The Vampire and the Borrower Chapter 1
Summary: A Vampire on her way home from drinking some dude's blood comes across something or rather someone she's never seen before. A little Borrower who stands only a few inches tall.
My first Tumblr exclusive story. The whole vampire thing felt appropriate for spooky season. Please enjoy!!
Garret gave a mighty heave and the raspberry came loose from the vine with a wet 'pop'. Garrett nearly lost his footing but managed barely to keep upright. He hefted his prize aloft, admiring it. The berry was roughly the size of his chest. Garret then took a large bite out of it, relishing the sweetness. He could feel the juice trickle down his chin and he couldn't help but smile. As he chewed he carried the berry over to his makeshift wheelbarrow fashioned from a tin can and a button for the wheel.
He dropped the berry in atop the others he'd gathered tonight. Overall he was quite satisfied with his haul. He'd spent most of the night in the garden in the human's front yard gathering berries. He planned to make them into jam to keep for the winter. The human occupant of the house was an older woman who wasn't as spry as she used to be. Which meant she rarely came out to tend to her garden these days. Which for Garret meant all the more raspberries to help himself to. He eyed his collection with pride. It had been a good night's work he thought to himself. As he grabbed the handles of the wheelbarrow and began to push, making his way back home he smiled as he envisioned the many jam scones that surely lay in his future.
Vera ran her tongue over her lips. Savoring the sweet, coppery taste of blood that still lingered on them. She'd spent most of the night at a local bar mingling with the humans there until she'd found one that had taken her liking. After that it hadn't been hard to lure them away to a dark alley with naught but suggestive looks and a few choice words. She'd couldn't recall his name, Dave or Derrick or something like that. She'd let him have a little bit of fun before she'd fed on him. It only seemed fair.
She'd left him slumped up against a wall, dazed and drained but still very much alive. He'd wake up in the morning with a hell of a hangover but otherwise he ought to be fine. And with little to no recollection of the night's activities. Feeding on a human tended to leave them feeling quite fuzzy and forgetful. A useful thing for a Vampire trying to hide in plain sight.
As Vera made he way down the sidewalk back to her apartment she sighed whistfully recalling the thrill she'd felt as Dave or Derrick's blood had run down her throat. For a Vampire, drinking blood was more than just sustenance, it was the greatest of thrills; the height of ecstacy. She like any other Vampire, lived for it. But that wasn't to say she didn't have other interests. She had once been human herself afterall.
She still enjoyed good books, television shows, games and the like. She did however find herself wishing from time to time that she had more people to share her time with. When it came to life as a Vampire she'd come to realize that it could often be quite lonley. Human friends were very difficult to keep for obvious reasons and other Vampires tended to go it solo for the most part. Afterall the more Vampires in a single area, the higher the chance of being found out. She knew isolating herself was the smart thing to do. The safe thing to do. But it didn't stop her from daydreaming about spending time with other people. No secrets or hidden motivations. If only it were possible....
As she continued along the sidewalk she occupied herself by admiring the gardens of the houses she passed by. Thanks to her Vampiric abilities she could see the flowers in the dark quite easily. They were just as vibrant and colourful to her as if it had been the height of day. Night vision afterall happened to be an essential tool for any creature of the night. She could sense the nearby humans as well. Most were asleep in their beds at this hour but a few were still up and about. Even from across the street she could hear the beating of their hearts. The thrumming of the blood pumping inside of them. It was a sound she'd grown very accustomed to. One she knew very well.
And so it was that she came to an abrupt halt as she heard something very strange indeed. It was the beating of a heart to be sure, she had no doubt about that. But it sounded off somehow...distant yet somehow not very far at all. She turned towards the source of the sound, trying to locate it. She found herself overlooking an overgrown garden that lay in front of a small, blue two-story townhouse. There was not a single soul in the garden to be seen. Yet she could still hear the sound of the beating heart. It was somewhere amidst the undergowth.
