Things change over time. Rivers cut new channels. Man intervenes for good or ill,” I say, looking at the river as it flows into the night. “Do we change? Or am I now frozen in time, forever a twenty-four-year-old kept woman?”
Wow, that’s some deep, late-night river philosophy right there. It’s wild to think about how much we change or don’t, over time. Are you stuck, or just evolving in a way you can’t see yet? Either way, heavy thoughts for staring at a river in the dark.
Hector chuckled. "Physically, you won't be changing, unless... well, if nothing influences you, you won't be changing." He said as he looked at the river. "You, yourself will be. You will be accumulating experiences, you will meet people, fight, experience good and bad things, see incredible sights, meet people who will then make history... experience loss and tragedy. All of those experiences will shape you." He turned to Chloe. "And if you are not careful, you can become a monster."
Warwick takes a moment to admire his conquest, sliding his hand across her naked body, before he gets up. His thoughts turn to the younger woman - Stacy. He uses the mother's phone, opening it with her fingerprint, before looking at their recent messages. Then, he looks Stacy up on social media, to see if he can glean where she is tonight. He has a good idea, though - smart as she is, Stacy has a reputation for being a wild child. He recalls his now deceased pet telling him all about how they'd party all night, do coke together, and suck off dealers in exchange when they ran out of money.
Opening the phone was easy, just a fingerprint was enough. As he checked the social media, the last post of Stacy, was from two days ago. A picture of her and Warwick's pet, together. As he checked further, he realised that Stacy was not putting information about her wild activities on her social profile... probably because her mother had access to it.
"Hmph..." Warwick snarls in irritation, scrolling through the phone. He starts looking through the feeds of her friends for clues instead.
It takes Warwick some time, but finally, on one of Stacy friend's site, he found a recent photo... One from ten minutes ago! It showed her and Stacy in some kind of... disco? Concert? He could not say for sure and the description did little to help.
"So, a play on the old saying: The more things change, the more I stay the same," Chloe laughs at the darkness of her words. "Perhaps it is good that I am here—reborn thousands of miles from where I was raised. Anyway, I assume there is a reason you brought me here."
"Isn't it obvious?" He asked with a smile on his face. "To make you relax~" He chuckled and turned back to watch the flow of the river. "There will be many times, when you will be questioning yourself like you are now. That is good. As long as you do that, you still have your humanity." He turned to look at Chloe, there was a seriousness in his eyes. "Never lose it." He turned back to look at the river. He did not speak more, allowing the serene silence to come between you two.
I lean into my site as I listen to the gentle lapping of the water. But I am a monster. I killed that boy and buried him. No funeral. Just a grieving mother. I think as I realize that Hector, like me, has no heartbeat.
The quiet continued for some time. "178 years ago." He started, suddenly. "I meet over this very river, at this place a woman... a simple townswoman. She was coming here to wash her clothes." Something in his face lightened. "She had an incredible personality. She could make you cheerful just by being in her presence. She was admired in the neighbourhood. People loved her, barely anyone could not speak about how magnificent she was. She was a blessed soul." He paused, and already Chloe could feel the bad part coming. "I did not see her for a couple of nights. She got ill and died." He said, his voice deader than he was. "People mourned after her. Weiled. I returned after ten years... barely anyone remembered her. People already had a new idol. After twenty years, she was completely forgotten. After 3rd decade, her resting place was freed for a new occupant. Nothing is left of her... nothing to remember her by." He paused. "Now... I am the only one, who remembers her."
Wow that’s such a poignant moment, really hits you in the feels. The way he describes her as this radiant, unforgettable person, only to reveal how fleeting memory can be, is so bittersweet. It’s a beautiful reflection on time, loss, and the fragility of legacy.
I look up into Hector’s face. My eyes have adjusted enough that the moon reflecting off the water's surface is enough light to perfectly make out Hector’s features. “Am I you’re only childe?”
Thanks for the comment! But what I meant, is for you not to post on this thread - unless you are the player - but rather on this: Link https://forum.chyoa.com/threads/vampire-the-modern-nights-character-creation.6046/
“A girl likes to feel special. But if I’m not, I wonder, does that mean I have new siblings?” I ask kissing Hector’s chest.
Hector chuckled as he hugged Chloe. "Oh, you are special, alright. Unique." He hummed as he put his lips to her hair, kissing the top of her head gently. "You are one of a kind, an irreplaceable existence. There is no other like you, and there will never be another like you."
"I still have so much to learn," Chloe said, leaning into her sire, enjoying the feeling of his lips and his firm body. "And I suppose I have all the time in the world to learn it. So what is tonight's lesson?"
Hector smiled and then looked at the river. Slowly, a chuckle escaped his lips. "Did you know, that the city checks the cleanliness of water by using clams? If the clams detect the toxic substances, they close, and the sensor attached to them closes the city's water supply?" He chuckled. "Instead of creating some overcomplicated device, they used the living creatures mother nature created to act as sensors~"
“And here I thought clams were only good for pearls and fish fries,” Chloe giggles. Are you saying we are the clams for humanity? One of them is toxic, and we close our mouths and eliminate the problem.”
