Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

Camille gave an exasperated sigh. Exhaustion washed over her and any sign of adrenaline disappeared. That was hell. I can’t believe how hard they grilled us. And without warning too. She complained to herself, frowning. She had just finished an especially tough training session for the Vampire Extermination Society (VES or Society) at one of the outposts about a mile or two from her home. This training had involved senior members pounding on the newer kids, repeatedly bullying and defeating them. 

She was young, only nineteen, but entirely determined. In fact, she would have joined the VES much sooner. She had been training with a katana and whip since the age of ten, but they never accepted minors. So, she wound up impatiently waiting until the age of eighteen. During those intermediate years, she mastered her two weapons of choice and honed her mind to keep herself quiet and compliant when needed. I’ll show them I’m better than they ever imagined . Still, she had a long way to go.

 This outpost, the one she nearly always trained at with the other newbies, was the closest one to her house. However, the only way to reach it led her through the woods, so she had to trudge to and from the dark forest during her night shifts and training sessions. She worked hard every night, reminding herself of her goals to become the best and earn the most. I will become an excellent vampire hunter, for my brother. I will reach the top.

Camille shouldered her backpack with another tired exhale, starting her journey home, mind as weary as her body. Well, at least I’m not as far from my home as Blythe is to theirs. She did her best to encourage herself. It was not a long walk, but on nights like these, she dreaded it. She longed for her bed, a hot bath with clean clothes, and to see her little brother. She despised the idea of having to wake up early to work at her day job as a bookkeeper at the local inn, ironically called Thirsty Bites. Camille was convinced it had been named that on purpose, for most of the small town, which was called Occidere, was aware of the VES’s influence and assistance and how they absolutely adored hanging around this particular inn to talk about important business. Though, Camille would argue that nothing really important was discussed in public, much less at a tiny inn near the middle of Occidere. 

The thought of the town and its small, yet hardy population, provoked Camille to grumble in frustration. Sometimes I despise how they treat me and the other women. Camille deliberately drew a deep breath, seeking to calm her mind. She knew better than to allow her emotions to rule her and screw with her actions, especially regarding training. Training was over now, but she built it as a self-preserving habit to always conduct herself in a composed manner. She had learned the importance of collecting her thoughts in a passive manner. 

These thoughts regarding her irritation involving most townsfolk led her skin to crawl with vexation. She found herself compelled to keep her katana and whip in her backpack with her other vampire hunting tools. Camille failed to have a real choice in this, even though she was not technically forced to hide her belongings via orders from the Society. It just happened to be that girls were scorned upon with disgust and distrust if they fought or used weapons. She knew from experience that carrying her weapons in sight would provoke weird looks and mean comments. And, while it was late and dark, she had no desire to deal with that. She knew the views of Occidere, how they regarded her as strange (or worse). She heard the rumors, and while she kept to herself and ignored them, they still dug their way under her skin. The reason Camille permitted the townsfolk’s unkind reactions happened to be the same reason the townsfolk neglected to truly confront her straight on: the VES. I wish I could speak out against it. I shall prove myself through my actions then. Words mean nothing in the end. 

Grasping tighter onto the straps of her large backpack, Camille’s thoughts shifted to certain subjects that were almost always present on her mind: her sickly little brother, of whom she had to take care of alone, and her quest to earning a set of cursed gear that would give her the power to rise in the VES’s ranks and earn more money for her brother’s medical bills. The weapons she carried now were only enchanted to be able to kill a low-class, weaker vampires (called enchanted, instead of cursed) and would only allow her to progress to a certain rank before becoming stuck in the system. The main reason Camille chose this dangerous job was because of the pay, and mastering a cursed weapon was her only way to reach the highest pay rate. Fortunately, she had the skills for it and was willing to die for her brother. Not that her brother knew of her exploits. She ensured that. I’ll do whatever it takes to keep him alive and happy!

Camille’s brother, Israel, was fourteen, but unable to perform the activities boys of his age were involved in. Their parents had died when Camille was twelve in a supposed accident, so it was just her and Israel, whom she loved more than anyone. His condition had more known details than the deaths of their mother and father. But it seemed to be incurable. It stumped everyone. All they understood about the syndrome was that it involved Israel’s blood, making him weak and easily exhaustible. A blood disease with new symptoms seemingly springing up out of nowhere at random times. Fortunately, it had been over a year since the latest symptom, migraines, had developed. Unfortunately, a myriad of others had precluded this one.

As for the death of their guardians, Camille still intended to uncover the truth of what happened. She still wrestled with thoughts of who her parents were, how they died, and if they were indeed murdered. She constantly committed herself to pushing those thoughts to the back of her mind. To press on with unwavering strength for her brother. Even if her brother also put on a strong front, utilizing his mind as a weapon. He never voiced his thoughts about the deaths, and Camille never pressured him. He would mention them on his own terms, and Camille respected that. She respected Israel more than anyone else.

The Society had claimed that their parents were killed by vampires, but Camille remained unconvinced. Especially when they were originally hesitant to even call it murder, referring to the deaths as an accident. It just didn’t add up to Camille. There had to be more to the story, for her parents had been involved with the VES on very few occasions, much less vampires. In fact, Camille clearly remembered the time when her father came home with a series of weapons for Camille to pick through. This was the only time he had brought up the Society in front of her. That was for Camille’s tenth birthday, when she had chosen the katana and whip to train with. 

And for the next two years, in the time before her father’s death, he had taught her how to defend herself. Since then, she has learned to train herself, grow from observing and experimenting. That is, until she joined the Society’s ranks and had to shift her way of thinking and fighting. Still, her style was quite unique, especially the dual wielding aspect of it.

Ultimately, the VES failed to give Camille sufficient information on the incident. She strategized to investigate when she reached a higher rank. One with more authority and access.

Besides her brother's constant struggle to survive and the cost of it all, the biggest problem involved how Camille planned on gaining a cursed gear set. The only way to earn cursed gear was to kill a vampire by oneself with no help from the Society. A seemingly impossible challenge, at least from Camille’s perspective. The only time she went out hunting for vampires was with her designated five-soldier squad, which had an experienced leader, Lorn. Though squad leaders sometimes owned cursed-gear, Lorn only weiled enchanted spiked gloves.

That explained why members rarely acquired cursed gear. That, and one even crazier detail: cursed gear was called cursed due to it harboring a dangerous, high-power demon within, one that could possess the human seeking to use the weapon. A weak-willed, weak-hearted human would not stand a chance and would put fellow humans in danger if possession happened. So, the VES did not permit anyone who did not meet strict criteria to wield cursed weapons. But I’m not just anyone! Camille silently proclaimed. Except, she was not even sure what happened when a Society member managed to kill a vampire on their own. What was it like to deal with an actual demon? Or make a deal with one?

Camille sulked as she recalled the recent words of her closest comrade, Blythe, who was part of her five-soldier squad:

“From what I’ve heard, it’ll be years before we’re even considered for cursed gear testing . Vamps aren’t exactly common in the area, so the Society often stages vamp vs human fights, without the knowledge of either parties. Though it's been a few years since they last did that.” Blythe had also expressed their wonderings about how the Society staged the vampire killing tests.

Their words haunted Camille. She suspected this to be true long before it was uttered aloud, but when she heard it, she cursed. She couldn’t wait that long. Irrumabo stercore! She often voiced, or thought, her profanity in Latin. And I can’t do a damn thing about it because it’s all up to the VES. Not to mention the fact that I have no experience of killing vamps on my own since I always travel out of town with my squad to hunt. Most of my work is training! How am I supposed to kill a vamp on my own?

Camille sought to ignore her irritated thoughts, instead focusing on the woods before her. Dark trees blocked the waning moon-light, a serene breeze carrying the scent of smoke with it as it ruffled Camille’s dirty, disheveled, dark brown hair. Her long hair was currently tied back in the most practical manner for a Society training session. Entering the forest, a small smile arose on her face at the sound of crunching leaves and hooting owls as she strolled on by. That bespoke of early fall, time still yet for winter to come. With each passing day, the vibrant, green foliage shifted more and more to that of the yellow and red scene so often displayed in autumn. 

For some undetermined reason, she always gauged these woods as safe. Usually, people stated the opposite, but Camille was far from usual, even within the VES. She was young, smart, quick, strong, agile, and an overall great soldier. Not to mention, a woman, and someone who already knew two weapons to the point of mastery. My issue is people. Blythe would agree, giving me their stupid, crooked grin while jabbing me in the side and saying I need to be more agreeable. Truly obnoxious at times. Camille huffed in amused admiration when she thought of her friend. Blythe, and the rest of her squad, were the only ones Camille felt comfortable with. Besides her brother, of course.

As for the darkness, it didn’t bother Camille. After night training, she always drank half a vile of the tasteless night vision serum the Society provided her, which was stored in enchanted test tubes that were incredibly hard to break. One tube of the serum enabled a person to see in the dark for an hour. Each member of the Society had an allowance of five serum tubes a week, though that amount was mostly unneeded, especially with the lack of vampires in this area. Camille had gulped down half of one right after training, which meant she gained night vision for about half an hour. She could now see in the dark as clearly as a cat could. Which, admittedly, could be very off-putting, since one would be viewing the world without a real light source. It used to catch Camille off guard, but after a year of using it, she had adapted fine enough.

Breathing in deep, the fresh, cool air, Camille strolled forward purposefully, focusing on the noises around her, the quiet and the loud, finding peace within the sound. Silence never bode well. This pressed Camille to be quick to heed a potentially troubling shift as the forest transpired into erie quietude before her. She halted and stood on guard, swiveling her head around and listening closely for any sign of danger. She didn’t see anything, but her hairs were on end, and a shiver ran through her body. A second or two later, when a barely audible whooshing sound coming from behind her hit her straining ears, she discovered that her instincts were right. She was in grave trouble.

“Hey, what’s a pretty thing like you doing here?” An unfamiliar voice softly teased from behind. The tone resonated as strikingly melodic, conveying a mild, inquiring, and perhaps even gentle tone. It was a deep, female voice, sounding eccentrically seductive to Camille. Camille spun around on the balls of her feet, crouching down in a defensive position with her fists up. This happened to be her intuitive reaction whenever she heard an unfamiliar voice. Stranger danger .

The scent hit her before she stole a good look of the stranger. It wasn’t a bad smell, but it was so strong that it provoked Camille to stumble back in shock. She tripped over a tree root and landed on her back with a grunt. Her head was dizzy and heart pounding. She scrambled to her feet, eyes wide and unblinking. 

Camille’s surroundings blurred before her, approaching a type of tunnel vision that focused on the stranger. The scent compelled Camille to approach the woman. It taunted her, roughly like an agonizing, unscratchable itch, and though Camille sought to fight it, she also wanted to submit to her muddled mind. Her body relaxed against her will. Her mind and body were at war. Everything conflicted. 

Camille couldn’t even describe what the scent smelt like, maybe something similar to the forest itself, but she had enough command over her mind to understand what it meant. Her brain screamed danger, even while it craved to advance towards the danger. 

C-Cam! Stop it! You need to shake out of it! She inwardly screamed at herself as she forced herself to take a step back. She’s a vampire! A starving one at that! She swore like a demon on fire. It wasn’t enough. Camille was freaking out, though no signs of it reached her outward bearing. To the vampire, she probably resembled someone stuck in a trance. I-I need the blocker-band, but it’s in my bag. I am completely defenseless to this smell.

Despite the myths, vampires don’t usually kill their prey due to stealing too much blood or biting through a major artery. This also meant that they rarely bit directly at the neck, since the rupture of the jugular vein would almost certainly cause the prey to die. It only took about a glass full of blood for them to be satiated, if it is human blood, and one could easily gain that in a few short minutes from a simple bite on the arm. Regardless of this, a starving vampire was much more likely to kill a human while feeding, as they are desperate and oftentimes need more blood than usual. 

Still, vampires were more than willing to kill for fun, especially with the war going on. That’s why the VES was needed, and thanks to the Society, Camille knew all she needed to know about this. Along with one other pressing fact. The hungrier the vampire was, the more intoxicating the scent that emanated from them was. It was a defense mechanism, a desperate attempt to lure in prey. And so, Camille found herself face to face with what she knew was a starving vampire.

Could a vampire control the effect of their scent, when and how it expressed itself? Does the Society know anything about this? Then it hit her. What if THIS was planned by the Society? What if they’re testing me? This possible revelation provided Camille a new surge of confidence and determination. I will prove myself then. But I need to stall the vamp and get to my bag. It has almost everything I need. Damn it, I really wish I hadn’t left my human scent blocker pills at home. I have to be prepared, even when I never usually need them. They could save my damn life if I need to hide and don’t want to be detected by scent. Hopefully I can do without them. With these fleeting thoughts, Camille knew what she needed to do. 

Time to play clueless. A helpless, dumb victim. Must stall while assessing the enemy. Manage to equip oneself. Ok. Running would do her no good in a situation like this. Not without a clear plan in mind. Vampires were much faster after all. She would have to fight and kill the dirty human killer. Vampires are never truly innocent, even when they don’t kill.

This time, Camille moved towards the vampire, actively doing her best to maintain control while coming across as completely captivated. She allowed herself to relax. Camille nearly broke her act when she saw the small, smug smirk on the vampire’s face. Oh, now I really want to wipe that arrogance off of her face. How can a starving vampire look so damn cocky? It was obvious that the vampire hadn’t even considered the possibility that Camille might be more than she seemed.

In the mere moments Camille spent approaching the dangerous being, she sized her up. A fast assessment was key to making quick judgements that could save lives. And Camille’s life was on the line. 

The vampire didn't appear to be much older than Camille, perhaps in her twenties, but that didn't divulge much since vampires aged differently compared to humans. The vampire’s skin was pale, though grime made her a shade darker. Her clothes were tattered and dirtied, but Camille could tell they had once been expensive and finely fashioned. Yet, the clothes were simple. 

She wore a tight, black tank-top with one strap of her seemingly black undergarment visible. Camille could discern that the shirt was splattered with dirt and other substances she didn’t want to distinguish. Her lower half displayed high-waisted, black dress pants, and a golden belt around her waist. Around her wrists and fingers, she showed off gold and silver rings and bracelets. Camille caught a glimpse of gold around the vampire’s neck.

