Norbert stared at the man before him. In his black coat, porcelain white skin and dirty brown hair. Tilting his head to the side, he tapped his chin, pretending to think.
"What do you say, Obsius? Think he's trustworthy?" Norbert asked the bird.
Receiving a chirp in reply, Norbert nodded. "I thought the same." As he started closing the wooden door on the man. "It's too late to be dealing with weirdos. Well, good night."
The man’s hand shot forward as the door was about to close, stopping it from closing further. "Wait, oh god damn it, stop being a fool and move out of the way." He said, pushing forward and entering the place. Stopping for a moment on the entrance as he shuddered, walking towards a seat and sitting down, hand covering his face, Norbert could only see the bottom half of his face, knowing it was showing annoyance.
Norbert sat on the other table, the light still turned off, not wanting it to shine up to those upstairs; Obsius jumped off his shoulder and onto his hands on the table, insisting on being pet. Norbert complied as he petted the blackbird in his hands.
"So, what brings you out to Italy in the middle of the night …" Norbert asked the man, waving his hand out, waiting for a response, only to get pecked by Obsius for not patting her. He continued to pat back, looking down at his hand, making sure he wasn't bleeding on the table.
"Count von Count." Count von Count was saying before being interrupted by Obsius, who chirped at him.
"I know, Obsius; what type of name is Count von Count? Like seriously, is he trying to hide that he's a vampire? All he needs is a sign saying, 'I vant to suck your blood'. Like seriously, who does he think he is." Norbert said, poking his thumb at Count von Count.
Groaning, Count von Count continued, "As I said, before I was rudely interrupted. I have been watching you for quite some time Norbert. And after your little stint the other day with those thugs, I needed to step in."
"Wait, so you were the one that cleaned up whatever happened there. Well, thanks for that; it allowed me to have a good night’s sleep. So you were the one that took me into the hotel room. He's a bit of a creep this one." Norbert said the last part to Obsius as he hid his mouth behind his hand, failing to hide the conversation from Count von Count.
"Why are you like this to me? You haven't been like this to anyone else. Do I have a target painted on my face, a sign I can't see over my head?" Count von Count asked, looking behind himself and above his head, confirming no words hovering there.
"But seriously, what did you think would happen the other day? Just leaving twenty bodies everywhere, the rest running off into the hills, screaming that you're a zombie. And you just running off in the direction of the town, passing out on the steps of your hotel bloody?" Count von Count asked, arms at his side, his voice getting increasingly annoyed.
Norbert scratched the back of his head. "Well, I didn't know I did any of that. The last thing I remember of that night was being shot in what I assume now was the head and my face hitting the ground." Norbert explained to Count von Count.
Count von Count looked up, pointing with his finger. "It would be best for us to take this outside. Don't want to disturb the residents." He explained as he rose out of his seat, walked towards the door, and opened it. The night air flowed down on him as Count von Count left. He was leaving Norbert alone with Obsius.
Leaning back in his chair, holding Obsius to his face, asked the bird, "Well, guess we need to go and continue the chat with him." Obsius chirped in confirmation.
Leaning forward, stopping the chair from slamming down, Norbert tucked it behind the table, lifting it so it wouldn't scrape across the ground.
Closing the door behind him, Norbert looked around, trying to find Count von Count in the darkness.
“HOT!”
Norbert looked up, following the whistling he heard. Up on the roof stood Count von Count before disappearing behind the gutter. Walking into the yard, Norbert went to where Count von Count disappeared. Seeing it was on the second story, Norbert bent down, breathing out, the puff of air visible at night.
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Putting energy into his legs, Norbert sprang upwards, shooting into the sky. Putting in just the right amount, he placed one foot forward, landing on the roof with only a slight bend to the knee. Stepping forward placing himself fully on the roof, Count von Count lying on the roof, staring at the moon.
Norbert, sitting down next to the man, just stared quietly. The clouds pass over the sky, blocking and revealing the stars. Norbert stared at the night sky, now looking unfamiliar to what it was before.
"This is the only time I can properly bask under the sun's rays." Count von Count said to Norbert.
"Really?" Norbert asked in response, still staring up at the nearly full moon showing itself, giving a white light to everything around him.
"Oh, come on, I know you know I'm a man that walks in the darkness.” Count von Count said to Norbert.
