TOPF - Heartblood (1874)

As she reached the bank of the lake the human had just gone under the water himself, she waited in anticipation, no animals lurked in the water but it seemed the human had fallen under the surface. She was prepared to jump in and pull him out in an apparent rescue if need be, she would not be letting a river take her meal from her. She'd only just realised how much her veins burned still stinging from the silver that had breached them. The man broke the surface and was grasping onto the bank at the opposite side, a smile slipping onto her face at his temerity. She needed to get a hold of herself after this, she'd tried to avoid the needless cruelty that she had been warned most newborns fell prey to when they first turned. Seeing themselves as gods amongst man, but if this didn't bring it out in her a little nothing would. Who was that hunter to think he had the right to stop her feeding? It wasn't a family member or friend or even colleague, hell he hadn't even been a friendly bystander, he was looking for vampires specifically and thought try and hunt us? She was quickly pulled from her thoughts as the man across from her locked eyes with her again.

"You haven't made it far yet, I'll give you ten seconds to get up and run. Go!" The man tried to get up his legs kicking and slipping out from under him In the slippery mud. Failing to hold back a laugh as he got to his feet she watched as he continued to trudge along. Clearly the water had removed the wind from his sail and he was flagging, he wouldn't make it back to New Orleans, hell we was heading further into the bayou by her estimation, seeing a path in the distance to their right.

Persephone focused to make sure she didn't embarrass herself, and cleared the river with a single leap approaching the man who turned to look for her, the glow of her eyes clearly giving her away.

"Well I'll be honest I expected a bit more of a chase but honestly you've done me a favour, I really need to get home and wash, and having meals brought out here, is unexpected to say the least." She saw his muscles flinch as he tried to reach for a revolver she had already noticed missing from his holster, raising an eyebrow she paced forward towards her meal, fangs itching to sink into flesh.

" P-please I have a boy, he's only 14 years and he's lost out here. I-I just need to find him. I won't go to the clergy or nothing." The words made her pause, hopefully going unnoticed by him, human relations were irrelevant, they will say anything, do anything when they finally realise they're not the biggest thing around, Alexander taught her this, besides she could take blood and leave him alive. The sudden constricting feeling in her throat told her she probably wouldn't though. It took a moment but she suddenly realised the second part of his little speech, he wouldn't go to the clergy?

"The clergy? What could they honestly do to help? Trust me, very little goes on within those walls to help this outside of them."

"What would you know on the church demon, your kind would burn within their hallowed halls"

The laughter ripped from her throat before she could even try and stifle it. Persephone's laughter clearly angered the man, his sense of danger being forgotten at the new found righteous indignation he had chosen to adopt, like it would help him at all. She spoke up before he did something that would trigger a darker reaction.

"Don't worry I'm not a demon. I never made it that far" as the quip finished leaving her lips she was upon him, the man falling to the floor in a terrified heap.

As she landed on the man she righted herself above him reaching to pull his head back to strike, however before she could move him into position she noticed where his eyes had landed, a grin falling into place, he was undoubtedly staring at the blood but she could still work with this. As his eyes snapped up to meet hers she heard his breathing hitch, leaning low to his face she smirked feeling his pulse start hammering away so deliciously fast and steadily increasing.

"You're not breathing." She almost lost it again, the moment of realisation always seemed so funny to her. You can place all these things in front of a human and still, each one that signals "other" shocks them again. Every interaction she's had with humans so far since she was turned really has only reiterated exactly why Isabella thought she was odd while alive, seemingly no human can act normal around vampires. It's cute. Seeing the man still staring, fear radiating from his pores Persephone decided to finally grace him with a response.

"And unlike yours hammering away I also have no pulse."

Persephone's stare pierced the man, willing him to work it out, her toothy smile revealing the two deadly eye teeth from below her lip.

"V-Vampire" his whisper may have been missed by a mortal but not her, ready to strike she could feel the venom building, coating her fangs, and without hesitation she lunged forward, sinking fangs into flesh, curving around the carotid and bursting the dam.

Blood burst into her mouth hot and fast, the ambrosia flowed straight down her eager throat soothing the burning ache that had built. Persephone's wounds continued to heal, scars disappearing in moments and a warmer flush appearing to her snow like skin. Her venom got to work masking the pain for her victim, close to losing herself to the hunger and devouring the man, she heard a moan slip from his mouth, the sound ripped her over the edge. As the sound left his body she sunk down becoming flush with him, aware she was safe, his constant twitches and mewls, and the rising hardness pressing into her thigh proved his eager docility. Her ears perked, she was listening for anyone or anything's approach, it was unlikely this far from civilization but she would not be caught out twice.

A snap echoed to her right, she instantly shot upright alert looking for the source of the sound.

"Please, don't stop it's o-"

"Silence" she needed this fool to be quiet, something was sneaking up on them. She spotted him behind a tree watching, clearly the noise was a test and thankfully she had passed. Alexander approached slowly towards her, had she still breathed she would have lost it now, shirt shed from his lithe muscular form, and blood still splattered along his chest and pants, his long almost honey brown hair caught slightly in the wind.

