Chapter Text
Scott is not used to being on the back foot. It's a recent development for him. He went from being the Grand Duke of Goldsmith, to one of the new fledglings escaping the nest, to a mob of villagers rallying around a crusading witch and her forces, to sleeping for centuries, to waking in a ruined town, to struck by magic into his instincts. It's not remotely something he enjoys.
The only consolation to this entire situation is that his current coven are delightful.
It's so much easier to exist within a coven when he does not have to puppeteer every member he didn't sire. At least Owen listens, many of Scott's coven-siblings only followed his orders out of fear and scheming. Owen seems to be content with being the workhorse of the coven. Not that Scott will let him take that position by himself, Shelby is shaping up to be inclined to that kind of role. She's already brought in the useful asset of Abolish, and is suitably proactive. Pyro could be a good keeper, once his instincts stop holding him hostage. A scholar, borne of tomes and old maps. Yes, Scott could see Pyro do very well as a lair keeper.
It's... odd. To return to this kind of clinical thinking of his subordinates. The instinct haze was relaxing, what little he remembers (and every hour he seems to remember slightly more). It makes him wonder if this is how his coven-siblings saw him after they overthrew their sire. Did they too slot each other into neat roles? Did they plot how to achieve more power? Well, he knows they did that second part. His coven rose against him, slaughtered his fledglings, trapped him in the crypt like he convinced the coven-siblings to do with their sire. It's a miracle and a relief Louis escaped the massacre of loyal Goldsmiths. A shame the poor darling seems to have fallen in the centuries since.
Scott consoles himself with the knowledge that his favorite fledgling lives on through Owen.
-
The sun burns his eyes as he leaves the cabin. It took a few shoves from his shoulder, but Scott had managed to break it loose. The door is unfixable now, split into uneven halves. That will be an entire chore to replace.
Scott huffs, stepping grandly on the crooked and splintered wood. His shoes make contact with dirt and gravel, the broken door creaking as his weight no longer presses it down.
"Just our luck, after a week in the dark, we emerge to one of the rare clear days," he grumbles.
Shelby snickers at him and he turns neatly to hold a hand out. They take the offered stability and he makes sure to be prepared to swoop his darling fledgling off their feet should the wood shift. Abolish rolls his eyes behind them, very much like Owen. Unfortunately for Owen, Scott managed to trap him in Pyro's hold again. He also none-so subtly threatened Owen into staying there while the three of them leave the den. The newblood hissed but Scott is not going to be intimidated by a wet behind the ears whelp.
"Are we prepared for the coming town meeting?" Scott asks.
"We are, as long as we stick to the cover story," Abolish mutters. Scott catches the human's eye, remembering a flash of calculated ruthlessness. He shakes his head to rid his mind of the memory. It will serve him no use to get stuck in half-remembered memories of the instinct haze. All he needs to know from that brief flash is that Abolish is experienced with violence.
"Sticking to the cover should go fine. I'm more worried about how the town is going to react. Legs hasn't been Scott's number one fan since, y'know. And Avid has never been Scott's number one fan," Shelby states, holding her chin in thought. Scott frowns, but concedes that it's a good point.
"She's right. We should have devised a backup plan for if the cover story isn't believed. I can only imagine Avid and the doctor stirring up Ren and Martyn, who will stir up Sausage. Are we sure this is the best option?"
Abolish comes to stand next to Shelby, both humans facing Scott. It's uniquely unnerving. He hasn't felt this rattled by a human since he was a human. Abolish looks uncannily like his sire for a split second. Scott blinks rapidly, shoving that association into a dark chest. Abolish looks nothing like his sire did. The only thing the two share is the light skin.
"We'll just have to hope nothing untoward happens."
Scott does not reply. Abolish gestures the trio towards the town center. He follows the hunter warily, thoughts spinning and swirling of the events to come.
-
When Scott was young, he dreamed of being a warrior like his father. He dreamed of fitting into his dead brother's armor and hefting the weapon used to kill said brother. He dreamed of protecting his family.
When he met the man that would change him, he thought those dreams were becoming reality. He learned quickly that his dreams would remain such.
