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Scott hadn’t thought he’d be napping again so quickly.
But then again, he had been quick to convince himself, this time it was his choice to sleep. No magic spell or peasant trickery. Just him, and the realization of how much easier it would be to sleep through everything.
Fed with both chaos and blood, he was ready for a little shuteye. While he deserved to rule over a land and all of its inhabitants, that required there to be inhabitants to eat.
Scott could be noble enough to say, to himself, that he had perhaps made an eensy-weensy problem.
While one, and maybe two vampires could snack off travelers and livestock, twelve?
Go ahead and stake him, he had gotten a little swept up in it all! It’s not like he planned to turn everyone, really, someone else should be blamed. Like Pyro.
Twelve was… a bit too much. Twelve would require at least a reasonably growing town to support their need for blood. And unfortunately, no one seemed ready to budge and move on to another territory. And, all the humans were now gone.
Which meant he, in his infinite wisdom, decided to sleep and let the livestock develop the town for now. A short nap, while people assumed the town was fresh and ready for a move in. And perhaps, no more making vampires.
And apparently, everyone else took that as an invitation.
It was the soft scrape of shoes that caught him as he was clambering into his tomb. “Hi roomie.” Shubble called out, clutching her notebook to her chest. Her crimson eyes glinted against the light of the dying torch, left by a rather ill-conceived ambush plan.
“I thought I said no one was to interrupt my evil, dastardly slumber.” Scott said, sprawling across his tomb elegantly. Shubble jerked a tiny bit.
“I know, I know! But I just thought I’d come by, it’s kind of weird not to have my roommate around anymore.” Shubble said. “So, I was thinking for the decorations-“
“Not this again. No silver. We can’t even touch it.” Scott pointed out, rolling his eyes. Shelby slumped over her notebook.
Scott was bound and determined to nip this in the bud. He had just taken back his rightful place as lord of the land and terrorizer of all he came across. He was not going to have silver littered around, burning his feet and ruining his property value.
“But then what do we do about werewolves?” She said. “If vampires are real, so could werewolves!”
“Shelby, you’re a vampire now. Just eat them.”
He twisted, settling into his tomb. And for a moment, he thought that was the end of it. Until Scott heard the soft patter of shoes, a swish of fabric as Shubble sat down, leaning against his tomb.
“Shubble. What are you doing.” Scott didn’t open his eyes.
“Oh, I’d just thought I’d keep you company.” Shubble said. “It’s kind of weird not being roommates with you after all!”
Part of him said to throw her out. The other part pointed out that he might as well humor her. “Fine, just don’t make too much noise.
And so he settled into his nap-
Scrape
“Seriously?” Scott said, opening his eyes. He tilted his head at who he saw there. “Now, what brought you here?”
“Needed a place to sleep and this was the most secure place to do it.” Owen said bluntly, swinging his feet over the railing and then lying back down on it, one boot hanging over the side.
“And why should I let you sleep in my home?”
“Maybe you shouldn’t have let my grave be filled with silver.” Owen said bitterly. They were sitting against the wall, their arms folded. Scott was pretty sure they were going to fall asleep like that, and spitefully blame him for it. Good for them.
“Hey, that was for a good reason.” Scott said. “Maybe you should have taken the silver out.”
“How?”
“Anything’s possible with age. And delegation.” Scott said idly. “Get a human to do it.”
“Yeah, there’s a bit of a problem with that.” Owen said, throwing up his hands. “They’re all vampires now!”
Mm. Sucks for him. “Then I guess you’ll have to wait until- Apo?”
When had they snuck in? The former soldier was tucked into a shadow of a pillar. Scott raised a brow, confused now.
“The military was going to start directing settlers here in a few months, once I got the outpost running and the area liveable.” Apo muttered into her knees. She had taken another sword from somewhere- probably one of the blades he used to keep around as reminders of people who tried and failed to kill him.
“You’ll be fine for a few months.” He liked Owen better when the other was still terrified of him. He blamed Cleo and her pesky ‘peasant power’ movement. “It’ll be even faster now.”
Speak of the devil, and she shall appear. Cleo stepped through the doorway, flanked by Pearl. The other had shed their torn dress, replacing it with one of Cleo’s hidden by a red hood.
“It’ll definitely be easier now that we don’t have to worry about vampires.” Cleo said, folding their arms.
“So sorry about the gift of immortal life.” Scott drawled. When did he give an invitation to everyone? See, this was the downside of rebuilding your noble estate. Everyone thought it was better than their own hovel.
“Scott, you burned my house down to smoke us out.” Cleo snapped. Oh, had he said that out loud?
“I was doing my kind gift of the day.”
“It didn’t seem like a gift when you ripped out my throat while cackling like a madman.”
“So, I deliver it with a touch of panache, everyone’s a critic. Would you have rather Owen done it?” Owen and Cleo stared at each other, Owen gazing down from the railing.
“I liked how you did it Cleo.” Pearl said, patting the other on the arm, an awkward movement with how she was already leaning against each other.
