"Well, from what i read, people have been using leeches for quite some time, apparently the blood thinning thing actually helped some of the people, so you cant really say they were a bad choice, just a really weird one." he commented, putting down the cup.
Her words resonated in his mind, like a warm shower after being in the cold for very long. This girl actually cared about him enough to try cheer him up and help wherever she could with the broken mess he was, and that just meant the world for him right now. Being the third person in his life to be this nice to him, especially after the long time he'd avoided everyone, left a pleasant impression on him and he wondered if he could trully open up to her about everything.
"I… I didnt know it could work that way… Being pretty, i mean. I always looked at other people thinking they looked nice, even tho they would wanna push me away, but i never thought being ugly run that deep." he admitted, looking in his cup as he reflected on his memories.
"Thank you, for believing that about me. I want to trust you wholeheartedly, but… Im still a little scared sometimes, that you'll go away. That if i show you what im really like you'll change your mind or something to that effect. I dont want to push you away, thats all…"
He continued to look at his drink, only nodding at her comment about OCD, a little relieved to know more about this weirdly named condition.
"Is it contagious tho?"
She looked at him, blinking a couple of times as she took in what he said about leeches before giving a soft laugh. ”Well, that just proves what I know about health care.” she said shaking her head. ”Blood-thinning is still a common treatment for certain issues. Especially where the heart is involved.”
”It doesn't always but it's something that people notice. It’s called inner beauty and it usually affects how people see you based on your actions.” she explained, already wondering if watching the Disney version of Hunchback with him would be a good idea… Though she would have to skip that one song. Mari smiled kindly at his confession. ”You haven't done anything to convince me otherwise and honestly I don't scare easily… At least not by people, horror movies on the other hand. Let's just say that I'm not a fan. But I wouldn't be making all these promises if I planned to leave. As long as you're comfortable with it, I’ll keep coming back. Maybe a couple times a week if you don't mind.” she assured him.
”It’s not contagious. I think it's something you’re born with or something you develop because of a… an imbalance in the brain.” she told him. ”I’ll see if I can find you a book on some modern medical conditions next time I go to the library.”
"it's okay not to know certain stuff or have a different opinion. Leeches are kinda gross in theory, so its pretty normal to think its a bad idea. I know i shuddered when i first saw them. Really ugly critters." he tried to comfort her, with a slightly awkward smile.
Damien continued to look down in his cup, processing what he was being told.
"inner beauty, huh? Never heard of that one, i'll try keep that in mind for the future" he murmured, his expression somewhat less distressed than before. "Well, going by that logic, i could say you're really pretty too, both in and out."
He averted his gaze for a second, slightly coy at what he'd just said, but he meant it wholeheartedly - she was a nice person to him after all.
"I do want you to come back, of course, you're the best thing to happen in a very long time. I'm just unsure you'd be too comfortable around someone with a… hole in the face, so to speak."
It felt hard to admit that last part, but he did feel like he had to come completely clean to her, before he could feel entirely relieved. Given he saw her as a friend - despite having known her for just a day and a bit -, he wanted to have no secrets towards her.
"Sure! I think i had a few more books about health in here, but they are kinda outdated i assume so… I could use something new."
She chuckled a little and nodded. ”Yeah, they really are. I’ve never seen one in person before but it's not high on my list of things to do. The pictures I’ve seen were gross enough.” she told him. ”Honestly, I’m just not very interested in medicine so I never really thought about it too much.”
Mari blushed at the compliment, smiling softly. ”You sweetheart. Thank you. That's very kind of you to say.” she said, feeling a bit shy herself as she picked up her cup. Though she froze and looked back at him, confused and concerned. ”A hole in…” she started softly, her gaze landing on his long bangs covering his other eye… It took a moment to fully process the implications if that really was what he was hinting at. ”Damien…” she whispered. ”Do you mean… someone actually hurt…” she stammered, unable to form a sentence regarding the horrendous thought. It was just too heartless to imagine.
The young woman took a deep breath, closing her eyes and tried to collect herself before speaking again. ”Damien… I understand this is really personal to you, so you don't have to tell me what happened if you're not ready but I want you to know that while I am very sorry for what you went through I'm not going to stop visiting you. I already consider you a friend.” she said sincerely.
