wakingmidnight (wakingmidnight) wrote in shadowlands_ic, @ 2017-10-02 08:12:00 |
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Entry tags: | evelyn geroux, matthew averett |
Who: Matthew & Evelyn
What: Matthew is hungry
When: September 28, 1888
Where: Wooded area
Warning: PG-13
Matthew paced through the small apartment that he shared with Evelyn. Back and forth, waiting for her to arrive. He was hungry. He needed blood and that bloodlust was getting the better of him every moment. He could smell the people that took up the apartments around him, could hear the heartbeats of each one and could track their movements just by that. This place was not the best for a vampire just turned. It had only been a few short weeks and he was clawing at the walls to get out, to hunt, to take what he needed in order to survive.
Blood wafted to him on the stale air and he knew that the woman in the apartment next to him had cut herself, probably cooking dinner. A growl left him as his fangs emerged and he started towards the door. A part of him had gone dark, the need taking over, the other part hoped that Evelyn walked through that door before he got there.
School was something Evelyn was still getting the hang of. Having been alive for over two-hundred years, one would think that she would be able to pass with flying colors. Even in a school for women, they were still being overly cautious about teaching women anything. It was completely ridiculous. Still she was doing her best, and striving to achieve her goals when she knew that she must get home to Matthew. He would need to feed soon, and come to think of it, so would she.
Coming home quickly through hansom cab, Evelyn could hear him pacing in the apartment above them as she arrived. She pushed open the door and spotted him there, bowing her head in apology. “I am so very sorry that I am late, I was caught up and.. You don’t need my excuses. We should go. To the woods.” It was a place that she knew quite well. Away from all prying eyes. There would be animals in the woods. “Tell me now if you think you cannot make it.”
A hissing noise came from him as the door opened and he backed up two steps and withdrew his fangs as he heard Evelyn’s voice. He blew an unneeded breath of air out through his nose and ran a hand through his disheveled hair.
“It’s not your fault,” he rasped out, his throat dry and scratchy. “Lady next door cut herself. I could smell the blood,” he explained. “I...I...I was about to lose it.” He had lost it and had it not been for her coming in when she did the family next door would have died.
“The woods. Yes…” he nodded. “Let’s go,” he grabbed his coat and started to follow her. “Quickly before I decide our neighbors will be a nice treat.”
“Then it’s a good thing, that I arrived just in time.” There was no taking off her coat, or getting settled, she waited for him to get his coat and then turned to head back down stairs. She was keeping an eye on him, even though he was behind her. Leading the way out of the building and to the walk into the woods. It would do him good to get some air and try to walk it off. Besides the closer they were to the woods, the less people would be there.
As they walked, Evelyn kept her arm through his. It looked just like a husband and wife, briskly walking through the streets as they got out of town. This is why she had chosen a place that was away from all the hustle and bustle. It was an apartment, but it was really the only one for quite a ways. They were on the outskirts of London and heading further out.
“Just focus on other things. Tell me about the rest of your day and hold onto me tightly, if you get the urge.”
Holding on tight wasn’t an issue. He did so, because even though they were away from the smell of fresh blood in the apartment, there were new scents outside. His eyes, he knew, glowed and his head jerked from side to side as he caught the scents of people and animals. Luckily, the smell of people drifted away as they neared the woods; being on the outskirts of town helped with that much.
“I..ah...didn’t do much but sleep,” he explained. “Sleeping helps keep everything down. Quiet. But after awhile I couldn’t even do that. I’m trying, Evelyn. I really am, but any control I have is not enough to stop me from ripping out throats.” He was worried he would become some sort of killer, a monster, and he prayed that if he did Evelyn would put a stake through his heart. “What will be hunt in the woods?” He said, trying to keep his mind off what he could be becoming.
Evelyn was steadfast on walking them towards their destination. She kept him pointed in the right direction, despite how much he clearly wanted to be distracted by the new things outside. “I know,” she said softly. “Sometimes it isn’t. I know it’s not easy. I’m not saying you won’t slip up. You might. I’m going to try and help you not to.” But he was already leaps and bounds above what had happened to her when she had been turned. There was no way she was going to leave him there.
“Deer mostly. Boar maybe, if there are some in the area. It is fall, and soon some animals will hibernate, but that also means that they are sluggish. We will have an advantage,” she told him. “We need to find something for you to hold onto. Something to focus on, so that you won’t rip anyone’s throat out. We’ll find something, I promise.”
Deer. Boar. He thought about them and the taste of their blood. His mouth watered. He knew that animal blood wasn’t nearly as tasty as human, but for right now he would take anything as long as it helped to quench his thirst.
“I have you,” he answered to her finding something that would help him focus. “You help me and just thinking about you helps me,” he told her. They’d made their way into the woods, stepping into the brush quietly and going deeper still where they animals they hunted would roam. “You make it look so easy sometimes, being a vampire, that I sometimes wonder if I wasn’t made out for this,” he sighed. “But I’m grateful to have my life, a life with you in it.”
Luckily they were getting close to the edge of the woods. The truth was that she was pretty hungry too, and she couldn’t wait to chase down something and sink her own fangs into it. She had to put him first though, because he needed it more than she did. She glanced over at him and really looked at him, as they walked into the grass and then into the woods. He had her. This was real, and they were connected now. Forever. It was going to take time to adjust to that.
