You strayed into my home and into my heart

[memeboogeyman]

S T R A Y Taking in strays is, all in all, an understandable vice. The dips in between their ribs, those large and forlorn eyes, they can help you forget the claws and the teeth and the danger lurking beneath fur. But the habit's a knife edge; your efforts may not be rewarded with kindness (animal instincts aren't discretionary) and you may get bit despite what you've overlooked. A stray doesn't care about pity. All it can know is survival. These warnings apply to strays of the more human(oid) sort, too. But what may even more perilous with this type than any drawn blood is what you can get when they grow to trust you. You can earn their undying loyalty...or their love. Either from such a wild thing is a precarious path to go down, if you allow yourself to do it. Comment with your character, preferences, desired roles, etc. Reply to others. Thread!

Comments

[turncoin]

Lucky for me I'm not one to go trying to find trouble then.

[Even with recent issues cropping up. He could think of a few people who'd definitely get themselves into more trouble in this case, but he'd always been a generally good kid.]

I couldn't even tell you. Guessing it's not like new car smell or anything, that'd be too easy right?

[And while he logically knew it was silly? Part of him was a little surprised at how... normal Jack's place was.]

Nice place. Definitely got the wholesome farm vibe going on.

[immortal76]

"Well, I don't either and here we are."

[Jack grinned. He'd worked very hard to make this place his own and he was rather proud of it.]

"Thank you. There's a guest room upstairs. You're free to use it as long as you need."

[Everyone learned at their own speed, after all.

Jack got out of the truck and walked up to the house, wanting to get his few pints of blood into the fridge before he got Tommy settled and checked on the animals before bed.

The older vampire whistled as he opened the door, revealing a homey kitchen. Jack made his way over to the fridge and placed the new blood packs int the back...and retrieved two glass milk bottles filled with varying shades of red liquid inside them.]

"Hey, kid? Are you in a chicken or steak mood?"

[turncoin]

Definitely appreciate it.

[It was still sinking in, in some ways. The whole 'vampire thing, and it was hard enough to process as it was, so the idea that he had help was something of a relief.

He followed Jack in, glancing around the space curiously while the older vampire was putting things away, closing the door behind him.]

Hm?

[Brow furrowed he glanced at Jack and the bottles, but seemed to get the idea quickly enough.]

Oh, um... surprise me?

[immortal76]

"Catch."

[Jack tossed him the bottle of cow's blood. It was essentially the equivalent of a burger and this kid needed something hearty fast. He gestured at the table and chairs in the kitchen.]

"Take a seat. I am going to run out to the barn and do a quick headcount. You sit down and drink your steak burger. You can help me feed everybody in the morning if you are feeling up to it."

[With that, Jack momentarily took his leave to go check on his small group of cows, pigs, chickens and rabbits. Everyone was settled in for the night so Jack returned to see what his house guest had been up to.]

[turncoin]

[Tommy caught the bottle easily, nodding at the instruction. Just sinking into one of the chairs at the kitchen table, feeling a bit better that he was left alone to drink. It was still a strange thing, and his rational mind still rebelled at the idea for all instinct demanded it. He tried not to bolt it definitely easier this time around, and felt quite a bit more like himself.

And if he crumbled a little bit by the time Jack came back in, head in his hands, well it had been a long few days and it was starting to catch up with him after the immediate danger of hurting someone had passed, especially with how little he'd been able to sleep.]

[immortal76]

[Uh oh-

By the time Jack got back, Tommy had his head in his hands.]


Great. What was this? How was Jack supposed to deal with this? Kids were easy. You hugged them....maybe rocked them for a bit....and they were fine. Teenagers? What the hell was he supposed to do?

He settled on crouching down to the boy's level and putting a hand on Tommy's shoulder.]

"You-ah? You okay? Need like....a hug or something?"

[turncoin]

I'm fine. [No he wasn't.

He wasn't crying though, which he would definitely count as a positive. Just exhausted and confused, and still kind of scared.

He didn't pull away from the hand on his shoulder, and while he didn't realize, Jack could probably feel the way he was trembling under his hand. It was... well it was a hell of a lot to take in, that much was for sure.]

[immortal76]

[Jack furrowed his brows together. He could feel the teen quaking under his hand.]

"Kid...Tommy...you are not fine. It is okay not to be fine. This is huge...and you are doing remarkably well. Do you...wanna maybe get some sleep?"

[He'd fed him twice now, maybe that was enough to get his body to get ready for rest in order to gradually fully shift his physiology. Or not. Everyone was different.]

[turncoin]

[Part of him wanted to protest. To insist that no, he was just fine that he didn't need anything.

But if that was true, he wouldn't be here.]

...Might not be a bad idea. Couldn't hurt anything, right?

[immortal76]

[Jack gave him a reassuring smile.]

"No. It can't hurt anything. Come with me."

[Jack picked up Tommy's backpack and motioned for the young man to follow him. He led him up the stairs to the guest room and bathroom.]

"Shower is in the bathroom if you need it. You room is going to be over here."

[Jack turned the light on in the guest room. It was simple...just as normal as the rest of the house. There was a bed with a quilt, a bedside table and a bookshelf filled with books and a framed photo of a younger Jack with two other people, a smiling dark skinned woman and a practically scowling darker skinned man in a hoodie.

Jack set the backpack down on the bed and moved to the window of the farm house, pulling down the black out curtain he had installed.]

"There. This room is yours for however long you decide to stay. I won't come in without permission, scout's honor...and ah...that's not a vampire thing...that is a respect for personal space thing."

