He's finally asleep.
He'd begun to get worried about his captain after the man refused to rest for nearly three days. Inkani had stayed up for almost seventy-two hours straight just to keep his pup from having more tummy aches.
Just a fur coat, huh?
The guy had even attempted to feed on him in front of his entire crew, too! If he'd tried any harder to stake his claim, he would have had to pee on him like an actual dog!
Rubbing a hand over his face, Bin refocused his attention on his own growing problem.
"Why do you keep following me? I know I changed you, but I can't be your master."
Karalius's ghostly form stood across the street shrouded in black miasma. It wasn't the actual man himself, but a copy, of sorts. It had fooled him the first few times he'd seen it, but now it was easy to tell apart.
"You keep following me, but I can't give you what you want. I changed you into a vampire to try and help you, but in the end you were attacked before I could return, and now you're a..."
Hell, he didn't even understand what the man was now. A demon was the easiest description, but he'd never even seen one in real life, and neither had the rest of their crew. It was just a word used to describe some sort of fictional beast more aggressive than a werewolf and more cunning than a vampire. According to legend, they could also fly, too, but he'd yet to see that happen.
Of course, there was no way for him to explain how the man caught up with him so often when he clearly didn't have a ship to sail on, so the ability to fly wasn't out of the question. He also had no idea how the form he currently saw worked. It couldn't speak, nor could it move quickly or even with much consideration, and yet it still always seemed to find him.
And when it did, then its true form would, undoubtedly, show up sooner or later, too.
"I really should tell Inkani, but he just fell asleep with his pup," he mumbled as he rubbed at the back of his neck.
Besides, Karalius only ever attacked him, so as long as no one came out to try and help him, they would probably be safe.
Deciding to err on the side of caution, anyways, Bin started heading down the darkened cobblestone street. The town they had stopped at this time was a little smaller than the previous one, but it tended to cater more to pirates than normal folks.
That meant that there were still quite a few people milling about even though it was getting close to midnight. Several of the larger men were even eyeing him up, but no one dared to make a move yet.
He wasn't exactly built like most pirates, and since he'd been changed into a vampire when he'd been pretty lean, that was the body type he carried into his undead state.
The other thing that might have kept other people from jumping him right then and there was the abyssal miasma slowly following him down the street. It stumbled here and there on the cobblestone, though everything it did happened in slow motion, as if it was just a literal cloud of darkness and there wasn't much weight to it.
Of course, you could still tell that it was a person, or at least had the basic outline of one, but there was nothing else beneath that darkness.
It was just a mindless tracker formed into a cloud... and it was just for him.
Shrugging off his unwanted follower, Bin stepped into a little shop he often frequented when he was in town. The place was really busy, but as soon as the older gentleman running it noticed him he quickly rushed him off to a little table in the back corner.
Two moments later and the dishes that had been stacked on that table were cleared away and it was wiped free of crumbs. A small menu was then brought over, along with his regular glass of warm tea.
"Thank you, Jim. Just give me a few minutes and I'll be ready," Bin said as he began to glance through the menu... even as he noticed Karalius's miasma begin to hover around the open front door.
The man, or his partial form, never seemed to enter any establishments. He wasn't sure why, because having to invite a vampire inside was just a myth. And since the restaurant was a public dwelling anyways, it wasn't even considered a home that would work in that kind of situation. He wasn't technically a vampire anymore, either.
So why don't you come inside? I know I joked around with you about it when you were little, but you don't still think that it's actually true, do you?
"All ready?" Jim asked a few minutes later after Bin had decided what he wanted.
He ordered a raw steak for himself, along with a small bowl of garlic mashed potatoes, then glanced out the door. There was still a bit of miasma drifting inside.
He's still there...
"I'll also take a container of partial beef stew to go once I'm done please," he added.
It was called partial because the meat was only partially cooked. It was just enough to be really flavorful, but not enough to hurt a young vampire's stomach too much.
He calmly watched the other patrons mill about the restaurant, enjoying their meals. When it came time to go, however, they seemed hesitant to walk past the threshold of the exit.
I'll leave soon, just let me eat in peace first.
Right as he thought that, Bin's meal was delivered.
