>> Forest

@[W] Kim Taehyung My legs were burning. I wasn't sure how long I had been running by now. I faintly recalled still being on the streets when it happened. I had been supressing my thirst for so long, pills weren't working anymore, and when it struck, it struck hard. All of a sudden my vision went red and all I've been thinking about since then is to feed. My throat's so dry every pant feels like burning, but I kept running, I could hear my heart pounding in my ears, all my senses in overdrive. Knowing no vampire dealers in the are would've supplied me with blood packs, I had no choice but to get away, I wasn't going to attack anyone, I wasn't an animal, the human part of me was still present, even if my sense of reason was starting slip away. It was cold in the forest, too dark to see clearly. My red eyes adjusted to the lack of light, blinking rapidly as I took a turn to look at my surroundings. Tall trees everywhere, no sound besides my own panting and some crows crawing in the distance. It was dangerous to be here. I could feel a looming sense of threat on the back of my head, but it was overshadowed my unquenched need to feed. Something flashed before my eyes then, an animal, it ran too fast for me to know what it was, a wolf perhaps? Its dark silhouete ran fast, but I could probably catch it. My fangs dropped then and I chased the sound of its footsteps without looking back, already too lost inside this massive forest.

@[W] Kim Jennie Jennie was enjoying herself with her victory, Wonpil not as much. He had never been in this position before, the position of riding on the back of a wolf, and he didn't quite think he enjoyed it. Walking was definitely preferable, when he actually had a choice. But of course she had left him none, and so on the journey to the city, Wonpil was quiet and focused all of his energy into staying on Jennie's back and not pulling her fur or otherwise being an inconvenience to her.
Making it to the highrise area was a relief and Wonpil directed her to the building that was his own, sliding off of her back as soon as they were outside. He spoke to the security at the doors and showed them his ID, entirely aware of why they pushed so hard to ensure that it was, in fact, Wonpil -- the wolf with him was more than a shock to the security, who knew he was a vampire and the son of a prominent one, at that. It wouldn't be long before rumors had spread through the building's staff, but Wonpil knew that they would probably not breathe a word to anyone on the outside for fear of losing their jobs for breach of privacy.
"Come on," he told Jennie, and led her to the elevator. When they were inside, he pushed the button for his floor, leaning heavily on the wall of the elevator. His eyes fluttered shut, trying to snag some rest on the way up even though it was only halfway up the building. Wonpil had refused the penthouse his father had tried to force him into.
When the door opened, Wonpil stumbled out with a groan, fishing his keys from his pocket as he moved down the hall until he found his apartment and put his key in the lock. The good thing about living alone and being a vampire was that he knew his apartment was still as tidy as he had left it, everything put in careful place and not so much as an empty blood bag on his kitchen counters. There was probably a half-full glass of water still there, though.
He pushed open the door and held it open behind him, resting his forehead against the white-painted wood. Lucifer, he was tired.
"Come on in," he mumbled, "welcome to my abode."

@[W] Kim Jennie Wonpil side-eyed her for a long second, but realized that she wasn't going to give him a choice in the matter. He heaved a great sigh and stepped closer to her, cautiously taking a seat on her back and resting his hands on her shoulders. It was probably the most awkward position he'd ever been in, if he was going to be honest, and he didn't really relish it.
But again, she was stubborn, and someone had to cave.
"Now can we go?" he grumbled. "You got your way. Again." Because of course she did. Why wouldn't she? She probably would have won either way. She'd just been winning the entire time, why prolong what seemed to be inevitable?
Whenever they got to his apartment, he would be able to eat, and change out of the dirty bloody clothes he was wearing so he wouldn't present such a messy image to the city leader and his court. Appearances were important to vampires, and he probably looked like nothing short of a mess. He certainly felt like nothing short of a mess, with dark circles under his eyes and his hair ruffled and his clothes coated in another vampire's blood, bark shavings, and now wolf fur on top of that.
He just hoped no one really saw them, or at least, that no one would recognize him if they did. If they could keep this disaster from being talked about, he'd be amazed, but he'd also be grateful. The last thing he needed was for there to be rumors that his sire would hear, handle, and then scold him for.
If his sire thought he had become buddy-buddy with the werewolf who had left scars on his chest and ribs, he would probably lose his ever-loving mind.

