Blutengel
My Vampire Life is Super Sweet
Editor's note: This work was written for Adults ONLY and contains themes not for children or teens.
Chapter 1 - A pretty Goth Sat Next to me
I was at my usual spot, a sushi bar on 24th street, when a beautiful goth woman with platinum blonde hair, red eyes, and a short stature sat beside me at the counter and ordered a tokkuri of chilled daiginjo top shelf sake.
She sipped it with a look of bliss on her face. I went back to my crisp citrusy Orion beer and otoro sashimi with fresh yuzukosho. I get it, this place is the best in town, even if its a hidden gem. Ahhh.. I hope she asks me out.... I'm too shy.
She suddenly turned towards me, "Hey, that beer smells really nice. What is it?" I got over the shock quickly enough I suppose and began to explain that it was my favorite draft beer, Orion, from Okinawa. How it's a lager style and brewed specifically to go with fish. We chatted back and forth about booze and the like, but whenever the topic came to food, she steered it back to drinks. I said, "I'm sorry, I keep mentioning food, If you'd like another topic..." She quickly course corrected, realizing my apologetic stance, "Oh no, it's nothing much, I just don't know much about food, since I can only have liquids. It sounds good the way you describe it. Uhm... I suppose I should introduce myself, I'm Amelia Blutengel. How about you sir?"
I shifted a bit uncomfortably at the 'sir'. "Um, nice to meet you miss Blutengel. Um, I'm [boyname]. "Ohhh?" she said, "This may be a tad bit presumptuous of me, but did I detect some hesitation?" Crap, she caught me. Oh well, all good things must come to an end. I stuttered a bit, and said, "Well, yes, because I don't really like my name much. Bit of a harsh reminder that I can't have what I want. Can't be myself when the world is as it is." She smiled slyly. "Well, dear, I think I can help with that." She leaned in and whispered in my ear, "I can turn you into a girl if you wanna be a girl. And a hot one too. You'd end up looking similar to your mom actually, but when she was 20." The heck is she saying? I must have had my thoughts written on my face. We sat quietly and finished our drinks. She paid for both of our orders without even asking me. I turned towards her, "Can you really do that?" She said, "Of course, and all I want in return is a friend and a good warm drink." "That's it??" I asked. "That's it." She said.
I followed her out of the shop, after a block, I finally caught up. "So, where are we headed?" I asked. "Somewhere a biiiit more private. That's my house down there, the brownstone with the black curtains. You're gonna be a bit sleepy after the drink, but I have a spare coffin, so no worries." A what now? Oh, she's a goth living in a victorian brownstone and wearing red contact lenses, so i guess that tracks. I felt, I guess, oddly safe doing this super sketchy thing with someone I just met. It was about to get a lot sketchier.
So we get to her house, and she opens the door and invites me in, puts away her things, and takes off her shoes, and I took mine off. And then she shows me to the dining room. It was actually very tastefully decorated and felt lived-in. We sat at the little round table and she said, "Okay, so, turning you into a girl is actually a side effect. It's not the main thing that happens. The main thing is that you turn into a vampire. The thing is, when you turn into a vampire, you end up being a forever young version of the you that is in your head, using the available genetics. Meaning, you wanting to be one and having your mom's genetics and the vampire's genetics to work with end up looking pretty much like your mom, but with blonde hair, and red eyes, and fangs." and she opened her mouth wide for the first time since we'd met and lifted her upper lip to expose her very pointy fangs. She continued, "So, our fangs are like snake fangs, kind of, they are hypodermic, and we inject venom when we bite someone." I stuttered a bit, "V.. Venom? Is it toxic, or like, a mosquito where it just itches real bad?" She chuckled, "No, dear, it's neither of those things. It's a pain reliever and has some other effects that make the experience pleasurable for the one being bitten. Otherwise, we'd starve because our blood partners would avoid us." "Oh" I said, "Can you um, make a little drip out so I can see it?" "Sure", she said. And she pulled up her lip and pressed on the fang and a tiny bit of clear liquid dripped from the tip. "Oh shit, you're really a vampire." "Uh huh. And you followed me all the way to my home. Ordinarily, Vampires would consider that consent to take blood, but I prefer to give people more info. It's my personal habit. So, here's the info. I'm interested in biting you, and having a decent meal out of it. And in exchange, I will give you some of my blood, and let you sleep over. And when you wake up in the morning, you will be a vampire too. You get to be forever 20, and the gender you want. You won't age, or get sick, will be stronger, faster, and be able to see in the dark. The downside, is not being able to eat solid food. It causes nausea. Also, we get gnarly sunburns. You don't have to worry about walking around at night though, because you can kill a polar bear with your bare hands. Oh, and if you get hurt, you heal really fast. Especially if you bite your attacker."
"Hmmm... Okay, let's say I believe you. What about my identity documents and my apartment and stuff? My ID wouldn't match." "Oh, that's no biggie. Here on the west coast, we have the Vampire Bund, the Kyuketsuki Kyoukai, The Rocky Mountain Vampire Alliance, and the Aswangs United Front, so there's several Vampire specific orgs that do stuff like take care of documents, housing, and resources for new vampires."
"Hmmm... Okay. Phew, no pain no gain I guess. Getting bitten with fangs is a little scary though." She smiled softly, "Don't worry, I'll be gentle. Let's go into the parlor." I followed her into the sitting room. She hugged me and sat me down on the edge of the couch. As she leaned down, I could feel her warm breath on my neck, and she bit me. Just above the collarbone. It was a sharp pain, followed by a flowing warmth spreading through my body as the pain ebbed away. She began to suck my blood. It was the most pleasurable thing I'd ever felt. I felt so heavy and warm, and safe, and comfortable, and as she went there was a strong pleasure that sent shockwaves through me, blanking my brain. I lay back and she was laying on top of me, still gently sucking on my wound. She sat up, licking the blood from her lips. "That was delicious dear. Thank you for the warm drink. Here's yours." She bit her own arm, and let it leak into my mouth. I swallowed the warm golden ichor. I reached up, and pulled it closer, lapping it up. It tasted sweet and rich. Overcome with a wave of tiredness, I fell asleep.
Chapter 2 - Good Evening, What's for Breakfast?
I woke up in the late afternoon laying in a coffin with the door propped open… As I licked my lips, I noticed something different. I had… Fangs? Hm. Body check time. I felt myself, up and down. Boobs. I had boobs. I sat up. I felt… light. Light as a feather. But, strong. And, kinda hungry. I decided to get up. I climbed out of the coffin and looked around. I think I must be in an upstairs bedroom of an older house. I tried to remember what I was doing the previous night, and that's when the memories came flooding back. That wasn't a dream! I really got turned into a vampire girl. I spun around, perhaps a bit too fast, and felt a bit faint. Steadying myself on the coffin lid, I made my way out of the bedroom, to the end of the hall and went down a flight of stairs to the main level. I walked back to the kitchen, hoping to find something to eat. A slice of cake would be awesome right about now. As I came into the dining room, there she was, with a cup of tea, sitting at the little round table reading a magazine titled GOREVORE, it seemed to be a cooking zine, in a slightly macabre way.
