AU: My Place Among The Ashes (Finn, Vamps)

[Deleted]

Mid-1600s, Somewhere in Europe or Russia or somewhere, it's an AU, deal with the lack of proper setting!

Hunters were the most tenacious sort of humans. And, in all truth, the scariest. Osiris remembered what humans were capable of; the cruelty and ruthlessness they showed his ‘mother’ when they finally caught her. They had bound her so she could not grab them, gouged her eyes so she could not mesmerize them, and tore out her tongue so she could not speak her words of manipulation. They left her tied up like a scarecrow to smolder slowly in the heat of the sun, then shading her to keep her alive as long as possible, so as to draw out the other one. To draw out Osiris.

Their eyes were like that of the worst kind of demons, he remembered, and that terrified him. Osiris fled like the child he was back then. And now, they had returned, only this time they had their eyes on the coven. On Rosalind’s coven. The lady vampires who had taken him in some five decades ago, after he’d spent another half century wandering alone after his ‘mother’ was murdered. They had come back and were on a mission to eradicate every last nos in their house.

There were too many. There was no chance of victory, not even if they all fought against them. It would be their death. Osiris wanted to live. He wanted to live. And so he hid himself and once again watched as his people - his family - were murdered before his very eyes. Every time he told himself to go out there and fight, to uphold the vows he made in Lady Rosalind’s name, a new well of terror would swell up within him and he'd cower once again.

The battle seemed to last for ages. When it was over, the hunters gathered the corpses of the fallen nos and burned them. They did the same to the house itself, decimating every last wood and stone it was built from. Osiris stayed hidden, having barricaded himself behind the steel bars of the waterways. He did not emerge when the last of the hunters seemed to leave. He did not emerge when the last of the fires finally turned into a slow, glowing smolder. He did not emerge even as he felt his hunger start to rise while his mind faded beneath it. His crimson eyes glowed within the darkness of that channel and his sense of time vanished as he watched and waited for someone, something, anything to find him.

[Finn Eogeum]

In his earlier days, Finn was known to wander. He hadn't been further than his house and his school when he was a child, and only after that had he began to look further than homely things. But then one day, during a vacant walk in the twilight, he ran into Rue and now he was in the position he was - yet despite the lesson he should have learned from that day, he kept wandering. He would continue to do so until he had believed he had seen enough of the world around him to satisfy, and then he would return home, to the coven. Rue's coven, even if that was more of a recent thing than anything, apparently. Finn didn't mind, he had good leadership qualities. He felt assured that the older vampire would do a good job.

But for now, he was wandering, and he was nowhere near the coven - when you saw a fire so big, you checked it out. Rue had said it was dangerous to do so, when Finn had casually brought it up in conversation, but he hadn't been asking permission to do what he wanted to. He understood the reasonings - a fire usually meant people, and going near people for anything other than gathering food was risky, and there had been a lot of hunters there recently. Well, the last one was a half-assumption, but he'd be able to tell completely once he was closer by.

And when he was, he hated the main smell. Burning corpses, which probably meant burning vampires, along with the smell of hunters. It was clear what had happened, and it was terrifying to think about. Maybe he should tell Rue, they could look for... hmm... Finn was sure he could smell a live one, and stupidly called out, "Hello? If anyone here?" As he searched.

He spotted something near the waterways and decided to investigate. As he got closer - yes, this was a young vampire, not a human, good, gooood - he spoke again, "I'm like you. I'm fairly certain of what happened here." He sighed, "I'm sorry for your loss, if you were one of them." He spotted the boyish looking vampire and remained a good distance away, "....hi." He smiled. He wondered if Rue wanted any new additions, but this boy was obviously smart, if he had survived something like this.

[Deleted]

How long had it been? A day? A week? Had he gone completely mad from hunger and been nesting there for an eternity? Osiris could barely think a few thoughts past his basic primal instincts. He would not emerge, and they couldn’t make him!

He smelled something. It had a familiar-ish smell, but Osiris didn’t recognize it. That meant….it was one of them, wasn’t it? He moved not a muscle in his hiding spot, keeping his eyes on the entrance to the waterway tunnel, preparing himself to lash out at whatever it was out there should it venture too close.

There it was! And it was coming closer. Osiris tensed. It made sounds from it’s mouth, but with his mind warped as it was, Finn may as well have been speaking gibberish, for all Osiris understood. Osiris pulled back further against the stone behind him, growling like a cornered animal. When Finn offered his simple greeting, Osiris only hissed.

