Mind If I Bite?

"And being stuck with a buncha mes doesn't?" Yotta speaks up from the center of the room, rubbing the back of his head. " Well... I guess I'll introduce myself, huh? I go by Yottabyte, but just Yotta's fine. I work on the technical side of things from an organization called EOD and— uh, not sure how much more I'm allowed to say about that. I work around a lot of technology, basically. I'm a vampire too, if you find that interesting." He shrugged and gave a bashful grin, " I like Minecraft."

Beside him and paying more attention to the Gameboy in his hands than the current conversation, another vampire speaks. "Huh? Oh. Matrix. I'm basically what the first guy said except evil, I guess. I do crime. Is my turn over yet?"

A third vampire takes that as his cue to introduce himself next, seeming unimpressed by the company he's found himself in. "I'm Hellbyte, either it's nice to meet ya or it's not, just don't make it a problem. Either way, I'm a bodyguard for hire, currently working under my boss Supercomputer. Don't mess with him or I'll rip your guts out."

From the farthest end of the room sat a fourth vampire, far apart from the others. He sharpened his jagged blade and glared at the others with what could only be described as pure hatred. "Cross. Monster hunter."

From outside the room— for the sake of everyone else's safety— sat a hulking silhouette in a dark room, kept down by restraints and tranquilizer that hardly affected him, bright pupils staring through the darkness.

""I̵̢̖̦̬̲͈̪̥͋́͂'̸̻̩͔̹̙̮̺̑̃̀̾̂́̐́̅̀̈͘̚͠ͅL̸̫̞̞͇͕̬͙̙̻̙͉͕͉̿̆̊͛̓͊̐̅͌̓̑͜͝͝Ļ̶͕͖͉̮̞͎̞̬̰̗̼͈̘͉̌̀̓ ̸̙̞̙͇̮̈̓͌̓̌͒͝S̶̛̹̹̪̞͓̬̭̲͙̖̜̖͚̩̫̈͆̓͗͆͌͆͂ͅL̸̟̹͖̘̩͔̠̋̔̀̌̽̈́̅͆̀͠Å̷̡̠̭͙͓͚͈̠̤̃̓̎́̌̉̃͗̓̌̿́̅͂̕͜ͅÙ̷̧̪̥̰̱̦̪̜̥̦̠̒̃̾̀͊́̅̓͐͗́̐͘͜͠͠͝G̴̨̛̹̗̣͉͉̩͈͙͕̙̦̘̉̽̈͆͛̀̒̓̕͝͠͠͝H̸̹͕̱̫͔͊͋̔́̾T̴͚̬̜͇͉̟̰̩͍̙͈͐̋̈̉͑̑̐͆̊ͅȨ̸̼͖̺̋̾̇͒̑̚Ŗ̶̻͙̭̲̯̥̣͇̰̤̯̦̙͖͗̈́̏͐̉̐̈́̏̓͆͆̕͘̕̕͘͜ ̴̧̡͈̭͈̺̩̮̤̜̭͎̮͗͆̇̀̈́̌́̔̐̌̇̆̚E̷̹̞̦̘͔͎͚̗̜͙͍͌́̒̓̂͂̅͒̎͊̀̕V̴͚͔̱̖̺̞̦̣̬̻̒͋̀̎̉̂̚̚͝͝Ę̵̢̥͛R̴̩̝̀̈́͊Ỷ̵͉͓͎̖͇͇͓̬̣̞̣̫̪͚̭͓͒̾͑̊ ̸̛̥̾̔̆͊̋̈́̂̌̅̕S̴̢̧̘͖̜̼͎͎͉̦̙̮̣͕͒̊̒́̑̈́̾̂͆͋̚͝͝Į̶̤͚̥̤̘̦̖̝̈N̴̫̺̓͂̀̀̽̋͒̆̈̂̀͘Ǵ̶̢̖̑̋̅͠͝͝L̷͕̰̣̤̠̜̬̤͇̟͊͑̒̀̍̄̾͊̅̎̅̃̾͘͜ͅÈ̷̤̪̩̞̗͚̠͎͈̳̈́̓̾̅̋͗̔̈́̽̀̑͌̔̒͝͠ͅͅ ̴͖̖̖͍̪̟͙̪͚͊͑͌̀̔̓̽̇͌̂̂̈́̕O̴͇̩̞͕̻̲̜̬̠͎̾̀͌͂̿̓̄́̌̀́̌̌͆̓̿N̷̢̢̢̛͎̯͍͉̮̣̘̦̙̗̘͒̃̾̈̌͒̆͝Ë̸̛̦͈́̃̀̏͝ ̷̢͓͖̣͙͇̒̇̇̂̀͗̌͊̓͆̓̑O̷̢͖̫̳̟̻̾̾͗F̶̢̡͙͕̭̪̲͙̖͇͈̟͚͓̞̲̃͛͛͆̚̚ ̸̨̧̠̗͇̜̥̼̳̗̬̝̟̼̲͕̂̓͒̌̉̐ͅT̸̪̫̯̞̻͎̳̤̮̼̜̭͙̹̹̼̎̀́̓͛͋̐̒͘͜͝͝H̴̡̤̟͖͈̘͔̰͓͎̳̱̼͐͌ͅȨ̴̢͖̦̗̙̬͚͉̬͐́͗͋͆̆̄̽͜M̷̝͉͓̼͈̘̳̙̞̘͕̜̳̭̃ͅͅ.̴̺͎̪͚̻̪̖̈́̈́͌́̍͜͝ ̴͕̆̑̿̄̃͌͗"