[turncoin]

[Falling silent for the moment, Tommy followed the other vampire upstairs.

The place continued to be almost strangely normal. Which was silly, it was just a farmhouse, but the fact was helping to let him feel a bit more grounded in what was going on, even as weird as it all was.

And the presence of the blackout curtain did answer his worry about daylight. If there was anyone that could help him figure out day to day life, he was much more certain that it would be Jack which went miles towards reassuring him like he definitely needed.]

I'll keep that in mind. [The comment on it being not a vampire thing just earned a faint smile from the teen.] Either way... thanks, Jack.

[immortal76]

"Sure. No problem. My room is down the hall. If you need me for anything please ask, okay? Just knock or shout or something. It is no trouble. I'm going to go get some towels from the closet and put them in the bathroom for you. I'll...let you get settled."

[Jack eased the door closed behind him and went to the linen closet and retrieved a fluffy set of guest towels and set them on the bathroom counter.

There.

He was a pretty good host if he did say so himself. ]

[turncoin]

[The best host, clearly.

The towels were appreciated, Tommy taking advantage to get a shower in before he tried to get some sleep. And while it did take some tossing and turning, when he did finally fall asleep, it was clear it was what he needed as it was a good long while before Jack would be able to hear him stirring the following day.

Someone had definitely needed that rest more than he'd thought.]

[immortal76]

[It was mid afternoon when Jack first heard rumblings from his upstairs guest. He had already fed the animals this morning...and tended to his vegetables and fruit trees. A little pruning is all...they didn't need much this time of year.

It seemed timing was on his side, though, as clouds had gathered and rain had started to fall just as he was finishing. It was nice...relaxing..and the cloud cover made the sun less glaring. A win, win overall.

Work done, Jack had gone back into the house. He was presently seated at the kitchen table reading a magazine he had picked up in town and was nursing a hot cup of black coffee.

He turned his attention back to the paper. He was sure his house guest would be down soon enough.]

[turncoin]

[It did take a bit. Tommy was feeling groggy still, which he was assuming was because of the changes Jack had mentioned before. Stuff like that took energy, right?

Either way he was feeling at least a little bit more alert by the time he'd changed into clean clothes and headed downstairs. Pausing slightly when he noticed Jack, but not out of fear, just a bit bemused still with the proof that the night before had really happened.]

...Afternoon.

[immortal76]

[Jack looked up from his reading.]

"Hey."


[He wasn't going to poke fun at the kid for sleeping in, God knows this kid had enough on his plate already-besides the fact that he actually managed to sleep this long and rouse himself was a sign that there were no complications. Jack had been worried there would be complications...but no sense worrying the kid if there was no sign of them.]

"You want some coffee with your breakfast?"

[turncoin]

...Yeah, that actually sounds good.

[Not that it would fix all of the weariness- it would fade as he got more rest and his body finally finished changing, but he didn't know that. Figured he just hadn't slept enough the past few days.

Sinking into one of the chairs with a low sigh, running a hand through his hair. He'd always been slow to wake, so wasn't entirely concerned, and the idea of complications? Hadn't even occurred to him.]

[immortal76]

"Great. Have a seat. I'll get you some."

Jack slid back out of his chair and went to the kitchen, returning with a cup of coffee, a small creamer cow full of milk, and a bottle of chicken blood mixed with raw eggs. Lots of protein for a growing boy.

He sat it in front of Tommy and returned to his own seat, sipping his own mug.

[turncoin]

[Tommy nodded, waiting patiently for Jack to set things up for him.]

Thanks.

[Simple enough to start with the coffee, adding a bit of creamer before taking a couple swallows.

He knew he had to drink it but the idea of downing a bottle of blood was still weird, especially when he could see that there was something else mixed into it. So he figured that the off sort of feeling he was getting once he'd started in on that was just because he hadn't adjusted to the idea of actually drinking the stuff.

It helped if he didn't look too long at it when he was drinking, but still.]

[immortal76]

[Jack looked up from his coffee.]

"I put some raw eggs in it...gives it a little more body...less like straight up blood, you know? "

[Jack hoped that made it better.]

[turncoin]

Yeah. Think it's just gonna take some time to get used to actually drinking the stuff, you know?

[He hoped that would be the case anyways. Otherwise feeding himself would definitely not be pleasant.]

[immortal76]

"You handled the human stuff okay last night. Do you...need some more of that?"

[There was a part of Jack that screamed at him to not...the selfish part he quickly silenced. He was an old man. He'd had years to establish his options for food. He could make due. It was the equivalent of a human turning down a gourmet three course meal for instant noodles. He wouldn't starve and he could make due for another few weeks before their next pick up. This new blood? He wasn't so sure. It had been ages since he had had to deal with any newly turned vampires.]

[turncoin]

[Tommy's brow furrowed at the question, slowly shaking his head.]

Are you sure? I mean... you were saying yesterday it's harder to adjust, shouldn't I be trying to get used to the stuff that'll be easier for me to get?

[He was chalking up any nausea to the idea that he was working himself up over what he was drinking more than anything.]

Besides, I don't want to put you out over it.

[immortal76]

"Everyone is different. I was just speaking from previous experience...and don't worry, you are not putting me out at all."

[A little white lie, but it literally would not hurt him to go without human blood for a few weeks. God knows he had been without it longer before.]

[turncoin]

I don't know. Feeling weird enough as it is... would rather not waste your supply if I'm just gonna get sick in the end.

[He'd seen that before, someone getting so worked up at the idea of disliking something that they actually made themselves sick from eating it. And something like drinking blood? Definitely fell into the 'weird food' category for him.]