All my rps r ded so.... rp with a smol 'vegan' vampire?

Damien shrugged, pushing several books back in the shelves, so they lined up perfectly with the rest.
"It's hard, but with enough time, its doable. Also a pretty good way to torture yourself a bit, if you're into that" he joked at the end, a poor attempt at trying to be funny.
"i dont think i have much talent either, i only write when i have some new ideas. I can show you some drafts if you want and you can tell me what you think"

The boy nodded, glad she found his home aspect pretty clever and safe.
"I will admit tho, i sometimes wish i could repair the whole place, to restore it the way it was. But maintaining it is already a big task for me, as it is now. I dont even use the whole house, but sometimes i just imagine what it would look like all new again."
A small blush made its way to his cheeks again, turning them that familiar shade of pink.
"Yeah… I guess so… Maybe we get to do that again soon, when we go out, who knows?"

"Sure thing! Feel free to ask me any time you want another one, and i will borrow it to you" he agreed, letting his hand drop back next to his body. He trusted Mari enough to allow her to browse his library whenever she felt like it at any time. Damien was aware of the large time gap between the books and what she was used to, but seeing her reactions at the subject they'd talked earlier, there were probably books in here she would definitely like.
"So, um, anything else you'd like to do now?"

"It always takes a lot, thats for sure" he chuckled with her, bearing an expression that indicated both amusement and a small level of discomfort, most likely due to remembering the arduous process.
"Alright then, i'll go grab the notes" he smiled sheepishly, heading for the desk situated at the other side of the library.

"I only know how to maintain a house, not repair it… I dont think i could by myself" Damien pouted, looking at the walls around him, taking in the sheer size of the place. A small boy like him stood no chance at rebuilding the place, at least not the same way it was.
"I.. I think so… I'd love to go out exploring with you!"

Damien nodded in approval towards her before ducking down behind the desk, opening drawers and searching through the stuff he had put there previously. He had placed the large majority of his written pages somewhere in there, but where exactly, he didnt remember.
"Religious? As in items or the subject in general?" he asked from behind the desk, taking out several manuscripts and inspecting them.

"It definitely does. Spending what feels like hours upon hours on a text when its only been just a few minutes. But one must press on, even so…"
Damien eventually placed a decent sized manuscript on the desk, before standing up himself.
"Here, this is one of the more recent ones i could find. It's a little big because i just so happened to have an idea i throught was worth. I wont guarantee its the best though" he said sheepishly, sliding the manuscript to her. It had all been written on paper yellowed by time, the dark ink being the single proof that the text was not as old as the paper. The boy's handwriting however, was interesting - it was readable, but in an interesting kind of cursive.
"Do tell me how it is after you read it"

Damien shook his head reassuringly towards her, knowing full well the two of them alone could not restore the manor back to its original form, even of they tried.
"its a good idea, we just lack the power required to do so. It's alright"
He really appreciated her ideas, though going out to explore with her was easier to achieve than rebuilding a house.
"Hmmm, how about around the greenhouse? There are plenty of places here to see, in my opinion"

Unlike with the past questions, Damien did not take time to think too much about it.
"Well, i've never been to a church before, so im not too sure about it. There was one cross in one of the rooms in here, but i never touched it or went too close, so i cant respond to that either, sorry"

Damien initially gave her an "hm?" look before gazing down at the pile of books he'd placed down on the desk.
"Oooh, these? I just had too much free time on my hands. Plus i tried to build it as best as i could." He chuckled, lightly slapping the manuscript with his opened palm. "Ah, thank you… I learned that from my mom, she used to write like that"

"Oh yeah, definitely the knowledge as well" he agreed with her, the comment bringing back the shy smile on his face. "Would you like to do that today or another time?"

Her reaction made him frown a little bit, as he wasn't exactly sure what she meant by the whole religious thing.
"Why do you ask? Is there anything between religious objects and vampires?"

"hah, it might seem awesome at first but too much free time sometimes gets… weird. One can only last so long when always free." he laughed a little, rubbing the back of his head. Truth was, there really wasnt much for him to do in the first place, therefore he tried to occupy his time as best he could with whatever he could.
"Im not sure. Maybe both?"

