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[sora-writes-things]

Cursed Ink

An OC Transformation Oneshot

Hi! Been awhile but I figured I’d post some writing again! This is for my main OC currently, Elijah, who is cursed by his tattoos to shapeshift into many kinds of creatures! This one in particular is his very first transformation, which is into a werewolf!

Content warnings: Body horror and cursing

Enjoy!

Midnight. That’s when Elijah found himself jolted awake, a fierce burning on his skin where his recent paw print tattoo was located. It was a searing pain, like someone had dipped a metal rod into flame and pressed it into him, just below the collarbone. Like how he imagined a cow briefly felt when they were branded before it cauterized. He winced, trying to ignore the hellish sensation but to no avail.

The damn thing had healed days ago, albeit it was much earlier than his previous tattoos had managed to heal over. Why did it hurt so much now?

Elijah gritted his teeth and held his hand over the burning tattoo, flinching as the pain immediately grew worse. The paw print felt abnormally hot beneath his hand, and the skin throbbed slightly. He cursed under his breath and got up from his bed, grabbing his phone and turning on the flashlight before leaning over his dresser to look in the mirror, shining the light on his bare chest. The edges of the tattoo were noticeably red and inflamed. The ink seemed darker, as if it were freshly etched into the skin and not fully healed and slightly faded.

He inhaled sharply between his teeth, gently brushing at the black paw print with his fingertips. Instantly, the pain drove deeper into him with a jolt, like he was being stabbed with a knife. He folded over in response, barely stifling a grunt. His entire chest burned, like he’d been set on fire from the inside. He quickly began to feel feverish, his head pounding and his heart starting to race.

He glanced back up at the mirror, his phone’s flashlight pointed up at himself, and he froze immediately as he found that there was an unfamiliar gaze looking back at him. The eyes he saw in his own reflection weren’t his. Pain shot through his chest, almost like a warning against his instinctive panic. His breath hitched, but he managed to stay quiet as he leaned closer to the mirror, pulling back an eyelid. His irises seemed several shades lighter and the scleras were slightly darkened.

“What… The fuck…?” He whispered under his breath, trailing off as he noticed that his canine teeth suddenly seemed much longer… And sharper. He opened his mouth again, pulling at his lip with one finger and tracing over one fang with the fingernail on another. He stumbled backwards dizzily, dropping his phone face-down on the tiled floor with a loud smack. He pinched at one fang and tugged on it, as if it were maybe a fake fang from a Halloween store. It didn’t budge.

Elijah shuddered, hunching over slightly and clutching the shaved side of his head with his free hand, gripping the fang in his mouth so hard that it eventually drew blood from his finger. Pain began to surge up again and his body went rigid, a whimper finally escaping him. He doubled over once more, a different kind of burning sensation beginning along his back and shoulders. It was like a horrible itching feeling.

He reached back to start scratching, but he paused as he came across a texture that was completely foreign. It was soft and fluffy, like the coat of a young puppy. He couldn’t see it, but pale silver fur was beginning to sprout along his back, starting at the base of his neck and slowly spreading down along his spine. He trembled, now grabbing at his head with both hands. Tears welled in his eyes as a terrible, sharp pain began in his head. His thoughts were moving faster than he could keep up and the pounding ache in his head only served to disorient him more. His ears, now pointed at the tips, instinctively flattened back like those of a frightened animal.

Elijah drew in a deep breath, only for an abrupt jolt of pain down his back to force him to exhale in one heavy puff, a grunt escaping with it as he finally collapsed to the floor on his hands and knees. Something audibly cracked in his spine and he could feel his own vertebrae shifting in and out of place. It was sickening. But he had barely any time to think about it before a sharp, throbbing sensation began at the roots of his fingernails.

He looked down to see the black paint beginning to crack and chip away from his nails, which were starting to grow into long, sharp points. Claws. He lifted one hand to see that the skin on his palms were toughening and becoming slightly discolored, akin to the paw pads of an outdoor dog. Similar areas of skin could be seen on the tips of his fingers. He was unaware of the tip of his nose gaining the same pinkish-gray color. He swallowed hard, flexing his fingers a few times before he was struck with pain once again.

He completely doubled over, crying out as another series of crackling sounds erupted from his spine, the vertebrae now fracturing and forming new segments near his tailbone. Within seconds, a small, silver-furred tail poked out from the top seam of his pants, flicking several times before flattening against the back of his leg.

Tears welled up in his eyes again and he desperately tried to prevent them from spilling out, blinking repeatedly and squeezing his eyelids shut. A burning sensation slowly worked itself into the muscles of his arms, his breathing becoming more forced as sweat rolled down his face and glistened on his body where fur had not yet reached.

Elijah dug his fingertips into the floor, throwing his head back, an agonized groan slipping out from behind his tightly gritted teeth. The muscles in his upper arms stiffened before they began to swell, gaining a bit more mass than they normally had. Silver fur finally covered the remaining skin on his arms, concealing his tattoos in the process.

He let out a gasp as his body relaxed slightly, though his entire body ached with the promise of further changes that were yet to come. He shakily pulled himself upright, inhaling sharply while holding a hand, which was more like a monstrous paw now, over the tattoo below his collarbone. He leaned up against his dresser with a shudder, splaying his legs out in front of him. His tail, which had grown longer, idly thumped against the ground next to him.

Before long, he became aware of a building pressure on the bridge of his nose and on the sides of his bottom jaw. His ears flicked back, a grimace crossing his face once more as the moment of peace was broken. His breathing escalated as his back arched feverishly, his claws digging into the floor with a loud screech. He groaned softly before an abrupt surge of pain through his legs caused him to let out a wail, his voice breaking under the anguish he felt.

He helplessly kicked out his legs, the seams on his pants stretching and popping while his muscles, covered in long, silver fur, bulged out from beneath the fabric. His feet began to elongate, his joints creaking and snapping while claws grew from the tips of his toes, mirroring the ones on his hands. Rough paw pads formed at the bottom of each toe, save for the innermost toes on each foot, which became small dewclaws. Every other toe thickened, allowing for his feet to fully take on a more paw-like appearance.

Elijah folded in on himself, lips curled back into a snarl as his groans slowly transitioned into growls. His voice was deepening, gaining an animalistic rasp in the process. His entire body trembled, and he fell to his side, his chest heaving as he frantically clawed at the floor, simultaneously clawing at himself in helpless panic. His nose and mouth distended out into a muzzle, quickly followed by the growth of shorter fur to cover the rest of his face.

Pain ripped through his chest, and he howled in anguish as a soft crackling sound reverberated through his rib cage. He could both feel it and hear it. It was nauseating. His chest expanded while the rest of his body drew on mass it didn’t normally have. His muscles twitched and his limbs jerked uncontrollably, his tail thrashing and beating against the floor. The silver fur on his body grew longer and silkier to the touch, like a freshly-groomed adult dog.

His teeth, now nearly all fangs, shifted slightly in his mouth to better take up the space they occupied. His eyes burned, his irises almost completely white and his scleras now a dark shade of blue-gray. His vision lost color, although there wasn’t much to be seen in the dark anyway, save for what was illuminated by his phone’s flashlight. Every other sense felt heightened. The scents around him were overwhelming. The horrid sounds of creaking and cracking as his bones shifted ever so slightly were so amplified that it was almost too much to handle.

But then, as quickly as it had escalated, it was over. He didn’t immediately move, nor did he try to stand. He was too afraid of starting it up again. The pain had subsided to only a dull ache, but he still didn’t trust it.

He tried to close his eyes and go back to sleep, but the rest of his body seemed to have other plans. Against his will, he found himself standing on all four paws, the edges of his vision blurring as he swayed dizzily. He quickly found his footing, but everything around him seemed to be going dark. He could feel himself slipping away. His body was no longer his to control.

The last thing he felt before fully going unconscious was his own unfamiliar body rising back up on two feet and reaching for the handle to the bedroom door. Then, it all went completely black.

——————————

When Elijah awoke the next morning, he immediately became aware of how much his body ached. Sunlight was shining through an open window, blinding him as soon as he opened his eyes. He groaned softly, putting his arm over his eyes to block it out.

But then it clicked to him: He always closed the blinds in his room before he went to sleep. It was like second nature for him.

He abruptly sat up, coming to several more realizations. He was not in his bedroom, but rather lying in the middle of the living room floor. What little clothes he had on were in tatters. And most notably, the area around him was in complete disarray.

In the living room, the couch cushions had been yanked to the floor, with massive holes spilling out white stuffing in each one. The rug he sat on was shredded in some places, with tiny scraps strewn across the floor, leading to the kitchen.

The kitchen was completely ransacked. The pantry door had been ripped off its hinges, with open boxes of various snacks scattered all around. The freezer door was cracked open with food haphazardly thrown out in front of it, having clearly been picked through. Elijah narrowed his eyes and, with a wince, he stood up to investigate. As he looked around, he could see that several things had been torn open, but thrown aside with the food barely touched.

That is, all except for any meats, which he quickly discovered empty packaging for, with only tiny pieces remaining of the meat. “Weird…” He muttered under his breath before he caught sight of massive claw marks in the cabinets. He tilted his head to the side and traced over a set with his fingers, shuddering as he realized that they were perfectly spaced out with his own fingers.

It wasn’t until he found a thin tuft of midnight blue hair mixed with a shorter and thicker clump of pale silver fur that he began to piece together what happened. The tattered clothes. The ransacked freezer with all the raw meat missing and presumably eaten. The claw marks. The way his body ached so badly. The fact that he remembered waking up but couldn’t recall anything else.

He swallowed hard, forcing a smile despite the fact that his heart was beginning to race. He looked down at his hands, noticing how the paint had chipped away on his nails. He brushed a hand over his ear, flinching as he realized that it was pointed at the tip. He shakily traced the gaps between his teeth with a fingertip, his breathing escalating as he realized that his canine teeth were still sharpened.

The question that remained was why? His brain was going a mile a minute trying to come up with an answer. Was it a bite? No. A curse? Couldn’t be. Did this kind of thing just… Happen? Was that how becoming a werewolf worked? It certainly didn’t seem that way in any of the folklore.

Elijah paused, shaking his head. It didn’t matter. He could get to the bottom of this another time. But for now…

He had a lot of cleaning up to do.

[sora-writes-things]

Attack number two, on @monsoonxskies - (MonsoonSkies on artfight!)

[sora-writes-things]

I have a question: What is the best ever werewolf or gaster blaster au that you really liked?☆

Honestly, I’m not sure that I could pick a favourite overall. I liked all the AUs that I’ve worked with for various reasons.

In terms of gaster blasters, I think Ink! Sans is my favourite. I had a lot of development for his character and a lot of really fun headcanons. He even had his own nickname! Splotch!

In terms of werewolves… That’s a much harder question. Lucky was fun for what it was worth. But at this point, Renfield is my favourite despite a lack of substantial writing. I’ve put A LOT into developing his character, even if I haven’t even scratched the surface in terms of sharing anything about him. I might be completely biased here because, well, I’m the resident Renfield fictive in the system, haha- Plus that’s my main fandom at the moment.

Now, if we want to bring every single monster/transformation-focused AU I’ve ever had into this decision, Demon Luca has a lot going for him as well. As a single character, he’s got more writing than most other AUs I have. Lots of unposted, unfinished works alongside the ones I have posted publicly.

Also holy shit, I forgot this blog was still under Sora’s name- I’ll have to change that to something that encompasses the whole system at some point because Sora hasn’t fronted in quite some time

[sora-writes-things]

Fallen Down

Fallen Angel AU Oneshot

Content warnings: None! Just an angel throwing himself out of Heaven so he can be gay.

Enjoy! It’s a newer AU, and I’m pretty proud of how this turned out!

