The First Vampire Beast Tamer

"Captain, I swear I heard him scream!" It was the same voice that had found me before.

"Shut up, you pup! His heart isn't even beating—it's clear that he's dead. How could you have heard him scream, huh?" another voice barked, deep and firm, radiating authority. This had to be the captain.

"But I swear I heard him…" the first voice, the one called Grams, mumbled, clearly trying to stand his ground but faltering under the captain's withering tone.

"Don't tell me you've been eating those herbs again… have you, Grams?" The captain's voice roared, the accusation sharp enough to make even me flinch—and I wasn't even the target.

"Mama Sevear, I didn't eatin' those herbs!" Grams stammered, sounding like a kid caught sneaking candy, except replace candy with… whatever strange herbs could get you in trouble in this world.

"You better not have," the captain snapped, his tone dropping into a low growl. "Or else you know what could happen, right?" The warning was heavy, and even Grams seemed to shrink under its weight.

While they were locked in their exchange, something jolted me. My consciousness yanked itself out of that familiar abyss of darkness, snapping me back to reality.

My eyes flew open, and I immediately noticed that the world was… upside down?

Before you ask, yes, I remember the thing responsible for my death, but no, I don't want to talk about it. Ever. Those of you who guessed what happened, keep it to yourselves. Don't give anyone PTSD—or I swear I'll unleash Paws to haunt your dreams for eternity!

Anyway, let's move on, shall we? Enough reliving past traumas. Time for a fresh start.

Now, where are we again?

Ah yes… my eyes flew open, and as I blinked to adjust to the light, I looked around. Two massive dogs were standing in front of me, their presence both awe-inspiring and a bit terrifying. They looked enormous from my perspective, with sleek ash-gray manes that shimmered with a bluish tint. Their eyes glowed a sharp, gleaming yellow.

One of them, clearly larger and more imposing, towered over the other—the smaller one was holding me by the legs, dangling me upside down as they talked to each other.

Well, this is better… yeah, much better than... that. I guess. But wait—how am I hearing them? No, wait, the better question is—how the hell are they TALKING?!

Looking around frantically, I tilted my head back, hoping to spot my devil. No matter how useless he can be, Paws is still my devil, and if anyone might have an answer, it's him.

"HYY PAWWSSSSSS! WHERE ARE YOU?!" I shouted with everything my tiny lungs could muster.

The dog holding my legs froze, his yellow eyes going wide as if I'd just turned into a ghost. Then, with a yelp, he jumped back, letting go of me. I fell to the ground with a thud, groaning as I picked myself up.

"I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU!" the smaller dog—Grams, I think—started yammering like a broken record. "SEE?! SEE?! SEE?! HE WAS ALIVE! LOOK, HE EVEN SPOKE! YOU WOULDN'T BELIEVE ME!"

Grams sounded so frantic he was practically tripping over his words, his tail wagging wildly as if trying to convince himself he wasn't hallucinating.

The larger dog, the one Grams called Captain, didn't even flinch. He kept his piercing yellow gaze on me, his face unreadable.

"Shut up, Grams," Captain said coolly, cutting him off without even looking. "Let me check."

He stepped closer, towering over me as his heavy paws crunched against the ground.

I straightened myself up, brushing off the dirt, and tilted my head to get a better look. "Cute dog," I muttered to myself, trying not to sound scared. I mean, just look at his fur! So shiny!

Captain leaned in closer, bringing his massive face inches from mine. His golden eyes locked onto mine as he exhaled a hot, rancid breath that hit me like a slap in the face.

Oh no, never mind! I gagged internally, waving my hand in front of my face. On second thought, this is DISGUSTING. Does he never brush his teeth?! Seriously, someone get him some dental care—STAT!

"Who are you, little man?" Captain said, his tone calm and surprisingly light despite his formidable size.

I was startled by the voice. It's not every day you get to hear a dog speaking. As I looked up to see his face, my eyes locked on something else first—Paws, cozily sprawled out on Captain's head like it was some sort of luxurious fur blanket.

Now, in this life-and-death situation, as any sane person would, I was shaking. Like, seriously, if you've got a death wish, fine, but why the hell are you dragging me into it, you smug devil of a cat? At this point, though, I should probably stop expecting him to ever care about the consequences of his actions.

I waved weakly at him, my voice barely above a whisper. "Shoo! Shoo! Hey! What the fuck are you doing? Get the hell down from there, you idiot!" I gestured frantically with my hand, hoping he'd take the hint.

From behind, Grams whispered to Captain, loud enough for me to hear. "Hey, Captain, I think this kid's a little…" He made a circular motion around his head, the universal gesture for "screw loose."

I scowled. Wow. Thanks, Grams. Really helping my self-esteem here.

Captain, unfazed, gave a low grunt. "Let's take both of them to the Chieftain. Grams, you grab the girl."

Before I could protest or question who this "Chieftain" was, Captain picked me up like I was a clump of grass and tossed me onto his back with zero effort. Grams gently picked up the unconscious girl, and the two dogs started walking, their massive forms moving steadily through the forest.

Tick-tock, tick-tock. Time passed as I sat there, stewing on Captain's back, watching Paws. The little devil hadn't changed his position in the slightest. He was still stretched out, eyes closed, looking for all the world like a king lounging in his chamber.

The anger simmered inside me. Not the sudden, explosive kind—no, this was the slow, constant type. Like a pilot light always burning, just for him. My hand moved on its own, and before I knew it, I smacked him on the head with all the power my little baby arms could muster.

*dhum

"OUCH, OUCH, OUCH! Why did you hit me, nya?! It HURTS!" Paws whined, rubbing his head dramatically. "Have you finally LOST YOUR MIND, nya?!"

I whispered furiously, trying to keep my voice low. "No, I haven't, but what the hell are you thinking, lying there like that?! And stop shouting, you idiot! What if they hear us?"

Paws, being Paws, wasn't about to let that go. He crossed his arms and smirked. "Who's gonna listen, nya? Let them hear, nya! In fact—HEY, GUYS, EVERYONE LOOK! This human-in-a-child's-body is ABUSING and HARASSING a poor, innocent cat! Someone should ARREST him, or better yet, EXECUTE him for his heinous crimes, nya!"

I slapped my hand over his mouth, cutting him off. "What the hell?! That's overly dramatic, even for you! Abusing? Harassing? What are you, some hot city chick I'm harassing? Come on, man, that's too much! And execution? Are you even my system? Or are you some secret assassin sent to kill me?!"

Paws tried to shout back, but I quickly silenced him, hissing, "Shhh, shhh, SHHH!" I gestured wildly, trying to get him to shut up.

We both froze for a moment, realizing how loud we'd been. I glanced at Captain and Grams, expecting them to react, but… nothing. They didn't even flinch.

"What's going on?" I muttered, my confusion obvious.

Paws grinned smugly. "You dumb human, let me educate you, nya. They can't hear us when we're talking, nya. I'm your exclusive system, nya. It's hilarious watching you freak out for no reason, nya!" He burst into laughter, practically rolling on Captain's head.

I sat there in silence, my face straight, completely drained of emotion. What did I do to deserve this?

I looked up at the sky and sighed. "How many days can I survive this, God?"

Then, as the memory of my recent trauma resurfaced, I decided to clarify something. Without blinking, I asked, "Hey, Paws… did you, uh, know what their shapes were before this?"

Paws tilted his head, genuinely confused. "What shapes, nya?"

I nodded grimly, my eyes fixed on the heavens. "Yep. That was my personal trauma, I guess."