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Angeles listened to Doris introduce herself, then d explain the connection between her and him. But it still did not make sense. She felt a need to defend Doris as Alucard went back to acting like his usual lecherous self, but until he made an actual move, Angeles would not. She watched the woman leave and shut the door behind her, returning to her position against the wall.

She was silent in thought, trying to make the connections in her mind as her eyes gazed at the nearly finished time-bewitching incense. It seemed more for her benefit now than the others, and she began to formulate a plan in her mind, but put it in the back of her mind for later.

Now she was thinking about the things the others had said, mostly Alucard, D and the alien. She took in consideration the time that they were in, the place, and the connection it had with Dracula. Ar present, it seemed to mostly revolve around him.

After another moment of silence Angeles pulled a book from the back of her pants. The pages were stained with her dark blood. Of all the things the Valentines had done to her, she was thankful theft had not been on their minds. She flipped the pages to one of the markers and began to read the words through the blood.

The sun was still high in the sky and when she heard footsteps behind her and saw that it was Ivy-- Raziel's wife, her eyebrows rose. Shouldn't she be inside-- the sun is still out. This was indeed strange, but when the vampiress sat down next to her, without baring her fangs, she nearly shook herself to make sure she wasn't dreaming. This was indeed a strange turn of events.

Doris listened on as Ivy talked, but her head was facing forward and her eyes downcast. Her comments about D being cold and aloof when not helping out was all too familiar with Doris. Her fears were confirmed when Ivy said D had a lover... Perhaps it was a bad idea to come along..., she thought rather dully. Her sole purpose was to find the one who killed Dan and make them pay with their life-- but it seemed that she could not put the past behind her when it concerned D.

"He and... I met when he was making his way towards Ransylva", she started, her voice rather taught. "I had gone through nine hunters-- varying in different professions-- but none of them were Vampire Hunters, or at least dhampirs. I tried to best him with my whip", unconsciously placing her right hand on the handle of her precious weapon, "but he dodged my attacks like the others couldn't. I told him my case and he agreed to be hired." Doris had learned not to judge others by their lineage or of their blood-- instead, let them prove themselves capable of living and that was all the proof she needed. She never questioned their weird habits-- heck, she had a few herself-- and if there wasn't something right the moment she looked at them, her trust wouldn't go to them.

"You should go back to the house... or let's find you some shade", she motioned they get up and walk towards a looming tree which seemed to cover a large expanse of ground with its branches alone. Doris didn't get the feeling of hostility from Ivy-- rather, it felt something akin to Larmica, after the events of being released from the asylum, where the vampiress had helped her and her brother escape. "And you-- what's your story?" Doris was breaking one of the codes of the Frontier-- never ask a stranger's history-- not even if they were staying at your house for the night. But you're no longer on the Frontier, her mind chastised her. It was true-- they were in a different world completely.

Doris listened on as Ivy told her tale. It seemed that both women had someone precious taken from them, and both were here trying to get them back. She turned her head towards Ivy and gave a small smile. "We'll get him back, I promise." Her voice grew rough and tears started to roll down her cheeks. Dan would never come back to her-- even if she found the one who killed him-- she would never be able to hold him again.

Leaning back, Doris rested against the trunk of the tree. Everything would be different now-- she was on quest for revenge and her relationship with D was no more. Whoever was above in the skies was having a good laugh at her expense.

She gave a deep nod; nothing seemed to go easy for them, and being here was testament to that. When Ivy asked how Dan had been killed, her jaw tightened and she clenched her hands. Hatred coursed through her body, and she made it known when she re-countered the tale that brought her into all of this.

"My brother was killed by a beast that had somehow made it into Ransylva. She ripped out his heart and feasted upon his flesh. When I found him, or what--", her shoulders began to shake and more tears streamed down her cheeks, hot and fast. "T-there wasn't much left of him... his body... i-it was..." here, her voice gave out as she surrendered to her tears and sobs escaped her parched throat. She brought her knees up and rested her head against them as she continued to cry.

Doris latched onto Ivy, letting the woman rock her back and forth as Doris continued to cry. It had been a while since she let it all out; she had cried when she found her brother's body and then a few times after several days had passed, but her tears gradually receded and all she was left with was a heavy grief that weighed her down and made it hard to breath.

What was truly amazing was how she accepted to be held by someone she barely knew-- and a vampire at that! But as Doris had thought before coming to sit beneath the tree-- she could trust this woman with her life. They had both lost someone, and even though getting Dan back was impossible... a sudden thought occurred to Doris; the machine that Suu had invented, the one Candy used to send them back in time-- would she be able to use it to go back far enough to prevent Dan's death?

