Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It’s incredible what a little magic can do, honestly. Even better when it doesn’t require years of training and experience. Avid felt like he had struck gold when he found an ancient tome that promised a warding crystal hidden in the farthest edge of the pale forest.

It was obvious that he should go find it! Maybe it’s what the beacons were crafted from? He had so many questions. So many ideas. He giggled to himself as he weaved between trees to reach the edge.

“Now, where is it…” he muttered to himself, brushing dirt away from the ground in hopes to unearth the promised gem. The ground was as dry as the air was stale and uncomfortable, but the thought of having such an item was enough to dispel any of his hesitations.

When a shimmer of white flicked in Avid’s vision, he practically jumped for joy, gleefully tearing up dirt with his bare hands. Finally, he thought, as his grin pulled at his face. Something to fight back with!

His smile slowly faded as more of the crystal was unearthed. With every handful of dirt removed, it was becoming increasingly obvious that it was definitely too big for him to lift out of the ground, even if he got the whole town to help. Well, it’s not like telling them was an option anyway.

“Come on!” Avid stood up and kicked the dirt, face burning with frustration. “What am I supposed to do if I can’t move it?”

Avid paced in a circle around the hole in the dirt he had created. What options did he have now? He certainly couldn’t place it in a cell now.

The idea struck him like an arrow. If he couldn’t move it, why not just use the location? He sprung back into action, a wild grin returning to his face as he rushed back to town to get materials.

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“Hey there, bud,” Drift’s puzzled voice came from behind Avid, causing him to jump. “Sorry– what are you doing?”

“Oh, hey, Drift!” Avid’s eyes were wild as he spoke. He piled materials into his steadily heavying bag. “Just making a…” He trailed off. He couldn’t tell her just yet, could he? She’d definitely talk him out of it. No! He won’t tell her. She can know when he has a vampire stuck in his trap, fully proving his warnings. “A shed to hold backup materials in the woods. Hidden from vampires and normal people.”

Drift didn’t look convinced, but continued on her way anyway. “Alright then… Let me know if you need anything!” She waved as she left, a cheery smile on her face. Guilt settled in Avid’s gut, but he stopped it before it could reach his heart or brain.

He didn’t think about it. He wouldn’t.

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Avid stood up and brushed the sweat off of his brow, staring down at the prison-pit he had crafted. Who knows where he got obsidian, but boy was it helpful. He smiled, breathing heavily, admiring the deep obsidian cup he had formed under the earth of the forest. It still needed a little something… just in case, of course.

He placed a block of silver in the far corner. For safety. In case the crystal failed, or was less potent than described.

He hummed to himself as he leisurely made his way to the chest he had placed to hold all of his things as he built. Carrying the heavy blocks along with his food, tools, and weapons while he built would slow him down. He had kept his garlic on him, though. How could he leave something as important as that behind? Well, now his pockets were free. All he was carrying now was a handful of garlic and the wooden stake he kept strapped to his chest.

A twig snapped somewhere closer to the heart of the forest and he froze. He geared up to run back home screaming, but paused. Was it a vampire? Or had Drift followed him? Maybe it was Owen showing up out of nowhere again. The question was which possibility he preferred.

He crouched down and slowly approached the sound. The rustling of leaves and quiet footsteps became clearer with every inch of ground he covered. Soon enough he was peeking out from behind a tree to peer at the one making the noise.

His heartbeat skyrocketed as his gaze fell on Scott. Scott. Of course it was Scott. Avid swallowed hard as he scanned over the vampire’s form. His hair was different now. White as snow. His getup had changed too. His cloak was open and hanging in a cape-like fashion across his shoulders and back. The red suit vest decorated with golden buttons was now visible. He looked really good, as little as Avid wanted to admit that.

He shook his head to rid the trance that was clouding his brain. He shouldn’t be thinking that. He had to focus! Scott was a vampire. Avid could trap him! He just needed to bait him in.

Before he could think it through, Avid found himself jumping up from his spot and shrieking at the top of his lungs. Some of the fear was genuine, but it was entirely overshadowed by the excitement rushing through his veins.

Scott blinked at him, surprised, surely, before a sly grin spread across his radiant face. It was then that Avid noticed just how red Scott’s eyes now were. Goodness, he was gorgeous.

Avid couldn’t be thinking like that right now. He waited for Scott to start the chase before beelining it to the trap he had set.

“Avid~” Scott called from behind him, a singsong tone seasoning his voice. “Don’t run, let’s have a conversation!”

“Stay away from me!” Avid shouted back. “You’re just going to bite me!”

“I would never!” Scott scoffed, mock offense bleeding into the air around them. “Maybe just a nibble. But we can’t talk like this! Slow down.”

Avid was glad he had the lead. If Scott saw his face right then, Avid’s wild grin would have given him away in a heartbeat. His smile widening further as they closed in on the location.

“Ah! Don’t hurt me!” Avid dove behind a dead tree next to the pit and waited for Scott to round the corner. He barely noticed how hard he was breathing, too full of adrenaline to care.

He heard Scott’s footsteps slow as he approached.

“Nonsense!” Scott teased. “I haven’t hurt anyone so far!”

“That’s not true!” Avid snapped, barely managing to mask his rage, as well as his excitement at his plan working thus far. “You turned Shelby! And Pyro!”

Scott rounded the corner. Bingo.

“I’ll have you know that every turn has been–” Scott was cut off by Avid slamming into him, knocking him straight into the pit. Yes! Avid beamed, I did it!

His victory was short lived as a cold, clawed hand snagged his ankle. His face paled… he barely had time to scream as his balance was disturbed. Before he could even begin to attempt to formulate a course of action his face slammed against one of the obsidian walls and the world went dark.

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Scott sighed, his melodrama seeping into the air. He cared about his fledgelings, but they got into too much trouble for his liking. He had simply been in his castle, gossiping to Owen, when Pyro and Shelby burst into the main hall, crying about losing all of their armor and tools. Scott had scolded, sighed, and complained, but ended up giving them the armor off his back and the tools on his belt anyway. Not like he really needed them right now. He was the strongest of them at the moment, the leader, and… unfortunately, he cared about his coven. Owen advised against it, but seeing how Pyro and Shelby lit up when they split his leather between them and the way they swung his tools around with blissful giggles and wide smiles, he lost all of his reservations.

Even though he was strong and had his sharp claws to keep him safe, it would be nice to get some new tools anyway. He still needed to cut down trees and mine for ores.. As much as he hated doing dirty work, he didn’t have enough beings to do all of his labor for him.

He casually strolled through the pale forest, looking for cows, horses, or the perfect tree. Hey! He was allowed to be picky with his lumber choices!

His plans instantly shifted when a familiar shriek stung his ears. He turned and saw Avid, shaking and sweaty. My my! Was he that scared already? Scott relished in the attention and grinned. His favorite person to toy with was here? Alone? Giving the fledglings his tools was the best decision he had ever made since that one night out thousands of years ago. He immediately started after Avid in an exhilarated dart.

He was faster than Scott realized. How was he running that fast? It was honestly impressive, to be running that quickly with what was surely dozens of silver tools on his person. It didn’t matter, it just made the chase more fun. He didn’t actually want to turn Avid, just spook him. Avid being faster than him was no problem to Scott!

“Avid!” He cooed, hands clasping together. “Don’t run. Let’s have a conversation!”

“Stay away from me!” Avid returned in his classically panicked voice. “You’re just going to bite me!”

Scott smiled from ear to ear, soaking in Avid’s terror. “I would never!” Scott’s grin only widened. “Maybe just a little nibble. But we can’t talk like this! Slow down!”

Scott’s eyes were locked on Avid and Avid alone. This game was getting interesting. How on earth was the self proclaimed hunter still running this fast?

“Ah! Don’t hurt me!” Avid called out before ducking behind a tree. Scott slowed his pace and flicked his cloak. Scott could barely contain his joyous laughter as he heard Avid panting, struggling to catch his breath.

“Nonsense!” Scott let his laugh leak into his words. “I haven’t hurt anyone so far!”

“That’s not true!” Avid barked, something strange infecting his cadence. “You turned Shelby! And Pyro!”

Scott’s expression darkened as Avid mentioned Scott’s fledgelings. Avid was still acting as if Shelby was an exception, and the rest of them were heartless monsters. How dare he imply that Shelby and Pyro weren’t happy and cared for. Not after Scott had just given up everything on his back for them. They were enjoying their afterlife! He stormed around the tree to catch Avid’s eyes and give him a piece of his mind.

“I’ll have you know that every turn has been–” Scott let out a silent yelp as Avid’s shoulder slammed directly into his gut with alarming force. Scott stepped back, but his foot failed to catch any ground and he tumbled back. His stomach dropped and he desperately grabbed at anything to keep him from falling. His hand caught something warm, but it quickly gave way and he found himself crashing into obsidian.

He didn’t even get a moment to collect himself before something crushed him directly into a block. His skin screamed and he involuntarily jumped back with a hiss. Silver!? Scott scooched as far as he could into the corner and tried to turn into a bat to get out of there.

It didn’t work. Scott’s face fell and he began desperately trying everything to get out. He couldn’t leap, couldn’t teleport, and he certainly couldn’t fly. He couldn’t even turn invisible! Was he too close to a blessed beacon? No. He was much too far away, and all the nearby beacons were corrupted.

He frantically opened his inventory to search for blocks. Nothing. He had given all of them to Pyro to use on continuing the castle before leaving. He smacked his face with his palm and cursed himself for leaving everything behind. He didn’t even have any food other than two bottles of blood and 3 very useless baked potatoes.

He pushed himself further into the corner as the silver sent another wave of pain and weakness through him. He began to hiss again but stopped when he noticed the other inhabitant of the cramped space.

Avid.

Avid had fallen in too.

This was going to be hell.

Chapter Text

Scott couldn’t do anything for a still moment. If someone saw him right then, they might have thought him to be made of marble.

Scott snapped out of his shock and began giggling to himself. Avid had worked so hard to make a ‘foolproof’ trap, but ended up falling in the very thing he crafted.

“Wow,” Scott sighed as the last of his laughter died off. “You sure fucked up. I love what you’ve done with the place, the color palette is great.” Scott ran his hand over the dark wall, “Onyx, Midnight, and is that a touch of Licorice I see? Tasteful.”

Scott didn’t get a response. He groaned and rolled his eyes.

“Too soon for you?” Scott teased, glancing over to Avid. Avid was still. “Avid?” He didn’t respond. Scott flipped Avid over and examined him. There was a large wound on the side of his head, above his ear and next to his face. He must have hit something on the way down. Should Scott help him? Avid was the reason the two of them were down there in the first place.

Well, he would need Avid as a bartering tool when his friends got there. Scott knew humans. Those horrible creatures. They would assume the worst and try to slaughter him in cold blood. And with the weakness he felt, paired with the pain that sat heavy on his form, they might succeed. Having an alive and well Avid as a hostage was possibly his only chance of not being staked through the heart.

Now that his mind was made, it was time to figure out what to do about the bleeding. Scott didn’t have any bandages, obviously, but maybe Avid was carrying some? Scott grabbed the back of Avid’s shirt and dragged him closer until he could be examined properly.

Scott paused when he noticed the stake attached to Avid’s baldric. That wouldn’t do. Avid would use it in a heartbeat when– if he woke up. Scott scoffed as he slammed the wood against the obsidian, watching the pieces crack and splinter with a loud snap. He looked at the mangled tool and tossed the shattered remnants out of the pit. That was better. Now that the threat was disposed of, Scott opened Avid’s inventory.

How. The thought didn’t deserve a question mark. The absurdity demanded nothing less than stunned aggression. Avid’s inventory was empty. He had 4 bulbs of garlic, an empty bottle, and nothing else. He had no blocks to tower out, no tools to chip away at the volcanic glass walls– no way they’d claw at that horrible stuff for that long. It would take half a day for even one block, and they would need to break at least seven to escape this annoyingly deep pit. Scott wasn’t about to tear up his hands like that. So, they really were stuck.

Well, at least now Scott knew how Avid was running so fast. He didn’t have anything weighing him down.

“Idiot…” Scott said in disbelief, “How are you not dead?” He shook his head in shock as he reoriented his focus back to the wound. What was he supposed to do with no bandages? Scott was certainly not about to press his hands against it. How filthy! Scott shuddered at the idea of his hands being sticky. He would use something else. What could he easily remove to slow the bleeding and maybe soak some of it up?

He studied his own outfit, then Avid’s. There were the bandages on Avid’s neck, but what if those were covering something else? What if they were dirty? Again, he needed Avid to not be dead. Scott did a final once over, sighed, and delicately removed his cravat.

He didn’t want the pristine fabric to get ruined, but he couldn’t find anything better to use. He gave the ivory fabric one last grim look before pressing it against the wound. It probably wasn’t good that Avid didn’t even shift. Scott used his free hand to feel for breathing as he listened for a heartbeat. Slow, shaky but consistent breaths met his hand. Avid’s heartbeat was present, but was slow. Slower than any heartbeat he had heard since Scott woke up.

“That probably isn’t good,” Scott sighed dramatically, talking to nobody. “Shouldn’t do that.” He pulled Avid closer, resting Avid’s head on his thigh to get a better angle to keep the cravat firmly in place. He let out another annoyed exhale as he looked up at the sky. The sun would be hitting his side of the pit soon.

Great. Perfect. This is exactly how Scott planned to spend his morning. The presence of the silver sent another wave of discomfort through him. This was stupid. Hopefully Avid’s friends would get concerned about his absence sooner rather than later.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

Avid awoke to a splitting headache and a shooting pain that radiated through his leg. Why was his bed so inconsistent? His pillow was comfortable, but the mattress was much too solid. He groaned and tried to open his eyes, but his entire body screamed in protest. The light hurt, even with his eyes closed. His head throbbed and felt uncomfortably warm. It was hard to even think properly, his thoughts painfully muffled and melting together. The only thing he could think to do was look around, find out what was wrong, and ask Drift to get Legundo to help him.

He took one last second to brace himself before sitting up. Everything protested with sore, stinging strain following his every move. His head somehow felt even worse, a white hot pain that made it feel heavy. It was hard to keep himself from slumping over.

“Oh, so you didn’t die,” Scott’s voice stung his ears. “I was wondering if you were going to stop breathing on me.”

“I don’t feel like I’m alive,” Avid managed, noting how difficult it was to speak coherently. “What…” He paused as his brain began to catch up. Why was he with Scott? Where was Drift? His eyes shot open, immediately worsening the pounding in his skull. He let out a pained noise and squinted his eyes, which refused to focus properly.

“What happened?” Scott scoffed, but he sounded closer to tired than angry. “Your genius trap backfired on you and now we’re stuck in here until–”

Avid cut him off with a scream, which also worsened his headache– as everything seemed to at the moment. He frantically reached for his wooden stake, a panicked whine escaping him when he couldn’t find it.

“Where–” Avid started hyperventilating, “What did you–”

“How rude!” Scott exclaimed, or at least, attempted to. He sounded exhausted. “No need to interrupt me when I’m trying to be helpful.”

“Where’s my stake?!” Avid yelled, despite knowing that it would only increase the suffering in his skull. “What did you do with it?!”

“What did I do with your weapon?” Scott said, frustration evident in his tone. “I broke it and tossed it out of here. What else would I do with it?”

“How am I supposed to stop you if you decide to eat me?!” Avid scooted himself as close as he could to the silver block. He pulled out a bulb of garlic and shoved it in his mouth, chewing frantically.

“And how was I supposed to protect myself if you decided to stake me in the heart!” Scott rolled his eyes. “I’d also prefer not to die in this stupid pit. Neither of us have any blocks and I can’t fly or teleport.” Avid didn’t have anything to say to that.

