Chapter 1

The town that Gladio was visiting was rather quaint. It seemed simple and peaceful with aspects of historical and olden ways. Old fashioned styled street lamps lit the streets, and horse drawn carriages walked down the streets. A true old timey town that felt like he had stepped back in time. Of course as cool as that aspect would have been, he was thankful that was not the case.

The olden times were much more of a risk for him, a pure blooded werewolf. Back then his kind were hunted and killed even if they had done nothing wrong. Still today he knew he couldn't ignore hunters who still sought out werewolves and other supernaturals, but it was much less frequent then it had been.

Putting the worrisome thoughts aside he made his way down the main street of the town, observing the different stores and restaurants that were there. It was already half past noon and he needed some place to eat. It was all deciding where to go now.

He could see that there was a small café up ahead, and from where he was he could already smell the fresh pastries. They were a heavenly scent that could almost match his love for the taste of fresh meat. It would have to do then.

He walked further until he got to the door and opened it. Since he had been so focused on the scent, he had forgotten to look exactly where he was going and nearly bumped into someone who was trying to leave.

The man he bumped into grunted and backed up. "Do you mind looking where you are going?"

"Sorry, it's just that I-"

Gladio stopped talking when he actually started at the man standing in the doorway. Whomever this man was, he was by far the most handsome man Gladio had ever seen. He was just about nearly as tall as Gladio, maybe just a few inches short though, but he had a strong face with wonderful dirty blond hair. He had it gelled upwards which some would think was strange, but Gladio thought it gave the man style.

Though what he noticed next caught him off guard. The man's eyes underneath his shades, or more correctly his eye. His right eye, which was still glaring right at Gladio, was a striking pleasing green. The other eye though… he wanted to assume that it was also green but it was closed. His left eye was marred. The ugly scar covered the entire eye. Upon a closer look, aside from the marred scars that were most likely due to a burn, he could see different scars, lines that ran over it all.

"Claws…" Gladio thought to himself. "He was attacked by a werewolf. I'd recognize claw marks like that anywhere," for a moment Gladio's thoughts drifted to his own scar over his eye. Though his eye was still fine compared to what had happened to the man, whatever it was must have been much more dire. "Though… he doesn't smell like a werewolf, not even some low level half breed. He has barely any scent at all. Does that mean…"

"Excuse me!" the man said again, his tone exasperated. Gladio only noticed now that he had a thick accent that made him sound very elegant. "Do you mind? Or are you just going to stand there like a complete idiot?"

"I uh, I'm sorry." Gladio stood to the side as he held the door open. "Guess I got pretty distracted there. Not everyday I run into a man like yourself."

With his one good eye he rolled it. "Like I haven't heard that before. You tourists have no manners what's so ever."

"Oh, so you're a local," Gladio replied, grinning slightly. Whoever this guy was, he sure did have an attitude, but that made him all the more mysterious. "Well maybe you could help me and show me around a little, that way I can be better acquainted with some better manners."

The man scoffed. "And what reasons should I give you that? You were the one who rudely crashed into me."

"And I want to make that up to you. Just name it and I'll show you I can be better," Gladio replied. "How about I start with introductions? My name is Gladio."

The stubborn man raised an eyebrow. "Gladio?"

"Short for Gladiolus."

"I figured as much," the man scoffed. "Just didn't take such a delicate name of a flower for a tall towering oaf."

Gladio would have winced if he didn't expect something like that. As a child he had plenty of people tease and mock him because of his name, especially when he hit his growth spurt. He was quite the opposite of a pretty and delicate flower.

Though he felt like this man was trying to tick him off, he wasn't letting it get to him. He was more intrigued by him if anything, and when he set his mind to something he wasn't going to give up. Maybe he was equally stubborn in that regard, but he wasn't letting this guy go, or he was going to give it his all at least.

"Everyone has something about their name that makes them who they are, what about you? What's yours?"

"I don't have time for this," the man muttered before turning to head down the sidewalk.

Gladio quickly jogged over to catch up to him. "Hey come on. I gave you my name. You talk about me not having manners, so wouldn't you say it's awfully rude to leave someone without introducing themselves?"

The blond stopped and glared at him. For only having one functioning eye, he still could glare harshly and come off rather intimidating. Though a moment passed and he sighed. "You turned the tables on me… very well then. My name is Ignis. Does that satisfy you?"

"Ignis," Gladio repeated, rolling the name slowly off his tongue. "Very fancy sounding."

"You have my name now, so if you are finished, I will leave now."

"Hey come on. Can't we talk things through? I hate leaving a bad impression on such a handsome guy."

Ignis scowled, his eyebrows becoming sharper as he stepped closer to Gladio. He poked rather harshly at his chest before speaking. "I have no reason to speak to you, nor any want. Even if you try playing courteous, it will get you nowhere. I especially do not wish to socialize any further with someone of your kind."

Every muscle in Gladio's body tensed up. He knew he had sensed something strange about Ignis before, but he had been too distracted to confirm his thoughts. Now as he looked at the man again, he did notice the pale complexion that he had, and when he coupled it with the strange scent it all made sense.

"So you're a vampire," Gladio replied, lowering his voice to not draw too much attention to those walking by.

Ignis clicked his tongue. "Took you that long to figure it out? I would think your kind would have picked up my scent, or lack of a scent, sooner than that."

"Well maybe your good looks distracted me from taking in your scent," Gladio replied, trying his best to keep a level head during their conversation. He still was curious about Ignis and no small banter was going to push him away. He wasn't that easily shoved around after all.

Ignis still seemed unfazed by Gladio's attempts. "I already stated I do not wish to socialize. Now for the last time, leave me alone or I will have to take more drastic measures. I am fairly certain you don't wish to cause a scene."

Ignis had his hand hovering near his jacket pocket. No doubt he had either a weapon or something else in there he could use. There was the small chance that it was silver, an unfortunate weakness of werewolves. With that in mind, Gladio backed off from Ignis, feeling a slight weight in his chest.

From looks alone, he was drawn to Ignis. Though he knew he had to go on more than just looks to get to know someone, he just felt something about him. There was something mysterious about this vampire that Gladio wished he could learn more about. Unfortunately, it just so happened that the one time he was interested in a vampire, the vampire had a complete grudge against werewolves.

Gladio wasn't too sure why that was though. It had been decades since the last war between the two races broke out. It was long before Gladio was even born. But then again vampires could live for a long time. A vampire like Ignis, he could have lived through it, and he could have still carried the memories.

With nothing else that he could say, he watched Ignis turn away from him. "Glad you have some sense of understanding."

Gladio sighed to himself as he watched the vampire walk further down the street. He stayed where he was, continuing to watch until Ignis was no longer in sight. It was hard to say what it was, but he felt a pain in his chest. Something tightened after Ignis was gone, like he had made the wrong choice. He didn't know what else he could have done though. Ignis was a vampire after all. Even if he was fine with vampires and other supernaturals, he couldn't change the way Ignis thought about his kind.

"Well I guess there isn't anything else I can do about it…" Gladio thought to himself before he finally returned to what he had planned to do at the start. Though now he knew the rest of his day was going to be filled with that feeling in his chest. No matter what he thought, he knew he couldn't change a thing about it, but at the same time he was glad for the encounter.

A new little story I have had since October. Finally getting to post it! Hope you all enjoy!