Chapter Text
Scott had been really pissed off when he realized how long he had been sleeping.
He tended to stay awake, mostly because A) only fledglings still drifted off and B) it puts the vampire in a frozen state, so they don’t really grow or change at all, and the older a vampire gets, the more powerful they get, building up reserves of strength and spreading fear across the lands. Fear the old man in the profession that men die young, after all.
The older a vampire is, the harder they are to understand. And nothing scares humans more than what they don’t understand. So to learn that Scott had been asleep for six hundred years had really annoyed him. Imagine the strength he could have acquired! The estates! And instead of that glory, the humans decided nap time was in order and out like a light he went. Turns out he wasn’t quite as unknown enough to be feared so much that the humans hadn’t thought to rise up.
He was the only one to blame, really. He had let the thought pass from musings to ideas, and ideas to paper, and paper to a mob a thousand strong, until all of a sudden the seat he made for himself that he thought was oh so high and mighty was actually level to the people. There were more with rebellious spirits than he thought.
Oh, how the mighty have fallen.
So now he was awake, cranky, hungry, and had to blend in with these humans because they somehow had silver and stakes already and he just wasn’t in the mood right now. Truly inconvenient. Oh, and since he didn’t have anyone cowering below him like he used to, he instead had to do everything the hard way. Make his house, which he probably wouldn’t even use, dig up the floor, which was so hard, and play nice with the little food sources until he got bored. It had been interesting, sure, but he had been getting quite tired. He was hungry, too. So very hungry, mouth empty with hearts and tantalizing blood all around him.
He had found something interesting, though.
Something that stopped him massacring the town in a day and feasting.
There were fourteen people apart from himself in the town.
Fourteen people meant fourteen heartbeats, or thirteen, not counting himself.
But he could only sense twelve.
There was another vampire among them.
Well, once he realized that, he knew he couldn’t reveal himself now. Now, he had to figure out who it was, and if they were younger than him, Scott was fine. If they were older though….. well. That might be a problem. He would deal cross that bridge when he came to it.
Scott had decided to try and get people alone, bringing them out into the woods to consecrate beacons. He had brought Owen out last. He knew he was stirring up suspicion around town, but he couldn’t really care. He was so sure Owen wasn’t a vampire. For one, he just struck him as young-twenties, maybe? Possibly late teens? Vampires tended to have a more ageless face, gotten around the four hundred year mark. Owen still tripped up around town, and he just gave Scott this…. feeling that he wasn’t a threat. But Scott had to test everyone, and the only other person he could test was Avid, so Owen it was.
When the beacon had started to corrupt, both Owen and Scott had fallen silent, staring at each other with unmasked suspicion and untrustworthiness. Well, Scott had displayed those emotions. Owen had looked like he had been staked in the heart, and that someone had told him his Sire had died or something. Just stunned silent. It was a little funny, if Scott was honest. Like a deer caught in a hunters gaze.
Well, the discovery, though surprising, definitely took a weight off of Scotts mind. He wasn’t worried, per say, of a vampire older than him. Just…. cautious. That’s all. But Owen couldn’t be older than three hundred. Heck, when Scott had asked him, Owen had boasted two hundred like it was even a dent in all of Scotts days of living, like to him he wasn’t still a child still asking about the colour of the sky and learning how to spell.
He had been sleeping for a while as well, though Scott assumed he wasn’t talking about the original nesting process, because everyone sleeps then. Possibly twenty years? That would make him young in Scott’s eyes, but since he couldn’t sense his Sire he would have to assume he was probably older than he was telling him, possibly four hundred.
After all, no self-respecting Sire would let their fledgling out in the world without them, especially at such a remote area, until they were at least three hundred. Three hundred years awake, he might add. He wondered why Owen took a nap in the first place. Maybe an argument, stress, accidental oversleeping? The possibilities didn’t really matter though. What did matter was there was a brat encroaching on his territory.
He had two options. Either kill Owen, and have the townsfolk know he murdered someone, or team up with Owen. Maybe not a team, exactly; more like a truce.
The latter was the least satisfying option, but he knew it was the smart one. Screw massacring the cattle. If he wanted a reliable food source, for himself and any future fledglings, he needed to let the town grow, thrive. For now, he could deal with possibly sneaking in at night to homes and feeding little and often. But Owen threw a wrench in those plans. With an unchecked vampire now in the equation, and a young one at that, the townsfolk might find out sooner than Scott intended. He needed to establish his rule and grow stronger first. With him and Owen in an alliance, he could keep an eye on the kid, effectvely stopping any massacres occurring, and also make sure the kid didn’t accidentally turn someone. He was too young to have a fledgling, and fledglings had to be protected and cared for at all times, especially in the first hundred years. Owen wasn’t cut out for that.
When Scott proposed an alliance, Owen hadn’t been able to hide the relief in his gaze. Scott refrained from mentioning it, (look at him, holding his tongue! His Sire would be so proud) deciding Owen might snap back. He couldn’t stop the small smirk that he gave when Owen agreed, showing his fangs for the first time in ages.
True to Scotts predictions, when Owen had seen the smirk, he had promptly turned around and headed back to town, huffing as he went.
Now, Scott knew Owen was brave, but muttering that he could take Avid’s stake and shove it up his polished ass was a bit much for the young vampire. A human wouldn’t have heard, but Owen knew Scott had to have picked it up.
Little shit.
He was never not insulting him again.
~~~
An Elder Vampire.
Just his luck.
