Vampire Heart 35

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Scroll 36: Discussion
"Cursed?" Dameon asked as he kicked off his shoes. "Are we talking about my life?
"Don't be such a sour puss," Vicente hissed.
"I can't feel love and live to tell about it..." Dameon muttered. "You, like every normal person in the world can see love and experience it and bask in everything good about it."
"I never thought about you like that," Vicente admitted, empathetic for Dameon's life.
Dameon nodded, "So wanting to love is wanting to die for me."
"That's so sad..." Nora muttered.
"But I'm guaranteed to meet a good end," Dameon replied.
"That's one thing to be optimistic about, I mean..." Vicente rubbed the back of his head, "Chances are good that I'll be doing something incredibly stupid and be too over-confident. That's not a way to die..."
"That's why you worry me," Naoko commented.
Vicente grinned, "I know, but at least I know you care." Vicente glanced over at Claude, "I'm curious about what's cursed, though."
"Oh, right," Claude motioned toward the knife, "Poisoned isn't close to the word to describe this knife.
"What do you mean?" Vicente reached back and rubbed his wound.
"If you wouldn't have jumped in front of Naoko, she'd be dead," Claude replied, his tone holding a dark finality.
"What?" Nora covered her mouth as she gasped.
"The curse of death won't kill a vampire. Death kills the soul, not the body. It will at most make a vampire sick and in pain. Any human that touches the knife will die instantly."
"You mean...Vicente literally saved Naoko's life?" Nora asked as she glanced over at the young-looking pet vampire.
"Literally," Claude replied to Nora. Claude turned to Vicente, "Your need to protect Naoko via stupidity is more useful than you realize."
Vicente was staring at Naoko, trying to mask his thoughts of sadness. "You would have died if I were any slower..."
Naoko turned around and sat facing Vicente, "I knew you'd save me..."
"You know I'd do anything for you, Naoko," Vicente replied happily.
"I know," she agreed.
"I don't think that leaving Naoko at the house is a wise idea," Jaden muttered.
"It is just as dangerous to bring her into town," Dameon interjected. "We went together the day we met you and were attacked by a pack of vampires."
"Pack? Since when are covens in vampires real?" Jaden asked.
"Look at Vampire Manor," Naoko suggested.
"This is different since we're all different types of vampires," Jaden said flatly.
"There are different types of vampires?" Nora asked, confused.
"I'm a blood vampire," Vicente stated. "In fiction, that would be the vampire with which you're most familiar. I was bitten by a vampire and changed, and I have to feed on blood."
"I'm an incubus--a sex vampire," Dameon said, abashed. "I feed on vitality through sexual dreams. I choose to feed on blood every now and again."
"I'm a psychic vampire," Claude interjected. "I can read minds and was turned because a psychic vampire over-powered my mind enough to affect my body. I have to feed on blood, but not as often as a blood vampire. I can substitute my cravings for reading minds."
Jaden pointed to himself, "I'm a bat vampire, not a vampire bat. I was bitten by a vampire bat that suffered from porophyric hemophilia and now I have wings and can morph into a bat at will. I also have to feed on blood, but I can only do so in bat form, substituting animals for humans."
"Wow," Nora muttered. "I never would have thought that vampires were all so different."
"I as a pet can't smell Naoko as a human," Vicente added.
"She smells like a normal human woman," Claude explained. "Nothing's off about her."
"Not even the necklace?" Naoko asked.
"I found you because I saw the necklace," Jaden admitted. "You smell normal to me." Jaden looked thoughtful, "Well, fruity, but normal."
Naoko laughed, "That's my body spray."
"Just be happy I'm not a fruit bat vampire," Jaden said happily. Vicente glared at Jaden who then stopped laughing.
"I was drawn to your dream," Dameon shrugged. "I can't smell anything in dreams. But now, you do smell normal."
"How'd you find her then?" Vicente turned to Claude.
"I found you. I was a pet, so I know the smell of a pet," Claude replied.
"And you two were both coincidentally in the right place at the right time?" Vicente asked.
Jaden and Dameon nodded. Dameon spoke next, "I'm tired."
"I'll make some lunch...if somebody does the dishes," Claude muttered.
"I'm hungry enough to do them," Vicente said before leaving the room.
"He has a sweet side to him," Jaden said, amused.
"The sweet tooth, or the mistress?" Dameon asked.
"Either or..." Jaden shrugged.
"If you keep teasing him, he'll hit you," Naoko warned them.
"Taunting a hot-head is so much fun, though," Dameon replied.
"Then, when he lashes out, I don't want to hear it," Naoko crossed her arms before she stood.
"Who would have thought that the Mistress of Vampires would be a referee among a childish vampire, a hot-head and a sharp tongue?" Claude asked.
"My reign must be one of a kind," Naoko replied.
"Most definitely," Claude agreed.

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Vampire Heart 37