So Proud [Zahara]

[Saige]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Zahara: I twirl a feral fang between my fingers, admiring it - I took it from one of the feral’s I had killed. I had felt bad. It was odd, it felt like I was killing kin, and in a way. I was. It was horrible. I needed to get stronger though, for Saige I must. She has faith in me, and I in her. She saved me from dying, bed bound in hospital. I could feel myself dying. I sigh, looking at the fang. Sence had said something yesterday and it had made me curious, the ability to shift into an animal. I want to shift into an animal, I want to be a giraffe. Those animals are so majestic, and herbivores. They eat leaves. Much like me, but I don’t eat leaves I don’t drink from humans. I’m a blood-vegetarian. Then Caliopa said I couldn’t eat food because I wasn’t an Allurist. What’s an Allurist.

I pulled out my phone then and send a text to Saige, hoping she wasn’t too busy to answer my questions. I had some but I wanted to know what it meant. Squishy, whats an Allurist? I send her the text and wait patiently. I can be patient. My golden hues look back at the fang, twirling it over and over admiring the strange thing. I couldn’t even remember why I took it’s fang. Was it a momento?

Saige: No sooner had she exited the cafe from her talk with Simone had her phone rang. Now doncha worry, dontcha worry child, heavens got a plan for you… She smiled extra wide, her childe! She plucked her phone from her new bag and tapped at it, rolling her eyes slightly. She had just explained this to Simone… but it was Zahara, and it was important that the woman knew everything she had just got done telling Simone.

She reached her mind to the woman’s, linking it and speaking directly there as she tucked her phone into her pocket and headed around back to the alleyway away from prying eyes. ”Its a bit of a long story, are you at the Flats lovely?” She would wait to teleport to her, until she got the confirmation that that was indeed where her wonderful childe was.

Zahara: I was so preoccupied by the fang that I didn’t feel my head throb at first. I didn’t even notice I didn’t feel anyone probing my mind - it was only when I heard the voice that was familiar to me that I jumped out of my skin. Dropping the fang to the ground. I fall over the shock far too intense. I reach into my breeches pocket and pull out my hacked webphone bringing up Saige’s number I quickly fire off a text at her, perplexed. Was that you, did you ask if I was in Flats. Because I am. How the hell did you do that? I click send and start to find the fang that I had dropped, finding it I pick it up and nestle it close to my chest.

It was pretty. I wait for Saige to text me back, or do what she did before and somehow speak into my mind. I could do things too, I could lure humans to me, to talk to them and I could make my hand burn. Without even thinking about it, my hand suddenly did engulf itself in flames as I began to shake my hand, trying to make the flames go out - but they didn’t. I panicked.

Saige: The text came through, and Saige giggled, thinking about how that was the exact reason she hadnt mind spoken to Simone not an hour earlier. She teleported, landing just outside the building in the QZ there, slipping inside quickly. She was thankful that she could do that, and not have to worry about people seeing her suddenly pop up. She shoved a zombie away from her as she fully entered the lobby, and eyed it as it fell over and found another person to stalk in the other direction.

“Silly things.” She smiled, then went over to Zahara, finding the girl shaking her hand vigorously as the flames licked at it. Burning touch. Saige sighed and grabbed the womans wrist then, avoiding the actual burning touch as she stepped into her childes field of vision and caught her attention. “Calm, calm your mind. Control the power, dont fuel it.” She tried to help.

Zahara: The fire was burning my hand, well it didn't feel like it was burning. It tickled actually, like a puppy lapping at my fingers. It didn't feel unnatural but as I continued to shake my hand to hopefully douse the fire, my tongue clicking with annoyance. I didn't like this feeling of being a rebel, the disorder I liked to have things in order. The fire around my hand was not order, it was a complete mess. I whined.

I felt it, someone had grabbed my I turned my attention from the licks of flame to look into the sweet, gentle face of my sire, I smile at her. She avoids the fire though, moving into my direct eyeline, she tells me to calm my mind, control the power. I nod my head, in an understanding and close my eyes and focus, quieting my self, and my mind along with. It was like meditation, after a moment of silence the fire that engulfed my hand dissipated into a puff of grey smoke that rose.

"Woah." I say to Saige and grin, planting a kiss to the woman's cheek. "Thank you Squishy, I don't know how it started I swear." I smile, hoping she would think it was the truth because it was, I wasn't a trouble maker. I didn't want to upset Saige either.

