His footsteps were quiet, barely making a sound as he crept through the shadows of the forest. Moonlight slipped through the leaves, guiding the path forward. The man bent down, his gloved hand dragging through a spot in the dirt. Two pairs of footprints, far too deep in the forest for it to be humans from the kingdom.

Monsters.

Xisuma lifted his crossbow, his dark purple hood covering his cold expression. His cloak flowed with the midnight wind, brushing against the monster hunter's cheeks. He pulled his bandanna over his nose, covering his face from the breeze as he pressed onward.

After months of slowly capturing beast after beast, Xisuma was beginning to determine where the monsters had been hiding out. Most of the forest was still uncharted, though the hunter had been steadily working on marking the locations of monsters he had captured.

With an unfinished map in hand, Xisuma studied the marks he had drawn. Along with the footsteps in the mud, they all seemed to point to a spot deep within the forest. He rolled the map into a scroll and tucked it away, reaching for a silver pocket knife on his belt.

"Let's draw out the beasts, shall we?" He muttered to himself, drawing the blade and slitting his wrist to draw blood. Xisuma didn't even flinch, as if this were a normal occurrence he used to bring the monsters closer. He dabbed his gloved fingers in the red, staining a few nearby trees with his blood.

A rustle of leaves came from the direction the footprints led, causing the hunter to sink into the shadows and watch. Some human-like creature floated along, pale skin and pointed ears indicating a vampire. He hovered slightly above ground, his long white hair falling in his face.

The vampire sniffed along one of the trees that had been covered in a dash of blood, his forked tongue leaving his mouth to taste. "Blegh." He spat out almost immediately, "It's better straight from the source. Stupid tree is gonna give me splinters on my tongue..."

Before the vampire could float off, Xisuma took the chance to pounce. He leapt out from the shadows, knocking the vampire to the ground and pinning him against the grassy flooring of the woods.

"Hey—, ow! What th— o, you again?" The vampire muttered with a roll of his eyes, more annoyed than afraid.

"I'm not letting you get away this time." Xisuma spat with a cold hearted glare, though refusing to meet the vampire's hypnotic eyes. He reached for a wooden stake on his belt, placing the sharpened end on the beast's chest.

"I should have known it was you from that blood." The vampire spoke to himself, shaking his head. "So tempting. Much better than my slave's. Even I can't resist."

"Put another human under your little spell?" Xisuma asked tauntingly, pressing the stake further into the creature's skin.

"A man's gotta eat." He smirked.

"Well how about this: You tell me where the other monsters are located, and I'll give you a bit of blood in return. Or I can stake you right now and end your miserable existence." X spat, his grip tightening on the wooden stake.

The vampire began to laugh, bearing his fangs as the sound of his voice echoed through the forest. "Oh, you think I'm stupid?" He asked, raising an eyebrow with a smug grin. "I know your little king would pay a pretty nice chunk of gold for a vampire like me alive. You wouldn't kill me, even with how much you hate me."

His grip on the stake slightly began to waver, his hand shaking slightly before the hunter sighed. "Smarter than you look..." Xisuma grumbled, though he kept the stake to the vampire's chest. "Fine, I won't kill you. But I'm going to take you and all your little friends back to the king. Soon enough you beasts will be behind bars, where you belong."

"Oooooh, is this about the scar thing?" The vampire asked, pointing out the long marks across Xisuma's face. "Look, I said I was sorry. But to be fair to me; you did try to shoot me."

X pulled out his silver blade, stabbing it into the vampire's shoulder. He hissed out in pain as his skin bubbled, black blood leaking out of the wound. "Shut up, Ex." He spat, dragging the blade slowly through the skin.

"S-so you remember my name.." Ex tried to sound cocky, though his voice was strained from the pain of the stab. "I'm honored, really—"

"Do you ever shut up?" The hunter growled. He reached for the edge of his cloak, tearing off a long strip of the fabric.

"It—, helps with the pain—" He hissed out in agony, Xisuma using the fabric as a blindfold for the vampire. "What's this for? You don't think my eyes are pretty?" He teased, causing Xisuma to grumble underneath his breath.

