Archive of Our Own

The world of Oakhurst was a gloomy one, even in broad daylight.

From the zombies crawling around, to the town idiot screaming about vampires of all things, Scott could feel his patience depleting from him at rapid speeds. Shelby, his Big Foot obsessed roommate, was somehow the only lifeline Scott had.

Today marked Scott Goldsmith's 2nd day in Oakhurst.

The sun will start setting any minute now, but before it could, Scott made sure to mine cobblestone with Owen to finish up their roof.

The peasant work was grating, but he did ask for this after all.

27 years of feeding off the golden spoon, with expectations at an all time high, Scott just needed a break. He needed to see what life was like outside of the manor walls, before he was trapped to spend the rest of his days behind his father's work desk. He needed to see if life was more freeing as a peasant, or was Scott being delusional like his colleagues told him he was.

His parents viewed it as a good teaching moment, but were anxious about Scott leaving 'so young.' Adventures like this were supposedly for later in life, but Scott didn't agree with that at all.

So, he wrote one final letter to his friends in distant lands, told his Head Maid about the plan, and left the next day with a satchel in hand.

Scott ran; ran and paid for a horse to drop him somewhere far away where no one knew his face. However, even then, you can take the boy out of the palace but you can't take the palace out of the boy.

Scott spent weeks town hopping. Staying in well-furnished Inns and having a blast being reckless with nobody faces he'll never see again. Drinking ale, shopping, getting lucky with many willing townspeople. It was fun, and more importantly, freeing.

After a month of this, Scott was honestly prepared to head back home. Planning on making one more visit to the reportedly thriving lumber town of Oakhurst before heading his way back up North. He had gotten what he wanted, and he was satisfied with that.

But, Scott had gotten too comfortable in life's usage of free will.

A group of bandits thought Scott and his horse would be easy pickings, and Scott refuses to admit they were right. In one moment, Scott was giving the last remains of his apple to his horse. Next, Scott had to cut through the rope tying his wrist together with the bark of a stray branch.

There were too many of them, and Scott was just lucky they bruised his face too much before they could see his beauty. God forbid those ruffians saw Scott's divinely good looks and think Scott was worth enough to be sold off or ransomed.

However, with nightfall on its way and a bruised body, Scott had managed to crawl his way to an abandoned manor. Ungracefully, Scott had collapsed down some ladders and stairs, finding what looked to be a bed to his delirious mind, and fell asleep the second his head hit the stone.

When Scott woke up, he was sharing a coffin with a long dead skeleton.

Which leads us to the now. 2 days into Oakhurst after Scott stumbled his way into town, coincidentally arriving at the same time as other lost people. In the end, he really did get the unique experience he was looking for...

Scott slumped, but schooled his face into something more pleasant before anyone else saw. Shutting his eyes as he leaned on his garden hoe.

He was still nobility after all, and after spending 27 years of his life being embedded with every social rule in the book, Scott finds comfort in it. Like an old glove. No one can use your emotions against you if you don't have emotions.

He was only tilting the ground for Cleo, being dragged into it by Shelby since everything is a community effort nowadays. He found the potatoes, and told Cleo where to plant the food! He made this place campfires in order to even grill the food! Why does he have to do extra work?

But, he wanted to see how the other side lived. And if this is how they lived, then clearly Scott wasn't missing out on much. Maybe his perception was skewed since Scott stayed in towns like where the maids used to live. Oakhurst was a ruin of rotting logs and crumpling infrastructure, with not a soul in sight being originally from here, besides maybe Owen. Hard to call this place a town to begin with.

Cleo had mentioned plague. Owen had mentioned cannibalism. And Avid, Scott's mortal enemy at the moment, believed in vampires of all things.

Him and Shelby were cut from the same cloth, but at least Shelby wasn't constantly making Scott's life harder with baseless accusations.

Scott wanted to groan, slumping even harder against his stone hoe before leaning too hard and falling with it.

"Scott! Are you okay?"

The familiar voice of his housemate came into range, and Scott quickly pulled himself up before Shelby could even offer a hand.

"Yeah, the sun somehow managed to sneak a direct line of light into my eyes." Scott lied, swiping the dirt off his pants and fixing his collar. Scott yearns for hot water, or even running water at this point! Plumbing was something extremely out of his expertise, and sadly, also out of everyone elses. If Scott wanted to shower in privacy, he either has to let the town know he's off in the river doing so, or set up a leaky 'tub' situation like Drift and Avid.

Scott, feeling his headache getting even louder, felt his lip snarl up, before sighing and leaning against Shelby.

Shelby, being the best roommate ever, gently pats him on the back as she leads him back into the house. Night will fall any minute, and once it does, Scott will once again be put on the chopping block since apparently, having fashion sense makes someone a vampire nowadays.

He thought showers were a basic commodity, but apparently not.

"I miss plumbing.." Scott pouted, laying dramatically on a spare log since he was raised to never get in a bed with outside clothes on. Not like he had many clothes to begin with, only stripping down to his white blouse and undergarments when he felt the urge to sleep. Pros and Cons of being an insomniac, since he and Shelby rarely share the bed anyways give the drastic differences in sleep schedule.

"I do too.. But hey! Once this is all done, we can go look for sugarcane for paper!"

"I do like that idea." Scott admitted, thinking about writing letters and sending them out of Oakhurst if he could train a carrier pigeon.

Scott moved towards the chest, getting reminded since Shelby came back.

"I brought more food back. I placed it in the chest."

Shelby joined him. "Oooo! I also have food and some Pale Wood."

