Chapter Eleven
"Ready?"
"I think so?"
Serana smiled to the nervous redguard, and shrugged. "No other way to find out," she said as she pushed open the door to the shack they'd been hiding up in for four days now. The fledgling vampire swallowed dryly, and followed her out. Instantly she was hit with a wall of smell and noise, taking her off-guard and making her stumble back a bit. "Take a moment and get adjusted," Serana advised, standing with her hood up just a few feet away as the redguard got her bearings.
"It smells worse out here then I remembered," remarked Yosa'Min, still feeling a bit dizzy.
A chuckle escaped the nord vampire. "Yosa'Min, a vampire's senses are more acute than that of men and mer, remember?"
"What about the beast races? The lizards and cats?"
"Even them, yes, though I'll admit not as much but it's still a fairly significant difference," said Serana with a smile on her face. She was surprisingly patient with the redguard, fumbling as often as she did as she got used to the changes to her body. The nord had gone hunting as often as possible, spending the past four days teaching Yosa'Min about what it really meant to be a vampire and the later changes to expect. The redguard had slowly but surely warmed up to her, especially when she started making jokes that seemed to destroy some of Yosa'Min's misconceptions on what an elder vampire was like.
After the world had focused back for the redguard, she nodded her head and pushed off the wooden wall. Burning orange eyes met an equally bright pair, and with that they started walking through the marsh. Soggy ground squelched beneath their feet, murky waters hiding potential threats beneath them in shallow pools or full blown rivers, twisting about like unraveled yarn. Both of them had their senses elsewhere, listening for voices or laughter, looking for signs of people.
The stars were all covered in thick stormy clouds that night, the moon hidden as if not even the heavens wished to be witness to the dark act they were going to commit. The thought, as if any god or gods there were hid their faces from them made Yosa'Min suddenly feel shaken to her core. She paused in their swift paced walk, staring at the brewing storm without bothering to try to mask the swell of emotion. Serana stopped walking, looking over her shoulder curiously to see what was the matter before walking over and gently placing a hand on the redguard's shoulder.
"What's the matter?"
"I just... What we're going to do Serana, it's so wrong." Yosa'Min averted her gaze, knowing she'd get the same lecture as she had been since she'd been turned, but still listening to it when it came. It was if she needed to trick herself into believing it before it would be right.
A sigh escaped the elder vampire, and she shook her head. "Yosa'Min... Look, I know you don't want to hear it all over again so I'm just gonna cut it short." She stepped in front of the Dragonborn, removing any chance of cleverly escaping her powerful gaze. "You have to do it, and you're ready now. We tested too so don't make some excuse about your fangs not being sharp enough."
"Did we really have to find out that way? I mean, couldn't you have just brought someone you'd caught in?" The redguard asked with a hint of a whine to her voice, making the nord roll her eyes. "Like you didn't find it awkward!" She huffed at that.
"Of course I did, but that doesn't matter. You bit my arm, and drew blood," Serana replied, rolling up her right sleeve to reveal a faintly healed bite mark. "So, you're ready for your first hunt." She gave no debate as she rolled her sleeve back down, and then smiled a bit to lift the redguard's obviously low spirits. "Have you ever gone hunting before?"
"For animals yeah, but never a person." Yosa'Min shook her head.
"It's not too different. You look for tracks and signs they were there recently, sneak in closer, lure them in and then spring the trap."
"Except most animals are dumb and I could lure them with a piece of meat or some noise," countered Yosa'Min, "But these are people were talking about!"
Shaking her head, Serana shrugged. "And people are that much different? For some, it's a cry for help, for others you scare them into running, and then there are those you have to seduce. It really comes down to those three, and little else. Luring them in with food for an animal would be to seduce a person. Everything translates easily. If you have experience hunting before, then this will come even more naturally to you."
The redguard gave her a weak frown. "I can't really seduce men," she admitted shyly.
One brow arched at that, and the nord looked her up and down. "You can't seduce men?" She questioned before laughing, "And I don't drink blood." The redguard scowled, but refused to remark. "Come on, we only have so much time to find and catch your prey and then get back to the shack." Serana turned and waved her hand for Yosa'Min to follow.
Grumbling under her breath, the redguard did so.