@[W] Kim Jennie Wonpil took a deep breath, blinked, and sneezed.
Clearly Jennie didn't know her own size, or how much space she had to transform. The vampire raised a hand to brush away phantom furs, another sneeze expelling the last of them from his nose. He wasn't hurt, just mildly inconvenienced.
"Well then," he said, and futilely attempted to brush the fur off of his already-dirty shirt (blood-stained, from Jennie's injuries and the feral, dirty from their race through the forest thereafter). "Shall we go?"
His voice was cheerful, more cheerful than was probably appropriate, but damned if Wonpil was going to let the air remain so heavy when they had to go back through the forest and into the city together. They were already going to be a sight, Jennie a wolf and Wonpil... not physically injured, but with the blood all over his shirt, it would be a miracle if no one stopped them.
Again, though, it was the least of his worries. A pat of his pocket confirmed that he still had his wallet, and therefore his I.D. if someone grew too nosy or authorities were involved. With that reassurance, he started for the door, pausing at the windows one last time to ensure that no one was lying in wait for them.
The vampire unlocked the door and stepped out onto the porch, listening to the quiet sounds of the forest around him. Everything was alive, which was a good sign. It meant that no predators were out on the prowl; warning sounds and an eerie silence weren't presence.
They probably had a straight shot to the city.

@[W] Kim Jennie "Okay," he nodded his agreement, accepting her terms. Finally they could get out of the forest, so that he would no longer have to worry about them wasting time and being attacked. "I live on the northern side of the city, in uh... in the high-rise apartments." She already knew his sire was rich, and well, it was kind of obvious that he was going to live among the wealth, so there was no reason for him to be stubborn about speaking of his home.
Sire's rules, naturally, were that he live among those of his social status. Wonpil didn't care much of those rules, but he had taken the conditions that had accompanied leaving the nest, so to speak.
But when the alpha offered to carry him, he balked, brows furrowing together and arms crossing over his chest. "I can walk," he disagreed, "I'm not /that/ tired, you know."
Of course, to betray him, the yawn came bubbling out of his throat. Abashed, Wonpil rubbed the back of his neck as his jaw clacked shut. He was tired, yes, but he didn't think it was necessary for her to carry him to his apartment. He could walk on his own two feet, and he could run if he had to. He was stubborn, just as she was, especially in matters like these.
And it wasn't just that -- he didn't want her to carry him out of his own concern for her. There was still an underlying worry about her own strength, despite how long she had slept to recuperate from the injuries and bloodloss she'd sustained in the battle with the feral vampires. For some reason, all of that had stuck.
But he also didn't want them to get into another long debate about what they would or wouldn't do when they had already wasted enough time, so if she pushed, the vampire was likely to cave, as he had been this whole time. One of them had to be willing to give way to the other, since they were both stubborn.

@[W] Kim Jennie Consciously unconscious? Lucifer, if she wanted him to follow her plans, she was going to have to speak in terms that he could understand. Some of her analogies went right over his head. He wasn't on the same brainwaves that she was, they thought completely differently. They were a /vampire/ and a /werewolf/, after all.
Wonpil's nose wrinkled up. She wanted him to say that he had saved her because of her status and because he felt /pity/ for her? At least the two of them knew it wasn't true, even if the rest of the world would probably swallow the story. Poor vampire boy, accidentally roped into saving a werewolf. The narrative that would appease the masses, as it were.
He listened to her, though, until she had finished.
Heaving a great sigh when she was done, Wonpil rubbed at his eyes -- the exhaustion really /was/ hitting him, and he wanted nothing more than to go home and crawl into his bed, but this had to be resolved first. In the end, of course it was him who caved. He knew that Jennie was never going to change her stance, and they had already wasted so much time arguing between themselves when they could have already been at the court of the leader of the city vampires.
"So I..."
Wonpil stopped, shook his head, and gathered his thoughts. "So I take you to the vampire court, and this all happened because I realized you were an alpha and I... knew that you dying at the hands of a feral would negatively affect your pack?" he asked. "That's it, right? I remembered you from before, so I knew you were... important?" The words seem foreign on his tongue. It's weird, to be speaking of something like this, especially with /this/ werewolf in particular.
"And you're going to be doing the talking?"
That much wasn't a surprise, of course Jennie would want to talk for herself. She was a pack alpha, after all, and in this narrative he was just a bystander who'd gotten roped in /because/ of her alpha status. But he would be there, in case the court of vampires decided they wanted to question him, and make sure that the story the werewolf was telling was the truth.
Knowing vampires, they would probably follow that course of action.
"Okay. We'll go to the vampire court," he finally uttered, running his hands through his hair and giving the dark strands a harsh tug to help him jolt to a sharper state of awakeness. "But let me stop at my apartment long enough to eat something on the way, would you?"
It would help him with the exhaustion that had settled throughout his being. He was no use to her when he was only half-awake and half-aware, senses running sluggish.

