well, i'm taking my time
i'm just moving along
you'll forget about me after i've been gone

❧

Silence waltzed through the vicinity surrounding the holy church as if dancing in mockery at Valeria's contradicting emotions. Her crimson lingered on the three-story building for a lot longer than she would have liked. There was something about it that absolutely irked her. The vampire was someone who did not believe in God because if he did indeed exist, it would shatter every hope of redemption that she ever possessed. For a God to exist while she lived as the thing she hated most would be pitiful indeed. Therefore, she found it a lot easier to simply believe that a higher power didn't exist, at least not for the sake of its creations. It was simpler to be in denial than to accept that she had been forsaken.

Her heart wrapped a blindfold over her eyes, shielding her from that which would hurt her, and yet, her gaze wandered, only to return to the house of this so-called God. She hated everything about it; the way people pathetically made their way over to kneel before a higher power that didn't even care about them, the way they filled themselves with the hope that their prayers would be answered, and lastly, the way they preached about the God being the solution to every problem. Perhaps there was a part of her that longed to believe, she did not know, but there was an eerie comfort that came with the church.

The storm of thoughts going rampant in her head was quickly subsided by the smell of blood that wafted through the air. Her feet followed the scent, gracefully tumbling into the church entrance with a silence that nobody would pick up on. While she was unaware of the context of the situation, the sight before her was indeed intriguing. The boy kneeled on his knees before the so-called God. His jeans were tainted by the blood of a man who seemed to be a priest. His body just laid there with a generous amount of crimson liquid oozing out, adorning the white church floors in a beautiful shade of red. While a part of her did want to taste the blood for it would be a waste to simply let such a delicacy be spoiled by touching the grounds of this disdainful place, her interest in the boy's words was far larger. Plus, she much rather preferred her food to be alive. She silently took a seat on one of the benches closer to the entrance, her gaze lingering on the back of the child's head.

With evident curiosity lacing her words, she said, "Ouch, you did quite a number on him. Say, did you kill him simply because he was a flawed human? If it was to eat him, I have news for you, kid. Humans taste a lot better when they're alive." She crossed her legs, placing her elbow on the top one and using her hand to hold up her face. "Or is it out of hate for the Illumin? The so-called God is quite pathetic, I'll give you that. You talk as if heaven and hell actually exist." Valeria scoffed. "I almost believed you for a second there. Tell me kid, who are you?" From her voice, anyone could tell that she held no malice, neither was she condescending towards the child. She was merely intrigued by the question of how he got to this point. He looked no older than a teenager, which is the eyes of the aged vampire, was but mere childhood. While his tone displayed his age, she wanted to know what his words truly meant. For someone who didn't believe in the afterlife, everything he said seemed to open a new door towards answers to questions she didn't even know she had.

@Za

well, i'm taking my time
i'm just moving along
you'll forget about me after i've been gone

❧

Valeria lived in denial and ironically, was also in denial about that fact. As the wretched misery which was her life prolonged and the hope of attaining revenge slowly slipped through her fingers, she subconsciously narrowed her view, focusing on one thing alone. That was her hatred towards those of her own kind. Without any direction, the rage usually stomped about, completely oblivious to her surroundings but there seemed to be no end to it. She could go on and on, killing every vampire she encountered and ignoring everyone and everything else but she sometimes wondered if it would ever land her somewhere. Was her life truly nothing more than a neverending monotonous journey, making her face the same obstacle over and over again until all feelings in her heart faded to black? Perhaps. However, she was too deep in to immediately change her ways.

To her, who had lived longer than she ever wanted to, where she was now was already akin to hell. To come to terms with the idea that there was a place far worse was unimaginable. If and when she died, she simply wanted to fade into absolute nothingness. Perhaps it was this wish from which her ignorance stemmed and it was ignorance that she wasn't willing to let go of. It was like a safety blanket, a source of comfort that also managed to instill a fear of the unknown into her. The boy struggled to look at her, squinting and glaring to get a look and idea of who she really was. "I haven't. Are they any better than this world? If so, I'd love to take a little trip."

She stood up from her spot on the bench and sauntered towards the alter, towering over the kneeling child before glancing at the body behind him as he smiled while displaying his blood-adorned fingers. "Yea, I can tell. It's fine; they're better dead when they're troublesome anyways." The young child emitted an evil aura. From the moment she stepped into the church, she could tell the child wasn't normal. What he actually was, to be honest, was of no interest to her. Unless of course, he was also a vampire. However, that idea soon departed her head once he called blood nothing but a mere condiment. She almost laughed at the comment until she heard the cute little nickname he had innocently uttered.

Her red gaze quickly turned into a glare, akin to that of a snake with her slitted irises. "Let me give you a word of advice, my dear." She bent down to look him in the eyes, causing her silver hair to fall over her shoulder and cast a shadow over her face. "Don't ever call me that again." Raising herself back to her height, she looked at the body in disgust. "And absolutely not. Priest blood sounds disgusting so it's all yours. Go ahead and enjoy."

