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

Alezander had watched in perplexity, still not understanding what was happening. When he realized that she had changed back, he quickly turned as to not make her anymore uncomfortable. He reached out, grabbing the nearest towel and laying it on the table by the bath tub.

"I'll let you... dress yourself," he said, making his way for the door. He made sure he wouldn't see her through his perivial, and closed the door behind him. He laid the dress he had still been holding on her bed and left the room, to wait in the hallway. He had to think about what had just happened. Apparently, Zalia wasn't only a half-blood vampire, she was also some sort of shape shifter.

Zalia was so embarrassed she felt like crying. She grabbed the towel right away and the moment he was gone she got up to dry herself off and dress herself. She didn't dress in her pretty new outfit, however, not wanting to ruin it if something else happened.

It took her a few moments to find her necklace, which she'd hastily deposited on the bathroom counter. After putting it back on and making sure she was now dressed and dry, she hesitantly went over and opened the door. He was there in the hallway, as expected. She was once more looking down at the floor, ashamed. She couldn't bring herself to speak.

Alezander looked to her as she exited the room. He had a few questions, but wasn't sure if it was the right time to ask them; or if she even wanted to answer them.

He respected her though, and would let her explain when she felt comfortable doing so, if that time ever came.

"I ran into Kai outside," he said, steering the subject away from what had just happened. "A small incident, but I don't think she will be as moody anymore." He smiled a bit.

Zalia listened to him speak. "Okay." she said quietly. She'd never admit that she had eavesdropped on him. "Did you uhm...get the firewood?" She stood there awkwardly, rubbing her shoulder a little. Her body ached from the transformation.

"I'm uh..going to go back to the study.." If she ever did get up the courage, it might be in there, where they were in private. She knew she would have to explain to him sooner or later.

Zalia walked past him and went downstairs, going into the study. She felt awkward around him now.

"Ah, yeah.. firewood. I keep forgetting about that," he said, rubbing the back of his head as he followed behind her, but then taking the way outside once down the stairs.

He took his time, wanting to give each of them a chance to think a bit -- to clear their heads. And with a large armful of wood, he made his way back toward the house, though the smell of his blood on his shirt reminded him that he should probably change.

He sat the wood by teh door, and made a quick run upstairs, pulling off his coat to be washed, as well as his shirt. He slipped a light cotton shirt on, the color of cream and made his way back downstairs, picking up the firewood and walking for the study.

He entered, placing the pieces of wood behind the grate after dusting out the ash. And in only a few moment, there was a small fire, slowly burning to life.

Zalia watched as he came in. The smell of blood was gone now and that made her rather relieved. She had been looking through the books, and at last she held one out to him, open. It was a book of myths. "Encantados." she said quietly. "Dolphins with the ability to turn into humans. It is Spanish for 'enchanted ones'. They make it sound so pretty..." She sat down and sighed. "I'm reversed. I'm a human with the ability to turn into a dolphin. It's usually involuntary, happening under times of extreme stress, both physical and emotional." She shifted slightly. "We think it came from far down my mother's line."

A few moments of silence passed. "I'm a half-blood with the ability to turn into a dolphin. So much for being like the other half-bloods, huh?.."

"Being unique isn't bad," he said, looking the book over, turning some of the pages. "It is an interesting combination, though. It makes you a one-of-a-kind person." He closed the book, setting it onto the desk. "You said you usually did an involuntary change when you were stressed. Why did you change now, then?"

He was very curious as to why she would change all of a sudden, especially when there was no one around.

Zalia blushed a bit at his question. "I uhm...I heard you and Kai. I saw you a little too, and I could uhm...smell the blood." Just thinking about it made her throat ache.

"I didn't mean to eavesdrop...I just felt something was wrong and when I went out, I overheard.." She didn't mention what part she overheard. She just sat there, timid and ashamed.

Alezander looked at her a long moment, before he laughed. And it was a true laugh. He couldn't help but think how cute she was, apologizing for being worried.

"I don't mind," he said, looking to the now roaring fire. "I'm glad you came when you felt that something was wrong, I could have been in trouble. I'm not so glad it made you change though, I feel bad for that. She scares you, doesn't she?" he asked, refering to Kai with that last part.

"She sure as hell scares me. So tempermental. Not someone I would want to be around all the time."

Zalia stared at him in surprise when he laughed, and it just made her blush, embarrassed. When he asked that question about Kai, she nodded. "I'm scared of the power she can hold over me.." she whispered quietly, fidgeting.

"Being controlled against my will...it scares me." She shivered a little, from fear however and not from cold. "She fed from you, didn't she? How are you feeling?" For a being that needed blood to lose it, he must not feel very well. "You should get some of your blood. It's not good for your body to be so low."

"I'm fine," he said, smiling at her. "Thank you for the concern. I will most likely feed before going to my room in the morning. It's easier on me that way." He rubbed his neck where Kai had bitten him. "But don't feel like you are the only odd one. A vampire that lets another feed off him is a rare sight as well."

He sat in a large chair by the fireplace, crossing his hands over his knee. "So, if you would like to tell it, I would love to hear about your past."

Zalia was quiet. "It's not that interesting." she said quietly. She didn't like talking about her past, because it involved 'him'. Her father. Zalia had a problem, however, with telling people no. Perhaps it was because whenever she told someone no she got hurt in one way or another. So she just tried to make him uninterested.

"It's boring. Nothing special.."

Alezander nodded his head, showing that he understood.