Their search brought them further westward, slowly getting close enough to make out more details of the capital city Solitude. The marsh grew damper as they got near where the Karth River flowed out into the Sea of Ghosts, sucking at their boots to the point it was getting a bit harder to walk. A heavy fog ambled on by above the ground, making it even harder to see where they were stepping and Yosa'Min would note her disgust when she stepped into the filthy water quite vocally. Deciding that no one in their right mind would be hanging around near such a wet place, they turned southward where the ground rose and stone was underfoot instead of silt. They'd just begun to crest a hill when they heard deep laughter and instantly they seemed to freeze like ice.
Lowering themselves to a crouch and moving deeper into the shadows on the dark night, they zeroed in on the source of the laughter. There was a camp just ahead of them, a fire blazing between a circle of stones and a grove of trees and deathbells encompassing them. About five fur tents were pitched and stray bedrolls were under the leafless trees, a group of armored people lounging or sleeping at the camp. They looked well armed and very much so like bandits, fur armors and iron weapons on their person or right besides them.
There were seven of them, four of which were men and five were nords. There was a female argonian standing watch as she leaned against a twisted tree, and a bosmer who carried a quiver full of arrows on her back as she walked about on guard as well, eyes checking the shadows constantly. Something about a red sash that the archer wore on top of her armor caught Yosa'Min's eye. The two vampires hardly had more than their noses poked above the crest of the hill, their prey all gathered nicely below at the bottom. With the already starless night, the fire the bandits had going made it seem all the darker where it was not cast in warm orange, easily keeping the predators hidden.
"How do you want to go about this?" Serana asked quietly.
Yosa'Min looked at her with a hint of worry. "What, I get to pick?"
"It's your hunt," Serana replied, gesturing down below, "so your call."
"Great... Well, the argonian would be easiest to catch offguard as she's looking the other way, but I don't think I can bite through scales." Serana shook her head. "Right, so then the bosmer?"
"You want to go after the guard?"
Yosa'Min nodded, growing a bit more comfortable as a plan bubbled in her mind. "We can lure her away with a bit of noise, and while the others seem more keen on sleeping or getting drunk, she'll probably come after to investigate. She looks like the most alert one out of the group, probably gets stuck with guard duty a lot." She looked around until she found a pile of rocks that would be suitable to hide behind. "I'll pounce from there, drag her behind it and... feed." The word was difficult to say, tasting like sick acid on her tongue.
"I'll take care of the rest of them," Serana said, "should they get smart about what you're doing with their friend back there."
"Do you have to make it sound so dirty?" Scowled Yosa'Min.
"I meant no such obscenities," replied Serana with hint of mischief in her burning eyes.
Rolling her eyes, Yosa'Min shook her head. "Of course you didn't." Serana smirked besides her. "Okay... I'm going down." The redguard kept low and to the shadows as she moved down the hill to the cleft where the rocks piled up at, able to stand at full height behind them without worry of being spotted. She picked up a fist sized rock, and tossed it into a nearby pool of marsh water.
"What was that?" The bosmer uttered, the sound of footsteps drawing near for a second telling Yosa'Min it was working.
"Frogs," said some nord by the fire.
"Maybe," replied the bosmer archer. Rolling her eyes, Yosa'Min tossed another one and kicked a few rocks out so they tumbled together into the pool making a louder clattering noise. "Or maybe not. I'm gonna check it out."
"Have fun, I'm gonna get some sleep."
"Lazy ass," the bosmer was muttering as she drew closer. Yosa'Min felt a rather weird sensation as the target got closer. Her mouth parted and she took in a deep breath, and on top of the marshy scents, she was shocked to actually taste blood in the air. But of course, no one was bleeding yet. Excitement grew and she waited until the hand that had an arrow knocked was in view before she struck.
The redguard jumped forward and grabbed one wrist, her other hand going to cover the startled bosmer's mouth before she could utter an alarm to her companions. She tugged the mer towards her, and slammed her against the rocks, stunning the archer bandit further. Trying her best to recall Serana's instruction, Yosa'Min wrenched the weapon from the bandit's grasp and tossed it to the side into a bush. The bosmer thrashed against her grip, but the redguard had begun to inherit some of the vampiric strength needed to hunt like this.