Damien refilled his cup with a small smile.
"You didn't miss anything by not seeing them in person, you're fine." he said reassuringly, sitting back down. "Medicine is half interesting, half gross, you either like it or no, there is no in between."
His gaze remained away from her as she responded to his compliment, just moving around in his chair from the reaction. It felt nice to compliment her, and he really believed what he'd said, she really was pretty.
He looked back up at her when her demeanor suddenly changed and upon seeing her gaze fall on his face, he slowly nodded, confirming the rest of the sentence for her.
"Mhm. That's the part i told you mom was surprised about." he said, lightly tilting his head left and right.
For a few brief seconds while Mari composed herself, Damien began feeling like maybe he'd made her uncomfortable in some way with his little confession. Her words however, made him stop mid stir on his chair, as he held on tight to his cup, looking at the girl seated in front of him. The words refused to come out at first, leaving him just to stare.
"I… Mari… Thank you. Thank you for understanding. And for being such a nice friend. It really means a lot to me, it really does." he eventually managed to speak out, even managing a small smile. "No need to be sorry though, you weren't there when it happened, so its okay."
Mari chuckled softly and nodded a little. ”That’s a pretty good way to describe it.” she agreed. ”I do think it's interesting… to a degree but I just can't keep up with it. Doctors practically have their own language now.”
”Well, I can't say I blame her.” she said with a soft laugh. ”That would bother anyone with a shred of humanity. Seeing another person having been treated like that.” she sighed, shaking her head. ”Having you survive must have been a huge relief to her.”
She smiled sweetly at her friend. ”You’re welcome, Damien. You deserve to be treated as kindly as any other person.” she said sincerely. ”Well, assuming that the… jerk who hurt you was a human, then I feel terrible about what happened. I know not all humans are Saints or anything but I don't think anyone who can do that to someone can call themselves a human being.” she told him unable to keep from scowling at the thought.
"They do? Language as in how? Special terms? Cant blame you if thats the case, sometimes i too get lost when reading specific terms related to the field." he said, before sipping again from his cup.
Seeing her laugh a bit gave Damien courage to smile a little bit, tilting his head.
"i guess she was relieved that i survived, despite not knowing me at all. She also said people like that were the reason she'd settled here in the first place. The world was just cruel like that, and she hated it" he spoke, reminiscing his first days at the manor. He was smaller, fresh out of a traumatic experience, taking time to recover slowly and stop being skittish to absolutely everything.
The boy blinked at her a few times, apparently a little surprised at her words that he deserved to be treated like everyone else - it had been a long time since he'd heard them, but the familiar feeling awakened in him just felt like a memory long forgotten.
"I do…? I always thought that being in my shoes was a bad thing, something unholy and so on… Guess i was made to believe i was less than a regular human, because i was a mix."
Unlike Mari who clearly seemed scandalized by the brutality he'd been exposed to, Damien only started questioning that perhaps in all this time, the fault did not lie with him, but with everyone else. It felt crazy to think that, but it also felt a bit comforting for his opressed side.
She nodded, taking a sip of her own drink. ”Yeah, exactly. I don't know how many special terms they have but it's enough to make any one's head spin if you don't understand it.” she confirmed his guess.
”I can understand that.” Mari said thoughtfully. ”Like I said, I know that not everyone is a nice guy, and it makes sense to want to get away from the… other types.” she paused to clear her throat. ”There are days when I wouldn't mind running away but… I don't know if I could actually stay away for long.”
She shook her head a little. ”That may have been what people thought years ago, but now those people would be considered superstitious old goats. I’m willing to bet that you haven't actually done anything to hurt people before so you don't deserve to be treated badly. You’re not less of anything.” she explained. ”You may be a little different from everyone else but that doesn't make you inherently something horrible.”
"Oh, i understand that. Especially the long names - those are nightmarish to keep up with" he continued, remembering how long it took him to be able to pronounce some of the names right when he first encountered them.
Damien finished his tea, putting away the cup so he could place his hands on the table.
