Young Writers Society

It was a dreary, cold day out, so Zest did what he always did to escape the cold that seeped into the castle - he bundled himself up in the comfort of his mask, gloves and cloak, and went searching for new things in its depths. He always had his bag (filled with writing utensils and a notebook) on him so he could note any new discoveries, and today was no exception.

When he found the old artifact in a forgotten corner of the castle, he pulled out his notebook, sat down on the ground in front of it, and did his best to draw it and the writing on it. He couldn't understand the language; it was probably Lantean. But it was still a very pretty...whatever it was, and he decided it was best to bring it back to his room.

Slipping his notebook back into his bag, he grabbed onto the artifact-

-and suddenly found himself not holding it.

That would have been a cause for alarm, but what was even more worrying was how he had just ended up in front of a completely unfamiliar door. He gave a startled cry and stumbled back from said door, staring up at the monster of a house it belonged to. A house that big had to have countless people in it. He went to rush away - even though he didn't know where he was going to go - but his foot caught on something on the ground and went falling back towards the house.

He managed to get himself standing, but not before he accidentally hit a button that made a noise echo throughout the house.

"Kosumi," Ciaran called from his office off the first floor landing as the doorbell rang throughout the house. Who could possibly be calling on them so early in the day? Ciaran didn't need to sleep like many of the younger vampires, and tolerated the sun much better than some of the newly-turned fledglings. "Can you--"

"Way ahead of you, sire," the vampire in question called back, and Ciaran listened distractedly to his dark-haired protege descend the stairs and head for the front door. The doorbell stopped ringing before Kosumi reached it and then the younger vampire was opening the door.

And there was silence.

Ciaran glanced up and frowned. That...was not normally Kosumi's reaction to visitors. He usually told them they weren't interested and slammed the door in their faces. Or he scared them. This...silence was worrying. Ciaran pushed back from his desk and stepped out into the first floor hallway. The scent of dust and rain reached him, and something that was almost like death--and Ciaran moved to the railing on the landing. He paused and then blinked at the way Kosumi stood unnaturally still, blocking the doorway and probably scaring their guest.

"Kosumi," he said, and the younger vampire visibly flinched. "Who it is?"

His fledgling half-turned to cast a look up at him, over his shoulder. "Some...kid, I think? In a mask and hooded cloak." He frowned and Ciaran raised an eyebrow. "Should I, er....let him in, sire?"

Ciaran gestured for Kosumi to do so and, as his fledgling moved out of the way, caught sight of their mysterious guest. "Do you need to borrow out phone?" he asked, moving to descend the stairs. The kid on their doorstep looked terrified, like he was going to bolt at any moment. Ciaran decided that he didn't like that fact and tried to aim for friendly. He wasn't sure he managed. "It looks like it's going to storm out there, so why don't you come in and we can have a chat about what you're doing so far from the more populated areas of the city?"

Zest froze.

"I, er..." He faltered. "I really should be going. This was...just the wrong house. I must have gotten the address wrong."

The lie was a terrible one. He was sure that the man had picked up on it. But he didn't even know where he was, and there was no way he could let himself get so close to a human. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, ready to dart away from the house the moment he had to. Hopefully, it wouldn't come to that.

...But he didn't have all that good luck when it came to other people.

Ciaran just raised an eyebrow and glanced towards Kosumi. The fledgling stepped outside, glanced around slowly before he caught the young man's arm and yanked him inside, kicking the door shut behind him.

"I'm afraid I really must insist, young man," he said, and gave his fledgling a nod. Kosumi released the kid and backed up a couple of steps. "It would be a mark on my conscious if I let you just wander off. Come on, come have a coffee and we'll have a chat, and then we can see about contacting your parents, hmm?"

Without waiting for an answer, Ciaran swept down the stairs and turned towards the kitchen. He didn't look back to see if the boy o his fledgling followed. He didn't need to; he was sure the kid's curiousity would get the better of him. Not many had the courage to approach his home, and especially not someone so young. He knew the method was wrong, but he'd prefer the kid was inside his manor where he could protect them rather than outside where any vampire could just pick him off and pretend they never saw him.

This is my city, he thought as he stepped into the kitchen and headed for the pantry. My territory, and my word is Law here. Ciaran opened the pantry and scanned the shelves for what he was looking for before glancing over his shoulder. The others would do well to remember that...

"Tea? Coffee? Hot chocolate?" he called questioningly. "What would you like?"

Zest may have been curious, but his curiosity hadn't gotten the best of him. The moment the man turned his back on him, he made a beeline for the door he had just been pulled through - he had to get out of here. The closest he had to a parent was the queen of his hive ship, and he doubted the man would be as friendly if he knew what was hiding underneath the mask, gloves and cloak.

As soon as he sensed the boy running, he sighed and stepped back from the pantry. "Kosumi," he said, and the fledgling moved. Ciaran walked out into the main hall to find Kosumi holding the kid back from the door, his gloved fingers inches from the handle. "Thank you, dear one."

