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Owen finds himself in the woods wandering about. The day was gloomy, which is usually great for him! But he didn't feel great, at least not right now. His feelings are conflicted. Not for the reasons they probably should be, admittedly, he couldn't care less about the murder he committed. He couldn't care less about Avid in general.
No, the reasoning behind his conflicted feelings is Pyro. You could say the two were alike, but that thought left a bitter taste on Owens' tongue. He didn’t like it. He hated it. That was what got Avid killed in the first place. - That and because he was extremely annoying, but that was obvious, Owen just didn't like the guy. -
Owen wanted so badly to kill Pyro in that hole, grave? No, pit. But he refrained. Why did he refrain? He could’ve just killed them right then and there, so why? Why hold back?
Owen’s ear twitches as he hears something moving in the brush. He whips his head around, calling out with a hiss. “Who's there? Show yourself.”
Pyro, as if somehow sensing Owen was thinking about him, emerged from the brush. He looks tired. Angry.
Owen studies Pyro's character, noticing his downturned ears and scrunched nose, making them look like a cat; their eyes look weighed with exhaustion. His whole demeanor was off. Pyro was off. More than usual, which was saying a lot.
Their eyes met for a moment, and in that moment, there was silence. But that moment ended when Pyro shook off whatever feeling he had and greeted Owen with a sharp smile.
“Owen! My dark and gloomy friend,”
The word ‘friend’ cut into Owens' skin like a switchblade.
“What brings you out into these parts of the wood?”
Owen decided to ignore the use of the word ‘friend’.
“I could be asking you the same thing.”
Pyro's ear twitches ever so slightly, Owen takes note.
“Ah, well, I'm just out trying to gather as much blood supplies as I possibly can. Food is scarce, and I don’t feel like starving.”
Owen nods slowly, also noticing Pyro’s shaken claws. Something was up. He’s lying again.
“You lie a lot.” Owen dropped blankly, no emotion behind his words.
Those words sink into Pyro’s skin, taking them aback; his ears begin twitching aggressively. - This time, being too worked up to hide them. - He lets out a twisted chuckle.
“Excuse me?” Pyro’s eyes seem to look darker, but Owen ignores it, stepping closer.
“You, Jack Von Pyroscythe, lie a lot.”
There's a pause, Pyro lets out a ‘tsk’, looking away from Owen and crossing their arms.
“I have no idea what you mean.”
“Sure you don’t.”
Another pause. This time, much longer. Owen decided to speak up again, not waiting for Pyro.
“I’m gonna ask you again, Pyro.” Owen steps closer to the tall man once more, his voice deepening slightly as he speaks, his words dangerous. “Why are you out in these woods?”
Pyro flinches, looking back at Owen and getting flashbacks to the time Scott confronted him in the crypt below the castle. Pyro swallows hard, trying to put on a brave face. “I don’t take orders from you.”
Yet another pause, this one not as long as the last, a flash of an amused grin sparks across Owens' face, revealing his fangs for only a split second.
“Cute.” Owen takes a few steps back, “Good answer, but not the answer I was looking for.”
Pyro blinks at Owen, baffled. Pyro hates to admit it, but Owen can be pretty fucking cool at times, intimidating? Yes. But pretty badass nonetheless.
Owen spoke up, “Listen,” the shorter vampire began walking around Pyro like he was prey. “I couldn't care less about your issues.”
“Ouch,” Pyro mumbled, observing Owen.
Owen ignored him. “But I will admit, I'm rather curious,” Owen stops right behind Pyro, “so do tell me.”
Pyro glances over his shoulder; he’s gone.
“What has your bats in a bunch?” Owen spoke in a whisper, right into Pyro's ear.
Pyro jumps back, chills running down their spine as his ears flushed softly in embarrassment.
This gets a chuckle out of Owen. He enjoys spooking and teasing people. It's rather entertaining.
Owen tilts his head, awaiting a response. Once Pyro calms, they take a breath and speak.
“I’m..Upset-”
“Nooo, really??”
“...”
“Apologies, continue.”
Pyro sighs,
“Do you think what we did was right?”
“...Morally? Probably not, but I couldn't give a shit about that.”
“Let me rephrase. Was killing Avid the right call? Or did we fuck everything up?”
Owen shrugs, “We could’ve let him live, but he would’ve just brought us down. It's better to get rid of the weak link as soon as possible.”
Pyro hummed, looking away while gripping his arm. “Goldsmith didn’t seem pleased.”
Owen arched a brow at Pyro, a bit taken aback by the sudden change. “Goldsmith? What happened to Scott being your ‘Sire’??”
Pyro's ear twitched, turning to make eye contact with the elder once more. “He..Didn't seem very thrilled that I killed his.. ‘Boy Toy.’”
Ah. He was jealous; that was his reasoning for killing Avid.
