#Moon is just out here to live her unlife gdi

[artpharos]

Being Alive Sucks Chapter 9.5 - Whispers

Being Alive Sucks Masterpost 

Or: Gladion decides to ask Moon what it’s like to be a vampire

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Gladion had heard stories before. Rumors of noblemen keeping vampire mistresses that granted them great power. Tales of lords centuries past keeping pet monsters locked up in their dungeons, both tools of pleasure and war. Insinuations of rich widows keeping company with beautiful, virile undead that livened their dreary days. As long as there were vampires, humans had always been eager to whisper about the mysterious creatures, in part out of awe and desire for their power; in part out of fear and disgust for such creatures.

He never imagined he'd be living one of those stories now. The silk sheets still clung with some remaining warmth of their activities. The moonlight blanketed his pale skin, and he could still see her nail marks and bites on his body. Could still feel her, if he closed his eyes. 

It was... strange to bed a vampire. At first, he was put off by the idea. Moon's touch was cold, yet the vampire managed to elicit pleasure out of every touch, every kiss. Her fingers were delicate, her tongue sensual. And as she held him close, took him in, that chill dissipated in his burning passion, in his desire to have her.

And it was only after he lay panting in the aftermath that first night that the realization sank in. That she had used him, both as a plaything and as a meal, and he had enjoyed it. 

Oh how the mighty had fallen. 

Now, Gladion grimaced as he ran a finger across the punctures on his neck. It was for a worthy cause, he reminded himself. A worthy deal. Moon saved his life more times than he'd like to admit, and despite how he had tried everything to rid himself of her, she had been incredibly persistent. And after three weeks into their arrangement, she had never proven herself as anything but capable, and to some extent... trustworthy. She hadn't bailed on him, hadn't killed him, and had made sure his sleep was far more unbroken than when he first ran away from home. 

And even if he enjoyed having her at night, it certainly didn't mean anything. Just a means to an end. 

The sound of splashing water drew him out of his reverie, and his eyes shifted to the doorway to the other room of their little suite, where Moon had gone to freshen up. Apparently she had the foresight to ask the innkeeper to draw her a bath before their activities, and the cold probably did nothing to dissuade her from taking a bath. Being clean was one of the things that she had insisted on, even if Gladion was paying for it with his own coin. One of the things he was learning that surprised him about vampires, about Moon, every day. 

He didn't know much about her. She dressed like a noblewoman, had a plethora of skills, and was devastating in a fight. He couldn't place her accent- not foreign, but not noble either. She'd been alive for a long time, yet she couldn't have been much older than he was when she died, and her silver eyes always shone with a hollow light. An empty light.

It irked him that he knew so little of her, even though he'd come to know her body extremely well these past few nights. 

Somehow, even though he'd had trysts with nameless women before, that thought didn't sit right with him. Not when it came to Moon. Slowly, Gladion pulled himself upright, tugged on his shirt, and waited for the vampire to return.  

She came back not five minutes later, toweling off her wet hair, her pale skin shimmering in the faint light. Her eyes flashed with surprise when she caught sight of him, but before he could comment, there was her teasing smile again.

"You waited up for me?" she asked, pursing her lips in a mocking pout.

Gladion tried his best not to bristle. She always had a tendency to tease, to mock, never once giving him a straight answer. It made conversing with her on a usual basis annoying at best, and a headache at worst. Yet, here he was.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said gingerly. 

"What about?" Moon's amused smile crinkled at the edge of his patience, but she tossed the towel aside and settled down next to him on the bed, where she had been but a few hours before. 

"About... well, you." He chewed on his lip, wondering how best to broach the subject. "Vampires."

Moon arched an eyebrow. "Well," she said, her voice teasing and light, "I'm sure I can be of some service in that regard, but you'll have to be more specific." 

Gladion winced at her tone, at the way she watched him in amusement. Holding her gaze, he jut his chin out stubbornly and said, "If I'm to protect you while you sleep, I need to know what to protect you from. The legends and stories I was told... they don't seem to match up to fact."

"Ah." Moon's smile was coy. One cold hand slid up to his face, and her body shifted just an inch closer to him on the bed. Her silver eyes glinted dangerously as she purred, "And what were you told, my darling little lord?"

He resisted the urge to turn away. Scowled, though that little to faze the vampire. "I was told, for one, that you couldn't cross running water," he muttered. "And that garlic and holy symbols would ward you away."

Moon's eyes danced with amusement. "I recall," she said, and Gladion's cheeks heated. He could only imagine how he must have looked to her those first few days, when he had jumped into a river only to find her waiting on the other side; brandished holy symbols and garlic at her only for her to laugh and brush them all aside, steal his lips with a kiss. 

Swallowing, he continued, "So what does actually harm you? I've seen you heal from cuts and wounds much faster than a human. Can you even die?"

