Off Menu

by TheOwlsArchive

Summary:

Years of being a feeder on the Black Market. Years of bouncing between renting vampires who ranged from physical abuse to false niceties only to be returned again and again so the cycle could repeat. It was a life Blue despised, but shamefully had given up hope of escaping. It was routine. Everything was routine. Even the terror that came with each new vampire he was rented out to had somehow become normal, and in truth, Blue counted on the same song and dance to learn how he was supposed to act with each new client for however long the renting period lasted.

So, when a dark tentacled skeleton vampire and his companion break the mold, goes against the standard behavior Blue expects and actually offers the first kernels of true kindness the small mortal has received since he had been kidnapped all those years ago? When he meets the mortals this so-called 'Nightmare' and his vampire housemates live with, only to find they are not afraid of their supposed predators? When he's told he's been rescued?
Maybe… maybe he can hope again. Maybe he can believe he wasn't going back to that empty cell of a display. Maybe…

He can be a person again.

Chapter 1: An Unnerving Shift in Routine...

Notes:

I have been working on this story since November of last year, and I am excited to finally start sharing it! Once again, none of these characters are mine and all credit for their creation go to their original creators! However, I have tweaked them to fit my story, and I make absolutely no promise on the canonicity of each character. I hope everyone enjoys reading this as much as I do writing it. Updates are not scheduled, but will instead be updated when I have time (^v^).
Without further ado, I will get out of your way and let you read. Enjoy!

Blue huddled in the corner of his small cell with a worn blanket draped around himself, more for comfort than warmth. His display area wasn’t exactly cold, but it wasn’t truly warm either, leaving him in a state of limbo between the two extremes that still wasn’t comfortable. His sockets were half shut in a doze with dim sapphire eyelights flickering in and out of being as he floated just on the cusp of true sleep, yet he was still held away from that bliss of unconsciousness, never feeling truly secure or safe enough to slip away unless he was simply too exhausted to remain within the waking world.

He wasn’t entirely sure when the last time he actually slept without the use of drugs or magic had been.

His meal lay uneaten on the floor next to him. The food was simple, though high in magic, prepared more with the intention of replenishing drained souls with the substance than for any sort of enjoyment. It didn’t taste bad, per se, but quite bland and unappetizing. He knew he should be hungry, but he couldn’t find the drive to eat, especially when anything he gained was just going to be taken again by whoever bought him next.

Thinking of that, Blue was startled entirely awake by the high pitched beep coming from the speaker in the front corner of the holding chamber, causing him to look toward the glass panel that separated him from paying customers. Soon enough, one of the humans who worked for the Black Market business came into view, two vampires, the clients, trailing behind him.

Both buyers were skeletal monsters, like Blue himself, but both were a bit unusual in appearance. One had entirely dark sockets, as far as Blue could tell, black rivulets of something rolling down their skull and a target shape hanging in front of their chest the captive skeleton could almost guess was their soul based on the location, though he couldn't tell for sure with the shape being so off. The other, however, was even more unique than their companion. They were taller and covered in a thick black substance that obscured one eye light while forming four dark tendrils at their back. Both vampires walked with nearly unnatural grace as they followed the human up to the front of Blue’s enclosure, but the dark one carried an air of authority in their gait and expression, hands clasped elegantly behind their back and chin lifted imperiously.

The imprisoned monster was quick to lower his eyelights before he caught either skeletons’ gaze and he prayed they would move on. However, luck had never been on his side, had it? He heard tapping on the glass, and peeked up to see the human watching him with an expectant brow raised.

Blue knew he was supposed to come up to the window for the customers to get a view of him, but a quick glance at the buyers to find the skeletons closely studying him had the smaller monster curling up further, not wanting to move from his corner. He had his eyelights down, no longer looking at any of them as he hoped again they would simply move on. At another sharp rap on the thick soundproof glass, he looked back up to see the mortal man roll his eyes and give an apology to the clients before holding up his hand, locking his gaze on Blue’s sockets as his fingers started to curl in, silently starting a backward count from five.

The captive skeleton's eyelights shrunk down to pinpricks while his sockets widened. He was quick to stand, folding his blanket nicely as he set it back in the corner. It wouldn't be a good idea to let that count reach zero. He was already going to be in trouble for not eating, he didn't want to find out what they might tack onto his punishment if he didn't comply as well. He approached the front of his display, still keeping his skull down as he held his elbows at his midsection in a self hug, trying to feel even a little less exposed.

He wasn't in any inappropriately revealing clothing, just a simple pair of sweatpants and a gray t-shirt, but his neck and arms were bared for all to see. The bones were unmarked, a testament and bragging right for the business to show off how well they treated their product and healed them up once they were returned after the renting period. His bones were thick and healthy, a pearly white that made him look soft despite being all bone. The small skeleton looked younger than he was as well, another aspect that made him seem like a more favorable meal for the monster based vampires that came through, and gave the owners another reason to preen over their ‘selection.’

Blue wished he still had his bandana to cover up his vulnerable vertebrae and the delicate mana lines that ran through them.

He trembled as he was studied. It was utterly humiliating to be looked at as if he were just another product or object to be purchased. Just another meal for another vampire to pay for, feed from, and return as if he were disposable and not another sentient being. Not only that, but each time was terrifying. Sure, he had a few repeat buyers, but for the most part it was typically someone new. Someone who he wouldn't know their temperament or how thin their patience would be. Frightened and frustrated tears beaded in his sockets as he kept his gaze down on the floor in front of him.

The captive monster blinked when a pair of dark pant legs and the edging of a deep black overcoat stepped into view, yet he still didn't look up, just shrank down further as his shoulders folded in, attempting to hide out in the open. Another knock, this time gentler and obviously right in front of him. Almost like a request instead of a demand. Slowly, hesitantly, he raised his gaze just a fraction before finally looking up at the dark monster's face.

Immediately his sockets were caught by the other's single cyan eyelight. The expression on the vampire was searching, nearly unreadable as their fanged mouth remained in a neutral line while they studied the smaller being through the glass. Blue’s breath hitched as it felt like the dark skeleton was almost looking through him. As if they knew everything about him the moment their eyes met, yet the smaller was still in the dark when it came to the stranger. A small flicker of something sparked in their single socket before it was snuffed out. Before Blue could get a read on what it was.

The newcomer's gaze finally slipped away to the left to read a sign the shaking monster couldn't see, but he knew it was there and what it said. The small skeleton felt nearly sick when the vampire gained a thoughtful look as they seemingly considered the placard advertising ‘samples’ for a small fee. His skull dropped again as a sapphire tear finally slipped down his face when he saw them speak to the worker as they motioned to the advertisement and the spindly man nodded enthusiastically.

With his sockets turned away, Blue missed the flash of guilt that rolled over the black boned monster's expression before it was quickly hidden again.

Two beeps sounded from the speaker and the small skeleton obediently backed away from the glass, moving himself back to his corner where he slid down the wall to curl up again on the folded blanket, knowing there was no way to stop this but still stubbornly wanting to make it a point that he was not okay with it. He held himself tighter as the sound of the glass wall shifting up on the tracks gave way to what the vendor was telling the two vampires.

"-skittish, but he's one of our best sellers. According to the reviews, his magic is on the sweeter side, but a natural sweet, like a fruit or a berry. He does need a hefty dose of scent for it to affect him though, so if that's the method you want to use I'll let you know right now. Remember, it's just a sample for now. We just got him back a couple days ago and he won't have the reserves for a full feeding until late tomorrow or early the next day with the proper nutrition. Probably only has the juice for one sample today, honestly."

That was such a fucking lie. Blue had been back for about two weeks now, and even with his unreliable appetite he had plenty in his reserve for at least two or three feedings within the day if they were properly spaced out. He wasn't sure whether to be angry or grateful they were trying to show off how they ‘truly cared’ for the physical well-being of their products while at the same time making sure the client didn't try to make off with a full meal for only a little payment. On one hand, it meant he wasn't going to get drained as badly, but on the other, it irked him when they pretended to have any actual concern.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, we get it. You won't lose your best seller. We know when to fucking stop," one of the newcomers responded flippantly.

"Indeed. I assure you I will be the only one doing any sampling today," the other added, his deep voice making Blue’s bones vibrate slightly with the bass and had him trembling even harder. That voice was powerful. Powerful and dangerous.

The human supplier gave a hum of acceptance. "Alrighty then. I'm going to lower the glass, so if you want to use scent you can feel free. Just signal when you're done and the magic is dissipated and I'll open it up again." With that, the glass lowered back into place and Blue was trapped inside the small room with two large vampires and no escape.

The cornered monster pulled himself into the tightest ball he could as fearful tears now rolled freely down his face and a barely audible whimper was torn from his throat. His breath sped up more when one of the strangers growled.

"Please tell me I get to help bleed that slimy little motherfucker dry," the first voice snapped.

"Tsk. Have patience, Killer. And calm yourself. This monster is scared enough as it is without your added hostility."

The interaction confused the frightened skeleton, but when he heard the sound of footsteps scuffing the ground as one of the vampires approached him, the confusion took a back seat to the fear and helplessness making his soul beat at a rapid pace. A quiet shuffling of clothes preceded the deeper voice speaking again, this time, it seemed, addressing Blue.

"Dear, it's okay," the vampire began. "I am Nightmare. My companion is Killer. Neither of us are going to hurt you," he stated gently.

Ah, so that was the kind of vampires they were. The type who acted kind to try and claim a moral high ground. Not the worst, if Blue was honest. They were rare to come across in this business, but that just meant the smaller monster desperately wanted to cling to any sort of nicety he was offered, even if it was only ever a veil to distract from the fact that they would take what they want anyway with no true regard for their victim. At least it was a pretty lie. A kind lie.

However, despite his longing for even the false compassion, he couldn't bring himself to roll over and accept it. Couldn't make himself be or feel okay with the exploitation of his magic. So, in response to Nightmare's reassurance, Blue simply shook his head and whimpered again, pulling his knees all the way to his chest to rest his skull on and covering his neck with his hands, wishing he still had his gloves along with his bandana.

"Fuck, kid. What have they done to ya?" Killer asked softly, his voice seeming so full of genuine sorrow it actually made Blue peek up from his knees.

And immediately wish he hadn't. The dark skeleton with the tendrils sprouting from his spine was kneeling so close to him. Far closer than the smaller would have liked. This one must be Nightmare, meaning the other vampire leaning against the wall next to him was Killer. With a choked squeak of panic, the cornered monster tried to scramble further back into the wall he was already pressed up against. His breathing was still coming hard and fast as he squeezed his sockets shut and covered his mouth with one hand.

Blue heard Nightmare sigh quietly before Killer spoke again. "Boss, I think we need to move this along. I think he's gettin' suspicious out there."

"You're probably right," the dark monster agreed, though he sounded dejected. "I'm very sorry about this, dear."

The smell of warm apple cider and spices started to fill the room. It was a pleasant scent, carrying fond memories and feelings of fall or Gyftmas time. The problem was, it also carried a vampire’s influential magic.

Each vampire had a different scent unique to themselves, and they could release it at will along with a combination of magic to influence the mortals around them. Depending on the intent, the magic could paralyze, relax, frighten, or put the victim to sleep. Blue knew there were other uses as well, but those four effects were the only ones ever used on him, so he deemed any others unimportant and irrelevant to learn or ask about.

This time, it was forcing him to relax. Forcing his bones to go limp and easily maneuverable. He was vulnerable and at the mercy of two monsters who could likely kill him in a soulbeat, and he hated it. He hated that Nightmare so easily moved his legs down and placed his arms at his sides. A broken sob finally escaped the incapacitated skeleton as the larger monster tilted his head up and to the side for better access to the mana lines in his vertebrae and leaned in, making Blue close his sockets tighter to brace for the pain of those large fangs biting down.

Instead, he only felt soft breath ghosting over the sensitive bone where it had been punctured so many times before.

"Shh. I'm sorry. I'm not going to bite. We just need the one outside to think I am. I'm so sorry," the larger reassured softly, a whisper only Blue could hear.

The smaller monster didn't believe him. Couldn't believe him. It would only make the lie that much more hurtful when it was revealed. So even as Nightmare continued to whisper assurances and apologies, the immobile skeleton continued to whine and weep in fear and helplessness.

It felt like ages, but in reality it was likely only a few minutes before the larger skeleton pulled away, teeth clean. He… he hadn’t bit the vulnerable monster, and Blue didn't know what to think about that. He noticed now how the large skeleton had angled himself in such a way that it must have blocked the view from the outside, and Killer had moved a little closer as if to help conceal what was going on. Nightmare proceeded to gently adjust the limp monster back to his protectively curled position as the scent cut off, magic already starting to dissipate, although the effects would continue to last for around half an hour even after the influence had completely faded away.

Finally standing with his back still turned to the glass, Nightmare pulled a dark violet handkerchief from his pocket with an unnecessary flourish to wipe down his fangs, as if to clean up a mess that wasn't there, and even bent to wipe the cloth across Blue’s vertebrae in a quick, feather light motion. He gave the smaller monster one last apologetic look before turning to face the glass, motioning to the human on the other side to open up the case now that the scent was pretty much gone and it was faint enough not to influence the other mortal.

The glass rose once more and Blue could hear the smirk in the man's voice. "So? Satisfied? Or would you like to keep looking at our other options?"

"I believe I have made my decision," Nightmare replied, his voice polite but cold, far different from the tone he’d used with Blue. "This mortal is exceptional. I will send my companion with you to complete the necessary arrangements, though I must ask, does he usually have trouble eating?" he inquired, obviously having noticed the untouched food sitting on the floor.

"Ah, a reasonable concern, but you shouldn't have to worry about him. Once in a while he will gain a bit of a rebellious streak and try a hunger strike, or he can act too exhausted from a feeding to want to try eating, but he can be… motivated with the proper technique. I'll let your friend know what usually works best for this specific monster while we go through the paperwork," the vendor placated, sending a chill down Blue’s spine and causing another quiet whimper to escape him despite his effort to remain quiet.

The dark skeleton hummed. "Good to know. Killer, please make sure to get a detailed description of the proper care to take with him. Notes for me to look over if you can manage it. Now, if you will excuse me, I would like to take the mortal out to the vehicle. I'll return to finish the transaction once I have him squared away."

"You got it, boss," Killer replied with a dark chuckle, one that would have made the smaller skeleton squirm if he had been able to, but apparently it didn't throw off the human at all as two pairs of footsteps moved away from the display area conversing somewhat amicably.

After they were gone, Nightmare took a deep breath to let out slowly before the small skeleton heard him approach again and couldn't help but wonder if the vampire simply didn't want an audience when he sampled his magic. Before that train of thought could go any further, however, the vulnerable monster was merely lifted up effortlessly with one of the larger’s arms tucked under his knees while the other held the immobile mortal close to his chest. His tendrils curled around as well to secure the smaller in a stable hold as he walked them both out of the small enclosure.

Blue was still crying, the humiliation of being bought once again and the familiar terror of not knowing what was coming next made his soul ache and churn as he once again felt like he could vomit what extra mana was in his system. Nightmare didn't speak, but instead hummed a quiet melody that was no doubt supposed to be soothing as he rubbed up and down the monster’s back while moving through the underground hallways with a smooth gait. Blue was hardly even jostled as they went up the stairs and out the back entrance of the surface building into the alleyway.

He silently wished the sun was higher in the sky to shine down into the narrow area, longing to feel the natural warmth on his bones.

The dark skeleton brought him to a gray minivan and another skeleton, another vampire who was closer to Blue’s stature, though a touch broader in the shoulders, opened the back door with sad sockets and deep maroon eyelights as he studied the immobile monster in Nightmare’s arms.

"Pass him over. I'll stay with him in the back," the new monster ordered gently.

Nightmare obediently relinquished his hold on Blue as the other vampire took him tenderly with a seemingly sad sigh. "Thank you, Wine. He's terrified. I had to use scent, but I didn't take from him. Regardless, I still don't think he believes we won't hurt him."

"Understandably so. I highly doubt he's had many, if any, positive experiences with any such as us since… well, since whenever he was brought here," he replied as he maneuvered the weak monster to lay on the back bench of the vehicle. "Horror and Cross are in position. Just awaiting your signal, Nightmare."

"Excellent," the dark monster responded with the first hints of a malicious smile Blue had seen yet. "Keep him safe, Wine. We should be done shortly."

Wine nodded curtly. "You know I will, my friend. Give them hell for me," he commanded with a barely-there growl as he rested Blue’s skull on his femurs and immediately cut off the aggressive sound when a reedy whine sounded from his vulnerable charge.

The black boned vampire nodded back once in confirmation before turning and using a tendril to roll the door closed, leaving Blue alone with yet another stranger he didn't know the intentions of while he stewed in his own frantic thoughts. That made three vampires for sure he was trapped with for however long this renting period lasted, and if this Horror and Cross who were mentioned were also magic consumers…

Stars, was he expected to feed them all? Sure, he’d fed multiple before, but never so many. Could he even survive that? Or would he be drained entirely? Fresh tears rolled down his face once more despite his effort to stop them and conserve what was left of his dignity as a choked noise between a cough and a hiccup sounded from him.

Wine looked down at him with soft eyelights and a sympathetic frown as he brought one hand to rest and stroke soothingly over the smaller skull. "I'm sorry this has been such a stressful experience for you, darling," he murmured quietly, seeming to ponder for a moment before he spoke again. "The others may take a bit of time before they get back. Would you like to sleep for a while? You can blink twice for yes or three times for no. No one will bother you while you rest."

Blue didn't know if he believed that last part, but… he was tired. Tired, and stressed, and wanting to forget at least for now that he was in this situation. He blinked twice, eyelights turned up to the roof of the vehicle with shame settling in his soul for agreeing to it, but also too weak to refuse the tempting offer.

He didn't see the sad, gentle smile Wine gave him before the van started to fill with the smell of mulled wine and black currants. As his mind fuzzed and his sockets drooped, Blue could faintly hear the vampire humming a vaguely familiar lullaby, one that he may have heard once or twice a long time ago.

Even more distantly, he thought he heard the sound of breaking glass and a cut off scream, but that could have just been a trick of his imagination as he finally dropped off into unconsciousness.

Notes:

Thank you all so much for reading! It will be quite the journey for our little Blue now that he is under Nightmare's watch for sure. Comments and thoughts on the story and characters are always appreciated, and I love to respond to them all whenever I get a chance. Once again, thank you!

Chapter 2: Odd Yet Pleasant Meetings

Summary:

Blue wakes up in his temporary new home. He's unsure what to expect, but at least these mortals seem nice...

Notes:

I... was not expecting the welcome this work received (>w<). Thank you all so much for giving this one a shot, and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well as the start of Blue's journey. Happy reading!

He wasn't sure how long it had been before he finally awoke again, but when Blue opened his bleary sockets, he found himself on a soft bed with blankets tucked up around him. As the world came back into focus, he was able to take in the dark room. There was enough illumination to spot a desk in the corner, a bookshelf, and a dresser with a small flat screen resting on top hooked up to what looked like a Blu-ray or DVD player.

Sitting up slowly, he scrubbed at his heavy sockets with a yawn, and fought his mind back into working order as he tried to recall what had happened before he was put out. However, with the memory returned, the anxiety swiftly followed again. His hands dropped to his lap as he stared blankly ahead of himself, processing and puzzling out the entire ordeal and odd interactions now that his mind was more rested and clear than it had been in a long time.

It had all just been so strange. Sure, he had plenty of vampires try to comfort him before they just took what they wanted, but he never had one act like they were going to bite without following through. Not only that, but Nightmare had been so gentle with him, which again wasn't unheard of, but looking back on it now the dark skeleton's kindness actually seemed backed with true genuinity instead of only being a simple placating action. Blue could almost believe he saw true remorse in his socket as the larger monster repeatedly apologized. That was new and different, a pleasant surprise even, but it also threw the smaller off balance.

Usually he could tell what kind of treatment he was in for based on the typical song and dance of the first meeting and sampling. Could tell whether he was being picked up by an unapologetic ass who lost their temper at the drop of a hat, or a monster who got some sort of thrill from pretending to be nice so they could claim they were better than said unapologetic ass. However, Blue just wasn't able to get a read on these vampires' behavior from the get-go, and it was unnerving.

That was another thing. Vampires. Plural. At least three with Nightmare, Killer, and Wine, but possibly as many as five if these Horror and Cross characters were also fanged. Five who would need feeding. If they didn't have other mortals of their own, and if Blue was the only one they rented…

Stars, he hoped that wasn't the case.

Looking around the room again and the simple comforts it contained, he reluctantly allowed himself the rare luxury of dim hope. The bed was comfortable, and he was being provided with some form of enrichment at least. Plus, it seemed he was given the illusion of privacy in his own room, seeing as the bed didn't appear large enough for more than one monster to spread out comfortably. Perhaps if he minded his p's and q's, this wouldn't be so bad. The buyers hadn't been outright malicious after all. He just hoped that tentative optimism wouldn’t prove to be misplaced.

Continuing to sit idly on the bed, Blue allowed his mind to run circles around his skull. He didn't get up to explore the new area as he would have done years ago. Didn't care to try the handle on the door, knowing it would be locked. He hardly even fantasized about escaping anymore, though the blurry images of half-baked plans still lingered at the back of his skull. At this point, he simply reveled in the unfocused and hazy bliss of barely comprehensible vague thoughts and old memories.

A soft click and the door quietly opening brought him back from his musings with a start. He didn't know if he wanted to see whoever was coming in. Which one of the vampires was coming to collect him?

When a skull popped in with golden eyelights and a clear lack of fangs, the small skeleton relaxed a bit, though he was slightly confused.

"Oh," the stranger gasped, seemingly just as startled to have his gaze met in the dark room before he smiled brightly and stepped the rest of the way into the space, leaving the door open behind him. "You're awake! I'm so glad. You must have been really tired when Wine put you to sleep. You slept the rest of the afternoon and overnight." As he chattered, the golden skeleton walked over to sit on the edge of the bed, though he left a comfortable bit of space between them as he flicked on a lamp. "How are you feeling, by the way? As much as I'd like to strangle those two dummies for both using scent on you in such a short period of time, I have to admit it was probably for the better to let you rest after all that, and I know Wine at least asked permission first. That's just how he is," he finished with a light chuckle.

Blue blinked owlishly at the stranger. Where did he even start with all of that? He wasn't surprised he was out for so long, but he was a little shocked that he didn't feel like he'd been fed from while he was unconscious. His magic felt strong and untampered with, considering the circumstances. Moving on from that, this fellow mortal was so bright and bubbly despite obviously knowing the vampires he was referring to, and had so flippantly admitted to at least half a threat towards them. Even if it was just a joke and he wasn't serious about it, that kind of thing just didn't happen. Not in Blue's experience at least. A joke like that could spell disastrous consequences if it was overheard.

Expression scrunched in confusion, the smaller skeleton stretched one leg out and brought the other knee up to wrap his arms around as he rested his skull on it, not hiding like before, but thinking and studying the new monster. Did he have a death wish, or was he just that brave? Or was Blue just a coward?

The newcomer snapped his fingers as if he remembered something, his smile turning a touch sheepish. "Right! Sorry. Manners. Introductions. All that jazz," he said with an awkward chuckle. "I'm Dream. Nightmare's twin, and head of the mortals in the mansion. Nighty is the head of the vamps, since Wine and his brother don't live with us anymore. And you are?" he asked with a warm grin.

Oh. Well, Blue supposed that made some sense. If Dream was Nightmare's brother, then he likely didn't have to worry as much about consequences. It was also good to know there was possibly one less vampire present than he had thought. On top of that, he supposed this was another group with some sort of hierarchy set up with Dream and Nightmare at the top of their respective races, though the vampires surely still outranked the mortals. Not the first time the smaller had encountered something like this. He was likely just brought in to fill a temporary gap for the moment, and was most definitely at the bottom of the pecking order. Just another reason to mind himself.

Despite knowing he should behave, he didn't know how he wanted to introduce himself yet. Not only that, but he wasn't sure he was even able to speak at the moment. He hadn't used his voice in so long on a normal basis his vocal nodes had weakened and the magic in them was typically diverted elsewhere. He could try to sign, but he didn't know if Dream would understand. His gaze averted with a frustrated expression as he kept his silence.

"Hey," Dream called softly, pulling Blue's gaze back to him with a warm, though sad and understanding, expression. "You don't have to tell me. You've been through a lot, and I'm not going to force an answer. If you aren't ready and you don't want to talk, that's fine. However, you should probably prepare yourself for the others to start giving you cutesy nicknames," he finished with an amused chortle.

That was enough to give Blue a small smile and a quiet huff that could have been a laugh if it weren't so reedy with disuse. It seemed to lift the golden skeleton's mood again regardless, as his broad grin returned.

"So anyways, I just thought I’d peek my head in to see if you were awake and if you wanted something to eat. Breakfast should be ready downstairs, and you can meet the others properly if you want to."

The shorter skeleton hesitated for a moment before giving a slow nod. If he was going to be here for a while, he should probably get a read on the dynamics of the group. See where everyone stood and where he himself stood in relation to them. He was still apprehensive, but there was something about Dream that was… reassuring? Inviting maybe. His genuine attitude and personality was comforting in a way. Besides, in all of his experience the vampires of the house rarely spent meal times with their inferiors, so he may get away with avoiding them for now until he was sought out for a feeding.

Blue slipped off the bed as Dream stood, finding himself in the same clothes he had been in when he was purchased. He was glad they hadn't changed or undressed him as he slept, but he couldn't help the brief sour expression that flickered over his face at the familiar garments that left his wrists and neck exposed. The smaller monster was quick to tuck his chin and cross his arms close to his rib cage, trying and apparently failing to hide his discomfort. He'd been doing this for years, he should have been over it by now.

Dream must have noticed as he gave the shorter a considering look before shaking his head and clicking his tongue. "Yeah, no. That's not happening. Just give me a mo'," he stated as he moved over toward the dresser and started opening drawers, apparently looking over some sort of selection as he pulled out various articles of clothing to drape over his arm, muttering darkly to himself about 'creature comforts' and 'dehumanizing bastards' the entire time.

When he finally turned around, however, he was smiling again in a gentle manner as he held out what he had grabbed. "Here. These might make you a bit more comfortable. Sorry we don't know your size, but I'm sure once you meet Valentine that'll change in a hurry. In the meantime, I grabbed some long sleeve shirts and a couple sweaters I thought might fit. Just pick whatever you like, and if you want to change your pants as well, those are in the bottom drawer," the bright skeleton explained and instructed. As Blue took the offered clothing, a bit shocked at the gesture, he was appraised once more with a thoughtful look before the taller perked up again, an excited gleam in his sockets.

"I'll be back in just a second. Go ahead and change, I'm going to go grab something from my room." With that, Dream hurried out the door, closing it behind him and leaving Blue in a state of bewilderment.

Shaking his skull to clear it, he started looking over what he'd been given, marveling at the different textures and colors. He was drawn to the softer fabrics, unfortunately ruling out the couple of turtlenecks in the selection made of some sort of scratchy cloth. There were a variety of colors and color combinations, but he found himself gravitating to the darker hues and the gradient patterns. Finally, he settled on a sweater with slightly longer sleeves and holes in the cuffs for his thumbs that would keep the fabric pulled down. He slipped it on, admiring the gradient of light gray to navy blue, and decided he wanted to change his bottoms as well. Rummaging around in the drawer Dream specified, Blue pulled out a pair of black jeans covered in splatters of color and was pleased to find they fit decently well, though he did wish he had a belt. It was doable, but a belt would definitely help. Maybe he should ask Dream…

He quickly shook that thought away. They were being hospitable for right now, yes, but he shouldn't push his luck. For right now, he could simply close his sockets and be content with the fact he felt more covered and secure than he had in years.

He almost felt like an actual person again.

Blue sighed quietly when he heard a knock at the door and expected it to open up immediately. However, when it stayed closed he cocked his head and wandered over to the entrance of the room to find the lock was on the inside. Well, that was new. Plus, it wasn't even locked, so why were they knocking?

Hesitantly, he reached out to turn the knob and opened the door a fraction to find Dream patiently waiting on the other side, humming cheerily as he typed on his… phone…

The smaller mortal could only assume the little device was a status privilege for the second head of the 'household'. Still, it didn't stop him from briefly imagining getting in contact with the outside again.

Banishing the thought, he opened the door the rest of the way, catching the golden monster's attention.

He beamed down at the freshly dressed skeleton as he held something else out for Blue to take. "Here you go. I knew I had this floating around somewhere. It's an infinity scarf one of the others made me a few years ago. I thought you might like to borrow it to, ah, cover up a little more. You know… if that would help you relax just a bit around the others," he explained, growing a bit sheepish at the end of his statement before regaining his confidence. "But if you like it, I'm sure he'd make you one too if you asked."

Blue accepted the scarf gingerly, running his phalanges over the velvety woven yarn with a small smile. Who knew he would ever appreciate the feeling of something truly soft this much? He slipped the dark gray material over his skull and allowed Dream to help him style it in a way that would cover his vertebrae, but also looked appealing. Once it was situated, the smaller skeleton closed his sockets for a moment with a content sigh, running his hand over the comforting article. It wasn't his bandana, but it was close enough.

His eyes popped open at the sound of a pleased little hum to see Dream watching him with a warm, excited smile that stretched his teeth wide. Briefly, he wondered if the golden monster's cheekbones ached with how much he seemed to grin. The shorter returned his own appreciative look, deciding to at least try his voice.

"Thank you," he managed to barely squeak, wincing and hoping the words actually managed to come out somewhat understandable despite the weak reediness and nearly failing vocal nodes.

Dream's expression dropped for the briefest moment into a look of concern before he seemed to try and cover it up with his original cheeriness. "Of course! It's my job to make sure everyone is happy and comfortable after all. Speaking of comfort, I hope you're hungry. Horror didn't know what you liked, so he went all out on breakfast. Seriously, I think we're going to have leftover pancakes and waffles in the freezer for at least a month even with all of us eating them." He motioned Blue out of the room and turned to walk down the hallway with a laugh. "Follow me. I'll show you where the dining room is. Maybe we'll meet some of the others on the way too."

The smaller monster followed obediently, listening attentively as Dream pointed out frequently used rooms and directions to other areas within the mansion. Each time the golden skeleton spoke about one of the various spaces, he went on to give extra little tidbits and stories about the others in the large home, apparently being reminded of them by his own one-sided dialogue. The quiet skeleton was able to gather that there were at least six or seven others living within the walls of the expansive building besides Dream, possibly more as well.

He picked up the names of a few he hadn't met just yet. Dust, Error, and Ink, along with names he had heard before, such as Valentine, Horror, and Cross. Dream spoke of them all with such familiarity, and Blue couldn't quite determine how many of them were mortals or vampires, which kept him slightly on edge.

Turning a corner, they came upon two more skeletons talking in a doorway. Dream greeted them cheerily as they turned to notice the approaching monsters, and Blue was slightly relieved neither of them sported fangs.

"Mornin', Dream. Welcome back to the land of the living, bud. The two of you headed for breakfast?" one of the newcomers asked, wearing an old jacket with the hood up and catching Blue's gaze for a moment with mismatched red and blue eyes before focusing on Dream again.

The golden skeleton nodded. "Yep, sure are. How about you two?"

The other new skeleton chuckled smoothly, his voice much deeper than what Blue had expected. "Just headed that way ourselves, sunshine. You know…" His violet eyelights fell on the short monster being escorted, and he ambled over to be right in front of Blue, who would have described the movement as more of a lazy strut. The taller monster leaned on the wall, blocking the way, but not getting any closer. "I suppose it wouldn't hurt my rep too bad to be seen with a couple more pretty skeletons. How about Dusty and I tag along?" His tone was teasing and his sockets shone with a playfulness Blue hadn't seen in a good long while. Again, the shorter monster found himself a little more at ease seeing the genuine positivity of another mortal instead of forced empty smiles and broken spirits.

Dream hummed as if he were deep in thought, but he also wore a mischievous grin. "Well, I guess I don't mind if my companion doesn't. So glad to know we won't be destroying your street cred Val," he said with a snicker, making Blue smirk at the sarcasm. When the golden skeleton turned to the smaller monster with a questioning look, Blue shrugged and nodded.

"Well, much obliged, cutie," Val said with a wink as Blue gave a silent chuckle and rolled his eyelights playfully, unperturbed by the teasing nickname. He raised a brow bone and crossed his arms, hip cocked to the side, as the taller looked him up and down. He returned the gesture, taking in the crop top, skinny jeans, and vest with a fluffy collar. The shortest skeleton also noted the metal at the end of a fabric measuring tape sticking out of Val's pocket. Finally, the larger mortal hummed.

"I like your style. Doesn't look like those pants fit quite right though. Maybe you'd like to come visit my room later. I'm sure we could find something else that'll fit," he invited with a suggestive smirk.

Had Blue known where he stood with these monsters, he might have flirted back. He didn't really need his voice to do so, he'd learned body language a lot of the time was plenty telling. A sultry look or exaggeratedly roaming eyelights was often sufficient to get the point across. Valentine seemed respectful enough, hands to himself and no explicitly lewd comments right off the bat. If he wanted to play, then the shorter was game to join in. If all it led to was some laughter and jokes, that was fine with him. If it led to another kind of fun…

Well, Blue probably wouldn't mind. It wouldn't be the first time he'd cut tension and provided the often short-lived balm of distraction for himself and his temporary partner.

However, the fact of the matter was that the small skeleton didn't know where he stood or how it would be viewed within this group. So instead, he just snorted a small laugh and rolled his eyelights again before Dream jumped in.

"Hey, hey, hey! You know the rules, Valentine. No flirting with the newbie. Give him at least a day or two to settle in, then maybe I'll allow it," he stated with his own good natured exasperated eye roll. Everyone snickered slightly at the light reprimand, but it was clear, to Blue at least, they had been watching him, likely to see if he would react negatively to Valentine's flirtatious attitude. Even the crop topped monster himself had been observing closely, possibly to gauge whether Blue was uncomfortable or if he went too far.

An exaggerated sigh left the fluffy skeleton as he pushed himself off from the wall. "Oh, fine. Such a killjoy you are, sunshine. I was just trying to get to know the cutie," he stated dramatically as he sauntered over to drape himself over the bright monster, who only laughed and pushed him off.

"Whatever, fruit loop," the golden skeleton shot back playfully. "Now come on! Food is going to get cold."

Valentine laughed, holding a hand to his chest and continuing his dramatic response. "Oh, you wound me. How could you? I thought we were friends."

"Bitch, I'm your best friend, get your facts straight."

The lithe monster relented with a final cackle before turning back to Blue with a sincere smile as they started walking again, Val now stepping backwards at Dream's side to face the smaller behind them. "Really though, the offer stands on the clothes. I've got a studio room around here I can take your measurements in and get to work. Prom commissions aren't due for another couple of months, and the wedding dress is just about finished, so I'll have time. Just say the word and let me know," he offered genuinely before turning back around to chat with the golden monster.

Blue blinked. That was a lot of information to take in, and implied even more confusing ideas. Commissions? A wedding dress? Did that mean Val talked to people outside the group? Was he up far enough in the hierarchy to also have a phone like Dream did? The golden monster had said the flirtatious monster was his best friend.

Not only that, but the offer itself was shocking. Valentine was proposing making, or at least altering, clothes to fit Blue's measurements. The short skeleton didn't know much about tailoring or making clothes, but he did know it took time, effort, and energy. Not to mention the resources it would require. It seemed like way too much work to put in for a temporary feeder. It wasn't as if Blue would get to keep the outfits when he was returned anyway.

These guys acted so differently from the mortals he was used to encountering.

He was startled out of his musings as his shoulder was bumped, gaining his attention. Looking over, he saw Dust walking alongside and studying him with a raised brow bone.

"Don't think too much on it, bud. The hamster will catch fire. Val does it with everyone who stays with us. He enjoys it," the red and blue-eyed monster assured confidently. At Blue's accepting nod, he continued. "Not much of a talker, are ya? Mute, or just don't wanna say anything?"

The shorter scrunched his face. The question was blunt and straight to the point, but how was he supposed to answer? Finally, he settled on tipping his hand back and forth in a so-so gesture then reaching up to tap the scarf around his throat.

Dust appeared quick to piece it together with his eyes brightening briefly as he came to his conclusion. "Not mute, but can't talk right now. Something about your magic? Or maybe your vocal nodes?" Blue gave a single nod in response, signifying both, which the taller copied with a hum. "Gotcha. Can you sign? Most of us here understand it. A few of us have trouble, but for the most part everyone gets the gist."

A relieved smile bloomed on the sweater clad skeleton's face as he nodded more enthusiastically. However, as he raised his hands, whatever he wanted to say was interrupted by another voice calling through the hallways.

"Dream?!"

The group of mortals pulled up short, the three residents of the manor looking between each other and casting subtle glances Blue's way as well. They seemed to have a silent conversation before Dream gave a single nod and called back, Dust moving slightly closer to Blue as Val noticably shifted his weight.

"Down this way, Ink!"

It wasn't long before the sound of quick feet were heard coming their way and a small skeleton child skidded around the corner in front of them. With a wide smile, the kid barreled down the hall to leap into Dream's arms, who seemed to expect it as he only faltered one step back when he caught the little bundle of bones with a chuckle.

"Oof. You're getting a bit big to be doing that to me, don't you think?"

Huffing and puffing in the golden monster's arms with his own laughter, the little one just tightened his own grip while nuzzling into the older's chest firmer. "Nope! Never!"

Finally leaning back with a grin, he looked at the others from his position sitting up in Dream's arms. When his gaze landed on Blue, his sockets widened and his eyelights shone with an excited sparkle. The blue clad skeleton was able to get a full view of the child's face now.

Including the fangs he had on display.

Notes:

Hoo boy, gotta love introductions! These guys are doing their very best to keep Blue calm and feeling welcome, as well as feeling him out themselves. Poor guy hasn't had much actual kindness offered to him in a while, let alone been given actual privacy and the opportunity to set his own firm boundaries. We'll have to see how he feels when he meets the other vamps in the manor (>v>). He certainly did not expect a child either. Thank you so much for reading, and I'd love to hear your thoughts in the comments!

Chapter 3: Breakfast

Summary:

Blue finally makes it to breakfast and meets the rest of the household, but he's still waiting for the other shoe to drop. Why does this coven act so different? The other vampires actually seem to be acting... kind...
What is going on?

Notes:

Omg, this chapter was such a monster to edit (-v-'). It just got so long. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy the next installment of Blue's story!

The kid was practically buzzing in excitement as he greeted the stranger in his home, wiggling a little in Dream's hold to turn more toward the blue clad monster. "Oh! Hi! I'm Ink. Are you the new skeleton staying with us now?"

Blue tilted his head to the side as he looked up at the young vampire, and a warm smile curled his teeth up as he took in the little monster. A small pair of overalls with one strap undone covered a colorfully stained white T-shirt, and the child seemed to be wandering around in mismatched lime green and orange socks. It looked like there was a small box of crayons peeking out from the front pocket as well.

A quiet chuckle escaped the small mortal as he gave a nod. He noticed the other adults had relaxed a fraction, and he wondered if they had been worried about how Blue was going to react to the little one.

He could understand the caution. Contrary to what many would think though, the mortals on the market often cared just as much for the vampire children they met as they would for mortal kids. Two main reasons existed for the similar treatment.

