Problem Child

[likeits1999]

...So, uh. Got some things I should probably tell you guys.

[ Kevin seems a little nervous, he has trouble doing "eye contact" with the mirror. ]

I guess like... first of all, I'm Kevin? I'm from New York? I skate? I've met some of you but not everybody so...

[ He shrugs. ]

You ever known somebody who... uh, has a personal problem? But it turns out that if you know 'em and are around 'em all the time it kinda winds up to be their crap ends up being everybody's shit to deal with?

It's kinda like that.

[ Everything about trying to explain this is awful. Everything. ]

The thing with me is... well..

I'm... kind of a vampire?

[ There. He said it. Getting that part out helps him square up and face it a little better, his gaze steadies straight on the mirror. ]

Actually, not "kind of" at all. I'm definitely a vampire. I drink people's blood. I have to. Been doing this shit a good while, too. The Green's got my back with the whole sunlight deal, but I still ain't exactly keeping down regular grindage if you know what I'm saying.

[ Kevin winces a little. He tried. ]

So... here's the deal: I need to drink blood sometimes. Otherwise I get hungry, and when I get hungry I stop... being able to be a person so good? It's bad. Trust me.

[ Please, please trust the self-described vampire. ]

It's not a lot all the time, I can go a bit if I'm full up, and I can stretch it on animals and junk like that, but it's... yeah, dog.

[ He makes his lungs pull in air and breathe it back out in a long hwoo. ]

The other thing is it's probably... if I'm gonna be real with allay'all, I don't want to put my teeth in you? I mean, I got 'em.

[ He takes a second to drop fangs and show the mirror before pulling them back in, which probably does a whole lot of good for his image with the team. ]

It does stuff to people, though? And I don't want to be like that if we're gonna be doing this Lord of the Rings shit together, alright? If we're gonna be real, I'm gonna be real.

[ Kevin's shoulders sink a little as this sudden surge of confidence falters. ]

I don't know what I'm supposed to do about this, but I'm not lying about it and I'm not gonna sneak around. And I mean.... if y'all wanna run me off into the woods, cool, but I'm gonna end up stuck comin' back like any of the rest of us.

If I could just go find someplace else to be, I mean...

[ He smiles weakly. ]

You wouldn't be hearing this.

Comments

[balladin]

Somehow, that's less cool than having tooth-offs over turf. Sharks! Jets! Nesferatu! You'd have to replace the ballet with a tango though - lots of good teeth-baring with the roses.

[ Robbie mimes clenching his teeth around the stem of a rose. ]

Tangoing vampires seems a little cliche though. Speaking of cliches, is there anything we should avoid to make you less likely to get the munchies? I left my lacey white nightie at home, so I'm safe there.

[likeits1999]

[ Kevin surprises himself by getting that reference. There was just a revival recently, he heard about it. Culture! ]

You're cracking jokes, man, but for real you don't wanna see a vampire turf war. Shit gets nasty.

[ He thinks for a moment about the rest of it. ]

Just keep me away from blood? I'm alright as long as I'm not hungry, but like... anybody's real tore open? I'm gonna notice. I smell it real good.

There's like... vampire junk I can do that uses it up quicker? I can make myself real strong and real fast if I gotta, but bro? I am kinda not looking to wear out what I'm given here.

[balladin]

[ He doesn’t think Kevin seems overly upset over the joke, but Robbie wasn’t going to bank on his intuition keeping his foot out of his mouth. ]

“Sorry, it’s what I do. I get that they’re not a good time though. Don’t worry – I won’t bring it up again.”

[ The caution about keeping Kevin away from anyone who’s badly bleeding makes his stomach twist. That… might be a tall order. They’ve already had several injuries among the group, and it’s not like they can send anyone away. ]

Yeah, about that… it’s not like those things that attacked us in the Emerald City put it on our calendar. Dance cards went out last century, Big K, so I guess the real question is how strong are you? I never did the gym rat thing, but – yo, bro, how much do you bench?

[likeits1999]

It's cool. I haven't exactly got up in one of those in person, but there's stories, you know?

[ No harm no foul, Robbie. ]

I'm alright, it's not like...

[ He has to stop and think about what to say. Hell, thinking about blood being everywhere is sort of uncomfortable. It's day time and the reaction is sluggish, but Kevin can still feel a chunk of his consciousness dial in on the imagined details. Interested. Alert. Vampires talk about the Beast like it's a foreign thing implanted in them with the curse, but it's not. It's still them. It's the same parts of a person that notice the smell of a good meal being cooked, twisted and redirected into an alien hunger.

Kevin has practice. He's not hungry right now and it's just memory, it can be ignored. ]

I'm not gonna attack nobody. I got better control of myself than that. So long as I'm not starving, you guys are dealing with me and not... monster-me.

[ He's trying. Really, he is. ]

If you wanna talk weights and stuff, I don't know, man. I don't exactly lift.

[ That draws a semi-crooked smile, he thinks it's funny. ]

Me just sitting here I'm like... two dudes my size probably.

[ He's not a big kid, he wishes he'd gotten to be taller, but he has some muscle on him. Kevin wasn't built, but he was fit when the vampirism got him. ]

If I start burning blood... [ He tries to think of an example. ] One time I pushed a dumpster? Like I didn't pick that up, shit's heavy, but I pushed it a couple yards? I think that's the worst thing I ever moved.