"So you don't try to hypnotize me." X snapped, tugging at the blindfold tightly. His patience was wearing thin, and he doubted Ex would make it easy.

"Makes sense." The vampire hummed in agreement. "Come on, just let me go. I promise I'll be good!"

"You're a fool if you think I'd ever fall for that." Xisuma scoffed.

"It was worth a shot." He shrugged, "Though, I'll be honest. I'm getting pretty sick of this whole 'me being captured' thing."

Suddenly Ex vanished as he turned invisible, his body becoming transparent as one of his many abilities. Using his superhuman strength and speed, the vampire knocked Xisuma off of him before the hunter had a moment to react.

The hunter crashed into the base of a tree with a yelp, his vision blurring from the impact. X scrambled to his feet, pulling out his crossbow that was loaded with a stake. By the time he had regained his composure, Ex had vanished, and his blindfold had been discarded in the mud.

"Tsk." Xisuma scoffed, lowering the weapon. "You can keep running. But I'm getting closer. And next time, I'll bring backup."

~•~

A great crash came from outside, waking the pair up in the middle of the night. Mumbo shot upright in bed, gripping at the sheets, while Grian was more relaxed as he rubbed his weary eyes. "What was that?" The vampire hissed, fear in his gaze as he looked to the human for support. "Could a hunter have followed us?"

"No, no.." Grian yawned dismissively, waving his hand as he pulled himself out of bed. "Come on, let's just go check it out."

"But—"

"It'll be okay." Grian said with a tired smile, offering his hand to the vampire. Mumbo looked hesitant, though he reluctantly placed his hand in the palm of the human's, allowing himself to be pulled along and out of the house.

A crowd had already begun to form, a crumpled figure of a man in the center of the street. He was a crumpled figure, black blood leaking out from his many wounds and spilling onto the street. Impulse and Zedaph were trying to help the unconscious man to his feet, while other monsters murmured to one another about what could have happened.

"Get TFC!" Impulse ordered, a red-headed woman with pale skin running off to fetch the elder vampire.

Mumbo felt his body jerk to a stop as he clearly spotted the beaten man's face, the familiar red eyes of Xavier causing him to be thrown into a panic. He took a few steps back in horror, the world seeming to spin as he felt nauseous.

It was him. The vampire that turned him.

There was no mistaking it. That face haunted Mumbo's nightmares. He was the reason Mumbo was like this! An outcast, a monster! He felt a wave of emotions wash over him; fear mixed with anger and sadness, but mostly hatred for the monster sitting in front of him. Hatred for the beast that turned him into this monster.

"Hey, Mumbo? Mumbo?" Grian was tugging on his clothing, pulling the vampire from his thoughts.

He hadn't noticed the tears that were falling down his face, nor did he notice the others staring at him, wondering what was wrong. He blinked several times until his eyes refocused, clearing his throat awkwardly before looking at the human beside him.

"Let's go.." He muttered, grabbing ahold of Grian's wrist and tugging him back inside. He shut the door to block out the other monsters, his forehead placed against the wood for quite some time as he simply stood there. Grian noticed the look in his eye, a sadness and fear that could not be described.

"Is...everything okay?" Asked the human, placing a hand on Mumbo's back. He flinched a little at the touch, but didn't say anything else. "Mumbo?"

The vampire shook his head. "Not really...I—, I think that was the vampire that turned me."

Grian's eyes widened. "Wait like—, THE vampire? The one that—"

Mumbo punched the wall, barely flinching as a crater formed upon the impact of his fist. Grian felt his jaw snap shut, going silent as the vampire huffed. His eyes looked feral and filled with rage, his teeth clenched so hard that they began to creak together.

"He's the reason I'm like this—" Mumbo growled underneath his breath, clenching his wrist to prevent himself from causing anymore damage. "—He's the reason I'm a FREAK!"

"Mumbo, please!" Grian tried to step closer to the vampire, only to freeze as the beast met his gaze. The look in his eyes caused an instant wave of fear to rush over the human, as if he were about to be mauled and devoured alive.

As soon as he saw the look of horror across Grian's face, Mumbo's expression softened. He opened his mouth to apologize, but he quickly snapped it shut when he realized he had no idea what to say. He sighed deeply, running a hand through his hair. He shut his eyes, thinking for a couple moments.

