Sanity and Vampirism

This is joint-written. The Raven's Nest encounters a group of more sane people; a familiar face joins the group, and unexpectedly changes Niqi's life forever.

 

“I’m still pissed at you for attacking me,” Niqi muttered. “But fine. And if you don’t mind me asking, what the hell are you doing here?” she asked.

“Honestly, I’m not quite sure.” Hóu responded, shrugging. “One minute I was getting drunk in my palace, and then suddenly, I was here. I just figured I was hammered, until those damn Kalma attacked me.”

Niqi regarded Hóu with skepticism. “You’re meaning to tell me you have no idea how you got here?”

Hóu nodded. “None whatsoever. Where the hell am I, anyway?”

“Yochinai,” Niqi replied nonchalantly.

“Hey,” Ambree interjected, staring at Hóu with confusion. “If you don’t know where you are, how did you know what a Kalma was, nevermind mistake us for them?”

“My father told me about them.” Hóu explained. “I’ve been attacked by one group so far, and I attacked you guys because I thought there might’ve been some that still look mortal.”

“Do they live on places other than Yochinai?” Niqi asked, raising an eyebrow.

Hóu shrugged. “Not that I know of. But then again, I haven’t been to every planet in the omniverse.”

“So you had an idea of where you were, and you were only confirming it?” Niqi kicked the ground they were traveling on; it created more dust than it should’ve.

Hóu nodded, slowing down a bit, until he was walking beside Niqi. “It’s odd, y’know. That pink dude really freaks me out. Nobody should be that pink.”

Niqi grinned. “Frosting bomb,” she responded quietly. “His fur’s naturally brown.”

Hóu snickered quietly for a few seconds, then burst out laughing.

“I know what you f***s are talking about.” Glide snarled, glaring over his shoulder.

Niqi shrugged, still grinning slightly. “Common question, common answer.”

 

…

 

“Do we even have an objective, yet?” Niqi asked casually as they traveled on.

Glide shrugged. “I figure we hunt down the Kalma. We kill enough of ’em, something’s bound to happen.”

“‘Something’?” Niqi asked, rolling her eyes. “That’s certainly specific.”

“F**k you,” Glide muttered, “it’s not like I know what I’m doing here. Answers aren’t just gonna fall out of the f****n’ sky, y’know.”

As if on cue, a cobalt-furred fox fell from the sky, landing at Glide’s feet. “Oh, did that ever suck…” He groaned.

Ambree blinked. “What the hell?”

“What the hell seconded,” Niqi responded, though she didn’t look quite as surprised. “Hi, nice to meet you, what were you doing in the sky that made you fall?” She asked with a hint of sarcasm.

The fox stood up, dusting himself off. “I was hang-gliding. I must’ve pissed off some higher power, because my damn glider disappeared.”

“…Casey?” Glide asked after a moment. “Dude, is that you?”

The fox rubbed his temples. “And it’s gone from bad to worse. Hello, Glide.”

“Ah, Casey,” Niqi said in comprehension, grinning.

“You know him?” Ambree asked.

“Nah, only heard of him.” Niqi paused for a second, and then looked back at Casey. “Do you know which planet you were hang-gliding on?”

“Saikoro.” Casey responded, patting himself down to make sure he was still in one piece. “And I know that isn’t where I landed.”

“Yep. You’re on Yochinai. Not the best place to land randomly, to be honest,” Niqi responded. She looked at Hóu, then back at Casey. “Any idea how you got here?”

“None at all.” Casey said. “I’ve gotten used to randomly popping up in bad places, but damn, I wish it happened at a better time.”

“I was going to say ‘I see a pattern,’ but excuse me? You’re used to this type of thing?” Niqi asked, her tone slightly confused.

Casey shrugged. “I know a lot of a******s that can do this type of thing.”

Niqi nodded. “I see. In that case,” she turned to Glide, “which a*****e that can do that would be here on Yochinai?”

“F**k if I know.” Glide replied. “I don’t think anybody’s here, to be honest. Just the freaks and the crazies.”

