Vanessa didn't move until he heard the woman fall asleep. He slowly opened his eyes and stretched his arms in silence. It was nighttime and the group had stopped to rest for the night. He was in a tent with the mother and daughter while the knights and guards were either in the other tent or around the fire.
The only ones still awake were some of the guards taking shifts, Vanessa, and the young girl he had seen in from the wagon. She was humming to herself in the corner of the tent and playing with the air. Every once in a while he would would hear her mumble something before continuing. Something about a... bear?
His stomach grumbled in displeasure. He had eaten human food for the first time, and it wasn't compatible with vampire anatomy. He had stopped his throat from growling in hunger for blood, but he couldn't hold the sound in anymore. With the woman asleep, the guards further away, and the girl distracted, now was the best time to get it out of his system.
~~~
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..."
Bonnie heard a growling sound coming from another part of the tent. The boy, Vincent... Vinter... Veronica... whatever his name was, was emitting a growling sound from his throat like a tiger. Bonnie was understimulated, hence the humming, so the sound immediately grabbed her attention and tickled a certain impulse.
She really wanted to growl back at him. She'd been masking for two years and become good at restraining herself, but...
"Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr"
In the end, she indulged herself. Her mother wasn't watching, anyway. No one could call her unladylike, especially tiger-boy.
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..."
"Hrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..."
"Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr..."
"Hrrr!"
"Grr!"
"Hr!"
"Gr!"
Bonnie looked at tiger-boy's face. His eyes were narrowed and his nose was scrunched up. The childish stubbornness depicted on his face was hilarious.
So, she started giggling, and then cackling.
~~~
Vanessa blushed as he watched the girl try and muffle her laughter. Was she making fun of him? He thought so after she started imitating him, but something about the way she kept responding and how she was laughing made him think otherwise. It was strange.
The friendly competition had distracted him from his hunger for a while, so he could forgive her even if she was.
Vanessa laid down in his blanket with a huff and fell asleep to the sound of a young girl's giggles.
When Vanessa woke up, he went out to "eat" with the group. He didn't know how much more of this his body could take. Not noticing his hidden turmoil, everyone began packing up the tents and preparing to depart.
Vanessa once again went into the carriage. The woman was inside with a calm smile on her face, while her daughter was fast asleep with her face pressed against the window. Vanessa looked at the woman with a silent question in his eyes.
The woman realized what he wanted to ask and said, "She has always been sensitive to sound, so she prefers to sleep during the day when she can."
Vanessa nodded in understanding, and soon they continued moving north.
Just as the sun began to set, yet again, and Vanessa was struggling to hide his horrible cramping, a small town became visible on the horizon. Buildings made of stone and paved streets soon surrounded the carriage, and the noise outside roused the sleeping Bonnie, whose name Vanessa had learn from the woman. She hadn't even introduced herself, but would talk about her daughter like she was the most precious being in the world.
Vanessa began enjoying their company, ever so slightly, but remained cautious. If anyone here saw his eyes go red, he was done for.
Being able to rest in a town instead of on the road should have been more relaxing, but it was anything but for Vanessa. Maybe the human food was messing with his judgement or speeding up the process, but Vanessa could slowly feel the hunger invading his brain. He had a constant headache as his eyes rapidly got darker. It was only a matter of time before his eyes turned black, and when that happened...
Let's just say it wouldn't be good for anyone. Least of all Vanessa.
Vanessa had never been this hungry before. In the castle, he always had a liter of blood everyday. He had gone two weeks without blood a couple times to get used to it in case of emergencies, but that was nothing compared to this raring, carnal pain.
Vanessa barely managed to follow the group even with Bonnie dragging him along the way to the manor they would be staying at. He even failed to register the symbol of the Allyn Royal Family on the gate as he entered.
Another excruciating meal of tasteless human food, and Vanessa went out to the gardens behind the manor. Vanessa stumbled over the garden's stone-tiled paths towards an area covered with fruit trees. His fangs itched to drink, so he tried picking fruit and piercing them with his fangs before sucking the flesh inside dry. Soon, ten dried fruit with two puncture holes littered the walkway, yet Vanessa didn't feel any better. Rather than reducing the itch, scratching it only made it burn even hotter. He knew there wasn't much time left.
A smarter, stronger vampire might have tried running away at this point, but Vanessa was incapacitated completely by the hunger, leaving no room for any thought other than satiating it.
In desperation, Vanessa grabbed a piece of fallen bark and bit into it as hard as he could. He fell to the ground, clutching his ribs and curling into a ball. He didn't even notice the light footsteps that approached him.
"Tiger boy?" Was she talking to him? Vanessa unclenched his eyes for the briefest moment to look up. He saw Bonnie looking down at him with concern painted on her face.
'No... don't hurt her...'
And then everything went black.