Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It had been cold in the crypt, a musty, ancient cold that stuck around. by comparison, it should be warmer outside – where the sun could heat the damp ground – but Scott felt an icy chill settle deep in his bones as he stood among the ruins of his castle.

In the years he had been asleep, all he had built had crumbled. His power had rotted away like an overripe apple, and his coven-bonds had shrivelled and burnt within his chest, leaving a yawning chasm.

Immortality was meant to be stable, boring, eternal, how is it that he always managed to come across all this… change?

How was it that he had started again and again without yet finding an end?

Well. No point waiting. Time is still time, even if you have forever.

……

Oakhurst had changed.

Not in the way he thought. It was the same small, poor town it had been however long ago, but it was a little worse honestly. He had a least thought he could borrow a room in somebody’s house, a bed maybe. He had hoped for a bath if he was lucky – centuries in tomb is not good for hygiene at all.

Instead, he was faced with ruins on par with the castle – uneven, unstable walls and half charred, half rotten wood – if he was being honest, it might be easier to rebuild the castle than to stick around there.

If you had thought - by his description – that the town was empty, you could not be more wrong. Sure, it was little more than rock and wood and dirt, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a hub for a host of highly unusual individuals, in fact, the ancient vampire who knew nothing about modern day was one of the normal ones.

If anything, it was Avid that was the worst. He hadn’t done anything wrong as such, but he was so utterly convinced that Scott was a vampire, he had proclaimed it to the entire town.
It may be true, but that didn’t mean the townsfolk believed him and Scott had no intention of revealing himself.

At the moment, his plan was simple.
He wanted to know about the time well enough to blend in. He wanted to gather enough blood to easily sustain himself, and he wanted to remain undercover. It was a small list, an easy list. there should be no problems at all, so why was he treating it like a complex issue? Well… he had a feeling.

……

“Hey!” Shelby stumbled along the crest of the roof towards him, smiling widely as she sat down next to him “it’s a beautiful morning isn’t it!”

Scott glanced at the horizon, where the gentle, golden yellow of the sun rays were just visible. “Yeah, for sure.”

Personally, he thought the smooth canvas of deep, royal blue, painted with bright stars was probably better - especially because there was no threat of sunburn – but he wasn’t going to argue with Shelby.

She was - for sure - one of the less annoying townsfolk, and if scott had to stick around somebody to be deemed ‘normal’ then he’d rather it be one he likes.

“Sooo, why are you out here this early?” Shelby awkwardly leaned forward to get a glance at his face.

“Well,” Scott sighed, eyes drifting to the town gate, where a raggedy shadow moved slowly into town, keeping to the shadows. “I was waiting for Owen.”

He resisted the urge to drop straight from the top of the roof – it would be a little suspicious – and slipped from the lowest section of the roof to the window ledge, then to the floor. He moved quickly, from shadow to shadow, wanting to catch him in the act.

When he had seen Owen sneak out of the town under the first light of the red moon, he had known something was off and that had only grown when he didn’t return at all, only arriving to take shelter as the sun rose.

He didn’t really fancy confronting Owen at all, but if he was to remain undercover, he didn’t want to be revealed by a over enthusiastic youngster.
It wouldn’t do any harm to get some hierarchy set up, if only to make it easier for both of them.

“Hello” Scott calmly approached, watching as Owen washed a dark, viscous liquid of his hands, he could identify by its sweet, appealing scent.

Blood.

Owen startled backwards suddenly, pivoting and hiding his soggy hands in his sleeves. His face was twisted into an animalistic grimace, almost a snarl. Inches from baring his fangs. “What do you want?”

“Woah!” Scott raised his hands placatingly, angling his head so he was looking down on Owen. “I just wanted to know if you had a good night out? Did you satiate that hunger?”

Owen stepped back, eyes widening “what are you talking…”

Scott frowned “don’t give me that, you know better.” He smirked widely, showing off his own sharp, pale fangs.

