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Reawakening IC

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OOC can be found here

 

The small boat that was found at the shore was primitive at best, seemingly constructed from a single massive tree trunk. From the look of it, the raft had no physical way of moving itself as there was no engine attached to it and no oars. Instead, seats had been carved into the wood itself and small designs of an unknown origin repeatedly slashed into the outside of the boat. But whomever had used it was long gone by now and had abandoned the boat to the waves and the beach as they no longer required it. Based on the size alone several people could have fit inside of the boat comfortably. The question that remained was who had used it and why they had left it behind?

 

Lunuas frowned slightly as he looked himself over in the reflective surface. It had been a few days, if not more, since they first arrived on the land now ruled over by humans. While there had been a few thoughts as to what it might be like, none of them could have expected the scars upon the land they saw or the strange dwelling that rose higher than the trees themselves. The other vampires that had travelled with him, for the most part, had dispersed to study the land for their own. Before any of them had left, however, they had vowed to return in a moon cycle’s time to the sandy shore they had first arrived on to report what they had found. Left to his own devices now, Lunuas had decided to make his way further inland, deciding to observe the humans from within their own dwellings.

His findings were very interesting.

Immediately, Lunuas had noted they spoke in a language based upon the vampire’s own. Of course, humans had existed in the same time as vampires, but they were not nearly as intelligent as they were now. No doubt their own species had affected the development of the humans in this manner as, even though the language was different, he could still understand much of it. But he did not need that as simply watching humans from the shadows revealed much.

They were very sociable, for one. Vampires tended to dislike one another’s company and outside of family units, they rarely spent time in one another’s presence. This was especially obvious as the first course of action upon arriving from their Sanctuary was to split off into different groups. It was mutually understood several of them would die if they had remained together much longer than that. Vampires were always solitary creatures and probably, if at all possible, despised one another more than any other creature out there. That being said, they did have some sense of kinship that allowed them to cooperate with their backs against a cliff but it was rare for them to experience that sort of thing. Even Lunuas himself was especially uncomfortable around other vampires and, despite wanting to help guide his peers, found it difficult to remove himself of his nature to be as far away from them as possible or to fight them. But humans were the opposite. Sitting on top of the tall structure they called a building, he held a hand over his mouth as the creatures not only communicated with one another, but filled the streets. There were truly massive amounts of them and yet, as long as he watched them, he never saw them fight with one another. No punching, biting or scratching at all. They seemed perfectly fine being so close to one another and even seemed to enjoy it.

More than that, they were remarkably inventive. None of them truly knew how long they’d been asleep but in that time, humans had made massive houses that rose higher than trees and strange contraptions that shined brightly in the light and moved much faster than he had seen a human be able to move. They also wore strange clothing, which while it wasn’t unusual, didn’t seem to be made from any animal he knew and came in the most unusual of colors. Much like birds, humans seemed to be. They really enjoyed showing off their bright colors. In a way, humans were sort of adorable. They looked so similar to vampires but they acted so differently. Lunuas had even gone out of his way to borrow a set of clothes from a human he had found passed out in the dark space between two large buildings, holding a flask of some kind that smelled awful. The tight pants and strange shirt were both different shades of grey and felt very unusual on his skin but he couldn’t call them uncomfortable. Besides, he had left the human clothes so at least he wouldn’t have to walk around naked. Now, Lunuas could blend in much more easily with humans as he not only looked like them, but he dressed like them too.

But now, the sun was setting. The harsh sunlight was fading away into darkness, giving his eyes a rest. This had to be one of the biggest differences between their species. Humans were daylight creatures. They needed the light and grew scared of the dark, just like ages ago. They slept through the night. But vampires? Vampires relished the darkness. He couldn’t wait until the sun properly set and he could really explore.

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It was already sundown and Cyrus hadn't left the research facility. He'd been doing this all week. Working all day and night and showing up in their apartment at ungodly hours. Like any worried sibling, Matthew showed up often to keep him company (and keep watch on him). This was the third night in a row he had shown up with a bag of take-out, using his own security card to get inside. Although Cyrus worked in the medical wing, Matt did biochemistry work in the genetics wing. And the whole facility had a soft buzz about some new project, one that would change the whole city. The way Cyrus went on about it...it made Matt nervous.