Avid clung tighter to the shiny metal beside him, taking comfort in the cold feeling against his face. It was soothing while also drawing the angry heat away from his injuries. The shade covering him and the coolness of the block was his eyes’ saving grace. He squeezed his bruised palms against the surface as he slowed his breathing.

When he felt calm enough, he investigated Scott. What he saw, well, he didn’t know what to make of it. Scott was in the opposite corner to him and the silver, tucked as far as he could against the obsidian walls. His face and posture was tight, cautious, and drained. But his eyes were wide and focused on Avid’s every move. Avid shivered as he continued glancing him over. His eyes caught on the piece of cloth in Scott’s hand that was stained a dark red. He was holding it to his mouth and– was he…

“Are you drinking that?” Avid gawked, disbelief ringing in his ears. “Is that MINE?”

“Yes and yes,” Scott huffed and shook his head, “You were bleeding, I was hungry. You needed to not be bleeding, I needed to not be hungry. So, I took this off and helped you, and now I’m helping myself.”

Avid stared at the bloodied cravat, his emotions a swirl of everything negative. Angry, scared, distressed, and everything in between. He felt confused and broken. Not only in the sense of despair, but in the feeling in his head. Something was seriously wrong.

But there was nothing he could do about it right then. Not with his only company being Scott. He was so tired, but he knew he couldn’t rest. Not with a vampire being mere feet away. He needed a distraction from the waves of fatigue that ran through him every few seconds.

“How long have we been down here?” Avid said, keeping his voice quiet and even so as to not worsen the aches.

“Several hours,” Scott said after a long pause, “At least six.”

“Six?!” Avid sat up straighter, much to his injuries’ dismay. “I’ve been out for six hours?!”

“Probably more,” Scott shrugged, looking at his nails. “The fall shattered my pocket watch, so who’s to say how long it’s really been.”

“Why didn’t you wake me up?!” Avid suddenly realized how strange it was that he was alive. “Why haven’t you killed me yet? Or turned me?”

“Because I don’t want to turn you!” Scott let out an exasperated grunt. “And I’ll need a breathing hostage when your friends get here so they don’t try to kill me when they arrive.”

“Huh?” Avid blinked, still dazed and lost, “Why my friends? Won’t your little coven be able to fly around and find us earlier than them?”

“Because my coven doesn’t know where I am right now,” Scott threw his hands up in a dramatic angry movement. “I just told them I was going out for supplies and left. Your friends are bound to get worried about you and check in soon.”

Avid turned to face the wall as shame burned his face. He coughed and adjusted his position against the silver.

Scott’s approaching rage filled the space, his flat voice cutting the tension “...They don’t know where you are.”

“No,” Avid whispered. “No they don’t.”

“Avid.” Scott said his name like many others had been as of late. Stern. Final. Frustrated.

Avid braced himself for the inevitable yelling, but was even more terrified when he heard a bitter laugh escape Scott.

“So,” Scott said on the sigh from the last bitter sound. “No one knows we are here, and we don’t have any way to get out? Is that what you’re saying?”

“...” Avid reached up and fidgeted with the bandage on his neck. “Yes…”

He squeezed his eyes shut as he once again waited for the berating, but yet like before, it never came. He cautiously opened his eyes and saw Scott, who was looking up at the sky with an unreadable expression. Scott was being oddly quiet. Avid would have thought that being trapped with Scott would be almost entirely composed of Scott’s taunts and threats, but the vampire remained so silent that Avid could hear the lake running– despite them being both underground, as well as a good distance away from the water.

A faint sizzle caught Avid’s ear. Right. Scott didn’t have any shade where he was. He was burning in the sun. He was probably in pain, just like Avid. Avid smiled, but it felt foreign and forced. He should be feeling good about this, that Scott was suffering, but all he felt in that moment, other than his own pain, was an ache in his conscience. It felt wrong. He didn’t feel anything positive about Scott appearing to be in pain.

Avid was snapped out of his moping spiral by a sharp hiss from Scott. Avid jolted upright and pressed himself against the far wall, breathing heavily. He stared at Scott as best as he could with his distorted vision, waiting for the slightest twinge of movement. Nothing out of the ordinary came of it.

“What did I do to deserve that?” Avid huffed, a little miffed at the sudden hostile sound.

“Don’t flatter yourself. It’s involuntary,” Scott spat out. “Something that the silver does if we stay too close.”

Avid winced at the frustration in Scott’s voice. It shouldn’t have made him feel guilty. He was supposed to enjoy Scott suffering.

He didn’t like it at all.

“Why don’t we just give each other a boost?” Avid tentatively suggested, his brain throbbed in pain, but he continued, “One of us helps the other out with a boost thing or something with their hands or shoulder– something, and the other pulls them out with reachin’ down right?”

“Slow down, you’re talking nonsense,” Scott sighed, shaking his head. “I think I understand what you meant. But I want you to take a look at both of us, and tell me if you believe we are currently capable at pulling that off.”

Avid considered the state of the two of them. Avid was bruised, disoriented, and definitely had a concussion. Scott looked tired, weak. Both of them were in pain. Avid sucked in a sharp breath. There was no way they’d be able to pull that off. He didn’t reply to Scott’s statement. Avid simply rested his head back down on the silver block and watched as Scott struggled to remove all of the crimson from his cravat.

Avid had never seen Scott look so… vulnerable. If one had asked him to picture it even just ten hours ago, he might have laughed. He would have said it was impossible to picture. But there Avid was, seeing it with his own eyes. It felt deeply and viscerally wrong. Avid couldn’t fully place why. Maybe he was so used to seeing Scott as a powerful and confident manorlord. Perhaps it was something else. Something he didn’t want to name.

Why didn’t he want Scott to suffer?

Why couldn’t he want Scott to suffer?

Chapter Text

Scott was not doing well. Based on the position of the sun, it had been about a day and a half since they had first fallen. That wretched sun. His skin stung and everything felt uncomfortably hot. He had pulled his cloak above himself to try to generate shade, but his arms weren’t able to hold it up for very long. Something about that silver weakened him like nothing else, it must have been pure if it had such a strong effect on him. He didn’t feel like just throwing the fabric over his face and tucking himself under it, either.

He wanted to keep an eye on Avid. Scott wasn’t certain whether Avid had the guts to try to attack him. While Avid was clung tight against the block of silver, Scott didn’t have anything other than his claws and fangs to his defense. And even though Avid wouldn’t be able to actually kill him, Scott was too weak to fight back properly. Scott would probably just end up in even more pain.

So, he continued staring at Avid from the corner, tucked tightly between the walls.

Avid stared back, never loosening his grasp on the silver. Scott shot him a glare. Avid glared back and reached into his inventory and pulled out one of the bulbs of garlic.

“Oh, you cannot be serious,” Scott’s eyes widened. He should have thrown the garlic out too.

“Fully,” Avid took a bite out of the bulb and lobbed the rest at Scott. It was a concerningly inaccurate throw, and Avid looked to be in pain with every movement. By some miracle, the half consumed garlic smacked Scott in the face.

Scott began to screech but cut the noise off as the garlic juice made contact with his skin. The garlic hit the floor and sizzled on the obsidian in front of him. Scott’s hands shot up to his face and he began desperately rubbing the area. The smell hit his nose and he hissed and clicked as it overwhelmed his senses. Every part of his body felt like it had been filled with hot metal. He tried with everything in his being to stop reacting, to look strong, but the combination of the garlic, sun, and silver left him vulnerable and defenseless.

“What is your problem?!” Scott hissed, still struggling to recompose himself from the intense attack on his senses. “I did nothing to you! You call me a freak, but your choices show that the only monster here is you.”

Scott looked at Avid and was caught off guard by the expression he wore. His face was twisted into some mix of terror and something else. Avid couldn’t seriously be the one scared of Scott in this situation. That man was delusional.

“You act scared, but I don’t have the safety net you do,” Scott pointed at the block of silver. “Why are you pretending I’m the biggest threat here when you have a protective bubble of safety and all I have is direct sunlight with no shade and the smallest corner of room to move around in? Clearly I have the best hand of cards here, hm? Is that what you think?”

Avid’s expression intensified, his eyebrows knitted tighter as he broke eye contact. Scott rolled his eyes and scoffed. Yet again, Avid was unremorseful. Whatever.

Scott opened his inventory and took out a bottle of blood. He looked at it grimly before downing the entire thing. His hunger lessened, but his stomach still ached for more. He groaned and drank the second bottle. It did little to soothe the pain from the sun and silver, but at least the burns from the garlic had been appeased.

Perfect. Now he was stuck with no food and no shelter. Wonderful. He tossed the bottles out of the pit– maybe they would make the trap easier to spot. He didn’t want to hold onto them, anyway. Scott didn’t need a reminder of food that he didn’t have.

He hoped someone would find them soon. He didn’t even care who at this point. It could even be Legundo. He’d settle for being stuck in a cell as a prisoner. At least he’d have shade, food, and an easier time escaping.

He was supposed to be sitting in the castle right now, out of the sun, laughing with the other coven members, plotting, drinking enough blood to keep his hunger at bay, and being in charge. He had no control here and he hated it. He was miserable, tired, and oh so hot. And not in a good way! Well, he was always hot in a good way, but this was including the bad way! He wanted to go home.

Scott found that he had been gradually slumping over as his elbow met the hot ground. He was now curled on his side, barely propped up by his arms. Ugh, he probably looked so unsightly right now.

Scott grumbled before giving in, using one arm as a pillow, and fully resting on his side. The adjustment caused him to accidentally shift closer to the silver and the harsh burn sent him recoiling so swiftly he slammed against the wall. He let out a sharp hiss and pressed himself into the corner as far as he could. Avid flinched.

“Do you have to jump back like that every time?” Avid spat, his face twisted in an odd and unfamiliar way.

“Yes,” Scott said as dryly as he felt. “It’s like trying to put your hand to a hot furnace, except everywhere but this miniscule corner is the furnace.”

Avid didn’t say anything, but he stopped gripping the metal and moved away, keeping himself close to the wall, but putting distance between him and the block. Avid crossed his arms and bit his lip in a hesitant manner. Why was he still scared? Scott had literally just explained just how much of a safety net Avid had and he was still nervous? Unbelievable. Scott closed his eyes, too tired to care anymore.

After almost thirty seconds of dead silence, his eyes shot open at the sound of metal screeching. Scott pushed his body up with his hands and stared in astounded silence. What? Scott was in pure disbelief as he watched Avid tear at the metal without a word. Scott stayed completely still, in part because of the fact he was stunned speechless, and also in fear that Avid would stop.

Scott watched as the metal slowly crumbled, useless to the ground. Waves of relief washed over Scott with every fallen chunk. Avid occasionally paused to throw handfuls of ruined shrapnel out of the hole in the ground. Avid shredded the metal until it was gone and his hands were raw with blood.

Avid let out a huff and moved to a corner, leaving room in the shade. Scott stared astonished at the bloodied hunter before swiftly moving to the corner across from him. Scott felt the relief in his flesh as the shadows cloaked his skin. Scott didn’t know why Avid did it, but the solace from the shade was enough to earn Avid some peace as well.

Scott debated within himself for a moment. Should he say anything? It was Avid’s fault that he was in pain in the first place, but Avid didn’t have to sacrifice his hands for Scott’s comfort. Scott could respect that.

“...Thank you,” Scott said with a softness that those words usually lacked when they came from his voice. The usual satisfaction and pride filled the air to his tone completely missing and replaced by something unfamiliar.

Avid stayed silent. Scott didn’t mind, the shade was too nice for him to demand a reply.

“Yeah,” Avid’s voice came in a similarly soft level, but his tone was rigid and uncertain.

Scott nodded and closed his eyes to rest. It didn’t matter if Avid had destroyed the silver to lure him into a false sense of security. Scott didn’t care anymore.

Scott’s situation still wasn’t pleasant, but at least this was a bit nicer.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

Avid regretted throwing the garlic as soon as Scott reacted. The noise Scott made when it hit him, the way he thrashed and rubbed his skin. He let out batlike clicks and hissed as he continued rubbing his face. He looked like he was in pain. Regret and something else unplaceable to him stabbed Avid’s heart as he watched Scott desperately try to cleanse the garlic from himself. The noises hurt his conscience more than the splitting headache.

“What is your problem?!” Scott hissed. Avid noticed how his voice dripped with thinly veiled weakness, he sounded so pained. “I did nothing to you! You call me a freak but your choices show that the only monster here is you.”

Avid’s mind dragged him back to the town meeting a few days ago. Owen’s words rang through his head. I don’t think you’re a vampire, but from my perspective you do have all the makings of a monster in you. Remorse and shame poisoned his blood once more. With how he was acting right now, Owen might be close to the truth.

“You act scared, but I don’t have the safety net you do,” Scott pointed at the block of silver that Avid was clung to. “Why are you pretending I’m the biggest threat here when you have a protective bubble of safety and all I have is direct sunlight with no shade and the smallest corner of room to move around in? Clearly I have the best hand of cards here, hm? Is that what you think?”

The shame that ran through Avid’s nerves intensified. Guilt stung him everywhere. His head swam. God, Avid was in so much pain.

And so was Scott.

Avid flinched when Scott moved again. He watched as Scott dug through his inventory and produced a bottle full of dark red liquid. Scott stared at it for a moment before downing the entire thing. Scott produced another bottle, and by the way he was looking at it, he didn’t have much left. Scott finished the second one and tossed the bottles over the walls.

Avid found that his reasons for staring at Scott 24/7 had shifted. It wasn’t out of fear anymore. It was a strange worry that he really shouldn’t be feeling. He didn’t just see a dangerous monster anymore. He saw someone in pain. Don’t get him wrong, he was still cautious, hell, he was downright terrified, but he could no longer deny that what was happening was wrong.

He scanned over Scott’s form and noticed that he was slumped over, balancing on his forearms. When did that happen?! He had been sitting up straight before– He looked so exhausted.

Scott made a defeated noise and eased himself to the ground before letting out a sudden yet sharp hiss as he recoiled backward. Avid jumped, which left his head screaming.

Avid chewed on the inside of his cheek. The movement was scary. He wanted to know more about it. He wanted to know why they reacted like that every time. Avid tried to ask, but everything fell short. So he slipped back into his consistent habits.

“Do you have to jump back like that every time?” Avid spat in his familiar sharp tone. The one he used to act like he wasn’t scared. That he was demanding an answer, rather than have it sound like he was asking with sincerity.

“Yes,” Scott’s face was blank as he spoke. “It’s like trying to put your hand to a hot furnace, except everywhere but this miniscule corner is the furnace.”

Pain empathy swam uncomfortably between Avid’s shoulders and down his arms as the description repeated in his brain. Avid let go of the silver block. The coolness of the metal no longer soothed him. It felt wrong. He slowly shifted away, the presence feeling more unpleasant by the second.

Avid shot Scott one last look. The vampire had his eyes closed, still not looking well. Avid made up his mind and gave in to the violence that his disease yearned for. Avid ignored the change in his hands as he began tearing at the metal.

It was like tunnel vision. Everything else disappeared from his concerns as soon as he let it ravage the metal. Avid breathed heavily as he scratched, the sharp edges cutting into his flesh. Small pieces of silver confetti littered the ground around him. Avid occasionally paused to gather the shards into a ball and rid of them, not caring about the slices it added to his fingers. He did not stop until only a small chunk was left, which he threw out of the pit with intense strength.

Avid let out a heavy exhale as the pain shocked his body, the trance broken now that the job had been done. He glanced over at Scott, who was staring with wide eyes. It was the most energy Avid had seen in hours, maybe even days.

