"Well, if you don't mind.." He raised my arm to his lips, gently brushing my wrist with his lips, which sent shivers through my body, as he bit into my wrist.
The embarrassing part was probably him being able to hear my heartbeat elevate. "You can take a bit more than you have been." I told him, petting his hair.
He didn't respond to my words verbally, but he did take more than he previously had. He stepped back, "Are you alright? That was a little more than usual."
"Yes. I am fine. It's usually when seventy percent of my blood is gone that it's an issue." I said.
"I feel it would be an issue for anyone if seventy percent of their blood was gone." Liam said.
I shrugged. "That's just when I'd need blood to recover. Besides then, food helps."
"That sounds very helpful to just be able to eat food. Keeps your cover more easily." Liam said.
"Did you want to take a hot bath before my Uncle arrives?" I asked.
"Yes, I would like to be the most presentable that I can." Liam said.
"Well, you're handsome enough, so that should be pretty easy." I shrugged. "This place should have plumbing. I don't know how old you are, so I'll show you how to use it."
"I don't know if age has anything to do with this, more of upbringing. I will gladly take instruction on this." Liam said.
I went to the bathroom with him and started showing him how to use it all. I pointed out the cleaning things in the room, such as shampoo and soap. Then I left him to bath properly. He had new clothes to try on after his bath, anyhow. He emerged from the bathroom around half an hour later. He looked great.
"You look like a new man." I grinned.
"I feel like a nobleman." Liam said, grinning, too.
"Felt great, didn't it?" I asked.
"It did. It feels like my skin is smoother even." Liam said.
I laughed. It took another thirty or so minutes before uncle Phintias turned up. My cousin Celphyr came with him. I'd let them into the rented room after I'd smelled their approach. Liam seemed very nervous, maybe scared.
Phintias looked him up and down. "Well, then. For us, you're relatively fresh."
"Yes, sir, I am. Only eighty." Liam said.
"How long have you all been inside that dungeon? And why are you there?" Phintias asked.
"We've been there maybe thirty years? And our leader found a journal." Liam answered. "He shares it with no one, but says it tells of how to turn the dungeon into a way to have infinite blood and money."
"Ah. Probably should have burned that.. or at least kept better track." Phintias said.
I said, "Let a book escape you, Uncle?"
"A very old journal of a very younger self." Phintias said.
"That's just your journal? He treats it like a bible." Liam said.
"It's a very detailed journal about far more than how to run a dungeon. I should probably go get that." Phintias said.
"That's not a good expression.." I said.
"No, and it shouldn't be." Phintias said. "Before I leave," He released his commanding vampiric presence and pointed at Liam. "Behave." He smiled at me, "I'm off to fetch a book. I am a librarian, after all." He then looked at Celphyr, "I'm going to trust that you are going to behave yourself. I'll be back in a little while. If you wonder off, I will form a search party."
"Father, I assure you that I won't get my adorable little gloom cousin in any sort of trouble." Celphyr said, giving him a droll expression.
He tusseled his son's hair. "Such a good young boy." Then he looked at me again, "If he does misbehave, do let me know. There is a reason I am watching him today."
"Yes, Uncle, I will tell you." I agreed.
He looked at Celphyr again. "Don't you just love being apart of a big family? Always someone to look after you."
"It has it's advantages and disadvantages. I'll refrain from being like you outside of your vision." Celphyr said, rolling his eyes.
"You shouldn't be like me, even inside my vision. I'm a special breed." Phintias said.
"Guess you should have considered that before you had a multitude of children. Unfortunately, a lot of us took after you." Celphyr said. "We simply could not be as gentle as Mother."
He put his hands up and said, "I better be on my way before I get such a lecturing from my son."
Phintias headed out, and I looked at Liam. "Are you alright?"
He patted himself down. "Apparently. It is hard to obey the command of 'behave', though. He gave no instructions as to how."
"It wasn't a command. It was a threat." Celphyr said. "Aly is our youngest, and perhaps my mother's favorite niece."
"I have met other members of your family. I would have to be some kind of fool to consider it." Liam said.
"Did you count your age as a human, too, or just a vampire?" Celphyr asked.
