I'm Not Dead [Ed/Viv/Cassie]

[Dacian]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v36/Tigeress/Random/postscripts/daci.png][bg=000000][atrb=style,background-position: top; background-repeat: no-repeat; padding: 220px 65px 65px 65px;]Dacian was not happy tonight. That isn’t to say that he’s ever happy, but tonight was an especially non-happy night. The night had started off badly, with the revelation that Cassie was not only pregnant, but that he still couldn’t pretend she didn’t exist. Then for the icing on that cake, a suicidal young vampire had tried to seduce Vivian, and the cherry was that the vampire knew Silas, and Silas knew Dacian was alive and kicking. Well the young vampire’s legs could attest to that. Currently Dacian was taking (dragging) Vivian to the Hog’s Head, her usual place of residence. This was a sore point with the older vampire, as he’d been trying to take Vivian away from here, yet she stubbornly wouldn’t leave. He was in the right mindset to follow through on the threat of boxing her up and shipping her away, and with the fact that Silas wasn’t above sending minions after her to get to him, now might be the best time to get out. First though, he had to yell at Edward for being such a useless tart. Reaching the pub’s door, he gave it a good enough shove, broke the deadbolt from the frame and strode into the empty public area. He released Vivian in the direction of the seating area, and scowled upward at the ceiling. The breaking down of the door had stirred somebody, and the vampire’s smile was not kind. “EDWARD!” He hollered at the ceiling, confirming any suspicions as to exactly who had just broken in. The landlord was lucky; at least the vampire was unlikely to steal anything.

[Edward Johns]

For Edward it had not been an easy shift. All night he cursed that it was tourist season and dodged awkward questions from a family from Australia. He hadn’t really been interested in answering whereabouts he was from and whether he knew a Johns family they knew and so on. It hadn’t helped he’d seen Cassie leave and had instantly become worried about her. Hell the man was worried about his girlfriend whenever she wasn’t in sight but she could take care of herself; he knew that. It still didn’t stop him worrying though.

And then later in the night she’d come back and everything had not been alright. The girl had been upset and understandably so after Ed found out why. It had been hard to try and calm her down when he himself was furious. It had taken all his restraint not to hunt Dacian down for coming near Cassie and his unborn child. All his abrupt resurfacing had done was to bring up the feelings that people had been spending that last month and a bit trying to move past.

It had taken much consoling and comforting but the man had finally succeeded in getting Cassie upstairs and the Hog’s Head closed for another night. He was still fuming but Ed was also wary; it was only a matter of time before Dacian came to pay him a visit for whatever reason. To be safe, before heading upstairs, he grabbed an ornate crucifix and chain from behind the bar and slipped it around his neck. All the thoughts of Dacian and an upset Cassie had made the barkeep forget that Vivian was missing. He’d noticed earlier but had assumed she was out for a walk.

Finally Ed was upstairs but as tired as he was he could not sleep. Instead he lay next to Cassie, fiddling with the cross around his neck. A crash as the door was forced open had the young man up, out of bed and heading downstairs, wand in one hand and crucifix in the other. The yell of his name made him stop in his tracks on the stairs; he knew that voice. It was a voice he hadn’t missed hearing at all since he thought it had been silenced. Sure enough, there in the main bar, was Dacian standing alive and well; the only real difference about him was a scar on his face and shorter hair.

”What do you want? You’re not welcome here, Dacian. Forgive me if I don’t seem overjoyed that you’re alive,” Ed said definitely, standing squarely facing the vampire. It took the man a moment before he saw Vivian seemingly cowering just off to his left. ”Vivian, what’s wrong? What happened?” he moved to the girl, eyeing Dacian as he did so. ”Could you go upstairs and make sure Cassie’s okay please?” he asked softly, ignoring the older vampire for the moment.

[Dacian]

Dacian huffed, hardly intimidated by the boy. His own posture was rigid, and he looked about ready to hit something; probably Edward. “She’s fine.” He dismissed Edward’s concern for Vivian. “No thanks to you.” He growled, gesturing at the bartender. “How hard is it to keep an eye on her, for fuck’s sake? You let her walk off with a vampire. Other than me.” He clarified.

He put a foot under the lower rung of the nearest stool and toppled it over. It hit the floor with a clatter, and Dacian put his foot under the next one, daring Edward to stop him. “Let me give you a little advice: If you see somebody pale, with pointy teeth, chances are they’re not here for the usual.” He let the next stool fall and stepped up to the next one, making his way down the bar and nearer to the moral man.

