The witches and wizards of southern America were an aloof bunch.
Dick was quite sure they had never set foot in a city, let alone lived in one. Although then again, he'd never stepped foot in a village before, let alone lived in one.
Because that's what this was, a village. There was no other word for it.
The houses were spread round a nice big town square, the whole place paved with age-worn tiles. The winter solstice was around the corner, so every eave and edge was strung with green, some of them with berries drooping down glistening red. The stores glimmering with lights and reflective decorations. Advertisements for everything half-off for solstice gifts.
Every diner, café, pub and restaurant was open as the inhabitants drank and ate, singing as the stars watched from above.
Dick wandered in the very few shadows. He didn't much like the large number of lights, it made dramatically creeping rather difficult. He loved some good old dramatic creeping.
But god, did the lights make everything look gorgeous.
He hadn't gone anywhere near any magical communities since he was fourteen, bright eyed and running between maypoles with his friends, blue eyes still sparkling.
And then he strayed too far from his parents, too far down the street. Running into the shadows.
400 years ago, when everyone celebrated winter solstice, not just the witches. Before some drunken dickhead vampire got thirsty.
Too late to get away unharmed, too early to die.
Just the right moment to turn into one of them.
He dragged himself away from the recap of his history. He always wound up back there on the anniversary of his turning. Always back to where it started.
He took the shadows as best he could, turning down the streets through the alleys. He walked straight into one of those still-open pubs, took a seat and ordered something with a decent amount of alcohol in it.
He almost took a mouthful when he saw someone sitting in the back of the pub. Dark, tall and very clearly dangerous.
And eyeing him with... something. Distaste? Hatred? Maybe he was going too far. Annoyance?
No wait.
His eyes caught a glimmer and-
Oh shit.
Dick sighed, slamming the drink back down on the counter. Fucking hell.
A coat of arms, steel embossed with two triangular daggers crossed over a fire.
A hunter, skulking in a pagan village near winter solstice, looking for some vampires to skewer.
Could he get one holiday? Just the one?
Right then. Best get this over with.
He waltzed out of the bar, flashing the hunter his cheekiest grin before disappearing into the alleyway behind it.
The hunter followed, a smirk blooming as he reached for something hiding in his jacket. Likely a wooden stake.
What a wonderful winter solstice.

Wally absolutely loved winter solstice. Everything was bright and twinkling, and his magic just seemed to flourish. It was his favourite time of year.
But tonight, his magic seemed to... edge around something. Or maybe edge toward something?
He had a habit of letting his magic spiral out, spin around every rock and twirl between the leaves. Especially around solstice, because so many other people did, the glittering touch of different magic twisting around everything.
So, he noticed when something seemed to appear in his village, because his magic seemed to just separate around it. shy away. His uncle said it was probably a vampire or werewolf or some other magical creature that was unfamiliar to Wally's magic, which sounded right.
But one couldn't be too sure.
The wood floor of his bedroom creaked as he shifted his weight, batman pyjamas too close to his candles to be safe, too far to be burnt.
Oh yes, candles. Because he was supposed to be asleep right now, and his bedroom light would wake his friends. Because during winter solstice they slept at normal healthy times until the day of soltice, and then they stayed up for as long as possible as a competition between them. Wally usually was at about the middle of their group, Artemis around the top, Zatanna usually lost.
He shuffled the tarot deck in his hands, the edges frayed and soft in his palms. He closed his eyes, breathing deeply and questioning the oddity as he stopped shuffling and placed down the cards. Three to answer the question, two more to give a bit more of a background. He didn't know if anyone else used this technique, but he'd found that it worked for his magic.
Oh lovely.
His eye was drawn to the death card, the shadows swallowing whatever light the candles gave.
Relax, Wally he berated, the death card doesn't always mean death. Sometimes it's bad change or the erasure of something from one's life.
It still put him on edge and he thought about it while he scanned the other cards. Piecing them together. Seeing how his magic reacted to them, what extra information it offered.
The main answer- knight of swords, the lovers, king of wands.
Background- the magician, death.
Well then.
He'd seen the knight of swords plenty. Usually when he saw the knight of swords it was in a reading relating to him, which suggested that the card was made to represent him.
The lovers was... new.
Sexuality, choice, passion, uniting.
Huh.
And the king of wands...
Something in his magic was nudging him towards the idea that the three cards were made to represent two people, relating to 'the lovers'.
Double huh.
The magician and death as background was slightly terrifying. The magician was supposed to represent action and manifestation.
Wally was hoping that this didn't mean he was destined to fall in love, make the first move and then be turned down. Lovely.
He considered drawing more cards to expand the story. Maybe not. Maybe. Ugh.
