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A banner blows in the breeze, and the moon shines down on a small figure. The silhouette swings her legs back and forth while staring down at an endless drop—the water below would catch her, but would that be enough to save her? Who knows, hopefully, the fledgling never has to find out the answer.
Shelby sighed, letting the icy wind kiss her face (since ascending, simple feelings like that no longer affected her). A million different thoughts raged in her mind, and Shelby furrowed her eyebrows. Everything was so uncertain. When she came to Oakhurst looking for her father or Bigfoot, she never expected her life to be so utterly flipped upside down. Sure- she wrote plenty of fanfictions about this, but she didn’t think she’d actually live it!
“Gods, what have I gotten myself into…?” Shelby muttered to herself, the wind carrying away her words. I mean- legends and tales of vampires were just silly fantastical stories! Shelby desperately wanted to believe they were real, but everyone back home said they weren’t, and over time she had started to believe them, started to believe what they said about her dad…
But she was right! Vampires roamed the dark woods, stalking down prey under the moonlight until a bloody and gruesome death awaited them! Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, but that didn’t mean she was any less correct! Gently, Shelby reached up and grabbed the tiara from the top of her head, hissing softly when strands of hair became tangled in its intricate shapes. She brushed her fingertips over the freezing metal surface, staring deeply at the brilliant red gem sitting front and center on the thing.
Her breath caused it to fog up, and she carefully rubbed the cloudiness away with the edge of her frilled top, waiting for what she would see. She saw nothing. The clouds soaring above reflected in the gem, same as the shimmering stars, but no stark white hair or blood-red eyes could be seen.
She was a vampire now; she would never see herself again. Shelby let out a broken laugh at the realization, her eyes still trained on the small, gigantic, crimson gemstone.
How easily one’s life could be uprooted was certainly remarkable.
The changes in her daily routine weren’t bad per se, but instead of scrubbing tea out of her blouse after accidentally knocking her drink over because she had forgotten her glasses, she was instead scrubbing blood out. A slight deviation from normal, but it was fine! Shelby was totally coping with her now immortal life, and how everyone she’d ever known and loved was going to slowly fade away until there was nothing left, and she was going to be sitting by their deathbed waiting for the warm, sickly sweet blood to become hers and-
Shelby took a deep breath, feeling her lungs contract and expand even though everything that tied her to the living was now just an unneeded instinctual action. Y’know what would cheer her up? A slumber party!
Ever since her and Apo’s conversation, Shelby had been churning over the idea, waiting for the right moment. Technically, vampires couldn’t sleep, but that was hardly a problem in her eyes! Everyone knew a good slumber party was about staying up late with your friends and playing games while eating snacks until the sun rose—the ‘slumber’ part wasn’t what made the night so special! Or- at least that’s what Shelby assumed, as she’s never had nor been invited to one herself… Well, there’s a first time for everything!
Shelby swung her legs back and forth, humming quietly in thought. She would have to be strategic about this if she wanted all the vampires to join. Tensions were high in the coven, and inner conflict was everywhere, but there was one thing they all shared in common—their love for her. Maybe if she went to some of the harder-to-convince vampires with big wet eyes, then they would fold! Shelby felt a smile grow across her face, a perfect, foolproof plan firmly secured in her mind.
There was no way this could go wrong, especially with the help of-
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
Pyro looked at her with a frantic expression, waving his hands around wildly. “Shelby, how in the world can we get someone like Owen to go along with this?! Or Cleo and Sire, for that matter-“
She cut off the fretting vampire with a grin, her eyes twinkling under the moonlight. “Easy! I’ll convince Scott, who will then rope in Owen, and Cleo will follow after just to see the mess!” Shelby explained with the utmost confidence, only to look at her fellow fledgling's face and falter slightly, second-guessing her logic. Would this not work? Was she once again too detached from reality?
Pyro sighed, lost in thought. Shelly knew better than to interrupt the other, so she patiently waited, counting constellations in the meantime. The wind burned the tips of her ears, and she glared at the sky. Eventually, Pyro spoke up again, his voice quiet and wondering. “Drift and Avid wouldn’t be too hard to convince, I suppose…” He said, trailing off and turning to look into Shelby’s eyes.
