I Don't Even Know, Man
Randomly, vampire!Jet and vampire!Dai Li during "City of Walls and Secrets". It totally takes place in the same universe as this, though that comes considerably after what I'm about to post.
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In the wagon, Jet realized what it was about the two men in green. One of them was a vampire, and the other had the vampire's mark all over him. A claim of a food source so special to him, the vampire would burn anyone else who fed on his partner.
Jet had wanted to do that to Lee. Once he'd realized it was sunblood singing in the other boy's veins, he'd wanted nothing more than to make Lee his. Maybe even make him more than food.
He loved his freedom fighters too much to do to them what was done to him. But Lee wasn't a freedom fighter. He was Fire.
The wagon came to a stop, and then the earth shifted, and the wagon continued down a ramp. 'Bender, he thought to himself, and suppressed a shudder. The rules were different in Ba Sing Se, another vampire had warned him while he stalked Lee. He wasn't the only one here, and he was by far from the strongest. Even if he was the strongest, though, there was a family-group, a clan, that ruled the city.
They didn't play by the rules. They turned 'benders. Exclusively.
The man who'd turned Jet had died to the Fire Nation before he'd taught Jet much. But everything he'd managed to teach Jet had been worth learning. Don't stay in one place too long, because as young as he appeared, people would notice when he didn't age. Kill predators, not innocents (Fire Nation were all predators, he reminded himself, every last one of them). Respect the sun's enmity for his very light would burn. Don't turn children. Never turn 'benders.
He still didn't know why on the last one, but he figured a mostly invulnerable, inhumanly fast and strong 'bender would be a pain in the ass to deal with.
He got the unpleasant feeling he was going to find that out firsthand.
They unloaded him underground and put him in a rock cell. Jet fought, of course, but the other vampire was older and the human knew how to handle vampires.
Jet didn't like the implications of that.
He didn't like it later when they led him through a long series of stone tunnels. He saw many others of the men in green in passing (Dai Li, he reminded himself). Most of them were alive. Humans. Blood pumping, hearts beating, warmth radiating from skin. Damn, he hadn't fed at all while he hunted Lee.
Most of the Dai Li were human. Some were not. The ones who weren't... He didn't want to say they scared him. They unnerved him. They were earthbenders, yes, and they didn't fit any kind of hierarchy he'd ever seen before. They broke the rules, but not like he did.
The humans scared him. The humans knew what they were working with, and none of them were afraid.
He recognized it suddenly when one of the vampires handed him off to another. They'd been turned by the same person. All the vampires here had been turned by the same one. Family-group.
Jet suddenly did not want to meet whoever had turned them.
The vampire he walked with, the dusky-skinned one with the hooked nose, guided him into an office. A very fine office lit by a green fire, and Jet felt the sudden need to runclimbgetaway! But the Dai Li closed the door with earthbending, and Jet knew he could never get out of this room even with being more than human.
"How old are you?" The other vampire asked presently.
"Seventeen," Jet answered casually. The other vampire looked to have been in his late-twenties when he died. As far as he could tell, most of the Dai Li vampires had died somewhere around their third decade, give or take a few years. The one who'd dragged him off the street had actually died young for this group.
"How long have you been seventeen?"
"A while." A couple of decades. Maybe more. He'd lost his grip on time once or twice. But he was pretty sure it was only a couple of decades.
The other vampire studied him. "Whoever turned you should have waited a few years."
Jet shrugged, putting an insolent roll into the motion. "We'd've both been dead if he had."
The other vampire fell silent, watching. Jet watched him, though he tried his best not to make it obvious. It wasn't a staring contest, not quite, so Jet didn't feel a sense of victory when the other vampire shifted just slightly towards the door.
The stone peeled back, framing another vampire there. Ancient, millenia-old he had to be, and Jet felt his fangs lengthen as his body struggled with not being able to run. He trembled; fighting was just as impossible as running, but he wanted to, he wanted to so damn bad because he'd never imagined going down any way other than that.
The ancient vampire crossed to the desk and the seat behind it, sat, and waited.
Gradually, Jet brought himself back under control. His fangs shortened to normal human-looking teeth. He raised his head to look at the ancient vampire. And stopped.
Not ancient. Old, yes. But not ancient. Five or six centuries. Old enough to have met Avatar Kyoshi.
But powerful.
This was the one who turned the Dai Li. All of them.
He dressed like a minister, but he wore the Dai Li's colors and their hair. Or maybe it was the other way around. Shaved forehead, hair pulled back in a braid, dark green clothing lined with gold. Dai Li but not.
"Who are you?" Jet croaked.
