I hadn't particularly expected the morning to run as smoothly as it had. Acquiring Isolt and managing to get her into my car without much excitement was what I might have called a feat, especially as I wasn't horrendously pleasant. It was hard not to notice the bounce in her step as she walked towards my car, heaving her baggage into the trunk as I dropped unceremoniously into the driver's seat of my car. She settled quick enough, meaning that there was entirely no need for the verbal reprimand that was floating on my tongue. Undistributed, I swallowed it as she offered me an amused quip about drinking blood on the plane. So what? It might have been an amusing display, and as we were about to be in transit for far too long perhaps Isolt's penchant for blood and the amount of humans on the aircraft could prove entertaining. With thoughts of screaming babies, howling mothers, and fearful flight attendants roaming my brain, I merely shrugged a shoulder to acknowledge her comment as we pulled into the parking place I'd reserved for the days we would be out of the country. Nonchalantly did I exit the vehicle, popping the trunk before shouldering her bags without a second thought. I'd had enough clothing and materials in the house back home that I hadn't needed to pack an extraneous amount of clothing and perhaps I'm a bit of a nervous packer in that I ... don't bring much. Maybe it's a habit brought along through the years of moving and caution. I don't know. It's still far too early for me, especially given the current circumstances and my recent behaviors. So with little else, I locked the car and pocketed the keys, nodding for the woman to follow me into the airport. Paces away from security after we'd processed our bags and passports did I hear the soft, dulcet tones of Isolt's voice impeding what was my peaceful morning silence.

"Hm?" I asked, attempting to focus on the object, subject rather, of Isolt's intent. Ah, yeah... The security guard. The airline wasn't particularly fond of me, especially this man, given the amount of times I'd flown in a state of disarray. His eyes narrowed, clearly processing the scenario in front of him; it was entirely new. Isolt was not my sister, nor my brother. He'd never seen anyone accompany me, and as she spoke politely and with some kind of politically aggressive undertones, the security guard allowed her to pass and me to follow even though his eyes narrowed as if he was trying to see into my soul and figure out why the lady was with me. I sniffed hard in an attempt to swallow whatever quip about his increasing weight and the vastly decreasing pile of donuts in the nearby station that had surfaced, flouncing along after the 'Doctor' with as much smugness as one could imagine.

"Yeah, I'm with her."

I couldn't help the smile that began to tug the corners of my lips. I had been able to verbally best the security guard before, but with a teammate I was far more likely to pass through security without a fuss. As I found myself right on this fact, I also found myself studying the horizon and it's increasingly lightening shade. With a gentle nudge on the small of her back, I guided Isolt towards the proper terminal where a small line had already begun to form. Boarding, already? Delightful surprise, really. The vampire beside me wouldn't turn into a glittering pile of dust! What a morning. As we boarded the plane and were ushered towards the back where a small compartment existed for those less inclined to sunlight, a very brief glint of thoughtfulness graced my eyes. I had wanted to surprise Isolt with the accommodation, knowing the airline made arrangements for those of us with less than human tendencies. In truth, I didn't mind the soft lighting of the compartment; transportation lighting often gave me a headache with the amount of electricity it used to run.

"Isolt," I began, a laziness to my voice as I hoisted my bag into the overhead compartment, followed by one of her own. " It's not even 5:00 in the morning. The only thing I want to feel on my face is air conditioning and darkness." My words were offered with a little bit of a smirk in an attempt to let her know I was trying to humor her, and I began to settle in my seat to let the rev of the engines lull me to sleep as the plane took off and began the familiar journey to my home continent.
- - -
Sometime later, the pilot's voice on the loudspeaker roused me from the heaviest, most uncomfortable sleep I'd had in quite some time. Rustling in a vapid attempt to wake up to catch what he was saying as it was in a different language, I may or may not have accidentally flailed a limb too far and smacked Isolt in the shoulder. With a frown, I tilted my head to see if it woke her up before finding myself in a decidedly better mood as our plane landed with one hell of a thud and only one bounce of the wheels to the tarmac.

"Oh my God, I think that broke my neck."

I'm not dramatic, no. Never have been. With a wrinkled nose did I peer around, noting that we were the only two in the compartment which meant that we'd landed and the flight attendants were helping the other passengers to get off the plane. Ah, Accra. I almost didn't want to tell Isolt that we had made it to Ghana unharmed, lest she want to explore. We had no time for that; especially as our connecting flight left within the hour and the flight from Kotoka International to Harare International was less than reliable.

"Isolt, we have to move quickly. Stay close, yeah?"

My speech was tired, drawling almost in it's attempt to conform to it's natural dialect that surrounded us the moment we stepped off of the plane. The attendants were dark in color, eyeing me with discomfort as I paraded the red-headed vampire beside me. The descent from the plane was without incident, our bags on my shoulder with my hand resting gently on Isolt's back to guide her towards my intended destination. Our next plane was parked waiting only yards away, though it looked prepared to roll away and taxi towards flight any moment. Holding back any expletives that might have tried to leave my lips, I tossed the bags onto a cart near the ... toy of a plane we were to board.

"Make sure they arrive promptly, yeah?" I demanded, handing him a handful of bills to ensure our bags arrived with us untouched. I'd lost baggage before, and that was not an adventure I wanted to take Isolt on. Gesturing to the stairs, I followed her onto the aircraft that was supposed to fly us several countries south, though it looked like it could fly less distance than a paper airplane. "Feeling safe, yet?" I muttered, finding an unusual grin spreading on my lips as I realized we were less than hours away from home. My home. The only place I could seriously call home, especially what with al that lay waiting for me, there. Oh, and how ... strange, but good, it felt to realize I was going to be showing it to someone for the first time. Terrifying, but good.

Unfortunately, this flight was far less pleasant than our first one. Marred with turbulence and flickering lights, it was uncomfortable to say the least. I found myself opening the blind, hoping to see more of the landscape I'd traveled more than once to no avail as the darkness that swept the continent was somehow deeper than that of other places we'd flown over. There was more than on passenger who found themselves sick from the motion of the plane, though I paid them no mind and instead found my fingers knitting together in my lap in anticipation. Would she listen when I told her to do something, especially in dangerous situations? Would she ... hate being here, and want to leave sooner? Wrought with uncharacteristic anxiety, I fell silent until lights of a far off city began being visible on the horizon.

"I'm sorry, we could have flown in closer to my city I just..." I trailed off, feeling strange in my need to justify my choice of flights. "I don't know, I always fly into Harare. I was born about a hundred miles outside the city, and I've always come here first. I thought you might like to see the drive," I added, feeling a little silly with how tentative my thoughtfulness might have been. "I ... I feel ridiculous. I don't even know where to start to explain everything..." I did really want to tell her. And with the tentative vulnerability of a nervous child, I offered what might make me more comfortable. "Can you ... just ask me questions if there's something you want to know?"