"Yawn! What an unpleasant day this is. I tried pulling a prank on one stupid nerd, but damn, he was clever. My plan failed. And as if that wasn't enough, the human soccer team I'm supporting got wrecked. Would you believe the Gunners beat Los Blancos 2 to 1? Today be awful, wouldn't you agree, Methuselah?" Reggie said to Iode as they walked together with Nivea across the university grounds in the evening.
"Speak for yourself, brat," Iode replied.
"Say, where were you yesterday? I came to your room to borrow something, but I couldn't find you," Reggie asked.
"I went to buy groceries," Iode replied.
"I could've sworn I didn't see you bring anything into that room of yours," Reggie said, curling his lips.
"Tch."
"I met an annoyance on my way home… Wait—were you watching me?! Why are you watching me?! Stop it! It's creepy—even the seductress doesn't do that," Iode snapped.
"Hmm? What's this? A business card to a club? Huuu~ what chick gave you this, you sly old bastard?" Nivea said, reading a brown card.
"What?! Where'd you get that?" Iode asked.
"From you, obviously," Nivea responded, somewhat flatly.
"I know, how did you get it from me?" Iode clarified.
"It was sticking out of your back pocket, begging me to take it. I'm intrigued. Who gave you this? A hot chick you met on the street who promised to take away your sorrow, huh?" Nivea teased.
"…"
"Why am I even with you two? You're a real pain," Iode groaned.
"We're all going back to our apartment—apparently, we all live in the same building," Reggie snickered.
"Sarcasm. Damn this stupid brat…" Iode muttered.
As they neared their building, they spotted a familiar figure waiting for them.
"Good evening, Iode, Reginald, and Nivea," the dark-skinned man greeted.
"Oh, good evening, Mr. John," Iode greeted back. "To what do we owe the pleasure?"
"Why's the vamp looking for us? And I'm pretty sure I told everyone to call me Reggie, not Reginald... I didn't even tell you my name!" Reggie exclaimed.
"Have you come to lighten your burden? I can help with that," Nivea added with a wink.
John stared at her with a deadpan expression and replied,
"That might work better on a human than me. And I'm a lecturer at the school you attend—of course I know your names, especially when you're not even human."
Then he noticed the card in Nivea's hand.
"Oh, you've met my brother. You two would fit nicely," John said to Nivea.
"Your brother?" Iode asked, as Nivea and Reggie turned to look at him.
"But you two look nothing alike. Is it just a figurative relationship?"
"No, silly. Vampire blood relations are quite different from other family relationship. You see, a vampire can turn a human into its kind through their blood. When that happens, the two become connected—not just by blood, but also through emotions and… ecstasy. Related vampires, whether born or turned, share the same bloodline and are magically linked, especially if they're bonded," Nivea explained.
"For a demon, you sure know a lot. I'm surprised," John commented.
"Max wasn't too rough with you, was he?"
"You bet he was. But why'd you go telling others about us—me especially? I couldn't care less about these two," Iode said.
"Come, follow me. We've said too much out here. Let's head to that club Max invited you to," John said.
As they walked, Reggie asked,
"Say, vamp—were you turned by this Max guy? You kinda act like his subordinate."
"Subordinate?! You clearly heard me call him my brother. And for the last time, I have a name—stop calling me that V-word." John retorted.
"For all we know, this guy must be pretty strong if even Iode had a rough time with him. So you were probably turned by him," Reggie insisted.
"Oh, do forgive me for not properly introducing myself," John said with a slight bow.
"I'm John Oliver, second progenitor vampire of the Crimson Tide faction."