Saige: Z closed her eyes, and instantly Saige could tell the woman was calming herself, her own mind touching the others as she realized just how hard Z was working to calm her mind. The woman stayed calm, and shortly after a minute or so the womans hand stopped flaming and Saige released it. “See, perfect.” She grinned, giggling gently before she gave a nod then and hugged her tightly.

“I know, it just happens. You’ll learn how to control it. I promise.” She smiled gently, motioning to move to a nearby couch to have a sit down. “Come on, I’ll answer your question… its a bit more complicated than you’d think lovely.” She smiled gently and led her to the white couch, pulling her purse from her shoulder to set it next to her side that Z wouldnt be sitting.

Zahara: Complicated. Why did she say Complicated, I blink at the woman before coming over to a couch she was angling me towards, I don't mind. She's better than me at everything, well not hacking. We are pretty evenly matched. I'm cool like that. I show the pearly whites of my fangs to the woman, I don't hide who I am in this establishment, everyone seemed supernatural here, and the zombies. I think I'm safe here, I can be what I am here. I sit down next to her after a brief moment, looking at the bag she carried I raised an eyebrow.

"Pretty!" I say with a laugh before focusing on the woman, she said it was complicated. "Why?" She asked curiously. My golden hues sparkled, as Saige smiled at me. I wanted to know now, curiosity had been sparked since last night, I was going to have her curiosity soothed. Saige would tell me, she loved me enough to tell me.

Saige: Her childe noticed her new purse, and Saige beamed That made her happier than she already was, by far. And she was already pretty happy! She smiled brightly, then furrowed her brows at her childe who was showing her fangs. “Your fangs… can you control them?” She couldnt help but ask, her one hand reaching up to point rather close to the other womans mouth. She would still love her regardless, but her curiosity was getting the best of her.

“Its a lot to take in, so settle in” She grinned, reaching into her purse and pulling out her pen and pad that she had used with Simone earlier. “See, when you get turned, you subconsciously follow a path. There are six, that we have discovered, and that link to each other through bridges.” She informed her, starting to draw the diagram she had earlier for Simone. This time around was going to be easier for her, and Zahara would be just as enlightened by the end.

Zahara: Her finger gets so close to my mouth, I don't react, she's practically seen me in a hospital gown, once you've seen that you've seen it all. She asks if I can control them. I don't understand what she means. I lift my own hand to my mouth, and rub my index finger against my fang. "I don't understand?" I say. "I don't show them, and I don't use them." I say, I don't want to take anyone's life I don't want to drink from humans so I don't use them to bite into necks. "I don't feed off humans." I state. Unsure if it would be frowned upon. That was the basis of a vampire, living off the life force of another. In this case humans, but I didn't do that, I did at random drink from the cute little fluffy bunny rabbits, but that was it - I did mostly drink from contraband packs from the shop. The nice man sold it to me, for only two hundred dollars a piece.

My attention moves to the pen and pad, as she begins to draw. I watch her, and how quick the pen moves against the paper. Six paths she says. I know mine, Mystic. I had just assumed everyone was a mystic. "We all arnt Mystics?" I say. I sound disappointed, my tone drops. "How do I turn into a Giraffe?" I ask, knowing me I probably jumped the gun and skipped a few pages of Saige's tutorial.

Saige: She watched the little fuzzy googly eyed creature on the end of the pen bounce its rubbery legs as she wrote, outlining each path and the bridges in between them. She’d get into the wraith guides in a second. “No baby, we arent all mystics. There are Allurists, Killers, Necromancers, Telepaths and Shadows too.” She smiled warmly, pointing to the respective bubbles as she spoke. “The bridges in between make it so that eventually, you’ll be able shift into an animal of choice… but just one.” She glanced over to the woman, giving her a second to absorb the information before moving on.

“You see, when someone dies and gets turned, they follow the path that they were most similarily like while human. Ive found Mystics like us to be artistic, gentle, caring and kind. Creative and smart, too.” She giggled gently, reaching over to give Zahara’s shoulder a gentle squeeze. “Im sure in time you’ll be able to control everything, and then some.”

Zahara: I listen, absorbing it all. I notice though, she doesn't make a comment about me being a Giraffe when I get the power maybe she just didn't hear me. I'll probably tell her at another point. Maybe when I get the power itself, I smile. Watching her draw bubbles around each path, I follow where she points and when she stops for a moment I let my brain take in all the information, absorbing it within the confines of my memory bank. I would learn this, I will get stronger. I will turn into an animal.

"What are you?" I ask, I'm unsure if she has told me before. I don't think she has. Maybe she's a mystic like me, she seems kind and caring - even creative with those little bubbles she was drawing. I turn my hues to the vampire, smiling at her as I wait for a response. "Can you turn into an animal?" I ask.

