[DFM]

For all her vaguely prophetic rambling, the seeress seems to have missed the boat on that last one. I'm the antitheses of a remarkable foe, I barely even qualify as a foe. I'm not like I used to be. I'm a scared little girl who's just finding out the monsters in her closet are real, legion, and practically starving. I've got no power base, no allies, no friends, no money and I'm surrounded by things god himself couldn't scrub out of the world. The best I can hope for is surviving and I've barely got a shot at that.



David, you fucking asshole, I'd kill you for this if the gorilla hadn't already done it.



I'm about to leave the beach for Therese's club when a shirtless man from the bonfire group approaches me. The others are huddled around each other, watching and whispering.

He must be a representative.



"Hey, look, it's like I've told you types a thousand times now, we know we're not allowed to hunt around here. We're just minding our own business. If you need the beach for somethin' we'll go, but there's no reason for you to keep hassling the weaklings."

Australian accent with a tinge of surfer. Fangs.

"If I was going to hassle you, believe me kid, you'd have had your shit hassled by now."

"...You're not here to run us off?"

"Not unless someone pays me."

"Oh. Well, alright then." He eyes me, somewhat wary. I probably look like a madwoman. "...They ain't gonna do that, right?"

I throw a hand up in the air, only semi-feigning exasperation.

"I don't know! Who's trying to run you off?"

"Everyone it seems like. We're getting pretty sick of it. There's usually some guys in suits citing domain violations but sometimes they'll just start hunting us for sport. Depends on the city, I guess."

"That's... odd. Vampires don't seem like they're very keen on citywide beautification projects. Why do they want you gone?"

"Don't know. Nearest I can tell, only reason is we're the runts. They're always calling us 'thin bloods' right before they kick us out."

"What's a thin blood?"



"Damned if I know! I know you don't want to be one, you're the fat blood here, you tell me."

I can't help but smile. Schadenfreude, I guess. I'd found someone who knew less about the world around them than me.

"You'd be better off asking a parking meter, kid. If I know any more than you do, it's happenstance."

"You can't be serious! You don't know what's going on either? Don't fat bloods have some kind of... I don't know, induction ceremony or something?"

"A rather grand one, actually."

"And they didn't tell you anything?"

"Other than the fact that I shouldn't exist, no. Not really." I think for a moment, remembering LaCroix's parting words. "Oh, they did tell me not to break any rules or they'd kill me. Didn't say what the rules were, though. Funny, that."



"Jeeze. Thought they'd be a little nicer to their own kind, at least."

"I suppose you don't survive six thousand years by being warm and cuddly."

"Yeah, I suppose... how old are you, anyway?"

"I'm thirty two."

"No, I mean... how long have you been a vampire."

"Oh." I glance up at the sky, trying to judge how low the moon's hanging over the horizon. "About... six hours, I think."

"Six hours?" He seems absolutely amazed. "No wonder you're out of the loop. How did you... I mean, how'd you become one?"

"I never listened to my mother about going home with strangers." I pause for a moment. "You?"

It feels odd, to actually be talking with someone again. I should do it more often.

"Well... I'd just come to town for the surf tourney... seems like years ago, but it must have been... oh, six months now. Every night during the finals, I used to hit the local diner after the beach parties fizzled out in the AM." He looks down at the ground, his voice taking a softer tone. "That's... where I met Lily."



"She... she had a natural beauty, not like all the plastic dolls littering the sand. I remember... I introduced myself... and I remember how she seems grateful for the company."

He sighs and looks up again.

"A few nights after that... we were on the beach alone and... she tried to tell me what she was, but I didn't understand. So... she showed me. I was furious when I found out what she'd done, I cursed her and left, never really found out what I was or what I'm supposed to do and I lost the only person who even seemed to care about me. Guess I know how she felt, now."

"But what happened to Lily? You must have tried to find her again."

"I did, yeah. Never had any luck, though. I suppose I'd have moved on by now if I didn't think she'd show up one of these nights. There's... a lot I've got left to say to her."

I glance over at the group huddled around the bonfire. If they were missing a few more limbs, they'd look like they belonged in one of the Bosnian refugee camps I drove through during the civil war.

"Well... I'm no bloodhound, but I'd like to help if I can. If she needs finding, I'll find her and if she needs rescuing from someone, I can do that, too."

He sounds confused.

"Really? I'd... appreciate it. Nobody's been particularly friendly to me in this city, if you could find Lily..."

"Don't mention it." I point to the bonfire group. "You know them?"

He follows my hand and nods.

"Aye. Most of them just recently arrived in LA. Got chased off by the sabbath or some such thing from their home cities. They're more in the dark than I am, though. Most never even met the person that turned them. They're a good bunch, but... well they've been through a lot. It's affected them."



I've already started walking towards them by the time he's done talking. If they know even less than he does, I might actually be able to help some of them.



"E-e-e-evening."

I can't tell if he's got a speech impediment or if he's scared out of his god damned mind.

"What's wrong? Are you alright?"

"F-f-fine, it's nuh-nuh-nothing."

"Alright, well... if you need anything, let me know."

Or maybe I can't. I walk up to one who's staring off towards the ocean. I clear my throat as I get nearer in case he needs some warning to stop him from pissing himself. He turns around to face me. Seems nervous, but not nearly as bad as Stuttering Stan.



"Hey, you're... you're one of the... the big vampires, right? The real ones, I mean?"

"I... ah... I guess?"

"Then, um... do you know who the head vampire is?"

My brow furrows almost on its own. "Um... LaCroix, I suppose. I think, anyway. No one ever really came out and said it but he seems like he's in charge. Sort of. A little."

His eyes brighten at the sound of the name.

"LaCroix? Um... do you know... where he is?"

I shake my head, frayed ends of hair bashing my face.

"No I don't know where he is, we're not exactly buddy-buddy. Why do you want to find him, anyway? I don't think he takes complaints."



"If the head vampire dies, we all become human again, right? So if I can..."

"I don't think it works like that. If all it took to be human again was killing LaCroix I think he'd have been dead a thousand times over by now."

"Oh. But..." He pauses for a moment before re-arranging his train of thought. "Okay, um... how about blood transfusions? If I get a full blood transfusion I can become human again, right?"

"I think that'd be rather widespread, too, if it actually worked. I really don't want to be the bearer of bad news here but I'm pretty sure you're stuck here with the rest of us."

"Wh-w-what? Aww, no... th-there's nothing I can do?"

My expression's softer than it's been in years.

"I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do..."



"I don't want this... I want to be human again..."

I put a hand on his shoulder, use the other one to tilt his chin up so I can look him in the eyes. His scared, tired eyes.

"There's a difference between being human and being human. You can never go back to being human. You'll never see another sunrise and you'll never lose your thirst for blood, but you never stopped being human. You're the same person you were before, and anyone who tells you otherwise doesn't know enough to matter anyway."

Then I hug him. I don't really know why. I haven't done that since I was six. He doesn't hug me back. I think he's too confused. I pull away until my hands are on his sides.

"You'll be alright, champ."

Short update this time but photobucket stopped working and for some reason it took forever anyway. Actual quest starts next time, Helen and Ellen are tied in the poles. I kind of like Helen better so probably we'll end up with that. UNTIL NEXT TIME.