Well, it kind of answered his question as to what was going on with is magic. Someone was lurking around and his magic was recognising them as someone important to his future. Maybe he ought to look for them in the morning, right now he needed sleep.
But fate did not agree with Wally on that idea, because as soon as he considered it a body crashed through his window.
"shit!" he bolted up, snuffing the candles out and flicking the light on. His wand was in his hand the moment he reached for it.
The guy stood up just as quick, dark blood trickling from slices left by the window he just broke. He brushed his black coat down, pieces of glass flying as he fixed his collar, mock saluted Wally and then dived out the window.
"what the fuck."
Wally flicked his wand and the glass pieces shivered and collided together, he'd fix the window later. He leant out the window, careful of the remaining pieces of glass clinging to the edges of the frame.
The guy was fighting someone else, dodging and weaving between blows. He was playing, that or making fun of the attacker. He laughed as the assailant lost his temper and furiously attempted to stab him with a...
Stake.
Shit.
That was a hunter, eyes set on some vampire he'd fleshed out of his solstice celebrations.
Wally flicked his wand and the remaining pieces of glass joined the fragments on the floor, he climbed out on the ledge of the window keeping an eye on the fight.
It seemed that the vampire was enjoying watching the hunter work into a fury. He seemed young. The hunter that is, the vampire looked about twenty-four but was almost definitely centuries old. the hunter looked like a teen. He'd likely just turned eighteen or sixteen, depending on the unnit he belonged to, and was making his first kill.
Wally hated hunter traditions, they always involved killing someone.
Wally jumped down from the window, wand at the ready. The vampire probably wouldn't need his help, but one could never be too sure. Hunter's were very good at lulling people into false senses of safety, his uncle's friend was almost killed by a hunter because he didn't realise just how good a fighter he was.
But no, the vampire's mistake wasn't underestimating the hunter.
He faltered, hesitating on a manoeuvre to dodge a swipe from the hunter as he noticed Wally's arrival.
The attacker swiped the stake at his chest, the vampire noticing a second too late, but just at the right time to only get caught across the chest, not stabbed. Although depending on what kind of wood the stake was made from, all it would take was a gash. Wally hoped it wasn't pine, or ash or red wood, those were usually immediately fatal.
The smell of his own blood must have made everything very serious, because the vampire bared his teeth and leapt at the hunter.
Wally watched as the vampire grabbed the hunter by the wrist and punched him as hard in the gut as he could. The hunter doubled over as wally flicked his wand, his ankles were wrapped and swept from under him by a quick beam of yellow light.
The vampire kicked the hunter in the head before he could react.
Wally grabbed his stake.
Pine.
Shit.
He turned just as the vampire pressed his hand to the gash across his chest. He staggered a bit, leaned against the side of Wally's house.
He looked like he was about to run or shift into a bat and fly off, one could never be sure that there weren't more hunters coming.
Wally marched over, grabbed the vampire by the arm and dragged him in through the front door.

Dick was suddenly in a witch-house before he could recall seeing the witch who owned it.
The ceiling was low-ish, he could stand but he was quite sure that any taller and he'd be crouching. The place was made of wood, but it was very obvious that the inhabitants weren't stereotypical witches or wizards. First of all, an internet router sat on the kitchen bench, the coffee table was covered with video game cheats and what looked like D&D character sheets. There were Tupperware containers filled with potions across the breakfast bar.
He barely took it in before someone dragged him into the lounge and shoved him on the couch.
There was a lot of banging and yelling upstairs and suddenly several others were bustling down the steps.
A bright orange haired, green eyed and freckle covered face looked down on him.
"the stake was pine wood, if I'm correct that's not great for vampires."
Dick blinked, "uh, no, I- "he sucked in a breath as the wizard applied pressure to the wound.
"that's not good," came another voice. Or the same? He wasn't sure, a few things were muddling.
"yeah, I know." the ginger said, disappearing. "Z, get me the kit." The wizard appeared again, a glowing potion bottle in hand.
Oooh no, oh no, no, no.
Dick tried to raise himself on his elbows, "I'm fine, I can take care of this." The Wizard shoved him down without a second thought. Good thing, too, because everything was starting to go blurry.
He poured the potion on the wound, and Dick hissed as it seared over his skin.
Fucking fairy potions.
The liquid spread over his chest and burnt through his flesh. Sizzled in his veins and along his bones.
'oh, you're overreacting, it's just a healing potion-' fuck off.
Dick had a theory that the fairies made all their potions fucking painful when it came to healing vampires purely to get back at some old, long forgotten debt. That sounded like fairies.
Realistically, he looked like a madman right now. The potion dissolving into his skin as he writhed.
Orange hair took the kit from his friend and wiped away the blood on Dick's chest as best he could, the cloth soaked with the same fairy potion.
