Lost With No Purpose (Mdu!)

[Anonymous]

Dacia didn't know what to do with herself as she sat there listening to Vivian speak. People she encountered usually didn't stick around long enough to say that they wanted to be around her voluntarily so him saying that he'd be willing to get food for her in exchange with hanging around struck her as odd. Still, she was woman, had emotions just like any other and despite the fact that the one who'd said it looked like he might pass out at any minute she still flushed a bit at the comment, her cheeks giving off an embarrassing pink hue. Even what he said about her and the dangers of the woods kept Dacia's face that same bright tone and she ended up turning her head away so that he wouldn't see.

"Look if you need a place to stay I don't own that cave or anything...you can come in. And about the animals...well, it doesn't really matter, I can take care of myself," she said, shifting in her spot so that she could lean against the tree more comfortably. "Not really, I just think that the fact that you're here...alone and being so weak and all. Well, haven't you had it pretty rough to be trying to do things for people like me?" she asked, turning to look at him again, hoping that the tint might have disappeared by then.

After she'd spoken she slowly began to realize that she was being a bit too nice to someone she hardly knew. She narrowed her eyes to Vivian, hoping that that might mask the gleam of curiosity from her eye. "Um...I'm going to check the rabbit," she said, saying the words quickly as she jumped to her feet and jogged up the dusk-darkened stretch of land between the treeline and the cave.

[Anonymous]

Vivian turned away and pretended not to see her blush. If she was trying to hide it he would pretend that she wasn't blushing at all. He kept his eyes on his gloved hands until she spoke again.There was a loose thread on the old things and he began pulling at it until it snapped. He rolled the thread into a ball and flicked it to the ground. With a sigh he looked back to her. His hint that she should be careful did not seem to go as well as he had hoped. He might as well say what he was outright.

'Thankyou for the offer but at least hold off allowing me in the cave at night until you know me better. I may be weak and alone but that does not mean that you are safe near me,' he paused and sighed. He felt ashamed of what he was. Every time he had to drink an animal's blood he could feel its terror; it was enough for him to try eating food. He clenched his fists, unable to look at her. 'I. I'm an Aswang, a vampire.'

He had put himself in a very dangerous position. He was not strong enough to defend himself during the day and letting her know that he was an Aswang meant that it would be easier for his mother to track him down. So far he had not mentioned his heritage to anyone. He half expected her to try and kill him on the spot.

'I will go bathe and collect fresh water, do not follow me. If you still wish me to stay, it will be my pleasure to do things for you.'  With that, he struggled to his feet and held  onto the trunk until the world stopped spinning around him.

[Anonymous]

As Dacia made her way up to the cave she found herself to be slightly shaken. She'd clearly heard what Vivian had said, that he was an Aswang, and she had some idea as to what that meant. If she'd had to guess at him being something other than human she surely wouldn't have said anything near vampire-like; he was so weak, he struggled to even stand properly and most vampires were stronger than humans. Still, he seemed a bit embarrassed when he told her and wondered if somehow he was defective because of how weak he was.

When she reached the mouth of the cave she knelt beside the fire, watching the flames flicker and the meat roast. It smelled nice, a useful distraction from her buzzing thoughts. She wondered if she truly was in danger from him like he'd said but she smiled to herself, knowing she'd managed to scare him within her own human power. It gave her a false sense of confidence, having no idea how powerful he really could be if he'd ever feed properly, and she figured that the least she could do for him was let him stay inside instead of be alone in the elements.

Rubbing her hands together as she leaned closer to the fire, Dacia hummed softly to herself, remembering that Vivian had said he was going to get water. Being a coward, she hadn't dared venture very far from the little cave that she'd been staying in these past few days and wondered where and how he would manage to get water. The thought, though, made her thirsty and she turned the cooking meat to distract herself before getting up and walking back down to the shade of the trees. While she waited for Vivian's return she rested her back against a tree trunk and let herself fall until she was sitting once more.

[Anonymous]

It took Vivian a whole forty minutes to struggle his way towards a rivulet he had been staying by. The closer he got to his destination, the louder his head began to hum with the voices of his ancestors until he could hear their voices clearly in his mind. They were taunting him again, urging him back to Dacia to kill her. He didn't want to do that  so he pushed them from his mind. Each time he did they came back stronger and angrier with him.

