A/N: Hello lovely people! Hope all of you are enjoying the summer and using plenty of sunscreen! I've been writing this chapter on late nights and commutes - and I hope it's readable! Lots of love ❤️
This is unedited ✨
Chapter 5.
It was still dark when they arrived in Mellem and walked up the pier. A harsh wind was blowing and their clothes were damp from the spray of salt water on the ferry.
"Best find a place to rest and take the earliest train." Louis said and blinked hard. His eyes stung from lack of sleep.
Holly clutched his walking-stick and looked around the silent town, face pinched and wary. "Where can we stay?"
Louis looked longingly at a tavern, but the lights were out for the night and he wasn't sure the owner would welcome a Sai-ran anyway.
"We'll find something." He said with a confidence he didn't feel and they set down the street, looking at the shuttered windows and dark shops.
There were a few pubs still open, but drunken men weren't an option for Holly either. Louis's fingers were nearly numb with cold, when he spotted a window left ajar in a stable, outside a Blacksmith's.
"In there." He said.
Holly just nodded his head weakly and followed. Louis lifted the Sai-ran to the window, which was more a reflex than a necessity by now, and pulled himself up.
There were three horses sleeping peacefully in their stalls and the boys climbed up the ladder, into a hay covered loft.
Louis couldn't see much in the dark, but he stripped off his icy clothes and unfurled his bedroll on top of the hay.
He stretched out with a groan of relief and listened to the rustle of Holly settling beside him.
The loft was well insulated, but Louis was still cold and he missed Holly's warmth. He almost regretted purchasing another bed-roll.
"You cold?" He whispered. He wasn't sure if Sai-ran actually felt the cold, like Louis's people did.
"...yes." Holly breathed and it didn't take a thought for Louis to reach out. His hand bumped into the curve of Holly's small shoulder and slid over the boy's ribs.
The Sai-ran's bones were still too pronounced, but he wasn't the starving wolf cub he'd been when they first met.
Louis tugged gently - giving Holly plenty of opportunity to pull away - but the boy moved with him and settled against Lou's chest, head tucking beneath his chin.
Louis sighed contentedly as warmth seeped into him, softening stiff muscles and chasing away the last of the chill.
He pressed his cheek to Holly's soft hair, inhaling the fresh woodsy scent of him, and slept.
....
He woke abruptly to the screech of a horse and a loud bang. Holly was gone and Louis sat up so fast his head spun. He knew instantly what was happening.
"No. No. No." He mumbled and scrambled frantically through the dark for the ladder.
He was stark naked and if the Smithy saw him, he was going to have a cold trip to a jail cell. But if Holly was caught draining a man's horse the Sai-ran would be strung up by morning and Louis couldn't afford to waste time.
"Holly!" He whisper-shouted and jumped the last two rungs onto the wooden floor.
In the pale moonlight streaming through the windows, he could see a stall shaking beneath the weight of the animal's kicks.
"Shh, girl." He said and approached slowly. The mare's eyes rolled and her hoofs clattered around the stall.
Him and his ma had two horses back home and he knew how to handle one.
He spoke softly and presented his hand for her to smell, then stroked the side of her neck. After a moment she lowered her head and he blew gently into her nostrils.
When he felt the horse calm, he looked over its shoulder and saw Holly pressed into a corner of the box, eyes looking large and guilty. At least the boy hadn't gotten close enough to bite the poor beast.
"Come on out, Hol." Louis kept his voice low, but he glared hard at the Sai-ran.
Holly wet his lips nervously and climbed over the edge of the stall, movements fluid and only a tad hesitant. His ankle was healing well.
"That's it, you're alright." Louis patted the mare one final time and took three swift steps to grip Holly's thin wrist.
The Sai-ran had taken the time to pull on his clothes and he stared down at the floor.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Louis whispered harshly. "If anyone had woken up and seen you, you could've been hanged!"
Holly began to shake and when he looked up Louis saw a gleam of tears in his eyes. "I had to." The Sai-ran made a pained sound. "I haven't had blood in two days."
Lou's heart thumped painfully and he gentled his touch, thumb running over the delicate bone. "Why didn't you say? I would have found you something."
He knew the boy needed it to survive, but the idea of blood drinking was still so foreign to him, that he hadn't thought to ask how often.
Holly lowered his head again and said nothing. Louis sighed. If the Sai-ran had decided not to speak, it was next to impossible to get anything out of him.
"You can't just go around eating people's animals, Hol." Louis reasoned and shuddered - now that his adrenaline was fading, his bare skin was feeling the cold.
"What am I supposed to do?" Holly hissed back fiercely, surprisingly Lou. "Lie down and die?"
"No!" Louis flinched and lowered his voice. "No, ofcourse not." A wild and desperate thought entered his head. "Can you drink from me?"
Holly's head jerked up and his mouth fell open. "Y-You'd...?"
"Not drain me, ofcourse." Louis interrupted quickly and rubbed his arms to warm himself. "Like a sip? Until we can get you a hare...or a chicken."
"I...yes." The Sai-ran said faintly and watched Louis intently. In the moonlight his eyes almost looked silver.
"Yeah?" Louis felt a different chill creep down his spine. He hadn't been sure before, but this confirmed it; Holly could drink from people. He could kill, if he wanted to.
Louis shook the thought from his mind and reached for the ladder. Any man with a weapon could kill. It didn't mean he would. Least of all Holly.
The Sai-ran followed close behind him and Louis could still feel the weight of the boy's stare. He shivered.
The hayloft was pitch black and Holly's warm hand touched his arm.
"Over here." The boy murmured and guided Louis to his bed-roll.
