Before you get there

She navigated through the twists and turns of the country roads until a pair of brake lights appeared a ways in front of her.

"That him?" she asked into her headset. Logan began reading the license plate number and it matched.

"Good... you guys hang back and tell Sophie that yes I am bringing her beignets" she said before hanging up. They were still a ways away from Bon Temp so she'd caught up with him faster than she expected. She could barely make out his large bald head but also another head in the passenger seat. She highly doubted that was Jessica so who Quinn was having tag along was a mystery.

The driver glanced back for a moment and looked concerned.
"Sir, we seem to have picked up a tail."



Quinn glanced back and saw the car he was referring to. The way it was moving, there was no doubt they meant to stop his car. He looked around for options and saw a rest area. He might as well be sure before getting drastic.

"Pull through that rest area. stop for a moment and drive back out. Lets make sure it is us they are following before we do anything aggressive."

Kiara rubbed her eyes. She hoped to the higher powers that this was over quickly. She was getting hungry and not for food and whenever she got those kinds of hungers well... people died.

She saw the car stop at a rest area so she pulled in, but instead of just pulling in behind them she spun her car so that it rested lengthwise, blocking the entrance as much as its size would allow. She didn't hesitate in getting out. Wearing faded jeans and a t shirt wasn't much her style but she hadn't planned on visiting when she set out for a drive tonight.

Quinn watched as the car blocked the exit. The Driver reached down and retrieved a shotgun from the passenger floorboard and stepped out, pointing it at the person exiting the car. Quinn nodded to Arabella and they got out, ready for a fight.

The driver took a step forward and cleared the safety.
"Explain yourself."


Quinn handed Arabella a small pistol and pulled out his knives. They watched and waited for a response.

Kiara saw the gun and resisted the urge to laugh. Instead as she looked around she rushed with a burst of near vampiric speed and disarmed the driver.

"Sorry cher... but I owe you know explanation" she whispered as she unloaded the rounds in the shot gun, letting them drop. She kept a healthy distance from the diver, not wanting him to get any ideas about back up weapons and things.

"I just need to talk to your passenger. Five minutes and I'll be out of your hair..."

Quinn saw the attacker move and glanced to Arabella. She looked back at him and whispered.
"A vampire?"

They both jumped over the car and moved at near vampiric speed toward the attacker. Arabella dropped behind her, kicking out at the woman's legs while Quinn dove to the chest, attempting to pin her down.

Kiara blinked, seeing two figures rush at her with vampire speed. She felt her legs give way as what looked like a female attacked her from behind, however she recovered quickly enough to avoid the large figure that tried to pin her. She did a back flip and stepped away, her eyes glowing slightly were orange and once could see the muscles on her body tense ready for a fight.

"Woah... peace brother.. " she said before a strange scent hit her. One person was fully vampire she could tell but the male who she knew was Quinn smelled.... not like Quinn.

"Quinn... you smell like the grave" she whispered, looking up at someone she thought she knew but now she felt like she was staring at a stranger.

Kiara's voice brought him up short, just before he threw the knife in his hand. It sounded off, but it was her. Why had she been following them?

"Explain yourself Kiara. Why did you attack my driver? Why were you following us?"

He watched as Arabella circled behind him, keeping the pistol pointed at Kiara. He nodded to her and she lowered the barrel toward the ground. She moved next to him protectively, which made him smile.

Hearing her words, almost accusations, he chuckled. He has suspicions on why her scent did not seem right, but he was not going to assume.

"A lot has happened since we last crossed paths, Kiara. To both of us, it seems."

She quirked a brow at the woman who circled Quinn like a jealous lover. Clearly she was missing a few details here, but Quinn's very vampiric scent was what unsettled her the most.

"Yes...it seems I am no longer dying....and you are" she said as she examined the tiger...if he could be even called one.

She sighed, reigning in her were instincts to attack. "I heard you were in town and I came to see you before you heard the news" she said calmly. She placed her hands in her pockets. "I'm supposed to be dead, the whole state knows it and I didn't want you to go on some crusade to find a would be killer" she explained casually.

She watched the woman carefully. This one was more than normal. She smelled....odd..what had Jonathan called her?

"My maker is not dying, he is being reborn. He is stronger now than ever, faster too. As time passes, it will be even more so. You know this though. You smell much like him, though different."

She ducked under Quinn's arm and wrapped an arm around him while looking with curiosity at the woman.

