Conversations amongst Vampires

“So what's your turning story?” The youthful vampire Basil had come to know as Tetch lounged on a loveseat in some fresh clothes. He'd taken to inviting Basil along to his home after a hunt to clean up. The place Tetch had made for himself was quite nice. Basil found himself envying it. Basil had rooms to himself at Arcturus, but nothing inherently private. Tetch often said things Basil didn't fully understand,  but this seemed important to figure out despite the conversational way Tetch spoke about it. 

“My- what?” 

“Y'know- how'd you become a vampire?” Tetch clarified. 

“I…” Basil frowned, Thym had recently asked a similar question of him. And told them the truth. Which was that he hadn't really thought about it, or put effort into finding out. He'd been sickly ever since his youth. And he didn't know much. The one man who he thought had known anything about it was cryptic and had done very little explaining and…  he wasn't a vampire. 

Basil continued “Can I be honest about something?”

Tetch smirked over at him and gestured with open arms, inviting Basil happily. 

“I don't- What does turning… how does one turn?” 

Tetch blinked and looked at him with a pensive eye. “You're shitting me” 

Basil shifted. There was so much he didn't know. Didn't even know how to ask. Thym's questions had honestly made him realize just how little he knew about his being a monster. But now he had a resource. Tetch. 

Tetch brought his hand to his eyes and rubbed them. His true age somehow showed through in this moment. “You're serious huh, friend? You really don't know anything… no wonder you have no pride in what you are.” Tetch leaned back with a weighted expression “Damn I never thought I'd ever have to explain this…”

Basil back-pedaled “You don't have to-” 

Tetch held out a finger at Basil “No- No - I am going to. You deserve to know. It's part of what we are. That change.”  Tetch brushed his knuckles to his mouth, planning out his words. “There's only one way a vampire is made… and that's through the sharing of another vampires’ blood. Our blood’s essentially poison unless the recipient is nearly completely drained by a vampire before. Important bit of info to have missed out on.” 

Basil paused, trying to recollect based on this information “I don't- I don't remember.  I just… I was hurt. Sick. Bedridden. They didn't know what was wrong with me for the longest time… I didn't- until I - I attacked someone… but I didn't understand why.”

Tetch just nodded “Yep you must've had a rough go…  Tch. The irresponsibility of whoever turned you… Just leaving a fledgling  on their own to suffer. But it happens more than I'd like to admit. ” He looked genuinely disgusted. Basil struggled to wrap his mind around it all. 

“What… is it supposed to be…?” 

Tetch sighed “When you give… you pass on what you are. AND It's a pact. It's not just to be thrown on people at random… It's an eternal promise. And shunning that link directly after creating it is honestly unforgivable. Do you… feel it? Your link?” 

Basil had no idea what any of this meant. He'd… been promised? Why? And the link? It seemed too fantastical. 

“I don't know what you mean,” Basil admitted.  

Tetch's frown just deepened. “Your link was broken. You'd know if you had it. A lasting connection between a vampire and the one they created. But if yours was broken, the only way I know that could've happened is if the one who Sired you was killed…”

Basil sat looking gravely at his arm, specifically at the nasty scar across the forearm. The attack… he barely recalled. He'd been studying with his mentor Taragon and everything that happened after felt far away. They were trying to leave for some reason and… whatever had happened had not stuck with him. His next clear thoughts were of struggling in bed at home, searing pain radiating through his entire body. Pain that he'd never forget. Everyone thought he was dying. And in a way, he had. 

As Basil stared seriously, Tetch continued “Must've happened soon after your pact… and you were alone with humans I gather… Glad they didn't find you… it would've been dangerous. For you and our kind.” 

“They… meaning?”  Basil asked

“You are a cautious man, you must know some of it already. There are a lot of people who want us dead or worse… to learn our secrets through any means necessary. More than just some pesky hunters. Real monsters. If the wrong people found out you were sick, realized what was really going on… it'd have been bye bye Basil.” 

Basil shivered. The hunters were a concern but… He'd been mostly terrified of himself. He hadn't thought there was much more still to fear. 

He saw plainly the dismay in Tetch as he explained further. “The worst of them, so-called  scientists…. It's  horrifying what I've heard. Kept their victims trapped and tortured, they've dissected us alive, drained our blood for their tests, Starved us to the point of …” Tetch just winced to complete the thought. 

