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Abolish jolted awake as he felt something heavy land on his chest. He sat up, reaching for the silver sword propped up against the wall right next to his bed.
Before Abolish could grab it, he heard a startled chirp and his attention was drawn to a small, black bat on his bed. Abolish stared at it for a moment. The bat took that opportunity to launch itself at his chest and cling onto his pajama shirt. It started purring immediately.
This was not the behavior of a regular bat. No feral bat would be so comfortable around a random human. Also, examining it more, the bat had bright, red eyes. Abolish would usually say it was clearly a vampire, but no vampire he'd ever met would be caught dead acting like this. He'd only ever heard of this happening when… oh god.
"You've got to be kidding me." Abolish muttered, looking at the very happy vampire bat that was attached to him. He carefully detached the fluffy creature from his shirt and held it in his hands. The bat chittered at him and nuzzled against his fingers.
Abolish looked towards the window, only now spotting the broken fence that used to serve in place of glass. "Did you break that?" He asked the bat, getting no response other than more happy noises and nuzzling.
"You've can't do this." Abolish informed it. Abolish sighed as the creature continued to rub against his hands. "I don't do… this. Go find someone else to be weirdly pulled to." Universe and fate be damned, Abolish did not want this. This had to be some sort of mistake; even if the vampire's soulmate was in Oakhurst, it couldn't be Abolish (he pointedly ignored the fact that there had never been a reporting of a vampire's bat form being wrong about its soulmate; there was a first time for everything).
Abolish stood up and put the bat down on the broken window sill. He tried to shoo it away, but the bat didn't move at all. He sighed. "Go on, whoever you're actually connected to is not in here." He tried to push the bat further but it decided to cling to his hands. "No." He tried to gently shake it off. It wrapped around his wrist in response, purring and rubbing its head against Abolish's arm.
"Can you even understand me?" Abolish questioned, watching it happily cling to him. It was either ignoring him or too far into its instincts to comprehend english. Abolish tried to carefully pull it off of him, succeeding but then causing it to fly onto his head. He sighed and grabbed it, no longer in the mood to be gentle.
Abolish put it back down and quickly pulled his hands away so it couldn't immediately cling to his wrist again. The bat, unfortunately, could not take a hint and flew towards him, landing on his shoulder and continuing to purr.
Abolish decided that he preferred vampires who were actually trying to kill him much more than this. He couldn't excuse hurting this one when it hadn't shown itself to be a threat at all.
The purring right next to his ear was strangely nice, even though an unknown vampire so close to his neck should have made him on edge. Abolish froze for a moment, trying to figure out what to do about the bat who seemed very determined to stay attached to him.
Abolish sighed and replaced the fence that served as his second floor window. He then made his way down the ladder and towards his front door. He stepped outside and looked up at the moon. It was midnight, otherwise known as much too late for Abolish to be dealing with vampires being stupid. He would be requesting a pay bonus from the organization if he had to deal with this for the entirety of his stay in Oakhurst.
Abolish carefully removed the bat from his shoulders and held it in front of him. "Look, I don't know what I said that you somehow interpreted as an invitation into my house." Abolish had been very careful to not give invitations to anyone, but the vampire had to have gotten a way inside somehow. "So let me make this very clear. You are not allowed to come inside my home. You have no invitation." The bat didn't react, seeming to just enjoy being held in Abolish's hands once again.
Abolish quickly threw the bat away — angled upwards so it would still have time to catch itself before hitting the ground — and went back inside his house, closing the door before the bat had righted itself.
Abolish heard a screech from outside and rolled his eyes, going back up to his bedroom. He heard more screeches and cries as he got back into bed, curling up under his blankets. He hoped the vampire would shut up soon before it woke up the entire town.
A crash made Abolish open his eyes again, holding back a frustrated groan as he looked towards the source. The bat had once again broken the fence, but it was wasn't coming any further inside. At least revoking the invitation had worked.
The bat was staring at him chirping and squeaking at Abolish. The human responded by laying back down and turning his back towards the creature which earned him another screech.
Abolish stubbornly didn't move. The vampire would have to get bored or hungry eventually and would leave him alone. After a few more minutes of loud noises, Abolish was proven correct as he was finally rewarded with blissful silence. The entirety of Oakhurst may have been awoken, but that wasn't Abolish's problem.
Scott settled down on the windowsill, watching his mate drift back into sleep.
Even though his mate wasn't letting him back inside, Scott was not going to neglect his duty to protect him. Humans were especially vulnerable while they slept, and Scott would never forgive himself if his mate got hurt because he wasn't watching over him. The situation was a little annoying because it would be much easier to protect his mate if the man had let him stay inside instead of revoking the implicit invitation that came with being soulmates and literally throwing him out.
Of course, Scott wasn't mad at him for doing it. His mate clearly didn't understand what was going on. If he did, he wouldn't have forced Scott apart from him. While Scott understood that his mate's actions were guided by ignorance, that didn't stop him from being sad. He wanted to be curled up against his mate's warmth, not stuck outside.
