Chapter Text
It's the end of the house judging contest and Martyn has just pulled out a holy word from his satchel. Scott furrows his brow, wondering what this one will say and grant. The holy books are an interesting addition to the game he's playing with the current humans of Oakhurst. Ugh, such an ugly name. The name he inherited from his sire for the town was much better, much more refined. To downgrade from Galfridian to Oakhurst is disappointing and maddening.
"Okay, everyone gather 'round! I found a holy word right before this and it looks interesting," Martyn crows. The young human (surely he's barely an adult with that attitude) jumps onto the rim of the fountain and holds the damnable book above his head. Scott hangs back, sharing a look with Owen and glancing at Pyro briefly. The fledgling is staring at Martyn with a rapt hunger in his eyes, focused on the man's neck. Scott tilts his head and Owen jabs the fledgling with an elbow surreptitiously. Good, that seems to have snapped the baby out of it.
"What do you have now?" Someone asks, but Scott gets hit in the eyes by the sun glare as Martyn waves a hand around. It's only been a couple weeks but he's been largely focused on scouring the land for any remains of his coven and fledglings from before he was cursed asleep. It is gratifying to know that Louis was still haunting the lands after his nap started, there were plenty of newer marks in the trees than the ones left by Scott. And it had to be from Louis, he's the only fledgling Scott had that left such oddly shaped marks, flaying the tree bark until it started growing like a splayed hand, and Scott can catch just a hint of his scent buried far too deeply in the inner wood. Louis was here, but not for a long time. He was so distracted by this self-assigned task that he hasn't spent nearly enough time around the new residents of his territory, his new meals.
"I found this just before the contest and I haven't gotten a full look at it yet. It's title says 'Baser Beast'? Should I absorb it?" Martyn asks, nervousness tainting his body. Scott makes sure to breathe in the smell of worry and fear lingering in the young man's blood. So long without a proper meal and his sense of smell has only sharpened.
Cleo shakes their head and pulls Martyn down from the fountain, grabbing the book and holding it up to the sun.
"Looks like a standard holy book, not one of the enchantment books we've also found. So far the holy words haven't done us any harm, but the doc's here if something happens." Cleo nods to themself and gently shoves the book into Martyn's chest, who grunts and grabs it like a thief.
Scott lifts an eyebrow when he notices the apprehension clouding the air. It takes him a second to pinpoint it's from that odd butler fellow, Abolish. Does the man know something about the holy words that he hasn't shared with the town? Scandalous!
Martyn rearranges his hands on the book's covers and breathes in deeply and exhaling. He closes his eyes and then opens the book as he opens his eyes. A small burst of light, not nearly enough to be annoying, shines from the old vellum pages and Martyn breathes an "Oh" of wonder as the book crumbles in his hands.
"Well? What was it?" Pearl asks, an arm around Cleo's shoulders. There's something about Pearl's scent Scott doesn't like but he ignores it. Whatever Martyn found is far more interesting than whatever Pearl has hidden in her bones.
"Baser Beast reverts a humanoid to an instinctual state of mind for one week. While during this state, all human reason is lost. Can only be cast once per lunar cycle," Martyn recites, eyes shining faintly with the golden hue of divinity. Scott hums, raising an eyebrow and meeting eyes with his darling roommate next to him.
"Humanoid? Not human?" Avid pipes up. Scott stifles an annoyed groan and only rolls his eyes, something he sees Cleo doing as well. Such an annoying thorn in his side, the diseased vampire hunter.
"Oh! Maybe it's referring to Bigfoot! I told you he was out there and he was here specifically!" Shelby yells, grabbing onto Scott's hand tightly and waving it and her other one around excitedly. Scott gives her an indulgent smile, she's such a fun human, he'll have to turn her soon so he can keep her around.
"Maybe the holy books predate modern history? There were some folktales about other types of beings that looked like humans, the Good Neighbors for one," M comments, hand on his chin and a smile on his face. Scott wonders when the fae became folktales, oh Gem must be in shambles being relegated to something so mundane.
"Fairies don't exist. It's referring to monkeys and apes," Legundo says, bemused expression for all to see. What a killjoy. "Besides, what does it mean 'an instinctual state of mind'? Humans don't really have instincts."