He was smiling in response, waving his hand, waiting for him to continue. "The people of the moon watch down on us every night, laughing as we blunder in our daily lives."
Norbert just nodded, taking a coin out of his pocket. Flicking it into the air, he watched it spin out of the corner of his eye, catching it before he flicked it into the air again, slightly higher this time, watching as it stopped at the apex before coming back down again.
"So, what is it that you want, Mr Vampire?" Norbert asked the man.
Seeing out of the corner of his eye, a smile formed on the vampire's mouth, the single extended fang reaching the bottom of his lip, seeming to glow in the moonlight.
"Just to let you know of my presence. That's the official reason anyway." Count von Count said.
Norbert just nodded. "Well, thank you for the information, and I appreciate the help you did for me, getting myself and the boy out of that bind earlier. But what is it, the unofficial response?" Norbert asked him as he continued flicking his coin in the air.
"Two things, one on both sides and the other just over there." Count von Count said.
Norbert just nodded. "Wait, both sides. How does a vampire even cross over, to begin with, and exist in this magic-less world?" Norbert asked the vampire.
Hiding now Norbert could not believe his eyes as they seemed to attract, "We hitch rides on the past champions to cross over here, like what you did with Luck." Count von Count said.
Norbert looked at him, eyes growing wide. "Yes, we all knew. It's not like you did anything that wrong. Good thing you didn't let her wander alone; it would cause many headaches if she died here." Count von Count said. He stopped to rub his head; just the thought of it brought an ache to his head.
"For the second part of your question, your media got that spot in." Count von Count said.
Norbert just looked at him. "Blood?" He asked the vampire questioningly.
Nodding his head in confirmation, the vampire continued, "That's right, just like how you still have a bit of magic in you, allowing you to perform your feats, so does everyone else. Unlike where breathing it in or crystals are possible, we feast on blood, virgin blood is just preference." Count von Count said, playing into the stereotype at the end.
Norbert just nodded along. "Makes sense, so you drink blood over there as well?" Norbert asked the vampire.
"Well, now I'm going to end the point there due to the amount of time to explain the different vampires' intricacies. We feast off blood for me and most others you see here. Need a lot less and can do a lot more on the other side." Count von Count said.
Norbert just nodded, head swirling with what other vampires could be out there. Shaking his head to disperse the thoughts and ask someone else later, Norbert looked back to Count von Count. "So, what are the two things you would like me to do then?" Norbert asked Count von Count, flicking the coin up into the air.
"Firstly, on the other side, the tournament is coming up. And we would like you to join our nation." Count von Count said.
Norbert just looked at him. "Tournament?" he asked, wondering what the count was discussing.
Count von Count sighed. "Well, guess that answers that question if Morenas hasn't notified you yet. Think about it, and let me know when you hear more." Waving his hand to dismiss the question that Norbert was about to ask, closing his jaw, he waited for Count von Count to continue, "The other thing is your assistance in similar matters."
Norbert just looked at him, catching the coin and placing it back in his pocket. "What do you mean by similar? To this? Having a conversation about random topics?"
"No", Count von Count said, breathing air out of his nostrils. "Helping those over here keep in check."
Norbert, not sitting up, looked over at Count von Count. "And what if I don't want to join this organisation? I'm not Batman running around over there saving anyone you deem necessary." Norbert said, voice growing stern.
"And you're not expected to help over there, just here when needed. And if you don't, then with your ability…" Count von Count let the sentence hang in the air.
Norbert just nodded. "Give me a moment; I want to ask for someone's opinion," Norbert said.
Count von Count nodded in response, lying back against the roof as he looked up at the moon, a cloud starting to cover it. Norbert gulped in response, thinking Count von Count would have at least given him some time to think about it.
Pulling out his phone, he went to the contacts, hitting Sarah's name, hearing it ring as he placed it to his ear.
"Hi Sarah, I don't know what time it is over there, but do you have a minute … Well, I have this person here, Count von Count, yes, and he … ok … hmm … yes, that's right. Well, I guess that fixes that. Oh, the tournament… yes, ok, mum, I'll wait after I complete the mission." Norbert said, hanging up the phone.
"Well, it looks like sending me over here was part of her plan for us to meet, so I'm joining you."
Count von Count smiled, standing up and holding his hand for Norbert. "Welcome to A Solution."