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English
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Published:
2025-10-06
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1,110
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1/1
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Moment of Warmth

Summary:

Pearl agrees to let Cleo drink her blood. They invite Apo to stand guard. It ends very intimately.

Work Text:

Early morning in Oakhurst was a quiet time. The sun filtered blearily through the grey, misty sky, shining on crooked planks and rough stone. Many of the townsfolk had been wandering the hills, hiding out in crypts and caverns overnight, and only a few were on the streets.

 

Pearl walked out to the wheat patch. Cleo always woke up early to tend to her crops, even now that she couldn’t eat them herself.

 

“How’re you feeling?” she asked, approaching close.

 

Cleo paused, then breathed out slowly. They grimaced.

 

“Cleo?”

 

She looked around, seeing no one in earshot. “I’m… so hungry,” they admitted. “I don’t want to eat the cows before we can replenish them, but it’s… it’s not enough.”

 

Pearl’s heart beat in her chest. “Do you want my help?”

 

Cleo’s head snapped up, eyes meeting Pearl’s. “What?”

 

“I don’t mind feeding you,” Pearl replied quietly. “If you want blood, you can have mine.”

 

“Pearl, I- I don’t-” Cleo’s hand subconsciously drew close to their stomach. “Are you sure?”

 

“I don’t mind if it’s for you.”

 

"Thank you."

 

They shared a long look before the vampire spoke up again.

 

“Only if there’s someone there to watch,” Cleo said, “and stake me if I… go too far.”

 

“Well the doc’s not back yet from his trip, but we could ask Martyn.”

 

“Martyn’s out too,” Cleo replied. “Maybe… maybe Apo? I trust her.”

 

“Apo?” Pearl asked. “Your fellow vampire?”

 

Cleo nodded. “I trust her not to hesitate.”

 

“...Okay then. Let’s ask Apo.”

 

 

Apo was stalking the walls when they approached, sword and shield in her hands. “You want me to watch over you while you drink from Pearl?”

 

“Yes,” Cleo said. “I trust you to stand guard, and to stop me if I’m about to hurt her.”

 

“Okay. Okay, I can do that.” Apo hesitated. “Where are you doing this?”

 

“In our house. Come on.”

 

They walked back to Pearl and Cleo’s home, noses wrinkling at the nauseating stench of garlic spreading throughout the town. As Cleo let herself in, Apo stood at the threshold uncertainly.

 

“Come in, come in,” Pearl invited her, “We’re glad to have you.”

 

“Thank you,” Apo replied curtly. “I promise I’ll do my best to keep you safe.”

 

“I trust Cleo,” Pearl replied lightly, sparing a glance for Cleo shuttering the windows. “I want to help her.”

 

“I’m glad to hear that.”

 

“Are you hungry?”

 

Apo fixed her sight on Pearl. “It’s…” they looked away, discomfort writ clear on their face. “Don’t worry about it. I can deal with it.”

 

“If you’re sure.”

 

With locked doors and tightly shuttered windows, they stood in privacy in a candle-lit room. Apo stood guard, stake held loosely in their hand, as Cleo and Pearl stood close together.

 

“How do I…” Cleo muttered, their lips lifting to reveal a flash of fangs.

 

Pearl’s hand rested carefully on Cleo's back. “Follow my lead,” she whispered, “you’ve got this.” She gently patted the side of her own neck.

 

Cleo leaned in, her fangs barely ghosting over Pearl's skin, breath tickling the hairs on the back of her neck. The moment felt special, intimate.

 

Gently, gently, their fangs slid into her vein.

 

Cleo drank slowly, sensually. The blood came in a trickle, hot sanguine life dripping down their tongue like liquid ambrosia. The cows, the pillagers, they were nothing compared to the taste of their sweet, precious Pearl.

 

They closed their eyes blissfully with an almost indecent moan.

 

Behind the pair, the stake fell from Apo’s fingers. She had downplayed it to Pearl, but she was starving, the cows alone insufficient to feed two vampires and eight townsfolk. The human’s heartbeat pounded in her mind.

 

Pearl held Cleo as they drained a measure of blood - not a lot, just enough to blunt their hunger. A last few drops passed between their lips before they fully retracted their fangs, slowly and reluctantly.

 

Cleo leaned back, looking into Pearl's eyes with tenderness.

 

Then from behind, they heard a soft mewl. 

 

They both turned to see Apo fallen to her knees. A pitiful whine escaped her lips as she looked at them desperately.

 

“I’m.. so hungry…” they admitted with a blush colouring their cheeks, looking at the pair with the biggest, wettest bat eyes.

 

Cleo's expression softened. “Pearl,” she asked, “is it okay if she…?”

 

Pearl looked between the two of them, then raised two fingers to her neck. Only two tiny holes were left in her skin, the telltale sign of a vampire’s kiss. “Okay,” she nodded her assent.

 

Apo mewled again at the sight, desperately trying to keep herself under control. “No, I…” She blinked tears from her eyes. “I can’t.”

 

“It’s alright,” Pearl reassured her.

 

“I…” Apo locked up, frozen in fear.

 

Cleo broke from Pearl’s embrace, coming to Apo’s side. “Come on,” they encouraged softly. “It’s alright. She agreed.”

 

Apo numbly nodded her head, more tears slipping free. “P-please.”

 

With gentle hands, Cleo stood Apo up, moving her to Pearl's side. They moved her mouth to the unblemished side of Pearl's neck, gently stroking Apo's cheek. 

 

“Come on,” they repeated, “you’re there. You’ve got it.”

 

Apo shivered at Cleo’s whispers. “C-can I?”

 

“You can,” Pearl smiled gently. “You’re good.”

 

Apo's fangs hesitantly pricked at Pearl's skin, leaving little divots. “There you do,” Cleo whispered, “just a little more.”

 

Apo closed her eyes, and let her fangs sink in.

 

Ever since she had been turned, Apo had only ever felt hungry. Now, for the first time, rich human blood ran down her throat.

 

It felt heavenly, like discovering something that she’d always been missing. The ever-present hunger in her stomach, the rancid taste of carrots and stew, it all faded away. For the first time since leaving Cherri, she felt warm and safe.

 

Tears ran down her cheeks, and she blushed red as she realised she’d been softly whining into Pearl’s neck. Cleo stroked her hair, the whispers in her ear down to gentle murmurs of encouragement.

 

Pearl’s arms wrapped around both vampires, the feeling electrifying.

 

“That’s enough,” Cleo murmured. “You should start to let go now.”

 

With a last embarrassing whine, Apo came back to herself. She blinked her eyes open and dislodged her fangs from Pearl’s neck, nothing but contentment filling her down to her toes. She leaned back, trying to meet Pearl’s eyes.

 

Cleo caught her head, and raised their thumb to Apo’s lips, tenderly wiping away a spot of Pearl’s blood. Another mewl came unbidden from Apo’s throat at the intimate sensation.

 

“Silly vampires,” Pearl chided, her voice fluttering slightly, but she leaned down to kiss Cleo gently on the brow - and then tilted towards Apo to do the same.