"Nah, its alright. You seemed to be pretty cold when i walked in"
The boy shook his head a bit, trying to tell her it was alright, then stood up and headed back towards the door he'd came through. Climbing down the 3 steps and opening the door, it led to what looked like a small kitchen, probably used by servants back in the day; on the stove was a relatively medium sized pot with a lid on, which released a small wave of steam once Damien lifted it with one hand.
From the looks of it, it looked like soup, and it smelled alright too.
"Lemme grab a bowl" he said, opening a cabinet under the cutting board, and pulling out another bowl similar to the one that was already on the table; he then proceeded to fill them both with hot soup and then moved them to the table, placing one in front of Mari, keeping the other for himself
She nodded a little, since she had been pretty cold, and stood to follow him. Due to the fact that she didn't know this house, as well as Damien did, she was careful where she stepped. But Mari couldn't help but smile a little as they walked together. She knew there were other fancy houses like this one where you could take a tour, but she doubted that you got to explore these passageways in those homes.
”Thank you.” she said, accepting the warm bowl. ”It smells delicious.”
He nodded, with a tiny smile on his face, before adding silverware to the table. The kind of silver ware that was old fashioned, clearly created a long time ago, but looking brand new and well maintained. Well, at the very least no worries about food poisoning or something, right?
"No problem" he replied, sitting down in his seat. "Well, i… im glad you find it pleasant!"
The soup itself looked alright, nothing dubios in it, just the typical veggies and whatever else was in a soup. Could use a bit of tweaking when it came to seasoning, but overall, it was a good meal.
Mari smiled encouragingly back and sat across from him before trying the soup. She hummed happily at the flavor. ”Mmmm… I guess you have a lot of experience cooking, cause this is really good.” she complimented, even though she thought it was missing a little something… She couldn't quite put her finger on it though.
"Ah.. thank you" he seemed to blush a little bit, bowing his head at the compliment. "Mother taught me, because i wanted to help her out"
Damien then proceeded to quietly start eating, seeming small in his chair. As he ate, his mouth became more visible, specifically his teeth - oddly, his canines stood out the most, being much longer than expected and quite sharp looking.
She smiled a little, wondering what it was about seeing another human blush that made them look so cute. Of course, Damien already looked adorable, in her opinion. “You must’ve been a big help.” she commented, impressed. He didn't look older than fourteen and yet he was already able to grow a majority of his own food and cook if pretty well. While she honestly had some trouble keeping a house plant alive without help.
Not wanting to seem rude, Mari kept quiet when she caught a glimpse of his teeth. Though she couldn't help but quirk a brow as she stared for a moment before returning to the soup.
Perhaps it was the boy's pale skin that made the blush stand out, or he was always cute regardless of what he did. Too bad one of his eyes was hidden all the time.
"I'd like to think so" he admitted, between two spoonfulls. "I did try to help her wherever i could and when i could."
”I bet she really appreciated that.” Mari nodded, remembering how many times her own mom said that when she helped out with something. ”Umm, if it's not too personal a question, what happened to your birth parents?” she asked softly before blushing a little in embarrassment. ”I’m sorry, you don't have to answer that if you don't want to talk about it. I just… I have so many questions…” she apologized, not making eye contact.
"I hope she did, she was very nice to me." his response came, after a spoonful of boiled carrots and other veggies. It felt nice to get warmed up from the inside by the food, and he kinda enjoyed munching on the veggies, especially the hard ones.
Damien lifted his eyes upon being questioned, his expression a small mix of curiosity, inquiry and hesitance.
"Mm, no, its okay. No need to apologize" he spoke, spoon still in the half eaten bowl. "I never met my dad, he was kinda never there, but that was because he had to go somewhere. She never told me where tho. As for mom… i last saw her before we got separated."
Mari sighed a little in relief when he didn't get offended and gave a small, still slightly embarrassed smile. ”I guess your dad had to work a lot then, if he wasn't around. Was he military or something?” she couldn't help but wonder before tilting her head slightly as he explained what happened to his mom. ”How did you get separated? Maybe I could help you find her.” she offered.
"She never specified what exactly he did, just that he could not come back, for some reason."
He took another bite of his food, emptying his bowl and pushing it slightly away from him. Damien then looked up to Mari, looking somewhat surprised at her offer of helping him look for his mother. He knew better what the situation was, but the gesture itself was really touching.
"Well…, it was a long time ago but if i remember correctly, i think we got separated because of me…" he said, looking away, letting the hair drip down on his face. "People back there said i was a freak, they didnt really like me, at all… I think even mom got a lot of hate for it too"
She hummed a little as she listened to Damien. She knew it wasn't uncommon for a kid to grow up with only one parent for one reason or another so she decided to focus on his stronger relationship with his mother. Though she almost choked on her soup when she heard that people actually ”hated” the boy in front of her and his mother. She knew that she didn't know him very well but… ”Why…” Mari rasped out before pausing to clear her throat. ”Why would they do that?”
