Looking For A Good Book (Tag Anyone)

Tulio had always had a weakness for books, and after browsing through the library at the school, he decided it was time to check out the bookstore. Of course, Tulio wasn't just interested in nonfiction. He had grown attached to fiction over the decades, mainly because they helped take him away from the pain he was feeling. Even reading up on some romance wasn't too bad every now and then. Tulio was in the fiction section at the moment, looking through the poetry collections. Poetry had always been a favorite of his. He had even written some himself over the years, even though half the time, it turned out to be depressing stuff. His fingers tapped against his thigh as his eyes scanned the titles, searching for one that caught his eye.

((Anybody wanna RP with Tulio? Anyone at all?))

Vlad had been browsing through the books in the store. He hadn't been looking for anything in particular, just thought he'd see what was there. It didn't take long for the Count to sense someone else in the store too.

Tulio was so absorbed in the books in front of his eyes that he didn't even notice that somebody else had entered the aisle until he was right beside him. He gave a startled gasp, taking half a step back. Despite being the undead, Tulio was horribly jumpy. "Oh, sorry, didn't see you there," he said, his nerves settling when he saw that the man wasn't a threat.

Vlad turned at the sound of a male voice. It was definately another of the undead, like him but different. He offered the man a slight bow.
"I think I am the one at fault; I was not paying attention to where I was going. May I ask who you are, sir?" Vlad asked him.

"Oh, um, Tulio. Tulio Medina. I...teach science at the nearby academy." Tulio bit his lip, embarrassed at his stuttering. Tulio, get a grip. At this rate, you're going to have a heart attack. And your heart isn't even beating anymore!

"Well, it's nice to meet another male teacher here. I happen to teach drama at the academy. Count Vladislaus Draculea at your service. Feel free to call me Vlad though, since everyone seems to." Vlad greeted him.

"Oh, yeah, I noticed that...women kind of outnumber the guys a bit," Tulio said, laughing a little. Heck, his first science class had consisted mostly of girls. Tulio tended to get flustered around women, mainly because he was so awkward and they were often very beautiful. He looked up at the mention of Vlad's name. "Is...your last name connected in some way to the Dracula in Bram Stoker's novel?" he asked curiously. He had read the book at least a dozen times, although he had never gotten a chance to ask an actual vampire how truthful it was.

"Oh, there's more than a connection. The vampire in that story was me." Vlad replied. "Although, that young Englishman never could get my surname quite right." At this, the Count laughed.

"Oh...wow." This was certainly a surprise. Although, Dracula has been portrayed as the villain in the story. Was that really how he had acted, or did Stoker go a little overboard? "Um...how...accurate...was that portrayal?" Tulio asked uncertainly.

That question was to be expected. Vlad could name off all of Stoker's...liberties with the story. He remembered them all.
"I would say about seventy percent of his portrayal of me was accurate. The rest was the author taking creative license. Would you like me to point out what he had embelished?" Vlad asked.

"Um, yeah. That would be...nice." After all, Dracula in the novel had preyed on innocent women, killed a bunch of people, the list went on. Of course, stuff like that made for juicy material for Hollywood producers, but for nervous people like Tulio, it gave him the willies. Even though technically, he couldn't really be killed because of his zombie nature.

"Well, for starters, I did not drink the crew of the Demeter dry. I did feed on some of the sailors, but not to that extreme. The reason the whole crew was dead when the ship docked was because a terrible that caught us on the way to London." Vlad began, counting off the differences on his fingers.
"Renfield's death, that was fairly accurate, except for one detail. I didn't kill him because I had no intention of rewarding, it's because I believed that he had told Professor Van Helsing and the others where I was sleeping since I didn't know at the time Jonathan had escaped. As a result, I did attack Mina when I learned he had, but I didn't turn her. And of course, I didn't die from that experience. When Quincey Morris drove his knife into my chest, he just missed my heart and I gave the impression that I was dying by turning into fog. I can't deny that no matter how people portray me, I am a dramatic man." he concluded.
"That point in my life was when I was still trying to tame my bloodlust. In order to better hide among humans, it was essential. Since then, I've better control over myself." the Count informed the younger man.

"Oh. Well, that's...good." At least Dracula was a good guy now. It looked like Tulio had nothing to worry about. "Nice to know that things have turned out...um, good for you." He wasn't sure how glamorous the life of a vampire was, but if Dracula was a teacher here at the academy, things couldn't be that bad, right?

"You're awfully nervous for one of the undead. Before you ask how I know, I could smell the scent of death on you. Vampires share it, but it is muted by the living blood we drink to sustain ourselves." Vlad commented.

"Well...it's kinda the reason why I'm nervous," Tulio explained, hating that Vlad could see his jumpy nature so easily. He wished he could have it more under control so he wouldn't seem so incompetent to others. "Anyone who's the undead generally doesn't have a very happy back story."

"Well, I doubt yours is as mysterious as mine. Unlike most vampires, I was not turned by the bite of another. When I was murdered by the Turks, they buried me and I rose from the grave shortly afterward. No one knows how I became a vampire, not even me." Vlad admitted.

Tulio gave a little chuckle, though there didn't seem to be much humor in the sound. "I'm the exact opposite. I know exactly how I ended up like this. Any blank spots have been filled in by my...creator." His grip tightened on the book in his hand and it took supreme effort on his part to stop the flood of images associated with his creation, or re-birth, as Mok had liked to call it. Thinking about things like that always made him want to bang his head against the wall, and he figured that wouldn't be good for Vlad to witness.

"Sounds like you had a case similar to the Creature in Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, but that's just my speculation. If I could hazard a guess, I'd say you were a zombie. In my time, I've met vampires who kept zombies as servants." Vlad commented. What made Tulio stand out to him was the ammount of personality he was showing. Most zombies didn't even have any free will.

"Yeah, you could say that," Tulio replied. He had only read the book once, then had thrown it away as soon as possible. It was a bit too close to his own creation, and that didn't do anything good for his nerves. "Well, glad to see that you're not into that," he said. Of course, the idea of Tulio being a servant to anyone disgusted him. He was Mok's little pride and joy for years and he wasn't about to stoop to something like that anytime soon.

"Yes. I never had much use for servants after my rise from the grave. Eventually, they would have figured out something wasn't right with me." Vlad pointed out.

"If they were zombies, I'm not sure how much they would care," Tulio muttered. He knew that he was one of the more successful zombies around. Most of them, particularly Mok's creations, had been totally brainless and emotionless. All they did was groan and kill people for their blood. Tulio still felt like he wasn't sure if he was grateful that he still had his mind and emotions intact.

"No. Perhaps not. And having them meant they would be able to work tirelessly. But it also means I couldn't have guests." Vlad said in a joking manner.
"I imagine you came here for a book. Perhaps I might help you find it. Is there something in particular that you're looking for?" he asked Tulio.

"Oh, um, I guess..." Tulio's head turned to look at the bookshelf behind him. "Just...browsing for something interesting, I suppose. I've always had a weakness for poetry."

"Ah. I'd be happy to show you some of my favorite poets here." Vlad offered.