You would do more good feasting off a murdering woman than killing countless innocent rabbits for a month.
Get out. I will not harm anyone.
IMPUDENT BOY! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK YOU CAN TELL US TO LEAVE?
Vivian cowered where he stood. The movement along with the force in their voice made him fall forward, landing fully clothed in the water. He pushed himself into a sitting position and closed his eyes, feeling the cold, fresh water eddy about his skin and relieving his sore body.

I escaped my family and renounced my blood. You have no hold over me, he said aloud. He was bluffing and they knew it. He didn't have the strength to hold them off and the only reason he had lasted this long without killing someone was willpower. He refused to admit it but he had incredibly strong willpower; it was the only strength he had to defend himself against his mother and others that tried to make him drink the blood of other people.

You are weak, you Vampire* scum. We have more hold over you than even Devoiah did. All it will take is for you to let your guard down and we will have full control of you.
Vivian did not reply and instead began focussing on scrubbing the filth from his clothes. They'd done it before and the only thing that had stopped him from draining someone to death had been the woman's husband startling him.

Night had fallen so it was safe for him to remove them but it was easier to work the grime and bloodstains out while wearing them, that way he would not have to worry about chasing them if they floated downstream. Once they nolonger wreaked of blood he removed them, revealing skin that was purple and grey from a mass of scars.

*Aswang are incredibly arrogant. They consider vampires to be weak imitations. They lack intelligence, strength and poise. To call someone a vampire is to imply they are unworthy of even basic rights.

[Anonymous]

How could he be something so powerful? The question was comical to Dacia and she found herself smiling at the thought; someone she'd wanted to kill not so long ago turning out to be a creature of the night astonished her, though she chose not so show so externally. Even so, she still had her doubts and she figured the best way to determine what he was would be to test him.  

As she sat their, though, waiting for hints of Vivian's return, she closed her eyes against the slowly setting sun. Her arms folded defensively, she slumped down even further, the trunk now supporting just her shoulders and head. Her thoughts began to cloud as she decided that such fun plotting and scheming could wait until she'd rested her eyes a bit. With the roasting rabbit filling the area with its scent and the sounds of the forest settling into night, Dacia drifted off into a light sleep.

ooc: bleh, sorry it's short

[Anonymous]

Vivian used mud from the bottom of the river to scrub muck out of his hair then ran his fingers though it. It had grown long and unkempt since he'd left his mother's watchful guard. The tie he had once used had all but disintegrated and floated down the stream with the rest of his filth.

He rose from the river and pulled his wet clothes back on. When he eventually decided to show his true form they would meld to him and dry with his skin. In the meantime he felt cold. Just as well there was no breeze. He didn't think Dacia would act kindly to him catching a cold. It would probably amuse her in a cruel way if he did.

Vivian's excuse to get away had been to collect water so it would be foolish not to get any. He pulled off his cloak and examined it. When it was new it had been lined velvet in a deep blue colour. The lining had once been waterproof but after everything it had been through, he doubted it would hold much. None the less, he bent over the water and collected as much as his tattered cloak would hold. From there he made his way back to Dacia, taking even longer because of the awkward package.

OOC: it's okay. You didn;t really have much to go with.

[Anonymous]

The rustling of leaves as the cool breeze of night blew through the brush caused her to stir, turning this way and that until she finally managed to roll away from the trunk and fall the short distance to the ground. The connection between earth and head awoke Dacia instantly, a sharp pain pulsing in her temples as she pushed herself into a sitting position. Rubbing her head and groaning from the sudden waking, she took a moment to adjust her eyes to the dim glow from the fire that scarcely reached the spot where she sat.

Getting up, she shuffled her feet as she slowly trudged back to the cave and took the rabbit away from the fire. Quickly she pulled together sticks to form a rough platform before she slung the cooked meat on top of it, hoping that it would not roll back towards the blaze and spoil from burning. By then she'd begun hearing the faint sounds of footsteps and looked up and out towards the dark blanket that the shadows cast upon the ground beneath the trees. At first she thought it might have been some sort of animal, perhaps something that had smelled the cooking game, but she soon realized that it was Vivian.

