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Rhys had made a lot of mistakes in his life. Going out to get batteries and Christmas lights had been at the top of the list for a while. It almost got his whole family seen by humans he’d known were cruel thanks to Felix. It had been moving down steadily once meeting Delphia, at least until he got too comfortable.
He just had to go exploring. It was safe, if he was gone at night she’d find him. He didn’t expect to get grabbed by a bird and just barely escape with his life. He didn’t expect to slip into a house and see a place devoid of life. There wasn’t even the thrum of electricity he’d grown used to over the years. It felt as strange as Delphia’s home had at first.
“Shit,” he breathed. His leg caught on a nail as he left the wall. It didn’t cause much damage, but it had been enough to cause something to change.
Rhys ducked out of sight as the air of the human home changed. It was too early for a vampire to be awake so it had to be just a normal human. They probably just kept their place empty and had been napping. That was definitely the situation he was in. A heavy thud sounded, that didn’t help his attempts to be calm at all. He tried to remember what Del had told him, something to help him hide if he was wrong about this being a human. Heavy thuds sounded and soon the world around him was shaking. Human steps weren’t like this.
“It seems I have a guest somewhere,” a deep voice purred. Rhys shivered, whoever this was sounded like a cat cornering a mouse. That may not be too far off.
Rhys took a deep breath as the world shaking steps stopped. He chanced a peek out around his shelter. He was staring into two huge eyes, bigger than any humans he’d come close to. One reminded him of the purple flowers Del grew and the other the green gems that Dabria had nearly killed him for taking. The pupils blew wide as the being seemed to register just what they were looking at.
“Well, not quite the prize I expected.” This close, the voice echoed in the small space between them. Rhys had to cover his ears to deal with how loud they sounded. Their breath seemed to smell like a dog’s. He wasn’t happy to be able to make that comparison, another adventure on his list of mistakes. “Aww, can’t handle playing with the big dogs?”
Rhys glared at the weird humanlike creature. They looked human, but those eyes told him how far from true that was. He felt his eyes go wide as a hand bigger than any he’d seen before entered his vision. It had dark claws that reminded him of the one teenager he’d actually been held by. As the hand came close Rhys found his legs and dove out of the way just in time.
“So we’re playing a game then?”
A shadow was blocking out the light almost too quickly. He had to remember something, anything, to get out of this. He barely dodged the hand again and yelped as the claws dug into the marble counter he was on. The being made a sound that he could swear was a dog’s whimper. He searched his memory for anything that he might have learned about it, staring at the mismatched eyes watching him like prey once he thought of something.
“You’re a monster!” he shouted in realization. He couldn’t remember the name, but there was one that sounded impossible. One that was bigger than humans. It caused the huge being’s eyes to sparkle and a sick grin to grow on his face.
“I’m barely getting started, little man,” the voice was louder than before now. Rhys flinched from the ringing it caused again.
That flinch was all the monster needed to grab him. Sharp claws surrounded him. He held his breath terrified they’d dig into his skin and he wouldn’t be able to survive. He was brought up as the being stood. He wanted to scream once he realized how much higher they were just standing and holding him in their face. His vision was getting spotty. He was hopeful he’d pass out and die never knowing how. The creature dropped him into his palm and Rhys sucked in a breath.
“The fuck do you want with me?” he gasped. He just needed to keep this thing busy until night. Delphia would come find him… he hoped.
“I don’t think you get to demand answers from me. Coming in here stinking of vampires and expecting me to ignore it. Who sent you?” they growled. It was the first time Rhys got a good look at their face. They were cute. He shook his head trying to focus on the more pressing issues.
“No one sent me just let me go!”
The creature chuckled before fingers curled over Rhys. He squeaked as the warmth of the fingers started to overwhelm him. If the creep was going to kill him he’d rather it be fast. On the list of ways he would like to die, number one would be fast and painless. The very bottom was feeling like a cat caught him and he was toyed with. The thundering steps rumbling up the body of the creature made him sure a cat was a much better killer.
He didn’t like the sounds he heard as the creature moved. He could hear the creaking of the wood under their weight. He was sent up as the monster fell to a seat. The object creaking and, Rhys would swear, cracking under the weight. He slammed back into the palm with a louder grunt than he wanted. The too large hand moved him more. He wanted to go home.
“Now, we’re going to try this again,” the beast crooned. Rhys watched as their face shifted slowly. A snout that looked like some of the dogs in Delphia’s books had started to form. The hair that shadowed the creature’s eyes moved and Rhys saw the scars across their eyes. Sharp teeth grew in place and he was brought closer. “Who sent you?”
“I told you! I wasn’t sent by anyone.”
Rhys tried to climb to his feet on the huge palm. It was almost too warm, he missed Delphia’s cool hands. He glared at the eyes looking down at him, the way they studied him felt awful. Rhys was knocked off his feet as the hand was brought closer to the mouth of the being. They took in a deep breath before letting Rhys see his eyes again. The pupils were dilated and it looked like he was almost enjoying the scent he got.