Camille's self-consciousness surfaced when she assessed her own all-black, rough-spun clothing. The VES favored black because of night fighting and desired the ability to blend in. Not that that meant much, being that most vampires could see in the dark. Even so, there were times when members were trained to fight blindly, without night vision, in case they were stuck in a similar situation in the future with vampiric enemies. Why commit to this type of training when their key enemy could see in the dark? Well, one never knew when they would find themselves in an ambush, not properly prepared with night vision. As rare as that was in Camille’s town, she now found that it was certainly possible. At first, Camille had despised this type of training, the lack of control, feeling of hopelessness and fear, but now she realized it was crucial. It had taught her quite a few things about defending herself against the unseen and relying on all of her senses.

Camille wore tight capri-length pants, especially crafted for sweating and rough training. Her shirt was similar, tight, but not restricting. The sleeves went to her elbows, and she usually wore gripping gloves, but they were packed away at the bottom of her bag at the moment. Her black belt was built for holding weapons, like a sword. She was equipped with steel-toed, leather boots that went up to just below her knees, covering any skin that may have been exposed by her pants. They exhibited a half inch steel heel, courtesy of the Society. Somehow, even with the steel, the boots remained flexible and light. Overall, her clothing was comfortable and practical, just like her. Not nearly as flashy or rich as what the vampire displayed.

The vampire stood a few inches taller than Camille, the difference presented larger by the (impractical) three inch, black-and-gold heels she sported. Camille did her best to ignore the fact that the vampire was thicker around the waist than herself, flaunting more in the chest area with eye-catching cleavage. I need to keep my eyes on the prize. Camille reminded herself, shutting off any ideas about this vampire’s attractive qualities. She hated how her face pinked up, knowing the vampire could see it in the dark.

Camille’s gaze hesitantly met the vampire’s bright grey eyes, which dared Camille to come closer. Her eyes then traveled up to the vampire’s long, messy hair, which was unusual in that it was white on the top yet shifted black as it traveled downwards. Camille knew that the vampire’s signature pointed ears were hidden beneath that thick hair. Camille’s stare unintentionally slipped, landing on the vampire’s lips, which sported bright, blood-red lipstick. When the vampire noticed Camille’s eyes on her mouth, she grinned, baring dangerously sharp teeth that seemed to grow longer the longer Camille eyed them. Camille managed to remain composed, as she had some experience with vampires. Still, she knew her face was flushed.

The vampire had a wild demeanor about her, despite standing with the composure of a queen. 

Within seconds, Camille positioned herself within a foot of the vampire, head tilted up. She stared into the vampire’s eyes with a big, doe-like gaze and a cute, dopey smile. Now was the time to think and act fast. However, before Camille could react, the scent lessened dramatically, to the point that the powerful tug no longer had its grip on her. She blinked in surprise, striving to hide any emotion that may appear on her face. What the hell happened? Is she controlling that? If so, why’d she let it slip? Camille froze, and the vampire spotted it, speaking up again.

“Don’t you know that it’s dangerous to be out so late at night?” The vampire questioned quietly, a quality counterfeit of candid concern, but Camille intuitively singled out the mockery in the tone. Camille shivered, having to bite her lip before she responded in retaliation and said something she’d regret. The vampire then took a couple strides back, gesturing around her with a malicious fanged grin and hungry eyes.

“You best be careful. Or before the night is done…” She paused, causing Camille to realize she had been staring at the vampire with way too much interest, instead of making a move to save her life. Camille couldn’t help but frown, removing her gaze so she was no longer staring deeply into the vampire’s eyes. Why is she so alluring? Her scent isn’t even strong anymore? And WHY HASN’T SHE ATTACKED ME YET? Camille’s frustration and confusion increased. 

“You might end up on someone’s plate.”

This snatched back Camille’s attention, as if she suddenly remembered where she was. The situation she was in. She stumbled back, a shiver racing down her neck as the vampire promptly materialized in front of her, a mere foot away. The movement spurred Camille to jump, as it had happened so quickly, she had no time to react in any other way. Vampires are so damn fast… I-I- Camille didn’t finish her thought. The vampire chuckled arrogantly and lifted up a hand, making a little wave motion. Camille was uncomfortably aware of the long, black, retractable, claw-like nails extending from the vampire’s long fingers.

“So you best be running…” The vampire performed a shooing motion next, her wicked grin growing. 

“Because I like the chase!” Up until then, all of the vampire’s words had been spoken lightly, but this was purposefully exclaimed. It conveyed the vampire’s hunger reasonably well and snapped Camille out of her conflicted thoughts. She couldn’t fail. It would most likely mean death. Still, she didn’t react until the vampire started counting, holding up her fingers in time.

“One… Two… Three… I’ll give you a headstart.” Camille’s eyes widened. She’s playing with me! The question is, do I play along? Well, there isn’t much I can do without time to grab my hunting supplies. So, Camille sprinted, weaving in and out of the trees and foliage. Fortunately, she knew these woods better than anyone else and knew where she might best fight this dirty human killer. All she needed was a little time.

Camille paused, ripping her backpack off her back, dropping down on one knee, and tearing it open.

“Hmmm, not very good at running, are we?” Camille kept her eyes glued to her bag as she desperately rummaged through its contents, her hands shaking and her breath caught in her throat. The vampire casually leaned against a tree five feet away, her arms crossed and a mocking imitation of a disappointed expression plastered on her face. Then she resumed her counting, fingers tapping her biceps in fake impatience.

“Four… Five… Six…” Camille managed to slip on the thin, black, vampire-scent-blocking bracelet until it squeezed her bicep securely. She gave a tiny sigh of relief when the scent’s pressure vanished entirely. Her cognitive abilities rapidly returned. 

A second later, she opened a small bottle and popped a tiny, black pill in her mouth before dropping the bottle back in her bag and slinging the bag back over her shoulder. Easily swallowing the pill, she sprang to her feet and bolted. The greenery around her blurred as she ran with her head down, eyes focused on the path she knew so well. This time, she acknowledged the sounds of a suspicious wind following her but persisted with racing and weaving, reminding herself that peeking back could be a fatal mistake. She knew the vampire was chasing her, and from the sound of the unnatural wind whistling behind her, Camille assessed that the vampire must have been flying or floating after her. So the vamp can fly. The daemones must be laughing now. Not all vampires had the ability of flight, as each vampire was different in their array of inhumane abilities.

“Your fear’s intoxicating…” A whisper of the voice echoed around her, and another shiver coursed through her. Camille pushed herself to run faster, panting, knowing it was all for naught. I need to stand and fight. Please pill, kick in! It should only take two minutes or so, but that could mean the difference between life and death. Once the pill kicked in, Camille would find herself to be virtually as strong and fast as a vampire. It would contribute to more of an even playing field. A chance. Next, she contrived to implement her actual weapons.

The vampire abruptly dropped down in front of her, triggering Camille to dash off to the right before she hit the vampire straight on. She heard an amused chuckle escape the vampire’s lips.

“I don’t know if this is a fair game. But, honey, you smell so damn good. So, I’d say it’s you to blame.” The vampire taunted, giving a faux gasp of displeasurable disappointment. Then she smirked. Oh how I wish I had my ANGEL-BLESSED scent blockers . Camille growled, sprinting off once more. The pill still had yet to activate, so Camille had to continue to stall. Nevertheless, if the vampire became bored of her game, Camille might indeed end up on her plate.

“Hmmm, you’re fast for a human. Quite like a little rabbit hopelessly hopping away from its hunter. You can try to run. That just makes it all the more fun when I finally catch up to you, little rabbit.” Camille ignored her, wholly focused on her plan while she ran. Ahah! She had spotted what she was searching for, her favorite hiding spot, a tight place that could reduce the vampire’s natural advantages: a thirty-foot-deep, six-foot-tall cave. 

Camille skidded to the side before dashing inside, praying for a minute or two to prepare for her first solo fight to the death.

The cave had sharp, uneven walls of dark grey stone. The walls were narrow, making the cave only about ten feet in width. Being that Camille was about five feet, six inches, she had little trouble with the ceiling’s height or the wall’s constriction. Regardless, if she were to hit her head on the ceiling or walls, it would be painful. The rock was jagged, and it perilously protruded in certain areas. Fortunately, the floor was well-tread and softer. That had much to do with Camille herself, as this was one of her favorite lone spots, where she would go to get away. In fact, she was there often enough that animals no longer settled within the cave. It was deserted. A perfect place to be alone, if one wanted to be. And now it might save her life.

It shouldn’t be long before it starts working. Camille shook, angry at herself for being so terrified. This wasn’t exactly the display she had wanted to put on for the VES. I just can’t breathe, move, or make a sound. But she’ll find me fairly quickly due to my scent. I must act fast. Camille stopped at a side of the craggy cave, flinging off her backpack, crouching down, and finally unpacking her katana and whip. She left her whip resting on the ground while she focused on the two-and-a-half foot sword in her arms. Fumbling with trembling hands, Camille strapped the katana to her belt. 

 It was a standard katana, a curved, slender, single-edged blade with a circular guard and long grip to accommodate two hands, though Camille usually sparred one-handed with it to permit for use of her whip. The hilt was constructed of a hard, black leather molded to Camille’s specific grip, and the sword itself was balanced for Camille. It had been created for her when she joined the Society and told them of her preference in fighting with a katana. The same was true about her enchanted whip. The sheath was also black, forged from a special metal that would keep the sword sharp without any need for sharpening it and would stop the weapon from rust damage. Of course, Camille still had to clean the blade after a fight.

What constituted this blade as unique, though, was the enchantment placed on its edge. It provided its owner the ability to kill a vampire if it was run through the heart or used to slit the throat. It could also injure a vampire, preventing the human killer from healing at its normal pace. All it required was the want and need of the human directing it. The blade itself was the same vivid green color as Camille’s eyes, and it shone bright when fed the blood of a vampire.

Once Camille managed to secure the katana to her waist, she snatched up her whip, which sported the same black leather as her sword’s hilt. It was also enchanted and would cause burns to any vampire who touched it, if Camille so desired. It glowed the same green as her katana, whenever she chose to activate the enchantment burning. It was intended to be utilized with another weapon, but if wrapped around a vampire's neck, it could kill too. The handle was small and one-handed, only distinguished from the rest of the whip by being composed of a thicker and softer, grey-colored leather.

Camille was ambidextrous, which left her the flexibility to switch weapons between her hands amid a fight depending on how she needed to adapt. It allowed her to fight well with both hands, no matter which weapon she held at the time. The adaptability and flexibility had saved her on multiple occasions, along with quick reflexes and the use of all her senses. Still, she was more inclined to fight with her sword in her right hand and whip in her left.

Camille rose to her feet, weapons gripped tightly in her fists, back to the cold cave wall. She could feel the rocks of the wall digging into her. She rested her head on the rough, irregular surface behind her, seeking to calm herself.

My head is pounding. My heart feels as though it’s going to burst. But I can do this, even if I don’t know where she currently lurks. This is absolute hell, but I won’t be able to escape. I JUST NEED THE DAMN PILL TO WORK! Camille’s fear-filled frustration was about to boil over. She moves too fast for me. It’s as if I’m stuck in slow motion. Camille inhaled deeply, undertaking the arduous task of relaxing her wracking trembles. A moment later, a surge of strength filled Camille’s body, and she smiled triumphantly. Her trembling ceased. The pill had taken effect, but it wouldn’t last longer than twenty-five minutes. It was now or never. 

“I didn’t live this long to be a dinner. Now it’s her move...” Camille softly muttered aloud, speaking for the first time since training. She noted with satisfaction that her voice retained its steady, though not wholly confident, quality. The world focused before her, and her now vampire-like eyes could pick up the tiny bugs crawling upon the ground. Sadly, her sense of smell was blocked by the band around her bicep, and the deadly stillness permeating from the forest persisted. The vampire’s scent must have been subduing the surrounding animals into silence. I wonder if the succo heightened her scent again. The Latin word for bloodsucker was succo. Well, it won’t work this time.

Camille left her bag on the ground, deciding to pick it up after the battle, if she survived. It would only get in the way. Back supported by the hard wall, she unsheathed her sword with a seemingly deafening sound. I love when my senses are heightened. Camille almost grinned as she pushed off the wall and positioned herself in a solid fighting stance.

“Dirty human killer!” Camille shouted, cringing as her words echoed and reverberated against the stone. That should get her attention. And it sure did, as not a second later, the vampire arrived at the entrance of the cave. The way she moved imitated teleportation, and when she sauntered in, Camille couldn’t help but be mindful of her swaying hips and authoritative stance.

“Oh, so the little rabbit intends to take on the big bad wolf.” The dirty human killer cooed with such cockiness that Camille grit her teeth in anger. Camille was sick of all the talking, but she had learned it was smarter to wait for the enemy to make the first move, so she stayed silent and unmoving. The vampire’s eyes flickered up towards the ceiling, a very brief twitch of her lips downwards the only sign of annoyance. Her features soon shifted back to casual and smug.

One aspect was in Camille’s favor, and it had all to do with the vampire’s height, filling Camille with relief over choosing this as the spot to fight: the vampire was but only an inch shorter than the cave’s ceiling height. So there would be no flying. In addition, it would force the vampire to crouch down or refrain from any jumping. Of course, this could be solved with one little trick, taking off the heels the vampire so impractically wore. Despite this apparent solution, the vampire neglected to fulfill this one simple action, probably due to snobbish conceit.

Camille watched the vampire scour her weapons with a sour expression, and she swore she saw shock in those grey eyes, just for a split second. I wonder if this vamp vixen has ever dealt with a human who fought back. From the way she’s acting, I’d think no. But vamps can be hard to read, so I must be careful. One thing I really want to know is if the Society truly set this up.

The vampire heaved a sigh, sounding unhappy, or maybe weary. 

“So, little rabbit, do you dance?” Camille found herself thrown off guard by this question, but she wasn’t granted the time to ponder its meaning, for the vampire attacked moments after uttering her question. She rushed at Camille, who jumped to the side just in time, slashing out with her katana in an effort to stab at the vampire’s stomach, but the vampire was faster and evaded. Before her enemy retreated, Camille heard her mutter another question:

“Do you?” Camille thought the evil creature must have been talking to herself, and she heard the astonishment in the vampire’s voice, even while her cocky demeanor lingered. This cave works well to keep her on the ground, so we are on the same level. Floating won’t help her. However, I must keep her at an arm's length, because if she bites me, I’m done. And that’s not taking the claws in account, which are just as dangerous. I cannot defend if I want to win. I must kill her before she becomes wary and my pill wears off. So, this time, Camille attacked first.