"Okay", she whispered, her voice still rough. She wouldn't tell anyone of her idea, but would ask the alien in private if such a thing could be done. However, there was the issue of them getting out of this time period at all which put a damper on her plans. Still, she would ask. "Where do you want to go?"

Doris nodded and made her way towards the same path November had used to bring them here. To be honest, she was quite hungry herself, and Ivy's honesty about keeping her hunger in check-- even if her nourishment had been from those who were willing, still made Doris sick-- but she did her best to keep that to herself.

"I've heard that we're in Babylon-- do you know what kind of food they have here?" She only asked because Ivy was a vampire and since she was meant to live through time, her question was only appropriate. However, she did not know if Ivy had lived that long. Her mind wandered to Alucard-- he seemed, and perhaps Suu, were the ones who could give the most information on their current state.

"I see", said Doris. She didn't mind asking the locals about their traditions-- what worried her was how they would be received once in their midst. Doris had not seen anyone who was native to Babylon, but she guessed that their attire was different from her own-- or, in this case, she was the different one. Doris was all too familiar with the binary of difference, and what it did to an entire village. She was in the middle of it when D had agreed to save her from Count Lee.

And now, she would be traveling with a vampire-- and the sun was still out. She could only give a forced smile as Ivy explained her situation. It would only be natural for the vampiress to remain in the shadows while Doris went about. So far, their trip consisted nothing but vegetation-- but from the looks of the horizon, they seemed to be in a desert. Her father had been in one before, but she could barely get out any of the details when asked about his travels-- it seemed that when she wanted to know what happened, he would dodge the topic faster than he could handle a whip.

Upon arriving in some small city, Doris looked around and guessed where the food stand would have been. When it doubt, follow your nose, she mused. It was something her mother had taught her. "I'll head this way and see if I can find anything", she informed Ivy. Given that it was daylight, Doris didn't know how well Ivy could last under the sun-- and just to be on the safe side, she would inform the vampiress of her wanderings.

While Ivy went off to do her own thing, Doris browsed the stands. This place-- she assumed was something like a market-- resembled the ones back at home during the summer. She found odd trinkets here and there, and a few had caught her eye. However, she did not buy anything that would weigh her down-- traveling as light as possible was her goal and she didn't need accessories that would prove useless to her.

After a few moments of browsing, she came across a food stand. Her mouth watering from the delicious scents that wafted through the warm air and the number of trays that piled atop the table made her stomach rumble. She figured that since she wasn't the only one who couldn't live off blood, Doris bought a little extra to share with those who could eat regular food. The lady who served her was kind enough to put all the food inside a giant basket, which would make the trip back a little easier. There was still some more time to look around, and Doris was intrigued with some of the clothing that were displayed. Given that she didn't want to stick out more than she already did, Doris bought some cloth that everyone could use while here. The merchant who sold these to her said that this material was extremely good when in hot temperatures. Considering that these people lived in a desert, she took his word for it and bought as many as she could.

The money she had, Dallas, didn't seem to phase the merchants one bit. They saw that the coins were made from a sort of metal, and one of them in passing had said that metal was only fit for kings. This didn't seem to bother Doris one bit. She saw Ivy approach her, and Doris immediately saw a difference within the vampire. Her skin was darker, or perhaps full of life-- she thought of the only thing that could do this and a slight nausea washed over her, but it had gone just as quickly as it had come. "I bought some food-- for those who can't drink blood," she was careful to keep her voice low when that little tidbit was mentioned, "and some cloth that can be made into clothes. It seemed like a good idea since we kind of look like strangers... and we're in their land now-- I'd thought it best if we could have something that would help us blend in a little."



Suu had wandered inside the house, familiarizing herself with their new surroundings. Given its dilapidated state, the interior of the home was quite beautiful; carvings of what seemed to be ceremonies were etched all over the walls, some had precious stone or metal in them-- and it was apparent that this house was broken into a few times. The carvings on the wall, as she had noticed became quite peculiar. From what she had remembered in books and of her super-knowledge, Suu was able to discern that this house simply wasn't just a house-- but a place of worship.

It seemed odd considering she thought that all temples were situated in the heart of the city during ancient times. Given that most of her traveling companions were vampires-- any form of worship to the divine would prove troublesome for them-- but would that apply to religions that took place before the birth of Christianity? Alucard seemed to be the one who had lived longest out of all of them, and so Suu made her way towards him, but he did not speak right away; his aura was still too intimidating.