Chapter Text
The pharmacy bell jingled as Étoiles stepped out. Outside, the darkness of night greeted him, barely kept at bay by the few remaining working streetlights. The street was empty, no sign of life disturbing the nocturnal calm. The sound of his footsteps echoed mournfully, like the beginnings of a horror film.
To be honest, Étoiles hadn't planned to find himself so late in this dimly lit neighborhood.
But circumstances forced him to. He pulled the paper bag tighter to his chest, securing its precious contents: His insulin.
He had made a series of mistakes. It had started the day before, when, too caught up in his nocturnal stream, he forgot to take his medication. A simple oversight, much more common than he liked to admit.
Normally, this didn't have much of an impact on his life. All he had to do was inject half a dose in the morning, which is what he would have done normally. At least, if he hadn't spent most of the night streaming, before suffering from insomnia that lasted until morning.
He hadn't woken up until nightfall, his sleep schedule ruined and a pang of thirst gnawing his throat.
And it was only when he felt this first, all-too-familiar symptom that a realization dawned.
He had forgotten his insulin dose, and had done so for over 24 hours. His eyes widened at the realization.
Immediately, he grabbed his glucometer.
He pointed his lancing device at his index finger. A second later, the drop of blood was beading on his finger. He didn't waste a moment having it analyzed by the device. And sure enough, what he feared came true. Hyperglycemia. And not a minor one. The glucometer showed a level that was far too high.
A blood sugar level that was too low could easily be regulated with a few sachets of sugar and a good meal. But such a high level? Much more complicated to regulate without an injection. Not to mention the damage it could cause to his health. Quickly, he grabbed the bag where he kept his insulin. Before realizing his worst fear: he was out.
Which explained his excursion in the middle of the night into a dark neighborhood, in search of one of the few pharmacies still open. But he finally had his precious medication. His thirst was worsening, and he felt slightly nauseous.
It was better to take his insulin as soon as possible. But the last time he'd injected himself with the precious remedy in the middle of the street, someone had called the police, and he'd had to explain to two suspicious officers that, no, he wasn't on drugs, thank you very much.
And that's why he slipped into the first deserted alley he came across. What he hadn't expected was to find it already occupied.
By a man, crouching behind a garbage container. Seeing Étoiles approach, he jumped so violently that his head hit the edge. A small moan of pain escaped him. Then he immediately straighten up and dusted off his jacket with the most forced impression of nonchalance.
-Oh... uh. You haven't seen anything?
Étoiles stared at him a little longer than politeness required.
-Are you okay, dude?
The stranger seemed even more uncomfortable at the question.
-Aha, yes, of course, I was just... chilling here?
-Sorry bro, I don't want to be rude, but you are a little bit weird hiding behind the trashcan like that...
-Everybody does that!
-So I'm not everybody, because I don't do that. Or if you are a racoon, maybe...
The suspicious guy looked at him, seemingly deliberating. And then:
-Can you come closer, please?
Étoiles narrowed his eyes, sensing a certain deception. Following someone into a dark alley was probably in a survival manual, under the heading "Things you should NEVER do."
"It's not against you, dude, but I will refuse your request."
He took a step back. For a second, the wind whistled, and suddenly a hand grabbed his arm and pulled him into the alley. Étoiles didn't have time to react; the man was much stronger than him.
"Sorry, it wasn't a question. I need your blood."
Étoiles' first absurd thought was that blood donation organizations' solicitor were becoming increasingly bold. A second later, his brain finally kicked in as he noted the weirdness of the situation.
For a moment, a red glint flashed in the strange man's eyes. And suddenly, the Frenchman realized that his interlocutor had rather long teeth for a human.
Oh.
It seemed this particular scenario wasn't covered in his survival manuals. Because even though Étoiles wasn't much of a cinephile (he much preferred learning lists of titles, actors, and directors by heart, for fun), he nevertheless knew how to recognize the characteristics of the being in front of him. It was enough to wipe out the last ounce of rationality he had left. The filter connecting his brain to his mouth vanished into nothingness as he stared at his solicitor with frustration.
"Ah great, a vampire. Of course. Such a mood. Now people can't even peacefully walk on a street without being bite..."
"I'm sorry, it's not against you, but..."
"...And now you are going to suck me!"
"..."
"..."
"Wait..."