Scott rolls his eyes. Of course humans have instincts, just tiny little baby ones that barely compare to inhuman instincts. Pyro has far better instincts as a fledgling than any of these humans. Owen openly scoffs, which draws an inquiring look from the humans that he doesn't respond to. Scott digresses, he loves a good human hunt. Their instincts are so stunted, he practically would walk beside them as they ran from him for their lives. Only a couple actually left those hunts alive, or well, as alive you can be as a vampire. His poor little Louis, what happened to him after he was cursed? Owen claims to be the one to massacre the town two hundred years ago, but the newblood smells so blatantly of Louis. It would be just like Louis to pick someone as bristly and feral as himself to sire, Owen certainly reminds Scott of when Louis was still in the nest. He even still has the chunk of flesh missing from his upper arm that Louis took out of him! Good times...
"I... I don't know! Why don't I try it," Martyn says. There's a mischievous glint in his eyes that Scott doesn't like. "Belac Oiraton Ieson!"
Scott blinks as the holy word manifests as golden light and slams into his chest. His last lucid thought is that he's going to kill Martyn when this is over, social game or not.
-
Shelby shouts in alarm when Martyn's holy word hits Scott. Her roommate yelps and his hands fly to his face. Shelby puts themself between Scott and everyone else and tries to pry his hands away from his eyes. He groans and just lets his head fall onto her shoulder, hands migrating to holding her arms. It can't be comfortable for him, he's a foot taller than her, his back is going to hurt.
"Scott? Are you feeling okay?" they ask, hesitant, keeping their tone open. Her roommate just leans his head further into her neck and wraps her tight in a hug. She stops for a moment then reciprocates the hug. He seems like he really needs it.
The other townsfolk are gathering around them in a loose circle and Shelby feels Scott tense under their arms. A low whine escapes him and she's sure that only she heard it given how quiet it is. She probably would have missed it if he wasn't pressed against her, holding her tightly in his arms.
The doctor tries to reach out to either of them, most likely her given the distaste he has for Scott. It makes her very angry with the doctor because she knows Scott avoids him and hasn't brought up his insomnia or anemia. It's not a good look for a doctor to alienate one of his patients so thoroughly that the patient's health is in jeopardy. Shelby can only do so much for Scott, cooking his portion of meat as rarely as possible, making sure his part of the bed is comfortable and as sleep inducing as possible. They kind of hoped Legundo would have helped Scott figure something out, like iron tablets or suggesting a hobby Scott could do without thinking it was manual labor.
Before Shelby can properly address Legundo, Scott is snarling, whirling out of their arms and hunching in front of them like a beast. Oh. Oh no. This is going to be so embarrassing for Scott when he returns to normal in a week. She gasps, grabbing onto the back of Scott's coat. Maybe it will prevent him from attacking the doctor.
Legundo blinks in confusion. Shelby grimaces and tries to motion him to back away with a quick hand gesture. Unfortunately, he either doesn't see it or doesn't care and tries to reach for Scott again. Shelby scowls, wow, Legs is bad at reading the tense room. Scott swipes at the doctor, growling deep in his chest. Shelby can feel it rumble through their fingers from where they bunch them in the coat's fabric. It's a little sweet he's so protective of them, even if he is being pretty threatening to Legs.
The light glares off of the clean alabaster bone covering his face, but from the angle Shelby has, she swears she can see sharp fangs in his mouth. Fangs longer than normal canines that are just sharp and pointed. Fangs built for a predator, a flesh eater. Hm! She can question him later about that, he doesn't seem like too much of a danger to her. Speaking of danger...
"Scott!" Shelby grabs his shoulder and spins themself under his outstretched arms to stare up at his covered face. Her roommate's eye are much more visible from the proximity, but she can't tell if they're a different color than she remembers or not. Gosh, she's not a very good monster hunter (finder? They don't want to kill monsters, just chat!) if she can't notice those kinds of details in her roommate. The color does look different though, but Shelby doesn't mention it.
Scott makes a low sound, a rumble that is softer than the snarls and growls he's been throwing around. Shelby smiles at him and pulls his arms to be lying against his chest. He doesn't seem happy with it, but he lets them maneuver his limbs like a doll.
