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Hunger squeezed at Tommy’s middle as he stumbled blindly down an alley, sending static buzzing through his mind and clouds pushing against his vision.
Something was horribly wrong, this was the only thing he knew for sure. Something deep and fundamental was continually blaring against his thoughts like loud warning sirens, telling him that he should not be awake— not yet.
Everything from the wet rough asphalt under his bare feet, to the feeling of wind through his hair was wrong and horrible and made him want to whine and cry for— someone .
But he was alone.
The cold outside air against his skin was like a burning brand. Every breath sent knives down his throat, and no amount of blinking could soothe the way it burned his eyes— it was nothing like how it should be . He should be warm, wrapped up tightly in soft blankets that both soothed his sensitive senses and kept his limbs tucked close to his body, away from harm.
The muddy mess of his head made him feel like a caterpillar ripped from its cocoon too early, made to wriggle around to find food when it was still literal goo— not yet a butterfly and not a caterpillar anymore, something gross and helpless in between.
He wished he could just lie down and go back to the delicious darkness he had come from. But despite the instinctual need to sleep, an even more insistent instinct to stay awake thrummed through his veins, keeping his eyes open and his feet moving against all odds.
He wasn’t safe , it warned, he was vulnerable and hungry and his— someone — was gone. He couldn’t feel them or connect with them at all. He wanted to let his jaw tremble and chatter his despair at the emptiness he felt but he wasn’t safe, he must be quiet as a fawn hidden in the deep grass.
He couldn’t sleep, he must eat and survive . To eat, he must keep moving. He must find something that also moves and he must feed.
So he stumbled miserably onwards, leaning against the damp wall that hurt Tommy with its texture, but if he didn’t lean on it he would fall and the burning cold that now clung to his clothes after his first fall was an agony.
It was dark, and despite being soothed by the lack of light, Tommy could hardly see where he was going and kept knocking into blurry things and slamming his bare feet into dark objects.
He keened and whined when he hit something especially hard, stumbling for a moment and scraping his arm against the rough wall. He whined again. It wasn’t fair . He was hungry , he could barely see, and everything was horrible and awful . Everything hurt and he just wanted to sleep and be warm and he wanted his someone to hold him and soothe his pain until it was only a memory.
Instead, he had to keep fumbling around in the dark until he stumbled upon life and he could feed.
Tommy neared a horrible fluorescent street light that illuminated what looked like a dumpster and instinctually swallowed down his whines. He must be quiet like a fawn in the forest when illuminated by light. He must not be seen by predators.
It was a good thing too because mere moments later something behind the dumpster shifted. Everything was horrible, confusing, and blurry shapes. But this shape was moving . Before he could even register what that meant saliva flooded his mouth and his teeth began to ache.
He was so fucking hungry.
Movement meant life, which meant he could feed .
He let that hazy cloud at the edges of his mind fully take over as he slowed his approach, moving carefully now so as not to alert his prey of his existence.
A strangled cry rang out in the alleyway— something full of shock and pain— and Tommy slowed even further, swallowing hard. And as Tommy drew closer he saw that it was not one movement, but two .
The first one was hunched over the second, caging him in against the dumpster as the other twitched helplessly, making delicious choking noises.
And that’s when the smell hit him.
Life.
Sweet, tangy, warm life .
It wrapped itself around Tommy’s senses and cradled him softly, singing sweet songs of comfort and warmth.
This is what he was missing, this is what he needed . If he could just get a taste, draw it onto his tongue, and swallow it down until he was full, everything would be fine again. He could be warm, he could sleep, he would be safe.
Tommy lunged without taking another moment to battle the haze over his mind. It was a clumsy, lurching thing, but his survival depended on him to drain the life from this movement.
Maybe he should have stuck to being a fawn, because before Tommy could even touch his prey, a ferocious snarl erupted from the living thing, marking it as predator and not prey. Before he could stumble through the sludge of his mind to react there was a hand around his throat, slamming him against the metal of the dumpster.
He wailed in agony, the harsh impact and unforgiving cold against his back was a horrible pain he had not yet experienced. Even falling had not hurt this bad.
Tommy cried and chattered for his someone to come for him, but there was only emptiness when he reached out.
“ Oh .”
The word was like a gentle breeze flowing through forest leaves— a sort of symphony in and of itself, reverent and gentle.
