Inside The Heart of A Vampire
 

This is a private rp for me and Inkubeus. Please be respectful and don't post here without permission. Thank you. ^^

Panting. That's all he could hear. Neon green eyes were panicked and continuously searched for the hunters. Wolves. He didn't mean to stumble into their feeding time, but he had slid down the side of the mountain for quite a ways before he finally stopped tumbling. Most of his clothing was torn here and there from catching rocks and other sharp pointed objects on the way down. His normally tied back black hair was now loose and whipping behind his head wildly. His heart was pounding and the drumming was louder than sirens. His breathing was labored and his sides and lungs screamed for him to stop running. But his survival instinct said to keep running. Those thing back there were not going to just let him get away and he knew that. He could hear some of them howling and could hear their paws crunching leaves as well. His own boots were flattening grass and leaves, so maybe he was mistaking the two sounds. Adrenaline pumped through is veins and he continued to run, wanting to put a lot fo distance between himself and those animals. He snapped his head to either side of him, hearing low growling and footsteps, or pawsteps, whatever animals have. There was two on either side and they looked hungry. He began to sweat and panic as the animals closed in on him. Oh Goddess.. not now! not NOW! He tried to run faster but his legs wouldn't move any faster. his body screamed at him to quit but he knew he had to keep running. His mind was buzzing with thoughts of "Why me?" and "I'm too young to die" before he felt something dig into his leg. Next thing he knew, he was falling. He quickly put his pale skinned hands out to catch himself on the grass. There was a crack and a thud. some was trickling down his leg but nothing was attached to it. He quickly got up and ran, but could only take a few steps until the same leg was attacked again, this time the black wolf kept the leg, taking the male down. He yelped and tried to get the animal to release, only to tear his skin more. He knew his leg was useless now. He started to panic as blood was pooling under him. "I don't wanna die!" He yelled at the animal before he saw another blur come at him. He raised his arm and felt something clamp down on his left arm before he was pinned to the floor by a wolf, it's jaw holding tightly to his now probably broken left arm.

The wolf suddenly released it's hold with loud cry of pain as it was lifted and thrown at it's comrades. The wolves looked down at their pack brother, seeing that his whole back was exposed before their eyes lifted to the inflictor who they backed away from upon black leather boots approached and they finally whimpered and ran off as the man bared his pearly fangs at them with a dark growl. The wounded wolf struggled to catch up with them in it's agony, afraid he would be caught yet again, but he was ignored. The shadowed figure turned towards the wounded male on the ground, eyes that were a blend of red and gold staring down at him. The shadows framed his hard cheekbones and stiff jaw and made his eyes seem as if they were glowing.

"...you should not be here, human..." a soft, deep voice said in the darkness of the night.

The wolf was no longer on his arm but he was badly injured. He didn't know what saved him, but damn was he glad for it, that was until he looked up and saw red and gold eyes looking at him. His breath hitched as he saw the figure in front of him. His savior was pretty scary. He could see the pearly whites and pointed canines. He flinched and tried to move away from the person, his eyes still full of panic.

"I know. I'm sorry! Don't kill me! I'm only 22! I'll do anything."

He could feel himself getting just a bit light headed since the adrenaline kind of left his system and his blood was spilling to the floor.

The stranger sniffed at the air. Blood. Lots of it. This human will die if he is not treated quickly. He couldn't let a human die in the middle of the woods, giving the wolves something to munch on and possibly attention to his castle. He reluctantly bent down to pick up the wounded mortal and began walking along the trail that seemed to never end. The shadowed stranger was over six feet tall with waist-length white hair that illuminated a pure white glow each time it met the light of the full moon. It also gave an odd illumination to his pale skin. Each time he entered the light, the stranger's face was made able to be seen, the face a mid 30's year old male with hard, stone-like facial features and hair that split evenly down the middle and ran straight down his back with bangs that hung down to his hard jaw bone.

