| Hunting |
| The most important lesson a newly Embraced Kindred learns is how to hunt for human prey. The sire inevitably takes an important role in this process, either instructing the childe in the art of feeding or leaving her to her own devices and offering criticism afterward. The malice in a Kindred's personality tends to come to the fore when instructing a childe how to hunt. Many vampires offer no "weaning period" to their childer, whereby the vampire may subsist on the blood of animals. In fact, many sires fail to inform their childer that animal blood may sustain a vampire.They turn the childer upon humankind immediately, forcing them to prey upon what they once were. A childe soon learns that the hunt is the crux of a vampire's exsistence. Of all the practices to which the sire introduces his childe, feeding is the only one absolutley manditory to the exsistence of a vampire. Thus, many sires guide their childer into savoring the hunt, stroking their passions on their prey's terror or basking in the anticipation of a draught of blood even before it courses over their lips. The vmapire's feeding, known as the "kiss", engenders great ecstasy in the 'vessel' (the person upon whom the vampire feeds). Needless to say, the Kindred feels physical bliss as well, as nourishing vitae rushes in to fill the void in the vampire's soul. Kindred feed in numerous manners, as best befits their personalities.Some Kindred prefer the brutality of feeding from whomever they choose, roughly handling their vessels and leaving them broken afterward. Others go to great lengths to increase the sensuality of the kiss, concocting elaborate seductions and gathering veritable harems of mortal lovers from whom they can feed. Still other Kindred steal their vessels vitae without their knowledge, feeding from the sleeping or the oblivious. Kindred also experience the aftereffects of drinking from vessels who have peculiarities of blood --- the vitae of an ill individual tastes poorly and may have an adverse effect on the vampire, while Kindred who feeds from a drucken or drugged vessel will feel as if she herself is drunk or high. A few Kindred enjoy this vicarious debauchery, and select their vessels specifically for such intoxication. In the end, each vampire cultivates her own particular style and preference when feeding.Learning to feed gives the vampire an opportunity to find these preferences, and the sire often enjoys watching his childe take the first few fumbling steps toward becoming a true predator.Kindred must remember,though, to observe the Masquerade when feeding.To this end, they typically lick the puncture wounds made by their fangs, magically sealing them shut and leaving no traces of their presence. |