The breeze brushed away her pure white hair, and she lit up with renewed motivation, the stars reflected in her eyes. “See, it'll work! Apo will probably listen to me, and maybe if I have to emit some information about who else is joining, then that's for only me to know!” Shelby exclaimed, jumping up and down on the balls of her feet.
Pyro tried to hide a small smile. “Shelby, you just told me your plan.” He laughed, leaning up against a nearby tree that looked gnarled and twisted with age. A spark of warmth couldn’t help but ignite in her chest at the prospect of making her family laugh, even if she was forever the jester (gods know Owen wasn’t going to fill that role). Maybe she should’ve been more careful about what was said out loud and not inside her head. Oops…
“No, I didn't! That was just-” she paused, wracking her brain for an excuse—Scott probably would’ve had at least twenty explanations by now, “a possible outcome! You’re a researcher, you understand, right?” Shelby said, appealing to the scholar side of Pyro. He opened his mouth to speak up again and probably oppose her, so Shelby quickly steered the conversation towards something else.
“You and I will convince Scott, and then the three of us will get Owen to join.” Shelby stated, laying out operation ‘Get Everyone To Unknowingly Agree To A Slumber Party Where Fun And Possible Blood Will Happen!’ also known as operation ’BLOOD’. Yes, the acronym didn’t make any sense, but you had to admit it was catchy!
Pyro nodded along with his full undivided attention, seemingly just as excited about this night as she was. “Next, I’ll get Avid and Drift while you’re telling Cleo about what’s happening!” Shelby explained, gesturing with her hands as she spoke. “Then all that’s left is Apo, whom I can definitely convince! Probably.” She mumbled the last word, running a hand through her hair, which was now devoid of any color.
Pyro tensed up at the mention of the reluctant vampire, glaring at nothing. “Does Apo have to be there…?” He asked, a strange mix of anger and grief in his eyes. Shelby pouted, desperation peeking through the cracks.
“Pleaseee Pyro!” She pleaded, heart pounding with hope. She couldn’t just not include Apo! (Even if the ex-soldier wasn’t particularly well-liked by at least three of the other vampires.) Besides, Apo looked like they needed something to cheer them up lately, and Shelby could be that solution if she helped!
“Fine, fine!” Pyro eventually conceded, crossing his arms tightly across his chest. Shelly could see how hard he was digging his claws into the skin of his forearm, and she hissed in sympathy, feeling a phantom pain on her own arm. She knew how much that hurt; worse, though, was the faint trickle of blood that came from the wound after you realized how sharp your claws were. There should be more blood leaking from the long scratches, but no, not when you become a vampire.
Shelby gracefully approached the other and gently took his hand, holding it in her own. The haze faded from Pyro's eyes, and he looked at her with confusion, tilting his head slightly to the left. Even with the distinct supernatural coldness of death surrounding him, Pyro's hands were still warm and full of life, such a contrast to the two older vampires. Maybe as your humanity died, so did your warmth—it was also very possible Shelby was thinking way too much into this, as she tended to do. What could she say? She was a writer at heart, and not the type that Mr. M was!
“I really want this to work, Pyro…” Shelby said, trailing off and gazing at the crimson moon. When she had first come to Oakhurst, her friends had told her so many different stories about how and why the moon could possibly be red. Some tried to pass it off as purely light refraction with various scientific reasons behind it, while others told outlandish tales of plagues when confronted with massacres. Shelby worried her lip, still remembering what Owen had said about the moon the first week she arrived. ‘They say the sky’s red because every few hundred years there’s a massive massacre and the blood paints the horizon.’
She wanted to believe that legend, as scary as it was, only for Cleo to immediately shut it down by insisting it was the plague. Truth was- Shelby didn’t quite know why the moon and sky were red, but if she had to guess, it was because this place was cursed. She should’ve known the minute she stepped foot in this town that she wasn’t making it out fully alive, but somehow Shelby didn’t regret not turning on her heels and running. She would do it all over again because now, she had a family.
“I do too, Shelby- me too.”
