"Anne, look at these berries." John pointed at the strange berry bush that had multicoloured berries on it. "They are usually not edible as they are quite bitter. But if you use them with honey and eat them, they have the ability to cleanse bones and nerves. Too bad, they are so bitter."
Anne looked at the berries and pointed at the nearby well. "Let's camp here. I'll go get mom. Maybe she will have an idea."
John and Fabius Maximus nodded and saw her disappear. Fabius turned his head towards John and with a sarcastic voice called his name.
"John, Johnny... You seem to be quite knowledgeable. Can't you stop showing her this and that?"
John was actually quite a mischievous man inside. Seeing Fabius Maximus acting all jealous he found his new hobby. With a calm expression, he just shrugged. "Not my fault that you don't know it. As long she is interested I'll show it to her... very gladly."
Annunciating the last two words with a big smile made Fabius Maximus grind his teeth. He had such a wish to hit him and break that smile. "You seem to have less and less fear of me."
John looked at him flabbergasted and started laughing. "When did you see me being scared of you?"
Thinking about it Fabius Maximus realized that John indeed never showed any fear all that time. Since he met him he never showed fear towards them and just smiled calmly, no matter what was going on.
"Indeed, you really had no fear of me nor them. How comes?" He could feel absolutely no ill intention from this man, but still had a certain grade of disbelief that this man is as calm as he seems.
But what happened next left him completely speechless. John slowly walked towards the light and his whole body turned green in different shades.
"Tell me, what to fear? Vampires wouldn't drink my blood as its poisonous for them. Humans think I'm a freak of nature and only you and the girls think of me as a normal person. I can die just like any other person, but then I can revive as well. The eternal circle of life." He sat down on the nearby stump and basked in light. "The girls don't know about this. And I'm sure you won't say it. Anne might like me more than you. Cannibal..."
That is how she called him from time to time, when he stuffs his mouth with an unimaginable amount of meat.
Fabius Maximus rubbed his temples as he tried to control his anger. "Cannibals eat others of the same kind. I eat other animals, not humans."
John suddenly had a huge smile on his lips. "Ohhh, maybe that is the reason she calls you cannibal..."
Fabius Maximus inhaled deeply and asked. "What... are... you... taking... about?"
John casually looked at his long fingers and then glanced at him with the corner of his eye and answered. "You are what you eat. He he he."
At first, he had no idea what John's words meant, but as the words slowly entered his thinking regions, he stood up, rose his sword and was about to swing, when he heard a familiar voice calling. "Stop right there!"
But he was already in motion and couldn't stop anymore. His blood was boiling and he started chasing a man that made childish faces at him.
Anne stood there speechlessly, while Jenny just shrugged. "Let them play a little. Now, show me the berry bushes. I might have a few ideas." A potion to cleanse bones and nerves is something anyone would want. No matter if in this or that world.
Anne helped Jenny pick the berries. Some were darker some lighter, so they chose to separate them.
Looking at the nearby well, Jenny smiled brightly. "We can use the pure water from the well and cook some juice or we can make jam. I know that some berries lose their bitterness if you cook them long enough. There are so many ways. Let's try them."
They gathered the berries into two baskets, took some of the well water and went back to their place.
Anne heard the mess outside and wondered. "I wanted to ask you before... what is the noise outside? A zombie raid?"
Jenny just chuckled. "Nokla is having some fun. Let her."
Outside was a rainstorm. Huge amounts of water couldn't escape, so the streets were filled with water. Anne came closer to the window and saw a woman beating up a few hundred people like it was nothing.
Anne looked a bit deeper and started laughing. "She is holding a whip. Mom... wait... mom? Why is it familiar?"
As she turned her head she saw Jenny completely ignoring the question, while she slowly looked trough the berries.
"Mom!?" Anne called a bit louder and saw Jenny snapping out of her calculations and looking at her dazedly.
"What, what... what!?" She forgot now what she wanted to use later and looked at her daughter with a sigh. "Child... I love you, but I really hope it is important."
Anne could see her eyes wander off again, so she just quickly pointed outside. "Nokla's whip..."
"Oh, that..." Jenny shrugged. "I gave it to her. She wanted to break some branches from the old tree nearby to beat them up, so I just gave her the best thing. My whip."
''You mean the custom made whip? Made of alloy?'' Anne was in pure wonder. That whip was actually something Jenny ordered long ago out of the fun. She was holding it in her room as it was a dangerous thing. It was not to be used as a real whip, as its threads were made of sharp alloy. Hitting someone with that thing... ''You gave her... whoa, mom. Why?''
Jenny looked at her and sighed. ''I want you two to spend more time with each other. Those creatures in our world started growing in numbers and bothering my beautiful sanctuary. I didn't spend all that money to have that place destroyed. They came to our home, climbed the walls and were about to enter the apartment, when Nokla noticed them. If we can find a way for her to live fine, why not? One hand washes the other.''
Anne shivered a little and gave a little prayer for those creatures down on the street. That whip is not normal and as it seems Nokla was not a normal vampire herself. She always wanted to be a vampire but thinking about things so far... Is it still a good idea?