A Bloody Mary [Clover]

[Raven Talius]

Yes, Raven had asked Clover to forget about a memory that was important to her. Simply because she didn’t want anyone to know. She didn’t want anyone to know just how much it hurt, that it was the defining tipping point in her old human life. A point where any trust she had, had shattered like a broken mirror and the pieces had tinkled down to the ground underneath her feet. The fact that she trusted Clover just that fraction, had replaced one of those shards back into an empty frame. What had possessed her to do so, was a mystery even to her. So when Clover said that she wouldn’t tell anyone, she was slightly relieved. Because, she was sure that now that she was vampire, her twin was going to be her number one target. The fledgling would hunt him down till his very last breath and she had eternity to do so.

Silently she listened to the sound as Clover continued speaking. Footsteps that passed the dark alley, paid no attention to the two covered in blood. It was probably better off, due to the fact that she wanted nothing more than to tear through yet another human. The whole thing had thrown her a little off balance. While that one fat human had been enough to cool the burn, it was fast returning. Was that normal? She heard voices off in the distance and as she looked down to the mouth of the alley, she spied red and blue lights that flickered off of walls and windows. Lucky for them, they hadn’t bothered to turn their attention to the alley. She nudged her boot against the dead man’s fat and watched with disgust as it wobbled. Why would someone let themselves get so fat? The woman would have made a comment about taking care of his health, but due to the fact that he had body guards, then she guessed that he didn’t give two shits about his health.

”If you had tossed me out on my ***, I probably wouldn’t have really cared. Being alone is all that I have really known, so being tossed out would have been something that I more or less expected.” Which was the truth. After her family had basically rejected her after the incident with her twin, nothing surprised her all that much anymore. Especially rejection. However, Clover had brought up multiple questions, especially about being a Shadow. ”What exactly are Shadows? Plus, how many types of vampires are there?” If Shadow was one type, what were the others? Her gaze snapped to the mouth of the alley as footsteps had paused at it. She heart the steady heart beat as if the human had paused and thought about ducking down it, but they continued on passed the policemen. However, Raven had caught the scent of the human being and she licked her lips. She remembered all too well what it was like to drink from the one human and she was tempted to follow the human. Stalk it before she pounced to sink her fangs into the vein that would spurt blood.

Slowly, she drew in a breath, one that felt unnecessary before she glanced back at Clover. ”This… Hunger. Is it always so powerful? Or does it go away eventually?” Raven could feel the need to want to kill, to rip the human to shreds and feed. In fact, even though she had been in a fight, died, came back as a vampire and had killed a man already, she wanted more. The fledgling cocked her head to the right, her tangled and bloodied hair fell over her shoulder as she did so. ”I could probably eat ten and still feel hungry.” Indeed the burn was great, but the night was wearing on and she knew that it had been something of a night. When was day light again? She pulled out her phone, but the screen had been smashed from the night’s festivities. How far back would it be to the room that she had been staying in?

[Clover]

Perhaps using the word type made their kind sound more like different species. To her knowledge, vampires only had minor differences, just little quirks that separated them into six paths: Shadows, mystics, telepaths, allurists, killers, and necromancers. Clo wasn't one for answering questions, finding it easier to avoid the situation, but she couldn't avoid Raven in the way that she avoided Okoro. Raven wasn't Okoro. Raven, from the moment of her death to the moment of her rebirth, went through a process that bound her to Clover, and vice versa. Clo had yet to tell anyone, so they only had each other. There was no helpful family, and there were no prying eyes. Just the two of them, and all the night had to offer.

“Six,” she began, “there are six paths: Shadow, Necromancer, Killer, Allurist, Telepath, and Mystic. They all have different abilities, like specialties. Shadows will bleed black. I think of it as a cross between tar and smoke. It’s sexy.” There was thick sarcasm on the word sexy, since she was both fascinated and put-off by the blood. Beyond that, she didn’t have many descriptors. Their bodies took longer to heal, since the flesh and bone came back in layers, like shadows stitching shadows. Licking her lips, Clover paused and then parted her lips once more. “We could easily become great thieves, whether it’s picking pockets or breaking and entering. Assassins. Manipulators of shadows. I think that’s a great way to put it. We’re manipulators of shadows.”

Clo didn’t want to make a sappy comment about Raven’s outlook on life, not when they shared some of the same pessimism, so she’d purposely avoided the beginnings of the woman’s words. Neither of them were really alone. Raven had Clover. And Clover knew what she was doing when she turned Raven. Turning Raven was a new connection, one that wasn’t supposed to be severed, one that would act as an anchor. If it weren’t for Raven’s reaction to the noise, Clo would have dismissed the footsteps. There was nothing of importance in the alleyway, and they were more than enough for someone far too curious and terribly unlucky. But Raven reacted in a way that didn’t show fear, that didn’t betray anything close to the emotion. Raven licked her lips.

A thirst. A constant hunger that all the blood in the world could never sate. Clover understood, and she knew Jesse understood. More than likely, other Fforde members understood too. But Raven had lost so much blood that Clo was hesitant to condemn her new childe, to diagnose the woman with insatiable thirst. “It depends, for the thirst. It could be that you lost so much blood your body is trying to replenish its stock. It could be that you're cursed with a never-ending thirst for blood. We could figure it out. We have some time left before sunrise. Not much, but some.”

Perhaps it was the sudden turning or the constant paranoia, and everything attached to said paranoia, but Clo didn't want them to part ways. She worried that if they parted ways, she'd have to hunt Raven down. Clo couldn't tell if Raven was the type to run, to disappear, but new vampires were likely to pull away and thrust themselves into some type of anger-fueled denial. For all Clo knew, Raven had begun the journey down that road. “I have problems with my thirst. It's dulled, but it's there. The hunger never really goes away. For me, it's a constant feeling of emptiness and a subtle hum throughout my body. Some might get a dryness in their throat, like the type humans might feel when they need water.”

Despite the footsteps that still indicated some traffic, Clover motioned, with a jerk of her head, down the alley. She wiped at her mouth to clear away remnants of fresh and dried blood, and then she adjusted her black blazer to hide the blood on her white shirt. When she moved out of the alley, she strolled, as if nothing had happened. Clover had said they could go anyway and do anything. Did Circle count? Or perhaps they needed more hunting, time dedicated to stalking prey. As Clo moved along the mostly deserted sidewalk, she contemplated. “I can take you home, or I can show you how I hunt.”