♡ Riding the Waves ♡ (Closed)

[Robin Little]

The other woman’s voice came from very far away. Someone was telling a cowboy to slow down, and Robin had images of horse races. Though if it was a race, why would anyone be telling anyone else to slow down? But then he heard the words in his mother’s voice – when he was a child and she’d forgotten to make lunch for him. He’d gone the whole day at school without eating a thing, and when he got home and his mother realised what she’d done, she’d made him his favourite dish. Homemade Spaghetti Bolognaise. As he started to eat, the sauce flicked over the table cloth; over his school uniform, his face, his arms. He sucked up the strands of pasta with gleeful relish.

Slow down, cowboy, his mother had said. You’ll make yourself sick…

And, just like that, he started to feel sick. Just as Lorelai pulled her arm from his grasp, he let it go anyway. He felt as if he had snakes slithering around in his stomach; they coiled around his organs and started to squeeze – or did it simply just feel like he had ten knives stuck into his torso, all at the same time?

The first person he saw was the redhead. Someone he didn’t know. Her presence confused him, but it was Lorelai’s voice that drew his attention. Soft, and yet heavy as she said his name. He turned his eyes toward her and managed a small smile.

”Lorelai…” he said, somehow feeling the need to reassure her that he remembered her name. The smile didn’t last long, as his body jerked and his arms wrapped around his torso. He curled into the foetal position and rolled sideways, grunting before his voice fell from him in anguish. Now it wasn’t just his gut that hurt; his lungs felt as if they were filling with tar, and his heart was suffering the worst kind of heartburn. Stars danced behind his eyes as his head readied itself to split in two.

Was this normal? Or was his body rejecting Lorelai’s blood? On the surface, he knew what had happened. He knew that he had been close to death and Lorelai had fed him her blood. A strange sensation, to have been taking the blood rather than giving it. But now it was churning in his gut. Or was that the food that he had eaten earlier? Acrid, acidic bile rose in his throat and he didn’t have the time nor the wherewithal to try and scramble toward a sink or a toilet. Without a moment’s notice, his body started to expunge all the food and nutrients that it did not need – all over the floor of the apartment.

[Prudence]

Each vampire that she ever sired took to it differently, and it was no surprise Robin did too. No one really acted the way he did. Not the whole vomiting all over the place part. Prudence stepped back a little, just to make sure none of it would get even close to her booted feet and then cackled softly under her breath. "This one's a pistol. Got a good one, Lori." Prudence really didn't know if Robin was any good or not, but Lori had done as Prudence wanted her to do; as she needed to do and now he was 'alive.' Sorta.

She claimed the couch [because she didn't know if Robin was going to pull another exorcist move and vomit again] and watched the interaction between the two of them for a few seconds before the redhead interjected. "Robin, right?" Yeah, he just threw up, but he would be fine in a few minutes. "Long story short, ya kinda died, or were dying, and Lori decided to do what any friend would do, any smart vampire would do, and make ya into one of us. I'm Pru." The truth was now out there in a blunt manner, but it was better for everyone instead of beating around the bush and Lori feeling all sorry for him and for herself.

"Ya got family, Robin? Girlfriend? Cousins?" Lori might not know why Prudence was asking, but there was a darn good reason. The less people linked to Robin, the easier it will be for everyone. Knowing as much as she can know about him was a smart move on everyone's part.

[Lorelai]

All thoughts of what she'd done evaporated as she moved closer to her friend. Robin was being sick and it worried her. She'd shuffled behind him, seating herself on her knees behind his back as Pru moved away. One hand rested on her friends arm, as the other gently rubbed his back with the other. She couldn't help him any more than she already had. She'd given him her blood and now the rest was up to him. It worried her all the more that he was vomiting. She didn't care at all about the mess he was making, as it was after all her own fault. She'd caused this. She'd killed him. He was her responsibility now. As much as any grown man could be a responsibility. Was that how Prudence regarded her, she wondered. Blue eyes looked to the red head, but no answers to the unspoken question came.