Damien had stood up and grabbed his bowl, pouring a bit more food in it - he liked the warm feeling it was giving him so wanted a bit more.
"I was different from them, its what i heard" he responded, putting back the lid and taking his hot bowl back to the table. "They didnt like me for being what i was, and mom because well… she was my mom. She got shamed a lot because of who my dad was."
Mari couldn't help but scowl at the stupidity of those people. ”Sounds like your dad had a bad reputation but that's no reason for you or your mom to be treated that way.” she commented, absentmindedly stirring the rest of her soup. ”Everyone is different from someone else. I have twin younger brothers who do a lot together and are more in sync with each other than anyone in their class, but they still have their differences.” she pointed out, though she did wonder if his last statement was just him using the wrong word or if it was just habit from hearing other people talk down about him. What he was was a sweet young boy who was raised by two separate women that were both his mother and he obviously loved them. He just had an unfortunate absent father who people didn't like for some reason.
Damien was already half way into the second bowl, head bowed and listening to her talk. He liked listening to her - of course, one could say it was because he hadnt heard anyone in years, or that he happened to like her in particular, who knew. Thing was, he enjoyed her company, and quite a lot.
But would telling her the truth change her mind about him?
"Well… I dont think thats what they meant by being different." he spoke after a while, pronouncing every word slowly, bracing himself for what he was about to do next. "What they meant, i believe, was being different than a regular person. Like having these"
He raised a hand to his mouth, lifting his lip with two fingers, in order to better show off his teeth. Like noted before, his canines were indeed larger than normal, and the same thing could be said about the ones on the bottom row.
Releasing his lip, he also tucked some of his hair behind his ear, revealing it to be somewhat pointy, not in an extreme way.
He lowered his head again, basically sinking in his seat.
"It was more about 'what' i am, rather than who…"
Mari’s eyes widened as he showed his… literal fangs and slightly elvish ears. Those were definitely not something that could be considered typical human characteristics. She could feel her heart starting to race as she swallowed, trying to stay calm. ”And what are you?” she asked just above a whisper. Honestly, she already had an idea but she didn't want to jump to conclusions. After everything he had told her, the boy just seemed and sounded like he needed a friend.
Damien could already sense the distress emanating from Mari, and he felt guilty for telling her - on a different note, he was a little at rest now that she knew, but also sad that she might go away after this. Too bad, he kinda liked her presence there.
He sighed, picking up his bowl so he could drink the last remains of the soup, his heart squeezing as he opened his mouth to say the words.
"I think the word for it is.. vampire, or ugly blood sucker if you will…" he confessed, sipping the last spoonfuls of the warm liquid. The boy was actually somewhat hiding his eyes from Mari, bracing himself for the moment he would put it down and see her reaction. He was already prepared for the worst possible outcome.
She let out a shaky breath as Damien confirmed what that tiny voice in the back of her mind was saying. ”But… you're eating… actual food.” she commented in a mild state of shock and definitely confused. ”And I didn't taste any blood in the soup…not that I know what cooked blood tastes like in the first place.” Mari shook her head to try to clear it of any irrational fears. ”You’ve been so nice and you have a living source of blood right in front of you and you haven't tried to bite me. I don't really understand.” she admitted. And she had no plans on leaving until she did… Or until the storm let up. Whichever came first.
The look in Damien's eyes seemed to change from dread to surprise. She wasn't backing away from him? No screaming, no nothing? Usually, information like that received those types of feedback so Mari not bolting out of the door the second he told her his origins was very out of place for him.
He too sighed a small sigh of relief, the tension within him decreasing slightly.
"There was no blood in the soup, i can promise you that" they boy attempted to comfort her. "I dont think it would have tasted well if there was any in there. There's not even meat in it, so no need to worry."
He no longer seemed to sink in the chair, looking less scared and guilty, now leaning towards the more plain sad type.
"I never tried to bite anyone in my life, honestly. Mom always made good food, so i never really felt hungry or the urge to bite anyone. Plus people reacted really bad whenever i got too close so…"
Mari smiled faintly at his first comment about the blood, it almost sounded like a joke, though she nodded when he explained how people were uncomfortable around him. That part finally made sense at least.
”I always thought it was a compulsive drive.” she explained, still speaking softly. ”That a vampire literally couldn't survive unless they drank blood. Even if they didn't want to, their bodies would just react on instinct and… Go hunt.” she trailed off awkwardly and shifted in her chair a little at the implied meaning. ”I didn't think that they even could eat anything else normally. Let alone be a vegetarian.”
