Shelby Is Not Naive, Or: Everyone Cares Too Much About Scott Goldsmith
Shelby fully expects the people of Oakhurst to kill her at the first opportunity. Shelby is so invested in the coven and so willing to excuse the flaws of other vampires because she has bought into the idea that the humans can and will hurt her at the first opportunity. There are many reasons for this, but Scott Goldsmith is not one of them.
Scott is her bestie because he stands still and says nice things while everyone else is running around introducing her to new and exciting forms of torment nexus. It is a âluigi wins by doing nothingâ ass situation.
Once Shelby is turned, it becomes nearly impossible for her to talk to a human without being threatened. Many social interactions from the very instant she walks back into town after the fishing trip are shadowed by someone openly planning to hurt or kill vampires.Â
Avid tries to test if sheâs repelled by silver and then starts building a jail cell in front of her. Apo isnât directly threatening, but basically comes to Shelby with the hypothetical âwhat if there was an evil vampireâ. And then they emphasize the importance of keeping a stake at hand.Â
Shelby asks Ren if theyâll really have to fight each other, and Ren says that itâs just the way of the world. Sausage emphasizes the point by yelling âstab them all until theyâre dead!â, which isnât really a great thing to hear when you are one of the âthemâ in question.
Eventually, Apo gets turned, and most of the vampires convene at the beacon, where Martyn burns her alive.
Let me repeat that: she burns alive.Â
The video editing emphasizes this as a big deal. Shelbyâs narration in the aftermath concludes that âif i asked for a chance to talk, they would have just killed me without a second thought.â From Shelbyâs perspective, they did just kill her without a second thought. It is the climax of their episode 3, and one of the first things Shelby mentions in episode 4. It is a major turning point for the character, with good reason.
As far as Shelby is concerned, the vampire vs human conflict began with her experiencing a horrific death for the grand crime of crouching next to a beacon.Â
From this point forward, non threatening interactions with humans vanish almost entirely.Â
The only conversation Shelby has with a human is episode 4 is her face to face with Avid, which has high points and low points. The low points include Avid telling her about staking his partner because she attacked him.
Shelby, does, however, visit the town later, where she finds Avid burning her house down.
And then Legundo reads the cure book in front of the houseâs ashes.Â
Legundo also scolds Avid for burning down the house, but Shelby misses that part. In fact, Shelby missed all of the pro Shelby comments made in the town around that time.Â
According to the post series creatorâs commentary, (which i canât link because twitch deletes old vods so it probably no longer exists aajfas;llllldg) this isnât even a matter of clever editing- Shubble was legitimately out of range for all of the parts of the story where people agreed that they wanted to help Shelby.Â
In episode 5, she is approached by a group of Drift, Cleo, and Pearl. Shelby is surrounded, and asks them to put their swords away. Pearl takes a minute to do so, and when she does she switches to a bottle of holy water. Shelby backs away and Pearl moves forward.Â
The start of this conversation very much has shades of an interrogation: âwhy do you look so different? Did you eat truffle?âÂ
Shelby tells them about being burnt alive, and the response she gets from Cleo is âbut you got betterâ. Which sucks, and serves as an ironic mirror for the way that Scott and Owen are dismissive about the trauma involved with turning people. Both factions are expecting Shelby to just walk off the wrongs done to them, but the Oakhurst faction is openly threatening future harm to Shelby. Â
Of the three of them, Drift is the most supportive. The conversation improves from there, and some nice things are said, but Shelby was still threatened. It was still the preamble to the nice and productive part of the talks.Â
Then she has the meeting with Avid where he asks to be turned, which goes fairly well but ends with Avid being decidedly non human. Also Owen replaced one of Avidâs messages to Shelby with a death threat, so Shelby was still threatened over it.Â
Episode 6 has the Oakhurst invasion where all of the vampires visit Oakhurst and Pearl gets chased around. Shelby doesnât really talk to anyone here, but she sure does get to hear Pearl make a generalized threat. Because Shelby can never catch a break.
We also see another instance of Shelby assuming that the townies are after her: her narration says âi thought Pearl was chasing meâ
Then thereâs a conversation with Sausage. Sausage pulls out a stake because of course he does.Â
Then Drift pulls Shelby aside, and they have a lovely chat where there are no threats of bodily harm. However, Drift is a vampire, so it doesnât count. Rip.Â
When Avid starts talking about the cure, Shelbyâs immediate assumption is that if Avid asks to be cured, the humans will stake her without a second thought. She also is the one to suggest sabotaging the cure for the sake of protecting herself and the other vampires.Â
Episode 7 sees Shelby dealing with humans twice, and both of them are decidedly hostile interactions
The first bit of human contact comes when the vampires burn down the walls of Oakhurst. This is, naturally, open combat. Shelby makes a point of targeting Martyn.
Her second human interaction in episode 7 is running into Abolish, who promptly introduces her to the Veylocke murder box. In other words, Shelby is stunned, rendered immobile and helpless, and executed in cold blood. It is not an easy death.
Abolish even acknowledges that she didnât do anything, and then kills her anyway.Â
episode 8 is the finale, where she fights some humans, hides from humans, eventually has a truce with humans for the first time ever, and then wanders off into the sunset with Drift and Scott.
Thatâs basically all of Shelbyâs major human interactions post episode 3. There is never an instance where speaking to a human is not linked with being threatened by a human after that point.Â
For the most part, this is entirely the result of the people of Oakhurstâs own priorities and character choices, but there is one vampire that tries to make sure that Shelby canât talk to the humans. Someone that tries to isolate her, someone that uses threats, someone that is willing to lie to keep Shelby in the castle and away from town.Â
That person is Owen.Â
Owen interferes with Shelby speaking to townsfolk three times, to mixed results: he joins the conversation with Apo and successfully diverts them from trying to convince Shelby sheâs wanted in town; he replaces Avidâs letter with a threatening message, but Avid manages to set up a meeting with Shelby and clear the air with her anyway; and he appears in the Pearl-Drift-Cleo meeting with Shelby in episode 5, which arguably improves the situation because he took the conversation in a useful direction and Shelby had already felt threatened anyway.