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@[W] Kim Jennie Okay, he had definitely pissed her off. He tugged at the hold on his arm, but she held onto him until some of her rage had come out in the form of words, and then she released him. He wanted to demand to know why she was so adamant that he didn't lie for her, but he was quiet while she was angry. He didn't want to escalate things any further.
Chain him to a chair? That was a new one. His brow raised, and he wanted to say something sarcastic, but it died in his throat when she turned around with her face as cold and hard as marble. He swallowed -- their cultures were so different. Of course if she was part of his lies something bad would happen to her. There was no simple way to get through this, was there?
"Well I'm not going to let that happen either," he mumbled. So they couldn't follow his plan. They'd either have to follow her plan, or take their chances as things were. While neither appealed to him, maybe if they went together and she said her piece...
But he didn't want to take that risk. He was stubborn, and her idea was dangerous. He wanted to make sure she would be safe, too. At the same time, if he was to lie, she was saying that bad things would happen to her. Again, it defeated the purpose of what he'd done in the first place, if he was to just let her go through that. She looked haunted, as she was thinking a million miles away, no longer there with him. From her expression, Wonpil knew that she was thinking of what would happen in her future and how bleak and dangerous events currently must have looked for her.
He snapped his fingers in front of her nose, trying to draw her focus back to him. "Okay, so we can't lie, and right now our best bet is to go through with what /you/ wanted," he exhaled. "But I don't completely agree with your plan. It's too risky for you to stay and patrol the forests if I go talk to the city leader, but it's also too dangerous if we go to him together and I tell him your version of events."
Suddenly, Wonpil's brows furrowed. "But... isn't your story also technically a lie in some ways?" he pointed out. "You'd be taking full responsibility, and you're not responsible for the actions that I take." He didn't want that weight on her shoulders, but she wasn't cooperating with him, because all of his ideas led to the same argument: they only put her in danger.
"Of course, if it's understood that you didn't know it was a vampire yard, or that there were ferals, the story might turn in your favor," he mused, eyes distant as he tried to think of /how/ he could spin events to favor their tale and bring things to a positive ending.

@[W] Kim Jennie Wonpil was quiet while Jennie was thinking, trying to give her the time to get her thoughts in order. He wasn't going to interrupt her while she pondered the dilemma that was before her. It was no easy choice for either of them to make, considering that they were deciding on things that affected one another and not just themselves.
Of course she didn't like it, but Wonpil didn't voice that.
"I have sway," Wonpil shrugged, "my sire's name carries a lot of power."
He really hated to use the sire card, to let his name and the influence of his sire do things for him, but it sometimes came in handy. And if he went to a city leader, he knew they were going to know who he was. It was what came of having a prominent sire.
Politics were politics, power was power, and regardless of the species, the rich and powerful were still the rich and the powerful.
"Who said I'm going to admit to any fault?" Wonpil demanded. He tugged his collar down, showing her the bite-scar that she'd partially recognized him by. "It's not like it would be the /first/ time another vampire tried to bite me. You were just wrong place, wrong time."
Dead ferals could tell no tales.
"Besides---regardless of what I tell them, it's not like there's any way they can punish me without my sire raising hell," the vampire pointed out. "Sometimes being easily recognizable and having a rich dad isn't a bad thing."
Because of course daddy dearest was never going to let him get into actual trouble, because something like that could paint him and his brand in a bad light. Wonpil knew him, and admittedly, he probably knew too well how to manipulate his sire. And other rich, powerful vampires. They were all the same.
"Well." He folded his arms and narrowed his eyes---clearly she was angry, and he just wanted to settle this as calmly as he could. "I don't feel comfortable with you just patrolling the forest, because that's dangerous and I did /not/ haul your here just for you to get yourself killed... and no, I don't regret it, before you say anything about it. So, to compromise, since you have no faith in me, we /could/ go together, but take my lead on what I say: you were wrong place, wrong time, and I got attacked too."
He wondered if they'd ever reach an agreement. So far, they weren't getting anywhere. But maybe, just maybe, she could see things his way...
"Whatever you're thinking, I promise, it's not going to happen," he continued. "I'm not kidding about my sire. He's got connections everywhere. He'll want nothing more than to prevent any punishment and quietly sweep this under the rug like it never happened. And yes, I am well aware that I'm abusing my status and that of my sire, but people have used their power for worse. They do it all the time. This really isn't that bad."
Maybe he was just telling himself that.

