Chapter Text
Avid’s hands shook, covered in blood. Her blood. Her Blood. What had he done?
What had just happened?
Everything went by so fast, and yet everything seemed to stop so suddenly right at that moment. Desperately trying to stop her life blood from pouring out of her. No. NO! Elle wasn’t allowed to do this! She couldn’t.
Avid couldn’t do this alone.
“Hunter~”
God that voice, once he’d found comfort in it, pleasure. Vampire’s voice was a sickening thing. Prideful, watching the hero struggle and fail to keep his partner alive.
The coven was surrounding them, Avid knew every single one of them by name, still. He’d trusted them. He’d trusted him. And now, here they were, and Avid—eyes full of rage and hatred—snapped. Losing himself to the abilities, he lunged at Vampire, abandoning Elle’s side.
She was already dead.
Scott had killed her.
___________
Avid snapped awake at the sound of metal clashing against metal. A gauntlet against the metal door of his cell. Avid sat up, drowning in the noise, he slipped further into himself. Going through the motions, his abilities only ever made things worse, after all.
Oakhurst was a prison, one where Avid resided. His crimes were many when he’d been placed there, trembling, in shock after Elle had…
Losing control of your ability was one of the more unforgivable acts. People who are found to have powers are put into programs of training immediately, not everyone did, though. Hell, it was rare to even have a trace of an ability. Avid used to consider himself lucky to be one of the few that possessed such powers. He, Musi, and Elle.
That never should have been the case. Now, Elle was dead, and Musi… God, she’d never seen him once after he was put here, now three years ago.
Things were a routine in Oakhurst, a prison named for tragedy. Fitting, he supposed, only the worst were sent here.
A hero’s fall from grace, what fucking poetry. The hailed Hunter and Archer had been working together for the Militia for years, what a tragic ending for Archer, killed by her own partner. Avid could almost find humor in it, he hadn’t been the one to kill Elle. Not directly.
He knew exactly who was responsible, he should’ve aimed for Scott’s cruel heart instead. Should’ve grabbed Elle’s crossbow and loaded it at the people who had said he could trust them.
Avid never should have trusted them.
He stood from tying his boots. Waiting at the door for the officer to let him out. Routine, methodical, normal.
It was better than the chaos that had ensued after Archer’s death. Avid let out a shaky breath, his assigned officer walking him to the mess hall. Another day of work for the Militia, a stark cry from what he used to do for them. Going after some of the most dangerous villains in the area, the Coven had been the main threat.
Avid hadn’t meant to get to know them, hadn’t known who their identities were until they all stared at him as he rushed to Archer’s side as his best friend—as Elle—died.
Fledgling: Shelby, someone he’d been friends with for years, before everything. She was dating Drift, another of their shared friends.
Mania: Pyro, a scholar, Avid had only known him through Vampire.
Vengeance: Owen, a man he’d seen around, and yet again, had only truly known him through Vampire.
Then there was Vampire: Scott, that dirty bastard.
Avid shoved his anger down alongside all his other emotions. He let himself get dragged through Oakhurst Prison, even now people whispered. Archer’s—Elle’s—death was three years ago, three years since Avid’s sentence, three years since Vampire’s betrayal.
He’d been a fool, an overly trusting, overconfident, moron. He’d been so fucking.. blinded by his childlike love for Scott, he’d overlooked everything. Every lie, every time he went out for hours, only to be the man Avid fought for a living.
The mark on the back of his neck burned, a reminder of his failure. He tried not to think about it.
“Hunter.” That voice, Avid’s ears rang, anger rising.
He stomped on the emotion, trudging past. Vampire caught his arm, grinning with a fake sincerity.
“Well, what a surprise.”
“Get your fucking hands off of me.” Avid snarled, pulling his arm away.
Vampire regarded him carefully, as if he were a wild animal. Avid should have shot him when he’d gotten the chance.
“Hunter—”
“Not my name, you of all people should know that, Bastard.” Avid hissed, walking to his usual table.
Vampire was back in Oakhurst Prison for what was now the fifth time. Avid could laugh at it, he was going to kill him this time. He wasn’t even exaggerating.
A choked scream held within a knot in Avid’s throat. The branding on his neck, his failure, his penance.
For Elle, his partner, the one he’d gotten killed.