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Cleo sprints into the village, filled with terror.
“Pearl?” She yells, glancing up to the roof where she knows her friend will be.
As expected, Pearl sticks her head over the rim of the roof, weighed down by a plank of wood. “What’s the problem?” She asks, sounding concerned.
“Vampiresarerealandtheyliveamongusscott’savampire.” Cleo burst out, still panting from her long dash out of the forest.
“Who in the who what?” Pearl plops down on the edge of the roof, looking down at Cleo, a bewildered expression on her face.
Cleo holds up a hand, signalling to give her a moment to catch her breath. Once she can speak, she says the same again, just slower. “Vampires are real. They live among us, in Oakhurst.” Then she adds, “Scott’s one of them.”
Pearl, forever the sceptic, raises an eyebrow. “I’m not sure I can believe that. I only believe what I can see with my own two orbs.”
“I literally saw Scott turn into a fucking bat!” Cleo replies indignantly.
“How much sleep did you get last night?” Pearl squints down at the other girl suspiciously.
“Do not bring my sleep into this.” Cleo huffs. “I’m perfectly capable of functioning on however much sleep I want, thank you very much. Besides, it’s not like you’re much better. You’re in and out of the bloody house most nights.”
The two glare daggers at each other for a moment before Pearl hops to her feet and goes back to her roof, waving a hand lazily. “If you can prove vampires are real, I’ll believe it.”
Cleo, frustrated at Pearl’s lack of interest turns on heel and stalks into off into the village.
After a few steps, none other than Avid falls into step beside her. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation with Pearl just now.”
Cleo scoffs. “Of course you did.”
“Yes, and I hear you’ve realised that I’m not just spreading lies.” He says brightly.
“Just because I know you’re right now doesn’t make you any less insane.” She glances sidelong at him. He’s far too happy about the whole situation in Oakhurst for anyone’s comfort.
“Ouch. So, whatchu gonna do about this new revelation?” He questions.
“Absolutely nothing.” She drawls. “If Pearl isn’t worried about this, neither am I.” Avid looks like he wants to protest this but thinks better of it, keeping his mouth firmly closed. “Now, if you’d like to stay in my good books, I’d recommend leaving promptly.” Another glare his way sends Avid scuttling in the opposite direction.
>~^~<
A yell from the edge of the forest prompts Cleo to abandon the cows she was breeding and run to the aid of Pearl, who was standing, eyes skyward.
“What happened?” Cleo gets her answer almost immediately as Pearl points in the direction she’s looking.
Cleo has to muffle a laugh that threatens to spill over at the sight of Owen, standing atop a tree. His face is blank, save for the tiny corner of his mouth turned up in amusement at Pearl’s shock. It is pretty funny.
“Why are you not, like, doing something?!” Pearl exclaims.
“Nah, He’s not gonna do anything. He looks pretty content to freak you out.” Cleo’s still trying not to burst into laughter.
“How did you get up there.” Pearl aims this question directly at Owen, raising her voice so he can hear it on his tree. Not that he can’t hear it anyway. Vampires have crazy heightened senses.
Owen shrugs half-heartedly. “Guess you’ll never know.”
Pearl bites her lip in frustration. “Pearl, is this not evidence enough that he’s a vampire?” Cleo asks.
“No.” Pearl says simply. “He probably just...Climbed the tree. He’s a lumberjack, isn’t he? See, logical explanation.” For someone who was so invested in hunting werewolves, Pearl really was conservative.
“OK Pearl.” Cleo shakes her head in exasperation, glaring up at Owen who still had a bemused look on his face.
“Let’s go.” Pearl huffs, turning on heel and dragging Cleo with. “He’s just being a little weirdo.”
“Alright then.” Cleo lets herself be pulled along but glances back once more as they reach the village gate. Just as she looks, Owen wiggles his fingers in a cheeky wave and transforms into a bat, vanishing into the trees. Cleo sighs in defeat. Now that she knows their secret, the two vampires are absolutely going to mess with her.
