Merrill Lianne Powell

Fangs, Feasts, Smiles

“You realize they’re vampires, right?” Vinci looked at Alan, still looking concerned as he raised his hand to knock on the mansion door.

Alan nodded again, enthusiastically. “That’s why I’m so excited to see em!”

Vinci returned a soft, fond expression. “Alright, As long as you’re sure.” He knocked against the mansion doors, and in an instant they swung open, revealing a short woman with long hair, dressed as a maid.

“Ah! Master Vinci! It’s ever so good to see you again!” She smiled a little too wide, not showing any teeth.

Vinci awkwardly nodded. “Uh, good to see you too, Sae.”

Sae turned to Alan and smiled. “Oh! You must be Master Vinci's servant! Pleasure to meet you! I’m Sae Moon, loyal servant to Master Vado!” Alan recognized that name as Vinci’s oldest brother. She outstretched her hand to Alan.

He took Sae’s hand and shook. Her grip kind of hurt. “Name’s Alan. But uh, I’m not Vinci’s servant, I’m just his friend.”

Sae blinked, and her grip on his hand went slack, expression following. “Ah. I see.” She turned her back to the two. “Well, we musn’t dally, The Feast will be beginning soon.” She began marching down the hall.

“Sorry about her…” Vinci mumbled.

“Oh, it’s alright.”

–

The two followed Sae, with Alan taking in the surrounding sights of the mansion . Everything was so pristine and ornate, hallowed ground where he didn’t belong. The left wall of the hallway had a dozen or so large portraits in a row. Each seemed to be from a different time period, each of similar looking men.

“Woah... Vin, these must be your ancestors, right?”

Vinci shook his head. “Ahaha… nah, they’re all just my dad. We’ve been around for 3,000 years.”

Alan balked. “3,000? I thought you guys were like, a hundred!”

Vinci shrugged. “Eh, after you’re alive a couple hundred years, the numbers stop mattering.”

“To you, anyway.” Sae replied. Alan couldn’t see her face from behind, but her words were laced with bitterness. Vinci’s eyes narrowed in annoyance.

The three reached a tall set of white doors. Sae turned around and looked at the two and smiled. “Here we are, at the Grand Dining hall. All guests should mind their manners.” It sounded like something directed at Alan, but she was looking at Vinci. He rolled his eyes.

Sae put her hands to the massive doors and grunted, pushing forward. The two doors slowly moved open, a deafening noise being made as the hinges creaked. Alan covered his ears. She seemed to struggle with these doors, but not as much as one would expect for doors made to account for the strength of a vampire. She swatted away any attempts from Vinci to help. After some time, she had managed to push the massive doors open.

Sae stepped aside, Vinci headed inside, and Alan followed, only to stumble. He turned to see Sae sticking her leg out ever so slightly, and a much less slight smile to match. He smiled back, politely.

–

As Alan caught up to Vinci, he took in his surroundings. The dining room was enormous, somehow seeming to take up more space than the outside of the house. In the middle of the room was a comically large table that stretched so far, Alan could just barely see the end. And to match the absurdly spacious room, there were… an overwhelming amount of vampires, all Vinci’s relatives, all unknown to him. But, out of the corner of his eye he could see Sae speaking to someone standing tall and dignified, who he assumed to be Vado. She said something, he nodded and replied, before she ran off elsewhere. Immediately after she had left, Vado turned to another vampire, saying something that prompted laughter. Huh.

“Vinci! My son!” Alan was knocked out of his thoughts by the voice of a large man who he recognized from his (far more handsome) portraits, Count Vladimir, father of the family. “Good to see you again!”

“...Good to see you too, dad.” Vinci made it sound not so good.

As Alan watched the two converse, he noticed a young girl next to the count: Alan at least knew this one, Villi, Vinci’s shy youngest sister. Vinci waved at her, and she returned a wave back. She did not do the same for Alan’s wave.

“And my! Who do we have here!” The Count was now looking at him. “Vinci my boy, it’s rude to bring your own food to The Feast as a guest, you know!” The Count gave a hearty chuckle, with no one else joining.

“Dad!” Vinci bared his fangs and hissed, causing Alan to flinch, even though he knew it wasn’t directed at him. “I told you not to make those kinds of jokes!”

The Count’s laugh dwindled, now irritation painting his face. Alan could just barely see his fangs poking out of his mouth. “Vinci, such rudeness is completely unacceptable!” Alan saw Villi grip her fathers coat as he became angrier. Yeah, same. “Look! The human doesn’t mind at all! You’re making a fuss over nothing!” The Count made a sweeping gesture towards Alan.

