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.
Damien shifted nervously in his chair, a little uncomfortable at the subject, but he accepted her apology nonetheless. It wasn't her fault vampires were the way they were, he just felt less hopeful about blending in with society, even in this apparent new day and age. Guess his mom was right after all, to keep him away from everything - it wasn't to protect people from him, but to protect him from the world.
Thunder rumbled outside once again, snapping the boy out of his thoughts and making him redirect his attention back to Mari. At the very least she didnt hate him, so he took comfort in that thought.
"Hmm, i think the only time i got to see a town was, um, before i got here, in this mansion, but even then, i saw it from afar. I remember carriages and stone paved roads, some people traveling by horse or on foot. I didnt really get a good look, cuz like i said, i didnt go out much. My former home is nowhere close to this place, though"
Not much to go with, but it indicated that he'd certainly been here for quite some time.
Mari’s jaw dropped for a second before looking at him in slight concern. ”Uhhh, Damien? I’m no history expert but the last time anyone used a horse-drawn carriage for something other than fun was… at least in the 19th century, maybe very early 20th. Right now it's the 21st century out there.” she told him gently. She was sure that the information would be something of a shock to him but that explained a lot about his knowledge on technology. And his wardrobe, to be honest. ”I’m actually a little surprised that you didn't question why I'm not wearing a dress when we met.” she said with a small smile in an attempt to lighten the mood. Though the smile didn't stay long. Two whole centuries alone in this house weren't good for anyone. Maybe she could come back and bring him some new books, even ones on history so he could learn what changed. She wasn't going to force him to go out unless he wanted to. ”Honestly, most people don't even believe that vampires were real anymore. They think that they never even existed in real life.” she felt like she had to let him know that part. ”So… Where exactly are you from then? Before you came here, I mean.”
The boy's only visible eye looked at her with a puzzled expression, blinking a few times.
"The 21st century?" he repeated to himself, tilting his head. His reaction seemed closer to that of someone passively noting how time flew by after being deeply immersed in an activity they really enjoyed. "It really is a long time."
Damien shifted in his chair, still looking down at the lit phone on the table.
"Honestly, i thought you were probably a boy when i first saw you, but then i heard your voice. The only person i remember seeing in a dress was Mother, but it was never something big or eye catching. Just plain fabric. Other than that, i rarely saw other people, cuz i avoided them. Curious how people no longer believe in vampires… They used to be pretty paranoid about them back when i was out there."
He got up and started searching in the drawers, eventually pulling out what looked like a small cake of sorts and placed it on the table, motioning towards the girl as if asking her if she wanted any. He himself still felt the need to nibble on something, after the soup.
"Hmm, i dont know for sure… I remember being on a boat after i last saw mom, but i had to hop off because one man spotted me. After that, i just roamed around some villages for a few days before… uh… i met Mother and came here." As the last part of the sentence left his lips, he turned his head away, hiding more of the left side of his face where there seemed to be a dark mark. Something about that last part of his journey didnt seem to pleasant for him to remember, apparently.
Judging him feature wise, he looked almost of asian descent, based on the hidden eyelid and rounded face, so perhaps he was from somewhere in that area? But then it would mean his journey had been worse than imagined - unless his parents were originally from that part of the world and had settled somewhere else later in life.
She nodded a little before holding back a small laugh at his admitting that he thought she was a guy. She wouldn't hold it against him but it was a little funny. ”That’s ok. I guess I am something of a tomboy sometimes.” she smiled with a light chuckle. ”I don't know how or why people choose to believe that. There are still a fair amount of people who are pretty superstitious.” she shrugged.
”Oh! Yes, please.” Mari's eyes lit up when he pulled out the cake and she nodded eagerly.
She listened carefully to his story but couldn't help raising a brow at the end. ”I see.” The last comment didn't quite line up. It was obvious that whatever really happened was something he didn't want to talk about. She was smart enough not to ask but it had raised a lot of questions in her mind. Was it really only days, was it actually years before he met his adoptive mother? Where was the ship coming from and where was it heading? Maybe Damien was supposed to meet someone at the original port of call… She frowned a little when she noticed the dark mark on his face. It didn't look like a birthmark and, from what she could see, he didn't have freckles… so what was it?
Damien carefully sliced the cake, passing a decent sized slice to Mari, before taking one for himself.
"Well, regardless, i do think you're a pretty person - you'd look nice in anything." he said, taking a bite out of his cake. "Maybe vampires just vanished, so thats why people forgot about them, because they cant find them anymore. They're more likely to believe in what they can prove exists, or so i read."
He hand motioned towards the door leading to the main room, implying the books that lay on the shelves of the book case. Giving how long he'd been staying here, he'd probably read all of them, multiple times probably. And if this mansion was like the ones in its time, there was probably an entire library somewhere in the walls, big enough to keep the boy busy for quite some time.