"Okay, show's over everyone," Abolish intones. The butler is standing a yard away from Shelby and Scott, Legundo held back by a firm hand. Huh. "Martyn, don't use that holy word again until we can have a meeting about it. Avid, stop frothing at the mouth over Scott's behavior, it's not because he's a vampire, which he isn't, it's because of the holy word. Legs, stop trying to approach them, Scott's going to maul you. Shelby... please bring Scott back to your house and keep him there for now. I'll arrange for a delivery of food and water if he doesn't calm down by tomorrow."
Shelby nods, taking the out for what it is and tugging on Scott's arm until he follows behind her. Thankfully the other villagers put some distance between the pair so the trip back to the house is uneventful.
Ushering Scott into the house, Shelby breathes a sigh of relief, closing the door behind them and leaning against it. Scott seems to completely change tactics as soon as he's inside as he practically runs over to where their shared bed is and starts yanking the blankets and pillows off. A twitch starts in Shelby's eye, they put a lot of effort into arranging those. Whatever. Whatever! Scott's not in his right mind and he seems to be tugging leather pelts and spare sheets over the single window she left above the bed. The house becomes incredibly dark, the only source of light being from the kitchen window.
Sighing again, Shelby grabs a couple of the leather pelts and goes to cover the kitchen window with them. Scott seems to want the dark, it would certainly explain the skull mask if he was sensitive to light. Blue eyes are sensitive to it, their father told them that once. Scott rumbles at them again as they move to the kitchen, that same soft rumble. Maybe he's purring? It doesn't matter, they have to figure out how to get these pelts over the window without putting holes in the wall.
-
Scott is trilling quietly, almost inaudible to the human ear. The pelts and sheets are blocking out the light so nicely and helping to insulate the nest. It's not the most secure nest, a door to the outside right there and another room next to it, sources of sunlight right there and no real locks, but it's a nest he can work with. He's not worked with something this bad before but he can make do. (God, how his sire would have him flayed for trying to nest a fledgling like this! How the old bastard must be spinning in the grave Scott forgot to dig up.) His fledgling is helping build the nest too, and it makes his little bat brain whine and whimper because she should be resting! Asleep! Held in his arms on the pillows and blankets!
He shakes his head, he needs the light blocked as much as possible before he can get even further in. Oh if only he had his other two fledglings with him, but they seem to have slipped away from him. The older one, Owen, seems to have an aversion to good things and Pyro probably doesn't even know what's going on. Not that Scott knows much of anything at the moment either, he just knows he needs Shelby in the nest and all the nasty humans to stay away.
He pulls the blankets and pillows that were on the mattress and rearranges them to Optimal Nest Formation. It's rough and slipshod, but he can't- WON'T- leave Shelby to get more from what remains of his proper nest in the crypt. For now, he will make do. He must. Shelby deserves a nice time in a nest. So do Owen and Pyro, but they escaped Scott, for now. Silently, he leaves the nest where it is and goes to get Shelby. They should have the other source of sunlight covered by now.
He does indeed find them covering the other source of light, struggling to get the leather pelts onto the rod over the window. With a chirp, he reaches up and hitches the leather securely, blocking the light. Shelby jumps with a yelp but smiles at him so he doesn't feel bad. He tilts his head and trills again, louder so she can hear it clearly. Then he closes the distance between them and scoops her into his arms and races back to the nest. She's saying something but he doesn't care, fledglings need the nest and she is the exact kind of fledgling to be a nest runner, he just knows it. He can feel it in his fangs!
Purring, he drops Shelby onto the nest and before they can do more than sputter, he clambers on top of them.
"SCOTT!" Shelby yells, trying to twist and kick and grapple at him. He purrs loudly, and settles on top of her, trapping her in his arms so she stays warm and safe. Any dangers must go through his body to get to hers, the perks of being larger than his fledgling. God, he can only think of trying this with Pyro and failing, the fledgling's so lanky. Owen at least has the politeness to be shorter than him, if a bit lankier and probably as vicious and feral as Louis was.
Scott settles in, purring so very loudly. He nuzzles into Shelby's cheek and neck, what a good fledgling. They even seem to be calming down! He trills at them and resumes purring. He thought she wouldn't be a repeat of Louis, no she very much isn't. With the very quick calming down, Shelby is nothing like Louis was in the nest.