>~^~<
“Stupid, pathetic little, good for nothing, evil, vampires.” Cleo fumes as she stalks through the forest. “Everyone will know soon enough what you are.” She’s talking to no one in particular. She’d been too pissed off to stay in town where Owen or Scott would be eventually and had stormed into the woods, throwing a fit not unlike that of a child. She could at least make use of this time and look for books in the crypts surrounding Oakhurst.
Seeing a monument in the distance, Cleo makes her way towards it, fully intending to jump down into the tunnel below to check for a book.
She doesn’t get the far; she’s about to drop down into the water below when she hears a voice from above. “There’s nothing down there.”
She whips her head up to look so fast that she nearly gives herself whiplash. There, sitting on top of a pillar is Owen, yet again looking down on her.
As if to aggrieve her further, the vampire is tossing a book back and forth between his hands. “Lucky I got here when I did, this one's a useful one. Wouldn’t want any of you petty humans getting your hands on holy water, would we?”
Oh, if Cleo could get her hands on that filthy, skinny little rat, she would...oh she would... ”I wouldn’t recommend coming down here or I might just snap your puny little neck.” Cleo grits her teeth.
“Angry little human too.” Owen laughs crudely, kicking his legs atop the pillar. “You really think you could kill a vampire? You don’t even know the beginning of our power.”
A small smirk spreads on Cleo’s face. “That’s what you think.”
Owen cocks his head slightly. “What do you mean by that.”
“I guess you’ll never know.” Cleo uses Owen’s own words against him, her smirk growing.
The vampire gives a low whistle. “Feisty one. I’d watch your back.” In a movement so swift Cleo barely catches it, Owen leaps off the stone pillar and into the trees.
“Goddammit.” Cleo lashes out a boot and kicks a nearby tree, immediately regretting it as pain flashes through her leg. “ShitShitShitShit.” She hops on the spot momentarily, now angry at the tree. “Why is everything out to get me today.” She groans, glaring daggers at the tree.
Continuing with her grumbling, Cleo stalks off toward the next crypt, a new limp in her stride, courtesy of a certain kicked tree.
>~^~<
“And luck?” Pearl asks once Cleo returns to the town.
“No.” Cleo mumbles, slumping in a chair beside the fire. “All I got was a smite book.” She proceeds to throw the useless book at a wall. “Oh, and I came across Owen again who pretty much waved a book in my face, said it was useful and that he’d never give it to us. Vampire behaviour if I’ve ever seen it.”
Pearl, yet again, raises her eyebrow sceptically. “Are you sure that’s what he said? Maybe you- misunderstood or something.”
“I know what I heard and if you don’t put that eyebrow back where it belongs, I’ll wax it straight off your face while you sleep.” Despite Cleo’s terrible mood, she’ll always be willing to throw some form of playful comment at her roommate.
Once her eyebrow is back where it belongs, Pearl speaks again with a shrug. “I can’t believe that vampires exist until I have some concrete proof with my own orbs. I might be a werewolf hunter, but I know that not all creatures are real.”
Cleo buries her head in her hands with a sigh. “You’ll see soon anyway. Just try not to die. I’d like to keep my roommate.”
“I’d like to keep my life too?” Pearl’s eyebrow goes shooting up yet again and Cleo has to fight the urge to shove it back into place.
Cleo grumbles a noise of assent, turns on heel and walks out the door. She doesn’t have any particular plan of where to go but despite there not being a whole lot wrong, she feels ready to explode.
>~*~<
“Go, go, go.” Martyn shout-whispers, waving Cleo and Legs out from the bushes.
“I still think this is a bad idea.” Legs says to Cleo, Martyn having already disappeared ahead. Martyn had come up with the idea to sneak into the castle through the back, by the beacon.
“I know.” Cleo sighs in exasperation. “But I wasn’t just going to let him come by himself. He’s too stubborn for his own good, he’d get himself killed.”
“True enough.”
Cleo speeds up, losing sight of Martyn. They’re climbing the rocky cliff behind the castle. Hoping to have the element of surprise on the vampires. When she reaches the top, she extends a hand to Legs, who’s out of breath. He smiles and pulls himself up onto the outcrop behind the vampires’ home.
