chasing paper trails

She moved about with the quiet grace of royalty, and if she was ever feeling out of sorts in the helicarrier, there was no indication of such on her pale face. Amber eyes cast a pensive gaze on each of them, lingering just long enough for them to take notice and for her to make her own assessments.

Clint Barton was the first one to make his discomfort clear, telling Fury that he would be losing sleep knowing they were housing a real vampire aboard. It didn’t matter if she explained that she was only a half-breed, he was decorating his quarters with crucifixes if she didn’t find an alternative means of sustenance. Natasha found this amusing, and though felt some suspicion towards her, seemed to be more welcome to having another woman on the team.

Tony Stark and Bruce Banner were united on the same front; disbelief in the myth of beings that depended on human blood. Tony was more sarcastic about it, of course, and had employed some jokes in an attempt to rile her up. Bruce kept a comfortable distance and greeted her civilly when she passed, but he was a man of science like Tony, and vampires were not creatures of science but of magic.

The thunder god did not seem to mind her presence, being that he was familiar with magic and readily accepted it. He understood the untold dangers that dark magic presented, but seemed to trust her choice to stand on the side of good. Sometimes Thor would ask her questions, she would answer. Then she would gracefully bow to him and continue on her exploration of the helicarrier.

But for Steve Rogers who had been raised to believe in God, who still prayed daily, it was unsettling when their gazes met. She’d told them all about things that would make an ordinary man question his faith, like the existence of a tribe cursed by God, of blood rituals that made his insides churn. If he could bring himself to believe her stories, then Hell was apparently closer than they realized, and Death could easily be summoned and controlled.

But it was not always that uneasiness he felt around her.

In the dignified manner with which she carried herself, there seemed to be one emotion radiating the strongest from her — a deep sadness. He felt it again when she passed his room, and he got up and followed.

“You are afraid of me, Captain.” Her quiet statement made him jump a little. She turned to him, sweeping midnight tresses away from her neck - revealing a delicate gold chain that disappeared behind the collar of her shirt.

He shook his head. “No, it’s not that…it’s just—”

“You have no need for lies with me.” Her eyes flickered gold, unnatural just as she was. “Everyone is afraid of what they do not understand.”

She tugged the chain up, pulling out the crucifix that she had held against her breast while she slept for over six hundred years. “It is for this reason that I cannot comply with your commander’s wish to have me fight alongside you.”

“I think Fury has some good reasons,” Steve answered. “I have to believe that.”

There was only the faintest smile on her lips as she nodded. Steve almost felt like she was giving her approval of his choice to believe in his superior’s decisions and the common good. He remembered her stories about the battles she had fought, and concluded that perhaps, she felt a kinship with him as a soldier.

“You are a man of great faith, Captain Rogers. I see now why you are this team’s leader.”

“When I’m off-duty, you can call me Steve, you know,” he replied, belatedly realizing that he’d let his guard down because he’d seen her smile for a moment.

She looked taken aback, blinking slowly at him even as her slender fingers closed around her crucifix. “When I look at you…I am reminded of things…”

Things? What did she mean by that?

He had to ask her.

The answer was one he never expected. Sad eyes gazed up at him, and in the narrow hallway, illuminated by harsh light, she seemed almost human and not unearthly. Had she not been cursed, had she real color in her cheeks, she would have been extraordinarily beautiful.

“You remind me of everything that I have lost.”

This time, he could not follow after her as she turned and walked away.