It didn't take long for Cerat to begin growling and jerking his head, trying to get the blood to flow faster. Warden winced as the wound on his neck opened a little wider. He forced himself to remain still for nearly a full minute before he let out a pained groan and Drake suddenly yanked Cerat off of him. The guy quickly tried to fight to get himself free, but there was no getting out of a lycan's grasp unless you were damn strong. And Cerat was far from it considering he was practically dying.
"Calm down," Warden said as he got to his feet and stepped back, out of reach of the claws that were struggling to reach him. He hurried to lick his hand, then rub his neck, healing the wound.
"He thinks he can fight me off. Cute." Drake said with a cocky smirk as he easily kept Cerat right where he was. It didn't even look like Drake was putting much effort into it, either.
It was no wonder that Cerat calmed down after about five minutes, clearly understanding that he wasn't going to get anywhere. Sure he still looked like he wanted to attack, but he also probably realized that he was wasting precious energy.
"You done throwing your temper tantrum, Broccoli?" Drake asked as he leaned over slightly to try and meet Cerat's faded eyes. The guy snarled and snapped his teeth near Drake's nose, but missed actually biting him by a mile.
"Who put Brussel sprouts in your spinach, man." Drake mumbled, rolling his eyes as Warden shook his head at the vegetable puns.
"You wouldn't be making fun of him if he ate only cats." Warden noted, making Drake's face pale.
"I love cats! They are too delicious to let anyone else eat."
Warden just rubbed his fingers against his forehead and sighed.
"So, what the hell are we gonna do with this guy, War? There's no way we can't report him, and I don't know what the higher-ups are gonna say about us keeping a vampire."
Keeping?
"We aren't keeping it, Drake." Warden said, his tone matter-o-fact and stern. His friend, however, didn't seem to think he was being serious judging from the scowl he was now receiving.
"What?" Warden asked awkwardly.
"Seriously dude? You just fed him when he said that he can't handle himself when he feeds on blood. He also said that he'll throw up, which will likely happen soon. I'm not cleaning that up by the way. But yeah, you want me to just let him go and tell him to just scurry off into the forest and go hunt some bunnies or something?"
Before Warden could even respond, Drake was growling out more words.
"News flash. Either he dies, or you just got yourself a pet vegan vampire."
Vegetarian. Warden thought, but bit back the urge to correct him. Don't need to piss off the lycan any further. Instead, he shrugged off his jacket and walked back to his car, tossing it in the back before removing his shirt and doing the same. He also left his keys. When he returned, Drake was staring at him funny.
"I'll take him to headquarters and see what I can do for him, I need you to get my car home eventually." Warden said before he jerked his arm forward and landed a solid blow to Cerat's stomach. Normally that wouldn't have knocked a vampire out, but considering the young man's poor health, he dropped immediately.
"They'll likely not let him go, you know." Drake said, his posture statue-straight as he carefully lifted Cerat's body from the ground.
Warden nodded, taking Cerat into his arms as feathers began to unfurl from between his shoulderblades. "I know, but we can't just leave him here... or in the forest."
The look in Drake's eyes told him that he was lying, but Warden quickly looked away as his wings finally extended fully.
"Whatever. Take him there if you want, but just know that when he's killed or locked up, it's going to be your fault."
With that, Drake was off, darting into the woods after he abruptly stripped out of his clothing. His heavy paws dug into the soft grass, sending the soil spraying in arcs behind him as he moved.
Not waiting for him to start tearing up trees, like he normally did when he was mad about something, Warden carefully spread his wings and took off with an easy downward thrust. It had been quite awhile since he'd flown, and with Cerat in his arms, his balance was slightly off. He ended up fighting against the wind as his body tilted forward, then sideways and back as each gust hit him harder the higher he went.
When he finally settled down on top of the roof of a tall building, Warden was panting quietly and had Cerat clutched tightly against his chest. He had managed to get the hang of flying with the young vampire decently enough.
A young angel named Ramos met him a few moments later, nodding when Warden approached.
"I have a vampire I'm bringing in." He said, making the guy's eyes widen slightly.
"Is there a reason why it wasn't released into the forest or killed, Warden?" The man asked, even as he opened the door, allowing him access to the building.
"Yes. But I'll discuss that with Bradeson, Palles or the others." Warden said as he stepped inside, getting a grunt from the other man before the door was closed behind him.
He never liked going into the headquarters building. It was always too clean. Too quiet. Too, everything. Sighing, he headed down several flights of stairs before stopping on a landing and shifting Cerat a bit in his arms, then opening the double doors before him. The area he stepped into was expertly cleaned, which was to be expected, but the man who stopped walking toward a large office to turn toward him, wasn't.
"Dad...?"
He hardly ever came to the headquarters, too busy with his company to bother with supernatural issues. Forcing a smile, Warden stood still as his father walked over, assessing Cerat with a curious glance. It turned disapproving, however, when he noticed a bit of blood at the corner of the young man's mouth.
"Why did you bring a vampire here, son?"
Warden fought himself to not fidget and meet his father's gaze. He was not afraid of the man, but any person would be wary around an archangel. In most stories humans have made archangels out to be sent from heaven, or hell. They also sometimes thought that they were made by God to fight. All of that was utter nonsense, though. Archangels were just extremely powerful angels who had a few extra abilities that set them apart.
There was nothing religious or heavenly about them besides their looks. It was hard to find an ugly angel, but an archangel? Nearly impossible. Even in age they hardly appeared older than thirty or so.