They called it Obsidian.

Yotta gave a hesitant smile, "He's a good guy, a good worker, and all around really well meaning. He really really cares a lot about Mal and is a great friend to him, and I'm really glad Mal has someone like him backing him up. It's reassuring. It makes me happy knowing Mal has him if I'm not around to keep him safe." His smile faltered. " But.... To be honest.... Sometimes it's like he cares about Mal so much that.. it makes him a really uncaring person towards other people? Kind of like... He'd put Mal first, even if it meant stepping over anyone else. That's kinda harsh, and it's not bad to put Mal first at all, but... "

He sighed, "A nicer way of saying this is that he forgets he's not the only one who cares about Mal; Bug isn't the only person in Mals life who'd do anything for him. He won't tell me anything about Mal and the shit happening to him until, like, fucking weeks later? The hell? My fucking boyfr— u-uh, friend? Kinda messed up, you know. And he'll cause trouble and talk back to admins when that'll affect me and get my ass in trouble, as a handler, and it'll be my job to get him out of it. And just... "

"I don't know. Like I said, he's well meaning, but... I think he's the only one where it makes it hard to mix the line between coworker and friend— if he even sees me as a friend, it doesn't really feel like it. And, I just... As a handler, I try so hard to be understanding and get him out of trouble when I should be punishing him, and I really hate pulling the handler card when I want to approach situations as an understanding friend, but... I don't know. If nothing changes, it's just what I'll have to resort to. I care about Mal so fucking much, I could ignore everything else, but fucking Mal? Are you serious? Weeks later?"

He took a deep inhale, shaking his head. "But, yeah. He's still a good guy, I genuinely believe it and I know he is, he just.. hasn't really been all that great to me. I don't know if I could call him my friend anymore."

".... Damn." Matrix blinked. "Anyways, Hornet's alright," he shrugged. "Could stand to be down with more murder."

Hellbyte snorts, "Ehhhhhhh...... Not as much of an ass like other people, I guess. Didn't say shit about said people being an ass until I stood up for myself, though. I guess as long as he's not a pain in the ass to work with, I can't complain. Doesn't mean I like him, but it means I can tolerate him, and that's good enough. I guess he's been a lil nicer ever since I blew up, but... I dunno. Still unsure about him."

Cross rolled his eyes and hardly looked up from sharpening his blade, "Gets in the way. A pest."

Obsidian snarled,

A steel bowl containing a raw steak is kicked inside the dark confines of Obsidian's containment.

He pounces and wastes no time digging in, fangs gnashing and tearing the meat shred by shred until nothing is left, licking the bowl and leaving teeth marks in the steel. He panted softly, his chin wet with drool, and his eyes still hungry.

It wasn't enough to satiate him, but ... It was better than nothing, wasn't it?

Cross held the drawing close to his face, squinting his eyes and scowling. "That's... Supposed to be me? They've been drawing me...?" His ears flickered up and down as he observed the drawing, "My arms are so big ... And my ears," His eyes widen and his ears pin back to the side of his head, a hand coming to untuck his hair and cover them. "T-they're not... That big..." He huffed, face burning red. It's like he was bashful, almost. "A-and what's with all those hearts drawn around me..?"

"Uhm, wow, that's a lotta stuff to unpack." Yotta held a palm to his forehead, processing. " Well.... I guess he is the medic, so he's got more say over that matter than I do, but without Mal knowing? Yikes.. I would feel weird about keeping that from Mal, yeah." He nodded, "But.. god, I don't know, it's a really complicated situation. I don't doubt Mal wasn't the most cooperative about the entire situation in the first place... He doesn't like talking about how sick he is. Maybe it was necessary. But at the same time... God, I don't know, it just... It goes against my own moral code and honesty and.... How I feel about Mal. Even if for his own good, it just feels... Yucky. It feels yucky to do stuff to him without him being in the know or knowing he's okay with it," He frowned, arms crossed tight as though hugging himself, perhaps he was remembering an experience of his own. The feeling of long nails...

