Chapter Text
Shelby is warm where he has contact with her. Teeth buried in her neck and claws dug into one of her arms, keeping it pinned to his own body to prevent her from escaping. Blood fills his mouth and drips down her body, flowing down to meet the gauges on her arm and dripping onto the pebble beach beneath.
He can hear her gasping for breath, so close that it practically reverberates in his mind, sharp ears picking up each ragged heave as they desperately try to catch their breath. She never will. She has no need to. Why catch something that serves you no use?
“I knew it” They hear her faintly breathe out. Before once again, louder “I knew it!”
She shifts herself, as if trying to move away, and reluctantly Pyro peels himself away from the cooling warmth of her. Licking his lips, and bringing his hands up to clean them of any blood as well.
“And you said I had a drinking problem” a familiar deadpan voice drawls in their ear. Non-existent to anyone who isn’t Pyro.
“Did you–?” And then Scott is rushing towards him, fangs bared beneath the skull he wears and claws reaching out to take a swipe at him.
“I’m sorry! I’m sorry!” Pyro cries, frantically backing away and then transforming into a bat as Scott lands a slash across his cheek. "I'm sorry” he wails, frantically flapping higher out of the elder vampire’s reach, the other giving him a snarl of warning before turning back to Shelby.
“What a display!” Csezlaw calls from where he’s standing in the river, slow clapping, blood and viscera dripping down him before being swept away by the current, voice for once not just in Pyro’s head but accurate to the distance. Although Pyro suspects it’s simply to mock him even further. “Truly! You are the monster we tell stories of to scare children into staying in bed!” Pyro just turns away from him, instead flying to be next to Shelby, back to the river behind him.
“I knew vampires were real!” Shelby squeals, bouncy on her toes in delight, regarding Pyro with a spark in her eyes. “Is this one you?” They reach a hand out to touch him, but he wings away before that can happen, unfortunately almost colliding with Scott, who immediately snaps at them. “Get out of being a bat, we don’t need someone seeing you”
Pyro, eager to not have Scott’s wrath turned upon them any more than it already is, complies, feet touching the ground and hunching somewhat in on himself.
“You’re pathetic” Csezlaw scoffs behind him, voice practically dripping with disgust. Pyro thinks maybe him and Scott would’ve gotten along, if Scott could hear him.
“Don’t go around comparing me to that blue haired cunt” Czeslaw scoffs, Pyro can feel his glare in the back of their head. And really, he’s right. Him and Scott are nothing alike. Czeslaw is much worse.
“You look a bit different” Shelby says, and Pyro zones back into the conversation.
“I do?” He says, while at the same time Czeslaw shouts “you look high!” behind him. Right. Red eyes.
“That happens later” Scott tells Shelby, before rounding on Pyro, “when people take food they’re not supposed to take” Pyro just takes a step back, another desperate apology already on the tip of his tongue.
“If you ever do that again, it’ll be the last thing you do” Scott hisses, Pyro just nods frantically.
“So! Welcome to being a vampire” Owen says, clapping his hands and drawing everyone’s attention to him. Pyro just carefully creeps around so that they’re not standing close to Scott. “Quick rundown”
And then there is a horrible sensation that runs through him. Something inexplicably warm and burning (nothing at all like the warmth he syphoned from Shelby, that was filling and chased the undead chill from him. This feels like they are being punished for their non-life), his fangs ache in his mouth and he feels the urge to take to the skies and get as far as possible. And he just knows, all the beacons have been cleansed.
“Oh my gosh” Owen groans, evidently feeling it too. Scott immediately takes off towards his castle, encouraged by the three of them. Czeslaw is uncharacteristically silent behind them.
“Right, anyways” Owen continues. “Blood or red meat from now on. And it has to be raw”
Pyro feels a sort of pang of jealousy and anger course through him. Why does Shelby get an explanation? Why has she been sat down to have a pleasant conversation while Pyro gets a half-hearted romp through the woods that he can’t even remember? Why did they leave him to figure it out alone but here’s a fun list of tips and tricks?
He’s already prepared to ignore Czeslaw’s response but… it never comes. That’s… strange. Why is he so quiet? Pyro pretends to be idly looking around, but really takes the chance to scour the river for a sign of Czeslaw. But he’s not there. Where did he go? Did he leave? He never disappears that abruptly. And he loves to keep up a constant commentary when Pyro is talking to others, it makes no sense for him to leave now.
For some reason, he feels compelled to call out Czeslaw’s name. As if he wants the other back. As if this isn’t a blessing. As if it wouldn’t paint him as completely insane in front of Owen and Shelby.
“I’m going to go find a crypt,” Pyro says, excusing themself at the sight of the sun and taking off into the woods. It’s maybe a lie. He knows the sun doesn’t affect them that much, Scott seemed fine. But… well they should get on desecrating some beacons. It feels… wrong like this.
There’s the phantom feeling of his heart beating in his chest. Like a stubborn lost limb that refuses to let Pyro forget its presence.
He just… he just killed Shelby. She didn’t deserve that. They had been fine, perfectly nice, nothing like– And Scott. Scott had been so mad. What does Pyro do? They have to make up for it somehow. They have to– he doesn’t know! Do something. He’ll just… he’ll desecrate the lake beacon. And then maybe that will give them some leniency.
“Two under your belt, huh?” It’s Czeslaw’s arrival and the chill returning to them that marks that Scott has managed to convert the castle.
“Where did you go?” Pyro asks, keeping his eyes and hands firmly on the glass of the beacon below him.
“Aww, did you miss me?” Horrifyingly, Czeslaw drapes himself over Pyro’s back, a sensation similar to ice being pressed to their skin. Pyro holds back whatever pathetic and disgusted noise would’ve escaped him, but Czeslaw knows. He always knows.
Pyro shifts themself away until they can’t feel the ghost’s chilling presence. “It seems holy light chases me away” Czeslaw speculates, and Pyro gains the very sudden urge to step away from the beacon and let it stay consecrated. But… no. Czeslaw being around is better than them being dead. And having all the beacons be consecrated felt like death.
“Is that not a trait you had before?” Pyro grits out instead, glaring down as the beacon finally stops radiating heat and orange light and instead goes neutral.
Czeslaw barks out a sharp laugh, something that sounds more aggressive than amused. “Wow, I forgot you weren’t fucking funny” in the corner of his eye, Pyro can see him wipe away a non-existant tear. Pyro just rolls their eyes, still trying to ignore the man standing behind him.
“You’re an odd fellow, y’know” Czeslaw says, almost conversationally, stepping into Pyro’s periphery. He’s got his hands in his pockets, thumbs out, elbows bent casually as he regards the beacon that Pyro is desecrating. “Hate my guts, but panic when I’m gone. Can’t stand up for yourself until you're bashing a rock over my head. Kill me, don’t feel guilty. Half-kill some girl, tear yourself up about it. Inconsistent, that’s what you are”
“I don’t know why you disappeared. It’s not like you're linked to my vampirism,” Pyro responds in lieu of actually acknowledging what Czeslaw said. He… he’s not inconsistent. It was different. Shelby didn’t deserve to die. She was nice, friendly, wouldn’t hurt a fly. Pyro just couldn’t control himself.
“Oh. So I deserved to die” he sounds genuinely angry about that. But it’s not a question. It’s a statement. Because he’s not real, he’s Pyro. And even if Pyro won’t say it aloud, he’s glad he killed Czeslaw.