Darko Cernovsek
Soul Of Vengeance
Year 2044.
As far as talk-shows went, the Varied Variables was a relatively new one, but the host's unusual choice of individuals to interview, has been quite a draw for the audience and views. Wisely, the program has remained confined to TubeMax and various smaller streaming services, since the relevance of legacy-media has steadily fallen into obscurity, as they were just propaganda-outlets for their respective governments. With the world in the grip of multiple smaller conflicts, a civil war sweeping across North America, on top of a massive struggle between the Scandinavian Coalition, what remained of NATO, and the Federated Asian Pact, the general public was just becoming widely aware of a far deeper, and far more ancient struggle, between the two species that have been a part of common mythology, for centuries.
The studio was relatively small, with a pair of comfortable-looking leather chairs around an art-deco stylised table, with a massive video-wall behind, displaying multiple footages of ongoing events across the world, while a line of sponsor-names circulated across the bottom segment of it. The introductory-jingle music was vaguely trance-techno based, while the two women seated themselves in their respective chairs. One was Ana, the show's hostess, a shortish, stout, red-haired woman in a white-on-green suit and bow tie, paired with torn-open white jeans and sneakers, very... neo-alternative looking, while the other was a taller, statuesque, sporty, buxom woman with luxuriant black-on-white dyed hair, a satin-red blouse the colour of dried blood, sporting a deep cleavage, the upper rim of a black-lace bra just showing, black leather snap-up pants with a vaguely bell cut, and a pair of martens boots. The way she moved, belied a high level of agility and bodily coordination, reminiscent of a dancer. And her sparkling, almost onyx-black eyes were remarkable, lending an exotic aspect when combined with a classic-red lipstick.
***
"Hello and welcome to Varied Variables, where we don't stop at the surface, but dig deeper! This is your host, Ana Sparx, and today we're really living up to our motto - as my guest this evening, miss Lorienne LaCroix, is someone who has literally, risen from the grave!" - the hostess began.
"Not... technically true, Ana, but close enough I suppose." - the other woman smiled. Her resonant, smooth alto matched her figure perfectly, lending a very sophisticated aura, to the onyx-eyed vixen. Lorienne LaCroix was just the last alias, in a very long line of them. And one that she invented, specifically for this interview.
"Oh? I mean, there was a grave involved, right?" - the hostess quipped.
"Not really. Just a haystack, two donkeys, a bull and three cows nearby, and a house fire across the street. Oh, and two bodies." - Ixis's light tone a sharp contrast to the ominous scene she intimated at. Once upon a time, remembering it was a painful experience. But half a milennia later... it was just another memory, crystallising in her picture-perfect mind.
This caught Ana slightly off guard, as she covered it up with a forced throat-clearing cough.
"Dare I ask... ?" - her smile turning slightly-nervous.
"Not if you want to keep your channel monetised!" - the other woman grinned mischievously, "Anyway, you did get the 'risen' part right. And there were graves involved, later down the line. Several, in fact. Last one not that long ago!" - the polished smile turning a touch brittle.
"Good to know..." - the hostess got back in stride, "...so, for the benefit of our viewers... is it true, miss LaCroix? I mean... the rumours and speculations have been going on for years, ever since what happened in Amsterdam, two decades ago. Then the whole mess of cover-ups and denials from the Coalition authorities down the line. The Glamis massacre in Britain... the lost expedition in Egypt, the civil schisms in Australia, now the US civil war. All seemingly isolated incidents, but... not really, are they? And with the whole world now at each others' throats, more or less..." - she trailed off, expectantly.
"It's true, Ana." - Ixis's tone turned a bit reflective. "It's funny, you know. You spend most of your time wearing masks, but you don't realise that the masks themselves are subject to varied... variables. Some of which you can't account for. Pun very much intended!" - she winked.
The hostess had to laugh heartily at that, even if the revelation made her a bit uncomfortable. The laugh died down, and she bit her lip, unsure how to phrase the next question, eyeing the taller woman slightly varily.