Dick hissed, grabbing the wizard's hand to stop him, to get it away.
"stay still," the Wizard ordered, shoving Dick's head back to the couch as he applied pressure to the wound and cleaned it up. Now that the potion had done its work Dick's healing jumped into gear, the blood clung to the edges of the wound, beginning to close up and scab over.
It would still take a while to heal due to the pine wood, but he wouldn't drop dead in a good five minutes.
A growl started building in Dick's throat as the Wizard roughly cleaned the rest of the wound, the pain sizzling and burning in his veins.
Son of a bitch.
The wizard put away the cloth and covered the wound in gauze before wrapping it up with bandages.
"you're welcome." The wizard grinned, standing and shooing his friends back upstairs.
Dick lifted himself on his elbows and tried to get a look at the surroundings.
Wood, glass windows covered in decorations, photos strung up all over the place.
His view was blocked by a glass.
"what is this?" Dick asked, the drink bubbling, but it didn't smell like any fizz he knew.
"coke, rum and a bit of ginger." He said, sitting on the coffee table and sipping his own.
Dick wrinkled his nose but took a sip, his throat disagreed with how it felt but his tongue thought it was okay. His tongue also thought there was definitely more rum than coke.
"better than blood." Ginger grinned. That was probably the first time he'd said that stupid witch saying in a vampire's company.
Dick rolled his eyes, "amen to that." he clinked the wizard's glass with his own, "who are you?"
"Wally, you?"
"Dick." Wally snorted his drink, and Dick was surprised it didn't drip out his nose.
At a raised eyebrow Wally said, "you're a vampire, dude. On the scale of hilarity for names, Dick is up there with Vladimir and Sir Suckalot."
"there never actually was a vampire named Vladimir." Dick chuckled, swinging his legs over the couch.
"but Sir Suckalot is still on the table?"
Dick shook his head. He was quite sure by the time this conversation was over he'd had rolled his eyes into his skull.
"this is the first time I've met a vampire, you know?" Wally said, leaving his half-empty glass on the table.
"good, we're not much fun. I had a mentor a couple years back who never leaves his cave. Like ever." Dick chuckled.
"that's the sun damage, I reckon." Wally snickered.
"Oh my god." Dick sighed, "you know that's like, the equivalent of a lactose intolerance, right?"
"what?"
"we can go in the sun, we just get sunburnt quick so we gotta lather up with sunscreen. And it's not like we can get cancer, we're already dead."
"what?" Wally sat back on the couch, "my life is a lie! What's next, can you eat garlic?"
Dick frowned at him, "yes!"
"Oh My God, what?!"
Dick shook his head, "careful, if your mind blows much more your head will actually be red."
Wally stuck his tongue at him.
"oh, real mature." Dick said, taking another sip of his drink.
"and I'm sure you're the epitome of maturity. How old are you, like 900?"
Dick choked on his drink, "I'll have you know I am only 400 years old, thanks."
"still a grandpa though." Wally joked.
"careful, or this grandpa will show you just how quick his reflexes are." Dick warned. "I'm serious." He reiterated when Wally stubbornly continued to laugh his ass off.
"wait, do vampires get dentures?" Wally asked.
Dick just glared over his glass rim.
"I'm kidding man." He snickered, "geez, are all vampires this serious?"
"we're dead Wally, did you really expect we'd act like rays of sunshine?"
"well, considering you're sun intolerant..." Dick shot him a look, "never mind."
Dick snickered, "if it helps, this is the first time I met an actual wizard. After I was dead. But before doesn't overly count, because I can barely remember it."
"neato," Wally grinned, "so, how come you're here? I didn't think vampires lived round here."
"no, I don't think any do. I wander a lot, figured I'd visit the south for solstice."
"huh," Wally said, draining the last of his drink.
Dick finished his drink, "I should probably go, there could be other hunters around." He stood and made his way to the door.
"hey, wait!" Wally grabbed his wrist, sitting him back on the couch, "you had a chest wound from pine wood, you should be sleeping it off. Giving you a drink was probably a bad idea."
"what?" Dick chuckled, "dude, I'm fine."
"yeah, no. you were saying that just to get out of a fairy potion before, I'm officially never believing you ever if you say, 'I'm fine'. Now, sleep. It's like 10 PM."
"ugh."
"don't groan at me, I have a five-year-old niece with assassins for parents, I will use codeine on you."
"fiiiiiiine." Dick sighed, Wally tossed him a cushion from one of the couches and a blanket from the linen closet.
"you better be here tomorrow morning." Wally ordered, already halfway to the stairs.
"no promises." Dick sighed, getting comfy on the couch.

A/N
Just an FYI the fic I was talking about is published. It's called 'Yo Dickhead', which is a working title because I can't think of a good one.