One, a purely self-preservation based point, if the little ones were raised or came in contact with kind, patient mortals who actually bothered to teach them proper manners, they could grow up more considerate and kind than their predecessors. Two, it wasn't the child's fault they were born with the need to feed on magic or blood, depending on whether they were human based or monster-based vampires. If they were adults who had chosen to be turned, that was different, but a kid had no control over it. They just needed to eat, and that was that.

However, there was also a more rare third option. The mortals were also known every now and again to actually come to love the children they came across. Blue was one of the rare few to fall into this category.

Inks eyelights brightened impossibly more as he beamed. "Awesome! So what's your name?"

Receiving a subtle nod when he glanced at Dust, Blue started to sign slowly. "I am Blue," he stated, spelling out his name.

The child’s sockets widened in awe. "Oh, wow. You sign too? That's so cool. I'm still learning a bit," the kid breathed, wiggling again before his smile turned sheepish. "Um. I wasn't ready for that. Could you say it again please?"

With another quiet laugh, Blue repeated the motions for the young vampire to see again. He grinned as he watched Ink's face scrunch in thought while he translated the words in his head. Deeply focused it seemed, the child repeated the signs for each letter of Blue's name as he puzzled out the spelling before finally brightening up with a proud grin.

"Hi, Blue! It's very nice to meet you."

Expression softening, the blue clad mortal returned the greeting, still signing a bit slowly to help the little one understand easier. Ink reminded him a lot of his little brother when both of them were still small. Little Pappy had been expressive and oh so inquisitive as well around that age.

"Not to interrupt, hun, but you were looking for me?" Dream asked, gaining the child's attention again. "Did you need my help with something, Ink?"

The vampire in the golden monster's arms looked suddenly nervous, eyelights turning down, then anywhere that wasn't the mortal's sockets. "I, um. I forgot," he responded quietly.

Dream exchanged a look with Valentine, who hummed as he stepped a little closer to the bright skeleton. "Is it that you forgot, sugar, or that you just don't want to ask?" he inquired gently, stroking the younger's skull soothingly.

Ink whined as he tucked his face back into Dream's sternum at Val's questioning. "Error wanted me to talk to you," he finally admitted softly after a few moments of silence.

"Is that so?" The golden mortal asked, brows furrowing in apparent concern.

"Yeah. He said he's having a bad touch day. He told me to tell you he can still do it if he needs to, but…"

A quiet sigh left Dream's nasal aperture, wrapping his arm to rest his hand on the back of the other's skull still pressed into him. "But he would feel better if someone else was able to feed you today, right?"

Ink gave a quiet hum of affirmation, going quiet for a few moments. "'m sorry I'm being a bother," he apologized in a whisper.

"You aren't being a bother, kid," Dust retorted firmly.

Valentine nodded. "Not at all, sugar. We'll get something figured out."

The reassurances warmed a part of Blue's soul as he watched some of the tension drain from the child, almost sagging now in Dream's grip. It wasn't the kid's fault, and he was glad to see the others argue against the idea the child was a burden. He wondered if it would be appropriate to offer to feed him, or if maybe one of the older vampires had called dibs on him first.

"Hm. Who do you guys have today? Dust? Val?" Dream inquired, looking to be deep in thought.

"I've just got Horror, but my magic has been fluctuating on the lower end lately, so I probably won't be able to do anyone else," Dust responded with a huff. Whether the sound was directed at his magic supply or the one feeding from him, Blue wasn't entirely sure.

Val grunted. "Pulling a double for Killer and Night, which I highly doubt any of you will let me add to."

"No one is pulling a triple, Valentine. You know how I feel about that," Dream replied distractedly, though his tone provided no room for argument. "And I have to make sure Cross actually takes his fill today, the stubborn worried dummy that he is," he murmured under his breath, though not without some confusing fondness at the end.

Blue could see the stress pinching the bright monster's sockets as he did some sort of calculation in his head. Noting how Dream hadn't asked him, he could only assume someone else had already claimed him, or the group of mortals was trying to spare him some discomfort while he was here. If it was the latter, the smaller mortal appreciated the sentiment, but he had been bought for a reason. It wasn't like he would really have a choice later, and at least if it was the kid he wouldn't take as much as a fully grown vampire. Plus, it seemed the little one actually had some manners and concern for who he fed from.

Besides, these mortals had been kind to him so far. If he could help them out and relieve a bit of their stress, then that is what he wanted to do.

Moving up to be just a step behind a Dream on his left, Blue tapped the thinking monster's shoulder. With a small start, Dream broke from his musings to look over with his skull cocked, obviously surprised to find the smaller skeleton trying to get his attention.

"Oh, sorry. Did you have a question, Blue? I guess we all kind of got sidetracked…" he trailed off with a guilty expression.

Blue quickly shook his skull, raising his hands as he kept his sockets locked to Dream's eyelights. "I can do it."

That seemed to shock the taller enough to fully turn to face the small monster with wide sockets. The others also looked on with confused expressions, not having seen what he signed, but knowing whatever it was was enough to catch Dream's full attention. Ink also peeked out from his spot with inquisitive eyelights.

"You- you don't have to do that here," the bright skeleton finally responded, faltering as he tried to gather his thoughts again. That was when Dust and Valentine seemed to catch on with their own sockets widening.

"Ah hell no. No one's gonna expect that of ya," Dust agreed immediately.

Valentine nodded quickly. "We aren't going to make you fill in for us, cutie. We'll get it arranged, we always do."

It wasn't a denial, not exactly, and they hadn't included that he was already on someone else's menu for the day, so the smaller stood firm, emboldened that they had actually given him a choice to back out. "I can do it," he repeated, expression determined as he signed swiftly, hoping Ink wouldn't quite be able to catch what he was about to say, not entirely at least. "The kid needs to eat, and while I'm sure you all would figure it out, letting me feed him would be the simplest and least stressful solution." His expression softened as he let that sink in for a moment before continuing. "It is rare I am allowed to choose for myself. Let me choose to do this."

The mortals studied him for a few long seconds, likely judging the genuinity of his offer. The sweater clad skeleton knew they wouldn't find a trace of insincerity in his features, there was none within him to be portrayed to begin with. He wanted to help them, he wanted to help the kid, and he wanted this to be a way to further prove his goodwill toward these monsters despite the less than ideal circumstances he found himself in.

"Wait. Fill in?" Ink finally interjected, looking to Blue with a confused and concerned expression. "I didn't catch all of what you just said, but were you offering to let me have your magic?" When Blue nodded, the kid only seemed more perplexed. "You don't know me very well though. Error said you came from a mean place kind of like where we were before we came here too. I don't want to make you upset or uncomfortable when you just got here," he confessed with a sad expression, making the small mortal soften further in response.

Making sure the little vampire's eyes were following his slightly slower movements, the blue clad monster signed again. "You won't. I want to help you and your friends. I am very happy you told me that too. It lets me know you wouldn't try to hurt me if you took my magic," he assured with a gentle smile. "Of course, I want you to be comfortable too, so if you would feel better having someone you know, you can say so."

Ink blushed and looked away, but not before Blue caught the hopeful look in the child's sockets. "I… I wouldn't mind if you were really okay with it." He paused with a blink before looking up at Dream again. "Only if Dream says it's okay though," he added quickly.

The golden skeleton's gaze flicked between the young vampire and the small mortal, expression conflicted. Blue still remained confident and sure of his decision, not faltering in the slightest when he met the concerned monster's sockets. Dream studied him quietly for a while longer before giving a small unsure hum, turning to the other adults in silent request for their input.

Dust shrugged after a few moments of his own scrutiny. "If he's sure about it, and both him and Ink are alright with it, I guess I don't see a problem with letting him help out. As long as that is what he wants." The jacketed monster locked his eyelights on the shorter's sockets with a firm expression, though it softened when Blue gave an equally firm nod.

"Well…" Val started, trailing off as he looked down in thought. When he looked back up, all traces of the playfully flirtatious skeleton who had greeted the blue eyed monster had been replaced with furrowed brows and serious eyelights. Concern swam in his sockets. "I agree with Dust," he sighed after a moment. "If you really are alright with it, cutie, I don't see a reason to say no. But we want to be sure you know you always have a choice here, and you can back out if you ever need to. For any reason, got it?"

Tilting his skull, Blue gave a quiet hum of affirmation, though it was more for the purpose of confirming he heard what was said. That was… an odd declaration. Perhaps he meant when he was just with the other mortals?

Filing that thought away for later consideration, the shorter monster turned to Dream again with a raised brow, waiting for the mortal leader's verdict.

The golden monster breathed a quiet sigh. "Alright. After you eat. That's the rule. Horror doesn't need anything else fueling his pre-feed anxiety." With that, the group started moving again, Ink wiggling out of Dream's hold to walk alongside Blue and sheepishly sneak his hand into the quiet mortal's.

When it appeared they'd finally made it to the dining room, Ink broke away, bounding over to a multicolored mortal skeleton in obvious excitement, though the kid pulled up short before he could barrel into them. At a brief glance, Blue thought he almost recognized the older monster from somewhere.

His attention was next taken by the spread of food laid out on the table. His nasal cavity was filled with the smell of sweet breads, fresh fruit, eggs, and salty pork. The small monster's eyelights shifted to stars and his mouth watered as he took in the sight of pancakes, waffles, french toast, bacon, eggs, strawberries, sausage, and a myriad of other foods he couldn't remember when he had last. For the first time in a good while, he felt his appetite actually stir.

"It's good to see you awake, dear."

Blue froze, pulled out of his daydreaming of marvelous flavors by The familiar deep voice as his eyelights returned to normal. Sure enough, Nightmare sat at the table as well with a newspaper open in front of him, appearing to be working on the crossword. The mortal was quick to shift his gaze away from that cyan light, instead moving his attention to finally take in the others in the room. Besides Nightmare and the strangely familiar mortal at the table, there were three others seated, all of them vampires.

He recognized Killer from his pickup. The tar streaked monster was on his phone, though he did look up to meet Blue's sockets with a small smile and a seemingly sheepish wave. The other two he didn't recognize. Both appeared to be larger than the target souled monster, though one of them was truly a veritable giant of a skeleton while the other was only about half a head taller than Killer.

With practiced skill, Blue took in as much information as a single brief glance would allow him, which was an impressive amount in all honesty. The behemoth had a crack in their skull, one bloated eye, and appeared to be staring at the small mortal. Studying, though there was an odd lack of hunger in their socket. Instead, the nervous monster thought he actually saw a bit of softness and perhaps even worry in that look as the mortal brought his arms in close and tucked his skull down a fraction more, making himself smaller than he already was.

The final vampire was dressed in black and white. One white and one red eyelight floated in their skull while a lightning shaped red scar resided beneath their right socket. Strangely, they only glanced at Blue before turning their gaze down and away, fidgeting with their hands with an oddly anxious, almost guilty expression and posture. They refused to meet the mortal's eyes.

Catching movement out of the corner of his socket, Blue snapped his gaze over to Nightmare again, who had simply flipped his paper closed. "Did you rest well?" He asked in his uniquely gentle manner, a small smile and soft eyelight both easing and unnerving the sweater clad monster simultaneously.

The black boned vampire felt genuine. Sincere in a way the anxious skeleton hadn't seen in years. On top of that, the other mortals seemed entirely calm and at ease even with the more powerful beings in the same room. There were no tense postures. No eyes flicking quickly from vampire to vampire to watch for sudden moves or aggression. The fanged monsters themselves appeared calm and relaxed.

This was already shaping up to be the most confusing purchase Blue had experienced.

Realizing he'd gotten lost in thought, the small mortal quickly nodded, hoping he hadn't left the question unanswered for too long.

Nightmare gave his own nod. "Good. I hope the room was acceptable, it was a bit of a rush to get it set up for company, so if you have any complaints or requests just let one of us know," he offered. "We're glad you made it for breakfast. Horror was quite excited to have someone else to cook for." The dark skeleton gestured to the giant as he spoke, the latter humming with a small grin.

"Mhm. Like makin' food for people," Horror confirmed with a small blush of russet coloring and one clawed hand coming up to rub sheepishly at the back of his skull.

Blue was surprised when Dust spoke up, moving over toward the large monster. "And you always make the best grub, big guy," he commented warmly, sitting in the vacant seat right beside the cracked skeleton.

A happy rumble escaped the vampire with a soft thank you, and he quickly got to work putting together a plate of food he set gently before the mortal at his side. So, Horror was the cook, and he liked compliments. Noted.

Focused on the more powerful beings, Blue didn't see the meaningful looks shared between Dust and the other mortals.

Valentine was next to saunter over to the table with a mischievous grin. The fluffy skeleton took a seat next to Killer, and actually had the audacity to kick his feet up in the vampire's lap with that same fearless smile.

Blue held his breath, waiting for the fanged monster to retaliate.

With a raised brow bone, the tar streaked skeleton turned to face the offending mortal. "Last I knew, none of us are big enough to warrant two whole seats," He commented. However, to the small mortal's immense confusion, there was no heat behind the words he could detect, and the vampire was smirking as well without even a fraction of true annoyance visible.

"Well I think my charming personality is plenty big enough to take up the extra room," Val replied with a rumbling chuckle.

"Ya know what? Fair enough," the vampire accepted with his own warm laugh before he seemed to perk up. "Oh, hey, I actually had a question for ya. A buddy I have online was trying to figure out a nice outfit for a date. She was asking for suggestions and I said I'd ask since I have direct access to my own personal fashion expert. Anyway, she's a bunny monster, light cream fur, real pretty green eyes…"

As they continued their conversation, seemingly forgetting the others in the room, Blue's attention was pulled away by Ink, who came bounding over to take his hand again, starting to tug him along toward the table.

"Come on! Come sit next to Error and me."

Looking to Dream for guidance, he found the lead mortal was already walking over to sit between his brother and the last yet to be named vampire. Taking that as approval, and not hearing any complaints from the others, the sweater clad skeleton allowed himself to be led to a seat right beside the monster with multicolored bones, who in turn looked over to give Blue a nod in pleasant greeting. Their mismatched eyelights shifted behind the smaller skeleton with a snort as Ink scrambled into the chair on Blue's other side.

"Seems the gremlin found another skeleton to attach to. Again. Anyway, I'm Error, as you probably guessed. Nice to see you up and about, pal."

The blue-eyed monster nodded in greeting as well, finding the other mortal also understood signs quite well as he introduced himself in turn. However, his mind was also distracted by something else. Hearing Error's voice, which had an odd echoey effect beneath his words, and seeing him up close, Blue was certain he knew the other from somewhere. Finally, his eyelights grew wide as he remembered with a jolt.

"It's you," he signed with a silent gasp.

Now Error, as well as a few others, were looking at him with furrowed brows and confused sockets. "Uh, pal, I don't… think we've ever met?" he mentioned, the last part coming off as more of a question.

"We have," Blue insisted, nodding more enthusiastically, unaware for the moment of the extra eyelights on him now. "I don't know how long ago it was, but I was taken for a while by a coven of mixed bears and wolves. Their leader was… Sullivan I think. It's been a while." He pressed forward swiftly as he caught a flicker of recognition in Error's sockets at the name, "You were sick and low on magic. One of the wolves, Bryant, he didn't care and got angry when you refused to feed him. He tried to get physical with you, but I stepped in."

The taller's sockets scrunched in thought as a hand came to rest on his chin. After a few moments, he blinked and his teeth parted in shock and remembrance. Wide eyelights met Blue's before they studied what bone was still exposed on the smaller's skull and face.

"No. No fucking way," he breathed in awe. "You survived that? That was- Fuck. I was sure you dusted after that. They carried you off and you never came back. Fuck."

A jittery excited feeling settled in Blue's ribs when the other finally remembered him. His mind raced with questions. How had Error gotten away from that abusive group? How lucky was it the small skeleton had run into a familiar face? Moreover, one who had actually been kind to him in their own gruff way when they last met. Who had tried to look out for him as best they could in that awful situation.

Before the small mortal could ask any of his questions though, he noticed the extra attention. It seemed all of the skeletons at the table had become interested in the conversation, each looking at the two with curious eyelights.

Blue felt himself deflate, sockets turned down as his hands stilled and pulled in close. He still watched the others with furtive glances out of the corners of his eyes, but didn't linger long on any one of them for too long. Error followed his gaze before sighing softly, a sympathetic look on his skull.

"How about we catch up later, yeah? When there aren't so many around to eavesdrop," the taller mortal suggested, raising his voice with emphasis on the last part of his sentence as he actually sent a scathing glare to the others around the table, mortal and vampire alike. To the anxious skeleton's surprise, most of them seemed contrite, a few of them even muttering quiet apologies, before attempting to go back to their own conversations and meals.

Movement caught the smallest mortal's attention as he turned to find Ink holding out an empty plate with a grin, though the kid seemed a little nervous himself.

"Here, you should eat. Everyone else is," he stated simply.

"Oh, yes, please help yourself," Nightmare agreed. "While you eat we can get some proper introductions out of the way."

Blue gingerly took the ceramic, turning most of his attention to the food laid out on the table again. There were so many choices, his gaze flickering from one serving plate to another as he tried to decide. They really weren't going to tell him what he could or couldn't have?

Finally, he chose to try and take a bit of everything he could fit on his plate. Surely they would let him know if he was taking too much, one way or another. His hands were quick. Precise and efficient as he kept his arms as close to himself and his personal bubble as possible. Ink and Error even helped him some by passing over plates he couldn't quite reach, but was eyeing just the same. Still, no one tried to protest to him as he took what he could, although he did take note of Horror watching him closely.

Eventually, the blue clad mortal set his food down in front of him, picking up the fork he had been given. The smell was magnificent. He hardly knew where to start.

He settled on a bite of soft french toast first, cutting off the corner to stab and pop it past his teeth. His sockets grew wide as his eyelights shifted again into stars. Liquid magic filled his mouth so fast the space under his conjured tongue tingled almost painfully. It tasted just as good as it smelled, and there was no chalky taste of powdered supplements like he was used to, only sweet rich bread and a custardy interior.

Moving on to the rest of his food, he found similar results. The bacon and sausage were salty and fatty. The pancakes were light and the perfect carrier for the maple syrup. The waffle was crisp on the outside and fluffy inside, incredible topped with strawberries and whipped cream. Breakfast potatoes wonderfully seasoned and elevated by the runny egg yolk broken over top.

He could have cried as he practically inhaled the incredible meal. It was only when he finally slowed down, begrudgingly acknowledging he would get an ache in his magic if he ate it all at the pace he had previously set, that Nightmare spoke again.

The dark skeleton went around the table giving proper introductions and naming everyone off, who took their own turns waving or nodding their greetings. Blue would return the gestures, even as he continued shoveling large bites into his mouth.

"Eatin' like y've been starvin'," Horror commented, his words slow and somewhat slurred. Instead of being teasing in nature as one would expect from the wording, however, there was a solemn tone under the words and the vampire was still watching the small mortal intently. His expression was almost even… concerned?

Blue lowered his eyelights, swallowing his mouthful and quietly putting the fork down to free his hands as he carefully chose his words. "Most food I am given is made only to provide proper nutrition. It has been a long time since I have had anything I can actually enjoy. This is really good. Thank you," he signed slowly, unsure who had trouble with the visual language as Dust had informed him and looking back up to catch the giant's reaction to his explanation and thanks.

Horror's face was scrunched in concentration, and it took a moment before it seemed he fully processed what the smaller had stated, but eventually he nodded with a soft eyelight and small smile. "Welcome. Sorry ta 'ear that. Any fav'rites?" he asked, gesturing to the mortal's half finished plate.

Taking a second to think about it, Blue simply used his fork to point at the french toast, the breakfast potatoes, and the sausage. Honestly, all of it was his favorite, having not tasted anything with actual flavor in… he didn't even know how long. However, the vampire asked him a question, so he had to come up with an answer regardless.

Said monster gave an acknowledging hum. "I'll make 'em again then."

With that, the sweater clad skeleton moved to start eating again, but Killer's voice interrupted him.

"Glad to see ya got your appetite back, kid," he mentioned with that same unnervingly genuine tone the others had been using. "That… seems like a lot of food though. Not saying you can't have it. H would probably kick me outta the dining room and revoke my cookie privileges if I did. Just wanting to make sure you don't get sick is all," he finished with an awkward shrug as he looked away.

The small skeleton averted his gaze as well, biting his tongue in thought. "I should be fine," he signed hesitantly. "The excess should get taken before I get sick anyway." As he stated that fact, his shoulders hunched in slightly, prepared for the arguments to begin over who got him first before Ink or one of the others hopefully attempted to explain his willingness to fill in by feeding the kid.

What he did not expect, however, was a number of the skeletons freezing, catching the attention of those who had not been in the conversation.

"Blue," the monochrome dressed vampire, Cross, spoke up, directly addressing the new mortal for the first time. "No one is going to force you into a feeding here," he insisted emphatically, a slightly panicked and stressed blend in his sockets. He started picking at the bones of his hands and wrists before Dream stopped him, one of Nightmare's tendrils also draping over the oddly distressed skeleton's shoulders.

"He is right, dear," the dark monster assured gently, catching Blue's gaze with his own cyan light and holding it with a soft sympathetic look. "I know the concept may seem strange considering where you were before, but your choices hold weight here."

Ink hummed and cleared his throat, looking down at his clasped hands on the table. "Um… he volunteered to feed me today," he stated softly, glancing up at Blue with a searching, anxious look.

The older skeleton, despite his rising anxiety at the unexpected reactions, gave the child a small nod and a soft reassuring smile. When he looked back up, Error and the rest of the vampires in the room were all wide socketed, Killer and Nightmare looking particularly stressed as they glanced between each other and the blue clad mortal.

"Pal, you don't have to… you don't have to do that. I can still…" Error grimaced and trailed off, looking down at his hands guiltily.

Dream was next to speak out, a soft authority in his voice. "It was entirely his choice. He is the one who brought the idea up, and we made sure he knew he wasn't expected to fill in for any of us." When Val and Dust voiced their agreements, most of the other skeletons relaxed at least slightly. However, Error still looked guilty and almost ashamed, while the two vampires who had retrieved the short monster actually seemed more distressed.

"I see…" Nightmare stated slowly.

"Did he also happen to tell you the bastard who brought us to him said he wouldn't have enough magic reserves for a feeding until tonight at the earliest?" Killer commented, drumming his fingers on the table. Seemingly anxious as he continued to study the skeleton in question with pinched sockets.

The golden mortal's eyelights shrank as he also turned to the shorter with questioning, worried sockets. "No. No he did not."

The small mortal's eyelights fell to his hands, too nervous to meet the others' sockets as his ribs felt like they were tightening around his soul. Stars, he forgot the vendor told them that. They were going to be angry he didn't lead with the explanation before offering to help. Stars…

"You are not in trouble, Blue," Nightmare said softly after the silence had drug on for so long.

"No, not at all," Dream agreed. "We just… want to make sure you weren't trying to do something… self-destructive," he finished hesitantly, obviously choosing his words very carefully.

The sweater clad monster blinked a few times before letting out a quiet bitter huff. As if he'd ever try that again after the agonizing results of his first, and only, attempt.

Shaking his head slowly, he raised his hands, forcing them to remain steady, although his gaze remained down. "I forgot he told you that," he signed honestly. "It was a lie. I had been recovering my magic for two weeks, not two days," he explained, hoping they would believe the truth over the vendor's lie.

"What? Why would he lie about that?" Killer asked incredulously, anger flashing in his expression and amplified by his lack of eyelights. The target souled skeleton sighed softly when he saw Blue shrink further. "I'm mad at the asshole, not you, kid."

"We can revisit that later, " Nightmare interjected, sounding tired as he caught the anxious mortal's attention again. "I believe you, Blue. So long as you know you are not required or expected to, I will concur with my brother's decision. Also know that you can change your mind at any point in time. There is no shame in backing out if you are uncomfortable or if it will cause you stress."

The short monster's brows furrowed, though he still gave a confirming nod. Valentine telling him that was one thing, but to have a vampire say it? The head vampire no less.

What was up with this odd group?

He wasn't sure what spurred him on, but he felt he should reassure them that he knew his place here, perhaps to get into the vampires' good graces as well as the mortals'. "I am aware I was purchased for a reason," he started signing slowly, turning to hide his hands with his body so Ink wouldn't be able to see what he said. "I will do my job as asked, though I thank you for allowing me to inform you whether I am comfortable or not."

There were a few moments of silence before the dining room abruptly erupted with noise. Most of the group was talking over each other with incredulous expressions. Blue was unable to make out most of their words, but he knew many of them were asking questions and he did hear Nightmare's name hissed angrily. As he looked over, he saw the head vampire actually looking ashamed and shrinking down himself as Killer fixed him with an expectant brow raised and the golden twin was glaring daggers at his brother. It seemed as if he wasn't even trying to defend himself.

Startled by the sudden din, the small mortal was frozen in his seat, pinprick eyelights flickering around the room to keep an eye on everyone else. His bones were quivering with adrenaline, ready to launch himself either away from or into the fray should one of the other mortals need him to divert the attention of an angry vampire. Especially for Dream, seeing as he was apparently trying to pick a fight with the leader of the coven. That never ended well or without punishment. However, until he was needed or the attention was turned back on him, neutrally or negatively, Blue wouldn't move. No need to draw unpredictable eyes if he didn't have to.

He jumped as something grabbed his arm and looked over quickly to find Ink clinging to him, looking just as spooked as Blue felt. The kid looked up at him with wide uncertain eyelights, and that was enough to unfreeze the older monster. He reached over to scoop the small skeleton into his lap, curling slightly over him in a protective posture as he forced his breathing to steady. He couldn't stop the small tremble throughout his body, but evening out his breaths seemed to help the younger calm down a little as he clung back to the mortal, not to mention himself slightly as well. When had he started breathing so shallowly?

The noise went on for a minute longer before the sound of an air horn cut through it all, plunging the room into silence as all eyes turned to Valentine, who was standing and slipping said horn back into the inventory on his own phone with a stern expression.

"How about everyone shuts up and we talk about this like civil monsters, shall we? All this damn noise is stressing him and everyone else out, and is doing nothing productive," he scolded, the others turning seemingly sheepish and most looking thoroughly contrite. The fluffy skeleton then turned to Blue with a gentle expression. "Sorry, sweet pea. It seems that we weren't told about everything we should have been, and we're all just trying to figure out what to do about it and how best to go about explaining."

The smaller mortal glanced over the others in the room again, who had quieted and settled considerably. He swallowed hard, still shaking slightly as his eyelights shifted down to the kid still in his arms, who was also calming down and looked back up at him for a moment before nuzzling firmly into Blue's ribs again. Automatically, the older skeleton started running a soothing hand up and down the younger's spine with the ease of his younger years holding his little brother.

Dream spoke up. "It looks like Nighty neglected to tell us that he didn't actually explain what was happening before he brought you here. You can finish eating if you'd like to, and then we can go have a proper discussion about why you are actually here in the office without such a big audience," he stated with a meaningful glance at the kid in the mortal's lap before sending another short glare toward his twin, making Blue tense before realizing Nightmare wasn't going to retaliate. When he turned back to the smaller mortal, he seemed tired, though his smile was gentle.

Unsure what else to say, and certainly not wanting to cause any more ruckus than he already had, the mortal just nodded. He just needed to do as he was told. Not think about how this group may be expecting more from him than his previous buyers. What they could mean when they said they would be discussing why he was actually here.

"Are you okay?" Ink's soft voice brought the older monster back to the present from his anxious musing spiral as he met his gaze. "You were shaking and you looked scared," he continued in a whisper only Blue could hear. Actually, Error might have heard too, seeing as he looked over as well.

Incredibly thankful for the temporary distraction, the mortal gave the child in his lap a gentle grin with a small nod, making an effort to control the adrenaline aftershocks in his bones so as not to worry the kid further.

"It's alright if the vamps spooked you when everyone got loud," Error chimed in, his voice just as quiet. "It happens to guys like us, and the others get that. Plus, this is a bit of an odd situation to not know where you stand in, and they get that too. Most of them won't take it to heart. Cross can be a little… sensitive, but he has his own issues too. Not sensitive as in he gets mad I mean. He gets mopey. The dumbass will try to avoid you instead of communicate with you." The multicolored skeleton locked his mismatched gaze with Blue's own sapphire, holding it with a sincere, firm expression. "Listen, the thing you really need to know is that these guys are not like the assholes you're used to. Trust me, the kid and I have been here for three-ish years now. None of them have forced me to do anything. They respect boundaries you communicate to them. The other mortals too. None of them have ever tried to hurt or take advantage of me even once. You don't have to trust them right away, but give them a chance to prove themselves, yeah?

Blue bit his tongue in thought. That was a lot to ask, but… maybe Error could be right. The smaller skeleton couldn't see him lying about something like this. He tried to watch out for the sweater clad monster before, he could be doing that now as well. Plus, by some miracle, the other mortals seemed relaxed around the more powerful beings anyway. He hadn't seen any of them shy away at all besides Error, who Ink had mentioned before was having problems with touch.

It still felt too good to be true. Too much to even dream of after all this time. However, despite his hesitations, he felt a dim kernel of hope in his soul. He would have to be sure to keep his wits about him still, but if Error was telling the truth…

The taller monster smiled gently as Blue finally, though hesitantly, nodded. "Thanks, pal. I'm glad to hear it. Now, how about we finish breakfast? Then we can get on with the day, and you can get some answers and explanations," he suggested.

The shorter skeleton didn't need to be told twice. He turned his attention back to his plate, though he ate slower this time. As he went, he mulled over the events of the morning so far, finding plenty of questions to ask about later, and perhaps more evidence of Error's surprising claims of the coven's goodwill.

Maybe…

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

Notes:

Oooooh, Nighty's in trouble... Poor Blue bean. Everything is moving so fast, and while that's nothing new to him in all honestly, there have been a lot of turns he was not expecting and plenty of instances where his expectations have been very wrong. Good on the other mortals for trying to prove the vamps aren't really dangerous to them though! It was a good effort! There's just a very important little detail Blue is missing at the moment...
Thanks to everyone for reading! If you want to leave your thoughts and comments down below, I always enjoy reading, responding, and answering questions (just don't expect any spoilers from me, lol). See you in the next one!

Chapter 4: Explanations Over Tea

Summary:

Blue finally gets more context as to why he finds himself in the mansion with this strange coven. However, the question is- How is he supposed to feel about this situation now?

Notes:

Holy 8k words. My poor fingies (TwT). Anyway, be warned, Blue isn't doing so hot toward the middle and end of this chapter (beyond his constant anxiety I mean). An anxiety/panic attack is present, as well as some dissociation afterward. Read with that in mind. That said, I hope you all enjoy this beefy chapter!

The time it took for breakfast to wrap up lasted simultaneously too long and not long enough for Blue's nerves, who couldn't decide if he would rather just get over with the looming discussion or put it off for as long as possible. He tried to briefly convince himself that it would only be the usual song and dance that came with a new buyer. Going over house rules, feeding times and expectations, maybe a brief explanation of the hierarchy set in place. Simple things he knew how to handle. However, practically nothing had turned out how he'd expected that morning. If the upcoming conversation followed the same pattern, the small mortal wasn't even sure if he could even guess what he was in for. Add on to that the fact that Dream had alluded to something more that came with this renting…

Thinking of Dream, Blue wasn't sure how to feel about how stressed the golden monster appeared now. After everyone had settled again, the head mortal had finished eating and leaned back in his chair, pinching the space between his sockets as if attempting to ward off an oncoming headache.

Nightmare had leaned over then, presumably whispering something to his twin Blue couldn’t hear. Dream had only shook his head with a sigh, apparently prompting the dark boned vampire to return to his original position with a surprisingly guilty expression as he turned again to his newspaper, though the sweater clad skeleton questioned how much the tentacled monster was actually focusing on it, seeing as his cyan eyelight flicked often over to his brother.

Once everyone was finished, Horror stood, followed quickly by Cross, as they started clearing the table, taking empty plates and leftovers to wash and put away. The small mortal tensed as Cross moved behind him, out of sight. He didn't flinch per se, but he did lean away slightly as the scarred skeleton reached around him to gather the utensils Blue had used. The silent monster instinctively put his arm around the young monster still in his lap as well in a protective gesture, not thinking much of or really noticing he'd done it, and missing the hurt and guilty look on the vampire's skull as he retreated quickly, dishes in hand.

“Anyone else wanna come help with cleanup?" Horror asked, shifting his own load of dishes expertly to one arm as he used the other to catch Cross’ shoulder as he tried to pass the larger monster, stopping the scarred vampire in his tracks easily. His red and white eyelights remained on the floor as he waited for the cracked skeleton to release him.

Ink perked up as he excitedly wiggled his way out of Blue’s lap. "Oh! Oh! Can I help put the food away? I'm getting better at picking the right sizes for the leftover containers!"

"Sure thing, sprout. You ‘nd Cross c’n be in charge of that," Horror agreed with a deep chuckle. There were other snickers around the room as the little skeleton bounded over, practically vibrating in his excitement, and even Blue couldn't help grinning from watching the small ball of energy.

"Yes! Come on, Crossy, let's go! Maybe we can beat him finishing the dishes," Ink exclaimed as he started tugging lightly on the tall monster's sleeve in his enthusiasm.

Cross stumbled slightly as Horror let go, but effortlessly caught his balance again with a startled laugh. "Whoa whoa whoa. Slow down kiddo. We won't be beating him at anything if I drop this stuff." He shook his head with a more playful grin. "I guess you better hurry, H. Apparently we're having a race." With that, he followed the bouncy child out of the room and, presumably, to the kitchen

"A race, huh? Well, a two on one doesn't exactly seem fair, does it?" Dust asked with a smirk and an exaggerated sigh as he stood up as well. "I guess I'll just have to tag along to even things out. Wouldn't want a rigged game, after all. C’mon man, looks like they've already got a head start. You wash, I'll dry and put stuff away."

With an amused grunt of agreement, Horror turned to continue on his way out of the dining room with the hooded mortal beside him, Blue watching with an odd mixture of confusion, admiration, and nervousness for the other mortal. He was struck again by just how relaxed all of these skeletons were. Dust hadn't hesitated or shown an ounce of anxiety before going along with two fully grown vampires and a young one. He had been entirely calm, and even willing, when faced with the prospect of going along with and being outnumbered by the more powerful beings. Although, the hooded monster had also stated he was supposed to feed Horror, so perhaps he was just sticking close-by for whenever the large skeleton decided he was ready to feed? Maybe to just get it done and over with? A vampire of that size and with that kind of injury was bound to take quite a bit…

"Have fun, guys," Dream called after them with an entertained grin, the first since the fiasco from earlier, before something seemed to occur to him. "Oh, Dust, hold up." He was quickly out of his chair and striding after the group, disappearing around the corner himself. He came back after only a few minutes, giving a thumbs up. "Okay, all good. Just needed to ask him something, not a big deal. Now," he started, clapping his hands together softly as he moved on, turning his eyelights on Blue with a soft, apologetic expression, "If you feel ready, Blue, we can go to the office and get things explained and squared away. It would just be you, me, and Nighty, but we can wait a little longer if you want to relax for a bit before we get into all of that," he assured.

The smaller mortal quickly shook his skull. “I'm ready," he signed, sockets slightly pinched. He wouldn't be able to relax anyway. Might as well not put it off any longer, considering his anxiety was only going to grow if he did.

The golden twin released a soft sigh and nodded as Nightmare stood from his seat, beckoning to the small mortal with a gentle expression. "Follow us. The office isn't too far." They waited for the smaller mortal to slip out of his seat before turning to lead the way with Blue trailing a few steps behind, staying out of the way of Nightmare's twisting and curling tendrils.

The blue-eyed skeleton watched the extra appendages closely, guessing the extra movement was a reaction to the dark monster's emotions. Possibly agitation of some sort. Anger? Annoyance? Anxiety? Blue wasn't sure, but he had felt how sturdy those tentacles were when they were holding him close to the large skeleton as they left the underground location the day before, and he was not in a hurry to be trapped in their hold again while he was unsure of the vampire's mood.

Before they left the room entirely, Dream turned back to the others, one hand resting on the door frame. "Are you three alright for now? Need help with anything before we go?"

"All good on my end. Kills and I will probably head to the main living room here soon, so if you need us you know where we'll be,” Valentine answered with a smile, Killer nodding his agreement.

Error waved them off nonchalantly. "I'll probably tag along with those two. Wanted to get a few more rows done on the swatch I've been working on for that blanket anyway. So yeah.” He paused to look directly at Blue with a sure expression. "If any of you need me, you know where I'll be too."

The sapphire eyed mortal met his gaze with a weak smile, giving a barely perceptible nod. The motion was hardly noticeable to any who weren't looking for it, barely a tilt forward before coming back to center, but the multicolored monster caught it, returning the minute gesture with a small smile of his own, sockets softening.

"Sounds good, and thanks. We’ll be in the office if there's an emergency, but we'll probably meet you in the living room when we're done," Dream replied with a grateful smile, receiving a thumbs up from Val as he and Killer stood while Error pushed his chair back.

As Blue entered the hallway with the twins finally, he turned to busying his mind with adding on to his mental map of the building instead of focusing on the upcoming discussion. However, as jittery as he was, that proved to be a fruitless endeavor as his thoughts continued to circle and his eyelights came back again to observe the golden monster ahead of him, who had started rubbing his temples. The fact that the highest ranking mortal in the house appeared agitated usually didn't bode well, and the way Dream seemed to have no qualms about turning that agitation on Nightmare of all people… Well, best for Blue to just mind his manners, lest he bring any unwanted attention or reactions on himself. Best not to be an annoyance to one of the main individuals who had a say in making the renting period either bearable, or hell on earth.

Dream didn't seem like the type to pull petty revenge or 'karma' like that, but it was always better to be safe than sorry, considering first impressions could always be wrong.

The three skeletons stopped before a closed door, the frame engraved with delicate vines. Nightmare turned the knob to pull it open, beckoning inside with a sheepish expression. Dream entered first, the small mortal right behind as he skirted by the dark monster as quickly as he thought he could without possibly appearing rude. The larger skeleton followed suit, pulling the door halfway closed before he paused.

"Blue, would you prefer the door open or closed?"

The sweater clad mortal blinked at that, tilting his skull slightly with a somewhat confused look. What would he prefer? Why did that matter? And over something so trivial?

He hadn't realized he'd been staring at the vampire until Dream came up beside him, his sockets snapping instinctively to the movement caught from the corner of his vision.

"Whatever makes you feel more comfortable, Blue," the golden monster assured softly with a sympathetic expression. "We don't want you to feel trapped with the door closed, or too exposed if we leave it open. We're trying to meet you somewhere in the middle so everyone can be comfortable," he explained.

The silent skeleton nodded slowly, indicating he'd heard, but his immense confusion remained. Still though, he was asked a question. He needed to answer, and perhaps he could start trying to feel out just how much he could get away with here. Starting slow, of course. Answer the question, but also make a tiny request. Start figuring out how accommodating these monsters were really willing to be.

"Closed, but not locked?" He signed hesitantly.

Nightmare gave him a soft smile. "Of course. We rarely lock this room anyway unless we have company we're unsure of. It's no trouble." He finished pulling the door closed, fluidly moving to the other side of the room while giving the anxious skeleton a wide berth.

This gave Blue the chance to look around and actually take in the space while the vampire's back was turned and focus appeared to be elsewhere. It was fairly spacious, a large wooden desk residing on one half of the office with a few filing cabinets and comfy looking leather chairs around it, two on the working side of the desk and two on the visiting side. That area was set up as if for a formal meeting. The other half of the room however, looked much less serious and much more cozy.

