Despite being woken a few times by Damien, Lucan slept rather peacefully. He considered it one blessing of his rough and tumble lifestyle. Sleep was sacred and embracing it was like embracing a long lost friend. As such, it was easy to enter the unconscious world and when he was awakened, he asked himself a quick decision. Was he in any danger, and if not would he be needed. As such, when he awakened for the last time at a mental predetermined time, another talent he had picked up in his long years, he was fully refreshed and the only other anchor on his comfort was the hungering thirst within his throat. He knew his eyes were turning away from the violet hue and to a more crimson, and he was regretting his decision to wait this long for a feeding. He had the control for it, that was for sure but it was never a pleasant experience and this time was no different.
He stood and stretched himself out, shaking his head to clear his head fully. After he let the sleep fully leave his brain he stood and walked over to his closet. All of his belongings had in fact been retrieved and he shouldn’t really be surprised at how well the oiled machine of the Academy moved, but he hadn’t expected everything to be hung neatly. He removed a rather different choice of clothing for the day and within ten minutes had dressed. The routine was nice, something that Lucan could always fall back to if he ever found himself not knowing what to do.
After he finished dressing he placed his handkerchief into the right front pocket of the jacket and strapped on his belt, which also held his Rapier. Now content with his appearance he left the room and wondered briefly where his new Mage had gotten off too.
Said new mage managed to submerge himself in playing for approximately three and a half songs before the irritating antsiness set in. Normally, playing soothed him and he could lose himself in the feeling of strings against his fingers, the light vibration of the wood against his legs, the tap of his foot against the ground but everything was too
new too unknown. It was oppressive, crowding just on the edge of his awareness, and kept him from sinking into that quiet headspace. So he’d put his guitar back with a huff, plugged his headphones into his phone, and did what he did best: make a mess.
Clothes that had been carefully hung and folded were torn off their hangers and ripped from their drawers only to find a chair, the bed, or the floor their new resting place. The desk was quickly acquainted with his gauges and school supplies, covering it in a messy pile. One towel was flung over the glass door and the other dumped in a heap on top of the toilet lid. The neatly organized bathroom supplies knocked over and leaning haphazardly against each other. With each mess made, he felt himself fall into familiar territory. Messes, controlled chaos… Damien grew up with that,he
thrived in it. This clinical perfection physically hurt him, reminded him that everything was different. Exciting yes but terrifyingly different.
Damien swept out his room and into the kitchen, the first place he noticed the apprehension lurking beneath his eagerness. Everything had a home and to its home it returned. No slumber parties with the cutlery, no mingling of friends in the pantry, no pleasantries exchanged between the milk and the eggs. Sterile, clean, precise, and nice. Damien grabbed ladles and a large wooden spoon, tossing them in a large measuring cup on the counter. He mixed the cutlery in the drawer and randomized the utensils and practically turned the pantry upside down. The fridge, although he kept everything in their proper containers, looked like a tornado tore through it. Between the blaring of his headphones and his single minded focus on
fixing the kitchen, he didn’t notice Lucan exit his room.
The english language has two hundred twenty-eight thousand, one hundred thirty-two. This is including obsolete and derivative words but on a large scale there is a word for every single situation imaginable. Or at least, Lucan Bordeleaux thought there was a word for every single situation. But when he raised his head to stare into the kitchen where Damien was busy defiling the sanctity of organization, none of those two hundred thousand something words were able to come into his head. For a moment, the vampire thought he was dreaming still but the noises and the smells were to real and he knew without a shadow of a doubt that this was actually happening to him.
“ATTEN! TION!” It was the only set of words that he could formulate and only because of his long time drilling. His voice resounded throughout the apartment, and it was a good thing that the other students were in classes because the yell would be heard through most of the building. It was
filled with authority, and laced with a fierceness that not many humans would be able to say they have ever heard. After his scream he just stared into the kitchen and at Damien for a long moment. He made no movements, not even the smallest twitch. In fact, not even his eyes moved, though Damien could tell they were different. Instead of the dark violet eyes that the Mage would have seen throughout the evening, they were a rapidly growing crimson color. They matched his outfit perfectly and the absolute stillness was more deafening than the scream before it.
Finally, after what would probably feel like an eternity, Lucan spoke. His voice was soft and low but still commanded deep respect. It harbored no back-talk and
just a slight quiver gave away just how upset he was at the current moment. He was starving, and his control was lacking but Lucan Bordeleaux didn’t become one of the youngest serving Royal Guards, nor the next Sword of the Night by failing.