I approached, and she looked up, "Oh, good morning, did you sleep well dear?" she asked. I replied, "Um, yes, but I feel a bit woozy and was wondering if there might be a snack down here..?" She got up and went to the kitchen and I heard her open the fridge, and pour another cup of tea. She returned a moment later with a blood donation bag with a straw in it, and a cup of hot tea with milk and sugar in it. I sat down at the table and she put it in front of me. The blood bag said "O+ (Caucasian Male, Organic Fed)" on it in bold white lettering. She said, "I hope you like European food, I wasn't sure. Naturally, I don't have any food for humans here, but you can't eat human food anymore anyways. Bon Apetit." I looked at it, and decided to start with the tea. It was nearly hot, but very soothing, creamy, and sweet. It reminded me of her Ichor. Welp, if I was able to drink her ichor, I should be able to handle some blood. So I picked it up, put the straw in my mouth, and sucked on it. It was delicious. Like wild boar potroast with chestnuts and brown gravy. I held it away and looked at it. Then tasted it again. Same delicious gourmet flavor. Huh. So when you are geared to eat something, I guess it tastes amazing. Amelia was watching me over the rims of her reading glasses. She said, "You're so fun to watch." I asked "Why is that?" She replied, "You just found out what blood tastes like to a vampire. Your reaction is cute." I finished the bag, and then returned to the tea. I said, "Thank you miss Blutengel, that was delicious. and the tea, it reminds me of how you tasted." She blushed a bit and changed the subject, "So, little miss vampire turnee, what is your new name?" Hmmm… I hadn't thought of that. "I think, I would like to pick something really poetic. But also kinda cute." "Well," she replied, "because I turned you, the surname typically comes from the person whose ichor you drank. So you'd be whatever name you choose, plus Blutengel. It's German, it means Blood Angel. I was turned when I was about 30, when I was in New Amsterdam, a Hessian vampire had come over to escape persecution, and I took on his surname. I had smallpox, and he turned me to save my life. Though I was British myself. I had been traveling to visit relatives in the New Hampshire colony. He was staying at the same inn as our party, and granted me some of his ichor as an act of mercy as I was delirious with fever." "Wow, that's incredible." I replied, "I didn't realize it at first, but you're actually older than me, huh?" "Yes, dear, I'm over 300 years old. I was born in 1724. But, back to the subject at hand. You really must choose a name, because tonight we're going to get you registered with Kyuketsuki Kyoukai, where I'm registered. And get your documents sorted out. I made an appointment last night while you were sleeping." "Why are we going to the Japanese one?" I asked. "Well," she said, "I used to be in the American Vampire Bund, because Hans Blutengel founded it, but after the War of 1812, where he took a cannonball to the face, he was never quite the same after that, and started to really hate humans. And even now, the Bund is kind of militant and vampire supremacist. He did survive the witch hunts and inquisitions though. So, he has his reasons. It seems that was the last straw though." Ah. Vampires really must have complex societies in parallel. She continued, "The KyuKyo is different. They publish media favorable to vampires for human audiences to help to humanize us and make us relatable to humans. And they encourage ethical blood harvesting and make body mods for humans to kind of look like us so that stigma decreases in society. So, I think it's a much healthier group to be a part of. The Filipino group, Aswangs United, is similar, but instead of trying through public opinion, they support various causes with money, and they do actually make a lot of money with their restaurants and bars that serve humans. I should take you out to the Aswang bar, it has a "party room" where they seat vampires and we have a secret menu. The Adobo ng Dugo is quite good there. It's fresh blood mixed with a sweet and savory sauce made of soy sauce, vinegar, sugar, and spices which is strained and very. mmm, you'll find out. It's pretty tasty." I said, "I think I'd like that very much." I thought for a minute while she was sipping her tea, and said, "I think I'd like my first name to be Emily, and my middle to be Lynne." "Oh, shoot, that cute." she interjected. "But, how about Emiliana Lynne Blutengel for the full name? And you can shorten the first name to Emily as a nickname, since, some day, you're gonna be 1000 years old, and Emily is gonna sound too childish for an eldritch blood sucking monster." "Good point, good point. Okay, I see what you mean. But your name is Amelia." "Yes, well, that was my human name too. My sex didn't change when I turned. It just got better." There was an awkward pause, and then I asked, "Are all vampires this pervy, or is it just you?" She shyly turned and said, "Well, we are all a bit like this, because we often hunt through sex appeal and pheromones, but I'm special… and also a bit gay."
Did.. did she just say she was gay? Wait, she said she wanted a friend. Ohhhh… Maybe she wanted to turn me because… Wait. Can she read my mind? How did she know I wanted to be a girl and how did she know I wanted to talk to her? Ehhhh… "Hey, Emily, since we're done with breakfast, let's go see if anything I have around the house will fit you." I looked up. "Uh, sure, but I might need a shower first." "Oh," she said, "You can smell the garlic and fenugreek you ate a few days ago? You like curry, I'd guess. The fact you can smell that is a good sign. You should have no trouble hunting your own food soon." "Wow" I said, "You can smell that? And Hunting, I don't know, I've never shot a gun before." She looked at me oddly like it had never occurred to her that one might use a gun to hunt. "No, not that kind of hunting, silly girl. What I just did yesterday afternoon, when I walked into the sushi bar and sat next to you. I could smell your feelings, and tell more or less what you were thinking and feeling in real time because of the way you smelled. That, my friend, is how a civilized vampire hunts. I was looking for dinner. You ended up being delicious. No regrets. Five star dining experience. Delivery to my place was speedy. I like to think my blood was a decent tip." "Wait, you hunted me?" "Yep. But you came on your own two feet. I didn't make you follow me home. And I didn't lie to you about what I was offering either." "Okay, that's fair." "You are taking this very well too. Must have really wanted it."
Chapter 3 - Moonlit Errands
She found a cute outfit to fit me. A frilly Gothic dress with a hoop skirt and flowwy bell sleeves in black and violet, a parasol with lace trim, and some doc marvin combat boots to round it out. And some violet leggings for warmth. We were going out at night afterall. Catching the sight of myself in the mirror, I looked like an awfully cute vampire with my little toofers poking out and the glowy red eyes… Hmmm… I'm cute. Wow. I twirled in the mirror. Yup. I'm super cute.
We walked out together in the cool dusk air as the glowing orb of doom was dipping below the horizon. First things first, we went to the Kyuketsuki Kyoukai office, and got my paperwork sorted out. I got my special ID, which had my speed-painted portrait because Vampires are not accurately photographed or reflected in mirrors. And it had my species: Vampire, lineage: Blutengel, DOB Dec 8, 1988, and new name, Emilia Lynne Blutengel. At the bottom of the card it had a notice for Law Enforcement: "Notice, this ID belongs to a supernatural entity, protected under the supernatural entities act of 1946, and as such, ought to be regarded as a natural disaster or act of God in the event of an incident." I asked Amelia about it, and she said, "Oh, yeah. We're immortal, strong enough to punch the largest land predator to death, and agile enough to dodge bullets, so when authorities have tried to interfere in our affairs in the past, they just died. In 1946, we got a treaty and secretive recognition, to manage our own affairs and be citizens, but only so long as we don't disturb the peace and reveal our existences broadly to the public. Police get briefed, and I think they mostly don't believe it until there is actual contact. And any cop or official who does try to sound the alarm is swiftly carted off to an asylum to be gaslit into thinking they imagined it. Basically, the government doesn't want to admit there's a segment of the population they can't control or scare. At best, they can offer us luxuries and safety from witch hunts, and in exchange, we choose to make it easy for them to keep their inadequacy a secret. For example, by vampires not drinking blood in public, or by werewolves transforming in private spaces, or catfolk going to anime conventions." "Oh, I see. Thanks for the explanation." "No problem. Let's go grocery shopping. I have to show you the Vampire Market. Hunting is best, but sometimes you come up empty. Gotta eat anyways."
