(A/N): Another special chapter. Minsi somewhat explains her experience with Lycanthropy to Evie, and Jerremyah and Lisbet call on Greygorry.
Evie
January 15th, 1966
Vampires, werewolves, witches and wizards... god, everything's all kooky. Still, I mean... I was already here.
"And you said you have... fangs and claws, too? I mean, I've had a... intimate, look, at Lisbet and Jerremyah's fangs-" And Lisbet's claws, but I wasn't going to say that, just in case I gave away something I shouldn't. "-how do vampires and werewolves differ?" Minsi snorted, and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Well, for one, werewolves are much, much, much, more humble than vampires." The three vampires collectively rolled their eyes. "We're also usually much more personable, but that's neither here nor there." I tried to smother my smile, but Minsi saw it, and returned it. "Getting down to brass tacks- vampires are immortal, werewolves are not. I mean," She gestured to her own, weathered, face. "Obviously." She shrugged.
"How- I mean... maybe this is rude, but... how old are you?" Minsi grinned.
"Not rude at all, dear- I'm sixty four. I know, I know, I look a wreck-" What? No!
"No!" She blinked, surprised by my outburst. "You look great! You- you remind me of my nana!" She blinked again, then her face split into a grin once more.
"Not exactly what I was aiming for, but, I'll take it. The years haven't been kind- turning into a wolf every full moon isn't exactly easy on the joints." She straightened, and her back popped, as if to prove her point. She... she turned into a wolf, every full moon? Wow, that was... well, I guess that wasn't the weirdest thing I'd heard, tonight.
"I- that sounds... uncomfortable?" She winced, and nodded, rather emphatically.
"Oh, it is- used to be worse, though. The more you fight the change, the more it hurts. Of course, the more it hurts, the more you want to fight it. A vicious cycle- but not as vicious as the wolf, itself." That... sounded awful. "I learned to stop fighting it a long time ago- mostly." 'Mostly'? "Werewolves are stronger, faster and hardier than humans, not to mention that our senses are all enhanced- still, we don't hold a candle to the vampires, power wise. I suppose that makes sense, given that we don't have any of the same weaknesses." Weaknesses like a wooden stake to the heart, or weaknesses like those... 'harmful elements', Jerremyah had mentioned earlier? "Anyway, Sweetheart, you should eat your food before it gets cold." Oh, right, the food!
"We were planning on calling Grey in-" Nuria's face scrunched up slightly, clearly displeased by Lisbet's statement. "Evie, you can eat while we talk to him. Nuria, I know you're... wary, of him, but-" Nuria cut her off.
"It's not him I'm wary of- it's that Mistress of his." Uh... his... 'mistress'? Well, Jerremyah did say that Grey, 'had his hands full with women'. "He may not be the type to betray you, but that doesn't mean he won't accidentally let something slip to her... and that's all that conniving bitch needs- to set my funeral pyre alight... or worse." Oh. Clearly there was a story there- and I had the feeling it was a long one, and also that I wasn't going to get to hear it any time soon.
"We'll only be on with him long enough to get him to call us back- she'll only be able to hear his end of things.. We'll be careful- I promise." Jerremyah assured her, and Nuria stared at him for a minute- honestly, it was a little unnerving, how intense she was.
"Just remember that it's my protection that keeps your mate safe- or, as safe as a vampire can be in this world, anyway. Keep that in mind, and I know you'll make the right decisions." I had a feeling that invoking a vampires bond with their mate was a bit of a low blow- but a very, very effective one. As it was, Jerremyah cursed- as Lisbet put a hand on his arm, he cut himself off, his head swiveling to look at her.
"Leave it- we know Grey's trustworthy... we don't need to argue with Nuria over this. She's earned the right to be paranoid." Nuria huffed.
"Wary, not paranoid." Even Minsi rolled her eyes- fondly, but still.
"Come on, Evie, dear. We'll go to our bedroom- more privacy in there." ...Their bedroom? Right, Jerremyah had said he lived here- 'technically'- so I guess it made sense that he had a room here. What surprised me more, I guess, was that Nuria apparently had guest rooms, in this underground section of the old bank. For a supposed hermit, she certainly wasn't deterring people from being in her presence- or staying there.