The fingers around his neck relaxed until Tommy could hardly feel them anymore. He still keened and whined his displeasure, his sensitive nerves pulsing shockwaves of pain throughout his entire body.
“Oh, hello ,” The prey turned predator greeted gently. “I am sorry little one, I did not mean to hurt you.”
Tommy cracked open a stinging eye to see blazing red ones and glittering fangs before him. It was a predator like him, but older. Much older.
“It’s quite stupid to attack an elder vampire while they feed, mate,” the predator murmured, a soft smile gracing his features. “You are lucky that I had already finished.”
The predator moved a hand towards him, making to touch his hair.
It moved , his instincts sang, which meant it was life . He could feed!
He was so hungry.
Before he could consider the consequences, Tommy lunged and snapped his teeth around the approaching appendage, sinking his teeth into his victim’s skin, waiting for that delicious warmth to whisk him away from this horrible damp nightmare .
Only, he did not manage to pierce the skin, and no life came flooding into his mouth.
He bit down again, harder this time, snarling with frustration as yet again, the life did not yield its delicious contents.
The predator laughed warmly, gently cupping Tommy’s jaw in his hand and moving to pry him off. “That won’t work, little tiger.”
No!
He needed to FEED.
What did the predator not understand about this?
Tommy growled and clamped down harder, latching on with his hands as well, digging— what should be claws— into the flesh of his victim.
“Come on now. You cannot feed from me, little one.” The predator tried to soothe him, like a stupid fucking liar .
It moved. If it moved then it was alive, and if it was alive then Tommy could feed!
The hand around his jaw grew more insistent, pressing against his sensitive gums and forcing him to open his mouth and release his hold.
No!!
Tommy whined, clashing his teeth together around air in a mockery of what should be a deadly bite.
“You must be starved if you are this desperate,” The predator said, looking at him with a mixture of amusement and concern. “Where is your sire?”
Sire!
Yes!
That was what he needed!
His sire would fix everything!
Tommy let his mouth hang open as he released a warbling cry, calling for his sire to come and find him.
As always, he felt and heard nothing in return.
This time, however, he kept calling. Now that he knew who it was he was calling for, he would not stop until he got it.
“Why don’t you speak?” The predator asked quietly, rubbing comforting circles against Tommy’s jaw.
This touch, for whatever reason, was soothing rather than the irritating raw feeling that accompanied the touch of literally anything else. It was nice .
He lets his calls peter out to lean into the touch, letting his head rest entirely in the predator’s hand.
If he wasn’t so hungry this would be perfect . It was all that he needed to feel right.
Tommy warbled and purred quietly at the contact, this is how it should be . The air still stung, his mind was still goo, and he was still so very hungry, but the contact with the predator somehow made it all bearable.
Almost.
His stomach seized with another painful squeeze and Tommy’s perfect world crumpled with a cry. He was so hungry .
“Oh sweet little one,” the predator crooned, cupping his other hand around Tommy’s cheek and stroking his face with his thumb. “Your sire should be here soon, and then you can feed.”
Tommy
strongly
disagreed with this and bit the predator’s hand to show it. The predator only laughed. Tommy blinked his teary eyes open to look at the older predator and warbled again, digging his teeth in harder.
The man was looking at him with what Tommy can only describe as adoration and Tommy opens his eyes a little more— ignoring the pain the stupid fluorescents caused— to soak in the loving gaze and sear it into his mind.
As soon as he does so, however, the predator furrowed his brows and narrowed his eyes. He grasped Tommy’s face firmer and drew the younger closer.
Tommy whined and closed his eyes again. He doesn’t like that, he doesn’t like being pulled around, and he doesn’t like that face at all.
“No no no, little one.” The pad of the predator’s thumb pressed against his eyelid gently. “Don’t close your eyes, I need to see them, darling.”
The pressure against his eyelid grew insistent and his eyes were— unwillingly— peeled open. The hand still cupping his jaw tipped his head upwards, towards the light.
The predator looked into his eyes and gasped, turning his head this way and that. “Gods they’re not even—“
Tommy whined more insistently. The light fucking hurt !
“Sorry, mate.” The predator released his eyelid and Tommy snapped his eyes shut, moving to shove his face into the man’s chest and shut out all the light but the stupid predator pressed his hands against his chest and shoulders, keeping him upright.
“I know, darling, I know,” the man soothed when Tommy scowled. “But I need to check a few more things.”
The man grasped Tommy’s hand gently and ran a finger over his should-be claws, crooning a worried tone.
