black eyeliner and smoked out as well as a multitude of piercings in his face, the only thing that didn’t match was his natural blonde hair amongst all the black. He stood around for a moment, Standing at the entrance, he looked around, hoping that she would recognize him based off of the description he had given her.

Letting her eyes scan the area near the entrance, Llama looked for the man. He had claimed it wouldn’t be hard to spot him, and when she saw someone dressed in black from head-to-toe with blonde hair, just as he had described, she smiled. He hadn’t stood her up, and with that bit of a rush knowing she wouldn’t be spending another evening alone, she scooped up the small bag she had brought with her and moved towards him.

“Hey, I think you’re who I’m looking for? We met online. I’m Llama.” The name was enough alone to make anyone question her sanity considering Llama was a well known actress who went by the name Mackenzie Ross. She might have been lying about her name (even though she didn’t think she was), but there was no denying her face absolutely belonged to the name plastered all over the internet, in tv shows, and movie credits. Even her IMDB page read Mackenzie Ross, but the girl swore up and down that her name was Llama, which was apparent in her innocent expression.

As the girl strode up to him, Cassius gave her a polite smile. When she introduced herself, he faltered. She had been saying her name was Mackenzie up until recently. Llama. Right. Was she going through a phase? He had worked with teenagers for long enough to not judge anyone and what they were going through, but he found this a little odd. “Cassius.” He responded with a slight bow of his head. “A pleasure.” He decided not to mention the oddness of her name, coming to the conclusion that he was simply too old to keep up with trends these days.

He walked over to the side so they didn’t block anyone’s way, then began to rifle through his pocket. “You told me you wanted to see the llamas,” Cassius mentioned with a raise of his brow. “Should we go see that first or would you rather save that for the grand finale?” He had never been to the zoo before, despite the fact that he had lived in the town for a good ten years. After a beat of silence before the girl could answer him, he began to dig through his pocket, pulling out a single lilac-colored octopus and holding it out on the palm of his hand. “Before I forget, I believe this is for you.”

“It’s a pleasure to meet you as well, Cassius.” She smiled warmly in his direction, before following suit and moving off to the side. “And you’re right. I definitely do want to see the llamas. I think if it’s okay with you, I’d like to save them for the grand finale. Were there any particular animals you were looking forward to seeing?” The zoo was such a fun place, and she was glad to be sharing this moment with someone else, even if they had just met. However, before she could ask him anything else, Llama watched as he pulled the small octopus out of his pocket; the whole reason she had come to meet him in the first place. The llamas were just a bonus.

It was adorable and looked even better than the picture she had seen online. It was going to have a special spot in her home on the mantle over the fireplace next to her Emmy awards, “Okay, that is the cutest thing I’ve seen in a long time.” She gently took the creature from his hand and held it close, “Thank you. I’ve already got a place picked out for him at home.” She looked down at the small crocheted octopus one more time, before remembering her own gift. “And this is for you.” Llama raised her hand up containing a small gift bag. The contents inside, a book of new animal crochet patterns and some nice crochet needles, weren’t much, but she had hoped he would enjoy it.

Cassius looked down at the bag she had given him, full of crochet supplies and patterns. It was enough to melt his long stopped heart. “This is amazing.” He spoke, looking over to her with wide eyes. “You didn’t need to do this.” He then said shaking his head. He was never given things, and the fact that she had gone out of her way to get supplies specific to the new hobby he had picked up meant a lot to him. A stranger that had paid attention, it was sweet. “Thank you.” He then said, nodding his head enthusiastically. After they had exchanged their gifts, he gave a soft smile as he looked around. “So what should we go look at first?” He asked as he began to walk past the zoo’s entrance and into the main square, as it seemed to be. 

There were signs pointing toward big cats, another pointing in the direction of the birds, and a bigger sign that explained the zoological mission toward conservation and animals that were close to extinction in the wild that they had at the zoo. It made him change his mind a little about zoos, if only for this one specifically. “Honestly, I’ve always felt bad for the animals that are stuck in enclosures.” He admitted to her after reading the sign. “But I also suppose I don’t know nearly enough about what goes into a zoo that truly cares about its animals.”

Llama was so grateful that he liked his gifts. Now, he could make all kinds of animals, including llamas! “Hey, I wanted to. I practically begged for one these little guys,” she held the small octopus up, “So I had to do something in return. And besides, now you can make llamas!” She winked at him. Maybe crocheting was something she could try. But upon second thought, she didn’t have the patience for it. She had always admired people who did though.

Following along, she took in the sights around her including the signs explaining where they were at and the zoo’s mission statement, “You know, I think since llamas are the grand finale, you should pick first.” It was all a little overwhelming, but nice. And it being dark out made things even better, because it was going to take more than just a glance to really see who Llama was, “That’s not a horrible way to feel. You want to picture all these animals free and running around in their homelands, but I guess when they’re being threatened, it’s a totally different story. At least here, people aren’t trying to hurt them. I mean that’s the way I look at it, I guess.” She sent a soft smile in Cassius’ direction hoping that eased his mind a little.

Thinking for a moment, Cassius stood up a little straighter. “I am a fan of lions,” he admitted with a smile. “There’s something about big cats that just get me.” He admitted with a gentle shrug of his shoulder. He shouldered his bag of crochet goodies, then pointed to the sign that mentioned big cats. “Shall we then?” He spoke, pointing in its direction. Once Llama was in agreement, they set off in the direction of the lion exhibit. “So how long have you been in town?” He asked with a raise of his eyebrow. “I’ve been here too long, personally.” He then added, walking slowly so they could take in the other animals as they walked. A cloud leopard, a cheetah, then the lions. 

