The Vampire's Donor

"I will," she covered her mouth as another yawn escaped her lips. She really did think she was okay to drive and felt almost offended that he worried about her. However, his worry wasn't condescending, to her it was apparent that he really did just want her to make it home safe which was a welcome change after the type of worry she had been receiving recently from those around her.

"I'll have to take a nap before I really talk to my parents," she mumbled, her thoughts spilling out of her mouth. A nap, when was the last time she had been able to take one of those? When was the last time she hadn't felt the need to take one due to lack of otherwise sleep only to realize she has no time to do so?
 
A nod was all Camphor could give. He smiled and gave the female a slight wave as she jumped in the car. "Update me to whatever the decision you will be making," he called out. "Do whatever it takes so I can have you in my arms!" he grinned.

Upon the exit of his... employee? No. New friend. Upon the exit of his new-found friend, the vampire gave a high-pitched whistle. The bird-like creature of darkness came swooping down and landed a few feet away from its owner into a low-lying branch. It tilted its head and waited for the instruction.

"Make sure she stays safe, Cherry," he requested. "Do not do anything drastic nor anything that would attract any attention to you. Just observe." With that, he patted the bird's head before watching it fly back to the skies to accomplish its master's orders. The owner of the peculiar bird walked back to his lonely house and went straight to his bed room. His friends could wake him and demand of what has happened later on. Right now, it was better to sleep the day away.
 
The drive home was relatively uneventful. After a few minutes, Claire had grown tired of the music that was playing and turned the radio volume down until the heavy bass became just a gentle knock. Her car seemed to hum along as she took turns or idled at a red light, but none of this noise really piqued her attention. She was too busy recounting the day in her head.

How -- of all people -- did I just happen to be the one who went to this interview first? There are millions of people out there, but I was the one who saw the ad and went. So desperate and foolish that when he told me I couldn't leave -- which proved to be more of an "I need to see who you are before you go anywhere" type of threat -- I just laughed it off and told him I was not scared.

This would truly be a new chapter in Claire's life, and with each passing moment, she was becoming more and more prepared to leave her parents' home behind in exchange to be with him in his. Sure, Camphor was a bit of a flirt and -- not to mention -- a vampire, but he seemed to genuinely care for her at least a little bit at this juncture which meant a lot to her. She was sure that this would be the start of something great for the both of them, and that is what pushed her to tell her parents that she would be moving in the coming days, for work. Neither of them really seemed surprised that their daughter had gone after a job that would offer her a place to stay for the duration of the work, but for the first time in a while, they wished her the best and told her to let them know if anything happened or if she needed anything.

With that talk successfully over, Claire decided she would pack up in the morning and laid herself in bed, letting the comfort of the blanket soothe her until her conscious mind had clocked out, and her subconscious mind taking over.
 
Night came by to the area faster than he has thought. Cherry was yet to come back but he felt someone - or rather - a group of people moving about in his own home. He was not really concerned of something being stolen. Instead, he was more concerned if those intruders were still alive or not. Getting up from his bed, he quietly moved through the shadows towards where the people were.

"You do not have to do that, dear," a familiar voice called out once Camphor was already outside the kitchen area. The vampire could not help but smirk, showing himself to the two people inside the room.

"Good evening, Rosada, Aconite," he stated while bowing in flourish. Rosada Evergreen was a witch with silver hair even with how young she was. Though tiny physically, Camphor always felt like a kid when she was talking to him. Her presence alone could command a room full of warriors to stand in attention and wait for instructions.

Attached to her hip was a man known as Aconite Bane. This blue-haired male was laid-back and always looking for trouble. He was one of the masterminds who posted the ad for a cook. Like the female with him, Aconite was also someone not to be making an enemy against. Camphor had seen this dude in battle and it was a scene he wanted to never lay witness again.

"I... What might both of you be doing here?" he asked curiously, moving to seat across the witch before he was given a sweet-smelling brew. Giving his thanks, he took a few sips and stared at the smiling being across the table.

"A little birdie told me that you have been head over heals over your new cook, Camphor. Is the chick that good lookin'? Is she hot?" Aconite started with a huge grin on his face.

Camphor stared at the man in growing horror before turning to the witch for either an explanation or anything. Rosada just took her tea and sipped casually. "Your nutritionist informed us of what happened. It seems like your cook is an anemic. Are you sure of this decision?"

"Claire has been the first person in a very long time to casually talk to me without shaking or fearing I would drain of her blood. She looked at me in awe and... well, it's refreshing," Camphor admitted. Rosada smiled at the explanation but did not say a word. She just nodded in understanding before again taking a sip.