Shelby continued to dump her items in their shared chest, talking about the Obelisk, the funny head they found on said Obelisk, with Scott moving on to craft another campfire for their home. He places some pork chops to cook on its open flame, while Shelby going through the chest for decoration blocks, which he points out immediately again that living in the dregs of society give them less than optimal resources for that.

"I worried about these windows too.. We don't have real glass." Sullied Shelby.

"It's fineee. As long as the monsters don't have really long arms, were good." Scott joked, seeing Shelby perk back up as they shared a laugh.

More talk continued, and Scott was even more grateful for finding someone he could call a friend in dark times like this. Shelby spoke her mind, something even most town folk didn't do, and Scott found it relieving in a sense. A nice change for once, compared to all the other changes that happened to Scott in the past 3 days. He could even joke about sex with Shelby, which is something that  would've defamed him in the conventions of the upper class.

He was willing to make the best of this experience, but in order to do that Scott needed a completed roof.

Heading off down the mine, Scott tied his coat around his waist before carrying up as much as he could to complete the build. However, given his status and very limited knowledge and expertise in manual labor, the quaint look of the house was definitely not up to his own standards.

He sighed, wanting to get out of Oakhurst sooner rather than later. Positive thinking can only get someone so far.

Finding a spare clean rag, Scott dabbed the sweat off his face and neck before venturing out to find anyone else to talk to.

Only to find half the town gossiping about him on top of Sausages' and Owen's roof.. All of them giving him the awkward 'heyyy..' people do when they've been caught red handed.

"You all are either really excited to see me or all talking about me before I got here.." Scott deadpanned, somehow getting used to the town's gossip train. Lower class people lie about it endearingly, while Nobles admitted to their wrongs right in your face, hiding their disdain for you under 25 layers of passive-aggressiveness.

Avid continued to change subjects, while everyone else instead complimented Scott on his outfit choices. It was rare to get actual compliments in his day-to-day life, so Scott soaked it up like a lizard in the sun. Even when Avid tried to include a sly remark, Scott allowed himself to openly insult him back, never once fearing the consequences of how it could play out.

Everything was much more freeing in Oakhurst, Somehow. Some way.

Soon enough, Avid was back on his regularly scheduled reflecting, questioning Shelby's whereabouts with all the hysterics of a woman getting exiled.

"Shelby!!"

Scott could only roll his eyes, seeing Shelby less than 5 minutes ago. Owen patted him on the back, seeing Avid run around like a headless chicken.

'At least the headless chicken would be quieter..' Scott thought, before sighing as Avid threw out one more scalding accusation before bumbling around for the others. Owen gave Scott a remorseful look, given Owen was also hit with the Vampire accusations, and went with the rest of the group to follow their town's idiot.

'Hopefully this blows over soon..' Was Scott's last plea, before shrugging his coat back on and following the commotion.

"Where is she?!" Avid screamed, getting the whole town involved in this mess. "SHELBY?!"

"I went out looking for her but couldn't find her!" Scott said, yet again falling on Avid's deaf ears. The more the other screamed, pointing their dirty finger in Scott's direction, the more blood vessels popped against Scott's skull.

Night fell, and everyone and their mother was standing in the middle of town while Avid's garlic breath stank up the place.

"You did something to her!" Avid kept repeating, "You were the last one to see her!"

"I'm literally her housemate! If I wasn't the last one to see her, that'd be even more suspicious!"

Scott was never much of a crier, emotions too valuable to be wasted away in small affairs. However, anger did something to him like nothing else.

Forget crying if the tears would practically evaporate on the spot with the heat of the blood rushing to his head. Still, Scott tried to keep his wits about him, standing tall and in the center of town even as Avid walked circles around him. He didn't feel like crying, but he felt like making Avid cry.

Shelby was missing, and while Scott was worried about her, Avid was taking up too much mental space for him to currently find it. The way Avid was the one trying to control the mob mentality against Scott made his blood boil, and even when Shelby comes back, Scott knows he won't let Avid get a blink of rest after this. No way was Scott going to let this peasant make Scott's life harder when they were all trying to survive out here.

Scott positioned his tongue to go in for the kill shot, seeing Avid still scream at Scott's being, waiting for the perfect moment.

Avid was calling together a search party, again, ignoring Scott's attempts to diffuse the situation, when a familiar sigh of red curls appeared around the corner.

"Huh? What's going on?"

Shelby's reflective glasses pierced through the crowd, questioning eyes landing on Scott before turning towards her incoming crowd.

Scott exclaimed, "See! She's right there!"

The whole town called out for Shelby, and just as Scott was going to greet her back, Avid pushed past him to go hug her.

...

A ringing was heard. So loud, it muffled all the voices around him. Not like it particularly mattered, as all the bodies around him rushed to Shelby's side.

Scott could feel his hands clench and release, over and over again. Eyes zeroed in on the back of Avid's head.

Scott takes a step forward. And another. And another, until he was right along with the group crowding around his housemate. Scott tapped his foot against the ground, trying to find any shreds of patience he had left. Eyes still tracking Avid's every movement until eventually the other lets go of Shelby.

Scott took his turn to shove the other aside, all before trying to communicate to the only other person who's had his back in this town.

"Shelby!" Scott pleaded, hoping any emotions were undetectable in his voice. "I'm being accused of your murder!"

Avid had the audacity to try and silence Scott, but He. Has. Had. Enough.

"You were gone and they all jumped too 'Scott's killed her.'"

Shelby gasped, backing up away from the town's people at the revelation.

"No, we said she was missing!" Legundo tried to intervene, just for Avid to dig himself into a further hole.

"I didn't say that! Specifically.. those words.." Avid stuttered out, and if Scott wasn't as angry as he was, he might've sounded it cute in the pathetic way.

