Dangerous shadows (Eureka)

[Edenor]

He couldn't help wondering what was going to happen as he stood there, drinking the womans blood from an offered wrist. His thirst for power had always been rather high, it was why he did the things he did in his life before finding his way to his place. Now was no exception. The thrill of finding such power, and to be offered it so easily, how could he not jump on this chance? Of course he also understoof he might shortly end up dead, as he stood there defenseless before a woman that just a short while ago wanted to kill him.

Her nature seemed fickle enough that he could at least trust her to give him a chance if only so she could decide later to kill him or not. Of course he realized she could also just be using it as a ruse to kill him by his own choice to drop his guard. A slight grin came to his face at that thought and he began drinking just a little deeper to try and get through whatever it was he needed to do before feeling her move behind him. His eyes opened and narrowed slightly though he knew trying to stop would definitely be a bad choice he did decide to bite down on her a little harder. He felt her press right against him then and he let his eyes fall closed, no more than a twitch on his face as he felt the release of tension in his skin when her teeth pierced him. It wouldn't be worth it to fight it and as he felt her start to drain him is the first time he noticed he didnt feel right.

It was a slight diziness in his head and it made him frown slightly but began to change just a few moments later. He felt cold and his insides began to spasm as if he were being stabbed from the inside out. It wasn't much at first, pinpricks almost as if it were just asleep like when he sat on his leg funny too long, or the zip ties were too tight on his wrists before. IT had happened too many times and as he thought about the past it at least lessened the feeling for a few moments. It began to become stonger then and he couldn't help pulling his mouth away from her wrist, his body truly spasming then. He didn't bother fighting the hold she had on him and roaned out in pain as his legs sagged for just a moment, the pain all but unbearable to him. Straightening again he couldn't even bring himself to try feeding again, his entire mind screaming in pain as he reached behind him, using the woman as a support, his hands tightening hard in her clothes as he tried to keep himself from falling or calling out in pain.

[Eureka]

Standing so close, Eureka could feel the tension in the human’s body. She could feel the way his teeth sunk further into her wrist before the grip loosened, became less sure. She knew exactly what was happening. There was a stubborn nature to this male, she knew, and it was somewhat satisfying to Eureka that he might think he was dying. That, rather than offering him eternal power and life, her blood was a natural poison. Set to kill him, rather than to offer him a second chance. Of course it would be satisfying for anyone to know the person who’d tried to kill them was in pain.

Maybe Eureka was lacking in empathy. There was no maybes about it, actually – she had no empathy. No pain, no gain. Isn’t that what they say? Eureka had to go through the exact same thing, with no prior notice or warning. This was not a life that she had asked for but she had embraced it wholeheartedly. She had murdered someone because she had snapped, because she’d had a problem with bottling her anger. To have remained a human would have meant prison, or in the very least, some kind of nuthouse. Maybe a nuthouse and prison combined.

Instead she had been turned. Maybe she’d have been able to be ‘fixed’ if she’d been rehabilitated but she hadn’t. She had a sire who stuck around to teach her the basics and warn her about consequences for revealing actions, but hadn’t actually stuck around to exact said consequences. So she’d remained unhinged. Nothing remained bottled anymore. Nothing at all.

As the human groaned and clutched at Eureka for support, she deliberated upon whether she’d let him know what was happening or let him suffer through it. She rubbed her hand up and down the guy’s arm; maybe she lacked empathy, but as soon as that bond formed, as soon as there was a tickling of it, the maternal instincts started to kick in. A woman who could never have children but who, for a moment or three, took a maternal interest in those she sired.

Her teeth retracted from his skin, her tongue running over the wound – far cleaner than usual – to heal it. ”Shhh. It’s completely normal. But I think you might deserve it. Don’t you?” she said, quite happy to stand there and hold him up, if that’s what he wished.

”Lots and lots of pain. If you survive, then you’re worthy. See?” she said. She hadn’t actually heard of anyone not surviving the turn but there was no reason to comfort him entirely now, was there?]

