I Want To Feel Alive

[Langdell (DELETED 8312)]

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

I Want To Feel Alive
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OOC: Backdated to May 27th

<Langdell> Langdell was sick. He had been sick nearly a week now, feverish, tired, and bouts of throwing up. Coming upon the last day of his official turning, he looked more vampiric now; paler; powers and curses settling in; and his never-ending denial of the transformation, despite the hunger to feed. Still dressed in his same dark pants and shirt from the day Jesse found him, the young man tried again to leave the bedroom. Despite the sickness, he wanted to study his new "home," if that's what it was to be.


<Clover> Play nice. Clo could practically hear Jesse’s voice in her mind. She could imagine the sire voice, if she listened hard enough. But he hadn’t spoken those words to her; Jesse had no idea she’d left their apartment just to reach out to his new progeny. As she took the elevator from Limbo to Cerberus, she tucked her hands into the pockets of her ripped skinny jeans and grinned. She didn’t like new people. Finding him wasn’t that difficult. She followed the smell, which she dubbed a stench, and she frowned. She simply stood there and frowned at him. Play nice. “Mn, hey,” she muttered.


<Langdell> He only had made it a few steps outside the bedroom when he heard her voice. His eyes lifted and he stumbled back into the room. He shut the door, only partly, and peaked out. He was sure that, like Kaelyn, she'd manhandle him back to bed. "I wasn't running," he quickly defended himself. It was the truth. "I won't leave again, I'm sorry."


<Clover> When he retreated, he triggered her urge to pounce. She closed the distance between them and pressed her palm flat against the door. “I know you weren’t running. If you were running, I would have chopped your legs off and brought you back here,” she spoke. “Let’s have a talk. That’s why I’m here. I thought we could have a chat.” She pressed on the door to inch it open, her motions as smooth as her voice. Yes, a chat. That’s what she wanted.


<Langdell> Terrified, he stumbled back even farther. Langdell retreated across the room until he stood at the other side of the bed, purposely using the piece of furniture like a barrier between them. "I'm sorry," he said again. "I told the other woman, you can take anything I have," not that he had much of anything. Little money. Only the clothes on his back, some worn-in boots, a hat, the latter two on the floor in the corner.


<Clover> Clo didn’t question his mention of another woman. The family was filled with women. No, she focused on his willingness to surrender anything it was he had to give. Again, she moved closer. She remained on the other side of the bed, but she stared at him as if she wanted to catch him by surprise and cross the man-made border. That was the truth, after all. It was his fault that they were involved in the game. “If you apologize to me again, I’m taking your tongue. Does that seem fair?”


<Langdell> "Y-yes," he stuttered. He dryly swallowed. His fingers rubbed at his palms. He pressed his back into the wall, as much as he could manage to keep the space between them.


<Clover> “Good. Okay,” she said, nodding at the same time. He was giving her exactly what she wanted, but maybe he wasn’t aware. Clo turned and sat down on the bed. One leg tucked under the other, she eyed the newcomer. “Tell me your name,” she began, “please.”


<Langdell> "Lang ... Langdell," he said. "Byler." He turned and coughed loudly into his elbow. He wasn't sure if he was allowed to sit down on the bed, and stayed standing, despite tired. "My name's Langdell Byler."


<Clover> “Sit down. Lie down. Just relax. I’m not allowed to hurt you. Unless,” she trailed off, poking fun at the sick man. “It was a joke. I’m not going to hurt you. Sit down.” Clo pointed to a spot on the bed, just making a general motion, and then rested her hands on her lap. She looked the man over as if she were looking at an object. She just couldn’t see much about him. He looked nice, but he stunk. He stuttered. He was cowardly. He was weak. And yet Jesse must have seen something. “It’s nice to meet you, Langdell. I’m Clover.”


<Langdell> Cautiously, he sat on the bed. His eyes didn't leave her face. He made sure to watch her closely, encase she decided to snap. "You're a vampire too, aren't you?"


<Clover> For a moment, Clover considered lying to him. Then again, she wondered, what difference did it make? He was already afraid, or his body language communicated as much, and she had already had more than enough fun. Whether she was a vampire or not, he’d taken a submissive role. “Yes, I’m a vampire. Does it bother you? It’s not like I’m hunting you. Your blood would taste like ****, I imagine....do you want to test it?” She was poking fun at him again.


<Langdell> "No, I'd rather not," he answered. His eyes narrowed. He hovered at the edge of the bed where he sat, as if about to take off any minute. "Did he send you here to give me blood again? It's a pattern now. I've noticed. Blood every night." At the beginning, he'd fought the feedings; disgusted, tried to throw up the blood. But now, un-admittedly, he had got a taste for the blood. Kaelyn was right: Maybe he was a vampire.