We walked down a dark alley though we could see perfectly well, and arrived at the Vampire Market, Amelia knocked on the door with 3 swift taps, and an open palm slap. The door opened and we went in. It closed behind us. Arrayed on shelves were a variety of spice extracts, juices, canned dairy, and boxes of instant soup powders, and bottles of sauces. Along the back wall was a freezer/ refrigerator section with bags, cartons, and jugs of various bloods of all types. Categorized by race, gender, bloodtype, organic fed, or other particular diets or national origins. At the end, there was a beer and wine section that had a sign over it saying "Sulphate Free Beer and Wine". And when I turned around, there was the tea and coffee. There were about 100 different types of coffee. Over by the register was a sign that said they accepted Food Stamps and Supernatural Entity Ration Cards. The clerk who had let us in was a gentlemanly vampire in a tattered Revolutionary War Frock, its blue wool fabric faded and worn through in places, and the bottom edge was fraying. Though the buttons remained polished bright. "Hello Miss Blutengel" he said in a cheery colonial accent. "Hello Bartholomew, how is the wife?" she replied. "Oh, lovely as always. Who is your friend?" "This is Emily Blutengel, the newest member of my Household." He turned to me and said, "It is my pleasure to make your acquaintance young lady. I do hope you are able to find what you seek in my humble shop. My name is Batholomew Alwin. I'm about 100 years the elder of your Miss there." My eyes must have been wide as saucers. Here was a fellow who was over 400. We really must live long lives. "Oh, don't fret dear, one day you will be as old as me, and still feel young and sprightly. And I'll be twice as old then." I chuckled, he was kind of funny in a sly old man kind of way, and still looked no older than 25.
Amelia grabbed a basket and led me to the various shelves, showing me what to look for as marks of quality. I picked out some coffee and a pourover set so I could make it at Amelia's house. And some spice extracts like cardamom and cinnamon so I could doctor it up how I liked. And we got some vampire-friendly creamer and then went and picked out some Blood. She explained how the diet of the human it came from affected the flavor as did the blood type and age and sex. And then showed me the healthfood options you have to shake first, but that she preferred the homogenized pasteurized blood because the texture was nicer and it stayed fresh longer in the fridge. There was also a ready to eat section in the fridge, where you just warm it to body temp by putting it in a water bath in a yogurt maker and it had flavorings and milk added. She explained that they were really convenient for when you were going camping or would be traveling. We got 6 blood packs in 2 different flavors and 2 ready to eat packs. She said, "I was reading in GOREVORE that there's a recipe for a rather scrumptious blood drink with these two types, and some vegetable juice." So we grabbed some vegetable juice and worcestershire sauce. And on approaching the counter, we paid for our groceries, and picked up the next issue of GOREVORE, it was a variety zine with lifestyle tips, fashion, seasonal recipes, garden advice, media reviews, how to keep a blood partner happy, and so on. Packing our groceries into paper bags, we exited the shop and walked home through the moonlit night.
Chapter 4 - New Vampire Education
As we were putting away our groceries I asked her about how the word "Blvd" should be pronounced, since I had seen it at the market on several glass bottles in the refrigerator. She answered, "Oh, those are pronounced as 'Blued', they are the vegetarian alternative to regular blood. I don't think the trend will last though, as we are obligate sanguivores. We must consume blood to be healthy. And those that consume the alternative more often than once in a while tend to go into hibernation from malnutrition and have to be revived. Vegetable juices and stuff aren't really bad for us, but they are somewhat lacking in digestible nutrition. It's mainly there to broaden the available flavors. In some areas, it's more common to consume animal blood, but that tends to be something those vampires are particularly adapted to in a particular region, in a rural area." "Oh," I replied, "I see. That's interesting though."
She put the snack packs in the warmer for our lunch and set the temperature to 98.6 F. I sat at the table and she got a book from the parlour shelf and sat across from me. The book had the KyuKyo emblem on the cover in embossed gilding and the title page said "The Vampire's Guide to American Life" and was subtitled, "Hunting, Housing, and Dealing with Humans". Under that it read: "Published by the Kyuketsuki Kyoukai Amerika Branch HQ, San Francisco CA. For Questions or comments, please contact your local office. There are locations in Tacoma, Portland, San Francisco, Sacramento, San Diego, and Lana'i. Organizational Headquarters is in Gion, Kyoto, JP."
She turned the page to the table of contents, looked, and quickly turned to the chapter on hunting, titled "To Bite or Not to Bite, a Guide to Ethical Hematophagy". She began, "Okay, I'm gonna read you some of this chapter, because they said it better than I could do, and then if you have any questions, just ask. Okay?" "Okay." I replied. She continued, "Okay… na na na, here we go. Ahem. <We all know that fresh human blood is the best in both flavor and nutrition, but the world has come a long way in the last few hundred years, from the era where we simply took what we wanted to the modern more polite era we now find ourselves in. While in dire circumstances of an emergency, one may still have need of earlier methods; this should be avoided, both to abide by our people's agreements with local authorities, and simply because humans have feelings just like we do and causing them undue suffering would be immoral at best. Thus this guide was created to teach a shared norm of conduct when hunting for fresh blood, obtaining a regular supply through human domestication, or shopping for blood at your local markets. We hope that through our efforts, vampires and humans might coexist peacefully and be of mutual benefit.>" "Um," I interjected, "What do they mean by human domestication?" She looked thoughtful a moment then said, "You kind of keep one or two humans around, like pets, and drink from them regularly. Our venom can become addictive, so humans who are bitten multiple times sometimes begin to live with us to specifically use our venom as a drug. And it just sort of stands to reason, that with a regular blood supply we become protective, and next thing you know, you're keeping a human as a pet in your house and keeping them healthy with a good diet and taking them for walks at night. It's actually a good way to go for a beginner so we can explore it more if you like?" "Is it ethical?" I asked. "Yes, actually, it's the most ethical way to consume blood since you are providing them with a regular benefit by caring for them and protecting them. It's sort of like milking a cow, but it has feelings and you can play with your food and dress it up. But also, some vampires develop romantic feelings for their human, and end up turning them in order to be together romantically. Though, vampire relationships don't work the same as human ones, owing to there being very different relationship dynamics when you have until the heat death of the universe to get to know someone, and the only way to reproduce is to have someone drink your ichor." "So wait," I asked, "What is our relationship?" She said, "Henry LeRouge told me I should make more friends. He didn't say how. So I made a new friend, my way." She cackled like an old witch, then the timer went off for our lunch and she put the book down and went to get the snack packs. I wasn't really sure she was being serious, and I was getting a feel for her hidden feelings. Like, a particular scent when she was lying, but I didn't say anything at the time.
Chapter 5 - The Midnight Mall
After we ate… well, "ate" is a strong word for sucking milky blood with blueberry flavoring out of a pouch, and I can see why this is considered fast food to vamps. Anyways, after we slurped our junkfood down, we went back out for the next errand, and it was just after midnight then, but we were going to a clothier called Devil Kat's Cauldron. They had a department store for Supernatural Entities on the ground floor, and the upper floor was a clothing store, and this was in the Midnight Mall, which, from the outside looked like an abandoned hospital, but once you went past the door guard, it turned into quite a nice mall inside with about 60 shops and a foodcourt.
We walked back through the mall until we came to the entrance, having passed a Fae-owned pretzel shop on the way that I realized had the old name of the place that just changed to a different name in the human malls, but the garlic smell really put me off and I wasn't interested. The entrance to Devil Kat's Cauldron had a big spooky looking sign and a cardboard cutout of a cheerful cartoon cat in a witch outfit lifting folded laundry out of a huge cauldron with a pitchfork and the words, "ALL GOTH FASHIONS ON SALE". We walked in, past the cookware, electronics, and toys, and climbed a broken escalator to the clothing department. It was here that Amelia hailed an employee, who like all those working in retail, seemed to be very over it. She was a middle aged nekomusume wearing a blue polo shirt and tan slacks whose nametag read "Margie". Margie asked, "What can I do for you two lovely vampires?" in a tone that sounded like she had 6 kittens at home to feed or she would be literally anywhere else. And Amelia said, "Sorry to bother you miss Margie, but my friend here needs a whole new wardrobe as she recently changed sizes." Margie let out a deep sigh that smelled like defeat and gestured towards the back wall. "Go on over there and talk to Manwitch Marv. He's gay, so he lives for this shit." As we turned and began to walk away I saw Margie's tail flick in what struck me as an agitated gesture akin to the feeling of "fuck this job".
