FellPoth Short Stories and One-Shots

From the Murky Depths: Chapter 2

Chapter Warnings: Blood (marrow), violence, swearing

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Lotus stumbled backward, turning to run away only to be wrenched back again. He cried out as he was yanked into the air by his right arm and dangled before the female rogue, struggling to break free as she sniffed at him, "A mortal? Did 'e bring a pet or somethin'?"

"Piss off!" Rurik shouted, struggling from where he was pinned against a tree; only his knife separated his throat from the weapon of the newcomer, a larger male human-like vampire.

"Probably a servant or something; the stuffy ones do that sometimes," the male rogue reasoned casually, glancing at Rurik as if for confirmation; they only received a glare in return.

The woman grinned deviously, " 'e looks cute... can I play with 'im before I eat 'im?"

"Go for it."

"No!" Lotus screamed, flailing wildly and launching his foot into the vampiress's face, taking her by surprise and somehow freeing himself in the confusion.

"RUN!" Rurik bellowed as he renewed his efforts to fight the larger vampire off. Lotus scrambled to his feet and took off running, his eye light darting around for any potential escape route.

A force slammed into his back not even ten feet from his initial starting point, driving him harshly into the ground with a pained grunt. He choked on air from the impact as the rogue snarled above him, "Ya think yer clever? I was plannin' on bein' gentle since yer a small fry, but the gloves're off now!"

Before he could even get a breath, the rogue chomped down on his left shoulder blade, splintering his bones with the force of the bite. Lotus let out a strangled cry, desperately struggling under the woman's weight to get away; he could hear shouting in the background while his injury throbbed angrily for attention, but his focus was solely on escaping and the invisible time limit he had before he was rendered immobile from the bite.

The vampire on top of him didn't seem to mind his struggle in the slightest, gorging themselves on the wound they created. Lotus wanted to cry as he began to rapidly lose feeling in his limbs, shivering in fear of being completely helpless to his assailant's whims. He whined, feebly trying to claw at the dirt and grass under his fingers, but his body was no longer responding. A wave of dizziness overtook him and his sockets grew heavy, alerting him that his body was already reaching the limits of what it could handle. The weight above him suddenly shifted as hands began to tug at his clothing; he clenched his sockets shut as they began to water.

This was it... this was how he would die; Rurik was busy dealing with the other vampire while he was paralyzed and fighting to stay conscious. After everything he went through to create a life he could actually take pride in, it would all be snuffed out like it was nothing in the most degrading way possible. With unbridled terror and dismay coursing through his soul, Lotus whimpered softly, "Rurik... help..."

A strangled cry pierced the air and a gust of wind rushed around him as the weight on his back abruptly lifted. Cracking open his teary sockets, Lotus could barely make out the blurred outline of a figure aggressive stabbing downward over and over as their victim screeched and writhed below them.

Once the screams fell silent, the attacker stood up and rushed over to the prone skeleton. Lotus felt himself being shifted around and raised up until he was face-to-face with Rurik, his lower skull resting against their left arm. The vampire's face and clothing were splattered with blood; his expression warred between anger and urgency as he demanded, "Lotus? Talk to me, Lotus; you still with me?"

"Hnn...," the monster groaned, his vision swimming, "Sh-shoulder..."

No sooner was the word out of his mouth that Lotus felt himself being shifted against the taller's chest as his clothes were pulled away from his left side. Rurik made a hissing noise beside his skull before leaning toward the injury; he shivered into his master's shoulder, feeling the vampire lightly run their tongue across the damaged bones in an attempt to stop the bleeding.

The sensations eventually ceased, but Rurik sounded far from pleased, "That bitch really did a number on you; it's still not clotting all the way." Reaching over, he took up an end of the red scarf laying on the ground and tore a strip off before wrapping it tightly around the injured area. Lotus winced as the ends were tied off, noting that feeling was finally starting to come back to his extremities.

Rurik shifted the injured monster once more, cupping his left cheek with their hand and sliding their thumb across the lower rim of his left socket to wipe away the tears that had built up from his earlier panic, "Anything else hurting? Need me to get you to the doc?" His voice sounded calm, but Lotus could see worry flickering in their starry eye lights.

While he was sure one word would have his master legging it back to the coven for medical aid, he could already feel his body beginning to stabilize now that the adrenaline was wearing off and he wasn't bleeding out; Rurik was probably tired after all the fighting he did too. "I'm... 'm fine.. just sore... 'n sleepy...," Lotus mumbled sluggishly, fighting fatigue to get his words out, "Wh... what about... th' rogues?"

"Dead," the vampire answered shortly, "If you're tired, then rest; the mission's already over, so we can camp here in the shade for the rest of the day and take a trail home once it gets darker."

Lotus hummed, his sockets drooping as a drowsy feeling tugged heavily at his senses, "Thank you... for saving me..."

He could practically hear the scowl in Rurik's voice, "As if I would let some shitty rogue have their way with you; you're my servant."

Lotus huffed weakly but smiled while murmuring, "Still, thank you... Master."

"Yeah yeah, whatever," Rurik grumbled, "Just go to sleep already."

Lotus murmured his gratitude once more before settling against Rurik's chest and closing his sockets, confident that he would be safe.

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Word Count: 1,037