The Theory of Tea and Biscuits (Yuuki_Tatsunohi and NotAllThatCreative)

"Great!" Masato grinned. "It'll be in a few weeks after budget approval and tickets are purchased. Anyways, it's four for the planetarium. Sorry girls," he said when he saw Jillian's face fall. "Art museum will be next on our list."

​

The history club ended an hour later, and a few hours more came the rain.

It poured heavily over his shoulders, washing away any lingering scents from the day. His stark white eyes stared ahead, the burned and tattered flak jacket hanging from his shoulders and the straps of his helmet dangling by his cheeks. He breathed once, trying to find something, anything for the overwhelming, burning thirst.

And then he caught a scent in the air. A faint whiff, nearly hidden by the pouring rain. There was a trace of flowers and something more. Like a scent he only encountered once. It was just as overwhelming and potent. He had to have a drink. He had to have a drink.

He pushed himself up from his spot underneath the trees, running as fast as he could. The scent got stronger and stronger, the closer he got. God did it smell amazing. He smelled this before when he first awoke. He was unable to move at the time, something pinning his arms and legs down so he couldn't move. All he knew was that he was thirsty, and he could smell such potent, delicious blood nearby. Whoever that was is long gone and so was the blood he first smelled, but luck was on his side as he found a scent that was nearly the same.

He dragged himself forward, approaching the person from the front. A girl with red hair running through the rain. She stopped, removed something from her face and wiped whatever it was with her arm.

Thirsty. So very thirsty. His mouth hung open, revealing sharp pointed teeth. He huffed once, taking in her scent, and lunged.
 
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The rain was soaking through her jacket and to her clothes. Thunder cracked in the sky while lightening lit up her surroundings for a few seconds at a time. It didn't help her as she tried to clean her glasses enough so she could see while she walked. As she was putting her glasses on though, a massive force ran right into her and knocked her on the ground where she heard the cracking sound of the glass in the black frames on the ground. That's when she felt her heart stopped. She couldn't see without her glasses! Reaching for them, she heard something scuffing around behind her as she grabbed her glasses, flinching when the glass cut one of her fingers.

She was about to get off the ground when she felt a force push her back down on the ground and she started to panic. There was a hand wrapped around her neck as she laid there on the ground, staring up at the eyes that peered down at her. They were lifeless and yet, so full of hunger. What was this thing? Why was it here? It surely wasn't human but yet, it wasn't not a human. It was a cross between death and life.

Charity reached up and struggled against the hand that was pressing into her neck and tried to push it off of her. She was losing her air supply and she could feel herself getting light headed. That's when she felt it. Something was piercing her neck and she struggled even more against the figure above her. "Get off!" This creature tightened his grip on her and she felt her air supply cut off almost immediately. She kept trying to push him off but he was much stronger than her. Tears gathered in her eyes as she struggled to breathe and the could feel herself losing blood as the moments passed. The moments passed slowly like hours and her vision was failing her despite how she continued to fight against this creature.
 
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Papers have been graded, the new assignment plan for next week has been set, and attendance has been turned in. Masato leaned back in his chair with a sigh, rubbing the back of his neck. He had been pouring over his work well over four hours now, clocking in some extra overtime in addition to club work.

"Good thing it's Friday," he muttered to himself. He glanced at the computer, making sure everything had been entered right one last time. Satisfied, he clicked 'submit' and stood up, his joints aching from the sudden movement.

Outside it was raining, coming down in sheets. He briefly remembered a forecast from early in the morning mentioning the coming rain later that night, though they never mentioned how heavy it would be. Masato pulled on his jacket and slung his bag over his shoulder, locking his office and passing by the janitor.

"Stay dry out there," said the janitor, nodding at the door.

"You too," Masato replied, waving goodbye. He stepped out, holding out his hand to catch the rain. He regretted forgetting an umbrella, not liking the idea of running in the rain. On the positive side, at least he can run through this downpour faster than humans. Less time being in the rain and less time spent getting home.

Making sure his bag was adjusted comfortably on his shoulder, he sprinted down the steps and across campus, the different buildings moving by in a blur. He was just about to pass the last building when he heard a scream. He paused, looking around to see where it came from.

