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The taste of iron filled his mouth, a tantalizing sensation, considering he hadn’t eaten in a while. Their stomach churned from the thought of eating, of finally being full. They were starting to forget what the sensation of being full was like, to not have nausea clawing up his throat and black spots distorting his vision every time they stood. Fatigue began to plague him with a sensation they couldn’t quite understand.
Pyro brushed their hands through their dowdy hair as a shiver ran through them. They understood they were undead, but they were still so cold. He just wanted to curl up next to a fire and lie there. They pulled their coat closed, hoping it would generate some heat for them. Some strands stuck to their coat and they could only stare in disbelief as a small clump of his hair fell from his hands.
His footsteps began to slow, he couldn’t conjure up the energy to return to his previous pace. Some strands here or there were normal for him. Stress from university, pressure from his family and other worries like that could do that for him. An entire clump coming out of his hair at once was an entirely different thing, no matter how small it was.
The next hunger pang was accompanied by him falling onto his side with a harsh gasp. He rolled over onto their stomach and brought his knees underneath themself in order to push himself up if only slightly. The bruises underneath their clothes ached, it reminded him of his parents in a nostalgic-yet-sickening way.
They could almost taste the warm barszcz they had, surrounded by their parents and relatives for the holidays. The warm, reddish soup paired well with the warm reddish bruises on their body, the thought almost made him miss being young. Gently swinging their legs in a chair they hadn’t grown into just yet, sipping the soup slowly just as their father told him to. They almost wanted to vomit, he wasn’t sure if vampires could do that though.
A soft sensation combed over him, and they promptly lost their train of thought. Pyro wiped the tears he didn’t know were falling from his eyes. They positioned themself to lie on the ground, tumbling from their stomach and onto their back as it filled his mind, they were still cold but it was so nice to lay down. They remember lying down like this before, all alone and cold, but it was so far away now. He sniffled whilst rubbing the remaining wetness on their face. They want to go home, even if they’re not sure where that is.
The soft crunching of leaves and grass nearby startled them into frantically sitting up, the distorting spots in their vision and swimming head made them regret that. They shuffled behind a tree for cover and waited as the footsteps came closer.
Legundo was trekking through with a satchel across his shoulder, they weren’t sure what the doctor was doing outside of Oakhurst but chose not to question it too much. If they could gather the strength to move he could follow him, although they weren’t sure what they’d do when the doctor got to wherever he was going.
Whenever they got back to their makeshift house in Oakhurst, it would be nice to sit in front of a fire; the warmth would be nice on their skin. If they put a fireplace in their home, it could be that warm whenever they wanted.
Some blankets and pillows would be nice as well, the weight would feel good for their aching body. He wouldn’t want to be alone though, a light conversation over his head about something meaningless would be nice.
Their body weighted on their hands, keeping themself upright. Now they just wanted to lay down again. He hugged his knees, his stomach still hurt but he could find something soon.
Wait, why did they sit up again?
“Pyro?” They almost jumped out of their skin at the sound, if they were paying any mind to Legundo, they would’ve expected that. Pyro knew it was meant to be a probing question, to ask him why he was sitting behind this tree in the middle of the forest, but nothing came out.
That soft sensation had enveloped him entirely, he could only watch his vision get blurry with tears. He was so scared, and he couldn’t remember why.
They just wanted to be fed, wanted to be warm, and they desperately wanted to be held even if just for a moment. He gasped for air as if he needed it, they roughly rubbed at their eyes to clear them.
“Pyro,” His name fell from Legundo again, and they lifted their head to look at him. Legundo had reached a hand out towards him, hesitant, but pulled his hand back to grip the strap of his satchel. The doctor looked around at everything but Pyro's tear-stained face, probably gathering his thoughts.
“Are you alright?” Legundo questioned, now looking them over from where he was standing. His other hand went to grip onto the tree like an anchor as he analyzed them.