"I?" The old vampire smiled, green firelight catching a flash of tooth. "I am Long Feng."
End
---
In the wagon, Jet realized what it was about the two men in green. One of them was a vampire, and the other had the vampire's mark all over him. A claim of a food source so special to him, the vampire would burn anyone else who fed on his partner.
Jet had wanted to do that to Lee. Once he'd realized it was sunblood singing in the other boy's veins, he'd wanted nothing more than to make Lee his. Maybe even make him more than food.
He loved his freedom fighters too much to do to them what was done to him. But Lee wasn't a freedom fighter. He was Fire.
The wagon came to a stop, and then the earth shifted, and the wagon continued down a ramp. 'Bender, he thought to himself, and suppressed a shudder. The rules were different in Ba Sing Se, another vampire had warned him while he stalked Lee. He wasn't the only one here, and he was by far from the strongest. Even if he was the strongest, though, there was a family-group, a clan, that ruled the city.
They didn't play by the rules. They turned 'benders. Exclusively.
The man who'd turned Jet had died to the Fire Nation before he'd taught Jet much. But everything he'd managed to teach Jet had been worth learning. Don't stay in one place too long, because as young as he appeared, people would notice when he didn't age. Kill predators, not innocents (Fire Nation were all predators, he reminded himself, every last one of them). Respect the sun's enmity for his very light would burn. Don't turn children. Never turn 'benders.
He still didn't know why on the last one, but he figured a mostly invulnerable, inhumanly fast and strong 'bender would be a pain in the ass to deal with.
He got the unpleasant feeling he was going to find that out firsthand.
They unloaded him underground and put him in a rock cell. Jet fought, of course, but the other vampire was older and the human knew how to handle vampires.
Jet didn't like the implications of that.
He didn't like it later when they led him through a long series of stone tunnels. He saw many others of the men in green in passing (Dai Li, he reminded himself). Most of them were alive. Humans. Blood pumping, hearts beating, warmth radiating from skin. Damn, he hadn't fed at all while he hunted Lee.
Most of the Dai Li were human. Some were not. The ones who weren't... He didn't want to say they scared him. They unnerved him. They were earthbenders, yes, and they didn't fit any kind of hierarchy he'd ever seen before. They broke the rules, but not like he did.
The humans scared him. The humans knew what they were working with, and none of them were afraid.
He recognized it suddenly when one of the vampires handed him off to another. They'd been turned by the same person. All the vampires here had been turned by the same one. Family-group.
Jet suddenly did not want to meet whoever had turned them.
The vampire he walked with, the dusky-skinned one with the hooked nose, guided him into an office. A very fine office lit by a green fire, and Jet felt the sudden need to runclimbgetaway! But the Dai Li closed the door with earthbending, and Jet knew he could never get out of this room even with being more than human.
"How old are you?" The other vampire asked presently.
"Seventeen," Jet answered casually. The other vampire looked to have been in his late-twenties when he died. As far as he could tell, most of the Dai Li vampires had died somewhere around their third decade, give or take a few years. The one who'd dragged him off the street had actually died young for this group.
"How long have you been seventeen?"
"A while." A couple of decades. Maybe more. He'd lost his grip on time once or twice. But he was pretty sure it was only a couple of decades.
The other vampire studied him. "Whoever turned you should have waited a few years."
Jet shrugged, putting an insolent roll into the motion. "We'd've both been dead if he had."
The other vampire fell silent, watching. Jet watched him, though he tried his best not to make it obvious. It wasn't a staring contest, not quite, so Jet didn't feel a sense of victory when the other vampire shifted just slightly towards the door.
The stone peeled back, framing another vampire there. Ancient, millenia-old he had to be, and Jet felt his fangs lengthen as his body struggled with not being able to run. He trembled; fighting was just as impossible as running, but he wanted to, he wanted to so damn bad because he'd never imagined going down any way other than that.
The ancient vampire crossed to the desk and the seat behind it, sat, and waited.
Gradually, Jet brought himself back under control. His fangs shortened to normal human-looking teeth. He raised his head to look at the ancient vampire. And stopped.
Not ancient. Old, yes. But not ancient. Five or six centuries. Old enough to have met Avatar Kyoshi.
But powerful.
This was the one who turned the Dai Li. All of them.
He dressed like a minister, but he wore the Dai Li's colors and their hair. Or maybe it was the other way around. Shaved forehead, hair pulled back in a braid, dark green clothing lined with gold. Dai Li but not.
"Who are you?" Jet croaked.
"I?" The old vampire smiled, green firelight catching a flash of tooth. "I am Long Feng."
End