—————————————————————————

From the moment Luca’s body fell back from the edge of the heavenly platform beneath him, the entire world became nothing but a blur.

His eyes grew dull as he allowed himself to go limp, tears streaking upwards from his half-closed eyes as he braced himself for his end.

This was it.

The moment of truth.

What was the true fate of a fallen angel?

The wind battered at his rosy-cheeked face, his hair whipping back in its rigid current. His wings were fanned out behind him, their clipped feathers spread out to catch the breeze one final time.

Through the soft swirls of orange, purple, and pink from the sunset skies around him, he could catch a slight glimpse of the ground below, which was rapidly starting to draw closer as he fell faster and faster.

As his body reached the atmosphere, his wings instinctively tucked themselves in, wrapping around his barely conscious form and acting as a shield, in the same moment that he was overcome by a strong, almost electrical energy, which crackled through him as he steadily gained momentum in his fall.

The former angel smiled sadly as he allowed his eyes to close, knowing that there was a good chance of them never opening again.

He lost awareness of the world around him merely a few seconds before he finally hit the ground, leaving a huge crater in his wake.

——————————

“...Luca?”

The fallen angel stirred at the sound of the soft-spoken voice, groaning slightly as his wings slowly unfurled, revealing his weakened form to the world around him.

His head was throbbing, and his body felt like it had been broken in every possible way, but... He was alive?

Luca opened his eyes, squinting as he was partially blinded with the sun’s radiant light. “Wh... Wha..?”

Once his eyes adjusted to the light, he was greeted with the sight of a familiar face... A face he knew and loved with all his heart.

There was no way he could mistake that soft, silver hair, or that gentle, sharp-fanged smile, or those glittering red eyes, for anyone else.

...It was the face that had made him clip his wings and break away from heaven to begin with.

“Aes.. Aesop...?”

The demon nodded, a small tear rolling down his cheek as he moved forward, running his hand through the fallen angel’s tangled brunet hair as he fought to keep that soft smile plastered on his face.

“You... You left...” He bit his lip. “Why did... Why did you leave..? Why did you sacrifice everything...?”

Luca gave a light chuckle, wincing as he became aware of the dull ache in his chest. “I-Isn’t it obvious? I couldn’t s-stand living without you. B-Being in Heaven for all e-eternity... Its m-meaningless if I c-can’t have you there with me.”

Aesop forced his grin to widen before he quickly turned his head away, blinking back the tears in his eyes before the former angel could see them. “You... You made a big mistake then...”

Luca tilted his head to the side, a curious look in his eyes. “Hm? H-How so?”

Aesop didn’t meet his gaze. “You just... You had everything you ever wanted up there... So why... Why would you throw it all away, just to be with me?”

“Y-You’re forgetting one b-big thing here...” The angel smiled weakly. “I-I had everything except y-you. And I c-couldn’t keep living like th-that.”

“But I’m...”

“A demon?” Luca finished, looking up at the other being with a questioning look in his eyes. “Th-That doesn’t m-matter to me. I-I love you for who you are. Even if you c-came from Hell.”

Aesop glanced back at the fallen angel as he shakily took ahold of his hand, pulling it in close as if silently asking for affection.

“Wow... You... You must be crazy.”

“M’not crazy. I just d-don’t wanna miss out on the man I love.”

Aesop’s cheeks flushed with a pale red color. “Well... The sacrifice you had to make... Means a lot to me... To think that you threw away a life of peace and happiness to be with me...”

“Don’t mention it. It’s only a s-small price to pay for love.”

Aesop’s smile widened as he finally allowed himself to cuddle up next to his fallen lover, closing his eyes and embracing the warm, welcoming aura that the former angel still radiated, despite having cut his ties with the heaven he came from.

“...It’s good to have you back, Lu.”

Luca breathed a soft sigh of relief, allowing his body to relax once more in the presence of the person he’d been missing.

“...I’m glad to be back, Aesop.”

[sora-writes-things]

In The Moment... Again

Bodyguard AU Oneshot

Content warnings: None! Except for some cursing, like the previous one, this is a completely innocent oneshot! All fluff-based! Written just to give you all happiness!

Enjoy! I hope this brings you all as much joy as it brought me! 💙

————————————————————————

“Who are you? Who’s your contact?”

Luca smirked at the sound of his bodyguard’s voice coming from the kitchen. He was trying to drown the dishes again. And Luca had the best idea of how to react to it this time around.

“I need answers, coward.”

The inventor slid off the couch and edged towards the kitchen, stepping lightly to avoid getting the silver-haired man’s attention.

He crept over until he was directly behind his guard, a smug grin on his face. He took a deep breath before getting into character. “Wh-What do you wanna know?”

Aesop narrowed his eyes. “I already told you. I want answers. Speak up. Who are you, and who sent you?”

Luca faked a cough. “I... ain’t tellin’ you shit.”

“Oh? Is that so?” A hint of anger weaved into his voice. “Perhaps you need some time to rethink that?” He promptly shoved the glass under the water, lip curled back into a snarl.

Luca mimicked a gurgling sound in response, barely holding back a chuckle. Aesop growled, holding the glass under for a moment longer before he pulled it back out. “Changed your mind at all?”

Luca spat, making sure he turned his head away to avoid spitting on the bodyguard. “You won’t get me to talk...” He coughed again. “Not now, not ever.” He leaned forward a bit, grinning smugly. “Bitch~”

Aesop went rigid before shoving the glass back under, anger sparking anew in his eyes. “Damn bastard... Why can’t you just make this easy??”

When he pulled the glass back out, Luca coughed and sputtered, though there was a bit of barely masked laughter buried beneath it. “M-Making things easy takes away the fun, my dear~”

It was a wonder that Aesop couldn’t piece together that the voice he was hearing actually belonged to Luca... Just more proof of how much he was into this whole thing.

“The only thing you’re doing is pissing me off. And that’s only gonna lead you to a life filled with more agony than you could imagine.”

Luca chuckled darkly, his eyes shining bright as ever in his amusement. “Bold of you to assume I don’t enjoy the suffering, handsome~”

“Damn masochist-“ Aesop growled, but was suddenly cut off as the brunette-haired man behind him shot forward and landed a quick kiss on the side of his cheek, causing him to freeze in place.

Aesop slowly turned his head to look at the quirky inventor, his face as red as a ripened tomato. “L-Luca...?”

He laughed, a slight blush fading into view on his own cheeks as well. “Ah, just c’mere, you adorable little dumbass~”

The silver-haired body guard tensed for a brief moment as the inventor abruptly threw his arms around his neck and pressed his body into him.

A smile tugged at the corners of the slightly taller man’s mouth for a brief instant before it erupted into a full grin, and he lifted Luca up by his waist, pressing his lips against the inventor’s without even giving himself a chance to hesitate.

They embraced for a moment longer before they pulled away, though the body guard still held his client in his arms, not quite wanting to put him down yet.

“Y-You... You little b-bastard...” Aesop stammered, a teasing gleam in his pale grey eyes.

“Yep!” Luca put his hand beneath the guard’s chin, a smirk on his face. “And I know you love me that way, Ace~”

Aesop’s heart fluttered like crazy in his chest, but he found himself fully embracing the sensation, finally beginning to comprehend the meaning of the feelings he had at the core of his being.

Love.

It was something he’d never felt before, and he had long feared never being able to feel in his lifetime.

Yet here it was, in the form of a bastardly little inventor who’d managed to bring so much light and enjoyment into his once-dull life.

His life finally had a meaning.

And that was certainly something he’d protect until the end of time, no matter the sacrifices it would take to keep it alive.

[sora-writes-things]

In The Moment

Bodyguard AU Oneshot

Content warnings: None!Except for some cursing (and a brief hint at blood at the end), this is a completely innocent oneshot! All fluff-based! Written just to give you all happiness!

Anyway! Enjoy! And expect a sequel here shortly! 💙

————————————————————————

“Who are you?”

The question, spoken by his bodyguard, who was in the kitchen washing the dishes, threw Luca off for a moment.

The question was followed by a splash, which only made the inventor even more curious. He glanced over at Tracy, who was asleep on the couch beside him, before he turned his attention back towards the kitchen, where he heard another splash.

“Who are you? And who sent you here?” Aesop’s voice came out as a slight growl, his tone completely serious.

Luca slowly half-rolled off the couch, sneaking over towards the kitchen so that he could see what his bodyguard was doing.

“Answer me, you son of a bitch... Who sent you?” The silver-haired guard shoved a glass cup under the water, a frustrated scowl on his face.

Luca had to hold a hand over his mouth to prevent himself from bursting out laughing. “Oh my god... He’s trying to drown the dishes...”

“Why won’t you fucking answer me?? I’m asking you a damn question!!” He splashed the cup under the water again. “What is your goddamn name?! And who the hell sent you here??”

Luca’s knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor, trying his best to hold in his laughter. He couldn’t breathe. It was too much.

The sight of his protector, attempting to violently drown a piece of glassware in the sink to get “answers” out of it was too fucking funny.

“I’m gonna ask you again. Who sent you? Who’s your contact?” Aesop hissed, practically slamming the glass into the sink with a loud clash. It was a wonder that the cup didn’t shatter.

Luca wheezed, keeping one hand held over his mouth while he clutched at his midsection with the other arm, struggling so hard not to laugh that it hurt.

“Oh... So you still won’t talk, huh? Let’s solve that, shall we?” There was a click of a switch flipping, followed by a loud whirring sound as the garbage disposal turned on. “This is your last chance, you incompetent bitch. I need answers. Now.”

“Oh my god... I can’t...” Luca tried to keep his voice down, but he was too hysterical to actually do so.

Thankfully, Aesop was just enough into the moment that he didn’t hear Luca talking to himself. That, and his hearing was probably impaired because of the garbage disposal being on.

“Still no answers?” He gave a loud sigh. “Guess we’ll be doing this the hard way.”

The young bodyguard shoved the cup straight into the sink, with such force that it finally shattered. He flinched back as it happened, the angry fire in his pale grey eyes dissipating as he snapped out of the moment.

Luca, who had finally managed to calm down a bit and was now standing in the doorway again, slowly raised his hand to cover his mouth once more, unable to fully hide his smile.

Aesop quickly noticed his client’s presence after looking around, his eyes going wide and slightly fearful. “Oh shit- Hi Luca...” He averted his gaze, hiding his glass-cut hand from the inventor.

“Aesop... Holy shit...”

“Luca... I’m uh... Really sorry about this...” He swallowed hard, picking up a large shard of glass in his hand. “I uhh... Kinda broke one of your cups...”

Luca finally allowed himself to burst out laughing, which made Aesop flinch up for a moment. “Wh-Why are you laughing..? Aren’t you mad...?”

The inventor struggled to catch his breath for a moment, but finally managed to speak. “I... I fucking love you... so goddamn much.”

Aesop was clearly taken aback by the statement. That certainly wasn’t the response he had been expecting... Did he really hear that right?

“Wh-“ He didn’t even get a chance to question it before Luca shot forward and threw his arms around him, landing a small kiss on the silver-haired man’s cheek.

Aesop’s face turned bright red, and he went rigid for a moment. Holy shit. What the hell was even going on right now?!

Luca pulled away, his own cheeks completely flushed as he realized that his actions were completely unexpected. “I’m uh.. I’m sorry I did that. I dunno what came over me.”

A light grin spread across Aesop’s face before he suddenly pulled the inventor back into a hug, almost making a move like he was going to kiss him back, but ultimately deciding not to.

“I love you too.” The words slipped out before Aesop could stop them, but honestly? He could care less about it.

They pulled away from each other, locking gazes with each other for a brief moment before Aesop looked away. “You really aren’t mad?”