"Spare him for now, I want you to interrogate him" looking with only slight confusion towards her Sire, she nodded. Feeling the mortal under her growing restless, clearly her venom wasn't as potent as her Sires or Isabella's annoyingly.

"Looks like someone's got questions for you."

The man's confusion slipped to tempting panic as his head darted to the right, looking straight at the small man but unable to see him through the shadows he twisted. Slowly the shadows leaked away from her Sire revealing him to the mortal, his heart beating so fast in his chest even with the absence of blood only tempted her further. Her sire knelt down next to them taking the man in for a moment and surprisingly not looking as disappointed with what he saw as she expected.

"We can use this as an opportunity to use your mesmer, focus on him" Persephone turned looking at the increasingly distressed man. Making eye contact she focused on his mind trying to establish the connection needed. After a few moments with no success a small annoyed noise escaped her.

"I can't do it without the venom to tap into, there's nothing there." Persephone said with only a little bitterness hidden in her tone.

"Nonsense, and nonsense I've allowed for nearly two years now to your detriment Persephone. Everyone else in our line can and you only got a stronger dosage of my blood than your siblings. Palladius was able to do it by ten years and Isabella by five. Being able to establish this connection now will allow you to practise sooner, you've seen that me and Palladius can pull people under in groups. Make eye contact again." Persephone closed her eyes briefly, her hands tightening around the man's shoulders to keep him pinned and focused on his eyes, the glow of her eyes now evident on his face.

"Good, now feel for that void within you, that which appeared when you awoke, where your hunger lies." Persephone focused tightly trying to establish where in her psyche the hunger lay, taking one deep unneeded breath, she found it. At once she could feel the stolen blood in her body almost tingle with anticipation, ready to be burned to fuel her vampiric powers. The satisfaction was clear as day on her face.

"Excellent work. From here maintain your focus on him and search out for his mind, it's abstract but use your blood to find his mind, once you have it pull it into the void." Scrunching her nose at the entirely too vague advice she continued her watch of the man, her blood boiling in her veins. It was hard to tell why exactly it clicked but eventually, the man dulled, his pupils blowing out taking over the iris. And leaving the man sedated.

"I'll try not to be too smug that I was right or that even my newest childe is out performing most vampires but first, ask him why he was out here tonight."

"He said that he was looking for his childe and wife Sire but let me check." Feeling for his mind and taking a grip "Did you lie about your purpose here tonight?" It took but a moment for the man to shake his head

"No mistress, I'm looking for my family, or well my boy." His eyes remained blank, no emotion prevalent on his face or in his voice.

"Ask him if he knows about vampire hunters."

"Did you know about the presence of vampire hunters in the area?" She continued to hold his mind in the palm of her hand.

"No mistress, don't know about any vampires." Her Sire considered this and began to state the next question before being interrupted.

"Do you know anyone who hunts demons?" The man quickly nodded.

"Yes mistress, there's a few of them living amongst us outside of New Orleans in Pines."

"When did they arrive?" He seemed to consider this for a second before responding.

"About a month ago, mistress. There were six of them, and they came with all sorts of fancy weapons and tools. They didn't fit in amongst us."

"Would you be able to point them out to us?"

"Yes of course mistress, they all live together within two houses next to each other." Taking the moment to look at her maker, she felt his pride travelling down the connection.

"Well done childe, tell him to come back to our house we can clean him up, I'll recall Isabella and Palladius and petition the queen to send some of her guard, we need to clear this city of its newest vermin." Plans set in motion, Persephone turned commanding the man with ease, his mind having caved almost fully to her domination.

"What's your name?

"William, mistress."

"You will return with us, sleep as the sun rises and tomorrow when we wake you will lead us to the demon hunters, understood?" He blinked, taking a second to consider the entire order.

"Of course mistress I will return with you." Getting up and lifting the man with her, Persephone leaned forward sealing the wound on the man's neck. Making a final touch to his mind for this evening.

"You will not remember finding your wife, you will not remember us being anything other than human. You had a poor time exploring in the bayou and got lost. Should anyone ask where you were this evening or tomorrow during the day you will say you got lost and nothing more. Do you understand?"

"I didn't find my wife. You're both human. I was lost in the bayou all day and night." Persephone looked to her maker, sharing in a little pride.

"Let's go childe, we have a busy night ahead of us." Leading the man by his hand, all three walked back towards the path looking for the two horses Alexander had hitched at the start of the evening. A busy night of planning and cleaning waiting for them when they got home, Persephone took this last chance to get a good deep breath of the night's air. God being free is sweet.

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"Ma? Pa?"' The door was wide open when jonathan had returned home, his fathers dinner going cold on the table." It could only have been half an hour past sundown when he got back. He still can't believe his stupid so-called "friends" left him. Davis yet again had stolen some ale and he was the slowest one left hiding from the police in a back garden of fucking New Orleans, for three hours. Furious with the abandonment of his friends he was blind to the state of the house, locking the door and leaving the key on the back windowsill should his parents return from wherever they went for the eve, Jonathan goes to the basin, intent to wash the mud from his hands.