The young male's eyes began to droop. His blood was draining from the wound on his leg and arm. He felt someone pick him up and he gave a small whine as his arm was jostled just enough for it to hurt. He hissed weakly and his head lolled to the stranger's shoulder. He raised his head just enough to get a look at the stranger who had rescued him. His dulling green eyes looked to the man's face and saw he was rather pale, then again, he was also pale, so it didn't matter. In contrast to his own inky black hair, this man had snowy locks and fell to his waist. It was actually really pretty? If that's what you could call a man's hair. Even so, the man's face was hard and set, almost like stone. It bothered the younger one and made him flinch just a bit, kind of scared of what this man was capable of. He had such a stern look that it seemed unreal. His head was beginning to spin and he lolled his head back onto the man's shoulder. "Damn it... I don't wanna die.. Whoever you are."

"You won't die. I can't let you die here." the man replied softly. He walked past rusted iron gates and approached a castle made of stone with old-fashioned torches lighting the sides and windows of a cathedral-like design. The castle itself was in a gothic design with wooden doors that creaked open upon his approach. He immediately carried the human up the marble stairs with a red carpet running along them leading from the entrance, the carpet splitting into two going left and right up more stairs into dark corridors lit only by torches. He took the stairs on the left and made his way into a guest room where he laid the human on the bed. The stranger disappeared from the room, returning in what seemed like seconds with a bag of blood and an IV stand as well as dressings and thread and needle. The white-haired male sat gently on the bed and began to stitch wounds that needed stitching and he dressed them, he cleaned dirty wounds and covered them with bandages, he then hooked up the blood supply to the human's arm and covered the insertion wound. His eyes were completely focused on what he was doing, long fingers taking gentle care in his stitch work.

"That's good.. i think.." the younger replied to the man, but he was assuming he wasn't really being heard. He could only see some features of the building, with his vision blurring. It looked like a castle, even if it was fuzzy. It was elegant and beautiful, also seemed like it had been standing in that same spot for a while. He weakly chuckled thinking that wasn't possible for the man to be here as long as the castle. He noticed that there were blurry spots of light, which he assumed were torches or lamps, something an older castle would have hanging on the walls. It wasn't too warm, then again, losing blood made you cold. He felt himself being laid onto a bed and he immediately wanted to fall asleep, until he felt a needle being pressed into the freshly opened wounds. The younger male bit his lip and tried not to cry out as the needle was continuously pushed into his skin. The stitches were necessary but why did they have to hurt so much. When his wounds were all dressed and stitched pretty, he felt a final needle being inserted into his arm. He followed the little tube up to an IV drip of sorts filled with blood. That was rather convenient for the mystery man to have. He didn't know why, but right now, he didn't care.

"Who do I thank for saving my sorry ass.." his voice was rather quiet and hushed since all he wanted to do was sleep.

{ooc: I hope you don't mind that he has a bad mouth...^^' }

"...you can call me Vladimir. My name is Vladimir Francius Salem." the stranger replied softly. "No more talking. You must rest. There will be a meal prepared for you in the morning, as well as a fresh pair of clothes."

Vladimir. Sounds like one hell of a name. He nodded slightly before he shifted his legs a bit, never really liking to have them on their backs. He shifted until he was laying on his left side but his arm protested so he had to lay on his back. His green eyes finally closed and he couldn't help but mutter a small thank you as he let the darkness take hold of him and pull him into a dream, or nightmare. His wounds ached, but the pained dulled as his mind drifted closer and closer to dreamland.

Vladimir watched the young man fall asleep. For awhile, he sat there staring at him. This was dangerous. He knew it, inside and out, that this was dangerous. Letting a human stay in his castle, someone that would possibly be missed. He stood from the bed slowly so as not to awaken him and left the room to venture downstairs to the kitchen area. Everything was modern, things you wouldn't expect in a castle, like a stainless steel fridge and matching stove, granite counter tops, and stained wooden cabinets. Even though he could only be filled by blood, he still had fresh things in the cabinet for nights when he didn't feel like drinking and needed something fill his core. He started cooking something he could preserve for tomorrow morning in the fridge, all the while cursing himself to have a heart that was still and yet caring for others despite the years he'd spent constantly being hunted and feared.

