ALTERNATE: The New World

[Existentially Odd]

The creature frowned and tilted his head, as if he hadn\'t heard the mortal and was trying to process what he thought he\'d heard and make sense of it.  In reality, he was imagining what it would be like to be welcomed into their village, to be protected and cared for, like his sire had cared for him.  It made his heart ache and he realised how badly he missed her, had missed this; communication.  Belonging.  He wished he could have it but doubted it could be so.

The angle of his head righted and he simply looked ruminative rather than eager now, his lips moving like he was tasting his answer as it jumped around inside his mouth, getting ready to be spoken.  "I cannot," he eventually answered.  "The dead have no place among the living, unless feeding.  I am dead," he asserted seriously, pointing at his chest once more.  He felt it made the chasm between them clear but if not, he felt he could also talk about his forced nocturnalism.

[pinkroses]

William stared at Aden blankly for a few seconds, as though trying to truly comprehend what he was being told. Anyone watching would think they were both imbeciles with the amount they were struggling to understand one another.

“Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners,” he whispered, his fingers twitching as he instinctively tried to make the sign of the cross but he couldn’t as he was. The dead were walking, feeding on and killing the living. What was this unholy place they had come to, whilst trying to find freedom? Why had they been lead here to this demonic land?

“Dead, yet you are not, I can see this. If there is a demon inside of you we can exorcise it, you can rest in peace. You should not be this way,” William said in a hushed voice as though he were speaking to Aden’s spirit, and anything louder would disturb the demon inside of him.

[Existentially Odd]

"Demon," the redheaded beast chortled, finding the concept highly amusing.  When he\'d finished his little chuckle, he fell quiet, watching William and thinking.  After a few moments of silence, he dropped to his knees and walked on them over to his captive, grabbing his head when he got there and pressing the mortal\'s ear to his chest so he could listen.

He said nothing for thirty seconds or so and would hold the mortal\'s head in place even longer if he struggled, just so he could hear the emptiness inside of him.  When he was satisfied, he would let the blonde man go, patting his hair and marvelling at its softness as he did.  It distracted him momentarily, but then he remembered what he was going to say and smiled, this time broadly.  From his angle, William would clearly see the fangs inside his skull.

"See?  Not demon.  Vampire.  Made by a vampire, two hundred years ago.  Your God does not stop me," he grinned, meaning that he was undeterred by William\'s faith but not having the language to say it accurately.  He waited for his prey\'s reaction, considering touching his soft hair some more.

[pinkroses]

When his head was suddenly grasped William thought for a moment the demon was going to rip it off and he struggled, letting out a shout and wriggling his whole body. But he only succeeded in making the position he ended up in, with his head pressed against the creature’s cold skin and his body twisted around, all the more uncomfortable.

He eventually stopped moving and his eyes slid shut as he struggled to control himself. Panicking would do no good - but telling himself that didn’t stop his body from trembling as the thin fingers held his head in place with an iron grip. When he was finally released after what seemed like an age William slumped back against the wall again, cringing away from the pat to his head. But he forced himself to keep listening, to try to keep himself paying attention and making sense of all this, difficult as it was.

William’s grey eyes widened at the sight of the fangs on display and he mouthed a silent prayer before wetting his lips, still telling himself to remain calm. Vampires… legends had always been told of them, but stories to scare children, sensible warnings wrapped up in fairytales. And yet despite knowing they were fiction, here one was, right before his very eyes.

“Two hundred… and… drinking, feeding, you mean… blood? Human blood?”

[Existentially Odd]

"Yes," he answered simply, as if such a thing was a given.  It was entirely obvious to him, though he realised (to a minor degree) that it wouldn\'t seem natural to a mortal, who lived and breathed and shat.

"To keep going, I drink blood.  Not always killing, only if I want to," he added brightly, feeling he should explain the nuances of his condition, few as they were.  Drink to death or drink and leave.  He had options.

[pinkroses]

William took in a slow breath, the urge to scream and shout and struggle to escape welling up inside but he squashed it down firmly. That would do no good. This creature obviously had no qualms about killing, so the end of any struggle would not be positive for the human.

“If I agree to stay here with you, to help you… stop being bored… I want you to stay away from my family, my town. I will do whatever you want, just leave them be,” he said, an audible lump in his throat which he was struggling to ignore. William didn’t know what it would entail, staying here with the creature, maybe being fed from, tortures, kept in the dark, but if he knew his family were safe… he could stand it for them. But he would have to trust the redhead. It didn’t seem like he much choice in that matter though.

[Existentially Odd]

As he had done so often already, the vampire paused to consider this.  He wasn\'t sure he was interested in sacrificing the taste of the whole group for the sake of this experiment but he could certainly agree to leaving William\'s family alone.  As he mentioned them the mortal thought of them and a clear picture swam into his mind, telling the beast exactly who he couldn\'t touch.