Saige: “I’m a mystic, like you. I had the same problem with my hands as you did - only mine ended pretty badly.” She shuddered visibly at the memory of killing zombies and ferals to get her bounty down after accidentally killed the guards. She didnt much want to talk about that day - that day was a pretty bad day. Though there was some good to it, she thought, looking back on it. That day, had helped her grow up a little. Mature, realizing that sometimes there wasnt anything else you could do but resort to violence. There seemed to be a lot of reflecting for Saige today, as she remembered being a new vampire.

“I cant, no. I can summon things - even you. And I can find pretty much anyone - even the wraith guides for people who want to bridge - you have to seek certain ones out for certain bridges.” She pointed to the mystic bubble, then to the seeker line. “See for you to learn the seeker powers, you need to see out Vadasz. Thier locations are listed on crownet, and if they arent, just let me know - I’ll find them for you.”

Zahara: I blink, absorbing more and more information, though the name of wraith rang a bell. I had met a being it spoke it riddles to me and taught me how to lure humans for chit chat. Phoenix had said that word on the CrowNet. Wraith. I nod. "I know that word Wraith, I met him. He was the one that taught me how to lure humans to me to talk to." I grin seemingly pleased of myself for even knowing that, who knew. I laugh and then think of tracking. If she knows how to track and summon I want to be just like her.

"Can I be like you even more?" I know I come across as a child when I say then, but I honestly don't care. "I want to know everything you know." I say with a broad, sheepish grin as I shift in my seat, my bum getting numb against the coach.

Saige: She looked over at Zahara, nearly melting at the womans words. Just like her. She reached out and raked her knuckles across the womans cheek gently with a short giggle. “Of course dear, of course. You’ll get there Z, you’re already so strong, I can tell.” She brightened up then, remembering the gift she gave to Simone and how she had one just like it for Zahara. “I have an expensive gift for you, so dont lose it, okay?” She beam, pulling her purse into her lap on top of the pad of paper and pen.

Pulling the charred fox ear finally after a moments search from the purse, Saige handed it over to her childe. Spending almost a hundred thousand dollars in one day, Saige couldnt help but feel like she was such a useful person to these new vampires. She pointed to it, then. “It’ll tell you when I check up on you, mentally. Appraise you. So you’ll know sire is always watching you grow stronger.” She grinned then, and did just that, appraising the woman. “Like right now you are just as nimble as I am, and you have been not only working on your hacking, but on your use of guns as well.” She settled her purse back to the spot next to her.

Zahara: I heard her giggle, then she touched my cheek gently. I smile, that feeling when you've done an idol proud. I have it, I grin and watch the woman for another moment. She said I was strong. I didn't feel strong, then she said she had a gift for me. My eyes light up with excitement. "A present?!" I exclaim. Excitement fill my stomach before I bounce on the coach. "What is it?"

She handed me something then, an ear.. It look burnt. I take it, bouncing it between my palm. Before I put it in my pocket. It was uncomfortable in my pocket, stretching it so I push my hand back into my pocket and hold it within my palms my eyes went back to the woman smiling. "Thank you so much for my present!" I say happiness brimming over the edge. The item within my grasp grows hot then, my thumb rubs over the relic, within the charred cracks a name is visible - Saige - she had appraised me, looked over my skills. "How did you know all that. I mean what is appraising?" I smiled, I wanted to know how she knew I was good with guns, I didn't think I had told anyone. I usually used my gun to shoot the Ferals. So I could take their teeth or their blood.

Saige: “I sized you up, mentally. I could even tell you what powers you have.” She grinned then, giving a shrug of her shoulders, “Its nothing fancy but I’m so anti-violence that most of my powers arent offensive or even defensive.” She smiled sheepishly. Sure, she could summon fadebeasts and overwhelm someone just like Pyper had; she needed those powers to be strong for her team in the raids - but she hardly ever used them. She used her powers when she had to, that was it. Never did she use them when she didnt.

“Its a Telepath power, and well, you’re already on your way there. Im so proud, Z.” She smiled warmly and patted her childe on the knee. She never imagined having anyone other than Saki as a childe, let alone someone like Zahara. She honestly had thought that for week she had visited Zahara and the woman hadnt turned that she wasnt doing anything but killing her - but here Zahara was, five months younger than Saki and already asking more and doing more than her other childe had this whole time. Sure, Saki was a do it yourself kind of gal - but Saige was most certainly a sire that had needs too - like being needed as one. Zahara helped to fill that, incredibly so.