Some sort of rodent then perhaps? She'd thought to herself. But she dismissed the thought with a shake of her head as quicky as it had come. She'd heard the sound of rodent's hearts before as well. This wasn't that at all. No animal's heart she could think of sounded quite like what she was hearing. Her curiosity got the better of her as she took a few steps forward and leaned over the short picket fence that encircled the garden, hoping to catch a glimpse of whatever creature was hidden amongst the greenery. And so for a moment she simply stood silently and watched. It was to her utter shock a few moments later that she spied the source of the unusual heart beat. From underneath a berry bush emerged a man. But not just any man. He stood a mere few inches tall. Human in appearance, but certainly not in stature.
Vera wracked her mind trying to figure out just what manner of creature she was looking at. She knew of other creatures and cryptids in the world besides Vampires. Werewolves, skin changers, goblins and the like that humans chalked up to fairy tales and folk-lore. But her own knowledge of such things was limited. And so she found herself at a total loss as to just what this tiny man in the garden was. He hadn't spotted her, that much was clear. He was making his way amongst the roots and vines pushing what seemed to be a miniature wheelbarrow. Vera smiled. This was simply too interesting to pass up. So rarely did any sort of excitement or novelty make it's way into her life that she decided she certainly wasn't going to just let this little man slip away. She had far too many questions. And so without a second thought she easily hopped over the fence and into the garden.
Garret was well on his way back to his little borrower's nook in the walls of the house when something caught his attention. Off to his left side, towards the fence; he heard the distinct sound of a twig snapping. His head immediately swiveled around, alert for any sort of danger. Life wasn't easy for a borrower, especially one outside. Avoiding humans was difficult enough but there were also all manner of animals that could pose a threat. Cats being one of particular concern. He waited and watched for any sort of movement. Listening for any sort of sound that might indicate danger. A few moments passed. Then a minute. Then two. Nothing. Satisfied that a feline wasn't about to come bursting out of the bushes and attack him, Garret let out a sigh of relief. He again picked up his wheelbarrow and continued along the small path he had made through the undergrowth.
He was lost in thought imagining all the delicious things he could make the berries into when he got home. And so it was that he found himself more than a little surprised as the wheelbarrow collided with something large that lay across the trail. It nearly tipped over before he managed to right it. A few of his hard earned berries tumbled out and down onto the ground. "Damnit what the--" Remarked Garret as he eyed the large thing that now blocked his path. The thing itself was large and black. He could tell little more from this distance in the dark. He stepped around his wheelbarrow and towards the large black object. It certainly hadn't been there when he'd come out into the garden. He held out his hand and pressed against the object. It had just the smallest amount of give to it. It felt a bit rubbery.
Garret nearly jumped out of his skin as he heard a voice speak from seemingly out of nowhere. "Admiring my boots little guy?" Garret cast his gaze around wildly, looking for the source of the voice. A sweet sounding laugh rang out. "I'm up here" said the voice, speaking once again. Garrett's gaze returned to the large object blocking his path. Then he tilted his head back to look up. Up up up, he looked, having to crane his neck rather uncomfortably to see. What he saw made him freeze in terror. At first it had seemed that a massive shadow loomed over him but as his eyes adjusted to the darkness the shadow took on a more definite shape. A shape he knew all too well. A human. Before him stood a human woman, fully erect gazing down at him. A small smile played along her lips. Garret had never been spotted by a human before. Such a thing was spoken of in fearfull, hushed tones in Borrower society. He'd prided himself on his stealth and wariness. And yet somehow here he was, eyes locked with a human that had somehow managed to sneak up on him! Garret then did the only thing he could think to do. He turned and he ran as fast as he could. Making for the densest patch of greenery he could spot.