Something in his chest feels so nice and warm at finally having a fledgling in his nest.
-
Owen sees Scott get hit by the holy word and alarm bells go off in his mind. The elder vampire immediately changes posture and Owen's stupid defective vampire instincts start screaming about a kidnapper, whatever that means.
Despite the confusion of his instincts, Owen gets the hint. He needs to get the HELL out of Oakhurst before Scott remembers his existence. And being such a gracious coven member that he is, he snags Pyro and together they disappear into the woods. He only sticks around long enough to see Scott's posturing over Shelby, then he pushes Pyro towards the gates.
Settling at the obelisk that a few days before Owen got scammed out of his meal, the pair of vampires sit and take stock. Well, Owen sits.
"What... What was that?!" Pyro asks, clawless fingers digging into their scalp as they pace restlessly. Owen watches silently, letting the question hang in the air. It's fueling his ego to know Pyro looks up to him as a guiding figure, but he is trying his damnedest to not let it get to him. He doesn't want to turn out like Scott.
"A holy word."
"I know that! What I mean was: why was Scott suddenly acting so weird?!" Pyro is practically frothing at the mouth, a grimace twisting his mouth into something Owen really doesn't care for. Why did Scott have to get hit with a weird holy word? At least it hit Scott and not him, better that asshole than Owen.
"Vampires have weird instincts," Owen shrugs. He unsheathes his axe and inspects it under the light. It's a sturdy old thing. Louis gave him the old iron axe head and Owen fashioned the handle. "The holy word probably activated his latent instincts. Scott's over six hundred, his instincts have had a long time to develop into whatever that was."
Pyro stops pacing and turns on his heel to glare at him. Rude. It makes Owen want to tear their arm off and hit them with it. He did that with the old pastor during the massacre, for all the times the man beat him for trying to take sanctuary in the church during the winter.
"Well what are we going to do about it?" Pyro seems to lose some of his steam and collapses next to Owen's rock to sit on the gravel. Owen raises an eyebrow at him and bares a fang. Pyro just hisses at him. Is this what Louis meant by fledglings testing your patience?
"We? I'm staying out here until the holy word wears off. Scott is just as likely to get all weird about either of us if we show our faces. Shelby's not even one of us and you saw how he acted," Owen says, pulling some hair out of his face. Pyro glowers at him and looks down between their shoes.
"I don't want to go back near Scott if you don't think it's a good idea. Sire hasn't hurt me yet, but he almost attacked Legundo." There's a hesitance in Pyro's voice, vulnerability. A small part of Owen that sounds suspiciously like Louis is telling him to provide comfort. Owen instead just blows out a breath of air and stands up.
"You can stick around if you don't annoy me, I guess. I still have to go back to town at the beginning of the night for appearances. It would be suspicious if we both disappeared with no warning after Scott got hit by that holy word."
Pyro nods along, brushing some gravel off the ends of his coat as he stands too. Owen, in a fit of impulsivity, plants a hand on the back of Pyro's neck and knocks his forehead into Pyro's. Ow. Okay, he's not doing that again any time soon. Pyro is staring at him, gawping with his mouth wide open and eyes almost bulging. Owen scowls and Pyro straightens his expression. Good fledgling.
-
Shelby is Not Happy with Scott right now. The bed's been rearranged to something resembling a bird's nest and Scott is huddling on top of her like he's a bird himself. It would be adorable and really endearing if he actually explained it before up and grabbing her like that.
Every time they try to readjust, get an arm or leg out from under him, he grumbles and just fixes his position. It would be cute that he's being a broody chicken but she's kinda bored (really, really, really bored) and Scott is heavy. At least she's gotten confirmation he's not fully human, given the fact she hasn't heard his heart beat, or his lungs move once this whole time. Well, the lungs have kind of moved? You need air to make sounds so he must be breathing, just not at the rate a healthy human would be. His blood isn't pumping so there's less incentive to breathe. Also his eyes are fully red after Shelby insisted he take off the skull mask. Maybe Avid was right about Scott being a vampire? They've never heard of vampires purring though, or nesting.
