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Pyro genuinely had thought Scott was pulling his leg when he’d first suggested it, a meaningless comment thrown to the wind. He was relatively new to the undead lifestyle, and had been surviving off of stray animals; so the idea of feeding from a human, much less putting that idea into practice, was very much alien to him. Which meant that, obviously, the elder vampire proposing he run through the process on the manic alchemist was a joke, right? Though, now that his mentor had hauled him to Avid’s front door, he was starting to suspect his earlier deduction may have been wrong.
“You’re sure about this?” Pyro asked, glancing over at Scott. He was well aware of Scott and Avid’s situation, since every time his sire had finished sucking the man near dry, he was the first to hear about it. Scott really did love to brag.
Scott waved a hand, as if to shoo away his worries, “Yes. I can’t have you running about not knowing basic things, can I? Besides, you learn so quickly. I have faith that you’ll be able to do it perfectly after this.”
“You do…? Thank you.” Pyro said, stuffing his hands into his pockets, “Still… isn’t this strictly between you and him? I’m not too comfortable, uh, intruding on that.”
“Pyro, this man folds like a house of cards with a little push. I didn’t even need to hypnotize him. It will be fine.” Scott reassured, rolling his eyes and knocking on the door with the brunt of his knuckles.
“… Actually, why didn’t you hypnotize him? Couldn’t you have made him think that you were human?”
Scott’s mouth twitched, turning down, “Do all scholars ask as many questions as you do…? What I do and don’t do isn’t your business unless I tell you. Anyhow, where’s the fun in that? I quite enjoy seeing the fear in his eyes.”
The door opened before Pyro could say anything else, a tired-looking Avid giving them an irritable frown upon seeing the pair. It was hard not to notice the heavy eye bags the alchemist had developed, Avid always seemed on edge these days—not like he had been, however. He was just quiet now, stiff and guarded, or at least that’s the way he acted around Pyro.
Briefly, he wondered what would have happened if he had believed Avid about Scott’s status as a vampire, if maybe he’d still be human. He shook the thought, there was no returning to the past, so there was no point in dwelling on it either.
“Avid!” Scott’s smile returned, clapping his hands together in a cheery manner.
“… Scott.” Avid echoed sluggishly, his eyes landing on the fledgling, “And Pyro?”
He took a hand out of his pocket, waving awkwardly as he greeted him, “Er, hey there.”
A voice called somewhere from behind, sounding further inside the house. Pyro could see a sliver of the detective over Avid’s shoulder, examining a notebook, “Who is it?”
Avid turned to answer, “Pyro and… Scott.”
“Oh.” Within seconds, Drift had closed the book and ceased her reading, springing up and making her way over to the group, already excusing herself, “You know, I was meaning to go and talk to Pearl about something earlier...”
“You don’t have to leave…” The hunter mumbled.
She shook her head, clearing her throat, “No, no. You kids have fun… doing whatever it is you do when I’m not here.”
She bumped shoulders with Pyro, weaving her way around him as she scurried outside, causing Avid to sigh and begrudgingly unblock the entryway, “Come on in then.”
Scott rested a hand on the small of Pyro’s back, steering him inside. The interior was mostly the same from what he could recall of the house judging competition, only a few additional pieces of furniture or belongings scattered around. Avid had been excited during that time, smiling; it was such a stark contrast to the present he almost felt it had taken place years ago.
“She was in a hurry,” Scott commented when the door shut.
Avid stared, “She thinks we’re having a secret affair. Can you really blame her? I would run too.”
Pyro perked, immediately asking a question that showcased his lack of awareness, interrupting the exchange, “An affair?”
The tips of Avid’s ears burned. “It’s not. She… She just thinks it is. Mostly because of Scott. Couldn’t even bother to deny it more than once. And—” He cut himself off. “Never mind—why are you two here?”
“Ah… about that,” Scott drawled, pulling Pyro to his side, “I was thinking… despite your many flaws, Avid, you handle having your blood drawn fairly well. And poor, feeble Pyro—he’s yet to drink from a human.”
Avid bristled, pulling his lips taut as he muttered, “… So? That doesn’t have anything to do with me.”