"I grew up used to that, but i never expected humans to be that bad and scary…." he said, looking ahead. "Why would you want to run away? Is there anyone there treating you bad?"
The boy could not abstain from a small giggle at the word "old goats" - it just sounded comical to him.
"Well, truthfully, i was taught to be nice to people, i dont think i ever did anything bad on purpose to anyone. That was also a reason why i was always so confused about their reaction. I knew vampires were hated because they harmed people, but i never did anything like that. Looking from their perspective, they kinda had a right to be doubtful, but still…" he commented, playing with a sleeve. "How do people today see vampires as? Besides being a fiction, i mean. What's their opinion now? Since you said the people back then were superstitious old goats."
She groaned a little at the mention of the impossibly long words that doctors tended to use for some of the medicine, especially the ones she saw on commercials. ”I know. I swear, some of those have like twenty syllables.” she exaggerated. ”Though I will give them points for creativity in spelling.”
Mari shook her head. ”Oh, no. No one specific at least, just high school bullies… some teachers are jerks, and I hate watching someone who thinks they are so entitled treat someone else like dirt.” she admitted. ”I’ve never gone through with it though. It's just a brief fantasy of mine to get away from those kinds of people… even if it's just a couple of seconds.”
She grinned at hearing Damien laugh. It made her feel better that he was happy… or happier at least. ”I thought so. Your adoptive mom sounds like a real nice person, so it makes sense that she would teach you that.” she commented with a small smile. ”But there's a difference between being cautious and being a complete… Uhh, well treating someone the way that they treated you. That's just plain wrong.” she caught herself before she accidentally taught the innocent-looking boy a new swear. Looking up at his question, she blushed a little as she tried to come up with an answer. ”Umm… Well, it depends on the person… and the version they’re most familiar with. Some are still scared of vampires but because of new literature and some movies, vampires have been more romanticized than they used to be. Others have been made more terrifying and some of been made more relatable and a bit more… Uhh, what’s a word you would understand?” she trailed off into a brief mumble before perking back up and snapping her fingers. ”Ah! Brooding. That's the word.”
He still chuckled a little bit, agreeing with her about the weirdness of some of the names there, before stopping and his gaze trailing back at Mari.
"Commercials?" he asked, tilting his head, eye on her.
Hearing of school teachers and bullies made the young boy frown a little bit.
"I never went to a school, but i always thought bullies weren't allowed? And how are mean teachers permitted to work there?" he questioned, curious as to why such things even existed in a school. Having never been there himself, he only had the image of what a school should be like - a place to learn, and develop, not somewhere with people who liked to inflict stress onto others.
"Getting away from others is nice, but addictive" he warned her softly. "Once you're feeling good in your own presence, you rarely want to be around others…"
With all the time spent alone, Damien had grown used to it, to the point he didnt miss going back outside, except a few times when he would have liked to exchange some words with the late woman he'd called mother for years.
Thinking of her again made the boy slightly turn his face away, with a small sigh.
"She really was nice, from beginning to end.
He turned back to her again, some of the shadow in his gaze dissipated.
**"Sounds like a lot of versions. How exactly did they manage to romanticize them? I thought no one would wanna have anything to do with something like a vampire, at all."* he spoke, rubbing his chin gently at the thought. He'd never seen an actual vampire in his life before besides himself, so he didnt know what they looked like, but the idea that they were disgusting beings of the night was something he was more familiar with.
"What was your opinion on vampires? Prior to meeting me, i mean."
Her eyes widened for a moment at his question, since she didn't think she mentioned that part out loud. ”Uh, yeah. On tv… When you're watching a movie or a show, sometimes you have to… Well, what the station does is they… stop the movie or show for a few minutes to show you… basically an ad. Kinda like what you see in magazines or newspapers.” she answered, hoping she didn't confuse him. Though now she was a little confused. ”Umm, Damien… Can you read someone's mind?” she asked cautiously.