"Am I a vampire? Yes." - her guest took the burden off of her. She smiled soothingly, letting it sink in, then continued. "Am I going to take a bite at your neck? No. That kind of randomness isn't the name of the game for us, anymore. Not to say it didn't used to be, once." - the woman was honest, however.
"That's a... relief, miss LaCroix." - Ana let out a deep breath, taking a sip of the glass of water in front of her. Suddenly the entire prospect of interviewing this woman was proving anything but straightforward. By all rights, she should be terrified, right now. But her guest's openness and disarming demeanour was strangely... reassuring.
"Well... uh, how old, exactly, are you? I mean, being... essentially dead, right?" - she tried to get back on track.
"I'm 24, why?" - Ixis deadpanned, pausing long enough to enjoy the look of surprise on Ana's face, then continued; "...if we're talking about living years, that is. And please, call me Lori." - she winked.
"Oh, so... you were younger then me when you... died? I'm... I'm sorry, uh... Lori." - Ana managed, her mind working overtime on speculation on what might have happened, given the ominous scene described earlier.
"Me too, Ana. But time heals all wounds. Surprisingly accurate, especially when you have all eternity to come to terms with it. And little choice in the matter." - the vampiress's tone shifted subtly, turning more solemn. "To answer your question; I am just over five centuries old. I was born in 1541."
"Wow... so you're like - like one of the really ancient ones? From the time of Dracula and before?" - Ana's sense of awe was palpable.
The vampire woman smirked at that.
"Actually, pop-culture aside, Vlad Tepes lived around a century before my time. And despite his sordid reputation, well-deserved I might add, he was never one of the Kind. And for me being one of the ancient ones... no. By our standards, I'm quite young." - her smirk turned reflective, "But you will likely never have an opportunity to speak with a truly ancient one, Ana. Nor would you want to. You'd not be in for a scintilating conversation! The older we get, the less we want to be involved, with the world at large."
The hostess mulled that over for a moment, then nodded.
"As in... you don't really care anymore?"
Raising an eyebrow at the insightful question, Ixis leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers.
"Exactly. Eternity is a long time, Ana, and at some point, you just stop giving a damn. Hasn't happened to me yet, but I can see a point where it might. I do hope it doesn't come to that, though. But with all that's going on these days, I don't think I'm in danger of getting there, any time soon!" - she asserted. Then her onyx gaze turned slightly remote.
"Still, the world is changing so quickly now. Too quickly for many of us. It wasn't always like that."
Ana picked up on that.
"Does that... have something to do with why... well... why you'd even agree to this kind of exposure? An interview? I mean, from legends and stories, you guys are all about secrecy and staying off the grid?"
"Off the grid..." - the vampiress echoed, crossing her legs, "That's the thing Ana. Back in the day, the 'grid' didn't exist. The world was a lot bigger, then it is now. A lot emptier, a lot harder to quantify and categorise. Staying out of sight and in the realms of myth and legend was much easier. Nowadays, I have to give humans credit - you've grown out of your superstitious, gullible phase. You've changed. And changed the world. Made it one compacted, overcrowded, arguably... dysfunctional... village. We... are trying to. But change comes very, very slowly for us."
"But to change and adapt, is to survive." - she continued, "So it was decided, that I step out and explain a few things. As someone with the most experience dealing with this... new world, even shaping it, to a point."
"Decided? Decided by who?" - Ana was curious, leaning forward.
The vampiress smiled at that.
"Ah. State secrets. Suffice it to say that the decision has been made to step out of the shadows. Especially since our... counterparts... haven't been making it any easier to remain there." - the smile collapsed into a slight disgusted scowl.
"The... the werewolves? So they're real, too? I mean, the... the rumours about wolf-mutants have been ongoing for decades, since the Coalition's forming and their defunct supersoldier programme." - the red-haired woman frowned.