However, with the pressure, and the yelling, and the constant battering of his social levels today, Scott felt his soul squeeze itself on bad intentions.

"No- you didn't say that specifically but you implied it pretty heavily though." Cleo chimed in from the back, all as Scott forced himself in Avid's and Shelby's space while the former sheepishly tried to sneak away from the piercing glances of the townsfolk. Even when Shelby explained her outing, trapped outside in the dark, Avid still had all the insolence to look like he was the victim in all of this.

Scott walked forward while Avid stepped back, just for the other to fearfully steal glances up at Scott's raging eyes.

Scott sighed, heavily, through his nose. His hands were still in fist, nails piercing at his flesh as Scott closed his eyes in order to not look at Avid's aggravating form any longer.

With a release of his fist, Scott let his eyes flutter open. The others tried to goad Avid into an apology, all periodically waving hands towards Scott's direction like Avid was a foster cat.

"I'm- I'm," Avid tried to get out, always mumbling off right before he could. Angrily looking at Scott like it was his fault. Pouting.

Scott's eye twitched.

"I don't think this person is a good contributor to the town, I think we should kick him out.."

Everyone in town was whipping their heads around, but Scott was currently biting down any harsher statement through gritted teeth to continue. All just for the townspeople to say Scott was being the drastic one now!

Pressing his fingers so hard against his palm, Scott was sure he was bleeding, before throwing his hands up in the air.

"I give up with this place!" Shelby reached a hand out, but Scott was already side-stepping it. "I'm going off into the woods to go fuck myself apparently, since all I'm good for is a scapegoat in this mental of a town!"

Scott pushed forward, leaving one last apologetic look towards Shelby before shoulder-checking Avid out the way towards the gates of town. His heeled boots making indents into the dirt with how hard he stomped.

The others were yelling again, but with Scott already miles away, their treacherous voices could no longer be heard.

This town has been nothing but a nuisance. Scott had wanted to see the other side's perspective, but if all they do is constantly blame each other for fairytales, Scott might as well go live in the castle he slept in a few nights ago.

Away from that fuck all of a town..

Pale blue eyes watched as Scott's retreating figure left, making sure to hide their smirk under their hand as the crowd blew up in commotion.

Avid was clinging to Drift, going off about seeing his life flash before his eyes. Cleo and Apo, rightfully, told Avid he was full of shit since he started it, and the rest of the group was currently trying to hold Shelby back from going off after the nobleman.

And Pyro? In what world could he possibly pass up an opportunity like this?

Sneaking away from the crowd, Pyro makes the journey to his house to gather up some supplies. Giddy in his plan as he adds a pick to his inventory. He'd assume he have more time to people-watch, but an aggravated noble heading out in the night all alone is too good of a chance to pass up. A knock comes from his door, and Pyro feels some aggression leak through before seeing a long black dress come into vision.

His roommate, Apo, comes over with a sigh before softly hitting her head on their door. Pyro could see their pout from here.

"This town is going to get me fired.."

Pyro laughs, "At least you'd be able to leave if that happened."

Apo turns, giving a small huff in acceptance before crouching down with Pyro. "Where's the pig?" Apo asked, almost meekly.

Pyro let a wide-mouth smile grace his face, before turning away from the chest to back-step his way towards the pig hole.

"Ta-da~ Truffle!!"

"Truffle!!"

Pyro bit back a grumble, seeing as how his chance at getting Scott alone was dwindling due to his roommate's presence. But, having the military as your roommate leaves little room to be suspicious, even if their bunking was very coincidental. Not like Apo was bad company, just, Pyro had a feeling taking a bite out of them might leave him with a missing fang or two.

Besides, unlike her, what can a noble do?

"I'll be honest with you, cuz' you're my roommate and everything."

"Yeah?" Pyro questioned, breaking out of his continued building trance for the pig-pen.

"I uh.. Didn't really wanna be with people.. Didn't even really want to be in the military."

"Ohh. Is it the sorta, mandatory posting-?"

"Yeah, mandatory.."

"Yeah, fair enough. I get 'chu.." Pyro absolutely did not get it but he continued anyway. "Well, I didn't really want to be here either, but I got told to go out in the world and experience new things. I'm not some papered rich kid or anything- "

Apo rolled her eyes, "Not like rich boy out there.."

Pyro laughed, even when a flash of memories blinked at him from behind his eyelids. "No no, not like Rich Boy over there. No goodness. But, you know, I prefer cobble under my feet rather than mud."

"Heh, yeah."

The two finished their house installments before Pyro felt another pang of hunger hit him like a train.

Apo was on about a watch tower, but Pyro was currently finding it hard to hear outside of his own stomach. Still, he smiles, giving Apo a farewell as Pyro makes his way out to the gates. Maybe now he could—

Owen and Shelby were talking in his path, trading a book back and forth in such a way there left no room for Pyro to side-step otherwise.

"Plus, the weird head thing-"

"What weird head thing?" Pyro interrupted, needing more alibis than Apo in order to not get ousted like Scott. If being on Avid's radar as a vampire can cause that much unease in the community despite the other's bonkers status, Pyro's he would've been in by now if he wasn't as social. Seems like Oakhurst is a social game, which Pyro plans on winning.

"That sounds interesting.." Owen mumbled, not too keen at Pyro's inclusion but rolling with it anyway.

"Oh! There's this head I got from the obelisk over in the dead wood, I put it on our front door. I think it might be a bad omen, considering me leaving was the reason Avid blamed Scott in the first place.."

Shelby looked distraught, and it honestly did hurt Pyro to see them like that. However, the opportunity was still there.

"Speaking of Scott, did anyone try to go out looking for him? I was about to head out there myself since I studied the woods' old routes. Don't want one of our own to go missing. Especially a noble like him."

