The abandoned castle on the hill makes for a pretty intimidating (though interesting) ruin, you have to admit. It looks ancient, like no one's been anywhere near it for centuries. So of course, you need to take a look inside. It doesn't hurt that, when you asked the nearby townspeople, they had said that a vampire queen lived there. Which is hard to believe, even by your standards. Silly locals. Why would any vampire want to live in some old, decrepit mansion? Just because it's creepy doesn't make it a good idea.
It doesn't really matter, though. Even if there is a vampire there, you're pretty sure you can take care of yourself. Anyways, it's not like vampires are going to be that interested in eating you. Other youkai aren't really part of their diets, from what you know. Just in case, though, you've packed some of your more powerful spellbooks. Part of you can't help but be excited about the prospect of meeting a vampire - you've never met one before. It'd be interesting to separate the facts from the myths. So you've packed an empty notebook too, just in case.
You wait until it's late until you set out from the town to explore. The townspeople probably wouldn't react well to seeing their new visitor going into the 'haunted' mansion. A full moon glows in the night sky, bathing the landscape in faint light. Still, once you're far from the village, you press your hands together. A dim warmth grows in between them, before a small flame flickers to life. It's not much, but it's enough to ward off the cold and grant you more light.
When you finally finish climbing the small hill, you step forward and examine the mansion. Even though it's decrepit and falling apart, it's still pretty impressive. The doors are tall and heavy, but have rotted through at this point. It's easy enough to push them open, although they creak and groan as you do so. Taking a step into the mansion, you raise your hand to bathe the entrance hall in light. It's a massive room, but decades of disuse has left it in shambles. The chandelier has long since crashed to the ground, littering the ground with shards of glass. Moonlight filters in through a large hole in the roof, glittering on the broken glass. You float over the chandelier and land on the staircase, looking around.
The entrance hall has several doors leading to different parts of the mansion, but you go through the one in front of you.
Who knows what you'll find in here.
You're rummaging through a cupboard when a high, clear voice rings out from behind you. "Hello there!" Suddenly you are reminded that a vampire lives here, and you slowly turn around, heart pounding. Behind you, a small, short figure is standing in the doorway. She's illuminated by the flare of the your fire, letting you get a better look at her. Her hair is short, messy and caked with filth. She's wearing a ragged, filthy dress, and small fangs poke out from under her lips.
Vampire.
"Hello! You must have come here to visit the illustrious Scarlet Devil Mansion!" She claps her hands together with a grin. "Now, I must admit, it's been some time since I've had visitors..." She floats closer to you and you take a nervous step backwards. Now that she's closer, you can see a pair of leathery wings sprouting from her back.
The first thing to come out of your mouth is "What the hell." The vampire just huffs and crosses her arms, looking at you critically. It takes you a moment to regain your composure. "... Well, I thought it was abandoned, so I was coming here to see if there was anything of interest..." The vampire's looking you over. Apparently she's fine with what she sees, because she smiles at you.
"Well! I have to say that the most interesting thing in the mansion is yours truly, of course!" She presses a hand to her chest and grins. "I'm Remilia Scarlet, mistress of this lovely mansion! And you are?" This is your chance, you realize, to learn about vampires. To separate the facts from the fiction. You have to take it. You'll probably never have a chance like this ever again.
"I'm Patchouli Knowledge." It's still a bit weird to refer to yourself by your new, chosen name. Nice, but still a bit weird. Remilia grins at you and holds out her hand for a handshake. Slowly, you take it. Her hand is small and cold, but her grip is firm. "So... you live here...?" You gesture vaguely towards the rest of the mansion.
Remilia nods. "Yes! I've lived here my entire life! Around 300 years, now, I believe!" You fumble through your bag before pulling out your notebook and nodding. Remilia smirks. "You're a magician, right? You don't smell like a human." She sounds almost disappointed at that, and you pause in your note-taking. "Did you give up your humanity or were you born into this?"
"I was, uh. Born into it." You lean back against the cupboard you had been rummaging through before. "My mother was a magician. She's gone now, though. Dunno where. Doesn't really matter, though." This isn't really a subject that you're interested in getting into, and you look over at her. "Is it true that vampires are repelled by crosses and other holy symbols?"
Remilia hums and looks at her nails, before looking back up at you. She looks confused and kind of amused. "Nope. That's stupid, honestly. Why would such things harm me, Remilia Scarlet?" She snorts and shakes her head. "Ridiculous." That's a no to that, you guess. Unless she's lying to you. You wouldn't be surprised if she was, honestly. "Why are you so interested, Miss Patchouli?" She sounds almost suspicious. "What are you planning to do with this knowledge? I hope you're not going to share it with any pesky vampire hunters or anything! That'd be bad." Her voice suddenly takes on a threatening air.
"No, of course not. I'm not going to get other youkai killed. I'm just curious." It's true. Nothing of worth comes from giving vampire hunters more information on how to kill them. "Uh, garlic? Does that affect you in any way."
The vampire wrinkles her nose and makes a disgusted noise. "Garlic is disgusting."
"... Is that a yes or a no?"
"It's disgusting." You're going to take that as a yes. "If you're really so interested, I can just tell you everything. Sunlight is harmful and I can't cross flowing water. Garlic and sardine heads are disgusting." Quickly, you take notes on everything she's shared with you, pausing when she mentions sardine heads. "Don't ask me about it, okay? They're just gross. I don't know why, besides the fact that they're fish heads."
You finish writing your notes and nod slowly, looking over them. "Okay. Thank you, Remilia."
The vampire waves her hands and smiles at you. "You can call me Remi."
"... Okay." Floating back to your feet, you look around the room. "So... you live here? Why? It's falling apart."
Remilia - Remi - huffs and hops off of the table. "Yes, I live here. Me and my sister have lived here together for hundreds of years! And I'm not going to leave it just because it's getting a bit old! It's my servants faults, anyways. If they hadn't left, this mansion would still be in perfect shape!"
"By left did you mean die...?"
She snorts and smooths down her torn-up skirt. "Semantics."
"Okay then. Couldn't you just fix it, though? Your sister, too...? Aren't vampires supposed to be really strong?"
Remilia looks at you like you just hit her. "Excuse me? I'm Remilia Scarlet. It's not my job to clean. I have people for that. Well, I had people for that! I should still have people for that." She grumbles and picks at her teeth, before chuckling to herself. "Me..? Clean? Ha! Preposterous. Next you'll be telling me I need to bathe myself, or something." You just look at her blankly, taking in her ragged clothing and filthy hair. Maybe she does need people for that, considering she doesn't seem to know how to do it herself. "Now, is there anything else you want to know, Patche?"
You pause and look over at her. "Patche...?"
She grins at you. "Your nickname! It's cute. I mean, I have a cute nickname, so! You should have one too. It's only fair!"
There's a few moments of silence as you think about it, before just deciding to go with it. "... Alright, then. And yes. I want to see some of the other rooms in here." You gesture vaguely towards the rest of the mansion, and Remilia claps her hands together.
"Oh, of course! I can give you a tour, if you want!"
"Uh, sure." It'd probably be a good idea to be shown around by someone who actually knows the layout of the mansion. "Lead the way, Remi." It feels weird to call her by her nickname, but whatever. You'll roll with it. She is right, though. It is a pretty cute nickname, you guess.
She grins at you and takes you by the hand, pulling you out of the room with surprising strength and speed. "Come on!"