"Oh, not defunct. Forcibly dismantled. Very forcibly. And with a very high price-tag attached, to my Kind." - the vampire woman corrected her, adamantly. The hard tone of voice and the weight of the words made it clear to the hostess, that her guest was speaking from personal experience.
"So those stories ARE true? That they used werewolf DNA in their experiments? All the chaos and deaths from their campaign in '31... ?" - Ana sounded like she didn't want to believe it.
"Yes. And as you might imagine, the Coalition had, and still has, a vested interest in keeping that a secret. Open secret, of course. Nothing I've told you here, is anything that most of the world's governments aren't aware of, at the highest levels." - the vampiress growled, putting some very convincing acted indignation in her tone, not wasting the opportunity to throw the blame for that entire fiasco, squarely at the feet of the wolf-bloods, and their allies. Ixis of course knew first-hand, that the Kind in general, and herself in particular, were far from blameless for the whole tragedy.
But public perception was now a thing. Ever since the Chairman and Council, decreed that it was time to... amend... the Creed. As long as they were accepting exposure on a grand scale, it was prudent to paint the Kind as the lesser of two evils. Even as victims, if necessary. Human perception always favoured the 'underdog'. And to turn public opinion against the werewolves, would be extremely advantageous. Making the general public question their governmental leadership, even more so.
"Unbelievable! So you're saying that the powers that be knew about it, and didn't do anything to keep the public informed?! I mean... let's be real, it wouldn't be the first time. Anyway, you're saying your... Kind, the vampires... you were the ones who shut down those experiments, miss L-... Lori?" - Ana asked.
The other woman nodded.
"With the help of some of our contacts and allies inside, yes. Those experiments were a threat to us, just as much as to humanity as a whole. We had to act preemptively, and save as many test subjects as possible, from a fate worse then death." - with flawlessly acted conviction.
Ixis was leaving out the fact that 'save' meant exterminate. There was no saving anyone, from a wolf-blood genetic pathogen. And that many of those exterminated, were in fact not experiments at all, but witnesses and other loose ends that needed tying up. Some kept alive for the Blood Vats.
Ana smiled.
"Well, I can tell you that a lot of people would probably want to thank you for that! But I'm curious... you seem like you really - well, care, for lack of a better word, about what happens to us. Aren't we just... your food?"
"We all share this world, Ana." - the vampiress shook her head, then continued earnestly, "...and all of us, all of the Kind, were once human. Of course we care. We're in a symbiotic relationship with each other, and we each benefit from it. We wouldn't exist without your blood to sustain us, and you would have destroyed yourselves, several times in the past, without our influence. The whole catastrophe with the supersoldier experiments was just one example. Scientists playing god, without regards for the consequences. Not seeing the big picture."
She then paused, emphatically.
"The werewolves, however, don't care for that balance. They in fact do want to eat, the world. It's in their nature. And they leapt at the opportunity presented to them, by the Coalition's meddling into their natural development."
"That's terrifying! Don't they realise it would only harm them, too, in the long run?" - Ana asked incredulously, taking another sip of water.
The statuesque vampire vixen leaned forward.
"Think of them as fundamentalists, Ana. Religious extremists, or cultists. You know how much harm such individuals have done, in the past. They see the world only through their narrow lens of zealous devotion. Except in this case, devotion is replaced with animal instinct. How do animals, see the world?" - she asked leadingly.
Ana nodded. She didn't like the implications.
"I don't suppose I could ever get one of them, for an interview..." - she bit her lip, with a nervous chuckle.
With a shrug, the other woman considered her words.
"I would worry about your safety if you did, Ana. And the people in this studio." - she warned earnestly, a seemingly-genuine look of concern in her black eyes. Mixed with just a barest trace of crimson overtone in them, just as quickly gone, as the vampiress empowered the statement with just a hint of Domination, on the woman. Not really seeking to control her, just... make the warning stick.
The hostess swallowed slightly. For some reason, the warning seemed... imprinted, into her mind.