Valeria turned her attention back to Zael, who introduced himself as a pastor slayer. She had the admit that the kid, despite how crazy he seemed, had a child-like demeanor that appealed to her. Perhaps that's why his red eyes and fangs didn't bother her as much. "Kill you? I won't unless you're a vampire. I'm Valeria, the resident vampire hunter, I guess. Now that I know who you are, why don't you tell me what you are and why a kid like you is running around killing people by yourself?"

@Za

well, i'm taking my time
i'm just moving along
you'll forget about me after i've been gone

❧

Valeria stared at the boy for a while, observing the child-like innocence that radiated off him right after brutally killing a man. Truly, it was fascinating and a tad bit concerning. Perhaps it was because of her age but she viewed Zael as mere youth that was still wet behind the ears. In a way, she was slightly relieved when he heeded her warning and put her inhibitions to rest by drowning out any lingering suspicions of him being a vampire. "It's nice to meet you too, Zael."

She watched as he turned towards the body, gaping at it in indecision about where to start. That was one thing she did not miss because for the vampire, there was only one part of the human body that she was truly interested in. Although, that interest had subsided as her hunger could no longer be satiated with an average human's blood. Perhaps that's why the sight of the crimson liquid sparked a very little reaction from her.

Valeria tilted her head, listening to the words of the boy as he explained what Hell was like to her. Her face scrunched up, expressing her clear disappointment towards it. "That's a little sad. I was hoping to fade away into nothingness after death but if Hell does exist, that doesn't sound very likely. How disappointing." She sighed, slightly annoyed at the idea of having to leave this world only to live in another. She didn't completely believe him. Whether it was because she viewed him as a mere child or whether she was drowning in a sea of denial, she did not know but she was quite sure that the concept of it was something very annoying to her. "Although, on the bright side, I guess the vampires would gather in one place for me to kill."

She observed as Zael ripped out the man's heart while simultaneously pondering upon various nicknames for her. She wasn't particularly picky so long as he didn't refer to her by her race because more often than not, it was a slap of reality right onto her face. She sighed, following the boy and taking a seat next to the alter, careful to avoid stepping over the dead body. After all, she had no interest in ruining another's meal. "You seem to have a knack for avoiding questions. An eye for an eye; If you tell me why you go around killing priests, I'll tell you why I kill vampires. Although it's probably not as interesting as you may imagine."

@Za

well, i'm taking my time
i'm just moving along
you'll forget about me after i've been gone

❧

Being told that she was damned was surprising but not as bad as she had imagined. A chuckle parted her lips as she looked down at the boy, "I guess I'll have to make use of your otherwordly services when the time is right. I hope you won't go back on your word." She watched the boy with the eyes of a snake. He had a way with words that often left people speechless; something that she attributed to his age or his experience. His hesitance to open up did not provide her with many - if any at all - answers. Whether he truly was a child or the messenger for the underworld, or perhaps both, were all facts that remained shrouded in mystery.

Everything that she thought about the boy was but a mere assumption. There was very little he gave her to go on with in terms of unwrapping his identity but his secrecy must be hidden within reason. At least, that's what she thought. While she was intrigued and rather curious, the way he delicately evaded her direct questions gave away what she needed to know; that he wished to remain hidden, even to a creature of the night such as herself. She was someone who believed that knowledge was power and given how he wanted to hide his true identity, she anticipated that he might be someone who could be useful to her if she played her cards right. Regardless of that, she also wasn't one to push matters beyond what she deemed necessary so when he spoke, she listened.

"I quite like you, kid. I don't usually offer my own services and with the way you're going..." She looked towards the body of the priest before glancing back at the boy, "I don't think you'll need my help. But, if by any chance, you do and I'm around, feel free to ask me." Although that didn't mean that she would indeed help him, she felt like offering her assistance to the boy, albeit heavily circumstantial.

With a sigh, she leaned back, letting her gaze wander to the ceiling of the church. It was quite beautiful and almost shameful when she thought about how craftsmen dedicated so much time to their art and yet, people only praised and cried for a God who can't even their grace. "I told you it wasn't interesting. You even guessed it. I was turned against my will. I don't even remember how long ago that was." She scrunched her eyebrows as she looked lost in thought for a moment. "I don't even think I can remember how many vampires I've killed in that time." Letting out a sigh, she continued, "I do think I need to stop though. It was out of pure rage at first but I'm no longer gaining anything out of it. It seems a bit redundant to hunt vampires for no reason anymore."