 

When he walked into the reception desk, he was surprised to find it empty. Were shifts changing already? It was a little early for that to happen. Maybe the receptionist was on break. Shrugging the thought in the back of his mind, he swiped his access card to continue forward. Only...he wasn't allowed in the experimental wing? That was odd. Really odd. When did they change the access codes? Was his card outdated? Ignoring the admission spinner, Matt opted to instead hop over it and continue downstairs.

 

When he arrived to the bottom floor, where the lab work usually took place, he was surprised to find it empty. In fact, the entire room had been cleared out and the lights had been shut off. The young scientist groped the wall for a light switch, flipping both plastic knobs upwards upon locating them. To his surprise, he wasn't alone. There was a man, bound to a chair in the center of the room. And he looked...awful. The stranger's body trembled, and his lips parted every few moments in a silent plea for mercy. Startled, Matthew stated in mute horror. What happened here? Why...Who would do this to someone? "Are...are you alright?" The young scientist asked, nervously skirting towards the trapped stranger.

 

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The man was clearly and obviously confined, that was undeniable. His eyes and nose were both covered by thick, white bandages. Heavy chains bound him not only to the chair, but also to the cold floor. Even if he had desired to do anything more than draw in shaking breaths through his mouth, there was little the man could do to move. Every tremble rattled his constraints and there was obviously not much give in them.

When Matt spoke, however, the man suddenly flinched. His sight and smell were robbed from him with what was covering his face but he could still hear. The voice had caught him off guard and, immediately, he shifted as much as he physically could away from the sound. Twisting his head as much as he could muster, he tried to follow the noise of Matt’s feet against the ground, trying to keep track of where he was. The man seemed almost too surprised for words or simply couldn’t speak at all as he continued to move his lips, yet produce no sound. The rattling of chains was the only sound that came from the trapped man.

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No, this stranger was definitely not alright. Worriedly did Matthew edge forward, shifting the bag of take-out to one arm. How did this poor man end up like this? Was this some sort of experiment? Some willing deprivation of senses? No...that couldn't be right. This man had been sitting here for quite some time, and that wasn't ethical in the conduct of an experiment. Remaining in one place like that...it was painful. Compressed cells started breaking down, as in, rotting. From what he had studied, ir was awful. Necrosis was no joke.

 

Upon reaching the bound stranger, Matt took the heavy chains in both hands. He had an extra key. The locks around were standardized in the case of some sort of emergency. And to Matt, this looked like an emergency. Slowly did he slide the chains off the man, setting them on the ground. Soon afterwards did he take hold of the wrappings around the stranger's face. "I'm...I'm going to take this off now..." He warned, unwrapping the soft cotton strip layer by layer. "How did this happen? Who did this to you?"

 

"MATT!" A nearby door flew open, revealing an identical face to Matthew's. Only, his twin was absolutely mortified. Cyrus was in a panic. How did his brother get in? He had told Matthew specfically not to show up, as he had the previous two days! It was dangerous! And now... "MATTHEW GET OUT OF THERE! RUN!"

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The man stiffened considerably as the chains around him were pulled at, only to suddenly fall loose. He didn’t move at all as the chains were pulled at and unwound from his body, eventually clanking to the ground. Next came the strange item they had wrapped his head in. A pulling sensation came from the bandages before, gradually, light reached his eyes. The man’s breathing quickened slightly as the bandages fell away to reveal bright, blue eyes. His toes curled up slightly as his tongue ran over his lips and the sharp teeth that lined his mouth.

Slowly climbing to his feet, the man stumbled slightly, falling forward towards Matt. However, this action quickly changed as the man’s hands shot out and grabbed at the young man’s arm, yanking him closer towards the suddenly bared teeth. He was starving. He needed energy. He’d been trapped there for so long he needed something to eat. And yet, this boy had freed him from his confinement. It seemed almost inappropriate to repay that favor with death. Fine, he would restrain himself. He’d only take enough to flee this place. With a hiss, the man yanked on Matt’s arm, trying to bring him closer so he could bite the human’s soft flesh.

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As the man stumbled, Matt stepped forward to support him. He realized quickly, however, that this was a mistake. As a hand shot out to grab his arm, Matt jerked backwards instinctively. His left foot crunched into the Styrofoam boxes behind him, and he stumbled backwards. Slipping on the now spilled rice and vegetables, the frightened twin cried out as he fell. The loss of balance was enough for the stranger(now his assailant) to take hold and pull Matthew close.