"R-right. Bad idea all around. So, I'm curious, Lori... you look really - well, human." - she smiled at her guest, "Not at all what one would expect a vampire to look like!"
Ixis laughed musically at that, deliberately allowing her fangs to extend... just a touch. Making the hostess inhale slightly, in reaction, before she allowed them to retract again.
"Would you like it more if I turned into a big bat and flew around? Well, sorry to disappoint your viewers, but sometimes legends are just that - legends. Which is not to say this is the way I look all the time." - she winked, "But vanity has it's place. And my real appearance is a lot less photogenic. And it would definitely get you demonetised!"
"Yeah... I mean, you look awesome! Kind of wish I could pull off the femme-fatale look like that. Get a few more views from certain demographic..." - Ana grinned, a touch enviously.
The vampiress chuckled. "It's a very niche crowd. Especially for a channel as diverse as yours. I just happen to enjoy that kind of attention. There's that vanity again, huh?"
"But... I mean, do you... have anyone? How does it work? Relationship-wise? Do you guys just stick to your own, or... ?" - Ana trailed off.
Her guest was silent for a moment.
"I've had someone. Several lifetimes ago." - Ixis reflected, not going into details, as she paused to take a sip of water herself, "...these days, though... Not really. Just one-nighters. It's way more manageable that way." - she looked at the other woman again.
"And actually, I prefer human company, most of the time, to that of the Kind. Often it takes a living person, to remind me how to pretend to be alive." - with a trace of mirth, some of her sparkly personality fading.
Ana picked up on it.
"It... it sounds like you miss it." - it wasn't a question.
"Sometimes." - the vampiress admitted, then flashed a grin, "All the more reason to hang out with you guys, right?"
Ana was silent for a moment, going through her notes...
"I'm sure people will be curious... how do you deal with the sun? I mean... when we got in touch, you were specific about wanting to come after sundown. So I'm guessing that part of the lore is accurate?"
"It is. There's ways around it, but they just delay the inevitable." - the vampire woman nodded, not going into details.
The hostess hesitated. "Is it like the movies? You... you burn up? Turn into ashes? And what about silver? Garlic? Holy water?"
"That's a bit dramatic." - Ixis smiled, "... but pretty much. We incinerate if exposed to direct sunlight. Silver is different. Touching it is... unpleasant, but tolerable. Getting stabbed or shot by it? Not so much. Speaking from personal experience."
"Holy... water doesn't exist. It's just regular water, Ana. And garlic is a vegetable." - she finished, making it clear they were a non-issue.
Ana's attention was drawn to something off-camera, for a moment, as someone handed her a note. She glanced at it, then shook her head with an eyeroll.
"Oh come on, that's just... what are we, little kids here?" - under her breath, addressing the individual who handed her the note. An unintelligible reply followed, but the vampiress interrupted smoothly:
"That's alright, Ana! If he wants a demonstration, he can have one..." - mischievously. Then she gripped with one hand, the edge of the hardwood, heavy art-deco table they were sitting at. With casual effort, the thick wooden surface splintered and sheared-off as she twisted, with a crackle of splinters and chips flying outwards, making the hostess start in alarm, and shield her eyes. A good portion of the table's edge was now held in the vampiress's hand. She squeezed hard, and the piece literally imploded under pressure, splintering completely.
"Take it out of his pay, though." - Ixis quipped, briefly wiping a few leftover splinters off the damaged table's surface.
Ana glared off-camera, with an exasperated expression.
"Oh I will. Count on that..." - she muttered, then put on a smile, as she looked at the camera again.
"Well folks, that's all we have time for this evening, with miss Lorienne LaCroix! I'm sure I'm not the only one who's gonna have a lot of food for thought, tonight. Maybe a few nightmares... but that's the price of being informed, right...?" - her enthusiasm sounding a bit... forced, as she glanced at her guest again.
For her part, Ixis retained her polished smile, even as the fade-out jingle sounded, before the program timed out.
