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ayuyikes · 6 years ago

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Hunting a Cryptid pt.1

Yeah so once upon a time I wrote a ModernCryptidAU for my ocs but lost motivation (and I recently found out that that fic is 1.5 years old) so I figured if I post a part I might have motivation to write again... So! Here comes!

There's this house standing on the very edge of the neighborhood. It is a tall, looming, dark victorian style house that had been renovated twice in the past decade. Closed off windows, torn burgundy curtains, the whole gothic horror package. And its owner never came out during the day.

Ayuya had set eyes on this house for some time, but after a bit of research, she was certain.

The guy living there had to be a vampire, no doubt.

The evidence was simple and undeniable.

First off, he never came out during the day. Which was obviously mentioned before. Vampires burn in the light of the sun, so they have to make their move at night. And who, (after having camped out for nights at his house continuously falling asleep), was only ever seen outside at night? That guy.

Secondly, the house. Why would you move if you lived there already for hundreds of years? Plus the gothic horror obsession only added to it.

Third, and this only came to light after shadowing him one night, he avoided Italian restaurants like the plague. And why? Boom. Garlic.

She could think of more but it was all pointing to the same direction: she had to be dealing with a vampire. No other way around it. The evidence was all there.

So she went for the confrontation. To get the truth out of him.

And here she was, standing on his porch, looking up to the huge mansion that no doubt was the Vampire's Lair. It was day time, so she figured he wouldn't actually come out, but she needed to prove her point. And what better strategy then to attack when the enemy (hostility not yet proven at this point, though) was at his weakest.

Just in case she had brought some garlic with her in her purse, maybe she should consider bringing some holy symbol next time too?

If there will be a next time.

The door opened, she was hastily bracing herself. What if she got dragged in, before the sunlight could actually affect him? She was standing just inside shade. She didn't think this through. Too late, here comes.

In all her panic she almost didn't register the sleepy guy who opened the door for her. Six inches taller than her, in his (probably) pajama pants with a red bedhead and tired green eyes. They looked at her with a mixture of 'what do you want' and a 'it's too early for this' but after pulling herself together and mildly convincing he wasn't going to snatch her, she straightened her back and took a breath.

"Sir, I came here for a very special reason today-"

"If you're selling girl scout cookies," he muttered with a yawn, "then please be on your way, I'm not gonna buy any."

Thrown off, she tried to argue, respectfully. "I'm not selling any cookies, sir, I just want to ask of you-"

As if he was hit with a terrible headache, he hunched over as he laid his hands on her shoulders. "Please make it quick."

With newfound determination, she took a deep breath and asked. "Sir, are you a vampire?"

It was dead silent on his side. Nothing in his form betrayed any sign of denial or even surprise. Just. Blank.

Then he removed his hands from her and shut the door.

She heard him going up the stairs, grumbling."H-hey! Come back!" She cried, banging on the wooden door.

"There's no- you can't hide from the truth!"

"I can shut the door on it," he snarked back, obviously annoyed and distant. "Don't come back, and good night."

"Wh- But- I'll-" she knew that if she wanted an answer, she wasn't going to get a straight one now. "I'll be back! Mark my words!"

She forgot to register the fact he didn't flinch away from the direct sunlight that had hit his arms not even a moment ago.

The next day, she was back again. This time more prepared. Prepping a persuasion speech and some sort of small interview in case he obliged counted as prepared. Plus the evidence will convince him to talk. No doubt about it.

Once again she knocked on his door. Was the fancy doorknob there two days ago or hadn't she noticed it before?

She went over her speech one more time in her head: how his house had gripped her curiosity and how she had spent over a week researching her suspicions. Intro. Evidence. Interview. Done.

The door was opened again, maybe because he can't see her standing here from any of his windows (thanks to the little roof right over his door), and one look he gave her before his face fell. "It's you."

Thank god he was wearing a shirt this time.

He was about to close the door on her when she grasped his arm. "Please, just hear me out for a moment-"

"Why would I even? Just leave me alone-"

He wiggled just outside of her grasp to close the door on her. Drat.

She had to think of something promising. Something to appeal to him, to keep his attention. But what?

