Neutral Standings

Lucia wanted to get back at Stone a bit for his treatment of her and rough him up slightly to even out the lines, but at the same time, Charlotte knew that she wouldn't be able to come to help Lucia if anything did get out of hand since she would be preoccupied with Vincent for who knows how long until his bloodlust starts to cool off.

It would also cause problems down the line if the neutral relationship between everyone begins to soon turn sour as well. Then again, she didn't know Stone well, and judging by Vincent's consistent character, he didn't either considering that Vincent may have a lot of co-workers but the group that surrounds him seemed to be non-existent.

She didn't know if Lucia was taking in the news of the existence of vampires well or not due to Lucia's strong poker face, but Lucia wasn't freaking out in any way like she did when she first encountered Vincent. If anything, Charlotte should be grateful for that, because she would like the time to explain the situation more in-depth to answer any of her questions.

In a way, Charlotte condemned Lucia to a fate where should always have to carry the burden of understanding the battle and everlasting animosity between vampires and vigilantes, but Charlotte truly hoped that even besides that, Lucia would be able to live a somewhat peaceful life to explore the world in the way that she wanted.

Charlotte needed to get more information on Stone once Vincent was in his right mind so that she could get a better read on his character since from the first meeting, he was rubbing her in the wrong way along with Lucia. Stone was Vincent's leader, so she was curious as to what Vincent would tell her.

There might not even be anything interesting or of importance to hear, but she was still curious. It was a problem that she needed to put a cap on which was her curiosity considering that it was making most of her rash decisions rather than her brain power. It was a fact that Vincent liked to point out a lot.

She didn't want to point out that she was actually nervous about having to be Vincent's partner for his bloodlust since she didn't want it to hurt, knowing that Vincent would be quite rough with her, but at the same time, didn't want anyone else to touch him. Charlotte knew that Vincent wouldn't gravitate towards anyone either due to their contract together.

But if it was an extremely dire situation as Stone had pointed out earlier when Vincent needed blood to survive, he would lose all reason and go on survival instincts. It was one fact about Vincent that made him stand out among the rest of the vampires was his strong morals. He didn't want to kill anyone or put anyone in a stressful condition.

Vincent would have beat himself up if it did happen where he was taking someone against their will despite having found him in a compromising position before outside in the dark alleyways feeding off of another woman who clearly wanted to be in his presence. It was their way of getting their strength, and Vincent went on the ways of getting it if no one was hurt.

He was admirable in that sense which she didn't give him enough credit for since she had always played it down saying how he had a knight complex. It was what made her realize that she would be safe in his arms if she was able to bring him back to his senses, he would never want to hurt her or anyone for that matter.

Charlotte also took off the arm blade holster and threw it over to Lucia who caught it in mid-air. "I wouldn't want you to accidentally cut yourself. Please use it well."

Lucia slipped the arm holster of her long-sleeved dress as Charlotte had done. "What I truly wanted freedom."

Charlotte breathed in slowly. "All I can pray is that you will be able to get to your dream of a peaceful life someday."

"It will come when the time calls. I had thought it was now. Seems like that wasn't the case," Lucia said carrying the weight of the bittersweet words. "I noticed that you had weapons when you changed earlier, but I didn't think it was to this extent."

"Did you think that I would come into the outer ring without being fully armed?"

"Well, it wouldn't be off the mark," Lucia sighed. "You looked like a scared deer in headlights, so I'm surprised."

Charlotte shrugged. "I may not know much, but I do take measures to protect myself."

Lucia lifted a hand. "I'll be outside. I would love to spend as little time as I can with him."

Charlotte brought two fingers to her forehead and flicked them to Lucia. "I'll try to be quick."

Lucia wrinkled her nose. "I hope you're not talking about something else."

Charlotte snickered. "I'm not. Go on outside, Lucia. And while you're at it, get your head out of the gutters."