"Head over heals," Aconite whispered. Camphor tackled the man and tried to stuff a pastry on that big mouth of his.
_____​
Talking with those two lasted only about two hours before they were called upon to a mission to who-knows-where. Camphor bid them goodbye before moving back up to gaze at the room he was about to clean. Even with his abilities, it would take most of the night to dust, mop, wipe, and rearrange everything. He has to move quick lest Claire comes and volunteers to help him. As the owner, that was something he should not be hearing from a guest.

With a determined shout, he grabbed what was needed and started with his cleaning.
 
Claire pulled herself out of bed and stood for a moment really taking the time to take in all that had happened that day. It felt almost surreal that all of it proved itself to be real, even the teeth marks on her wrist that had yet to fully heal. While the job was far from what she had originally expected, she found herself desperate to go back. WIth Camphor she didn't feel like she was being looked down upon even though he clearly could hold himself higher than her. It was odd to think of someone as a friend so quickly, but she couldn't help it. It had been years since anyone truly gave her the time of day.

She propped up a hiking bag on her bed and began to put her things in it. Starting with her dresser, she refolded each item of clothing before packing it away, and the pants went in first. It felt odd to be leaving so soon after just settling down, but she was excited just like she was when she moved out the first time. It was a new opportunity and this opportunity included a friend which was more than she had previously. Her parents would more than likely forget her until the holidays because if she didn't send something they would assume she was broke and too embarrassed to admit it. Busyness didn't exist to them resulting in them assuming their daughter couldn't just be at work or swamped with things to do otherwise. Instead, she was deemed as a failure again.

The bag filled slowly, and once the clothes reached the top she zipped the bag shut and set it on the floor, opening another bag in its wake. There wasn't too much more to pack, but the whole process felt like it was going too slow for her liking.
 
By the time he has replaced the mattress, it was already three in the morning. Cherry had just came back and cooped on the pile of dirty blankets. Camphor wrinkled his nose in distaste before shaking his head and started placing in the clean linen. Claire could change what he placed later on if she ever comes back. "How's the girl?" he asked. Cherry cawed once before once again burying itself inside the pile. For a creature of death, Camphor's pet more resembled a trained puppy more than the bird of prey it was supposed to be.

Again shaking his head, the vampire easily wrestled with the linen and placed if masterfully. Pillows were thrown into the bed before the heavy duvet. "Don't you even dare," Camphor growled when he noticed the bird's head pop up from the graying sheets to face the general direction of the finished bed. "Come on, you need a bath." Easily bundling his pet, Camphor easily carried the pile and trudged down the halls towards the laundry area.

"Why am I so bothered with aesthetics anyways," he mused, staring at the arrangement of the assorted detergents and conditioners. It also did not help that everything there was decorated in a rustic, homey way. Turning the dials of the washer, he went back to the kitchen and grabbed one of the bottles from the fridge. Uncapping the object, he drank the contents and shuddered. A bit sour and felt grainy. Claire's blood tasted like cherries compared to this sour crap.
 
Claire carried her things out to her car, trying her best not to disturb her parents should they remain asleep in the early hours of the morning or be awake doing something. In the end, she only had three bags which she set up deliberately in the backseat so that they would shift as little as possible during her drive. Nothing within them was fragile -- at least nothing she could think of -- but it would be a bother to have to pry them out from under the seat should they fall and get stuck. Her small bag of belonging she had carried with her to Camphor's place the morning prior joined her in the front, sat in the passenger seat.

With one last lap into the house to leave her key on the dining table and take one last look at the place, she found herself desperate to feel upset about leaving. She grew up here, yet those wonder-filled childhood memories were tainted by the actions and words of her parents in more recent years. Maybe that's why it was so easy for her to leave and have no desire to come back, her tree of memories had been uprooted, and she had been left with the task to find a new place to plant herself and start the life she wanted.

When she got back out to the car, she slid herself in the front seat and pulled her hair up into a tight ponytail and checked herself over, making sure she didn't look like a total mess in the hoodie and jeans she had dawned earlier that morning. Camphor told her there was no dress code, and she could always change later if he requested she do so.

----
The drive was uneventful, she hadn't even stopped to grab a coffee or something to eat for breakfast because she just wanted to get there. As she turned onto the street, she felt herself getting excited about what was to come. This would truly be a whole new start for her, and she couldn't be more thankful that the opportunity arose when it did. She pulled up to the curb in the same fashion she had done the day prior and parked her car. Before making her way to the door, she slung the hiking bag of clothes over her shoulders and held the smaller bag from the day prior in her left hand. The other two bags could be grabbed later, after she had said her good mornings and gotten whatever needed to be done out of the way. She jogged up the front steps and knocked gently on the door.
 