<~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
Anticipation thrums through her veins, and a jittery feeling makes itself home under her skin, causing her to rapidly shake her legs. Everything’s suddenly too warm, and the cold stone of the crypt does nothing to help that. Shelby has already set the slumber party up and is now only waiting for the other vampires to join her at the scheduled time- which is now.
To calm her nerves, Shelby glances around, euphoria and pride swirling in her stomach. Instead of sweet treats, she’s brought the next best thing, blood! According to Scott, blood will taste like your favorite food before death(?), so it’s no wonder why the crimson red drink tastes so sugary for Shelby! Just to cover all her bases, though, she’s brought different types of blood, varying from sheep to chickens! No human blood will be appearing at her party, much to the older vampire's displeasure—drinking from a human was too metallic in taste, but it was also so incredibly warm and delicious, perfect to satisfy her internal hunger…
No! Stop thinking like that! Shelby scolded herself, shaking her head to get rid of the thoughts. Ever since Avid, her fangs grew sharper at the smallest twinge of copper in the air, ready to sink into her next meal, and she hated it. The bloodlust was so overwhelming, a parasite infesting her every thought, most of all, though, she hated that Avid made her do that.
He made her drink from another human being. But- was she still human or just a monster?
A loud sigh startled Shelby out of her trance, and she looked up to see a familiar toothy grin. The vampire towered over her from her place on the ground, eyeing up Shelby’s figure with curiosity. He approached her with grace and did a quick, extravagant spin before sitting in the chair next to her, still gazing down on Shelby. “No greeting the guest? How rude, Shelby.” He said, clicking his tongue as she frantically hurried to make amends.
“No, no! Sorry, Scott! I was lost in thought; I swear I didn’t see you!” She hurriedly explained, waving her hands to emphasize the point. She watched as a small glint in Scott's eyes took hold, his features less sharp than usual.
“I was joking, Shelby.” He smiled, rolling his eyes fondly at her. “Oh.” She mumbled as Scott laughed in response, simply leaning back and crossing his legs. “Now, where is everyone else? Such bad manners for them to show up late…” Scott hummed disapprovingly, running a hand along his silken black cloak to unwrinkle it. The elder vampire knew that the entire coven was supposedly showing up to Shelby’s slumber party, and luckily, he went along with the plan after a little convincing from her and Pyro.
The others hadn’t gone so smoothly…
A few vampires were definitely showing up to her gathering a little caught off guard and possibly angry, but that was nothing Shelby couldn’t handle! It would all be worth it for one night of peace and happiness. One night where they didn’t have to worry about stakes and holy water, one night where nobody was fighting over a cure. Just one night with her family.
“They’ll be here soon! Also, technically, you showed up late, too!” Shelby pointed out, teasing the other vampire. Scott simply smirked in response.
“It’s called being fashionably late, ever heard of it, Shelby dear?” He drawled, letting his fangs peek around his lips. She hid a small grin at his antics, and the anxiety swirling inside her chest died down—only a simmering boil now. This night was already cheering her up, just as she had hoped, it would be better, though once the others joined-
“We’re here! We’re here! Oh my gods, Shelby, I’m so sorry we’re late!” A mousy-brown haired woman shouted out, appearing from around the corner with another vampire in hand. Well, speak of the devil- or vampire? “This one,” Drift pulled on Avid’s arm, gesturing to him, “got too caught up in drinking blood.” Drift scolded Avid, tugging him along until they both fell back onto the plush couch.
“I said I’m sorry!” Avid whined, turning away from his day-one friend. Shelby’s eyes lit up, and she rushed over to the stage-two vampires, greeting them with joy. Something warm bloomed in her heart, contrasting the tingling cold glass of crimson she had grabbed. Just as she was about to offer some blood to Avid and Drift, the distinct flapping of leathery wings caught her attention, her gaze catching on a shimmering silhouette.
The white sparkles faded away, and in the center of it all stood an imposing figure. Their skin was devoid of any redness, perfectly fitting them for some weird reason. Gold details embellished her dark robe as snow colored hair dripped down her body like a waterfall, a black headpiece perched delicately on top. Their forest green dress was what stood out most to Shelby, though, along with the corset around their waist. If all of that wasn’t evidence enough that they were a vampire, then her scarlet eyes were sure to do the trick. Cleo studied the room with an intrigued look before walking away from the bat still hovering at the archway.
