SOL short story - Ven and Briony
HELLO EVERYONE i got bored of editing pieces for competitions/anthologies and i wanted to write something else so here have some young!Ven&Briony
Kinda general trigger warnings. They're both sad and their life is sucky but the ending is happy so there you go
pretty much unedited except one read through tbh
also i've had a lot of chocolate today whoops
There was a drip in their cell.
Sometimes, Ven counted the time with it. Sometimes he’d watch it. Mostly it just drove him crazy.
He’d pace as it dripped. Briony would watch, huddled against the wall. Her arms would be wrapped around her legs, knees to her chest. She kept herself as small and harmless looking as possible.
Ven hadn’t got to the stage. He wondered if he would, and what it would take for him to get there. He was too angry to stay still. His exhaustion and hopelessness hadn’t yet drowned it out. He both wanted and feared the moment that happened
.
The anger had driven him for so long until he forgot what it was like to have something else inside him. It had eaten up everything else inside him long ago, but he reckoned it was about the time he watched his mum die that he lost whatever other traces there may have been.
Even thinking about it made his hands curl into fists. Nails - nails that were human and then sharpened and grew - dug into his palm. The skin, only recently healed, split again. Blood dripped to the floor in unison with the water from the ceiling. Briony watched. Ven paced. His vision tinted red. There was no point fighting to reign the Alpha wolf inside him in, and besides, he’d lost the ability to long ago. The anger was both his anchor to his human side and the fuel for his wolf, somehow.
Ven would have hated the mindless boredom if he didn’t know what they used to break the monotony. He focused on breathing for a moment, forgetting to pace, as he struggled to push the fear back. He found the anger again to keep it in check. It was easier to be angry than afraid.
It was easier until they came back, anyway.
The time when his anger couldn’t carry him on anymore was coming, and it would have terrified him if he wasn’t too tired and hurt to care. He sat next to Briony most of the time, either staying silent for days or recalling the handful of memories they had with their mother that constituted the only happiness they’d ever been familiar with. They were so well handled that they were worn and faded, but he still spoke about it.
They didn’t speak about much else; not trying to find a way out (they’d given up months ago), not about their sorry excuse for a pack (then or now), and not about what would happen to them. Sometimes Ven wanted to push the council until they snapped and ended it for him, but then he’d leave Briony to them. His mother’s words rang too clear in his head for him to be selfish like that.
His exhaustion left him a shadow of what the anger had made him, and even that was fading fast.
There was nothing to suggest that night was going to be different than the usual. The lock clanked and the latch opened far up the hall. Whoever took up the other cells moved about or yelled or whimpered. Ven stayed silent and waited patiently. Briony shook beside him.
Ven noticed the silence that fell on the others, but he didn’t pay much attention to it. The vampire who stopped in front of his cell was new, or at least one that Ven hadn’t seen before. He recognised the blank expression over his face, the one that masked whatever they felt or feared or wanted. He saw the bulge of the jaw and the narrowing eyes and that was the thing to confuse him.
“Ven. Briony.”
Ven looked up at him with hate in his eyes, the only type of anger he could summon up these days. Briony continued to look at the floor.
The vampire let out a long breath to calm himself. “My name is Quinn.”
It meant nothing to him at the time, of course. The others though, waves of murmurs and whispers went through the cells. Quinn unlocked - or broke - the door, and walked in. He stopped and crouched down in front of them, wrinkling his nose. At the smell or their pitiful appearance, or both, Ven didn’t care. “I’m here to help you.”
Ven’s expression didn’t change. He waited for the punch line without any hope. If it was a new way to break him, he wasn’t going to fall for it.
Quinn sighed and hung his head for a few moments. “Why do you have to start making things difficult for me now, Ven?” he said it under his breath. “Please come with me, both of you.”
“She stays.”
Quinn opened his mouth to disagree and Ven shot forward, one hand curling in the front of the vampire’s shirt. “She stays, or so help me I will tear you to pieces with my teeth.”
Quinn’s hand wrapped around Ven. He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” A strange, sterilised smell made his nose twitch. Something pricked his arm and almost immediately his vision swam and his eyes went cloudy. He grabbed for the vampire but his hand wouldn’t close; his mouth wouldn’t move. He couldn’t even plead on Briony’s behalf.
When Ven woke up on the bed, he couldn’t get out fast enough. He stumbled half way across the room without taking any of his surroundings in, and then the effects of the sedative and his weakness from the years with the council caught up with him and he stumbled and fell.
