Chapter Text
Jack von Pyroscythe.
A noble from the capital. One who has spent their life alone and unloved by those around them.
His family barely holds any affection for the boy, barely tolerating his presence. And tolerating is enough for the Pyroscythe family; he can remain in their house because of their blood ties, but that is all he deserves.
A mediocre child is just as useless as an incompetent one. And mediocre is exactly what he is.
So when the boy was accused of murder, that was enough for them to be cut out of their family will. Even with the lack of concrete evidence.
Starved for affection and acknowledgement, Jack von Pyroscythe desperately struggles through the world and will continue to do so until his eventual death.
Through death, they will find a family. Hopefully, one better than their birth family, but only time can tell.
✦✦✦✦
Every instinct is screaming for the scholar to run, and there’s no way they would’ve survived this long if they dared not listen to them.
Stumbling over his feet as he attempts to retreat and gain a lead on his two soon-to-be murderers. Cursing himself for spending his days holed up in the library. Danger has always been something familiar to him as he’s a fairly easy target, but this is a new low.
The noble slowly turns his head towards the scholar, smiling at them. It’s unsettling, but Pyro also finds themself wanting to linger. They’re quickly pulled out of their thoughts as the noble kicks the scholar in their chest, sending them flying into the murky water.
Water quickly finds its way into his lungs as he struggles to breathe in the sudden new environment. He doesn’t have time to get used to it as the noble pulls the scholar out of the water, greeting him with a wide smile and his fangs bared.
“While I’d normally love to play with you longer, I am starved!”
Yanking their hair backwards, the noble exposes the scholar’s neck before sinking his fangs deep into their skin.
As he drains more of their blood, the scholar's vision blurs before quickly fading entirely.
✦✦✦✦
Jolting awake, the scholar grabs hold of their chest, breathing heavily as they try to calm down. Pyro’s eyes drift up, looking to get their bearings as they can’t seem to remember the events before they passed out.
Why is he still at the obelisk? Didn’t he die? He's still in the same murky water, but closer to the shore than he remembered.
They grab onto their neck, pressing their hand against the wound. Looking at their now bloodied hand. It doesn’t hurt as much as they’d imagined with that amount of blood.
“I-I’m…I'm alive?”
“You could say that, I suppose.” An uninterested voice shrugs off. “Welcome to the living dead.”
The scholar turns towards the direction of the voice to see Owen, a vampire, the accomplice of his murder. Listless, despite the situation. Standing beside him is his murderer, Scott Goldsmith, another vampire.
Of all the people in the town they’d wander into the forest with, it had to be two vampires. One of which, by his appearance alone, clearly looks like a vampire.
Scott starts approaching the scholar, reaching a hand out to lift him up, which is taken with a bit of hesitation. He’s pulled in close, close enough to feel the noble’s breath, if that was a thing vampires did.
“You’ve been turned into a bloody mess! That stain is going to be dreadful to get out.” Scott clicks his tongue, sounding annoyed as he fixes their messy collar. “If there were fewer escape attempts, I wouldn’t have needed to get my hands dirty like this; it’s embarrassing for someone my age.” He lets out a sigh before placing his hand on his hip. Pyro’s not sure what to say, a part of them wanting to apologize.
“Anyways, the gift tends to take a while to settle in, and since your turning was less than ideal, I’m sure it’s been a painful experience.” He continues to explain, standing tall as he looks down on the scholar with a smile. “But it’ll be better when it properly settles in, don’t you worry.”
“...A gift?”
“Well, what else would you call vampirism?” He inquires, brushing his finger alongside Pyro’s neck, tracing the bite mark left on the scholar. “Eternal life, free of illnesses, do I need to say more?”
Pyro imagines his face would’ve gone fairly red at the noble’s gesture, not used to physical touch like that. Hesitating, he’s not sure how to respond to the elder’s constant displays of confidence. Before long, he nods his head, assuming that’s the best thing he could’ve done, not wanting to anger him.
“Anyway… Welcome to eternity! You’re the first fledgling I’ve had in 600 years, so do be grateful.” He says, winking.
“Alright…”
“Good!” Scott claps, baring his fangs with a smile. “Now! I’m assuming you’re hungry, so after greeting the town and letting them know you’re okay, meet me at the castle when you can slip out of town. We can go hunting together, sounds good?”
“...Of course.” Pyro agrees as they watch the elder vampire transform into a bat. Eyes widening as they register that it's something they can now do. Probably. It should be easy enough.
Turning to Owen—who surprisingly hasn't left—he opens his mouth to ask, before being interrupted by the other vampire. “Just concentrate your form into a single point, and imagine flying through the air. You should be able to manage that, no problem.” Owen instructs briefly before turning into a bat as well.
Pyro looks up to the sky to see both vampires flying above them, seemingly waiting for them to join. Not that they've given enough instruction for it to be easy. Ignoring that, the scholar tries their best to follow the instructions.
Imagining the wind guiding his wings through the sky. Finally free. Not bound by human logic anymore.
Within seconds, they feel their body shift form, and begin to flap what used to be their hands. Wings.
Maybe vampirism won't be so bad after all.