"Oh- Okay!" I stepped towards them, and Lisbet held out her hand- the one not on Jerremyah's arm- to wave me ahead of her.
"Jer, lead the way." Jerremyah nodded, turned, and started to head off towards that doorway, where Lisbet had appeared from earlier. I followed him- being careful not to spill my bowl of food- and Lisbet took up the rear.
When we reached the doorway, I saw that it led into a hallway- a hallway with four doors on either side. The doors were all open, except for the last door on the left- which I had a feeling was Minsi's room. As we neared the end of the hallway, and the last doorway on the right, which seemed to be our destination, I was able to see past Jerremyah's shoulder that the hallway opened up into a room. At the very end, past a metal, jail cell like wall with an open gate in it, was a giant, solid metal, vault door. It currently sat open, and inside, I could see a sparsely decorated bedroom- this must be Nuria's room.
I didn't have the time to get a good look at it, despite my burning curiosity, before Jerremyah turned in to the room at the end of the hall- their bedroom. It was different to their house- clearly, Lisbet hadn't had much of a hand in decorating here, but I recognised her touch in the extra pillows on the bed, and the navy blue blanket on the bed. I also expected that the ottoman at the end of the bed was her doing.
Everything else was... functional. Practical. Nothing fancy, but the furniture looked sturdy, and all of the textiles looked soft, but plain. Unembellished. It certainly looked lived in, unlike what I had seen of Nuria's, but not as... homey, as their house in Thetford had. What really made it clear to me that this was Jerremyah's room, however, were the photographs.
They were all over the walls, and on every tall surface. Any normal height furniture, like the dresser, had been spared for whatever reason, as well as their two bedside tables. The tall chests of drawers had a handful of frames each, of various sizes. Most of these pictures, I could see, prominently featured Lisbet- with or without Jerremyah at her side. There were a handful with Nuria- all but one of them was with other people, Jerremyah in every single one of them. Clearly, she was only there at his behest.
There were a few in which I recognised Minsi- but some were harder to pick out than others. Throughout all of the photos, it was clear that time had passed- both through the quality of them, and the fashion featured in them. Vampires didn't age, so it was impossible to tell the passage of time via that method, but Minsi... Minsi was mortal. There were one or two photos where she was older- looking like she did now- but other than that, they varied in age. The earliest, it seemed, was from when she was in her mid twenties. Her hair was all black, instead of heavily streaked with gray, and her face was unlined, and plump. Honestly, I may not have recognised her, except for that now familiar expression on her face- kind, but completely intolerant of nonsense.
I didn't recognise anyone else, but a few faces popped up more regularly than others- and one more than any other, by far. I had a feeling I knew who this man might be- and I was going to have my theory tested in just a minute.
Opposite the ottoman at the end of the bed, there was a few feet of floor space covered in a plush rug, before the fireplace on the wall. On the mantelpiece, surrounded by yet more photographs, was a small tin container, that seemed to have once housed some sort of sweets- the colors were now faded, but it was once covered in bold letters, advertising 'Oxhorn's Atomic Honey Bombs'. I assumed this was where they kept that glittery green powder they used to communicate, and a second later, I found I was correct as Lisbet grabbed it from the mantle, and knelt down on the rug.
"Here, Evie." Jerremyah's voice was so soft, that it caught me off guard. I whipped my head around, and slowly, carefully, he reached out, and gently rested a hand on my elbow. "You can sit here, to eat your food." He guided me over to the ottoman, and helped me to sit down without spilling anything. "Wait a second, I'll get you- where is it- ah. Here, this is the closest thing we've got to a table- a portable table, anyway." He dragged over a wooden stool, after he snatched the fuzzy blue blanket off of it.
I placed my bowl on the flat surface, and Jerremyah flashed me a satisfied smile, before he quickly stepped away, and shut the door to the room where we had come in, upon seeing that Lisbet had neglected to do so.
"I figured Nuria's fears might be somewhat assuaged if she could hear our conversation." Lisbet reasoned, and Jerremyah shrugged.
"She can still listen through the door. This way, at least, there's no way for Grey to see anything she doesn't want him to, and we get the illusion of privacy." Hmm. Was that something they felt they needed to worry about? Grey seeing something he shouldn't, that is? Jerremyah knelt down beside her- and despite the fact that he made sure to position himself so there was about a foot of space between them, he raised the blanket he had taken from the stool to her, and gestured to her knees.
