Alder Heights College Did you know the holes in waffles are called Waffle Pockets?

Set after this thread

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In the end, Samuel had chosen the place for them to meet. It was no Waffle Palace as Xena had so passionately recommended, but the community college always boasted plenty of freshmen and fresh blood. The key was confidently strolling around the place to pick off a lone human for a quick feeding. Samuel was good at finding the target, not so good at bringing them in smoothly.

He hoped Xena could help with that.

In hindsight, he probably should have asked for a description. She sounded, young? At least through the texts. But, for vampires youth was a very wiggly topic. She could even be older than Samuel at this point and the very idea made him oddly upset.

Samuel twiddled his thumbs on the phone again, accidentally opening his calculator app to discover the embarrassing calculation he had to do earlier. For the record, 8 times 4 was difficult to remember for plenty of people.

Aggressively swiping out of the screen, he looked up to see the shape of someone approaching. Samuel kept his phone out in case another distraction was needed. If it turned out to be another innocent co-ed walking home, maybe he might get in an early snack.

outfit!

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Xena was actually kind of nervous! They hadn't met in person, they'd only chatted over text, and only knew each other thanks to the clutch. It was kind of like a tinder date with someone your friend said was cool, except the friend was a 2000 year old vampire and the date was the two of you searching for someone's blood to suck.

She kept checking her phone on the way there, the second she parked her little silver car and stepped out her door into the lamplit parking deck she was staring down at the screen. No new texts from him, just the address and time they'd set up a few days ago. Nothing changed apparently! So that's where she'd head, out of the deck and to the courtyard with the weird bronze statue of the school's founder, just like they'd decided.

Up ahead she saw a tall dude abusing his phone, and based on the familiar vampire energy in the air she knew it had to be him. She smiled and waved, hurrying up to jog the rest of the way over.

"You Samuel?"

The explosion of freckles on her face was a surprise. Xena, like her name, was memorable. However, Samuel wasn't sure if that was a good thing as a vampire. Then again, the clutch did boast a strange amount of modelesque members.

He slipped the phone away, moving more under the overhead light that had an intermittent flicker. "Hello, you must be Xena." He said in greeting and confirmation.

"Thanks for meeting me here. Have you ever hunted in the area?"

A somewhat formal greeting from the guy, which she had definitely expected from the way he texted. She hadn't expected, also maybe based off the way he texted, that he was gonna be so BUILT! Literally, chiseled as fuck.

"I must be!" she replied playfully, coming to a stop before him and sliding her own phone into her purse.

"I usually do clubs and stuff, but I've come here a couple times," she waved her hand in a quick circle, "what's your usual play?"

She seemed fun. Samuel was the opposite and that was going to make for an interesting excursion.

His eyes were drawn to her waving hand, he put his own phone away before answering. "Mostly hit up bars. Easy to pick off someone drunk and stumbling." Samuel shrugged.

"Bars yeah, drunk people are definitely easiest," she agreed with a nod and a smile, "I'm sure we'll run into somebody who fits that description."

Then she'd offer to start walking, taking a few steps and glancing his way, "Haveyou hunted in the area?"

"Twice." He followed at a slow pace, tucking his hands into pockets before bringing them back out. Samuel wanted to be less closed off with his new company. It was too easy to hide in his shell.

"Once with the Dominus and once on my own." The latter had been extremely awkward. So had the first. It appeared to be a pattern.

He let her set the pace, curious to where she'd figure the best place to start their hunt.

So they were both relatively new to college campus hunting, which meant this was more of an adventure! Fine by Xena, who turned to face him, walking backwards.

A smile tugged at her lips, "Success? No?" she asked playfully, switching between thumbs up and thumbs down.

Samuel found her easy to talk to. So was everyone in the clutch because they already knew all his big secrets.

He attempted to return the smile, no teeth. "With Beauregard? Success. Hard not to when you have his help. Most stressful hunt I've ever been on."

As her hand moved back to a thumbs down Samuel tilted his head. "The second was bad. Didn't feed. Almost got arrested." That was the gist.

The smile that Sam returned was a good start, hopefully she'd get to see him grinning by the end of the night! She chuckled at the comment, hunting with Beau was something she was yet to do, but she could imagine she'd be nervous. Not as scary as hunting with Razi maybe, Beau might at least give you a consolation prize if you fail. Razi would pick you to shreds, meticulous as a vulture. Xena was both dreading and excited for the learning curve that would come with training with the praetor.