Martyn is already at the wall, swinging his pickaxe, attempting to break through the thick deepslate wall. “I’ll help.” Cleo pulls out her pickaxe too and together they manage to make a hole in the wall just big enough to slip into.
“Let’s get this consecrated and get out of here then.” Legs says, his voice wary. Crouching by the beacon, Cleo keeps her eyes on the doorway into the entrance hall, praying no vampires open that door.
Martyn makes a noise of discontent, “There’s something so... wrong about these beacons.”
He’s right, there’s something off about them, the air feels too cold, like something has been displaced from it. “The sooner we get all of these consecrated, the better.”
The beacons is nearly neutral, Cleo can feel it in her bones. “So close...” Simultaneously, the castle door swings open, Shelby enters, and the beacons goes white.
For a moment, Shelby just stares at them. She locks eyes with Cleo and mouths something that looks a lot like ‘run’ before turning on heel and yelling for Scott.
“Time to go.” Martyn says urgently, pulling on Cleo’s sleeve. She only realises she’d been standing there without moving when Scott strides in, moving towards them with unnatural speed.
With Martyn still pulling her, the two take off running. Legundo is nowhere in sight, so Cleo assumes he’s made the wise choice and fled.
Martyn lets go of her and speeds up, nearly falling as he rounds the corner to the front of the castle. They don’t get too far, standing at the start of the bridge, blocking their path out of there, is Pyro.
Cleo skids to half, turned to Martyn. “We fight?”
A half nod and the pair draw swords, the sound of the silver against sheath ringing loud on the near silent air. “We don’t have to fight.“ Scott’s voice is teasing as he strolls from the castle.
“And do what, let you turn us?” Martyn spits through his teeth, sounding a fair bit like what Cleo would imagine an angry cat would if it spoke.
“Yeah, pretty much.” Scott’s smile is so wide, it scares her.
Martyn takes the first swing, going straight for Scott. It only seems to be Scott and Pyro, Shelby must’ve gone elsewhere, and Owen is nowhere to be found. Could her and Martyn take out two vampires between them? Cleo doesn’t think so, but still, she’ll stand beside her friend.
Seeing Pyro lunge for Martyn, Cleo springs into action, sweeping her sword in a large arc.
She very nearly catches Pyro before he leaps back, turn to face her. “Only an idiot would think they can beat us.” Pyro hisses.
Only an idiot indeed. Cleo is not an idiot; she knows they do not stand a chance.
Cleo is usually right and, in this instance, it’s not thirty seconds later that she’s proven so.
Almost in slow motion, Cleo watches Scott swipe his claws at Martyn, he has the nerve to seem almost lazy while trying to murder her friend.
The claws hit their target.
Slowly, ever so slowly, Martyn stumbles back...
Back,
Back,
Back
Right over the edge of the bridge.
Moments later, a sickening thud meets her ears, and she knows the man cannot have survived that fall.
“Stand down Pyro.” Scott murmurs, turning on heel to face Cleo.
Pyro nods, ever the obedient fledgling, and steps back.
“You have a choice here Cleo.” Scott tilts his head slightly. “I know you’re clever, so I think you know what the best option is.”
He wants to turn her.
Scott wants to turn Cleo to a vampire.
No.
The word echoes around Cleo’s head as she forces a crude smile.
“I do know.”
Scott’s smile grows wider as she takes one step closer.
“I knew you were clever.”
Cleo is disgusted that Pyro can just stand there and watch Scott attempt to manipulate her.
She is clever.
Instead of walking to Scott like he expects, she takes one step to the side and takes of sprinting, making for the edge of the bridge. It’d be better than turning.
She hears Scott command Pyro to “Catch her.” But she’s so close...
The edge is right in front of her,
Right there...
She flings herself off the edge, bracing herself to the pain that would follow...
And Cleo feels a hand close around her collar. “No!” She cries, looking up to see Scott looming over her.
“Stop fighting Cleo.”
“No.” She says again, struggling in his grip.
Scott hauls her back onto the bridge, tossing her to the ground like a ragdoll.
He steps forward and wraps a hand around her arm, holding her still. “You first then Pyro.”