"Here, do you want-" She cut him off.
"Jer... You know from experience my knees don't get sore that quickly." He flushed slightly- because he had forgotten, or- OH. Now I was blushing. Lisbet turned to glance at me over her shoulder, smirking, before her head whipped back around to Jerremyah. "Evie's human-" An astute observation, where was she going with this. "-humans get cold." Uh... I suppose that was true enough, but what-? Jerremyah hopped up, and before I knew it, he was- rather tenderly- draping the blanket around my shoulders.
"There. I hope you weren't cold- you'd tell us if you were, right? We're not really- It doesn't affect us, really, so we usually don't pay attention- are you- do you need anyth-" I cut him off.
"I'm fine." He looked like he didn't believe me, so I put a hand on his arm, which he looked down at like it was somehow dangerous. "Really, I promise. Besides, I'm about to get some warm food into me, and you're about to light a fire. If I was cold- which I wasn't, just so you know- I wouldn't be for long." He still seemed slightly unsure, and glanced back at Lisbet briefly before he nodded.
"Alright." He said. "Alright." This time, he said it quieter, and he hovered beside me for an extra few seconds until I started to eat, and then he made his way to Lisbet and knelt down again, in the same place. "Shall we?" Lisbet tilted her head to look at him sideways.
"Now... before I start, is there anything you don't want me to tell him?" She cocked an eyebrow at him, and he had the decency to look ashamed of his earlier actions.
"I-" He cut himself off, clearly taking a second to think about it. "Don't mention that I was-" His eyes darted to the wall, in the direction we had left Nuria. "...injured." You mean 'staked'? "It'll just make him worry, and there's nothing he can do to get here any quicker- or get out of his... obligations, if they become an issue." 'Obligations'? What 'obligations'?
"What about when he gets here?" He glanced away again, clearly concerned with Nuria, and her previous reaction, once again.
"It's not worth talking about." Lisbet's eyebrows furrowed. "After tonight, we should forget it ever happened." She opened her mouth to protest, but he continued. "Just the... severity, not... not the... circumstances." In other words, the fact that he was staked, not that they were attacked, I was guessing.
"...I think the severity of what happened is worth talking about, Jer." Lisbet said quietly- firmly. "And not just because it happened to you. My mate." His face softened, and as I watched, he swayed, as if she were a planet, and he was being pulled into her orbit.
"You say the sweetest things." He breathed, and the corner of her lips quirked up- before she quickly turned away, towards the fireplace, as if to try to hide it.
"Whatever." She faux-grumbled, and Jerremyah's face split into a big grin. "Would you like to do the honors?" By the look on his face, he would do anything she asked him to.
"Of course, My Love." Then, he pulled out his wand, and pointed it at the hearth. "Incendio." Once again, flames shot from the tip of his wand, igniting the fireplace.
"Thank you, Dearest." She leaned over, and quickly pecked him on the cheek- which he looked immensely pleased about. She pulled the lid off the tin, and threw a pinch of the powder into the fire- making it flare than now familiar green. "Greygorry Chant, Château Du Sang." The fire glared, and, just like Jerremyah had, she plunged her head into the fire. So... Grey, was 'Greygorry'? Huh. The more you know, I guess.
There was a second of pause, before Lisbet said, "Well, hello Handsome. Good evening, Sidonie-" So, she was with him? The woman that Nuria had called a... 'conniving bitch' was there? "Enjoying yourself? I'm certainly enjoying the view." Jerremyah barked out a laugh. There was another pause here- clearly, Lisbet was listening to whatever was happening on the other end, before she, also, laughed. "Whatever. When you're... satisfied, can you get Grey to call me back? We need to talk to him about something." There was yet another pause, and she laughed again. "Right, well, maybe not satisfied, but... well, when you're finished, get him to put some trousers on and call me back at our summer home. Thank you, Sidonie." Oh. So that's what was happening on the other end? Well, now I'm glad the call was only one way! After a second, Lisbet pulled her head out of the fire, and it returned to its normal orange color.
"Something tells me they were... indisposed." Jerremyah said slyly, and Lisbet rolled her eyes at him, but it lacked heat.
