Aesop stayed close to Joseph, looking around with a glare on his features. He originally didn't want to come along to the party of the supernatural beings, yet he agreed at the end, even promising to not harm anyone in the process. This meant, he was without any of his weapons and had to fully trust the vampire on the fact that nothing was going to happen. "I... don't like this place..." Aesop mumbled as they walked to their seats, the Exorcist following the other closely behind.

Joseph swirled a glass of blood in his hand as they walked around the floor. "I know, Aesop," he whispered back, using a wing to pull the exorcist closer. Vampires, werewolves, demons, witches, spirits, it wasn't a place people wanted to see an exorcist. And not a place an exorcist would want to be without causing a scene.

As he pulled out a seat for Aesop to sit at a side table, "Try not to glare. They'll take more offense if you do, and I'd rather not put anyone in their place at the party of one of my few friends." Joseph cupped Aesop's cheek for a moment. "Remember, we're here to talk to an old friend of mine. You don't have to interact with anyone."

Then he took a sip of his drink. "Besides, this would be an easy way to explain how life has gone."

To himself, "And that not every magic being is terrible." And not just for Aesop.

He was leaning against Joseph with closed eyes. It was obvious that the Exorcist was very tired, yet he tried his best to stay awake. Every now and then, when he was about to fall asleep, he would snap himself out of it and blinked a few times before continuing with the same cycle. "I'm.... not tired.... I'm just... resting my eyes" He mumbled and let out a sigh. " I'll....... go and rest.... after this job.... is finally over... "

The two were walking to Aesop's next exorcism. They were far outside his city, and thus Joseph had no reason to hide what he was. If anyone saw, they would likely assume Aesop was leading him to be executed anyway.

But as they walked, Aesop was leaning on him more and more. And occasionally stopping. Goodness, the poor man was starting to fall asleep on his feet.

"Alright, little rabbit." Joseph slipped his arms around Aesop's stomach. "We're stopping and taking a rest somewhere." He leaned his head against Aesop's. "We're going to sleep for the night, or you'll find yourself falling asleep during your exorcism. I'm not risking you doing that, Aesop."

Antoine was informed of a presence of a feral vampire who where a little too close of the description of a vampire he knew there and the border of the town were in a lockdown as he prepared everything for that mission, blood bag spiked with sedative to lure it in a desert building. Good at least the risk of civilian death would be diminished. As he put his lure on the ground he hided in the corner waiting.

he waited for not too long as a shadow broke the windows, and Antoine did saw feral vampires, but seeing one as strong and collected one as Joseph so far away from what they were, completely out of it. This vampire was lucky that it was Antoine who found him first, or else…

Antoine stay hidden to not let his presence know, soon enough Joseph would take the bait and much after that…being questioned about how this happens.

The first sighting had been two days ago. A vampire had been out in the streets. Someone inside had heard and spotted it. They spoke to the authorities the next morning, though with the leader being gone, they were in a bit of disarray. So the town had issued a curfew.

The next night, two hunters had been dispatched. One returned heavily injured, claiming that the beast had shown up on his patrol route, and he had barely managed to escape its vicious onslaught with his life. From there, the city had gone to request aid from more seasoned exorcists and hunters, as well as dispatching more of their own.

And now, evening. The sun had finally gone down. The city, so busy during the day, now stood silent. The few people that were out had a mission.

As Antoine had walked around, he would have no doubt found a few dead people, brutally ripped into along whatever skin was exposed. And a dead hunter, who had gashes all along the front of his clothing and bite marks on either side of his snapped neck vertebrae.

It was night. Late. This place was empty. Was. Now something had passed through.

A vampire followed something to a building. Something that smelled interesting. It was up. So the beast latched onto the side of the building and started climbing. And when it found where the smell was strongest, it looked for a part of the building weaker than the rest. A hand smashed through that part, breaking a hole big enough for it to to crawl through.

So it did, very ungracefully falling onto its arms.

Indeed, it was Joseph, or what was left of him at the moment. Blood coated his mouth and palms. His face had cuts and wind burns across it, one off his sides had been slashed up and was very clearly still leaking blood under his now-loosening clothing, his left hand and wrist had a slashmark surrounded by that familiar black burn, and his boots had gone missing, leaving just his torn up stockings to cover his bleeding feet. Those odd clothing wings were covered in cuts as well. His face was looked more gaunt than usual, and his eyes were so dilated that one couldn't see his irises.

The vampire pushed itself up to its feet, breathing heavily for a moment. It took a few steps toward the bag before it stopped. Something smelled off. Its ears perked out from behind its unruly hair. Then it shrunk down and growled, looking around the room.