No use for a speech, this time she thought of something else.

She skipped knocking this time."Sir? Are you home? I brought something for negotiation...?"

It was a more cloudy day and she looked up at the eery lit windows. How can it already be this dark at three in the afternoon?

He opened a window. Success.

He rubbed his eyes and groggily spoke, "Why are you back?"

"I-" her voice wavered, and she fidgeted with her blonde hair. "I brought a peace offering? Maybe then you'd be willing to talk...?"

He squinted at her and pointed to the bag she was hiding behind her bag. "Please tell me you didn't bring any dead animals as 'peace offering'."

She shrunk a little, avoiding his gaze. "... I wasn't gonna let you suck my blood..." She muttered with a volume she hoped he wouldn't catch.

He rolled his eyes. "If you're gonna do shit like that at least bring something edible. And now leave me alone for a while, I'm trying to sleep."

Her eyes lit up a little. "How long do you normally sleep? A week? ... A month?"

He let out a deep sigh. "I'm too tired to be dealing with this bullshit," he grumbled when he moved his hand to the curtain to close it.

"... Alright. I'll just come back in a week," she decided out loud.

"Are you for fu-"

"I'll bring cookies! Till then!"

She didn't give him time to object before leaving the premises.

Yeah, she had actually baked him cookies. She didn't know if he had a sweet tooth or whatever (can they even digest stuff like that?) but it's the thought that counts, right?

Most people - not sure if that included him - liked chocolate chip cookies, so she stuck with that.

And just in case vampires had a weird reaction to chocolate, she had gotten him gluten free coco cakes too. Can never be too careful.

A good fourth impression was important, right?

This time when she called, he didn't answer. Was he still asleep?

She decided to leave the cookies on the porch with a note, so he couldn't say she didn't keep her end of the bargain. A little note explaining she stopped by and after a little thinking she left her number on it as well. 'As long as a decade hadn't passed since this day, contacting me when you wake up is fine,' was about the gist of it.

She hoped she'd receive a text somewhere within the next year.

Apparently she could already get a text within a few days.

It was short and to the point, no decoration added.

[Come next friday evening. Bring more cookies.]

At least he liked the cookies?

There she was again. This time she went around dinner time instead of the early afternoon in the hope to find him in a better mood.

She had waited until friday to show up, like he asked had her to. Her end of the deal was done. Now it was time for some answers.

She had made another batch of the same types of cookies like last time. Better play it safe.

Though she wondered... He seriously invited her? After all the snark and the 'go away' and stuff?

... Were the cookies that good?

Maybe she did something that made him change his mind? But what?

Anyway, when she knocked on the door, he almost simultaneously opened it, as if he was waiting for her. He didn't speak a word, only gestured her in. He looked a lot less tired. That's good.

She let him guide her to the kitchen. The kitchen looked more modern than she had expected, especially since even the hall had been in the same gothic vibe as the house had looked like from outside. The kitchen was nice and cosy and clean (almost as if he never used it.... Suspicious...) and had a small table in the corner. She sat herself down on one of the wooden chairs and waited for him to join her. She put her bag on the table with her.

He poured both of them a cup of tea at the sink where he had already cooked some water (he seriously was waiting for her then?) and brought the mugs to the table, gesturing to the small box where he kept the flavors.

She stuck with red tea.

He picked a bag of black tea for himself and after dropping it in his mug he leaned with his chin on his hand, watching her for a moment.

"Well, here we are," he eventually blurted out.

She couldn't bring herself to speak. Did he call her here to answer her questions? Or did he just want to talk about something else?

"Listen, I know you've come here multiple times over 'vampire' business..." He started, straightening his back and running his hand through his hair. She just listened patiently. "I'm just- I was wondering why, I guess."

She found her voice again. "You mean, why I think you're a vampire?"

"I mean," he rest his elbows on the table again, "why are you so fixated on me being a vampire? Coming by for four days straight, even leaving cookies and a note - and were you honestly thinking I was gonna sleep for a /decade/?"

She took a hesitant sip. He resumed.

"I just- why are you-" he struggled with words for a second. "What are you trying to do? What do you want me to do?"