@[W] Kim Jennie Wonpil could tell she was getting frustrated again -- in this situation, it was no surprise. They kept finding things to argue back and forth over, no matter how small. In Jennie's shoes, he'd probably be frustrated too because he was being stubborn, but he could say the same for Jennie. She was also being very stubborn. Listening to her talk, he grimaced. He was exhausted and unhappy with how this conversation was going. Neither one of them wanted to cave to the other party. How many times did he have to say /my sire will take care of it/ until she got it through her head? He was one of the "priveleged"; whenever he was in trouble, his father in the undead would roll his eyes, pull strings and then yap at him until he was tired of speaking on whatever embarrassing behavior Wonpil had demonstrated that time.
When it came to treating him like a child, he was even worse than the werewolf.
"We can play the blame game all day, trying to convince the other that it's our own fault, but the later it gets in the day, the more danger we're in," Wonpil muttered. He didn't want to listen to her explanations, because he didn't want her to take the fall on her own. It was probably wired in her, because she was an alpha and all that, and she thought it would be best that way.
Lucifer, the woman was stubborn.
"You're in my---no, you're not in my debt," he sputtered his denial. How did that make sense? He'd saved her life, but she'd spared his when they'd last encountered each other. In his eyes, they were even.
The leader?
She wanted him to take her to the /vampire leader/? Oh, that would be rich. Walking in with a werewolf, that would be fantastic. He wouldn't be breaking any laws, nor would he be doing anything that he really shouldn't have... but he couldn't promise that it would be well-received that they had been in conflict with the forest coven.
But of course Jennie was stubborn.
Wonpil huffed, narrowed his eyes, and crossed his arms over his chest. "Let me get this straight: if I don't take you to the city leader, who might not hear out your side of the story and could possibly try to kill you on sight, you're going to stay here and probably get yourself killed? That's called manipulation." The words came out more petulant than he'd intended. She was really doing her best to give him no choice. "What if you come with me to the city and I go to the leader on your behalf?"
He knew she was irritated. He knew it wasn't what she wanted to hear, but he was trying to find an option that would appeal to both of them. It might not be the best situation either of them wanted, but it was a start. They were wasting time, anyway.
But he didn't want to just agree to something that had a high likelihood of getting her hurt. That would defeat the purpose of everything he'd just been through.

@[W] Kim Jennie Wonpil jumped when the alpha struck the door of the closet, watching the panel of wood as it was knocked free. Her anger startled all of the sleep from him, and had he a heartbeat, his heart probably would have been hammering from the surprise. The tension from the previous day was returning, the pent up anticipation and fear from the situation they had gotten themselves in.
He wanted to open his mouth and argue, but of course she had to forge ahead and not give him time to speak. He scowled, more irritated than angry -- there she went, trying to make decisions for him again. Didn't she realize he was just as guilty in this situation? Even more so, in the eyes of his kind. After all, /he/ was the vampire here, and she was a werewolf. It wasn't anything new, for werewolves and vampires to have disagreements. But vampires and other vampires, over werewolves...
"It wouldn't be the first time," he started, when she asked him for a promise that he wasn't comfortable giving her. Blaming her for all of this mess? How could he do that in good conscience? That was a thing he had now. "I've killed other vampires before."
In self-defense. He'd killed them in self-defense, and the defense of /other/ vampires, but she didn't know that. She didn't need to know that, even if she was probably smart enough to figure it out. Wonpil was, and had always been, high society in the vampire world. If he got his hands dirty, it never would have been because he was associating with werewolves.
And while his sire could certainly take care of any issues that arose, he would only be disappointed in Wonpil for continued his perceived rowdy behavior.
Associating with werewolves was new, even for him.
"So I can't promise you that," he finished, "because it's not the first time, it won't be the last time, and how could it be solely on your shoulders? I'm my own vampire, I make my own decisions, I'm not just a little fledgeling anymore."

@[W] Kim Jennie Wonpil shrugged in response to her words. She could call it whatever she wanted, she had pushed the process along. It was as close to a /thank you/ as she was going to get, and... well, at this rate, they might as well bury the hatchet that had been between them.
"That would probably be wise," he murmured, fighting back a yawn when she went to pack her belongings. She was far from safe in this cabin, so close to the coven they had managed to disturb. If he wanted to be technical, the others had started it; anything that came of it was not really their faults.
Except the part where he had killed one of his own.
Calming his laughter, Wonpil glanced over at the alpha. "First off, it's in the forest. Everyone gets out in the forest at some point or another, whether for fresh air or to be in their natural surroundings or to clear their heads. Second, there's no law out here. No one's going to venture into the forest and try to enforce laws. Plus, it's a very large coven, and they're still in the dark ages, so to speak." He drummed his fingers on his knee. "City covens are more... forgiving when things happen, especially with ferals since they're so dangerous."
It really wasn't funny, when he came to think of it; they'd made quite a mess, hadn't they? They could fret about how it could have been avoided, but when it all came down to it, Wonpil was more interested in making sure they got out of the forest before they really were found.
The yawn he'd been holding in finally escaped him, and he sighed promptly afterward, pushing himself to his feet. The werewolf was packing her bag, and so he just watched her, leaning against the wall.
The events of the last day just didn't feel real. Had he really went through all of that? It felt like it could've been a fever dream, but he knew better than that. It had been very real.