Placing one hand on the ground, it reached for the bag that smelled like food yet not like food.

Once it had a hand on the bag, the vampire gave a loud shriek and turned back to its entry point. Stuffing the bag in its mouth, it leapt to the shattered window, grabbed the broken edges, and flung itself out. The vampire glided unceremoniously down and landed roughly on its hands and legs.

But that didn't matter. It had more food. It bit several the food thing several times until it could taste the blood coming out. It was time to drink.

Joseph couldn't help chuckling at the count's commentary. "You have no idea the amount of times an embarrassing scenario like this has ended with sharing a glass of wine or spending an evening talking for me. I'm no stranger to making strange things a fun chat."

He thought about pulling his hand away, but with Jack holding it, Joseph decided otherwise. He gave a wave with his free hand and used a small spell-with a lot of discharge, unfortunately-to bring a pair of chairs toward the door. There was already a small end table nearby, which had a platter with a bottle of wine and a glass on it.

Often where his staff placed things he requested brought to his room.

He hummed to himself. "Should I ask for another, or just grab one myself..."

After a moment, he looked back to Jack. And only then did Joseph pull his hand away, gesturing toward the chairs. "Pick which you'd prefer, old friend. It's not like either of my ears is better than the other. And do begin with how you got through this city."

Jack could breath a little better now when he looked at Joseph now wearing a long robe…it suited him well as he watched him now without realizing his body begin to relax a bit more when the vampire begin to talk and that burning sensation on his face and ear begin to diminish…

then he felt his hand on his arms and the count looked at his gesture for a moment before sighing and looking at Joseph with a more calm expression and his eyes smiling gently at him, before putting his hand against the vampire hand now.

« That’s okay, I did overreact and…you are important to me too. » He say it with a much lower tone as he couldn’t help but smile beneath his mask when Joseph leaned against him. His shame was almost gone and he could consider the vampire offer with a gentle nod. Before blushing a little now, « Oh that’s embarrassing…but I suppose a misfortune like this could be shared with some wine. »

How does Joseph act when preferal and feral mode ?

Before he turns feral, Joseph is still able to think and rationalize. But he is very food driven, and prone to falling into something of a trance when he smells or sees blood. He uses much quicker methods to get it, like charms, and completely forgets social rules and taboos. For example, in an event server with @mischief-rei , Joseph walked in on someone in the showering off blood because he completely forgot the sexual and taboo aspects of it due to his need for blood. And because other people were around, he tried to charm the person into letting him bite and drink.

When he's feral... he's feral. He's no longer Joseph. All of his higher thinking functions are gone, including his ability to use magic and understand language. He can't strategize, he can't forward think. He wouldn't even recognize his own reflection. Everything is categorized into one of three things: object, food, enemy. Humans are food, or enemies. All vampires and werewolves are enemies.

He's desperate for blood. He's violent and wild. He'll screech a lot and hiss at things he perceives as a threat. And he'll get very defensive of anything he thinks of as food. The only way to get him out of this state is to either give him blood to drink and wait several hours, or for him to die. And he has to drink it; if it doesn't go down his throat, his body doesn't recognize it's "found a source of food."

It's why he'll eat other foods that include blood like pastries or blood pudding. As long as Joseph has some blood consumed, he won't go feral. And he does not want to risk being exposed and killed by vampire hunters or getting himself mortally hurt from letting himself go feral.

So Joseph caught a Lot of disease in his life, does he take well being ill ?

He gets frustrated when he's sick because it keeps him from doing what he wants. Crimson knows he'll be able to heal and rest through it, and he knows his body has limits. So long as he's not panicking. But he hates that being sick really puts hard limits on what he can do, often including what he can eat and how much he can.

Most of the time he's ill, Crimson can't stomach anything other than water and thin blood. There have been times, however, where he could barely drink that, and once at least where he couldn't drink at all for at least a day. He nearly went feral from it.

who was Joseph before being turned into a vampire ?

Who do you think he was? There's been some hints throughout

"i wonder what that would be like."

[hypotheticals]

Joseph tilted his head. He'd been explaining the differences between vampires and humans, and a few subtle differences he'd noticed between individual vampires. And as he was explaining what he remembered being different, Aesop suddenly spoke up. "Being a vampire?" He tilted his head. "Or me not being one?"

He sighed a little, thinking on it. "I don't think you'd find much issue with being one; you're already more of a 'night person.' But if you mean me..." His wings pulled in toward himself. "With what you've been taught, I doubt you would've liked me much even if I wasn't one."

💣: Did they ever get caught in a situation because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time?