His head turned when he heard an echoing howl in the distance. The wolves must have followed the scent of the human's blood, but they never dared come near. He'd killed enough of them and left the carcasses outside as a message for any wolf to come knocking down his door. He was more concerned about what they wanted with the human. No matter. After cooking the meal, he wrapped it up and placed it inside the fridge for the human to find. It was getting late, the moon would be falling soon and be replaced with the dawn. He didn't have long, a few hours at the most.

Vladimir locked the doors with iron bars the would prevent them from closing and the torches simultaneously blew themselves out. In the dark, Vladimir's sight was like a cat's and he could see perfectly. He made his was into the basement, the darkest area in the castle, and laid himself down in the coffin that had been left open. He laid there for a few moments staring at the ceiling before closing the coffin door. He laid there awake for awhile longer before letting his eyes close and he fell asleep with his hands folded on his chest.

{ooc: I'm going to assume he can wake up...}

Neon greens fluttered slightly as the sun began to come into the room through the window, brightening up the space. He raised his right hand to rub at his eyes, remembering that his left was currently being pumped with blood, or at least it should be. He looked to the bag that was by the bed he laid on and noticed that bag was pretty much empty. The drip had been going all night. He still kept the needle in, unsure if he should take it out or not. He flipped the blanket off with his right hand and looked down at his leg. The man, no... Vladimir had stitched him up last night and dressed the wounds.

Vladimir had said soemthing about new clothes and food. His stomach growled at the thought of food. He sighed and shook his head, not really wanting to get up. He looked at his leg and slowly edged himself off the bed. He gently pulled the IV out of his arm, not wanting it in anymore. His feet touched the floor and he shivered, knowing the rest of the castle was probably cold too. He began to make his way to the door and pulled it open, cringing as it creaked loudly. He hadn't wanted to wake up anybody, but who wouldn't hear that. He stepped out of the room cautiously and looked around. It seemed like nobody was up. He sighed in relief and walked down the stairs he had been carried up. The red rug ran the length of the stairs and he followed it down to the bottom.

He looked around and found the kitchen with relative ease before he looked around. He was shocked to see that the castle had modern things like a stove and fridge. He smiled and opened the fridge, seeing something all wrapped up. He pulled that out and unwrapped it, his mouth watering. He was so hungry. He quickly pulled open the drawers, looking for silverware and finally found them. He took up some utensils and dug into the food he was sure Vladimir had prepared for him. He smiled and continued to devour the food.

"I hope it's to your liking." Vladimir said softly from the doorway. He had a pair of fresh clothes in his hands. "You're looking much better."

(By the way, I don't give a fuck about the language X3)

The younger male jumped and swiftly turned around to see who had spoke. Of course it was Vladimir. He gave a nervous laugh and smiled at the man, his pearly whites showing. "Yeah, it's really good. And I guess I have you to thank for me even being alive.. Though a little stitched and bruised."

He looked down at himself and then to the clothes in Vladimir's hands. "uh.. I'm going to assume that's for me." He looked at the empty plate in embarrassment. He really felt like he was intruding on the man.

Vladimir walked over and offered the clothes to him. "Don't feel like you are intruding. It's been cen-...I mean...a very long...long time since I've had a guest in my home." he replied. He cursed himself mentally realizing he almost said "centuries." He was almost as old as this castle, yet he should've known better than to tell a human his secret. "You may change in the living room while I clean up here."