I realized, I don't have a job as a vampire. And also, where does Amelia get her money?
We arrived at the back and asked for Manwitch Marv, he came out from under a clothing rack full of capes and cloaks and stood at his full height of 28 inches. He was a gnome in a green witch hat and wizard's robe. He seemed to treat his section like it was a formal rose garden where the neat and orderly shelves and racks were as much a priority as the perfected grass height in a rose garden. "What can I do for you lovely ladies this fine night?" Marv asked. We explained we were looking for clothes for me as I had recently turned and didn't have appropriate attire. Marv nodded and asked me what I liked. I said I was into a more modern cybergoth and cyberpunk look, noting that I was wearing borrowed clothes. He nodded, found a bunch of things he thought fit the bill in my sizes, and then had me take off Amelia's boots and measured my feet. While I tried on the clothes he'd recommended for me, with the delighted audience of Amelia, Marv custom made a pair of combat boots to fit my aesthetic. Turns out, he was Doc Marvin the famous shoemaker for the west coast Supernatural Entities community. I ended up taking almost everything, Amelia telling me I looked fantastic in all of it so go ahead and get it all. I was really wondering how rich she must be to afford all this, but well, she'd had 300 years to build wealth, so I supposed that was enough time to get absolutely loaded.
We paid at the front and walked out of the mall with 8 bags of clothes at 3 am. I had gotten some good variety: latex leggings, baggy cargo pants, utility belts and pouches, futuristic spandex dresses and tunics, my own Doc Marvin custom boots with fiber-optic stitchings and embroidery, a futuristic-looking techwear demon mask, neon colored socks and stockings, a bright violet windbreaker, bras and a stretchy corset with metal bone-like ribs and spine articulated onto it, a clear acrylic hair stick with a small blinking red light that would be hidden behind your hair that lit the whole thing and made it glow, and so on and so forth. My favorite was a hooded cropped asymmetrical-zipped cloak in grey that I was planning to use the heck out of with my black latex leggings, boots and the spandex violet tunic and utility belt. It looked dope af.
And after we got home, I modeled that exact outfit for Amelia, and she darn near squealed in delight. Afterwards, we ate a late dinner, and went to our respective coffins at about 4:30 am. I myself, wearing my new fluffy black flannel pajamas. And I closed the lid part way. And I slept like I was dead. It had indeed been a full night.
Chapter 6 - Moonlit Hunting Grounds
I got up early. I was surprised at myself for how full the previous night had been. I could see the reflection of the burning orb of death still being well up. I looked at the old clock on the wall and it was only 6 in the afternoon. But I felt full of energy. So I walked to the bathroom and took a shower with the guest toiletries that were there. Mmmm Cherry blossom and strawberry. My favorite scents. Then I shuffled back to my room in a towel and finished drying off before selecting an outfit that said "come get me sailor" and walking down the servant's stairs which led directly to the kitchen in my new bat plush slippers. I went into the kitchen and began to make coffee. I had just sat at the table and opened the new issue of GOREVORE when I heard Amelia get up, so I got up and put on the kettle again for her and then went back to reading. I opened the current events section. Apparently there was a lawsuit because the Blvd product was made for human pets to be able to imitate their vampire masters, but the labeling was so ambiguous, that many vampires thought it was an ethical alternative meant for themselves. That explains a lot. Amelia came down and we greeted each other with "Good evening" and she grabbed the kettle just as it began to whistle, and made herself some tea. She thanked me for putting it on and asked if there was anything interesting that I had read. I told her about the Blvd controversy and she facepalmed and said that made way more sense than trying to make vampires vegetarian. I handed it to her and as she read it, I picked up the guidebook we had been reading the previous night, and I read the entire chapter on ethical hunting practices and how a sense of intrigue and adventure would be the best bet to lure a human for a meal. And that once bitten, they would come to enjoy the experience and no longer fear it. I then read the next chapter while sipping a blood pack from the fridge, this one called "Cowgirl Flavor" which reminded me of steak and eggs with salsa. The next chapter was on the ethical keeping of human pets and the process of how to make sure they were happy with the arrangement, and were properly consenting and so on, including how to register a committed partnership with a human for the purposes of a blood supply with KyuKyo, and recommended treats and toys for your human. I thought, that if I got a human pet, I might get them some Blvd so they can feel included at the dinner table… Wait, I was a human 2 days ago. Am I really thinking of keeping one as a pet? Once again seeming to read my thoughts, Amelia said, "If being cared for by someone else was really so bad, you'd have run away last night. Instead, we're having breakfast together again and you're wearing clothes I bought for you without a second thought." "How do you d…" I started, but then I realized that I was beginning to read others' thoughts too, so maybe it is just a vampire thing. I could tell that she could tell what I was going to say and that she knew what I had realized. We didn't strictly need to talk to both understand where the other stood. "Look at you go" she said, "but talking is nice. So let's keep doing it. We're going to go hunting for our lunch and dinner tonight, just as soon as the sun goes down." "You have a place in mind don't you?" "Of course." she said. "Easy for new hunters?" I asked. "Yup. A Goth Club." she replied. I thought we'd fit right in, and she said, "Yes we will." Wow. She actually can read minds. But, "So can you" she finished my thought out loud. "That's how we hunt. We know what they are thinking secretly, so we can sidestep their prejudices and say exactly what they want to hear exactly how they want to hear it. But it's an art." "Oh, like if you are too exact, they catch on, which is why when I hoped you'd ask me out at the sushi bar, you instead asked me about my beer?" She nodded. "You got it Emily. Good Girl." Some might worry about "The ethics?" she finished my thought again. "Yeah." "This is how vampires are evolved to hunt, and it's how we make money. We gamble while knowing everyone's hand."
After receiving a bunch of boxes with my name on them from the KyuKyo movers and realizing it was the stuff from my old apartment being moved to Amelia's house, we set out to the goth club hoping to hunt first, and unpack my stuff later. There was a line out the front of the club and down the block. The place was called "Bats n' Brews Nightclub". The Industrial music was pulsing and I realized why Amelia had chosen it. For starters, we blended into the crowd perfectly. And secondly, if I messed up what I said, I could correct myself and blame it on the DJ. As we came up close to the door, the bouncer recognized Amelia, "Miss Blutengel! Long time no see! Welcome, I'll radio the mezzanine and tell them you're on your way." She gestured to me and said, "This is Emily, we're here together." and the bouncer said, "I'll be sure to include her. Welcome, both of you." and he let us in. We walked around the dance floor skirting the writhing mass of college students in cyber locks, fishnets, and leg warmers and the occasional sketchy tweaker selling molly, tabs, and caps. We went up to the stairs, it was entirely too loud to talk to the bouncer, but he let us go up to the mezzanine and closed the rope behind us. We went up and another bouncer opened the door at the back that went to the VIP lounge. Holy crap, knowing Amelia gets you places. We entered and when the door closed, it was a lot quieter here, though the music was still playing in the background.