THE END
As far as talk-shows went, the Varied Variables was a relatively new one, but the host's unusual choice of individuals to interview, has been quite a draw for the audience and views. Wisely, the program has remained confined to TubeMax and various smaller streaming services, since the relevance of legacy-media has steadily fallen into obscurity, as they were just propaganda-outlets for their respective governments. With the world in the grip of multiple smaller conflicts, a civil war sweeping across North America, on top of a massive struggle between the Scandinavian Coalition, what remained of NATO, and the Federated Asian Pact, the general public was just becoming widely aware of a far deeper, and far more ancient struggle, between the two species that have been a part of common mythology, for centuries.
The studio was relatively small, with a pair of comfortable-looking leather chairs around an art-deco stylised table, with a massive video-wall behind, displaying multiple footages of ongoing events across the world, while a line of sponsor-names circulated across the bottom segment of it. The introductory-jingle music was vaguely trance-techno based, while the two women seated themselves in their respective chairs. One was Ana, the show's hostess, a shortish, stout, red-haired woman in a white-on-green suit and bow tie, paired with torn-open white jeans and sneakers, very... neo-alternative looking, while the other was a taller, statuesque, sporty, buxom woman with luxuriant black-on-white dyed hair, a satin-red blouse the colour of dried blood, sporting a deep cleavage, the upper rim of a black-lace bra just showing, black leather snap-up pants with a vaguely bell cut, and a pair of martens boots. The way she moved, belied a high level of agility and bodily coordination, reminiscent of a dancer. And her sparkling, almost onyx-black eyes were remarkable, lending an exotic aspect when combined with a classic-red lipstick.
***
"Hello and welcome to Varied Variables, where we don't stop at the surface, but dig deeper! This is your host, Ana Sparx, and today we're really living up to our motto - as my guest this evening, miss Lorienne LaCroix, is someone who has literally, risen from the grave!" - the hostess began.
"Not... technically true, Ana, but close enough I suppose." - the other woman smiled. Her resonant, smooth alto matched her figure perfectly, lending a very sophisticated aura, to the onyx-eyed vixen. Lorienne LaCroix was just the last alias, in a very long line of them. And one that she invented, specifically for this interview.
"Oh? I mean, there was a grave involved, right?" - the hostess quipped.
"Not really. Just a haystack, two donkeys, a bull and three cows nearby, and a house fire across the street. Oh, and two bodies." - Ixis's light tone a sharp contrast to the ominous scene she intimated at. Once upon a time, remembering it was a painful experience. But half a milennia later... it was just another memory, crystallising in her picture-perfect mind.
This caught Ana slightly off guard, as she covered it up with a forced throat-clearing cough.
"Dare I ask... ?" - her smile turning slightly-nervous.
"Not if you want to keep your channel monetised!" - the other woman grinned mischievously, "Anyway, you did get the 'risen' part right. And there were graves involved, later down the line. Several, in fact. Last one not that long ago!" - the polished smile turning a touch brittle.
"Good to know..." - the hostess got back in stride, "...so, for the benefit of our viewers... is it true, miss LaCroix? I mean... the rumours and speculations have been going on for years, ever since what happened in Amsterdam, two decades ago. Then the whole mess of cover-ups and denials from the Coalition authorities down the line. The Glamis massacre in Britain... the lost expedition in Egypt, the civil schisms in Australia, now the US civil war. All seemingly isolated incidents, but... not really, are they? And with the whole world now at each others' throats, more or less..." - she trailed off, expectantly.
"It's true, Ana." - Ixis's tone turned a bit reflective. "It's funny, you know. You spend most of your time wearing masks, but you don't realise that the masks themselves are subject to varied... variables. Some of which you can't account for. Pun very much intended!" - she winked.
The hostess had to laugh heartily at that, even if the revelation made her a bit uncomfortable. The laugh died down, and she bit her lip, unsure how to phrase the next question, eyeing the taller woman slightly varily.