 

Even though Matthew resisted, the now freed vampire's strength was superior to that of a scrawny chemist. Struggling in the grip of his assailant, the boy cast a frightened glance towards Cyrus. The other twin yelled, but was yanked away as other staff arrived to the scene. The door slammed shut, leaving Matt defenseless. They didn't want to help him! This thought of betrayal was the last clear thought Matthew had managed to conceive.

 

The rest of his thoughts came from the darkest pits of primal instinct his DNA could muster forth. Even in the face of death, Matt flailed, whining and squirming to the best of his ability. Which, to be honest, wasn't very good. Having his arms confined left for little more than thrashing. When teeth finally connected with skin, all the thoughts in his mind sputtered out.

 

He was paralyzed, trapped by whatever force this...thing had under its control. A calm buzz filled his thoughts as everything faded out. Was this what it was like to die? Matthew wasn't sure if he cared. This was it. He was going to die. And for whatever reason...that felt okay. Maybe it was whatever this man-no, this was no human. Whatever the case, he was at peace with the situation.

 

And then he was dropped to the ground. As soon as the contact vanished between both predator and prey, the reality of the situation settled in. The cold tiles of the floor shocked Matthew into reality, forcing the young man to suck in a breath. And as soon as he had inhaled, he was screaming, clutching at the hole in his neck. Not only was it bleeding freely, but it burned. It set his cells alight, creating a pain he had never felt before. Not even when he had accidentally spilled a sample of potassium hydroxide onto himself. The scar still remained.

 

But that was hardly what he was thinking of at the moment. As soon as his attacker fled the scene, the rest of the lab was on him immediately. They sure didn't want to pull him into safety earlier, but they were all for cleaning up the mess.

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Night had fallen and, with it, so did the humans. Compared to the massive numbers of them visible during the day, the night revealed very few who tended to travel in large packs. Despite not seeing any physical differences between himself and the humans below, or at least none that he could see, Lunuas was reluctant to visit the streets. He had fixed his clothing by borrowing a set from a lone human but was that enough? In the amount of time he had slumbered, what had humans turned into? Would they be able to sniff out the differences between himself and them?

Of course, without their history, Lunuas would not have worried. Humans compared to vampires… it was hardly even a comparison. And yet several of their company had yet to return and were presumed deceased at the hands of these creatures. He had no idea what changes had occurred in these creatures over the time they had slumbered and how dangerous they had become. Fascinating as they were, he was much more comfortable staying above them where he could not easily be approached or noticed.

Looking around the buildings, Lunuas jumped easily across the tops of a few of them, finding a new perch on the edge of a large, square building. Peering over the edge, he frowned slightly then sat back, closing his eyes and instead listening to the noises. There were no insects here that could be heard and, instead, there seemed to be a constant humming in the background. A buzzing that came not from a specific location, but seemingly from everywhere. It was unnerving, much like the small orbs of light humans had managed to harvest from the sun to illuminate the night.

 

((We need Lunuas to meet up with a character of yours so they aren't just wandering.))

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It was a blood infection. An illness. That's all it could be. That's why he sat huddled in his room, swaddled in blankets. His right arm had been connected to a transfusion, of which was still being administered even after the second day. There just didn't seem to be enough blood in his system. It all seemed to just...vanish. The color still remained drained from the young chemist's face, even though the transfusion bags depleted once daily.

 

Cyrus had said nothing about that night as he patched up his brother. In fear of infection, he cleaned the wound and changed the gauze pad often. That was the only time his twin stuck around. The rest of the time, Cyrus worked. He left enough food out for Matthew to wander into the kitchen and eat, but Matt hadn't been hungry since the incident.

 

Mostly, he remained in bed. The shutters stayed closed, and he remained curled up in a ball. He still hurt all over. The only real way to describe it was some sort of...fever or something. He was freezing, and each movement ached into his very core. And...his mouth hurt. It reminded him vaguely of the days before his wisdom teeth were pulled. The pressure had been awful, and it tore up his gums.

 

Matthew rolled over, careful not to disturb his IV, and squinted at the alarm clock. The bright red lights glared 1:25 AM, burning into his eyes. He didn't look for long. Ever since he had fallen ill, he had been sleeping heavily during the day, but was stricken with insomnia as the later hours rolled in. Tonight was no excuse. Whimpering softly, Matt pulled his blankets tighter over himself and rolled over.