âŚactually, all three of these things happen in episode 5. Owen has a very brief window of being invested in the coven in this particular way. He does some pretty nasty lying in that window, though.Â
While this could be an interesting plot thread, Owenâs contributions are something of a cigarette in a burning warehouse. Shelby got killed twice as collateral damage, and both deaths were exceptionally traumatic. No amount of intercession on Owenâs part is going to speak louder than the wrongs done to Shelby by the humans themselves. No amount of lying on Oakhurstâs behalf is more damning then Oakhurstâs own failure to address the damage theyâve done in any way. Heâs burying a relationship so far underground it is already in hell.Â
Even seemingly minor things like Pearlâs tendency to casually arm herself do more to damage Oakhurstâs reputation then Owen is really capable of- there is a direct line of cause and effect between Pearl saying she has a stake and Shelby assuming that Pearl is chasing her down. Shelby is rightfully skeptical of the claims Owen makes about other people, but when someone else is making those kinds of statements, she tends to believe them.Â
And then thereâs Shelbyâs backstory.Â
Shelbyâs backstory, where she is isolated from her entire community growing up. Where people she considered friends and neighbors didnât care about her in turn. Where nobody had even done something as basic as telling her that sheâs fun to be around.Â
 Of course Shelby thinks that Oakhurst is willing to write her off at the drop of a hat. Thatâs what her hometown did.Â
In conclusion
1: the town is not blameless in the Oakhurst vs Castle conflict. They have done real harm to the Coven, and most of it has fallen on their friendliest and least aggressive member.
2: Shelby is indeed afraid and isolated, but the bulk of that fear and isolation is generated and maintained by the people of Oakhurst themselves. The one time Scott had an opportunity to sabotage one of Shelbyâs outside relationships, he chooses not to.
3: Scott is Shelbyâs first friend, ever, and the feeling is mutual. This is a key component of why Shelby is Like That.Â
4: The answer to most gripes regarding vsmpâs story arc and ending is Shelby. Why did Scott live and Pyro die? Shelby. Why did Scott suddenly pivot to pacifism? Shelby. Why canât the humans just wipe out the coven and call it a day? Shelby. Why was the coven a legitimate social structure in the first place? Thatâs also Shelby. Itâs Shelby all the way down.
In Shelbyâs story, Scott is the prize she wins for her kindness and Pyro becomes the avatar of all of the senseless violence she has suffered.Â
Shelbyâs character arc is one of being the collateral damage of other peopleâs agendas so frequently that she becomes convinced that she must use violence herself. This culminates in her killing the most direct and personal threat to her physical safety, which is Pyro. Shelbyâs other character arc is about seeking peace and companionship despite the bloodshed around her. This culminates in her turning her closest companion from the path of violence, and that companion happens to be Scott. Scott and Pyroâs conclusions are mirrored halves of Shelbyâs finale, and reflect Shelbyâs greatest triumph and lowest low.
The outcomes they get make sense if you position Shelby as the central character, and her choices were the ones that decided their fates.Â
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i think if you are in a position of power and use that power to tell people that you see their every move and are going to do what you deem "appropriate reactions" to them breaking your personal preference rules in private spaces AND ALSO tell them you have spies watching them just in case they try to hide then that makes you a bad person
Scott Goldsmithâs Native Environment is a Horrible Murder Box
this has consequences
Vampires smp was originally billed as an amongus alike with light roleplay elements, so Scott Smajor basically just took a pile of life series conventions and built a character around it.
The life series, for the uninitiated, is a competitive minecraft youtube series where everyone has a limited number of lives (times they can die), and the goal is to be the last one standing. The mechanics gradually allow more murder to happen over time, so everything starts with people making nice with each other and ends with an absolute bloodbath. The tone is kept light by the mutual acknowledgment that everyone is a youtuber playing minecraft, but there has been plenty of discussion about how much actually living in that kind of world would suck.Â
And then we have Scott Goldsmith
Scott Goldsmith, who wasnât intended to be much of a character in the first place, winds up playing the life series conventions to the hilt as genuine character traits and social standards. For the most part, this worked out incredibly well! Scott Goldsmith is an interesting character that works well with the rest of the cast and is fun to watch, which is basically everything you can ask for in an improv series. There are, however, some artifacts from this that have some big impacts on how Scott works.Â
Most notably, Scott Goldsmith works from the baseline assumption that he will have to crawl over the bodies of other people to survive, and that thatâs just normal. Itâs not even anyoneâs fault. Everyone lives in a horrible murder box and the only way to succeed is to make sure that itâs you on top.
(this doesnât stick out too badly because noble power games are frequently just a slightly more free range murder box, so Goldsmith being murderbox georg does not particularly contradict his lore or backstory)
The other major consequence of murder boxes being Scott Goldsmithâs main thing is that Scott actually follows a fairly rigid set of rules and assumptions when dealing with other people. His own personal vampire code, if you will.Â
The code of Scott Goldsmith is as follows:Â
1: The in group deserves everything and the outgroup deserves nothing. Everything the in group does is good and justified, everything the outgroup does is not.Â
This is the bedrock of the gaslight, gatekeep, goldsmith social interaction special, and the governing principal behind what Scott is willing to justify and when. Basically, if he or someone he likes did it, then he will defend it and deny even the concept that it might have been wrongdoing. People that are not members of his coven generally have their actions weighed by how dangerous or inconvenient they are to himself or His People.Â
The most obvious example of this is the interactions with v!Avid in episode 6 and 7. In episode 6, he complains about Avid burning down Shelbyâs house, but in episode 7 he defends it by claiming that âit was uglyâ. The same instance of the same action performed by the same person goes from something worth complaining about to something worth depending based entirely on where they stand in Scottâs regard.
Note also that this rule has no interest in fairness or reality. If Shelby says âthe sky is green and the moon is made of cheeseâ, and Martyn says âno it's notâ, then Scott will back up Shelby because Shelby is coven and Martyn is not. If Shelby kills Martyn, Scott will immediately decide that Martyn had it coming. If Shelby kills Martyn, burns down the town, and declares her desire to destroy the world and rule over the ashes with an iron fist, Scott will fully support her in that endeavor.
2: A lone vampire is a dead vampire. Your power is directly proportional to the number of people that answer to you
On one level, this is just mechanically true for vampires smp. Every person turned is another set of hands that can corrupt the beacons, and, just as importantly, one more person taken away from the effort to consecrate them. Even if that person never switches sides, the fact that they canât consecrate any more or use the various human powers makes it a worthwhile effort, which is why there was a general OOC limit to turning only one human per episode. (and they had to take a break from turning people if they accidentally turned too many)
a more character driven level, Scott is very much a social threat, and acts the part. Turning people lets him acquire minions, who are easier to manage than outsiders, and generally arenât going to cause him problems.
Vampirism is generally more then enough to force someone into his faction, because once someone is turned the humans will do the bulk of the work in driving the new vampire away from them and into Scottâs waiting arms. Itâs a phenomena Scott is very confident about and takes shameless advantage of.
