This contains violence and mature themes. We're going to tell a story. It's a story about monsters. Remember that everyone here, in their own way, is a monster. But first we need to answer some questions. [[Continue|Food]] You are a monster. You feed on people. People are food. What else do you do? What makes you more than a monster? What makes you whole? [[Love]] [[The Hunt|Hunt]] [[Fear|Scare]] [[Observation|Watch]] [[Control]]You walk into the room and everyone's looking at you. But you're looking at them. You have made your choice for the night. A few words and you can hear their heartbeat, feel their longing for you. They are drawn to you as you leave, and you can feel the flush of blood in their cheeks. You can feel it leave them when bite down, the warm blood in your throat. They die smiling, and for a brief second, you feel the blush of life in your cheeks as well. [[Let's tell your story|Vamp1]]You are the beast. In a dead sprint you can close that distance in 10 seconds, and you do it in 5 anyway. You latch on to their neck, sending them rolling on the ground. Your fangs sink in. They close their eyes. You bite harder, feel bones snap as your mouth fills with blood. You swallow desperate mouthfuls, shaking your head. As you stand, you see what's left of them, broken in the gutter, and you feel like a person again. [[Let's tell your story|Vamp1]]When they are all alone, you are there too. They can't see you until they do, and by then it's too late. They scream and kick, but the fear is too much. The blood drains from their faces and into your mouth. You leave them dead on the ground, drained of blood, terror in their open eyes. And when you meet those eyes, you feel human again. [[Let's tell your story|Vamp1]]You can hear their music when you walk in the building. As you mount the stairs, you can hear them breathe. Outside their door, you can smell their fresh laundry, and you can hear their hair brush against their pillow. They don't hear you open the door. They don't see you walking towards them. But you see them. For a while, you just look. But then you take their hand and bite down. The blood drains fast. They never saw you. They never will. You feel sick, knowing what you have to do to survive. But you feel a little better, a little more human now. [[Let's tell your story|Vamp1]]They walk into the room with the cup and the knife. You nod slowly. They take the knife, hold it to their wrist, above the cup. Again you nod, and they cut a small line. You watch their lifeblood fall into the cup, and once it's full, you take it and drain it. They look weak, but with fumbling fingers, they place the knife against their other wrist. You nod. They will not remember why they feel so weak. But you will. You are a monster, but in this moment, you feel human. [[Let's tell your story|Vamp1]]It's the solstice day. The Long Night. Everyone is awake. Everyone is ready. So are you. Tonight, there will be a feast. And you know you must partake, in one way or another. Your phone buzzes beside you. It's Aten, the primogen. All he's sent you is an intersection, and a time. You have no idea what he's planning, but if he's brought you into it, you're pretty sure it's important. To him. You are your own person. And the night is yours. You walk to the door, [[considering meeting Aten|V2a]]. You could just as easily [[wander the night|V2b]].It's a fifteen-minute walk to the intersection, a side-street with two bodegas and some run-down apartments. This isn't like Aten, who lives out in Park Place. He has a reason to be here. And there's a reason you're here too. You see him, an inky outline under a streetlight. He's standing just out of view of the security camera - and so are you. He nods as you approach. "One of my ghouls has disappeared. I think to a bloodfarm in these... buildings." Aten grimaces. "You're here, and I know you need to feed. Are you going to help?" Straightforward. Also unlike him. This must be very important. Or it's a trap. You're thinking about [[agreeing|V3a]], but you're also considering telling him to [[get lost|V3b]].Walking down the street, you see rundown tenements, barely-held-together pieces of stone. The city is crumbling away, and it's especially apparent at night. You pick a piece of brick up off the sidewalk, and grimace. The streets are empty. As you walk by a building, you smell something. Something fresh. If you still had saliva, your mouth would be watering. Instead, you just feel an ache in your throat, and the pressure of your fangs in your mouth. There is a meal nearby, and you are hungry. You consider [[entering the building|V3c]], but you can look for [[something better to do|V3d]].You nod and he smiles. Quickly and with purpose, he leads you to the back of a building. Inside you can smell something fresh, something good. Your fangs are heavy in your mouth. Aten walks to a steel door, and rips the handle off with ease. He's showing off - you could do that too, if you weren't so hungry. You walk through the door, and hear the sound of pumps working in the distance. You can smell the blood, too. Aten was right. There's sound all around you, boxing you in. You consider [[keeping to the shadows|V4a]] - it'd be easier to scout and learn that way. You could also [[run to the machines|V4b]] - that'd be more straightforward.You shake your head. Aten sighs, and runs off. Walking further down the street, you hear something in an alley. Sounds like a human, and smells delicious. You approach the alley, and you know immediately that you're wrong. It's not a human. It's one of you. It's moaning, but its chest doesn't move. Whoever it is has been beaten severely. You turn the figure over - it's Aten. He grasps at you, with fear in his eyes, and collapses. He's not dead (for none of your kind go that easily) but he will not survive the sunrise. You consider [[leaving Aten|V4c]], to discover what the thing with his face really is. Or you could take him [[back to your home|V4d]].There's no front door you can see, so you circle around to the back. The back door is reinforced with steel, and you know if you weren't so hungry, you could rip it off its hinges. Instead, you ram your shoulder into the lock, and it snaps open. You hurry inside. Through the door, you hear the sound of pumps working in the distance. You can smell the blood, too. There's sound all around you, boxing you in. You consider [[keeping to the shadows|V4a]] - it'd be easier to scout and learn that way. You could also [[run to the machines|V4b]] - that'd be more straightforward.Walking