"Oh don't run, really there's no use to it." Came the woman's voice. Garrett wasn't about to heed her advice. He didn't think he'd ever run so fast in his life. As he neared the patch of greenery he lept from the ground, diving into the thicket's obscuring growth. He pushed deeper and deeper down into it and eventually came to a stop. He quickly grabbed a large leaf nearby and wrapped it around himself. Then he went dead silent and stopped moving all together. Hoping to conceal himself. His heart sank as the woman's voice rang out another time. "Oh if you want to hide from me I'm afraid you're going to have to do better than that." Just as Garret was about to jump from his hiding place and make another dash for safety, an enormous pale hand burst through the leafs. Garret tried to doge away to the side but the hand moved with blinding speed and precision. He'd only just managed to slip out from underneath his protective leaf when the hand's thumb and forefinger closed around him and deftly plucked him from the foliage.
Garret felt the ground fall away beneath him as he was lifted into the air. He was too terrified to even scream. He tried to wriggle free as he was lifted upwards but to no avail. The world moved by in a blur then came to a sudden stop. He was now held by the woman directly in front of her face. Her eyes were wide with excitement as she studied him. Her smile grew even larger and Garret shivered in fear. "Well look what I've caught. A tiny man! How cute!" She sounded very pleased. It unnerved Garret deeply. His discomfort only seemed to encourage her as her lips parted into a toothy grin. A grin that revealed a long pair of pearly white, sharp-tipped teeth. No not teeth....fangs. "I wonder if you taste as good as you look." Said the woman.
Once Vera had hopped the fence, the small man had almost noticed her after she'd stepped on a twig. But Vampires were well practiced in stealth. And so as the man had turned his head she'd slipped away to the side silently. He was frozen still, on the lookout for what had made the noise. Vera had no real reason to hide from the little man but she'd wanted to see if she could get close to him without him noticing. And so as he'd waited, watched and listened. She had made her way behind him and drawn in close. When he was barely a foot away she'd simply stopped and waited. She wanted to see his reaction to her sudden appearance. But when the little man had finally seemed satisfied with his observations and turned around, he hadn't noticed Vera looming over him! Clearly his night vision wasn't anywhere near hers.
She'd had to suppress a laugh as the little man had continued on his way only to run his little wheelbarrow straight into the side of her boot! What was even more amusing was that he clearly didn't realize just what it was he had run into. That was of course until Vera had announced herself. The poor little man had looked up at her with naked terror in his eyes. Then with surprising speed for one so small he'd turned and bolted. It hadn't been hard for her to follow. It took her just a few strides to catch up to him. And even when she lost sight of him she could still hear the pitter-patter of his little heart. She knew exactly where he was. And so she'd plucked him out of the bushes and was now intent on getting a closer look at him.
He barely weighed anything. Hardly a surprise at his size but it was still so strange. So foreign a sensation to hold a person in your hand. He squirmed and struggled trying to wrench himself free from her grip. "Well look what I've caught. A tiny man! How cute!" She cooed. This did little to put the tiny man at ease as his struggles only increased in intensity. He was a cute little thing. Even if he hadn't been so small he still possessed a handsome face and adorable, thick mop of hair. Vera was going to enjoy this. "I wonder if you taste as good as you look." She'd said hungrily, hoping to elicit a reaction. It certainly did.
The little man began to shout even as he trembled between her fingers. "Please! Let me go! Let me go!" Part of Vera felt bad for teasing him like this. But his fear was simply delicious. Vera wasn't sure if it was something to do with her Vampirism or if it was just part of her personality but she'd greatly enjoyed scaring and toying with people. She was already enjoying this far too much to let it end so soon. "And why would I do that my little friend? I caught you fair and square." She replied to his desperate requests to be freed.
She dropped him into her waiting hand. He landed ungracefully atop her palm. Her fingers slowly curled around him, trapping him in place. "Imagine my surprise as I was out for a nice night stroll through town when I spied you! A tiny little man! How unique! I've never seen anyone like you before." The man's struggles died down as he began to realize their futility. He was still quivering though. He struggled to meet her gaze. He said nothing in response. Merely gazed back at her with fearful eyes. It was simply adorable. "Have you got a name, little man? I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours." She said in a friendly tone. The man eyed her warily as if fearing some sort of trickery. Vera found it very amusing, after all he'd already been caught! What good would withholding his name do him at this point? The internal debate he was having was plain to see upon his face. But eventually he relented. "G-Garret." He said shakily. "M-My name's Garret.
