A witchcraft loather's unexpected friendship [Belos x M! Vampire! Reader]

1. Into The (not so) Forbidden Woods

Word Count: 1139

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Poor little Philip found himself dragged along into the cursed realm of evil with his brother.

What once was approximately a weekly visit, had turned into the two brothers' home, it seemed like. Philip barely stayed in the human realm anymore.

He did have the choice to stay there, he didn't have to tag along with Caleb every time, but Philip couldn't bear the thought of leaving his big brother alone surrounded by witchcraft, so did he really have a choice after all?

Today was another day of trying to interfere with his brother's relationship and with poor attempts at sabotaging it, he slowly gave up and decided to spare himself of the devastating sight of his brother being led astray, and instead opted to observe the tiny wildlife of the Boiling Isles. Philip had to admit that the creatures were just as fantastic- if not more, as those in his home realm.

Tracing pictures into the sand while his brother laughed alongside that damned witch was boring, to put it lightly.

He exhaled dejectedly and shifted positions. Glancing at Caleb and Evelyn, an idea came to his mind.

While not too fond of the Demon realm, he was still quite curious as to... Well, everything. Demons, witches, and their land were interesting.

So, with another quick look at the couple closer to the sea, Philip stood up, dusted himself off, and turned around to take a quick stroll through the forest behind them. It's not like anyone would notice. It would just be for a few minutes and Caleb and Evelyn are far too occupied with each other at the moment, he told himself.

As the boy walked along the forest path, the trees thickened the deeper he went. Less light peeked through the thick leaves and branches from above. It was a magical feeling, though Philip tried to not enjoy himself too much. He wouldn't want to fall prey to the witchcraft like Caleb had.

Somewhere along the way, Philip had departed from the main path and found himself walking through a darker, narrower path. The way was overgrown and dark. While Philip didn't like the idea of walking on this specific path, he didn't want to follow the main path into the town either, so he decided to take the witchless way. Or, at least he hoped the path didn't lead to any witches.

Pushing himself through the overgrown bushes and branches, the slightly disheveled Philip arrives at the yard of a mansion. It was a nice reddish brown and about three stories tall. It was like something out of a book, Philip thought.

He stands there for a moment as his breathing calms down from the fight through nature to get to the clearing, and Philip is not sure if he should approach the mansion or not.

He knows It's probably witches living here, but there's something weirdly endearing about this house.

Perhaps it was just the fact that it was an out-of-place mansion in the middle of a thick forest, away from most civilization or maybe it was something else.

The mansion clearly was lived in, as it seemed well kept. But who would live in the middle of the woods in a three-story mansion? As far as Philip knew, witches were social creatures, just like humans. Or maybe the building wasn't a house, but perhaps a vacation home? Or maybe it was something the mayor owned?

Before Philip could stop himself, he was already at the front door. For a brief moment, he thinks of turning back and returning to Caleb and Evelyn, since surely by now they had noticed Philip's disappearance. But he just couldn't shake the curiosity away.

Before knocking, he tries peeking into the windows next to the porch, but they're all curtained shut. So, he knocks.

...

Hmm. Nothing happens. Perhaps the house owner should invest in a doorbell.

Philip waits for a few seconds more, before turning back around and starting to walk back to the path he came from.

He couldn't take many steps before hearing a voice from behind him. Or, from the side, behind him.

"Hey, wait! Who are you?" The voice asked.

Philip turned around again, seeing a boy around his age standing by the side of the mansion wall. His clothing was a bit different from most of the witches, his outfit looking like fine silk that's been handled with care, but that might've just been the effect of living in the middle of the woods. Or he was just wealthy.

"U-uhm-" he stumbles over his thoughts, trying to think of what to say. Quickly, he collects himself and tries to be kind, even though the thought of befriending witches makes him want to walk straight into the boiling sea never to be seen again. But even Philip knows it wouldn't be a good idea to anger a witch in the middle of a forest. "I was simply traversing through the woods and came across your mansion." He says, maintaining eye contact. "I'm not invading, am I?"

The boy looks at Philip for a moment. "Hm... I guess not. But that was not my question! Who are you?!" He repeats himself, walking over to Philip so he wouldn't have to yell.

Philip grew a bit nervous with the boy approaching. "My name is Philip. What do they call you?"

"That's a weird name." He smiles, stopping in front of Philip, who by the way took mild offense to the comment. "I'm (Y/N)." The boy continues.

For a few seconds, the air around grows awkward, before Philip saves the situation by asking: "Is this your home?" He motions to the mansion.

"Yeah. I wish I lived closer to the town." (Y/N) looks back at the mansion behind him. "It's so boring here!" He complains and does a frustrated hand motion, then looks at Philip.

"Oh! My parents aren't home for a few days. Would you like to come inside?" He asks, trying to be as welcoming and warm as possible.

Philip felt indecisive about the idea. On one hand, he would really like to visit the mansion, but on the other, this boy was a witch whom he had barely spoken to for three minutes! Not to mention Caleb, who was probably worried sick by now.

Seeing the cogs turn in Philip's mind, (Y/N), desperate for communication, introduces another idea: "Or I could come to your home!"

The idea of another witch coming around Philip's day-to-day life made him want to gag. He wanted to decline, but thinking about it a bit deeper, maybe a sleepover wouldn't be the worst idea. He didn't like watching Evelyn and Caleb converse, it disturbed his sleep and kept him up at night, worrying about Caleb completely succumbing to the witchcraft.

(Y/N) was definitely not going to be a friend of Philip's! But a distraction would be nice.

"... Okay. Come with me." Philip agrees.

"Yay! Fantastic!" (Y/N) cheered and walked alongside Philip back to the beach.