Owen never once questioned why Pyro came to plan Avid's murder with him; after all, it was something Owen himself had wanted to do for some time. But this was.. A rather interesting discovery.
Owen let out a mocking snort, “You let your jealousy take hold of you, and now you’re regretting it because you didn't get the reaction you wanted? That’s rather pathetic, don’t you think?”
Pyro's eyes narrow, his hands, which had returned to resting at his side, begin to clench into fists.
‘Fucking prick.’ Pyro thought to himself as their ears flicked angrily.
He snarls, stepping forward and confronting Owen. “That's really rich coming from someone who's trying to find another man to replace the one who left a burning hole in your heart. Thinking that maybe, if the Doc were to become a vampire, he could be just like him. Now that's ‘rather pathetic’ if you ask me.”
Owen growled, gripping Pyro's shirt and tugging him down, getting in their face. His voice is low and full of venom. “That Doctor could never replace Louis. What gives you the right to even think about him? Never, and I mean never, utter another word about him again. Or I promise you, Pyro, that pretty little head of yours will end up on a stick.”
Pyro blinks down at the slightly smaller vampire. The two bats stay like that for a good minute before Owen lets out an angered huff and releases the grip he had on Pyro's collar.
“You’re very lucky that I still show mercy towards you.”
As Owen begins walking away, that sentence clicks in Pyro's mind, and he runs the line back a few times before calling out to Owen. “Why is that? Why do you show me mercy?”
Owen pauses, Pyro watches the older vampire's stance closely, noticing the smallest ear flick and the tension in his shoulders.
Owen doesn't turn to face Pyro, “I’m not sure.”
With that, Owen goes invisible, leaving Pyro wondering what the fuck just happened.
Owen ended up running back to the castle. If he had a pulse for his heart, it would be beating out of his chest right now, but why?
Not even he knew.
-
It's been a few days since the encounter between Owen and Pyro; they hadn't spoken since their verbal tussle in the woods.
Owen was avoiding Pyro like he had the plague, and he planned on continuing to do so until Pyro decided to corner the lone vampire in Avid's old sleeping quarters while he was rummaging through his belongings like a trash panda.
Owen’s ears perk up at the sound of knocking on a wooden frame, turning his head to see who caught him in the act of stealing from the dead; he was met with Pyro's gaze.
“Hey.”
“...Greetings.”
Tension filled the air like smoke; it was thick and heavy, and it left the two with a suffocating feeling in their chests.
“So uh, the woods...”
“Ah, yes, I do love me some wood.”
Pyro went to open his mouth to say something, but no words came out; all you could see were his fangs. They stared at Owen awkwardly. Owen could swear there was a bit of a flush on Pyro's ears, though he decided to ignore it.
“What? I'm a lumberjack, of course, I like wood, what did you think I meant?" Owen teased, his brow quaking with a grin.
“Oh, uhm,” Pyro blinks away from Owen, avoiding eye contact, “Nothing. It was silly.”
“Uh huh.” Owen chuckled. Pyro can be so amusing at times.
There was silence once more, but this time it was a comfortable silence. Pyro walked over and sat on Avid's bed, watching as Owen went back to stealing what was once the loud fledglings' belongings.
Pyro studied Owen's slim but firm figure. He traced the smaller vampire's sharp facial features; their eyes traced his arm, which was very conveniently exposed due to Owen rolling up his sleeve. Pyro noted the way Owen bit his lip softly while he concentrated, he noted how Owen's curls framed his face, and they noted the way Owen's ear twitched whenever he got annoyed.
“Are you fucking kidding me? He had no leather? Curse the gods.”
Pyro snaps out of his daydreaming, gripping the old bedsheets that Avid once lay in.
Owen sat up, pushing his hair out of his face, turning, and walking towards what was once Avid's bed. He lets out a loud and defeated sigh, plopping down next to Pyro.
“Rats. I really thought I could steal some decent stuff, but it was like a ghost town in those chests.” Owen rubs his eyes, annoyed and defeated.
Pyro toned out Owens’ complaining as he tried putting together words, trying to figure out what exactly they wanted to say to the curly-haired vampire.
Pyro thought about the night they fought; it had replayed in their mind for a bit now, and he had come to realize what he said was pretty out of place. At least the bit about Louis, Pyro knew it was a touchy subject; they felt like a dick.
“Owen.”
Owen quickly went quiet, turning to look at Pyro, a confused but curious look on his face.
“..Yes?”
“I’m sorry.”
Something sharp hit Owen in the chest; it felt like a stake plunged right into his heart, much like what he and Pyro did to Avid.
“Excuse me?”
Pyro stared Owen in his dark eyes, which, strangely, didn't seem as dark at that moment. “I’m sorry.”
Owen held his breath, though there was no breath to be held.
Pyro watched as Owens' shoulders tensed as they continued, “I... Apologize for speaking about..Him.” Pyro hesitated, recalling Owen's promise.
