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The sun was rising and Pyro knew better than to be out. He hid in the cool shade of the castle and closed his eyes to calm his senses from the blinding light outside. The clouds were not bringing relief this time, he realised suddenly that he was lucky he was in Oakhurst, the weather favoured his new form most days.
The sounds of the wind hitting the sparse trees on the island made his ears twitch, he opened his eyes carefully and heard Shelby transforming into a flurry of bats near the crypt. She was probably heading towards the dead woods.
Sensing his coven brought him relief, he’d learnt after making a hunting trip that lasted too many days that being away from them caused him physical pain.
He sensed Scott approaching and sighed letting his shoulders fall. His sire was the strongest presence of all, now that he was finally used to him being in his life he couldn’t stand straying out of his circle of influence. Pyro knew he was bound to this place - coven didn’t leave each other…
The doors opened with a bang and he flinched as Scott stormed into the dining room. He was a mess, red caked the front of his shirt and black seeped out of the corners of his mouth, Pyro knew from experience that meant internal bleeding… it wasn’t pleasant even as a vampire.
Scott marched to the end of the hall, aiming for the storage room and ignoring his fledgling by the exit. Pyro stayed quiet and watched, he wanted to turn invisible or transform and fly away as he felt the elder’s anger radiate off him in waves - the air was thick with ire and Pyro stopped breathing so that the heat didn’t seep inside and burn him up.
Scott growled gutturally as he failed to find what he was looking for in the chests. The sound made the instincts in Pyro light up, he placed his hand on the cool stone beside him and used the wall to hold himself upright, his knees felt weak…
Scott paused and sniffed the air. “Pyro?” He called.
“Yes sire?” He answered.
Scott closed the chests and turned his eyes to him, they were red in the darkness of the small room, Pyro swallowed feeling like a wolf was there, hunched and ready to pounce.
“We have no blood.” Scott stated.
Pyro’s free hand moved to his belt and came up empty. He wasn’t carrying any bottles…
“We are?” He asked.
Scott approached him slowly, his eyes calculating. “The humans Pyro, they are so cruel…” He used the table to prop himself up, his gaze never leaving him. Pyro nodded nervously. “I’ve had my head chopped off, my guts stabbed and heart pierced.” He made it in front of Pyro and grabbed his jaw, pulling him forward. “Do you know the worst part?”
“Sire?” Pyro struggled to say.
“They didn’t give me any blood after all that.” Scott crooned tilting his head, his hand moved Pyro’s face to copy him, Pyro whimpered feeling like his neck was unwillingly bared. “I don’t mind the violence when I reap the rewards, but there was no reward for that outing, only wasted energy.” His eyes finally unlocked from him as they moved down his neck.
“Sire, I have no blood-“ Pyro protested.
“Nonsense.” Scott chuckled. “You have my life force in you.”
Pyro shook like a leaf realising what was about to happen. “It will not satiate-“
“No…” Scott agreed. “But I will get my power back, enough to rejoin the battle. Why give them the time to recover? Why hunt when I could get a sip-“ He leaned forward and Pyro moved back. His sire tutted. “Hold still, you remember what happened last time.” He warned.
Yeah… Pyro had done everything to forget it. He’d been torn apart, his lungs had shrivelled up from his screams, claws had torn into him but that bite-
He’d convinced himself this was his coven, that he could be content here, Scott had said he’d never drink from him again - vampire blood was useless to their species.
“I will return with food for you, I will have the humans slaughtered and get that pesky Militia disbanded.” Scott promised.
Pyro didn’t care, he didn’t care for any of it as the acrid scent of Scott’s blood filled his nose - The black substance was around his mouth and as he grinned it was on his teeth.
“I don’t-” Pyro started.
He closed his eyes and his death resurfaced within his mind. He felt like he was choking and drowning, red blood mixed with cold lake water filled his mouth and when he opened his eyes it danced in front of him-
“Just a sip-” Scott whispered as he leaned forward. Pyro did nothing to stop him, he was stuck staring in the distance.
Fangs hovered over his neck before Scott bit down and pain burst through Pyro’s veins.
He flinched but Scott's hands reached up to hold him steady. Pyro’s jaw tensed, his teeth grit so tightly no sound could escape it.
It felt like he was being punished, it felt like the whole world was against him as his sire’s teeth cut through flesh, burst through blood vessels and as his life force flowed out of him he felt those fangs brush harshly against bone.
He hysterically wondered if the marks Scott carved through him would stay. When someone found his skeleton in his shallow grave what would they think?
Scott pulled away and Pyro’s skin stitched itself back up. All pain was temporary as a vampire-
Pyro swayed on his feet and his sire smiled down at him with bright red eyes.
“There we go.” Scott exhaled in relief. He rolled his shoulders and lifted his chin, he was once more gorgeously pale instead of deathly white. “I will get that human blood for you as promised.”
He stepped back and let go of his fledgling. Pyro held himself up long enough for his sire to transform into a flurry of bats and leave the building, he collapsed right after and wheezed as the thumping in his head and the pinpricks of static running down his spine to the tips of his fingers faded.
His healing was complete in a matter of moments but his lungs were still aching. Pain affected him so differently from the other vampires, it didn't matter if he was physically well he couldn't continue after he was struck hard enough to debilitate him.
The sun burned in the sky and as the shadows moved a streak of light came within reach of Pyro's position. He weakly grasped at the bright glow and hissed as his hand prickled with fire.
He missed the life he had before… tears appeared in the corner of his eyes and he exhaled shakily as the sunlight danced in dappled rays across his skin.
The pain he chose was always easier to handle than the pain that was forced upon him, he used his injured hand to ground himself, he turned and wiggled his stiff fingers to forget about the pain of that bite.
No bite was ever painless and Pyro loathed that he had to go through it more than once.
The castle was empty and it echoed the sounds of the gentle wind outside, no one living or dead came to check on him.
Pyro sighed, finally understanding that this was not his home and his coven were not his family.
He didn't want eternity if all it was going to be was this.
It would've been better if his life had ended at that lake.