Vae Victis - Chapter 20 (Patreon)

The First Hunt

“The fact that you are weaker during the day is an issue,” Shimi said. “At night, you stand a chance, but the animals lurking about at night are more dangerous. I would suggest hunting the animals as they sleep but most animals here are nocturnal. There are a few herds of okolon that I saw around, they are Third Investment, if you can isolate one you might be able to take it down, before you get trampled to death.”

That didn’t sound very encouraging, but I didn’t say anything.

“Do you know anything about hunting and tracking?” He asked.

“Some, not as much as I would like, but this is also a different world. I might miss things that are obvious,” I answered.

He grimaced. “True,” Shimi said. “For now, you should set up near the river, animals often come there to drink and you should look for an opportunity to ambush them. Collecting as much blood as you can, more skills and more Carvings, but avoid predators for now. There are too many animals around for me to describe everything, and I have not really been paying that much attention. Let us see what you observe at the river and then we will plan. Go only for the okolon if you see it, try to go for the isolated ones. After you get a few beasts under you, we will move to proper hunting.”

He tried to move and grunted, his face contorting in a grimace. “An okolon, is a herd beast. You will not miss them if they come as they are the only animal that moves in such units in the jungle. One of them should be your first target. They have very good senses, and can detect skill usage near them. With the way you move, I would suggest trying to get as close as you can before striking from an ambush. Another skill that most mature ones have is [Mist Step] which lets them turn to mist for a single step, every few steps. So you will need to account for that.”

That sounded like a plan. I glanced up at the canopy, there was still a lot of night left. “I should get a start on that. Will you be safe here?”

“I will for tonight,” Shimi said. “But we will need to move camp eventually. Until then, go, hunt. And may the Old Tree keep you.”

* * *

I moved through the forest slowly, with as much stealth as I could manage. Most people said that a vampire could sneak up on anyone, which wasn’t exactly true. We did have some advantages; our footsteps were lighter and made less noise because we had a greater degree of control over our bodies. In truth, a vampire was heavier than a human or even a shifter in their human form. We were more likely to make a loud noise if we weren’t being careful, it was only that we rarely made such mistakes.

I approached the river, making sure to make as little noise as possible. I wasn’t worried about any scents, I had washed the blood off and a vampire didn’t sweat, we didn’t have a natural scent of any kind. Once I was near enough, I decided to climb a tree just over the waterfall and the small pool, and settled in to wait. I got onto the lowest branches, which were still incredibly high up. It gave me a good vantage point to observe anything coming and going from the river. The branches were thick enough that I could hide myself from the animals on the ground easily enough. I settled in, and relaxed. My breathing slowed and my heart-rate plummeted. I kept my eyes and ears open for signs of anything approaching.

A vampire was an ambush predator, we could push ourselves to move faster than nearly anything else on the planet, but we could not sustain it for long. Most people comment on the vampire almost detached appearance, the way that we could keep still for hours with no movement, and when we did move have it look effortless and fluid. That was true, but not for the reasons people believed. We moved in a way that required the least amount of effort, with no wasted movements. Not because we were somehow detached and superior, but because we couldn’t sustain moving our bodies at the rate we were capable of at all times. Unlike the humans, we were not endurance hunters, we couldn’t track and follow our prey for days waiting for it to drop dead from exhaustion like humans could.

Even in this place, with the sun that didn’t burn or put me to sleep, I had seen just how tired I would get when I lost my strength with the dawn. I still needed slumber, it just wasn’t tied to the sun anymore. Or, not as much at least.

I glanced down at my weapons, I had brought the forearm mounted crossbow and my knife, of course Saia too. I debated having her somewhere in the trees in her dragon form, but decided against it. She was too eye catching, on my wrist I could hide her beneath my shirt. Then something occurred to me.

“Hey Saia,” I whispered. “Can you change the color of your drone?”

“Feedback: Not currently.”

I blinked. “May I ask why not?”