Avid moved himself to one side of the shaded half of the trap, leaving room for the vampire to sit. Scott didn’t move for a few seconds before he swooped into the other shaded corner with an unexpected burst of strength.

Avid watched as tension left Scott’s body. The faint sound of sizzling that Avid had long tuned out no longer filled the air. Seeing Scott relax ebbed the guilt that wracked Avid’s body and mind. It felt like a tight binding around his torso had been released. Like he could breathe easier.

“Thank you,” The prideful chirp in Scott’s tone that usually coated those words was notably absent from his voice when he said it. It was gentle, grateful. It broke something inside Avid, like he was finally receiving something he didn’t know he yearned for.

Avid sat there, speechless. Something he couldn’t determine as positive or negative flooded his brain. It hurt to think about, so he left it at that.

“Yeah,” Of course. Avid’s voice shook as he said it. It felt terrifying, but it also felt like a rubber band had been cut. A tension he wasn’t aware existed being snapped. It was nice. Avid was glad he said it as soon as his voice met the wind.

Scott nodded at him and resumed the position he had held while in the sun. He looked so peaceful with his eyes closed.

Anxiety still gnawed on Avid’s brain, but it didn’t feel like a mountain anymore. It felt like something climbable.

Avid watched Scott rest for a few minutes before closing his own eyes. His heart pounded and his palms were drenched in sweat as his instincts screamed at him to keep an eye on the threat.

He ignored the internal warnings that screamed of grave danger, and allowed himself to drift to sleep.

Avid had always been pretty self destructive. Maybe it was wrong to feel safe in this situation. His brain certainly told him it was.

He ignored it for once.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

It had been two days since Drift last saw her roommate. At first, she brushed it off. Maybe he got caught up with work, saw that it was dark, and decided to stay in the shed he was making. She’d probably wake up in the morning to find he had come home.

But that didn’t happen.

When he still wasn’t back after twenty-four hours, her concern skyrocketed. She asked everyone in Oakhurst if they had seen him. Nobody had.

Oakhurst was so quiet without him. The silence was deafening. The town grew restless– when the guy who was always preaching about something being wrong, the guy who would panic and flee at the sight of danger, the guy who shoved a vampire off the side of a cliff– went missing without a trace, it tended to cause anxiety.

Even Pearl, who was constantly wandering off and exploring for several hours, hadn’t seen anything of him nor seen any shed in the woods. Alarm bells rung in Drift’s head. Something was wrong.

When he was still missing by the next day, she could no longer explain away her anxieties. When Drift spotted Owen standing on the top of one of the walls, she was certain something was seriously wrong. He looked different, his hair was white, his eyes were red, and his outfit was now crimson and black.

“Hello?” Drift called up to the vampire. “What are you doing up there?”

Her question was met with a scoff as Owen ignored her, leaning and peering forward as if he was trying to look into their houses.

“What are you looking for?” Drift asked, more confused and worried by the second.

“Don’t play stupid with me,” Owen hissed before speaking. “I’m tired of your games. Do not make fun of me or you’ll regret it terribly.”

“I’m not…” Drift paused to think. “I’m going to go get Legundo, okay?”

“I refuse to talk to any of you,” Owen snapped. “The doctor will receive the same treatment as you until you fix this.”

“I genuinely don’t know what you’re talking about,” Drift called, taking a bite of garlic just in case. “Please, tell me. Tell me what’s going on, and I can try to help you. Then… maybe you can help me with something?”

“So this is a ransom situation?” Owen glared from his perch. “How bold.”

Owen then disappeared into a cloud of bats. Drift swallowed anxiously. She needed to find the others and tell them what she saw now. She turned around and ran straight into the center of town.

Before she could speak, her eyes fell on Shelby, who was surrounded by a circle of disgruntled townspeople. Shelby also looked different. Her hair was the same bright white, her eyes vibrant cherry, and her outfit had completely changed. Her green sweater and plaid skirt had been switched for a red vest with a white dress shirt underneath. The skirt had been replaced with a black one with more folds and frills, and her head was adorned with a black circlet with a red gem.

“Oh, hi, Drift,” Shelby said, but her words contained a certain cold edge to them. The sweet-natured vampire’s kind attitude was completely missing, replaced with something sharp and foreign. “Will you at least tell us what you’re trying to get out of this?”

“What are you talking about?” Drift asked, absolutely exasperated already.

“They keep insisting that we have something of theirs,” Cleo groaned, her arms were crossed and their face was twisted into an annoyed glare. “But she won’t tell us what. It’s been really frustrating.”

“It would be less of a problem if you guys would let us know what you did,” Shelby replied coldly, something completely out of character for them. “I don’t know how you guys did it, and I don’t know what you’re trying to get out of it– especially by lying about it– I’d expect some of you to be boasting about it! Is Avid proud of what you’ve done?”

“Don’t think this will come without consequences,” Pyro’s voice echoed from the roof. Drift looked up and watched them appear out of thin air. His skin had gone pale grey, his hair was just as white as the others’, their eyes had turned black and red, and their suit was completely black. “If you don’t make this an issue, we might just be a little less aggressive about this.”

“Let’s not make this a big thing, hm?” Owen appeared on another roof nearby.

“Owen,” Legundo’s tone was even and direct. “What’s going on?”

“Do not lie to me, doctor!” Owen shouted. “All of you are liars. You will suffer as the residents before you did unless you stop playing these games. You know PERFECTLY well why we are here and what we want!”

“We. Don’t. Know. ANYTHING!” Cleo shouted at them, exasperation poisoning the air around her.

“Very well then,” Owen stood up straight. “You have 4 days to make this right, and every day without honesty or action will be twice the carnage. It’s up to you. Make. It. Right.”

Owen turned into a bat and flew away. Pyro disappeared into a puff of smoke. Shelby crouched down to lunge but Drift caught their arm.

“Wait!” Drift realized what she had done and released the vampire’s arm. The action was stupid, but she needed to have more information about her missing housemate. “Sorry– just– do you guys… have him? Did you hurt him? Is he okay?”

“What?” Shelby raised an eyebrow. “Obviously not. We are literally here looking for him.”

“You’re looking for him?” Drift was completely caught off guard. What was this about? “What– why?!”

“Don’t give me that,” Shelby sighed, pulling her hand away. “I thought you were better than this, Drift. I think you can guess why.”

“Wait!” Drift called, but it was too late. Shelby had already jumped clean over the wall and was likely too far already.

“What did Avid do?” Cleo grabbed Drift’s shoulder. “Why are the vampires after him?!”

“I don’t know!” Drift waved her hands and shook her head. “All he told me was that he was going to build a secret shed to hold supplies! I don’t know anything!”

“Aye, I doubt he be telling the truth about that,” Ren spoke up, a grim expression painting his face. “Don’tcha know.”

“I don’t know much of anything right now,” Cleo put their face in her hands. “I think I need a nap.”

“Here,” Pearl put her hands on Cleo’s shoulders and began guiding them back to their home. “Let’s get you a lay down. How about that? I’ll make you some… tea. A nice drink of tea.”

The people of Oakhurst all went to their respective homes, a deep feeling of uncertainty filling the atmosphere of the small town.

Drift had a case to solve. Something about all of this didn’t add up. She had so many things to piece together, so many questions to ask. But only one that stood out more than the others.

What had Avid done?

Chapter Text

The drop-in from the vampires stirred the town’s emotions. Everyone was on edge, even though many denied that their nerves were flaring. In contrast, there were a handful of people who were very vocal of their concerns. Avid would be proud if he saw how loud they were getting.

When the town hadn’t seen or heard anything of Avid for yet another day, the vampires visited once more, somehow even more agitated.

“We already told you!” Apo called up from the ground. This was getting frustrating. “We don’t know where he is!”

“It’s not wise to keep this up,” Owen crossed his arms at the denial of information from the townsfolk. “We expected better from a fellow vampire.”

People around Apo gasped and stepped away from them. Apo groaned and shot a glare up at Owen, who had disappeared.

“What?!” Martyn pulled a stake out of his inventory, a blend of terror and anger shaking in his voice. “Apo, is this true? Are you a vampire?!”

“Ugh,” Apo rolled their eyes before composing herself. “Yes, Martyn. I’m sorry I didn’t say anything sooner.”

Martyn’s face read of broken trust. Apo turned away to avoid facing it. This was going to be discussed later, and Apo was not excited about it.

“That Owen,” Cleo clenched her fists and growled in rage. “When I get my hands on him it’s all over.”

“Let’s all calm down,” Legundo tried to bring down the tension. “Apo hasn’t hurt anyone. If she was against us, they would have done something by now.”

The town fell into an uneasy silence before Drift spoke up with a gasp.

“Wait a second!” Drift walked to the center of the crowd and approached Apo, hope blooming on her face. “You’re a vampire! You can turn into a bat and get intel from the coven!”

The town murmured in uncertainty, but no one spoke up with a solid reason not to. Apo sighed and turned into a bat.

“I’ll be back soon,” Apo promised before taking to the skies. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

Apo landed softly outside the entrance to the castle. It had changed since they last saw it. Not only was the building finished, but something about the aura was off. It felt colder. More unwelcoming– which she didn’t even know was possible.

Apo took one last moment of mental preparation before they sighed and defeatedly knocked on the door.

Shelby opened the door after a few seconds, hope shining in her eyes, but as soon as their eyes met Apo’s, the light left. The shiny pools of crimson became a dull, slate red.

“What do you want?” Shelby asked dryly, her posture stiffening. Apo watched as Shelby seemed to close themself off, her form becoming less welcoming by the second. “Are you here to finally come clean and tell us where he is?”

“No,” Apo sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “I just want to talk about all of this. Away from town, if that makes you guys more comfortable. I just want to work this out.”

Shelby squinted at Apo for a few moments before indignantly widening the gap between the door and its frame. “Come in.”

“Sure,” Apo said as they walked inside. The room was the same style, same patterns, but the building felt like it was missing something. Something crucial. Apo couldn’t place what it was, but the whole building felt wrong without it. The castle felt like a hollow shell, but as much as Apo tried, they couldn’t place what was missing among the contents.

“So,” Shelby sat down in one of the chairs at the long oak table and gestured for Apo to do the same. “What did you want to talk about?”

“I have so many questions,” Apo slammed their hands on the table to make a point before sitting down. “Firstly, why do you care so much about his whereabouts? Secondly– hey, where’s Scott? I haven’t seen him anywhere…” The realization that Apo hadn’t seen Scott in days hit her like a stake to the heart. Why wouldn’t he have visited the town with the rest of the coven?

“Oh, haha,” Shelby deadpanned, disdain growing on her expression. “You guys are hilarious. This isn’t funny, Apo. It never was. I expected better from you.” Shelby’s words caught in her throat for a moment before they recovered and continued her thought. “We decided that while you don’t tell us where you’re hiding him, Owen is in charge, and I doubt anyone wants that. We both know how that’s gonna go.”

“I’m so confused…” Apo held her face in their hands. The ‘answers’ they were giving only made her brain hurt. Absolutely nothing had been cleared up. “What does Owen have to do with any of this? What do you guys want with A–”

Apo was cut off as the front doors slammed open. Owen stood in the entrance, rage plastered across his face. The vampire’s entire body shook with anger.

“What is she doing here?!” Owen’s voice echoed off of the walls.

“Asking questions to mock us,” Shelby huffed. “They’re keeping up the ‘we don’t know anything act’, and had the nerve to travel all the way here only to ask us where he is.”

“What business have you?!” Owen hissed. “Why come here just to make a mockery of us? We will not be as kind as Scott would be at this grave offense! What games do you think you are playing?!”

There was something off about all of this, and Apo felt like they were missing something crucial. She analyzed the vampires’ expressions with new eyes. She saw something. Something behind the anger, annoyance, and cold disdain. There was something else. Apo saw stress, panic, and nervousness, all brewing behind the aggressive front they were putting on. A new idea struck. Such a simple concept, it practically fell into her lap. Bingo.

“You’re all acting so suspicious,” Apo thought aloud. Her thoughts took a different approach as they pieced together a puzzle that was still missing most of the pieces. “Do you guys have Avid?”

The long silence that followed told Apo all she needed to know. They did have Avid and were trying to stress the town out by pretending it was the other way around. Why else would their question be met with silence?

Apo tuned in to her vampiric sense of hearing to listen for a heartbeat. Nothing human from the castle, but the steady, swift, small beats of chicken’s hearts could be heard from outside. Avid definitely wasn’t in the castle. He must be being held somewhere else.

“What on earth are you talking about?” Owen said in the most monotone voice Apo had ever heard, but the stress remained in his aura. “Why would we have him?”

“I’ve gotten what I need for you,” Apo huffed as they turned into a bat. “Knock this bullshit off. You’re not fooling me anymore.”

Apo didn’t wait for a response and flew home to report their findings.

The vampires were holding Avid hostage.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

Scott woke up completely intact, which he was only half sure would be the case. After Avid’s garlic attack, Scott knew Avid wasn’t against striking. A day had passed, and yet no similar attempts were made. Plus, Avid had cleared the garlic from the ground and tossed it out of the pit at some point.

No matter, Scott felt comfortable resting, and was glad he did. The sun no longer stinging his flesh was nice. It was wonderful being able to move around the small space and hide in the shade. And it turned out that Avid wasn’t the absolute worst company. Their conversations had been more peaceful by the hour. Scott even found himself entertained by their exchanges. Much better than the paranoid, guarded silence they shared before.

“What does the coven do all day?” Avid asked as Scott stretched. Scott looked at Avid’s face, which showed only curiosity. “I mean, us humans spend our days preparing, farming, and whatever. What do you guys do?”

“Hm,” Scott stared at Avid thoughtfully for a moment before responding. “We mostly just rebuild my castle, be stylish, and get blood. It’s really not much more than that.”

“No plotting?” Avid tilted his head.

“Sometimes,” Scott shrugged, leaning back against the wall. “But it’s not our current priority.”

“And holding fashion shows is?” Avid laughed, and what a sweet sound it was. Avid’s laugh was pure joy and sugar.

“Can you blame us?” Scott found himself smiling. “Just look at how fashionable we are!”

“Not really…” Avid said, quieter than usual. “You guys do look great…”

“Thank you!” Scott sat up straighter, basking in the attention. He missed compliments. Attention fueled Scott almost as much as blood. Yikes. He shouldn’t be thinking about food right now. He’d rather not attack his only company, not after they just started finding common ground. As appetizing Avid’s exposed skin looked, he held himself back.

Scott found that Avid must also be hungry as Avid’s stomach growled. Avid opened his bag and Scott moved to the other side of the pit to put as much distance as possible between him and the contents of Avid’s inventory.

“You don’t need to do that,” Avid frowned. “I’m out of garlic.”

“Hm?” Scott tilted his head. He only saw two of the garlic bulbs get used. “You had four to start, what happened?”

“I got really hungry,” Avid turned away sheepishly. “And garlic isn’t really that filling. It goes pretty fast.”

Scott opened his own inventory and pulled out the not so useless baked potatoes. He held them out to Avid, who was looking at Scott like he hung the moon. Avid pointed at himself and then the potatoes, his eyes wide and his mouth hung open. Scott laughed, why was Avid being so ridiculous? It was endearing.

“Yes!” Scott nodded as he continued laughing. “They’re for you! I can’t eat them anyway.”

Avid scooched closer to Scott until he was right beside him and grabbed the potatoes with featherlike delicacy. But as soon as the potatoes were in his grasp he immediately slammed two of them with impressive speed.

“I’m glad you like them,” Scott rested his face on his palm, elbow resting on his knee. “They were really weighing down my inventory.”

“Yeah right,” Avid laughed, his face awfully red for some reason. “I’m sure a few potatoes were no big deal for someone such as yourself.”

