Demon

Zeke was half-asleep when Colt tried to get his attention, so his reply came as a mumbled something or another. Somehow, Drake slamming the door did not properly wake him, which was entirely surprising.

He coughed and sat up a bit, properly registered what Colt had said, and gave a lopsided smile. "I came by later," he said. "You were asleep here when I tried to go to bed, so . . ."

He glanced up when Devon brushed past and made a beeline for the kitchen, then shook his head. Nobody was sleeping properly today, it seemed.

Colt watched Devon as well, "well at least the other two stopped fighting.." She was very tired, her eyes half lidded. She looked down tiredly at the couch she was on, still not willing to move.
"Well... Would you like to join me?" She asked with a small smile, "I'll get up if you don't want to, but I would prefer to not really move.."

Though it seemed like he was because he was so silent, Vincent was not asleep either. Ronnie was sleeping soundly in the second bed in their room, but Vincent sat on his own bed, feet on the ground. He was hunched over, his elbows propping himself on his knees. He starred at the ground, his violet eyes wet and still fighting back tears. He thought about moving when he heard Drake leave to see what was going on. But the will had left him.

"Well, I can't argue with an invitation like that." With a show of exaggerated effort, Zeke hauled himself up onto the couch to sit beside Colt and rested a hand over hers. "Feeling any better? Not that it's been more than a couple hours, but still."

Devon fumbled for a few minutes and eventually got the coffee pot started properly. She broke a coffee cup almost immediately afterward, kicked a piece of ceramic across the room, and leaned against the counter to listen to the rest of the house. Colt and Zeke were talking--not mentioning Drake's disappearance--and Vincent and Ronnie had quieted. It struck her that she was the only one who knew, and sometime today she was going to have to walk out and announce that Drake had left and she had done nothing to stop him.

"Just tired," Colt spoke through a small yawn. She moved close to Zeke and tiredly leaned to rest on his chest. Her heavy eyes closed immediately though she did not fall asleep right away.
"So tired.."

Vincent heard Devon kick the broken cup across the floor and he looked up. It felt like something was wrong. Everyone should have been asleep. Colt had heard it too but she was just too tired to care at the moment.
Vincent stood up and wiped his eyes on his sleeve. Straightening his clothes before heading out of the room, he headed quietly toward the kitchen to see what was up. The vampire looked tired and beaten down in contrast to his usual good attitude.

Zeke chuckled quietly. "By all means, go back to sleep," he said. "It's been . . . eventful, to say the least." He tipped his head back against the couch, ready to pass out again for longer than an hour.

Devon lifted her head to look at Vincent as he came into the room. He looked no better than she felt. Today was definitely shaping up to be wonderful.

"Take it your argument didn't end all that well," she said dryly, unwilling to talk about her own state just yet.

"Oh... Did you hear that?" Vincent asked meekly. "I am terribly sorry.." He sounded almost like he had given up completely. "I usually do not get worked up like that, but it was a very sensitive subject."

Colt mumbled something about Zeke being comfortable before completely passing out again. In her sleep she wrapped one arm around his middle, wanting to keep her new pillow close.

Zeke just smiled as he drifted off, managing to tune out the conversation in the kitchen. Everyone else could have their drama. He wanted to ignore it all awhile longer.

"You don't have to apologize. 'M just curious to know how you even got into a fight. You're not exactly the most confrontational." Devon reached for the coffee pot and an intact mug. "You seem pretty rattled, too . . . What happened?"

Vincent bit his lip lightly. He had gotten much more worked up then he ever thought possible, specially to Ronnie. He felt so ashamed for yelling at his friend. Moving to sit lean against the wall tiredly he tried to think of a proper way to explain himself.
"I pushed Ronnie too far, I wanted to know what made him so angry lately and he argued like he always does... But out of worry I pushed him too far and he dug up some things I am very ashamed of from our past," he explained, looking at the ground. "And he..." he paused, tears swelling up in his soft eyes again but he quickly blinked them back.
"He said he was going to leave, and not come back, and not stay ageless with me like he has for so many years... I think... I hope, that he just needs some time to calm down and reconsider..."

Devon listened quietly, stirring sugar and creamer into her coffee as she did. For a moment, the singing of the spoon against the cup occupied the silence, until she dropped the spoon into the sink and wrapped her hands around the mug.

"Sorry to hear that," she said at length. "Hopefully he'll come around. People say stupid things when they get upset."