“Ohh!” Owen sighed, enlightened, stepping into the shade of the house as the dawn’s sunrays grew stronger. “How about we do this some other time?”

“Fine” Scott turned away, I’ll see you tonight.”

……

Chapter Text

By the time, the moon was up – its crimson light illuminating the roofs of the town – Scott was peckish. It was good he had arranged to leave town; he could collect some blood while he was out.

As he sat at the edge of the woods in the murky shadows, he watched as Owen made his way towards him, swiftly walking over towards him.

“Hello,” Scott stood up “how has your day been?”

“Cut the crap!” Owen walked past him, avoiding eye contact “What do you want?”

“Wow, you’re certainly blunt!” Scott walked deeper into the forest, away from the town “I just wanted to have a civil conversation, you know, vampire to vampire.”

Owen sighed deeply “I got that much. What even is there to talk about though?”

“Well, first and foremost, what is your intention? Why did you end up here, of all places?” Scott turned to face Owen directly, as they entered the clearing around the tomb. “I can’t imagine you came here because of the hunting opportunities; everyone seems to have just arrived.”

Owen glared at him, “if it’s so important, why are you here? What brought you, with supposedly noble heritage, to a derelict, abandoned town?”

Scott was a little surprised, he had expected a more agreeable meeting, after all, they were both vampires, surely Owen had a little respect for his fellows, especially when he is clearly older.

Then again, maybe Owen doesn’t know.

It should take a large lapse in judgement to not sense a more powerful vampire, especially when it was him, he was quite noticeable... Weird.

“It wasn’t my choice to end up here! In fact, I would much rather have ended up someplace with hot running water. I just happened to awake from a cursed slumber in the area, and the nearest place was Oakhurst, or what remained.”

He sighed exasperatedly, “On that, you must have been around for a bit, what happened to the place? Last time I was here it looked better and that’s saying something, it was a long, long time ago.”

“How old are you?” Owen was looking down, clearly struggling between running, and fighting.

It was another unusual behaviour, Scott was beginning to wonder: had he ever met another vampire?

“Weelll, that’s not exactly an easy question, I was asleep for maybe, 600 years? And I lived a long time before that, so, I’m pretty old, long past established.” Scott frowned, it really had been a long time. “How old are you?”

Owen was staring wide-eyed up at him “What! How!? You are literally ancient!”

“Literally,” Scott grinned “You?”

Owen stuttered “Oh! I’m only like 200 years old, but most of those were sleeping…”

Oh, well that explained a lot, Owen was still a fledgling. “How long where you sleeping?

“I was only awake for like, a day, soo”

“What!” Scott was horrified, he shouldn’t have been asleep that long, especially that early on, it was a terrible sign for his development. Did something go wrong? “Where is your sire!!”

Owen stepped back, curling into a defensive position “Why…?”

Scott took in a deep breath, this was really bad, he should slow down, start at the beginning. He moved to sit on the steps at the bottom of the tomb, trying to make his body language as non-threatening as possible.
“Owen, what do you know about being a vampire?”

Owen shrugged “Everything I need to? We drink blood, turn into bats, you know... It’s all pretty instinctual.” He spoke sharply, drifting further away. He obviously didn’t know there was anything more to being a vampire and he didn’t like not being in control of the situation, very telling.

“Well,” Scott smiled warmly “do you want a crash course? It won’t take too long.”

Owen seemed indecisive, torn between getting away from the perceived threat, or learning new information about himself he had never heard before.

Eventually, he settled - choosing the second option: “Tell me.”

Scott patted the stair next to him “Come on then”

He sat down reluctantly, picking at the dirty bandages on his hands.

“Our type of vampires,” Scott started “are more magical than most on traditional vampire stories. Sure, we can do those things, but our defining traits are more like fae or dragons, honestly.”

Owen interrupted, perking up, “Like how we have to ask to enter a house?”

