Curious little bats they be...

Chapter includes my own backstory for dimidius - since we didn't get all that much in the show.

-YD-

"Come on Vladdy! You have to pass these tests!"

Rolling his eyes, Vlad lowered the book in front of him. He'd read the same sentence six times and had absolutely no idea what it actually said. It was difficult to absorb any information with his father hovering - literally, floating three inches off the ground after trying to encourage Vlad to do flying practice - at his side.

"Yes dad, I know that. Question."

"Anything! I am a veritable fountain of knowledge!"

Highly doubting that, Vlad plowed on.

"If a dimidius didn't take their Blood Test, what would happen?"

"What sort of ridiculous question is that?"

Vlad shrugged, attempting to look offhanded.

"Just curious, I've come across the word a couple of times while studying but there isn't much information."

"And for good reason, filthy half-breeds" Vlad would pay good money to see his father say that to Ingrid's face "don't want to encourage anyone."

"Dad, you wanted to marry Mrs Branagh."

"Silence!"

Wincing, Vlad waited a minute before prompting his dad for an answer.

"Well? What would happen?"

"Well of course they wouldn't take tests, dimidius can only be sired by a vampire father. The human mother would have no idea, so where in Hell would they send the test? Now enough of this nonsense subject, get on with your revision."

Knowing if he asked anything else, his dad would just pitch a temper tantrum, Vlad quietly picked up his book - he'd got one of his answers anyway. So, Ingrid would get her powers if they figured out who her sire's clan was and got her to their Blood Mirror. But that was still a monumental task in itself, since she was the product of a one night stand sixteen years ago.

Next day at school, Vlad eyed Ingrid and noticed she kept rubbing her tongue over her teeth. The fang pains were kicking in, it seemed. Vlad didn't envy her those, he had had a few already and they weren't pleasant. Looking down at his lunch, Vlad picked out the half a beetle from his sandwich and dropped it to one side before starting on it. It wasn't much cop, but Vlad was determined to live off of 'normal' food as long as possible. He'd give it a damned good go post-transformation too, but wasn't sure how his body would handle blood free food.

He lived in hope.

"You ok Vlad?"

"Hm? Oh, yeah. Just checking my lunch for insect matter."

Robin frowned, seeming more grateful for his salad vegetables when faced with the prospect of Renfields cooking. Although... Robin did eat more of it than almost anyone else. Almost immune to the bizarre, vile combinations created by the servant man.

"It's double maths after lunch, just kill me now."

"You've survived every maths lesson up to now, you can manage a few more."

Sighing overdramatically, Robin stood to go and dump the rest of his lunch; he'd complain he was hungry half way through final classes, and ravenously devour anything within reach at either his house or Vlad's, depending on where he ended up going. It was a well established routine.

What was not a well established routine was Ingrid appearing to talk to him after she saw Robin heading for his own house, though it was becoming a bizarrely frequent occurrence considering the zero conversation they had ever had before the vampire revelation. Still, it wasn't as though she could talk to anybody else about it.

"How do I get rid of the tooth pain?"

"You don't. At least, nobody has come up with a remedy yet. You could try breather toothache remedies, but I don't know how effective they'll be. Nobody has ever tried, pain is part of the process. Humanity leaving your body yada yada yada."

"You're really not sold on this are you?"

Was Ingrid asking a question about another person, one that would not help her in any way? It took him a minute to process before he answered.

"No. I hate it. But I've reached grim acceptance."

"You don't want to be a vampire?"

Oh wow, now she was actually saying the word. That was a fairly new thing too.

"No. Never have done. Spent years searching for a cure beyond a sharp wooden stake to the heart."

"That's... is that for real?"

"Yep. If you get a splinter any time soon, you might find it itches something fierce. And if you really like garlic bread, now's the time to make the most of it."

"I hate garlic bread."

"Then you're fine there. What else... you already do, but avoid the Van Helsings."

Ingrid raised a disdainful eyebrow.

"Why exactly?"

"Vampire slayers."

"Oh, you are kidding."

"I wish. Mr Van Helsing keeps trying to break into my house and kill us."

She snorted, then gave Vlad a glare that said if he told anyone, she'd stake him herself. Vlad gave a nod to indicate he understood, hardly about to go discussing their vampire discussions with anybody. Oh bats, if Robin discovered Ingrid was half-vampire... he'd probably think he'd died and gone to his own personal bat-themed heaven.