@[W] Kim Jennie Wonpil heard her moving, but didn't look at her. He gave her the time to gather herself, to clean up the mess left by tending her injuries and to get her thoughts in a row. His own thoughts were a mess, jumbled by emotion and lack of sleep and the paranoia that other vampires might still be on the search for them, even despite the night passing without incident.
He looked over when she spoke, humming quietly as he turned away from the window. He blinked a few times, organizing the chaos of his thoughts, and shrugged. "It would have been wrong for me to just leave you there," he murmured, "no one deserves that kind of a death."
And leaving her in the cabin...
He wouldn't have done that either.
Wonpil sighed. "I got sober, you know," he said, words quiet. He wasn't really sure why he was saying them. Did they have anything to do with what they'd been talking about? "It wasn't long after I met you. I stopped drinking. I was becoming too much like my human parents." Absently, he scratched at his elbow, jaw clenching for a moment. "I guess I felt like in a way, I owe you for kicking my and making me think about what I was doing."
The vampire rubbed his eyes. "If we're smart, we should leave now," he remarked. "I'll feed when I go home. I keep a stock in my apartment to avoid..." he waved his hand in the air. "Becoming feral, you know."
Hearing her question, Wonpil shook his head. "No, I'm fine. But I'm serious -- we should leave now. Or... I'm not sure if this is where you live? If it is, that's... dangerous. I doubt this will die down quickly. It's not going to just blow over."
For some reason, it made him laugh, even though it wasn't really all that funny and he wasn't sure why he found it amusing. "Of all the covens... it had to be one that lived right in the forest, huh?"

@[W] Kim Jennie For a moment, he frowned in confusion, and then he answered quietly, "It's Wonpil." He hadn't made the connection that she didn't know his name; but of course she didn't. He knew hers from rumors and his sire's scoldings after he intruded on her territory and she dealt with him.
When he was certain that all the windows and doors were secured, and he could procrastinate no longer, Wonpil returned to where he had left her, though he was listening for any sounds that would give away the approach of anyone who was vampire or otherwise.
He found her asleep on the floor, ash in the sink from where she had burned the jacket. Wonpil didn't want to bother her, and so he made sure to be quiet when he sat down with his back against the wall.
The vampire needed to stay awake, so that he could keep watch and ensure no one breached their little pocket of security. Jennie needed to sleep off her injury and allow her body to regenerate. And so the vampire sat silently, occasionally rising to patrol the cabin and peer out the windows to watch for other life, waiting for the werewolf to be recovered.

@[W] Kim Jennie Coming back to find her with the stench of burnt flesh was alarming, but he realized that she'd done what she had to in order to make her bleeding stop. So he said nothing and followed her instruction to get water, moving to the hall closet and finding the bucket in question. He knew there wouldn't be running water inside the cabin, but there had to be a spigot outside so that no one there would be without water. He marched out in search of it and found it behind the cabin, the paint faded away so it was almost invisible.
As the bucket filled with water, Wonpil was looking around, observing their surroundings. The visibility was bad, the perfect setup for an ambush. He worried over how safe it could really be, his thoughts on defense as he waited--
And the bucket was full, so he could take it back to Jennie.
Casting another distrusting glance at the trees that surrounded the cabin, Wonpil returned to the werewolf's side with the bucket of water. "Here," he uttered quietly, looking down at the green that was sticking to her burned wound. It looked painful, but better than the alternative. And without the fresh flow of blood, Wonpil was more at ease.
"Call if you need anything else," he said, and went to secure the doors and windows. He wasn't sure how long they would be there, but the security of the area worried him. They'd certainly left a blood trail that could be followed by any adept hunter, and vampires were, in fact, adept hunters.
He didn't know if they were that intent on following Jennie and Wonpil. They had killed two of their own, but they were a group who only left their cemetary under the cover of darkness and feared the lurking of hunters. Most of them were from an older time and had instilled a belief system that Wonpil had been raised to snort at. Perhaps it would work to their advantage.
And worrying about their security kept him from saying something stupid, like 'hey I'm not the same person I used to be, I've changed and become a better person'. One, he wouldn't apologize to her and two... no. He didn't need to get all sappy. He had better things to do and bigger fish to fry.

