some things we dont talk about ;; open to all

[Tallie Bronson]

The sun had set over an hour ago, and the forest was dark and creepy. The steady wooshing of the wind made the trees look like they were alive, its branches whipped too and fro as if they were flailing arms. Tallie pressed her body up against one of these trees, ignoring the eerie scenery. She wasn't doing a very good job at being brave, because she was shaking and her clothes were rubbing against the tree bark. Any noise at all could cost Tallie her life, so she forced her body to stop trembling. The vampires would hear anything and everything if they were in the forest.

This was a stupid move. She should have stayed in the old house, five miles away now, but she couldn't stay there anymore. The vampires now knew its location, not to mention the fact that her mother was the last person to live in there. And possibly the first to die there... Tallie pushed the thought aside and walked slowly and carefully to the cover of another tree. This was how she'd travelled the past four hours. Hide behind a tree, stay quiet for a few minutes, then move to the next. It was a very tedious process that Tallie often got impatient with, but it was better than rushing and getting caught.

Tallie's crouched as close to the ground as she could, which wasn't hard due to her short stature. Her boots crunched against the dead leaflitter, and she cringed. If there was a vampire in the area, her life expectancy just plumeted. She pushed herself even harder against the tree, keeping her eyes open as she stared death in the face. There was no need to close her eyes - she was practically blind in the pitch-black darkness. She could only rely on her crappy hearing. Why hadn't she listened to her teachers told her to stop blaring music into her ears? Oh right, she was listening to her iPod at the time.

Tallie remained perfectly still in that uncomfortable position for at least ten minutes. Her senses strained until the effort gave her a huge headache, and she slowly relaxed. Apparantly she wasn't meant to die tonight. She let out a loud sigh of relief, before a muted squeak. She was so new to this don't-make-a-sound-unless-you-want-to-die thing, that she didn't think her action through. Even breathing should be a cautious activity. Tallie's stiff body remained still. She didn't dare crouch again in case she needed to run for her life, which looked more likely with each passing second.

From behind her, Tallie heard scrunching leaves. The noise stopped for a few seconds, before resuming again. Please, let it be a bear, Tallie prayed to a god that she didn't believe in. She'd rather a giant carnivorous monster than a vampire anyday. At least a bear was easier to kill. Tallie moved her hand down to her pocket, moving her arm ever-so-slowly as the footsteps continued. From her pocket she revealed a small knife, and she grasped it tightly. It wouldn't kill a vampire, but it would leave a gash that could distract him or her for a moment... Until it healed. Why hadn't she brought a stake or crossbow with her? Oh, that's right. Because she's an idiot.

Tallie held the knife stiff at her side. She could do nothing but listen and wait for the footsteps to either disappear or get close enough for her to attack. As the noise grew louder and nearer, it was apparant that the latter option was the only possibility. Tallie raised the knife up to her eyeline, ready to stab her stalker. The only way her knife would help is if she went for the face and perhaps momentarily blind them. That was her only hope. If she swung and missed, the vampire would have her dead in an instant. She had one shot. Die or live. It was all up to the inferior weapon in her hand.

At last the footsteps became so close that Tallie thought she could reach over and touch the person without having to take a step. He or she was right behind her, obviously taking shelter on the opposite side of the same tree. Tallie reared her right arm back and stabbed in the general direction of the person. Ahah! Success! She heard the satisfying crunch as the knife stabbed deep into the vampire behind her. She expected her weapon to come out naturally without a fuss, but it remained stuck in the vampire's flesh.

Against all common sense, Tallie used too much time trying to get her knife back. She needed it. It was her mother's kitchen knife. Her mother had told her, "Keep this on you at all times. Lose it, and you will lose your life." She tugged and pulled, feeling the knife slowly loosen from the... bark. Tallie froze, only daring to shift her gaze an inch. She had stabbed... a tree.

Good on you, Tallie, a voice in her head spoke up, You just stabbed a tree. I didn't know vegetation was such a danger to your life.

There was no need to be quiet. There was no use in running. The vampire had heard her, and was probably about to burst into laughter at Tallie's idiocy.

Only one whispered word could escape Tallie's otherwise paralyzed body. "Shit."

[Malcolm Reynolds]

Mal crept through the forest, intent on finding the human girl he'd seen go in. Why do people insist on entering the vampire infested forest? He wondered. It wasn't exactly a hidden fact that the place was vampire infested. And this wasn't the first human he'd followed in. Sometimes he had to marvel at the sheer idiocy of people. Not that he was much better-- even Malcolm had his moments to.

But even if the forest wasn't a vampire hangout, the pure creepiness should have warned the girl to stay away. It was unusually breezy that night, causing the trees to move eerily. Almost looks like they wanna just grab you, like they're alive. Usually things like spooky scenery didn't bug Mal, but now the creep factor was definitely coming into play here.