"Does your dad know?"

"No. If he knew there was a slayer down the road we'd probably move again. The change from Transylvania was bad enough."

They were edging quite a bit closer to the castle now. Vlad wondered how far Ingrid was going to come up this time. Should he invite her in? That felt strange. But then he always felt a bit odd around her. That was probably the crush he had on her. If anything, he crushed harder knowing she was half-vampire, which surprised him since Vlad generally abhorred anything to do with vampirism.

"Are you planning to follow me in, or go home?"

Ingrid actually looked like she was considering it, but soon enough she was shrugging, turning on her heel and setting off back down the hill again. Sighing to himself. Vlad finished climbing the hill and let himself into the castle. It was back to the books, counting down the many months until his next Blood Test. Ingrid's birthday was in May, his Blood Test wasn't until autumn. It felt like years.

He wished it was years, many many more years before the change would come for him and snuff out the wonderful years as mostly human-ish before he grew fangs. Picking up his next tome, Vlad scratched absently at the side of his cheek, then almost fell out of his chair as his father appeared next to him.

"Ah!"

"Vladdy! Jaw pain? Fangs coming through?"

"No. Itchy face."

"Oh. Shame! I was going to fetch you something to bite."

Rolling his eyes, Vlad tutted at his father.

"I told you, I'm not biting anyone or anything."

"Fine. Suffer your toothache!"

Something about that piqued his interest, Vlad turned before his father flitted off in a strop.

"Does biting alleviate fang pain?"

"Of course! Preferably alive, but meaty will do. What else would do it? That's what they are for!"

Then his father vanished, but Vlad had the answer he'd been looking for. Ingrid would hopefully be happy to hear that biting something like a steak ought to at least ease her pain. Although Vlad suspected if she wanted, Ingrid could ask for biting volunteers and have a line of boys offering their throats in the hopes it would get them a hickey from the most popular and desirable girl in school.

He'd probably think about joining in.

Over two weeks since Vlad informed her of her impending change, Ingrid still randomly turned up for ten minutes of conversation whenever she felt like swooping into his life, then vanished again. It was very strange, but Vlad was getting used to it more or less. Sometimes she even asked a question that wasn't 100% about her. If Vlad didn't know better, he'd suggest Ingrid had a semblance of cordiality and friendship.

Then she'd call him more biting rat than biting bat, and he'd remember she didn't really care for him. Just needed the information to understand what was happening to her, and couldn't get it elsewhere.

"What are you staring at?"

Ingrid spat, in a particularly testy mood that day. And for her, that was no small feat considering she was pricklier than a porcupine on a good day.

"Your teeth. Your fangs are starting to show a little."

He couldn't quite take his eyes off the beginnings of sharpened points. It had always confused him that the sharpness showed before transforming, when the ability to retract and lower fangs at will would come. Ingrid raised a hand to her mouth, rubbing her thumb over her canines.

"Oh spectacular. What am I meant to do with that?"

"Focus. Maybe you can retract them."

"My teeth?"

"Fangs are retractable. However, since they haven't officially descended, I have no idea why they are showing now. Unless you had a spectacular burst of gum pain last night?"

Ingrid shook her head, still probing her own dental peculiarity.

"No."

"Then I have no idea. I can only suggest biting practice."

"Excuse me?"

She finally lowered her hand from her mouth, looking at Vlad incredulously.

"Did I not tell you that? Biting helps, according to my dad. Needs to either be something alive, or something that was like a big steak."

"So I either rip someones throat out, or eat a steak?"

Ingrid really did look like he was talking pure rubbish, but she was listening all the same. Vlad would be amazed if she wasn't already planning what she could sink her fangs in to.

"You probably couldn't rip out someones throat yet, but I wouldn't advise trying. Steak will do."

Rolling her eyes for reasons known only to her, Ingrid ran her tongue over her teeth, then eyed him oddly.

"Maybe I'll bite you. This is all your fault."

"My fault? I just gave you context, this would all still be happening if I hadn't told you."

As she left, Vlad felt the sting of disappointment making itself known.

He should have just let her bite him.

-YD-

Am going to try and make these chapters longer, but its always a drag doing build up when there's sibling smut to be writing!