[For Nick] Hunting for a liquid diet

[masochistic_lion]

I was awake far earlier than I'd expected to be, both nervous and anticipatory about my plans for the day. I dressed quickly and then left my hut, heading at a brisk walk to Nick's to meet up with him and start hunting. Today I would find out if my lingering food aversion was simply that, or if I still craved my previous diet, illogical as the idea may seem. I wasn't certain which result I hoped for, honestly. On the one hand, it would be nice to find something that actually tasted good. On the other hand, I didn't like the connotations that would accompany a continued thirst for fresh blood. Here I was supposed to be as human as anyone else. Then again, the faint sparkle to my skin that had remained after my transformation already belied that assumption. Perhaps I had retained other aspects of my vampiric nature, as well.

I reached Nick's at last and let myself in, announcing myself as I did so. "Nick? It's Edward."

Comments

[darkest_hunter]

Nick stopped walking and held up a hand, turning his head to listened further down the path. "Damn, I miss my hearing the way it was," he grumbled. He was quiet another minute then nodded. "We've got one, maybe two snacking away on what I left behind. You see a good place to perch up?"

[masochistic_lion]

"You and me both," I murmured with a sympathetic smile. Then I nodded and gestured to a nearby tree. "Right there." Without waiting for further instruction I moved over to the tree, sighing a little as I realized my progress would be slow and clumsy, compared to what I was used to. I gathered the net up and grasped it securely so it wouldn't hinder me, and began laboriously climbing toward the branch I'd selected.

[darkest_hunter]

Once Edward was set, Nick nodded and wheeled around to the outside, trusting that his earlier instruction of dropping the net on the animal didn't need any further explanation. Luck was on their side and by the time he came up behind the snuffling boar, there was a clear line to the tree where Edward was perched.

After that it was as simple as him running at the thing and the boar squealing its way toward the trap. "Drop it!"

[masochistic_lion]

I'd gotten settled in the tree and spread the net, holding it at the ready, so when Nick called out the instruction I was ready. I released it and curled one arm around the branch as I leaned forward to see if my first attempt had been successful, watching the net drop quickly toward the ground and the boar directly beneath me.

[darkest_hunter]

Nick watched the net fall and gave a full Bayou whoop when the boar started squealing when it hit. He continued the chase until the boar had done the work for them and tangled himself in the ropes. Then Nick turned his grin to Edward. "That's the bayou way. Don't work any harder than you have to. If you're patient, it'll get done. If you're ready, come on down and we'll get to the taste test."

He was pretty sure the only real test was warm blood and it'd cool pretty quick after he put the boar down.

[masochistic_lion]

I nodded, my stomach twisting in nervous anticipation and my mouth watering a little at the remembered bliss of sating that eternal thirst. I closed my eyes for a moment, then swung off of the branch, hanging from it for a moment before releasing and dropping to the ground in a crouch. The impact sent an uncomfortable jolt through my legs, reminding me yet again that I was no longer what I used to be.

I sighed and straightened, eyeing the struggling boar. With a deep breath, I nodded, wishing there was an easier way to do this. "Ready."

[darkest_hunter]

"All right," Nick nodded and walked over to the boar, now motionless except for the panting, frozen in his panic. "I've been thinking of the best way to do this, and since neither of us have the jaw strength to bite through skin this tough anymore, I think our best option," he said, already making quick work of throwing a rope over the branch Edward had just vacated. Two hangman's loops over the boar's back feet and he hoisted him into the air.

"The best option is to get the throat and let gravity do the work for us. You can just cup your hands and catch some for tasting." Nick pulled his shortsword from his back sheath and looked at Edward a second before he sliced across the boar's throat.

[masochistic_lion]

It was probably for the best that he didn't really allow me time to think. A sheet of blood poured from the wound made by his knife, and I quickly held a hand out, the warmth of the liquid and the faint, coppery aroma waking something in me that I had not felt for months. I added my other hand, cupping it to catch a pool of blood, then brought it to my lips, my eyes closed as I sipped, then drank more deeply, sighing. It didn't taste exactly as it had when it had been all I'd thirsted for, but it was far more appealing than any solid food I'd tried on the island, and I licked my lips as my hands went out to gather more.

[darkest_hunter]

Nick stood back while Edward sated his thirst. He was pretty sure the blood wouldn't nourish him, but what he wasn't sure was if too much would make him sick. When he finished the second round of drinking from his cupped hands and looked ready to go back for thirds, Nick cleared his throat. "I think that might be enough for his round, Edward. Your stomach's human no matter how good it tastes."

[masochistic_lion]

I looked up at him, my expression probably somewhat chagrined. "Right, I know." I took a step back and sighed, licking some of the blood from my fingers. "Well. I guess that answers that question."

[darkest_hunter]

"It does, and I'm glad we did this the way we did. If it'd let you at the boar's neck, I'm staring to think you have tried your best to drain him." Nick stepped over to where the last of the blood dripped from the boar's throat. "How do you feel? Not making you sick at all?"

[masochistic_lion]

"I think I would've been able to stop myself," I answered dryly, though honestly I wasn't sure.

I rubbed my hands together, the blood turning thick and sticky as it cooled, and took a deep breath, considering Nick's questions. "No, not really. I feel fine." I held my hands up with a wry smile. "Other than needing to wash up. I was never this messy when I was a vampire."

[darkest_hunter]

"From what I can see, man, you're still a vampire. Just like I'm still a demon. We're both just non-practicing at them moment. Kind of like lapsed Catholics," he grinned. He was one of those, too, but that wasn't really relevant to the moment. "And since I'm pretty sure you did a direct keg-tap when you were practicing rather than pouring into a cup, right? Probably why you never got messed up."

[masochistic_lion]

I laughed a little at both analogies, though I didn't know if I agreed with the first. "I suppose that's one way to look at it. And yes, I generally drank right from the source."

I eyed the now-bled boar. "By the way, can we keep this between us? I don't particularly want everyone knowing about it." Especially certain people. I wasn't sure what Bella would think if she knew--and I didn't want to find out. "There are already enough people that mistrust me for who and what I was." Not that I expected Nick to go tell everyone about it, but it was best to let him know unequivocally that I didn't want this to become open knowledge if possible.

[darkest_hunter]

"So I should take down the full page ad I've drafted for the paper? Cancel the billboards?" Nick teased for a second before his face sobered. "Don't worry about it, Edward. Secrets and I are pretty good friends and I don't have any trouble keeping them close. The only stipulation on my part is my girlfriend. If she asks me a direct question about it, I won't lie to her. But I won't go offering the information, either. Fair enough?"

[masochistic_lion]

"I wouldn't expect you to lie," I answered, nodding. "I'm not sure exactly how the subject would even come up, but if she asks you a direct question, of course you can answer." I turned to the boar again and mused, "I suppose we should take the carcass back to donate to the food stores."

[darkest_hunter]

"Honestly? I'm never sure what Dairine's going to come up with from one day to the next, but it doesn't seem like the kind of thing she'd spend too much time puzzling out. She's too worked up with the twenty classes she's taking on top of trying to get a generator that'll harness tidal energy, or something like that."

Nick bent to start tying the rope around the carcass' feet, ready to hoist the thing over his shoulder. "Looks like fresh meat for dinner tonight, huh?"