The now lone bat did a small twirl as he detransformed, and what greeted Shelby was the familiar face of a slightly grumpy Owen, his dull red eyes latching onto her as he took a seat next to Scott. The oldest vampire spoke up after a few moments. “Nice of you all to join us finally.”
Everyone had a different reaction to Scott’s comment, a mix of sighing and stuttered protests. Shelby simply smiled fondly and went around offering the others glasses of blood. This was going better than expected so far!
“Wh-what?! Shelby, why is Scott here?! Or Owen and Cleo, for that matter?!“ Apo questioned, tripping over her words in panic. Owen glared daggers at Apo when he saw her, and Shelby quickly got in between the two, breaking up the tension. She didn’t quite know what had happened between the two of them besides Owen declaring Apo was a traitor, but it certainly was not helping the vibes of her slumber party!
Faintly, Shelby heard Scott tutting in response to Apo and muttering, “How rude,” as Owen also started saying something. “Why is she here?!” Owen hissed, crossing his arms tightly in front of himself. Maybe Shelby spoke too soon about everything going well… she could fix this, though!
“I wanted to invite everyone! I couldn’t just not include someone because certain people dislike them!” Shelby pleaded, twirling a piece of her long white hair to calm her nerves. Even after the embrace of death, her hair was still soft and silky, perfectly cold against her fingertips. “You could’ve.” Somebody mumbled, and she purposely ignored them. “I just want everyone to get along for one night, so please, for me, can we all be a family for at least this phase of the moon…?” Shelby asked softly, eyes misty and shining with a deep, fragile hope.
Turmoil flickered across Owen and Apo’s faces before eventually Owen spoke up. “Fine. But only for this night.” He begrudgingly agreed with a loud sigh, claws digging into his blisteringly cold skin. Scott of all people was the one to pull Owen’s hands away and instead give him a bottle of blood to distract his fingers with.
“Fine… but only because Shelby’s the one asking.” Apo nodded, their face pinched in an unreadable expression. Shelby let out a breath and knew her gratitude was displayed clearly on her face, her chest filling with warmth again. Speaking of warmth- where in the stars was Pyro?! I gave him one job. She thought, fond exasperation coursing through her.
Suddenly, just as she began wondering where her partner in crime was, he rounded the corner, appearing under the archway out of breath. “I got the blankets, Shelby!” He announced, eyes going wide when he saw that everyone else had already shown up. Sheepishly, Pyro handed the blankets she told him to grab forever ago over to her and gracefully sat in the beanbag on the other side of Scott, trying to collect himself. “I might’ve gotten lost.” He muttered, gaze darting away.
Shelby let out a small chuckle at the admission, taking enjoyment in Pyro’s furrowed expression before all of that melted away when Scott reached a hand over and started carding his fingers through Pyro’s hair. The fledgling practically purred under his sire’s touch, soaking up any affection Scott would give him—Shelby couldn’t blame him, though, Scott had a strange, comforting aura around him.
Avid spoke up from his spot in the middle of the room. “Do you have any board games, Shelby?” He asked, getting off the couch and looking around in the cabinets, as Drift also joined his search. Shelby let out a “Mhm!” and rushed over to start pulling out a dozen different games, pushing her hair to the side when it got in the way. Luckily, she had brought a bunch of fun games to play from her home; you never know when a stack of playing cards might come in handy! This only proved her point!
The other vampires all congregated around the couch, watching as she laid out the different board games and even non-board games alike. (What was classified as a board game? Probably the ones with boards… but Shelby still thought that was a dumb way to categorize them! What about Bingo? That was pretty boring!)
A curious voice started up a conversation. “Scott, have you ever played Go Fish?” Drift asked, taking the card game in her hands and tilting her head at the elder vampire, her brunette hair swinging with the motion.
Scott hummed, “No, I can’t say I have.”
