Chapter Text
Vampires are bad. Everyone knows this.
Martyn’s been constantly told since birth, “You must be careful in the woods!” and “Never trust a vampire!”
He believes it of course, it just gets tiring to listen to when it’s been drilled into his mind so harshly.
They are cruel, blood-sucking beasts that only want to harm humans.
He’s become an expert on vampire identification. Martyn’s lived in this town for void knows how long, yet somehow new vampires are constantly popping up. He spends his nights walking through the streets, making sure none creep from the forest into anyone’s homes.
The sunset blazes orange as he walks to his parents’ home. They were well known hunters, before they retired. It’s Martyn’s duty to live up to them, to continue protecting the townsfolk from the monsters.
Harsh winds make leaves skitter across the road. The sound makes his skin crawl, adding noise to the otherwise empty atmosphere. He should be used to the loneliness by now, but it never fails to give him goosebumps.
The metal of the door handle is cold against his skin as he unlocks and opens the door to his childhood home.
He shuts and locks it behind him before taking off his shoes. Martyn calls out, his voice echoing through the halls. “Mom? I’m here!”
An older woman with pink hair peeks out from a hallway, face lighting up when she spots her son. “Marty! You made it!”
Martyn laughs, rolling his eyes at the nickname. “Yeah yeah, I did. You got the new gear?”
She nods affirmatively. “Mhm! Follow me, it’s in your father’s study.” Martyn rushes to catch up with her — for an old lady, she’s fast. He follows her through winding hallways he knows like the back of his hand, eventually making it into a large room.
Bookshelves line the walls along with an unlit fireplace. Pictures are displayed on the mantle, showing past Martyn and current. He smiles at the memories.
A large wooden desk sits in the corner, books and papers stacked all over. In the middle sits a large box, standing out against the brighter colors around it. Martyn can tell it’s for him, giddy with excitement. “Is dad home?”
“Nope, he’s out with some buddies.” His mother replies, brushing her hair over her shoulder as she steps up to the desk. Martyn follows.
He watches her undo two latches holding the box closed, lifting it open to reveal shiny metal.
A silver crossbow stares back at him, a wooden stake already loaded in. He gently lifts it from the velvet it was situated in, handling it as if it was glass. “He really made this?”
The woman laughs, “He did! I don’t know how he’s still coming up with improvements after so many versions.”
Martyn adjusts his hold on the weapon, aiming as if he was going to fire it. It’s heavier, more study than his own. Silver lines the edges with a swirling pattern.
“This is nice,” He starts, “The silver will stop any vampires from taking it from me.”
He lowers the crossbow, setting it down on the desk. Martyn starts to dig money out of his pocket, but is stopped.
“No money. You know we don’t charge family.”
“Why are you so stubborn?” Martyn sighs and puts the coins back into his pocket.
His mother crosses her arms. “The only payment we need from you is the townsfolk being kept safe. Which you’ve been doing wonderfully so far!”
“It’s nothing. Tell dad thanks for me, yeah?” He picks the crossbow back up, locking it into a loop on his belt.
“Of course. Now get on your way, it’s nearly nightfall!”
Martyn laughs as she playfully shoves him out of the study. “Alright, alright! I’m going! Love you!” He weaves back through the hallways to the front door, hearing an echoed “Love you too!”
He slips his shoes back on and returns to the cold of the night. It’s harsh and bitter, the wind stinging his nose and nipping at his lips. He ignores it and pushes through, walking to the edge of the town. A forest borders the homes, packed densely with trees of all kinds. It’s dark and sends shivers down his spine.
Thankfully, he had remembered to bring a light source. The man carefully sets fire to the lantern hanging off his belt, closing the glass and stomping the match out in the dirt. It provides a warm glow, giving the trees a yellowish hue.
Now able to see a few feet into the forest, Martyn continues his patrol along the edge.
Everything goes normally at first. Nothing out of the usual, he spots a deer before it scurries away. He even starts humming a made up tune, fairly sure no trouble will come of tonight.
Rustling comes from the foliage, just out of sight of his lantern. It makes Martyn stop in his tracks. It’s not usual animal rustling, sounding much larger than the common rabbit he often sees. He doesn’t want to check it out, but it’s his duty to make sure the town is safe. If he’s lucky, it’ll just be a bear.
He takes a deep breath and heads into the forest. It’s been awhile since he faced a vampire — he might be rusty.
Martyn fights his way through a stubborn bush, finding himself in a small clearing. In front of him stands a man. What is someone doing out here at night?
He can only see the back of the person. He appears to be wearing a black suit, along with dark hair that seems rather messy and unkempt. He’s squatted down, petting a deer on its head.