“Ven?”
“Briony?” Ven pushed himself up but the room twisted and dizziness kept him against the floor. “I - I don’t - was that a -?”
“A bed? Yeah.” He felt her cool hands on his feverish forehead. “I didn’t know what to do, so I followed him. We’re outside the compound but I don’t know what’s going on,” she whispered.
“I’ll get us out,” Ven promised. “When I can see.” He rolled over, waiting to see if he was going to be sick. “And move.”
“If you two get out, you can do so with my blessing.”
The voice made him scramble upright - at least to sit up - and he saw Quinn standing at the door. His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets and he leaned against the door frame.
“What do you mean?” Ven bit out.
“I mean that I’ll let you leave if that’s what you want. I’ll give you money and a house and you can live your life.”
Ven said nothing. He doubted his ability to live; he’d merely survived for too long. “And what’s in it for you?”
“I get to piss off the Council.” He shrugged. “Nothing better in life than that.”
Ven narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, right. What do you want? You got us out, apparently, so why? We have no money, no pack to bail us out, and no skills between the two of us. If you as much as touch my sister -“
“Ven, I don’t want anything like that. I want to take the Council down. I saved you because you have more reason than anyone to want to help, but if you don’t want to, then I’ll give you money and a house, like I said.”
Ven blinked. “Right. As if it’s just that easy.”
“Of course it’s not,” Quinn scoffed. “It’s going to take years of training and perfecting plans and even then, people will die. That’s why I’m giving you a -“
“I’ll do it.”
Ven jumped as Briony spoke up beside him. “Bree?”
She stared at him, her eyes so close to dead it was like looking in a mirror. “Do you think they won’t try to find us? Or take us back if they ran across us? Do you think we’d ever be able to stop looking over our backs?”
“We don’t even know if -“
Briony gave a bitter laugh. “How could it possibly get worse for us? What do we have to lose?”
“I could lose you,” Ven hissed.
“And I’ve been losing you for months,” Briony returned. She stared at Quinn, who watched them with a shadow over his face. “Who are you?”
He gave a small smile. The darkness lifted. “Quinn. I’m the Council’s most hated person in the world, and I’m going to be the one to take them down or die trying.”
Kinda general trigger warnings. They're both sad and their life is sucky but the ending is happy so there you go
pretty much unedited except one read through tbh
also i've had a lot of chocolate today whoops
There was a drip in their cell.
Sometimes, Ven counted the time with it. Sometimes he’d watch it. Mostly it just drove him crazy.
He’d pace as it dripped. Briony would watch, huddled against the wall. Her arms would be wrapped around her legs, knees to her chest. She kept herself as small and harmless looking as possible.
Ven hadn’t got to the stage. He wondered if he would, and what it would take for him to get there. He was too angry to stay still. His exhaustion and hopelessness hadn’t yet drowned it out. He both wanted and feared the moment that happened
.
The anger had driven him for so long until he forgot what it was like to have something else inside him. It had eaten up everything else inside him long ago, but he reckoned it was about the time he watched his mum die that he lost whatever other traces there may have been.
Even thinking about it made his hands curl into fists. Nails - nails that were human and then sharpened and grew - dug into his palm. The skin, only recently healed, split again. Blood dripped to the floor in unison with the water from the ceiling. Briony watched. Ven paced. His vision tinted red. There was no point fighting to reign the Alpha wolf inside him in, and besides, he’d lost the ability to long ago. The anger was both his anchor to his human side and the fuel for his wolf, somehow.
Ven would have hated the mindless boredom if he didn’t know what they used to break the monotony. He focused on breathing for a moment, forgetting to pace, as he struggled to push the fear back. He found the anger again to keep it in check. It was easier to be angry than afraid.
It was easier until they came back, anyway.
The time when his anger couldn’t carry him on anymore was coming, and it would have terrified him if he wasn’t too tired and hurt to care. He sat next to Briony most of the time, either staying silent for days or recalling the handful of memories they had with their mother that constituted the only happiness they’d ever been familiar with. They were so well handled that they were worn and faded, but he still spoke about it.
They didn’t speak about much else; not trying to find a way out (they’d given up months ago), not about their sorry excuse for a pack (then or now), and not about what would happen to them. Sometimes Ven wanted to push the council until they snapped and ended it for him, but then he’d leave Briony to them. His mother’s words rang too clear in his head for him to be selfish like that.