“Then what–” Niqi began.

“I disagree,” Ambree interrupted, pointing at something. “That looks like ‘anybody’.”

It appeared to be another camp, although it was slightly neater than the camp that had been thrown together by the crazies. The people seemed to be acting slightly more civilized as well.

“Please let it be sane people…” Glide muttered.

“Have faith.” Felix smiled. “I’m sure they’ll know what we have to do to save this planet.”

The Raven’s Nest began moving towards the camp with its newest member in tow. They gained attention rather quick, and people began to assemble, waiting for them.

Glide stopped once they entered the camp, glancing around at all the people. “Attention, possible crazies!”

“Not again.” Shetani groaned.

Niqi sniggered slightly.

A woman at the front of the group spoke up. “We’re sane for the most part, I can assure you.”

Glide heaved a sigh of relief. “Thank the gods. Anybody here know what’s going on with this planet? Or maybe what’s causing it? The not-so-sane guys weren’t much help.”

The woman shrugged slightly. “All I can give you is what we know. We’re basically the bottom of the food chain, hunted by both the Kalma and the…not-so-sane guys, as you put it. Not much has happened besides death since the Kalma took over.”

“You’re the ones they hunt?” Glide asked, slightly shocked. “Why the hell would they? Do they f*****g eat you guys or something?”

The woman’s face fell slightly. “We used to be one and the same. When the Kalma began terrorizing us, the natural inhabitants of the planet, it drove some into madness. They began hunting those who hadn’t gone insane out of paranoia. This has been going on for a very long time now. We fear extinction in the near future.”

Glide went quiet for a few moments. “…Do you know where the Kalma are when they’re not slaughtering people? Or if there’s anyone controlling them?”

The woman blinked. “I honestly do not. We’re not exactly in a position to learn about them; when they show up, we run.”

Glide nodded. “I can understand that. What direction do they usually come from, though? We’ll head that way and, uh…take care of your little problem.”

The woman stared at Glide, her jaw ready to drop. “…Excuse me? ‘Take care’ of the problem?”

“You want me to put it bluntly, we’re gonna f****n’ destroy ’em.” Glide grinned.

The woman seemed immensely worried at this. “Nobody faces the Kalma without death following. You will not be the exception,” she said quietly.

“They ain’t so bad.” Glide smirked, drawing Magus. “Gimme a week, and I promise you my blade will taste the blood of their leader.”

“Not without a price. Be forewarned that many have tried and many have fallen,” the woman responded, her voice fervent with hope that Glide would back down.

“They’ve beat the rest, but now they face the best.” Glide said, sheathing Magus again. “They’ll never know what hit ’em.”

The woman nodded silently, seeming to accept the fact that she couldn’t change Glide’s mind. “On behalf of my people, I thank you. Your bravery will not be forgotten, Archangel Myotis.”

Glide took a step back, staring at the woman. “What…what did you call me?”

The woman smiled at Glide. “Generations will know who you were, but not who you will become,” she continued.

“What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Glide asked. “Who I’ll become?”

“Look!” one of the sane people shouted before the woman could respond. A glance at the horizon showed the Kalma approaching the settlement.

“There is still time to reconsider,” the woman said before disappearing into the crowd.

Glide shook his head, gripping his shuriken. “Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about! Charge!”

The Raven’s Nest obeyed the order, rushing into battle with the Kalma.

Niqi twirled Scourge and Bane, slicing off the heads of two Kalma at once. “Archangel Myotis?” she asked, due to the fact that Glide was within hearing distance.

“Forget it.” Glide responded, flicking his shuriken forward and controlling it with his left paw, the right gripping Magus’ hilt. “That chick must’ve been f*****g with my head.”

Niqi paused to duck under a Kalma’s sword swing, then stabbed it in the torso. “But how the hell did she know your real name?”

Glide shrugged, drawing Magus and parrying a Kalma’s axe strike. “Either she’s a seer or she’s some kind of higher power.” He answered, thrusting the blade into the Kalma’s throat.