One knee came up and struck the mer in the lower gut, knocking her breath from her while Yosa'Min painfully wrenched the wood elf's neck to the side. She pressed herself against her, in part to keep her pinned while the other in an attempt to feel more of her. Something primal was rising in the redguard and she could hardly control herself. All she wanted was to pierce the terrified bandit's neck and gorge every last drop of blood from her body. The woof elf's heart was racing, and it was starting to drive the Dragonborn mad with want.
She opened her mouth, pulling her lips back so glinting fangs were revealed with a low hiss. The bandit, who could just see them, started to scream louder against the redguard's hand. The moment she'd broken skin, it was like an explosion of sensation, Yosa'Min's mind blanking out as she simply feasted upon the bosmer. The warm feeling she'd just faintly get whenever she drank the blood Serana would bring to her couldn't compare to the pure heat that came with a fresh drink. A loud moan bubbled up her and she didn't even attempt to stop it, lost in the bliss of feeding.
Grinding against her catch almost, Yosa'Min started to become more ravenous, taking everything from the bosmer who's struggling was swiftly decreasing and instead she was growing limp in Yosa'Min's arms. Her right hand moved from the hands it'd been restraining above them to wrap around the bosmer's chest, pulling her closer to the vampire. She didn't let go until the warmth was fading and bosmer getting rigid instead of soft. Confused, Yosa'Min pulled back and blinked, the bloodlust fading swiftly as she took in the mer's paled skin and clouded eyes. She truly looked like her very life had been drained from her.
Yelping, Yosa'Min let go of her and jumped back, the husk collapsing loudly against stone. Laughter came from above, and she looked up to where a freshly bloodied Serana was sitting on the hill, legs dangling over a sharper cut that turned to rock straight up. "You looked like you were making love to her, not drinking her blood," Serana remarked, hardly keeping herself together despite the more gentle approach she probably should have been taking.
"It was more pleasurable than expected," retorted Yosa'Min, trying to defend herself before her mentor.
"Oh I could tell," smirked Serana, pointing to the camp. Confused, Yosa'Min ducked her head around the piled rocks and sucked in a breath of air as she took in all the carnage. The camp had been completely destroyed, six corpses in rather twisted forms strewn about and a few sporting bites of their own.
"You did all that?" Gasped Yosa'Min, walking out and standing in the middle of it all. The swamp water had turned red where one nord was laying in it, and the argonian was missing a few fingers and had been impaled on a low branch. "By the time I'd fed on her? And I didn't notice?"
Serana hoped down from the rocks, nodding her head and crossing over. "I don't like to boast, but yeah. I needed get a bit of a stretch in anyways, that shack does me as much good as it does you." She nudged one nord with her foot, checking to see if she'd actually killed the bandit or not. "You got so involved over there that I had to step in and stop them from gutting you."
"You could have done all this to me too?" Balked Yosa'Min, taking it all in. She'd never seen such destruction on men and mer before, some of them had had their necks snapped while others were impaled with branches and ice spikes. One nord sported a serious burn that looked like he'd been struck by lightning from the heavens themselves. There was also a lot of slashes from claws across their bodies, and one glance at Serana's hands testified to the amount of red upon them.
Shaking her head, Serana waved a hand, "Oh certainly not. I was too weak then."
"Vampires really are scary strong then huh?"
"Yeah," Serana's tone lowered, the gleam in her eyes fading. "Just don't let it go to your head all right? We're not invisible as some might like to think."
"Damn close I'd say," muttered Yosa'Min as she peered at the remains of one bandit that was in five pieces. "How'd you manage all this?"
"Ah, trade secret," Serana smirked, "I'll tell you all about it back in the shack. It's getting early, we need to get you in the shade." She gestured to the east where the faintest of light rippled on the stormy clouds. Nodding her head, Yosa'Min took one of the helms off the bandits, filled it with water, and then doused out the campfire. As it sizzled in protest and the world was cast black again, she found her eyes adjusting faster than before. They started back the way they came, when Yosa'Min stopped besides the corpse of her prey.
She gingerly walked towards her, and looked her in the eyes, taking in what she'd done to the woman. Almost respectfully, the redguard reached out and removed the red sash that the bosmer had been wearing, and stuffed it in her pocket. Serana was watching with a guarded expression from the hill, and Yosa'Min ducked her head the other way as she caught up with her.
"Shouldn't have done that," Serana faintly whispered, more as if it were an escaping thought than an intended breath. The redguard stiffened in response, and was silent the entire trip back to the shack.