Obsidian stirs from his cell, a growl emitting from the very depths of his core, and claws gripping the floor so tight it left deep indents.

Yet.. his eyes didn't match his body, at least for a moment. His eyes were tired— relieved. Only for a moment.

They fill with fury, malice, and bloodthirst— His body changed to meet this, skin audibly ripping apart as spikes bore their way through and blood that spewed and hardened into armor over the remaining skin.

"Umm..." There's a brief hesitation and twinges of anxiety in his smile, "Well .... I guess I ended up joining because.. What I was doing before didn't really, um.. it wasn't right for me. It wasn't the path I wanted to go down, you know? And I guess the agency... Was, you know? I guess I just... I wanted to help people instead." He shrugged, relaxing.

"Obviously I intend to kill him." Cross glared, "I'll kill him the same as I'll kill every other monster for their sin of existence. That's a stupid question... And even stupider to think that monster is trying to be my friend— It's a manipulation tactic, a desperate attempt for survival; they're trying to be my "friend" to guarantee he live, most likely. Monsters aren't capable of caring about anyone enough to be their friend.." He scoffed at the idea, eyes venomous.

Yotta sharply inhaled as though wounded and looked off in the distance, a pained look in his eyes. "...... I miss him more than anything. If I knew I wouldn't be coming back-- I didn't know I wouldn't come back I just-- Mal-- I... It just... happened. If I knew... I would have.. brought him with me... I would have tried harder... I wouldn't have abandoned him... I just... " He slumped in his chair, hiding his face in his hands. "I miss him.. I hope he's okay,"

Matrix's otherwise emotionless expression wavers, even if for just a moment. He crosses his arms and scoffs, glaring. "How the hell am I supposed to know? What does it matter how he's doing or whether or not I miss him? It didn't make a difference then and it won't make a difference now... and that's just how things are. Don't ask me these stupid fucking questions,"

"... Jesus," Hellbyte frowned at the other two before answering the question himself, "He's..." He briefly hesitated, as though contemplating how to answer that question. "..... Well. I do miss him now that I'm working more often, but.... I try to make time for him when I can."

Cross's gaze softened for a second before it hardened and became cold, sharpening his blade with an added ferocity. "Once I'm strong enough.... I'll kill the disgusting animal that's holding him captive... I'll free him.... until then... I have to get stronger,"

A soft whine comes from Obsidian's cell before a violet booming from all corners of the room, an animal attempting escape.

"Definitely a lot of clashing," Yotta side-eyed the vampire seated next to him, "He's cool with a lot of stuff that I'm... really not cool with,"

"Like committing crime. No dip, my guy, you're talking to the you that's from the enemy fuckin agency." Matrix rolled his eyes, "And for that, this other me is really lame. Shame, too, cuz otherwise, he's pretty chill."

"Sorry I'm not chill with the agency that's constantly trying to kill us-- one of my best friends very much included--????"

"I'm just the tech guy, man. Plus I think EOD is pretty good at killing their own agents already-- except not even given Zoraxis wouldn't even exist. Dummy."

Yotta slumped in his chair, inhaling. "Safe to say, I don't like this guy, and definitely not the agency he's associated with."

"My poor feelings. Well, hey, we both like minecraft. That's something, right?"

"I guess."

Matrix leaned against Yotta's shoulder, smirking. "And twinks,"

Given the question is addressed to one of the vampires personally, Hellbyte has been pulled aside into an interrogation room of his very own. How lovely!

"How I feel about the boss..." He crossed his arms and leaned back into his seat, deeply contemplating. "Um, this won't be shown to him or anything, right? Strictly confidential? I'll twist your neck if it's not. That being said... how I feel about my boss... I dunno. Complicated, I guess."

"He's just.... he's nice to me. Too nice. And... I don't know why. I still just think that sometimes... maybe he's nice to me because he wants something from me, you know? He's always flirting with me, too, and... maybe... maybe I really am just... something to be toyed with, you know? I mean, why not? For all boss knows, I could... be gone the next day, dead from a mission I couldn't handle. It wouldn't really matter, I exist to keep the others safe and not really the other way around. I'm expendable. So.. why not toy with me while he's got me? Kind of like how.. a dog is given chocolate to eat right before he's put down, heh. Sorry.. that's so dramatic. It's what I signed up for, after all, I guess I just wish... I don't know. I just... don't want to be teased with what I'll never have. Not the boss's fault, not like he knows my life or needs to know my life, but... I guess looking at him and all the people that care about him... and how much the boss acts like he cares about me out of some game that no one else is playing-- I mean, clearly, given the way the others treat me, too-- I just.. "