Then he heard it again. Even through the rain he could make out the sound of someone being choked. He ran towards the cries for help, straining his ears to pick it up again. He then noticed a faint scent in the air. It was so faint and nearly washed out, like the scream that was nearly drowned out by the sound of rain. It was sweet, sweeter than usual normal but he recognized that metallic smell of copper. Blood.

He rounded a corner and found what he was looking for. Someone was haunched over the body of another, the tattered clothing and helmet on his back reminiscent of the Vietnam war. His entire body covered that of a girl, head buried into her neck. Masato recognized the head of red hair. Charity. He tackled the other person, ramming his elbow into their side.

"Charity, run!" he yelled.

The other guy shook his head, turning to Masato. To his horror, the man's irises were a deathly white, one tiny black dot in the middle of each of them for the pupil. Blood dribbled down his chin, mouth hanging open to reveal a pair of sharp canines. Just like mine, Masato thought. Was this guy also like him? He didn't have a chance to ask as the next thing he knew he was on the ground, wrestling with the other vampire to keep him away from Charity.

The vampire snarled at Masato, snapping his jaws at him. Claws formed on Masato's fingers, digging into the vampire's flesh. Once he was sure he had found purchase, he twisted the arm, ripping the skin and bones from their sockets. The vampire roared, stumbling back and clutching his arm. Masato charged piercing through the stomach with his clawed hand. The other vampire grew still, slipping off Masato's arm and landing with a dull thump on the ground.

"Charity, are you alright?" he asked, walking towards her. "I know this is—" Masato froze, picking up the scent of blood in the air. Normally he'd be able to ignore it and the cravings it would bring, but there was something about the scent, something different. Something overwhelming. He could feel his throat grow dry, an intense desire to drink that blood overcome him. He clutched his throat. The cravings he had under control, the four hundred years he spent controlling that thirst, all seemed to go crashing down the moment he smelled this blood. His eyes changed from brown to bright red to black. He looked back at Charity, seeing her red hair then suddenly everything was red. Red as blood.

Still holding his throat and gasping for breath, he stumbled back. When a considerable distance had been put between them, he disappeared into the rain and darkness.

​


Camilla pushed open the doors of the school, clicking her tongue at the sight of rain.

"It's really coming down," she muttered, digging out an umbrella from her backpack. It was a pink umbrella with a black cat printed on each side. "Koda, let's go." She called as she opened it. Her lips curled upward and whistled for him to come. "C'mon, boy, let's go!"
 
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Everything was such a blur to her and she couldn't make out any shapes but she knew the one voice that spoke to her. Of all things, it was her teacher. She didn't think he'd be out this late and even then, how did he know she was there? How did he find her? Was it a simple coincidence or was it something more? Either way, she was glad to know he was there and was dealing with this thing that nearly killed her.

He told her to run but she couldn't move. Her limbs felt like they were too heavy and she couldn't move them. When Masato had moved the other creature off of her, it caused a tear in her skin which was causing her to lose more blood. Before she could even speak to her teacher, he was gone. This was just great. Freaking fantastic. Her luck was the worst. She used her her elbows to push herself up but she whined lightly in pain and gave up, falling back onto the ground. What she could see was spinning in circles and something she was thankful for was that the rain hid the sight of her tears rolling down her cheeks.

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"Fuck you." Koda huffed as he followed Camilla out of the school and glanced towards the sky as thunder started rumbling once again. "At least I don't completely ignore people when they call me over like cats normally do." He reached back and pulled up his hood over his head, starting down the stairs of the school. "Let's just get to my place before Maiara calls me and starts screaming at me to come home." The young girl was left at home with the other two sisters and their parents were still working. It wasn't something the teenager was used to and the youngest child was a brat at times who screamed when she doesn't get what she wants.

However, something caught him off guard and he stopped where they were. A few miles down the road was the short cut to his house but there was something in the air that didn't smell right. Koda reached up and pushed the hood back, looking around. "Camilla," His voice was serious which was something unusual when it came to Koda. He was hardly ever this serious. "Do you smell that?" It was sweet but at the same time, it was sour. A deep frown came across his lips and before the girl next to him could answer, he was following the trail of where this smell could lead him.

It was odd. He knew this smell but he couldn't put his finger on it. There was just enough left in the rainy air that he could follow it down a dead end alley and that's where he spotted the unconscious red head. "Shit." He quickly ran over and knelt down beside her, putting his index and middle fingers against her neck. A pulse but it was light. That's when he noticed her bleeding.

