VSMP Poly Ship Tournament

There was no point in trying to outrun a vampire. Even without lunges or the wings of a bat, a vampire will easily outpace even the swiftest humans. Any energy expended in running away would be better used in fighting back instead. But Abolish wasn't running away. He was running towards.

The depths of the woods was not a suitable place to be able to hold his ground effectively. But Abolish had grown up in these woods, and he knew them well. He couldn't outrun the vampire on his trail, but he could lead them to the clearing he knew, where he would have sufficient room to actually fight back.

So he ran, mentally tracing his path. Past the dead oak, turn right before the stone that looks like a fist, follow the deer track until you reach the creek.

The creek was the only problem with his plan. There were two ways over the creek. One involved hopping between mossy stones, close to the water's surface. Possibly the safer option, but it would mean he'd have to double back along the bank to reach the stones. The other option was to jump it.

The deer track lead to a point where the creek had cut through a raised hill, causing a small ravine a few meters deep and nearly as wide. Abolish couldn't hear the vampire behind him, but that didn't mean he was free and clear. He maintained his momentum, pushing air steadily in and out of his lungs, eyes locked on his path. It had been a long time since he had last missed the jump over the creek, but he'd never done it with a vampire chasing him.

He was approaching it faster than expected, and had to chip in an extra stride to get his dominant leg to land in the right place for a clean take off. He had no choice but to commit, and launched himself forward.

He landed cleanly. He swallowed a triumphant laugh, refusing to lose momentum, and kept sprinting towards his destination.

He made it three strides into the clearing before he heard the sound of something breaking through the treeline behind him. He dropped into a forward roll, narrowly avoiding the claws that swung towards his throat. He was back on his feet in a second, balancing on his toes as he pulled his weapon from his belt.

He had no armour, no silver, not even a dagger. All he had was a single stake. The adrenaline from his sprint through the woods had his heart pounding, but he was still breathing perfectly. He faced his attacker, stepping sideways to avoid another swing of claws. The vampire was a little taller than him, so had better reach. But rather than jumping back to get out of range, Abolish surged forwards and ducked under the vampire's next attack. It gave him a clear shot, so he didn't hesitate. He kicked hard at the back of the vampire's left knee and drove his elbow into his ribs to send him sprawling to the floor. He spun, dove forward to pin his opponent down with his knee. With a forceful shout, he adjusted his grip and slammed the blunt end of the stake down onto Morcant's chest.

"Two inches too low," Morcant said.

"Fuck," Abolish snapped.

"Language," Morcant muttered.

"Sorry sir," Abolish huffed. He lifted the stake, repeating the swing of his arm, trying to memorise the correct spot. He got it on the third try, and repeated it once more to lock the motion in. Satisfied, he pushed himself up and reached down to offer Morcant a hand up as well. The vampire didn't need it, but it would be rude of him not to offer. Morcant gave him a small pat on the shoulder once they were both on their feet again.

"That was better," Morcant said, as they began the walk back to Thornvale Manor. "You got me immobilised much faster that time, and you picked a better location to confront me."

"Thank you, sir," Abolish said.

"Though you should have taken the stones to get over the creek," Morcant added. "You would have been dead if you missed that jump."

Abolish couldn't help but frown.

"I was confident I could make the jump," he said, trying not to sound petulant.

"And what is more important than confidence?" Morcant asked, casting him a sideways glance. Abolish chewed the inside of his cheek.

"Certainty," he answered, remembering his lessons. There must have been a tone in his voice, despite his best efforts, because Morcant gave a small sigh, and brought them both to a stop.

"You are skilled, Abolish. Do not doubt that," he said, voice firm and even. "But when it comes to life or death, you must be certain you are doing everything in your power to stay alive. Your skills will mean nothing if injure yourself taking unnecessary risks."

"I understand," Abolish said. Morcant nodded, and they resumed walking.

