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Keith swings his blade, slicing through the last vampire's neck. Stale blood splatters against his face as the being's head hits the ground before his feet, the unmoving body collapsing awkwardly backwards. Glancing around to make absolute certain no more would be around to attack him, he relaxes slightly. Three corpses rest before him scattered out in the little meadow Keith had led them to.
Hungry vampires are nearly impossible to revert back to their normal nature without killing them. Starving vampires who haven't had a meal in so long that they go absolute crazy with bloodlust...well, there's no reasoning or saving one. Not really. The only safe way to deal with them was a good decapitation or stab through the heart with whatever weakens them. In this case, like with nearly all vampires, luxite works like a charm. Keith sends out a silent thanks to his mother for having his blade made with one of strongest metals out there. It's been priceless for the last century or two.
Keith's not new to vampires, especially being one himself. He's been roaming the Earth for over 300 years now. It's only the last nine decades he's actually decided to become a hunter. Not all of their kind is insane, many are very normal, although humans always think otherwise. He's heard their stories and their lies. Some days he wonders how he can tolerate the prejudice and bigotry from humans he kind of blends in with. The speciesism.
He probably thinks of the worst vampires he's run across or heard of when it comes up. Zarkon. Sendak. Haggar. None of them are good people. Maybe at one point, but not now, too drunk off of power or other's pain.
He sighs softly before gripping one of the bodies by the shoulder. Toeing the head, he drags both over to the other two beheaded bodies. Bless his advanced strength. He places them down in a pile, once again checking out the meadow with his sensitive ears and nose. Nothing. Good.
Burn the bodies...keep safe...
Carefully, he lights his old lighter up, snipping it open soothingly before beginning to burn a random branch nearby. Once it catches, he drops it on the bodies before starting again. He's not worried about a runaway flame, especially not when he's got this feeling inside of him. He's naturally good at fire control. It's basically his element along with heat. Even sunlight is somewhat his friend, if he keeps on enough sunscreen and clothes. He watches as the fire burns through the corpses. It's the only way to absolutely guarantee that the vampires are dead, since some have wicked regeneration abilities. Cut off the head and it might literally regrow back again. Plus, he'd rather not leave random bodies around.
He stays for a whole half hour to make sure nothing else burns. While some vampires are resistant to flames, they aren't after their death. Ashes smolder in front of him as he waits, listening to the peaceful sound of nature. He's always loved the quiet of the outdoors, even the animals too. And it wasn't for just eating. Animals are the best.
Speaking of animals-
"Hey, boy," Keith greets the wolf who has been around him for the last 25 years. The wolf is large, black as midnight with grey patches over his head, chest and legs. If one has good enough eyesight, they can tell that the grey is actually blue. To many people, the wolf looks like a normal large wolf. Keith knows otherwise as smoke curls in his nose, with a tang of sulfur.
Said wolf gazes up at him before looking down at the pile of ashes. Keith somehow knows he's asking about it.
"Three savs," he answers back before shrugging, "Probably sired by the same person and then abandoned to starve."
He clenches his fists. He knows what that feels like. To be abandoned. For the first 20 years of his life, his mother was absent, although they've made up for that. He's had a few friends here and there, some magical and some human who have dumped him to die alone. By his side, the wolf growls in anger, picking up his mood and understanding what he said.
It is cruel to create a vampire and then leave them to become savage monsters. But many sadistic people do it, either for fun or they don't care how they feed.
"You wanna come with?" Keith asks after a moment, eyeing the lupine, "The hotel is nearby."
The wolf stares at him evenly before coming closer, his way of saying 'yes' as thick fur brushes his leg. Keith chuckles softly before running his fingers through the scruff of his neck, earning a pleased hum from the wolf. He might be silent most of the time, but he's got a way of speaking with his body, and Keith has learned them throughout the years. As most vampires say, they have a bond of some sort. Keith prefers the idea that he just listens.
"I'm sure nobody will mind you being with me," Keith grins before walking away from the meadow. It's about ten miles to the hotel, but it's a short distance for the speedy duo. Keith is abnormally fast, even for a vampire. Running will get him there quickly. He takes off, speeding through the trees to keep away from the roads. About a minute later, he skids to a stop blocks from the place he's staying. The wolf appears in a whiff of smoke, solidifying by his side before they both walk up to the building.