At least he seems happy. He's been purring practically nonstop, chirping and trilling occasionally. It's super cute, but Shelby must stay strong! She's annoyed and angry with her roomie! It's been a couple hours and they kind of hope someone will walk in and that will break Scott out of smothering her.
Right as she thinks that, a knock echoes throughout the house. Scott stops moving, his purring cutting eerily quick. She glances up at him and his face is staring at the front door with restrained violence. Ah. Maybe whoever's knocking should stay outside. She can probably wiggle her way over there if she's insistent enough.
"Shelby? I brought ye food an' water, dontcha'know?" Ren calls, knocking again.
Shelby weighs the pros and cons of trying to sneak out from under Scott, and then decides, fuck it! They use Scott's distraction and slide out of the nest and race to the door. Scott whines, high and needy and heartbreaking. He's right behind her but she gives him a Look and he seems himself enough to only hover behind her. He does hug her from behind though, resting his face in her neck and continuing to make quiet whines. They breathe in to steady themself and reach for the door.
"Hi, Ren!" The door is only open enough for her to slot half her body through it, Scott whines loudly when she tries to go further. Ren is giving the pair of them a scrutinizing look from under his glasses, Shelby even sees the firm set of his mouth. It's no secret Ren's not a fan of nobility, Scott even less, despite it only being a couple weeks of coexisting as a town.
"Ah, lassie... Do ye, need some help there?" Ren asks, reaching his hand not holding a basket of food and water out towards the door. Scott snarls, head jerking up and arms tightening around her stomach. Shelby yelps in pain and glares at him.
"Stop that! It's just Ren, he won't hurt us." Shelby gets her point across by swatting Scott across the nose, causing his eyes to go cross-eyed and his snarl to die immediately. He looks so confused that Shelby laughs at him, Ren joining a second later. Scott buries his face between Shelby's shoulders, glaring at Ren over the edge of them.
"I see, ye don't need help, dontcha'know! Scott here seems to be all bark and no bite, aye? But I'm not here for the wonderful company ye offer, lassie. Abolish over yonder sent me to deliver this here basket of food and water for the two of ye. It should last ye a day or two, but if ye need more, we're all within shouting distance, dontcha'know?" Ren is cheery the entire time, but Shelby takes notice of the wariness of his words as he eyes Scott. They'll have to talk with him, and probably the town as a whole, that Scott really is just not used to speaking with non-nobility. You can't expect him to learn if all the people he can learn from seem to distrust him so much they won't tell him off when he blunders. It's a wonder that Scott hasn't sent Avid into a full mania with all the comments Shelby's had to swat him for.
Speaking of Scott, he's taken one of his hands away from her waist and placed it against the door. He seems to be trying to force it closed but Shelby gives him a look and keeps it forced open. He may be a monster of some kind but he pouts at them and doesn't use his obviously superior strength to actually close it. Ren, oblivious to the entire silent exchange, holds out the basket of water and food. Shelby grabs it, noticing how Scott tenses and a low, near inaudible growl vibrates through his chest into her back. What a big baby.
"Thanks Ren. Tell Abolish he's a life saver!" Shelby smiles at the old man, hoping he doesn't linger. Scott is so high strung (which is saying something considering how he is normally) that she thinks he might pounce on Ren if he sticks around for much longer. Scott's grip on her waist shifts, moving so his hand is against her arm instead. Ah. He really is going to jump Ren! Their smile turns sheepish, shoulders hiking up. "Not that I don't love talking with you Ren, I do! I really do! But Scott is super tetchy right now and he's acting like he's going to attack you so I'm going to politely take our leave before he does something we'll all regret."
Ren blinks, staring at her. He opens his mouth, closes it, furrows his brow, then shakes his head. He smiles at them again and nods.
"Ay lassie, wouldn't want Goldsmith here getting hurt! I'll be letting you two alone. Enjoy the meal, I made me mother's recipe for sickness, dontcha'know?" Ren says, voice tense but still a bit cheerful. Shelby nods, trying not to let their nervousness show too heavily, and shuts the door.
Scott actually breathes a sigh of relief, sinking his face against their neck and purring again. Shelby allows him to nuzzle her neck for a few seconds then pushes him away a bit. He whines at them, but they point at the bed-nest he's insisted they lay in. She's hungry and he's not ruining her helping of Ren's cooking.