Camille feigned a stab to the right, causing the vampire to impulsively move left, and at that moment, Camille lashed out with her whip in her other hand. She used her momentum and the strength gained from the pill to calculate the whip’s velocity being enough to grab the vampire by the arm and haul her forward, causing her to stumble. Unfortunately, when the vampire pitched forward, she did so towards Camille, and Camille didn’t have time to react with her katana. Luckily, she saw the claws coming in time and jumped away unharmed. The whip lost its grip on the vampire’s arm though, so Camille no longer had that advantage. Camille recoiled and pulled the whip back before the vampire could grab a hold of it and jerk Camille forward. She retreated, noting the burn twisting up the vampire’s arm with triumph. The whip pulsed with an emerald glow momentarily, dimming once it lost contact with the vampire’s skin.

However, that triumph soon gave way to frustration at the vampire’s quick retaliation. Camille silently swore. She’s still faster than me. The fleeting thought passed through Camille’s mind before the fight continued.

The fight mimicked the style of a dance. They went back and forth, taking turns. The vampire with her claws and fangs and Camille with her katana and whip. The vampire would slash or jab at such a speed that, even with the pill, she came close to cutting Camille rather frequently. Camille leapt, rolled, ducked, and dropped in time with the vampire’s lunges. The vampire seemed to effortlessly twist away, recoiling and twirling at such high speeds and with such grace that her abnormal-colored hair appeared as though it were floating behind her. 

It wasn’t long before one of the vampire’s long claws caught on Camille’s shirt and ripped it across the chest, thankfully only grazing Camille’s skin underneath. No blood or pain. But it struck fear into Camille’s heart as she leapt back, panting, sweating, and eyes wide. In response, the vampire sent her a licentious smirk, purposely raking her eyes across Camille’s chest and giving her a shrug with a fake front saying ‘oops, sorry.’ Camille narrowed her eyes with an indignant frown. Her vexation rose when a sensation of warmth spread across her face in a blush that was not due to the heat or effort of the fight. She hated the fact that she was distracted by this, and that her anger could lead to more mistakes than fear. This wench…  

It only became worse, causing Camille to seriously question if the vampire was actually flirting with her.

The two circled each other, Camille attempting to catch her breath and the vampire grinning down at her, both light on their feet and daring each other to initiate the next move. Camille sent the vampire her best death stare. The vampire responded with a low chuckle, displaying an insincere semblance of fear on her sickeningly complacent face. Camille continued to glare, while the vampire huffed and rolled her eyes. She’s acting like a teenage boy who just wants to annoy my ass. Not at all like she’s planning on killing and sucking me dry.

Camille soon cursed herself for her distracting thoughts when the vampire lunged forward without warning. Camille dropped to the floor to avoid being impaled by the vampire’s long claws. She rolled away with as much speed as she could muster, jumping to her feet. She then put distance between her and her enemy, familiar with the fact that she was blocking the only opening of the cave, her back to it. The vampire just grinned, baring sharp fangs, but Camille perceived the look of irritation in those grey eyes. Camille clenched her pale, sweaty palms tightly around her weapons, adrenaline causing her breathing and heart rate to accelerate. I can’t let my guard down. Can’t get distracted. That move would have killed me at the speed this succo is moving.

“Oh, sweet thing, you smell so good, all hot and bothered.” Camille flinched back in disgust, appalled, though the crimson color on her face signaled otherwise. She’s such a demon-damned creep. Camille’s skin crawled. When Camille failed to respond, the vampire continued with her unsettling version of seducing . 

“Oh, don’t give me that look. You know you find pleasure in my words. And, little rabbit, your fast flowing blood is quite enticing. Especially when it rushes to your cute, upset face like that.” This time, Camille groaned, shaking her head and desiring to plug her ears, preferring the mortal combat over the vampire’s nauseating teasing. It was bothersome and crudely suggestive. Worse than Blythe’s futile attempts. And I thought they had miserable flirting abilities. Her concentration wavered. She’s distracted me again. I’m done with this. And so, instead of replying, Camille expressed her loathing by charging her enemy, katana poised to stab just as the vampire’s claws had been.
The succo lingered in place until the last moment, sidestepping and seizing Camille’s whip. The vampire let out a pained hiss but refused to surrender the burning weapon. Camille grunted as the vampire twirled around her, doubtlessly plotting to wrap the whip around Camille and tie her with her own weapon. Camille acknowledged this with a grim smile, knowing she had to act before she lost the ability to use her arms. She relieved her grip on the whip and lashed out with her sword, aiming for the vampire’s legs. This goaded the vampire to skip back, and in reaction, Camille grasped the whip’s handle, uncomfortably close to the vampire’s claws and conscious of the growing green light the whip was emitting. Camille jerked the whip back towards herself, swinging her sword to ward off any counterattack by her enemy. It was effective. The vampire finally relinquished her control over Camille’s weapon, and with one last brandish of her sword as a threat, Camille gained charge over her whip, untangled herself, and sprung out of harm's way. A distasteful sentiment of pride washed over Camille when the vampire peered at her burned hands and then fixed Camille with a withering stare in return. The whip’s jade coloring highlighting the vampire’s features swiftly receded. 

From there, talking ceased as they both focused on winning, and surviving, the fight.

The two women were incredibly well matched, no one gaining the upper hand for more than a few seconds. The issue for Camille was that it wouldn’t last, so she decided to take a risk. Over ten minutes had already passed since the pill’s effects had first begun.

As the vampire lunged forward, fangs bared and claws extended, instead of stabbing or evading, Camille pushed the vampire back with all of her strength by placing her whip hand on the vampire’s chest and springing forward. She then reacted as fast as she could while the vampire withdrew, swinging her katana to slash the vampire in the back. While the hit did connect, the vampire shifted away before the cut could become anything more than superficial. Far from a mortal wound. Camille heard the vampire grunt. At least I landed a hit.  

The scent of blood entered Camille’s nose, strongly enhanced by the pill, though still muted by the scent-blocker band at her arm. She wrinkled her nose in disgust, curious that the vampire’s wound hadn’t healed instantly. While the sword’s enchantment slowed healing for a vampire, such a weak cut would heal almost immediately. A slow healer… Hmmm… That could really help me if I could somehow gain an advantage. Camille glanced down at her sword, satisfied to find a thin layer of blood coating the edge of it. The emerald of the sword’s blade grew brighter in response. Camille wondered if the same would be true when she received her cursed gear.

“It would seem the little rabbit has some strength on her side. I wonder how that is? Will it last long?” The vampire still sounded haughty and confident, especially as she asked her last rhetorical question. Despite this, Camille found it intriguing how the vampire stole glimpses of her glowing blade, an eyebrow raised in questioning. Camille’s thoughts seemed to shift as swiftly as the vampire’s countenance, which soon conveyed cockiness, again, instead of confusion. The vampire was too distracting.

Camille scowled at the vampire, uncomfortably aware of the fact that the vampire’s breath came easy and slow, while she herself laboured to catch her breath. With a half-lidded, apathetic smile, the vampire executed a finger gesture, beckoning Camille to come at her. Despite knowing the vampire was purposely taunting her, desiring that Camille miscalculated due to anger, Camille thrusted her sword at her. As expected, she deftly avoided it by twisting away with a sharp-toothed grin and narrowed eyes. The look the vampire sent Camille boasted ‘ you’re an easy mark. ’ Camille shot back with ‘ if I’m so easy, why haven’t you taken me down, hmm? ’ Her enemy responded with a shrug and a smirk. The vampire was in no hurry.

She knows… I have to end this soon, and I WON’T LET HER GET ME TO ACT IN ANGER! With those loud, ironically upset, inner thoughts, Camille pounced forward in another assault.

Camille snapped her whip, hoping to distract the vampire enough to stab at her, but she danced out of reach, a bold grin on her face. Then the vampire had the arrogant gall to flip her hair out of her face and place a hand on her hip, acting way too nonchalant about the situation. It only became more infuriating when the vampire waved her index finger, mouthing ‘no no no,’ that stercore -eating, self-congratulatory, anger-inducing leer still splayed across her face.

Despite Camille’s plan, and contrary to her sensible objectives, her frustration only grew. This situation reminded her of the pounding she had received less than an hour earlier. It passed as especially humiliating if this whole thing was just a test set up by those who had beaten her. It induced a sentiment of helplessness within Camille, which in turn, yielded to anger and led to more mistakes. 

Camille intended to strike again, but the vampire had her own plan in mind because she acted first. Dashing towards Camille with an outstretched palm, Camille lifted her sword in defense, angling to slash out at the vampire. The vampire predicted this would happen, however, and spun off to the side and around Camille in the interesting resemblance of a dance twirl. Camille’s eyebrows shot up as she followed the graceful move, watching as black and white hair whipped her in the face, momentarily stunning her. Before Camille could pivot around to face the vampire, who now loomed behind her, the human killer grabbed and yanked Camille’s hair back before kicking Camille square in the back. This propelled Camille forward so fast that she tripped in a wobbly roll, instinctively letting go of her sword to keep herself from face planting amid the hard, rocky ground, or worse, impaling herself. Camille’s eyes widened, but she had no time to react in any other way before her arms were yanked behind her back, and she was hauled off the ground with such aggression that she let out an embarrassing squeak of pain and terror.

She found herself slammed up against the cave’s wall, the right side of her face shoved into the coarse, asymmetric surface. The hands that trapped her forearms in a vice grip were oddly warm and soft. Extremely unlike the cold, rough skin featured by most vampires. The vampire’s claws weren’t piercing, or even jabbing, into her skin, adding to Camille’s surprise. Due to the speed and sudden shifting of the situation, Camille’s mind struggled to process what was happening. It wasn’t until she felt the vampire’s body pressed up against her bruised back that she finally understood her dire situation. Camille let out a groan in pain, doing her best not to shake from fear. Panic drove her breath and pulse to quicken. Her eyes were as wide as a trapped rabbit’s. 

“It seems I’ve won, little rabbit.” The vampire stated smugly, triumph evident in her voice, though she no longer sounded so pompous. “Though you truly tried. You even cut me. Once. But that doesn’t matter anymore. Just accept your fate, little rabbit. It’s ok, I won’t kill you.” Her voice descended, becoming low and quiet and bordering on soothing. Camille stiffened, mind whirling as it strained to come up with a way out, a solution, an escape route. It all seemed helpless. The vampire leaned in further. If Camille hadn’t been so preoccupied with being so close to death, she would have been embarrassed at the close contact, at the vampire’s shapely body embracing her. The vampire’s hot, and curiously rapid, breath confronted her, tickling her neck. It compelled Camille to breathe even heavier and faster. A shiver ran down her neck.

“May I have this dance?” She whispered directly in Camille’s ear, hunger emanating from her words. Camille shivered, shutting her eyes tight in resignation. That was before the vampire’s long, sharp fangs grazed the exposed flesh between her neck and shoulder. Before a thought surfaced that aroused her need to survive. My brother needs me. I cannot leave him! This lended Camille renewed determination to escape, and the thought of her brother’s constant bravery filled her with courage. 

“Maybe in hell. But I won’t be defeated.” This was softly spoken from Camille, but one couldn’t miss the anger and resolve in her voice. I’m feeling your pull, but I just won’t admit it. I must fight it. It must have startled the vampire because Camille felt her fall back slightly and mutter something under her breath. Camille ignored it, her now quiet mind giving way to a plan that just might work. The vampire keeping her hostage may have had her arms immobilized and face squeezed into the wall, but Camille still had her legs and feet at her disposal. 

Recollecting a technique taught to her by a certain Society leader, Camille gulped in air to ease her heavy breathing and slammed her right steel heel down on the instep of the vampire’s right foot. Catching the vampire off-guard was the key, as the move was painful to the vampire but not life-saving to Camille. The vampire yelped in a vindicating manner and released Camille just enough for her to ram the back of her head into the vampire’s face. The vampire had to have been an amature because she stumbled back, releasing Camille altogether and holding her bloodied face in her hands. The blood came from her now crooked nose, most likely broken. I knew her slow healing would help. Camille permitted herself a second to gloat before lashing out with her whip, of which the vampire had been too brash to take from her.

While the vampire sought to recover, Camille’s whip seized her by the shin, inducing another hiss from the vampire as the burning weapon wrapped around her leg and seared the skin beneath the vampire’s pants. All the vampire could do was growl before Camille yanked the whip back with all of her enhanced strength, and the vampire brutally smacked the ground. Camille swore she heard the crack of the vampire’s skull as it hit the floor. Camille grinned, knowing she had succeeded when she caught the signature sound of the vampire’s breath being knocked out of her. The vampire’s arms flung out and slammed the solid ground next to her head, ironically landing in a position beside the vampire’s head as if she were surrendering. Camille maintained a strong grip on the whip, which pulsed emerald in time with Camille’s rapidly beating heart, while immediately scooping up her discarded sword. It was only a moment later when Camille had her katana at the vampire’s throat. 

“If you move in any way, I will slit your throat .” Camille growled with such malice that the vampire’s eyes widened, and this time, the fear in her eyes was unmistakable. Undeniable to Camille. 

It caused Camille to hesitate, stilled her hand from making the lethal cut. It was then that Camille remembered the VES and noticed her own heart beating hastily. She took a deep breath, her gaze grazing over the vampire’s now exposed ears, confirming that they were indeed pointed. And pierced with gaudy gold in at least three places. Unfortunately, this did little to settle her nerves. Instead, she wondered if those ears were smaller, less vampire-like than they should have been, or if she was just going crazy. Fledgling? I hope not. She shook her head, gritting her teeth to divert her thoughts. A fledgling was a newly turned vampire that had yet to drink human blood. Little was known about them, as they were rare and the VES refrained from tracking them down.

“Ah, your fear is intoxicating .” Camille scoffed, emulating the sickening statement the vampire had remarked earlier, at the same low pitch. “It would seem, the hunter has become the hunted.” Camille mocked bitterly, and though she had an air of confidence, her eyes were glued to the vampire. She would not allow prideful complacency to dominate and cause her to fail. After all, that was what had led to the vampire’s defeat. 