Alan forcefully smiled, unsure what to do or say. He looked towards Vinci for any kind of direction. Vinci noticed Alan’s concern out of the corner of his eye and nodded, as if to say, don’t worry, I got you.

Vinci hissed again at this father. “His name is Alan. And I think he does mind.”

The Count’s eyes narrowed, first looking at Vinci, and then to Alan, his blood red eyes focused on him for a good few seconds. His daughter mimicked her father, also staring wide eyed at Alan. He froze.

After a brief bout of staring, The Count closed his eyes and sighed. He turned away from the two boys and began walking away, shaking his head as he did. Villi followed behind.

“Dad, when can I get my own human?” Alan heard her ask.

“When you’re no longer a child, dear.”

“But I’ve BEEN a child for the past 3,000 years!”

The father and daughter continued their squabble, growing further distant and blending back into the crowd of vampires. Alan released a massive sigh that he’d been holding the entire conversation.

“You alright there, Al?” Vinci approached Alan and threw an arm around his shoulder: the gesture and his voice bringing him some much needed comfort.

Alan closed his eyes, trying to focus on nothing but Vinci’s presence. “Yeah.. “Sorry, I just kinda… tensed up and didn’t know what to do. Sorry, you had to stick out your neck for me.”

“Hey it’s ok.” Vinci put a hand on Alan’s back. “If anything, I’m sorry that you had to deal with all that… I told him over the phone I didn’t want him saying that kind of stuff, but he’s kind of…”

Alan nodded. “Yeah, I know.” He felt better after Vinci’s reassurances. Slowly, he opened his eyes, letting out another deep breath as he did. “I… think I’m okay now. Thanks, Vin.” He told himself this would be the last time the anxiety got to him.

And Vinci smiled the loveliest smile. “Of course, I’m always-”

DING DING DING

Both heads swerved to view the source of the sound. It was Vado, standing on top of the dining table, striking a wine glass with a spoon. Next to him, standing on the ground normally was Sae, looking at him fondly.

“Now everyone, come together! The Feast is about to begin!”

The crowd of vampires all dropped what they were doing, and began to converge towards the absolute marvel of a table, taking seats. Vinci began to walk, and Alan followed, but his friend suddenly stopped.

“You are sure about this… right? We don’t have to do this if you aren’t comfortable.”

“I’m sure!” It’s too late to back down now. If he did so, it would reflect badly on Vinci to his family. “Promise.”

Vinci took in Alan’s response for a moment, and nodded. “Alright. Just let me know if you wanna bail, ok?” That warm smile again.

Alan smiled back. “Alright.”

–

The two made their way to the table, and found their assigned seats, right next to Vado.

“Ah! Little Vinci! How nice of you to finally come over for once! It’s been too long!” Alan watched as Vado picked Vinci up effortlessly, giving the the tightest hug he’d ever seen. Alan heard the sound of a rib cracking, and he was thankful that vampires healed instantly.

Eventually, Vinci was released from the hug, and he staggered back catching his breath. “Yeah… good to see you too bro.”

Vado’s attention turned to Alan. “And my! You brought your own little human! How cute!” Vado put a hand to Alan’s head and ruffled his hair. Alan masked his discomfort, forcing a smile. He saw Vinci getting ready to hiss, his fangs growing sharper, and Alan put up hand. Vinci nodded and backed off, though looking slightly annoyed.

“Oh Master Vado!” Sae chirped. “I’ve finished setting the table! Should I fetch dinner?” She seemed so proud of herself.

“Ah, wonderful job my worker bee!” Vado patted Sae on the head, earning a blush from her. Guess this was his thing with humans. “Yes, now run along!”

Sae gave a salute to Vado, and she immediately bolted towards the kitchen. It was funny how fast she managed to run for someone so small.

Vado leaned over to Alan and elbowed him. “Look at her. Your lot have such a funny way of running!”

Alan suddenly felt that it wasn’t funny anymore, but laughed anyway.

–

When Sae returned, she brought each vampire their own personalized meal. Often slabs of meat or organs, though some got an entire dead animal on their plate. (And some live ones.) All with complimentary blood wine. She gave Vado, sitting next to Alan, a plate with a massive, fresh brain on it (hopefully not human.) Then she came over to Alan, and to his surprise, handing him normal looking food. A steak. Alan looked up at Sae, and opened his mouth to say thanks, only to be met by a sneer. He looked back down at his plate of normal food, thankful she granted him that decency. He then watched as Sae handed Vinci a plate with a pink blob, which Alan recognized as a vegan impossi-spleen.

