The Pensieve

Blood In, Blood Out

Victoria Dupree woke with a start, drenched in a cold sweat. She sat up and cautiously peeked out the window. The sun had just started to dip below the horizon. She grabbed her phone from the nightstand and hastily called her boyfriend. "C'mon pick up, pick up." she muttered by the third ring. "Hey, it's Darius. I can't come to the phone right now---" She hung up and pressed redial. "H'lo?" he answered groggily on the second ring. "Babe I need your help." she said quickly. "Alright Tori." he sighed. "See you in a bit." She hung up and quickly pulled on a pair of jeans and a tank top. She put her hair up in a messy bun, grabbed her keys and ran downstairs. As she emerged from the stairwell, she saw that Darius was already there, waiting for her. Immediately she could see that he had just woken up. He was standing there staring with his eyes unfocused and was sporting a 5 o'clock shadow. Despite that, he still had an air of sophistication and magnetism about him. "C'mon let's go." she said, grabbing his hand as her nose started to burn.

They stepped outside into the sweltering heat of a summer evening in New Orleans. They stuck to the shade until the sun completely disappeared below the horizon. "Finally." Darius breathed and took off his sunglasses. Darius scanned the street and saw a tourist passed out drunk in the gutter. "Perfect."Tori said when he pointed him out. Without a second thought, she raced to where the tourist lay. Darius picked him up and carried him to a nearby deserted alley. "Hurry." she moaned as blood started to trickle out of her nose. She tilted her head back and pinched her nostrils shut in an attempt to stem the flow. As Darius propped him against a dumpster, Tori could feel her canines lengthening and she let out a moan of longing. Darius stepped back as she plunged her fangs into the tourist's neck. After a few minutes of animalistic slurping , she lifted her head and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. "Better?" he asked. "Better." she said, looking at the twin puncture marks she left on the tourist's neck. Darius bent down, placed his hand on the man's forehead and spoke a few words in a strange language. "There, he won't remember a thing. I modified his memory." he said as he stood up. "Thanks babe." she said. "Don't you think it's time we told the Council of Elders about your condition?" he asked. "No! No Council. Not yet." she said. "I'm just worried about you." he said and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Just then, they noticed an old man staring creepily at them from across the street. "What's up, old man? Can I help you with something?" Darius called. "I saw what y'all did." the old man drawled. "I could go to the cops, y'know. Or maybe I won't, if you can make it worth my while." "Yeah sure, I'll make it worth your while. Come over here." Darius said and moved his hand to his wallet. The old man ambled over to them with a greedy toothless smile on his face and his hand outstretched. Quick as a flash, Darius placed his hand on the old man's forehead and modified his memory. "Pest." he muttered as the old man slumped to the ground. "Wanna go get a drink?" he asked. "Don't you have to feed?" "I'll get mine later. I told Cassidy I'd meet him in the French Quarter in an hour." "Alright. Just let me get some decent clothes on." she said and started back to her apartment.

Less than an hour later, they arrived at Bar Tonique where Cassidy said to meet. "You look amazing." Darius said. "Thanks babe." Tori said and twirled a little showing off her tight black dress and red pumps. "You don't look half bad yourself. Aren't you hot though?" she asked, noticing his black leather biker jacket. "Not at all." he responded casually. "Oi mate." Cassidy Doyle said, walking up the street. "Hey Cass." Darius responded, greeting his friend. "Tori, so nice to see yeh." Cassidy said with his thick Irish accent. "Hi Cassidy." she said and kissed his cheek. "So Darius, yeh fed yet?" "Not yet. I thought we'd have a drink first. You?" "Eh, not yet. I can wait." "Let's go in then." Darius said and held the door open for Tori. "Right yeh are, mate." Cassidy replied. The bar was already packed with tourists and noisy. "I'll go get the drinks." Cassidy said, noticing the cute blonde bartender and hurried off. Not long after he left, Tori and Darius were approached by a couple college girls. "Oh my god, you're Darius Boucher from Blood Muse." one of them squealed. "That's right." he responded.  "And you are?" "I'm Amber and she's Jessica." the girls said, introducing themselves. "Blood Muse is my favorite band of all time. Your voice is so good." Jessica gushed. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Cassidy said, joining them. "Oh my god, you're Cassidy Doyle, the bassist." Jessica squealed. "Yeh got that right, sweetheart." Cassidy said and winked. "Would yeh care to join us for a drink?" "Of course!" they said excitedly and went to find a table. 

A couple hours later, the girls were pretty drunk. "So, ladies, care to come back to my place? I can show yeh a real good time." Cassidy said, setting down his empty beer bottle. "Really?" Amber asked. "Really." Cassidy responded and winked again. "Let's go." Cassidy walked out of the bar with one arm wrapped around each girl. A few minutes later, Darius and Tori followed. "Wait here, ladies. I think I forgot my wallet." Cassidy said and doubled back. As he passed Darius, he whispered, "I'll take the blonde, you take the brunette." Darius and Tori went ahead and waited for Cassidy in a dark and abandoned parking lot. "Just through here, ladies. We're almost there." they heard Cassidy's voice approaching. As they passed, Darius snuck up behind Amber and plunged his long canines into her neck. Cassidy did the same with Jessica. After a few minutes, they lifted their heads and modified the memories of their victims. "Do you always feed on your fans?" Tori asked. "Not always but who can resist such an easy meal?" Darius responded and shrugged. "What about you, Tori? Do you need to feed?" "I ate already, Cass. I couldn't wait." she said as Cassidy lit a cigarette. "Still not gotten the hang of memory modification yet, love?" he asked, taking a drag. "Not yet. I'm working on it." "You'll get it love, I know yeh will." Cassidy said and exhaled.