There was a bookshelf along one wall filled with knick knacks and an assortment of books with well-worn spines. A coffee table stood in the center of a comfortable seating area surrounded by a recliner, a love seat, and a lounge chair. There was also a small counter standing in the back corner with a drawer and cabinet beneath the work surface, which seemed to be the tentacled monster's destination.

With smooth, practiced movements, Nightmare pulled an electric kettle along with a teapot and a gallon of water from below. Blue was impressed, and slightly mesmerized, by the way the vampire multitasked, a couple tendrils opening the jug of water to fill the kettle and the others pulling mugs out of the cabinet. He used his hands to open the drawer and bring forth a small mason jar of what the mortal guessed was honey based on the color, along with some spoons. The dark monster rifled through the rest of the drawer, turning his skull only slightly to address his brother.

“Dream, what tea do you need?"

The golden eyed skeleton crossed his arms with a huff. "Nightmare, I am fine. I don't need your mother henning."

"Lemon balm and peppermint it is,” Nightmare replied simply, pulling out another jar of what appeared to be dried herbs, presumably lemon balm and peppermint, and closing the drawer as he unscrewed the lid and started spooning the loose mixture into a basket he’d taken out of the teapot, flicking on the electric kettle with the tip of a tendril. Once finished with his measuring, he turned around with his arms crossed and a brow raised as he steadily met his twin's gaze, leaning back against the counter. "Brother, I have known you since we were born. I can tell when you have or are getting a headache. You don't have to see it as me ‘mother henning’ either, you know. You could…" He trailed off and looked away to the floor, expression turning more contrite. “You could take it as an apology for stressing you out again like I did," he finished in a smaller voice.

Dream softened slightly at that with a sigh. "Alright, I'll allow it," he relented, turning to Blue with a small smile as he nodded to the seating area. "You can get comfortable if you want. If Nighty is making tea, we'll probably be here a while. You get first pick on seats."

"Would you like some tea as well, Blue?" Nightmare asked. "I'm making a blend I grew and put together myself. Peppermint and lemon balm is a mix I enjoy for headaches, stress, and digestion."

The smaller twin chuckled. "And this, and that, and the other. Nighty could go on all day about his teas and his herb garden if you let him," he teased.

"You leave my children out of this," the dark monster demanded, brandishing a spoon in his brother's direction threateningly, although he was grinning with mirth in his sockets. After a pause he laughed, looking again at Blue. "Okay, but I will admit he's not wrong."

That startled a snort from the small monster, reaching up to cover his mouth with a grin he'd been trying to fight since the twins had started their sibling squabble. Nightmare didn't seem to mind at all as he gained a satisfied look and turned back to the kettle that had gone off to pour the hot water into the pot, a pleasant whiff of the steam reaching Blue's nasal cavity.

It smelled good, and it looked like they would all be drinking out of the same pot, seeing as Nightmare had picked it up, turning with a timer in hand and a hotpad in one tendril, likely aiming to set it all down on the coffee table. They wouldn't mess with tea they were drinking as well, right?

Composing himself, he gave an affirmative nod to the question Nightmare had posed earlier. “I would like some if I may, please," He signed politely.

"Sure thing. I'll grab the mugs, Nighty," Dream responded, moving to grab the cups that had been set out earlier.

"You can sit if you'd like, dear," Nightmare reminded as he set the teapot in the center of the table along with the timer. “We need to wait for our drinks to steep for a while anyway. Might as well get comfortable while that's going.”

Blue hesitated a moment longer before choosing to sit on the loveseat pushed against the wall facing the other chairs, giving him a clear view of the others in the room and a barrier at his back to stop anyone from sneaking up behind him. Sure, he put himself in a corner, but at this point he wasn't in any position and didn’t have the desire to run should things turn south, so being able to see anything that was coming his way was more important than being closer to the exit.

He was halfway relieved when Nightmare sat in the recliner and Blue no longer felt as if he were being towered over. Soon after he settled, the mortal pulled his legs up to sit crisscrossed on the cushions when he found his feet didn't touch the floor. Dreams soon joined them, placing the mugs on the table and kicking back in the lounge chair with a sigh, massaging his temples again with clenched teeth.

"Worse?" the larger twin asked with a worried expression, one tendril stretching over to wrap around the back of Dream’s vertebrae, appearing to squeeze and release at specific points on the golden monsters neck, making Blue nervous for a second before seeing the other relax somewhat into the appendage, not seeming bothered by the powerful tentacle around such a vulnerable part of his spine.

"Coming and going," Dream replied with a groan. “I still can't believe you didn't say anything about this," he muttered as his sockets closed and he leaned further into the massaging tentacle.

Nightmare actually seemed to wince at that with a guilty expression. "There wasn't any time to explain while we were there. Those bastards ran a tight ship. Seeing how they operated, it's no wonder they managed to slip by for so long. They were watching us like hawks, and we just didn't get the chance to really talk before getting him out of there."

"That's not the point, Nightmare,” Dream answered tiredly, sockets opening as he met his brother's gaze. “I understand that, and that's fine. The problem is that you didn't tell me you didn't explain anything. I would have gone about this morning so differently. Explain what was happening before we even left his room, for starters."

"I know. I'm sorry."

Dream sighed. "I know, Nightmare. I can't say I'm not to blame for not asking either," the smaller twin admitted. "I'm really just upset that I could have seriously messed something major up."

Nightmare huffed a quiet laugh, though there wasn't much humor in it. "You think Wine and Coffee have ever miscommunicated like this?"

"With Coffee's anxiety and Wine's morally hot temper? Definitely at least once when they first started out with all of this. Maybe not the exact same, but I bet similar." Dream paused, taking the tendril wrapped around the back of his skull in a firm hold while he held the vampire's eyelight. "Wine isn't going to bite your head off over this either, you know? It's not like he's going to come back and take over as leader again just because you made a mistake. It was your first time leading one of those. He's most likely just going to call it a learning experience and move on."

The dark skeleton only nodded in response, plunging the room into a quiet that was surprisingly comfortable. It felt oddly domestic. It had given Blue a moment to observe as well, and seeing their soft interactions had been comforting in their own right. He was in truth glad they had appeared to forget he was there for a moment. Seeing how they cared for each other. Nightmare and his tendrils being gentle, despite his size and a power difference.

The conversation had also provided little tidbits of information Blue could tuck away at the back of his mind for later thought and use. Wine and Coffee had been brought up at the same time again, like when Dream had mentioned earlier that they didn’t live in the mansion anymore. It seemed Wine may have been the leader of the coven before perhaps handing down the title to Nightmare, and considering the twins had been discussing whether or not the other two had miscommunicated before like they apparently had, the silent mortal could probably safely guess Coffee had been the head mortal before Dream.

Coffee was apparently the anxious type, and Wine had a temper, although Dream had described it as a 'morally hot' temper. Perhaps his anger arose when his personal morals were challenged or disregarded?

The timer going off startled everyone out of their musings. With a small embarrassed chuckle, Nightmare leaned forward to turn it off, arranging the mugs in a triangular pattern as he started pouring. He offered the first to Blue, then Dream, and finally took the last one himself. It was almost comical seeing the brothers both take a deep breath of the steam at nearly the same time, Dream sighing and Nightmare releasing a short hum.

Even if they hadn't told Blue they were siblings directly, he definitely could have safely assumed the twins were related.

Nightmare added a bit of honey from the jar before taking his first sip with a pleased noise, socket falling shut. Meanwhile, Dream didn't bother adding any extras before tasting his drink, losing some nearly unnoticeable tension in his shoulders as he did so.

After watching the siblings for a moment, the small mortal finally brought the cup to his teeth to take a small sip. His sockets closed automatically as he released a breath. He would agree with Dream, it didn't need anything added to it. Warm and refreshing at the same time, and he could already feel his magic settling more comfortably after overeating at breakfast.

"Not that this isn't nice," Dream started, breaking the silence with a reluctant tone, "But we do still owe you an explanation, Blue."

The sapphire eyed skeleton's brows furrowed as he looked down into his mug, nerves he hadn't even noticed were starting to lessen coming back to the forefront of his mind.

Nightmare sighed, looking conflicted. "Indeed, and I'm sure you will have questions as well." His gaze traveled over to the desk on the other side of the room.

"You know you're going to want it, Nightmare," Dream stated gently.

"I know, I know," The larger monster groaned, running a hand down his face. "That doesn't make it any less embarrassing." With that, he stood slowly to trudge over to the desk and filing cabinets. From the drawer of the work table, he pulled a notebook and pen decorated with a design of autumn leaves. He paused for a moment, seemingly considering something, before one of his extra appendages retrieved a thick file from the pile of them atop the desk as well.

"You aren't the only one who struggles with it sometimes, Nighty," the golden mortal assured.

Moving back over to sit heavily in the recliner, he mumbled seemingly more to himself than anyone else. "Semi fluent in three other languages, yet I still can't master this one," he grumbled. Nightmare held out the notebook and pen to the smaller mortal with one tendril and an apologetic look. "I truly don't mean to offend, Blue, but it would help me if you could write down what you wish to say while we discuss this. While I can usually pick up the basics of what someone says when they sign, I still tend to miss smaller things and need more clarification. With this conversation being as important as it is, I want to be sure I understand everything you wish to convey."

Tilting his skull, Blue blinked and accepted the writing material, setting his cup on the coffee table. Finding the notebook entirely blank inside, he tried to think of something to write. It had been… a while, to say the least, since anyone had truly wanted to know his thoughts or what he had to say on a matter, let alone accommodate his silence without pressuring him to vocally speak instead of sign, straining his weakened vocal nodes. The vampires he usually found himself around typically either didn't care about his quietness, or preferred it compared to a whiny feeder. That was the reason Blue had actually chosen to stop speaking most of the time. Quiet feeders draw less attention, and fewer reprimands for what the fanged beings chose to call 'talking back' at any given time.

Sure, he often drew attention in other ways to aid other feeders when they needed help, but at least Blue never 'talked back.'

The small mortal tapped the pen against the page a few times before starting to write slowly. "I'm not offended. It takes time to learn languages. Sometimes writing is easier as well when there are multiple people involved in the conversation anyway," he assured, allowing the twins to read before pulling the paper back to write again. "You two said you were going to explain why I'm here. Are feeders expected to do more here than in other covens?" He held out the book hesitantly, looking to his hand holding it instead of the others' sockets, giving their expressions only a few quick glances to gauge their reaction.

Dream's face scrunched and twisted into an uncomfortable grimace. "Okay, we'll get to that, but first I think we need to start with the most important matter you should know about," he started, looking at his brother and receiving an approving nod. When he turned back to Blue, he had a gentle smile on his teeth.

"Blue, you aren't going back to that place. Never again."

It took a moment for that to sink in, but when it did, Blue leaned back with wide sockets. His eyelights widened and shrunk in his shock. A permanent buy? Those were rare. Extremely rare. The market would ask a fortune just for the average feeder, but to lose a best seller like himself? He couldn't even begin to imagine how much Nightmare would have had to pay. Why? The vampire hadn't even sampled him. Why would he bother to pay so much?

Not only that, but if he was a permanent buy, that meant he would be required to figure out a whole new routine, learn a whole new set of mannerisms and rules. Learn how to best de-escalate an aggressive situation within this group. There was so much he had to figure out…

However, on the other hand, this could potentially be so much better than the market. He would always know what to expect. No more new buyers. No more unpredictable strange vampires. He could garner more permanent favor here, and maybe even a closer friendship with some of these mortals. They seemed friendly enough, and even the fanged monsters hadn't been aggressive toward him so far.

Still reeling slightly, Blue started writing something only to quickly scratch it out and turn to a fresh page without showing the twins. He set the pen down, picking up his mug of now cool tea for another drink and hoping the two wouldn't ask-

"What is it, Blue?" Dream inquired with a tilted skull.

"If you have a question, we'd be happy to answer," Nightmare added. "However, at the same time, we won't press for it."

Swallowing a gulp of liquid, the mortal started writing again. "Nothing. A morbid curiosity, that's all," He responded with a self-conscious look.

"Ah, I see. Well, morbid or not, curiosity is curiosity. I can hardly fault anyone for it when I often have my own as well. That said, I assure you, you can ask anything you wish. Considering the situation, I would even encourage it," the dark vampire stated with an understanding expression.

After another moment of hesitation, Blue's inquisitiveness won out, bolstered by the seemingly genuine open invitation to ask questions, which in itself was another novelty for the mortal. He started writing again, crossing out the first part halfway through to rewrite it in a slightly more polite fashion in his opinion. "How much did you have to pa How much did they ask for to permanently purchase a best seller?" As he held out the notebook for Nightmare to read, despite the large monster's encouragement, his soul beat a little faster as he hoped the question wasn't too blunt. Wouldn't give the head of the coven a rude impression.

However, as the fanged skeleton read the neat print, his teeth curled up in a smirk and he chuckled deeply, leaning back comfortably in his seat and folding his arms over his chest. "Oh, I'm sure they would have asked for no small fortune," he replied as his brother leaned forward to read the question as well, the latter gaining a tender, almost sad look. "But let me tell you, I didn't pay a damn cent. In fact, they were lucky they weren't given more than what my boys and myself dished out," he finished ominously with that same unnerving cheshire grin.

"Dial it back, batman. No need to get creepy and intimidating at home," Dream chided with an eye roll before catching Blue's gaze with a serious, compassionate look. "Don't mind him, Blue, he's just really satisfied and proud of his first accomplishment as solo leader. Point is, you weren't bought at all."

"No. My apologies, dear," Nightmare chimed in again with a more mild, slightly sheepish expression. "You see, what we did was not a transaction at all, despite what you saw. All of that? All of it was an underground bust." The vampire's expression turned serious as he leaned forward, locking his soft eyelight with Blue's sockets.

"Blue, that operation is gone. Those bastards will not be selling anyone again."

As that declaration registered, Blue couldn't help how his brows furrowed and sockets narrowed in suspicion. It… that was impossible, wasn't it? He'd given up on getting out, on the business getting busted, years ago. When he found out the big boss had a solid chunk of the police force in his pocket. The operators were always so careful as well. So selective of who they sell to. As much as he wished for it, he couldn't believe it was possible.

"I have a hard time believing that," he wrote slowly with a pinched expression. "The police wouldn't touch the operation. Too many of them on the big wig's payroll. They wouldn't bust that part of the market."

Dream's expression softened. "That is mostly true, unfortunately. There is a good chunk of the police who look the other way so long as it doesn't affect them or their families, but Blue, there is another sizable portion of them on the opposite side of that fence."

"Yes, there are quite a few, mortal and vampire alike, who are absolutely appalled by the whole thing, but they can't do anything about it without losing their jobs or endangering themselves and their loved ones. That is actually when groups like ours come in," Nightmare added, continuing to explain, "We, and other groups like us, are clusters of… vigilantes I suppose would be the proper term, and while we don't officially work with the police, there are certain individuals who will come to us with leads and information they manage to scrape up from the force, and we follow the trails to sniff out and dissolve the operations, one way or another." The dark skeleton set the file he'd retrieved down on the coffee table, tapping it with one phalange before slowly pushing it over to Blue. "The market that had you was one of the slipperiest we've come across. Extremely cautious, extremely selective, extremely organized."

The small mortal slowly reached forward to pick up the folder, glancing between the brothers as he did. There was a serial number on the tab. His serial number. The one he'd been assigned when he'd first been picked up. As he opened it, his sockets widened while he looked over the contents. The first page was just information about him. Serial number, date he was acquired, height, weight, species, so on and so forth.

"Killer snatched this up from the desk when that man took him to their office and I took you out to the van," Nightmare explained quietly.

Blue nodded distractedly as he turned to the next page, brows furrowed. A list of repeat buyers and prices. Another list of who not to sell him to and why. A note to possibly raise the price on him in the near future written on a sticky note. Next few pages. Descriptions of typical behavior. Desirable attributes. Undesirable issues. Positive and negative reviews, though far more of the former than the latter.

With each piece of paper he skimmed over, he felt more and more indignant. Almost more violated than he felt before, but at the same time progressively more numb as he continued to read through all the information the operation had collected on him over the years. That is, until he made it to some of the final pages. These detailed seemingly every instance he'd been disciplined by the business operators. What methods were used and how effective they'd been, as well as the reason for punishment.

When he reached the pages of pictures referencing each entry, he had to close the file quickly, shutting his sockets and swallowing hard to drive down the taste of bile in the back of his throat. He already had those images ingrained into his memories, he didn't need to see them from another perspective as well, thank you very much.

"Blue, are you alright?" Dream asked softly, a worried expression on his skull.

Swallowing again, the silent skeleton nodded, returning the file to the coffee table with a shaky breath and slightly trembling hands. "Fine. I didn't know they kept track of everything like that," he wrote out. With that in mind, he was forced to acknowledge the fact that the people running the business would never allow a file like this to leave the walls of the market willingly. Local police in their pocket or not, this was more than enough evidence to get feds involved, which would be disastrous for business. Not even a permanent buyer would be allowed a product’s file, simply for the sake of being sure the market's ass was covered.

A sorrowful look crossed Nightmare's face. “I didn't want to distress you, dear, and I'm sorry for that. I only meant to prove we were telling the truth. I'm sure you of all people would know the scum who ran that place would never let these records see the light of day," he apologized.

The quiet monster nodded. “How many of you have read that?" He asked, writing slowly.

"I think Wine is the only one who read it in its entirety," Dream answered. "Also pretty sure he wanted to burn it when he was done. He looked furious. Killer took a quick peek at the first page to be sure of what he was grabbing, and Nightmare and I skimmed for any recent injuries or other things that would potentially need immediate attention, but we didn't really look in depth into most of it. We wanted to give you the decision of who can really look into all of that, if anyone at all," he explained.

Blue nodded distractedly, not entirely focused on the topic, even though he was the one who’d asked. He didn't know how he felt at the moment. He believed them now, he knew that much, but beyond that? There was such a confusing mixture of emotions in his soul. When he fantasized about being rescued back in his earlier years of captivity, he had imagined he would be overjoyed. Relieved. Filled with gratitude. Overall, he thought he would be feeling nothing but positive emotions upon realizing he was saved.

Well, fantasies often differed vastly from reality.

He clicked the pen in his hand repeatedly, feeling the need to move as his soul roiled within him. There were so many thoughts bouncing in his skull. This was new territory. This was something he'd given up on long ago. How could he not, when he'd been trapped in that lifestyle for nearly a decade now? Or had it been a decade yet? Wait, had it been summer or autumn when he'd been outside for that brief moment yesterday? Didn't matter. It was close enough to a decade that it didn't really matter. Point was, he didn't think this would ever happen. What was he supposed to do? How was he supposed to feel? There was so much to think about. Too much. What was he going to do now? How did he really feel?

The small mortal hadn't realized he stood up. Barely registered as he started pacing, both hands running along the sides of his skull in a repetitive self-soothing gesture. Didn't notice when his breathing started becoming faster. Shallower.

He didn't know what he was going to do.

"Blue. Blue, hey. Can you hear me, hun?"

The voice was muffled, like it was moving through rushing water, but it instinctively caught the distressed monster's attention. He froze, shaking pin prick eyelights snapping over to see Dream standing as well, hands outstretched and clearly visible. A calm smile grew on his face, though there was worry in his sockets accompanied by a small bit of relief when Blue looked over at the sound of his voice.

"Hey, there you are. You know who I am, yeah? Good. Good. Can I come a bit closer?" the golden monster asked soothingly, only moving when the smaller nodded stiffly. "Thank you, hun. Can I touch you? Hold your hand? Maybe your arm too? Thank you. Should we sit down again? You seem a little shaky right now." With Blue’s permission, both skeletons sat together on the loveseat, Dream rubbing gently along the upset monster's humerus and the back of his hand. The golden mortal brought Blue’s phalanges up to rest against his sternum, requesting softly for the sapphire eyed skeleton to breathe with him, taking his own slow breath for the smaller to feel the ribs expand and contract.

They stayed like that, Dream grounding him as Blue ever so slowly came down from his heightened emotions. Eventually, his eyelights stopped shaking and returned to their normal size. His breathing evened out further. He wasn’t panicking as much, but he was emotionally exhausted.

"There we go. Back with us, Blue?" The golden skeleton asked gently, still rubbing slow circles into his hand.

The exhausted monster nodded again with a quiet reedy hum of confirmation. He looked over to see Nightmare still sitting in his spot, a concerned look on his skull as he remained where he was. Blue was quick to look away. What was wrong with him? He freaked out, in front of the one who had saved him for star's sake, over something he should be grateful for.

"I'm sorry," he signed slowly with his free hand, sockets turned down.

Dream shook his head. "There is no reason to be, hun," he stated gently, though his tone provided no room for argument.

"No, of course not," the vampire agreed immediately in a soft voice. "This is a lot all at once. It's overwhelming. You are just reacting to a stressful situation, nothing more, nothing less. You should never have to apologize for that."

Blue didn't respond, not entirely agreeing but also not going to argue. Instead, his eyes fell on the previously discarded notebook and pen, reaching to retrieve it and pulling his hand easily away from Dream's hold, although the other mortal continued to rub his arm and back. There was a question he needed an answer to.

"What happens to me now?"

Nightmare’s brows furrowed with a sympathetic look. “Well, that is the issue isn't it?" he sighed. "There is a bit of a problem there. We… we didn't get all of the bastards. Some of them slipped away or weren't at the facility at the time, so they are still out there. For now, until we are sure they won't be coming after their victims again, especially those who made them the most profit, you and the others who were held captive there are currently in a protection program of sorts. You all have been placed in the homes and under the watch of other covens we trust and have worked with in the past. We did our best to match each of you up with like monster types and humans. We were hoping that bit of familiarity would help you all… adjust. Start to heal."

"Mhm. You were the only skeleton, so we took you in ourselves," Dream chimed in with a small grin.

"Indeed. Now all that said, you aren't isolated here. I believe you all have had more than enough captivity. When you're ready, you can come on little outings with us if you want to. You don't have to, but it's an option, as well as therapy, should you want it, and help with returning your voice also. Again, that is all up to you. You've had enough choices taken from you already, and we will not be continuing that pattern."

Dream nodded. "We can take it as slow or as fast as you want. Start small. Now, the other thing we can do is get you in contact with family and loved ones again," he stated with a wide smile.

That made Blue sit up a little straighter with round sockets. His family. He could talk to his family again. His aunt. His cousins. His baby brother.

However, just as soon as the excitement came, it faded away again as his expression fell. No. Not yet. He was still unsure about this whole situation. He couldn't drag them into this mess. Not without knowing if he would be endangering them either by bringing them too close and having the bastards of the market discover them, or by inviting them to the home of a coven he still didn't actually know yet.

As much as it twisted his soul, he shook his head solemnly.

The twins looked at each other with concerned, sad expressions before Dream spoke again softly. "Okay. Let us know if you change your mind though, alright? "

"Got it. In the meantime, I'm living here, so I should know the rules. Feeding times, schedules, places I can't go, etc," he wrote, although his skull was starting to feel like it was filled with syrup. He was having a harder time focusing as a distant look took over in his sockets. He was still looking at the brothers when they spoke, but at times it felt more like looking through them.

Dream and Nightmare shared another look, although this time Blue didn't try to decipher the emotion in their eyelights. He only saw furrowed brow bones and a slight pinching around the edges of their sockets. He thought again of how similar their faces looked at times.

"As of right now, rules are pretty straightforward," NIghtmare started slowly, “Don't try to start fights or antagonize the others. Be respectful of everyone's boundaries and wishes. If you have troubles, come talk to one of us or one of the others to get them set right. Ask questions if you have them. Overall, common sense and courtesy reigns here."

Dream continued. "The only places off limits are personal bedrooms unless you're invited, and the same goes for the others. Unless they are invited, no one else is allowed in your room either. Schedules fluctuate. Some of us have jobs we can do at home or at the location itself. Sometimes we might take a trip with a few of us or all of us together if we have the extra time off. Again, if you question, you can ask. At least one person should be available anytime you need them."

"Indeed. Now, as far as feeding times, you absolutely are not required to participate, but if you choose to, Dream is in charge of arranging that, and has final say."

The golden monster nodded. "Adult vamps feed about every three days, and we try to arrange feedings to be on the same day so everyone has a chance to properly recover their magic in between even if something unexpected happens. Ink is a little different. Since he's still growing he feeds about every other day or just when he gets hungry if someone is available and willing. Which leads to the most important part of the whole thing," he stated with a pointed look, "All mortals and all vampires are allowed to turn down a feeding. So, if you are uncomfortable or if it would cause you stress, like we all said before, you can back out at any point in time. Now, on the other side of the coin, a vampire might also refuse either the feeding altogether, or a feeding from a specific mortal. They might do that because they aren't hungry, are worried for the donor, don't have time, or they are uncomfortable taking from a mortal they don't normally feed from," he finished, listing each point out on his fingers.

"On that note," Nightmare chimed in, "There are a couple rooms set aside in the mansion that are more tucked away if either the vampire or provider want to perform the feeding away from anyone else."

Dream pointed to his brother with a confirming hum. "Yep, that too. Oh, and we also don't use the term 'feeder' here. We think it's kind of… demeaning to only refer to someone as what they can provide for others. We usually say donor or provider if anything at all. Better connotations, you know?"

Blue nodded. That was a lot of information. Admittedly, not all of it was entirely sinking in. He was listening, he really was, his mind just wasn't quite… absorbing. He likened the feeling to a new fluffy dish towel. At first, the water droplets just cling to the surface without being absorbed by the fabric, but once oh so much liquid actually penetrates the surface layer of the fuzz, drying the dishes becomes much easier until the towel is soaked and has to dry again.

The small mortal’s mind was in that first stage. The information was there, but only clinging to the surface. Once it started to sink in a little bit, he knew it wouldn't take long before it all hit him and he was overwhelmed again. For now though, he would just let the droplets cling where they were. Wait to fully absorb the new knowledge until he was tucked away by himself and wouldn't draw attention if he reacted poorly again. That was what he knew how to do. That was what felt safe, right?

Nightmare observed him quietly for a moment, expression softening. “Alright. I think that's enough for right now. It's a lot to take in all at once, but please take your time. No one expects a starved man to eat a five course meal in one sitting, after all. Small portions over time are far more easily digested. Again, and we cannot stress this enough, if you have questions, you can ask, but for now I think we'd rather let you rest for a while. Take this all in at your own pace," he finished, Dream voicing his agreement immediately after.

The sapphire eyed skeleton nodded again, a bit numbly. What now? There was something he was supposed to do soon, wasn't there? Something he said he'd do.

Oh, right. The kid. He said he'd feed Ink. Actually, that could be good for him right now. Something familiar to cut the unfamiliarity. Something he knew well to contrast against what he’d learned but had yet to fully comprehend.

Blue took up the notebook again. "Would Ink be ready to feed yet?" he asked, noting the way the brothers seemed to become uncomfortable. Worried maybe.

"You still want to do that, Blue? You're sure? I do have a plan for how to arrange it if you’ve changed your mind," Dream checked again.

Nightmare hummed. "Yes, you know fully what is going on now. You know you can refuse. No one would be upset with you."

"Yes, I'm sure. He's a kid. I want to help him, and I want to help you too," Blue reiterated, standing firm in his decision.

Dream sighed, looking at Nightmare, who only shrugged.

"It is your call, brother."

The golden skeleton groaned, running a hand down his face as he studied Blue again, finding the same determination in his eyelights as he'd had in the hallway before they reached the dining room, even if he didn't appear to be entirely present. "Alright. Okay. You can still feed him, Blue. Let's just… sit here a while longer though, yeah? We still have our tea to finish after all."

The small monster relented easily, finishing what was left in his cup just for Nightmare to offer more from the still warm teapot. With mugs refilled, the three fell into a thoughtful silence, each consumed in their own memories from the past and thoughts of what was to come in the near future.

Notes:

Ok, a lot happened in this chapter. We got to see the twins do some sibling stuff, Blue got a shocking revelation, and everyone is on the same page now. That's good! That's a start! Now we just gotta get Blue settled in and settled down a little more. Start to chip away at old bad habits and poor thought processes. Oh boy... He's gonna need all the support he can get for a while...
Anyway! I hope you all liked the update, and I look forward to seeing and replying to all y'all in the comments! Thank you for reading!

Chapter 5: Feeding

Summary:

Blue may still be trying to process all of this (or, rather, trying not to), but regardless of how he's feeling, he still has a little vampire to feed, and he is not going back on his word now.

Notes:

Been a minute since I've had the time to work on this one, but here ya go! New chapter! Hope you all enjoy. ^v^

After finishing his second cup of tea, Blue felt marginally better. Still a bit dazed and still needing to devote quite a bit of focus to remain in the present moment, but slightly less overwhelmed for now. Until he could be left alone with his thoughts at least.

The twins had started a soft conversation at one point, providing a welcome mundane drone in the background for the smaller mortal to listen to quietly. He was grateful the silence hadn't lasted for too long, and even more so that the brothers hadn't forced him into the conversation considering he wasn't sure if he could truly put his exhausted thoughts into properly worded order. The quiet was often times when the sapphire-eyed skeleton's mind would spiral down undesirable paths.

Leaning forward to set his empty cup on the coffee table, he inwardly cringed at the sound of the ceramic on the glass top when it was louder than he expected, pulling the eyes of both Dream and Nightmare. He silently cursed himself on reflex for drawing attention unnecessarily as he leaned back again without meeting their gazes.

"Feeling any better, Blue?" Dream asked with a gentle smile.

The silent monster nodded slightly, choosing to sign instead of write for the simplicity of the answer. "A little bit."

"I'm glad."

"How was the tea, dear?" Nightmare interjected with a soft, though curious expression. "I'm always open for suggestions on how to improve my blends. Any sort of critique."

"Or compliment~," the brighter twin added with a teasing grin, earning himself a light flick from one of Nightmare's tendrils that only made him chuckle.

"Oh, please. You act as if I'm starving for positive feedback," the vampire stated with an eye roll, even though he also grinned slightly as he shook his head. "Really though, any feedback is appreciated. I like to try and make a special blend for everyone who lives here tailored to their preferences, but it all starts with learning what everyone likes or doesn't like."

Blue tilted his skull with a questioning look. "Why?" he signed.

The dark monster blinked, apparently caught off guard by the question. "Why do I make them for each monster?" He clarified, humming as he tilted his head in a similar manner when Blue nodded. "Well, I suppose there are a few reasons. One, I like to give personalized gifts. I feel they mean more when accounting for the thought put into them. Two, I enjoy the challenge and experimentation when it comes to growing or mixing new herbs I think may work well together or compliment another flavor in certain ratios. And three, I just believe everyone deserves a good tea," he finished with a lighthearted shrug.

"Usually once he gets it right it's his version of a housewarming gift," Dream added with a smile. "Sort of a 'welcome to our home' kind of deal."

The smaller mortal nodded in understanding, taking up the notebook and fighting to come up with a coherent comment through the remaining fog in his mind. "It was enjoyable. I liked the peppermint, but I found it a bit overpowering of the other flavor," he wrote honestly.

"I'll keep that in mind, thank you."

"So, Blue, " the golden twin started cautiously, "do you think you're ready to go see if we can find Ink? We can stay longer if you want," he assured quickly.

The sapphire-eyed skeleton simply deadpanned. He knew the other meant well, but he was getting a bit tired of one, being asked to confirm his decision regarding Ink over and over again, and two, being treated as if he was a fragile piece of glass. He'd been through hell and back for the past ten years, he could handle himself.

He didn't know how to react to someone truly worrying about him anymore

Dream raised his hands in surrender with a sheepish smile. "Okay. I get it. Sorry. Well, let's go then. We'll stop in the living room to see how the others are doing first. Ink might be with them already."

Agreeing, Nightmare stood to grab the utensils they'd used for the tea, gathering everything neatly in his tendrils to take to the kitchen and wash. As they left, the dark boned vampire opened the door for them again before departing, leaving the two mortals in the hall as he made his way to the kitchen.

As Dream led him down the passage, Blue couldn't help but find the silence that fell over them grating. Perhaps it was just him though. The quiet was just so empty. His thoughts wanted to fill the absence, despite his desire to remain in his more numbed state for now. He wished he had some sort of conversation to start with the other monster walking beside him, but he couldn't think of anything beyond the topics he was desperately trying to avoid.

Finally reaching their destination, Blue peered in to find Error knitting in a comfortable looking recliner with his feet up. Dust was sitting in a rocking chair nearby, reading with a pair of round glasses perched on his nasal ridge and amplifying the effect of his mismatched eyelights as he peered over the top of them, nodding to the new arrivals in the room before going back to his book. Killer and Valentine were there as well, as they said they'd be, taking up a couch with Val's head in the vampire's lap, sockets closed as the fanged monster stroked his skull gently.

When Val opened one socket to peek at who had come into the room, his eyelight was noticeably fuzzy around the edges, prompting Blue to take a closer look at the vested skeleton. He was paler, magic not as vibrant in his joints, and he appeared to be on the verge of a nap. When he met Blue's eyelights, he lifted his hand in a lazy wave with a sleepy grin.

Ah. He must have just gotten done with a feeding.

"Heya, cutie. Glad you could make it."

The shorter mortal waved back, casting a cautious look toward the only vampire in the room, but Killer only gave him a small sheepish smile before looking down again at the monster in his lap, continuing the gentle petting.

"Everything got explained and squared away, I take it?" Error asked, still working on his knitting as he glanced up briefly.

"Yep. Everyone is on the same page now," Dream confirmed with Blue nodding his agreement.

The multicolored skeleton hummed in approval, setting his project down for the moment as he presumably finished his row. "Good. I'm glad that's all straightened out then. So, how are you feeling, pal? I know the whole deal is a bit jarring," he asked, giving the small mortal his full attention.

Blue shrugged, looking away. "Not sure yet. It's a lot," he signed mildly.

"Don't I know it," Error agreed with a sympathetic sigh. "Still got time to figure it out though. My advice? Give yourself a chance to breathe. Don't try to force any big changes on yourself just cause you think you should. Trust me, it makes a difference when you actually take a bit of time to relax and ease into everything."

"I'd second that" Dust spoke up, the rocking chair slowing to a stop as he met and held Blue's gaze through his glasses. "Can't say I was in the same position as you guys when I wound up here at first, but I can say it helped when I settled down a bit."

Killer snorted. "Settled down? You mean when you stopped trying to ambush everyone who even came close to you or your room?"

Dust gave the vampire an impish grin, mirth in his sockets. "You still salty over the net trap?"

"I was hanging there for two hours," Killer exclaimed, though there was no real upset in his words or expression. He honestly seemed more entertained than anything.

Blue couldn't help the grin that stole over his expression, trying to cover it with a polite hand despite the others outright voicing their own amusement. The thought of a vampire getting caught in some mortal's trap, and the latter getting away with it? That was great. A point on the scoreboard for the less powerful beings.

"Stars, I remember that," Valentine laughed. "You were all tangled up and couldn't get to your pocket knife. Then we finally find you and get you down so we can go on the search for Traps McGee over there, and he's nowhere to be found."

"Didn't you guys find him in the kitchen?" Error asked, apparently not having been present for the fiasco, but knowing about the story.

Dream nodded with a chuckle. "Yup. Come to find out, Horror was the first one able to tame the feral Dust. With a sandwich of all things."

"Hey, don't judge me. Peanut butter and marshmallow fluff may as well be ambrosia in the meatless sandwich world. You guys don't know what you're missing," Dust shot back playfully. "I will fight and die on that hill. H fucking mastered the ratio too."

Another round of laughter filled the room before Dream was able to compose himself again, though he still had a wide grin on his face. "Think I'll steer clear of that battle, personally. Oh, but speaking of Horror, how'd the clean up go, Dust?"

"Good. Cross and the kid beat us at dishes, which was expected."

Dream nodded. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Well, whenever he's ready you can go ahead and feed H. Blue still wants to feed Ink, so you can get the big guy done whenever. Any idea where they are now though? Cross too?"

Dust hummed, and Blue didn't miss the surprised looks he got from the others in the room. "Pretty sure Horror took the kid out to the garden for a bit to distract him. The little bud was getting a bit mopey, so our guess is he's getting hungrier than he usually does. Makes sense though. He's probably due for another growth spurt soon. As for Cross? No idea. I turned around for two seconds and he vanished."

The golden mortal sighed. "He's going to fight me on this today, isn't he?"

“Most likely," Killer piped up with a tired expression. "Can’t really blame him though. I think he's feeling a bit… discouraged. I'm guessing this morning kinda threw him off. Do you want some help finding him?"

Dream nodded with a sad look. "If you wouldn't mind, I'd appreciate it."

The target souled monster shook his skull. "Don't mind at all. You good if I go though, Val? Don't wanna just up and leave ya if you're still feeling woozy," he checked, looking down at the mortal still laying in his lap.

"Nah, go ahead. I'll be good here, and I've got the others to hang with for a bit," the fluffy skeleton assured with a wink, sitting up finally to let Killer stand. Once he had though, Val laid down again and closed his sockets.

To Blue at least, it was clear the vested monster was still just a bit dizzy, but his color was already coming back. It was interesting, and a bit comforting honestly, to see Valentine hadn't been totally incapacitated by the feeding, as many mortals were after most mealtimes in Blue's experience, himself included. He absently wondered if that was due to restraint on the vampire's part, or if the mortal just had a deeper mana reserve than himself and the others he came across over the years. Either way, the smaller skeleton was glad to see the other was well on his way to recovering.

Dust stood as well, placing a bookmark between the pages he was reading and setting it on the end table nearby while he stretched. "I'll probably go find H. He usually likes to feed before he starts prep work for lunch and supper. If Ink’s still with him, I'll send him down this way too. That cool with you, Blue?" he asked, fixing the shorter monster with a neutral look, though it was still searching as well. Likely watching for hesitance or nervousness.

Blue gave his own firm nod. "That would be appreciated, thank you," he signed in reply, matching the hooded mortal's gaze.

“… Alright," Dust relented with a shrug after a few more moments of pause. He raised one hand to wave behind him as he turned away, heading for the exit. "See you all later."

A chorus of farewells followed him before Dream spoke up again. "Well, guess we'd better go too if Dust is just going to send Ink here when he finds him. The sooner we find Cross, the sooner we can get him calmed down enough to feed. See ya." As he and Killer went to leave as well, he turned to the vampire walking beside him. "So, where should we look first, do you think?"

The taller skeleton hummed. "Well, probably the gym or the track first to see if he went to blow off some energy, then we could start checking some of the other rec rooms…”

“And then there were three,” Error commented as the others’ voices faded down the hall, turning to look at Blue with a concerned, guilty expression. "Are you really sure you want to feed the kid? It seriously doesn't have to be your responsibility," he stated earnestly.

Valentine huffed from his place on the couch. "Leave him be, nokia. We've checked in with him like fifty times about this. It's gotta be getting old, right?" he asked, one socket popping open to look at Blue.

“A little," the smaller monster confirmed mildly, tilting his skull from side to side in a so-so motion, downplaying the annoyance starting to rear its ugly head at the continuous double and triple checking.

“That's what I thought," Valentine stated with a sigh as he softened a bit. "Besides, Ink isn't only your responsibility anymore. You got more of us to help now, and more importantly, we want to help you out. You just gotta let us."

A quiet hum escaped the smaller mortal as he was hit with a realization. Error must have been Ink’s main caregiver before the mansion. He still felt responsible for the kid. Like he should be the one taking care of him. That would make sense then why he seemed to feel so guilty about someone else having to feed him.