@[W] Kim Jennie "Fresh oak bark?" he repeated, just to be sure. He stepped onto the deck of the cabin, and paused for only a moment before he gently placed her down on the planks. He wouldn't have to go far to get her request. He would know that she wasn't going to die on him if he turned away for a second. And if someone else approached... he'd know that too.
He'd be able to... dig his hole deeper, if he had to, because apparently now he was very invested in her survival and he himself didn't even understand why, but he couldn't just let her die.
It gave him something to do, instead of standing around and arguing with her, and he was quick to gather the bark that she had asked for. Methodically, but quickly. He gathered a lot, because she hadn't told him how much she needed -- he hoped he brought her too much rather than too little. Time was slipping away from them. He could tell she was close to the edge.
It had also given him time to gather himself, to push away the lingering thoughts about what he had done to save a natural enemy.
He hurried back with hands that were full of the bark she had asked for, dropping it in a fairly neat pile beside her. "Is there anything else I need to get for you?" he asked, concerned. "I can rip up my jacket if you need cloth for a bandage." It was just a jacket. He had too many like it. If he tore it to shreds, so be it.
Just how much /was/ he willing to sacrifice for this stranger who had been his enemy since the first, and only other, time they had met? Just how bad of a vampire was he really? First killing one of his own and now taking care of her when she was supposed to be dying?
Perhaps this was the most embarrassing thing he'd ever done.
His sire would be so ashamed.

@[W] Kim Jennie "I'm not going to put you down," Wonpil told her adamantly. He refused to allow her to wriggle free, sure to keep a careful hold on her that wouldn't let her loose. He knew it was in her nature to struggle, maybe it was her pride, maybe it was her hatred of his kind, he didn't know. What he did know was that she was trying in vain to get him to release her.
"You only killed one of them," he corrected, but he listened to her protests -- make amends? What did she think he was? That wasn't his coven, who he'd killed a member of. There was no making amends with them now. He'd be dead on sight.
"You need to stop talking," he retorted as he kept walking. "You're running out of energy."
Of course she wasn't afraid of death. He hadn't thought she would be. She had guts, he knew that, from firsthand experience and from the reputation that preceded her. Plus, she was the leader of a pack. That alone meant she couldn't be someone with many fears. When she grabbed his shirt, he looked down, a brow arched when he waited for the protest he knew would come. Again, he shook his head, denying her demands to be put down. No, he wasn't leaving her to die. He looked away again, focused on where he was going.
"I can't just leave you to die," he snarled when she took hold of his hair and forced him to look at her. Was she... was she tearing up? Why? What the ?
"If anything happens, my sire will... take care of it. That's not my coven," he grimaced, "no it won't make me popular, and yes I might become an outcast to my people, but at least I won't be leaving you to die. It's their own fault that they were ferals."
Finally, he stopped, frustrated, and stared down at her, irritation in every set of his features -- he couldn't help it, the tensions were running his high, his nerves were on edge. He worried that they /were/ being actively pursued, and he wanted to get her somewhere she would be safe, and then get himself to safety as well. Preferably at his home. "What do you want me to do, then? Besides leaving you, because that's not an option!"
But he was quiet and listened to her speak. He could tell that she was slipping, he knew from experience what it was like to be drained but at least her bones weren't all broken as well.
"A cabin," Wonpil repeated. "Due east." He could remember that. He could do that. She was losing too much blood, he needed to stop listening to her and just get back to moving. And so he adjusted his hold on her and turned, away from the city and to the east.
She was shaking and tired, tired enough that she wasn't holding her head up proudly anymore. Instead of answering her, Wonpil started moving again -- darting through the trees, following her instructions to take her to a cabin due east.
As they went, he occasionally jostled her, enough to keep her awake so that she wouldn't succumb to the horrible hold of a deceptive 'sleep'. It was easier than trying to speak when he was carrying her and moving so quickly.
And maybe... maybe it was just easier that way.
Maybe he just didn't want to speak to her, and have her start arguing again.
When he could see the peek of a cabin through the trees, he felt some of the tension leave him; but they weren't out of the danger yet. He had to get her there, get her inside. And then...
And then.
What did he do then?

