Chapter 3 - The Blooding

"So I thought that you needed another chance."
"And you think you could give it?"
"Yes. I do."

On that night Louis was very curious. He asked all kinds of questions about vampires; if really sleep during the day, why they need blood to survive, are they lonely, why I don't have red eyes, where are my fangs - everything! I almost got tired of his questions, but I answered them all and explained when he asked why, and looked at me with a confused expression on his face.

You could be a great vampire, Louis, I said to myself but, of course, my friend couldn't hear me. I didn't dare to say it aloud.

"You're saying that vampires are kind, right?" Louis asked,

"They drink blood only then when they have to?"

"Well, yes", I nodded, "but I wouldn't say kind. Many of them are good, but everyone just follow the rules."

"Rules? Do you have laws in the vampire mountain?" Yes, he knew about vampire mountain, too.

"Not quite laws. Just rules, you know."

"Are there some leaders?"

"Yes, there are. Vampire princes. They are like... presidents."

"Oh, okay." Louis said and started to finger his lower lip - like he was considering something. I watched him and waited for his next question but then - to my surprise - he raised his head towards me - hesitated a while - but asked then quietly:

"What do you think, Kurda, could I be a good vampire?" We really were on the same wavelength. First, I didn't know what to say, but then I smiled warmly and said:

"Of course, you could be a good vampire." Louis smiled, when I continued:

"You would be better vampire than I am. You bet it." I was right. Too right...

"So, how you do the blooding thing? Will you be my mentor, won't you?"

"Yes. Just listen to the teacher." I said and raised my hands to show little scars on my fingertips.

"See? Almost every vampire is blooded like this. We have to press our fingers facing each other. Then the vampire blood - mine - flows to your veins and your human blood goes to my arteries." Louis nodded after my words and bite his lip.

"Um. Does it hurt?"

"A bit - yes - but don't worry. You won't die."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." I countenanced him.
Louis watched me a moment and smiled then a little bravely.

"I must tell you something before we start", I said when I get up and sat then on the floor. Louis followed me and sat down to the warm red carpet.

Blooding was easier to do on some firm place. Not on a place like a sofa. If something fails, it's hard to repair the things that turned out badly. It's possible, but difficult - and painful. It's easier to avoid the risks than suffer from mistakes.

"First you will be only a half-vampire. Sun doesn't harm you. You don't have to drink the blood as much as I have to. You are not as strong as I am. Got it?"

"Yes. But -"

"And when you are a vampire, you can't have a family. You can't have children."

"What? Not even in theory?"

"No. Not even in theory. Vampires are lonely." After my words, I studied my friend. He wasn't very sure what to do.

"Remember, you can still retreat if you want. I can't force you to do anything."

"Yeah", he mumbled.

"This is a big decide, Lou. You'll leave your other life behind if you do this."

"I know", Louis answered.

For him, it was hard to decide, if he would he live in darkness, or under the sun. I understood him and contented to wait. After a moment Louis slid his finger on his lower lip and said:

"I don't think that I'm going to regret this." His voice was calm and sure of his words. He closed his eyes - thoughtfully.
I loved the way he never made a fuss. After his words Louis just raised his hands and said:

"I want to be a vampire, Kurda. I've seen the colors of this life", he shook his head a bit - eyes closed,

"I don't like them." I nodded, raised my hands to his fingers, and pressed my dark nails to the soft skin to make a cuts.

"Remember, Lou, vampires' life is not rosy. It's not having fun - it's surviving. And for some kinds of people it has nothing to do with living - for them, it's just fading in the doom", I remarked when I was opening my scars.

"I am not going to retreat", Louis said seriously. And that was what I wanted to hear.

"All right then." When I was ready, Louis pressed his bloody fingers against mine. I felt something hot running in my veins. A vampire blood run out, and the human blood getting inside.The blooding had begun.

Even if the human blood comes to the blood vessel of a full-blooded vampire, the vampire doesn't change into a half-blooded vampire, because the human blood is too weak to do that, unlike the vampire blood, which is strong - as a bitter citric acid compared with the water. That's one of the things that a mentor has to teach to his assistant. Many of them are about blood; what blood is poisonous to a vampire, how often and how much are you agreed to drink blood - and so on.

During the blooding Louis fainted - however, the blooding succeed - and after it, I cleaned our scars and the blood, which had dropped to the floor and to the red carpet. I carried the unconscious Louis to a sofa, laid his head on the pillow to rest and tucked him up with a blanket - he seemed to be cold.
Pale moonlight shone inside from a window when I quietly stepped into a kitchen. I smiled a bit and walked in front of the lattice window to watchthe stars on the deep blue night sky. Soon I found the big dipper and then the North Star from the constellation. That night was beautiful. A few water drops dropped from light gray clouds. On the outside the wind twiddled withthe orange and brown leafs. It looked like the leaves were dancing in a slow rhythm.
The peep of day was near. I saw how the red downs of the sunrise loomed between the other houses and orange colored trees.
Sun is rising already, I thought then the smile disappeared from my face, What can I do now? Stay here? That's not very grand plan but… I have Louis now. He is my assistant.
When I had closed the curtains of the window I turned around andlooked into the fridge.
He could make sure that I - we - are safe until the dusk comes.
I took a can of blackcurrant juice from the fridge and poured it to the two glasses. Juice tasted like iron. I glanced the can. No, it wasn't out-of-date. My vampire instincts were just playing tricks on me. I grinned a bit.
Blackcurrant has much iron. Louis could need that now, I thought.
Then, I took the glasses with me and I went back to lounge, when I stepped close to the sofa I heard Louis whispering:

"I didn't mean to follow you, brother. Forgive me, Cyrus. Forgive me..."

He was asleep.