Scott blanches at them. His head goes from the bed-nest to their hand and back multiple times, they can practically hear the wheels and gears grinding as his holy word mushy brain thinks. Once it clicks, he slumps, head sinking towards the ground lower than Shelby thought his back could bend. He whines, high and needy and pleading. They lift an eyebrow and point again. He whines, louder this time, pouting harder. Is he-? Shelby schools their expression, he's actually crying! Just little beginnings of tears, but Shelby knows the beginnings of a cry when she sees one. She shakes her head, pointing emphatically. They watch him sulk over to the bed, looking over his shoulder repeatedly as they keep giving him unimpressed looks. What a big baby.
"I know, I'm so cruel. But I'm hungry and I have a feeling I won't be leaving the bed for a while if I enter it now. You stay right there, I mean it!" God, she never wants to be a mother if this is what it's like. Her good day went from a fun house judging contest to babysitting her roommate and it's ruined her mood. They know it's a trope that woman get parentified by fandoms for the mainly male characters, but this is ridiculous. She's just gonna think of Scott as a big puppy for now, it makes it less annoying to be taking care of him like this.
A big puppy with a lot of separation anxiety, Christ.
Shelby sighs, busying herself with getting a portion of food (spaghetti and meatballs??? Where did Ren find enough wheat and time to make noodles and ground beef???) and observes Scott from the doorway of the kitchen. He's whining, quieter this time, and staring at her with big hopeful, teary eyes. He's even burrowed slightly under the blankets, apparently trying to beckon her closer through a poor attempt at persuasion. They have a staring contest with him, that they keep winning because he's crying and has to blink. They feel a little bad but the food is so very good and they needed to get up and move.
She should grab a couple of her books and notebooks once she sets the dishes to soak and the remaining food to be stored. Scott's going to be insufferable.
-
Pyro paces. He's feeling really restless without Scott around. Owen's been a surprisingly big help in the last few days of Scott being holed away with Shelby, but there's always a niggling feeling that courses through their veins like a bunch of ants that they should be near their sire. Thankfully, spending time with Owen and Abolish, of all people, seems to be helping, at least slightly. He's actually currently hanging around Abolish as his friend mines for coal and extra stone.
It's quiet. Abolish is mining away and Pyro holds a lantern so his friend can see what he's driving his pickaxe into. Pyro keeps a lookout, there are other undead around this area, unusually numerous compared to other parts of the continent, but not the worst they've heard of. There's a site on the far side of the continent, the opposite end of where Oakhurst is, that has living ravagers. They've been hunted to virtual extinction due to the high aggressiveness, but in that one place they thrive and any attempts to curb their numbers is met with immense disaster and loss of lives. It's a good thing Oakhurst only has to deal with the usual mobs, zombies and skeletons and spiders and creepers. They're a lot easier to handle than something as deadly as a ravager, or God forbid a demonspawn that's been whispered about on small islands off the coast. Things that walk and sound like regular mobs but are stronger and carry a poisonous and withering aura, Pyro shudders at the thought of it. Oakhurst may be dangerous, but there are far worse things that could be haunting the lands. Like vampires, like what Pyro is now.
"You're like Scott, aren't you?" Abolish asks. The pickaxe clangs against the stone, the light reflecting off of it. Pyro stares at Abolish's back, the human completely unbothered by the question he just asked. Pyro's dead heart skips a beat.
"W-What? I don't know what- what you're talking about!" Pyro laughs nervously, trying to hide their trepidation. It sounds fake to their ears, probably faker to Abolish.
Abolish doesn't answer for a moment, instead just continuing to mine into the wall of the cave. The clinking and clanging is sending spikes of pain directly into Pyro's head.
"Why... do you say that?" Pyro questions, hovering closer to Abolish. The human isn't tense, but Pyro could pick up the sound of his heartbeat jumping for a second then steadying.
