Chapter Text
The feeling of his wings flapping rhythmically soothed an itch burrowed deep inside of him. It had been way too long since he last batted out, as was expected in a crowded place like New York City. It felt amazing to stretch his wings, to soar in the sky and blend into nature. He'd missed this. His girls' forms were tailing him through the clouds, getting damp in the mist.
His senses were sharp. Duller than it would have been if he was able to get blood regularly, but sharp nonetheless. He was an Elder Vampire after all, he knew how to use his eyes and ears efficiently. Shelby and Drift were focusing more on the feeling of the wind on their skin, probably, that's why he was the first to notice the cow herd grazing past the treetops. His eyes honed in, ears prickled for the slightest of vibrations. Shelby noticed the shift in his posture immediately, she knew him exceptionally well after living together for so long.
He was so hungry. They were so hungry. Scott landed without a single noise to not alert the herd, Shelby and Drift following behind him. They feasted on the cows, after making sure to bottle quite a bit of the blood for later use. No animal that they passed by stood a chance.
Shelby was the one to knock on the door of the castle, which hadn't changed much since the last year they visited. Through two hundred years, the couple living here changed the decor and look of the town quite a bit though the castle was left exempt from most of those renovations. They didn't have to wait much for someone to open the door.
Pearl greeted them with a nice smile on her face. The only people that would show up to the 'scary castle' and knock on the door was her friends, and she knew that they'd be visiting around this time of the year anyway. They always did around the anniversary.
"Hey! Welcome!" She said while leading them into the ballroom that now sported a couple tables fit for royalty. The blood fountain continued to flow beautifully as the visitors sat down to chat and catch up.
"Cleo will be here soon. They're out gathering some blood." Pearl explained. She had brought out the few bottles of Pillager blood that they saved for special occasions. It was much better tasting than the average pig blood.
"Thanks for the meal Pearl! I'm not really hungry right now though…" Drift smiled apologetically. "Not hungry? I thought you were always hungry! I know I am."
"We hunted while on our way here. I'm all the way back to stage three again! I'd rather save blood for when I need it at the city." Drift elaborated with pearl nodding along in understanding.
"She's right you know." Scott jumped to join the conversation. "The most you can get in the city is pigs blood, it's used in some recipes I think? Or you can just buy an animal but I'm sure you know why that's not viable." He hummed after finishing his sentence, sipping the delicious blood in his goblet. He wasn't quite stage three yet, he'd let his girls get the majority of the prey. He'd go out hunting alone soon anyway.
"Oh yeah! Livestock's always been expensive. I can imagine it'd be even worse in New York. It's a really populated city right?" Pearl sympathized. Scott on the other hand took a double take.
"Expensive?! I have all the money I need to buy enough livestock for a farm, as well as the farm they'd stay in! I meant the livestock don't tend to like us and it makes the seller hesitant. You know how rich I am pearl, you wound me." Scott practically pouted. Maybe he'd even be out of breath had he been human.
But, from the look on her face, Peal had been completely aware of what she was doing. She was having a hard time keeping her poker face in place. Stray snickers were escaping the confines of her lips.
Shelby, on the other hand, didn't even seem to try to hold it in. She was laughing boisterously, tears springing in her eyes and her hand slapping Scott's shoulder. She somewhat succeeded in calming down and instead started to clutch his shoulder as if it was her lifeline. At least she'd stopped hitting him.
"It- hehe- It's okay Scott! I'm suree Pearl meant to offense. If you weren't rich, how would be able to afford our beautiful home? Have I ever told you how handsome you are, by the way?" She tried to sympathize with Scott, mirth shining in her eyes. Nonetheless, her 'sympathy' couldn't work miracles so he wasn't fooled.
He still laughed along, glad to be able to spend such carefree moments with his coven, family. They might be annoying girls, but they were his girls.
"Flattery will get you everywhere with me! You know me so well, Shelby."