"From your family... yes," he intoned seriously, having obviously given it some thought.  "Your town... maybe.  I like their taste.  Animals... not so good," he explained, wrinkling his nose to show his distaste for animal blood before another realisation struck and his eyes lit up with excitement.  "But you will need to eat them!  I will hunt for you," he smiled proudly.  "What do you like best?  Deer?  Rabbit?  Buffalo?"

Unfortunately, in his eagerness, he used native words for the animals he\'d stated, since they were the last thought-associations he had with them.  William wouldn\'t understand the words he\'d spoken from a nearby dialect but he didn\'t know that.

[pinkroses]

As Aden considered the options for so long William thought it would be an outright rejection. He gave a small smile and en encouraging nod as the vampire said he would leave his family alone, but it faded as he declared he liked the taste of the people of his town. How different could blood taste?

“But you won’t kill them?” he asked hopefully. Maybe if he could convince this creature not to kill them, then he could get him to move on, away, far away. William wanted to get back to his family, but not if it meant bringing this thing down on them.

He blinked quickly as Aden suddenly let out a string of words the blonde couldn’t understand. He was going to hunt for him? Meaning he would have to stay here, inside, trapped and maybe tied up constantly. And he would be no use to anyone, Aden would do what he wanted and William would have no way to tell if he was being truthful or not.

He shook his head in confusion, then shuffled himself a little closer to his captor, his grey eyes wide, ignoring the discussion of food he didn’t know the names of. The creature was made to be a predator, William had no doubt of his hunting skills, and he would be able to kill even the best of his townsfolk with ease.

“My people will come looking for me. They’ll hunt for me, and for you. If you want to keep me, we should go away, far away. Where they won’t find us. You feeding from them will make them suspicious. They’ll find us here,” William said earnestly, although he had no idea where ‘here’ was, how close they might be to his home or how well hidden it was. He could only hope though. The dogs might be able to pick up his scent, bring them here. And if a hunting group turned up they would be slaughtered.

[Existentially Odd]

A scowl darkened the predator\'s face as the topic suddenly became very serious.  Anger welled, for he realised that the man was right; he was angry for not thinking of it and also for being forced to consider changing his home.  This was an ideal setup, the sun couldn\'t penetrate this far into the cave and his sleeping chamber was even deeper in.  He doubted he\'d find anywhere near as perfect, that didn\'t need significant defensive alterations and certainly not in one night.  He also felt he shouldn\'t discuss his weaknesses with his prisoner.

To put such a plan into action, there\'d be a delay, for he\'d feel far more comfortable scouting out a new home with a complete night to do so.  He was loathe to roam away from this place but William\'s argument was compelling; as powerful and knowledgeable as he was, the sight of his sire becoming overwhelmed by a horde would never leave him.  She\'d been older, even more powerful and agile, and she\'d been bested when there\'d been enough enraged mortals to do so.

If William\'s village... township... whatever they were calling themselves... came for him with intent, he could well die.  Nothing was worth that risk.

"Good caves are hard to find," he ground out eventually, his expression still surly.  "If I am seen in the day I will be known, I will only move at night, sleep all day.  We will search for somewhere to live tomorrow night, when it is dark and more time.  Stay here tonight and tomorrow," he asserted, punctuating his declaration with a prodding finger jabbing downward at the stone floor.  He looked hard at William then, as if measuring something up in his mind, and then silently reached down to begin undoing his rope knots at the mortal\'s ankles.

[pinkroses]

William let Aden mull over his options and the thoughts that had been put to him without saying anything further. His captor looked angry, and William didn’t want to push him too much as it may well end up with his body being found a long way from this cave.

Unaware of Aden’s weakness with sunlight, it made more sense to William that they should go now, or perhaps that was just his own desire to get the redhead away from his people. But he wasn’t about to argue. Tomorrow night they would be moving away and Susanna would be that much safer. It would give them a chance to find him as well. If Aden was sleeping and they came perhaps there would be no need for bloodshed. Or maybe he would be able to find a way to escape whilst the vampire slumbered, but then he might come after them. No, better to not make him angry.

William glanced down as Aden began to undo his bindings, resisting the urge to pull away from his icy touch.

“Thank you,” he said quietly, looking forward to being able to move properly, stretch out properly. He couldn’t have been tied up for that long, but not being able to move in this weather was deadly. The fire was heating the cave up nicely now though and William’s eyes were adjusted to the flickering light which gave everything an orange glow.

