Ascendant Path of a Lustful Vampire

As much as Caius enjoyed taste, it was always at the back of his mind that this was not the best that Lea's blood could taste and he decided to ration his enjoyment and only drink more when he got her arousal to spike and add that flavor he oh so craved in her blood.

"You know, for a second there, I thought you had shifted," Lea said just as Caius was making his decision. As such, his taking his fangs out of her neck and looking at her with confusion happened to coincide.

"What?" He asked gently, his eyes still Vampire red and his fangs ever sharply glinting.

"Before when you had that Wyvern aura," Lea clarified, "I thought you shifted."

"Huh," Caius said.

That bore the question; How much of an easier time would he have had with the fight if he had shifted?

The answer; A much, much easier time. He just might have killed the Bullcroc without actually meaning to.

You see, Vampire Claws and Fangs can pierce any skin. There are no barriers of a Magic circle or physical sturdiness that can keep a vampire from ripping a target apart with either their fangs or their claws.

It's one of the reasons why Vampires shift when engaging in a combat situation; So they can have their fangs and claws at their disposal and not only rely on their magic to do battle.

It's why Vampires make for very good close combat fighters and why some Vampires who are so ingrained in the traditional mage ways of keeping their distance from an opponent try to include some Mage-Knight fighting techniques into their repertoire.

This is such a sound advantage that it is said that, should a Vampire get within a foot of a target, the target is as good as dead. This adds even more terror to the existence of Vampires especially with people who are not quite learned about vampire facts.

Of course, this advantage is not the end-all be-all. A Vampire must still invest in its evolution to get the opportunity to make use of that advantage.

In fact, despite close combat being in their favor because of this advantage, Mage-Knight Vampire Hunters who know all about Vampires still readily engage in close combat battles, parrying claw strikes to kill Vampires all the same.

You only have to fear the fangs and claws if the Vampire actually gets the chance to get either of the two in direct contact with your body. Also, getting clawed and bitten doesn't guarantee the win in favor of the Vampire anyway as the contest between Vampires and Vampire Hunters has continued to rage since the age of the very first Vampire.

In any case, Caius was very aware of the advantage he had with his fangs and claws. It had been because of it that he had been able to bite and scratch Arlette and Lea with his fangs and claws to get their blood after all even though they were both many magic circles above him.

He also hadn't just forgotten about it when he fought the Bullcroc. It just would have been foolish to shift with so much attention on him. He might have been able to hide his claws with the superimposed image of the Wyvern front limbs and claws of Mana that were the result of the Trait Acquisition potion but his fangs might have gotten spotted.

And what would be the point?

The goal of the exercise was never about killing the Bullcroc which is what he likely would have done if he went on to sink his fangs into its body.

But it did pose an interesting scenario though;

One of the biggest obstacles for making use of the universal piercing and slashing effect of Vampire Fangs and claws was getting in close which Caius would likely have been unable to do—at least efficiently—while at the Third Circle. However, the Trait Acquisition Potion had erased that obstacle. He could approach the Bullcroc and even constrict its throat with his arms. In that position, that closeness, his fangs, and claws would have done so well.

He never planned to use that strategy on the Bullcroc but it was a viable one to keep filed away for when he ever did get the chance to let loose. The chance to shift and truly make use of his Vampiric nature.

All that contemplation lasted a few seconds at most and Caius refocused and was looking into Lea's face again.

"Nah, I couldn't possibly shift in front of such an audience," he said with a smile, "I would have been foolish to."

"Indeed you would have," Lea said and then she touched a hand to the puncture marks Caius's fangs had made on her neck as she looked into his still Vampire red eyes,

"Are you done?"

"Hmm?" Caius asked with a smile like he hadn't had her.

"Are you satisfied?" Lea asked again, "Truly satisfied?"

Caius's smile became a bit wider.

"I wouldn't say I am. No."

"Well then, you should get back to it," Lea said as she dropped her hand from her neck and touched Caius's Adam's apple before trailing her fingers further down his throat.

"I really should, shouldn't I?" Caius asked and his fangs retracted because instead of going back for her neck, he claimed Lea's lips instead.

"Mmm!" Lea let out almost in surprise at the kiss but she was instantly reciprocating. She took the initiative to thrust her tongue into his mouth, kickstarting the contest for dominance.

At some point, Lea leaned her body against Caius's and sent them both falling to the ground which caused Caius to groan into their kiss in pain.

Lea took her lips off his immediately.

"Sorry," she said, and despite the smile on her face, she sounded like she meant it. Still, she did find Calus's pained sounds… cute.

She could feel herself getting sucked into her appreciation of his looks then and was only pulled out of those slavering thoughts when Caius winced and spoke.

"It's alright," he said, "I just haven't healed, is all."

"Alright," Lea said and leaned down to place a kiss on his lips again, her wild hair falling around their heads. Her kiss was tentative and short in duration because she pulled up then to smile down at Caius again,

"I'll be gentle."

Caius couldn't help it. He laughed. It sounded like a reversal of something he would say. Hell, he had said it a couple of times.

"I'm sure you will," he said in between his laughs.

Lea played along with the mood she had set with her words.

"Tell me where it hurts," she said in a caring, almost somber voice that didn't quite match the hysterical smile she had on her face.

She touched his chest with her eyes on Caius's face as she made sure she was as gentle as she had promised she would be.

"Here?" She asked.

"Yeah," Caius answered with a nod.

Lea went down his body and placed a kiss against his chest through his shirt and she did it while looking up at him like she was expecting him to say his pain had been alleviated by her kiss. Like she was making good on the offer Aylin had made and was trying to kiss it and make it all better.

Lea went even further down and touched Caius's ribs. She touched exactly the parts that had suffered the fracture. She had been very attentive during the exercise and knew quite well where Caius had been struck.

Still, she asked.

"Here?"

Caius answered with just a nod this time and just as she had done with his chest, Lea kissed the spots that ached him the most before extending the touch of her lips to the area surrounding them.

Eventually, Lea pulled up with a disappointed expression.

"Your clothes are not letting me do my thing as I should," she said looking into Caius's face as she smirked,

"I'm gonna take it off."

Caius said nothing and just looked back at her and then he laughed when she just kept staring at him and did nothing for a few seconds.

"What are you waiting for? For me to say no?" He asked with a chuckle,

"Get to it already."