“Yeah yeah yeah, I know. You all say that," he relented, seeming to deflate slightly into his recliner as he picked up his project again.

“You can sit if you want Blue. Rocking chair is open, or you can have the other end of the couch," Valentine invited, shifting the topic and focus away from the multicolored skeleton.

Blue took the invitation easily, choosing to sit on the couch, and placing himself between the two mortals and in sight of the doorway. The room descended into silence as the sweater clad skeleton curled into the corner. However, he wished again for some sort of conversation to start, even if only between the other two for him to listen. Something to distract him from the treacherous thoughts once again trying to worm their way to the front of his mind even as he tried to tamp them back down. They wouldn't do him any good. All they’d do was upset him again, and he absolutely did not want the child to see him in such a state.

Blue jumped as his hand was grabbed in a gentle yet firm grip, shaken out of his thoughts as it was pulled away and only then realizing what he'd been doing. As he'd been focused on stopping up his own mind and emotions regarding this whole situation, his phalanges had moved to start scratching repeatedly at the underside of his jaw. Not lightly either, judging by the sting still tingling around the area and making it itch more. Well, at least it didn't seem he'd made himself bleed yet, considering his hand was still clean.

Looking from his hand to the one holding it, he found Valentine looking back at him with a concerned expression. "Are you alright, sweet pea?" he asked softly.

The smaller looked away as he pulled his arm back with a shrug. "Not bleeding. I'm fine," he signed back, deliberately avoiding the real question, knowing he wouldn't be able to lie convincingly enough to fool the vested skeleton regarding how he was really doing mentally. Glancing over, he saw Error was watching him too, a sort of understanding and contemplation mixing in his sockets.

"Have you ever done cat's cradle, Blue?" the red socketed monster asked finally, the question coming seemingly from nowhere. Still, Blue shook his head in answer with a slightly confused expression. The multicolored mortal gave a short nod before leaning over the arm of his chair, reaching down into a bag next to the recliner and coming up with a skein of navy blue yarn. He cut two lengths from the ball, tying the ends of one together to create a loop, then doing the same to the other. Seemingly satisfied, he offered one loop to the smaller monster. "I can teach you. Something to focus on and do with your hands if you want.”

Seeing what Error was doing, and so grateful for the bliss of distraction without directly calling him out for needing something to turn his attention to, Blue readily accepted the offer. Valentine even joined in, not quite with the same precision and practice as the glitching skeleton, though not quite as clumsy and inexperienced as the sweater clad monster either. It took a bit for the sapphire-eyed skeleton to get the movements and transitions figured out, and they were still somewhat sloppy, but the repetition was nice, as was the mental challenge of remembering how to get to each position.

Blue wasn't sure how long they spent that way before they heard the rapid tapping of small footfalls coming their way. Looking up, the three of them were just in time to watch Ink skid by the door, socks sliding on the hardwood as he attempted to put on the brakes. A moment later, there was a thump, presumably caused by the kid hitting the ground somewhere beyond the wall with a surprised yelp.

“I'm okay!" Ink called out as he rounded the door frame again with a wild grin, panting from his apparent mad dash.

Valentine laughed while Blue snorted with a reedy chuckle and Error just shook his head with a fond grin, rolling his eyelights.

“Well I'd hope so, sugar," Val commented as he got control of himself again, "If you got hurt every time you took a tumble, we'd be spending more time getting you fixed up than we would chasing you around."

“You know, you wouldn't keep slipping and falling like that if you stopped running around in just your socks like I keep telling you," Error mentioned, though there was a playfulness to his tone.

Ink’s smile grew mischievous as he turned to the older monster. "But sliding around in socks is so fun! You should try it, grumps."

Error raised a brow, his own smile widening as he leaned forward. “You say so, small fry?"

“Codger," the little vampire popped back with a giggle, hands on his hips.

“Tyke.”

“Flip phone.”

“Mousey.”

“Glitch.”

“Squidlet.”

They kept going until Ink fell into a fit of giggles, unable to keep going and apparently giving Error the win in the little game they were playing. Blue just watched on, entertained and happy to see the evidence of such a close relationship between the two. Once he calmed down again, the young monster hopped up on the couch, sandwiching himself between Val and Blue with a happy noise as he sank into the cushions, feet kicking off the ledge where they didn't touch the ground. After a minute or two though, he started to fidget, looking down at his hands as he fiddled with his fingers.

“Um… Dust told me you still wanted to feed me, Blue. That I should find you if I was getting hungry," he admitted sheepishly. “I, um, I wanted to ask if we could do that now? And maybe… maybe practice using my scent?"

“Which one are you wanting to use?” Error interjected before Blue could respond.

The kid ducked down a little, still not meeting any of their gazes. "Just the numbing one. I don't want to hurt him," he answered quietly.

“You're fine, Ink. I was just asking," Error assured gently. “You remember when we got here, and I didn't even know the numbing effect existed? I wanted to explain if he didn't know about it either before it happened." He turned to the sweater clad monster next, no doubt seeing the confusion in his sockets. "I'm taking that look as a no. Never been numbed before? Not surprising, in all honesty. The assholes who used to have us cared more about making sure we couldn't get away or fight back, right? So, here's the thing, a vamp can kind of numb you with their scent before they bite too. Makes pain just feel like pressure. Some people prefer it, some people don't, but Night and the other vamps have been working on practicing with the kid to get his scent control down."

Ink nodded, finally looking up at Blue was a nervous expression. "If you don't want me to, then I won't… but I don't like hurting people, and I know biting hurts,” he stated, looking down again at his hands.

Blue didn't need long to think about it. If the kid needed practice, then he needed someone to practice on, and the blue-eyed monster didn't mind being the test dummy at all. Besides, the numbing did sound intriguing, and might be helpful actually. Skeleton monsters were notoriously trickier to feed on compared to fleshy monsters or humans, especially when the vampire was young, so if the little one missed the mana line the first time and had to try again, it could be nice to only feel pressure when he was bitten.

“I don't mind at all," he signed, making sure Ink was watching. "Will you two be affected as well?"

“Technically, yes," Valentine answered, "But since it's only numbing we'll stick around. If it were any of the other ones, like the immobilizing ones I mean, we’d step out until the scent faded, but this one doesn't really do much to the other mortals around," he explained with a shrug.

Ink gazed up at Blue with wide sockets. "Really? You'll let me? Thank you! Promise I'll be careful."

Blue chuckled briefly with a soft look and a nod, positioning himself to be leaning back against the couch and opening his arms in invitation. Gingerly, the little vampire moved over to sit in his lap, the older monster’s arms wrapping around him in a secure hold, though not trappingly so. He gave the kid an encouraging smile, nodding firmly once more.

“Okay. Okay, I'm going to start scenting now," Ink warned with a serious, concentrated expression. With the mortal’s confirming hum, he started catching faint whiffs of cherries and honey. Not enough to affect him just yet. After a few moments though, the smell grew stronger, constant instead of a small sniff here and there. It grew more potent too, but not necessarily overwhelming. With that same focused look, the child leaned forward, one hand moving out of Blue’s sight beneath his chin. "Can you feel that?" he asked.

With a confused look, the mortal shook his skull. He didn't feel a thing. Was the kid even touching him? Or maybe this was the effect the scent was supposed to have?

“He's just poking your neck, cutie. Making sure the scent took hold," Valentine explained lightly with a reassuring smile.

Ink hummed an affirmative, looking up to meet the older’s sockets. “Yeah, I did it right then. Are you ready for me to bite? I'll be careful," he repeated, just a spark of remaining nervousness in his sockets.

The sweater clad skeleton simply tilted his skull up in answer, baring his vertebrae for the young vampire and being sure to breathe deep and steadily as the kid leaned in. It was incredibly odd being able to hear the little one nuzzling around without being able to feel it, but eventually Ink stilled and there was a sensation of pressure right on the spot his mana line ran through. The wet sound of Ink’s periodic sucking confirmed he'd hit his mark, and on the first try no less. A warm bubble of pride swelled in Blue’s chest, even if he really hadn't known the kid for very long.

Eventually, the familiar light-headedness made itself known, accompanied by the usual dizziness as he let the little one take what he needed. Closing his sockets and leaning back further into the couch, he took Ink with him, one hand instinctively resting and petting on the back of the child's skull, resulting in a surprised yet pleased little hum from the vampire. Blue lost track of time as the feeding went on, but finally Ink unlatched with a deep breath and a single slurping sound, likely his tongue lapping at the bite mark to apply the clotting agent in his saliva released once he was sated. It was unnecessarily loud, and probably a bit excessive since the usual transfer just from the fangs themselves was usually enough, but he was just a kid. He'd probably made a bit of a mess as well, but that could be cleaned up easily.

“Mm. Thank you," the child mumbled, practically falling limp as he laid on the older monster with a yawn.

With a small smile, sockets still closed, Blue tilted his head to nuzzle the top of Ink’s skull briefly in acknowledgment. A little foggy from the magic loss, and caught up in the familiar action of a feeding, the small mortal moved to get up despite his magic fatigue. Planning to get himself and his little charge somewhere safe and hidden away for a while until he recovered and the kid could take a nap. The younger ones always did after a meal. However, before he could get to his feet he was pushed back again by a firm yet gentle hand, making his sockets pop open again with fuzzy eyelights within.

“Easy, sweet pea. Don't get up yet,” Val instructed softly, his hand on Blue’s shoulder and keeping him still on the couch.

Ink hummed sleepily. “Mm mm. No moving. You guys are always all dizzy and stuff," he agreed.

“They’re right," Error stated, fixing the light-headed monster with a tender look. "Shouldn't be moving just yet. You don't have to look for a hidey hole anymore either. Just take a minute. You're all good," he soothed. “You want something to drink, pal? Got some small things of orange juice in the minifridge. Might help you feel a bit better.”

The weak mortal blinked and nodded slowly, taking a sip from the offered bottle as he contemplated the mortal’s claims sluggishly. It wasn't usually safe to be out in the open after a feeding. Not when the mortal was weak and more vulnerable. On the other hand though… Error would know that, wouldn't he? He’d know what was safe and what wasn't? Especially here, since he'd been in the mansion longer. Valentine had been resting here after his feeding as well so… maybe it was really okay. Besides, the other two mortals would probably watch out for him anyway.

Relenting, Blue relaxed again, allowing Val to take the empty container once he was finished and guide him to lay down, though he wouldn't let go of Ink, who simply draped himself comfortably over the weak skeleton, falling asleep not long after settling. The mortal started drifting as well with the child on top of him, sockets half lidded before closing entirely as he took deep breaths to quell the slight vertigo. The others had started a quiet conversation Blue heard, but wasn't really listening to. Simply allowing the sound of calm voices to soothe him for a while with their mundane drone. Different voices may have joined or left every now and again, but there was never any alarm or fearful tone to any of them, so the sweater clad monster kept drifting in his near sleep haze until the eventful and stressful morning eventually caught up to him and he finally dropped off, trusting the others in the room to watch out for him for the first time in a long while.

Notes:

Ink is just such a bean. I would commit atrocities for this child, lmao. But anyway! Blue, buddy, just relax a minute. All this stress, just forget it for a bit. Take a nap. Chill with the child. Let the others take care of you for a little while. Lol, really though, he was a bit out of it at the end there. Normally he would be more alert even after feeding the kid, but the whole morning has just been a rollercoaster, and his mind decided it was done for a bit. Nap time for the boi. Thank you all for reading! I hope you enjoyed, and I look forward to reading and responding in the comment section! ^v^

Chapter 6: So Much... Too Much...

Summary:

Blue wakes up from his post feed nap and has a moment to catch a moment of rest, but he's almost reached his limit with so much having already happened in only one day...
The small mortal is going to need time to process it all...

Notes:

Whew, feels like it's been forever since I updated this one, but here it is! Blue gets pretty overwhelmed in this chapter, but luckily someone else can tell and can at least try to give him a break. There is mention of using magic donated from a monster to cook with later on in the chapter, so if that kind of thing makes anyone uncomfortable, please be advised. That said, I hope you all enjoy this update!

Waking up weak, disoriented, and exposed had not exactly been a pleasant experience, even less so when Blue knew he'd fallen asleep with a little one, and now they were gone. Did they simply wander off, or had someone come to take them while the weak monster hadn't been able to do anything about it? Forcing himself to remain perfectly still, he'd opened his sockets just a crack to look around and try to gather his bearings. Finding himself in a cozy room with a few other skeletons, three mortals and one vampire, he was able to convince himself to relax minutely as he recognized them and his mind started to overcome the fog and jog his memory. Right. He was supposed to be relatively safe here. Ink had probably just woken up before him and went off to do his own thing.

Making a small noise, as if he was just starting to wake up, he'd stretched and blinked his eyes fully open and sat up. The small monster nodded his acknowledgment to the various greetings from the others, feigning the grogginess he likely would have had if he hadn't woken up so alarmed and giving a thumbs up when he was asked how he felt after his nap. He was still tired, but it was more of a body fatigue than anything that could be fixed with a short sleep. He'd be fine. Just had to get through the day. Maybe he could sneak a few snacks before dinner too. If he could find the kitchen anyway, and the pantry or cupboards didn't seem too meticulously inventoried…

He again stayed quiet as conversation happened around him. Dust was back, as was Killer, the two of them engrossed in some debate with Val, though their tones were playful as they argued. Error was still in his recliner, a new project in his lap and a few different brightly colored skeins of yarn tucked around him almost like they were part of an odd nest of sorts. Blue couldn't tell exactly what it was supposed to be just yet, but it seemed to be the start of some sort of doll or stuffed toy, judging by the fluffy filling nearby and possibly the beginning of a head.

Not long after the tired monster had awoken, another skeleton entered the living room, carefully holding two plates of food in his clawed hands. Horror’s bloated eye scanned the room, finally landing on Blue as his expression brightened with a pleased hum.

“Y’re awake. ‘M glad,” the vampire commented, first walking over to Dust, who Blue had noticed was also on the paler side now with dark bags under his sockets that weren't there before he left earlier. As he handed off one of the plates, the giant bent down to whisper something to the hooded monster, the latter huffing good naturally before giving his response just as quietly. With a soft expression, Horror turned to Blue next, once again perking up with a look that almost seemed… hopeful. He came only close enough to hand the small mortal the other plate he had before moving over to sit next to Error’s recliner, pulling out a plush floor cushion Blue hadn't noticed before.

“Alla ya needed t’ eat. Made lunch,” he stated with an expression close to pride.

“Usually lunch is kind of a free-for-all,” Dust chimed in, turning his attention briefly away from his food, “But on feeding days the big guy always makes something real good for everyone, usually using up a lot of leftovers to boot, but it still tastes amazing.” He emphasized his declaration with a large bite off his own plate, seeming to have something different than Blue did.

Horror’s skull ducked slightly as he looked away, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly. “Like t’ do it. Love cooking, and you guys take care a us. Wanna return the favor.” Looking back up at Blue, the giant nodded to the plate in the small monster's lap. “Tried fer somethin’ easy on the soul, but tasty. Leftover roast sandwich wit’ spinach pesto insteada mayo. Potato pea salad on the side an’ a sweet potato brownie if ya want,” he listed off, a happy gleam in his socket as he explained what was on the plate.

“He made the bread too,” Error chimed in. “Guy made his own sourdough starter and everything. Probably the best bread I've ever had.”

Blue nodded in acknowledgment as he watched the vampire look down again, a russet color blooming on his skull, but still with a proud grin. With a mumbled ‘hope you like it’ from the cracked skeleton, the shorter monster turned his attention to the meal prepared for him. As with breakfast, the blue-toned monster was blown away by the flavors in the best way. Even better, despite the claim it had been made with leftovers, it tasted fresh. As he finished up with the brownie, he found himself believing he could definitely get used to eating like this again. Maybe he could even ask Horror to make a few things he'd been missing for a while. That or he could ask to share the kitchen for an hour or two to make them himself.

That thought made him pause to actually take stock of himself. His brows furrowed as he backtracked on that train of thought. It had been such a casual idea. To ask the cracked monster for something. A favor. It was as if…

No. It wasn't just ‘as if.’ He truly hadn't stopped to consider that he'd be asking a vampire. Like he had just been thinking of him as any other mortal. Like Blue almost felt like he could relax around him.

That… that wasn't normal. Or was it? Stars, he didn't even know where to begin answering that question anymore. Being out of the market should mean he could relax a bit. He should be able to at least try to get comfortable around a seemingly well-meaning vampire. He just… He'd been kept as an unwilling feeder for so long. The ingrained caution and hesitations couldn't be so easily brushed aside.

Which was what made it almost more alarming that Blue had nearly forgotten the power imbalance for a moment. Sure, thinking back on it, he could maybe see how he could have relaxed around the giant. Horror had been quiet for the most part. Not trying to force a conversation with anyone, and seemingly content to simply listen with a calm sort of energy about him. Another thing was how much attention he seemed to pay to his proximity to the small skeleton. He’d never gotten close enough to make the nervous mortal uncomfortable, and he appeared careful about giving everyone their own space unless they initiated it first. Maybe it was a conscious decision, or maybe that was just a natural behavior for the large monster. Either way, the result was the same.

Then, on top of all of that, was the food. More than the incredible meals though, was the thoughtfulness seemingly put behind it all. Horror was making food for the mortals who fed them, and it obviously wasn't just because they needed the nutrients for recovering their magic. No, he actually put in the effort to make something incredible each time he put something together for them. He asked for preferences and opinions from the mortals in the mansion.

“Was it okay? Get enough?”

He cared.

Shaking him from his train of thought, Blue’s eyelights snapped up to find the cracked skeleton watching him, an odd nervousness in his expression. It was then that he realized he'd been staring at his empty plate for who knew how long with a probably less than pleased expression. Feeling maybe a little bad for worrying the gentle giant, he nodded sheepishly.

“Very good. Thank you again. Just… lost in thought I guess,” the sapphire-toned monster signed with a small shrug, looking away to the floor nearby.

Glancing back, he saw Horror’s expression relax some with an almost sad grin and understanding eyelight as he nodded as well. “Got enough?” he repeated gently. When Blue confirmed again, the vampire stood, holding one clawed hand out in an offer to take the empty plate.

“Hang on a second, big guy,” Dust interjected, looking to the smaller mortal with a contemplative expression, “How are you feeling walking-wise, bud? Could show you where the kitchen is so you can mosey down there yourself if you ever need anything to snack on. Lunch stuff too.”

The sweater clad skeleton was quick to agree, some relief in his soul. As much as he would have liked to observe the group's dynamics further, he didn't know how much longer he could handle being around them all at the moment. It was as if TV static was building in his mind, making it progressively harder to think straight or focus. Everything seemed loud. Val and Killer were still debating on whatever conversation they’d been having when Blue woke up, the smaller mortal unable to quite grasp what was being said as the sound of their voices grated against the inside of his skull. Each subtle click of Error's knitting needles made him internally cringe. Even the quiet creak of floorboards as Horror shifted his weight was noticeably more apparent.

On top of it all, he could feel his ribs tightening around his soul. There were too many monsters in one room for him right now. No one was touching him, but he could still feel everyone's presence, and it was getting to be altogether too much.

He needed out.

Moving into the hallway, Dust waving off Horror's offer to come along with a good natured grin, the stressed monster felt a little better, but his chest still felt restricted. Turning around at the corner at the end of the hall, the taller skeleton stopped, carefully grabbing the smaller monster’s sleeve to pull him up short as well.

“Hey, hold up man. Let's stop here a minute. Get your breath back,” he murmured softly, ducking his head back around the corner briefly as Blue realized why his ribs felt so tight.

His breathing had gone too shallow, almost non-existent, without his notice. As he tried to get it back under control, his bones started trembling and he found himself leaning against the wall, just trying to ground himself.

“In for four, hold four, out four. Take your time, Blue. No one's going to sneak up on us here.”

Sliding down to sit on the floor, knees tucked up to his chest and skull resting atop them with his hands over his vertebrae, he did his best to take the other mortal's advice, dragging in slow breaths as instructed. While he slowly calmed down, focused only on getting himself pulled back together, he missed Cross turning around the corner at the other end of the hall. Didn't see how he froze and looked to Dust with a concerned expression, who simply waved for the vampire to go back down the way he came while signing a brief ‘overwhelmed.’

With a stiff nod, the monochrome skeleton did as he was told, though his worried expression remained.

When Blue finally looked back up, feeling a bit calmer but still slightly off, he saw his companion had sat down beside him. Not watching him, but just existing in the same space. Noticing the blue-toned monster’s movement, the hooded skeleton looked over, giving him a small smile after a moment of observation.

“Any better?” he murmured. Returning Blue’s slow nod, a relieved sigh escaped the taller monster. “Good. Listen, if you get overwhelmed or overstimulated like that again, you are always allowed to walk out to recoup, alright?”

“That obvious?” Blue signed, looking down at his hands instead of meeting Dust’s gaze.

The calmer mortal shrugged in response. “Honestly? I don't really know if it would have been obvious to normal people or not,” he confessed. “I'm a little… different. For a number of reasons. The others say I pay attention to smaller things that they don't really think about. Weird thing is, half the time I can't really explain what I see when I see it. I just see something a little off or odd. Something out of place that lets me know what is going on, if that makes any sense. I seriously don't know how exactly to describe it,” he finished with another shrug and a sheepish look.

“Intuition?”

Dust hummed. “Maybe. Experience doesn't hurt either. I have days where I can't really be around a bunch of people or else it feels like I'm going to explode. I guess I could kind of tell you were getting close to reaching that point. Figured I'd give you a reason to get out of there. Again though, if it happens again, try to remember you can just nope out if you need to. The others will get it.” With another sigh, his eyelights strayed up to the ceiling as he rested his skull against the wall. “So, anything you want to do? See? Could give you a proper tour if you want. Or could just chill somewhere. Don't have to hang around anyone if you don't want to either. Your call.”

Giving it a bit of thought, Blue started signing slowly. “I would like to know where the kitchen is, but after that… could I go back to my room?”

“Sure thing. Need a bit of time to yourself, I can get behind that. Guess it has kinda been a bit of a day for ya, especially considering it's only two o’clock. You know how to get there?” Standing and stretching with a grunt as the smaller skeleton shook his head, Dust held a hand out. “No worries. I'll show you the way back. Got a couple tricks for finding your way around here too if you think they’ll help.”

Taking the offered limb, easily being pulled to his feet, Blue shot the mortal a grateful look before they were on the move again. As they walked this time, the taller started explaining some of the basic layout of the mansion. Most of the hallways led back to a main room, which was handy to know in case one were to get disoriented in the large building. Simply finding a way back to a known area was usually enough to get their bearings until they got used to where everything was. There were also a few smaller halls that branched off here and there to other areas of the giant home and led to more ‘specialty rooms,’ as Dust called them. Mostly rooms for specific tasks or hobbies.

Reaching the kitchen, which was apparently one of the main rooms along with the dining room, living room, the twins’ office, and a library Blue had yet to see, they didn't stay long, only taking the time to rinse their plates and load them into the dishwasher. As they left, however, they passed by a stressed looking Dream, who only shot them a wan smile before ducking into the walk-in pantry and reemerging with two plastic bags with two cookies inside each one. One was marked with a black X, but the other was unmarked.

“He isn't going to do it today, is he?” Dust asked as he stopped to address the golden skeleton.

Dream released a defeated sigh. “No.”

“Damn,” the hooded monster responded with a shake of his skull and a sympathetic look. “Well, H made a special double chocolate batch last time. Cross’ favorite. Second shelf in the dog cookie jar, probably toward the bottom.”

The bright mortal blinked before looking back at the pantry he just emerged from, then shot the hooded monster a grateful look and a sad smile. “Thanks, Dust. I'll see you guys later, ‘kay?”

“See you later, Dream.” With Dust’s farewell, he turned to continue leading Blue back to his room, though he sighed when he caught the smaller skeleton's quizzical look. “Cross turned down his feeding today. Normally that would be fine but… the guy is kind of a special case I'm not going to get into for the sake of his privacy. Dream was grabbing what Horror calls ‘special recipe’ cookies for Cross to have instead. Made with monster magic so the vamps can digest it, and it tides them over until their next feed or just makes a good treat at times. Hopefully with the chocolate ones the oreo won't fight having one too hard. Oh, and on that note, anything in the kitchen marked with a black X is made with monster magic, so those are the vamps’ stuff. Just so you know.”

“Whose magic?” Blue asked with an odd, somewhat uncomfortable expression. That was something he actually hadn't heard of before, surprisingly, but that would also mean someone would have to donate for the recipe.

The taller mortal shrugged. “Usually mine. My magic tends to fluctuate, always has. Some days I make just enough, sometimes I make a lot more than I need. Pretty rare to get that happy medium on my end. On excess days sometimes I give a portion of it to H so he can make stuff for the vamps. I guess I taste kind of rich and a little bitter. Horror says it's perfect for baked stuff, kind of like how we'd use coffee for our kind of chocolate desserts,” he chuckled, seeming more entertained than disturbed by that morbid piece of information.

In Blue's experience, knowing how you tasted wasn't usually a good thing.

Dropping the topic, the duo continued on until they reached Blue's room. However, the smaller mortal was left perplexed. There was a delivery of sorts awaiting him apparently. Right in front of the door was a neatly folded blanket, a chocolate bar on top. No note. No indication of who it was from. Just those two items.

Crouching down with a curious brow raised, he went to scoop up the blanket, only to find it much heavier than he'd anticipated. Blinking, he stood with the offering in hand, shifting the weighted blanket to one arm as he studied the candy bar with somewhat confused sockets. Tilting his skull, he turned back to his companion as the taller huffed a quiet laugh, a soft expression on his skull.

“Cross,” Dust stated, gesturing to the sweet treat, “That's his favorite brand, usually a calling card for the guy. Probably wanted to help make you more comfortable, but he tends to prefer actions rather than words. Especially with people he doesn’t know very well yet.”

Blue hummed quietly with a nod, turning to open the door. Moving into the bedroom, he first set the blanket on the bed and the chocolate on the desk. Looking around the room he'd only given a cursory examination before, he figured he may as well get to know his own area. Get comfortable. Convince himself to relax in what would become his new safe haven in the somewhat crowded mansion.

Not that he thought the place was too small for the group living there, of course, but there certainly were quite a few residing within those walls he could run into at any time without warning.

“Well, here we are,” Dust stated, standing in the doorway but not passing over the threshold himself. “So, I suppose I'll let you be, if that's still what you want,” he added, a searching look on his skull.

Offering to stay.

The shorter skeleton gave him a wan, though appreciative smile, nodding his skull. “Yes. I have some… processing to do, I think,” he signed, receiving a sad, though understanding look in response.

“Okay. I get that. If you need anything though, someone should be around. Don't be afraid to ask, ‘kay?” With that said, and Blue’s answering nod, the hooded monster closed the door with a farewell, leaving the blue-eyed skeleton alone once again.

As soon as the latch clicked, the shorter monster regretted not asking him to stay. Dust’s overall demeanor was just… calming in a way. Uniquely so. However, Blue still had most of his pride intact, so he’d deal with his decision.

Resolute in his choice as he was though, he found himself strangely numb. There was so much bouncing around in his skull, he didn't really even want to think about any of it. Although, knowing himself pretty damn well if he did say so himself, he also knew it was just the calm before the storm.

No longer interested in getting to know his own area, his eyelights fell upon the blanket neatly folded on the bed. He remembered having one similar before the market. He loved that thing, and it had practically been his saving grace in the aftermath of the accident…

Pushing down that thought, not wanting to add that memory on top of what was already weighing on his mind, he found himself unfolding the heavy fabric, wrapping it around his shoulders in a familiar fashion as he closed his sockets. He reveled in the comforting sensation he'd been unable to achieve with the thin blanket in his cell for a moment. His breath hitched as the tightness around his soul finally snapped and his sockets started to water. Sliding down the corner of the wooden bed frame, he sank to the floor as everything started washing over him from the roller coaster of a morning.

He was supposed to be in a safe place now, but what did that even mean anymore? What was he supposed to do with this newfound ‘freedom?’ He guessed he was still kind of a prisoner, seeing as he couldn't leave with the market bastards still out there, but it didn't quite feel like it. Not the way it had before when he was being held captive as a product. It was different, and after so long of equating different with dangerous, Blue just couldn't get over the anxious pit in his non-existent stomach.

He wanted to scream. Hit something. He just wanted some sort of release. Even so, he couldn't bring himself to do more than muffle a few quiet sobs as tears spilled from his sockets finally. Unable to think of what else to do, he only curled up further, making himself small as he pulled the blanket around his shoulders tighter.

Not for the first time, he desperately and selfishly wished for his family to be with him. His little brother or younger cousin to make him feel like he could be strong for them. His older cousin just to sit with him and talk about their old plans until the small skeleton was distracted enough to pull himself together. His aunt just to listen to him talk through what was so upsetting, and give her blunt yet wise advice afterward that made everything seem so much simpler and easier. His parents…

His parents to just be there. Make him feel like he didn't have to be strong. That it would be okay to break down for a minute. That they could hold him together until he was okay enough to do so himself again.

As he sat on the floor, alone, his emotions continued to roil and ache in his soul, alternating between distraught and numb, and for the first time in a long while, he didn't try to quell the tears or the distressed noises escaping him.

Notes:

Okay, I just gotta say it, I love Horror and Dust. They are both super considerate and observant, and I just love their characters. I love the others too, these two are just more prevalent in this chapter :3
Anyway, poor Blue buddy. He has so much to unpack just from the first half of the day, and he really needs some time to get comfortable and fully relax. It's a hard road ahead of him, but he's not alone anymore, and he has a really good environment to start unlearning bad mindsets and habits. It'll take time, but he has the ability to come a long way from where he currently is.
Thank you all again so much for reading, and I look forward to reading and answering your comments! <3

Chapter 7: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

Summary:

Blue is finally starting to try and figure this group out, and he manages to catch a breather for a while, but his frustration with himself the situation is starting to catch up with him...

Notes:

Oh boy, here we go! The blue bean had me in a stranglehold for this one, so I got it done in like, two days when it usually takes me a week at least to get a full chapter written and edited. Stressed bean finally gets a chance to relax a bit! Well, until the stress comes back with a vengeance when someone just kinda says the wrong thing at the wrong time...
(Also, little side note. I thought it was obvious, but just in case it isn't and people get confused, anything with a strike through it is a more subconscious thought Blue doesn't want to acknowledge :3)

Anyway! I'll let y'all read, and I hope you enjoy the new chapter!

Blue’s first day in the mansion wrapped up without incident. Error and Ink had come to retrieve him for dinner, and by that time the small mortal had cried himself out, leaving only empty tired numbness behind. At the table, he wondered if he actually appeared as exhausted as he felt with all the worried looks sent his way when they thought he wasn't watching them, mortal and vampire alike.

He also wondered if he would ever get used to seeing genuine concern in the expression of a fanged being.

As with breakfast, no one really pressured him into conversing, which he was grateful for. By the end of the meal, this time seeming more of an appropriate size than the extravagant affair breakfast had been, Blue was again left more than sated when he finally stopped, ensuring his plate was clean. When the others asked if he would like to join them for a movie to wind down for the night, he hesitantly declined. A few of them seemed disappointed, but they didn't argue with him. Dream walked him back to his room to ensure he didn't get lost, but once they got there, he stopped the short mortal before he could go inside.

After a few moments of silently studying the anxious monster's expression, Dream sighed quietly, asking if he was sure he was okay. When Blue confirmed, though not without a pause that probably lasted just a bit too long, the golden eyed skeleton nodded slightly with sad sockets, obviously not really believing it, but not willing to call the other out either. Before he left though, he did offer a hug if Blue was comfortable with it, which the sapphire toned monster accepted just to perhaps ease the other mortal's worries over him.

Dream’s embrace was warm and welcoming, much like his personality, but also sturdy. More so than Blue had expected. Strong. Unwavering. Safe. It felt… nice.

Too nice.

Blue was the first to let go and back away as his sockets burned again, before the true tears could form. The larger mortal released him easily, and despite the smaller being sure he hadn't done anything to give away his true feelings at the time, Dream fixed him with a sad look. A knowing look.

With a farewell and one last gentle reminder the others would be around if Blue needed anything, the golden skeleton left, allowing the other to finally enter his room. Closing the door, he stared at the knob, or more accurately the lock. Leaving it unlocked didn't feel right, but at the same time, when he tried locking it, that didn't feel right either. With a frustrated huff, Blue left it locked and turned away, hands moving down to cup his elbows in a sort of pseudo hug as he finally moved over to sit on the edge of the bed.

Sockets turned down, he questioned what was wrong with him. Well, he knew what was wrong, but he should be handling it better. His pride was one of the only things he had left, he couldn't just be breaking down in front of anyone offering him some modicum of comfort. Hell, he already broke down in front of Dream and Nightmare once, all because they said he was supposedly safe. It was so frustrating, which only added to the maelstrom of aching emotions that had resurfaced despite him thinking they had all been handled earlier in the day with his little crying session.

As the night wore on, however, Blue found himself on his back staring up at the ceiling, his thoughts shifting and circling in his skull. They turned away from how he should be dealing with the tumultuous emotions in his soul to how he should be handling the situation itself. How he should be acting. If he should at least try to appear halfway normal. Who he should stick close to or try to avoid. If he should even be thinking about any of this at all.

Eventually, he did succumb to his fatigue during the early hours of the morning, judging by the alarm clock on the nightstand, but not before he came to a decision. In truth, it was the same decision he'd made with every new group he'd been sent to before.

Better to be safe than sorry.

The next few weeks following Blue’s arrival found the sapphire toned skeleton falling into an old familiar routine. He surfaced when he was required to, in other words when someone came to collect him for breakfast or supper, but otherwise remained in his room. The others, the mortals at least and sometimes with Ink tagging along, would come by to check on him every now and again. At times, they would try to convince him to join them for some simple activities through gentle invitations and hopeful eyelights, but that only really succeeded when Ink was the one asking, giving Blue some of the best puppy eyes the small mortal had seen since his brother was tiny. Otherwise though, he remained sequestered in his room, politely declining the offers despite the seemingly growing disappointment and worry in the other monsters’ expressions, yet they still didn't try to push the matter either. He simply locked himself away.

At least, that's what he wanted them to think for now.

After a decade of survival depending on not getting caught at a bad time or being able to hide away when vampire tempers flared, one learned how to sneak around quite efficiently. On top of that, being able to move around without being spotted was an incredible skill to have in order to scope out a new coven. To figure out routines, safe spaces, and discreetly observe dynamics within a group to determine the best way to act with each monster. It also allowed one to watch for opportunities to snatch up extra quality of life items if needed. Things like food or extra clothes and blankets in especially rough covens.

While Blue found and acknowledged that he didn't really need to sneak or hoard things in the mansion, having a stash of emergency snacks in his room certainly didn't hurt either. Just in case.

Over time, the mortal was able to figure out most of the other skeletons’ basic routines during the week. Horror’s was the easiest. He was usually in the kitchen or off tending to his garden somewhere outside, and when he wasn't he was typically with one of the others either helping them with something or simply hanging out. Error could be found in the main living room most times working on one project or another if he wasn't running around after Ink, who usually stuck around any of the adults who weren't terribly busy. Nightmare was often in his office or the library unless one of the others pulled him into some other activity besides paperwork, reading, or writing. Well, except for the early morning or evening when he disappeared somewhere Blue hadn't figured out yet. Dream was all over the place. Sometimes he would be with Nightmare, other times he would bounce between hanging out with the others, and other times again he would disappear like his brother. Killer just kind of… hung around. He was a wild card, as he didn't really seem to have anything specific he did on a day-to-day basis, so he had the least amount of routine out of all of them. Dust and Cross were the ones the small skeleton honestly knew the least about, as he oftentimes couldn't find them in the mansion.

As he reviewed all the information he'd gathered, he slipped through the halls again unnoticed, knowing there wouldn't be another check-in at his room for a little while longer. It was Valentine he wanted to observe this time. The fashionable skeleton was interesting, and his routine was the one Blue knew the most about. Some days he would spend hours at a time just… sitting. Sketching in some book as he looked through magazines and messed with fabric in whatever room he chose. Other days, he seemed to sequester himself solely to his studio Blue had found during his wandering, only coming out to eat and chat briefly with the others before returning. Then, on other days still, he would actually leave the mansion, which was still a hard to believe concept for the blue hued mortal to wrap his head around. Val called these days ‘delivery days,’ and often asked if any of the others wanted to come along with him. Sometimes they did, sometimes they didn't, but either way the vested monster never failed to bring back some snacks and drinks for the rest of them.

Including Blue.

As the small mortal got closer to Valentine's studio, he could hear music blaring down the hallway along with voices singing boisterously along. He slowed, recognizing both Val and Killer's voices as they belted out the lyrics and faltering slightly as he debated on whether to continue or not. Although he'd already come this far, he may as well take a look at least to see what they were doing.

Peering through the open doorway, he found both skeletons moving fluidly around each other as they seemed to be working together on some project. Inventorying was Blue’s first guess as they worked to clear one rack of fabric bolts as Valentine examined each one before jotting something down in a notebook and Killer putting them away while the mortal picked up the next. All the while the two were singing along to the lively pop song Blue had been hearing down the hall and pausing in their work to throw in a dance or two with wide smiles and a light-hearted energy.

The small skeleton hadn't noticed that he'd moved further into the doorway as he watched, skull tilted in cautious curiosity at the ease in which the vampire and mortal shared the space. However, as he was watching Killer reach up to put another bolt away, the music was abruptly turned down, the vampire pausing to look over at Valentine with a confused expression. Looking over as well, Blue was startled to find the other monster watching him with a grin.

“Well hey there, cutie. Good to see you out of your room. How are you?” he asked in a chipper tone.

Eyelights flicking over to Killer, who had also noticed him by now and was offering an awkward grin as he waved, the smaller mortal nodded his own greeting, forcing down the instinctual panic at having been caught before it could show on his features. “I'm doing well. You?” he signed, glancing between both skeletons.

“Doing pretty good myself, thank you for asking,” Val replied, hands tucking into his pockets as he leaned smoothly against the sewing table along the wall.

“Can't complain,” the vampire responded next, one hand coming up to rub the back of his skull as the other was balancing a square yardstick he’d picked up on his fingers, eyes focused on the top of the measuring stick instead of Blue’s sockets. “Just helping Val inventory some stuff since I didn't have much else to do.”

The small skeleton nodded. “That's what I thought you two were doing,” he stated slowly, looking to the racks of fabric instead of the others eyelights.

“Yup,” the vested skeleton confirmed, popping the p. “Commissions slowed down, so I figured now would be a good time to take stock of what I have and what I don't. A lot more fun with company and some good music,” he added with a chuckle before fixing Blue with a sincere gaze. “So, exploring? Or were you looking for someone to chill with? You're more than welcome to hang around here if you want.”

The dark socketed monster snorted, allowing the yardstick to drop as he caught it smoothly. “The fashionista over there has been chomping at the bit to make you some new stuff. Be warned, if you stick around he'll probably end up taking measurements,” Killer chuckled, finally meeting the short mortal’s gaze with a more playful expression, laughing wholeheartedly as Valentine flipped him off yet still didn't deny the vampire’s claim.

