Chapter Text
It has been about a few months since they left the orphanage and things have been a bit rough.
They had to move a lot at the beginning. The reason being that neither him or Dream really knew how to hunt, so they had to steal a lot… And when many animals start going missing around the town, the residents notice. Then it gets too dangerous. Neither of them wanted to get chased by angry adults with weapons. So they had to move places.
As expected, being a vampire wasn't easy. The only way to not starve was to drink blood. His first few times were… uncomfortable to say the least. It tasted so good, but made him feel absolutely disgusted at the same time. The feeling of burying his teeth deep into the flesh just felt wrong on so many levels. Even more, when the animals are still somewhat conscious and start squirming. Over time he slowly got used to it. As much as it is still disturbing to him, it's what he needs to do to survive.
However, the blood also has to be fresh. As he figured out, it can spoil like food. If he tries to drink some from an animal that has already been dead for a few days, then it tastes sour and bitter. All wrong and makes him want to hurl. Which means that he cannot store anything for too long. It complicates things.
They spent a lot of time traveling from town to town. However, recently, they decided to settle down in this old abandoned shed, they found in the woods. It's a good shelter. It's also a lot easier now since they got better at hunting. They might not have to move again or at least not any time soon. Dream started to learn some archery too. He is not that great at the moment, but is slowly learning.
Though Nightmare still stands for the opinion that his brother should have stayed in the orphanage. He knows Dream doesn't feel good about their situation and is forcing a brave face with a positive spirit.
Night is aware of some things that are bothering his brother. His twin is truly a sweet and innocent soul. Seeing all the animals that Nightmare had killed to feed himself, is definitely a horrifying sight for Dream. The other never mentions anything about it to him, but Night recognises the dark look on his brother’s face, whenever he bites into his prey. He's sure it's eating up Dream on the inside.
Yet Nightmare doesn't even tell him the worst…
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He was so hungry. That's all he could think about.
Him and Dream had to move again after almost getting caught by one of the farmers. They have been traveling for a few days now and he had no luck in capturing anything. He was starving. He would be thankful for anything at this point.
The worst thing about his hunger is that the bigger it is, the more he starts to lose himself. The less control he has over his body, the more he is endangering his brother.
He couldn't take the constant nagging of his senses anymore. He went on a “lone hunting trip”, but that was just a nice way to say that he couldn't be around Dream at that point and was losing it.
He now just wandered in the forest as he felt a cramping pain in his stomach. He was quiet, trying to listen to any kind of sound of any animal in the area. He was tired and his head felt fuzzy, almost like if he had a fever.
Suddenly his body tensed up as he heard something nearby. He slowly made his way closer to where it came from. At first he couldn't spot anything, but then noticed a weird spot in the grass. He started to dig into it and realized it was a rabbit nest. Little baby rabbits nuzzled with each other inside the hole.
Before he could even think, his instincts took over. He immediately grabbed one of the small younglings. The smell was strong. Yet he hesitated. A part of him, that was still conscious, was trying to reason with his thirst. Although that didn't last long. He bit down, his teeth puncturing into the small creature. It made a few small whimpering sounds before it went quiet. The same went for the next one.
He was just so hungry…
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That day made him finally realize just how fast he can truly lose himself to his thirst. How different of a person he really becomes. Someone cruel and merciless.
The worst part is that he can feel the same thing happening to him again, right now. However this time, he has no idea why or how to solve it. He started to notice it about a week ago. His stomach had not really felt full after “eating”. It's like back in the orphanage. No matter how much he consumes, he'll still feel hungry. Why? He doesn't know. It frustrates him. He can sense himself slipping and can do nothing about it.
It has been about four days since he left Dream alone at the shed, taking another “hunting trip”. Something he really needed. For once Dream’s presence really made everything worse. The smell, the warmth…It was driving him insane even faster. So he traveled deeper into the woods, far away from their current home.
The more time passed, the worse everything got. No matter how much blood he consumed, nothing got better. He felt tired, desperate, hopeless and his whole body ached. He had no idea what to do. He promised Dream he would come back soon… though he wasn't really sure if he ever would be able to.
Was this normal? Is this supposed to happen to vampires? Is he just naturally meant to become a bloodthirsty killing machine?
Suddenly something strange disrupted Nightmare. He doesn't know how to describe it. It was more like a feeling. As if his instincts were trying to tell him something. It kind of reminded him of the time he learned about vampire territories. Him and Dream ended up running into one during their travels. It's not visible to the eye, but you can feel it (well, at least if you are a vampire). It’s kind of like a warning sign. It pushes into your senses. Making you paranoid. Although at this point he isn't necessarily sure how exactly it works and he rather not find out.
However, what he is feeling now is not really the same thing. It's slightly different. It also feels a lot more suffocating…
Nightmare suddenly stopped in his tracks. This isn't good. He can sense the dark ominous aura getting stronger. Like if whatever was producing it was getting closer to him. He never felt anything like it before. It made him feel small, powerless and scared. It was a clear warning, that whatever thing was moving in his direction was not something to just ignore.
His head started ringing as his senses literally began to scream at him to run. With his breath stuck in his throat, he swiftly moved between the tall trees as fast as possible. Out of nowhere, something pulled at his leg and immediately tripped him. Before he had a chance to get up, a deep voice stopped him.
“Hmm… What do we have here?”