//------------------------------// // Bloody Good Conversation // Story: Just another Humanized OctaScratch Story: Obligatory Nosferatu Edition // by Punk Rock Prom Queen //------------------------------// “Why?” “What do you mean?” Twila questioned looking up at Vincenza from the crystal decanter she was using to pour out her breakfast of a nicely aged AB negative. “You know exactly what I mean,” the azure haired vampiress replied coolly, “Don’t play stupid with me.” Twila replaced the glass stopper of the decanter and set it down beside the champagne flute she had just filled. She contemplated the contents of the glass for a moment before speaking. “I merely did what she requested of me, would you have had me deny the last wish of a dying woman?” “That isn’t what I meant and you know it,” Vincenza stated with a hint of frustration seeping into her voice. “There were other options you could have taken; you didn’t have to turn her. So why?” “I do not seem to recall you ever questioning my motives when I saved you from the disease ravaging your body,” Twila said flatly before bringing the blood filled glass to her lips and taking a drink. “I just find it a little strange that after all these years you up and turn someone out of the blue like this. Like I said last night, it’s not like you to interfere with the affairs of mortals, dying or otherwise.” “Despite how much longer lived than the humans we may be, we are still just as mortal as they are and it is not like the situation with Miss Melody was premeditated. I was simply on my way home after enjoying a lovely concert put on by her ensemble when I happened upon her. And while it is true that there were other options in saving her, ascension was the one guaranteed to be the most successful given the extent of her injuries,” Twila explained. “As reasonable as that sounds I still find myself suspicious, are you sure saving her was your only reason?” Vincenza inquired fixing Twila with a questioning stare, not that her sire could see it through her ever present purple tinted shades. “What other reasons could I possibly have?” The sapphire haired elder vampire replied with a raised eyebrow. “Rebuilding the Coven for one thing,” the vampiric DJ supplied, “or any other number of your schemes that no one sane can decipher, you did not hold the title of “The Clever” without reason after all.” “I assure you Vincenza that my motives were not as clandestine as you think them to be. You give this old woman far too much credit.” “If you say so,” Vincenza finally relented, “But even if the case was as simple as just saving her, the Noble Houses are not going to take kindly to the “Oath Breaker” siring another fledgling. They may take action.” “It will be a cold day in Tartaros before I could even bring myself care what those pompous, self important, sociopaths think and if they believe that they can intimidate me with all their blustering then they can kiss my Celestia blessed backside. Our loyalty is with, and shall always remain, to the Royal Family.” “They would claim the same.” “I would hardly call the mass genocide of the Pure Blood Houses, the slaughtering of the King and Queen, and the holding of their bloodlines over the head of the Princess the acts of the loyal,” Twila said with a derisive snort. “Now if you would excuse me, I believe Wednesday Sunset Mass is about to begin and I would hate to miss it.” With that said Twila downed the rest of the contents of the champagne flute clasped delicately in her slender hand and stood. “Please see to it that Octavia feeds and anything else that she may require while I’m gone would you?” “As you wish,” Vincenza agreed. “Have a pleasant evening,” Twila bade as she disappeared out into the hall leaving Vincenza alone in the now silent room. The azure haired vampiress sat in the quiet dining hall a few moments longer contemplating the conversation she had just had and despite Twila’s assurances to the contrary she just could not help, but to feel that there was something else going on that her sire was not telling her. “Just what exactly are you planning?” Octavia was awoken from a thankfully dreamless sleep by the sound of knocking at her new bedroom door. Groggily she sat up on the bed and looked around the room in disoriented confusion. “Where am I?” She pondered as she took in her unfamiliar surroundings. “Are you awake in there Octavia?” She heard Vinyl’s voice question through the door. “It’s time for breakfast.” “Oh that’s right, this is my home now…I guess it really wasn’t a dream after all,” Octavia said to herself with a melancholy sigh. Another knock came at the door followed by a second inquiry about her status of consciousness. “Just a moment please!” Octavia called out as she slid out from under the covers of the bed. Suddenly exposed