“Oh, come now. How dare you give away my dastardly plans?” he asked with a false pout. It didn't take long before he grinned and chuckled as well though, turning back to Blue. “Okay, he's not wrong though. If you're cool with it, I really would like to make you some stuff that actually fits. Size, comfort, and aesthetic wise I mean. Won't make you if you don't want me taking measurements, of course, but it would give me something to do since I don't really have any pressing orders to get done at the moment,” he explained with an easygoing shrug.

Blue blinked, not so much surprised by the playful aggression anymore after watching the group for a while, though it still stirred some anxiety when Val flipped Killer the bird, but more so unsure whether to take the offer or not. He hadn't really planned on socializing while he was out of his room, but the way the fluffy clothed mortal was so nonchalant about it, the way he made it seem like no big deal whether the smaller stayed or not, it almost made him want to stick around. Made it seem more inviting that Val didn't have the same hopeful worry in his sockets most of the other skeletons in the mansion did.

After a drawn-out minute of thought, Blue finally nodded slowly, agreeing to stay for a while. Valentine nodded back with a wide grin, asking if he wanted to help with inventory or just hang out on the plush sofa against the opposite wall the racks were on. Choosing to help, deciding that would be a better way to release some pent up nervous energy, the vampire and mortal instructed him on what he needed to do before turning up the music again to jam out to the playlist Valentine had going.

The task was repetitive, but not difficult. Pulling down and putting away fabric for the violet hued monster to look at, then moving on to thread, buttons, zippers, and other sewing supplies. The simplicity of the job allowed Blue to take a better look at the studio as well.

The room appeared to be split in half, one side for supplies and working space, and the other for a small seating area, some mirrors, mannequins, and oddly enough, a metal bar reaching and attached to the floor and ceiling in the center. It wasn't hard to recognize a dancing pole when Blue saw one, having had plenty of friends and acquaintances in the past who were well versed in the art. Other than that, there was a speaker set in one corner of the room, a folded up changing screen leaning next to the door, and the wall opposite the entrance was lined with shelves, racks, and stools. The center of the floor was largely empty, likely for ease of movement and providing space to take measurements.

Surprisingly, he actually found himself starting to settle down as they continued, and oddly enough, even Killer appeared to lose some tension as well. As time went on, it was almost starting to feel like he was just helping out a couple of friends. He found himself not rushing to move out of the vampire's way and eventually falling into the rhythm Val and Killer had set, moving with the same fluidity working around them. Finally, a genuine smile started to grace his features along with a few quiet laughs as the other two duetted a few songs together, even going so far as to act out some of them briefly before getting back to the task at hand.

He didn't notice the way the vampire and mortal beamed at each other when they noticed him relaxing.

They had apparently made it about halfway through the entire job when Valentine turned the music down again, calling for a break now that most of what was left was mainly drawers, works in progress, and double-checking his machines. Hearing that, Killer flopped down on the couch along the back wall, laying across the whole thing with an arm over his sockets.

“Phew. Such a taskmaster, Val. How do you live with yourself putting poor saps like us to such work?” he asked dramatically, peering up at the fluffy skeleton through the space between his ulna and radius.

That pulled a reedy chuckle from the shorter mortal as he rolled his eyelights while putting the last few things he was tasked with away. Meanwhile, the others shared another encouraged look before Valentine huffed with a smirk.

“Pretty damn well, if I do say so myself,” he fired back, one brow raised and hands on his hips, one cocked slightly out to the side. “Hm. Maybe I should convince the others to do the same. Get you off your coccyx more so you can stop whining just to me,” he suggested with a mischievous expression. A full laugh escaped him with the vampire’s dramatic groan, and he walked over to place a couple false comforting pats on the target souled monster's skull. He turned back to Blue afterward, who was shaking his head good naturedly. “So cutie, since we're taking a break, do you want to get some measurements done? Shouldn't take too long,” he assured.

Pausing to consider it, the shorter shrugged. “I guess we can. I've never had anything fitted before though, so I'm not sure what I'm supposed to do,” he admitted with a self-conscious frown.

“Eh, it's not that hard. Really you just move where he asks you to. He can get up close and personal, but he won't make it weird,” Killer commented, sitting up again to lounge back and give the sapphire hued skeleton a reassuring smile.

“Yeah, pretty much. No worries, I'll walk you through it, but first things first,” Val started, walking over to a rack to pull a hanger with a black shirt and pants off to hand to Blue, “You'll have to change into something a bit more form-fitting. Sorry, I just can't quite get accurate measurements with the sweater and jeans,” he apologized. Grabbing the changing screen from beside the door, he set it up in the single empty corner of the room before turning back to the sweater clad skeleton with an encouraging look.

Blue paused to look at the clothes he was given, brows furrowing. The pants were fine, just some stretchy half length leggings that would probably actually go all the way to his feet, but the shirt was what really made him uneasy. It looked like a half sleeve, and the collar of it was more typical of a regular t-shirt. His wrists and neck would be exposed, and while it shouldn't have been a big deal…

He couldn't help the way his eyelights briefly glanced at Killer despite the friendly atmosphere they shared only minutes before.

Valentine looked like he was about ready to say something before he was interrupted by the cartoonish sound effect of a sword being drawn. Blinking, Killer dug around in his pocket and came up with his phone. Staring for a moment, he unlocked it with a quiet sigh before typing something out and standing up. Putting the phone away again, he shot the two mortals an apologetic look.

“Sorry to run off guys, but Night's asking for me.”

“Everything alright?” Val asked with a concerned look.

The vampire shrugged. “I think so. He didn't really give me anything other than asking me to meet him in the library.”

The fluffy skeleton hummed before nodding. “Alrighty then. See you later to finish this up?”

“Yeah, I'll be back. See you guys later,” he promised, waving as he left the room and giving Blue a warm smile.

Valentine sighed when he was gone as he turned to Blue again with another grin, though this time it was a bit smaller. “So, still up for measurements? Like I said, I won't force it. If you're anything like Error when he showed up at first, I get that clothes are a big comfort deal for you guys. Admittedly though, that's also why I want to make some stuff you won't have to finagle so much to get it how you want.”

After a minute, the smaller mortal slowly nodded, stepping behind the screen and pulling it into place again. He changed quickly, still slightly perturbed by the lack of total coverage on his upper body, but it was doable without the vampire on the other side of the partition. At the same time though, the bone tight fit, while not suffocating, was tight enough that he still felt more exposed than he was used to as it molded around his bones.

Stepping out again, he found Val had pulled a wide stool from its spot on the wall and set it in the center of the floor before rummaging through the drawers of his sewing table, pulling out a few different sizes and lengths of measuring tape as well as a small notebook with a pencil securely stuck in the spiral binding.

Seeing the other skeleton had returned, he smiled again and directed Blue to stand on the stool. Following the directions, he stood with crossed arms and a slightly uncomfortable expression on the small platform. With an approving hum, Valentine slipped out of his vest and set it on the table, leaving him in only his crop top and skinny jeans as he draped a few tapes around his neck and moved over to shut the door, Blue relaxing some with it closed, and the violet eyed skeleton quickly got to work.

As promised, Val talked him through the process easily. There was a more professional air about him as well as he did his task, though he still chatted and hummed along to the music still softly going in the background. The only problem they had was when the smaller skeleton finally had settled down enough to stare off into space for a while listening to a song during a lull in Valentine's soft chatter.

Blue hadn't noticed when the other reached up to measure around his neck area, and when the vertebrae were touched, it startled the smaller monster. With a sharp breath he’d instinctively twisted away from the contact and his hand came up to grab the other's wrist in a hard grip, eyelights wide. It only took a split second to figure out what happened and he quickly released the other mortal's hand with a guilty look, signing an apology to the monster who honestly appeared just as surprised. However, Val simply shrugged it off, stating he was the one to blame for not warning Blue beforehand and returning to his task, this time being sure to let the shorter know what he was doing before touching around his neck again.

It only took about forty five minutes in all for Valentine to get all the measurements he needed and he allowed the smaller to change back into his more covering clothes. Once that was done, the violet hued skeleton moved on to showing Blue the different fabrics he had in order to get an idea of the shorter mortal’s preferences. All the while, now that the blue skeleton’s hands were free to sign, Val also asked questions pertaining to what style he typically enjoyed. When they were finally finished, the mortals both worked on picking up and putting everything away before Valentine plopped down on the sofa with a satisfied smile and an excited gleam in his sockets.

“This is great. I can definitely work with this,” he stated brightly, tapping his pencil on the notepad after throwing his discarded vest over the arm of the couch and reviewing whatever notes he'd made aloud. “Softer material, but sturdy and nothing slick. A fit that allows a wide range of motion, but isn't too loose. Some accessories to cover up your wrists and neck so you don't have to be cooped up in a turtleneck all the time. Darker colors with lighter accents. No dresses or skirts. Man, I've already got so many ideas to sketch out,” he finished with a content sigh, relaxing back into the cushions as he closed his sockets momentarily.

Opening one up again, he patted the seat beside him as he met Blue’s gaze. “You can sit, you know. I don't bite,” he offered before a deep chuckle rumbled through his ribs. “Well, not unless you want me to,” he continued with a suggestive grin that was clearly more teasing than serious.

Rolling his eyelights with a good humored huff, the shorter mortal went to sit only to stop as something caught his eye. A deep navy blue bolt of fabric on one side of the racks he hadn't noticed before. Curiosity got the best of him as he instead walked over to run his hand along the material, finding it soft, but not necessarily fuzzy. His sockets softened as he realized what it reminded him of.

“Hey, sweet pea, you alright?”

Looking over, he saw Valentine sitting up again, a concerned look on his face. It was then that the blue toned mortal realized the tears starting to bead at the corner of his sockets. Quickly wiping away the gathering magic, he exhaled hard to get himself back under control with a nod. However, he did pull the bolt of fabric from the rack as he turned back to the taller skeleton.

“Can you make a bandana out of this?” he signed, a small spark of hope in his sockets.

Valentine blinked, obviously caught off guard by the question, but he hummed an affirmative with a tilted skull. “I mean, yeah. It would be easy to bust out. I’d only need a few minutes. Go ahead and set it on the table and I'll get it done in a bit.”

Nodding and giving the crop topped skeleton a grateful look, he did as requested and set the bolt down on the empty surface, running his hand over it once more before he stepped away and actually moved over to the sofa, curling into the corner as his feet once again didn't touch the floor.

They fell into silence. The violet monster had leaned back again, still with a concerned expression, though over time it turned simply thoughtful. Eventually he gave another quiet hum, pulling Blue out of his thoughts and memories.

“Hey, Blue? Could I be blunt with you for a second?”

The smaller mortal turned to look at him with a raised brow. After a moment of studying the other though, he gave a nod despite the slight twist in his nonexistent guts.

Blowing out a long breath, Valentine paused a moment longer before speaking again. “I think you should stop hiding away like you have been.”

If they could have, Blue’s brows would have left his skull from shooting up so high in surprise. However, it was short-lived as his sockets narrowed.

“Now, hold on. Hear me out before you start getting defensive, yeah?” Val requested, not shying away from the other mortal’s flat look. “Listen, I get it, alright? You need some space for a while, you need to fully kind of take in everything, that's entirely fine. You've had bad experiences with vamps, so you get anxious around the guys, and that's okay. Understandable. The thing is though, you won't ever get used to them if you refuse to be around them. If you don't give them a chance, they won't be able to show you that they aren't a threat to you,” he stated earnestly, not breaking eye contact, but at the same time he wasn't coming across as aggressive with his statement.

The sapphire toned monster was struck with how similar Valentine's tone was to when Error had also asked Blue to give the vampires of the mansion a chance on his first day. However, this time a bubble of frustration lodged itself in his throat as he suppressed a quiet growl. They said they understood, and he knew Error did after the circumstances of their first meeting, but the others? The ones who expected him to relax around beings like the ones that had nearly killed him multiple fucking times?

“How?” he responded finally, eyelights hard and teeth clenched as he signed. “How do you think I'm supposed to get used to being around people who I know could kill me or any of you in seconds if they wanted to?” he asked bluntly.

Valentine still appeared infuriatingly calm as he tilted his skull in thought before answering with his own question. “Well, how did you do it with Killer today?”

That pulled Blue up short as he blinked for a moment, a bit stunned. However, as soon as the shock came it vanished and he stood up with a quiet growl escaping him this time. He felt called out. Like he'd been caught doing something wrong. Like his earlier interaction with the vampire invalidated how he felt now.

He wanted out of this conversation. Wanted to avoid ending up putting his fucking foot in his mouth again.

However, as he started marching his way to the door, Valentine cut him off, stepping in front of him with raised hands and a tight expression, though still devoid of any anger of his own. “Whoa, whoa, hey. That was a genuine question. I wasn't saying anything about anything, alright? I seriously just want to know what we did earlier that helped you out,” he stated, looking stressed. When Blue stayed silent on the matter, crossing his arms as his foot started tapping to release some excess infuriated energy, he continued on. “Was it that it was only one vamp? That I was here too? Maybe that we were working on something at the same time?” he tried.

The annoyed skeleton huffed, realizing the other wouldn't let him leave without an answer as he unfolded his arms to sign, movement somewhat clipped. “All of that, I guess,” he relented, frustrated with himself for agreeing with anything the other said at the moment, but it was still the truth.

“Okay. That's good. It's a good start,” Val replied, seeming to relax just barely as he sighed, rubbing the heel of his palm against his nasal ridge. “We can work with that, you know? Try to recreate something similar. Listen, I'm sorry I made you mad, that wasn't what I was trying to do at all, but… could you give it some thought? Trying to recreate what we did with one of the other vamps? You don't have to pick me to do it with you either, just… don't count out the possibility. Please.” With that said, he stepped aside with an apologetic look, clearing the way to the door.

With a grunt, Blue finally made it to the exit, unable to look at Val as he left. However, as he threw open the door he came face to face with a shocked Killer, forcing the mortal to backpedal a few steps on reflex with wide sockets. However, it didn't last long as his frustration rushed back in and his highlights hardened again before he brushed past the vampire quickly. Moving swiftly down the hall, he only caught a small piece of the conversation that followed.

“Whoa, what happened?”

“I pissed him off by accident.”

“…Aw geez. You okay?”

Turning the corner at the end of the hall, Blue felt the guilt worming its way into his soul. Valentine hadn't meant anything by it, yet the shorter had blown it out of proportion. What would he think of him now? The others when they found out? Furious, guilty, helpless tears threatened to spill over his sockets, but he managed to hold them until he made it to his room and locked the door behind him. He stood there a moment, hands clenched at his side and magic finally trailing down his skull, but he quickly fell into a fury he hadn't felt the need for in years.

Anything soft, anything that couldn't break or break something else, was ripped from its place and thrown. Clothes from the dresser thudded against the walls and the bed frame. The blanket and sheets from the bed itself were yanked off and wadded up as they were tossed beneath the desk. One of the pillows was thrown with them as he bit the other one as hard as he could, distantly glad he didn’t have his cousins’ sharper teeth, and he screamed his frustration. Muffled so the others wouldn't hear. By the end of it, the room was a mess and he sat beside the unmade bed with the pillow still clamped between his teeth as he panted and shook.

Eyelights roaming the room, taking in the disaster he had created, he couldn't help but scoff at himself. A temper tantrum? Was he fucking five? What the hell was wrong with him?

Even so, however, even as he berated himself for his childish tantrum, he couldn't deny that deep in his soul he barely felt just a little bit better.

Notes:

Okay, FOR THE RECORD, this chapter was not originally planned to end this angsty. Blue just kinda tied me to a chair and dragged me along as he took over. TwT
Anywho, everyone's trying y'all. Blue, Val, Killer, everyone. Some progress was finally made here! We've figured out a decent start to getting Blue comfortable around the vamps! The only problem is getting him to let the others help him. He isn't really mad at Val either. Poor bean is all stressy, and he's more upset with himself and his "slip ups" than anything else in all honesty. So much stress is bound to complicate and twist things in the heat of the moment, and while Blue knows this, sometimes it still just gets to be too much...

I hope you all enjoyed! Thank you so much for reading, and y'all can let me know what you think in the comments ^v^ <3

Chapter 8: Research

Summary:

Blue tries to get some research done so he can figure out how to speak again, but of course there has to be distractions...

Notes:

Whew, it's been a while since we got an update here, hasn't it? Well, here it is! It's been in the works for a while, so I hope you all enjoy the next installment of Blue's story. ^v^

Blue hummed as he balanced precariously at the top of the ladder in the library, searching the third shelf from the top of the floor to ceiling bookcase. As his eyelights roamed the spines, he leaned further out from the ladder, running his hands thoughtfully over the deep navy blue bandana around his neck.

 The one Val made for him.

It had been a peace offering. An apology for the fight, and delivered that same evening by Error as he came to ask if Blue wanted to come to dinner or if he wanted someone to bring him a plate. Error claimed he was bringing it because the vested skeleton didn't want to further distress the smaller monster if he was still upset, and the offering also came with some papers pinned to the fabric. Sketches of outfit ideas and a note of further apology, inviting the sapphire toned skeleton to look them over and let him know which ones Blue liked more when he was ready to speak with him again, though there was no rush.

 Blue hadn't gone down to dinner. If Error knew there had been an argument, it was likely the rest of the mansion knew as well, and the smaller mortal… wasn't ready to deal with that just yet. He'd calmed some while fixing his room, bringing order to the chaos he'd created providing a sense of comfort, but he wasn't ready to find out how defensive the others would be over one of their own. Error seemed okay, understanding, but Dream? Dust? The vampires even? No, it would be safer to stay in the background for a while. At least for the night.

The next day had been… fine. Besides everyone seemingly walking on eggshells around him. He went to breakfast and dinner without any real issue, so his routine resumed for another week or so, and he did think over what Valentine had said.

He couldn't deny he would have to eventually come out of the shadows. Just… it might be easier if he could communicate a little easier. Yeah. That's all he needed to do first.

 Engrossed in his own thoughts, he didn't hear the library door open.

“Blue?”

 The distracted monster jumped with a quiet gasp, losing his balance as he teetered for a moment on the ladder. Time slowed to a crawl as he was unable to regain his footing, reaching in vain for the bookcase as he missed the shelf and started to plummet.

 As he fell, he had enough time to try and curl himself in a way that would hopefully keep his skull from cracking against the floor. Thoughts flew through his mind at a rapid pace. Thoughts of the various injuries he could accrue with a fall from that height. Bruises or simple dislocations if he was lucky. Broken bones if he wasn't.

 His money was on the latter.

 When the air stopped rushing past him, he was more than a little surprised not to feel the pain he'd expected, nor the hard ground he'd been sure he'd land on. What he did feel was gentle pressure around his ribs and something soft yet firm supporting his skull. Opening sockets he hadn't even been aware he'd closed, his eyelights widened seeing Nightmare standing on the third shelf of the bookcase with a wide socket, one hand and two tendrils keeping the vampire stable and balanced against the shelves while his other appendages wrapped around and stopped the falling mortal.

 Shocked as he was, Blue didn't react much as he was gently lowered to the ground, placing a hand on the shelf to steady himself as he was set down on his feet, legs shaking from the adrenaline and his soul pounding rapidly in his ribs. Sockets still wide and eyelight small, he finally looked up as Nightmare landed in front of him, simply jumping down instead of bothering to climb.

“Stars. Stars can we please not do that again? Think I've had my daily quota for near heart attacks a day now. Shit,” the vampire pleaded, hands hovering over the skeleton monster as if he wasn't sure what to do with them. “Are you alright?”

 Blue could only nod with a shaky thumbs up as quaking breaths escaped him, eyelights dropping to the floor again. He hadn't had a scare like that in quite a while. Sure, he'd almost been killed or sucked dry plenty of times, but he'd forgotten the panic and vertigo that came with falling when he wasn't prepared for it.

“You're sure?” the larger asked, his tendrils squirming and wrapping around themselves behind him. When the mortal nodded again, he relaxed slightly. “Okay. Okay, if you're sure. I am so sorry, Blue. I didn't mean to startle you like that, I was just a bit surprised to see you in here.” he explained with a sigh. Looking back up at the shelf and the ladder, Nightmare made a thoughtful hum. “Was there something specific you were looking for, Blue? If I remember correctly, those up there are mainly anatomy books. Human, monster, and vampire. Of course, if you were only browsing then I can leave you to it. I was just going to settle in a corner somewhere to read anyway. Although, if you are looking for something in particular, I could probably point you in the right direction,” he offered with a small smile.

The mortal took a final deep breath, letting it out slowly as his pounding soul settled a bit more, and forced himself to look up at the vampire's face, Considering. He had half a mind to wave the offer off. Continue searching as he'd been doing and stay out of Nightmare’s way. Keep the head vampire's attention focused anywhere but on him. That was safer. Well, in other covens anyway.

 Now that the scare from the fall had mostly subsided, Blue’s anxiety surrounding the more powerful being had room to bloom again. It certainly didn't help that he was still used to being alert for even a phantom whiff of magic scent, and with Nightmare he knew exactly what he would be smelling. While the mortal supposed the scent at the facility had been a necessary evil, it still set him on edge knowing this particular vampire had used that power on him before. In his mind, that remained evidence enough that Nightmare would be plenty willing to do it again.

 However, despite the smaller skeleton’s anxieties, there was also the knowledge and logic of his current situation to conflict his own arguments. The fact that none of the vampires in the mansion had reacted aggressively or even sickeningly sweet toward him. That he hadn't been threatened or forced into a feeding.

 Studying Nightmare's expression, Blue only found that same sincerity that had been displayed in his cell. Apologetic even. At the same time though, there was also a bit of hope glowing in that single eyelight.

 With another sigh, looking up at the bookshelf instead of the monster in front of him, Blue started signing slowly, deciding to maybe extend his own small olive branch. “I was looking for medical books on skeletons. Magic flow, mana lines, that kind of thing. I wanted to do some research on how I can get my voice back.” Glancing back at the taller skeleton, the sapphire-hued monster watched as Nightmare blinked a few times, likely processing the signed answer, before he perked up with a thoughtful gleam in his socket and his gaze turned to the shelves as well. 

“I see. Yes, there are a few that might be good to look at then. Let's see…” The vampire trailed off as his tendrils brought the ladder over closer and he started climbing, pausing now and again to study the spines of certain books before reaching the shelves where Blue had been browsing earlier. “Great, it seems you were looking in the right place. Let me see. General monster anatomy. Mana lines. Magic flow. Ah, skeleton specificities. That one would certainly be useful.” As nightmare continued to ramble, thinking aloud, his extra appendages picked out and held the various titles. Eventually, he came back down to stand before the mortal with a satisfied smile. “Here we go. Hopefully these help you out a bit. They can be a start at least. If you need any more help, you can always come find me or Dream. I think he's actually about done getting a phone line set up for you, which might help a bit more with more specific research questions and resources. I can also get in touch with a vocal coach if you want me to. It wouldn't be any trouble.”

 Blue took a few moments to blink in shock before shaking his skull slowly. “This is fine. Thank you for your help, I am just starting to look into it though,” he responded, gingerly taking the small stack from the larger monster with an awkward, slightly uncomfortable smile. That was… a lot that Nightmare was offering. The mortal was still just trying to make sure it was possible to get his voice back without having to ask for any other help or spending an ass load of money. He already owed these monsters enough for getting him off the market, he didn't want to put them more out of their way.

“… Of course,” the vampire responded after a pause, studying the mortal for a moment with a concerned thoughtful look before rubbing the back of his neck and looking away sheepishly. “Apologies, Blue. I didn't mean to ramble. I only wanted to give you some options if you want to look into it further later, and I was thinking aloud as well. Please, take your time, and really, if you need anything all you have to do is ask.”

 The smaller skeleton only nodded again, looking down to consider the titles in his arms and trying to avoid meeting Nightmare’s gaze. Five books in total, definitely enough to get him started. He'd probably want to take some notes as he went through it all, just to keep it straight in his skull. The longer he thought about actually sitting down to do the research though, the less enthusiastic he felt about it. Sure, he wanted his voice back, and he was willing to put in the work to help his vocal nodes recover if it was possible, but he was starting at square one.

 Usually he actually enjoyed research. However, it was often because he knew at least something about the topic and was just curious enough to find out more. This time he wasn't researching out of curiosity, but necessity, and he knew next to nothing about the subject.

 It was… discouraging to say the least. 

With a quiet sigh, Blue shuffled the books to one arm so he could free a hand and sign one more ‘thank you’ before turning on his heel and heading toward the library door, waving a farewell behind him. From his brief search of the desk in his room before, he should have had everything he needed for taking notes without needing to ask for the materials. The couple spiral notebooks, pad of sticky notes, and assortment of pencils and colored pens would be plenty for his needs.

 He hadn't made it far down the hallway before he was stopped in his tracks, two voices carrying down the passage and getting closer by the minute.

“Third time this month! Repair man’s fuckin’ wit’ me, I fuckin’ know it.”

“Why would he want to mess with you, H?”

“‘Cause he’s a racist prick , that’s why. An’ he knows I can’t do nothin’ about it unless I wanna get my ass hauled off to prison or court. Why d’ya think I always ask one of ya to be there when he’s here? He’d try to spin some bullshit story ‘bout how I fuckin’ threatened him or somethin.”

Blue stood frozen in the hallway with small eyelights flicking around the hall, looking for a doorway to duck into. He recognized Dust’s voice easily, the same calm tone he'd used since the smaller mortal met him, and he definitely recognized the voice of the largest vampire in the mansion. The thing was, he'd never heard Horror sound so annoyed before, a growl beneath his words.

 An angry vamp was never a good thing.

 The mortal’s joints finally unlocked as he lurched forward toward the nearest door, praising the stars as he found the room unlocked and empty as he slipped inside just in time for the two to come around the corner of the hall. He also heard the sound of the library door opening again back from where he came from along with the steady footballs of Nightmare approaching.

 Dust sighed, the duo still getting closer to Blue’s hiding spot. “Yeah, I can't argue against that. As much as I'd like to say your size would be a deterrent, he probably knows he could use it against you instead.”

“Are you two alright? I could hear you all the way in the library,” Nightmare's voice called down the passage.

“Stove,” Horror called back with a sigh.

“Again?”

“Yes. H thinks the appliance guy is fucking with him ‘cause he's a vamp. I'd love to say he's probably wrong, but you've met the jackass.” Dust replied.

 The footsteps finally came to a halt just past the door Blue had ducked behind, the head vampire having passed by the room to meet up with the approaching duo just a few paces away from the small skeleton’s hiding spot. The hidden monster silently cursed. If they decided to have the conversation right there, he'd be an unwilling eavesdropper. If they didn't move on, he'd be stuck there in that dark room until they took their discussion elsewhere.

 Nightmare sighed. “I have indeed. I didn't figure he'd be one to compromise his professionalism over his bias though. If I did, I wouldn't have chosen him. I know how important your kitchen is to you, Horror.”

 Wonderful. It looked like the mortal was stuck listening then. Although, he couldn't deny the spark of curiosity just beneath his anxiety. If the stove was on the fritz it could be a number of things. Was it the stovetop or the oven? Was it not turning on or not turning off? How old was the appliance?

“You know how long it'll take to call someone to fix it?” Horror asked with a tired voice.

“Well, do you want me to call the same repairman or someone else?”

“Would prefer someone else. Someone who ain't a prick.”

 The tentacled skeleton hummed. “It may take two or three days at least then, Horror.” 

“Think you can work with that, H?” Dust asked.

The large monster sighed before giving a thoughtful hum. “Crock pots and air fryers will probably get a workout, but I guess it's doable.”

“I'll get someone called as soon as I can then,” Nightmare stated, his voice starting to grow fainter as he must have started moving away. “On another note, I just came across Blue in the library.”

“Really?” Dust asked in a shocked tone.

“Yes. He was looking for some books to help him research how he can get his voice back.”

“Sounds like a bit of progress.”

“How long do you think till he ain't scared of us?” Horror asked softly as they passed by Blue’s door.

 Nightmare hummed. “Not sure, Horror. It may be a while yet. We don't want to pressure him, or make him feel like he’s being pressured again. He's been through enough grief and pain already.”

 The mortal's expression scrunched uncomfortably as the group continued down the hall. voices eventually fading away with the distance. While he wouldn't argue that he’d had more than his fair share of pain and hardship, he also didn't necessarily care for how they made it sound like he needed to be coddled. Like he was fragile. Made of glass. He begrudgingly appreciated accepted the care the others tried to take with him, but he felt the extra concern was a bit excessive considering how before he’d been kidnapped he had actually fought other people for fun . He could take care of himself. He wasn’t fragile. Couldn’t have been if he’d wanted to survive the market.

 Shaking his skull briefly to clear it, the small skeleton listened for a few minutes before stepping out of the empty room, just to be sure he wouldn't get caught. Glancing down the hallway in the direction the three monsters had gone, concluding that he was in the clear, he started toward his room again hoping to get at least a bit of research done as he'd planned when he set out on his original mission.

---

Blue’s skull thumped repeatedly on top of the book laying open on his desk with a quiet frustrated groan. Two hours of research, and all he had to show for it was half a page of notes. He’d read the same passage three times, but it was as if he was only seeing the words, not actually taking them in. His mind kept circling back to the damn stove instead of focusing on the goal he was trying to accomplish.

 It had been such a long time since he'd gotten his hands on a set of tools. Had the chance to find what was wrong with something and actually fix it. The mortal hadn't had the urge to do so in years , why was it sneaking up on him now ? Why couldn't it have waited until he was at least done trying to figure out how to restore his voice.

 Sitting back up with a sigh, he stared blandly at the words before him, eyelights unfocused. Working with his hands sounded so much more appealing than trying to read again. Just the thought of attempting more research made him want to lay down and take a nap instead. With his mind as unfocused as it was, it seemed like trying to push through would simply be a fruitless effort.

 Ultimately, he pushed away from the desk, rolling the office chair back and turning his skull to the ceiling while resting his arms on his forehead. He needed to move . Do something besides sit and stare at the same page for another hour. Once again, his mind wandered back to the malfunctioning appliance. He briefly wondered whether Horror would let him look at it or not. Sure, he didn't have any formal training, but he knew how to figure out and fix most things.

 Perhaps if he could convince the vampire to let him take a look he could tell himself he was starting to pay the coven back for their troubles as well.

 Blue hadn't realized he’d stood up until his hand was on the door knob and he paused. He couldn't just waltz up to the large vampire and tell him he wanted to fix the stove, could he? It would seem random. If they hadn't told anyone else about the appliance being on the fritz yet, it would look downright suspicious . It wouldn't be hard to figure out Blue had listened in on the conversation.

 The mortal knew it would seem like he'd been spying. Poking his non-existent nose into places it wasn't meant to be. That kind of thing usually didn't go over well, and if the small skeleton was honest with himself, spying and reconnaissance had been exactly what he'd been doing on his previous secret excursions as well.

 Maybe… maybe he could get some backup. Just in case Horror didn't take the offer well.

 He took a moment to think of who to ask to accompany him before coming to a conclusion with a nod. With one last deep breath, Blue opened the door again and stepped out into the hall. He may have had to wander for a while to find the moral he was looking for, but he was willing to do so. Perhaps he could convince himself to abandon this reckless plan in the meantime.

 Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on how he looked at it, he actually found the skeleton he was looking for rather quickly, though in a rather odd place. Dust stood leaning his back up against the wall in the hallway not far from the living room. He held his phone in his hand, but he didn't seem like he was really looking at it. More so, he appeared to be looking just above and past it with a strange expression. Blank, though his teeth would twitch every now and again between neutrality and a strange smirk, though that only lasted for a few moments at a time.

 Blue approached cautiously. He didn't know Dust exceptionally well, but he knew how to tell when a monster was somewhat out of it. Not totally present. The taller mortal didn't even glance at the smaller as Blue drew closer, ensuring his footsteps were loud enough to notice. Even as he stepped in front of the distant monster, within his line of sight, there was still no reaction. After a moment of thought, with a wary expression, the shorter slowly reached out, not to touch Dust himself, but the phone in his hands. Just giving it a couple taps, he was hoping to get the hooded monster's attention without spooking him.

 Apparently it was a pointless hope, as within moments Blue found himself pinned to the wall, feet not even touching the floor as he was raised by the collar of his shirt to meet Dust’s snarl and blazing eyelights. 

Notes:

*insert evil laughter* Hehehe, how bout a cliffhanger? For the record, Blue was well aware this was a possibility when he was walking up on Dust. He'll explain in the next chapter, cause trust me, Dust is absolutely going to ask what the little skeleton was thinking, lmao. I'm not planning on leaving it here for as long as it took to get between the last chapter and this chapter, so y'all will have your answers soon enough ^v^
Anyway, thank you all so much for reading, and I look forward to hearing your thoughts in the comments!

Chapter 9: Haunted Pasts

Summary:

Blue has to calm Dust down before someone gets hurt, but afterward, he still wants a look at the stove.

Notes:

Hi y'all! Been a bit since I gave you guys some vampire au, hasn't it? Sorry it took so long, but I still hope you all enjoy the update!

Blue forced himself not to react beyond his hands coming up to grip the other skeleton’s wrists, though it was difficult to shove down his first instinct to kick out at the taller monster. An odd yet familiar calm settled over his mind as he started taking in information rapid fire. They were alone in the hallway. Dust’s knuckles had drained of magic from holding the smaller so tightly. The usually calm skeleton had shoved Blue against the wall and lifted him, but he wasn’t crowding in close, putting space between them as he snarled. His eyelights were overbright. A mix of fury and a deep almost hidden fear resided in the hooded monster’s sockets.

Blue knew that look.

That was the look of a feeder who had been harshly snapped back to reality either from dissociation or simply not paying attention. The look of someone who wasn’t sure where they were or how they got there, but they just knew they were in danger. Someone thrown into fight or flight. Someone Blue would have to either calm down or physically subdue so no one got hurt.

Later, when the small mortal actually had the chance to think and reflect on the current situation, he would once again be amazed at the ability of the mind to take in so much and make so many connections in the span of only a few seconds.

“Dust,” the sapphire toned skeleton forced out as he kept his gaze locked with the taller monster’s eyelights, not a trace of fear or anger in his own sockets or reedy voice. He still didn’t move to push Dust away, only squeezing his wrists slightly, trying to ground him and show there was no immediate threat.

It took a moment, but eventually the taller monster blinked, confusion mixing into his eyelights before his sockets widened and his expression slowly morphed from fearful anger into horrified recognition.

“Shit. Shit . I’m so sorry, Blue. Fuck ,” Dust cursed as he slowly set the smaller monster back on his feet, his arms trembling slightly as he did so. The taller was quick to back up, his own spine connecting with the opposite wall as he refused to meet Blue’s eyelights. One hand came up to tug his hood further up, somewhat obscuring his face, as the other clutched at his scarf. His breathing had become quicker, uneven, and Blue could see the heterochromatic skeleton’s eyelights were shaking. 

Blue’s brows furrowed as he slowly stepped closer, though he was careful not to get in the distressed monster’s bubble again. He really wasn’t upset with him, but more concerned than anything. He’d never seen the other in such a state before. Dust always seemed so calm. Collected. To see him freaked out like this, especially after the whole pinning thing, something must have spooked him pretty badly, and Blue wasn’t sure if it had been him, whatever the taller monster had been looking at on his phone, or some combination of the two.

Scuffing the floor with his foot, the smaller was sure to make some obvious noise of his approach, and when Dust looked up at him he slowly started to sign.

“Easy. In four, hold four, out four,” he advised, the same method the taller had suggested to help Blue calm down that first day in the mansion. He had to repeat it once more, but he could see the hooded skeleton was trying at least. As Dust slowly slid down the wall to sit on the floor, Blue moved to join him, sitting close by as he looked to the ceiling and copied the breathing pattern. As he started coming down from his own adrenaline, the smaller could hear the other start muttering to himself almost desperately.

“I’m not that guy. I’m not. I don’t do that shit anymore. I’m me. I’m not a tool anymore. I don’t do that anymore. I don’t have to. I’m not that guy. I’m me–”

The scarfed monster kept repeating the same iteration of sentences, concerning the shorter, though the mantras did seem to be helping some. Dust’s breathing eventually returned to normal, his eyelights steadied, and his hands finally let go of the fabric scarf he’d been gripping for dear life. When he turned his skull to look over at Blue, the smaller skeleton did the same, seeing the exhausted and guilty expression Dust was fixing him with. 

“Thank you for staying, Blue. Seriously, I am so sorry,” he apologized again.

Blue nodded. “You’re welcome. It wasn't a problem, and I'm not upset. It is not the first time I've been pinned to a wall because I snuck up on someone,” he reassured with a small smile before giving the taller a more concerned look. “Are you okay?” he signed.

 Dust sighed and shook his skull. “Fine. Just some old ghosts coming back to haunt me.” He pointed over to where his phone had been dropped. “Could you hand me that?”

 The smaller skeleton nodded again and leaned over to grab the device, wincing as he saw the spider web of cracks the screen had acquired from the fall. He also saw the screen was still on, though he didn't really take a terribly close look. All he really noted was a mugshot alongside the photo of a group of people, humans and monsters alike, wearing the same dark uniforms as he passed the phone over.

“Ugh, damn it,” the hooded monster groaned, turning off the screen to inspect the cracks. “Well, looks like I'll be dealing with this for a while. Unless we get a better deal buying two phones instead of just one,” he commented with a sigh before turning to Blue again with a stressed expression. “Blue, please don't do that again. I wasn't here in the present. You startled me, and I could've done something both of us would've seriously regretted.”

“I know,” the smaller signed in response, his own expression relaxed and neutral as he calmly met the other’s gaze. “I could see it in your eyes. You were out of it. I know how dangerous a disoriented monster can be.”

 Dust blinked incredulously, mouth opening and closing as he tried to figure out what to say. “Well what the fuck were you thinking then?!” he finally exclaimed. 

“I was thinking there was no one else around to help you come out of it. I was also thinking I did not want Ink to be the one to find you like that just in case something like that happened,” Blue replied with a mildly pointed look.

 The taller monster winced slightly, turning to look down at the floor. “It isn't the first time someone walked up on me like that,” he murmured. “Ink knows to go find a grown up. He wouldn't have tried coming up to me when I was just staring like that.”

 Blue sighed, snapping his fingers to bring Dust's eyelights back to his hands as he signed. “I am glad he knows. I was not implying you would have hurt him. Scare him, most likely, but I do not think you would really hurt him, and most definitely not on purpose,” he reassured, receiving a wan, almost disbelieving smile from the hooded monster.

“Now,” Blue continued, “I assure you, that is not the first time something like that has happened to me for this exact reason. It is actually not uncommon for feeders to have little episodes like that every now and again. If they are known to be violent during them or if they are unknown, calming them down is usually the task of someone who is able to stay calm in an emergency and someone who can get a handle on the person if things get physical. Trust me, I was that someone a lot. I knew what I was getting into and what I was doing.”

 Dust studied him suspiciously for a moment before sighing, tipping his skull back to rest against the wall again. “Still… if it happens again can I ask you to please go get one of the others too? Just in case you need backup?” he requested, eyelights dull and tired now that the surprise had worn off. 

“Okay. If that will make you feel better, then I will,” the smaller responded with a nod.

“Thank you.” The hooded monster went silent for a few moments before continuing, his tone deadly serious as he looked up again at the ceiling. “Blue? If… If anyone ever comes up to you and says they're from a group called The Rising Sun, walk away. I don't care what they say, or what they promise, please just tell them no and get away. That group is bad news.”

