Hi! I'm CJ! She/her or they/them.
Age: 18+
I'm a writer and love to write request.
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-Name: CJ
-Pronouns: She/her or they/them (doesn't matter to me!)
-Hobbies: Reading, writing, art and video games
-Fandoms: Too.Fucking.Many
-Fav Food(s): watermelon, lasagna and vanilla ice cream
-Least Fav Foods(s): Pineapple, tomatoes and sweet potatoes
-Fav Video game(s): Genshin Impact, Twisted Wonderland and Obey Me
-Fav Shows: Hazbin Hotel, Helluva Boss, Bungou Stray Dogs and other anime
-Other Accounts: JustCallMeCJ (AO3), YouCanJustCallMeCJ (Wattpad), JustCallMeCJ (Quotev)
Rules for requests:
I will write nsfw
However, I find nsfw particularly taxing to write at times so these requests may take time to come out. Sorry!
I can write angst and other triggering topics, because I don't get uncomfortable easily, but can and will reject a request if I am truly uncomfortable with it
You can request for any of my listed fandoms
The prompt can be fluffy, platonic, angsty, fluffy or romantic or even an enemy type scenario if you want
More to come...
Masterlist:
Obey Me Shall We Date?
Twisted Wonderland
Bungou Stray Dogs
Hazbin Hotel
Helluva Boss
Genshin Impact
Touchstarved
Vampires SMP
More to come...
Tags:
#justcallmecj writes (True, coherent thoughts)
#justcallmecj fics (my fan fics)
#justcallmecj rambles (probably my late night thoughts)
#justcallmecj arts (there may be some, who knows!)
#justcallmecj headcanons (Just headcanons)
#justcallmecj yoinks (I reblogged to save for later/ 'yoinked' it)
#justcallmccj reblogs (just a reblog because, y'know?)
The moon was full tonight, red painting the sky and tinting even the pure shine of the stars. It was a sight Ren much preferred to the clouded sky of the city he grew up in. Oakhurst, if you asked Ren, was in every way preferable to any city.
His ears twitched at the sound of rustling, the familiar swish of a tail and movement of expensive clothing. He turned slowly, eyes eventually finding red ones. Scott approached slowly, and Ren could do nothing but relax his tense body. No doubt Scott saw the action, his eyes crinkling in a sly smile, with a gentle look only Ren was privy to.
“Poor wolf, having a human in his home. Must be torture.” the vampire purred. Suddenly he was inches from Ren, face taking up all of Ren’s vision. The action, so like Scott in his confidence, made the werewolf smile.
“Oh, I’ve plenty a humans in me home before, even before Oakhurst.” Ren said, accent thickening in a way he tried to avoid when he was speaking to others of Oakhurst. But not Scott, no, this man never seemed to have a problem understanding his cursed tongue.
“And..you’re sure of your judgement on this one?” Scott asked, his own foreign accent kicking in, as it often did when with Ren. Scott reached a hand up, fingers beginning to mess with the tips of Ren’s hair in his ponytail. The simple act of affection brought a warmth to Ren’s heart that he had been missing since the human arrived. Ren, in return, placed a gentle hand on Scott's hip, feeling as the other man’s furred tail quickly wrapped around his wrist.
“Yes. Ye should know by now that I am an excellent judge of characters, Mr. Goldsmith.” The teasing tone of his words brought a chuckle from Scott’s chest. Scott finally looked up to meet Ren’s eyes again, that gentleness finally settling in all the way, no longer looking like it was ready to flee at a moment's notice.
“I want the fledglings hunting for the rest of the night to prepare for the coming days. You should join us. Having a wolf around could speed up the process.” Scott’s words were sincere, genuine. He wanted Ren to go hunting with The Coven, and Ren had done so plenty of times. Unfortunately, Ren knew he couldn’t accept the offer, no matter how much he wanted to.
“No, I must return to me cabin and keep a watchful eye on the newcomer. Make sure the lad doesn’t get up and wander out into the night, especially if ye and the other vamps will be hunting tonight.” Ren dragged his hand up Scott’s side, the other’s tail releasing him as he allowed Ren’s hand to settle on Scott’s cheek. “But I’ll join ye on another night, when he’s settled in and I can leave him under the watchful eye of another. Sound like a decent compromise?”
Ren leaned forward quickly, leaving a peck on Scott’s cheek, pulling away before the vampire could try to get back at him. And Scott tried, fangs peaking through his smile when Ren moved just out of reach, the hand on Scott’s cheek running down to his chest to hold the distance between them.
After a moment of smiling in silence, chuckles worked their way through both men’s chests, both feeling more at ease than they had been since word spread of the human in town.
“Fine.” Scott sighed, a smile still on his face. “I suppose that will suffice. For now, at least.” Scott took a step back, a heavy hoof hitting the dirt. “I guess I need to be on my way then. Who knows what trouble my brood is getting into without me being there.” He rolled his eyes, but there was clearly affection in them. Ren was well aware that Scott felt the same way for his coven that Ren did about the Oakhurst Pack.
“Sounds like a fine idea. I’ll head off to me cabin as well.” Ren took his own step back, his ears and tail quickly disappearing with a dull shine of light. Ren was effectively human again in all ways that mattered. It was a sight that disappointed Scott, knowing that they’d all have to hide themselves for the time being. But he’d get over it eventually. He would just need to find ways to sneak Ren off every now and again to get time with him.
“Sleep well, my dear. I’ll see you in the.. morning..” That word, the one that promised having to spend time in the sun, brought an irritance to his mood. With a heavy sigh, Scott stepped around his lover and began his walk into the woods to go and find his little brood of fledglings. Thankfully, hearing such as his would make that endeavor rather easy.
Ren stayed where he was, watching as Scott made the distance from Oakhurst’s walls to the treeline. He saw when the other turned to face where Ren was. Ren raised an arm, waving goodbye. Scott did not wave back, but instead, the vampire’s horn began to glow, a gently flashing blue and red color lighting the air around the appendage, accentuating the curved nature of his gold horn. It was Scott’s way of speaking from a distance.
Scott finally broke the treeline and disappeared from Ren’s sight. He took that as his cue to begin his long trek to his cabin. He needed sleep if he was going to help deal with the potential chaos that would occur in the morning.
The door shut heavily behind Cleo. The sound, loud and final, made Pearl’s ears perk up. When steps thudded against the floor, she looked away from the meat she was cooking up and turned to face her dear. Cleo came close quickly, swiftly taking up Pearl’s personal space. Her head tucked under the werewolf’s chin as she embraced the other in a firm hug. Pearl returned the gesture just as tightly, beginning to gently sway with the zombie in her arms.
“Things are going to be tough for a while.” Cleo mumbled, their voice muffled in Pearl’s dress. It sent tired vibrations through Pearl’s skin, giving the comfort of her partner being so close.
“Yeah. But we can handle it. We always do, right?” She gave Cleo one final, tight squeeze before urging her away. Cleo obliged, reluctantly backing up and mourning the warmth Pearl shared with them.
“Yeah, we do. Monsters have a habit of doing that.” Cleo said as Pearl turned back to the cooking food, a nice, large piece of beef she was preparing for her dinner. Deeming it done, she brought it off the heat and turned to a chest nearby, tail wagging as she fell back into a routine she knew well.
“Adapt and survive. Besides, Oakhurst has dealt with humans before, and Shelby and Pyro turned out just fine!” She reached into the chest and brought out something wrapped in cloth, a thick cow's hide meant to keep smells in until opened.