Almost got arrested, definitely bad. "Yeeowch," she snickered, "well tonight is definitely not gonna be like that!"

She turned to face the path ahead, a comfortable soft smile on her lips as she searched for a target. Deceptively sweet, she was good at drawing people close and surprising them with a suggestion, she wasn't one to favor the shadows. A frustrated huff caught her attention, a 40 something with glasses and a blonde beard was leaving a building in a rush. A professor maybe? He was definitely dressed for the part.

Head tilted towards her shoulder to glance at Sam, "That guy?"

She didn't press for details on the bad hunt and Samuel was infinitely grateful. Not a night he wished to remember or repeat.

Taken with her enthusiasm, he contently let her lead them both to a first potential target. Older than he'd assume she'd go for, but perhaps she had a particular preference. No judgment.

Samuel set his heels together and stopped to observe. "He is alone." A thoughtful noise came out. Nothing struck as an immediate concern.

"How would you approach?" She could easily pass as a student, him not so much. It gave Xena the advantage.

"I'd be student, looking to take his class next semester? Maybe I'll play drunk or something." A quiet aside, her main focus was the professor.

"I usually feel out their vibe, see what might get me that contact?" she turned, two fingers pointed from her eyes to Sam's.

Playing drunk was a smart move. A good excuse to get close and have them look at you with bewilderment as you stumble into their personal space. It was a recipe for perfect eye-contact.

Samuel opened his mouth to tell her so when a different thought crossed his mind.

"Their vibe?" He stared at her two outstreched fingers and then looked back to the scruffy professor. "Is your power empathy or something?"

What? Oh LOL! No, "Oh no I just mean like vibe. Like his uh," how do you explain what a vibe is? It’s just a vibe. "like his mood I guess?"

He knew what vibe meant, but trying to correct her would just look like denial. Samuel took the loss.

"Okay. What's his mood telling you right now?" He asked, curious. Their minds clearly did not work parallel to each other. However, that didn't mean Xena wasn't clever or knew how to read her prey.

Samuel might learn a trick or two from her. As long as her tactic didn't involve feminine wiles. Samuel had none of those.

Xena moved on, oblivious to any miscommunication with a smile on her face.

"He looks like he's had a long day, probably wouldn't want to stop to talk to a student so I think pretending to be tipsy would give a good reason for insistency," she replied with a light shrug.

Education was a weary profession and Samuel almost sympathized with the slow-walking professor. Not a grand idea to feel sorry for your food, so Samuel merely noted Xena’s observation with a nod.

Acting drunk it was.

"If you’re ready I’ll stay behind and act as backup." He shooed her with a small flex of his fingers.

Samuel would act as the worried friend coming to the rescue if Xena faced difficulty.

Xena was feeling pretty damn ready, hunting was always more exciting with other people. And Sam was giving her the opportunity to show what she knows, which felt good, very encouraging. The girl grinned at him, "My 'help me' word is crisco," then she winked and sped up and towards the professor.

Poor dude, they'd been casually tailing him for a minute now and he hadn't noticed a thing. For all he knew they were just a couple going the same way he was, at least until the girl with braids was calling out "Hey professor!" and jogging to catch up to him. He turned to face her with visible reluctance and an attempted friendly smile, Xena almost felt a little bad!

Not enough to choose a new target though, "Hey sir I was umm," she slurred a little towards the end, playing up that she'd been drinking. He bought it and sighed, settling in to listen with mild disdain. "Was wondering if I could have an extension on the paper that's due?" This earned her a confused look, the man was trying to figure out what the fuck she was talking about. That brief eye contact was all she needed, "You want to come let us bite you."

It had all happened quickly, Xena hardly gave the man time to think. The suggestion sunk and cast a puzzled look across his face. I guess? What class are you in? She grinned and reached for his hand to lead him back towards Sam, "Don't worry bout all'at."

Xena swooped in like a professional, it made Samuel concerned for the life she lived before being turned.

He crossed his arms and watched, impressed.

The suggestion succeed. First try. Luck be a lady tonight, indeed.

As she approached with the befuddled professor, Samuel attempted to look the part. He relaxed his posture and went for a small, lazy smile. Much like a content spider knowing they caught it’s prey.