Damien's face lit up, seeming to bounce a bit with excitement.
"We could go after we're finished here if you'd like"

"Whoa… i did not know about those ones. Are vampires that bad…? like evil spirits kinda bad?" he whispered softly, quite taken aback. No wonder the people back then treated him the way they did. If they believed this kind of stuff

"It's a little funny, you know? Some people just want to get away from it all, and others long to go back…" he continued, as his gaze began to wonder away from Mari. "Being all alone for a long time can really mess up with your head sometimes, you know? It's a tricky situation to be in"
His adoptive mother's death had been one of those hard moments for him. Since her passing, it had taken him a few years to adjust to the new lifestyle, but he'd never quite gotten past it, despite the hardest times being long behind him now.

"Sure thing!" he chirped, putting back the files he'd placed on the floor and heading towards the bookshelf through which they came in. The boy was almost bouncing up and down, excited to go places with his friend.

"Still, there must have been some form of truth in there, if it came to rumors like that" he protested. "I just dont know how much of it is true.."
Having grown up isolated from all and never meeting his biilogical father, Damien couldnt be sure of what real vampires were like, therefore his opinion of them was highly warped. At the very least Mari thought of him positively, which made him hate his heritage a bit less

The boy was about to add something else, but stopped at the two new unfamiliar terms. His gaze seemed to wander into the void for a little while before moving upwards toward her face, with a slightly shy expression, like he was apologizing for his lack of knowledge with the next question.
"Um, what are extroverts and introverts…?" he popped the question.
Knowing each other for so little, it was a bit hard to see, but Damien was a bit of a tangled ball when it came to emotions. Loneliness coupled with some past trauma had shaken him up a bit - not too much - but he would still require a bit of careful handling to properly unwind in the future. It was probably not as bad as it could have been however, with almost two centuries behind him he was doing pretty well.
"There's studies for that as well now? That's interesting"

As the last time, he pushed the bookcase aside - it must have been on wheels or pretty light, if a skinny boy like Damien could do it - after fumbling a bit with his hand on its side, then motioned for her to walk in first.

Damien shrugged at her comment, not knowing what to say about the matter. Who knew, perhaps there was a possibility for some vampires to be somewhat nice - his mother had always referred to his father fondly, making him sound like a nice person in general - so why not? It was the reaction of the normal people that put him on edge; sure, maybe vampires were generally hated for multiple reasons, but he just felt so small against everything he was supposed to face because he just happened to be a vampire.
"I've no idea…. i just hope it was the first option though…" he said, not too positive about it. So far there were tons of points in the bad category and next to none in the good category, which didn't really convince Damien that perhaps being a vampire wasn't as bad as people two centuries ago had made it out to be

(Happy new year btw!)

"Ah, i see. Would i classify as an introvert then? With the whole shy part i mean"
It was intriguing for him to learn that people could be divided by personality types, making him even more curious to find out more about the subject, perhaps in the future.
"That's fascinating! And do these studies help with anything generally?"

With Mari now in the passage, Damien could finally close the door back up again and seemingly latch it shut from within, sinking them both into darkness. Immediately after the small click of the latch, the boy turned around - gesture made clearer by the fact his pupil gave off a faint shine in the dark - and gently grabbed her arm, leading her back towards the room where they'd left all of their baggage in.

"I guess… Mom sometimes said i might get to meet him once he came back home, but he never did." he said, slightly hesitant, thinking of all the times the mysterious male figure had been brought up in his life. "But i do agree he was probably nice. Thanks for the encouragement though."

"How does that work, exactly?" he questioned, tilting his head in his usual curious manner. He understood a little bit when it came to personality types like how some could be more withdrawn the way he was, or more outgoing and friendlier, like his mom or Mari were, or just mean and scary like the other people he'd encountered, but he hadn't been out there in the world enough to realize there could be mixes between them nor how they worked exactly.

Slowly but surely, the two made their way through the dark tunnel, guided by the boy's sure steps that had been through them so many times along the years. Unlike last time, Damien seemed to take a different turn, which led them both to a different door - a loose floorboard tile, which the boy pushed up, climbing out then assisting his friend. The room in which they'd end up was the familiar kitchen next to the room where Damien lived.

