Welcome to Gaia! ::

Mara thinks for a bit then shakes her head. "I'd be scared, I guess, if I knew what a vampire was." Ari nods as well.

"There's several different kinds, some are evil and to be avoided at all costs, others are less so." says Ai quietly wondering if now was the time. He looks at Bez and Kero and waits to see what they say.

"A little blood or lots...." asks Ari worriedly.

She thinks about it and shakes her head. "No, but what did you do with the meat from the animals you kill then?"

Ai sighs and sits down across from them. "Of those who survive on blood, few drink anything but that but which comes of a living thinking creature. It is a disease, Ari, that often times drives it's victims mad. The infected are oftentimes hunted down and slain, to prevent senseless slaughter. Technically they are already dead... hence the term undead. Those which are newly affected are driven by an almost insatiable appetite and are the more dangerous to encounter. Those which avoid being killed outright over time learn restraint, some actually learn to control their more base nature and appear and act almost human. Technically they are immortal, as few things can kill them. A wooden stake through the heart, fire, and sunlight are the three most successful methods used. They cannot abide the sun, it burns them to ash. Beheading can work, if you destroy the head... but cut off a hand, it will heal anew. I have a book somewhere which deals with them if you truly wish to know." He shudders and looks down at his hands. "But the term vampire pertains to anyone who lives off the life energy of another, be it blood, emotion, or the very life itself. They are, in many ways parasites, unable to survive without a host."

"But you were cured, right?" says Mara eyeing him closely.

Ai laughs. "Yes, he's fine. And so is Hopian. I can vouch for that. Now... not all vampires are evil, only those who use their powers or abilities to harm. The kitsune cannot survive without the life energy of another, but it has to be a special life force, that of someone they are closely connected to. Your Gramma Lyssan is connected to your Granpa Amestru. She protects him and he feeds her... though they have worked out a special arrangement that allows him a much longer life than most kitsune mates would have. It is said that your Gramma was once one of the most powerful kitsunes to have walked the earth. She was called the Kitsune Queen. But she has given up most of her powers to avoid drawing too hard on the tie she has with your Granpa. There is a reason for this. Kitsune are not truly born, but created from fragments of lost souls... because of this, they need the life force of others to prolong their own lives. But the kitsune are not evil. They take only that which is freely given. Blood vampires simply take."

"Wow... that's really confusing..." says Mara with a confused look.

Bez backs away laughing. "Sorry, Kero... I'll pass."

But Ai merely brushes his hair to one side and grins. "Just remember, my blood will kill ye, dulcha... so watch what yer doing."

Ari sqeals. "Mama!"

"I'm fine, Princess." laughs the bard. "Kero can't feed on either your father or me. Our blood... and yours... would kill him. But that doesn't mean you are safe from a true vampire."

"Why would our blood kill him?" she asks in a small voice as Kero pulls away.

Ai smiles at him. "I was drawn from the primal pool, Kero... as was Bez... and once I nearly made a horrifying mistake by asking that you be given my blood for an injury you had sustained. I am grateful now that Hopian intervened and insisted th Dawnmistress use his instead. I may play with the light and sing the creatures of the deep to sleep, but through my veins run the stuff of creation. Are you truly willing to risk it?"

Ai gets up rubbing his rump, laughing. "I thought ye'd see it my way, if I put it to you straight out. I guess you were more than a little lucky the day ye scratched my face.... But be that as it may. I suspect I wouldn't kill ye outright... make ye good and sick first... I suppose. And heck... who knows... since I gave ye my heart, ye might even survive the transformation. Don't worry, I polished it clean err I handed it over, purified it so to speak... Heck that was years ago and yer still walking around."