David shook off his thoughts and looked in the direction Aidan had gone. There was only one "source" of the sense of vampire presence there now, so Aidan had met the other source, whatever it was. Abruptly the source dimmed, then dimmed again, and now was at about the right strength, David thought, to be Aidan alone. Which was still quite strong, the older vampire had a very powerful mind, David knew. A few minutes later Aidan soared down out of the sky and landed on the road.

"Success?"

David grinned. "Yes! Though this poor guy seems to have fainted."

"Ah well. What comes next will be easier for you that way, I suspect."

David's grin faded. "Yeah..."

"Don't get squeamish on me now," said Aidan. "If you're going to kill vampires, you need to be strong and sane, so you need human blood. And this fellow here would have lost all of his if you hadn't come along. The least he can do is give you a sip."

"I know," David said. They'd discussed this before. He glanced at the man again, an unremarkable human perhaps a bit older than David himself, with a scruffy beard and unkempt shoulder-length hair. "It just seems... I don't know... Biting some guy I don't even know..."

Aidan chuckled. "It seems too intimate, you mean?"

"Yes! It was weird enough with you, who I know, coming up and hugging me like a lover when you bit me," he said, in irritated tones, and then added, more genially "You fruit. But at least I had some idea who you were. Here's this total stranger, and I'm supposed to bite him on the neck? I'm not a fruit, and I don't really want to bite some random guy."

Aidan laughed. He laughed hard enough he had to sit down, hard enough that it was some time before he actually responded. "I don't think I've been called a fruit before! But it beats some of the other names for it! You don't have to bite him on the neck though. That's for melodramatic types like Raven, or for when you're taking in quantity." He laughed again and added, "Or when you're a fruit! But you just need a sip, and that you can get at the wrist easily enough."

"Oh," said David, feeling rather foolish. "Good. Well, then..." He looked at the man again, then sighed. He could actually smell him, and smell his blood, the scent utterly different from the vampire's blood liberally splattered around. The scent was very appealing, and although he did still feel a little queasy, the scent helped as he knelt next to the unconscious man and lifted his wrist. Trying not to think too much about what he was doing, he closed his eyes and bit down.

Instantly he tasted blood, even the first tiny droplets intense on his tongue. Unlike taking from an animal, which was good, but pretty much like drinking liquid protein goo, this was different. Like drinking alcohol, perhaps, in that it was heady, dizzying even, but more so even than that. It was intoxicating, but not inebriating, his mind was still clear, the taste was just utterly thrilling, alluring.

Then Aidan thumped him on the back of the head and he remembered he was supposed to just take a sip. He dropped the man's arm and blinked. He could hear the man's pulse clearly, and it hadn't changed, so he hadn't taken too much, but he realized how it was that Aidan had gotten carried away earlier.

"Wow."

Aidan laughed again. "Yes, wow pretty well covers it. Now come on, we need to get moving. The night is passing, and we need to reach Georgetown with time left to find a bolt hole."

David picked up the unconscious human, slinging him easily over his shoulder, and the pair set off into the cool summer night, running swiftly and easily along the road towards Georgetown. Hours slipped by, and gradually the glow ahead strengthened. Soon it seemed almost dazzlingly bright, and David found himself squinting when he looked at it directly. Shortly after that, Aidan stopped.

"This is as far as I go. Being younger, you're not as sensitive, so you can carry him closer, but if I get any closer I'm going to start getting burned, and I'd prefer not to."

David nodded and continued on at a slower pace. Soon he could feel the light, like the sensation of standing in the sun on a hot summer day, warmth that seemed to beat physically on his skin. He went a few steps further, but then stopped. No point in getting burned, there was no sense of other vampires around, and sunrise wasn't that far off. This late and this close to the city lights, the man should be safe.

David set him down gently. The he looked once more at the dazzling glow in the distance. He couldn't even make out the shape of the city he had once called home, it was just one big blur of light. He sighed, then shrugged and turned to run back into the dark.