Garden Of The Abyss

He averted his gaze slightly, rubbing the back of his neck, "...So, where are those other two? Urr...Vale and the big guy, I mean. And...why did you take care of me?" 

Armen replied swiftly with his emotionless tone, "They're scouting the area for food. And, is it not obvious why one would be saved from being left unconscious in the cold snow?" 

"Food…?" He repeated.

In his mind, there was only one thing 'food' could be referring to when speaking to one of vampiric essence. 

Don't tell me...He thought. 

"Yes, I imagine you're quite hungry yourself, and the same could be said for us. I spent a bit too much energy taking down that fiend," Armen answered, clenching his hand shut as the leather of his glove creaked. 

The words from the stoic vampire left him slightly relieved as he breathed out the breath stuck in his lungs. 

"So...not humans?" He asked hesitantly. 

Armen raised one of his silver eyebrows, "Humans?...Ah, that's right. You're an otherworlder, aren't you?"

It was out of nowhere, and he knew for sure he didn't disclose such information, only giving his name to the burly vampire previously. 

How does he…? He thought. 

"Wait, how do you...I mean, what makes you think that?" He asked out of surprise. 

"Your scent," Armen answered. 

"My scent…?" He repeated quietly. 

Looking down, he grabbed his cloak before bringing it below his nostrils for a quick whiff--not gathering much evidence from the musky, unwashed fabric. 

I guess it does smell kinda bad now, doesn't it? But how does that equate to me being an otherworlder? He thought. 

"Not that. The air of ignorance around you, and the aroma of a world distant from Gaia. It is quite unique and potent; there isn't any way around it--you're an otherworlder, no doubt," Armen told him. 

"...I see. No point in trying to hide in, then," he said with a sigh," but what's me being an otherworlder have to do with my question?"

Armen squinted slightly at him, taking a moment to respond, "Otherworlders are known to be fearful of vampires because of their status in their world. "Fiends that feast on human blood", "cold-blooded man-hunters"...those types of things, right?" 

As he was on the receiving end of those discerning, scarlet eyes, he had no choice but to reluctantly nod as what he said wasn't incorrect. 

"It's different here?...I mean, your group seems nice, but I just thought you were a standout bunch." 

"In general, we like to stay within our homeland, Vellochia. That makes interactions between humans and vampires sparse, as you might expect. So clearly...we do not require human blood as sustenance, you see. Animal blood works fine, and normal food is still nutritional, but blood is what replenishes our mana," Armen explained. 

He seems awfully open now, he thought. 

Retrieving something from beneath his coat as he momentarily revealed his beige undershirt, the silver-haired vampire retrieved a yellow-skinned, square-shaped fruit. 

He watched the man grip it before snapping the yellow fruit in half, revealing the juiciness held within its core before suddenly tossing one half to the young man. 

"Ahh--thanks," he said as he caught the fruit. 

Inspecting the mysterious, weirdly-shaped food, he looked back up to watch as Armen took a bite from the succulent item, chewing and swallowing it. 

I guess vampires in this world can eat normal food, huh? He thought. 

Taking a bite out of it for himself, he found a single chomp to release a waterfall of juices into his mouth--something much needed to solve the dryness that plagued it. 

Armen watched as the snowy-haired human looked at the fruit in awe before gobbling it down ravenously. 

"I take it that you like it?" Armen asked, taking another small bite from his half. 

"It's delicious! How'd you get fruit like this in Purgatory? All I found were musty monsters to eat…" He asked, finishing off his portion. 

Armen smiled slightly, "That's because it's not a fruit native to this realm. It's a "Wallak", a fruit grown in Vellochia. The Tower of Balam somehow managed to get their hands on it." 

Any residual tension had eased as the calm fire sat between them, filling the air with a smoky, comforting aroma as they sat warmly across from one another. 

"Is there a lot of fruit like this grown in Vellochia?" He asked. 

Armen shook his head, "The land of Vellochia isn't quite fertile, you see. It's a kingdom in which the sun never sets, as it has never risen."

His eyes widened slightly at that bit of information, finding any tidbits on the homeland of vampires to be completely new to his ears. 

It seemed in the stagnant campgrounds, Armen found himself urged to continue by the curious eyes of the adolescent watching him. 

"In utter darkness, growing food isn't much of an option, but it's possible. My wife, Freulia, and I have such a garden ourselves. It's difficult work to maintain it, using magic runes and such, but it's worthwhile to bring forgotten seeds back to life," Armen explained with a small smile. 

"You have a wife…?" He raised an eyebrow. 

Armen looked completely perplexed by the seemingly out-of-nowhere question asked by the white-haired human, but there was a clear reason the question was spurred on. 

