There was a divide between the fledgling and the clan leader. Rafe had felt it from the moment Simon had lost control because of the sun. He had assured Simon that it was okay, that control came with time, but he knew those words fell on deaf ears. The ex-mundane was on a path towards destruction, one that he didn't seem to want to be directed off of. What was Raphael to do when they barely talked? He spent his time behind a desk that was in the basement of the hospital. The morgue was silent, gave him time to think and plot.
The arrival of Anselm didn't help matters. Actually, it was the arrival of another vampire he knew that made him decide to finally track down the lost lamb. Simon was his and he was about to lose him to a different clan or, worse, death. The LA vampire was far older then Rafe, despite how Raphael acted. He was only about 70 versus the vampire that probably lived when the dinosaurs were alive. Okay, that was an unkind thought, but he was on edge now that more Downworlders were showing up. Which was why he was walking through the park looking for his wayward Simon.
Finding Simon didn't take long. Raphael shook his head slightly as he moved to sit on the bench before promptly wrinkling his nose in disgust. Dios, was that animal blood he smelled?
"You know," he said as he stretched out his legs and draped an arm over the back of the bench. "We have to stop meeting like this." He was worried about the fledgling and that was the only reason he wasn't snapping out sarcastic words, words designed to hurt at times. "I just got off a shift, mio, and imagine my surprise when I find you in the park again. What is bothering you?"
He gave their conversation about ten minutes before Simon annoyed him and the nasty words escaped his mouth. He couldn't help it, the other vampire just knew how to push his buttons without trying.