I have another offer for you this week, Apprentices—a very simple and straightforward one. I am willing to bend Rule Seven once and once only: any Apprentice who successfully evades accountability for their actions may not only leave the university, but leave it with one other.
The words have been echoing in his head since the Wordsmith spoke them two days ago. Sure, Gangrel didn’t have much of a reaction to it at the time - a laugh before he left, at least - but the more he thinks about it, the more appealing it becomes.
In truth, the incentive is only a bonus. He decided he couldn’t stay here any longer after Killia’s death. Kimbley and Gold had nearly pushed him over the edge, but he held off because maybe, maybe there was still a way to salvage this. But with Killia gone, it feels pointless to continue sitting around and waiting for death. It means killing all but one of them, but they were all going to die anyway. At least this way, he can save himself.
And her, of course. Lusamine.
It had taken him awhile to figure out who he’d want to save, but the more he thinks about it, the more obvious it becomes. There’s no point in saving someone who will only be furious about his actions, and truthfully, Lusamine is the only one he really wants to bring with him. She won’t like it, but she’ll accept it. She’ll call him stupid and she’ll be angry for awhile, but it’ll be worth it to have her safe by his side. It doesn’t matter where they go. He’d leave Plegia behind entirely if it meant keeping her safe.
Disgusting. Look at what this horrid place has done to him.
His victim is obvious: Vanille. She’s kind and caring, and most of all, she’s trusting. Despite everything, she still thinks of him as a friend. It will be easiest to use her, to kill her. So that’s what he did - he asked her to help him fix something to eat shortly before the kitchen closes, and once she’s made curry and prepared their bowls, he distracts her and has plenty of time to poison her food.
The bottle hidden in his clothes is within reach. It would be so easy, she wouldn’t suspect anything until she’s in the process of dying. It’s so simple, and yet...
And yet he can’t bring himself to do it. She returns, they finish their meal, and he makes it back to his room in one piece. The bottle hits the wall and he buries his head in his hands as he screams. What has this place done to him? It would have been so simple to kill her weeks ago - it should’ve been easy.
They’re all going to die anyway. This was his one shot at saving Lusamine along with himself and he just threw it away all because he couldn’t poison some stupid, trusting girl.
Gangrel doesn’t leave his room that night. He doesn’t try to kill.
Vanille is dead the next morning anyway. It looks like she was caught and stabbed as she was heading back to her room.
He remains quiet during the trial. There’s no evil laughter, no sarcastic remarks, nothing. It would be easy to assume he’s simply upset about Vanille. And maybe he is on some level, he did spare her, after all, and she died because she was out meeting with him. But ultimately, what it comes down to is that someone else is trying to claim this incentive - and they might even succeed.
Lusamine catches his eye at one point, and even though no one has connected him to Vanille’s late-night meeting with someone for curry, there’s something in her eyes that makes it clear she has suspicions. You told me you wouldn’t break her look says.
I didn’t, He wants to tell her, but I wish I had.
They successfully find the killer today. Phi is sent to her execution and Gangrel barely has ten minutes to himself after returning to his room before there’s a knock on the door. He’s tempted to ignore it, but he doesn’t really want to be left alone with his thoughts right now. So he gets the door, and he isn’t surprised to find Lusamine standing there.
Her expression is tight, mouth already set in a displeased frown. He hasn’t even done anything annoying yet. But he steps aside and allows her to enter anyway. She sits primly in the chair at the desk, watching him warily as he shuts the door and moves to sit on the bed. For a brief moment, they’re both quiet, perhaps trying to figure out exactly what to say after all that.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Ah, starting off with the accusations, great. “Vanille was meeting with you.”
“What makes you say that?” He asks. It had been a loose end in the trial; not even Phi knew who Vanille had been meeting with. Lusamine shouldn’t have been able to figure it out so easily.
She carefully fishes a note from her pocket and hands it over. Gangrel doesn’t need to open it to recognize his handwriting. He doesn’t even bother taking it and Lusamine’s eyes narrow. “As I thought.”
“And you didn’t provide this damning evidence?” Now that he thinks about it, why didn’t she? She knows as well as everyone else that if they aren’t successful in finding the killer, they all die. There’s no reason to protect someone and hide evidence for them.