The younger looked at the Vladimir and titled his head like a dog would. He was going to say something else, but he just shook it off. He looked down at the plate he had been holding and gently placed in on the table before he took the offered clothes in his hands. He looked at Vladimir. "I can clean up. Once I change. It's the least I can do for you saving my life... and taking me in. I can at least do something to repay you, right?" He looked at Vladimir with a small smile.

{Sorry i disappeared. I live on campus at my college so if i want to eat, i have to leave my dorm and walk a ways}

(It's okay ^^)

Vladimir blinked at the smile. He found it hard to say "no." "Well...if you insist. Just make sure to put the plate in the cabinet when it's dry." he replied.

A smile crept onto his face and he smiled softly at the older man. He was rather nice for such a stern looking person, or at least, he looked stern when they first met. He nodded and quickly changed before going to the plate and taking it in his hands. He walked over to the sink and turned the tap on. He looked around for a sponge to clean it with and finally found what he was looking for. He took some soap and placed a good amount on the spong before he made it suds up and began to wash the dishes he used. He hummed softly as he washed, though his arm kind of ached. "Oh yeah... I know you told me your name is Vladimir.. Ah, kind of rude of me not to introduce myself... My name's Daemon.. Daemon Purus." He smiled at Vladimir before turning back to finished washing the dishes and dry them.

"Daemon. That's a...nice name." he said softly, folding his arms over his abdomen. "Tell me, what did those wolves want with you last night, Daemon?"

True, it'd been centuries since he struck up a conversation, but that did not mean Vladimir lacked manners. However, as long as he'd gone without contact with anyone, he felt socially awkward and feared he would say something unintelligent at any moment.

Once the dish and utensils were clean and dry, Daemon placed them back where they belonged and dried his hands on the same towel he used to dry the dishes. He looked at Daemon and his eyes widened a bit before he ran his hand through his inky black hair and pulled it back bit. "Well... I had been out in the woods and I tripped.. I wound up sliding down the mountain side until I stopped rolling and I realized I had rolled right into their dinner, pretty much on top of it. It wasn't pretty. I kind of squished it all.. I guess they weren't all that happy with me." He looked down at his left arm and gently rubbed the bandage, feeling the stitches. "yeah. I guess they want me as their replacement meal."

"They can be quite ruthless. They have attempted to enter my castle before and I had to let them know that they were not welcome." Vladimir replied as he gently leaned on the table. He found it easy to talk to this human. Maybe because he smiled at him instead of shoving a crucifix in his face. "You need not worry. They know better than to try and come in here again."

Daemon sighed with relief and his shoulders sagged in happiness.

"Thank the goddess. I was scared they might find me in here. I don't want to run into them again. I'm already pretty beat up.. I've been chewed on twice already."

He shook his head and looked back to Vladimir. He honestly didn't know what to do about his whole situation. He had to leave at some point. But with his wounds, he wasn't going to get far. Especially if the one on his leg was right on his knee. He couldn't walk too much or too far. He played grabbed some of his hair and messed with it, feeling a bit awkward about what he was going to ask.

"A-are... ah.. Are you going to kick me out now that can walk? I mean, you've already been so helpful and kind to me. You could have just left me out there. Not like anybody would miss me anyways.." his voice grew softer as he spoke the last sentence.

{I hope you don't mind his backstory... Most of my characters don't have very good ones.}

(That's okay. I bullshit mine XD)

Vladimir blinked. He'd expected the young man had family. "You...have no kin to return to? What about a spouse? Surely a young man as fit as you has women falling to his feet."

Daemon blushes a bit in embarrassment. He really didn't think of himself as all that great, but hey, when people thought he was, it was something. He played with his shoulder length hair again, this time just kind of picking at the ends.

"Nope. My parents are out of country and I've been really busy so most of my friends forget about me.. And I've never really had any luck with women..." he finished off a bit sadly.

He never really cared all tha much about relationships, plus his friends never really liked him. They only liked him because he could drive and get them booze. Many of them being barely twenty years of age.