This is also why in episodes where Scott doesnât turn anyone (due to the OOC limits), itâs styled as him stopping because the new vampires arenât joining up- growing his power base is the main benefit of turning new vampires, and when that peters out he becomes more hesitant to do so.
3. Your actions should always advance your agenda
In other words, Scott mixes business and pleasure in the sense that his hobbies always contain some practical value.Â
This is, honestly, the one Scott haters get wrong the most. While thereâs nothing wrong with having a villain in your story, Scott isnât the sort of person to torture someone in his basement for the sake of it when he could be torturing someone in his basement for information, or to break them down into something more psychologically dependent on him.Â
Even if recreation is his main goal, he should ideally have a secondary goal as a matter of both practicality and preference- itâs just more fun for him if heâs being paid to be evil. (or buy some ice cream. Or pet a dog. Or help someone out)
4. Betrayal is a crime of the highest order. Loyalty is a virtue of the highest order.Â
What, exactly, Scott considers betrayal varies over the course of the series, but this is generally the governing principal behind the various times he menaced Pyro, why he didnât see v!Avidâs murder coming, and why he was both so pleased with v!Avid and so angered by his death.Â
Scott Goldsmith values loyalty, and to a degree both expects it as his due and considers it an obligation to give loyalty in turn. This isnât surprising- most Scott Smajor characters run along lines of loyalty and devotion. Scott Goldsmith is not an exception just because he is also a Dracula.Â
5. Support your allies however you can
Scott is, in fact, an incredibly dedicated ally. He does things like give Pyro food while having low hunger himself as early as episode 2, and the tendency to act like that only goes up over time.
This makes a certain amount of sense- helping other members of your faction also helps you because youâre all working together for a single goal. In Scottâs case this is especially true, since as the leader heâs deciding a disproportionate amount of the groupâs goals. A well fed minion is a productive minion. A productive minion is a lot more likely to succeed at your goals.Â
This one is the part that can be the hardest to reconcile with Scottâs everything else. However, itâs important to remember that Scott is not immune to the desire for companionship, and also that he actually needs to keep people on side in order to not die. In some ways, this is very much an extension of rule 2.
6. (new) be a good friend
Over the course of the series, Scott gradually gets attached to the other vampires, and comes to see them as companions with needs he should consider outside of their mutual victory. He realizes that he likes the people around him, and he wants them to be happy. That he cares about them as people, and not just as tools.
The process of this takes the entire series, but by the end of it his friends are a big enough priority that he points out opportunities to escape to his own detriment.
In conclusion:
1. Scottâs core character concept is âguy that is trying to get a good grade in Minecraft Hunger Games, something that is normal to want and possible to achieveâ
2. Scott Goldsmith does not so much have a moral compass as he has a set of rules designed to keep him alive. The bad parts of this are obvious, but there are good parts, too: when it mattered most, Scott was able to change and grow to suit the people around him. Owen and Ren, by contrast, violently self destructed and that hurt the people around them because they were too rigid in their personal convictions.
3. The support he offers to other people in the coven is real and sincerely meant. The expectation that those coven members will aid and abet his own misdeeds is also very real. Scott himself doesnât recognize the difference until the end of the series, where he asks Abolish to stop him from doing bad things.Â
4. The finale of vampires smp from Scottâs pov very much pivots around v!Avidâs death. It turns out that the rules that Scott shaped himself around werenât as ironclad as he thought, because the people around him would literally rather die than put up with them. The mechanics that demand violence and bloodshed can be subverted in a way that causes unnecessary death and suffering.
And, to be clear, Owen and Pyro are dead to him as soon as they do this. In part because heâs planning on killing them himself, yes, but also because their actions are tactical suicide.
When he next talks to Pyro in what is basically his eulogy, Scott thanks him for the reminder that he should expect death and misery, because as far as heâs concerned death and misery are the normal course of events. Scott was winning so much he forgot that murder boxes suck, actually.
This is increasingly a problem because, by the laws of murderboxes, Shelby and Drift are almost certainly going to die- they both struggle with pvp, donât have the aggression to cover for it, and with Pyro and Owen lost they donât have enough front liners to cover their weaknesses. If things continue the way theyâre âsupposedâ to, more people that Scott cares about are going to die.
So, Scott starts looking for another way out. After all, if the rules can be broken in ways that are bad, maybe they can be broken in ways that are good. Maybe they donât have to kill everyone. Maybe murderboxes are bullshit, and all of this was entirely unnecessary.
So he starts looking, and, surprisingly enough, there is a path out. Itâs not easy or bloodless, but it is a strict improvement over the status quo. Itâs an option that keeps his friends alive.
Of course, just leaving this murderbox isnât enough. Scott still has to deconstruct the murderbox in his own head, because otherwise his actions will simply create another murderbox around him.
Thatâs a bad outcome, so he enlists Abolish to kill him if he starts causing problems. Scottâs not great with morals, but heâs excellent with rules and practical consequences. So long as backsliding into the worst of his old behavior is guaranteed to go badly for him, he can be fairly sure that he wonât do that.
Actually figuring out how to be a functional person outside of the torment nexus is basically an entire novellaâs worth of character development that the series doesnât have time for, so instead it settles on âthey figured it out eventuallyâ.
Kris watching Blue Ears' honest but misguided attempt at friendship with someone he really liked fail due to a big load-bearing lie and a dishonest scheme he was forced to participate in by someone who convinced him was honestly the right thing to do, but just put his friend in an incredibly unfortunate position and seemingly no honest explanation or confession was able to stop that friend from just being incredibly hurt and pissed about the whole thing and possibly ruin their relationship forever: âŚâŚâŚâŚâŚâŚâŚ. well this sucks but it's a good thing nothing is this situation is absolutely not in any way relevant to my life at all right now haha haha
Scott starts the series buying regular milk. Shelby is lactose intolerant, but thatâs fine, because she doesnât have to drink anything.
Then Owen decides he wants organic fair trade super chocolatey murder milk with extra chunks. Scott starts buying the fancy milk because Owen is his friend.
Then Owen and Pyro kill someone, because it turns out that regular milk is poisonous and fancy milk is extra poisonous.
Shelby and Drift are both lactose intolerant, so Scott is switching to oat milk anyway, but the poison thing is fairly serious and he knows he can be stupid sometimes, so he asks Abolish to change the price of regular milk to two billion dollars so heâs not tempted to buy any. Abolish is like âiâm pretty sure I can just yell at you for trying to eat poison but okay.â
And then Scott leaves Oakhurst and drinks oat milk for the rest of his life, and it turns out that drinking oat milk is actually fairly easy and not even that big of a deal if you have friends to remind you that regular milk is a bad idea.