“You let a rogue vampire lure her out of the pub. You almost let him take advantage of her. She’s lucky I’m alive. He could have hurt her, or worse.” The anger was mounting, and the next stool hit the floor with considerably more force, and Dacian was baring his fangs. “How did you get so fucking useless, Edward? You can’t protect Vivian; you can’t even keep your little swimmers in their sack. You let her think you care, Edward, but you’re just hurting her. She’s naive. She could have died tonight but she’s just sobbing over the little shit because I broke a few of his bones! I’d break all of yours if she wasn’t so damned attached. She hates me for protecting her, and she adores you for letting her run into danger. Tell me how that works, Edward.” Without his usual mop of hair to glare though, the anger of his gaze was direct and if looks could burn, Edward would be aflame.

[Edward Johns]

The more Dacian spoke the more Ed’s anger rose. He clenched his fist tightly around his wand, threatening to snap the delicate wood in two. ”I have to work which means I can’t watch her all the time; I have a coming family to support. Besides Vivian is perfectly capable of taking care of herself, she’s not a child. If there was a rogue vampire involved I’m sorry that I didn’t spot him,” the Australian retorted sharply, voice quivering from frustration.

Being patronized only made Ed return Dacian’s fierce glare, he knew how to spot a vampire. ”We get a few vampires through here Dacian, so yeah I’m fairly sure they’d be in here for the usual. This is a vampire friendly pub; when the vampires are being civil of course,” he snapped, resisting the urge throw the crucifix he concealed. How dare the vampire come to his home and accuse him of being a bad carer for Vivian. Although he was determined to stand his ground with Dacian the man couldn’t help but flinch as stool after stool crashed to the ground.

”What are you going to prove by trashing my bar? Vivian is alive and well, you saved her. What do you want from me? A pat on the back, a medal or for me to say you’re an excellent sire?” Ed yelled back. He was near to being positively furious, anger coursed through the young man like a fire. All the accusations were unfair; he wasn’t a superhero, he couldn’t protect everyone twenty-four seven. Okay, now he was furious after being called useless. He was many things but he had his use; if only he could think of them to prove Dacian wrong. ”Remind me again, this is Vivian we’re talking about and not Cassie?” Ed said hotly, ”You leave her and our unborn child out of this, whatever this is.

”It’s probably because I trust her and don’t treat her like a child. It could also be because of this Dacian, kicking stools around and breaking peoples’ bones doesn’t really set a good example. Look at her she looks terrified and it’s because of you. All you do is cause people pain because you’re a selfish bastard. For the last month Cassie has been a wreck because she thought you were dead, she blamed herself for your death. The least you could have done was let her, and Viv too, know you were okay; it would have saved her a lot of heartache. No if you love her like I think you do you’ll stay the hell out of her life from now on. All you do is make her feel miserable. I can’t tell you to stay away from Viv too no matter how much I want to.” A month’s worth of frustrations were shouted from Ed and it felt like a weight had been lifted from upon him.

[Vivian Nazarova]

  Vivian couldn’t remember the last time that she’d seen Dacian this angry. No, he was beyond angry. He was livid.

  For that reason she scarcely offered any of her usual resistance when Dacian hauled her by the arm all the way to the Hogs Head. Hell, she had just seen him break virtually every bone in a man’s body. There was no way in hell she was testing her luck to see if she was next.

  Once Dacian crashed the door down rather dramatically Vivian detached herself from her sires grip, managing nothing more than a terrified squeak before shrinking away towards one of the tables. If she had of heard herself she probably would have been embarrassed.

  Where was Ed? Please don’t let him come down the stairs! Dacian was going to butcher him, she knew it! Her sire’s loud roar of the bartenders name was quick to cement that thought in her head and Vivian gave a horrified flinch at the sound. Edward, stay up there!

  Fear was tight in her chest when the saw him coming down the stairs. Dacian wasn’t allowed to hurt him! Both of them were shouting. There was noise everywhere. Vivian couldn’t think. Ed was near her and telling her to go upstairs. Vivian only managed to cling onto his arm and shake her head. She wasn’t leaving! Couldn’t he see she couldn’t leave? If she left then what would happen?