[Finn Eogeum]

Finn's brow furrowed. Either something was wrong here, or this vampire was part snake and didn't understand human words or customs. Maybe he was foreign. That would be understandable. Finn tried a bit of Korean - what he could remember, at least, "<...hello?>" He said carefully, still frowning, "<Korean?>" That was a big assumption to make, "I don't want to hurt you, we're like... brothers. I couldn't harm you." Finn was slowly developing a different perspective when it came to humans, though. Humans were not his brothers anymore.

It was only then that he slightly sensed that aura of bloodlust, and he blinked, "You... haven't eaten?" Hmm, interesting. Without another word, Finn sprinted off in the blink of an eye, located the nearest human and quickly knocked them out. Mmm, it smelt goood~... but Finn could get his own food later. He heaved the breathing body over his shoulder and returned to the younger vampire (if he was still there).

Once he spotted the boy again, Finn bit into the human's neck and they seemed to stir a little. The vampire could sense their heartbeat getting faster and before he slipped into the temptation of taking the meal for himself, he took the body over and lay the woman down in front of the hostile vampire, "It's all yours. Still fresh."

[Deleted]

The new sounds that the creature made were…..both more and less familiar. They sparked a memory within him that reminded him of home. What home? Where was home? No, his home had been destroyed. They were all destroyed. And this was just a trick to make him come out so they could get him too! He couldn’t….. “<…liar…>” he replied in his more familiar tongue. Even that much sounded strange on his ears, though.

Osiris continued to glare, his eyes narrowing when the other vampire guessed correctly of his extreme hunger. Though when he disappeared….Osiris found himself searching through the small opening for any sign of his return. He….hadn’t been left behind, had he? Where’d he go??

There was silence, but Osiris kept his ears alert, listening for anything that might indicate the other vampire’s return. He…didn’t want to be left alone…!

Though when a lump of squirming flesh was deposited before him….this wasn’t another trick, was it? He wasn’t going to be killed or caught if he…just….gave it a little taste, right? Osiris inched closer to the warm body, the scent of it’s adrenaline filled blood filling his senses. Before he knew it, Osiris was scampering out of his hiding place and sinking his teeth into the neck of that twitching female. He drank…and drank…and drank until her veins were left completely dry. As he did, tears began to spill down his cheeks. Osiris whimpered.

[Finn Eogeum]

Korean it was then, seeing as this vampire seemed to be more comfortable with it. Finn wasn't certain of the situation here - everyone had a story, and they weren't all like him - but he felt the need to give aid, whether this stranger asked for it or wanted it or not. "<I don't lie.>" He said bluntly. No, lying made problems and wasted time. Better to be honest.

The offering of food was like... a peace offering. A kind of vampire-ish friendship bracelet, if you will. It wasn't tainted, it wasn't poisoned; maybe Finn should have expected more hostility from someone who felt so vulnerable... but there wasn't any. In fact, there was mainly desperation. Finn only flinched slightly when the younger one began to drink, just from how quickly he had moved at first.

Finn went to ask a question - the boy's name or something - but he stopped himself when he heard tears. No, wait, he saw tears, he heard little wavering sounds which had alerted him to the tears. It was a system, it all worked out-- anyway, he was distracted. Finn furrowed his brow, "<...do you not like drinking?>" The lady had smelt good, and he seemed happy to dive right in, it wouldn't make sense if he didn't. He knelt in front of the crying boy, "<You shouldn't be doing this in front of me, I'm terrible with emotions.>" Mmm... his Korean was all flowing back to him now. That was good. Tentatively, he wiped at one of the boy's cheeks with his thumb. "<I'm Finn, by the way. I used to be Eogeum Hwan, but that name sounds dumb.>" He smiled, feeling awkwardly, "<I hope I'm actually helping you.>"

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Of course he lied, everybody lied! They always did…. But Osiris wasn’t thinking straight. Had he been, he would be much calmer, less animalistic, more trusting….or at least more resourceful pending this stranger turned out to be untrustworthy. If he wasn’t so hungry, he could think…! But…better to go mad and be alive, than risk death for a scrappy meal. Otherwise…they would get him too! Just like they got the others…

He was such a coward.

This was partially the reason why he was crying. Why didn’t he go out there with them? Why did he run away? Of course the answer was the other half. He was afraid. Humans….hunters scared him. They were the worst demons in existence, he wanted nothing to do with them! And so he ran. And hid. For days. Maybe weeks? He didn’t even know. But….he was scared. And afraid that nobody would find him….or if someone did, they would be one of them.