"Just as a vampire." He said.
"Then you are probably my elder sisters' age. Why did you follow Aly?" Celphyr asked.
"To be perfectly honest, it just kinda all happened very quickly." Liam said. "She was talking about places I had never been that seemed very interesting. She was very nice. She wanted to be friends. And I enjoy being around her."
"And it's got nothing to do with her being a living vampire, does it?" Celphyr asked, arching a brow.
"I guarantee it's not that. I still don't understand what that means." Liam said.
"Aly's mother is a Celadrin, born of a human and Archfey. She is essentially no different from a human, except that she can't lie and is detectable as an undead." Celphyr said. "She and most of her siblings are warmer that my siblings and I. She also has less authority amongst our kind."
"I.. then why would it matter to me that she is a living vampire?" Liam asked.
"She is immune to all weaknesses of vampires and can give them to turned vampires." Celphyr said bluntly.
Liam looked at me briefly. "She has already done so, so why would I be here?"
My cousin looked at me. "Yeah, I can't imagine what a man would want with being around a cute girl. You aren't on par with us, or my father wouldn't have scared you as much."
Liam cooked his head. "You're real fun at parties, aren't you?"
"You're real dead when my cousin loses interest in you, aren't you?" My cousin responded brightly.
"Phyr, isn't that unnecessary? Why don't you be a little nicer to my friend, Liam." I said.
"I am choosing to behave now." Liam said.
Celphyr sighed a little and said, "Anyways, what do you intend to do with him?"
"Well, what do you mean?" I asked.
"What was your plan on taking a coven vampire?" Celphyr asked.
"I just wanted to make friends with him. He said he missed farming, so I wanted to help him be able to tend a field if he wanted to." I said.
"So no plan, just impulse. Got it." Celphyr said. "And you followed along her lead because she was nice. What a pair you make."
Liam looked at me and said, "I'm gonna take that as a compliment, how about you?"
"May as well. Phyr is probably just in a bad mood. Either way, Uncle Phintias doesn't mind you, apparently." I said.
"Oh? What makes you say that?" Liam asked.
"He left you alive." I said.
"Well, yeah I guess that's a good indication that I'm okay to have around." He laughed.
"Have you told your parents what you have done?" Celphyr asked.
"Hm. I should, just because my Father doesn't like vampires. But it'll be fine. Grandma will just see it as repayment of him stitching me." I replied.
"Your dad really doesn't like vampires, huh? Wonder what happened." Liam said.
"They tried to murder him." I said. "He was widely ignorant to the ways of vampires until he got to meet his sister. Technically, they may not be siblings, but they are blood related from the same family."
"Hmm, easy to follow so far, but everything tries to kill everything out here, right?" He asked.
"Well, his family also tried to kill him the long and slow way through starvation. My aunt was born towards the end of that process." I explained. "It's probably the method used by the vampires. But I don't know it. He doesn't speak of it much. Just that vampire's shouldn't be trusted."
"He doesn't even trust or like my father." Celphyr added.
"Huh, well I suppose it's not a good idea to trust alot of our race, so it's fair." Liam said.
"I think I can trust Liam." I said.
"It's not like you've had a good time with living people." Celphyr said. "I suppose it makes sense that you'd go look for..." a slow smile spread across his face. "That's a good idea. I like that idea."
"Phyr? What's that look? What's that mean? What are you doing?" I asked, seeing him take out a communication item.
"Should I be concerned? I feel I should be concerned." Liam said.
"He might be talking to one of my siblings or his. He is mischievous." I said, feeling uneasy. Then I figured he could have contacted a Hearthry. No matter which one it would be, it was generally gonna be really bad for Liam.
"As long as his mischievousness doesn't get me murdered. I think I may just.. wonder off." Liam said.
"And miss the fun?" Celphyr said, taunting. His tone was entirely like his father's.
".. Who did you call? And what did you say?" I asked.
"Don't worry bout it.. anyways, you're gonna need another food source. So shall I help you look into that? A way to make it safe and legal." Celphyr said.
"We can feed.. legally? Yes, I would like to know more about that." He said.