"Garret! Lovely to meet you Mr. Garret. I'm Vera! I'd shake your hand but....hmm well I suppose I could simply shake you instead." She gently waved him up and down in the air as if she were shaking someone's hand. Just this small action seemed enough to disorient little Garret as when she'd stopped, his head had lolled back and forth for a few moments and it took him a few breaths to focus his vision back on her. "Oh my, what a delicate little thing you are. Speaking of....What exactly ARE you? If that's not rude to ask." Garret didn't drop his suspicious look. But he did answer after another short consideration.
"I'm a Borrower." He said flatly. Vera's eyes narrowed as she fished around in her brain. The term sounded familiar, she was certain she'd heard it before somewhere, but where? Then she had it as her memory clicked into place. "Oh like Arrietty!" Exclaimed Vera excitedly. Garret now regarded her with equal parts confusion and fear. "Huh!? Like who?" He asked. "Oh you know, The Secret World of Arrietty! It's a movie from Studio Ghibli!" Garret didn't seem to have any idea what she was takking about. "Never seen it? Oh well I guess that's not terribly surprising, I'd guess you don't get to watch many movies huh? Well anywhoo its great and it's got little people, Borrower's! Just like you! I'll be honest I thought you little guys only existed in stories. But seeing how cute you are..." She brought up her other hand and gently tapped the tip of his nose with her finger. "I'm glad I was wrong." She simply held him there for a few moments, admiring him in silence.
Then Garret spoke up. "T-thanks glad I could help you sort that out. But now any chance of you putting me down and letting me go?" He asked hopefully. Only now did Vera begain to consider her options. She'd impulsively lept into someone's garden and captured a miniature man. A borrower. And now he was asking to be let go. But that wouldn't be any fun. But what was she going to do then? She certainly wanted to know more about him. She didn't harbour any ill-will towards the little man, yet her sadistic side was enthused by his fearful little outbursts. However those same outbursts might draw too much attention....
"Well I certainly COULD. Let you go that is of course. But....I don't think I will. I'm afraid you've just volunteered to keep me company tonight little guy. You see It's not every day I run into someone like you. So I think....I think I'll be taking you." Garrett's heart seized in his chest, feeling like a chunk of ice as she spoke. "Taking me!? Taking me where?" Asked Garret. Still shocked that he was even speaking to one of the big folk. Vera smiled warmly. "Why, back to my house! That way we can have some privacy while you tell me all about your interesting little self. Your complaince is certainly appreciated but not at all required. We're going to have fun tonight Garret. Well I know I am at least." Vera's warm smile turned rather sly.
"Now I only live a few blocks from here so hold on tight and keep quiet for me now okay?" Without waiting for a response Vera slipped Garret into the pocket of her jacket. Holding him firmly in her grasp. A thrill of excitement hit her as she hopped back over the fence and began making her way home. She practically sprinted along, moving much quicker than usual. Enthusiasm fueling her steps. Her mind was already filling with a variety of fun ideas.
Before Garret could even really understand what was happening he was stuffed away into the woman's pocket. The world outside obscured by dark fabric and Vera's hand. Once he was in the pocket Vera's fingers wrapped around his waist squeezing him tight. Not painfully but with enough strength that he couldn't hope to wrest himself free. Her skin was very smooth to the touch, but also very cold. Garret couldn't tell if his shivers were due to his terror or his temperature. The woman began to make her way down the street, whisking him off to some unknown, fearful fate.
Garret spent most of the journey in panicked silence. Yelping quietly in fear whenever Vera's finger twitched or her grip tightened. As afraid as he was he figured that calling out for help would do little good. Being found by one human was bad enough. Alerting others to his presence was sure to do him no good. His mind buzzed with a million different possible scenarios. All of them bad. He'd heard many stories from other borrowers over the years of humans who'd caught a borrower. Few of them ever ended well for the borrower. The trip only lasted a few minutes but Garret was so consumed by anxiety that each moment that passed, dragged on painfully long.