"Yes I do hope so," Vincent agreed with a slow nod. He looked back up to Devon. He could tell something was bothering her. She should have been asleep as well.
"So tell me what is keeping you awake?" He questioned lightly. He knew Devon would sometimes shut down and not talk about things that bothered her, but he hoped he could get her to open up by being honest to her about everything she asked of him. Sure he skipped over the details of the things Ronnie brought up from the past, but if she were to ask him to be more specific he would be.

Devon drank her coffee to avoid answering the question, debating. It wasn't as though she could get around telling him--everyone would need to know eventually.

She sighed heavily and leaned back on the counter, watching tendrils of steam curl up from her cup. "Drake left," she said quietly, fighting to keep her voice carefully emotionless. "He wouldn't really tell me why--I woke up and he was packing a bag. Said it had something to do with his father, something about his brother, too, but he wouldn't tell me what's happening. Doesn't know when he'll be back and said he had to do it without me."

Vincent blinked in shock a couple times, almost wondering it Devon was playing a trick on him.
"Why could you not go along?" He asked, though he had to admit he was happy that she stayed. He could tell she was trying to to act like she was alright, but really wasn't.

Devon mentally replayed her conversation with Drake, trying to come up with the right answer.

"I can't go with him to the demon realm," she said. "That was his reason. I have no idea why he needs to go there, either, but it would take some extreme circumstances for me, or any of us, to get there." She scratched her thumbnail along a tiny chink in her coffee cup. "He said he'd keep in contact, but considering where he's going, I'm starting to doubt it."

"Drake is a man of his word," Vincent reassured Devon quickly, "I am sure he will figure out a way." He paused and made a thoughtful look as if he was trying to figure something out. "His father? I am aware of who his brother is, but who is his father? He must be very powerful if he can transport Drake to the demon realm."

((She fell asleep on one of my chairs...))

((. . . Brilliant.))

"He is, I think," Devon said. "I haven't actually met him, so I can't say for sure. Drake's family is all sorts of messed up, really." Devon took several large swallows of coffee, willing the caffeine to kick in before the exhaustion did. "Regardless, I have no idea where he is or whether he'll come back in one piece, so . . ."

((But some how she was less tired then me? She fell asleep right in the middle of a sentence... Oh wait- she woke up))

"I do not think you should worry your self too much. Drake is very strong and smart, and he has his father as well it sounds like. Plus, he has a very good reason to come back soon in one piece." Vincent said firmly, smiling for Devon. It broke his heart to see her so down, well, know she was down. She was good at hiding her emotions.
"I am sure that if he could have it any other way he would."

((Damn.))

"I'd feel better if he would have actually told me." Devon took another long drink to shut herself up, but she found herself speaking even after she'd emptied her cup and was reaching for the pot again. "Known him since we were kids and this is the first time he's felt the need to try to lie to my face, as far as I know. He said he was going to leave a letter if I hadn't woken up in time and still wouldn't tell me." Christ, she was starting to feel more like she needed a stiff drink rather than five cups of coffee. "Doesn't matter now, I guess. Other things to worry about."

"What do you mean lie to you? I thought he told you were he was going?" Vincent questioned, unsure of what Devon meant exactly. What was Drake lying about? How could Devon be sure he was lying? Maybe she was just being paranoid. But he wanted to help make her feel better.

"Just . . . not telling me. He told me most of it, I'll grant him that," Devon said. Maybe "lie" had been the wrong word, but there were still things Drake wouldn't tell her and she had a feeling he wouldn't have said half of it if she hadn't pressed him for it. "Hiding things. Whatever."

She sighed sharply and set down her coffee cup with more force than necessary. She didn't even know how she felt about it anymore. She just wanted to not have to deal with any of this at all.

"Maybe he was trying to protect you..." Vincent suggest with a light shrug afterward. He frowned lightly, feeling a bit helpless since he had no way to make Devon feel better. Usually it didn't matter to him, he would always keep trying. But with his own current mood it just made him feel really down hearted.
"I wish there was something I could do or say that could make you feel better, at least a little..." He finally said at length.

"Don't worry about it," Devon said, forcing calm once again as she reached for a towel to mop up a bit of spilled coffee. "It sounds like you have your own things going on right now, and I'll manage."

She forewent sweetener for her coffee and drank it straight, letting the bitter, sharp taste help clear her mind. It didn't help much, but a little was better than nothing.

