Wings in the Dark

Chapter 17: Blood

*Reader's POV*

You, Levi, and Erwin were once more gathered in Levi's office, except this time the three of you were standing in a loose circle somewhere around the middle of the room instead of grouped around a desk like usual. This meeting was solely a discussion, and there was an uncomfortable amount of attention on you while there was a rather intense discussion about you, your past, and the vampire who'd started all this.

Topics you would rather not think about, a lump in your throat and a seeping, strengthening sense of intense anxiety that came more from the memories they kept poking at than the situation itself.

"You can't remember because you don't want to, even when he's returned and poses a possible threat," Erwin repeated for clarity.

"I can't think of his face without all of it starting to flood back," you said softly, avoiding looking at Levi's face since you could feel the intensity of his gaze on you.

"Knowing what he looks like is important," Erwin said, strongly suggesting that he felt you should make yourself remember, anyway, so everyone could have that information.

Surprisingly, Levi intervened on your behalf.

"Some people remember trauma in vivid detail. Others block it out. We won't get anything out of her until she's ready, there's no point in pushing it. Probably do more harm than good. We'll have to do without." You gave him a startled look, both for him defending the fact you weren't dragging the man's description out of your traumatizing memories, and the fact he was saying that while you were here with them instead of privately to Erwin later, like he normally did. His gaze flickered towards you, and he shrugged. "You'll hear me anyway. Might as well say it now."

"There's not much we can do without knowing anything other than he's a vampire beyond any of our current capabilities," Erwin said critically.

"We can at least think of something to keep the creep out of her quarters, right?" Levi asked pointedly before turning to face you fully again. "The specifics about the 'entering a home' rule for you, again?"

You sighed, running your hand through the hair at the back of your head as you thought of the more finite details of how it worked, that you were aware of.

"Um...okay, so a vampire cannot enter a human's residence without being invited in. It has to be the human that lives in the residence, legally or officially or however you want to say it, that invites the vampire in, no one else's invite will count. So, anyone living in that space can invite a vampire in, like children, family members, or other tenants, but a guest cannot, even an extended stay guest. Though I'm sure anyone on a deed to a residence can also invite a vampire in. Communal places a vampire can enter because it's open to the public, not a private residence–hence why I could comfortably sleep in the barracks but I can't walk into Erwin's office."

"What happens if you're pulled into a residence you haven't been invited into?" Levi asked.

"Lots of unpleasant things and then death...so let's not experiment with it," you said seriously.

"What about change of ownership?" Erwin asked. "How would that change things?"

"It's like locking the door on the vampire again. They'll be unable to enter until the new owner invites them in again."

"So assigning your room to someone else and having them invite you in would solve the problem. You'd have the protection of a room no other vampires can enter," Erwin suggested.

You inclined your head. "It's worth a shot. Make my quarters officially someone else's second quarters, make sure I can't enter, invite me in, and it should be fine. And I won't have to worry about telling people to come in because I won't be able to give a vampire permission."