I started out doing the questionnaire in the Vamp book, cause it’s a helpful source of development. Buuuut, then I got a little wacky on the junk. =D
And there’s a blank line in the end for Erick’s characters name.
How old am I?
15 Autumns in appearance, and not much older in reality. Perhaps 20, but I am just a child girl to the world.
What was unique about my childhood?
I grew up among the gypsies, the Wolfwood (name still in the works) clan. My parents, as far as I knew, were always the clan. It wasn’t until I assisted a midwife in delivering a child, out of necessity, that I realized I was without parents. Who birthed me? I know not, and none has deemed it necessary to tell me, even when I asked.
What kind of person was I?
I was quiet, and alone a lot of the time. Lau and I were friends though, and we snuck around trader caravans that came through camp. Sometimes steal a bit of their loads, because we were poor and mischievous. One time I discovered a black lantern with etchings of creatures all over it instead of glass windows. When lit, it cast shadows around the light of forest beasts. Back then it was my fondest treasure. Before the embrace however, I threw it at Lau in a fit of anger. It was sooty and old. I never noticed how poorly made it was until that moment.
When did I first meet a vampire? How did the embrace change you? Who was my sire? (ah, hell with it. Story mode time ^_^)
That evening after throwing my lantern at Lau, I ran outside of camp into the forest in the middle of the night bawling. I found myself calling in-between a rock formation that was something like a lean-to. I sat there, huddled up to myself weeping for hours until it was just a whimper. I then felt a wet nudging on my arm. Looking to the source, I saw a forest wolf in the moonlight looking at me!
With a scream, I leapt back further into the rocks. The wolf growled at me, and I feared that I had stumbled onto its territory. I heard a growl from another source, “Kai, no.” I saw a ferial man in dirty rags and wild hair walk out from around the stones. His eyes bore the wild same look that was held in the wolfs eyes, and he moved like a beast. I held my breath in fear of both man and wolf, not knowing which would be more inclined to hurt me more.
A wild howl from a man disrupted our silence, and a dark shape attacked the mysterious man from out of nowhere! There were grunts, and the sounds of fall leaves being crushed as the two forces rolled out of view. The wolf barked and snapped in their direction, and darted off after them.
A minute of growling, yelping, and thrashing occurred. I heard the whistle of a blade in the air, the gouging of flesh, and the yelps of pain. And then it all fell silent. My heart pounded, and blood raced. I could feel my mind and heart pound, and all they were telling me was “run!”
So I ran.
I crawled out from my hiding hole, and didn’t even look to see if it was safe. I ran strait for camp! I heard a whoosh in the air, and a thud right behind me. I was spun around in fright to witness a man in black leathers and cape bearing fangs at me. “Blood sack!” he sneered, and he would have bit me by the looks of things had not a clawed and bloody hand grasped him by the neck, and wrenched him away from me.
I fell, and watched as the beast man chewed into the neck of the armored man. I sat, watching with my jaw sagging. He staggered up, face amuck with blood. He staggered over to me, and squatted down close enough that I could smell the blood.
“You may not know it, but you just saved my life, child.” He said, starring into my eyes with that wild look. “You distracted that Brujah, and that was all I needed.”
Shakily I nodded and weekly said “uh-huh.”
“For that, I grant you eternal life.” He grasped me, and I fell into an orgasmic bliss. Then all was dark.
When I woke, I was back at the rocks, huddled inside. I felt so cold and empty. There was a gnawing hunger in my body like I hadn’t eaten in weeks. I looked around, and I noted that just outside of the hole was the wolf that belonged to the mysterious beast man. And teetering on the outside of the cave was the black armored man. The sun had not yet risen yet.
Rather than feel fear, I was drawn toward a speck of blood peeking outside of his lips. Watching the drop, I felt compelled to get closer. I felt thirsty, and before I knew it, I was squatting next to the man, completely fearless. I licked away the drop from his lips, and he groaned ever so slightly. He was still alive!
But I didn’t care. It was the sweetest tasting thing I had ever had in my life! And there was more on his neck! Each drop glistened like rubies! My eyes were wide, and I ran my lips across my teeth. I later noted the sharp fangs that never before existed. A thirst and hunger over took me, and just as the black armored man opened his eyes, I gorged my mouth deep into his neck! I cold feel a warmth overtake me, the knowing hunger was slowly becoming sated the more I drank. I was oblivious to his cries, but he was to weak to do anything.
Then, when there was no more of his sweat nectar left, he lay still in my arms. The hunger was gone, and the one the beast man called Brujah was whiter than fresh snow. I gazed down at the corpse with shock in my eyes. Slow realization of what I had done, and what kind of beast I had become washed over me.
I was cursed with the blood of the Night Stalkers!
I dropped the corpse to the ground, and scooted back into the rocks eying the man as frightfully as the moment he had grasped me. I wanted to weep, but no tears came, only an agony in my heart throbbed. I was a monster.
The sun came just then. Light poured over the corpse through the tall trees, and it began to smoke. A putrid odor overcame my senses as the corpse exuded more and more smoke like the body was smothering a campfire. It burst into blue flame, and was devoured by the light in seconds. I could feel unbelievable heat, not from the body, but from the sunlight! Just being near it felt like I was being roasted over an open flame. I huddled myself over deeper into the rocks, and held myself, weeping, but with no tears.
