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not-a-robot-i-swear-really · 1 year

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Stygian Dawning: Chapter One

Chapter One: The Wolf

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Eddie Munson x Valera Savoy (OC)

Word Count: About 3200 words

Chapter Summary: Valera finds her target and a new wolf is born.

Chapter Warnings: Not beta read, mentions of alcohol, violence and blood, terrible Google translated Latin, Eddie gets his shit rocked and not in a funny way

Heavy thunderstorms had rolled into the town of Hawkins on a dark May night. The whole of the town had cooped themselves inside, heeding the forecast’s warning of blackouts, washed out roads, and flash flooding.

Valera had never been one to let a bit of rain stop her, so regardless of the storm, she went rolling into town in a jet black Cadillac. When she got out the car, she hid her crimson eyes behind a pair of dark sunglasses, and handed her chauffeur a hefty $500 tip.

She turned to survey the scenery; a seedy little bar with the words “The Hideout” displayed proudly above its doors in yellowing neon, with the letters “i” and “o” flickering. Under normal circumstances she would never even set foot in a dive bar like this. But she had tracked her target here, and she wouldn’t be deterred by an unpleasant neighborhood. She would simply have to put up with it for the night.

Quietly disgruntled, she glided through the doors with her head down.

As she set foot inside, she whispered a quiet spell to hide her presence: “Ego Gyges anuli vim invoco.” It wouldn’t make her invisible, but it would keep people from bothering her while she did her work.

She slid into a tiny booth on the other side of the bar hidden away from everything else. The bartender, his eyes glazed over with a unnatural cloudiness, came to sit a bottle of single-malt whiskey and shot glass at her table. Nobody noticed the bartender stopping to serve Valera, exactly as she intended. With her drink in her hand and a vantage point secured, she began her impromptu stakeout.

Her eyes swept across the dingy-yellow lit room; at the bar sat a trio of older men drunkenly complaining about the state of the world, in the corner across from her sat a young couple french kissing and whispering in sultry tones to each other, and on the tiny stage across from the bar stood a band consisting of four boys a bit too young to be drinking alcohol.

The kick drum read “CORRODED COFFIN” in thick, striking letters. They were halfway through a cover of a song by Metallica, “For Whom the Bell Tolls” if Valera was correct. The band was unprofessional, their style rife with all the mistakes of a group with only trial-and-error as their teacher. Valera had never particularly enjoyed metal but she could give credit where credit was due. They had talent and passion, every single member pouring their heart and souls into the performance.

The lead singer, a dark-haired lanky man with chunky silver rings adorning his fingers, played and sung with all the fervor of a piano maestro. He looked a bit older than the rest of his band, in the weird age where he was still a child in the eyes of many, but a man in the eyes of the law.

Valera turned her back to the rest of the bar. As interesting as the frontman was, he wasn’t the target. He smelled different; like a mixture of pine and bergamot. The man she was looking for had smelled more musky with a spicy undertone to it, much closer to the smell she associated with wolves.

This bar wasn’t just Valera’s stakeout, it was her lure, her bait. The full moon was over two weeks away. She knew she would have to get creative to find the wolf before he fled once more, so she’d had Tiberius whip up a little spell made to entice wolves like the one she was hunting. It would only be a matter of time before he showed.

Valera had more than enough time on her hands.

Time passed, the tiny hands on Valera’s wristwatch ticking away as she awaited the wolf’s arrival. Outside the rain’s assault eased as the moon rose higher into the sky. The band brought their set to a close, each member steadily peeling away to pack up their equipment. Only the frontman remained, chatting idly with the bartender; presumbly to get the band’s pay for the night.

As he turned to leave, the man’s doe brown gaze glided over the room, and landed right on Valera. A shock ran through her – it couldn’t have been a coincidence that the man had seen her. Her glamour was all but impenetrable to most beings, supernatural or not, but the guitarist didn’t smell any different than the average human. Maybe he had some supernatural ancestry, something was laying dormant in him? Or perhaps he was a seventh son of a seventh son? It was increasingly rare these days for humans to have so many children, but it wasn’t impossible.