"Camilla!" Koda yelled as he pulled off his coat, wrapping it around Charity before putting one of the sleeves up against her bleeding neck. Slipping his left arm under her knees and his right around her shoulders before lifting her up off the ground. He was cursing under his breath as he glanced towards his friend. "Grab her bag and follow me." Not bothering to wait for her again, he hurried down the alley way and made a different turn this time. "This isn't good," He kept mumbling this to himself as he continued down the street. There was something about her wounds that really made things odd to him and that weird smell was all around her, masking the flowery smell she usually carried.
 
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Camilla ignored Koda's quip, catching up to him and holding the umbrella over their heads. She was about to make way towards Koda's house when he stopped. She herself sniffed the air, trying to find whatever it was he picked up. She couldn't find anything except for the smell of rain, rain, and more rain.

"No, I don't. This better not be a joke, Koda," she said. By his tone, however, he wasn't joking. There definitely was something he was picking up if he wasn't making jabs at her nose by now. Camilla had a good sense of smell, but it couldn't compare to the Koda's or the entire Thompson family.

Suddenly he was a few feet ahead of her. "Hey!" she called, folding her umbrella and sprinting after him. She managed to keep up, clutching her bag as it bumped against her back. She was about to yell at him again when she finally picked up the scent. A sweet, yet metallic smell, and a faint, oh so faint, smell of flowers. Camilla remembered the same scent she picked up on the foreign transfer student that walked into their clubroom earlier that day, and to her horror, that exact person was lying in an alleyway in a pool of blood.

"Charity," she gasped. Just a few feet away was another body. Hesitantly, she approached. There was a huge hole through his torso, the rotten clothing reminding Camilla of old photos her grandmother had around the house of family members who were soldiers in the Vietnam War. She toed the body, flipping it onto its back and nearly screamed. The eyes were white as chalk and blood dribbled down his open mouth, revealing two sharp fangs.

Koda's shout startled her. She backed away from the body, grabbing what she assumed to be Charity's backpack and Charity's glasses. Heavy, she thought as she gripped the straps, but she managed and followed Koda. The teens ran as fast as they could through the pouring rain until they arrived at the entrance of the hospital.

Camilla burst through the ER doors, taking the two techs in the Triage area by surprise.

"Help us!" she cried, running up to the desk. "The girl—" she pointed at Charity lying in Koda's arms "—she's bleeding from her neck—" she pointed at a spot on her own neck where the wound was. "We found her at our school and she was lying in a pool of blood. Please, you got help us."
 
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The moment they entered the hospital and the staff knew about the injured girl, Koda was surrounded. Staff members wanted to take her away from him but he tightened his grip on the girl, glaring at them. He knew this wasn't right of him but he wanted to see one person and one person only. So with the thought in mind, he pushed through the nurses and doctors and went down the hall quickly, ignoring the shouting humans behind him. As he turned down another hall that lead to the rooms, he spotted his mother and shouted for her.

Iris turned her head quickly and gasped, hurrying over to him to see the red head in his arms. "Koda, what on earth?" The small blonde woman took the sweatshirt away from the girl's bleeding neck and her face went completely white at the wounds Charity had endured. "Follow me, quickly." She gripped onto her son's arm and pulled him down the hall, towards one of the empty rooms. This wasn't good, not at all. Her husband would be livid once he heard about this.

"Put her on the bed."

Koda nodded to her and walked over, carefully laying Charity on the empty bed. He barely noticed Camilla stepping into the room before his mother closed the door behind her so no nosy nurses could randomly come in without knocking. Stepping back, he let Iris take over as she started to work on stopping the bleeding on Charity's neck. Things were happening at such a different speed than what they should be and his mother yelled his name a few times, trying to get his attention.

"What happened to her, Koda? You need to tell me."

"I don't know." That was the truth. Neither of them knew what had happened to Charity. "We know she was attacked by one of those monsters but nothing else." He wanted to know who was there long enough to kill said monster but didn't bother to help the young girl. Whoever did it, just left her to die without any hesitation. "Will she live, mom?"