Shelby perked up, even if she kept her arms crossed.

"The Doctor went out looking for him, actually. Something about needing a medical professional on site in case Scott tripped over himself in the woods." Owen replied instead, looking both bored and cross at the same time.

"Scott can handle himself." Shelby reassured. "I honestly don't want anyone to find him. He seemed so tired of everyone, and I honestly can't blame him. Being accused of murder from day one is so scary."

"Can't believe they were accusing someone of murder!" Pyro tried to sound as flabbergasted as possible, even though he's been in Scott's shoes many times. Though, circumstances were different for that one..

"Yeah, as you're well aware, word on the street is that Scott's a vampire. But, if you ask me, I'm pretty sure Avid's just refusing to look deeper inward." Owen scoffed, and while most of the town held that same statement, Pyro still refused to fully let his guard down around that.

"Who's to say vampires are real or not? Never seen one, but if I do, I'm sure as hell not going to deny it either."

Owen looked ready to argue, but Shelby just sighed again before placing a hand on Pyro's shoulder.

"If you want to go out looking for him, I recommend keeping 5 feet of distance. If I was Scott, I probably would've murdered Avid myself by now."

Pyro laughed at that. With the permission and alibis given, Pyro made a straight line out the town while waving the two goodbye.

'They say the Doctors out here too.' Pyro mussed, letting his eyes scan the forest without needing to pretend to carry a torch. 'If I'm lucky, maybe I can make 1 meal into two.'

Pyro let his tongue glide over his fangs, already giddy at the chance to make the blue-haired man his own.

Somewhere, across the lake and in a decrepit little tower, sat Scott under the red night sky.

He hasn't traveled the woods much, with it being too dark and dangerous for him to really go anywhere. The ruined bridge of the castle seemed too dangerous of a journey to make at night, which leaves Scott wondering how he got in there in the first place. He was going to make a bridge, but the idea of anyone knowing where he was pissed him off in a way he couldn't describe.

He really hopes tonight will be lonesome.

The anger of the situation has long since dwindled its burning flame, leaving Scott feeling a mixture of cold nothingness and embarrassment at his outburst to begin with. Him? Scott Goldsmith? Blowing a situation out of proportion and leaving in a tantrum? Honestly, if his parents could see him now...

Being in this town was both the most invigorating and manic-inducing feeling in the world. Everyone was an enemy, but also a friend. Everyone hated each other, and it sometimes feels like everyone would die for another as well.

Probably not Scott, but at least for the more pleasant of the bunch.

Scott was both in love with the new version of himself, and disgusted at the way he so easily left his past behind. Scott was a Manor Lord for Christ's Sake. He shouldn't have even been touching the dirt, but everyone needed to do what they needed to survive.

And what Scott needed to do was take a breather away from constant judging eyes. He did the same thing when he had too many galas in a row, decompressing in his estate for weeks until he found the energy to go back. He loved the attention, but even Scott wasn't the social butterfly his parents tried to make him be. He knew how to make crowds appear in a flick of a wrist, but each parlor trick drained on him heavily.

Imagine never losing energy or bothering with little things such as anxiety.. wouldn't that be the dream?

Resting his head on the unlit beacon, Scott was honestly shocked at the glass's neutral temperature. Oakhurst has been a cold place from the beginning, so to feel anything from the outside not retain any of the chill was a surprise.

Switching positions, Scott laid his back to the beacon while turning out to face the forest.

And just like that, two red dots stared at him back.

Scott, every so slowly, turned his head back up to the night sky.

'Since when did wolves have red eyes..' Scott internally asked himself.

Sneaking a glance back, the dots disappeared. And just like that, the air changed. The crickets grew quite in the presence of a predator. Scott knew he wasn't alone anymore.

Wolves are known for their packs. Something Shelby was always quick to remind him of when separating the species from Werewolves—

'There is no possible way I'm considering the eyes I saw belonged to a Werewolf.' 

Scott really does need to get out of that damned town before he goes even more crazy. Still, even with his internal monologue, the feeling of eyes never left. If anything, it increased. Scott could physically feel his arm hairs stand up, as the noble trained his ears to any sound of splashing water. Still, they're too far south for anything like bears, but wolves aren't fucking red.

Maybe someone from the town followed after him after all. Maybe the red eyes he saw were the night's reflection off of Shelby's glasses or something..

That sounds more possible than anything to do with Werewolves. Either it was an animal, or it was a human.

Scott, weighing these odds, spoke up.

"Are you going to continue to stare at me or turn tail back to town?"

The air shifted again, and Scott braved a full look towards his unwanted guest.

Pyro was waving at him from the other side of the river, friendly as ever. Even in the darkness, the whites of their teeth shone bright in the red moonlight. Those pale blue eyes squinting like seeing Scott made their day.

Scott didn't trust it.

"I was looking for you!" Pyro yelled back, wadding his way through the water to get to Scott. "I came out looking for you since it's so close to day time! Shelby's worried about you, Your Grace."

"Yeah, I was going to head back into town once the sun came up." Scott answered, never breaking eye contact even as Pyro worried himself over the slippy rocks.

"Like Owen said, the wolves have been migrating eastwards this year. Surely it's too dangerous for a nobleman like yourself to be alone at night."

"Well, maybe if someone kicked Avid out, I could be convinced to head back into town."

Pyro makes it to the beacon's tower, and Scott doesn't like how trapped he feels. Scott needs Pyro up while Scott himself goes down.

Flashing a smirk that has won the nobleman diamonds before, Scott stands and let's his coat shake out in the slight winds.

"Well, since you're here and the beacon goes faster with multiple people, wanna come up and help me convert it?"