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Yes. Yes, here it was. Lunuas frowned as he paced in a small square on the roof of the building, keeping his senses open and alert. He could feel the presence of another vampire in the building and yet, he couldn’t understand who it was or why they were inside. No, more than that. Surely any other vampire would come meet him or flee upon sensing his presence. But he had been here for ten, possibly more, minutes and yet there was no real movement from the presence. Deciding he had enough of it, Lunuas made the first move. If the other vampire wasn’t coming out, he was going in. He’d find out who it was soon enough.

Moments later, there was a faint tapping at one of the windows, followed by an explosion of glass inwards. The said window was reduced to shards that scattered across the room. “Ah,” Lunuas declared with surprise, looking inwards at the inside of the building from where he was hanging upside-down outside. His fist, despite punching the window in, didn’t seem remotely bruised or bloodied. Frowning, Lunuas rightened himself up and stepped inside the building, glancing down at the shards of glass under his feet. Well, he certainly hadn’t been expecting that to happen. He had tried to pull his punch and yet the piece of the building had broken so easily. Frowning, Lunuas kicked a few shards of the glass then looked up, immediately taking notice of the lump hidden under a few furs on some kind of nest. Being this close, he could immediately tell this was who he had been sensing. Keeping his fair distance from the nest, he released a small breath. “Child of the Night, why did you not come to greet me? It pains me to enter the place where you have chosen to rest but I waited for you to come greet me on equal ground and you did not. Who are you? Surely not Reomis or Awalo.” Honestly, he was baffled as to the identity of this vampire and most of what was going on inside of the building. There were so many strange oddities but he did not want to anger this vampire and risk a fight. His species did get touchy about invasions of a den but he was just trying to find out who it was.

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As he was exhausted, the tapping outside didn't bother Matt until the window suddenly shattered. The chemist startled, nearly rolling off the bed in his fright. Was he being robbed? Was he under attack? His fear nearly doubled as he hear someone enter the room and step on the broken glass. He was being talked to. Matt held his breath, squeezing his eyes shut. This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening.

 

And yet, it was. Slowly did Matthew wriggle his way out of the blankets, rolling onto his back and peeling back the layers of blankets. That was definitely a person. Or...not a person? Just having this stranger around made him feel somewhat queasy. "What..." he croaked, surprised at how rough his voice had become. Shaking his head, Matt sat up and fumbled for his cell phone. He clicked it on, and angled the weak light towards the intruder. "I...I don't know what you mean. You just broke into my apartment to...exchange names?" What kind of burglar was this?

 

One leg, then the other. Matt swung his legs over the side of the bed, gripping onto the IV pole with his free hand. He stood slowly, grimacing at the pain that surfaced with it. "If you aren't here to rob me..." He frowned, glancing towards the exit to the bedroom. "Let's talk in the kitchen. I need something to take the edge of this sickness." Now that he wasn't covered in blankets, the twin was a sight for sore eyes. He wore flannel pants and an oversized tee shirt. Not only this, but his neck remained heavily bandaged. Long, fluffy socks covered his feet as well. Grimacing, Matt slowly made his way out of the bedroom and into the kitchen/den area.

Edited by shadow_claw

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Of all the reactions he was expecting, this was not the one. Tilting his head to the side to better look at the man who had come out of the nest, it was obvious he was human. The way he dressed and spoke signaled he had absolutely no idea who Lunuas was. Yet that was impossible. All of the remaining vampires were known to him and not only was his face unfamiliar, he had no idea what his name might be. With so few vampires left, it was impossible for that sort of thing to happen. So then why was he undeniably a vampire?

Wait, that wasn't entirely right. Sniffing the air, Lunuas was greeted by an unusual scent. Vampire, yes. But also human. That odor was unmistakable. Why was there such a strange contradiction there? Who was this man he had barged in on? "Wait," Lunuas declared, quickly following the anomaly deeper into the building. His gaze was drawn briefly in several directions but he ultimately focused back on the young man. Frowning, the vampire huffed then suddenly disappeared, reappearing immediately a few paces in front of the occupant of the building. The movement occurred in less than a blink of the eye and was accompanied by a slightly unusual sound akin to someone quickly unzipping a sweatshirt. His hand was outstretched, clearly indicating that he was to halt. "Before we progress, I must know what manner of species you are." Really, if he had made a mistake he wanted to leave now. It would be embarrassing and awkward to explain everything if this person was actually a human. It could put a great deal at risk as well, if he turned out to be violent.