The boy shook his head, indicating Finn’s assumption as wrong, as he kept his teeth latched onto the dying woman. She wasn’t the best he’d ever had, far from it, but she satiated his hunger just the same, enough that he could feel his mind returning with every drop until her body went completely limp. The young vampire looked up from his donated meal and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. “<Sorry,>” he said, wiping his tears with his other. Name…what was it? “<I don’t remember my real name,>” he mumbled sadly. “<But they called me ‘Osiris’.>” They being the ladies of this coven…and the woman whom he called ‘mother’ for the first 50 or so years of his ‘life’.

“<……they’re all dead now….>” he said. Osiris’ face was a complicated mix of sad, sour, and shameful. “<I let them die….>”

[Finn Eogeum]

So far, Finn could only go off of what he had seen and what had been said, which was very little. He was pretty certain he was right though - hunters had come and burned down some vampires' home, and this boy was one of the remainders, struggling to process the situation. Either that or this boy had done the burning himself, which... was hard to believe. Crying wasn't easily interpreted, so it could go either way... ahhhhhhh.... at least Finn hadn't been hurt at all during all this, Rue would have gone crazy.

Well, this blood was helping this young vampire a lot. He could say young because Finn sensed that whoever this was was younger than him. Heh.

Finn nodded, "<It's okay.>" Vampirism had multiple effects on the mind, one of which was loss of memory. Finn only knew his name because... well, he wasn't sure. It was one of the only things he remembered after being turned, and it was something he didn't like. Sheesh. He was nodding again, though, "<Okay, Osiris. So do you...>"

He was going to ask if the other boy wanted to change his name. Osiris didn't come off the tongue easily, and the boy seemed kind of reluctant to it, but he kind of trailed off due to the expression on the other vampire's face. As a human, Finn has been rather... ignorant to these kinds of things, but you learned to understand them after multiple years of existence. He frowned, "<You...?>" His frown cut deeper into his face, and he crossed his legs, "<Well... unless you brought the hunters here or did this yourself...>" Finn was struggling to find useful words, "<....I would have hidden too. I can fight, but Rue would have told me not to.>" He said this as if Osiris would have knowledge of who Rue was. "<....do you want to stay here?>" He asked abruptly, now that Rue was on his thoughts, "<Because... cause I come from a coven with lots and lots of vampires, we... we can take care of you.>" Okay, maybe that was a slight exaggeration, there weren't hundreds but there were quite a few.

Belatedly, he added, "<Oh... and, um... sorry for your loss...es....>" Sigh. Finn wasn't good enough in these situations yet.

[Deleted]

As his belly was filled, and his mind calmed, and his nerves settled, memories of the event started to fade from the forefront of his thoughts.  Indeed the memories were still there, he would never forget for as long as he lived…but he was no longer incapacitated by them.  He wasn’t reliving them, over and over and over again as he dwelled on the worst things he’d seen.   Osiris didn’t like dwelling.
 
As for the stranger, Osiris still wasn’t certain he could be trusted. From just a glance, and a good whiff of his nose, Osiris could tell he was older.  Not by much though, he was still relatively young in comparison to his Ladyship.  And….he had his own coven smell…that didn’t mean he wasn’t a ‘bad guy’, though. Osiris still planned on being cautious.

It was a lie, that he didn’t know his real name. Osiris’ memories from when he was turned and from before were all more or less intact. He was silently glad when Finn didn’t press further. It wasn’t simply not something he gave out to people and wasn’t something he planned on using again…though it was true that the name “Osiris” didn’t come entirely with very fond memories either…

Osiris listened vaguely to Finn’s awkward words, his eyes downcast in guilt for not being able to serve his duty in the coven that was destroyed. <“….I should have died with them….I should have….”> Tears started streaming freely from his eyes and he closed them, his face twisted in pain and despair. The older vampire’s words were true, yes, but that didn’t make him feel less guilty. And pathetic. <“I can fight, too! And I….I told them I would….and I didn’t!”> he wailed, wiping the tears from his eyes again. <“…..I was scared…..”> But that wasn’t a valid enough excuse, he decided. Jackson swallowed, still tasting the blood of the human in his mouth, and looked up at Finn when he spoke of his own coven. Then he lowered his head again. <“….you don’t want me…..I’ll just disappoint you….”> What if the same thing happened to them too? It was better if Jackson just went back to wandering by himself.

Though….