[music] <Einsam irrst du durch die kalte Nacht
Auf der Suche nach Unendlichkeit
Getrieben von der Gier, die in dir wächst
Und deine Seele Stück für Stück zerstören will
Die Vernunft und dein Verstand, sie schwinden
Du siehst die Welt nur noch in dunklen Farben
Für dich hat jetzt und hier die Jagd begonnen...> [/music]
{{if you want to hear it, it's https://youtu.be/UN3sZZLQI5I?si=LgS9K1WjqVbVRgR5 and inspired this story}}
Amelia walked up to a white-haired gentleman seated at the bar nursing a glass of red wine, and said, "Hans! Guess who!" He turned a bit slowly, and nearly shouted, "Amelia!" and jumped up to give her a hug. He seemed to be about 26 but if this was the Hans I'd heard about, then he was probably born before the 12th century. And was effectively my vampire grandpa. He definitely heard my thoughts too, because he turned towards me and asked, "Amelia, won't you introduce me to my grandchild? Who is this?" Amelia said, "This is Emilia Lynne Blutengel. Emily for short. I have brought her here for her first hunt." "Wunderbar!" he shouted. He seemed rather gregarious. Not at all as I had expected. "I'm not usually as people expect dear" he said. "Cannonball injury quite aside, I know I have a reputation among the moderns for my political views. I have those views because humans are awful, not because vampires are special." I replied, "Because they are constantly killing each other and hurting anyone they deem even slightly different?" He smiled and said, "Exactly! You read minds well. I think you will probably have very good luck hunting tonight. Even if we disagree politically, you're still part of my clan, so please feel free to come any time. Gamble with the humans like Amelia. They won't see a mind-reader coming. Those high-rollers make that money as ill-gotten gains to begin with, so relieving them of it is practically a public service. The Blutengel clan's number one rule is that we take care of each other. So any clan member property is a place you can freely come and go. And good luck on your hunt tonight Emily." "Thank you Grandpa Hans." I replied. I thought to myself, I would have to think about him more later and try to figure out a way for humans and vampires to have better relationships in the future. Hans turned to Amelia and said, "She's a good kid, where did you find her?" And Amelia and Hans got to talking, while I wandered out to the Mezzanine.
Chapter 7 - Annie B. Goode
I saw a young lady, about 28 I'd guess, sitting alone at a round table and I approached and asked, "Is this seat taken?" gesturing to a chair beside her. She said I was welcome to sit with her. And I sat down. A waiter brought me a glass of water and the drinks menu. She seemed out of her element more than I was. I ordered a glass of cabernet and looked out over the dancefloor as the subwoofers dictated the beating of our hearts. She was definitely overwhelmed. Divorced at a young age, and he'd never done anything to care for her. Her friends had brought her here to forget the whole thing and turn over a new leaf, but she'd been a goody 2 shoes, and never been to a club before. It was a lot. "Is this your first time at a club?" I asked her. She said, "Yeah, must be pretty obvious." "Me too" I said. "My relative brought me here and I have no idea what I'm doing." The waiter brought my wine and I took a sip. Delish. She asked, "Do you know any good restaurants?" She was thinking Japanese would be good about now. I said, "I do know of a good sushi bar. Top shelf kind of place. fantastic sashimi and a big sake and beer selection. Unfortunately, it's closed right now." "That's too bad." she said. She started thinking, <this albino girl is cute, maybe I should try asking her out, I never did get to explore that side of being Bi. Maybe this is my chance. Then again, I don't have the guts for it. I'm too anxious to ask another lady out.> I asked, "Do you know about coffee?" She said, "Yeah, I love coffee, why?" "Because," I replied, "There's someone I want to invite over for coffee, and I don't know how best to broach the subject." <aw crap, she likes someone else> she thought. So I felt it was the right time and asked, "Would you like to get some coffee or something tonight?" She seemed startled, but got over it quickly. "I… I would love to! Shit, let's get out of this loud mess and go get some coffee!" she exclaimed. So I said, "Okay, I just gotta let my family know." I said, she was getting up and I got up with my glass of wine and it's funny, I made a beeline for the VIP Lounge, and she followed me, The bouncer let us in, and I asked, "Amelia, me and my new friend are planning to leave and get coffee, but I was wondering if anything close by was open this late?" She turned, saw the human behind me, and smiled without showing her fangs. She said, "No unfortunately, the shops are a bit dead at this hour, but our house is fine. And it's safe." The human said, "I've had a rough past few days, so I appreciate the hospitality." Amelia said, "Well, go on then, I still have some things to discuss with Hans, so go ahead and go home and have your coffee." I set my wine on the bar beside Amelia. After we got outside, the human texted her friends and said she was going out for coffee with a cute girl and might stay out all night.
As we walked back to the brownstone, I asked, "So, I didn't catch your name. My name is Emily." "I'm Annie." she said. "Pleasure to meet you Emily." "The pleasure is all mine." I replied. She said, "You're quite charming for a lady your age." "I try to be witty when there's a cute lady in need of cheering up." "Ha! How did you know I was sad? Are you a mind reader?" she asked sarcastically. "Maybe I am?" I replied. She chortled. "There's so much chemistry between us. My ex husband was nowhere near this magnetic. Maybe I should marry you? Haha." "Well, you'd have to be okay with living with a creepy vampire goth who may occasionally want to gobble you up as a snack." She laughed out loud, "Sounds hawt as fuck. I'm in. You'd probably take better care of me than my ex anyways." "That I would. You wouldn't have to lift a finger, taken care of like a very cute and beloved pet." "Pets don't work do they? I heard of this as a relationship dynamic, and I always wanted to try it, so if you're taking care of me, I mean…" I smiled, this human freakin wants it. Okay then. "Here we are." I said, I climbed the steps, opened the door, and invited her in. She entered and exclaimed, "Wow, what a cool place you've got!" "It's a restored Victorian era brownstone." I said. We took off our shoes and I went and got 2 cups of coffee from the kitchen while she waited in the parlour, looking at all the gothy decor and reading a book of vampire poems. I came back in and handed her her cup of brown joy. She said, "You guys sure are into the vampire theme." "Well," I replied, "We are vampires afterall." "If you're really a vampire, then bite me." "You want me to?" "Yes. I want you to bite me." "As you wish." I set down my coffee, took off my cloak, and sat on the couch beside her, taking the coffee out of her hands and putting it on the table. I looked deep into her eyes. She flushed and we kissed briefly. I then asked, "Are you sure?" and she said "Yes." So I put my head beside hers, hugged her, licked the area above her collarbone, finding where blood was close to the surface, and instinct took over. I bit her. She whimpered, then calmed, relaxed. I began to suck on the wound. Her warm, delicious blood filling me with sustenance, it tasted amazing. And I and she were both overcome with pleasure and she fell back, and I was on top of her. and she began to moan in ecstacy. I was full, and leaned back. And she opened her eyes and looked up at me. And I licked her blood off my lips. And I said, "Thank you Annie, you were delicious." She just looked dazed. I picked her up, and she was quite limp, and I laid her gently on the couch, and covered her with an afghan. I finished my coffee and reclined with the book of vampire poetry she had been reading. My first hunt was a success. Annie drifted off to sleep, blank in the brain, and happy for once in her life.
Chapter 8 - A Lot to Unpack
Later that night Amelia came home with her snack, who was actually one of Annie's friends called Sarah, who though relieved to see Annie sleeping on our couch, was very busy being wrapped around Amelia's little finger, gazing at her adoringly. Amelia took her upstairs and made her night. I ultimately retired to my coffin, as Annie showed no signs of waking any time soon.
That evening I got up in my pj's and slippers and went downstairs. The doorbell rang, and I answered it, it was Bartholomew making a grocery delivery: a 6 pack of Blvd in assorted flavors, now clearly labeled "Blood Replentishing Drink, For Humans Only" on the bottles, a party pack of Cowgirl and Vaquera flavor Blood packs, and some vanilla icecream. And he left and came back from his Crown Vic Hearse, and handed me a paper bag of what he described as "human food". He gave me a quick hug, and I asked if it was prepaid, and he said "Amelia paid over the phone, so don't worry about it. Until next time Emily.", and with that, he left to make more deliveries.