“Of course not. I’ve got plenty of glass cups, and they’re easy to replace,” Luca replied, flashing the young guard a smile before the expression dropped into one of concern. “Is your hand okay?”

Aesop tilted his head to the side, raising his hand to look at it. There were a few cuts along his palm and fingertips, which were leaking just a small bit of blood. “Oh... That’s a thing.”

Luca took ahold of Aesop’s arm and gave it a comforting rub. “It’s alright, we’ll get it all patched up. I’m not too worried.”

Aesop looked back towards the sink. “I should really clean up the mess I made...”

“No, don’t worry about it. Trace and I can take care of it later. Let’s just get your hands fixed up, and we can relax for a bit.” The soft smile returned to his face. “Wanna watch a movie? I was gonna watch Tombstone with my sis... You’re welcome to join us, if you want.”

Aesop smiled back. “I’d... really like that. Thank you.”

“Don’t mention it! You’re in the family now! So we’re gonna treat you like family!”

The bodyguard’s heart fluttered at the statement, and he found himself blushing again. This really was a lot different than all his previous relationships with his clients. He wasn’t sure what it was, but...

He finally felt like he’d found the place where he belonged. He felt like he was part of a family again. Like he was loved.

And that was more than he could have ever hoped for.

[sora-writes-things]

Just a quick question (Ｔ▽Ｔ) what's ur fav ship owo?

For Identity V? Lucaesop, for sure!

It’s a super rarepair ship (literally... I’ve never seen it mentioned anywhere besides amongst my close friends who are into IDV, haha), but I absolutely enjoy it nonetheless. ^^

On the side though, I’m really into Norton x Mike (I believe the official ship name is TonTon? I’m not sure, but my friends and I just call it Tigerpants for inside joke reasons lmao), and pretty much Luca with whoever makes him happy. :3

(I’ve been known to enjoy Luca x Andrew and Luca x Edgar as well... Oh, and I enjoy Elisop every once in awhile. <3)

[sora-writes-things]

In My Blood

Cryptid AU Oneshot

Content warnings: Cursing, blood (minor), and a small bit of body horror (technically?? idk, you be the judge lmao).

This one focuses on Vampire! Luca’s transformation into a vampire after Aesop attacked him and took enough blood for him to become affected by it. This is also one of my favorite oneshots that I’ve written from this AU, so enjoy!

————————————————————————

Luca absentmindedly rubbed at his neck with his hand, wincing as his touch caused the puncture wounds on the side of his neck to sting a little. He was still a bit freaked out by the whole thing, since he’d been practically ambushed by someone he thought was just trying to be friendly...

And that person just so happened to be a vampire, and he’d sucked out a good portion of his blood.

The blood loss wasn’t significant enough to be fatal, but it was definitely enough to make him feel incredibly drained.

He had been completely spaced out when he felt a light tap on his shoulder, causing him to flinch. He turned to look at who tapped him, relieved to see Tracy settling down on the floor next to him.

“... Are you okay? You seem a little pale...”

Luca hesitated. Should he tell her what happened? Or should he just keep it a secret, like Aesop had asked him to do?

“It’s all good... I’m just... tired...” Luca finally said, flashing her a dreary smile. It wasn’t entirely a lie- he was extremely exhausted.

Tracy nodded, though she looked unconvinced. “Okay... You should probably get some sleep if you’re super tired...” She stole a glance at him, concern flashing in her eyes. “You really don’t look so great...”

Luca hummed softly in response before he felt the exhaustion completely take over, his consciousness slipping from his grasp as he fell over towards the mechanic, instantly falling asleep.

Tracy flinched, surprised by the suddenness of his actions. She stared down at him for a moment before managing to stand without disturbing him. “Well... This isn’t a great place for sleep... I should take you to your room...”

Luca twitched, but didn’t wake up. Tracy sighed, slightly reluctant to try to drag him, but not seeing any other method of getting him where he needed to be.

The mechanic gently moved him away from the wall he was propped up against before picking him up from under his arms and attempting to drag him, though it was incredibly difficult with how much larger he was than she was.

“Jeez Luca... You couldn’t pass out closer to your room?”

She continued to drag him, though her progress was slow due to her lack of strength, until she finally reached her adopted brother’s room, allowing his limp body to slump to the ground as she opened the door.

Luca groaned quietly as he stirred slightly, his eyes still closed. Tracy turned back to him with a renewed look of concern in her eyes. “Luca... Are you sure you’re okay...? You’re really pale...”

The other survivor didn’t answer, still not fully conscious or capable of giving a verbal response. Tracy sighed again, picking up his front end once more and dragging him into his room.

She propped him up against his bed before heading back towards the door, considering leaving for a moment but eventually deciding to stay with her brother. He was acting really weird, and she was worried about him.

She closed the door and turned back towards Luca... Only to stop dead in her tracks as she noticed something different about his appearance.

His eyes were half-open, and the very edge of his irises had shifted from their usual gray color to a bright purple hue... And the color continued to change with the longer she stared.

“...Tracy..?”

The mechanic flinched as her brother spoke, though his voice sounded slightly rougher then normal. “Yeah...?”

“...Can you stay here with me? At least for a little bit?”

“Umm... Yeah? What’s wrong?” Tracy cautiously walked over and sat down next to him, her concern rekindled once again.

Luca was quiet for a moment before he answered. “I feel... really weird...” He put a hand to his forehead, exhaling shakily.

Tracy didn’t respond, not wanting to bring up what she had seen out of fear that he would panic. She stared down at her feet, not wanting to look into her brother’s unfamiliar eyes.

Luca leaned into the mechanic, his head resting on her shoulder. “I’m not sick... I’ve felt fine all day... So I can’t be sick... Can I?”

“I mean... It’s possible? You could be dehydrated or something...” Tracy replied, glancing over at him and biting her lip.

Luca shook his head. “No no... It’s not that...” He sighed. “I don’t know what’s wrong... All I know is that something doesn’t feel right.”

“Well... It’s kinda hard to help you when I don’t know exactly what’s wrong...”

He laid down next to her, laying his head down against her leg and closing his eyes. “I can’t explain it... I’m really tired... My neck is sore, my head kinda hurts... I’m hungry....” He paused, fidgeting for a moment. “There’s this spot between my shoulders that feels really weird... And my mouth feels weird too...”

He covered his eyes with his hands, exhaling slowly. “I really don’t know what’s going on...”

Tracy didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t sure of what was happening either, and she didn’t know how to help. “...Should I get Emily?”

“No- Uhh... I mean, I think I can h-handle this on my own...” He forced a grin, but his sister could see right through it.

“Clearly not, if you’re so insistent that I stay,” Tracy pointed out, idly running her hand through Luca’s hair as she tried to think of what could be wrong.

“We don’t need to bother Emily... We can figure it out...” He opened his eyes, which had fully shifted to a bright violet color. “...Right?”

Tracy shrugged, averting her gaze once more. “I guess... I’m honestly thinking you just need some sleep...”

Luca sat up, rubbing at his damaged eye with a blank expression. “Sleep has never really been that big of a deal with me...”

A moment of silence fell on the two adopted siblings, with Tracy staring mindlessly at the door and Luca gazing past the mechanic with a hazy look in his eyes.

Tracy’s attention was soon brought back to her brother as he suddenly twitched, reaching back towards the space between his shoulders with one arm.

“You good..?” Tracy asked, raising an eyebrow slightly.

Luca kept rubbing at the spot, narrowing his eyes as if he were fiercely concentrated on something. “What...?” He suddenly froze, the irritated expression on his face being replaced by a look of pure horror.

“Luca...?”

His breathing became hitched as panic began to settle in, although Tracy has no idea why. “What the hell..?”

The mechanic’s confusion turned into concern once more, and she turned to face her brother, though she stopped herself from doing anything else. “What? What’s the matter?”

His breathing continued to escalate, and his other hand slowly rose up to cover his mouth. “Wh-What the fuck?!”

Tracy couldn’t see it, but beneath Luca’s hand, he could feel a strange lump emerging just behind his shoulder blade, and he could only assume that the same thing was happening behind his other shoulder as well.

“Luca, please...” She put her hands on his arms, hoping she could get him to look her in the eyes. Luckily, he seemed to get the message, and he glanced up, a terrified gleam in his violet-colored eyes.

She felt her heart wrench a little at the sight of Luca’s distressed expression. She’d never seen him so distraught before. Whatever was happening certainly wasn’t good.

“I want to help you, but I can’t do that if you keep trying to hide things... So please..? Can you tell me what’s going on?”

“I-I don’t...” He glanced back, lifting his hand for a brief moment before covering the spot back up after realizing that the lump was continuing to grow larger, pressing against the fabric of his shirt a bit.

He shuddered before looking back up at Tracy, the fear in his eyes becoming increasingly prominent. “I don’t know what’s going on... But I’m scared, Trace...”

The mechanic felt a chill crawl up her spine at his words, not used to hearing such tangible fear in his voice. “I-It’s okay... I won’t leave... I’m here for you, alright..?”

A reluctant smile appeared on his face for a brief moment, though he didn’t seem any more relaxed despite his sister’s attempt at comforting him. “Okay...”

After a few moments, Luca was able to calm himself down, still keeping his hand over the strange lump behind his shoulder for a short while after before he decided to let it go, seeing as his panic wasn’t helping anything.

He could handle this.

Sure, whatever was going on was incredibly weird, but he was certain he would get through it.

He was probably just imagining it.

After all, he was extremely tired. All sorts of crazy stuff could happen when you’re sleep-deprived.

Luca had just managed to calm himself down completely when his shoulders suddenly twitched involuntarily, just before he felt something push up from where the weird lumps had formed behind his shoulder blades, causing him to yelp in surprise as he lurched forward towards his sister, gripping her shoulders as if to steady himself.

Tracy didn’t notice anything immediately, but she jumped at Luca’s vocalization and sudden movement, along with the brief sound of fabric tearing. “Luca?!”

Luca didn’t look her in the eyes, moving a hand to his mouth once more. “Oh my god...”

He didn’t want to look back. He had a vague idea of what had happened, but he didn’t want to confirm it.

“Luc...” Tracy trailed off as she caught a glimpse of something moving out of the corner of her eye, causing her to steal a glance over her brother’s shoulder.

What she saw made her heart skip a beat.

Folded against Luca’s back was a pair of small black and midnight-purple wings, resembling those of a bat.

“T-Tracy... I-I’m really freaked out right now... Wh-What’s going on..? What’s happening to me?” Luca’s voice broke with undeniable fear, clearly struggling to keep himself from panicking in the situation.

Tracy hesitated before she spoke. “Do you want a hug..?”

Luca nodded, allowing his sister to pull him into her embrace. The terrified survivor immediately felt comforted by the mechanic’s presence, resting his head on her shoulder. “Thanks, Trace...”

He closed his eyes for a moment before he suddenly became aware of something else.

It was something he hadn’t noticed before, but he could feel the mechanic’s pulse from where his head was positioned.

He wasn’t sure why, but he began to feel a strong sense of hunger gnawing at his insides... and that pulse of life that was just in front of his nose was becoming strangely tempting.

In that moment, something primal began to take root in Luca’s mind, and he turned his head so that he was facing the mechanic’s neck.

All he could think about was that overwhelming hunger he felt inside. Everything else seemed to fade away to the back of his consciousness. Anything rational that would have spoken up was instantly shoved away by the promise of blood- which his thoughts insisted would satisfy his starvation.

He wasn’t aware of his canine teeth rapidly growing into sharp fangs as he lost all control over himself, suddenly lunging toward the side of Tracy’s neck and biting down, breaking her skin and drawing blood.