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Other than learning the truth about the supernatural, the main thing Shelby wanted was to belong somewhere. Then the vampires turned her and she got both these things. They accepted her for who she was and loved the quirky parts of her that everyone in her old town hated. She finally managed to leave behind the feeling of not fitting in and feeling stupid for trusting "a liar" (her father).
Only for the townsfolk to tell her time and time again that she's nothing like her new family and that they're only trying to manipulate her...
The reason she stayed with the vampires is not only because they accepted her first, but because in trying to help, the townsfolk continually isolated her from the people she cared about, forcing her back into the very situation she tried to escape.
oh, good point! going from "your father was a liar who never cared about you" to "Scott is a liar who doesn't care about you". except Scott is alive and present and willing to spend a significant amount of time with Shelby
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Here we go, thanks to @loombarrow its time for more stink bug au!
This is gonna be the last sort of "test scene" for the au before I start working on the proper fic. These scenes may stay in the main fic in some form or another, they may not, I dunno. But they are a vibe!
****
Abolish could hear the tension in the voices ahead of him as he approached the town gates. Multiple people were arguing, speaking over each other loudly enough he couldn't quite pick out who exactly was speaking. He let out a small sigh and gathered himself, preparing to face whatever was waiting for him.
He'd been out doing the rounds of the tombs, and had pocketed a few new books to look at later. The sun had just set, the air starting to turn chilly with the coming of night. Coming through the treeline, Abolish was able to see the group gathered around the gate.
Martyn, Legundo and Cleo were just inside the gates, standing tensely, but only Martyn had a weapon drawn. They were facing off with Pyro and Scott, who were a few meters back. Unfortunately for Abolish, they were also directly between him and the gates. He suppressed another sigh, and began to approach carefully.
"âwas worth making the offer, at least," Scott said airily, and Abolish was glad he recognised the dismissal in the Elder's tone. He must have missed the worst of the argument, thankfully.
"No one here is interested, Scott," Legundo said firmly.
"Well," Scott said with a wave of his hand, "you all know where we are, should you change your minds. Come along, Pyro."
The fledgling slipped into place at Scott's side easily, though he cast a furtive look back at the townsfolk as he did so. Abolish slowed to a halt as Scott turned away from the town, facing him directly. A smile spread across Scott's lips as they made eye contact.
"Abolish," he said, like he was greeting an old friend. Abolish crossed his arms, and gave him a small nod. They hadn't crossed paths since Scott had pressed him against a tree and covered him in his scent.
Abolish made the mistake of glancing over Scott's shoulder, to meet Cleo's steely glare. They'd been quite vocal in their distrust of Goldsmith's intentions, and while Abolish certainly didn't disagree with their opinion, he was getting a little sick of being on the receiving end of their ire. He snapped his eyes back to Scott, who was approaching slowly, Pyro a half stride behind him.
"What are you doing here, Scott?" Abolish asked.
"Oh, I just thought I'd pop down and see if anyone was interested in discussing the benefits of vampirism," Scott said, coming to standstill just short of the reach of Abolish's sword. Not that it was drawn. "There's so much room up at the Castle, and we all know the simplest way for us all to get out of here is for you lot to embrace the gift and let us turn the Beacons, so I thought we could just have a friendly little conversation. Sadly, your friends were less than welcoming, so we'll be on our way."
They're not my friends, Abolish did not say. That was the least important part of Scott's little speech, and it wasn't worth the argument. Instead, he simply hummed thoughtfully. Whatever Scott's actual motivations, he did seem to be happy enough to walk away from the conversation without causing any issues, so Abolish wasn't going to intervene.
"UnlessâŚ" Scott stepped forward, grin turning sharp, "you would be interested?"
"You know that's not going to happen, Goldsmith," Abolish said flatly. Scott chuckled.
"Oh, you can't blame me for trying," he said. Abolish didn't bother responding. Scott was clearly determined to keep digging at him, regardless of whether he pushed back or not, so it was simply easier to give him nothing.
Scott took another step forward, deliberately moving into Abolish's space, and let out a soft purr. Abolish was prepared this time, and locked down his habit of tilting his chin up at the sound before he could so much as twitch. That didn't deter Scott, though, the Elder stepping closer still, purring louder with a determined grin. Abolish clenched his jaw, as he realised he wasn't getting out of this conversation without a formal farewell.
He had known that letting Scott scent him would have consequences. He had just thought that most of them would come up after he left Oakhurst, and would have to put up with Morcant fussing over him like he was a fledgling for a few weeks. But Scott had apparently decided it was not a one time thing. And so Abolish, arms still crossed over his chest so his hand was close to the silver dagger tucked into his sleeve, suppressed the urge to roll his eyes and slowly tilted his chin up to bare his throat for the Elder.
Scott moved with easy grace to close the distance and rub his cheek across the line of Abolish's jaw, the rumbling vibrations of his pleased purrs filling the air between them.
Abolish stood perfectly still. For Morcant, he would dutifully lean into the contact, pressing back against his cheek or one of his fancy silk handkerchiefs as he rubbed them over Abolish's face and neck. But this was Scott. Abolish didn't flinch away, did nothing to potentially risk triggering a hunting instinct, but simply endured it. He had noted the difference in the texture, the way Scott's skin was smooth and soft against his own, in a way Morcant's was not. On a purely sensory level, Scott's nuzzling was certainly not unpleasant, at least.
It was a quick moment of contact, a gentle nuzzling and a single stroke of a hand through Abolish's hair, before they separated again and Scott was walking away, a flick of his wrist in Pyro's direction to get the fledgling to follow him.
Abolish didn't miss the low growl Pyro let out as he stepped past him.
He could feel the eyes of the townsfolk on him. They would have seen the entire exchange. Abolish drew a slow breath in through his nose. He wouldn't be able to pick up on the layered intricacies of the coven scent, not without vampiric senses, but there was definitely a lingering, metallic edge to the air around him, that reminded him of sitting in the armoury, sharpening his blades.
(The Thornvale scent was earthier and reminded Abolish of days spent training in the forests near the manor).
He took a second to prepare himself, and then walked the rest of the distance towards town.
"You want to explain what the hell that was about?" Martyn snapped as Abolish walked through the gates.
"Not particularly," Abolish answered, honestly.
"Abolish," Legundo said firmly, as Abolish tried to walk past them, "we thought he was attacking you, whatâ?"
Legs' question was cut off by a snort of laughter from Cleo. Abolish clenched his jaw. Legs looked across to them, brow furrowed with concern and confusion. She gave him a dismissive wave.
"Don't mind me," they said. "Though I am looking forward to hearing your explanation, Abolish."
