"You fucking stupid bullshit! Why won't you work?!" Caden screamed at the lighter in his hand. 

It had been almost three days since Ludwig had told him that he needed some time alone, and Caden had moved his camp to the beach to give him the space he needed. At first, the redhead thought that surviving on his own wouldn't be much of a problem, especially considering how easy hunting, fishing, making a fire and so on looked when Ludwig was doing it, but he was wrong. Not only had he barely been able to get any fruits because he was terrible at climbing trees, but he had also left his fire unattended for too long, making it go out. 

Now that he no longer had a fire to warm him and the night was slowly approaching, Caden shivered in the cold ocean breeze. He tried to light the fire one more time, but failed once again. Completely fed up with the useless lighter and his own inability to do even the most basic survival things, Caden yetted the small metal thing into the waves of the ocean. "Fuuuuck, what do I do?!" He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. Back at home he could have just told one of the many servants to do it for him but here on this god forsaken island, all by himself he was completely and utterly lost. 

I'm not made for this shit and probably never will be. Fuck if it hadn't been for the stupid vamp I would have probably starved to death or gone nuts weeks ago. The redhead bitterly admitted to himself and realized how much he truly needed the dark-haired man, not just to survive but also as a companion. 

Maybe I could go to the cave and quickly grab those firestones Ludwig normally uses? I mean this is kinda a life or death situation, right?

The sun had already set when he reached the small waterfall that partly hid the entrance. Carefully, he peeked inside, in the hope that maybe the campfire Ludwig usually kept burning would be lit, but to his disappointment, it was also completely extinguished. Fucking great. Now I really have to use those stupid stones. He grumbled and made his way inside. After having looked all around the first cavern and not finding any trace of them, he begrudgingly went down the dark tunnel that led into the next cavern. 

The further down he went, the less he was able to see, eventually causing him to stumble and fall onto his knees. He cursed under his breath and tried to get up again but the second he put any weight on his left leg, he fell back down. He cautiously felt for the spot where the pain was coming from. Even though he couldn't see anything he was still able to conclude from the wetness and the pulsating that he had most likely scraped his knee pretty badly.

Caden sighed and rubbed his forehead. "Hey Ludwig, are you home?" He yelled and then carefully listened for any response from the vampire but there was nothing.

"I know you said you need time alone but… I'm hurt and well…" Caden stuttered, highly uncomfortable that he actually had to ask for help. 

Remember who you are. People like us don't ask for things, we demand. His father’s words suddenly rang in his ears, making him flinch. 

His old man maybe hadn't been entirely wrong about it, but considering Ludwig used to be an actual king that people bowed to and had become, by now, someone who Caden actually considered a real friend, it just felt wrong to demand anything from the guy. The redhead took a deep breath and gave himself a push. "Could you please come here and help me up? Oh and maybe bring the fire stones, my campfire kinda went out." 

The redhead was about to congratulate himself that he had actually managed to word it nicely when he realized that he still didn't get a reaction from the vampire. He held his breath but couldn't hear anything besides the dripping of water onto stone and the distant murmuring of the waterfall. With every passing minute he sat in the dark, Caden could feel himself getting more and more annoyed that the vampire seemingly couldn't even be bothered to respond to him. 

"Ludwig you fucking asshole, at least answer me!" Caden angrily demanded, but once again there was no response. Is he even home? It was already night when I got here, so maybe he is… The redhead considered when suddenly something, or rather, someone grabbed his shoulders from behind and sunk their teeth into his neck.