further down the street, you hear something in an alley. Sounds like a human, and smells delicious. You approach the alley, and you know immediately that you're wrong. It's not a human, it's one of you. It's moaning, but its chest doesn't move. Whoever it is has been beaten severely. You turn the figure over - it's Aten. He grasps at you, with fear in his eyes, and collapses. He's not dead (for none of your kind go that easily) but he will not survive the sunrise. You consider [[leaving Aten|V4c]], to find out what is waiting for you at the intersection. Or you could take him [[back to your home|V4d]].You creep through the darkness. It's almost serene. Nothing around you but sound and smell, and the feeling of concrete and steel on your fingers. In a closed-off office, you smell blood stronger than before. You peek through the door, and see a small human with an array of IVs poking into them. They are alseep. If they were awake, they would be crying. This is efficient. You aren't so far gone that you think this is right. But it is efficient. You hear footsteps behind you, and you see a human, holding a gun. They haven't noticed you yet. But they will. You can [[lash out|V5a]] - hungry as you are, you can still take a man with a gun. Or you could [[talk to them|V5b]].You break into a run for the sound of machines. Your footsteps clatter through the halls - if there's anyone here, they definitely hear you. But you'll get where you're going before they do. You stop at what looks like what used to be a fitness centre. It's been replaced by rows and rows of strange machines, pumping the blood from humans on cots. This is efficient. You're not so far gone to think this is good, or even right. But it is efficient. You hear words. Turning, you see a human, holding a gun, pointing it at you. They look conflicted. You could [[talk|V5b]] your way out of this. Or you could [[lash out|V5a]].You run to the intersection. Aten is gone. But you can see a trail, a line of ichor he didn't bother to cover. It goes up, and up, and... You see a blob of ink, briefly silhouetted by the moon, before it lands in front of you. It hisses. And you realize that you have nowhere to go. It's efficient. The thing before you is far gone, too far gone to be right, but it is efficient. The thing that took Aten's face glowers at you with red eyes. You could [[run|V5c]]. Or you could try to [[fight|V5d]].You heft Aten over your shoulder, and start on the way back to your home. He's coughing - force of habit - and fidgeting. He's heavier than he looks - all that dead flesh. You imagine you're heavier than you look as well. Aten cries out, doubles over in your arms. Then he points up. You see nothing. He points at the moon. You turn, and you see it. A shape, a splotch of black ink silhouetted against the moon. It dives for you, landing in front of you. It hisses. You've got nowhere to go. It's efficient. It's so far gone to hunger it's no longer anything close to what you are, but it is efficient. It growls, red eyes gleaming. You can [[fight|V5d]] it. Or, God help you, you can try to [[run|V5c]].In a flash you dart towards the human. You feel blood splash against your skin and the feeling is exhilirating. They have fallen to the ground before they can fire their weapon, and you hear muffled screams as you gorge yourself. This is truth. This is good. No matter what you thought, this is what you crave. You hear a figure behind you. Turning, you see Aten, snarling at you. In a flash, Aten is gone. In his place is a snarling beast, a creature made of ink and shadow and glowing red eyes. It snarls at you. You can probably [[take it|V6a]]. Or you can [[run|V6b]].Your words touch the human deeply. It does not fire its weapon. Instead, it is drawn in to you, as you come closer. You can feel the connection between you strengthen. You can hear their heartbeat. They approach you reverently. Suddenly, they raise their head, and point their gun in your direction. You look at them with anger and fear, but then realize they're pointing at something behind you. You turn and see the inky blackness drop from the scaffolding. It's all teeth and claws and evil. It snarls at you. You could [[take it|V6a]], with this human. Or, you could [[run|V6b]].You break into a sprint, leaping over fences and garbage cans, as you duck into alleys. Behind you, you can hear the scraping of claws on concrete and deep, angry breaths. You haven't felt like this since you died the first time. You come to a dead end. If you tried, you could probably scale the wall, and stymie the creature. But you could also make your last stand here. It's all up to you. Are you going to [[scale the wall|V6a]], or [[stand and fight|V6b]]?You leap at the beast, claws and fangs out, and you tumble. No blood is shed - you are both very careful. But you can feel, through your dead flesh, the tearing of your muscles, and you can see the rents its claws leave in your skin. You grapple. Tumbling, you roll into an alley - a dead end. It releases you, with your back against the wall. You could climb the wall, no doubt. You could try to escape. But you could also prove yourself, and fight back against the beast. The choice is yours. Do you [[stand your ground|V6b]]? Or do you [[scale the wall|V6a]]?You advance on the beast, snarling in tandem. You lock eyes with it, and you see something deeply feral within it. Something that resonates in you. Something that pushes you over the edge. Your fangs descend. You lower your head, and you hear a roar escape your throat. A deep, bassy roar that is so loud you almost scare yourself. Then everything is red. [[continue]]You run. You scramble away, leaping over obstacles, in a mad dash to escape. The beast is hot on your tail, but it fades into the distance. Once it's almost out of sight, you hear a primal roar echo into the night, one that chills you to your core like it would if you were human. And you feel human. You don't feel like the monster you are. But you are scared. The roar gets louder. Everything goes black. [[continue]] You lie in your bed, waiting for the sunrise. You are exhausted. Every ounce of strength you had was used up last night with the beast. And you don't know if it will be back again tonight. Or the next night. But you are still hungry. You walk to the door, thinking about your night. Thinking about the choices you made. What were you last night? Were you "you" at all? Or just a monster that shares your skin. It doesn't really matter. Today is over. But you'll have to do it again tomorrow. [[Again?|Food]]