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Matthew stumbled backwards as the man, the one who had undeniably been behind him, was suddenly in front of the door. What...species? This stranger was saying there was another hominid. Instantly did things click into place. The incident, the symptoms of his illness...Fear soon became Matt's dominant expression. Not fear of the stranger, but fear for himself. They took tests, to determine what sort of infection it was. They found anomalous results. Matthew knew this because Cyrus had "forgotten" the papers on the kitchen table (Cyrus never forgets anything. He had to have left it there on purpose). Suddenly desperate, the man took a step backwards.

 

"This...You're on of those things, right? Like the thing that did this?" He stammered after a moment. Carefully did he peel back the medical tape on his neck to reveal what was unmistakably a bite wound. It was shaped like a human mouth in size, but the wound was much more severe than anything a human could do. It was too clean. Human teeth left ugly, blocky teeth marks. The teeth marks on Matt's neck were all round holes, but very deep. It was a miracle it had even clotted.

 

"You know what's going on, right? Then...you can help me!" Matthew's desperation was sad enough to evoke pity out of even the cruelest soul. He needed answers. This couldn't be some kind of sickness, because illnesses didn't work this way. They didn't hurt this much. This was something else. And he desperately wanted an explanation.

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It was Lunuas's turn to look startled when the human moved aside the cloth covering his neck, revealing two round, unmistakable bite marks. Now, him having said bite marks was not that big of an issue. Plenty of corpses sported similar markings across a wide variety of animals. But he'd certainly never seen anyone who had those markings that was still alive. When Vampires fed on blood, it was uncontrollable. The urge to feed consumed every rational thought. It took a massive amount of willpower not to drain all of the blood. But why waste that willpower on prey?

Scratching the back of his head, Lunuas pressed his lips together in a tight frown. This human was an anomaly. Yet, at the same time, he seemed ill. From the way he was speaking, he seemed to insist it was the fault of the bite. Still, ill or not, Lunuas was reluctant to stick around for long. He'd revealed himself to this human and who knew what might happen if he stayed. Perhaps the human would attack him. But still, his injury was the fault of a vampire. He could at least try to figure out what had happened. He felt responsible, in a way.

"Alright," he finally said with a nod, taking a step forward. "I want you to know this has never happened before, in my experience. When my kind feed, we carry the deed out to completion. Do you know why you were left alive? If there wasn't a good reason, the vampire might show up again to finish the job."

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Matthew's hopeful look faded as soon as he read Lunnas's expression. He...he didn't know what was going on either. He wilted, leaning against his IV stand instead of trying to look presentable. "I...oh." Slowly did he back up, sitting down upon his bed instead of struggling to stand. "So...vampires they're really...real." Matt breathed, staring down at his hands. And he let one run into the city. But what his brother's team was doing to it...that wasn't right either. Besides, if this vampire had just shown up on a whim, there were likely more around.

 

"I...I freed one of you. A vampire, I mean. He was tied up and looked so awful..I couldn't bear to leave him like that. And then..." Matt squeezed his eyes shut thinking about it. With what little sleep he had gotten, the incident plagued his nightmares. "If he's anything like you...if he has rational thoughts and emotions...I can't believe this is real. You're real, right? I'm not just hallucinating?" The twin's pale green gaze searched Lunnas's face, begging for some kind of logic behind it all. A dirty trick of some sort. Maybe he had been comatose this whole time. But he found nothing. Matthew's gaze returned to his hands.

 

"I know you probably don't want to stay here but...I...I can't figure this out on my own. I need help. You know about vampires. I know about humans. Can we come to...some sort of a collaboration? Combine our data?" Matt felt better to speak with science in mind. It made it seem less like a traumatic experience and more like a study. Something to be published in a journal. It wasn't his problem, it was merely data.

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Lunuas nodded, pondering over the mess laid out before him. He had a human who was bitten but not killed. Now that human was ill and giving off the same presence as a vampire, even if he himself was not aware of it. Had the vampire who bit him done something to him? He didn’t know any with an ability that would apply here but not all Vampires revealed their abilities. There were at least a few whose abilities were unknown to him.