Moon smirked. "Are you asking out of your noble desire to protect me, or for your own future reference?"  

He growled. "All I want is to get to Kukui's as fast as possible, and that means knowing who it is I'm travelling with."

"How thoughtful of you." Moon's eyes glinted in the faint light, her fangs visible in her smile. A shiver of dread ran down his spine, and it took all of his concentration not to flinch. Finally, with a sigh, Moon pulled away.

"Decapitation works well," she said, counting them off her fingers like a list. "Stakes through the heart. Fire. But well, that's normal for humans too, isn't it?"

Gladion glowered, and Moon smirked.

"Silver," she continued. "The type you'd adorn holy symbols with. Their touch would burn. The sunlight. Though, from what I can tell, I'm forced into a deep sleep just slightly after the sun touches the horizon."

Gladion nodded. It made sense- especially how Moon insisted on finding cover every night, before she fell into a stasis that was, by all means, death. 

"And your wounds?"

"If I drink blood, I heal from just about anything." Moon winked, her fingers glancing over the punctures on his neck. "Poison doesn't affect me. I don't actually breathe, so I can't drown, either. My body doesn't like eating human food, so that's a loss, but well. I get to live forever, in exchange for that hassle."

"You can't eat?" Gladion paused for a moment. He had seen Moon watching him eat, before their night-time excursions. There was always a passionless distaste on her eyes, but now, he was starting to understand why. 

"My body would just reject the food." She shrugged, her hair glancing off her shoulders. "It's alright. Not something I'd miss from my time being alive. The perks for being undead definitely outweigh the negatives."

"Do they?" He frowned. "You'd never be able to see the sunrise, never be able to eat food, never be able to walk free on the streets."

"It's much better than being weak and vulnerable, with death lurking around every corner." The somber note in her tone caught his attention, before it was replaced by her usual smirk. "Besides, I can't bear children, I live forever as long as nobody kills me, and I can have as many riches and men that I could possibly want."

Gladion tried his best to keep his disgust from showing on his face. "So despite your power, all you want is an eternity of pleasure?"

"If not pleasure, what reason is there to live for?" Moon smiled, her eyes cold. "You, of all people, should know. Your own mother tried to have you killed. There is so much betrayal, so much hurt, from the rest of your kind, as well. Whatever meaning you cling to in this life will be forgotten when you die. Whatever existence you had would disappear, like dust in the wind."

Gladion swallowed. Hearing those words in Moon's sweet voice, seeing the darkness in her eyes... In the end, despite her appearance, she was nothing more than a monster. One that was watching him no longer with amusement, but with a clinical coldness. 

"Do you expect me to betray you?" he asked.

"Would you?" she asked, smile never wavering.  

Gladion breathed. Steeled his nerves. Holding her gaze, he said, "I won't break our deal. I want your protection, at least until I know my sister is safe."

"Is that so?" Moon's voice was quiet in the room. Slowly, she reached out, her hand gracing his cheek, her nails sliding down his jaw. Her smile grew, and her eyes took on some of the previous light, her sing-song voice bright with amusement. "How noble."  

She kissed him. Her lips pressing against his in a manner that was hungry, demanding. Gladion closed his eyes, let her touch wash over him, lost himself in her gentle ministrations. When she finally parted from him, there was a satisfied look in her eye. With a sinking feeling, Gladion wondered if she'd somehow won a game he didn't know they were playing. 

But he didn't want to let it end like that. Didn't want to listen to Moon's declaration of how the world was and accept it just like that. "Isn't there anything you miss about being alive at all?" he asked. 

Moon paused. He didn't miss the quick dart of her eyes, the tilt of her chin, didn't miss the way she stiffened.

And in the mirror behind her, Gladion realized that he was alone on the bed, with neither Moon's pale skin or silver eyes reflecting off its surface. 

She didn't know how she looked. Didn't know how her eyes drew his every time she glanced his way, the way her face haunted his dreams, the way he sometimes marveled at how soft and sweet she was when she was asleep. 

Quietly, he reached out, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. Her silver eyes widened in shock, before he said, "You're beautiful, you know."

Moon chuckled then, her light voice echoing through the room. She slid closer to him, her fingers tangling through his hair. "I've already fed tonight, but well. You certainly are interesting, Gladion."

Gladion glanced away. Shivered as she kissed his exposed neck. Unbidden, his hands braced her against him, acclimatizing to the sudden touch of her chill against his bare skin. She pushed him down on the bed once more, and he drowned in her, in the senseless pleasure that she reveled in. 

She kissed him, fierce and demanding and needy, and despite everything he had said, everything he had told himself this wouldn't be, he always found himself giving in too easily, too desperately, to have Moon use him just as much as he wanted to be used. 

Her lips glanced over his ear, her cold touch sending trembles on his skin. "Why would I want to be alive, Gladion, when I can have you?"

And when she took him again, Gladion decided he couldn't disagree.