Scott never cared for the beacons before, nor did he appreciate the 'dark energy' comments he got when he stood up in the town's one, but anything to get Pyro off the ground while Scott analyzed the situation. Because, for how good his intuition is, Scott doesn't know. And not knowing is the worst thing you could possibly do in any situation.

Scott turned around to get a look of the stairs, only to come face to face with a half-obscured face.

Pyro hears Scott swallow down a scream, making him rush up those final bits of stairs just to be met with Scott one foot away from the ledge and the Doctor standing right at the top of the staircase.

"Oh, didn't mean to scare you Scott." Legundo said, dismissively.

"How does a big man like yourself even hide your footsteps like that?!" Scott berated, looking like those women in novels with his hand clutching his pumping heart and 5 seconds away from fainting. "There's no way you could've gotten there! You would've had to swim and climb the damn tower to get to me!"

"What can I say? I'm a quiet swimmer." The Doctor stated, looking as intimidating as a brown bear and as dry as a bone.

Scott heaved out a sigh, slumping against the polished stone as those long lashes darted between the two other men.

Pyro's ears perked up at the blood rush, mixed in with Scott's slightly blushing face at the humiliation of it all. Something about seeing Scott caught-off guard, looking less, made Pyro weak in the knees.

Still, despite his rushing heart, Scott wasn't looking afraid. It irked Pyro, but it also made the vampire feel some type of hysteric pity. The poor soul has no idea what type of monster Pyro was. The people he's killed. The people he will harm to get what he wants. How Pyro only intends to use Scott for his own evil deeds. How delicious it will be to see the Manor Lord grovel at his feet. 

The Doctor coughed.

Right. Pyro wasn't here alone. All three of them were here. Well, Pyro wasn't expecting to turn 2 people already, but a meal is a meal. Pyro hadn't had the chance to get to know the doctor well, but sometimes people are in the wrong place at the wrong time. Better late than never to see the person he's sticking with for eternity. 

Pyro clapped his hands together, "Well, Owen did say the Doctor was also looking for you. Strange, I didn't see you in the woods on my way over here. Nor did I see you on the island."

Legundo hummed, "I was heeding Shelby's warning. I figured I would go out and look for herbs while also looking for Scott."

"Great. Lovely." Scott deadpanned. "Good to see I'm cared for. Feeling so loved."

Pyro chuckled at that, but Scott still seemed to keep his distance.

"When you took off like that, I was sure the wolves were going to eat you first. You never seemed like the outdoor-sy type, even if you're plenty self-sufficient my Lord."

Scott smiled, "I'm really not fit for physical labor. It's beneath me, but if we're going to be stuck together for however long, best contribute than be dead weight."

Legundo shifted, and with how hungry Pyro was, he could hear how Scott's heartrate increased at that slight action. The man grumbled, wanting himself to be the one to cause that panic in Scott's system.

However, now that Pyro mentions it, the vampire turns his head towards the aged human.

Or, someone he thought was human.

Legundo had no tells, only slightly lifting his eyebrow at him. If Pyro wasn't a vampire, it might've resembled a parent being mildly shocked at their children's own disobedient nature. But, that can't be the case. Pyro might've been asleep for a good few years, but he lived a full lifetime before that. Even if the doctor might visibly look older, Pyro is surely years older.

It was true, Pyro hadn't had the chance to talk with the older much. Always stuck in the group with the other than personal one-on-ones.. but, it was strange.

Scott's heartbeat was the only one Pyro could hear.

The two older men stared at each other, both having the same realization.

"Well," Legundo said, "This is inconvenient."

Pyro wanted to be shocked. Truly he did. But, being the only vampire in Oakhurst sounded too good to be true. Pyro wasn't keen on sharing a meal though. Especially a meal like this. 

"It really is."

Scott shifted, back of their ankles to the smooth stone as the Manor Lord stayed dangerously close to the edge. Both vampires moved to reach for Scott, but their shoulders bumped each other instead.

Pyro growled, "I was here first."

Legundo scoffed, "I bet you weren't even alive for the war."

"Which one?"

"Surely since you're a scholar, you've read about it in your history books. Try 1337."

Pyro froze.

"1337? Really?" Not only was Legs older, but Legs was way older. Older than Pyro's own Sire, really. Older than maybe even Oakhurst itself. Before Oakhurst had it's name, if the stories were right.

Still.

"We arrived to this place at the same time. Can't that count for something?" Pyro bargained, trying to break the stalemate.

The Doctor crossed their arms. "I suppose you're right. But, isn't there rules to these types of things?"

"I always left it to chance, the same way my Sire did to me. Respect is earned, not given."

"That I can agree with."

Pyro smirked, and Legundo let a fang sneak through his chapped lips.

The heartbeats increased in pace, and one quick look to the side shows Scott already knees deep in the water and nails clawing himself to the sand.

"Guess the nobleman has some brain in him after all." Pyro commented while Legundo shrugged at it.

"I always loved a good chase before taking them back to my lab."

"You and me both!"

The two vampires let Scott make it to the treeline before sliding down the tower as well.

Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.Shit.

"You didn't tell me my clothes were going to get wet—" Scott grumbled, barely thinking as he weaved his way through the trees like a bat out of hell.

Legundo's magical appearance. The two men's sharp fangs pulled into a grin. The predatory look in their eyes that Scott felt burn into his back as he ran through the water—

He knew something was wrong the moment Pyro introduced himself on that first day. He also knew he didn't care for that Doctor either. But this? The supernatural way those two plotted on who was going to—

Scott doesn't even know what they want. All he knows is that those two are going to hunt him down unless Scott finds his way back to town.

