An Animal Inside

'If I could be an animal, what would I be?' Jason snarled deep inside his head, this is one hell of a pointless assignment. He twirled the thin pencil in his hand, thinking of some way to make this assignment apply to him, or his fantasies. "Damn it. I guess I would be breaking the rules if I told the truth." His voice was deep, thoughtful, and itching for some kind of trouble. He stood, looking in the mirror and allowing his fangs to extend. "I am an animal as it is." His eyes glowed red for a split instant, then he sat back down.

Does a vampire count as an animal? He pondered, a smirk growing on his pale, chiseled features. Probably not, but what the hell? This should be fun.

He looked at his paper and thought for a moment. Then he began to write in his elegant script that the teacher scolded him for, it was from his earlier years. He couldn't help it.

'Animal has such a wide description. I could take this and change it around to say an animal could be what ever I want it to be, so I choose a vampire.' He smiled as he continued, 'I wish I were a vampire, the ecstasy of taking in the life blood of another living creature, the pleasure of the hunt, and the deceit of the prey, as I were to lull them toward me.' He shook his head, remembering last night's hunt. Seth ruined his hunt by stopping him in the middle of the deceit. He would hunt again tonight, or he would hunt tomorrow at school. He stayed in his room, writing the rest of his essay for an hour. When he descended the stairs, his head was spinning from the hunger pains. He would punish Seth tomorrow, oh, he would key his Ferrari. Tonight he would scratch 'How dare you ruin my hunt, fledgling?' in the driver side door. Seth would cry those blood tears that always tempted Jason, yes he would enjoy this very much.

Jason roamed the park and streets, looking for a succulent young woman to feed on. He wasn't very picky; however, he didn't enjoy the blood of men, unless they were pure and without lust. Then they were tolerable, some even better than pure women. His eyes drifted closed as he thought of the rush of blood through the veins of humans, the way is poured thick and sweet into his mouth as he bit deeply into a throbbing life-vein. He was so wrapped up in his thoughts he didn't notice his quarry walk right by him until he smelled her perfume lingering in the air like a thick gas. His cloak rippled quietly as he neared the woman. She was about to board a bus. This certainly would make things more interesting. He boarded right behind her. The only available seat was, inevitably, right beside her.

"Hello Madame, do you mind if I sit here?" He asked, laying his old French charms on thickly.

Her voice caught him off guard, it was soft like a wind-chime, and it did not suit her body, voluptuous curves and wonderful clarity graced her, yet her voice was like a child's. "Yes, if you want." An hour passed in silence.

The bus was nearly empty, he could take her right now, however, he was so enthralled with her presence he could not bring himself to do so.

"Madame, it is dark out, may I walk you home?"

Her eyes showed mistrust, however they softened considerably at the look of concern on his face.

She nodded and they got off the bus together, his eyes watching the shadows for other evils.

He did not understand this, he was Jason. He was powerful. He would never fall for a pathetic flesh-bag, and yet, here he was, concerned for this fragile, powerless, blood giver.

"What is your name, sir?" The young woman asked politely.

"I am Jason de Rupart." He relied quite plainly, as if it brought pain to think of the last name as one he could never carry on proudly. "May I ask yours?"

"My name's Annalise Dramascus." She said once more quiet.

Within minutes, they arrived at Annalise's house and Jason waited in the doorway as she got out her keys. "Thank you for walking with me, Jason. It was pretty fun."

"You're quite welcome, Mon Cheri." She still didn't open her house. She stood there, looking up at the roughly six-foot tall youth before her. Jason had a sudden stab of human-like wanting. He leaned down and gently kissed her, his lips flitting over hers. Her eyes widened as his lips ghosted down her cheek to her throat where he licked the throbbing artery that was filled with heated blood. He let his fangs slide out, careful not to plunge in, this hunt had been more accident than purpose. He could no longer resist the pound of her blood; he sank his fangs in slowly, so she would not feel anything other than the purely ecstatic wetness of his mouth over her neck. After minutes, hours, days, weeks, months or years he released her. Never had he tasted anything so sweet, not ever in the twelve-hundred years he had lived had anything tasted so rich. Not even the wine of olden France could compare to this woman's nectar.

Annalise smiled and kissed Jason's left cheek as she opened the door and slipped inside.

Jason ran home, his feet barely touching the ground, his dead heart light, and his newly warmed body stiff. He paused briefly to extend a talon like nail and scratch a message into the driver side door of Seth's favorite Ferrari, 'Fledgling, I willhave my revenge for you ruining my hunt. I will watch you cry and moan in pain as I ruin you'

He grinned evilly, he would enjoy this. Seth could be sure of that.