"TO SUCK MY BLOOD SORRY ENGLISH IS HARD!" panicked Étoiles, realizing his words. "IT'S NOT ABOUT..."
"JUST STOP TALKING!" the vampire shouted, releasing his arm, reluctant to hear him get bogged down in explanations.
That doesn't help to calm Étoiles down.
"Right, I will shut up and now you will kill me, what a wonderful day!"
"Oh my gosh, no! I won't kill anyone!"
The Frenchman stared at him for a long moment before saying in a judgmental voice:
"Bro, you are a vampire, this is literally your job! Or is it because I'm French? I don't count as a person?"
"I just need your blood!"
"Yeah, but I need it in my body! If you drink me, it's cannibalism, and cannibalism is bad!" Étoiles retorted.
The vampire frowned deeply.
"It's not..."
But after a second of reflection, a rather disturbed look appeared on his face as he realized that, in fact, drinking human blood wasn't helping his case. Étoiles, however, had other questions.
"If you bite someone, like, you know, me, for example, will I become a vampire too?"
"NO, THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS!"
"HOW I AM SUPPOSED TO KNOW, I'M NOT THE EXPERT SORRY MR. TRASHCAN VAMPIRE."
The supernatural being rubbed his forehead as if he felt a migraine coming on, an exasperated look on his face.
"You're the worst dude I have ever met, JESUS!"
This made the Frenchman pause for a moment... Before he started again.
"...you can say religious name? I mean, without burning and stuff? Not a reproach, because if only one religion was safe, it would be discrimination."
The vampire seemed at that moment to give up arguing with Étoiles, his shoulders slumping without energy.
"I'm British, religious names are like punctuation for us."
"Oh, yeah ! Like 'putain' in French. If you are impressed? 'Pu-tain!'. If you are sad? 'Putain...'. If a vampire takes you in a dark street? 'Putain de merde.' That's like a Swiss knife, very useful!"
During his spirited tirade, Étoiles had almost forgotten his precarious situation. The vampire finally sighed heavily and moved a few steps away. With his back against the wall of the alley, he let himself slide down until he sat on the ground.
"Thanks for the French lesson. I'm sure it will be very useful for me, yeah."
His voice sounded... dull.
The dreary streetlight on the corner was barely enough to illuminate his face.
His brown hair fell in front of his eyes rather pitifully. He didn't look very old, not even thirty, although for a vampire, age was probably a very relative concept. He looked tired, the kind of tiredness that had nothing to do with lack of sleep. In the semi-darkness, his pallor stood out painfully.
Étoiles should probably take his chance to escape. The vampire seemed to have given up on puncturing his veins. But... it didn't feel right.
A man staggered past their alley, without once glancing into the darkness. Étoiles didn't run. He didn't scream for help. The weary, dejected look on the vampire face was far louder than any plea. Instead, he cautiously sat down next to the mystical being, right on the filthy floor.
"Have you some... issues in your life?"
"Guess what," the vampire replied sarcastically, pointing to himself with a wave of his hand.
Étoiles couldn't argue with that. Being a vampire seemed lame, and with a bunch of weaknesses like garlic, the sun, or wooden stakes. Well, Étoiles didn't like garlic, lived mostly at night, and had never yet been attacked by someone with a stake, holy water, or silver cross. But the principle remained.
The Frenchman decided to make an attempt at peace.
"I'm Étoiles. What's your name?"
The vampire looked at him, as if wondering what Étoiles would do with this information. Like banishing him from existence or filing a restraining order against him. Was that even possible against a vampire? His name might not even be listed in state records anymore. The other man finally relented, looking too weary to argue.
"Ellum."
"Like Ellum Musk?"
"NOT AT ALL!" the vampire shouted indignantly.
The Frenchman laughed without a trace of remorse.
"Okay, guy, whatever you want."
Silence fell again, Étoiles thinking while Ellum stared at his shoes. Finally, it was Ellum who broke the silence.
"You should go."
"Why?" asked Étoiles.
"Dude. You don't undestand? I drink blood and you're literally a living blood pocket. I'm a vampire. A danger for you."
At these words, the Frenchman still felt no trace of fear. On the contrary, Ellum's words only reinforced his decision.
"If you are a danger, why do you tell me to go?"
"Because if I lose my control, I will hurt you."
"Oh."
Étoiles leaned forward, carefully examining the vampire's red eyes and overly sharp teeth. But rather than fear, it was concern for his new comrade that overcame him.