Louis obeyed the pressure on his shoulder and lowered to the mat, stretching onto his back.
He could feel Holly leaning over him and his cock responded, like it always did, but he had to take several deep breaths to calm himself.
"Gotta say I'm a little nervous, Hol." He tried to make his voice light, but it came out strained.
"I won't hurt you." Holly's warmth pressed against his side. "If I wanted to, I would have by now."
"That's good to know." Louis quipped dryly and jumped when Holly's hands brushed over his waist.
"We've slept like this before." Holly said quietly, sliding on top of him.
"Yeah, but that was..." Louis's throat closed up when Holly's fingertips lightly touched his jaw and turned his head, exposing his throat.
He could feel the sharp points of the boy's nails. Claws. Holly had claws.
Louis swallowed tightly, feeling his pulse fluttering in his neck, and gasped when warm breath touched his skin.
The Sai-ran bit him quick, needle-sharp fangs sliding in easily, and mouth latching. Holly swallowed and blood pulled from Louis' neck in a deep tug. It hurt.
"Ah." A cold sweat broke out on his brow and Louis clutched the bedroll.
"Hm." The boy was clearly enjoying himself, one hand sliding into Louis's hair and the other stroking his waist.
Holly had never touched him so freely before and under different circumstances Lou would have loved it. But his heart was beating so fast and his mouth was dry.
Holly was a predator. Louis understood that now and his body quivered with the need to run.
But he'd travelled with Holly, held him close at night, and watched his pretty little profile as the boy stared up at the stars and breathed in the scents of the forest.
Holly wasn't a bad person. He was just wilder and stronger than Louis had initially thought, but Louis trusted him. He trusted him.
He exhaled shakily and forced himself to relax.
Holly made a low sound in his throat and his grip tightened. He sucked hard one final time and unhooked his teeth gently. Louis remained still, eyes barely open.
"Are you alright?" Holly whispered and licked the wound. It stung.
"Yeah. Tired." Louis mumbled and closed his eyes when Holly's fingers brushed through his hair again. "It hurt."
"I'm sorry." Holly murmured and Louis actually felt a soft kiss on his jaw. "It wouldn't have, if you'd relaxed sooner."
Louis frowned. He wanted to snap that there were some things you just didn't ask of a man - and lying passively with fangs in his neck was one of them.
But Holly was still touching him, as if an invisible barrier had been torn down between them, and Louis wasn't too tired to take advantage of that.
He forced his sore head around, reached up a heavy hand to cup the boy's cheek, and kissed him.
Holly hissed in a startled breath, but then his lips softened and parted. It was a little unnerving to taste the coppery tang of blood, but the Sai-ran's red mouth was just as soft and warm as Lou had imagined.
"Mm." Louis hummed his approval and slid his tongue carefully past the fangs into wet heat.
Warmth ran down his spine and pooled in his groin - and if he'd had the strength, he would have rolled and pressed Holly into the hay.
But a kiss was all he could manage, before sleep tugged him under.
....
An hour or so later Holly woke Louis at dawn, pushing him up off the bedroll and buttoning Lou's shirt when his fingers fumbled.
Louis felt nauseous and his neck ached, but he managed to pull on his pack and clamber down the ladder without falling.
There was a light flickering in one of the Blacksmith's windows, but the man hadn't seen to his horses yet.
Holly pressed beneath Lou's arm, offering support, even though his ankle was still on the mend. They probably looked like a pair of drunks weaving through the street.
It was a long walk to the train station, but the streets were still relatively quiet. The boys waited on a bench for the ticket-office to open and Holly had to pinch Louis several times, when his head began to droop.
The Sai-ran had a point, it wouldn't be safe to sleep out in the street, especially not near a train station where pickpockets lurked and Holly would be vulnerable because of his race.
When the door opened, they were the first in line to buy tickets and the man behind the counter glared at Holly.
"He goes in third." The man said and Louis frowned.
"Third class ain't safe for him." Louis protested. "We need a compartment."
The man looked impatiently towards the growing line of people behind them. "Is he yours?"
"Mine?" Louis felt his cheeks flush with anger. The clerk was asking if Louis owned Holly.
Holly kept his eyes on the floor, hat pulled low on his head and shoulders hunched. Looking as small and non-threatening as he could.
"If you keep him in line, I can offer a compartment." The man named a fee that Louis was certain was double, if not triple, the regular price.
He would have liked nothing more than to punch the spectacles off the man's long nose and walk away. But he was so tired he could barely think straight and he didn't know the forests in Mellem.
He counted out the money and snatched the tickets out of the man's hand.
"If he causes trouble, you'll be escorted off the train!" The man called after them loudly.
The people in line all turned to stare, expressions raging from suspicion to distaste, and Louis scowled.
They stepped on the train and walked through the passageways connecting the compartments. There weren't many passengers boarding yet, but one man in a bowler hat passed them.
"Red-one stinking up the place." The man muttered and Louis glared at him.
"No call for that!" He barked and the man turned towards him boldly, eyes narrowing.
"Louis." Holly said softly and tugged on Lou's sleeve to keep them moving.
Louis fumed, even though he knew Holly was right. A fight would only get them kicked off the train, but Louis wasn't used to turning the other cheek and letting insults slide off him.
They found their compartment and Holly locked the door quickly. There were two blue upholstered benches facing each other, in front of a small window, and a single electric light bulb on the ceiling.
They'd lost more than half of Lou's savings on this cramped space - but looking at the cushioned seats, he didn't regret it.
He shoved his pack onto a rack above their heads, and Holly's sack too, when the Sai-ran couldn't reach. Then he stretched onto a bench, still fully dressed in his jacket and boots, and slept like a stone.
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