Osiris snorted the tiniest of laughs and met his gaze with Finn’s, the smallest of smiles touching his lips. “You’re not very good at this, are you…?” Well, Osiris wasn’t either, but Finn’s lame attempts at trying were amusing enough to lighten his mood a little. Just a little.

[Finn Eogeum]

It was alright to be sad about things lost - Finn knew that well himself. He’d been fairly upset when he was first turned, considering how delicate a person he used to be, and how scary turning was. A stranger coming up to you in the dark and biting you and pain and losing all your blood and…. and it was scary. And he knew his life wouldn’t ever be the same after then, so he’d grieved over it. Now, however, he was happy with his existence. If anything, maybe it was better this way. He wasn’t sure, but it didn’t matter. He was happy as he was. Hopefully Osiris would take the same from this - live (ish), learn and move on to a happier existence.

Hey, at least he was still alive!

Finn didn’t know what to say to Osiris’ insistence. Agreeing would be the worst thing to do, but actually saying he shouldn’t have died with his coven was still bad… ahh… um…. nope, Finn didn’t know what to say. Or do. Why did he have to be crying, ahhh~! Tears were difficult… Finn’s first thoughts on how to deal with distress was to be honest and clear, but… but that wasn’t working…. mrahh… “<...you’re young…. I’d be scared too, you don’t need to be ashamed of that.>” Having ability and using it were two different things, two very different things, and it was hard to make decisions under pressure, in Finn’s experience. He thought for a couple moments, “<We’re… we’re skillful, and we teach each other. You don’t know what you’ll do until you do it.>” And Rue would be okay with a new recruit…. probably. There was nothing wrong with new people, and expanding numbers was important! Yes! This would be fine.

But… yup, Finn was seen right through. If it was possible, he would be blushing, “Are we in English now?” He wasn’t sure which language was easier for himself. “I’m not.” He admitted guiltily, “But… but I’m trying! And technically, I probably shouldn’t be here, so you should be happy that I didn’t listen to Rue!” Yep, that was Finn, setting a great example for his wonderful coven. “I just… I know how scary scary things can be… I dunno how to help but I want to. And…. and you could make new friends in my coven, we have nice people!” And mean people, but they didn’t really matter.

Finn looked in the direction of where this boy vampire’s coven had been, “....what are you gonna do then?”

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Osiris had lost…more than just a few things. He’d lost an entire home. An entire coven. A whole clan of people who were really starting to be his family. He’d wanted to stay with them…and those dirty hunters came in from nowhere and slaughtered them in a single night. Left the manor in ruins. He’d seen them, heard them, smelled them snoop around the area for days in the aftermath, looking for stragglers who may have been in hiding, tying up any loose ends… Osiris had stayed hidden, no matter how much his hunger roared and no matter how much of his mind slipped from him.

If Finn hadn’t found him, the boy would have continued to whiter there, until either someone else, a hunter, found him and disposed of the creature, or until he finally lost the reigns on himself and ventured out in a bloodlusting frenzy, searching for the first living thing to feed from.

It was scary to think about, how much he wasn’t there that whole time.

Finn’s approach in simply stating the truth worked better than he was thinking it would, even if it didn’t show right away. Because…it was true. Comparatively, Osiris was still young. Still very inexperienced. He’d survived as long as he had so far on tricks and manipulation more so than fighting ability. Even though he could fight. Well, even. But never outside of practice or a small scuffle had he used it. He considered Finn’s continued praises to his own coven and this Lord Rue. Maybe he should go with him? “<I see…>” he said softly.

Osiris was at least smiling now, and giggling slightly at Finn’s flusters. “Yeah, sorry,” he said sheepishly. “I forgot how to speak for a moment back there…” Because of the hunger. “And I couldn’t find the right moment to switch.” Korean was his native language. It always came easier than anything else he knew. He continued to smile at Finn’s ‘bright sides’ he was pointing out. He really wasn’t good at this. “I get it, you don’t have to overdo it!” he said, now with a laugh.

The laugh quickly died at Finn’s question, though, and Osiris looked at the ruins of where the coven had once been. “…..I guess…I guess I’ll go with you,” he said, looking away slightly, as if it still wasn’t okay for him to go with Finn. “I…I just don’t wanna be alone right now…” He might leave later, when he was feeling up for it, but for now… Osiris looked up at Finn. “T-this Rue….is he nice?” he asked. From what Finn had been saying so far, he assumed so, but one never knew. Vampires could be biased towards their masters, especially the one who turned them. Osiris knew he was, and his ‘mother’ had been….damn…he wasn’t even able to think badly of her, no matter how cruel she was. Even deceased, she would always be his mother….and he hated it.

