Inside Sienna's house, the two watched a movie together.
It was a particularly scary one, and so Sienna had Moo on her lap, gently patting the head of the cat.
Aubrey held her other hand, however, as Sienna rested her head on his shoulder. If Aubrey could do so without being caught, he'd pump his fist into the air with a loud "Hooray!"
It was a pleasure to have his love rest her head on him.
He almost squirmed on her couch from the "ooey-gooey" warmth he felt in his heart, overwhelmed with so much joy that the scary movie didn't frighten him in the slightest.
The movie was a psychological one, in which the horror came from the mental anguish inflicted upon the female main character, making it an "all in your head" type—the monster being a reflection of her inner pain and trauma.
When that twist finally came around, Sienna held Aubrey's hand tightly, making him immensely happy.
How can I get her to tell me more? Actually, does she even need to tell me? If she's not comfortable telling me, then she doesn't need to. I already know it; if I treat her amazingly while she thinks I don't know, it'll make her feel less like I'm doing everything to accommodate her out of pity, but moreso out of love.
Alright, I don't need her to open up. Just being with her like this is enough for me.
Aubrey was not a gluttonous person in regards to romance. Yes, he wouldn't feel satiated in regards to his self image. But when it came to love, he was easily sated.
Aubrey, in society, was not all-that gluttonous. He was comfortable just blending in, just having a woman who loved him. However, of course, in regards to how he felt about himself and whether he was the silent singularity he dreamed of being, then he was completely gluttonous.
Filled with insatiability, never finding it "enough." It wasn't "enough" that he had powers, it wasn't "enough" that he was stronger than 99.9% of all existence; it simply wasn't enough. He would never be satiated with just that much.
Once he got a taste of being "special," he found it overwhelmingly addictive, and would endlessly indulge himself so that he could one day, finally, be "satiated." But for Aubrey, that day may never come.
"Aubrey…" Sienna muttered, as the end-credits rolled. Aubrey tilted his head slightly towards her, as she was still on his shoulder.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you for this. It means a lot more than you think it does…"
Well, I don't think that's true, but thanks for the compliment. Hah, is the cure to male loneliness being genuinely told by someone you love that you're not a burden in their life?
Creating a joke inside his head, Aubrey refused to laugh, but he found it interesting.
"No problem at all. I love you, y'know. I think I'd do this for you even if it didn't mean anything to either of us. Just being with you is enough."
Yesyesyes, I gotta be this generation's Casanova.
The two remained fixed to each other, deeply embraced.
…
"Hey Davis, let's go fight the Mothman."
Saying so nonchalantly, Aubrey approached Davis the next day once school was over. Davis, who had a remarkably similar transformation, with pale skin himself, looked at Aubrey with frightened eyes.
"H-huh? Wait, what?"
"Yep, you're joining me in the HPC. C'mon man, let's do this!"
Aubrey grabbed Davis by the wrist and dragged him to his motorcycle. Davis felt sick in the sun, as most vampires did, so Aubrey got him an outfit which covered all his skin, and a motorcycle helmet for obvious reasons. Aubrey got on the bike, started it up, and went down to a giant bridge.
They waited for several hours, going around town, with Aubrey being pretty normal, if even a bit upbeat than normal due to things going well with Sienna.
Once night struck, they heard the buzzing of wings, as Aubrey looked up with joy.
"Alright Davis, you're gonna get him."
"H-huh?"
Aubrey hugged Davis tightly. "You ready?" He asked.
"H-huh? Wait, what're you—"
Using Muscle-Boost, Aubrey lifted Davis up and chucked him towards the bridge, sending him flying into the air. In an instant, the Mothman flew out from the bridge, flying towards Aubrey but crashed into Davis' body, sending both monsters falling to the water.
Aubrey went to the side of the river, and froze the air, smirking unto himself. Davis splashed around, swimming towards Aubrey who extended his hand. The Mothman himself was helpless, its wings not working due to the water.
Yet, it managed to get to one side. To Aubrey's right, there was his friend. To his left, there was the enemy.
Davis reached for him, so that he might be pulled out of the water. But, of course, Aubrey ran to the Mothman instead, raising his boot and stomping on its face, using the Fiery Feet to scorch the insect's head.
Its glowing red eyes plunged back into the water, the monster thrashed around helplessly as the air grew instantly cold, plummeting below freezing.
"Y'know," Aubrey said, looking down on the helpless monster thrashing before him, "I wonder why an insect would hide under a body of water, despite the fact that if it fell, it'd be pretty screwed over."
Aubrey grabbed the wrist of the insect and pulled it from the water, punching it in the stomach with such force that it broke apart its insides, splashing green onto the ground.
The Mothman attempted to fly, but there was a problem. Due to the extremely low temperatures, and the water on its wings, they were quickly frozen—almost instantly.
His wings unable to move, the Mothman was no more than prey by this point. Aubrey revealed his hatchet, explosively swinging it at the Mothman's leg, completely butchering it in one fell swoop.
It collapsed to the floor, letting out a nasty buzzing as Aubrey took its leg and began to eat it. Quickly after, Aubrey attempted this new Trait of his, finding that he could sprout wings.
After eating his friend, James, Aubrey found that his stomach was actually bottomless, reflective of the Wendigo's known gluttony. And as such, he didn't need to ever worry about being full. As such, he hastily devoured the entire leg in a matter of seconds, as though it were a watermelon.
By the end, his face was covered with green juices, which he obscured by blacking out his face.
The Mothman's wet body quickly froze over, as Aubrey wielded the hatchet. Looming over the monster, Aubrey—no. The Black Wraith, hatchet in hand, stood superior to the monster.
A slow dismemberment followed, the rapid consumption of flesh echoing in the dark.
As Davis climbed out of the river on his own, it was made readily apparent. He looked at The Black Wraith, immediately understanding the truth of its identity.
It was a tragic moment for Davis. He lost all confidence in himself, forced to see the truth of the matter. As it would seem, to him, Aubrey was no longer a friend. Aubrey would never again treat him like a true friend he cared about.
To Aubrey, Davis was nothing more than a tool to be used. Something to discard at a moment's notice.
His cold, wet, shivering body laid helpless on the ground.
Over the span of just a few days, he lost his friends, his humanity, and his future. As a vampire, he couldn't stay in the sun for long, lest he experience great pains. From that point onwards in his life, he would have to live nocturnal, a creature of the night who was helplessly sick before the sun.
It was silent. He made no outward cry of grief for his loss, no external mourning for his life. All that there was, buried in his heart, was hatred and despair.
Hatred for the monster who had fooled him so completely and for so long.
Despair for his own losses.
Davis Morgan had fallen into despair.
Aubrey… Truly, I hate you.