Lorelai continued to rub his back as Pru questioned him. She wasn't sure if she should answer for him or not, as it was rude to butt in on a conversation that you were not a part of, or at least she'd been raised to think as much. Standing, she moved to the sink so that she could wet a tea towel. Wringing the cloth out so that it was merely damp, rather than sopping wet, she returned to her position behind Robin, placed one hand under his head and began cleaning up his face. he didn't look like he was in any state to be answering much of anything but Pru knew better and she had faith in her sire; perhaps a little too much faith.

[Robin Little]

Robin’s eyes were about bugging out of his head as he struggled to breathe. As if his lungs were telling him to stop. It was like the worst case of heartburn he had ever had (and given his less than savoury diet options, he had suffered quite a bit of heartburn in his time). He heard the questions though they took a long time to settle in his brain. It wasn’t until he felt the wet cloth on his face and Lorelai’s hand behind his head that tried to relax; tried to let the pain wash through him rather than cripple him. If he just let it run its course, it would be better. If he fought it, it would be worse.

Rather than try to breathe, he held the breath in his lungs so that he could try to speak, and answer the questions of the woman who, due to her bearing and her confidence of speech, seemed to be the leader. The one to look up to. The one to be obeyed, if obedience was what was required. Robin tried not to be too anxious about the fact that he’d probably **** up without intending to. It’s something he did often. He did his best to sit up, clutching at Lorelai’s hand for help.

”I’m turning into a vampire. I wondered what it might be like. I --” he stopped and hissed, eyes squeezed shut as another bolt of pain shot through him, radiating from somewhere in his gut. What he was trying to say was that he knew what was happening to him. He could only guess what she was going to say next. These were conversations he’d had, agreements that he’d made. He just nodded, swallowed - still tasting Lorelai’s blood on his tongue - and lifted his gaze to Prudence.

”I know the drill,” he said with a bloodied smile. He didn’t want to sound insolent.

”Secrecy. They think I’m a flake anyway,” he said with a laugh and a gulp. ”My closest friends are vampires. Lorelai one of them. I’m not… I’m not worried,” he said, though the last word was lost in another groan.

”Is this normal? Should I… I mean does it not work sometimes?” he asked, glancing between the two women anxiously.

[Prudence]

Pru sat there, listening to Robin as he stated he knew things and knew how to go about things. A bemused look was shot to Lori as Prudence heard him plain and clear that he had vampire friends and Lori was one of those vampire friends. How long had this guy known she was a vampire for? Of course, trust Lori not to tell a secret, and she runs off and tells it. Probably anyone Lori considered a friend knew her dirty laundry and then some.

"Oh no, it works. Always works." Prudence said after laughing, her look no more lighter than a few minutes before as her eyes pivoted from Lori to Robin as she tried to figure out their deal. They both seemed boring, so Prudence figured they met each other at some boring place. For boring people. Like a bookstore. Or coffee shop. Something where nothing bad could happen. Something where nothing interesting could happen. Like an arcade or amusement park. Some place where some action is at. Something fun.

"Maybe you're just a little special." Prudence shrugged her shoulders and waited to see what was going to happen, because she had no ******* clue and this wasn't normal. So either something was wrong with Robin, or something was wrong with Lori. "We could try and kill ya again and see?" Prudence offered, a small smirk on her face. "If ya turn to dust, don't worry, ya can come back and it worked. If ya die right here and now, well...we saved ya for a few minutes before meeting your actual demise?" Prudence was joking. Maybe.

[Lorelai]

A glimmer of malice flashed through the startled blue orbs of the female as she glanced back at her sire. How she could ever say such a thing was beyond her. Robin deserved better. He didn’t deserve to be in pain. She herself had been wondering if she had done something wrong, if she’d perhaps turned him too late, or if she had in fact not waited long enough. Perhaps it would have been better until he was unconscious. Perhaps it would have been better had she broken his neck, just as Prudence had done to her. Even the thought of doing that made a cold shiver race along her spine.

“I’m so sorry Robin,” she whispered. “So very sorry.”

She wanted to reassure him that she wouldn’t let Prudence hurt him, but she was still unable to fight the woman’s pull. Prudence drew her in, made her see her in a different light. She didn’t suspect her sire of doing anything to her on purpose, but she knew the way she felt about her wasn’t natural. It wasn’t right. Any negativity she ever felt evaporated within seconds. She was unable to cling to her disdain and anger. Not that the timid blonde held much to those emotions as it was, but things would have been far different if she was able to resent Prudence for prolonging her time on this earth.

