@Everyone

[thegreatexperiment]

[Sam's put a lot of debate into this text. Like, a lot a lot. To the point of obsession, really. And there are a lot of ways she could go about doing this. But with only 140 characters and about thirty eight rewrites, she finally settles on blunt. It's her brand. Not like it ultimately matters, right? She's coming to terms with that.]

Fuck it. Hi. I'm a vampire.

Yes I drink blood.

No I don't want yours.

Yes I'm probably gonna starve to death soon.

No I don't sparkle.

Comments

[warriorborn]

No, my interest has been piqued now, I must know.

[thegreatexperiment]

Well. There are stories. Really popular stories. Really shitty stories. And the vampires in these stories sparkle.

For some reason...

[warriorborn]

Oh, it is a reference to literature. It is too bad we do not have access to any here, I would be glad to read even the worst stories about sparkling vampires at this point.

To risk further displaying my ignorance... what exactly is a vampire?

1/2

[thegreatexperiment]

Oh. Wow. OK.

So a vampire is someone who's kinda dead. Murdered usually. With a body that's animated by a combination of magic and human blood.

2/2

[thegreatexperiment]

Which isn't to say I'm crawling with maggots or anything. I have a perfectly adequate body.

It's just that I can't taken in any nourishment that isn't

You know

Blood

[warriorborn]

You were murdered?

[ And then, to further underscores his point, he adds more question marks in a brand-new message. ]

????????

[ It seems the rest of her message is secondary to this one point. ]

[thegreatexperiment]

[Really? That's what this dude is taking away from this?]

Kinda

It was, like, four years ago

[warriorborn]

[ Yes, yes it is. Benedict focuses well on one thing at a time. He'll come back to the rest of her revelation later. First, the murder stuff. ]

How can one be "kind of" murdered??

[thegreatexperiment]

I mean, I guess it could qualify as involuntary manslaughter. I'm pretty sure it wasn't supposed to go down that way

[warriorborn]

[ "Manslaughter" sounds way worse than "murder" to him, but Benedict is only just realizing that perhaps asking her how she died — she died? — might be asking her to relive traumatic memories, and he's got enough of those of his own to know thinking about them is no picnic.

So instead of pressing more, he changes direction. ]

And you must drink blood. To survive.

Is it all you can eat? Or drink, rather.

[ She did say she was on the brink of starvation, and as the accidental innkeeper, he knows full well how their food stores are faring. Nobody should be at risk of starving, unless they could not, for some reason, eat real food. ]

[thegreatexperiment]

[Who is this guy? Or maybe a better question would be what? Color Sam confused.]

Pretty much

Our Overlords somehow suppressed it for awhile, but it's back now, I guess.

[warriorborn]

Well that is certainly inconvenient.

[ Benedict is also king of understatements. One of his many talents, really. ]

I can sympathize, a little. For over a year I looked entirely like anyone else. And now, for no apparent reason, I look as I once did. It can be alarming, I have discovered.

[thegreatexperiment]

Oh

Does that mean you're not human?

[Sam's already doing her I-told-you-so dance, a little.]

[warriorborn]

I am warriorborn.

[ There's still debate as to how human the warriorborn are, since technically they are mutations born from genetic experiments generations ago. With regards to the basic things, he is as human as anyone else. With regards to other things... no, he is not human. ]

[thegreatexperiment]

Sorry, no idea what that means

[warriorborn]

Oh good, we are evenly matched in our ignorance of each other.

It is somewhat difficult to explain.

[ A little mortifying. Thankfully, he has some practice now, and if she doesn't know what the warriorborn are, she doesn't have the same ingrained prejudices against them that the people of his own home world do. So that should help circumnavigate that hurdle. ]

I have eyes and teeth like a cat. I am stronger, and faster than non-warriorborn humans, and heal more quickly from even serious injuries. My metabolism is faster, I must eat more frequently, and I am apparently warmer to the touch than average. If my Kate is to be believed.

[thegreatexperiment]

[The funny thing is, Sam is utterly fascinated. Here she was, pretty much building up her confidence for the big goodbye. And now she's going into her Hardcore Science mode.

It's not the worst thing in the world.

But definitely weird.]

Sounds a little like a species from my world. Except for the cat part. That's new

[warriorborn]

[ Benedict, too, had been building himself up for rejection from everyone he cared about, and yet the exact opposite happened for him, too. His friends have stood by him, his wife has not left him, his life has not changed in any salient way. Life is strange, that way. ]

It appears to be new to most everyone, it seems.

[thegreatexperiment]

It's not actual feline DNA, is it?

[warriorborn]

I am afraid I am not much of a scientist. I was simply born this way.

[thegreatexperiment]

[But she wants to know the science. She really, really wants to!]

Oh

Well, I get that

[warriorborn]

[ There's not much he can do to help her, on that front. But on the other...

He might be able to help with that. ]

How did you find blood to drink before you came here?

[thegreatexperiment]

I didn't kill anyone. If that's what you're asking.

[Defensive? Sam? Never!]

[warriorborn]

That was not my first thought, admittedly.

I am more concerned with how you might find blood here. Something must be done to prevent your starvation.

[thegreatexperiment]

Well, I learned one thing the hard way:

Badgers are fucking impossible to catch