  There was a crash of the barstool colliding with the floor. Vivian jumped, shrinking closer to Edward’s arm, yet at the same time moving slightly in front of him. Another crash. Those stools weren’t allowed to become Edward’s legs.

  Edward was right. He was right and yet... Dacian wouldn’t listen. He didn’t listen. When did he ever listen? It was a lost cause. She just wanted to tell them both to stop but what would that achieve? She just... they... they had to stop eventually. They would. They had to. She could last that long... Dacian wasn’t hurting Edward! She could take a couple of broken legs for that...

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[Dacian]

Dacian spluttered, looking close to bursting into laughter. “Of course she’s a child! She’s fifteen! Why shouldn’t I treat her like one? I don’t know why I expected a boy barely five years older to know any better.” Granted, the definition of child had fluctuated a little since his time, but by today’s standard, Vivian was most certainly a child.

“Sorry doesn’t cut it. Sorry won’t save her. You should know by now that all vampires are dangerous, you cannot trust a single one. If you at least treated them like you treat me, you might actually be expecting some nefarious behaviour. You should have kept those charms on the premises, fortify this place so Vivian would have had somewhere safe to be.

“A vampire-friendly pub,” He scoffed, “That’s an oxymoron, moron. You think I’m the least trustworthy vampire in existence? What exactly have I done to you that you didn’t deserve? Hmm? You’re the one who branded me and consorted to get me killed!”

He had stopped moving forward and was starting to pace side-to-side in his anger, his stare always on the mortal boy. “You’re the one making this all about Cassie.” There, he could say it. “Did we forget why I was almost dead to begin with? Because you can’t protect her either! I had to put my life on the line to do your job! And that includes breaking a few bones. You might use those little human morals to protest against how I do it, but my way actually keeps them safe. You might have figured that out if you weren’t too busy shooting yourself in the foot.” He sneered, and paused in his pacing.

“If it wasn’t for your promiscuity, I would have stayed dead. Did you know your little jailbreak would ruin her life? Did you know I can smell it? I can smell that weakness growing inside her, and so can any of these vampires you invite willingly into your pub. She’s in danger now more than she ever was. Now you have to fail to protect two of them! A child is a responsibility that you can’t handle.”

He glanced away toward the stairs, but his eyes caught sight of something familiar hanging on the wall. He swore under his breath, and turned away from Edward. Putting a hand on the bar, he vaulted it with ease and snatched the sword from its mounting. He looked aghast at the blade, and when his eyes turned up to Edward, they were positively murderous. “Where’s the scabbard? I know you have it, I was awake when you took it. When you thought I was dead? You hate me enough to disrespect me when I’m DEAD!? Fuck, Edward, you’re doomed. You can’t even look after a sword.”

It was a good job the bar separated them, because the temptation to run Edward through with the sword was mounting. “You had no right to take this.” He snarled, brandishing the weapon. “What’s so special about YOU, Edward? I put my life on the line, I’m willing to DIE for these women, I almost DID, yet one is carrying YOUR child and the other is clinging to YOU. You get their loyalty and devotion, and what do I get? NOTHING! She doesn’t even TRUST me.” He said, pointing at Vivian with his non-sword hand. “What LIES do you tell them, Edward? What LIES do you tell them to make them LOVE you?”

[Edward Johns]

Ed couldn’t believe what he was hearing. It was ridiculous, and hypocritical, the things Dacian was saying; not to mention straying over some fucking lines. ”This is the magical community, 2025, not six hundred years ago. Vampires are a part of said community and believe it or not they were coming through here long before you showed up on the scene to screw us over!” The Australian shouted. If Dacian had been a mere mortal he probably would have been punched in the face or had a nasty curse placed upon him by now.

”Contrary to what you believe Dacian, not all vampires are like you. They barely register Vivian’s existence when they’re in here. Because you haven’t been around she’s been the safest she’s been in months. Viv has been able to have a life because you weren’t here doing what you’re doing now.” By the end of the last sentence the man needed a breath. He knew he should stop yelling but what he had to say needed to be said.

”You who have done nothing but deserve the way I treat you. I offered you my home once and we all remember how that turned out. You thanked me by pursuing my girlfriend remember? Anyway, you come in here riding on your high horse not knowing anything and pretending you know it all. Do you really think I wouldn’t sacrifice myself to save Cassie or Viv? In fact I have almost died protecting them from the evil you brought into their lives. Don’t make me laugh; you ways of “protecting” are what put them in danger. It was your fault Cassie was kidnapped because you made it obvious you had feelings for her.”

