Bat Country

Brian's eyes fluttered and when they opened, he was looking at an overcast sky. What had happened? He leaned up and realized something was clamped to his hand. Looking down, it was another hand. Alexis had stayed with him while he passed out. Her body, her being unable to control her lust was all a dream, and as much as he was relieved, he found himself disappointed.

Alexis had at least stayed up past daylight, because she had crusted blood around her nose, ears and eyes. Brian knew she had probably been terrified, and not wanted to go home or leave him. Scooping her in his arms, he held her to him and stood up to go back home.

The entire way he held Alexis gently, walking slowly, not having much energy during the day. He had to go the long way despite being so worn, not being able to maneuver through the underbrush very easily. There were several scents along the way, human, and they had come very close to discovering where he and Alexis were practically dead in the middle of the forest.

"Would have been a stupid mistake..." Brian muttered to himself. They had a great place for a nest, and despite everyone knowing people died in this forest, there was almost never a shortage of hikers and campers. He never understood why after reports of bears, and fires, and a lot of lives lost here, people would continue to show up, but they did anyways.

The woods were damp today. It would rain soon, and Brian's feet crept quietly over the dead forest floor until he made it to the clearing the nest was hidden in. He put Alexis over his shoulder and opened the hatch, crawling in, one arm around Alexis as he held onto the small ladder that was attached. He closed the door and climbed down, cradling Alexis again. The only one awake was Rev, sitting on the couch.

"We were wondering if you'd make it home or if you took off again and dragged Alexis with you." He said sleepily.

"If you were so concerned, you could have came and looked. Especially for this one." Brian raised his arms slightly to gesture to Alexis.

Rev sighed. "Don't take that so personally. We all know you can take care of yourself. We would have went out and looked, but one night is nothing, we figured you'd be back in the morning or you wouldn't. We'd have worried then."

"Another thing..." Brian said, then hesitated. "I don't have to drag her anywhere...If...nevermind." Brian's head snapped up, seeing Zacky and Johnny come into the room. Isabel was behind them, peeking through them as if she were afraid of what she would see.

"Glad you made it home." Johnny commented in a voice that was almost sarcastic.

"Shut up, short shit." Brian spat. He was not in the mood for this, and as he turned to leave he heard someone call after him.

"Syn, what happened?" Zacky asked almost quietly.

Brian looked over his shoulder and stared at Zacky for a moment before he shook his head.

"Nothing." He said flatly and finally turned to leave.

As he walked down the hallway, which seemed far too bright right now, he heard Zacky following him. He didn't stop though, just kept carrying Alexis back to her dressing room.

"What? What do you want?" Brian barked as he whipped around, holding tightly to Alexis.

"You're lying." Zacky said. "I know you're lying. She's never stayed out of here past morning."

"I don't know if you saw her yesterday but maybe she was in no fucking rush to come back here." Brian hissed.

"That's my fucking point! She ran out of here injured. I don't know if you remember but her blood will attract werewolves and shit. You can't just run out and not check in when she's like that." Zacky hardly ever got really loud, but he echoed throughout the nest.

"Zack, I don't have to check in with you. Aside from Matt, I'm the oldest one here. I'll go where the fuck I want and I can take care of myself and her."

"Yeah, I bet." Zacky snorted then turned around and left quickly, zooming back down the hallway as Brian watched, still holding Alexis's limp body.

Brian snickered to himself and looked down at Alexis before opening the door quietly and stepping inside. He stood there for a moment, the room almost feeling like an insult to him. Regaining his composure, he went to the plush, embroidered bench and carefully laid Alexis out on it. Stepping back, he took another look at her and reached out to brush her hair out of her eyes, but caught himself and hesitated, his hand caught in the air between them before he finally closed the distance and softly brushed the hair from her face. He pulled his hand back and hovered for a moment for a moment before a crash somewhere far off in the nest shook him out of his daze. Zacky was most likely throwing a fit, and as much as Brian hated that place and would readily leave at the drop of a hat, he was still older than Zacky and still had authority over him. Brian gritted his teeth and stepped back and flew out of the room, near slamming the door behind him as his feet flitted over the carpet until he found himself in the communal room where Zacky was screaming.

"I'm getting fed up with his shit! He leaves all the time then does whatever the fuck he feels like with a creation that isn't even his. He shouldn't have drained her fucking dry and made her himself, with the way he follows her around."

Brian stopped and crossed his arms, leaning against the wall.

"Who made you leader of this nest, Zacky? Why are your panties getting all twisted up?" Brian spat harshly, causing Zacky to whip around.

"Believe it or not, Gates, Matt's pretty banged up and you're running all over with his creation. If something happened to her we'd all have to pay for it when he comes to." Zacky's voice was controlled, although it was very apparent that his control was far from total.

"Haven't you noticed? Or am I the only one that gives the poor girl any attention? When she's injured or unperfected, she no longer has a scent. She masks it by instinct. Even if she was hurt, I highly doubt anyone...anything...would find her. You are not her creator, either. Lose the fucking attitude. All of you." Brian's mouth was pulled taut as he looked around the room. "She goes out all the time alone, and she has never told me not to go after her."

Zacky rolled his eyes and turned around to storm back off. Johnny and Rev stood with their arms crossed looking at each other.

"When Matt comes to again, we'll see how he feels about all of it." Zacky muttered behind him.

Brian was so fast that he had no time to even think about what he was doing before Zacky was pinned up against the wall.