Scott nodded vigorously “Yes exactly! We are similar to fae in our manners and our aversion to metals, but we have silver and fae have iron. Dragons, on the other hand, share our behaviour patterns, like nesting and hoarding – though that tends to manifest as good collections.”

Owen was steadily looking more confused, his frown deepening as he picked at his fingertips. Where had he gone wrong? It had all been pretty straightforward.

Scott tilted his head, curious. “What’s up? Why do you look confused?”

Owen glanced up suddenly, before squinting and staring off into the distance “Are dragons and fae real? Like do they actually exist?”

“Ohhh” Scott chuckled “dragons are probably extinct, they practically were ages ago, but fae, well they tend to keep to themselves. They could still be around, I don’t know.”

“Soooo, Shelby is right.”

Scott properly laughed then, leaning back to rest against the other stairs. “Yeah, at some point!”

Owen smiled – it struck Scott that it was the first time he’d seen him smile –
“She’ll love to learn that”

Scott frowned “She will? Do you want to turn her?”

Owen startled back “No! I mean, I’m not bothered… I thought you did?”

Scott thought for a minute, “I would like to turn her, but honestly, it’s her choice, I don’t mind either way.”

It struck Scott, that this conversation was all very well and good, but it wasn’t really going anywhere, he could explain vampiric traits to Owen for hours, and it wouldn’t help him learn what was really going on, wouldn’t help him learn what was behind that shell. He should at least try to push a little bit harder, build a relationship here.

He tilted his head, “There is something I could show you,” he said “it might help with the explanation…”

Owens eyes opened a little wider, curiosity clear.

“How well do you know the area?” Scott held a hand out to help Owen up, he took it hesitantly and pulled himself up.

“Pretty well, I worked as a lumberjack here for ages, Since I was 15.”

Scott smiled, he was opening up! “You know the ruins of the castle over the hill?”

Owen nodded

“I’ll race you there!” He exclaimed, twisting his form into a smaller, winged shape, and circling the clearing to give Owen a head start. Then he shot off in the direction of his castle, beating dark wings fast to catch up.

……

At the base of a small, underdeveloped shrub, a small rat with scraggly, uneven brown fur and a well-fed, almost triangular shape, squeaked in panic and scuttled away frantically.

Chapter Text

Scott swooped down, transforming back to land carefully in the dining room, he spotted owen sitting on the dining table in his bat form. His little bat face was screwed up in something like smugness, and his fur was puffed up, turning him into a little fluffy brown squadge with leathery wings. Scott held himself back from grinning - he didn’t feel like Owen would appreciate it – but he was adorable!

“Come on then!” Scott held out his hand for Owen, who tilted his head questioningly “what! You don’t think these old ruins are interesting, do you? No, I’ve got something much better!”

Owen seemed to make up his mind, flapping to his hand and perching there, the little claws on his feet and wing joints pricking at Scott’s skin. Scott made his way over to the crypt, starting down the long staircase.

In his hand, Owen made himself comfier, nuzzling into Scott’s fingers with tiny, rumbling purrs. Scott hadn’t seen anything so adorable for quite while, Owen had warmed up to him much faster than he thought he would.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs, he turned on his heels and ducked behind staircase, pressing his palm into a rounded stone in the wall. As it yielded, there was a mechanical click and the whirring of ancient gears and cogs coming to life and the floor beneath his feet began to descend. Owen startled, clinging tighter with his grippy little wing fingies and leaning out over Scott’s hand to watch curiously as the room below came into view.

Scott could remember exactly what the rooms in the mountain looked like, and he was worried it was going to have changed, worried that the years would have tainted a place so important to him and so prevalent in his memories.

As the floor beneath his feet stopped moving, he sighed in relief, as far as he could see, the corridor was untouched, soft carpet slightly ruffled, vibrant drapes only ever-so-slightly faded.

