Chapter Text
Scott turned to face away from the setting sun to gaze at pearl and cleo, hand in intertwined hand as they waved him, Shelby, and drift off. Something in him had changed and he couldn't help but break his cool expression into a slight smile as he turned away from the ruins of Oakhurst and ahead at Shelby and drift who were walking just a few paces in front of him.
Avid had said to him that he was perfect, that he didn't need to change — yet he had changed, even if it was the smallest amount of change, it had happened. And it was for the better. He knew it.
He quickened his steps to walk in line with Shelby and drift and keep up with the two stunned fledglings.
“I can't believe it's over, we're going.. home.” Shelby turned to look at drift, the sheer relief and shock in her voice saying more than her words ever could.
“I know..” Drift replied, her tone soft as she let her words settle “wow.. We have our whole lives ahead of us.” The sound in Drift's voice was the same as Shelby's, stunned and so full of relief.
Scott looked back and forth between Shelby and Drift, his fledglings, before deciding to say something, “so we're all like.. living in the same city right??” They had all talked about traveling when this was all over and he assumed that they'd stick together, but he had to be sure; he hadn't had these two prior to his many years of living, yet he couldn't imagine the rest without them.
“Oh yeah absolutely!” “Yeah, yeah yeah!” Shelbly and Drift almost immediately began speaking at the same time in agreement as soon as the words had left his mouth, nodding along as they walked. The three continued joking about where they'll go and what they'll do until he suddenly stopped.
Oakhurst was finally out of sight, along with everything that had transpired within its walls and everything that had bound them to it. Scott felt as though the world was lifted off of his shoulders; Scott felt. That's what had changed. Scott was feeling for one of the first times since waking up — or whatever year it had been when he'd stopped. He turned back to the two fledglings, who were now in line with him, “I feel-... .. free…”
Drift was saying something, and then so was Shelby, but to Scott it felt as though they were a million miles below the water. He was just left grappling with the new revelation. He had definitely felt something when Avid had died — but this was different. This feeling wasn't raw and angry and remorseful, this feeling was.. he wasnt sure what to call it other than relief.
“I think.. the weirdest part of this for me is… actually feeling,” he finally chimed up and the two fledglings whipped their heads around, wide eyed and stunned at his words. Shelby grabbed him by the shoulders, a wide smile spreading across her face.
“You feel!” Their head spun around to look at Drift, her voice now full of shock and amazement.
“YOU FEEL! That's progress! We're proud of you.” Drift added with a smile on her face that matched Shelby's. There was a long pause where they just stood there in the glow of the setting sun, letting silence fall between the three of them. The only sound breaking it was the breeze disturbing the grass beneath their feet and the rustling of trees.
“You really have changed” Shelby's voice was the first one to break the silence, their voice now growing soft as did their eyes. “I think Avid had something to do with that.”
Everything really was going to be all right, for him and his fledglings.
…
…
…
The three of them managed to walk quite a distance from Oakhurst before eventually reaching a town — a town that wasn't as sad looking as how Oakhurst looked when he first woke up. Actually, the town didn't really look like Oakhurst at all — Oakhurst had always been a very scattered looking town, with winding pathways and houses at random. Scott had of course been to more well known towns with a similar layout to this one, with a wide pathway in the middle for horse drawn carriages, and smaller pathways on either side for people. Along with buildings lining the pathways, the only really big differences he could tell at a glance from those well known towns of his time were the architecture of the buildings and these strange metal posts lining the walkways that weren’t holding anything up.
Once the sun had finally sunk below the horizon line, Scott could tell that Drift was looking at him and was about to say something when suddenly the metal posts flared to life, drowning the street in an unnatural light. It was so sudden and unexpected that his eyes narrowed and he had to take a step back to get his bearings in order again while his eyes readjusted to the sudden change.
“Ah.. yeah… that’s what I was about to warn you about..” Drift said with a sigh, putting a hand on his shoulder — entirely unbothered by the lit posts behind them.
“Hm?” Shelby turned back to Drift and Scott — having not noticed Scott’s surprise, they hadn’t stopped walking — “what’s u- OH! You don’t know what a lamp post is, do you?!” Her eyes widened with the revelation and they came back to stand next to Drift in front of him.
“No, I do not..” he admits after a long pause — long enough that Shelby had linked arms with him and had already begun walking again, leading him through town. He raised an eyebrow expectantly, waiting for an explanation of what a “lamp post” is. If Shelby can explain fanfiction to him, this should be a breeze.