“Ow!! Luca, stop! That hurts!” Tracy yelped loudly in both pain and shock, struggling for a moment and kicking out her legs, managing to strike the other survivor in the gut and prompting him to let her go.

Luca released her, scrambling backwards and growling slightly while holding a hand to his midsection, where he’d been kicked. The feral gleam dissipated from his eyes as he stared at her, horrified by what he’d done.

The smell of blood hit him like a bullet, at the same moment he caught a glimpse of a tiny trickle of blood running down his sister’s neck. He held a hand to his mouth, sickened by the knowledge that he’d done it.

Tracy glanced at him with a hurt look in her eyes. “Wh-Why did you bite me...?”

Tears welled up in the corners of Luca’s eyes as the words left her mouth. “Oh my god... I-I’m so sorry...”

“Luca...” Tracy kept her tone as gentle as she could, trying not to freak him out even more.

“I... I attacked you...” He gnawed on the fabric of his glove, continuing to back away from the mechanic as his breathing escalated once more. “Holy fuck, Tracy...”

The scent of blood was overwhelming. It was simultaneously both nauseating him and feeding his uncontrollable hunger at the same time, and it was becoming too much for him to handle.

He stole a glance at the door for a brief moment before looking back at Tracy, his eyes wide with horror.

“Luca... It’s alright... I’m fine...”

The terrified survivor hesitated for a split second before he suddenly jumped to his feet, his newly-developed wings fluttering as he made a beeline for the door, throwing it open and bolting into the hallway.

“Luca, wait!” Tracy shouted after him, but it was no use. He was already far gone by that point.

He heard her call, but didn’t slow down. He didn’t want to. He had to get away as fast as he could, before that awful hunger took over and forced him to hurt her once more.

He blindly ran towards the main lobby of the manor, hoping to find someone he could feed off of, at least enough to satisfy his need for blood.

He burst into the room, panting heavily as he looked around, his violet-eyed gaze resting on Freddy.

The wererabbit was staring off into the distance, though his expression implied that he was deep in thought. Luca crept forward, instantly picking up on a pulse of life that was similar to what he’d been tempted by earlier... Except the voice in the back of his mind wasn’t protesting against what he was planning to do.

So, in one quick motion, Luca shot forward with a feral hiss, grabbing ahold of the lawyer and pulling him out of his chair, which fell to the floor with a loud clatter as he pinned the other survivor against the wall, biting down on his neck and letting the taste of blood wash over his tongue.

Freddy had let out one small, shrill screech before Luca slapped his hand over his mouth, silencing him. He pulled away from the lawyer’s neck for a brief instant, his lips stained with blood as he glared at the wererabbit.

“Don’t scream. Let me take what I need, and I’ll let you go without draining every ounce of blood from your pathetic body. Understand?” The vampire growled, his eyes alight with feral bloodlust.

Freddy, his face almost completely colorless, barely managed a nod, his heart racing a mile a minute as Luca bit down on his neck once more, greedily taking as much blood as he could in the moment he had before...

“...Luca!”

The newly-turned vampire pulled away at the distant sound of his sister’s voice, and he quickly bolted off towards the door to the gardens. Once he got there, he sat down on the edge of the fountain, as far away from the door as possible.

Gradually, he felt the gnawing hunger in his stomach begin to fade, leaving him to think about what had happened.

“Holy shit... I’m a vampire...” Luca murmured, his wings fluttering slightly.

The motion grabbed his attention, prompting him to think about himself for a moment. He began to realize just how weird his whole situation was. Since when did vampires have wings?

He stared back at the small bat wings, pondering it for a moment. Did Aesop have wings? And if he did, how did he hide them so well?

He sighed, bowing his head and staring at the toes of his boots, trying to take his mind off of everything.

His moment of peace didn’t last long though as he heard the creak of a door opening, followed by the sounds of cautious footsteps.

Luca frantically turned his head to catch a glimpse of whoever had come into the garden, his violet eyes wide with alarm. However, his panic quickly faded as none other than Aesop stepped out into the open, his blood-red eyes gleaming silver in the moonlight.

Luca felt an intense anger begin to boil up within him, his expression furious as he locked gazes with the other vampire. “Why are you here? Haven’t you done enough?!”

Aesop halted in his tracks, glancing back towards the door. “...I didn’t think I’d find you here.”

“I didn’t think you’d come to find me after what you did earlier,” Luca’s voice shook with poorly suppressed rage, his blood-stained lips pulled back to reveal his sharpened fangs.

Aesop huffed under his breath, continuing in his approach towards the angered survivor. Luca visibly tensed with the closer Aesop drew to him, much to the silver-haired vampire’s annoyance.

“Relax. I’m not gonna take any more blood from you.”

“Of course you aren’t!” Luca practically exploded, causing Aesop to flinch. “You fucking turned me, you idiot!”

The embalmer went silent, averting his gaze once more, clearly regretting what he’d done. But Luca didn’t stop there.

“Well, guess what?! Because of you, I attacked my sister! I fucking turned on her and bit her! And it’s all your fault!”

Aesop winced, finding himself completely consumed with guilt. “Okay... First of all, I never intended to turn you... Second of all...” He trailed off for a moment. “There’s not much I can do about it now.”

“Are you kidding me?! I attacked my goddamn sister! And if you hadn’t done this to me, it woulda never happened!” Luca snapped, unable to calm himself down.

Aesop said nothing. He had no idea of how to respond to anything the other survivor was saying. He felt guilty as hell, and honestly? He had good reason to.

He had let himself get far too carried away with taking Luca’s blood. He had been incredibly greedy, and this was his consequence.

And so, because of his guilt, he allowed the other vampire to keep chewing him out, not really sure of what else to do in the situation.

“I could have killed her, Aesop.” Tears had begun to well up in Luca’s eyes once more. “I could have killed her, and she would have been dead! And no one could fix it!”

“You literally couldn’t kill her, you weren’t hungry enough, and I doubt you could even take that much blood so early...” Aesop mumbled under his breath, not wanting to actually speak up about it because he knew that Luca wouldn’t be in a good frame of mind to actually listen.

“I woulda had my sister’s blood on my hands! My fucking sister! She’s one of the only people I actually care about in this hellhole! I-I don’t know what I’d do with myself if anything happened!” He sniffled, his shoulders shaking. “There’s a difference between killing a random person and killing someone you care about... And I don’t wanna be reminded of what that feels like... Not again...”

Aesop was quiet for a moment. “Luca, nobody’s dead. Sure, that could’ve happened, but it didn’t. The past is in the past, and you’re just gonna screw yourself over more if you keep reflecting on it.”

When Luca spoke again, his voice came out as a bitterly broken hiss. “Aesop, you don’t understand! If I did it now, who’s to say I won’t try to do it again?? I might kill her next time! All because you decided that you wanted a snack!”

Aesop became defensive at the accusation. “I was starving, Luca. I didn’t realize it would turn you. And if you listen to me for five goddamn seconds, it won’t happen again.”

Luca’s wings fluttered for a moment. “Why should I listen to you?! For all I know, you’ll find a way to make things worse somehow!”

Aesop sighed. “Look. I know for a fact that you’re still hungry. Give it a week or two, and you’ll be after Tracy again. You’ll end up putting her in the same situation I ‘put’ you in. Do you want that to happen?”

Luca was silent, though the intensity of his violet-eyed glare didn’t lessen.

“Hurting people is, for the most part, optional. So if you don’t want to hurt her, you’re gonna have to listen to me.”

Luca huffed irritably before responding. “Fine. I’ll listen to you... But if I still hurt her, I’ll make you regret being born.”

The embalmer rolled his eyes at that statement. “Yeah, you have fun with that.” He glanced over at Luca, narrowing his eyes as he noticed that the other vampire was glaring sourly at him. “Don’t give me attitude, I swear to god. I’ll kick your ass.”

“You shoulda thought about that before you turned me into a fucking vampire,” Luca retorted angrily. “And I’d like to see you try to attack me again.”

Aesop snickered. “You think I would purposely give you immortality? Fuck no! I don’t want to deal with you any longer than I have to.”

“Well, too bad for you, ‘cuz you’re stuck with me now!” Luca sneered, sticking his tongue out at the other vampire. “Besides, it’s all your fault anyway.”

“Why are you so insistent on that?”

“Because it is!”

Aesop raised an eyebrow questioningly. “Please, elaborate on how preventing myself from starving to death is cause for you to hate me with such a burning passion.”

“You could have chosen anyone else. But no! It just had to be me, didn’t it?”

“Really? Name literally one person I could have gotten away with.” A challenging gleam appeared in the embalmer’s blood-red eyes. “Name one person.”

“Let’s see... Freddy and Kreacher off the top of my head. Nobody cares about them. I fed off of Freddy myself just a few minutes ago,” Luca replied, a snarky tone in his voice.

“They’re both cryptids,” Aesop pointed out. “Unless the victim is 100% human, neither of us get jack-shit out of it.”

Luca looked away with a scowl, crossing his arms. After a moment, he spoke again. “Fine. Who else is human around here?”

“Nobody, as far as I know.” The silver-haired vampire paused. “Tracy and Helena are. But we both know why both of those people are terrible ideas.”

Luca cursed under his breath, not wanting to admit that Aesop was right.

“Tracy’s got an army of robots to defend herself with, and Helena’s got at least half the manor on her side, including two werewolves and a literal Mother Bear.”

Luca shot a glare back in Aesop’s direction, remaining silent.

“What? I’m right, aren’t I?”

The other vampire still didn’t answer. He knew Aesop was right, but he was far too ticked off at him to admit it.

Under his mask, Aesop had a smug grin on his face, and it didn’t take Luca long to pick up on it.

“Stop,” Luca hissed, his eyes narrowed.

“What?”

“C’mon. I know you’re smiling under that stupid mask.”

Aesop hummed in amusement, raising an eyebrow. “Hm. I have no idea why you’d think that, Luca.”

“I can see it on your face!” Luca insisted, his wings flapping slightly.

Aesop barely held back a chuckle. “You can’t see shit.”

“I can see shit, and I know you’re smiling! I’ll rip that dumb mask off your face to prove it!” Luca threatened, inching closer to the other survivor with a devious smirk on his face.

“Oh no, you will not.”

“Yes I will!”

“If you touch my mask, I’ll make you regret it,” Aesop growled, putting a hand to his mask defensively.

Luca snorted, unconvinced by the embalmer’s threat. “Ah yes, I’m so scared.” His wings fanned out behind him in a mocking display.

The two vampires stared at each other for a moment, with Luca looking as smug as ever and Aesop looking completely irritated.

“Seriously, don’t touch it. Please.”

Luca snickered, his wings folding against his back once more. “Alright fine. I won’t touch it... At least, for now.”

Aesop sighed, silently cursing himself for the millionth time that day for turning the other survivor. Luca smiled, enjoying the small victory he’d gained in the moment.

They were silent for a few minutes, before Aesop decided to speak again.

“Oh, and uhh... Just one thing.” He paused. “Just wanna make sure you know... You are still going to have to take blood.”

Luca scowled. “And if I refuse?”

“You’ll starve, you’ll go feral, and you’ll attack someone,” Aesop responded, his expression serious. “It’s why I attacked you. It was because I was starving.”

Luca fell quiet for a moment. “Then why didn’t you eat before that?”

“...Like I said, cryptid blood doesn’t work.” The embalmer averted his gaze. “...I didn’t really have any other options... I had meant to just take what I needed from you and get out of there, but... Things got out of hand.”

Luca didn’t seem to be entirely satisfied with the answer he got, but he didn’t push the subject further. “I guess that kinda makes sense...”

There was a moment of awkward silence.

“...You okay?” Aesop finally asked, looking over at Luca.