“Feedback: This Unit’s current state is far from full capabilities, many systems and engrams are inoperable.”

Right, she had mentioned that before. I had to imagine that she had to compromise a lot when she went from that giant egg size to being barely a fraction of that. I turned back to waiting for my prey.

I waited patiently, listening to the occasional sound made by animals that I didn’t know, and some sounds that were completely alien. An animal approached the river, alone, and dipped down its head to drink.

It was a large animal, though not as big as the ferrorn or the reaper that injured Shimi. To me, it looked like a cross in between a bear and a pig. It had a large and wide snout and each time it opened it to take in water I saw rows of sharp teeth. Its feet were spaced widely for a good balance, and I saw claws raised above the fingers. It was covered in dark and thick fur. I couldn’t be sure if it was a predator or not, but it didn’t look like anything that I wanted to tangle with. I remained hidden.

It didn’t stay drinking for long and I didn’t move from my spot. I didn’t know anything about this world, and from the things that Shimi told me even a small creature could be powerful. I waited, there was still a lot of time until dawn. A few hours later, a pack of animals came, again looking like predators, something like a reptilian version of wolves. From the way they moved, I figured that they weren’t that strong, at least compared to me. If I had to guess, I would’ve put them on the same level as the young ferrorn I had killed. The issue was that there was a dozen of them, and I was not dumb enough to try and fight a pack of predators.

About an hour later, another dozen creatures arrived. A herd this time. These creatures didn’t look like predators at all. But they were huge. They were towering creatures, the size of a moose from Earth. It was covered in thick blueish fur and had a head that resembled that of a hippo, only smaller. They looked tough, but also, even if they were strong they probably weren’t that much of a threat. This had to be the okolon. I watched them attentively as they drank from the river. Then they started to leave. I climbed down behind them slowly, noting that one of the herd remained to drink a bit longer than the rest. As the herd moved away, I followed after them, my eyes locked on the one that was trailing behind. I thought about using the bolt launcher, but I doubted that such a small bolt would do much to it. Instead, I raised my knife into a ready position. Stealthily, I quickened my pace, as much as I could without making too much noise. We were still close to the river, so the sound of water was covering for me.

Then I saw my chance. The lone animal had leaned down to sniff something on the ground, and I leapt. My weapon came down as I fell on its back. I missed, my weapon stabbed into the ground as the animal turned to mist and sidestepped. I cursed, and ripped the knife out of the ground, then turned after it. Before I could recover, the animal released a call, and as I turned in its direction, it lashed out with its hind legs. Two hooved legs kicked in my direction, connecting with my chest. I flew through the air and hit a tree, hard. I grimaced as I felt the pain in my cracked ribs, then I raised my head and saw the animal leaping away, turning to mist mid step and disappearing back to its herd ahead.

“Malparido,” I cursed, then got up to my feet. I walked to where I had dropped my weapon nearby and picked it up. Then I dragged myself back to the river in defeat. That hadn’t gone the way I had imagined. My ribs healed slowly; bones always did. Though slowly for a vampire was still leagues faster than it was for a human. And my healing was still slower than normal, the silver wound still causing issues.

I shook my head as I cleared my head. I hadn’t really thought about what skills meant. Shimi had told me that the okolon had them, but it was hard for me to adjust to that. I had to learn, and do it fast if I was to survive in this world.

I returned back to my hiding place up in the trees, and I settled in to wait again as I was licking my wounds. Ambushing was what vampires did best, but I had to incorporate skills in my plans now too. I reviewed my mode of attack and tried to figure out what had gone wrong. The animal had been strong and fast, but its skill made it such bullshit to catch. It also appeared like it could do it often, every few steps at least. After thinking about it, I decided that I had launched the attack too soon, and that I should’ve used my own skill. I had given it more time to hear my attack, which wouldn’t have mattered on Earth as nothing could’ve reacted fast enough to avoid me. I had to adjust to animals on this world now. With skills, the animal had just turned to mist and stepped away before I could switch gears. I should’ve tried to get closer to it before attacking, maybe even opened with [Debilitating Wave]. Maybe even use Saia in some manner. I hadn’t used her in the chain and blade shape as the thick jungle wasn’t the best place to use a chain, but I could’ve had her be a second blade, maybe. Well, there was always next time.

