Chapter Text
“Elle! I think I finally finished it!” Avid happily exclaimed, turning around to his partner.
“Elle?”
He watched as she staggered forwards slightly, concern filling his gaze as he gently held her shoulders to steady her.
“Are you alright?” He quietly asked, tilting his head to look closer at her.
Her hands reached out to grab his arms. “Avid, I- I think there's something- wrong with me.” She gritted out.
“Do you think it's-” He was cut off by the sensation of claws digging into him, making him hurry to push her away. “Elle! What are you doing!?”
She hissed at the shove, immediately advancing towards him at a rapid speed.
He watched helplessly as she grabbed him again, baring fangs to prepare a bite. He reached behind himself, grabbing a potion and splashing it over her, a good amount getting on him as well.
“Ew!” He coughed as a couple drops got into his mouth.
Soon enough, he noticed that Elle was no longer trying to attack him.
Another thing he noticed was the body in front of him.
“Elle..?”
·
It's been a while since Elle's death, nearly six months. In that time, Avid had moved to an abandoned town under the name of ‘Oakhurst’, and begun fixing the place up.
He rebuilt all the houses, claiming one as his own, and made farms and shops to make the town feel more alive.
Because he was alone, he had to take care of all the maintenance on his own, tending to the farms, cleaning the empty houses, all without anyone to help him.
And it was difficult, pretending like he hadn't not seen another person in months. He wasn't sure how much longer he could go, in an empty town, filled with empty shops. The closest thing he has to company is a bat.
Maybe that's not even that bad, the bat has more manners than most people he used to know. Might even be smarter too.
Today, again, the bat is with him, perched on a fence as he paths a road to a new building he made. He absent mindedly listens to the bats incessant squeaking, lost in his own thoughts.
He hasn't seen another soul in months, and probably never will. Yet he's going out of his way to pretend that's not the truth, to pretend there's someone else.
There won't be someone else, it's pathetic to act like there will be.
He pauses, dropping his shovel to the ground. Why is he still acting? It won't do him any good.
He hardly notices that the bat stopped squeaking. Only barely feeling the pitiful pull against his sleeve. Whatever’s pulling him is weak, so he subconsciously helps it, taking a step in the direction it's leading him.
He doesn't want to think right now, but he can't really stop it. Controlled breathing. Breathe in. Breathe out. Useless. Certainties and uncertainties. Certainties. He's alone. Forever. Useless. Counting. One. Two. Damnit. Not enough. Never enough. Useless. Useless. Useless. He can't-
He's outside his house, his bed isn't far. God, he's tired.
All he has to do now is go inside.
He spends no time sulking anymore, harshly slamming the front door shut in annoyance at his own near breakdown.
It's stupid, and pathetic. Nothing even happened and he got upset. There's no excuse for that! It's just plan stupid!
God, he needs sleep.
—
When Avid had shut the door, Scott took the moment to process what just happened.
First of all, Avid had freaked out for some reason, dropping his shovel and breathing heavily. Scott could tell he was trying to calm himself down, but evidently that didn't work as Avid began muttering about something being useless. Probably the techniques. Hopefully not himself.
Scott had to put all his bat strength into pulling Avid, but eventually he managed to do it, and was able to bring Avid to the front of his house.
That had worked, Avid had calmed down enough to go on himself. But it had left Scott confused.
Why was Avid panicking? He knows sometimes humans can get upset over small things, but nothing went wrong while Avid was making the path. Maybe he had simply been thinking too much, maybe about an upsetting subject-
Wait a minute, why on earth would Scott care about this random human that's squatting in his town!? He doesn't care about humans! They're all the same anyway!
…
You know what? Scott's over 14 hundred years old, he's allowed to care if he wants! Plus, this is his town, no one can stop him from caring about the residents of his town!
Anyway…
Why do humans get upset again? Is it because they're lonely or-
Damnit…
Scott decides to bat out of town, he's still in bat form anyway, and it would be better to contemplate everything in a place that doesn't have anyone in it.
·
He stood outside the town, he could clearly see the difference from here.
The walls have been expanded to account for the farms, making the town look far bigger than it was when Scott first woke up.
He didn't move for a minute, marveling how nice it looked from a more human perspective. Back when Scott still ruled the place, the humans had little care for style and just did whatever they wanted with the houses, but now he could see all the effort put into this place.
He turned his head after hearing Avid gasp. The man was shocked, rightfully so, as this was the first time he's seen another person in months.
“Hello!” Scott called out, watching as the other tensed up. “Do you live here?”
When no response came, he continued to wait, silently observing as Avid hunched over, shaking.
Was he… crying..? Why is he crying? Shouldn't he be happy?
“Um…” God, this is awkward. “I could leave if you want.”
Avid only continued to cry, mumbling something incomprehensible.
Scott must've been wrong, maybe Avid does like being alone and it was something else that upset him.
“Please… stay…”
Oh