It wasn't all that large, so it was easy to take care of without wasting too much time. It was, however, one of the beast meals he'd likely get to eat for the next few months. Unfortunately, a stop at Cove Town didn't occur too often, and had likely only happened during their current trip because of his captain's sick pup. It also just happened to be his home town.
I'll have to thank Ilio once he's feeling better.
That is, if the captain even let him get close to the wolf again. He'd shooed him away on more than one occasion recently when he'd tried to help out again. It almost seemed like fur coat was just an endearing nickname for the little wolf now instead of the promise of a death sentence.
"Here is your stew for the road, Binan. Thank you for stopping by. I'm glad to see that you're doing so well," Jim said right before he was called away to another table across the room.
I'm glad that you're doing well too, dad.
They had never been a very close family with his father working all hours of the day at his restaurant, and once he'd been changed by Inkani, he'd left with little more than a goodbye. Now, years later, he still didn't have much of a connection to the man, but he did make it a habit to come by his place for a meal whenever they managed to visit the area.
Getting up, Bin calmly walked to the front door and stepped out into the crisp evening air.
Too smoky in there.
He'd heard it in his dad's lungs, too, but he wasn't going to lecture an old man on allowing cigars in his shop. It was his life to live.
Ah.
The miasma that had been waiting for him was fluctuating calmly across the street now, but within just a few moments it began to move towards him again.
Let's at least move away from such a busy area first. Just in case the food isn't to your liking.
He honestly wasn't even sure if he could feed miasma, but it was worth a shot to distract it for a while. It had been more than two days since he'd rested, himself, and he'd probably sleep a lot better without having to worry about waking up to Karalius waiting outside his bedroom window.
The miasma calmly followed after him, it's form not even hesitating for a second. Sometimes it got a little closer, and sometimes it fell back so far that he had to glance over his shoulder in order to make sure that it was still following.
I've never actually brought him anywhere intentionally...
He hadn't really considered what he was doing until he was already almost home, too.
Or, well, it used to be his home. Stepping up to the rundown shack, Bin lifted one hand and pressed it against the dirty, worn wood.
The door swung open with a creak, revealing an inside that was clearly neglected.
I wonder if my dad has even come home at all this month. Maybe he's just decided to sleep at the restaurant now that I've been gone for more than two years.
It wouldn't surprise him.
Stepping inside, he looked around for a clean spot, but couldn't find anything remotely reasonable.
I suppose it doesn't really matter as long as I don't put my hands on the floor.
With that thought, Bin walked over to the far side of the little room and settled down against one of the more solid walls. Once he was comfortable, his gaze lifted to the doorway. Unsurprisingly, Karalius's miasma was churning patiently at the threshold.
"You're really not going to come in? I got you something to eat," he said as he held up the little container after removing the lid. He wasn't even sure if it could eat, but it was worth a shot.
The miasma condensed slightly in response, but did not move any farther.
Hmm...
Setting the container down, Bin looked back up and nodded slightly to the side.
"Come in and eat."
That way I can leave you here distracted for a bit while I go back and rest.
The dark cloud pulsed abruptly at his words, then, ever so slowly, began inching its way inside.
It really does think that it needs an invitation.
Bin was just smiling at the absurdity of the man still thinking that such things were true when his blood suddenly froze in his veins at the sound of a very solid, booted footstep resonating throughout the tiny room.
The cloud of miasma that had followed him throughout the town had been a simple wandering tracker. It had never showed any signs of life or given any kind of signal that it was anything else. And yet, as the demon calmly stepped partially out of the miasma, leaving it to cling to his back and legs like a tempered fire, Bin couldn't help but question where he'd gone wrong.
Had he found me while I was eating and fused back together with the cloud to trick me?
But that didn't make much sense. The man never cared whether he attacked him in bustling markets or silent alleyways. Everywhere was fair game.
So why did you wait until right now to show yourself?
He tried to swallow past the nerves building in his throat but couldn't manage the action as the demon, dressed from head to toe in dark browns and pitch black, finally stopped in front of him, then knelt down on one knee.
Familiar obsidian eyes met his, trapping his gaze in their hostile depths.
"Master Binan..." Karalius whispered in his rough, yet-relaxed voice as his head tilted the slightest fraction and a smirk crooked up one side of his lips.
"Your pirate lord has finally let you slip out of his sight."