“This is different though, Pearl. Shelby was into cryptids and Pyro was lost and wanted something to belong to.” She rolled her eyes, remembering just how eager Pyro was to accept vampirism once the concept of The Coven was introduced to him. “This one is a vampire Hunter. And weak or not, he’s a threat to our peace.” Cleo crossed her arms, leaning against the kitchen counter as she thought.
Pearl came closer, quickly rubbing at Cleo’s tense arm to ease their worries a bit. “I know. But I have no doubt each of us can deal with a Hunter alone. Let alone the whole town.” She placed the wrapped thing on the counter and slowly undid the rope holding it closed, revealing a small pile of rotten flesh, rotting and decaying. Pearl had to hold her breath to let herself adjust to the smell. “If he tries something, we can handle him.”
Cleo sighed, tiredly grabbing a chunk of rotten flesh and quickly biting at it, tearing it apart with teeth too sharp to be considered normal. “I’m sure. Doesn’t lessen the headache I’m sure his presence will bring.” They were clearly irritated and tired, but the food (Pearl still argues if rotten flesh could be considered that, but it’s what Cleo eats, so she can’t stop them) seemed to bring comfort. Or at least something to do other than think.
Before Cleo could eat more, Pearl sprinkled the rotten flesh with a white powder, a mixture of crushed up bone from skeletons and egg shells from the farm - something to help Cleo’s naturally weak bones. Then she wrapped it all back up and quickly transferred it to their dinner table, Cleo following close behind and taking her seat.
“If it comes to that,” Pearl started, plating her cooked beef and setting it in front of her seat, “then I’m sure I can help you ease it. Haven’t not been able to yet~” she sang, hand brushing against Cleo’s from across the table. Touch always brought her partner comfort.
Cleo smiled, a sweet and reserved one only meant for Pearl, and returned the touch, interlacing their fingers with a gentle squeeze.
They ate dinner that way, hands held together tightly, no conversation needed to fill the comforting silence between them. And when they were done, they would clean up and lay down side by side. But until then, they enjoyed each other's presence.
“Do you think this is safe, Pyro?” Shelby asked. She, Pyro and Owen had arrived back at the castle not long ago. They all three immediately went to feed on some of the cows stored near the back of the building. Thankfully, Legundo had bred the herd when he was last visiting Owen. So all three had plenty to fill up on, and there was still more for Scott. They’d just need someone to come by soon to rebreed.
Pyro stopped mid chomp on a part of their victims hide, the flesh continuing to tear against his teeth even as he stopped moving. The blood was everywhere. Pyro was always a messy eater.
“What?” he managed to get out around the food. “The human? Sire already said it would be fine. And everyone agreed we could handle ourselves.” Pyro tore the rest of the piece up and swallowed it without further chewing. Shelby always wondered how he managed to do that.
“Besides, things turned out just fine when you arrived.” They didn’t reach for another piece, instead opting to focus on Shelby and her concerns. Pyro, despite it all, did always seem to be the best listener in the castle beside Shelby herself.
“But, things were different with me…” Shelby started. They placed their unfinished piece of flesh down on the plate in front of them. She suddenly wasn’t so hungry anymore. “I wasn’t a normal human. I’m a witch! I’ve been with the occult since I was a child. Magic and the mythological was normal to me..”. The castle felt cold tonight, more so than normal. Unfortunately, it was a cold Shelby knew well. The cold, sinking feeling that came from fear. The fear of the ‘natural’ closing in, of threatening her carefully sought out peace.
A fear of loss, of being hunted and hurt. A fear she was glad to abandon when she moved into Oakhurst, when she found out that everyone there was a monster of some kind.
“But this guy, Avid, he’s a hunter… That never means something good for people like us.” Shelby’s head felt heavy, weighing closer to the table until she was resting her head on her arms and lazily pushing her raw meat around on her plate.
Pyro was still silent, the kind of silence he got when he was deep in thought, trying to plan what he’s gonna say next. And it stretched on, the silence settling over them in a blanket they were both familiar with. Pyro always tried to think before speaking about something important. ‘Habits of a scholar’ he called it.
“You’re right. But is a hunter really that dangerous? Especially one that Ren said wasn’t particularly strong?” they said, subtle claws picking at some of the fabric on their sleeve. Pyro did that when he was approaching something new. He had a lot of habits, Shelby’s noticed.
“Hunters are always dangerous, no matter the skill level.” The words were strained on her tongue, heavy with experience. Shelby thinks back, thinks of all the times they’ve had to hide in dark corners as people chased them. Thinks of how many towns she’s had to move to simply to escape execution after being found out. Thinks of how many eyes have stared at her, filled with hate, or fear, or disgust…with murder. Shelby also thinks of the Hunters she’s encountered…the screams of a man she held dear, who loved her more than anything..
“Hunters typically specialize in certain creatures.. And witches aren’t usually part of their roster.” they started. A glance showed that Pyro was listening intently. They always fell deep into listening when presented with new information about the supernatural. Guess that’s what happens when you spend most of your life as a human.
“But they will, when presented the chance. And it can be quite easy to spin a false tale to someone trained to kill..” Shelby trailed off, a tight, uncomfortable feeling squeezing in their chest. Her vision blurred, tunneling in a way that she thought she’d never have to deal with after becoming a vampire. Breaths they didn’t need got caught in their chest, desperate to escape but seizing instead.
Shelby didn’t process Pyro trying to speak to her, their hand clamping down on her shoulder in a grounding attempt. How the other fledgling's voice sounded panicked and lost. How his claws dug into her skin in a fruitless attempt to drag her back. All she knew was the darkening of her vision and the sinking feeling in her gut.
“There’s no need to panic.” The new voice cut through the fog like a heated blade, slicing a clean path back to reality. They followed it eagerly, their ears losing the ringing sound and their eyes regaining sight. Shelby was quick to meet Scott’s gaze, his piercing red eyes taking all of her attention. He spoke again.
“Try and breathe, Shelby. You may not need it, but the action should be calming enough.” And Shelby did, taking breath after breath after unneeded breath. Suddenly, under Scott’s command, it was easy to do. The air no longer got caught in her throat, instead coming and going with practiced ease.
Pyro was there too, clawed fingers lightly brushing against Shelby’s shoulder. It was a nice feeling, they decided, Scott and Pyro filling their senses and drowning out the thoughts of the past.
“Very good, exactly~ Just breathe a little more.” Scott cooed, soft voice soothing over some still frayed nerves. The elder vampire's hand came up and rested on their head, the gentle pressure giving Shelby something to hone in on. She focused her hearing on the almost silent sound of Scott’s claws brushing her scalp, even forcing her mind to block out anything that wasn’t the weight of it. It was nice.
“I promise you, Shelby, this human is nothing to concern yourself so much over. I’m sure he’ll be in and out of Oakhurst before you know it.” Shelby peeked their eyes open, strong vision taking in every detail of Scott’s face so close to theirs. He looked…calm, peaceful but concerned. He must’ve been worried, coming back to the castle to her being lost in a panic. When had he even come home?
Shelby’s voice sounded worse for wear when they decided to speak. “Promise? No one will get hurt?” Void above, Shelby hoped she didn’t sound as scared as she felt. But maybe…that would be okay? Scott always protected The Coven.
His face went soft, a comforting smile blooming, a tiny hint of fangs showing through. “Of course.” His hand moved, dropping to land on his hip as he stood straight again and moved away. Only when he had put space between them did Shelby process Pyro sitting in the chair next to her, hands wrapped tightly around her arm. She squeezed him back.
