on this night, they're both stalking a pair of vampires broken off from their coven. nikolai has become familiar with the families that populate the city, most of them small and preferring solitude, but not all. some of the vampires in town have yet to wrangle their members into good behavior, or their lust for blood has become uncontrollable. nikolai remembers putting them down like animals. now that he's been on the other side of that lust, he realizes why this affliction is a curse. the trade for immortality isn't worth the price.
it's the reason why he's slipping through the trees with a furry little rabbit wriggling in his coat. he's sorry that it'll have to die, but not so sorry that he'd give up the human life that could be spared instead. he wants to get to the vampires first, take them far away from here, and have no one be any the wiser — least of all mal. he's been frustrating mal's hunts for months now, with great success.
so of course this is the night his luck would run out. a shot fires, one of mal's blessed bullets that sizzles as it strikes flesh. nikolai flinches from his hiding place, the rabbit trembling against his chest. he doesn't particularly like hats, but he's taken to wearing one in the last several years, and he pulls the wide brim low over his eyes now, hiding his prominent blond hair and hazel eyes. even though it's night now, it only takes one instance of getting caught in the sun to learn that particular lesson.
abruptly, the scent of blood fills the air. as if there's a hook in his chest, he nearly staggers forward, his mouth wet and teeth aching, but a sudden panic takes precedence over his sharp hunger. one vampire lies dead in the grass. the other has mal pinned in the dirt, mal's clothes soaked in blood, the vampire's teeth lowering to sink into his throat.
nikolai reacts without thinking, crossing the distance in a blink. he uses the same weapons that mal has, their guns a matching pair from when they used to hunt together, and the ravkan double-eagle glints in the moonlight as he squeezes the trigger and expels a bullet into the back of the vampire's skull. he catches the body before it can fall on mal, tossing it aside as if it weighs nothing, and then he kneels, seeing nothing but dark wetness permeating mal's clothes.
there's no time for introductions. no time to prepare mal for the shock that's coming. he needs a capsule, and one quick search through mal's pockets comes up empty.
of course he would be this reckless. every old emotion comes flooding back, everything he's kept buried since the moment of his death. mal would never drink from a vampire. but maybe —
nikolai rips his hat off, his hair falling into his eyes. with one blackened, sharp fingertip, he opens up his wrist and holds it to mal's mouth. his hand cradles the nape of mal's neck, lifting him gently. ]
Drink. [ he tries to keep his expression blank, because mal has every right to stake him right now. thankfully, he seems too weak to fight back. ] Mal, drink my blood right now.
[ it'll be enough to make sure he survives the trip back to nikolai's home. ]
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vampire au
on this night, they're both stalking a pair of vampires broken off from their coven. nikolai has become familiar with the families that populate the city, most of them small and preferring solitude, but not all. some of the vampires in town have yet to wrangle their members into good behavior, or their lust for blood has become uncontrollable. nikolai remembers putting them down like animals. now that he's been on the other side of that lust, he realizes why this affliction is a curse. the trade for immortality isn't worth the price.
it's the reason why he's slipping through the trees with a furry little rabbit wriggling in his coat. he's sorry that it'll have to die, but not so sorry that he'd give up the human life that could be spared instead. he wants to get to the vampires first, take them far away from here, and have no one be any the wiser — least of all mal. he's been frustrating mal's hunts for months now, with great success.
so of course this is the night his luck would run out. a shot fires, one of mal's blessed bullets that sizzles as it strikes flesh. nikolai flinches from his hiding place, the rabbit trembling against his chest. he doesn't particularly like hats, but he's taken to wearing one in the last several years, and he pulls the wide brim low over his eyes now, hiding his prominent blond hair and hazel eyes. even though it's night now, it only takes one instance of getting caught in the sun to learn that particular lesson.
abruptly, the scent of blood fills the air. as if there's a hook in his chest, he nearly staggers forward, his mouth wet and teeth aching, but a sudden panic takes precedence over his sharp hunger. one vampire lies dead in the grass. the other has mal pinned in the dirt, mal's clothes soaked in blood, the vampire's teeth lowering to sink into his throat.
nikolai reacts without thinking, crossing the distance in a blink. he uses the same weapons that mal has, their guns a matching pair from when they used to hunt together, and the ravkan double-eagle glints in the moonlight as he squeezes the trigger and expels a bullet into the back of the vampire's skull. he catches the body before it can fall on mal, tossing it aside as if it weighs nothing, and then he kneels, seeing nothing but dark wetness permeating mal's clothes.
there's no time for introductions. no time to prepare mal for the shock that's coming. he needs a capsule, and one quick search through mal's pockets comes up empty.
of course he would be this reckless. every old emotion comes flooding back, everything he's kept buried since the moment of his death. mal would never drink from a vampire. but maybe —
nikolai rips his hat off, his hair falling into his eyes. with one blackened, sharp fingertip, he opens up his wrist and holds it to mal's mouth. his hand cradles the nape of mal's neck, lifting him gently. ]
Drink. [ he tries to keep his expression blank, because mal has every right to stake him right now. thankfully, he seems too weak to fight back. ] Mal, drink my blood right now.
[ it'll be enough to make sure he survives the trip back to nikolai's home. ]