“Well so I’m not sure how exactly they work, but it’s basically electricity and stuff.” They say with the most unhelpful explanation possible.
“Shelby.”
“Yeah?” They look over at Scott, still leading him through a town that they most definitely did not know how to navigate.
“I was put to sleep in the 13th century.” Scott deadpans, staring at Shelby blankly — hoping to get his point across well enough for a proper explanation.
“Ah,... hm…” Shelby looks ahead, a slight squint in her eyes as they think his last words over, opening her mouth to say something but immediately closing it when nothing comes to mind.
“Hm.”
“Well a lamppost is like.. .. a candle that turns on on its own, to light up the streets!” Drift chimes in when Shelby is entirely stumped. She’s walking just behind him and Shelby as he gets dragged through town — with zero clue where they were heading in such a rush; none of them had talked this over, but it seemed that Shelby had a plan that they were determined to follow through with.
Shelby turned several corners — going in circles at this rate — dragging him and Drift with her in this unknown goose chase. Him and Drift exchanged a look by the 5th left turn. One of them had to step in, this was getting out of hand.
“Shelby.. are we lost?” Scott says, breaking the ice and turning to look at Shelby who was still determined as ever. All the scepticism he felt subconsciously seeped into his tone.
“Where are we even going??” Drift adds when Shelby doesn’t respond right away. Grabbing their wrist and coming to a halt in the middle of another walkway, eyebrow raised.
“Well I was hoping to surprise Scott, .. but.. .. .. we might be lost..” Shelby sighs, looking at Drift for help. “I was hoping we could take the train! I’m not sure where to, but I was thinking it would be a good place to start.” Drift smiled and her eyes softened at Shelby’s words as she took their hand.
“Well then, let’s go find this train station!” Drift declared. The two fledglings now holding hands continued walking — Scott’s lived long enough to know what’s going on, plain as day. The real question in his mind would be when the two fledglings would realize. Maybe I can make a bet with Cleo…. Was his first and immediate thought of the situation as he followed the two very affectionate fledglings. A smile spread across his face with a chuckle as he watched them walk ahead.
With the threat of getting lost lessening now that both Drift and Shelby were working together on navigating the town, Scott had a moment to really take in his surroundings. There weren’t many people at this odd hour of night, only the occasional residents and carriages. The unnatural light from the lampposts was still a strange adjustment — he didn’t need the light due to being a vampire, but it was still a new and jarring development. The next thing he noticed was the carriage pathway. It was a mix of dirt and cobble but that wasn’t what caught his attention; what caught his attention was the tracks that imprinted on the dirt and made impressions on the stone from frequent use.
They didn’t look like carriage tracks, he could tell — carriage wheels didn’t leave patterns like that. He’d been asleep long enough to know that the world has changed. Vastly changed. Everything kept going, evolving, revolutionizing while he was wasting away in a crypt, with nothing but time. He’d have to figure out a lot of new things and this would be his second mystery of the night.
He also noticed that there weren’t many horse tracks for a road that looked so frequently used. He was thinking these observations over while he followed the fledglings before the answer showed itself all on its own — and it sure wasn’t what he was expecting. It was a carriage riding all on its own, no horses — it also had doors, windows, and a roof; Scott would more accurately describe it as a shed on wheels rather than a carriage. It also had the same unnatural light of the lampposts on the front, illuminating the path in front of it.
He continued to follow Shelby and Drift — who seemed much more confident in where to go — while he continued to stare at the self-moving carriage. “Hey drift, what’s that called?” He points towards the carriage once he sees Drift look back at him.
“That’s a car!” She says while they reach a more open area where the street ends. There’s a wider building that’s mostly open except for a closed off area with an open shop counter, but none of this was what took Scott’s attention. What really took his attention was the very long thing — reminiscent of the car he just saw but on a much longer and wider scale. “And that’s a train” Shelby adds cheerfully, continuing towards the closed off area with the counter.
Once they reach the counter Drift takes the forefront and immediately starts speaking to the man behind the counter. “Three tickets for this train please,” she says while gesturing towards the train currently waiting a few paces away from them.
“First or third class?” the man sitting behind the counter asks while he writes something out.
“Uhhhhh,” Drift looks over at Scott for help — not sure what help he can be, given that this was his first time ever even seeing a train. All he knew was that first class sounded much better, and he needed something more on his level after being around Oakhurst for so long.
