Guardians of Innistrad
Dahlia
Dahlia Voldaren
Stensia
The smell of rushing blood filled her senses; her throat tightened in a sore agony as she propelled her body forward. Blood pumping through the veins of a human never ceased to appeal to her.
But, the chase did.
Dahlia’s body slammed into the human woman, the force of the impact causing her back to break with a sickening crack. The woman screamed, both at the fear of being caught and from the pain of her spine snapping. Dahlia wasn’t a harsh woman; unlike most of her species she didn’t enjoy the terror and suffering of her unlucky victims, so she quickly yanked the human’s head to the right. An identical sound to the one made by her lower spine shot through the quiet air, her screams echoing through the mountain valley.
It took the vampire no more than a split second to roll her victim onto her back and sink her fangs into her wrist. Warm blood rushed into her mouth and down her throat as she fed hungrily from the spurting artery. Generally she did what she could to avoid killing the humans she drank from, but, this one had started to flee before Dahlia could render her unconscious and carry her away to some place secluded. By the time she had managed to jump over the immense amount barrels and crates that the woman had knocked over to cover her tracks, the vampire’s throat was searing with bloodlust and she stopped caring about discretion.
“A bit sloppy for you, isn’t it?”
The vampire froze. With her red hair hung around her face in a frizzy mess and blood dripping off of her chin and onto her blouse, Dahlia turned to the newcomer. A less than frightened old man was standing maybe 10 feet away from her and the body; his skin was like a wizened apple and he was leaning heavily on a knobby cane that looked almost as old and worn as he did. The redhead recognized him as the town doctor. She would take her victims to him after she had taken what she needed from them to make sure they were stabilized.
“I will admit, I’m sad to see Charleth go, but I understand how the world works. When you’re finished, you might as well just leave her there. It’s almost dawn and you should probably be heading back to your mansion. I assume it’s nearby?”
Dahlia’s breath and the woman’s hot blood fogged in the crisp fall air, shrouding them in a fine cloud. She felt a pang of regret – she had lost herself in the blood frenzy and had murdered another poor soul, something she hadn’t done in nearly 50 years. Charleth was her name, a name as pretty as the woman who held it. She shook her head subtly at the doctor’s question.
“No,” she responded, her velvety accented voice rolling through the silence, “It’s almost halfway across the province. On the eastern side of the mountain that houses Olivia’s manor…” She looked back at the woman’s body and started to stand. The old man raised his hand in protest and shook his head.
“Replenish yourself, vampire; don’t let her death be in vain. At least her death will be worth something.”
Dahlia considered arguing, but, decided against it; while she considered the death of Charleth to have been avoidable – unnecessary – she couldn’t help but agree that by leaving her corpse, she would be wasting the life of a human.
The doctor turned and walked away without waiting for a response from her. Even so, it had been the longest conversation between the two since she began to ration her feedings. The redhead turned back to her victim and continued to drink the remains of her life force.
Stensia
The smell of rushing blood filled her senses; her throat tightened in a sore agony as she propelled her body forward. Blood pumping through the veins of a human never ceased to appeal to her.
But, the chase did.
Dahlia’s body slammed into the human woman, the force of the impact causing her back to break with a sickening crack. The woman screamed, both at the fear of being caught and from the pain of her spine snapping. Dahlia wasn’t a harsh woman; unlike most of her species she didn’t enjoy the terror and suffering of her unlucky victims, so she quickly yanked the human’s head to the right. An identical sound to the one made by her lower spine shot through the quiet air, her screams echoing through the mountain valley.
It took the vampire no more than a split second to roll her victim onto her back and sink her fangs into her wrist. Warm blood rushed into her mouth and down her throat as she fed hungrily from the spurting artery. Generally she did what she could to avoid killing the humans she drank from, but, this one had started to flee before Dahlia could render her unconscious and carry her away to some place secluded. By the time she had managed to jump over the immense amount barrels and crates that the woman had knocked over to cover her tracks, the vampire’s throat was searing with bloodlust and she stopped caring about discretion.
“A bit sloppy for you, isn’t it?”
The vampire froze. With her red hair hung around her face in a frizzy mess and blood dripping off of her chin and onto her blouse, Dahlia turned to the newcomer. A less than frightened old man was standing maybe 10 feet away from her and the body; his skin was like a wizened apple and he was leaning heavily on a knobby cane that looked almost as old and worn as he did. The redhead recognized him as the town doctor. She would take her victims to him after she had taken what she needed from them to make sure they were stabilized.
“I will admit, I’m sad to see Charleth go, but I understand how the world works. When you’re finished, you might as well just leave her there. It’s almost dawn and you should probably be heading back to your mansion. I assume it’s nearby?”
Dahlia’s breath and the woman’s hot blood fogged in the crisp fall air, shrouding them in a fine cloud. She felt a pang of regret – she had lost herself in the blood frenzy and had murdered another poor soul, something she hadn’t done in nearly 50 years. Charleth was her name, a name as pretty as the woman who held it. She shook her head subtly at the doctor’s question.
“No,” she responded, her velvety accented voice rolling through the silence, “It’s almost halfway across the province. On the eastern side of the mountain that houses Olivia’s manor…” She looked back at the woman’s body and started to stand. The old man raised his hand in protest and shook his head.
“Replenish yourself, vampire; don’t let her death be in vain. At least her death will be worth something.”
Dahlia considered arguing, but, decided against it; while she considered the death of Charleth to have been avoidable – unnecessary – she couldn’t help but agree that by leaving her corpse, she would be wasting the life of a human.
The doctor turned and walked away without waiting for a response from her. Even so, it had been the longest conversation between the two since she began to ration her feedings. The redhead turned back to her victim and continued to drink the remains of her life force.