Vampire Knight (Fao/Eda)- FINISHED

[jarahamee]

Save N’ Shop’s streetlights shone bright over the empty parking lot. Even late at night, Faolan usually felt relatively secure doing his shopping here. Most of the time, the staff were within his visual distance, it was well-enough illuminated, and the area was relatively safe. For Wathais, anyways.

Yet, as Faolan left the grocery store late that Thursday evening, he had the uncomfortable sensation of being watched.

As he turned around, he saw nothing but the few cars still lingering in the lot. Far away, towards the road, a woman loaded her car innocuously. Otherwise, Faolan saw nothing unusual.

Yet as the surgeon turned back around to open his back seat and load his groceries, a woman stood where he had been sure nothing had been mere moments before.

The woman was small; a little over five feet tall. She was petite, wearing a short, low-cut dress and high heels despite the incredibly cold weather. If Faolan had not spent so much time near vampires, she would have seemed no threat, but something about being so near to her set off his sixth sense.

She was beautiful, her pale skin matching the gothic aesthetic of her outfit. Her short hair was teased out into a short, ragged mane, her dark red lipstick accentuating her uneven, dark eye make-up.

Seeming to notice his trepidation, she held out a hand. Her nails were claw-like, painted black;

“…I’m not here to hurt you… I just want to talk.”

Her voice was deep and breathy.

[qhostqrowls]

Faolan glanced over his shoulder, adjusting his tenuous hold on the handle of the grocery bag. The lot was as empty and safe as ever, and he puffed out an exasperated breath, feeling stupid for even looking.

He patted down his pockets with his free hand, fishing out his car keys. The little cat charm Ru had gifted him made the keys much easier to keep track of, and he half smiled to himself as he looked down at the little rainbow figurine.

The expression faded when he turned to his car and found a woman standing between himself and the vehicle. The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, his instincts screaming at him to run as he looked her over.

Vampire. He knew in his heart that was what she was, and also knew better than to think a pretty face and unassuming stature meant she couldn’t hurt him.

He blinked, consciously smoothing his stricken expression to something more neutral and polite.

“Oh. Hello.”

He tried for a smile, even as he registered that her nails were actually claws.

“….what did you want to talk about?”

[jarahamee]

“Nothing too much. I just… saw you had a chat with a mutual…acquaintance and wanted to have a little talk of my own.”

The woman smiled tightly, seeming to intentionally avoid showing Faolan her teeth. As she tilted her head back, her eyes caught the moonlight, reflecting back a sickening yellow-green, before returning to their natural dark brown as she moved back into the floodlights of the parking lot.

“Call me Jen. We should…find somewhere more comfortable to talk. It’s cold out here. There’s a tea place down on the other side of this mall. I like the neon signs there.”

She turned her head, as if to use it to point the way behind them, towards one of the remaining lit stores. A relatively bustling little Taiwanese tea shop with indoor seating. Faolan knew from experience that the interiors of these places were usually noisy and a conversation would likely not be overheard.

“Come on.”

Faolan could feel the slight pull of a…compulsion? Before it seemed to just…dissipate. As if she had grasped an invisible string with him, and then, simply, let it go.

[qhostqrowls]

“Okay. Alright. I’m Faolan, but you might already know that.”

He smiled at the woman, his tone easy, calm. She wanted to talk somewhere public. Wasn’t even flashing her fangs. If she wanted to hurt him he knew she could’ve done so already.

He felt a sickening rush of anxiety at the familiar, uncomfortable tug of compulsion. The charm at his wrist flashed hot, the heat of the magic fading as the compulsion did.

The bag still clutched in his hand, he turned to follow her to the tea shop. His pace was brisk - eager to be in the safety of bright lights and among other humans.

[jarahamee]

The vampire made a sound of agreement, matching his stride as she walked alongside him across the parking lot. Small and nonthreatening as she was, the floodlights gave her face an uncomfortable and disturbing caste in the light.

“Yes. Dr. Mura. We have needed many eyes lately.”

The tea shop was a bustling little spot of light in the otherwise empty and dark strip mall. It was a small shop, with perhaps a dozen tables, and just about as many people lined up outside. Admittedly, Faolan was a little older than most of the crowd gathered here, but his new friend “Jen” fit right in.

The soft murmur of voices made their conversation unremarkable among the gossiping teenagers.

She turned to her new companion, dark eyes piercing as a wild cat, expression both hard and unhinged. The vampire smiled at him again, her lips tight over her fangs. She brushed the back of her hand against her mouth, smearing her lipstick.

“You. You aren’t one of the agents, but you met with vampires. Why?”

The vampire leaned nearer to him, her wide eyes cat-like and hyperfixated on Faolan.

[qhostqrowls]

“Which vampires are you referring to?”

It came across as a genuine question, his tone tentative and his placid expression faintly nervous.

