sits on her front porch, drinking a glass of cold pomegranate juice, enjoying the cooler evening temperatures. She thinks about everything_
that happened that day, wondering what she should do next.
looks at the juice, noting the dark red color. "Ironic I chose to drink this." She raises an eyebrow, then takes another sip.
Belarus
feels
her eyes getting heavy, dozing off in the comfy chair on her porch.
rubs her eyes to wake up. "I fell asleep." Gets up and walks into her house, locking the door.
fills a small pail with cold water, then puts Ludwig's bloody handkerchief in it to soak.
washes her hands, then sits down to watch TV while working on her embroidery.
sets her frame down and stretches. "It's going to be an early night for me, I'm so tired."
puts her sewing away, then walks into the kitchen to wash up the dishes and take care of the handkerchief.
had made sure Matthew was safe in his room before taking a little stroll. He had seen Bela out on her porch, and Yao approach her before_
she went inside. He was glad that the vampire hadn't gotten her, and now approaches the house, peering through one of the front windows to_
see if he can see her.
Belarus
is
at the kitchen sink, running cold water over the handkerchief to get the rest of the blood out. "I can put this in with some other clothes_
I wanted to wash tonight, before I went to sleep."
can't see her from here, and moves around the house until he finds the kitchen window, watching her through it.
turns off the water and wrings as much water as possible out of the handkerchief. Takes it into the utility room and tosses it into the_
washing machine with the other clothes, then adds soap and starts it up. "The moon is so bright again, maybe I'll take that evening stroll_
after all."
hears her and panics slightly. Was she seriously considering that after what happened on her porch?!
"Some fresh air might help me wake up, I feel so sleepy for some reason." She walks to the front door, puts on her shoes, then walks back_
onto her front porch.
lets out a soft sound of frustration, and moves to the shadows of the side of her house, watching her.
walks the short walkway to the sidewalk, then takes her usual route through the neighborhood. There was something about the piece and_
quiet of the neighborhood at night that she found calming. She also used the walk to think about her day and what had happened.
*peace
follows her discreetly, keeping to the shadows and looking out for any vampires that might try and prey on her.
Her mind drifts back to the incident in the park. "I'm sure I imagined his eyes changing colors now, and he was probably one of those_
people frightened by the sight of blood." Shakes her head. "All this talk of vampires, it's silly."
bites his lip at this, wondering if she'd really figured out his secret that quick.
"All of Ludwig's talk about vampires and defending yourself from them. And I wonder what kind of weapon he carries?" Walks across the_
street.
gets where she'd figured him out from now, but doesn't see why she wont follow the instructions that she's apparently been given to stay
inside at night.
"Well, it's just all nonsense, that's what I think. Vampires! Of all the silliest things!"
Alfred
thinks
she should really listen to what she's been told... Maybe if he just... "You know, miss, it's best to start believing." He said quietly,_
suddenly appearing right behind her.
stops walking when she hears his voice behind her. Slowly turns around until she's facing him. "It's you again." tilts her head, "How did_
you find me here? Do you live nearby?"
looks away, rubbing the back of his neck. "Not exactly. I followed you. It's not safe for people like you at this time of night."
looks around at the empty street, except for them. "Safe from what? We're the only ones out here."
sighs. "Vampires, miss. You're in danger from Vampires."
"Vampires? I realize I haven't lived in this city very long, but I have yet to see a vampire here." She looks up at him. "And your eyes_
are very blue."
scowls and looks away again. "Look, miss, you really should just go home."
narrows her eyes at him. "Why? I don't believe there are vampires. If they exist, show me one." She crossed her arms and glared at him.
sighs again and grins wide enough to expose his fangs. "You're looking at one, miss."
her eyes widen at the sight of the fangs, then she peers closer at them. "These are real?" Unable to help herself, she reaches up and_
touches one with her finger.
moves back just slightly, but relents and opens his mouth to let her see better, trying not to focus on the pulse of blood he can feel_
against the fang.
moves closer to him when he tries to back away. "These aren't caps from a costume shop?" runs her finger along the other one, looking for_
a seam.
