Zania Castell (brokendoll) wrote in the_dome, @ 2013-12-29 23:08:00 |
|
|||
Entry tags: | 04-16-2017, devin, devin and zania, zania |
Things You Should Know
Who: Devin and Zania
Where: Zania’s place
When: early afternoon
Devin had had an uneasy feeling ever since he’d awakened at around nine that morning. Some of it was related to how tight-lipped Charlie had been before he’d gone to the police station; the man had looked as if he’d had next to no sleep, and Devin could only assume that it had to do with whatever had gone on the night before. After his uncle had left, Devin had dug out his phone again and re-read the text from Zania. It made even less sense and was more horrifying than he’d realized, given he’d been two thirds asleep when he’d received it. She’d been shot, there was a werewolf, and Zan needed blood. What?
It was like crazy talk, but she’d told him to come by her house, so he figured if he did, he’d find out if she was trying to pull some elaborate joke on him or if she was serious. But… how could she be serious? While it was true that they were living out a post-apocalyptic existence and anything should be easier to believe now, that was a tough one. Werewolves? Did he look insane?
After doing a few chores around the place-- because he tried to reduce the amount of frown lines Charlie wore when he could-- and showering and eating, Devin headed over to Zania’s. He was scheduled for a late afternoon shift today, and since the power was back on that should be a go, but he had time for this. Once he’d arrived, Devin knocked on the door and waited, trying not to fidget.
Zania had done her best to clean up the mess that was her house, but some things were harder to fix than others. The blood stains on the couch, for instance, were just going to have to remain until she could find time to recover it. And there was nothing she could do about the claw marks in the wood floor. Otherwise, the house looked as it normally did, minus Clementine, which was the part that was driving Zania crazy. She and Lance had looked, but found nothing. If she hadn’t been hitting the point of exhaustion, she would have kept looking, but even she had to rest sometime.
She’d forgotten that Devin was going to drop by until there was a knock on the door, which she raced to answer, glad that the sun wasn’t out today. It made it easier to open the door, not having to dodge any incoming rays. “Hey,” she said, stepping back to let him in. “I am so sorry for springing that on you in the middle of the night. I was freaking out and I wanted to warn everyone.” But she’d forgotten that she’d never shared that secret with him, and apparently no one else had either.
“Hey,” Devin said, his expression a mix between curious and cautious. “I just--. I thought maybe it was a joke, but I was mostly asleep, and… I don’t know.” He’d been scrutinizing her carefully, and he broke the stare to look around the room. He didn’t miss the couch or the floor, but he didn’t comment on either when he turned his gaze back to the redhead. He had no idea where to start, and he ran a hand through his hair as he tried to decide. “You said you got shot? And Clementine’s missing?”
“Um, yeah, but I should probably back up,” she said, leading the way over to the couch, then changing her mind and going towards the kitchen. “Would you like something to drink?” she asked, thinking that the kitchen table would be a better place for this discussion. “You might need something to drink.” Before he even answered, she fixed him something anyways, a shot of vodka for both of them.
Well, okay then. Any conversation for which he’d need a drink was bound to be interesting. “You know me, I never turn down liquor,” Devin said, just as glad that she’d decided against the couch. Because… yeah, it needed a throw over it, or something. Not that he was an interior design expert, but still. He followed her to the kitchen, forced to wonder what could need to be told before the story of a person being shot but looking perfectly fine and a missing person. He guessed he’d be finding out soon.
Zania shot back her vodka and slid into the seat across from him. He already thought she was crazy, so she might as well get right to it. “I was shot three times. Here, here, and here,” she said, pointing to her stomach, shoulder, and neck. “You can’t tell because I’m a vampire and I’ve healed. But I have ways to prove it to you if you don’t believe me.” She doubted he would, but she wanted it to sink in first before she flashed her fangs at him.
“You weren’t kidding at all, were you?” Devin said. “When you said I’d need a drink, I mean.” He slammed down the whole shot at once, something he wasn’t accustomed to doing, and coughed. He pulled in a deep breath, exhaled it in a blast of air and then stared at her. “You’re a vampire,” he repeated blankly. “Come on, is this ‘fuck with the dorky kid who works for my brother’ day? What did I ever do to you?” He felt mildly offended, because he’d thought Zania liked him well enough. He’d been teaching her to cook in the Diner’s kitchen on occasion, and they’d had a good time. Why would she be feeding him a pile of bullshit like this? It had to be bullshit… right?
“I thought that if I was in your place, I’d need a drink,” she said with a little smirk. “And after last night, I need a bottle.” But she didn’t have time to get shitfaced and waste the day away. Clementine was out there somewhere and Zania would track her down if it killed her. “I never said you were dorky and you’re hardly a kid, but I’m not joking.” She let her fangs slide into place, then smiled so he could see them, the change abrupt but very real. “Does this help convince you or would you like to go in the bathroom and witness my lack of reflection?” The healing part he’d just have to believe. She’d lost too much blood in the last twenty-four hours to show off that little trick.
