horn stands at the side of the room scowling for a very long time. her arms are crossed over her chest and her eyes stare down, right into the ugly carpet covering the stone floor.

while horn glares at nothing, you spend your time thinking. well, plotting is more accurate. you attempt to analyze everything you know so far. anything that could possibly assist in your escape. though even after hours of staring up at the bland ceiling, trying to use this time of silence to find even a fraction of a plan, your brain could not find an answer.

it seems as though you would not be leaving for a little while. not unless your friends come back for you. they have your weapon, don't they? you think you remember shinoa picking it up.

does it matter? what matters is they survive today, even if you're stuck here. all you want is for your friends, your family to be alright. all you need is the knowledge that they're safe. you'd be content with that.

you could feel your exhaustion trying to pull you into sleep, your body tired from so much thinking and so much energy wasted today. you fight the urge to sleep, you don't know when crowley will return and you don't want to be asleep when he comes back.

———————

after four or five hours horn still has not budged an inch from her place, standing against the wall on the opposite side of the room. yet, you still have not moved from your place on the couch. you're getting seriously hungry, and you're sort of parched, both not mixing well with your fatigue. it makes you so frustrated that you can't do anything about it. of course, you could tell horn, but you're honestly not too sure that would go well.

she looks so irritated over nothing, it honestly concerns you. is she gonna snap at some point? she looks like she's going to snap- at any moment actually.

she seems to sense you staring because her head snaps up, she looks slightly less irritated than before, a strange emotion lingering behind her eyes as she watches you back, though you can't figure it out.

"you're staring." she states calmly, a contrast to the crease between her brows and the annoyed frown that rests upon her lips.

it's not like you don't realize what you're doing. you shrug, sitting up a bit. "yeah, whoops." your voice is sort of uninterested, but you hope it's clear that you don't mean to anger her further, though it does seem a little disrespectful. though, now that you think about it, she can't do anything to you. crowley has said as he was leaving that no one is to touch you, but you wonder how much it'll take before she abandons that one rule. do you want to risk it? it could have potentially catastrophic consequences for you, so you're against it, but it is a very tempting thought.

"you should be more respectful to lord crowley, he's risking his life to keep you here." she comments blankly, unfolding her arms and instead placing her hands on her hips.

"and what's that supposed to mean?" you ask, sitting up straight and turning to sit on the couch properly, facing the vampire fully.

horn sighs deeply, but elaborates just the same. "we're not supposed to have livestock here. if queen krul found out that lord crowley was helping the livestock, he would be put to death without question." horns explanation does not faze you. if anything you're happy with the explanation. you hope that crowley is found out and put to death. wether that means you die too or not. if that means one less powerful vampire to slay for your comrades, you'll gladly die to make it happen for them.

all you want is to see your friends survive and for humanity to be able to prosper again. you have so much loyalty to the moon demon company, and especially guren. in fact, you're only loyal to the company because guren is in it. of course, if guren were not in the moon demon company you would still stay to fight for humanity, but guren makes you want to fight harder. after all, he gave you a reason to live.

"i could care less about that bloodsuckers life. he doesn't mean shit." you grit out, clenching your fists. "you bastards are the reason everyone i cared for died. i will not respect the monsters who took everything from me." you're determined to get your message across. it doesn't matter if she kills you, wounds you, or anything else she could possibly do to you. you will not let a vampire tell you to respect them. you've been through far too much to ever hold respect or gratitude for any of them. the only exception is mika, yuu's family. he saved shinoa and he cares for yuu. you hope that yuu can save him.

horn tilts her head, urging you to continue without a word. your nails dig into the palm of your hands, but you don't feel it.

"i let everyone in my family down, and now i have new one and i will not let anyone hurt them. everyone i had in my past died because i traded their lives for my own. i failed my parents, my siblings, my friends. i couldn't give the vampires what they wanted and they slaughtered everybody. guren saves me, he brought me to the moon demon company to fight to save others. i may be the reason my family died, but i will not let my new one go out that way." you're yelling now, your small frame shaking with rage as you shout at the blond, who's uncaring of your story. "you will not tell me who to respect."

horn's head tilts to the side further, and she huffs in exasperation. "you're a pain. why's it have to be you?" she turns away from you, beginning to pace the room.

you hear the door open, and your head snaps in the direction of the sound. speak of the devil. crowley's standing in the doorway, his usually cocky smile resting upon his lips as he strides into the room, flicking the door closed behind him.

"wow, that's some emotion." he comments, coming to stand in front of you. you narrow your eyes, looking to the side to avoid eye contact.

crowley turns to horn. "thank you horn, you've done well. you may go." he beams at the blond, who nods slowly, hesitating a moment before making her way to the door.

"it wasn't a problem, lord crowley. welcome back." with that she takes her leave, closing the door again behind herself.

you don't look at crowley as he stands in front of you, still holding his smile. you pretend he isn't there, turning away from him further.

"the silent treatment? don't be like that." crowley teases, dropping to his knees before you, grabbing your chin with little force. he tries to turn your face weakly, but he's not putting enough force to really get you to budge. he sighs. "tears? there's no need for those."

you grit your teeth, biting your tongue as your eyes water. you lost everything because of these bloodsuckers, and they have no remorse because you're supposed to be 'below them'. you don't want him to see you cry, but you're just so frustrated. everything feels like too much.

your eyes widen as a thought comes into your head. a concerning, worrying thought. your squad, what happened to them?

you don't get to ask, because crowley is speaking before you can. "your friends are fine. they got out. and so did the commander. though- i don't think he was himself." your eyebrows crease in question though you're more than relieved to hear that your friends survived.

"that kid-the one that freaked out in shinjuku..." crowley makes a face, one you hadn't seen on him before. it was a mix between interest and disgust. "he took down an angel. your friend has real power."

that news shocks you. enough to dry your remaining tears. though he must be fine now, right? after all, crowley said- no. you can't trust anything he says. but his expression is so real. you can tell, you know. whatever went down at the airport shocked him, maybe even rattled him.

"you're worried you can't beat him, right?" you play on the spark of nervousness you detect, hoping your prodding would hit home.

"oh, we can beat him." the noble responds, standing up and straightening his back. "but there's no doubt that it will exhaust a lot of our forces."

you can practically sense his inner conflict, though he's good at hiding it you're perceptive. you can see it in his eyes he's not in full belief of his own words, his own claims.

"have you eaten anything?" crowley changes the subject, bringing up the exact words you've wanted to hear since an hour after he left. you shake your head. his smile returns to his features, the little fang poking out just like usual.

"oh, right, we don't have anything you can eat... let's find something." he suggests, pulling you up by the arm and marching towards the door. "i have much to tell you about my conversation with ferid. we can discuss it after."