Incruentatus [chapter one]
. chapter one .
. xalxig . cleaned rp . NC-17 overall . AU . vampires .
Most of Xigbar Neilson's work took place after the sun went down, for he hunted a creature that only came out at night - and as a result, he'd turned pretty much nocturnal himself. Thus, it was after the last rays of the sun were fading that he finally dragged himself out of bed, yawned, ducked his head in a bucket of water and counted it as a wash, and tripped his way down the stairs to his small, untidy kitchen. He pulled a comb through his hair was he rooted around for clean teacups, yawning, finally set the teakettle to boil and took the paper from the mouth of one of the three enormous boarhounds that he'd fed enough to call his. He wiped the slobber off the front page, fell into a chair, and began reading, eyes pricked for the slightest mention of anything relating to the undead.
Xaldin sighed, setting down his reading glasses and rubbing his temples. He wondered what his students actually paid attention to while in class because it certainly wasn't him. Glancing at the clock on his desk he figured it was dark enough to be able to leave, and he abandoned the red ink covered papers and gathered his things.
Deciding visiting Xigbar would be... well he didn't want to use the word fun, as Xigbar himself was often aggravating, but it would be different from the past few days at least, even if the last few days were far from routine. He briefly thought of Demyx but any concern was quickly dismissed as he knew the blond was more than capable of taking care of himself.
A while later and Xaldin was knocking at Xigbar's door, hoping his friend had already woken up and gotten out of bed.
BARK BARK BARK BARK lots of barking. Loud barking. Xigbar lurched to his feet and answered the door, a huge grin splitting his face when he saw who it was. "Hey! C'mon in! Shut up, Dog, it's just Xaldin." The loudest of the dogs only quieted when he'd sufficiently slobbered up half of Xaldin's face with his tongue.
Xaldin wiped the slobber off his face and pet each of the dogs in turn. He wasn't usually fond of animals, but it was hard to dislike any of Xigbar's dogs, who were just as dense and unobservant as their owner. "Evening Xigbar. How are you faring tonight?"
"Good, good." He went over to the cupboard and brought out another mug for Xaldin, and finished up the tea. "Here, you want some?" He waved the mug in his friend's direction, questioningly.
Xaldin just nodded in response to Xigbar's question. He sat himself in one of the chairs, "How goes the hunting?"
He handed it over and sat back down, pulling the paper towards him. "Oh, y'know. Goes and goes. I'm runnin' into cold trails everywhere, gettin' frustrated. Fuckers are gettin' better at hidin' or someth-" Xigbar stopped, his mug halfway to his lips. ".....Cor. Nine?" He peered closer, brows knitting together. "...Aw, fuck, there's gotta be a new one. They wouldn't be that dumb. Heh." He got his hunter's face on, a rather scary ear-to-ear grin. "...This one’s gotta have a price on ‘is head already."
Xaldin brought the mug to his lips, blowing the steam away to cool down his tea a little. He raised an eyebrow at Xigbar, "Hn. Have fun with that."
"Sure will. You wanna come along?" Xal always had other stuff to do, so the question was mostly a joke. But he always asked.
Xaldin paused, he usually avoided hanging out with Xigbar on his little hunting trips but his mind went back to Demyx. If the kid was out tonight and ran into Xigbar... He frowned at how protective he was being but reminded himself that he hadn't turned anyone in a while and the attachment was only natural. "Sure, I'll come with."
"What... really?" Xigbar blinked at him.
Xaldin nodded, "Yes, really. It might be interesting."
"...Great! Hangon... should probably change and stuff." He was a little nervous - he usually worked alone, but hey, the guy'd practically told him everything he knew about vampires, he was one of the leading scholars on the subject. It wasn't like he was dragging some liability along with him, though if they got into a situation... well he just hoped Xaldin could hold his own in a fight, I mean with those muscles of... mm... muscles... right anyway the point was, he probably had nothing to worry about.
Xaldin sat there sipping his tea with all the semblance of calm as he waited for Xigbar to get ready. Part of him knew this was a bad idea, but he didn't see much other choice in the matter. He could go out and find Demyx by himself before Xigbar could get to him, but if they ended up running into Xigbar before getting somewhere, things would be difficult to explain. Xaldin hoped that going along with Xigbar would go more smoothly than any of the other scenarios he played out in his mind.