Valera had no more time to deliberate his origins, because the very object of her pondering had strolled up to her table. He plopped himself in the seat across from her, roguish grin on his pink lips.

“So, I take it you enjoyed the music,” he said almost purring.

Valera only lifted an eyebrow in response.

“I mean you’re obviously not here for the alcohol, judging by the untouched shot glass you’ve got here.” He gestured to the bottle of whiskey by her hands.

“And clearly you’re not here for the company, because you’re sitting here all alone.”

“That may change in the near future,” Valera finally responded. She kept her senses open, watching the young man and the rest of the bar at the same time. A little conversation wouldn’t hurt her.

“And what, I’m not company?” He gasped, pressing a hand to his chest in faux-offense.

“You are, just not the one I’m looking for at the moment. And to answer your earlier question, I found your performance... Satisfactory.”

“Just satisfactory? Not amazing, not spectacular?”

“Just satisfactory. ‘Heavy Metal’ is not exactly my cup of tea.” Valera gestured to her attire with an ochre-skinned hand. While she was dressed in all blacks, it was more akin to wealthy aristocrats and Gothic Victorian maidens wandering around dark castles. Eccentric and stereotypical of a vampire, but Valera couldn’t help it if her tastes were aligned that way.

“Speaking of which, what’s a well-dressed lady like yourself doing in Hawkins? We’re not exactly the most interesting place on Earth.”

“That can be a blessing of sorts.” Valera mused. She knew more than anyone else that interesting things often equated to dangerous things.

The pale-skinned man snorted, “You must not get around often. This place is kind of a shithole. I’d take interesting over this any day.”

Valera pursed her lips as she circled the lip of her shot glass with her fingertips.

“What about your ‘company?’”

“Hmm?”

“The guy that you’re waiting for? He can’t be from here, ‘cause if he was, everyone here and the next town over would have heard about it. I know I wouldn’t be able to shut up about it.”

“Oh? And why is that?” She leaned her chin on her hand, long black fingernails tapping on her cheek.

The young man stuttered, his cheeks tinting pink under the dingy yellow lighting of the bar. “Oh, well- it’s just- you know...”

“Know what?”

“You’re, um, you’re really gonna make me say it?”

“Say what?” She leaned forward to stop only inches away from his face, her dark eyelashes fluttering behind her sunglasses.

At this, her impromptu companion was rendered speechless, dark eyes wide in incredulity and his entire face colored in red. Just before he could give a response, the door to the bar flew open as the bartender struggled with another man at the entrance.

“C’mon man, you know you can’t be here.” The bartender grunted as tried to push the man back out.

“Please-please, I just need to talk to her! Just for five minutes. Three, i swear!” The man, no younger than 25, tried to edge his way into the room. Valera narrowed her eyes as she watched the exchange.

There was only one other woman in the bar, and her companion was the only person who had seen through her spell so far, which meant-

“Don’t make this any harder than this has to be-“ The bartender fell to the ground with a deep thud, the other man finally having forced his way inside. At this, the room seemed to spring into chaos; the old men rushing to the bartender’s side, the couple slipping out of a side door, and her doe-eyed acquaintance frozen like a deer in headlights.

An energizing jolt ran through Valera’s body as the scent of blood flooded her nostrils. She forced the thought of it down though, focusing on the other scent wafting through the air: a feral musky odor, with a spicy undertone.

The wolf had arrived.

“As enlightening as the conversation has been,” Valera said as she gathered herself, “I’m afraid our little talk has come to an end. I’ve found who I’m looking for.”

She left before the boy could follow her – he was more concerned with the chaos unfolding before him.

Valera – and the wolf – followed the couple fleeing into the dark woods surrounding the bar. It was easy for her to find them, as despite her inexperience as a tracker, she could still smell leagues better than any human could.

“Stop,” she appeared before them in a flash of mist. A scream ripped from the girl’s throat as her boyfriend darted arm in front of her.

“Calm yourselves. I’m only here to help.”

The boyfriend growled, “Who are you? Where did you come from?! If you’re with Hayes back there, I swear to God-!”

“I’m not, I assure you. But you should leave before he finds you. What happens next will not be pretty.”

