After regenerating, Draluc spent the rest of the party dodging questions from the other family members, and especially dodging having to explain himself to Ronaldo. Every time the hunter came up to him, Draluc invented a reason to run away.
Rather than spend the whole party chasing after him, Ronaldo decided he’d catch him on the way home. They had to take a taxi home anyways, so obviously they’d be sharing one. (Draluc would never waste money annoying Ronaldo when he could easily put that towards his next game)
The party was starting to wind down, and many of the guests had already made preparations to leave. Ronaldo made eye contact with the annoying vampire, an angry expression on his face. He nodded towards the door, signalling that it was time to go.
Draluc sighed, squeezing John comfortingly. John let out a soft “nuu” and patted his chest. Before the vampire made his way over to the hunter, his dad approached him one more time, with a small wine bag in his hands.
“Take this, it’s bloodwine. This should hold you over until your next donor shows up.” Draus said.
Draluc grimaced, but took the bottle gratefully. Bloodwine would definitely lessen his symptoms, but it was no substitute for the real, fresh thing.
“Father, you really didn’t have to do that so quick-”
“Don’t be a fool Draluc. The whole family can tell you’re love-sick and haven’t been feeding. Until you get this sorted out with Ronaldo-kun, we’ve asked one of your old donors to come donate again.” Draus let out a knowing smile. “I was the same way with your mother, so you can’t fool me!”
Draluc pouted, not wanting to hear this nonsense. How his family figured out so quickly when he hadn’t told anybody was beyond him! He gave his father a quick hug before running after Ronaldo.
+++
Ronaldo and Draluc had stayed completely silent the entire time they were waiting for their taxi. The two of them climbed into the vehicle with none of the arguing normally characteristic of them. Draluc dreaded the upcoming interrogation that was surely about to start.
Ronaldo noticed that his partner was acting cagey about something, and decided to start with a more friendly tone.
“So, what was that all about? Back there with your father? He said something about donating, but I know he wasn’t talking about money.”
“Well…it requires an explanation of vampire society, so it’s quite a long explanation…” Draluc said.
Ronaldo crossed his arms, looking at the other man intently.
“Alright, fine! I’ll explain it to you so your puny gorilla brain-”
Ronaldo punched Draluc on the arm, causing the man to sand again.
“OWW! Was that really necessary!?”
“JUST START TALKING!” Ronaldo shouted. The taxi driver flinched, but kept facing forward. Today was not going to be the day he interrupted a scary man in a suit.
“Fine! Fine! Just calm down! Anyways, my father was talking about blood donations.
As you might know, lesser vampires need blood to survive. However, that’s not true of superior vampires. At least, not the adult ones. When superior vampires reach adulthood, they pretty much only drink blood for leisure, like humans with wine. But young, pure-bred superior vampires still need blood, I mean they’re still growing children!”
Draluc paused, sighing a bit before continuing.
“And since I’m so frail, I’ve needed to drink blood regularly ever since I was young to keep up with all the regenerating I do. We can’t just go around hunting humans since we’re civilized, so superior vampire families usually pay a human family to donate exclusively.”
Ronaldo frowned at the idea. “So you guys treat humans like cattle?”
“Perish the thought.” Draluc countered. “They’re trusted allies who help raise our young. One of my childhood friends was a donor. My donor actually.”
Ronaldo sat there, deep in thought.
After a moment, he spoke carefully.
“So… why did your family think I was donating blood to you?”
Draluc grinned. “Why Ronaldo, aren’t we just best friends?”
Ronaldo tamped down the urge to punch him again. He faced away from his friend, glancing out the window. They were almost home.
Something about this whole situation just didn’t make sense. If Draluc’s family already had donors, why would they expect his hunter friend to donate?
And if Draluc had needed blood so badly, why hadn’t he asked him? If he had other “donors”, then why hasn’t he been drinking in the first place?
Ronaldo glanced back at Draluc. He wanted to ask, but Draluc looked tired. Really tired. These questions were probably best saved for another time.