Whenever something goes right for him, and lord knows that doesn’t happen very often, something just swoops in and ruins it. And here he was, face to face, alone, with someone who could probably snap him in half. And Scott seemed to know it, too. He had a grin too sharp to be human, his fangs on full display. Part of him, the weak vampire part that was growing bigger by the day, did not like the look of those fangs. Then again, that might have just been common sense. Nobody liked being bitten by a stranger, except maybe Sausage. He gave off that vibe.
Scott seemed to take him in, and Owen tensed slightly, prepared for the worst. He could feel his bat form getting read to leap into existence, getting ahead of itself to fly far, far away from the biggest threat he’d ever encountered.
“Well, this is certainly…. Interesting.”
Owen swallowed, a human reflex that hadn’t really gone away yet.
Back straight, he told himself. Do not waver. Do not submit. This is not the time to be weak.
There used to be wolves in the forest around Oakhurst. When Owen was still young enough to be looked at with pity instead of contempt, he was told that if he ever saw a wolf, to not approach it. Keep on walking, don’t provoke it, but don’t look like you’re easy prey either.
He had provoked the wolf by being alive, just like how he provoked everyone the same way. Living, even though not alive. His eternal curse.
“Yes.” Owen made sure to keep his voice steady.
“Interesting indeed.” Scott let out an airy laugh, and Owen had to stop the annoyance from showing on his face. All he wanted to do was go back to his house, lock the door, and curl up in a circle of blankets that would probably look pathetic even to a human and pretend that he was there.
From the looks of it, though, he might be here a while.
“So, kid. How long have you been alive, eh?”
Well shit.
He couldn’t tell him he had, at least from his perspective, been turned less than a week ago. Scott would surely take the opportunity to kill another vampire, especially one as weak as him.
Yes, he murdered so many people, and yes, he didn’t regret it, the part of him that would have felt bad dead and gone. Owen thought that that small part of him wasn’t killed by vampire venom, but by the out casting and systematic avoidance. Louis would be ashamed; he always tried to find the peaceful option. He needed to lie. But not lie too much-the best lies were rooted in the truth, after all. Just enough to throw Scott off. Was two hundred a lot for vampires? Probably, right?
Yeah. It was fine. If not, he would adapt. He always did.
“Two hundred years.”
Scott’s eyebrows shot up so fast Owen winced. Alright. That’s not a good sign.
“Two hundred, eh?”
Owen nodded, forcing himself not to look away. This was life, or death.
Oh God, Scott’s going to kill me. He knows I’m weak and vulnerable, he’s going to kill me for sure. At least I’ll be able to see Louis again. Or not. Vampire’s have souls, right? What if they don’t? What if I just meet the empty void? What if this is how it ends? HelphelphelphelpSirepleasehelp-
“Hm. Okay. Tell you what, Owen. How about a truce? We both don’t feed on anyone for a while, as I have plans and I’m sure you appreciate the fact that humans need to breed to make a reliable food source. Also, it will be beneficial if we both cover for each other. What do you say?”
ImSoDeadHelp-wait what.
A truce? Scott, an elder vampire, wanted a truce. With him.
Owen wasn’t stupid. He knew this truce was likely for his benefit, not Scotts, but he couldn’t afford to turn it down. Really, he had to take it.
Well, there were worse corners to be backed into.
“Fine with me.”
Scott’s grin grew wider, if it was even possible. Owen didn’t want to be here anymore. And this seemed like a good place to leave the conversation at, considering he really didn’t want to be forced into another truce.
He was sure Scott was playing at something, but he couldn’t figure out what. And it would easier to think about, if Scott would just stop staring at him, thank you very much.
Owen excused himself and walked away quickly, feeling Scott’s gaze bore into his back. He hated the fact that Scott could definitely tell he was, cautious, shall we say. But at the moment, Owen didn’t care. He just needed to get away.
His vampire brain was practically screaming with fear and worry, wanting for something, though Owen didn’t know what. Very inconvenient, really, and it didn’t help that he if he was human, he would be shaking, and not because of the cold.
He muttered something unsavoury about Scott and Avid’s stake as he disappeared into the trees, clenching his fists so hard he broke skin.
Ugh. Of course this happened to him.
~~~
Owen was so hungry.
Ever since he woke up, he had been getting stomach cramps at random times, and his knees felt weak, which was annoying. His meeting with Scott hadn’t helped whatever was wrong with him, too; he just seemed even more exhausted and hungry than before. Animal blood hadn’t sated him, not like it had with Louis, and Owen had a sinking feeling that he might need to drink human blood to live, even though when he had slaughtered all the villagers their blood had tasted like ash and regret.
There must be something that can sustain him, Owen just didn’t know what. He tried not to retch as he leaned against the tree, drinking the blood of a sheep he had killed. The vampire had snuck out here to feed, hoping against hope that this time, the blood would actually fill him up. The minute the blood touched his tongue, his hopes were crushed. The same ash filled his senses, and tears filled his eyes. He just couldn’t do this anymore. Everything hurt. This loneliness was supposed to stop when he was turned!
Just kill the villagers. He told himself, not noticing the whine he was making until it got cut off with a cough.
Kill the villagers, and then Scott will kill you. And then it can all be over. Eternal nothingness or not, at least you’re following Louis. At least you won’t be hungry anymore.
~~~
Somewhere in the distance, Scott’s ears perked up. He could have sworn he heard the terrified cries of a fledgling, scared and alone. It dug up something inside him, set his instincts off. He shook himself. He was hearing things. Owen was young, sure, but not newborn young, and there wasn’t any other Sires in the area that have fledglings.
It was probably the wind.
Nothing more to it.