After a minute, she set down her cup again. "What did Ronnie say?" she asked, against her better judgment but hoping to turn the conversation away from her. "I've honestly never seen you upset about anything before, especially not . . . this much." She almost said "crying" but decided against it.

Vincent had really hoped Devon would not ask that. He grit his teeth lightly and looked at the ground. "It would be a long story..." He began, "the basics of it is that Ronnie... Well he has been with me since the beginning of my misfortune. Even when he was nothing more then a slave in my families house he was my friend. I never stopped William from beating him though... I was too afraid. And even as a vampire when I had much more power, for a long time I was too afraid to stick up to anybody. But.. That is not the point though... My point is that in the years past I have hurt Ronnie a lot, not just by accident. But when you have this much power running through your veins and it goes unused, much like when you werewolves lose control if you don't properly use your wolf form, it makes you angry, and... Insane." The vampire paused for a moment, his eyes swelling up with tears again. "I have hurt Ronnie before and not on accident. He was, my punching bag if you will..."

((I would now like to make it clear that I have a perfect image of Vincent losing it and Devon having to stop him, which includes pinning him with a knee in the middle of his back and pulling his arm back to keep him from reaching, so he's essentially face-down on a wooden floor. These are the types of images I frequently get that make me want to write.

This has been a glimpse into my imagination.))

"And he used that against you," Devon said quietly. "That seems . . . unfair, for a lack of a better word." She closed her eyes, too weary to be properly angry like she might be. She and Ronnie never got along well, but she never had any reason to actually dislike him until this. Devon ran around most nights for at least a short time as a wolf, burning off excess energy and staving off the kind of insanity Vincent described, so she could sympathize, even if the incidents had happened a long time ago.

((That is probably the most amazing insight to your imagination that I have ever had. We must do this now.))

"When we get into arguments and Ronnie feels like he is losing, he will say things he doesn't mean," Vincent said slowly, trying to believe that Ronnie didn't actually hold that against him. "That does not make it hurt any less though." He grit his teeth again, as if he was still and little angry from their fight, but mostly just sad.

((I will do this some how. You just wait.))

((What have I done.

I suppose that saves me the effort of writing prose for it, though.))

"That doesn't make it any better." Devon sighed softly. "Sorry to hear it, though. If you need me to give him a solid smack upside the head anytime, let me know. I can do that, at least." She watched Vincent from the corner of her eye, slightly wary of his behavior.

Vincent broke away from gritting his teeth to smile lightly at Devon. "I will let you know if I need you to do that," he glanced back toward the bedroom where his human friend was sound asleep. Ronnie had obviously won the argument. "For now we should both try to sleep, at least try." He pushed away from the wall he was leaning against and started to move tiredly to his room.

"Good luck. I'll be up awhile, I think." Devon lifted her coffee cup in explanation--even if she hadn't drunk it, she would be kept awake by thoughts and worries. Vincent was concerning her now as well, but she said nothing. He clearly needed rest and she had prodded him into saying things that he would rather not have.

"Please do not over work your self," Vincent added with a tired nod as he headed out of the kitchen. He shuffled back into to his room, glancing at Zeke and Colt on the couch as he went by. He shut the door and flopped down onto his bed, wishing he could sleep as easily as a werewolf or human. For him as a vampire he rarely slept, just rested, and when he did sleep it was never deep and usually full of frightful dreams.

The next night rolled around sooner then what some would have liked it too. Colt was feeling refeshed when she woke up, but she was still very unwilling to move. And it wasn't out of laziness. Sometime while they were asleep they had both laid down completely on the couch and Colt was comfortably squished half laying on Zeke, her head on his chest. And she was way too comfortable to move when she woke up.

Vincent didn't wake for a bit after Ronnie had. The human moved out of the room and into the kitchen to find some food, seeming to be in no worse of a mood then usual.

Despite the coffee, Devon managed to catch a few restless hours of sleep later in the afternoon. During the rest of the day, she tried to busy herself with meaningless tasks, running errands or picking up clutter around the house without waking the two sleeping on the couch. As a result, the house was near-immaculate and the cupboards were reasonably stocked for once, which was something to at least be content with.

She lazed around after waking up in the evening, still tired but unwilling to ruin her sleep schedule further. She cleaned her pistols out in the living room, sparing Ronnie only a glance as he left his room. There was no need to talk about the fight more, particularly with him.