Basil swallowed nervously. Scientists… he suddenly wondered. What if there were some involved at Arcturus? One's that were either like Fenugreek…or one's like Tetch described. Dangerous. He dismissed the thought. No need to let a baseless fear run wild. Surely there weren't inhumane studies at Arcturus. He couldn't believe Cardamom would let that happen. But he'd keep his eyes and ears open for sure. 

“Sounds like I've got a lot to teach you. Never had my own fledgeling.” Tetch smiled at the thought, originally said with a joking air, but based on his expression, he seemed to warm up to the concept quickly. Basil felt an oddly combined twinge of excitement and dread that he didn't quite understand.  

“You'd… share with me what you know?” He'd tried to study what he could from books but the closest he could find was talk of energy transference by the alchemists of old. And it wasn't too far off what what he presumed happened with the intake of blood. But the theories were only such.  He could stand to learn what it was to be a vampire and it seemed as if his friend here had a pretty good idea. 

Tetch considered, crossed and uncrossed his arms while nodding. “Hell why not?” He leaned over to Basil and gripped his shoulder with a toothy smile. 

“Tetch’ll teach you what he can.” 

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“So what questions can I answer?” Tetch asked excitedly as he leaned on the arm of his chair.  

“I ah, don't even know where to begin honestly.” Basil sighed. 

“Great. H’well how about… I can start broad, and if there's something you don't know- just stop me.” 

Basil looked a bit uncomfortable but he nodded “I'll try” 

“Vampires are immortal beings, previously human, that drink blood t-” 

Basil sputtered, voice breaking as he spoke up “w-WHat?” 

Tetch raised his brows as he lowered a hand. “Seriously? I just started. What could possibly be confusing?”

Basil blinked “Immortal?” 

Tetch laughed loudly, and reigned it in quickly to a snicker. “Well yes! How old do you think I am?  20? Please.” 

“Well-” 

Tetch smiled “I'm not an ancient or anything. Not even an elder but, 53 ain't bad eh?” 

Basil's jaw dropped. In the grand scheme of things it wasn’t THAT old but it was a shock for someone who could barely pass as an adult. “That's nearly twice my age.” 

“The blood keeps me the age I turned, I was going to mention that we drink blood to maintain our immortality- And well to avoid the nasty side effects of not… you really must not have been a vampire for too long.”

“The side effects being… the painful sickness,  nausea paired with excessive hunger, irritability, lack of control.” Basil added

“I don't know that experience well personally but… I will say. What you've got to worry most about- is being kept completely blood-starved… especially as you grow older in age. If someone were to trap an elder, a centennial… ooh baby. They'd become jerky in a week. Pitiful way to die. And the most excruciating I'm sure. And I personally don't plan on ever finding that out for myself.  Though your like 30 so, it'd take a damnable while to kill you.”

Basil couldn't help thinking about his own aging. He'd… been alive 29 years, he didn't know what he felt, but… he'd aged reasonably. It felt odd to imagine… he could have been 12 forever. Terrible. He'd been in chronic pain his entire life but… he was suddenly thankful for it, even if he now knew it could have been avoided. “If you are starved, and age, Can you… go back, return to the age you turned?” Basil asked, now curious

“Oh I've seen it done. It's… quite the event though. Not recommended as it requires a lot. A LOT to make up for just a year of time starved. Someone looking to remedy their ageing more than a few years would need to put quite a dent in the population. And well, we don't condone that kind of behavior. Such a bloodbath would surely start a manhunt for our kind and make it a lot harder for everyone.” 

“So there's… a vampire community here?” Basil gathered. 

Tetch snorted with arms crossed again “Yeah there's a few circles. I wouldn't expect much though. Lot of old entitled prissy assholes that should've never been made immortal.” 

Basil didn't like the sound of that. Tetch laughed quietly at the face Basil had made at the description. 

“Better off sticking round people like me honestly.” Tetch said still sharing a smile with his guest.  “But I can give you some info on where to find them.  Might be good for you, meeting some others. Shouldn't take my word for everything.” 

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A moment passed where nothing was said between them and Tetch tapped a foot, sometimes silence didn't sit well with him. With a snicker he remembered. Oh did he have something to fill the silence with!  “Since you don't recall the circumstance of your turning, I feel a bit inclined to tell my own” Tetch gripped his chest with a hand and smirked. The young immortal would get a kick of out this. Hell of a story and he hadn't had a good chance to tell it in years. 