That made Iris pause for a second and she nodded her head firmly, keeping her eyes on the girl. "I will make sure of it. We'll need to find out what happened to her so your father can look into it." She was quiet for a moment as she pulled some of the gauze back and sighed a little in relief once she noticed the bleeding has slowed down. "Koda, go out and find Doctor Blackburn. He's the only one I would trust with this kind of situation." There was no movement from her son and she looked up at him, smiling lightly. "Go, love. She'll be alright."

While he didn't want to leave, he knew he needed to get this person that his mother was talking about. As he opened the door, that very doctor that his mother wanted him to find was standing right there, just about to open the door and step into the room with a few nurses behind him. The man stood only a few inches shorter than Koda and was middle aged, his hair turning salt and pepper colored instead of staying the dark brown it used to be.

"Ian, thank goodness. I need your help." His mother sounded relieved and Koda moved back to let the other nurses in. He walked over and grabbed Camilla's arm before pulling her towards the door so the staff can take a look at Charity. "We should probably wait outside." It was for the best so they could check to make sure that Charity wasn't suffering from any other severe injuries.

Hours had passed since they arrived and the two teenagers were sitting in the crowded waiting room, waiting to hear any news about Charity. Koda was anxious to hear anything about their new friend but he knew that she was safe in his mother's care. It happened to be his instincts that were screaming at him to go and scare off the people that were crowding her so she could rest on her own. That's where his human side won because he knew he had to let the doctors do their job.

Iris stepped into the waiting room moments later and let out a soft sigh when she approached the two teenagers. "She's going to live but she's going to be extremely sore and tired tomorrow." She walked over and took a seat next to her son, gripping onto his hand lightly. "Our little Jane Doe-"

"Charity,"

"What?"

"Her name is Charity." Koda glanced towards his mother and frowned lightly. "Charity Williams. I thought I told you about her. She's the girl who smelled weird in class and everyone teased her." That caused a light bulb in her head to go off and Iris nodded with a smile.

"Charity definitely got banged up when she was attacked." Iris hummed lightly as she rubbed Koda's hand with her thumb, still holding onto it. "Doctor Blackburn also discovered something when he was examining her." She cleared her throat and glanced between the two teenagers. "I'm sure you two have noticed by now that her eyes have a bit of a cloudy look to them," She got a nod from Koda who was listening intently. "He thinks she has a case of glaucoma. He wants to do some more testing on her eyes when she wakes up and is feeling better." Her eyes drifted towards Camilla before back at Koda. "You two did the right thing. She could've died had you not acted as quickly as you did."

There was silence for a few moments before Iris spoke up once again. "You two should head home and get some rest. Come back in the morning when she's awake and feeling a little better." She looked at Koda firmly. "You have to tell your father about this. It's extremely important that you do." Her firm eyes then looked at Camilla. "And you do the same. Both tribes need to be on alert."
 
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Camilla watched as the doctor and nurses swarmed over Charity, saying things to each other she could just barely understand as the doctor did his examination. Laceration, excessive bleeding, pupil at point one millimeters . . . .

Koda pulled her away and into the waiting room. The hours passed and all the two teens could do was wait. Camilla fidgeted with the strap of Charity's backpack, staring at the thing as if it would magically tell her what was going on. Her phone buzzed a few times, a text from both her dad and mom asking if she was at Koda's place. Camilla responded with a simple I'll text you back, before turning off her phone.

When Iris reappeared and assured them that Charity was going to be fine, Camilla let out a long sigh. Just hearing those words seemed to settle the churning in Camilla's stomach. Though it didn't last for long when Iris mentioned there was something wrong with her eyes. Cloudy eyes? Glaucoma? Sure, the redhead needed glasses, but Camilla didn't know it was that bad. She then remembered the glasses in her pocket and dug them out. The lens was gone, leaving two big holes in the black frame that was barely held together by tape. Camilla's stomach dropped when it became clear Charity's eye situation became a whole lot worse.

Then Iris mentioned both families needed to know about this. Her father and grandmother—especially her grandmother—would want to know about this. Despite that, Camilla didn't want to just leave Charity alone after all that happened. Iris said she would be okay, but what if something else happens?

That same doctor from before, Blackburn emerged from the doors, going behind the Triage counter to talk to another doctor. Blackburn wasn't as frazzled as before when he entered the room to see the bloody Charity, so that was also a good sign. Right? Camilla grit her teeth. She'll have to take Iris' word for it.

