THE MOMENT
"Yeah...," Wayne nodded. "... why do you always hiss at your victims before you bite? They know we're vampires already," he said. Wayne and his mentor, Viola were alone with the blood-stench filling the room. She didn't turn him into a vampire, and they were in a stranger's home, but it was still meant to be an educational outing. She'd demonstrated a live kill while he watched attentively. Fortunately, or possibly by intentional plan, there was only a single victim. Wayne was able to focus without having to make sure no one escaped.
"What?" Viola giggled and shook her head. "What do you mean 'they know already'?"
"Well, I mean... don't they?" he asked as he pointed at the lifeless homeowner on the floor. Viola hadn't drained him completely. She wasn't hungry but still had to teach Wayne how they did things in the coven. "He called it immediately, even if he was panicking..," he said.
"Are you under some sort of impression that it matters if they know?" she asked. "Because it doesn't. I mean... what? Are you not going to feed on them if they know?"
"Well then... why do you hiss?" he asked.
"It's just a reflex. The body is getting ready to feed... and we're vampires...," she said. "It takes a bit more effort to get those digestive juices flowing. You'll see when you actually feed for the first time," she added.
"Reflex.. how?" Wayne asked. Viola glanced at him up and down to appraise the vampire. He was a young man, maybe almost 30, with blonde hair and now pale skin.
"You've been human for a good while," she said. "You know that pain you get when you eat something after a period of not taking in anything? It's your saliva glands kicking in hard and fast. It's like a billion times worse for vampires, our bodies tend to run kind of dry," she said.
"Oh...," Wayne's mouth felt extra dry and he rubbed is cheek as he remembered the sharp pain from when he was a human. Fortunately, he was still a human as recently as a week ago, so his memories were pretty fresh. "... does it hurt as much?" he asked. "A billion times as much?" he knew it was an exaggeration, but maybe a useful one.
"Kind of...," Viola shrugged with a smirk. "...why do you think we hiss?"