[Edenor]

He wanted to laugh as he heard the woman behind him speaking but it took everything in him just to straighten himself up again. Tosay it would be painful was an understatement. He had been close to death before, a slow death even, and it had not been like this. His mind wasn't completely clear and he misunderstood, or perhaps just didn't know that they were two different statements but he knew from what she said that he did indeed deserve the pain, several times over. His past had not been nice, generous, or even humane in the things he had had to do and if he didn't survive at least there might be some attonement in his suffering. Forcing himself upright then he realized his arm was much better than before but that only gave a moment of clarity that it wasn't all bad before a spasm wracked his body fora moment and he stumbled away from her.

He looked at her with bloodshot eyes and shook his head as he growled out through gritted teeth, "I will survive, and then I shall be back." It wasn't meant as a threat, far from it. it was simply a statement of fact. He knew he was dying and even if he didn't want to believe that the being that he had drank from and given his own blood to was a vampire, if it were true he knew that death wouldn't be the end if he could make it. His steps away were slow and staggering, but determined. He knew he couldn't last this way being in the open, someone would find him and that would cause problems, or perhaps another would recognize the change and take the chance of survival from him. It didn't take long before he found an alley nearby and staggered into it and collapsed against the wall, his legs barely able to support him from falling completely.

His mind was fogging up and becoming delirious as the pain worsened and he knew his body was dying, he could feel death coming for him and he could only struggle with his will to fight off a permanent death. After what she said he truly believed that it could lead to him being dead and so refused to give in. After several minutes of fighting the pain he yelled out and stood, his legs weak under him and he managed to find a door that wasn't locked. He wasn't even sure what the building was before stumbling inside and worked his way into the building. Thankfully it seemed to be mostly empty and in his delirious haze wouldn't know where or what the place was until it cleared. He managed to find a small room in the inside with no windows or other doors. He managed to get the door closed and collapsed against it then, his consciousness finally fading away as he lay there against the door and darkness claimed him.

[Eureka]

Eureka canted her head to the side, watching the male curiously. Curious, that he should back away like he did. Curious, that he should say what he did. That he would survive. And then he would be back. Was that revenge that he was seeking? Would he be back to finish what he had started? What was it that he had started?

Stunted, perhaps, by her own vampiric upbringing, Eureka didn’t stop him. She didn’t even know his name. This was something she wanted to learn. He said he would be back – but how the **** did he think he was going to find her? Yes, she did pass by this spot most every night, but she wasn’t going to wait around for him, if that’s what she thought. He had no idea where she lived, or where to find her otherwise.

What he didn’t know was that Eureka was more of an animal than he could even have imagined. He might have disappeared around the corner, but, lifting her nostrils to the air, she caught his scent. She inhaled every nuance of his personal fragrance, right down to the hint of testosterone. The mix of body odour and hair product and toothpaste and soap. If she had had a goal for the night it was lost, now. Gone. Instead, she followed after this man, her new progeny. Her childe, they liked to call them, though he was nothing like a child. He was strong, and she could still feel the roughness of his skin as it had sat taut beneath her tongue.

She didn’t have some cosy home to take him back to. She didn’t have much to offer him at all. But she could give him the privacy he needed to lick his wounds, if he wanted it. She treated him like she might a dying dog, giving it the respect it needed to die in peace. But she did watch, from a distance. She watched as he disappeared into a random building; circled the room that he locked himself into, her feet making no sound. She found somewhere similarly safe, with no windows, still and quiet as she waited for him to make a move.

And if the sun came, and if she was taken back to her rooftop, the same as she was every night, as soon as she woke up she would come back. She would find that scent. And she would follow it to its source.

[Edenor]

He wasn't sure how long the delirium had lasted, it could have been minutes, or it could have been days. All he knew was that the pain had gradually grown as more of himself died and it didn't seem to happen in any order that would make sense or allow him to brace for the next thing that would send pain through him. He did know when certain things had seemed to stop functioning, his lungs being the worst, every breath becoming labored and eventually even coughing up quite a bit of blood that had wracked him with pain during the convulsions it set off in his body. What he did know as he slowly became cognizant again was that the pain was gone.