"If anything happens," she began, "Let me know. Please, Mrs. Thompson. I-I'm worried about Charity."

She called her uncle who came right away to the emergency room to pick them up. He dropped Koda off at his house then proceeded towards her house. A red classic Pontiac was parked in the driveway which meant her grandmother, Malika Pryce, was here too. Her parents and grandmother were in the living room, her father pacing back and forth across the carpet, while her mother played with her hair. Only her grandmother sat perfectly still, hands folded neatly in her lap, but she stared straight ahead, not even looking at the television showing the news. When Camilla walked in with her uncle in tow, her father was immediately at her side.

"Camilla! When your uncle called and said you were at the hospital I feared—" Quincy started, his wife Amelia also rushing to her and pulling her daughter in a hug.

"I'm sorry mom, dad," she said. "I was with Koda and we were going to his place to hang out when we found one of our classmates and took her to the hospital. She was bleeding and there was a lot of blood and someone else was also with her—"

"Camilla, wait. You say there was another person?" her grandmother asked.

"Yeah, but he was already dead." Camilla bit her lip then added, "It was weird. He was in army gear, like the kind from those Vietnam War documentaries Dad watches. He had two sharp fangs and his eyes were literally all white."

Malika was then on her feet. "Did you say fangs?" Camilla nodded and for a brief moment, Malika's eyes changed from dark brown to gold. She stared hard at her granddaughter, then grabbed her bag and made her way for the door. "Tyson, call the Thompsons; I need to meet with them. Now."

Malika didn't wait for a response, Tyson and his brother at her heels as they left the house. Amelia immediately sent Camilla to bed, telling her to rest and they'll talk more about this in the morning. Sleep didn't come easily to Camilla. For hours she stared at the ceiling, remembering the bloody neck of Charity Williams, and the dead man next to her with white eyes and blood in his fanged mouth.

​

Morning arrived and her father and uncle had not yet returned. Amelia said they were still with their mother. She didn't say any more than that, but Camilla knew those three were still talking with the Thompsons. She checked her phone for any messages then told her mother she was going back to the hospital to check on Charity. She made a quick stop at a café, buying some breakfast sandwiches and a coffee and tea, bringing everything to the hospital. The front desk attendant told her where the redhead was and gave her a map to follow. Once there, the unit secretary checked her in, gave her an ID badge and led her to Charity's room.

"Let us know if you need anything alright?" The woman smiled, closing the door behind her. Camilla set the food on the table, taking a seat on the chair.
 
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Koda: Is she awake yet? How is she? We're still investigating the area we found her in but the rain from last night washed almost everything away.

He put his phone back into his back pocket when he got done texting Camilla and turned towards the scene in front of him. His father, Len, was currently speaking with the elders of Camilla's family. They were talking about the possibility that someone from long ago may have come back but no one was sure. The idea alone was frightening. Vampire attacks weren't normal anymore as there were ways to keep their hunger at bay without using human blood. This was just so odd to them.

Koda glanced around the area and noticed something on the ground. He walked over and knelt down, picking up the two pieces of glass he found. They were the missing pieces of Charity's glasses with a small amount of blood on them. "Father, do you think these might be of some help?" It was possible that this wasn't Charity's blood as to him, the color looked almost black. Any living being had a dark red color to the blood. "This blood smells odd."

Len walked over and looked at the lenses in his son's hand. This was definitely odd but he nodded, taking the two pieces of glass from his son. "Your mother will help us with this." He turned towards the elders of Camilla's family. "I don't think there's anything else here for us. We should have a council meeting once we get the results back."

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Pain was the first thing she noticed as she started to come to. Her neck felt like it was on fire and throat was sore. Last night was still a blur to her and yet, there was a voice in the back of her head. A familiar voice. She couldn't put a name to it at first and she didn't want to think about it at the moment. Her whole body was sore and she was uncomfortable.

Charity shifted in the bed and let out a small whine when her back moved in a way that sent a sharp pain through her entire body. She reached up and rubbed one of her eyes, reaching over with her other hand to find the nightstand that was by her bed. When it was there, she sat up quickly and looked around the room with shock in her eyes. She dropped her hand from her eye and turned to where the nightstand was normally only to be greeted by machines. A deep frown came across her lips and her eyes drifted around the rest of the room before landing on Camilla.

