Life is Pointless without the Hunt

[Jellybean]

The darkness of the night brought comfort to Gernet; it was familiar.
She sat on the roof of a two-story house. The tiled roof was uncomfortable, but she just ignored it. She stretched her arms and legs, bored. She wasn't thirsty, nor did she feel like hunting. This was rare for her, although not unheard of.
A scent in the air made her tense.
Another vampire?
Gernet disliked having competition while she hunted; she planned to stay awhile in this little town before she moved on to a larger one. She also disliked company, so she had no plans of meeting this vampire.
Not at that second, but something changed her mind.
She sniffed the air again. There was a distinct difference in the scents she smelt. That meant more than one vampire. More than two, if she was correct. Three vampires? A coven. Hm.
She leapt down from the building, deciding she would go to meet these vampires. If they were a threat she would move on to the next city, if they weren't...well, she would stay here for a brief while.
Following their scent, Gernet swiftly sprinted through the streets. Before long she came upon a larger cluster of buildings, where she halted. Humans. She stood in an alley, wondering what she should do. She didn't feel like hunting, but the want was there.
As she contemplated this, she realised that there were vampires and humans near where she was. Those vampires, so close to the humans? That wasn't right. The humans ought to be dead by now if they were being hunted.

[Inu]

Aside from being ridiculously clever and full of himself, Damocles had the talent of being able to sense when somebody was going to appear. Even unexpected visits registered in his brain; the odd customer to came to stay at the Inn was usually impressed by the readiness with which they were recieved. This was not an accident. He had been reading in the attic when he started to get a funny, tingly sort of feeling along the back of his neck, almost as if he was being watched. Of course, he knew he wasn't - he would have sensed any human or vampire close enough to see him by now. He knew it must be his gift trying to tell him something, and so he placed his bookmark in between the pages depicting the Yule Ball* and drifted down the many levels of the Wolf's Tear Inn. The tingling feeling was going crazy, and it suggested to his subconcious that his visitor was not human - probably vampire, he would know if it was a werewolf. She was also a female, he could tell that once he smelt her, which occurred as he descended to the ground floor. She was somewhere around the building ... He couldn't deduce anything else without seeing her, something he wanted to do very soon.

Walking out of the building, her scent led him to the alley. It was quite dark, but his vampire eyes could manage quite well enough; even if they couldn't see in the dark, he would have been able to get around with his other senses. "Good evening," he said politely to the she-vampire. She was rather small, but he would not be fooled by that; she had dark hair, and deep red eyes. Definitely not a vegetarian. She had probably come here looking for a meal - he had to admit, alleys were excellent places to take down human prey. Humans knew that alleys were dangerous, and yet they still ventured into the lion's den ... He drifted off for a few moments, thinking of the last time he had tasted human blood. Although he was technically a vegetarian, due to having been turned and 'raised' by one, Damocles liked human blood, and cheated more often than he let on. He had been entrusted with two younger vampires, in hopes that he would train them in his vegetarian ways. He had done so, and they were much better at keeping to their diet than he was. Of course, they tended to fear his wrath if he caught them snacking on prime victims.

*Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, by JK Rowling

[Jellybean]

Gernet stood in the alleyway, debating whether she should go or stay or hunt, when the other vampire smell got closer. She stood very still just as a vampire came around the corner, from inside the building.
"Good evening."
She raised her arched eyebrows at him, which he wouldn't have seen behind her fringe. He was taller than her. However, he did not look like a threat. He had a mop of orange hair and his eyes were teal-gray. Teal-gray? That doesn't make any sense. Gernet thought to herself. I thought all of my species had red eyes...I must be mistaken.
"I'm sorry to intrude," Gernet's voice was high and tinkling, like a bell, and didn't match the catious look she had on her face at the moment. "I am assuming that this town is your hunting ground?"
She was already making plans in her to move on; she didn't want to fight this vampire or his coven. No, he didn't look like too much of a threat, but she could tell he was much, much older than her. That put her at a disadvantage, having been a vampire for a very short time.