“How do you feel now that you’re the prey?” Camille asked, leaning down a bit with a deepening frown, her voice dripping with contempt. The scent and sight of blood oozing from the vampire’s broken nose imposed revulsion onto Camille’s face. It was such a deep ruby color, but when it dried, it would become a color no human would secrete: a grey-blue. A property common among all vampires was the color change of a vampire’s blood when it dried.

Camille frowned in disbelief when the vampire rolled her eyes and murmured something Camille didn’t catch. Camille’s eyes then narrowed, and she positioned the katana closer to the vampire’s neck, shutting her up.

“Don’t be so cocky. I’ve won. So, little rabbit , do you dance?” She rubbed the salt in the vampire’s cockiness-induced wounds by repeating the vampire’s beloved phrase. Yes, how does it feel to be the prey for once… Camille soundlessly called the succo a foul name. Camille sensed her anger returning, but she subdued it with a swift movement of her sword. She delivered a wicked grin at watching the vampire wince, closing her eyes and turning her head to the side in resignation. 

Instead of killing the vampire with a cut to the throat, however, she angled her sword at the last moment to travel downwards and rip through the middle of the vampire’s thin tank-top. The vampire’s flabbergasted expression elicited a genuine chuckle from Camille.

“That was payback for ruining my shirt, you dirty human killer.” Camille muttered, grinding out the word dirty with a smirk. She observed as a multitude of emotions crossed the vampire’s face: fear, confusion, astonishment, anger, and something else that Camille missed because her eyes caught onto something golden and shiny. 

The vampire had yet to recover from her astonishment as Camille spotted a shining pendant hanging from the vampire’s neck. It must have been hiding under her shirt. Camille did her best to keep her eyes away from the vampire’s chest and black lingerie, utilizing her sword to carefully cut the chain of the pendant so that it slipped off and clanked onto the stone floor. Not paying much mind to the pendant’s appearance, except for its bearing of real gold, a crazy idea entered Camille’s mind. One that her brother would have loved and encouraged if he were there with her. I can’t believe I’m considering this.

With a discordant sigh, Camille authorized the whip’s burning sensation to subside, which in turn caused the whip’s glowing to cease. She continued to trap the vampire, however, by holding the leather in a tight grip around the vampire’s legs. It would no longer bring pain to her enemy, except maybe the restriction of any movement. Still, she heard the vampire hiss, less in discomfort and more in resentment. When Camille’s eyes returned to meet the vampire’s gaze, moderately puzzled, her enemy’s countenance had drastically shifted, no longer fearful or stupefied. In its place emerged true hostility and distraught displeasure. Gone was the teasing or any sign of playful behavior. What in the Demon’s Blood? Camille grit her teeth in frustration. I just stopped burning her, but now she’s angry? Did she even tell the burning stopped?

It was not due to Camille cutting the vampire’s shirt or the burning. Camille observed the angry glances the human killer sent towards the broken pendant. She could tell that her enemy held the necklace dear and craved to keep it close. It must be why she suddenly became hostile. So it’s of importance to her. Good. All the more reason to take it. Nonetheless, Camille knew to be wary and refrained from expressing any vulnerability by bending down to obtain it. She would pick it up after all was said and done. When she knew she could do so safely.

The vampire shot her a questioning look, eyebrows raised, before a contemptuous simper returned to her face. “Are you scared of me?” She suspected, whispered. Camille ignored her with a warning look.

“Give me a sensible reason not to kill you. After the way you played with me like that. Planning to kill me . Acting as if you were a cat playing with a mouse.” Or a rabbit. I honestly don’t know if she wanted to kill me, or if she was just desperate, but if she was so desperate, then why had she played with me instead of outright attacking me in the beginning? Questions like these surfaced Camille’s mind while she regarded the vampire. She dropped her sword until it hung over the vampire’s heart, as to provide the vampire the ability to plead comfortably if she decided to do so. 

The vampire must have perceived Camille’s hesitation in killing her because her composure changed anew, mimicking the cocky contempt of before. Her gaze even flickered down to the whip holding her legs hostage before meeting Camille’s eyes again, soundlessly remarking her thoughts on the sudden lack of searing and glowing leather. A questioning smirk appeared on her features, eyebrows raised. Camille replied with a glower, not desiring to seem weak or give the vampire any ideas of the plan forming within her crazy mind.

Several seconds of silence lasted before the vampire’s voice returned, and she asked her own question. Camille scrutinized the vampire when she grinned, wondering if she truly detected a clashing combination of realization and confusion in the smug creature’s leer. Her tone only indicated aggravating confidence despite having a sword at her heart.

“Tell me this: Why do you kill vampires? From your equipment,” The vampire’s eyes flickered over to the band around Camille’s arm and then to her weapons, “I know you’re a hunter. But I’ve always wondered why humans are so intent on killing us. I’m sure you’re aware vampires usually don’t intend on killing their prey, or erm, a better word would be gracious donor.” Camille was bemused to find the vampire’s face blank of any emotion, even as she stumbled over her words. Actually, Camille was taken aback by the whole speech, but she listened without interrupting. Maybe because you nothi love to kill us for fun. Nothi meant bastards in Latin.

“We don’t bite from the neck. Actually, we usually don’t drink directly from the person. But we do need to eat. So, tell me why you want to kill me. Do you need to kill me?” Camille wondered if the vampire was just aiming to stall, but she had to admit that it was working. Does she know I just do it for the money? That I don’t actually have a personal grudge against vamps? Maybe because I don’t fully believe my parents were killed by them. Even if they often kill humans for fun. 

Camille was intrigued, and she tilted her head as a sincerely curious bearing fixed itself on the vampire’s face. Camille knew she had the same expression on her own face. Camille frowned, barely preventing herself from shuddering, reliving the pangs of fear that had shot through her when those dangerous fangs had been near her neck. Too damn close.

“I’ll answer your question if you answer mine. I won’t ask you why you’re starving or why you’re dressed in those clothes.” She paused and raised an eyebrow as the vampire issued a proud little smirk. “I want to know why you were playing with me. If you’re so desperate for blood, maybe being civil about it and asking me would have been better.” Camille narrowed her eyes, tightening her grip on her whip. Now it was the vampire’s turn to frown, as she averted her eyes. Camille wondered what was going on in her head. Disappointment entered Camile’s poise when the vampire returned her question with another instead of a real answer.

“Hmmm,” The vampire hummed. “And would you have given me it? You know I really need it. I won’t kill you. And I never intended to kill you. Unlike you towards me. I understand you may be hesitant because I hadn’t asked for consent before, but I am now. Will you?” The tone was uncharacteristically hesitant, quiet, the sentences were short and broken. 

Camille’s mouth opened in an O , not expecting the conversation to take this turn. She sensed her face warm up, uncomfortable. Is she seriously asking me for consent to bite me? Camille’s mouth snapped shut, forming a grim line. She shook her head, blinking, before her eyes returned to face the vampire’s gaze. That expectant expression brought her back to the present, and she answered honestly. Well, mostly honestly.

“I find myself believing you, despite everything. But I can’t fully trust you.” Camille sighed. “You’re starving.” Camille peeked at the band around her biceps, her thoughts marked with an imprint of deviance. “Your scent gave it away, and um, a starving vampire can’t always control themself. There’s a big chance you’ll accidentally kill me, as you need more blood than a normal vampire usually does, and a starving vampire can, well, lose control during a feeding.” Camille couldn’t seem to meet the vampire’s eyes, and she hated how she had stumbled over words. Why do I feel like this? Off balance. She’s odd. And she only became stranger with her newest reaction: a laugh, more authentic than a usual vampire cackle.

It was at that moment that both women came to a silent, unconscious understanding; neither would be dying today. Not at each other’s hands, at least. 

The laugh was loud and melodic, higher than her mellifluous voice. Camille was embarrassed to know she was gaping due to that laugh. Fortunately, the vampire’s eyes were closed. How is it that she keeps catching me off-guard? I’m the one on top here!  

“Indeed, I could lose control, but I doubt I will. The fact I was playing with you proves that I can keep myself in control. After all, I would have just attacked when you were defenseless in the beginning. As for my scent, I control that. When I decided I wanted to play with a cute girl like you, I lessened its effect. And of course, you had your way with that too. I am quite hungry, but not starving, yet. You could help me with that. Just a little, and I won’t be any threat to anyone. Well, not that I am much of one now, as you’ve got me pinned. Well, kind of. Once your pill wears off… The point is, things aren’t always how they seem.” Camille’s usually confident brain was scrambling, struggling to process everything the vampire had admitted. W-what? Is she lying? It doesn’t seem like it, but I know she’s doing her best to manipulate me. And tease me. I know she is hungrier than she’s letting on. And her hunger has weakened her. But she’s right about the pill. How does she know so much? Wait, did she call me cute? I need to end this.  

Camille met her enemy’s eyes, her demeanor tense. She remarked that the vampire was much more relaxed, though her eyes would periodically land on the katana’s point. Now I guess it’s time to implement my crazy plan.  

“You’re right. Things, and people, are not always how they seem.” Camille moved the sword away from the vampire and sheathed it, then dropped her end of the whip, allowing it to uncoil from around the vampire’s legs. The vampire’s disposition quickly shifted to bafflement, which was expected. Camille smiled grimly, gripping the hilt of her sword until her hand turned white. This is so unbelievably stupid. “And I’m not going to kill you. But I’m also not going to give you my blood. I don’t have much of a desire to kill you, but I do have a need to. So, I’ll make a deal with you, dirty human killer. I need money. That’s why I hunt. So, how do you feel about faking your death? It’s either that, or I actually kill you. And if I need to, I will take another pill. I will win again.” She put on some false confidence, bluffing about her ability to take another pill. She forced herself to step back to allow the vampire room to stand up. This is unbelievably so crazy . Why am I trusting her?

The vampire must have been wondering the same thing because she hesitated in getting up, confusion on her face. Camille exhaled impatiently, though her body was poised at the ready to spring into motion at any sign of trouble. Eventually, the vampire floated to her feet with enough grace to incite a scowl out of Camille, an impression of jealousy worming its way into her mind. Camille would have enjoyed it if the vampire had bumped her head against the ceiling on the way up, but she just barely missed. 

The vampire offered an honest smile, and Camille noted her fangs were at the shortest length possible for a vampire. That must have been Victoria’s blatant pursuit to seem less threatening. Vampire’s always had sharper canines than humans, but they could manipulate the length of their fangs. Usually, they protract their fangs to the longest length when they intend to feed or as a show of strength; a threat. From what the Society had taught her, vampires displayed their fangs at the shortest length when comfortable or in a show of submission. Sometimes, they did it to appear human, but that was rarer because of their pride and disgust towards humans. They normally flaunted mid-length fangs. 

Camille glared at her, warning her to keep at least an arm’s length away. Now that her sword was sheathed, she crossed her arms across her chest, ignoring her self-consciousness towards her own ripped shirt. The vampire rolled her eyes, standing about three feet from Camille, near the back of the cave. Camille always assured her back was to the only exit of the cave. I don’t want the vamp to get any ideas of escaping . Camille stood her ground, almost daring the vampire to execute a dangerous move.

Instead, the vampire casually bent over and picked up her discarded necklace. Camille’s eyebrows furrowed in baffled astonishment when she captured a glimpse of the golden trinket. The chain, of which Camille had cut with her enchanted katana, had seemingly restored itself. Undisputedly mended. Unexplainably fixed. The vampire slipped it over her head, back around her neck. 

“I won’t do anything. I guess I know when I’ve been beaten. And I guess I don’t mind faking my death.” The vampire shrugged after reclaiming her pendant, and Camille rolled her own eyes in response, seeking to not become distracted by the chain’s self-fixing. I wonder why you are fine with faking your death? Are you hiding from something, perhaps? Camille meant to keep her all-too-curious questions to herself. They would just distract from the plan she needed to execute carefully.

“It’s hard to believe that with your cocky attitude. You need to learn when it’s time to get down on your knees and pray.” Camille teased, though her face remained serious, causing the vampire to regard her with curiosity.

“Despite what it may seem, I do lose sometimes.” She shot Camille a fake smile, a hand on her hip. It was bizarre, to be exchanging playfully like this between enemies, but it tugged at Camille, drawing her in. She needed to respond in kind.

“Are you sure? Even to a helpless human? I’ve never heard a vamp admit that-”

“Well, of course you haven’t. You’re so quick to kill us, that we aren’t given much of a chance to speak.” The vampire interrupted Camille. Camille scoffed, leaning forward with narrowed eyes.

“ You were the one talking the entire time, taunting me. I wasn’t even hunting you! If you hadn’t been so quick to suck me dry, we wouldn’t be in this situation. Maybe I just wanted to shut your awfully flirtatious mouth up.” Camille argued, and the vampire shook her head, a smirk forming on her face.

“Hmph. There’s more than one way you can shut my awfully flirtatious mouth up.” The vampire glanced at Camille’s lips in such a manner to make clear just what she meant by that statement. She snickered at Camille’s angry frown and pink face, but continued before Camille could express that anger in her words. 

“All of you hunters are the same. Playing the victim while you kill us off for something we can't control. You all have a habit of killing people to shut them up.” The vampire issued a tut tut sound of disappointment, waving her clawed, pointer finger at Camille. Does she have a lot of experience with hunters? She seems to know a lot about us... It made Camille uneasy. Her enemy wasn’t completely wrong.

“ Or maybe it’s something else, hmm? Is it due to my wildly tempting good looks? There are better ways to get my attention, you know.” Camille scoffed at the vampire’s suggestive comments, added with an emphasis as the vampire purposely lowered her voice in volume and pitch. The human killer’s face mocked Camille, but she refused to fall under the vampire’s faux seductress spell. 

She replied with her own fake grin. She found satisfaction in the fact that the vampire’s evil smile faltered for a moment.

“Not everything is about you. Anyways, from what I just saw, you had no issues with playing with your 'food'. And you’re the one who made the first move. Attracted to me, hmm? Can you not control that, dirty human killer ? If I were the same as the rest, I would have killed you.” 

The vampire glowered in response, baring her fangs, though in only a mildly provoked manner. Camille didn’t view it as threatening. When Camille failed to back down, the vampire groaned, crossing her arms. 

“Can you please not call me that? I've never killed a human.” Camille recoiled, her mouth open and eyebrows raised. She hadn’t expected the conversation to turn to that. She studied the vampire for a few moments, but the serious expression and insistent tone in the vampire’s voice convinced her. Camille’s demeanor softened. She glanced away, knowing the vampire’s eyes were staring her down, daring her to refute.