"It's more or less my father's idea. Our servants all tend our home for us, and 'donate' some of their blood for adequate compensation, as well as being legally bound to not disclose our nature. Though, my father doesn't even pretend to try to seem human." Celphyr explained.
"Ah, so I'd be feeding off your servants?" He asked.
"They tend to be taxed enough by the lot of us. If you have any talent, I can assist you with arranging your own household." Celphyr said.
"That's a lot to just help someone acquire." Liam said.
"It can be mutually beneficial for me to do so, depending on your skill sets." Celphyr said.
"Well, my skillsets include farming, dungeon management, at best I am an ok fighter, and as she knows, I can sew." Liam said.
"What entails managing a dungeon, precisely?" Celphyr asked.
"Managing a dungeon on my level is making sure the right monsters are where they need to be, making sure the puzzles stay in working order, and the traps remain mostly non lethal." Liam said.
"That can easily be called high stress management." Celphyr said. "You can clearly control yourself around blood as well."
"It is a skill I had to master quickly, or else I would not be able to get my jobs done." Liam said.
"The next question would have to be how much you want to travel." Celphyr replied.
"I would like to do some sight seeing." Liam said.
"Alright, then." Celphyr said.
"What are you thinking of, Phyr?" I asked.
"Never you mind, you can wonder along with him. I daresay it should be safer than you running around and trying to fight monsters constantly." Celphyr said.
"Which means?" I asked.
"I am organizing a mobile clinic of sorts that will specialize in medical practices. No magic involved. With the technology available, we'll test blood for transfusions and such the like. Paying people for blood 'donations'. And mixing an anticoagulant in with it to keep it fresh for mostly medical purposes. I intend to keep the costs of treatment low so commoners can afford it." Celphyr explained.
"So essentially you are gonna pay people for their blood." Liam asked.
"In some cases, yes. In others it will be a matter of drawing it to run tests to check for diseases and ailments." Celphyr replied. "The excuse will be for when people are significantly injured, or who need surgery."
"If it is ever found out that it is run by vampires... I feel people would just understand." Liam said.
"If you're interested, I can offer you the job of directly managing the doctors and nurses and dealing with patient concerns." Celphyr said.
"I think I could handle that." Liam said.
Celphyr then started detailing what duties he'd have, what pay he should expect, and listing what services would be provided. Liam asked good questions, but meanwhile I'd flopped onto the bed, getting comfortable and tuning them out. It all sounded super business-y and boring.
The door opened, briefly, but I was still off in my own world, ignoring the dull talk. "This him?" I heard Daelyn ask. I sat up and looked. Sure enough. It was.
"Yep." Celphyr said.
"We need to go have a talk." Daelyn said.
"I... don't know if I should I agree with that." Liam said.
"He's married to my sister Nessa. In other words, my big brother-in-law." I said. "Most importantly, he is a Hearthry, so be scared."
"Ah. Ok.. do I really even have an option?" Liam asked.
"No, no you don't. So, come on, go let's have a chat." Daelyn said.
"Daelyn, he is the one who stitched me up in the dungeon." I said. "He also helped avoid a fight with bandits."
"I'm just gonna talk to him." Daelyn assisted.
"And Uncle Phintias is fine with him." I said.
"And that's fine. I'm just going to talk to him. You all are acting like I am going to murder him." Daelyn said patiently.
I patted Liam's back. "Daelyn isn't a great liar, so just don't annoy him too much."
"I will certainly try not to." Liam said, going outside with Daelyn.
Nearly twenty minutes later, they returned. Liam seemed perfectly fine. So I hopped up and grabbed Daelyn's arm. I then glowered at him and brushed my other hand against the lay of his fur. "Menace feline."
He smoothed his fur. "I did nothing wrong. We simply had a lovely chat and he came to an understanding."
"I know you like to be mean." I said.
"I have done nothing mean to him." He said. "He and I have come to an understanding."
"Ok. Big brother." I said, giving him a hug.
He hugged me back and said, "That's it? No further questions? You killed your curiosity and shoved it into a box, haven't you."
"Nope. Just making you wonder what I am planning. If I'm cute you'll look the other way, right?" I grinned.
"Hmm.. depends on what your bizarre little mind comes up with, I suppose." Daelyn said.