She was certainly quick, he'd give her that. He would hear her scuffle away every few seconds, which meant she was probably using the trees for cover. A good technique, if you where dodging just simply humans. Which, coincidentally she was. But did she know that?

Suddenly, Mal couldn't hear her anymore. He stopped and waited to hear her footsteps, but there was nothing. Gorramit! he cursed inwardly. He really hadn't wanted to lose that girl.

Mal continued to walk forward, pausing every few steps. Maybe she was close by, and if she heard his steps, she would get spooked and run. Then at least he could hear her, and have some hope of catching up with her. That is, if he didn't slam into a tree. Vision ability was a negative right then.

Suddenly, he heard a thud not to far away from him. Please, let it be her, he thought. If it was a vampire, he was screwed. He had nothing to protect himself, other than a small balisong on his waist, the sticks around him and his bare hands. Oh, yeah, Malcolm thought with a roll of his eyes, I most definitely have my moments. The knife wouldn't do much good against a vampire. What had he been thinking? He should have asked Katherine for a crossbow to take with him. Then again, though, he hadn't really had time to go all the way back to the human camp to get a gorram crossbow, or any weapon for that matter. If he had done that, he most definitely would have lost the girl. Which, he might have done already.

Mal turned around to find the source of the noise. He went absolutely silent, listening carefully to the noises around him.

It was her, and she was closer than he thought. Only a few feet from him, he could hear her struggling with something, though what, exactly, it took him a few seconds to figure out. When he did, he had to press his lips together tightly in order not to laugh. She had just stabbed a tree, and had managed to get her knife stuck.

He heard her curse under her breath, which meant one of three things. First; she'd heard his approach and had come to the realization that hiding was now useless, second; she hadn't heard his approach and now figured she was safe, which wasn't very smart on her part, or third; she really didn't give a damn whether she got caught or not. The third was highly unlikely, as she'd managed to avoid him for so long, she must have been trying to do it.

Malcolm jumped at the girl from behind, closing a hand over her mouth to keep her from being heard if she screamed when he reached her. "If I were a vampire, you'd be dead, little miss." he said in her ear, using words that would get her to understand that he, too, was human. "I'm going to let you go now. Don't go off screaming on me, okay? Took me hours to actually find you, don't want to go losing you to no vamps now." He released his hold on her without waiting for her agreement. He didn't like holding a girl against her will. Wasn't gentleman like.

[Tallie Bronson]

Tallie felt something firm and rough covering her mouth, and she panicked. She shouldn't have been so shocked, really. She'd just stabbed a tree (a tree!) and made too many noises, but still, she struggled and tried to get free. Her screams were muffled because of the vampire's hand, and she didn't have the presence of mind to ask herself whether that was a good or bad thing. She thrashed against the vampire, who she had ascertained as a man due to his thick build, managing to kick him in the shins a few times. She did not want to become dinner like her other family members. It was only then when she heard the man's words.

Tallie immediately stopped thrashing in surprise when the man said if he were a vamp.... She was too skeptical and paranoid that she didn't believe him straight away. She started screaming again, her wails still distorted by the man's restraining hand. She struggled to turn around to escape the upcoming bite to her neck... but it never came. Her screaming and flailing arms slowed as she came to the realisation that the guy most likely was human. Man, must she look like a dick now.

Tallie's mouth was finally uncovered, and she finally turned around to see what the man looked like. He was about average height for a grown man, but still towered over Tallie. The limited light made it difficult to see much, but she could tell he was older than her. The way he spoke reminded her of her late father, which made her momentarily sad. She sucked those feelings up before thinking of what to say.

"Probably lucky I stabbed that tree, then." Tallie said softly, still overly paranoid about who could be around. "It wouldn't have helped if you were missing an eye or two." She looked back at her knife that was tsill wedged in the bark of the tree. She pulled it out slowly and put it back in her pocket.

"Hours? You've been following me for that long?" Well, crap. Tallie had only been aware of him for the past few minutes. He'd been following her for hours?! Wow, she thought she'd been extremely careful when she'd travelled. If a human had been watching her and following her, a vampire could have a billion times easier. "I really need to pick up my game." Tallie shook her head and a grim smile spread across her face.

[Malcolm Reynolds]

"No, dont suppose it would," he agreed when she spoke of him missing an eye. He saw her reach for the knife she'd planted in the tree, and was about to offer his help, but she pulled it out without his assistance.

Mal took a good look at the girl who'd he'd been tracking down for so long. The girl had long brown hair, and she was very small. She was well built, strong, young. Very young, but older than she appeared by her petite size, judging by her curves (Not that he was looking at her in that sort of way). Somewhere between seventeen and twenty, most likely. What was a girl like this doing alone in the forest? Where was her family?

