The answer to the question seemed like a given. Especially since that was what Arlette had technically offered by feeding him in the first place, but this non-negotiable request from Caius went beyond just making a cut and giving him a few drops of blood.
Judging by what just happened, Arlette could tell that if she agreed, there would be more sensual grabs involved. That Caius would actively touch her any time he wanted to feed before eventually sinking his fangs into parts of her body to draw her blood from.
But why…?
"What's your 'Evolution Trigger'?" She asked suddenly.
Caius paused and then smiled lightly as he asked,
"You know about that?"
Arlette rolled her eyes,
"Of course I do. You're not the first Vampire I've met," she said easily, "So what is it?"
Caius smiled knowingly,
"I think you've guessed it."
Arlette paused and then nodded. She had indeed guessed it. For a Vampire, nothing is more important than thirst besides the desire to make the blood they feed on sweeter and stronger which requires inciting their evolution triggers in their victims. If Caius could resist the taste and smell of her blood to spend time 'exciting' her, that had to have been his trigger.
"So it's not fear or sadness?" She stared off into space and mused mostly to herself.
"It's not," Caius answered quietly and Arlette was staring into his eyes again.
"Convenient," she said.
"It could be," Caius said and sighed, "But there are not many partners that would overlook my nature and let me sink my fangs into their neck while we're getting it on."
Arlette chuckled,
"Yes, yes. I suppose that could dampen the mood," she said still chuckling. Soon, she cleared her throat but was still smiling as she held out a hand,
"Fortunately for you, I don't mind."
Caius rolled his eyes in his head. She made it sound like she was doing him a favor when there was no way she didn't have ulterior motives.
Outwardly though, he maintained an amicable smile and took Arlette's hand. But instead of shaking it, he pulled it up to his lips and kissed the back of it. Like a gentleman.
"Well, aren't you sweet?" Arlette said with a teasing smile.
Inwardly, she was smirking.
She had never expected his 'Evolution Trigger' to be 'Arousal'. Her plan had been to 'nurse' him with the normal thirst-quenching feeding while helping him to find victims to use to evolve. This streamlined things all the better and she felt she could have even more control over how he turned out than she had initially planned. Her plan was still on track.
Arlette stood to her feet while grabbing Caius' arm gently to pull him out of the chair. She held him so close that his arm was brushing against her breast. With the smile on her face, it had to have been intentional.
Arlette walked over to the wall, touched it, and opened the portal Gate,
"We have much to discuss but you have to get to class now."
Caius smiled lightly,
"I'm sure I still have time. How about a snack before I leave?"
Arlette laughed as she released his arm and directed him toward the portal Gate,
"Trust me, you're late as it is. And remember, no one will be as accepting of what you are as I am, so be careful."
The amusement mixed with genuine caution on her face was the last expression Caius saw of her as he fell through the Portal and appeared on the other side in a deserted corridor.
Her warning rang in his mind but he just chuckled. While she truly was the only person insane enough to accept nurturing a Vampire at the moment, Caius was sure he could get himself other… willing partners.
The first step for that was to get to class so he pulled out his Schedule/Map sheet trying to see where he was in the Academy. The map was magical and not only highlighted his location but also offered dots to direct him to where he had to go. He followed those dots until he was standing in front of a large door to the classroom.
He grabbed the door's handle, pulled it open, and walked in where a sudden silence descended upon the hall. It felt like suddenly walking in on an ongoing conversation.
"Ah, Mr. Von Helsing," Professor Melvin said with a dry smile,
"You're late."
"Sorry," Caius said.
"Sorry?" Professor Melvin said with a raised brow.
"Sir," Caius amended.
Professor Melvin snorted with derision,
"First you were rude at Orientation and now you come to my class late…"
"I was called aside by Professor Arlette. You were there," Caius pointed out gently.
"Excuses!" Professor Melvin announced, "I made it perfectly clear at Orientation that Truancy is not tolerated at Lochxen."
"I'm sorry," Caius apologized again and added in a late amendment, "Sir."
Professor Melvin snorted and waved off the apology,
"I happen to be feeling lenient today," he said through tight lips,
"Find a seat."
With a nod, Caius walked past the annoyed Professor with the eyes of most of the students on him. Caius looked back at them as well. He hadn't paid attention during Orientation because of his confusion but now he did and as he observed them all, he tried to take note of their features to know who was who.
As his eyes roamed the class, Caius was looking for someone in particular.
In the original story, Caius—who hadn't been late—picked a seat at random and didn't say a single word to anyone all day by choice. He also gave off an unapproachable air that ensured no one thought to come close.
Caius—with Kevin's Soul—, of course, had no intentions of doing the same and while there would be opportunities to engage with other characters of the story, especially the most prominent ones, he knew who he wanted to start with.
He saw her quickly enough as her slightly pointy ears gave her away faster than any other character.
Kaya Aeisling the Half-elf would be his target for the day.
'Ah, that makes me sound like a stalker.'
Caius found Kaya in barely a second and was walking toward her as he assessed her. She was just as described in [To Kill A Demon Lord…]. Undoubtedly one of the prettiest girls in the class with a dainty figure that just allured any eyes that happened to fall on her. She had long black hair she styled in a pony tail down her back and if she stood, Caius was sure it would be touching to top of her ass.
Her eyes were a beautiful leaf green color and her lips were painted in a green so dark that from certain angles, it could appear black. The sides of her uniform jacket rested on the mounds of her breasts that pushed against the shirt-vest combo she wore on her upper half.
Kaya looked about 18 which was a trend all over the class.
In this world, there are Twelve Tiers of magical excellence from the First Circle (lowest) to the Twelfth Circle (Highest), and to attend Lochxen, you have to be at least at the Third Circle.
The reason for this is that the Third Circle is known as the Blossoming Barrier. It is believed that, to have any real chance at future success, a person must achieve this before adulthood. i.e before they turn 21. And a potential student of Lochxen must achieve it on or before they turn 20.
'Geniuses' achieve this between 16-17. Which was why everyone in the class was between the ages of 16-18. Their ages when they broke through the blossoming barrier.
Caius achieved this five years ago when he was 13 and was on track to attend Lochxen as the youngest ever to do it in millennia. But then his Mother died and he was attacked and turned into a Vampire which sent him into a depression that stunted his development.
"Hi," Caius said gently as he sat down in the empty seat beside Kaya.
"Hello," she said and flashed him a smile that lit up her very pretty face.
"I'm Caius," Caius told her with a smile and held out a hand.
"I know. Everyone knows," the girl said with a nod and took the hand to shake it,
"I'm Kaya."
"I know," Caius said in a turn around of what she said to him.
Kaya chuckled a little assuming he knew her name through orientation where she had gotten her affinity tested just like him.
"It's nice to meet you, Kaya," Caius said still holding her hand.
"Nice to meet you too," Kaya answered and blushed a bit more. His hold of her hand was gentle. There was a warmth to it and looking into his violet eyes there was a pull in them that almost made her have to shake her head to not get dizzy.
Caius noted that she smelled good and he meant that as both a Vampire with a liking for her blood and a person with a functioning nose. His eyes wandered just enough to notice the high rise of her chest that her uniform could not possibly cover. If anything, it accentuated it all the more.
Caius' eyes returned to Kaya's face just in time to see her eyes trail back up. Her gaze had wandered too and when they released each other's hands, they locked eyes. Violet orbs staring into Emerald green ones.