The fire in their brazier in the house would have burnt low by now no doubt, maybe the candle would have gone out too as Susanna slept with her head on the table, waiting for him to return. He should only have been out for a few hours, perhaps she would have been told he was missing by now. William had no idea how the night was moving on. If there had been any chance of Aden letting him go back to get things, to say goodbye, that window would be closed now. There would be too many questions, too many suspicions. He would never see her or their beautiful sons again.

“Have you no family?” he asked quietly, his eyes lifting to watch the redhead once again, trying to hide his own sorrow from his face but not quite managing it.

[Existentially Odd]

Once the rope was removed, he took the ime to coil it and then place it with the piles of gear beside William, before he sat down near the mortal\'s feet, this time with his legs crossed tailor-fashion.  He examined his captive\'s face curiously, realising that he was seeing grief and distress, images of the wife and two children still swimming about in William\'s brain prompting it.

It was good that William understood he wouldn\'t see them again, for he had requested they move on.  The vampire was surprised to recognise in himself the magnanimousness that allowed him to somewhat sympathise.  He was pleased, though, for it meant new feelings, new experiences and he had lacked those for so long it almost felt eternal.  "My sire was killed," he said sadly, remembering no other family than her.  "She was attacked not long after our boat arrived here, in the New World.  She died here," he explained, tears welling in his eyes, as did the ache in his heart.

[pinkroses]

William glanced down at his wrists once he was free, taking a moment to rub his hands together and over the stinging skin. It was red and sore, but no blood had been drawn as it might have been if William had struggled for longer.

He waited for a moment to try and assess whether his captor would object, then moved closer to the fire, holding out his hands to the heat, trying to suck in every bit he could for now. His gaze quickly returned to Aden though, and he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the creature who looked so much like a child thrust into manhood. He knew plenty of young men who were starting their own families at the age the redhead looked, or striking out on their own, but most had some sort of support behind them, or hadn’t had the choice taken away from them. And this vampire, despite being two hundred years old, at times he seemed more like the child he appeared. Confused and scared.

The fleeting thought that the world was better off with one less of these vampires in in also crossed his mind, but William tried to push that to one side. He didn’t want to anger this thing or if he did, he wanted to avoid having that anger directed at him.

The human paused for a second before reaching out to lightly touch Aden’s ice cold shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze of sympathy at the sight of tears in his companion’s eyes. Perhaps it would be better to put him out of his misery, but William had no idea how to kill what was already dead, and didn’t like his chances of being able to do it alone.

“At least with me here you are no longer alone, although I doubt that would help what you feel much,” he said softly, hating the thought of it for himself, but the hollow left after someone you had been with for so long dying must be enormous. William would not use it as an excuse for the creature’s killing though, there was no need for that.

[Existentially Odd]

The creature was genuinely perplexed by the display of sympathy.  Following so close on his own feelings of such, it awed him and left him somewhat speechless within his own tangle of responses.  It was too overwhelming to address so soon, though, so he looked away, blinking back the tears he\'d felt.

In that moment, he noticed William\'s change of proximity to the fire.  "Is it cold?" he queried, frowning back at the mortal and observing his body language, the clothing he wore with some dawning understanding.  "Do you need the fire to be warm?  I don\'t think I got enough wood for the night, you want to get more?  Need enough to cook food?  I can get you a rabbit, no problem," he offered, again using the native thought-word for the named animal.

Into William\'s mind, he pressed an image of the two of them leaving the cave and collecting firewood together, then he scooped up a rabbit, drank from it and gave its corpse to William to cook.  The final images were of the two of them settling down to sleep in the back sleeping chamber, with rabbit skin and bones dropped beside the fire in the outer cave.

[pinkroses]

"Yes, it\'s very cold, I need the fire," William replied quickly. He would freeze without it, or become ill very quickly, especially since he couldn\'t go home for more clothes. He\'d wrapped up warmly tonight, which was fortunate, but sleeping in here with no fire would be horrible. At least it was sheltered from the icy wind. "I need the fire to see as well, it\'s too dark in here," he added before the offer of food came again.

"I don\'t..." William had been about to explain he didn\'t understand the word, but the images of he and Aden hunting, feeding and sleeping together were pushed into his mind. It blocked out everything else for a few seconds and the blonde jerked back in fear, his eyes wide with shock.

"What did you do?" he breathed when his mind was clear, reaching out a hand to steady himself against the wall, now in a crouching position himself. "Was that you? In my head?"

[Existentially Odd]

"Yes," the vampire answered without hesitation, watching the mortal with something akin to suspicion.  "I showed you.  You understand, yes?" he queried, wondering how he could make William understand better.  Thoughts were usually the most obvious thing, he didn\'t have the skill to do much more than show or take thoughts at this stage, though.  He could communicate with words too, of course, but he\'d only tried that with his sire and wasn\'t certain a think-talk would work with anyone else.