Her eyes drifted back to Robin as his pain continued. She’d done the same to him, only worse. Prudence may have taken her life but she hadn’t been the one to endanger it, she hadn’t caused the mortal wound. Robin lay dying on her floor because she’d been too hungry to resist the lure of his blood. She’d been unable to stop herself from drinking the one thing she’d unwillingly denied herself from the day of her own death. Taking the life of another wasn’t something she would be able to forgive herself for any time soon, if ever. Drinking his blood had been a mistake and if she hadn’t been busy dealing with the consequences of her actions, she might have been in the bathroom trying to purge his blood from her system. In fact, had Prudence not come when she was called, Robin would likely be dead and Lorelai might have taken her own life as penance. Once again the bolshie red-head had saved her, only this time she didn’t know it.

[Robin Little]

Robin glanced between the two women. One had suggested killing him and the other had only apologised, as if that were the only choice. Robin swallowed, the taste of bile in his throat only wanting him to throw up some more – and it tasted all wrong, too. His body shook with the things it did not yet know it wanted. But he tried to tame the fever, swallowed again to keep the bile from erupting across his lips. He shook his head, even if it made the world spin, and felt as if there were a small bowling ball where his brain should be, knocking against the edges of his skull.

”No, no. You said it always works right? So I’ll just trust you and it’s working. It’s working, it’s fine,” he said, turning again to Lorelai, eyes narrowed inquisitively. It was working, right? He couldn’t repeat that question. He was afraid of what the red-head might do to him, if he asked that question again.

It was only then that he realised they had not really been introduced. There was a woman questioning him, interrogating him, threatening to kill him with a smile on her face, as if it would be absolutely nothing to her if he died. It was absolutely terrifying. He’d been too distracted by his own pain to actually realise how afraid he should probably be of this woman.

”Are you… I assume you’re Lorelai’s…” he stopped. He tried, again, to swallow. The lump rose in his throat and he couldn’t stop it, this time. Again, his chest heaved and he had to lean away from Lorelai so as to keep himself from throwing up all over her. Now, there was nothing solid in the liquid that spewed from his lips. Just an acrid, acidic liquid that, once gone, made him feel empty inside. In its place was a hunger unlike anything he’d ever felt before.

The pain in his gut had started to subside.

”…if only we could have met under different circumstances,” he said. He tried to laugh. He tried to be humourous, at least for Lorelai’s sake. But he was still shaking. He couldn’t focus on what it was he was feeling. Where the pain was starting to subside, it was replaced with something different. And there was a roaring silence in his ears that he couldn’t understand; he couldn’t pinpoint the reason why he felt so strange.

[Prudence]

Prudence saw the look in her mini's eyes, and flashed her a bigger smile. It was nice and refreshing to see that Lori could be something other than cotton candy sweet with gum drops and skittles on top. Even if it only lasted for a second or two before Lori was apologizing for whatever. Was she apologizing for making him a vampire, or was she apologizing for being crazy enough to not drink real blood for months upon months and losing control over her blood lust?

Robin drew Prudence's attention off Lori, by talking, so her eyes swerved over to him as he started talking about their first meeting. "Things happen for a reason, right Robby?" Prudence decided she liked Robby better than Robin, so he would be Robby to her from now on. Just like her mini was Lori and not Lorelai. "Besides, had I met ya earlier and known ya knew about Lori's little secret here, ya woulda either been dead or one of us a lot sooner." The woman shrugged her shoulders and then looked around the room before looking towards the door. She should go soon-leaving Lori and Robby alone to their whole sire and mini bonding experience. "And yep. I made Lori into a vampire, if that was what you were asking. I sired her. She's mine." Prudence beamed a large smile at the guy, clearly proud and pleased to be calling Lori hers, because she was hers. Sure, she was Levi's girlfriend, but she was still hers. Lori would always be hers.

"Ya got any blood in here for him?" Prudence moved to the kitchen to the fridge to take a look for herself, no matter what answer Lori gave her. "So, where is Levi?" Prudence wondered, mostly because she wondered what he would think of the new addition to his and Lori's little family.

