37. Poor Young Thing

D aydric stared at the dimpled lopsided smile on his most chaotic adopted fledgling's freckled face, and was not surprised in the least by the amount of dead bodies he felt around him.

His gaze flicked away from the vampire and he eyed the area. More so, he eyed the only thing he found slightly surprising. "Foxx, my dove, why am I here, and why is this young…dhampir looking as if he wants to attack me?"

As if he could, he thought with a scoff.

"It's less about you, and more that he just wants to attack everyone…except me, that is."

His gaze flicked to one of the nearby corpses, narrowing at the sight of a familiar badge he saw peeking out of the dismembered torso's jacket. Tsking, he mused, "Has the council been overstepping again?"

"Well… You seeeee…"

He looked back at Foxx, at the man's sheepish tone. Raising a brow in question at finding Foxx's smile just as sheepish. And as his fledgling started talking…he knew why.

Daydric chuckled. "Foxx, you do love to squeeze yourself into tight places, don't you?"

Ah, his chaotic dove did love to try to handle things on his own. Though Foxx was quite right, he would have killed the dhampir over dealing with the ignorant cretins that made up the council. It wasn't necessarily the moral option, but…what did he care about morals? People lived and died every day, in the grand scheme of the world. More often than not, one death meant nothing to him over the headache of having to deal with the council.

"Please," Foxx whimpered, grabbing onto his sleeve as he looked up at him with his large tear-filled aquamarine-green eyes.

Manipulative little shit. But Foxx was adorable, and one of his favorites. Considering Daydric only had two favorites…that did place the man high on his list of people who he wanted to keep happy. Not to mention, this was more clean up than anything. Helping wouldn't take much effort on his part…since the vampire had already solved the issue by using his violent partner, not to mention dropping Daydric's own name as a threat.

Speaking of threats. His gaze flicked to the black-haired olive-skinned vampire that was kneeling some feet away. "You there." Smiling, without much thought, he forced the vampire to his feet and walked him over.

Ignoring that the dhampir's growls were increasing as the other vampire neared Foxx, he stared into the man's fear-filled gaze, releasing just a bit of his hold over him. "Inform the council that if they ever threaten one of mine again, in the aftermath, I will feed whatever is left of their corpses to my rose bushes." He tilted his head. "Understood?"

The black-haired vampire nodded.

His smile widened. "Good." He eyed the others, all unmoving still and on their knees. His mere presence, the raw power left to permeate, was enough to keep them in place. Daydric pulled away from them, enough to free the dogs while maintaining his hold on the dhampir.

"Leave, all of you, and do not come back here."

As the black-haired vampire fled with the rest, he plucked the memories of him taking control from his mind, replacing it with one of him choosing to comply.

Daydric frowned when distant sirens came, instead of the calm one would associate with the council's dogs leaving.

"Ah, shit!" Foxx cursed, his eyes going from him to the dhampir he'd called Harlow. "I… Please… I love him, Daydric. And…he was gaining control, he was. He was listening to me…but then one of them attacked him. And Harlow is just too new to this. There are too many changes going on inside him still."

He stared into his dove's begging gaze, before turning to the dhampir. The bright blue glowing eyes told him all he needed to know…but the fact that Foxx had almost gained control over him…told him much, much more. Daydric blinked… A startled laugh slipped out as a long-forgotten memory came forward. Or perhaps it was more correct to call it a prophecy?

Turning back to Foxx, he pulled the man into a quick hug. Pressing a kiss to the glass above his forehead, he chuckled when the dhampir's growls ramped up at his actions. "Quite possessive of you, isn't he, dove? Even in such a state, he still doesn't like others touching you." Daydric tsked. "Do what you need to do to keep the human police away from me. Your dhampir will remain alive and intact."

Foxx bit his lip, and after a moment of staring, he nodded and started down the road towards the sound of sirens.