[Finn Eogeum]

Osiris was a lucky one. He could be as upset as he wanted, but at least he could be upset, and at least he wasn't one of those in the smouldering pile. At least he could continue to survive now.

Finn didn't realise how blunt he was sometimes until he saw the effect his words had. That was one of the reasons he was struggling through this conversation. He was trying his best to be cautious, but he wasn't sure what he was being cautious of. So gushing about his coven was a lot easier. Finn had a lot of faith in Rue and his leadership, why wouldn't he compliment his home? "<We'll give you confidence.>" Even if you weren't a perfect fighter or whatever, confidence always helped. It could deter even the toughest of people if you had strong confidence in your own ability. It was better for it to be true and well founded but... you know, what works works.

He gave awkward smiles and laughs along with his childish whines about his struggles. If it was helping this younger vampire relax and feel more open, he could seem dumb. He didn't understand why it worked, but it did, apparently. He probably wouldn't have changed his behaviour anyway if it was having a poor effect instead. "I guess it happens. Talking is hard sometimes." Finn would know that. And Korean was native to him too, but having been speaking in English instead for some time now, it was slowly seeming easier to recall the western language over the asian one. "I'll do what I want!" He replied, only mildly harsh. He had good reason to 'overdo' it anyway.

Psh, that wasn't overdoing it anyway. That was just scraping the surface.

Finn nodded at his new companion's decision, at first solemn like him, before breaking out a quiet, bright smile, "I understand. I'll look after you, it's okay." He would. If he was inviting Osiris to this coven, he'd do his best to make sure he stayed happy there. Or at least, not traumatised or dead. Yeah. He nodded with complete certainty at the question, "He's so nice. He turned me, but he just looks after me and everyone else. He really cares about all of us." And was probably worried sick about Finn, who hadn't returned in a while, but it would be fiiiine. "He's really kind, I promise."

Finn tried to latch onto the connection he had to the coven leader in his head to find his way back home, grabbing Osiris' arm to get him to come along as he started walking, then jogging at a human pace. "This way." He said softly, still moving. As long as Osiris was staying caught up, Finn would go as fast as the other vampire could manage until they made it back to the mansion of a coven.

[Deleted]

To be honest, Finn’s coven sounded nice. Very appealing. Osiris would probably like it there, he thought. Maybe. Lady Rosalind’s coven was the first that he joined ever, and there he felt….more like a kid they felt the need to take care of. Comparatively, he probably was a kid to them. He’d only been around about a hundred years, after all. That was practically an infant in comparison to some of the much older, more experienced vampires. Jackson had shown off to the ladies because his cute nature made them squeal. He’d boasted prowess because they fed him praises of being a ‘real man’, even if they were only playing with the kid. Finn’s coven, with this Rue person….would they be like that? Or somehow different? Osiris didn’t want to be treated like a kid anymore….

Well…it would certainly help if Osiris stopped acting like a child too. He continued to giggle at Finn, who argued against him so fervently. “You can do what you want. I’m still gonna laugh when you go overboard though.” Because Osiris was allowed to do what he wanted too. He decided he liked this Finn. He was a little dumb and innocent and painfully straightforward….but he was nice and his intentions were honest. Even if he said things that were harsh, at least he was honest. That was more than what Jackson could say about himself...

Osiris stared at Finn, interested in hearing more about this ‘Rue’ person he seemed so fond of. “Is he really that great? I mean, I know you can’t really speak bad about the one who turned you, but is he really?” He sounded too good to be true. Well, Osiris didn’t know much more than that he was ‘nice’ and that Finn seemed to think highly of him, though his opinion was biased no doubt. Osiris was just going to have to see for himself. So the young vampire stood and prepared himself to depart with Finn. He wasn’t expecting his arm to be nabbed, though and Osiris almost lost his footing as he tried to put himself in step with the leading vampire. He kept up with no trouble once he did, though. However, if Finn went any faster than your average vampire, he was going to quickly lose the youngling.

When they reached the coven, Osiris stood at its gates, staring up at the whole estate with awe reflecting in his eyes. It was much bigger than Rosalind’s. He could feel many more vampires there already from outside…along with one powerful presence that seemed to stand out from all the rest. “Is that…that’s your…your Master Rue?” he asked, referring to that distinct pressure. Osiris shivered beneath it. It made him smile.