[◡ ❛ l, w, & l ❧ moved!

[slaughter beach, dog]

█│▒║ ── 𝑱 𝑶 𝑺 𝑰 𝑬 - 𝑩 𝑹 𝑶 𝑶 𝑲 ─ ⚜ ─────────────── ─ ─ ─ ─ ─╶╶╶

location; the pier ── tagging; Flynn, Silver, Kellan ── mentioned; Azrael ── wc; 1,055


Josie grimaced internally at the backwash of her little admission. But Flynn hadn't seemed that hurt by her earlier caustic tone, and if he was going to continue teasing her, she might just have to begin biting back for reasons that were purely cathartic. Or, she could have pushed him over the railing and into the ocean — yes, that was the plan. He could swim, right? Would he even be allowed to work at a lake-side rental business if he couldn't?
indentindentFlynn might have had a bit of a point, though. That much she could admit, even if she wouldn't do it out loud. Kellan certainly had an effect on her, and she didn't exactly hate it, no matter how adamantly she would deny liking anything lighthearted and silly to anyone who had the gall to ask. Maybe things did have a habit of getting somewhat rowdy when she and Kellan got together, especially when there was a pub involved. On some of the mornings following a particularly loud night out, she tended to consider herself lucky for not recalling everything in stark detail. Such wallowing about having drawn attention to herself would only end up spoiling the rare fun times she had. In the same vein, she had had her doubts about the lumberjack contest. It set her on edge to think about being quite literally the center of attention with so many visitors in town. She didn't need anyone looking at her too closely, because it would only take one wrong person before she would have to leave behind everything she had built in Devil's Kettle.
indentindentJosie had avoided Flynn's eyes by keeping her focus on the silhouette in the distance, but when he turned to face her and claimed he didn't know the shadow inching closer to them, her gaze was instinctively drawn to his face. Her eyes narrowed slightly, but she was thrown off course by what he then chose to let out of his mouth. She recoiled a little, readying herself to correct him with a few sharp and well-chosen words, but once her tongue had recovered from its momentary stupor, he was already excusing himself and marching toward the one person he had denied knowing mere moments ago.
indent"Hey!" she shouted after him, before she could think herself out of it. She wasn't going to let him walk away to conduct his shady business with the wrong idea about her in his head.
indentindentA few temper-fueled steps carried her down the pier, but halfway to catching up with Flynn, a realization washed over her, and she stopped to watch his back receding into the murky evening. Why would Flynn deny knowing this person, only to head straight to them? She thought back at their conversation and the things she had said. She hadn't said much, had she? What did he know? A prickling feeling ignited at the nape of her neck for the second time that night. Could it have been this stranger watching her earlier?
indentindentJosie's hands curled into tight fists. The spiced drink she had consumed back at the festival must have been stronger than she had thought, because it was suddenly liquid fire flowing through her veins. Or perhaps it was anger. The gusts of salty air sweeping across the pier did little to cool her down.
indentindentWith her renewed vigor, she strode toward the pair, who were now standing underneath the unnatural light of a streetlamp. Once she got close enough, she only caught the nonsensical tail end of the woman's words. She must have just missed whatever they had been talking about, but it wasn't as if she really cared to hear what this woman had to say to Flynn. Her thoughts went to the pistol locked in her desk. She had opted to leave it, not wanting to bring something like that to a festival, but maybe she should have been thinking a little more about her own safety.
indentindentKellan's familiar thunderous voice hit her like a truck, but her steps didn't falter. His presence should have put her at ease as it usually did, but it merely proved cause for further alarm. Whether she had had any doubts about her course of action before, his appearance had certainly helped her make up her mind, because she wasn't going to lose Kellan to the persistent shadows that followed her, even if her worst fears were going to come true tonight.
indentindentJosie pushed past Flynn and into the stranger's personal space. Her hands came up to grab the collar of her shirt, and with rough movements, she began backing her towards the railing of the pier, where the ocean roiled as a dark mass. She kept her arms stiff to prevent the stranger from trying to strike her with her forehead, or attempting some other desperate trick along those lines. Josie would rather not crawl in through the back door of Azrael's clinic with blood all over her face again. The last time that had happened, he had seemed as if he were trying to decide between scolding her and bursting into tears the entire time he had spent patching her up. His worry may have irked her sometimes, but that day, she had actually felt bad for him. It wasn't a pleasant feeling, much less so because she wasn't great at comforting anyone.
indentindentHer grip on the front of the stranger's shirt tightened, and she peered down at the woman with cold, hateful eyes. The woman's skin seemed to radiate a feverish heat, which felt hot enough to scald the backs of her hands in the cool evening air. Maybe she would turn out to be as angry as Josie, beneath that nonchalant expression of hers.
indent"Who sent you?" she demanded, punctuating her words with another shove towards the railing. One way or another, she would get the answers out of this woman, and if it turned out she needed one, an escape plan had begun forming in her head. Her car could take her to the border, even if it would be risky to try and cross with documents that were falsified. Maybe she should have left a long time ago, taken the risk and then disappeared into some obscure place in Canada. She had heard Yukon was rather beautiful during fall.