Grinning at the outline she could make out of him, she noticed that he was moving awkwardly and hoped that it was because he'd brought water. Moving swiftly, her thirst driving her more than anything, she rushed down to meet him and stopped abruptly once she'd reached him. "I-is that water? Did you bring water?" she asked, her voice growing excited for she had not had a decent drink in days having lived off the dew resting upon leaves among the wood.

[Anonymous]

Vivian was shocked when Dacia practically bolted up to him. He hadn't expected quite an excited return. He held the water out to her, which was now less than half the weight it was when he'd started. Still, it was enough for her to drink for at least two days and he didn't need it.

He only ever drank water when he didn't have enough blood in him to even hunt. He wasn't that weak yet and with Dacia around, he was determined not to get to that point, both so she didn't think any less of him than she already did and so that he would still have some strength to defend himself if his ancestors attacked.

'Yes, I brought you water as promised,' he replied. 'Please take it off me before I drop it again. I need to sit down.'

[Anonymous]

She hesitated, standing there with her hands limp, unsure if she should take the water from him or not. He looked a bit surprised, which she'd expected, but it didn't cause her to waver in her thought processes, her only goal to get her hands on the water. When he asked her to relieve him of the lumpy form in his arms she stepped closer happily, immediately reaching out and taking the wrapped cloak from him. Grinning a child's grin she turned and run back up to the cave, perching herself up on a rock before she untied a small part of the cloak and put her lips to it to drink.

Once she'd had her fill she retied the cloth and set it down. Looking at the cooked meat, the scent still heavy and distinct in the air, she glanced up to Vivian and pointed at the prior object of her attention. "Aren't you...hungry at all? You look...well, not to be particularly rude, but you look about starved, Vivian," she commented, scooting down from the rock she'd been sitting on to stand closer to the fire.

[Anonymous]

Vivian followed her to the fire then sat down with his elbows on his knees. He watched the fire flicker as she spoke and lapped in the warmth. Perhaps he could stay here where it was warm until Dacia went to bed, that way at least he'd dry faster.

'Thank you for the offer but I cannot eat. The only thing I can feed on is blood; it is why I gave you the rabbit,' he said. As he had said many time, the rabbit was safe for her to eat. The only way she could be turned by him was if she drank his blood, which he would not let happen. 'I take no offense. What you say is true.'

[Anonymous]

Dacia found herself watching Vivian carefully as she wondered why a creature such as he was weak to the point where he could hardly stand on his own. Edging closer to him before finally sitting down beside him, she still kept an intent stare focused on him, not caring whether it made him uncomfortable or not. The truth was she had grown curious about him and even more so than before. "Well, if all you need is blood why didn't you go after me? Or the man this afternoon, why not him?" she asked, a bit puzzled and very unaware that he did not drink the blood of humans even though his kind was prone to it.

Shifting and moving her gaze to the fire, she pulled her legs up and rested her chin on her knees. Looking through the flickering flames to the cooked meat out of reach of the fire's heat, Dacia wondered if he might be bothered at all if she ate in front of him. Despite that he'd said he didn't eat food she still felt a bit strange offering him to stay and then eat alone when he was so obviously hungry. This prompted a rough shake of her head, though, her own thoughts frightening to her. Why should you even care what he thinks?! she thought frantically, her eyes darting between him and the ground as she tried to make sense of herself.

[Anonymous]

Dacai's gaze seemed to burn through him as though her eyes were the midday sun. His face went pink and he turned away. Why would she even ask that? 'You don't think it would be revolting for me to drink another's blood? I do. I have never and will never drink another person's blood,' he said partially to her, partially to his ancestors, which were in silent waiting.

Vivian sat with his face away from her, even after she stopped looking at him. He couldn't look at her. He was too ashamed. Everybody seemed to expect him to drink people's blood. They either hated him for refusing and tried to force him to or they would persecute him because other types of "vampires" did. Dacia would be the same. She seemed interested in him now but if she ever saw him after transforming or if she saw him drink blood, she would behave the same.

'I have a favour to ask. If I stay with you I will attack you; I don't want to but I will. When I do you are you are to knock me out, don't hesitate.'