The hotel is big, with multiple floors. It's old, white, and newer technology in it. Keith thumbs his key card in his pocket as he makes his way through the double doors. In the lobby sits a few groups of hunters, all decked out in their own outfits and weapons, some that would hurt Keith and some that wouldn't even bother him. As they enter, only a few pairs of eyes glance up before going back to their games and planning. This is one of the best known hunting grounds, so many hunters stay here for a while. And everyone has accepted that Keith is a rogue hunter, which is why no one questions about the wolf companion.
As he strolls through, he stretches his hearing for any intel or inside information.
"Damn that guy sure has some guts," one woman whispers to her group, "Just slayed at least one of those monsters. Not a scratch on him. Some type of prodigy if you ask me-"
"...is fucking bullshit," a man in the corner by the vending machine whines, brown eyes glaring at the machine, "First, I almost got eaten by a vamp yesterday. Second, a rat ate through my headphones. And now the machine ate my fucking last dollar bill! Fuck you, fucking machine-"
"...Heard there's a wild pack of them over in the northeast part of town," another group says, a man sitting over a map with a scarlet sharpie, "The town is swarming with the bastards. Seems they're multiplying and coming in from other cities. They're going to be a coven soon. Got two of my men, them beasts."
Keith grits his teeth before going up to floor 3, keying into his room. Luckily for him, he never has to get permission to enter a hotel room that he pays for...because it's technically his on paper, at least for the time being. He sighs quietly before shutting the door and locking it. Plopping down onto the bed, he looks over at the wolf who stares back.
"Shower, sleep, and a bite to eat," Keith lists off before getting up and tossing his jacket aside. He hardly washes it because the old vampire blood helps disguise his own natural scent. He uses the surprise to his best in battle. And he doesn't carry many items with him, even clothes. Whatever fits into his charmed bag is what he takes. A few weapons, clothes, a blood bag in the cooler pocket, and a few coins and cash. Stripping out of his shirt, pants, and underwear, he turns to the wolf, ignoring the scars along his body from past fights, "Need a shower?"
The wolf flicks his ear before sneezing and trotting around to the bed, jumping into it and curling up to sleep. Fair enough, most living beings need rest, unlike vampires. Keith snickers softly before shutting himself into the bathroom. Turning the water on, he soaks in burning hot water, enjoying it as it relaxes tense muscles. After a few minutes, he scrubs at his face and body, washing away the sweat and dried blood. Washing with a hand-chosen shampoo that doesn't overpower his sense of smell, he reluctantly turns the water off before stepping out. Drying off, it's not long before he joins the wolf on the bed that squeaks at the weight placed upon it. Dressing quickly, he settles down on the bed before squeezing up against thick fur. The lupine takes up most of the bed, but he makes it work. Keith soaks in the wolf's warm before drifting into a hazy slumber.
It's hours later when he wakes up, the slivers of a forgotten voice in his dreams. He sits up, noticing that the wolf is still asleep. Savoring the large canine's body heat, he eventually sneaks his way down to the lobby. He doesn't plan on going anywhere, but he does want to scope out who he has to watch out for. If any of the hunters figure out about his heritage, he has to leave. He might be able to take on most of the groups here, but he doesn't want to hurt them. Granted, some of them deserve it, with the methods they've tortured innocent vampires with. It's one thing to kill someone cleanly with a swipe through the neck or a bullet through the heart. It's completely inhumane to slice and burn and hurt someone.
Making his way into the lobby, he scowls as the stench of garlic. He hates the smell, but he's not allergic to it. He wants to get away from it just because it's so annoying. He sees as one of the hunter groups stroll by to the upper floors, beads of garlic on their chests and necks. Gods above, they must be completely unable to smell anything. Keith hisses quietly under his breath before buying a sandwich and coffee from the small shop adjoined to the lobby. Sitting in the corner, he gazes around before slipping into his thoughts, sipping his sugary drink.
See, very few things can take out a vampire, and even fewer can kill all vampires. Silver might kill one race, but leave the next unharmed. Certain poisons or plants can take some out, such as garlic. But then again, it may just annoy them.
