5 Blood Offering

Dan the driver dropped me off at the mansion's front door, then drove away to the garage.

I made my way to the front door. Checking one more time to make sure my attire - a three-piece suit - was properly arranged, I rang the bell.

After several moments, the door opened, it was Mrs. Drake, all dressed up.

As a demonstration of what I had learned, I greeted her with the standard formal greeting, one hand on my back, one hand on my chest and a bow "Good morning, ma'am."

…

After about ten seconds, Mrs. Drake replied "Oh, it's you, Owen! Good morning." Was she expecting someone else?

I stood up straight and looked at her. Her eyes seemed unsettled for some reason.

"Is everything all right, ma'am?"

"No… it was just… You remind me of someone, is all. Please come in." She composed herself and stepped away from the door.

The whole family was already up and at the dining table having breakfast. Chloe greeted me with a vibrant smile. I took the seat on her left.

During breakfast, I demonstrated proper dining etiquette I had learned via the videos. Unlike servants, the familiars are allowed to dine along with their possessors, with some strict rules. In the old days, they acted like the possessors' bodyguard. They had to check the room for aggressors, test the food for poison, among other things. Over time, such behaviors gradually become redundant and were simplified and stylized into different movements and gestures. They were like the handshake, which originated as the custom of making sure neither party had a concealed weapon in their hands, or clinking glasses, which was a simplified form of "sharing a drink" to prove there was no poison.

Mr. and Mrs. Drake appeared pleased with my progress. After breakfast, Chloe's siblings, Grace and Abram, began their lessons with a private tutor. Mr. Drake excused himself, citing some business to take care of.

Mrs. Drake, Chloe and I made our way upstairs and entered a bedroom. It was a spacious room, tastefully decorated. Out the large French windows was a view overlooking the front garden. Various sculptures of all shapes, sizes, and material dotted the room. I realized this was Chloe's room. She loved sculpting and was quite good at it.

"Stop staring!" Chloe said, elbowing me.

"Ow!" I groaned, massaging my ribs "But it looks quite cute, to be honest. I was expecting something more… Gothic."

"That's a stereotype."

"I see you won't have problems with the etiquette, Owen." Mrs. Drake commented, cutting short our bickering. "Your posture is still a little bit stiff, but you'll get better over time."

"I'll do my best, ma'am."

"I expected as much. Now for the harder part, the Blood Offering." She moved to a table and beckoned us to come closer. On top of the table was a large black case. She pressed several buttons on the case, which opened with a hiss. A wave of cold air rushing out from inside, letting me know the case was refrigerated. Within the case were several skin-colored pouches connected to tubes and wires.

"This is the forearm pouch. You'll be wearing it on your forearms, obviously," said Mrs. Drake, who held up something that looked eerily similar to an arm guard made out of human skin.

"Take off your jacket and pull up your shirt cuff. Hold out your right forearm." She requested.

I complied. After closing the case, she fitted the "arm guard" to my forearm. Upon closer inspection, I realized it was almost indistinguishable from my own skin. The skin tone matched mine, and it even had hair that looked similar to mine. It was quite thin and weighed next to nothing.

"Now try moving your forearm," Mrs. Drake commanded. I began twisting and turning my arm, noting the material stretches in manners that were almost similar to human skin. This was surreal.

"Not bad. With some makeup on the edges, you'll be safe." She commented, satisfied.

"This pouch contains about 300 ml of synthetic blood." Mrs. Drake began explaining. "When it is requested, you will only have to pretend to look for a vein, and stick a syringe anywhere on this pouch, then draw an appropriate amount of blood."

"Remember, however, to keep the syringe at a shallow angle, and watch how deep you stick it in, so that you won't pierce the pouch's other side."

Mrs. Drake demonstrated with a syringe that seemingly came out of nowhere. I watched and marveled as she drew blood from the fake skin on my forearm.

"See? Now you'll need to practice until it becomes second nature."

"This is so cool!" I blurted out "Like Gattaca!"

She shot me an amused look.

"I know. It was one of the inspirations." She said with a wry smile.

She opened the case again and took out a much larger pouch.

"This will be worn on your shoulders."

"She will need to bite me on the shoulders, too?"

"Normally not. But there were certain cases where it will be required of the coming-of-age to do so. It's better to be safe than sorry."

Mrs. Drake turned and nodded to Chloe, who approached me.

"Take off your shirt, pumpkin!" She said with a wink.

"Really? With your mother here?" I whispered teasingly, though I understood what she meant.

"Perv!" She muttered, her face flushed red.

I took off my shirt and she helped to fit the pouch on my shoulder. This time, the skin tone didn't quite match, though it still perfectly hugged my body and didn't restrict my movement in any way.

"It'll need some adjustment with the coloring, but it seems to work just fine." Mrs. Drake said. I nodded in agreement.

"Now, you two will practice this type of Blood Offering. Work out the relative position between yourselves. Chloe, watch how much you extend your fangs."

At that point, I remembered that I'd never seen Chloe in "vampire mode." I looked at her expectantly.

"What are you looking at?" Catching my gaze, she asked.

"Nothing. Just waiting to see your cute vampire fangs!"

"Hmph, if you see them, you'll get nightmares!" She said with a huff.

"I'll leave you two to it then." Mrs. Drake said with a chuckle. "Don't bite too hard, Chloe, or you'll break the pouch."

Mrs. Drake left and closed the door behind her, leaving the two of us in Chloe's bedroom.

"Is this synthetic blood easy to wash off?" I asked Chloe.

"No, not really. It clings really hard to clothing."

"Then do you think I should take off the rest of my attire? I really hate to ruin these expensive clothes."

"Hmm…" She pondered, a hand scratching her chin, her eyes sparkling mischievously "I think that is advisable. And come to think of it, me too. I'd hate to ruin this dress."

"Should we lock the door first?"

"Yes, and close the curtain on the window, too."

…

Thirty seconds later.

…

"Please be gentle. It's my first time." I said with a smile, kneeling down in front of her. She looked fantastic in the warm candlelight.

"Well, you know what they say. If it don't bleed, then you ain't doing it right." She said with a giggle.

.