“The warlock diet,” Victoria repeated slowly. “They have a unique diet?” Curious despite herself, she stood and followed a couple paces behind Alex back into the kitchen.
Victoria glanced around, before her attention settled back on him at his question. “Oh,” she glanced to the phone still on the drawer chest, realizing she had forgotten to tell him who had texted. “She’s fine. She sent the information I’ll need to replace my phone.” She let out a heavy sigh and went to sit on one of the chairs around the small table in the room. “And I still need to cancel cards. I’m starting to question the logic behind keeping everything in one bag.”

Alex shrugged. "A little. I think their tastes are a little more unique, so they try combinations of foods that most humans would find disgusting. Like prunes and tuna." He listed that example as a foul smell wafted from the fridge and he immediately closed it. "I think we'd be safer going out for lunch." He coughed and spluttered. "I tend to keep my wallet in my pocket, keeps it safe that way." He said, smirking. "I'd definitely recommend it."

Victoria’s face scrunched up in disgust at Alex’s example. “Seriously? I’d say ‘unique’ is putting it lightly, then.” She glanced to the doorway. “No offence, or anything,” she added hastily, just in case. The last thing she wanted was to get on the bad side of someone trying to help her.
When Alex began to gag, Victoria looked at him with a mix of shock and concern. But before she could ask what was wrong, the smell wafted to her. She jumped from the chair and stepped further from the fridge, trying to put as much distance between her and the cause of the rancid odor as she could. She could only imagine how much worse it must smell to him.
As sour as it was, the smell was, all the same, a happy distraction.
“Technically,” she began in a strained voice, covering her mouth and nose with the collar of her shirt, waiting for the smell to dissipate, “it’s probably closer to dinner by now.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She made a show of rolling her eyes at his recommendation. “Rub it in.”

Alex sighed. "We can't just wait around in here forever. And besides, it's no safer for you here than it is out there, all things considered. I mean, Illyad is handy but he's distracted anyway. Maybe we should go out to eat." He suggested. He thought for a moment and then suddenly remembered something. He put his hand in his pocket and took out a long jewelry box, handing it to Victoria. "I meant to give you this." He said, not giving any other explanation.

Deeming it likely safe, Victoria let her collar fall from her nose as Alex sighed. She glanced toward the kitchen’s doorway, a flicker of fear flashing over her face at the truth of his statement. She gave a heavy exhale and leaned against the counter with the sink, her gaze shifting to the floor between her and the doorway. She shook her head at the whole situation as he paused. She was not sure whether she would rather remain here, or risk going out. Either way, they were practically sitting ducks.
“If... if you think that’s wise,” she said, then looked to Alex when she saw him handing something to her. “You... huh?” She awkwardly took the box from him, glancing between it and him, then opened it.

Alex smiled as she opened the box. "It's a charm necklace." He told her. "And by charm, I mean it's enchanted." He walked over to the window in the kitchen and looked out. "I picked it up about a century ago, it was a gift from a female warlock I helped out of a... sticky situation. She told me that, one day, I'd know what to do with it. It's supposed to keep you safe, I'm not entirely sure how it works, but I figured you could use all the help you can get." He chuckled, but there was a hint of fear in his voice.

A moment later, he turned and smiled. "I really think there's no difference being here or being out right now. To be honest, you're probably safer being somewhere else. They'll expect you to be here. Besides, I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well. I'm not just a pretty face, you know." He winked and then walked toward the door of the kitchen. "Come on, wherever you want to go, anywhere in the world, my treat."

Victoria carefully lifted part of the chain necklace inside as Alex spoke. Though it looked fairly thin and delicate, it had a surprising yet satisfying weight to it, and the otherwise silvery metal glinted a rainbow of hues as it shifted in the light.
“Th-thank you,” she said quietly, the slight fear in his tone threatening to further wet her own.
She took a deep, steadying breath as she placed the box and chain on the counter beside the sink, then reached up to unhook her own necklace. She had just carefully slid the pendant from its chain when he turned back to her, then switched the chins out as he continued.
“There you go, letting all the flattery get to your head,” she said in a poor attempt at humor as she returned her pendant, now on the enchanted chain, around her neck. It hung slightly lower than before.
“Think they’d look in Antarctica?” she grumbled to his offer, slipping the ordinary chain in her pocket. She followed him toward the door, and glanced to the kitchen window, the evening sun shining through the curtains. “Wait. I thought vampires couldn’t go out during the day. So far, I haven’t met any that abide by that restriction.”

Alex shook his head. "That was a limit for most vampires a long time ago, however there was a discovery made that certain magic can help. If you pay attention, you'll notice that most vampires have an item of jewellery that they never remove, usually a ring or bracelet. It's enchanted to prevent them burning up in the sunlight. Some, however, have the jewellery glamoured, so people can't see it, because if it's removed they can be killed instantly." As he spoke, a ring almost appeared on his finger. "Glamours, of course, can be manipulated and shown to people you trust."

“Oh,” Victoria responded softly, her eyes widening slightly when a ring appeared from seemingly nowhere on Alex’s finger. “That’s… good to know.” She looked to the front door, her gaze distant as she tried to recall if she had seen any such jewelry items on either Luc or Nyaira. Alas, she had been too busy worrying about getting out alive to be concerned with such an apparently trifle matter at the time.
With a shake of her head, she slowly cracked the door open, peering out into the hall beyond to check for any sign of unwanted company.
“Should we let Illyad know we’re leaving?” She looked back toward Alex.