Zahara: I want to be a Telepath. "I have a question" I ask I don't really wait for an answer. I smile. "If you are anti violent." I ask. "How do you train, if you - do you train on Ferals too?" I ask. I wondered if I was the only one that trained on them, though I hack everyday. She said I was on my way to being a Telepath. The thought filled me with excitement. I wanted to talk into her mind, just like she had done mine. "I want to do what you do." I said with a grin.

I knew Saige had sired someone else, I didn't know who though. I hadn't had the pleasure to say hello, I made a mental note to find this woman and introduce myself. It would make Sige happy, I just knew it would. That's what I wanted to do, I wanted to make Saige proud. I had so much devotion for the woman, so much loyalty.

Saige: She shook her head, looking down at the hand on her knee that had her ring on her finger that signified spending the rest of forever with her Velia. She remembered the day she had spent engrossed in violence. And how horrible it all was, right down to the sunburn that she had incurred that morning whilst passed out on the porch.

“I do a lot of hacks. And sometimes, I ritual. I refrain from killing any living thing, if I can. Unless of course I have to put it out of its misery. I mean. I like to think I’m not half as naive as I was a while ago, but I do like to stick to the firm values that violence only begets violence.” She smiled gently at her childe then, shifting as well against the couch. “There are plenty of things to do that dont require killing, actually. Breaking and entering, crafting, metal working even.”

Zahara: I look at her, as she looks sad for a moment. I lift my hand and put it against hers, on her knee. I pat it in a comforting notion, to let her know that I am there for her. I always will be. She is my sire after all and I simply cannot bear to see her in pain. Without thinking I grab her and scoop her up into a hug. It’s like second nature to me, nurturing others with little hugs here and there. It was what made me and Saige alike, well I like to think we are alike. She is so much like me, and I her. I smiled. Withdrawing from the strangle like hold I gave Saige coughing to make sure I was serious again.

“I enjoy hacking.” I exclaim, happy to announce it. “Though, you said you don’t like violence.” I shrug my shoulders. “Am I committing murder when I hunt down these creatures within this small space? Am I a bad person?” I cant my head then, waiting for an answer. I don’t expect an answer straight away. I care though, if she says it is murder then I won’t do it. I wait.

Saige: “Oh gosh, no.” She didnt hesitate in her response to her lovely childe, barely out of the hug the woman gave her before she admitted to her that she didnt think she was committing murder. “I dont think its murder I mean, as I said - there are circumstances where you should put these things out of their misery. Its okay to send them to the afterlife, they will be better off there, I assure you. I couldnt imagine someone I know being turned into a feral rabid creature as such as the ones here. Thats such a sad thing to imagine.”

She reached up to brush her hair out of her face and behind her ears then, as it had come loose in the abrupt hug from her childe. She loved that Z didnt care much for the personal space - as with her the normal personal space around her wasnt too personal. She could hug, and lean on, and even reach to start braiding her hair for all she cared. “Good! Good. You should take a hobby, and stick with it. Dont spread your focus too thin.”

Zahara: “Like butter” I squeal and giggle at the other woman who sat on the couch with me. It was funny, that she let me even be that close to her. Perhaps it was a maternal thing within the woman. I mean, she made a vampire that kind of made her a mum to me, right? I cant my hand again trying to understand what else I could learn. I didn’t want to steal, stealing was wrong - so was hacking really. I could hack into the government and steal everything. Not that I ever would. There were no limits when it came to the internet, and the systems. My focus is on the Ferals again, my eyes find the corpse in the corner of the room. The corpse I had left there. I gulp.

“So, it’s a good thing?” I ask as I smile. “I’m not hurting your feelings if I kill them - I tried to hug one, once.” I say. When I had first seen them, they looked so sad. “He hurt my back.” I said. I failed to mention that it hugged me so hard, I had to shoot it, to make it get off me. I didn’t say it though.

Saige: She gave a nod to Zahara’s question, her smile warm as she silently told the girl yes. It was a good thing, for her, that she was trying to help them out, and not trying to just kill them mercilessly. Of course they were trying to do that to her, but Saige figured that was why she was dropping in daily to give the woman a shield so she was more dextrous and could easily evade their grapple attacks. She frowned when Zahara mentioned one hurting her back, she didnt like the thought of her childe getting hurt at the expense of some inconsolable feral.

[Zahara (DELETED 5561)]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

Saige: “Please…. just be careful. I dont know what I’d do if you got hurt, Zahara.” She sighed lightly, though she didnt want to make the woman feel bad what so ever. “I mean, sure, we can heal… if you ever get more than one wound, let me know. I have a rare relic that can let you heal twice in one day, if you have the power saved up for it.” She smiled then, so glad that her childe had subconsciously chosen the same path as her sire. It made things easier for her in the long run, and for explaining things like powers that Zahara may be able to have. Unlike when Simone had asked earlier and Saige had to admit that she didnt really know for sure.