"Do you want me to tell you 'I'm a vampire' so you can just go on with your life or something? I mean," he folded his hands together, "just... Help me out here."

She looked at her glass for a moment. "I... I don't know. I mean, of course I'd wanna be right. I guess I'm just... Looking for validation here...?"

She looked him in the eye. "So, are you a vampire?"

"Short answer?" He asked before taking a sip. "No."

"But- the house-"

"Family heirloom."

"You only come out at night-"

"I'm a night guard. My sleep schedule is already royally fucked, okay."

"Haven't you like been sleeping for a few days?"

"Only for ten hours, and after that I saw your message and didn't know what to do about it for a while. So... Yeah."

"And you avoid garlic!"

"I do what now? Lady, I love garlic. I don't see how you got to that conclusion."

"But..." She hung her head right above the table. "But I was so certain..."

"Which is why I ask," he put his mug down with a thump, "whats with all the effort? The chance vampires actually exist is close to zero, you know."

"But-" she unconsciously felt herself lean forward, more towards him, "I just- I know there’s something out there- I want to believe in the extraordinary. I know there's at least something like that and I-“

She muttered something he couldn't quite catch.

"A bit louder for the people in the back, please," he ended up saying, stretching an arm while closing his eyes.

"... I just want to finally be right.”

His eyes shifted to her. Hers were trained on her mug, with her arms propped up on the table, looking pretty vulnerable. And he knew he had no real reason not to, but he felt guilty he'd been harsh the first time around.

Apparently he'd hit a nerve, damnit.

"Hey, uhh," he trailed off, not sure what to do with his arms. He was no good at this. He just patted her shoulder lightly. "Don't worry about this... Setback, okay? Sure, I wasn't exactly what you thought I'd be but... I'm sure next time will turn out better?"

He glanced at her face one more time and saw tears had started to form in her eyes. Yikes.

He was so not good at this.

"This was already my 'next time'..." She admitted before taking a sip. The way she drank that she should've been drinking tequila.

"C'mon it- it can't be that bad..." He trailed, his head running a thousand miles per hour. "You just gotta find another lead, right? Well, then we just gotta start looking."

She seemed to perk up at that. "You're gonna help me?" She asked, more surprised than anything else.

"Well, I owe you for the cookies, I guess." He shoved his chair back and dug in his drawers looking for a pen and some paper. "Okay, so who we got?"

She looked like she was in thought and mindlessly wiped her eyes. "W-well, that old man living on 11th has a weird obsession with dogs..."

He inwardly cheered when he finally found a worn notebook. "Okay, so we got a candidate for a werewolf, what else?"

He heard rustling in the back, with the soft crunching on cookies followed not long after. "Also... There's also this creep whom I always see leaving the hardware store with nothing but tape..."

He pretended to scribble while he kept searching for a pen. "So a serial kidnapper, good, and what about that doctor that got fired last week, living on whatsit uhh something avenue. You know, they had to keep him for a few days for being in 'suspicious condition' or something...?"

"I'm not sure," she said just when he had found a pen. "It could also be him not handling the situation well..."

"Yeah, but he's also a creep."

"True..."

He'd joined her at the table again, having quickly scribbled the three people down in bullet points, the doctor followed by a question mark.

"Well, that's three already and we're not even five minutes further. I'm sure you can do this. You just gotta hit it big once, you know," he said while he laid his hand on hers for a moment.

She flashed him a soft smile while his hand lingered. After a while he felt himself get more and more awkward so he cleared his throat and moved the hand through his hair. "So, uhh, got any more?"

They talked for a while about random people who seemed a little suspicious until they got totally off track and went from cars to dogs to eventually come back to vampires. By that time she had totally reverted from her previous meltdown and was now laughing to a lame snark he had made not even a moment before.

"I just-" she tried to talk through her giggles "I can't believe I thought you were a vampire. You're too much of a dork for the gloomy image."

"What," he gasped loudly, fake hurt. "Well excuse me for not being an uptight jerk!"

"Who said a vampire has to be a jerk?" She countered with laugh. "For all you know they're teddy bears."

