The Fallen Vampire

Chapter 173: It’s Been Nice, But…

The Asanbosam partied until late into the night, long after they had actually finished devouring the humans that were so graciously served up by Astel.

It was now just barely dawn, and the world outside was already becoming a little brighter.

Vermeil emerged from her family's tent after a spending some time inside resting with the others and ensuring that Keran was alright.

"All right… let's get started." She said after a brief stretch.

She waived her hand over the small clearing in front of their tent and brought out a large metal pot- distinctly different from the one she used to concoct pills.

Closing her eyes and peeking inside of her own storage ring, she sifted through the flurry of supplies inside.

'No, no, no... Ah.'

She began pulling out items one by one and either laying them on a small table or simply having them float in the air around her.

With a snap of her fingers, a very familiar blue flame appeared underneath the pot to heat it.

"What is the kin-bride doing?"

Vaal and Tiche emerged from somewhere within the still active village and both of them were eyeing the human woman's actions carefully.

"Everyone'll be up soon, so I thought I should make something for them to put in their stomachs. I would offer you all some, but I believe you already ate." she chuckled.

Tiche, with her throat healed, narrowed her eyes at what she perceived to be a slight.

"And so your true colors manifest in the absence of your 'mate'. At the end of the day, a human will not even dare to offer the courtesy of sustenance to those she considers beneath her."

"...I just thought you would be full because you ate Vanessa last night and she was kind of heavy, so..." Vermeil shrugged.

"We are not like humans, girl. Our appetites are nearly bottomless as we grow."

An adult assanbosam, aged roughly 100 - 1,000 years old, needs to consume around 85% of their own body weight to feel satisfied.

The percentage doubles for every 1,000 years of life that are tacked on.

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Children are by far the easiest to feed, requiring only 35%.

"Oh... So are you guys hungry too? You can sit there, it'll be ready in like ten minutes."

Tiche scoffed. "As if we would ever-"

Vermeil pulled out a large cut of boar meat that Taira himself hunted prior to leaving home.

The Youn Wouj looked to her side and realized that her brother was already sitting down, and staring at the meat with clear interest.

"...I'm sure it will barely pass for edible." Tiche also ended up sitting despite her words.

"Oh? We will wait to see then." Vermeil smiled.

One by one she began tossing ingredients into the large pot amidst the doubting faces of her audience.

"I just wanted to say again... Thank you for providing us with the 'food' off of your very own table last night. It was very kind of you."

Vaal and Tiche looked at each other.

"...We need to make it clear that nothing was done for you specifically. We honor tradition, and that is all." he clarified.

"Yes, that may be true, but your tradition is rooted in an offering of kindness and fellowship nonetheless. So for that, I wish to express my thanks again." she smiled.

'...She's so unexplainably weird.' the two thought at once.

Nearby, the door on a small barn was unlocked and a stream of familiar faces poked their heads past the threshold.

"Oh? You're upright, huh? Come on over." Vermeil beckoned.

The six humans inside glanced awkwardly at the two man-eating asanbosam sitting in front of their companion.

"They're not going to eat you, you know this already." Vermeil rolled her eyes. "Don't be so timid and come on."

The humans finally started to wander out of the barn and walked towards the group.

They got no closer than forty feet before all three of the high-level cultivators reeled backwards from an invisible assault.

"Ugh.."

"Vile creatures!"

"If you come any closer to us, you die!"

All six of the humans froze immediately, even though they couldn't tell what had just been said.

"W-Why are they acting like that?! What did we do!?" Saanvi looked like she was on the verge of crying again.

"You guys just... You smell really harsh." Vermeil grimaced.

The first big culture shock one experiences when coming to Tayar is learning that most of the population doesn't really smell bad.

Cultivation thoroughly erases the bacteria in the body that emit unpleasant bodily odor. A certain pill also helps eliminate those bacteria in those who can't cultivate, and are typically sold en masse wherever any goods are sold.

Though people still bathe and maintain themselves, it is to clean outside dirt that may have been acquired; rarely to deal with inborn ones.

Even the asanbosam naturally smell fine when not covered in dried blood and the guts of their enemies.

Due to the convenient methods available, smelling poorly, in most any circumstance in Tayar, is almost always grounds for a fist fight.

It's seen as a lack of respect for others and yourself.