"We don't have time for this," Abolish said, reaching into his bag. "Here, Doc."
He pulled out the book he'd found labelled I/III and passed it over. Legundo's eyes went wide, and he took it reverently. The conversation quickly flipped to discussion of the Cure.
Cleo's eyes never left Abolish's face. He knew he wasn't getting away without giving some kind of explanation, no matter how well planned his distractions were. He held back a sigh. Cleo he was mostly happy to talk to at least. Legs too, probably. That was about as far as his amity extended.
Not trust.
He doesn't do trust.
(And yet he'd trusted Scott to not bury his fangs into his neck andâ)
He couldn't do trust.
****
Vote Trustbites for a fic request! (Requests will possibly reopen for the final poll, will see if I'm caught up by then! For now, go show some other ships some love in bracket two)
For @buttercupbonfire, who requested " @audioeidolon world building with coffin cuddles featuring Scott and Legundo, dealer's choice on weather or not Abolish is also there Suffering through this or if its just bloodloathing"
I wanted to fit Abolish into this because I love to make him suffer, but I was in a Bloodloathing mood. (Abolish is gonna suffer plenty of Scottâs nonsense in my upcoming au though, donât worry!)
[cw: violence and gore (moderate), Goldsmith-typical manipulation tactics, dubiously consensual blood drinking (the giver of blood is consenting, the drinker.... not so much), general vampire biology weirdness]
****
The first thing Legundo felt was pain. Searing, bright, all consuming. Radiating from his core out in a spiralling fire. It was so intense it was dizzying. That's why he didn't immediately notice the arms wrapped around his waist. He didn't notice them until the memory of what had happened hit him once more.
"NOâ"
He threw himself backwards and the back of his head slammed into solid stone. The crack of the impact was thunderously loud, but the pain was nothing compared to what was already burning through him. There was another sound in the darkness, that grew louder the more Legundo struggled. He could process what it was, couldn't think past the burning pain and the thumping sound in his ears like the marching of boots towards oblivion. But the sound was constant and close, and though he couldn't understand what it was, he could feel it. A vibration in the air, dancing across his skin and echoing in the cavity of his chest. He shuddered as some distant part of his mind told him that sound meant safety. He blinked, and realised the darkness he was in was not all consuming, like he thought it was. He could see, in a grey, hazy kind of way.
All sense of safety fled from his mind as he made out the shape of a face smiling up at him. He was in painful proximity with Scott Goldsmith.
He threw himself backwards again, trying to roll out of Scott's space, but something sharp dug into his back and pulled him closer.
"Easy, Doctor," Scott whispered, the vibrating noise â purring, Legundo realised â increased in intensity.
"âSoldierâ"
Legundo shook as another voice echoed through his mind. The movement tugged at where Scott's claws were buried deep in the flesh of his back.
"Let me go," Legundo growled. Scott chuckled, a soft, almost tender sound. That distant part of his mind that wanted him to curl towards the sound of Scott's purrs reacted with a strange warm sensation. Repulsion stabbed through him, sharper than Scott's claws, brighter than the pain that Legundo finally recognised as hunger. He growled again, this time without words, an animal sound of pure fury.
Scott snarled back â louder, sharper â and everything in Legundo froze.
"Stop fighting," Scott huffed. "I am trying to help you."
"I don't need your help," Legundo snapped back, but Scott just laughed again.
"Well don't you sound like your dear Sire now," he said sweetly.
It hit Legundo again.
The pain. The hunger. The fear as claws flashed in crimson moonlight. The searing burn of his flesh ripped open. The sound of his voice as he beggedâ screamed. You promised.
The betrayal.
The fury.
Owen had done what he swore he wouldn't do.
And somehow, it had lead to Legundo being trapped in a small dark space with Scott fucking Goldsmith.
But with the anger came clarity.
A path.
He was trapped with Scott. But that meant Scott was trapped with him.
His own body moved with a speed he didn't recognise, and his arms that had been hanging limply at his side surged up, fingers curled into claws aimed at Scott's eyes.
With Owen's gift, Legundo was fast.
Scott was still faster.
With another animalistic snarl, Scott twisted and â despite the cramped space Legundo was beginning to suspect was a coffin â flipped them both over by driving his shoulder and knee into Legundo. There was a burst of pain as Legs' back slammed against cold stone. Scott's claws wrapped around his wrists and tugged, pinning Legs' arms between them. He thrashed against the Elder's hold, but it was unyielding.
"Would you calm down?" Scott huffed, having the audacity to sound bored. "You're only going to hurt yourself more like that."
"I'm going to kill you," Legundo hissed. Scott hummed dismissively.
"I'm sure," he muttered, grinning down at Legundo in a disgustingly bemused way. Legs tugged once more against his grip and, when that failed, surged up to attach to rip Scott's face open with his teeth. His fangs. Fangs that Owen had given him, despite him begging him not toâ
Scott twisted easily out of the way. The smug bastard was still smiling. Legs could see the cool white of his fangs between his parted lips. They were longer than Owen's, and ended in a fine, needle like point. Scott smiled wider, as if to show them off more. Legundo made to surge up again, but Scott's smile turned sharp, and he made a noise low in his throat. Every muscle in Legundo's body locked up with primal fear.
"You poor thing," Scott said softly, and despite every new instinct in Legundo's mind screaming danger, be afraid, submit, he snarled furiously instead.
"Your poor, starved body is trying very hard to heal," Scott continued, tone disgustingly conversational, despite the context. "I did have Owen feed you, of course, when he showed up at the doors of my Castle with you in his arms. He's only a fledgling himself, you know, really. He had no idea what to do with you. Best that your first meal be your Sire's blood, really solidifies that bond. But he truly did a number on you, didn't he?"
"I'll kill you," Legundo hissed again, but the quite rhythm of Scott's voice â and that damned purring that he had started up again â was starting to drain the anger from his body, leaving molten pain and exhaustion in it's wake. "I'll kill you and then I'll kill him."
"I wouldn't recommend it," Scott said. He shifted his weight and lowered himself closer to Legundo, pinning Legs' arms between them. Their chests were almost flush, and Legs could feel the vibrations of Scott's purrs in his bones. "It's rather awful for a fledgling to lose their sire, especially so soon after turning. You've always claimed you want to be useful, Doctor, so believe me when I say you will not be able to be useful if you are driven mad with the grief of a broken Sire-bond."
"Why do you care?" Legs snarled, making another feeble attempt at freeing his arms.