"Oh yeah?” He snorted. “Maybe they’re not even what you think they’re like- what you’d call a vampire might not even be one at all!"

While he said it with a chuckle and a smile, after her initial laugh the question took her aback and she stared at him for a while. Her silence made him fall silent and he grabbed his mug for a drink but it was already empty.

"Uh... I mean..." the ongoing silence apparently made him nervous as he fidgeted with his cup, "I've had an ... interest in vampires some time ago and so I've read quite some stuff on them... but... I mean... the books on them are all speculation. What if they're not... What if they're completely the opposite of what you imagine them to be?"

He ended up looking her in the eye by the time he finished his last question, and every single bit of lightheartedness seemed to have evaporated from the room. He looked at her like he really wanted her to answer. So she thought about it, momentarily breaking eye contact. Would she be disappointed? No, of course not. It'll take time adjusting, sure, but...

"You know, I had envisioned you to be totally different," she started, searching for his eyes again. She flashed him a smile. "But I think like you better as you are right now."

A moment seemed to pass but when her words hit home he seemed to turn three shades of red and he coughed into his hand for diversion. She thought it was cute but her remark made the atmosphere a little tense so she added, "I think I'd be able to adapt to a not-so-regular vampire too, if one manages to show up."

They both resided in silence once more, although it was no longer awkward. It seemed to be filled with words unspoken, but it was broken just as fast as it appeared.

He had looked at the clock.

"It's already late, I'll walk you home," he said when he shoved his chair back. He took their empty cups back to the kitchen sink. "I don't think it's wise for a girl to still be out when it's this dark."

"I can handle myself just fine, thank you very much," she retorted, knowing full well he was right. She didn't know too much about this part of the neighborhood to feel completely safe.

"Well, if there really are 'vampires' roaming these streets," he said before turning around with what looks like a torn off wooden stick in his hand, "two are better than one, right?"

"What's that?"

"A stake...?" He answered sheepishly.

"Did you seriously break a wooden spoon for this," she asked with a hint of mockery in her voice.

"It was already broken, take it or leave it." He deadpanned.

"I don't think it's the right type of wood," she muttered.

"Welp," he threw it over his shoulder against the bin. "I'm still walking you home, I don't think refusing is a good idea."

He had already walked back into the hall, towards the coatrack and started putting on an army green jacket. She followed him into the hall, fumbling for the light switch and turning off the lights in the kitchen.

She then turned to him again. "I don't think we've actually introduced ourselves. I sure don't know your name."

He paused, then stuck out a hand. "Well, I'm Tiro. Not sure if I caught your name."

"Ayuya." She shook it. "I guess we did get a rough start."

"Well, don't ask me to 'start over', though. I won't forget you turning up at my door at my equivalent of 3 AM."

"In my defense, trying to make contact with a 'vampire' when he was at his weakest sounded like a good strategy to me."

"What kinda vampire would open his door with the sun all ablaze?"

"... Fair point."

He handed her an umbrella. "If the weather report is right, it's gonna rain sometime soon. You didn't bring a coat, so use it."

She eyed the umbrella, dumbfounded. "I uh... Thanks."

He slipped his keys in his pocket and proceeded to the door. Looking out, it was dark and cloudy like it would rain soon. He opened the door.

"Well, where to?"

She gave him short directions to her apartment complex and they started walking.

"So, uh," he tried to start a conversation after a while of silence, "How long have you lived here?"

"About..." she took a while to think, finger to her lip, "... six months now? I came here as soon as I found a job here. I had an apartment here already, but started actually living here when I transferred jobs."

"Then what do you do?"

"Oh I'm uhh," she seemed a bit abashed. "I'm a barista at the moment. It doesn't pay that bad, and the coworkers are nice," she rambled, missing his surprised look, "and, well, free coffee for me, I guess?"

"What place."

"Huh?"

"At which place you work?"

"At Hipster's Paradise, it's not that good-"

"No kidding! A friend of mine works there!"

"Really?" Her mind browsed through her colleagues' faces. "Who is it?"

"He's a blond guy named Lucas," he grinned with a fond look. "He's been my best friend since, what, middle school?"