The kitchen was also cleaned and all cupboards were opened to make sure he did not miss any spot. What he lacked in ingredients, he wrote down in a notebook sitting prettily on the counter. Glasses of different variety hang on their racks while the porcelain plated stood under. Bowls, cutlery, mugs… They were on their proper place.

The sound of someone on the door had the pale man look at the ceiling. Trashing the three bottles he was been drinking and making sure the bacon he was frying was not burnt, he towelled his hands on the cloth on the table before moving fluidly to open the door. He gave a smile in greeting to the female outside, fully opening the door for Claire to enter. He offered his gloved hand to take the bags. “Good morning, lady,” he chirped. “I have prepared breakfast and a bit of coffee. I have no idea what your preference in beverage but you said yesterday that you’ve drank coffee…”
 
"I do drink coffee, and I can carry them myself. I will have to go back out later for a couple more," she politely declined his hand. "I could have cooked you know, it's sort of my job," she laughed softly, "I appreciate the gesture though. Very kind of you." She could smell the bacon from the front door and knew that this was less of a "win-you-over" breakfast and more of a "your blood tastes weird, let's fix it" breakfast, but it was still breakfast.

As she entered the home she slid the backpack off her shoulders and set it down by the door, deciding that breakfast should be the predecessor to moving in, or at least starting the process of doing so. "Did I miss anything interesting last night?"
 
"You do your job after you actually settled in," he smiled. "Has the goodbye emotional?" he asked, lowering his hand and placing it behind him, still wearing the friendly smile. He has been so used in helping someone when he offered that this was somehow of a slap to his pride. His muscles twitched at that fact.

"Interesting?" he mused. "Well, I have been chased by a flying cockroach when I overturned the mattress. Other than me screaming like the world was on fire, nothing comes into mind," he chuckled. "And you? Was there drama or anything worthwhile?" He gestured for the female to follow. Moving in could be done later. Right now... Food.
 
She followed behind him. "Nothing emotional, more of a lecture. All of a sudden they are proud and want to be there for me if anything goes wrong. After that, I kinda just fell asleep. I was beyond exhausted for some reason last night, so I woke up early to pack. So no, nothing that I deem too interesting, although I filled you in on everything anyway," she shrugged.

It was odd to talk about the sudden change within her parents' attitudes because, as far as she knew, Camphor didn't really know a ton about the situation. He wasn't entirely in the dark though, she had explained to him a bit about what was going on there. Regardless, it was nice to be able to talk about how something went and not have to doctor the story so that people wouldn't pity you or look down on you in any way.
 
"Truly," the male nodded. As they entered the kitchen area, the counter table was filled with all sorts of food. One plate consisted purely of eggs Benedict while another was an assortment of eggs cooked in different ways; poached, boiled, sunny-side, and scrambled. Another held baked beans, grilled mushrooms, and grilled tomatoes. French toasts sat next to the eggs and sausages on the right of it. A bowl of garden salad was the centerpiece of it all with a pot of coffee and two mugs. There was also a plate of hash browns and fried potato wedges.

Camphor moved to the stove and took the bacon from the pan, placing them on another bowl already full of the porky goodness. "Like I have said earlier, I do not really know what your preference in breakfast is so I just cooked what was cliche," he admitted, laughing a bit sheepishly. "Let's get you fat starting now," he announced, moving to the counter to place the bacon and started plating what he liked which is a loads amount of meat. The salad he took was pathetic, only having lettuce and the sauce. He grinned at the female, gesturing her to join in and dig.
 
Claire shook her head. "I thought our goal was to get my blood healthy not to fatten me up," she teased taking a plate. She took two boiled eggs, two sunny-side eggs, mushrooms, hash browns, and some bacon. Each item was in a "regular" amount, like the one a breakfast restaurant would serve to you without you making any modifications to the plate.

"You remember yesterday when you tried to tell me you couldn't cook? I like that today you just went for it and cooked enough for a family of six, maybe more," she laughed, setting her plate down at a seat before moving back to the spread. Her fingers wrapped around one of the mugs loosely, just guarding it against going anywhere while she poured her coffee in. It smelt delicious, and she had to withstand from taking a sip and burning her mouth. "Do you have any sugar and/or creamer?"
 
"Fatten is a mich easier thing to say," he laughed. "Well, I am going to 'eat' you." He winked at the female, relaxing a bit and just roll with it. Let his inexistent heart slow down for a bit. Damn, lonliness really screwed up his social skills. Upon Claire's comment of him cooking, the male glanced at the table nervously, looking for an excuse. "I... I really can't," he insisted. "If-if you have not noticed, most of those are fried and are actually easy to cook." He stabbed a bacon from his plate and started nibbling. "Creamer? Powder or liquid? I mean, third drawer to your left. I think that's where the creamers and sugar is located."

