Chapter Text
Vaggie flew back to the hunter territory, her wings flapping painfully as she barely managed to make it back. The white-haired girl landed in front of her tent, limping as her injured wings tucked behind her back.
“Vaggie?” A familiar voice called out from behind. Vaggie's posture straightened as she turned around, it was Adam. “Hello, sir” she replied. “You good? What the hell happened to your wings?” He approached her, looking at her injured state. “I…fell…I didn't sleep well last night so my wings just…gave out” she explained nervously, hoping he'd buy her lie. “Right…” he looked at her up and down, “Anyway, how many kills did you get this time?”. “Uhm…260, sir.” She lied, how was she supposed to tell him that she only got 64? “260? Damn, Vags, you've really outdone yourself this year! Great job, girl” He grinned through his mask. “Thank you, sir” she sighed, relieved he didn't question her at all. “Hey, actually, Lute told me she didn't see you anywhere in the Pentagram” he said, crossing his arms. Mierda, she thought to herself. “Uhm, it's because I went to a more shady side of town…to try and catch the Vampires who were hiding.” Vaggie fidgeted with her bloody fingers. “Oh, smart! Anyway, me and Dangertits are gonna head out. If you need anything, don't come after me” He grinned, turning around before flying off. “Right, sir.” Vaggie unfurled her wings painfully. Still weird how they hang out so much, she thought.
Vaggie walked inside of her tent, dropping the broken pieces of her mask onto the wooden table. She slipped out of the heavy boots she wore, sighing in relief as the tiring weight of them dropped to the ground. Vaggie looked at her arms, gazing into the bandages Charlie had wrapped around her earlier. She fidgeted with the edge of the bandages, wondering if she should take them off to lower the chances of anyone asking about them. Although, open wounds would probably be questioned even more. She got up and took a wet cloth she left on the table before the extermination. Vaggie passed the cloth over her hands and face, wiping all the leftover Vampire off of her. She cleaned her sword as well, leaving the cloth a shade of deep red.
Vaggie looked into the slightly cracked mirror that was supported by the desk, looking at her own reflection. Her eyes darted to the reflection of her short white hair. To be honest, she's always wanted longer hair, something that reaches past her waist. But, to be a hunter, she had to have short hair that didn't even go past her neck. This was because the hair had to fit into the mask somehow. She took a step back, sighing as he turned around to reach for her clothes. She rummaged through the wooden drawers, searching for something comfortable to wear. She took out a light gray spaghetti strap top that matched her wings and dark baggy jeans; it wasn't nearly as practical as her hunter uniform, but it'd have to do. She slipped onto the more casual clothes and sat down on the creaking bed, sighing with relief that she's finally got a chance to rest.
Vaggie let her injured wings hang off of the bed, the light gray feathers brushing against the ground. She gazed into the ceiling, if you could even call it that, and closed her eyes as her thoughts began to shift into her interaction with Charlie earlier that day. Her mind replayed their conversation over and over again, her hands twitching slightly every time she remembered the feeling of Charlie throwing her onto the tree. She thought about how weirdly optimistic the princess was, she was the polar opposite of what Vaggie and the other hunters were taught to believe Vampires were like. Ella es un poco extraña, she said in her head. Pero es tan única.
-CHARLIE'S POV-
It hadn't been long since Vaggie left, but all Charlie could do was think about her. She has only encountered a hunter maybe one or two times before, and they both just ran off as soon as they realized it was her. She'd never met one who remained sharp even after such an attack. Charlie had already walked back to her palace, it was silent and empty as always. Her mother had been living deep in hunter grounds instead of the Pentagram and her father had his own palace he didn't share with Charlie. It had been seven years since her mother, Lilith, left her and her father. Any other person would resent their parent for doing something like this, but not Charlie. She missed her mother everyday and still loved her despite everything. Charlie walked upstairs, heading towards her bedroom. She stepped across the long hallway, the walls were deep red and full of portraits and paintings of her family. The top of the blood red walls had golden accent marks that twisted into apple-like shapes, her father insisted she'd get them so it would “honor their family history”. She reached for her the knob of her bedroom door, twisting it to reveal a large elegant room with a crimson canopy bed in the center.