"Why would someone so alive want to be dead?"

Quinn smiled as Arabella slipped close to him again. He kissed he top of her head then looked up to Kiara, looking her in the eyes.

"She presents a good question, don't you think?"

Kiara quirked a brow at the vampire. Maker? Unless her hearing was going bad she could still pick up faint traces of Quinn's still living status, but he was much more dead than living at this point, so surely he didn't MAKE that vampire. She didn't think vampires adopted but stranger things have happened so she filed the information away in her mind to pursue later.

"Well, some of us grew tired of being disappointed by those we thought would protect us" she said calmly. She'd been wrong to think she'd find some of the things she'd lost by seeing Quinn, in fact it only drove home the point more of how she truly alone she should remain.

"Your girlfriend is a day walker... this state has gone to the shit and vampires are attacking in droves" she said as she slowly stepped back to her car.

"Welcome come Quinn" she added with a sort of sadistic grin.

girlfriend.....so Jessica was alive and safe. Day-walker...that was a new trick. Too bad he was not. They were still separated by the sun, ironically.

"I already know about the Hep-V, Kiara. I have a lab working on a cure or at least an antidote."

He smelled the hunger in her and smiled. So they were not so different. He motioned to the driver and waited while the driver removed three small bottles of blood marked 'Carissa 26' and brought them to him. He handed one to Arabella and offered one out to Kiara.

"For old time's sake, a drink on me..."

She took the bottle from Jonathan and smiled, breaking the seal and inhaling the scent of the blood for a moment before taking a drink. Her eyes flashed as she felt the blood course into her system. He had been saving these bottles. She did not know why until now. She smiled up at him, then continued to drink from her bottle quietly.

Kiara nodded. She wasn't surprised Quinn was looking for a cure but he had his work cut out for him if he thought he could stem the tide of that particular shit fest.

She looked at the bottle offered and uncapped it. She took a sniff and wasn't surprised that it turned her stomach. Clearly her own attempt at a permanent cure for her own problems had come with its own set of problems.

"I'm flattered...but sadly only dead blood can sustain me. I suppose I deserve it for using myself as a guinea pig" she said with a sad sort of smile. She closed the bottle, but kept it, figuring at least she could use it to synthesize some more blood for the ever increasing demand for true blood alternatives. She actually found herself chuckling darkly at her own misfortune.

"Ironic... that in my own quest to save my life I inevitably bound it to death...but I suppose you know all about that as well Quinn. A pity we won't be running together anymore... not that we would anyways your girlfriend would have my head if she saw me anywhere near you"

He rested a gentle hand on Arabella's shoulder and smiled, looking at Kiara.

"Jessica has made some recent choices that may change things between us. I have no malice toward you, Kitten. Let me know if I can be of any help. The Shreveport warehouse should still have a few palates of untainted Trueblood if you have need of it. You already know the access code."

He broke the seal on his bottle, saluting her with it.
"To the unknown future. May it greet us all with open arms."

Without waiting for a response, he drained the bottle. He handed his empty bottle to the driver as Arabella did the same. The driver put them in the trunk and brought him a small box. He tossed the box to Kiara.

"There is a burn phone inside, just in case you need it. Speed 1 will always dial the phone I have on me, or Arabella's. Let us know if there is anything we can do."

He turned with Arabella on his heel and headed back to the car. As he reached it, he called over his shoulder.

"Take care of yourself, Kitten. Should I mention you are alive or do you pan to stay dead a bit longer?"

She shook her head. "I intend to remain dead forever. Hard to keep on living when your fiance is the one that kills you" she said with a casual shrug.

She inclined her head to them both. "The same offer is extended to you both. If you require donors let me know. One cannot be too careful with all the tainted blood going around" she said as she took the box and placed it in her car.

"Stay out of trouble Quinn... I don't know exactly how you became what you are... but I still want to believe that being vampire doesn't make you a monster. Who knows... maybe you'll prove me right"

Quinn smiled back.

"It is a very long story, Kitten. One that started before we ever met...maybe someday we will sit down and I can tell you about it. Until then, keep yourself safe."

He motioned for Arabella to climb in, then joined her as the driver walked forward. He picked up the shotgun while giving Kiara a dirty look, rubbing his wrist. Once he had retrieved his ammo, he returned to the car and they were once again on their way...

Next stop, Bon Temps....