 Blue’s brows furrowed, but he nodded nonetheless. The name sounded familiar, but only slightly. Something he may have only heard briefly in passing at some point. He was curious, obviously, but he kept his questions to himself for the moment. Considering Dust had told him to stay away from them right after an episode like that, it was highly likely the group had something to do with the taller’s violent startle response, and he could see the hooded monster was still a bit shaky. There was no need for the shorter to drag out the distress longer than it had to be. He'd just have to do some research later. See what he could dig up about “The Rising Sun.”

Both skeletons lapsed into silence after Dust’s warning, the heterochromatic monster seeming to focus on his breathing and grounding with his sockets closed, and the bandana clad skeleton simply sitting at his side. They passed a good ten minutes before their quiet was interrupted by Horror turning the corner at the other end of the hall with a confused expression.

“Dust? Thought ya were gonna come help me… pick… some more meals. You okay?” He asked as he approached, glancing between the two mortals on the floor with a concerned look and focusing on Dust as he gave the vampire a small, tired grin.

“Fine now, H. I had a bit of an… episode,” he admitted with a barely perceptible wince, continuing quickly as the behemoth’s worried eyelight widened and fell on Blue. “Nothing too bad, big guy. I… didn't hurt him. I don't think. That's what he says anyway.”

 Blue gave the hooded skeleton a deadpan expression as he raised a brow, shaking his skull and signing slowly to the larger monster. “He did not. I knew how to approach the situation.”

 Horror hummed, still seeming to give Blue a once over that made the smaller internally squirm a bit as that single blood red eye light scrutinized him and so intently, before turning back to Dust. “What happened?”

 Dust sighed, dropping the grin as he opened his now cracked phone, still on the same page as when the smaller had handed it back to him, and turned the device for the cracked monster to see. “I knew these guys a while back. They just got caught yesterday. It came across my news feed, and I wasn't prepared to see it.” As Horror took the phone, squinting his good socket at the screen, Dust pulled his hood further forward again, his face hardly visible in the shadow now.

“… Memory Lane?” the vampire asked finally, expression soft as he handed the phone back.

“Yeah…”

 Blue looked between the two as Dust pocketed his cell with a thoughtful expression. Horror hadn't commented on the cracked screen or gotten upset, but actually seemed… genuinely concerned. For both of them. It wasn't the first time either, and Blue knew that, but it still surprised him. His gut reaction was still to try to stay under the radar, not draw attention to himself, but he’d pretty much done the opposite by helping Dust out. His instinct still screamed he was in danger being the object of a vampire's attention, but he couldn't find a logical reason to be afraid anymore. Not with Horror. It was unnerving, but also… relieving at the same time. 

“Still up for helping me in the kitchen?” Horror asked gently after a pause, studying the mostly hidden skeleton with a tilted skull. “Still needin’ more ideas for the crockpots and air fryers.”

“Oh, yeah. It’d be a good distraction actually. Night found a repair man yet?” Dust asked, standing up with a grunt as Horror shook his skull with a sigh.

Blue perked up as he stood as well, trying not to wince as he felt a twinge in his spine– he might in truth be a bit sore after being slammed into a wall– and signing to Dust as he caught the fellow mortal’s attention. “What happened to the stove?” This actually worked out great. He’d nearly forgotten in all the excitement why he'd actually come to find Dust in the first place. Now though, he didn't even have to reveal he'd overheard their earlier conversation. He wouldn't have to admit to his eavesdropping. They brought it up, so he didn't have to.

 The hooded skeleton sighed, stuffing his hands in his jacket pockets as he rocked back on his heels. “Well, H has been having issues with it for a while, but the guy we'd been calling for maintenance didn't seem to be actually fully fixing it,” he explained.

“Stove threw another fit, so Nightmare is calling someone else,” Horror added.

 Blue nodded, acting like he was thinking for a moment before replying. “Do you have some tools? I can take a look at it.”

 Dust blinked and raised a brow, seeming surprised, but curious. “Are you a repairman?”

“…Of sorts,” Blue responded hesitantly, looking away and pinching the fabric of the bandana around his neck for a moment. “I am… not licensed or anything, but I have fixed stoves a few times before.”

 The scarfed mortal hummed, turning to Horror. “Well, what do you think, H? You want to let him have a look?”

“Hm. I don't see why not,” the cracked monster responded with a shrug and an easygoing expression. “Can't get any more broke, and if you can fix it, it'd be faster than waiting on a stove guy. C’mon, we’ll show you where we keep the tools.”

 Blue blinked. He… really hadn't had to try that hard to convince them. When Dust asked if he was actually a repairman, he'd been sure he'd have to argue his case–that he did know what he was doing– but they instead just… accepted it. Agreed even.

 Shaking himself from his thoughts, he tried to keep his grin from stretching too wide as he followed, excitement bubbling in his ribs at the prospect of getting his hands working again. 

---

 Grunting as he sat down behind the stove he’d pulled away from the wall, Blue double checked his notes he'd made in the notebook Horror had grabbed for him. After unplugging the electric appliance, he did a full rundown of the different parts that could be causing the problems the larger had described. A couple of the burner coils needed replacing, which explained why it had arced as the cook tried to use them. A fuse had gone out as well in the control box, so that would have to be replaced as well to get the heat indicator light working properly again. Those seemed to be the main issues, but the bandana clad skeleton had made note of a few other small things he saw that could cause problems later if they weren't taken care of, although they could be left alone if the budget didn't allow for them. 

“How is it looking back there, bud?”

 The small monster jumped slightly as Dust's voice broke his train of thought. Standing up and brushing himself off, he squeezed out of the small area with the toolbox in hand and a smile. It had felt as good as he'd imagined to get his hands on some tools again, and he'd helped out his hosts to boot. He wasn't quite finished though. He still needed to replace the parts, and to do that he'd have to price them first.

 Horror perked up as the sapphire toned skeleton came out, seeming eager for news as he walked over to meet the mortal as he reached the kitchen island where Dust sat watching. “Find out what's going on with ‘er?”

 Blue nodded as he flipped to an empty page in the notebook, guessing it would be easier for Horror to follow seeing as he seemed to be one of the members of the household who had a bit of trouble keeping up when he signed too fast. “Yes, I think so. There are some parts that need replaced, and a few that can use replacing, but we don't have to do those yet. It all depends on the budget we're working with. If I can borrow someone's phone, I can start pricing the parts.” 

As he showed the two other monsters the notepad, his confidence withered slightly. After reading his note, the two of them blinked, looking silently between each other and Blue with odd expressions. Had he been too direct? Should he not have mentioned a budget or pricing? He was trying to be accommodating. He knew better than a lot of people the stress of finding the money to fix things, so he wanted to give them options. Did… did they find it insulting? Looking away and nervously fiddling with his sleeves as he rolled them back down, he missed Dust and Horror giving each other knowing looks and sharing a nod, Horror lumbering over to the counter he'd been prepping food at while Blue was tucked away behind the stove.

“Can use mine to look up parts,” the giant stated lightly, giving the small mortal a bit of relief as the nerve-wrecking silence was broken without a reprimand.

“After you have something to eat,” Dust added on, pulling a confused look from the smaller as the hooded monster gave him an easy smile. “Think you've earned at least a snack for saving us from crockpot meals for the next week.”

 Horror gave a halfway offended noise as he returned to the island, setting a bowl of cut fruit and nuts on the surface and playfully pulling Dust’s hood down over his face with a grin. “You like my cooking no matter what I cook it in, mister ‘two bagel bites counts as a meal.’”

“Hey! You broke me from that habit,” Dust countered with a laugh as he fixed his hood.

“Like hell I did! Caught you trying to do it again last week!”

“Last week I was a different man!”

“ Bullshit .”

 Blue found himself relaxing a bit and actually snickering along with the two as they bickered light-heartedly back and forth. Walking around the island, the short skeleton sat down next to Dust and reached tentatively for the bowl of fresh trail mix. He wasn't going to turn down actually good food. As he munched away though, setting the bowl somewhat between himself and Dust in case the taller wanted some as well, he found the two actually reminded him a lot of how he and his cousin used to be, though there had been a few more playful threats and punches traded between them when they lived together than between the vampire and mortal in front of him now.

“So how’d you know how to fix the stove, Blue?”

Horror's question cut through Blue’s thoughts as the smaller blinked and met the giant's curious eyelight, unsure when he'd missed the house members stopping their little squabble. Tilting his skull, the smaller pulled the notebook over and thought for a moment before writing his answer.

“I'm self-taught. I looked up how to do a lot of things when I was younger. Took a lot of stuff apart just to see how they worked too. Dad actually caught me with the toaster once when I was about seven, and he was shocked when I could put it back together again,” he wrote, chuckling a bit with a small smile at the memory. “When I moved in with my aunt, I fixed a lot more stuff. It was more of a necessity there though. When you don't have the money to replace things, you learn how to fix them instead.”

 Dust’s brows shot up as he read, but he nodded. “Yeah, that makes sense I guess. Sounds like you have a knack for it to boot,” he commented, thanking Horror as the vampire retrieved a bowl to sit in front of him as well with a smile. “What’d you have to move in with your aunt for?” he asked curiously as he popped a handful of fruit into his mouth, casual as ever.

 Blue froze with a strawberry halfway to his teeth. He… hadn't even thought about how they might ask about that when he wrote it down. How was he supposed to answer?

 As the small monster's silence continued, Dust looked over with a confused expression before he seemed to notice how the sapphire hued skeleton had frozen up, sockets widening. “Shit. You don't have to answer if you don't want to. Sorry. Wasn't thinking when I asked. That's your personal business.”

 The shorter shook himself out of it, shaking his head as he slowly started writing again. “It's fine. My parents just couldn't take care of me anymore. That's all.” Swallowing, Blue tried to shove down the memories attempting to resurface even with only that vague statement. He needed to move on. Quickly flipping to another blank page, and missing Dust’s guilty expression as he tried to think of how to apologize, he quickly wrote down his request and pushed it over to Horror. “Can I use your phone to look up those prices? The sooner I get it done, the sooner we can get the parts and fix the stove.”

 Horror hesitated, but nodded nonetheless, clearly seeing the topic change for what it was, yet not commenting on it as he pulled his phone from his pocket. Unlocking it, he handed the device over with a concerned look, nodding with a soft eyelight in acknowledgment to Blue’s small grateful smile.

 The bandana clad skeleton got right to work, but even as he tried to distract himself, even as he tried to quickly bury himself in hardware and numbers…

 He could still smell the smoke.

Notes:

Ah, yes, don't mind me continuing to be cryptic. I thought it was about time to give you guys a small taste of Blue's past, and of course hint at a bit of Dust's as well. Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed the update! I look forward to seeing you all in the comments, and thank you so much for reading! ^^

Chapter 10: Errand Day

Summary:

With Blue so close to being able to fix the stove, the only thing he's missing are the parts. Fortunately, today is errand day for the mansion, and a few of the others are getting ready to go out on the town. The question is, would Blue like to tag along or not...?

Notes:

GOOD GOSH, I DID NOT REALIZE IT HAS BEEN SO LONG SINCE THIS ONE UPDATED I AM SO SORRY! /lh
Okay, okay, I know it's been a while, but I've had a good bit going on in the few months between. Between getting a roommate, finishing my first fic, and fighting a bit of writer's block, it took a while for me to actually sit down and figure out where I wanted this chapter to go. If it's any consolation though, this story has been through a lot of worldbuilding since it was updated last, some of which will be shown in this chapter. Anyway, I'll go ahead and get out of your way so y'all can read. Hope you enjoy!

The kitchen had gotten pretty quiet as Blue moved on with his research. Sure, Horror and Dust started up a light conversation, but it was one Blue felt he didn't need to join in on. Like an invitation without the pressure of accepting. Instead, he contented himself with looking up the hardware he needed along with the prices and writing down his notes. The short monster was actually just starting to wrap up his findings when he heard another skeleton enter the kitchen, Dream’s skull buried in a small notebook as he was scribbling something down himself. 

“Hey, Horror, did you get a chance to do your grocery list?” the golden eyed skeleton asked without looking up, not noticing Blue or Dust’s presence yet.

Horror nodded. “Finished it this morning. On the fridge,” he directed lightly.

Nodding himself, Dream made a bee-line for the mentioned list, passing the other two at the island and pulling it from beneath the magnet holding it in place. Turning back around, he paused, finally seeing the others in the kitchen and giving them a sheepish smile. “Oh. Hey, Dust. Hi, Blue. Sorry, my attention is a bit scattered. Just trying to make sure everything is straightened out for our errands today, “ he explained, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly.

Dust only chuckled and waved him off. “No worries here, Dream. Kinda expected it, honestly. You always get like this on errand day,” he claimed.

“Could ask for more help, you know,” Horror added, though it sounded more like he was reminding him of something they’d discussed before.

Dream only gave the vampire another sheepish look. “I know… but if I do it then I don’t have to worry about forgetting something.”

Horror simply sighed and shrugged, though with a fond smile. “I know. You say that every time too.”

“Dream usually runs a big errand day sometime around the beginning and middle of the month,” Dust explained in a murmur, turning halfway back to Blue. “Those are about the times we start running out of big things, but most of us still do our own little runs throughout the month if we need something specific or have to drop something off somewhere and can’t or don’t want to wait for a big run.”

The shorter skeleton nodded slowly as he processed that. It was good information, after all, even if he'd already started to pick up on it himself since his arrival, and it was always interesting to be reminded that people were allowed to leave the mansion. The ex-feeder still had a hard time convincing himself it was okay for him to stand out on the back porch at times. There were places outside he wanted to see and explore on the property, like the fabled running track and weight room. He just… couldn't get over the anxiety of being outside in the open without a vampire chaperone. Experience taught him there were dire consequences for those trying to sneak off outside…

 This place wasn't like the others though, he had to admit. The people here had proven that much in his time here at least. The other mortals were free to come and go as they pleased and Dust had just confirmed it again .

 With a silent sigh, the sapphire toned skeleton forced his mind away from that topic for the time being. On another note, Dust's explanation brought up another question. If they were doing big errand and grocery runs, and were able to go on their own smaller trips as well, they had to have vehicles, right?

 That thought in mind, Blue tuned back into the conversation as Dream laughed over some joke or tease the bandana clad monster had missed.

“Stars, I wasn’t expecting that coming from you, Horror. Killer, maybe, but definitely not you,” the golden skeleton chuckled as he calmed down and caught his breath again with a soft sigh. “Thanks. I needed that. So, is there anything else you need for the kitchen?” he asked the vampire with a slightly more serious look, although he was still smiling.

Horror hummed thoughtfully in response. “Actually, you should ask Blue,” he stated, gesturing to the skeleton in question.

“He says he can fix the stove,” Dust added in explanation. “Just needs a few replacement parts, right?” he asked, turning fully to Blue.

The smaller monster swallowed slightly as the attention was turned on him, but he nodded. “It is a simple fix. It will just take some time and the right parts,” he signed to the lead mortal, reaching over to grab his notes and hold it out for Dream to look over.

The mortal blinked and took the offered list with a thoughtful expression, giving it a once over with furrowed brows. “Okay… I’m going to be honest, I really don’t know what most of these are or what I’d be looking for…” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck again. After a moment of thought though, he seemed to perk up, eyelights brightening as a small smile lifted the corners of his mouth. “You know, Blue, you could come with us if you wanted to. We were going to pick up a phone for you too, so you could actually choose the one you want and you could make sure you get exactly what you need for the stove. No pressure, of course. I can always ask the workers to help me find it all, so you don’t have to come if you don’t want to,” he assured quickly, smile faltering just a bit.

Blue’s own brows furrowed as he hesitated, but thought it over. “Who else is coming?” he signed in question as he considered the invitation.

Dream hummed, tilting his skull and looking up as he thought. “Valentine for sure, and I think Cross was considering riding along too,” he answered.

Nodding slowly, the smaller mortal looked down in thought, one hand raising to his chin. It didn’t sound like too bad of an idea. Two morals and only one vamp…

Blue hadn’t interacted much with Cross in all honesty, but the vampire didn’t exactly seem… confrontational. He appeared to have a tendency to keep to himself, at least what the sapphire toned skeleton was around. He just seemed… shy. Nervous. It was odd for Blue to see a vampire acting so sheepish, but he had to admit it was hard to be too intimidated by the man.

“You probably still have some time to think about it,” Dust commented, interrupting the shorter skeleton’s thoughts. “You’re still trying to get lists put together, aren’t you, Dream?” he asked the golden eyed monster in question. 

Dream nodded quickly. “Oh, yeah. I still have to finish up and make sure I get everything written down. We’ll probably leave in about an hour if you want to keep thinking, Blue,” the head mortal assured with a kind smile, though the sapphire toned skeleton thought he detected a bit of hope in the taller’s sockets as well.

The shorter monster relaxed just a bit, giving them a slow nod with some relief in his own sockets. “I will think about it,” he signed in agreement.

“Sounds good! We’re going to meet in the living room before we leave, so if you’d like to come you can just meet us there,” Dream instructed brightly. “Anyway, like I said, I have a few more things to check on before we leave. Toodles!” he said in farewell, waving as the others said their own goodbyes and the golden skeleton quickly disappeared again.

Blue didn't stay much longer in the kitchen, soon excusing himself as he moved into the hallway, heading back to his room as he continued to think. Would it really be such a bad idea for him to go out? He wouldn't be able to stay in the mansion forever, and he wouldn't be going out alone either, even if one of them was a vamp.

 There was another issue on Blue’s mind though. Going out meant running into more people. Strangers. Possible Black Market thugs. Anything could happen, and anyone could find him, truss him up, and take him back to another cell. The idea terrified him, not that he'd admit it.

 Which was exactly why he had to go.

 Squaring his shoulders, he entered his room and went to the closet, having found a few pairs of shoes early on in his stay that seemed to fit him. Setting the pair of simple hiking boots next to the bed, he went to the dresser next, pulling out a fresh pair of socks as well as a gray t-shirt and black jacket. He'd have to change. The sweater he was wearing would be too heavy and hot. He just wished he had a pair of gloves…

 As if someone above had heard his silent thoughts, he finally came upon a pair of fingerless blue pleather driving gloves in the top drawer of his dresser.

 While Blue got ready to go out in public for the first time in at least a decade, he forced himself to breathe deep and slow, shoving down the anxiety as he shoved his pants into the tops of his boots. He had to go. That’s what he kept telling himself. If he didn't go now, if he just kept pushing it off further and further down the road, he'd keep putting it off until he was forced into it by some outside force he had no control over. If he did it now, got used to being around others on his own terms, it would make it so much easier to relax. Easier to maybe return to the life he'd been ripped from.

 New determination in his sockets, the sapphire skeleton slipped into the jacket, zipping it up and pulling his bandana out of the collar as he looked in the full length mirror. with one final nod, he marched himself out of the room and down the hall, head high and shoulders pulled back.

 He wasn't the first to arrive, that honor seeming to go to Valentine as Blue walked in to find the former spread across the couch on his phone. Looking up though, the violet eyed skeleton blinked and sat up, an odd and slightly awkward look on his skull.

“Oh, uh, hi, Blue. Dream said you might be coming along today,” he remarked.

Blue nodded, moving to sit on the loveseat next to the couch. “I decided I need to be around people to get used to people,” he signed. He noticed Valentine wince at that, but it took him a moment to figure out why. “You were right,” he added, realizing that was exactly what Valentine had been trying to convince him of when they’d had that fight. The fight they still hadn’t actually talked about…

It seemed they still wouldn’t get a chance to talk it out either as another skeleton entered the room. Cross. The tall and quiet monster did a double take as he saw Blue seated on the loveseat, but gave him an awkward nod in greeting as he went to sit on the other side of Valentine, as far from Blue as possible. Dream actually arrived not long after, grin widening as he saw the sapphire toned monster.

“Oh, Blue! So you do want to come?” he asked to confirm, receiving a simple nod from the shorter skeleton. “Awesome. Well, looks like everyone’s here then. So, here’s the plan-”

“Wait, wait, wait, hold on!” came a voice calling down the hallway, Killer rushing to the doorway soon after with a grin. “You all were going to leave without me?” he asked with an exaggerated pout.

Dream rolled his eyelights and shook his head with a sigh, though he was still smiling. “Well, you told me last night you weren’t planning to go,” he countered.

“That was before I knew you guys were going to the hardware store, Dream,” Killer fired back, dropping the pout to replace it with a shit eating grin. When he finally looked around, he also did a double take seeing Blue sitting there with the others. “Hey, Blue. I didn’t know you were coming too,” he admitted, grin dropping in favor of a curious look.

“He’s actually the one who needs to go pick up parts,” Dream explained, not quite able to hide the careful look he gave the vampire and the smaller mortal.

Blue gave a small nod, watching Killer with cautious eyelights. “I need parts to fix the stove,” he signed simply, Dream translating as Killer looked to the head mortal with furrowed brows and a confused expression. 

“Really? Sweet! Horror is gonna be psyched,” the vamp said, perking up at the explanation as an easy going smile returned. “So, don’t stop on my account, Dream. What’s the plan?”

“Well, Val is driving, but we’re going to stop at the mall first to get the phone stuff started and get any random supplies we need from there, then after that I was thinking we could split up. Some of us can go get the hardware while the others get the groceries,” Dream explained, looking around. “Question is, who’s going on the grocery haul? I have the list, so I’m definitely going. Val? Cross? Where do you two want to split off?”

“I’ll stick with Kills and Blue at the hardware store,” Valentine spoke up quickly.

Cross grunted, looking away from the others as he mulled it over. “I’ll go with you, Dream. So you don’t have to carry everything.”

The lead mortal nodded with another smile. “Great. So we have a plan then. Val, you can drop Cross and me off at the grocery store while you guys go get the parts and pick us up after.”

“Sounds good to me, Dreamboat,” the tailor agreed with a thumbs up and a smile.

With that sorted, the group seemed to start making their way back out to the hallway, Blue following just behind the others. However, Dream quickly fell to the back of the pack as well, matching step with the shorter mortal.

“Hey, I know Killer coming along was a bit of a surprise,” the golden skeleton murmured, giving Blue an apologetic yet still hopeful smile. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. I don’t think he thought to give me a heads up. Or he just found out we were going for hardware a few minutes ago. I know he has a bit of a big personality…”

Blue held up a hand to stop him from rambling further, shaking his skull. “I will still come,” he signed, determined. “Whether he comes or not, I decided I want to go. I am ready to try getting out of the house,” he explained with a small, though still somewhat nervous smile.

Dream studied him for a few moments before giving a nod and another brighter smile. “Well that’s that then, isn’t it? I’m glad you’re feeling ready, but remember you can call it off whenever you need to. Now, why don’t we get this show on the road, hm?” With that said, the taller mortal bounced ahead again, a new spring in his step as they came to what looked to be another exterior door.

The sapphire toned skelton’s eyelights grew wide as the door was opened to reveal a luxuriously spacious garage. Tall red tool cabinets were pushed up against the right wall along with a few stacked shelves stocked with boxes of nails, bolts, screws, glues, paints, and what seemed to be either spare or broken parts. A sturdy workbench was set up just next to the door as well, paired with a beautiful heavy duty table saw right beside it. Scrap pieces of wood with rough jagged cuts and even some burn marks were stacked up on the table. Practice pieces Blue would assume.

The smaller skeleton’s eyelights were drawn next to the vehicles parked within the garage. Four of them. The gray minivan he remembered had transported him after his Black Market escape, along with a forest green SUV, what could only be a motorcycle covered by a thick tarp, and most intriguingly, a navy blue sedan with the hood up and an open wrench kit nearby.

“Since I’m driving and we’ve got a lot to get today, we’ll take my car,” Valentine declared, pulling Blue’s attention back as the violet eyed skeleton turned to pluck a set of keys from a hanger attatched to the wall beside the door and strode over to the SUV. The others didn’t seem to have any qualms as they followed him, Blue among them. Although, he did slow down a bit as they passed the sedan, trying to get a peek into the mechanics as he wondered why it looked like it was being worked on.

He didn’t think anyone had noticed his interest, but then again, he wasn’t paying attention as Killer glanced back and raised a curious brow before turning back to follow the others without saying a word.

“Go ahead and take shotgun, Blue,” Dream offered with a smile as everyone piled in and Valentine started the vehicle.

Secretly relieved, though he was sure the offer was intentional so the shorter mortal wasn’t squished into the back seat with at least one of the vamps he still wasn’t sure he was comfortable with, Blue climbed into the front seat next to the driver with a near silent sigh. He buckled his seatbelt, pulling it tight and glancing behind him into the backseat. Dream sat sandwiched in the middle of both vampires, and with the engine purring with no detectable sounds of concern, the sapphire toned monster was able to relax a bit more as the car was put in gear. The garage door finally opened behind them, and the SUV was backed out into the bright sunlight.

Blinking rapidly as his eyelights adjusted, Blue looked around, studying his surroundings. The garage seemed to be located at the back of the mansion, a long driveway curving around to the front where a gated brick fence stood between the driveway and the street beyond. They stopped just before the gate, Cross climbing out as Killer griped about getting an automatic gate and Dream countered with the fact that the manual one had worked just fine for them over the years. They watched as Cross unlocked and opened the way through, standing aside as Valentine pulled out and stopped again to wait for the vampire to return before they were finally off toward the city.

The shorter mortal swiftly realized he’d never been to this part of town, but was still relieved to see that despite all of his time on the market he was still in the same city. He was able to pick out some large familiar landmarks in the distance. To the west there were the steeper slopes of the hills peppered with mansions here and there. Those that housed the often snotty and privileged rich folk. The damn hilltoppers. To the east though, were the warehouses and factories of the coast with piers, fisheries, and tiny mom and pop shops. The poorer side of town where the dockfolk resided.

Blue’s old home.

To be perfectly honest, the sapphire hued skeleton was a bit shocked to find Nightmare’s mansion wasn’t located in the hills like the others, but rather just outside the edge of the city proper. Although, actually thinking about it, perhaps he shouldn’t have been so surprised. This lot acted more like city dwellers than hilltoppers after all. Less snooty, but also not as coarse and hard as most dockfolk.

When they’d finally made it into the main part of the city, the taller buildings quickly blocked most of his view of the familiar landmarks and he was a bit disoriented once again. This part of the city seemed a bit foreign to him, though he acknowledged the city itself had likely changed in the decade or so since he’d last seen it. With that in mind, he couldn’t help but wonder just how much it had changed, especially down on the docks. What shops were still there? How many had closed? Who had moved in? Moved out?

With a shudder as he started to get a bit overwhelmed with his own thoughts, Blue tried to turn his attention elsewhere. He could have his existential crises later when there wasn’t an audience to witness him break down or panic. Instead, he attempted to tune into the conversation the others had been having while he’d been reorienting himself.

“-if we could get a better deal buying two instead of just the one, he’d take it, otherwise he said we could just pick up a new screen and he can try to fix it himself,” Dream just finished, clearly talking about Dust and his phone.

“How’d he break it?” Valentine asked, looking in the rearview briefly.

“Yeah, usually I’m the one shattering screens,” Killer added.

Dream shrugged. “He just said he dropped it. Considering how cagey he was about it though, I think something else happened too. He’s always so careful with that thing,” he replied with a sigh. 

“Maybe he’s embarrassed,” Cross suggested quietly, looking out the car window as his fingers drummed on the armrest of the door, seemingly thinking about something else as well.

Valentine tilted his skull back and forth. “Maybe, but have you guys really seen him get shy or sheepish over anything besides a relapse?”

Dream hummed. “True… Maybe I’m just overthinking it. Accidents happen,” he admitted, Blue saying nothing to dispute it, before he turned to the small skeleton in the front seat. “Speaking of phones though, Blue, do you have an idea of the kind you want?”

Blue thought about it as he flipped to a blank page in the notebook he’d brought along. “Not really. I don’t know how much they’ve changed yet. I only really need a simple model though,” he wrote down, passing the notebook back.

“That’s alright,” Dream assured, nodding with a thoughtful expression as he read the note. “They have changed quite a bit since the last time you probably had one, but we’ll get it figured out,” he promised with a smile, handing the notebook back to the smaller mortal.

Blue nodded himself as he took the notebook back and the others continued chatting. As they drove deeper into the city, the sapphire toned skeleton started to recognize more of the area. Fast food chains, fine dining, appliance stores, thrift shops. Businesses that, though changed slightly since he’d last seen them, clearly brought them closer and closer to the main shopping district. Finally, the mall came into sight, the building itself  not really having changed much, even if there were a few new signs out front and a few older businesses missing from the main sign’s roster. Two stories tall, it wasn’t the largest mall out there, but it was plenty big enough for this city.

What really caught Blue’s attention though, was the already half full parking lot.

“Oh stars,” Dream sighed from the backseat. “I forgot we left at a different time than usual. I wasn’t expecting it to be this busy,” he admitted with a worried look.

“Yeah, but at least it’s not as bad as it could be,” Valentine remarked as he parked the car and took the key from the ignition. “Trust me, after you’ve seen this place on Black Friday, this is nothing,” he joked lightly, though he also seemed a bit concerned, glancing at Blue briefly.

The smaller mortal’s eyelights flicked around at all of the people going in and out, vampires and mortals alike, and he swallowed, suddenly unsure. He… he hadn’t been in a real crowd in a long time. He wouldn’t be able to keep everyone in sight. He could get snuck up on from behind. Or jumped from a dark corner of the store. Ambushed from among throngs of tightly packed clothes racks. If he got separated from the others…

Clenching his teeth, he forced a slow breath through his nasal cavity. If. If was the operative word. Nothing was guaranteed, whether for good or bad. This was the entire reason he’d wanted to come, wasn’t it? To get over this pointless anxiety before it became a real problem. He couldn’t hide forever.

With that in mind and determination in his sockets, Blue was the first to open his door, preparing himself for the inevitable trial ahead of him.

Notes:

Okay, I know it's not a super exciting chapter, but I had to have a transition somewhere, right? /lh
That said, Blue is slowly working his way toward recovery still! He's getting out and about, and he's not so jumpy around the vamps. Progress! And he's starting to take interest in more things around the house. The others are starting to notice too...

Anyway, as always, thank you all for reading! Sorry again that it's been so long, but I still look forward to reading and answering your comments. ^^

Chapter 11: Old Friends

Summary:

Time for Blue to finally get out in public. And time to see a familiar face and experience a little bit of existentialism. Why not? At least he can listen to some energizing music too.

Notes:

Hi, everyone! Glad to see y'all again. Took me a little while to get this one written, but it's here! Hope you all enjoy. ^^

Once everyone else had gotten out of the car, they started up toward the doors. On the way though, Blue noticed a sort of formation falling into place, natural as ever, but interesting to the small skeleton in the group nonetheless. While Dream and Valentine took the lead, discussing how they wanted to manage their time to get in and out of the crowded building as quickly as they could, Cross and Killer fell to the back. The vamps didn't really talk much besides Killer putting in his thoughts to the mortal’s conversation every now and again. Blue had somehow ended up in the middle, not really part of either group even as they were somewhat clustered together into one overall collection of bones.

Blue honestly wasn't sure how he felt about being in the middle. On one hand, he was definitely covered from behind. On the other though, it was an almost claustrophobic position for him. Being surrounded.

When they entered the busy building though, he was a little more grateful for the others acting as a sort of barrier. The place was packed with humans and monsters. Vampires and mortals alike hopped from store to store, sometimes running into each other or brushing shoulders without any real care. It was busy enough Blue was sure he could get lost and swept up in the throng of bodies.

“Oh, hell. That makes a little more sense now,” Valentine commented, raising his voice a bit to be heard over the din of other voices. He gestured with his skull to a banner spread between the bannisters of the second floor, Donor Days written across it in big bold letters. “Donor Days sales. Everyone wants in on those.”

Dream nodded with a sigh. “Yeah, that makes sense,” he agreed before turning to see Blue’s confused expression. “Oh. You… Donor Days started after your… Okay. Come on, we'll explain on the way,” he finally stammered out, turning to lead the way and beckoning the others to follow. “So, what donor day is, essentially, is a bunch of businesses getting together for a week to fundraise for the shelters and soup kitchens that help both mortals and vamps down on their luck,” he explained.

“They only started it up around six, maybe seven years ago,” Killer added.

Valentine hummed in agreement as well. “The businesses will have big sales to draw more people in and raise more money and awareness. The funds go toward paying the morals who donate their blood and magic at the shelters and getting regular food for the mortals there so the places don't have to charge the people who need the stuff.”

It was Blue’s turn to nod even as his brows furrowed, processing that. It wasn't as foreign of a concept to him as these guys seemed to think. That was kind of a normal day today thing down on the docks. People helped other people out. Vampires could get a meal through a day's work of labor if they were able and had a good reputation. Mortals the same, though with fewer risks to those employing them. Being paid with a hot meal wasn't uncommon where Blue grew up. Sometimes the bandana clad monster had to wonder why city folk and hilltoppers were so much slower to catch on.

 Seeing he understood, the others went back to their earlier conversation, eventually deciding to split up once they got Blue and Dream to the store they were getting the phone from. The place was on the second floor in the back corner. Out of the way and much quieter than the rest of the mall.

 Stepping inside, Blue realized just how loud and echoing the main common area was as it was all muffled behind him and he felt his own shoulders drop some of their tension. He breathed a little easier as he took a look around at all the new gadgets. Some he'd seen before, and some brand new to the short monster. Phones with folding touch screens, tablets, high-tech watches… He was admittedly a little out of his depth.

“All right, we'll see you guys in a while,” Dream declared, interrupting Blue’s train of thought. “I'll text you when we get done here.”

“We're heading to the craft place downstairs,” Valentine's stated as Killer nodded and gave the mortals a thumbs up before the trio turned to leave with smiles and waves.

Dream waved his own farewell back and turned to Blue. “So… How are you doing so far? Still okay?” he asked with a concerned look in his sockets.

Blue nodded. “Fine,” he signed, though when he looked around again his expression twisted. “Just not sure where to start looking,” he admitted.

“Okay. I just… Wanted to check,” the golden skeleton replied awkwardly. “Uh, anyway, phones are over here. You can pick any one you want. I'm going to go find an associate to start the process, so I'll be right back,” he promised, hesitating before walking away.

Being left alone in the store was a bit of a surreal experience for the short skeleton. Shaking off the feeling as best he could, his eyelights turned to the devices proudly displayed along one long counter. He only ever had one touch screen phone, and it was a hand-me-down bought from a friend with his own savings. Most of them looked similar to the phone he remembered, but with each little blurb of extra text advertising next to their displays, his brows furrowed further. What did half of it even mean?

“Hello, sir. Can I help you find anything today?”

A female voice startled the skeleton out of his thoughts as he spun around to find a fish monster behind him. He immediately noticed the lack of fangs, though her teeth still seemed plenty sharp, pegging her as a mortal and almost instantly soothing the worst of his alarm.

“O-oh. My apologies. I didn't mean to startle you,” she stammered, and something about the way she stuttered and adjusted her glasses seemed familiar…

Pulling out his notebook and pen, he quickly wrote down a reassurance. “That's alright. I was in my own little world anyway I guess.”

The fish nodded with a self-conscious chuckle and looked away. “I see. You know, Axi up front does say she should put a bell on me sometimes,” she admitted, then when she looked up again to see him giving her an amused grin, her expression turned puzzled. “Um… S-sorry, but do I know you from somewhere? You look…” she trailed off and seemed to study Blue’s face again before her eyes widened and she covered her mouth with her hand to muffle a gasp. “B-Blue? Is that really…”

The skeleton blinked in surprise, now scrambling in his own mind to place her. Realizing she was wearing an employee name tag, though it was almost hidden by a myriad of pins, he read the name, hoping it would ring a bell. Gidget…

 Blue’s sockets widened and his confused grin turned more excited. “Gidge?! Gidget Freshwater?”

She nodded, beaming and clasping her hands together in front of her chest. “Yes! It is you! Stars, where have you been? What happened to you? Does your family know you're back in town?”

The sapphire toned monster winced a little bit at the rapid questioning. He was starting to wonder if this was really such a great thing after all. From what he remembered of her, Gidget wasn't the best at secrets. Not for a lack of trying. She just had a hard time when she got excited and started rambling.

He remembered Paps trying to help her with that, actually. His little brother drew her in like a magnet at school. She and Paps were in the same grade, though Gidget technically should have been a grade or two below him. Regardless, they became fast friends. She came over often enough Blue wouldn't even be able to count how many meals they shared or sleepovers they had. Honestly, she was almost a little sister. Still though, he wasn't sure how much she'd matured since the last time he saw her.

“I haven't told anyone I'm back yet,” he finally wrote. “I don't want them to know yet. I'm not ready, and there are some people who are probably trying to find me right now. Bad people. I don't want to put my family in danger like that,” he explained further with a pleading look, hoping she could pick up the gravity of the situation in his features.

Gidget’s excitement seems to slowly melt away, replaced by concern and a bit of her own anxiety. “Blue… Are you okay? Really? Is something wrong with your voice? Did someone do something?” she asked, lowering her voice.

Blue gave her a wan smile. “It's a long story. I'm working on getting my voice back, it's just going to take some time. I'm riding with some people who are keeping me safe right now. I just really need this to stay between us. Please?”

She studied him for a moment, brows furrowed, but eyes serious. “Dead dockmen tell no tales. I won't say anything, Blue. Promise,” she answered, motioning to zip her mouth closed. “In the meantime though, is there any way I can still help?”

“… I think I can think of one thing,” the skeleton started with a teasing grin, trying to lift the mood just a bit. “Think you can help me translate the computer gibberish?” he asked, gesturing at the lineup of phones he'd been studying.

 She blinked at him before looking over the phones and snorting. “Damn mechanics. You lot can't tell a SIM card from the cloud,” she snickered teasingly.

Blue couldn't help but agree with a nod and his own raspy chuckle. He really hadn't ever been too interested in tech, so she wasn't entirely wrong. The fish was more like Paps in that regard. More interested in the development of new technology than old school machines and how they were built. Oh well. It takes all sorts of people to make the world go round.

As requested, Gidget patiently talked Blue through all of the different models and the specs. It didn't take long for her to figure out he didn't much care for all the fancy special features though. Eventually, she showed him a very simple model he was interested in. Apparently it was a few years old, but it had all the functionality Blue needed. It was about that time that dream finally returned as well with a lizard monster in tow. Another mortal

“Hey, Axi,” Gidget greeted the lizard with a small smile, receiving a nod and hello in return. “I was just helping Blue here pick out a phone,” she explained, the skeleton monster in question internally wincing as she dropped his name.

The older monster adjusted her own glasses and gave him a polite smile, showing off her own seemingly aesthetically sharpened teeth. “Oh, good. and have we decided on a model you like, sir?” she asked briskly.

Nodding, Blue held up the phone in his hand with a polite smile of his own, though his eyelights narrowed slightly. Her friendly tone seemed forced, as if conversing with a customer was the last thing she wanted to do. Her expression said customer service, but her body language gave off an air of annoyance beneath her red and black striped sweater and dark skirt.

“Excellent. If you don't mind, I will take it to the back and get started adding it to the plan,” she explained, holding out an expectant hand as she turned back to Dream. “This one and the phone you were trading in, correct?”

The golden skeleton nodded. “Yes ma'am. You said it would take a few hours to switch things over to the new phone on the old line?”

“Yes. I can send you a message or call you when it is ready,” she responded, just barely holding back a sigh.

“Sounds great. Just send me a message, if you don't mind. We still have some errands to run after this anyway. We can just come back and pick them both up,” the taller skeleton decided.

