a little young for that

[alicornucopia]

There is a red-eyed teenage boy - or so it would seem - positively interrogating the bar.

"Redreed wine?"

Aren't you a little young for that?

"I don't actually want any right now, but you know what it is?"

Of course.

"That... is interesting." He taps his fingers on the bar. "All right - I do, actually, want a chocolate iced planet."

And he gets a little square pastry, frosting on the top, and turns on his barstool to watch the comings and goings.

~~~

with Giles

with Lazarus

Comments

[jellyinthemix]

He snorts.

[alicornucopia]

"And none of them can fly? Or the ones that can all get to your planet from other planets?"

[jellyinthemix]

"The vast majority of demons originate from hell dimensions, if you go back far enough. Humans, and technically vampires, are the only intelligent species living on Earth who verifiably started out there. But yes, apart from that, very few demons can fly."

[alicornucopia]

"Our vampires can fly," remarks Kaylo.

[jellyinthemix]

"Ours can't. Well, one can, but Dracula is a special case in many respects."

[alicornucopia]

"Why, how does he do it?"

[jellyinthemix]

"He is a shapeshifter. Turns into, among other things, mist and bats. Or possibly one bat. Reports vary on the number and size of the bat or bats."

[alicornucopia]

"...How in the name of all shapeshifting logic ever would one vampire turn into several bats?"

[jellyinthemix]

"I don't believe logic was consulted on the matter."

[alicornucopia]

Kaylo gives him a withering look.

[jellyinthemix]

He shrugs and sips his tea.

[alicornucopia]

"Our vampires turn into one bat. Apiece. It's not a specialized skill, even baby vampires can do it."

[jellyinthemix]

"...'Baby'...?"

[alicornucopia]

"You... do have babies where you're from, right? Do you not have babies? Am I actually something like ten times your age?"

[jellyinthemix]

"We do have babies. We don't have baby vampires. Vampire reproduction is a complicated and unpleasant subject."

[alicornucopia]

"...Why would you not have baby vampires? I'm confused."

[jellyinthemix]

"Vampires make more vampires by feeding humans their blood and then killing them. The human's departed soul is replaced by a demonic spirit, and their body rises from the grave as a vampire, with all the memories of their human life but usually a vastly different personality."

[alicornucopia]

"...Okay, so that's... about six reasons why I'm confused that I want to translate the word you're saying into various Elcenian words referring to the species I mentioned that turns into bats and has babies. Huh."

[jellyinthemix]

"They also drink blood," he mentions, "which I think is the strongest point of commonality between worlds I've found. Ours and yours are not the only kinds of vampire."

[alicornucopia]

"Yeah, ours drink blood too. They don't have their own, how does that make sense? Why would they need to drink it if they had plenty?"

[jellyinthemix]

"There are perfectly ordinary nonmagical species of bat that have blood of their own and still subsist by drinking it," he says.

[alicornucopia]

"Not where I'm from there aren't."

[jellyinthemix]

He shrugs.

[alicornucopia]

"Also, vampires - of the kind I'm familiar with - do not drink at all when they are bats. They sleep only as bats, feed only while humanoid."

[jellyinthemix]

"How odd."