to the cool air of the room she shivered becoming aware that she was only dressed in just her bra and shorts from the prior evening as she had fallen asleep before she had finished changing. “Take your time I’ll be in the dining hall!” Vinyl’s voice called through the door followed by the sound of retreating footsteps. Octavia sat on the bed for a few moments allowing the fog of sleep to fade from her mind. She had never been much of a morning person or well an evening person now that she was a card carrying member of the undead she supposed. With another disheartened sigh she stood and padded her way across the room towards what she assumed was the door to her own personal bathroom, the familiar pressure in her bladder urging her forward. The desire for relief provided her with a small sense of normalcy at the very least. Upon opening the door to the bathroom Octavia was pleasantly surprised to discover that it very much resembled the master bathroom at her old apartment. Black and white tiles covered the floor and walls in a checkerboard pattern with the toilet and sink taking up position to the left of the door. An old, but well taken care for, clawed foot tub took up most of the wall directly in front of her. Without preamble Octavia made her way over to the toilet and proceeded to do her business. Upon completion of said business and making sure she was thoroughly dried with the provided toilet paper (a lovely three ply Egyptian cotton blend) she rose after flushing and regarded the tub. “I suppose I should take a shower,” she thought to herself after noticing the shining chrome of the shower head hanging straight down from the ceiling directly above the center of the tub, “wait, can I even take a shower? I thought vampires were not able to be around running water.” “I should probably check with Twila or Vinyl first before I risk melting myself or something,” she decided before heading back out into her room proper and making her way over to the wardrobe. Pulling open the door to the ornate piece of furniture she discovered a forest green blouse with a matching satin knee length skirt hanging off to one side with a note attached to the blouse. “I’m sorry, but I was unable to get fresh undergarments for you as I did not know your sizes and thought it would be inappropriate for me to purchase women’s unmentionables. –Museum Curator and #1 Assistant Spencer ‘Spike’ Sparks. “Well that’s just wonderful,” she mentally groused, “I guess I’m stuck with the same pair until I can get the rest of my clothing from my apartment.” Slipping out of her shorts she proceeded to throw them into the bottom of the wardrobe having not seen a hamper anywhere in the room. Pulling on the provided blouse and skirt she proceeded to check over her appearance in the mirror above the vanity. First turning to the left and then the right she nodded satisfied with how the outfit looked. Picking up the silver handled hair brush that was resting on the vanity she ran it through her gunmetal grey tresses to work out the knots that had accumulated while she slept. Once finished with her grooming Octavia replaced the brush and then proceeded to make the bed before exiting her room. Turning to her right Octavia followed the same path Twila had led her on to the dining hall where she found Vincenza sitting in the same chair facing the stained glass windows that she had sat in yesterday. “Good morning Vinyl,” Octavia greeted as she entered taking a seat in the chair adjacent to Vincenza. “Octavia.” Vincenza nodded at her before raising the dark brown bottle held in right hand to her lips, “and technically its evening.” “Ah, I suppose it is,” Octavia said looking out the window and seeing that the sun was just about to set. The two women lapsed into an awkward silence for several moments until Vincenza spoke. “Come on let’s get you something to eat before you starve.” She stood and motioned for Octavia to do the same before leading her into the kitchen. The sunglasses wearing vampiress walked over to the refrigerator which, Octavia realized upon closer inspection, was actually a specialized medical cooler. Octavia stood patiently behind the elder vampire as she opened the cooler door. Within its confines she saw several IV bags filled with blood of various types as well as several cases of brown bottles of the same type that Vincenza held in her hand and a crystal wine decanter also filled with what she assumed was blood. “Pick your poison,” Vinyl said gesturing to the contents. Octavia looked over the various choices with a growing sense of dread. “What are you drinking?” She asked after a moment. “Lambs blood,” the other woman replied nonchalantly. Octavia cringed at her words finding the statement offensive to her vegetarian sensibilities. “You’re really drinking