Now that he was a little more relaxed, Damien slid from his chair and went on to wash his bowl, placing it away face down to dry.
"Hmm, im not too sure about that. Mom wasnt a vampire so i cant really say for sure if its true or not. Mom never really went into detail about vampire stuff - i didnt know i was one until my teeth showed up, so"
He came back to his chair and sat down, sinking in his clothes. Perhaps being a so called 'vegan vampire' was the reason he seemed so skinny.
"I personally never felt any impulse at all, just to go home and eat whenever i felt hungry. Maybe its because im not entirely vampire? I dont know… Mom said that might be it. My sense of taste is a little bad but i can still taste food and eat it with no problem. I just prefer it warm and spiced a little heavier."
She raised a brow slightly as she finished her light meal. She knew there was a technical term for being half-vampire, but she couldn't remember it at the moment. Though maybe it didn't quite qualify for Damien since he just admitted that he didn't drink blood.
”I guess that makes sense.” she shrugged, feeling herself finally start to relax again. ”I’m no expert either. All I know about vampires is from lore, movies, and Dracula, so I'm probably pretty off base on a lot of this stuff.” Mari attempted to smile reassuringly before chuckling a little and nodding at his preference for spicy foods. ”That I can relate to. I can't think of anyone who doesn't like having a nice warm meal. Though I can only take so much spice myself.”
"Moovies? What's that?" he asked, slightly confused, as he put away the remaining pot of soup. "Who's Dracula?"
Guess being a recluse for years made him lose touch with the world outside, but just how old was he supposed to be if he didnt know what movies were? Unless his mother somehow kept him locked indoors at all times while he stayed with her, he should have at least heard of them.
"You're probably a lot more sensitive than me. Like i said, my sense of taste is a little bit dull, so spicing things up lets me enjoy it fully. The soup we just had was just right, i believe"
”Probably am.” she agreed. ”Though I think some of my spice was waiting at the bottom of the bowl. I’m starting to feel the burn now.” she chucked, clearing her throat to dispel some of the heat. ”You must like jalapeños then too.”
Mari blinked slowly as his first question sunk in. ”What… Umm, Dracula is originally a book about the first vampire, some would probably even call him the King of Vampires in certain lore.” she explained to the best of her knowledge. ”It’s a classic story… Or I’ve heard it is at least. I haven't read it yet. As for movies… Umm, it's like a play but recorded so you can watch it over again and again as many times as you want.” she figured that was the best way to say it.
"Ah, so sorry for that. I really didnt know i would not be eating alone tonight" he apologized. "Uh, i never heard of those before, but i would be curious to try, actually"
Damien had no idea what she'd just said, but by approximation he assumed it was food, so he rolled with it.
"The first vampire…. hmm. Never heard of him before, but then again, i dont really know anything about vampires in general…. So uh, what's his story like?""
Most of the stuff she was telling him sounded incredibly foreign to him, so he was curious to know more, even if it was about vampires - given Mari had not rejected him the first time, he was a little more comfortable around the subject for now.
"I've never been to a play before… but i did hear about them. How exactly do you watch it again and again?"
Again, his outside world knowledge level seemed to hit the floor. In his mind, he couldnt possibly imagine how someone could watch a play as many times as they wished. Wouldn't the actors get tired if that was the case?
”Nah. It's alright.” She assured him. ”I’m a big girl, I can take it. Though I’m a little surprised you haven't had a jalapeño pepper before. They're pretty spicy just not as much as a ghost pepper. Those are the strongest.” Mari commented, a little offhandedly.
She was going to have to try to be careful in answering this question. ”Well, the story is considered fiction and as I mentioned, I haven't read it yet, but I think it's from the perspective of another character and tells how Dracula wanted to never die so he made a deal to become immortal. But in order to stay that way, he has to drink the blood of other people.” she wasn't going to tell him who the deal was with or that the other character was part of a team to kill Dracula. Partly because she wasn't a hundred percent sure, that input was gained from other sources which is why she wanted to read the book herself sometime. Maybe she wouldn't mention some of the myths about how to ”protect” yourself from a vampire either such as using garlic, sunlight, and holy water.
”Dios mio. You’ve never been to a theater before?” she asked with a small disbelieving smile. ”We’re going to have to fix that sometime. To answer your question; well, the video is recorded with either live actors playing the role or animated with people only providing a voice of the characters. Because it's filmed the actors only have to do that role once. Then you can own a copy of their filmed performance and everyone can enjoy it whenever they want. There's a lot that goes into making a movie.” Mari chewed her lip thoughtfully for a moment as she tried to figure out how to explain before she pulled out her phone and opened Youtube. ”I’m guessing you don't have a tv here, but that's fine. It's just the normal platform to watch movies on. There's a lot of different options for how to actually watch them though.” she said as she searched for something to show Damien that hopefully wouldn't scare him.
