[Center][color=thistle][h3][b]Rose[/b][/h3][/color][b][h3]&[/h3][/b][color=f0d1aa][b][h3]Cain[/h3][/b][/color][/center]

[Color=f0d1aa]Time:[/color] Night
[Color=thistle]Location:[/color] Inside Trance---->Down the street from Trance

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To say that Rose was surprised Cain hadn’t gone straight for the drink would be a little bit of an understatement. In fact, a moment of fear overtook her as she wondered if she’d made a terrible mistake and he wasn’t a vampire after all, but something about his gaze at the glass told her that wasn’t the case. He definitely wanted the blood, but something held him back and she wondered what it might be.

The delayed clap put her on edge just a tiny bit, but she didn’t allow it to show. Instead she just mock bowed at his applause, giggling a little. It wasn’t until he began moving towards her, speaking, that she halted her giggle and stilled. He leaned in close to her ear and her heart was pounding hard with alarm. Was he a vampire that preferred blood straight from the source? Had she just made a terrible mistake? She quietly focused on strengthening her ward of protection just in case.

The question Cain asked, however, caught her a bit off guard and for a moment she couldn’t find her voice. Then she laughed at herself, at the fact that she’d thought he’d just start feeding on her right here in the middle of everyone. That would be way more dangerous for him. [color=thistle]”No one.”[/color] She told him simply before moving herself a bit to give him a funny look. [color=thistle]”I conjured a drink we serve over at Alexei’s where I work. We get the blood from a woman who pays humans handsomely to donate blood. I’m not a killer, I promise.”[/color] She gave him a reassuring grin, wondering if that would be enough to convince him.

[color=f0d1aa]”Alexei’s? You mean the boomer bar by the bowling alley?”[/color] Cain’s pitch heightened and lowered, as if his vocal cords were lost on which cadence to adopt. He pulled away to stand up straight, and took two paces back till he was comfortably away from Rose. Veins in his neck and forehead seemed to strain momentarily before relaxing, and following this deferment he continued in a much more steady tone.

[color=f0d1aa]”You think I was born yesterday, don’t you?”[/color] The irony of this statement was lost on Cain. [color=f0d1aa]”I’ve lived here in Ember Grove my whole life. Alexei’s is nothing more than the shoddy bar my grandparents would go to watch the football game after Sunday mass. Nothing more, and nothing less.”[/color]

[color=thistle][i]You certainly look like you were.[/i][/color] Rose thought to herself at his statement of being born yesterday, but she didn’t dare say that out loud just in case. While yes she made dumb decisions and often didn’t have a filter, sometimes she knew when not to say something. She did, however, roll her eyes at his last statement and sighed a bit. [color=thistle]”Well you obviously haven’t been a vampire for very long.”[/color] She mumbled as she decided on what to do. She could just show him she wasn’t lying. She spared a brief glance over to Violet and saw her conversing with another woman. This helped her decide it wouldn’t hurt to walk Cain over to Alexei’s and show him. [color=thistle]”Look, how about I just take you over there and just show you. We can walk over there right now.”[/color] She suggested with a shrug. At the same time she used her telepathy to inform Violet where she was going.

[color=thistle][i]Hey I’m going to walk my new friend over to Alexei’s real quick so he can grab an application. Text me and let me know if you guys wanna leave Trance and head to the Pit or something.[/i][/color] So she lied a little bit, but she did it because she didn’t want Violet to worry about her. She couldn’t just say she was taking her new vampire friend over to Alexei’s otherwise she’d be suspicious. So she figured a little white lie wouldn’t hurt.

[color=f0d1aa]”...Am I a vampire, now?”[/color] Cain asked in some part rhetoric, and some part true inquiry. What a repugnant thought. The corners of his lips twitched as Rose offered to bring him to Alexei’s, and promptly he continued. [color=f0d1aa]”I did claim to owe you an apology, so you have the benefit of my doubt. Please, lead the way.”[/color]

It was curious to Rose as to why he was inquiring if he was a vampire. Wasn’t he one? She didn’t press the matter for the time being, however, as he agreed to follow her to Alexei’s. [color=thistle]”Alrighty, back to work I go. They’re gonna think I’m crazy.”[/color] She joked as she led the way out of Trance and towards Alexei’s. It would take them a hot minute to get there and so she figured she’d use the time to get to know Cain just a little better. Her mind, however, went straight to his statement from earlier. [color=thistle]”So, uh, what did you mean when you asked if you were a vampire now?”[/color] She’d waited until they were away from people to ask, hoping the lack of people around would encourage him to talk freely.

Cain sauntered briskly just a step behind Rose, following in her lead. [color=f0d1aa]”Vampires are monsters who prey upon mankind.”[/color] As the two of them passed by an alleyway, Cain stopped walking and stood still. His posture had reverted to how it was when he had entered Trance, while his eyes once again hazed with hunger. [color=f0d1aa]”I’m no such thing.”[/color]

His head, lowered towards the ground, lifted just high enough for him to look towards Rose. [color=f0d1aa]”You’re a witch, right? I heard you saying some words before you conjured that glass. Is that how your magic works?”[/color]

Rose paused her walking as soon as she’d realized he’d stopped, glancing at him and then the alleyway for a short moment before looking back at Cain. [color=thistle]”Not all vampires are monsters.”[/color] She stated simply, not sure what else to say on the matter. Besides, who was she to make a case for vampires other than knowing a few friendly ones. Perhaps they’d be at Alexei’s and could show him.