As he stepped along the corridor, pushing past the bright drapes, Owen, in his palm, fluffing up his wings and snuffling quietly. Curious, but clearly a little sleepy.

Scott walked down the length of the hall, past all the side doors and to the end door, pressing his palm to the door and gathering his vampiric strength to heave the door inwards, pushing with strength no human could muster.

As the heavy mahogany shifted, moving under their own power once they passed halfway on the hinges, revealing a large, half-circle shape room. The first floor was a smaller half circle, filled with soft blankets and cushions. The second floor was smaller, two staircases on either side of the inner area leading up 3 or so meters to a line of small arched rooms, each hidden by a brightly pigmented curtain. The room was still and peaceful, a safe place still, after all these years.

Scott laid Owen down on a cushion in the central area, letting the sleepy bat instincts go where they wanted to. He decided to leave the door open, to make sure Owen didn’t get freaked out if he thought he was trapped, before finding the matchbox in its designated alcove. He lit all the candles around the edge of the room, making sure the protective glass was secure around them, before taking his place at the centre of the nest, making sure not to disturb Owens rest as he did.
…….
Back in the village, Pyro was interrogating his rat – yes, he knows how stupid that sounds, but it isn’t like that!

Or maybe it is?

Either way, he can communicate with his rat, Dorito. He could be mad, but honestly the amount of correct information he had gathered kind of proved it for him.

At the moment, he was a little confused. He had sent Dorito out to stalk Scott (not like that! God!) and Dorito had come back terrified, demanding an obscene number of treats and speaking in an unintelligible waterfall of panicked squeaks. It had taken hours to calm the rat enough to get a distinguishable word: Vampires.

Vampires!

The word was an unusual combination of bird and insect – a mosquito maybe? And something similar to the word for fantasy, or magic, and paired with a little nod and tail flick, normally used for predators. A chorus of high pitched, long squeaks and a leaping stride, maybe an imitation of flying?

Pyro was at a loss, sure it was complex, but he couldn’t see what else Dorito could want to tell him, after all, Avid had been going on about vampires for ages, it makes sense it would come up eventually.

The way Dorito used the word, well, it implied that the people it had seen were vampires, specifically that Scott and Owen were vampires.

It felt farfetched, but maybe he shouldn’t be so questioning, after all, his best friend was a rat.

…

…

Ok. So… Vampires are real.

Wow.

Well, he isn’t telling Avid, imagine how insufferable he would be if he knew he was right.

Actually, he quite fancied being a vampire, he could finally be totally individual, finally be worth more.

Yeah.

It sounded like a dream come true, if it was real, that is.

Now, how the hell was he meant to go up to Scott and persuade him to turn him into a vampire?

If it could be done at all…

Chapter Text

Owen woke up slowly, curled in soft, silky fabrics, like a butterfly within a cocoon. He reached up above his head, stretching out and grumbling like a dissatisfied cat.

Where was he? He felt calmer than he had in a long while, well, since he was human.

Since Louis.

He forced his eyes open, straining against the syrupy sleepiness keeping him captive, clenching his fists, and kicking his legs, wriggling with increasingly frantic movements.

The room was lit by gently flickering candles, hidden behind decorative glass, and the large space was partially obscured by hanging silks and curtains, much like the drapes around expensive beds.

He could remember Lois having some of them, around the bed he let Owen borrow, when the woods were dark and daunting, and the trek to his hut was longer than he could manage.

He sat up, pushing back the loose blankets and unraveling the tighter fabrics he’d managed to tangle himself up in. He grabbed hold of some nearby curtains, and hoisted himself up, scanning for an exit from this unusual space.

“Oh!”

Owen spun around, stumbling over cushions and yanking on the curtain harder in his panic “Scott!”

“You’re up!” Scott slipped gracefully from the alcove he had been sitting in, putting down a book he must have been reading “It’s been a while! You must have been tired!”

Owen growled under his breath, “Where are we?”