[Inu]

It must be easy for her. Luring humans in. She was obviously very beautiful, like most vampires, but she was also very cute, in a young sort of way, and her voice was like bells. Damocles, however, knew that she might not be exactly as she appeared to humans, and proceeded with caution. "You are not intruding. This town is neutral territory; my coven and I drink elsewhere." He wasn't about to go into the particulars unless she asked. He really didn't mind if she decided to hunt there, even though it appeared that she preferred traditional human feed. As long as she wasn't silly about it, and didn't threaten discovery, it wasn't really his problem. However, he would rather find out these particulars about her now, while they could discuss things reasonably, as opposed to later, just in case she did go crazy and didn't want to reason with him.

"Where do you come from?" Although he had just said that he didn't care if she hunted there or not, he offered no explanation as to why he was suddenly inquiring about her. Damocles did not care if people could not keep up with his thought process. She looked fairly intelligent though, but Damocles was conceited and immediately assumed that she was not up to his standards of intellect. Of course, given that he had lived over seven centuries, he had a point. Looking closer, he noticed that she seemed very young indeed, and not just physically; she couldn't have been a vampire for very long. She must have some degree of control, however, as a very fresh newborn would have challenged him for the territory by now. But it didn't seem that she was quite up to being vegetarian yet, simply because of her age.

[Jellybean]

"You are not intruding. This town is neutral territory; my coven and I drink elsewhere."
Gernet nodded, her face passive. Well good. That made things much simpler, much easier. She would hunt here for awhile and then move on, like she always did. She never had really cared about not revealing the truth about vampires. The only reason she always moved on soon enough was because the hunt got boring once she knew more about the place than her prey did.
"Where do you come from?"
This question surprised her, and it was sudden enough for some emotion to pass on her face. She was quickly composed in another half of a second, although having reflexes as good as her's, he would have noticed.
She tried to remember, though.
She couldn’t. She’d lived somewhere in America…
And she could remember that day…
But she couldn’t remember the name of the town.
How strange.
He might not have been talking about where she came from originally. However, if he was talking about where she lived currently...he mustn't have meant that; most vampires like to move on like herself.
So she just stood there, not sure what to say. She wasn’t going to say “I don’t remember,” that sounded quite pathetic.
If she didn’t say something, he might wonder.
She thought of some questions herself. Who was this vampire? Why was amongst so many humans, just right now?
Gernet was starting to get annoyed, but not because of him."How can you even stand that!?" Her bell-like voice made her sound like she was singing. She knew he must've known what she was talking about. She had let her face fill with emotion, and now she couldn't take it back. Humans were so close, the delicious smell of one human multiplied by fifty. She knew that there were only a few humans nearby, but humans had moved around so much, she could track one down from here even if it had only been near here once. The smell was so strong.

[/size][/color]

[Inu]

She seem surprised by his question, but Damocles was willing to wait for her to try and figure him out. It amused him to see people do this, and fail. Damocles liked people failing, it made him feel better about himself. This vampire seemed to adjust her features back to their usual state quickly enough, however. Humpf. It didn't bother him much that he didn't even know her name yet; he had his priorities, and would ask questions in the order that he saw fit. First her origin, then perhaps who had changed her, how old she was, what she was doing there ... Then maybe he might find a name. Or she would be angry with him and ask him first. Or leave. Or attack. Whichever came first.

Her response was unexpected. He had forgotten her young age and the fact that she probably wasn't withstanding the scent of humans very well at the moment. Mentally, he beat himself upside the head; not for having neglected to think of offering some courtesy towards her, but because he should have thought of that. Damocles always expected himself to think of everything before everyone else - she had caught him this time. However, he distracted himself by realising that this could count as a failure on her part. Ha. He smirked, "Practice. Patience." He let her hang there for a few moments, and then continued, "Thinking of them as people. Who will be missed by their loved ones," he almost hissed the last two words, and it took a few more moments for him to say anything of much use to her. "Don't breathe for awhile."

[Jellybean]

"Patience. Practice. Thinking of them as people. Who will be missed by their loved ones. Dont breathe for awhile."