”I assume… This activity you find yourself in was a way to get acclimated with your new establishment. But I will tell you this once, Mage’s have had ‘accidents’ for doing less than what you’ve done. These things belong to me, this apartment is mine and you touching them without permission is a serious breach of respect. You don’t know this and you won’t like this, but that is the world you find yourself within now. As it stands you will clean, everything, and return the room back into the perfectly organized utopia that you found it. What happens in your room with your belongings is up to you but out here. Out here will be neutral territory going forward. It will not be touched unless it has to be, and if you or I touch it, it will go right back to where it came. Understand?” He knew his tone was lower, knew that there was a slight growl at the end where he underlined in no specific terms that there would be no argument over this command at this time.
He moved forward and adjusted his suit, tilting his head at the young mage near him.
”Go and get changed for the last half of classes, and then present yourself to me for feeding. I prefer to feed away from public instead of drinking my partner in broad daylight. He turned away from the boy and shook his head, this was going to be harder than he initially thought.
Damien Baker will be the first to admit he does not handle terror well. His family’s history of watching horror films just to annoy him attests to that. Jump scares, suspenseful music, sudden scene changes, and unreliable narrators are only second to children in horror films. What about them make it so much worse than creepy adults, Damien doesn’t know but children are absolutely terrifying. So when Lucan unexpectedly shouts at him as he’s buried shoulder deep in the fridge, Damien will admit yes he screamed and yes he did banging his head trying to jump further into the machine. He would not recommend that to anyone unless they were a child in a horror film. Then he would highly encourage it, chain it shut, and dump it into the ocean.
He turned around, pulling off his headphones and a long string of expletives on his tongue that died as he froze like a deer in headlights. Swearing was likely a sure route to losing his fingers real quick right now if the fact he was being stared at like a piece of meat and/or a soon to be murder victim was anything to go by. Damien had to admit that as old fashioned as his attire was, Lucan really did make the outfit look good and his recently changed eye color only added to it. Well, mark him down as scared
and horny. Damien clutched at his chest dramatically as he caught his breath, listening to Lucan’s little tirade. While his brain acknowledged obeying Lucan right now was likely the sane option, Damien’s mouth gave no fucks as it went full throttle on the train of regretie.
“Accidents?” Damien repeated after a moment.
“I’m not going to cut myself if that's what your afraid of. I’m not that much of a klutz. But let's take a moment to unpack all this other garbage that spewed out of your mouth. Touching without your permission is a serious breach of respect? Firstly, I don’t respect you because you’ve done nothing but terrify me tonight so that works out. B, this is all Noila property last I checked-it being the Noia Academy and all that- and not Bordeslax or whatever crazy last name that I will work on eventually. P.S. My name is also on the placard, just in case you missed it. And finally, you want blood right? Well, I need to eat to make it so I’m going to eat when I want to replace the crap you’re sucking out of me.” Damien crossed his arms and raised his eyebrow at the vampire’s back all while groaning internally. Might as well go all in if he was going this far.
“And which is it?Is this neutral territory or your territory, sir?” Damien spat out the title, feeling his irritation at himself and his irritation at Lucan bleeding into each other.
“Because last I checked, you don’t eat crackers or cheese or eggs or milk or anything else in this section of the damn apartment so really I’m pretty sure this more reasonably falls under mortal terrority. Far as I can see, there is almost zero reasons to even be in here expect to make sure your damn blood bag is eating properly.” Something in his head clicked. Lucan had at least been reasonable earlier and now he was snapping about food. Damien’s jaw dropped and he straight up giggled. The vampire was
hangry. Was this a joke? A hangry vampire? It’d be almost adorable if the man didn’t have the ability to rip him limb from limb. Damien couldn’t resist another chuckled as he approached Lucan, nudging the vampires shoulder with his own.
“How about we cut straight to the feeding part? I just need a sweater and I’m ready to roll anyways. You said I got to pick so just feed from me directly. The whole needle thing seems so impersonal.” Damien’s nose wrinkled at the idea.
“So how do we do this? Do I need to sit or stand a certain way or does your tongue get really long? Not sure how this whole eat them thing works since you’re basically the first vampire I’ve been this close to for an extended period of time.”Self control, Lucan had it and prided himself on it. Self control, he had it and prided himself on it. Self control…. The mantra continued as Damien began to talk back
again and Lucan just barely held on. He was in no position right now to have the boy go on and on about how life wasn’t fair. Lucan decided he was done with it, for now anyway.