Her expression tightens further, somehow. She’s probably doing her best to hide her anger, but he’s entirely too tired to figure out why she’s angry. “I would have shared it had it become relevant.”
“You would have painted a target on yourself. You know that.” She’s a clever woman, smarter than most of them. So why...?
The note in her hand is suddenly crushed and it looks like she’s done holding the anger back. “You were going to kill her.”
A proper accusation this time. Good. If she’s going to do this, then he’ll rise to the bait, just as she expects. “I was. I had it all planned out.”
“Why didn’t you?” It sounds like she’s barely getting the words out through her teeth. “If you planned this out, then what stopped you?”
His gaze darts at that and his fingers tighten where they’re resting on his knees. “Does it matter?”
“It matters to me.” She’s standing then, moving forward to close the gap between them and for a moment he’s certain she’s going to smack him, which would probably be deserved, honestly. But she doesn’t, instead she moves to wind her arms around him, pulling him forward into a hug.
It occurs to him then that she’s shaking. He’s not sure how he didn’t notice it before.
“I could have lost you today,” She says softly. Her voice is also shaking, and the tremors that run through her only increase as he brings his hands up to rest against her back awkwardly. “You— You said you wouldn’t—”
“I know.” He moves to tug her down onto the bed beside him and she goes willingly, settling into a more comfortable position to hug with ease. “But I don’t trust them. I can’t stay here. I need to get out, and I thought—”
She finishes it for him, “You thought to bring me with you.”
“Yes,” It’s more of an exhale than a confirmation. “I did.”
They lapse into silence, as though nothing more needs to be said about it. He nearly killed Vanille, and he likely would have died for it. But he didn’t, and he’s still here, and she’s having some sort of crisis about it that he’s not sure he understands, but there isn’t anywhere else in the world he’d rather be. By tomorrow everything will go back to normal. They’ll tease each other and act like this never happened. Another week to wait to die. Another chance to fuck it up at the trial.
But right now, all of that feels very far away and the only thing Gangrel can really think about is how comfortable it feels to have his arms wrapped around her.
GANGREL/LUSAMINE - 10
The words have been echoing in his head since the Wordsmith spoke them two days ago. Sure, Gangrel didn’t have much of a reaction to it at the time - a laugh before he left, at least - but the more he thinks about it, the more appealing it becomes.
In truth, the incentive is only a bonus. He decided he couldn’t stay here any longer after Killia’s death. Kimbley and Gold had nearly pushed him over the edge, but he held off because maybe, maybe there was still a way to salvage this. But with Killia gone, it feels pointless to continue sitting around and waiting for death. It means killing all but one of them, but they were all going to die anyway. At least this way, he can save himself.
And her, of course. Lusamine.
It had taken him awhile to figure out who he’d want to save, but the more he thinks about it, the more obvious it becomes. There’s no point in saving someone who will only be furious about his actions, and truthfully, Lusamine is the only one he really wants to bring with him. She won’t like it, but she’ll accept it. She’ll call him stupid and she’ll be angry for awhile, but it’ll be worth it to have her safe by his side. It doesn’t matter where they go. He’d leave Plegia behind entirely if it meant keeping her safe.
Disgusting. Look at what this horrid place has done to him.
His victim is obvious: Vanille. She’s kind and caring, and most of all, she’s trusting. Despite everything, she still thinks of him as a friend. It will be easiest to use her, to kill her. So that’s what he did - he asked her to help him fix something to eat shortly before the kitchen closes, and once she’s made curry and prepared their bowls, he distracts her and has plenty of time to poison her food.
The bottle hidden in his clothes is within reach. It would be so easy, she wouldn’t suspect anything until she’s in the process of dying. It’s so simple, and yet...
And yet he can’t bring himself to do it. She returns, they finish their meal, and he makes it back to his room in one piece. The bottle hits the wall and he buries his head in his hands as he screams. What has this place done to him? It would have been so simple to kill her weeks ago - it should’ve been easy.
They’re all going to die anyway. This was his one shot at saving Lusamine along with himself and he just threw it away all because he couldn’t poison some stupid, trusting girl.