 

“What?” Lunuas asked, jumping back to attention at the human’s words. This wasn’t a situation of a vampire just jumping a human like he had expected. Instead, one of his kind, one of his kin, had been tied up and this human freed him. Well, that made more sense at least. “Well, at least now I can imagine why he left you alive,” He muttered. How had the vampire come to be tied up was a concern but he would have to dismiss it for now. He could try to locate the vampire at a later time. “Vampires are real. There are probably somewhere around fifty of us left in the world at this time, possibly less.” He didn’t seem concerned by this small number, but did shrug his shoulders slightly.

 

“That plan sounds reasonable,” Lunuas replied. “But I cannot reveal much. The deaths of my kin at the hands of your kind prevents me from speaking freely. You may ask questions of me freely but I may be unable to answer to protect my kind from further assault.” Really, he didn’t trust this human. He was lurking now only because another vampire had involved him in this and they were alone. Humans did not seem to have evolved enough to take on a human in one on one combat so he felt somewhat safer, though not by much. He was still on guard and was less trusting than most. "But first I must know how long I have been asleep. After all, it was not long ago that your kind was drawing on cave walls. So much seems to have changed."

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Fifty? "But that'd mean you're nearly extinct." Matt blurted this out without really thinking. He and his brother were very into science. It came as a second nature. Things about nature, about biology, he knew it well. He would have likely blushed, if he wasn't deathly pale. "I...I'm sorry. That's...that's a tender subject.." He mumbled. "Can't you just...make more? Like biting them like the movies-" Oh no. The realization of what he just said sank in visibly. If Matthew could get any paler, he likely would have.

"Does that...does that really happen? Like in the movies? Am I doing to be one of...one of you?" He said hardly anyone survived being on the receiving end of a feeding. But it was a recurring theme is vampire stories. Could people have survived in the past. "Do you...do you remember how you were before you were...this? Were you human too?"

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Extinct? Well, that was probably the first time he'd heard someone say that. Since they lived for ages and had few predators aside from themselves, it was mutually understood that less than a hundred was probably the carrying capacity the world has for them. Had there ever been a time when there were more? Well, sure. But that time was filled with violence and destruction. They didn't need hundreds of vampires running about. It was dangerous for the world. "Our numbers now are stable," Lunuas replied with a small wave of his hand. "If they fall too much it might be a concern but too many more and we will face the same problems as before."

 

At the next question, Lunuas looked more confused than anything else. Movie? Whatever that word was, he had no idea. Mouthing it once, he frowned then shook his head, a smile forming on his face. "A human? Me?" He looked like he might laugh loudly but managed to settle for a few chuckles. "I've always been a vampire," he replied with a grin. "As have my parents before me been. I do not know what legends have appeared during our absence but why on Earth would we turn other creatures into our own kind? Even if we possessed that skill, your kind was still hitting one another with rocks when we decided to slumber. What would be the point of getting more vampires if all we ever did-all we ever DO is fight one another? We'd just create more problems for ourselves." Waving a hand to move the concept aside, he tried to revert back to a more serious expression. "Like I said before, when we consume blood, we consume all of it. All we get at the end of the day are corpses." He looked as though he might start laughing again but covered the action with a few coughs instead.

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Oh, what a relief. The stress on Matthew's face faded instantly as Lunaus replied. Okay. That meant he was only sick. Confusion, as well as curiosity flickered across his vision. "You know what this means, right?" There went his science mind again. "There's another, highly intelligent hominid! Did you name yourselves? Are hybrids possible? Oh, this is so fascinating! And your social structure..." For the first time in their interaction, Matt looked genuinely happy. A new species, or maybe even a subspecies of human!

 

In his excited chatter, a cough racked his body. Matt covered his mouth with both hands as he coughed, his eyes widening. Something hard was in his hands. Like a stone. It shot out of his mouth. As he slowly pulled his hands away from his mouth, he gasped. Not only was there blood but...

"A tooth...I just lost a tooth." Adult teeth didn't just...fall out of one's mouth!