As far as Keith knows, only two things can actually kill or stop a vampire: holy water and invitation rules. Holy water is hard to get. But the invitation rules are nearly impossible to break.
"I miss your cooking," someone's voice breaks him out of his mind as he looks over at the counter. A new group he hasn't seen before standing around debating on what to order from the display cases. There's five of them, all dressed well enough for Keith to know that they are professionals but believe in more casual styles, unlike 3/4ths of those here. Their weapons are hidden in easy-to-reach places. Even from here, he can see the gun on one guy's hip and a bow on one of the ladies' back, tucked away where a normal person wouldn't notice. The one with the gun had been the one complaining to his fellow hunter dressed in yellow, "Your hot chocolate is the best. Oh! And your crescent sandwiches! And pigs-in-a-blanket! Now I'm making myself even more hungry!"
"Not our fault you didn't eat breakfast, Lance," a green-clad female answers back before rolling her golden eyes, "You slept in."
"Pidge!" Lance shouts before waving his hands around, almost taking out the orange-dressed man with the bright orange hair in their group, "I need my beauty sleep!"
"Don't we all?" Yellow groans before cracking his neck, "I don't know about you guys, but I really want to eat and crash. I'm exhausted and we're hunting tonight, right? We gotta rest up."
"Hunk is right," Orange exclaims with a wide grin, "We got quite the busy night ahead of us! I think I want the cream cheese omelet."
"Coran makes a good point," the woman with the bow nods, her voice proper and powerful, "Now if only Shiro were around here somewhere...I do not understand what could possibly be taking him so long to join us?"
"You know Shiro," Pidge waves her hand nonchalantly, clearly not worried, "He's probably doing border patrol, scoping out the place for exits and stuff. He's cautious about new places."
"That's understandable," the woman in pink agrees before sighing, "He's been hunting far longer than any of us have, at least experience wise. Must be habitual by now."
Keith yawns before tuning out of their conversation. He's blended in well enough that one person patrolling around won't bother him. Turning back to his meal, he picks a bit of meat - turkey - off the sandwich before eating it. He can eat tiny amounts of human foods without getting sick, and meat always digests better than anything else, coming closest to what he eats. He's saving the rest for the wolf who eats just as much as any living creature does. Keith drains his coffee, glad his stomach can handle liquids as well as it does blood. Coffee and other drinks definitely help him blend in, and he loves the taste.
Getting up, he dumps his reusable cup back into the tub for cleaning before starting for the door. Seems like someone has a similar idea though, for Keith nearly smacks right into them.
His sandwich hits the ground as he gazes into startled and shocked grey eyes. The man before him is definitely muscular with thick shoulders and a fit waist. He's decked out in black tight clothes with layers, a dark grey undershirt on. He's tall, at least a head higher than Keith. Strands of white hair hang over his eyes, the rest cut short and black as the wolf's fur. He's got a wicked scar over his nose.
Keith accidentally gets a whiff of him, and his stomach flips.
The guy smells fucking delicious. Like s'mores on an open campfire. Or cinnamon in the sun. Or honey on a terrible day. All things he loves.
Keith snaps out of his fascination, remembering that this man is definitely a human. He tries very hard not to feed from humans or the wolf. Animals sufficiently feed him. But every once in awhile, he indulges himself with a different snack. His mom can only drink human blood, but Keith can survive on either. Human blood just tastes better though.
"Oh, sorry!" The man laughs before apologizing to him, "I didn't see you the-"
The other pauses for a moment before gazing over Keith from head to toe. Keith shivers at the attention. Does the human know? Can he sense Keith's a vampire?
"Uhhh...hi," the man grins before glancing away sheepishly. Keith can practically feel the man's heart racing from the few inches between them. Huh...the taller's eyes slide straight to the floor as he groans, "I'm really sorry about that. I can buy you a new sandwich? Since I made you drop this one."
"It's not an issue," Keith shrugs before picking it up off the floor. The bread isn't even dirty and Keith's absolutely sure his wolf friend has probably eaten way worse. Probably on a daily basis, since Keith doesn't always feed him, "I was going to feed it to the wolf."