"Theres a few things i dont remember from that time, sorry" he apologized, still hiding his face from her. "I was, much younger when it happened, that was certain"
”Thank you.” she said to both the cake and his compliment, though she did blush a little when he called her pretty. It was just a natural response. It was very likely that he didn't mean much by it, just him being the sweet bean that she was getting to know him to be. ”You look nice too. You've got your own style.” she smiled before nodding a little. It made more sense that they were hiding than the alternative. ”Yeah, they probably did.” But if they were hiding then Damien was at a disadvantage. The others, if they were still out there, most likely have isolated themselves the way Damien did. ”But you're definitely right. If we can't explain it logically, then it's easier to say it doesn't exist and was just a superstition or something.” Mari admitted.
”It’s ok. It was a long time ago. Honestly, I have a hard time remembering something that happened a couple of weeks ago.” she smiled to show the humor in her statement. ”Besides, even if you do remember, you don't have to talk about it if you don't to. We are still just getting to know each other after all.” she assured him.
Damien shook his head a bit, with a small smile making its way on his pale lips.
"Ah, these? Thanks…" he seemed to blush, looking down at his own clothes. They were honestly stuff he'd found in the mansion - one of the rooms had been more than full of clothes and fabric left by the previous owners, which he picked up and changed to fit his smaller frame. He'd taken several liberties with the sewing, making them in such ways he would feel comfortable in, so they didnt exactly look like they were from the old time period in which they'd been created.
***"Mhm, that's pretty much the case, i suppose." he said, munching on his slice of cake.
He silently thanked Mari for understanding his unwillingness to talk about certain things, for the time being at least; he was starting to feel more and more comfortable around her, and he kinda liked having her here. Perhaps he could finally have a friend? One that wasnt bothered by his nature, just like his mom used to be.
Thank you…"
He took another slice, smaller one this time - perhaps being a vegan vampire increased his appetite for food in general, to make up for the lack of blood consumption - and didnt sit back at the table this time, choosing to eat it while leaning against the counter.
"So, um… what's it like out there? Now, i mean." he asked shyly. As much as he'd liked being alone, now that he'd met someone he had genuinely taken a liking to, he wondered what else was out there, if things really were different from the way he remembered them
She nodded at his cute little smile as she had just taken a bite of her cake when examined his clothes. Mari thought that they were really unique and definitely looked comfortable on him. ”You’re really talented, aren't you? I mean, you can cook, you grow your own food and sew your own clothes. Most people can barely do more than one of those really well.” she complimented him, genuinely impressed by the skills he had. If it had been her who had to live alone for a long time, she would have eventually picked up on how to cook better but would have struggled with the gardening and the most she would have been able to do as far as clothes would be to patch up any tears or holes.
”You’re welcome.” she smiled softly. Honestly, she hoped that if they actually got to be friends, he would tell her what happened. But she knew better than to push on such a sensitive topic.
”Hmm? Oh. It's… No doubt, it's very different from what you remember.” she started to answer. ”Umm, like I said, pretty much everyone has a phone like mine. People use cars instead of walking or using horses. There aren't really any villages anymore, not that I know of in the States anyway. Oh, that's how America divided its land. We still have towns and cities but… You know, if you'd like, I can bring you a map and my history books so you can see how much has changed and how.” she offered when she started getting a little tongue-tied in her explanation.
"Hah, thanks…" he smiled, bowing his head a little bit. "But is it really that uncommon to make your own things? As far as i remember that was how people managed to sustain a living. Has that changed too?"
To him, possessing the necessary living skills to maintain a decent living style had always been a necessity - the more you knew how to do, the less worried you had to be about living as a recluse, simple as that. But then again, he'd never been to a city to see how people managed there so it was very possible that he was unfamiliar with the social lifestyle.
He took a moment to process the information he'd been given, like the disappearance of villages and the replacement of horse riding as means of transportation.
"America… That's the name of this place?" the boy muttered, half to himself, before looking back at Mari. "Sure! I'd love something new to read! I dont think i've had anything new in quite some time, i just reread the whole library whenever i got bored…."
The way he phrased it, he most likely didnt mean the small book case near the stairs by the entrance.
She gave a thoughtful hum before shrugging. ”I wouldn't say uncommon but those types of things are more hobbies than anything else. They're not really necessary unless you work in one of those industries.” she said wondering if she would have to explain what an industry was.
Mari blinked in minor surprise when she heard that he didn't even know the name of the country he was in. Had things really changed that much from when he arrived?
”Ok. I don't think I have anything planned tomorrow so I can bring that stuff then. How many books do you have here?”
