Crimson

II- Chapter 46: A Warn Welcome

Six vials and a mountain of piling questions- that's what you left Jack's with. Rattling inside with each step were handfuls of small circular tablets; white and powdery to the touch, sweet and icy, like a snow plum to the taste.

Anyone who saw them would just assume they were medication or vitamins. One for each boy, one extra in case. 'For sleep,' you were supposed to say; it was Jack's idea.

The newest face in your kitsunebi vampire crusade, as it turned out, had a lot of interesting ideas- and a lot of interesting stories. After mysteriously receiving his invitation to attend Arcadia Castle Academy, not unlike you had, he accepted at once. According to him, different people got invited to study there. And while it was generally Lady Petrikov in charge of who and why, Sylabil had invited students before too. There was no Harry Potter story here however- Jack knew he was a warlock, and a talented one at that.

Cadere knew this too, Jack said. And he knew Jack's family. "But I won't bore you with the details. It was Cadere who was the interesting one, not me."

Where you'd heard it, you didn't even remember for sure, but Jack telling you Cadere used to be one of the best vampires hunters in the world brought back memories you didn't even know you had. His cloak gliding across the fog like liquid ebony, his gloved fingers wrapping around the stake within it, those violet eyes going black... Cadere the vampire hunter was all too clear. But how did a man who apparently spent his entire life hunting vampires not only become one, but end up teaching them at a school?

All Jack had to say was that Cadere was looking for something.

"What?"

"Forgiveness."

~
The dynamics in the night dorm had taken a sharp 180 after the events of the fall break. Or rather, the lack thereof. Not seeing their human friend was a bit of a surprise, but not as much of a surprise as the way it forced everyone to spend time with each other the way they'd forgotten they did before she came to Arcadia Academy. It was almost hard to believe there even was a time at this school before y/n started tugging at their minds and playing lullabies on their ribcages.

They'd talked since the week started, Bel being the one to bring her up. He didn't dare mention where they'd spent their time together, especially around Dimitri. They wondered where y/n had been the Monday. They assumed she was still gone- never wandering into the night dorm library to find her listening to a certain redhead. Yes, although he didn't say anything, Roman knew where she was. Avery didn't say anything either.

After the knowledge of y/n's return passed around the dorm, a vibrant intensity surged throughout the halls. Like the world's most harrowing job interview, everyone was on their best behaviour, eager, pleasant to each other- but knew that only one of them would get to y/n first.

The only one absent from all this was Lucian. Though his friends at first tried to talk to him here or there, it was no use. The progress Cadere had made in helping the boy since first meeting him so many years ago was significant but vulnerable and it killed Lucian to know that if he did nothing, y/n would be hurt by the others, and if he did something, y/n would be hurt by him.

Whatever the others were struggling with was of no help to Avery however. It was a little too easy to get what he wanted, almost boring. A little too tempting. He preferred the pleasures of moderation, something he knew the others would call him a hypocrite for. But the steps he had to take to ensure success were fun in and of themselves! Everyone was always so preoccupied as of late that a quick detour down day student lane was not a problem. Something he hadn't done since 'disappearing' amid the 'you stole from me now taste the fire' era, but something that never quite lost its flavour.