Squinting her eyes in confusion, her fingers gripping onto the blanket covering her as her nerves started getting the better of her. The fear in her was growing and the machine taking her pulse was getting louder and louder. "How did I get here? Who are you?" Her voice was hoarse and barely understandable but she could only hope that the person who was there knew what she was saying. After a moment of staring at this person, she started to relax when she finally realized who was there. "Camilla?"
 

Malika nodded. "My youngest—" she gestured at Quentin, the brother of Camilla's father who came along with "—will help as well. In the meantime, we keep patrolling; there may still be something. My people will check out the hard to reach places along with you guys. We'll meet at your household. I want to know if what—" she waved her hand at the scene before them "—is just like that from fifty years ago." Her hand tightened into a fist, eyes ablaze with fury. She hoped Len Thompson understood how important this was to her, how she could still remember a member of her family—a sister—attacked everyone, rampaging like a monster before death.

With that, she turned around and headed for the car, pressing her lips together as her son trailed behind her. There was no way there would be a repeat of that again. Malika would do everything in her power to protect her family and the Thompsons. The loss both clans experienced was so long ago, but for Malika, it was as fresh as the day they buried her sister. No, she wouldn't allow that again. Never for as long as she was the leader of this pride.

​

Camilla pursed her lips, drafting her response to Koda's flood of texts when she heard a small whimper. Camilla looked up from her phone, nearly jumping out of her own seat when the redhaired girl sat up. Immediately, Camilla was at her side, one hand on the bed railing while the other was on the girl's arm, holding her down before she half jumped out of bed.

"Yes, yes, Charity, I'm here," she said. Once she was sure the redhead had calmed down, she moved her hand to grasp hers. "You're in the hospital Charity. Koda and I found you last night. You were on the ground in a pool of --" she shuddered "--blood. Um, I'll get the nurse to let them know you're awake, and anything else like food too." she squeezed her hand, unsure what else to say. She was more relieved the girl was awake and talking.
 
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Having a familiar voice around her helped to ease her nerves but she still couldn't figure out why she was in this hospital room. It all made sense once Camilla told her what happened but that didn't help the confusion. Her attention turned back towards Camilla once she said that she was going to go get someone and she shook her head. As she was about to say something, a familiar voice to Camilla came in.

"How are you feeling, Ms Williams?" It was Iris. She had just arrived for her shift so she was going to be taking care of Charity for the rest of the afternoon. That paleness was still around in Charity's skin as acute anemia was still being fought off by her body. "You gave your friends quite the fright last night." She grabbed a pair of gloves and made her way over Charity's bedside, gently pushing the young girl's hair away so she could get to her neck. "If you would like, you can take a bath in a bit. I know you probably don't feel the greatest." Iris paused for a moment and smiled lightly at her son's friend before turning back to Charity. "My name is Iris and I'll be your nurse while you're here."

Charity gripped onto Camilla's hand as tight as she possibly could and tilted her head to the side lightly. "My neck is extremely sore," And so was the rest of her body but more so her neck. She wanted to see what the damage was but she knew that most likely wasn't going to happen. Reaching up with her spare hand, she rubbed her eye and let out a small sigh. "A bath would be lovely. As would some tea."

Queen's English. Iris hadn't hear such speaking in a long while and she couldn't help but chuckle. "And what kind of tea do you prefer, Charity?" Carefully pulling the bandages away from the wounds, she frowned ever so slightly at the dark red color surrounding the two marks on the young girl's neck. These were going to take longer to heal than expected. "Would you like some breakfast as well?" Her eyes drifted towards Camilla and she gave her a look that says that she wants to talk to her later. "I'm sure the cafeteria can make anything you would like."

Her neck felt like it was pulsating and she cringe at the feeling of the bandages being pulled away from the skin. She knew the nurse was being gentle but it didn't help that it felt like her skin was being ripped off. Such a feeling caused her to grip onto Camilla's hand like it was her lifeline. A sigh escaped her lips as the feeling subsided and she felt nothing but the throbbing pain that was left behind. "Breakfast..." She thought about it but her mind was more focused on the pain. "I don't know if I want any."
 