Scott smiled softly, “You must have been really tired… This is my nest!” He spread his arms wide, grinning.

“Oh” Owen looked around, when he thought about a nest, he remembered the pile of blankets he’d burrowed into, imitating a hedgehog in a leaf pile. He remembered Louis’s laugh and the molten warmth in his chest, not a lavishly decorated room.

Maybe the age difference had something to do with it? He was perfectly happy with a fluffy blanket in a dark corner, but Scott needed an entire room, like a dragons den?

Should he even be here? Weren’t nests private spaces, only meant for, like coven?
Owen was not part of Scott’s coven.

……
Owen was a violent sleeper, wriggling around like a worm stuck on a dry stone, managing to tangle himself up in the blankets so thoroughly Scott was surprised he hadn’t woken himself up.

Scott gathered some more blankets, carefully layering them over the younger vampire, in the hope that it would weigh him down a little, or create a more complex tangle.

He hadn’t been as productive as he had hoped, but Owen had clearly been sleepy, and he’d rather Owen rest than attempt to teach an unwilling student. Also, Owen looked relaxed, really relaxed, and it made Scott realise how tense he was during the day, he must be on guard all the time. That couldn’t be good for his nervous system.

He has to make sure he looks after Owen, he is only a fledgling, and whatever happens to him is firmly Scott’s responsibility. From now on, he would put Owens needs above his own - even the secret of his vampiric identity - if they needed to abandon the town, he would do it, without hesitation.

He might have gotten a little attached…

……
Owen backed towards the door, sharply aware that he was stuck, in a location he didn’t know, where he was likely not welcome. “Why am I here?

Scott’s expression softened, pity showing through, as clear as day. “I wanted to show you some stuff, but you must have been quite tired because you fell asleep as soon as we got in here.”

Owen frowned internally, he hadn’t felt tired, what had Scott done? He had to get out of here, what was a good excuse?

“It must be day by now, surely. We should go back to Oakhurst, before we raise any suspicion.” He wanted to turn and walk away himself, but he didn’t know the way out, so he had to wait for Scott to leave first.

“Oh! Yeah, we don’t want Avid to get anymore suspicious!” Scott moved past him, leading the way through the drapes to the door.

To Owens surprise, the doors lead to a corridor, with similar drapes on the walls and closed doors scattered along its length. He was even more surprised at the amount of room, was this really all for Scott? Surely it was too much space?

When they reached the end of the corridor - which seemed to be a dead end - and Scott pressed a stone in the wall that triggered some kind of mechanism that brought the ceiling down, Owen realised how different this nest was from all the others he’d been in. This was not a blanket pile that could be easily remade, it wasn’t just a comforting spot. It was a sanctuary, a carefully kept vault, the beating heart of what must have been a large coven.

It made him nervous that he was somewhere so important, he wasn’t worth the trouble. Now he knows the way, he could lead any number of terrible people there. He could let them tear the place apart with silver and fire, let the place fall to ruin like Oakhurst. How would Scott feel then? Would he be angry? Would he tear Owen to shreds in righteous rage, like Owen had done 200 years ago to the townsfolk? Would he refuse to leave his nest, and be burnt alive, along with his final tie to the living world?
The floor slotted into place with a sharp click, and Owen, on recognising where they were, transformed straight into a bat and set off flying in the direction of town, away from the spiralling whirlpool of his thoughts.

Chapter Text

Owen was nervous, that much was obvious. Why, Scott wasn’t sure, he was in a nest, where he should be, and Scott was being very careful not to overstep any boundaries…

Maybe he’d moved too fast, maybe getting Owen into his nest wasn’t the right move.

Well, he’ll show Owen the way out, for now, and hope he didn’t damage Owens trust, because then he could, at least have another chance and figure out what he did wrong.

He walked down the corridor, back to the entrance, Owen was trailing behind like a lost puppy. when the lift finally reached its resting place below the stairs, Owen scattered into bat form and burst into the air, flying away top speed.