“You mean besides spontaneously growing wings out of my back, getting the sudden urge to suck out my sister’s blood, and then being forced to feed on a rabbit man to try to satisfy that same bloodlust? Yeah, life is just fucking wonderful right now,” Luca replied, though his tone was slightly less salty than it had been previously.

“Sorry I asked...” Aesop grumbled, slightly irritated that the other vampire wasn’t letting go of his grudge.

Silence.

“Soo... If Tracy and Helena are the only two humans here... Where the hell do you get blood now??”

Aesop laughed sarcastically in response, throwing his hands up in the air dramatically. “No idea!”

Luca narrowed his eyes, slightly annoyed.

Aesop noticed his glare and shook his head, sighing. “There’s probably someone else. I just gotta go around and check.”

Luca’s expression turned to one of utter disbelief.

“What?”

“You don’t know?!” Luca exclaimed, surprised that Aesop wasn’t more well-organized with this whole ordeal, considering how he was about literally everything else.

The silver-haired vampire glared at the other survivor. “If I had known of someone else, I wouldn’t have gotten this screwed over.” He thought for a moment. “...Worst case, you can always take a little from Tracy while I figure it out, but I have a feeling you’re going to get mad at me for suggesting it.”

He paused, his gaze and voice softening a bit when he spoke again. “She’ll probably let you if you ask.”

Luca sighed, his wings drooping a bit. “I really don’t wanna take from her... But I know she’s probably gonna suggest it herself...”

“Don’t worry, you won’t hurt her. She might be a little bit tired for some time after, but it’s nothing rest can’t solve.”

Luca was quiet, thinking for the first time since the conversation had started. Aesop watched him for a moment before looking away, his gaze shifting to the night sky outside the garden window.

“So... When are you gonna have to get more blood? I’d rather you not get that hungry again,” Luca asked, though he still didn’t look the other survivor in the eyes.

“It’ll be around a month. Hopefully I can find someone before then,” Aesop answered, though there was a hint of uncertainty in his voice. “If I don’t... I’ll just be really off until I figure something out.

“I hope ya do. I’d rather you not do anything to my sister, and I don’t think anyone wants to find out what would happen if you messed with Helena.”

“Usually, when I go feral, I end up going after someone who won’t change anything. You’re not really in your right mind to figure that out. You know that,” Aesop pointed out.

The embalmer really wasn’t entirely sure on anything he had suggested. He didn’t know how Tracy could be affected by any sort of blood-taking for an extended period of time, and he didn’t know for a fact that there even were any other humans in the manor to feed off of.

He just had to act like he knew what he was doing, and hope that Luca believed him. He could figure it out later.

Luckily, the other vampire seemed to understand, and he nodded solemnly. “I guess you’re right...”

Aesop was quiet for a moment. “Trust me, it’s not all that bad. You’ll get used to it.”

Luca shrugged. “Yeah...”

The two vampires avoided eye contact, sitting in silence for a few moments long before Aesop finally stood up. “Well... I’m going to sleep now.” He glanced at the other survivor. “You should... probably get some rest too.”

Luca sighed. “Yeah... I think I’m gonna sit out here for awhile. Try to get my head on straight.”

“Makes sense.” Aesop paused. “I’ll... See you tomorrow at some point? I mean, it’s kinda impossible to avoid you around here.” He chuckled, though he didn’t meet Luca’s gaze.

Luca said nothing, but simply nodded in agreement.

Without another word, Aesop left, leaving Luca alone once more to reflect on all that had happened that day.

[sora-writes-things]

Protection

IDV AU Oneshot (Body Guard AU)

Content Warnings: Mainly just cursing. A bit of blood, but it’s brief and isn’t much to worry about. Barely worth mentioning, actually.

Enjoy!

———————————————————————

Luca was... A very strange person, to put it lightly.

He was a pretty nice guy, but he just had a lot of little quirks about him that honestly made Aesop question things a little bit.

Yeah, the guy was a really smart inventor, and he was really good with technology and stuff, but god was he crazy as hell sometimes. He’d go from calmly talking about a machine he’s working on, to all of a sudden standing up defiantly on the work table and challenging God to a sword duel or something.

Moments like that led Aesop to thinking that maybe this “Luca Balsa” guy didn’t actually need his help. That he didn’t really need his protection, but he just wanted it to say he had it.

In fact, Aesop wasn’t even sure that anybody was actually going to try to hurt him. Was he well-known enough to have assassins after him? Were there people who legitimately wanted him dead? Sure, Luca was quite a bastard at times, but to assume that someone would get that pissed off at something he’d said was a bit of a stretch...

...Or so it seemed.

“C’mon Acey! Come sit next to me!” A smug smile spread across the inventor’s face as he patted the seat next to him. “You know you want to~”

Aesop sighed, crossing his arms and sitting in the chair next to his client. “Please stop calling me ‘Acey’... Makes me think it’s a nickname for a dog or something.”

“Whoops, my bad. I’ll shorten it to Ace then.”

Aesop rolled his eyes, but allowed a light smile to appear on his face for a brief instant. Luca was a pain in the ass sometimes, but he really was a great guy to be around. Chaotic, for sure, but wonderfully enthusiastic nonetheless.

“Oh uh... Unless you don’t... like that nickname?”

Aesop snapped out of his thoughts at the slightly hesitant question. “Uhh... Ace is fine. I don’t really mind.”

Luca smiled. “Let’s just enjoy the show. Tracy said it was pretty good.” He leaned over towards Aesop a little bit, which caused him to flinch slightly.

The young body guard lifted a hand to his face, trying to hide the fact that he was blushing ever so slightly. Dammit. This was not what he was supposed to be doing. He was meant to be on the lookout for threats, not sitting here cuddling with his client.

...Although... It was pretty nice to relax for a bit with someone else in his company.

“...You know I’m here to protect you, right?”

“I know!” Luca snuggled up closer to Aesop. “But you still make a really good pillow.”

The silver-haired body guard was silent for a moment. “Fuck, why am I soft now?” He murmured under his breath finally, his voice barely audible.

“What was that?” Luca asked, turning his head and looking up at his guard.

Aesop turned his head away, his face turning bright red. “Nothing. It’s fine.”

He looked out over the sea of people below their parlor seats, scanning them and trying to scope out which ones might cause trouble. He didn’t see anyone suspicious... Hopefully it stayed that way. He really didn’t want to have to make things ugly if he could avoid it.

Luca took ahold of Aesop’s arm and held it close, cuddling it like he would a beloved stuffed animal... Which only made the body guard even more distracted.

Part of him wanted to tell him to back off. He was being a huge distraction, and it was his own life that was at risk here.

...But Aesop couldn’t force himself to do it. It felt so nice... Having someone leaning into him, trusting him with all his heart, and feeling safe under his protection... It was a feeling Aesop hadn’t felt with anyone else before.

He was brought out of his thoughts as the theater lights went out, and a spotlight turned on, following a beautiful female actress in a flowing, near-white dress that was lined with light pink fur as she walked onto the stage, making a few opening statements before she exited the stage, getting ready for the performance.

Aesop was turning his head to look down at Luca when something caught his attention.

Past the curtain behind him, he could see a dark silhouette of a hooded figure... slowly lifting up what looked like some type of a rifle.

Aesop felt his heart begin to race as he immediately picked up on the threat, abruptly pulling away from Luca’s gentle grasp as he shot up out of his chair, drawing a gleaming, silver dagger out of a holster in his pocket.

Luca sat upright, tilting his head to the side as Aesop made a mad dash out of the parlor room without saying a word.

The silver-haired body guard wasted no time in throwing himself at the hooded to-be killer, holding his dagger up to the man’s neck while trying to wrestle the rifle from his hands.

A gleam of determination appeared in the assassin’s ice-blue eyes as he twisted his body around, grabbing ahold of Aesop’s hand and pinning the blade against the young man’s own neck, using his rifle to keep him restrained against his body.

Fuck, this guy was tough.

“Get out of the way, kid. I’ve got work to do here,” the assassin hissed, an almost regretful tone in his voice.

Aesop went still for a brief instant before he suddenly lashed out, making a noise that resembled a growl as he kicked backwards against the assassin’s legs, causing him to stagger back and let him go.

He quickly tore the dagger out of the assassin’s hand and, acting on instincts alone, slashed at the hooded man’s arm, causing him to cry out in a mix of pain and alarm as he was forced to drop his rifle.

While he was distracted, Aesop slammed his body weight into him and pressed him against the wall, making him unable to move.

He looked down at the sleeve of his jacket, which was stained red with blood, and he clicked his tongue a few times, as if he were disappointed. “Damn... What a shame.”

He looked the assassin in the eyes, his expression completely deadpan. “You got blood on my favorite jacket.”

The attacker swallowed hard, a slight glint of fear in his icy-blue eyes.

“Now talk. Who are you, who sent you, and why is Mr. Balsa your target?” Aesop demanded, the somewhat light-hearted gleam in his eyes vanishing.

“Naib Subedar. That’s my name.” He huffed, as if worn out by the struggle. “I was just sent by some dude on the streets. Don’t know his name. I didn’t care enough to find it out.”

“Strange thing for a hired assassin to say,” Aesop growled.

“I swear, it’s the truth. I very rarely find out my clients’ names. I only do this to make money. It’s nothing personal towards him.” Naib said defensively. “The guy offered me a really good price. I had to take it. Luca Balsa isn’t worth as much as that bounty is.”

For some strange reason, Aesop found himself overcome with rage at the statement. He suddenly slammed his hands against Naib’s shoulders in his anger, causing him to flinch.

“Don’t you dare talk about my client that way. He’s worth everything in the world, and if you could even start to consider otherwise, your heart is as cold and ruthless as-“ He cut himself off, realizing where his thoughts were going.

No. He’d never give that bastard that kind of credit. Saying that would make him seem like a better person, and he certainly didn’t deserve that.

Aesop shook his head. “You get my point.” He felt his face beginning to burn as he began to realize what he’d said about Luca. He sighed, turning his head away and loosening his grip on Naib’s shoulder.

The assassin gave him a look of confusion, and opened his mouth to ask a question, but was quickly silenced.

“Get out of here. Leave, and never, ever try to hurt Mr. Balsa again. If you do...” Aesop looked at the assassin with a look that was as cold as ice. “I won’t just let you go with nothing more than a slit wrist and a bruised sense of dignity. You won’t be getting away with life still in your body. Understand?”

Naib scrambled back frantically, nodding his head before snagging his rifle off of the ground and beelining out of the theater, not even casting a second glance back at the young body guard.

Aesop watched him go, his hand slowly rising to his neck, where he felt a small bead of blood touch the tip of his finger.

Oh... So the guy actually did manage to land a scratch.

He drew back his hand and stared at the small drop of blood, completely unfazed by it. It was only a small cut. It would heal.

For now... He needed to go back to the one he was meant to protect. He could deal with his injury later. Luca needed him to make sure he was safe.

He turned back towards the parlor room and slipped in silently past the curtains, just as Lady Bella began to sing from the center of the stage.

Luca glanced over his shoulder, his gaze lighting up at the sight of his body guard. “Ace! You’re just in time! The play is starting!”

The silver-haired guard gave a soft smile as he sat down next to his client and allowed him to lean into him, as he had before.

They watched as the woman in the flowing white dress danced across the stage, her melodious voice echoing throughout the theater alongside the sounds of instruments playing in the background.

‘Who am I? A dream, or a lie? Living on the praises, lifted me high.’

Aesop felt Luca’s hand slowly crept into the palm of his own; an action which would have normally made the young man slightly uncomfortable, but provided him a sense of security for once.

‘Bella Donna! Bella Donna! Who can hear the “Tick Tock”, hiding in the crystalline.’