"Oh!" Like a slot machine, her mind hit the guys portrait and a jingle played in her head. "Lucas! I know him! He's so nice! I always look forward to shifts with him!"

She eyed him for a little before saying, "Though... you were not exactly the image I had when Lucas talked about his 'friends'..."

She silently referred to his get-up. Lucas was a friendly and gentle guy, radiant smile, kind to even the rudest customers. Then there was mister red with his hair combed back, leather bracelet, army jacket and gothic horror house. Not to mention his moody first impression and vampire suspicions that were only cleared today. Kind of the prime example of what not to expect.

"And what exactly is wrong with me then?" He eyed her skeptically, stopping in his tracks.

"Nothing wrong, but you're just very different. At first glance, I mean."

He snorted and made a gesture to keep walking. "I guess I am."

"Well," she resumed, trying to make it sound a little better, "I guess as a person you would be one of the people he'd talk about. So which one are you, the moody workaholic or the stoic crossword puzzle solving man-child?"

She got a hearty laugh out of him. "Neither, but I do know who they are. They’re old friends of us. Lucas still talks with them over Skype."

She pouted when he said, "Well, next time he talks about me, don't worry, you'll know. Once you've seen me at my worst, I'm fairly easy to detect in stories."

"And your worst is...?" She asked, having a vague idea what it was.

"My morning mood."

"Noted," she said with a nod. She recognized the neighborhood; they were already close to her home.

"Wait, are you the coffee disaster guy?"

"Coffee disa- honestly, how did he tell that story? All I did was come in for coffee, and slightly tripped over the janitor on my way out. Big deal."

"You were holding like five liters of coffee."

"I had to bring for my coworkers too; lost a bet."

"You literally got coffee everywhere; even the ceiling."

"Well I'm sorry for existing. I had literally woken up five minutes before that alright cut me some slack."

She stifled a laugh. "I can't believe I thought the coffee disaster guy was a vampire."

"It's a small town; the odds were there," he said as if it was the biggest truth of the world.

"I can't believe I’m friends with the coffee disaster guy."

"Well excuse me for- friends?"

He stopped in his tracks, coincidentally just outside of her place. She turned more towards him, didn't bother hiding her confused look.

"Well, yes? I mean, this counts as friends, right? I had fun tonight, I believe you did too, so we're friends, right?"

He remained silent for a while. It felt off.

"... Did you have fun tonight?"

"Of course I did. Wouldn't've put up with you if I hadn't."

"Then... would you hate it to hang out again in the near future?"

"Don't think so."

"Then we're friends, right? We can hang out with Lucas and do something with the three of us. It sounds like it should be fun. I think Lucas would like it too."

He seemed like he had doubts. In what, exactly?

"You've already got my number. You're not obligated to anything; just hit me up when you feel like it, alright?"

She handed the umbrella back to him. "Thanks for walking me home, I think you'll need this one more than I will. And a good night."

She started heading for the stairs, feeling a little insecure. Were they not on the same page? Did she miss something?

Halfway up the stairs she felt her phone vibrate.

She went to look at the text she got on pretty much auto pilot.

[I'll be talking to you soon then.]

She read the contact’s name and she spun around, almost surprised to see him still at the bottom of the stairs, phone in hand. She read something playful on his face, with half a smirk he said, "No take backs."

She snorted. "It seems a little too late for that, doesn't it?"

They waved each other a good night and she headed inside, soon finding her apartment door and keys and making herself ready for a good night's sleep.

Tiro on the other hand was still outside her apartment building. Not exactly looking at it, just talking to himself.

"Hmmm alright. Not my smartest move. What am I gonna do now?"

He ruffled his own hair as to banish a thought. "Did I finally convince her I was nothing, and now we’re friends. Why couldn’t I just let myself get off the hook?!"

He just deeply sighed.

"Maybe it's alright. I mean, I think I can trust her. She seems alright."

He started walking in the opposite direction. "Well," he muttered, "out of everyone questioning my humanity she's the one I'd actually considered revealing myself to but..."

He furiously shook his head. "Oh, I don’t think she’d take kindly on me lying about it. Though I wasn't exactly wrong..."