They walked in silence for a few moments, Abolish thinking on Morcant's words. They were most of the way back to the Manor when Morcant cast him another sideways glance, grinning this time.

"It was a very impressive jump, though," he said, voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper. Abolish felt a flush of pride.

"Thank you, sir," he said, in an equally soft voice.

****

They were in Abolish's office in the manor, a sparsely decorated room that consisted mostly of a large desk, a few bookcases and a long workbench along one side wall. Avid was currently perched on the edge of the work bench, as Pyro had claimed the desk, four books open in front of them as they cross referenced notes. Abolish was moving about the room, gathering ingredients and tools, and slowly laying them out on the bench next to Avid.

"It's volcanic clay," Abolish explained, handing the jar to Avid so they could inspect it. "It's infused with minerals that promote healing. It'll made a good poultice base."

"Hell yeah," Avid muttered flatly, "love to be slathered in mud."

He placed the jar down on the bench. Abolish reached over and slid it a couple inches to the left, so it lined up with the other jars he had set out. Avid waited until Abolish turned back to the cabinet before quietly picking it back up and placing it down out of place again. His eyes flicked up to meet Pyro's and they grinned at each other. Abolish emerged from the cabinet with a fresh roll of bandages.

"Avid," he said, painfully neutral. Avid grinned wider.

"Abolish," he said, holding eye contact. Abolish's eyes narrowed, ever so slightly, and Avid giggled.

"I can just not help you, if you'd prefer," Abolish said.

"As if you could stop yourself," Pyro scoffed from the other side of the room. Avid saw a muscle twitch in Abolish's jaw as he clenched it. He clearly decided the jab wasn't worth a response, and simply stepped forward to place the bandages down and realign the jar. Avid didn't bother waiting, staring right at Abolish as they reached over and, with one finger, slid the jar slightly to the right.

"Really?" Abolish asked, raising an eyebrow. Avid giggled again. The way he had lent over to move the jar had twisted his body close to where Abolish was standing.

"Dunno what you're talking about," they said, tilting their chin up in defiance. There was a tiny beat of stillness, and for a second, he really thought Abolish might crack. He swallowed, and his eyes flicked down to Abolish's lips. The movement seemed to snap the tension, and Abolish turned away with a fond roll of his eyes. Avid let out another little giggle, heart fluttering in his chest. Over Abolish's shoulder, he saw Pyro staring, looking just as affected as he was.

"How do you do that?" Avid bemoaned out loud. Abolish glanced back over, and there was a touch of genuine confusion on his face.

"Do what?" he asked. Avid let out a dramatic sigh.

"Just be… all stoic and shit," he said. "I'm here, flirting my ass off, and you're just— just standing there."

"Oh my god," Pyro whispered, dropping their head into their hands in embarrassment.

Abolish blinked.

"You were flirting?"

Avid opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

"Oh my god," Pyro repeated. "He didn't know."

"You didn't know?" Avid asked, feeling a little dizzy.

Abolish's brow creased.

"Abolish," Pyro said with a bemused laugh, getting up from the desk to walk over to them. "We've been flirting with you for weeks now."

"Both of you?" Abolish asked, glancing between them. Avid giggled again, reaching out to grab Pyro by the arm.

"Pyro!" he hissed.

"What? You started this conversation!" Pyro snarked back, but he was grinning.

"I… uh—" Abolish attempted, and Avid was shocked to see a touch of colour rising on his cheeks.

"Abolish?" he tried softly, and Abolish's eyes flicked to his face. Avid reached his free hand out towards him.

"Come here," he said, and Abolish took a small step forward. Avid brought his hand up slowly, and gently, heistantly, cupped Abolish's cheek.

"Can I?" Avid asked.

"Yeah," Abolish breathed. Avid didn't hesitate.

Kissing Abolish felt like a revelation. Like suddenly everything in Avid's life actually made sense. By the time he pulled back to catch his breath, his heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in the tips of his fingers. The flush in Abolish's cheeks was even more obvious, but other than that his expression was still beautifully focused, like he was trying to solve a puzzle. Avid giggled frantically, overwhelmed.