[8_Stars_8]

[◡ ❛ 𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐚 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐤𝐨𝐬 ....─....𝐢'𝐦 𝐦𝐞𝐚𝐧𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐝𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐧𝐬
| coven leader | original vampire | tags: gwen | mentions: her brothers, the coven, the pack | wc: 315 |

Alexandria is a vampire that has the attitude of a rogue, but the morality of a coven leader. This attitude almost always pisses someone off. The someone in this case, happens to be a group of people. The local werewolf pack. Well, she couldn't please everyone. Alex was currently scoping out the town, looking out for trouble. She found trouble in the form of a familiar blonde: Gwen. Alex wasn't sure if Gwen knew who she was, but she knew Gwen. Well, she knew her sire, and their sire, and their's. After all, he was her brother.

Gwen was sitting by the lake, softly singing to herself. "Well, what do we have here? Not causing trouble, are we, my leechy duckling?" Alex interrupts, an eyebrow raised and a critical look on her face. Alex had hope for the vampire in front of her. She was one of the rogues Alex believed that she could 'rehabilitate' so to say. She worried that Gwen would try to attack her, it'd be a pity to kill such a pretty face. If she wasn't feeling so nice this century, she definitely would have joined the rogues in helping them terrorize the town of Devil's Kettle, if not make their thinking much more worldly. But, she'd like to think she has grown since then. At least she was better than her brothers. They are ruthless.

"I crave a boon with you. Oh, how rude of me," Alex realized she hadn't introduced herself, "the name is Alex Drakos." She realized that introductions weren't of any importance probably because she was intruding on her already, which was already informal in it of itself. She didn't want to poke the bear, so to speak, but she wasn't one to consider other's personal boundaries. Alex would definitely get annoyed if someone intruded her space, though, so what that says about her personality...she's not sure.

[chase.]

╭xxxxxxx╮
xxx ♛xxxxxxx Ａ ｚｒａｅｌ | // keep your enemies closer . "
╰xxxxxxx╯xxx_______________________________________________________________________________________________
xxxxxxxxxxxxxx[ werewolf ] [ mood : calm, uncertain ] [ 1,387 words ]

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxAzrael inwardly sighed as Adeline become more interested in the story of his piercing rather than the previous point he was trying hard to make. Removing his fingers from the silver ring, he looked down at her, the difference in height rather comical. “There’s not much of a story.” He huffed, lips twitching up at the corners slightly. “Damon told us he could get twenty different phone numbers in an hour, me and Chase assumed he didn’t know enough people that would willingly give him their number.” He elaborated, grinding his teeth in silent irritation at the memory. “We were wrong.” He clarified, inhaling slowly. ‘It seemed like a good idea at the time, me and Chase got to give him a tattoo if he lost, and we would get matching piercings if we lost - luckily we got to decide what piercings we got.” He explained, removing his fingers from the piercing. Adeline had successfully distracted Azrael from the previous topic aswell, and it took Az a few seconds of silence as he remembered what they were supposed to be discussing.

As his mind caught up to him he frowned lightly at Addie, the crease between his eyebrows softening swiftly after as he decided it’d be unfair to place all the blame on her for letting him forget their previous discussion. Azrael took a few more moments of silence, brain racing to try come up with a good solution where Adeline would actually pay him some heed. “Lets make a deal Ads, I’ll buy you some food and some things from the festival - if you try to listen to me?” He bargained. “Without going off-topic.” He clarified; having already fallen an accidental victim to her less than a minute ago.

Azrael downed the remaining fizzy liquid that had been sloshing around in the can; deciding he wanted to be ‘distraction free’ as he tried to talk to the newest pack member. He took the aluminium between his two palms, crushing the can with ease. Turning it into a compact-disk; not dissimilar to that of a frisbee, lightly flicking Adeline across the back of the head with it, “That’s for distracting me earlier.” He grumbled; a hint of humour in his tone as he tossed the now deformed piece of metal into a nearby bin.

The werewolf’s tall build allowed him to scout the area with a fair amount of ease - amber irises easily seeing over the majority of the humans that had gathered for the town’s festival. The white-haired man turned on his heel to walk further down the crowded main-street. Offering his arm for Addie to lean on, (simply out of habit) as he started to lead her at a relaxed, somewhat leisurely, pace. He didn’t have a particular destination in mind, but he figured if he constantly moved Addie, she hopefully couldn’t start staring into space and changing the conversation topics again. Whether it was accidental or purposely.

