damnpire | (no subject)

[Boy, how many times has he said the same thing.]

Are you sure?

[ Yes? No?? ]

... They do not know me. And I am a trained soldier. It would be illogical.

[As faintly as ever, one corner of his lips turns barely upward.]

I don't believe those here care much for being logical when it comes to their friends.

[ Violet seems at a loss for a moment, as if grappling with that statement and then finally conceding that he might be right. Then-- ]

... What should I do?

Why do you think you should do anything differently?

[ Her eyes look away, towards the ground. ]

Because I fear you might be right.

... Because I don't wish for other people to get hurt because of me.

There's nothing you can do to stop people from caring about you.

[ Violet shakes her head. Soft spoken-- ]

That's not it. I don't mind... if people care for me.

I just don't want them to put themselves in danger because of me.

I'm afraid I have no advice to give you. That is not something you can change in others, especially not if they're human.

... I see.

[ She says, though her troubled expression indicates she is entirely unsatisfied with that as a response, even as she accepts it. ]

[D can tell, but there is truthfully nothing more he can tell her on the craziness of other people's empathy, the things they will go through for their friends, and, sometimes, even for others they do not know.]

Is there a reason you are unsettled by this?

It is only as I said.

I do not wish others to be hurt because of me.

I see. [A nearly impossible endeavour, honestly. Humans won't be the only ones, he doesn't think. Violet, though strange to most, holds a bit of peculiar charm.] Trust in the abilities of others as they should trust in yours.

Trust...

[ Violet pauses, turning that over in her mind. ]

... It is not that I am inherently mistrustful of others ...

Rather, I suppose I am not used to relying on others in combat.

This is a change for a lot of us. Working with others.

[ She looks surprised to hear that. As if she simply assumes that others find it easy, and she is the only one who doesn't. ]

During the war... most of my fellow soldiers were afraid of me. Even though I was on their side, I was always given a wide berth. But ... it is not the same here, for some reason.

Why do you suppose it is...?

[Naturally, D is quiet for a long stretch of a moment. There's opportunity to be honest, and opportunity to lie. He knows what it means, to be avoided, ostracized. Their reasoning may both be similar and different.

Just the same, he understands the feeling of being feared. Here, it's true, it's so different. On the Frontier, there were always a handful that didn't care he was a dhampir. But here... The very first thing Alucard said to him had been, "The Guild will accept you as you are."]

Many of them have been with the Guild for a long time. They could be accustomed to everyone being different. Maybe they know the importance of working together.

Soldiers, too... understand the importance of working together. This is not that.

... Perhaps the former is possible, though.

[He would mention that Violet, though strange in her constitution, looks no different than most of the rest of them. That's why. And yet, D understands he doesn't look like anyone else here, save maybe Alucard--too pretty, too ethereal, too pale, too tall, with pointed ears and long nails and rusty eyes.

The members treat him with the same respect they treat others. It can't be based on appearances.]

Have you met any of those here who aren't human?

[ Silence. She has to think about it fairly hard for a few moments. It's clearly not something Violet notices super often. Eventually-- ]

... There was a man with ... [ she sticks both palms up from her head as if in imitation: ] ... dog ears ...

[Slowly, surprisingly, one of D’s brows rises. Dog ears. Hm.]

Inuyasha. A dog demon. His species in his file. All members have one, if you wanted to read them.

[ Violet just blinks. ]

I see ...

Normally demons are considered to be a bad thing by society, are they not?

It depends on the society. [It doesn't sound condescending, merely conversational.] On the Frontier, demons are merely mutants created by the Nobility.

They are powerful and great in number, and the humans fear them. But they are also honorable and servantile to their Noble masters.

[ Sounds familiar ... ]

... He did not seem bad either. ... The one I met.

[For a moment, he's quiet in a thoughtful sort of way.]

You don't fear me.