11 Vampire Anatomy

The two of them headed out as soon as the sun was no longer visible on the horizon. Ash was able to take off his hood and gloves, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Do you get hot in those?" Ruby asked curiously.

He chuckled and held out his arm, gesturing with his head for her to touch it. She wrapped her hand around his wrist and yelped. He was freezing! How could a body even be this cold?!

"Vampires don't have body heat," Ash explained. "We don't need to breathe. We have blood in our bodies but don't bleed very easily because our hearts don't pump to move it around. I can't explain the phenomena scientifically but in human terms, we're the undead."

Ruby tilted her head at him. She had never heard this before about vampire anatomy. All fae lived long lives but as far as she knew their hearts and organs functioned much the same as humans'. They were simply sturdier.

"You don't need to breathe?"

He shrugged. "It's required for talking but not for survival. I can hold my breath indefinitely. If I wanted, I could weigh myself down and walk on the bottom of the ocean forever. I might actually get to meet some mermaids that way but I wouldn't be able to talk to them."

How interesting. Ruby had never considered anything like that before. The types of things she thought about regarding her unique fairy traits were more along the lines of how far she could fly without stopping or if there was a height limit. She had never tried to see for herself.

"I'll probably never meet a mermaid," she said conversationally. "That's actually pretty cool."

Water fairy wings were waterproof but everyone else had to deal with them getting soggy and weighed down when wet. A fairy with wet wings couldn't fly and it took months for them to dry properly if they got soaked.

Most fairies resorted to sponge baths when dirty or bought wing covers the witches developed to take showers. That typically wasn't even a problem because fairies didn't need to be cleaned the same way humans did. They didn't have body odor.

At least not human body odor. Earth fairies usually smelled like flowers or trees or freshly mown grass, water fairies tended to smell like fresh mountain springs, fire fairies supposedly smelled slightly like a campfire, and wind fairies had a clean smell that was hard to define.

Ruby only did the whole shower or sponge bath thing if she got covered in something gross. Or dirt. Dirt was hard to get out from under your fingernails or in the cracks of rough skin.

"You can fly though," Ash pointed out.

"I can't most of the time either in case humans see," she said with a sigh. "I can at home but what's the fun in only being able to hover a foot or two off the ground?"

He nodded to concede her point before asking, "How high can you go?"

"I don't know. I've never exactly measured it or tested the limits of my wings before. It's not like I really can with humans being everywhere."

"Humans hardly ever come to this forest. You could always try here," Ash offered.

Ruby let out a light laugh. "Are you forgetting why I'm here? My wing is hurt. I can't fly."

"I know. I meant after you get better. You could conduct a test before you leave."

That actually wasn't a half-bad idea. It wasn't like she would really get another chance to test it out if she stayed in densely populated areas. That was where the money was so she couldn't avoid humanity forever.

To figure out exactly how high she went, Ruby would need to buy some sort of human measuring instrument. Finding one might be tricky but it wasn't like she wouldn't be able to afford it.

"I might take you up on that," Ruby confessed. "Do you think you'll ever get around to walking around on the bottom of the ocean?"

Ash's expression turned grim unexpectedly. "Not any time soon. I have something important to do first."

There was that bloodlust again. Even with his human glamour on, his brown eyes still momentarily flashed red. She didn't even care what that important thing was as long as that fury wasn't directed at her.

Ruby had known him for a day and could already tell he was a complicated guy. It was better to remain as indifferent acquaintances helping each other out than get involved in his problems.

It took them a while to walk out of the forest into town. She wondered why he didn't simply buy himself a car to drive in and out. The path was wide enough to fit one. If she was going to have to make this trek multiple times a day she might want to buy one for herself.

She knew how to drive because the nursery had a van they used to pick up various supplies and move tree saplings. Originally she had been planning on buying a plane ticket and flying somewhere far away using human tech since she couldn't use her wings without getting spotted.

Would it be better to get a car now and drive instead? Ruby could always leave the car here and still use a plane to get where she wanted to go.

"We should buy a car," she informed the vampire beside her.

The broody expression he was wearing got startled right off his face. "Now? Why?"

"It's easier to drive than walk and I need to get groceries if I'm going to continue living with you. It'll be easier to transport them. Don't worry; I can buy a used one in cash right now."

Ruby made $10,800 today and only had to pay a deposit of $500 for the cleaning service and $250 for the rat extermination. Plus $16.50 for lunch while she was out. She could totally buy a car that was less than ten years old and ran decently with what was left.

Ash eyed her strangely. "Exactly how much did you make today?"

"Enough."