When Vera arrived at her apartment building she was humming a happy tune. The elevator to the seventh floor felt as if it was moving much slower tonight. As it's doors parted it was all she could do not to sprint all the way to her front door. When she reached it, she fished her free hand into the pocket holding her keys rather than a tiny man. As she shut the door behind her she realized with some mild annoyance that she'd neglected to clean her apartment in a while. Its wasn't a pigsty but certainly wasn't orderly either. In her defense, she hadn't been expecting to kidnap any company either.
She made her way to the kitchen and stopped as she realized something, then turned to switch on a light. She wasn't in the habit of this. Most of the time she didn't bother using the lights. She could see just fine even in the pitch black. But her new little friend hadn't seemed that gifted nocturnaly. Even as she lifted Garret from her pocket and deposited him atop her counter, she wasn't entirely sure what she'd do next.
Garret stumbled from her palm onto the large flat surface of her countertop. He took a second to get his bearings before refocusing on the pale woman looming over him. "Well welcome to my place little guy! It's very nice to meet you! Sorry if the ride was a little bumpy." She said politely. Then she leaned down closer to Garret and the countertop. Her eyes began to widen as her smile stretch. Her gaze was fixed entirely on Garret. He could see faintly his own fearful expression reflected by those two dark orbs. "Please just let me go Vera. Please there's no reason to keep me here!" He begged. "I'm just a borrower I'm not supposed to talk to you humans!" Vera's brow raised a touch as he finished his latest plea.
"Human? Ooh sweetie, okay well it looks like some proper introductions are in order." She held a hand to her chest and again smiled warmly. "As I said before, I'm Vera. And it feels fair to tell you that neither of us is human actually." Garrett's next words died before leaving his mouth, giving way to a confused groan. "You're......not human?" He asked hesitantly. Vera shook her head side to side. "Nope. Well not really anyway." She said as if that cleared anything up. Could this be some sort of trick? He wondered. And of so, what could possibly be the purpose. "Then what are you?" He managed to ask.
"Oh me?" Asked Vera in mock surprise. "I'm a vampire of course." She said sweetly. Garret was gazing at her with a dumbfounded look. Then again vera snatching up Garret without warning. "Let me prove it to you." She held him right up to her face, even closer than before. They were practically nose to nose. Then her lips parted and her mouth opened wide. The same sharp teeth he'd spotted before revealed themselves. Sharpened pearl spears each as long as Garret was tall. Then the gaping maw began to draw closer, and closer. Garret shouted in absolute fear. It appeared she was intent to devour him. But just as he was about to be engulfed her tongue shot out and drawn along his chest then up across his face. Garrent wriggled in fearfull spasm at the bizarre sensation of being tasted.
Vera licked her lips and laughed. "And YOU my little borrower, are just delicious." Her tone was shocking to Garret. Her casual bearing only worked to deepen his fears. "I'm going to enjoy you." Once more he was drawn towards her mouth as it parted. But once more he avoided its dark depths as this time Vera's lips closed and puckered. Garrett's entire face was pressed into an enormous pair of velvety lips as she planted an overwhelming kiss upon his head.
"MmmmhmmmWah!" Exclaimed Vera after holding him to her lips for an few seconds. Vera could hear Garrett's little heart absolutely racing in his chest. She could feel it pumping the blood through him as fast as it could. Garrett was almost as pale as she was. Save for two rosy blotches on his cheeks in the form of a very awkward and confused blush. Vera took a deep breath to calm herself before speaking again. ""Oh look at you, getting me all worked up like this. You little tease. Let's get to know each other a bit better, shall we?"
Thanks for reading! Been sitting on this for a while, not my beeeeessst work I don't really think but it was fun to write regardless and I've got some fun ideas to explore with these two. Stay tuned! :)