Alfred
is
holding his breathe as she inspects his teeth, closing his eyes and focusing on her words instead. He makes a noise of disagreement to her
question.
drops her hand away and looks at him,"If you're a vampire, then why aren't you tearing into my throat already? I was bleeding earlier_
inches from your mouth, and you ran away. I thought you didn't like the sight of blood."
lets out a breath of relief when she removes her hand, and licks his teeth clean of her taste. "I hate killing people."
stares at him. "You're a vampire, that hates killing people. Don't you need to kill something to survive?" Not buying any of this.
shakes his head. "No, I just need blood. I don't have to kill people to get their blood."
frowns at him, pulling of the bandage off her thumb and squeezing it to make it ooze a little drop out. She holds it up to him. "Here _
prove it, drink my blood."
eyes turn red for a split second before he shakes his head, and takes a step back, . "N-no, I can't. I won't."
blinks at his eyes, then frowns and takes a step forward. "How do you do that? Special contacts? If you really are a vampire, then the_
pressure point in my thumb should be like a bass drum in your ears. Prove it to me! I don't even know your name."
licks his lips, breathing a bit quickly now as his eyes dart between her thumb and her face. "Alfred." He practically whispers, before_
grabbing her hand, pulling it to closer so he can puncture the prick in her thumb with one of his fangs to open it further. He then starts_
drinking the blood, his eyes fluttering closed.
stares wide-eyed at him, flinches when his fang punctures the thorn prick, then feels a strange rushing in her ears as he sucks on her_
thumb. Hears her own heart begin beating so loud ... and panics. "Al-Alfred, stop. Stop .... STOP!" Frantically tries to get her thumb_
out of his mouth.
immediately lets go of her thumb then, practically shoving her hand away. His eyes are wide and panicked, but a brighter blue than they_
were before. "I-I'm sorry, did I take too much?"
Belarus
is
frozen, staring at him and shaking. "T-too much? How much is too much?" She clutches her thumb with her other hand, holding it protectively
shakes slightly as he observes her, scared that he's gone too far. "D-do you f-feel lightheaded?"
can only hear her heart pounding fast in her ears, she looks at him. "No, not really ... more ... scared right now."
Alfred
is
slightly relieved at this, but is still panicking slightly. "Okay, you...you're fine then."
"... I
" ... I'm fine? I'm not going to turn into a vampire?" Is feeling slightly dizzy now, but doesn't mention that.
shakes his head, smiling slightly. "No! You're not! I don't know how to do it, but I think you have to suck out all the blood from someone_
to turn them!"
" ... Oh, well then, don't do that to me." Looks at him, trying not to sway on her feet. "Uhm ... nice to meet you, Alfred. My name is_
Natalia."
's shaking comes to a stop, and he visibly relaxes slightly, smiling more at the woman. "Nice to meet you too! Don't worry, I don't want to_
turn or kill anyone!"
Belarus
feels
herself sway back, like she's drunk. "Who did this to you?"
blinks in surprise and reaches out to steady her. "An old friend of mine...who wasn't really my friend."
"Did he force you to become a vampire? What happened to him?" She leans on his hand to steady herself.
Alfred
is
silent for a moment, looking at the ground. "Yes. So I killed him as soon as the transformation was complete.
"Oh, that sounds awful." She leans forward so she's resting against his chest. "Do you know any other vampires?"
blinks at the action, but allows it. "I only know one personally."
"So then you don't know how many there are?" She suddenly feels extremely tired. "Alfred, could you walk me home?"
nods after a moment. "Yeah, come on Natalia." Lets her lean on him as he starts walking her home.
puts her arm through his, using it to help her keep her balance. "Thank you Alfred, you're very sweet." Concentrates on walking.
keeps the pace slow for her. "No problem. Hey, are you sure I didn't take too much?"
looks up at him. "I don't know. I feel a little dizzy, and very tired."
sucks in a breath, and moves to scoop her up into his arms, starting to lightly run to Natalia's house. "I took more than I should have."
closes her eyes and lays her head on his shoulder. "Oh, I see. Will I turn into a vampire now?"
shakes his head. "No, but you will feel a bit anemic for a while. You just need rest." Speeds up a bit.
puts her arms around his neck. Briefly opens her eyes and notices that everything they run past is a blur. "Speedy, I'll call you speedy."
