Vampire Residence

XXIV

The house was mostly quiet, aside from the occasional sound of a drill or a few mumbled instructions coming from another room as Garrett and Sybil continued to try to put together the new table.

Daci and Eleanor were sitting next to each other on the sofa in the living room, looking slightly bored. Daci, her legs thrown over Eleanor's lap, held a small plushie in her hands, seemingly fidgeting with it. Eleanor watched her for a moment, an amused look on her face.

Eleanor, tilting her head to the side slightly, spoke, her voice filled with slight amusement. "You seem a little restless."

Daci, glancing down at the plushie in her hands, spoke, a slightly embarrassed expression on her face as she realized what she was doing.

"Yes... I suppose I am."

She paused for a moment before continuing in a tone with a hint of frustration.

"I feel... I don't know... pent up? I need to let off some energy- somehow."

Eleanor hesitated before she spoke again, her tone slightly concerned. "Are you... is it the bloodthirst again?"

Daci, setting the plushie down on the couch, sighed, the frustration in her voice still somewhat evident. "Yes. It's been getting worse the past couple of days, and I just... I have hunted, but I still cannot get the feeling to go away..."

Eleanor, a look of worry washing across her face, reached over and placed a hand on Daci's shoulder, her voice filled with concern.

"I understand. How bad has it been?"

Daci, looking down at the floor, spoke, her voice slightly distant.

"It is nearly unbearable. I feel... restless, and on edge constantly, and my mind keeps drifting to... violent things. I do not... I keep finding myself having these urges to hurt you or... the others."

There was a long pause before she spoke again, her voice slightly strained.

"I am afraid."

Eleanor, still holding Daci's shoulder, spoke, her voice filled with empathy.

"You are strong, Daciana. I know you would never hurt anyone, and you know you would never hurt anyone- no matter what these urges tell you."

She paused for a moment, her hand slowly coming up to cup Daci's cheek as she spoke.

"I know you would never hurt me."

Daci, leaning into Eleanor's hand, spoke again, her voice quieter this time.

"But I know that I would."

She paused for a moment, a sense of guilt coming into her voice.

"If I ever were to hurt you... I would never forgive myself."

Eleanor, still holding Daci's cheek with one hand, spoke again, her voice still filled with empathy.

"You won't hurt me, Daci. You won't hurt any of us. You are stronger than your bloodlust- stronger than your vampiric impulses."

She hesitated again, her thumb gently brushing Daci's cheek.

"And I trust you."

Daci, her eyes now glued to the floor, seemed to struggle with this statement. She wanted to believe it, but there was still a part of her that doubted it- a part of her that feared it. She spoke again, her voice still full of uncertainty.

"You have this... ridiculous amount of faith in me, fin."

Eleanor, still holding Daci's cheek, spoke, her tone slightly amused.

"It is not faith that makes me trust you. It is a fact that I know you. And I know that even during your most desperate moments- when your bloodlust is at its peak, and the urge to kill is nearly unbearable... you'd still find it in yourself to be gentle. You're not the blood-crazed ruthless monster that you seem so convinced that you are becoming."

Daci, still holding Eleanor's gaze, let out a long sigh. She wanted to believe what Eleanor was saying, but her self-doubts still lingered. She spoke, her voice filled with a hint of resignation.

"I wish I could see myself how you see me."

Eleanor, now holding Daci's face in both of her hands, spoke, her tone filled with confidence.

"I know you cannot see yourself like I see you. But I know that one day, you will be able to."

She paused for a moment, her voice becoming slightly softer.

"You just have to be a little patient and a little kinder to yourself. I promise, eventually, you will see yourself as I do."

"...I have been patient for seven hundred years."

Eleanor, still cupping Daci's face in her hands, spoke a slight smile on her face.

"Well, what's a little more time? Another hundred, two hundred years- you can do it. You've survived this long already."

She paused for a moment, her smile growing.

"And I will be right here beside you the entire time."

Daci, leaning into Eleanor's hands, let out a quiet sigh. She still wasn't entirely convinced, but there was something about Eleanor's words that comforted her. She spoke, her voice still slightly uncertain.

"You know, anyone else would find your belief in me insane, right?"

Eleanor, still holding Daci's face, responded in a teasing tone, a playful smile on her face.

"Well, we've established before that I have a lot of weird and insane beliefs. My belief that you are capable of great things is probably far from the strangest or most absurd one."

Daci, her eyes now locked on to Eleanor's, responded, a small amused smile playing on her face.

"I suppose you have a point. Now that I think about it, you have an impressively long list of very abnormal ideas."

Eleanor, her hands still gently cupping Daci's face, responded an amused grin now on her face.

"I don't know whether or not to take that as a compliment, but I am going to take it as a compliment."

She paused for a second, her tone becoming slightly teasing.

"And I happen to think being described as abnormal is a compliment. I prefer originality over convention."

Daci, her eyes still locked on Eleanor's, responded, an amused expression on her face.

"Truly, there is no one that I have met that is as strange as you are."

She paused for a moment before speaking again, her tone slightly teasing.

"Except for Sybil, but I think she is just insane."