“Oh don’t play dumb, pet, it doesn’t suit you. As his sire, the duty of teaching him technically falls upon me. And teaching is easiest if there's hands-on learning involved. It’s simple, I want him to feed off of you.”
Pyro watched uncomfortably as Avid went silent. It reminded him of the conversation between Owen and Scott out in the woods, the night he was turned; being left out even though the discussion entailed him and his fate. He rubbed his arm, unmoving as he remained tucked up against the elder vampire.
“Well?” Scott pressed.
“… No.” Avid pivoted on his heels, heading over to the table at the caudal of the room, “Absolutely not.”
Scott released Pyro, trailing after the hunter, “Come on. Don’t be so stubborn.”
“No. That wasn’t a part of the deal. And I’m busy.”
Avid sat down, huffing and shaking his head. The tabletop was covered, papers spread across its surface in haphazard piles. Chicken scratch was scrawled all over them, words and numbers barely legible. Scott picked one up, shaking it in Avid’s face after failing to read it, “What is all of this?”
Pyro walked over, curiously picking one up as well, trying to decipher the smudged ink, “… formulas? I think. They look complicated.”
“Yes. They are.” Avid scowled, anxiety creeping onto his expression, snatching the papers away, “… I said no, why are you still here?”
Scott looked down at him, snarking, “You invited us inside. We’ll leave whenever I desire. What is the matter with you? You’ve been extremely snappy as of late.”
“… Nothing. Nothing's the matter with me. Please just leave.”
“Yes… nothing,” Scott pursed, unconvinced. He leaned over the table, shoving the papers in front of Avid aside and firmly planting his hands, “You’re not going to make this harder than it has to be, are you?”
Pyro grabbed Scott’s sleeve, whispering, “Scott, I don’t mind living off of animal blood, really. It doesn’t taste that bad. We can go.”
“That’s not—” Scott groaned, exhaling. “Okay. Pyro, you may believe that, but animal blood is really just a substitute. Not a particularly good one either—their blood is unclean, and it’s not terribly satiating. I’m just saying, if you’re hunger spirals out of control when you’re surrounded by people, it’s not going to end well. Even more so if you don’t know how to control yourself.”
He tensed, letting go in favor of fidgeting with one of the buttons on his shirt, “That… could happen? So…”
“So he could go on a full-blown rampage? If his hunger becomes too much for him to handle?” Avid interjected, face crumpling.
“Unless I can find an alternate way to teach him how to handle himself. Blood is so tempting, for all vampires, but for fledglings… Well, imagine you're a child who’s never had sugar. Everyone around you goes on and on about how amazing it is. The thing is, you’re also surrounded by treats, cake, cookies, and pies; you’re bound to take one eventually. Aren’t you? And, without any self-control, once you have one, you’re going to want another.” Scott nodded, presenting an analogy.
The alchemist and fledgling havered, gaze meeting one another momentarily. Avid’s expression was twisted with worry, and Pyro’s copied. Neither found themselves fond of the notion.
After a minute, Avid spoke apprehensively, “If I… If I let Pyro… practice on me, you have to be absolutely certain he won’t accidentally kill or turn me. And you have to stop feeding from me for a little while.”
A glint sparked in Scott’s eyes as he grinned, “I guess that’s fair. Don’t fret, pet, I’m a great coach.”
“… Fine. If I can save at least one person.” Avid went to stand, not getting far before Scott glided over and shoved him back down, “W-what are you doing?”
Scott sniggered, “Stay seated, alright? You do have a tendency to get faint after these ordeals, and my protege being forced to catch you isn’t ideal.”
Pyro took a chance to step closer, poorly disguising his eagerness to please, “What do I do exactly…? If he’s not standing…”
“Just straddle his lap,” Scott ordered, gesticulating over at the hunter's legs by making a circle in the air.
“Excuse me?” Avid gaped at Scott as if he were a chicken running around with its head cut off, stunned. “T-That’s… a tad too intimate, don’t you think…?”
Scott clicked his tongue, “Don’t make a fuss, pet. Pyro, go ahead.”