“You’ve got a lot to learn still Ads, you can’t be expected to get the hang of it in a mere few months.” He reassured, sympathising with the uncertain comments she had made earlier. “Trust me, If Chase didn’t think you’d be suitable, she wouldn’t have allowed you into the pack.” He bluntly stated. It was truthful, the pack were a close-knit family. They had been for years. It just wasn’t very common for new members to join, not when all the pre-existing members of the pack were so closely bonded. Whilst his alpha wasn’t the type of person to abandon someone in need, she also wasn’t the type of person who trusted any old stranger with her pack. Azrael paused, momentarily pondering over his choice of words as an attempt to not lose Addie’s attention. “It will take time kid - but everyone’s here to help you. This pack is your family, we’ll teach you.” He reminded her, moving his free hand to ruffle her hair gently.

Azrael’s head turned as he moved both himself and Addie out of the way of a few humans, he wasn’t too concerned with eavesdroppers as everyone surrounding them seemed to be preoccupied with their own conversations - yet he still chose to lower his voice an octave or two, just out of caution. “You don’t have to be mean towards them, that wasn’t what I said.” He reaffirmed, “But look at it from our view, they are immortal right? They can live for centuries.” He continued, taking a subtle glance around to make sure no one was intently listening. “The majority of them drink human blood, and what gives them that right?” He asked rhetorically, “A lot of them kill humans so they can continue to live, but is it fair? What allows them to trade innocent lives just so they can keep on being immortal.” He stated, making his viewpoint as clear as he could. “It’s a game of morals, Ads, whilst everyone deserves the right to live - I don’t believe you should take an innocent life for such selfish reasons.” Azrael’s words were clear and straightforward; not considering it the type of topic that should be sugarcoated. “Think of the amount of vampires over eighty years old. Haven’t they already exceeded their original lifespan? So why kill an innocent human who probably hasn’t even reached forty years old, just so they can have a bit longer?” He questioned gently, his tone having remained calm through the conversation. Despite how deeply he felt about the points he was making, he didn’t let it show.

“Unfortunately, us wolves are considerably rarer than vampires. It’s our born-duty to protect the lives of humans from them.” He murmured, not liking how heavy the topic had become. He supposed it was a necessary conversation, although he admittedly could’ve chosen a better time. “I’m not saying all vampires are like that, the coven as you know, only drink animal blood. That’s why we have the treaty with them. But the majority of vampires sadly do prey on humans. So you’ve got to understand our caution with them.” He concluded - deciding he wanted to finish lecturing her before her mind wandered miles away, if it hadn’t already done so.

Azrael’s gaze shifted from the street back to Addy. What else did he need to explain to her? His steps became rigid at a new thought; had anyone introduced her to the concept of imprinting yet? ‘Hell to the no, Chase can do that’ he thought to himself, already imaging the difficulty he’d face in trying to keep Adeline focused. It was also a considerably touchy subject for him; his thoughts wandering to the keys currently held safely in the pocket of his trousers. Tidal waves of emotion surged within the depths of the man at the thought of his imprint; Flynn. On the outside, Azrael looked stoic - his face portraying little to nothing of what he was thinking, it’s what made him rather intimidating to strangers. He was also a master of concealing his own thoughts from others, being able to have kept his imprint on Flynn a secret from the pack for years. Well, except Chase. The alpha was too in-tune with each member of her pack for Azrael, and the moment she suspected something was up with him he had caved and confessed within thirty or so seconds. The instincts of the wolf he harboured proving too strong for him to resist.

THUMP

Azrael was still too caught up in the webs of his own mind to pay attention to his surroundings - before someone could properly pull him back he had walked straight into a stranger. The werewolf’s hands immediately reached out to try and steady the other person as he offered a sincere apology - although his eyes immediately snapped to the strangers’ as the pungent, unmistakable scent of vampire flooded his noise. The skin he had touched when he had reached out to steady the woman had seemed a normal human temperature though? Azrael took a step back, instinctively moving to stand slightly in front of Addie as he regarded the stranger with suspicious eyes. He’d been around too many vampires to misplace the scent - so instead he stayed still, trying to figure out what the best course of action would be.

[ inventory : keys to his old rental place ]

[ tags ; Addie, Viviana ] [ mentioned ; Flynn ]

[j.sparrow]

──────. ⚜|𝐒 𝐎 𝐍 𝐘 𝐀 . 𝐌 𝐎 𝐑 𝐄 𝐀 𝐔|⚜.──────────────
- - 𝐈. female | 𝐈𝐈. late 20's / 102 yrs | 𝐈𝐈𝐈. rogue | 𝐈𝐕. feeling; playful, flirty | 𝐕. location; pub | 𝐕𝐈. mentions; alex, gabriel | 𝐕𝐈𝐈. tags; damon, rosemary

Sonya loved it when potential prey ogled her form; well when anyone did for that matter. Another shot of confidence right to the brain. There was a time when Gabriel used to look at her that way... but for weeks leading up to the announcement from Alexandria, he'd turned cold to her. Sonya wasn't stupid, she had known Gabriel for so long, even the slightest change in his demeanor was enough for the woman to know something was wrong. The sultry whispers of the human now suddenly before her, were a very welcomed distraction. "Your secret is safe with me..." Velvety words slinking from her lips as she too leaned up against the counter ever so slightly further into the man's personal space.