"Can't be worse than stealing a coven vampire on impulse, could it?" I asked.
Daelyn laughed. "I put nothing past you. Next you'll tell me about a large egg you found, just laying around in a volcano, I'm sure."
"Ooh, do you think it'd be a lion drake? I heard those live around here somewhere." I said.
"Oh, I've given her ideas now. I best be on my way." He looked at Liam. "Good luck."
"Liam, do you think I could tame a lion drake?" I asked, turning to look at him, smiling broadly.
"I've never come across a lion drake before.. I don't know.. is that something we can try?" Liam asked.
"I dunno. Isarial has a pet mimic, so I figure it may be possible." I said.
"Well, if it's a wild animal and we over power it, that'll probably help." Liam said.
"Could you two just not do anything that stupid? I am going to have to get you a babysitter, I swear it." Daelyn said.
"You and Ness have babysat me." I said. "Maybe that's what's wrong with me."
"Maybe. I still might just try and find a beholder to keep an eye on you two. Or several." Daelyn said.
"Hmph. I'll just have to tame one and show you better. It's just a monstrosity mixed with dragons." I said.
"Oh yes, that sounds like such an easy task." Daelyn said.
"It is. I'll ask Isarial how to do it." I said.
"So not involve my brother in this nonsense.. because he will help you." Daelyn said.
"Well, maybe he won't be so sad if he has a distraction." I shrugged.
"If you wanna distract him you'll have to come up with another world wide problem." Daelyn said.
"That sounds scary and difficult." I replied.
"Yes, and thus a very good distraction." Daelyn replied.
Liam laughed a little and said, "You two are talking like you're actually serious. Trying to find a world wide problem for one man to be distracted."
"I already told you he designed a city when he was four. He also ruled a Kingdom for a while, out of spite he always says, his grandkid rules it now. He stopped the world from ending by the time he was sixteen, and that's just cause he had to wait so he would be able to freely leave his home." I said.
"I will be honest and say I didn't think you were being serious." Liam said.
"No, very serious. Isarial is a walking legend. I'm not confident on the details, but apparently he has even been in an alternate reality and time-traveled." I said.
"I'm not sure if a world ending event would be enough." Liam said.
"Briefly anyhow." I shrugged. "He just needs proper sleep, I think."
"Well, then just tire him out with strenuous exercise." Liam suggested.
"He used to tire me out when I was little. His kids, grandkids, and great grandkids, too." I said.
"Well, try to come up with an unbeatable card game." Liam suggested.
"That sounds quite impossible." I said, pouting.
"My father already hassled him some. Isarial will be fine. If he has no advice on minster taming, ask my father. He is sure to have advice." Celphyr said. "But, as you said you want to go, we'll let you head off, Daelyn. I appreciate you stopping by, it's always good to see you. Let's play together next time."
Daelyn laughed and said, "Sure, we could get into some hijinks of our own."
Daelyn and Celphyr were soon laughing and joking with each other before Daelyn left for home. Celphyr went back to business with Liam and once they'd agreed on it all, he had him sign a contract associated with the plan for his new job. Celphyr then informed him that he should have the mobile clinic set up within the next few weeks.
Liam looked at me, "This is not how I expected my day to go."
Celphyr laughed, and I said, "How do you feel? Shall I kick Phyr out?"
"Well, I no longer feel like my life is in danger. And it's rude to throw out family, right?" Liam asked.
"He's just my cousin, so it's fine." I said.
"Aly, you're mean." Celphyr said, pretending to be hurt.
Liam laughed. "Are we doing the lion drake thing? Because it did sound like an interesting idea."
"We can definitely try." I said. I then took out the communication item that Liam had seen me use before. And I contacted my parents. When they picked up, I greeted them, "Hello, how are you?"
"We are fine here, how are you? Enjoying your trip?" Dad asked.
"Yes. I'm doing fine, and I helped Uncle Phintias learn about an old journal of his that he lost. He's gone to retrieve and destroy it." I informed them.
"I cannot imagine the amount of journals he may have lost over the years. What's special about this one?" Dad asked.
"Well, Liam mentioned that the vampires were using it to run the dungeon." I said.