[Anonymous]

Watching him turn away confused Dacia further, wondering why he was so ashamed to admit that he did not drink the blood of people. "I guess you're a bit different, then," she observed, tilting her head a bit to look at him when he kept his face turned away from her. Being ignorant, she felt that there wasn't really anything to be afraid of concerning Vivian, that he was fairly normal besides the fact that he was afraid of what he'd been born to do. She saw his choice more as an avoidance of his destiny but she wouldn't complain about being safer with him than with an ordinary vampire.

His warning, though he seemed serious in the delivery of it, made it impossible for her to not smirk. She thought that he wasn't serious, that he was just trying to get her to fear something about him. "You would attack me? I'd believe it if I thought you had it in you, Vivian," she said, snickering as she shifted her weight and jumped to her feet. Making her way to the cooked rabbit she crouched down and began cutting meat off the bones with the knife she always kept on her person. At the moment she felt that heeding his warning wouldn't do her any good, but she knew not what he was capable of.

[Anonymous]

'Not for my kind,' he said. Or what was my kind he thought. He was no longer an Aswang by their standards. By running away he broke the pact that kept him safe from human persecution in Hyoite. 'They farm pigs. They collect the blood then sell the meat to humans. It means that Aswang aren't looked at in the same light as vampires.'

When he continued there was bitterness in his voice and he shifted uncomfortably. 'My mother was the only Aswang I've heard of drinking someone else's blood. Only her servants and me know about it. If our Court found out she'd be offered up to the public for persecution... I'm sorry. I shouldn't bore you with this,' he said before shuffling away from her. 'Stop doing that. I'm not a freak to be gawked at.'

Vivian stood up abruptly, too abruptly. He closed his eyes and groaned while his blood pressure adjusted. 'Are you stupid or something, Miss Dacia? Do you think I am a joke? I am a vampire, I drink blood and I am weak. If I make one mistake or lose focus, I will attack you and rip your throat out. Do you want that?' he snapped. He turned and walked away from her. He sat by a tree at the edge of the clearing rather than sitting down near her again.

[Anonymous]

Before, her calmness could be attributed to her curious state but now the habitual violence about her swarmed back to the surface. Her temper snapped at his words and she stopped what she'd been doing to glare at him. Angrily, she threw the knife at the cave wall and quickly got to her feet. "I am not stupid!" she yelled, her eyes burning with the rage she'd fought so hard to suppress. "What gives you the right to call me stupid?! A-and I wasn't gawking at you, you're too paranoid to notice that I was just trying to pay attention! If you only drink animal blood then what the hell do I have to be afraid of, huh?! Why should I be afraid of you attacking me if I'm not what you even feed on?" Her fists were clenched and her jaw was tight with tension as she fought to regain control of herself.

A few moments of such efforts brought a mad screech upon the forest as she stormed down the hill to sit at the opposite side of the clearing from him. "You know, you could try to be a little more polite!" she yelled back over her shoulder, arms crossed on her chest as she slumped against a tree. Pouting now, she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. "Why should I be afraid?" she asked herself, voice much quieter as she tried to calm herself down again.

[Anonymous]

Vivian flinched at her shouting and put up his arms for protection when she hefted her knife. Angry women scared him. Both his mother and his dear little sister, Lana, had often got angry with him. In Lana's case it was usually because he was too tired to read to her or refused to let her venture out beyond their gardens.

'You are stupid because you act like I'm a joke when you have no idea what I am capable of. Animal blood is weaker than human blood; I cannot drink enough to satisfy me. The only thing that would is human blood, your blood. That is why I called you stupid, Miss Dacia.'

He wasn't getting through to her, he needed to try another tact. 'See how easy it is for you to lose control of your temper? The same is for me with blood. I am influenced by more than starvation to hurt you. You fight to hold your anger, I fight not to harm you,' he explained in a slightly patronising tone. As before, he did not mean nor want to be patronising, it was just how he was brought up.

'I do, however, apologise for the offense,' he said quietly, bowing his head apologetically.