With nothing more than a nod and a muttered yes sir, the reptile turned on her heel and started on her way, heading to the back of the store. Gidget rolled her eyes as Blue turned to her with a raised brow.

“Oh, don't give me that look, shark bait. She's in a mood today. The boss called her out about making me manage the floor alone,” She huffed. “She's usually a little more personable. After her coffee and spending the day fixing drop offs in the back anyway.”

Blue gave his own huff and roll of his highlights. Some people and their attitudes.

“Sorry, but shark bait?” Dream asked, turning back to them with a raised brow of his own as he studied the fish monster, a hint of something displeased in slightly narrow sockets.

“It was an old nickname,” Blue signed quickly, not wanting to get the younger monster in trouble. “We knew each other before… everything,” he explained with a strained smile.

The head mortal blinked, looking between the two in surprise before smiling again, tension dropping from his shoulders. “Ah, I see. In that case, I’m Dream. Pleased to meet you, miss…?”

“Oh! Gidget. Friends call me Gidge,” she introduced herself quickly, glancing between the skeletons with a somewhat nervous look. “I, uh, take it you're the friend Blue said he was staying with for now?”

Both skeletons nodded, the shorter giving Gidget a reassuring pat on the shoulder as Dream spoke up. “Indeed. We are trying to keep it a bit of a secret though.”

“He told me. Well, to keep it to myself anyway,” Gidget corrected with an awkward chuckle, rubbing the back of her neck. “He didn't give me details, and I didn't really press for answers, so… yeah.”

“We appreciate it,” the golden skeleton responded, softening with a reassuring look of his own. “It's good to know Blue has a good friend around. Speaking of though,” he started, turning to Blue with an apologetic expression. “I don't want to interrupt or anything, but our friends are waiting for us at the entrance. they didn't have what Val was looking for, so they texted and said they were ready while I was talking with Miss Axis.”

Blue nodded slowly with a sigh as he started writing again. “I guess I have to take off. It was good to see you again though, Gidge,” he stated with a small smile, handing her the notebook.

Gidget seemed to deflate a bit as well, but she nodded with a similar expression. “Same to you, Blue. Here, if I give you my number will you text me sometime? Just to keep me posted on how you're doing?” she requested, pointing to his pen, which was readily handed over as he watched with a soft look and she scribbled down her contact in his notes.

“Thanks,” he whisper croaked as she handed it back, giving her a grateful look as he tore out and pocketed the paper.

“…You're welcome. Take care, Blue. Alright? And don't forget to send me a message,” the fish responded after a pause with a sad look in her amber eyes.

Blue only nodded and waved his farewell as he turned to walk away with Dream. A bittersweet feeling settled in his soul as he followed the taller skeleton, occupying his thoughts. It had been so nice to see an old friend like Gidget after so long, but leaving without giving her any answers? Seeing that worry on the face of someone he'd never wanted to worry about him? It hurt a bit. His pride, but also something else he couldn't quite place.

Perhaps it was something akin to homesickness. Remembering how Gidget and his little brother would pester him and convince him to take them out on the docks to some of the little mom and pop shops. How that would inevitably lead to his cousins coming along with them. How the younger ones of their group of five would play and tease each other carefree while Blue and his older cousin talked about their own interests as they watched over the smaller monsters.

Stars… There really was no doubt about it now. He missed home. The simple times when he wasn't looking over his shoulder for Black Market goons. When he could be happy and come back to his aunt's house feeling untouchable from the outside world.

Engrossed in his own thoughts, memories, and musings, the sapphire toned monster didn't pay much attention to his companions as they met up and walked out of the shopping center, finding the parking lot was only filling up more as the group left. He didn't notice the looks they exchanged behind his back at the sudden shift in his demeanor, and only nodded halfway absently when Valentine asked if he was okay as he buckled into the front passenger seat yet again.

Staring out the window as they drove away, Blue again was reminded of how much must have changed. While the feeling of being an alien in this newer more mature version of the world had been strong before when he hadn't recognized most of the businesses on the way to the mall, it was almost all encompassing now. Was there really anything that had stayed the same in his decade of absence? 

Well, it wasn't too long before he got some sort of answer to that at least. As Valentine pulled into another parking lot, Blue looked up to see a familiar sight indeed. At least he knew the old grocery store was still standing.

Val parked about halfway down the lot, Dream and Cross getting out and moving to the hatch to retrieve a number of cloth grocery bags they slung over their shoulders.

“I guess we're off,” Dream announced grandly as Cross sighed and nodded beside him. “We’ll see you guys when you get back. You'll probably get done before us anyway.”

Valentine hummed an affirmative as he twisted around in his seat to give the head mortal a two-fingered salute. “Sounds good. If we take too long, just shoot me a text. I'll wrestle Killer away from whatever bucket he sets his soul on,” he stated with a teasing grin as the vampire in the backseat didn't even deny the possibility and smirked back.

With everyone sharing a chuckle, and even Blue trying to hide a half amused smirk of his own, the head mortal and shy vampire were off. Then there were three.

“Hey, could we crank the music up?” Killer requested. “I mean, it is just us now. What do you say, Blue? Share a quick jam session?” he asked, interest sparking in his eyelights.

Thinking about it for a moment, Blue pulled out his notebook again. “Depends. what are we listening to?”

“Oh, don’t look at me. Driver always picks the music options,” the vampire replied, pointing to Valentine who hummed and started scrolling through his phone.

“Let's see… I've got pop, '90s rock, and metal. I'm cool with any of them, so you two can fight over which you want,” the lithe monster finally replied, glancing between the two.

Killer hummed as well, rubbing his chin in thought. “Oh, tough choice. Blue, which one would you want?”

The sapphire-toned monster hesitated for a moment. He never cared for metal, in all honesty. Out of the three, he would choose the rock, but he also knew pop was what these two usually listen to… Fuck it. He was feeling nostalgic. “'90s,” he wrote simply, turning the notepad so both could read.

The driver nodded with a grin. “90s it is. you good with that, Kills?”

“Perfect. I'm totally down,” the dark socketed skeleton agreed with a wide grain of his own.

As the music played and the volume was turned up, as per Killer's request, Blue grinned a bit while an old familiar favorite came on. Stars, how long had it been? The volume was loud enough he could feel the bass too, but it was far from the loudest he'd heard. Though, to be fair,, the loudest he'd heard also used to destroy the cars from the inside with only the speakers, so that wasn't saying much.

While he didn't try to sing along like the other two, Blue could feel the energy. He tapped his fist on the armrest with each beat, finding he couldn't hide the half feral grin that stole over his expression with each song. What played basically surmounted to a playlist of fuck you in song format, and the shorter skeleton loved every minute of it. Even if it did cheat a bit and start playing songs from other eras of rock as well.

By the time they pulled up to their final destination, the smaller mortal actually found himself in much better spirits than when they left the mall. As the music shut off along with the car, he was smiling while he unbuckled and popped the door open again. He didn't recognize this specific hardware place, but it didn't matter much. Most places should have had what he needed.

Flipping through the pages in his notebook, he found the notes on the stove part and started walking to the door with the other two beside him. He didn't pay much mind as Killer split off, heading to the auto parts while the two mortals moved toward the appliance section marked by bright green letters painted on the wall. The shelves were arranged intuitively enough, so it didn't take long for the shorter skeleton to find the section he was looking for, but as he crouched down to study the parts in search of what he needed, Valentine cleared his throat, pulling Blue’s attention.

“Hey… I want to apologize for the other day,” he admitted quietly with a sigh, tucking his hands in his pockets as his eyelights trailed down to his feet. “I don't think I explained what I meant very well, and I overstepped.”

Blue blinked, not having expected an apology while they were in public, though he supposed they were technically alone for the moment. “You said what you meant, and it made sense,” he signed finally after shaking off the surprise. “I would rather you be blunt with me than dance around an issue.”

“It still pissed you off,” the other pointed out.

“Yes, I was pissed. However, it was more with myself and how it felt like I kept messing up and saying the wrong things,” the shorter countered. “I was frustrated before we even had that conversation anyway. You made points that agreed with what I had been telling myself needed to happen, but I hadn't done it yet. I felt a little called out is all,” he admitted with his own sigh.

Valentine nodded slowly, taking that in. “That makes sense, but… You know you don't have to rush, right? Learning how to do life again after all that shit is going to take some time. If it felt like I was rushing you, I'm still sorry,” he apologized again, though by the way his shoulders relaxed a bit more, it seemed that Blue’s explanation had at least done the vested skeleton some good.

“Apology accepted,” the blue hued monster signed simply with another small reassuring smile before he turned again to the shelves in front of him. “Now, do you want to actually help me find this thing with that handled?” he asked with a more teasing smirk.

The request seemed to finally relieve the rest of the taller skeleton’s tension as he chuckled and agreed. After showing Val his notes on the specific part they needed, they both started the search again. With two pairs of eyelights, it didn't take long to find it, although it was of course on the top shelf where Blue wouldn't have been able to reach it on his own.

Victorious in their quest, both skeletons started toward the front, meeting Killer on the way as he came to find them with his own part. The item intrigued the shorter mortal immediately. A motorcycle clutch lever, likely for the bike in the garage back at the mansion.

Curious enough, Blue motioned for the vamp to let him see the box a little closer, bringing it up to study it when Killer simply handed it over with his own interested look. It seemed the fanged skeleton had done his research. One of the better brands that wasn't as expensive but still worked just as well as some of the premium priced parts. He remembered buying the same for his own bike when he was younger too. The packaging might have changed, but hopefully the reliability and quality hadn't.

“You know much about motorcycles?” the vampire asked us Blue handed the lever back with an approving nod.

“Yes. I built one almost from the ground up when I was fourteen,” he answered, signing and letting Valentine translate for him.

The vampire brightened with an excited looking grin. “No way. Seriously? Well, I know who to ask if I get stuck with my little pet project then.”

Blue chuckled and grinned back. “I could answer some questions, sure. I want to look at the bike in return though,” he bargained, the taller skeleton’s enthusiasm sparking his own automotive interest.

“Sweet!” The fanged monster pumped his fist in the air, almost somehow seeming more excited. “Dude, you can take a look anytime. I'm sure you saw the thing in the garage under that tarp. I've been trying to work on it, but I have to look up and research everything so it's taking forever.”

“Not to mention getting distracted by your fifty other hobbies,” Valentine snarked with an elbow to Killer’s side and a grin of his own as he led them all to the counter for checkout.

Killer didn't deny it, instead chuckling and nodding. “Okay, you might have a point there.”

The three of them shared another laugh as they finally checked out and left again to the car, placing their bags in the trunk. The music was again cranked up as they drove back to the grocery store to wait for the other two. Continuing to jam in the car as they sat, they made it through so many songs Blue could hardly register how long they had waited.

 Not that it really mattered when the short monster felt well and truly at ease for the first time in a long time though. More so even than he'd felt the last time he had hung out with the same duo in Valentine's studio. Finally, a truly light-hearted moment where he wasn't bombarded with anxiety, bittersweet memories, or existential dread.

 And he planned to enjoy every minute while it lasted. 

 

Notes:

Blue finally got some more relief! And saw an old friend! Well, a friend of his brother, but still, lol.
Now, I promise we are reaching the end of the "fixing the stove" arc, lmao. It was starting to get tedious to write, but I had to get it done eventually! Ironically though, as I post this, I am actually currently waiting on a replacement for my stove and oven that decided to kick the bucket. XDDD

Sorry if the pacing felt a little off in some places by the way. I'm trying to get my flow back with my writing since I've been struggling with it a bit, but I'm still doing it anyway!

Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed, and as always, thank you for taking the time out of your day to read my silly story. <3

Chapter 12: Crossing Barriers

Summary:

Blue's simple exploration of the mansion grounds turns into an afternoon filled with coaching an anxious vampire on how to properly hit things.

Notes:

Hello hello! Glad to see you guys again so soon, lol. We've got a bonding chapter here today, so I hope you all enjoy. ^^

With his soul feeling a lighter in his ribs, there was some extra pep in Blue’s step when they returned to the mansion. The stove proved to be an easy fix with the right part and attitude, with only a few near silent curses being required as per the unwritten law of self taught handymen. The result, as always, was the satisfying sense of accomplishment as he turned on and tested the burner to find it working just as intended.

It was around that time as well when Dream poked his skull in to announce he’d finally received the text to pick up the new phones and left again. When he returned, he found Blue in the library, yet again researching what he could do to help his voice recover. With the new phone in hand though, while it took the shorter monster an hour or so to figure out and find the functions he needed, he set a password for security and chose to give the search function a test run while he was in his researching mindset.

The device proved to be much more of a game changer than he’d initially assumed. Being able to cross reference what he’d found in Nightmare’s collection of medical textbooks proved to be an invaluable innovation to his study methods. He was able to look up specifics on skeleton anatomy alone far quicker, and he didn’t need to boot up the computer every time he sat down, meaning he could do more research in his room instead of the shared library where his thoughts could be interrupted much more easily. On top of it all, he was actually able to finally get first hand accounts and records of others with a similar problem, giving him the opportunity to see what had the best chance of working and what was mostly fluff padding the written texts.

With the extra help from the phone,  Blue finally felt he was making real progress. He found exercises for his vocal nodes that didn’t require a specialist and started working the magic through his voice as often as he could without fatiguing it too much. He hummed varying tunes, spoke short sections of poetry in his room until his nodes were just on the verge of soreness, and slowly got to the point where he could speak louder than the raspy whispers he’d been making thus far. It may have taken weeks to get there, and his voice still had that harsh roughtness, but it was still measurable progress he could see and use around the mansion. And with that progress came a boost in confidence as well.

To be fair, it wasn’t only getting his voice back that helped him relax around the other skeletons. It was a nice addition, but in all honesty the longer he stayed and the longer everyone simply existed around him without much fanfare, as if he just belonged there, the more helpful it was. He spent more time with Valentine and Killer in the studio, hung out with Dust and Horror in the kitchen, and in general was seen around the main halls and rooms in the house more frequently. There was really only one major hurdle that still caused him no small amount of anxiety. The yards around the mansion.

Being outside in general was difficult for the short skeleton. Wandering eyes could catch sight of him for starters. Wandering eyes on the lookout for feeders who had gotten away. Even beyond that though, there was the matter of actually going outside on his own. Logically, he knew the other skeletons in the mansion likely wouldn’t bat an eye, but there had been plenty of examples made of those feeders who would sneak off outside without permission or an escort attempting to show them off. He knew the residual anxiety was absolutely ridiculous considering he was in a far different situation now, but it was still there nonetheless.

Which meant he had to prove to himself he was actually okay.

It started  with standing outside just outside the door on the patio in the backyard and looking around. He was still tense, but the longer he stayed out, the easier it became to step out the door each time. He eventually started sitting on the porch swing with something to entertain himself or waiting to go inside until someone passed by or came to get him. It proved effective enough of a method, as evidenced by his anxiety dissipating quicker each time, and eventually he was ready to actually explore a bit of the backyard itself.

It was a large area of land, fenced in securely with the back of the property covered in trees hiding the back section of the brick wall. He saw the garage and driveway, but further out was the running track he’d heard the others talk about before. There were a few other buildings and a garden as well. Even a moderately sized greenhouse. 

One of the buildings caught Blue’s attention quickly. Not quite small enough to be a simple shed. Perhaps a workshop? Though he wasn’t sure what kind of workshop it would be considering the woodworking setup in the garage itself. 

His curiosity got the better of him as he moved over to check it out, finding the door unlocked and swinging it open. His eyelights widened as he took in the interior. Inside proved to be a decent sized gym, complete with weights, a treadmill, and various other exercise equipment he’d seen before, but never used. Stepping in finally, he grinned and started to explore the space, excitement growing upon finding a corner padded with a wrestling mat and a couple of punching bags hung up nearby.

Blue jumped though when the door opened behind him after a while as he was studying some crates of wraps, boxing gloves, and striking pads, turning quickly to find Cross standing in the doorway. The vampire had frozen himself upon seeing the mortal, sockets wide. They both simply stared before Cross finally broke the silence with a quick shake of his skull. 

“Uh, sorry. I’ll leave you be,” the taller monster stated quickly, turning to leave with his shoulders hunched.

Blue was quick to shake himself out of the stupor as well though, clearing his throat with a bit of his own embarrassment at having been startled. “Wait. You can stay. I was just curious what this place was,” he protested. Out of all the vampires in the house, Cross was actually still the one Blue knew the least about. All he knew was that the vamp was young, at least younger than the others if not younger than the short mortal himself. He also had a distinctly nervous disposition. He didn’t really inspire any fear in Blue, deemed not much of a threat, but instead sparked a bit of curiosity as the mortal grew bolder over time.

The vampire hesitantly turned back to the room, only meeting Blue’s eyelights for a moment before looking away again. “Are… you sure?”

“Yes. Don’t let me stop you from what you were doing,” the smaller monster added with a nod. Instead of watching Cross though, he turned away himself to look at the weights again, hoping maybe the other would feel a bit more at ease without eyes on him.

Cross hesitated still, but eventually he did step all the way in and closed the door behind him. Blue only watched out the corner of his socket, but he observed as the young vamp shuffled over to the shelves and crates beside the wrestling mat where the smaller monster had just been. He glanced over at the mortal before pulling a pair of hand wraps from a crate and unrolled one of them. Turning, the taller seemed to angle himself intentionally to block Blue’s view as he attempted the wrapping process.

The mortal’s expression softened as he started to notice the tension in the taller skeleton’s shoulders and the quiet frustrated swearing the longer he was turned away. He seemed to be struggling with the wraps, even grabbing his phone out of the pocket of his white hoodie and typing something in before trying to wrap his hands again.

“Hey,” Blue finally spoke up, feeling a bit bad for watching for so long without aiding the vamp or just leaving. “Would you like some help?”

Cross winced as he turned to Blue, though he wouldn’t meet his sockets. “I… I haven’t done the wraps before,” he admitted, shame etched on his skull.

Blue nodded. “That’s okay. Have to learn somewhere.” The mortal moved over to grab a wrap of his own from the shelf. “Just copy what I do,” he invited. The smaller skeleton wert slowly, making sure Cross could follow as the pattern came naturally to the mortal. A familiar motion he knew well.

Once the first hand was wrapped, Cross gave a small smile and flexed his fingers. “So that’s how they work,” he commented softly.

Blue nodded again. “Just like that,” he confirmed, grabbing another wrap and unrolling it to wrap his other hand with Cross following along yet again. With both hands wrapped, the mortal grinned, some bubbling energy rising in his soul as he adjusted the wraps just slightly to make them fit over his joints a bit more comfortably. “Takes practice. For skeletons especially.”

“Why skeletons?” Cross questioned, skull tilted with some curiosity.

“They can get caught in our joints. Fleshy monsters don't have to worry about that,” the mortal explained patiently, showing what he meant by intentionally pinching the fabric between his bones. “Uncomfortable to train like that.”

The young vamp nodded, sockets thoughtful as he studded the example. “I could imagine.”

The shorter monster nodded with a smile before his sockets turned to the hanging bags nearby, something sparking in his sockets. With a quick flurry of motion, he threw a combination of strikes at the target. One he knew by heart and the first one he’d been taught. He wasn’t trying to hit the bag hard, but it still ended up with quite the swing until he caught and stopped it.

Chuckling to himself, the sapphire toned monster turned back to see Cross watching with wide sockets. “Sorry. It’s just been a while since I could hit a bag. All yours,” he offered with a sheepish grin as he stepped aside to start unwrapping his hands.

“…How did you do that?”

Cross’ seemingly awed voice made the mortal look up again with a few surprised blinks. “Do what?”

“The… That, ” the vampire answered, fumbling with his words as he gestured to the bag. “It was so fast. You knew exactly what you were doing. I don’t think I could ever be that quick.” The taller skeleton paused, appearing to deflate a bit as his shoulders hunched again and his skull turned away and down. “Sorry… I’m rambling, aren’t I?”

Furrowing his brows, Blue quickly shook his head. “No? I wouldn’t call it rambling. You’re asking and explaining a question,” he corrected. He took a moment to study the other skeleton, gears turning behind his eyelights. For one, the young vamp seemed especially young in that moment, and a little too quick to dismiss his own questions. It was a little concerning, and slightly triggered the protective older brother part of Blue’s soul, but he didn’t dwell on it. It wasn’t his place, considering they hardly knew each other. Something else occurred to the shorter monster though, one he felt he could hopefully explore without spooking the vamp. 

“Have you ever worked on a bag before?” Blue finally asked, brows furrowed. It had taken him a minute longer than it probably should have to realize Cross didn’t seem to know what he was doing even though the wraps should have been his first clue.

The other winced, but shook his skull. “No. Not really… Killer tried to teach me a bit, but…” he trailed off with a shrug, still not meeting the mortal’s eyelights. 

Blue tilted his skull thoughtfully. “Did he go too fast? Or was he a jerk about it?”

“No, no. He was okay. I just couldn’t keep up,” Cross admitted quickly as he snapped his gaze up with an almost panicked look to defend the other vampire. “I just… Thought maybe it would be better if I learned on my own. Or tried to anyway…”

The mortal nodded in understanding, trying to give the taller skeleton a reassuring smile. “I got it. No worries. If you wanted though… I could give you some pointers to get started?” he offered slowly.

“…You don’t have to…”

“I want to,” the mortal corrected. “I think everyone should learn some stuff like this. Keeps people safe,” he explained.

Cross hesitated, looking away again and biting his tongue between his teeth before eventually nodding. “If you have suggestions… Yeah. Please. I’m really out of my league here…”

“Of course. Happy to help,” the mortal responded, his sockets softening a bit as he took off his shoes to take a position on the mat with the other following his example. “And you’re not out of your league. You’re learning. There is no league for learning,” he corrected encouragingly, beckoning Cross to stand in front of him.

With a kind smile, Blue gladly started coaching the young vamp, first starting with what Cross knew and building up from there. The first issue he addressed proved to be the most important. The taller skeleton wouldn't keep his wrist straight when he punched. It was an easy fix, but a vital one to keep the kid from breaking his wrist with a badly timed strike.

The smaller monster didn't fully realize it at the time, but he started calling the vamp kid more frequently as the coaching went on. He couldn't help it. The skeleton just acted so young compared to the others. Well, besides Ink anyway. Cross seems so much more naive than Blue had expected. Not totally coordinated either. On top of it all, he also appeared somewhat worryingly eager to and worried about pleasing the mortal with each bit of advice Blue gave him.

The shorter monster lost track of how long they'd been at it, but he finally called for a break when he noticed the kid breathing harder and struggling to keep up with the striking pads Blue had donned in lieu of the punching bag. 

“Okay. Break time,” the mortal stated, lowering the pads and unstrapping them from his hands. “You’re picking this up super fast. I’m impressed. Guess Killer didn’t do so terribly after all,” he joked with a grin.

Cross coughed and made a small chuckle himself, doubling over with his hands on his knees to breathe. “You’re… a good teacher,” he panted in response, to which Blue simply shrugged.

“I do my best. Go ahead and stand up straight. Hands on your skull. It’ll help you breathe,” the mortal instructed with a soft smile at the praise. “Try not to pant. Deep breaths help you recover faster.”

The vampire nodded and followed the instructions, attempting to slow and deepen his breathing as Blue started moving them over to a bench to rest. The blue hued monster noticed the other seemed more at ease than he had when he’d come in, though the mortal wasn’t really surprised. Most times for Blue, just hitting things and getting the mana pumping was cathartic. His preferred method of handling stress. It was truthfully endearing to see the young vamp in a less anxious state of mind, and actually opened up a bit of an opportunity.

“So? Was I a better teacher than Killer?” he started with a smirk.

Cross snorted a bit, already getting his breath back. “For sure. You actually explained stuff instead of throwing me in the deep end thinking I’d learn better just by doing.”

“Yeah… Some people just aren’t wired for that style of learning,” Blue responded with a nod, clearing his throat. His voice had gotten scratchy from the extra talking, and his vocal nodes were definitely struggling to keep his voice steady and strong. “Hey, do you mind if I switch to sign? Nodes are getting sore…” he requested with a sigh.

Cross blinked, but was quickly nodding as well. “Go ahead. Sorry, I didn’t realize…”

Blue simply waved off the apology. “No worries. It has been getting better, they just still get sore,” he signed. He couldn’t remember how fluent Cross was, choosing to play it safe with slightly slower motions. “Can I ask you a few questions? Just some clarifying stuff?”

The vampire watched carefully, nodding as Blue finished, though his brows furrowed with a mild look of unease. “Sure. I can’t promise I’ll have all the answers though,” he warned.

“Of course. Not a problem,” the mortal agreed. “First, why did the others bring you when they went to bust the market if you don’t know how to fight?” he asked with a look of concern. “That put you in danger,” he finished with furrowed brows, remembering Wine and Nightmare mentioning the kid’s name during his rescue.

Cross was quiet for a while, seeming to try and find his words to explain. “They had me evacuating people while they kept the market guys off of me and the mortals. It was my first time going with them on that kind of mission, actually. I get your point though. That’s why I wanted to come out here and do this. I’m tired of feeling helpless, so I want to fix that, you know?” he admitted, voice quieting at the end as he looked down at his hands for a moment, then looked back up to await Blue’s response.

The mortal’s expression softened. He had a feeling there was more to that story too, but he brushed it to the back of his mind for later as he nodded, signing again. “I understand that feeling. Being powerless while the world feels out of your control is hard. That is why I learned to fight too,” he agreed with a sigh.

That reply seemed to catch the vampire’s interest as he tilted his skull. “Did you learn while you were a prisoner?” he asked quietly, though his expression appeared skeptical.

“No. Long before then. I was around thirteen when I started,” he answered simply.

“…How old are you now?”

Blue actually had to think about that for a moment, calculating the years. “Twenty seven now. You?”

“Just turned nineteen. I guess I have some catching up to do with this stuff to be on your level, huh?” Cross chuckled with a small grin, rubbing the back of his neck self consciously. 

“You will get there,” the mortal responded with his own chuckle, patting the young vamp on the back as he filed away that piece of information. It made a little more sense why he acted so young now, but there was something else there too. Something else contributing to the anxious and people pleasing behavior Blue wasn’t quite sure of just yet. “In the meantime, if you want more tips or help with any of it, just come ask me, okay? I need to knock some rust off my skills anyway,” he offered with a wink, grinning as the vampire studied him for a few seconds before the taller monster’s own expression softened and he smiled, fangs and all. 

“Thank you, Blue.”

Notes:

Finally some quality time getting to know the second youngest vampire of the group! Cross is such an anxious bean, but I love him so, and he has quite the backstory to him. I'm sure some people have a good guess of where he comes from, but shhhhh. I'm not telling yet. >:3
Thanks to the people who voted this to be the next chapter for the story over on my Tumblr. I always forget to mention I have one, mostly because I rarely use it, but I had some chapters planned out that really didn't need to be in any particular order so I figured I'd ask you guys what you would like to see next. Worked out pretty well I think, so I will probably do something similar in the future. ^^

Anyways, as always, thank you all so much for reading! <3

Chapter 13: The Old Heads

Summary:

With Blue recovering steadily both physically and emotionally, the old leaders of the coven have decided it's time to meet the small mortal properly. However, while one makes a decent impression, the other might push it a bit too far...

Notes:

Hello, everyone. Been a while, yeah? Hope everyone has been doing well, and I'm sorry it's been so long since this one updated. This chapter kind of kicked my ass, to tell ya the truth. I legitimately started writing this one three-ish months ago, and was just super stuck. A lot of stress and depression irl didn't help either. Regardless, I hope this chapter was worth the wait, and I hope you all enjoy.

“Come on, you only have thirty seconds. Don’t you dare give up on me at the end, Criss Cross,” Blue pressed aggressively as he sped up, throwing up the pads for the vamp to strike the final combo of moves he’d given him. The kid was gassed, but he followed the order just the same, his form suffering somewhat from the speed, but that wasn’t important at the moment to Blue. What mattered was that the taller skeleton kept moving. That he didn't throw in the towel just yet. “Everything you have, kid. Ten seconds,” the shorter monster declared as the timer continued to count, pushing for Cross to strike harder as well as faster.

Finally, the round timer gave its official boxing bell triple ding and the vampire’s hands hurried to yank the velcro open to get the boxing gloves off before Blue could give him more to do. Unstrapping the pads from his arms, the mortal huffed slightly in a false pout, though he was grinning as moved over to put them away in their respective milk crates while trying to catch his own breath. He noted it was a bit odd for him. He always breathed a little heavier after holding pads for someone else, sure, but it wasn’t usually this hard. Was he just that out of shape? If that were the case, why hadn’t he had an issue holding for Cross during any of their previous sessions since they started their little three day a week routine?

Forcing in another deep breath, the mortal turned back to find Cross laying on the mat with his arms over his skull, spine pressed into the cushioned floor and sockets closed as he visibly tried to get control of his breathing. Chuckling at the sight of the exhausted vampire, Blue trudged over to collapse with his companion, laying on his back next to the taller monster.

“Hate you,” Cross wheezed, opening one socket to give the skeleton next to him quite the stink eye, though his voice was more tired than serious as he sucked in the humid air.

Blue only laughed, a rattling cough escaping him as the sound again taxed his breathing. “That’s okay. I would too,” he fired back. Reaching up, the mortal pulled his bandana off of his skull from where he’d tied it to keep the sweat out of his sockets and wiped his face with it. He’d have to ask Val to wash it later.

“You alright?” Cross asked, though he thankfully didn’t sound too concerned as he pulled up the collar of his own sleeveless hoodie to wipe his face and vertebrae as well. “Sounding a little wheezy yourself.”

Blue waved the question off, though he gave the kid a grateful smile. “I’m fine. Just out of shape,” he answered, a half truth considering he was still figuring that out for himself. The more he thought about it though, the more paranoid he felt he was becoming. 

It wasn’t just his breathing. He’d been alternating hot and cold all day. One second he’d be boiling, and the next freezing. He was still thinking clearly though, so he was reluctant to call it feverish. Coupled with the fatigue he felt physically as well even beyond the workout though…

Stars damn it, if he was actually getting sick he was going to be pissed.

“If you’re sure,” Cross replied slowly, dropping the topic with a sigh as they lapsed into silence and each finally caught their breath.

Blue’s sockets slipped closed, and a little while later the mortal found himself dozing, but still aware enough to hear the door to the small gym opening and shutting. He didn’t think much of it at first, assuming it was just one of the others coming to check in or get theri own workout in. No big deal.

“Sor-ry to intrude, but may I interrupt you two-o?”

Blue’s sockets flew open and he was on his feet in a matter of moments at the sound of a stranger’s voice, though he remained halfway crouched with a hand steadying himself on the floor as his vision swam from moving too fast. Standing in front of the door was a skeleton he hadn’t met before, and his sockets narrowed.

The stranger was similar in stature to Blue’s brother or younger cousin. His eyelights were a bronze color, teeth sharp, though without the obvious fangs to mark him as a magic eater. He wore a padded cream colored vest over a rich earthy toned turtle neck. Hands in his pockets could possibly be hiding a weapon…

Cross sat up and blinked a few times to seemingly process what was happening in the few seconds it took for Blue to make his observations. “Whoa. Hey, dude. We didn’t know you were stopping by,” he stated, tone surprised, but not upset.

The stranger chuckled awkwardly, shooting Blue an odd glance as he pulled his hands out of his pockets, one moving to fiddle with his zipper and the other adjusting his glasses as he removed the limbs from his pockets. Empty. “Really-y? Wine called Nightmare this morning. We figured he’d tell e-everyone.” 

“Nope,” Cross replied, shaking his skull. “Not a word. Good to see you though,” he admitted with a fanged grin as he stood up and dusted himself off before glancing at Blue. He winced slightly, giving the smaller mortal an awkward and anxious smile. “Oh. Right… I forgot. You guys haven’t met yet, have you?” he asked, clearing his metaphorical throat as Blue slowly shook his skull. “Yeah.. Okay, um… Blue, this is Coffee. He’s Wine’s brother, if you remember Wine. Used to be the head mortal around here before Dream took over from him and he retired with his brother. Coffee, this is Blue,” he introduced slowly, glancing between the two with a worried expression.

Coffee stood a bit straighter before bowing in an oddly formal gesture. “A-a pleasure to meet you officially, Blue. My apologies for startling you.”

Studying the taller mortal, Blue stood up to his full height with a hum. “Well… It’s nice to meet you too. Don’t worry about it,” he answered. The fact Cross didn’t really seem put off by the new arrival helped soothe some of the shorter skeleton’s unease and shock, but he still wasn’t entirely impressed with being snuck up on. Wine’s brother, huh?

“So… What’s the occasion, dude?” Cross asked with another awkward clearing of his throat. “Just checking in?”

Coffee stood up straight again and tilted his skull back and forth in a so-so motion, hands going back to his pockets. “Ye-es and no. We heard you wer-re settling in better now, Blue, so Wine wanted to mee-eet you and introduce himsel-lf properly. A-and I heard you and I-I may have to have another discus-sion, Cross,” he admitted, raising a brow at the vampire as Blue finally noticed the stutter seemed more of a physical impairment than a nervous tic, as it was with Gidget. The sound simply seemed to cut off entirely at times, forcing Coffee to start and stop with his syllables. Regardless, stuttering or not, the taller mortal’s comment prompted a wince from the young vamp and narrowing sockets from the smaller mortal.

“Why do I have a feeling I know the exact discussion you’re talking about?” the vampire whined, shoulders slumping.

“I would be surprised and concer-erned if you didn’t,” Coffee responded before turning back to Blue with an apologetic smile. “At any ra-ate, my brother, Nightmare, and Dream sent me to reque-est your presence in their office, Blue. If you wish, of course. No one will re-eally make you go.”

The mortal was torn, brows furrowing as he debated with himself. On the one hand, yes, he probably should go, but on the other, he wasn’t sure he wanted to leave Cross now that the kid seemed more hesitant around the other mortal. And perhaps he was a bit intimidated to greet Wine properly, but that wasn’t important. That’s what he told himself anyway.

The young vamp sighed beside him after a few moments of silence, shoulder still drooping with a resigned look. “Either way, can we just get this done, Coffee? I know I’m not getting out of it,” he groused.

Coffee blinked at the younger skeleton, seeming… surprised? “Oh, uh, yes. Whe-ere would you like to go? And who would jo-oin us?” he asked haltingly.

“I have somewhere in mind. Killer or Horror probably. Whoever we find first,” Cross answered with another sigh as he started toward the door, though he stopped as Blue grabbed his arm. Looking back at the smaller skelton, he tilted his skull at the mortal’s searching look. “Uh… Oh! I’ll be fine, Blue. It’s nothing… Bad. It’s just something the others have been trying to… help me with,” he assured, giving the mortal a strained smile that was probably meant to be reassuring. Whatever this conversation was clearly made him less than comfortable, but…

Blue hummed as he let go of Cross, his brows still furrowed. “If you’re sure,” he muttered. It was hard to admit, but the kid was technically an adult. A young adult, but nonetheless. Besides, the vamp clearly knew more about the situation than Blue, and he could make his own decisions. It wasn’t really Blue’s place to try and defend him or anything anyway…

With another more genuine smile, Cross turned again to Coffee and the two of them meandered off, the older mortal resting an arm around the vampire’s shoulders in a seemingly familiar gesture that, admittedly, made Blue feel a little better. That, as well as the grateful look Coffee gave the shorter skeleton before they walked off.

Once they had gone, the mortal stood alone in the gym and blew out a long breath. To go or not to go, that was the question now. Although, it really wasn’t much of a question, was it? If he didn’t go, he was a coward. Besides, he couldn’t avoid Wine forever. If the vampire was really determined enough to show up to meet the blue hued mortal, there was no doubt in Blue’s mind he would seek him out in some other way anyway. Best to meet Wine on neutral ground with allies nearby than be caught alone and unexpecting, right?

That in mind, Blue set off to the main part of the mansion and the twins’ office, trying to soothe the anxiety in his soul with the knowledge Dream and Nightmare would also be present. Dream he knew he felt comfortable with, and the mortal at least trusted Nightmare to take his brother’s side if arguments occurred.

It wasn’t that Blue was entirely un comfortable around the head vampire anymore. He just… still struggled at times to be entirely trusting. It was a fickle thing, really. Sometimes he was comfortable enough around the more powerful being to sit quietly together in the library, and at other times Blue’s intrusive thoughts got the better of him and his soul squeezed at the mere thought of being left alone with the dark skeleton.

Blue was finding that trauma was quite annoying like that.

After greeting a few of the other household skeletons along the way, Blue finally stood before the office door, hesitating a moment before pressing the side of his skull up to the wood to listen in before announcing himself.

“–last I’ve heard about him,” Wine’s voice finished, the eavesdropping mortal only catching the tail end of the sentence.

Nightmare sighed. “Stars… This Wolf character seems to be becoming more and more of a problem. Are we still unsure of his species?”

“Unfortunately, yes. From the few eyewitness accounts we have, he covers himself from head to toe. The only thing we know is that he cannot be a canine monster nor any type with a long snout. He is either human, or a monster with a similar frame as a human,” Wine answered with a huff.

Blue’s brows rose as he made a nearly inaudible hum, believing he might have an idea of who they were talking about. The Wolf, as he was called, was a bit of an urban legend passed around among the feeders on the Black Market. It was difficult to decipher what was truly plausible, considering all the rumors and fantastical hopes of feeders without much else left to hope for, but the general consensus was that they were a vigilante who targeted the Black Market and some covens who bought from them. No one knew their true intentions, and they were hardly ever seen, but one of the constants among supposed witnesses was the wolf mask he wore. Complete with a sharp grinning maw and two gold canines.

Some believed he was a ghost. A vengeful spirit of a feeder lost to the harsh system and hell bent on making the vendors’ lives a living nightmare. Others believed he was a living mortal, and the mask held some sort of contraption to make them resistant to monster based vampire scents or human variant hypnosis. Still others thought they were a vampire themselves, fed up with the abuse of mortal feeders.

Blue himself had honestly been skeptical The Wolf even existed in the first place since the rumors started floating around a few years ago. He thought it was perhaps just another way for desperate feeders to give themselves some false hope. Hearing someone else talk about them though, someone who wouldn’t have been subjected to the feeder sphere grapevine… It was intriguing to say the very least.

“I was talking to Junebug the other day,” another voice interjected, one Blue didn’t recognize, but was undeniably female and brought his attention back from his musings. “She said she’s surprised they haven’t shown up at her place yet considering her reputation.”

“She’s also talked about trying to bring them into the fold if she ever met them in person,” Dream sighed, sounding skeptical. “I honestly have a hard time believing we’d be able to trust them if it did happen though…”

Nightmare hummed in agreement. “Agreed. He could do some serious damage to our operations even as an ally.”

“I don’t know. Her and Cinder have done some pretty remarkable things before,” the female voice commented.

“True. I suppose we will just have to wait and see how the cards fall,” Wine replied mildly, humming softly afterward as he sounded a bit distracted. “I do not mean to be impatient, but do you believe Blue will come? It has been a while since Coffee left…”

“I think he will,” Dream answered immediately, the utmost faith in his voice making Blue wince. “He might just be taking his time or finishing up with Cross still. He’s been doing really well, actually. Considering the circumstances.”

“Especially for as little help as he’s sought out despite our offers. Everyone I believe has noticed he has been growing in confidence,” Nightmare commented. “Not to mention how he’s been helping Cross with the same thing whether either of them realize it or not.”