"I'm heading out." Scott said as he got up from his seat. His goblet sat on the table, completely empty except for the droplet of blood dragging down the outer side. That goblet has been here since before. He shook his head and nodded at Pearl as he shrugged his coat back on. Shelby sent a soft smile towards him, offering silent support.
His steps echoed in the emptiness of the castle. It used to be such a grand little thing, bustling with energy and people and vampires alike. Now, a tired old copy of the majestic place it had once been. His feet left the ground the moment he closed the castle doors behind him, his physique re-shaping and transforming into that of a bat. Flapping his wings amidst the tens of bats summoned, he set off to a location he knew very intimately.
As was planned, he stopped multiple times on his way there to gather bottles of blood. When he had a good stack of them, he decided that it was enough. Eyeing the sheep in his field of vision, he commended the ignorant animal for surviving even though the only reason for that was Scott disliking carrying unnecessary things.
Deigning to walk the rest of the way there, he set off at a brisk pace. His hands folded behind his back, fists clasped loosely and head held high. It was freeing to be able to fall back into habit here at Oakhurst. He couldn't risk his circumstance being revealed lest he put Shelby and Drift at risk, so he had decided to curb his more elegant habits when they started gathering attention from curious bystanders.
As much as Scott was busy reminiscing, he was still perfectly aware of his surroundings. Thus he heard the crack of a twig being stepped on by an unsuspecting animal, curious about the odd man dressed in fine clothes. It would be so easy to rip the pigs throat open, not to feed from it, but to simply have the pleasure of seeing crimson flow. It would be so easy. But so hard all the same, Shelby wouldn't be happy.
Scott was perfectly capable of lying to her. He was a seasoned man, her Elder, yet she had him so wrapped around her finger that he couldn't fathom even the thought of lying to her. What an amazing woman she was.
Scott arrived at the familiar hill. Not pausing for a second, he climbed all the way up to his desired location. The shrubbery of the Dead Woods had already carved a path just for Scott to take, moulded from the insurmountable steps he took again and again and again.
A feeling he now was able to recognize as grief got heavier in his unbeating chest. Every step he took, the force around his heart got stronger. He wondered if it ever would be tight enough to rupture his heart akin to a stake or tight enough to kickstart it into beating once more, after millennia.
He kept his gaze away from the tombstone he knew would be there, the same as it has always been, and instead looked into the sunset. His back was to Avid, the man that made him feel again. The man that made him realize he could feel, again.
After calming down with the phantom feeling of anxiety rushing through him gone, Scott turned around to face him.
The forest quieted down to protect itself when the Elder Vampire of Oakhurst stilled. It knew the vampire intimately. He flew through it's trees and spent long years prowling in the shadows. It also knew that the man would stop at no obstacle, no hurdle to find the culprit, the idiotic imbecile that thought it acceptable to desecrate his beloved's grave.
The mask Scott always kept on his face fell and true emotion filled his eyes. What? What happened here? The tombstone that he himself carved, with his sharp nails caked in blood,was shattered. Pieces of it were scattered around the grave, he could make out some of the still-intact letters on the pieces closest to him. The dirt was haphazardly dug, as if the person that did this wanted it to look messy instead of getting into the coffin.
The wither rose was uprooted. Some of its leaves on the ground, some already flown away.
Scott would find whoever or whatever that did this, and rip their throat out with his teeth. They wouldn't know what hit them. He'd make it so painful-
This was new. The soil hadn't settled in its new position, and the stone pieces weren't aged. Someone did this recently, while Scott was on his way here. He smelled the air frantically, chugging another few bottles of blood at the same time. He'd need all of his senses as sharp as a vampire's claws. Then he caught it- the smell of something rotten. Not in the literal sense. Whatever it was that had done this, it was corrupted. Not a vampire. He would've felt their presence the moment he stepped on Oakhurst ground. Not a werewolf, Pearl would've noticed them the second they stepped on Oakhurst ground.
Something else.
His sense of smell gave him a direction to go, and he started to hunt.