"And... the worst part is..." Aurora hesitated as she admitted it. "I don't... know that I want to leave him. I still... like him."

Reilly was quiet for a moment, not dismissing that out of hand. "There's a lot we don't know here," she murmured. "About this whole situation. It's not... simple."

"I know," Aurora said miserably. She buried her face in the pillow and growled in frustration.

Reilly patted her head. "For now, you don't have to have things figured out immediately," she soothed. "You can take some time. I'll still be here, don't worry."

Aurora just mumbled incoherently into the pillow and burrowed deeper into her bed.

She didn't have much time to wallow in her feelings, though; Tony contacted them about a mission that had critical importance. He'd gotten news of a new nest of vampires forming, and the primary targets were turning out to be children.

That got Reilly's attention, and she was coldly furious.

"How many vamps? Do you know?" she asked Tony, already grabbing her go bag.

"A lot," Tony said. "More than a normal nest."

"Get us everything you have on it," Aurora said as she grabbed her own kit.

"That's most of what I've got on it," Tony said. "I know the location, number is somewhere between a dozen and twenty, and they're targeting kids. It's not a lot to go off of."

"Alright," Aurora said as she checked her supply of silver bullets and holy water. "We've done okay with less than that. We'll make do."

"Just be careful," Tony told them. "I really don't want to have to go avenge you guys, alright?"

"That's kind of your day job, Tony," Aurora reminded as she finished jamming her things into a bag. She pulled on her boots and hoodie and glanced at her sister. "Ready?"

"Ready," Reilly agreed, her shoulders set in a tense line. Clearly, she was not happy, and vamp killing was just the stress relief she needed.

"Then let's go," Aurora said, heading out the door. She had the location from Tony, so she knew they would be able to get there. Time to take her frustrations out on some vamps.

Reilly stayed quiet for the ride, drumming her fingers against her thigh.

"Well," she murmured when Aurora parked, "time to go get rid of some stress."

"No kidding," Aurora said. Her hands were tight on the wheel. "These bastards are turning kids."

Reilly didn't comment, because yes she knew that. She did, however, make sure she was fully loaded and ready to take on a hoard when she left the car.

Completely by coincidence, Steve and Bucky were nearby, also getting ready to take out the nest. Not only were these vamps in their territory, but they were drawing attention, and they were completely lawless.

Aurora was also loaded for bear when she got out of the car. She was on high alert as she got out and looked around.

"We better make this quick," Bucky murmured to Steve. "I heard some chatter that the hunters got on this one fast. We don't want to get caught in that crossfire."

Reilly crept towards the nest, keeping alert for anything that might pop up.

Steve nodded and kept low, moving swiftly towards the nest. Time to take out the intruders.

Summer kept her head on a swivel as well.

"Are you here to play with us?"

She jumped about a foot in the air and whirled around, machete out. Behind her was a pale little girl not much older than seven, in a tattered, bloodstained dress.

Bucky kept pace with him, snarling quietly when he caught the scent of at least four children in the nest.

"No, sweetie," Reilly said gently. "We're not." The girl was clearly still fairly newly turned. Oh, this was going to kill her. But it had to be done.

Steve's teeth were bared in a silent snarl. He launched himself at the first vamp he came across, literally ripping his head all the way off before moving on.

Aurora bit her lip. This hunt was going to haunt her, she just knew it. While Reilly dealt with the child, Aurora crept deeper into the nest.

Bucky let Steve handle the first vamp and went straight for the next one. Time to work out his frustrations on them all.

Reilly was stiff with rage and grief when she caught up to Aurora. "This sucks," she said flatly.

Steve helped Bucky tear through the nest. A couple stragglers got away, but they'd hunt them down later. Once the main threat was eliminated.

"Yeah, it does," Aurora agreed quietly. She stopped when she came upon a little boy, blood all over his face and the remains of a stray cat on the ground. "I'll handle this one," she murmured to her sister. "Go on ahead."

Reilly nodded after a moment and kept moving. She spotted one of the runners heading towards her and was about to take his head off when three crossbow bolts landed in the vamp, pinning him to the tree. Reilly swore inventively as another pair of hunters walked up, just as clearly hunting the vamps.

"Guess we didn't get here first," one of them said in a lazy Southern drawl. "Pity."

"Must be locals," his partner added, looking Reilly over obviously.

Aurora caught up to Reilly, having taken care of the little boy. Her grip on her machete was tight.

"Who are you?" she asked the newcomers.