“First class sounds fine,” Scott says after little contemplation. “I’ll pay,” he adds after seeing the worrying expression grow on her face.
“170£” the man behind the counter says easily, still writing for whatever work he had to do — by the way Shelby and Drift goggled at the number it must have been astronomical. All Scott could think of though was what the hell a “pound” was.
“Will this suffice?” Scott asks while he pulls out his velvet coin pouch — that he thankfully took from his crypt before they had left. That was also thankfully not stolen by the people who had subjected him to his incredibly long slumber. Scott pulled out a few gold florin coins and placed them on the counter. Both fledglings leaned over to look at the coins curiously — either marvelling at the wealth or the coins age, .. .. probably the latter.
“Wh-“ the man behind the counter put on some reading glasses and picked up a coin, tilting it up to the light to check for authenticity. The man stared in awe at the coins for a good while before nodding, “I’ll accept these, but would you mind telling me where you found such a relic?”
Relic. Wow. How nice to know I’m a RELIC now, Scott thought to himself before answering, “found them in some abandoned crypt a decent ways from here, but it looked like everything else was cleared out,” he said easily — it wasn’t technically a lie, the currency was found in an abandoned crypt that was mostly cleared out. He just didn’t mention that it was his crypt.
“Mmm” the man nodded while stamping something onto slips of paper, then handed them to Drift. “Here’s your tickets ma’am, I wish you three luck on your travels.” He hums before continuing to admire the coins Scott had used to pay.
The ringing sound of the train whistle echoed through the station and the three vampires as the conductor yelled their last boarding call. Shelby quickly took Drift and Scott's hand in each of theirs before making a run for the train.
“COME ON!! WE CANT MISS IT!!” Shelby hauled Drift and Scott into the first train car they saw before hopping on herself, panting dramatically as if it had caused her much fatigue — which it hadn't given they're a vampire; rather it was most likely a product of still being a relatively new fledgling.
Just as they had managed to get onto the train, the door behind them was closed by what Scott would assume was a train worker of sorts. The train then jolted forward with another deafening whistle which offended his heightened senses. Scott quickly regained his balance as the train began to trudge forward, then looked around. The interior was relatively nice — nicer than Oakhurst but not as nice as he would have wished — with subtle red striped velvet lining the walls and faux gold trim with no additional patterns. The doors were made of a dark oak wood and so were the floors and ceilings. There were two doors on either side of them, both with circular windows revealing where they led; The right one led into what looked like a sitting area, and the left one led outside.
“Sooooo, where's first class?” Scott asked once he saw the fledglings regain their balance — he was just praying that this wasn't first class.
“Uhmmm, hm, that's a good question..” Drift looked at their tickets, reading the information stamped on them for any clues before ultimately deciding to ask the person who had closed the door for help. “Hey, sorry, would you mind pointing us in the direction of first class?” She held up the three tickets to solidify her question.
The attendant pointed to the right door, “Just through that door and keep going between cars until you get there. You’ll know once you reach first class”
Drift hummed her thanks and held the door open for him and Shelby, “after you” she said while solely looking at Shelby — yeah I’ll definitely have to make a bet with Cleo, Scott thought again once he saw the way Shelby’s smile grew and their eyes softened at Drift.
…
Scott was once again following the two chatty fledglings as they traversed from train car to train car — not much caught his attention while they walked other than the many people sitting by windows, who paid them no mind, leaving him no reason to pay them mind either. The train attendant was right when they said they’d know when they reached first class; it was much better — and less tacky — than the other cars they had passed through. This car was made of a beautiful dark oak with deep red accents — it matched the colour scheme of the rest of the train but with much better execution. The seats were nicely cushioned with deep varnished tables and a warm dim glow from the lamps between windows.
The best part? There was no one else in this car. The three vampires quickly found a suitable seat with Shelby and Drift beside each other, facing Scott on a separate seat across a table.
The world outside of the train became a blur as they passed, and Scott leaned back in his seat, taking the moment to relax for the first real time since waking up. The chatter of his fledglings filled the atmosphere as he stared out at the blur of the world passing by like the passage of time — and now he had two people to join him in his bubble outside of the confines of time, people to care for.
He let his eyes close, enveloping him in the sound of his fledglings and the hum of the moving train.
…
As Drift put it, “we have our whole lives ahead of us”, and Scott was going to make the best of it. With him, and his fledglings.