@[W] Kim Jennie He wasn't really paying attention to her, not until she actually moved, her hand landing on his chest. It normally wouldn't have bothered him, her squirming, but when she moved she ran the risk of hastening her blood flow and she was already in danger of bleeding out.
Angrily, he grimaced when she yelled at him, but he checked over his shoulder to ensure they weren't being pursued. He saw nothing, heard nothing, smelled nothing, and so he slowed to a stop, bloodflow roaring in his ears as his senses were attuned to her injury. He stopped, but he didn't put her down. He knew she'd just collapse to her knees again.
"Why," he demanded, "did you make me stop?"
They were headed back to the city. He needed to get her to someone who had medical experience. Someone who could make sure she /didn't/ bleed out. He didn't have that experience, he was a monster who fed on blood and not some sort of nurse or doctor.
"I need to get you to a hospital," he soldiered on, swallowing with a dry click in the back of his throat, "or you're probably going to /die/ out here. And I don't want that. Losing your blood... it's slow. It's painful. It ing , and I'm /not/ going to turn you if that happens because you wouldn't want to be a vampire."
It wasn't as grand an existence as he usually made it out to be, and with how much she hated vampires... she'd die before she became one of them, he knew.
"Are you worried I'm going to drink your blood?" Wonpil forged on. He knew his eyes were red. They'd changed when he'd smelled her blood, when he'd... torn the head off of one of his own for this damn /werewolf/. He knew he should have been ashamed of himself for what he'd done, but he couldn't bother to feel that way. "Don't. I fed last night. I'm not going to bite you just because I can smell your blood." It probably wouldn't make her feel better, but he added drily, "Besides, your blood doesn't smell that great anyway."
At least with prodding at her like that, he felt somewhat better about rescuing her and committing a heinous act against his kind. She was still alive, but he'd...
His stomach turned, but now wasn't the time to be weak. He shook his head. "Now are you going to help me keep you alive or not?"

@[W] Kim Jennie Ah. Lovely. She was laughing, too, now. Weren't they an impressive pair, laughing at each other in a ing graveyard and hating each other but not doing anything about it. He scowled, but she didn't explain what, exactly, was so humorous to her. No, instead, she just kept laughing and watching him with her infuriating golden eyes. Anger curled in his throat at her next words, but what could he say? She was right, in her own way. He'd been... he hadn't been the best of persons, when he was younger. But he had fixed... most of his bad habits, before he had moved out of his sire's home. Nonetheless, she knew the person he was before. Most people here didn't, but Jennie... she did. She'd seen him at his lowest and she would never let him forget that.
Her surprise was delicious, the speeding thumps of her heart at the realization satisfactory. So, she truly /hadn't/ realized where she was -- that was almost a surprise. Such a haughty woman, but she hadn't known what was lurking just under the earth.
Jennie wasn't so unshakeable after all. He watched her, the way her eyes flitted about, the way her expression hardened, the way her body was tensing. He could practically hear the adrenaline hiss through her veins, the need to destroy the hated vampires who slumbered beneath the dirt. She suddenly lurched forward, like she was going to try something, and Wonpil's hand returned to the knife in his pocket -- ready, if she chose to attack him so recklessly. She would be dead within seconds if she attacked him here, where she was vastly outnumbered. He didn't want her blood on his conscience. But she stopped herself, seemingly just in time.
She was so close now, close enough he could practically see every thought that flitted across her face. She was battling herself, probably struggling to tame her urge to attack and destroy. And her quiet comment to herself confirmed that, reminding herself that she would only bring danger to her pack if she was a fool here.
Wait...
As soon as her hands opened, Wonpil's eyes widened. The smell of blood was instant, and panic washed over him. "Jennie--" he started, but he was interrupted by the explosion of earth and the screech of two ferals who had scented the blood of a living creature hitting the earth. For a moment he was frozen as they attacked her, the scent of blood thickening as they attacked her. One of them had bitten her, her wrist torn and letting out more blood. He fought his instincts to feed, tamping down the bloodlust dragged up by her blood being shed.
He had to get her out of the yard before more ferals rose.
It was the snap of the first's neck finally breaking that had him in motion. The second had her flipped and pinned on the ground, fangs out as he leaned in to bite--
Wonpil tackled him off of the struggling werewolf, his own fangs bared as he hissed in the feral's face. It wasn't older than him, he could smell it, but it wasn't still young enough to be considered a newblood, and as it snapped at Wonpil, a cold fury set in the vampire's chest. This vampire had let himself go feral; he was old enough to know how to hunt, how to feed, and how to find donors if all else failed.
This was why people feared them.
This was why people /hunted/ them.
He gripped the feral vampire by chin and forehead, and with an angry snarl, he twisted and /pulled/ until head separated from body and the vampire's nasty, death blood spattered across his face.
Wonpil really wanted to sit down and clean the blood off of him--nothing was nastier than the blood of a feral--but he could see Jennie from the corner of his eye, and he could hear the creak of the dirt. The vampires were rising, and he had to get the damn werewolf away from the yard or they'd both be torn to shreds.
"I hope you know you're a ing idiot," he growled at her, and grabbing his discarded coat, he hastily wrapped it around her bleeding wrist. Tucking an arm behind her shoulders and the other under her knees, he hauled her off the ground and fled like his life depended on it -- which, really, it did. He could hear them rising. He had killed one of his kind for a /werewolf/, and this coven of vampires would have no problem killing him if they caught him.
But Wonpil couldn't let her die. As dumb as it sounded, he didn't really want her to be caused any harm, especially at the hands of a feral.
So he fled through the forest, occasionally checking to make sure that his jacket was still secured around her wrist. The smell of blood was potent, but he had fed recently enough that he wouldn't lose himself to his bloodlust. It didn't smell as good as other types of blood, anyway.
"Stupid ing wolf and your stupid ing claws," he muttered, "you're really trying to end my life."

