CHAPTER FOUR: Welcome Friends to Volterra

My stay in Volterra had been both a pleasant and horrific one. My instincts told me that something was wrong, that there must be a reason why no vampires seemed to dwell here. But on the other hand the city was thriving. I arrived during a festival of some kind. Men and women were waving red fabrics around, but I didn't fully understand the language they used, so I didn't understand what exactly the holiday was about. It seemed to be based on blood. How ironic.

I wanted to learn the language spoken here, so I was forced to engage the services of a human tutor. Luckily he didn't seem to be suspicious of me. After a week of hard work and memorization I had a fairly basic understanding of the language, but I didn't get much practice. I still craved a companion. Someone that I could relate to.

I was about to leave the city at night when a man dressed in black approached me. I sniffed the air making sure that I would be able to stand the smell of this human, bu he had the scent of a vampire! I felt instantly threatened and prepared myself for an escape if it came to that.

“Greetings” The cloaked vampire said. I nodded my greeting in return.

“I've noticed that you are hungry friend, and must tell you not to hunt inside these walls, if you didn't already know this.” he said

“Sir. Unless you know of any animals thriving inside this civilized city then, no I wouldn't dream of hunting here.” I replied

“Animals?” he said, his carefully neutral tone showing some confusion. I suppressed a sigh at the thought of explaining my philosophy to another insensitive vampire.

“I only hunt animals. I couldn't bear to drink human blood” I quickly explained.

“Well! What a story this will be for Marcus and Caius. Would you like to come with me?” he said in a more cheerful tone than was really necessary. I didn't particularly feel like another sewer trip, but I didn't want to be rude so I accepted his offer. He nodded, smiled at me and then lead me to a building with a huge tower. I was glad that he had better accommodations than the wraiths of London.