”You don’t have to like me, I truly don’t care if you do or don’t. But you will respect me, even if I’ve done nothing to deserve it because that is what’s expected of you. You like life I suppose correct? Like breathing, and eating the food in that fridge? If you don’t learn to respect me of all vampires then you will die at this Academy, that’s a simple fact. This is the world and life you’re now living in, if you don’t like it then tough. As far as the objects in this room are concerned you may have them all if you so desire but you will not make it a pigsty because unlike you I have class and disorganized Mage droppings all over the place will not be tolerated. You will find I’m much easier to get along with than just about any other vampire baring a Marivaldi, but it doesn’t change the fact that you belong to me now. Yes, that’s right, you belong to me.”He finished for the moment and stared at his partner before stepping closer. His eyes were turning even more bright red and his usual grin was becoming much more feral and sinister. He tilted his head like a predator would to prey and circled Damien a few times while he spoke of food and feeding. He would have made the human comfortable on the couch or chair but after what the lad had put him through, Lucan wasn’t going to be so nice. As he finished his circle he locked eyes with his Mage and placed a hand on his head.
”Don’t. Move.” came the whispered order, his last word ending with a soft growl. He leaned in closer and took a few seconds to regain composure. He wouldn’t drink this human dry, despite how annoying he was.
”Just relax, and shut your face.” He added the last bit as an afterthought and grasped Damien closer to him, leaning down more and more until he was in a comfortable position himself. He listened closely to Damien’s heart beat, not wanting his recent fear to sour the blood. Some vampire’s enjoyed the sour taste, and he actually felt a bit of pity for mage’s that had to deal with such antics. He himself however preferred a relaxed partner, and as such he waited until Damien was good and ready before he plunged his teeth into
just the right spot. He tested his control even more and didn’t drink until he was sure Damien was content, or as content as one could be, and only then did he begin feeding.
A retort already sat on the tip of his tongue, taking in a breath to condemn the damn vampire’s ego but the moment Lucan started circling, he slammed his mouth shut with an audible click and watched through narrowed eyes even as he fought the urge to laugh again. The guy was practically playing with his food and he had the audacity to say he had class. The more he interacted with the vampire, the funnier Lucan got. He’d have to find some more buttons to push because this was just too good. He weighed his options, sit and take it like a good mage or have his own fun and see how long he could make it before Lucan managed to get his hands on him, but the vampire decided for him. The hand on his head shook him from his ponderings and Damien locked eyes with the vampire. Nervous? No. Terrified? Absolutely. Why didn’t he pick the needles? Then it would be much less terrifying. Could probably look away from this, think about anything else if he wanted. Why did he think-
The bite hurt less than he expected but it still brought a pained hiss to his lips. His hands pressed against Lucan, reactively trying to shove him away, before the sting faded away and a tingling warmth took its place. His heartbeat roared in his ears and with every beat, that warmth surged through his. He felt himself get dizzy, a giggle locked in his throat, and he clutched his arms around the vampire in an attempt to steady himself in a room that spun pleasantly. He felt light headed and happy and a little tired, the pain of broken skin fully drowned beneath whatever Lucan did. He tried to talk, to babble about how weird it was, how everything felt so much better, how he didn’t mind his vampire was an ass, that his family was so far away, that the quiet and calm was killing him but warmth soothed away the words until all he could feel was the blood seeping out of him and the vampire keeping him upright.
Lucan didn’t pay the mage any attention, he was far to focused. He did feel the terror however, and slapped himself mentally for not trying to calm the lad down before he started. It didn’t matter, and Luc was far too thirsty to care at this point. He drank slowly, not wanting to lose the control he had fought for three days now. When Damien struggled against him at first, he just held the boy tighter in his grip and relaxed that grip as Damien started becoming limp. Luc was an old pro at this, though he had to admit he enjoyed the flavor of Dame’s blood, and while the lad was infuriating beyond belief and
truly tested Lucan’s abilities this was much nicer than he was used to.
When he had his fill, Luc leaned back and away from the Mage letting his saliva begin to heal the wound so Damien wouldn’t bleed out. As with everything, Lucan made no mess and left no trace that the feeding had even happened, other than the enthralled mage still being held up by the vampire. Luc moved over to the couch and gently placed Dame onto it and then headed to the fridge, rolling his eyes when he saw the state of it. He removed a soda and a small slice of ham and placed it on the nightstand next to the couch for Damien to have when he recovered.
Damien giggled as everything moved around him, settling into the couch with a whine as Lucan left. The mage shifted and squirmed until he could slouch into the furniture and sighed once Lucan returned. He beamed at the vampire and tugged on the vampire’s sleeve, trying to get him to sit next to him.
“Siiiiiiiit.” Damien's words were slurred as he tugged at Lucan.
“Didn't take you as a hit-and-quit type. Is this what drinking is like? Awesome. Do this more often yeah?” Damien giggled more.