“We are strong. We are monsters. And with as many of us here as there is, no Hunter will pose a proper threat to us. That I can promise, dear fledglings.” The elder vampire's voice was strong, sure, and confident. It left no room for argument, no room for worry. It settled over the fledgling’s hearts, calming nerves and offering comfort. They both smiled up at him, and he smiled back.
“Now, if you two are done eating, go clean up and get ready. Do what you need to do before tomorrow. Who knows what that’ll all bring.” Scott rolled his eyes as he began to walk, towards the cow pen where he could get his own meal to fill up on. Both fledglings sprung into action and cleaned up the mess from their meals.
Shelby finally had the stomach to finish the rest of hers, gobbling it down while grabbing the plate to get washed. Good. It would be a while before they could eat so freely.
Creatures revealed this chapter: 1
- Pearl: Werewolf
Only one creature reveal this chapter but plenty of dynamic reveals!
I am so sorry, I posted Chapter 3 on ao3 and only just now, as I went to post chapter 4 (a day or so later, again, sorry) I realized I just never fucking posted Chapter 3! Oof.
MASTERLIST ~~ PREVIOUS ~~ NEXT
The tavern was full of voices. Some were loud, indulging in both unserious and serious topics. Some were whispers, discussing the matters ahead. Regardless, it was all a lot on Ren’s poor ears, which were currently smooshed against his skull in an attempt to muffle the sound. It’s fine, once he started talking everyone would quiet down.
Cleo stood at the bar with him, quiet as she thought. She was the first one Apo went to to spread word of the arriving human, which made sense, as they were the ‘mayor’ of this town. However, because of this, Cleo had been lost in her own thoughts since. Pearl had gotten them to talk a bit, but she had been silently thinking otherwise. But, this meeting had to start soon, so Ren walked up to Cleo and nudged their shoulder, careful of the green, decaying flesh just underneath their clothes.
Cleo looked at him, quickly understanding that she needed to start talking soon. They turned to face the crowd. A few voices stopped, recognizing that Cleo was about to speak. But when she cleared her throat the whole tavern went silent, dozens of eyes now on the mayor.
“I’m sure you’ve all heard from Apo that there is a human currently at Ren’s house. We’re here to discuss what we’ll do about this situation.” They opted to take a seat at the bar, nodding to Ren in the process. “Go ahead and tell us what you know so far.”
And now all eyes were on Ren, both alive and dead. He cleared his throat, hoping to shake off some of the curse from his voice so there’d be no chance of misunderstandings. “The lad’s name is Avid. He claimed ta be a lost traveler at first, but he quickly caved in. Said he was out here… hunting something.” He stopped for a moment and let his words hang in the air. Looking out on the crowd, he saw a few of Oakhurst’s residents tense up, like Pearl and Abolish. Ren’s ears, which had been at attention since he snuck out of his own house earlier, caught a few quicken heartbeats, and the baited breath of a few fledglings still holding on to human habits.
“With some time, I managed to get the truth from his lips. The lad certainly be a vampire hunter, one smellin’ like a recent death at that. The weapons upon his back don’t help much either, don’tcha know.” He kept working as he spoke, grabbing a glass and pouring a bottle of blood, Ren’s own blood at that, into it. When he looked up, he quickly met the eyes of Oakhurst’s elder vampire, Scott.
Scott was in the back of the room, sitting at a table with the rest of The Coven. It seemed he had been looking at Ren for a while. Ren went around the bar and placed the glass of blood in front of the vampire, serving it just the way Scott always preferred. He received a curt nod in return. However, Pyro stole his attention, the fledgling’s eyes narrowed and brows furrowed in thought.
“Does that mean he’s a threat? If he’s a vampire hunter, then that means he suspects there’s a vampire here and intends to kill it.” Shelby, the newest addition to Oakhurst, who had arrived in much the same way as Avid over a year ago, latched herself onto Scott’s arm, worry washing over her.
“A human can’t just do that, right? I thought vampires were immortal, unless there was fire involved?” Scott raised a hand and curled it around Shelby’s, giving it a gentle squeeze. The action brought her attention entirely to him. He was careful with his horn as he looked down at her.
“We are, effectively. But we are still killable. The right tools, like a wooden stake, and skills can bring down a vampire easily enough.” Shelby’s temporary comfort was quickly taken, her nervousness returning. Pyro leaned closer to the elder vampire as well.
Martyn started from across the room, bringing everyone’s attention to him. “If he’s hunting vampires, there’s no doubt he’d attack another magical creature too, right? Meaning none of us are off the chopping block.” The man’s fox ears twitched as he spoke, a tell-tale sign Ren now knows is the hanyo being worried, something that happened when he was considering his own safety. Plus, Martyn’s singular tail curled around his legs, a comforting gesture.
Words of agreement rung through the tavern, especially from Sausage, nodding enthusiastically at his friend’s words. However, despite his own agreement with Martyn’s statement, Ren - being the only one who has actually spoken to Avid - had more to say.
“Here be the problem, my friends.” he started. “The hunter seems..twitchy, to say the least. The lads on edge at every turn and shadow lurking in the corner. But he don’t seem ta be particularly strong. I find it difficult meself to think he’s capable of much harm, at least to our hardy group, don’tcha know.” Ren’s ears flicked as he spoke, taking in everyone's movements.
Ren knew these people. Many had lived here almost as long as he has, some even before. That means he knows how they respond to things. And his knowledge was confirmed when he saw who remained tense at the thought of a hunter so close by, who leaned in to understand Ren’s doubt in the man, who relaxed at his semi-comforting words.
Ren directed his next words at Scott specifically, feeling the head of The Coven needed to know what he thought.
“When I take the moment to think about it, I can’t find it in meself to tell ye Avid is a threat to your brood. In full honesty to ye, Mr. Goldsmith, I don’t think the laddie even truly knows vampires are real. He had a hesitation to his voice when he spoke of his intentions in Oakhurst.” And wasn’t that a thought, the vampire hunter may not even know of their existence. But Ren saw as the words caused Scott to untense, even just a little. His grip on Shelby’s hand, which had been keeping his hand in place since they put it there, became just a little less intense.
“Wait, how can he be a hunter if he doesn’t even know?” questioned Drift, who had been within her own mind for most of this meeting, no doubt running through the logistics of every bit of information spoken. Truly, a detective at heart, no matter how far she’s run from her past.
“The lad says something hurt a friend of his when she came through the area. But that’s all he said, and I know not of any creature in these woods who’d have done that unprompted.” And that was true, all the creatures of Oakhurst were remarkably civil, especially with so many types being shoved into one town together.
“Except maybe a vampire…” mutter Apo from where she was curled up in a softer couch seat in the back of the room. They were quiet, imperceptible to most creatures. Except a werewolf like Ren, and apparently a vampire like Pyro.
“Hey! We haven’t done anything recently. We don’t even go hunting for cattle on the outskirts of the woods, which is the only place a human could have been without you catching onto them!” He looked about ready to jump at her. Those two have been at odds with each other since Pyro’s turning a year and a half ago. Guess that’s what happens when a dryad's temporary roommate decides to become a vampire and give into the vampiric essence that comes with it.
“It’s fine, Pyro.” Scott spoke, the fledgling quickly drawing his attention back to his sire. “You’re right though. If we didn’t do something to whoever this friend may be, that means the human is either wrong in where she was when it happened, or…” and he trailed for a moment, suddenly looking very uncomfortable with the thought in his mind before resolve took over. “..or there is something else in Oakhurst that we don’t know about..”