She sighed a little. ”Technically, bullying someone isn’t allowed, and if you get caught then you get punished for it but there’s no real way to prevent it.” Mari explained. ”School is more or less mandatory now… At least up to high school, I think. As for the teachers… I don't really know. Some teachers are just very strict and some seem to enjoy making their students feel bad for one thing or another, like getting an answer wrong and calling the student out on it in front of the whole class.” she shook her head. ”But it’s not supposed to be that way.”
She chuckled a little and nodded. ”Yeah, I’m sure it is. At least for a while. Eventually, though I imagine a person can get bored after so long on their own.” she replied just as gently. ”I don't think one person can stay alone forever.”
The young woman blushed at the question. ”Well, it depends on the writer, some made them look like… like a model, or Adonis and used words like ”alluring”, ”devilishly handsome”, ”mysterious”, and ”flawless”. And that's just the physical perspective. Apparently, some people are attracted to something that should scare you.” she shrugged, looking back at him. ”What I thought… Well, I thought they were an interesting piece of lore but I never thought that they were real. Maybe some aspects of them were since even mythology has a grain of truth somewhere in it, but as a whole, I was… doubtful that they ever existed that way.”
Throughout her explanation, the boy continued to look at her mildly confused, head still tilted and frowning.
"Hmm, im afraid i can't, and even if i could, that'd be rude of me…" he confessed, with a look of guilt. "I dont know what a tv is or an ad…. But i think the newspaper part is familiar to me. Is advertisement close to what you're saying? Like, stuff people post advertising something, like services or goods?"
"That's sad to hear, really… That there's people like that out there and no one does anything against them…" he murmured, finding the situation somewhat relatable, having been in something similar back before arriving at the manor. Some types of people just dont change. "But for the teachers to be like that! That should not be happening. Do you have any teacher treating you like that?"
The boy slightly sighed, looking at the table and the cup he'd pushed away.
"I dont know what to say… I personally did feel alright all by myself, tho i did miss talking to someone every now and then. Just one person, that's it, i was never too fond of groups or crowds of people… Those just scare me, honestly…."
The initial descriptions made Damien blink in surprise, slightly taken aback by what he was hearing.
"But that's… really attractive… And people like that? Huh, i guess ideas do change over time. Back when i last went outside, all people seemed to see in a vampire was an ugly blood sucker, that needed to be destroyed. Never would have thought someone would find them attractive… Or at least, a large number of people, instead of one" he lost himself in a mini-rant, really surprised by the new ideas. The only person he'd ever met who hadnt been repulsed and had a somewhat positive opinion on vampires had been his birth mother - of course, since she'd loved one and had him as a result - but having never personally seen one in his life, he'd grown to believe they had to be ugly creatures no one liked, mostly based on the sheer brutality he'd been subjected to in the past.
"So you were kinda skeptic about them, right? Cant blame you for that, given they're believed to be extinct. Did you picture them in some way? And what did you think was that grain of truth that they were based on?"
She nodded a little. ”It’s ok, Damien. I guess I just didn't realize that I was saying that part about the commercials out loud. I thought I was just thinking about them.” she said a little apologetically. ”Actually that's exactly what an ad is. It's just a shorter way of saying advertisement. A lot of words got shortened to make talking… easier, I guess.” she smiled with a brief shrug, a little hesitant to try to explain a tv to him yet.
Mari let out a sigh but nodded at his comment. ”Yeah. It's sort of a no-win scenario. You try to defend yourself and next thing you know, they're saying that you were the bully. You tell a responsible adult and suddenly you're not mature enough to deal with a problem on your own…” she groaned again at the thought, though she wasn't really bullied anymore… Not since she… fell into the category of the first but it had turned out differently that one time. ”No, fortunately I haven't actually had one like that. I’ve heard of some but at this point, I'm starting to think most of it is just ”horror” stories from older students that they made up or exaggerated to scare new kids.”
“Hey,” she said gently, “It’s ok. You're probably just more introverted than I am. Meaning that you prefer being alone and enjoy the quiet. I know you're a bit shy because of… past experiences and that's ok.” she assured him, carefully putting her hand on the table near his, but not so close to make him uncomfortable and want to pull away.