Pyro followed Scott’s instructions without arguing, shuffling over and clumsily mounting Avid, the fledgling’s legs positioned on either side of him. Avid was shorter and physically weaker than both the vampires, but the size difference between Avid and Pyro wasn’t drastic—so it was more comfortable than it would have been if Scott had sat on him.
“I’m not too heavy, am I?” Pyro asked, adjusting himself slightly.
“Uh… no. You’re pretty light, actually.” Avid said, reluctantly encircling the vampire's waist with his arms to secure him.
Scott raised his hand, tentatively clasping Pyro’s nape, lowering his voice, “Such a good listener. You could learn a thing or two from him, Avid. Pyro, undo the bandages on his neck, won’t you?”
Avid seemed apathetic to the criticism, but Pyro beamed at the praise, fumbling to hurriedly untie the knot keeping the dressings together. He loosened it all, draping it across Avid’s shoulders like a scarf so it wouldn’t get in the way. Scott’s fingers curled, moving to cradle the back of Pyro’s head, encouraging him to continue.
Pyro folded Avid’s collar next, exposing his skin. It was bruised from where Scott had fed on him previously, puncture wounds scabbing over. He gently pushed Avid’s jaw, stretching his neck so the jugular was easier to reach. His pupils were dilated, wetting his lips hungrily as his stomach growled.
“Can you find a vein?” Scott hummed.
“I can find them on livestock… sometimes…”
“Hm. Here, see where my thumb is?” Scott brought his free hand’s thumb to Avid’s neck, rubbing it against the external vein right over the bruising. The hunter sighed heavily, finding it incredulous he was subjecting himself to this treatment again; like he were a piece of tantalizing meat.
Pyro affirmed, “Right… okay. Should I just re-puncture the spot you did, sire?”
“That’d be best.”
“So can I…”
“Fangs, Pyro.” Scott reminded.
“R-right.” Pyro let his fangs grow, steadily sliding out from his gums. He was becoming used to them, though they still felt inconvenient when they weren’t receded.
Scott guided Pyro’s head down, using the fledgling’s hair as reigns, “Slowly. I know it tastes good, but if you hurt him, you’ll be answering to my discipline later. This is a favor.”
He whimpered, famished, “Yes, sire.”
“Good.” Scott pressed Pyro’s face onto Avid's neck gingerly. The tips of his fangs prodded his skin, causing the man to shiver, screwing his eyes shut, steeling himself.
It did little to prevent the sharp pain that shot through him as Pyro’s teeth snuck in, extorting a sharp inhale from him. It hurt far worse than when Scott did it, the fledgling's lack of experience apparent, wrenching cries from his throat. Pyro drank in a gluttonous trance, devouring the blood that tasted better than he had words to describe; he might say heavenly if it weren’t for the fact he were a creature of darkness now. This was vastly superior to animal blood.
He didn’t want it to end, finally understanding Scott’s sick satisfaction at watching the man twist and jerk below him.
“Pyro.” Scott warned, yanking his hair and ripping him out of his stupor. His fangs withdrew, panting for air.
“S-sorry.” He wiped the edges of his mouth, checking that he hadn’t been drooling. He already missed the blood, but he indeed felt stronger.
A prolonged groan came from Avid, making Pyro look at him. He was certainly paler, but it was hard to tell from under the flush of his cheeks. “Why do I do this to myself…?”
“I haven’t a clue…” Scott said, smiling impishly at the man’s fatigued form, “It was nice, however. Seeing the outside perspective. You squirm like a rodent caught in a mousetrap. It’s endearing, in a way.”
“You’re so patronizing…” Avid mustered, “Would it kill you to be nicer?”
“You never know.” Scott shrugged, feigning consideration at the thought. “Maybe it would. I’ll stick with being mean for now, pet. Pyro?”
“Yes, sire?” He brightened, attentive.
“Carry him to bed before Drift returns, we wouldn’t want to risk repeating the first time. Avid’s rather sensitive about it.” Scott directed.
“… do you ever shut up?” Avid muttered, glaring as Pyro climbed off of him, gathering him up into his hold.
“No. I like the sound of my voice.” Scott teased.