The Kingfisher - Horror webcomic - Vitus Bonus comic

PART TWO

The feeble heat of the Glennish summer skirted around the edges of the school year, which was soon over. One lukewarm evening the café was open late, filled with students eager to drink away the tragedy of their poor marks. Vitus joined in, feigning sorrow with his friends. Not used to an easy supply of alcohol he quickly passed his limits and stumbled into a dim back room.

    Henry followed, his heart pounding with a mix of fear and excitement. The din of the rowdy students enough to cover his tracks. He joined Vitus on the slightly greasy velvet of the sofa, his small chest contracting with fearful breaths. Vitus slumped limply, but made a pleasant, drunken face.
    Henry placed a hand on Vitus' chest, and looked a bit disappointed, but no less aroused.     “Vitus, you are an angel.. You will never be mine, will you? What's wrong with me?” He crawled closer, Vitus making no moves to leave, but no particular signs of encouragement.
     “I guess you can have your pick, so why would you choose me? Maybe... Maybe will you be mine just for tonight? That could be enough. Tell me to stop...”

He didn't.

“Mr. Schneider! For shame!” a man's voice, clear and laconic.

Henry jumped, struck with fear. Being caught could be deadly at worst.

    “Demy! I... Haha, I was just playing around. How did-- I didn't know you were... ”
Luckily the interloper was his just old friend, though he wasn't sure what he'd think of such scandalous behavior. How did he know to find him here?
    “Just in town by chance. Did you get that boy drunk?” Demetri leaned gingerly on the back of the sofa, not wanting to soil his natty kid gloves.
    “No! He got himself in whatever state he's in. We were just kidding around.”
    “I'm sure. He can hardly think, you shouldn't have fun at other's expense.”
    “He's fine, he—”

    Henry hopped away from Vitus' retching, Demetri catching him with a hand on the small of his back.
    “Looks like my interruption was well timed.”
     “-sigh- They always are. Must you always treat me like a little boy?”
    “Haha, Henry. You are not a little boy any more. I know that well. Shall we away?”
    “I guess so...”

"It's funny I met Demetri when I was alive." modern day Vitus said, looking like he'd just remembered.
"He was pretty focused on Henry though, I think he fancied him. They met though the circle of artists Demy was a part of when Henry was quite young. I don't actually know much of Demetri's take on events. It's a depressing subject for him and I hate to bring it up......"

...

     “That new painting is something else. Where do you learn of such things?”
     “You've been to Bribeaux more than me Demy, I've only gone once.”
     “I guess I don't go to the right places. I am sadly always a step behind on the trends, no matter how I try. Better for it to be in the hands of the talented than sad old fools.”
     “You speak as though you're an ancient!”
     “I am, in many ways. No matter, I am not the interesting one here. How is young Henry? Is your condition improving?”
     “Hah, I am not dead, right? It's not something that improves. You just stay it out as long as you can. I hear that some diabetics are living to be forty now. I hope I am so lucky. I could do a lot in that time.”

    “It's almost done... It's a take off on the Transformation of Worshiper Cedric, I hope it's not too strange.”
    “Not at all. Beautiful! It seems so easy for you, so young but so talented. I couldn't paint like this if I practiced for hundreds of years. ...I will buy it when it is complete.”
    “Demetri! Really? You don't even know how much I will charge!”
    “Doesn't matter really. It's the least I could do for you.”

    “Say, I wanted to talk to you about what you were doing with that boy at the cafe.”
    “Ah! L-like I said, we were just playing around. Just a game, like school boys you know? It um, it was--”
    “Calm, I'm making no accusations. Some of us remain school boys forever, I suppose.”
    “Demy?”

“It doesn't have to be just games, you know.”

   “I'm worried about his health.” Demetri said, feeling like it was a lost cause already.
   “Stop sucking his blood then, pervert.”
   “I would never do that! I just don't see why I can't have this one pittance, haven't I suffered for long enough? Haven't I served you for centuries? It's not as though you really need me that way any more...”
   “Pretty much.”
   “Tomasz, it would just be so tragic for the world to lose such a talented artist before his time.”
   “They say painting is dead, why not the painters with it? Ha! Good one, eh?”
   “...Sometimes, you still shock me.”

...

   “So after I was through scrubbing stains out of the carpet for the café owner--”
   “Ugh how old is Demetri anyway?” Jack asked, momentarily distracted.
   “Old. Not as old as Dragomir? 400 something at least.”
Jack made a creeped out face.
   “Ask him yourself. Anyway... Luckily for my lazy nature, Henry seemed to figure things out on his own. He apologized the next day...”

“I'm sorry for anything that happened last night.”
“No, it's fine. I shouldn't drink so much, I don't remember a thing.” Vitus lied rather blatantly, but Henry let it pass.

“I shouldn't tease you, you're just so darling.” he said coyly. Vitus recalled his bashful veneer. Henry was in the habit of flirting with unrequited love, shouldn't he really focus on requited ones? No more wasting whatever time he might have left.
“So shy for a nude model. Well we should get to work, my friend is bringing a guest from Castan tonight, a woman artist.”

    “Angela, shall you talk with Henry? Remember what we discussed--” Demetri tried to get her attention.
    “No. I've already made up my mind.”
    “Angela... Please--”

"Oh Gaston-Louis, haven't you always wanted a baby brother?"
"No."

“And you know the rest.” Vitus sighed, stretching back in the easy chair. “After I died I never saw Henry or any of my other friends. Angela probably didn't bother to fake my death so I just disappeared and was forgotten, I'd imagine. That I never heard Henry's name again doesn't bode well for his longevity. He wouldn't have been the type to accept obscurity for long. Demetri might know what became of that poor lad but I can't bear to bring it up."

     "...So, foolish, vain Vitus got everything he wanted. Adoring attention, at least from one very strange woman, until he figured out how to stick his nose in books and hide. If I'd done things differently, Henry would be in my place and Vitus would be long buried. The world would have more art and less moralizing. In fact, now that I think of it, Jack Ballard would be free to live his natural life as a human as well most likely... Now I feel good and rotten. "
    "--The point - Jack is less terrible than he thinks, and Vitus rather more terrible." Vitus chuckled bitterly. Jack lounged on his side on the carpet, looking thoughtful and melancholy.
    “That's a sad story.” he said.
    “Sorry.”
    “I don't know, it's not like you knew what was going to happen. Plus that was a long, looong time ago, things are different now, right?”
    “I suppose so.”
    “I still think Vitus is pretty cool.”
    “I'm glad.”

	Noting the time, the two men set to throwing on their party clothes and gussying up. Jack caught Vitus' attention after a moment. “I do wonder one thing...” “Oh?”
		“There are naked paintings of you around somewhere?” “...I wonder if reincarnation is real?”

END "ARTIST UNKNOWN"

READ THE NEXT BONUS COMIC: "NIGHTCLUBBING"