I washed myself quickly under the spray of the shower, grateful that my brother had thought to tuck in a new bar of zimris-infused soap inside my bag. Its scent reminded me of home and the days where we played in the fields of zimris that surrounded our compound. Indeed, if my childhood could be described in scents, it would be zimris; lothian nut oil pressed from the trees of the nearby forest which was used to oil our weapons as well as to cook; the pungent smell of the needles and sap of the yogra that grew tall and proud among the lothian; and my bearer’s shninigri stew. Well, that and my brother’s sweaty feet and farts, but I’d rather not recall those.
I grinned to myself, letting my thoughts drift to these more pleasant things as I soaped my hair and body, then rinsed off. I had taken the least amount of time possible, even with my musings, and knew that I hadn’t kept Kelly waiting unduly. A quick drying off with the surprisingly rough towel our host provided and I was ready to dress, which I did without fanfare. Hanging up the towel and picking up my worn clothing and placing it in my laundry bag (also pulled from my pack) was only a matter of moments.
Tying my hair back as I opened my chamber door, I stepped into the hall. Kelly was leaning against the wall, chatting to a youngling.
“See? There he is. Not scary at all,” Kelly said upon seeing me, pushing himself off of the wall and uncrossing his folded arms. He stared at me with wide eyes and I made a mental note to share some of my pastry supplies with him later, both for reassurance but also to hopefully cajole tidbits of information.
“I, I best fetch some clean water,” the youngling stammered, quickly standing up to flee with a bucket of mildly dirty sudsy water they had been using to clean the woodwork that ran along the bottom of the wall.
“Dorty was telling me that we can go into the kitchen at our leisure and they even have some blood-infused food for you.” His nose wrinkled as he said that last bit. “Said they used blood they got from the abattoir.”
I couldn’t eat that and given the way they drew parallels with us to their legendary vampires, I knew they were aware of it.
“It has to be living blood,” I replied. “It’s okay, I have some platelet-infused supplies in my room.”
“They are doing their best to seem to want to help, but not really doing so,” Kelly said, sounding disgusted. He sighed. “Not surprising if you know what turns out to be true.”
I blinked; I knew what? Ah. His meaning became clear to me in a sudden moment of clarity. He was alluding to what we talked about in the bathroom, without repeating what might be overheard.
“There is that,” I agreed, following him down the hallway. As we made our way down the stairs and across the main entry, I was pleased to note the draperies were pulled across all of the windows to keep the light of the late afternoon sun out. More or less out, anyway. The drapes were not wider than the windows and bits of light leaked around the far edges. More information revealed itself as well via the windows on the side the sun was on. There the light revealed threadbare patches in the fabric. Given this was the first room visitors would see, this would be where their finest things should be, a fact borne out by the finely carved chairs around an ornate table inlaid with squares alternating light and dark. Carved playing pieces sat upon the furthest two rows on two sides, indicating it was a gaming table of some sort.
I drew in a deep breath through my nose, noting a distinct lack of scent of polish or oils. I turned, feigning curiosity about the game should anyone be observing us and meandered over to the gaming table.
“It’s a chess set,” Kelly informed me. “A strategy game from Earth, very old.” He gave a low whistle. “This looks like it might have been shipped here as part of the few goods families were allowed to bring.”
I ran a finger along the side of the table. Something so rare and precious, especially placed in such a prominent place to catch envious eyes, should be well cared for. The wood was dry and was going brittle. It was kept dusted, perhaps with a damp cloth, but the wood went unfed.
A piloris addiction, a dead son, and a seeming lack of household funds despite owning what should be a profitable estate.
“Interesting,” I said, referring both to the game before us and the information I was mentally cataloging. I turned away abruptly. “Let’s go get you fed.” I was suddenly eager to see how well the kitchens were supplied and I’m sure the cook would be more than happy to tell me.
“From what the maid said, it’s down here.” Kelly approached a door set off in an alcove to the far side of the staircase. Opening it revealed a short passageway, ill lit for human eyes as evidenced by the way Kelly squinted.
“You’d think they’d use a decent light,” Kelly grumbled. “Bet you can see all right though, huh?”
“Yes.” There was no point denying it. My species were primarily nocturnal after all.
Kelly turned his head to peer at me. “Yeah, I figured.” His lips parted in mild surprise. “Your eyes! I mean I saw they were sorta shining before, but I thought it was reflecting the um, moonlight. And um, they look bigger somehow.” He sounded disconcerted.
“Our pupils expand to take in as much light as possible.”
“Yeah, I know, just, the glow thingy is a bit, ah, disconcerting.”
I bobbed my head in understanding. “Perhaps when we reach the kitchen, I should remain behind you for a few moments until my eyes fully readjust.”
He let out a small sigh of relief that I caught what he was getting at.
“Yeah. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not scared of you but if it caught me off guard, it’ll probably scare the shit out of the staff. I met you while it was still dark and rode through the night with you here and know you’re a cool guy.”
It went unsaid that to everyone else, I was the stuff of stories come to life. A hungry vampire and one their master had seen fit not to feed. “Thanks. I like to think we’re becoming friends.”
His answering smile warmed me. “Already there,” he replied huskily and I scented a hint of arousal. I licked the tip of one fang. So, this attraction was decidedly not one way. That was a matter to consider later, if ever. Right now, we had more pressing matters, unfortunately.
Most unfortunately, indeed.