Scott followed after him, he wanted to make sure Owen made it back ok, but not like he was chasing him, that would probably freak Owen out.

He gently flapped over the town, staying low to the treetops and watching with sharp eyes to make sure Owen was ahead.
As he swooped down to enter the group of buildings at a lower altitude, so he wouldn’t be as visible, he saw movement in the tree line.

Someone was stumbling about blindly in the dark; they appeared to be alone.

For a moment he worried that Owen had transformed back and decided to not enter the village, and he darted over, to corral the fledgling into Oakhurst.

As he fluttered into closer, he realised that it wasn’t Owen at all, - it was Pyro, - the young scholar had ventured out into the dark forests bordering Oakhurst in the midst of night, without a companion or even a torch.

It was unwise, Scott had expected a little more, - Pyro had seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, - but maybe he had been too generous.

Scott decided to linger, he could find out why Pyro was out at night, but possibly also enjoy himself by startling the kid occasionally. He came out into the woods, he asked for it!

Pyro stumbled around for a good while, mumbling about his stupidity for not bringing a torch, and jumping at leaves landing in his hair and the wind brushing through the trees. Scott didn’t need to be involved to be entertained, the kid was scared of his own steps, for gods' sake.

Eventually, he seemed to give up, sitting down on the ground and whistling a low tune. From the corner of his vision, Scott noticed a rat scuttle across the ground towards him, as if called by the whistle. The ragged rat ran straight over to Pyro and hastily onto his lap, squeaking eagerly, Pyro sighed and pulled a handful of berries from his pocket, depositing them on the ground for their… pet rat?

Oh well, it wasn’t any of Scott’s business, if he wanted an uneven, dirty rat as a pet, sure, go ahead.

When the rat finished its meal, its stomach significantly plumper than before, Pyro put a hand down, and picked it up, holding it level to his head.

“What do you have to say for yourself? You have been nothing but unhelpful! I asked for you to lead me the direction they went, but you lead me on a berry bush hunt!”

The rat seemed to quake, wriggling and squeaking in tandem.

Pyro sighed and rolled his eye, “you say that, but look at you! You don’t need anymore food! If anything, you should have less food! It would make you move faster, for sure!”

The argument seemed to derail into a repeat of a previous argument, one about recommended rat exercise and fair wages…, but
Scott was confused, what was going on? Had Pyro fooled him?

Was he just as insane as the rest of the village, as Avid, or was there something more going on? Scott had heard of witches with familiars, black cats or toads or ravens, but had hadn’t heard of rat familiars, and Pyro didn’t seem like much of a witch. Also, it had been 600 years, with the attitude the townsfolk had around the magic of the beacons, he had expected all magical beings to be extinct. Unusual.

Meanwhile, Pyro was still arguing with his rat, “look, I know you’ve proved your worth already, but recently your information hasn’t been as helpful

No! It's not an insult!

Its just…

…Look you said they were vampires, right?”

Scott snapped his head around, concentration peaked.

Is Pyro a threat? Is this a problem he should deal with?

He said he’ll protect Owen, and letting Pyro wander about with the knowledge that both Scott and Owen are vampires -especially when the towns people are so suspicious - is surely a danger.

Owen is worth more than Pyro to him, he can do this…

Chapter Text

Pyro was annoyed, he had wanted to find Scott and Owen, but Dorito - the stupid rat – had instead taken him on a tour of every berry bush in the area, hoping for snacks.

It had been hours, and there was no sign of the vampires (not that he expected there to be – they are vampires). He is going to be so sleep-deprived tomorrow, Avid might accuse him of being the vampire!

In his tired state, he didn’t notice the bat hanging from the branch above his head, and he didn’t notice when it took to the air and vanished into the darkness of the trees behind him. He didn’t even notice when the bat emerged from the shadows behind him, much larger, each step silent on the uneven forest ground. He only noticed when the moons red light was disrupted by a long shadow, and Dorito ran into a bush, squeaking in terror, fat, worm-like tail writhing.

