The Vexed Child

Steadying yourself and attempting mostly in vain to shake the strange resounding buzzing in your head, You gave Belle a shaky smile, looking with eyes that burned red involuntarily to Rudy "Rudy... I... will call on you soon, I expect an answer, okay?" You asked, the buzzing of your brain spiking on and off in waves of disorientation.

Rudy pouted cartoonishly "Rudy!? leave her studio, that's crazy, rudy hasn't left her studio in years, what if I accidentally devour a human... hmm that sounds good--"

"YOU WILL DEVOUR NO ONE." You felt yourself tighten, face scrunching as You stormed at Rudy, the Blonde slinking back as she saw your furious eyes, which were as the gates to the fires of hell, You grabbed the collar of her shirt, gritting your teeth at her monstrous, only a hair away from sinking your teeth into her "You will come when you are called, and you will do so quietly, and without complaint, or I'll be the one who tastes wendigo flesh, am I understood?"

Rudy, pressed against the wall; a slightly fearful look on her face, nodded silently, and Belle's soft hand touched at Your shoulder "M-Master?" She muttered worriedly, Your head snapped towards her... and in her dark eyes, like pools of brown, you saw yourself.

Control yourself, you must not slip into me.

The Beast spoke in an insidious whisper and you softened"what the Hell am I doing... this isn't me?"

Your grip on Rudy fell away, as Your rage faded, replaced with a pure apology "R-Rudy... Rudy I'm sorry I... I didn't mean too..." You stammered, touching her arms softly. Rudy blinked, and so did belle, but the Blonde raised her toothy grin.

"Oh ain't nothing but a thang, honey, MAMA LIKES IS A LITTLE ROUGH!" She was her normal self, not that there was anything normal about her, but you were thankful either way... that little slip was seriously unsettling. Rudy gave a mock salute "Call on me and My doors will be wide open, Mister sexy Vampire master man, just You wait and see!" She muttered, You gave her a quiet smile, the off feeling wasn't gone yet, and Belle was clearly still concerned as You walked out into the lobby.

"Charlie... what was that. It felt like... You were gonna kill her?" She whispered, You shook your head in silent confusion, and was thankful to feel her as she took your arm and stayed close.

Most of Your clan had obviously taken their leave and in the Studio, only a woman and her short dark hair, beautiful pale face and dark eyes looked up at you. Cleo looked exhausted and lonely, especially just sitting there by herself... everybody had their tasks, had their dealings to deal with, but Cleo waited, even if she still didn't like meeting your eyes.

She stood as You approached, Belle on your arm "Come on, Clo... Belle and I will hunt for something to eat, Meet us back at home?" You asked softly

Cleo folded her arms "I don't like being called Clo..." She muttered, though her eyes met yours for a moment seeming filled with a very confused look before she turned away "...Do not be long." She said, speeding off through the Lobby.

This hunt was easy and You were thankful for that, Belle had spotted a few gangbanger's trying to rip off an old lady in one of the alleys, and paid the blood price for their crimes. Tyrone Green was a strong one, He tried to fight against the tsunami of hunger that smashed into the depths of his soul.

Such an angry little rat, squirming to free himself from the jaws of the monster!

"You need to calm down, if we drink anymore then He'll die."

He deserves to be devoured.

"I said that's enough."

The beast growled as You **** him back, retaking the reins as ripping your jaws away from the Young robber, who flopped to the ground in a cold unconsciousness. You stood there for a moment, lapping the red from your lips and staring up the shallow walls of the dark alley, into the starless sky. "Belle?"

Belle growled as she crushed her robber's neck between her jaws, her eyes popping open, as she let him free, casting him aside and looking at You innocently "Yes, Master?" she asked sweetly, blood coating her jaws.

You stared up, taking in the cool air as You thought "What is the line?" You muttered, more to yourself than Belle "We are monsters... but... how the fuck do we know when to stop? Eating gangbangers and Killers is one thing... how long is it until we start impaling people on the city rooftops, where is the line?"

A thumb on the arm, a very hard one, stirred you from your thoughts violently "OW!" You moaned as Belle scowled at You

"Oh don't be such a dummy, Impaling people? why the Hell would we Impale people!? are you crazy!?" She cried, slapping your arm again in quick succession.

"OW! OUCH! stop it you're really strong, belle, cut it out!!" You whined, cowering under the machine-gun speed bitch-slaps.

Belle gave in and stopped, though she huffed girlishly "Stop thinking about cruel things like that and just trust your gut, You've done right by people so far, whether they are humans or Vampires. If you **** yourself with thoughts of **** you'll go insane. Now you have a very tight ship that You have to run so I don't want to hear about stuff like that again, Master."

You peeked out from your arms, and stared like a vexed child "I liked it better when you were a mindless thrall..." You muttered.

Belle's fury inflamed and You cowered "I'm kidding! jeez calm down... no more dark thoughts, I promise!"

