AU: You're an Idiot (Vampire AU, Gryphon)

[Deleted]

Xun had had the night off, which was as rare as it was pleasant.  Being one of the more experienced hunters, he went out to scope for trouble on a regular basis, targetting newborn vampires and occasionally going after the older type, with help from his hunter friends.  Gryph, his roommate, had gone out with Junpei tonight, on what Xun figured would be a simple mission.  The vampire they were chasing was pretty young, and, as far as they knew, starving.  The two of them could take him out quickly.

He woke at the break of dawn the next morning and found that Gryph wasn't back yet.  It wasn't particularly troubling, but it was still slightly unusual.  Xun thought they would have killed the demon by now.  Ah well, certainly he and Junpei would return soon.  The Chinese man considered going down the block to check on Yue, but he convinced himself she was fine.

Xun went about his morning rituals, steeping a pot of green tea, doing some tai chi, cooking up some stir fry with bok choy and chicken.  Nothing out of the ordinary.  He kept glancing at the clock, wondering when his roommate would get home.  Certainly no more than an hour...

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Gryphon, once he'd left Kodi's... place of residence, had moved fairly swiftly to get back home. He was a bit disorientated at first, but quickly found a recognizable area of town and was able to track his home down from there.

But it wasn't finding his house that was the issue, it was the possibility of somehow getting inside without being spotted by his neighbours (who were all hunters) and not being seen by his roommate. The first was possible; the latter? There wasn't a single fucking chance.

The winged hunter reached the house and waited a moment before going in. He looked down at himself - his shirt was torn, he had bites all over him and he was out of breath. If Xun saw him, he was so screwed it wasn't even funny. He took out his keys and fumbled with them, finally unlocking the door and letting himself in.

Oh, fuck. The world couldn't be more cruel. Xun was literally standing mere metres away from him. Gryphon froze for a moment before trying to casually edge his way out of the room, but he wasn't stupid and neither was Xun. There was no escaping this.

That didn't mean he was gonna say anything.

[Deleted]

Ah, there he was. Xun had just poured his tea into a mug and was quietly sipping the liquid while he padded around checking a few various wards around the house when the front door opened, revealing his roommate. Right away, Xun knew something was off. The ragged state of his clothes, the disheveled hair, the way Gryph flinched when he saw Xun...

A moment later the scent hit Xun's nostrils, and he wheeled away, automatically reaching for his swords carefully hung on the nearby wall. Once he realized Gryphon wasn't coming after him like a vampire would, though, Xun blinked, brow furrowing in confusion. Why the hell did he reek of the demons if he wasn't one? He would have practically had to sleep with one to be-

Oh. Oh, no.

".... Gryphon." It wasn't a question, and the Chinese man's voice demanded attention. "What is the meaning of this?" Xun dared to step closer, and it was then that he saw not just the one expected bite on his neck, but numerous others on his arms and presumably more riddled over his body. He knew of Gryph's reasons for why he had become a hunter; that his old boyfriend had disappeared, presumably killed by the vampires that lurked around the edges of their society. Xun had always been suspicious about the fact that his body had never been found, and it was with this reasoning that he felt able to make an assumption. "Kodi is one of them, isn't he?"

He had several more questions, but he wanted to get this initial hump out of the way first.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

"Gryphon."

He jolted to a stop at the sound of his own name, cursing inwardly. It was like he was a little kid again, who'd obviously gotten into trouble but would say much -or anything at all- about it. He looked at the other hunter for a second as he approached, and then flicked his eyes away guiltily. "I... have no idea what you're talkin' about."

Of course he did, he was just being stupid, that's what.

A pang of longing, one that Kodi himself would most likely feel, or know of, ran through his core at the sound of his lover's name. Gryph thought about denying it again, but... he just nodded. He stood, awkwardly scuffing his feet on the ground and shifting his weight, but not leaving the spot. If he ran off, it would just be more suspicious. Hopefully, this wouldn't turn into some interrogation.

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Xun's eyes narrowed as Gryph denied him an answer. Xun liked the guy. He did - he wouldn't have been rooming with him otherwise. He just didn't show his affection all that often, except through tough love. And right now, there was more tough than the latter. "Don't lie to me, Gryphon." His voice lacked venom, and he spoke quietly, but he wanted Gryph to know he wasn't messing around. Xun's nose wrinkled. "Do you even realize how much you reek of the creatures?"