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Camilla watched as Iris checked on Charity, noticing Charity's grip on her hand tighten as her face winced in pain. The redhead's grip hurt and Camilla could see the knuckles on her hand turning pure white, but Camilla didn't pull away. She placed her free hand on top of Charity's and squeezed back. Camilla's stomach churned at the wounds on Charity's neck as Iris pulled back the bandages. She wasn't sure which was worse: these wounds on her neck, or the pool of blood they found her in last night.

Camilla bit her lip, unable to look away from the wounds. Two bloody red holes in the base of her neck, somewhere around her jugular. Remembering the corpse next to Charity, it was like straight out of those horror movies Camilla had seen as a child. And stories of a lost grand aunt her grandmother told her. That couldn't really be—

"Maybe something to drink then?" Camilla asked. "I brought some coffee and tea." She held both cups out awkwardly to Charity before realizing her glasses were broken and she couldn't see without them. "I'm not sure which you prefer, so I got both."
 
Over the next few days, Charity stayed in the hospital but tests were constantly being done on her eyes and blood tests were being performed as well. The diagnosis was juvenile open-angle glaucoma and as of right now, they were merely giving her eye drops to keep her eyes from hurting. When Iris had explained what would happen, Charity felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach. She was, basically, going blind at a very quick rate. A surgery was the only thing that they could use at the moment to slow down the progression.

She was sent back to her dorm late Sunday night and with no one there to help guide her, she wasn't sure what she was going to do. Charity changed out of the clothes the hospital had given her, she found... Something to wear. She wasn't sure what it was but regardless, she was wearing it to bed. Curling up under her single duvet, she closed her eyes and dozed off.

The next morning, she had gotten up and was searching her closet. She could barely distinguish what was what in her small variety of clothes. "Gods, what did I do to deserve this?" Grumbling to herself, she grabbed a random shirt and a random pair of pants before turning towards her bed and throwing them there. She got rid of the clothes she had on and put on the ones that she got out of the closet. Her eyes drifted down to her outfit and she frowned lightly. She couldn't tell if it matched or not.

"I'm doomed..." Charity let out a long sigh and walked over to her bed, taking a seat so she could put on her shoes. She grabbed her bag and walked towards the door, fumbling with the handle before walking out of the dorm room. Closing the door behind her, she hurried down the hall and just as she was about to nearly tumble down the stairs she didn't see, she gripped the railing. "I'm going to die today. If I don't, I'll be surprised."

Getting to class was a treat. Everything was blurred together and she must've gotten lost multiple times before bumping into Koda.

"I am so very sorry." This had to have been the fifth time she said that and it caused Koda to sigh.

"Charity, stop. Let's just get you to class before Ueda kills us." If he was even there.
 

"Hey, you have lunch after History right?" Camilla asked Charity. "You can sit with us later. We usually sit in the courtyard under one of the trees. We're not noisy so if you need to study or anything, you'll have plenty of quiet time around us to do so."

Camilla gave Koda a look. Watch over her. "I gotta get to my English class. See you later?" She gently patted Charity's shoulder and headed out in the opposite direction.


















​


Masato arrived on campus that Monday morning. Ignoring anyone who passed by him, fellow staff or friendly students, he headed straight for his office. Once he closed his office door, he sighed heavily.

He didn't want to come in today, not after what happened that Friday night. Nearly losing control that scared him and it took all night and all of the next day to just calm down. Four hundred years of diligence and control over his thirst only to be stopped in just one night. He was reminded of that overpowering thirst as he stood over a field of armored corpses so, so many centuries ago. The smell of fresh blood.

Masato pinched the bridge of his nose. He should have called in. Taken another day off. Maybe even do a no-call-no-show. He could move away, start all over and forget about the smell of someone's blood setting him off.

"Shit." Someone's blood. Charity Williams. His student whom he left there to die.

"Charity, stop. Let's just get you to class before Ueda kills us."

Wait Charity's alive? Masato pressed his ear against the door to hear the rest of their conversation but there was nothing except retreating footsteps. He stood still. Charity was okay. That sent a wave of relief through him. But now the issue was what next? If he appeared in the classroom, then surely Charity would ask him what happened and why he left her there. If he didn't show up, then that would look more suspicious.

The bell rang, startling him. Before he knew it, he was already gathering up his stuff and making way for the classroom. He knew he was arriving late, later than normal but right now that didn't matter. He entered the classroom, laughing off the questions with a simple lie of oversleeping. He'll figure out what to do later but seeing for himself that Charity really was alive was top priority.
 