In earth terms, it's as bad as calling someone's mother a whore, being a child predator, or a New Orleans Saints fan.

"Where is your respect for my nose, you fucking mongrel!?" Vaal roared.

"V-Vermeil, please tell him we don't know what he's saying!" Jordan was also on the verge if crying.

Vaal only seemed to get madder. "Close your mouth, you godless sack of-"

"Why am I hearing so much screaming coming from outside my tent...?"

Taira emerged into the clearing with the hand of a drowsy Enyo still in his own.

"I don't care who you are, but if any of you wake my wives up, I am going to kill you…" Taira spoke in perfect English so that there would be no opportunity to mince words.

Needless to say, the six earthlings shut their mouths immediately.

Vermeil reached inside of her pocket and pulled out an assortment of storage rings.

These belonged to the six humans, but they weren't sure where or when they got them, nor could they use them.

They were unable to look inside or even take anything out because they couldn't use or sense qi.

So Vermeil elected to hold onto them for the group, since they were effectively just paperweights in their possession.

Vermeil reached inside and pulled out an assortment of toiletries.

Immediately, the humans looked like they were struck by lightening.

"I-Is that my body wash..?"

"Where'd you get my wave brush from?!"

"My sweatshirt!"

Vermeil tossed the change of clothes and toiletries over to them and pointed towards the lake. "I'll try to teach you how to do it later if I can, but for now... Go clean yourselves up, please... You can take turns or go all at once just... for the love of Astel get it done."

The group didn't seem to need much more provocation than that, and finally they ran off behind the trees.

Taira and Enyo walked over to Vermeil and embraced her despite the eyes of the asanbossam staring at them relentlessly.

Vaal was still no closer to understanding how someone was capable of locking lips with Vermeil when she was essentially a piece of cheese.

And as she and Taira spent more and more time with their lips and bodies pressed together, Vaal was beginning to feel like he would never figure it out.

"I-I wasn't expecting you both to be getting up so early…" Ignoring her red cheeks and flushed starry eyes, Vermeil finally pulled away.

She glanced at Enyo and after observing her for only a second she touched her cheek affectionately like she was a small child.

"How'd you get this one out of bed so early?" She asked Taira.

"She insisted that she was awake and wanted to aid you in cooking. A clear lie."

"Mmh..?" Enyo's eyes were practically fully closed and her movements were unsteady as she swayed awkwardly like she was on a boat.

"Stop being stubborn and lie back down. You should finish getting all of your rest before we depart." Taira spoke gently, but he wasn't exactly leaving her room for refusal either.

"Kayyy…" Enyo muttered sleepily.

Instead of going back into the tent, Enyo lightly tugged on Taira's sleeve.

Instantly knowing what she wanted, he shifted into a larger, four legged form and used one of his tails to lift her onto his back.

Enyo flopped face down into Taira's fur like she had just worked a twelve hour overnight shift and began snoring within seconds.

Taira promptly lay in the ground beside the campfire to allow her to rest without disturbance.

"You are leaving already, brother??" Vaal looked like a wounded bat.

Taira nodded as he rested his own head on a patch of grass.

"We must. There is a temple to the north of here that holds an item that I require desperately if I am to progress my cultivation.

We also have companions and a dark elf whom we entered with and we need to find them before they can fall into harms way."

Vaal looked like he would have rather been told he was about to receive a prison colonoscopy.

"Don't worry, you guys will see us again." Vermeil smiled. "I'm afraid we have to leave our little human friends here since we can't take them right now and we certainly will not be sending them to our home alone."

Inadu didn't know anything about Vermeil's classmates yet, and no one was expecting her to react well to them.

It took her forever just to get used to Vermeil, and they could only imagine what that process would be like with men instead of women.

Taira needed time to figure out how well she could handle this, as well as if she was in a stable enough condition to tolerate their presence.

If she wasn't... separate accommodations would have to be made, no questions or exceptions.

"Wait..." Tiche suddenly said. "Do I have it right to assume that you are planning on entering the Sanctum of the Mind?"

"So you can comprehend my words. Wonderful." Taira rolled his eyes.

Normally, Tiche would have responded with something unkind right back to him, but this time she just smiled his words off.

"A pity. I'm sure that all of your deaths will be quick."