Taking a deep breath, Nat looked at herself in her bedroom mirror. It had been only a couple of days since her run in with the shade but the guilt she was feeling just wouldn't subside.
Being a teenager meant trying new things, that was what Nat had told herself to justify sneaking some of her mothers blood supply. She hadn't even wanted to try it honestly, at least that's what she thought. She had kept just in case, for no other reason than an experiment to see if what Duke had said was true. Then she had met the shade, the nightmare demon.
Without thinking she had drank the small vile of blood, realizing that Duke hadn't been lying. The feeling was intoxicating, she had felt more powerful than ever before. The only problem was the blood lust that followed. If Rei hadn't shown up Nat feared what she would have done to that demon.
This now led to a host of problems for the young damphir. She was frightened by her actions, guilt ridden for stealing her mother's blood supply, yet strangely craving another chance at experiencing that feeling. She had wondered over the last couple of days if she could become addicted to blood drinking, in very much the same way someone becomes addicted to smoking. Regardless, she needed to talk with her mother, even if it meant disappointing her.
Nervously, she now made her way towards her mother's study. Over the last few months Marisa MacGregor had been working on a pair of novels. One was the life story of the kitsune Akira. The other, ironically, was the tale of Amara the talking demon cat. Marisa seemed to go back and forth between the stories, editing, writing, and reviewing each page. It was a tedious process but Marisa loved her work. Slowly opening the door, Nat now spotted her mother reviewing her latest entries as she sipped on a mug filled with blood. "Hey mom."
Marisa glanced up from her work, the vampire showing off a brilliant smile that revealed her fangs. "Nat sweety," she replied warmly. "Is everything okay? You seem tense."
"Kinda needed to talk with you mom," she said nervously. "Its important." Marisa nodded, saving her work as she beckoned her daughter inside. Gszing at the teen, Marisa thought this was some teenage drama. A fight with Rei perhaps, or possibly someone placing peer pressure or bullying her. The vampire now gave her daughter a warm, understanding smile as she patted the chair next to her. "Go on Nat," she said warmly. "Tell me what's bothering. I promise I won't get mad."
Nat sighed, doubting her mother when she said she wouldn't be mad. She hadn't mentioned her run in with the shade. Mostly because she didn't want to dwell on the fact of how she had let herself devolve into a feral and brutal monstrosity. She was so conflicted about the whole thing, both frightened and at the same time amazed. Nervously she now tried to look her mother in the eyes, finding her shame to be overwhelming.
"Mom I took some of your blood and I drank it and I got in a fight with a demon and I almost killed it!" Nat exhaled, the words had come gushing out of her. It felt like a weight had been lifted off her chest. She felt a tremendous relief by saying it yet looking at her mother she began to have her doubts.
"Oh," Marisa said softly. The vampires eyes wide, her body rigid. She had been expecting some easy to fix teenage drama not this.
"Mom," Nat asked nervously. Marisa took a deep breath, looking at her daughter. Obviously this had been tearing the teen girl up, Nat was paler than usual and appeared to be on the verge of tears. She needed to be gentle with this.
"Okay Natalia," she said slowly. "Tell me what happened."
Marisa listened quietly for the next 20 minutes as Nat divulged everything that had happened over the last few days. The nightmares, the demon that attacked her, being curious about drinking blood, the feeling she had when she unlocked a damphirs potential. By the time Nat was finished, tears were leaking from the girls eyes. She felt awful for doing it, was scared of what had happened, guilt ridden for not telling her mother sooner. Marisa tried to give the teen a warm smile, pulling the girl into a hug as she began to blubber.
"I'm sorry mom," Nat whimpered. "I know I shouldn't have taken your blood but I was curious. I'm...I'm..sorry."
"I know sweety," Marisa soothed. "And from the sound of it you really scared yourself."
"Yeah," Nat replied, wiping her eyes. "It was just so....so...."
"Intense," Marisa finished, to which Nat nodded. "Yes I've heard that can happen with damphirs. Its why I never had you try blood."
"Wait you knew something like this could happen," Nat asked.
"Not specifically," Marisa shrugged. "But their were rumors about what happens when a damphir drank blood. You need to understand that damphirs are rare. Perhaps the most rare thing in the supernatural world. All I've heard over the years legends."
"Well I can confirm the legends are true," Nat grumbled. Marisa chuckling softly at her daighters statement. "Its not funny mom," she whined. "I'm being serious."
"I'm sorry," Marisa chuckled. "You stated the obvious though. It was a little funny, you know my sense of humor can be a bit odd."
"Okay true," Nat smiled. The teen now becoming very serious as she grasped her mothers hand. "I'm sorry mom. I promise I won't ever do it again."
"Taking my blood you absolutely shouldn't," Marisa replied firmly. "But as far as your powers go, I wouldn't write them off just yet."
"But mom," Nat gasped. "Those powers can only be unlocked by drinking blood. It was terrifying and a little gross. I could have killed that thing."
"But you didn't," Marisa countered. Nat balked, giving her mother a curious look. "Those powers are a part of you Natalia," she said. "For better or worse they are a part of you. You can't change that anymore than you could change who your family is. You said you could have killed, but you didn't. It wasn't your friends that stopped you though Nat. You did. You're a good person whether your human, damphir, or vampire."
Nat nodded, a smile cracking across her face as she now squeezed her mother tightly in a hug. "Thanks mom."
"You're welcome, " Marisa said softly. "Your still grounded for the weekend for stealing my blood though."
Nat sighed, nodding on acceptance to her punishment. After fearing how her mother would react, she could deal with being grounded for a weekend.