Chapter Text
Avid woke up, his face sticky and hot as he gasped for breath. Of course… he couldn’t escape those damned nightmares for the life of him. Whenever he mustered up the courage to sleep he dreamed of *her*.
No matter how hard he tried; he always had that wooden stake. That damned stake and body that *he* killed would haunt him forever.
For whatever reason, it was infinitely more vivid than normal that night. He could even see Elle’s unbeating heart, punctured with a deep hole and blood pouring out of it. Avid could feel his own heart sink, even in the nightmare.
As soon as he woke up he rushed out of bed, shaking as he scrubbed his hands to the point of them becoming red and raw. He took a deep breath, tears blocking his vision. Of course it had to be here that the nightmares got worse… where else would it be…
—————————————————————
Shelby was starting to get worried with how long Scott seemingly disappeared for. What if something got to him in the woods? What if that Abolish person who was always following attacked him? What if vampires were real and he got attacked by one?
Before the woman could go any deeper into the rabbit hole of possibilities she felt someone behind her. The woman turned around to face the lumberjack, the man looking slightly perplexed.
“Oh! Owen” she said, relaxing at the sight.
The man’s gaze landed beyond her shoulders, his brow furrowed.
“Is your little friend over there…” he paused, hesitating for a moment “is he okay…?”
Shelby turned around, not processing the flash of distain that showed on the other’s face. What she did see, however, was Avid who seemed paralyzed at the sight of Owen.
“Gods Avid-“ Shelby started, a frown starting to form at the sight “He’s not dangerous…”
“He- he carries an axe with him everywhere he goes!” the younger exclaimed, his voice quivering as he took a minuscule step backwards.
Shelby mindlessly messed with her fingers as she frowned. If he was so paranoid about every little thing than why couldn’t he get his own weapons? It wasn’t that hard, hell even she had a sword for safety purposes.
It was getting to a point where she was starting to get concerned; he would insist on needing protection and yet refused to pick up a weapon on his own. The one time her and Drift tried to convince him they could see the liveliness drain from his face. After that the two agreed to stop pressuring him, the reaction being enough for them to decide that they wouldn’t push it any farther.
“So, what do you need?” She asked the lumberjack with a grin.
The older seemed to hesitate for a moment, his gaze falling on Avid before back to her. “Ah, yes… well I was hoping we could speak alone…”
The woman’s head quirked to the side before she nodded, waving goodbye to Avid as she followed Owen.
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere private”
“What do you need me for?”
A subtle frown flickered across the man’s face as he started.
“You’re likely the person who knows the most about Scott yes?”
Shelby nodded, brows furrowing. “Other than Abolish I’d like to think so”
“Of course it’s the damned butler that knows more- why wouldn’t it be him” she heard the man hiss under his breath before turning back to face her. “Has he acted suspicious with you?”
Shelby blinked, shaking her head. “Not particularly… do you know where he is?”
The man grimaced before responding “I have an… idea of where he might be”
“Well that’s great!” The woman exclaimed, a wide grin forming before realizing she had no idea where he was referring to. “Where though…”
Owen simply shrugged, a smirk tugging at his lips. “You’ll see, if you come with me I mean”
Now, with cryptic messaging like that, how could she resist!