Chapter Text
It'd been two weeks since Illuga had fed from him. He had woken up the afternoon after that all went down to find that there was no mark or evidence that he'd been bit... to his disappointment. Their lives returned to relative normal pretty much right after.
Although, for some reason, Lohen's mouth felt just a bit heavier than usual- namely, his top row of teeth. He concluded without much thought that it was a longer lasting side effect to the venom. That was, until he lost his appetite.
Now typically, he wasn't too picky by any means when it came to food. But one glance at dinner being placed in front of him by the Knights' chef made him uneasy in a sense. He stared at it while biting the inside of his cheek, watching as steam came off the meal in a way that was usually enticing. His subconscious boiled it down to everything besides the meat. And even then, it seemed too cooked to him, even if he'd had it the exact same way before.
He almost felt bad watching it grow cold. But there was no way that his body would allow him to eat it. Eventually someone near him just took his plate to eat. He let them. He could feel eyes on him, as he typically threatened anyone who dared touch his food.
"Lohen? You alright?" A voice asked, breaking his thoughts for a moment. Varka was looking at him, concerned.
"Hmm? Oh, uh, yep. 'M fine, just not hungry tonight." He responded, sitting back in his chair. Varka didn't question his... lack of manners at the dining table, instead opting to put a hand to Lohen's forehead. The Grandmaster frowned gently.
"You're colder than usual... Why not go warm up under a blanket?" He suggested, taking his hand off of Lohen's forehead and tilting the younger's head up to meet his eyes. Lohen took a second to respond.
"Warm... under blankets... Alright." He concluded, releasing himself from Varka's grip and leaving the hall. He didn't bother arguing or saying goodbye. Frankly, his mouth felt too heavy for any of that.
A few hours crept by as Lohen rested in his tent while practically drowning in blankets. He was bored, almost dozing off on multiple occasions. However, his stomach yelled at him every five minutes due to him basically skipping dinner. He groaned softly, twisting around in his bed to try and get more comfortable. It didn't work.
He needed something to do... something to eat.
Fuck it, he decided, I'll tank the talking to for sneaking out.
He unravelled the blankets that cacooned his body, slipping from his bed and tiptoeing to the door of the tent. If anyone asked, no they didn't. Luckily, as he peeked outside, no one was around. He snuck his way through the camp, hiding in the shadows whenever passing a tent that still had a light from inside.
He felt a bit like a teen going through a rebellious phase as he did this. Except he left no trace that he'd even been there (if others didn't check his tent, that is.) Once he got far enough from the camp, he stopped sneaking and simply let his feet wander and take him wherever they wanted to go.
He snapped back to reality when his eyes processed that he was in the woods. Something told him he'd been strolling through the trees for a while now. However, something that smelled absolutely delicious made it impossible for him to turn back.
He stumbled across a clearing, seeing a couple of people in the middle. Staying in the shadows, he recognized them from Illuga's paperwork. They were apparently high on the priority list when it came to um... dealing with people like them. Now... would his birdie get mad at him for making his job easier..? Would he be mad if Lohen took out a few assholes..?
His mouth grew heavier. His breathing deepened. And just like that, he had made up his mind. He slipped his knife out of his sleeve, and charged forward.
The fight itself was a blur, which in all honesty should've concerned him if he wanted to remember every single way he deals with enemies. However, he just couldn't care at the moment. His vision cleared just enough to make out the still alive one of the duo, just as he shot him in the head with his crossbow.
He took a step back, panting slightly. He could see his reflection just barely in the now dead man's eyes. His own eyes were widened, staring down at the body with the same intense hunger that Illuga had stared at him with. He could see a small glint in his mouth. Shakily, he brought a hand to it, gingerly touching his teeth.
His canines were longer... sharper. He could barely process it, until a small voice brought back something his birdie had said.
"Oh, relax. I was born like this. No one bit me. It's actually quite the last resort to turn a human. Typically vampires are just born."
Wait, but Illuga had said turning a human was a last resort. There was no way that a captain in the Lightkeepers would make such a mistake. He focused back onto the corpse. His eyes wandered down to the man's neck, and his body flinched lightly at the resulting thought. He was hungry.
"Dead..." He whispered, staring back at the man's eyes. "You're dead. You can't feel anything anymore." It was like he was justifying what he was about to do.
Shakily, he collapsed onto his knees right by the corpse, keeping his eyes trained on the neck. With trembling fingers, he shifted the man's shirt away just enough, before moving closer.