"Ever since Scott got hit by Martyn's holy word the other day, you and Owen have been disappearing together for hours at a time. Whenever someone mentions Scott, you both tense and look around for each other. You keep acting all nervous and restless and I saw you looked like a kicked dog at Shelby and Scott's house this morning. Before Scott got hit, the three of you spent a lot of time together, one would imagine you would be more concerned for his welfare. Unless, there's something else going on, like say, you're all inhuman creatures and seeing Scott forced into his instincts is making you nervous."
Pyro's mouth hangs open. Abolish turns around, slinging his pickaxe over his shoulder and wiping at his brow with a handkerchief.
"Uh. You're not going to tell Avid are you?" Pyro squeaks, shrinking away from Abolish. His friend tilts his head, the lantern's light catching on his silver cross earring. (It's such a pretty earring, Pyro wishes he could touch it.) Scott said he would get his night vision in a few weeks after turning, but it's only been a week since he was turned. The lantern is all they have, and Pyro has the feeling Abolish is much better at navigating blind than they do.
"Pyro, if the three of you aren't human, it's not my business unless you start harming people. I couldn't care less that you're not human."
Pyro slumps, a soft sound leaving their mouth. They freeze, hands flying to cover their face as a blush covers their skin. He doesn't know what that sound was but based on Abolish's face, it must be an embarrassing one. Abolish's face softens into a smile, Pyro nearly misses it from how small it is.
"It's okay Pyro. Scott's your sire right? Vampire sire?"
"Were we that obvious?" Pyro whispers.
"No, not really. Scott a little bit, yes, but you and Owen were fine until the holy word fiasco. I only know because I have experience with vampires."
The quiet between them stretches. Abolish is obviously fine with letting it hang around. It crawls over Pyro's skin and makes him ache to itch his skin off. Abolish turns back to the stone, grabbing a chunk of raw silver from the rock. Tilting his head, Abolish tucks the silver into the pack he wears.
"How long have you been a vampire Pyro?"
Pyro's eyes widen. They don't know what to do. On one hand, Owen and Scott have largely been fine after their turning. On the other, Owen and Scott isolated them and drowned them, all for some blood. Pyro dry swallows, suddenly reminded of the beating heart in front of him. Will Abolish be like Avid and go after Scott? After Owen? Ever since turning, Pyro has been more sympathetic to Scott and Owen's decision to turn him. It was either turning, or death, and Pyro much prefers being a monster than a corpse. The hunger, the thirst, is maddening for them too. They can only imagine how much worse it was for Scott and Owen, vampires who had gone centuries without blood.
"About a week..."
Abolish's eye twitches. Pyro shrinks back a little.
"I see. You still need your sire then. Scott's been put into his sire instincts and instead of you, he's grabbed Shelby. A vampire imprinting on a human when their fledgling is right there... These holy words truly are something."
Pyro's head swims a bit. They don't know what sire instincts are or what they have to do with Scott becoming a mindless beast hellbent on protecting and hiding Shelby away. Abolish sighs, grabbing the lantern gently and motioning towards the exit of the mine.
"I have a solution that should help you. Do you trust me?"
Why does this solution involve trust? Pyro trusts Abolish, yes, but what does his friend have planned that requires clarifying?
"I... do? I do. What are you planning Abolish?"
Abolish smiles and pats Pyro on the shoulder. He walks away without another word and Pyro follows like the puppy he's become.
-
Scott is very happy to have a fledgling in his nest. Said fledgling not so much. He knew Shelby would be a nest runner, he knew it! He could feel it in his fangs!
Every time he looks away from Shelby, they're trying to wiggle out from under him or trying to push him over. Unacceptable! The last time he let a fledgling escape him like that, he got put to sleep for six hundred years. No, no, no, Shelby is staying right where she is. Yet, as much as he loves having her close and holding her closer, he can't help but feel desperate for Pyro and Owen to join them.
He buries his nose against Shelby's carotid. She's still human, he doesn't remember why, but it makes him want to puke even entertaining the idea of turning her right now. She seems to have figured him out as a vampire and seems to accept it. It's trust they give him, letting him crowd them into the nest and keeping them confined to the house. He hasn't trusted humans like this since before Louis was turned, about eight hundred years ago now. The last human he trusted, he turned pretty quickly.