“Why should- why would I? After you've been calling me little rabbit and demeaning me, big bad wolfie.” Camille breathed, aiming to further poke fun at the vampire, but she sensed the pill’s strength ebbing away. Her eyes fluttered. Her limbs were starting to ache and grow heavy. Her head began pounding, a side effect of dizziness hitting hard. Her vision promptly dimmed in detail, though the night vision fortunately endured. Her hearing also reduced, and she sniffed, squinting. The only faculty that failed to decrease was her smell’s functionality. And that was because the band around her arm minimized her ability to smell, right from the beginning. 

She refused to convey this, but it was futile. The vampire was quick to notice, as seen in the small, smug smile that returned on her face. Nevertheless, she didn’t bring it up. Instead, she tilted her head and held out her hand, claws protracted and hidden, in another act of amiability. Just like her fangs.

“My name is Victoria, not dirty human killer or anything else that may be considered derogatory.” Camille conveyed her suspicion in a look, eyes moving to Victoria’s open palm. With only a short glimpse, Camille discovered that any burns Victoria had sustained from grasping Camille’s whip earlier had healed.

While Victoria’s tone expressed confidence, Camille saw hesitation in her body language. So I’m not the only one who finds this whole thing beyond crazy. What the hell, what do I have to lose at this point? Why do I trust her? I don’t know. But I’m tired and want to go home to Is. So, Camille progressed forward with one small step and returned the hand shake firmly.

Soft and warm. Now that Camille had the ability to process this, unlike when she had been slammed into the cave wall, the warmth unnerved her. Naturally, vampires had cold skin. It flustered Camille, and she failed to draw her hand back. “I-uh-well, it would seem you didn't come out as victorious this time.”

Victoria cackled, withdrawing her own hand to hold it over her mouth. She doubled over in earnest laughter, eyes closed and unique hair covering her face. It was a bold laugh, emanating from the soul. Camille huffed, backing up and leaving room for the vampire to get it all out . Camille wanted to ignore the laughing, but she couldn’t. Her face flushed in humiliation, but she used this time of Victoria’s diverted attention to squat down and pick up her discarded whip, which rested a couple feet away. Her eyes lingered on Victoria the entire time, still wary. It wasn’t until Camille had successfully tied the whip to the left side of her belt (the sword had been deposited in its sheath at her right side), that Victoria finally recovered from her laughing fit. Camille grumbled, unable to keep eye contact with the vampire.

“It’s been a very long time since I’ve laughed like that. You are very odd… I will never understand humans.” She grinned broader than ever before, grey eyes shining silver. 

“I could say the same about you. And vamps in general.” Camille muttered, eyes still avoiding the vampire’s amused gaze.

Victoria huffed in amusement and then touched her crooked, bloody nose. With a sickening crack, painful wince, and irked hiss, it was healed. It snapped back into place, and Camille cringed at the unsettling sight and sound. Yet, it was back to its vexingly perfect condition. All that lingered of the injury was the dried blood, which Camille noted to be the usual grey-blue color. At least, that’s the color it seemed to be. The grey often dominated its blue counterpart, showing up stronger than the blue.

The bleeding had stopped much earlier, as vampire wounds were not at all like human wounds, clotting much faster. This was especially true when received by something other than an enchanted or cursed weapon. Bones were different though. The fact that Victoria’s nose had failed to mend earlier prompted Camille to wonder if the broken bone had to be healed through touch or conscious thought, or if it could have naturally mended itself earlier. Of course, the situation was skewed since Victoria was a slower healer. It could be different for everyone. There is still so much I don’t know about vampires… I don’t usually stand and watch a vampire heal itself like this. Er, I mean, themself. Camille didn’t know what to think at the moment, but she was determined to learn more about vampiric healing in the near future.

Victoria raked a hand through her tousled hair, releasing a sigh. Her atypical, golden-ringed ears were exposed again, but Camille directed her attention to the jewelry resting around Victoria’s neck. Her plans depended on that necklace.

“That’s much better. I’m impressed you were able to catch me off guard like that.”

“You weren’t much of a challenge.” Camille rebutted, waving her hand in a mock gesture of nonchalance, much like Victoria had done earlier to tease Camille.

“Oh, really?” The vampire questioned with a tone of amusement.

“Enough of this.” Camille sharply snapped, biting her tongue and groaning in an exasperated fashion instead of lashing out. Victoria stood at attention, tensing, alarm flashing across her face before being replaced with an air that asserted she wanted to dispute this. Fortunately, she refrained from interrupting. 

“You know about us hunters. Then you know about the Vampire Extermination Society. I am almost certain they set this up. I am almost certain they are waiting for one of us to emerge victorious.” Camille cringed, averting her gaze for a moment before once again forcing herself to maintain eye contact with Victoria. I don’t enjoy conversing with the enemy about the Society. Why in the futuo am I doing this? Her Latin vocabulary consisted almost entirely of expletives. “The point is, if you don’t want to end up dead, then we need to fake your death.” 

It was as though a switch had been flipped. Victoria’s entire cocky countenance melted away, and in its stead now posed exhaustion and understanding. Then her face went blank, and she nodded. It was such a peculiar reaction.

“Yes, you’ve already mentioned me faking my death, but not your plan for it. While I doubt your vampire killing friends are behind this meeting, I will go along with your plan, if it makes sense. Mainly because it sounds interesting.” Camille knew the last part of her statement was a lie. The fleeting fatigued bearing had revealed it all, and it left Camille unsteady once more. 

“But first!” The vampire piqued up, her index finger in the air. “I must have your name. It’s only fair.” What the futuo constitutes as fair in a situation like this? Camille might never know, but she begrudgingly obliged. 

“My name is Camille.” Her response was curt, with an undertone of classic exasperation. Which only grew as Victoria replied with another tease.

“Ah, I see. A cute name for a cute girl.” Then she had the audacity to wink. Camille gritted her teeth, wishing she had stabbed the vampire in the heart when she had had a chance. Well, a safe chance. It was no longer safe to attempt something like that.

“Stop flirting with me.” Camille growled, barely managing to keep her temper in check and refrain from cursing aloud. The vampire sent an unspoken retaliation, ‘but I know you love it.’ The look communicated it plainly enough. 

Camille decided to cut right to the chase after too much objectionable banter.

“I need a few things from you. And in exchange, I will obtain a few things for you. Things you will find valuable.” Camille laid this out, serious and transactional. Gone was any trace of teasing or anger. She was now stone-faced and unreadable.

“Three things, perhaps a fourth. Depending on how this goes.” Camille started, holding up her fingers and gesturing along with her words. She hesitated when Victoria sauntered towards her, warning the vampire with a glare before continuing. The space between them was now two feet. “I need your pendant. It will act as proof that I killed you. Second, I will need some of your blood.” She shook her head, preventing any complaints from spilling out of the vampire’s mouth by speeding on. “I know it’s ironic, but it will also work as proof. The more ‘proof’ I have, the better, for both of us. I only need enough to cover my sword’s blade. Since it will change to a bluish-greyish color after drying, it acts as proof.”

Victories bit her lip, looking almost worried . She certainly did not come off as happy, and when Camille paused, uncertain about her last condition and Victoria’s sudden change in expression, the vampire interjected.

“Oh, is that all? While I don’t like the idea of ‘donating’ the only things I actually care about, I will do so. I guess you could say… I trust you? I don’t want your hunters on my ass, and I’m tired. But I do want something in return. One thing.” Camille grimaced. She wasn’t surprised, and she had an idea where this was going. Still, she kept her mouth shut, desiring cooperation from this succo . Victoria hissed, glancing away. “I need blood. Quite soon. I am close to starving, as you had thought. For such a small town, I’ve noticed it crawling with hunters, but I haven’t been caught. Yet. I need a food source, but I can’t keep risking it. My luck will run out soon. I’m sure.” 

Why doesn’t she just leave the area? Why hasn’t she been caught? How long has she been here? Why is she hanging around here? Why is she starving? Questions continued to pop up in Camille’s mind, and she hated having no answers.

While Camille put on a disgusted front, she admitted it was at least partially logical. The vampire needed blood. If she argued, Victoria would bring up that she could just risk it and drink from someone without consent, or reach the point of starving and cause havoc in the search of human blood. It wouldn’t take much to steal a few blood bags from the Society’s well-known trapping bank. Even if Camille would need to travel to the nearest city, called Letum, to do so. It was a small, easily-accessible blood bank where members purchased bags of blood to utilize in luring and trapping loner vampires. Camille didn’t spend money on them because she didn’t have money to spend, and she had Blythe to rely on if the squad really needed them. With this in mind, Camille now intended to obtain a few of these bags with Blythe's monetary assistance.

This scenario was becoming more and more ironic by the moment. 

As for the reason why Victoria couldn’t just drink the blood of the forest animals, well, unfortunately, animal blood only quenched a vampire’s thirst if it was mixed with human blood. When small amounts of human blood is crossed with other bloods, the mixture becomes potent and filling. Drinking from an animal won’t slake a vampire’s hunger and offers little to no strength. It had to be human blood, or a combination. Humans and vampires alike were attempting to find a remedy to this, or at least an answer as to why this was.

On the thought of how and why the VES had missed this lone vampire hanging around this small town, Camille knew only one reasonable answer to that. The Society was informed about Victoria and was using her. Utilizing her to test their members, just as Blythe had testified. They must be watching then. The question now is, how close? Will they see through my facade? Vamps turn to ashes when killed by an enchanted or cursed weapon. That’s why I need the pendant and blood. That’s why this could work, right? And that’s why… My last condition.

“You must stay in this cave until I say. I will bring you the blood you need, but you cannot leave without my permission. As for your necklace, which I know you care for, I will get it back to you if I can after this. But you must obey. This affects both of us now. I could have killed you, but I spared you. Think on that. If you are caught, I will get in trouble. I’m already putting myself in a dangerous situation. There is a high chance the Society is using you and watching us. One wrong move, and we are both in trouble. You more than me. But still.” Camille grumbled, expecting backlash from her semi-enemy. I have no idea what to call her, except her name. Or dirty human killer.

“That’s sensible enough, and what I had planned, actually. Wait on you for the blood. And then we’ll see. In fact…” Victoria drawled, trailing off, a grim smile on her face. Camille opened her mouth, eyes narrowed, annoyance written all over her face when Victoria did not continue her thought. Yet Camille didn’t push it, as she had received the answer she wanted. Even if it wasn’t substantially fulfilling. 

“Ok then.” Camille extended an open palm, and observed as the vampire’s grin abruptly dropped. Victoria ground her fangs together, creating a sound similar to a hiss. Camille studied Victoria carefully as the vampire lifted the necklace over her head with a grimace. Camille pondered her connection to the trinket. She had scarcely any personal possessions, not much to hold dear besides her brother. What is Victoria’s story? Camille gave a small shake of her head to brush away any overly curious thoughts. It didn’t matter. And a moment later, the pendant sat heavy in her outstretched palm.

However, before Camille could examine the golden necklace, Victoria suddenly hovered within inches from her face. Now the space between them was much less than a foot. She had moved too fast for Camille to follow. Camille recoiled, but Victoria hindered her escape by grasping the wrist that clutched the pendant. Camille stared at the hand around her wrist in dismay and fright, a sound similar to a squeak emitting from her mouth. 

The sensation of the vampire’s warm breath brushing up against her forehead spurred another shiver to run through Camille’s body. Victoria happened to be just under six feet tall with the aid of her heels, so Camille only came up to her chin. She was starting to see the height difference as a disadvantage, even with the fact that the vampire couldn't fly due to it. Camille’s gaze flickered upward, meeting solemn, unsmiling eyes. Her breath hitched at the glint within those grey eyes and the closeness between her and her enemy.

“Please take care of it.” Victoria uttered softly, her no nonsense tone reappearing, but it exhibited no hostility. Then, Victoria swiftly skipped back, enabling Camille the space to breath once again. Camille let out an involuntary sigh of relief.

Victoria sighed in displeasure, rolling her eyes and mimicking the gesture of placing the necklace around her neck. Camille’s eyebrows raised, suspicious and hesitant to place a vampiric artifact around her neck. It could cause dangerous side effects, ones that would intentionally disarm a human. Victoria must have perceived Camille’s doubt because she addressed it a moment after.

“No, don’t give me that look. In fact, you picked well for proof. That’s a genuine human artifact.” Victoria said dryly, resentment evident, and Camille glared in return. “Yes, I am well aware vampire bodies dissolve, turn into ashes, when killed by a hunter weapon.” She waved her hand in a dismissive manner. “And so do vampire-produced jewelry and clothes. So, the locket would have dissolved when you cut it.” Camille opened her mouth to protest about how the chain of the locket had repaired itself, but Victoria read her mind.

  “You should know by now that human technology, particularly regarding metals, has reached impressive levels. The chain mends itself, yes, but it was made by humans. I want it around your neck because I don’t want you to lose it.” Victoria paused to clear her throat, her eyes flickering to Camille’s chest before shifting back to meet the human’s eyes. Victoria’s serious demeanor lingered, until it seemed to coerce Camille into trusting her. Again .

Camille remained unconvinced, but she complied and slipped it over her head until it rested around her neck. Still, she maintained a grip on the pendant itself, preventing that part from touching her skin.

“I will not lose it. And if I can give it back, I will.” She replied quietly, her demeanor softening as she wondered what significance the locket held, and if it could be opened to find something inside, as most lockets could. Camille closed her eyes for a few fleeting moments, focusing on the coolness of the metal around her neck and seeping into her hand. 

Opening her eyes, her attention soon returned to the pendant itself. She marveled at it, questioning if it were real gold. It was circular, shaped with the appearance of a compass indented in the middle, and when Camille endeavored to discreetly test if it worked, the needle moved, but Camille puzzled over the fact that the needle failed to face North. Camille knew tracking well, and the basics required knowledge of where North settled. She squinted, tracing the engravings surrounding the compass with her thumb. It was the written Vampiric language, Vampirian, which was based in Latin much like that of Demonian, the demon language. Sadly, it wasn’t anything Camille could decipher, as she only knew the basics of that language. But if it's human made, then why are the words written in the vampire's language. Camille considered asking that question aloud but decided against it, guessing that the locket must have been some sort of gift from a human. This, however, only created more confusion within Camille. It didn't help that there was no sign of a method in opening the locket. 

