"Oh. Them. Yep, saw 'em. Italy."

"Oh, that's grand! Do you happen to know whereabouts in Italy?"

"Did not care, do not care."

"They didn't mention anything while you could hear? I promise I'll get out of your hair as soon as I can, I just want to not run around in circles." More circles, rather.

"No. Do I look like I like long conversations? They were a bunch of bleeding tourists. That enough for you?"

"It is, yeah, thank you, and sorry to bother."

Italy is still better than nothing. To Italy, seeing if he can find any more informative vampires on the way.

No vampires are really on the way to Italy.

There are some obvious ones in Italy that he could probably ask, if he wants to do that.

Ha. Ha ha ha ha ha.

(No.)

There aren't many places they could've reasonably entered Italy from. He's hoping against hope that one of those entry points will have vampires that might have sighted the trio. Please? Or at least some small villages with mysterious disappearances a while back?

Oh, yeah! Now that he mentions it, these people did go missing a while back!

This is notable not on account of the numbers, but on account of the aim and the fact that they all disappeared in the same timeframe. All of them were really terrible people, apparently, and no one misses them. One of them was apparently a child molester!

...why should he care?

Whatever, it's a pattern. Does it continue in any direction?

Right to Venice!

Then to Vienna, in Austria. Then Budapest, Hungary. Then Romania, then—

Huh. This is actually a pretty clear pattern to follow, if one watches for it with vampires in mind.

...interesting. So he'll watch, and follow, stopping for snacks every now and then because wow he really didn't think he'd have spent the next few weeks of his life touring around Europe when he went to grab that one package that day huh well anyway onwards he's surely moving faster than the trio.

He's definitely moving faster. The trail gets hotter and hotter, the very directed murder sprees less in the past.

Eventually, he catches up with them in Bucharest.

They're letting Blair do the hunting for them, since it matters so much to him. This allows Danuta and Gavriel to enjoy hobbies such as birding, outdoor fornication, and fashion tourism.

And what are the odds Blair is gonna run into a random American vampire?

Actually pretty damn high, what with this random American vampire knowing his scent—or parts of it, enough to recognize it. So, where's Blair?

Hunting, apparently. He has a bound and gagged man casually tossed over one shoulder, then stops to look at James curiously.

"... I'm sorry, is this yours? I didn't think this was anyone's territory." He looks very controlled for a newborn. No hiss, no posturing. Just calmly looking at him with his bright red newborn eyes.

"No. No, not mine, thanks. Blair Lowell, right? I'm James Orland. I have been—looking for you."

Head tilt.

"Oh? What for?"

(On his shoulder, the bound man struggles and attempts to scream. He is ignored.)

"I—ran into your sister, in England. She's very, very worried. She hasn't—given up, yet, doesn't want to think you are dead. She is trying to do everything she can to find you."

"Aw," says Blair, with a fond smile. "Knew I remembered her for a reason."

Then his eyebrows raise. "I wasn't aware she knew any vampires. Except me now, I suppose."

Oh good he remembers. That's—that's really good.

"Uh, she doesn't really know I'm a vampire. Or that I came looking for you."

"So you came trekking across Europe to find a guy that you didn't know, for a girl that doesn't know you're a vampire, or that you're looking for me. Do you do this often?"

"Well not this in particular."

"How long have you been trying to find me?"

"It's been... a few weeks, I lost track of time. A month and change."