Feeding Without Kill

Jenevieve walked through the city of Catania, her eyes flickering in the dimly lit streets. This night in particular was darker than most. She was thirsty, aching for blood to run down her throat and settle in her stomach. She made up her mind before departing from the coven that she would not kill the person she drank from tonight. She hadn’t sworn off slaughtering all together, but she had just started her new life here, and didn’t want to mess anything up so soon. Her brow furrowed slightly as she tried to remember the last person she fed from without killing them. She honestly couldn’t.
She came to a bar, the name of which catching her eye. “The Blood Bucket.” That sounded promising at best, or ironic if nothing else. She let herself inside of the building and looked around. She appeared out of place, wearing an Edwardian inspired dress with a dark crimson coat. Her small height was brought up a few inches from wearing her knee high black boots. Her snow white was hair tied back in a lose bun, a few curls lacing down her face. She took in the night scene, scouting out the potential meal in the crowd.

(( A reference to what she’s wearing))

Spoiler:

As any other normal night in Catania, Rick was at The Blood Bucket.

But this time he wasn't behind the bar hoarding cash and doling out alcohol. He was sat on a stool at the bar, drinking from a heavy crystal brandy glass.

Unlike when he worked behind the bar, he was wearing a simple black T-shirt and jeans. No flashy outfits designed to draw people close and keep them there to spend their time and money at the bar.

Jenevieve glided over to the counter, taking the only available open seat, which happened to be next to Rick. She sat herself down, making sure to keep her knees modestly together as to not come off as unlady like, hooking the inside of her heels inside the bar of the stool. Her posture was perfectly straight. She had a regal air about her, even when being in such an unregal setting.

“I want a 50/50 gin gimlet. Shake equal parts gin and Rose's lime cordial and strain into a chilled cocktail glass.” She told the bar tender on duty, resting her hands on her lap.

Rick snorted a quite laugh when he heard the white-haired woman's order.

He knew the bartender quite personally and knew rather well that he'd find something like that far too much effort to do without a handsome tip.

His eyes trailed over the woman swiftly, lingering on her red eyes. They reminded him of Giacinto and Ignicio.

The human pulled a note out of his wallet and laid it down in front of the woman, eyes turning to the bartender. "Get the lady her drink, eh?" He gave a pleasant smile to the bartender, then at the woman. "I'm Rick."

Jenevieve could feel the man’s piercing blue eyes scanning her over. Her brow raised lightly but she continued to stare ahead, fighting a small smirk that tried to make its way across her lips. She stared down at the note once he placed it in front of her. Listened to his deep voice as he told the bartender to give get her the drink. She looked over at him, a hint of seduction in her hooded eyes.

“Jenevieve.” She introduced herself, extending her hand out to greet him.

His fingers curled around Jene's and he bent his head to press a soft kiss to the back of her hand softly.

"It's a pleasure, Jenevieve."

The humans lips quirked into a crooked grin as he straightened out.

Once he set his soft lips on her hand Jenevieve couldn’t help but let herself smile at him. Though she wasn’t convinced someone wearing jeans and t-shirt was a gentleman, that was a very gentlemanly move on his part, and she enjoyed that. She used her free hand to brush away some of the spiraling locks that draped around her face, which promptly set back in place despite her coaxing.

“It’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance as well Rick.” She cooed, resting her hands back down in her lap. She positioned her body to be facing him more, but kept her straight and dignified posture.

He grinned at her. The sneered when the bartender gave him a thump on the shoulder and sent a leer Jene's way.

Of course, the bartender would think he was trying to get laid. All men ever wanted from women these days was sex. Pleasant conversation couldn't happen.

The man sighed softly and gave the vampire a half smile. "What's a nice looking girl like you doing in a shithole like the Blood Bucket?" He didn't see many nice, respectable women here (apart from his boss, of course).

Jenevieve let her gaze go to the bartender, the smile fading from her lips and a little scowl coming to her face for only a moment, until she redirected her attention to Rick, the soft smile returning back to her face.

