Paying the Price (RP)

"Sarah is fine" Chablis was worried for her friend? (or more than a friend. They did share a bed, didn’t they?), and she deserved to know that much "She’s scared. Your only hope of ever seeing her again is getting some help"

Since most of Emma’s clothes came from Primark, or Boohoo, so she didn’t feel the least bit offended when Persephone critiqued those brands. She wasn't particularly proud of her own wardrobe either, though she did know how to make her money count. There were some good, budget friendly options, at these discount stores. You just had to keep looking.

"Benji is the sweetest" she reassured Pers "and not just for a vampire. But ‘safe’ is not a word I would use for someone who survives on human blood, and can lose it if they go too long without it"

She paused and looks at Bev and Kenedi for a moment. "Better keep your secretes for yourself for now though, until we feel where he stands on such issues" it wasn’t Benji she was only worried about. There were other people in the room too, and she worried about the consequences of revealing too much to either of them.

When Chablis buzzed Benji in, she approached the door and stood next to it, ready to be the first one to greet him

"Good morning!" Emma smiled warmly at Benji when he walked in, and leaned in to give him a friendly kiss on the cheek, her lips brushing just slightly above his skin.

Stepping back, she gave him some room and the chance to look around "You already know Kenedi and Bev. And you just met Chablis." She nodded toward the others in the kitchenette, her eyes finally settling on Pers "And this is Persephone. A dear friend of mine"

Persephone stands when Benji enters, though she is surprised and curious when she sees his patchwork, antiquated clothing. When he greets her, however, she cannot help but see his fangs.

She stares, and her shoulder suddenly aches.

She regains her composure, making eye contact with the vampire Benji, and even offers a warm smile. She says, "It's nice to meet you as well, Benji! I'm glad you're here."

She then looks to Emma to orchestrate whatever it is that Benji is going to do to help Chablis. Is there a vampire training Chablis can undergo? An apprenticeship? Some kid of ritual? Can they feed without killing? She has so many questions. Perhaps, once Benji has helped Chablis, Persephone can speak to him and get an orientation.

Emma couldn’t help but feel sorry for Chablis. The woman was technically dead, forced to prey on humans to sustain herself. Emma was more pragmatic about these issues. She could definitely see the appeal of being a vampire; eternal youth for one. But there were certainly downsides as well. Chablis would never taste ice cream again. Never go to the beach. Have children...

There were some perks to being a vampire, but the choice had been stolen from her. She never asked for this.

"Benji" she had her own questions to ask of him: "Who helps new vampires if the one who turned them goes missing? What happens in cases like this?"

"So, that's it?" she didn't bother to hide the frustration in her voice "Good luck, Chablis, sucks to be you?"
She hadn't expected Benji to be so indifferent about it. Maybe she was expecting too much of him. After all, it wasn’t like she would go out of her way to help every person in need she ever met. Still, something about this situation felt different. How many vampires could there possibly be? They were a small, secretive community, so how could they just let Chablis wander around without any concern? Didn’t they worry she might attract attention?

"What about the vampire who turned her? Isn't someone going to hold him accountable for this? He's just going to keep making new vampires and abandon them without thinking about the consequences?" she didn't believe Chablis was an 'accident' She didn't know how new vampires were created, but she had a hard time believing whomever turned her wasn't aware of the potential consequences "What happens when they cause problems? What if they draw attention, attention that you can’t control? You realize that if humanity at large knew you existed, they would spend every waking moment hunting your kind"

Persephone stands nearby, listening, trying to process it all. Her mood is sour and her thoughts match. A vampire arrives looking like an extra from Oliver Twist and Emma berates him for not doing what she wants. Hmm, I'm detecting a pattern...

When Benji explains how vampires are made, her eyes go wide and she blurts out, "It's an infection?? No supernatural nothing, just a bug? If it's a bug, could we get vaccinated against it or something?"

She shakes her head in confusion and frustration. "Oh, I have a headache. Wait... Does that mean I could be infected right now? Oh god... what... uh, Hey Benji? What happens if, um, other supernatural type creatures get infected and then die? Can they be... turned, too?" The panic in her voice is clear, as is the bite mark on her shoulder.

This day couldn't get any worse! ...Could it?

Oh, refrain from dying‽ How novel! I would never have thought to try to refrain room dying! .... Ok ok keep your cool...

Persephone feels her blood pressure rise but she practices some yoga breathing and calms down. She shrugs and says, "Oh, um, just curious is all. I'm just learning about the existence of all these supernatural things and it has left me confused. Emma... Well, Emma hasn't really given me much of an orientation, tbh." She looks apologetically at Emma and shrugs.

I am gonna have to corner Wentworth and get him to give me a primer on the other supernatural creatures that exist immediately...

"Considering I only found out about your abilities, like, three hours ago, and that I only learned you were in town yesterday afternoon, I think I’ve done a pretty decent job bringing you up to speed" She didn’t like being critiqued, and her defensive shields were up as soon as Persephone uttered her name

She pinched the bridge of her nose, trying to clear her mind and focus on what Benji had said. But the more she thought about it, the more unsettled she became. Didn’t Chablis feed on Sarah? More than once? For months, even? Did Sarah show any symptoms? She tried to think back. Sarah was always up at night, sleeping during the day. If she would have headaches, she would never complain about them. She was always so listless, ever since she came to live with them, but it could’ve been due to the blood loss, or maybe just from the emotional toll. Hell, maybe it was just a cold.

Dammit, he got her all paranoid now too!

She sighed and finally turned to Benji "Isn’t there anything else you can teach her? Chablis... she doesn’t even know what the sun might do to her, or any of the other dangers she needs to be aware of. How much blood is too much? She gotta know how to cover her tracks, how to stay under the radar." The more she spoke, the less sense her words made to her. What was the point, really? Chablis might be a sweet person, but she could accidentally create a whole army of vampires without even realizing it.

Her thoughts spiraled to darker places. Who knows how many people Benji fed on over the centuries? He mentioned feeding once a day to keep from losing control. How many others did he 'infect' in the process? How many died before they could fight it off? She found herself thinking about Miriam’s approach, and for the first time, it didn’t seem so crazy. Maybe, just maybe, it could save lives. Countless lives.

An overwhelming sense of exhaustion washed over her "Forget it" she muttered, and shook her head "I don’t know anymore."
Her eyes already moved around the room, searching for her purse.