“They had no use to me,” Scot hummed. “Less of a weight issue and more of a ‘what do I do with these?’ issue.”

Their conversation was cut off by Scott’s own stomach stabbing with the familiar pang of hunger with a growl. Scott hissed in a breath and looked at Avid, who looked nervous again. His face was twisted into a familiar anxious manner. Great. Back to square one.

“I’m not going to bite you,” Scott reaffirmed. “I won’t drink unless offered.”

“Yeah,” Avid mumbled, crossing his arms across his chest and breaking eye contact. Scott found himself disappointed when Avid moved away from Scott’s side. It shouldn’t have mattered. Why did it?

The reason was beyond him.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

The potatoes from Scott were Avid’s saving grace. After also having such a nice conversation as well, Avid felt more comfortable than he had in weeks. He didn’t even notice his spike in panic as he sat beside Scott and consumed the potatoes. And when Scott laughed, oh God his laugh. Scott’s laugh was magically enchanting.

“I’m glad you like them,” Scott rested his face on his palm, elbow resting on his knee. Avid’s heart started doing backflips at the way Scott’s crimson eyes watched his every move. “They were really weighing down my inventory.”

“Yeah right,” Avid laughed, his face burned. He couldn’t stop looking at Scott’s face, craving to memorize every detail. “I’m sure a few potatoes were no big deal for someone such as yourself.”

“They had no use to me,” Scot hummed, his expression still intoxicatingly sweet. “Less of a weight issue and more of a ‘what do I do with these?’ issue.”

Before Avid could respond, Scott’s stomach let out a growl. The vampire hissed in a breath and looked up at Avid. Scott’s expression looked confused for some reason.

“I’m not going to bite you,” Scott’s fangs were all Avid could look at as he spoke. “I won’t drink unless offered.”

Scott’s words evoked something unknown in Avid. Like he should say something. Like he should do something. He should offer Scott some blood.

But Avid couldn’t bring himself to offer any.

“Yeah,” Avid mumbled, crossing his arms and looking at the wall. Avid moved himself away from the vampire in shame, silently cursing himself. He was such a mess. Why would he even begin to consider giving Scott his blood?

…Why wouldn’t he? Scott gave him food, it was only fair to do the same.

Why did he kind of…

NO!

He would NOT be thinking that thought. Being bit was NOT hot. He did NOT like the idea of Scott’s fangs in his neck.

Avid banished the thought and hugged his knees to his chest.

Goodness gracious. Avid was doomed.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

“Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone.”

Apo’s final request before leaving.

It was abruptly obvious that the people of Oakhurst were not good listeners.

Pearl knew that she certainly wasn’t paying much attention to Apo’s request. What mattered was the information they would bring back. Who cared about any of that before stuff? Not like they could do anything with no information, so why wouldn’t she just tune out all that other useless junk? Pearl only took note of things when it was really important, and she didn’t consider whatever dramatic things Apo had to say before their quest to be anything of the sort.

As soon as Apo left their field of sight, the group crowded together and began whispering amongst themselves. Pearl shrugged and joined the circle. No harm in going over what they did know before getting the new intel.

“If he doesn’t turn up by the deadline, we send out search parties,” Cleo spoke first. “Something tells me that staying away from town when our time runs out is our best bet.”

“And maybe they’ll accept late work?” Pearl interjected with a cheerful smile, trying her best to be helpful. Maybe a little bit of humor would help diffuse a bit of the stress. If Pearl knew anything about going against monsters, it was to stay positive.

“Right,” Cleo nodded at their roommate. “On our ‘due date’ the coven set, I’ll take Apo with me and try to stall the vampires while the rest of you cover as much ground as possible. If you find him, send a smoke signal and we can all come running.”

“Why you...” Abolish whispered to himself, but Pearl’s keen ears caught the quiet words. Pearl noted his suspicions down, but kept it to herself for now.

“This sounds like a bad idea,” Legundo joined in. “Splitting up is dangerous. And…” Legundo waited for everyone to look in his direction before continuing. “... we don’t even know why they want Avid. What if they’re trying to kill him? Are we willing to let him die just to save us?”

“I’d like to see you try to get those vamps to tell you anything,” Martyn spat. “Let us know how far you get. Our best chance at getting information is having Avid here. We can negotiate as soon as we have Avid and can clear this mess up.”

“He’ll know what he did,” Pearl snapped her fingers in certainty. “He can give us the rundown, we can sort it all out, and then we can scold him for being stupid.”

“Emphasis on that last part,” Cleo added, putting a hand on Pearl’s shoulder. “I’d like to have a few words with that fool.”

“This does seem like a bad idea,” Abolish said in his familiar dry tone. “There’s something off about all of this.”

“It might be stupid,” Pearl stepped forward to make a point. “But it’s the best we’ve got. Can’t be more stupid than whatever Avid did to piss those bloodsuckers off so bad.”

Pearl looked around the circle. Abolish and Legs still looked uncertain, but stayed quiet. Cleo looked hesitantly determined, and everyone else was solid with resolution.

Pearl smiled in determination and waited with the town for Apo to return.

They could get through this.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

As soon as a bat flew over the walls of Oakhurst, the town all rushed forward. They had all been waiting outside, their minds were too focused on what Apo discovered to consider anything else.

“What did you find?” Sausage called out before cursing under his breath. “Wait, firstly, are you Apo?”

“Yes,” Apo sighed as they turned back into a humanoid and landed gingerly on the ground. “It’s me.” Finally, some answers. Pearl thought as she moved to be beside her housemate.

“What did you find?” Drift’s voice was laced with concern and a hunger for answers. Pearl smelled the fear wafting off of her. “Did they say anything? Did you see Avid anywhere on the journey?”

“I’ll tell you what I’ve found,” Apo huffed, hands clenched at her sides. Anger clouded the air around them. “Those jerks are holding Avid hostage somewhere hidden!”

Gasps of shock flooded through the town. What? Pearl found herself stunned in disbelief. What sort of game was the coven trying to play here? Apo seemed to wait for everyone to murmur before settling down– Pearl certainly anticipated it– but it became apparent that everyone else was in the same boat of confusion and shock. No murmuring occurred.

“They’re toying with us!” Apo cried, rage cracked through her voice. “I think they’re just looking for an excuse to tear us apart so they can turn more of us. They must be hoping that the stress they’re applying will tear us apart!”

“Those bastards!” Cleo shouted. “I’m sick of them.”

“We need to all calm down,” Legundo brought out his even and direct tone. “If that is really the vampires’ goal, then we need to remain level-headed and stick together. We shouldn’t fall for their plan. This event should bring us closer together. We can get through this.”

“And sticking together means we gotta accept any people of Oakhurst that happen to be vampires,” Martyn added, sounding a bit dejected. “I’m sorry, Apo. I trust you.”

“Thank you,” Apo smiled and let out a small sigh of relief. “I trust you, too.”

“While we’re at it,” Cleo stepped forward. They looked back at Pearl. Pearl smiled and gave her a proud, reassuring nod. I’ve got your back, roomie. “I’m also a vampire. I got turned on the bridge while me and Martyn were fighting the vampires.”

“I had a feeling,” Abolish broke the uneasy silence before it could truly begin.

“Thank you for telling us, Cleo,” Legundo stepped in before anyone else could voice an opinion. “We need everyone to be honest about their status as a human or vampire. The only way we can get through this is if we all have faith and put our wholehearted trust into one another. As soon as this is all over, we can have more conversations about everything. But for now, the coven’s plans should be our main focus.”

Pearl shot Cleo a thumbs up as the vampire smiled and walked back beside her. Pearl reached out and gave Cleo’s hand a squeeze.

“So, that’s it?” Abolish broke the nice moment. “The vampires took Avid and are pretending that we’re keeping him from them?”

“Hold on!” Sausage chimed in. “This whole situation is very weird to me. I’ve been writing everything down and trying to put it all together on my own, but something isn’t adding up.”

Everyone turned their full attention to Sausage, eager to hear more. Pearl knew she was certainly curious. What could they be missing? She tilted her head and tapped a finger to her face in thought.

“What do ya mean, lad?” Ren added, curiosity audible in his thick unidentifiable accent. “What don’tcha know?”

“See,” Sausage pulled out a notebook and flipped through it. “There’s something fishy about our conversations with the vampires. Especially after what Apo’s just told us.” He held up a log of their various exchanges with the coven. Pearl squinted at the areas he’d highlighted, and she noticed it too.

“Why are they acting like Avid is so important to them?” Pearl took the notebook and read through their past exchanges. “I remember how they were talking, and that was genuine stuff. They want– no– they downright need him for something.”

“But why is their anger so genuine if they’re the ones who have him?” Abolish took the book and skimmed through the pages. “Sausage is right. There’s something really weird about all of this. It feels like we’re missing something.”

“Oh, and get this,” Apo suddenly piped up. “Scott wasn’t anywhere to be seen. Has anyone seen him the past few days?”

Apo’s question was met with a lengthy silence before Legundo spoke up.

“He’s more inclined to stay in the castle though,” Legundo took the notes from Abolish and methodically went through Sausage’s logs. “It’s not necessarily absurd for no one to see him around in that long, but…”

“The timing is weird,” Martyn finished. “Do you guys think…”

“Scott’s the one holding Avid hostage somewhere?” Pearl completed, continuing the chain of synced ideas. “Because someone has to keep an eye on him if they’re in a secondary location…”

“That would explain why Owen has been left in charge,” Apo added. Huh? That was certainly an addition. “If Scott is away keeping Avid, they’d need someone aggressive to keep them all on track.”

“Yeah,” Martyn nodded. “Owen as leader is pretty dangerous.”

“Aye, we need to find young Avid as soon as we can,” Ren chimed in. “Those ‘pires be violent, don’tcha know?”

“Do you think they’ve turned him?!” Drift spoke up, sounding awfully distraught. She sure had been quiet for most of this conversation. Pearl didn’t blame her. If Cleo was missing, Pearl would be similarly stressed. “Poor Avid!”

“No,” Cleo interrupted. “He hasn’t been turned, me and Apo would have sensed a new vampire and gone to investigate by now.”

“Vampires can sense new blood,” Apo stepped in to elaborate. “We can tell exactly where they are for a few minutes after the event. It would be more than enough time for me and Cleo to have gotten over there and caught him.”

Drift let out a shaky sigh of relief. At least that was settled. Pearl didn’t mention that the information given couldn’t confirm if Avid was still alive. It wouldn’t be helpful for the moment. They needed to remain hopeful.

Pearl frowned. Despite all the breakthroughs they were making, something was off about them. She couldn’t shake this feeling in her gut that they were getting something wrong. Something in her brain desperately insisted on a fundamental absence in their understanding. Like they were missing the very core of the apple.

But what was that core? Pearl wished she knew.

All she could say for certain was it wouldn’t take long for her to find out.

Whether that be by her own hand, or the falling of the final grains of sand in their metaphorical hourglass; she will find out.

Pearl prayed for the town’s sake that it would be the former.

She went home to brandish her stakes. This was going to get interesting.

Pearl would make sure of it.

Chapter Text

Avid looked up at the stars as night fell. He hadn’t been getting much sleep the past few days. But really, who could blame him? The only place to rest was uneven obsidian flooring. Even when he took off his vest and tried to use it as a pillow, discomfort was all that his skin was met with. Every attempt at sleep had yielded pains in his back, neck, and shoulders. He was sure the lack of rest was horrible for his concussion.

“What’s got you moving so much?” Scott’s voice cut through the quiet night air. Right, Scott was probably very annoyed by his tossing and turning.

“Sorry–” Avid tried to get comfortable once more, but his attempt was in vain. “It’s just– ugh– so uncomfortable! I can’t sleep.”

“Hm…” Scott was quiet for a few moments before continuing softly. “Come here.”

“Okay?” Avid fumbled through the darkness on all fours until he met Scott’s hand.

Scott laughed softly. “I forgot you can’t see in the dark like me.” Scott’s hand found Avid’s shoulder and guided him closer.

“What’s the plan here?” Avid felt his pulse quicken. Anxiety, probably? He felt uncertain on the full nature of his nerves.

“I’m sure I’m more comfortable than the floor,” Scott brought Avid to his side. “I don’t need sleep, it’ll be no trouble for me in that regard.”

“Whoa–” Avid coughed, stifling the fit that threatened to rush through the opening it left. Avid composed himself, discomfort being replaced by a flushed embarrassment. “What?!”

“It will be like day one,” Scott mused. “You can rest your head on my legs. I could even be so generous as to offer you my cloak as a blanket.”

“Huh?!” Avid squeaked. He shoved down his guesses as to why he was having such a reaction to the idea. “I– what?! And– wha… why?!”

“I don’t get what’s confusing about this,” Scott sighed, his hand made its way to Avid’s shoulder and he began idly tracing circles into his skin. The action made Avid’s face burn. “You need to rest if you want to heal and function properly. If it’s that easy, why wouldn’t I make sure that could happen?”

“I– uh,” Avid stifled another cough. Hopefully Scott didn’t notice. “Okay.”

Avid stiffly laid down across Scott’s lap, face definitely redder than Scott’s eyes. He shuffled for a few moments, trying to get comfortable as well as not rest in a way that would be awkward. As soon as he did settle, Scott’s cloak was draped across his back. It wasn’t warm, but it was still nice.

If Avid was being honest, Scott’s lack of body heat was nice in this situation. A consistently cool pillow on his face.

“Can I help you with the blood stuck in your hair?” Scott whispered, carding his hand through Avid’s hair. The action made Avid’s breath hitch. “It’ll be easier for you to deal with when we get out of here.”

“Yeah,” Avid somehow choked out. “That’s fine.”

Scott hummed in approval before delicately moving his hands to the area around Avid’s head wound. Avid felt Scott’s careful fingers delicately pinch and remove any scabbing that had caught in hair and wasn’t attached to flesh. Scott’s other hand gently ran through other sections of Avid’s hair. It was unnervingly calming.

He felt so safe.

Before Avid knew it, his eyes grew heavy and the world around him began to tune itself out.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

Scott was glad he could finally fix Avid’s hair. It had been bothering him. Partially because it would drive Scott crazy if he had something stuck in his hair that long, but another part of him just wanted to help Avid. Scott acknowledged that part of him with polite grace, but did not make it a priority.

Scott frowned as he noticed something off about this night in particular. It took him a few minutes to place it, but when he did figure it out, it was all he could focus on.

Avid’s breathing. It was ragged and pained, nothing like when Scott had observed when they had first fallen.

Scott frowned and caressed Avid’s hair in an even softer manner. Avid sighed softly in his sleep, but it did little to aid his breathing difficulties. That can’t be good. Scott hoped he hadn’t injured something crucial, or heaven forbid Avid have an infection.

Well, if Avid wasn’t well, they’d need to get out of the pit as soon as possible. Avid really dug their own grave here, but Scott was determined to get both of them out in one piece.

Plus, it didn’t take a genius to assume the coven was fumbling around. None of them had experience as a vampire for more than a month. While Owen had technically been around for over two-hundred years, he was unconscious for most of that time. Scott was the only vampire there who truly knew what he was doing. The fledglings were no doubt stressed without someone to guide them.

And what was Oakhurst thinking? Were they working together to look for the two of them? Were they fighting and blaming each other? Did the town even care that Avid was missing? The last Scott had heard, Avid wasn’t the most popular at the moment.

Scott looked down at Avid’s sleeping face and smiled softly.

“If they don’t let you back in, I’ll let you stay with me,” Scott promised, despite no one being present to hear it. Avid could learn if it came down to it, but for now, an unknown oath was just fine. “Turns out you’re not the absolute worst, hm?”

