8th Drunkard: Mika Ver Leth

Mika wasn't always a grouch.

It all must've started a little bit before Larten Crepsley's first visit to Vampire Mountain. Mika was still young and spunky. The young vampire was looking forward to the Festival of the Undead. He couldn't wait to show off his fighting power and, more importantly, his voice.

It was the first night of the Festival. The games were about to begin but that didn't interest Mika. The raven-haired youngster walked with pride down the Halls and into one of the gaming rooms—the only room with a giant sign on the door that read: HOWLING CONTEST.

Mika sighed blissfully. He knew this would be a piece of cake. He stumbled his way into the room awkwardly. Vampires of all shapes and sizes were already gathered round, waiting for the last remaining contestants to show up before the real action began.

They stopped to stare at Mika. After all, how could an emo-looking newbie beat them? But of course, this was just another way that Mika would prove them wrong.

As soon as time ran out for more contestants to show up, the real howling contest began. On the mark of the judge, every contestant was to howl and continue to howl without stopping for as long as possible. Whoever was the last man still howling would not only earn respect, but every time you spoke the winner's name, you must add "of the Howl" after.

Mika never liked to talk much. He knew that he could hold his breath for a long amount of time but letting it all out would be an all-new experience. He didn't expect to get very far, but as soon as the judge announced, "GO!" he found it very easy to continue to howl.

Minutes passed. More and more vampires were dropping out. Mika was short and scrawny but his lungs proved to be strong and full of air. Most of the bigger vampires gave up when their throats began to hurt. They left the "kiddie contest" with a laugh and went on elsewhere to enjoy other barbaric games where they could freely rip each other to pieces.

But Mika refused to give up. He howled his heart out long after his throat began to hurt. It seemed like his lungs would burst at any moment. His vocal cords were prepared to rip in half. His throat was throbbing with a fiery pain. But he did not move. He kept his mouth wide open, head pointed to the roof of the cave, feet glued to the floor and his fists clenched. More time passed. Only a handful of the vampires were left. More were dropping like flies.

The last contestant was running on will-power alone. It was only him and Mika left. The other vampire was burly, tall and definitely had a huge, long-lasting pair of lungs. That didn't stop Mika. In fact, Mika howled even louder than before! The two were neck-and-neck. Only one would win.

Just when Mika was sure that he couldn't take it any longer, just when he was about to give up and let the other vampire win the title, the muscular vampire fainted! He must've used up all of his oxygen on howling alone. Mika was pronounced winner. He stood there with pride as the one and only Paris Skyle praised Mika with the title "of the Howl." He was now to be known as Mika of the Howl.

Mika of the Howl. That had a nice ring to it.

Only moments later, Mika's friends and opponents carried Mika on their shoulders and took him to one of the many bars located within the Mountain. All of them were thirsty but none could possibly be thirstier than Mika. His lips were chapped, his throat was dry and the thought of any sort of drink to enter his mouth was heavenly.

When they arrived, a table had already been set aside for them and they quickly got to drinking. At first, Mika hated the taste of bitter ale. Reluctantly, he kept ordering it over and over. Ale, ale, ale. He couldn't get enough. It quenched his thirst but at the same time, only made it worse. He had to have more.

In his drunken haze, he realized something he hadn't noticed before: there were barely any women. It was shocking to him since he never bothered to think about it before. He scanned the area for the slightest trace of female existence. With his eyes squinted, he concentrated hard on finding a beautiful vampire woman.

Suddenly, he saw her: a beautiful vampire woman all alone in one corner. She was tall and slender, had wonderful curves and a curtain of wavy black hair that shimmered in the dim light. Mika's heart was racing and he was struggling to find his breath. She was stunning. It was such a shame that she was sitting all by herself in the corner of the bar.

Without thinking, Mika spit in his hands, ran his wet hand through his shoulder-length, raven-black hair and stood up. He stumbled as he rose from his chair, but that didn't worry him. He was terrified of the woman but at the same time, he was entranced. It was like he was under her spell.

As he walked across the bar, his eyesight became more and more foggy. He couldn't quite see the woman very clearly, but he remembered that she was wearing a large amount of red. So instead of focusing on her hair or face, he focused on the red.

He made it across the bar in good time. Even though he'd stumbled and almost tripped a million times, he mentally congratulated himself for successfully getting across the room. Then, putting all other thoughts aside, he thought of what he would say to the woman. When he roughly had an idea of what to say, he closed the distance between them.

He slid in front of her slyly. He was on her right side and was also facing the right side of the bar. He stuck his elbow out and placed it on the bar. He leaned on his elbow. The girl turned in her seat. Mika began to talk.

"What's yer name, gurl? What's a gurl like you doin' sittin' here all alone?"

"Mika?" the red figure screeched in a deep voice. "Charna's guts! What are you doing?"

Mika was hurt by the girl's harsh words. He paused for a moment. That voice was familiar. He rubbed his eyes. When he opened them again, instead of seeing the beautiful vampire girl, he saw an annoyed, confused and angry Larten Crepsley!

Mika gasped. "Larten? My apologies. I didn't mean to… I thought you were—"

"Mika," Larten interrupted, "do not explain this to me until you are completely sober."

With that, Larten stood up and walked away.

Mika sighed and shook his head. He'd made a fool out of himself. He couldn't talk to that woman now that his confidence and manly pride had been drained.

Then he turned to look at the left side of the bar and spotted the woman! She was still sitting there alone and she obviously hadn't heard the embarrassing thing that he had said to Larten. Hope blossomed within Mika's chest. He could still talk to her!

With a sly smirk on his face, he repeated the exact same procedure that he had accidently done to Larten just moments before. The girl turned to look at him as he clumsily bumped into the bar and propped his elbow on it. She looked annoyed. Despite her annoyed look, she was still stunning so Mika went on.

"What's yer name, gurl? What's a gurl like you doin' sittin' here all alone?"

The woman scowled. "Arra Sails," she grumbled in annoyance.

"Arra," Mika repeated. He used his Spanish accent. "Arrrra," he said, rolling his "r".

Arra rolled her eyes. "And I am not sitting here alone. I'm waiting for someone."

"C'mon, baby," Mika slurred. "Who can be better than this?" he asked as he gestured to his entire body in general.

"Everyone," Arra sniffed.

"Don't be like that, baby," Mika pleaded. "How 'bout I getcha a drink?"

"No," Arra growled.

"Aww, c'mon! It's on me." He winked.

Arra went bright red with embarrassment. "How dare you suggest such things you filthy—!"

"Ahhh, a feisty one," he purred seductively. "That's just how I like 'em."

"Must I repeat myself? I am waiting for someone!" Arra protested.

"Then they can wait," Mika purred as he inched closer to Arra and pinned her to the corner.

Arra had too much pride to call out for help. Instead, she hissed, "I'll kill you."

Mika just chuckled. "C'mon baby, lemme show you why they call me Mika of the Howl."

Just as Mika was leaning in closer, someone tapped his shoulder.

He turned around, ready to lash out at whoever dared to interrupt this glorious moment.

What he saw next was enough to give him a heart attack.

For the second time that night, he ran into a furious Larten Crepsley!

"You fool! What are you doing?" Larten boomed.

Mika smirked. "Scorin' with the ladies. What are you doing?"

And that was when Larten's fist met Mika's face.

This is why the two young vampires never got along.