"Am I a vampire? Yes." - her guest took the burden off of her. She smiled soothingly, letting it sink in, then continued. "Am I going to take a bite at your neck? No. That kind of randomness isn't the name of the game for us, anymore. Not to say it didn't used to be, once." - the woman was honest, however.
"That's a... relief, miss LaCroix." - Ana let out a deep breath, taking a sip of the glass of water in front of her. Suddenly the entire prospect of interviewing this woman was proving anything but straightforward. By all rights, she should be terrified, right now. But her guest's openness and disarming demeanour was strangely... reassuring.
"Well... uh, how old, exactly, are you? I mean, being... essentially dead, right?" - she tried to get back on track.
"I'm 24, why?" - Ixis deadpanned, pausing long enough to enjoy the look of surprise on Ana's face, then continued; "...if we're talking about living years, that is. And please, call me Lori." - she winked.
"Oh, so... you were younger then me when you... died? I'm... I'm sorry, uh... Lori." - Ana managed, her mind working overtime on speculation on what might have happened, given the ominous scene described earlier.
"Me too, Ana. But time heals all wounds. Surprisingly accurate, especially when you have all eternity to come to terms with it. And little choice in the matter." - the vampiress's tone shifted subtly, turning more solemn. "To answer your question; I am just over five centuries old. I was born in 1541."
"Wow... so you're like - like one of the really ancient ones? From the time of Dracula and before?" - Ana's sense of awe was palpable.
The vampire woman smirked at that.
"Actually, pop-culture aside, Vlad Tepes lived around a century before my time. And despite his sordid reputation, well-deserved I might add, he was never one of the Kind. And for me being one of the ancient ones... no. By our standards, I'm quite young." - her smirk turned reflective, "But you will likely never have an opportunity to speak with a truly ancient one, Ana. Nor would you want to. You'd not be in for a scintilating conversation! The older we get, the less we want to be involved, with the world at large."
The hostess mulled that over for a moment, then nodded.
"As in... you don't really care anymore?"
Raising an eyebrow at the insightful question, Ixis leaned back in her chair, steepling her fingers.
"Exactly. Eternity is a long time, Ana, and at some point, you just stop giving a damn. Hasn't happened to me yet, but I can see a point where it might. I do hope it doesn't come to that, though. But with all that's going on these days, I don't think I'm in danger of getting there, any time soon!" - she asserted. Then her onyx gaze turned slightly remote.
"Still, the world is changing so quickly now. Too quickly for many of us. It wasn't always like that."
Ana picked up on that.
"Does that... have something to do with why... well... why you'd even agree to this kind of exposure? An interview? I mean, from legends and stories, you guys are all about secrecy and staying off the grid?"
"Off the grid..." - the vampiress echoed, crossing her legs, "That's the thing Ana. Back in the day, the 'grid' didn't exist. The world was a lot bigger, then it is now. A lot emptier, a lot harder to quantify and categorise. Staying out of sight and in the realms of myth and legend was much easier. Nowadays, I have to give humans credit - you've grown out of your superstitious, gullible phase. You've changed. And changed the world. Made it one compacted, overcrowded, arguably... dysfunctional... village. We... are trying to. But change comes very, very slowly for us."
"But to change and adapt, is to survive." - she continued, "So it was decided, that I step out and explain a few things. As someone with the most experience dealing with this... new world, even shaping it, to a point."
"Decided? Decided by who?" - Ana was curious, leaning forward.
The vampiress smiled at that.
"Ah. State secrets. Suffice it to say that the decision has been made to step out of the shadows. Especially since our... counterparts... haven't been making it any easier to remain there." - the smile collapsed into a slight disgusted scowl.
"The... the werewolves? So they're real, too? I mean, the... the rumours about wolf-mutants have been ongoing for decades, since the Coalition's forming and their defunct supersoldier programme." - the red-haired woman frowned.