I carried the groceries into the kitchen as Annie stirred and sat up yawning. I came back to her, and said, "Hey Annie, good Evening. Did you sleep well?" She looked at me, looked around, and said, "Yeah. I'm hungry." I said, "Good, because we just had groceries delivered. Your friend is upstairs with Amelia. You know, the other Vampire we met last night in the VIP lounge?" She groggily asked, "Vampire? Wait… Oh yeah, you bit me. So, which one of my friends is here?" "I think her name was… Sarah?" "Oh, Sarah. That tracks. She likes spooky stuff like vampires and werewolves and what have you." "Well, I think I hear them getting out of bed upstairs, so how about we go make breakfast?" I said. She replied, "Sounds good, lead the way." I walked into the kitchen, got 2 more chairs out of the closet in the dining room and put the leaf in the dining table and bade my human to have a seat. I made tea and coffee and set the table. I got the human food out and kind of stared at it. Oh yeah, okay. I made bacon and eggs for the humans, and put their plates out. And got them a bottle of Blvd to split, in juice glasses. And put out the tea and coffee, and warmed the Cowgirl flavor blood packs for me and Amelia.
Amelia and Sarah came down holding hands, and I told them to sit down and I'd get breakfast. I got the eggs and bacon plated for the humans, and our warmed blood. And we all sat and started to enjoy our meals. Sarah piped up, "You two really are vampires, wow! What does Cowgirl taste like?" I said, "It's like steak and eggs with salsa to us, but you probably wouldn't be able to taste that from it since you're human." "Oh… Interesting." Annie asked, "What is this drink in the glasses? It kind of looks like blood." I responded, "It's Blvd, a drink for humans who have given up their blood to vampires, to help them replentish their nutrients and electrolytes." "Ohh" she said, "thanks for taking such good care of us then." "Of course." I said, and I drank some of my cowgirl flavored blood. Annie thought, <I wish this was my normal. Dang. I bet I'd be imposing on them if I stayed too long. But it's nice to be pampered> I casually let it slip, "You know, this is nice. I wish Annie and Sarah could stay longer." Amelia had been reading my mind and bolstered my efforts, "Oh, they'd be quite welcome. It's not often we have house guests. And it's not like we have anything better to do this week." Sarah, seeming to pick up on a subtle vibe said, "Annie, you've been through a lot, why don't we take them up on it? It can be nice to take a break from normal." Annie, relenting, said, "If it's not too much trouble, can we stay?" Amelia said, "Of course you can dear! We'd love to have you two stay." "Yup, please stay as long as you like." I chimed in.
After breakfast, as the golden orb of doom slipped below the horizon, we gave the two of them a tour of the house and the rear flower garden. And we got the two humans settled in rooms upstairs which, surprisingly, each had a twin xl bed in them and other furniture. I ten went to my own room and began to unpack my belongings and arrange them. Around about 1 am, Annie came and knocked on my door, just as I was putting the finishing touches on my decor and crunching up the old boxes into a flattened pile with my vampiric strength. "Come in" I sang out. Annie opened the door, and gingerly stepped in, "Um, Hey Emily, Amelia said to call you down for lunch. And I wanted to ask you…" "About the things I said last night?" I finished her sentence. "Yes." she said, "I would like nothing more than to be pampered and taken care of by you, really, but I have a lot of debts from the divorce, and my ex can be kind of crazy and possessive, and I don't know what he'd do to you if he found out I got with someone right after leaving him." "Don't worry about me" I said, "and I can make your debts and worries disappear, so don't worry about any of that. What matters is what you want. Unlike our lives which are extremely long, your lives are short. So you should do what makes you happy." "He's really crazy though. Before the divorce, I tried to run away from him, and he tracked me across state lines. I don't want him to hurt you." I chuckled, "It's so sweet that you're worried about me, but anything short of a nuclear weapon and I can shake it off. Hans, who owns the Bats n' Brews Nightclub was shot in the face with a cannonball. He's totally fine. I'm not even slightly worried." "Really?" "Yes dear. Really. You are safe with me, and registered human companions of vampires cannot be pursued for debts, crimes, or be made subject to the laws of the land, and if I were to defend us from your ex, and he didn't make it, the government would regard it as a natural disaster pursuant to the Supernatural Entities Act of 1946." "HOLY SHIT." "I know right?" Sarah came to the door, "What's taking you two so long? We made sandwiches and warmed up the blood, and there's ICECREAM."
As we ate lunch I could detect Annie's thoughts, <I should do it. I should just stay, it fixes all my problems. And if she nibbles on me from time to time, that's small potatoes. I can not afford to pay the settlement he's asking for or lawyer's fees because I'm losing the case. And he's demanding the house? Jerk wants me to be homeless just so I'll come crawling back..> Sarah asked Annie, "So, when do you go back to court?" "Ughhh." She said, "It's tomorrow morning." "Well," I said, "You don't have to go if you're protected by the S.E.A. like us." "What's that?" Sarah asked. Amelia explained, "The Supernatural Entities Act of 1946 is a federal law instructing the government how to deal with Supernatural beings, such as Vampires, gnomes, fae folk, and so on. It basically tells them to leave us alone and cover it up when there's an incident or we get found out. But it also treats humans who register as companions at a Supernatural Entities Association office as though they are part of our group, legally speaking." "Okay…." Sarah said, mulling it over. "Basically," I said, "If Annie registers as my companion, then she doesn't have to go to court because the case law and court's authority no longer applies to her. And her ex can't do anything about it. But because the case can't be resolved, he doesn't get her money either." Sarah said, "Well shit, sign me up for that too, because I missed a probation check in today. and if they test me for drugs, they will find them."
Chapter 9 - Adopting a Pet
After lunch, we hurried to the Kyuketsuki Kyoukai office with our humans, and went through the paperwork with them. They signed it, we signed it, they got their pictures taken, and they got their companion ID cards. I looked over Annie's ID card after the clerk handed it to me. It was in the vertical orientation and had her photo, and said Name: Annie, Species: Human, Companion to Species: Vampire, Companion of: Emilia Lynne Blutengel, and of course the Law Enforcement Warning to regard incidents involving Supernatural Entities and their Companions as Acts of God or Natural Disasters. The KyuKyo informed the courts that Annie was no longer subject to their authority but was now classed as a Supernatural Entity subject to the SEA. I handed Annie her ID card and after Sarah got hers saying she was the companion of Amelia, and Kyukyo had informed the probate court that she was a SEA ward now, we walked home.
Annie kinda twirled, and then hugged me about halfway home. I gave her a headpat even though she was a bit taller. I asked her, "So, now that you're an official registered companion of a vampire, and the law doesn't apply to you, what do you want to do?" "Cuddle!" she exclaimed. "Okay, I can do that." "What are we having for dinner?" Annie asked. "Well, Annie and Sarah are going to have human food, and I'm having Annie." Annie blushed. She knew exactly what I meant. I sniffed her scent. Mmmm… tasty smelling human. Smelled even better now that she was well rested and happy. Annie asked, "Hey, about my ID card, why did it have your full name, and only my first name?" "I am pretty sure we went over this earlier, but Registered Companions are like pets. That's why you're considered part of our clan without being Vampires." "So, wait, I'm your pet?" "Yup. You're my pet human Annie. Or more like my cow. I get blood from you in exchange for keeping you safe and happy. It's a win-win situation." "Ohhhh… What if I want to quit someday though?" "You kind of already know too much about Supernatural Entities to quit, so I'd have to turn you into a vampire for you to become independent again, or else the federal government would put you in the looney bin for believing in us. It was in the papers you signed as part of the informed consent section." "Oh shit. Okay. Please take good care of me then." "I plan to. Afterall, you're my favorite of all that I own." She got really horny when I said that for some reason. And here I was trying to be reassuring. Oh well, at least she's into it.