The woman casually swept a dark curly lock off her chest and back behind her shoulder as the man introduced himself. Sonya took ample time to take in the man's appearance, her crimson gaze refusing to miss a single inch of his form. He seemed so comfortable behind the bar and with his earlier admission, she assumed he worked here. Sweetheart... Sonya's grin widened ever so slightly; he'd find out soon enough. "Pleasure, Damon. You may call me Sonya." Her gaze latching on to his own piercing one as she gently lifted the bottle from his grasp, her manicured nails sliding down the length of his grip on said bottle - Of course, she took great care not to actually brush the man's fingers with her own. Grasping the bottle by its neck, Sonya took a dainty, yet surprisingly large pull of the bourbon offered. Any other human would have in the very least, grimaced from the volume of alcohol taken in; the burn stinging nostrils and the back of one's throat. But after so many decades, a vampire's tolerance toward inebriating substances became immeasurable.

With an inaudible swallow, the woman placed the bottle back onto the countertop - all without leaving Damon's eye contact. Subtlety wasn't one of Sonya's strong suits. Briefly remembering there was also a young woman in their presence, she positioned her body a half turn towards the pretty blonde. "And you are dear..?" Ruby lips pressed into a slight smile, the woman began to notice a scent not detected from before. It of course was the girl's all too familiar human scent mixed with her own personalized perfumes - but... there was more. It filled her nostrils with the smallest inhale. The scent brought her vividly back to the very first time the woman had smelled blood as a newborn. It was magnetic. Sonya's jaw clenched and unclenched a few times rapidly, trying her very best to keep her composure. Porcelain hands grasped one another as Sonya pressed her full weight against the counter, her hip popped outward for more effect. She needed this meal. Whether it would be one or both of these two, the girl would be the first to drain.

[Crono]

ＦＬＹＮＮ ＲＥＹＮＯＬＤＳ
Male ~ Twenty-Nine ~ Werewolf ~ Beta ~ Rental Business Owner ~ Profile
Location: Pier ~ (Tags: Josie, Silver, Kellan) (Mentions:)

The young woman was calm before him as she answered his first question, despite Flynn's own attitude towards her. For what that was worth, he wasn't entirely sure yet, but he decided to cross her off as an immediate threat at least. Though he was thrown for a small loop, brow furrowing in confusion. What exactly had she meant by real life, and why did the name sound familiar? It wasn't exactly a common one, yet somehow there was a small familiarity locked somewhere deep in memories refusing to surface. Next thing Flynn knew Kellan had arrived, and a sizeable amount of the tension left his body. Surely Kellan would be grabbing Josie to go to the festival, and no longer having the woman behind him on a one way out pier would put him at far more ease. "It's fine." He'd answered the man with a lazy wave, hoping he'd just go about his business with Josie in tow. The Beta was quick to return his attention to Silver when she continued speaking, more or less admitting she wasn't sure how to approach him. Though, any method would have likely looked better than following him out in the dark onto a pier. Wait, hadn't he just done that to Josie? Okay but they know each other, that's a different story.

Flynn was starting to relax slowly over time the more Silver spoke. Learning her reasoning as well as reminding him that they'd spoken in the past helped with that, and helped him connect the dots. "I do remember you. You'd contacted the business about some properties, Though I don't really recall the specifics beyond that." He gave a dismissive wave of his hand, unable to recollect much beyond the name and basic conversation topic. It wasn't important currently either way. Though once she admitted to coming to him to ask for help he exhaled, he understood that. The question was the reasoning for it, did she not belong to a pack, was becoming a Werewolf still fresh for her? "I get it, don't w--" He'd paused the moment the quickening pace of footfalls closed in behind him, but before he could turn his head to ask Josie what she was doing he was shoved off balance as the woman blew by before grabbing into Silver.

And just like that the tension came flooding back. Josie was grabbing a Werewolf, not just any Werewolf but an unknown that for all he knows doesn't know how to keep herself in check. Alarm bells, red flags, the whole nine yards were going off as he dove after the pair. The man slid past Josie's right side, his right hand landing on the railing near where Silver was and his left on Josie's arm. He'd given a warning with his eyes towards Silver before facing Josie's direction. The hand on her arm was completely flat and was simply atop it rather than grabbing, there was zero force or weight behind it. Flynn wasn't sure he could bring himself to physically grab the woman in any capacity if he wanted to and thus his options were limited. Instead he parked his face in her line of sight face covered in concern.