"Are you like REALLY thirsty?"
"Yes. That's why you should go. I've already snapped, two weeks ago. I... I barely killed a man, and his daughter who was trying to help him."
Ellum curled up slightly, his knuckles white. The disgust and guilt on his face couldn't be faked. Étoiles was suddenly overcome with doubt.
"How old are you?"
"Thirty-one years old."
"... You were thirty-one, you mean, when you were a bite? Or like you've been a vampire for thirty-one years?"
Étoiles tried to cling to the hope that he'd been wrong, doubt rising in his chest. But the vampire quickly denied it.
"I'm born thirty-one years ago. And I got bite like... Less than two months ago? I wasn't sure what appened at first. And now... there I am."
Too busy staring at his shoes, the Englishman didn't notice the horror on Étoiles' face. So Ellum, who was only a few years older than him, had just been bitten a few weeks ago? His life had just turned upside down, with no one to help him, and everyone's indifference? And since then, he only drank blood when hunger drove him enough to break down? Étoiles didn't doubt the vampire's words for a single second. That explained the inconsistencies he'd already noticed in Ellum's behavior. He seemed a little lost, far too useless at hunting to survive for years. And if he didn't drink, it would be dangerous. Because the vampire was alone, hungry, and driven by a survival instinct that would force him to take what he needed, with his consent or not.
Without a second's thought, Étoiles rolled up his sleeve and brandished his arm under the vampire's nose.
"Drink."
Ellum squinted at the proximity, then suddenly jerked his head back so sharply that he hit the wall behind him.
"OUCH! ...Dude. Are you crazy? What the hell are you doing?"
"You should drink. You look thirsty."
"But..."
"If you don't, it will be worse. For you, and for the other people."
Ellum hesitated, looking torn as Étoiles patiently held his arm in the air. The vampire's gaze kept moving back and forth between the Frenchman's face and the thin skin at the crook of his elbow. He still needed a little extra encouragement.
"Come on, guy, I don't have the plague. Stop hesitating, or I'll be very offended."
"I don't know if I'll be able to stop if you change your mind," the vampire protested one last time, seeming to put his last ounces of willpower into these words.
Étoiles, however, didn't waver. Because despite their more than strange encounter, he saw hunger and hesitant hope in the supernatural creature's eyes.
"I won't."
Two sharp canines closed along his vein. The movement was so swift that he didn't even see Ellum move. He seemed to have lost what little control he had left, his teeth digging into his skin and his eyes glowing red. Fortunately, the bite itself wasn't very painful. Barely an uncomfortable tingle, like taking blood test. Étoiles leaned more comfortably against the wall, his eyes closed to ignore the disturbing image of a near-stranger drinking from his arm. It was too weird, even for him. The vampire did so in unnatural silence, only the strange suction in Étoiles' arm telling him he was still drinking. It was only after several long minutes that the Frenchman felt his fingertips grow numb and weak. He waited a little longer, until the tingling began to become too intense to ignore.
He patted the vampire's shoulder and began to move his arm slightly. A low growl came from Ellum, vaguely threatening.
"Hey, that's MY arm," Étoiles said, more amused than offended.
The vampire raised his crimson eyes and met his gaze. It seemed to give him the effect of an electric shock. Suddenly, he let go of his arm and immediately began to apologize, looking guilty. Étoiles quickly cut him off.
"Just a 'Thank you' will be enough."
Ellum hesitated, looking like he wanted to protest, but in the end, he gave in:
"... Thank you. Really. I owe you one. Or two. Or many more."
The blood seemed to have done Ellum good. His skin seemed less pale, his previously dull eyes more alert, and his movements more lively.
"No problem. Sounds like you had some very bad weeks."
The Englishman nodded. Silence fell again, a little hesitant. Étoiles' arm now bore two small red dots, already healed. It must have been some magical property of vampires. Ellum wiped a trace of blood from the corner of his mouth and frowned slightly.
"Is your blood supposed to taste so weird?"
Étoiles turned to him in disbelief at this question.
"...You are the expert, dude, tell me?"
"It's like, not bad, but you're really sweet."
Unable to help himself, the Frenchman raised his eyebrows while holding back a smile.
"Are you flirting with me?"
Of course, the vampire fell for it, hiding his face in his hands and exclaiming:
"IT WAS NOT A PICK-UP LINE!"