"Wow," Pyro whispered, and that just made Avid giggle more.

"You, uh—" Avid attempted through their laughter, "you can say that again."

"Huh," Abolish breathed.

"So…" Pyro said, grinning, "am I gonna get a turn?"

They didn't end up making any progress on Avid's treatment that night. He still felt a hell of a lot better the next day, anyway.

"Yeah, a thousand years ago," he muttered. His Sire had liked his fledglings skilled, and had supplemented Scott's already decent skill set from his noble upbringing, adding quarter staff and hand to hand combat to his passable abilities with swords and bows.

Abolish was standing to the other end of the courtyard, watching calmly as Scott gathered himself. He had said he wanted to brush up on some weapons skills, and Scott had volunteered to spar. He wasn't so arrogant as to think he would be able to easily beat Abolish in combat, but he hadn't expected to be knocked onto his ass within a few seconds of their first bout.

"Do you need me to go easy on you, then?" Abolish asked and he sounded so goddamn genuine Scott actually growled at him. Abolish raised an eyebrow back at him.

"I'll take that as a no, then," he said. Scott didn't bother responding, just took his position again near the centre of the courtyard, waiting for Abolish to make the first move.

Scott managed to survive a couple extra beats in their second bout before Abolish landed a solid hit on the back of his knee and sent him to the floor again.

He rolled over onto his back and glared at him. Abolish just stepped back, giving his staff a casual twirl around his body.

"You're doing this deliberately," Scott grumbled.

"Doing what?" Abolish asked, far too innocently.

"Distracting me," he muttered. Abolish was a little too slow turning away from him to fully hide the way a small grin appeared at the corner of his mouth, so Scott knew he was correct.

Abolish had changed out of his usual button down and slacks into a soft linen shirt and loose fitting pants. That had been bad enough — Scott was struggling to drag his eyes away from where the shirt hung open around Abolish's throat — and then Abolish had picked up the staff and Scott should have known he was done for. Abolish wielded the weapon with fluidity and confidence, stepping and twirling like a dancer, in a way that had Scott practically entranced. He never should have agreed to this.

"I have no idea what you mean," Abolish said, the neutrality in his voice finally sounding a little forced. Scott pushed himself back onto his feet with a scoff, stepping up to Abolish again.

He held his ground better in the third round, getting Abolish slightly off balance at one point, but it didn't take long before he was forced backwards, Abolish ducking easily under a swing of his staff and slamming directly into his chest. They both hit the dirt that time, Abolish's weapon pressed flat across Scott's chest as he knelt over him, pinning him to the ground. Scott didn't need to breathe, but still felt like the breath had been knocked out of him.

Abolish's hair was slightly tussled, framing his face prettily has he loomed over Scott. The open collar had shifted, revealing a slither of collarbone and the firm muscles of his neck and shoulder.

"This is deeply unfair," Scott hissed, and Abolish didn't bother hiding his grin that time. "Did you even want to do any training, or was this your plan the whole time?"

Abolish shrugged, and Scott had to resist the urge to growl at him again.

"The training was a bonus. I was mostly testing a theory," Abolish said, still crouched over Scott, knees either side of Scott's hips.

"And what theory is that?" Scott asked, though he kind of didn't want to know the answer.

"That you're easily distracted," Abolish said with another shrug. Scott did growl that time and, with a surge of vampiric strength, pushed his weight up, twisted, and flipped them over. He had the distinct feeling it only worked because Abolish allowed it to.

"And that you're easily pissed off," Abolish said, confirming Scott's thought.

"Rude," Scott said, attempting to scowl down at Abolish, but it was hard to stay pissed off with such a pretty man pinned under him.

"Not my fault you're predictable, Scott," Abolish said. Scott could resist no longer, and lent down to kiss him.

"Proud of yourself, aren't you?" Scott grumbled against his lips, and he felt Abolish huff out a little laugh.

