Blood and Tears - Grumbo Vampire AU

Chapter 15: Search

Mumbo was sitting outside his house, his knees brought to his chest as his finger dragged through the dirt. Grian stepped outside, taking a seat next to the vampire, who seemed to be so lost in thought that he didn't notice the human.

"Hey," Grian smiled, nudging him slightly. Mumbo jumped, suddenly coming back to the present moment.

"O-oh. Sorry." The vampire muttered, turning back to the dirt to continue to draw nonsensical shapes and lines. "I didn't hear you come out."

"Sorry if I scared you." He said, placing his hands on Mumbo's shoulders. The vampire shook his head, while his crimson eyes stared into nothingness.

"Nono, I.." Taking in a breath, then releasing a heavy sigh, Mumbo shook his head. "I've just been thinking..."

"About?" Grian tilted his head, a slight smile across his face, with his soft eyes promising reassurance.

Mumbo stared into his eyes for a couple quiet moments, before looking away. He swallowed the lump in his throat, a bit of pink blush appearing on his cheeks. "Grian, I-I—"

"Grub's here." A voice suddenly broke through the conversation, a burlap sack being dropped between the human and the monster. It was overflowing with apples and fruits, along with pastries and bread. Grian looked up at the man who had interrupted them, though he was clearly intimidated upon meeting his eye.

He was a pig, and that wasn't meant to be an insult, the man was quite literally a walking, talking pig. With large tusks that poked out of his mouth, and an outfit that made him appear almost royal. Complete with a golden crown atop his head, and fancy red robes.

The man-pig snatched a potato out of the bag, taking a bite out of it raw while holding eye contact with the human. "What are you supposed to be?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Oh, u-um—!"

"H-He's with me—!" Mumbo interjected, standing up to meet the pig's eye. "TFC said it was okay to have him with me."

The pig shrugged. "Okay." He took another bite of his potato. "I haven't seen you around before. New here?"

"Y-yes sir." The vampire answered nervously.

"No sir. Just Techno." The pig said as he bent down, grabbing an apple from the bag. He tossed the fruit to Grian, who fumbled as he barely caught it. Techno looked at Mumbo, studying the creature for a moment, before letting out a little hum. "Vampire, huh. Okay, I think we gathered up some blood while we were out."

He began rustling around the bag a little more, searching for a jar of blood he had collected. While he was distracted, Mumbo and Grian shared a similar look of concern as they looked at one another, then back at the pig. "Ah, here it is."

Techno handed the jar to Mumbo, filled to the brim with the familiar sticky red liquid. "O-oh, thank you."

Lifting the burlap sack over his shoulder, the pig grunted. "No problem." He replied while turning away, beginning to walk down the path of the village.

"O-oh! Wait!" The vampire ran after him, causing Grian to also follow, the three walking down the middle of the street of the village. "I-I'm Mumbo. Thank you for the food."

"No need." Techno grunted, still walking forward. "That's my job."

"Your job is to deliver food?" Grian asked with a puzzled expression. "But you look so...royal. Like a king!"

He snorted a little. "I'm more of a revolutionary." Techno said, handing a loaf of bread to Zedaph. "A small team and I leave every once in a while to steal and rob supplies from the humans. There's a path leading to the kingdom nearby that's a trade route. We usually jump a wagon or two."