Welcome to Gaia! ::

Val shuddered, and went off to find a computer. he didn't know whether he was more disturbed or hungry to see her sudden change in behavior, but all the same he figured it would do her some good. and he had names to look up.

"Aww, don't look so glum, precious. It won't hurt...much," she smiled.

She leaned close to his throat and raked her fangs over his cool skin. Inside her quiet heart, she felt some uncertainty; after all, he had so far proven loyal, and any drain on her abilities was surely unintentional.

"The thing is, darling, that I'm predisposed to periods of insanity. If I don't maintain absolute control, I can be very dangerous for everyone around me, mortals and immortals alike. Unfortunately, I don't have the strength of character to be a hermit, so every once in a while, I have to...do something a little crazy. And tonight, you're just the thing to do," she explained in a breathy whisper. "I'll make it up to you, I promise."

With those last chilly words, she sank her teeth deep into his jugular. Drinking from a vampire was not the same as drinking from a living being. For one thing, no heart beat meant no blood pressure, which in turn meant she had to suck harder to pull his cool blood from his body. But his blood was sweeter than any mortals--almost like salty icecream, tho she could only vaguely remember the taste. She licked, slurped, suckled, and drained most of the fluids from his body.

Finally, she was done. She licked her lips and let his limp corpse fall to the floor. There it was--the tingling at the tips of her fingers when death walked close--the comforting, overpowering scents of sex and blood in the air--the tiny noises of her household, from the throbbing hearts of her staff to the click of termites in the foundations. She'd have to get that taken care of, later.

She stretched luxuriantly, feeling normal again, at least for the moment. Then she went to a bell pull to summon a servant. As if the servant was psychic, which he might of been, he popped up with several liters of whole blood. Scarlet accepted them and turned back to Ciro.

His skin was grey--well, grey-er than usual. His eye was glassy and he didn't appear to be breathing. Scarlet calmly slipped a tube from one of the bottles to the back of his throat and started trickling blood back into her victim. She patiently poured three liters down his throat before she removed the thrall of immobility she had set on him.

"I hope you don't hate me, darling," she cooed. "But it just couldn't be helped."

Scarlet watched Ciro flee--literally like a bat out of hell. If he still clung to his mortal morals, what she had just done would have been betrayal; she hadn't even asked permission. He might even have willingly donated if she had been gentler. She knew Ciro might never come back, and for that some small part of her mourned. He had been a perfect companion and body guard for the few days they had together. She'd never find a true replacement. Heart heavier than usual, she got up to find Val. Or maybe just to wander around the hot-springs by herself until dawn. Yes, solitude seemed much better than business. So full of such rich blood made her feel sightly inebriated, her thirst completely sated to the point to lethargy.

Slowly, she changed out of her armor and slipped on a white silk robe. She looked like a ghost as she walked out to the steaming pools behind the main lodge. She found her favorite stone bench under a spreading red maple, and just sat under the stars, letting the battle and her recent difficulties all filter through her mind.

"Master Valthier," intruded the soft voice of the cat boy. "Is there anything that I can do to make you or your pet more comfortable?"

"Hai, right away, sir," Kyo said and bowed low. He disappeared for a few moments and then returned with a box of chocolates and a laptop. "My Lady Scarlet always has the latest in technology, but she hides it away because she says the electronic fields ruin the ambiance. Please don't hesitate to call if you need anything, such as sustenance for yourself."

Scarlet stretched out on the bench and slipped into an undead doze. She seldom indulged in this at night, but she felt rather like a mortal did after a Thanksgiving dinner. Her mind wandered in and out of thoughts, rather like lucid dreaming. Even in her doze, her newly sharpened senses could detect almost everything; even Ciro just outside the doors of the main house. She wondered if he'd run off to experience his new life as a vampire without a treacherous creator, or if he'd risk coming back.

She might need his blood again. The thought woke her completely as she contemplated that possibility. Was she getting so weak in her advancing years that she would need to feed off one of her own kind? That couldn't be it--she wasn't that old yet! There had to be a different answer. Perhaps this was why vampires usually exchanged blood when turning a mortal, instead of just donating it the way Scarlet had. This was, after all, the first time she had "invited" someone to join her in this lifestyle.

She was being a poor host--sated or not, she had two infirm guests and Valthier and Mouse to consider. Grudgingly, she pushed herself off the comfortable stone bench and slowly sauntered through the garden back towards the house.

Kyo accepted Valtheir's gratitude with a small smile and faded into the background, moving as quietly as a cat.
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Scarlet's ears picked up the deluded dream ravings of Alfons. She quickly picked up the pace to check on him. She came up behind Valthier, looking over his shoulder at the wounded guest.