“She seemed genuinely concerned, though,” Niqi refuted. She swept a Kalma’s legs out from under it, slashing its throat while it was down. “Why would she f**k with you?”

“I don’t know.” Glide replied. “Maybe she wasn’t kidding, but we can’t think about that right now. For now, we fight through these guys and try to find where they came from.”

“T.K. has some history on that,” Niqi said, cutting a Kalma’s arm off. She made a face as the blood poured out, and then shoved Bane through its gut. “I wonder why he hasn’t spoken up yet.”

“The thing about the original Kalma?” Glide asked, grabbing the shuriken as it returned and using it to block an attack. “He filled the rest of us in while you were sleeping, back at the hotel.”

“Damnit,” Niqi sighed. “Well, what’s the problem then?”

“The problem is finding the b*****d.” Glide said, rolling his eyes. “We need to find the original Kalma and beat his a*s. Maybe that’ll solve this little problem.”

“Uh, guys?” Ambree spoke. “The battle’s kinda finished. We decimated them with so many of us.”

Glide looked around. “Hm. So we did. Which way did they come from? We’ve gotta find the original.”

“Hold on.” Casey said, holding up a paw. “It’s starting to get dark. Maybe we should set up camp.”

“I’m all for that,” Ambree agreed.

“You guys go ahead and do that.” Glide said, sitting down in the dirt.

“Lazy b*****d…” Casey muttered.

Niqi snickered. “That’s him alright. He’s willing to kick asses on behalf of others, but when it comes to things like this, he’s the last to volunteer.”

“At least he’s useful for something.” Casey laughed.

Niqi nodded in agreement. “I don’t think we’ve been properly introduced, yet. That’s how it goes these days; hi, welcome to the Raven’s Nest, shut the f**k up and help us fight. Anyways, I’m Niqi, and I know who you are for the most part.” She held out her paw.

Casey shook Niqi’s paw. “At least, with things this fucked up, it’s not boring.” He grinned, revealing his fangs.

Niqi stepped back involuntarily, breaking the handshake. “Good God,” she said after a pause, “he forgot to mention that.”

Casey raised an eyebrow. “What, the fangs? Comes with the territory. Wanna see my ‘grr’ face?”

Niqi smirked slightly. “Sure.”

Casey went silent, concentrating for a moment as his face slowly began to change, becoming more feral, appearing almost rabid. Even his fangs grew longer.

Niqi’s eyes widened. “Damn, that’s a nice trick. It would scare the hell out of me if I hadn’t been expecting it.”

“That’s my ‘grr’ face.” Casey smirked, his face returning to normal. “Also comes with the territory.”

“What kind of territory are you talking about, anyway?” Niqi asked.

Casey blinked. “You mean it isn’t obvious? I’m a vampire.”

“…Ah, that kind of territory,” Niqi responded. She paused for a moment, her expression blank, and then a grin came over her face. “That’s awesome.”

“‘Awesome’? Never got that kind of reaction before.” Casey laughed, flicking Niqi’s nose. “Wanna be one?”

Niqi flinched in response to the nose flick, and then stared at Casey incredulously. “Come again?”

“What is this, the Kwik-E-Mart?” Casey snickered at his own joke. “Do you want to be sired?”

Niqi rubbed her temples, somewhat unable to comprehend the offer. “Uh…that depends. Which myths are true?”

Casey shrugged. “Which have you heard?”

“Well, guess I’ll start with the obvious…drinking blood?” Niqi inquired.

“That’s a given.” Casey replied. “Yes.”

“The blood of what?”

Casey shrugged. “Mortals, demons… I prefer dragon blood.”

“Sleeping in coffins?”

“Your choice.” Casey grinned. “I prefer a normal bed.”

Niqi grinned. “I might try it once, for effect. Burned by the sun?”

Casey shook his head. “Not my breed.”

“Garlic?”

“Definite no.”

“Crucifixes?”

“I’m f****n’ wearing one.”