"Because Owen is part of my coven," Scott said. "As much as he likes to play at independence, it is the safety of my walls he returns to, it is my orders he follows, and it is by my grace that he is free to roam and do silly things like pursue his strange obsession with you. He may not admit it, but Owen is mine. And because of that, what's his is also mine. Therefore you, darling Doctor, are also mine."
Fury and revulsion burned through Legundo, but the heat of hunger chased after them and left his body trembling with weakness. He wanted to snap, to fight and rip and tear, like Owen had done to him, but it was like the rumbling purrs from Scott's chest were some kind of sedative, sinking into his bones and muscles and leaving his limbs too heavy with weariness to move.
"That is why I care, Legundo," Scott continued, seemingly oblivious to the way Legundo was trembling with hatred. "And that is why I am here, and have been here for the last day and a half while you slept."
"What?" Legundo whispered hoarsely.
"By rights it should have been Owen, yes," Scott said, like that was the thing Legundo was confused about. "But I knew that a fledgling turned so violently would need a much more experienced hand ready when you woke up. You two would have simply killed each other, I'm sure, and I'll not be losing any of my coven to such a foolish little grudge."
"He killed me," Legundo hissed, and the anger was growing stronger again. "He turned me, when heâ he promised. I trusted him, Iâ"
"I don't care," Scott sighed. "Are you hungry?"
"What?" Legundo snapped. Scott rolled his eyes at him, and began to move, wrapping the long fingers of one hand around both of Legs' wrists. He then brought his newly freed hand up into the space between them. For a moment, Legs thought he was going to reach out, to stroke Legs' cheek or scratch his face open. He froze in anticipation of either. Instead, Scott brought his wrist up to his own mouth, and delicately, without breaking eye contact with Legundo, bit down.
The scent hit Legundo like an artillery shell.
As a surgeon, he had grown used to the scent of blood. This was different. Richer, more powerful. filling the cramped air of the coffin with something metallic and electric like a coming storm. If the hunger had been burning through Legundo before, once that scent touched his nostrils, it became an inferno.
Scott brought his wrist away from his mouth. Legundo's night vision did not allow him to see colour, but the blood that coated Scott's mouth and wrist was still obviously much darker than any humans, even sapped of any discernible hue. Every one of Legundo's senses was locked onto that liquid. He could feel himself trembling, could hear a faint whine being drawn out of his throat, but he could not process anything but the blood that looked almost black against the pale expanse of Scott's skin.
Scott was smiling at him, blood on his lips and teeth.
His torn open wrist hovered in the space between them.
Legundo was starving.
He knew what hunger could do to a person. He had been a monster long before Owen's claws had dug into him.
Blood dripped from the wound, Scott's wrist angled perfectly so it fell directly onto where Legundo's mouth was open, panting from pain and hunger.
All it took was a drop.
Legundo's fangs were in Scott's wrist before he even processed the taste.
The purring grew louder once more, echoed weakly in Legundo's own chest, thrumming in time with each swallow of the liquid that tasted like nothing he had ever tasted before.
"There you go," the Elder's voice said softly. "You will come to understand, Legundo, just like your Sire did. I do not care if you are pleased with this arrangement or not. You need only comply. You can hate me all you wish. You can hate Owen all you wish. But until this matter with the beacons is resolved, there will be no in-fighting. I need all the strength I can get on my side in this. As long as the barrier holds, we must be a united front."
Legundo could feel his flesh beginning to knit back together, the sharp pain of the wounds fading with every gulp of the sickeningly rich blood. Scott's voice was just as soothing as his purrs, and Legundo wanted to sink into the sound. He was furious. He bit down harder, not quite sharp enough fangs tearing through the firm surface of Scott's skin. The Elder hissed, and wrenched his wrist from Legundo's jaw, swiping his claws across his face with the same motion. The wound healed instantly, but the pain lingered sharply.
"The second the barrier drops," Legundo hissed through heaving breaths, "I'm going to kill you."
Scott leaned close, smiling, his own blood still painted across his lips.
"I look forward to seeing you try."
****
Vote Trustbites for a fic request! (Requests will possibly reopen for the final poll, will see if I'm caught up by then! For now, go show some other ships some love in bracket two)
#at first I wondered if this was a scott turning legs story#but nope it's just scott could smell the consequences of that divorce from a hundred miles away#and decided 'hmmm actually I will intervene this one time' tags from @uncannyfig
I did consider doing Scott turning Legs (and may have to write something like that at some point) but I decided I really liked the idea of Owen showing up at the castle with Legsâ not-corpse and Scott being like âWell, looks like you broke your favourite toy. Guess you canât play with him anymore.â And then he puts them both in time out so they canât kill each other when Legs wakes up.
(Owenâs time out is he gets put on Shelby protection duty. He thinks itâs baby sitting but Scott just knows that Shelby is gonna guilt trip the hell out of him and he thinks itâs very funny)
Scott being the first one to call him doctor after the breakup! Legundo's identity and sense of self being dragged back together not by friends that care about him, but by Scott because he can't afford to let him implode right now. because it would be a waste of resources. because Legs is too valuable to let go. i'm.
the disassociation and trauma being smothered by vampire instincts that Legs fights at every turn because he refuses to bow to Goldsmith. the way that he implicitly yields at the end anyway, supposedly until the barrier falls but definitely until he gets let out of the coffin.
that barrier falling end date is totally a lie, by the way. not because Owen and Legs *couldn't* disperse once the thing keeping everyone trapped is gone, but because a Scott with no barrier to attend to is a Scott with time on his hands, and a Scott with time on his hands has all the resources he needs to clean house (and lock down the very useful and very powerful fledgelings that have dropped into his lap.)
heck, even if Scott could only keep one of Owen or Legs, i'm not sure if he would pick Owen. Owen's easier to manage, in the sense of not being inclined to try something clever, and Scott has more history with him, but Legundo is just. more valuable. Legundo has up to date knowledge on the area, and background skills, and, most importantly, strong social ties with half of Oakhurst.
the potential to bring Cleo into the fold alone would make him a prize, and that's before you factor in Abolish or even Apo. heck, Legs might even be able to talk around one or more members of the Oakhurst militia.
i already mentioned the instincts, but. the instincts. the way they pull at Legundo constantly and make an already impossible situation even more impossible. the way that he's absolutely furious with them and absolutely repelled by the things they pull him towards but they pull him anyway. there is something in his head and it is telling him to submit. there is something in his head and it is telling him to let himself rest.
biting Scott because his instincts want to lean in and Legundo *hates that* is very Owen of him.
being hit with the reality that Scott cares in the worst way possible. being looked after because your worst enemy has decided that he owns you, and he takes care of his stuff. being dragged out of one horrible mental pit by a party deeply invested in shoving you into a different horrible mental pit.
