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Shelby sighs to herself, skipping down the steps to the crypt. She can't find Pyro anywhere, and she needs to speak to him before someone else tells him how Avid was turned. She knows he'll be upset by the news, but she hopes he won't be too angry if she's the one telling him the situation.
Shelby likes to think she and Pyro are close. He's always been kind to her, even before they both got turned. He never made fun of her or teased her for her beliefs, keeping an open mind even when he didn't believe the same things as she did.
She and Pyro haven't spent as much time together as she wishes they did, but Pyro was always busy with something or another for Scott or the coven.
Scott told her Pyro was the type to always need some sort of task, but she can't help but think it's too much. He was constantly running around, even now that the humans have started to get more aggressive. She told Scott about her concern, but Scott assured her that Pyro needs the direction.
She isn't sure she agrees, but Scott knows Pyro a lot better than she does.
Shelby reaches the bottom of the stairs, glancing around the crypt. There's a shuffling noise down the hall, and after a moment of consideration, Shelby follows the sound.
"Pyro? Are you down here?"
She peers into one of the alcoves, eyes widening at the sight of a figure curled up against the far wall. She hesitates, stepping forward slowly. "Pyro?"
Pyro flinches hard at the sound of her voice, their head darting up to look at her. Shelby eyes widen further when she gets a good look at their face. Dark red tears slip down their cheeks.
They look surprised to see her, though that surprise quickly shifts into dread. "…Shelby?"
A bad feeling coils in her gut.
Something is clearly wrong here. Pyro hasn't looked at her like that before.
Like they're afraid of her.
Pyro wipes at their tears quickly when she steps forward again. All it accomplishes is smudging the blood over their face, staining their skin. They don't seem to notice, too busy trying to hide their face against their knees.
Shelby crouches down in front of them, keeping her voice gentle. "What's wrong? What happened?"
Pyro whines quietly, the sound forming a pit of dread in her stomach. "Pyro?"
"Go away, please," they whisper. Their voice is hoarse and broken. "Please."
She swallows, uncomfortable with the desperation in their tone. "I can't leave you like this."
They whine again. "…Did Sire send you?"
Shelby blinks. "Scott?"
Pyro flinches at his name.
Shelby glances behind her. "Nobody sent me anywhere. I was trying to find you because I wanted to talk with you."
Pyro's throat bobs. "Talk?"
They look wrecked, and Shelby feels completely out of her element. She's never been the best at comforting people. Usually, she tries to distract them with good things, but she has a feeling that won't work this time.
She shakes her head. "I'll tell you later. Can you tell me what happened?"
Pyro shifts, inhaling sharply, their fang digging into their lip as they bite it. "It's my fault. I made Sire angry. I— I never," they stare at the ground, swallowing again. "I never should have gone behind his back."
She recalls Scott complaining about fledglings lying to him when he scolded her for turning Avid. She hadn't thought much of it then, too busy pouting about being caught in a lie herself.
What had Pyro done?
…What had Scott done that made them look like this?
Shelby doesn't want to think about it, but the memory of her own turning flickers in her mind. Of Pyro's desperate apologies and Scott's bitter anger.
Scott has been nothing but kind to her. She doesn't want to think badly about him. He's a good guy, past the arrogance and teasing.
Despite her own thoughts, she can't help but search Pyro for injuries. Her chest tightens when she sees a dark bruise forming around Pyro's wrist, the imprint of fingers too clear to be anything else.
Scott wouldn't have.
No matter what Pyro did, Scott wouldn't have hurt them.
It was an accident. It had to have been an accident.
Pyro curls up further, glancing up at her with a miserable expression. "I didn't mean to. I wouldn't have betrayed the coven. I swear I wouldn't have," another tear slips down their face. "You have to believe me, Shelby. I wouldn't do that."
Shelby doesn't know what to say. Words stick in her throat, heavy and uncomfortable.
She can't look away from the bruise.
It's already healing, but it's too recent for it to be from earlier this evening.
Pyro looks at her when she doesn't respond, his lip quivering. "Please, believe me. I'm not a bad person. You know I'm not bad."
Shelby forces herself to meet his eyes. "What did you do?"
He shrinks into himself at the question, averting his gaze to the ground. He doesn’t answer right away, and for a moment, Shelby almost thinks he isn't going to at all.
Pyro trembles. "…I asked the humans about a cure."
That bad feeling spreads, making her fingers go numb. She had asked about a cure. Scott hadn't gotten mad at her for it. Why would he get mad at Pyro?
Pyro was always at Scott's beck and call. He never denied the elder vampire anything he asked him to do.
It isn't right. She doesn't want to believe it.
She wants Scott to be good. He's always been nice to her.
But he doesn't treat Pyro the same way, does he?
A slow, aching pit of guilt forms in Shelby's chest.
When Pyro turned her Scott hit him. She had buried it, told herself it was a one off thing, but it happened. Pyro had been terrified. You aren't that scared of someone if they haven't given you a reason to be.
Shelby's eyes sting.
She moves forward, unable to stop herself. Her arms wrap around Pyro's shoulders, a sob lodging it's way in her throat, choking her words.
"I'm so sorry."
Pyro is stiff in her arms, but slowly, he returns the hug. "Shelby?"
She whines, tucking her face against Pyro's chest. "You're so good, Pyro. You didn't do anything wrong."
He jolts at her words, like he's been struck.
The comparison makes her chest hurt. Pyro shouldn't be so afraid.
It isn't right.
She has to fix this before it's too late.
Shelby won't let it be too late.