Belle wiped her face, and smiled, rubbing your doubtlessly bruised arm gently "Good. I am hot stuff you know, I don't want a depressed master on my arm, totally not fabulous!" Belle certainly had a weird way of expressing herself, but it was Your weird and feeling her lips press against yours and the feeling of your passionate tongues wrestling, as she moaned approval "Hmmm, I love kissing you... You know, while I have you here, I did need to talk about something important." she said

You raised an eyebrow "Good important or Bad important?" You asked cautiously, Belle shrugged

"Well... I actually managed to contact my dad... and He wants us to go to dinner with him tomorrow night? w-we totally don't have to go, if you're busy but--"

"Nonsense." You said confidently "You wanted us to meet upright? I'd be happy too!"

Belle seemed pleasantly surprised "R-Really, oh... well... thank you, Master. Hehe cool! So... I guess I'll have to go and find something amazing to wear, not that I'll have any trouble with that. He said Nine o'clock, We can meet just before then?"

You smiled widely, the horrible buzzing dissipating with the warmth of Belle's grin "Sounds like a plan."

The Brunette erupted with giggled, hugging you tightly as she wriggled with excitement "OMG-OMG-OMG thank you, Ooh I'm so excited for you to meet my family. Alright okay..." Belle pecked your lips a dozen times before letting you go "Nine o'clock." She said pointing as she went to go

"On the dot." You replied.

"Don't forget, okay!" She said, taking her sweet time. You chuckled shooing her away

"Yeah-yeah, go on, find your dress. I'll see you tomorrow." You reasured, Belle grinned nodding excitedly as she erupted into the air, her giggling echoing as she vanished into the night.

Your thoughts were palpable as You sped across the rooftops to get home _"Hey... did you... see what was happening before, that memory, Dracula, You felt that right?" _You felt the Beast stir slightly

No... I didn't even realise you had gone until you came back, it was certainly curious.

"You didn't feel it? but you usually... hmmm nevermind. this is probably just another one of Cain's little games, either way, I hope Rose is home, I have a lot of questions for her."

You glided among the roofs, arriving home in record time, You were getting stronger and stronger, compared to what You were, it was like day and night. When You sped back into the drive, you felt the toll of the stress of today, and wanted nothing more than to settle in bed and rest... maybe after a little tally with Rose, she seemed distant since the Visage ritual, You hoped that everything was okay.

Punching in the code to the cave, you pushed open the double doors and laboured down the stairs, happy to smell the smoking scent of Rose's Alchemical work waft to you.

Cleo sat in the lounge quietly, reading a magazine, she made a point to hide her face with it as You called hello... You wondered what was behind it? but there was no time to contemplate, for as soon as You turned you head to the kitchen, a beauty with a head of red curls looked up at You, her bottomlessly blue eyes staring with what You detected was a strange kind of discomfort.

"Hey... I missed you... at the ritual." You said warmly, Rose's face remained cold for a moment before she shuffled forward, wrapping her arms around you as she rested her head on your chest

"I missed you too, Beloved." She muttered quietly, there was definitely something off with her

"Is everything okay?" You asked. Rose looked up at You and smiled slightly

"Yes... but... I have somethings to take care of. I wanted to catch up on following Valerica, I may be close to getting some useful information."

a frown poked out from the corner of your lips "What, Now? I was hoping we could--"

"I'm sorry, Beloved, but I really must go." Rose backed away, her poker face never breaking as she went to leave. your hand caught her wrist, and she looked back with her cold eyes

"I need to ask You something, Rose." You said seriously, she tilted her head, making her long mane shift with it. You were sure how to explain... so you just kinda came out with it "Dracula, He was your grandfather right?"

This gave Rose a curious pause "Yes."

"So... He's dead right? definitely gone?" You asked sparking an even more daunting look on your girlfriend's face

"Yes. humans managed to kill him, He was broken, weak, it worked to their advantage... three or four hundred years ago, why?"

Your expression darkened as You recalled the memory "Tell me, why weren't you there that night, When He impaled all of those rivals. Valerica was there, but you, Your other sister and Alucard weren't?"

Rose's eyes blazed red as she pulled her wrist from you and got close "How do you know about that?" She asked. You pressed her with your stare, and she eventually relented "We were sent on a mission, to kill my great uncle, He had settled with the humans, He and the ottomans he stayed with were planning to take Târgoviște, King Dracula wanted him gone."

"Radu... so He was an Upir as well?" Rose's face screwed up for a second, though she eventually relaxed, her eyes returning to their cool blue. She sat up, kissing your cheek softly with her burning lips

"I... will return soon. I love you."

And in the blink of an eye, she was gone, before you could grab her again "Rose!? Rosaria!? shit, what the hell is going on with her?" You growled.

Checking the kitchen, You shuffled through her alchemy table, trying to find something that might pose an answer to her strange behaviour... there was nearly nothing, save for an empty vial that she had left behind. You slipped a finger to examine at the solution inside. It was violet of colour and thin in consistency _"A Potion?" _You recalled balms being thicker and more pungent than this, you tasted at the potion and caught hints of many ingredients, something that tasted like Berries... then turnipy... the aftertaste was definitely cinnamon?

