"I hate admitting this, but I'd really appreciate that."

If I had known the abrasive anxiety I felt as the plane not so gently glided over the African continent, I might not have decided to bring a companion on the trip. Besides from feeling like I might expose the woman to horrors I often wanted to keep to myself for morbid, masochistic pleasure, I had a nagging feeling that there were things I would expose her to that I wanted to keep to myself. But why keep the vampire's expertise to myself, when there was a growing population that could greatly benefit from her specialty? Selfishness is a trait I'm well versed in however it was my conscience that made a brutal difference; with all of the support and help she'd offered me in a time of desperation, perhaps it was the only way I could show gratitude to her. By giving her an opportunity to flourish in others' times of need, maybe Isolt would begin to realize that her life (was it afterlife?) had meaning. And with that, so many names came to mind. So many villages, so many clinics, so many orphanages... Would she be capable of handling the dire amount of need prevalent here? The answer to that question would surely be revealed when she faced the conditions that existed in all the locations I planned on bringing her. Though my reverie rife with a heightened blood pressure and racing thoughts took most of my energy and focus, my peripheral vision caught the all but violent ringing of the vampire's delicate hands.

"Who would have thought the undead didn't like heights."

My words were offered to her softly, a brow rising as if to emphasize my mild surprise. It didn't strike me that she was particularly fearful, though perhaps it was simply a characteristic from her former life that had yet to fade. Did vampires keep their sincerely human traits throughout their afterlife? Musing over these thoughts did I find our plane quickly thrusting me from my mind and into the present as we arrived with gusto onto the tarmac; the strong landing sent some luggage flying with a chorus of nervous sounds from the passengers clearly not used to the lack of skill the pilots in the area displayed. I found myself quietly waiting with uncharacteristic patience as the passengers fled the plane, unfortunately finding myself without the red-headed vampire at my side when I descended the stairs.

"I literally only asked you to stay with me."

Muttering with only slightly disdainful words, I acknowledged that the vampire could probably hear my words even if she'd strayed farther from me than I'd like. I might have liked to reprimand her, but the airport wasn't a particularly nice location, and as she hadn't had much experience with the third-world type conditions, I wanted to be sure that she was closer to me like a guide to a group of tourists.

"If you're not careful, I'm going to put a harness with a leash on you. My car is parked in a lot that's close by so we can walk... But please, stick with me, yeah? I might actually like having you as a companion and in one piece, so before you're brutally assaulted let's get a move on."

Being loquacious was a talent of mine, but my words were laced with a concern for the woman's welfare that surprised even me. While I might have been exasperated, the airport truly wasn't very safe, and the confines of my car might provide me with some security that she wouldn't be harmed. Maybe I was taking it a little too far, but she was my charge here! I would have felt far more guilty if I'd put her in a situation that was compromising, and with that in mind did I steer her towards a car that looked fit to exist only in the farthest corner of a junkyard, rather than in my possession.

"Don't say anything. This was my first car and I'm ridiculously sentimental over it," I stated with a hint of pride to my voice, even if it was absurd. Happy to settle into the routine I'd crafted over the years of trips home, I slipped into the driver's seat and started the car with a fair amount of trouble even if it did take some magical coaxing of the metal gears to lurch into their proper setting. The scenery was still covered in darkness, but that didn't make it any less beautiful and it probably didn't mar Isolt's ability to see it. I would have happily accepted some light as I felt exhaustion steadily creeping over me; but this wasn't necessarily about me and I wanted to get the vampire to a place with four walls before it was too light. The trip took significantly less time than I imagined it would, evidently spurred quicker with the amount of anxiety still pumping blood through my veins. Scenery was beginning to fall under gentle touches of light that illuminated the dilapidated buildings which appeared as the skeleton of the rural slums we had begun to drive through. The townships even smelled stronger than I remembered, my gaze falling over the familiar sights with a renewed sensation, making it feel like the first time I'd seen them.

"Isolt?" I began, tentative as we crossed an expanse I wish I didn't know as well as I did. "Do you really think you can make a difference?" Oh, how I wanted her to say yes. "I mean... Even if it's just with some people... I know you're talented; you wouldn't be able to deal with me if you weren't. But I don't want to, get my hopes up if you're nervous or..." I was rambling, enlightening her to the fact I was nervous. "I'm sorry, I kind of ... word-vomit when I'm uncomfortable. But uh... Welcome to the township of Port Elizabeth." Ta-da! As we drove through my city, I sighed heavily as the cityscape displayed an impoverished urban disaster, wishing that we could have been in a better part of the country. That I'd come from better. But the fact remained that I'd grown up in a house without air conditioning and unstable electricity at best. After turning down what felt like a secret driveway, I drove the car slowly down the dusty dirt road that ended in a cul de sac with four houses. The second from the left was tucked closer to the treeline that shaded the houses from the cliffs and ocean that loomed behind them. And in all it's glory was home â€" painted gray and white with a porch decrepit and broken and empty.

"I don't know if anyone has been here in a while, but I want to introduce you to someone. I think you'll really like her..." I trailed off, stepping out of the car with a posture that radiated confidence and an organic kind of aura that I had never displayed anywhere but here, before. "Our neighbor is a midwife. Do you think you might be able to teach her some things that might help her be a little... safer?"