"So, Brandon, how many kinds of vampires are there?" We had been sitting on his grave for about ten minutes in an uncomfortable silence. No, it wasn't the kind that was all serene and comfortable. It was the kind that made you want to get up and leave. But, if I had got up to leave, I would have had to walk all the way home.
"Well, a few different tribes exist," he began, sitting up straight. "There are the Vivens, which I am part of. We are by far the most open and compassionate. The other tribes tend to hide in the shadows, but they are deadly. It is very dangerous to even see one. There are the Umbras, which are the most quiet. The tribes rarely ever come into contact with them. Also, the Lamias are the most deadly; if you meet one, you won't survive. Finally, there are the Exors. They have the most advanced and amazing gifts that creatures like me can have. Every... vampire... has some sort of gift, but the gifts that the Exors have are more enhanced." He shuddered at the word 'vampire'.
"Why do you always act so uncomfortable whenever you say vampire?" I asked, looking into his blood red eyes.
"Because I don't enjoy reminding myself of what I've become," he mumbled, looking at the ground. The air became silent again, but this time, it wasn't really an uncomfortable silence; it was just silence. Suddenly, a smirk crossed his face. "Want to see something?"
"What is it?" I cautiously questioned, eyeing him to make sure he wasn't doing anything suspicious.
"Come on," he said as he stood up and held his hand out to me to help me up. I accepted it and popped onto my feet. "Listen, I know that my kind has many myths swirling around. One example would be turning into a bat."
"What?!" I exclaimed, my eyes widening.
"No, you need to listen to the rest of what I'm saying," he chuckled. "Yes, we are involved with bats. The difference is, though, we don't actually turn into bats." After he stopped, he emitted a shriek so high-pitched that even the most experienced soprano singer could not produce. My eyes narrowed as I watched him.
"What are you do-" I started before he cut me off by holding up his index finger. Taking a deep breath, his face contorted into a shrieking expression. No sound came out of his mouth. Or, at least I didn't hear anything. I felt my eyes widen a little more. He began to cough a little as he intently watched the woods beyond the graveyard. I turned my body and followed his gaze to a certain clump of trees and bushes that started to shake. Thirty seconds passed and something flew out of the bushes and into the overcast sky. Whatever it was, it was small and black with wings. A wave of realization slammed into me.
"No way..." I trailed off, my eyes chasing the creature. Brandon snickered and watched it too. Soon, it sailed back down and plopped right down on his shoulder, and I came to terms with the fact that it definitely was a bat.
"Yeah," he smiled, glancing over at the furry thing on his shoulder. Something that resembled a smile appeared on its face, and Brandon nodded and looked over at me. "Willa, I want to introduce you to Sugar." The animal's eyes met mine and it cocked its head as if it was confused. That was weird; it actually seemed to be... thinking. How? "It's alright girl, you don't have to be nervous around her." The bat looked up at him with an unsure expression, but soon relaxed.
"Can she think?" I blurted out, and she turned her small head towards me again and gave me a 'well I'm not dumb' look.
"She's quite intelligent, much more intelligent than any of her fellow bats," Brandon explained, petting Sugar's head. She seemed pleased and let her gaze lessen in hostility. "Her brain doesn't have the capacity to fully comprehend everything around her, but she can definitely think. She is almost like every other bat, but the difference is that she is self-aware. Sugar knows who Sugar is and she knows right and wrong. All of what she does on her own is as carefully thought out as possible. That is, of course, except for when I tell her to do something. She knows that I give the orders. Sugar may look like an ordinary bat, but she certainly isn't one."
"Why is she sitting upright? I thought that bats only hung upside down and flew."
"Well, that also has to do with how I got her. When I changed, Sugar was given to me by Damion and the rest of the Viven leaders. However, she had been altered." At this point, Sugar lifted her wings over her ears and shut her eyes, which caused a sad look to pass over Brandon's face. "Hey, how about you look for something to eat before we go back home?" She nodded and took off into the air. "She doesn't like hearing this part. Anyway, I don't exactly know everything they did to her, but it was pretty bad. They injected her with calcium so that her bones would become stronger, which is not supposed to happen in a bat's body. To make it worse, they force-fed her pills that would make her 'smarter'." Brandon glanced around, making sure that the bat wasn't around to hear him. "Those drugs actually created brain cells which made her smarter. She enjoys thinking that she became smart on her own." A high-pitched sound came from the forest, indicating Sugar was in there. Brandon winced. "I always forget that she can hear so well. Sorry, Sugar." Something that resembled a sad laugh responded and then I heard a woosh. She most likely flew somewhere else.
"Did you pick her name?"
"No, Damion gave it to her. It just stuck, I guess," he answered. "Since Sugar means 'child' in Romanian and she is like my child." Nodding, I watched as the bat popped out of the forest and landed in the exact same spot as earlier on Brandon's shoulder. "Did you find something?" Sugar screeched quietly. "Good. Do you want to go home now?" Again, she screeched. This time, it was a little longer. "Well, you can fly around at home too." Small screeches flew out of her mouth left and right. If she was an actual person, there would have been a full-out argument. "Sugar, that is not a good idea at all. Don't even try." She started pouting but he shook his head. "No, Sugar. That's final. You can fly around at the house. Now go ahead and go, Willa and I will meet you there." Sighing, she launched into the air and soared above the treetops, out of sight.
"So wait, you aren't going to take me home?" I inquired. Glancing over at me, he smirked.
"Well, don't you want to see the home of a bloodsucker?"
~~~~~~~~~~~
AN: ooh! how do you feel about this? Brandon's pet is quite sassy, isn't she? i actually had to do a bunch of research for this chapter... and i didn't mind doing that one single bit because i actually learned something useful. or a few somethings. anyway, i am so proud of how far this story is getting. more than 100 reads within one update period! it's so wonderful! i love you all so much, thank you! now, here is my question: can i get at least 3 votes and 2 comments? i would love you forever, and i would love your feedback. it would help a lot. thanks! :)
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Matchmaker (a Brandon Flowers fanfic)
Fanfic"An excellent man, like precious metal, is in every way invariable; a villain, like the beams of a balance, is always varying, upwards and downwards." -John Locke [very temporary, very small hiatus]