“Hi!” Scott leaned over him, eyes closed in a grin that revealed long, sharp canines.

Pyro scrambled away, caught in an instinctual fear, heartbeat raging. “What! How! Your... Oh my god!”

He took a moment to catch his breath, gather his thoughts – he wanted this, he shouldn’t run, that would end up really badly, just talk, explain.

Pyro sat up a little straighter, trying to think logically,

“You,”-his brain froze.

Scott sighed deeply “Yes, me. I just need to ask you something…”

He tilted his head, sharp fangs glinting in the red light.

Pyro tried to find the words, and in their absence, he gestured violently for Scott to continue, nodding his head and flapping his hand frantically, like a particularly stressed fish. He wants a question, that means he’s less likely to die!

Scott looked confused for a minute, bewildered by Pyro’s unusual behaviour, before he took control back “You aren’t going to make this hard, are you?” His eyes shone red in the light of the moon, his vampirism as clear as day.

Pyro’s eyes went wide, no! That wasn’t what he wanted! He didn’t want to die, no thank you!

“Woah, wait…. wait!” He sat up straight, meeting Scott’s eyes “I’m not going to be a problem! I don’t care that you’re a vampire!”

Scott frowned, “Ok, even so, you could tell the others, and Avid definitely cares about me being a vampire.”

“Im not going to tell anyone!” Pyro exclaimed, “especially not Avid!”

“Yeah, that’s fair,” Scott smirked, before his face fell back into a more serious expression “ but I can’t trust your word, not for this.”

Pyro sat up straighter “You don’t have to trust my word! You can turn me, i want to be a Vampire! I can’t reveal you if it means also putting myself in potential danger.”

Scott sighed, “It’s not that simple, I cant just turn you, and it’s not just me who I have to worry about. I have a responsibility to Owen, he is a fledgling, and in the situation I’m in, with Oakhurst, I can’t support more than one fledgling without straining me, or putting one of them in danger. And if I’m being honest, Owen has priority over you.”

Pyro nodded, heart falling into his shoes, he had one chance to convince Scott, to come up with a solution that would help him out…

“I don’t mind waiting? I want to be a vampire, and if I reveal you, then you can’t turn me that would mean you and Owen are safe, and you can turn me when the situation is better. Does that work? I can help with things, even as a human…”

Scott moved, sitting on an elevated root, humming whilst, looking thoughtfully into the tree line. He seemed to be considering Pyro’s proposal, figuring out if it could work for him.

Pyro picked himself up from the forest floor, nervously pulling the pine needles from his clothes, he really hoped this worked, praying to anyone who will listen – let his bad luck even out, just this once.

Scott moved on his seat, and Pryo looked at him, eyes wide, hopeful.

Scott looked up, meeting his eyes, “I can see that working, but I have conditions…

You have to care for animals, and make connections with the townsfolk - so we have food and you are not suspected…

To make your time as a fledgling easier, you will have to learn about being a vampire, before you become one…

You probably won’t have any spare time, and you will be deceiving the others.” Scott glared at him, bright eyes glinting red in the moonlight, “If I ever, ever think you are the slightest bit untrustworthy, you’ll die before you can tell a single person what you know. That’s a promise.”

Pyro felt relief flood him, he nodded vigorously, words failing him once again, he was gonna be a vampire! He resisted the urge to hug Scott and instead settled for bouncing happily on his toes.

Scott smiled in amusement, “fetch your rat, and let’s go back to town. It would send Avid into a frenzy if we both came back after the night.”

Pyro nodded, and whistled, moving over to the direction Dorito ran and leaning down to scoop the rat out of the bush, for a moment he tried to run away, scuttling under a low root but he could only fit half under, and Pyro managed to grab his tail, and dump him unceremoniously into his pocket, like an unenthusiastic beanbag.