”Yeah, they really do. I haven't really read a lot of vampire romances but I know it's very popular.” she nodded thoughtfully, though she wasn't going to mention that one flop of a series that so many people seemed to like and hate at the same time. ”Admittedly, there are some books that stay with the… ”traditional” monster hunter-style.” She shrugged a little at his question. ”Yeah, skeptic is a good word… I did try to keep something of an open mind on… the existence of things like vampires and bigfoot and aliens but I never thought I would ever see one. But I was ok with that. I didn't really have a set picture of what I thought they would look like, except for mostly human… and mostly adult, I never imagined someone as young as you.” she admitted with a light blush. ”Well, I know that there are a few medical conditions that could have contributed to the legend.”
"Mn, its alright, i got it." he waved his hand slowly, reasurringly. "Oh, so it got shortened now? Thats kinda weird, in a way, but i guess its normal now."
"That's… Even more horrible…" Damien murmured, the old feeling of dread washing up on him once again, like a cold splash of water on his back - that sense of hopelessness and inability to have someone to help, he knew it too well, and he hated being in that position. His thoughts were betrayed by his motions, as he began shifting in his chair.
"I'm really glad you didn't have anyone like that, it's not something i would have wanted you to go through…." he said slowly, rubbing his sweater sleeves together.
He looked back at her, scanning her with his visible eye.
"You like the quiet too?" he sounded a little hopeful, given he'd found several similarities between the two of them already. He wasnt bothered by her hand moving close to his, as he found comfort in Mari's presence - he just hesitated to touch her as to not appear intrusive.
The boy seemed to frown a little bit over the idea of romances, trying to fit the pieces together.
"Aside from the cool looks, what exactly is it that people find interesting about vampire romances?" he asked, genuinely confused by the whole ordeal. "I can understand the last one tho, monster hunter stories are sometimes really cool to read" That last part was true, given he himself had one or two novels like that which he liked, mainly because of the mysteries within them.
"Well, i've never seen one of those in person either, so you're not the only one there" he dared smile a little. "Tho, im curious about the 'looking mostly human and adult' part. Why never someone young?"
In his head, he already had a possible theory as to why that was, but he wanted to hear her reply first.
"Medical conditions? Like what?"
”Yeah. A lot of words got shortened.” she nodded. ”It’s supposed to be easier instead of saying longer, harder to pronounce words.” she told him.
Mari bit her lip at seeing Damien withdraw at the topic… It was understandable considering what the poor boy had been though but she felt bad for bringing it up. ”Hey, hey… It's ok. There is hope. I won't let anyone do that to you.” she promised softly but strongly determined. ”If anyone tries to mess with my friends, they have to deal with me.”
She smiled softly back when she saw the look in his eye. ”Maybe not as much as you do. I honestly toe the line sometimes. Given the option, I would choose to spend time with a small group of close friends than a party full of strangers.” Mari answered. ”Now if one of my friends took me to a party like that, I would still go and try to have fun but when you live with two younger brothers, things tend to get a little rowdy sometimes. So, you take the quiet when you can.” she explained, leaving her hand out for him if he wanted.
She shrugged a little at his question about vampires. ”Not really sure. I do like the idea of the books but… I guess some people like the mystery of vampires. Like I mentioned, they're often portrayed as troubled and apparently that’s a popular character stereotype for the romantic interest.” she sighed, honestly a little tired of that kind of writing. It just seemed a little lazy to her, sticking with that formula of writing for so long. Though she smiled when he mentioned that he enjoyed those books too and her expression grew with a slight chuckle that he hadn't seen too many either. ”Hey, I met you. That counts for me.” she teased kindly. Her smile dropped a little when he asked what she meant. ”Well, there are a couple of stories that describe vampires more like a giant bat or something but I always thought that they looked more like… Like you do. You look human, except for your ears.” she admitted. ”There’s nothing wrong with them, they just look more elvish than vampiric… Actually, I don't think I ever pictured vampires' ears looking different from humans.” she explained, tucking her hair back to show him. ”And I never thought of them as young because… Well, being eternally the physical age of a kid seems a little disappointing. There's never been anything about vampires growing up or changing… That's always been part of the appeal of the immortality aspect of vampires. Always staying middle-aged or young adult.”
