Conclave (Hypernaturals 3)

Pre-Session Stuffiness

I sound all stuffy and miserable.

It is not true that Vampires don't get colds. We have strong immune systems and amazing repair facilities. That which made us only makes us stronger in many different ways. Natures balancing act: To be physically stronger means needing faster and better repair systems. Having faster and better repair systems means needing a higher-quality diet. Having a blood diet means having faster and better immune systems. Round and round it goes.

When the Sirens removed my front teeth, fangs included, with a hammer, my teeth grew back in fairly short order. No different than a lizard growing back their tail. The whole time I healed and grew that new set of teeth, I could not pass up a glass of milk. The vitamins and minerals my doctor stuffed into me tasted good. When my body tells my brain it needs something for some project it has going in there, suddenly, that thing tastes good to me. Magnesium capsules can taste as good as Nachos if that mineral is needed for something. It seems to be one of the more frequently used items in the Vampire pantry because it tastes good most of the time.

Being super strong, super fit, super healthy does not mean we can never get sick. My darling Doctor/wife/mother of my child tells me we beat down human-based bugs pretty fast. I can, in theory, catch the flu in the morning, and be over it by dinner or the next day. Most flu's get thrashed down before we know we were exposed to them.

It would be easy to get cocky about that immunity, but nature has a humility plan for everyone. In the perversity of evolution that created us, there are some strains of the flu that are specific to Vampires. Pass Humans right on by. Usually still mild, but worse than normal for us. We may be 'designed by nature' as the hunter of the ultimate hunter, but we are, in turn, the prey of the microscopic.

With my nose stuffed with homemade filters, I sound like I have a cold. A Vampire with a cold is unusual, but not unheard of. Being a male Vampire, it is generally assumed I am weaker in every way. That is useful. It saves me from Vampires who think that being in a resort filled with their kind, they can let their hair down and their scent out.

I am OK with sounding sick. Call me a coward, but I do not want the females of my species thinking of me as strong, or a challenge to their obvious superiority. My Siren Liaison gig is already that. Victoria warned me that many in the Vampire world, especially outside of NorthAm are not happy with my position, even if they agreed finding peace with the Sirens is the right thing to do. It did not matter that it was not my idea, and that right now I am the only one that could hold this position.

I would be happy being the man my species wants me to be. Quiet. Unseen. Out of the way. No threat to anyone or anything. Babies are on the way, and I would like to focus on that and screw all this other stuff.

All the women of the fanged variety I ever met have been nice to me to my face. I am off probation, so that helps I suppose. At the same time, I am not confused about the idea that someone being nice to me means they are fans.

Conclaves are organized during the day around sessions. Standard convention. Big sessions and little sessions about all sort of things all day long. The organizers try to match the expected crowd for a session to room size.

My session today is to be in the main ballroom, all dividers open. They are expecting a full house.

I sat up on the raised platform that I avoided yesterday, waiting to start. I looked out over the standing room only ballroom. It is amazingly crowded with more people than the opening session yesterday, and I am extremely happy I do not have my high fidelity olfactory working.

I spotted the little red-haired man looking at me intently. His eyes scanned. Peeled. Weighed. Measured. I moved on. I cannot stop him from looking at me. Everyone is here to look at me. Listen to me.

The ethnic diversity in the room made me think about our babies. I know everyone says this, but I am just hoping for normal, healthy children. With the fucked up genetics that makes us Vampires I have cause for fear about what kind of children we will have. There is no history to guide us. We could have anything.

My eyes landed on a familiar face. I waved at Doctor Dede. She sat in prime seating in the center, and towards the front.

Dede is (currently) a dentist, a friend of Helen's and is the one who made a bridge of fake teeth for me when Sirens forcibly removed my real ones. She patiently kept grinding and adjusting the bridge as my fanged incisors grew back in. She grinned and waved back, and that caused several women near her to lean in and whisper. It is not hard to guess they wanted to know how she knew me. I could have focused but why eavesdrop? When Dede pointed at Helen, I knew she explained the connection.

We do not have the full Council up on the platform for this session. Victoria made it clear this is to be focused on me. I may have skipped out on the Dias for the opening session, but no such thing is happening here. This is to be about me, and the Sirens.

Great.

I sat between my wife and Helen. Victoria sat on the other side of Helen. Rachel on the other side of Jessica. They are up here not only as support but for the Q&A session that is going to follow my talk.

I hoped I would sound like I have a cold, to avoid discussing my special sensitivities in detail. Victoria announced I am a hypersensitive, so that is public knowledge now. I hope that will be passed over in favor of the larger problem of the Sirens. I am being careful to not tip my head back to reveal to sharp eyes my jury-rigged filters. They are starting to bug the shit out me, so I want this talk over. I want out of this room as fast as I can gracefully arrange. From the looks of interest I am receiving I have a sinking feeling that is not going to be very soon.

I berated myself for being such a whiner. Most men of the blood-sucking variety would trade places with me in a heartbeat. I have female friends in our world. Women who like me. That hardly ever happens. Knowing William now, I grokked why. How he made it past probation is a mystery to me. If I had been on his subcommittee, I probably would have gone with thumbs down. I could not explain it but I really do not like him.

I wondered again if male Vampires are genetically wired to be über-competitive with each other.