Étoiles laughed remorselessly but chose not to tease the Englishman further on this topic... Which left plenty of other topics.
"It's because I'm diabetic. Did I taste like caramel?"
"What do you mean, you are diabetic??
"So let me explain: it's when your pancreas is dying and..."
"DUDE, what the fuck is wrong with you???"
"Basically, all my body," replied Étoiles proudly.
"..."
"..."
After an intense exchange of glances, Étoiles shrugged his shoulders.
"It's your problem if you target disabled persons."
"I DIDN’T TARGET YOU! YOU WHERE THE ONLY ONE STUPIDE ENOUGH TO COME HERE IN THE MIDDLE OF THE NIGHT!"
"YES BUT IT WAS TO TAKE A LIFE SAVING MED! Do you want me to die?!"
"THEY ARE A LOT OF OTHER PLACE THAN A DARK STREET TO DO THAT!"
"PEOPLE THINKS I TAKE DRUGS WHEN I STAB MY ARM WITH INSULIN."
There was silence again. Then :
"FUCK, MY INSULIN!"
Étoiles rummaged in his pharmacy bag to take out the precious remedy. Then he remembered he'd just lost a lot of blood and needed to check his blood sugar again. He took out his dextro device and quickly pricked his finger, placing the drop of blood on a strip and waiting for the analysis. He was extremely surprised to see that his blood sugar had dropped significantly, as if the bite had absorbed most of the sugar from his blood.
"Oh, that's nice!" he commented happily. "You take all the bad sugar and now I don't have to use my medication! I should keep you!"
The only downside was the blood loss. Once he could get up, he could go home to drink, eat, and rest. It was getting late for most people, though he wasn't tired yet. His nightly streaming schedule pushed his bedtime back much further than this little excursion. But before that, he had one last concern.
"Heu, Ellum? Where do you live?"
"I... I lived in a shared apartment."
"Lived? Like, not currently?"
"Yeah I mean... after all the vampire stuff, I was a bit dangerous for people. And now I have fangs, and I'm way much paler, and my eyes are red sometimes... So I left, to find other vampires."
"Dude..."
Étoiles looked at him in disbelief, not even knowing what to say in the face of the debacle of his life. Ellum felt the need to defend himself, and quickly argued:
"Anyway, it's not that bad ! I did some research. There were rumors about vampires in this city, that's why I came here!"
"That's not... Where do you sleep then?" Étoiles asked worriedly.
Ellum shrugged as if it weren't a big deal.
"I don't really need to sleep. I'm just really tired at daytime and I can't go out if it's too sunny, so I find dark places."
The decision wasn't difficult, not after their strange encounter, their insane arguments, and witnessing the vampire's loneliness. Étoiles could easily guess that Ellum probably hadn't spoken to anyone in days.
"Okay, you know what? You will come with me to my apartment. I will help you."
The British man looked at him for a long moment, disbelief and uncertain hope mingling on his face.
"Dude, are you sure?"
The Frenchman stood up, brushing off the debris from the alley that clung to his pants. Then he held out his hand to help Ellum up.
"You are a shitty vampire, but you look like a nice dude."
"Thank you, I guess?" Ellum hesitated.
The vampire took his hand, letting himself be lifted to his feet.
The Frenchman began to walk away, out of the alley. That's when he felt a slight dizziness, a result of the eventful evening and the blood loss. Ellum was immediately at his side, a hand on his shoulder to steady him.
"Are you okay?!"
Étoiles tried to brush off his worries, but the Englishman insisted on supporting him to his apartment, guilt written in every gesture.
"So dude, how did you become a vampire?" Étoiles asked him, distracting him from his mental self-flagellation.
So Ellum began to tell him his story.
He had only moved into the apartment a few weeks ago when he and his new roommates decided to go out for the evening. They didn't know each other very well yet, but a casual outing seemed like an ideal bonding activity, aided by a little alcohol.
At one point, tired and a little tipsy, Ellum had walked back to their nearby apartment alone. Then he'd taken a shortcut through a park, and...
And then, he only remembered waking up hours later, lying on the ground and feeling sick. At first, he'd blamed the alcohol. He'd returned to his shared apartment shortly before dawn and collapsed on his bed, exhausted and sore. That was the beginning of hell.