Camille inevitably regarded the artifact with admiration, as she considered it to be captivatingly beautiful. What human would give a vamp a gift like this? She wondered in amazement, slightly upset with herself for being intrigued by this. It doesn't matter. I will look into this necklace later. With that thought in mind, she permitted the pendant to drop. A tiny gasp escaped her mouth as the cold gold hit her hot, flushed chest. She instantly became aware of her heated skin, and she grimaced at the sticky sweat clinging to her body and running down her back. 

Despite her concerns, these reactions were not due to the locket itself. I just don’t like her eyeing me like that. That’s all. A shudder ran through her body as she caught the curious glance sent her way by the vampire. She expanded the distance between Victoria and herself by taking several paces backwards, closer to the exit.

That reminded her of her need to address the remaining conditions regarding their truce, and her hard countenance returned. Before Victoria could give a wry quip regarding how intently Camille had been studying the necklace, Camille unsheathed her sword. It glowed jade, still slick from the blood Camille had drawn during the fight. It wasn’t enough blood to prove a killing, and it had yet to dry and shift colors. Yet, the katana’s flash of green alerted Camille that her night vision would fail soon.

Camille scoffed at Victoria’s reaction, who visibly tensed and gritted her teeth, obviously undertaking the effort of reigning in any negative emotions threatening to spill out. Her eyes disclosed everything though, so Camille briskly diffused the situation by casually mimicking Victoria’s previous statement. 

“I won’t do anything. I guess I know when I’ve been beaten .” She mocked, though she meant what she said. Well, at least the first part. Camille paused to take in a large lungful of warm air, then gradually released the breath. Her expression softened. She relaxed. She was doing her best to send Victoria the message that she meant no harm. She even smiled crookedly. “Well, I’m the one who won, but I still need your blood.” Victoria grimaced, but she nodded in consent.

“You know, imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.” Victoria grinned, but her grin soon slipped into disquietude. “You’ve only won because I would probably die in the end if I drank your blood or killed you. So I am complying because I must. And you should warn me before drawing your weapon, or you may end up incapacitated anyway.” She grumbled, and then added in a soft mumble. “The irony is absolutely unbelievable.” 

Camille approached the vampire, keeping her sword low to the ground and her other palm up and visible to present herself as non-threatening. In response, Victoria outstretched her hand. Camille caught on, but hesitated, her eyebrows raising as she questioned Victoria’s motives. Victoria groaned, but addressed Camille’s suspicion. 

“If I’m to trust you, could you trust me? It would make this go much faster. I’m sure you're tired. I’m certainly tired of this.” Victoria complained, even voicelessly mouthing the word “hypocrite.” Camille’s eyes narrowed, but she relinquished her katana over to her “enemy.” Victoria flashed her a fake smile, accepting the sword by the hilt. Several seconds of serious silence passed as the two stared each other down. Camille stepped back, disgruntled at having to submit and surrender her weapon.

Victoria wrinkled her nose in disgust, gripping the sword with her fingertips at the very edge of the hilt, furthest away from her blood that already encrusted it. More irony to be found in that. 

With a quick slash and hiss of pain, Victoria cut across her arm. She ensured the wound didn’t cut deep or hit an artery, but it began bleeding profusely. Even if she had cut her own arm off, it wouldn’t mortally wound her, as vampires could reattach limbs with little hassle. That was, unless it was cut off and dissolved by a cursed weapon.

As the blood flowed down and across the sword, the katana’s glow grew, filling the area with an eerie green light. It was as if the sword was drinking up the vampire’s spilled blood. It wasn’t long before Victoria dropped the weapon to the floor with a resounding clang and clutched her arm to her chest. The weapon was sufficiently covered in her blood. Camille blinked, shocked at the suffering she saw in the vampire’s eyes. Had the sword hurt her more than I originally thought it would? But that doesn’t make much sense, since the enchantment isn’t even activated. That can only be activated by a human, who has to be touching the weapon and willing it to activate. Like my burning whip. The weapon by itself, without the enchantment activated, can’t kill a vamp, just temporarily disarm one. So, shouldn’t she heal faster then? Her confused wonderings echoed inside her muddled mind as she bent over and swept up the blood-covered katana. She swiftly deposited it in its sheath, disgust crossing her face as some of Victoria’s blood stuck to her hands and clothes. Hopefully that was enough. And I guess, if all else fails, I’ll have literally proof on my hands.

Camille stared back at the vampire, her brows shooting up. The gash was still flowing, still open and bleeding. It officially confirmed her earlier suspicions. This vampire was undeniably an inefficient healer. In spite of that, the pain Camille had observed a heartbeat or two ago had disappeared, hidden behind an expressionless mask. Camille thought better than to mention the cut or bleeding, and the vampire also seemed intent on directing attention away from the wound.

“You said three things, correct? What else?” Victoria inquired, her voice low and hushed, tone conveying melancholy exhaustion. Camille watched in interest as the vampire staggered back until she was depending on the wall for support. Maybe the loss of blood, especially since she’s starving, is weakening her. I better be ready for anything...

Camille exhaled with a nod, threading a hand through her messy shock of hair and brushing it out of her face. It had mostly slipped out of the hair tie during the fight and was plastered against her sweaty skin. It always seemed to get in the way, sometimes blinding her with how it covered her eyes. Honestly, she needed to cut it, but she liked her long, dark hair. Camille pulled off the hair tie, completely allowing her hair to fall down to her shoulders. She then slipped the hair tie onto her wrist, fidgeting with it for a moment before articulating her last demand.

“Yes, well, the third requirement was your residence in this cave. However,” Camille placed a palm on the hilt of her katana, terribly conscious of the viscous quality of the semi-coagulated blood that stuck to that palm. She rubbed at the hard leather in both an attempt to encourage herself to focus on her current challenge and to rub off some of the thick blood. Then she remembered how hard blood was to remove from leather. She frowned, uncomfortable with the thought of a permanent blue-grey bloodstain on the hilt of her sword. Avoiding the vampire’s scrutiny, Camille’s eyes flickered over in the direction of her discarded bag. Time is running out . I feel as though the longer I stay here, the more at risk I become.

“There is one more. Your scent. It’s heavy and is disturbing the nearby area, silencing animals and attracting people. If you don’t want to be discovered and hunted, you need to mask it. But, because you are starving, or close to it, it will be nearly impossible to hide. And that’s all if you haven’t already been detected.” Camille scratched her nose, thankful all scents were muted due to the band around her arm. She needed her bag to fulfill this part of her plan. And to be very careful. I could still end up dead.

A grunt sounded from Victoria, and Camille reflexively bristled, but the vampire was eyeing the floor with an intense, yet distracted, look in her eyes. The cut was still bleeding, though slower. Blood soaked through Victoria’s already destroyed black shirt, sticking to her pale skin. When Camille realized that she was staring again, she inwardly groaned. It seems she’s not even listening to me at the moment.  

Camille bit her lip, her confidence wavering as a new thought entered her crazy mind. One that did not truly fit into her original plan. And why? Why would I do it? She’s a vampire after all, she’ll heal soon enough. Right? She struggled to shake off her train of thought, shortly questioning just how much destruction a cursed sword could do compared to her own.

Uneasiness washed over Camille. She shuffled back, towards the entrance of the cave and near where her bag rested. The vampire boded motionless and silent. This only added to Camille’s uneasiness. The wary human carefully headed over to her bag, her front always facing the vampire. It wasn’t long before she reached her destination, and she crouched down, scooping up her backpack. 

She made her way back with much more haste. Victoria’s eyes met hers, and the vampire’s eyes were wide and pupils contracted to the point that they were unnervingly small. The injury was still very much present and bleeding, and Victoria was panting. Camille eyed her with concern and hesitation, keeping distance as she rummaged through her bag. Three gulps later, she downed the rest of her night vision serum, depositing the empty vile in her bag. Another half hour of sight late at night. With another nervous glance at Victoria, Camille withdrew a small box, the most valuable possession she had stored in this backpack: small, white, healing pills. I can’t believe I’m actually doing this… I don’t even know if they will work. They’re created for humans. However, I’m only doing this because she looks like she’ll attack me if she loses any more blood.

The white contrast of the pills emphasized the difference between these and the enhancement pills, for the two pill types were of about the same size and tasteless. The color also highlighted the importance of these pills, as they were white when everything the Society handed out was black. 

There were a total of five pills. There was a limit on the amount the VES could dish out to the lower-tiered hunters. They could not save someone mortally wounded, but they healed wounds in a matter of five minutes and stopped bleeding in less than one. They were especially effective with burns. Least effective with any brain damage. They could even set, fix, and fully heal bones in an hour. Taking one pill was for minor to medium burns or cuts. Two for deep gashes or third degree burns. Three if one was desperate, as with broken bones. Any more than three at one time, and the person could put themself in danger. The pressure of that many pills led to organs bursting and similar life-threatening side-effects. Again, ironic. It was the same with the ability enhancement pills Camille ingested earlier. Lastly, they reduced pain when taken, which could lead to the person developing an addiction to them. That was why Camille refrained from taking any. That, and the fact that she had found no reason to. Afterall, She’d never been in a situation like this before.

Camille picked out two pills, just in case, and dropped the box back into its rightful place in the backpack. She would leave the rest of her plan be until she dealt with Victoria’s odd breakdown and lack of vampiric healing. Camille approached Victoria cautiously, one step at a time, holding out the palmed pills. Victoria eyed her blankly, still breathing heavily. 

“Victoria, are you ok? I have these-” In the blink of an eye, Camille was rammed down onto the stone floor of the cave. Stars flickered and surroundings dimmed as she blinked in and out of consciousness at the impact of her head slamming the stone. She thought she heard a crack when her head hit the floor. Somehow, her grasp of the pills didn’t waver. She continued to hold them tight.

A whimper escaped her mouth, pain flowing through her now throbbing head. Her senses were reluctant to return. She blinked, striving to catch her lost breath, but she was unsuccessful . For it wasn’t a second later before a hand wrapped around her throat with just enough force to make it difficult for Camille to suck in a breath. Victoria’s legs straddled her waist and restrained her lower body. The vampire’s free left hand constrained Camille’s left wrist to the floor. Thankfully, the hand hiding the pills remained free. 

Camille’s body began to tremble. Victoria’s pupils were pinpricks hidden within the depths of her eyes. But the scariest part about the vampire’s eyes was that they had shifted from grey to blood red. That was one hell of a sign to show that Victoria had lost all control. A vampire’s eyes only changed to red when they demanded blood. Red eyes conveyed the very fact that humans and vampires were drastically different, and for all their arrogant talk of humans’ weaknesses, vampires were the weak ones. Ones that could not keep their bloodlust in check. Nor themselves.

Victoria leaned down and bared her fangs, which were newly long and dangerous, and hissed. Saliva dribbled from the fangs and landed on Camille’s helpless face. Camille winced away, eyes stopping on the blood dripping down the vampire’s wounded left arm and pooling in Camille’s open palm. Even in the sights of such danger, Camille couldn’t help but wrinkle her nose and squint in disgust. 

Camille’s mind glazed over. Her focus shifted to escaping. She strived to yank her wrist out of the vampire’s vice grip, but it was a futile venture. Camille no longer owned an inkling of the strength Victoria had. She had no pill to help. She must act quickly or she would be bitten, and probably killed. 

Conceding to instinct as Victoria’s talon-like nails dug into her neck, Camille shoved the pills into the vampire’s gaping mouth. Even in that feral state, surprise flashed across Victoria’s face. It would have been comical if it weren’t happening in such dire circumstances. Camille would have to react fast or risk Victoria spitting out the pills and fulfilling her original objective. 

Camille seized that moment to use her free hand to grab at Victoria’s hair and yank her head back. Victoria reacted by lifting the arm holding down Camille’s other hand and snatching at Camille’s wrist, the one pulling at her hair. Before Victoria could rip Camille’s hand away, Camille chopped at Victoria’s throat with her recently freed hand, forcing the vampire to swallow or choke. Luckily for Camille, Victoria swallowed the pills. This move left an ominous splatter of blood, Victoria’s own blood, at the vampire’s throat.

The pills would activate in thirty seconds to a minute, releasing a powerful, morphine-like painkiller that would subdue the vampire. The healing would take closer to two to five minutes, depending on just how deep the cut had been. And this all depended on if the pills would work on a non-human. Camille was betting her life that they would. And for the meantime, she would have to stall to survive. Again .

Victoria growled, sneering at Camille in a wicked and wild way. Any semblance of civility the vampire had shown before was gone. The vampire liberated Camille’s thoat, setting her sights on gaining a secure hold of both of Camille’s wrists, pinning them above Camille’s head. Camille froze in fear, before wiggling and bucking in an aim to escape, but she hadn’t the strength to succeed. The vampire leaned forward. To stall, Camille flailed her head, striving to make contact with the vampire’s face to distract her. Unfortunately for Camille, Victoria was more cautious this time and kept her breakable nose out of reach. Camille grimaced, heedful of the vampire’s claws stabbing her wrists.

Futuo futuo futuo futuo please pills. Don’t fail me now. futuo futuo, oh fu- . Camille cried out as the talons slowly dragged across her palms, slicing open shallow but painful wounds. It was almost as if Victoria were teasing Camille, but the vampire’s eyes exposed her unrestrained nature. Camille’s blood pooled in her palms, mingling with the vampire’s blood. Camille would have dwelled on how nasty and uncomfortable that was, but her mind was wholly focused on surviving. Again . One grateful thought surfaced, however, regarding the fact that the revolting blood exchange was involuntary and involved no consent. A human turned into a vampire through one process: ingesting a fully-fledged vampire’s blood, whether through the mouth or the mixing of the two’s blood. But, both sides must agree and desire for the human to become a vampire, otherwise the blood had no effect. This requirement still baffled those researching how the turning process operated. 

It was a silent skirmish, marked only by Camille’s heavy panting and grunts as she resisted. One that she was losing. She was only alive because Victoria was loitering. Everytime she would lean down to bite Camille, Camille would writhe furiously and continuously turn her head in a frenzied motion. Eventually though, the vampire would lose her patience. 

Camille’s luck prevailed once more. The pills hit. Victoria and Camille’s eyes widened in unison as the effects hit. A moan broke free from Victoria’s mouth as her fangs abruptly shrunk. Her mouth snapped shut. It was as if Victoria awakened out of a trance, her face contorted with confusion and fear. 

