2nd Coffee

[mal_addict]

[A: Phone;Filtered to vampires]

[This is probably such a terrible idea]

So Cain tells me there’s a lot of us living here. I’m a little curious to how many there actually is.

[B: Phone; Public]

Apparently I have a job that no one bothered to tell me about until I got an angry phone call this morning asking why I hadn't shown up. Hairdesser? No, I don’t think so. I’m going to find something more tailored to my needs. Silence, it’s time to put your outfit to good use.

[C: Action; Outside the fire station]

[And so, Maladict is trying to blag her way into the firefighting force. Because that’s sort of like the military, right? She’s wearing the suit Silence made for her and looks very much like a dapper young gentleman, just as she did when she enlisted. She seems to be having trouble with the drone by the door though]

No. Seriously, I was called into work today. Maybe you’ve had some kind of mix-up with the numbers.

You sure are funny, little lady. Now run along home to your family

I’m not going to ‘run along’ anywhere, and who are you calling a lady? I want a job. You can’t tell me you don’t need able-bodied-HEY!

[The drone clamly pushes her back towards the street]

I know you really want to save kittens, M’am. But leave it to the professionals. You can help out at our next bake sale if you like

[And so Maladict is left seething outside the fire station as the drone walks in, shutting the door behind him]

Oh, come ON!

Comments

A;

[encored]

[whoops, it's more the mention of that name that catches his attention rather than the topic itself, even though it applies to him...]

Cain, the small blonde child?

[mal_addict]

That's the one. He really does get around, doesn't he?

[encored]

Yes, very much like a disease or some sort of pest. [he means it affectionately, really...!]

What exactly are you checking the numbers of?

[mal_addict]

One way of describing him.

Vampires. I'm just curious, really.

[encored]

The most accurate one, I'd wager.

A vampire by what definition? There are plenty of people here who would fall into the 'drinks blood and is stronger than a human' category who don't use the term or fully fall under the stereotypes normally associated with it.

[mal_addict]

I'd probably have to give you that, yeah.

Really? How curious. And here's me thinking the term meant the same thing everywhere.

[encored]

I think it has roughly the same meaning in most places, but it's rather offensive to some. [trails off for a moment, almost indecisively...] My species is hematophagous, for example, and shares similar traits with the vampires from human lore, but the term is generally used only as an insult or by people who don't know better.

[mal_addict]

Wow, how about that. People tend to just call us bloodsuckers if they want to be derogatory.

[encored]

That's a common term as well, naturally. You'd think someone somewhere would have a bit more creativity.

[mal_addict]

I think that's asking an awful lot of people. Creativity takes effort, after all.

[encored]

Ah, sad but painfully true. I think things would be a little more interesting if more would indulge in using their brains with greater frequency. I suppose that's asking too much, as well.

[mal_addict]

It really is. So much easier to stew in ignorance.

[encored]

Such is the human condition, I suppose.

Do you come from a world where the term vampire is used to describe your kind, then?

[mal_addict]

I do. We're a whole race, even. It's the one we ourselves prefer to use, too.

[encored]

Is that so? To each their own, hm?

Is it a very large race, if I might ask?

[mal_addict]

Seems to be that way.

Fairly large, yes. We tend to stick to one area of the planet, but we've started to move into more populated area. Co-existing the humans and all that.

[encored]

Curious. Something like that is unheard of where I come from. Are the humans not against such a thing?

[mal_addict]

Very much so. That's why those of us who do it swear off the blood. It makes them a little less uncomfortable.

[encored]

Swear off blood? Isn't that a fundamental part of your diet? Why would you go to such lengths to accommodate the humans, either way?

[mal_addict]

No, not so long as you focus your addiction on something else.

Besides, it's not so bad. Once you get used to it.

[encored]

[trying so hard to process this and having a very difficult time doing so...]

So drinking blood in your world is less of a necessity and more of an addiction? Can it be replaced with anything else?

[mal_addict]

Yep, and pretty much. You have to work hard at it, and if you don't get access to your new addiction, you eventually revert [and murder everyone] but it can be done.

[encored]

[mass murder is just a small side effect!]

How very novel, I've never heard of anything like that before. [well he seems honest enough, even if his admiration kind of sounds like someone looking at a particularly interesting piece in a museum.]

Do many people try this lifestyle? Is the success rate high?

[mal_addict]

We're small, but growing, and the success rate is very high. Once you get past the Cold Bat phase, your chances get much better.

[encored]

That's good to hear, I suppose. It'd be a shame to go through all of that trouble if the chances of success aren't high.

But, 'Cold Bat'?