Zahara: Healing. Vampires can heal. My mind was full of so much new information that it simply felt like it was going to implode. It really was. I blink and nod my head feebly. “How do we heal. Say I chopped off my lil’ finger.” I raise my hand and point at the little finger I was talking about and wiggle my nose ever so slightly. “What would happen. Could I heal that, or you. You said you could heal it with your relic.” I pause. “What is a relic anyways?” I find myself asking as my golden hues rest upon the charred fox ear Saige had given me not so long ago. I care for the woman in front of me, the pangs in my chest said so. When she leaves me to do something else, I don’t get sad but I miss her. I couldn’t quite understand why I felt this way. Does she feel the same way about me when she leaves me. I wonder.

“I’m careful.” I pause, to find the right words to say. “I think.” I pause again, my tongue creeping from the depths of my mouth to wetten the upper and lower lip of my mouth. “I try to be at least, that has to count for something. Right?”

Saige: She giggled then, fully expecting those questions from Zahara, as they were the exact same ones that Simone had asked earlier. She wanted Zahara to ask questions; that meant the woman was listening to the point that it wasnt going in one ear and out the other. That would be disheartening for Saige so it was a good thing that Zahara was asking questions. No question to Saige was too stupid to ask, no question not worth her time, in her mind.

“Im really glad you asked.” She smiled, “Your finger would grow back, eventually. And I cant heal your wounds for you - only you will be able to do that unfortunately.” She would have loved being able to heal the woman, but alas her power didnt allow such things. “Relics are artifacts that we have to help us with certain things. Like that fox ear helps you to know when I check in on you. And yes, it is very good that you try to be careful.” She giggled lightly with another nod.

Zahara: I must’ve misheard her, I thought she had said she could heal me - but that wasn’t correct when she said I healed myself. “How?” I say, in reference to healing myself. I want to know. I must know, it’s odd she says my finger will grow back. How though? From what I had learnt in school you needed platelets to heal things. We’d need a heart that beats to get blood pumping around the body. How did our bodies heal chopped off ligaments. I scratched at my head in a fluster. “How?” I ask again. I had to know, it would gnaw at me otherwise.

The relics was explained then and I nod my head, something to take off my aching brain from the crazy talk of ligaments healing. “That’s neato.” I say with a broad grin that stretches from ear to ear. “I wonder if there is a relic, for staying happy all the time.” She said.

Saige: She smiled warmly, as always at her eager childe. How she couldnt have been happier to have a woman so intrigued and eager to learn about the world that they lived in now. It was uplifting, that Z wanted to know it all, and so quickly too. Saige was silently impressed that the woman was still absorbing the information she was giving to her in bulk. It would be okay if she forgot and had to ask again, later, though. So Saige wasnt worried.

“Its a mystic power. You’ll learn it sooner than later, promise.” She giggled then, shaking her head ever so slightly at Z, then giving a nod with a pleased closed-lipped smile. “Dont need a relic for that bbe, that’s what I’m here for hun.” She grinned then, lips pulled into thin lines as she tipped her head to the side. “But there really is a relic for just about everything. Like hacking, there are actually… two specific to hacking. One helps you seek out better files, and the other helps you with being detected by tracer programs.”

Zahara: I nod, absorbing the information. She says there are two relics to help with hacking and my interest is peaked. I really liked to hack, it was a talent I seemed to be good at now since being turned into a vampire. “What are they called? I want to save up and get them.” I tell her with an eager, beaver like smile. My golden hues go back down to the charred fox ear. My fingers stroking it’s charred edges. Admiring the tiny thing, wondering how it could hold so much power.

“I will learn it.” I promise the woman, with another grin plastered on my lips. I admire her, how she had managed to do this. Did she had help, she hadn’t mentioned her sire - simply a grandsire. I wonder if she even talks to her sire, I don’t approach the subject for fear of upsetting the woman I had grown to love.

Saige: Saige’s grin didnt waver, if anything, it grew. Pearly whites beamed as her smile reached into hr eyes and warmed them through and through. “There is this nifty ring, of technomancy.” Saige pointed to the ring that was on her right pointer finger, a simple elegant band like gold ring that had code like script engraved on it. Saige remembered when Velia had given her that ring too, and suddenly it dawned on her that that ring had been one of the first things Velia had ever given to her. She had thought to give that one to Zahara, but for now she figured she would hold onto it. Sure, she felt bad that she couldnt just take it off and give it to Zahara - but it had a special meaning deep within her heart.