Why would Rose, an Upir, be consuming a concoction like this? you couldn't even guess.

"She was acting very strange when I got back." You turned, Cleo stood in the doorway "she looked ready to bolt when I came in, then kept checking the doors to see when you'd come."

You huffed, pushing back your black hair and smiling in defeat "I just hope that she's okay. lord, I need to sit down."

"I..." You contemplated Cleo curiously, she seemed like she had something to say, but didn't quite know how to say it, eventually, she just folded her arms and scowled at You "Go and sit down, and wait for me."

"What? why--"

"Just do it for god's sake." she growled, pushing past as You eyed her suspiciously, Cleo pulled two mugs from the Kitch cupboard before turning to scowl at you again "Go."

"Alright, alright, grumpy guts."

You sat on the couch like a potato, lent back and slothful as You flicked through the channels with disinterest, before settling curiously on the local news.

"Reports say that the suspicious activity around Central bank is more than enough proof to warrant concern. Many citizens of Wallace central expressed worry about the Bank's safety after the Mayor and former benefactor of the city bank: Roman Drake's passing. Wallace News' own Cathrine bates got a statement from police Sargent Robert Royce, saying quote: "There is no need for the public to be worried, the **** has a tight watch on the bank and all other properties destabilized by the mayor's passing" More on this in the morning, this is Jack Peace with Wallace local News, goodnight."

Suspicious activity at the bank? and other properties in danger... the thought made you feel uneasy, you always knew that Your dad was an important man, but you never thought about what it would mean for the city if he'd... you hoped that Sargent Royce knew what he was doing here, if anyone could prevent Wallace from falling apart while You started to build your hold up, then surely it would be the Police.

Feeling your ears prick up, you heard Cleo coming and watched as she entered the sitting area with two steaming mugs of what smelled as nothing-less than divine. The Black Vixen placing the mug of brownish liquid on the coffee table in front of you, before placing herself nobly on the couch next to you. She was straight-backed and uptight as ever, sipping at the mug in a lady-like manner before gazing in your direction awkwardly.

Playing along, You lent forward grasping the Hot mug and smelling at it keenly "Is this... tea?" You asked

"English tea, yes, three sugars... I uh, used to like it sweet." She said. You nodded, tasting the hoppy tea that was warm and sweet in your mouth... it tasted like... home or the countryside, it was relaxing "I don't know how good it is, I haven't been able to taste it for a good 500 years."

You grinned, exhaling with satisfaction at the flavour "No-no it's actually really good. Thank you."

Cleo scrunched up her lips "I'm just paying you back, for the Hot-chocolate... I'm sure... it would have tasted very good."

"Wow, the hot-chocolate huh? that feels like ages ago, it's crazy how much happens around here in such a short amount of time." Chuckling you scratched the back of your head

Cleo nodded "Back at... with... Hawkins and I..." She was clearly struggling, but you listened patiently "We didn't do a lot, we just did Corvus' bidding and He smiled for me, but other than that..."

"He seemed, kind of quiet..." You still recalled that silent iron look of his

"Yes, He spoke kindly to me but, I don't think there was ever any kind of spark or... I don't know... I don't know what he felt, I don't know why I settled with being a pawn for so long; a coward, I don't know why I'm talking to you about this or why being stuck with you is changing things, with Max--Lord Urantus, I always felt like I knew what I was, that I was serving a purpose, but after Corvus poisoned him, I've just been lost."

Placing the cup down, You frowned "I know the feeling."

Cleo scowled "no you don't, You're rich, powerful... good-looking,"

You chuckled slightly "True, but... it's like ever since Valerica killed my dad I... everything has just been a blur of weird and frustrating shit, a lot of good don't get me wrong, I thank whatever god is watching over me that I have accomplished what I have, the people that have come close to me, it's this big fantasia of things that are so wonderful and terrible that even now I'm not convinced that it isn't all some strange dream. But that doesn't change the bad..." Cleo looked at You as your eyes looked off into nothing "It doesn't change that fact that I see my dad's bloody face mouth that he loves me before he'd ripped apart every time I close my eyes, it doesn't take away the hunger and the anger and this vengeance..." You looked down at your fist as it curled shut, your claws piercing the skin as Your eyes burned "It's unbearable, I just want to kill, this hideous thing is inside me and it calls for blood every second of every minute of every night...

Hey, fuck you.

"...So yeah." You continued, opening your palm to see the skin close promptly, your eyes returning to their amberish-gold as You looked at Cleo's beautiful face.

The urge came to touch her, just feel her as You looked at each other, and as you reached out to touch her face, it seemed like she might let you, but no, she flinched back, brushing an onyx hair from her face as it turned away from you, the frown that came was genuine, you liked talking with her, it was almost therapeutic... but you finished your tea silently and stood.

"I'll uh, Stay in my coffin, Rose probably isn't coming back so You can have the bed." You took your empty mugs to the kitchen and misted fluidly in between the doors of your coffin and swiftly fell into sleep, leaving a very conflicted Cleo behind on the couch.