Running through the woods without a torch, Scott keeps his eyes peeled forward without ever looking back. Scott's shoes dig into the spongy grass, with sparse bits of overgrown road being the only indication he was going anywhere. The shadows keep playing tricks on him; the twisting branches and leaves looking like grabbing hands and fangs if Scott looked at them too hard.

He hears Pyro calling out for him from behind, but the Doctor's voice is nowhere to be heard.

Scott pivots to the right, climbing up another hill as he breaks away from the path. Under the night and leaves, he can only hope Pyro and Legundo had bad eyesight. The Dark Oak trees blanketed Scott's form, adding extra coverage even if Scott was unfamiliar with the area. If he could find a high enough tree, Scott could climb up it and hide from his assailants until day break.

Scott was far off the beaten path, no indication of road anywhere. Still, Scott ran. Ran and ran until he sees an arrow dug into the side of a tree. Scott could've cried right there, scream out in joy, but he only huffs another breath before snatching the arrow from the bark and continue on the opposite way from safety.

"My Lord!" Pyro cried out, losing the fake respect and finally saying the term in its intended tone. "That's not the way to town!"

Pyro's manic laugh shook through the trees, and if Scott was right, only a few meters from him.

Scott can't breathe anymore, with the forest stretching out for miles, he could be running forever unless he gets a break. Ducking behind a tree, Scott puts both of his hands on top of head to get his oxygen back faster. One hand in a tight grip around the blunt arrow, the other flat on his head with his elbows tucked in behind the silhouette of the trunk.

Pyro is an immediate threat. Clearly treating this like a cat and mouse game instead of Scott's maybe life on the line. Could Shelby have been right about werewolves? Could these two things be creatures of the night?

Could Avid have been right?

"Hiding are we? Quite the coward's way to go about it." Pyro teased again, voice even closer than before.

Scott's head was foggy; not enough blood pumping to his brain. Still, he dropped his stance into an angle as he stared at the ground. Fear. Confusion. Adrenaline. All those things mixed and swirled in his mind while his eyes scanned his environment to find its truest potential.

Scott, at his core, wanted to live.

Crouching down, Scott pressed all his weight into the balls of his feet as he shifted his hands around the arrow's body. Scott waited. And waited. Every footstep, every shift in the air, every giggle. Scott waited until he saw Pyro's warped shadow circling in on his tree, before slowly making its way up to it. The shadow loomed closer, and closer, until lined up with his tree.

Scott waits.

"I promise I'll make it painless if you come out right now." Pyro lied. Each threat being layered behind what-if statements and moodswings. His voice was right there, barely more than a feet apart. Still Scott waited. All the way until the tips of Pyro's soles peeked from behind the tree. Scott didn't blink, swinging up as he leaped from the ground, arrow clutched in his hands.

Scott made contact.

Right in the other's eye.

"AHHH!"

Birds fled their trees. Cawing mixing in with a wretched scream ripping out of Pyro's throat. Scott felt the pop as he pushed the arrow in, one of Pryo's claws reaching for the arrow and the other going for Scott's throat. He twists it away and aims for a kick right at the groin before running straight back for the path to town.

The lump in his throat got swallowed down with the rest of his oxygen, still hearing Pyro's curses and wails as they echo through the trees. Scott's vision blurred, the fear and constant swerving causing an awful lot of vertigo for his still-healing head, but the only thing he could do was push forward even as the way to town relied on an incline up.

There. The paved ground was visible again, and with the enemy behind him, Scott made a bee-line straight for town.

Up, up and up. Scott's stamina was draining fast even with his short recovery period due to the steep hill, but Scott started using his heels like ice picks in order to push through.

Black-heeled boots pushed Scott off the ground in pounding speed, thumps and indents all being left behind in the dirt as Scott raced away. His paranoia ate at him, so when Scott made it past one of those obelisk things, Scott finally allowed himself to weep at recognizing where he was. Hope. Town wasn't far, and with the more leveled ground, Scott could make it.

Birds and bats fluttered above him, almost like they were cheering him on too. Like confetti being thrown your way as you reach your milestone. The leveled ground turned quickly into a decline, and even with the maroon sky draping over him, Scott felt the path getting easier to run on the further he went along.

Scott's ankles creaked under the speed and velocity of the run, making each push off the ground more like a leap down with his feet hardly touching the ground anymore. It felt like he was flying, bouncing down the hills like a faerie without its wings.

Nothing about this situation was magical.

Scott sees the end of the hill meet him at rapid speeds, and Scott has to physically prepare himself to continue at the same speeds even if the pit in his stomach is telling him to slow down. He can't slow down. Not until he's back in town and in that stupid unfinished house with his roommate. Back with someone he trusts..

The forest was ending. Scott could see the field opening through the trunks, each push getting him closer to that break.

Scott reached his hand out, willing to push himself off the trees to make that final stretch, the open light hitting the tips of his nails—


A hand pulls Scott back into the darkness of the forest by his bicep. Another comes around to wrap around his mouth.

If it weren't for the withering grip, Scott would've fallen. But, with twin hands trapping Scott against a solid block and pulling away from the open space back into the seclusion of the woods, he knew there was no escape.

A scream ripped itself out of his throat, with the nobleman pulling forward to release himself. Scott clawed at the hand covering his mouth, using his trapped arm to elbow his assailant. None of it works. Whatever has him as a grip stronger than steel. Scott tries to bring back his heel on the other's crotch, but even when he misses and gets the other's knees instead, it does nothing to deter his captor.

Scott bring his foot up to try again, but Legundo only crackles and side steps out the way.