[/i]
"Loved ones?" Gernet asked, stunned. Why would she care about the human's 'loved ones'? Humans were different creatures than what she was now. They didn't matter. They were just prey. Prey for the predator.
She started thinking about it. She had loved ones. They would've missed her. They would still miss her. It had only been a few years. Why am I thinking about this? It doesn't matter!
She took his advice and stopped breathing. It was uncomfortable, but she could live. The thoughts still bothered her. Why had he made her start thinking of such things? Now she felt sorry for all the humans she killed. Just slightly. How annoying. A conscience.
Holding her breath was more helpful. She could now concentrate on the orange-haired, teal-eyed vampire more closely."How long have you been here, in this town?" Now that she could ignore the smell, she was curious. This was one strange, different vampire. Or just wise. She hadn't met many wise vampires; many of them were just her age or even younger. She didn't enjoy the company of these vampires, they were all consumed with the thought of blood.
[/right][/size][/color]

[Inu]

At least it appeared that he had given her something to think about. It was indeed a difficult concept to grasp, even for Damocles, who had lived for so long. Humans were loved - each and every one was loved by somebody, somewhere, who would miss them after they were gone. It didn't stop him from cheating on his diet occasionally, but it did make him think every now and then. "Yes. Nearly all of them have somebody that would miss them. It helps to remember such things ... And to forget them when appropriate." He conveniently forgot about a human's relationships whenever he got the urge to veer away from being a vegetarian; but he also remembered them when the situation was not right for such an event.

Apparently, the female was able to think more clearly now. That was good. Intelligent discussion would be easier. Her question surprised him, once again. How long had he been living in Lamdon? Not a decade ... but it had to have been at least several years. He pondered for a moment, then answered, "A few years; I may get away for about three more, before moving on. It is easier to blend in when you look older than twenty, but even then humans will notice." His supposed niece and nephew, however, were going to graduate from Lamdon High in a year or so. He might leave then, he may stick it out for awhile. It would give him something to think over on a rainy day.

Not one to be interrogated, Damocles insisted on asking her a question in return. "How old are you?" Whether she answered as a human or a vampire, it wouldn't be too difficult for him to figure out an actual number for her age. He didn't care if she asked him - he was proud to have lived as long as he had. It proved that he knew the world well enough, and was a smart little bugger. He enjoyed being older than most vampires he happened to meet on the street. It gave him a level of superiority, in a way. Like humans, vampires knew to respect their elders.

[Jellybean]

"Yes. Nearly all of them have somebody that would miss them. It helps to remember such things..." For you, maybe. ...And to forget them when appropriate." Oh...

[/i]

She watched him as he pondered her question. It didn't take too long for him to answer; all vampires had the ability of thinking quickly, much quicker than humans.
"A few years; I may get away for about three more, before moving on. It is easier to blend in when you look older than twenty, but even then humans will notice."[/i]
He stayed here for that long? He would be noticed by humans, would he not? Oh, but he had said himself that he hunted elsewhere. It still didn't make much sense to stay in the one place.
They seemed to be exchanging questions, but it was more like he wanted to know about her, curious, perhaps. Gernet was not sure if this was curiousity. She just found it strange.
"How old are you?"
She thought about this for a long time. How could she be sure how old she was? Oh, she remembered how old she was, as a human. "Seventeen. I think...I may have been a vampire for only a few years..." She didn't keep track of time, why should she? She only realised time passed because of the Sun, the Moon and the seasons.
Since he had asked her a question, she asked one back.
"Where do you hunt?" He had said that he hunted out of this town, so maybe that would be a good place for her to travel to next. A cool breeze blew down alleyway. If she were human, she would've found it cold, but she didn't. Cold air didn't bother her, she was colder than a stone already. She resited the urge to breath and smell the air around her, check if there was anything bad around. It would drive her insane, the human blood.
So instead, she listened.
This didn't help any better. It made it worse.
She struggled to stay still, focused on the face of the other vampire, as she heard the beating hearts of her prey so close by. Some walked so close to the alley. As it was night time, the more thinking side of her brain realised that some humans weren't stupid enough to walk down a dark alley in the middle of the night. The other side of her, the killer, knew that humans were pretty stupid and hoped that one would actually walk down here.
She was almost twitching, tiny little jerks which a non-vampire wouldn'tve noticed. The vampire standing next to her probably would. However, she resisted the urge. Why? Because she was curious. It was curiousity that made her stand here, declining a feed.[/right][/size][/color]

