Vlad isn’t trying to save his fellow students, truly he isn’t. Almost every single one of them was annoying as hell. But he can’t enjoy trying to eat…vampires? Yes, these must be vampires. He can’t enjoy trying to eat vampires, with everyone getting in the way.
The one he’s pursuing gets distracted by a student Vlad recognizes from his law review course—Chase or Charlie or some name like that. The sim cowers as the creature stalks towards him.
Vlad can’t really understand how the vampire is maintaining his appetite with the amount of caterwauling Charlie is doing. But on the plus side, he finally gets to use his hatchet. It sinks into the back of the vampire's head with a delicious thunk.
Charlie scrambles to his feet, eyes watering. “Thank you! Thank you!”
Vlad ignores him while he examines his handiwork. The blood and brain matter are certainly edible. It’s not the worst meal he’s ever made. But the lack of fight was bringing down his appetite and whatever smelled halfway appetizing has stopped pulsing in the creature’s veins.
Ugh, this was such a drag.
Weren’t vampires immortal? This seemed like a very superficial wound.
“Do you want help tying him up?” his classmate asks.
“Excuse me?” Vlad frowns, trying to focus on what the sim is even saying. But there's so much chaos around him, it's difficult to pay attention.
The sim clears his throat and offers his hand. “I’m Tim. We’re in that law review seminar together. Uh, like I said, do you want help tying him up?”
It was a mystery why Vlad ever thought he was a sim. They were completely nonsensical. And heathens to boot. “You’ll have to indulge your weird necro-kink on your own time. I’m very busy, and I’m in a loving relationship.”
“What? No! I meant to tie him up to subdue him until the police come!”
“The police?” Vlad replies with alarm.
He didn’t go through all of this setup just to have the authorities show up. And it was going to be very hard to get Akira to laugh this night off if he had to glamour a police station. “Unfortunately, Charlie, that’s not going to work for me.”
“Charlie? My name is—”
Charlie hits the ground with very little fanfare, and Vlad closes his eyes, savoring the peace. The cemetery isn't quiet, of course, but the Strauds weren't really a quiet family. His best friend, William, thought they were all co-dependent, but the Strauds were just the sort of family that enjoys each other's company.
Or, well, "enjoy" was probably not the right word. On a bad day, Vlad got irritated to high-heaven by the sheer act of anyone breathing near him. And his little sister is entirely too nosy for her own good.
Still, he values their merry mayhem. Even now, the sounds of screaming, arguments, and a little unrestrained violence have nearly lulled him into a trance. He's so relaxed that his appetite settles.
Peace doesn't last long. A vampire moves like the wind, landing a hard blow to his jaw before he wrestles her to the ground.
She refuses to yield.
This is the fight Vlad has been waiting for, and it sends his appetite soaring. He reaches for his hatchet, only to discover Charlie’s girlfriend running off, clutching it in her hand as she shouts a half-hearted apology.
Well, didn’t that just take the cake? Shaking his head with a small chuckle, Vlad heads towards the gate.
The vampire he was fighting stands, brushing off her pants. “What are you doing?”
“Going to find another weapon. You can stay here if you like, but I’d prefer to chase you down once I’ve found something suitable.”
The vampire growls. “You aren’t going anywhere. You need to be woken up and brought to see the Queen.”
Queen? There was no queen of Windenburg anymore. Were all vampires addled? Was it old age?
“Fine,” Vlad rolls his eyes, “You can come. But keep your eyes peeled for a decent weapon. I will not eat with my hands like some kind of degenerate.”
The creature balks. “No, you’re coming with me. I’m taking you.”
“How can I be coming with you, when I extended the first invitation?”
She looks perplexed. “But you're the one we've been waiting for. The one we're supposed to wake and the Queen won’t be kept waiting.”
Maybe vampires suffered from psychosis. Vlad was awake. He was standing right here talking to her. He's just about to explain to this geriatric, possibly mad creature that he's definitely not asleep when he feels it…
…a sort of slithering beneath his ribs, dark and oil slick, begging to be set free. It keens beneath his skin until Vlad gives it the barest leeway. As he does, his body rewrites itself. The pain is indescribable. He bites his tongue or maybe he swallows it, but as he sets about reforming it, he tastes the air.
His mouth waters.
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(Also shoutout to @cakepoppresent bc I originally cut the joke about Vlad not knowing his classmate’s name and refusing to learn it. But then I read the chapter of her story where a character refuses to ever say her nemesis’s name right and I laughed so hard 😂😂😂 so thank u for saving Vlad from my less funny rewrite)