Sae finished handing out all the food, but instead of sitting down, she walked back into the kitchen. Alan tapped Vado’s shoulder. “Excuse me, is Sae not joining us for dinner?” Not that he really wanted her to, but it was still curious to him.

Vado stared at Alan blanky, and he worried he’d said something to offend, but that train of thought was cut off by Vado’s expression twisting into a smile. Then, from the deepest reaches of his lungs, Vado let out a noise somewhere between a laugh and a shriek, causing Alan to flinch.

“Oho, you’re also a funny human, aren’t you? Is she not joining us… now that’s amusing…”

“Hahahaha…” Alan could feel the anxiety bubbling in his stomach, he felt awful for laughing. He looked to his other side, to see Vinci wearing an angry expression. Had he done something wrong? Was Vinci disappointed in him for laughing along?

As Alan ran through what he might’ve done wrong to upset his dear friend he faintly heard “Now, my family.” coming from the end of the table. Alan peered to see The Count sitting at the very end of the table, but he was so far away, he could barely see or hear him. “I now declare The Feast… open!”

The starting signal. All at once, the vampires lost all trace of their composed, proper demeanor, devouring their food with their bare hands and fangs. Blood and chunks of guts went flying everywhere, accompanied by awful sounds of chewing and slobbering. Vinci was the only one who had any decorum left, angrily yet politely cutting his tofu blob into square pieces. Alan distracted himself by taking a bite of his steak, which… wasn’t that good, sorry Sae. It was undercooked, maybe because she was so used to preparing raw meat for the vampires.

After a disgusting eternity, the frenzy did die down, and the vampires began to make idle conversation, all completely unrelatable to Alan.

“It’s not MY fault for biting the dentist’s hand, he’s the one who stuck it in my mouth!”

“No, human sunscreen does NOT prevent sunlight immolation!”

“Disappointingly, werewolf blood just tastes like a mix of human and dog.”

In these situations, Alan would turn to Vinci, asking him to explain vampire culture that went over his head. But Vinci still looked pissed, so he decided best not to right now.

–

After a while, Alan had zoned out in a fugue state of anxious discontent, only to be knocked out of it by the same DING DING DING from earlier. Vado was now standing again.

“Good evening my fellow family! I am so humbled to host this year’s Feast at my even more humble establishment! To commemorate, I’d like to give thanks to… young brother Vinci!”

Immediately, hundreds of heads turned to look at Vinci, all with expectant red gazes. Even though he wasn’t the subject of their looks, Alan still felt an awful pressure coming from them. Vinci looked around, genuinely befuddled as to what was happening.

“As you know, it’s been over a hundred years since Vinci made any contact with us.” UH. Alan didn’t know that! He looked at Vinci, who was too stunned to say anything. “But, at last, he has come to his senses and rejoined his family!” The dining hall erupted in applause, as Vinci looked around, wearing an expression that was a mix of flabbergasted and offended.

Had… Vinci not actually want to come over? Did he hate his family? Had Alan’s enthusiasm put Vinci in this uncomfortable situation?

“And, what’s more, is that he’s finally got his own servant! About time, am I right?” Vado gestured at Alan, as the vampires laughed and clapped. Vinci looked… oh dear… furious.

Vinci stood up and promptly smashed his wine glass against the side of the table, eliciting a few gasps before bringing the room to silence. He was breathing heavy, his fangs jutting out like a sabertooth.

“ALAN. IS. NOT. A. SERVANT.”

Silence again. Alan feared for his friend.

“...Then what is he?” One voice called out.

“Is he like… a pet?” Another voice joined in.

“No, he’s-”

“Your chauffeur?

“Emergency food supply?”

“HE’S. MY. FRIEND!” Vinci shrieked with a deafening roar, cracking several glasses. Another silence.

…The dining hall erupted in laughter.

“OH MY! HE’S SERIOUS!”
“HE’S LOST IT! HE’S REALLY LOST IT”

“Shut up! Shut UP! SHUT UP!!!” As Vinci’s protests grew louder, so did the laughter. Alan covered his ears, trying not to cry.

“HE ACTUALLY CARES ABOUT THAT THING!” The jeering just grew louder and louder!

“SHUT UP! I HATE YOU! I HATE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF YOU!” Vinci began shrieking and hissing at his family, some who hissed and swore back at him, and others who just continued their mockery.

“Vinchinno you will NOT hiss at your family like that!”

The noises just grew more dreadfully cacophonous as Alan began to cry, anxiety finally spilling out. Vinci’s entire family was ganging up on him, and it was all Alan’s fault! He ruined The Feast, Vinci’s relationship with his family, and their own relationship! It was all ruined! Alan got up and ran away, as fast and far as he could. He could hear Vinci call for him amongst all the shouting and laughing, but he didn’t care anymore.