[Clover]

<Clover> “No, he didn’t send me here. He doesn’t know I’m here.” She shrugged her shoulders, as if that explained everything, and moved to stretch her legs out on the bed. They were going to have the talk she originally intended, before he decided to bait her along. “I came here because I wanted to see you, Langdell, and because I wanted you to know that...I’m always here, if you need anything,” she said, the words forced out. “But if you keep acting like I’m going to attack you, after we’ve established that I’m not allowed to hurt you, then we’re going to have a problem. I wouldn’t try to take your blood; I don’t feed from other vampires. And if I took your tongue--which I can’t, sadly--then it would grow back.”


<Langdell> He tried to relax. But he felt half-dead, and she was a stranger; surrounded by strangers, it seemed. "You must realize how strange all of this is for me," he said. "I have ... in all honesty ... been kidnapped, and locked in this room for a week now. So, forgive me for being a little cautious."


<Clover> “Do you know what happens to the ones that aren’t kidnapped and locked in this room, Langdell? Think about that.” There was a long pause, just time for him to really consider the words, and then she spoke again. “I wasn’t kidnapped or locked in a room, but I didn’t exactly volunteer myself. He spared your life. And every night, during those visits, he’s making sure you still have one. Not everyone survives. Not everyone prospers. If you want to be cautious, then be cautious, but know that. We’re strangers, but we do come together.”


<Langdell> "And what happens now?" He said. "I become a terrorist killer? Feeding off the population? Living in a coffin? I saw a movie once. I know what it's ... the ... things about vampires, I've heard about them. I don't want to hurt people."


<Clover> “What happens now is up to you. If you don’t want to kill people, then don’t kill people. Drink from blood bags. Feed from animals. Rats, chickens, rabbits. And if you haven’t noticed, this place isn’t exactly a coffin. Let me help you,” she sighed. Clo turned toward him and began counting off things on her fingers. “One, sunlight is bad for you. You’re new. You’re young. That’s the cardinal rule. Two, no vampire children...it’s a big mistake. Three, there are worse things out there than vampires. My suggestion is that you avoid wandering into the wilderness. Four, there’s something unique about you and your abilities. I can’t tell you what it is yet. Jesse should be the one to tell you. And five, don’t show your caution. By that, I mean your fear. It made me want to give chase. Show your fear, show your weakness, and you welcome trouble. And don’t monopolize Jesse’s time. I don’t like sharing. Do you understand me? I don’t do well with sharing.” There was a childish sort of way when she spoke about sharing, and it showed in her pout.


<Langdell> He patiently listened to her talk, and visibly relaxed on the bed, watching her. She spoke of sunlight, and vampire children, and more, his eyes diverting to his hands. No more sunlight, he thought. He basically lived in the sun. His skin, tanned, showed it. "I am not trying to replace you. I didn't ask for him to take me."


<Clover> Clo pursed her lips, her expression thoughtful. Again, she looked him over. “What I said stands. I’m here, if you ever need help, or even if you don’t,” she mumbled, crossing her legs atop the covers. “You know, it’s not bad. It’s just different. It could even be better, if you let it. But that’s up to you and how you choose to lead your new life. You could just blow your brains out,” she added. “That wasn’t funny. Please don’t do that. Let’s not do that.” She waved her hands, trying to wipe the thought from his mind. “Let me help you and you’ll be fine. You’ll make new friends and new family. You’ll have a roof over your head,” she rambled on.


<Langdell> He watched her speak, rambling on. He didn't interrupt. Finally, he said, "I am not going to kill myself. That's against God. I can only hope this is a part of a bigger plan for me. Somehow. Perhaps. I don't know, I'm confused, still. Maybe in shock a little. It doesn't feel real. I had nowhere to go, and now here I am."


<Clover> “Jesus,” she whispered, slowly shaking her head. “Can we add in that--forget it. I think you’re right where you belong. Not trapped in this room, but here. With us. Your possibilities are endless, when you think about it. The sunlight is a minor issue. Death,” she paused, considering the whole truth, and then deciding against it, “death is temporary. You need a job? You have one. You need money? You have money. You have a home. Whatever you need.” Hell, she was selling herself with her little speech, at least.


<Langdell> He frowned at her. "When can I leave this room, then? When can I see even where I'm at? Last time I tried, I was thrown back in here. I want to know where I'm at. I think I have ... the right, at least."


<Clover> “Then let’s go,” she suggested. “You look like **** still, so allow me to escort you. With the condition that you shower, even if you’ve already done so, and I give you new clothing. You still smell.” Clo slid off the bed and got to her feet. Without waiting for his reply, she’d moved to the door. It was too late for him to change his mind anyway. She’d gotten up, so they were going on a small tour.