Vladimir frowned seeing the sadness in the young man's face. He didn't know why, but for some reason he wanted to comfort this man. 'No,' he thought to himself, 'get too close and you risk giving him more wounds...or worse.' He swallowed at the thought. It'd been awhile since his last feed and just the thought of a taste...he was surprised with himself keeping composure last night. He should send him home, he should let him go. But...the thought of Daemon wandering about alone...with no protection...in a forest full of angry wolves. It'd be irresponsible of him.

"I can't let you go out on your own with those wolves after you. You can stay here...at least, until they leave you alone." he replied softly.

He had to admit, the thought of having someone in this castle with him was intriguing, to say the least. He'd spent so long on his own that he had forgotten how nice it was to have someone else there. The one thing he worried about was how long he would be able to keep his secret.

Daemon immediately looked up to Vladimir when he said he could stay. His neon eyes light up even more and he gave Vladimir a huge smile. He didn't have to brave the wolves! He wouldn't die! He was so happy and he really was thankful to the man. Daemon couldn't believe his ears. He tried to compose himself but he couldn't keep himself from lighting up at being able to stay. It was great because he would have time to heal.

"Really?! Oh goddess, that's awesome! Ah.. oh.. But i don't want to intrude on you. I mean.. It's not really like you have to be nice to me. Uh.. Maybe i can do some work around here while I'm here? You know, like a way to pay you back. I live on my own so I know the basics of cooking and cleaning and stuff like that."

He looked at Vladimir with bright eyes, slightly giving him a puppy look so get the man to at least agree to something. He didn't want to intrude or freeload off him.

Vladimir couldn't help himself. He reached over and gently petted the young man's long hair with a cold hand. "I wouldn't mind having someone to help keep this place up." he said softly, pulling his hand away. "I'm afraid it's almost falling to pieces." Vladimir ran a hand along one of the kitchen walls as if comforting the castle itself. "This castle was handed down my family line, from my ancestors down to my father and then to me. To have it be in a state of aging now makes me think of what my father would say. I haven't been able to keep up with it...the staff had all died off and I was left to...to..." he trailed off with a slight frown. He had been left to die. Hunters killed his parents, his staff, and he had been left with a silver bullet in his kidney. He pulled it out himself and the wound scarred over.

Daemon didn't even flinch when the Vladimir touched his hair. He was kind of used to people petting his hair since he never really cut it. Girls fawned over it sometimes but it was a rare thing because he really didn't go out much. He looked at Vladimir and gave the man a small smile before he looked around and kitchen and then out to the living room area.

"That's actually a real shame... It looks to beautiful and it's probably really old. I bet it looked really nice when it was brand spankin' new."

He looked to the older gentleman and noticed he was frowning. Daemon didn't know what to do, so he did the first thing he knew how. He gently placed his hand on Vladimir's arm, since the man was taller than he was. Not by much, but his arm was injured. He gently placed his hand on the man's bicep and smiled at him.

"Well, you got me here for now. I'll try to keep up with this house as much as I can in my state. I'll stay a bit extra if it helps you out. I don't know how good i'll be with my damn arm and leg chewed on, but i'll do what i can. Don't worry Vladimir."

Vladimir looked at him and his frown lifted. "You'd help an old man like me?" He was surprised, yes. Normally his appearance would scare people off and have them hesitant to be nice to him, but Daemon looked past his stern look and his hard face. He smiled softly. "Thank you, Daemon. Thank you. I...I appreciate it."

"You're not that old Vladimir. You can't be more than ten years older than me and I'm twenty two. You're pretty young still."

He smiled and his face blushed just a bit from the appreciation. He's never really been told that before since nobody was really ever around to praise him.

"So, Vladimir, what do I have to do around here? I don't wanna be cleaning something the wrong way or with the wrong stuff." He smiled sweetly.