Niqi smirked. “I probably will too, when I find somewhere that sells them. Holy water?”

“That one’s a little bit of a problem.” Casey muttered. “Kinda burns a little.”

“Bah, crap. Well, I guess I can live with that. Stake through the heart?”

“It sucks, but yeah.”

“Damn,” Niqi muttered. She was silent for a moment, and then asked, “Turning into bats?”

Casey scoffed. “I wish. You know how much ground you could cover with wings?”

Niqi sighed. “A lot? How about super-speed?”

Casey nodded. “You won’t exactly be The Flash, but yeah.”

“Super-strength?”

“Would you call punching through steel ‘super’?”

“Yes,” Niqi replied, grinning. “That certainly bumps up the attractiveness of the deal.” She paused, trying to think of any other myths. “What about having to be invited into a mortal’s house?”

“Yeah, unfortunately.” Casey replied. “But it doesn’t work like that for public buildings and demon lairs.”

“Gah, what the hell?” Niqi muttered. “That’s such an off-the-wall one.” She paused again. “Can’t think of any others at the moment. Anything else I should know?”

Casey shrugged. “Not really. I think we’ve pretty much covered it all.”

Niqi nodded. “Alright. Give me some time to think about it. It’s a big decision, being immor – wait, you are immortal, right?”

Casey nodded. “Yeah, we’re immortal. No growing old for the vampires.”

Niqi grinned hugely. “Well, it’s probably obvious that I’m in love with the idea. But the real thing’s still different,” she mused. She was silent for a few moments. “Ah hell, who am I kidding? I’d love to be a vampire.”

“Gotta be sure.” Casey said. “Once you’re one of us, there’s no going back.”

Niqi was silent for another few moments, and then she nodded silently. “At this point, it seems that abandoning the realm of the living for the afterlife is the most selfish thing to do. Worlds won’t save themselves.”

“Okay, we’ll get started, then.” Casey murmured, sinking a fang into his own thumb. “Hold out your arm.”

Niqi did as Casey told her, looking at him curiously.

Casey drew a glyph on Niqi’s wrist with his blood, then another on her shoulder. They burned slightly for a few seconds, then suddenly stopped. The fox’s eyes began to glow as his face turned feral again.

Niqi stared at Casey with growing concern. “Is this going to hurt?” she asked tentatively.

Casey shrugged. “It might.” He replied, sinking his fangs into Niqi’s neck.

Niqi winced slightly as her skin was pierced. A moment passed. “That wasn’t so ba–” She was suddenly cut off by her own screaming as the pain became unbearable.

Casey pulled away after a few seconds, quickly drawing a third glyph on Niqi’s forehead. “There. And, just a heads-up, those are gonna burn like hell in about thirty seconds.”

“B*****d,” Niqi hissed, her teeth already clenched in preparation. Though she was expecting it, this time, she couldn’t help but scream again. The pain was even worse.

“You’re the one that wanted to be sired.” Casey said, his face returning to normal.

“You could’ve warned me about the pain,” Niqi responded as the pain died off, slightly out of breath.

“If you don’t mind me asking,” Ambree interjected, “what the hell are you doing?”

“Oh, hi Ambree,” Niqi replied, smiling. “He was just turning me into a vampire is all. Go back to sleep.”

Reviews

[KEi]

"H�u nodded, slowing down a bit, until he was walking beside Niqi. "It's odd, y'know. That pink dude really freaks me out. Nobody should be that pink."
Niqi grinned. "Frosting bomb," she responded quietly. "His fur's naturally brown."
H�u snickered quietly for a few seconds, then burst out laughing."

AHA!

"Attention, possible crazies!"

AHA! again!

"Archangel Myotis"
WTF?!
She can't mean Glide, surely...
xD

"Wanna see my 'grr' face?"
Sounds kinky; go ahead.
;)

"Come again?"
'Nuff said

""Oh, hi Ambree," Niqi replied, smiling. "He was just turning me into a vampire is all. Go back to sleep.""
LOL