"You went back?" Mom asked.
"Did you go back by yourself?" Dad asked.
"Yes. To chat." I said. "And now Celphyr has hired Liam."
"You went back to chat.. and I guess Liam is the one who helped you?" Dad asked.
"Yes. He is." I nodded.
"And he has now been hired? This is taking an odd turn." Dad said.
"Yeah. I didn't expect it. I was thinking of showing him around Hearthstone." I said.
"Well, that'll certainly put my mind at ease if he makes it through the door." Dad said.
"That's getting more and more concerning as the time goes.... but oh well." Liam commented.
Celphyr laughed, and I grinned at Liam. "It'll be fine. Daddy is just over protective. It only kills bad people."
"Well, it only kills people with bad intentions towards the people in town." Mom said. "So you took a coven vampire from the dungeon? I can't imagine he was a noble vampire.."
"Definitely not, no." Liam said.
"Are you planning on doing something?" Dad asked.
"I did." I said. "Which is also why I brought him away from there."
"And why in Pyreleos' name did you do that?" Dad asked, exasperated.
"Which part, Dad?" I asked.
"All of it, my daughter, all of it." Dad said.
"Because he didn't try to hurt me." I said. "I also find him to be nice to talk to."
"I...I..need time to think about this. Just be careful." Dad said.
"Uncle Phintias ordered him to behave." I said. "I'm not alone, Dad, I have my aunt, uncle and cousins about. I promise I will be careful."
"I love you, Alyssa. Keep me updated, alright?" Dad said.
"Of course, I will, Dad. I love you,and Mom, too." I replied.
"Love you, Baby." Mom said, before they ended it.
I looked at Celphyr, then at Liam. "He's definitely having a freak out."
"Oh? Why would he freak out?" Liam asked.
"Uncle Plight hates vampires." Celphyr shrugged. "And, Alyssa is the youngest."
"Alrighty. Well, I'll still be on my best behavior, so there's nothin to worry about." Liam said.
"What does that mean? Best behaviour?" Celphyr asked.
"That means nothin' tricky. No lies, and no hurtin people. Plus she's my friend, first one in a long time." Liam said.
I hugged Liam and said, "Then what do you wanna do now?"
"Hey, hey, hey, space between you two!" Celphyr said.
I stuck my tongue out at Celphyr and said, "Don't be weird. It's just a hug."
"Well, I suppose we should go explore, I have a job coming up soon." Liam said.
"Yay!" I said, "Let's fine that volcano. We'll have to drop Phyr off at his house."
"I can take myself home, thanks. Be sure to check in." Celphyr said, heading out.
"He is adorably grumpy, isn't he?" Liam asked.
"He's just mostly like his Dad. Just like I'm mostly like mine. Which is good for you, cause my mom had been called 'annoyingly cheerful' by her own twin." I said.
"Wow. Well, I guess most siblings do find each other annoying. Besides, you seem decently cheerful to me." Liam said.
"Mm-mm. I'm gloomy and depressing." I said.
"Yup, cheerful to me." He said with a smile.
I blushed slightly. "You're just saying that cause you're nice."
"Nope, I said earlier, no lies. I'm on my best behavior." He insisted.
"Got any specific supplies you want to get, or happy with what you got?" I asked.
"I am as set as I can get, I suppose." He said.
I kissed his cheek and said, "Let's go, then. We can get a map from nearby."
"I thought maps were expensive, though." He said.
"Oh, pfft, yeah. They are. But it's fine." I waved it off. "My family is grossly wealthy."
"Huh. Well let's go blow some on adventures." Liam said.
I smiled. Hopping up, and heading out of the building with him. We went to a shop I'd heard of and I bought a map. A detailed one. Then we went somewhere else and started looking it over. Our findings were that there wasn't a volcano on this continent. But where the liondrakes were located was marked. Excited, we started our journey.
"Well, even if there isn't a volcano, we can still maybe meet the lion drakes." I said. "Though I heard they are not very smart."
"Do beasts need to be smart? It'll make it easier to tame." Liam commented.
"It's a monstrosity, not a beast. Monstrosities are unnatural creatures." I said.