Damn, Xena felt very badass walking back to Sam with their meal in tow, caught on the first try with no slip ups. She didn't know that the dice gods had blessed her, but they fucking had, and now she got to be the baddie glampire she hoped she could be >:)

When she pulled up next to the other vampire she sighed, still holding hands with the professor. "Imma be honest, that went way better than I though it would," and what a relief. Despite all her bravado, she was a bundle of nerves every hunt.

"Where do you wanna go?"

"There's a quiet spot around the building. Some benches and trees." Samuel pointed a curved finger just ahead. It would be a fine place to bite and then either let the man go or leave him propped up on the bench for some needed sleep after blood loss


Speaking of... Samuel shifted to look at the man. Attempting his own magic.

"Relax."

It didn't take and Samuel squared his shoulders, turning his head as so not to show the obvious disappointment. He would try again. "Do not worry. You will feel completely safe with us."

That one stuck and he sent Xena a genuine half-smile, his version of absolute delight.

A quiet spot sounded perfect! Xena nodded, letting go of the professor's hand to let Samuel step in. She didn't notice the failed suggestion, just the following success. She smiled back at Sam, pleased with the look he'd given her. That was the closest to joy she'd seen on him yet, "Nice one."

"Alright professor, there's a spot back there we can go," she informed the man, who's expression had turned to something soft and content. He nodded and followed along, obedient and placated. It was so weird, but that was just how vampire shit was. She fell into step next to her partner, "We're a pretty great couple!"

Samuel's eyes shited to glance at the edge of Xena's face. They did work well together. An odd balance between two very different vampires. "Yes. You make hunting more...fun." He settled on the word and found it fit well.

It wasn't a far walk and with an agreeable professor being dragged along for the ride, they soon tucked themselves into the empty alcove between two empty buildings.

"After you." He waved a hand at their human with no real desire to give the man much attention. Xena did the bulk of the work so she could get the reward.

Aww! was the first response that came to mind. Sam was a cutie, Xena liked him. "Glad I could spice up your life."

She chose a bench against one of the buildings, shaded from any buzzing lamplight by a tree with lush branches. She placed light pressure against the human's shoulder to sit him down, then turned to back to her clutch mate. Xena was up first, "Thanks," she hummed in return, flashing Sam a smile before returning her attention to their quiet prey. He wasn't struggling, he didn't look frightened at all. Vampire magic was fucking amazing.

A dappled hand took his chin, cold yet soft and gentle. She sought eye contact again, "I'll be quick, it won't hurt much," she assured him with a quirk of her lips. It wasn't a necessary comment since the suggestions had relaxed him, but it felt polite, Xena never wanted anyone to be uncomfortable. Regardless of her sweet words and soft touch, he still made a pained sound when her fangs punctured the skin of his neck, and she felt his jaw tense under her hand. She kept a firm grip and drank her fill, pleased with the warmth his blood brought her.

When she was finished she pulled away, hand drawing from his chin to wipe at her own. She almost always dripped some, like a baby with a gogurt. A small plop of blood sank into the denim of her jacket, other than that she hadn't been too messy.

Samuel swallowed loose saliva and averted his eyes from the feeding. He had decent control in the presence of blood, but he did not have much experience hunting with a partner. Waiting his turn proved more difficult than he had anticipated.

Depending on how much she took, Samuel would have to eat lightly or send the man on his way. They might need to find one more victim among those lingering on campus.

Stepping over, He focused on a patch of dead grass and relaxed, no longer downwind of the appetizing scent. "So, you're a neck person." Samuel mused aloud.

Xena had promised the man she'd be quick and she had been, she hadn't taken too much blood from his veins. The human's skin was still blushed, there would be plenty more for her partner.

When had Sam moved from her side? It was easy to get caught up in the blood, even the moments after she'd finished were jaded red. She chuckled and gave a light shrug, "I mix it up." She stepped back and ventured to reach for Sam's wrist and pull him forward. "There's enough for you too."

He went easily, pliant from the blood haze, allowing Xena to pull him in. "Thank you."

As if the match, the professor moved sluggishly. A likely mix of the suggestions and blood loss. Samuel chose to forgo the small punctures on the man's neck. It felt like a strange taboo to bite in the same place, weirdly intimate and rife with the possibility of vampire cooties - a ridiculous idea his juvenile brain offered up.