“Makes everything happy!”The room slowly settled again and Damien blinked up at Lucan, snatching his hand away as he realized what he was doing. Instead, he grabbed the soda and popped it open as he eyes Lucan warily. The earlier experience with the vampire had him on edge still and he was ready to bolt if he needed now that the whatever drugged state he was in wore off.
“So, what's next?” Damien asked carefully.
Lucan watched with sparks of amusement flickering into his eyes which had returned to their normal violet coloring. He did sit at the edge of the couch when requested though he was ready to stand at a moments notice when Damien recovered.
”I don’t know, I’ve never drank. As for what’s next you will be introduced to the rest of the school during lunch. And perhaps if you’ve listened to a single word I’ve tried to tell you, you’ll be ready and won’t get yourself killed on the first day. As I said before, I am sorry that you’ve found yourself here but as my Mage you’re my responsibility to keep safe. To do that I have to be rough around the edges so you learn, I’m sure you won’t make it easy but perhaps after a few days you’ll see you could have gotten way worse in terms of vampiric partner and that everything I’ve done is to ensure your safety while at the academy.” He stood and held out his hand in an offer to help Damien stand.
”Now, go and get ready quickly so we’re not late.” He gave a very soft smile and a shake of his head. This kid was going to kill him.
Damien peered suspiciously at the hand. The emotional whiplash between living--undead? Not living?--nightmare and chiller stick up the ass guy was keeping him pretty off track. What exactly was this dude? He fed so guess he isn't hangry anymore? Yeesh, gonna have to keep this guy full cause living nightmare version is 100% not okay. After a few moments of hesitation, Damien took the hand and hauled himself to his feet.
“Or instead of rough around the edges we could use our words and be all like “Hey, that mess stresses me out mind not doing it in shared space?” And I'd be all “Dude, you right! I was hella rude sorry man.” Instead of going for the punch to the face style but uh, thanks for looking out for me I guess?” Damien thanked him as he made his way over to his room.
“So uh, I'm assuming you're not cool with me dressing like this? I only got like one button up shirt and maybe a nicer pair of jeans. Nothing like…” Damien gestured up and down at Lucan.
Luc tilted his head as he considered the other option and looked almost like a dog would after being told ‘no’. He watched as Damien started to leave and adjusted his position on the couch.
”As I said, a learning experience for the both of us I suppose. He then gave an up and down motion with his head as he took in Damien’s appearance once again, he would have to take him shopping at some point.
”I won’t be as strict when not on school hours but during those I would ask that you take sincere pride in your appearance. As my Mage you have the opportunity to wear my crest and colors should you desire and we will go shopping for said clothing at a later time. For now, wear your best.“Is this a real actual decision? Or is this like when Mom and Papa ask me if I want to study or go hang out with my friends and if I choose what I want, I get in a fuck ton of trouble or do I really get to choose what I want?” Damien asked as he headed off towards the bedroom.
“Cause if there is an option to avoid the whole angrily remind the mage you own him now, I’d like to avoid that!” Damien shut his door behind him and surveyed the result of his earlier antsiness, grimacing. Oof, no wonder Lucan got pissy. His parents would have too. Damien shrugged off the thought quickly as he dug out the black long sleeved button up and the nicer pair of jeans and changing quickly, jamming his feet back into his boots and pooping out of his room with a
“Taadaa!” and jazz hands. His top two buttons were undone and his sleeves were rolled up but he obviously tried to keep the wrinkles out of the clothes.
“Better?”Lucan closed his eyes as Damien entered the room, deciding not to comment on the last words the mage gave. Instead his thoughts flickered to the Academy as a whole and his new role to play within it. Tensions with the Royal Family always made his job stressful and this one promised to be the most stressful yet. The last bit of Nox’s briefing kept coming back to him. Having permission to detain royalty was never something Lucan had expected to hear come from any source, let alone Nox herself. He was broken out of the more stress related thoughts when Damien came back out of his room wearing his new clothing. Luc looked him up and down, surprised at how quickly time passed and nodded a few times.
”That’ll do for now. Now, lets go.”He stood and left the room without waiting for an answer and made his way outside of the dorm where the cart that he and Damien had used earlier still awaited them. Luc started it up and, when Damien was on board, took off for the lunch hall. He would have walked, but they were running a bit late and Lucan didn’t want to miss any more of the school schedule since thus far his attendance was less than perfect. The two arrived a short time later and Lucan led the way to the buildings doors, turning around to stare at Damien sharply.
”While inside stay by my side the entire time, and try not to stare. If a vampire speaks look down until you’re addressed directly. Be on your best behavior less you accidently give insult. I will try and get you a seat at a table with all Mages but I can’t promise. Understand?
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