As that registered he slowly stretched himself out on his stomach after uncurling from the fetal position the pain had curled him into and took a stock of himself. The first thing he noticed was the pain in his body was gone, and strangely enough as he tried to breath it seemed to actually hurt a little bit but it quickly faded away. He didn't even realize he had sstopped breathing once he felt the pain and that it didn't seem to affect him at all so why would he notice? His arm as well didn't hurt and that made him curious, it had been only recently broken and now felt, even under his other hands inspection as if it were whole again without any bruising or sensitivity. Slowly standing he couldn't help the wrinkling of his nose as the smells suddenly hit him, that was really what made him realize he was truly dead.

As that registered he couldn't help laughing softly, his body only reacting and taking what little air was needed to make the sound before he stripped out of his clothes. He had nothing else on him but he wouldn't be caught dead walking around in those anymore. He paused as that thought registered and he actually doubled over in laughter, his chest hurting as the dead lungs took in more air than they should have but at the moment he didn't really care. It took him a few minutes to compose himself before finally opening the door to the room he had hidden in, his discarded shirt used to wipe up the blood he had coughed out and that had dried on himself, among other things. Stepping out into the hallway was the first time he realized it wasn't just how his body felt that had changed, his vision was very different, the faint lights that made it into the hallway seeming like bright glares and letting him see his surroundings perfectly clear.

He went to leave then, not bothering to be bashful, even if there had been others he was expecting he wouldn't be. What did he care about others seeing him naked? Everyone saw someone naked at some point in their life and the only thing that would make him stand out was perhaps the scars covering his body, the worst of which was a patch of burned skin on his lower back and a few scars from bullet holes. He had greater concerns at the moment though, he couldn't help but feel an itch in his throat as if he were dying of thirst and really needed a drink. As he thought about that he found himself growing thirstier and felt a bloodlust he had never really had before. He tried to put it out of mind thinking he'd get a drink once he got cleaned up a bit more and found some clothes but found it impossible to dismiss completely. Those thoughts in mind he started to make his way back out of the building, knowing he needed to find clothes but finding something else driving him that he couldn't quite stop or even fully figure out.

[Eureka]

Eureka was lurking outside the building. Inside, when the sun came and went, of course. But she remained in the general vicinity. From wherever she was, she could hear him. She could hear the way he breathed, and coughed. The way he groaned in pain as his old body gave away to the new. It was a pain that she remembered clearly, but not, she thought it was something useful. A requirement. If a person made it through this process, then they were worthwhile. They were strong enough. If a person made it through without whinging, without screaming for help, then all the better.

Like a cat, she can track her childe. Not just by scent, but by hearing. Every tiny little noise that radiated from the premises, Eureka was aware of it. Every door that opened. Every footstep. Every rustle of clothing.

So when the newly turned vampire stepped from his hiding hole, Eureka was waiting. His state of complete undress was not a problem for Eureka; if she could get away with it, she’d kick around the city stark naked all the time. But she’d get nabbed for indecent exposure and would probably get tossed in a looney bin, and that just would not do.

When her green eyes took the man in – from top to bottom and back again – it wasn’t really in an admiring way. She was checking him over, as if making sure there were no abnormal mutations that occurred during his turning. Satisfied that he was whole and healthy and robust, she grinned at him. There was less of the predator in that grin now, but instead something more playful. Cheeky, even.

”I say we kill two birds with one stone,” she said, her voice deep and confident. She knew what he would be feeling. Upon her first night awake as a vampire the first thing Eureka needed to do was feed. It was the first thing she learned – how to satisfy that thirst.

”Want me to go find you a clothes donor, handsome? He won’t need them…” she said. In other words, he would be dead.

[Edenor]

He was a bit surprised at finding the woman who he had gotten his newly birthed powers from and he supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. She had seemed just caring enough when she had first started this process for him to be reborn as another of her kind that it made sense that she would track him down. He just hadn't expected it to be right away. He was still getting used to his reformed body and her voice seemed to carry more inflection to the tone, or at least it seemed that way to him. He had caught her looking him over as well but she seemed more interested in looking for something wrong than his current state of undress which she seemed to not mind at all. It set his mind at ease that at least everything seemed normal to her.