"Woah Josie, dial it back! She's my cousin!" It was the quickest cover he could come up with, though Flynn had no cousins. But it was possible if he announced she had familial ties Josie might stop. It was also a good thing the pier was already creaky and the waves below had picked up because if not it would have been hard for any of them to mistake the groaning of the wood under Flynn's right hand as it threatened to splinter under the increasing pressure of the mans grip tightening. De-escalating was the only course of action he had, because of Silver retaliated he'd be forced to intervene and given the current fluctuating of his emotions Flynn wasn't sure he would be able to hold back, he might phase right here in front of a human and whoever else might be looking this way. Briefly his eyes glanced to Kellan, requesting the assistance in intervening even if it wasn't necessary to. As he imagined Kellan didn't want this going any further than he did. If Josie was going to listen to anyone, it would be Kellan.

[azhefa.]

xxx𝑉𝐼𝑉𝐼𝐴𝑁𝐴

》i. ana ii. 25 iii. female iv. vampire half-breed [vegetarian] v. heterosex/rom vi. love; single

x───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

the festival was just buzzing with energy and activity and it makes ana feel alive. she has already brought several bags back home to her new apartment a few times and she was still going strong with finding more stuff to buy. there's just so much neat stuff. good thing she doesn't need to worry too much about money. though she doesn't have a job per se, ana does have a very hefty bank account that is kept nice and full thanks to the many stocks she's invested in. plus her sire had plenty of funds which she had siphoned a few years ago after first meeting him. now she's well off and he's none the wiser.

viviana was on her way to yet another stall of goodies with bags in hand when she was bumped into by something quite large. though she was much stronger than a human, she wasn't solid stone like most vampires so the bump makes her side step a little. a hand reaches out and helps steady her and the heat that comes off it is almost scorching. ana recoils a little and looks up at the rather large man who had bumped into her. the look on his face was suspicious and the way he almost seems to guard the woman with him makes her stomach drop. he knows she wasn't human. but how?

it was weird to have someone know that she wasn't a normal human so quickly, usually it's after a while and they pick up on something about her. it was the main reason she had moved so much in the past few years. after a moment though, ana could tell why he was able to pick up on her otherworldly status. a whiff of a scent reaches her and it was almost like a musky wet dog smell that wasn't quite right. it wasn't human but it wasn't a dog. she's caught the scent before briefly when she first got to the town, but never knew what it was.

ana's nose scrunches a little out of reflex and she steps away from the man, but quickly controlled her face to not appear so rude. "i'm sorry, i guess i wasn't paying attention to where i was going," she tells the large man, her tone though was unsure and rather suspicious as well since she wasn't sure what the man was. it was rather clear to her sense that he and the woman with him weren't human but they also weren't vampires or hybrids like herself. hopefully they weren't a species that enjoys the taste of hybrids or people in general, she gets enough of that with the vampires.

x───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
xxxxxlocation; main st/festival x mentions; none x tags; azrael, addie

[`silver]

SILVER BLACKWOOD | location: the pier | mentions: Kellan | tags: Josie, Flynn

The wave of distrust and scrutiny that washed over her the moment Flynn drew close was almost relieving to Silver. She hadn’t expected him to remember such a minuscule interaction that had happened nearly a year ago--most likely a conversation that long had been deleted from his phone or original device of contact. It would’ve been a lot weirder if he had recalled their interaction on the spot. He grew further eased by her words, emphasized by his dismissive wave but Silver herself remained tense. The dark clothing she wore offered no indication of her constant guard as one could really only make out the silhouette of her figure underneath; her stony gaze offered no assistance either as they locked onto Flynn, observing the way his body gradually loosened to the way he spoke. Even his exhale sounded more like he was relieved than anything else now that he knew why she’d followed him out to the pier in the first place.

Don’t worry. He meant to say but Silver had noticed the familiar woman stalking towards them with increasing speed and her instincts had her stepping back in order to dodge Flynn whom was shoved only seconds later and replaced by the quiet woman from before. Dark eyes blazed with amber-gold surprise as Silver tilted her head slightly to gaze up at Josie, blaring chips of ice threatening to tear holes where they rested. Josie’s arms were locked into a grip that she seemed to have done countless times, a rough step forward following suit without regard for the saltwater-blighted pier that creaked uncomfortably beneath their feet. The woman’s hands felt just as cold as her eyes and Silver couldn’t help but marvel at her strength until she drew in the scent of alcohol due to how close she was. Another shove had her lower back hitting the railing and her wolf stirring expectantly as Silver could hear it snarling over the blood roaring in her ears. One more shove from this lady and she was sure they’d both hit the water. Slowly, Silver tore her gaze from Josie’s to glance at Flynn whom was the only thing keeping the raven-haired woman from possibly tearing at her throat with mention of her being one of his family members. Why would he lie, she wondered, before finally speaking.