"Something like that." She said, before turning to look at me over her shoulder- oh no, was my chewing too loud? "Grey will get back to us in a moment. Well... maybe a bit longer than a moment." She shrugged.
"I have a question." They both looked at me, now. "I would think- I mean, I don't know much about how these things work, but... shouldn't there be some sort of protection, in order to avoid people from... 'walking in on' things they shouldn't?" They shared a look, and then- burst out laughing. "What? Why are you laughing?" Jerremyah recovered first, but was still grinning at me- giving me a fantastic look at those dimples of his once more.
"Evie... Sweetheart..." Uh oh. That couldn't be good. "They had to accept the call, remember?" Oh, right. Wait, did that mean-? "Sidonie isn't exactly... shy, and... what Sidonie wants, Grey jumps to make happen." So... Lisbet was supposed to find them- er... 'in the middle of things'? "We shouldn't have to wait too long- Grey's got things down to an art, and if Sidonie isn't fully satisfied, then she has plenty of other eager volunteers to fall back on." Uh... she did? He paused for a second. "Although, that's never been her favorite position." ...?! And how did he know that?
"Grey's good at what he does- very, very good-" And how did she know that?! "Still, it depends how long they've been going at it, as to whether she feels like letting him shirk his duties in order to talk to us." 'Shirk his duties'? That seemed a bit- I don't know... controlling? "And even so, that doesn't mean that she'll let him leave." 'Let him leave'? Was he not... free to leave?
"Isn't that his choice?" Once again, Lisbet and Jerremyah shared a look.
"Technically, she's not keeping him there," Jerremyah started, carefully. "But Grey respects her too much to do anything without her explicit permission, and Sidonie knows that all too well. I doubt she'd ever say no, but she may not say yes, either, and that about amounts to the same thing." ...Hmm...
"Honestly, I think she's just waiting for him to step out of line, but... Grey rarely has any desire to do so." ...Well, at least he seems happy.
"All done?" Jerremyah asked, and I was confused for a second, before I realised that he was gesturing to my bowl.
"Oh! Yes-" I cut myself off as, suddenly, he was in front of me, fetching the bowl. One second he was kneeling in front of the fire next to Lisbet, looking at me over his shoulder, and the next, he was right in front of me, on his feet. I jumped, and he froze.
"Oh, shit- sorry. Didn't mean to startle you- sometimes, I forget that you're not- well... anyway, I'll take this out." And then he turned and left the room, leaving the door open behind him.
"Uh... what was that about?" I asked Lisbet, eyebrows furrowed, and she sighed, crossing her arms over her chest.
"Remember how Minsi mentioned how a werewolf's enhanced speed and strength had nothing on that of a vampire?" Yes...? "Well, basically, because we have the ability to move at such increased speed, our bodies- and brains- need to be able to handle that speed. So, sometimes, it's a little hard to move at a normal speed, when our brain is stuck in, 'fast mode'. That's what he meant." Hmm... but... he didn't say, 'I didn't realise', or, 'I got stuck', he said, 'sometimes I forget you're not-'. What did that mean, and why was Lisbet lying about it?
I didn't know whether I should confront her about it, or how I would even do so, so to distract myself- and also because by this point I was rather parched, I cracked open the bottle of water, and took a swig. Yep, that was water, alright.
"It's not..." She started, then hesitated. "It's not easy, but it's worth it." ...? What she talking about their relationship, or... something else? Maybe, being a vampire? It certainly didn't seem easy, but...
Jerremyah reappeared, a minute later, wiping his hands dry on his jeans, and after closing the door again, he immediately set about returning the stool I had used as a dinner table to its original position.
"How're you feeling, Evie?" Me? I shrugged, taking another drink.
"I'm good, how are you?" He blinked, looking surprised.
"I- uh-" He glanced at Lisbet, as if for help, but she had none to offer him. "Okay? I'm... okay, I guess?" Oh, good.
"Good. Now, what-?" A voice from the fireplace cut me off.
"Lisbet Morsol Yates, the Yates Quarters at Nuria's old bank hideout." Both Nuria and Lisbet, and now this Greygorry, had given a much more detailed address when trying to call in than Jerremyah had- clearly, it wasn't a requirement, so why bother?