Turning away, Daydric watched the dhampir track the vampire with his eyes, his snarls growing the further the man got away. Head tilting, he rubbed his chin while he traced Harlow's features… He would say…the man was definitely Foxx's type.

Foxx forced himself to walk away and not look back. Daydric said Harlow would be fine…so he would be…hopefully.

He had other things to worry about right now besides Harlow. Walking down the middle of the road, about a mile down, he pulled out his badge and plastered a smile on his face as he started to wave his arms, flagging down the approaching police cars.

They slowed as they neared, coming to a stop a bit away from him.

As a young-looking brown-haired human in the first car cautiously rolled down the window and motioned for him to approach, he walked over with his badge held out, as the last thing he needed was a bullet. "Hello there, officers," Foxx said sweetly when he reached the window.

Smiling brightly at the two men, he made sure his dimples were flashing and everything. Sure, both his fangs would show, but…like dimples and freckles…were just a winning combination when it came to disarming people with his cuteness. "Bet you are wondering what I'm doing here."

The older officer with salt and pepper colored hair, who was sitting in the driver's seat, grimaced. The man's gaze flicked down to stare at… Well, Foxx was going to assume it was the blood on his sunsuit, which stood out pretty well amongst the yellow. "We received reports of a crash, along with some sort of violent brawl. Are you hurt?"

So either someone had come down the road and seen…and then sped away, or…they weren't as hidden from the road above as he first thought.

The younger man held out his hand for Foxx's badge, and he readily handed it over for him to inspect.

"Right, well, there was a crash, yes. But it was just a tiny one." He motioned with his free hand. "And well…the crash was because we were attacked by a group of violent criminal vampires. Really, just out of nowhere. No heads up.

"See, my partner and I were just enjoying ourselves at that fine festival your town was putting on, and we had decided to head off for some lunch…and then…bam!" He clapped for added effect. "They plowed right into us. You asked about injuries, well…I am a bit hurt, from when we rolled and I cut my head." He tapped at the crack in his face shield, before waving at the blood on his front. "All this…well, there are a few other cuts, but most of this blood isn't mine."

Luckily, while his shield was cracked, it wasn't broken enough for the sun to actually touch him. Not that it would matter if it was, as the sun would set soon.

The two men eyed him suspiciously while the one closest handed back his badge. Taking it, he slipped it into his pocket. "So yeah, umm, my partner is actually still dealing with some of them right now. A few kind of ran off. So, the situation, while calmer, is still a bit dangerous, on top of the mess that is currently on the road."

"Mess?" the older man asked stiffly.

"Ah…well…the area is not exactly safe for humans to wander about at the moment… There are a lot of bodies…and uh…parts littered about." He gave a well-practiced wavering, hesitant smile before continuing. "Not a very pleasant sight, to say the least. Really, it's best if everyone stays away until we have a chance to call for some sort of clean-up. Who will, of course, take care of the crashed vehicles as well. We'd never leave such a mess for you and yours to take care of. Really, you two, and the kind officers behind you, don't need to be wasting your time here. Or risking your lives by getting closer." He gasped. "OH, I'd feel horrible if one of the vampires attacked any of you! Losing such a fine group of men would be a tragedy." Foxx fluttered his lashes, pretending to be aghast by the idea, while also flirting.

They both stared… The younger man was blushing a bit, while the older one looked slightly uncomfortable. Maybe flirting had been the wrong direction to go with… Ugh, couldn't they just buy his cute act and go away? Driving closer, with the mess of the bodies, and Harlow in the state he was in, would…not be good. And that didn't even touch on the real problem, which was Daydric… The vampire pretty much refused to deal with the police, and they really didn't need more bodies to deal with.

What to say… Wait…they wanted to be helpful, or rather, they were here to do their jobs, so like…he could just give them something else to fucking do!

"Though…if you wanted to help, I suppose you could head further back and close the road off. You know, to keep everyone safe until we get it sorted."

