Monthly Bonus Content #2—Character Q&A #17 (Patreon)

QUESTION: "Nate/Nat: do you have any fond memories of your mother and/or Milton you would feel comfortable sharing?"

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Sadness creeps across their expression but also the wistful happiness of memory as they manage a smile.

“I remember when Milton was obsessed with getting the biggest conker from the tree in our gardens. So determined, in fact, that he feel from one of the top branches and broke his arm.” Nate/Nat shakes their head, forcing their fingers through their thick hair to hide the way they swallow thickly with emotion.

“Our mother forbade us from going anywhere near that tree, but he was so upset he didn’t get that conker.” They smile brighter now. “I crept out in the middle of the night and tried my best to climb the tree and retrieve it for him. But,” they hold out a hand, “you must understand that I wasn’t as…resilient as a human as I was as a vampire. I only managed to reach to the lowest branch and collect a small parcel of tiny, hard little conkers.”

“But you’d have thought they were the most priceless treasures in the world with the way Milton reacted.” The weight of the past finally makes their voice crack, and they haul themselves out of their chair and head for the exit. “Please excuse me.” Their shoulders shake with a sob as they go.