”There's actually one, in particular, that’s called vampirism. I think it's a blood disorder but it causes heightened sensitivity to light and maybe something to do with needing to eat more food that’s high in iron, like blood naturally is.” she explained, even though she had never really looked into it.
"Well, it does make a lot of sense honestly. Ad is easier to say than advertisement. Pretty neat." Damien concluded, standing up to look for something to munch on.
After a slightly long pause, he finally dared to look at her again.
"You won't?" he asked, faint traces of hope in his gaze as he rubbed one arm with the other. "But wouldn't it be dangerous for you too? i dont want you to get hurt because of me…"
"I only ever spent time with my mother, never anyone else, mainly because i didnt know anybody else." he admitted, continuing to look around for a small snack, eventually pulling out another plate with a different cake he'd made in the meantime. "A party…? what's that one like?"
The boy placed the plate on the table, gesturing towards it to Mari, asking if she wanted a piece, as he was already slicing one for himself.
"Does the troubled part include some sort of adversity towards their situation, or stuff like what they have to deal with because of what they are?" he questioned, getting a feeling of what the answer might have been.
"Giant bat? Why bats of all things?" he squeaked a little, as he didnt exactly like those little things. Their sudden scurrying just made his heart drop and that was one of the things he absolutely hated about them.
Damien's initial reaction to her bringing up the subject of ears was to raise his hand towards his, lightly touching them through his hair. They'd always been the dead giveaway that he wasnt totally normal, so his feelings were mixed when it came about them - though Mari's words soon calmed that fear as well.
"Well, i wasnt always like this, you know? i used to be much smaller, back when i was with my mom, and i kinda grew up over the years. Could it be that whomever passed down the information about vampires simply just never saw a vampire kid? Like, what if people never saw young vampires because they dont show themselves until they're adults? Like how pigeons do it."
The knife stopped half way into the cake, as he exclaimed.
"Wait, thats a thing? A real thing humans can have? And by disorder, you mean like some kind of disease?"
”Yeah, I think so too.” she smiled back, nodding confidently when he showed concern for her. ”I’m not worried about that. I've always been protective of other people, especially those I care about. I can handle myself plus I have a mean right hook if I need it to get the message across.” Mari assured him.
She gave him a soft look at the admittance before she tried to answer his question. ”It really depends on what kind of party, who it's for, and who is throwing it. Usually, it can be pretty fun though there are occasions where a party can be boring.” she admitted. ”Now a party is usually a gathering of people, from friends and family to just acquaintances, to celebrate something.”
She nodded gratefully, accepting the offer. ”Actually, yeah. But they overdramatize it so much that it gets annoying and comes off as whiny. I can understand why that kind of thing would cause some distress but after so many years, you would think a grown man would be more mature about it.” she said, gently giving her opinion and hoping that she wasn't offending him. She was a little surprised when his voice hitched but didn't comment on it. ”I think it has to do with the vampire bat species. They have a bad rep because of the shared name. Some people use to think that they were actual vampires in disguise or just shapeshifted.” she explained.
”I’m sure you weren't.” Mari agreed, considering he was half-human. ”And you're probably right. Though I didn't know that’s how pigeons behaved.” she added with a small chuckle.
”Well… I think so, though it is very rare.” she told him, rubbing the back of her neck. ”I’ve only heard it mentioned before… but yes, technically it is. I think there is a difference between the two terms but they are similar.”
The boy dared smile a little at her reassurance, glad to know his new friend had enough confidence to fight back if needed.
"What do you mean by mean right hook tho?" he asked, a little confused as to why she would have a hook with her.
"So theres multiple kinds of parties, i see… Which ones have you been so far and what were they like?" he made himself comfortable in his chair, wanting to hear more about what she'd seen and did at such gatherings. "And you can throw a party for any happy ocassion?"
As a recluse, he'd of course never been to such an event, but was still somewhat curious to find out more about them regardless - Damien was the kind of person who despite his inhibitions, always craved to know about all things, even the ones he knew for sure he would never try on his own.