And it was - to a degree. He knew Ru and August had run from their coven, and didn’t want to endanger his friends by mentioning their names if they weren’t who she was talking about. But it wasn’t like he socialised with any other vampires outside of work.

Maybe she was talking about the Rosenthal investigation. Was one of the vampires who had ripped through the victims like they were made of tissue paper. He clasped his hands in his lap at the thought, staring into the depths of her wild eyes.

[jarahamee]

Jen tilted her head the other way, cat-like, pushing the napkin-holder across the table idly with the tips of her claw-like nails. What vampires? He didn’t look like he was lying. Perhaps he did have many vampires in his life. The small-potatoes kind that weren’t any of her concern.

She narrowed her eyes at him, her smudged eyeshadow enhancing her expression of mild annoyance. He should know what she was talking about. The only important vampires in this city. The wicked and the divine, of course.

“The executioner. Boucier. I heard you met with him.”

She drew her nail across the tabletop. The sharp end of her nail left a gouged trail across its glossy surface. Her eye idly followed her finger as it made a slow figure-eight. Her low top gave him an excellent view of her assets as she leaned forward, towards Faolan as she addressed him.

“You believe them, don’t you? You’re here to stop more vampires-killing-vampires?”

Jen stopped, pressing her finger into the table, gaze rolling back upon him. Her expression was filled with the deepest sadness, though the manic energy of moments before still flickered in her eyes.

[qhostqrowls]

Faolan’s gaze stayed staunchly on Jens face as she leant in and dragged a claw across the tabletop.

“Oh. Yes. Mr. Boucier…”

That meant she was one of the rebels. He’d seen the explosive aftermath of their rage, but it wasn’t the gore-soaked club or mangled corpses he was thinking of as he watched her - it was what Domin had said of them.

‘Turned against their will and subjected to extreme cruelty’.

He could see the pain in her eyes. Could only imagine the suffering a woman so pretty and so young would have faced at the hands of a vampire master.

“Yes, of course.” He replied with complete sincerity. “I want to help. I believe he does too. I wouldn’t have met with him otherwise.”

[jarahamee]

Jen paused, apparently surprised by Faolan’s words, and her shoulders dropped as she leaned back away from him in her seat. She hadn’t expected him to respond that way, and his sympathy had disarmed her.

“He..he does? You? Do?”

The vampire blinked, then spent a moment recomposing herself. She folded her hands together and glanced back over the table at him. Her expression changed several times as she spent a moment processing her thoughts, and then, finally, she seemed to settle on a guarded expression.

“The Vampire High Council never does anything that inconveniences them. I can’t imagine they’d ever go after some of the major figures involved. It would cause too much upset. Ultimately, we’re too weak to be worth their attention. No one cares. It isn’t enough people for anyone to care about.”

She sounded as if she was going to cry, and covered her face with her hands. She leaned forward and pressed her elbows into the table.

“The WDSA, they don’t care about us either. No one does… No one ever did anything to help us.”

Jen’s sadness quickly became anger, and she smacked the top of the table with her hand. The people sitting near them turned to stare momentarily, before becoming distracted in their own conversations.

Red tears lined the corners of her wide, mad eyes.

[qhostqrowls]

Faolan flinched a little when she smacked her hand down, glancing nervously to the surrounding tables.

“Uhm. I’m…I’m sorry that everyone who was supposed to help you didn’t.”

He placed his hand gently, tentatively, on top of hers. After a brief second he withdrew his touch, clasping his hands together once again.

“But, um. Things are starting to change. Slowly but surely.”

His tone was hopeful, encouraging. She didn’t seem very stable, and he didn’t want to provoke an outburst by saying the wrong thing. After a moment of cautious deliberation, he continued.

“I care. Why don’t you tell me about yourself, what you’re trying to do?”

[jarahamee]

Jen took three deep, shuddering breaths. Cold breaths that he knew she didn’t have to take, and yet she had. She made a terrible, deep sob sound, like the croaking of a toad or frog, her eyes scrunching closed as the red tears dripped down her cheeks.

She didn’t pull away from Faolan’s grasp, but her expression did not brighten, and her dark eyes were filled with sadness.

“They… they won’t be fast enough. There’s no way they will let you save them all. They won’t hand over all those murderers. They’re too powerful. Too horrible. Too ingrained. Too old. They’ll never allow it.”

Jen grabbed a handful of napkins with one hand, pressing them quickly against her eyes to prevent the others around them from seeing the bright red blood. They probably wouldn’t think it was real if they saw it, but it wasn’t much of an excuse either.

“They’ll change…. A hundred years from now. When it’s too late for those young girls. Just like it was too late for me.”

She sniffled, likely sniffing the blood back into her nose. While no longer obviously bleeding, her eyes were red-rimmed now.

“I’m Jen. I’m a vampire. Thirty five years ago, I got kidnapped by some guy in a dance club. He didn’t even know me. He just thought I looked nice, and that was enough to want me. They didn’t even ask me if I wanted to be a vampire. He just… changed me, and acted like it was a gift, when it was a curse! I didn’t ask for this.”