I cannot speak for the content creators. I cannot speak for those that were harmed the most directly, betrayed the most deeply, or lost the most profoundly.
I can only speak for myself, and what i have seen around me.
v!Avid spoke to me strongly as a character. The experience of seeing a problem that others ignored, of being ostracized for saying the wrong thing or acting the wrong way, of feeling isolated in a crowd from the profound understanding that nobody was willing to help were all things i identified strongly with. The plot was compelling. I wanted good things for the character, even as i understood that he was probably going to die.
When v!Avid did die, it was all anyone would talk about. The structure of vsmp itself was changed by his murder, because it happened in a way that was so shocking and so profoundly unsettling that it made everyone reevaluate their priorities. It was a big deal
there was a boom of fix-fics and Aviscott. People wanted to imagine a world kind enough not to kill him.
And then there was the âyaoi slopâ stream.Â
It left a mark. People felt ashamed for exploring dynamics that AvidMC himself had championed mere months ago. The coven as a whole became less popular. âThe coven is just evilâ became more popular. Aviscott stopped being so prevalent. The âScott as Avidâs sireâ genre died overnight. People wrote less about v!Avid in general.
The space recovered. Cryptidclues and Moonrot became more popular. People talked more about Bloodletting. Niche ships started to take shape. Aviscott was no longer considered a simple or easy ship, but those that stayed knew what they were doing and understood what dynamics they wanted to explore. Wonderful, thought provoking stories began to take shape, all of them written by clever and passionate people. We were in a new era of story telling.
And now this.Â
Dozens of fanfictions struck down overnight. A lynchpin of the story we gather around becoming a forbidden topic. Doubt, about weather or not we still should acknowledge that part of the story at all. Guilt, for enjoying something that was not made by someone worth our support. Betrayal, for trusting a creator to live up to basic moral standards and being proven wrong.Â
Our own desire for kindness, tainted by cruelty and manipulation. Empathy rendered hesitant in the face of a dedicated manipulator. Exploration rendered criminal by unwilling association with something truly despicable.
v!Avid killed again, for being hard to love.Â
The fandom will recover. The fandom is already recovering- there are lots of clever, brilliant people out there that are still writing, and for them i am thankful.Â
In light of recent revelations, what if we were to create a fanon OC to fill in the role of v!Avid?
Like, I know that some people are planning on swapping out Avid in fics for an OC, but I'm saying that we as a fandom come up with a name that we all can use in fics and out to further separate the character from the content creator, and maybe decide to all portray him as blond or something, idk.
I just feel like if we came together as a community to create a fill in, it would allow for more consistent Ao3 tags, character discussion without having to constantly specify C not CC, and shipping without discomfort.
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Any crossfangs would be awesome! I love how you write them and their relationship.
Oh boy this one got away from me. Somewhat of a continuation of this scene, with some vampire biology/dynamics once again inspired by the incredible @audioeidolon
cw: morally ambiguous characters, mildly suggestive in a secret third thing kinda way. I dunno what their vibe is here but it... it sure is something.
****
The fledglings had finally settled down to rest. Scott left them curled up together in the coffin and slipped out into the night. He had forgotten how ravenous fledglings were. They were burning through their reserves quickly, and while Scott was loathe to leave them alone in the Castle, he had no choice but to go out hunting.
It would be easier if Owen was pulling his weight, but at least he was self-sufficient, and not an active drain on resources. It just meant it was up to Scott to do all the hunting for the fledglings. Which was fine, he was more than capable. But he had gotten used to a certain kind of luxury, with a coven that looked after itself and a town that offered respectful sacrifices. It had been some time since Scott was a sole provider.
Nighttime cloaked him comfortably, as he moved into the forest, flitting into bat form to swoop over the ravine. He didn't plan on venturing far, just deep enough to snatch a few unsuspecting animals, fill the collection of bottles he had brought with him, and return before the fledglings even knew he was gone. But as he landed in the bough of one of the ancient pines and retook his vampiric form to scent the air for prey, he caught the whiff of something else in the woods. Something human.
There was a human near his Castle. That simply wouldn't do.
He wrapped the shadows around himself easily, disappearing from sight, and begun to move towards the offensive scent.
He was beginning to wonder if it was time to make a proper example of one of the humans, if they were going to keep coming so close to his home with nothing to offer in return. He had put up signs and tried to be civil about it, but if they were going to keep ignoring the polite warnings, perhaps it was time for some good old fashioned heads on pikes, or corpses dumped at the gates of town with threatening messages carved into them. A little gauche, for Scott's taste, but needs must.
His plans shifted a little less murderous, though, when he saw exactly which human was lingering near his home and his fledglings.
Abolish emerged from a small rocky outcropping â too small to even call a cave â with a bag hoisted over his shoulder that Scott could tell was full of freshly mined silver.
Scott had been watching the hunter carefully over the last few weeks. There was something fascinating about him, how unaffected he was by it all. Calm and focused, he slipped under the notice of the panicked humans. But Scott had noticed. He had also noticed, after the first few weeks in Oakhurst, that Abolish's scent had changed.
What had once been a clean and neutral odour (deliberately neutral, by Scott's guess), had shifted to something earthier, and more naturally human. But what had caught Scott's attention was the scent that lingered around Abolish's throat. He had only noticed it the rare chances he got to get close to the hunter, so faint he needed to lean in and breathe deep to scent it. But, after their last encounter in the woods, Scott was certain he had not been imagining it. Abolish had a coven scent.
His initial instinct was that Abolish must be an escaped thrall, like the farmer was, but he had none of the haggard desperation to suggest it. An attack dog, then, perhaps? He had known some covens to keep skilled humans close at hand for easy feeding and to be disposable weapons. Scott thought it was far too much work, especially when you could just turn the skilled ones to keep forever, but to each their own.
"Can I help you, Scott?" Abolish asked over his shoulder, continuing down the path towards town. Scott had to admit he was impressed. That was twice now Abolish had been able to sense his presence, even through invisibility. He slipped out of the shadows in easy step next to the hunter.
"You're the one practically at my doorstep," he said. Abolish shrugged.
"I figured y'all wouldn't be wanting this silver anyway," he said, giving a vague gesture to his bag. Scott hummed, and leaned in. The coven scent was almost entirely faded, but Scott had a sharp nose, and his instincts were clearly telling him that the hunter carried the scent of another Elder vampire, one that Scott didn't recognise. He shifted his steps to move into Abolish's path and forced them both to a halt. The hunter twitched an eyebrow at him, but that was the extent of the reaction.