–

Alan’s legs took him all the way to the backyard of the mansion, a garden alight by the moonlight, a beautiful view that Alan was too upset to appreciate. He threw himself on a patch of grass, sobbed and sobbed and sobbed, unable to hold back all anxieties built up through the night. He didn’t know how long he sobbed for, and didn’t care. After long enough, it stopped mattering.

Alan did eventually get it out of his system, and now sat in the grass, completely embarrassed. He hadn’t had an outburst like that since… well, last Thanksgiving. He wondered if Vinci was okay. He felt ashamed for running away, when he should’ve been there for his friend.

His wondering was answered when he heard the door to the backyard opening, Vinci emerging. Alan wasn’t sure if this relieved or worried him. He was holding Alan’s uneaten plate of food, and looked exhausted. He looked around, before spotting Alan and walking over.

“...Hey.” His voice was soft in a tone Alan wasn’t sure he deserved.

“Hey.”

“Can I sit?”

“Yeah, sure.”

Vinci sat down, placing the plate next to Alan. “I brought your dinner. Sorry, it’s kinda cold now.”

“That’s okay.”

The two sat in silence. Waiting for the other to go.

“You didn’t tell me that you hadn’t spoken with your family for a hundred years.” Alan managed to wring out.

“...and you didn’t tell me that you were feeling uncomfortable during dinner, like you promised.”

Alan winced and sniffled like that, and Vinci immediately realized his error. “Shit! Fuck, sorry, didn’t mean to, uh…” Vinci cut himself off and took a deep breath. “Alright. I’m sorry. That was uncalled for. Let’s start at the top, you go.”

Alan also took a deep breath, and began. “I… I guess, after uh, the disaster of bringing you to Thanksgiving last year, I sorta… hoped. That going to yours this year would be different. But now I feel stupid because I dragged you back to your family that you hated. And you got yelled at because of me. Just like last year.”

Vinci placed a hand on Alan’s shoulder. “Al, I don’t blame you for last year. Or this year. If anything, I should’ve told you about my family situation. But… I guess caught your optimism, and thought, you know, maybe they’ve changed after a hundred years. But a family of immortals has no reason to change.”

“I wasn’t really mad at you at dinner, I was mostly feeling that towards my family.” He continued. “I don’t believe any of those things they said about you. You’ll always be my equal.” Deep down, Alan knew that was the truth, despite what his self-worth said.

Alan leaned into his partner, and was met with Vinci’s arms wrapped around him. It was comforting. “I know. I love you.”

–

The two sat in silence, embracing each other, when Alan had a thought.

“Hey Vin, have you ever thought about turning me into a vampire?” Maybe, in the back of his mind, they might be able to patch things up with the vampire family if he did.

“Not really.”

“Why not?”

“Immortality is a curse. It means never changing or growing. You’d be stuck with those assholes forever. I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Alan thought about Vinci’s sister, complaining about being an eternal child. He could sort of understand. Being an emotional college student forever would suck.

But Vinci wasn’t finished. “...Sae’s a dhampir, you know?”

‘HUH?” Alan jumped out of his partner's grasp. “Like a half vampire?” From what he remembered, Dhampirs were sensitive to sunlight, slightly stronger than humans, and lived forever. But they couldn’t drink blood or do a lot of the more fancy vampire stuff.

Vinci sighed. “I met her when she was a human, and through me she met my brother. Who she became obsessed with. He turned her into just enough of a vampire to where she could serve him forever…”

“But not enough that’d she be treated like family.”

“Yeah.”

Alan contemplated this information, but before he could say anything, the door to outside could be heard opening. Alan jumped, fearful that one of the vampires had come to harass them, and Vinci assumed a battle ready stance. But it was just Sae, holding a plate of her own food. She looked surprised that they were here, and turned to leave, but Alan wouldn’t have that.

“Hey Sae! Come join us!”

Sae raised an eyebrow and pointed at herself. Alan nodded in response and gestured to come over. After hesitating, she obliged, walking over to them.

Vinci didn’t say anything, but he smiled lovingly at Alan.

Sae sat down between the two, not uttering a word, and began eating her dinner. As she grossly chewed with her mouth open, he could see the fangs. He looked at her plate, and saw that it was all vegetables. The vampires had probably ran through all the meat.

Alan took his own plate, and slid his steak onto Sae’s. She looked at him.

“It’s a bit cold but… I figured you need it more than me.”

Sae smiled, her first genuine smile of the night. It was just like the smile Vinci had watching them.

“...Thank you.”