He spent three days semi-conscious, feeling too hot and then too cold, a blinding headache and an excruciating burning sensation creeping through his veins. Thankfully, he remained asleep (or passed out?) most of the time. On his rare awakenings, he could only curl up and wait, his head empty of all thought. He couldn't tell if a few hours or several days had passed.
Only once did his roommates knock on his door, but Ellum hadn't had the strength to make a single sound. His cell phone was taunting him from two meters away, but it could just as easily have been a light-year away.
And then on the fourth day, he woke up in the middle of the night, feeling better than he'd ever felt. He was shocked to realize how much time had passed, hesitating to contact the nearest hospital before giving up. After all, everything seemed to be back to normal.
For the first week, he noticed almost nothing strange. His biological rhythms seemed to have suddenly aligned with those of owls, but he just shrugged. After four days of agony, this was, of course, perfectly normal. As was the fact that his skin seemed slightly paler, due to the lack of sunlight. And his thirst too, after days without drinking, even though water couldn't quench it.
And that he suddenly seemed to have developed excellent night vision... okay, that one was pretty strange. But maybe his near-death experience had changed something in his brain, he didn't know! It wasn't until the second time he poked his tongue at his canines that he began to wonder. The thirst that gnawed at him wouldn't leave him, and was even getting worse. But he couldn't understand why. Even when one evening, he found himself staring a little too intently at the jugular of one of his roommates. Something was stirring inside him, dark and dangerous. After that, he spent the entire second week locked in his room, only coming out once he was sure everyone was asleep.
The third week was hell. The smell of other people was intoxicating; he could smell them from his room. He tried to convince himself it was just his imagination.
Until one night, someone walked past. The temptation was so strong that he found himself with his hand on the doorknob before he could think.
"It terrified me; I didn't understand. If I had stayed, I think I could have... So I opened my window and jumped down two floors. I had to leave."
Ellum interrupted his story as they reached Étoiles' building. The Frenchman listened to him attentively throughout the entire journey. He typed some numbers on the keypad, and they quickly climbed up to the floor where Étoiles lived.
They arrived inside Étoiles' apartment. The Frenchman opened his windows to let in the night air before settling down on his couch. Ellum sat down, looking uncomfortable, then continued the story of his transformation:
"Once outside, I started wandering around the city. I don't think I was very coherent at the time. And then at one point, I walked past a house. A man was smoking outside. And I don't know what happened, my brain... switched off."
The element of surprise had made it too easy. He only remembered the divine taste of blood, a pounding pulse in a carotid artery that was getting weaker and weaker. But he couldn't stop, not now. His prey had fallen to the ground, Ellum lifting him slightly to maintain his bite... he hadn't paid attention to his surroundings, caught in the fog of his hunger.
Then something had struck him hard in the head, knocking him far away. A teenage girl was standing a few feet away, holding her foot up in front of the man. But the hunger hadn't subsided yet. The pain of the attack prevented any rational thought. He lunged at her. She struggled, struck, bit, scratched, lashed out with all the violence of despair. But it wasn't enough. Soon after, she collapsed beside her father, two canines lodged in her neck.
The movement had jolted Ellum out of his stupor. Once his hunger subsided, the fog lifted, leaving only the atrocity of his crime. He had become a monster.
But they were still alive. Still breathing. Horrified by his own actions and unable to leave them on the floor, Ellum had carried them to their bed. Maybe they wouldn't remember anything the next day, he hoped in his panic.
He had left all the money he was carrying in a drawer, a paltry excuse for nearly taking their lives.
Ellum felt sick as he told this story, self-loathing seeping into his voice, the words coming out like crushed glass. He dug his fingers into his hair, tugging lightly as the memories flooded into his mind, flashes of colors, sensations, and tastes. The man's pulse, so weak. The faint smell of smoke, his cigarette on the ground. This instinct urging him to bite and never let go. The teenager's terror as she stepped in, ready to fight. Then her final fall, a few crimson drops on her pajama collar mingling with the cat paw print.
"Dude..."
Étoiles didn't know what to say after that.
"Yeah, I know. What I did was horrible."
The Frenchman frowned, lightly shoving him with his shoulder.
"The situation is horrible. You did what you could, after three weeks of not being able to drink blood after a surprise transformation into a vampire."
This made Ellum look up and release his grip on his hair.
"I should have realized the problem sooner."
"Yeaaaaaah, of course, dude, because it's soooo logical to think that vampires exist and you became a bloodsucker too," Étoiles quipped.
