Vampiric Interdiction

[24] Tell Me More

“For a… what was it? … Ah yes! For a disgusting, life-sucking, demon, I’d say my control is quite the feat.”

Denaii’s mouth widened as he stretched his jaw. Karolinna was almost certain she’d seen his fangs twitch beneath his gums.

“So you haven’t eaten me yet, big whoop? You think that’s something to pride yourself on?” Karolinna did not look at all swayed, but her voice didn’t hold as much angst which Denaii took as a good sign.

“When every waking moment is spent fighting off the longing to devour anything and everything you cross, yes! I would have to say I am quite proud.” Denaii pulled hi legs to his chest and rested both arms over his knees. His hands were left dangling and connected in the middle to form a strange diamond shape; the bottom half made from the ‘V’ of his ungentlemanly seated position.

Karolinna watched in silence as the dark one threaded his fingers together and splayed them out again just as fast When he joined them again he gripped his knuckles so tight a loud crack sounded. To anyone else it would look as though he were simply distressed over something, but Karolinna knew the general of his interior battle to be another far more injurious than mild hysteria.

“You’re fighting it…” she was quiet with her words, hardly believing they had come from her own mouth. She tried to tell herself they hadn’t but they were too far from her lips to convince herself otherwise whilst she pulled them back. Denaii was quick to respond.

“I never stopped,” he said after a deep inhale, hoping the air would help cool down the hunger burning in his gut, like the aftermath of a volcanic eruption. “All this talk on the subject is just reminding me how long it’s been since I’ve eaten. A proper meal, that is.”

“When was the last time?”

Denaii raised a brow in surprised at the almost flutter of worry in Karolinna’s voice. She disguised it all she could, apparent by the forced look of perturb knotted between her eyes. No effort was made to soften her features which had Denaii believing it was unlikely she even knew the severity of her concentrated visage.

“Careful,” Denaii shook his hands out to rid as many ticks as he could. “You almost sounded concerned there for a moment.”

Karolinna scoffed and adjusted the strap over her shoulder and tucked her weapons to her body so close it was as if she were determined to forge a second skin from them.

“Concern that you might bite my head off at any second, yes. For you withering away to obscurity? Not a damn shred.”

“Why is it, that is always everyone’s first thought? We’re bloodsuckers but we’re not cannibalistic.” Denaii sounded annoyed. It was a common misconstrued notion mainly among the mortals that vampire’s didn’t stop at your vitals but went on to strip flesh from bone as well. Having not been in the presence of such a creature as Denaii, it couldn’t be expected that Karolinna would know any better either.

The dark male spread his fingers outwards before waving them from pinky to thumb back down to his palm one-by-one. Each knuckle made a sickening crack as he did this and each of his talons clicked together.

“Human carnage is not part of my diet. Honestly, the same can be said for their vitality at the moment as well.”

Karolinna made a face, her nose scrunching with confusion and obvious disbelief. She didn’t completely assume he was blatantly lying to her, but also found it to be near impossible to gather that he was speaking complete truth.

“You mean to tell me you’re a vampire, that doesn’t drink blood?”

Denaii shook his head, his dark hair falling to temporarily obscure his vision before swung it back out of the way again with a twist of his neck.