Forums » Fantasy Roleplay » Essence of Blood (1x1)

He looked to her hand when she placed it on his. She didn't know the truth. Not that he could tell her. It would drive her away. "There is more self-pity in me, than you know. Even if I don't show it." He hadn't been refering to when he went to drink blood. He was refering to it in general. But with Zalia, he could free up his mind when she was around, doing his best to help her. But if he hadn't slipped up, maybe she wouldn't have been attacked tonight.

"We never truly know what is in store for us in the future... all we can do, is hope for the best. If we don't, then what can keep pushing us to move forward? Like, with me... What keeps pushing me to continue an existence like this, instead of just walking out during the day, or seeking out someone to turn me to dust? I keep hoping for someone or something, to show me that my past experiences aren't truly all that the world has to offer."

Zalia listened to him. Was there really so much more to him than she had thought? Of course. Thinking about it, she realized she actually knew very little about Alezander. Her hand gripped his tightly when he spoke of walking out during the day or having someone turn him to dust.

"Don't!" She bit her lip carefully, looking rather upset. "Don't do that. Please." He was her best friend. The only one to be so kind to her, to put up with all her breakdowns and accidents, to tolerate everything she felt made her so untolerable.

Silence reigned. She didn't know what to say. How to comfort him. He always knew just what to tell her when she needed comfort, but now that he was the one struggling she just didn't know what to say. She moved out of the bed and hugged him. Since she didn't know what to say, a hug would have to say it for her. She hated feeling so useless, though.

She hated the fact that, when he needed her, she didn't know what to say. She failed him.

Alezander was surprised when she hugged him. He hadn't intentionally said all that for comfort. But he supposed it was nice. He gave a small chuckle. "Don't worry, I never actually planned on doing it. I think it would be a long time before it ever came to that... if it ever came to that." He patted her lightly on the back. Here she was, just having gone through a terrible ordeal, and she was comforting him.

"Thank your though, for showing you care. It shows me that there is a chance there is something better than what I've experienced."

Zalia pulled back a little after a few moments and looked at him. "Of course I care! Alezander, you're my best friend." She was quiet for a few moments. "I don't know...what you've experienced. But if it's bad, that means there has to be something better, right? I mean, without good stuff we wouldn't even know what was 'bad'. So that means you've already experienced something better, right?" She smiled hopefully at him. She wanted him to be happy again.

She stood up completely and looked around the room. "Did I hurt you, Alezander? When..." Her hand touched her neck, where her father had scratched her. She had no clue what he'd even done to make her turn so feral. She didn't like the idea that she'd possibly hurt him though.

"Not at all," he said, smiling at her. "Though, I'd have to admit, you put up a good fight. Almost like he amplified that vampiric blood inside you. I'd like to see what you could do being full fledged vampire. I'm joking, of course," he added, knowing that saying that probably wasn't the best time to do so.

He rubbed the top of her head affectionately. "You're my best friend too. It's been a while since I had someone like you, so it is quite nice, knowing there is someone I can take care of, and, if the time comes, can take care of me."

Zalia listened to him talk and she gave a tiny laugh. "Yeah..." She smiled a bit as he rubbed the top of her head. Little affections like that really did help to calm her down and make her happy. "I'll take care of you," she promised, "If that time ever comes. It's the least I can do, you've done so much for me and you're always putting up with me. I want to be able to be there for you like you're there for me." She smiled.

"So...what should we do? I don't even know what time it is, my sense of time and day is all messed up ever since he came."

"First off," he started, pacing a bit. "I want to find out how he got into this house. He broke the basic laws of the vampire. Entering a home without being invited. He should have started breaking down from the inside the moment he did, but there was nothing wrong with him." Alezander placed his hand to his chin. "Unless it was a projected form of himself. But then, I hardly think he could have done what he did to you. And that leads me to my second concern. What exactly did he do to you? Honestly, we need to figure this out, so it doesn't happen again."

He turned to her, placing his hands gently on her shoulders. "I know this might be hard for you to do, but can you tell me more about your father? At least that way, I know how to better defend us."

Zalia listened to him. She'd been hoping for something more...well, relaxing or recreational. As Alezander listed off the impossibilities that her father had done, she sat down on the edge of the bed. She knew the question was coming. When it did, she stared at the floor. "...okay." She sighed. "My father was the 'head' of the village. From the way others treated him, I think he was a pureblood. A complete, pure-of-the-pure, I guess. I'd think though that if he was such a pureblood vampire, then he would have been more susceptible to the vampire laws. Unless he found a way to surpass them..."

She rubbed her neck a little. She didn't like discussing this at all. "My dad's powerful. Not just in strength, but in spells, or something like that. Nobody ever challenged him, only vampire travellers that didn't know him. And they were...dealt with. Quickly." She didn't really know what to tell him. Her memory was spotty. The only things that constantly stood out to her were the beatings she would recieve from him.

"He likes to play with me. To tease and torture me is some sick way of his to have fun. He doesn't want to kill me. He wants me to be misreable."

He watched her for a few moments after she was done speaking. There was indeed something different going on. "I'll have to look into it. Perhaps I can have Kai do some snooping when she comes around again. She is very skilled at tracking vampires. She may be rude and intolerable sometimes, but she will prove to be a great ally when we need her.

"But for now... let's find us something, a little less depressing to do." He thought for a bit, trying to come up with an idea. There was little left to do in the house, that they hadn't already done. He hadn't tended to the flower garden in the back for quite a while, but it was hardly worth the trip during the night, not when she couldn't see its beauty; and he wasn't about to make her pull weeds and such. But now that he thought about it, the whole house was needing some upkeep. He really needed to stop slacking off, and continue what he had been doing before Zalia had come to the house, which was restoring the estate to it's former glory.