lambs blood?” “I was in the mood for lamb chops, can’t eat regular food so this was the closest thing,” the vampiric DJ answered with a shrug before taking a sip from her bottle. Octavia sighed, all this talk about blood was making her hungry, a fact that she found highly disturbing. “Do I really have to drink blood?” “You do if you don’t want to starve to death and as I recall you were asking Twila for seconds last night,” Vincenza answered with a small smirk. “Well I’m sorry I’m having second thoughts about drinking another human’s bodily fluids to survive!” Octavia snapped in a tone that sounded much harsher than she had intended to. She immediately felt ashamed for her outburst. Vincenza was only trying to help after all. “I’m sorry Vinyl I didn’t mean to snap at you like that. It’s just that this is a huge change for me in more ways than one. I mean if two days ago someone came up to me and told me that Vampires existed I would have thought them deranged. Yet here I am contemplating if I should have a bag of A positive or O negative for breakfast like I’m trying to decide between eggs and toast!” Octavia rambled, pushing closer and closer to the edge of hysteria with each word that spilled out of her mouth. “Then add to the fact that I was nearly stabbed to death and brought back to life by a woman who claims to be a historical figure from almost two thousand years ago only to be whisked off to a museum that turns out to be home to a coven of creatures who I thought only existed in trashy romance novels with no chance of ever having a normal life ever again!” Octavia was openly sobbing now, crimson tears streaming down her face leaving behind bloody streaks on her otherwise pale visage. The distraught Cellist’s heart wrenching sobs were abruptly cut short when she felt two arms clad in a white dress shirt wrap around her shoulders and pull her into a tight hug. “Shhh, it’s okay,” Vincenza said soothingly while she rubbed Octavia’s back in a comforting circular motion. “Believe me I understand completely.” “Really?” Octavia asked between her sniffling. “Yep, I was nearly inconsolable for the first week after Twila turned me. If anything I think you’re handling it better than I did,” was the other vampire’s response. “Now dry those tears and get something to drink, trust me you’ll feel better afterwards.” Octavia disengaged herself from Vincenza’s embrace and wiped her eyes with the backs of her hands. “My tears are red, why are they red?” Asked the cellist when she noticed the bloody smears upon the flesh of her hands. “You know how about sixty percent of the human body is made up of water?” Octavia nodded, still staring at her hands in a mix of horror and confusion. “Our kind’s body is the same percentage except instead of pure water it’s mostly plasma, which gives most of our body fluids a red tint.” “That doesn’t make much sense,” said Octavia, her horror changing to disgust. Vincenza shrugged, “I’m not a biologist if you want the details on how our bodies actually work you’d have to take that up with Twila.” “Where is she anyway, if you don’t mind me asking? No offense, but since she is the one who turned me should it not be her responsibility to “show me the ropes” so to speak?” “Sunset Mass,” Vincenza answered grabbing a random IV bag out of the cooler and handing it to Octavia as she did. “Now that’s enough questions for the moment, drink up before the hunger gets to you.” Octavia took the offered nourishment hesitantly, the life giving fluid sloshing gently in her shaking hands. Again she could feel the same sense of trepidation she had experienced the night prior grow battling with the gnawing hunger that had rooted itself in her stomach the moment she had laid eyes on the cooler’s contents. Her inner turmoil swiftly came to an end as biology won out over psychology. In the back ground she thought she could hear Vinyl saying something to her, but her words were muffled and indistinct over the pounding of her own heart and the blood rushing in her ears. With the urge to feed now fully in control, Octavia brought the bag to her mouth and tore into it with her newly appeared fangs. The cool, iron rich fluid poured into her mouth and she greedily gulped it down, letting out shuddering moans of pleasure at the taste all the while. Only when the IV bag was completely drained of its contents and her hunger sated did her senses return to her. “What?” Octavia asked defensively when she saw Vinyl starring at her with raised eyebrows and a light blush coloring her deathly pale cheeks a lovely shade of pink. “Well I was going to offer to heat it up in a bowel for you, but that works to I guess.” “Oh,” Octavia coughed, feeling embarrassed about her rather uncouth behavior. “I suppose I was hungrier than I thought.” Vinyl merely chuckled