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"It's completely all right that you have no desire to drink from any human personally, Canary. There are plenty of vampires just like you. I can ask the other local coven heads if there's a place where vampires like you meet to drink frequently."
Two weeks later, the newborn vampire, Canary, attends her first no-contact feeding meeting at the nearest community college. The theater hall hosts theater majors during the day and vampires at night. Classical music bleeds from the door. With a hesitant breath, Canary sheds her nervousness and proceeds through the door. The intimate gathering of other vampires is fewer than she imagined. While she's happy that she isn't the only one here, the fact there are so few other vampires like her is distressing. Could this be a rare condition that vampire society as a whole pushes aside? What if this meeting is to test if something is wrong with her instead? Before her thoughts can race any further, an unfamiliar voice breaks her mental cage.
A vampire woman, who Canary can sense is quite a bit older than her, interrupts her overwhelming thoughts. "You must be Canary. I'm Alexandria, the leader of your first meeting."
"It's good to meet you, Alexandria. Is there, are there more vampires like us?"
Placing a reassuring hand on Canary's shoulder, Alexandria answers, "There is. Because this is your first time feeding without any coven mates, I thought it best to expose you to a small number of similar vampires. Outside of myself and Marcellus, the others in this group are like you. Only in their first few years as a vampire."
The tightness in Canary's chest relaxes. There are more like her, and for her comfort, she's starting with a small group. Less shy, she follows after Alexandria and sits beside her at the round table. Looking at the others, she can tell who Marcellus is immediately. She's reassured, the other four members at this meeting feel about her age in vampire years. Getting settled in, Marcellus nods to Alexandria to start the greetings.
"As you all see, we have a new member for our little gathering. For the next couple of group feedings, it'll just be us seven. Once everyone is comfortable, we'll have the regular number of members again," taking a look beside her, Alexandria smiles, "Now onto introductions. I'm Alexandria.
"Hello, I'm Canary. It's nice to meet all of you."
"I'm Reyes. Nice to meet you all."
"I'm Marcellus. I go by they/them and he/his pronouns. I'm also the group leader along with Alexandria."
"Good to meet you all. I'm Emma. I go by they/them and she/her pronouns."
"It's cool meeting everyone. I'm Nirvana. I go by they/them pronouns."
"Lawrence, hi."
"Okay, with that out of the way, I'll go grab the blood bags!" Alexandria walks off to an unnoticed area.
"Have you ever fed from someone before Canary? Or does just the thought of doing so make you uncomfortable?" Reyes turns his full attention to her.
"I have fed from a coven mate's human partner before, and I didn't like the experience. I'm just not that interested in feeding on a human directly."
"I prefer to feed on my human partner than a volunteer. Since I'm not seeing a human girl right now, it got suggested that I join a blood bag feeding group."
"I'm the same way, Reyes," Emma goes on, "My ex-girlfriend was the one I used to feed on, but now I'm here."
"I've never liked drinking directly from anyone, nor am I'm interested in having a partner of any kind, so drinking from a blood bag makes the most sense to me," Lawrence shrugs.
"I only date other vampires, so blood bags are a must," Nirvana smiles with their fangs visible.
Looking at Marcellus, Canary asks, "How about you, Marcellus?"
"I've rarely dated humans and prefer to drink from a blood bag. As for Alexandria-"
"I was never interested in direct drinking like Lawrence. Here's everyone's mug!" Alexandria places a hot mug of blood in front of each seated vampire.
Taking a deep drink, Canary feels more comfortable with the mug of blood than she ever was with a human feeding. It was clear that everyone else was content with their meals as well. Maybe in the future, they'll be a human she would like to drink from unless her partner is a fellow vampire. Either way, this meeting is a much better start to her new life as a vampire. END.