Her question though had him puzzled though. Simply because he saw no reason he would need help with that. Especially the way she implied and his head canted slightly as he smirked, "I am sure I can take care of myself in finding a 'donor.'" Moving over towards her though he looked around his eyes constantly searching for something he wasn't even sure of as he growled out, his voice more strained than he thought it would be as he voiced his thoughts, "Though a drink seems like its in order. This god awful itch in my throat just wont clear up and its getting worse." He was still trying to figure it out, his body obviously searching for something to satisfy whatever the need was. It was as he was puzzling out what would cause that itching sensation in his throat that his eyes suddenly narrowed, his nose inhaling deeply. He instantly knew the smell and cursed himself a fool for not realizing what it was he craved. Blood. From the smell that had reached him it wouldn't be far away.

It sent his mind careening as the desire to feed grew almost irrepressible and he grinned at her, his teeth and fangs showing through an almost sinister smile, "Ah I think I got it now." He bolted suddenly then, not even waiting or explaining to the woman, his mind whirling and not even noticing how quickly he was moving, following the smell of blood as his hunger took over fully, wanting to sate itself. Unfortunately for him, the hunger now brought to the forefront of his mind, and never having had to suppress this need it didn't really register all of what happened to him until after the fact.

As his mind cleared from the fog he was confused, his mouth clamped onto the neck of some unfortunate an outside the building, it hadn't been much that ended up leading to his demise, just a cut on his hand, and nothing bad but the bit of blood in the air had been enough. By the time he realized he had even left the building, the man was already almost dead and it took a forced effort to draw his mouth away with a gasp. Not at what he had done but as he had thought about it he realized he hadn't taken a breath yet and it helped to bring him back to the here and now. It had been so easy as he played it back in his head, an evil grin coming to his face and he said quietly as he looked at the man on the floor and mumbled to himself, "Hmm. I will have to work on my control a bit. Didn't even get to enjoy anything but the taste."

Dragging the body back into the building he was more careful now that the man was dead than when he had fed or killed him. The clothes weren't that dirty, he could tell by the smell, and quickly undressed the man to nothing but his boxers and donned them himself. Nothing fantastic, the material was actually a bit scratchy but it was better than the lack of clothes he had on before. Looking down at the dying man he at least put him out of his misery, a quick pull and twist of the head to snap the neck and sever the brain stem. Simple enough he had done it before being turned on several occasions and now it was as simple to him as a a child with an unfortunate butterfly in his hands to pull the wings off.

It was only then that he looked for the woman, realizing he had suddenly bolted, leaving her there. It hadn't been his intent and he hoped she didn't take offense. Of course he wasn't even sure he was in control of his intent at that moment at all as that hunger inside him had seemed suddenly all consuming and already the itch in his throat was building again. He figured if she waited for him to turn she likely would have waited this time and he finally realized he had known nothing about what the change would entail and likely still knew far less than he should if he would survive after this change and she was his only source of knowledge. One he planned to take advantage of to improve himself even further.

[Eureka]

The change was noticeable. Like a wild animal ready to attack, Eureka thought that she saw the guy’s pupils widen, thicken, darken like those of a predator. And then he was gone. It might have been funny to watch a naked man run from the building, down the street, out of sight. It might have been funny if Eureka didn’t see it for what it was; something in her own brain had snapped. She’d regressed, as if she’d skipped back a few hundred generations, trying to go back to when humans were animals. One and the same. They didn’t have knowledge of death; not really. They lived for the hunt, just the same as any other predator. They fought to live but it was an instinct that they were not conscious of. They were wild, just as Eureka now was wild.

She did not see a crazy naked man running down the street. Instead, she saw a freshly hatched predator. Someone who’d finally realised who and what they were. She saw an animal, and he was beautiful to her. He was natural. When she had found him he was bordering on unnatural; he was wearing too many clothes and asking too many questions, too attached to modernity. Now, modernity was their playground.

When he ran off she could have been annoyed. Why did he have to keep doing that? If he wanted to be left alone, then she could leave him alone. He could stumble through and learn things without any aid. But she was far too curious to be annoyed. She followed, though at a slower pace. She followed the scent of blood, which started out weak but only grew stronger. When she found him, she watched; they weren’t entirely out of the public space. At any moment someone could drive by. Could walk by. Could come out of that building, or around a corner. But Eureka didn’t think about that. She rarely did. How often had someone seen her ripping into someone else’s throat? How often had she been subject to wild screaming?

