Chapter Text
Owen had only met the doctor once, but he’d seemed… off. He had been too interested in his bandaged arms, the coughing fits that would occasionally take over, the pain he was in. Too many questions, too much concern. He was *fine*. He could live with this.
“You sure you don’t want me to take a look?” Legs said. Owen jumped; the man had seemed to appear out of nothing. That wasn’t possible. Right?
“No, thank you,” Owen said, stepping back away from Legs.
“Hm. I’m really sure I could help…”
Owen shook his head violently, glancing around. Legs had him cornered, far closer to him than Owen was comfortable with.
“Leave me alone. Please.” Owen tried to keep the fear out of his voice. Something about this man felt… wrong. Even if he acted kind and caring. Even if he could help.
——————
Legs sighed, flipping through pages of notes. “Pyro?” He called, turning away from his desk.
“Yes, Sire?” The fledgeling was there in an instant.
“Go grab some more valerian and yarrow. I’m working on something.”
“Of course.” Pyro transformed in an instant, his small bat form fluttering out of the subterranean lab through their chimney. The fledgeling was a good student. Always willing to help, always wanting to try new things. Always obedient.
Legs couldn’t stop thinking about the bandages on Owen’s arms and neck. He’d seen some scabbing on the man’s chin, just above where the bandages reached, and it didn’t look like any illness he’d seen before. It was odd. He’d seen just about everything. After all, it’d been a couple hundred years of researching diseases and their cures.
What was the man hiding? Why didn’t he want help?
Maybe if he… Legs shook his head. No. It was too soon for that. To reveal himself wouldn’t be safe, not yet.
Legs wasn’t sure why these humans had all suddenly congregated in the town, but he wasn’t complaining. He now had… patients. Yes, patients. That’s what they were. And they were nearby, easy to… treat.
Of course, he couldn’t help all of them.
From what he’d seen, several of them weren’t exactly deserving. Scott especially. The nobleman did nothing but get under his skin. Complete disregard for others. Thinking he was above them. No, he could die like the average human.
Maybe even sooner, if he had the opportunity. Nobody would complain if the nobleman… disappeared.
Not yet though. Legs wanted to see if Owen would accept help, accept this cure, before he did anything drastic.
———-
Pyro flew through the night, his echolocation allowing him to see the plants around him clearly. It felt like hours before he spotted what he was looking for. The characteristic flowers of yarrow.
The vampire landed on the ground, quickly changing back into his human form. He gathered yarrow before his head snapped around, eyes wide in the pitch darkness. A twig had broken. He was sure of it.
Pyro’s pointed ears twitched as he stared into the trees, listening. There. Breath, a frantic heartbeat.
“Hello?” Pyro called out into the woods.
The heartbeat increased and Pyro heard formerly quiet footsteps speed up. Whoever was out there was sprinting away.
Sorry, Sire, Pyro thought. They’d have to expedite their plans.
Martyn had been out searching for firewood when he’d heard the wingbeats. He’d watched as a bat flew down, then turned into a man. Pyro. He had to get away, had to warn the others. There were vampires in these woods.
Of course, Pyro had heard him. Had chased him. Had caught him.
Pyro darted effortlessly after the human, knocking him to the ground. Martyn struggled against the vampire’s grasp, but Pyro’s arms were strong as stone.
Martyn opened his mouth to scream, but Pyro shifted, shoving his elbow into the man’s mouth. Stifling the shout into a pained grunt.
“Now now, we don’t need to do that, do we?” Pyro’s voice was sickly sweet. “You can just come with me for a bit.”
Martyn couldn’t even respond before Pyro yanked him up, so forcefully that he felt like his arms were going to come out of their sockets.
“Hey! Stop!” Martyn’s shout was louder than Pyro would have liked. He listened for a moment, clamping the human’s mouth shut with a hand, but there was nobody around. Martyn tried to bite at Pyro’s hand as he silenced him, but Pyro didn’t even react as Martyn drew blood. Didn’t care.
“Now don’t be silly,” Pyro chuckled, slowly taking his hand away from Martyn’s face. “If you’re quiet, nobody has to get hurt.”
Martyn considered screaming again, but Pyro’s thinly veiled threat replayed in his mind. Nobody would hear him anyway. They wouldn’t miss him for hours.
Pyro partially led, partially dragged Martyn back through the woods. The human struggled to keep up, tripping over unseen roots in the darkness that the vampire seemed to glide over effortlessly. How was he doing that? How was he seeing?
“We have a bit of a problem,” Pyro said as he shoved the hidden door in the hill open. Legs looked up, his eyes narrowing at the sight of the human behind his fledgeling.
“He caught me. Didn’t see him when I changed back.”
Legs sighed. This… complicated things.
“You need to be more careful,” Legs growled at Pyro, who lowered his head.
“Yes, sire.”