Pyro looked aghast at the revaluation and snapped his gaze over towards Scott, staring into the others' hypnotizing blood-red eyes. “Sire, how?!” He questioned, waving his hands around to emphasize how shocked he was. Shelby, too, couldn’t hide her disbelief and stopped what she was doing to join Pyro in his surprise.
“I haven’t either,” Owen added, shrugging when the attention turned to him instead. How could her family not know something as iconic as Go Fish?! No, this wouldn’t stand!
“It’s because they’re old guys!” Cleo explained with a hint of exasperation in her voice, confidently stating the answer. Shelby felt an injustice bubbling inside her and knew she would have to teach both vampires how to play! How could they never know the joy of winning a game of Go Fish?! She couldn’t bear to let another second pass by without sharing the greatness of this game!
“That's it!” She declared. “We’re playing Go Fish!” An aura of excitement echoed throughout the group, a smile dancing on everyone’s lips. Shelby’s heart filled with insufferable warmth, but she pushed it down to enforce her important duty. “I’ll be the referee, so no cheating!” She announced, looking sternly into everyone’s eyes. “If I see any funny business, then I’ll- I’ll…” She struggled. What was a reasonable punishment for cheating in Go Fish?! “You'll feel bad, and I won’t paint your nails!” She exclaimed, accidentally revealing her plan for later.
“Can you even cheat at Go Fish?” Apo mumbled questioningly at the same time as Drift yelled out in excitement. “Ooo! Can you paint my nails, Shelby!?” She asked, eyes sparkling with ideas. Shelby gasped happily, taking out her secret stash of nail polish and showing the different colors to Drift.
“Of course! While you guys play, I can get started on doing your nails!” Shelby said, noticing Apo taking a particular interest in all the different polishes she had. The other vampire picked up a glossy black polish as they met everyone’s eyes and hesitantly opened their mouth to speak.
“I can also paint nails if anyone wants that…” Apo offered, watching the swirling liquid with a keen gaze. Shelby immediately grabbed Apo’s hand and pulled them down into the seat next to her, laying out all the supplies they both needed for this endeavor. Apo blinked a few times in surprise before a small smile grew across their face, her hand being just about as warm as Pyro’s.
Cleo grabbed the deck of cards and started shuffling them in amazing ways, which Shelby could only hope to understand one day. Avid was actually the one who volunteered first to get his nails painted by Apo, seemingly curious about what it entailed, while Drift detailed out what she wanted to Shelby. Soon, Cleo was passing out five cards each to everyone under the watchful gaze of the referee as Scott and Owen were being explained the rules.
In a haze, Shelby went from one nail to the next, the world around her disappearing. The only frame of reference she had was how warm their hands were, and those ranged anywhere from bursting with life to freezing cold. It was nice to completely feel so… comfortable. She was so safe and content in the company of the other vampires, and for the first time in a few weeks, she felt whole again, finally basking in the euphoria that being with her family brought her. Everything was syrupy and warm, but she couldn’t be happier. It was impossibly hard to regret coming to Oakhurst when this was now her life—nothing like this happened back ‘home’.
This messy, strange coven of vampires was more her family than her parents ever were.
“No fair!” The familiar screechy voice of Avid yelled, abruptly breaking Shelby out of her thoughts. When she looked around, she noticed that everyone’s nails had been painted and that the game of Go Fish was coming to a close. “How are you so good at this game?!” Avid protested, reluctantly handing Scott over a King of Hearts. The elder vampire only smiled and placed the last four cards needed in his hand down on the table with a flourish.
“I win,” Scott announced smugly, shouting and grumbling erupting from all the players after his confirmation. Shelby giggled at everyone’s collective frustration at losing, especially since this was Scott’s first time ever playing. Cleo and Owen both only needed one more pair, while the rest of the vampires must’ve been getting a lot of the same repetitive catchphrase, ‘Go fish!’. Shelby knew how infuriating that could get after a while, so she’s glad that everyone mostly kept their cool.
“Ugh, congrats, sire. You’re really good at this,” Pyro said, clearly disappointed at the outcome but also torn between his need to suck up to Scott. The oldest vampire smirked at the praise, lifting his arm in an offering to Pyro, who immediately accepted it. Pyro nuzzled into Scott’s shoulder, soaking up what little warmth a dead creature could give as Scott draped his arm across the other's body, keeping him close. Shelby found herself staring at the mimicry of a hug for far too long, her fingers twitching with need.