And, hell, the guy was covered in bites. There was no denying anything, not by a long shot, even if Xun wasn't as perceptive as he was. At least, he figured, Gryphon admitted to the part about Kodi. Which, then, led Xun on to other assumptions. "He didn't kill you." An obvious statement. "Yet you've been pierced far more times than you would have had you just managed to escape harm." It looked like Gryph had just let the guy go to town on him. "... He responded well to you," he went on, lifting a hand to brush against the wound on Gryph's neck. "He remembered you." Yes... That was the only explanation.

".... Ta ma de, you imprinted with the demon, didn't you?" he hissed, features going dark. The bites were far too well along in the healing process for them to have just happened last night; another indicator. "Ai-ya! Are you an idiot?!" Xun hardly ever rose his voice; now was a rare exception.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

He and Xun weren't extremely close, but they were close enough. From Gryph's point of view, they both cared about the other's well-being, and Xun had helped Gryphon a lot with becoming a hunter and teaching him things. Alarm bells were ringing though, and it was clear that Xun was nothing more than deadly serious.

Gryph hadn't even considered his smell... that was probably a dead giveaway. Why didn't he do something about it beforehand?! He really wasn't helping himself.

Gryphon said nothing as Xun analyzed what happened through his appearance. He listened, and flinched when the more experienced hunter touched his neck, pulling away from him a little. What happened next was something that Gryph had never seen before, and that fact alone chilled him to the core.

A foot went behind him, taking a step back. He was on the verge of sprinting away, as words with such volume came blasting out of Xun's mouth. But, instead of feeling his fear grow, he grew a little angry. Xun knew about imprinting and never said a single fucking word. "It's not like I chose for it t'happen!" He fought back, "I didn't even know what it was! I still don't really understand it!" He knew he wasn't helping himself at all, but he... his mind began to falter, like it always did under pressure, "I just- I, urgh!" He stopped trying to talk, finding that it only built his frustration. He took deep breaths and closed his eyes, only just beginning to notice a kind of... strain he was feeling. What was that...

[Deleted]

Xun set his swords aside and ran a frustrated hand through his hair, trying to determine what to do about this. As far as he knew, no hunter in their right mind had ever imprinted on a vampire before. They were usually logical enough and fast enough not to let emotion get to them, even when times got hard and loved ones were involved. But Gryphon, he was still new, he didn't even know about the process, and now Xun was wondering if he could have prevented this by telling him...

He knew he probably shouldn't have been so aggressive about his response, then, but he just couldn't help it. Xun took a deep breath and calmed himself as Gryph shouted back at him, determined not to get into a shouting match. They were pointless and tiring. "I know," he stated a little more quietly. "I'm sorry I never told you about it. I didn't think it was necessary..." He should have, though. Xun should have seen this coming.

When Gryph sputtered into silence, Xun took the chance to explain his concern. "Did Kodi explain to you what imprinting is?" he asked, still eyeing the numerous bite marks. Ugh, Xun didn't even want to think about his roommate... Having intercourse with one of those monsters. It was sickening. "It's their way of controlling you. Knowing where you are, manipulating your emotions so you don't know if you really feel a certain way or it's their doing... Did he tell you that?" Unlikely.

Xun sighed again, pacing back and forth. "You can't be a hunter anymore," he stated flatly. "We can't trust you. You could lead them to us. You... You need to leave." It hurt the Chinese man's heart to say it, but it was necessary. "Where is he? Hiding somewhere?" He doubted Gryphon would answer.

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

Maybe Gryphon wasn't in his right mind. Didn't he understand? After having gone a time thinking that you'd never see someone again... and then having them appear back into your life - was he just supposed to ignore Kodi completely? It was too late for anything like that now, in any case.

Gryph could've scoffed. Of course it was fucking necessary.

He took the oppurtunity to try, at least, to calm himself down, as Xun... explained what imprinting was. Of course, his view of it would be twisted to some kind of distorted nightmare. "He told me about it, yeah. But it wasn't as fucked up as that." That was... most probably the worst thing to say.