Owen's ear began twitching, but he remained still, eyes glued to Pyros. Pyro took that as an okay to continue.
“It was wrong of me to bring him up, especially in such a harsh manner. So I sincerely apologize.”
‘Oh, well, this is new.’ Owen thought to himself.
Owen couldn't recall a time someone genuinely apologized to him, so this was different.
The strangest part was that Owen could sense no lying. Pyro seemed genuine. How fascinating.
There was a long pause, Owen resting slowly as time went on. Pyro stared at the vampire, worried, confused, and slightly nervous.
After some time had passed, Owen looked away slowly, a small yet sad smile resting on his face. Pyro's eyes soften at the sight, reluctantly tearing his eyes away from Owen's face.
They sat there quietly for some time before Owen chose to speak up, “I’m sorry that I'm not.”
Pyro looked at Owen, waiting for him to continue,
“You could do better than him, you know?” Owen glanced at Pyro, trying to read their expression, “He wasn't using you, he wasn’t leading you on, but he also wasn’t loving you the way you wanted him to.”
Owen finally turns to look Pyro in the eyes, “He wasn't loving you the way you loved him.”
Owen was known for being brutally honest, and the elder thought that his honesty was what Pyro needed. Poor Pyro acted like a dog, trying so hard to please his ‘sire’ the best he could.. All to be ignored in the end, it was sad, really. Owen pitied him.
Owen was trying hard to decode Pyro's face, but he couldn't; maybe he overworked the youngling?
All of a sudden, Pyro grabs Owens' face, cupping his slender cheeks.
Owen's eyes widen as he stares at the other vampire in their dark, crimson eyes. There is a sort of hunger lurking in the other's gaze that Owen couldn't quite pinpoint; it wasn't bloodlust, it was something more. Like they were craving something else.
“Wow, hey! What are you-” But before Owen could figure out what was going on, Pyro locked their lips together, their hands still holding the other's face firmly.
Owen let out a small startled noise, surprised by the sudden kiss. He felt as if fireworks went off, but just as he was about to ease into the kiss, Pyro pulled away. How disappointing.
Pyro stood up abruptly, ears turned down, pale skin flushed, eyes wide, clearly spooked by their impulsive action.
“Oh my gods, Owen, I’m so so sorry.”
Owen could see the other panicking, but why? If he didn't like it, Pyro's head would’ve been off his shoulders by now.
“I have no idea what came over me, I-” But before Pyro could continue, Owen pulled the taller vampire down on top of him, stealing yet another kiss.
The two pull away slowly,
“You talk too much.”
Owen inched back towards the wall, pulling Pyro along like a dog on top of him.
Pyro swallows, seemingly nervous; this entertains Owen more.
Owen wrapped his legs around the man's waist, draping his arms over the other's shoulders. “Calm down, I won’t bite your head off.”
Pyro chuckles lightly, shaking off his nerves. He adjusts himself ever so slightly, making sure both he and Owen are comfortable. Once the stage is set, the show begins.
The kissing started lightly at first, but it wasn't long until the two started clashing fangs and drawing blood.
Owen's hand holds a firm grip on Pyro's hair as the other digs claws into their shoulder. Meanwhile, one of Pyro's hands continues to cup the side of Owen's face as the other pushes against the bed to keep himself from falling on top of the elder.
There are small noises made in between the two, thankfully not loud enough to echo off the walls of the crypt.
Everything was going great until Pyro bit into Owens's bottom lip, His hooked fangs causing the elder's rim to split open, which began gushing a deep, dark maroon colored plasma almost immediately. Though Owen paid it no mind, for the wound healed within what seemed to be an instant.
Pyro tried pulling away and checking on Owen, but Owen wasn't having it, pulling the younger vampire back into the kiss. Pyro didn't protest.
Owen found himself slipping further and further away; he was letting his guard down. He’d end this soon, at least that's what he thought to himself..
By the time Owen did pull away, the two lovesick bats had been at it for a good twenty minutes. Needless to say, they would be walking out of this ‘fight’ with a few battle scars.
Pyro’s shirt was torn slightly due to Owens' sharp claws, which dug into his skin, causing trickles of blood to run down the youngling's arm. The sensation sent chills down their spine.
Owen had a mark on his bottom lip due to Pyro's thirst getting the best of them. He didn't want to admit it, but it was quite attractive.
Owen felt as Pyro's hands gently glided down to his waist, but he ignored him.
Owen is the first to speak up, his voice hoarse, mouth still dripping with his own plasma. “I trust that you won't tell a soul about this... interaction.” His words come out threatening, but Pyro ignores them.
Pyro grins, his fangs protruding, “I’d never.”
Owen glances over Pyro carefully, studying his character once more. There seems to be no trace of a lie within Pyros' tone or demeanor.
Owen nods, tightening his grip on the taller vamp ever so slightly, “Good.”