Basil raised a brow in interest. That was all the encouragement Tetch needed.   “So we were in the thick of war. Anglo-Afghan. HEH , Huge joke by the way but I'll get into that some other time. We, me and my buddy, were part of a little frontline troop. We were young, raring to go, marchin’ along to to the drums of chaos and order. And it was a dance. 

I really thought I knew all the steps. But my buddy showed me a few new ones and then. Ooh- Did we get thrown on our asses…” He could almost see it. The images, fleeting, slowed down. The terrain, the sounds it carried with it. It was war but he saw something beautiful in it at the time. It became harder to find the beauty every recollection but in brief remembered moments it was still extant. 

“Our troop, a good number of us, upwards of 20 were stationed in the warzone. None of us had any idea what was happening. We'd found that to be the case a couple times but. Not like this. No one knew and there'd be no preparation for it either. You'll never guess what happened- ” Tetch raised his brows paired with an enigmatic gesture. 

“Vampires?” Basil asked. 

Tetch frowned, his bravado somewhat tarnished. “Well…. Yeah. But you have the context clues. We had SHIT-all.” 

“Midday we start to head for our next target right? Well another group had something else in mind. I always thought monsters attacked at night. That's what we're taught- or what our monkey brains tell us. Either way.”

“We were more than a little unprepared.  I think it took... 2 minutes for all 20 plus of us to be rounded up - soldiers in a barrel.” he sneered and bit gently at a fingernail. 

“I stood, frozen with the entire troop. Couldn't as much as blink let alone speak. Torture for someone very attached to their own free will I'll tell you.” Never again. He'd never use it on another creature. The mesmer still scared and angered him. He'd seen other vampires abuse the power and was thankful it didn't work on their own kind. Sure they must have the ability for a reason but, Tetch couldn't stand it and quickly learned to control it himself, avoiding the usage of it. Not only did it make the hunt less interesting, it was barely humane. Free-will even in death should be a right to everyone. 

“We faced our captors. Just a handful of them compared to us. They weren't in uniform. They didn't have guns. But they didn't need them. They had our will. Our uniforms. OUR guns. Had us. ” 

“And then they started a feast unlike any other.” he bared his teeth not in a smile but not in a grimace. It had been terrible yes, but awe inspiring. An invitation to a new world of his own. “We were layed down one by one, only 2 from the small group of monsters taking us while the others watched… you know how it's done. But they were gentle about it. Calm and sure. But that didn't put us at ease at that moment. Paralyzed and watching as they fed on us. I'm sure we all thought we were being murdered.” Tetch rubbed his face. Basil sat on the edge of his seat, looking on in quiet horror.  Tetch smiled and continued, happy to be listened to. 

“Only 5 died. The main 2 tasted them briefly and then walked onto the next, leaving them to those other vampires waiting to the side. They fed relentlessly on those rejected by the 2 leading the feast. It took years, but I understand now why they chose them to die while so many of us got the chance we had. Some of our kind have quite the knack after awhile. A sense, a bit involved with taste and judging of character.  Let's just say, some bad eggs are a bit smellier than others. And some’ve got a better nose for finding out. Those who stank up the place were devoured completely. Those of us that weren't drained dry, well… 

We had something else coming.” He winked and smiled sharply. Foreshadowing. 

“A different kind of death. There's some kind of bliss to almost dying. The horror fades into the background and it's just quiet.  Not saying dying is a personal solution. That's not to be vilified. And it wasn't even Peace,  but… an apathetic stupor.  All the stress just kind of transforms knowing you have mere moments before it really doesn't matter…” His eyes unfocused as he felt it, it still persisted. Despite the survival, he'd come to think of it as part of the change. The moment was never far from his mind. His foray with death. It was a reminder of his power. What he could do to others. A sweet release given unexpectedly. A gift. As much of a gift in his eyes was Death as immortal Life. And he could share both. And someday he might. 

He felt emboldened to have such a part to play. A task that was not only a choice but a part of what he was. He couldn't imagine being anything else. A gift truly relished. 

Lost to the sway of his thoughts, Tetch was brought back only by the movement of Basil standing from his chair. Tetch blinked, and the room came into focus. Basil looked deeply concerned. “You weren't responding and-”

Tetch waved him off fervently with a sneer. After Basil sat again, Tetch smiled “Sorry- where was I? Ah right, Dying.” With an amused glint in his eyes he jumped right back in. 

