Mrs. Blackberry

Darius Richardson stared off at the sunset as he ate his sandwich and listened to his downloaded podcast episode. He was up camping in the woods of Tennessee near Nashville where he lived. His occupation was an EMT, and he had held that job for 7 years. Darius was dark-skinned and much of his life was a haze until he had turned 23. He remembered having a drinking problem until he sobered up, received his GED, got his licensure, and became a full-time EMT in the city. His pastime was composed of studying anatomy and biochemistry, binge-watching doctor shows and mystery shows, and reading gothic fiction. He had no living family members that he remembered and lived in his own studio apartment by himself. Darius found a patron and mentor in one Jacques Marques, a wealthy pharmacist and investor who picked him up when he was at his lowest and helped him pursue his career in the medical profession. He never married or had any romantic relationship with anyone as far as he could remember. He always assumed the worst in people and thought that degeneracy and deception were running rampant in his current age. Every time he was given a paid vacation, he would camp in the Tennessee woods away from all the noise in the city.

After he was done eating, Darius looked down at his right hand. Though he never remembered having a lover, he always visualized holding his lover's hand in his and caressing it as if he cherished her. However, he would always snap back to reality and realize that he was living in an immoral and cruel world where love from a human is often next to meaningless. At 9:30pm, Darius called it a night and tucked himself into his sleeping bag inside his waterproof tent before going to sleep. 4 hours later, Darius awoke to what sounded like classical music playing outside his tent. The music that played was definitely a score that Darius had never heard before. He figured that it might have been from another camper who chose a spot close to his campsite, so Darius unzipped his tent and peered outside to confirm his hypothesis. However, in surprise, Darius saw something that he least expected outside his tent. What he saw was—a mansion!

It was a large mansion and Darius remembered there initially being a downhill slope where the mansion stood. He looked around and saw that where he was was not the Tennessee forest, but a field of what appeared to be grape vines. Was he in someone's vineyard? Darius, not knowing any better alternative, got dressed, grabbed his flashlight and knife, and headed out towards the mansion's front door since he noticed that the lights were on inside. Maybe there was someone inside who could shed light on the situation he was in. He walked up to the door and knocked on the knocker. He clenched his knife in case he would be met with a violent confrontation. The door was finally opened and what Darius saw nearly made him jump out of his skin. What stood at the doorway was a strange furry bipedal creature that stood at Darius' height. It had a head that resembled that of a mythical dragon and horns that stuck out from the top. It had digitigrade legs, grey fur, and human-like hands with tan nails. Its eyes were similar to that of a cat and were clover green in color. The creature's eyes widened before it asked in a masculine voice, "May I help you?"

Darius stammered, "I-i-is this your home?" The creature said, "This is the estate of Cyril Ravenwine. I am its humble caretaker, Joseph Landson." Darius continued to stare at him until the creature, named Joseph, said, "It is impolite to stare." Darius said, "I'm sorry, just...what are you?" Joseph said, "You act as if you have never seen a Dracoathe before, Kannilian." Darius asked, "What did you just call me?" Joseph answered, "You are a Kannilian, are you not? In your sapient form?" Darius said, "I'm a human, my name is Darius, I'm from Nashville." Behind Joseph stepped in another bipedal creature, except this one had plantigrade legs, a head shaped like a canine with long pointy ears, spines atop its head, black scaly skin, and crimson red reptilian eyes. The creature asked, "Joseph, is there someone at the door?" Joseph responded, "Yes sir." The creature looked at Darius and widened his eyes before saying, "Do I know you?" Darius said, "I doubt you do. Who might you be?" The creature said, "I am Cyril Ravenwine, architect and owner of the Ravenwine Vineyard. You are welcome to come in if you like, it's rather chilly out there as I am sure you know."