“I’d give you this one, but my dear wife-to-be Velia gave this to me a long time ago.” She admitted, looking at it sentimentally. She gave a small smile then, and pulled her monocle from her pocket. “This is the Modulation Monocle. It will probably be your first hacking raid relic you’ll win, but we’ll cross that bridge when we get to it.” Her smile returned to warming her eyes as she held it out for Zahara to take and inspect.

Zahara: Hacking Raid? I pause to rub at my jaw as she shows me the ring. My eyes never leave it’s smooth surface, the script imprinted into the metal my hands subconsciously rub at it. I didn’t mean too, it would probably seem really weird if I did, but at that moment in time I didn’t care I wanted to touch the relic, to understand why relics were so important so I removed my fingers from the ring a moment later and smiled. “It’s beautiful.” I say with a gleeful, yet charming smile on my face. “I want one too. I’m going to get one.” I tell her. The way I said it, it was so matter of factly.

She brings out another relic then. I admire that one too in the same fashion. I have no shame, I don’t believe in personal space as I blink. “What’s a Hacking Raid?” I ask her. The word excites me, probably because it has the word ‘hacking’ in it. Saige now knew how much I loved to hack.

Saige: Nodded slowly in her childe’s determinative mood. That was the exact spirit she liked to hear from the woman, the spirit that she had only hoped the woman had held on to the last second of her death - though Saige couldnt, and never would, blame Zahara for losing herself in her last moments of life. What Saige had seen from the woman in front of her was nothing short of a person to love and cherish; and saige would do just that.

“Its a system of six levels, instead of just the one. I’ll teach you how when the time comes.” She smiled, “If you’re fast enough, and good enough - and just lucky enough - you’ll end up walking away with a relic. There are a couple the hacking raids offer - and some are worth a pretty penny. Up to half a million dollars some will pay for the healing vambrace.”

Zahara: Money. I like money, it would help me pay for my flights back to Africa when the time was right, and I thought I was ready enough to face being away from Saige. I needed her, so for now I would put off going to see the children in Africa whom I had promised to see again. I couldn’t see them in pain, but I couldn’t myself be in pain. I didn’t want to be tempted by human blood. THIS I had to get under control, for now I had no need for human blood. I didn’t want it, but who could say that in a week I’ll be clawing myself away from Saige for a drop. No. I would never do that. I listen then, my ears pricking up at the description of what a hacking raid actually was.

“Six levels.” I repeat. Nodding my head slowly. It was so much to take in, but when she tells me about how much people would actually PAY for a relic. I smile. “I’m going to win one.” I tell her. If I was a peacock, my feathers would be on display in pride.


Saige: She couldnt help but giggle at the woman, nodding as she shifted to drape one leg over the other. “Thats the spirit, Z. Good for you.” She let her foot bounce her leg gently on top, looking around the lobby then, before looking back at the woman. “Lets see.” She thought then, what else could she tell her? She pursed her lips to the side, then her eyes got wide as she remembered something rather pertinent.

“Oh! Dont try to eat real foods babe. The results wont be pretty.” She frowned then, giving a light shrug of her shoulders, “We arent meant to eat human food any longer.” It was sad, and Saige knew it was sad, but she also knew there wasnt much she could do about it. She had heard of some people being able to eat and just not tasting it, and others like Allurists could actually eat - but not Mystics as far as she knew.

Zahara: Yes, Caliopa had said the night before that I couldn’t eat food. She told me specifically why. Now, Saige had given me the answer. I nod my head, copying Saige’s movement as I too crossed one leg over the other. It’s odd. Everything she does I feel I need to do the same, but I bury it for now. Unsure if I ask Saige -that- question. Right now. I want to know everything I can about being a vampire, It was imperative I do. My safety depended on it, besides not wanting to let Saige down.

“Aw, I did like gravy and fries when I was.. alive.” I tossed the word on my lips before frowning missing the taste of food altogether on that one. “Do we get used to it after a while, no longer having food. I suddenly have a chocolate craving and it makes me sad I can’t have it.” My small tiny hands flew down to my stomach rubbing it in circles in a hungry notion.

Saige: She sighed and shook her head at her childe. “No, it doesnt ever really go away.” She thought back to the first time Velia had brought her blood, thinking about the red plastic cups and the lids with white straws so she couldnt see the blood inside them. It was a very sweet guesture, even if Saige wasnt minded by seeing the blood she was drinking. She smiled gently and reached to pat at Zahara’s knee again.

