Work Text:
Everything had changed since the moment that they had been bitten.
They had been able to feel it immediately, that one second afterwards had felt like an eternity. The second where their blood went cold, the second where their heart stopped beating, the second that fangs grew in their mouth, the second that they turned into a vampire.
Pyro had been staring at her at that moment, everything around them seemed to stop. The fight felt like it was over, but Cleo knew deep down that it had only just begun. This didn't change anything. Cleo met Martyn's gaze, the man was still fighting, swinging his sword like his life depended on it. It probably did.
But even he seemed to know that they couldn't win, without saying a word he communicated that they had to leave. They couldn't win this, not against four hungry vampires. The two of them ran, Cleo could hear the vampires' steps behind them, but they just kept going.
Their new state had offered something more than just a hollow feeling, it offered strength. Cleo wasn't sure if it was because of the adrenaline or her newly found powers but she felt faster too. They crossed the bridge in a matter of seconds, only slowing down to check if Martyn was still there.
They looked just in time to see Martyn fall off the bridge, falling into whatever lay beneath. Their eyes went big, if their heart had still been beating it would have stopped now. "Cleo-" Scott tried, he- he had been the person that had caused this. Tears appeared in Cleo's eyes but she angrily blinked them away, turning around, away from the vampires'.
They ran, they ran and ran and ran as far as they could.
The strength that she had been given was coursing through her veins, but so was grief. Martyn. Tears threatened to fall, but Cleo blinked them away. No, they couldn't be weak now. They would get their revenge on the vampires', on the ones that had taken not only her life, but Martyn's too.
With every step they seemed to go slower, their body protesting, their mind going wild with thoughts. She wasn't herself anymore, everything around them showed that clearly. The sky seemed to be brighter, scents of scared animals filled her nose as she walked by. Movements could be heard everywhere as those animals ran away at the simple sight of her.
A hunger made itself known inside of Cleo but she couldn't give into it. No, they weren't a monster, they couldn't take the blood of an innocent creature. Cleo soon got lost in thoughts, their body finding its own way home.
Home.
Could they even call that place their home anymore? She would surely be kicked out when someone discovered what they were. But where else could they go? There was no way that she was going back to Scott and his vampire friends, not after what they just did to her.
Not after what they had done to Martyn.
Avid would have her head if he discovered what she was now, he'd set everyone up against her. Cleo could already imagine the disgusted looks of her friends as they sent her away. They would be angry, armed with garlic and silver to defeat the monster that she now was.
Maybe it was better that way, humans and vampires didn't belong together. The hunger inside of Cleo seemed to get worse, what if it made her do things she would regret later. Cleo stopped walking completely, what if they couldn't stop themselves? What if they couldn't fight the hunger?
What if she attacked one of her friends, what if she attacked Pearl or Martyn. She couldn't allow herself to do that, but what if she didn't have a choice? The hunger that was there- it wasn't normal. It would inevitably get worse. Cleo was strong, she knew this, but could she fight the hunger that came from being a vampire?
"Cleo!" Someone suddenly shouted, snapping Cleo out of their haze and pulling them back into reality. "Cleo!" The voice sounded again, their words desperate, loud and filled with worry. Cleo recognized the voice though, she would be able to recognize it out of thousands "Martyn," Her own words were barely audible.
Her words were a question as a sprinkle of hope made its way through her cold body. That voice, it was actually there. "Cleo!" Martyn shouted again, his words becoming louder as he came closer. With her new hearing Cleo could hear his heavy breathing, his beating heart. He was alive, Martyn was alive.
"Martyn." Cleo called back, now running towards the man.
She paused when she eventually saw him, scanning every little detail of him. Blood soaked his clothes, he walked with a stumble, his face told her that he was in pain. But a smile still made its way through that pain when he laid eyes on her. "Cleo," He said, his words no longer a desperate yell.
"Martyn, you're okay." She said, Martyn took a few careful steps towards her before wrapping his arms around her. He pulled her close, holding her as if he never wanted to let go. Cleo couldn't help but melt a little into the hug, a smile made its way to her mouth. A warm feeling went through her cold body.
For a few seconds they just stood there, holding each other in the moonlight. That was until someone cleared their throat beside them, making them pull away. "Now that that's sorted, Martyn, I really think that you should go back to bed," Apo, who had apparently been standing there this whole time, said.