To Edward, all he spoke was the truth. What the vampire had to say on the other hand was like fuel being tossed onto an already raging fire of resent and anger. ”How dare you insinuate you know what I can and can’t handle; you arrogant son of a bitch. You know nothing about me. That part of my life, my family, is none of your concern or business though I do have to thank you for it. Your sacrifice ensured it,” the young man ranted.

He watched, shaking with rage, as Dacian spotted the sword behind the bar. Of course the man had seen that coming, after all it was out in the open for everyone to see. The vampire was just lucky Ed had never put any anti-theft charms on it; the one he’d had in mind had been lumos based. All the Australian could do was roll his eyes exasperatedly as Dacian raved on like a madman as he took back what was rightfully his. ”Oh I’m sorry, but if I remember correctly you left it in the basement for me. Thanks for that, otherwise I would have had to kill the rogue vampire with a plank of wood, not quite as effective,” Ed snapped. ”What?! You’re just getting petty now. Looking after swords, going a little off topic there.” He couldn’t help but snort in disbelief. All it had sounded like was that Dacian was running short of things to insult the bartender about.

”I don’t tell them lies, and that’s the God’s honest truth. I told you just minutes ago it’s not only what I say but what I do. For one thing I don’t scare the shit out of people and the only murderous being I have on my ass is you. How do you know that vamp you beat up tonight had ill-intentions for Viv? You don’t and you were too busy breaking bones to ask him. I have been stuck this past month cleaning up the mess you made and we moved on with our lives. Why the hell am I even bothering to tell you all this? Your head’s so far up your ass that lump in your throat is your God damn nose.”

[Dacian]

[atrb=cellspacing,0,true][atrb=cellpadding,0,true][atrb=border,0,true][atrb=background,http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v36/Tigeress/Random/postscripts/daci.png][bg=000000][atrb=style,background-position: top; background-repeat: no-repeat; padding: 220px 65px 65px 65px;]“I didn’t leave it for you,” he grumbled, “I dropped it when I got shot in the knee with a crossbow bolt.” He used the gap in the bar to get out from behind it, the sword making it a little cumbersome to vault back over. He hefted it, feeling the familiar weight and balance. The grime coating the blade would have to come off soon, and he was going to use Edward’s best dishtowels to do it. “Have you ever been shot in the knee with a shaft of wood?” He asked, almost absently as he turned the blade and inspected it for dents or warping. “I was shot in the knee and the shoulder. Have you been stabbed? I was, in the forearm.” He pulled up his sleeve, revealing a new scar, an inch in length, and a few millimetres in width. “The same knife did this to my face.” He gestured with his free hand, twirling the heavy sword in easy circles. “Were you almost blinded and fighting another vampire when a wizard propelled glass and wood into your back like shrapnel from a bomb? Was your heart grazed with a splinter that could of killed you?” The sword was picking up momentum, drawing blurred discs in the air before the vampire. “While you were unconscious, was your neck broken? Were you paralysed while the only person who would help you was taken away by the man who looted your corpse?” The sword stopped spinning and Dacian pointed it at Edward across the room. “You never came back to bury me. You’d let me burn in the sun. You’d let me die when I’d saved the life of your lover – who for the record was not involved with you when she was with me.” He added with a snap of his teeth. “You’d like it if I was cold enough to hurt that vampire tonight without reason, wouldn’t you? You like to think I’m so callous. You don’t have any facts, Edward, because you weren’t there. Before I broke his jaw, he told me that the same wizard who shot me full of debris and snapped my neck sent him.” He looked cruel and triumphant as he stepped forward, the sword still pointed. “Silas Rosier. That name ring any bells? Let me guess, you think he’s not like me either? You think he’s and upstanding citizen because you don’t know any better?” He growled, the tip of the sword not more than a metre away from Edward’s chest now. “Vivian is safe only because I made provisions for her while I was healing. I made sure she was safe when I couldn’t be here, because God knows you’re no use.” His voice was quieter, though no less dangerous. Edward was a thorn in his side, and he’d like nothing better than to cause him even just a faction of pain that he had dealt him.