Scott continued messing with Avid’s hair and whispering reassurances until his breathing soothed. As soon as Scott was certain was resting safely, he began humming to himself as he waited for day.

This was better than sitting around doing nothing anyway.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

If one assumed that the people of Oakhurst were done with their stupidity, they’d be horribly mistaken.

It was the last day before the hour the vampires declared they would storm town and rain havoc in bloody retribution for a crime uncommitted.

A crime that the coven made up.

Yeah, Pearl didn’t really buy that.

It couldn't be so simple. Pearl thought all night as she readied her stakes. She couldn't shake the feeling that there was some horrible mistake leading to all of these inconsistencies.

Pearl had tried bringing it up, but everyone in town was too stressed to listen. The vampires had made an appearance early that morning to tell the people of Oakhurst that they’d be arriving at midnight. So of course everyone would be too panicked, ergo, distracted to entertain Pearl’s doubts.

It seemed that Pearl would have to take matters into her own hands.

She loaded up a bag with plenty of food, garlic, and silver and set off to leave.

“Bye, Cleo!” Pearl called out before she left the house. She didn’t want to worry her roommate by disappearing out of nowhere! “I’m heading out of town early to look for Avid. Don’t worry about me, ‘kay?”

“Yeah,” Cleo waved a hand dismissively as she rooted through their chests. “Be safe out there.”

“I’m always safe!” Pearl chirped as she closed the door and set out. “I’m Pearl!”

And with that, Pearl skipped out of town towards the castle.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

Pearl made her way across the bridge and stopped before the door. She had been hoping that she would find Avid on the way, but she couldn’t complain too much.

Pearl brought her hand up and cheerfully gave the polished wood a few friendly taps.

“Leave this place, Apo,” Owen’s voice came through the door. “We won’t be tolerating your nonsense again.”

“I’m not Apo,” Pearl said, shaking her head, despite Owen not being able to see her. Unless vampires could see through walls... That would be cool! Not likely, but cool! Though, if they could see through walls, he’d know she wasn’t Apo. Eh, oh well.

“...” Owen was silent for a few moments before the door swung open. “Pearl?! Why did they send you here?”

“Oh,” Pearl snorted. “There’s no they that sent me– I’m here on my own! Can I come in?”

“Are you mocking us?” Owen hissed after the question.

“Nah,” Pearl shook her head. “Just being polite. Manners and all that. It would probably be easier to sit down and talk about this if we’re inside anyway.”

Owen stared at Pearl, his glare remaining cold and suspicious.

Pearl stared back, her smile never wavering.

“So…” Pearl coughed awkwardly, still smiling. She held out a hand. “What do you say?”

“Put your hand down,” Owen sighed as he opened the door fully, stepping aside to let Pearl in. “I’m not touching you.”

“Fine by me!” Pearl giggled as she skipped inside the castle. The last time she was here it was in ruin, and boy had it changed since then. “Wow! I love what you guys did with the place. Fancy!”

“Are we going to talk?” Owen grumbled, following behind Pearl.

“We are right now, aren’t we?” Pearl laughed, keeping her lead. She paid no mind to Owen attempting to pass her and lead the way.

“Pearl…” Owen practically growled.

“Right,” Pearl slowed down to let Owen take charge. No reason to keep pissing him off. It wasn’t the time for fun and games. “I’d like to discuss details on this whole deal we’ve got going on.”

“We’ve made ourselves quite clear,” Owen glowered. “Return him today by midnight or you shall see carnage. l–”

“No, no,” Pearl cut him off, ignoring how much it clearly upset Owen. “That’s not what I’m confused about.”

“What?” Owen’s face somehow got even angrier. “What could you possibly find confusing about this? And don’t give me any of that ‘we don’t know where he is’ business. It’s getting old.”

“Why do you guys think it’s a lie?” Pearl questioned. “For arguments sake, please, humor me for just a sec?”

“It’s getting late, Pearl,” Owen scoffed, tossing his hair. “Hurry up with it.”

“Well, there’s a lot of things that are unclear here,” Pearl started, thinking back to the notes Sausage took, the interactions Oakhurst had with the coven, the inconsistencies. “I’d like to know what Avid did that’s made you this upset– I’m sure that’d be helpful to know. Like, I understand that this is a reverse hostage situation, but what’s up with all the genuine feels out there?”

“What?” Owen’s face scrunched up. “Is Avid the one who took him?”

“Woah, okay,” Pearl’s eyes widened. “We’re getting somewhere way off from what we were thinking. Who did Avid take?”

“Scott,” Owen deadpanned. “The whole reason we’re doing this? Because you guys– Avid– took Scott? Do you mean to imply that you were not involved in any of this?”

Pearl couldn’t respond, too shaken and confused by what she was hearing. This changed everything, and she needed to put pieces together fast.

“Your silence brings me doubt,” Owen huffed, his face darkening. “I can’t see any way Avid could have captured such a powerful vampire on his own, anyway.”

“No, no!” Pearl tried to get her bearings back and catch Owen up to speed. “I swear, none of us knew about this!”

“Oh really?” Owen’s expression remained cold. “Prove it.”

“I don’t know how I’m meant to prove it,” Pearl tapped her foot on the ground in thought. “But I need to tell you something that I feel will get us all on the same page– pretty sure I’m in chapter five and everybody else is still in chapter two.”

“Spit it out, then,” Owen raised an eyebrow, looking intrigued, but definitely not convinced of anything. “What is it you mean to tell me?”

“What I mean to tell you,” Pearl begins. “Is that we haven’t seen Av–”

“Owen?!” Shelby’s voice called from the other room. “It’s time to go! It’s almost midnight!”

“This was…” Owen’s fists shook. “Was this a ploy to distract me?!”

“No!” Pearl cried, waving her arms around in desperation to finish her thought. “I think that Avid and Scott are–”

Pearl was cut off by a kick landing right between her shoulderblades. She crashed into the ground with a loud thunk.

She tried to prop herself up but a sharp stabbing pain in her collarbone forced her back down. Shit. The fall had broken it. Pearl glanced behind her and saw Pyro, who was glaring down at her along with Owen.

“We’ll deal with you after we slaughter everyone else,” Pyro stared at Pearl as though she were a cockroach in a kitchen. Disgust, hatred, and annoyance. “I hope that hurt.”

“Suffer,” Owen disappeared with a final, bitter word. Pyro sneered and seemed to dissipate into the air.

“Wait!” Pearl yelled out. “Avid and Scott are both missing! We need to look for them together!”

Pearl waited for a response but was met with silence and pain on the hardwood floor.

They hadn’t heard her.

She needed to make them listen.

Pearl forced herself off the ground, white hot pain shooting through her entire torso.

But pain was dead-last on her list of priorities.

She needed to find Avid and Scott.

Now.

Pearl pulled an axe out of her bag and made her way to the front door.

Time to hunt.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

Avid woke up feeling better than he had in weeks. His sleep was actually restful, and the nightmares that had been present were already lost in his memory. It was nice.

He sighed and turned over to face the sky as he opened his eyes.

“Oh, good!” Scott grinned down at him. “You’re finally awake.”

Scott’s tone was as sassy and unbothered as ever, but Avid had learned to appreciate it. Despite the princess energy it gave off, Avid found comfort in the words being said and the cloudy intentions behind it. Who knew if Scott was being genuine or not with such a consistent cadence.

Avid didn’t really care anymore.

“Morning, Scott,” Avid sat up and stretched. “Did anything happen while I was asleep?”

“Other than you being weird with your breathing?” Scott started. Avid’s blood ran cold. “Nothing much. Oh yeaaaaah! Your breathing was weird. Is that a ‘normal’ for you thing or a ‘tell Legs as soon as you return’ emergency thing?”

“Uh…” Avid coughed, but this time, he couldn’t contain the episode. He hacked and coughed until his throat went raw. His vision darkened, his hearing muffled, and his hands shook.

“Avid,” Scott’s voice cut through the episode and the shaking stopped instantly. Avid’s deep, painful coughs had softened to something passable as a clearing of the throat. “Are you alright? Are you dying?”

“Oof,” Avid started, shaking thanks to nerves rather than sickness this time. “What a question…”

Avid paused for a minute or two. Maybe even five. He lost track. But Scott never pushed, only crossing his arms and watching him carefully with a raised eyebrow.

“Yes,” Avid sighed, tears stinging the corners of his eyes. He pushed them back. “I’m sick. But it’s okay. I’m okay. I’ll… I’ll fix this.”

“Being a vampire cures all sickness,” Scott casually checked his claws. “Just something to think about. That’s why Owen turned, you know.”

Avid did not know. Or maybe he did? He hadn’t really been listening to Owen’s desperate depressive monologues.

Vampirism cured all sicknesses..?

“Thanks, but no thanks,” Avid forced a laugh, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “I’m okay right now.” I’ll think about it.

“Alright,” Scott shrugged. “I don’t blame you, I guess. The perks are great, but not everyone can handle the hunger.”

Right. Scott was probably in agony right now. He hadn’t eaten in a long time. Avid considered his options and his face went red.

“Let me know if you change your mind, though,” Scott mused, apparently not noticing Avid’s turmoil. “Being a vampire is great, and you’ve proven you wouldn’t be miserable to be around for all of eternity.”

“That’s…” Avid coughed, looking anywhere but Scott. “A long time. Thanks?”

“Don’t mention it,” Scott grinned. “You’re the one who proved himself. You should be more proud about your accomplishments,” Scott paused for a moment and squinted at Avid, which only made his chest tighten further. “Your heart’s going really fast. Do you need to lay back down?”

“Are you hungry?” Avid blurted out before he could think about it any longer.

Scott looked taken aback by Avid’s question. His mouth open in shock for a few moments before finally moving again. “Yes? Of course I’m hungry. Wha–”

“You can take some of my blood!” Avid shouted, feeling his face burn. Wow, he must be really nervous about this. “You gave me potatoes! And you’re hungry! You need food too!”

“Are you certain?” Scott’s question sounded sincere, but his body was completely still. No doubt keeping restraint until receiving confirmation.

“Yeah,” Avid looked away, face burning. “It’s fine! I thought about it! You can drink my blood! As long as you don’t kill me or turn me– or whatever! Please, just go for it!”

“You have my word,” Scott’s voice was right next to his ear, making him shiver. Scott had covered so much ground in such a small amount of time. Something about that was driving Avid crazy. Fear. It was definitely fear.

Before Avid could think about rolling up his sleeve or something, he felt cold air hit his shoulder. He jolted and whipped his head around to face Scott.

“Sorry,” Scott started, moving back. “Should I–?”

“Nope!” Avid forced another laugh. “Neck is fine, you can bite my neck! Whatever is easier! … haha…”

Scott raised an eyebrow but didn’t say anything on it.

And that’s how Avid found himself wrapped in Scott’s arms, fangs centimeters from the meat of his shoulder.

Avid held his breath and squeezed his eyes shut.

The prick of fangs wasn’t nearly as bad as he expected. It was actually kind of…

NOPE.

Avid wasn’t in the mood for thinking too deeply on things right then. Not with Scott’s teeth in his flesh. He needed to focus on staying calm as Scott fed.

Avid tried to ignore the sensation of his blood being consumed. The feeling of numbness that washed through the area. The way Scott held him so closely. It was… nice.

Avid would have preferred it to be scary.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

As soon as his fangs pierced Avid’s skin, Scott heard Avid’s breath hitch and his heart sped up even more.

It was already incredibly quick, but it was somehow getting even faster. The poor hunter must have been incredibly terrified.

Still, Avid was reacting more positively to the experience than Scott had originally assumed. Scott had been prepared for Avid to immediately back out, maybe before Scott even bit him. But shockingly, Avid seemed to be relaxing into it.

Scott saved the thought for later. Right now, all he could think about was how good it felt to finally eat something. The bottles of blood were gone for what felt like ages, and nothing was as good as human blood.

The red liquid coated his tongue and throat as the agony of weakness Scott had been feeling calmed. He sighed in relief and detached his fangs for a moment.

“Still good?” Scott asked. He certainly didn’t want his company passing out on him.

“Yeah,” Avid responded almost immediately, but his voice shook a bit. “You can keep doing that for a little while.”

“Mm, okay,” Scott brought his mouth back up to the bite and caught the escaped blood with his tongue before continuing his meal. Avid gasped again but Scott was too distracted to care.

Scott continued to drink until Avid tapped him on the shoulder. Scott hummed in acknowledgement and removed his fangs once again. He pulled one last mouthful from the wound and licked it until it stopped bleeding.

“!” Avid made a shocked noise that sounded like a strangled combination of a shriek and a squeak. “Was that necessary?!”

“If you want the bite to heal faster and not hurt for ages, yeah?” Scott raised an eyebrow. Avid was a vampire hunter, shouldn’t he know these things? “Vampire saliva can seal wounds, too. It also acts as a minor painkiller.”

“Oh,” Avid said so quietly it was hard to hear. “I didn’t know that one. Thanks.”

“I should be the one thanking you,” Scott reached over and fixed Avid’s shirt. “Your blood was delicious, and I really needed food.”

“Oh– I–” Avid started stammering. “I, uh, don’t know how to respond to the, um, comment on how my blood tastes– but, um, no problem! …on the food thing. Yeah.”

“Did I take too much?” Scott smirked. Scott knew what was happening now. “You’re acting awfully strange! Perhaps the blood loss is messing with you. Here, lay back down!”

“Okay,” Avid said much too quickly. Avid’s heart started racing again. Scott beamed, he had been correct. “I’m going to eat first though.”

“Of course!” Scott clasped his hands together. “You need food to recover! Eat up and then rest your head, hm?” Scott smiled as he patted his thigh.

Avid pulled out the last baked potato from his inventory and started eating at an alarming speed.

“Thanks, Scott,” Avid blurted as he swiftly rested his head on Scott’s lap. “You’re amazing.”

Compliments? Scott’s day had just gone from good, to better, to best in only an hour or so.

The pit had just become worlds more fun.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

Oakhurst had only minutes until midnight. Legundo had hoped it wouldn’t have come down to this, but it had slowly become incredibly obvious that their flimsy plan would have to be set in motion.

Legundo watched as Apo sharped their sword. Everyone else looked around the gathering, grim expressions conveying all everyone needed to know.

“Apo,” Cleo started, her face tight and voice stiff with resolution. “Let’s go meet the vampires in the middle. We can try to talk them out of it. Give our neighbors time to set final preparations for the attack.”

“I–” Apo’s eyebrows furrowed. “… Okay. It’s worth a shot.”

“Yeah,” Martyn’s voice was detached and resigned. “The rest of us will finish setting up. Go buy us some time.”

Legundo found himself nodding along, despite the sourness of the lie invading his gut. He would have preferred if it hadn’t come down to this. If Owen had only listened when he had tried to talk with him, he was sure they could have talked things out.

“Wait!” Sausage called out, looking around frantically. “Where’s Pearl?”

“Oh,” Cleo waved a hand nonchalantly. “She went out to do one last sweep, she’ll be back any moment now.”

The town was dead silent for a viscous minute before horror settled on people’s faces. Cleo’s face darkened and their fists clenched at their sides.

“Apo?” Cleo prepared to leap.

“Yeah?” Apo copied their action.

“Let’s go find my roommate.” Cleo declared, finality in her voice.

“I have a guess as to where she is,” Apo nodded.

“Me too.”

And with that, the two vampires of Oakhurst leapt over the wall and disappeared into the night. Martyn scrambled up the wall and peered over the edge.

“Alright, everyone! Move!” Martyn barked, shoving a bulb of garlic into his mouth. “Go! Go! Go! Cleo and Apo are out of sight!”