Zeke woke slowly, and was confused for a moment by the weight on his chest and the warmth surrounding him. He frowned without opening his eyes, realized what had happened, and settled back down. No point in moving until he had to.

Ronnie grabbed something small to eat and downed it quickly with some water like he usually did. He ate only when he needed to and only what he needed to. After living so long eating became more of a nuisance then a pleasure. He stepped into the living room and scowled at the two on the couch, clenching his jaw tightly. It was almost like he hated seeing other people happy. But that was not the real reason it upset him. Not saying a word he went back into the bedroom, not odd behavior for Ronnie.

Colt remained still for a while, smiling to herself. She was happy to be so close and comfortable to Zeke.

After a few more silent moments in the house Vincent seemed to wake up and start talking with Ronnie. And their talking quickly heated up into an argument. Then suddenly Ronnie shouted something about being betrayed, and continued on a bit quieter, but still yelling.
When Ronnie yelled Colt jumped in her half asleep state and quickly sat up and looked around. Once she realized where the fighting was coming from she quickly closed her eyes and covered her ears. She couldn't stand to hear people fight, specially her friends, and two who never ever fought.

((Aww yeah replying from my phone))

Devon kept ignoring Ronnie for as long as she could, putting her pistols back together slowly. She winced when she heard more arguing. At first, she intemded to ignore that as well, but she was on her feet and standing by the door before she realized she was moving, not knowing what she'd do.

Zeke sat up with Colt, startled by her reaction as much as the yelling. He instinctively wrapped his arms around her and drew her back, casting a glance toward the bedroom.

((why on earth are you on your phone?))

Colt leaned into Zeke, tightening her hold around her ears. She wanted to drown them out so badly, yelling reminded her of her family. And no memory from her family was a good one.

There was a sudden pause in the yelling and then it quickly started back up again when Vincent yelled to stop. Just a second after that Ronnie opened the door to the bedroom quickly, obviously intending to leave the house. He glared at Devon immediately, but shoved past her to leave. Vincent was close behind the brown haired man, looking more angry then sad this time.
"Ronnie stop! You are acting like a child," he shouted after his friend, his fangs visibly longer then usual.
"Go to hell Vincent!" He shouted back, slapping away the vampire hand as he tried to grab his arm.
The comment seemed to make Vincent even more riled...

((Because I'm at the pool and bored. I don't like Mom's work friends as much as she does.))

Zeke quietly sat with Colt, stroking her hair with one handas he watched the scene unfold.

Devon bit back a growl as Ronnie pushed past, but said nothing. She placed a gentle but firm hand on Vincent's shoulder. "Let him go," she said lowly. "It's not worth it."

((ohhhh.. Lol why did you go? Morgan finally left.

Also... Vincent is going to be mean and its going to kill me...))

Vincent quickly yanked out of Devon's hand, shooting a glare back down at her. "You can not tell me who is worth stopping when you did not bother to stop Drake from leaving when he need him as well!" He snapped back at her. Ronnie seemed to notice something in the way Vincent suddenly snapped at Devon and quickly moved forward and grabbed his arm, yanking him away from the girl.
Vincent was yanked back a few feet then quickly turned grabbed the humans wrist tightly, twisting it around, bones snapping under his tight grip.
Ronnie bit back a cry of pain, instead yelling at him, "Vincent stop! You aren't controlling yourself!" He shouted through the pain, the vampire didn't listen and swiftly tossed Ronnie into the wall, nearly breaking it down.

Colt whimpered and pulled her knees up to her chest, her fingers digging into her skull as she tried to drown out the yelling and curl into the smallest ball possible.

((It's for my brother's birthday. =3=))

Zeke sat up a bit, trying to take Colt with him. "Maybe we should go outside," he murmured.

"Vincent, what the fuck is wrong with you?!" Devon demanded, surging forward and seizing him by the shoulders, bracing her feet against the floor to keep still. She ignored his cutting words, though they stung profusely. "You need to stop this!"

((Ooooohhhh. I see.
ow Vincent stop.))

Colt nodded and quickly stood up t leave the house with Zeke, opening her eyes for just a minute so she could see where she was going. She kept her hands over her ears tightly, hoping it would some how drown it out.

Ronnie slumped to the floor for just a moment but quickly started to get back up. "No Devon, don-" He said, cutting himself off as the vampire swung an arm around to shove Devon off of him, putting a lot of force into the shove. His nails were extended as well in a effort to cut in her in the same swipe. He grit his teeth and his brow was furrowed together in anger, his violet eyes flashing red.