The vampire grasped Faolan’s hand, and for a moment, he might worry that she was tempted to squeeze it, but the pressure never came. Instead, she pressed her free hand to her eyes.

“…. I… I want to… kill the wicked beasts, and free everyone…. So no one has to suffer anymore.”

She sniffled into her napkin.

The people drinking tea at nearby tables seemed increasingly awkward, and tried to ignore what they assumed was some kind of breakup.

[qhostqrowls]

“I’m so sorry, Jen.” Faolan said, and squeezed her hand gently. He paused to pass her some more napkins, the sadness in her eyes mirrored in his own.

“I…understand why you want to kill them. I’m not going to sit here and pretend I don’t…somewhat agree with you, either.“

His voice dropped to a quiet murmur. The people on the tables next to them were pointedly looking away and talking amongst themselves, but it didn’t hurt to be careful. He knew a WDSA employee should not be voicing this opinion.

But what other option had this woman had? She’d been kidnapped, turned against her will, tortured for years, and no one had helped her. It was a fate Ru and August had suffered - the only difference was they escaped, and she’d fought.

“You’ve suffered, and you haven’t had anyone try to help you. You haven’t had any other option but to fight.”

If he argued with her he’d only turn her further away from the WDSA, and probably provoke a violent outburst. This was a woman who needed sympathy, and the help and resources she had never gotten. He’d try to slowly segue the conversation into that.

“You have a good heart despite everything that’s happened to you.”

[jarahamee]

Jen sobbed quietly into her napkin as Faolan spoke, her hand over her face, as if in embarrassment. Her other hand held Faolan’s gently, careful not to dig into him with her talons. Finally, she seemed to calm herself, and used the napkin to wipe her eyes again. She whimpered softly before speaking again.

“I… You say that… I’ve… I did what had to be done, but when this is over, I’m going to hell.”

Her voice quivered, but she spoke with conviction, putting her napkin down again. Her dark eyes were wet and red-rimmed as she looked back at him, eyeliner and lipstick smudged. Somehow, she was still beautiful.

“I don’t want anyone else to suffer like I did. How can they just sit and watch? Don’t they remember that they were human too once? They just… take this power to use it against anyone too weak to oppose them.”

Jen’s tone changed. Her jaw set, fangs flashing as she spoke with the power of her convictions. Her gaze was sharp and brewing with barely contained outrage and righteousness. This was her calling, Faolan could see.

“No one is free until they are all free.”

[qhostqrowls]

"Hey, you don't know that. I don't think so."

He squeezed her hand again, hoping the contact might ground her. Bring some form of comfort. Her skin was as cold as a corpses, slender fingers pressed softly against his own.

She was many years older than him, but she reminded Faolan of a little girl. At the same time, a wild animal. Her mood swings and sudden outbursts were behaviors he'd dealt with time and time again with patients, and in recent years even aggression from predatory supernaturals had become somewhat of the norm to him.

"That was partly what my conversation with Mr. Boucier was about," He said, his tone soft and careful. "The Vampire Council has been complicit for so long, but they're beginning to make amends. Start investigations into incidents from years ago. I know it will never be enough to make up for the abuse you and so many others have suffered, but...they have to start somewhere."

He smiled empathetically. The doctor had a way of looking at someone in a way that conveyed his full attention and sincerity, and he didn't move to remove his hand from hers even as he worried his next suggestion would anger her.

"I understand my word doesn't mean anything to you - I'm not trying to convince you or change your mind, but I want to help if I can. I promise you the WDSA will care about this. They have resources to help and support you. I assume you've been doing this alone - it doesn't have to be just your fight anymore."

[jarahamee]

“He thinks it’ll help? He does? He really does?”

Jen sounded incredulous. The vampire who had been pursuing them relentlessly had wanted to help them? How could these two things go together? Would he stop to reason with her if they met face to face? She couldn’t imagine it. While they had never fought, she had seen how he investigated the crime scenes. He acted with all the cold bloodthirst of an elder vampire. What would make him any different?

“A few years ago? What about fifty years ago? What about now? How are they going to stop it? It’s all of them out there. They’re all taking girls, hurting girls, using them… No one talks about this. No one does anything. They suffer in silence….”

Her eyes went wide, hair disheveled as she shook her head. She combed her free hand through her hair, and stroked his hand with hers. Her fingers were icy cold. It seemed to distract her enough to prevent another outburst.

“What can the WDSA do? They’re just going to arrest me…and then they will never be stopped. You… You know that, don’t you?”

The vampire’s smudged eye make-up enhanced the true misery of her gaze. Her white teeth shone in the light.

“… You…you care. You… you’re good…”

She paused, holding up a shaking hand, as if to touch his chest, and leaned forward towards him, though she made no contact.