sleepytimejunction | fear the old blood

fear the old blood

[Rumors travel around in Garreg Mach fast. Most of the time, they're baseless and don't really catch Ashe's attention; he's admittedly more interested in making sure he's performing well. He has a roof over his head, and he wants to keep it that way, so he keeps his nose out of trouble.

But there is one that hangs on his mind. That there's something deep in the bowls of the church, a monster, a beast. That particularly bothers him, hangs over his mind, makes him think about how beasts have been improperly revered or maimed in the past. He's seen it in all manners by now. If the church does actually have a creature they're harboring, he can't help but wonder why.

It wouldn't be the first church to keep secrets, after all.

Ashe eventually decides that having all the facts won't hurt. If he's wrong, then he'll be happy to be. If he's not, well...

That's why he has his sword strapped to his back and his gun at his hip. He has more items he's harbored since the days before Lonato officially adopted him, most of them locked away in a trunk just in case. It's night, and most everyone is back in their dorm rooms. There's security, but Ashe knows their patterns enough to keep out of sight. He's spent his life as a thief, then as a hunter, now a student; he can manage.

It takes a bit of research, but he does find a secret path that starts in Rhea's office and extends to a rather old fashioned elevator. He opts to not use it in case it causes noise, instead climbing down the chain as he makes his way.

He doesn't expect what he finds, a grand room under the monastery, deep inside, full of stone caskets.

And something else.]

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A little more than all this?

[When he feels so flustered as it is? It doesn't even occur to him how that might be, how Dimitri could do more. He shivers at the hands roaming over his body, his cheeks hot as he relishes in the sensation. No one's ever touched him before, not like this.]

Yes. Yes, please. Don't stop.

A little more blood, darling hunter. A little more strength; what I wish to show you will tax me, and render me weak again. But it will delight you, I think.

[His hands move again, following the same path; this time, when they settle down at Ashe's hips, they tug at the fabric of his tunic until the hem comes loose, and slip up underneath it in search of skin.]

I know it sounds...suspect. My affection for you is not conditioned on your agreement. You are the master of what I am given. Only you.

[He leans forward, kissing him fondly as if to punctuate his point.]

[The hands on his skin makes him jump a little, but not in revulsion. The contact surprises him only, but he eases into it easily, chilly hands warming against his flesh hot with blood.

And with that, Dimitri asks for more. Ashe hesitates, but he leans into the kiss with a sigh, less abashed with the affection.]

...If you wanted to just drink all of my blood, you had a dozen of opportunities already.

How, um... how do you want it...?

Prick another finger. I will not —

[He hesitates, averting his gaze before gradually pulling it back to find Ashe's green eyes.]

I have asked so much of your trust already. Unlikely as it may seem for one of my kind...I know limits. I, whose power is virtually limitless when I am healthy and strong...I choose to limit myself, out of my affection for you.

[Affection for Ashe. They've hardly known each other that long, yet this vampire is so fond of him, and how could Ashe claim any differently? He's gone out of his way to offer what he could safely for Dimitri, brought him books, spent time with stories. Kissed him so.

So, for a moment, Ashe is quiet as he presses his forehead against Dimitri. He smiles.]

Open your mouth again. If using your fang is okay.

[He nods slowly, his expression visibly displaying relief. Obediently, he lets his lips part, drawing them faintly back until his teeth are bared just enough again.]

Only a few more drops. It need not be much.

[With less hesitancy, Ashe holds out his hand. The pad of his index finger pricks against a fang, then he lets his finger rest against Dimitri's lips.]

I trust you. However foolish you might think that is.

I will not give you cause to regret it.

[He seals his lips carefully around Ashe's finger, alternating between sucking gently to coax out more of the blood, and laving his tongue against the shallow wound to draw it into his mouth once it does. It makes him feel stronger still, and when he's had enough he draws away slowly, licking his lips in open satisfaction.]

Stand up, just for a moment. I will do it now, so you need not wonder any longer what I might be planning.

[It shouldn't please him so much to watch Dimitri suck on his finger, enjoying his blood. There have been so many beasts he'd slain for being driven by meat and blood of mortals, but Dimitri is more than a monster. He's also a man, intermixed. That resonates with Ashe, somehow.]

Stand...?

[Hesitantly, Ashe gets to his feet, looking down at Dimitri with confused curiosity in his eyes.]

[He smiles gently, helping ease Ashe up to his feet, and still in his unthreatening position, he closes his eyes.

It quickly becomes apparent why he'd said he needed the strength of fresh blood to achieve this, as a shallow cloud of fog gradually overtakes his body — not brisk and efficient, but sluggish, like he has to work to hold it — and when it fades, the ragged man-shaped vampire has been replaced by a small, fuzzy bat with white fur and blond accents.

He is very, very tiny, and weak enough that he doesn't try to flap up to Ashe, but simply extends his leathery wings a little, as if to say, behold.