Legs grabbed Martyn’s wrist firmly. This wasn’t even one he wanted to turn. Too arrogant. Too cowardly when it mattered. Too much of a liar.
“So. You’ve spotted my fledgeling. And now you’ve seen our lab. You’ve made quite the mistake, boy.”
Martyn swallowed hard. He could see now- the doctor’s sharp canines, the dark glint in his eye. Another one of them.
Martyn wanted to speak but couldn’t think of anything to say. Anything that would save him.
“I’m sorry?” He squeaked, voice shaking from fear and from pain. Legs was holding his arm tight.
Legs just laughed and shoved him into one of the dingy metal cells in the corner. A small, 8x8 foot box with a tiny cot and ragged blanket. Nothing.
“Welcome home,” Legs said with a sigh. He hadn’t wanted to start this yet. It was too soon. It’d mess things up with Owen.
“This one can be yours, Pyro,” Legs said, turning back to his work. “Have fun with it.”
Martyn whimpered, seeing the grin on Pyro’s face. He wasn’t getting out of here. He was sure of it now.
Thoughts raced through the human’s mind as he watched Pyro pull together needles, drawing some sort of liquid out of vials. He held the syringe up to the light, tapping at it, dislodging any air bubbles. Then the vampire stepped toward Martyn.
Pyro’s face was devoid of any emotion. That was almost more terrifying than if he’d been angry. The vampire grabbed Martyn’s arm, pulling it toward him, ignoring the way the human struggled.
“Please,” Martyn whispered, staring at the syringe. He hated needles. He just wanted to get out of here. “Please don’t do it.”
Pyro didn’t even bother responding, just tapping briefly on Martyn’s arm before sticking the syringe deep into a vein, injecting whatever solution he’d prepared into the man.
Martyn shrieked. Horrible pain rushed through his veins, toward his heart, then out into every part of his body. He stared at Pyro for a moment before his eyes rolled back and he fell onto the cot, convulsing. Pyro just watched for a moment before shrugging. The human was still breathing and his heart still pounded. Soon, Martyn’s body stilled, though his face was still twisted into a pained expression.
“Interesting.”
“New formula?” Legs asked, glancing over.
“Yeah. Wasn’t exactly expecting that result.” Pyro stepped out of the cell, locking the door tightly. “Sire, I apologize. I was careless in getting seen. I know you didn’t want anyone taken just yet.” Pyro lowered his head slightly, looking down.
Legs sighed. “It’s fine. It would’ve happened eventually.” He was quite annoyed, but couldn’t be too upset at the fledgeling. He’d just been following orders.
“Is there anything else I can do for you?” Pyro asked.
“Not right now. Just focus on your studies.”
Pyro nodded and turned to his own desk, on the other side of the lab. His workstation was much messier than the doctor’s, though it was still organized, at least to him.
Legs left the lab and headed back into town. It was nearly dawn now. People would be out and about, and he needed to talk to Owen again. To give him another chance.
“I thought I said to stay away.” Owen’s voice rang out from behind Legs. The man was trying to act confident, but Legs could hear his racing heart.
“What? Am I not allowed in town?”
“You say that like you haven’t been loitering outside my house for the last fifteen minutes!”
Legs chuckled. “Okay, yes. I just wanted to speak with you for a moment. If that’s okay?”
Owen sighed. “I suppose.”
“I apologize if I came on too strong at first. I simply think I could help relieve your pain.”
“I’m not in pain.”
“Owen, I’ve been a doctor for many years. I can tell when someone’s hiding it.”
The man eyed the doctor suspiciously.
“You really think you could help?”
“I do.”
“And what makes you different from every other doctor who’s tried to fix me? They’ve tried everything they knew.”
“I know things most don’t,” Legs said. “I can help you.”
Owen shook his head. “No. Not now, anyway. Maybe sometime. Not today.”
“Okay. Just tell me if you change your mind. I only want to help, to heal you.”
Owen disappeared back into his house and Legs walked on into the center of town.
“Where is Martyn?” Ren’s voice rang out, echoing between the buildings.
“I dunno,” Shelby answered, stepping out of her house. “Haven’t seen him since yesterday.”
“Same,” Legs said, entering the town square with the rest of the humans. “Have you seen him more recently?”
“He said he was going out to get wood,” Ren said, “and then he didn’t come back. That was last night.”
Legs frowned. “Odd. I’ll keep an eye out for him; I need to go out to look for some herbs anyway.”
“I’ll go with you,” Shelby said quickly. “Best to travel in pairs, especially if we’re losing people.”
Legs didn’t want to be saddled with the cryptid hunter, but he didn’t exactly have a choice. He shrugged and nodded, inviting her to come with him.
Shelby prattled on about Bigfoot and werewolves and all manner of creatures as they walked through the woods, Legs keeping an eye out for the herbs he needed. That hadn’t been a lie; Pyro hadn’t brought back the valerian, and he wanted to try a few more mixtures to see if they’d be more soothing for his patients.