“Myself. Although it sounds like you’ve been on the run from something or someone.” Silver’s composure never faltered after the initial surprise had leapt into her eyes, her stoic expression matching the nearly predatory aura radiating from her as she stared back unwaveringly. People normally didn’t ask about if they’d been sent by someone unless the inquirer themselves was being pursued. Just as she could see the gears turning in those distrustful orbs, Silver herself was calculating just how she’d get out of this situation without hurting the woman on accident. Perhaps the other wolf that she sensed nearby would whisk Josie away? Her hands itched to do something--whether it be the will of her wolf in grasping the woman by the throat or simply prying herself free of the death grip she was in. “Your friend is expecting you.” Flynn’s warning look in her peripherals had her slowly raising hands coming to gently grasp Josie’s wrists, shackling them in heat as she squeezed lightly as if it would coax her to release all the while holding the woman's harsh stare.

[slaughter beach, dog]

█│▒║ ── 𝑨 𝑫 𝑬 𝑳 𝑰 𝑵 𝑬 - 𝑯 𝑨 𝑾 𝑲 ─ ⚜ ─────────────── ─ ─ ─ ─ ─╶╶╶

location; the festival ── tagging; Azrael, Viviana ── mentioned; Damon, Chase ── wc; 1,735


indent"And you claimed there's not much of a story!" Adeline exclaimed, trying to lower her voice into a gruffer register to mimic Azrael's, but it wasn't much of an impression in the end. She snorted in her amusement, the following smile briefly flashing the whites of her teeth. "It's definitely a story — one you should tell more often. Can you believe I dated him?" she continued, referring to the infamous Damon. Addie wrinkled her nose, but there was no true aversion in the expression — it wasn't far from the teasing things she would say in the presence of the man himself. "A few times actually. I think I lost count." She trailed off, momentarily lost in another track of thought. The relationship between them had been somewhat of a textbook example of on-again, off-again, before they had mutually agreed they would be better off as friends.
indentindent"You shouldn't feel too bad about being wrong, though. I've definitely taken him up on similar bets with far worse things at stake," she finally divulged, returning to the topic of their discussion before Azrael would take the opportunity to frown. Adeline smirked, somewhat pleased with herself, and especially proud of what she was about to say. "You can take comfort in knowing he usually loses." The keyword being usually. Azrael did not necessarily need to be made aware of the chili incident.
indentindentThen Azrael did frown, some shade of resignation flashing in his uniquely coloured eyes. Addie patted him on the arm, the gesture nearly instantaneously turning into something more resembling a reassuring caress.
indent"I am listening to you," she claimed with a much softer smile, even if her eyes did stray to the crowd behind Azrael before circling back to him. Had it been Ryan walking past them just then, glaring daggers at Azrael? Better let sleeping dogs lie. "But you definitely do need to feed me, I have the appetite of a wolf after all," she agreed, doing a terrible job of covering exactly how much her own joke had entertained her.
indentindentThe can Azrael had been drinking from crinkled noisily as he compressed it between his palms.
indent"Show-off," she teased, but it seemed Azrael had been ready to retaliate, as the words were barely out of her mouth by the time he flicked the back of her head with the flattened can. She snorted for the second time that night, the opposite of upset.
indent"You shouldn't be so ready to indulge me if you didn't want me to be a distraction," she retorted, lengthening her steps to match Azrael's once he had disposed of the weaponized can. She readily leaned against his arm again, never having been offended by his terrible, if quite warranted, accusations.
indentindentIt brought her solace to hear Azrael had never expected her to learn absolutely everything in the short time she had been with the pack, and it definitely bolstered her confidence to know what Chase thought of her, at least in the man's opinion. Adeline's ego rarely required any fortification, but it was safe to say she wasn't exactly treading on familiar ground when it came to anything supernatural, and although she doubted anyone needed to be told that, she had tried to be frank about it where she could.
indentindentAdeline couldn't help but give Azrael's arm a fond squeeze when he included her in his definition of the pack as a family. She didn't have much of hers left, what with her father slowly fading away. He no longer recognized her as his daughter, even if he did still know her to be someone familiar. At least he still recalled her mother, in bits and pieces, because Addie didn't know what she would do when she couldn't talk about Alice with him anymore. She would never let go of Tommy until it was his time to go, but it was reassuring to know she wouldn't be alone once he truly was gone — despite the fact that this family was one she never could have imagined, at least not before moving into Devil's Kettle.
indentindentThere were still nagging gaps in her knowledge of who her mother could have been, if she wasn't the person Adeline had thought her to be. She couldn't really avoid wondering why she had chosen to leave, and possibly never spoken about her past, or what she was, ever again, but something told her that if she ever did want to find answers to those questions, Devil's Kettle would be the only place to do that.
indentindentAzrael pulled her back out of her thoughts by ruffling her hair with one of his bear-sized hands.
indent"You're lucky I can't really reach the top of your head," she threatened, although her words were far from menacing, considering they had been delivered with a laugh.