in response. “And just what is so funny?” “I just find it amusing to see that despite your misgivings when you actually get a taste of the stuff you go from acting like a high class snob to a starving hobo,” Vinyl answered with a smirk. “I’m not even going to dignify that with a response,” Octavia huffed, crossing her arms and fixing the smirking vampire with a glare. The effect of it, however, was undermined by her pout and the left over blood still clinging to the corners of her mouth. “Relax Octavia; I’m just messing with you.” “Yes well I’m having a hard enough time as it is, I don’t need to poking fun at me as well,” the irate vampiress growled. “Well sorry for trying to get your mind off of your problems sheesh,” Vinyl grumbled. “I’m sorry Vinyl,” Octavia sighed shame filling her once again for snapping at the blue haired woman who was only trying to help her adjust. “But it’s like I said earlier this is all so new to me and then there’s the fact that I’m stuck wearing the same pair of dirty undergarments for the third day in a row topped with the inability to shower I’d imagine that anyone would be grumpy given my situation.” “I’m not mad, I get it, really I do, and that’s why I was trying to get you to lighten up in the first place. The less you think about it the easier it gets you know? And why can’t you take a shower, is the plumbing in your room broken or something?” “No, but vampires are not able to be around running water right?” “Where in Tartaros did you hear that?” Vinyl asked with a snort of amusement. “Bram Stoker.” Vinyl stared blankly at her managing to keep a straight face for all of five seconds before breaking out into uncontrollable laughter. Vinyl was beginning to find the fledgling’s ignorance of her own species all too hilarious. “What pray tell is so funny now?” “I’m sorry,” she gasped out between fits of laughter, “it’s just that your naivety is adorable.” “I am not naïve!” Octavia snapped. “You can’t honestly expect me to know what is fact and what is fiction in regards to something I thought a B movie trope.” Vinyl simply continued to laugh, clutching at her sides as she doubled over. “Vincenza Scratch if you do not stop laughing at me this instant I will not hesitate to kick your lily white posterior!” Vincenza’s laughing fit abruptly came to an end and she stood up fixing Octavia with an unreadable gaze from behind her purple tinted sunglasses. “You called me Vincenza,” she stated evenly after several moments of uncomfortable silence. “That is your name is it not? Unless of course you don’t want me to call you that,” Octavia replied sounding slightly unnerved by the DJ’s sudden change in demeanor. “No it’s fine,” Vincenza answered with a shake of her head, “just weird is all, hearing you say my real name instead of calling me Vinyl like you have been.” “Would you like me to keep calling you Vinyl?” “I rather you didn’t actually, since it’s my stage name and all. I like to keep my personnel life and work life separate if at all possible. Besides we’re sisters now so it’s only right you get to call me by my real name,” the azure haired vampire said with a genuine smile instead of her usual smirk. “Sisters?” Octavia asked with a look of wide eyed confusion. “Yeah, you know same sire and all that, but if you want to get really technical we’re actually fellow brides according to old vampiric law.” “Brides!?” Octavia sputtered while doing a rather accurate impression of a fish. “Please tell me this is another one of your jokes!” The older vampiress waved her left hand in a so-so gesture before taking another draught from the bottle of lamb’s blood in her right hand that she had been neglecting. “So you’re telling me I’m married now!?” Octavia shouted in a slurry of emotions she could not quite place a name on. “Calm down, no one actually follows that law any more, besides I’m pretty sure you’re not Twila’s type.” “Well that’s good to know I suppose, but who in the world came up with a silly law like that in the first place?” “Let’s just say that Sombra Ţepeş was a bit of a womanizing pervert and leave it at that.” Octavia stared at Vincenza in incredulous disbelief, her mouth working up and down in an attempt to form words. “King Sombra was real?” She finally managed to force out. “Yes, at least Stoker got that bit right, though he wasn’t the monster he was made out to be, pervert yes, but from what I heard he was a pretty decent guy all things considered. Of course he’d been long dead when the book came out so I’d imagine he was turning over in his grave when it did. Tartaros, given the current state of Vampire society he’s probably in a state of perpetual motion at this point.” “This is really an awful lot to take in. I feel like there should be some sort of introductory book for fledglings,” Octavia