The excitement from the hunt had been replaced with a form of exhaustion. Even weariness felt different as a vampire, more like a dull ache that was bothersome than debilitating like it was to mortals. Seeing as they didn't exactly need to sleep, though some form of rest was recommended, there was a weird sense of wasted time they both felt whenever they did sleep during the day until about noon. After that until the late night when it was safe to hunt, Serana would instruct on all varieties of vampirism, and though she'd never been before, Yosa'Min was an attentive student.
Perhaps though, because this was her life now.
Yosa'Min sat down on the bed, and Serana stretched her arms above her as she got ready to lay down and rest as well. The redguard couldn't help but watch, something bothering her but she wasn't certain how to say it. Luckily, Serana had figured out when she wanted to speak but was uncertain by now, and cocked a brow at her. "Something bothering you Yosa'Min?"
"Serana, when I fed, it felt amazing," Yosa'Min looked up at her, face contorted with disgust, "But it shouldn't have."
"You actually did pretty good for a first hunt," Serana crossed over, a bit confused. "You did almost everything perfectly. I know that you're all pumped from it, but those jitters will fade away in time."
The redguard shook her head sharply. "That's not it! I couldn't stop myself! I feel like a monster- just drinking in what she was. She couldn't even put up a fight, she at least should have gotten that. And afterwards, there was nothing left of her, she looked like she'd been burned out from the inside." The redguard looked at her hands, recalling the woman's eyes, how soulless they'd become. A shudder ran down her back. "And then I loved it, that's what gets me. I didn't, not going in and you know that but as soon as I tasted her- it was like nothing else mattered."
Serana's lips had pulled into a thin line, and she lowered her gaze, arms crossed. "Yosa'Min, I know that it's hard to get used to in the beginning, but it'll get easier. You'll learn how to control yourself and your prey won't die, it takes time but feeding is a skill like anything else. And I've said it before, this is something you must do, there is no escaping it."
"She shouldn't have been so empty though! No one deserves to die like that!" Yosa'Min was starting to get angry with her.
"She was a bandit, just like the rest of them. If they hadn't been killed by us then they would have harmed, robbed, killed or done worse to other people," gritted Serana. "Is that what you want? In a way you did a good thing too. If you have to find villains to feed on to be justified, then we'll only go after villains like them." She tried to offer an option that might calm the redguard down but she only got worse.
"I can't do that again though, I won't!" The redguard got to her feet, and started towards the door.
Serana gripped her wrist as she walked by and pulled her back. "You don't have a choice! It's either drink blood or go insane! We've been over this!" Hissing, the redguard whirled around and yanked her arm free, and before she could stop herself went to strike Serana. The nord hadn't been ready for it, and nails turned claws raked Serana's arm as she brought it up to block her face just in time.
Instantly Yosa'Min's anger faded and she started to apologize, "Serana I'm so sorry, I didn't- I just-"
"It's fine," the nord replied with gritted teeth, clutching her arm before she began inspecting the wound. Blood welled to the surface of her pale skin, the red cloth of her sleeve ruined. "The one time I don't wear my bracers," she uttered, sucking in a breath of air at the sting. When she looked back up at Yosa'Min, she was met with hungry orange eyes, transfixed on her arm. "This is exactly my point," Serana remarked, stepping closer and taunting the redguard almost with the wound. "You need blood, you crave it. You can hardly control yourself around mine and I shouldn't be your focus."
The redguard blinked up at her, finally able to stop staring but that same hunger was rising in her body again. She closed her eyes, taking deep breaths and tried to calm herself but it wasn't doing much good. All she could smell was Serana, and it was driving her mad. "Please," she struggled, "cover that, please."
Without a word the vampire stepped away and began to rummage for something to wrap the cuts with. Yosa'Min's breathing leveled a bit as she moved away, the haze of bloodlust fading some as well. When the nord came back over, despite linen wrapped around her arm several times, Yosa'Min could still easily pick out the smell of her blood and it was close to turning her mad once again. "I know that you don't like the idea of doing it, but if this doesn't prove to you my point then I don't know what will." Yosa'Min looked up at the nord that was speaking once again. "You have to drink."
"You smell really good," blurted Yosa'Min.
Serana narrowed her eyes cautiously. "If I have to leave until you calm down, I will," she said.