"A mop and soap water is fine for the floors. For the paintings, all you need to do is use a feather duster to get as much dust as you can. The carpets need vacuuming a little and the drapes need tending to." Vladimir replied. He could never do the drapes himself in the daytime. "Oh, uh...if you don't mind, keep the curtains closed. As pale as I am, the sun hurts me than a normal person...it's a skin condition I have." he added, trying to sound as casual as he could.

"Also...do you...play any music?" he asked after a long pause of silence.

Daemon nodded and made mental notes of everything Vladimir was saying. He really wanted to him this guys out. He looked so sad about the house being such a decaying state and about everything. He wanted to see the guy smile and be happy. He also needed to remember not to open the drapes. His own little apartment didn't have drapes so he kind of always had them open. He didn't want to hurt the guy that just saved his life. He was brought out of his mental note taking when he was asked about music.

"o-oh yes. I.. I play the violin actually. I've been playing since I was rather little."

"I want to show you something." Vladimir said as he walked out of the kitchen slowly and across the entry hall into the living room.

Daemon blinked but he nodded a little and followed Vladimir out into the entry hall. They continued into the living room area and Daemon felt a little awkward being in there since it was pretty much used as some point and not was just empty besides the obvious decoration and furniture.

The living room was painted a warm maroon with dark carpet. The furniture was a modern black leather, easy to clean, and there was a fireplace made of marble and it was lit. There was a piano in a corner of the room, a large bookcase in another. Vladimir walked over to the bookcase and bent down to pick up a violin case that was leaning up against it. He walked over to the couch and sat down, placing the violin on his lap and snapping it open. The instrument inside was well-kept, fresh strings, fresh bow.

"Unfortunately, as much as I love this instrument's song...I could never find the time to teach myself. My father used to play songs to my mother with this very violin and I've taken care of it every since. I've replaced the strings over and over when they rusted, I replaced the bow whenever it would go bad, I polished when I saw even the tiniest of spots." Vladimir said softly, then looked at Daemon. His eyes were brighter than normal with the memories the instrument brought back and his smile returned. "I would...greatly appreciate it...if you played the violin for me each night before I retire."

Daemon looked at all the furniture and noticed it was really well kept. He liked this house already. He stared at the piano, wanting to touch the keys, but he wasn't that good in that musical department. He continued to look at the walls and everything about the living room, as it was really beautiful. He smiled and then turned his attention to Vladimir. He watched as the man snapped open the violin case and his interest was piqued. He walked closer and looked down at the stringed beauty.

It was a very well kept violin and it looked so beautiful. Daemon smiled at the instrument and looked to Vladimir when he spoke of his parents. It was heartwarming to hear that his father played for his mother. He was also astonished at how much Vladimir cared for the instrument. Normally people wouldn't do something like that. He smiled at Vladimir nodded.

"I'd be honored to play such a beautiful instrument for you, Vladimir."

Vladimir looked down at the instrument before gently closing the case, then looked at Daemon. "Thank you. I miss hearing it throughout the halls of the castle, but I can't seem to make it sound as harmonious as my father did." he said before standing up to place the case back in it's place. He straightened himself and walked over to Daemon. "Let me show you where I keep the cleaning supplies."

Daemon was actually really excited to play the violin for Vladimir if it would make the man happy. He smiled and nodded when Vladimir left the room to show him where he could find all the cleaning things. He walked after the man and hummed along the way.

Vladimir walked out of the living room into the entry hall again to a closet. He opened the door and turned the light on, the space was a little larger than the doorframe, definitely larger than the average storage closet. He walked into the closet and gestured to the cleaning supplies with his hand. "Here. Everything should be there...dust pan, rags, surface cleaner, bucket. The mop and broom are over over there." he said, turning around to point towards the broom and mop that we're leaning side-by-side against a corner of the closet.

Daemon walked int after Vladimir and moved around him to look at all the cleaning things. He would have to remember how they were placed in the closet. He nodded and turned to the older man. "Alright then. I can get started now if you'd like. I'm sure you're a busy man." He said with a smile.