Should Have Walked Away | Aarmau Vampire AU

𝔣 𝔦 𝔣 𝔱 𝔢 𝔢 𝔫

fιяѕт σf αℓℓ, ι αм ѕσ ѕσяян fσя иσт ρσѕтιиg fσя ѕσ ℓσиg. ι ωяιтє ωнєи ιм ιи тнє мσσ∂ тσ ωяιтє, αи∂ тнαтѕ α нαвιт ι αм тяуιиg тσ вяєαк. ι ¢αииσт ρяσмιѕє му ѕ¢нє∂υℓє ωιℓℓ gєт вєттєя αи∂ ι ¢αит мαкє αиу єχ¢υѕєѕ. ʝυѕт киσω тнαт ιм ѕσяяу. ι αм gσιиg тσ ѕтαят ωσякιиg σи σиє ѕтσяу αт α тιмє, тнαт ωαу уσυ ωιℓℓ нανє gяєαт (ρσѕѕιвℓу ωєєкℓу) ¢нαρтєяѕ.

ι ѕιи¢єяєℓу нσρє уσυ υи∂єяѕтαи∂ αи∂ ιf уσυ нανє αиυ qυєѕтισиѕ, ιм ωιℓℓιиg тσ тяу αи∂ αиѕωєя.
тнαик уσυ ѕσ мυ¢н єνєяуσиє, ιт мєαиѕ α ℓσт! ι нαтє ωαιтιиg fσя υρℓσα∂ѕ ѕσ ι αℓωαуѕ fєєℓ вα∂ мαкιиg єνєяуσиє ωαιт fσя мιиє.

иσω ιитσ тнє ¢нαρтєя! α ℓιттℓє ѕнσят, вυт ι тнιик ѕσмє ℓσиg σиєѕ αяє σи тнєιя ωαу ѕσσи.
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• ѕιχ ωєєкѕ •

It was overcast, the sun only occasionally peeking through mostly thick white clouds.

My favorite day.

I threw caution to the wind as per usual, and instead of my usual sun-protective attire, I wore something more in line with how I might prefer to dress (based on what I own).

Of course, my hair was down, but for most people that would be the only thing familiar about what I currently wore.

An off the shoulder black top with sections of fabric that were sheer, and simple ripped pants. I wore close-knit fishnets underneath. Along with different boots (still heeled because I hate being short), thin chains hung from my front to back pockets.

On the way to the market for a new book and maybe an apple, I got weird looks - not the kind of scared look or "watch where you're going," but the look that said I was going to get checked out a lot today.

The market was actually surprisingly busy for a day like today, but it was nice seeing familiar and new faces.

Including a Travis who's jaw dropped.

"Woah! Aphmau what the hell, why are you hot?"

I simply smirked as I kept walking, but turned to face him and replied: "I don't know, but draw a picture. It'll last longer."

Without catching his reply, I decided on a peach instead of an apple and went to Emmalyn's stand.

She peeked up and smiled wide after a small double take. "Aphmau, hi! You're looking great today!"

I laughed, "Thanks Emmalyn, you too! I figured since it was overcast -" I motioned to what I wore, keeping a small smirk. "I can wear what I want for a little while. Hey - any new books in the. . . romance genre?"

She giggled, seeing as it was her favorite thing to read other than her studies. Passing me a book, she kept her smile and rocked on her feet for a moment as I looked at the cover.

It was leather-bound, with engravings probably burned in with a steel plate. It felt like a couple hundred pages, meaning it could last me the next few days.

"It's about a woman who found a village in need. She started helping to repair the damages and expand the trade, village limits, and house more people. She became the lord, and - I won't spoil anything, but she had to go through all these tasks and adventures!" She cupped a hand around her mouth, mocking a whisper, "There's a lot of romance, especially with the guard who loves her and she doesn't know it!"

I laugh lightly, loving how she got into stories so well. "It certainly sounds interesting, I'll give it a read later today."

Emmalyn's face lit up. "If you like it, there's another! The third one is still being written, but it's a great series!"

Nodding, I stepped out of the way to allow other buyers near and opened the front page.

With the weather, it wasn't a dull day, but it wasn't bright either. Therefore, I very quickly noticed the light hitting the page.

Looking up and to the side, I acknowledged the receding clouds by walking at a rather fast pace to the shade of a tree. Looks like it wasn't overcast anymore.

For whatever reason, I wasn't fast enough and burned the back of my hand over the knuckles.

The injury wasn't serious — it had broken the skin, but only small pinpricks of blood could be seen on the irritated pink flesh.

"Hey," a voice called out.

Looking up, I saw Aaron. He was maybe 10 feet away, standing in the sun with a confused gaze directed towards me.

"Oh, hey," I replied simply.

"Why aren't you wearing your cape?" He smiled teasingly.

I rolled my eyes. "Cloak. And I thought it would be overcast."

He shook his head, still smiling. "We don't get many overcast days here. It's sunny, snowy, or stormy. Maybe partly cloudy, but overcast lasts for a few hours at most. Never a full day."

"Good to know," I replied, adjusting the novel so it rested on my hip.

Aaron came to stand beside me and glanced to the book. "Why isn't your hand healing?"

"Vampires originally came to be because there were people who slowly, naturally, lost blood." I began with a glance to my wounded skin," I don't know how or why, but over time we became a new species and the fangs allowed us to drink blood from normal people to regain the blood we were losing. I don't know much about it. Well, nobody really does," I shrugged.

"Of course, thinking of blood makes people think of humans rather than animals because you can protect yourselves, yet break a bone when tripping down a flight of stairs. Human blood is also the closest to ours, so it works more thoroughly through our system than if you compare it to any animal. It makes us stronger, but we can survive on any form of plasma pretty much.

"But it's fine. I don't live off people. I can find, like, a squirrel, or something. And even then I don't kill it. It's just like a once a month, maybe every two weeks deal. Unless I'm severely hurt, then I need to get blood to heal period, because blood loss keeps the healing at bay."

He nodded along with my story, showing that he understood.

At the same moment, we looked up at a squeak. "Speaking of squirrels," I giggled at the culprit, who watched us from above. Aaron chuckled along with me.

"Was that weird?" I questioned, realizing I pretty much only stated facts as if I were pages from one of Emmalyn's studies.

He shook his head with a smile, enjoying my knowledge and the flustered moment that came from it.

Soon, he offered me his jacket to help me back home and that ended my outdoor relaxation.

Today wasn't too bad — but I didn't know what was coming soon.

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Word count: 1145
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