“What are you talking about?” the girl behind him asked in a trembling voice.

“I said, leave.” Valera’s smooth voice echoed with her power, and the young couple fell into a stupor. They brushed by her without protest, almost trudging away like zombies. Valera, in turn, whistled a short high tune, calling four crows to land before her. She handed each a scrap of fabric, taken from the couple’s clothes as they glanced by her. The crows flew off in different directions – now, if the wolf wanted to find the girl he would have no choice but to confront her.

And just she expected, the werewolf came tumbling into the clearing, wild-eyed and panting with a ferality only known to few.

“David Shaw.” She addressed with him with a dismayed drawl.

“You again,” the werewolf snarled. “I told you I don’t want your help. I don’t want anyone’s help!” Already his form was twisting, eyes glinting yellow, and claws pushing fingernails off his hands.

“Oh, we are far beyond helping you, Shaw.” As she spoke, Valera dropped her coat to the ground, revealing a simple and elegant sabre on her belt. “You’ve hurt people. You ruined your friends and family, left bodies in your destructive wake, and refused to get treatment for your condition all the while.”

“And let you lock me away in some dark dungeon? Poke and prod at me like some kind of lab rat? I don’t want your treatment.”

She brandished her sword at him, ignoring his interruption. “My only mission now is to bring you in, no matter the cost.”

With that, Shaw mind was subsumed by the beast within. He growled as his skin buckled and peeled, dark fur bursting forth to replace it. Feet lengthened and his shins shortened to form powerful hindlegs. He dropped to all-fours and bared his sharpened teeth in a roar as he rushed at Valera.

Valera met outstretched claws with solid parry; she ripped a gash in the werewolf’s thigh. Shaw yelped and snapped his jaws at her shoulders. He was met with only air, Valera’s body dematerializing into dark mist. The mist split and twisted in the air until she was behind Shaw with a heavy kick aimed at his head. Before it could land, the wolf whipped around to grab her ankle and throw her into a wide oak tree. She cried out as pain arced up her spine.

Valera was a frighteningly strong vampire when compared against humans, but against beings like lycanthropes she was greatly outmatched.

“Gladii vim invoco, Zulfiqar!” As she spoke, her sabre split into six copies floating around her body. With a flick of her wrist, each sword rushed at Shaw to impale. One by one each sword impaled his chest and broke into motes of light; all except the last one which Shaw just barely managed to dodge. With an haunting howl he darted forward to swipe his claws at her. Valera, unlike her opponent, darted to the side long before he could even reach her.

Dark misty wings burst from Valera’s back. With a single flap she carried herself into the air and knock Shaw back with a burst of wind.

“Virtutem Titanis Gaiae invoco!” Thick thorny vines burst from the forest floor and wrapped tightly around each limb to pin him to the ground. Shaw howled. pulling against his thorny restraints. But with Valera focusing so intently on him, he wouldn’t be able to get far. She summoned a silver collar dipped in a potion, made to force werewolves into their human forms.

She approached the struggling wolf, unclipping the collar to snap it around his neck. But then the sound of snapping branches rung out through the clearing. Valera whipped around; at the edge of the glade stood the guitarist from the bar, dark wet eyes glinting in the moonlight.

With Valera’s concentration broken, Shaw broke free of the vines to sink his jaws deep into her leg. She barely had time to let out a pained shriek before he slammed her into the ground. The vines whithered away as Shaw stood, slashing his claws down on Valera. With her leg already wounded, he attempt to dodge was foiled, his claws sinking deep into her side.

No blood was spilled, instead black liquid pouring from her wounds. Valera slammed her fist into the side of Shaw’s head just as he leaned forward to sink his jaws into her shoulder. He stumbled off her with a yelp, leaving Valera to scramble out of his grasp.

“You shouldn’t have followed me,” she called to him as she pulled herself to her feet. She summoned a dagger to her hand and flung it at Shaw’s outstretched hand, pinning him to a tree.

“What- what the fuck?!” he sputtered as he took in the scenery before him. Valera, bleeding black blood, and a beast, a horrific mixture between man and wolf.