Upon reaching the exhibit, Cassius’s heart sank. They were feeding the lion. Raw meat. Blood. Hoping it wasn’t seen, Cassius’s eyes turned a bright red and his fangs came out. He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his lips together. He hoped that she hadn’t seen. He gripped the rail, holding his breath so the feeding response to the smell would calm down. He peeked open a red eye, looking over to her. “I guess I should explain myself.” He spoke, staring at the ground. 

Llama loved seeing the big cats. While she definitely was more of a dog person, there was just something about lions and other huge felines that seemed so majestic, “Lions it is! And maybe it’s because they’re so graceful, yet still so powerful?” She looked over to the sign he was pointing at, “We shall!”

As Llama moved forward, she let her eyes scan the enclosures looking at some exhibits that seemed to be closed. She couldn’t help but wonder if those animals were asleep or if it was some other reason that they weren’t on display. She knew the zoo had well trained and certified vets and other people working there, but she couldn’t help but worry, even though just moments earlier she had reassured Cassius that everything was okay. However, his question seemed to pull her mind away from the thoughts, “Huh, um, a little over two months. What brought you here?” Finally she had caught sight of the other big cats on display including leopards and cheetahs. They were much more beautiful in person than the pictures she had seen on the website.

But when they finally made it to the lions, her eyes grew with excitement. Moving closer to the glass barricade, she watched as the caretaker pulled out fresh meat to feed to the lion, “Looks like we got here at the right time, Cass-” Llama’s words hung in her throat as she caught sight of his eyes changing and fangs appearing. Backstepping slightly, her eyes grew wider than they were watching the lion be fed, “Uh…yeah, that’d be nice. Should I be worried…” Her mind was screaming vampire, but vampires couldn’t be real, could they? This wasn’t Twilight.

Feeling foolish for being unable to predict something as simple as feeding the animals, Cassius shook his head, eyes still closed as he waited for the smell to leave his system. He was terrible at feeding himself, so being able to control his hunger wasn’t as easy as it looked. He wondered if vampires who fed regularly on any creature had as hard a time with this as he did. 

Once the lion had taken the food further away toward its den, Cassius opened his eyes, they were back to their normal blue. “Apologies, I didn’t mean for you to see that.” He admitted, leaning forward on the barricade, glad that they were the only ones watching the lions at that moment. “I will not harm you,” he began, gaze turning to one of worry. He looked around, noting that there was no one present. “I am a vampire.” He explained with a defeated look. “I try to live as normal a life as I can, but it has its limits.” He frowned, feeling silly. 

He looked to the lion eating its food, holding his breath so he appeared unnaturally still, watching the creature with an awed gaze. “I’ve always envied animals. They have no sense of right or wrong, only survival.” Cassius found himself saying, hands pressed against the glass. “I understand if you want to leave.” He then said, finally looking over to the girl.

A wave of relief washed over Llama’s dead form, when she saw his eyes turn back to their normal blue hue. She honestly wasn’t sure why she had been so afraid. She was dead after all. If he tried to suck her blood, he probably wouldn’t get anything, but a little bit of rot and decay. Which speaking of? Didn’t that mean he was dead too? And why was he telling her all of this? It seemed that most people would have lied, much like she had been doing, but seeing someone being open and honest with who they were gave Mackenzie a brief sense of peace, “I trust you. I…I guess I didn’t realize that vampires were actually a real thing, you know? Do you sparkle? Like in the daytime, do you sparkle?” What the fuck, Mackenzie? It was the only thing she could think to say.

Turning her attention back to the animals, Llama looked down at the ground embarrassed, “I’m sorry. I don’t know why that question came out. I’m sure you get that a lot.” She glanced back over at him, not fully paying attention to him, until he spoke again. “Look, you made it clear, you’re not gonna hurt me, and honestly, you probably can’t. Not much can anymore…” She wasn’t sure why or if it was the smartest idea, but maybe having one more person on her side would be nice, “I’m already dead.”

Cassius stared at her for a moment. Sparkling. He had just revealed himself to be a bloodsucking creature of the night and she wanted to know if he sparkled. “Vampires, much to popular media’s dismay, do not sparkle in sunlight. We burn. Sunlight physically hurts, it burns.” He explained, waving a hand in the air as he leaned against the fence, staring at the tiger eating in its sanctuary.

He looked to the girl who called herself Llama, exhaling through his nose loudly. “You too?” Cassius questioned with a quirked brow. “There’s more of us around here than I thought.” He muttered, brows furrowing as he thought back to how many supernatural folk he’d managed to meet in a relatively short period of time. He readjusted the bag of goodies that the young woman had given him, tilting his head from side to side as he found himself lost in his own thoughts. “It’s weird.” He then said, a slight frown across his lips. “To know that that I’m capable of hurting someone just so I can stay alive.” 

He moved his tongue across his teeth, furrowed brows finally relaxing. “I appreciate that you didn’t run off. And for trusting me with your own secret.” He gave a soft smile, one of understanding and acceptance. “So, you still want to see those llamas?” He then asked with an amused glint in his eyes. 

Of course they burned. It was more of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer bit rather than a Twilight bit. “Sorry. I’m still new to all of this “there’s actually vampires in the world” thing.” Llama had hoped she hadn’t offended him, and felt bad if she did. But she knew there were probably assumptions about zombies that weren’t true. She just didn’t know which ones were and weren’t.