(( ;__; ))

Zeke led them both out and away from the house, until the sounds of fighting faded behind them.

"Come now, Ronnie," Devon said between breaths, letting Vincent go and ducking around him. His nails still caught her arm, drawing blood, but she barely grimaced as she reached out to grab Vincent by the arm and attempt to hurl him to the floor. "I do this for a living, remember?"

As the sound of them fighting faded Colt slowly let her hands come off of her ears. By now tears were beginning to wet her green eyes and her hands shook. She looking down at her shaky hands for a moment, stilling walking before looking up to see where they were going. To a normal person they would have been well out of hearing range, but with her heightened senses she could still hear a good amount of it.

Ronnie stood back up, holding his wrist in his hand. "It's not you I'm worried about..." He said as Devon managed to slam Vincent to the ground. He struggled for a moment to get away, his arm twisted around his back, a animal like hiss escaping him.
"Fine!" He shouted to Ronnie, the side of his face on the hardwood floor. "Go! I do not want you around any longer!" His voice was filled with so much anger, and his voice cracked in sadness at the same time. He wasn't fighting to get away anymore.
"Just leave like the selfish moronic child you are, I am tired of taking care of you, I am tired of chasing you down every night to rescue you from your bad habits! I am no longer a slave to our friend ship, just go!" His whole body shook with anger, his hands curled into fists. "I do not know why I ever brought you a long, you are nothing but a bitter old crone and no body wants to be around you. You have done nothing but ruin my life since the day I dared to call you my friend!"

Ronnie was stunned into silence, looking down at his friend.

"Are you okay?" Zeke asked gently, still hurrying them away from the house.

Devon knelt swiftly, digging one knee into the middle of Vincent's back, one hand pulling back his arm and the other pushing down at the base of his neck. She listened to his tirade in stunned silence, glancing up at Ronnie to see his reaction.

"Jesus," she breathed. She looked down, not relinquishing her grip. "The hell's gotten into you, Vincent?"

Colt nodded after a second, "I just can't stand fighting.." She mumbled before wiping her eyes on the back of her sleeve.

Vincent's eyes flicked back to Devon for a moment, red glowing in them, much similar to how Villie's always glowed. He growled, a strange sound for him. As he opened his mouth to say something to her Ronnie's eyes widened and he quickly moved forward, pulling a knife from his boot with his good hand. He quickly knelt down and sank it into the back of Vincent's should as if it was nothing.
"Do not dare talk to me yo-" Vincent began yelling but cut himself off with a cry of pain from Ronnie's blade.
His whole body tensed up and he moved his head so his forehead was on the ground. Soon his grunts of pain slowly turned into whimpers and his body relaxed. He whimpered from pain until his shoulders started to shake as they turned into quiet sobs.
Ronnie had pulled his knife out quickly and sat back on the ground, starring down sadly at the vampire.

Zeke nodded in understanding, keeping an arm around Colt. "We can stay out for awhile," he offered. "'Til it all blows over."

Devon gave Ronnie an incredulous look for the knife but said nothing. As Vincent began to calm, she sat back and lowered his arm to the floor. Her other hand remained, fingertips rubbing soothing circles between his shoulder blades--a movement she wasn't aware of doing.

"Thank you..." Colt said softly. She was slowly calming down now, glad to not hear the fighting anymore. After a few moments of silence she sighed lightly, "my family yelled constantly before they all died... And yelling always lead to hitting and that lead to more yelling."

Vincent moved his arm under his face so he could hide himself and keep his face off the cold ground. Blood leaked through the wound on his back, and it hurt, but his actions hurt more.
"Getting hurt is the only thing that will snap him back into reality... And usually I just let him let it out for a while, so he loses some steam, but I couldn't let him say the things I know he was going to say.. Because I know he doesn't mean it.." Ronnie explained tiredly, holding his wrist again.
"I wasn't worried about him hurting you, I know you are strong and could handle yourself. And I wasn't worried about you hurting him, I just knew that if you got involved he would hate himself even more in the end... I know it look's like Vincent has it all together but he really is just as big of a mess as everyone else... He's just not fit for this life, or this burden..." Ronnie spoke softly, his golden eyes tired. He really did feel bad for Vincent, and he knew it was his fault for fighting in the first place.