After getting home, the humans had their dinner, and I took mine up to her room, and we cuddled, and I bit her again, my venom dropping her down into a comfortable fuzzy-headed stupor. As before, her blood was fantastically delicious. Not at all like the blood packs from the market. It had a vital quality that was lacking in the packaged stuff. Chi. I think that would about describe it. In Chinese, it refers to what the books in the parlour call Odic Force, but in Japanese it is Blood. Different kanji though. But the nearly same pronunciation struck me as poetic. But, her blood made me feel truly alive. Like, as though I was simply undead before, and was now alive and full of that vigor which only the fresh blood of a mortal contained. I wouldn't go so far as to call it prana, because that had characteristics of the sun and fire, which could hurt me, but this sort of vitality, it more closely fit the essence of aether or the breath of life. I lay my cute little morsel in a comfortable position, and tucked it in. "Sleep well dear one." I said. and I turned out the light and went to my own room. I ordered a collar and tags for my pet online from Devil Kat's Cauldron and went to bed in my coffin with a smile on my face and a fang poking out. It had been a good night.
Chapter 10 - This is not a Pipe
I woke up and stretched, like a cat. Nya. I got out of bed in a brightly sunlit room with pink walls and put on my fluffy pink slippers, and walked over to the mirror, my PJs were plush and creamy white. My cat ears were fluffy and lopped, I listened for the sounds of my mistress making brekkie, my ears perked up…. hmmmm, yuppers, she's making my breakfast. I had better go downstairs. My tail flicked around and I brushed it and the hair on my head. Didn't wanna be myess when going dyown for brekkie. I put on my collar and went downstairs. Miss Amelia had fishies for me. Yaaaaay. She was a cute human with a pastel goth vibe. And naturally, I was a nekomusume. Sarah and Annie came down next, Amelia made eggs and bacon for all the hyumans… And I got my fishies. Yay. And a bowl of milk. Mrrrrrrp :3. Sarah and Annie went to work, and miss stayed home. And I went into the parlour and lay down on the couch with my head in Amelia's lap so she could pet me. She was really sad ever since her adoptive dad Hans had died. He was a little old fashioned and conservative, but he really loved her and no matter how different their politics, family came first. It was so…. sweet. This life was so sweet. And then I was falling. And I fell into a factory conveyor belt. And the conveyor belt had robot arms that grabbed me and held me down, and it fed me into a packaging machine, and the machine injected me with something, and I turned into a vampire, and not a vampire kitty, but now all my colors were dark, and the world was bathed in moonlight, and the machine packed me in a coffin with straps holding me in so I couldn't move, and the door closed, and locked. And the coffin was conveyed, and wrapped and sent in a shipping container, and it arrived at the brownstone, and Vampire Amelia unboxed me, and said, "Welcome to immortality little pet. Don't worry, there's a tasty human here for you." And she showed me Annie in a cage, and said, "This human is your food now. Bon Appetit little vampire."
I sat up from my nightmare so fast, I hit my head on the coffin lid. "Ouchies" I muttered, and pushed it open the rest of the way. I wandered over to my window, and from the amount of light around the curtain, I could tell the flaming ball of death had already fallen below the horizon. So I opened the curtain. And to my surprise, the delivery demon was here with a package, walking up to our door, his horns barely poking from under his work hat. I ran down the stairs as the doorbell rang, and opened the door, "Package for you Ma'am" he said curtly, I signed for it and he tipped his hat and went back to his truck. It was addressed to me. Oh, it must be what I ordered for Annie last night. I walked into the dining room. Annie and Sarah were making breakfast and Amelia was reading at the table with her usual cup of tea. This is okay. It's not my pastel dream bathed in sunshine and normalcy. But this is okay too. And it's not the nightmare part either. And I'd never put Annie in a cage. Because she isn't only my food, but also my friend.
"Oh, Emily, you got a package." said Amelia. "Yup, it's a gift for Annie." Annie perked up, "For me?" "Yup, just for you. If Sarah wants one, she can ask Amelia." Annie came over, and I opened the box, and inside, wrapped in pink tissue paper, was a very nice black leather collar with polished stainless hardware and silky soft padding inside. It had a small identity plate on it, which read "Companion Name: Annie" and "Property of: Emilia Blutengel, Vampire" underneath that. The buckle had a keyhole in it, and the collar came with a set of keys. Annie seemed both pleased and a bit flustered. I asked, "Is it to your liking?" "Oh yes, I am just surprised, is all. I was kind of hoping you'd buy me a collar so I'd really be able to feel like a pet. I just didn't expect it so soon." Wow, she's so cute like this. "Well," I said, "I gotta show whose pet you are if you wanna come with me to the shops and stuff, or else someone else might try to claim you. Companions aren't supposed to leave their owner's house without a collar and tags according to the rules." "Oh, I see, well, put it on me I guess." She turned around excitedly. Again, she smelled horny. Huh. She seems so normal when you can't read her thoughts, but she's actually secretly a repressed freak inside. In a good way. I opened the collar, put it around her neck, adjusted the size to fit her well, and locked it. There. "Okay, turn around so I can see." She turned. "Looks good on you." I said. "Really? Hey Sarah, I have a collar before you. heehee." Sarah said, "Annie! Since when did you become a baddie? That's my job!" They laughed together. Good. I'm glad she likes it. Amelia smiled at me, <Good job Emily, she looks happy. You're doing great, keep it up.> I nodded to Amelia and went and made my coffee and got the warmed blood out of the yogurt maker. And we had breakfast as a family, two vampires and our pets.
Chapter 11 - Are you Okay, Annie?
Annie and I went out for a walk after breakfast, and I thought we might stop at the market and then the park to enjoy the full moon. I walked holding her hand in the pale moonlight. She seemed to be positively glowing. We walked down the dark alley that led to the market, and she grabbed my waist. I remembered, then, that humans can't see in the dark. "Don't be scared," I said, "I'm right here, and I can see just fine. You're safe." "Mm hm" she said. But she continued to hold me. I found the door to the market. 3 knocks and an open handed slap on the door, and a moment later, Bartholomew opened the door and ushered us in. Seeing I'd brought my human, he turned up the dimmer on the lights so she could see better. "Hello there." Bartholomew said, "And who might you be?" She hid behind me from the scary old vampire. "This is my companion, Annie, she's a little shy around other people, but I think she will come around." He said, "Hello Annie, I'm Bartholomew, the shopkeeper for the Vampire market. You can call me Bart if it's easier for you dear." I looked down at her as she was crouching a bit and asked, "Can you say hi to Mr Bart?" "Hi Mr Bart, please don't eat me." He laughed and said, "Oh dear, I don't so much as nibble other people's companions. Even if you came here by yourself, I wouldn't dream of it. The Blutengel clan would beat me to a greasy pulp and set me on fire if I so much as harmed a hair on the head of one of their collared companions." He shivered in terror at the thought of it. "Old Hans once, right after he got clipped by the cannonball mind you, tore the arms off a redcoat and used them to bludgeon 50 others to death like he was threshing grain. Heaven help whomsoever makes any member of the Blutengel Clan truly Angry." "Woah." she said, "So, am I like, the safest human on earth or something?" "Yes dear, some truly terrifying monsters have decided that you are cute and worth protecting, So you are, in fact, among the most safe and protected humans on earth."
