Chapter Text
Vampires: a mystique creature, blood thirsty monsters that attacks the village in the night for fresh human blood. But no one knew that not every vampire has an insatiable thirst towards human blood. Even though it’s true they drink blood, it's not human blood most of the time. It's that of a stereotype imposed to vampires by individuals due to prejudice.
Most vampires have a dormant heart, drinking blood to activate the circulations in their system.
Freminet, a young vampire abandoned by his biological parents, found solace in the deep sea and his new adoptive family. His adopted parent, Arlecchino, had always preferred for the children to quench their thirst with animal blood at a young age- but Lyney and Lynette, his older adoptive siblings, grew up drinking blood before he came to be. They told tales about their experiences brought of the human blood, the warm feeling and the rush- the temporary feeling of a human.
Being born a vampire, it made Freminet curious. Freminet knows he has a heart, but he can never make it beat on its own without the need to feed on blood. Though he mostly drinks blood of other nurtured farm animals, he never felt his heart beat a fast pace. Like a star passing by the sky, it was quick to even feel a rush.
From then on, he felt determined to experience the same high his siblings felt; but he knew his wish is unattainable now that their practice is different from before. So, he decided to shift his focus from drinking blood to feel the rush, to unconventional hobbies.
“Earth to Fremi,” Lyney pokes his cheeks, bringing him back to the dining hall.
“Ah- yes.” he sat up straight, fixing his posture.
“Is there something in your mind?” Arlecchino puts her teacup down. Her demeaning monotone voice rang in the hall and in poor Freminet’s ears, urging a tinnitus out.
“N-No… Father,” he managed to let out.
“It’s a busy day then, up on the shore where you found a place to do your deep-sea ventures and Pers.” Lyney smiled, sipping his tea.
Lynette sat in silence, listening in on their conversation attentively. She knew better to take Freminet’s dismissal with a grain of salt. But she also knows that he’ll eventually come to her when he’s in need of an ear to listen to his rambles.
But Freminet is not ready to drop a bombshell that their young, innocent brother wants to feel like a human and live the sensations of being one.
No one would expect that coming from an immortal creature, bound to outlive humans, wondered if he can experience them in his lifetime.
Freminet stood in silence. He’s back on the beach, no humans in sight, making him feel at ease as he stared at the waters striking the edge of the rocky shore. The beachy scent hits him all at once, calling out to him to explore the sea. But that's not why he was there.
He looks down on the sack of books he brought from the marketplace in the heart of Fontaine city. It was transported all the way from Inazuma. They were romance novels. Novels that tell a fictional story about romance; a broad depiction of human emotions, their ability to fall in love, experience hurt and the drumming beat of their heart in their rib cage when in the presence of their lover.
One by one, he piled the books on the makeshift table beside him that he wanted to read and pass time.
His trusted mechanic companion, Pers, spoke to him through morse code and Freminet eagerly responded to defend his intentions with the books.
“It is not my intention to learn about humans just as much as I learned to upgrade your components…” He pursed his lips together.
“.. ... / .. - / .- / .... --- -... -... -.-- --..--?” (It’s a hobby?) Pers flapped its mechanical wings, waving around the sand where Freminet was sitting nearby.
“It can be a hobby…” Freminet knew well it was not. It's a desire, nothing less.
". . / . .- -. -.. . .-. ... - .- -. -..."(I understand.)
He sat there in silence, trying to pick out the first book to read.
“Second chance in Monstadt… Whispers of the heart… Lionfish…” His brows furrowed as he stares at the covers, curiously touching the binders and the pages in it.
The last book intrigued him. “I guess I’ll read this one first.”
He softly touched the hard cover, feeling the softness of the material in his fingertips.
“Hm…” He looks around, making sure no one was there to catch him in the act of researching.
When the coast was clear, he began to read the book amongst the welcoming ambiance of the waves and Pers frolicking around him.
Hours slowly gone by and Freminet was intrigued with the first book he read. Though it was a light read and didn't explain the complications of a romance, failed or progressive- or the science books he bought solely to learn about the physiology and the anatomical properties of a heart and how it beats.
He found himself pensively thinking and reflecting, his arms hugging the book tight as he stared ashore.
The implications of love only being lighthearted confused him so. He’s used to romance books that explored the genre differently and deeply. It was a certain whiplash, a shock if you will, from a boy who only started reading books a few moons ago.
Pers jumped into his lap, rapidly beeping and flapping his wings.
“What's wrong?” he asked the penguin, worried that his mechanical companion might be experiencing complications, overheated or more.
“Theres…. someone?” he immediately turned around.
There stood a brunette guy, staring back at him with the same shocked look on his face.
“Woah… that was fast,” the boy awkwardly said, coming out of his hiding spot amongst the bushes. Freminet quickly stood up as he watched the boy approach him. His voice hidden among his nervousness, making him unable to say something back. He stood in fear, holding his penguin close to his chest and the book.
He watched the brunettes’ eyes go from his face to the book in his chest, a smile escaped his face. “Lionfish? So, they sell that here too?” he chuckled but Freminet remained brooding. The other guy took notice.
He decided to introduce himself first. “I’m Yip Ga ming! I’m a Wushou dancer from Liyue. May I know your name?”
Freminet gulped, not expecting an immediate contact with a human. He could faintly sense something metallic from the young man, making him hiss slightly. It was a new feeling hitting him all together, making it far too overwhelming to stay there.
So, he took it upon himself to run with Pers and the book still in his arms.