The hours passed, and no other animals arrived. I grew frustrated as I started to feel the sun coming. The hunt had obviously been a wash. And I did not feel like going back defeated. There was nothing that I could do about it though, the sun was coming and with it weakness. I had to get back to camp before I lost my strength. Then, I heard something, a rustle nearby. I froze, my ears twitching as I strained my hearing. It was not a sound of the wind or the rustle of branches and leaves. I heard it again, and then turned my head slowly in that direction. I didn’t see it at first, but then I noticed something pushing out of the tree. It took me a few moments to realize that it was a birdlike creature coming out of a hidden hole in the tree-trunk. I watched as it got out, shook its head, then walked along the branch, looking in the direction opposite of me. It was about the size of an eagle, with strangely shaped feathers and an elongated head. It didn’t have a beak in the traditional sense, it was wider and it looked softer, more like it had a snout that was covered in skin.

I sensed an opportunity to even my score, and I grinned. This animal didn’t seem that dangerous, and I had an advantage over it. Sure, a bird might not count for as much as a moose sized beast that turned into mist, but I would take whatever I could get. I wasn’t about to go back to camp with my tail tucked in between my legs. I prepared for an attack and then paused. I’ve been underestimating the beasts I’ve encountered in this place since the start. I’ve come on top in most of my encounters, but always I paid a price. Wounds that piled up and hindered me. My neck burned, a reminder that I was not at my full power and that any wound I sustained would take longer to heal.

I decided to be on the safer side. Slowly, I raised my arm, the bolt already nocked in the launcher. I aimed and then pulled the trigger. The creature didn’t even get a chance to react as it was hit in the back, the bolt piercing through, letting me know that the beast was not as powerful as some around here that would probably be able to shrug off that attack. It cried out, a screech that filled the forest around us. As it started to fall from the tree, I jumped from my branch, soaring through the air. I caught the creature with my hand, squeezing tightly and feeling the bones crack. As soon as I landed, I sank my teeth into it and drank. Blood flooded into my mouth, sweet with a whisper of power. I could immediately tell that it wasn’t anywhere near as powerful as some of the other blood that I had drank. It was less powerful than the young ferrorn. But it was still blood, the source of life and power, it would go toward advancing my Mask, and grant me a room where I could earn a skill. There were no memories, only hazy images that were incomprehensible to me. I recognized them as the bird’s dreams.

Once I finished draining it, I moved to throw it away, but then something occurred to me. I had never asked Shimi about any food supplies. For him of course, I could survive on blood, but I didn’t know anything about his kind. I decided to bring it with me. With that, I made my way back to camp.

* * *

Shimi laughed at me.

“You got kicked in the face? Haha—” he coughed, winced, before looking at me with a grin on his face. He was still sitting, leaning against the rock, but he had the other bolt launcher on his forearm, ammunition loaded in.

“It’s not funny, and it wasn’t my face,” I told him with a glare. “I didn’t expect… you know what? Never mind.”

His expression slowly turned regretful, and then he nodded. “Sorry,” he said. “I apologize, I was not thinking clearly. I should not have laughed. The failure was mine for not preparing you further. I know that you are an Exemplar, that you are new to your Mask, but knowing and understanding are two different things. You don’t yet know just how to use your Mask properly.”