“I say we do a rematch.” Owen suddenly declared, interpreting Shelby’s suffocating thoughts. “Is everyone really content with letting Scott have the win?” He asked, gesturing around the table and flashing his deep-red painted claws in the process. Shelby couldn’t help but feel like they looked a tad too much like blood for her tastes, but that fit Owen perfectly—as much as she loved her family, it was important to remember that they had still committed atrocities. They were all monsters; did that change her view or love of them? No, she was one too.
“Are you challenging me, Owen?” Scott smiled, leaning forward with his chin held high, threatening the other vampire only slightly. Shelby let it slide because she knew this was just how they were.
“What do you think, Scott Goldsmith?” Owen drawled, a grin worming its way onto his own face, a fond expression settling on Shelby’s all the same.
And so five cards were passed out again, and the game started anew. She watched and joined in on the games the whole time, warmth stubbornly buried deep under her skin throughout the countless games the mismatched group of vampires played. Scott won most of them, much to multiple people’s dismay, but Owen won a few, as well. It seemed that the centuries of knowledge Scott had gathered were paying off, as he was able to win plenty of games even after they had moved on from Go Fish. Eventually, everyone began to grow tired as the moon lowered itself from the sky, the night coming to a close.
Shelby let out a yawn, shocking herself with how unexplainably tired she was. Ever since turning, she hadn’t felt the waves of sleep crashing down on her and never expected to again; it was just another thing she lost along with humanity. The warm blankets surrounding her only pushed her deeper and deeper into a state of exhaustion, their wool rubbing softly against her fingertips. Scott suddenly spoke up from his spot at Shelby’s side, weaving a hand into her hair. “Is everyone ready to get some rest?” He asked, garnering confused looks from the rest of the coven.
“We can’t sleep,” Owen stated, though his sentence had a questioning lilt at the end of it, like he was unsure of his own words. Scott shook his head, pure white hair swaying as he rolled his eyes.
“Do you honestly believe that? While technically it’s not quite the same as what the humans do, it's unbelievably similar. I wouldn’t say we can’t sleep.” Scott said, ignoring the stunned expressions from everybody, including Shelby. We can sleep?! How did I not know this…? She questioned, her body too tired to move her lips and express the thought, especially with how nice Scott’s fingers felt in her hair. “First of all, I was asleep for six hundred years because of that godforsaken witch, but that’s not what I’m talking about.” Scott went on to explain further. “When a vampire's body is at a state of complete comfort or safety, they will start to feel the effects of sleep weigh heavily on them until eventually they fall under a trancelike rest.”
Oh, so that’s why she was so-so tired.
“It usually only happens when a vampire's brood is with them, so it’s no wonder none of you have experienced this before,” Scott explained calmly, pulling the blankets higher over Shelby’s body and shielding her from the discomfort of the outside world.
“Wait- so we can actually sleep?!” Drift questioned, voice laced with tangible hope and emotion.
Scott fondly rolled his eyes again. “That's what I just said, didn’t I?” Suddenly, the floodgates opened, and everyone joined Shelby and Scott in the pile of pillows mixed with anything soft and cozy Shelby could find in the corner of the room. Warmth encased her; it was impossible to tell whose arms wrapping around her belonged to whom and who she was snuggled up against, but she didn’t care. Cuddling up further into the crook of someone’s arm, Shelby let out a soft sigh, feeling the distinct, different amount of warmth every person carried, all concentrated in this one pile.
Scott, Owen, Pyro, Shelby, Apo, Cleo, Avid, and Drift were all cuddled together in a mess of sleepy vampire limbs with a few unbelievably comfortable blankets on top of them, and yet she couldn’t think of anywhere else she’d rather be in the world. Nowhere else could you find people who held this much love for Shelby, nor did she in return. This was her family, this was where she belonged.
The carding of fingers through her hair returned, and with one last thought, Shelby drifted off into a content slumber, letting the darkness pull her down and wrap her in comforting warmth.
I think my slumber party was a success…