“Don’t wake me up.” Owen said firmly. “I still don’t agree with allowing the town to be rebuilt. I thought the whole point of this was to make sure it couldn’t be.”
“Yeah, well, I like being able to eat and if I traveled this far to settle down, I’m settling down.” Cleo snapped back.
“Why are you all here?” Scott said, throwing his hands up. “I don’t remember inviting you.”
“Well, you didn’t. But you burned my house down so I’m inviting myself.” Cleo said staunchly. Pearl carefully swept an area clean, beginning to unfold blankets.
“That’s-“ Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. “Fine. Fine. How about everyone’s invited. We’ll just have a big slumber party.”
He was joking.
But there was a soft shuffle before Pyro was poking their head over the balcony. “Is it okay if I sleep over here?” He asked, pointing at a corner. Scott stared at him for a moment, noting Abolish coming up behind the other.
And then he slumped back in his crypt. “Do whatever you want.” He said. He could hear the shuffling of more footsteps, the scrape of people getting comfortable and unfolding of blankets, soft thumps of pillows.
That invitation hadn’t been serious, he thought with a touch of fake sourness.
“This doesn’t even seem scientific.” Legundo complained. “How can we sleep for so long without eating? We should be wasting away from long of vital energy. And a normal circadian rhythm shouldn’t allow for rest past a certain amount of time.”
Scott wasn’t sure why the other kept insisting on trying to find ‘science’ in their being. Their insistence on it baffled him in fact. Why not just accept and enjoy it?
“You turn into a bat now, and that’s your concern?” Pyro pointed out before Scott could snap off something witty and biting.
“I’m just saying, it shouldn’t be physically possible.” Legundo argued hotly. “Blood is an extremely inefficient calorie resource!”
“If you’re hungry, go take a bite out of a pig. I don’t know why you all chose to sleep in here.” Scott grumbled. “All of you can go.”
“I’m not going to leave until Avid isn’t in chains anymore.” Drift said, stubbornly. Scott pinched the bridge of his nose as chains rattled. He was a vampire. A Goldsmith. They don’t get headaches, they give other people headaches.
But that doesn’t stop the burrowing headache as he hears the frantic rattle of chains following Drift. “Let me out.” Avid protested. Scott flung his arm over his eyes.
“Avid will get released from those chains when I’m confident he will no longer try to stake me in my sleep. I need my beauty rest.” He wasn’t quite sure when that would be, the vampire had plunged past the sobbing face and then proven far more competent than Scott had been expecting.
It’s not like the chains were too awful- just enough to slow the other down should he decide to try and stake him again.
That stake had gotten far too close to his heart for his tastes. Who knew that the other actually had some skill to back up his lunacy?
“Then I’m not leaving either.” Drift said. Fine. Fine. At least someone else could try and convince the other to stop eating cooked food, or at least deal with the grumbled complaints when they inevitably poisoned themself.
“Wait, is that why Ren is chained up? He tried to kill you?” Martyn piped up, which- ah. They had tucked themselves in behind Ren who had settled in an alcove, he could hear them mumbling to Ren as they got comfortable.
Scott opened one crimson eye. “Ren knows what he’s done.”
“Aye, an’ I don’t regret it, doncha know.” Scott did. Scott was regretting a lot of things right now. Couldn’t a vampire turn some other people into vampires and not have to deal with the consequences? Was that too much to ask?
M was scribbling in that notebook of his. He could hear it. Scott was pretty sure he hadn’t stopped since he walked in and picked a spot to lay down. He was sure if he should be worried, or curious.
“What are you even writing about?” He said, opening one eye.
“Our adventures.” M said, tapping his pen against his fangs. “I’m debating if I should make this scene a lil spicy when I put it in the book.”
Right. Hm. Scott folded himself back into his tomb, debating it. That honestly sounded like it could be fun to read- and if it was spicy, he could torment the others by narrating it out loud.
Slowly, ever so slowly, he could hear the sound beginning to even out. Martyn stopped mumbling, Ren’s chains rattling only once as he tucked an arm around the other before his false breathing disappeared. Under Drift’s words, Avid’s hyperventilating stopped, the two growing quiet. Owen had long gone silent, either ignoring or already under slumber.
Legundo and Pyro kept mumbling to each other, a droning buzz only broken by Abolish piping up with an idea before it slowly staggered to a stop. A hush as Pearl and Cleo finished their arrangements.
Only, the sound of a notebook closing, the first person being the last to move.
“You know.” Shelby’s stubby little claws tapped on the rough stone. She was whispering, as if no one else could hear, and they were instead politely pretending at privacy. “I can leave. And, um, if you don’t want others around, I can probably convince most to go. I’d like to be roommates, but, you don’t seem like you’re very interested.”
Scott yawned, feeling his jaw pop. “It’s fine.” He said. “If any vampire hunters break in here, it means I get more living, or unliving, shields between me and them.”
And maybe, just maybe, after centuries of silence, he liked the noise. The idea that instead of waking up in a cold and empty crypt, he’d awaken to the sound of voices, of eleven others waiting for him. Company.
But he was never going to say that.