Cleo focused on them, trying to figure out how they hadn't noticed the extra person before. There was no heartbeat, no loud breathing despite how much they must have been running to catch up to Cleo. Apo seemed to be realizing the same thing about Cleo as Cleo was realizing about her.
They were a vampire.
"Are you okay, Cleo? Did they hurt you?" Martyn asked, ignoring Apo completely. "I'm- I'm not okay, but I will be." Cleo said, they could see Martyn's worry grow at their words. "Don't worry about me, you were the one that fell of a fucking bridge. How are you okay?"
Cleo wrapped an arm around Martyn, steadying him as they walked back towards town. Apo walked behind them, but Cleo could feel their eyes on her the whole time. She ignored it though, focusing purely and completely on Martyn as he talked about what had happened.
The three soon arrived back in town where Cleo forced Martyn into his bed. She sat in a chair next to him, holding his hands as the man fell asleep. Apo was there too but she (wisely) hadn't said anything. Cleo waited for Martyn to fall asleep, listening to his heartbeat to assure herself that he was still there.
"I assume that you've figured out what happened by now." Cleo said once they were sure Martyn was asleep. Her words were emotionless, she didn't need Apo to know how she felt about this situation. Her eyes remained on Martyn as she talked. "I have, how did it happen?" Apo replied, confused and concerned at the same time.
"Pyro got me while during the fight, I don't think Martyn saw." Cleo said, maybe it was better if the man didn't know but Cleo knew that she would have to tell the man eventually. A silence fell over the room after that, a silence that was eventually broken by Cleo leaving.
The hunger inside them was growing rapidly, her thoughts were screaming for blood. Fresh blood, human blood. "Cleo-" Apo began just before Cleo reached the door, Cleo didn't turn around as they waited for a response, but she did pause. "If you need any help with this new life, don't hesitate to ask. I know had hard it is to deal with."
"I appreciate it." Cleo said, their words still emotionless.
They turned back around towards Apo, walking towards them with slow steps. "I'm asking you to look over Martyn, I can't trust myself around him right now. But if I discover that you hurt him or that you turned him, I won't hesitate to hurt you. I know vampires' can't really die, but I'll find a fucking way." They threatened.
Apo didn't look all too faced but there was still a hint of fear shining in their eyes. "I understand, believe me, I didn't want things to be this way either."
After that Cleo left, walking through town with big, fast steps. She had to get away from that smell, from the smell of blood that had been coming from Martyn. Everything seemed too much around them, their skin felt itchy and cold. All Cleo could do was keep her mouth shut and her eyes open as she searched for her house.
The hunger made itself known once again and before Cleo knew it she had fallen to her knees. Her new fangs were out in the open, shining in the moonlight as she gasped for air. She needed to calm herself down, needed to fight whatever was going on.
Voices suddenly filled the air around Cleo, soon followed by footsteps. People. People were getting closer to them. Cleo tried to push herself up but found that she couldn't, her body protested to every movement she made. Right as Avid and drift rounded the corner their body acted on its own, searching its own way to escape.
Their body began to shrank, their back was broken open as wings forced a way out. Cleo blinked a couple of times, they were a bat. "Drift, look! Oh I bet that that's one of those bloody vampires, we have to get it out of here." Avid said, Cleo pushed her body up to look at him as the man walked closer and closer to her.
He pulled out his sword "Avid, leave it alone." Drift called from behind him, but the man didn't listen. His sword came closer to Cleo, but she managed to pull away before he could stab her. He did, however, hit her right wing. She screeched out in pain, flapping her wings wildly.
Avid was pulled back by Drift before he could do anything else but the damage had already been done. "What did you do?" Someone new said from behind Cleo. Cleo was suddenly lifted into the air by warm hands, "Oh you poor thing. Why would you do something like that?" The person demanded.
It took Cleo a couple of seconds before she realized who was talking. But when she realized she knew that she was safe, Pearl. Her own roommate had come to her rescue. Pearl held her close to her chest, holding her as if she was the most precious thing ever.
Her expression was one of anger though, anger at Avid. "Be careful Pearl, it could be a vampire. I am only trying to protect all of us, why doesn't anyone realize this?" He asked, holding out his sword again. Drift took the sword from him with one smooth motion "Sorry Pearl, is the bat okay?" She asked.
"Her wing has a small cut but I think that I can fix it." Pearl announced, taking a closer look at Cleo. "Good, I'll take this one to bed. I think he's just had a long day." Drift said, pulling Avid along with her, away from Pearl and Cleo. Cleo could hear Avid mumble some more but didn't pay it any mind.