His sire was fond of making a batch of fledglings every few decades and pitting them against each other. Scott was a part of a larger than usual batch, twelve fledglings in total, all created over the span of five years. He was not the oldest of the batch, nor the youngest.
His coven-sister, Aethelswith, was the only other survivor of that batch of fledglings. Typically only one fledgling survived, but their batch was a rare one. He grew to favor her. He grew to rely on her, and she on him. They were each other's favorite coven-sibling.
Many times, their sire would corral the batch into a decently sized hole in the ground. Too high to climb out of, too small to actually exist alongside more than one other person in. They were expected to kill at least one other member of the batch. Scott was nearly the first dead of that round of fledglings. Aethelswith's quick thinking is only what allowed the pair to outcompete the other ten fledglings.
When their sire saw their bond, or what he perceived to be a bond (Scott was never sure if Aethelswith actually cared for him, and his affections were closely guarded, lest she prove to be a traitor after all), he was furious. He had Aethelswith dragged away by her hair and Scott did not see her for months. Scott was chained by his fingers, hanging on the wall just high enough he could only barely use his toes to keep force off the digits. He had a heretic's fork strapped under his chin and told that if he made a noise or got injured, he would be sent to the hunting dogs as their dinner.
He never forgot the feeling of the dog's teeth after those long months of pain and concentration.
Aethelswith never discussed what their sire had done to her. Scott never asked. They remained companions, waiting for the barrel under their feet to be kicked away so they would hang, like criminals.
Their sire never let them have nesting periods, not fully. He gave them a single drop of blood and left them in the crypt kennels with the other unbroken fledglings. Many of them turned on the weakest, tearing them apart and trying to derive some amount of sustenance from their watery blood. It became a cycle of sorts. After a visit from their sire (rarely painless), the least injured or most annoying fledgling would get cannibalized.
The flesh tasted delicious, but Scott never developed a taste for the watery-thin blood of a new turn. Aethelswith did however. She started collecting strays soon after their sire released them from the kennels, targeting new turns when she could.
Sometimes their sire would have Scott remove one of his coven-siblings in such a way. He even developed a system for it, and then his sire caught on to his enjoyment of devouring someone and had him sent back to the kennels to be eaten by the newest fledglings. Luckily he wasn't a low enough level to be staked afterwards and doomed to perdition. Many of his victims weren't as lucky to even reform after becoming his meal, already too injured for vampyric healing to bounce back from.
His sire never let him consume another vampire. A punishment Scott never expected to face, not being able to cannibalize others.
Aethelswith used to talk about what she'd do to their sire if given the chance. And a few centuries later, Scott led a coup against the coven's sire and dethroned him. Left their bastard of a sire to slink disgraced through the ancestral Goldsmith keep. Aethelswith got her chance, and Scott turned a blind eye, unheeding of the screams and pleads for help and mercy. Serves him right.
Sometimes, he wondered if Aethelswith truly valued him. His loyalty was to his own power, their sire made sure none of them would form bonds easily. Surely if she had asked, he could have avoided her coup. Surely he could have assured her that his aims included her at his side. Did his aims include her at his side? They don't now, not after she betrayed him and ordered his fledglings (all of them. Oh God Almighty, he can hear the screams of his fledglings and their fledglings echo in his ears. Ave Maria, domine patris, blessed art thou who spared his Louis, Amen.) to be cut down.
He has been ignoring the ache in his soul he associates with his favorite coven-sibling ever since waking from his curse. She's out there, somewhere. Still alive. Likely still entrapping strays to siphon upon until they mature and get left by the wayside. He'll track down his remaining coven from that betrayal and take his pound (or five) of flesh. He can probably rope Owen into helping, once he tells him how they threatened Louis.
He's certainly never letting any of his old coven-mates near his current coven! He'll rip them apart until they stop reforming, make them wish he never overthrew and imprisoned his sire!
Scott is going to make sure his Nouveau Goldsmith coven never faces his old one without him present. They don't deserve to see his new coven. They don't deserve to exist near his new coven.
-
Legundo limps his way into the beacon tower with his head held high and his eye cataloguing those already present. His knee hasn't forgiven him since his conversation with Owen got interrupted by Scott. It's been a few days, but with everything going on in the town, it keeps getting twinged.