Damien also took away her bowl once he noticed she'd finished her food, proceeding to wash it off and put it on top of his to dry.
"Mmm, i only have one kind of peppers… i havent tried too many. Are ghost peppers actual ghosts of peppers?" he asked, curiously.
He slightly frowned at her description of the story.
"Well, he definitely sounds like a shady type of person. I dont think i would like him…"
As someone who avoided having blood all his life for fear of other people hating him, he found this Dracula dude to be… quite easy to hate, honestly. Were real vampires like that? If so, no wonder people had been quick to judge him back then - no one would want to get bitten.
"Not really. I didnt go out at all, only mom did. I always stayed at home." he admitted, averting his gaze away from Mari. He knew so little and it made some of her words completely senseless to him. If you could see it as many times as you wanted, how come the actors only needed to play the role once? It didnt make sense to him at all. The boy sunk in his thoughts until the girl pulled out a weird flat thing which gave off light. It caught his attention right away, but he didnt move from his chair.
"What's that?" he asked, curiously looking at the object in her hands.
Mari couldn't help but laugh a little at his question and shook her head. ”No. No, they're not actual ghosts. It's just what they're called… I don't really know why. But they are the hottest pepper… or second hottest at least on the scale. It's actually recommended that you don't handle them without gloves and don't touch your face after until you wash your hands.” she cautioned.
”Yeah, shady is definitely a good word to describe him.” she nodded with a small sigh. ”He's a… I think in the story he often sucks all the blood out of a person when he drinks from them.” she admitted a little sadly, avoiding eye contact with him. ”But as I said before, the story is classified as fictional so… Maybe the author knew of or saw a couple of vampires and made a lot of generalization that doesn't apply to individual vampires.” she offered in hopes of getting away from the topic.
She nodded a little at his last comment and looked back up at him. ”It’s ok. If people were really that scared of you, then I’m sure your mother was just trying to protect you.” she said trying to be reassuring, despite suddenly getting Tangled vibes from his situation. ”You did get to go outside at least right? I mean, like when you helped her garden or helped bring back firewood?”
The young woman could have smacked herself when she remembered that he had no idea what she was doing… Or apparently even what she was holding. ”It’s my phone. Mostly it's used to call someone who's too far away to talk with face to face. But it had a lot of other uses too. You can send short messages, like telegrams, to another person's phone, you can look up information, listen to music, or even play games on it.” she explained, turning the phone around to show him some of those features. ”I was just using it to look for a short video to show you what movies were like.”
Ghost peppers that were not actually ghosts, but required extra care when handling - um, so, they were just really hot peppers then? He was doing his best to make sense of the sea of information he was dealing with.
"All of the blood…?" he whimpered, seeming genuinely uncomfortable. "But, wouldnt that kill the person?"
So far, his already bad impression about vampires had further deteriorated into a bubbling mess of disgust and shame, disgusted that whenever something about them came up it was always bad and shame for being one of the blood suckers he so desired to distance himself from.
"Uh, yea, i did go outside of the house, just never too far from it. She was afraid i could get lost or meet strangers, so i was never really allowed to go too far." he admitted, squeezing his brain for more memories. The times he spent with his biological mother seemed so far away and shrouded in mist, yet he did his absolute best to not forget them, for the sake of the woman who loved him more than anything.
"Phone…?" he repeated before being showed the device. Most of her explanation went by his ears, for it didnt really tie in for him - all he understood was that it was some kind of weird glowing contraption that could do a lot of things. He'd never seen anything even remotely resembling a phone before so he was fascinated by it, watching Mari use it so easily just by swiping with her finger on the smooth surface and the images just moving under her command.
He did not dare touch it tho, for fear he might break it if he did
Mari winced a little at his question. ”Yeah… I’m sorry. Maybe I shouldn't have told you that part.” she apologized. The last thing she wanted was to make him feel bad or hate what he was, especially since he didn't seem to act that way.
”I guess that's fair. Mom’s tend to worry about that kind of stuff.” she shrugged. ”But that’s really when the kids are younger. Though I can understand your mom's concern considering… you know. How people acted around you.” she trailed off at the awkward ending.
She nodded a little, encouraging him. ”Right. Pretty much everyone has one.” she told him as she set it on the table, face up so he could see and touch it if he wanted. ”I guess you don't have much experience with technology. What was the town like the last time you saw it?” she asked to get a better understanding of how old he was and what he knew.