His eyes then focused on the small window, watching as the first tendrils of sunlight came crawling in. "When was the last time I saw the beauty of the world waking up?" He mused before shaking his head. Too long was the answer. "Oh, miss Claire," he started, changing the topic immediately. "Are you a student by any chance?"
 
"I suppose it's an easier thing to say, but it gives the whole situation a much more negative vibe. I digress," she went to the cabinet and grabbed the things to fix up her coffee. While she was pouring the sugar into her mug she replied, "I am not. Why do you ask?" She packed the sugar and creamer back up before placing them back in the cabinet the same way she had found them and made her way over to her seat at the table where the rest of her meal was beginning to get cooler.

The first things she tasted were the eggs that were cooked perfectly to her pleasure. As she bit into the bacon, the crunch felt and sounded perfect. It had been ages since she had a proper breakfast, so this was a welcome change. She had to stop herself from shoveling it all in her mouth as if she had never eaten before. "This is all really good Camphor," she smiled before taking a sip of coffee.
 
The vampire nodded, chewing on the leaf. "I shee," he mumbled, the leaf between his serrated teeth. Taking the green fully into his mouth, he chewed and swallowed. "Thought you were by how young you look," he murmured, stabbing an sausage and ripping the head off. "You'll be staying in the house more often than me, it seems. I'm taking up classes for landscaping."

He gave out a nervous laugh upon her declaration. "It's because you're hungry, dear," he stated, mirroring her action by taking his own cup of coffee and drinking. "Well, once we finish up with our breakfast, we could transfer your stuff to your room then maybe you can explore for a bit, settle into the house," he smiled.
 
"That sounds good, and thank you for the compliment," she smiled and took another few bites from her plate. It piqued her interest that he would be going out to take classes and trusting her alone in the house after such a short time frame. "What made you decide to take landscaping classes?" She tilted her head slightly as she spoke, sort of like a puppy when it's confused.

After their conversation at the flowers yesterday, she new he liked that type of thing, but it was still interesting to take it on so full heartedly. However, the knowledge on landscaping would make his architecture chops only that much stronger. "It would be helpful to have notes about where is off limit just so I don't accidentally stumble into something before I get used to it all," she stated, realizing she should have posed it more as a question.
 
"It was supposed to be urban planning," he answered, eyes on the bowl of bacon. "But to actually go and mingle with people under that retched sun is not my cup of tea. I took what was the closest one I could think of instead," he laughed. Urban planning consisted of many aspects but his focus there was on the aesthetic part of the course than to actually develop the lively hood of the city. He has grown tired of watching so many starry-eyed dreamer have their visions crushed before them because of politics and supposed 'culture'. "It would be easier to join in a course where you have to think little of safety hazards and more of the actual beauty of things," he chuckled.

"The rooms you're not supposed to step in on your first say are already locked," he announced. "Don't worry about that." His eyes then narrowed and a smile bloomed on his lips. "Are you going to explore the house and clean what you deem dirty?" he asked. "Because that would not be one of your job descriptions." Grabbing another plate of food, he started eating again.
 
"Maybe not in the job description, but since I live here now isn't it, my prerogative to clean whatever I deem fit? I wouldn't want to wander around a house and stir up the dust that may have settled. Plus, it will make the inside of the house much more pleasing from an aesthetic standpoint, but maybe I will just clean little by little to avoid you finding out," she teased before finishing the food that was left on her plate as well as her coffee.

"You know there is such thing as night-school should you want to take classes like urban planning, and then you wouldn't have to worry about the sun. I am sure I could find a place for you to take such a class if you would like," she used the cuff of her hoodie sleeve to dab at the corners of her mouth, thinking that licking her lips would be a bit too much while making conversation, "Some places may require you be pursuing a degree or having a degree in architecture."
 
The male hummed, tapping the fork on his lip. "You could try and clean but your health might be affected. I really am not sure how that disease actually works but I know that you are not supposed to overwork yourself," he stated. "How about this then? You could clean all you want but make sure not to exert yourself." He smiled. "You cooking would still be a priority though."

"I am not really good at talking with people," he stated. "I might just tell the instructors that they will be teaching an old vampire who have outlived their grandmas." His attention was then focused on the way she covered part of her mouth. "Night classes is much too boring for me, I'm afraid. The instructor, as well as as the students, move around with only only one brain cell functioning. I can't actually learn anything from them."
 
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