"But..."
He didn't give him the opportunity to speak, brushing aside his objection with a wave of his hand:
"And then, what else do you do? Tell people 'Heu sorry Miss I'm a vampire, can I drink your blood?' Nice speedrun to jail dude, gg well play."
Ellum laughed and Étoiles smiled with satisfaction, his goal accomplished.
"I mean, this works quite well on you..."
"There are one me and eight billion not-me, the probabilities are low."
"I don't know, you're just my first real attempt to drink human blood."
"Ah, that's why you where so bad!" Étoiles exclaimed.
"I wasn't that bad!" Ellum protested.
"Uh, can you come with me in the dark alley, I'm not suspicious at all" Étoiles imitated very suspiciously.
Ellum threw a pillow in his face, only to get a laugh in return. The vampire finally sighed, becoming more serious.
"At least that's way better than my first attack."
"What happened, after?" Étoiles asked, remembering he still hadn't gotten to the end of Ellum's story.
It took a few seconds for the Englishman to pick up.
"I went back to the shared apartment. My mind was clear again, and I quickly realized that those vampire stories were true. Most of them, at least. So I tried to find people like me. When I saw the rumors about this town, I left everything to come here. But I haven't found anyone yet."
He shrugged, looking rather disappointed. Étoiles, however, wasn't too worried. It shouldn't be too difficult to find a few supernatural creatures.
"That's already a good start. The most logical thing would be to understand where vampires feed. Finding victims, or disappearances of blood bags... or animals?"
Ellum shook his head at his questioning tone.
"I was able to last a little longer by drinking animal blood, but it doesn't quench my thirst enough and makes me sick. The taste is disgusting."
Étoiles nodded with a thoughtful hum. If animal blood wasn't enough, they would have to find a solution for Ellum. Research informed him that blood donations could only be made once every eight weeks. But he couldn't bear to let the vampire starve for that long. They would have to find another vampire to help Ellum. Later, perhaps. The evening had been rich in emotion and revelations.
The Englishman seemed content, far less pale and desperate than in the alley. He sank back into the comfort of the couch with a soft, contented sigh. After days of living outside, he deserved a little respite. It wasn't very late yet, so Étoiles offered the first idea that came to mind:
"Do you want to play Mario Kart?"
Ellum glanced at the clock.
"Isn't that late for you? You don't have a job?"
"Did you just call me jobless?"
"I WASN'T SAYING THAT LIKE THAT"
"I'M A STREAMER, MY JOB IS TO PLAY VIDEO GAMES AND CREATE SMILES! YOU DON'T LIKE HAPINESS, ELLUM?"
Anyway, the vampire finally agreed to play Mario Kart. However, he quickly realized that he was far from matching Étoiles' outrageous level.
"HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE YOU CAN'T WIN LIKE THAT! I WAS LEADIND THE WHOLE RACE!"
"Too bad mate, maybe next time!"
Maybe taunting a vampire by starting last and then coming back to steal first place wasn't the best idea... But Ellum shouldn't be that bad if he wanted to win. It had nothing to do with the fact that Étoiles knew absolutely every cut on the map.
They continued like this for hours, fighting, elbowing and jostling and sometimes sharing advice, until Etoile's eyes started to sting. He was going to have to go to sleep soon. Before that, he turned to Ellum.
"Do you need to spend the day in a dead-box?"
"...A what?" asked Ellum, completely lost.
"You know, like in the movies?"
The lack of sleep was preventing him from thinking more clearly. Étoiles waved his hand and looked at the vampire hopefully, hoping he'd magically read his mind and guess the word. Disappointingly, it didn't work. Ellum was still looking at him with a puzzled and slightly judgmental expression. So the Frenchman tried to explain:
"Like, when someone dies, we put him in a box, then we dig a hole and throw the box in it, and then we put the dirt back!"
"Do you mean... a coffin?"
"Oooh, so that's the word! In French, "un couffin" is where we put a baby to sleep!"
"What the actual fuck dude ?! You French are fucking wild?!"
"Yeah, and we even eat PAIN for breakfast!" replied Étoiles, very proud of his joke.
"...I don't undestand this joke and I don't want to."
"Skill issue, my bro, but it's okay..."
After checking one last time that Ellum didn't actually need to sleep as a vampire, Étoiles went to his own room. Tomorrow was going to be a long day