Camille let out a deep sigh of relief, adrenaline continuing to course through her pained limbs. She observed as Victoria’s nose wrinkled and eyebrows furrowed. The vampire blinked furiously, the blood color retreating from her irises. Her skin flushed. The two stared at one another in sensitive silence. Victoria immediately freed Camille’s bloody hands and wrists and withdrew her own to clutch them against her chest. The arm wound no longer bled, but Camille couldn’t tell if the wound had already fully mended. Both women were covered in a mix of each other’s and their own blood. 

“I-I-” Victoria stuttered in a whisper. The tone communicated deep disturbance and horror. Her eyes were still wide, though her pupils had dramatically shifted, changing from contracting to dilating, due to the painkillers. “I’ve n-never…” This evoked a reminder in Camille’s unsteady mind of Victoria’s previous statement: I've never killed a human. Even the vampire was aware of how close she had come to killing Camille.

Then Victoria rolled off Camille, cradling the arm that had recently sported the cut while sitting cross-legged with her back to Camille, hunched over. It took Camille time of her own to recover, her heart beating insanely fast as she aimed to steady her breathing and stop her shaking. She laid still across the rocky ground, the uneven rocks poking painfully into her back. Her throat ached. Her palms throbbed. Her mind reeled. 

Camille propped herself up into a sitting position, and pressed her hands into her armpits to help stop the bleeding. It was not long before the bleeding subsided, clotting. She wiped her saliva and blood-covered cheeks on the fabric of her shirt, cringing at her appearance. Even with her outfit being all-black, the blood was evident, shimmering under Camille’s night-vision. She would have to throw these clothes out.

Camille drew her legs in, hugging them close to her chest. The women sat in silence for a minute, both attempting to wrap their heads around the situation. They sat a mere four feet from one another, but their thoughts couldn't have been further away. What the futuo…? This rhetorical question replayed in Camille’s mind on repeat. 

Eventually, Camille forced herself to look at Victoria, blinking. The vampire must have felt Camille’s eyes on her back, or maybe she had finally steadied herself, because she spoke again.

“I’m sorry. I had no idea… That would happen. Losing the blood must’ve-” It was a weak whisper. For such a strong and fearsome creature, Victoria’s tone disclosed the opposite, addressing dark disquiet. 

“It triggered bloodlust. I should have known it would.” Camille shivered, interrupting her apologizing enemy. I-I had a feeling. She picked herself up, and, endeavoring to clear her mind, paced around the small space. The narrow walls didn’t help her growing anxiety. The vampire avoided her squinting stare, even as Camille ceased pacing and stood before her. She seemed to be in more distress than Camille herself. And she was shaking. 

The vampire’s reaction shook Camille to her core, contradicting everything she knew of vampires. In fact, it hit her harder than the attack itself. Despite everything that had happened, despite almost dying multiple times at the hands of this vampire, Camille’s expression softened. This reaction speaks to the fact that she never intended, never desired, to kill me. She's just desperate. For blood. And maybe something else too. She squatted in front of Victoria, causing Victoria’s gaze to rise and meet her own.

“Thank you…” A few moments of awkward silence passed before Victoria coughed and continued. Camille noted that Victoria’s nails retreated, becoming human-like in length once more.

“But you must have known to some degree. The things you forced me to swallow. They saved you, and maybe me too. I-” The vampire cut herself off, shaken and hoarse. Her eyes, of which the pupils were back to normal, expressed a multitude of emotions, including regret and gratitude. 

 “I had a bad feeling. Besides, you were still my enemy. I had…” She offered her own shaky and off-kilter half smile. “Have, to be ready for anything.” 

“But, had you planned to give me those pills originally? Healing your enemy? And those were made for injured humans. You had no idea they would work with me.” Victoria squinted, peering at Camille as if the human had something to hide. Something she knew that she shouldn't know. Camille’s glare confronted the vampire’s stare, conveying no emotion. But something about the vampire’s logic and questioning generated an antsy apprehension within Camille.

“I was getting nervous, is all. You weren’t healing like a vampire should.” Camille gracelessly reiterated. She picked herself back up out of the semi-uncomfortable squat. A wave of pain coursed through her palms, and she winced. 

“I guess we both should have been more aware regarding blood loss from a starving vampire.” Victoria told herself, a rueful smile planting itself on her face. She stayed sitting, her nose twitching as if she were about to sneeze. Camille glanced at her bloody palms, frowning.

“I must be going. Stay here-” But this time, she was interrupted by one simple word voiced louder:

“Wait.” It was more of a curious plea than a command, and it worked. Why am I listening? Every minute longer I spend here is a minute more I could end up dead. As was just demonstrated. But her whole… persona? Personality? Well, it completely changed. It was enough for Camille’s curiosity to win out opposed to her fear.

“The slow healing. The sudden bloodlust due to losing blood, yet being able to completely control myself now. Even as you bleed.” She paused and exhaled loudly. “Why I’m not afraid even as I stand in hunter territory. It goes beyond normal vampire arrogance. I’m different.” Camille’s eyebrows rose, and she opened her mouth to press for more details. She hated vagueness, lack of undistorted answers.

“Before you ask, part of the reason I am able to restrain myself so suddenly is due to your help. The pills also lessen the pain of starvation. I’m also a bit better at keeping myself from biting.” She averted her gaze, and Camille thought she saw some pink on the vampire’s pale face. “You should go soon. But know I can take care of myself. Your friends won’t get me.” Her switch in the conversation was not appreciated by Camille, as none of her questions had been answered. And why would I care if she can ‘take care of herself’. For some reason, irritability wriggled its way into her thoughts.

“You just confuse me more, the more you say. Are you a fledgling? That would explain a few things. Why are you out here starving? Is this why I was able to beat you? If you’re so safe, why’d you agree to a truce with me?” She frowned and grumbled. She needed to be a hundred percent sure that Victoria was not a fledgling, because if she was, this had been all for nothing. A member of the VES never received cursed gear for killing a fledgy. 

The vampire sent her a small smile, shook her head, and finally climbed to her feet to face Camille. The vampire deliberately aimed to keep a greater distance between herself and Camille, taking several steps back, until they were standing around six feet from one another.

“I can see why you’d think that.” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, pushing the hair behind her ears to expose yet another attribute that may mistake a full vampire for a fledgling: her ears. Her wry smile had yet to leave, and her ears twitched to display dexterity that humans lacked. “But no, I am no fledgy. I’m just odd.” Her temperament darkened momentarily, while Camile did her best not to express her relief and pride.  “The less you know about me, the better. I’m not asking you any questions.” She huffed at Camille’s weak glower. “I know I’m being vague, but we are not allies. I mean, I just tried to kill you. I don’t even know what we are.” Camille hummed in agreement, bending over and picking up her backpack.

“You’re right. Except for the fact that I’m risking my life to keep you alive, even after you tried to kill me.” She retorted this with such nonchalance that the vampire bit her lip. This time, Camille was sure Victoria had a blush on her face. Both seemed to have one question at the forefront of their minds: Why? Why were they conversing like this? Why were they doing this? Why?

Camille rummaged through her bag, ignoring her conflicted thoughts. She ignored the sudden shift to confidence that both were obviously faking. Instead, she extracted bandages for her palms, thankful that the bleeding and pain had subsided. After slinging the bag over her shoulders, she wrapped the bandages tightly around her hands and wrists, wincing as the fabric stug the open wounds. 

Camille looked up to meet surprisingly sympathetic eyes, of which she avoided by taking off her backpack and retrieving yet another item: a simple black dress shirt. The repeated action of taking off and putting on the backpack was solely used to divert Camille’s attention away from her situation, not because it was efficient. She threw the shirt at Victoria, who only managed to catch it due to her rapid reflexes. Victoria’s expression of perplexed disbelief was priceless. Camille had spotted the shirt in her bag, and in the spur-of-the-moment, decided it would prove to be a great distraction. For her own sanity’s sake, as she didn’t want to dwell on her near-death experience.

“Take my extra shirt. You really need it.” Camille acted casual, as though nothing was out of the ordinary. But alas, her flushed face betrayed her blundering attempt to keep her eyes away from Victoria’s bloody, shredded shirt. The vampire was also blushing, albeit a lighter shade than Camille. Camille found it to be so odd, after the flirty performance she had put on no less than ten minutes before. Then again, nothing makes sense at this point. There’s no reason to waste my energy analyzing everything. Except that it did just save my life. I don’t know… Her mind was a mess.

“Ok…” The vampire undertook the troubling task of saving her pride with posthaste. Through flirting, of course. “But I thought you loved staring at my exposed chest.” She offered a weak chuckle and grin. Truly a weak attempt.

“Oh precisely. I love staring at the bloody mess you are.” Camille sarcastically snapped back, irked at her own blushing face. The vampire’s clothes were practically drenched in blood though. “If you’re not going to accept my generous gift, please give it back. Before you get all your blue blood on it.” 

She extended a bandaged hand and impersonated a give it gesture, wincing when her hand’s throbbing soreness flared up. Camille put on a front of impatience. The vampire rolled her eyes in response, though a tiny, genuine smile replaced her fake grin. 

“You are quite feisty. Thank you for the shirt.” Victoria hesitated, uncertainty entering her posture. The shirt was clasped in one hand, and Victoria kept glancing down at it. “But I actually have-” Camille raised an eyebrow. “Nevermind.” Victoria curtly changed course, a mischievous air replacing the uncertainty. She placed the shirt between her legs, and, without any warning, moved to take off her destroyed shirt. Camille hastily swiveled around, desiring to give Victoria privacy. Or at least to stop herself from gawking at Victoria while she changed. She heard Victoria chuckle and glared at the floor, crossing her arms. Her eyebrows furrowed as she heard something clatter to the floor.

“Hmmm, I should have known. It doesn’t fit very well.” Camille grit her teeth, knowing that Victoria was intentionally doing her best to egg her on. “You can turn around now. If you can handle my gorgeous body, that is.” Camille groaned, whirling around to face her insufferable enemy. She inaudibly cursed as her face reddened for the umpeenth time. Victoria was right. The shirt was much too tight. And Victoria looked all too smug about it. Camille glanced at the floor to see the bloody, rag-like shirt discarded next to another small object, the one that must have emitted a sound as it hit the ground. She squinted at it for a few moments, before Victoria exclaimed, obviously intending to irritate Camille, and stole back her attention. 

“So this was your plan all along!” The damn vampire declared, raising her arms to emphasize. Camille noticed that the cut on Victoria’s arm was now only but a smudge of grey-blue blood, fully mended. The new shirt rose, exposing part of Victoria’s paler-than-milk stomach. 

“I will kill you.” Camille grumbled, though it came out as more of a high-pitched whine, her eyes still on the object. It must have fallen from Victoria’s pocket when she changed. Victoria failed to notice though. Or maybe she didn’t care enough to pick it up.

“Will you?” Victoria teased with a crooked half-grin playfully mocking Camille. How was it that we went from killing each other to teasing each other? Camille shook her head, sighing in an exasperated manner. At least it successfully distracted her from almost being bitten.

“Anyways, I will be back soon with a supply of blood. You must stay here though.” Camille gave a curt nod. Exhaustion and discomfort alternated in their control to bring her back to the current state of things.

But Victoria had more to settle.

“Before I went feral, you said you had a fourth requirement. What was it?” She asked, her attitude shifting to somber. Camille bit her lip, hesitant to become vulnerable after what had just unfolded between them.

“It’s nothing important, really. You just need to keep your scent in control.” 

“Ah, yes, my smell.” The vampire mumbled, eyes resting on the scent blocker band squeezing Camille’s bicep. “In all honesty, I can control it, but sometimes I can’t tell how strong it is. A vampire can’t smell themself.” She admitted with a shrug. Camille raised an eyebrow, pondering this new bit of information. Is the Society aware of this? I’m guessing yes, though I also guess it’s not too important.

“Though speaking of scents, you still smell intoxicating. Something like... Vanilla and pine. Plus sweat and blood, of course.” She smirked, maintaining eye contact with Camille as she raised her arm and sniffed at the ill-fitting dress shirt. “ You need to keep your scent under control.” 

“Could you stop being creepy for one second.” Camille barked, fists clenching. “How can you be so casual, so damnably asinine, about being in danger?! If the hunters catch your scent, which is not very hard to do, you are dead!” She was seriously losing her patience. It had been too long of a night.

“Oh, nice word, asinine. Though it makes me wonder, am I truly the one who is stupid here? I’m just desperate for blood. You on the other hand…” Camille scowled but wouldn’t give Victoria the satisfaction of a response. So the vampire continued. “I guess I do have one question I’d love to have answered. Why do you care if I live or die?” Victoria finally asked. Camille looked away, though she was determined to answer the question with some sort of logical retort.

“If you die, no, if they find you and kill you, they'll know I've been lying. And that puts me in danger. I decided not to kill you, which was truly stupid of me, but if you shut up and listen to me, we could both get out of this alive.” Camille explained, though there were aspects still missing from her explanation. Why keep the vamp alive in the first place? Fortunately, Victoria didn't press further.

Instead, Victoria sniffed, bending over and finally grabbing the item she had dropped. She raised it up and eyed it with melancholy. Camille narrowed her eyes, confused. It concerned her for a moment or two until she understood what the object was: lipstick. Huh?

Victoria removed the lid, intently squinting at the ruby lipstick within before applying it. Camille ran a hand through her disheveled hair, averting her gaze from Victoria’s lips and brooding over just how aggravating the vampire was. Seconds later, Victoria deposited the lipstick in her pant’s pocket. Then the irritating vampire grinned, crimson lips beautifully contrasting with her pale skin and teeth.

Next, Victoria squatted, ever so slowly, still grinning with eyes glued to Camille’s gaze, and collected her nasty, old shirt. Then, with inhuman speed, she cast the shirt towards the back of the cave, far enough away for Camille to perceive it as nothing but a red blob surrounded by grey stone. Victoria winked, as if to convey that she would deal with that mess later. Camille scoffed, rolling her eyes.

“I have secrets of my own, as I know you do. So I'll drop my questions. Just as I won't answer yours.” She proceeded towards Camille, towering over the human. Camille would not yield though. Instead, the human challenged the vampire with a tiny smirk.