His next words are what caught her attention and her mind now focused on how to respond. She bit her lip, looking at the ground for a moment, knowing she had to say something. Honesty was the best course, she decided. [color=thistle]”Yeah I’m a witch, hope that doesn’t scare you off. As for my magic, yes and no. There are some spells I learned when I was younger that I don’t need to say anything anymore, like this.”[/color] She began to explain as she cast a cloaking spell on herself and disappeared from sight. She moved a few feet to the right before dropping the spell and reappearing. [color=thistle]”Then there are spells that are a bit newer to me that I have to use a chant for like what you heard and saw in Trance.”[/color] She hoped he wouldn’t be afraid of her knowing that she had the ability to cast spells. While she felt like he definitely had the advantage on her, it was surprising how many people feared witches.

[color=f0d1aa]”So you really are one of them. That’s a relief.”[/color] These words seemed to be addressed as much to himself as they were to Rose. Cain took a step closer to Rose, bearing down upon her with nearly a foot of surplus height. At this distance, she could see why he had been looking downwards. His eyes were filled with tears. [color=f0d1aa]”You were right in one measure. This change… whatever it is I’m going through, it happened not even a day ago. I’ve struggled and struggled and struggled since then. You have no idea how hard it was. It was like I was locked in a cage, forced to endure the endless agony of starvation while I waited for my final breath with no hope of salvation. I was killed, and my heart ripped from my chest, and the only way to ease the unfathomable agony of its absence was to kill. But I didn’t. [i]W̶͜͡e̸͘ didn’t[/i]. Because I wasn’t the monster that had been placed inside me.”[/color] Cain took one final step forward.

[color=f0d1aa]”I thought I was alone, Rose.”[/color]

Rose watched Cain step closer, holding her ground as she noticed that his eyes were filled with tears. She was shocked to find out he’d been changed not even a day ago and it concerned her a bit. She didn’t know much about vampires and their transition, but a part of her worried this may be a trap. She began focusing on her ward of protection once again just in case, but she didn’t move. Her heart broke for him just a little bit and she felt a desire to help or comfort him. [color=thistle]”No one is ever alone.”[/color] She said, staring up at him all while watching his every move.

[color=f0d1aa]”...I thought I was alone, Rose. So I have to thank you.”[/color] Cain turned away, and began walking back towards Trance. [color=f0d1aa]”I was presented with two options. To lose my humanity by eating other humans, or die. But now I know better -- because of you. I don’t have to eat other humans. Why would I? [i]This town is chock full of parasites like you who could serve in their place.[/i]”[/color]

He continued walking till he was at the end of the alleyway, and looked over his shoulder. [color=f0d1aa]”Oh, but you don’t have to worry about me attacking you. I’m an honest man, and you’ve already given me enough today.”[/color] As he spoke, his eyes turned fully red. [color=f0d1aa]”I mean, even if I wasn’t, something tells me there’s a little girl with brown hair waiting back at Trance who fits my palate.”[/color]

A wave of emotions hit Rose all at once, but there were three prominent ones she felt. First came shock at how Cain had just played her. Then came horror as she realized he spoke of Violet. Last came rage. Not a blinding rage that some often felt, no this was a different, dangerous rage. It was a calm, deadly rage she hadn't felt in a very long time. A giggle escaped her lips, gradually developing into hysterical laughter. As she laughed, she quietly used telekinesis to detach one hair from his head, a small thing that most would hardly even notice. As soon as that single hair was in her hand the laughter subsided and she looked at him with a grin and shake of her head.

[Color=thistle]"And to think I was over here trying to figure out if there might be a spell to turn you back human as the full transformation to vampire may not have happened yet. I was considering trying to help you back into your normal life, but then you had to go and threaten someone I care about."[/color] She said as her face turned to something deadly, yet a terrifying grin remained on her face. The nice and friendly Rose was gone, in her place stood a demon clothed in the skin of a young woman.

[Color=thistle]"Thank you for this gift, by the way."[/color] She said as she held up the hair briefly for him to see before pocketing it. [Color=thistle]"It'll be quite useful if you harm a single hair on anyone I care about. Help me learn more about you, where you live, who your family is. You said you grew up here so I'm willing to bet you have loved ones here."[/color] She gave him a dark smirk before muttering, [color=thistle]"Corium."[/color] She vanished completely from site and quietly began moving back towards Trance as well, she needed to find her family. [Color=thistle]"You spoke of monsters earlier. Well congratulations, you've awoken a monster."[/color] Still invisible, it was the last words she left him with before taking off in a sprint for Trance.
 
Waiting a few moments till her last footsteps fell, Cain keeled over and vomited. His fangs sat angrily in his mouth, begging to be sunk into something living. All the while, the pleasant smile never left his face.

After a moment he righted himself, wiping his eyes in the process, and made a heel-turn. With Rose out of the way, he once again began the trek to Alexei’s.