Everyone instantly shot into action. Sausage was already running one way, sword in one hand, half consumed garlic in the other. Ren had already snuck out though the back of the town. Martyn hoisted a bag over his shoulder and ran off in his predetermined direction. Abolish grabbed a lantern and stood in front of the tower in the center of town. Drift gave Legs one last nod before running in her direction.

Legundo grumbled a few curses as he picked up his medical bag and began making his way to the obelisk. He hoped he wouldn’t need to use it.

But knowing his luck?

This was going to be a long night.

Chapter Text

Cleo was sick and tired of these damn vampires.

Apo and Cleo had found and stopped Shelby and Pyro on their way to Oakhurst. It deeply concerned Cleo that Owen wasn’t present.

“Stop this,” Apo snarled. “Go back home or tell us what you really want!”

“We’ve told you enough times!” Pyro shrieked. “We want you to tell us where our sire is!”

“Your sire?” Cleo questioned, hands now on her hips. “Changing your story, are we? Don’t toy with us. Where do you have him and why all this nonsense?”

“NONSENSE?!” Pyro screamed. “NONSENSE?! You lot have been nothing but evasive, sneaky, lying worms this entire ordeal. We know you have him, and we are SICK– SICK AND TIRED– of you TOYING with us.”

“Why would we lie about this for so long?” Apo’s voice dripped with exasperation. Cleo shared the feeling. “It would be stupid. Why are you still playing this up?”

“An elder vampire doesn’t just go missing,” Pyro started. “There’s no way you don’t…”

Pyro trailed off and the vampires all fell silent as an instinctual call sank into their skin.

Cleo had never felt it before now, but they knew what it was instantly.

New blood.

Cleo jerked her head toward the origin of the sensation. They glanced around the group and found everyone else staring in the same direction.

The pale oak forest.

“TELEPORT! TELEPORT!” The coven’s voices all mixed together, their desperation and strangled emotion rang through the air.

Did Owen turn someone? It was only Pyro and Shelby in front of them. Or was it Scott?

Shelby and Pyro disappeared, leaving three clouds of smoke.

“Ugh,” Apo groaned, but her face was pale and their eyes were wide. “We can’t teleport, we need to bat over to town and find out who’s missing– now!”

“Why is someone out that far?!” Apo tugged at her hair. “Why would someone go out at a time like this?!”

Cleo turned into a bat and the two of them flew to town as quickly as possible. Panic set into Cleo’s entire body as they rushed through town.

“Town meeting!” Apo shouted. “NOW!”

Abolish stepped out from behind the tower.

“Nobody’s home,” He stated, clear as day. The lantern in his hand created wild shadows on his face, highlighting his grim expression. “They’re all out searching for Avid.”

“What?!” Apo looked furious. “Why?!”

“Fuck! Right!” Cleo put their face in their hands. “Literally everyone is split up in different sections of the woods. We need to follow the trail! There’s no way to tell who it is unless we see them!”

“Are you all idiots?!” Apo yelled.

“We can talk later. We need to move!” Cleo turned into a bat and flew in the direction of the fresh vampire.

The flapping of wings behind them told them that Apo was close behind.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

This was getting old.

Avid grumbled as he leaned up against Scott, who made a performative sound of faux annoyance as he wrapped an arm around Avid.

The fact that Scott didn’t have body heat wasn’t strange to Avid anymore. He found comfort in it now. Maybe he shouldn’t, but he did.

Avid closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the crisp night air.

“Scott?” Avid adjusted his position to fit more comfortably under the vampire’s arm.

“Hm?” Scott turned his head to face Avid. God, his eyes were gorgeous. “What is it?”

“Nothing,” Avid quickly looked away. “I’m just– really bored.”

Scott made a soft sound of recognition. “Makes sense. Not much to do in here.”

“We can talk,” Avid offered.

“That might be nice,” Scott smiled. “What’s on your mind?”

“I guess I’m just concerned about what everyone else has been up to,” Avid began fidgeting with his sleeves as anxiety leaked into his mind. “I mean, we don’t know anything about what Oakhurst or the coven have been doing these past few days– are they even looking for us?! Well, they’d definitely look for you, but would they look for me?! Drift might, but–”

“Shh, shh, slow down,” Scott gently shushed Avid. Avid wanted to hate how well it worked to calm his nerves. He couldn’t. “I have no doubt everyone is worried sick about either one of us. And if they kick you out, you can stay with me.”

“In the castle?” Avid asked incredulously. Was Scott seriously offering that? “Like, join the coven?”

“Only if you want to,” Scott gave a half shrug, careful not to jostle Avid. Avid’s face flushed from the consideration. “I hate being just a backup plan, but…” Scott smiled down at Avid. “You’re fine. You could stay.”

“Oh, wow,” Avid’s face burned. Scott had barely complimented him, but the sweet gesture along with Scott’s own habits on giving out compliments really hit Avid hard. “Thank you, Scott. You’re… amazing.”

“Thank you!” Scott perked up at the compliment, his crimson eyes practically sparkling. His cadence with the words were a familiar cheerful chirp. Avid loved the way it made him swoon. “I know. I’m great.”

“Okay,” Avid sighed, scooting closer to the hot vampire. “But for real, I am concerned about the town. We should talk about it. I’ll be cool.”

“Alright,” Scott pulled Avid closer and cradled him in a hug. “Let’s talk, then.”

“Ah–” Avid’s face went beet red.

“Hm?” Scott loosened his grip. “Is this not fine?”

“No!” Avid shouted, Scott flinched from the sound. “Sorry! I meant– it’s fine! I was just surprised.” Avid laughed awkwardly and laid his head against Scott’s chest, which only worsened the burning in his face.

“Good,” Scott huffed in approval. “Now that we’re comfortable, do tell me what’s on your mind. Calmly, this time.”

“I’m just–” Avid made a noise in frustration. Scott pulled him closer in response. It did wonders to calm him down. “What’s been happening? I know I sound like a broken record here, I really do, but it’s just that– we don’t know anything– now that I think about it, we know nothing!”

“I’m sure Oakhurst has some levelheaded folk to keep everyone’s heads on straight,” Scott mused. “And I’d like to believe that Shelby is keeping Owen and Pyro in check.”

“What if they’re fighting?” Avid wrapped his own arms around Scott. “Oh, god, Scott… What if someone’s been killed? Or turned–?”

“No,” Scott cut him off. “There haven’t been any new vampires. No one has been turned in the time we’ve been down here.”

“But how do you know that?” Avid’s eyebrows furrowed in worry. “As much as I appreciate the positive thinking, we can’t ignore the possibility.”

“Nope,” Scott shook his head. “Vampires can sense new blood. I would know exactly when and where a turning happened, if one occurred.”

“So…” Avid’s brain started running through ideas. “It’s like a tracker? Or a beacon?”

“Of sorts,” Scott shrugs. “You’re drawn to the area. It lasts for a good amount of time, too. Plenty of opportunity to hunt down and find who’s been turned.”

“So you’re saying,” Avid pushed himself up to make eye contact with Scott. “Is that if someone were to be turned right now, all the vampires would immediately go to the area where it happened?”

“More like the new vampire,” said Scott, not quite catching on to Avid’s plan just yet. “But, yes.”

“Scott?”

“Yes?”

“Turn me.”

“What?” Scott straightened his posture and grabbed Avid’s shoulders. “What?!”

“You said it yourself,” Avid held his eye contact. He couldn’t make out much of Scott’s face in the darkness, but his red eyes were easy to see. Maybe it was vampire magic? “All the vampires would know exactly where we are. They’ll come running over and they can get us out of here.”

“Are you sure?” Scott gripped Avid’s shoulders even tighter.

“Yes, Scott,” Avid broke eye contact. “This isn’t just for getting out, either. I’m sick. Sicker than I let on. I… I think I’m out of time anyway. I’ve thought it over enough. Let’s do this. The coven needs you. And… I’m tired and half-dead already.”

Scott stared at him for a few more seconds before plunging his face into the crook of Avid’s neck. Avid gasped as teeth sank into his flesh once again.

His vision got dark and stars flashed through his vision. The experience wasn’t nearly as pleasant as when Scott wasn’t completely draining him.

“Scott–” Avid managed with a wince. “Can you make it fast?”

Scott sharply adjusted and a sudden deep feeling of wrong flooded Avid’s shoulder, neck, and face. He felt blood rush through much quicker. His vision loss quickened and his brain began feeling cloudy. Avid felt the world go cold and dark.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

After what felt like hours, Avid awoke with a hand over his eyes. The pain in his shoulder, neck, and head was completely gone. He reached up to move the hand.

“Oh good,” Scott’s voice whispered, though the sound still made Avid’s now pointed ears flatten against his head. “You’re up faster than I expected. You went down quickly after I cut your artery. I should try that more often when turning.”

“How long was I down?” Avid questioned, trying to move Scott’s hand. “Why are you covering my eyes?”

“About a minute,” Scott whispered, slightly louder this time. “You’re not used to being able to see in the dark, it’s going to be really bright. You’ve still got that concussion most likely, and whatever is muting our powers right now is not going to be kind to your adjustment.”

“Just rip the band-aid off,” Avid sighed.

Scott’s hand hesitantly moved from Avid’s face and he immediately missed it. Scott was right. His eyes instantly started hurting. Avid made a pained noise and turned into Scott’s grasp.

He could see Scott now.

He could see how Scott already had his arms open for him.

He squeezed his eyes shut and pressed his face into Scott’s shoulder.

“It’ll be over soon,” Scott soothed. “You’ll adjust. Give it a little time.”

Avid hoped it was the truth.

…

And the truth it was.

In just a few minutes, Avid felt worlds better. It still wasn’t pleasant, but he was more accustomed to it now.

“Scott?!” A faint voice called out in the distance. Avid stood up abruptly and looked at Scott. Scott stood up and grabbed Avid’s arm. The two of them made silent eye contact before scrambling to the side.

“I’m over here!” Scott called out.

Shelby peered over the edge and their face lit up instantly.

“SCOTT!” She practically screamed, relief and joy tearing through her face. “OWEN! PYRO! I FOUND HIM!”

The two other vampires appeared at the edge almost instantly. Avid observed their expressions. Concern, relief, and tears painted their faces. It was surreal. The creatures he had been preaching had no feelings were all worried sick; In literal tears at Scott’s return.

They all looked so different. Their outfits had changed into darker tones with an emphasis on red. Their hair had all turned different shades of shiny white. But their faces, their demeanor– was all the same.

“Why did you turn him?” Owen’s hands shook, his face twisting into hatred.

“Owen,” Avid started. “I’m sorry. I was wrong, and I know you can’t forgive me–”

“He’s fine in my books now,” Scott shrugged, cutting Avid’s apology off as he wrapped an arm around Avid. “So do me a favor and tolerate him until we can have a proper chat about this.”

Pyro reached a hand down towards Scott.

“Nope,” Scott wagged his finger at the group and scooped Avid up into his arms. “Him first. Be nice.”

“WHAT?!” Avid, Shelby, Pyro, and Owen all shouted in tandem.

“Do what I said,” Scott rolled his eyes and held Avid up. The vampires looked around uncertainly before hoisting Avid out of the pit.

As soon as Avid was on the higher ground, the other vampires reached down and pulled Scott out as well.

Avid’s eyes widened as he saw the coven all break into a group hug. Shelby was crying, Pyro looked like he might, and Owen was facing away.

It was a soft moment. Softer than Avid originally thought possible for the coven.

But he had been wrong about a lot of things.

Avid smiled and started walking to town.

“Hold on,” Scott called. “Wait up.”

“Hm?” Avid tilted his head.

“You better turn into a bat and fly with us for a bit,” Scott pulled Avid away from the pit and deeper into the woods. “Unless you want Cleo and Apo to learn that you were the one that just turned.”

“CLEO AND APO ARE VAMPIRES?!” Avid gawked. Avid had heard suspicions on Cleo, but this was his first confirmation. And Apo?

“Yes,” Scott sighed. “And they’re going to know you are too if you don’t run right now.”

Scott turned into a bat, the rest of the coven following suit.

“Stay with us,” Shelby chirped. “We’ll fly around and lose them, that way you can keep it a secret.”

“Um,” Avid looked around before fumbling to turn into a bat. It was easier said than done. “Okay! Okay! I’m doing it!”

He fumbled a few more times before his body morphed into a tiny chiroptera. The coven cheered and welcomed him into the flying formation. This was nicer than he thought!

The wind hitting his skin was like nothing he had ever felt before. The rush of the night fueled him to his core. Maybe it was getting away from that crystal, maybe it was being free of his curse. It didn’t matter. He felt so free. Weightless. He couldn’t help but let out an exhilarated laugh as they soared above the treeline.

“Make sure to be quiet,” Shelby warned from beside him. “Just in case–”

“Stop!” Cleo’s voice rang from over the trees as if on cue. Avid turned and saw two bats speeding towards them. “Who are you?!”

“Time to go!” Scott laughed. The coven sped off, Avid in tow.

Avid did his best to keep up with the coven’s turns and maneuvers. It was thrilling and he was catching on fast.

He caught himself almost cheering multiple times. He would be shrieking with joy if he wasn’t being chased. He needed to keep this a secret, and making any sound with his voice would give him away in a heartbeat.

“On your left,” Owen’s voice hissed.

Avid turned and saw a bat charging straight towards him. He squeaked and swooped down just in time. The bat morphed into Apo, who looked like she had been trying to bodyslam Avid.

“No!” Apo’s voice was muffled by the leaves as her humanoid form fell into the sea of trees.

Avid turned and saw Cleo still on their trail.

“They’ll run out of juice soon,” Pyro mumbled close to Avid. “She can’t chase us forever.”

Avid nodded as best he could as the tiny, winged creature he was and sped up to be closer to the rest of the coven.

The night wind soothed Avid’s skin and cleared his mind.

This wasn’t as bad as he thought.

It was amazing.

“The sense just wore off!” Shelby called. “Scatter!”

Avid swiftly ducked into the lake tower, hoping everyone else swooped in different directions.

“No!” Cleo’s voice screamed from above the trees. “Shit!”

Avid peered from one of the windows and watched as Cleo flew back towards town. As soon as she was out of sight, he morphed back into his humanoid state and leapt to the ground.

The rest of the coven appeared from the trees and met on the small island.

“Great work everyone,” Scott smiled, stretching his arms above his head.

The coven gave a weak cheer in response and followed Scott's lead. They casually stretched their arms and legs, shaking out the stored tension. Their shoulders disengaged, trading their rigid posture for something more nonchalant.

“Are you coming home with us?” Shelby grabbed Avid’s hands, eyes wide with hope. “Since you’re a vampire now? Please?”

“I think I’d better go back to town,” Avid laughed, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “They’ll probably riot if I don’t appear soon.”

“Oh,” Owen looked down. “Yeah, the town is… quite upset at the moment. We sort of thought that they were holding Scott hostage… and have sort of been… threatening them. A lot.”

“Y’know,” Shelby tapped her chin. “Looking back on this, they totally thought the same thing about us, huh?”

“Ah,” Owen and Pyro nodded in sync.

“Oh…” Shelby put their head in their palms. “We messed up real bad…”

“Oh god,” Avid cringed, picking up on their expressions. “Town is going to be interesting, then.”

Shelby, Pyro, and Owen all nodded.

“Great,” Avid groaned. “I don’t want to deal with this today. Everyone’s going to have so many questions, and I’m going to have to act tired because I am drenched in blood and have a concussion– Legs is going to see right through me!”

“I could help you look a bit weaker!” Scott chirped, a mischievous smirk painting his face. “I can siphon just enough to make you look rough, you go into town all genuinely tired, figure yourself out, and work from there.”

“I still don’t understand why we’re so supportive of this rat all of a sudden,” Owen snarled, shooting a glare at Avid. “Why are we helping him of all people?”