"I'm new to Italy." She said softly. "Catania is foreign land to me. I suppose you could say I'm still trying to find my way around. And for whatever reason the Blood Bucket caught my eye." She said, her voice soft and feminine. "And what about you? You don't seem like the other...'men' here... I can tell there is something different about you." She observed, flicking one finger up and down on the back of her hand as she sat with them folded on her lap.

"Welcome to Sicily. I hope you enjoy your stay here." He grinned a little. "Not everyone here is like this. You just really crapped out choosing this bar. Everyone here is a dick."

Rick raised his voice a little on the last sentence, sending a glare in the bartender's direction.

"Ah, actually I'm not from around here. I've only been here for a couple of years." He pursed his lips slightly, thinking back. "I worked at a restaurant up in Rome when I met the owner of this place. We hit it off great and became really close friends. And so when I lost my job there she offered me a place in one of her bars around."

He gestured grandly to the bar. "She's been living just outside Catania for about a decade now and I'd never been to Sicily. I wanted to know what it was like."

Realising he had rambled, he bit his lips looking down with a faint flush in his cheeks. He needed to stop rambling about his life like that.

Jenevieve kept the soft smile on her face as she listened to Rick talk. He seemed like an enthusiastic young man, and she craved his blood inside her. But she had to remain proper, and keep her patience about her.

"Mmmm Rome. I've always wanted to visit Rome" She said in a gentle sigh.

"It's good you had your friend to help you in that trying time. But tell me, if this is not a place you recommend, then where would you suggest is a good visiting spot for a new comer in Catania?" She inquired, glancing over at the bartender, wondering where her drink was.

"It's a beautiful place if you've never been." Living there for most of his life the lustre and beauty had faded somewhat.

He smiled crookedly. "There are a lot of nice restaurants around that you might enjoy. There are a few parks that are nice and quiet at this time of night. I usually walk alone in them when I'm trying to think."

"There are the classier drinking establishments. This bar was named the Blood Bucket for a reason. Giacinto has a load of different places in Catania. Both high-end and cheap-as-chips bars."

Jenevieve listened with interest as Rick spoke, and her eyes widened at the mention of a familiar name.

"Giacinto?" She asked. "I too know a woman by that name. Your Giacinto wouldn't happen to have long brown hair, darker skin, and an ebullient personality now would she?" She asked, grinning, hoping that they were speaking of the same person. What a wonderful coincidence that would be. And were that the case, perhaps Rick was familiar with Vampires, and all that entails.

"Of course." He chuckled in amusement and leaned against the bar. "There's only one person named Giacinto in Catania and everyone knows her. Though she's only cheerful when she's with personal friends or her adopted family."

The human grinned widely. "You should have seen her with her family here the other week. All the staff here thought she'd gone crazy when she was actually nice."

"Though her skin isn't all that dark," he mused, resting his chin on his hand. "Sure, she's tan compared to us, but she's a native Italian. All the true Italian's are tanned." His light skin came from his German nationality. He was born in Germany to German parents then moved to Rome before he could understand what was going on.

“Adopted family? You wouldn’t happen to be referencing to those in…” She lowered her voice some, not sure if this was secret information “in the coven would you?” A small simper stayed splayed across her lips. This was turning out to be very interesting.

She waved her hand a little at his second comment. “You have to keep in mind that I hail from the United Kingdom. Giacinto’s complexion is darker then what I’m used to seeing I suppose. Not that it really matters.” She directed her attention over to the bartender, getting a little irked that he still hadn’t served her her drink.

"Coven?" Rick had been friends with Giacinto for some years and he had noticed that she didn't really age. Her hair grew and changed but she still seemed to have the youth of a woman in her early twenties. They had met when he was still a teenager and he was now heading towards his late-twenties.

He had toyed over the idea of her being something other than human, but shot those thoughts down

For all intents and purposes Giacinto was human.

"England, eh? I havent been there before. Is it nice?"

His eye turned to the bartender. "Oi, this one's a friend of Giacinto's." That was all it took for the bartender to drop everything he was doing to make the lady her drink. You didn't want to anger Giacinto. Ever.