Blue finally took a step back from the door. In all honesty, he wasn’t sure he wanted to hear what the lot of them thought about him behind closed doors. While knowing would have been helpful and nigh essential while he was still an illegal feeder, the idea just didn’t sit quite right with the small mortal among these skeletons. 

That said, he also definitely did not want to be caught eavesdropping. Mustering his courage, he took a few breaths to settle himself and give the others time to get further into their conversation so he didn’t seem too conspicuous and finally knocked politely.

Opening the door after hearing Dream’s invitation to come in, Blue’s eyelights immediately fell on a sharply dressed Wine in the seating area where they had apparently settled in lieu of the desk. A partially informal meeting then despite the former head vamp’s crisp maroon button down, slacks, and gold cufflinks. Next to him sat an air elemental monster, the woman Blue presumed he had been hearing before. Her outline was only made clear by her simple white blouse tucked into a long navy blue skirt along with the motes of pollen, mist, and glitter swirling around her near translucent form. The two relative strangers shared the loveseat while Dream sat in the lounge chair and Nightmare had pulled over one of the leather chairs from the desk, leaving the recliner open.

Wine stood to greet him, though not before he noticed the woman’s hand resting on the old vampire’s knee. “Greetings, Blue. We meet again, though this time fortunately under better circumstances,” he stated, bowing much like Coffee had in the gym.

The mortal gave the old fashioned monster an awkward nod in his own greeting. “Hey. Yeah, I guess so, considering,” he allowed, crossing his arms and shifting his weight somewhat uncomfortably at the gesture.

“Why don’t you come sit down, Blue,” Dream offered with a small smile, gesturing first to the open chair then to the coffee table where a teapot and cups were arranged neatly. “Nighty is making tea again, if you want some.” 

Blue nodded, glancing at the newcomers briefly again as he moved to take the recliner, only faintly wishing his back wouldn’t be to the door. “Sure. why not?”

“Excellent,” Wine interjected as he straightened and sat down again next to the elemental, taking her hand in his as he did so. “Also, allow me to introduce my fiance. Blue, this is Gale,” he introduced, grinning with a kind of pride the small mortal could respect.

Gale herself chuckled and dipped her head in Blue’s direction. “It is wonderful to meet you, Blue. I have heard good things,” she greeted with a soft smile, the motion finally making her fangs visible as the mists and glitter shifted around them.

“An honor to meet you too, ma’am,” the sapphire toned skeleton replied automatically. Sitting down, he curled his knees into the recliner with him, finding his feet yet again couldn’t touch the ground. “So… Your brother said you wanted to see me?” He gave the old vamp an expectant, though partially neutral look as he waited for his answer, gratefully accepting a cup from Nightmare without taking his eyelights off of the visitors.

Wine nodded with a relaxed grin at first as he accepted his own drink from the dark boned vampire, though his maroon eyelights were sharply focused. “I was kept informed of how you were progressing and wished to see for myself. Well, that and I wished to check in on everyone else. See how my heir has been doing in my absence,” he stated, gesturing with his cup in Nightmare’s direction.

Blue raised a brow as he glanced between the two skeletons. “Heir?” he asked, not really seeing the resemblance. 

“Adopted heir,” Dream was quick to chime in with an awkward smile as his twin sat back down next to him.

Nightmare himself seemed a bit sheepish about the matter, avoiding everyone’s eyes as he looked down into his own cup. “Wine took us in when we were young,” he admitted in explanation.

“And I never regretted it,” the elder skeleton stated proudly. “I can think of no one else I would rather have in charge of our coven and my estate. You’re still learning, but you have done a marvelous job so far. Especially with your first rescue without my explicit guidance.”

“I just learned from the best,” the dark skeleton commented with a small smile. The kind of smile a proud kid would put on to try and hide just how much the praise meant to them in company. 

“I don’t know if I’d say the best, even if I do appreciate the sentiment,” Wine chuckled, waving off the younger vampire’s words. “But regardless, tangents aside, how have you been getting along, Blue?” he asked, turning those sharply intelligent eyelights back on the quiet mortal who had been perfectly content simply listening in.

The smaller skeleton was caught slightly off guard by the quick change of topic and the attention suddenly being turned back on him, but tried to recover swiftly as he took a sip of tea to stall as he thought over his answer. “Nothing to complain about,” he stated, glancing over his mug with his own studious sockets. The vampire’s smile had turned a bit sharper when he turned back to the mortal. Something had shifted, and Blue couldn’t place it just yet. “The food is good, company is nice, and the rooms are comfortable,” he answered carefully.

“Good, good,” Wine replied, not breaking eye contact. “I hear you and Cross have been getting along quite well recently,” he commented, tilting his skull thoughtfully. “You’ve become somewhat of a mentor?”

“He wanted to learn something I was qualified to teach.”

“Fighting?” 

Blue huffed, rolling his eyelights in response to Wine’s question. “Fighting, self defense, self confidence, whatever you want to call it,” he answered, fixing the vampire with a halfway challenging look. This guy's tone was starting to rub him the wrong way. He couldn’t place it. Was it really neutral? Interested? Protective? Disapproving? There was nothing the vampire had said so far that could have been deemed explicitly rude, and it could simply be polite conversation, but still…

The small mortal couldn’t help but feel like the vamp was pressing for something. A gut feeling carefully honed over the years telling him Wine wasn’t just looking for pleasantries. That the way he was wording his questions for the sapphire toned mortal was getting a bit close to some sort of interrogation. Was he expecting Blue to be the timid people pleasing skeleton he’d been when he’d first arrived? Did he expect him to roll over and just give him the answers he wanted? If that were the case, Wine had another thing coming. Blue was not in the mood for information fishing.

“Did you learn that on the Black Market? I was under the impression the vendors would attempt to squash any sort of perceived resistance,” Wine commented, still wearing that infuriating grin. “Or perhaps you learned from family? Or friends. Maybe you even did it for money?”

“I learned before the Black Market shit. Is there a point to this, or are you just trying to fuck with me?” the shorter skeleton responded sharply, his hackles rising further as he went on the defensive. Yeah, this was an interrogation. That question hit a little too close to home. There was no way Wine was getting into his personal life right off the bat just to be friendly. And especially not with that unnerving cheshire cat expression that had been steadily growing.

Wine raised a brow as his smirk grew sharper. “My, my. You are certainly more outspoken than the first time we met. Have I struck a nerve?”

“And you’re more nosy than I remember,” Blue snapped back quickly, sockets narrowing. Sure, he’d only met Wine that one time in the van, but Blue would be damned if he just let this carry on without saying anything in his own defense. “Guess both of our first impressions were wrong.”

Was it a stupid move to be sassing the patriarch of the coven? Probably. Did Blue’s recovering pride in this moment outweigh the threat of bodily harm? Absolutely. Perhaps this newfound confidence was misplaced in his trust of Dream and Nightmare, but it was enough to dredge up some of his old arrogance after working out most of his anxious energy with Cross. The return of another hot flash didn’t help his temper remain under control either…

Wine opened his mouth for likely another snipe in return, but was interrupted by Nightmare, making nearly everyone in the room jump.

“Wine,” the younger vampire snapped before he blinked and seemed to catch himself, taking a deep breath and pinching his nasal ridge.

“Yes, my boy?” the elder vamp responded immediately, skull swivelling toward his heir as his expression shifted. The smirk had turned more into a studious smile, brow raising again and something almost… encouraging blooming in his sockets.

“We talked about this earlier, Wine,” Dream sighed while his brother appeared to be gathering himself again with deliberately deep breaths.

“You said you wouldn’t do this interrogation thing right away this time,” Nightmare reminded him with an exasperated look.

Wine seemed to have forgotten about Blue for the moment, turning his entire focus on his heir, to the small mortal’s surprise and slight confusion. “I do this with everyone I bring into our coven, my boy. It is how we avoided worse problems than we had with Dust, after all.”

“You didn’t bring him in this time. I did,” Nightmare responded shortly, though after he said it he seemed to regret it. His socket widened and he blinked before he looked away, seeming almost nervous now as he glanced to his brother, who seemed to be at a similar degree of loss.

Gale seemed to pull everyone’s attention as she grinned and chuckled beside her skeletal partner after a moment of tense silence, visibly squeezing Wine’s hand. “You did say you’d wait before giving him the third degree, dear.”

Wine hummed, nodding slowly as he leaned back in his seat finally, something satisfied in his gaze as he glanced over each of them. “Ah, yes. I do believe I remember that.”

There was a tense and confused silence for a few moments. Wine didn’t strike Blue as the type to give up so easily. Unless that little interrogation hadn’t been the vampire’s true goal… He seemed the kind of skeleton to do some sort of roundabout like that, the mortal supposed. Blue had met plenty of people who used to use that method as well in his younger years…

Finally, the quiet was broken by a groan. Nightmare. “This was a test, wasn’t it?” he asked, almost whined, as his expression twisted into a look of displeasure, annoyance, and embarrassment. 

Wine chuckled in response as he raised his cup in the twins’ direction. “Guilty as charged. You passed, by the way. I can’t have you letting others get away with bullying members of your coven. Not even myself,” he explained with a wicked grin. Mischievous, though clearly pleased.

“I knew you were acting odd,” Dream muttered into his mug with a near pout as he wouldn’t meet Wine’s eyelights.

Blue raised a brow as he glanced between them all. A test? To see if the twins would defend Blue? He wasn’t sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, he didn’t appreciate the test being at his expense. Especially without being asked to be part of it first. On the other… It reminded him a bit of the hazing he’d experienced and been accustomed to when he was a young teen. Before the Black Market bullshit.

It may have been a test for the twins, but perhaps it still wasn’t only for them.

When Wine turned his attention back to Blue again, his expression softened and he sighed, giving the mortal a much more apologetic and sincere smile. “That all said, you truly have my most sincere apologies, Blue. Despite how it came across, my comment on your more outspoken nature was not meant to be an insult,” he assured, dipping his skull in a sort of bow. Likely trying to placate the mortal, though his tone was genuine this time. “I am, to be quite honest, very impressed. You have clearly already come a long way in such a short time.”

The mortal, again, wasn’t sure how he felt about the apology. The one-eighty was unexpected and put him a bit off-balance, but this persona did halfway match up with the version of Wine he had so briefly met in the back of that van.

Before he could say anything in reply though, Gale spoke up with a soft smile. “It seems we got into this a little fast, dear. Perhaps you would be gracious enough to allow us to start over?” she requested.

“…Yes, ma’am,” Blue finally responded politely with a nod. His aunt raised at least a partial gentleman, stars damn it. When a lady asked, he had to answer.

The grin she gave him was quite amused, the air around her eyes seeming to squint and wrinkle as she took on an almost sly tone. “Thank you, sir. If you wouldn’t mind, may I start by asking you where you lay your head at night?”

That question actually prompted Blue to straighten up a bit, his sockets widening just a fraction. The way she worded that question could have been accidental. Could have simply been a casual question with no extra meaning behind it. The way she intoned it though. The way she seemed to be looking at him so expectantly. Not to mention the way she asked more on the lines of where he slept even while knowing he stayed at the mansion…

She knew. She was one of them. One of his people.

He glanced at the others. Dream and Nightmare seemed thoroughly confused, but Wine was grinning again. He knew exactly what his fiance had asked. There was no doubt, despite the fact he clearly hadn’t grown up in the same neighborhood Blue had. It made sense in a way though. He would have been adopted into the community the moment he proved worthy of Gale’s affections.

Leaning forward, he moved to the edge of the seat and set his cup on the coffee table. Resting his elbows on his knees, he clasped his hands in front of himself with a growing smirk on his skull. At least now he had a better idea of how he could handle these two. Gale at the very least.

“I make my bed between sea and stars, ma’am,” he answered, and by the way she laughed, clearly delighted, he felt some of his tension ease from his shoulders as he put on his own familiar persona, though it was rarely used anymore. He wouldn’t let his guard down, not yet, but he could at least find some comfort in the fact there was at least the dock woman in the room. He knew how to act with dock women.

This just got quite interesting, if he did say so himself.

Notes:

Woof. Yeah, this chapter was a bear, and it's all Wine's fault, lol. He's not a bad guy! Really! He's just a bit more old school and a bit more experienced. His interaction with Blue was a struggle for me for some reason. I just couldn't get his character right at first, which was sad because he's one of my favorites. I mostly got it in the end though! Gotta love random spurts of motivation and epiphanies of where I was going wrong.

That said, I loved the first part of the chapter since I wrote it. I love Coffee. He's anxious, yes, but he's not incompetent, and he has confidence in his own areas of expertise (such as helping Cross out). He helped lead a coven for decades, so he knows what he's doing.

There is a lot going on outside the mansion, by the way. A lot of stuff the audience doesn't know about simply because Blue doesn't know. So much world was built outside around the mansion, and I wonder sometimes if all of it is even going to make it into the story or not. TwT

Anyway, I've kept you all long enough. I won't make promises of when this will upload again, because I legitimately don't know how life is going to go at this point, but regardless I hope you all enjoyed and look forward to the next chapter just the same. Thank you all so much for reading (and waiting), and I look forward to your thoughts and comments. <3

Chapter 14: A Meeting Between Dockfolk

Summary:

Now that everyone has calmed down a just a bit, Blue finds himself having an actually quite pleasant conversation with Wine and Gale. They learn a bit more about him, and he learns a lot about them despite feeling a bit under the weather.

Notes:

Hey, guys. It's been a rough week between some mounting stress, losing a pet to cancer, and still not being able to take out my frustrations at the MMA gym I belong to since it's temporarily closed for who knows how much longer, but coming back to this story and being able to jump into it has been a nice and helpful distraction. I hope you all enjoy the update. I know it's been a long time coming, but hopefully this chapter was worth the wait. <33

“Oh, how wonderful,” Gale chuckled with an eager fanged grin Blue found easy to return. “A fellow dockman and a fellow feeder at the same time!”

 The blue hued mortal raised a brow, eyeing the elemental’s fangs. “Fellow feeder?” he questioned, not disbelieving, but double checking.

“Yes, a fellow feeder,” she repeated, smile dimming ever so slightly as her gaze seemed far away for a moment while she no doubt found some rather unpleasant memories resurfacing. “These are actually quite the recent development” she stated as she brought herself back and gestured to her fangs with a more mild look.

Blue's sockets narrowed, trying to parse out whether her tone suggested a chosen or forced turn. If it had been her choice, then he could partially understand. He personally knew some feeders who would find it appealing to make it impossible to be forced into another feeding. The option would provide a sense of security for some, though Blue was not one of them. On another note, both Gale and Wine seemed to be on the older side of the confusing spectrum of lengthened lifespans, so it was also possible she simply hadn't wished to die before her lover. That was a common reason many mortals turned after all, even without Black Market trauma.

 However, if she was a forced turn, that changed the game. The mortal had met and fed plenty of forced turns in his time on the market, even being the first feeder for some of them, and it was never pretty. The vamps who did the deed of forcing their lifestyle on others Blue considered less than scum. The turned were always so scared and so hungry, but the one who turned them never cared, simply pushing whatever unfortunate feeder was close enough on hand toward the fresh vampire to frenzy feed on. 

“I know what you are thinking, but it was my choice, Blue,” Gale stated firmly, snapping the mortal out of his musings and breaking the subconscious scowl he’d gained while trying to figure out whether he needed to defend her honor or not. It also didn’t escape the small skeleton’s attention that Wine had looked pointedly away, an uncomfortable look on his own skull until his fiance reached over to squeeze his arm lightly.

Blue had a feeling he wasn't the only one she was trying to reassure with that statement.

“Sorry. Just got lost in thought I guess,” Blue admitted with a sigh, raising his hands just slightly in a show of appeasement. “I ran into a lot of turns on the market, both willing and forced, and I guess I was just concerned.”

“Understandable,” Gale allowed with an accepting nod. “Now, moving on, what school did you swim with on the docks?” she asked, easily changing to a lighter subject.

The shorter mortal actually smiled at that, his eyelights growing a bit brighter. “Sharks. Yourself?”

 Gale snorted. “I should have known. Not just anyone can come off the market with as much sass as you,” she commented with a grin. “I didn't belong to a school. I was picked up very young, so I hadn’t gotten the chance to find and choose one. I believe I was around seven, and I honestly didn't grow up knowing much about the dock culture myself. This was before the code words and phrases really took off down there too.”

The mortal raised a brow, tilting his skull with a curious look. “Did you learn them on the inside then?”

“No, actually. Well, some of it, but not all,” the elemental corrected, gesturing with her head toward Wine. “Wine actually taught me most of it.”

The old vampire nodded. “I have been an honorary member of the docks for about seven years,” he stated with some pride in his expression, and Blue couldn't fault him for it.

Being accepted into the dock’s fold was no easy feat. Especially not for someone who, when looking at their assets and situation, seemed far closer to being a hilltopper than anything else. Wine would have had to be a consistently prominent and generous man who wasn't afraid of assisting with the labor that came with living on the docks or of being shunned by his ‘own kind.’ He would have had to make a significant effort to learn and understand the nuances of their little microculture as well, which was something Blue could respect.

“Uh, speaking of dockfolk? Could we tone down the dockspeak for those of us who can't understand it?” Dream cut in with a small smile, though his brows were furrowed in both confusion as well as a bit of frustration that Blue had caught flickering over his expression while the smaller mortal had been speaking to Gale.

“Ah, yes, apologies. It was nothing terribly important you missed,” Wine answered with a smirk as he waved the question away, giving the blue clad mortal a wink.

Nightmare sighed, clearly exasperated, but also seeming more resigned than his brother. “You say that every time you have a conversation with someone from the docks.”

Blue snickered, a bit of a shit eating grin on his skull even as he tried to appease the newer coven leader. “You really didn't. Just some introduction stuff. Where we come from and what group we run with down there.” He turned to Wine again, raising a brow with that same smirk. “Not a very good old whaler, are you?” He asked, grin ticking up just slightly more at Dream's groan in the background.

“I am when I have to be. If we were actually doing important business with someone on the docks, I would be far more accommodating,” Wine chuckled.

“So you're just a little shit.”

“I prefer to say that I like stirring the pot. Far less vulgar,” the old vamp shot back at the bandana wearing skeleton, making him laugh as well as he picked up his drink and sat back more comfortably in his chair.

Okay, maybe Wine wasn't so bad. Honestly, despite the circumstances and slight come and go lightheadedness, this felt like the most normal interaction the mortal had had in a while. If the old vampire was actually willing to take as much crap as he handed out, Blue wouldn't have to worry too much about offending the guy. As long as the old vampire kept his fangs and his scent to himself, they probably wouldn't have too many issues. The honorary dockman thing didn't hurt either, and with another dockwoman at his side to boot.

The two continued to throw light jabs at each other, Blue still feeling the old head out a bit as well as enjoying the opportunity to be a little more in his element. Wine bantered back easily, perhaps noticing how much more relaxed the small mortal was when verbally sparring. The others joined in here and there when they saw openings to put in their two cents, but it was still mostly between Wine and Blue. It was only after Blue and Gale had unofficially teamed up to thoroughly fluster Wine–which seemed to be quite the feat considering Nightmare and Dream’s awed gawking at the old vampire–that the group fell into a comfortable silence.

Blue chuckled slightly as he finished off his tea, but didn't put down his mug as the residual warmth continued to radiate into his cold bones. He tried not to shiver as he felt a slight draft from somewhere. He was probably just near a vent or something.

The smaller mortal didn't notice he'd started to stare off into space, a cottony feeling starting to form in his skull and slowing his thoughts to a halt in the silence. He wasn't necessarily uncomfortable, beyond the chill in his bones having replaced the burning heat from earlier at least, and honestly a nap actually sounded really nice right then despite his usual dislike of sleeping during the day.

Wine cleared his throat, and Blue quickly tried to blink back into focus. His sockets had slid half closed without his realizing, and he had to fight back the embarrassment. The others were looking at him in various stages of concern or confusion, but Wine seemed the most composed with only a slight furrow in his brows as he gave the mortal an expectant look. Like he was waiting for some sort of answer.

“I was–ahem–sorry. I was lost in thought. Did you say something?” Blue asked, having to break off and clear his throat when his voice came out rougher than expected.

“I asked if anyone would like another cup of tea before I put everything away,” Nightmare answered, his tentacles flicking and twisting behind him in a way Blue recognized as a worried habit.

“Oh. No thanks. I'm good,” the mortal replied as he finally set his empty cup down on the coffee table again. He met the current coven leader's gaze steadily, alert once again, but unable to see how his eyelights had gone slightly fuzzy just around the edges.

“Here, dear, I'll help you clean up” Gale offered kindly as she stood up and started gathering some of the cups, interrupting Nightmare and Blue’s unintentional staring contest.

Nightmare jolted slightly before his tentacles quickly started gathering the rest of his tea supplies. “Oh, you don't have to, ma'am. I can take care of it.”

“Nonsense, dear. I don't mind one bit,” the elemental assured him stubbornly as she started walking to the office door and the new leader scurried behind her with one more nervous glance back at Wine, who only smiled and waved the younger vampire off to follow the older woman.

Once they were gone, Dream sighed heavily and set his skull on his hand, propping himself up against the arm of the lounge chair. “I wish you wouldn't test him like that, Wine,” he stated bluntly, fixing the older skeleton with an unamused expression.

“I know, my boy. I know,” Wine responded with an understanding nod.

“He still wants your approval, you know.”

“Yes, I am aware,” Wine sighed in response to Dream’s statement, resting his own skull on one hand. “I have no idea how else to give it. I really am proud of him, and I've said so on many occasions. Even today I praised how far he's come.”

Dream nodded, closing his sockets to rub at his temple. “I know. It's still different for him though, and making him correct you doesn't help.”

“He needs to remember that he is the one in charge now. Not me,” the older vamp defended. “You are in a similar position with Coffee as well,” he pointed out carefully.

“But he is still worried about losing your approval. And again, the two of us are different. I know I won't ever quite fill the exact same shoes Coffee did, but I also know can make my own path with the whole mortal lead thing and even maybe improve off of his example. Nighty is still trying to be you.”

Blue had started to space out again as the two continued their discussion, noting in the back of his mind that it sounded like one they’d had before, but his mind slowly started to roll around a few thoughts he’d had regarding the black boned skeleton who led the coven. Blue had noticed a shift in Nightmare’s attitude when he’d walked into the office at the beginning of this meeting. The usual cool and composed monster who just tried to help where he could had been almost totally replaced by a more jumpy and eager to please persona. The mortal hadn't been sure what had contributed to the change before, but could it really be Wine? When he'd snapped at the older vampire about interrogating Blue, the black boned skeleton had seemed immediately troubled until the others backed him up.

Maybe the darker twin wasn't quite as self-assured as Blue had originally thought.

The two stopped their near argument and Blue came back to himself as Gale and Nightmare returned, the latter seeming more relaxed than he'd left as Gail gave him a sweet smile before moving to take her spot next to her fiance once more. Dream gave Wine a look that surely said their discussion wasn't over before wincing as he looked over at the other mortal, as if finally remembering he was there.

Blue wasn't offended, honestly. He'd gotten good at disappearing into the background for a reason, after all. It was easier to gather information as well as disguise weaknesses if one could go unnoticed.

“Welcome back, darling,” Wine greeted warmly as he stood up politely, only sitting back down when Gale did, who proceded to take his hand with a squeeze as they sat together.

“Thank you, love.”

The twins shared a silent look between themselves as the younger vampire moved back to his seat, Dream’s questioning and Nightmare’s reassuring as the tentacled monster gave his mortal brother a small nod. When the coven leader sat back down, his posture was looser. More comfortable as he crossed one leg over the other.

Blue was certain Gale had said something to him, considering her triumphant expression as she cuddled up to her partner and the wink she shot the blue eyed mortal when she caught him watching her.

“Well, now that everyone has returned,” Wine started, his gaze traveling over everyone in the room only to settle on Blue with a studious, though compassionate look, “In all sincerity, Blue, I truly did come to see you how you are faring. Your situation was not an easy one to endure. If you do not mind my asking again, how have you really been getting along here?”

The mortal hesitated and looked away in thought, one hand coming up to fidget with the bandana around his neck. How had he been doing? He never really consciously thought about it in all honesty. The former feeder had been surviving, he supposed. There was still a lot of back and forth with his days, and he still didn't like being surprised by any of the older vamps when coming around corners. 

At the same time though, he’d relaxed quite a bit from when he first arrived. In the beginning, he would have done anything to avoid running into the more powerful beings, but now there were times when he sought a few of them out, even if they were only Horror, Ink, or Cross.

“I’m… Okay, I guess,” he responded finally, brows furrowed as he tried to put together his slippery thoughts in a way that made sense. “I've been a lot worse. It's still hard sometimes though. Some days I'm anxious as all hell, and others I'm fine. I guess it just is how it is,” he finished with a shrug.

Wine hummed and his brows knit together slightly as he tilted his skull. “That is to be expected, in a sense. Nightmare says you still haven't reached out much to the rest of them,” he commented, his tone clearly looking for some sort of explanation, though this time it was gentler than the first interrogation.

Blue shrugged again. “I can handle my own stuff.”

“I don't doubt that. I only wish to be sure you know you do not have to handle anything on your own if you would like assistance,” Wine countered calmly. “We have resources and connections in many places, including the docks. If you wished to find a professional to help with–”

“If you're suggesting a therapist, don't,” Blue interrupted firmly, his eyelights taking on a harder look.

Wine seemed caught off guard at being cut off, but the surprised expression was gone quickly, replaced with a more placating look. “I understand you dockfolk prefer to avoid that sort of help, and I won’t press it. I simply–”

“Oh, it has nothing to do with being a dockman,” the small mortal butted in again. “I am plenty secure with myself in that regard. No, I'm just not doing that shit again.”

“Again?” Nightmare asked, brows furrowed as he glanced at the others.

Blue nodded, expression twisting in distaste. “Last one I went to was a bitch who cared more about the money my aunt was handing her than actually helping. I'm not dealing with it again,” he stated with a  firm finality to his tone. He wouldn’t meet any of their gazes though, expecting them to ask why he'd gone before, but unwilling to open that can of worms while his mind was having trouble keeping focus as it was.

“I see,” Wine responded before wisely dropping the subject. “In any case, that is not all we can do with our connections. Nightmare told me you turned down an offer to get you back in touch with family when you first arrived, but I wanted to make sure you know that the offer is still on the table if you changed your mind.”

The bandana wearing skeleton’s shoulders finally relaxed, losing a tension he'd subconsciously tried to prepare himself with for a fight. It took a few more moments of quiet thought, but he eventually shook his skull.

“I'm not ready to bring them into this yet,” he admitted, his voice quiet, but honest. “I need to get better first.” He looked up to see the four each giving him various looks of sadness. Gale clearly understood though, her expression soft as she nodded slightly.

“And that's okay,” she answered, visibly squeezing Wine’s hand as she continued. “I didn't really want to look for Wine right after I got rescued either. I didn't think I was ready to face him. For me, running into him so soon was an accident. It turned out far better than I expected, but for you, I hope you get all the time you need,” she finished with an equally sad and sincere smile.

Blue actually felt himself choke up at that. He didn't want to speak and show it though, so he just gave the woman a grateful nod while doing his best to both show his gratitude and keep his composure.

“Whenever you're ready, Blue,” Dream jumped in with somber eyelights, “You just let us know.”

Nightmare nodded as well. “We will wait as long as you need us to, and if we can do anything else for you in the meantime, we will still be here,” he assured the mortal, pulling another soft and proud smile from Wine that Blue didn't think the black boned skeleton noticed in the moment

Those assurances touched the blue hued monster in a way his soul hadn't been prepared for. He could only stare between the four watching him, swallowing to keep tears at bay as they snuck up on him along with another flash of heat that boiled in his bones only to drop into another chill. He nodded again, confirmation he heard and understood, before clearing his throat.

“Thank you,” he finally managed to get out, voice rough from both emotion and a blockage he didn't recognize, but wasn't too worried about at the time. It didn't hurt, and it didn't feel like node fatigue, so it was probably fine.

Dream didn't seem to have the same sentiment though as his brows furrowed and he started looking a bit more closely at his fellow mortal. “Sorry, but are you actually okay, Blue?” he asked after a moment. “You look kind of pale…”

“I'm fine,” the shorter mortal responded automatically, pushing through some of the fog in his mind to come up with a good excuse. “Cross and I had a hard training session. I'm just a little worn out, that's all.” 

“…If you're sure,” Dream responded hesitantly, though he had yet to take those concerned eyelights off of the sapphire toned skeleton. In truth, none of them seemed quite convinced, but thankfully they didn't press the issue.

The meeting slowly continued without much more fanfare. Everyone had settled in more comfortably and smoothly moved between topics as they cropped up. Blue spoke a bit more about what he'd been up to since coming to the mansion, and the twins were able to pull some of his old hobbies out of him, offering to provide means to return to what he'd enjoyed in the past. The current leaders of the coven themselves brought up some of their own hobbies in exchange, and even Wine added his own apparent adoration for model trains into the discussion. Gale was quieter on the matter, but Blue couldn't blame her. If she was picked up by the market young, she likely wouldn't have been able to find many actually enjoyable pastimes. Perhaps one or two, but it was a toss up, really.

That was actually something else that continued to bother the mortal a bit, but it took him a while to puzzle out exactly why. The Black Market didn't pick up very many kids. Usually, they only kept a few on hand to satisfy high paying vamps looking to get their hands on permanent feeders for their own children to practice and feed on, which was something that made Blue’s marrow boil just thinking about it.

The methods had changed a few times since the sick tradition began long before Blue himself was born according to some older feeders he’d talked to on the inside, and had just recently changed again thanks to the most feared buyer and trainer on the market forcing the heads of the organization to do so. The word on the grapevine had first been that she had ‘low-key threatened them with a shark,’ which eventually came out to actually mean as more information made it around the cells that she had freed and nearly allowed a shark monster feeder to attack the heads of the branch she was currently working with before calling them off at the last moment. That didn’t seem very low-key to Blue, but that was beside the point. Lady June was terrifying even to the ones running the market itself, and that had somehow resulted in any kids being brought in and put up for sale being treated with some actual care and decency.

His wandering mind finally circling back to the point he'd been trying to come to, the small mortal was starting to put some puzzle pieces together to come up with a theory. If he had their ages somewhat pegged roughly right and he remembered the timeline of kidnapping methods correctly, both Wine and Gale would have been kids before the Black Market had been keeping children on hand. Back when some rich asshole buyer would have had to pay for the market goons to go out and pick up a young feeder to order. Gale was nabbed when she was seven, and both she and Wine’s behavior alluded to knowing each other for quite some time before Gale was rescued. Knowing that, and knowing Wine had owned the mansion that had probably come from a family of old wealth, Blue was getting a bit of a suspicious picture…

“So, how did you two meet?” Blue asked carefully once the conversation had reached a natural lull and gave him a chance to broach a new topic. He tried to keep his tone light, but he saw the way the couple had stiffened up slightly at the question. “You guys seem really close. Did you know each other before Gale got grabbed?” he added, trying to make it seem like a totally innocent question, but he didn’t think it quite worked with how Wine was looking at him and studying him back.

The two vampires looked from Blue, to the twins, then to each other, and the blue hued skeleton had to wonder if they hadn't told Nightmare or Dream either with the curious expression reflecting between the twins’ skulls. The couple seem to have a brief silent conversation before Wine sighed, seeming to deflate slightly.

“If you wish to tell, darling, I will not object,” he stated, sounding tired and somewhat defeated.

Gale's expression softened and she rested a comforting hand on her fiance's knee. “Only if you are really okay with it, love. I don't mind, but it is your story too, not just mine.”

“They will figure it out eventually anyway” the old vampire replied, his eyelights falling on Blue. “Something tells me our dock friend here already has.”

Blue dropped his light attitude for a more somber look as the sockets narrowed. “Maybe I have. I want to hear it from you though. I could always be wrong.” He hoped he was wrong, honestly, but Wine’s answer didn’t leave much room for that hope.

The air elemental looked between the two short skeletons as they stared at each other, eventually sighing and taking Wine’s hand in both of hers as she gave Blue a steady look, her chin held high. “I was a commission from the Black Market to Wine's parents as his perma-feeder. I was seven, and he was nine. Neither of us had a choice in the matter, and my love didn't know anything else besides what his parents told him at the time,” she confirmed, never looking away as she held the small mortals gaze with an almost challenging expression. “I would also like to add that he was and is far and away more tolerable than his rich hilltopper parents.”

Wine had looked down and away as Gale spoke, a frustrated and ashamed look on his skull, but Gale had certainly noticed despite keeping her eyes on Blue judging by the way she leaned into her lover.

“You… Never did say much about your parents,” Nightmare stated quietly, brows furrowed as he found an apparently very interesting spot on the coffee table to stare at.

“Coffee doesn't really talk about them either. He tends to avoid it, really,” Dream added, studying Wine's face with a searching look.

Wine actually scoffed at that, a ferocity igniting in his eyelights Blue hadn't seen from him yet. “He does not remember anything to talk about because he was too young and all he knows is what I’ve told him or what he could find in their records and police reports. Coffee was a newborn when they died. I made sure of that,” he responded, the last sentence coming out as a dark almost imperceptible mumble.

Gale cleared her throat and continued before anyone could question what her fiance meant by that. “We were separated as teenagers before Coffee was born. His parents didn't like how close we'd grown and sold me off to the market again on the condition they shipped me off to another city so we could not further our already intimate relationship. It took decades to make it back to Ebbott, and ironically it was because one of the vendors needed a few nannies to look after the children in their new Lady June orphan program,” she explained further.

Blue couldn't hide the shudder at just the mentioning of the feeder trainer's name. “I heard about that while I was still in the system,” he commented, receiving a sympathetic look from the elemental.

“If it makes you feel any better, those children really do get taken care of properly. Lady June would throw a fit if they didn't. Some even get cared for better there than they did in the orphanages they were found in,” Gale mentioned gently.

“They're still being sold off into a life no one should ever have to live,” Blue protested quietly, his tone and expression dark.

“We are also very close to being able to take out a few of them before they can do too much more damage,” Nightmare added quickly, his reassurance visibly more effective than Gale’s had been as the disgruntled mortal’s shoulders relaxed a bit with a sigh and a nod.

“In any case,” Gale continued placatingly with a small smile, getting them all back on topic, “After being returned to Ebbott, an ally on the inside helped me to escape and I found myself truly free for the first time since my childhood. I found Wine shortly after that when said ally brought me here to have Valentine help me with some clothing, and in the end here we are.”

Blue was quiet as he rolled the answers around in his skull for a while, including how the couple had acted as Gale told their story. Wine had appeared well and truly ashamed of how they'd been forced together by his parents, but Gale had also been reassuring him throughout the explanation, both verbally while she spoke as well as physically as she held his hand and snuggled up to him. In the end, the bandana clad skeleton really couldn't find a reason to doubt the sincerity of their love and care for each other despite the unfortunate way they had to meet. He just had one more question.

“Was he the one who turned you?” he asked the woman. Though his tone wasn't accusing, he noticed how Wine winced again.

“Yes," Gale replied without hesitation, her expression hardening toward the mortal as she immediately defended her fiance. “I asked him to. It took a lot of convincing, but I wanted it to be him.”

Blue nodded slowly as he settled back in his seat again. “Good.” 

His acceptance seemed to surprise the older skeleton as Wine blinked and looked up at him finally, so the small mortal continued. “I'm glad it was someone you trust. While I wouldn’t be comfortable being turned myself, I know some feeders find it comforting, and as long as you asked and trusted him, I can't see a reason to be upset about it.” Even as he addressed Gale, he kept his eyelights on Wine, his sincerity showing both in his sockets and in his voice.

It took a moment of mutual studying, but eventually the former coven leader gave the shorter skeleton a small smile and a grateful nod, finally allowing the tension of the conversation to slowly drain out of the room as Gale softened again as well.

The rest of the meeting was more of a visit than a serious consultation as they moved to more inconsequential topics and small talk to lighten the mood now that all the important and pertinent information had now been shared. Blue found himself spacing out and losing track of the discussion more as the hours passed, but that was fine. He let himself fade into the background as he progressively became more tired, only adding his thoughts if he was prompted, which happened less and less as they continued.

By the time they stopped prompting him all together, he wasn't quite able to notice the concerned looks they would shoot his way now and again, nor did he make note of Dream taking out his phone to type out and send a message to some of the other skeletons in the house. He only really pulled himself partially out of his growing stupor when there was a knock on the door and Dust popped in to tell them Horror had supper ready. 

Wine and Gale joined them for dinner, and it went mostly normal. Wine and killer seemed to get along remarkably well though, and Blue distantly questioned his assumption that Killer and Nightmare were really around the same age. He himself was a little more subdued and had less of an appetite than usual, which Horror noticed but didn't question despite the concern in his single eyelight. Wine and killer seemed to get along remarkably well, and Blue distantly questioned his assumption that Killer and Nightmare were around the same age.

Coffee and Cross had come to the table as well with clear evidence of a feeding having taken place. Coffee’s magic was a bit more pale and Cross seemed to have a bit more energy than he usually did at the end of the day, which he used to hover over the older mortal with an anxious sort of air. The newest skeleton of the bunch couldn’t help but wonder if his adopted little vamp brother got enough to eat normally. Didn't Dream once mention the young vampire turning down feedings?

Once the meal was officially finished, everyone moved to the main living room to continue visiting as the mortals digested their food, but soon enough the two former heads of the coven and Gale stood to leave and return to their own home.

Blue excused himself soon after they left, shuffling off to his room hopefully before anyone noticed how he’d started shivering. The chill had only gotten worse since dinner and his bones were uncomfortably sore, sensitive, and itchy. His balance was off as well, and he stumbled more than once on his way to his room, prompting him to use the wall to steady himself for the rest of the way. 

There was no denying something was wrong now. He knew when he had a bad fever, and while Blue rarely got sick, even before the Black Market, when he did it was always a nasty experience. It of course didn't help that he would always be in denial and continue to push himself even when the first symptoms started cropping up.

This time was strange though. Usually when he had a fever, he would just get cold. He didn't typically have these strange hot flashes along with it, and he really didn't know why that would change. On top of that, he wasn't sure how he would have gotten sick in the first place. He'd only left the house once since his arrival, and that had been weeks ago. He supposed whatever bug he had could have been carried in by one of the others who had gone out…

He decided it didn't really matter as he opened the door to his room and shuffled inside, moving in as straight of a line to his bed as his compromised balance would allow and slowly laying down. Even so, the slower movement didn't stop the headrush as the ceiling spun above his skull.

Even as tired as he felt, sleep was slow to come while he curled up beneath the comforter that felt like it barely warmed him. Finally though, he managed to slip off the edge into a fitful and restless sleep.

Of course, the worst part of a fever was always the dreams and nightmares that came with it.

Notes:

So how was that? Lol. I know there wasn't a lot happening in this chapter action wise, but I kind of used it to focus on character development and introductions into some stuff that is happening outside of the mansion where Blue is kind of stuck himself. Dropped a few names and a few hints at things that will be important and/or story altering in the future.

Believe me, it was really hard to hold myself back when it came to Wine's personal backstory. There is a lot more to his story, but I couldn't feasibly and reasonably fit it all in here without drawing it out and making the chapter too clunky. Same with the twins. That, and making sure the dock references weren't too much was pretty difficult too. Crossing my fingers that I struck the right balance with those.

Y'all will get your sick fic chapter next time, I promise, but until then I hope you are all still enjoying the story as it is. Thank you so much for taking the time to drop in and give this fic your time. ^^