Written In Blood

Chapter Twenty Five.

After the funeral, the pair went to the nearest bar to catch up, as planned.
"So have you seen Rayna recently?" Stefan asked.
A touchy subject for Damon, but he hid it well.
"No, you?" He raised an eyebrow as he took a sip of his Bourbon.
Stefan shook his head.
"I never went to her house before she left." He said.
"I did." Damon shrugged.
Stefan raised an eyebrow at his brother.
"What happened?" Damon shrugged again.
"We spoke about you. She told me some things about when she first turned, then she told me she had some important business to tend to." He said, hesitating his next words. "Then I lied to her. I told her I would be fine."
Stefan sighed, finishing his drink and pouring another for himself and his brother. 

A few hours had passed and both brothers were more than a little drunk, but Damon in particular as he had switched from a glass to the bottle.
"Damon, you've had enough." Stefan said, taking the bottle from his brother.
Damon chuckled humourlessly. "Hit a guy when he's down."
The two left the bar and made their way through the town, seeing a large tent.
They went in to see a boxing match going on, but they were particularly surprised to see it was between a man and a woman – and the woman was winning.
One last upper cut and the woman had won, earning claps and cheers from the large crowd.
"Who's next? One hundred dollars to anyone who can beat me." The woman called out.
She glanced over in Damon's direction, winking at him.
"I can teach you how to survive without human blood, you know." Stefan said.
"You do not get to lecture me on how to live my life. Not anymore." Damon spat, walking away from him.
The woman approached Damon with a smile.
"What's your name?" She asked.
"Not interested." Damon replied, bluntly.
"Well, Mr Not-interested, you seem to me like a gambling man." The woman smirked.
Damon chuckled. "Afraid you have me all wrong."
The woman then reached into her shirt and pulled out a one hundred dollar bill and tucked it into Damon's pants.
"Hm, well that's too bad." She hummed, walking away. 

Later that night, Damon found himself a girl and fed, not aware that the mysterious woman from earlier that night was watching him.
"How sad. You're doing it all wrong. Bad Vampire." She pouted, playfully.
Damon pulled out a handkerchief from his inside pocket and wiped his mouth.
"I was hungry. Now I'm not hungry. My quality of form is purely subjective." He countered.
"A woman isn't just for food. She's for pleasure." The woman smiled.
"I do not need a woman for pleasure. I am spoken for." Damon retorted, then went to walk away, but the woman grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks.
"We are all spoken for in some way. But what is being a Vampire if not relishing in the pleasure of it?" She smirked.
The woman began to walk back to the tent, motioning for Damon to follow her.
"Come along, let me show you." 

Back in the tent, Damon approached the woman as she scanned the crowd who watched on as two men boxed in the ring.
"Look at the women." The woman said.
"They're beautiful, aren't they?"
Damon's eye caught a small group of women dressed awfully fancy, their curls bouncing as they watched on with excitement.
"Not them. They're too hungry for attention." The woman raised her eyebrow. "You want the ones who button themselves up. Watch them. They can't tear their eyes away."
As Damon gazed over at the women, the mysterious one beside him traced her finger along his jaw.
"Those are the women who secretly crave seduction. They'll put up a good fight, but the game isn't winning them over, it's making them beg for it." She mumbled in his ear.
"What if they don't want it?" Damon asked.
The woman chuckled. "You're a Vampire. You take it."
They scanned over the crowd, simultaneously spying one particular girl.
"Her." The woman said.
Damon moved through the crowd, taking a moment to look back at his company, who nodded.

Later that night, Damon decided to track Stefan down again, as the woman he now knew to be Sage, was back in the ring.
"Go ahead, Stefan. Pick one." Damon smirked as the two watched Sage fight yet another man.
"They're people, Damon." Stefan sighed.
"Yes, they're people, Stefan. People with blood pumping through their veins, waiting to be opened up and sucked dry. You've just forgotten how good it feels." Stefan gazed into the ring as Sage knocked out her opponent, blood dripping from his face.
"Not him, Stefan, not him." Damon told him as he scanned the crowd.
He noticed a woman across the ring from them. She was perfect.
"Her. She's the one." He said.
"I don't do that anymore." Stefan shook his head.
"But you can, Stefan." The older brother said, determined to change his younger sibling's mind. "Let the past be the past. Have a drink with me, brother."

A few minutes later, the pair took the woman outside of the tent - Stefan sank his teeth into her.
"I knew you still had it in you." Damon smirked.
Stefan continued to feed.
"Don't be greedy." Damon chuckled.
Stefan pushed his brother away, not letting go of the woman.
"Stefan..." Damon began to get nervous. "Stefan."
The younger brother fed on the girl so hard that he ripped her head off. He dropped her in the shock of it all and fell to his knees.
"Oh my God..." Stefan gasped, his eyes filling with tears. "Oh my God... I'm sorry..."
In his shock and remorse, Stefan attempted to put the head of the girl back on her body.
"Stefan, stop." Damon grimaced. "Stefan... Stop."
Stefan repeated his apologies over and over. Damon walked back over to him, grabbing his shoulders to try and pull him away, but he shook him off.
"Stefan..." Damon pressed.
"What did you do to me?" Stefan growled.
Damon attempted to comfort his brother, hushing him.
"What did you do to me?" Stefan repeated.
"You just need to learn how to stop. I can help you." Damon replied.
Stefan got up and backed away from the corpse.
"I don't need your help." Stefan breathed, backing off and running into the woods, leaving his brother alone.