He spotted an alley and after throwing glances around he headed in. He laid the umbrella on the ground. "Let's just hope she won't find out."

He took a deep breath and focussed. Focussed on the wind for a bit. Closed his eyes for a second. Then took his umbrella and took off, like a bat into gathering mists.

#my ocs #cait writes #tiro #ayuya #vampire au #honestly all i do is write aus on my own ocs :):):)

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ayuyikes · 5 years ago

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Hunting a Cryptid pt. 7

pt. 1 is here

I did continue for a bit and I’m hoping to eventually turn up the heat (for myself) again but I just hope I can spark the littlest of interest in this since, well, I really like it and I could use the motivation

Thanks if you do read it!

--------

"Did you even sleep? You look like you got hit by a truck."

"I'm fine, thanks."

They had decided to meet at Ayuya's house since the location was close to her place. When he turned up at her door at 1 PM as if he was about to go on a biker's roadtrip to alaska, she didn't even comment on the attire but raised a brow at the depth of his bags.

She opened the door a little further to welcome him inside.

"No but seriously," she persisted while she led him down the hall to her living room, "Did you sleep? You didn't just power through after a late shift, right?"

He just wordlessly sat down at her dinner table and looked at her sleepily. "No. I'm good."

She faked the beginning of a yawn. He tried to stifle his own yawn, with not much luck.

"Go to bed," she growled exasperatedly, heading to her kitchen for the tea she had set up. He whined.

"I'm fine. My shift ended at 7 so I snuck in a nap before coming here, big deal."

He was a liar. He did no such thing.

"If you're tired you shouldn't have agreed to meet with me at this time in the first place," she argued from her place behind the stove, getting tea from the cabinets. She shot him a look. "It can wait."

"Hey, I'm not the one who's gonna pout if the clues are washed away by then," he muttered while laying his head on the table. For cold wood it was very, very comfortable. He closed his eyes for a second.

He was startled by her setting a mug of tea on the table only inches away from his face.

"Tiro," she said with a stern voice but gentle eyes. "I mean it. Get some sleep."

He hoisted himself up with a groan. "Fine. After this. I wanna see where the bat went with my own two eyes."

She sighed loudly and planted herself in the opposing chair, her own teal mug in hand. "I'm giving you a free pass on the supernatural stuff, how can you say no to that?"

He sipped his tea. "It's not like I mind, though."

She looked at him like he had grown another head. He raised an eyebrow.

"What? Someone has to be your common sense filter."

She stood up soundlessly, walked up to the counter, grabbed a cookbook and slapped him with it on his arm with a glare. He laughed.

"Alright alright. Let's get this over with then?"

After finishing their tea (Tiro made a face like he burnt his tongue at one point) they walked towards the industrial area where she said the footage came from. They walked for about five minutes making small talk (giving Tiro the opportunity to wake up for a bit) they arrived at the right street. She halted.

"Alright, so," she pointed towards the factory in question, to the closest corner where he could see the camera hang, "that camera saw the bat move from uhhh," she backtracked a little to show the animal's location, "here... to...." she moved forward, keeping eye on the camera to get the angle right, "somewhere around here, where another camera picked up footage and the last we see the bat..." she trailed, taking a little sprint forward, Tiro just watching her with an amused look. She stops in her tracks at a junction just past the building. "Is here. Right here it gets out of camera range." She turns to him again. "Wanna split up to look for clues?"

He doesn't say much but joins her side. She glances at the various directions they could take.

"You see, this one right here," she points to the south of them when she got his attention, "is also still within line of sight of the camera's, but Ghi checked them and there was no bat to be seen. Which leaves," she turned back to the north and the east street, "these two. We can each take one, then come back here to share what we've seen?"

Tiro just nodded in agreement. "I'll take the north, you take east?"

Ayuya grinned. "Alright. Let's meet back here within 10. Take pictures if needed."

"You got it."

---------------------

When Ayuya got back at the meeting point after about seven minutes, she was the first one there. She hadn't found anything interesting so far, but there was more to comb out further down the road. She also had found a little convenience store that was open at night, so she could come back there later and ask if they've seen anything.

