Just a Sip (Cori)

[Veranda Kingsford]

Veranda looked up at the sky as Coriander seemed to take a brief moment to collect his thoughts. She took in the stars, staring at their brightness in such a dark place. They truly were her favorite thing to look at. She had briefly wondered if she could give up life in the sun for life in the shadows, she enjoyed the warmth of the sun. But she enjoyed the stars more. Besides, Julien hid in the shadows. Veranda had an attachment to him, and nothing else, aside from her human weaknesses. If Julien left the light, so would she. She didn’t like to sound like such a follower, but the light was mostly an illusion anyways. Evil didn’t hide from the light, it simply wore a mask. She’d follow Julien into the shadows because she would be able to see evil’s true face.

She turned her gaze to Coriander as he began to explain to her the beginnings of his vampire life. He mentioned the slaves that cut out his wife’s heart. Veranda glanced at the dead man behind her, also lacking a heart of his own. She tried to picture Cori with a woman at his side, someone to love and cherish, and share everything with, from secrets to passion. She wondered if Cori had this with his wife, and also wondered what the woman was like, having a bond with Cori like that. She glanced at her own hand momentarily, envisioning a ring on her ring finger, and Julien’s face rose in her mind. She quickly dismissed both images, going so far as to gently shake her hand, as if flicking the ring off. The idea was laughable, and she had other concerns at present. Getting her alcoholism under control was one, something she didn’t foresee following her into vampirism. Destroying her weak side was another. It was dragging her down. Making her a liability to those she was close to rather than an asset.

Thankfully Cori redirected her thoughts as he began walking away. She followed, giving her work a final glance before regarding Coriander again. He went on to explain the disappearance of his sire, and his eventual lock up of centuries as punishment for doing precisely what Veranda had done not long ago. Veranda pictured herself locked away in darkness for what she did, and the idea made her shiver. That Cori came out of it was amazing to her. She gave him no pity though. No pity for what he had been through. He didn’t pity it, and besides, he wouldn’t show her any should their places be reversed. If she described her rape to him he’d simply gaze blankly at her. His emotionless nature was refreshing from her own turmoil though. All her life she’d been an emotional wreck, and she didn’t want that for eternity.

“Did you kill the vampire who locked you up after you were freed?” She asked curiously, wondering about his fate. He’d have been the first to fall under Cori’s power, and the thought of it affecting a vampire for the first time was fascinating.

She grew quiet though as he spoke of fear, and she looked down at the ground, her eyes half closed in thought. One hand wrapped about her waist, the other lifted gently to her face, twirling a lock of her hair. The fact that this hand was soaked in blood was forgotten. To be immortal wasn’t enough. To be immortal with a legacy though, a legacy you can watch grow, or crumble. That was exciting. She looked to the elder as he placed a hand on her shoulder. He spoke of being the darkness, of being the reminder to humans how fragile they were. She thought this over as he removed his hand, and she recalled her childhood a moment before smiling and following after Cori.

“You have quite the road ahead of you. Humans are reminded everyday how fragile they are. You’ll have to compete with other humans, disease, and fate. They’re quite resilient in the mind that they still continue to wake and go about their day even with the odds against them. Especially the little ones.” She remarked, kicking at a stone absently. “You have a lot of work ahead of you.”

[Deleted]

He wondered in the back of his mind if that was a good explanation to her questions. If not, he wouldn't mind talking some more. His story was a long and boring one. At least to himself of course. But he found it strange that anyone else would find it interesting. Julien had before, but Veranda didn't seem the type that would like knowing such things. His life story was nothing but a story anymore.

But the hate he had for humans was beyond anything that anyone could comprehend. The vampire would slice through crowds of people if given the chance. But men, women and children were all in their beds by nightfall and Coriander found it a boring task to go to every single home. Hopefully, he might find a small group of people wandering sometime tonight and go through them like water.

When she asked him if he had killed the vampire who had kept him locked up, he nodded. Indeed, I did. Infact, I think he was the only one  I tore into pieces big enough for a rat to feast on. There was nothing left of him. he stated and glanced at her. Though as they both kept walking, Veranda then brought up a very interesting point. With all of the other squallors humans were going through these days, he would have to keep up his game and keep the legend of the night terrors alive somehow.

And that's when he brought up his grand idea. That is why I'm seeking out the best vampires around, Veranda. Myself... Julien.. you... A couple others I have met already.. A group of vampires that find death, mutilation and chaos fascinating and required in the human world. A guild of us to continue spreading these dark nightmares through each household. he looked over at her as they continued walking. What do you think? If I can't do this by myself, I'd want to see what other vampires have to offer...

[Veranda Kingsford]

Veranda took a moment to picture Coriander, crawling from the shadows of his prison the other vampire put him in, and ripping the other vampire to pieces. What a delightfully terrifying image it must have been. She could just imagine the look on the vampire’s face as Cori descended on him. She looked off down the street, passing an alley with a homeless man crawling around some trash, sparing no glance to the two vampires. They passed and he didn’t even know it. She wondered if she’d ever be feared like Cori was. She never really considered striving to become a legend like Cori wanted. Did Jules want the same? She supposed to a degree. Why else was he the boogeyman’s apprentice? Julien would become a legend too. Cori trusted him, and would pass on everything to him. Veranda though, what did she want? She could go along, grow into the shadow Cori was blanketing over the world. Why not? She did have an eternity. What exactly does one do with an eternity? She paused, took a moment, and then continued to walk with Coriander, this time her steps much quieter. Since she so dearly wanted his silence, might as well see and copy how he did it.

She glanced over to him as he began to reveal his grand plan. He was searching for the best vampires, and she resisted the urge to laugh when he included her in that list. Vampire yes, but the best? Not yet. Not after tonight’s embarrassments. But she seemed to be climbing the ladder in his mind, and that was good. It helped her climb her own ladder. She looked to Cori as he spoke of a guild, recruiting vampires to do the very thing he did. To spread that blanket of fear over the far reaches of the world it seemed. It was a good idea. Veranda looked up to the stars again, musing over this, eyes lit with the starlight, and for a moment, a moment she didn’t even notice, she walked and moved as silently as Cori did. The moment was short lived as she slowed to a stop, hands clasped behind her back. A pose she for some reason was adopting. It made her look more innocent, not that that was the reason she was taking to it. It felt natural to her now.

“A guild sounds interesting. It’d be the best way to keep up with this world. It’d spread your vision farther. It sounds like a good plan for you actually. But…” She said, walking again. “…I don’t know if you’ve ever noticed, but I don’t play well with others. In fact I find it hard to socialize with people in general. It’s a miracle Julien and I became friends at all.” A drunken man stumbled his way past her, and she stepped to Cori’s other side, the movement like liquid, and the man found himself no longer wishing to pursue the pretty girl standing next to the tall, scary figure. He sauntered off. Veranda watched him go. “What I’m getting at is wouldn’t I be more of a liability at this point? Wouldn’t including me in this grand plan be a bad idea considering tonight?”