Damien gently slid the small plate with the cake towards her, before taking one for himself.
"Well, that kind of behaviour would look bad in any novel, honestly, so i think i can see your point, But then again, its a complicated way of life… You're right tho, an adult should normally be able to deal with things."
He took a small bite out of the cake, since he didnt want to wait anymore.
"Ohhh, so thats why. Weird tho, since there are other animals out there living off blood too. Tho the shapeshifting thing does sound wild. Small flying rat."
"You dont have to take my word for it, i can only speak for myself, i dont know what other vampires were like, The pigeon thing was what mom told me, and i thought it fit in with the context." he blushed a little bit, twisting the fork slowly in the cream of the cake.
"i… didnt know that… poor people… Its sad to hear some can have such problems… is there any cure for it? Something to fix it?"
The reminder of his innocence made Mari feel all soft inside and she couldn't help but shake her head a little. Though she didn't want him to think badly of her when she explained. ”It’s a… it's a type of punch a person can throw to defend yourself or someone else. A right hook is thrown with your right arm and your arm makes a hook shape as it moves.” she sighed, a little self-conscious that he might not be as willing to trust her now. ”And when someone says… Well, ”mean” just means that it's a strong throw.”
”Yeah, pretty much.” she nodded. ”Uhmm… Let's see, the most common ones that I've been to are birthday and holiday parties. I've been to a sleepover once… I think I've been to a wedding before too.” she recounted, willing to explain further if he wanted her to. ”As far as I can remember, those have been pretty fun. Except for the wedding. The wedding reception was fun, the actual ceremony was a little boring.”
”Thank you.” she smiled as he passed her the slice of cake, chuckling lightly at his agreement. ”Yeah. I mean, if they showed some character growth from that then it's not so bad, but I'm still not a big fan of that character type.” she told him. Mari barely managed to hold back a laugh at his descriptor of the flying mammal. ”I know. It is a pretty interesting sounding ability. Though some people have come up with a bit of a list that vampires ”commonly” shift into besides a bat.”
She smiled softly at him and nodded a little. ”I’ll take your word. I know all you can tell me is based on your own experiences but that's more than a bunch of theories can say. You at least are giving me real facts.” she pointed out, taking a bite of the cake.
She sighed at his question, shrugging. ”I don't really know. I don't think there's an actual cure… Maybe somethings you can do to help it but… I don't know. It is sad that some people can have it and for their sakes, I hope there is a cure, eventually.”
His initial confused gaze gradually morphed into one of realization, with bits of shyness sprinkled in.
"Oh, so its a fist fighting thing, i get it." he chuckled softly. "Makes a lot more sense than having a real hook"
"Wait, people throw parties for their birthdays? I thought that was something rich people do… And what's a sleepover?" he asked, intrigued by the new information. Given his situation, he'd never been to events like that, as for his birthday, he'd nearly forgotten when that was. And the latter term was just foreign to him entirely.
"You're welcome." he nodded, continuing to eat. "Well, i havent read anything like that, so i cannot say much. But i do agree that the character growth is important for any good story."
Damien had made it halfway his slice of cake listening to her talking, pretty interested in the whole shapeshifting thing - he may have not liked that side of himself, but some of the things he was learning about it were just interesting.
"Whoa, theres a whole list of that? Like what?"
With her reassurance, Damien's smile slightly grew, glad she was still satisfyied with his answers, despite the possible innacuracy.
"Well, im pleased to know my answers are somewhat helpful. Do you have any other theories you wanna talk about?"
The boy shook his head slowly, seemingly in respect to all the people out there whom may have been affected by this terrible disease.
"I hope so too… Its sad to think about it…"
”Yeah, it is.” She nodded at his understanding, though she had to hold back a small laugh at the thought of her actually having a real hook.
She raised a brow at the idea that only the rich used to celebrate birthdays but it made sense to her that he hadn't heard of sleepovers before. ”Well, everyone celebrates birthdays now. Mostly of friends and family members.” she clarified. ”And a sleepover is just a group of friends who come over to stay the night. You stay up late, eat junk food, and play games.”