Scott’s words brought a chill through the room, a silence taking over. It was a terrifying thought. The residents of Oakhurst rarely felt much fear. They knew each other, they knew these woods, they knew themselves. Everyone in this room knew that, as long as they all stayed peaceful with each other, the only other threat around was the zombies, skeletons, and spiders that came out at night, and the beacons they keep carefully balanced for the sake and health of their undead neighbors. And the monsters at night were no true threat to any of them, not after this long.
So to think there is another creature, potentially something magical or intelligent, roaming the edges of the woods leading out of their lands without them knowing, was down right bone chilling.
“No..” Apo whispered. When Ren found their eyes, he found them to be slightly unfocused, a look Ren knows is the dryad listening to the forest, the whispers that only she can hear. “If there was something, the forest would know, I would know. And some girl getting attacked by something would be worthy of the trees talking about it.” Apo’s eyes focused again and they seemed more present this time around.
“A food for thought..” Scott muttered, taking a deep swig of the blood drink in front of him and relaxing into the taste.
Silence still hung over the crowd. But, knowing this meeting needed to keep going, Ren - who had returned to the bar at some point - nudged Cleo again, snapping her back to attention. “We can dwell on those thoughts later,” they started, “for now, using what Ren has said about his evaluation, what do we think? Should Avid be allowed in?” They turned to Ren, signaling for him to start.
“Well, I have no reason to see the lad as a threat, at least for now. If he ever proves to be one, I feel he will be quite easy for us to deal with.” Nods came from across the room, every creature present aware of their own ability to take care of threats to their peaceful home.
Cleo then turned to the crowd. She knew that the town would take Ren’s word into account. They all trusted him to make the right judgment call. So everyone delved into their own thoughts. Abolish spoke first.
“I see no reason to turn him away, personally. If he’s so determined to be here, sending him away will only make him more hostile. I say we let him stay around for a while and make sure he sees that there’s nothing here for him to hunt.” The man placed down his cup, filled with billowing tea. He looked out among the crowd.
“Well, Abolish does have a knack for knowing how something will go. I trust him and Ren enough to say this Avid man can stay.” Sausage said, his voice sounding more feminine than usual. The sound seemed to startle the author and he took a moment of silence before trying again. “Yeah, he can stay for a while.” The issue seemed to have been resolved because his voice had returned to normal.
General sounds of agreement or hesitant allowance come from everyone. Well, almost everyone, Owen was still very much silent. But he seemed to be in deep thought, and if he had such grievances, he’d speak about it later.
“Alright,” Cleo said, “everyone can leave for now. Vamps, mind staying to discuss how you’ll be hiding what you are?”. Scott nodded for the whole group and monsters of all kinds began to trickle out of the tavern. Ren stayed a moment, heading towards Scott and placing a hand on his shoulder, a silent conversation going on between them, before the werewolf walked out the door as well.
All that remained was a zombie and four vampires.
“So, how do we hide from this Avid guy?” asked Shelby. She was the newest addition to The Coven, and the most recent human to find their way to Oakhurst. It made sense they didn’t know the procedure for this stuff yet.
“Well, there are a few routes to take.” Scott looked to his coven, honing in on Shelby, ignoring the sound of Cleo’s approaching footsteps. “We can bring ourselves down to a lower level, that way we’ll look like normal humans. Even level 2 could work if we can play off the red eyes as just being our normal eye colors.”. He took another sip of his drink.
“But, wouldn’t we have to control how much we eat?” Pyro asked nervously. Clearly the young vampire remembered what happened the last time he was told to control himself. There was a reason both Scott and Shelby were upset with him once she turned.
“Yes, Pyro, it would mean we’d have to control our blood intake. But, I also understand that is hard for you.” Scott teased, only a tiny bit of annoyance in his voice. “Luckily for you, there are other ways of hiding.” Scott motioned upward, hand barely brushing over the grooved pattern of his horn. Slowly, the horn began to glow gently, a mix of red and blue magic surrounding it in a pretty display of colors.
“Magic is plentiful in our dear town. Between me, the Doc, and Shelby, there are more magical avenues we can take in disguising ourselves. My own magic was how I disguised Owen and I when you first came to Oakhurst.” Suddenly, the horn glowed brighter, the blue magic taking over. Then Scott’s hair was blue, his skin less deathly pale, his eyes had gone from red to blue. His gold horn was also missing. Scott looked like the spitting image of a human.
Shelby lit up, excitement overtaking her not only at Scott’s human appearance which she hadn’t seen since first arriving in Oakhurst, but also at the display of effortless magic. “Ooh! I can do stuff like that too! Illusion magic was some of the earlier stuff I learned to help me hide when I was practicing my witchcraft in human cities. It kept me safe.”
“Exactly~” Scott hummed, then turned his gaze to Pyro and Owen. “We can use illusions to hide ourselves. The Doctor’s magic may not be suited for this, but Shelby and I can.” Scott snapped his fingers and the illusion dropped, hair turning white once more, blue eyes shifting to red, and horn returning to its rightful place atop his head.
“So, that’s appearances settled.” Cleo started, “But what will you four do about food? You still need to eat, but we don’t want any of you getting caught.” She was still standing next to the table, arms crossed.
"We'll continue to hunt, just more secretively. We’ll also have to be more careful when we feed from townsfolk.” It was the first time Owen had spoken since they had all arrived at the tavern. He seemed to have calmed down from the tension that overtook him when The Coven had first received news of a human having entered the woods, at least.
“We have no clue how long this guy will be here, so we’ll have to watch out for a while. It was fine when Pyro came here because he chose to be turned shortly after arriving. Same thing with Shelby since we figured out pretty quickly that she had ties to the occult. But we’ll need to be careful with this new hunter around" Owen spit out the word like it was a curse.
Scott spoke as he turned to the fledglings. “Owen’s right. Neither of you can go about asking for blood like you’re used to. And you’ll need to watch your words as to not tip him off. Feedings will have to be indoors and asked for only when you know the human isn’t around, understood, you two?” Shelby and Pyro quickly nodded their heads, and Scott nodded in approval at each of them in kind, a quiet trill sounding from his throat which brought a smile from both fledglings.
“Right then.” Cleo sighed. “As long as you four know what you’re doing, then you’re good to go. I suggest filling yourselves up tonight while the human is in Ren’s house. Take advantage of the time he’s not spent wandering Oakhurst.” Cleo gathered herself and started making their way to the door.
That was the cue for the vampires to leave as well. They all stood, the sounds of shoes and a pair of heavy hooves filling the tavern as they walked across the wood. Cleo was long gone when they exited the door, no doubt having already made it to their and Pearl’s home.
“You three go ahead and fly home without me.” Scott said. “I need to make a quick stop, then I’ll meet you there. Save me some blood?” Owen had already shifted into bat form, hovering nearby. Pyro promised to save him something and all three were gone into the night sky back to the castle.
Scott turned, sharp eyes honing in on the form just beyond Oakhurst’s walls waiting for him. He needed to have a quick conversation with Ren and then he could join his coven in the castle. Scott adjusted the collar of his cloak, tail swishing behind him and made his way to Ren, hooves surprisingly quiet on the dirt and grass.