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"Come on." Koda grabbed her bag and then proceeded to help her up on his back, thankful that he didn't bring his schoolbag that day. Giving her a piggyback ride was a lot easier than trying to walk with her and get her up a flight of stairs. Being a man that had little sisters, he was used to these kinds of thing but Charity? She was rather embarrassed as she gripped onto his jacket while he carried her through the halls.

"Just relax. There's no need to be so tense."

Yes, yes there was. Someone was carrying her. She had never been carried before in her life. In the back of her mind, she knew she was making this more awkward than it should be but she couldn't help herself. Koda was helping her with no questions asked. He even seemed to ignore the quiet whispers going about the hall as he made his way to her first class. Charity wasn't surprised at the whispering voices because she knew that news of what had happened was going to spread like wildfire.

"Did you hear what happened to her?"

"Yeah! It was some weird assault! They never even caught the guy from what I heard."

"I heard a rumor it was a vampire..."

"Shut up! They aren't real!"

"Even if they were real, they'd probably be as dreamy as Edward Cullen." That caused Charity to roll her eyes and snicker under her breath. A sparkling vampire, dreamy? Yeah, right.

"It's a pity really. The waste of space should've died. No one would have noticed the absence."

And there it was. She was waiting on that. Letting the statement go, she was pulled out of her thoughts as Koda carefully let her slide off of his back and onto the ground. Charity was handed her bag and Koda grabbed her hand, gently pulling her into the class. They were late but that didn't matter as the red headed student needed help getting around. Helping her to her seat, he pulled away from her and promised he'd be back after class so he could take her to the next class on her list, Instrumental Music.

Just as he was about to walk out the door, he stopped in his tracks, gripping onto the door handle. There was that scent. He hadn't paid much attention to it until now. It was the same scent that was at the scene where he and Camilla had found the British red head. At the time, the scent was almost completely faded but he still got a small whiff of it along with the other one of that of the attacker. His grip on the handle tightened as he realized who the strange smell belonged to and he turned his eyes towards the teacher standing near the blackboard. So he was there. This keeps getting more and more interesting.

Opening the door, he slipped out into the hall and pulled out his phone, sending a quick text to his father. I might have found a lead on that vampire attack. However, he wasn't sure. Masato seemed innocent to him as his scent at the scene that the smell of the attacker clinging to it. Some vampires were kind and considerate but those were far and few in between. Koda wasn't sure if that teacher was such a creature though. There was never an indication of such a thing for as long as he's been at the school.

"Mister Thompson!" He cringed at the sound of that shrill voice yelling from across the hall and he quickly pocketed his phone, looking towards the older woman who was making her way towards him. "Get to class before I write you up once again for your tardiness!" The last thing he needed was his mother getting on his case about getting suspended... Again. Muttering about the"old bat needs to retire already" under his breath, he quickly made his way down the hall before the mean old witch could catch him and call his mother for the second time in two weeks.


​
Charity sat at her desk, stiff as a board. She remembered him from that night and she wasn't sure what to think or feel about it. Her hands sat atop her desk, balled into fists as she tried to keep herself from shaking. Several emotions went through her like a storm. Fear, confusion, uncertainty, and distrust. One should always trust their professor but she couldn't find it in her at that moment. All she wanted to do was run but she knew that if she even attempted to get up, she would cause more harm to herself than anything else.

Letting out a long sigh, she tried to calm her pounding heart by taking slow and steady breaths but to no avail. Charity closed her eyes and reached up, pinching the bridge of her nose with one of her shaking hands. I shouldn't have come to class. I didn't know he'd be here. She wasn't surprised in the slightest though. But she wanted to know how he found her that night. Why did he help her? A teacher's job was to protect their students but she didn't think that the idea was taken so literally after hours. This brings up the question of why did he run? What caused him to run? Was it the sight of her laying there or something else?

All these questions circled through her mind, causing her to not pay attention in the class as Masato went about his teaching. Her neck started throbbing as her mind was getting more stressed out by the minute and she reached up absentmindedly, carefully rubbing the bandage where the bites lay. Her doctor had said that the pain would come and go but she was still so lost in her thoughts that she wasn't paying much attention to the pain. It was merely something that was nagging at her in the back of her mind as she was still weak from her latest event of the weekend.
 
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