He crossed to Kosumi's side and touched his shoulder before moving to put himself in the kid's line of sight. Ciaran studied him for a moment, catching a hint of yellowish eyes and pale skin behind the mask. He reached out to catch the kid's chin and forced him to meet his hopefully calming gaze.

"I am not going to hurt you, child," he said firmly, taking in what he could see beneath the cloak; long white hair, partially braided and reaching the kid's waist; black clothes; a messenger bag sitting against one hip. The kid was a strange one. "I do not harm innocent children, and you most definitely are a child." He leaned in a little closer and lowered his voice. "You are truly better off in here than out there, little one."

He should have taken solace in the fact that the man didn’t see him as a threat yet, but the current positions they were in and the man's tone of voice made him feel deeply afraid. It had been a long time since he felt like he was before someone far more powerful than him. He barely interact with other wraiths, and humans couldn’t do too much to harm him.

But this man felt different.

He felt powerful - more powerful than Zest could fully comprehend. He felt like he was standing in front of his former queen again. How many times had she held his chin up like this, and leaned in with a lowered voice before sucking a little bit of life from him as a reminder that he belonged to her and her alone?

"I-I can take my chances out there," he said. He was trying to keep calm, but his voice betrayed his fear with a tremble. "And I'm not as much of a child as you think I am."

Ciaran blinked slowly and pulled back a little bit. The kid was almost hyperventilating now, and he could smell the fear wafting off him. He frowned. That...wasn't right. He hadn't intended to scare the boy. He cast a glance towards Kosumi and exhaled heavily, backing up another inch or so. Something about the boy was very different, but he couldn't quite put a finger on it. He didn't...feel human, but he wasn't any other kind of supernatural Ciaran had encountered before. Frankly, it baffled him.

"Not a child, hm?" He straightened up and raised an eyebrow. "You are very, very young compared to me. Everyone is a child in my eyes." He jerked his chin towards Kosumi. "Even him."

"I'm not as young as this one, sire," Kosumi murmured, inclining his head.

Ciaran chuckled and returned his gaze to the kid. "So, you think you can handle yourself?" he asked conversationally and slanted a look at Kosumi. The fledgling moved, disappearing from sight and reappeared at the top of the stairs. Ciaran turned the boy's head slightly so he could see. "There are things far more frightening than dear Kosumi outside. And they would like nothing more than to swallow you whole--"

While he had been talking, Zest had been stealthily removing the glove that covered his feeding hand. He had been doing it up against his side - the glove did fall to the ground when he was done, but by then he already had his hand on the man's chest.

He didn’t feed on people. It was his rule. But taking this man's life away (and giving it back when Zest had some way of escaping) was the only thing he could think of.

He fed.

But something was wrong. His life was seemingly endless, and Zest didn’t know if there was even a point to stop at. The feeding didn’t even seem to be having an effect, even as his hand rested up against the man's chest.

"What are you?" he whispered, drawing his hand away as quickly as he could.

He froze, staring down at the kid. That had...hurt...in a strange way, and he couldn't quite make sense of it. It was....different. Odd. He wasn't sure if he liked it or not. He was leaning towards not. It was a vaguely unpleasant feeling. He'd prefer not to experience it again.

"I'm a vampire," Ciaran said slowly, gaze flickering down to the fresh mark on his chest. He stared at the sluggishly bleeding wound for a moment, watching as it healed, and then glanced up at where Kosumi was tensed to move. He gave his fledgling a warning look and then lowered his gaze back to the kid's, reaching for him with his other hand to touch the boy's mask. "What are you, little one?"

Out of habit, he reached a hand up to keep his mask on. His action - and his uncovered hand - had revealed the truth already, but he was too terrified by what had just transpired to think straight. He didn’t say anything. He was too scared to - if the man was treating him like this when he thought he was a little bit human, how would he treat him if he found out the truth?

Ciaran frowned down at the kid for a moment and then sighed. "It doesn't matter," he said dismissively, and released him. He backed up a couple steps to put some space between them. Then he hesitated, unsure of what to do or how to deal with the strange kid.

After a moment, he cleared his throat and gestured towards the kitchen. "Would you like a hot chocolate, assuming you can ingest it?" he asked with a smile. "I promise, no one here is going to hurt you, little one."

He stared at the man - at the vampire.

"...What's hot chocolate?" he asked, his voice coming out far quieter than he had wanted it to. It made him sound young and scared - he might have been younger than most of the other wraiths, but he never let himself sound so scared.

The last time he had sounded like this was with the queen - she was terrifyingly powerful, just like this "vampire" was.

He blinked. The kid didn't know what hot chocolate was? Ciaran sighed. He was going to have to explain a few things, wasn't he? "It's a beverage," he said, and gestured towards the kitchen. "It's really sweet. Would you like to try some?"