How on earth is he petting a deer?
This man is all sorts of confusing. Martyn doesn’t notice any obvious signs of vampirism, so he clears his throat. “Hello?”
His voice makes the man jump, spinning around. The deer sprints away, spooked from the sudden action.
He’s tall, a good amount taller than Martyn, and Martyn is by no means short. His suit is surprisingly not dirty, considering he’s in the middle of the woods. “Oh! Hello there!”
Martyn studies him for a moment before replying. “What are you doing out here? The woods are dangerous, y’know.”
This information doesn’t seem to phase the man. If anything, he looks pleased.
“I’m aware! Just makes it better for us.”
He raises an eyebrow, trying to figure out what is going on with this guy. “Uh… no? Do you want your blood sucked out of you?”
“I’m the one sucking blood mate, you know that!” The man laughs, making Martyn’s brain kick into overdrive. He notices the fangs in his mouth, the pale of his skin. How did he not see it before? What kind of hunter is he?
He scrambles to unclip his crossbow, raising it to face the vampire. “Shit!”
The man’s eyes widen as he puts his hands out in front of him. “I don’t want a fight, and I know you new turns are territorial, gosh!”
“New… what?”
“Go kill a deer or something, it’ll help you at least think straight.”
Martyn lowers his crossbow with confusion for a moment, before realizing and hoisting it back up. “I’m not- who do you think you are?” He makes sure his aim is right where the vampire’s heart is.
“I’m Mumbo Jumbo, I’d say it’s been a pleasure to meet you, but truthfully it hasn’t.” He takes a step closer to Martyn, “How’d you even get one of these? Don’t the hunters keep them on hand?” He sounds genuinely interested, surprising Martyn even more.
Why has he not tried to eat him yet? He’s pointing a crossbow at this man’s chest, and he’s not even defending himself!
“We do. What is your problem?”
“I don’t have a problem, mate. I think it’s just you.”
He doesn’t bother to reply, rather tired of this guy’s nonsense. Martyn fires the crossbow, releasing the wooden stake. It flies straight towards the vampire, almost striking him, only for the man to turn sideways at the last moment.
The vampire turns back to look at him. Martyn expects him to be angry, or to start hissing, but he instead only looks… mildly offended?
“Well.” He takes a step back, “I suppose I’ll be on my way, if you’re going to be rude.”
Martyn can’t stand the mind games anymore. “Okay, what is with you? Are you going to eat me or not?” He lowers the now empty crossbow, pointing it towards the dirt.
“Why would I eat you?” The vampire tilts his head.
“Because I’m a warm, squishy human?” Martyn exclaims, exasperated.
“Wait- you’re a human?”
Martyn covers his face with his palms. “What else would I be?” His voice comes out muffled and quiet.
“Huh.” The vampire shrugs. “I thought you were a vampire as well. I guess that explains the wooden stake.”
He can’t believe what he’s hearing. “Void, just eat me already. I can’t cope with this.”
Martyn gets a head shake in reply. “I’m not going to eat you. I’ve quite enjoyed this conversation. Most interesting one I’ve had in decades!”
Any responses have left his head as he watches the vampire walk back into the foliage.
“Hopefully I’ll talk to you again, mate!”
Martyn stands there for a moment, dumbfounded.
Did he… really not get eaten?
That vampire — what was his name? — just left him. He was an easy meal, and the vampire didn’t devour him.
Everything Martyn’s been taught about vampires suddenly feels as if it’s been flipped upside down. He’s always been told they were vicious, hungry monsters that would do anything for human blood. The other vampires he’s encountered have been exactly that, so why did this vampire seem… normal?
Martyn decides that’s enough patrolling for today. He walks back to his house, replaying that scene over and over in his head.
He unlocks the door to his home, unaware of the shadow following behind him, just across the road.
After taking his shoes off, he hangs the crossbow up onto his wall. Every bow he’s had is strung up above the fireplace, which he starts a fire in. He removes the lantern from his belt and sets it onto the side table to provide light while he changes into his pajamas.
He gets into his bed, still messy and unmade from when he had woken up. The warm covers feel nice over his cold skin, making him drowsy.
Martyn still doesn’t understand what happened. He doesn’t know why he made it out of that encounter alive, but he decides to shove those thoughts out of his mind for now in favor of sleep.
His dreams are filled by that strange vampire, with his polite manners and nice suit.
Surely he will never see him again, and will be able to carry on with his life, free to forget the strangeness of the day.
But oddly enough, he does want to see the vampire again.
Martyn wants answers.