"Oh, not defunct. Forcibly dismantled. Very forcibly. And with a very high price-tag attached, to my Kind." - the vampire woman corrected her, adamantly. The hard tone of voice and the weight of the words made it clear to the hostess, that her guest was speaking from personal experience.
"So those stories ARE true? That they used werewolf DNA in their experiments? All the chaos and deaths from their campaign in '31... ?" - Ana sounded like she didn't want to believe it.
"Yes. And as you might imagine, the Coalition had, and still has, a vested interest in keeping that a secret. Open secret, of course. Nothing I've told you here, is anything that most of the world's governments aren't aware of, at the highest levels." - the vampiress growled, putting some very convincing acted indignation in her tone, not wasting the opportunity to throw the blame for that entire fiasco, squarely at the feet of the wolf-bloods, and their allies. Ixis of course knew first-hand, that the Kind in general, and herself in particular, were far from blameless for the whole tragedy.
But public perception was now a thing. Ever since the Chairman and Council, decreed that it was time to... amend... the Creed. As long as they were accepting exposure on a grand scale, it was prudent to paint the Kind as the lesser of two evils. Even as victims, if necessary. Human perception always favoured the 'underdog'. And to turn public opinion against the werewolves, would be extremely advantageous. Making the general public question their governmental leadership, even more so.
"Unbelievable! So you're saying that the powers that be knew about it, and didn't do anything to keep the public informed?! I mean... let's be real, it wouldn't be the first time. Anyway, you're saying your... Kind, the vampires... you were the ones who shut down those experiments, miss L-... Lori?" - Ana asked.
The other woman nodded.
"With the help of some of our contacts and allies inside, yes. Those experiments were a threat to us, just as much as to humanity as a whole. We had to act preemptively, and save as many test subjects as possible, from a fate worse then death." - with flawlessly acted conviction.
Ixis was leaving out the fact that 'save' meant exterminate. There was no saving anyone, from a wolf-blood genetic pathogen. And that many of those exterminated, were in fact not experiments at all, but witnesses and other loose ends that needed tying up. Some kept alive for the Blood Vats.
Ana smiled.
"Well, I can tell you that a lot of people would probably want to thank you for that! But I'm curious... you seem like you really - well, care, for lack of a better word, about what happens to us. Aren't we just... your food?"
"We all share this world, Ana." - the vampiress shook her head, then continued earnestly, "...and all of us, all of the Kind, were once human. Of course we care. We're in a symbiotic relationship with each other, and we each benefit from it. We wouldn't exist without your blood to sustain us, and you would have destroyed yourselves, several times in the past, without our influence. The whole catastrophe with the supersoldier experiments was just one example. Scientists playing god, without regards for the consequences. Not seeing the big picture."
She then paused, emphatically.
"The werewolves, however, don't care for that balance. They in fact do want to eat, the world. It's in their nature. And they leapt at the opportunity presented to them, by the Coalition's meddling into their natural development."
"That's terrifying! Don't they realise it would only harm them, too, in the long run?" - Ana asked incredulously, taking another sip of water.
The statuesque vampire vixen leaned forward.
"Think of them as fundamentalists, Ana. Religious extremists, or cultists. You know how much harm such individuals have done, in the past. They see the world only through their narrow lens of zealous devotion. Except in this case, devotion is replaced with animal instinct. How do animals, see the world?" - she asked leadingly.
Ana nodded. She didn't like the implications.
"I don't suppose I could ever get one of them, for an interview..." - she bit her lip, with a nervous chuckle.
With a shrug, the other woman considered her words.
"I would worry about your safety if you did, Ana. And the people in this studio." - she warned earnestly, a seemingly-genuine look of concern in her black eyes. Mixed with just a barest trace of crimson overtone in them, just as quickly gone, as the vampiress empowered the statement with just a hint of Domination, on the woman. Not really seeking to control her, just... make the warning stick.
The hostess swallowed slightly. For some reason, the warning seemed... imprinted, into her mind.