He pushed and pushed, twisted and turned, but the Doctor's grip was iron-clad. Scott could visible see town get further and further away with each step, when he was right there, but Legundo only chuckled at Scott's muffled screams.

"Oh, quiet you. I'm trying to do you a favor here. Get you weakened enough so when Pyro gets here the transformation hurts less. I only gift people in need, and you are in no type of need. "

Scott felt his throat close up due to the dryness, but he continued to scream and kick and punch anywhere he could as Legundo switched his grip on Scott's arm down to his hand.

Legundo pulls Scott's hand up like a dance despite the two being the same height. When his sleeve didn't move down, Legundo sighed and removed his other hand from Scott's mouth. In a flash, Legundo breaks through Scott's button-cuff and pulls both his coat and blouse sleeve down to his elbow. The Doctor winds Scott's arm all the way back, so Scott's pale wrist was directly in line with the monster's mouth.

Distantly, Scott hears feet behind and a disappointed sigh. Scott whips his head around, stupidly hoping it's another town member, just to see Pyro's normal self come into the scene.

Some blood dried down their face, but both of Pyro's pale blue eyes stared hungrily back at Scott. An angry snarl showing Scott's those same white fangs adorning both him and the Doctor's face.

Scott froze in place.

"Ugh. He's a troubling one."

"Don't I know it."

Pyro crossed the distance and yanked Scott's collar down, ripping his ascot and buttons down the middle as his coat slipped to his shoulder.

"You won fair and square. But, can I have this at least?" Pyro asked, while Scott struggled to move away without also moving closer to Legundo.

"I'm not in the business of turning those who don't need it. But, blood is blood, so expect me getting the bigger amount." Legundo stretched out Scott's arm again, one hand tightly interlinking their fingers together while the other gripped Scott's forearm like a tourniquet. Pyro wrapped an arm around Scott's waist while reaching ahead of Scott to get a firm grip of Scott's jawline, forcing the nobleman's head to tilt uncomfortably so.

Scott felt like a maiden stuck in the middle of a love triangle, two men asking him for his hand in marriage as Scott's body practically relied on the two for support. It was horrifying in how much control he lost the moment he stepped into the woods.

Never a crier, Scott tried to swallow any remaining saliva he had in his mouth to scream out again. Mind on only one lasting image as Avid's and Shelby's voice intermingled with his own internal and external dialogue.

"Vampires! Vampires!" 

The last thing Scott heard was two conjoined laughs as he felt teeth sink into his wrist and neck.

Pain is immediate, and Scott tries to yank it away but Legundo holds his arm like a railing. Both hands on either side of the doctor's mouth as Scott feels the blood get sucked out his body. Pyro's bite hurts worse since Scott could feel each readjusting bite as blood dribbled down his neck.

The sensation of blood getting sucked out of him was like nothing Scott's ever felt, the pain only coming from the piercing bites at the initial point of contact. Still, draped in shadow and hints of red moonlight, Scott could feel his life force leave him with each beat passing.

Scott tries to scream again, but his throat had finally given out. Leaving only a raspy cough in it's wake.

He slumps, giving in to his fate as he uses both of the vampire's bodies like a fainting couch. The pain numbs out, and his vision starts getting spotty.

Scott was dying.

Pyro was alive again.

The sweet taste of blood sparkled like candy on his tongue, each gulp reminding him why he embraced the change in the first place. Feeling Scott's warm body slump into him further and further with each ingestion of rich red also drove Pyro mad in how weak he finally made the other.

Even if he had to share his little meal.

Nothing like sucking a full human dry, but amazing for someone who hasn't had a drop of blood in over 60 years. Stupid finals week power nap.

Finally, Scott's neck rolled back. Back of their head hitting Pyro's shoulder as their knees gave out. His breath going shallow as they slowly sank into darkness.

Legs released his jaw, licking his lips before switching targets to lapping at the puncture wound just to let go of Scott's wrist.

"You can have the rest. But, make sure to clean the wound so no blood gets on the clothes. Can't have the townsfolk asking too many questions with daybreak so close by."

Pyro, too busy sucking the rest of Scott's life out of his limp body, only made the agreement known by pulling Scott's collar further down and licking up any stray drops that may have fallen. He felt Scott give one final shiver before the man became completely dead weight.

Sinking his teeth to gather the remaining blood, Pyro relished in the dead body before him before propping the body in a same-facing waltz. One claw on Scott's waist as the other brought up Scott's uninjured arm.

Pyro held Scott like that until he felt the pull of vampire venom convert Scott anew. Legundo, who had leaned back a tree, stood straight again as the magnetic pull of a New Vampire pummeled its aura through the forest air. Whatever has trapped the two in Oakhurst has also made each feeling 10 times more intense. Something to consider when the beacons need to be turned.

Scott's pale body laid slack for about thirty seconds. Unmoving. Dead.

Then, with a twitch of a finger and a snap of a neck, Scott gasped back into the living world. Only this time, as the undead. Scott lunged forward, body still remembering the adrenaline from before its death and scrambling to get away from his two murderers. Scott clutched his chest, whipping around with panicked eyes, only to see Legundo and Pyro with easy smiles.

"Already taking in vampirism pretty well. Most take hours to recover." Legundo mentioned, offhandedly.

"Welcome to the living dead, Your Grace."

Scott stood there, ridged as a stone, blinking slowly at the two monsters in front of him.

"Oh. My. GOD."

Scott, with a hysteric smile on his face with dried blood staining his neck and wrist, put his hand to his head.

Legundo rolled his eyes, while Pyro stood straight, using Scott's hunched over state to appear taller for once.

"No God here."

Legundo practically gagged at the one-liner, and Pyro was starting to get irritated by it.