“What the actual fuck,” Devin breathed. He knew that there were costume fangs people could get, but he knew perfectly well that there hadn’t been anything on Zania’s teeth when he’d first arrived… and she hadn’t put anything into her mouth, unless you could get vampire teeth from the rim of a shot glass. She literally had fangs. Why the fuck hadn’t Justin filled him in about this? You might think the guy would realize that Devin would find that an interesting and useful bit of info to have considering he spent time with Justin’s sister, cooking. He could use a bottle right now too, or at least another shot. He sat there staring stupidly at his boss’s sister for a few, then asked, “So… how long have vampires been a thing?”
Zania laughed a little, pressing her tongue up against one of her fangs. It was sharp enough to cut it, but then she stopped, letting it heal as she swallowed the blood. “As far as I know, it started with those bat attacks a few weeks back. Most people who got bitten died, but if you consumed blood within twenty-four hours of the bite, you became a vampire. And, yeah, I know how crazy that sounds. For me, it happened by accident.” She hadn’t been consuming blood on purpose, that was for sure. If Mickey hadn’t cut himself, she wouldn’t have latched on, and she probably would have died as well. And on that note, why hadn’t she heard from Mickey? Zania made a mental reminder to check in on him.
“Yeah, I guess it wouldn’t occur to most people to drink blood, right?” Devin said. He had no idea what to think about this, but he couldn’t deny something he was seeing with his own eyes. The fangs were there, so he had to at least listen to what she was saying. He fiddled with his empty glass, rolling it between his fingers. It didn’t occur to him to feel like he might be in danger of being bitten or whatever. He was too busy trying to process it. “Are there others?” he asked, although she might not know. Unless there was some secret vampire signal, or sonar. “Are you Undead? Do you have a heartbeat?” Those seemed like logical questions to ask.
“A friend of mine cut himself while helping me make apple pie. I kind of instinctively latched on,” she admitted. It was still weird to think about, but the pull was undeniable. If she was hungry enough, she’d do it again. “I know of one other, but there’s probably more. I’m pretty sure the bodies drained of blood were the work of a vampire.” It was obvious once you got past the fact that vampires existed in the first place. “I don’t like to say I’m undead because that makes me think of the zombies, but no, I don’t have a heartbeat. I can hear yours, though.” If she was alone with someone and they lacked a heartbeat, it would be obvious if they were a vampire, but in a crowded room it was impossible to tell whose was whose.
Devin thought that would be totally freaky to have somebody start sucking on where you’d cut yourself, but he refrained from saying it. If one was a vampire, maybe it wouldn’t be. “Wow,” he murmured. “Wonder if Charlie knows about this stuff?” If his uncle knew and hadn’t told him? Devin was going to be seriously pissed. He put the glass down, because he was probably annoying Zania with his fidgeting, and said, “You mentioned werewolves. That’s a thing too?” He was getting quite the lesson in the supernatural today.
“I don’t know. Maybe?” Zania said. “It’s not something I wanted to tell a lot of people because the natural reaction is to freak out. I really don’t need people hunting me down. But now that there’s some out there that are killing people, maybe it’s best that people know what’s out there.” She thought that if she were human, she’d handle things differently if she knew vampires and werewolves were an issue. She just hoped all “hunters” had the same philosophy that December did when it came to who to kill. “Yeah, werewolves,” she said, retracting her fangs and biting her bottom lip. “Those would be the people who were bitten by wolves and survived.” Including her brother, Justin.
Devin hadn’t been afraid of her, but he was just as glad to see the fangs go. It was entirely too weird, and it became even weirder when she told him how werewolves had come about. “Bats and wolves. Do you know how nuts that all sounds?” He huffed out a breath and made a face. “Like some weird young adult novel series. Hopefully better written than Twilight.” He snickered. “I don’t even know.” Did everyone else in town know about all this? Had he been one of the only ones left in the dark?
“I know. But I don’t sparkle in the sun. I burn. And that werewolf last night meant business, so I think the stakes are a bit higher than a young adult romance novel,” she said with a smile. It was good that he could laugh about it. She just hoped things didn’t continue down the road they were heading. “Anyways, you might want to keep a weapon with you, just in case. And don’t invite anyone in that you don’t trust, cause that really works. I can’t enter a house without an invitation. Oh, and silver works against the werewolves.” It felt like she was rattling things off, but she wanted him to be prepared.
Devin’s way of handling situations he couldn’t process was with the use of either anger or humor, and given that he was in a house with a vampire, becoming angry didn’t seem to be the way to go. He could feel it brewing inside though, especially as he listened to Zania’s helpful tips. He didn’t believe for a second that Charlie was unaware of all this, which meant that his uncle had left Devin to sink or swim on his own, without the knowledge of the supernatural that he might very well need to survive. There was no excuse that was going to work to assuage his anger, he knew that already. “Guess I better keep the fuck inside the house after dark until I figure something out, yeah?” he muttered. He was a nineteen year old who cooked in a restaurant. What was he supposed to know about weapons? Maybe he’d better learn.