@Za

well, i'm taking my time
i'm just moving along
you'll forget about me after i've been gone

❧

Valeria was at a crossroads; she didn't quite know where to go. Her entire journey that chased nothing but revenge was never aimed in the right direction. She just blazed past, burning everything in her way without even knowing where she was going. Perhaps it was because she realized that her methods weren't really leading her anywhere anyways or because the smooth road that provided her with comfort was finally starting to get bumpy, she needed to change her methods. She knew that revenge wasn't supposed to be comfortable, it was meant to satisfy her rage but after bottling up her anger for so long, she had started to lose sense of what her real goal even was. She couldn't even remember the fiend who had turned her but that was a starting point, she supposed.

Unbeknown to her were the thoughts swirling in the boy's head for when she looked at him, she merely saw a goofy smile plastered on his face. His childishness was almost enviable and even though he seemed to have gone through his fair share of experiences, she liked the way he conducted himself. The ease he held himself with was almost contagious that she found herself actually enjoying a conversation with him.

Valeria was always someone who liked to observe as opposed to being the center of attention herself. She wasn't someone who enjoyed talking about herself very much, having built up walls to shut others out but the Zael seemed to have his own walls. "Personal guardian is a bit much. Though, if I'm going to hell anyway, the prospect of having a good life in there doesn't sound bad." When he said the word 'bad', she chuckled lightly. While she didn't exactly consider herself to be a bad person, the subjective and vague nature of the word meant that she fit into it a lot better than outside it. "You're right, I would make a horrible guardian but if it's bad guys that you're worried about, just strive to be worse than them. Although I will admit, some of them set the bar so low, it's practically in hell but isn't that your specialty? There is a bad guy that I'm looking for. Maybe if I stick around long enough, he'll show up on his own."

As the boy delved deep into his own thoughts, the vampire watched him. Her ears perked up at his suggestion as she fell into a sea of thoughts herself. While the vampire wasn't an ambitious one, his suggestion didn't seem too bad. If she truly wanted revenge, making them miserable would be a lot better than killing them but she knew that while she had patience, it ran quite thin when faced with her own kind. She was also always aware that there may be others like her but she never showed hesitation in killing even those. Her hate for her species ran a lot deeper than she imagined. Her guilt that was pushed to the back of her mind had resurfaced. She hated the feeling of acknowledging it.

Valeria didn't recall what point in time it was when she simply stopped caring. She stopped caring about being better, being strong, or being good. She clung to her rage under the guise of revenge and desperately hoped that it would give her a reason to keep going but everything was becoming redundant now. "The Queen? That's very ambitious of you. I'm not particularly interested in gathering vampires like a bunch of lost puppies but I will admit, the thought of turning them into slaves is quite intriguing. Watching them tremble in fear has always been fun." She turned her body towards him as she got interested in the idea. "Just out of curiosity, if you were in my place, how would you go about executing this idea?"

@Za

well, i'm taking my time
i'm just moving along
you'll forget about me after i've been gone

❧

Valeria watched the boy with her snake-like eyes that observed every expression on his face, dancing in rhythm with his thoughts. It was rather entertaining watching him think albeit the content of his thoughts was unknown to her, besides what he chose to reveal to her. It was times like these that reminded her why she enjoyed retaining her status as an observer, as someone who simply watched and gathered information but alas, there was a time when that era had to reach its end. Unfortunately, it was high time that she sprung into action. She did think that the possibility of her seemingly endless life erased any sense of urgency that existed within her but as she looked at the past that she, herself, could barely remember, she realized that she was just stuck in time. Her steps halted as everything and everyone around her continued on with their visions and their ambitions. Perhaps she wanted to relive the life she had before she turned or perhaps she had become too comfortable with just drifting along with life, her own position remained very ambiguous to her. Although the deep longing of relishing in her own childhood would explain her amicability towards the boy. He had something that she didn't which is why she asked for his opinion. There was no guarantee that she would follow it but listening to his thoughts was quite amusing; she liked the way he thought.

The words that first came out of his mouth were not something that she expected. "You seem like someone who has seen your fair share of monsters so shouldn't you be used to seeing such beauty now?" It had been so long since she last looked at herself. It was quite hilarious that vampires, being creatures who were so in love with themselves, could not even see their own reflection. Valeria wasn't exactly fond of the way she looked but she did acknowledge her own beauty. It was almost haunting, giving birth to butterflies in others but if only they knew that it was an indication for them to run. She didn't like how eerily vampiric she looked, from the comments gathered by others at least, but her appearance had also made it a lot easier for her to feast on humans so while she wasn't fond of it, she was grateful for it.

She listened closely to his suggestion. It wasn't bad at all. Rather, it intrigued her further, giving rise to more of the blood thirst in her. Instead of just killing vampires, she could also take control over them, akin to killing two birds with one stone. Valeria did enjoy the feeling of others trembling in fear before her. The surge of power that another's terror can bring is unfathomable. Making a note of his suggestion, she turned back to him as he stood up. His next words earned a laugh from her. "Kid, it's a hundred years too soon for you to try to make me your girlfriend. I plan to piss a lot of people off in the future so I don't think having me as a guard would be great either. But sure, I'll take you out on an outing if you really want it."

exit