“Oh sweetness,” he murmured, releasing his hand to press against Tommy’s jaw again, opening his mouth carefully.
Now that was too far !
Tommy thrashed and keened, trying to snap his teeth shut and bite at the man.
“Shh, shh. I know, sweetheart, I know.” The man held his head steady with one hand and stroked his hair with the other which would have been comforting if he wasn’t forcing Tommy’s mouth open to a painful degree.
The pain shot through his clouded mind like lightning and he felt tears streaming down his cheeks.
Everything was awful and he was so hungry. He didn’t want the older predator looking at his teeth, he wanted to sleep .
“Gods,” The man breathed, his voice twisting with agonizing concern. He released his hold on Tommy, setting him gently back against the dumpster.
Tommy shuddered and drew his limbs around himself protectively. He breathed deeply, twitching occasionally, as he tried to soothe the way his body now ached all over. He heard the frantic rustle of fabric but he didn’t care what the predator was doing. Stupid mother fucker made him hurt.
He didn’t care, that was, until something heavy and warm was draped over his body. The predator was wrapping him in a long soft fabric that protected him from the horrible chill. He trilled in delight as it was pulled tight, pressing his limbs tightly to his body,
just like how it should be
.
Despite the pain still pulsing through his jaw he began to purr, it was stuttering and weak but it was there.
This was nice .
“You can’t be more than a few days turned,” the man muttered, drawing Tommy close to what must be his chest. “Your fangs haven’t even started to develop. You definitely shouldn’t be awake yet.”
Tommy huffed and pressed insistently into the older predator. He knew that! But he couldn’t sleep yet, not until he was fed and safe.
Speaking of which— Tommy raised his head up against the predator’s neck and pressed his nose into the cold flesh.
He hadn’t let Tommy feed from his arm, but maybe—
He pressed his teeth against the skin of the man’s neck, trying once again to feed.
“Here, darling,” the man crooned, pulling Tommy away from his throat. The scent of life filled Tommy’s nostrils again, it was duller than the other scent, but it was still life .
He lunged clumsily towards the smell and clamped down on the first solid thing he could feel. Blood trickled into his mouth but it wasn't enough . He whined his complaints demanding that his ails be fixed by the elder.
“Mate, you missed,” the man supplied unhelpfully. “Hard to aim with your eyes closed, huh?”
Tommy growled and closed his eyes tighter. The light was painfully bright, he didn’t want to open his eyes.
“Here, little tiger, let me help you.” Gentle fingers wrapped around his jaw yet again, pulling at him and trying to pry him away from the delicious blood that trickled into his mouth.
This was becoming an annoyingly familiar procedure and Tommy hissed his disapproval. He tried to clamp down again but the elder had apparently learned his lesson and moved quickly, adjusting Tommy’s head and releasing him to bite down again.
Delicious warmth flooded his mouth and Tommy slumped into the man, purring loudly and shivering all over with ecstasy.
Tommy had never experienced anything as delicious or as wonderful as this moment, everything is amazing right now as he drew more life from his Sire’s wrist— because this must be Sire, he wouldn’t be feeding him and holding him so close if it wasn’t— and gulped it down greedily.
“Oh you poor thing,” His Sire crooned through his own purrs and Tommy melted even further. “Is this your first feeding?”
Tommy whimpered happily as he drank. The thrumming urgency to stay awake was beginning to fade and Tommy was more than happy to fall into the creeping darkness.
He was being fed, he was warm, his Sire was here and he was taking care of him. He wished he was inside and away from the cold air, but everything else was good and right in the world and he could sleep.
His Sire hummed a soothing thoughtful tone and Tommy felt the sensation of fingers scratching at his scalp. “Your sire abandoned you, didn’t they?” He asked, but he didn’t sound quite as sad anymore. “You wouldn’t be awake stumbling through an alley this early in the turning process if they hadn’t.”
Tommy scrunched his face in disagreement, his sire was right here feeding him— he didn’t abandon him!
His sire ran a finger across his brow, soothing the furrowed lines of his face. “You know what that means?” His sire asked.
Tommy felt lips pressed against his forehead and he sighed in contentment, slowing his starved gulps until he was simply letting the blood pool in his mouth and trickle lazily down his throat.
Something began to tickle at his mind as he grew full, a niggling, tingling sensation that felt almost like a piece clicking into place.
love-love-mine-love-safe
“You’re mine.”