Othello has a minion!

Cassio the Albie

THE LOVERS

We had been in a fight for two weeks when he showed up at my door. I remember this because it was in the middle of the night, and I had been up for hours suffering from misery induced insomnia. He didn't face me when I answered him, like he was afraid that my gaze might burn him. Looking back at it now, it may have been the lights that he was afraid of.

I was reluctant to invite him in, but it was the end of summer, and the nights were starting to get cold. No matter how angry I was, I wasn't heartless, and I didn't want to see him freeze. He didn't say anything for a long while, other than requesting I dim the lights in my living room; apparently his head hurt, and the light made it worse.

I guess maybe I'm a masochist. I've always done strange things, when it comes to him.

---

There was only a brief period of pain before it was over.

Demetrius had told him it would be brief, but agonizing. Agonizing didn't begin to cover it; it was something between getting a tooth pulled and breaking his femur. Someone told him once that it was the most painful bone to break in the body.

It was all right though. Othello is a strong man. He can take pain.

Yeah. The pain is okay. It's this...

Demetrius said he would stay when he'd made that promise, but when Othello opens his eyes, he can't see him anywhere. There's something --

He puts a shaky hand to his neck. That's where all the pain is concentrated. The rest of his body is comfortably numb, if not distant. He remembers when he was younger, his mother describing the feeling in her legs after sitting for too long; 'like jelly,' she said. He supposes it's something like jelly, if not distinctly less delicious.

He rolls over and tries his eyes. The room's dark. He can't see anything, but he can feel something on his hands --

Othello shrieks when he finds blood on them, and vomits over the side of the bed.

---

He manages to stagger into the washroom before he vomits again. He's hit the light, somehow, and it pierces his eyes. He never remembered the lights being this bad before; were they? He doesn't think they were, but he can't remember anything about before.

After being sick for what feels like the hundredth time today (is it still today? Is it tomorrow? Yesterday?) he lays his head to rest on the floor. The cool linoleum is soothing to his burning skin.

He thinks he sleeps there. It's dark outside the next time he opens his eyes, but the lights are still on in the bathroom.

Those fucking lights.

God they burn! He can't get used to this. He won't --

Somehow he manages to gain enough strength to turn them off before he falls asleep again.

---

He wakes up in his bedroom. Othello takes pride in being a brave man, but he actually starts a little when he realizes he has no idea how he got there.

---

Demetrius promised, and he lied. Lies can be forgiven over time, and mended with love and loyalty.

I can forgive everything he does so long as he never leaves.

Othello is flamboyant, outgoing, dependent, and ever the masochist, as evidenced by his decades long unrequited love for his best friend, Demetrius. He is vain and selfish, but lacks the certain confidence that would make him more than a slightly arrogant fool. He puts on an air of self-importance, but in reality is crippled by self doubt and poor self esteem. Relies on the confirmation of others to make decisions; hates being alone, and craves attention, no matter the source.

He's a hopeless romantic who, despite life's harsh lessons, hasn't given up on his search for true fairy tale love. He's so enamoured by the concept that he's easily taken advantage of, so long as you tell him three simple words: "I love you." If you whisper those words sweetly enough, Othello would even kill for you.

He has trouble with honesty, often making up elaborate stories that are difficult to take at face value. Though he doesn't often make bold-faced lies to someone's face, he is the kind of person to lie both to protect himself and to protect someone he cares about.

VAMPIRES

Modern vampirism is a disease, a mutant strain of the rabies virus discovered in 1846 by Slavic scientist Vladimir Dracula. It is characterized by an extremely dry, pale, cold and translucent complexion (due to anemia), unusually large canines, dilated pupils, enhanced agility, strength and dexterity, as well as a superhuman ability to heal and regenerate (rapid cell regeneration.) Patients begin to exhibit symptoms after 2-3 days of exposure to the virus, a distinctly shorter incubation period than that of its relative. There is no known cure for vampirism.

The disease is transmitted by blood, though rare cases of infection have been reported by direct contact of a mucous membrane with other bodily fluids, such as semen or vaginal fluid. Patients crave human blood, due to porphyria; they lack the proper enzymes in their own blood, and must ingest the blood of other non-vampires in order to combat this. If deprived, patients may exhibit such symptoms as lethargy, muscle atrophy, nausea, madness, and eventually unconsciousness. The period of time a vampire may last without blood before these symptoms appear vary from patient to patient. Because of raised hormones levels, vampires often become quite aggressive; this is more common in male patients than female. Vampires do not age, and after the initial symptoms begin they are essentially immortalized in their current state.

Vampires are sensitive to sunlight and suffer from photophobia. Ultra violet rays irritate the vampire's skin and eyes and are known to cause severe burning and blisters within an hour of exposure. Vampires may survive in sunlight with the right precautions, such as heavy sun screen and protective eye wear, though many find it too unpleasant and prefer to venture outdoors only in the light of the moon.

Though vampires are essentially immortal, they are not invincible, and can be killed. They rarely die of natural causes but they do bleed, and should die if they suffer any severely traumatic injuries such as decapitation, evisceration, or debilitating organ damage (such as removal.) However, trauma that may be fatal to humans, such as a gun shot wound to the chest or a lacerated jugular, can be healed naturally by a vampire. Vampires may also be burned.

The ability to heal through rapid cell regeneration protects from infection and other pathogens, though rare death from disease and infection have been documented. The conditions for such a death are unknown, though there is speculation that rapid cell regeneration occurs independently from the immune system.

Vampires in modern culture are feared and regarded as monsters and murderers, and because of such alienation have developed their own subculture. One common ritual is known as 'blood bonding,' where two or more vampires engage in consuming each other's blood, often via wounds on the wrist or neck, to become closer to one another; after the ritual is complete the vampires refer to each other as 'bonded,' or essentially soul mates. Some vampires believe this allows them to have an empathetic bond with their blood. Many of the vampires' rituals are spiritual. Terms of endearment include 'fledgling' -- the vampire 'offspring' of another -- and 'sire' -- the vampire 'parent.'