“It’s not easy. No one’s made out for this. Not unless you were a murderer before. Then maybe.. And neither of us were. I’ve had a lot of practice. And it’s just going to take time. That’s all you can do, is one day after another.” Time was the worst thing to have, especially when there was so much of it. She didn’t know if one day he would come to regret what she had done, but she could only think about now.
Matthew hoped that he’d quickly get control. Chomping after every being that came his way would not do. He needed control. And he was working on it, but after a few weeks and just the smell of blood nearly sending him over the edge he understood that he still wasn’t in control.
“Easy or not, I need to get myself under control and get back out there in the world,” he commented. “Right now, I just want to get me a deer,” he looked her way. “And I think I smell one.” Then, without hesitation, he was off at superhuman speed in the direction of what he was presuming to be a deer.
With a delighted laugh, Evelyn let his hand go and allowed him to rush off ahead of her. It only took a moment for her to start after him. Running was horrid in these dresses, but she made do. She went through a lot of them, but thankfully had enough money to buy dresses when they were too bad to wear. She would let him go first, he needed it more than her.
There were quite a number of deer in the area, so while she kept an eye on him, she would look for her own. Two might be enough to sate them both, but she always was sensing the things around her.
Matthew was focused, his mind set on the deer. He slowed only a little when the deer came into sight and with a little grace he was jumping up into the trees and bouncing from one tree to the next. It had taken a bit of time to get acquainted with his new senses, to learn that he was fast and that he could do things that normal humans couldn’t and it had taken a bit for him to learn how to use his new gifts.
He stopped when he was right above the deer and watched silently for a few moments. It took a moment for the animal to sense the danger, his head popping up, the ears twitching. Then in a startled jump it took off and so did Matthew. He hunted his prey for a little ways before falling from the trees straight onto the deer, wrestling it down, and biting into the vein he knew would give him the most blood, moaning slightly when the first bit splashed upon his tongue.
Though Evelyn was right behind him, she was a little more stealthy in her approach. Waiting as if she was hunting with a rifle instead of just her own body. She had to move far enough away that the other deer wouldn’t sense one of their own being slaughtered and eaten. When she found one, she waited until the right moment and then chased it down before feeding on it. Blood coated her throat and she sighed with contentment.
This wasn’t as good as human blood, but she was thankful that she didn’t have to hurt anyone to get blood. Once she was done, she let the deer go gently before going back to find him. “Are you full?”
Matthew had to concentrate, to make sure he paid attention and didn’t kill the deer. When he had had his fill, he let the deer go and then sat where he was. He’d just pulled out a handkerchief when Evelyn approached.
“Yes, I think so,” he wiped at his mouth and chin and then stood up. “I think that we should just get a house and fill it with help that we can feed from time to time,” he approached her and wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. “I have some money, and as soon as I get myself together I’ll get a job at a bank,” he told her.
With the deer, it hardly mattered because they were likely to be so scared, they’d die of a heart attack anyway. It happened with prey animals. Still she tried not to let it happen as much as she could. It was good that he was letting this one go though. She was proud of him.
She smiled and put her arms around him in return. This was as close as they could get to affection in public, though this wasn’t exactly public. It was nice. “That will be some undertaking. Not getting a house, but finding those to feed from. We always have to be mindful of the Night Watch.” They were always making sure someone didn’t slip up. That vampires weren’t rampaging through the night, killing people. “I’ve never done anything so formal, we might have to actually submit paperwork.” How thrilling.
This was definitely not public, but Matthew knew he still had to remain a gentleman and let Evelyn be a lady and not sully her in any way. Though taking her against a tree sounded amazing at the moment.
“Right, the Night Watch,” he sighed. “How do they expect us to live...or well, you know what I mean,” he made a face. “Hunting animals can be okay, I guess, but I’d much rather have human. What if we just found some that were willing to let us feed? They could sign contracts and if they ever wanted out of it we just compel them to forget? Does it work like that?” He still wasn’t sure on how that worked.
Though they were quite in the woods and by themselves, there could always be other vampires in the area. Just because they were vampires, didn’t mean they were so liberal in their views about sex. It did sound amazing though, being free for once and away from prying eyes. Out in the open. It was quite thrilling.
“Well they’re supposed to be neutral, and I think as long as we weren’t outright attacking people and drinking their blood and causing a spectacle… it might be okay. I hate to say it, but it might just depend on the Night Watchman who finds out about it.” Like the sex thing, it probably depended on how liberal they were in their thinking. “Generally any time I’ve done this before, it’s been mostly secret. But sharing between the two of us.. Maybe a contract would do well. Legal paper work.”
Matthew nodded. “No attacking people and causing a spectacle,” he repeated her words. “Check.” That was why he thought having a staff that would be willing to let them feed from them would be better. But it was possible that wouldn’t work and he may have to deal with just feeding from animals, which overtime he was sure he’d get use to. “Whatever you think will be best,” he said. She was the one with experience, he was just trying to make it day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. “Until we figure things out, I guess we just keep doing this,” he waved his hand around the woods. “Ready to go back?”