“They will undoubtedly lead to the ruin of human civilization, and impede any kind of structural order that my kind will wish to implement upon witnessing humanity's downfall.” Mina went on. “It is more than likely that our people will once again be embroiled in pointless faction wars, not only between ourselves, but with this new breed of devilspawn that Varnae wishes to unleash upon our world. It won't be long before our own people are fighting over control of the true Montesi Formula, threatening to use it against one another until our clans and noble houses fall and fracture, until we are little more than savage, tribal bloodthirsty monsters.”

Now it was your turn to stare. Mina's nostrils were flaring slightly, and her eyes had started to glow a bit brighter.

“I won't let that happen. Any of it.” you boldly proclaimed, touching a hand to your chest. “Vampire or no, we're all sharing this planet. The least we can do is make a token effort to coexist.”

“Many of your people would disagree.” Mina argued.

“But not everyone.” you shot back. “People give mutants a pretty hard time, but they try their best to fit in, and sometimes, they even use their powers to help people. Blade does it all the time.”

“Blade is a Daywalker!” Mina hissed, a bit of heat entering her voice. “He knows our hunger, but he knows nothing of our pain.”

You blinked at her. Not willing to wait for you, Mina pressed on.

“He does not know what it is like to live in shadow–to live without feeling the warmth of the sun on your face. To know that the divine are watching over you, and that they hate your kind with every fiber of your being.”

She ran a clawed hand down her face, drawing a bit of blood as she did so.

“Merely overcoming the hunger requires a great deal of effort.” she said, her superficial wounds closing within seconds. “Some days, it dominates your every thought. It's like having a ravenous monster live inside of you. It wears your skin, pushing you to behave like a rabid animal. It is a wonder that our societies can function at all.”

You wanted to disagree, at least on some level…but you knew exactly what Khonshu thought of vampires. Even Loyise wasn't terribly fond of them, and she was one. You've never had to truly think about what it must be like to walk through life knowing that you were despised by pretty much everyone.

Did Louise feel that way? Hated by the god that she venerated? How did Morbius feel about it? Did B Negative…?

You couldn’t bring yourself to think about him that way. He was one of your only vampire friends, and it made you angry to think that the gods hated him for being an “unholy creature”.

(Cont.)