The younger man looked at the older one.

Mr. Salt and Pepper's eyes narrowed. "We need to check things out before going down that route."

Bloody hell…

"Ah, of course." Foxx beamed. "I understand needing to be sure… We actually still need to report this in to the Guild. Haven't had a chance, which is why you all didn't receive advanced notice." He stepped back and faked a stumble, wincing as he landed on his ass. The wince had been real enough, because Foxx had landed harder than he meant to.

Foxx continued to wince, these ones fake, just playing it up as the poor, injured, adorable vampire.

The younger officer was the first to get out, the older man following behind slowly, looking unsure about approaching. The human did wave for the other officers to stay in their cars, while the younger crouched down.

"Are you okay?" the young human asked earnestly.

The man looked unsure where to touch him, as the only obvious wound was the one on his head, which couldn't really be touched due to the face shield. While the other cuts, which he claimed to have but really didn't, would likely be under his sunsuit.

"Sorry." Foxx winced again. "I just suddenly felt a bit faint. Like I said, the car rolled a few times and I got a bit banged up during it, and also hit my head. And I've just been running around since."

The older officer cleared his throat. "Do you need an escort to the hospital?"

He gasped. "Oh, no! I couldn't leave, not with my partner fighting alone! He's…he's human, you see. I just… I know there are only a few left, but I'd never forgive myself if something happened. I really should get back, actually… I just…" He let out a sound of distress. "I worried when I heard your sirens and saw the lights. My conscience wouldn't let you all drive into a possible attack!"

"Doesn't Johnson keep blood in his car?" the brown-haired officer asked.

"He does. Just in case," the older one stated. "I'm sure he won't mind sharing one with the hunter."

His eyes snapped to the other vehicles, trying not to react on realizing one of them was a vampire. Bloody fucking hell, how had he been so distracted that he hadn't even noticed they weren't all human?! Well, the fucking sunsuit the man was wearing should have been a clue… Then again, he hadn't really looked too closely at the other car. But like…rarely was a police officer anything other than human. He supposed, when the law changed to allow paranormals to become hunters, it likely had some effects on the police as well, since the weapon laws had updated around the same time.

Dropping into his bloodline powers, he barely held back his wince when he saw how old the other vampire was. Oh…yeah… No, there was no way he'd fucking buy any of this shit… Not that it was all a lie. Like, Foxx had been attacked… Kidnapping was attack-like… It was just more that Harlow was…doing most of the attacking than anyone else.

"It would help, right?" the older man asked.

Foxx's gaze slipped back to the man. "Uh, yes…it would. But I'd…hate to, uh…take his supply."

"Nonsense. Johnson won't mind," the younger officer beamed. "I'm Joey. Here, let me help get you up." The man carefully slipped his arm through his, as if he was a delicate fucking flower, and slowly ‘helped' Foxx to his feet.

"Johnson won't mind at all, young man," the older officer grumbled in an admonishing tone, apparently deciding that Foxx was a young kid who needed guidance.

The man took hold of his other arm, and beyond belief, he patted his arm gently in a ‘poor you' type of way. "Fighting can wait. You have to take care of yourself first. I'm guessing your partner is older, right?"

"That's right," Foxx said in the saddest cheerful voice he'd ever made, as they walked him towards the other car.

"Then he is experienced enough that he can handle himself, human or not." The man patted his arm again. "My name's Grant, by the way."

The ‘or not' was definitely carrying in the sentence. "He's experienced all right. Was…even a hunter before, well…you know."

"Ah…one of those. Then, I'm sure he will be fine. You come with us, sit in the back of the cruiser and drink a bag, while you call your superiors. Surely it would be better to notify them before you head back? Then we can set that block up without worrying about our own superior's questions too much."

The window was down by the time they slow walked Foxx's ass over there. "What's going on?" a black-haired human officer asked.

"Seems the hunter here needs a little pick me up," the vampire in the driver's seat said with a smile. A smile that was slightly smug, obviously having heard everything.

