Lena made her way towards the backyard, noting with despair how the viscous trail of blood had sludged onto the grass and the steps. Her garden was her sanctuary, now, it would be marred with the heaviness of death; and pockmarked with the ugliness of a scorched patch. “It’s alright,” she soothed, assuming her matronly role when she approached the fledgling. Her intentions had been honourable, that was what mattered.
“We’ll have to get rid of them,” the vampiress said, studying the states of the bodies. The chef was crumpled and bent at an interesting angle, Avery’s strength had broken limbs in rigamortis. She frowned, despite herself. “I don’t think anyone will notice a fire, not on a day like today. There’s hickory chips in the shed, it’ll smell like a smoker.” Her calm was strange, psychotic to anyone unused to a long history of ‘accidents’. “Were they dead when you returned?” Concern ebbed back onto her features, “Are you alright?”
It was a broken smile that was met with Lena’s reassurance. The fact that her first instinct was to pile up the bodies and perhaps dig a grave had become normal was troubling and sat with a heavy heart. “It’s sad. I don’t understand why so many people died. What happened?” She didn’t expect an answer from the vampire who had taken her in so kindly, but the thought was still uttered out loud.
The blonde was quick to find the hickory chips mentioned and answered all questions upon returning. “Yes, they were. All of them. I walked in and they were all just lying there. I didn’t know if someone had gotten inside but..it seemed like chaos down the block as well? I’m alright though, I was visiting the Pandemonium. Henryk was putting on an event for Halloween. I think I was lucky, I was about to come home but I heard howling and went back inside.”
Blonde and beautiful. Those words were not very descriptive. Avery could be talking about anyone in town. But then she mentioned her name and it caused him to chuckle. Of course she would refer to herself as his sister. ❝Yes, my beloved sister. We are close.❞ They shared blood and were haunted by the same demons. ❝I made her.❞ Although, some might argue that it worked the other way around. That Anne had made him. Malachi did not remember much of his time as a vampire before turning Anne. It was all a blur of death and blood without focus. Then she came along and she helped him connect with his own beast. The conversation turned into something a lot more personal, which made Malachi slightly uncomfortable for a second. Only for a second. And only because he didn’t like thinking about the family he once had. He didn’t like to think of the time when he wasn’t a vampire. ❝I did. Four brothers.❞ He sighed and then gave Avery a soft smile. ❝What about you? Any family ties?❞
“Made her? As in…a vampire?” Avery questioned carefully. The topic seemed taboo if only because she did not understand the concept of sires and her own transition. The night still haunted her even if she was becoming more antiquated with the aftermath of her change. “Can I ask how that works or is that some..sort of secret?” Why would it be a secret? The question seemed silly as soon as it left her lips but many cultures tied their rituals into secrecy. Caught up in her own insecurity she missed the sigh that escaped Malachi’s lips prior to his answer. “What were they like? Can I ask that as well?” She felt cautious all of a sudden, despite her pull towards him. Perhaps it was her second run in with Carmilla or the introduction with Anne. A fear of crossing boundaries. “Ah yes, I have, or had I guess, my mother back home and a big sister but she left when she was eighteen and I haven’t heard from her since.”
30. Your house is on fire, holy shit! You have just enough time to run in there and grab ONE inanimate object. Don’t worry, your loved ones and pets have already made it out safely. So what’s the one thing you’re going to save from that blazing inferno?
“I owe everything I have to Lena, so whatever she needed me to grab, I would.”
40. Do you prefer sunrises or sunsets?
“I’ll never take another sunrise for granted again.”
“You know, it’s still up in the air because I have a lot of questions but sometimes I wonder if it’d be better if I never met my sire. I’m not entirely sure if I’d be a good thing or a bad thing? It’s something I think about a lot.”
13. Your worst enemy?
“Do I get bonus points for comedy if I say my fangs?”
“Sleeping! It’s amazing actually being able to explore during the day again. My schedule is back to normal.”
12. Who told you they loved you last?
“I, uh..don’t remember to be honest.”
18. Who would you really like to just punch in the face?
“Do historical figures count? Hitler comes to mind?” Maybe my sire.
19. If anyone could be your slave for a day, who would it be and what would they have to do?
“I don’t really like this question, or the context it propagates.”
20. What is your best physical attribute? (showing said attribute is optional)
“Um, I’ve never thought too much about it. My mom always said I had pretty eyes but I had one friend who always said she like my lips. Is that weird to say?”
21. If you were the opposite sex for one day, what would you look like and what would you do?
“I imagine I’d still looked the same, just with shorter hair? I’d probably see how hard it was to pick up a girl in a bar. Men are always complaining about that.”
While she had confirmed the safety of Henryk and Damien, it wasn’t until Lena was leaving latter’s home that she realized something grave. She had forgotten all about Avery. Such things weren’t amended easily, the vampiress chided herself, racing back to her home. When she pushed back into the parlour, she nearly stumbled over the plethora of packages and bags that she had brought home with her, raising her voice as she called for the fledgling.
In her kitchen, Magdalena paused, stilling herself and listening intently through the home. An old house such as hers whispered things, there were no secrets to be kept in it’s creaking steps and in the way it groaned. She heard it then, the drag of something against grass. Lena spun, peering out the window to catch the blonde, soaked through in blood that she was certain was not her own, making a neat pile of what had once been her house staff.
“Avery?”
Avery had been wondering down the alley way home to Magdalena’s when her encounter with someone who’d sweet smell lured her in had been interrupted by a howl. Despite the absence of a moon, that howl could only mean one thing and she scurried her way back into Henryk’s establishment to wait out the night. It was one of the few things she’d come to learn all on her own, and probably the most important. Though, she didn’t know the difference between a werewolf and a berserker.
When she finally arrived to the vampire’s home the next morning she was surprised to find the staff’s bodies already in stages on decomposition with insects buzzing about. The young woman wasn’t exactly sure what to do, but the first thought that past through her mind was that Magdalena might be unhappy finding this mess inside her home. She began dragging the weight outside, into the yard as to dispose of the mess. Old habits seem to die hard.
It wasn’t until she heard her name being called that she looked up from her mess. “Lena?” She wiped away the liquid that found its way onto her forehead. “Oh, I’m sorry. This must be a strange sight. I didn’t really know what to do…”