This guy hardly looks old enough to have a wife and garden! Those are stereotypical senior activities! He thought. 

"Is it hard to believe? Freulia and I have been together for ninety-seven years now. Speaking of which, I hope to return to Vellochia in time for our ninety-eight anniversary." 

It was easy to forget that vampires likely hid their true age behind youthful appearances, as Armen hardly looked a day beyond his late twenties. 

Ninety-seven years married...phew, he's an older timer, isn't he? He thought. 

A question came to his mind on the subject of time, "Oh! How long was I out?..." 

"A few hours," Armen answered. 

The meager amount of time passed reeled a sigh from the depths of his being as he hoped to slide past more time having to be spent surviving in the hellish realm. 

Before they could further their conversation, the nearby foliage rustled--causing him to tense up, though Armen's calmness settled him down. 

Stepping through the lengthy bushes, Vale returned to the camp as behind her, Leonid lugged a massive, red-skinned boar behind him, holding a triumphant smile. 

"Holy…" He was left awestruck at the size. 

"...We'll need a bigger fire for this one," Vale said, looking at the silver-haired man. 

"Understood," Armen said. 

Without hesitation, the silver-haired man stood up, brushing his gloves off with a new task set. 

All he was able to do was sit there and watch as the campfire was expanded, and the gargantuan boar was attached to what looked like an entire tree log to station it above the crackling flames. 

"Ga-ha-ha! Big bastard got me good on my leg!" Leonid roared. 

Sitting around the campfire, they watched as Leonid slapped his thigh that had a circular scar, still covered in fresh blood. 

Quietly, Armen kept watch on the boar in question as he poked it with a long twig to test its temperature. Though it was clear Leonid's boisterous, unrestricted volume annoyed him as a singular vein bulged against his pale forehead. 

"Looks like you got out fine, at least," he chuckled wryly. 

Vale sighed, "Only because I stepped in. He was about to challenge it to a head-on-head charge." 

A slight blush hued his cheeks with pink as he glanced to the side, noticing just how close the golden-haired, lithe vampire sat to him. 

Her slender shoulders were revealed from her verdant cloak, with sleeves that split to reveal the pale, blemish-free skin of her arms as she sat in a way that leaned her chest forward, though she wasn't exactly standout in that area. 

What was standout was the way her verdant, plaid skirt revealed her thighs that were just slightly on the plump side--a visual that challenged the heart of the adolescent man. 

Don't fall for it, Ren. That's a Grade-A loli baba! Just think of Iris! He thought. 

Leonid roared back in response to Vale's earlier words, "Hey! I had 'im, dead to rights!" 

Cooked thoroughly, the giant, mean-looking boar finished cooking, leaving him holding a rather large, juicy portion of the creature held in his hand as he gulped. 

Is this...edible? I don't know why, but I'm scared, he thought. 

Though watching how fervently Leonid chomped down an entire leg of the crimson-hided boar, his doubts somewhat were soothed. 

"Eat up, Ren," Vale told him, "...trying to survive on an empty stomach is a sure way to failure." 

"Yeah, I know," he breathed out. 

He watched as the youthful-seeming girl ate her portion of meat with relative manners, kicking her legs as she did from their seat atop a fallen tree. 

"Can I ask you something?"

The question arose from Vale while he was in the middle of taking a bite from the tough meat of the boar. 

"Mm?" He looked at her with his mouth full. 

Vale peered at him with her glistening, scarlet eyes, "You're a young one. Much younger than anyone else I've seen here. What does Purgatory have to draw in someone of your youth? You must be searching for something." 

As he swallowed his food, he stayed silent for a moment as he looked down at the meat he held. 

That's a good question. After seeing what Purgatory really is, it sounds dumb to say I came here simply to "get strong" now, he thought. 

"Forgive her. Vale is quite curious, and lacking in tact," Armen said. 

"Shut it, you!" Vale barked back. 

By now, their eyes were on him, though Leonid seemed hardly interested in small talk as his full attention was on his meal. 

He slowly shook his head, "No...it's alright. I came here to get stronger so that I could be a proper ally to my comrades. Sounds stupid, doesn't it? Who knows if I'll even make it out of here." 

"You've made it this far, haven't you? I'd say that's pretty amazing," Vale told him, looking up at him with a small, reassuring smile. 

Though her words were anything but uplifting as it made him remember only one thing: the way he got where he is now. 

"I didn't make it by myself," he said. 

"Oh, I see…" Vale replied quietly, lowering her expression. 

The campground grew silent as only the whispers of passing winds, shuffling against the tall-standing trees made for any noise. 

Breaking the awkward silence, he put on a smile, "What about you three?"