“Hmm, you have a good smell under the vampire stench. Almost like strawberries.” The creature came close, seeming to be trying to take in everything about Rhys. He tried to get away, but the size of this monster kept him squarely under their nose. “I haven’t had strawberries in a while, bet you’d taste like them too.”
Rhys’s mind froze. On the list of ways to die, his absolute bottom that he’d never let happen was something eating him. If a cat, bird, dog, anything big enough caught him and he had no escape he’d kill himself first. He watched the creature lick the lips of the snout. He didn’t even understand how they kept talking. He stared at the sharp teeth picturing the way he’d be torn apart if he was lucky.
He was going to die, even if Delphia came after him. He shouldn’t have gone exploring like this. Slowly, keeping an eye on the way the beast watched him, he reached into his pocket. A small herb that wouldn’t kill most things bigger than him, but enough to end his life. No one knew he carried it, but he wanted to be prepared. He slid the bundle of crushed herb out of his pocket. He hoped it was the right dosage.
He took a few steadying breaths as the monster bared their teeth at him. He wasn’t going to die how anyone else wanted. He tensed, just hoping this would be enough. One more deep breath and he moved. He had to get this into his mouth before the beast ate him. His arm was stopped by something that felt like a wall of steel. He felt the last bit of control slip away as two impossibly huge fingers pulled the small bundle from his hand. The beast caught on and now he would die how they saw fit.
“So I didn’t imagine the smell,” the beast’s voice was a lot softer now. “You just keep nightshade with you all the time? Pretty sure this much would kill you little man.”
“That’s the point!” Rhys shouted. The last choice he could make gone he didn’t care anymore. Delphia wouldn’t show up in time and this monster would eat him. If he was lucky it would at least be quick, chewed up instead. “I’m not planning to let something eat me alive and you’re no exception!”
The hand he was on moved. He was left to barely hold his position as the large expanse of skin moved. The palm was tilted and Rhys started falling. He tried to dig his nails into the skin of the creature, but it was too tough. He fell, expecting to land in a damp cavern. He closed his eyes and held in his scream. He landed on something soft and furry. He opened his eyes, staring down the snout that formed on the creature’s face.
“Ok little man, we’ll talk a bit easier. I’m Vincent, who would you be, strawberry intruder?”
“What happens when you know my name? You decide if you like it or you’ll change it?” Rhys asked. The snout he was on made him bounce as the monster…as Vincent laughed.
Rhys grimaced, grabbing the fur to stay where he was. As much as he wanted to get away, falling like this wouldn’t help him. He’d just get more than a light cut and be guaranteed to be stuck here. The laughter died down and two claws pinched his shirt. He was pulled from the snout and watched as it went back to normal brown skin. Just what was Vincent?
“Ok, I’ll just call you strawberry. Might as well call you what you are, a snack.” The eyes Rhys dangled in front of looked at him with some kind of hunger. He tried to hold back the shiver the gaze sent through him. “Well strawberry, if no one sent you how did you wind up here?”
“Why don’t you stop playing with your food?” Vincent narrowed his eyes. He had a smirk start to take over his face.
“I don’t know. The stench of vampires on you makes me think you must be pretty fun, why would they keep you so long.”
Vincent started to wave Rhys in front of his face. Rhys grabbed the claws to steady himself, cutting his palms somewhat. He was let go, landing with a grunt on a flat palm again. Vincent had brought his hand close, inspecting Rhys again. Rhys tried to back away, but huge claws pinched his arm and forced his palms up.
“You cut your hands… Guess you’ll be stuck with me for a while then.” Vincent sounded almost concerned in a way.
“You can’t just keep me, I’m a person you fucking monster!”
“Well it seems like you don’t have much of a way out do you?”
Rhys froze as those eyes seemed to glow. He didn’t have a choice, he was trapped. He’d never get home, no one would find him. The room darkened quickly as the sun finally went down. The eyes in front of him glowed, he wasn’t wrong about that. He was about to say something when a crash sounded, making Vincent turn. Rhys was forced to turn too and saw something horrifying and hopeful. Delphia.
“Rhys, I’m glad I found you. The others said you got caught by a bird,” she said. She started approaching with her quiet footsteps and strange stillness. She froze once she got a bit closer. “You’re hurt…”
Bright red eyes stared past him to Vincent. She looked angry, but something else was there. He almost felt safer when dangling from the claws of the larger threat. She took a few more steps forward, but Vincent growled low and deep. He curled his fingers over him. Rhys tried to talk, but the way both looked had stolen his voice.
“Get out vampire, you’re not taking my strawberry,” Vincent growled. The term made him shiver.
“I’m not leaving without him. I have no problem killing you if I have to…”
“Oh please, gonna kill me for the treat you’ve been saving. I know how your kind works, play with people until you’re done then get rid of them. How many like him are you keeping? Why else would he wind up here?”
Rhys felt sick. He never considered Del could just be saving them. She cared about them, she had to. She had tried so hard not to hurt them. This one, Vincent, immediately threatened to eat him. He acted like Rhys was nothing but food and now he’s pretending to protect him. It hurt. He squirmed a bit trying to get his head to any opening, but the fingers surrounding him squeezed him. He yelped in response to the pressure.