[head canons]

Answered here

✪: Have they ever let a rare opportunity slip them by?

[head canons]

On occasion yes, in part because he knows he'll get opportunities in the future.

💣: Did they ever get caught in a situation because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time?

[head canons]

He has plenty of times, usually ending in being stabbed and needing a trip to a hospital or having to fix up his own injuries. There's also been a few times he's gotten drunk and spilled what he was while an exorcist or vampire hunter happened to be in the tavern, though that's more his own fault than just being in the wrong place.

Joseph chuckled a bit at Jack's apology. Such a shy man. And such a kind man. Was it ever any wonder why he'd felt so drawn to the man? His wings relaxed as he leaned back onto his hands.

The next comment, however, surprised him enough that his smile faded. He wouldn't call loving Joseph foolish? Then the count took his cheek. His hand felt so warm. Comforting. Joseph leaned into his palm.

i would never feel disappointed to do so.

"But Jack," he began quietly, still somber. "I could never love you back. Not like that. You'd be in love with someone who can't return the feeling." He placed a hand on the back of Jack's. "Wouldn't that be disappointing?"

 «…oh sorry I didnt want to mean it like this, how foolish of me. » now it was his time to blush and looking slightly away too before sighing in some relief when Joseph seemed to like that nickname. And he looked at his dear friend in a soft glare now, his ruby eyes smiling at him.

But then Joseph words did not surprise him, really he can read people like a book and the man wasn’t subtle…but it sadden him to know that many bad experiences close off the man ability to trust love. And he knows about that…accident. « I wouldn’t call that foolishness….this is never foolish to loving you. » His voice grow more confident as he softly cup the other face. « And i would never feel disappointed to do so… »

@melancoliefatale prev

Jack watched the poor man turn so red and see the man he knew so confidently stammering his words, his eyes were softened by this spectacle…his dear one was so adorable like this and seeing this facade was welcome. with kindness he laughed softly before crossing his arms and holding his chin between his fingers. "Isn't that obvious? Why wouldn't I call you dear if you don't have a special place in my heart?" he hummed while looking at Joseph…if only he could come out of this denial… but Jack was a patient man and he knew that his dear Joseph needed time and the account would wait several centuries if necessary…but that didn't mean that he couldn't leave some clues about his affection towards the other man as he looked at with tenderness. « I never thought you could be this red…how adorable. » Jack smiled beneath his mask and his tone was endearing with a small drop of teasing.

He looked away when Jack pointed out his blush. Joseph knew it was obvious, but he still didn't want to admit it. Stubbornly, "I-I didn't expect it, is all. No one really calls me 'dear' outside the bedroom, Jack."

Which wasn't really wrong. Joseph wasn't close to many people, after all.

Then, his eyes flitted down and his wings slowly folded. Obvious. There was an obvious reason, but... That would mean the count thought Joseph loved him back, right? He felt butterflies in his stomach for a moment. "I'm happy you consider me dear, Jack."

Joseph looked back to the count with a wistful smile. "You're quite important to me, too. You're the kindest vampire I've ever met. The nicest. And I still can't fathom how to this day." His heart fluttered. Gods, he hoped Jack understood what he wanted to say next.

"But I hope that means you haven't been foolish enough to fall in love with me," he continued somberly. "You know I don't love anymore. Not after her.

"There's few favors I wouldn't do for you. But loving me... I think you'll end up disappointed."

☣: Have they ever been severely ill? If so, did it leave an effect on their overall health in the long run?

[head canons]

Answered here!

🌙: Where is the most unusual place they’ve fallen asleep at?

[head canons]

Probably against the cold stone wall in the middle of an old, concealed building where a meeting of vampire kings who hate each other is being held.

💧: Are there any places they avoid? If so, why?

[head canons]

He actually avoids churches, not because he can't enter, but because he doesn't like religious zealots. Joseph knows a lot of pastors are cowardly hypocrites who justify bad things with god, or will do things they preach against.

And he finds their preaching absolutely obnoxious.

☣: Have they ever been severely ill? If so, did it leave an effect on their overall health in the long run?

[head canons]

He has. Joseph has gotten very ill several times in his life, from malaria to small pox to yellow fever, to boils and various parasites. He even caught the bubonic plague once or twice, and drinking the blood of sick people didn't help.

None of it has had an effect on his physical health, though. He's very lucky that his body heals extremely well. And that he learned a basic healing charm early on.

But it's made him picky about his drinking habits, and has influenced how he treats his staff. He doesn't like drinking from people who look or smell sick most days, and he insists his staff eat well and get check ups from doctors. He gets frustrated if they eat a lot of sweets.