It was fine. Scott would be patient until his mate understood and accepted what was going on. Then, once he did, Scott could have all the cuddles he wanted.
Abolish woke up hours later as the sun was rising. He looked towards the window and was disappointed glad that the bat was no longer there. In its place was an apple that looked incredibly fresh. Abolish couldn't think of any apple trees he'd seen around Oakhurst, but that hadn't stopped the vampire from getting one for him.
Abolish hesitated to touch the apple. On one hand, accepting such a gift would signify to the bat that Abolish was accepting being courted which was something he absolutely was not going to do. On the other hand, the apple was probably visible from outside which meant that the vampire in human form — assuming that's where they'd disappeared to — would have a chance of realizing who their bat had become attached to. He'd like to keep the vampire's rational mind ignorant to this supposed soulmate pairing.
The hunter grabbed the apple and put it on the floor, hoping the bat would see that Abolish had not eaten it and realize he wasn't interested. Maybe it would even give up on being with him. The chances were slim, but not impossible.
He quickly got himself ready for the day and exited his house, planning to go exploring for more of the mysterious tombs scattered around the lands and do some silver mining too.
Abolish's plans were derailed almost immediately as he heard Avid yell, "and why were you out so late at night?" Abolish spotted the man pointing an accusatory finger at Scott. He saw a few other people watching the interaction.
Curious, Abolish walked over, staying a bit farther away from the two men as the other spectators.
"I have insomnia, ok? I was out walking. I wanted some fresh air so I left town and wasn't close enough to hear whatever racket you're talking about." Scott replied smoothly.
"You expect us to believe that you were walking around a dangerous forest at midnight?" Avid looked around as if he was looking for other people to support him.
"I do expect you to believe it because it's the truth." Scott answered, voice clipped.
"How convenient that nobody can confirm your location when a bat woke the entire town up! I bet it was you doing it so that we would be too tired to fight against you when you try to feed on us!" Avid accused.
Convenient indeed, Abolish mused. Was Scott a vampire? Potentially. Could he really have Abolish as a soulmate, though? Unlikely. Surely a man that attractive could find much better options out there (people who actually had time for a relationship).
"If I was a vampire, wouldn't I have hurt Shelby by now?" Scott's words snapped Abolish out of his thoughts.
Shelby, standing beside Scott, nodded. "Avid, he's not threatened me at all. He's not even making up his insomnia. He told me about it the first night we roomed together. I've woken up multiple times to him leaving or reentering the house late at night."
Scott frowned. "Oh, I didn't realize I was waking you. I'm so sorry, Shelby." The noble apologized sincerely.
"It's ok!" Shelby was quick to assure him. "I really don't mind. But maybe don't take a stroll in the forest? I'd hate to lose my roommate."
Scott smiled and nodded, then shot a look towards Avid. "Yeah, maybe you'd be accused of murder if I disappeared. We can't have that happen."
Avid seemed like he was going to argue, but Cleo cut him off. "Just let it go, Avid. Vampires aren't real."
Abolish slipped away before he heard Avid's response. His curiosity about what was going on was sated and he didn't want to listen to it anymore. He didn't need to hear the pathetic excuse for a hunter continue to put a larger target on his back with his accusations.
It was time to actually be productive. Now that Abolish knew there was definitely at least one vampire around, Abolish needed to have a good amount of silver on him at all times.
Abolish returned to town late, finally satisfied with the amount of silver lining his pockets. Mining always took a long time and he'd decided to smelt his silver in the cave. He hadn't meant for it to be dusk when he'd gone back to the surface, but the mobs roaming the forest were no threat against his new silver sword so the time didn't make that much of a difference.
As Abolish reached his door, he heard a squeak and a black shape dropped from the shadows of his roof. Before the hunter could grab it, the bat had burrowed under his jacket and was now clinging to the back of his undershirt. The hunter had to admit that it was a clever spot, making it practically impossible for Abolush to grab it without taking off his jacket.
He sighed. "We're not doing this again." Abolish said, glad that no one was around to spot him looking like he was talking to himself.
In response, the bat climbed up his shirt, being careful with its claws to not scratch Abolish, until its head was pressed up against the back of the human's neck. He braced for a bite, but nothing came except the vibrations from rumbling purrs the bat started letting out.
"I'm going to stake you." Abolish muttered, reaching behind him to grab at the creature. He felt it duck out of reach.
Abolish decided to try a different tactic. "If you don't get off of me, I'll sleep out here." When that didn't earn him an audible response, he continued. "I'll sleep on the cold, hard ground. I wonder if it'll rain tonight. If I slept outside in the rain, there's a good chance I'd get sick. With such limited medical supplies here, a bad sickness could lead to death." Abolish let out a dramatic sigh.
The effect was immediate. The bat immediately scrambled out of its hiding place, taking to the sky and clinging to the wall right above Abolish's front door. The creature was letting out continuous squeaks and chirps, obviously distressed at the idea of its human mate getting sick and dying.
