Aguero counts in his notebook: today is day 40. 40 days of nothing but trees, bushes, trees, the occasional mushroom, bushes, and oh, look! More fucking trees. By now, Aguero is pretty sure he can recognize some of these trees just by their bark. It was supposed to be an easy mission, but he's pretty sure Kiseia set him up. His task was to eliminate the fledgling vampire supposedly living in that forest, but there were clearly some problems with his situation.

Honestly, Aguero had been suspicious of this "easy" mission from the start. It was already highly suspicious that Kiseia, of all people, had assigned him this mission, and not the bishop usually in charge. Not only did Kiseia not give him time to prepare, she also neglected to give him a teleportation permit, forcing him to use the public circles, meaning he couldn't bring a horse or any additional supplies to renew his 40-day shinsu contract with his administrator. Both he and Kiseia knew he had no choice but to accept the mission under his dubious circumstances. And to top it all off, his own equipment was malfunctioning. No matter where he went, his Sacred Compass indicated a constant presence of evil nearby. Normally, this would mean a vampire or other creature of evil bloodlines was nearby, but given the time he'd been in that forest, they would have already attacked. Well, either that or he's dealing with a very patient vampire. Agüero even left his own blood as bait, but nothing appeared. Agüero's patience was wearing thin, and his 40 days were up. This vampire would be the first he couldn't exterminate.

Waiting for dawn is always the hardest part for Aguero. He doesn't mind hunting vampires alone, but having a partner for long missions always makes them easier. Since the incident, he's been banished from the church. Members of his parish have begun to avoid him, speaking to him only when absolutely necessary. Normally, he would have already tracked the creature or had some clue as to its whereabouts by the second day, but this time, not only had he wasted the 40 days, but he still hadn't seen any sign of the vampire. It's 4 hours and 46 minutes until sunrise, Agüero notes as he puts away his pocket watch. He's bored.

*And before Aguero realized what was happening, he felt a quick, hot breath on his neck, a prick of moisture, followed by a small sting. The moment lasted only a split second, but it was enough for Agüero to understand what had just happened.

Agüero jumps to his feet and turns abruptly, drawing a silver knife. With the knife pointed at the source of the voice, he finds himself standing before you.

"Well, that's interesting, isn't it?" the creature says, licking its lips. "How cute," you say, laughing. Despite your deceptively gentle voice, there's a slight baritone in your laugh that makes Agüero shiver.

"Identify yourself," Agüero says, without taking the knife from the vampire; his left hand is buried in his cloak, clutching his talisman to prepare a spell.