Warm strain vampires experience very few physical changes of note. Some of these changes include the development of fangs, a slight change in body temperature (sitting at around 99.2 rather than 98.6; enough to make the skin noticeably warm to the touch, though not tremendously so) in order to cater to needs of the virus. Because the warm strain of the vampiric virus attaches directly to all cells, no change in pigment is caused. Often, older individuals infected with the vampiric virus will notice a slight reduction of many of the impediments aging puts ahead of them, as this virus attempts to repair damage the body otherwise could not. Other features include particularly vibrant eyes, especially among those who are infected from birth or from a very young age.
Another important characteristic of young warm-strain vampires is their ability to age and mature much like uninfected humans. A child infected with the warm-strain virus will not remain in a child-like state throughout their nearly-endless life, but will age as far as twenty years old, sometimes farther, before reaching the age they will remain until the unlikely event that something causes their death. This is because the virus inhibits the deterioration of cells, but not the development of "meristematic" tissue (not sure if that's what you call it when not in reference to plants).
Female vampires afflicted with the warm strain virus have the same chances of sexual reproduction as unafflicted humans, and will go through much the same processes as human women do, for about as long. After menopause, which occurs at varied times just as in unafflicted women, they are no longer capable of having children. Vampire males of both species are able to make their contributions throughout the whole of their lives.
The virus is passed along in a multitude of ways, ranging from conventional biting to blood-to-blood contact. Children born to vampire parents will be affected by the virus in one of two ways:
Active — Both of the child's parents are warm-strain vampires. As such, the child develops with a fully-intact, working copy of the virus circulating in his blood. The affects of this virus present themselves exactly the same in children as in adults
Dormant — One or more of the child's parents is not an active warm-strain vampire. This could result from one or more dormant parent carrying the virus, or from an active warm-strain vampire reproducing with an unafflicted individual. Individuals infected with a dormant instance of the virus will age like normal humans, and will not thirst for blood. The virus will only become active upon the death of the host or the introduction of an active instance of the virus.
In order to keep an individual from becoming a warm-strain vampire during feeding, all blood must be drained from the victim's body before the now-infected blood has a chance to reach the brain. Once that blood has reached the brain, the change will occur, no matter what fashion the body is mutilated in.
Once activated, the virus is capable of reconstructing the host body through an almost sentient self-communication. It is capable of reconstructing the body without the use of the central nervous system, as well as locating vitally large or complex chunks of the body that may be hard to piece back together while sacrificing limbs that can be reconstructed in a matter of months.
The internal and cellular changes brought about by infection from an active instance of the warm strain virus can be uncomfortable, and the host body will most certainly experience a period of death that can range anywhere from an hour to several days. Often, this period is followed up by mention of a strange doctor's office, a chatty secretary, and a lack of (in males)/increased (in females) interest in sexual interaction with women for periods lasting up to a week. Many of these accounts are summarized as the "best/worst OBEs ever."
Infected individuals often wake up very hungry, and very irritable.
True to its title as a vampiric virus, this virus feeds on blood. More particularly, this virus feeds on the elements that are recirculated through the blood after ingestion. It works with the body's natural craving and hunger systems to produce an intense urge to drink, accompanied by hunger pains in even the fullest of stomachs. The period of hunger after initial infection can often decide the tolerance to hunger that individual has. The longer an individual suffers hunger before their first meal, the more agitated they will become around exposed blood, sometimes to the point of spontaneous attack.
One of the few "cures" to the warm-strain virus is a bite from a vampire of its mutated sister strain. Because these viruses function in exactly opposite ways, they cancel each other out and the warm-strain vampire will live out whatever amount of their human lifespan that remains.
