wear me like a locket around your throat

[ how long has it been since yuu had been turned, he wonders. how long has it been since the bastard that killed their family hurt his best friend in ways that can never truly be expressed? what ferid has done is unforgivable and every since yuu woke up with slitted pupils and sharp incisors, he's told himself that he would find a way to make ferid hurt for what he did. make him hurt and so very much more. killing their family had been an act of supreme cruelty, but over the years, his anger had turned inward, hating himself for being weak and unable to protect them. turning yuu, however... that has proven to be ferid's death warrant. it's why he's hoping that on the excursion he and yuu are making today, they might run into him. sure, ferid is a seventh progenitor, but he was turned by the queen of vampires herself. he'd been immeasurably strong then, a mere half vampire before he drank human blood for the first time. now, he's a complete vampire with gleaming crimson eyes and a future of being forever sixteen. his strength has increased, as well as his speed. and he has something ferid does not: a reason to win.

but whether he and yuu will run into ferid is still a question. the reason they came to sanguinem, the city where it all began, is not to seek revenge. hands clasped and fingers entwined with yuu's, he's guiding the way down narrow alleys and wide bridges toward the large castle at the zenith of sanguinem. they're seeking out the queen of vampires, third progenitor krul tepes. the one who had turned him in order to keep him alive. before leaving sanguinem last time, she gave him a singular order: to find yuu and protect him from the vampires and humans. having failed to do that, he intends to set things right by asking the queen for help to turn yuu back. he doubts she'll outright help them. like all vampires, she finds humans to be detestable. nothing more than livestock and completely untrustworthy. but he knows krul's castle like the back of his hands. he knows the library is huge, a collection amassed over centuries. and he intends to search it from top to bottom so he might find an answer.

glancing sideways, he checks on yuu. undoubtedly, his best friend and lover doesn't want to be here. sanguinem means dark dreams for both of them, but perhaps more so for yuu. during their time here as children, he'd been content because he'd been with his family. he'd been willing to offer himself to ferid for his family's sake. yuu, on the other hand, had always hated the vampires, hated being "livestock". and while he'd lived in sanguinem for eight years, yuu was able to escape... only to be brought back. it's not something he'd wanted to do, but in order to help yuu, he knew it was necessary to come.

he gives yuu's hand a gentle squeeze and raises a brow. they're drawing closer to the castle, as well as their old "home" where they'd lived with the other hyakuya orphans. there are different children living there now. children that don't trust him and see him as only a monster. they would probably look at yuu the same way, so he gives yuu's hand a gentle tug and guides him away from the alley that would take them to that door. they head up stairs, not bothered by other vampires thanks to his status as the queen's pet. some give yuu a strange look, especially given the normal human clothes he's wearing (a necessity; he couldn't very well walk into sanguinem wearing a jida uniform). he hopes the looks aren't bothering yuu much. he smells like a vampire and the slitted pupils tell that yuu is most certainly a one, but like he had been before his complete change, there's something that seems off. the bright, bright green eyes are a slight clue. the black demon sword at yuu's hip is another. however, few would ever dare approach for fear of angering the queen's pet and thus the queen.

they're approaching the castle doors now and he has yet to release yuu's hand. when they reach the huge, double doors, he pauses and turns to yuu. reaching out for yuu's other hand, he gives a weak smile. ]

Ready?