She glanced at her phone, but not long after she heard Tiro coming running towards her. He seemed frantic. A good frantic.

"You gotta see this. I think I found something."

She followed him immediately, mostly straight ahead but after two left turns showed her an ally. She looked at him confused.

"No, look," he went, as he grasped her hand in his gloved one and lead her a little inside the ally. Then she saw it. And smelled it, actually.

"That's... blood isn't it."

"Yeah. It got smeared, I think he tried to get rid of it fast."

"But not fast enough," she said taking a closer look to the smearing on the floor. The scent of iron filled her nostrils. "It's not that much to suggest it being from an assault or anything."

"It's also not clotted," Tiro pointed out with a disgusted face. "That should've been happening in normal circumstances..."

"... But saliva helps prevent clotting!" She finished his thought with a shine in her eye. "This could be a solid lead!"

"Could be?" He coughed. "I mean, what else could it be?"

She looked at him sceptically. "It could also be a guy who got punched in the nose one unfortunate night. It's a solid follow up, but we need more info."

She straightened her back and stretched. "Maybe I should look up some forensic stuff to see what else this stain can tell me. It's really too bad it got mostly wiped."

Tiro was flexing his hands in what seemed to be anticipation. "So we ask around?"

Ayuya nodded. "It would be nice to know if people did see something around here that night. The bat, or maybe even his human form."

They left the ally behind them to look around for passerby. Ayuya seemed still in thought.

"It's weird the blood is still here, though. Did nobody notice?"

Tiro shrugged.

"I mean, you also didn't notice initially did you?"

She pondered. "True..." she admitted. Something still nagged at her but she couldn't place what. Tiro yawned.

"Okay," she finally said. "You're going home now, mister. I can ask around for a while, no sweat. But you," she prodded in his chest, "have work tomorrow, so you should sleep." He rolled his eyes.

"Alright, fine. I'll go already," he sighed in defeat. "Just keep me updated, will you?"

"Will do." She grinned reassuredly. She gave him one more playful shove. "Now get some rest, you hobo."

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When she got home after researching a bunch, she flopped onto her couch without even taking her shoes off. She felt even too lazy to roll on her back, sighing contently into her decorative pillows. She moved her head to the side to breathe.

After she had sent Tiro home to bed she’d asked around at stores, passing people, and some that were just leaving the house to see if they had seen anything lately. Sadly enough, even though they seemed to have a great lead here, nobody had anything to report. Disappointing, to say the least. At least she could try to pinpoint the vampire’s route now.

She grunted and rolled over to sit up straight, pulling her laptop from the coffee table onto her lap. Opening google maps, she made a screenshot of the area and opened it in photoshop to try and draw out the possible routes the bat could’ve taken, taking in consideration the timeline of course.

She grabbed the notebook she had laid on the coffee table beside her laptop, folding it open where she had stuck her pen between pages.

“Tiro saw it crossing about two blocks from my house at approximately 1.15 AM...” she read to herself while drawing the estimated radius in red on a new layer.

“Then there’s the footage, which shows the bat moving down Mulberry lane at 1.18...”

She drew that line in purple.

“And then the blood, which doesn’t have a distinct time set on it, right here...”

She marked the ally in yellow and just went over the grid in her head.

“It’d fit if Tiro saw the bat from here...” she moved her finger from her house to the southeast part of the red area, one street above Mulberry lane. “But if it was moving towards my house, it doesn’t make sense that he shows up only three minutes later on Mulberry lane going in the opposite direction...”

She rubbed her cheek with her knuckle. “If his target was to the south of my house, it would make some sort of sense... No, but that means the hit was done so quick he’d instantly have to turn around and head home...“

And she would’ve caught traces because that area was on her way to work.

“Of course I didn’t exactly look for it then...” she argued with herself. “If there were traces they’re probably gone by now. It’s been two weeks.”

The same nagging feeling hit her again. What about the blood on Granbury street? Where does that fit in?

She sighed and checked her phone. Tiro was last seen online around 1 PM. Good. That meant he was sleeping like she told him to.