Creatures revealed this chapter: 3 technically, with a hint to another
- Cleo: A zombie, bc of course
- Martyn: A Hanyo, which is a word for any human-yokai hybrid. In this case, he's half Kitsune (more info later)
- Scott: A unicorn/vampire (he's a unicorn by birth and chose to also be a vampire and kept many of his unicorn traits, like his horn and hooves and also a tail)
And I also realized I didn't mention this in the notes of the last chapter but Shelby was a human witch who kept her magic when she became a vampire
I'm curious to see what you all theorize regarding my hint towards what creature Sausage may be, so drop your thoughts in the comments so I can see!
As requested by some of you, but specifically hurt/comfort for @justcallmecj i hope you like it! it was so fun to do a fic exchange with you!!
Down his back, the shower drums. A steady cadence of one two, one two—his thoughts march to the beat. His legs ache underneath him, body weight pressing them flush to the no-slip mat. His heart thuds in his toes. Water soaks his scalp, running its fingers through his hair, and drips, scorching his eyes.
He knows they don't care. Why does it hurt?
Logan was hired for his punctuality, his organization, to nudge numbers and rhythms into neat rows. He is not spontaneous nor driven by wild flights of fancy. He is not Roman, the lead actor of the biggest performance this side of the Atlantic. Logan didn’t need the director telling him that.
It hurts.
Logan is just as passionate about his job as the actors and stagehands. But how can he when he is blunt and stern, rude and horrible. Shit at conducting anything.
Sinking heart, shaking sobs, the verge of despair.
“Logan, dear?” and the soft rap of knuckles against wood are barely heard through the shower’s percussion. The creak of the door, the rustle of fabric. The vinyl curtain sliding on vinyl curtain.
“Oh, darling,” Scott murmurs, climbing in beside Logan. Hot skin against his own, the comforting pressure of Scott tucking Logan under his arm, “I’ve got you.”
Logan allows himself the simple pleasure of curling into Scott, tangling themselves together. Scott is his rock, his shield, his reality check. Logan’s grip on Scott tightens as he anchors himself to his lover.
“Ren was overwhelming today, huh,” Scott says.
Logan nods into Scott’s chest, his hot skin.
“Yeah, I know, but you’re safe, Lo. I’ve got you,” Scott says. Slow, steady, he drags his palm down the flat of Logan's back. Again. Again.
Logan sinks into the petting.
“You don't have to worry about us actors, I'll be able to sing to any tempo you set, alright? Everyone can, don't let them get to you.”
Logan nods, a little more lazily. He's okay. He's safe.
“You've survived tech week before, and I'm here to support you. We can do this, love.”
Logan rubs himself against Scott like a cat. One thing at a time. The only explicit directions Logan needs to follow are Ren’s. His orchestra pit will let him know if they need cues, and he trusts their ability to workshop and practice without him. The actors are not under his jurisdiction (as much as they complain to him, especially his cousin). Logan has learned to start and stop and wait as the lighting and sound booth tweak and adjust. Logan is good at his job.
Scott’s right.
Logan presses a kiss under Scott’s jaw, the soft part where—if Logan really tries—he can find a heartbeat. A steady one two, one two. A breath in and a breath out. The pressure of stroke after stroke of Scott’s hand down Logan’s back.
“How are you feeling?” Scott murmurs.
Logan nods into Scott’s collarbone. A small squeeze.
“You ready to get out?” Scott asks. Logan replies with another squeeze. “Okay darling, let me up.”
They shuffle around in the shower, shutting off the water, and Scott drags out the largest, fluffy bath towel they own. Eventually Logan is herded into bed, swaddled in his unicorn onesie, and held by his boyfriend. His rock, his shield, his reality check.
“Thank you,” Logan whispers into Scott’s skin.
“Of course, I love you,” is Scott’s easy reply, but Logan is already asleep.
A small drabble exchange I did with @majesty-perfectgrey! Go check out what he wrote for me when you're done! Happy to have done this with you
The candles only offered a dim light. The flames flickered and cast moving shadows on the blackstone walls of the castle. It was perfect lighting for a vampire, with their night vision, but not for a human. But that didn’t matter, because Martyn didn’t need to see anything. He just needed to sit there, knees digging into the cushion protecting him from the stone floor, and rest his head in the soft leg covered in fabric underneath him.
It was oddly nice to his foggy brain, the cushiness allowing him to rest his tired body. The hand carding through his hair, sharp claws sometimes scratching his scalp, also helped. A voice hummed above him.
“Are you falling asleep, pet?” His voice echoed on the stone walls, but it felt like it was deep inside Martyn’s head, engraved on his brain and buried in the middle. Was it supposed to sound like that? He didn’t know.
He attempted a sound that was supposed to mean ‘no’, the sound getting caught in his throat and barely making it out at all. Scott seemed to understand regardless, patting his head gently with a soft chuckle.
“You can if you wish. I did take a bit more blood from you today than usual.” His hand ran across Martyn’s head and down his throat, stopping at the junction between his neck and shoulder. His clawed fingers brushed against the sore spot there, a bite mark that was still red from being opened.
The mark was nearly constant at this point, being reopened as soon as it began to heal. Scott had a favorite place to bite, apparently, even if he spiced it up with other places sometimes.
The pressure caused Martyn to flinch, but Scott’s steady hand kept him in place. But then he shifted, a presence closing in on Martyn’s addled mind. He looked up, bleary eyes making contact with red and slit pupils. The look was downright predatory, something even Martyn could pick up on in his current state.
But instead of attacking, Scott leaned down lower, leaving only an inch between them, staring for just a moment before his cold lips made contact with Martyn’s warm cheek. He pulled away a second later, continuing to look at the still human under him.
“Let me lead you to your room, and you may recover there. You’ll need to rest to replenish your blood, right, pet?” It wasn’t really a question, more a command. Martyn knew all he needed to do was nod.
So he did, and Scott quickly lifted the human’s head and stood, taking Martyn’s hand in his and lifting him to wobbly feet. The fog didn’t clear, but it didn’t need to. Martyn just needed to follow, happily being led through the castle, down the stairs of the crypt, and through a door. He didn’t need to know where he was. He just needed to listen, to do as was told.
Google Docs hates me trying to write dialogue for V!Ren. So many blue and red squiggles while I write 😩
And fighting autocorrect as well. Listen Google Docs, I know I used the wrong tense or the wrong word in general! IT'S FOR A REASON THOUGH! I PROMISE!!
The woods had been whispering all morning. Quiet, faint words Apo didn’t care to listen to at first. But then they got louder, the trees sharing words between themselves more frequently. Eventually, they got even louder, desperate, spreading words of a human entering the forest.
The moment that word had reached Apo’s ear, she panicked.
A human?! But we haven’t had one of those here since Shelby, and that was well over a year ago! Humans shouldn’t be here!
She ran out of her home, past their fellow villagers, ignoring their questions at her sudden rushing off. She headed for the tree line of the forest that surrounds Oakhurst. Once they finally made it, she rested a hand on the closest tree and felt as her very being melded into the bark and leaves and roots.
Once connected with the roots, they traveled the system of communications the forest held, moving and moving until the trees started to guide her to where she wanted. Finally, a tree, one near the edge of the forest that leads beyond Oakhurst’s territory, stopped her and whispered that this is where the human was.
She exited the root system and remanifested themself outside of it. Quickly they hid behind the tree and looked around. It wasn’t hard to spot the human slowly walking down the rarely used path.
The human seemed on edge, eyes darting in every which direction as if expecting to be jumped. It was moments like these where Apo was happy they were light on their feet, allowing her to traverse the forest without getting caught. She watched the human as they went further.
