Well, it's just a story. The vampires where I come from are thin and pale, with white hair and red eyes. They grow old and die, too. [ Very slowly. ]
They also— [ And here he opens his wrist, in a casual "on the one hand" sort of pantomime. Nash always wears gloves. ] tend to eat people. Most of the ones who are left, anyway.
[Though whether the animals here will be ones he'll be able to tolerate is a different matter altogether. He was only just barely getting used to drinking it back home.]
...not as well as I'd like. There's a lot of trial and error. Some don't stay down as well as others, some can only be eaten cooked, and some taste really bad no matter what you do.
[He sounds a little put out by it all. It's taken a lot of pain and effort just to get as far as he has, and now--]
But all the animals I've seen here have been so different... I guess I'll just have to start over from scratch again.
[ This is all sounding, well, pretty gross. But it also seems like the guy wants to hurt people less, and Nash really can't judge that. There's no accounting for taste. ]
Where I come from, there's a legend, about a village of vampires, deep in some far-off forest. It's a legend, so it always seems far-off...
[ He stares into the fire. A lot of things seem far-off, here. ]
Anyway, they were supposed to have the Moon Rune. [ And then, to explain what that is: ] Old magic, that meant they didn't need to drink blood to survive.
Magic, huh... [For all that his own world was populated mostly by vampires, magic was a concept that didn't really exist. Their pheromones could probably be seen as magic to some, but it wasn't exactly magical to them.]
I've heard there's a lot of things like magic in this world. I wonder if there could be something similar here...
No... or at least, certainly nothing like what I've seen here.
[Which might sound a little vague, but he's not about to go off explaining how he can control people through scent. Gotta upgrade ur social link a little more first, probably.]
Wait-- so the moon rune really exists? [Well, he did say the legend was about the town, not necessarily the rune.] Does... that mean the person who has it is a vampire?
If you'd rather not answer, that's fine. I'm just curious.
[It's not like he;s trying to probe about it -- even if such a thing existed that could allow him to live without drinking blood, the last thing he would do is take it from someone else using it.]
I didn't make that up. I heard that from another refugee. [ Although, okay, he embellished a bit. ] Apparently that's what vampires are like, where he's from. Or at least, what the stories say. I don't think he ever actually met one.
--I didn't mean it like that! Don't put words in my mouth!
[Nash says it lightly, but that unspoken accusation hits a sore spot. As calm as he looks right now, the combination of general stress from everything happening now and back home, along with a general anxiety over what he's going to do for food, actually has him in a pretty bad place.]
[But Shell bites back the words the second he says them, turning away with a frown and a sigh.]
A lot of people here don't like to admit it. The tough and solitary type, you know. [ A very stoic lot here, our refugees. ] But I can't even fake it, so... [ He makes a dismissive waving gesture. ]
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But, er... for the record, I'm not undead.
[JUST THROWING THAT OUT THERE...]
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They also— [ And here he opens his wrist, in a casual "on the one hand" sort of pantomime. Nash always wears gloves. ] tend to eat people. Most of the ones who are left, anyway.
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[But all right, this sounds more familiar.]
...now that sounds more like the vampires where I come from. Maybe mot exactly the same but...
[...!]
Ah, not that you have to worry about me. I don't drink human blood.
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But you don't eat marshmallows, either.
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[Though whether the animals here will be ones he'll be able to tolerate is a different matter altogether. He was only just barely getting used to drinking it back home.]
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[ He's never heard of such a thing, but if it were possible… Well, it's not like that matters much right now.
Except, you know, in the sense that this guy might be dangerous. Which would be bad. ]
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[He sounds a little put out by it all. It's taken a lot of pain and effort just to get as far as he has, and now--]
But all the animals I've seen here have been so different... I guess I'll just have to start over from scratch again.
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Where I come from, there's a legend, about a village of vampires, deep in some far-off forest. It's a legend, so it always seems far-off...
[ He stares into the fire. A lot of things seem far-off, here. ]
Anyway, they were supposed to have the Moon Rune. [ And then, to explain what that is: ] Old magic, that meant they didn't need to drink blood to survive.
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I've heard there's a lot of things like magic in this world. I wonder if there could be something similar here...
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[ Strange. Vampires were a kind of magic, in his world. But he's gotten a bit more used to the idea of places without it entirely. ]
I know who has the Moon Rune, now, but… [ A sigh, and he shakes his head. ] She hasn't woken up.
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[Which might sound a little vague, but he's not about to go off explaining how he can control people through scent. Gotta upgrade ur social link a little more first, probably.]
Wait-- so the moon rune really exists? [Well, he did say the legend was about the town, not necessarily the rune.] Does... that mean the person who has it is a vampire?
If you'd rather not answer, that's fine. I'm just curious.
[It's not like he;s trying to probe about it -- even if such a thing existed that could allow him to live without drinking blood, the last thing he would do is take it from someone else using it.]
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How do you think I heard the story?
[ Well, he heard it from the vampire in question. But, it's not exactly obscure lore, in any case. She can be such a blabbermouth. ]
Most legends are based on something true, right? And the stories I make up are way more believable.
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[CALLIN' U OUT except Shell totally believed it for like 5 seconds, shush.]
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I didn't make that up. I heard that from another refugee. [ Although, okay, he embellished a bit. ] Apparently that's what vampires are like, where he's from. Or at least, what the stories say. I don't think he ever actually met one.
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I don't think I want to believe in a world where vampires like that exist.
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[CUE PARANOID LOOKING AROUND okay, he only shoots a brief glance. But who knows -- there are all types of people and worlds out there, after all.]
--then it doesn't really matter anyway.
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[ He says that lightly. ]
But I've never met a fat vampire.
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[Nash says it lightly, but that unspoken accusation hits a sore spot. As calm as he looks right now, the combination of general stress from everything happening now and back home, along with a general anxiety over what he's going to do for food, actually has him in a pretty bad place.]
[But Shell bites back the words the second he says them, turning away with a frown and a sigh.]
...sorry. I didn't mean to yell.
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You have people you miss too, huh?
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[Okay, maybe not everyone, but he figures most well-adjusted people probably have a person or two whose company they miss.]
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