“You’ll get used to it,” she gave a squeeze, “even if you do miss chocolate.” She smiled lightly then, giving a brief nod of her head. “And also, dont get spotted feeding. Its a sticky situation to be in when you do, and a hard one to get out of too.” She nodded once more, slowly. “Alright?” She needed to know that the woman understood that, with absolute clarity.

Zahara: I scoffed, and straight after I laughed. It was impossible to get spotted feeding, well for me at least. I didn’t feed off humans, I was unsure if she had heard me the first time when I said, no it was confirmed that she didn’t. So I enlightened her again, reminding her that I didn’t feed off humans so she’d know. “I won’t” I tell her with a smile across my peach coloured lips. “I don’t feed off humans, remember. I only drink from blood bags, or bunny rabbits if I fancy it.” I say with a shrug of my shoulders. My smile never faltered. I didn’t want her to be ashamed of me for feeding from bags, and not from a live host. I wondered if it would be like an episode of vampire diaries, where someone who fed from live hosts (humans) were stronger than those who drank from animals (me) I’d have to ask someone at a later point as I shrug my shoulders.

“I’m sure I will.” I tell her with my smile still intact. “I’m sure it’ll be hard to resist chocolate, and warm milk. Even cookies.” My smile dipped then, unahppy that I would be missing out on the treats I used to like when growing up - it was girly food, used for sleepovers. It was alright though. I would cope, I could only hope.

“I will do you proud.” I tell her again. Repeating myself for probably the gazillionth time tonight.

Saige: Saige nodded slowly, good, she thought. If there was one thing she didnt want, it was a repeat of Saki and her escapades on the list. She sighed contently then, shifting to drop her leg and look over at the woman more squarely. She looked her over; she looked healthy enough. It wasnt a bad thing to be feeding off the blood, but Saige couldnt help but feel like she still needed more care. More attention.

“I am already proud of you, Zahara. You’ve shown such promise and tender care. You dont need to tell me you will do me proud; I already know it.” She smiled genuinely, then, reaching up to tuck a strand of the womans hair back behind her ear for her. Tender, love and care. Saige would show it to Zahara for as long as she could.

Zahara: She tells me I don’t have to tell her. I blinked. Well, how was I supposed to tell her when I want to do her proud, I frown but it dissipates within seconds because she tells me then I was already doing her proud. I had forgotten in that moment that Saige could see how well I was doing, of course she would know I was trying to do her well, get stronger for her. I am a clutz at times. “I’m glad. I want to keep doing it.” I tell her with a grin, I hug the woman again, it was a habit. I just liked to hug. I am a hugger.

“Thank you.” I tell her slowly. Her compliments make me blush, but due to the fact that I was dead it never shows so instead I just smile, and look meek.

Saige: She giggled as Zahara hugged her, nodding into the hug with her short arms wrapped around the woman as her chin rested on her shoulder in the embrace. She didnt mind the hugs. She liked the hugs - she wished honestly that Velia would have given her more - though she was sure that if she asked for them they would be given. Not to say she wasnt happy with how things were - she was beyond.

“I… have something to ask you, doll.” It was spoken softly, and she almost was afraid to get rejected in a response; though she knew she wouldnt, it was just that it meant that much to her.

Zahara: She wanted to ask me something, and I raise my eyebrows in response. I don't know what she means, was I in trouble. Was it because of my burning hand. I get scared for a moment if I was human I would be sweating but I wasn't. I look at her and nod my head slowly. She would have anything I could give her. Would she ask me not to do something?

"What is it?" I ask, I look at her curiously canting my head my chocolate hair short atop my head as I rub at the back of my neck, before combing my hands through my hair. "Ask me anything" I tell her.

Saige: She could see that she had scared the woman, and she cooed at her softly, reaching to place her palm to the womans cheek. “No, no, its nothing like that. Im wondering if you’ll be in the cerimony for Velia and I. You know, bear the rings or toss some flowers, or something.” Saige let her hand fall back to her lap, giving a soft giggle. In truth, she didnt know how to handle the cerimony as is - did vampires do the same thing as humans? She figured the wedding portion would be the same though, so what she was wanting was still feasable.

“I just, we’ve been planning the marriage for a couple months now and I was hoping you’d be a part of that now.” She smiled warmly, just as she had been, staring over at her childe that she adored so much. It was cute that she had scared the woman, she thought - because it had nothing to do with her even.

