6:40 a.m
"Well uh," Henry scratched the back of his head before shoving his fidgeting hands into his pockets and turning his head up to the sky. "Is it true that you need blood to survive?"
"Is it true humans eat, sleep, and shit?" Olivia giggled.
"Right, sorry. I just don't know what to ask really."
"Nothing that piques your interest?"
"Well, uh," Henry looked her up and down. His eyes lingered on her face, where her colorful mask and bright red eyes stood out from the monotony of black on her clothes. "What are those masks for?"
"Protection."
"From us?"
"No, for you, and ourselves," Olivia said.
"O-oh."
Olivia let out a soft laugh. "Again, it's not that we want to hurt you or anything. It's one of the prohibitions Londonium requires us to follow when we're on the surface. It comes off when I go back to Dante," she began.
She tapped on her mask, tilting up her chin. "Firstly, a lot of people don't take the presence of fangs well when we smile or laugh. A glimpse of them is enough to send most running. A hundred years isn't enough to erase the fear of strigoi after the war, and judging by the look in your eyes when you saw my mask, you would've done the same too."
Henry opened his mouth to speak, but Olivia waved her hand, stopping him. "—which is a totally understandable reaction, so let me just stop you there before you start apologizing again. It's what we signed up for when my people sought safe haven. Every Dantenite knows that."
Henry nodded. "And the second reason?"
Olivia fell silent for a second, shifting her position. "The second reason… is that on rare occasions some of us could not resist temptation, and when they get a taste, things can go south fast. Trust me, it's… not something you'd want to see happen. "
"I've… heard some stories," Henry replied, thinking back to the strigoi attack that killed Camilla and Jeremy's parents.
"Why does that happen?" he asked with caution in his tone. "I don't want to sound rude or anything, but I thought duskwalkers should be immune to something like that?"
"We're not immune." Olivia gave him a knowing look. "Blood, at least human blood from what I've heard, is like a drug. There are some extremely rare cases where some find it difficult to resist the scent, and things go from bad to bloody if they get a taste. Usually when it happens, it's from the turned or the reformed of the War of Darkness.
"So we have these masks by requirement of the law whenever we surface, it blocks out scents and hides our fangs. Two problems solved," she explained.
Henry pondered for a bit, focusing on her words. Truly, they weren't trying to hurt anyone, were they?
They're just people who have been forced into a difficult situation because of who they are; that doesn't mean they're something to be feared. They're just trying to live their lives.
Henry turned his head. "How about you? Have you ever given in?"
"Absolutely not!" Olivia exclaimed. "I would never. Pues, I have wondered about it every now and then, but I would never do it. I've seen the worst of it. It gets ugly. Better for everyone to not try anything stupid."
Henry knew when to stop asking. He cleared his throat and gave a short nod. "I see."
Olivia shook her head and sighed. "Sorry about that. How about another line of thought?"
"Huh?" Henry said. He looked around the area, trying to think of any new topic to direct the conversation away from the awkwardness growing.
"How about other places? Have you ever left the city? Thamesford, I mean. Why do you call it by its old name? Londonium," he asked.
Olivia lifted a brow and looked at him. "I'm a lot older than you think. I prefer the old name. My parents are pretty old school too."
"R-right. I mean." Henry paused a bit. "Britannica isn't a big country. At all. And sure, Londoniu—uh, Thamesford… is the biggest chunk of it, but there are surely other cities out there. And, uh, other countries too! Have you ever visited them?"
"Not really," Olivia replied.
"Oh, I just thought, you know. Being functionally immortal and all."
"Ah, well, I'm not that old yet. I'm just in my fifties. Trueborn."
"Really?! B-but you look—well. Young?"
"Flattery now?" Olivia giggled, shaking her head.
"Sorry, I didn't mean it that way," Henry said.
"No, no! Please continue; I could deal with hearing more."
Henry couldn't help but laugh. He gave her a warm smile and a nod. "Well, if you're a trueborn as you say. If I recall, that would mean you were born a strigoi?"
"Exactly, been this way since birth."
"That's interesting, aren't trueborn rare?"
"Well, yes, but not really," Olivia started. "The chances of a trueborn are only one in, like, I don't know, a hundred? Most Strigoi are infertile, but there are rare cases that result in trueborns."
"I never knew that," Henry said.
Olivia tilted her head at him and gave a small nod. Her gloved hands hid away into her pockets as she turned back to the road, looking at the far side of it. "Well, glad I could be of help!" she exclaimed.
Just then, the unmistakable ring of a bell in the distance made itself known, followed by the faint rumbling of wheels on steel tracks, announcing the next tram's arrival.
"Oh! It looks like our ride is here." Olivia hummed.
