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"Pyro?" He clenched his teeth, stumbling further through the woods. He couldn't let Pearl find him, couldn't let her see just how weak he was.
She was on the side of the town, after all… The time they were friends was short-lived, and she was quick to attack when it came to defending the townsfolk.
Pyro hadn't even done anything this time; all he had done was gather some wood for the brood at Owen's request. But then Martyn saw him, and of course that meant Ren would follow, and soon the entire milita was chasing Pyro.
Martyn had drenched him in that detestable holy water, the white shirt he had borrowed from Sire completely transparent against his grey skin. The rough texture of his scars made the wet fabric catch in places, riding up and exposing the lower portion of his torso.
Distantly, Pyro thought about how angry Sire would be with him when he discovered Pyro had yet another borrow garment of his get drenched in holy water. Especially considering this was the third piece that day he'd have to change out of due to Martyn.
Horrible. He'd be completely and utterly useless at this rate. He wasn't excited to see the tight frown Sire would direct towards him… If he even made it back.
Pyro was completely out of his blood supply, down to level one, starving, skin bubbling and burning from the holy water, and completely and utterly lost.
"Pyro!"
Shit.
Pyro tried to take off running, but his body was exhausted, so instead he just tripped, slamming into the trunk of a tree. His healing abilities were still suppressed by the holy water clinging to his skin, so the small amounts of blood still flowing through his veins spilled across the bark, staining it a dark—almost black—shade of red.
He tried to get up, but Pearl was blocking his escape before he could even fully blink.
"Geez, you look a little worse for wear," Pearl muttered as she crouched down in front of him. Damn, she was still tall even crouched, face hovering above his as he gazed up at her, sun creating a perfect halo around her.
Oh. He was laying on the ground. That's why she seemed so much taller than him.
"Pyro?" she said softly. "Pyro! Hey, hey come on, you're not allowed to just up and die on me yet. I still gotta talk to ya, silly goose!" She raised her hand and Pyro flinched, eyes squeezing shut.
Of course she was going to kill him. He'd seen the stakes she kept on her, after all. The only good vampire is a dead vampire, unless they're Cleo, after all. It was just a matter of waiting for her to drive the stake through his heart.
Ah, was he really going to die with so many regrets? He wasn't able to reclaim his spot in his family, he had done nothing but disappoint his Sire, he'd lost his Sire's affections to Avid of all beasts, and he couldn't even prove to the world that he existed.
So pathetic. He deserved to die.
…Huh?
Instead of killing him… Pearl had—booped him on the nose?
Pyro's eyes fluttered open, eyebrows furrow and lips pressed together in a frown.
What a beautiful sight to be met with. Pearl was smiling so gently, so indulgently, down at him. The halo of sunlight made her look like an angel who had deemed a monster like him worthy of an ounce of warmth before she brought her sword down and rid the world of his filth.
"Holy water still affectin' ya?" She hummed, glancing around the area, presumably surveying for the other townsfolk. Her hand moved to pinch his cheek as he turned back to gaze down at him, eyes sparkling with… Was that mirth?
She tugged the cuff of her sleeve back before she pressed her bare wrist to Pyro's lips.
What.
Pyro jerked his head back, eyes widening. "What… What are you doing, Pearl?"
She tilted her head to the side like she was the one who had the right to be confused. "Hmm? I'm feeding you. Drink up!" she replied as she again pressed her wrist to his lips.
"No, I couldn't possibly…" Pyro trailed off. How could he admit that it felt heretical to drink from an angel like her?
"Aww, come on, ya big baby! I'm offerin' myself to ya, so be greedy and drink already!" Pyro shook his head, and tried to crawl away from the very insistent woman in front of him. That was the wrong move, however, as she was suddenly straddling him—and wow, she was quite strong, immobilizing a fully-fledged vampire with just her hips…
Or maybe it was because Pyro's brain short-circuited as this angel from above sat herself firmly on his pelvis.
Pyro had never claimed to be someone who was mentally strong, so when she again pressed her wrist to his lips, he obediently opened his mouth and let his fangs pierce her flesh.
He practically moaned as her blood spilled across his tongue, drinking it down greedily. He couldn't even liken the taste to anything—even the finest wines tasted like mud in comparison to her.
Pearl just hummed softly to herself as she let Pyro feed, eyes dragging down Pyro's body as she watched his flesh slowly knit itself back together and a hint of color return to his pallid skin. Once he was completely healed, she gently removed his fangs from her wrist.
"Now that you're feeling better… Let's talk, yeah?"
'Feeling better' was an overestimation, in Pyro's opinion. He was feeling feral, ravenous, desperate for more. His teeth felt too big for his mouth, blood was flowing a direction he'd really prefer it not to flow, and his claws were extending and retracting as his hands flexed, holding himself back from pouncing on her and feeding more.
But while Pyro may be a monster… He wasn't stupid. When an angel gives unholy scum a second chance, he should behave.
So, slowly coming back to himself, he nodded.
"Yeah… Yeah, let's talk, Pearl."