Blood and Tears - Grumbo Vampire AU

Chapter 9: Hunger

"So you're really not afraid?"

Grian gave a half-hearted shrug, more interested in the loaf of bread he was busy feasting on. "You're not very threatening." He said nonchalantly, eyes focused on his food.

Mumbo's cheek rested in the palm of his hand, his elbow against the makeshift kitchen table as he stared. Grian looked up, noticing the red pair of eyes watching him, causing the vampire to quickly glance away. "Sorry." He coughed awkwardly, refusing to make eye contact with the architect. "It's just been a while since I've seen another human."

"It's alright. I really don't mind."

The vampire tilted his head to the side, stuck with a perplexed look across his face. "You're odd." He said without thinking, before his cheeks flushed slightly with color. "W-well, not a bad odd! I-I mean interesting! Odd sounded rude, I didn't mean it as an insult! I just meant it's rather strange for a human to trust a monster so easily!"

"I mean, you could have eaten me, or something.." Grian muttered between bites, "But you took me back here to protect me. I feel like I can trust you. Unless you were the one to drink my blood."

He pulled down the collar of his cloak, revealing the bite mark on his neck. Mumbo studied it, reaching across the table to drag his cold fingers across the scar. "Wow." He spoke breathlessly. "It's just like mine. But...you're not a vampire."

"Nope." Grian said. "Just a human."

"Lucky." Mumbo sighed heavily, rubbing his own bite on his neck.

"Maybe the one that bit me is the same that turned you." The human suggested, which caused Mumbo to nod in agreement.

"I bet it's likely. Vampires are rather rare, are they not? But then, why would he turn me and not you? It's all a tad bit confusing."

"Maybe he was just extra hungry." Grian shrugged, "Speaking of which, what have you been eating these past few months?"

"I mostly haven't been eating. I get squeamish around blood.." Mumbo shuddered at the thought, turning around to pull a little glass jar out of the cabinet. "Though I have a bit of animal blood to keep me sane. I tried starving myself for a bit, but that didn't help. It actually made things quite worse."

"Worse?"

"I can't exactly explain it." He said, staring down at the jar of blood in the palm of his hand. "I blacked out. I can't remember a thing that happened. All I know is that I woke up full and satisfied, with blood all over. It's like I went on some kind of a rampage."

"So you get hangry." Grian smirked a little, trying to joke to make light of the situation.

Mumbo chuckled very weakly at that, putting the blood away. "Yes, I suppose. The smell of blood can put me in a frenzy. I think it's what led me to you."

Grian nodded, staring down at the little scar on his finger. "Yeah, that makes sense. So, what, you only eat every couple of weeks? Months?"

"Usually a few months. I've tried eating normal food, but it's disgusting to me now. It doesn't feed me. The closest I've come to eating like a human is spreading blood atop a slice of bread. But that doesn't exactly taste the best..."

"Sounds awful." The human said with a frown across his face, "I can't believe you have to live like this."

"Yes, well, I can't exactly live any other way."

"Okay, but what about your powers? Can't you like, brainwash people and shape shift and stuff?"

"I think?" Mumbo scratched the back of his neck, looking away awkwardly. "I'm, uh, not exactly the best at it. It only really works in fight or flight situations."