Work Text:
Cleo just wanted to strangle Pyro right now. Moreso Scott, but he wasn’t the one standing right in front of them being infuriating at that exact moment.
They could hardly blame Pyro— he didn’t know any better and he was still very much a baby fledgling. He’d barely found his wings before accidentally turning her. But still, he could bother to take even a little responsibility for her situation.
“It was an accident!” Pyro whined, “I was so hungry, I didn’t mean it.”
“Scott really is not taking you to task at all.” Cleo frowned hard at them, “If he wasn’t going to have appropriate control over his fledgling, then he shouldn’t have turned you.”
“Do you think I wanted this? I’m a THING now, a monster!”
“How do you think I feel?” Cleo rolled her eyes.
“Exactly, so you should understand.” The way he held his clutched hands together like a beggar made her gut revolt in disgust.
It was odd how confident Pyro seemed when others were around, but seemed to wilt under Cleo’s hard stare when it was just the two of them now.
“I heard what happened to Shelby. Did Scott even reprimand you for what you did to us, or is he allowing you to go wild and take as much as you’d like?”
Pyro shrunk even further back, “Scott did punish me for Shelby.”
For Shelby, but not for me? Cleo thought bitterly.
The rage was slowly building insider of them. Rage for the pain Pyro and Scott had put her through, rage for being abandoned by them both, rage on behalf of the other new fledglings that weren’t being given the proper guidance or comfort in their new life…
Being turned was supposed to be an act of purpose. You never turn someone out of pity or who you can’t stand. The bond between sire and fledgling was something that was, while not quite sacred, was certainly something to be respected. Pyro’s actions spit in the face of everything they knew about sire-fledgling relationships.
It was obvious that Pyro didn’t want her as their fledgling. They tried to ignore the hurt bubbling underneath the anger, but Cleo had never been a very good liar, even to themself…
She sighed, “Pryo, you know nothing about vampires. I get it. But you still have a duty to those who belong to you now.”
Pyro looked alarmed, “What do you mean ‘a duty’?”
“Let’s go for a fly together.” She suddenly suggested. She wasn’t even sure where the desire came from, and she instantly regretted it the second the words came out of her mouth.
And by the look on Pyro’s face, he didn’t know what to make of it either. “To go desecrate a beacon together?”
“So I can show you how to behave like an appropriate sire.” She amended.
This didn’t seem to help his confusion, “I thought we were all just going to pretend like Scott is the real sire here. And anyways if you’re my fledgling, then what can you possibly teach me?”
Cleo huffed. They were starting to feel the rage come back. She wanted— no NEEDED to go for a fly with Pyro. Even if he couldn’t teach them the basics of flight or hunting or anything else, she could be by his side for a couple minutes. “Look, I just need you to shut up and fly with me for a while, okay?”
He shuffled nervously, even more confused, “With me?”
“I’m not asking the wind, am I? If you don’t want to then just say so.” Cleo turned to go. Why had she even bothered? Pyro wasn’t a proper sire and never would be.
“Wait.” Pyro grabbed her sleeve.
Cleo paused and waited.
Pyro cleared his throat. He stood up a little straighter, having come to a decision, “If it’s what you want, then… okay. I’ll do it. Let’s go for a fly.” The crooked smile on his face was almost adorable.
The two transformed and vaulted upwards together. Cleo’s undead body and heart soared through the sky, wings taking to it with such natural ease.
Just for a minute they could both pretend to care about each other.