Zahara: I laugh for a moment, it wasn't a mocking kind of laugh, god no. It was a odd. I had never been asked to be someone's flower girl or ring bearer before so it was more of a shocked kind of laugh. Saige barely knew me, and I barely knew her - but there was more, there was a bond it was strong between us. I found herself nodding my strongly the crane of my neck bobbing back and forth like a nodding dog from one of those Churchill adverts.

"Of course"!" I say as I bring my hands together and clap excitedly much like a child would when their parent agreed to buy them candy, or a new toy. "Though, I'm too old to be a flower girl. I can look after the rings for you, if you like?" I pause for a moment. "Please no pink though." Though it really wasn't up to me.

Saige: No pink. Saige laughed, shaking her head. “No pink. Blue. It’ll be light blue.” She informed Zahara, smiling at the woman who was ecstatic Saige hadnt scolded her or yelled at her for anything but instead asked her to do something for her. Saige knew Zahara was going to say yes. She knew it. She just hadnt expected the woman to to tell her no on one of her favorite colors.

“Why no pink? Its a lovely color. It’d bring out your eyes, you know.” She giggled and reached up to tap the pad of her pointer finger to the womans nose. Zahara was so cute, Saige thought, as her phone suddenly went off in her purse. ”Would you let. me, see beneath your beautiful, would you let, me, see beneath your perfect…” Her eyes got wide in excitement for a moment, knowing exactly who it was that was ringing her. Velia. Hands went frantically to her purse as she flailed around trying to find the small device that was going off.

Zahara: I scoff, laughing momentarily. I have to admit she has a keen sense of fashion, and humor to boot. She seemed to know pink would match my eye colour, and she was probably right. I didn't really like to wear pink. I'd look like a marshmallow. Especially on Saige's big day where all eyes would be on the marshmallow and not the bride. I turned my eyes to the bag as it started to ring. After a moment I realised it was the phone. What a beautiful ringtone, I thought as I watched her fumble around for the cellular device. She looked so frantic to find it, so it must've been her fiancé, I presume, at least.

Saige: “Hello lovely!” She beamed, pulling the device from her purse and hitting accept to put the phone to her ear. She grinned so wide, then, and gave a little giggle. “Yes she does like her walks…” She nodded then, as if Velia could see her, “Oh, I know. I’ll be there very soon love, I was just hanging out with Zahara.” She bit on her lower lip then, though her smile didnt falter, “I know, I know. Soon, I promise.” She glanced over to Zahara, giving the woman a reassuring smile and nod. “Alright, give me a couple minutes.” And then she brought the phone down to hang it up.

“I have to go, Princess Cara needs walking.” She showed the woman the picture of the tiny black schipperke on her phone. “Isnt she cute?” She giggled, then, collecting her purse in her lap.

Zahara: I watched her have a one sided conversation with the person, whom I could only assume was her fiancé. She looked so happy, I could faintly pick out the words the other female was saying but I didn't pry - it wasn't my place to eavesdrop. So I scoot. Little over in my seat giving her space. My eyes cast around the sound of zombies shuffling around slowly chasing people, and then you had people attacking them, and stealing ears. I had done that too, it was odd, I felt a compulsion to do. I heard the beep, the phone call had ended between the duo as I smiled at Saige.

She fished around in her bag and showed me a picture of her cute little doggy. "Very cute." I tell her as I hear her giggle, and couldn't help giggle in return, she gathers her things into her lap and I nod my head.


Saige: She sighed and nodded then, once, firmly. Zahara was in a safe place, the zombies and even the ferals that showed up there not anything that her childe couldnt handle. She pointed to the charred ear. “Remember, I’m always here for you, Zahara. Always checking in on ya babe.” She leaned over and hugged the woman then, pulling her in tightly against herself, giving a tight strong squeeze. She cared so much about the woman she had saved. All those nights of watching the woman die, and now here she was, growing so strong, and in such a short amount of time too.

“So proud…” She whispered lightly, finally releasing the woman and pulling back to give her one last warm smile before simply teleporting to her home in Swansdale.

Zahara: I return the squeeze of a hug, my cheeks rubbing against her own as we embraced. I nod my head, my hands still firmly wrapped around the relic as I keep it close to my chest, cherished always as a gift from my sire. I hug her again, arms wrapping around her neck before realising her. She tells me that she is proud, and I simply smile. That was all I wanted, I wanted her to be proud of me. It made me feel good knowing that. She smiled again at me, and then vanished. Teleporting, I'd assume. I couldn't wait to learn that power. It would be so fabulous. I was alone then. My eyes looking at the zombies, smiling like a child high on too many sweet, my mind had gotten it's craving need for information. I was content.