[Anonymous]

Though on the inside she felt a bit defenseless and weak at the moment, her temper still radiated strongly and her gaze a fixed glare on Vivian as she turned to look at him across the clearing as he addressed her. She had to admit to herself that she was being quite unfair to him by underestimating him but she didn't want to admit it to him straight to his face. Annoyed still with the concept of his existence, she huffed and turned stubbornly away from him again. "If animal blood isn't enough why don't you just feed on humans? Wouldn't it be easier?" she asked.

His comments, though, stirred up her ceaseless anger yet again even though his intentions were good. "You know, I don't think I have that bad of a temper...and I don't know why you're so concerned about harming people like me anyway, I'd welcome the challenge," she said, her attitude quickly turning cocky. Vivian's apology, though, did manage to calm her nerves a bit. "Yeah well...apology accepted." So as not to embarrass herself further Dacia made her way back to the cave to hide, ashamed of what she'd done as she got to thinking about it.

In an attempt to distract herself she crawled to the back of the cave to retrieve the knife she'd thrown and, once it was secured, she went back out to gather fresh grasses from the clearing to build up the makeshift bed she'd gathered in the back.

[Anonymous]

'I don't want to harm people, is that such a strange concept for you to grasp? It wouldn't be easier; I'd have to live with the guilt afterward,' he explained. He didn't want to explain why he felt the way he did. She had no reason to know why he chose not to drink her blood, just that she was safe. 'Why are you so insistent on knowing?'

He rubbed his hands over his face in frustration then down to his neck. He fingered the scarf around his neck. He hadn't removed it around anyone other than his mother since he'd first put it on. Even the violent urgings of his little sister hadn't dissuaded him. He'd never wanted to worry her with what lay beneath so he'd made up stories about it. Told her things that she couldn't believe as to distract her.

'Never. say. that,' he breathed, covering his ears with his hands. 'Never think of it as a challenge and never goad me like you are. Please accept that I do not want to harm you and abide by my wishes. You're making it... hard.'

In the back of his mind whispers started stirring, urged on by Dacia's challenge. They were saying that they too welcomed the challenge, that she'd deserve what she got. If they got any louder he'd just high-tail it out of there and hunt.

[Anonymous]

Her rage bubbled to the surface again, ready to burst into another round of screaming at him, but she distracted herself with the task set in her mind, determined to calm down and not let it get the best of her again. It was tough, though, she'd lived the majority of her life with rare suppression of the anger and frustration that drove her into the constantly violent nature that had slowly become her lifestyle. Even though she'd been like that for as long as she could remember she didn't like it that Vivian had told her to calm down and compared his own troubles to hers, like he understood how she felt sometimes. What she was afraid of most was that he was in fact correct and she didn't like someone else being the one in the right rather than her.

What he was saying to her now managed to make it through the barrier she'd set, stopping where she stood as she looked down at him sitting beneath a tree. He looked as if it pained him to keep himself from hurting her, his face in his hands as he warned her not to joke about it. At that moment Dacia felt as if she'd overstepped her bounds, an exceedingly rare occurrence, but she suddenly was struck by a wave of guilt for making him feel bad. Dropping what she'd gathered she walked closer to him before sitting down beside him, dipping her head so that she wouldn't be looking down at him. "Vivian...I'm sorry. I didn't realize the pain it would cause you but you're, um, well I think you might be right about me. About my temper, I mean. I apologize for snapping at you."

[Anonymous]

Vivian tensed as her footfalls sounded closer to him. She did not sound angry this time so he looked up. She had hung her head and was apologising to him. He wasn't quite sure what to make of it. She seemed to change face more often than the wind changed direction so he wasn't exactly sure how long this new attitude would last. He would probably say something that would irk her and they would be back to them arguing again. He hoped it didn't, raised voices always made him anxious and if she took a swipe at him he would not be able to fight back. At least she seemed genuine.

'Thank you Miss. I am sorry to have angered you,' he said. He would have explained that he'd only done it to help her understand but he decided against it, doing so would push her into anger again.

'Have you decided whether to let me stay? If you do not wish me to be near you at night I can leave each night and return late morning,' Vivina asked. He would not stay with her in the cave until he was sure he would not be overcome by his ancestors, who were at this very moment whispering awkward nothings into his mind. They were not being particularly disturbing so he could easily ignore them.