[Lorelai]

"It's working," Lorelai cooed before she got to her feet to go and clean off the cloth that she'd been using to clean him up.

The truth was, she wasn't entirely sure if it was working. She hoped it was. She truly did. She even briefly closed her eyes and wished up on every star in the sky that he would come through this and survive; if being a vampire could be called surviving that was.

"His name is Robin," Lorelai corrected, after Prudence had confirmed that she was in fact her sire. Lorelai was always careful not to name the woman, especially not to those outside of her own kind, so it wasn't an unreasonable question for Robin to have asked. "Her name is Prudence," she told the male on the floor, as she once more knelt beside him.

Blood, Lorelai. The woman asked you for blood.
Oh...
I know. I know it's not your favourite subject or thought right now but this isn't about you and as much as you might like to forget what brought this all about, you have to woman up. Just because you have issues feeding, doesn't mean Robin will.
I... I know.

"There are a few blood packs in the refrigerator."

Lorelai waved in the direction of the humming appliance and waited to see if Pru would retrieve one or if she would have to fetch one herself. Quite honestly, she was didn't even want to touch the things again. At least not tonight. Even the thought of feeding made her feel ill.

*sighs*
What did I do now?
She asked you where Levi was.
And I didn't answer?
No. No you didn't. You got lost in here with me. Again.
Oh...

"Levi's out of town on business. I was hoping he'd be home by now and well... You know he usually takes away my hunger. Correct? And I couldn't stomach feeding. But I had to try tonight. I had to. I was so very hungry and well," guilty eyes looked to the man on the floor before her, "I should have controlled my instincts better. I never feed from people. I can barely stomach the blood that comes in bags. He just... I couldn't... I couldn't stop."

Her voice was pained and she had no-one to blame but herself; the whole situation was one of her own making. If only her pride would have allowed her to call to her sire sooner for hep, this might never have happened. One order from Prudence and she'd happily have been able to down the contents of the blood bags in her fridge. Unfortunately, her secret had seemed too important to share and then when Robin offered, her instincts had taken over and the rest as they say was history. Recent history, history in the making even, but history nonetheless, as nothing she could do now, could erase what had been done.

[Robin Little]

Robin couldn’t quite compute. He was a secret? If Prudunce had known, he would have been dead already? He found himself shaking his head. The threat of death couldn’t harm him. Not now. Not really. Not when he already felt like he was dying - though the pain was starting to subside. There was nothing left in his stomach to throw up. Subconsciously, his hand clutched at his chest; after a violent bout of what felt like severe heartburn, his chest had settled. But something wasn’t quite right about it. The heel of his palm pressed into his ribs, kneading at the lack of feeling.

As his senses began to solidify, he found himself turning to Lorelai, gripping at her arm, wanting to hug the guilt out of her. Despite how messy he might be, how the vomit splattered the floor nearby - he tried his best to keep from smearing it, or sitting in it, or rolling into it - he wrapped his arms around Lorelai as best he could.

”I am a blood doll. Was… was a blood doll,” he said, rearranging the words. Was. Past tense. No longer. He doubted vampires had any need for a vampiric blood doll. They needed the blood of humans, not the blood of their own kind. As far as he knew.

”I know a few vampires who used my services. I sold them my blood for a price. They could feed safely, without fear of getting caught. It wasn’t Lorelai’s fault,” he said, pushing back only to look Lorelai in the eye. Only to try to reassure her as best he could. ”It wasn’t your fault. I persuaded you. You tried to warm me, you tried to say no. I knew what the consequences might be,” he said. They had mentioned blood packs, and Robin had to laugh. There wa sa burn at the back of his throat, an ache that wasn’t subsiding, like the rest of the pain. He swallowed, his tongue unsticking from the roof of his mouth.

There was a buzz in his ears, too. A steady hum. Silence where there’d once been a steady beat, but it was replaced with…. what was that? He started looking around, started trying to find the source of the hum. Or was it just the sound of silence? Was he losing his mind? He stayed still, trying instead to focus on Lorelai; wondering she thought of his past preoccupation, and his involvement in his own death.