Samuel took the man's arm, a limp noodle with how relaxed they made him. Lowering his mouth to let his fangs drop, choosing the pulse point near the wrist. Immediately blood would well up and Samuel would drink. His eyes half-lidded in quiet pleasure.

Sam was it seemed, not a neck guy. He went for the professor's limp wrist instead and Xena watched with fascinated eyes, a toddler ogling a frog munching a moth. Eventually she'd look away, once she'd sated her curiosity and all that was left to watch was the same old same old. She turned and faced the exit to the alcove, keeping watch like a good friend might.

He drank until the initial haze let up, not fully sated but perfectly content. A small smear was left on the open wrist and Samuel took his thumb to wipe it off, touching it into his mouth for a tongue to dart out and take a final taste.

Samuel rose silently. leaving the professor to flop into a slumped position like a marionette.

"What should we do with him?" A tilt of his head, thoughtful.

Samuel felt a mild pity for the man. However, not enough to consider finding the man's car and attempting to stuff him inside or god forbid, learn the man commuted by bicycle. What then? Stuff him into the little basket between the handlebars?

Having been fed on from two humanoid parasites, the professor was out like a light. Which would be great, let him get back his energy and all that! But...

"We should make him forget us," she replied, fighting the urge to add a "right?" or "I think" on to the end of her sentence. Confidence Xena, that's what Razi had said! She definitely felt they should try and wake him up again to wipe him, so that's what she would suggest. She glanced from the human back up to Sam, "What d'you think?"

He couldn't find a reason to disagree. "Think that's best."

Hands came to the man's shoulders, gentle in a way the feeding had most definitely lacked previously. Samuel shook much like waking a sleeping pet.

The man's head lulled and Samuel felt a bit of spittle drop from the professor's mouth onto his shirt sleeve. Nose wrinkled, he noted the crack of eyelids. Perhaps not entirely awake up enough.

"Want to try first?" He gruffed, attempting to angle his arm way from further drool.

Agreement, Xena smiled and followed Sam's lead. She watched the other vampire give the man a gentle shake, just enough to make his head flop to the other side and his eyes crack open. The drool brought a grimace to her face, more of amusement than disgust. Poor dude, they'd really knocked him tf out. Hopefully he'd sleep good tonight, slouched on this bench.

"Sure," she stepped in, crouching before the weary human again and turning her gaze to his. She gave his cheek a pat, hoping to jolt those eyes just a little wider for the contact she needed. There it was, soft glazy blues staring back at her. She latched on to them and spoke, "All you'll remember of the last 20 minutes is getting tired and coming to sit down," she demanded, and felt the satisfaction of the suggestion sticking. The professor nodded his agreement, and then closed his eyes, eager to believe her and drift back to sleep.

Twenty minutes would be plenty of time to cover them. And thankfully, it was also summertime without the usual frosty bite in the air. Leaving the professor to snooze for a few hours wouldn't weigh too heavily on their conscious.

"Nice work." Samuel praised. Then, he folded his arms, looking out to the courtyard entrance. "Are you good or should we look for one more for tonight?"

Basically asking if she wanted dessert with dinner.

Xena smiled as she set the professor back against the wall, trying to find a comfortable place for his head to lay. It was a failed attempt, no matter which way she nudged him his head still flopped to the side limply. She settled on letting him slump forwards, hovered her hands over him to make sure he wasn't going to fall off the bench, and then stood back straight.

"You too, feeling very successful right now," she replied with a chuckle. And then to his follow up, "Oh no I'm set, are you still hungry?" She'd be happy to follow along to get him more, and likely indulge when and if that opportunity arose.

If she wasn't feeling it, then Samuel would let the hunt end. He had actually enjoyed himself, the very easy feeding contributing to a pleasant experience.

In truth, he could see himself doing this again.

"I'm good if you are. Let's not push our luck too much." Riding high on success tended to be his downfall.

Samuel straightened up and made a move to leave the small alcove, inclining his head for Xena to follow. "If you have a little time...I'm curious. What's your story?" He could attempt some small talk and get to know his fellow memeber.

One good drink was enough for her, she added with a chuckle, "Yeah I don't think I'll ever be that lucky with my suggestions again."

Then they were leaving the professor to his bench below the tree, heading back out to the main area of campus where lamplight was brighter and more abundant. Sam asked for her story, a simple question with an answer that when told completely was so complex. She had time of course, but nobody really wanted to hear all of it, so she settled for the summary. "I've only been a vampire for three years, so story's not as long as some of the others," she smirked, "was born in state, got turned junior year of college, moved here. That's the least detailed version."