Gangrel doesn’t leave his room that night. He doesn’t try to kill.
Vanille is dead the next morning anyway. It looks like she was caught and stabbed as she was heading back to her room.
He remains quiet during the trial. There’s no evil laughter, no sarcastic remarks, nothing. It would be easy to assume he’s simply upset about Vanille. And maybe he is on some level, he did spare her, after all, and she died because she was out meeting with him. But ultimately, what it comes down to is that someone else is trying to claim this incentive - and they might even succeed.
Lusamine catches his eye at one point, and even though no one has connected him to Vanille’s late-night meeting with someone for curry, there’s something in her eyes that makes it clear she has suspicions. You told me you wouldn’t break her look says.
I didn’t, He wants to tell her, but I wish I had.
They successfully find the killer today. Phi is sent to her execution and Gangrel barely has ten minutes to himself after returning to his room before there’s a knock on the door. He’s tempted to ignore it, but he doesn’t really want to be left alone with his thoughts right now. So he gets the door, and he isn’t surprised to find Lusamine standing there.
Her expression is tight, mouth already set in a displeased frown. He hasn’t even done anything annoying yet. But he steps aside and allows her to enter anyway. She sits primly in the chair at the desk, watching him warily as he shuts the door and moves to sit on the bed. For a brief moment, they’re both quiet, perhaps trying to figure out exactly what to say after all that.
“It was you, wasn’t it?” Ah, starting off with the accusations, great. “Vanille was meeting with you.”
“What makes you say that?” He asks. It had been a loose end in the trial; not even Phi knew who Vanille had been meeting with. Lusamine shouldn’t have been able to figure it out so easily.
She carefully fishes a note from her pocket and hands it over. Gangrel doesn’t need to open it to recognize his handwriting. He doesn’t even bother taking it and Lusamine’s eyes narrow. “As I thought.”
“And you didn’t provide this damning evidence?” Now that he thinks about it, why didn’t she? She knows as well as everyone else that if they aren’t successful in finding the killer, they all die. There’s no reason to protect someone and hide evidence for them.
Her expression tightens further, somehow. She’s probably doing her best to hide her anger, but he’s entirely too tired to figure out why she’s angry. “I would have shared it had it become relevant.”
“You would have painted a target on yourself. You know that.” She’s a clever woman, smarter than most of them. So why...?
The note in her hand is suddenly crushed and it looks like she’s done holding the anger back. “You were going to kill her.”
A proper accusation this time. Good. If she’s going to do this, then he’ll rise to the bait, just as she expects. “I was. I had it all planned out.”
“Why didn’t you?” It sounds like she’s barely getting the words out through her teeth. “If you planned this out, then what stopped you?”
His gaze darts at that and his fingers tighten where they’re resting on his knees. “Does it matter?”
“It matters to me.” She’s standing then, moving forward to close the gap between them and for a moment he’s certain she’s going to smack him, which would probably be deserved, honestly. But she doesn’t, instead she moves to wind her arms around him, pulling him forward into a hug.
It occurs to him then that she’s shaking. He’s not sure how he didn’t notice it before.
“I could have lost you today,” She says softly. Her voice is also shaking, and the tremors that run through her only increase as he brings his hands up to rest against her back awkwardly. “You— You said you wouldn’t—”
“I know.” He moves to tug her down onto the bed beside him and she goes willingly, settling into a more comfortable position to hug with ease. “But I don’t trust them. I can’t stay here. I need to get out, and I thought—”
She finishes it for him, “You thought to bring me with you.”
“Yes,” It’s more of an exhale than a confirmation. “I did.”
They lapse into silence, as though nothing more needs to be said about it. He nearly killed Vanille, and he likely would have died for it. But he didn’t, and he’s still here, and she’s having some sort of crisis about it that he’s not sure he understands, but there isn’t anywhere else in the world he’d rather be. By tomorrow everything will go back to normal. They’ll tease each other and act like this never happened. Another week to wait to die. Another chance to fuck it up at the trial.
But right now, all of that feels very far away and the only thing Gangrel can really think about is how comfortable it feels to have his arms wrapped around her.