As the dawn reached the morning sky, Jason sauntered inside the house. He could smell the new one, Seth, moaning as his eyes grew accustomed to the colors of the dawn. The blood red sky made Jason's raven black hair gleam with a purple intensity. Shane had just woken from his deep, fitful sleep and was now stretching and becoming restless. Elian was hulking around, his night's hunt had been unsuccessful and he was ready to take out his anger on anyone, except Jason. Jason was the one to respect, Jason was the god of the house. Jason... was king.

Elian walked sulkily into the hall and opened his mouth to speak, but Jason's eyes told him politely, 'Shut up, boy. Or I will rip off your head and feed it to the dogs.'

Jason walked slowly to his room and locked the door once he was safely inside. He ripped his shirt over his head, his solid muscles rippling intensely, though his body was restricted as lean and teenage-ish, he was powerful beyond his immortal years. Having been created by Magus, one of the long-lost ancients of his kind, he was as close to a god as any creature, any 'animal', could get.

He dropped the shirt to the floor and ran a hand back through his hair. He unbuttoned his jeans, tugging them off and replacing them with fresh black ones. He hadn't decided on a shirt yet, so he wandered out into the hall, examining his hot steamed shirts through the steamer glass, he then took his gray, high-collared shirt out of the steamer.

He allowed a smile to tug at his lips, this was his favorite shirt. It meant more than any of his other treasures; his mother had made this for him a week before he left for Paris and the stage of fame, his Garden of Eden, the Royal Theatre. Thus was his mistake. He had become too drunk one night; he stumbled through the streets of his city, his domain, his world. Paris was even more amazing when all the vivid colors and smells mingled together. That's when Magus, looking for a quick feed, stumbled upon Jason. Invincible Jason, Jason of blood-wine, Jason the wolf-killer, the actor, Magus was enthralled. He whisked Jason off. Nikolas, Jason's dearest friend, a violinist, heard his friend's drunken screams and ignored them, thinking it was just a nightmare or a street fight. Magus whispered gently to Jason, "Shhh, my little Wolf-Killer, you will soon be my Prince of the Night. Carry on my legacy that you shall do." Magus lacked the soothing French accent of this age, sending Jason into a fury of drunken screams and blows. Compared to Magus, he was a leaf hitting a boulder, trying to smash it in vain.

Jason's smile quickly faded as those dreadful memories ran through his mind. He pulled his shirt on, the dark gray contrasting with and brightening his blue-gray eyes. Jason savored the heated cloth against his smooth, cold flesh.

Suddenly, Seth's piercing scream broke through the quiet morning air. Ah, it seems he found my little note. Jason chuckled; his fangs shooting out making his slight smile seem sinister. He retracted them, grabbed his backpack and slowly walked outside to watch Seth's wails of pain at his car's shiny new paint job, tarnished.

"Why? Why? Why?" Seth was on his knees, stroking the side of his beloved Ferrari. Jason smirked and let out a small chuckle.

"Fledgling, give me the keys to the Lamborghini Murciélago. I'm heading out to school early." Seth looked up at Jason, and reluctantly tossed the keys at him. Jason stooped low and whispered to Seth, "I do not play games little boy. You will learn when someone is hunting, you do not follow them." Jason stood again and hurried to the car he had asked for. Climbing in, he reveled in the texture of the seat beneath him. His foot touched the gas and he raced out toward the school.

He opened the door of his car and climbed out. He stared at the wretched building. He hated this place, it smelled of human excrements. Body odor, sickness, fecal material, the disgusting rot of food in trash cans. Only another year or two of this, then he could move on to bigger and better-

Jason stopped his list of gross smells and hatreds, two boys were picking on a young woman, he couldn't see her face or smell her over their arousal. He growled, "I have to save her." As he neared, his anger grew, especially when the woman, high-school girl turned out to be Annalise. He rushed forward as one of the boys pinned her to a tree and his mouth tried to descend on hers. Jason grabbed them by the scruff of their necks, "Sorry I'm late, Darling... I couldn't find my keys." He jerked his head toward the Lamborghini. The boys eyes widened and they tried to get down

"Yo, dude, we didn't know she was yer broad. Sorry miss. It won't happen again." They weren't even worth killing. They were cowards who preyed on high school girls.

Jason snarled fiercely, as he bared his teeth and knocked the boys head together. They were knocked out before they hit the ground.

Jason felt the tinge of his own blood coming out of his lower lip, his fangs! Annalise was staring at Jason then she walked forward, his face paler that before.

He had over exerted himself in the sunlight. He needed to feed. Annalise walked forward, offering her neck to him, "Kiss me before you bite." She was demanding something. Jason would not have stood for that disrespect from anyone else. He leaned forward, backing her against the tree and placing his hands beside her head to form a cage. He bent his neck, his mouth claiming hers in a quick needy kiss. He didn't linger long, as his mouth gently caressed down her neck once more.

