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“It’s gonna be alright now,” whispered Claudia, her free hand caressing the redhead’s back gently. “You’re fine, it’s finished.”
After hours of the persistent retching, bawling and dying in the literal sense of that word, Madeleine felt good for the first time. More than good, even. Ecstatic would be the right word for it. The colors were brighter, the noises clearer, and Claudia, oh god, Claudia. How magnificent she looked, somehow even more heavenly in the new vision. She looked tired - worried for her immortal beloved - but still glowing, more beautiful than ever when Madeleine could see every detail of her face with this new sharp quality.
“You’re staring.” the vampire giggled.
Madeleine sighed and turned to look around the room, absorbing every detail of her destroyed shop with more attention than ever. She could see each sharp edge of the broken glass in her window, the close details of the dresses’ fabric. It was as if she’d been blind before and was just starting to open her eyes.
“Claudia, it’s, Mon Dieu…”
“I know,” she whispered, petting her lover’s cheek. “I know… It’s just gonna get better.”
When the redhead faced her again, Claudia could notice the unnatural yellow color her eyes had taken. Like two rays of sun those eyes were, the light in the darkness she’d been looking for. She grinned at this woman, her companion finally.
The pair got up from the wooden floor they’d been crouched on, the bowl full of vomit in front of them.
“We’ll take care of that later,” began the black-haired vampire. “Now tell me, dear, are you hungry?”
Madeleine ambled slowly down the street, her hand in the palm of her immortal companion. They’d been walking for some time now, the redhead enjoying the new wave of sensations that were beyond her reach as a human, while the other vampire simply enjoyed her presence.
The pair strode the dark alleys with no fear, ignoring the few raised eyebrows their entwined fingers had provoked. Nobody could be a danger to their happiness now, not Armand, not the coven. Nothing. And they were going to make the most out of it.
“Tell me chérie , who was your first victim?”
Claudia smirked at the memory of the night she first killed, how naive and hasty she was, driven purely by her vampire instinct. “Believe it or not, it was a cop.”
“A cop?” Madeleine snorted and shook her head. “My, my. Starting off strong.”
“I was reckless. Drained four random people after that. We’ll make sure you don’t repeat my mistake.”
Madeleine nodded, and the vampire went on:
“There ain’t nothing more destructive than a young vampire’s hunger. It consumes you whole, gets you acting like a bloodthirsty maniac,” she glanced at the woman before pulling her hand to stop on the nearest bench. “But don’t worry. It gets better. You’ll learn how to control it.”
“I don’t really mind being a bloodthirsty maniac, as long as I’m next to you.” uttered Madeleine, pecking Claudia’s cheek as she sat down next to her.
“Focus, love. We have to choose someone.”
They spent the next few minutes studying the passers-by, listening to their thoughts, examining their psyche. A young, dreamful teacher on her way to meet with her paramour. A child stroked with immense hunger, clutching his mother’s dress as she counted their last coins. An elderly man, pondering about his sick wife’s state of being, unaware of the same disease growing inside him. The vampires peeled the poor mortals’ brains piece by piece, and just as Claudia followed a tall brown-haired woman with her gaze, Madeleine inhaled sharply.
Him. I want him. she spoke right into her lover’s mind.
Claudia turned quickly to scrutinize the gentleman who stole her beloved’s attention. He was an ordinary man of average height, receding hairline threatening his dark curls. He walked sluggishly with furrowed brows, each step hitting the ground angrily. He made no effort to glance at the vampires as he passed them, too caught up in his moronic thoughts.
Madeleine clutched on Claudia’s fingers, the faint tinge of hunger building inside her. The other vampire grinned when she sensed it, recognizing the feeling all too well.
A wife beater. And a gambler. Got two kids stuck around, but he’s too miserable to talk to them in any other tone than yell.
Madeleine’s pupils dilated as she got up the bench, stalking behind the man from a safe distance. Claudia followed right through, awed to see her love in this new predatory role. Together they trailed in his footsteps, waiting until the clueless bastard steps into an empty alley, unaware of meeting his death there.
“He is going to spend his family’s last food savings just in a moment. That’s where he goes,” whispered Claudia. “Just as his helpless wife is tossing and turning in the marital bed, brooding her pretty head over the unspoken truth - they’re not going to make it through the winter.”
They watched as the man stopped by the corner, undoing his fly with an intention to urinate without bothering to look around if he’s alone in the alley. Claudia twisted her face in revulsion.
Shameless, this disgusting creature.
Madeleine placed a palm on her lover’s arm, as they waited until the man was done. When he zipped up his trousers and started walking away, whistling to himself quietly, the redhead turned to Claudia.
" Eh bien , am I supposed to strike a conversation with him? Or just… go for it.”
“You can do whatever you want, sweetheart. Some vampires prefer to know their victim before-” she was unable to finish the thought, cut off by a loud shriek coming from the gambler.
Turns out, Madeleine had already chosen to go for it. Fast and feral like any young, blooming vampire.
The man kept shouting, his mind overwhelmed by sudden confusion and pain. Claudia appeared beside the fighting pair quickly, maneuvering her lover’s head to the right spot of his neck. Suck, you gotta suck the blood.
Madeleine listened, finally sinking her teeth into the victim’s neck, grounded by the sensation of Claudia’s fingers in her hair guiding her. She filled her mouth with blood rapidly, ignoring the mess she made with her inexperienced technique. She never felt anything like this before. The blood, as poisoned and rotten it should be inside a mortal like this, was sweeter than anything she’d tasted as a human. It made a way down her throat like a nectar, every cell of her dead body screaming in epiphany. With each gulp the experience intensified - the flavor deepened, becoming more complex and leaving her even more hungry than she was before the attack.
It was as if she unlocked a new path made wholly of bliss, and she was more than pleased to share it with her Claudia.
Claudia, who after freeing her fingers from the mass of the red hair, checked if the man could still move and bit deep into his artery. She drank in small measured gulps to make sure her ravenous beloved had enough to satisfy her fresh appetite. When she felt life leaving their prey’s body, she steadily pulled Madeleine towards her chest.
" Tsk, leave him now,” she moved her off the lifeless body, which fell uselessly to the ground as they eased their hold on him. “We don’t drink from the dead.”
Madeleine instantly met her gaze, looking up at the pink eyes as if she’d just woken up from a dream, and god , all of Claudia’s thoughts would be forever conquered by the sight of her lover’s bloodied face, the way the gore was covering nearly all of her gaping mouth like ambrosia. The red hair was thrown messy around her face like a halo, frizzy from the vampire's grip on the curls. The yellow light of her eyes was almost entirely hidden behind the widened pupils. She was panting like a dog, the unsatisfied thirst haunting her face daintily.
After a moment of silence broken solely by the sound of their shared heavy breathing, Madeleine leaned in to press Claudia’s lips to her own with a great force before moving to lick up the remains of dried blood on the vampire’s chin. Claudia sighed at the sensation, her own hunger building up when she felt her beloved’s tongue lapping up her skin. When there was no blood left, the redhead went back to the kiss, wrapping her hands around the woman’s waist, drawing her as close as their bodies allowed. The older vampire sucked the gore off her lover’s tongue, running her tongue down the new fangs she wasn’t used to feel inside Madeleine’s mouth before. When Claudia’s fingers made their way up and down the other’s back, Madeleine pulled away, a flustered look of craving painting her face.
“I need another one.” she whispered.
Claudia heard herself chuckle. There was nothing more destructive than a young vampire’s hunger indeed.