He shook his head, with a defeated expression on his face, sighing.
"I dont know… im not even sure he's around anymore, and even if he was, how would i know its him? And would he even want anything to do with me, after all this time?" he argued, resting against a table. Ever since he'd been separated from his mother, most of the hoped he'd had for the future had faded away into nothing. Alone, in a new place, surrounded by strangers that he had grown to fear, he didn't know where to go or what to do, let alone go find his father. His name had long escaped his memory, so how was he going to find him anyway?
"We never met in person, he left before i was born.' he continued, inwardly grateful she held a hand over his. "But mom always sent him letters, and he sent back gifts sometimes. So i'm sure he knew of me, just never saw me."

Well, now that made a lot more sense - actually it sounded a lot like what a normal person would do, at least from what his mother had told him people do.
"Ooh, so that's it. Sounds pretty fun actually, to be able to enjoy all of it" he said, more like for himself, judging by the look on his face.

The boy chuckled a bit, as he was pushing the tile back in its place.
"Just the front of the mansion and the green house. Mother used to say those places have a direct exit to the outside, so theres no need for a tunnel there. The farthest they will go is at least one or two rooms before them"

Damien sighed again, shaking his head.
"I'm not that sure…" he whimpered. "I guess you'd be right about me being the only half breed kid my age, but how would we even run into each other? i have no idea if he even is in the area."
He didn't have much hope when it came to reuniting with his estranged parent whom he hadn't even met, especially because of all the clues he was missing. There was a whole world out there and he was just one person, way too behind on everything going on.
"I dont know, who's to say he hasn't forgotten about me in the meantime? I never managed to send any letter to him, he doesn't even know if i'm alive. if only i knew where to start looking, maybe then i could perhaps try find him, tho i'm still very unsure about it."
If he had to be honest, a small part of him did want to meet his father, but on the other side, he still harbored a weird sense of tension when it came to adults, especially men. Had he carried this conversation back when he was still with his mom, before his trauma, then he would have been quite eager to meet him, but now he wasn't as sure.

"With so many options, i can see why you'd be stumped sometimes" he giggled lightly, finding the whole thing a little amusing. To have so many options of what to do that you got stuck in them, he could only imagine what that felt like. "Oh, I did? Don't worry, i'd forgotten about it too. But i'm still curious to know the answer if you would still like to tell me"

The boy replied with a smile of his own, stepping on the tile to ensure it didn't jiggle in its place.
'They'd also be easier to discover if they were there. Perfect entrances for unwanted guests, and no one wants those" he added.

Damien tensed up for a second as the girl wrapped his arms around him, before relaxing and resting his cheek on her shoulder. The last hug he'd ever received had been from his adoptive mother, right before she passed; to receive one again, after so many years, it brought back memories for him. It felt nice.
"If there's ways… could you help me find him?"
With all his doubts and hesitations, the small wish to meet his parent pushed Damien to finally pop the question. It was a lot of him to ask her that, but if there was at least one glimmer of hope, then he would take that chance to try and look for him. At least he would know he did all he could.

"Why would they not want to admit they might need help? Are they scared?" he asked. Surely, if someone was a bit sick in the head then getting help should have been the first thing they did, right? Or was there some kind of stigma attached to it, like people of the old did?

He confirmed her statement with a nod, making his way to the door, so they could go back into the room, to put the books away.

"Thank you… Just.. thank you" he whispered softly into her ear, as he was resting on her shoulder, closing his eye. Even if she couldn't help too much, at the very least she was willing to, which meant so much for Damien and he was very thankful for it.

Given the response, Damien frowned slightly, intrigued by the reasons one could produce to avoid getting help. It felt so bizarre to him.
"Why would they not have a positive view? I mean, its supposed to help them right?"

In the room, the boy gathered some of the things she'd brought to him, arranging them in neat little piles so he could inspect them carefully later on.
"So, we go exploring now, right?"

Damien shook his head at her comment, saying:
"I'm most grateful for the fact you are willing to help me, and thats what matters the most to me right now. im not sure we're gonna succeed either, but its the effort that counts."

"i never quite understood the stigma about mental illness. I mean, sure, no one wants to be around a crazy person but still…" he muttered, lost in throught.

"This way" he led down the usual steps and corridor, but this time through a different set of rooms, leading to the promised green house. It was Damien who opened the large door, revealing the lush green landscape within.

Being reminded he did have a friend made the boy feel a pleasant warmth in his chest, which he really enjoyed.
"But, where would we even start looking?" he asked, after returning her smile.