"I-I'm sorry. I didn't mean—" He tried to apologize, before Grian ran and wrapped his arms around the vampire.

"It's alright." Grian assured him, squeezing Mumbo in his arms. "We'll...We'll figure things out, you and me."

"I just...can't believe he's here. I-I mean, it's really the only safe place for monsters like us, but...I still just...can't believe it.." The vampire trailed off quietly. He buried his face in Grian's shoulder, taking deep breaths to try and calm his nerves.

"I hate this so much..." He said with a muffled voice, speaking with his face in the crook of the human's neck.

"I know." Grian replied gently, rubbing soothing circles on the vampire's back. "But we'll get through this. Together."

"Together." Mumbo nodded slowly, squeezing Grian a bit tighter.

Though, they wouldn't be together for long. Mumbo couldn't keep Grian from his life. They couldn't be together, Grian couldn't stay in the monster village, while Mumbo couldn't stay in the human kingdom. No place was safe for the two of them to live peacefully. And as much as the vampire hated to admit it, soon enough, the two of them would have to say their final goodbyes.

~•~

It was hard to go back to bed, especially after the rush of emotions that Mumbo had gone through. He was laying in bed, unmoving and quiet with his back facing Grian. The human frowned, as Mumbo was curled up in a sad ball. Though he knew the vampire needed space, he just couldn't stand it. Not when he had seen the pain and sorrow on the other's face.

Grian had mostly been sitting in the kitchen, waiting for Mumbo to speak up, but after their hug he went right back to the bed. He wasn't asleep though, as there were faint whimpers and choked sobs escaping the bedroom. Despite everything, he remained patient, knowing that eventually Mumbo would need to talk eventually, right?

He crept into the bedroom, hoping that maybe there was something he could do. Grian wiggled his way into bed, crawling closer to the vampire before cuddling up against his chest. Mumbo flinched and opened his eyes, he had been forcing them shut to hold back the tears.

"W-Wha? What are you—?" Mumbo blubbered, tears rolling down his pale cheeks.

"I just...think you really need a hug right now." Grian said as he wrapped his arms around the vampire, holding him as the two lay in bed.

Mumbo returned his embrace, pulling Grian close to his chest, as if the human were a stuffed toy. "I just—" He sucked in a shaky breath, his voice breaking as tears rolled down his face. "I-I don't want to be a monster. I don't want to be immortal.."

"Oh Mumbo.." Grian dragged his thumb against the vampire's cheek, wiping away his tears. He held Grian's hand there, pressing his warm skin against his own undead and cold flesh.

"Before..before I met you.." Mumbo swallowed the lump in his throat, keeping his eyes shut as he let out a tiny chuckle. "Actually, it was the night I found you. I...was planning on doing something rather...stupid. I..I didn't want to be this...this thing anymore. I..I was waiting for the sun to come up. But then...I found you."

He smiled a bit fondly at the memory, while Grian stared at him with a mix of horror and sadness in his expression.

"I'm...I'm really glad I found you." Mumbo said, staring down to avoid meeting the human's gaze. "You're the best thing to ever happen to me, really. The only good thing that's come out of this whole 'vampire' situation.."

Grian practically tackled Mumbo in a hug, knocking him back on the mattress. "Don't ever think of doing that ever! I don't know what I would do without you, I'm so happy I met you! Please, don't hurt yourself.."

Mumbo tried to laugh it off. "I promise I won't, no need to pin me against the bed!" He chuckled, lifting Grian into his arms as he sat upright. "I'm fine, really. Just had a bit of stuff on my mind. How 'bout I eat something, then we can go back to bed?"

"Yeah, that sounds lovely." Grian agreed, snuggling into Mumbo's chest and wrapping his arms around him loosely.

"What about you? Are you hungry?" The vampire asked, Grian shaking his head as he was placed down on the mattress.

"No, I'm alright for now. Thanks."

"Okay. I'll just have some blood and I'll be back. Don't hog the covers."

"Alright." Grian mumbled with a yawn, pulling the sheets over his body as he snuggled against the mattress, already beginning to drift back to sleep.