Xigbar finally clambered back down, dressed all in black but with a dark gray overcoat and fedora. "Right, let's go." He reread the newspaper article - by the docks. He'd start there. So they were off.
The streets were dark and the wind crisp as they wandered - Xigbar had a few instruments he used (and sometimes the dogs, when the hunt got tough), but more than anything he relied on his instincts, which were admittedly very good.
Xaldin followed Xigbar in silence, arms tucked behind his back as he watched the hunter carefully. He had to force himself to not over think the situation, as his friend often had bouts of unpredictability, and instead he focused on the wind that blew around them.
There was something wrong. The wind, maybe, or maybe Xaldin's silent presence was messing him up - he couldn't think straight tonight. It smelled funny. It felt funny. There was something wrong, and he couldn't put his finger on it.
But then he passed by a familiar cluster of crates and blankets, dock houses for the bilge rats, and it was here he ducked into, hunting for a pretty face, and praying she wasn't one of the girls they'd mentioned in the news article. But most of them had been whores, and he knew for a fact that Aerith never messed with that crowd. She was much too good for them.
"...Aerith? I'm sorry, I woke you up..."
"No, no..." The tired-looking girl smiled at him, and at Xaldin. "You didn't wake me." And, at second glance, he had not. Her blue dress was rumpled, from a day or more of wear, and the pink ribbon in her hair was untied and rather draggly. The worry was plain in her eyes, as well as the bags under them. She hadn't slept in a while, it seemed. "Actually... I'm glad you're here."
Xigbar stopped, blinking. "Something wrong?"
"...Yes," she said quietly, folding her hands in her lap. "I'm worried about the rumors flying left and right... and I suppose that's why you're here, too."
Xigbar nodded; she had to be talking about the new vampire.
"Well you see...."
He waited.
"It's Demyx."
"..."
"...He hasn't come home in days."
Xaldin had to force himself not to react to that name, though his eyes did narrow slightly. Guilt and another half dozen emotions that he had so carefully walled off in his mind managed to sneak through the cracks. This is what he got for getting too attached to things even though he knew damn well that people, places, nearly everything went away with time. Briefly, he considered coming clean about everything but not knowing what Xigbar would do in such a situation kept him quiet.
Xigbar didn't bother hiding his utter shock. "No.... no. You don't think...?"
Aerith, by contrast, was calm. "All the people who've been killed are people who've wronged him in the past. I know that no one else would've known, and he didn't know what I knew. I wish it wasn't so, but... I just have such a bad feeling about this."
Talk about bad feeling. Xigbar felt like the bottom of his stomach was dropping out.
"You both know him then, I take it?," Xaldin asked, looking carefully between the two and making no mention of his own connection to the ordeal. "So, what will you do Xigbar?" The hunter's answer would be an important one. Would his friends be excluded from his hunts or not? If not, Xaldin would have to remain cautious around Xigbar, even though the hunter had shown no suspicion of him in the past.
Xigbar sat down on an upturned crate, heavily. Then he let his head fall in his hands, shit SHIT shit SHIT what WAS he going to do? "...Aw, fuck," he said, sighing. "Shit, I don't - well, you haven't seen him, have you? So there's still hope."
Aerith shook her head, slowly.
Xaldin remained standing and calm, "And if he has turned? What then? Don't be foolish and rely on hope alone." He knew he might be acting a little cold and harsh but Xaldin wasn't a very warm individual, even when he was still human.
Xigbar let out a ragged sigh. "...I don't know! He's my friend... I can't just run in guns ablazing, not without... I dunno. Talking to him." He felt bile rise in the back of his throat; he was still having trouble equating 'vampire' with 'friend'... he couldn't, wouldn't - didn't want to stop thinking of them as rabid animals who needed to be destroyed.
If Demyx was a vampire... then he wasn't his friend anymore. It was just that simple.
"And talking to him will accomplish what, exactly? Will it change your mind?" He was pushing too hard and had a feeling Xigbar was close to snapping. "Don’t think of everything in such simple ways, Xigbar. Things are much more complex. But if you need to talk with him then come, we need to go find him first." Xaldin didn't like where this was going but he had already made up his mind that he would defend Demyx if it came down to that.
