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"Papa!"
The high-pitched yell warbled, and all of Vlad's protective instincts went into overdrive. No matter how many times Lisa told him it was normal for children to cry, more often than adults given their lack of emotional and hormonal regulation, Vlad still could not stand to hear his son in distress.
Thus, he found himself dodging out a window opposite of the evening sun, scaling down to another hall, and rushing through a couple of turns until he came upon his son. His boy, who had tears streaming down his cheeks, hiccuping as he came to a stop and looked up and up and up at his father.
"I'm not a vampire 'nymore," Adrian said despairingly, then burst into sobs.
Vlad immediately knelt down, opening his arms. Adrian fell into them, little fists curled and tucked tight to his body, so Vlad carefully wrapped his son up in his arms and his cloak before standing, letting his son cry into his neck. His boy, despite his quick growth, still felt so small against him. A warm little child; Always young and fragile to his ancient father. He rumbled and made sure his son was settled comfortably in. A discrete sniff told Vlad his son's blood still held hints of both vampire and human, so what Adrian could have possibly meant escaped- Wait. Blood?! Yes, as Vlad took another sniff he noticed a small amount of blood scent around his son--his own. Vlad felt his fangs lengthen at the thought of his boy getting hurt, and he darted his eyes around, looking for a perpetrator which did not appear. Even angry, he made soothing noises, reassuring his son of his presence. He was safe. He was not alone. His papa loved him very much.
Adrian's little cries became less frequent, though his still shook and hiccuped. That's when Lisa found them.
"Adrian." She swept up to them with worry obvious on her face, but her voice and hands reaching up to stroke their little boy's hair were nothing but soothing. "I'm here too darling."
"Mama..." Adrian sniffed, snot barely clearing. Vlad winced a little at the thought. Adrian turned his head to face Lisa, peering down at her through what were probably spectacularly puffy eyes. "Mama, not a vampire 'nymore."
"Oh darling, is that why you're crying?"
Adrian nodded. Lisa's eyes flicked up to Vlad, but he shook his head; He was just as baffled as she was.
So Lisa cooed at him for a few more moments before asking, "What happened? Why do you say you are not a vampire anymore?"
Adrian sniffled more, throat clogged as he said, "I lost them."
"Lost what darling?"
"All my vampire." Lisa opened her mouth when Adrian continued in a thick voice, "Can't be like Papa. S-sorry..."
Vlad held him tight as he let out little whimpers.
"No my son. You have no reason to be sorry. Your mother and I love you very much, no matter how similar or different you are from us."
"R... really?"
"Yes." Vlad pulled Adrian back just a little, enough for them to be face-to-face. He used one hand to wipe gently at the tear tracks there and--with an internal sigh--gathered up some of his cloak to wipe away the snot as well. With his son's eyes wide and lip wobbling, Vlad found himself spilling incredibly sincere words, a promise from the depths of his heart. "No matter what Adrian, you will always be my son. My precious boy. And I will always love you."
A tiny smile spread on Adrian's face, and he wiped at his eyes. He whispered, "Love you Papa."
Vlad pressed a kiss to his son's cheek. Adrian gave a wet giggle, then looked over and down, proclaiming, as if worried she'd feel left out, "I love you too, Mama."
"I know sweetheart. I love you too." She ruffled his hair to make him giggle then leaned up on her toes to offer him a kiss as well. "Even if you get taller than me, I will still love you," she teased.
"I'm gonna get tall! As tall as Pa-..." He looked distraught suddenly, looking back down to his clenched fists.
"You might," Vlad said, worried about the sudden mood change. He rubbed his son's back in soothing circles, finding Lisa's hand there and touched it briefly for reassurance. "What made you think you lost 'all your vampire'?"
Adrian squirmed. He glanced at both his parents from under his lashes, then slowly opened one of his hands. There in the center lay two little teeth, each one only slightly longer than a human tooth, slightly curved, and with a little blood on the end where they would connect to the gums.
Vlad blinked. Lisa had to lean up to see, but then gave an understanding little noise.
"Can you open your mouth for me sweetheart?"
Adrian did, allowing Lisa to lean in close and look at his upper teeth--or lack thereof.
"Thank you." When Adrian closed his mouth, Lisa was already smiling, and Vlad found himself reluctantly amused as well. "Good news, you are still a vampire too."
"But-! My vampire teeth!" Adrian brandished them again, as if proving his point.
"You are also a growing boy," Lisa explained. "And humans lose their teeth as children so that they can get bigger adult teeth."
Adrian seemed to think for a bit, looking down at his little fangs again. He looked over at Vlad next, as if to confirm it was the truth. Vlad nodded, feeling himself settle at the explanation for the blood smell.
"Vampires also grow teeth back when they are lost. But your mother is right, you will likely replace these teeth with bigger fangs. How did you lose them?"
Adrian seemed less distressed, staring at his teeth in awe, his other hand reaching up to poke at his other teeth still in place before Vlad gently pushed his hand away. He'd need to look at those holes later, to make sure everything was coming in right, and that his son did not get an infection. When Adrian started bouncing a little in Vlad's hold, he began to kneel down to set Adrian on his feet.
"They popped out!" Adrian exclaimed, using his arms to emphasize his words as if he was a stage performer. "They felt weird after I ate apple snack, so I touched them a lot, and they were all wiggly! I looked in the mirror and pushed them and made funny faces. Snakes can move their fangs, so I was trying that too, and then pow!" He held his hand up displaying the two little fangs still on his palm. "Then I bled a lot."
"That sounds very exciting," Lisa said. Adrian grabbed the hand she reached out to him, walking happily along her side. Vlad followed as well, knowing full well from the nod she gives him that she was headed for the little infirmary they set up to care for their son.
As Adrian chatted more about how weird his mouth felt without two of his teeth in it, asking if he'll have fangs "as big as Papa's," and just generally showing his excitement for the event with the knowledge it wasn't permanent, Vlad allowed his shoulders to slump. A breathless little laugh escaped him. Raising a child, a dhampir child, was far more taxing that he expected sometimes. A few more breaths helped clear some of the adrenaline from his system as he watched his son skip just ahead of him, happy and healthy. Beside him, his mother, smiling and laughing at their son's exuberance.
His son may wish to be like his father, but Vlad only hoped Adrian would be himself--with a beautiful love for life and joy looking into the future.