"I just feel really bad?" The man rubs his undercut before pointing his thumb at the counter, "Let me make it up to you."
"I should be going-"
"And I'll buy some for your wolf buddy too," the man grins, eyes shining like stars, "They probably need lots of food."
"I...yeah," Keith nods before giving in. The lupine is always hungry, and smoke teleportation has to be costly energy wise, "Thanks, I guess…"
"Thanks right back," the man chuckles softly, "It was my fault, after all. Got stuff on my mind. I'll be right back. My friends...can be a little energetic sometimes."
A loud shout from the brown-haired guy in the room emphasizes the fact as everyone ignores him.
"That's Lance for you," the man laughs goodnaturedly before shaking his head, "No inside voice. I'll be right back with it."
"Hey, uhhh-" The man pauses with a curious expression, "A cappuccino to go sounds good too, if that's okay? Number 4?"
He hates asking for things but he might as well. This is where he'd know what the man was like and the whole team by extension. And coffee is one of his favorite things he can digest well, thus no true limit. Caffeine and alcohol don't affect him at all. Shockingly, the man doesn't seem angry. He cracks a bigger smile.
"Oh, yeah, I definitely can do that!" He nods before shrugging, "I did bump into you. Be a quick minute."
The man strolls over to the new group who greet him, happy that he's finally there. He chats with each for a quick second, which Keith absentmindedly listens to. It's Shiro, the one who they had been waiting for. The man orders some stuff, bringing it back after a moment.
"Here you go!" He hands two sandwiches and a coffee over, keeping the third for himself, "So what brings you to town?"
"Hmmm?" Keith wheezes before glancing up from the baggy in his hand, "What?"
"What brings you to town?" Shiro asks politely with absolute interest, as if what Keith has to say will stay with him for a while. He's a strange human. Keith gets another chance at his scent, promptly covering up the indulgent smell with his apparently bland coffee (not Shiro's fault that his blood probably tastes way better than the coffee ever could). Before he can freak out, Shiro goes on, eyes widening, "Oh, shit...I'm Shiro, if I didn't say before."
"Keith," Keith curses himself as soon as the words leave him. He should have lied. If they find out he's a vampire, they will likely know his exact room if they looked at the register list. He hurries on, "I'm staying around for the hunt."
"Oh, I see," Shiro nods before grinning fondly, waving his thumb back at his chaotic group, "We are too. Kind of our specialty...I can introduce you to my team?"
"I...uhhh...probably not...right now…" Keith blurts out before rubbing his thumb against his fingers. It's not a good idea to get close to these hunters...any hunters. He is only safe when they think he's one of them and not part of their enemy. Letting them know him is just...no. That's asking to be taken advantage of and murdered. He scoffs silently in his head...since when had he started sounding like his ex? He forces himself from old memories as he shakes his head, "I really should get back to the wolf."
"Oh, right," Shiro laughs before glancing to the side in embarrassment, "Guess I forgot in the excitement...see you around?"
"Yeah," Keith blurts out again before he can think. About ready to run out of there and go live under a rock for the foreseeable future, he nods, "Thanks for the sandwiches and stuff."
"It's my treat," Shiro grins back beautifully before waving with his right mechanical arm Keith's now noticing. It looks high tech with white metal and soft glowing purple seams. Fitting, "I should get back to my friends though. Good night?"
"Yeah," Keith agrees before moving to the door, "Good night, Shiro."
Keith is not sleeping tonight though. Not if he's going to investigate the rumor the hunter group told of. A coven is nothing to joke about. They usually have anywhere from 10 to 30 members, but some are bigger. Keith's own coven has somewhere around 300, if you include everyone across the world in the Marmora clan.
Rushing up to his room, he gets his plan created as the wolf wakes, nosing at the sandwiches before gulping all of them down faster than Keith can blink. The wolf sniffs at the spot before glancing at him with a tilted head.
"I don't have anything else, sorry," Keith winces before rubbing the other's furry head, "How about I catch us a rabbit or two before we hunt? We'll both have a snack. I'll even cook it just how you like it."
The wolf scoffs slightly before blinking and leaning into his touch. Keith chuckles before packing his minimal items in case he has to flee suddenly. There's nothing he can't replace. He keeps the important stuff on him at all times.