Well, if I was being honest with myself, I should’ve known better, and I could’ve asked him to elaborate. But I fell into the trap vampires most often found themselves in: arrogance. I knew that I was in a different world, with magic and animals that were stronger than me, yet I still couldn’t quite drop the superiority of my kind. I had thought that I was beyond it, and not for the first time. That was part of that arrogance, the belief that we were the greatest of all living things. It was what killed most vampires. And I knew that many Fledglings died before they became Adults. Our minds were still adjusting to the change, our emotions were too raw. As a vampire grew, our control over our emotions got better and better, but the rawness of them never went away. I remembered a saying from my classes back at college:

When vampires listen to their emotions, cities burn.

It was said by one of their few scholars. I remembered the other students laughing at that, I laughed at it too. We made jokes about vampires being divas. But now I knew it to be true. My sire had told me much of the vampire history, things that I did not learn in schools because the vampires did not want the Humans even more terrified of us than they already were. Vampires had been kings and queens of the ancient world. There was a reason why many of the Human ancient histories were filled with blood and carnage.

I had believed myself above it all. That I had mastered myself in record time. I had let my sire’s praise go to my head. Most Fledglings don’t become Adults until their first century. The fastest a Fledgling had turned Adult was decades, and I thought myself as good as them. Sheer fucking arrogance. Ever since I arrived here, I kept finding myself losing control, getting drowned and letting my emotions drive me. I went out to hunt because, in part at least, I wanted to prove to Shimi that I could do what he had asked. That I could keep us both safe. I couldn’t, not as I was right now. A vampire was not the alpha predator of this world.

“It’s my fault too,” I told Shimi. “I should’ve asked before I went to hunt.”

“We live, we grow, we learn,” Shimi said. “Next time you will be more prepared.”

“So,” I raised my hand, presenting my catch. “Are you hungry?”

He tilted his head, then nodded. “Do you know how to prepare and cook?”

“I’ve lived in the jungle for most of my life, yes, I know,” if you considered making the rounds on cocaine labs in the jungle living. Then I paused as something occurred to me. “Though, I guess that you should probably guide me through it. There might be some differences between animals here and those I am familiar with.”

Shimi’s grin returned, along with a wicked glint in his eyes.

* * *

“That wasn’t funny,” I told him after I used one of the water gourd’s trying to clean myself off. The sun had risen by now, and I was back to being weaker and feeling all the little pains in my body. Even the healed wounds ached, and my neck most of all. I also felt tired, sleepy.

“Oh, it was to me,” Shimi said. He smiled, but there was a touch of sadness in his eyes.

I glared at the man. “How old are you even? You act like a child.”

He widened his grin, trying to look as if he had won a compliment, but I could see that it was forced. “Thank you.”

“I wasn’t complimenting you,” I said.

While dressing and cutting the birdlike animal—which he had identified as a cresser—he had suggested that I first cut out a slightly bulging organ just beneath what appeared to be the heart. That hadn’t been a good idea, as it turned out. After I had it out, he told me to pierce it, saying that there are some very nutritious parts inside. I should’ve known that something wasn’t right when he asked me to do it a few steps away from the rest of the animal.

“It isn’t coming off,” I complained as I tried to wipe off a yellow sticky substance that had erupted from the organ once I had pierced it. Apparently, it was a nasty bile, which the bird produced and used both for digestion and for building its nest. It was annoying to say the least, it made my fingers stick together. But at least it had no scent. I wondered if he still suffered from the venom and if it was affecting his mind. Or if he was just trying to make light of the tragic situation, we were in.

“Just keep rubbing, it’ll come off eventually,” Shimi called from his place on the ground.

“I would throw it in your face if you weren’t injured,” I said.

“Oh, you would?” Shimi snickered.

“This isn’t the time for…” I just waved my sticky hands at him, unable to find the words for my frustration.

“On the contrary, my dear new friend,” Shimi said, his expression now grave. “This is precisely the right time for such levity.”

I tilted my head in question, and he continued.

“We are in dire circumstances,” Shimi sighed and bowed his head wearily. “More likely than not, we will not survive for long. Better to go out with at least a few laughs. Besides, it is a learning experience, is it not?”