laughs lightly at this, and runs up to her front door, trying the handle to see if it's unlocked.
reaches into her pocket for her key, shakily tries to put it in the lock in the door.
takes it from her and does it for her, stepping inside and closing the door behind him with his foot. He looks around at the house. "Where's
your bedroom?"
points at a doorway. "The hallway's there, last door on the right." She closes her eyes and leans her head on his shoulder again.
follows her directions and gently lays her down on her bed. "I'll be right back with a glass of water." He promises, darting back to the_
kitchen to fetch said glass of water.
settles down in the bed, suddenly feels like her body has turned to lead.
returns a moment later with the water, and helps Natalia sit up so she can drink it.
leans on Alfred to sit up, takes the glass in her hand and gulps at the water, suddenly realizing she's really thirsty. "Thank you Alfred."
smiles, relieved that he hadn't taken too much blood from her. "You're welcome. After you're done with that, you should go to bed, that way_
the blood cells'll multiply quicker!....At least I think that's how it works..." Eyebrows are now drawn together in thought, bright blue_
eyes slightly puzzled.
lays back on her pillow, looking at his eyes. "They're brighter than they were before. Is that from my blood?"
sets the glass aside, and nods a bit solemnly. "Yeah..."
"If you don't mind my asking ... if you don't kill people, then what do you eat?"
tilts his head to the side slightly. "I thought I already told you that I drink blood!"
"Yes, but whose blood? Where do you get it?" She looks at him, worried.
doesn't understand why she would be worried about him... "Just...anyone really. But I try to keep it limited to criminals and people who do_
bad things."
"I see," Looks at his eyes, which are now quite brilliant. "Your eyes are beautiful. Do they get brighter?"
fidgets slightly, his cheeks able to turn a light pink because of the blood in his system. "I...I dunno actually. I've never really paid_
attention to them."
Belarus
wishes
she could move better, but her body feels like it's made of stone. "If my little bit of blood did that to them, you haven't been eating_
much, have you?"
fidgets more now, looking like a little kid that's just been caught doing something he shouldn't have. "Well....no?"
looks at the hole in her thumb, which is noticeably larger now. "How often could you drink my blood before it would cause me harm?"
stares at her with a puzzled expression. "Well as long as you recovered completely before I drank it again, you'd be fine. Why are you...."
realizes what she means then. "What?! No! I won't do that!!"
grabs his wrist. "Why? You need blood, and you need it from someone who's alive, right? You couldn't drink blood from a blood bank _
could you? Starving yourself isn't the answer either."
's expression hardens, and he frowns. "I'm not going to do it! What if there's long-term effects that I don't know about?!"
lets go of his wrist. "Will you at least eat to keep your strength up?" Closes her eyes, "There's something else you should know_
A man named Ludwig ... I told him about you. I think he hunts vampires."
doesn't answer the first question. "He...he doesn't know what I look like, right?"
"I don't think so. I told him you wear glasses, and your eyes change colors." She reaches up and puts her hand on his cheek. "Promise me_
you will eat when you need to?"
glances away from Natalia's face, frowning slightly. "I'm not going to promise you something I can't do."
"Fine, if you feel you can't." She looks away, not sure what to do now that she knows he's a vampire. "Will I see you again?"
sighs at this. "I... I don't know. But... I would like to see you again."
turns and looks at him, a relieved expression on her face. "Good, I want to see you again too."
blinks at this, surprised by the statement. "You... you do?"
nods, looking at him. "Yes, I really do. Ludwig insisted I should fear vampires, but I'm not afraid of you. Is that bad?"
can't help but laugh lightly at this. "I don't think so! I'm a good vampire! But this Ludwig guys is right about most of the others."
takes his hand in hers, runs her fingers over his palm. "There was a man almost on my porch tonight. Was he one?"
wraps his fingers around her's, nodding. "Yeah, and you're lucky you went inside when you did. He was looking for a meal."
(Bela Bela~! >u< Look at my new profile picture~! *has been waiting to use this*)
((Okay ))
(( I LOVE THAT PICTURE!!))
eyes widen, "He was? He didn't seem that interested. Maybe he thought I would taste bad."
(( *W* ~! I DO TOO~ >u< So cute~!!!))