exposed, trying to absorb all the information that she had been given over the course of the past fifteen minutes or so. “There is,” Vincenza commented off handedly before finishing off the rest of the contents of her bottle which had grown warm at this point. A fact that she was none too happy with. “It would have been helpful to have been given a copy when this all started, it certainly would have saved me the headache. What’s it called anyway?” “The Big Book of Nosferatu: Everything You Ever Needed to Know about Being a Vampire but were too afraid to Ask.” Octavia stared blankly at the blue haired woman who had taken to leaning against the medical storage cooler as their conversation wore on. “Is that what it’s really called?” She finally asked after deliberating over whether or not Vincenza was joking again. All she got was a languid nod in reply. “It seems rather silly don’t you think?” Vincenza gave a noncommittal shrug, “Twila is the one who wrote it so it’s not really my place to judge.” “I know I don’t know her all that well, but she seems so serious all the time. I cannot really imagine her coming up with a title like that.” “For the most part she is, but she does have her dorky moments. If I remember right she has a slogan t-shirt somewhere in her closet that says “I Use Diction.” Anyway when she gets back from church I’ll remind her to give you a copy of the book. Despite its name it’s pretty informative. You should also talk to her about getting the stuff from your apartment sometime soon that ought to solve your panty and shower issues.” “Yes, if I am going to be living here from now on I would like to have the rest of my possessions.” The two vampires lapse into a companionable silence for a few moments after that, neither really having anything more to add to the conversation which gave Octavia time to observe her fellow fledgling for what seemed like the first. While she had seen the blue haired woman plenty of times behind the DJ booth at the club she frequented most Fridays and had spent the better part of a half an hour in her company she had never really taken the time see her. Her azure hair which was usually styled into a cacophony of messy spike while behind her turntables was combed out into a neat page boy that framed her elfin face quite nicely. Her clothing was as well a complete opposite of what her usual DJ attire consisted of which for the most part had been white midriff barring tank tops and low rise hip huggers while what she had on now was far more modest being made up of a pair of black dress slacks with white pinstripes, a white long sleeved collared shirt, and a black button up vest that had the back replaced with satin the same shade of violet as the sunglasses perched on her small nose. “You know, you are a lot different than I expected,” Octavia spoke suddenly, her words breaking the silence. “Well you know what they say about expectations and reality,” Vincenza replied with a sarcastic lit to her tone. “I was not saying it was a bad thing, just different. When you are at the club you seem so… not aloof really, but untouchable up on that stage of yours. Like a goddess of music who descended from the pantheon to teach us mere mortals what it truly means to lose ourselves in the beat. It was one of the things that drew me to your music in the first place, just how free and uninhibited it makes me feel. But also at the same time you didn’t seem to care about anything else but the music and the party. Yet here you are standing before me and you’re real. I can reach out and touch you and you’ve been nothing, but nice to me, someone, who not too long ago, was just a nameless face in one of your crowds of fans. It’s disillusioning, but in a good way, to see one of my idols is just as human as me.” Vincenza remained silent for a while, simply digesting the praise that had been heaped upon her with such sincere innocence. “No one has ever said anything like that about my music, well at least no one of your status,” she finally said after some time. “Most people just call it a mishmash of electronic noise, but to hear you say that actually means a lot to me especially since its coming from a fellow musician so thank you.” “My pleasure Vincenza,” was Octavia’s reply, a demure smile gracing her still blood stained lips. “Would you like to see where the magic happens?” “I would love to see your studio,” answered the Cellist overjoyed at the prospect of seeing the DJ create. “Awesome, why don’t you go get that blood around your mouth cleaned up and meet me in my studio,” Vincenza suggested before pushing off the cooler and making her way to the door that lead to the common room. “How do I find it?” Vincenza stopped in the door way before turning and flashing Octavia a mischievous grin. “Just follow the beat.”