“Leave.” She stressed, pushing her power into her gaze. There was no time for it to take effect though – Shaw pulled the knife from his hand and tackled Valera. He raised a hand to attack, but she refused to let him get another hit in, Valera’s body bursting into thick mist again. This time, she did not try to circle him; instead she flew backwards to put space between her and her opponent.

But much to Valera’s horror, Shaw didn’t try to pursue. Instead he turned and lept at the man. The werewolf was on top of him in seconds, faster then any human could hope to react. He brought his hands up to shield himself, but it did little to help. Shaw sunk his teeth deep into the man’s arm. He screamed as the werewolf ripped a chunk of flesh from his arms.

Valera dashed forward, using her wait to shove Shaw to the side.

She shouted another incantation, “Venite ad me, corvi mei!” Seemingly from nowhere, a cloud of darkly feathered birds swarmed around Shaw. With her foe distracted, Valera pulled the dark haired man to his feet.

“Let’s go, they won’t keep him busy for long.” She said as she pulled him with her. He didn’t respond, only murmuring curses beneath his breath as he clutched his bleeding arm to his chest.

Just as Valera said, the ravens only served as a distraction. Shaw was on the their tail in seconds, tearing through the underbrush like a bulldozer. Valera summoned her wings again to pull herself and the brunet into the sky. But before she could lift a few inches off the ground, Shaw gripped her leg and pulled her back down. She was quick to break the grapple, pulling up dirt to throw at his eyes.

Shaw howled in pain and let go of Valera immediately. He flailed, desperately trying to hit something. Unfortunately, the closest possible thing was the guitarist. His claws swiped across the young man’s chest, sending him sprawling to the ground with a shout. He was left with four deep gashes, and the werewolf soon added to his wounds by snapping his jaws around the man’s leg.

It was clear now that bringing Shaw in alive was simply impossible, not with him lashing out at both Valera and the other man at the same time.

She drew her sword once more, but this time brandishing a silver dagger in her off-hand. She darted between the werewolf and the dark-haired man. As the werewolf moved to slash at her, Valera brought her sword up to meet his claws. With Shaw’s hand occupied, she dug the knife deep into his abdomen. Shaw stumbled back and yelped, clutching at the newfound gash in his side. Wasting no time, Valera placed the heel of her boot onto his chest, and kicked him back with all of her strength. Shaw flew back onto the ground with a heavy thud.

“Virtutem Titanis Gaiae invoco!” She chanted again. When the thorny vines returned to do her bidding, she wasted no time in restraining every part of Shaw’s body that could move.

The vines tightened and tighented, thick briars driving deep into the werewolf’s body. Before he could do anything else, Valera rushed forward and stabbed the silver dagger right into Shaw’s forehead.

He could only let a gurgling whimper before he went limp.

The vines fell away as she released her control over them, and finally Valera was allowed a moment to breathe. She turned to the guitarist now curled up on the forest floor. She knelt next to him, holding his face between her fingers.

His eyes were wide open, but they were glassy and unfocused. His chest rose and fell in quick, shallow breaths. Blood was still pouring from his wounds, the red coating his hand and indication of his attempts to stop the bleeding. He wouldn’t survive if Valera didn’t act fast.

“Invoco Hehu potentiam.” With that, the bleeding slowed to a halt as did his breathing. He was frozen perfectly in time until Valera saw fit to release him. He wouldn’t be healed, but at the very least, he would survive until she could get him help.

Valera sighed, crimson eyes drifting up to the sky to meet the moon. A silver crescent, just barely present, hung high in the sky. It would be a good two weeks before the full moon, but the symptoms of a werewolf transformation could show up as soon as tomorrow.

She looked back at the man, still frozen in time on the ground.

This mission did not go as planned, and someone else was paying the price for it.

In English: “I call upon the ring of Gyges.”

In English: “I invoke the power of the sword, Zulfiqar!”

In English: “I invoke the power of the Titaness Gaia!”

In English: “Come to me, my ravens!”

In English: "I invoke the power of Hehu."

A/N: Finally got this one finished! Felt like i was working on it forever, it's been a while since i've worked on a fight scene. Anyway, hope you guys enjoy it, don't forget to reblog and allat. Have a nice day ~❤

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