(( They are a cute couple ))
laughs at this, shaking his head slightly. "We can smell how a Human tastes, and you tasted pretty good to me! So I doubt that's it!"
((Yus~! >u< ))
"You said you know another vampire. Who is he?" She still held his hand, tracing over the lines in his palm.
found himself enjoying the touch more and more as time passed. "His name is Yong Soo, and he's just recently been turned. He's really nice,_
but because he's still a new vampire, he doesn't really know how to control his new abilities."
holds his hand in both of hers. "Your hand is cold. Yong Soo." She shook her head "I don't know him. How do you control your abilities?"
's smile fades into something sadder. "I'm always cold. And really, I don't know how to truly control my abilities, I never learned."
"That's not true, if you couldn't control your abilities, shouldn't I be laying here dead and bloodless?" She rests his hand to her_
chest. "What exactly are your abilities?"
can feel her heart beating, and the blood that's pulsing through her veins with every pump. It's...relaxing. "Well I made sure to figure_
out how to mostly control my feeding urge, because I had to watch over Matthew, my brother. Other than that, our senses are enhanced, we're_
stronger, faster, and other stuff that I probably don't know about. And that's the stuff that I can't really control."
squeezes his hand, "And the only other vampire you know is new, so he doesn't know either." She looks at the ceiling, thinking _
"You probably don't have any idea how many vampires are in the city, do you?"
shakes his head. "Not really. I mean, I've seen a lot, but they're really mean. Yong Soo was supposed to introduce me to the vampire he's_
learning from, but we ended up getting a little... side-tracked..."
"And yet somehow, you are a nice vampire." She rubs her thumb over his hand. "Do you think you will ever become mean?"
frowns now, determination in his eyes. "No, cause I wont let that happen!"
Belarus
feels
a little nervous by the tone of his voice. She looks at him and says very quietly. "I believe you, I know you won't."
's sharp gaze softens then, and he tightens his hold on Natalia's hand just slightly. "I... I don't want to be like the others..."
"You were in the park today. Do you often go there, is that someplace vampires like to be? Is there anywhere in the city that's safe? I_
have a million questions."
laughs lightly at her questions. "Alright, I'll answer the ones you just asked me, but then you have to rest! Okay?"
nods at him, smiling a little. "Okay, I will. I promise."
grins then. "Good! Okay, in order, I like to go to the park cause it's nice there, but I only go every once in a while! About the other_
vampires, I haven't really seen very many, but who knows if they're just there when I'm not." Shrugs. "And really, I'm not sure if there's_
a true safe place from vampires." Frowns slightly at this. "I mean, I guess you're pretty well-off if you're in your house, or if you've_
got churchy stuff like holy water and crosses, or lots of wooden stakes, but other than that, I have no idea!"
lets all of this sink in. "This is probably movie vampire stuff, but is it true a vampire can only come into your house if you invite them?"
shrugs. "I dunno, I guess. From what I've seen, yeah, but I've just about broken into some places before, and it's not like anything_
Alfred
was
stopping me!"
reaches into the collar of her dress, pulls out a little gold eastern orthodox cross. "So, something like this is good to have."
visibly flinches away from the object, smiling nervously and nodding.
watches his reaction, then tucks it back inside her collar. "I never take that off."
relaxes again, relieved that the thing was hidden from view. "That's good, it'll burn us pretty badly."
remembers that for the future. "Sunlight, religious symbols, holy water, wooden stakes." She caresses his hand in hers again. "Anything _
else I should know?"
's face scrunches up slightly in thought, before he smiles again and shrugs. "I think you've got it pretty well covered!"
sighs sleepily. "Alright. I appreciate you sharing with me. " She lifts his hand to her lips and kisses it.
blushes slightly at the gesture, grinning sheepishly. "No probelm! Well, uh, I guess I better get going! I'll see you again soon!" Moves to_
get up, but doesn't remove his hand from her hold just yet.
lets go of his hand, "See you soon?" She feels her eye lids already getting heavy.
nods. "Yeah! But don't try and find me! I'll find you!" He explains, slipping his hand from her hold and moving out the door, closing it_
most of the way behind him. "Night Natalia." He whispers into the room, still grinning, before he turns to leave.
whispers before falling asleep, "Night Alfred."