"I suppose we'll just have to wait and see." He said.
"Yup." I said. I put on my leather wrist guards while we walked. Along with a few other protective gear. "Is there anything you like, Liam?"
"Like as in... what?" He asked.
"Activity, smell, thing? Any of it." I said.
"Oh, you're just asking for my likes. Well, obviously farming." He said. "Also, good puzzles."
"What did you think I was asking, hm?" I asked.
"Ah, I thought you were asking about equipment. I was very wrong." Liam said.
"Well, then, what do you like equipment-wise?" I asked, grinning.
"Always been more of a dagger kind of user." Liam said.
I looked him over, "You don't seem to have one?"
"No, I left them in the dungeon." He said.
"Oh. Sorry.." I said. Then I offered him my daggers. "I typically either use my hands or long range."
"That would be very handy." Liam said, accepting them.
"If you decide to kill me, though, make sure to go to another continent quickly." I smiled, "Cause I would like you to live."
"That's some awfully dark talk. I have no intention of killing you. And I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to escape." Liam said.
I shrugged. "If you say so. I'm not blindly trusting you, you know? But I do like you."
"Well, I'm glad you're not blindly trusting me?" He said slowly. "Trust is just not a thing your family does, is it?"
"Eh, once bitten, twice as shy." I shrugged. "My family trusts each other and the people that Isarial trusts. That's about it, though."
"Is Isarial you all's patriarch or something? I hear his name a lot." Liam said.
"He's kinda like my Uncle. But both my parents are older than him." I noted. "He really saved my Dad. It was kinda funny, actually. He lured my Dad to approach him when he was four."
"Understand that that sounds very odd." Liam replied.
"Yup. Dad was living in a cave and Isarial pretended to be a scared and lost toddler. In actuality, he'd used a glyph to go find my Dad." I told him.
"How did a glyph let him find your dad?" He asked.
"You know, I really don't understand it myself. Isarial said he was told by my dad approximately where he'd be, so he used a glyph in the middle of the night to go find him. He couldn't find him at first. But once he did, he pushed a little much, so Dad almost fled. Then he told Dad the story of Dad's childhood and about a surviving sister."
"That sounds like it could have been a very big problem. And why did he want your Dad so much?" Liam asked.
"I don't know. He just said he liked my Dad and considers him to be a good friend of his. Isarial is an odd man. He's seemed starved for love for as long as I could remember. I heard he has always been like that." I shrugged. "He also says that Grandpa saved his life a few times."
"You could write several books about all this, I swear." He said.
"Oh, yes. I have heard all kinds of stories." I said.
"Jeez can't imagine how they changed this world." He said.
I nodded and poked him. "I don't have any good personal stories."
"Well, that's why we are heading out on an adventure. That's how you make stories." Liam said.
I hugged him. "Yep. Probably my only fame is that five of six adventuring groups I've traveled with have died terribly."
"Huh. Impressive record. I only had one adventuring group. Well, it was more that I hired them and tagged along. They kept complaining about an escort quest, but they all died, so I guess it doesn't matter." He said.
"That sounds interesting. What happened?" I asked. "I'm pretty sure people back home think I killed them."
"Well, it is suspicious I suppose. That's just the adventuring life, though. You can die at the drop of a hat. Literally, if the hat is magic in some way." Liam said.
I sighed a little. "At least I returned the bodies to town."
"Well, then honestly, they should have been thanking you. Most the time they don't get the bodies back." Liam said.
I smiled. "That's what Daelyn said, too."
"Speaking of Daelyn. Apparently he just took me outside the room to try and make you paranoid." Liam said.
"Sounds bout right. If it's not that, it's to threaten. Well, more of a promise, because Hearthry's always do as they please, consequence be damned." I said. "Dad gets exasperated with them sometimes."
"Hearthry.. I swear I have heard that name before." He said. "It just keeps itching in the back of my mind. Oh well. I'll either remember or I won't."
Once we were in the woods, we headed Northwest. As we walked we had a quiet conversation about herbs, as I'd just started talking about it. He proved to know quite a bit about them himself, as a farmer generally knew that kind of stuff. Once it was night time, I was quieter.