[Inu]

So she was a newborn vapmire, but not quite young enough to be completely out of control. This was good. Damocles didn't have the patience to deal with a true newborn in Lamdon - they weren't careful, and would be noticed very quickly. If he tried to leave town, it would look suspicious; people were already wary of the weird people in the weird looking Inn. Human instincts told them to stay away from the Wolf's Tear, even if they couldn't quite explain why. Humans were often smarter than they thought, but they rarely listened to themselves without a proper sort of explanation. Even so, vampires did not need this extra suspicion. It was rather annoying to have to relocate, yes, but it wasn't as if the humans could really go anywhere. The idea of one, even many, outrunning a vampire was positively humorous.

It was November, and a cold wind wafted by. Apparently she had heeded his advice to stop breathing; it would be hard for even a seasoned vampire to resist such an obvious scent. "Out of town," Damocles chose to state the obvious before really answering her question, "There is some nice wilderness over the river, perhaps you may have passed it? The forest is rather occupied." If she didn't inquire about the owners of the forest, he wouldn't say; that was just how he operated. The werewolves owned it, of course, and she may have figured this out on her way into the town. This ownership bothered Damocles - as far as he understood it from passing through, only a few werewolves belonged to the pack that somehow thought it deserved an entire forest full of prey. They didn't even need to hunt, for they could obviously change into human form to eat. Vampires needed blood, or they would become drastically weakened, and very grouchy. They couldn't die, but immortality was very unpleasant on an empty stomach.

[Jellybean]

The forest? She thought to herself. "I think I passed where you are speaking of, but all that I could smell were animals, and a very horrible human-animal smell." Her eyes narrowed as she pondered this. "Do you hunt the human-animals?" She couldn't think of any other explanation for where he said he hunted, for she was sure she knew where he spoke of. Yes. But all that had been there was a human-animal smell. That had made her stop from going too far into the forest; it was such a horrible smell. It had only the slightest smell of human, the rest was just disgustingly animal.

This was the strangest vampire she had ever come across. Not that she had stayed long enough to properly get to know any of the other vampires. This one, he just...was strange, yet interesting to her. Curiousity drew her to him.
Curiousity killed the cat.
Ha.
I'm no cat.

She was still pondering how he hunted. He mustn't of hunted the human-animals. They smelt revolting. So what did he hunt? Unless he was lying to her, which was very likely (yet unlikely, for she would be able to tell if it had been a lie).
Not thinking too much of her previous question, knowing that the answer would have to be a no (unless this vampire was crazy and had some very weird diet), Gernet asked another question.
"So what is it that you hunt?" She was so confused. He hadn't been lying, she realised that now. She had a special ability that allowed her to tell if someone was telling the truth or not. He had been telling the truth. He must have just have not been including the whole story.

[/color][/right]

[Inu]

He smirked. A horrible human-animal smell, yes? That was a good way of describing it, he had to admit - accurate, succinct ... Perhaps he may have slightly underestimated her. 'Slightly' was pretty good by Damocles' standards. Most people didn't deserve his good opinion, however slight. "No, I have never hunted them. I imagine that they taste as awful as they smell." Damocles had no inclination to ever hunt a werewolf, unless it was to chase it out of a territory or something of the kind. Never, ever, would he eat such a thing. Even in human form, the mere thought of it was disgusting.

"As a matter of fact, I hunt the pure animals." This was a bit of a difficult admission, sometimes. Perhaps it had to do with wanting to be a manly vampire, or something of the like. As a human male would have difficult admitting a sub-standard knowledge of cars, or females, for instance, Damocles had difficulty saying that he hunted animals, not humans. The fact that he didn't have to say it often didn't help. It was like admitting that he was weak in some way; but of course he wasn't. He could hunt humans just as well as the next vampire, but the one who changed him had not done this, so out of respect to her, he refrained. Most of the time.