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Lunuas quickly raised both of his hands, trying to calm down the overexcited individual. Hominid? Hybrids? What was he going on about now? "Look, I know your language is based on ours so I have some understanding of what you are saying but I have no idea what you are talking about," He tried to explain, only to stop when the human suddenly lost a tooth. Looking mildly surprised, he pushed away his confusion about his previous statements, he suddenly coughed himself and covered his nose, pinching his nostrils with two fingers. "Ugh... you smell awful," He grunted, taking a step backwards. The presence of vampires that they used to identify one another was primarily based upon smell. While the scent before coming from Matt was rather mild and easy to stand, him loosing a tooth must have triggered something as the scent of a vampire was almost entirely masking his human one. It was actually hurting his head being so close to him now and the smell certainly didn't seem to be going away. Pinching his nose to try to cut the smell off, he eyed Matt with obvious reluctance. "You don't even smell like a human anymore," He remarked with a scowl. "Whatever that bite is doing to you is making you smell like...five, maybe ten vampires all huddled together. It's giving me a headache." Taking another step back, he hissed slightly, trying to resist the instincts to fight. They were trying to have a civil conversation, he didn't need to knock the human out just because he suddenly reeked.

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Matt was silent for a long time, staring blankly down at the tooth in his hands. That was his. And he just lost it for no explainable reason. He didn't have gum disease and the tooth wasn't absessed. When he finally looked up at Lunaus, he was terrified. "What's happening to me?" He whispered. The strain on his voice was undeniably from his shock and disbelief.

 

The conversation would've likely continued, had the main door into the apartment not opened. A haggard, though exact copy of Matthew entered, arguing on the phone with someone. His tie was undone, and an undone shoelace had been left untied.

"Yes, I know what that policy is! It's not happening!" The other twin spoke with a venom that was uncharacteristic of Matt. Although they looked much the same, the brothers were very different. "I'll...I'll come up with something else. Try anything and all that data will be 'lost'. Don't talk to me about this again." Angrily did Cyrus turn off the phone and stuff it into his pocket. Assorted files were tucked under his left arm, nearly bursting with paper. Whatever he had brought home, it was clear he wasn't planning on going to bed soon.

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It was Lunuas's turn to look scared now as he practically jumped ten feet in the air when the door suddenly opened and a new man appeared. Looking towards the front door, the vampire frowned and quickly snapped around to look at Matt. "Has someone invaded your home?" He whispered, his hand moving to his side, pulling the sweatshirt aside to reveal a knife was at his side, attached to him with the thick skin of some unknown but deceased animal. "Should I drive them away?" He added after a moment. The appearance of the man had certainly startled him at first but his first instinct was not to run, but to fight. Certainly this person was some kind of threat that needed to be eliminated. Why else would he appear looking so similar to Matt and talking to the air?

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Matt glanced between Cyrus and the startled vampire, his eyes wide. "No, No!" he whispered frantically. Honestly, did vampires live under rocks? He didn't know anything modern, it seemed! Shooing Lunuas away, he rushed to the adjacent bathroom and frantically began to wash his hands. Cyrus couldn't see this. His twin would absolutely lose it.

"Matthew?" The voice rang from the kitchen, but grew steadily closer. He flopped the files onto the kitchen table(save for one slim folder) and continued to his brother's bedroom. "Are you awake?"

"In the bathroom, just watching my hands!" Matt yelled back. He was soon joined by his brother, who stood in the bathroom's doorway disapprovingly. Not much escaped his watchful gaze, and the blood in the sink was no exception. However, he said nothing.

"The test results came back." He stated blankly.

Matt looked up, his expression changing to worry. "Already? It's only been three days!"

"I made it priority." Cyrus extended the folder forward, and Matt snapped it up and tore it open. The sterner of the two remained expressionless as Matt's expression turned to one of horror and disbelief.

"There's...nothing. No detected bacteria or viri.."

"But we found an anomaly that isn't listed there." Cyrus inclined his head towards Matt, as if more interested in the data than his brother's emotions. "There's...I don't know how to explain it. There's an organic substance...it's attacking your system. But..it's not any disease I've ever seen. The closest thing I can compare it to is venom. Your blood chemistry is separated just like it...but this 'venom' is also bonding it together..." The other twin trailed off, taking back the files to read through them again.

Edited by shadow_claw

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As Lunuas was shooed away, the vampire found himself back in the bedroom. Obviously he was not to make his presence known for some reason so the vampire pressed his back against the wall, making it impossible to see him without entering the room and looking around. Tipping his head slightly to the right, he listened to the conversation between the two, trying to make sense of what was being discussed. But really, it was useless. The vampire new nothing of what they were talking about and everything seemed so far over his head it might as well be alien.

