NIGHTSHIFT 34- CHAPEL

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from here

The doors of the chapel were heavy, and she winced as she felt the pressure on her arms spread to her cracked ribs, her vision growing spots as she held her breath through a moment of dull head pain.

And she observed her surroundings, the generic decorations, absent of deities or saints or religious icons of any sort.  Except for one place.  A fountain and a figure.  A goddess, she knew somehow.  A lone idol in a godless temple.

She knew what it meant to be such an idol.

And she smiled knowingly at the statue.

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[idolism]

_{[from here]}

At that point in time, an inexperienced eye might have mistaken Aidou for cranky rather than a vampire who was edging into a state of predation. His senses were sharp. He was doing more than just keeping an eye out for his own wellbeing; he was hunting. People who were subtracted from any of his plans were ignored, harshly so.

As for his unplanned visit to the chapel, Aidou found the door already pushed open slightly, just enough to allow one small body entry.

Without opening it any further, he slipped through the opening silently, the itch in the back of his throat growing more pronounced now that he was so near the source of blood. From the doorway, he could see it. The constant trickle of what sounded like water was nothing other than blood, and so much of it. It was vaguely human to him, too, not as blatantly foreign as some of the prisoner’s blood scents were.

A vampire wasn’t like a dog that drank from the toilet, however.

It took only a heartbeat to notice the other person in the room, surely the one who had entered before him. A girl. Could there have been a better opportunity?

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Anthy was, by her nature, a seer, and little went unnoticed by her. It may have been the innate hunter's skill of a vampire, but perhaps more likely her intense focus on the altar, that made the new presence in the room nothing more than a slight chill, one which she attributed more to her concentrated attempt at making sense of this display.

She edged closer to the tile, the one spoken of by visitors to the chapel, and delicately wondered over the consequences of stepping upon it. Would it do nothing because she was alone? Would it take her wounds from her and only give them to the next visitor? Or were such wounds already stored, perhaps aiming to pass them along to the next selfish person who sought the chapel's healing.

She watched the trickle of blood out of the corner of her eye and raised a hand to her heart, which beat unmistakably. It was a blessing and a curse to have that humanity returned to her. It was without that heart in her chest that she was able to withstand those constant voices of abuse over centuries. It was after the blood drained that the swords piercing her flesh had become a lowly bit of daily tolerance. It was only so long before they'd had nothing left to drain her of; be it blood, devotion or dignity.

She held her palm over her heart as she watched the fountain flow. How easily, now that she was no longer hollow- could her skin be split and her own blood be let to run in that steam? The most precious things were all too easily stolen. That was why Rose Brides existed.

[idolism]

The rest of the room, though small by Aidou's standards, possessed plenty of places for enemies to be lurking. However, from the looks of things, there appeared to be none. Far be it for him to complain.

He needed things to be quick and go smoothly. He did have other things he wanted to do.

His own pulse quickened with excitement. Intellectually, the fountain was both interesting and bothersome, but it was the blood that occupied his full attention in a most basic and instinctual way. The fountain's and... the girl's. It was too good of a chance to pass up, and the vampire found no logical reason to be picky. Not at that moment.

She had her back to him, and Aidou had already done this many times. He lunged at her, eerily silent and with inhuman speed, and struck at the back of her neck. Not hard enough to kill or seriously injure, never that. Just enough to stun, so he could feed unbothered and be on his way, with both of them no worse for it.

Well, perhaps not exactly. But blood would be replenished and fang marks would heal.

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Anthy yelped when she was struck, not out of particular pain, as she had known worse, but surprise. Usually when attacked, however unjust or unprovoked, she could see it coming, and endure it accordingly.

She felt a sharp pang from her already cracked ribs when she crumpled to the floor, rendered motionless and -for a moment- thoughtless.

[idolism]

Maybe he should have been more gentle. (One could practically smell the injuries, among other things.) Then again, gentleness and good behavior were reserved for people who could afford those sorts of liberties, and Aidou had reluctantly accepted that he had to act a little more… roughly than what he would have liked. Than what his social class would have liked.

The young vampire picked her up so that he was supporting her weight with one arm. With the other hand, he moved to cover her mouth, both to cover his bases and to manoeuvre her head.

That, he did with a seemingly out of place care, baring her neck for him. No need to cause further harm, when they were too groggy to recognize him and too easily overpowered once he had them in his arms. He had no particular love for all of these strangers, but he wasn’t going to go out of his way to injure inconsequential people. All he wanted was a bit of their blood. And tonight, his bloodlust was stronger than normal. To be so close to a fountain full of fresh, churning blood, and to have injuries of his own he needed to heal…

Aidou brought his mouth to the side of her neck, biting down and drinking deep.