The human seemed to be a young man, no older than 25 no doubt, with gray hair and odd purple eyes. He wore a green vest with a leather pauldron over his shoulder.
The pauldron held a crossbow and quiver to his back.
Tools for hunting.
Apo kept watching from the trees, even climbing up one of them to stay further out of sight with the covering of the leaves. He kept walking, making his way down the path towards Oakhurst slowly. Keeping pace with him, Apo listened to each tree she passed, trying to gather all the information they could tell her.
‘He feels like blood and guilt.’ one tree said. He carried a weight on his shoulders, and blood on his hands. Magical blood.
The trees had confirmed her suspicions. This man was a hunter of the magical variety. They didn’t know what he hunted, what creatures he'd killed, but there was one thing they knew. The others needed to know, to be warned. This man, despite how he looks, could be a danger to the whole village.
She slipped back into the root system, hopping from tree to tree until she found the one she wanted. They slipped back out, now right in front of Ren’s house. Rushing up the porch, they hit a fist against his door. She could feel his presence in the house, and knew his hearing meant it didn’t take much to get his attention.
Ren opened the door, looking shocked to see Apo standing there, especially with the tense, worried look on her face. He didn’t even get a word in before they spoke.
“There’s a human on the way here!”, she shouted, a little breathless from the dash through the roots. Ren’s wolf ears, which he kept out and free in the safety of Oakhurst’s borders, went flat against his head. However, he took a deep breath and ushered Apo inside.
“Now Ms. Apo, ye be sure that a human is coming this way. Not something else?” he asked, bringing her towards the kitchen and starting up a kettle of water for some tea. Apo nodded her head fervently.
“Yes. The trees have been panicking all morning, and when I went to investigate, he certainly felt like a human.” They reached into his cupboard, more than comfortable in his house to know where he keeps the tea bags. They handed them over to Ren and he smiled appreciatively. “But there’s something more, Ren…” she trailed off.
Ren placed a gentle hand on their shoulder, squeezing for comfort. It gave Apo the grounding she needed to speak. “He reeks of blood, Ren. Of magical blood…” Apo trailed off, not knowing where to take the sentence next. But she paused when they saw the way Ren had frozen, body tense as he paused over the stove. He slowly and carefully looked over to her.
“Ye be..completely sure on that, Mr. Apo. No mistakes?” His voice was steady, but with a tense, forced quality to it. All Apo felt comfortable doing was nodding to confirm.
In her time, especially since moving to Oakhurst some odd years ago, Apo had become accustomed to the scent of the blood of magical creatures. There was a scent to it, no matter the creature, humanoid or otherwise, that they could only describe as other, as different. And they now knew that scent, from the amount of times someone in Oakhurst got hurt and would need the Doc’s assistance. It was easy to pinpoint against the smell of human blood, a scent she knew all too well from her time on the battlefield.
And that human smells like he just recently was covered in it.
Ren took a deep breath. He forced his body to unwind, to return to the more laidback nature the people of Oakhurst were so used to from him. And Apo would be lying if she said seeing Ren be calm and stable didn’t have a grounding effect on her.
Everyone in the town knew what Ren’s almost self-appointed job was. He lived out here on the outskirts of the village, just beyond the walls, to act as a guard. He made sure to meet any newcomers to their quiet town first. Then, when he got them inside to talk, he’d assess them, check their intentions. If he found them safe, they were free to come to Oakhurst as they wished. If not, it depended on the situation. If they were going to cause problems, he’d let them in and then gather everyone to figure out how to get them to leave of their own accord. If they meant harm to anyone…then he’d take care of it himself.
Ren didn’t care much for outsiders. He cared about his pack, about his people. And that’s what everyone in Oakhurst was, even those vampires that lived all the way in the castle. His pack. And that meant he’d protect them. He’d done it in the past, he’d do it again.
That’s why Apo was so quick to find him after seeing the human. They knew what he’d have to do, and that he always appreciates a warning. That was the way it had all gone down with the previous humans who came, most recently being Pyro and Shelby (both of whom were quickly deemed safe and then somehow accepted becoming vampires. Odd people they were, in Apo’s opinion).
“Thank you, Ms. Apo. I’m glad you found me so quickly.” Ren said, taking the kettle off the heat and pouring it into a cup. He paused before filling the other one. “Tea?” he asked. And while tea time with Ren was among her favorite activities, she shook her head.
“No, thank you. I think I should go and inform the others back in town about our… approaching guest.” Ren nodded in silence, leaving the second cup on the counter, likely for later use. His muscles seemed to relax when he took a sip, and his ears no longer flicked back and forth as he took in every sound around him.
“Sounds like a mighty fine plan, Ms. Apo. Ye be careful then, getting back. I’ll be sure to call all ye to the tavern tonight for a town meeting. We will all need to discuss this.” Apo agreed, heading to the door, Ren right behind her, and slipping outside. He stayed on the porch as she approached their tree, the one that gives them life. It was always a comfort to be next to it. But that comfort soon drained when she touched her tree and made the first connection with the forest’s root system. The trees were yelling, loud voices shouting about how the human was approaching the tree line and was about to find Ren’s house.
Apo quickly whipped around, catching Ren’s eyes and seeing the moment his wolf ears pricked up, catching onto the sound of footsteps that only ears as good as his could pick up on. Faster than she could blink, Ren’s ears were gone, hidden with magic he’d learned as a young man, and he was waving her off.
Apo didn’t leave yet, but instead hid behind their tree. Magic settled in their skin as they quickly blended in with the bark of the tree, making sure she wouldn’t be seen by the human.
Apo watched as Ren greeted the human warmly, loud and joyful like always. The human was jumpy, nervous towards Ren but rather quickly accepted the offer to come inside, no doubt due to the setting sun. Once the human crossed the threshold of the door, Ren looked back to her and they quickly let down the magic, returning to their normal look.
His face was stoic, but sure, firm in his attitude. It was all Apo needed to feel comfortable slipping away and leaving him with the human. She stepped into the root system and hopped around the forest until she stood near the bridge leading up to the castle. Her intent was to get the message to the vampires first (even if she hated being there) because they were the furthest, and then the rest of Oakhurst.
Apo stepped back out at the treeline across from the castle. The grand building, which The Coven had been steadily building for nearly 5 years now (Scott and Owen did most of the work. It was a while before Pyro or Shelby came around and joined the vampiric family), towered over her. The aura that radiated off it, however, forced her to take a moment before continuing. Their nature as a dryad, pure magic that fought against dark power constantly, was already setting off alarm bells in their head. But, Apo pushed forward and made her way through the heavy push of vampiric energy.
She felt a change in the air, a subtle shift caused by the addition of plant magic nearby.
Ah, Shelby is close by.
Shelby was the only vampire Apo could tolerate being near. Shelby, as a witch in her human life, who managed to keep her magic in vampirehood, felt slightly familiar, comforting at times even. And it didn’t take long for Apo to spot her, the vampire walking out the castle's front door and waving at Apo from the other side of the bridge. It gave her the final push needed to make the rest of the trip. And thankfully, no one else was nearby, so Apo could just tell Shelby and have her tell the rest of The Coven.
And that’s what she did. They left Shelby at the door and went back to Oakhurst, quickly spreading word of the arriving human and Ren’s plan to have a town meeting once the night hit.