Grabbing onto the wolf's fur, he feels his molecules spread like smoke, drifting out in random directions before shooting forward like a comet. Before long, they're both in the forest, the sun beginning to hover on the horizon through the trees. Keith waits, listening until he hears scraping. Darting to the side, he pins a startled rabbit to the ground. The defenseless bunny paws at his fist harshly before relaxing with a small huff.
"Sorry," he apologizes. He's not a mindless monster. He doesn't have the ability to thrall. He can't take away the pain of being drained, except by standard numbing venom. He quickly snaps the animal's neck, feeling a bit better that it wouldn't suffer more agony. He drains it's blood with a bite, moving on to catch another rabbit and even a squirrel.
"Not much," Keith drinks from the squirrel, already building a fire to cook everything. He cleans and skins all three, cooking them just right before passing them to the wolf who sniffs all three, tail wagging enthusiastically before tearing into them. Keith rolls his eyes fondly before getting ready to fight. Half an hour later, he edges to the south.
The northeast section of Morseta is filled with warehouses. From what Keith remembers from the last time he had been out here at least forty years ago, the town had been booming back in the early 80s. But apparently things have gone south, for the only people who come around are those residents who make money from hunters, hunters camping out to hunt, or vampires roaming the region. Normal civilians didn't hang around anymore, it seems. Probably for the better.
Check the window...Keep safe…
Keith listens to the feeling before running over to one warehouse, leaping up the twenty feet to see into the high window. Grabbing the windowsill with his claws, he peeks inside. Eyes adjusting to the darkness, he hisses at the sight.
The building is packed with vampires. From here, he can see their skin is grey and wrinkled and shriveled like a dead corpse. Pieces of flesh lay open in concerning ways, making Keith growl softly in anger as the vampires sway slightly against each other. They are all starving beyond repair, and Keith has no idea what is holding them back from shredding each other to bits. Maybe that none of them have enough blood to sense in each other or that their sire is powerful enough to control their prime turned and their turned. Both options are not good...
Keith counts at least 30 in the building, which is not good. He really should tell his clan about this. Kolivan would know what to do with it. Keith can probably take them all out, if he tries very hard and takes some serious injuries. But he's not quite as reckless as he was decades ago. Forming a plan, he leaps onto the roof silently. Glancing around, he sees at least five more warehouses. That's probably about 150 vampires and he curses in his head. The vampire hunters have been fueling the army for years now. Fuck.
And then a loud crack fills the air. He gazes over to the last warehouse to see someone opening the door to the building. The person is clearly surprised as a vampire lunges at them. A shot throws the vampire off as the first moves out of the building quickly.
Oh fuck.
Keith's eyes widen, noting that the other is one of Shiro's group hunters. The green one. He doesn't get time to think as more vampires burst from the building, rushing straight for the girl who whips out something that shines green, solidifying into a taser knife. With a cry, she launches it at the nearest before electricity arches through the weapon, blowing the weak vampire to crispy bits.
And then the whole team leaps into action. They're somewhat smooth. Lance takes out the vampire getting close to the inside fighters with a blue sniper rifle. Allura helps out with glowing arrows from her pink bow. Hunk's yellow traps go off, taking out vampires too. Shiro...the man is absolutely amazing.
He's all brute force but strategic strength and speed. He's not as agile as Keith or other vampires, but he more than makes up with his fighting. The man's arm lights up purple when he swipes it a certain way, a purple dagger snapping over his wrist. He easily takes out vampire after vampire. Keith stares in shock before a yelp echoes out of where he knows Pidge is.
More vampires stumble out of the warehouse, more than the thirty or so his own houses. That is not a good thing. He really has to tell his leader about this. Something's up. But first-
He leaps down from the building, rolling to protect his limbs before hurrying forward at the fastest speed that a human can possibly go. Whipping his blade out, he dives in front of Pidge as the vampire overpowering her slashes at her throat. The claws instead cut into his left arm, which only angers Keith more as he slices his blade through the creature's neck, not even waiting for a second before dispatching two more with a few grunts and swipes. Glancing to the side, he hurries to Shiro who freezes, a vampire about to bite into his face.