"It wasn't my choice." he added somewhat defensively, even though he didn't really wish to go into the particulars with this stranger. "I do hunt humans, sometimes, when it becomes ... Necessary." As in, when he couldn't resist. Like humans on diets to chocolate and fast food, sometimes it was just too much. Wanting to get away from this subject, he decided to ask another question. "Did you have any particular purpose in Lamdon, Miss ...?" Technically, he was asking two questions in one here - what she was doing there, and her name. Damocles liked being sneaky whenever he could.

[Jellybean]

Gernet raised her eyebrows. Animals? Strange. Very strange. But it seemed as though he wanted to move on, he asked her another question.
"Just call me Gernet." Her blazing eyes flashed in response to her name. She had renamed herself after her eyes, and she was very happy with her new name. It may have been very similar to her old name, but at least it meant something. "And no. I have only come here in my...travels." Her 'travels' were just wanderings. "I have no purpose anywhere." She sighed. This was true. Her life had never had any purpose, except for when she had been a human. Her vampiric life...it was only an insignificant life compared to everyone else's.

Gernet's life did not matter to anyone, inlcuding herself. All she had ever done was travel, hunt and kill. It was a repetative circle of murder, never ceasing, never pausing.
"I may..." She said quietly. She stopped her sentence just as she started it. The part of her mind that cared, the extremely small part, seemed to be getting larger, taking over. This was also the part that held all of her emotions, so she was also overwhelmed by the emotions she was feeling right now.
"I might just...try. Try to hunt animals instead of humans." She cringed. "This will be difficult." She knew she had gone back to the subject he didn't want to talk about, but she really wanted to ask him about it. "Will you be able to help me? I've only been a vampire for a few years...You should be able to help, your much older than me, are you not?" She was desperate now. That part of her was controlling her thoughts. She cared too much, and that didn't make anything any easier.

[Inu]

Ah, Gernet. Did that not mean 'red'? How appropriate for a newborn. She had only wandered into town while travelling - this was to be expected. Most newborns didn't have much of a purpose, especially without the company, and advice of whoever had changed them. It was difficult to have a purpose for all eternity - Damocles himself could only come up with 'being smarter than everyone else'. This did not grant him much to occupy himself with, however, and he was constantly looking for a task to do, even for the simple purpose of killing time. He knew what it was like to be wandering around without anywhere to be, anything to do ...

Even though he could inwardly sympathize, Damocles was not expecting her answer, yet again. He should probably have learnt to expect nothing by now, but he could be slower than he thought. She wanted to try to hunt animals? A noble quest for a newborn. Damocles doubted that she would stick to it, and didn't know if he had the patience to deal with another little vampire-in-training. However, it would be something to occupy him - had he not just lamented his lack of any occupation? This would keep him quite busy indeed. "It will be difficult," he agreed slowly, "And I am quite a bit older than you. I will help if you wish." It seemed appropriate to introduce himself now that they were to be acquaintances at the very least. "Damocles, by the way. This will take a lot of effort, and you will have to be willing to go against your very nature. Are you sure?" This statement made him sound very old indeed, but of course he was. He wanted to make sure she was serious about this - he wasn't going to waste his time, however much he wanted it to pass by.

[Jellybean]

Damocles was his name. He was willing to help her. That was good. This would not be easy, as he had said. Gernet nodded. "I am at least going to try." She said in a low voice.

Then, she realised something.

She had always cared about the humans, and she had always been looking for another way. She just didn't realise it.

She was drawn to this small town without aiming to go here, just like how she went everywhere else. But what if she had purposely been led here, by something unknown? What if, strangely, she was supposed to meet Damocles, and change her whole vampiric life?

Human blood, animal blood. She would choose human blood. However, she was not going to.

She had always known she cared. What if she hadn't completely killed someone before she took off again? What would happen if she changed someone else, ruined their life?

Set another monster loose upon the world?

If these emotions became any stronger, and if it were possible, she would've been crying.

Instead, she just stared at Damocles.

"Does this also mean I don't have to move on so much? Move every few years instead of every month?" She asked him quietly.