"It would've been so good if I had gotten to you first. Though, guess it's the years that make the difference. Not like the stab in the eye helped at all."

Pyro made sure to glare at Scott when he mentioned the little arrow trick, but Scott still seemed to be out of it. Looking back and forth between Pyro and Legs in an almost exasperated way, like the two vampires told him about a love affair than the fact the supernatural exist and eat humans.

"You're meaning to tell me," Hand moving down over his heart, "I went into the woods with 2 vampires on my tail?"

"To be fair," Legundo piped up, "I didn't know Pyro was a vampire."

"I thought I was going to be getting a free meal!" Pyro threw his hands in the air. "I mean, who would've guessed that the Town Doctor would've been a vampire? Especially given how much he big'd up the moon being in a half-solar eclipse!"

"Honestly, I didn't even get the chance to talk to you really. I would've never guess until I got you alone. It really is unfortunate that a meal like this had to be shared. Not like I would've enjoyed having to turn Scott, but I can't let you die or else the town is going to worry. I guess I gotta thank divine forces for that one."

Scott leaned all his weight on his hip, hand on his chin as he very intently took in all the information.

"Soooo, that's it? I'm just a vampire now? I gotta help you guys out turn the rest of the town orrr?"

Pyro, realizing the amazing opportunity falling in his lap, decided now was best to show Scott some real vampire etiquette. Legundo must've sensed it, simply take a step back as Pyro took two forwards, closing the distance between him and Scott in an instant.

Scott has venom in his eyes, pure, unfiltered, unbecoming emotions bubbling to the surface. The type Pyro used to only see in the eyes of his parents and Cheszlaw..

His old Sire never liked when Pyro got too confident, and maybe he had the right idea.

Pyro grabbed Scott's jaw, letting his claws graze the noble's face as Pyro pulled their face closer.

"Now, from this day forward, you will refer to me as Sire."

A pause, a moment of quiet even in the ever moving forest.

"..Yeaahh no." Scott deadpanned. "I'm not doing that."

A shriek of abrupt laughter came from behind, mixing in with Pyro's "WHATT??" as the world continued turning.

"You dare—" Pyro tried to continue, but the moment was lost as Scott pulled his face away and gave Pyro a half lidded stare. Despite having just died, and spent the better part of the night running away from blood hungry vampires, Scott leveled Pyro a completely diplomatic look.

"Like," Scott cut off, with Legs still wheezing in the background. "I won't judge what you're into, but I was never one to partake in these Master/Servant roleplays.."

"It's not a sexual fantasy! It's culture."

"Culture which I was forcibly brought into, mind you."

Scott was back on his heels, back straight with perfection even as the night got lighter. At this height, Scott was that annoying inch taller, which forced Pyro to be the one to back up.

"I don't mind the whole helping you guys thing, fair and square and everythin'. However, me? Bowing to you? Don't know if you remember, but you were literally chasing me down in the woods, which is madman behavior. I don't bow down to madmen. "

Pyro flexed his claws, inching closer back to Scott's neck before Legundo snickered, stepping in and blowing out a breath to cool himself.

"I don't know how far you're going to get with that belief. You might not feel it today, but tomorrow morning? That hunger is going to carve a hole in your stomach lining. You're going to learn very well that what we did made sense."

"You both actively hunted me for game! If you were truly starving, Pyro wouldn't have been taunting me!"

"You're a good tease, Scott. It was impossible not to."

The fledgling's eye twitched.

Scott, with the last near 30 decades of nobility training, refrained letting any more emotions show. In a big sigh, Scott schooled his face into the complete mimicry of understanding. Legundo and Pyro knew it was fake, but Scott was being compliant and frankly being very easy-going about everything.

"So, that's it? A hunger for blood, an allergic reaction to garlic, and sensitive skin?"

"Of course not!" Pyro continued. "There's living forever, great dental, turning into bats, great manicures—"

"Wait wait waittt." Scott interrupted again, only to walk past both of them to gesture to the land.

"It's not dark anymore? Go in order, will you?"

Legundo spoke this time, the resident elder using his elongated claws to count down on his opposite hand.

"Turning into bats, invisibility, summoning storms, night vision, immortality —your stuck with blue hair by the way— increased stamina and physical prowess. The only way to be killed is to be staked in the state you are now, which is called Level 1. However, you're fledgling status, your hunger for blood isn't going to activate until tomorrow. No need for threats right? You're smarter than that."

Scott peeked at Legundo over his shoulder, giving the eldest a darkened glare, but in a second it was gone. Scott flipped around again, facing his two with a pout on his lips.

"Just blood? No truffles ever again?"

There was a joke there, but Pyro wasn't in the mood to continue the bit with it being so close to day time.

"Yes yes, just blood. The fresher the better. Pigs, chickens, cows, all good."

"Oh, and Pyro?" Legundo stated. "You should find a cover soon. I don't think Avid will be the most reciprocal of your newly red eyes."

"Another problem with vampires, the lack of functional mirrors." Pyro sighed, but hooked both his thumbs in the loops of pants. "But, of course My Lord, any more questions, you can always come to your Sire for clarification."

Pyro's smile showed off his bloody fangs, to which Scott only stared blankly at.

"I think I'm good."

Pyro shrugged, taking the resentment in stride as they began their walk to town. Which, was only a few meters away.

"Your loss. But, I think you'll enjoy vampirism a lot."

Scott started fixing his collar and sleeves as they walked, popping each button back into place as the vacant yet bored look rested on his face.

"I'm going to miss mirrors.."

Legundo and Pyro laughed, right as the trees broke away to the early morning of the new day at Oakhurst.

Today marked Scott Goldsmith's 3rd day at Oakhurst, but as a freshly turned vampire.