“You have a gun, right?” she asked. “If not, I know someone who can get you one. In the meantime, a kitchen knife will do, or a bat, or a hammer. Just have something on you, just in case.” It could also be dangerous during the day, but with more people out it felt safer. “It’s not as bad as the zombies, Devin. They may be smarter, but they’re smaller in number. And everything has a weakness. If you have questions about werewolves… you can talk to Justin.” He had to know that Justin had been bitten, since he’d been in the hospital, so she didn’t feel like she was giving too much away. Hopefully her brother wouldn’t kill her for it.
“No,” Devin said slowly. “But I could probably lift one from Charlie.” He knew his uncle had a fuckton of weapons, and after the showdown that was sure to occur once Devin saw the man again, he had the feeling Charlie would be teaching him to shoot. He shifted his gaze away when she told him it wasn’t as bad as the zombies, because yes, that had been bad. He’d been a kid, mostly protected by the other people in his group, but still he’d never forget it. He was nodding along to what she was saying when she mentioned Justin, and Devin’s eyes lifted from the table’s surface. If you have questions about werewolves… you can talk to Justin. Devin wasn’t a genius by any stretch of the imagination, and he actually hadn’t known his boss was a werewolf because he hadn’t known werewolves were a thing, but he remembered the hospital stay. Damn, his boss too? “Okay,” he said softly.
“Well, I’m not great with a gun, but if you want someone to practice with, I’m not bad. It’d be a nice trade for the cooking lessons,” she smiled. She’d gotten to the point where she enjoyed shooting a gun, but she didn’t like having a reason to do so. Zania liked feeling safe, even when she was hunting, though she realized that was contradictory. “I mean, I can tell you a bit, but he knows more. I know silver hurts ‘em. Burns like acid. And that they turn into wolves on the full moon. And have way better senses than a normal human. But he’d have better insight.”
Devin was trying to keep his cool. He’d been flooded with so much new information in the past twenty minutes that his head was spinning. “Oh… sure, sounds good,” he said of practicing shooting with Zania. “We could do that sometime.” She’d have to be better than he was. Maybe between her and Charlie, Devin could become competent with firearms. “Actual wolves,” he said. It wasn’t a question. “Wow. I don’t even--.” He trailed off, feeling like an idiot. It didn’t feel that great to be a person that evidently nobody trusted to share information with. At least Zania hadn’t tried to make something up to cover for the text she’d sent him in the wee hours.
He seemed a little bit lost and she didn’t blame him, not one bit. She’d had a hard time accepting it herself and she was a vampire. By the time werewolves came into the picture, it almost seemed normal. Everything was on its head. “It’s all kinda crazy,” she said softly. “I would’ve never believed it if I wasn’t a part of it. I was hoping things would die down and I could just be normal, that all of us could, but now… well, I obviously thought you should know.” She wouldn’t have texted him if she didn’t trust him.
“Thanks,” Devin said, giving her a genuine if slightly flustered smile. He’d always liked her, and it was nice to know that being a vampire hadn’t turned her into some crazy, bloodthirsty thing instead of the woman he’d known for several months now. “You seem normal to me, you know… all things considered.” He shrugged, tapped his hands on the table in a staccato pattern and then pushed up from his chair. “I guess I better be getting to work, now that there’s power again.” Even if all he’d be thinking about would be confronting his uncle once he got home.
“I’m glad you think so,” she smiled, looking just like she always had, no fangs or anything else to give her away as a vampire. Maybe someday he’d see more of her vampire side, but there was no reason to traumatize him today. He’d already gone through enough. “I’ll see you at work, when I get back to it,” she said, rising from the table and walking with him towards the door. “I might ask Justin to cover for me while I look for Clementine. With all that’s going on, the night shift’s bound to be dead anyways.” Yes, he ran a 24-hour diner, but when things were this bad, Zania had more important things to do than serve people coffee at 2 o’clock in the morning.
“Sure,” Devin said when Zania told him she’d see him at work at some point. He almost wanted to ask if she still wanted to learn to cook if she was a vampire. Did they eat anything but blood? No, now wasn’t the time to ask. He already had enough of a headache. “I hope you find her,” he offered once they’d reached the door. Devin lifted a hand in a partial wave and added, “So uh… see you.”
“See you, Devin. Be careful out there,” she said, offering a small smile. He would be safer now that he knew what he was facing. He could at least be prepared, maybe stay in at night or carry a weapon. Hopefully things would be settled soon, but that would take finding all the missing people. She still had hope that they might be alive, and if that was the case, they just had to find them. That was proving easier said than done.