Chapter Text
Ivy often wondered what life was like before Seymour.
She wanted would resent him, considering that it was his fault that she was memoryless and a nightwalker, had he not been such an innocent boy with a charming wit. Besides, Ivy was never the type to hold a grudge— she could empathise with him. Seymour was just a lonely young survivor of a horrible war that had taken everything from him, desperately seeking companionship. She guessed it was her bad luck that they happened upon each other all those years ago, being at the wrong place at the wrong time. She tried not to dwell on who she used to be. All she knew was that she had sisters, since Seymour found her while she was with them. He didn’t know much else other than her name. The first memory she had was waking up in the dead of the night to Seymour’s expectant face, excited and scared that he had made a Shadow. She tried to think she was better off with him, being undead and young forever and all. The sensation of not knowing who you were and where you came from was slightly liberating. There was no responsibilities, no more humanly mundane problems that she imagined she had when she was just a mere mortal. Yet she could never ignore the stark mental loneliness that haunted her in the mornings, the faint imprints of where memories had been. She probably had a family who was still hoping that she was alive, and therefore, was someone who was loved and missed dearly.
She had to be.
Her heart was not gripped with the bitterness of someone who was not cared for. But then again, how much of a Shadow’s human self survives through the transformation? She was glad that Seymour had never been unkind to her, although it was the least he could do for having whisked her life away from her. Nevertheless, the two of them had quickly become familial, seeing as vampires could only really befriend other vampires. Seymour had years of chatting to make up for, having stayed silent in all his years of solitary travel. He gabbed on and on about Lycana traditions, vampire etiquette and social hierarchy. It was all he knew, and he spoke enthusiastically. Ivy believed talking about it allowed him to relive the days when he still had a family. She couldn’t deny that it was fascinating to discover all the various things that vampires could and could not do. A Shadow could regrow limbs, but a blood-born could not? Vampires can't cry? The fact that young vampires could not ingest human blood before 18 without disastrous consequences was interesting. Was there a magical difference? All Ivy and Seymour ever had was the animal blood they sourced from small forest creatures. She never wanted to hurt another human. She couldn’t bear the thought of doing that to someone.
Seymour once explained that Shadows were essentially servants to their maker, but he made it clear that he didn’t ever want her to feel that way, but she should be prepared to expect the older vampires to think differently. It made her sad to think that she would be seen as a lower tier vampire. Surely with so few of them left, they would be happy to welcome any amongst their rank?
As much as it was interesting to discover and learn about being a vampire, all of it was a little off-putting. There seemed to be so many rules and considerations. Pressures and expectations. Since Seymour had wanted to set her free, her mind started to wander about all the things she could do— and there were a lot of things Ivy wanted to do. She was curious about the world, and wanted to see it. Experience sensations and go on adventures. Maybe it was naive to think so, being a Shadow and all, but more than anything, she just wanted something for herself. She didn’t want to see herself as anything other than herself. She was still someone with thoughts and ideas. She was still someone who wanted things. Maybe even someone, one day. Even a Shadow deserved love, right?
How a Shadow could ever have the time to fall in love was another question.
As the Shadow and only friend to the last heir to the Lycana, Ivy had a lot to do, especially after Seymour had the misfortune of having his ruby stolen while in wolf form. Ivy had joked that she ought to just leave Seymour as a wolf and go and start her new life somewhere, but after he pawed at her feet with his ears down for a few minutes, she agreed that she would do whatever it took to help him get back his ruby. It was all he had, after all. Seymour's vampire powers seemed to amplify his wolf skills, so they managed to track the thief after months of perilous travel, only to shockingly find themselves eavesdropping on the Lord Dracula and Tonka, a freed Upiry vampire that had turned into a bat and flew off after instructions from him to steal the other rubies. Apparently the clans had clandestinely gathered on a ship in Norway that was now heading towards Italy.
After running as far away from Dracula's vicinity as they possibly could, the two caught their breath as the the initial shock of discovering that the great Count Dracula was alive once more subsided. After hours of silence, trying to process what any of it meant, Ivy proposed a plan.
“Seymour, I think we should to the Elizabetha. That’s where Tonka will go, right?”
Wolf Seymour whined.
“I know that it’s scary, but it’s the only way. I’m only a Shadow and you’re a wolf right now! If that's actually Dracula...we don't stand a chance on our own. Tonka is an adult vampire!”
He whined again, as if to say that they can’t trust anyone. She remembered him saying how horrible every other clan had been to the Lycana during the wars.
After a few hours of sulking and planning, Seymour and Ivy tracked Tonka all the way towards the Elizabetha, which was docked near the outer regions of Naples in Italy. It seemed there were numerous vampires onboard, and many young children. Seymour quickly collected sticks to convey a message. “LIKE ME”, they said.
“Like you? Do you mean...do you mean that they're also heirs? But there’s so many of them!”
The stark contrast between the children made it abundantly clear that they were all from different tribes. It’s hard to say for certain who was from where, but the gruff looking blonde children seemed definitely of the Dracas clan, who Seymour had previously exhibited much disdain for.
“Those blonde blue-eyes viking types were the worst, the most ruthless of them all. They have the most rubies now, I think.” Ivy recalled him saying bitterly.
After watching for a few days, it seemed that the younger ones were taking daily instructions from a few other older vampires. It seemed as if it was...a school?
One girl caught her eye. She seemed particularly rebellious in body language and seemed to be alienated by the rest. Ivy could sense there were a lot of emotions locked tightly within her. A gut feeling told her that this girl might be able to help them. Thus, Ivy concocted a plan to enter the ship as Seymour’s sister, another heir, and the last of the Lycanas. She worked out some details for their backstory. They must not discover she is a Shadow. She had to bid time until Tonka showed up. She didn't know how she would stop Tonka, but she hadn't thought so far yet. She gathered all their things and tried to stand with proper posture.
You are an heir, you are an heir, you are blood-born. You are the last of the Lycanas. We've come all the way from Ireland to be here. This is your brother, Seymour. Please teach us.
“You ready, Seymour?”