It was still dark when they entered the walls (Scott’s navigational skills were clearly much better than Pyro’s)and he went to his house, slipped through the door, and curled up - fully dressed - in bed. He would need full energy for his new tasks, he needed good sleep.

Chapter Text

Scott wasn’t exactly sure how to go about this, he had agreed to turn Pyro eventually, because he realised, he didn’t want to get his clothes dirty, nor clean up the body. It was a lot of work to clean up a murder! His decision totally hadn’t been swayed by how desperate Pyro had seemed, and how he was already a master of his powerful puppy eyes, using his instincts against him. He would be a formidable fledgling, if only because he is so reminiscent of a drowned rat.

From what Scott could tell from his interactions with Owen, he didn’t know very much about vampirism. Maybe, if he played his cards right, he could teach them both at once and save himself a lot of time.

He quickly pulled himself up on to the roof, sitting in the same position as last time. There was no point risking being heard or seen by Shelby, he might as well make watching the sunrise look like a habit.

It was nice to watch the town come alive, seeing the moon fall and the sun rise, and hear the birds begin to chirp from the treetops.

One by one, the candles flickered to light, people beginning to wake, starting to get ready for the day ahead.
The Doctor was the first to stir, Scott’s vampiric hearing picking out the crackle of a lit fire, and the low rumbling bubble of boiling water. Breakfast, perhaps, or some kind of medicinal poultice – definitely very important with the amount of clumsy idiots gathered around.

The Soldier - Pyro’s roommate – Apo was the next to wake, jolting into consciousness with a clatter and an indignant squeak – the rat, again…

Abolish had woken at some point, moving silently around, he had lit no candles and made no noise Scott could detect, but he could see the movement though the window. Definitely one to watch.

When the dull light started to permeate the cloud layer and hit the ground, it woke up most of the other citizens, Martyn running about like a kid on Christmas morning, knocking on doors and speaking as loud as he physically could without shouting.Avid was out soon after, shrill voice harmonising horribly with Martyn’s voice and the clatter of pans and pots.

Scott hastily shut off his vampiric hearing, wincing at the ringing in his skull. He slipped through the top window, shuffling downstairs to meet Shelby.

“Morning!” He took a seat in an uneven chair, facing her as she washed up her bowl.
“You know we can install a ladder to the roof, if you want, it’ll make it a lot easier to get up and down” she turned, smiling, “unless you want to keep it a secret, of course.”

Scott picked at his nails, pretending to be faking nonchalance (double bluffs are fun!) “it would be nice to access the roof more easily, but I bet it would freak Avid out if he spots me on the roof, so I think I’d rather keep the mystery. Thanks”

Shelby pulled out a chair “Don’t push it too far, he is trying. He thinks he’s protecting us in some way.”

“He thinks he’s protecting you from me!” Scott rolled his eyes “I wouldn’t hurt my own roommate! God!”

“So!” Shelby fished a notebook out of her pocket and lent forward, like a detective performing an interrogation. “Can vampires say god? Or is it blasphemy because their unholy?”

Scott matched her tone, leaning forward to mirror her “I wouldn’t know, because I’m not a vampire. Sorry.”

She started giggling contagiously, and Scott laughed along, comfortable in the warmth of the interaction.

“Anyway, I’ve got to go now,” she sighed. “But I’ll see you around!”

She waved, and Scott reciprocated, before she left Scott alone with his thoughts.

……

He hadn’t thought he would go back to the nest - with his coven gone - it had no use, but Owen was around now, and clearly, he needed the safety of the nest, so Scott hadn’t hesitated. He thought it would hurt to go down there, thought he would feel some kind of sadness for his lost coven, but maybe, somewhere in his two hundred years asleep, he had moved on. Now there was no chance he is leaving Oakhurst, he has one fledgling, and another on the way, they need some stability.