”Well, I hope you never read a book like that. They are not enjoyable.” she chuckled, shaking her head. ”Umm, yeah. All that I can think of from that list is; vampire bat, wolf, and some kind of mist form. I'm sure that there is more though.”
Mari hummed negatively. ”No, I can't think of any other questions for you at the moment. But I really appreciate your answers. They've been very interesting.” she smiled back, glad that she hadn't bothered him or come off as insensitive about anything.
”It is sad… At least, it's not deadly or anything.” she said softly, trying to cheer him up a little.
"Have you… um, ever had to use it?" he asked, cautiously, with a small smile still left on his lips.
In his time, he'd never really celebrated his birthday, just got to spend some really lovely days with his mother, who'd spoil him more than usual. That habit ceased the moment they were separated, and never happened again, even after he moved into the manor
"Hah, that must be pretty cool…" he commented, looking away while trying to imagine what it could be like on one such ocassion. "Hmm, so, would your stay the other night count as some sort of sleepover? I mean, you did get to spend the night here"
The boy backed up a small inch when Mari wished him to never come across books like the ones previously mentioned, but if she said they were not entertaining and not worth the time, then he'd take her word for it.
"The wolf form sounds dangerous… But the mist one is intriguing, i wont lie. I wonder why that one in particular."
He nodded as well, happy to know she was satisfyied with his replies.
"Sure, no problem. Feel free to ask me anything if you remember something new."
"It's not? Thats good. But still, having to live with something like that…"
She blushed a little at the question but she nodded, looking at the cake for a moment instead of him. ”Yeah, once.” she admitted. As far as she could tell, he hadn't lied to her so she saw no reason to lie to him. ”Some jerk was picking on one of my friends and I just couldn't stand to not do something. It happened pretty fast, I didn't fully realize what I had done until everyone was staring at me and my hand started stinging.” she explained as she remembered the event. ”I got in trouble for it, but everyone who saw it stood up for me and the jerk got punished because of it.” she added with a small smile.
”Yeah, I guess it could have been.” her smile grew as she nodded thoughtfully at his comment. She hadn't really thought about it that way before but it had been fun… Spending the stormy night here with Damien, so she wasn't going to argue his logic. He was actually pretty smart.
Mari looked at him, a little worried when he pulled back. Did she phrase that wrong? She hadn't meant to… she was just making a recommendation with a hint of humor. At least that was her intention. She shrugged at his thoughts on the list she mentioned. ”Well… Wolves are dangerous, and honestly I guess I always thought it was strange for vampires to shift into a wolf in the first place. I forget the origin of the mist form theory though but you're right; it does sound cool.” she smiled in agreement.
”I will… Actually, I do have one more question for you, since we're talking about the subject.” she nodded a little having thought about it when they were talking about parties. ”Do you remember what month or season you were born in?” she asked kindly. After being alone for so long, he probably didn't keep track of the dates anymore and therefore he probably didn't celebrate birthdays or holidays as often. She was hoping to help change that.
She nodded a little. ”Yeah, I can imagine it's hard having to live with it. ”
He listenened to her retell the story, with his head supported by his hands. Once she was done, he slowly lowered them, looking at the table with a serious glimmer in his eye.
"Im glad that person got what was they deserved. Bullies like that shouldnt be permitted to pick on others" He commented, firmly. "Tho i hope you didnt get into too much trouble for that. You did what was right."
The boy shook his head gently, with his usual tiny smile still on his face upon receiving her confirmation.
"I mean, we did talk and eat, so its a 2 outta 3, maybe 4, i suppose?" he dared chuckle shyly.
"Hmmm, i do wonder if that is a true fact about vampires…" he murmured, hand on his chin like he was slowly sinking in his thoughts. "Cuz like i said, i never tried to see for myself if it was true or not"
He was about to reach for the knife to cut out another slice when he stopped mid way, gaze on Mari.
"When was i born…? Gosh, i havent thought about it in so long. Uum, if i'm not mistaken, i think it was somewhere in winter? Possibly somewhere in the middle of December, im not too sure. I might need some time to remember things, right now i can barely recall things like that."
He nodded as well, allowing silence to install over them