I showed her the selection of Blvd and the juice, and she picked out a Mango and Beet Blvd drink, and I got a can of Down East Fog (Maine fisherman's blood with cranberry juice and rum). And I paid, and we walked out into the night. We arrived at the park and I picked her up and hopped the gate and we went to the swings to enjoy our drinks and moon-gaze. Overall, we had a nice time. It was on the way home that things went pear-shaped
For the last 2 blocks, a silver sedan had been pacing us from a couple hundred feet away. And turning around corners didn't deter it. So I asked her, "Hey Annie, what does your ex-husband's car look like?" "It's a silver 2 door. Why?" "Don't look around, but a car like that is following us." "Oh, oh crap." She said. I said, "Don't worry, you are safe with me. Remember what Mr Bart said?" "Yes, I do." "Okay, good. Just stay put by my side and don't run off. Oh, and do you have your cell phone?" She replied, "I do actually, here you go." and held it up. "Okay," I said, "Call him and hand the phone to me." She did. It rang once, the car stopped moving. The other end picked up. "Hello, little bitch. I know where you are." a hoarse man's voice answered. "You had better watch how you speak to me if you enjoy breathing." I replied. He paused, "Are you threatening me?" he demanded to know, "Do you know who I am?" I replied to him, "You are the abusive ex-husband of my dear little kitten who has been following us for 2 blocks in a silver sedan while listing in your head all the ways you plan to hurt us and make us beg for your mercy. Which is funny coming from a guy who is too chicken to get out of his car to talk to me in person." "BITCH I WILL END YOU!!!" he shouted and got out of the car, slamming the door and began to angrily stomp in our general direction. I bade my pet to stay put, gave her the phone, and jumped over a parked car to land in front of him. He looked startled. "What the fuuh…" I said, "I was content to leave you be so long as you left my Annie alone, but your egregious behavior tonight has convinced me of the absolute need to cut your time on this earth short. Annie is mine, and I will protect her." He said, "The hell you will, she's mine." and he drew a large belt knife. I calmly, but very quickly, stepped forward, jammed my hand into his abdomen, grabbed his diaphragm muscle, and ripped it out of his body. He fell back in the street, gasping, but unable to breath, because the muscle that draws air into the lungs, was in my right hand, fully detached from him. I dropped it in the road, walked over to him, crouched down, and said, "Not so tough now, are you?" Then I grabbed him by his throat, and flung him up against a razor wire topped fence that was across the street. And he hung there, tangled in the wire. I picked up his wallet from where it had fallen, and pulled all the cash out. A fat stack of benjamins. Then I yeeted the wallet on top of a building and walked back to where Annie was waiting. "He will never bother you again, dear one." "Thank you, I was so scared he might hurt you. Thank you for being okay, and for taking care of me, and protecting me." I smiled, one of my fangs poking out, and said, "That's what I'm here for. Now, let's go home and get cleaned up. And don't let me forget to call Kyukyo to have them send a cleanup crew over here. Don't want to traumatize people showing up to work tomorrow with a corpse dangling from their fence."
After we got home, Amelia and Sarah were shocked at how much blood was on me, but when Annie said her ex was Struck by a Smooth Criminal, and then moonwalked, it broke the tension and Amelia called Kyukyo while Annie and I took a bath, and I scrubbed her back for her. And then, like every night, I bit her. And had her wonderful invigorating blood for dinner, and left her tucked in in bed, safe and warm. Safe in the care of some terrifying monsters who thought she was cute and worthy of care and affection.
Chapter 12 - 柴米油鹽醬醋茶 (Necessities of Life)
We had, thereafter, slowly settled into a rhythm of life. Get up and have breakfast. Walk the humans. Go on errands. Lunch. Go do stuff, or if it was raining, then stay in and read books or play with the humans. About twice a week, Amelia would go play cards to make money, and I would put on a super hero costume, and rob criminals and rescue damsels. And sometimes bite humans standing on bridges at night to knock them out so that I could take them somewhere safe. And we carried on, for several years. Until it happened, until Annie was hit by a car while playing outside in front of our house.
I rushed out and saw her laying in the street, and I scooped her up in my arms, and bit her, but didn't take blood, and I bit myself viciously in my haste, and let my ichor pour into her open mouth, and she swallowed it on reflex. And, we rushed her to the companion vet. And she was in surgery. And then intensive care. And then, her hair slowly turned white. And her skin paled. And her canines fell out and fangs grew where they had been. But she still didn't wake. And Hans came. And after hearing from Sarah who saw all that happened, he said, "She's probably Hibernating. She lost a lot of blood in the street and can't eat to get it back." So, we extracted some blood from Sarah, and used a feeding tube to give it to her. And two days later, as I was dozing by her bedside, with her collar in one of my hands, my head beside her, myself quite hungry, but unable to force myself to eat, I felt her move. I slowly sat up and looked at her. Her red eyes were open and looking at me. "Annie, are you awake?" "Yeah" came the reply. "Oh thank goodness. I was so worried! I'm so sorry. I couldn't protect you from the car. I…. I'm so sorry Annie." "How long have I been asleep?" she asked. "Uhm, I think you have been asleep for a month or so." "Are you sure it hasn't been longer? My hair is white." she asked, holding one of her locks and looking at it. "Uhm, about that. You almost died, so the only way to save you, was for me to bite myself and give you my ichor. The stuff immortals have instead of blood." "So, you gave me your blood to save my life?" she asked. "Yes. Normally, we would ask first, but you, um, It was kind of an emergency. And I didn't want to be separated from you, because I love you." <And Mr Hans helped?> "Yes, Hans figured out that you needed to drink blood to wake up, so Sarah gave you hers, and we pumped it into your stomach with a tube." <Wow. W Sarah.> "Yes, and also, I can hear your thoughts. Vampires can communicate without talking once fully awakened." "I've always known you could hear my thoughts. It's part of how I was able to feel safe, because whenever I had negative thoughts about myself for anything, you always countered it somehow." I squeezed her hand, and handed her the collar, and said, "A memento, of when you used to be my pet. Because once you're back home, you'll be there as one of the Blutengel Girls, not one of the companions." I got up, and said I was going to tell everyone she was awake and get her some food.
I opened the door, and there was Margie, the nekomusume, with her 6 offspring and her husband. There to visit Annie and bring her flowers and a get-well-soon card. I opened the door for them, saying, "She's awake now, I'm going to get some food, so feel free to keep her company, I know she will be happy to see you." And the cat-ear folk filed into the room as I walked to the nurse desk. "Hey, my Annie is awake, do you think you can send up some cowgirl blood to her room?" The nurse said, "Oh of course. Shall I have them send one up for you too? You look like you could collapse at any moment." "Yes please." I said. And I sat in the lobby and called home, and told Amelia the great news, and Amelia told Sarah and Hans and Bart. and everyone said they would come over.
After the cat-ear folk had cleared out, Annie and I were sitting in her room, and I handed her a cowgirl blood pack. And I showed her how to squeeze and slurp it. And I was like, <Ahhh yes, food.> And Annie tasted it. And her eyes went wide, "That's really good." "I know huh? I'm so glad we get to enjoy it together now." "It really is like steak and eggs and salsa." "Uh-huh." "So, I'm a vampire now?" "Yep. You're a Vampire Annie. But don't expect a letter from Batzits, School of Vampirism or something weird like that." She giggled. "You're so funny Emi." "I'm just glad you're okay." I said. "Hey Emi. Thanks for being there for me, and saving my life, and being here when I woke up." "I only did it because I love you. I really love you. At first, I was thinking of you as food and amusement, but after that night where we sat in the moonlight with our drinks, and then I had to protect you from your psycho ex, I fell in love with you Annie." "I love you too. I've been in love with you since you said [Annie is mine] that night." "Hey Annie, will you please always stay by my side?" "What do you mean?" "I… I mean, will you marry me?" "Her eyes went wide again, and then she relaxed, thought a moment, and said, "Yes, I would like to marry you Emily. I will marry you. You're the one for me."
So, when the other vampires and Sarah arrived, and we were kissing full on the lips, Hans closed the door and said, "I think, that we had better give the two lovebirds a moment to finish before we interrupt. Ja?" A few moments later, they came in, and it got noisy again. And the following day, Annie came home. And Bart brought over a sampler for Annie to try, and we brought the flowers from the SEA hospital, and the cards. And I took good care of Annie. And Manwitch Marv said he'd make our rings with Red Beryl settings…
