Chapter Text
Avid woke up to the smell of iron and blood filling his nose and the sight of a forest filled with dead trees, their branches reaching to the sky like teeth. Fog covered the already dim landscape making it so Avid could only see a few feet in front of him.
He starts wandering through the trees, his cape snagging on a few stray branches along the way tearing at the blood filled fabric. Where am I? What just happened? Is all the Vampire can think as he walks his timid footsteps echoing through the forest.
Eventually he sees the bright and familiar sky-blue color of his favorite vampire's hair.
“Scott!” Avid cries out, breaking into a run. Scott doesn't turn around as Avid chases him, the figure growing closer. When he reaches him Avid tries to grab the other's shoulder but his hand goes right through Scott like smoke.
Avid lets out a gasp and freezes as he watches as Scott walks over to a grave and crouches down to place a withered rose on the ground before standing up and placing both hands on the stone.
Avid paces up to Scott and looks over his shoulder to see what Scott was so somber about and then he sees it carved into the grave.
Here lies Avid.
He circles around the stone to see Scott's face which confirms it. Avid backs up his vision blurring as he sees Scott say something but he can’t hear it all he's able to is stop and drag himself forward to drop down in front of Scott.
Pulling his knees up to his chest Avid leans against his gravestone and waits. Maybe Scott will notice me. He thinks but that day never came.
Avid sits for a while watching as people come and people go. At first he remembered their names and faces Cleo and Pearl always came and tidied up the grave passing through his body like smoke.
Then there was Scott, Shelby, and Drift coming less often and usually with flowers. Sausage came the least only there at the grave a few times every year.
It took a while, but after what Avid guessed was ten winters he forgot them, their faces appearing without him knowing who they were. It took him less time to forget their voices though.
Throughout his time sitting by the grave he didn't need food or water or even sleep. All he could do was pace and wait for something, anything to happen.
During this time, a few hundred years he guessed. Avid grew a whip-thin tail with a sharp point at the end and a horn, sharp and curved to the left. His skin became discolored, black patches spreading across his face and left side like ink spilled on paper. Avid's hair also grew wild and he didn’t even bother to tame it because what’s the point if nobody’s gonna see him.
He only stayed by the grave because it was the only marker in the cold and foggy landscape, and he believed that the people who visited cared about him. If that was possible he thought.
Avid should have been clued in earlier that he would be found. He should have noticed that instead of the fog swirling around him it was the crisp air and the heat of the warm sun. He should have caught on that he could hear voices, but he didn’t.
Instead Avid sat with his back against the grave and his head tilted back to the sky, eyes closed. The first thing he actually did register was someone gasping and the soft thwump of something hitting the dirt.
“Avid?” He heard a voice startling him out of rest. Avid saw in front of him three people, two women one with cherry colored hair that reached down to her waist, a green cotton shirt, and plaid skirt.
The other had dull brown hair going to her chin in waves, a brown trench coat waving a little in the wind, black pants, and a white dress shirt.
The last person was a man who looked really handsome in Avid’s opinion. The man had blue hair, the color that you would get from a clear beautiful day. He was wearing a black leather jacket and jeans. Silver spikes sparkled on his exposed wrists and pointed ears.
They all looked shocked to see him and the red head covered their mouth, tears filling their eyes and slipping down their cheeks.
“Avid?” The brunette asked, her voice wavering as she took a step forward. Avid flinched back and curled his tail around his legs as if it could protect him.
“Who are you?” Avid chokes out his voice horse after only being used on occasion to comfort himself.
“What do you mean? We’re your friends,” she continued crouching in front of Avid.
“Drift, he’s clearly scared, you could probably give him some more space….” The red head says tugging on the brunette's shoulder.
The one with blue hair was standing in the back not saying a word and refusing to look at Avid. Avid thought he could see the shine of tears in his eyes, but it could have easily
been a trick of the light.
“Who are you?”
“You really don’t know us. Do you?”
“No.”
“Well I'm Drift, the one next to me is Shelby and the broody one over there is Scott.” The brunette says gesturing to the other two in turn. Avid nodded, each name sounded familiar along with the voices, but he couldn't exactly explain why.
“Here, let me help you up,” Drift says, standing up and offering a hand to him. Avid takes it hesitantly, her fingers wrapping around his wrist as he stands up on shaky legs. His tail falls behind him to make sure he doesn't fall over. He leans against Drift, his legs wobbling the moment he tries to stand on his own.