Kai the wolf just sat there, watching me. Guarding.
A year later, I had spoken very privately and from a safe place to the clan mistress. I had, again without tears, wept to her about what I had become. The Mistress assured me that I was not banished, nor was I loved any less. The beastlier man was apparently a good souled Night Stalker that she had done dealings with in the past. She seemed hesitant to tell me his name, and I felt that even as I begged, she would not tell me.
For a year I traveled with my clan from afar. I kept my contact at a minimum, and never spoke with Lau. To the clan, with the exception of those of clan importance, I was to be considered dead. To me, this felt like banishment, especially since the elders and the Mistress would not allow me to get very close, and carried torches whenever we met, which unnerved me. I watched my old friend toil over my old possessions and may have even cried a few times. I felt bad that he had such unrest about my absence. So one evening I reviled myself to him. My clothes were dirty and tattered, and stains of animal blood smattered here and there.
My friend I had known since I was a babe shrieked when he saw me. He cried my name out in terror like he had witnessed my corpse rise from the earth. In a way, it was truth. I pleaded with him, but he only recoiled from the tent in terror. He cried out prayers to gods we prayed to together when we were scared. Now he prayed to the same gods to help protect him from me.
I found myself outside of his tent. He was on the dirt starring at me wild eyed and gibbering. I realized that to him, I was a ghost. I was supposed to be dead to my people, but now the orphan ghost returned. Clansfolk and guardians rushed out to us. We were surrounded by what was once my family, and I felt eyes on me. I stood strait, head bowed. I listened to the murmurs of the crowd.
“I heard she was dead!”
“She’s come back to us….”
“She’s so pale.”
“She’s a ghost!”
“No! She’s one of them!”
“A Night Stalker!”
Terror began to weave through the crowd. My friend had darted behind a village warrior, and they stood with blades and spears poised. I lowered my head back down to stare at the earth. I knew that death, final death, was approaching.
“Enough!” I heard the Mistress shout out. I looked up at her as she emerged from the crowd, her face grim. “Are we not family? Are we not bound together by ties thicker than blood?”
The crowd went silent, and the Mistress turned to me. “She has turned, yes. But not of her own will! She may be a Night Stalker, but she is still family because our ties are beyond blood!”
The first time in a long time, I felt warmth. Not from drinking fresh blood this time, but rather warmth from inside of my heart.
“Come my child,” she touched my arm. The first human touch I had felt since that day, “I have someone I want you to meet.” She led me through the crowd of people I knew. They were friends and family both. They did not scurry out of the way fearful of me either. A meek smile crossed my lips, and I felt as though something wrong is the world was again right.
A tear cascaded down my cheek.
I was led to the Mistresses tent, and I sat in a wooden chair. This was as close to her as she had ever allowed me to get without some form of protection at her side. I could hear the sounds of footsteps from outside the tent, and I knew that the clan had all fallen me here.
“There is someone I think you should meet,” the Mistress stated lighting a lantern. “He is a traveler and came to me this night for information.”
I looked up as the lantern light filled the tent, and there stood a fairly well dressed man with a cane. His face was covered by shadows, and I felt to weary to even concern myself with wanting to see him.
The Mistress sat down next to me in another chair. “He’s one of the Night Stalkers. I think you should journey with this man.” I looked up at the Mistress.
I had pleading eyes. “But, why? It sounds as if our people will accept me again, with your help!”
The Mistress wiped something off of my cheek with a handkerchief. “You’re a part of another clan now,” she said eying her handkerchief. I looked to see what it was she was looking at, and I saw blood stained on her white cloth.
I looked away snapping my eyes shut, “A clan of beasts and creatures of darkness!”
The Mistress was silent, and still not a word or movement came from the traveler. Then after a moment, she spoke again, “You will outlive us all, my child. You have a home with us, and you are still family here. But you must journey and learn more about your new clan. The Night Stalkers have very strict rules, and it is best that you know and follow them.”
“But what clan am I.”
“You are clan Gangrel, kindred,” The stranger spoke. “I can see it in about you, and smell the wildness of the clan spirit in your blood.”
In a fit of rage, I stood up and hurled my chair at the stranger! It collided into him with such speed and ferocity that the chair splintered into shreds and sent the stranger into a desk. “Who are you to say that this is my blood! I’ve stolen this blood from living creatures! They gave their lives to me so that I may live on!”
“It is the way of life,” The stranger groaned, and slowly stood back up. “As a human, did you not eat the flesh of animals to live? It is no different now. It is survival.”
I felt my face writhe like a wolf in frenzy. I was about to leap at this man when a calming hand placed itself on my shoulder. I felt all the rage and discontent wisp away like smoke in the wind. “He speaks some form of sense, my child. Please, journey with him, and learn more about the ways of the Night Stalkers.”
I feel into The Mistresses arms, weeping. I agreed.
On the way out of camp, my friend Lau met me. He looked at me with tears of man in his eyes, and I looked back with tears of the kindred in mine. No words were spoken then, but he held my black sooty lantern in his hands.
“Keep it,” I said with a smile. He laughed, and turned back towards camp.
My companion and myself walked down a road with Kai at my side. “So what is your name traveler?”
“Andre, and yours?”
“I am Valerie of the Wolfwood clan.”