She’s glad he wants to help but it’s not exactly getting her answers yet, though.

Her mind went back to the smears. Something is off about that. But what?

The place didn’t make sense. It’s more to the northeast, while the footage and the witness (sounds awfully fancy for the mess Tiro remembered) were to the south and southeast. If only she could estimate what speed the bat could achieve she could take better guesses at where he went.

Or, you know. More witnesses would also be nice.

She considered asking Ghi for a timeframe to estimate the bats speed but then wondered what the smears were pointing at. Maybe they weren’t related to the vampire at all. Sure, the absence of clotting is nice but maybe it could tell her a bit more. At least eliminate a inconsistency if necessary.

She searched a little about shapes and traits of blood pools when she came across an article. Published in a paper on forensic science, about two years ago.

It was on the morphology of drying blood pools.

She skimmed through the abstract and looked at the provided picture. The dark coloration of the pool, with as final state a brittle hardened dark red substance. One more look through the abstract and she found her questions not answered. The drying time of blood was related to the surface and conditions, but how much of a difference would it make?

After another search in the NCBI she hit the jackpot.

Theres no way the blood shouldn’t have been completely dried up by the time they discovered it if it was from the night in question.

It might’ve been smeared but it wasn’t completely dry.

It was actually pretty fresh.

She let out a disappointed sigh. So much for a good lead. It might still be vampire related, but without witnesses she’d have to let it go for now.

She got rid of the yellow layer with a sigh.

Now she had no idea where the bat was going. Damn confusing timeline.

She got up for a drink. She opened the dishwasher for a mug and poured herself hot water for tea. She shot a text to Ghi asking if he had a timeframe for her, then hesitated before typing a text to Tiro if he had work tonight.

She had grabbed red tea from the cupboard when she got a reply. She dipped a tea bag in her mug and took her phone with her to the couch, folded up her legs beside her (this time remembering to kick her shoes off) and opened her text. It was from Tiro.

[Sadly]

[i don’t get how assigning me a night shit and then an evening shift right after isa llowed]

She snorted at his typos, quickly sending a reply.

[A night shit?]

[tmi]

She waited for his answer, seeing him quickly start typing. She sipped her tea.

[you know damn well what I mean]

Immediately typing back, a small smile on her face.

[sorry sorry. Did you get some sleep?]

With bated breath she waited for him to start typing. She was surprised to get a picture instead.

He was in bed, lying on his side, sending a selfie. His hair tousled, eyes groggily looking towards her, shoulders bare while clutching a dark blue comforter. After a little search she could make out a hint of a black tank top strap.

He’d sent her a text immediately after.

[just woke up]

She quickly hit him back.

[I can see that]

[wanna grab coffee before I head out?]

She thought a little about his offer. She leant back against the couch, having just realized she had hunched over.

[sure!]

[what time do you start?]

She laid her phone back down to gather her things in the meantime. She set her mug in the sink, and looked for a snack in the fridge, settling on an energy bar.

She threw it in her bag, eyeing her phone for the time. 5.24 PM. Tiro had sent a text she’d check out later.

She was missing her keys, though. She did a quick scan of the room, then remembered having laid them on the headrest of her couch and she crouched next to it to see if she had accidentally dropped it then kicked it under.

She had.

She reached for her keys, at the same time noticing something else was next to it. She grabbed both, and sat upright to examine the mystery object.

It was a picture keychain that she was gifted years time ago going to an amusement park. It was a photo taken on a rollercoaster, a younger version of her obviously having the time of her life, the man sitting next to her... not so much.

Seeing him in the picture made a bit of hurt and nostalgia rise up in her chest. She had totally forgotten she had this. Had he kept it for her?

Angry buzzing from the coffee table pulled her out of her thoughts.

She quickly put the picture down and unlocked her phone.

[sorry, i was just asked to come in earlier]

[i start at 6]

[wanna grab breakfast/dinner instead?]

She knew he was gonna have to hurry if she agreed.

[you know what, sure]

[just don’t blame me when you get late]

#shut it cait #cait writes #my ocs #tiro*#ayuya*#tiruya #i guess?#nightguard au

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