"R-right. Bad idea all around. So, I'm curious, Lori... you look really - well, human." - she smiled at her guest, "Not at all what one would expect a vampire to look like!"
Ixis laughed musically at that, deliberately allowing her fangs to extend... just a touch. Making the hostess inhale slightly, in reaction, before she allowed them to retract again.
"Would you like it more if I turned into a big bat and flew around? Well, sorry to disappoint your viewers, but sometimes legends are just that - legends. Which is not to say this is the way I look all the time." - she winked, "But vanity has it's place. And my real appearance is a lot less photogenic. And it would definitely get you demonetised!"
"Yeah... I mean, you look awesome! Kind of wish I could pull off the femme-fatale look like that. Get a few more views from certain demographic..." - Ana grinned, a touch enviously.
The vampiress chuckled. "It's a very niche crowd. Especially for a channel as diverse as yours. I just happen to enjoy that kind of attention. There's that vanity again, huh?"
"But... I mean, do you... have anyone? How does it work? Relationship-wise? Do you guys just stick to your own, or... ?" - Ana trailed off.
Her guest was silent for a moment.
"I've had someone. Several lifetimes ago." - Ixis reflected, not going into details, as she paused to take a sip of water herself, "...these days, though... Not really. Just one-nighters. It's way more manageable that way." - she looked at the other woman again.
"And actually, I prefer human company, most of the time, to that of the Kind. Often it takes a living person, to remind me how to pretend to be alive." - with a trace of mirth, some of her sparkly personality fading.
Ana picked up on it.
"It... it sounds like you miss it." - it wasn't a question.
"Sometimes." - the vampiress admitted, then flashed a grin, "All the more reason to hang out with you guys, right?"
Ana was silent for a moment, going through her notes...
"I'm sure people will be curious... how do you deal with the sun? I mean... when we got in touch, you were specific about wanting to come after sundown. So I'm guessing that part of the lore is accurate?"
"It is. There's ways around it, but they just delay the inevitable." - the vampire woman nodded, not going into details.
The hostess hesitated. "Is it like the movies? You... you burn up? Turn into ashes? And what about silver? Garlic? Holy water?"
"That's a bit dramatic." - Ixis smiled, "... but pretty much. We incinerate if exposed to direct sunlight. Silver is different. Touching it is... unpleasant, but tolerable. Getting stabbed or shot by it? Not so much. Speaking from personal experience."
"Holy... water doesn't exist. It's just regular water, Ana. And garlic is a vegetable." - she finished, making it clear they were a non-issue.
Ana's attention was drawn to something off-camera, for a moment, as someone handed her a note. She glanced at it, then shook her head with an eyeroll.
"Oh come on, that's just... what are we, little kids here?" - under her breath, addressing the individual who handed her the note. An unintelligible reply followed, but the vampiress interrupted smoothly:
"That's alright, Ana! If he wants a demonstration, he can have one..." - mischievously. Then she gripped with one hand, the edge of the hardwood, heavy art-deco table they were sitting at. With casual effort, the thick wooden surface splintered and sheared-off as she twisted, with a crackle of splinters and chips flying outwards, making the hostess start in alarm, and shield her eyes. A good portion of the table's edge was now held in the vampiress's hand. She squeezed hard, and the piece literally imploded under pressure, splintering completely.
"Take it out of his pay, though." - Ixis quipped, briefly wiping a few leftover splinters off the damaged table's surface.
Ana glared off-camera, with an exasperated expression.
"Oh I will. Count on that..." - she muttered, then put on a smile, as she looked at the camera again.
"Well folks, that's all we have time for this evening, with miss Lorienne LaCroix! I'm sure I'm not the only one who's gonna have a lot of food for thought, tonight. Maybe a few nightmares... but that's the price of being informed, right...?" - her enthusiasm sounding a bit... forced, as she glanced at her guest again.
For her part, Ixis retained her polished smile, even as the fade-out jingle sounded, before the program timed out.
THE END