"Who exactly are you, Abolish? I admit, I cannot figure you out," he said, taking another step into Abolish's space. As always, not even Abolish's heart rate gave a reaction. Scott let a low, almost inaudible growl rumble through his chest. The sort of sound he used to chastise the fledglings, or bring Owen to heel. Abolish simply tilted his chin to maintain eye contact. Definitely not a thrall then, any drop of vampiric blood in his would have caused at least some kind of submissive response.
"I told you, Scott," Abolish said, sounding downright bored. "I have a job to do. I just want to do it, and go home."
"And what job is that, exactly?" Scott asked. He took another step forward, slow and deliberate, just to see what Abolish would do. Abolish shifted his weight, taking a half step back, but not in a way that felt like yielding ground. It almost felt like a dance, Scott leading, pressing Abolish backwards as he followed easily, never breaking eye contact.
"It's irrelevant to you," Abolish said.
"And yet it has you poking around my home, while my fledglings are resting," Scott said, letting the threat hang clearly in the slither of air between them.
"Like I said," Abolish replied, "I was just getting the silver. You weren't using it anyway."
"I should kill you just for the fact you're traipsing another coven's scent through my territory." Scott let his growl build and flair into his words, stepping forward again.
Finally, there was a reaction from Abolish. That last step had pushed him back enough that Scott had him all but pressed against the trunk of a tree. He was not pinned, but he would have to be very quick and clever to be able to get away if Scott decided he wanted him to be. But it was not the scent of fear that rose from Abolish in that moment. Instead, he let out what was distinctly a huff of frustration.
"I was hoping that would have worn off by now," he muttered.
"It mostly has," Scott admitted. "The fledglings wouldn't notice it, I doubt Owen would either. But this is my territory. It's bad enough there's humans here, with their heartbeats and sweat-stink, I don't need someone else's pet getting their scent everywhere too."
He let disdain drip off his words. This close, he could see subtle shifts in Abolish's expression, the way his brow furrowed slightly and the edges of his lips tipped down in what could almost be a frown. Scott wasn't sure what reaction he expected. Humans usually got oh so offended when he spoke of them like that, but Abolish seemed mostly unbothered, if a little confused.
"I'm not trying to mess with your territory," Abolish said, and Scott was surprised by the honesty of the statement. "Like I said, I thought the scent would have worn off by now."
"The coven scent of an elder takes a long time to wear off," Scott said. "I'm assuming you were using something to cover it up initially. I should have scented it the moment I saw you."
"Yeah, but I ran out. So you'll just have to put up with it, I guess," Abolish replied with a calm shrug, like they were discussing the weather. Scott kind of wanted to bite him just to see if he would even react to that. Instead, another idea formed in his mind.
"I have a better idea," he said. "Something that won't matter to you, but will make me much more willing to turn a blind eye to you roaming about my territory."
"And what's that?" Abolish asked, but the slight narrowing of his eyes suggested he at least had some clue what Scott was suggesting. Scott smiled sweetly, and let a gentle purr build in his chest. It was such a soft sound, he doubted Abolish's human ears would be able to actually hear it, but they were close enough he would be able to feel the vibration of it.
There, Scott thought, as he saw Abolish twitch, just slightly. It was the subtlest tilt of his chin, a cut off motion as Abolish locked down whatever habit he had been trained into. Scott wondered how long it had taken the Elder who's scent he carried to train the young man to bare his throat at the sound of a purr without the help of vampiric instincts.
"You want your scent on me," Abolish said flatly, in a way that suggested there was a clench to his jaw as he spoke. Scott purred a little louder.
"Your silly human nose can't even smell it, and your Elder will happily cover it back up if somehow make it out of here," he said, grinning. He watched Abolish scan his face carefully, obviously looking for some kind of threat or trick. Scott waited, still purring softly, as the hunter finally came to a decision.
"Fine," he said, and Scott's grin widened. "But if I feel fangs, I will stab you."
"Don't threaten me with a good time," Scott drawled, and Abolish rolled his eyes. Scott waited one more beat, building the sound rumbling through his chest to it's full volume. Slowly, with the same care he seemed to approach every task, Abolish tilted his chin up and to the side, exposing the soft skin of his throat.
Scott could dive in, drive his fangs into the vein and drain the hunter faster than he could react. He might get a stab in, might even do enough damage to actually hurt Scott, but there was no real threat to his life. Not like there was to Abolish's. And yet, there he was, backed up to a tree and giving Scott full access to his neck.
Scott had heard Owen talk of a moment of trust, between him and the doctor. Perhaps this was something similar.
Scott leaned in, and pressed his cheek against the warm skin of Abolish's throat. He nuzzled in, stepping even closer to press his chest firmly against Abolish's, so he could feel every rumble of every purr that rolled through him. The forced proximity had Abolish resting a hand on Scott's hip, simply because there was nowhere else for it. Scott rubbed his cheek along the line of Abolish's neck and up over his chin, feeling the faint scratch of freshly shaven hair. This close, the unfamiliar coven scent was painfully obvious, and Scott's purr shuddered to a growl as he let himself melt into his instincts, desperate to cover it up with his own scent. His hand came up to press his wrist to the other side of Abolish's throat, coating him at every point where the intruder's scent lingered. The hand on Scott's hip flexed, ever so slightly. Out of concern or warning, Scott wasn't sure. He didn't care either way, he wasn't stopping until he was certain Abolish was drenched in his scent, and his alone.
The heat of Abolish's living flesh added another layer to Scott's scent, an undercurrent of something almost herbal beneath the sweet metallic tones of the Goldsmith coven scent. He ghosted his lips across the line of Abolish's jaw, letting his breath dance over his skin. No was no trace left of the unfamiliar coven scent as Scott breathed in deep through his nose. An edge of tension in his chest began to ease. A threat removed. Slowly, with one last nuzzle against Abolish's cheek, he leaned back.
Abolish's expression was a blank mask. But even someone with such brilliant self-control clearly had limits. It was subtle, but Scott could hear how Abolish's heart rate had stepped up, ever so slightly. Still no scent of fear to him, but for the first time, Scott could see Abolish was not entirely unaffected. He grinned down at him.
"There," he whispered, "much better."
"Are you done?" Abolish asked. Whatever emotion that had pushed into his heartbeat was not audible in his voice, as he maintained eye contact with Scott.
"Yes, yes," Scott said with an airy laugh, finally stepping back to allow Abolish to move away from him. "On your way then, Abolish. I look forward to our next meeting."
Abolish gave him a flat look, re-shouldered his bag that had been discarded on the floor, and walked away without another word. Scott watched him leave, comforted by the way his coven scent lingered in his shadow.
****
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