They were remarkably close in age. Of the vampire variety. Rather than feeling envious of her obvious confidence in her new skin, Samuel felt oddly leveled knowing they were of similar experience.

"I'm about the same." He lifted his shoulders, tilting his ear to the side. "Turned by accident a few years and joined Eventide quickly."

About the same! Like Evelina, Sam had been turned around the same time as her. It was always kind of exciting to learn that there were others who were going through it when she was, a bit of circumstantial understanding. Except Sam had joined Eventide quickly, and Xena had been on her own. She didn't know exactly how or why or how difficult his turning had been, but just as it had with Evelina, this sparked a hint of envy. Her unlife would've been so much better if she'd met the Eventide vampires early on, it would've changed so much.

Even with that bittersweet thought, she was happy for him, "That's awesome! So you've been here for like your whole vamp life?"

Something flickered on her face, but Samuel had no insight or emotional deftness to catch its meaning.

The peppy reply removed any concern. She was happy. Samuel shrugged with a dip of his head. "I was turned by Edvin, the Regent for Eventide."

It made his membership more compulsive than anything. He had been entirely lost and might have ended up dead had he not secured a spot in the group so quickly.

"
joined immediately and for that, I'm eternally grateful." He used the word deliberately. For as long as Eventide stood, Samuel was content to remain behind its walls.

Xena knew Edvin but only barely, still she felt as though her knowledge of him was intimate. He'd been there first when she was falling apart, and the comfort he'd offered her then seemed so much more important than it would've been at any other time. Likely, he knew her better than she really knew him after what he'd seen.

She'd need to catch up with old dude, thank him properly, get to know him. Especially now that she knew his vamp child.

"My sire dumped me pretty soon after she turned me so I was on my own for a while. Honestly I don't know how the fuck I made it," she chuckled, because it was easier to laugh than be swallowed by the gloom of the memories. At the time, she'd been so lost and alone. "Clutch has been great, knowing other vampires was like a huge step."

What a harsh way to enter into the after-life. Samuel's was more an embarrassing endeavor, which he would not be sharing, but it was still preferable to being alone and terrified.

"You have been through a lot." Samuel bypassed the usual 'sorry', he doubted Xena wanted to hear those words.

It was a good thing she made it to Eventide. There was safety in numbers.

"Plan to stay for a while?" He asked.

She had, it felt like she'd been through too much. Too much for a 26 year old at least, but that was all part of the game they were playing. She could only keep moving forwards, now with the security of friends who understood what it was like.

It was nice that he'd said that, made her feel seen without having to show, "I have, but I'm happy now."

"For sure, as long as they'll let me," a light chuckle.

Samuel made a soft hum of a single note, chin tilting down as if to join the dip of his neck. "We possess like minds."

For as long a life as they had ahead of them, having the clutch be a faithful constant helped tremendously.

"Let's do this again sometime." Samuel offered. He wouldn't mind spending time with Xena.

Like minds, in that case they might be friends for a while to come. Xena hoped! Sam was a sweetheart, and a good hunting parting too.

"Yes please," she started, then playfully jabbed a finger at the air near his chest, "and YOU can reach out first next time. Whenever you want."

Barely an evening spent together and she already had him pegged.

Samuel looked down at the finger, wary and in a near sulk. "Fine." He relented.

A thought occurred. "What's your power?" They were of similar strength, he could tell. There must be something.

Hehehe, Xena knows all >:)

The next question was a fun turn, she was happy to share, "I'm bulletproof babe." She jogged a few steps to walk backwards, facing him. He couldn't see her biceps through the denim jacket, but she flexed 'em anyway. "I can make my skin like, impenetrable, man of steel type beat."

He did not like being called a babe. However, he did like the sound of her power.

"I can work with that." Samuel nodded to himself, a thoughtfulness filtering across his features.

He stepped his feet together, turning them just slightly in the direction of his car parked further down the street. "I'll reach out soon then. It was fun hunting with you."

Oh! So he wanted get and no give? No telling her his power in return? FINE! She'd figure it out next time, the next time she would bug him about until it happened.

"Nice meeting you, have a good one!" she smiled and waved her goodbyes before heading off towards her own car, parked just a bit askew of the parking space.