"Do you like animals, Zalia?" he asked, looking to her.

Zalia was a bit nervous when he spoke of Kai. She preferred to stay away from the woman. When he mentioned finding something else to do, she patiently waited for him to speak of it. But his speaking took a strange turn when he popped the sudden question of animals to her. "Uhm, yes, I like animals....why?" She was a bit confused now.

He didn't have any animals on the grounds, not that she knew of at least. So there had to be some reason that he was asking her these things.

He nodded his head, as if confirming a thought. "I was just curious," he said, making his way from her room. "Let me change my shirt." He had still been wearing the ripped shirt, from when Zalia had attacked him, showing that he had stayed by her side the entire time she had been unconscious.

It took only a moment, but he soon left his room and made his way down stairs, browsing from room to room looking for something. An "Ah ha!" came from one room, and he exited the room, tucking something into his coat. "I'll only be a moment," he called to Zalia, disappearing out the front door.

Zalia nodded a little and let him go change. When he went downstairs however, she whimpered softly. He was going to leave her alone in the house soon after that attack?! She ran out the door and rushed down the stairs, going right into the study where she would practically hide in the corner.

"Only a minute, only a minute..." she whispered to herself. He would only be gone a minute. But that was little comfort, because her father had attacked just when he was still inside the house.

You're not safe from me.

Zalia flinched. The voice again, but in her head. She shrunk down submissively. She knew if she fought back then that would bring him to come to her right away and teach her a lesson. So she just stayed right there until Alezander returned.

He had gone just outside the door, into the patch of flowers that grew by the house. And he kept his word, taking only just that minute to return inside. When he didn't find Zalia upstairs, he returned downstairs and entered the study. He was somewhat glad, needing to compose two letters in there anyway.

He made his way over to Zalia, setting down a cage in front of her. Inside, was a gray and black rabbit, just a baby still. "He lives in the flower patch just outside the house. I saw his mother killed by a wolf not long ago, and decided to let him continue to eat the flowers outside. Though, I think he's a bit under nourished without his mother. I think you would do well taking care of him. He is wild, but I think he is young enough to tame."

Zalia looked at the cage. "Aww...poor thing." she said quietly. She knelt down and opened up the cage, carefully reaching in to pet the creature. The rabbit was very afraid, but after some gentle coaxing, and withstanding a couple of bites, she pulled the baby bunny out and set it on her lap.

"Thank you, Alezander." She smiled warmly at him. "We'll have to get him some food to eat. Something good for him." She touched Alezander's arm, a substitute for a hug since she was holding the baby rabbit. "Thank you."

"I thought that something cute and cuddly like this, would help you take your mind off things. I had a cat when I was growing up, and I always found comfort in him when I was upset or angry. And don't worry, I'm about to request some things from an old aquaintance. It shouldn't take long to get him what he needs." Alezander stepped back, making his way over to the desk nearby.

He sat down, pulling out parchment and a pen and began scribbling on one paper. After several minutes, he made a graceful long stroke, signing it, and folded it up. He then continued to scribble on a second piece of paper, mimicking the same gesture once he was finished.

Zalia smiled and let him take care of his letters. She pet the rabbit, letting it get used to her scent and feel. The animal needed a motherlike figure, and Zalia was there to take the place. "We'll have to get it something better to stay in than a cage. Is it a boy or a girl?"

She was already thinking up things. "I can make it a little bed in my room. We could get a basket and put some blankets on it and keep it in my room." She was excited. It was cute, really, to see her so happy about something.

"A boy, if I am not mistaken," Alezander said, standing up and tapping the folded paper in his hand. "I believe I saw a basket in one of the storage rooms, if I am not mistaken. I will grab it real fast, after I deliver these to my correspondent. Meet me in your room?" He turned, leaving the study and making his way up the stairs and into his room. He was gone for several minutes, before he came out and disappeared into another room.

Soon, he entered Zalia's room, holding a woven basket with a few fluffly blankets in it. "I think he will find this suitable. Have you decided what you are going to name him?"

Zalia nodded hesitantly. She wasn't fond of being left alone again but she nodded anyways and would take the little rabit up to her room. She let him hop around and let him nibble on one of the flowers she'd used to decorate her room. Those long minutes Alezander spent away from her was agony. Every small noise made her twitch, flinch or jump. She was expecting her father to materialize again.

When Alezander returned at last she breathed a sigh of relief and then smiled. "Yeah, that'll be great. Thanks." She took the basket and set it down. "I'm...not sure. I'm not really good with names. I mean, I'm half-named after a flower." She sighed. Azalias, very pretty flowers. Apparently they had been her mother's favorite. "What do you think I should name him?" Zalia picked up the bunny and set him in the basket, showing him that it was his bed.

"Ah, naming pets isn't my specialty either. I named my dog Rex... very original, right?" he said, laughing a bit as he watched her interact with the bunny. "I would just assume to name him Fluffy or Hoppy... But my sister had a rabbit named Spazz. He was a crazy one. You could call him Shadow, seeing as he's black and grey."

He scratched his head. Yep, naming animals was definitely not his thing.

Zalia listened to him and giggled a bit. "I like Shadow." She looked at the bunny, then up at Alezander. "Thank you so much. I'm really glad." She let the bunny settle in the basket and she stood up, brushing herself off. Then she went over and hugged Alezander. "You're so kind."