"I have a request of the current counsel. Whoever might be in." Warden said, knowing that the members who made decisions switched based on the day and year. It was kind of like a voluntary jury, but a lot of people usually came willingly and even put in extra hours.
After another glance down at Cerat, his father gave a slow nod and turned to head back toward the office he kept in the building. Warden let out a breath when the man disappeared behind a closed door, allowing his body to relax a little. Unfortunately, Cerat began to stir a moment later, forcing him to move fast in order to get to the counsel's room before he completely awoke.
"Mr. Caste?" A voice boomed over the voices in the new room he'd just stepped into. Warden came to a stop in front of several people sitting a foot or so off the ground in raised, large, fancy chairs behind a large desk that reached across half of the room, giving them space to fill out documents and write as needed.
"Hello, Mr. Bradeson. I have a request of the counsel, if you would hear me out." Warden replied calmly as he split his attention between the six people before him and the now-squirming sleepy Cerat in his arms.
The man was just opening his mouth to speak when Cerat slipped from Warden's arms and dropped to the floor, a second before he vomited blood everywhere. There were several people surrounding them in moments, wooden blades, sharpened to dangerous points, drawn and pointed straight at Cerat. The poor guy didn't even seem to notice as he continued to void his body of all of the blood he'd recently consumed. Warden tried his best to keep a hand beneath Cerat's heaving chest, holding him up, while at the same time keeping his attention on the men closing in around them.
"What is the meaning of this, Warden? You brought a vampire here!" Mr. Bradeson said, his plump face turning red as he stared down at them. Warden opened his mouth to speak, but that was when he realized that he really didn't know what he had intended to say. He just, for some reason, didn't want Cerat to die for another vampire's selfish actions.
"He... can't drink blood. I forced him to try." Warden finally said in a quiet voice. He was only heard because everyone in the room, including the guards and some passerby's, had gone completely silent when Mr. Bradeson had spoken previously.
"So you thought that just because he can't, he isn't a danger and shouldn't be killed? Have you lost your mind, Mr. Caste?" The man said, making Warden frown as he gently tugged a shivering Cerat into his arms. The young man's nose was running and his eyes leaked tears from his bout of sickness, but there was nothing Warden could do about it right then.
"I just thought. I mean, he hasn't hurt anyone. He's been eating spinach to try and stay alive."
He would have continued speaking, but laughter erupted around them, drowning out any possibility until Mr. Bradeson quieted them with a frustrated growl. He was one of the higher ranking lycan.
"Listen, Mr. Caste. We have a very important issue coming up this afternoon and do not have time to waste on a vampire who should already be dead. Either you return it to the forest, kill it, or sign the forms so that it is under your protection and collared, or we will kill it for you."
Sign him to my protection? Warden thought, baffled. No one had ever dared take on a vampire in such a way. There were other creatures that were much easier to manage that have had another take over their care in order to save their lives or keep them from exile, but a vampire? Never.
"I thought so. Give it here, Mr. Caste. We haven't got all day. We'll dispose of it for you." The man said, reaching down to pull Cerat out of his arms. Warden immediately jumped to his feet, taking Cerat's too-light body with him.
"No. I'll sign the papers." He said before he even realized what words were coming out of his mouth.
The room went quiet again, but when Mr. Bradeson just narrowed his eyes and turned to stalk back toward the desk, Warden followed. His heart was beating a mile a minute as he carried Cerat, switching him to his left arm so that he could take the pen offered to him, and sign the papers placed in front of him on the desk.
He had the forms memorized from former curiosity. They were strict. Especially for vampires. They had three extra pages and as he signed each page, his heart dropped a little more into his acidic stomach as he glanced over certain sentences.
Vampires under protection laws are to be kept in specific confinement by high-voltage shock collars.
He signed shakily.
Vampires under protection may only be fed by donated blood via a local hospital or from its master. If either are unavailable for an extended period of time, the vampire will be executed immediately.
His fingers moved the pen, adding his name to the spot below the words.
Vampires under protection must be microchipped within five days of the order being approved. A medical exam and fang grinding is also mandatory.
His hold tightened on Cerat as he signed again, then added a few more signatures to finish up the documents. When he finally handed them back to Mr. Bradeson, the man walked further down the desk and grabbed a large stamp. He stamped each page with a large APPROVED mark, then brought the papers back to Warden.
"These are yours. They prove that you are now responsible for the vampire. I suggest making copies as soon as possible and storing one set in a safe place. If you ever cannot provide these papers over a twenty four hour period, your protection will be revoked and your vampire will be killed. Understood?"
Warden swallowed and nodded. When the man turned and walked away, Warden figured that he was okay to leave. He did just that, not wanting to stay and remain the focus of everyone's attention.
"Don't feel good..."
The quiet groan caught him off guard as he stepped back into the stairwell and began heading toward the roof. When he got to the door, he stopped for a moment and set Cerat down. He quickly folded the papers up and put them in his pocket, then picked up his vampire and hugged him tight, sighing into his soft silver hair.
"I'm sorry, Cerat. We're gonna go home now and I'll get you some greens, okay?"
When he didn't receive an answer, Warden looked down to see that Cerat had passed out again. Shaking his head slightly, he stepped back out onto the roof and unfurled his wings. He knew that Ramos would bug him with questions, so he didn't hesitate to take off immediately, needing to feel the wind beneath his wings as he slowly felt his tense body relax into flight.