"I'm sorry," Zeke said automatically. He looked ahead to the path, where it meandered toward the city. "That must have been awful. My parents didn't always get along, but never that bad."

Devon glanced at the wound in Vincent's shoulder, then the gouges in her own arm. Blood was trickling steadily from the deep scratches and she hastily wiped it on her pant leg, smearing it and doing nothing to stop the flow. She bit back a sigh and shifted, wedging her free hand under Vincent's uninjured shoulder. "C'mon," she said quietly, "let's get you into a somewhat dignified position." Her gaze flickered to Ronnie, but her attention was on Vincent. "How's your wrist? Do you need a lift to the hospital?"

"It was a long time ago, but fighting still scares me. I just can't let it go I guess," Colt sighed. She wiped her eyes again to be sure they were dry.
"I was so comfortable too.."

Vincent barely managed to help Devon lift him into a sitting position. His head hung low, his black bangs hiding his eyes, his wounded arm limp.
"No I will be fine fixing myself... He's done a lot worse then this before.. " Ronnie shook his head, watching Devon help Vincent. He could never say he was sorry for fighting with his friend, he was just too proud. Though he really wanted to say it.
Vincent had quieted down and was no longer sobbing, but he didn't dare look up. He had never been so ashamed of himself..

"I imagine it's pretty hard to just forget about. Families aren't supposed to do that kind of thing, after all," Zeke said sympathetically. "And I didn't expect them to start fighting, either, whatever that all was about . . ."

Devon nodded. "Can you get me some rags or something, then?" she asked. "Kitchen towels, don't really care what, just something. Bandages, too. Kit's in the kitchen." She scrubbed her arm on her pant leg again, ensuring her jeans would be forever ruined, and pulled at the edge of Vincent's coat. "C'mon, work with me. We're both bleeding and it's kind of messy, so if you could shut down later rather than now . . ."

"I'm not sure I ever want to know... I can't believe Vincent could ever be like that," Colt admitted slowly. She had a feeling that she would never look at Vincent the same.

Ronnie got up to get the supplies that Devon asked for and Vincent seemed like he wasn't going to do anything for a long moment. That was until he reached up slowly and started to take off his coat, wincing and squeaking a little in pain from the movement. Once he coat was off he worked on his shirt, taking it off slowly.

"Neither did I. It kinda worries me. I've never heard him so much as raise his voice." Zeke cast a glance over his shoulder toward the house. "Must've been pretty serious. Hope they're all okay."

Devon helped where she could, gingerly helping pull Vincent's coat and shirt away and folding them to the side (not that they were wearable anymore, considering the holes and bloodstains). She was quiet for awhile, taking one of the rags from Ronnie and wiping away the blood that spread across Vincent's shoulder. On anyone else, the wound would need stitches. Thankfully, vampires could get away with a little precautionary bandaging.

"I'm sure Devon can handle it," Colt said as she looked back at the house as well.

Vincent's wound was already slowly healing, but it was much much slower then usual, mostly because he didn't care if it healed.
Ronnie sat in front of Vincent and lifted his head by his chin with his good hand.
"Vincent look at me.." He ordered, his voice even, "come on, you can't just shut down like this. You know you can't. I don't want to haul your ass back to Duke again." He let Vincent's head drop again. After a moment he lifted his head just enough to look at Devon's hurt arm.
"I am so sorry..." He whispered, not having to will to be any louder. Ronnie seemed to relax a little, glad to get anything from him.

"Probably. Still . . ." Zeke trailed off with a little shake of his head. Hopefully everything would be sorted out by the time they returned.

Devon smiled ruefully as she tossed aside the bloody cloth and reached for gauze and bandages. "Honestly, everyone in this house has taken a shot at me by now," she said, folding a piece of gauze and covering the stab wound. "The fact that you finally did feels more normal than anything. Well, Ronnie hasn't tried, admittedly, but I'd like to see him try. It's okay."

"Do you want to go get something to eat while we wait?" Colt asked, a small smiling of her lips. She needed to take her mind off of it, and she was hungry anyway.

"I take enough beatings from a vampire, don't need a werewolf to do it too," Ronnie chuckled lightly, perhaps the first time he had ever smiled around Devon. Normally one would expect him to argue back about how he could take Devon on easily. He knew he couldn't.

Vincent looked up a little more, meeting eyes with Ronnie for a moment then looking at Devon. "Still," he insisted quietly as he reached out a hand to softly grab her hand. "Let me help.."