Alex chuckled. "He has a habit of knowing what people are going to do before they do. I imagine he will already know that we are leaving. Besides, we don't want to interrupt whatever it is he's doing." He shrugged and pulled the door open. "If they were going to attack, they wouldn't wait for you to open the door." He added. Despite saying that, he couldn't keep his eyes from sweeping the hallway, checking for any signs of danger. He knew how Nyaira and Luc worked, but he also knew they would be trying to be less predictable.

“Well, that’s not unnerving or anything,” Victoria said as Alex opened the door, her gaze partially on the floor from years of habit. “That like his ‘Spidey sense’ or something?”
“Hey, there’s a first time for everything.” She glanced to him, his sweep of the hallway not going unnoticed. She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows at him, her weight leaning back on one foot. “That’s what I thought.” She gave a long, slow exhale, wondering if there could have been any traps laid for them if they left by conventional means.
Victoria tentatively stepped out into the hall, a foot tapping once against the carpet as if it might jump up and eat her the moment she put her full weight on it. “I don’t suppose there’s a back door somewhere, is there?”

Alex chuckled. "I guess you could call it that." He turned to Victoria and gave her a rather mischievous grin. "There's not a back door, but there is an alternative, if you're brave enough." He said, his grin widening into a wicked display of bright white teeth. His eyes flickered to the window and back to Victoria as he said this.

Victoria looked back to Alex when she noticed him turn to her. She shifted uneasily at his expression.
She looked to him, confused, wondering what he meant.
When his grin widened, showing off his too-white teeth, she had to look away, reminding herself and her instincts once more that he was still the Alex she knew. Her gaze turned somewhere between the floor and the window, hoping it would make it seem as if she was only following his glance.
“You mean a fire escape?” she asked slowly. She eyed the hall once more, then stepped back inside the apartment. She closed the door firmly behind her, as if the simple latch would ward off any dangers, then stepped toward the window. "Never been down one. But I suppose it's better than waltzing out the front door."

Alex shook his head. "Not exactly." He muttered, before shrugging. "I'm suggesting that we jump out of the window." He finally said, putting it bluntly. "I know you can't withstand a fall from too high, but I can, and I can shield you from the impact, so you'd be totally fine." He said, smiling, as if it was the most brilliant idea he'd ever had.

Victoria stared at Alex a long moment. “Jump out the…” She looked back to the window, wondering how many stories up they were. Two? Three? Either way, it would likely be at least a twenty-foot drop, unless they were on the first floor. Which she highly doubted.
She took a deep breath.
Stop being such a coward! Her life had just taken a headlong leap into dangerous, and so far, the most she had done about it was run from Alex, and hide in a closet. Her whole life, she had avoided this side of the world, but if this side refused to avoid her, a quiet voice in the back of her mind warned against doing nothing to fight back. Even if she began with only taking small steps and hops--literally and figuratively--toward it.
She stepped toward the window, part of her wanting to know how far up they were and the other preferring to not find out. “Okay,” she breathed uneasily. “As long as you’ve done that before…” She snorted and rolled her eyes slightly at the absurdity of that statement revolving around jumping from a window.

Alex shrugged. "Whenever I'm running late." He smirked. He took a step toward her and a thoughtful look crossed over his face. "I think the best way to do this is for you to climb on my back, that way I can land on my feet." He told her, shrugging. He looked out of the window and judged the height a little, though he knew they were safe. He mentally noted that Illyad hadn't changed the location of the apartment.

Victoria cocked her head sideways to look at Alex at his comment, trying to figure out if he was serious or messing with her. “I had no idea doors were such inconveniences…”
Taking a deep breath, she joined him at the window, and pried the glass up. Thankful there was no screen in it--and that it looked large enough for their exit plan--she cautiously leaned her head out. As she had thought, they most definitely were not on the ground floor. She ducked back in, suddenly developing a temporary fear of heights. They had to be on the third floor, maybe the forth; she had not given herself the time to count before pulling back inside.
“Alright. Whenever you’re ready, then.” She went behind him, ready to jump up on his back and wrap her arms and legs around him. “The last time I did this, I was ten. Only, it was minus the window-jumping,” she mused.

Alex shrugged. "I live on the third floor. Stairs are inconvenient." Alex chuckled, he positioned himself in a half crouch in front of her, and prepared himself to carry her weight. His reflexes were faster than any normal human, and his strength and resilience would make this a piece of cake. He already knew Illyad's apartment complex well. He had never jumped out of this particular window, but it wasn't much higher than what he was used to.

“Great. A vampire with super-speed who’s inconvenienced by stairs.” Victoria’s voice quivered slightly and her hand subconsciously fingered her pendant as she said his race, apprehensively watching Alex crouched for her sake. “The world’s saved.”
She took another breath, and wrapped her arms around his chest. “I swear,” she muttered in his ear, trying to think about neither the distance between them and the ground, nor how they would fit through the window with her on his back. “If I fall or something, I’ll find a way to come back and haunt you for the rest of eternity. And I don’t mean in a ‘Casper, the Friendly Ghost’ kind of way.”

Alex shrugged. "I'm impatient. So sue me." He chuckled as he easily lifted her onto his back.

As he stood, Alex sighed. "It's so nice to hear about how much faith you have in me. Can you, for once, trust me? If there was any chance of you being injured I wouldn't be doing this. Even in the unlikely event that you were to fall, and I couldn't shield you from the impact, you have other protections. Please don't underestimate my concern for your safety." He stepped toward the window, analyzing the size and shape of it, the distance to the ground, and his current weight. He knew they would hit the ground quite quickly. "Keep a very tight grip on me, Victoria. Remember, I don't need to breathe." He told her, a seriousness colouring his voice.