indentindentFrom there, the conversation turned a degree more toward serious, marked by the lowering of Azrael's voice. Adeline leaned a little closer to his arm, allowing the familiar woodsy scent to flow through her senses and keep her focus on the man's words. Everything he was saying made sense, or at least she understood why he would think these things. But somehow, it all made the vampires seem quite lonely, if not outright frightened, to her. She was quiet for a moment after he posed his question; Her thoughts had drifted to Tommy once more.
indent"Do you really consider it selfish to want to live?" she started, her voice a little quieter than usual. "Don't you think it's terrifying to try and face death after having lived that long, possibly thinking about nothing but death the entire time? Could you really accept dying if you knew there was something you could do to prevent it? Even if it was a little... wrong. I mean, many of us don't even know we're dying until we just do. Imagine being so acutely aware of what was keeping you alive and then being asked to stop doing it." Adeline glanced up at Azrael, but her angle was rather inopportune for trying to glean anything from his face.
indent"I don't think it's fair for them to kill, Azrael, but is it fair for us to ask them to just... let themselves die? It sounds like a lot of them didn't choose this, like we didn't, but we happened to be more lucky with the role we were born into than they were. And they don't form these families like we do, except for that coven, and look at them! They don't kill humans. What if the rest don't know of anything better, or if they're too scared to try it?"
indentindentShe fell silent again, briefly worrying at her lower lip.
indent"I don't think I'm evil, but if there's anything I could still do for Tommy and know he would be fine... I can't say that I wouldn't go through with it. No matter what it was. Even if I was doing it on someone else's behalf, isn't that sort of the same?"
indentindentA sudden change in Azrael's steps drew Adeline's eyes back to his face, but his expression told her as little as it usually did. She couldn't blame him for wanting to keep his emotions in check, or maybe it was just the way he was, but she had more than once found herself hoping he wasn't hurting inside in spite of the serenity he displayed on the outside. And she wasn't entirely certain what had initially inspired the thought that there may have been something beneath the surface, but she wasn't really the kind of girl to fight against a gut feeling.
indentindentThen she was being jostled about when Azrael collided with something, or someone. Adeline instinctively clutched his arm a little tighter to keep herself upright, but before she could see what they had struck, she was being ushered behind his back, which was very much a brick wall in its build.
indent"What are you d-" she cut herself off, trying to peer at whatever Azrael had decided she needed shielding from. "Azrael?" When he didn't budge, she lifted his arm and ducked beneath it, ending up in a position where it appeared as if nothing unusual had happened and they had been walking around in a half-embrace the entire time. Then she saw the stunned woman staring back at the two of them and made the connection: Az had barreled directly into the poor girl.
indentindentWithout hesitation, she slipped from underneath the man's arm, planting her neglected can of soda directly into his palm to free her hands. She took a concerned step towards the stranger and unabashedly scanned her with her eyes, but she seemed uninjured, despite having had Azrael's brawn crash directly into her.
indent"Are you alright, hun?" she questioned, barely containing herself from fussing about her like an alarmed mother. Something about this woman's scent prickled Adeline's nose, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it. A sweet and faintly floral fragrance was overpowering it, so she decided it must have been coming from one of the woman's bags.
indentindentThe woman offered her apology, but Adeline was quick to counter: "Oh, darling, it's not your fault! Azrael's always going on about how I distract him," she explained, offering her an apologetic smile, although the playful tone of her words was unmistakable. Speaking of the man, she glanced back at him, slightly concerned he hadn't said a thing so far. It was true that he wasn't always the most talkative, but Addie knew he would be kind and sensible enough to apologize.
indent"We're so sorry for barreling into you. Aren't we, Az?" she coaxed, before realizing this would probably be the time to introduce themselves to the woman so she could call them by name when later recounting the story to her friends.
indent"I'm Adeline, Addie," she announced, then turning slightly so she could gesture towards Azrael. "This is Azrael, and he's not an oaf, I promise." She practically placed her hand into the woman's to shake it, but when her skin made contact, her eyes widened in concern, and her other hand came to cover the back of hers, so that she was gently clasping it. Compared to Adeline's temperature, she was practically on the verge of hypothermia.
indent"You're freezing!" she blurted. "Please let us offer you a warm drink, it's the least we could do for barreling into you!"

[8_Stars_8]

R O S E M A R Y

| twenty-two | female | human | bicurious | tags: damon, sonya | mentions: none | wc: 396 |

Rosemary continued to, quite literally, dance around the question posed to her before and having a conversation relating to her feelings. She is pulled out of her thoughts at his next questioning judgement of her character. A vixen? Rosemary perked up at the word. She simply smirked in response, her hazel eyes gaining a small spark of mischief. She had been called much worse by her ex's and, well, everyone. She took his hand and, less than gracefully, twirled.