Charlie strolled in her bedroom, walking towards her vanity table. She opened a wooden drawer, the compartment creaking before she took a dusty map out of it. She rolled it onto the table, revealing a map of not only the Pentagram, but the hunter grounds as well. She traced a path from her palace to the hunter territory with her finger, deciding it was close enough for her to go to. She knew it'd be odd to simply go to enemy ground after meeting one sort-of-nice person, but she wanted to try. Although being incredibly kind, Charlie grew up with no friends. As she was the princess, she was homeschooled and ended up not getting the chance to befriend other people as a child nor as an adult. It'd be crazy of her to pass up the opportunity of finally being able to be friends with someone else.
So, it was decided. She was going to go to hunter territory.
-VAGGIE'S POV-
Vaggie slept on the creaky bed in her tent, her chest heaving up and down as she finally rested after the long day. Her subconscious dreamed of the forest she had visited earlier, enhancing the details she catched in the corner of her eye earlier that day. The three-eyed squirrel she saw sprinting up one of the trees, the piles of blood red leaves that covered patches of the grayish-purple ground, the silver birds that flew into the leaves of tall trees as soon as they spotted her. She hummed quietly in her sleep, content with the rest she was getting.
Suddenly, she began hearing what was almost a buzzing. It was a distorted and quiet mumbling, like the sound your brain hears when someone tries to talk to you while you're half-asleep. The words began clearing up as she shifted slightly in her sleep, what she could make out was…her name? Vaggie began hearing, over and over again: “...Vaggie…Vaggie…Vaggie…”
As she finally opened her eyes and woke up, she blinked a few times for her vision to clear up. Vaggie's eyes widened as she realized who it was, jolting back in the rough bed as she let out a scream. Charlie scrambled to cover Vaggie's mouth with her hands as a loud yell ripped from her throat. “SHHH!! I'm not allowed to be here, don't scream unless you wanna get us caught!” the blonde whispered, taking her hands off of Vaggie's mouth as she calmed down. “What the hell are you doing here?! I- who- WHAT?!” Vaggie stuttered, sitting up as she rubbed the spot on her head she hit on the wall seconds before. “Well, I didn't really have anything to do and you seemed pretty cool soooooooo…” Charlie rambled. “You're insane” Vaggie crossed her arms. “But I'm super fun! Come on, I know you don't wanna just sit in this tent all day. Speaking of which, is this really where all the hunters sleep?” she looked around the tent, putting her hands on her hips. “Fine, you know what? I'll…ugh…I guess I can hang out with you” Vaggie stood up, uncrossing her arms. Charlie gasped in excitement and pulled the white-haired hunter into a tight hug, giggling. “Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!” she let Vaggie go, taking her hand in hers instead. “I promise you won't regret it! I can show you around the Pentagram! Or the forest! Or any other place you wanna see!” Charlie smiled, nearly jumping in joy that Vaggie had agreed to hang out with her. “You can take me anywhere, but first we need to find out how to sneak you out of here” Vaggie pointed out, taking a step towards Charlie. “You're right…hm…OOH! I have an idea!” She smiled, bearing her fangs at Vaggie.
They both snuck out of the tent, Vaggie spread her wings slowly to cover Charlie as they awkwardly shuffled away from the hunter grounds. Vaggie got a couple of weird looks from other hunters as she walked by with her wings creating a shield behind her, but no one actually bothered to say anything. As they both reached a more secluded area of the hunter territory, Vaggie tucked her wings behind her back and Charlie got up from her crouching position. “So, Charlie, where do you wanna go?” Vaggie asked, turning around to face the princess. “Well, I wanted to show you around the Pentagram! It's such a nice city, you'll love it!” Charlie said excitedly. “Are you sure people aren't gonna be freaked out that a hunter is gonna be walking around Vampire territory after the extermination?” The white-haired girl chuckled slightly. “True…but as I'm the princess, no one's gonna question me!...hopefully” Charlie rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly. “Whatever you say, princess” Vaggie smiled, maybe this friendship was gonna work out after all.