Creatures revealed this chapter: 2 (3? if you wanna count Shelby)
- Ren: Werewolf, bc of course
- Apo: A dryad (Odd creature assignment but I have cool reasons. They'll be explained throughout the chapters)
Again, comment anything you wish about what you like, what was fun, what you'd like to see in certain characters or any theories you've got
The woods ahead seemed to loom over him, casting shadows as far as his eyes could see. He stood there, motionless, as a heavy weight brought down his stomach. The dark was unforgiving, he knew, and it scared him. But he couldn’t stand here for eternity, no matter how much he wished he could.
There’s a vampire in these woods, and I need to kill it. For her sake. For everything we believed. For a better future. For a cure.
The scar on his neck burned thinking about her, and the new ones under his shirt throbbed as they continued to heal over. Hopefully, these new ones would heal, unlike the one from his childhood. They were far more inconvenient, hindering his movement as he tried not to wince with every step he took.
But he took that first step, closing to the towering woods and terrifying shadows. He had a job to do, and he wasn’t going to let fear stop him from completing it. He took another step, the muddy path sinking slightly beneath his shoe. It had rained recently, and even the thick foliage of these woods hadn’t spared the barely existent path to the abandoned village other towns told ghost stories about.
Avid kept walking, determined not to stop until he found the town of Oakhurst, lest he get mauled by some animal in the woods. Following the stones and gravel, he could tell the forest was alive. He could spot some animals mucking about, cows, chickens and sheep visible through the tree trunks. The leaves rustled with birds, and spiders had webs strung throughout the area. Wind whistled through the woods and all Avid could hear was whispered voices, even if he knew he was alone. It all set Avid on edge, leaving his already frayed nerves firing off warning signs constantly.
It seemed like he had walked forever by the time he could see the thick miles of wooded area finally start to let up. Up ahead, Avid could see where it all stopped, and even further ahead was the small dot of what he assumed was Oakhurst. He found a pep in his step as he rushed forward, happy to get out of the overwhelming forest as soon as possible.
But he stopped when, just beyond the walls of Oakhurst, and just outside of the forest, was a small cabin. It was quaint from the look of it, enough to house maybe a person or two. It had a porch with lanterns providing light now that the sun was beginning to set. A large oak tree, the only one in the area, grew right next to the house, its branches stretching over the roof a bit. He couldn’t see through the windows from the path he was on, so he had no clue if someone was home. That was until the door swung open and a man walked out.
The man was an older gentleman, brown hair streaked with gray. Glasses hung on his nose, but Avid could clearly see him looking towards Avid himself. He was nervous for a moment, scared he had disturbed this man when Avid had thought no one lived in Oakhurst anymore. But his fears melted away when a bright smile overtook the man’s face, his arms swinging out and open when he spoke.
“Ah, laddie. Ya must be new around here, to have come straight out of the woods like ya did, don’cha know?”. The gentleman’s thick..accent(?) confused Avid, but he was legible enough for Avid to understand. He suddenly felt watched, like he had been exposed despite the fact Avid hadn’t done anything to feel ‘exposed’ about. He needed to speak, to talk off the feeling in his chest.
“Oh, um- yes. I was…traveling! Yes, traveling, and I got a little turned around.” The lie was thick on his tongue, unnatural as he tried to think it up as quickly as possible. It caused him to stutter through the words, but he could play it off as nervousness in front of someone new. He came a little closer to the man’s porch, walking off the worn path and stopping at the bottom of the steps leading up to him. The man stood at the top and waved a hand, urging Avid forward.
“Well, why don’cha come on in, laddie. If ya’ve been traveling like you say, then ya must have been at it for a while. Ye can rest up here for the night. Best not to be outside when the sun sets.” The man moved towards the door and opened, waiting for Avid to follow him.
Avid debated the safety of following this unknown man into his home, especially with the reasons Avid even came to Oakhurst in the first place. But the sun was setting, and if there was a time for vampires to be about, it was night time. It was probably safer to not be caught unawares, and he doubted he’d make it to the walled town in the distance before it got dark.
So Avid came up the stairs and walked past the other man into the cabin. It was a nice place, small, clearly only meant for a handful of people at most. But it felt homely, a warmth filling the place that made the muscles in Avid’s body relax for the first time in days. He turned to look at the man, who was still standing in the doorway, looking off to the side of the house. But he quickly shook himself and came in, shutting the door behind him. He met Avid with a warm smile.
“Why don’cha take a seat? A traveler’s legs must get weary after a long journey, and this humble town is a long ways from any other.” The man walked over to the open kitchen area, grabbing an already started kettle of something boiling. It hadn’t whistled yet, but the moment he picked it up and opened the lid, the steam poured out and fogged the man's glasses. He didn’t seem bothered by it.
“Tea? Fresh from the kettle, so it’ll warm ya bones right up!” Even without an answer he was already grabbing an extra cup and pouring the liquid in. He brought it over to where Avid had sat at a small table and took a seat himself. Avid could feel the heat of the tea from here, steam still billowing up into the air. The man, however, didn’t seem to notice as he immediately brought the cup up and took a sip.
Does the heat not hurt? That literally just came off the stove.
The man was odd, but Avid wasn’t about to start questioning this man yet, not when he was sheltering him from the horrors of the night.
“Me name is Renhart Dogmourne, by the way, laddie. I’m a resident of this here town we call home.” He placed the cup down and met Avid’s gaze, sure, bright blue eyes meeting nervous purple ones. It made Avid freeze in place. It’s been a while since he’s spoken to anyone besides her, and even longer since he spoke to another and was met with anything other than pity and hate.
“Oh- oh! My name is Avid. Um… it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Dogmourne!” Avid’s hands nervously curled around the warm cup, still too hot to drink but cooled enough to touch. However, he was temporarily spooked out of his nervousness when Mr. Dogmourne broke into good, hearty laughter, voice booming in the small cabin.
“Oh, no need for the titles, laddie! Ye can just call me Ren. Most people do, and I’ve come to prefer it over time.” He took another sip, empty hand resting on his knee.
“Oh, alright then, Ren.” Avid finally took his first sip of the tea. It wasn’t a taste he knew, something he’d never had before, but it was nice. The warmth of the drink settled in his bones, working through his skin and reaching his aching soul. It was oddly comforting in a way Avid wasn’t used to.
“Now, what brought ye to these lands, of ya don’t mind me asking. Not many make the journey here unless they’ve got reason.” Ren leaned back, cup in hand, and watched Avid. His bright blue eyes set off Avid’s nerves again, making him hyperaware of everything around him.
“Oh, um..” he trailed off for a moment, a lie desperately forming on his tongue. “I..just got lost in the woods..?” His voice raised in question, and he knew the lie didn’t work. Even without Ren’s unamused face, he knew that was the case.
“Now, don’t try to lie to me, Avid. I’ve got quite the knack for smelling out lies, no matter how silver the tongue they fall from, don’cha’ know.” Another sip.
The nervous tension melted from Avid’s muscles as he gave up. Guess he had no other choice than to tell the truth. Sigh.
“I’m a…hunter..of sorts. I came here to hunt something down which I think may have harmed a dear friend of mine when she was coming through the area…” Even the mutterance of Elle hurt, but he pushed through.
Ren took a moment of silence, nothing but the sounds of awakening night bugs outside filling the cabin. “And what is it ye be hunting, if I may ask?”. When Avid looked up at him, the light from the lantern hanging above the table caused a glare on his glasses. Avid couldn’t see his eyes.
It was the one question Avid had hoped Ren wouldn’t ask. Most people, when they found out that Avid was a vampire hunter, laughed at him and pushed him away. They called him crazy, delusional, someone who needed help. Would Ren be the same?