Something that will delight and please you, indeed.]

[The shapeshifting could mean anything. Several vampires can turn into many forms, and he isn't certain what will become of Dimitri's. He waits, and then...

This.

Ashe looks absolutely delighted. He gasps, then crouches down and holds out his hands.]

Dimitri! You're so...! How cute!

[It does indeed delight him.]

[He is so incredibly tiny next to the towering hunter that Ashe now is by comparison; frankly, Ashe could pick up his foot and crush him, probably, and that would be that. But he lowers himself down and offers his hands instead, and so Dimitri hops over slowly, beating his wings to help propel himself before clambering up into Ashe's hands.

Once there, he finally has something to grip onto, and so he wraps himself neatly around Ashe's thumb and palm, clinging as bats like to do, bitty and precious.]

[The little bat that Dimitri has become is so small and adorable that Ashe could almost cry. He lets out a soft laugh, slowly bringing up the bat and pecking him on the top of his head.]

Just look at you. You could fit in my pocket.

[He toys idly with the thought of sneaking Dimitri away into his pocket, letting him see the outside and experiencing the world. But he wonders how dangerous that might be. How might Rhea and the rest of the church revolt? It's terribly sad to think of. He'd like to give Dimitri freedom, if it was in his power.]

You've really quite spoiled me tonight.

[HE KNOWS FULL WELL THAT ASHE HAD DICK ON HIS MIND but honestly, this is delightful to surprise him with, too. There will be time later for dick, hopefully. For now, so much the better that he's able to demonstrate that his intentions are good, and his word reliable.]

Put me there, if you like.

[He seems to have to strain to do it, but his words nudge their way into Ashe's mind anyway. He's going to sleep like the dead after this, having exhausted his every last reserve of strength to make this a reality, but he doesn't care. It will have been worth it, just for the sake of the kiss that touched the top of his fuzzy little head just now.]

[Honestly, yes, he definitely had dick on the mind, but it's all vanished now that he's overwhelmed with the cuteness of Dimibat. The voice in his mind is briefly surprising, but then he nods, tucking Dimitri into the space of his jacket's pocket.]

I hope that's comfortable for you.

Goddess, what a nice surprise.

[Oh. This is remarkably snuggly, actually, finding a nice soft pocket that's just the right size for him to cuddle into and be confined there, where he can relax and conserve the little energy he has left for when he'll have to transform himself back.

Though he's a little reluctant to let go of Ashe's hand, happy as he was to cling to it.]

I have other forms, but...this is the most I can manage, now. I'm glad to have pleased you.

Other ones, huh? That makes sense. I read that the most powerful of vampires would have several forms. Even some beasts would change their shape in Yharnam.

Still, this is probably your cutest one, I bet. I like it a lot.

I imagine so.

[HE IS JUST A COZY LITTLE BAT IN HIS COZY LITTLE POCKET.]

Are your fingers all right? I can smell that the bleeding has stopped.

[now ashe has the idea to knit him a tiny blanket with a tiny pillow if this ever happens again. a tiny surprise for his tiny dimibat friend.]

I'm all right. I heal pretty quick in comparison to most people anyway.

How about you? Are you tired?

Only from the transformation. At full strength, I could make a change such as this a dozen times in a matter of minutes, with no ill effects.

[He rustles around a little in Ashe's pocket, mostly just so that his companion can feel him moving, not out of any particular discomfort.]

But I will nap, once you leave me. It will be blissful to sleep so deeply; I will welcome it.

I guess... down here, there's not much more you can do to pass the time.

[For a moment, Ashe is thoughtful. It seems to him that the only sin that Dimitri has committed was becoming a vampire, and he did so to protect his kingdom and family alike, to promise them victory. So cruelly, he's been starving down here, punished a hundred times over.

Maybe... he could afford to make some plans.]

What if... you had stuff to do while I wasn't here? I mean, other than after I leave today.

That you returned to see me a second time has already made me more joyful than words can express.

[Flatterer. Tiny bat flatterer. Although he seems sincere enough, in that...sort of intense way of his.]

What are you proposing, my little hunter?

[A soft laugh escapes him.]

You're the little one right now.

[His hand goes into the pocket, fingers offered out to Dimitri to climb up on.]

I may know someone that can keep you company when I can't be here. And I've felt bad just keeping her cooped up in my room anyway for most of the day. You both could be around each other until I can stop by.

Plus, she won't be afraid of you.

She?

[Curious, he clambers into Ashe's hand, clinging again to his fingers like he'd done before, so that he's secure to be lifted out.]

You would allow a woman close to me...? Even knowing what I am?

Of course. I'm not worried. First of all, I trust you.

[He lifts up Dimitri, looking at the cute little bat.]

Second of all, she doesn't have blood for you to drink.

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