"No!" Yosa'Min nearly panicked. "I promise, I'll behave. Just... don't leave." She lowered her gaze, biting her lip with shame. The smell was intoxicating. "See, behaving," said the fledgling as she sat back down on the bed and ducked her head. Serana glared at her, deciding between things, and then sighed.
"I'll stay, but understand this Yosa'Min," Serana said, sitting down on the other end of the bed. "For vampires, drinking each other's blood is very very intimate. It's more intimate than nearly everything else."
"Really? What's more intimate than that?" Serana arched a brow as if it were obvious. "Oh..." The redguard's cheeks would have been burning if there could have been any heat in her body anymore. "I see, sex, right."
"Just under drinking each other's blood would be feeding from the same person," Serana said, the smell starting to decrease in potency but still lingering in the air like a thick perfume. "In most cases, that escalates up to kissing and then biting each other and then full blown... intimacy."
The redguard suddenly recalled something, and as clouded as she was couldn't stop herself from asking. "Wait, in the crypt. I... I can remember you drinking my blood when you were turning me and then... I was... drinking yours," she looked at Serana rather sheepishly. "What... was that exactly then?"
"Oh!" Serana's eyes widened a bit. "Well, that would be a rather intimate way that I turned you, yes. But, it was only because that's also usually the most effective method, and with you dying and..." she trailed off, flustered just as much as Yosa'Min. "You know what?" She stood up and looked at the redguard who frowned with confusion at the change of tone. "I'm going to go outside for a bit."
"Won't the sun hurt?" Yosa'Min frowned.
"It's not good for my skin, sure, but I just need a second," she replied without looking back as she walked outside.
"Uh, okay..." Yosa'Min muttered, shaking her head with confusion. She watched her go outside, standing in the early dawn light with the door open still. The elder vampire's hood was up and back to the redguard, but Yosa'Min could tell she was doing the very same thing she'd been doing a lot as of late, trying to calm herself. Something about it struck the redguard, and she was on her feet moving after her.
Once she was at the door frame, she paused. The sun wouldn't be at it's strongest this early, but Serana had been pretty adamant about what it would do to her. Clearing her throat, Yosa'Min spoke up. "Hey, can I come outside?"
Serana turned around, and looked at her carefully before glancing at the sky. "Your skin should be strong enough now," she said, giving her permission. Swallowing her nerves, Yosa'Min cautiously stepped out. It was an undeniably painful sensation as she started to slowly walk outside, but nothing too bad. She smiled wide with excitement, looking up at the nord vampire who smiled in return. "Come here," Serana ordered gently.
The redguard nodded her head and moved towards her. It was so much brighter than she'd ever imagined it could be outside, making the redguard have to squint to make anything out. Easily she could see where Serana stood under the shade of a tree, and Yosa'Min gasped as she realized just how beautiful the woman was. She eagerly slipped into the shade, the burning sensation only slightly lessening.
"See," Serana smiled wide, "this is what happens when you keep your strength up, which means drinking blood."
"I know," Yosa'Min replied, "I'm sorry I'm making this so difficult."
Shrugging, the nord's smile remained across her face. "It's fine, you're getting used to everything, can't put much blame on you. It's a pretty big change from the tastiest thing you'd drink being some kind of alcohol."
A laugh came from the Dragonborn, and she nodded her head. "I can't deny it tastes even better than I could have imagined fresh."
"The interesting thing is, Yosa'Min, blood is a lot like wines and meads and all that."
"How so?"
Serana's gaze turned from her to the sky, watching the clouds that had been so foul clear up with the rising sun. "They each taste different. Sure, there is that underlying taste that's universal for everything, but everyone is unique. It is their life force after all."
Biting her lip, Yosa'Min nodded her head. "I see..."
They stood there silently, close together to remain in the shade. Yosa'Min's eyes kept darting around, as if she was uncertain what to say or do next. Serana glanced over to her, and then shrugged. "Come on, let's get you back inside," Serana said, taking the redguard's hand suddenly and leading her towards the wooden shack. "Don't wanna push our luck so fast. We can leave for my Clan tomorrow evening."
"Okay," the redguard replied, her mind blank and focused only on the nord's touch. "That's fine with me."
Serana looked back, and gave a wide smile. "Good, because it'll be one heck of a trip."