 

How long had they slept for? It seemed like time just passed them by in the blink of an eye but humans were so much more advanced than they ever had been. It was a bit strange to suddenly feel less than a human in anyway but the way they spoke... Bacteria? Tests? When had vampires ever know less than humans? It was almost alarming in itself. Running his fingers through his hair, he frowned, losing track of the conversation transpiring nearby as he tried to think how long they could have possibly been asleep.

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The two brothers spoke for a few moments, and Cyrus moved to clean his brother's wound. He pulled cotton balls and hydrogen peroxide (the 1% version, mind you. Although dangerous chemicals were kept in the house, this was not one of them), and soaked the cotton balls in it. Slowly and methodically did he work over the bite wound, make sure everything was covered.

"Cyrus?" Matt asked after a while.

"Yes?"

"Will you ever tell me the truth of what happened Wednesday?"

There was a pause, as if Cyrus was reluctant to answer. How was he to tell the truth? His poor, innocent brother...he had to be convinced into the project slowly. Matt was naturally a flighty person, and was much more inclined to decide based on his heart rather than his head. Thankfully for the lost twin, Cyrus was there to help. Matt needed him much more than Cyrus did he, after all.

"This wasn't how I wanted to tell you everything. I will tell you, in time. Not now." Another pause as Cyrus re-covered Matt's neck wound. "Your IV drip is nearly empty. I'll go get the replacement." The twin exited into the kitchen, where several IV bags hung in the refrigerator.

 

What Matt wasn't aware of, is the 'plan B' bag. That was due to the fact Cyrus had created it earlier that day. It was saline dyed red, to simulate blood. Sitting in his pocket was a covered syringe of Tubocurarine. It is a well-known anesthetic, used to relax muscles and keep patients from moving. In short, it induced paralysis. Mixed with a sedative, it was And he didn't need that. He could never tell Matthew of it. He would think it sabotage. Betrayal, even! Nonono, he wasn't doing that! He was helping. Keeping those awful people away from his little brother. They wanted him dead, but Cyrus couldn't allow that. Never, never! He would save Matthew, and then his brother would thank him. Matthew would understand how much he needed Cyrus. He would understand how loving his twin was.

 

As he returned from the kitchen, he plucked a bottle of Hydrochloric Acid from Matt's work table. It was small, but it would work perfectly.

Cyrus returned to the bathroom and replaced the bag, and taped the IV secure once again. He helped his brother back into bed, letting Matt sit down.

"Do you know why I still have to have a transfusion?" the twin in pajamas asked, pushing his hair back from his eyes.

"I believe it has something to do with whatever this foreign substance is." He answered, rolling the IV stand to Matt's bedside. With his back turned, Cyrus was able to hide his actions from his twin. He uncapped the syringe, and injected it into one of the many medication ports in the IV tubing. Capping the syringe once again, he slid it into his pocket silently. It was a flawless action, really. Matt will thank him for his actions one day.

 

Matthew, meanwhile, was showing signs of being drugged already. He found it hard to keep his eyes open. His head dipped forward every few seconds, and each time he jerked it back up.

"Matthew?"

"Mm..?"

"Start counting backwards from ten for me."

He was so exhausted, it didn't make any sense to resist doing so.

"Ten...Nine.." Cyrus carefully lowered his brother onto his back. "Eight...Seven...Si.." The spaces between each number quickly began to lengthen, until they stopped all together. Just like that, Matthew Lanham was unconscious. Now, it was time to really get to work.

 

((I won't get graphic, don't worry.))

 

 

 

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While the new human went to the kitchen, Lunuas darted across the room, making his way to the window he had entered from. In a quick movement he grabbed the upper part of the window with both hands, his strength leaving cracks in the frame as he swung outside. Twisting around, he quickly darted up the side of the building like a squirrel, making his way to the roof. The two humans seemed related and Lunuas wasn't one to lurk when there were two possible opponents. He would return when the new one had left since the one that had been bitten seemed like his best source of information. Until then, he could remain on the roof and get ready for the day when he would have to sleep. Some kind of blanket would be good so he could make a little nest to sleep in.

 

((You know I trust you.))

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