"I came from a wealthy family, as you can tell," he said, moving his hand in front of him to point out the mansion. "I always got what I wanted, but I was also taught to give respect and to have manners. A dream life for a child. My sister was older than me, and I looked up to her. She was very intellegent, and loved to tell me stories. My mother made dresses for a living, as you have worn them yourself. All my sister's dresses were made by my mother. My father was an author, writing mostly historical books, and bringing in our vast fortune.

It wasn't a bad life at all... but when you find something you want, more than anything -- you give it up in a heartbeat just to have it." He closed his eyes, bringing his fingers together in front of his face. "I shouldn't have taken my life for granted, but I did. And I do regret it."

He looked to Zalia now, his eyes seeming distant for a moment, before shaking his head. "That's the overview of my life," he said.

Zalia listened to him quietly, nervously. She was not happy with him, because now she was thoroughly guilted into revealing her own past. It was a very painful memory. "My dad never meant to spare my mom's life. He laid with her and fed from her, but for some reason he didn't feed enough to kill her. I don't know why, but he kept her. They fell in love I guess, and mom had me. But I wasn't supposed to happen. Mom died when she gave birth to me and dad hated me. I was filthy, a half-blood. Not even that, because of my ability to turn into a dolphin. I don't know why he kept me. It couldn't be because of any fondness to my mother because he beat me every chance he got. If I looked at him in a way he didn't like, he'd hit me. If I disobeyed him, he'd beat me up and throw me out of the house."

She shivered. "I lived in a town where it was just vampires. So whenever he threw me out, I was left on the ground for the others to come and kick me and make fun of me. I was lower than dirt to them. As I got older, it got worse. Sometimes just greeting him sent him into a rage so bad that he almost killed me on a few occasions." She bit her lip and rubbed her face. This was bad. She hated thinking about it.

"He never touched me in a bad way though. I was really thankful for that, but I heard one of the other vampires asking him one day about it. My dad said 'Who would want to bed with a filthy mutt?' I was too much of a rugrat for even something like that."

She smoothed her hands over her face and through her hair, taking in a shaky breath. "I was the only vampire who needed food. I never fit in. Everyone hurt me and made fun of me and made my life a living hell. But finally I got away. Even then, though...Even in the human world...I'm a human who needs blood. I'm a human who turns into a dolphin when she's stressed out. I don't fit in. I don't fit in anywhere. I keep getting chased out by mobs because eventually my nature is always revealed..."

Finally she hid her face in her hands. "I just want to die..."

Alezander listened, feeling guilty as she told the story. He merely shook his head as she describe the events that transpired during her life. And he was far from calm about it in his mind. There was anger, and sympathy and a wanting to help.

When she said those last words, he stood up, disappearing for a moment, before reappearing in front of her, moving down to wrap his arms around her in an embrace.

"Don't say that. I don't want that at all. If there was just one person who would accept you... don't you think it would be worth living?"

Zalia tensed up the moment he wrapped his arms around her. It took her a few moments to relax in his embrace, and finally start crying. "There isn't." she whimpered. "Just watch...soon you'll be sick of me too. Nobody's ever accepted me. Maybe they were nice at first, but everyone hates me sooner or later..." She cried, still hiding her face in her hands.

The girl was broken. Her father had hurt her far more than physically, every time he laid a physical punch to her it also hit her emotionally as well. "I don't want to be alone..."

"If that is truly what you think, then why not give it the chance, see how things turn out. The way you are saying it now, you basically have nothing to lose. I have more reason to accept you, than to hate you... to turn you away." He pulled away from her a bit, looking down at her. "Don't let him win, by controlling you now. Don't let what he did to you forever have a hold on your life."

He knelt in silence for the moment, hearing only the soft crackling of the fire, the orange light bringing his shadow over her.

Zalia sniffled a bit and rubbed at her eyes, trying to wipe away the tears. "I...I guess I can try..." she said quietly. She said nothing on his words of her father controlling her. She simply sat there in silence, just sniffling occasionally.

She hadn't been held in...well, a very long time. His embrace had been, admittedly, comforting. SHe felt a little bit better. And a little bit was better than not at all.

Alezander moved back a bit more, resting his hand on her head for a moment. "That's my girl," he said, giving her a comforting smile. He stood up straight, taking one more step back before resting his hands on his thighs. He began to look around the room. "Now, I'm sure there is an old photo album around here. That will take your mind off of things for now."

He began browsing through bookshelves, moving entire stacks of books from one to the other. Not only was he looking for her, but it had been a very long time since he had looked at them himself.

He turned, holding a black leather book, very thin and dusty. He blew some of the dust from it, before opening it to gaze at the pictures. "Ah, here it is."

There were photos of Alezander, looking younger, but having almost the same features he did now. He looked like quite the charming little boy. Some had him in photos with his family, some just his family by themselves. There was a girl, slightly older than the Alezander in the pictures, who looked very similar to her; obviously his sister. There was also a tall woman, long black hair and a very fair complextion, as well as a man with light brown hair, slicked back and a goatee. He grinned at the picture of his parents. There was also a few pictures of a female, most likely in her mid-teens, mixed in. She had long white blonde hair, flowing down to her hips, and beautiful sky blue eyes. She had an innocent look about her, and she hardly looked related to the family.

Alezander closed the book, handing it to Zalia. "That is my family. Just as I remember them."

Zalia blushed when he spoke, watching as he stood up and went searching for his family photo album. She stayed where she was during his search, not speaking a word and feeling rather timid. When he brought out the photo album she immediately looked at it. "Who is that woman?" The odd one out had immediately caught her interest. "The one with the blonde hair. She's beautiful. Who is she?" She looked at the photos of Alezander, comparing them to how he was now. Just as handsome, that was for sure.

"...What happened?" She knew it was a sensitive question.