There’s only one way to find out, I guess.
“I-I’m a…vampire..hunter…” Avid muttered, voice quiet, like if he was subtle about it, Ren would be more likely to not bother him with repeating. Unfortunately, that didn’t seem like it was going to be the case.
Ren was silent, the glare still hiding his eyes. The seconds ticked by with no one speaking. It made Avid more and more nervous the longer it lasted. His body was tense, waiting for any kind of reaction from Ren. He was so wound up that he nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard the howl of a wolf outside. His heart thudded in his chest as his eyes shot towards the window, the moon shining down on the night ridden fields. It was dark out now.
But, much to Avid’s relief, that seemed to be all Ren needed to snap out of his silence.
Ren sighed, a long breath pushing out of his lungs as his body practically melted into his chair. When he looked back up to meet Avid’s eyes, the glare was gone and Avid could finally read him a bit. Ren had a soft, gentle smile on his face and a tired expression. He didn’t look like he was about to get hostile with Avid.
“Oh laddie, you’ve got quite the imagination on ye. I’ve seen plenty a monster in my time, especially in this town.” Ren stood from his seat and walked to the window, leaning against the frame and simply staring. Avid followed him hesitantly. When he stopped next to Ren and looked outside, he was shocked at what he saw.
“Zombies?!?!” he shouted. Off in the distance, just on the other side of the path in front of Ren’s house, were practically hordes of rotten, green corpses shambling about. There were exposed, rotten organs hanging out of their body’s, groans managing to make their way towards the house and into Avid’s ears. He stepped back, eyes darting around the empty fields and finding more monsters. Skeletons armed with bows and arrows, far too large spiders crawling about. Things you’d only hear about in fairytales or sci-fi writings.
With another step back he bumped into something. He slowly looked up, body tense once more, and was met with Ren towering over him, still staring out the window. Ren looked down after Avid didn’t move.
“Welcome to Oakhurst, Mr. Avid. I hope whatever ye be looking for is worth the risks of being here.” And then he reached out and closed the curtains, cutting off Avid’s vision of the monster infested night.
“Ye can stay here until the sun rises. Then you can make your way towards the main town.” He grabbed their cups off the table and dropped them off in the sink, looking at Avid when he stopped in front of a door. “This is the guest room for those who wander to my cabin. Use it tonight.”
Avid entered the room, still silent from his shock of what laid outside. He had never seen zombies before, nor heard of animated skeletons ready to attack. How was that possible? He was still lost in thought when Ren’s hand landed on his shoulder, spooking him.
“Don’cha worry, laddie. No monsters will get you here, that I can promise.” he said with a gentle smile. It brought Avid some peace, to see someone as big and strong looking as Ren be so sure of his safety and capability. It was just enough to urge him towards the small bed, ready to sleep.
“I’ll come get ye in the morning if ye don’t wake up on your own. Sleep well, Mr. Avid.” Ren shut the door, and Avid’s eyes got extremely drooping, the countless sleepless nights finally catching up to him as his head hit the mattress.
Avid was dead to the world within moments, a sleep that was somehow free of both dreams and nightmares.
Creatures revealed this chapter: None
- Sorry, Avid's chapters are not gonna have any reveals, at least not for now
Feel free to comment what you thought was fun, interest, what you liked, and any theories you may have on where this fic will go
Humans rarely come anywhere near Oakhurst's grounds. The land is said to be cursed, and not even the none believers want to risk it with the history of death that follows that place. And so, Oakhurst's forests have been abandoned for the past 200 years.
At least, that's what the rest of the world knows. But Avid knows more. Elle, she went too close to those woods, and she came back changes. There has to be something living there, something dark. And Avid has made it his mission to kill it, for her, for himself, for anyone else who may come near.
But imagine his surprise when he comes to Oakhurst and finds it filled with a close, tight-knit community who have apparently been there for quite some years. Do these people know of the dangers lurking their woods? Or among them, considering how this Scott man is dressed and behaves. He has to be a vampire!
LOVE THAT HUMANS ARE WEIRD THING IT SCRATCHES MY BRAIN JUSTTT RIGHT
Thank you!!! I feel the same! I love any Obey Me content that plays into the brothers being more demon. And while my "Humans Are Weird" series doesn't play with the brothers specifically, it does get the job done. It also gives me the chance to look more into the weird aspects of humans and I loved that. I should get back into this series again, I just struggle with free time and ideas. If you have any headcanons like this of your own, I'd be happy to hear it and maybe write for it if you'd like.
As there wasn’t an official Kinktober prompt list last year, we’ve put together an unofficial one for 2025, along with an AO3 collection. The graphics were all made by @latte-cucumber, and she's also made a banner that you’re welcome to use for your Tumblr Kinktober posts:
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Kinktober is an October prompt challenge that’s been running in one form or another since 2016. There are three prompts for each day in October, and the challenge is to use one (or more!) of the prompts to create something for that day. If you don’t want to use any of the three daily prompts, you can swap them out for the bonus prompts at the bottom of the prompt list.
If you have any questions, check our FAQs. Our askbox is open for further questions about how the challenge works or what the prompts mean.
Y'all wanna know what I recently realized I need in my life?
A mdzs x Monster High anything. Literally anything. Art, stories, concepts, thoughts, theories, literally anything.
Can you imagine the mdzs characters as monsters? Would they be monsters like what we see in the main Monster High cast (ghost, werewolf, mummy, zombie, vampire etc..)? Or would they be more inspired by Chinese mythology kinda like Jinafire Long?
What would be the background stories for each of them that plays into the monster they are? Would any of them be a human like Jackson (does he really count since he's technically half elemental and therefore a hybrid?) Would any of them be hybrids like Bonita, Serina, Avea and Neighthan?
Mixing these two fandoms could lead to so many possibilities.
(Ignore my ramblings and random thoughts while I'm avoiding doing some work)
didnt expect maya hawke but ykw ill take her any time i love women (second opt was devon bostick's rodrick OLŞISRHGIŞLOHDFGIŞLDRHFGIŞLOHO) these r nice overall but idt i could rock a neck tattoo. tysm for the tag sheep !!
no pressure tags: @vultursvolans @sugurouge @circinuus @noctidhaze @verisoul @violetsfortheforgotten + anyone else who wants to join !
@starlit-eudemonia @queen-shiba @killersweetie @danger-bird @vermilionsun @vibelladonna @toxintouch @eggroll-sama @angrybathbomb and anyone else that wants to join! You don’t have to participate even if I tagged you!
A combo of dialogue snippets from something I'm working on
"Whether I live or die is up to me! And if I choose life, it must be the life I want. And if I can't have that, no one gets to force me to live without it!"
"Not even you, with your unnecessary emotions, get to make those decisions for me. No matter what you feel, my life is my own, and I will dictate how it goes."
"And right now, I want to run from this place. And if I die along the way, then so be it. At least I'll die with my pride.."
Yes, these are all the same person, my girl is going through it and this guy is not listening to her. I just thought this was all really good writing, so I wanted to share it.
I need Honkai star rail fics, specifically ones playing with the idea of Caelus/Stelle not being human. Whether it be about being a synthetic human, issues that rise with hosting a Stelleron, not understanding human social cues among other things, or just straight up uncanny valley vibes, especially from the other Astral Express crew members pov
I love these types of fics like a lifeline but I struggle so hard to find them. If anyone can find any for me, I will greatly appreciate it.
(Bonus points if it's a Caelus/Dan Heng fic or romantic Astral Trio)