Shelby smells so uniquely human. It makes something in him perk up, but he ignores it. He won't feed from his fledgling. It's one of the strictest vampyric taboos he enforced in his coven. Fledglings are to be fed, not fed upon. What use is feeding from a fledgling? Stale dead blood? Fledgling blood is much too watery from the turning to actually be filling. It's purely a power move to do so, and Scott is powerful enough he never had to fall that low. He kept his coven from doing the same. Shelby has nothing to fear from him.
His stomach clenches, pain spiking through it and into his lungs. He hasn't fed in days. Shelby's tried offering him food, the dear, but he can't go through the nausea of human food while keeping her safe. Maybe he can sneak away to the chests and grab some raw meat while they sleep? Shelby sleeps like the dead, it would terrify him if he couldn't hear the heart beats and lungfuls of air. She seems to be nodding off at the moment. They've gotten used to his doting, his scenting and nuzzling. His heart sings, such a lovely and accepting fledgling. He truly won the gambit with them.
He waits, purring louder, he knows she likes the sound, until her breathing slows and her muscles un-tense into sleep. Finally, he can try to find blood or raw meat.
He carefully extracts himself from the nest, making sure Shelby doesn't wake up. They've done that a couple times and it's led to nothing but an annoyed Scott and Shelby and a mess to be cleaned up. He glides over the floor, avoiding where the wood is creaky. The chest hinges are newly oiled (he feels like kissing M for finding the old barrels of seed oil) and he manages to find a couple slabs of preserved, raw beef. His mouth waters. The beef itself smells bland, but since he refuses to drink from Shelby or leave them, it's the best thing he has.
It's not particularly filling, but it stops his lips from sticking to his fangs when he yawns. His mouth isn't nearly as dry now. His head has even stopped aching a little!
A floorboard creaks behind him and he turns his head so fast it snaps.
Pyro is in front of him, the door to the nest open behind him with someone else in his shadow. He bares his fangs, but he trills a demand at Pyro in the process. His fledgling should not be scared of the nest, but the person - the human - behind them is NOT welcome. Pyro hesitantly rumbles. It stutters in their throat and Scott coos, a fledgling's first purr! His eyes zero on Pyro, an ear out for Shelby and the other human, but his focus is on Pyro.
Pyro moves, the human behind him moving in sync. Scott stands up, wary as he watches the fledgling edge closer. The human smells like a hunter, silver and holy spells swirling around in a protective scent. He knows that scent, it's the butler fellow, Narrowing his eyes, Scott steps closer to Pyro and Shelby both, moving to keep Abolish from his fledglings. Pyro and Abolish just move in sync with him.
He growls, quietly. It makes Pyro squeak, a quick sound of fear and Scott feels a stab of pain in his heart. His poor fledgling.
"Sire, we can do this easily, right? I even brought some blood and meat for you," Pyro croons. Silly fledgling, sires are supposed to provide food and comfort. Scott scrunches his nose, stepping closer to Shelby, who he realizes with annoyance, is now awake and staring with wide eyes at the standoff.
Scott needs to get Shelby to stay in the nest, and he needs Pyro to join her. He needs Abolish out of his house. He shifts his footing, he needs to be quick if he wants Shelby to stay.
His plan is interrupted by Abolish pushing Pyro into him and grabbing Shelby like a sack of potatoes. Scott snarls, but Pyro latches onto him and tackle-falls into the nest with Scott pinned under him. Shelby laughs as Abolish takes her from the nest. Pyro is laughing too, albeit quieter and more hesitant, but still laughing. The door shuts with a bang. Scott moves to sit up and follow after the humans, but Pyro whines. It's a distress call, something meant to keep sires near fledglings. The non-instinct part of Scott's mind is so proud of them for manipulating him like this. The instinct part of Scott's mind is annoyed he can't go get Shelby back, but happy his fledgling is in the nest.
Pyro starts purring, the rumble steadying and becoming louder as the fledgling gains confidence. Scott sighs and purrs back. He quickly maneuvers Pyro to be positioned under his body like Shelby was. He was right, it would be more difficult with how tall and lanky Pyro is. He sighs again, making sure to cover any spots he can't reach with blankets.
Tomorrow he'll get Shelby back. He'll also go get Owen too. He wants his fledglings in the nest. But today, he holds Pyro and lets the fledgling experiment with his vampire noises.