I paused, was he doing it to help me gain investment for my Ornament. Perhaps, but his tone was light, and I could tell that he did believe some of what he was saying. I could understand him trying to lighten the mood and help, but this felt different. I remembered that look in his eyes, I had seen in the eyes of the people that the cartel had sent me to kill. Those who had accepted their fate and didn’t even try to fight. I hated that, the surrender, just accepting your lot in life. I had been sold as cattle, and I never surrendered to that life. I clawed and fought; I swam through a river of blood to be where I was now. True, I did not always get through it on my own, others had pushed me along, they had guided my course and fate. But ultimately, I was the one who had decided to put one foot before the next.

I walked over to him and knelt next to his legs. He looked up at me questioningly.

“Shimi,” I said slowly in a whispered tone. I wanted him to understand how serious I was. “I fully intend to survive this. I know that it is hard for you, I understand being in a situation where your life is dependent on somebody else. More than you can possibly know. But we made a deal, that we would get through this together. Are you going to honor it?”

For a moment his eyes darkened, and something made me almost shiver. I’ve forgotten just how powerful he was. Even injured and weak, he was something that I couldn’t quite grasp.

My words were perhaps too forward. I covered for my embarrassment by glaring at him. “If you’ve decided that you are going to die, tell me now. I need to know, because I plan on surviving, and I don’t need you to weigh me down if you are not going to contribute anything worthwhile.”

His eyes narrowed, and for a moment I froze completely. The eyes that stared at me in that moment were beyond anything that I had ever seen before. They turned deep and uncompromising, filled with the promise of violence and power. I remembered then that this was not a human, a vampire, or a shifter, that he was a completely alien existence, and one that was very powerful. I didn’t know his customs or culture; We were not friends, but two strangers put together by fate.

But then, his eyes changed, and the same Shimi that I had been dealing with for the past couple of days returned. “You are right, of course,” he grinned, then bowed his head.

The earth rumbled, the ground shook and I moved over him as everything trembled. A few moments later it was over. “Ish Vizma is restless,” he whispered, then he met my eyes. “I apologize. I will endeavor to do all in my power to help us both.”

I held his eyes, then nodded, not daring to speak. He had terrified me, and I couldn’t let him see that. I felt my heart racing inside my chest, and suddenly I felt weaker, more tired than I had been just a moment before. The sun no longer hurt me, but it still pushed me to sleep it seemed.

I frowned, then walked away and started preparing the animal for cooking over the fire. Doing something to push the tiredness away. Neither of us spoke again while I put pieces of meat over the fire and cooked them. Once it was done, I offered him a stick, and took only a single bite for myself. I had wanted to try out some normal food ever since I arrived here, wondering if it would do anything for me. I bit into it and… it was bland. I could taste it, but it was muted, like it always had been since I was turned. I’ve known that this was the most likely result. I was a vampire, and a different sun wouldn’t change that even if it did turn me weaker. Vampires could eat and drink things other than blood, it just didn’t do anything for us, it didn’t provide sustenance.

“I thought that your kind drinks blood as food?” Shimi asked in between bites.

I nodded. “Yes, but we can still eat other food. It just doesn’t really do anything for us. Just passes through. I wanted to see what it tasted like.”

“Huh,” Shimi said, but didn’t ask any other questions.

He finished his meal in silence, and I started to feel my eyes closing on their own. I grimaced in annoyance; I had never liked the fact that the sun made me go unconscious. When I arrived here and found that I could remain awake while the sun was out, I was overjoyed, but now… It seemed that I couldn’t escape sleep entirely. I glanced at Shimi wondering how alert he was and if he could keep watch.

“Sleep, Marianna Rojas, I shall make sure that nothing eats us while you sleep.”

I narrowed my eyes at him.

“You have my promise,” he said. “I will not let melancholy take hold of me again.”

I decided to trust him, it wasn’t like I had much of a choice. I settled in near the fire, trying to push all of my fears aside. Sleep took me quickly.