floriography [ stories five ]

angelica || vampire academy au

[ angelica - inspiration and magic
song - season of the witch by donovan or lana del rey

based on the book series by richelle mead!

⚠️- language, blood, vampires, etc

i decided to change a couple things from what i mentioned in the idea post

stay safe,
lew. ]

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St. Vladimir's Academy. A sprawling complex in the woods of Montana, a haven for Moroi vampires and dhampir guardians in training alike. Wards kept the undead out and the teenagers in.

Obviously, it was all for the good of the students, but not everyone viewed it that way. Some dhampirs wanted to be out in the field as soon as possible, doing guardian work. Others just wanted to be out of here, honestly. Some Moroi wanted to be out of the shadow of older siblings, or away from the politics of royal versus non-royal, or free to do what they wanted, or just be able to turn off the magic and expectations borne from it.

Days and nights were backwards, as the sunlight was an annoyance to Moroi. However, not all students abided by the hours. For example: Lewis, an earth magic user who thoroughly enjoyed the sunlight too much to stay inside, even when he was meant to be asleep.

In an out-of-the-way courtyard, where hardly anyone went, he sat in the grass, eyes closed and face tilted up towards the late-afternoon sun. The light was sapping his strength, but the warmth it provided made him stay. He'd definitely have to visit the feeders later, as much as he dreaded that thought.

The birds singing felt soothing, and honestly, he felt his recent lack of sleep catching up with him. Surely a short nap out here wouldn't hurt too badly, would it?

But before he could drift off, soft footsteps approached. In a brief moment of panic, he tried to use his magic to do something— but it didn't have the desired effect. Instead of crumbling the ground by the entrance, the flowers there bloomed a bit brighter.

Lewis muttered an expletive under his breath, prepared to get hauled off to the headmistress, but instead, the other person laughed warmly. "One of these days, you'll calm down."

"I knew it was you, Logan," he murmured, glancing up at the much-taller dhampir. "I wasn't scared."

"Bullshit, plant boy, you were so close to flipping the fuck out," Logan teased, sitting down next to him. "Why are you awake?"

"Wanted to be out here." He sighed and scooted closer, resting his head on Logan's shoulder.

He kept himself from smiling too much as he gently wrapped his arm around his friend. "But you're fucking yourself up, dude. Go inside and get some sleep."

"Fuck off, man. Why aren't you asleep?"

"I had a feeling my best friend was doing some stupid shit. Plus, I'm the one who can be out in the sun without hurting myself. I'm taking you to the feeders before breakfast."

"I hate going to the feeders," Lewis mumbled. "I feel so bad for them, I mean, they're addicted to getting bitten. That's— that's not normal."

Logan had to stop himself from making a joke, considering the situation and how he doubted his friend would appreciate him pointing out the faint bruises on his throat. "C'mon. If you promise to stop coming out here every day, I'll sneak into your dorm with you right now, and then, you and me can hang out later. I'll tell Harry I've got other plans."

Harry, a member of one of the twelve Moroi royal families, was Logan's other best friend, and more than likely the one he'd be assigned to protect after graduation. So, this felt like a major win to Lewis. It's not that he hated Harry, he just didn't get along with him. At all.

"Fine." Lewis sighed again and shoved Logan's arm off of him, then slowly got to his feet. "About the—"

"The feeder visit isn't optional. You're supposed to go daily anyway, and I know you don't. Let's get you back."

——

When it came to guardian classes, Logan was one of the top students. Also close to the top was Chase, a tiny girl who was definitely stronger than she looked.

And for some reason, their instructors liked pairing the two together to practice. Logan had a foot of height on her, but she always put up a hell of a fight.

She managed to knock him down, leveling her practice stake at his heart. "Man, you're fuckin' out of it today. Stay up too late or something?"

"Lewis was being difficult again," he informed her, waiting until she moved before sitting up. "Your Moroi friends don't have moral problems with using the feeders, do they?"

"Not that I know. Ronnie's been having nightmares again. About... y'know." Her good mood vanished, free hand moving to run over the faded puncture scars on her throat.

"Do you still want to be assigned to him when we all graduate? With a threat like him, I would let the more experienced guardians handle it until the threat's gone." He stood up and shook his hands out, taking a deep breath before telling her, "Let's go again."

"He's one of my best friends," she said, dodging the punch he threw. She lashed out, barely missing his face. "If I had the choice, I'd pick Ronnie or Bailey. But Bailey's not royal, so it's less likely he'll get a guardian. You've got the same problem."

"Don't remind me."

Within a few moments, he had her pinned flat against the ground, and a grin spread over her lips. "Hey, it'll be okay, bro. Guardian trials are coming up, which means—"

"—no actual classes and following around a Moroi for a month and a half. Again, don't remind me." He stood up, then helped her up off the ground.

"Come on, Logan. It'll be fun."

——

It was not fun. Logan's assigned Moroi was no other than Bailey, the very ditzy water-user that called Chase a good friend. Chase's was Harry, an air-user related to her friend Ronnie, and the prince of his family line.

The royal families were weird. The king or queen was from one of the twelve, and they named their successor from a different family to keep one branch from getting too powerful. The eldest living member of the family was given the title prince or princess, and currently, there were two known members of this branch. Harry, at seventeen, held the title.

The field experience was to give dhampir students a glimpse into life as full fledged guardians. The students guarded their assigned Moroi six days out of the week, even sleeping in the same room as them in case an attack was staged at night. The adult guardians occasionally staged fake Strigoi attacks to keep students on their toes. The results here would affect what opportunities would be available out in the real world, and if they even passed their training in general.

After looking forward to this all year, Chase and Logan weren't exactly sure how to feel.

—————

[ yeet next part will include:

actually meeting ronnie bailey and harry
finding out what happened to ezra
finding out why harry and ronnie are the only two left
finding out why chase has bite scars

i felt very dumb bc the terms for the vampires aren't recognized by my autocorrect so there's a fuckton of red lines on this