"I'm sorry about him, little one. He can be really nice, I swear." Pearl said as she started walking with Cleo in her arms. She moved Cleo onto one of her hands, petting Cleo's head lovingly with the other one. Her fingers moved through Cleo's hair, smoothing it back in a way that calmed Cleo more than they wanted to admit.
"He's just a little paranoid about everything. I'll fix you right up though." Pearl continued, the walk to their house was short and they were soon inside. Cleo was placed on a table, she stood up but was too high up to go anywhere else. She inspected the wound, one long cut along her whole wing.
Moving it hurt and a small amount of blood trickled down from it. Pearl soon returned, now holding some things. She placed a small bowl filled with water next to Cleo before dipping a small cloth into it. Then she moved the cloth towards Cleo's injured wing. "This might sting a little but we have to clean it." She warned.
As gently as she could, the woman moved the cloth over the wound. It stung, just as predicted, but Cleo forced herself to stay still. "You're doing really well, little one. We'll have you flying through the air again in no time." Pearl continued, her words soft, Cleo couldn't help but relax as she listened to the woman speak.
Pearl soon placed the now bloodied cloth onto the table before reaching for a bandage. "Now I gotta admit, I've never bandaged a wing. This might go wrong the first time but I really am just trying to help." Pearl said as she reached out with a little gaze to cover the wound.
Cleo gave a click which she hoped translated to "You'll do fine, I trust you."
She was pretty sure that she could still talk if needed, but didn't want to freak Pearl out. If she changed back now or revealed herself, well Pearl would know that she was a vampire. She would hate her, she would stop helping. The only reason that Pearl was currently helping her was because she wasn't a vampire.
"Now I'm gonna put the bandage around the wing, try not to move too much." Pearl explained, Cleo appreciated that she was explaining what she was doing before she would do it. "Listen to me, I'm talking to a bat." Pearl said, shaking her head as she worked. "If anyone could hear me they'd call me crazy, I'm sure of it."
A squeak of protest left Cleo at that, she wasn't crazy. "Aw, you are a sweet one aren't you? Either that or your timing is just really good." Pearl continued working, a sigh left her "It's probably the second option." The sigh was followed by a chuckle, it was as if she was trying to convince herself that it was a joke.
"There you go, isn't that better?" Pearl asked, without realizing it Cleo's wing had been bandaged. She moved it, trying it out. It still stung a little but way less than it had done before. Cleo took a few steps towards Pearl, standing at the edge of the table.
The woman shot forward reaching out to catch her if she fell. Cleo flapped her wings a couple of times, the action was more controlled now since she wasn't panicking. She flew up, feeling proud of herself even if it was just a few centimeters. She flew towards Pearl, wrapping her wings around the woman and she buried her face into the woman's chest.
It was the only way to express her gratitude she could think of.
"Oh," Pearl exclaimed, but her arms soon wrapped around Cleo's bat-form too. "You're welcome, little one." She said with a giggle. Cleo soon flew back towards the table, landing a bit clumsily but managing to stay upright. "Why don't I get you something to eat? Wait, what do vampires eat?" Pearl wondered out loud.
Her words reminded Cleo of the hunger that she felt in her stomach. The hunger was taking over but not a single part of Cleo wanted to sink her teeth into Pearl's skin. Not a single part of her wanted to hurt the woman. "I'll figure something out, stay here." The woman said, turning around to leave the house.
The second she was gone Cleo was off, she slowly flew towards the floor. Her wings weren't nearly strong enough for her to fly wherever she wanted to, but for now this was fine. She made her way to a chest placed in their kitchen, a chest that was filled with raw meat.
Human Cleo had promised that she would cook it all soon, but she hadn't gotten the time. Vampire Cleo was very glad that this hadn't happened. She quickly sank her teeth into the meat and ate it, raw meat had never looked appealing to her, but now it tasted like the best thing ever.
After eating nearly the whole chest Cleo returned to the table, her stomach filled. They sat on the table, watching the door. Her wings tingled where Pearl had touched them, it was a nice feeling but she yearned more of the woman's touch. The simple touch seemed to warm up her whole body and Cleo felt so cold.
Pearl returned soon after, soon fruit in her hands. "I know that you mostly eat insects and mice but I couldn't find any of those. So I have this." She said, holding a banana out for Cleo to see. "I heard that bats can also eat certain types of fruits, I hope that you like bananas."