His exhaustion left him a shadow of what the anger had made him, and even that was fading fast.
There was nothing to suggest that night was going to be different than the usual. The lock clanked and the latch opened far up the hall. Whoever took up the other cells moved about or yelled or whimpered. Ven stayed silent and waited patiently. Briony shook beside him.
Ven noticed the silence that fell on the others, but he didn’t pay much attention to it. The vampire who stopped in front of his cell was new, or at least one that Ven hadn’t seen before. He recognised the blank expression over his face, the one that masked whatever they felt or feared or wanted. He saw the bulge of the jaw and the narrowing eyes and that was the thing to confuse him.
“Ven. Briony.”
Ven looked up at him with hate in his eyes, the only type of anger he could summon up these days. Briony continued to look at the floor.
The vampire let out a long breath to calm himself. “My name is Quinn.”
It meant nothing to him at the time, of course. The others though, waves of murmurs and whispers went through the cells. Quinn unlocked - or broke - the door, and walked in. He stopped and crouched down in front of them, wrinkling his nose. At the smell or their pitiful appearance, or both, Ven didn’t care. “I’m here to help you.”
Ven’s expression didn’t change. He waited for the punch line without any hope. If it was a new way to break him, he wasn’t going to fall for it.
Quinn sighed and hung his head for a few moments. “Why do you have to start making things difficult for me now, Ven?” he said it under his breath. “Please come with me, both of you.”
“She stays.”
Quinn opened his mouth to disagree and Ven shot forward, one hand curling in the front of the vampire’s shirt. “She stays, or so help me I will tear you to pieces with my teeth.”
Quinn’s hand wrapped around Ven. He took a deep breath. “I’m sorry.” A strange, sterilised smell made his nose twitch. Something pricked his arm and almost immediately his vision swam and his eyes went cloudy. He grabbed for the vampire but his hand wouldn’t close; his mouth wouldn’t move. He couldn’t even plead on Briony’s behalf.
When Ven woke up on the bed, he couldn’t get out fast enough. He stumbled half way across the room without taking any of his surroundings in, and then the effects of the sedative and his weakness from the years with the council caught up with him and he stumbled and fell.
“Ven?”
“Briony?” Ven pushed himself up but the room twisted and dizziness kept him against the floor. “I - I don’t - was that a -?”
“A bed? Yeah.” He felt her cool hands on his feverish forehead. “I didn’t know what to do, so I followed him. We’re outside the compound but I don’t know what’s going on,” she whispered.
“I’ll get us out,” Ven promised. “When I can see.” He rolled over, waiting to see if he was going to be sick. “And move.”
“If you two get out, you can do so with my blessing.”
The voice made him scramble upright - at least to sit up - and he saw Quinn standing at the door. His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets and he leaned against the door frame.
“What do you mean?” Ven bit out.
“I mean that I’ll let you leave if that’s what you want. I’ll give you money and a house and you can live your life.”
Ven said nothing. He doubted his ability to live; he’d merely survived for too long. “And what’s in it for you?”
“I get to piss off the Council.” He shrugged. “Nothing better in life than that.”
Ven narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, right. What do you want? You got us out, apparently, so why? We have no money, no pack to bail us out, and no skills between the two of us. If you as much as touch my sister -“
“Ven, I don’t want anything like that. I want to take the Council down. I saved you because you have more reason than anyone to want to help, but if you don’t want to, then I’ll give you money and a house, like I said.”
Ven blinked. “Right. As if it’s just that easy.”
“Of course it’s not,” Quinn scoffed. “It’s going to take years of training and perfecting plans and even then, people will die. That’s why I’m giving you a -“
“I’ll do it.”
Ven jumped as Briony spoke up beside him. “Bree?”
She stared at him, her eyes so close to dead it was like looking in a mirror. “Do you think they won’t try to find us? Or take us back if they ran across us? Do you think we’d ever be able to stop looking over our backs?”
“We don’t even know if -“
Briony gave a bitter laugh. “How could it possibly get worse for us? What do we have to lose?”
“I could lose you,” Ven hissed.
“And I’ve been losing you for months,” Briony returned. She stared at Quinn, who watched them with a shadow over his face. “Who are you?”
He gave a small smile. The darkness lifted. “Quinn. I’m the Council’s most hated person in the world, and I’m going to be the one to take them down or die trying.”