Living in this body is an existence of pain. If he were less guilty, maybe he would consider the phantom pains of his missing eye (it's been decades and it still shows its ugly head on occasion) and the shrapnel left in his leg penance enough. But he's guiltier, so he considers it a necessary punishment to hinder his atonement.
Abolish stands atop the beacon, looking rumpled in a spare shirt and slacks that look awkward on him, maybe Drift or Martyn's spares? The suspenders he wears are definitely his, Legs recognizes the elegant thorny vine shape of the metal clasps. Scott, wearing one of Pyro's shirts, (only Pyro and Owen would give him a spare that would fit. Ren might be his size but is bulkier. Sausage is too short and Legs himself would rather be sent back to the frontlines than consider helping Scott with spare laundry.) is behind Abolish, sharp gaze cutting through the slight shadow of the recently repaired tower. Shelby is glued to his side, smiling happily and holding one of his arms across her chest. If Legundo didn't know any better, he'd assume the two roommates were courting, but Scott has firmly declared his proclivities to the town, and Shelby doesn't seem the type.
Cleo and Pearl enter together, joining him in front of Abolish. Ren's trio emerge shortly after, Martyn and Sausage crashing into the tower in a cacophony of noise with Ren following behind with a chuckle. Avid and Drift are the last to enter, Drift standing next to Shelby with a smile. Avid sticks by her side, but keeps giving wary glares at Scott. Legs shakes his head, the poor man is not subtle in his paranoia, even if it has gotten better.
Abolish clears his throat, gaining the attention of the cramped tower. Briefly, Legs wonders if Abolish has military or militia training with how he handles himself and public speaking. He puts the thought aside, Abolish doesn't strike him as a soldier of that kind. There's martial training of some kind in the young man's background, but not military training. Maybe Legs will find out one day.
"Afternoon everyone. This week has been harrowing for the entire town, but Martyn was indeed correct that the holy word used on Scott only lasted a week. Unfortunately, Pyro caught a fever while under Scott's care and is indisposed at the moment. We left Owen in charge of keeping an eye on them. Before you ask doctor, no, it's not a serious fever and we kept him hydrated and as fed as possible. Pyro should be recovered soon. Now, back to the holy word: do we, as a town, want the holy word to be used in the future?"
The tower devolves into quiet mutters. Legs catches Cleo staring at Scott with a glint in their eyes that he can't decipher. M is scratching out notes in a journal, a large feather quill being used instead of a sensible pen. Scott and Shelby are nonplussed, but Shelby scrunches their nose at the mention of the holy word.
"I don't want the holy word to be used," Cleo states. The townsfolk to her, some nod (Drift, Scott, Shelby), and others stare impassively (Abolish and M). Avid is nervous in the corner, glancing around the tower like a frightened deer. Legs makes a mental note to talk with Avid about therapeutic techniques, he should still have some scented oils for hysteria in his supplies. They're not his first option for treatments of the mind, but it's what he has.
"Aye, the holy word Mr. Woodhurst used was quite disruptive, don'tcha know? I could hard focus on building me house while worrying after the mystical influences on our fellow villager. I think it be best we leave this magic in a ditch," Renhart agrees, stepping forward and planting a hand on Martyn's shoulder as he does so. Legs furrows his brow, wary of the superstitions evident in Renhart, but unwilling to challenge the points made. If Oakhurst falls to superstition, it will be a disaster. There's only so much science can explain in this confusing town, and many of the villagers are disinclined to listen to scientific explanations. Legundo dreads a potential witch hunt, especially given how few villagers exist within the barrier.
The silence after Renhart's short speech stretches on for a moment. The townsfolk share looks between each other, some conspiring, others for reassurance. Abolish whistles softly, drawing the attention of the tower.
"Should we bother with a vote? Does anyone have objections to leaving Martyn's holy word as not applicable?"
Legs turns his head to observe Cleo and Pearl beside him. Pearl looks thoughtful, but Cleo is a study in honed neutrality. It makes Legundo wonder, yet again, what Cleo had gone through for them to be so calculating with a poker face to cow the hardest veteran. The rest of the tower remains silent, no objections.