"Just a bit," he said before wrapping his arms around Scott's neck and pulling him in for another kiss.

****

Cryptidfruitblossom

apo, her badass soldier gf, and the sad pathetic kicked puppy she brought home with her from oakhurst

Trustbites

LOOK ITS SO YUMMY SO GOOD PLEASE I BEG I LOVE IT I FEED I EAT I READ ITS PERFECT

Peace can be found if you know the right people by Chaos_137 on ao3. Also… just like… imagine how precious they could be!! Also also another good fic is Haunted eyes my broken heart by Inkwell_Sp_ace also on ao3. Hella slow burn tho. There’s more ofc but all you need to know is Bloodletting + Lovebitten + (the name for LouisxLegundo) and all their glorious chemistry = Trustbites!!

LOUIS COULD FIX THEM I SWEAR, THEY'D BE SO GOOD FOR EACHOTHER THEY BALANCE EACHOTHER OUT AND THEY ARE MY REASON FOR LIVING

Normally, Legundo and Owen are mutually and self destructive ppl with anger issues (suppressed and not so much) who will kill each other (no, legs, you can't fix something if there's nothing to fix, and I mean "nothing" in a very negative way). But then, you plop these two upon the lap of a sunshine that is Louis. Louis, who has Owen melting and being motivated to live with his sole presence, who is the only thing that will ever be able to get the younger vamp to DO BETTER, especially towards his own self. Louis, who likely has the life experience and the pure if hardened heart to see Doc, see through him, and gently claw out that pride that had once been fueled by hate, and light that pride nice and bright with sheer love. In other words, I am a sucker for observing a happy ending of an angst train wreck, where the passengers are so traumatised that they have no idea what to do with this... This GOOD. The Bois deserve better – all three of them, because Louis deserves a childhood, deserves to feel included and belonging, deserves to be alive and well for what and who he is, not for what he can offer, and Owen deserves to feel appreciated and loved and respected for who he is and what he does, and Legs deserves a rest and the right to love himself and be loved by others. Like, put them in a cuddle puddle with hot cocoa and an enormous weighted blanket. Or two, so they can cuddle on the floor without the cold hating at Legs' old bones and Owen's ancient scars and Louis' warmth-loving soul 

https://www.tumblr.com/yoiurboi/802410306387296256/shout-out-to-the-uhhhhh-three-other-trust-bites?source=share

I don't need to explain myself, we all know this is fire 

The oldest polyship (to my knowledge) and the best. We have both the delicious drama of Legs x Owen, and the wholesomeness of Louis x Owen. And we have Louis x Legs, which is a completely unexplored in cannon dynamic but could be great fun. The fluff potential is immense.

"Target practice?" Pearl repeated, sounding both confused and intrigued. Abolish hummed, and selected one of the small pebbles he had lined up along the edge of the balcony. He could feel Pearl's eyes on him, watching his movements, but his eyes were locked on his target. Martyn had just paused in his chopping, resting on the handle of his axe to wipe his brow. With a careful flick of his wrist, Abolish sent the pebble flying. Martyn flinched dramatically as it smacked against the trunk of the tree he was standing next to, spinning wildly in the spot. It was the fourth stone Abolish had thrown, and Martyn still hadn't spotted him.

"You missed," Pearl said with a chuckle.

"I hit exactly where I was aiming," Abolish clarified. "I'm not trying to actually hurt them. Just testing their observation skills."

"I see," she said. "May I?"

She'd stepped forward to come level with him, inspecting the small stones with care.

"Be my guest," he replied. She picked up one, eyes focused out across to her target. The stone flew from her hand with impressive speed, and sparked as it bounced off the blade of Martyn's axe. They were too far away to hear the string of expletives he certainly let out in response. Pearl giggled as they watched the three members of Oakhurst's militia scramble around to try to spot their assailant.

"Good arm," Abolish noted.