Even though she didn't like talking about her feelings, Ro welcomed the question relating to her occupation. "I might need to use your services, see I've taken residence in my mum's home. It is quite rundown, and needs some repairs. I'm currently working out of my garage as a florist. I know, it's a bit unconventional, but gardening was instilled in me by my mum." She chuckles softly. Her expression became reminiscent. Ro found the irony of the next song selection a bit painful, if anything. She too, was not doing too well in the relationship department. Breaking up with your boyfriend of a year, having your mum die, and moving to America, a place you hadn't lived in since you were a child, would do that to you. Of course, she didn't show these sore spots.

"I think I'll just take the bottle, if that's alright." She says, letting out a burdened sigh. She, too, heard the door of the bar open. Her head quickly turned, as if it was on a swivel. She looked at the women who was, by all measures, gorgeous. Rosemary scoffed at Damon, who showed his cockiness once again. It was definitely amusing when he flaunted his charms. Rosemary remained silent as the two flirted, instead focusing her attention on grabbing the bottle of whiskey and taking a swig from it.

Rosemary had plans to just slip out with the bottle and go back to the festival, but the woman began to acknowledge her presence, so Ro figured she'd stay. "My name? People call me Ro. It's a pleasure to meet you Sonya." Rosemary noted the woman who became tense when approaching her. It was a curious thing, but maybe she was still assuming she was interrupting? That would be silly though. If anything, her and Damon were merely acquaintances as of right now. Ro thought not much more of it.

[ℛσуαℓ ♕]

𝙜𝙬𝙚𝙣𝙮𝙩𝙝 𝙟𝙤𝙣𝙚𝙨

╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾
(role ; scarlet-eyed rogue) (tagged ; Alex) (location ; her lakehouse - Lake Jocassee) (w.c. 581 )
╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾╾

The fine sands under the soles of Gwen’s bare feet shifted only a few grains as she made contact with the earth. She was clad in a wine-colored t-shirt dress with a white collar that didn’t have so much as a wrinkle despite her hands moving to smooth the unruffled fabric.

She was reveling in the way the sand felt like silk between her toes when she felt a chill a nanosecond before a hauntingly beautiful voice spoke up. Like a cat, Gwen stiffened her body and flexed her muscles, leaping back up to the deck of her mansion with a hissing yowl building in her throat.

It was impossible to sneak up on a vampire. Unless you were one. And even then with so many unknown talents out there, that was hard. So Gwenyth was caught quite by surprise to say the least. And again, like a cat, she hated to look silly.

But once she saw the being who spoke, really saw her, the growls died out. Gwen straightened from her animal-like crouch on the railing and took a long second to maneuver into a relaxed sitting position like she was simply taking in her view from the deck. Her long pale legs dangled over the railing before she crossed them and leaned forward, palms flat against the deck rail.

Gwen didn’t need any more light than what the moon provided to see Alex perfectly. Her skin glowed nearly white but her hair and features were dark in contrast, another stark image that fit the night.

She didn’t appear any different than any other vampire except for the shade of her eyes. Gwen was accustomed to the ruby or onyx hues that indicated the intensity of a vampire’s thirst. But Alex’s were much lighter in tone, ochre instead of crimson. A color Gwen had never seen in a human or a vampire.

Those eyes pierced Gwen and held her where she perched like a snake’s eyes held a bird. A tiny flare of panic bloomed in her core followed by a strong sense of irony. Is this how others felt when they gazed into her eyes? But Gwen didn’t feel compulsion settling over her.

Instead, she sensed the millennia of lived experience that Alex had. She had known the oldest of beings, seen the oldest of things. This great and terrible knowledge radiated from her like an aura. She was ancient despite the youthful beauty of her body. Despite the words that flowed from her mouth. ‘Leechy duckling..?’

Gwen blinked slowly, trying to appear poised. A dark brow arched over her scarlet eyes when this new female introduced herself.

“That depends,” She responded to the question of her making trouble. Gwen’s voice was a ringing soprano and had the intonations of a valley girl accent. It made her sound a bit childish. But the name Drakos had her on edge.

She was young both in mind and in years for a vampire but despite what anyone might think, Gwen wasn’t stupid. She had heard that name before because it predated modern existence. The Drakos vampires were practically royalty. Even one without a proper mentor like her knew not to mess with the most ancient of ancients. But what favor could Alex possibly have for her? Why did it seem like Alex knew her?

“Please excuse my poor manners,” Gwen demurred, saving face. “What boon would a Drakos seek from me?” The sylph-like blond leaned farther forward, her expression earnest.