A smile drifted across his face and, for once, he didn’t try to hide it. He instead, chose to embrace it.

This was his purpose. To make the one he served feel as safe as he could. And if he felt safe enough to lean into his embrace without hesitation?

He was doing his job flawlessly.

[sora-writes-things]

The Wolf’s Awakening

IDV AU Oneshot

Content Warnings: Cursing, suffering, body horror, and painful transformation.

FOLLOWUP TO THE FULL MOON RITUAL ONESHOT!

Enjoy!

————————————————————————

The whole round had felt off from the very beginning. But at least it had been manageable at that point.

It started when Lucky was about halfway through decoding the first cipher. At first, his actions were made subconsciously, and he didn’t take much notice. In fact, he only realized that something was wrong when he missed a calibration and shocked himself because of that idle distraction.

He jumped backwards with a soft yelp, clumsily falling to the ground shortly after. He lightly rubbed his arm, which he had been unknowingly doing prior to missing the calibration.

That was when he became fully aware of a strange, itching sensation down both of his forearms, as well as a burning pain in his wrist, which had somehow scarred over after his ritual the night before. Instinctively, hoping that it would go away, he began to scratch his arms, the action quickly becoming panicked as he realized that it wasn’t going away; in fact, it was only getting worse.

Feeling his heart begin to race, he scrambled to his feet and took off running, hopefully in the opposite direction of the Hunter. Much to his dismay, the fear radius didn’t seem to go away. If he listened hard enough, he could hear the heavy footsteps of his pursuer behind him, which only added to his panic.

He quickly vaulted over a downed pallet, finding it incredibly hard to keep focused with his heart pounding as heavily as it was, alongside the physical exhaustion that was settling in from all the running he was doing, the increased burning in his wrist, and that damned itching from before.

He wasn’t sure if he was imagining it, but he could have sworn that the sides of his face were beginning to itch now as well.

Lucky staggered, somehow managing to slam down a pallet behind him before realizing that the Hunter wasn’t actually chasing him anymore.

He glanced around, trying to find his pursuer, before he stumbled and fell, whimpering slightly in both anxiety and mild discomfort as he took notice of a dull ache in his hands. “G-Great... I’ve been decoding way too damn much...”

The survivor slumped against the wall, loosely gripping the front of his shirt with one hand as he lowered himself to the ground.

He looked up at the sound of light footsteps, a surge of relief washing over him when he realized that it was another survivor that had found him. He identified the other survivor as Emily, and he was quickly able to calm down. “E-Emily! Thank God you finally-“

“Lucky?! What on earth happened to you?!”

He was taken aback by this response. “U- Uhhh... What do you mean...?”

“You look... different... I can’t really put my finger on why though...” Emily murmured, crouching down next to the exhausted survivor.

Lucky gave her a puzzled look before shaking his head. “I feel different... Like I’m not... myself, right now...”

The doctor took a quick look around to make sure the Hunter wasn’t nearby before settling down next to him, a look of worry crossing her face. She watched as he idly scratched his arm, his expression blank as he shuddered, presumably from the cold.

“God dammit... Stupid goddamn itch...”

Emily was caught off-guard by the tone of the other survivor’s voice, which was somewhere between his actual voice and a strangely animalistic growl.

“Hey.” She grabbed onto his wrists, ignoring a slight sting against the palm of her right hand as she pulled his arms away from each other, a frown crossing her face. “Why are you doing that?”

“I-It itches! And it’s n-not going away!” He wasn’t aware of the seams of his sleeves coming apart, revealing what looked like fur underneath it.

“Hold on...” The doctor carefully rolled back one of Lucky’s sleeves, and had to put a hand over her mouth to avoid openly gasping in front of her teammate.

“Wh-What?? What’s the problem???” He didn’t want to look down, already knowing that it was bad, judging by the other survivor’s reaction.

Emily was silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. When she finally spoke, her voice was incredibly hushed. “...Don’t freak out, okay?”

Lucky glanced over, and his heart began to race once more. His face completely drained itself of color as he stared at his arm, which was covered with thick, tan-colored fur. “Wh-What the h-hell?!”

“Lucky...” Emily kept her voice as calm as possible, as not to cause any more panic. “You’re going to be fine...”

He frantically gripped at his arm, his eyes stretched wide with uncontrolled fear as he stared down at his hand, which had turned into a large, wolf-like paw.

“B-But I thought... I-I thought it didn’t work!” He stammered, his breathing escalating.

Emily put a hand on Lucky’s shoulder, regaining his attention. “Slow down. What are you talking about?”

He didn’t answer, a look of pain crossing his face for a brief moment. “Th-This was a mistake...” He gripped the sides of his head with his hands, his newly-developed claws digging into his scalp.

Seeing as she wasn’t going to get any information from the other survivor, Emily didn’t push the subject any further. She felt her heart beat pick up slightly, alerting her to the faint presence of the Hunter.

“Lucky...” She trailed off as the survivor suddenly let out a pained grunt, curling in on himself and dragging his claws down the side of his face.

He gritted his teeth, which were slowly beginning to grow into long, curved fangs that jutted slightly from his mouth, his lips curled back into a snarl.

“You’re going to be alright... Just try to calm down, okay?” Emily said gently, putting her hand on the side of his face before tilting his head to look up at her.

“Calm down...?” He murmured softly, his voice breaking off into a pitiful whimper.

The doctor nodded encouragingly, smiling slightly. She wiped a tear from his cheek, a sympathetic look on her face.

Lucky sighed, resting a paw on her arm. “I-I’m sorry... I-I really fucked this up...”

Emily tried to ignore the fact that the other survivor’s ears had become more pointed and wolf-like, and there were small tufts of fur beginning to sprout along the sides of his face, as well as on his chin.

“It’s alright. Whatever happens, we’ll get through it.”

Lucky chuckled half-heartedly, fighting back to urge to cry in both pain and fear. “Y-You know that I h-have my doubts, Em.”

“...Does it hurt?” Emily asked hesitantly, though she already knew the answer deep-down.

Lucky inhaled sharply between his fangs, allowing his head to fall back against the wall behind him. “Hurts like hell...”

Emily felt her heart break a little at the confession. She hated seeing others in pain... especially when there was nothing she could do about it...

“Well... Lets just try to get out of here...” She trailed off as she heard a siren blaring, indicating that the last cipher had been decoded. “Perfect timing.” She stood up and offered her hand for the other survivor to take.

Lucky winced, but managed to shakily reach up and grab her hand, allowing her to pull him to his feet. “Thanks...”

Emily smiled, though there was a hint of concern behind it. “No problem, dear...” She surveyed the way he was standing, taking note of the way he wobbled and seemed to be struggling to keep balanced. “Do you think you can walk on your own?”

The weakened survivor tried to take a step, but nearly fell in the process. Luckily, Emily was there to catch him before he fully collapsed. “I’m going to take that as a no then...”

She heard the sound of rushing footsteps, and she sighed with relief as Emma rounded the corner, halting next to her teammates.

“Emma... Would you mind helping me with him?”

The gardener glanced over at Lucky, finding herself a bit on-edge with his change in appearance. “Is he... okay?”

Emily shook her head solemnly. “He’s really struggling right now... He can barely stand, let alone walk...”

Emma bit her lip before nodding, moving to Lucky’s opposite side and allowing him to put his arm around her. The two made sure their weakened teammate was steadily propped between them before heading towards the nearest gate.

Lucky seemed barely conscious as he lost himself to the world of terror and agony that had manifested in the depths of his mind, focusing merely on staying awake in the moment.

His entire body felt like it was on fire. The burning in his wrist had become nearly unbearable, and he couldn’t help but whimper in response to the pain.

Occasionally, his whimpers would escalate to soft groans, but he managed to stay quiet for the most part. He started whispering to himself under his breath, which was coming in short, ragged gasps.

“lt’s okay, sweetie... We’ve got you...” Emily murmured in an attempt to comfort him. “We’re almost there...”

Emma stared blankly ahead, trying to tone out the soft grunts of pain that escaped the third survivor that was wedged between Emily and herself with each limping step he took.

“I-It hurts... It h-hurts so much...” Lucky whimpered hoarsely, taking one more feeble step before he suddenly let out a cry of agony, stumbling and all-but-falling onto Emily as his foot completely dislocated itself, with the other not being too far behind the first.

Pain seared through his legs like fire, traveling all the way down into his feet, which were slowly beginning to elongate as his legs restructured themselves, his sneakers growing tighter and tighter before they finally burst open, revealing a smaller set of back paws when compared to his large front paws.

Emma flinched, fighting the urge to back out of helping the doctor and just straight-up running away. She was trying so hard to remain calm, and she appeared to be doing so on the surface... But on the inside, she was in a full-on panic.

Lucky clung onto Emily in desperation, his entire body shuddering violently with fear, adrenaline, and as a pure response to the excruciating pain he felt. The doctor bit back a yelp as she felt his claws digging into her shoulder, drawing a small bit of blood.

“It’s going to be alright... Please... Just hang in there...” Emily’s voice shook, a hint of desperation weaving into her words as she tried desperately to calm her teammate down.

“I-I c-can’t-!” He continued to wail and cry with increasing volume, unable to handle the sheer amount of agony he was in.

Emma pulled away from her other two teammates, her eyes wide with fear as she backed up to put distance between the werewolf and herself. She had no idea of what Lucky was capable of, but she really didn’t want to find out.

“I’m... heading to the gate...” the gardener murmured, not waiting for an answer before running off.

Emily watched her go, then winced as she heard a series of muffled cracks and pops, trying to pick up her pace to get Lucky through gate in time, before his transformation was finished. “Lucky, please...”

She watched as the fourth survivor ran through the now-opened gate, her confidence renewing at the sight. “Just hold out for a little while longer... I promise, it’ll be okay...”

Lucky screamed, though his voice came out as a terrifyingly animalistic howl that sent chills down the doctor’s spine.

He let go of her, staggering back and covering his face with his paws, growling and snarling wildly as he did so. His clothes began to tear, and fur began to cover his entire body.

He fell to his knees, his body arching backwards in a very unnatural manner as he continued to wail. When he moved his paws from his face, Emily couldn’t help but shudder as she immediately noticed how animalistic his features had become.

Once the moment of pain had passed, the werewolf cast her a look of desperation, a terrified gleam in his eyes. “P-Please... J-Just go...”

Emily scowled. “Absolutely not! I won’t leave you here alone!”

Lucky slammed his paw down on the ground, snarling loudly out of frustration. “E-Emily please!”

The doctor hesitated, glancing back at the open gate before looking back at her teammate. “...I’m not leaving...”

She paused, looking down at her feet for a moment. “Listen... I know how this always goes... You keep pushing people away, and it doesn’t solve anything... Trust me, I should know.”

The two survivors met each other’s gazes, and Lucky flinched as he noticed that the doctor’s appearance had changed ever so slightly.

Her teeth had sharpened into fangs, and her face had gained an almost bear-like look to it.

But the changes only lasted for a second before reverting back to normal. “Please... Just stop pushing me away... I’m trying to help you because I know what you’re going through...”

Without waiting for a response, she reached down and grabbed his paw, using all of her strength to pull him up before half-dragging him towards the gate, her heart pounding as the hunter came into view.

Lucky, having finally finished shifting forms, managed to look back, his eyes filling with pure rage at the sight of the hunter. He suddenly tore away from Emily’s grasp, stumbling onto all-fours and rushing at the hunter head-on.

“Lucky!”

“Get out of here! I’ll be right behind you!” The wolf hissed as he leapt into the air, tackling the hunter and completely catching him off-guard.

Emily, taking advantage of the moment, made a beeline for the gate, running through it without a second thought.

