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I'm Waking Up: Origin Stories.
You’re an old man who had a nasty run-in with Something That Went Bump in the Night, and once believed that the only way to make sure that you never had another problem like that again was to pick up a gun and shoot supes in the face before they killed you or hurt your family – and then some government shitheads called you up and told you that they’re your friends, you all have to get along. They took your weapons, sent you to some fucking program that felt too much like Alcoholics Anonymous. You hang up on them every time they check on you, but they still know exactly what you’re doing, every second of every day.
You’re a house wife in a quiet little town, accustomed to turning a blind eye towards the strange things that happened to people after dark because the local police either didn’t have a clue or were letting those things happen in the first place – and then some nice people in coats came in from God Knows Where, arrested some crooked cops, and made it all go away.
You make a new batch of cookies every Sunday, to give to the coated fellows who still hang around at the street corners downtown; some of them are young, so very young, and remind you of your younger brother. Your little ones want to be just like them someday.
You’re the kid who learns Judo rather than Track and Field after Math every day (Teacher Felipe says that you have to know how to defend yourself), then takes a quiz all about vampires, fairies and werewolves in Occult Studies. Every Wednesday, you tumble around with your classmates, and get mad whenever your best friend does his Superman thing and beats everyone to the top of the hill by flying there. Every Friday, a guy with more guns than you have teeth comes to school, takes over PE classes, and talks to everyone about what he does for a living. Sometimes, he takes “special kids” with him to another school, for special people like them. You hope that he won’t take your best friend away.
You’re the manager of one of the biggest call centers in the country. You’re happy because life’s been great ever since you opened your doors to the local vampire community. They’re damned good at their jobs, and you don’t have to deal with the HR nightmare of overtime, of medical bills and lawsuits anymore. And you feel safe, because you know that if one of them ever steps out of line, you know exactly who to call.
You’re the girl who leapt through time, who met a handsome stranger who took you to a fantastic place full of talking trees and flying fish, the girl who was loved and fucked and tossed aside when you started getting boring.
You came home and found that your house wasn’t your house anymore, that your parents have been dead for decades and all of your friends were old and gray while you haven’t aged at all.
They found you crying on a swing. They told you what happened, and helped you set things right.
You’re the drunkard at the local bar who sees monsters in every face, and still remembers what it was like years ago, when you didn’t have to be afraid of the dark, or wonder what’s beneath all the human skin and human smiles of every person you meet. The Truth fucked you up, you see. You wish that once upon a time, you had the better sense not to listen.
o r i g i n s t o r i e s.
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And Barbara immediately walks over to help the younger vampire out.
"Let's go. We'll have more time to talk the sooner we get to Falner."
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She leaves the flat and turns around, sparing one last look inside before locking the door. Things were moving fast, yes, but it was easier that way. She just had to keep remembering herself that.
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She'll be quiet unless Ella decides to talk to her, all the way until they arrive.
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And now and then she thinks of other vampires doing all sorts of things her father would usually claim they all did, and she goes a little quieter.
The sight of the gates snaps her out of it, and she grows increasingly nervous as they reach the mansion. Everything is starting to slow down now, bit by bit.
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"We'll talk in the office that I have here while they're preparing a temporary room for you. You'll stay with me starting tomorrow evening."
Raura still has to get the house in order for his wife's first childe.
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"Okay...but if it is too much hassle I can get a couch or something. I don't mind."
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Barbie almost looks incredulous when she turns to Ella at that point. Really, child: you are her childe now.
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She looks around once again, and realizes that even the smallest couch on Barbara's house is probably bigger than the biggest bed she's ever had.
"Never mind. What do you do, exactly?"
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Turning around briefly to smile at Ella, as they continue upward.
"How much has your father told you about us?"
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"The Daywalker? As in Riley Falner who owns the Falner State Daywalker?"
Can vampires pass out? She's feeling a bit lightheaded now.
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"That's correct." Her smile grows wider. "There's a high chance that he's awake to hear you, you know."
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Barbara's smile isn't making her feel any better. "And is he your...sire?"
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Barbara paused there, looking thoughtful.
"The Methuselah executed my actual sire back in 2012."
And she does not sound too sad about that.
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Better not do a thing.
"Oh, okay. So he and I...we obviously got nothing to do with each other." Obviously. Riley Falner probably has no time to waste on her anyway.
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But she isn't going to add the part about how he will probably want to meet Ella just because Ella is Barbie's first childe.
On that note, the two of them were finally stopping at the door to Barbara's office. The older vampire opened it, and waited for Ella to come inside.
"Sit anywhere you like?"
There were... a lot of couches in there.
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Yeah, that part will probably be a little too much for her to handle at the moment.
Ella walks in and her thoughts about big expensive couches come back to mind. Welp.
She's just going to sit by the edge of the one closest to her desk.
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"Now that we're settled..." How does one even begin? "I suppose you can ask what you like, and we'll go from there."
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"Hmm...how does the whole Sun thing works? I'm sorry, it's a bit vague, but I don't know where to begin with the question."
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She leans back, looking serious.
"Either way, it's not a weakness that you should test out."
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"But...what happens when she Sun is up?"
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Now she pauses, trying to remember what it was like to be a fledgling vampire on her end. It's been a while.
"We Kindred do feel tired the closer one gets to sunrise. It's almost as if we're just human beings who happen to be perpetually on a night shift."
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Ella listens in silence, nodding every couple of seconds as she makes mental notes of everything. Everything. "So once we fall asleep, we can't wake up?"
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She shifts in her seat, crosses her legs.
"The Beast within vampires like us is always hungry. Our bodies require constant maintenance, so to speak."
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"So, blood every night. I'm really going to need to learn how to bite someone." How could she be both aroused and put off by the very same thought?
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Unpleasant as it might be, when you really get down to it...
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Roll Intelligence + Politics (specialty: The Vigil applies) to see what you know re: Balamb.