"No, you're not!" Keith throws himself straight into the monster, tumbling down into a small dip before gaining his own vampiric features, everything so much sharper as he growls. Avoiding the teeth aimed at his throat, he smashes his head into the other's before grabbing his blade, slicing through the vampire's neck. He frowns as he notices the gear on the dead vampire, knowing it matches the hunter group who lost their two members.
What a mess…
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Shiro is always vigilant. He has to be. Being a vampire hunter is no easy task. They could appear at any time. He preaches it to his friends, to be on your toes. Be prepared for anything…
Damn his fucking flashbacks. Of course they always choose the most terrible times to appear. The warehouse they were hacking into had set off its own doors, releasing a shit ton of vampires on them. If they weren't so good, they'd have been drowned and killed in seconds. As it is, Shiro was doing fine against his vampires until suddenly he was back to the day he lost his arm. The vampire who had taken it stands before him, eyes glowing a wicked yellow, one mechanical.
"You are certainly strong," he chuckles darkly, sadistic as ever, "I think my sire would appreciate you joining our ranks. Now, you can go willingly or the hard way. I certainly hope you choose the second. I can break you i-"
He sees as a blur pushes the vampire away. Shiro snaps back to the present, expecting to see Alfor taking on Sendak as he had years ago. But it's not Alfor. It's the newer guy, Keith. The other man fights the vampire before killing it. Another is on him as soon as he stands, but Shiro doesn't have to worry as he kills it just as quickly, blade slicing through the monster's throat. Shiro turns back to his own fight as one rushes at him. Activating his bayard, he forms a shield before slamming it into the vampire roughly, using the distraction, he snaps out his glowing wrist blade before slicing straight through the vampire's neck.
"You guys are stupid, you know," Keith snorts from his side as they fight back-to-back, Shiro oddly feeling safe with the other to guard his backside, "Taking on at least 60 of these."
"You're probably right," Shiro huffs before slicing through one, "Wasn't our plan, by the way. We just wanted to sneak inside to see what was going on and to get samples. Something is wrong here."
"Definitely," Keith nods before tucking his head at the other buildings, ducking under a blow and kicking a vampire a few feet away, "The other warehouses all likely have vampires too. I was going to investigate, but I guess you beat me to that…"
Shiro laughs before punching a vampire right in the face, hearing something crunch on them. Shaking his hand out, he slices through it before glancing around. No new vampires burst forward, so they may be done. The others seem safe as can be, given their cuts and scrapes. They're all clearly exhausted though.
He's about ready to talk to Keith when the other's eyes widen before he yanks his blade up and tosses it like a spinning missile.
"Watch out!"
The weapon spins in an arch straight for Allura who sees it at the last second, hurrying to launch an arrow in her shock. The blade slides through a vampire inches behind their archer as she sends off an arrow, the weapon rushing straight for Keith's chest. The other jumps to the side fast enough to avoid the sharp tip that pierces the empty warehouse wall. Only a piece of cloth sticks Keith to the wall.
"Damnit," the other curses under his breath before sighing and ripping his right sleeve, "I wanted to hang onto this hoodie for at least another year or so."
"You okay?" Shiro asks carefully before inspecting the guy. His right arm doesn't even have a scratch, but the left one is bleeding some, "That was some quick reaction time."
"I'm fine," Keith answers back before ripping the sleeve off his right arm and pressing it over his wounds. Doing so exposes the scars along his arm, thin but brutal. All of them would know where at least some of them came from, "You get quick when it's life or death, you know?"
"Definitely," Shiro smiles before noticing something coming up to them. It looks like a dog, but the closer it gets to them, the larger it gets. A wolf rushes up, Keith's blade in his teeth, "Is this the wolf friend you told me about?"
"Yeah," Keith answers back softly before ruffling the wolf's fur fondly, taking his blade into his hand and sheathing it at his back, "Good boy."
"Whoa! Is that a wolf?" Lance squawks in shock before coming to them. By his side stands Allura and Hunk. Shiro glances over to see Coran and Pidge coming in, the former with their medical first aid kit.