This time was not quite as gentle, his fangs diving deeply into her flesh her mouth stretched slightly in the shape of an "o" and her neck lolled back slightly, her body drowning in waves of ecstatic pleasure. Her vision was fading, Jason knew it too. He released her and lapped gently at the drops of blood that he had missed. He checked her shirt and his to see if any blood soiled them.

She had a single drop of blood on the collar of her blouse. "That won't do." He mumbled, and carried her to his car. He pulled an extra shirt out of his trunk and handed it to her, "Sorry, it's only a t-shirt." His eyes were filled with pain, Annalise noticed.

Jason shut the car door to allow Annalise more privacy. He was unhappy. He felt guilty for taking Annalise's blood in broad daylight, it flowed through him. He had not felt guilt for eleven hundred years, but now he felt it for a measly blood giver? He shook his head, 'This is not how this should work. I was supposed to fall for someone like me. Annalise shall be dead before my Immortal Eyes can blink. I could always... No." What was he thinking? It was taboo. Making another one of their kind was only for those about to die. 'What about Seth, or me?' Magus wasn't dead to his knowledge... Elian was alive too.

Annalise sat in the dark of the car, she pulled her blouse over her head and sat back to enjoy the cold seat against her bare back. She looked at the T-shirt, it was new. Didn't that guy wear any normal, this-century clothes? She wondered as she smiled and laughed to herself. She felt rather giddy; the shirt in her hands wasn't cotton. It was too soft, it was more like silk. She clutched the shirt to her naked torso and let her head loll back as she inhaled the heady scent that circulated through the car. He smelled so amazingly, it was hard to think of him as a man, immortal or not. Just who was Jason? And why the hell did he make her mind float away from her when he was around? He wasn't human... He wasn't... Her thoughts stopped as the driver side door opened.

Jason climbed into the front seat and sat, staring at her. After the door shut all the way, his eyes roamed her upper torso. He reached out and took the shirt to help her put it on. While he was pulling his hands back, he was glad he could not blush. One of his hands had traced the back of hers.

Annalise wanted fulfillment, she wanted to stop these reckless feelings she had for this luscious vampire. She wanted to touch him like she wished he would touch her. She climbed over into his lap, straddling his outstretched legs. His body shuddered; the lack of heat in his skin caused her to gasp his name softly. "Jason...?" Her searching hands traced the cool expanse of skin from half way down his chest to the high collar of his shirt. She hadn't noticed the medallion he wore before, and wasn't planning on examining it right now either. His muscles tightened sweetly as she traced the definitions of them, his mouth tightened into a thin line. He wanted to extend his fangs and drain her dry, she temped him in ways he hadn't felt in centuries. His body felt almost human again, he wasn't going to be sane much longer if Annalise stayed near him. He opened his mouth and inhaled the sweet perfume of her skin and pumping heart. He hungered so strongly, he couldn't resist, he leaded forward, placed his hands on her shoulders, and sank his fangs into her neck again.

'I am an animal as it is.' Echoed through his mind, it bounced off every wall, resounded in the depths, and made him guiltier. Her skin was that of a sun-baked apple, tender, sweet, and made a sound as he punctured it. Suddenly, her mouth dug deeply into his shoulder. He groaned. His blood was being stolen from him. "Let go, Annalise..."

He looked at his forearms and gasped as he saw the blood flowing up and out of him. It mystified him; it looked like molten metal, scorching even as it left him. His hunger grew, he laid his head back, his skin was starting to become loose, his eyes an unnatural pale white. Annalise stopped before he was drained and she convulsed in the seat with him beneath her. He pushed her off and left weakly from the car. He needed sustenance. A girl he had watched for weeks walked by and he caught her, wiping her memory, and fed unceasingly until she was almost drained. He released her and stared at the damage he had done. Running quickly, he threw her in a trashcan. "I am so very sorry you had to become my food. You were not very nice though." He turned and saw an unsuspecting man walking quickly towards him. Perfect. I can kill him without regret. He bared his fangs and ripped the man's throat open to give him unpleasing sickness of tainted blood. Heroine, Cocaine, and Meth. This guy was a drug bank. Jason growled, he hated the taste of soured blood, but it would have to do.

After 10 minutes he returned to his car, Annalise panted roughly in the passenger seat. "Your body is dying. It is only the flesh though. Your heart barely beats when you don't feed; it goes into frenzies when you do. If it sickens you to feed from humans, you may feed from larger animals. Rats, mice, cats, dogs, and pigs give very little sustenance, elk, caribou, deer, jaguars, panthers, etcetera, give plenty of power and food. You don't have to kill them to feed yourself. They will have forgotten you the second your teeth enter their necks, you are an odd one. I fed from you," He cranked his car and backed up out of the school lot, the continued, "twice, you should have forgotten me." He then slipped off into a quiet reverie.

Jason parked the car outside of his house and helped Annalise out.