Henry turned in the same direction as well and nodded. "It does seem so. One more question though, Miss Olivia. If I may?" he asked.
"Sky's the limit!"
"Right, well, what exactly are you doing here, though? I assume you live in Dante, as you mentioned it before. Is there any particular reason for hanging out on the surface of Thamesford?"
"I'm one of the few who work here."
Henry raised a brow. "But I thought Dante was more accommodating to duskwalkers than up here? Why find work here? N-not to judge or anything, but surely people here aren't as nice to strigoi."
"True, but I need the job. Not many opportunities in Dante, you know? We mostly have factory work. Steelworks, but it's cheap."
There aren't many opportunities? In a city of strigoi, made by strigoi? That doesn't make sense, but I guess if duskwalkers exist, then it must be true.
"Miss Olivia," Henry cleared his throat, "if I may, what exactly do you do?"
"I am, uh, well, used as a study… for a university," Olivia said. "They take samples of me, test various materials on them, study my anatomy, biology, and everything in between."
"What?" Henry frowned a bit, turning to look at her. "Isn't that a bit… dehumanizing? You're literally just being used as a test subject; why do you let them do that?"
Olivia tilted her head and gave him a deep stare before turning to look back at the road. She suddenly shifted, seeing the earlier group of drunks appear out of the street corner across from them with even more people with them now. Just then, the tram stopped just in front of them.
"We should get on first before I answer that," she said.
"Right," Henry replied.
The two of them stepped inside and stood, gripping the hanging handrails. Olivia let out a deep sigh as she peered out the window, seeing the drunks looking around for her just before the tram started to move.
"Miss Olivia?" Henry's voice broke through the tension.
Olivia cleared her throat and looked back toward Henry. "Right, sorry."
"Well," she started. "I'm not exactly human, so that's out of the question on human ethics. Yes, it does sound horrible. Still, the pay is a far cry from what many get in Dante. Opportunities are just better here. I guess I could have gotten a better job if I were human, but I take what I can get. Besides, they treat me well, and the staff is quite friendly. Sometimes I get invited to classrooms for presentations."
"Presentation?" Henry raised a brow.
"Students get to see a strigoi in the flesh," she said. "See my fangs, my eyes, my ears," Olivia lifted her hood just a little bit to show him her ears ending in long, pointed tips a few inches long, almost like a small knife.
"I see. Doesn't it bother you, though?"
"Presentations?" Olivia said. "Not at all, besides if I felt bothered in any way, I'd resign immediately."
"I guess there's that."
"Mhm."
"And you're going home for the day?"
"That's right, I'll come back to work by dusk. You know, 'duskwalker' things."
Henry tried to hold back a chuckle but failed, covering his mouth.
Olivia joined in, softly laughing. "Well, I guess I should be called a 'dawnwalker' too, with how the sun is almost up and bright in the sky. I've got to get back to Dante before Sol fully wakes and glares down at me. I don't want to get burnt to a crisp and all."
"That's too bad," Henry said. "You would miss the parade later. It's the hundredth Unity Day, after all. But maybe you could make it for the fireworks!"
Olivia giggled softly. "If Sol decides to spare me."
Just then, a bell rang as the tram started to slow. The next stop was coming up ahead. Henry looked out the window to confirm it before clearing his throat. "Well, it seems that my stop is just up ahead."
"Right, well." Olivia tilted her head towards him. "If you ever have time, why don't you come visit Astra Universalis College? Some classes are open to the public; it really has been nice talking to someone without them screaming first," she giggled.
"Well, I guess that works. I'll make sure to stop by when I'm able."
The tram stopped as soon as it reached the station, opening its doors. "Forlornson station." The driver's voice echoed out of the speaker. Henry stood up and headed for the exit, only pausing halfway to wave goodbye.
"Glad to have met you, Miss Olivia." he smiled politely.
"Likewise, Sir Henry."
Henry stepped off the tram before walking to his workplace. It wasn't too far, most probably a minute or two of light walking before he got there.
---
The Notterbrigs foundry. Smelting metal and shoveling coal into blazing hot furnaces. It was one of the few jobs he could take on without any formal education. It wasn't too difficult. Certainly tiring to the body, moving heavy metals and melting them down with industrial machinery.
The newly made steel would then be shipped out to other factories to be turned into whatever was needed—weapons, walkers, foundations, and some more delicate machinery.
All that work would usually leave him with aches and pains across his back and shoulders, but he could hack it. Besides, it was good exercise, and it wasn't like he planned to stay there his whole life.
He was saving enough to enroll himself at a university where he could at least learn a specialization. He would need it if he was going to support two new children at his home soon. It would take some time. A good course would normally take around four years.
He didn't know what to take yet, but he was sure there was something out there for him.
For now, he'd have to make do.