No, she paid no mind to where they were. She only watched as this new childe of hers finished his meal, and came around as if he’d awoken from a dream. He came to his senses and stripped the body of its clothes. They didn’t suit him. She preferred him naked. And if not naked, maybe leather. Not… what he was currently wearing.

Then there was the satisfying snap of a neck, and Eureka about purred.

”Did you have fun?” she said, and her voice did sound a little like a purr.

”Maybe I should just follow you around? Maybe… let you loose? Keeping running off on me and I may not tell you a thing…” she said. Her own fangs pressed against the pout of her lip, her eyes wide and predatory. She could smell the blood. And she was about as hungry as a newborn.

[Edenor]

Coming back into the moment as his eyes fell on the woman he could only offer a slight smile at her question. "I don't know that I'd call it fun to be honest. I don't like that feeling of not being in control like that, especially exposing myself to possible danger. I will have to work on that." As he moved over to stand in front of her he could almost see the disappointment in his choice of clothes as she looked at him and laughed with an upraised eyebrow, "Hey don't give me that kind of look. I'm not going to just keep running around naked and something is better than nothing." Just as he said that he felt an itch on his shoulder from the shirt he had donned rubbing funny and couldn't help but scratch it and it only seemed to make it worse as he grumbled out softly, "Maybe not."

Her teasing, or maybe she was actually serious, gave him pause and his eyes narrowed at her slightly, "Oh? So then it seems I had best learn control rather quickly if I'm to be kept around it seems. I will do what I can." His expression couldn't stay too upset though as he saw the look on her face. He had to admit, the way her fangs pressed against her lip with her current expression was rather cute. He wouldn't say so of course, and he had an odd suspicion that she knew exactly what she was doing with her expression. Women always seemed to know how to work their expressions like that and he highly doubted she would be different just because she was not human anymore.

His attention went back to her eyes though and he couldn't mistake that look for anything cute, sweet, or even forgiving though and he wondered if his own eyes had that same look when he had suddenly run to feed from his unfortunate victim. He actually hoped they had as it was a rather nice thing to look at, far better than even her somewhat cute pout. "So it seems I have kept you waiting long enough for me to sort my **** out. How about you lead the way and you can tell me what I need to know for now. If I have questions I'll ask but right now..." He could only shrug helplessly, "I don't even know where I should start my questions. I thought I would but so far all I know are the things of myth and legends about vampires and would rather not seem a complete fool."

[Eureka]

Eureka arched what might have been a slender brow, except that there was nothing refined about her features. She was a wild woman who did not see the need for plucking or waxing eyebrows. She did not wear make-up. If her lips were red it was normally due to residual blood. If her eyes were bright it wasn’t due to different shades highlighting the green, it was because she rarely went thirsty. Always full of energy, Eureka always looked as if she were ready for a hustle.

Along with the arched brow, her lips spread into an amused kind of smile. She was being patient enough, standing there listening to him. It seemed he had a lot to say, this wayward progeny of hers. It was tempting to stay silent and wait for him to figure things out on his own, but in the end she shrugged and turned on her heel, headed back in the direction from which they had come. By now, she knew the streets like the back of her hand, and this city was not a maze anymore. It was a beloved friend who welcomed her and made her feel at home.

”I think naked is better but that would get us locked up, and a cage isn’t good for anyone,” she said. Sometimes people probably did think her insane – sometimes she hardly thought about what she was wearing. There were always more exciting things to focus on. A fresh new childe, for example.

”What’s your name? Your story? Why are you stealing clothes from someone else? You don’t have a home? You don’t have any belongings of your own? Why didn’t you go there, rather than to that crappy abandoned building?” The questions came hard and fast – now that she had him, she wanted to know everything there was to know about him. The answers would help her to figure out what to do next – and everything he needed to know about being a vampire could wait a few minutes. They were now sire and childe – they needed to learn about each other. And given this guy’s penchant for talking, Eureka assumed she’d get answers.