Lucky snarled wildly, attacking the bandaged-faced man with all the strength he could muster, allowing his new animalistic instincts to take over for the time being.

The hunter struggled to pull away from the wolf and get his weapon back, but the crazed beast wouldn’t allow it. He wouldn’t let his enemy do anything as he mindlessly pummeled him, summoning all the rage that had built up within him from every failed match and channeling it into each strike.

Once he felt satisfied with the damage he’d done, Lucky kicked out at the bandaged-faced man with his back legs one last time before scrambling backwards, racing as fast as he could in the direction of the gate, howling victoriously at the entrance just before he made his escape.

[sora-writes-things]

Full Moon Ritual

IDV AU Oneshot

Content Warnings: Blood, satanic-esc ritual, creepy/disturbing imagery, suffering, and self-harm (related to the blood ritual though- I am, by no means, glorifying self-harm. Please don’t do that. There are people who love you, and you have no need to hurt yourself. 💙)

Anyway! Enjoy!

————————————————————————

Lucky crept slowly into the garden, glancing over his shoulder to make sure he wasn’t being followed. He wasn’t supposed to be out right now, but there was something he had to do.

He’d been planning this for awhile now, but he hadn’t been able to follow through until this very night- the night of the full moon.

He’d had enough of being tracked down and attacked by the same bastardly hunters day-in and day-out. It was about time that he found a way to fight back.

He stared down at the ancient-looking book in his hands, the golden pentagram on the cover gleaming silver under the full moon’s light. A chill ran through him as he thought of what he was getting into. Was this really worth it?

The faint sting of a recent injury was the only confirmation he needed.

And so he sat down in the center of the floral field, taking out a demonic-looking dagger and opening the book to a bookmarked page.

First things first, he had to carve the pentagram symbol into his arm. At least, that’s what the book was telling him to do.

Hesitating slightly, Lucky brought the blade to his wrist and pressed against the skin, wincing as he cut a thin circle into his flesh. The metal blade almost seemed to burn against his skin as he gouged out the outline of a star within the circle, and he had to bite his lip to keep from yelping in pain.

Blood began to gush from the wound, sending sharp stabs of pain through his wrist with even the slightest motion. He tried to steady his breathing, but found himself unable to fully do so.

He looked back down at the book, ignoring the fact that a few drops of his blood had leaked onto the page and rereading the verses on the page before speaking them out loud.

“ᚢᚾᛞᛖᚱ ᛏᚺᛖ ᚠᚢᛚᛚ ᛗᛟᛟᚾ’ᛋ ᚷᛚᛟᚹ, ᛗᚤ ᛒᛚᛟᛟᛞ ᚹᛁᛚᛚ ᚠᛚᛟᚹ.”

Under the full moon’s glow, My blood will flow.

He was unaware of a distinct red-orange glow beginning to illuminate the carved-out symbol on his wrist, too focused on the next phase of the ritual to notice it.

“ᛗᚤ ᛈᚨᛁᚾᚠᚢᛚ ᛋᚨᚲᚱᛁᚠᛁᚲᛖ ᚹᛁᛚᛚ ᛋᛖᛏ ᚠᚱᛖᛖ, ᛏᚺᛖ ᛒᛖᚨᛋᛏ ᛏᚺᚨᛏ ᛚᚢᚱᚴᛋ ᛞᛖᛖᛈ ᛁᚾᛋᛁᛞᛖ ᛟᚠ ᛗᛖ.”

My painful sacrifice will set free, The beast that lurks deep inside of me.

He struggled a bit with annunciating the words at first, but with the more he spoke, the more strength the verses began to gather. The fact that he was fluently speaking some strange, unknown language in such a short amount of time shook him to his very core.

“ᛚᛖᛏ ᚱᚨᚷᛖ ᛒᛖ ᛁᛏ’ᛋ ᚲᚨᛚᛚ, ᚨᚾᛞ ᚨᛚᛚ ᛗᚤ ᛖᚾᛖᛗᛁᛖᛋ ᛋᚺᚨᛚᛚ ᚠᚨᛚᛚ.”

Let rage be it’s call, and all my enemies shall fall.

It was almost as if something had taken control over him in the moment, giving him the drive to complete the ritual.

“ᚠᛟᚱ ᛏᚺᛖ ᚺᛖᚨᚱᛏ ᛟᚠ ᚨ ᚹᛟᛚᚠ ᛒᛖᚨᛏᛋ ᛋᛏᚱᛟᚾᚷ ᚹᛁᛏᚺᛁᚾ ᛗᛖ.”

For the heart of a wolf beats strong within me.

An unnatural amount of blood poured from the wound as Lucky repeated the incantation, over and over, his eyes suddenly rolling back into his head and a heavy trickle of blood coming from both his nose and his mouth just before he fell unconscious, passing out from both blood loss and from the exhaustion that the ritual had induced.

—————————————————————

Lucky awoke to a distinct burning pain in his wrist, and a harsh, scratchy feeling in the back of his throat.

He managed to sit up, rubbing at his eyes and yawning. It didn’t take him long to notice the mark on his wrist, which had somehow scarred over after the night before.

“Wh-What the...?” He gingerly traced over the symbol with his finger, twitching as a small burst of searing pain was sent through his wrist as a result.

He wasn’t so much concerned about the pain as he was about the scar. He knew that the wound was fresh... Why was it already scarred over? And where had all that blood gone? Surely there would have been a mess, considering how much blood had come from the cut the night before...

He patted the flower bed beneath him, feeling for any residual blood on the petals and leaves, yet still finding nothing.

He shrugged, eventually just deciding to forget about it.

“Now... How am I supposed to know if it worked...?” Lucky thought aloud, staring down at the mark once more in awe, though he was still incredibly bothered by it regardless.

He shakily picked up the book and read over the entire section regarding the ritual, but couldn’t find anything useful. Finally, out of frustration, he threw the book aside with a slightly inhuman growl, letting out a loud sigh almost directly after.

“Great... So this was all for nothing...”

He stood up, swaying dizzily for a split second before he picked up the blood-stained dagger and the book, pulling his sleeve down to cover the abnormal scar on his wrist before slowly heading back towards the manor.

Though nobody was around to take notice of it, had he looked behind him in that moment of his departure, he would have seen his shadow warping and twisting into the silhouette of a wolf for a brief moment before morphing back into a regular shadow of himself.

[sora-writes-things]

Desperate Turn

An IDV AU Oneshot

Content warnings: Blood, painful transformation, body horror, cursing.

(eww i can’t figure out the “keep reading” thing—)

Anyway, enjoy!!!

————————————————————————

Luca had been in the process of decoding when he heard the shriek of one of the other survivors, which he was quickly able to identify as Emma. It was distant, but it was loud enough to become distracting.

It wasn’t long before he heard a soft chuckle, followed by another agonized scream from a bit further away in the Asylum.

The survivor quickly began piecing things together, realizing who the hunter was and who was at risk here. His eyes widened, the thought of how much Emma’s life was at risk finally hitting him.

“I gotta help...” He glanced back at the cipher machine, still hooked up to a connection he’d set. “But I should really focus on decoding...”

He bit his lip, twitching as he heard Emma cry out once more. That settled it. Screw decoding. Why sit here and mess with a damned machine when your teammate could be facing imminent death?

He suddenly recalled the words of Yidhra, who had given him a warning about Michiko the other day, who just so happened to be the hunter who was patrolling the Asylum amongst the other survivors.

“If you find yourself in trouble with Michiko... Just summon me. A small blood sacrifice should do the trick.”

He trembled briefly, considering how he would do that before remembering the tools he had on his utility belt.

He had a screwdriver.

Sure, it definitely wasn’t ideal... But it would work.

The brunette-haired survivor looked down at the yellow-handled tool sticking out of one of the pockets attached to his belt, his stomach churning.

Was he really about to do this?

He nodded to himself, a determined expression on his face as he pulled out the screwdriver. He had to do it. For the sake of Emma’s life, and for the lives of the others around him.

Luca took a deep breath, closing his eyes and tightening his grip on the screwdriver before he jabbed it into his wrist, with enough force to break the skin and start drawing blood.

He yelped as the cold, blunt metal ripped through his skin, sending shockwaves of stabbing pain all the way up his forearm, but he quickly bit his lip to keep himself quiet. God, he hoped he wouldn’t regret this...

Once he’d made a fairly large incision in his arm, he dropped the screwdriver and ran his fingers along the wound, getting a good amount of blood on his hand before starting to draw on the wall in front of him.

“Just draw the symbol I showed you. The one on the Seer’s blindfold. That’ll allow me to appear to you to offer my assistance.”

Voices whispered in the hallways around him, but he ignored them. What they were saying wasn’t important.

Before long, Luca had drawn out a small circle, which looked like a snake upon closer examination, with two basic wing-like shapes on either side of it. There was an upside-down triangle in the center of the snake-circle, and a large dot at the very core of the symbol.

The brown-haired survivor was shuddering so violently from both adrenaline and blood loss that it was a wonder that he was still conscious. Regardless, he kept a twisted smile on his face, his eyes glowing faintly with a hint of pale blue as the symbol began to glow.

Within moments, a lavender-skinned woman with long black hair, a blindfold over her eyes, and a snake-like body from the waist down came into view, a sharp-toothed smile on her face. “What is it that you seek, my dear?”

Luca swallowed hard, his gaze unblinking. “I-I want... To h-help them...” He didn’t even need to point for the snake goddess to know who he was talking about. “I-I’m sick of h-hearing their s-screams... I-I want to help... I want to f-fight...”

“Mm... What are you willing to offer in return, darling?” She gently held his head up so that he could look at her.

There was an unmistakable fire in his eyes. “D-Do whatever you need to.”

Yidhra chuckled slightly, her smile widening. Luca shuddered again, just before a feeling of disorienting weightlessness came over him. It felt like his body was floating in some sort of void, all of his feelings having gone numb. It was almost... Euphoric?

...But then came the feeling of something being forcibly torn from the very core of his being, and all sensation came flooding back like a tidal wave.

He gasped, lurching forward as he felt a strong jolt in his chest, much like how his electrical charges felt when they kicked into action... Only this time, it was painful.

He began to tremble once again, a few stray sparks of blue electricity dancing briefly across his skin as a new kind of energy slowly took root deep inside of him.

Recognizing the newfound power he’d been given, he staggered to his feet, giving the snake woman a brief salute. “Thanks for the power, Yidhr-“ The last syllable dropped off into a cry of pain, and the survivor suddenly doubled over as the pain struck in his chest once more, stronger this time.

His knees buckled, and he collapsed to the floor with a loud thud, the chains around his neck clattering. He barely caught himself with one outstretched arm, tightly clutching the side of his shirt with his other hand. “Wh-What the...?”

Yidhra slithered over to him, gently running her hand through his messy brunette hair. “Don’t worry, my dear. This won’t take too long.”

“Wh-What do you... What do you m-mean..?” His body jerked forward again, and he completely folded over on himself, letting out a soft whimper. “Wh-What did you...”

The snake woman held a finger to her lip, making a soft shushing sound. “It’ll be alright. Just don’t fight, and it won’t hurt as much.”

Luca looked up, eyes wide. “H-Hurt..?” As if on-cue, a wave of pain rushed through him, causing him to let out a soft yelp as he shivered once more.

“Yes, my dear. You cannot have power without some sort of pain.”

He opened his mouth to reply, but the only sound that came out was a pained grunt. His entire body felt like it was overflowing with electrical energy- but it wasn’t the usual static that resonated within him normally.

It was like the existing energy he already had was being amplified... And not in a good way.

“Wh-Why does it h-hurt..?” He panted slightly, tears welling up in his eyes as he fought to stay upright. “Wh-What’s going on..?”