“If you’re hurting him, I’ll make sure you regret touching my family.”
“Heh, calling him that so he listens to you vamp? Just go home, I’m keeping the strawberry.”
Rhys hated this. He wanted a say in what happened. Even if Del was tricking them, he would be with his family. The ones who freed him when he’d been caught by a kid and abandoned. The ones who stuck by him after making them move more than once. The ones he carried poison around with him to protect. He would go home. The pressure lessened, so he took a deep breath.
“Let go of me you monster!” he screamed as loud as he could. A dark laugh filled the air and Rhys regretted trying to do anything. He only put his family in more danger again.
“I told you strawberry, I’m barely getting started,” Vincent growled.
Rhys didn’t like hearing that again. The man holding him seemed to almost get bigger and he’d already dwarfed Delphia by so much. The hand holding him had silver fur grow in and the claws seemed to get sharper. Rhys couldn’t hold back a whimper as the fingers around him seemed to get thicker and draw closer. He hated this and wanted to just go back with Del.
The hand, or maybe paw at this point, holding him moved again. He was dropped into a deep pocket that rested near Vincent’s heart. At least he assumed it was near there with the loud thumping close by. Another growl from the one holding him hostage told him more than he needed, this would actually be a fight. He didn’t know how to help.
“I believe he told you to let him go. It’s bad enough you hurt him, but you’re not even listening to him. If he wants to stay with you, I won’t even argue, but only if he actually wants to stay.” Delphia was weirdly calm and it made Rhys almost hurt. She didn’t seem worried about what was happening or him being trapped, maybe Vincent is right about her.
“Oh right, I can trust you’re not holding something over him?” Vincent’s voice was gravelly now. The undertone of something not human behind each word. “I’m not letting you take him. I’ve killed vampires bigger than you without even shifting.”
“They were probably weaker than me too. Rhys, I’m getting you back. Try to take care of the cuts during this so we can get home without any trouble.”
“I think strawberry suits him better.”
“I think I’ll have a wolf pelt to use, maybe a doormat. Your fur seems dirty enough for that.”
Rhys’s world shifted as Vincent lunged. The growl echoed around him drowning out the heartbeat. He wanted this to stop, just let it all be over. He’d almost rather Delphia abandon him. Too close for comfort, ice cold pale fingers broke through the pocket near him and dug into the chest behind him. He screamed seeing the fresh blood leak out and the claws as the slim fingers pulled back. He was supposed to know her. She should be safe.
“Rhys!” she shouted. The bit of cold seeping into the cloth left and he fell to the bottom of the pocket again. Another growl sounded, making him whimper. “Fine, what do you want? I’ll do whatever it is if you let me take him home first.”
“Del..” he whispered. He had been doubting her, but hearing him scream had changed everything. She stopped fighting and offered to do as Vincent ordered. He swallowed the cry that had been building, he could be strong.
“Oh, don’t want to hurt your plaything in a little fight? I thought you wanted to use my pelt as a doormat,” Vincent snarled. Rhys needed to be useful somehow. “What if I want to kill you and keep him all for myself? Strawberry seems like fun if you want him back so badly.”
“Then I’ll take him home and come back here. You can kill me without a fight. I’m worth more than him, I’m the only living vampire with guardian blood. You’d hurt a lot of vampires killing me.”
“Del no!”
Rhys couldn’t let her die for him. Especially after doubting her. His world was moving again. Soon those sharp long claws came in and pulled him out by the back of his shirt. He was brought in front of those eyes again, a look of concern filing them. Vincent was standing and looking human if it weren’t for his size. Rhys watched as he closed the distance with Delphia in a single stride.
“Looks like it’s your lucky day, strawberry,” he murmured. He lowered Rhys down to the cupped hands of Delphia. The cold feeling was reassuring, but he couldn’t relax. “Take him back. If I come to check and he’s dead you’ll regret it.”
Rhys jumped at the words. Vincent wasn’t going to kill Delphia. He was letting them both go. He looked up almost shocked to see the mismatched eyes locked on him. He didn’t want to just leave like this. Delphia curled her fingers around him, the smaller hands easier to handle. He climbed to his feet.
“The names Rhys not strawberry,” he shouted.
Vincent smiled and Rhys hated how much he liked the smile. The huge being leaned forward making Delphia take a step back. He was trying to stay confident as the grin came close. Delphia didn’t block his view, but did pull him closer. Once Vincent stopped Rhys was getting a good view of that mouth again.
“Looking forward to the check in then, Rhys.”
“Brush your teeth before it.” Vincent’s eyes went wide before a laugh knocked Rhys off his feet.
“Should be better when I don’t get woken up by a yelp and a strange smell.”
Vincent walked off and Delphia started to fret over Rhys. She tore at the clothes she was wearing wrapping up the spots Rhys was bleeding. She kept murmuring how she’d need to be fast with him. He felt safe though, she wasn’t abandoning him. His family wasn’t giving him up for the mistakes. Even when a new one was added to the list… another one he may just not learn from.