“Where am I?” is Avid's next question as he surveys the rough landscape.
“You’re at the castle, or… well… close to the castle.” Shelby says gesturing to a black and red building not far from the small mountain they were on.
“Castle?”
“Yes, it's… where we lived, and now where Cleo and Pearl live.” Shelby says as Drift helps Avid down the mountain towards the foreboding building.
Cleo, and Pearl? Why were those names so familiar? Why do I recognize all this but none of it at the same time? Avid thinks looking around as the group gets to the bottom of the mountain and makes their way over to the castle.
Once they get inside Avid gets another moment of deja vu at the arched ceiling and long, mahogany table in the next room. He gets seated at the table brushing his hands over the table slash marks engraved in the wood like someone was really mad and needed something to attack or someone was trying to escape by scrambling across the table. Scott sits across from Avid glancing down and avoiding his eyesight.
“Avid, what is the last thing you can remember?” Shelby says sitting next to Scott, Drift left the room over to another hallway saying something about getting people called Cleo and Pearl.
“The last thing I remember?” Avid says tracing the slash marks. “I-I think it’s… Finding a place- a place called Oakhurst."
“Oakhurst?”
“Yes,”
“Do we want to show him?” Shelby says glazing over at Scott
“I think we have to if we want our Avid back.” It was the first thing Scott had said to them since Avid awoke. His voice was musical and hypnotic, something Avid wanted to listen to for the rest of his life. “First though, we have to tell you something. Avid, do you know what we are?” He says his beautiful blue eyes burrowing into Avid.
“What do you mean by that?” He asks, his voice cracking slightly, and tail twitching nervously, “Am I supposed to know that? Are you…” Avid trails off a memory coming back to him, a blood moon, bats, and immortal beings. “Va-vampires.” He stumbles up, almost stepping on his tail, “Vampires.” He says backing up into the wall, his heart beating frantically in his chest like a caged rabbit begging to escape. “Get away from me!” Avid cries groping at his chest searching for something that wasn't there. It was supposed to be there, his weapon, the only way of escaping these-these demon spawn.
“Avid calm down,” Scott says, getting up and holding his hands up in the air. As if that would calm me down Avid thinks with a scoff. “Avid we aren't going to hurt you, just listen to us, and sit down.”
“I’M NOT GOING TO LISTEN TO YOU!” GET AWAY!” Avid says his voice rising into something close to hysteria, tail lashing hitting the wall behind him. Scott stops dead in his tracks as Avid shuffles over to the exit, baring his teeth.
Scott looked like Avid just killed his cat in front of him right before burning down his house. Shelby looked as terrified as Avid felt along with what he believed was sympathy filling their eyes. When Avid got to the exit door he spun around and ran his tail and cloak flying behind him.
Avid got outside and flung himself across the gaps in the bridge that lead to a sprawling forest. He didn't dare look back, fearing he would see two people-no, Vampires chasing him. After what felt like forever Avid's exhaustion finally caught up to him as he collapsed onto the soft ground, he was deep into the forest, hopefully so far into it that the vampires couldn't find him.
The trees around him clawed at the overly cheerful sun and sky. Rolling onto his back Avid gasped for air, trying to come to terms with the fact that vampires were real, he was right. Elle would be excited to hear that, he should go find her, why hadn't he tried that yet. Wait, I can't do that. She's…. Dead. I killed her.
Avid felt tears pricking at his eyes as he sat up and propped himself up against a tree and let them fall. He cried until he couldn't anymore, until all his exhaustion, sadness, and fear was out of him. Why him, why did he of all people have to go through this. Why did he have to deal with this, why was he the one to survive, why couldn't Elle be the one to deal with this. Why couldn't he just die.
No, he couldn't die. He had to figure out how to get rid of the vampires and save everyone. He was able to do that right? Avid dragged himself to his feet, yes that's what he was going to do he was going to get rid of the vampires.
All hopes of that were suddenly dashed when Drift dropped down in front of him claws gleaming and hair wind blown. Avid shouts out but before he can make a move Drift jumps on top of him dragging Avid to the ground and pinning him.
“Stay still," She hisses her claws digging into Avid’s shoulders drawing the scent of iron and the feel of blood dripping down his skin. Drift looks at Avid sympathy and apology in her dark brown eyes. Avid gets nothing else from her before a sharp pain blooms in the side of his head and unconscious attacks and drags Avid down into darkness.