Walking downstairs the next morning wasn't as awkward as it could have been. The house wasn't empty, but it was fairly silent. Apparently everyone took Damon at his warning. Jessa found it strange that so many people found him intimidating.
The test subject or guinea pig, Damon had explained, was a newly transition werewolf that the trio had literally ran into by accident. They'd stopped for lunch at a roadside pub, going on a tip that Ric had gotten from Liz and met Roza. She had the stereotypical aggression and chip on the shoulder, but also the urge to get rid of it.
Tyler, Bonnie, and Jeremy had kept her company while Jessa had her mental health time with Damon and Ric did a little research to see if he could find anything that might help with Jessa's approach to removal of the supernatural gift. Unfortunately, Ric hadn't found much. No one, to date, had found anything barring death, that took away supernatural abilities. Well, other than not transitioning. And that itself was death.
Damon came up behind Jessa as she was grabbing a glass of orange juice and the kids came into the room. He kissed her on the top of her head as his arms snaked around her waist, pulling her against back against his chest. All eyes took in the casual way that Damon and Jessa moved together. The way they gravitated toward each other. How he held out her chair, and the way they touched without even noticing. Simple, easy, and so HUMAN.
Tyler, Bonnie, and Jeremy exchanged glances. They'd all had a chance to talk the day before. No one had ever seen Damon act this way with anyone. The way he'd talked about Katherine or Elena was obsessive. The way he'd behaved with Caroline or Andi was more like human blood bags, food plain and simple. THIS was actually like real love. And it was Damon as no one had ever seen him. It made Damon agreeable, almost.
Roza, the newest member of this very weird gang, settled in somewhat awkwardly. Jessa smiled at her trying to put her at ease.
"Hello, Roza. I'm Jessa." She said, staying at a distance.
"You're the one who's gonna try to get rid of the wolf?" Roza asked, gruffly.
Jessa smiled, "Yes, I am. First, I'm going to get to know you a bit." She gestured to a seat across from where she was sitting with Damon at the table. "I'm hoping that will help me with removing the wolf."
Roza slouched into the chair. "Fine. Whatcha want to know?"
Jessa asked about Roza's family and whether she knew if the curse was passed for long through her line. Did anyone warn her that it was coming? Did anyone warn her that killing was one of the triggers? Who did she kill? And on and on.
"Can I touch your hand, Roza?" Jessa asked, quietly.
Roza looked at her curiously. Up to this point, no contact had been made. There had been only talking and it had gone for a long time. Roza nodded her assent.
Jessa reached out carefully with one hand and rested it, palm up. Inviting Roza to put her hand inside it. Roza's hand was bigger, but she carefully laid it down on top. The heat from her hand was intense, but as it made contact, Jessa's hand cooled it, and closing her eyes, Jessa carefully removed the permission her mother had given the moon curse to infect Roza's body. Slowly the heat cooled. Jessa grew tired and nearly passed out, but as half an hour passed, the heat was gone and a gasp was released.
Opening her eyes, Jessa looked up and Roza was smiling. Her entire face was glowing and looked lighter. Gone was the anger that plagued her. The heat that flared within her was gone as well. And Jessa knew that she'd mastered another part of the magic inside her. And that was the final thought before the darkness took her.