@[W] Kim Jennie His lips quirked, settling somewhere between a smile and a frown. He hadn't expected her to relax, but she was just as observant as he was, wasn't she? They were both predators, they had to be observant. Moreso than he had been. And if she wasn't about to spring at him, Wonpil wasn't about to spring at her. He was reluctant to throw the first strike, especially with this one. She was a lot.
"I'd have to disagree with you there," he smirked, "you'd be surprised what a balanced diet of fresh blood would do for the body. I'm in the perfect condition," the vampire shrugged. It was true, he was in better shape than he'd been last time he'd encountered her. Living by himself had helped him... kick some of his bad habits.
"Oh, I don't know about that," he shrugged, but whatever he was going to say died in his throat when she brought up his scar. He raised a brow, huffing out a laugh. "A gift? Is that what you want to call it?" he wheezed, the laughter brought by genuine humor -- there was a surprise. He'd hoped it would sound more sarcastic, but he couldn't help it. "Well, at least you're right about one thing. Some people like scars, apparently."
Wonpil only watched her, how casual she was relaxing against a tree. He could tell her that the graveyard was the resting place of vampires, but he would let her carry her current string of thought for a few moments longer. "Right. Beauty. Is that what they call it, where you're from?" It was hard not to antagonize her. Wonpil wasn't blind. Of course he could tell that Jennie was beautiful, but... well, it wasn't like he was ever going to say that. Pulling her metaphorical pigtails was easier. And probably less dangerous.
(also, bat face? What was she, a grade-schooler?)
"A man can't come spend time with his own kind without being told to leave them alone?" Wonpil asked. His lips cracked open in a wide grin when she needled right back at him. Honestly, it probably should have aggravated him that she thought he needed help moving on, but Wonpil had heard worse. "Please, Miss Alpha Ma'am, I would have thought by now you could smell them: this is a vampire yard, sweets."
He removed his hand from his pocket and shifted his jacket to his other arm, dark brown eyes glittering with mirth. "I'd advise not getting too close to the tombstones. They get... hungry when they can smell the blood of the living. Wouldn't want you to get devoured, poor thing."
Honestly, if she roused a feral, Wonpil would probably help her, but again, he wasn't going to say it. But no one deserved the fate of being drained by a feral vampire. No matter how annoying a wolf she might have been.

@[W] Kim Jennie Freedom from his home city was exactly what Wonpil had needed. Being in a place where he wasn't really known as anyone beyond the bar singer was exactly what he needed. But at the same time, he did enjoy solitude, and so he was out in the forest, walking through a graveyard. He knew there were vampires there, he'd had conversations with one of them a few nights before, but they were older vampires, more traditional, and they only left their crypts long enough to feed. Really, the ancients had no concept of social interactions, and it showed. Even his father was inclined to have friends and enjoy the company of others.
It crossed his mind that he might clear some of the debris away from the graves, a twisted imitation of the reverance that mortal youth showed their dead relatives, and he slid off his topcoat. Draping it over his arm, he knelt down to clear some of the twigs and leaves away from a headstone. His button-down and slacks were black, so they wouldn't be ruined by what his father would describe as "frolicking in the dirt".
He straightened to move on to another headstone, but he could hear the distant thump of a heart, and that caught his attention instead of the graves he had been clearing. He sniffed, smelling living creature as it drew near, tinged with that underlying...
Wolf.
Disgusting.
He turned to see the wolf in question, and he couldn't believe his poor ing luck. He remembered her, the haughty way she held herself and those nails that were more aptly described as claws. She looked almost no different, really. She was still the same beast he remembered from years ago.
Last time he'd encountered her, he'd been a naive child.
"Road kill is an improvement from the stench of wet dog," he replied, the words rolling easily off his tongue. He cocked a brow at her. "Aren't you a little far from home, big bad pack leader? Whatever are they going to do without you to protect them?"
He snorted, tucking one hand into the pocket of his slacks. This time, he was armed. He'd learned his lesson, and now he carried weapons with him wherever he went. "Oh, please. I'm just here to pay my respects to the... dearly departed."
Wonpil studied her, took in the stance she'd adopted. She looked like she was ready to fight... again. Last time hadn't ended so well, but this time he was different. If they were to tussle again, he was ready for her. "You look rough. Missing your wild dog club?" he sneered. Really, he knew goading pack leaders was a dangerous game, but that was the game he played: the dangerous one. If it wasn't, it was never fun.

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