"Very well. Martyn, for now, do not use that holy word again. Should the need arise in the future, such as bandits trying to raid Oakhurst, we can discuss its use further. Good day, everyone." Abolish calmly hops off the beacon, dusting his shirt off as he stands in front of Shelby and Scott. The trio leave as one unit, heads bowed together and talking too quietly to hear from Legs' position.
It's only as they leave, that Legundo remembers the questions he meant to ask about Scott and Pyro's conditions. Pyro is sick with fever, and Scott was more than just a human consumed by baser instincts of another ape. He curses himself and resolves to ask about it the next time he sees Abolish alone. Shelby would most likely not give straight answers or enough information, and he's loathe to talk with Scott.
-
Abolish is not happy with the situation he's gotten into. He is trapped in his family's ancestral lands of origin with a bunch of inept and clueless itinerants and settlers with three vampires to keep hidden from the other ten people. He's already failed at keeping Shelby from knowing of the supernatural, and failed to keep the vampires' teeth to themselves. Abolish isn't too pressed by Pyro's turning, if he's honest. Vampires feed upon humans and with how large Oakhurst is at the moment, it was only a matter of time before one of the humans got turned. It's just unlucky Pyro got turned so quickly.
Scott seems to be a decent sire at least, he's all but confirmed through his actions that the elder vampire (and he has to be an elder vampire to hold the Goldsmith name and be so uninformed of current society. He's a good actor, but Abolish's job and survival relies on picking up the cues of a vampire trying to fit in.) does not plan to expand his coven further until Pyro and Owen are done fledging. Shelby will likely be the next turn, but Abolish does not care for that. They already know of the supernatural now, and the three vampires are all attached to them. Abolish even has a good working relationship with Shelby that he could potentially use to manipulate the budding coven, should the need arise.
He hopes it doesn't.
Owen and Scott are both wildcards. Abolish heavily suspects Owen to be the cause of the last massacre of the area, and he's not interested in enforcing any punishments for such until the barrier is down and he can contact Morcant and the rest of the organization for backup. Scott is very likely to be one of the Goldsmith old guard, from the original sire that was dethroned and disappeared a century after. The Hymnal coven, run by an Aethelswith Goldsmith is the largest offshoot of the Goldsmith coven before it fractured six hundred years ago. Morcant hates her with a passion, and most other vampires outside her coven and the Goldsmith old guard feel the same. Her treatment of the vampires under her "tender" care is appalling, but expected given what little the organization knows of her fledging and sire. It's very possible Scott was the old Grand Duke of Goldsmith, but little information of the coven leader remains after the insurrection that felled him. Hopefully Abolish can use Scott's fondness for the fledglings can allow Abolish to manipulate the inevitable conflict between the coven and the humans to a satisfactory end.
Which brings his attention back to the claim Scott laid upon him during the morning. It rankles him to know he's finally been claimed into a vampire coven, and it's not even the one he was a ward of! He spent a solid decade, the entire time he trained and worked for the organization, beating back the various attempts of the Thornvales to claim him into the coven, even attempts to offer him vampirism. He was successful too! Morcant always had a soft spot for him and as the coven leader that softness eventually spread to the rest of the Thornvales in one manner or another. Abolish had managed to remain an unclaimed and free human until this cursed town and that twice damned holy word brought him into the path of a broody elder vampire.
The amount of paperwork Abolish will have to do about his impromptu claiming almost distracts him from the absolute shitstorm that will be Scott and his coven fighting with the Thornvales over custody of Abolish. He has a headache just thinking about it. Morcant will likely try to turn him in retaliation at Scott effectively stealing him from the Thornvales, regardless of how Abolish feels on the matter of being turned. He sighs, resolving to have Scott between him and Morcant for the foreseeable future once the barrier falls.
This whole mission was supposed to be simple and now he's back into complex vampire politics. Morcant sent him on this mission to escape the complex vampire politics Abolish was in charge of!
Ugh.
He needs some tea. Maybe Shelby has some stored in the cabinets he can pilfer.