“Because I like him,” Scott smiled, keeping his everyday cadence, like it was the most natural thing in the world. Avid blushed– he could still do that?! However, before Avid could think too in depth about it, he felt a kiss being planted on his temple.

Avid would’ve screamed in delight if he wasn’t stunned and flustered to his very core.

Shelby, however, did not have these restrictions and squealed while jumping up and down. Meanwhile, Owen looked mortified, and Pyro wore an unreadable expression.

“Goodness me,” Owen muttered. “This is horrible. Truly dreadful. All kinds of awful. I hate this development.”

“Well,” Scott sighed, shaking his head. “You have an eternity to get used to it. But yeah, he’s mine now.”

Avid had no clue how Scott could say such things without his tone changing once.

It was… really hot, actually.

And he was allowed to think that now!

Being a vampire really wasn’t that bad at all.

“You guys are so cute!” Shelby shrieked. “This is just like a fanfiction I wrote in middle school!”

“You wrote a fanfiction of a vampire and a vampire hunter getting stuck in a miserable pit for like a week and they ended up together?” Scott raised an eyebrow. “That’s very specific.”

“Oh, no,” Shelby grinned. “Not exactly that, but it did have a vampire and a vampire hunter falling in love. It was very cute. And a little more than cute, too.”

“Okay,” Owen looked absolutely done with everything. “That’s it. I’m cutting this conversation off. The town is probably looking for us. We need to get out of here as soon as possible.” Owen turned and pointed at Avid. “You especially! We vampires have had our concerns quelled, but what of the town?! Of you?!”

“You’re right! You’re right!” Avid waved his hands around. “Scott, do your siphon thing or whatever–”

Scott happily obliged, sinking his teeth into Avid’s neck swiftly. Scott took several gulps of blood before sealing the wound with a kiss and a wink. Avid wasn’t sure if the dizziness was from the low blood level or the fact that Scott was flirting with him so openly.

“Is that good enough?” Scott tilted his head. Scott’s gorgeous eyes made Avid almost want to lie and tell him to take more. But Avid knew that was a bad idea.

“Yeah,” Avid stumbled a bit, but Scott caught his arm and steadied him. “I’m feeling pretty weak, but I’m not dying or anything. This is perfect for what I need.”

“Here!” Shelby shoved some glass bottles brimming with blood into Avid’s inventory. “Just in case.”

“Thanks, Shelby,” Avid smiled. He wanted to say more, but Owen began shoving everyone away from Avid.

“We need to leave already!” Owen huffed. “They’re going to come here and see us!”

“Bye, Avid!” Scott cooed as purple smoke began swirling around him. “I hope to see you soon!”

“Goodbye, Handsome! You will!” Avid called out right as Scott disappeared into the night air. Owen, Shelby, and Pyro gave Avid a farewell nod before lunging over the lake and dashing towards the castle.

And right on time, too.

As soon as Avid let out a sigh and prepared to attempt to cross the lake in his weakened state, his newly heightened hearing caught some rustlings coming from the other side of the lake. He whipped his head around, cringing at the way the movement made his brain throb.

His darkvision opened the curtains of the blackness of night to reveal one of the last people from town he wanted to have found him.

“Doctor?”

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

Legundo was even more convinced that this was a bad idea when he heard the screeching of bats above him.

The sight of a whole crowd of the small critters darting around the air, movements far too deliberate to not be vampires, almost convinced Legundo to turn back.

Almost.

The fact that the vampires were flying about– and that the group definitely had more than four, which meant it wasn’t just the coven, gave Legs the confirmation he had to keep going.

If the coven was out and about, the town was safe.

For now.

Legundo looked around at the sky, but he saw no smoke signal. No one had found anything yet. He groaned and continued on through the dark night.

When he caught sight of some medicinal mushrooms, he paused to collect them. Might as well, since he’s out here anyway.

As soon as he stood up, satisfied with the amount of mushrooms he gathered, he heard a small splash of water. He instantly straightened and began jogging towards the lake. He met the clearing and squinted as he tried to make anything out in the darkness.

“Doctor?” A weak, rasped voice came from across the river. Legundo’s heart sank when he heard how rough it sounded.

“Who is that?” Legundo called, but he already knew who it was. He knew everything, somehow. Unfortunately.

“It’s me,” The voice now clearly belonged to Avid. The doctor heard an uneven step and a heavy splash. Even without seeing Avid, the doctor could tell that he was in no state to try to cross the river alone.

“Oh my god,” Legundo breathed in disbelief. “Avid, stop. Stay put. I’m coming across and putting you in a boat. You are in no state to swim.”

“Okay,” Avid’s voice was quiet and tired. “I’m just going to sit down for a minute…”

Legundo dove into the water immediately. This patient clearly needed care as fast as possible. He swam across the lake and pulled a lantern out of his inventory to scan the island for Avid.

Avid was propped up against the structure, and even in the low light, he looked rough. His clothes were bloody and he was missing his green vest. His breathing was shallow, and his head had a massive wound across the side. At least it wasn’t actively bleeding.

“Avid,” The doctor was in shock at the state of the self-proclaimed vampire hunter. It was a wonder he was still talking. “What happened to your head?”

“I hit it on something.”

Well, that answer was a little too brief for the doctor's liking.

“On what, Avid?” The doctor sighed.

“Obsidian…” Avid looked down at the ground and fidgeted with his bloodied sleeves.

“Avid!” Legundo held the lantern up to Avid’s face, checking his pupils. They responded a little slowly for the doctor’s liking, and one constricted noticeably slower than the other. “When?”

“Um…” Avid looked back towards the ground. “The day I first disappeared?”

“Avid…” Legundo’s face paled. “That was almost seven days ago! Where were you? Have you eaten recently? Have you been unconscious this whole time? Which one of them did this to you?”

“I want to go home, Doc,” Avid groaned, shaking his head. “I’m tired. I’m so, so tired.”

“…” Legundo looked over Avid one last time before pulling out the boat and placing it next to him. “Okay. Let’s get you back to Oakhurst. You can rest. We can ask questions after you’re properly rested, treated, and fed.”

“I’d like that,” Avid nodded slowly, carefully easing himself into the boat. “Thanks, Doc.”

“It’s what I’m here for,” Legundo pulled out a makeshift smoke signal and lit it. He handed it to Avid. “Hold this while we cross the lake– don’t inhale any of it– I will take it back when we cross and we can slowly make our way to town until someone catches up to us.”

“Okay,” Avid mumbled, looking more tired by the moment. Legundo needed to get him back to his home to treat him now. To Avid’s credit, he held the smoke signal away from his face and tucked himself into a corner of the boat. He was keeping himself impressively stable as they crossed the lake.

“Can you at least tell me which one of them hurt you?” Legs gently prodded. “I’m just asking to keep you safe.”

“None of them hurt me, Legs,” Avid mumbled. “I mean it.”

“Okay.” Legundo didn’t buy it, but he could dig more later.

As soon as the boat hit the sand, Legundo jumped out of the boat and waded into the water to support Avid as he got out. The way Avid wobbled deeply concerned the doctor. Legs swiftly took the smoke signal and made his way to the hunter’s side, wrapping Avid’s arm over his own shoulder to support him. He used his free hand to hold the signal.

“Legs,” Avid spoke after less than a minute of walking, his voice even weaker than before. “I don’t think I can keep walking…”

“It’s okay,” Legundo sighed. He was hoping they’d be able to get further, both for his own sake and in the hopes that Avid was well enough to keep going. But he wouldn’t deny a hurting person rest. “You can rest now. I’ve got you.”

And with that, Avid’s pace slowed and his legs buckled beneath him. Legundo slowly eased him to the ground, taking care to not let him get injured further.

“Are you okay?” Legs gently questioned the man laying on the ground. He received a small sound of acknowledgement but not much else. Deeply concerning. “Can I lift you?”

Avid let out the quietest hum of approval before closing his eyes. Good. He needs to rest. Legs pulled Avid into a fireman’s carry and continued back towards Oakhurst with a quicker pace.

Just why did Oakhurst have to be so far away?

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

This was definitely one of the worst days in Apo’s life.

They had been through horrible things, but this whole exhausting and confusing experience was starting to tear at her limits.

She glanced around and noticed Abolish walking over to the fence where they sat.

“Has anyone entered town from the far entrance?” Apo asked, a drop of hope mixing into her emotional jug of frustration.

“No,” Abolish shook his head with a sigh. “I came to ask the same, but I can guess that it’s been quiet over here, too?”

“Yup,” Apo groaned and pulled on her face. “Everyone is still out there, we don’t know where any of them are, the sky is one-hundred percent clear of smoke, and we have no idea who the new vampire is!”

“After all that’s been happening in town,” Abolish sat down on the fence next to Apo. “I hope they’ll come clean when they get home.”

“No kidding,” Apo forced a laugh. “God, we’re screwed.”

“Back it up on the smoke comment,” Cleo suddenly spoke from behind them. “Look!”

Apo jerked her head to face where Cleo was pointing and saw a small line of smoke coming from the forest.

“Someone found him?” Abolish’s voice was riddled with shock. “Or is that a distress signal?”

“Doesn’t matter,” Cleo shoved the gate open and began jogging towards the signal. “Let’s move!”

Apo and Abolish shared a quick nod before chasing after Cleo.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

It didn’t take them long to run into the doctor, who had an unconscious Avid over his shoulder.

“Oh my god,” Cleo gasped, sounding more exasperated than excited. “You actually found him. What happened?!”

“There will be time for that later!” The doctor continued moving swiftly towards Oakhurst. “He’s in real rough shape– I need to get him back for treatment immediately.”

“Got it,” Cleo nodded before pulling out their sword. She sprinted past them and cleared the bramble to create an even path for the doctor to cross through.

When they reached the field, Apo lunged forward and held open the gates. She waited for the others to pass through before shutting it behind them and tailing the group.

“Come on,” Legundo muttered under his breath, but due to Apo’s vampiric senses, they heard it perfectly. “Let’s get you inside.”

The doctor reached his house and shoved through the door, placing Avid on a couch before rushing to his medicine barrel.

“Can I come in?” Apo asked from the doorframe.

“Best not for now, Apo,” Legundo sighed. “I need to focus on the patient. Crowding everyone in here is not helpful right now. Go gather the rest of town. We’ll talk with him when he’s awake and lucid.”

“Understood,” Apo nodded, closing the door for Legs. She ran to the center of town, where Abolish and Cleo were already tugging on the rope to ring the bell.

So.

They finally had answers.

But questions still plagued her mind.

This was still dumb.

Apo was tired.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

Pearl snuck through the bushes. She didn’t even notice the pain anymore. Her only goal was to find someone– anyone– to hear her out.

If she was lucky, an Oakhurst citizen.

If she was luckier, a coven vampire.

If Pearl’s luck was sent by the divine, Scott and Avid.

Maybe there was some divinity on her side. An angel, perhaps. Because she heard Scott’s voice around a corner.

“Scott?!” She yelled out, not caring about noise. “Is that you?!”

“Pearl?” Scott rounded one of the trees and walked over. “What do you want? Avid’s in town by now.”

“She probably doesn’t know what–” Shelby started, but Pearl shook her head.

“No,” Pearl interrupted. “I know what’s happening. You don’t need to fill me in. Good to see they’ve found you. Is Avid alright?”

“In some ways more than others,” Scott shrugged. “But, he’s fine. He’ll live.”

“And none of you hurt him?” Pearl squinted at the coven. “'Cos if any of you hurt him, I’ve got a silver axe and a stake with your names on it.”

“No, no,” Scott laughed. “He’s fine. You can ask him yourself if you don’t believe me.”

“Well, forgive me for not trusting you lot,” Pearl rolled her eyes. “Your little vampire fledglings broke my collarbone! They’ve been absolutely dreadful all week. Every one of them has been nothing but dramatic and crying about you being missing.”

“Aw!” Scott clasped his hands together. Pearl smirked at the way the fledgelings all shot her embarrassed glares. “That’s so sweet of them to care!” Scott’s smile faded slightly and he turned to the rest of the coven. “Although breaking a bone is quite rude. I think someone is owed an apology!”

“… Sorry…” Pyro mumbled after a moment.

“Thank you!” Pearl grinned, happy to rat out the younger vampires to the big boss. “Don’t do it again, though. This is a one chance forgiveness kind of deal, you hear?”

“Got it,” Pyro looked to the ground in shame.

“Why, I think a few of us ought to grace the town with a quick visit!” Scott grabbed Owen’s shoulder and signaled for Shelby and Pyro to continue back to the castle. “We can’t have an injured Pearl walk all the way back home alone after all that grief?”

“Love has changed you,” Owen muttered under his breath. Pearl raised an eyebrow. She would be keeping that comment logged in her mind to decode later. Scott just laughed.

“Just tired,” Scott shook his head. “I’m sure everyone is done with this whole ordeal. Temporary truce until everyone stops throwing angry tantrums.”

“No harm to it,” Pearl shrugged, but kept a hand on a wooden stake– just in case!

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

It turned out that Pearl didn’t need the stake as they approached the town. She sighed in relief seeing the tall wooden walls and the smoke rising from the center of town.

The three of them made their way to the edge of town, where the rest of Oakhurst were already gathered.

“VAMPIRES!” Martyn shrieked as soon as he saw them, yanking a stake from his inventory. “YOU CAN’T HAVE HIM UNTIL YOU TELL US WHY YOU WANT HIM!”

“Nope!” Pearl stepped in front of Scott and Owen. “There was a huge misunderstanding– They’re here to apologize, actually!” Pearl grinned as she looked back at the two vampires behind her. Scott looked dreadfully annoyed and Owen looked furious.

“It’s true,” Scott shrugged. “I didn’t have anything to do with it, so I won’t be apologizing, but Owen will!”

Pearl had to use all of her will not to burst out laughing when she saw how livid Owen was, glaring at both Scott and Pearl.

“No!” Owen stomped his foot and poofed into a cloud of smoke. “Everyone was wrong! Not just me!”

“Close enough,” Legundo groaned. “We can talk about this tomorrow. Now leave.”

“Leaving,” Scott waved with a wink and disappeared into a cloud of bats.

“Oh man,” Pearl shook her head fondly. “Those guys are a riot!” Pearl turned to face the crowd fully. “So, I hear Avid’s back now? ‘He doing alright?”

“Pearl!” Cleo walked out from their house and raced over to embrace Pearl. “You’re okay!”

“Ouch!” Pearl shouted as her injury was compressed. “Watch the collarbone. I had a bit of a slip. Hit the floor pretty bad.”

“Another falling injury?” Legundo sighed, sounding oh so exasperated. “Come here. Let me look at it.”

“Hold on,” Martyn hissed. “I need to know more about what’s happening. I’m sure everyone is confused, and Pearl, you seem to know what’s going on.”

“I do!” Pearl beamed. “Well, I know most of it. The vampires just had a tiny miscommunication with us. No big deal! They thought we had Scott and were holding him hostage. They never had Avid, either. They were telling the truth on that.”

People around town murmured in a disorganized flurry confusion and resolution.

“Well,” Sausage stepped forward. “Where was Avid then?! And Scott too, I guess!”

“Oh,” Pearl shrugged, wincing as her bones screamed in retaliation. “That’s what I’m not sure about. Why don’t you ask Avid?”

“No one will be asking Avid anything until he is fully awake and alert,” Legundo set a firm boundary, voice demanding finality. “He has a concussion, a gaping wound on his head that’s apparently from hitting obsidian–” Sounds of shock rang through the town at the mention of the cause. “–and he passed out on me before we even walked 50 blocks. He is not well and needs to rest.”

“Hm,” Sausage crossed his arms. “I guess that’s fair… but we’re getting answers from him as soon as he’ll give them!”