"You're not too bad, yourself," Pearl laughed, as Abolish sent another pebble to smack into the dirt right between Sausage's feet. Still, the three men failed to notice the two figures at the top of the beacon tower.

"Behold, the Oakhurst Militia," Abolish muttered.

"This town is doomed, isn't it?" Pearl said with a weary, dramatic sigh.

Despite himself, Abolish let out a small laugh. Pearl picked up another stone, smacking it perfectly into the tip of Ren's boot. There was another scramble of motion from the men, before finally, Ren looked up and locked eyes with Abolish.

"Shit! Duck!" Pearl laughed, grabbing Abolish by the elbow and pulling him down to crouch behind the wall surrounding the balcony. She was giggling madly, and Abolish couldn't help but smile.

The town was doomed. He should have known it from the moment he walked into the ruin. But for just a moment, the weight of it all lifted, just slightly, from his chest, and he took in a long breath to savour it.

In a moment he would have to go back to work.

But not just yet.

****

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He didn't have to wait long.

"Don't you know its dangerous to be in the woods alone?" Scott drawled from somewhere over Abolish's shoulder. Abolish didn't bother stopping, and certainly didn't dignify such a weak threat with a response. He only just managed to stop himself rolling his eyes.

"You're bold," Scott tried again, this time revealing himself, leaning against the trunk of a tree in the clearing Abolish had just entered. "Or perhaps just stupid. Though, even I must admit, there's not much that you've done that would imply stupidity."

"I'm busy," Abolish corrected, moving to step past where Scott was poised against the tree. The vampire lithely stepped into his path. Abolish let out a huff, and came to a halt. Clearly Scott had decided that they were talking, so he might as well get it over and done with.

"You're not like the others," Scott said, leaning a little closer into Abolish's space. Since Abolish had last seen Scott, he had clearly fed, and fully embraced his power. It was in that moment, that Abolish realised — frustratingly — he was in the presence of a true Elder vampire. It didn't change his plans, not really, it just meant he had to be a little more cautious. And he would need a lot more silver.

"Is there something you want?" Abolish asked, trying not to sound too frustrated. He saw Scott's richly crimson eyes flick down a moment, to his throat, then back to his face.

"How fascinating," Scott hummed. "Not even a stutter of your silly little heartbeat. You do understand the danger you are in right now, don't you, Abolish?"

"I understand better than anyone else here would," he said, truthfully.

"And yet, no flutter of your pulse, no whiff of fear-sweat," Scott noted thoughtfully, still inspecting Abolish's face carefully. "You understand the danger, but it doesn't scare you."

"It doesn't scare me because I understand it," Abolish said. "You don't scare me, Scott, because I know exactly what you are. And you're not the first Elder I've had to deal with."

Scott's eyes narrowed slightly, and he leaned even closer into Abolish's space. Abolish shifted his weight carefully, not flinching or moving, but preparing himself to move if he needed to.

"How lovely," Scott said, a wicked looking grin pulling his lips up to reveal long, slender fangs. "I do like my men experienced."

Abolish did roll his eyes at that.

"I'm not interested in games, Scott. I have a job to do. At this stage it doesn't necessarily involve killing you. It'll be easier for both of us if that doesn't change," he explained calmly. Scott chuckled, and reached forward slowly to run a claw delicately down the length of Abolish's chest. Every movement was deliberate and slow, clearly telegraphed and trackable. Not a threat. Abolish didn't so much as twitch towards his weapon. He was being tested, he could tell.

"You fascinate me, Abolish," Scott said, leaning close enough Abolish could feel the soft touch of the air from his lungs, as cool as the night air around them. When he gave no response, Scott finally, slowly, stepped back enough to allow him past.

"Go do your job then," Scott said, still grinning. "I look forward to seeing what that entails."

Abolish didn't look over his shoulder as he walked away. He did suppress a frustrated groan. The attention of an Elder vampire was the last thing he needed.

The first thing he was going to do when he got home was demand a raise.

****

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