Abolish squashed down the little bit of guilt he felt rising in the back of his mind. He didn't want it in his house, and knowingly let it cling to him as he stepped past the threshold would be considered a silent invitation. He didn't want to be a vampire's soulmate, even if it was a certain charismatic noble.
Abolish watched the bat carefully as he opened the door, relieved when it didn't move from its chosen perch.
The hunter headed inside, putting all his gear and silver down on a counter before heading to the second floor. Sorting his inventory and choosing what to make his silver into could be a problem for tomorrow.
Abolish settled into bed but heard a soft scratching noise. He glanced over to see the bat sitting on his windowsill again. It, thankfully, wasn't trying to screech like last night to be let inside, so he ignored its presence.
As Abolish tried to fall asleep, his stomach growled. He tried to remember if he had eaten at all today. He hadn't brought any food into the mines and he hadn't eaten before leaving the house that morning. Abolish didn't think he had a lot of food in his house (another thing to add to his to do list).
A string of chirps made Abolish glance over at the bat again. It pointed a clawed wing at the apple and then at him. He raised an eyebrow. Did it think Abolish was going to accept its gift just because he was hungry? Waiting until tomorrow to eat wouldn't kill him.
Abolish huffed at the small creature. "No thanks." He turned back over and closed his eyes again, ignoring the soft chirps the bat kept letting out. With how tired he was, sleep quickly took him.
"Little Veylocke~" A raspy voice sang mockingly as the monster moved through the house. "Come out, come out wherever you are~"
Hands pressed against his mouth harder, trying to muffle his breathing as much as possible. The crack in the cabinet doors let him get a view of the monster, humanoid in shape yet possessing wickedly long claws that were dripping blood onto the tiled floor.
"Don't make this difficult, little one." The voice crooned. "I'll make it quick if you just reveal yourself now."
Tears ran down his face and he couldn't stop himself from letting out a scared sob. Muffled as it was, the monster still heard him.
"There you are." The cabinet was ripped open and a clawed hand reached towards him.
He quickly threw himself away from the hand and ran, chest heaving from sobs and terrified pants.
Tears blurred his vision as he saw two mangled corpses in the living room. He couldn't even tell who was who with how much they'd been torn apart. He wanted to cry, but stopping meant death. He didn't want to die.
"Come back…." The monster giggled. "Running only prolongs the inevitable~"
He kept going, seeing the front door at the end of the entrance hallway. His feet pounded against the floor as he heard the monster giving chase behind him. He lost his footing as he slipped on a puddle of blood, the sticky liquid clinging to his body when he fell into it.
He was panicking, unable to scramble back to his feet with how much he was shaking. He didn't want to die!
The monster grabbed him by the shirt, laughing at his pathetic state — trembling and covered in blood. He tried to beg for mercy but he couldn't get his voice to work through his sobs. A clawed hand raised up, ready to come down with brutal strength and rip him to shreds—
Abolish woke up with a gasp, tears already running down his face. He heard a strange chirp but didn't care to look at its source. He needed fresh air.
He nearly fell down the ladder in his rush to get out of the house — the house with only one exit that could be so easily blocked if the creature from his dreams was somehow here.
Abolish fell to the ground as soon as he had closed the door behind him. He couldn't breathe. Abolish sobbed, gasping and coughing as he tried to get enough air. Never enough. He couldn't breathe!
There was a soothing noise around him, something soft brushing against his face. Abolish felt his mind clear a bit, panic being replaced with a pounding headache as his breathing evened out.
Eventually, Abolish was able to think well enough to reach a hand up and touch the thing that was touching his face. He heard a tiny chirp and gently stroked a thumb along the bat's head, the softness of the creature's fur feeling nice. He felt it gently bump its head against his chin.
Abolish sat up, feeling dizzy for a few moments. He looked down at the little creature against his side that was still purring, but it was different than it had been before he'd gone to bed. This was a consistent pattern, its intensity going up and down slowly, almost like… breathing. Abolish realized his breathing was matching the bat's purrs. That was certainly one way to stop him from hyperventilating. Abolish let out an exhausted, amused huff. "Let's keep this our secret, ok?" He asked the bat, getting a nod in response and a nuzzle against his hand. "It's not usually that bad." Abolish said, unsure of why he was telling it that information. "I mean, nightmares are pretty common but I'm not usually so panicked when I wake up."
He stood up, swaying on his feet for a moment as the ground tilted under him. The bat flew up to his shoulder, still purring in that repetitive way. Abolish's eyes drooped, exhaustion from crying hitting him like a train now that he had calmed down. "You can come in, but do not bite me or kill me or anything, ok?" He mumbled as he headed inside his house, brushing off dirt from his pajamas as he headed towards the ladder.
He hesitated before climbing back into bed. Abolish really didn't want to have another nightmare tonight, but he couldn't afford to be exhausted in the morning.
Abolish pulled his blankets over him and settled into bed. A light, warm body draped across his neck, purring soothingly. Abolish usually had a hard time going back to bed after nightmares, but sleep claimed him quickly with the purrs filling his ears.
No monsters haunted Abolish's dreams for the rest of the night as the bat cuddled with him.