“Don’t push him,” Legs sighed. “I’m just as desperate for answers as the rest of you, but with the way he was acting when he was conscious, pushing will only close him off more. If we want the full truth, we need to be patient.”

“Aw,” Martyn huffed. “But I hate doing that!”

“You’re certainly not very good at it, either,” Apo punched his arm playfully.

For a moment, the town felt at peace.

“I guess we should all just chillax until Avid can give us answers, then?” Pearl offered. “The coven said that there’s a temporary truce. I’m thinking we all just go home and have ourselves a good night's sleep now that this is all over.”

“Okay, hold on,” Abolish broke the silence. “Who’s the new vampire?”

The town fell into cold silence.

What?

What.

Chapter Text

The town had been a wreck ever since Abolish, Cleo, and Apo dropped the bombshell that they had yet another vampire in their ranks.

Cleo and Apo had explained to the town the run-in they had with the coven and the new vampire as bats, the way they can sense new blood, and the fact they were unable to catch them.

They had whittled down a few details. For one, they knew it must have been either Owen or Scott who turned someone. They had ruled out Abolish being the vampire, as Cleo and Apo had seen him while the sense was still active and he wasn’t the one sending the signal.

Unfortunately, they couldn’t fully rule anyone else out quite yet.

Everyone had split up and run just about everywhere. No one had a buddy until Legs found Avid, and even then, Avid was a shoddy defense. The fact that Avid was still unconscious and weak told the town that it likely wasn’t him.

They had everyone eat garlic, but whoever it was must have been good at keeping a straight face, as no one had an out of place reaction.

The sneaky vampire must have been very set on keeping themself a secret.

Not even Pearl herself was fully off the chopping block! Which was stupid, in her opinion. Especially considering that her broken collarbone was still angry. The town had decided if it was still bad in another day or two, she was safe.

Damn, and right as we started trusting each other.

Back to Avid, he hadn’t shown any signs of waking up in the past thirty hours he’d been sleeping. Pearl didn’t blame him at all; he clearly needed the rest.

The doctor was already preparing the town for when he did wake up, since the concussion was clearly serious. They would need to tread lightly around him.

Legs had strictly forbidden anyone from mentioning the fact that there was a vampire hiding in their midst, or that Apo and Cleo were vampires. It would definitely stress him out too much. Who knew how he would get if he had a head injury on top of his anxiety around vampires.

“Is he doing any better, doc?” Martyn appeared from around a corner where Pearl and the doctor were standing. Pearl had been helping him with his crops.

“His injuries are healing at a comfortable rate,” Legundo sighed, brushing the dirt off of his hands. “They weren’t that deep on the outside– other than a wound on his neck that I had to stitch up– but that concussion is pretty bad. Who knows how much longer he’s going to sleep. I might need to find a way to start an IV.”

“I hope not,” Pearl’s eyes widened. How would they manage to achieve anything like that with their limited resources? “I don’t even know if that’s possible for us to do!”

“I’ll figure something out, Pearl,” Legs shook his head slowly. “You just need to trust me.”

Pearl wasn’t sure if trust was something anyone could offer right now.

An idea struck her.

The vampires would know who was turned!

“I’m going to go on a walk!” Pearl stood up straight and stretched. “It’s so nice out… and I think I need to stretch my legs out a little.”

“Be back soon, Pearl,” The doctor narrowed his eyes at her, but didn’t make a move to stop her. “Tensions are high right now, and if you go missing or something happens… we’re screwed. You understand that, right?”

“Of course I do!” Pearl grinned as she began walking towards the gates. “Be back in a jiff!”

Pearl waved as she pushed through the gates and broke into a sprint.

Off to the castle.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

The coven sat at their table, enjoying a meal together. They had been staying closer to one another ever since Scott’s return. It was really nice! Shelby sure thought so.

“Scott?” Shelby set their book and quill down.

“Yes?” Scott delicately placed his wine glass of blood on the table and turned to face them.

“Can you tell us what happened while you were in that pit?” Shelby clasped her hands together in a pleading manner. “I’ve been dying to know!”

Owen and Pyro nodded along with her request, all eyes on Scott. Just how he liked it.

“I suppose so… I’m sure you’ve been curious,” Scott smiled and adjusted to face between the three of them. “While I was out getting more supplies, I ran into Avid. He was in the middle of constructing a…”

Scott trailed off. Shelby observed his expression. Scott was seemingly thinking back on details. The stress of the situation must be getting to him!

“A bunker. For himself,” Scott continued. “And I, unfortunately, didn’t spot it in time. I ended up slipping and took Avid down with me.”

“Why didn’t you just fly out, sire?” Pyro questioned, eyebrow raised. It was indeed strange that they had just sat there for a week.

“Do you not remember how we couldn’t use our powers near that pit?” Scott grumbled, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I tried to leave, but it didn’t work!”

“Why?” Owen huffed, crossing his arms. “It was far from the beacon– which was ours, mind you– and I didn’t see a touch of silver anywhere.”

Scott opened his mouth to say something before closing it again. His brows furrowed in thought. “I don’t know that… We’ll have to ask Avid when he visits.”

“Go back to Avid!” Shelby squealed. “I need to know everything!”

“We weren’t on good terms the first day,” Scott mused with a fond smile. “But Avid came around and realized that he’d been wrong about vampires. Then we just sat around in that miserable place, talking and exchanging resources.”

“What was the turning about, sire?” Pyro leaned forward on the table. “Was it an accident? A fight? Was it to signal us? Tell us about that, please.”

“Ah, that!” Scott grinned, Shelby saw a slight shine to his eyes. “Avid asked me to turn him! He was very understanding of the gift after actually paying attention to all the perks.”

“He ASKED?!” Owen stood up, slamming his palms on the table. “Why on EARTH did he change his tune that fast?!”

“He was ill,” Scott leaned back in his chair. “The benefit of sharing our location was simply a bonus. And worry not, he deserved the gift. I spent enough time with him to say that with certainty.”

“He was ill?” Owen mumbled as he sat down. Shelby offered him a sympathetic smile, but Owen didn’t seem to notice.

“And what is this about him…” Pyro’s face suddenly went blank. “Um. Him being ‘yours’?”

“Oh, yes,” Scott huffed proudly. “He is mine. He will make a great addition to the coven, if he were to join. Consider it.”

“You fell in love?!” Shelby squealed. This was adorable! She would definitely be writing a fanfiction like this some time.

“I didn’t take you for someone to be vulnerable like that, sire,” Pyro said with a straight face and an even tone. “Especially with a vampire hunter.”

“Ex-vampire hunter,” Scott clarified, his comfortable smirk returning to his face, though Shelby could see a softer edge to it. “And in no way am I vulnerable, I just like having belongings, and Avid is more than willing to be just that.”

Shelby noted how he phrased it. He could have said I like owning things; something more likely to be said by him. They beamed, giddy at the details that she refused to miss. Scott did not refer to Avid as a thing. A low bar, but a bar he passed.

“You always did love power, sire,” Pyro’s expression remained blank as he spoke. It was as if paint drying had a voice. Their entire demeanor faded.

Before Scott could continue talking, a knock sounded on the door.

“Who could that be?” Scott stared at the door. “Shelby?”

“On it!” Shelby leapt from their chair and bounded to the door, flinging it open with a smile. “Hello?”

“Hi!” Pearl waved from the doorframe. “Mind if I join y’all to have a nice conversation? Make real sure the air is all cleared about some things?”

Shelby looked back to the other vampires to gauge their opinions. Scott shrugged and waved his hand.

“Sure!” Shelby smiled and stepped back, holding the door open for the cute girl. “You can sit down next to me!” Shelby led Pearl to the seat next to her own. Owen raised an eyebrow from the other side of the table. Pyro retained his reclused attitude. What was up with him today?

“Your careless attitude and lack of fear will be your undoing one day,” Owen starts, glare returning to his face. “Coming over here, to the vampires’ abode. Alone.”

“Don’t threaten our company,” Scott intervenes, taking a long sip of his chicken blood. “While you are right that we are to be feared, we are in a truce for now, so be hospitable. Pearl, do tell us your business here.”

“Thank you!” Pearl smiled with a nod. “I just have one little ol’ question. Who’s the new vampire?”

The table fell silent, the vampires awkwardly looked amongst themselves. Should we tell her?

“That sounds like something they should tell you themself,” Scott finally says, face colder than just seconds ago. “It’s not our place to say. Ask around.”

“They aren’t confessing, is the problem,” Pearl frowned, crossing her arms. “And I’m on the chopping block. It’s causing me problems.”

“But you’re injured,” Pyro’s face scrunched up, finally expressing properly. “Why would they believe it to be you?”

“Me and Avid are being ruled out soon,” Pearl explained. Phew! Good for him. “I’ve got a broken bone that isn’t healing at super speed, which works in my favor. I think I’m ruled out tomorrow! Avid’s still asleep from that awful concussion, which certainly points to him not being a vampire.”

“He’s been asleep?” Owen squinted at Pearl, looking more confused than suspicious. Owen was right. That was strange. Shelby hoped he was alright. “He was fine when we interacted with him?”

“Well,” Pearl crossed her legs and propped them on the table. Shelby watched Scott’s eye twitch at the action, but he didn’t make a move to say anything. Pearl continued; “He was unconscious when the doctor brought him back, and he hasn’t woken up since.”

Shelby made eye contact with Scott. They exchanged glances, communicating without words.

I’ll look into it.

Okay. Shelby nodded before turning their attention back to the conversation at hand.

“That sounds concerning,” Scott folded his hands. “I wasn’t aware it was that severe, he was conscious and mostly coherent in the duration we were trapped.”

“You were trapped in the same place?” Pearl’s eyes widened. “Wow! This whole situation would have been a lot easier if we worked together then, huh?”

“It appears so…” Owen grumbled, leaning heavily on the table.

“You didn’t hurt each other, did you?” Pearl’s tone shifted to deeply serious in a flip of a coin. “What happened?”

“After he exhausted his garlic supply,” Scott grimaced at the mention of the herb. “We were cordial. We understood that we needed to remain calm, and at the very least neutral, to survive until help could arrive.”

“I wouldn’t have anticipated Avid to be calm about anything,” Pearl shook her head, but a small smile sat on her face. She bought it? “But I’m glad to hear that.”

“He probably hit his head too hard,” Pyro huffed, rolling their eyes.

“That’s all I needed to know for now,” Pearl stood up. “I best go back and check if Avid’s awake yet. Thanks for humoring me!”

“No trouble!” Scott laughed, waving his hand.

“I’d disagree…” Owen mumbled under his breath. Shelby shook their head disapprovingly, but Owen didn’t seem to notice. Maybe that was for the best. She didn’t feel like being on the receiving end of Owen’s aggression today.

“Goodbye, Pearl!” Shelby waved as Pearl opened the door to leave. Pearl turned around and offered a beaming smile and kind wave. How sweet!

Pearl paused before running back to Shelby and wrapping them in a tight hug. Shelby flustered for a moment before returning the gesture.

“Goodbye, Shelby!” Pearl returned to the door and carefully closed behind her. The vampires crowded back together as soon as the echo silenced.

“If he’s a vampire, shouldn’t he be fine now?” Pyro whispered. “Why would he still be injured?”

“I have theories,” Scott frowned. “But I will pay a visit to town soon. See what I can learn.”

“Won’t that be suspicious?” Owen tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. “Would they not question your visit? With your only reason being to check on Avid?”

“I have invisibility,” Scott tutted. “I won’t stroll right in. And if I do, I’ll make it a big thing– a Q&A type deal. People surrounding me, giving me attention, learning about how the gift is the only way to live.”

“Goodness me,” Owen groaned. “You are all insufferable.”

“That’s not true!” Shelby piped up. “You love us!”

“What?” Owen shot up, glaring at Shelby.

“I didn’t say anything,” Shelby shrugged, looking at the ceiling oh-so-innocently.

“Oh, sure,” Owen growled. He growled! Shelby bit back a laugh and dumped a bag of seeds on the table, which Owen immediately began counting with wide eyes.

Things would be fine.

｡*ﾟ✲*☆

Pearl felt weightless on her way back to Oakhurst. Knowing the truth was absolutely wonderful.

Well, some of the truths. She still wasn’t informed on who the new town vampire could be.

But it was good to know something rather than nothing at all.

“Pearl?” A voice hissed from a bush, cutting her peace short. Pearl stopped dead in her tracks. “What were you doing in the castle? Are you the new vampire?”

“No,” Pearl whispered as shook her head and approached the bush, crouching beside it and inching herself under cover. “I just went to ask them about it. They wouldn’t tell me who it was.”

“Did they threaten you?” The voice– Abolish– questioned. Pearl could recognize the quiet voice now. “What happened?”

“They told me that Avid and Scott were stuck in the same location,” Pearl explained, moving into the same bush as Abolish.

“It would have been so much easier if we knew what was happening…” Abolish sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Yeah… that sucks.”

“That’s what I said!” Pearl exclaimed as she stood up. She offered Abolish a hand, helping him off the ground. She started towards town, Abolish right beside her. “All it would have taken is one use of a name, and this could have been done in less than a day, I bet.”

“Yeah… that’s…” Abolish was silent for a moment. “Really frustrating to know. This whole experience is annoying in every way.”

“We all ought to communicate better,” Pearl sighed, cracking her knuckles.

“Easier said than done, for some god-forsaken reason,” Abolish groaned. “The new vampire has been quiet. We accepted Cleo and Apo, why do they think it would be any different? It concerns me.”

“I’ll keep my guard up, but I hope it’s nothing to be too concerned about,” Pearl sighed and shook her head. This whole situation was all sorts of muddy. “Though, I’ll hear you out and brainstorm if you want to run investigative work. Try to find out who it is.”

“Yeah…” Abolish adjusted his gloves with a long sigh. “That’d be nice.”

“Do you want to do shifts or something?” Pearl tilted her head and weaved between bushes. “Get as much information as possible?”

“I’ll handle nights in town,” Abolish followed Pearl’s path through the bramble. “Since I don’t need the sleep. I’ll let you know if I see anything. Thanks for the help, Pearl. I appreciate it.”

“No problem!” Pearl grinned, bumping Abolish’s shoulder playfully. “I’ll let you know if I see anything, too! We can figure this out!”

“We should see if Drift will help us,” Abolish carefully avoided stepping on the flowers in the fields surrounding the town as they approached. “She’s a detective, I bet she’ll be able to help us put clues together if we get stuck.”

“Good idea!” Pearl cheered. “Ultamite team of secret exposers! We’ll be perfect! You’re the mysterious herald of information, I’m the bold doer, and Drift is the puzzlemaster! We’re all quite smart. We can do this!”

“I hope you’re right…” Abolish’s tone remained monotonous, but a small smile invaded his even and reserved expression.

Pearl hoped so too.

She believed they could figure it out on time, but there was only one way to prove her theory. And this time, she’d figure it out before it became a war.

This time, she had help.

The town’s trust in one another might have been set back to square one, but she and Abolish were ready to send them back to the sweepers*. No red cards necessary.

Time for a different kind of hunt.

Pearl grinned as they approached town.

“Ready to start?” Pearl held out a hand to Abolish. He stared at it for a few seconds before smiling and giving it a firm shake.

Abolish nodded as he opened the gate to the town, letting Pearl cross in first before following behind. The gate locked behind them. “As ever.”

*(A.N. A ‘sweeper’ is a soccer term for the position right before the keeper’s. They are the last set of defense players before the ball enters the goalie’s domain. ‘Back to square one’ is a term that likely stemmed from the grid system that radio commentaries of soccer games in the 1930s used to describe the position of the ball, hence my homage to another soccer term.)