A peeled banana was placed in front of Cleo but she wasn't really interested in eating the thing. Any other day it would have been great, not now. Not now that she was a vampire. "Oh come on little one, you gotta eat something." Pearl said, pushing the piece of fruit closer to Cleo.
Cleo shook their head, another squeak leaving their mouth. "Don't you like banana's?" She asked, Cleo shook their head again. "Oh, do you want something else?" Pearl continued, Cleo shook her head once more. "Hmm, guess you must have already eaten." Pearl said, a yawn following her words.
She glanced towards the door with worried eyes before focusing back onto Cleo. She took Cleo back into her hands and walked towards the bedroom. "You know little one, I have this roommate, Cleo is their name. I'm a little worried about them, they should have been back by now, it is getting pretty late."
Guilt went through Cleo's whole body, she was worrying Pearl? Damn her new vampire appearance. She should be able to turn back into her normal form now that her strength was back. Never in a million years would they have thought that raw meat would make them feel this good.
But Pearl couldn't see them turn back, not yet at least. "They left a while ago with our other friend Martyn. I was actually searching for them when I ran into you, but I'm sure they're fine." Pearl said, sitting down in a chair in the bedroom with Cleo in her lap. She started scratching Cleo's ears, making the bat give in completely.
Pearl kept talking for a while, telling Cleo stories of the town and the people that lived there. Most of the stories Cleo already knew, she'd already heard them before, but she didn't mind listening to them again. Pearl kept her voice low as they talked, it echoed off the walls and gave Cleo the feeling that she was completely safe.
All the worry from before seemed to leave her.
"I'm not sure if vampires are real, a lot of people here seem to think so. But if they are real, would that be so bad? They can't all be evil right? A lot of animals are often seen as evil, like wolves or sharks or even little creatures like you." Pearl said, moving her fingers to scratch under Cleo's chin for a second.
"Maybe it works the same as with those animals, as long as you don't bother them they won't bother you." Pearl kept going, unaware of the effect that her words were having on Cleo. Cleo knew that the vampires in the castle were evil, or at least Scott, Pyro and Owen were.
Owen and Scott only wanted more power, they wanted to be stronger. They had to drink blood to accomplish that, they had to hurt humans to accomplish that. And they seemed willing to do that too. Shelby, Cleo wasn't sure about her, she seemed happy with the fact that she had been turned. But it was hard to imagine Shelby hurting anyone.
Who knew what being a vampire had done to her?
Pyro, he had been the one to bite Cleo, he was the one tied to her. this fate. The fate of being a monster. This immediately made them an enemy to her. But she herself didn't want to hurt any humans, she didn't want to leave the friends that she'd made here.
Maybe she didn't have to, she knew that she couldn't keep hiding that she was a vampire. If someone found out about that, they would use it against her. No, they couldn't let that happen, they wanted to tell people on their own.
Maybe it didn't have to be humans against vampires, maybe it could be town against the ones that wanted to hurt them.
Cleo was snapped out of their thoughts by a light snoring. She realized that the hands that had been petting her had stopped. With one glance up at Pearl she knew why, if bats could smile that was what she would be doing. The woman had fallen asleep.
As careful as she could Cleo jumped off of her lap, getting back onto the ground. It took a few seconds but they eventually figured out how to turn human again. Their body began to grow and they soon stood on both legs, looking over at Pearl from a normal height.
It still felt weird being a vampire, the cold, hollow feeling was still there. Cleo wasn't sure if it would ever disappear. But it wasn't as bad as it had been, which Cleo counted as a win. She stared at Pearl, listening to her beating heart as she had done with Martyn.
Without thinking about it she reached out for the woman, picking her up from the chair and placing her in her bed. "Hmm- Cleo? You're back." Pearl mumbled, her eyes fluttering open as Cleo covered them with a blanket. Cleo smiled down at the woman. "I am, now go to bed, you look like you've had a long day." They whispered back.
A small smile made its way to Pearl's face, it didn't leave, not even when the woman fell asleep. Cleo sat down on her own bed, staring at Pearl. Her new vampire form was something that she was gonna have to get used to, but after tonight she knew that she could count on her friend to help her.
The way Pearl had treated her with love even when she was a disgusting animal, the way that she'd looked at her, held her. Yeah, Cleo wasn't worried anymore about Pearl's reaction. They didn't sleep that night, they might not ever sleep again, but sitting in the silence was enough to recharge them.