Jenevieve shook her head at his confusion, worried she had said something she shouldn’t. This man seemed close to Giacinto, but even he did not know what she was. She wondered if Rick even knew of vampires existence, and what he would do if he found out.

She smiled gratefully once the bar tender made her the drink and wrapped her thin fingers around the glass, bringing it up to her lips. She sipped it slowly before setting it back down, never breaking her eye contact with Rick.

“I love it.” She reflected back on her life there. “Often times I wish I could go back. But that place holds too many memories for me… Things I’d like to keep in my past.” Her eyes appeared to gloss over as she thought back to her life there. She blinked once to snap out of it, running her finger along the rim of her glass.

“Sorry.” She smiled. “I suppose that doesn’t really matter much either.”

"I think perhaps I might take a holiday and go then. If you give it high ratings."

He smiled and waved his hadn't dismissively. "The past happens." He had been lucky to not have a terrible past. He was pretty sheltered compared to most people and for that he was thankful.

"I'm sorry that you had to run away from yours, though." The girl looked nice. She ddn't deserve having a bad past.

“I do.” She nodded, smiling warmly at him. Had she not resolved to let Rick live, she would have tried to get him into seclusion by this point. Far in the back of her emotions she was glad she decided not to drink him dry. There was a charming yet lively air about him she enjoyed.

“Hmmm… That’s kind of you.” She cooed. “But there really is no use in dwelling on such things. What’s important is the present and future. The past merely aids in shaping what we form ourselves to become. If someone tries to live in it then they’re only holding themselves back. Don’t you agree?”

This was more then she normally spoke to someone, especially a person she had just met. But she really wanted his blood, and was ready to make conversation if that would help her achieve it. Surprisingly however she was finding herself taking pleasure in the small talk. She sipped on her drink again, holding his gaze, awaiting his response.

He nodded along with what she was saying. "Yes, definitely."

He drained the last mouthful of his brandy and ordered another, grinning widely at the bartender as he skulked off to get his order. He wasn't too fond of the other workers here and any work he could get them to do for him personally was always a pleasure seeing. That's why he usually drank here on his day off.

"I don't like dwelling in the past." He grinned widely. "The present is just too fun."

Jenevieve studied his features as he spoke. He was a very handsome man. He had a rugged and yet defined look about him. Jenevieve leaned in a little closer, her hands clasped together on her lap, a mischievous smile on her face.

"The present is too fun and the future too exciting." She said slyly.

" Rick... what if I told you something that would open up a new world for you? Something you didn't know even existed, but was all around you all along?" Her voice was soft so only he could hear, her eyes carrying an intriguing and inviting air.

"I would be interested," was his immediate response.

"Ta." He grinned at the bartender, lifting the brandy that had been slammed down in front of him and taking a swig of it.

His tongue ran over his lower lip as his blue eyes turned back to Jenevieve. "Though I would be hesitant to know what it is because I'm quite happy living the life I have in blissful innocence to the things that go bump in the night."

"But it's entirely your choice to tell me."

Jenevieve smiled and sat up straight. She looked around the bar at all the drunken men and women making fools of themselves with their loud and chaotic merriment.

"Don't worry Rick." She said sweetly. "It's not anything to be afraid of. It's something beautiful I assure you. Something new and enthralling. Many don't understand, but that's not any reason to fear it." She reached her hand out and ran her fingers up the length of his forearm.

"Would you like to maybe show me one of the parks? I could tell you there, where things are... quieter."

"I'm human. Human's fear change above all else."

But he stood after draining his glass and offered his arm to the woman.

"How about we head to the beach? A nice moon-lit beach walk to share dark secrets and 'beautiful, enthralling' things." His lips quirked into a grin.

She wrapped her hand around his arm, smiling up at him. Even with her heels on she was a lot shorter then most.

"That sounds lovely." She coo'd, trying to keep herself in control. Feeling the veins in his arms nearly drove her crazy. She let out a little quivering breath to maintain her exposure, letting him lead the way.