The winged man's eyes widened, what?! It made sense, but... seriously?! "You... Xun, you can't, please!" If he wasn't a hunter... crap, where would he live? How would he get food... how would he survive? There was probably something he could do, but his mind was shaken now.

"As if I would tell you." Yeah, he was gonna be like that. It did seem dodgy, the whole imprinting process, but he was more inclined to believe Kodi over Xun. If that was a bad desicion to make, so be it.

[Deleted]

Xun had never grown so attached to someone that he could understand what Gryph was going through. He could imagine, but he'd like to think he would have behaved differently in the same situation. Maybe he was as cold as some people thought.

He resisted releasing a frustrated growl at Gryph's response to his explanation. "Of course he wouldn't explain it like that," he replied, trying to speak with patience. "He's the one that did it to you. You... Can't trust a vampire, Gryphon. I know he looks like Kodi, and probably acts like him, but... He's dead. He's a monster." Subtlety was not one of his strong suits.

Xun nearly winced at his roommate's reaction, but he gritted his teeth and stood his ground. "I can't risk the lives of other people - other hunters - because of what happened to you," he said a little more softly. "Think about it, Gryphon. Kodi knows where you are as we speak. We're fortunate it's morning, otherwise we might have them at our doors already." The sooner Gryphon got out, the better. "I'm sorry. I really am. But I don't have another choice."

His jaw tightened, but he had expected that answer. "You know if any of us find him, we'll have no choice but to kill him," he said lowly. "I... I would suggest grabbing your things, going to him, and leaving town." Xun sighed and reached a hand out to touch Gryph's shoulder. "I care about you. I really do. But... I have to think about who we're protecting. If we get decimated, the city doesn't stand a chance."

[Gryphon Matsuoka]

"He is not a monster." Gryphon seethed. The number of times he'd had to tell Kodi that, and now Xun thought he was one too? If you were speaking in technical terms, then he could be classed as a monster, yes. But he would never use that word to label his lover. He was oblivious to how naive or senseless he may or may not have been being. He had Kodi back... what his form was was irrelevant to him.

Gryph considered what Xun was saying for a moment, turning away so he didn't have to look at the other hunter. He couldn't make sense of this... his ideas of responsibility and understanding were threading back into his conscious thoughts, but... he would always trust Kodi. Besides, the vampire was on his own right now, to Gryphon's knowledge. And he knew that he wouldn't go anywhere unless Gryphon came into danger... hopefully he hadn't picked up the hunter's anger and thought to do something about it. And yes, to Gryph, he was still a hunter. That would probably change soon, and if anything... it was for the best. If he wasn't a hunter, he had absolutely no reason to hurt Kodi at all.

The winged man sighed, muscles tightening as a hand was laid on his shoulder. He paused for a moment before shrugging it off and turning around to face Xun, a look of cold indifference on his face. He understood... but... he was allowed to be upset about it. He scanned the hunter's face for a moment, before giving in and walking away, to go gather his belongings. He wouldn't be able to change Xun's mind, and... and... he wanted to get away from here anyway. If people were threatening Kodi, they were threatening Gryphon too.

[Deleted]

Xun opened his mouth to give a retort, but then just sighed, knowing it was useless. For all he knew, Kodi could be manipulating Gryphon's feelings as they spoke. This entire conversation could have been tainted by the demon's work.

He watched silently as his roommate seemed to wrestle with his emotions. Gryph was smart, Xun knew he would understand his reasoning, but that didn't make it easy to accept. He simply could not trust someone who had been so close with the enemy they were sworn to kill.

Xun sighed and pulled his hand back as Gryph shrugged it off, meeting the man's cold stare with his own expressionless one. He said nothing, but silently, he thought, he was being kind. Some other hunters not as close to Gryphon might suggest just killing him before he could do any more damage (because sooner or later, Xun was sure he would become a vampire himself). Either that, or they would use Gryph as bait to lure in the vampire that had imprinted on him, and kill them both. No, he was being very kind, and would have to come up with an excuse as to where Gryphon had gone. He wondered what Junpei thought.

.... Where was Junpei? Surely he wouldn't have let this happen...?