"What do you know?" Xigbar snapped back, though he suddenly pushed up to his feet and out the door. Aerith didn't need to hear this. "Of course it's complicated, but goddamnit I don't have the luxury of seeing it like that! I've got a job to do, the only question is, what's more important, my job or my friend? And the only way I'm gonna know that is if I talk to him."
Xaldin shook his head slowly, "If it’s that difficult of a decision to choose between your job and your friends, then perhaps I've put too much faith in you." To Xaldin it seemed like a no-brainer; what good was a job if you had no friends? Though he also knew the equation simplified to being about looking out for oneself or someone else, and he supposed it was fairly natural for people to be selfish.
Xigbar stopped his frantic dash down the wharf, and stared at him, one eyebrow raised. "...What the hell are you talking about?" His tone was flippant but his lone eye was not, piercing and eerily yellow in the moonlight.
Xaldin hesitated for a brief moment. "I'm talking about how it should be obvious you should choose friends over your job and that you would be an idiot to do otherwise." He considered trying to plant suggestions in Xigbar’s mind but was slightly worried the hunter might notice so he refrained from doing so.
Xigbar blinked at him, gaze steady. "And what kind of friendship would I have if someone I knew became... someone I didn't know? And every time I'd see them, I wouldn't be able to stop thinking, thinking about what they could do and what they've done when I'm not there. You know the stories as well as I do, Xaldin, and there's no way I'm ever letting anyone in my head. No one messes with my thoughts. I'm not gonna let doubt into my friendships. It's cost me too much already, and I'm not throwing my life away for the sake of a connection."
Xaldin didn't have anything to say to that, or at least nothing that wouldn't give him away, which, considering Xigbar’s viewpoints would be an unwise decision. "You seem like you've made up your mind, so why bother talking to the boy at all?"
"Because maybe he's not a monster. Maybe he's the same guy, maybe there's... good vampires and bad vampires or something, maybe there's some secret I'm missing, maybe he's still my friend. Maybe I'm just hoping. Y'know? Hope's what keeps a guy alive, sometimes." Xigbar pulled his hat a little lower on his face and turned away, following the line of the uneven boards.
That caught Xaldin's attention and he wondered if he should just tell Xigbar now. "Xigbar...," he paused, not knowing exactly how to phrase it and waited for the hunters attention.
And Xigbar stopped and turned, irritation in every line of his body. "What NOW?"
Xaldin blinked, not having expected the outburst and thrown off guard by it. "There’s a lot of things you don't know..." he paused not sure if he should go on or not.
"Either start making sense or stop wasting my time," Xigbar replied gruffly, feeling kind of bad in the back of his mind but his thoughts were too jumbled to be any kind of nice.
"I'm one too." Xigbar's irritation brought out a burst of boldness in Xaldin, though he was much more hesitant a moment later when he said, "And Demyx... he was my fault."
Xigbar froze. He just... froze. ".................You're lying," he finally said shortly, turning and walking away, moving as fast as he could without breaking into a run.
Xaldin followed calmly after Xigbar. "Denial isn't healthy, Xigbar." At least he didn't get attacked, he thought.
"Shut up," Xigbar snarled. "Lying doesn't become you." Lies, lies, lies.
Xaldin growled, grabbing Xigbar's shoulder and turning him around to face him. "Have I ever lied to you before? And even if I started now, why would I lie about this?"
"Because I don't want to have to stop trusting you," Xigbar whispered, the soft roughness of his voice a sudden contrast to his yelling.
"You're an idiot." Xaldin turned and began walking away, "Come on, let's go find Demyx." It wasn’t that Xaldin didn’t care about what Xigbar had just said, but more that he didn't know how else to react to the words.
Xigbar didn't move though, except to tip his head down, and pull the brim of his hat lower, obscuring his face. "...You know where he is though, don't you?"
"Of course I do," Xaldin stopped when he realized Xigbar wasn't following. "This shouldn't change anything Xigbar. It only changes things if you want it to."
"....So tell me where he is. Otherwise it's just a waste of time, right?" He was still hidden in his hat and his coat and his eyepatch, his one good eye fixed firmly on the ground.
