[ She responds, a single finger going up to plant her nail in the top of the cork of the wine bottle. She begins to move it around a little bit, humming to herself. Deserve...? No, it was never about what Sayaka did or didn't deserve, was it? The woman looks around the room for a long moment, and then when she concludes that the room is empty enough, she ...
Forces herself to continue. ]
I hate humans. The look of them, their every action disgust me. Their adults I know are ready to turn on me, to see me as a monster at any moment. Their children are more of the same. Their elders tell those stories to the children, to justify their own heinous, "demonic" actions. It's something I've known for two hundred years now.
[ . . . ]
One good impression doesn't - will not - change that fact. But if I've been good to you, you've been good to me. Keeping my secret as best you're able and bringing me blood on top of it all? I've told you time and again there's something perverse in doing that - sacrificing some of the "life" of your species to me so easily. Blood is life. The weight of those actions can't be understated, even if you don't seem to realize it.
[ She laughs. ]
I could have done a lot of things. Maybe it would have been easier for the both of us if I killed you that first night there, when I tried to instill some terror in you. Ultimately though, I was the one who was scared. I've grown old. Far too old, old enough to know that I'd prioritize my granddaughter's happiness over the actions I know are necessary to preserve the species and old enough that I see her face in a girl your age. No, it's never about what you deserve, it's about what I've seen fit to give.
no subject
[ She responds, a single finger going up to plant her nail in the top of the cork of the wine bottle. She begins to move it around a little bit, humming to herself. Deserve...? No, it was never about what Sayaka did or didn't deserve, was it? The woman looks around the room for a long moment, and then when she concludes that the room is empty enough, she ...
Forces herself to continue. ]
I hate humans. The look of them, their every action disgust me. Their adults I know are ready to turn on me, to see me as a monster at any moment. Their children are more of the same. Their elders tell those stories to the children, to justify their own heinous, "demonic" actions. It's something I've known for two hundred years now.
[ . . . ]
One good impression doesn't - will not - change that fact. But if I've been good to you, you've been good to me. Keeping my secret as best you're able and bringing me blood on top of it all? I've told you time and again there's something perverse in doing that - sacrificing some of the "life" of your species to me so easily. Blood is life. The weight of those actions can't be understated, even if you don't seem to realize it.
[ She laughs. ]
I could have done a lot of things. Maybe it would have been easier for the both of us if I killed you that first night there, when I tried to instill some terror in you. Ultimately though, I was the one who was scared. I've grown old. Far too old, old enough to know that I'd prioritize my granddaughter's happiness over the actions I know are necessary to preserve the species and old enough that I see her face in a girl your age. No, it's never about what you deserve, it's about what I've seen fit to give.
... Do you find me kind, Sayaka?