“Luca... My child...” The snake goddess bowed down and wiped a tear from beneath the young man’s bruised left eye. “All beautiful things come from great pain. Whether you are able to endure those things or not determines what you can achieve.”

He lifted his head again, sniffling slightly. He didn’t realize that a few little things had already begun to change, and the Dream Witch didn’t really want to freak him out too much by pointing them out.

The survivor’s ears had become a bit more pointed, his teeth had grown sharper, and his eyes had turned bright purple in color, his pupils slitted and cat-like in appearance. At the top of his head, two little bumps had formed beneath his scalp, which slowly began to extend out and resemble small horns of some sort.

He winced as the changes caused his head to start hurting, quickly progressing to the level of an average migraine on the pain scale. He dug his fingernails into the sides of his head for a brief moment... Only to stop soon after as he felt something sharp beginning to press into his skin from where his fingers were positioned.

He loosened his grip, lowering one hand so that he could look at it. His heart skipped a beat and began to race as he instantly realized that his fingers were tipped with small claws, which were rapidly growing longer.

His face completely drained of color, and he began feeling around on his aching head, something in the back of his mind telling him that things weren’t quite right.

It didn’t take him long to come across the bumps at the top of his head, causing him to shudder at the realization that his body was transforming.

He looked up at Yidhra with a horrified expression on his face. “Wh-Why am I...” He broke off with a grunt, wincing as he felt a twinge of pain along his cheekbones, just as two small spikes emerged from beneath his skin. “Wh-Why am I ch-changing...?”

“Oh, dear Luca... You should have known that your puny human form had no hopes of keeping all of that raw power contained...” She smiled. “Power always comes at a price.”

He gasped as another surge of pain tore through him, his arms giving out on him and causing him to fall completely to the ground. A hoarse groan escaped him, his body going rigid.

He was unaware of the deep gash in his wrist beginning to heal itself, the torn muscle and skin fibers weaving themselves back together and leaving the wound as a barely visible scar, which would likely fade in a matter of days.

However, from the faint line that the cut left behind sprouted several reptilian-like scales, which quickly began to spread further up his arm, rapidly taking over until the entire limb was covered in purple-colored scales.

He panted heavily, his body wracked with another fit of violent shuddering. This... really wasn’t going how he had planned.

But honestly, what should he have expected from a deity known as the “Dream Witch”?

He could feel more scales coming into existence across his shoulders, gradually working their way over to his other arm, warping it’s appearance so that it mirrored his already-turned limb.

A chill ran down his spine as the scales travelled all the way down his back and slowly crept up his neck, the unusual sensation making him rather uncomfortable. The changes almost made him feel like there was something crawling beneath his skin... but there wasn’t.

The survivor clutched frantically at his head, moaning quietly as the small horns that had developed earlier suddenly began to elongate once more, stretching back towards his cranium before curving slightly at the tip. “I-It hurtss... Wh-Why does it h-hurt so much..?”

Yidhra lightly stroked Luca’s hair sympathetically. “It’ll be alright. You just need to stay strong, my dear.”

Behind his tightly-clenched fangs, which were ill-fitting and felt way too pressed up against one another in his mouth, his tongue had unknowingly become forked and somewhat lizard-like, and he only figured out that it was different when he briefly opened his mouth to let out a shaky exhale, trying to get his breathing under control.

As soon as his lips parted, his tongue snaked out as if it had a mind of its own, instantly causing his heart to skip a beat.

What the fuck?!

He instinctively slapped his clawed hands over his mouth, eyes wide with horror. His fear only continued to escalate as he felt his nose and mouth beginning to distend beneath his palms, warping into the shape of a short, draconic muzzle.

Even with it being contained within his mouth, the survivor could still feel his reptilian tongue lashing about, attacking the backs of his sharpened fangs, the insides of his cheeks, and the roof of his mouth, as if it longed to escape its prison once more.

It didn’t feel natural... Not at all. And, admittedly, it scared him a bit.

Luca stared at Yidhra with a terrorized gleam in his bright-purple eyes, the desperate look on his still-changing face conveying one message: ‘Help me...’

The snake woman had a gentle smile on her face. “Be brave, young one. It’ll be over soon.”

His lip twitched as he started to return her smile, but his expression immediately contorted into one of anguish as he folded over himself once more, slamming his fist against the ground as a reaction to his agony.

The back of his black-and-white striped shirt began to bulge out, the fabric stretching out as something began to protrude from along his spine.

He arched his back, making a noise that resembled a mix between a growl and a groan as his body tensed, the ridge running down his spine only becoming more pronounced.

The survivor struggled to breathe for a moment as his shirt constricted his upper body, his vision blurring as repeated waves of pain relentlessly surged through him. It was a matter of seconds before the fabric began to tear, starting down the length of his back.

A tall, bright yellow fin shot up from where the ridge had formed, and two rows of small, dark purple spike formations emerged along either side of it, completely destroying his shirt.

He let out the breath he had been holding with a loud gasp, his head snapping back as he tried to force himself upright.

Yidhra gently rubbed the back of his neck, her expression calm. “You’re getting there... Just hang in there...”

Luca gritted his teeth, but he couldn’t prevent himself from crying out as pain sparked in his legs, just as they began to restructure themselves. He could feel his boots getting tighter, and a part of him wanted to try to get them off, but he couldn’t find the physical strength to actually do it.

Before he could even make a decision, his boots abruptly burst open, with dagger-like talons piercing through the toe portion and the heel being torn apart as large spikes emerged from the backs of his now-elongated, dragon-like feet.

The sound that escaped him next was somewhere between an anguished moan and a feral snarl, which sounded completely unlike himself, his voice having gained a distinctly animalistic growl, as well as having deepened quite a bit in tone.

The straps on his leg braces snapped as his jeans began to tear, along with what remained of his shirt as his body began to draw on a mass that it didn’t normally have.

His tattered shirt suddenly began to look several sizes too small as his midsection became distended, exposing his stomach just as it became plated with large, golden-yellow scales, which rapidly began appearing along his chest as his shirt stretched and tore even further.

Luca threw his head back, a deep growl rumbling from his throat as the scales climbed up the front of his neck, ending at his jawline. His muzzle and horns finally extended to their full length as his body’s proportions completely shifted, his neck stretching just a bit as his entire form became significantly larger in size, easily about triple his normal height and weight.

As he fell forward one final time, a long, snake-like tail grew out from the base of his spine, twisting and writhing about behind him in agitation. Additional spikes suddenly burst out from his toughened, scale-covered hide, specifically on his elbows, shoulders, and hips. They ripped through his muscle and skin, but the wounds almost immediately healed from the second they had opened up.

A loud, feral roar escaped him as he staggered to his reformed limbs, shaking his head from side to side with his tail lashing back and forth like a whip.

Yidhra smiled, levitating herself upwards so that she was at eye level with the massive, draconic beast. “See... You made it... I knew you could do it, my sweet child.”

The creature growled, flexing his claws impatiently. The snake goddess chuckled, seeing how he was so eager to fight after his transformation. “Oh, but I won’t keep you waiting! You’ve got a job to do!”

Luca took that as his cue to leave, and he suddenly made a mad-dash down the darkened hallway of the Asylum, claws skittering against the tiled floor with each loping step he took.

He heard Yidhra shout something after him, but he didn’t slow down. He had to help his teammates before it was too late.

His heart and mind going a mile a minute, he forced himself to focus on one thing: finding the hunter and taking her down.

It wasn’t long before he picked up the sound of a pained whimper, followed by the light-hearted chuckle of the Geisha. It was coming from straight ahead... He was on the right path!

He kept running for just a little while longer before he came across the hunter, who was towering over the lean figure of the cowboy. Emma was sprawled across the ground a short distance away, her body nearly motionless.

Without slowing down his momentum, Luca barreled into Michiko with a loud roar, knocking her to the side and pinning her nimble frame to the ground.

The demonic beast lifted his head to look back towards Kevin, who was staring at him with wide, fearful eyes.

“T...Take Emma... Get out of here...” The creature commanded, flicking the tip of his tail towards the barely conscious gardener.

The cowboy hesitated, his gaze shifting back and forth between the hunter and the massive beast holding her back.

Luca narrowed his eyes, his lip curling back to show his razor-sharp fangs. “K..Kevin..! Go NOW!”

The other survivor finally snapped out of his daze, grabbing his lasso and whirling it above his head before throwing the loop towards Emma, successfully grabbing her. He pulled her limp body back to him, slinging her over his shoulder as the exit gate alarm sounded off.

He cast a glance over his other shoulder at the demon, giving a slight nod and a salute before he bolted off in the direction of the gate.

Luca watched him go, waiting until he was completely out of sight before he swooped down and grabbed Michiko’s arm in his jaws, causing her to yelp as his fangs dug into her skin.

He dragged her over to a nearby wall, throwing her against it with enough strength to demand her attention.

He lowered his head so that he was at eye level with her, his reptilian tongue flicking out of his mouth briefly before he began to speak to her.

“Don’t you dare... messss with my friendss... ever again... Or I won’t let you... get out of thiss alive...”

The Geisha didn’t speak, unable to make any sound in the massive creature’s presence. She simply nodded in understanding, hoping to get away without harm.

“Do we... Undersstand one another?”

Michiko nodded more vigorously, fearing that the demon would lash out regardless. Much to her relief, he only gave a slight chuckle, backing away from the wall.

“That’ss your only warning. I’ll kill you next time. Jusst sso you know.”

The hunter gave a brief bow before dashing off, in the complete opposite direction of the other survivors. Luca sighed as she left, turning his bright-purple gaze towards the hallways where Kevin had just escaped to.

He started to follow, but was suddenly overtaken by an intense wave of exhaustion, causing him to collapse to the floor, unconscious before he even hit the ground.

———————————————————————

When Luca woke up, he was lying on his back in a hospital bed, the room completely silent.

Confused, he tried to sit up, only to immediately fall back down as the action sent a small wave of pain through the side of his chest, causing him to grunt slightly.

Next to him, a figure stirred slightly, his mask-covered face lifting up as his soft, grey eyes met those of the recovering survivor.

“Luca... You’re up...”

The brown-haired man turned to face the silver-haired embalmer, a weak smile crossing his face.

“Aesop...” His smile fell. “Wh.. What happened...?”

The other survivor presumably bit his lip, averting his gaze. “I... Don’t know actually. All I know is that Emily and Kevin carried you all the way back here from the Asylum and you were completely unconscious... They didn’t tell me anything else.”

“H-How long was I out for..?” He was almost scared to know the answer.

Aesop hesitated. “3 days. I was... here the entire time.” He looked away, his face turning red. “I uh... Wanted to make sure I was here for you when you woke up. I wanted to make sure you weren’t uncomfortable with your circumstances or anything.”

Luca smiled again. “I appreciate it... Thank you...”

Aesop only nodded, still not meeting the other survivor’s gaze. Silence fell over the two of them, and honestly? It was comforting.

Luca allowed his eyes to close once more, though he was far from falling asleep again. He just wanted to think about things for a bit.

From what Aesop had told him... Everything in his scattered thoughts lined up completely accurately. Which... Was both an exciting and absolutely terrifying thing.

He had a demon living in the darkest corners of his mind... And he could draw it out whenever he pleased...

Sure, he’d probably have to talk to Yidhra a bit about how to be able to shift forms at will, but...

Just having the knowledge of its strength and power was enough for him to be satisfied. And, knowing that he probably had saved Emma’s life?

...

Well, that only added on to his satisfaction.

[sora-writes-things]

Hello! Sora here!

I am just making this blog as a place to dump my fan fictions and oneshots, that way they don’t clog up my main blog. ^^

Enjoy your stay here! 💙💚