Death's Door? (Closed)

Amber was weak. Her limbs ached and her head spun as she tried to make her way through the forest. She had no idea what had driven her to attempt taking blood from a deer in the darkness of Hogwarts’ own woods, but she had. She’d been weeks without proper sustenance. She should have written to her father, she knew now, but it was too late. Pale skin, paler than usual, was drawn against her cheeks, and her usual green eyes lacked much of their luster. The animal blood that she had tried to use to fulfill her body’s want for blood had done nothing more than make her reach it back out onto the dirt.

Moving through the woods was more of a task than it should have been, as she fell to her knees and gripped at the bark of various tree trunks to drag herself forward. She had read a lot on vampires, and they were supposed to be able to last longer than this before they began to slowly fade away to nothing, but she reminded herself that she wasn’t a vampire. She was partially human, and she cursed her mother for giving her the weak blood in her system. Amber had hoped that a diet of rare cooked meat and fulfilling human meals would allow her to last until the Christmas holidays, but she had been wrong.

Every cell in her body was screaming, telling her that she was going to die. Letting her weak muscles relax into the ground, she decided that she would allow death to take her. At least out here she wouldn’t be found.. hopefully. Why are you so stubborn?

Mariya left the thestral grove after feeding the beasts and playing with the children. Her blue hair hung in a curtain down her back as she walked back towards the castle lost in her own world like she usually was. The sound of retching could be heard interrupted by a rattled sound that reminded her of a animal in pain. Jumping into another tree she looked down into a clearing and saw a girl curled in on herself so pale and grey she could be dying. Her eyes could see the wolfclaw robes easily, so she decided to approach with caution.

The scent of blood on the air filled her nostrils as she slinked towards the ground landing behind her she approached. "Are you alright?"

Amber didn’t know whether she was angry or relieved to heard a voice close to her. Whether it was her imagination or not, she considered lying and telling the girl to leave her alone. She couldn’t raise her head anymore, and her broken, soft gasps were throwing dirt into her face. She couldn’t no longer feel her limbs as she tried to find her voice, and knowing that this could be her only chance of seeing her family again, she muttered into the ground, “no.. I don’t th-think I am.”

She slid her shawl from her thin shoulders and approached the broken looking girl. She laid it across her back shielding her from the cold. Laying a arm across her shoulders her gentle hands pushed the girls vibrant hair from her face "Can you tell me your name? are you ill?"

Amber felt a soft warmth covering her and she knew that this girl was not from Wolfclaw. Most of the people from her school wouldn't have been so kind, and honestly would have probably kicked her while she was down. Feeling soft hands on her face, she forced her eyes to open and linger on the pretty, blue-haired girl. "Amber.. I'm Amber. I'm just.. just hungry."

She helped her sit up rolling her to the side then up her arm cradling her a bit. She gently wiped the dirt off her face "My name is Mariya" she said her hazel eyes appraised the girl wondering where she knew her from. "hungry? should I take you to the kitchens then? surely a stew will help."

Amber felt herself being lifted, and tried to help the best that she could. She was still mostly on the ground, but at least her face was no longer buried in the debris of the forest floor. “Mariya..” she whispered, normally not so weak in sound and kind, but her situation caused any act to leave her, “that’s pretty....” Her eyes couldn’t stay open, and as the lids sealed over her pained retina’s, she shook her head though to most it would have seemed like a twitch. “No.. blood,” she said, voice raspy with the dryness of her throat, realising that the single word may not have explained enough, “I need.. the deer is not right.”

"blood.." she trailed off as she leaned her back against the bark of a tree behind her holding the girl in her lap. "your a vampire" she surmised "well atleast half..your burning up with fever and most vampires dont get a fever." she tiled her head to the side and raised her hand, making a nail grow pointed like a claw she punctured the jugular with ease. Leaning her head back against the bark of the tree she pulled the girl closer so she could smell the blood. "Drink" she said and with a free hand rubbed a droplet of it on the girls cracked fevered lips.

Amber wasn’t usually one for affection, but the hold of the stranger was more comforting that she would ever admit. Perhaps she wouldn’t die.. When she heard the fact that she’d tried to keep so secret, she nodded carefully, not focused enough to care that somebody now knew. The smell hit her first, and she could feel the tightening of her skin around her eyes as her irises would inevitably be darkening. Control was difficult to keep as she thought about what she was going to do. Despite the fact that she’d never taken directly from a donor before, she found tongue flicking out to taste the tiny amount of blood that had been smeared on her lip. That was all it took for her teeth to descend into their monstrous feeding state, and she used the last scrap of energy and fight that was in her to mutter a quiet ‘thank you’ before she placed her mouth over the clean wound and began to drink.

She felt her teeth neatly sink into her flesh and she gasped, she held the back of her head to help her feed. "Take all you need" she whispered her hand clenched in the girls hair and unclenched a bit, she could feel her blood flowing into the girls mouth. Before she hadonly shared blood with raphael or mal but this was nothing like it. Whilst mal could drink alot his life never depended on it. She looked down at the vampire girl touching her lightly "n..not too much"

Amber’s vibrant hair was the first to regain it’s luscious red colour, starting at the roots and slowly making its way down to split and dry ends. Her nails and eyes were next, regaining their healthy colouring, before her skin began to flush with a pink that had been absent for some time. Slowly, but surely, the life that had seemed impossible for her body to regain was filling her again and she fought the urge to drain her source dry. With the memory that this was not a blood bag, but a living and breathing person, she pushed herself away. With strength regained, she ended up a few metres away, on her feet and she took a few steps back so that her body was pushed against the trunk of a thick tree. “I’m sorry,” she said, embarrassment adding to the flush of her cheeks, “thank you.. I can’t believe.. I- just.. thank you.”

Laying against the tree her hands lay weakly by her side, Mariya laughed as the girl stammered "your welcome" said touching her neck. "You look better i bet you feel loads better too" she frowned slightly as she got to her feet "Your Cadence's girl arent you?"

You’re welcome. Amber’s breath cause in her throat when she realised that this girl had just given her her own blood. And a lot more of it than she’d have usually needed. The other girl would be weaker now, and it was all her own stubborn fault. Guild ate at her as she offered and small smile and a nod, “yes. I am Cadence’s daughter. You know her?” It was the first time that she had introduced herself as such, and something about that caused a truly happy glint in her jade green eyes. “I’ve never felt this good before,” she said truthfully, as she’d just been feeling so shit and now she was elated and blood-drunk. “Are you okay?”

"Lady Dellen is close to my mother. i've met lady cadence at the manor house she showed me your photo before" she said "thought is my understanding your hades grimm's child as well. he is a old friend of my dad's and the grimm's and the gaunt-carrows are very close families." she explained as she slowly stood before wobbling and falling to her knees. "i'm okay just weak..i'm glad i gave you that much"

“Lady Dellen?” the girl asked, though it wasn’t a moment before she remembered from the wedding, “oh, of course. I’m glad that she isn’t ashamed of me.” With a small smile, she nodded, though she was pleasantly surprised that it was okay to be friendly with this sweet girl. Not that she wasn’t a friendly person, but she had a still guard about her that was usually too fortified to break. “Yes, Hades is my father,” she answered easily enough, though her gaze remained concerned as she watched the younger girl have difficultly staying on her feet. Now in control of herself, Amber took the few strides so that she was just in front of Mariya before crouching down in front of her. “I don’t think that you are okay,” she said quietly, “is there anything that I can do to fix it?”