They shook their head, no, they weren’t fine! He was cold, tired, and a vampire! They tried to wrangle their thoughts to manage something other than a whine.
“I’m starving,” He said simply, not able to manage much more than that. A cutting pain bled from their abdomen through both of their legs, they curled into themself as much as they could. A fibromyalgic pain had started once they became a vampire and he thought it would ebbed off by now, but the persistent pain weakening them told him it might be permanent.
“I may have a solution for that,” Legundo said, setting his satchel onto the ground. Pyro looked at him with desperation as he sat down next to them. They expected the doctor to reveal a few bottles of animal blood or meat, but instead he paid no mind to his satchel and began to loosen his collar.
Legundo wasn’t going to feed them using his own blood, right? The doctor wasn’t seriously trusting them to just satisfy their hunger, did he have any precaution when it comes to vampires? The answer might be no, if Pyro was right.
“I've seen what hunger can do to people,” Legundo explained, and Pyro immediately met his eyes again. So, he was being serious and they were right. This would only benefit them at the cost of Legundo, and he was giving it to them so freely. No one had ever wanted to sacrifice something for him.
Pyro’s vision went blurry again, and they whined. It felt like they had cried enough to fill a lake, but Legundo wasn’t yelling or telling him to stop crying like his parents. In fact, he was just looking over them with sympathetic eyes. Waiting for them to calm down enough so he could feed them, his eyes spoke no anger, no impatience, just focus and understanding.
“I don’t want to fail,” Pyro slurred through bouts of hiccups, continuing to wipe their eyes.
“You haven’t,” Legundo acknowledged, reaching out and placing a hand on their shoulder. They unfurled themself, letting down their arms and achy legs. They leaned into the doctor’s touch, a comfort they felt they couldn’t afford but wanted so badly.
Legundo gently brought them into an embrace, it was firm and he was so warm. He wasn’t even bothered that Pyro started crying again, rubbing his back to soothe him. They wanted to be held like this forever, to never let go of this comfort even if he hadn’t earned it.
“Sire,” Pyro breathed, sponging up the doctor’s warmth. He wanted Legundo to be his sire, even if he was a human, they weren’t picky. He didn’t even have to be perfect, they just wanted him to father them. It’s not that Scott or his actual parents cared about him anyways, Legundo could easily take their places.
When the doctor adjusted him to sit in his lap, Pyro could only curl closer to him. Their legs hung limply off to one side as they buried their face in the crook of his neck. Legundo continued to soothe him through tears, now whispering reassurances to him as he began to finally calm. Pyro could feel the doctor relax too, leaning back against the tree while never letting his hold slack.
“You may,” Legundo assured, guiding them to a series of veins in the crook of his neck rather than an artery. His sire didn’t want to be a vampire just yet.
Pyro embedded his fangs where they were directed, noting how Legundo barely flinched at the feeling. They hadn’t had much experience with their fangs, so his effort was a bit clumsy.
Pyro closed their eyes as his warm blood filled their mouth, and this time the iron taste was a comfort. The combined warmth, blood, and safety made a drowsiness settle over him as he drank.
The drowsiness worsened when his sire started to rub his back again, the soothing motion only pulling them further and further into sleep. They brought their hand to grasp at their sire’s surgical gown. The sound of their sire’s heartbeat, the smooth pulls of blood, and his hold around them were a lulling salve for his pain and exhaustion. Their mind was rocked in and out of consciousness, and the softness was definitely not helping.
His sire was saying something to him as he almost faded into sleep. Legundo guided his head up, and Pyro gave a gurgly whine. Only when their fangs were dislodged did he let their head back down into the curve of his neck. Their complaints were very short-lived, immediately satisfied as he settled back into sleepiness.
When that hand returned to continue the soothing motions, his resolve quickly dwindled into nothing. With their fullness and their pain dulling, there wasn’t much keeping him awake. His sire murmured encouragements as he succumbed to sleep.
Goodnight sire, they wished they’d said.