Interlude 1| Concerned Party

“My lord, I know you said you were busy, but I fear this cannot wait-“

“Vatore, unless the sun is bearing down upon the earth at a rapid rate and will kill everyone and everything as we know it, your issues are not big enough for me to care about at this moment. I have to finish this report.”

“I-yes, my Lord.” Vatore held a sliver of fear in his voice, but his spine stood straight. He had agonized for the last fortnight about coming and discussing this with Thanatos…everyone knew how temperamental he could be…but in the end, he had deemed it urgent enough to come by. Now, he was not so sure that was the best idea.

Thanatos worked diligently on the report, musing over the younger vampire’s nervous air. It had been a good many years since any of his kind had graced his doorstep. Whatever Vatore was worrying about must be big…yet he knew of nothing that would deem such an emergency. His glowing computer screen showed 4 am. The sun would rise soon, Vatore may not have enough time to get back to Forgotten Hollow. What a foolish move. Still, it was Vatore’s skin, not his, so he finished his report all the same, clicking save.

“Alright Vatore, what could possibly be so important that you risk being burned alive?”

The vampire flinched. “Er, my Lord, I am immune to the sun’s rays…”

Thanatos rolled his eyes. “You think you are immune. Plasma fruit cannot satiate our bodies like human blood Vatore. You would do well to remember that.”

Vatore had an odd look on his face, like that of an adult being told off by a teenager, but he full well knew that Thanatos was several thousand years older than he was, and infinitely stronger. There was a reason Thanatos stood alone amongst the Night’s children.

“Anyways Vatore, you may speak now. Why did you darken my doorstep? You know I do not like visitors.”

“Uh, yes my Lord I know, but…” Thanatos may have enjoyed the younger vampire’s stammering, but it was now grating on his undead nerves. “There is a young woman living in the Brindleton Bay Forest, and, well…”

Thanatos rolled his eyes. “And you wish to wed her, or bed her? You do not need my blessing for that Vatore. Spit it out.”

“She…she’s Fractured, my Lord.”

Thanatos waited for more, but nothing came. Vatore stared at Thanatos with baited breath, his nervous demeanor becoming more panicked by the second.

“So?”

Vatore stuttered. “Well, my Lord…we haven’t seen one in well, ages. I mean, not even he-“

“You would do well to not speak of him again in my presence.” Thanatos said darkly, eyes slipping into blood red for a moment.

“Of course, of course my Lord.” Vatore was regretting his choice immediately. “But…she is Fractured my Lord, I…what do we do?”

Thanatos raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean, what do we do? We do nothing. You do nothing. I will continue to finish my work, then go to bed. You will go back to Forgotten Hollow, and maybe get a haircut. Certainly abandon that fur coat, it is no longer fashionable as of about fifty years ago.”

“But my Lord-“

“But nothing Vatore. So what if she is Fractured, by the definition of the term she is no longer what she once was.” This conversation was quickly becoming dull and moot for the older vampire.

“But…what was she my Lord? Could she regain those powers? We haven’t seen any of Them in several thousand years, what if they are back?”

“For moons’ sake Vatore, go home. It doesn’t matter. Being Fractured means you are as good as human with no memories of your past. This woman is no threat to us, nor are They. They are not back.” Although life would sure become more interesting for him if They were. “Now get out of my sight and do not bring this up again, and keep away from her. If anything were to happen with her, you are too young to deal with it.”

Vatore spluttered, but he knew he was dancing on thin ice, and this was one vampire he would never cross. “Of course my Lord, I will leave her alone…have a good night my Lord.”

“Do try to get some actual human blood in you now, wouldn’t want you to starve to death in the next ten years.” Vatore left with no words, relieved he was able to leave with all of his limbs intact.

Thanatos listened to the whistle of the wind as the young vampire ran blindly through the night, no humans near to see otherworldly power, just as it should be. What a bloody fool, risking it all like that. Sure, he was mostly immune to the blistering rays of the sun, but Thanatos had seen too many guilty, ‘good’ vampires eventually lose all their powers after eating plasma fruit for too long. Not even frog and fish plasma was enough after a while. Vampires were predators, and humans were prey, it was that simple.

Besides, that young woman in the woods was no threat. He had already been watching her for a while, found her online persona – FW, how original, clearly for Fractured Wanderer – and had bought some of her paintings. He had no idea why she was here, or how long she would be here. She had been there for nearly three generations now, with no hint of aging. He watched from afar as she kept to herself and wished for answers from Mother Nature. He could tell her to save her breath, that they never answered, but he wouldn’t reveal himself. At least not yet.