“What was that?” The words made Legs stop for a moment, breaking him out of his thoughts. He hadn’t been listening to anything, but now he strained his ears, trying to figure out what Shelby had heard.
A shout pierced through the woods. Shelby took off toward the sound, Legs close behind. They weren’t near the lab, so Legs wasn’t sure who was yelling. They sounded pained, possibly angry.
The duo broke through the trees to find Owen, kneeling on the ground beside one of the small lakes that were scattered around. He was holding his ankle, cursing as he tried to put weight on it.
“Owen? What happened?” Shelby was beside him in an instant.
Owen looked up, glaring at Legs as the doctor approached. “Fell,” the man said simply. “Messed up my ankle.”
“May I take a look?” Legs asked, crouching beside him. Owen nodded reluctantly.
Legs carefully removed Owen’s boot, gently probing the ankle with his finger. Owen winced at the touch.
Legs nodded. “It’s sprained, but not broken. You’ll need to rest it for a while.”
Owen grimaced. “I have things to do,” he said, frustrated.
“Well, it won’t heal if you walk on it,” Legs explained. “You need to keep it elevated for at least a couple of days.”
Legs offered Owen a hand up, pulling the human to his feet and supporting him as he stumbled forward with a hiss of pain.
Owen stumbled back to town, trying not to appreciate Legs’s steady hand at his side keeping him upright. He didn’t trust the doctor. He didn’t…
When they finally made it back to Owen’s small home, the man stepped forward, trying to ignore the stabbing pain in his leg as he put pressure on it. He stumbled in through the door.
“Do you want me to come in to help?” Legs asked. Owen nodded reluctantly.
Free invitation.
Legs stepped in, catching Owen as his leg gave out under him. He supported the man as he limped over to his simple bed, helping him to elevate his injured leg.
“Thanks,” Owen mumbled, not looking Legs in the eye.
“Of course. Is there anything else you need? Some food?”
“I mean… something to eat would be nice… if it’s not too much trouble.” Owen hated asking for help, especially from this man, but he couldn’t keep walking on this ankle. It would barely support his weight.
Legs nodded and disappeared out of the room. Owen sighed. How had everything gone so badly so quickly? He’d have to rest his throbbing ankle for a bit, he supposed. He didn’t want to, he needed to be out and about pulling his weight in town, but he couldn’t.
And the doctor being the one to find him in this state? To help him? Owen didn’t like that man, didn’t trust him.
*But why?* Owen questioned himself. After all, the doctor had been nothing but kind and helpful to him. Maybe he’d just been tired when he’d first met Legs. Maybe that’s why he’d had that strange sense of foreboding around him.
Legs reentered Owen’s room, holding a plate with a baked potato and a few slices of bread.
“I know it’s not much, but it’s what I could find for the moment,” Legs said.
“Thank you.” Owen took the plate from the doctor and looked at it warily for a moment before shoveling the food into his mouth. He hadn’t realized how hungry he’d been.
When Owen looked up, the doctor was just… watching him. It was so strange. His eyes fixed on Owen’s chin, his bandaged hands and neck… he knew there were a few scabs and boils on his chin that he hadn’t been able to cover. He sighed.
“I know you want to inspect me like a bug under a microscope,” Owen said quietly.
“Not like that at all!” Legs looked concerned. “Like a patient! So I can help!”
Owen scoffed. “Sure.”
“Honestly, Owen. I only want to help you. Those can’t possibly be painless, no matter what you say. And I’ve heard you coughing…”
Owen sighed. “Fine. Just look at them.” He unwrapped the bandage from his arm, unveiling the horrible boils, scabs, and lesions. Blood oozed from some of the deeper marks, disturbed by the fabric bandage rubbing against them.
“May I?” Legs asked, reaching a hand toward Owen’s arm. The man nodded and Legs gently ran his hand along the injured arm.
“Are these only on your arms and neck?”
Owen shook his head. “Everywhere. Chest, back, legs… spreading towards face.”
Legs nodded slowly. “Have you had any other symptoms?”
“Sometimes my hands go numb. I won’t be able to feel my fingers for a bit. Might drop whatever I’m holding.”
“I have some creams that might be able to relieve the pain, and keep it from spreading more. I’ll work on ways to fully eradicate it.”
“Okay. Sure. Can’t hurt.” Owen didn’t really believe that the doctor could do much. After all, he’d tried everything already.
A couple of days later, Owen was able to walk on his ankle again, though it still ached if he overdid it. The creams Legs had given him had worked surprisingly well. The awful pain from every movement was significantly reduced, and he hadn’t noticed any new lesions. The doctor had been keeping him updated about working on some kind of cure, too. Owen couldn’t let himself get his hopes up, he knew, but it was getting harder by the day.