“So after we've all been seen to, all laid out gently and neatly on the ground, mostly dead, they come around again, the same two who drained each of us. I watched from the corner of my eye as my comrades before me were given something by them. Some of my buddies barely remembered this part-  but despite being drained so near death, I was lucid.”

“From the ground I couldn't really tell what was happening and honestly I found I didn't care apart from the curiosity. A man in his final moments taking everything he could in before it was all stopped. So I watched as best I could. The both of them neared and I noticed. They'd come with their open wrists welling with their own blood. Our blood.”

“And then they leaned over me. My maker.” Tetch smiled fully, eyes glistening with respect. “This creature gently touched my face, opened my mouth and… they murmured something I didn't understand right away. It was in a different language but after what they'd do next - Language would be just one of the few barriers that’d melt away.” 

“Lukewarm drops from their wrist fell upon my lips.  At first just a sensation. Faint. Hardly felt. It only took seconds. Amazing how quickly our bodies can surrender their humanity to something else…”

“It was a painful need, present in an instant and undeniable. You might know it more familarly than me, sadly, but I thought that I'd lose my mind in that moment. Dragged on for eternities. If I had any strength I would have fought for it, for more of that life being given. Then they, my maker, they delivered. I didn't even have to fight.”

Tetch closed his eyes with a smile. Reliving his death and rebirth

“And the change, Oh it was beautiful. Immeasurable pain, transformative suffering. How something so terrible could feel so right... I'm not a masochist but… damn.” He snickered hands behind his head, reclined comfortably.. for once not adding flavor to the story with his hands. 

“I've heard time and time again how excruciating and hated the change has been for others, but they also had human lives they'd been attached to. People who loved them. My friend, at this point more than a brother in arms, but a brother in blood, … he almost destroyed himself in the change I think…, the death of his humanity, I don't think he ever worked past it. Pitiful stuff.”

“But I think it was an appreciated change for me. That's what set it apart from others experiences. I was so ready to be something more. I'd wanted it all my youth, to be chosen for something great. Something special. Important.  And I knew in that moment, as I drank, that this was the answer. My salvation from mundanity.” 

He unleashed a hand raising it up proudly for a moment, before flourishing it and mock- bowing in his seat. That was enough for now. He knew he couldn't keep Basil forever. The man was flighty and determined to run off to projects that Tetch honestly felt pointless, but he tried not to judge. Plus, He hadn't shared much about himself in a long while. It felt nice. He looked at Basil expectantly. He wanted to hear the final effect of his words.

Basil, holding a hand to his lips, lowered it. “So who were they? The vampires that… changed you?” 

Tetch raised a brow. He should've expected he'd just have more questions.  

“They were actually locals turned activists, hoping to end the war. It was an intriguing method. They took fledgelings on both sides. Showed us to our new lives. And opened our eyes to the reality of the war. Heh, peace-bringing monsters. Kind of ridiculous when you consider… ” 

“Where are they now?” Basil questioned. 

Tetch closed his eyes, feeling a twinge of deep pain at the query. “Gone mostly. Well… the one's that mattered. My maker. I uh…” he sighed and stood from his seat with a seriousness , offset with a weak smile. Yeah that's enough. He hadn't considered how this engagement as a teacher might dredge up some not so welcome old pains. 

“That's really all I can give you tonight.” Tetch splayed his arms out to to the sides in a gesture of practicality. 

He approached Basil, who stood as well. Tetch wrapped an arm around Basil leading him to the door. “Apart from tonight. You come back anytime you want. I rarely use the place. Your more likely to find me wandering the streets than here in all honesty.” He leaned against the threshold. 

Basil looked even more thankful than when he'd offered to be his mentor. Before Basil could ask , Tetch put out a hand to stop him, “Yes- I mean it.” 

Basil froze in the doorway with a complex expression that Tetch couldn't hope to read. Did he break him? 

Much to his surprise,  Basil embraced him. A quick but full hug. The tall man released him and quickly turned to walk away without another word. Lost to the dark night in an instant. Tetch retreated indoors, and slumped, back against the wall. Certain his heart would be racing if it still could. The feeling of being appreciated by another was one that’d been lost for decades. It wasn't even something he knew he'd missed. 

But regaining it was also a reminder of how it'd been lost. A crime against his own brother. 

Slipping from the wall down to the floor, Tetch held his head in his hands, tears streaming as he cried silently.