Ditching the Demons

Because Vampires Can Actually Be Good Conversationalists

Because Vampires Can Actually Be Good Conversationalists

"So, what would you like to talk about?" Meris asked politely. His eyes were calm and a content grin tugged at the corner of his mouth.

Myra really wanted to know more about him, and was hoping to use this opportunity to get him to talk about himself. She would have answered his question directly, but considering the speed at which he closed himself up the last time she asked him to give personal information; she chose to just dive into the conversation by asking him a question. "You're half demon, right? Does that mean that your father is a full blooded demon, like Sam?"

Luckily, Meris didn't seem too fazed by the question. "My mother, actually. She's a full blooded demon, but not much like Sam."

"Oh?" her curiosity was growing. "You mean she actually has a personality?"

His reply was solemn, almost mournful. "Not a very personable one, but yes, she has a very intense personality. Myra, my mother is a Rage Demon."

Myra obviously had no idea of what that fully implied because she simply nodded and asked, "And your father?"

"A farmer," he responded with obvious admiration in his voice. "He would have been a bard, but he didn't like to travel. So he sung while he plowed the field, whistled while he sowed the seeds, and hummed while he tended the animals. We were a very musical family. We sang together every morning and night. Mother says that's what first attracted her to him; his calming voice and songs. It's also what kept their marriage happy for so long. It was fourteen years before they had a fight."

"Wow," Myra was indeed impressed. Her own parents did not fight very often, but they did have the bad habit of bickering with each other constantly. "That's very fortunate for you. I understand now why you have such a pleasant disposition. It's hard to believe that your demon half is a Demon of Rage."

"Yeah, I didn't really inherit any of my mother's extreme traits." He looked away slightly, "until I was bitten, however. That's when I started having, you know, problems." Myra could see the moonlight shining on his dewy eyes and realized that it was now long after the sun had set. The Rossetti Mountains were very good at making one disoriented.

"When did it happen?" she asked while squeezing his hand to bring his attention back to her. "If you don't mind my asking."

"No, it's alright. I need to get over my apprehensions of talking about it. But it's funny that I get so upset, because I don't really remember much," he said, adjusting himself so that he encircled her in his embrace.

Anticipating a good story, Myra leaned her head on his shoulder.

"It was in the summer of my twelfth year," Meris began. "I had been on my own for a couple of months, and was trying to keep the farm running, but it was difficult work."

"Where were your parents?" Myra interjected.

Great, this story is going to take forever if I can't even wait two minutes before asking a question.But still...

"Well, mom took off right after her fight with Da, which is understandable. She was pretty upset. "So," he continued, "on one particularly dark and stormy night, I had to go to town and get some medicine for a sick cow and—"

"Wait, what about your dad?" Myra asked. "What happened to him?"

Meris looked very puzzled for a moment. Then gazed at her with soft eyes, "I'm sorry, I thought you understood. I often forget that you were not raised around demons.

"The simple fact is," he said, "every time a Rage Demon gets mad, casualties result. It's an unavoidable fact. That's why they are usually recluses."