Stupid question. Her family was probably in the same condition his and most of the surviving humans' families were-- dead, or vampires.

He grinned back at her, glad she'd calmed down enough to smile. "Well, now, arent you glad it was me who decided to follow you?"

"This place isnt exactly somewhere you should be late at night. And dont feel to bad about me following you; your not the first I've had to grab outta here. Lots of people seem to think the forest is safe..." He shook his head in sadness for the people who he couldnt get to in time." Anyway, I've had practice. Though, like I said, if I'd been a vampire, you woulda been outta luck. But Im not vampire, and your luck hasnt run out yet, so I suggest we start heading out."

He motioned with a gesture of his head to the direction. "I'll take you back to the main station. You look like you could eat something right about now."

He started walking a few steps and then stopped, forgetting something. "Aw, where are my manners?" He grinned at her and held out his hand, "Im Malcolm Reynolds. But most everybody just calls me Mal."

[Tallie Bronson]

Tallie nodded when the man asked if she was grateful that it was him, not a vampire, who had been following her. "Yes, very." she said, starting to get anxious. It was dangerous here. It was risky to walk too heavily, and here she was talking, letting any vampire know that they were here. She wouldn't just be responsible for her own death, but this guy's too. She vowed to only speak in whispers, but the man's next words took her off guard.

Tallie scowled at the man, her eyebrows pulling down in annoyance as he mentioned some people thinking it was safe here. "What? Are you saying I'm stupid, sir?" she asked incredulously, misunderstanding the meaning behind the man's words. She took them as criticism, which she didn't appreciate. Clearly, she'd been away from civilisation for too long. "I know this place isn't safe, I'm not stupid. It was the risk I had to take to find my mother." Tallie ended the sentence quickly, determined to not go into any details. Her mother had obviously been taken, and Tallie didn't know if she'd rather her be dead or a vampire. She could take comfort that she could be alive, sort of, so for the moment she was hoping that she was a vampire. It was a selfish train of thought, but humans were selfish.

Tallie's annoyance was deterred by shock when the man mentioned a main station. "The main station? What's that?" she asked, her voice still in whispers. Wow, they were going to get caught if they kept talking so loud! The word food made her realise that she hadn't eaten properly in a week or so. Her stomach was empty, and she hadn't really noticed it until it was brought up.

Tallie finally heard the man's name. Malcolm. It suited him. It sounded like a philosopher's name, or perhaps an adventurer of some sort. Above all, the name was mature and experienced, just like he appeared to be. It was strange how names fit people so much. Or perhaps that was the illusion of the human mind when you were grateful to even meet another human. "Tallie." She said, looking down at Malcolm's hand. She had been annoyed with him, but she couldn't explain how grateful she was that he'd found her. She smiled a little and shook Malcolm's hand. She let it go then looked around anxiously, again.

"Look, I don't know how much longer you can stand here and wait for a vampire to rip you to shreds, but I'd really appreciate it if we got out of here now." Tallie whispered and looked around for the next tree to use as cover. She walked slowly and lightly, careful where she placed her feet, and leaned against a tree a few metres away from where she had been. She was over the miracle of finding another human, and she was being selfish again, but she wanted out. This was why you don't want to get in a group. They weigh you down and keep you behind.

[Malcolm Reynolds]

"Meant no disrespect, ma'am." he said to the girl apologetically, finally lowering his voice. He hadn't meant to insult her, not at all. He'd simply been pointing out a recurring theme for people he found wandering the woods.

"The main station? Its a place were all us survivors stay." He told her, still taking quietly."All humans. Katherine runs the place. You'll like it there."

When she told him her name, Mal grinned. "Tallie, huh? Nice name. Fits you very well." The name sounded dainty, which she was certainly a tiny thing, but it could also be interpreted as a rebellious, sort of tough name. And she'd managed to make it this far, and had avoided him for hours, so he'd definitely label her as tough. Or strong, at least.

He released Tallie's hand, and suddenly she seemed on edge again. Little jumpy, are we? Not that he could blame her. In a place like this, how can one not be jumpy?

"Look, I don't know how much longer you can stand here and wait for a vampire to rip you to shreds, but I'd really appreciate it if we got out of here now." she said, and Mal couldn't have agreed more. The longer they stayed, the more likely they were to get caught. But then she started dodging behind trees again, and Mal chuckled. "That aint necessary, miss. Your just leaving a scent to track. The more things you touch, the easier you are to find. Trust me, I know. Vampire told me."

He remembered his vampire friend, Dusk. Well, she was as close to a friend as he was ever going to get with a vampire. She was wise, and eager to help the surviving humans. Since Mal had one of the few to accept her help, she'd taught him a few pointers when it came to vampires and their abilities. He wondered for a moment how Tallie would react to Dusk. Probably not very well, he decided.