The two girls walked through the forest path from the hunter grounds to the Pentagram City, talking and laughing as they made their way towards the Vampire territory. Charlie told Vaggie about her life as the princess, what it was like to be a Vampire, her childhood…in return, Vaggie told Charlie about her job as a hunter, Adam and Lute's relationship, and what the other hunters were like. “Really? So you're telling me hunters have no prior early life?” Charlie asked curiously, pushing a hanging branch out of her way. “Well, me and a few others are exceptions. But, mostly, yeah. Sera created the hunters so Adam could have an army of Vampire killers. Me and some of the other hunters actually had a life before becoming Adam's soldiers. It's rare, though. Adam recruited me because of my strength and agility, I don't know about the others” Vaggie explained, brushing her white hair out of her face as they continued to walk towards the Pentagram. Charlie suddenly stopped in her tracks, smiling from ear-to-ear. “This is it! Welcome to the Pentagram City!” Charlie waved her hands in the air excitedly.
Vaggie looked around, taking in all the bright lights and loud noises. “Wow…” she muttered. “Oh, I know, right? It's so incredible, you're gonna love it!” Charlie rambled, grabbing Vaggie's hand and dragging her into the red and buzzing city. She excitedly pointed at buildings, landmarks, basically anything her eyes landed on. “Oh, that's the Pentagram Vampire Museum! Ooh, look it! It's the blood fountain!” She rambled endlessly, hopping around from place to place while smiling. Vaggie followed behind her, in awe at all the wonders of the Pentagram. She was taught by Adam that Vampire cities were dark, gross, and terrifying. Yet, this place felt so alive.
The two girls explored the Pentagram together, Charlie took on the role of a tour guide for Vaggie. They walked through nearly the whole Pentagram together, passing by every shady town and lively neighborhood possible. Vaggie found herself blushing when Charlie took her hand, smiling with her sharp fangs exposed. She didn't understand the strange feeling that twisted in her stomach, yet a small part that sat in the back of her mind understood it completely. Unfortunately, Vaggie refused to listen to that tiny voice that for once was right about what was happening.
Vaggie and Charlie finally completed their tour, stopping at exactly where they started. Charlie stood in front of Vaggie, smiling. “I'm so glad you let me show you around the Pentagram. Sorry if everything's too sudden, I'm just really excited to have a friend– I mean, if you do want to be called friends! You don't have to if you don't want-” “Charlie…I'd love to be your friend” Vaggie interrupted her rambling, smiling at the blonde. Charlie's eyes widened, her first friend! “O-of course! Yeah, I'd love to be your friend too!” The princess said excitedly. She looked down at her hands before snapping her head back up and pulling Vaggie into a tight hug. Vaggie let her arms hang limply by her sides as her face took a shocked expression. After a second or two, she finally relaxed and hugged Charlie back, smiling. Charlie pulled away from the hug after a few seconds, “Well…you might wanna head back home before the other hunters start looking for you” Charlie pointed out, her hands still resting on Vaggie's shoulders. “Right…of course” Vaggie answered.
Vaggie walked past Charlie, heading to the forest that led back to the hunter grounds. “I hope we can see each other again soon, Charlie” the hunter smiled as she waved gently at the blonde. Charlie waved up, beaming at Vaggie. The white-haired girl finally turned her back and stretched her wings to head back home. Charlie watched her fly away through the forest, her head resting on her cheek as she smiled gently at Vaggie. As Vaggie disappeared from her sight, she turned her back and began to walk back to her palace.
In the very distance, behind a crooked and dark building in the Pentagram, stood an angel. With a dark shadow casting over her figure, Lute hissed: “I knew it.”