He hesitated for a second, before sinking his teeth into the body's neck. Blood flooded his mouth instantly, and with it brought a satisfaction that borderlined on pleasure. He swallowed the liquid in his mouth, closing his eyes as his shoulders relaxed. He shifted slightly, allowing there to be a space for blood to flow out of the wounds and onto his tongue. How Illuga managed to stay entirely composed whilst doing this to him, he'll never know.
He only stopped once his stomach told him no more. Pulling back, the small leftover amount of blood trickled down his chin, dripping onto the man's pants. It was then that he realized what he just did. He gasped, shifting away from the body rapidly as recognition filled his brain.
Suddenly, everything wrong about the past two weeks made sense. Illuga had turned Lohen into a vampire.
As much as he wanted to, his body refused to discard of the blood now in his stomach. He actually felt terrible about this. No doubt his birdie didn't mean to turn him, though. He had said it was a last resort. That didn't stop the overwhelming feeling of dread that hit him like a train.
If he was a vampire, then he'd now be a target for the Knights. Most of his life among them didn't matter now. His... Oh goodness, what would his old man think? He'd never look at him again...
He stood up, legs shaking. His entire bidy was shaking, actually. He had to get out of here. He glanced up, looking around frantically to decide which way to go. It took him a solid minute to register the eyes watching him.
They glowed slightly, a familiar icy blue with pale red at the center. It was mesmerizing. Safe...
His vision blurred, then faded. He vaguely remembers collapsing into someone's arms.
...
"-an accident! A total accident! How was I supposed to know this would happen to him!?"
"An accident!? Captain Illuga, you're a full-blooded vampire and you didn't know how to turn a human!?"
"I told you, it's a complete last resort! Why would I need to learn how to do something that's just meant to be the most desperate thing a vampire could do!?"
Lohen groaned softly, woken up by two individuals arguing. Opening his eyes revealed the blurry figures of Varka and Illuga. Illuga was closer to the bed he was laying on, seemingly making sure Varka couldn't get to him. He blinked a few times, trying to get the blurriness in his vision to go away.
"Archons, what's a guy gotta do to get a bit of shuteye around here..?" He muttered out, taking the pillow from under his head and tossing it at the other two men in the room. It missed both of them. Illuga turned to face him, face softening as he let out a small chuckle.
"You've been sleeping for over ten hours, bunny." The captain replied, walking over and sitting on the edge of the bed. Varka crossed his arms, raising a brow. Lohen sat up, closing his eyes for a second before leaning on Illuga's shoulder and burying his face in the man's jacket.
"He's fine, Grandmaster." He heard his birdie say. Varka then sighed.
"It's not so much if he's fine or not. I'm more concerned on if he'll be more of a threat to the troops than he already was." Lohen frowned at that last part.
"I wasn't a threat." He pouted. "My training just looked a bit... different."
"Promising them they'd run laps until they literally drop if they missed a shot isn't threatening?"
"That was the one time."
"That's weekly."
"Eh, potato potahto."
Illuga let out a giggle at their banter. Lohen peeked his head up from his spot, glancing at his birdie in hopes of seeing his smile. It was always a beautiful thing to look at.
"Anyway," Varka huffed out, calling the attention back to him. "What's the plan? I can't exactly bring him back." Lohen's heart dropped at that. Right...
"Mm, he could stay with me if he wants to." Illuga piped up, glancing over at him. The two held eye contact for a moment.
"Sure." He responded. He wouldn't mind living with his birdie.
"Alright then. What do you suppose I tell the knights? Can't pretend you don't exist." The grandmaster muttered out, bringing a hand to his chin.
"... Tell 'em the truth. Mostly, at least. Say I'm dangerous. Tell them not to interact with me."
"That has so many loopholes, bunny." Illuga whispered out. Lohen shrugged.
"If they ask why I'm near birdie at all times in public, tell them he's got me under a bind of some kind."
"Bind? Those don't exist." The lightkeeper raised a brow.
"They do now." The knight stuck his tongue out at his birdie. Illuga huffed in fondness.
"Alright. So, Lohen's a feral vampire now, don't interract with him. Captain Illuga managed to get him under his control enough that he's calm enough to be outside." The grandmaster recounted.
"If that's what we're going with." Illuga shrugged, and Lohen smiled at the two men.
"Alright, that's settled. Bye now, Grandmaster!! I'd personally like some alone time with my birdie right now." He exclaimed, waving at Varka. The older man barked out a laugh, shaking his head at Lohen's antics.
"Bye, you two. Oh, maybe you'll be able to work among the Lightkeepers." He ended, ducking through the doorframe. The other two's eyes widened.
"Can-"
"Nope. If we want to make this believable, you have to stay inside during the day."
"... But at ni-"
"I'll let you run rampant at night if you promise to be back as the sun rises."
"... Okay!"