"Does he have a name?" Hunk asks with wide eyes, "Wait...he's not going to eat us, right? He's uhhh...big...and scary…"
The wolf blinks at Hunk before huffing, raising his head up before stepping closer to the Yellow Paladin who flinches, waiting for an attack that doesn't come. The younger opens his eyes when the wolf brushes his neck against his leg.
"Awww....you're not that bad," the other grins widely, stroking the wolf's chest and ears. The animal seems to enjoy it thoroughly, "I think we should name you Kosmo. That's a great name for you, huh, Kosmo?"
"No, we're not naming him that," Keith stares at Hunk with a very serious face, "He doesn't have a name. I'm waiting for him to tell me."
"You're what now?" Lance laughs, getting a further scowl on Keith's face as he crosses his arms.
"Waiting for him to tell me his name," the man rolls his eyes before sighing, "I don't want to impose a name on him. Besides, he's been with me for a long time. I'm not calling him anything he doesn't want."
"Well-"
"That's enough, Lance," Shiro says, a touch of a smile on his lips, "I think it's cute and nice that Keith is taking his companion's feelings into account. Anyway, thanks for the help back there."
"And thank you for the life-saving shot," Allura speaks softly before grinning apologetically, eyeing Keith's sleeve, "I did not mean to shoot at you like that. Are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Keith answers as if he's not currently holding onto his shoulder with his torn sleeve still.
"No, you're not," Pidge states stubbornly before coming to the taller's side, "I know your left arm got hit earlier. Thanks for taking the hit for me."
"You're the one who saved Pidge?" Lance questions with a raised brow before pumping his fist, "Cool! Hey, anyone who saves one of my friends must be somewhat okay."
"Somewhat?" Keith asks incredulously before shaking his head, "Fair enough. Look, something is going on here. I don't know what but it's really bad. That warehouse? It's not the only one. The rest are filled with them too. Someone is purposely making a mindless army."
"We're actually here to look into that!" Coran grins enthusiastically before fluttering around the group, making sure everyone is well. He appears by Keith's side, gaining a very weary side-eye, "Although we had no idea about the army part...Here, my boy! Let me patch that up for you."
"Uhhh...okay?" Keith wheezes before the man begins to remove the sleeve where the cuts are, "Just uhhh...don't put anything on it. I heal better without all that other gunk on me…"
"Alrighty!" Coran nods before washing the wound, "I will just wash it with water and apply a bandage. And...here we go!"
"That was...fast," Keith blinks in surprise before smiling softly, "Thanks."
"Any time, my boy," the older man nods, "Any time."
"So what would you say to the idea of working with us?" Shiro wonders as Keith flexes his injured arm. The younger stares at him with hesitation in his eyes, "We're obviously after the same thing here. We're going to run into each other again. Plus, seven heads are better than six. We can really use a fighter like you on the team."
"I…" Keith blinks before looking away, "I don't know...I'm not...I don't work well on teams."
He says it like he's been in a bad situation before that involved a team. Maybe he lost them or something. Shiro thinks he may have been the only one who noticed that though, given his own background.
"Think of it as an agreement," Allura offers kindly, every bit regal as ever, "We all work together to achieve our goals."
"I...okay, but the wolf is staying with me," Keith glances around at the bodies littered around, "We need to get rid of them."
"Uhhh...why?" Hunk raises a brow, "I mean, we did kill them all. They're all decapitated."
"Exactly," Lance nods before waving, "They are very dead."
"Well then you must have been lucky so far or never stuck around for long," Keith rolls his eyes before shaking his head, "Some vampires have extremely good regeneration abilities. They can fix themselves right up again to kick your ass."
"Speaking from experience?" Shiro can't help but ask.
"Something like that. We need to burn the bodies so they can't reform," Keith nods before pausing. He tilts his head curiously.
Look at the eyes...he is fire…
Shiro heeds Black's comments, gazing right into dark orbs. He sees a very familiar shine there, much like the rest of them who have been accepted by a lion and bayard. Before he can blink, Shiro watches as a flash of red appears in Keith's fist, growing into a sword of red and white metal. The younger seems to react on instinct as he raises said weapon, letting out a small cry before he slashes it down.
Every single dead vampire body bursts into flames.
They all share glances with one another. It looks like they've found their Red Paladin finally.