Xaldin's eyebrow rose, "I'll take you to him. Though I warn you, I will defend him if you try anything. He's nearby." Xaldin told himself he should be more on his guard, but somehow he trusted Xigbar enough to be relaxed.
Xigbar moved then, moved to walk in step with him as he always did. "I'd be a dead man if I got on your wrong side, and I've always known that. Jesus Christ Xaldin!!" Xigbar stopped dead again. "Why didn't you tell me?" D
"You never asked. And I don't make a habit of telling everyone I know, especially hunters." Xaldin made his way towards the bridge Demyx was at, this time not bothering to wait for Xigbar.
Xigbar scrambled off after him. "Wait... wait." He grabbed his arm. "...You turned Demyx? Why?"
Xaldin stopped then. He knew he didn't have an excuse or at least not one that would satisfy Xigbar. "...It was merely an issue of him being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It was not, however, completely against his will."
Xigbar let him go. Chilled... the other radiated cold, and he couldn't fathom how he hadn't seen it before. Late classes... indoors... never objecting to the hours Xigbar kept, only seeing him after dark, the paleness, the cold. But it had never occurred to him before. He took a step back and swallowed a bit, shaken. "...I believe you. I mean, you could've killed him, and..." He shook his head, then brushed past Xaldin, before remembering that the other was the one leading the way.
"Had I known you knew him I would have reacted differently," he said quietly and walked the rest of the way to the bridge.
"Differently how?" Xigbar questioned, tipping his head up to look at him.
"Perhaps I would have just let him go." Xaldin paused when he got to the bridge before walking down to the underside. "Demyx. I-- ...What are you doing?"
Demyx was under one of the stone bridges into the city. He was... god knows what he was trying to do, but apparently it involved a lot of attempting to crawl up the underside of the bridge, falling off and into the water, and walking back to dry land. “I can breathe. Underwater."
Xigbar, too, stopped to stare - but he just plain didn't have the words.
"Hn," Xaldin thought this over briefly before disregarding it. "Well, I brought Xigbar here to see you. He wants to talk."
"...Xigbar?" Demyx stood up, and hooked his thumbs in his belt. "What..."
But he was cut off, as Xigbar strode up to him. "Jesus Christ Demyx! Nine? NINE? You made the paper already and you've only been turned for - what, a day? Two days? You haven't been home, Aerith knows so don't even bother thinking you can hide it from her, I don't care if they were all swindlers and zealous watchmen but if you don't start being careful, I will personally remove your head. Got that?"
And then Xigbar noogied him.
Xaldin chuckled quietly, standing a bit off to the side. "So, besides being careless, how have you been Demyx?"
"Good." He straightened up, flicking his head to one side and running a hand through his strangely-cut hair, making it stand on end from the wet. Xigbar couldn't help a snort of laughter; he looked ridiculous. "And sure thing, old man, wouldn't want you soiling your pretty hands." He smirked at Xigbar, who shoved him in the shoulder.
Xaldin shook his head; where did he find ones like this? He was glad though, that Xigbar wasn't doing anything drastic and was taking everything relatively well.
"Get home. Talk to Aerith. And I was serious about that threat, okay? Besides..." His eyes flickered up to Xaldin for a moment. "Your buddy and I've got some talking to do."
Demyx raised an eyebrow, looked from one to the other... then smirked, shrugged, and took off - too fast, disappearing too quick into the shadows.
Only then did Xigbar heave a huuuuge sigh, and hunch inside his coat.
Xaldin watched Demyx leave before looking at Xigbar. "Talk?" Xaldin frowned slightly, he didn't like the sound of that.
"Yah. C'mon. Let's go back to my place. I've got a few questions for you; and you're not leaving til you answer 'em."
Xaldin sighed, "If the sun comes up, I'm staying at your place."
"Fine by me. You know that means I sleep, and I'm gettin' to hate the sun as much as one of you. Jesus." He rubbed at his good eye, wincing. "...It's gonna take some gettin' used to. Okay." And he set off back to his place, knowing Xaldin would follow.
And Xaldin did follow in his usual quiet manner. While he wasn't looking forward to a game of twenty questions, he supposed there could be worse experiences considering the night’s events.
. prologue . next chapter .
. credits .
xigbar, aerith, demyx: x-igrab
xaldin: clemmontine