Change is sweeping through the world, as humanity fights for autonomy, discord tears apart the foundations of the vampire order, and dhampirs return to the world after centuries of war between two powerful peoples. Dhampirs, creatures known to heral...
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There was an awful taste in her mouth, and Tara jumped up, realizing she'd passed out right on her papers. And she'd drooled on them. Great. Hopefully knowing the information would be enough, because she wasn't bringing the messed-up folder with now. Before she jumped into the shower, Tara yanked the last sheet in with her, dropping her clothes like a desperate stripper as she saw that she'd woken up ten minutes late.
Preparations.
1: Wash yourself in the morning.
Vampires have sensitive senses of smell and don't like strong odors. They can pick up other people's scents mixed with yours if you're mated.
Mated? They didn't even talk the same, wonderful. She was so going to say something wrong. Ignoring that, Tara did as she was told, scrubbing her skin raw and using a conservative amount of shampoo and body soap, making sure to wash it all off.
2: Don't wear your hair up, and cover your neck.
Directing attention to your throat can be distracting to the process of calmly interviewing with guests.
Got it. Don't look like a beverage. At work, she normally tied her hair up into a spikey half-bun half-ponytail, and she wasn't sure how she felt about having it hanging all over her shoulders. It was better than getting eaten, so she compromised by clipping it up behind her ears and fluffing it forward around the side of her neck. It wasn't in her to wear a turtle neck, so a collared shirt would have to be enough.
For today, she chose deep navy, hopefully not stereotyping too hard on the dark and dreary aspect of vampires. After all, she'd been seen as a blond for so long that she didn't want to do that to them, but she didn't know how sharp their eyesight was. If she wore white, they'd likely be able to trace her bra line through it. Tara's face heated as she imagined one of them looking her over, and it wasn't out of fear. Were they as romantic as the stories or was this about to be some gruesome horror movie?
Shit.
3:Eat, sleep, and remain calm.
Hunger is easily perceived by our kind and will trigger our own. You should be fed, well rested, and composed. If your pulse jumps for any reason, it is a trigger for us to notice you first. We need them focused on their interactions.
Tara tried to eat, she did, but it all fell back out as her stomach clenched. It was going to have to be coffee, and even evil monsters must break for lunch. Perhaps after working with it for a few hours, she would calm enough to stomach something. As to the last, she could do calm. Keeping herself ice cold in situations was trained into her after years on the job, and she would be a pinnacle of reporting for her network.
Then maybe she could get real stories. If she lived.
Ready to go, Tara grabbed her small bag that she used when she wasn't hauling her laptop, slid on her dress coat–the one that wasn't a checkered mess of a hoody on the inside and darkness on the outside. It was a nice ash-grey to match her navy but not make her appear too land of darkness. Caught in her routine, she forgot to not use her perfume and cursed as her finger pressed down onto the nozzle and it sprayed the side of her neck.