“But how do you propose I hide my scent, hmm? A test, perhaps?” Camille’s eyes widened a fraction before she commanded her face to express nothing. She knows so much. Can she mind-read? From what I can tell. No. But… 

“Yes.” Camille inhaled in preparation and removed the protective, vampire-scent-blocking band from her arm. With a sharp intake of breath, the vampire's overwhelming smell clouded her other senses, and she staggered forward. She was once again drawn to Victoria, her heart threatening to leap out of her chest while the rest of her body weakened. A cloud covered her mind. It was the same sensation as before. 

“T-this is the issue.” She stumbled with her words, fighting her disoriented mind to communicate clearly. She also had to fight herself to keep from approaching Victoria further. They were now three feet from each other. “It’s too, too strong.” Her vision blurred so thoroughly that she failed to see Victoria float towards her until the vampire was a mere foot away. Then the spell snapped. Victoria must have reigned it in and decreased its effects. 

“You humans are weak.” Victoria whispered with a small smile. Camille bared her teeth in a frustrated sneer, impressed with the desire to kick the vampire in the shin out of vexation. To Camille, It would have been the perfect mode of retribution. Why do I keep- Why am I trusting this hellion?

“It’s not my fault you smell so damn bad that I can barely stand.” She retaliated with a snarl, causing Victoria to chuckle low. 

“More like, I smell so damn good .” The vampire cooed, leaning down with her hands on her hips. This closed the distance even more, their faces a mere six inches away. I hate how tall she is. Camille narrowed her eyes but decided it wasn’t worth a counterclaim. Instead, she backed off, uncomfortable with Victoria’s face lingering so close to her own.

“Try to bring it down even further.” The off-guard and out-of-control impression still tingled at the edge of her conscience, and her figure shook as she fought to combat against the allurative tug. “I want only your natural scent . What your vampire friends smell everyday. Oh wait, you don’t have any friends. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be stuck here alone. Stuck relying on me, a mere weak human.” Camille spat out, finding herself wishing the vampire would show something other than arrogance or nonchalance.

Then she recalled the look on Victoria’s face after the attack. A perfectly human temperament that expressed the opposite of what a vampire’s reaction would usually be. Remorse and fear .

But Victoria didn’t cave, and her casual smugness remained. She shrugged.

“Ok.” She didn’t even argue, though her ears twitched, and she squinted. A moment later, Camille gasped as the pressure effectively dissipated. It was as though she were still wearing the band, but her sense of smell regained its full capacity too. “Is that better?” It was almost a growl, but faint and low. Camille stared straight into the vampire’s eyes and nodded.

“Indeed.”

“So, just how good do I smell now? Hmmm? Is it the smell that keeps the Licisci away?” This was the first time the succo swore, and she did so in Latin. The word translated loosely to bitches, and Camille guessed that it was a test set up for her. Victoria sought to see if Camille knew Latin. Victoria fake pouted, frowning for a moment before snickering. “You’ll have to try much harder to upset me. Even human insults are weak.” Camille scoffed.

“Hmmm, you smell of sweat and blood.” She responded with a careless wave of her hand, as if she had no care in the world. “That smell would certainly keep me away.” Her eyes went as wide as saucers when Victoria advanced another step towards her, maintaining eye contact. An outsider would find this dance-like, back-and-forth stepping between the two to be amusing, for there was only half a foot between them, again .

“Oh, so you admit to being a canis .” She paused and whispered her next comments. For some inexplicable reason, Camille wanted Victoria to know how strong her Latin profanity game was. Canis meant bitch. “But are you sure? Maybe if I come in closer, you’ll smell something more than our arousing fight. Or is your sense of smell too weak .” She taunted, smirking in a crooked fashion and raising her eyebrows. 

I really wish I killed her when I had the chance. Should I act like her? Maybe I can catch her off guard. I bet it would be absolutely priceless to see her blush. Wait, why do I care? Oh, Demon’s Sweat, might as well. This whole situation makes about zero sense. Camille leered up at Victoria, coming up with an idea of how to effect a blush onto the scandalous vampire’s features.

Camille lazily reached up and grasped the collar of Victoria’s new shirt, levering the vampire down to eye level. Victoria’s mouth poised open in the shape of an o and eyebrows raised high, expressing astonishment. Camille delivered her own smug smile, observing with amusement as the vampire gaped at the hand tugging her down. Camille hesitated with what to do next, but then a determined demeanor set itself on her features. Well, let’s hope this little vampire tramp holds true to the truce.  

She maneuvered Victoria even closer via the collar, still unblinkingly gazing into the vampire’s eyes with a small smirk, enjoying when the vampire partially pulled back. When Camille knew she had Victoria’s attention, she blinked, almost chuckling at the nonplussed expression seemingly stuck on Victoria’s face. The vampire’s breath was apparent on the human’s face with how close, a mere three or so inches, the two stood from one another. 

Camille leaned forward, positioning herself as though she were about to whisper some sort of dirty little secret in Victoria’s pointed ear. Victoria’s golden earrings glinted. A small outtake of air escaped Camille’s nose in amusement, which accelerated into an outright chuckle when she saw Victoria’s ear twitch due to the air hitting it. She thought she might have heard a sound squeezing out of the vampire’s pursed lips. Camille grinned. It was working. Victoria was stunned. If I had known this was all I had to do in the first place, I could have been out of here an hour ago.  

Camille went the extra mile by hovering her nose two inches above Victoria’s pale neck and drawing in a deep breath, as if to find a scent different from the evident smell of sweat and blood. She was startled to find a hint of other smells, mostly those of the forest along with a strong undertone of lavender and mint. Not what I expected. And much better than the odor of human blood and death. But that wasn’t the point. Just to add to the fun, Camille let out a loud, and quite indecent, moan. She snickered as she watched the vampire freeze, body stiff.

“Mmmm, yes. But you’re more of a canis than me, being dragged around by a weak human.” She whispered in Victoria’s ear, imitating the vampire’s arrogant tone. Victoria scoffed, but her ear twitched anew, twinged with the pink of a blush. That must be a sign of when she’s flustered. Camille mused with an odd feeling of wicked interest.

Camille released Victoria’s shirt and retreated, triumph and contempt written all over her face. She crossed her arms across her chest, chin raised slightly. Her whole stance screamed smug defiance. Her grin deepened, and she winked at the vampire. Her task had been conclusively successful, as Victoria’s brows knitted together and cheeks appeared almost as crimson as her lips. 

“You know, you do have a few human smells to you. But mostly just blood, as I originally suspected.” Camille sighed in fake disappointment. “No surprise really.” Victoria rolled her eyes and moved her hands in a slow clap.

“Impressive. You managed to surprise me. Didn’t know you had it in you.” Victoria nodded in admiration. “But if I smell so… Vampiric… Then why were you, excuse me, why are you so attracted to me?” Hah! You must have been thrown off guard because you stumbled on your words. And I’m not attracted to you! Your vampire wiles could never sway me. Camille was too stubborn to admit she regarded Victoria with anything other than disgust.

“Oh? Why? Because I’m just a weak human. Well, I know how to use my brain, unlike you vampires, who just use your brute strength and speed. And you wonder why we’re able to win most of the time.” Victoria scoffed when Camille chose to ignore her question of attraction.

“You don’t win most of the time. You need certain weapons, just to hurt us, and that’s if you have certain pills to reach our level of strength and speed.” Victoria argued with a huff.

“Then it’s certainly a miracle that we win at all, huh? We must be smart after all, then.” Camille smirked, while Victoria pursed her lips in a pout. The vampire had just proven the human’s point: humans could be devilishly smart, especially when vampire’s allowed their conceit to cloud their judgement.

They stood in silence for a bit, staring each other down, two feet between them.

“Anyways…” Camille cleared her throat and repositioned her backpack to a more comfortable spot on her back. “I must be going. Finally. I’ll be back.”

“You better be. And soon. I seriously need blood.” Victoria scratched the back of her neck. Camille dipped her head.

“Yes, I know. I’m cognizant of that.” Camille grew serious, her demeanor and tone grim. Her lips were pursed in a thin line. “Just remember. If you leave, I will kill you.” Despite Camille’s somber countenance, Victoria huffed in an amused fashion.

“That’s the third time you’ve mentioned that, I’m sure. And my answer is the same. I won’t leave. Yet.” She waved her hand as if to wave this conversation off. “Soon you’ll be telling me the opposite. Do this. Do that. Or I’ll kill you . Aw, little rabbit, I don’t fear you enough, or at all, really, for that to work as a threat.” She winked. “Ordering me around. Cute. But not scary.”

Camille snorted, sick of Victoria’s haughty bearing. Honestly, sick of Victoria herself. She shook her head with a crooked smile.  

“And yet you listen. You’re under my control.” Then she turned to leave. 

However, a hand grabbing her forearm stopped her, twirling Camille around to face Victoria. Only a foot between. Camille’s jaw clenched, and her eye twitched as she glowered up at Victoria with a look that could kill. That threatening guise only yielded a dumb grin from the vampire, one that was sickeningly charming to Camille.

Camille became distracted by the contrast of Victoria’s white teeth in distinction to her blood red lips. A flash of ruby hit Victoria’s eyes before the grey returned, and Camille’s breath hitched. It rapidly transformed into a full gasp when Victoria floated closer, closing the distance to half a foot and hooking a claw underneath Camille’s chin. With a glance down, Camille noted that the vampire’s only retracted nail was the one currently under her chin. And that the vampire wore a licentious smile. 

“Aw, you’re so cute, you know that, right? And don’t think I haven’t noticed you staring at my lips. On multiple occasions.” Victoria breathed, barely audible. Camille sneered, though her breathing had instantly quickened. “Would you be breathing this hard in bed?” Camille couldn’t help but snort. She shook her head, slapping away Victoria’s hand. 

“Could you actually stop flirting with me?” Victoria snickered. “I’d actually like to get some sleep sometime.” Victoria smirked.

“Oh, honey, with me, you’ll get no sleep.” Camille recoiled and shoved Victoria away at Victoria’s nasty comeback.

“Go fuck yourself!” Camille was too flustered to respond with a better retort.

“But you give me the best set ups with your words.” Victoria pouted. Then her ruby lips curled up in a grin. “And why would I fuck myself? I'd much prefer if you-” She never finished because Camille snarled and punched her in the shoulder. Victoria huffed in amusement. Some seconds passed before Victoria spoke again, her grin softening into a genuine smile.

“Thank you, little rabbit, but I’m really the one in control. Remember that Camille.” Victoria batted her eyes in a nauseating manner, compelling Camille to audibly gag.

“And if you don’t stop, I’ll kill you. Remember that Victoria .” Camille grumbled. 

“Ah, I just love your death threats.” Victoria playfully derided with a wink. Camille scowled in response, spinning around on the balls of her feet and stomping to the exit of the cave. Her scowl deepened when Victoria cackled, loud and melodious. Stupid succo . Camille gripped the straps of her backpack, narrowing her eyes.

“Just so you know, I am completely aware of one little fact: taking another one of those enhancer pills would be dangerous to you.” Victoria admitted, stopping Camille in her tracks. The vampire couldn’t see it, but her brows were furrowed in disbelief. If she knew, why didn’t she kill me? Well, I guess we both have unanswered questions… Camille didn’t respond, not even turning around to face the vampire. It’s best I leave now, before something that should stay hidden, is revealed. She executed a backward wave, ending it with flipping Victoria off. She was rewarded with a low chuckle. Camille hated how the vampire could get a rise out of her so easily. 

 “Now go.” Camille was almost out of the cave by the time Victoria muttered this. “Get your reward for ‘killing’ me.” Camille hesitated, thrown off guard, again, by this last statement. There’s no way she knows, right? Normal vamps don’t know about cursed weapons. She pondered, forcing herself to keep walking.

Taking a deep breath, she fled the claustrophobia of the cave, of the conversation, of the circumstance. How long she had been in there for, she wasn’t sure. Probably somewhere around half an hour to a full hour. It had felt like an eternity. What an incredible night… Another understatement. Camille couldn’t even begin to process all that had happened.

She huffed, removing the hair tie that held tight around her wrist. She peered at it, black and simple, sitting on her open, bandaged and bloody palm. The bleeding had stopped, but Camille’s eyebrows furrowed. She squinted, seeing a faint grey and purple coloring of dried blood that had bled through the white bandage. Along with the obvious red of Camille’s own blood. She shrugged off her questions with a repulsed glare. Must be purple instead of blue because of the mixing of my red blood with her blue blood. Demon’s Disgusting Blood. She cursed.

What have I gotten myself into? Clenching the tie in her hand, she stalked off, out of eyesight from the cave, before glancing back. I guess we shall see. She thought as she put her hair up. The biggest question still weighed heavy on her mind: Why hadn’t I killed her?

Upon that though, Camille scanned the nearby area, her eyes raking over anything that seemed suspicious. She especially searched the places where one could effortlessly hide. She wanted to know if the VES had been watching her dance with the vampire, but she encountered nothing of what she anticipated or expected to find. No sign of any potential spies. Nothing out of place. No abnormal sounds or movements. 

Eventually, she relented her desperate hunt, groaning in frustration. If anyone was following her, they were doing a good job at waiting in silence and concealment. It was understandable, for even the newest VES trainees were taught stalking, hunting, and obscurity. So, the fact that she didn’t find anyone probably meant that the Society wanted to carry on undiscovered in this little challenge, not that no one was watching her. And the fact that they chose to remain undetected could mean anything to Camille. She would rather confront them face to face, head on. 

In an attempt to settle her concerns, Camille paused to rest for some time, closing her eyes and leaning on a nearby tree. A cool breeze calmed her. A breath of fresh air. A sigh of relief hit Camille, and she let out a smile as the sounds of the forest returned. Owls hooted. Coyotes yipped. Wolves howled. Hopefully, Victoria could continue to keep her scent discreet while Camille obtained the much-needed blood bags. 

“So, little rabbit do you dance?” Camille questioned the open air, admiring the bright-starred sky. Her only replies were the distant coes of crows, and she shivered. Victoria’s similar question echoed in her mind: “Say, little rabbit do you dance?”

“Do you?” She asked this aloud, interrogating both herself and the trapped vampire, tension found behind her quietly uttered words. What a dangerous game I’m playing… What a dangerous dance...

With that in mind, she put on a resolute disposition, pushed off the tree she had been resting against, and marched on back towards the outpost. There was still so much of the night left, so many challenges left to face. And, if it went in Camille’s favor, she would be facing her demons. 

Quite literally.