[Edward Johns]

What did Dacian take him for? The more he spoke the more the words lumos solem came to Edward’s mind. If it weren’t for Vivian and Cassie he would have done it a long time ago. No, turning the older vampire into a pile of ash would make the man just as bad. He ignored the snark about the sword, arguing was pointless no matter how much he wanted to. Ed simply stayed quiet, glaring daggers at the man who he was starting to wish had stayed dead. ”I’m assuming you think I haven’t been shot or stabbed. Hate to break it to you buddy but I have been both shot and stabbed. Again it just shows how little you know about me Dacian,” the Australian snarled viciously.

”All I’m hearing from you is ‘woe is me’. I have no regrets about taking the sword and Cassie was in no state to help you. Do you know what I did? I got her to a hospital and then we did go back to burry you only to find you were gone. Get off your high horse Dacian; you’re not earning any sympathy with all your half-cocked bullshit,” Ed shouted, positively furious. ”I saved Cassie’s life. I was the one that killed your vampire friend! I picked up what you failed to finish. You failed her vampire.” The comment about Cassie almost tipped the man over the edge of reason but somehow he refrained from doing anything rash. ”That maybe so but she never loved you back. Who did she come back to, time and time again? It was a mere fascination with danger Dacian, nothing more. If she loved you then she would have gone with you tonight,” Ed said quietly, a triumphant smirk on his face. They were straying off topic here and he felt bad for speaking for his girlfriend.

The news of Silas, stunned him but really the barkeep wasn’t all that surprised to learn he’d been the one to ‘kill’ Dacian. ”Quite the opposite actually asshat. I know Silas is not an upstanding citizen and is just like you. It’s not my fault you pissed off the most dangerous man on the planet. If what you say about the other vampire tonight is true then he was here for Viv because he knew you were around. That only proves my point; that you’re the one who puts her in danger whenever you’re in the vicinity of her. Now get out, or else I’ll get the Aurors arrest you or I’ll give you something to really moan about.”

[Cassie Vimes]

Cassie knew she was becoming quite the liability. They couldn’t afford for her to keep distracting Edward from his work, they needed every knut. Especially now that they knew there was a baby on the way. But she couldn’t help it, her exchange with Dacian had been all too brief and she’d been far too shocked to really react. The walk home had given more than enough time for it to sink in, though, for a wave of emotions to come crashing uncontrollably over her and by the time she’d reached The Hog her hands were trembling from far more than the cold. Explaining to Ed had been tough. How could she tell him that Dacian was back when even saying his name practically made Ed flinch? As usual he’d been as understanding as she ever could have hoped for, finally ushering her upstairs, emotionally drained and ready to sleep for a week.

She didn’t get to sleep for a week, in fact it barely seemed more than a few hours when a muffled bang made her jolt her wake, her heart hammering in her chest and her mind already filled with memories of being locked in a dark cellar with no idea if the next unfamiliar sound might mean the return of her captor. Cassie lay still as she felt Ed leave her side. She wanted to stay near him, but she was too scared to follow and face whatever threat might be down there. But sitting in bed, her knees hugged tightly to her chest, with no idea what was going on down there was worse somehow. Cassie strained to hear, only able to make out the indistinct buzz of raised voices, but not what was being said and it only resulted in her flinching when two crashes broke the silence in quick succession.

It was this that finally motivated her to get out of bed, reaching for the wand on her bedside table with a shaking hand and creeping to the stairs that led down into the pub. From there she could hear a little better and Cassie sagged with relief when she recognised Dacian’s voice, raised in anger and clearly talking about Vivian. The two men had never seen eye to eye when it came to the young vampire and while she wasn’t particularly pleased to hear them argue it was still better than the alternative of an unknown intruder. She sank down onto a step about half way down the stairs, content to listen for a while and step in if things got out of hand. It seemed neither she nor Dacian had forgotten the incident with the crucifix.

Her face paled considerably as Dacian began to talk about the night she’d thought he’d died, guilt building with every word as she realised he’d been conscious and alive and she’d left him. The revelation that Silas hadn’t been a hero helping with her rescue, but had attacked Dacian when his back was turned, hit her harder still. Cassie hurried down the rest of the steps and burst into the pub, stopping to hover awkwardly near the bar. ”Is it true?” She asked, ”That you were...” She couldn’t stop her lip trembling as she looked at Dacian. ”That you were awake when we left you?” The crushing guilt was enough to momentarily distract her from any anger she might have felt at Ed’s presumptuous dismissal of her feelings for the vampire. ”I’m so sorry.”