"I thought I saw a badge," the new human drawled.

Johnson suggested, "Why don't you all head back and set up the road closure down near Elm Road, while filling in James? That way the hunter can stay here with me, to drink and call his superior comfortably."

Officer Grant frowned and eyed Foxx. "I suppose it would be awkward to drink in front of all of us."

"We should also probably get the road closed before anyone comes down it. We'll need to separate to close off the other way, but most of the traffic comes from this direction anyway at this time of day," Joey stated.

"Let's go," Grant grumbled. "Come on, James, you can ride in the back." The human, for the first time, actually smiled at him, and tipped his hat, saying, "You take care now."

Foxx nodded, waving as the other officers left, while Johnson got out to stand next to him. His smile dropped once the car was out of sight.

Foxx eyed the other vampire. "If you know what's good for you, you'll ignore my lies, get in your car and drive the fuck off, keeping your mouth shut the whole way."

Johnson's head tilted. "Is that so? Tell me one reason why I should? Besides the threat of death? While you are older, you aren't by much, if I'm not wrong."

"One reason? I'll give you three." Foxx smiled. "Dhampir, council, and the risk of pissing off, if I'm not wrong about you being a Necromancer, the head of your Bloodline."

The man paled, taking a step back. "D-Daydric is here ?"

"Here, and impatiently waiting for me to get back."

"What if I don't believe you?"

"Get in the car," Foxx hissed.

When the man didn't move, he shoved him towards the door and then inside. Quickly, he undid the top buttons on the opening flap of his sunsuit, and started unzipping it, to seemingly the officer's growing horror.

"What are you doing?!" Johnson practically shrieked.

"I can't show you Daydric, or the council's dogs, as they have fled. But I can show you proof of a dhampir."

Foxx opened his sunsuit and slipped one arm free. Tugging at the neckline of his sweater, he showed off the bite on his shoulder. "See, dhampir."

The man eyed it, but Foxx slapped the guy's hand away when he went to touch the mark. "You can look, not touch!"

"A real dhampir…"

"Satisfied?!"

The man slowly nodded.

"Good! Now, take your ass back to your partner and lie." He hmphed and quickly fixed his sunsuit.

The vampire's eyes narrowed. "I'm going, but only because I want nothing to do with the council, or any dhampir."

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Foxx snorted as he got out of the car. Pulling out his phone, he ignored the other vampire as he drove off.

Taking a deep breath, he called Tony.

"You better be calling for a non-work related reason," Charity snapped huffily.

"Uhh… Hello…Charity…" He quickly pulled his phone back to check if he had called the right number, and…he had. "Well, it's not work related… Sort of… Well, umm, let's just say the council is handled. And that we were attacked, and kind of need some clean up assistance. The attack is, of course, not council related," Foxx said, saying it in a way that hopefully made Charity realize he was lying. "Just random bad vampires coming out of nowhere and attacking us. There may be a turned over vehicle in the middle of the road. Umm, but Harlow…took out most of the vampires…in an extreme show of strength. I think it will likely make him so smug he'll be…out of his mind with it. Quite a mess here."

Foxx hoped it was coming across pretty fucking clear that Harlow had lost control.

"I…see," she said slowly. "Has the smugness been handled?"

"Yes. I knocked him down a peg or two, no worries."

"Where are you?"

Foxx quickly check his GPS, as he actually had no fucking clue. "Minds Road in West Gally. There is a police presence that has been instructed to block off the road for safety reasons. If you could just assure them it's necessary until clean up gets here, I'd appreciate it."

"Burn as much as you can, and I'll take care of the rest. Try to be gone before the clean-up crew gets there, will you?" She hung up.

Foxx sighed and glanced at the setting sun. He had such a headache… A headache that had nothing to do with his head wound, and everything to do with the amount of bullshit he had spouted in the last twenty minutes.