"Accept." A man's face appeared in the fire- and I was proven right. This was, in fact, the same man featured in a lot of the photographs on the walls- even through the fire, I recognised him. "Hey, Grey." His lips twitched up into a smile, and Jerremyah moved forward, so he could kneel down next to her. His face once again split into a grin, and as he saw it, Greygorry's face followed suit.
"Grey- hey!" Even after having Jerremyah deem him, 'their best friend', I was surprised by how excited they were to see him- particularly Jerremyah himself. Maybe 'mates' weren't the only special bond that vampires could form- maybe their friendships were stronger, too.
"Salut, Ma chérie Sœur. Salut, Mon Plus Proche." Oh, more French. She had addressed the call to 'Château Du Sang', so I suppose that made sense. "What's wrong with you two?" Lisbet and Jerremyah blinked, and quickly shared a look, before turning their attention back to him.
"What do you mean?" Lisbet asked, and Greygorry's head bobbled in the flames- maybe he was shrugging, or something.
"You're sitting apart- normally when we make these sorts of calls, you two are pressed up against each other like... well, like lovers. So what happened? I mean," He eyed Jerremyah, somewhat regrettably. "Did you- did something happen?" He seemed to know that it was likely Jerremyah's fault, not Lisbet's- but I guess, since Jerremyah was so... besotted with her, it probably was never going to be that Lisbet had been able to offend him. And even if she had, I doubted that Jerremyah wouldn't still have been pressed up against her, even while pouting up a storm.
"It's... a long story." Yeah. There wasn't much he could say, without revealing everything he didn't want Greygorry- or Nuria- to know. Greygorry arched an eyebrow, but when, after a few seconds, he got no response, he sighed, and said,
"I don't know why you had me put on trousers for this- it's not like you can even see it through the fireplace, and it's not like you haven't both seen me in all my glory before-" Lisbet coughed, and shifted to the side- and I got to witness the exact moment Greygorry caught sight of me past her. He didn't look embarrassed, exactly, but certainly caught off guard. "Who-" She cut him off.
"Grey, this is Evie. Evie, you know the drill by now," I did? "Say hi." Oh!
"Oh! Hello! I'm Evie- but... I guess you knew that." He blinked, then, after a second, a small smile crept onto his lips.
"What have I told you two about not bringing home strays?" 'Stray'? Oh please, I may not have exactly been a pedigree, but... 'stray' was a little rough!
"Trust me, it wasn't intentional." Greygorry looked fascinated- not just by my assertion, but by the fact that Lisbet and Jerremyah looked like they disagreed with it.
"I would like to start this by saying-" Greygorry blinked, then cut Jerremyah off.
"Oh, fuck! Happy Anniversary! I can't believe I almost forgot-" Now, it was Lisbet's turn to cut him off.
"Thank you, Grey- it's quite alright, though. If you feel bad about it though, we need a favor- you can call it your gift to us, if you want." His eyebrows furrowed.
"What, you don't want the toaster I got you?" Lisbet rolled her eyes at him, and I found myself concurring- after all, if vampires didn't eat, why would they need a toaster? I think it must have been a joke, but it wasn't a very good one.
"Good one." Jerremyah said, but I had a feeling it was more encouraging, than it was honest.
"No it wasn't." Lisbet said firmly, and Greygorry's face split into a grin.
"Have I told you recently how sexy I find your brutal honesty?" If Jerremyah was upset by Greygorry hitting on his mate, he didn't show it. In fact, he seemed to rather enjoy it.
"Only every time you see me." Lisbet said, flicking her hair out of her face. "Now, about that favor-" Greygorry arched an eyebrow at her, then shot a look over her shoulder- at me.
"I have a feeling I know what that favor entails." He said, a bit pointedly, and Lisbet and Jerremyah shared yet another look that I couldn't decipher.
"It's not-" Lisbet said, her face screwing up. "Nothing's decided-" Jerremyah continued for her.
"We need your guidance. There's no one we trust more... and you always give the best advice." Greygorry's face softened slightly- at least, that's what I thought had happened, there.
"You flatter me." He said quietly, softly. "You're lucky I have a soft spot for you two... nuisances." He said it so fondly that they both smiled.
"Do you think you could convince Sidonie to let you visit us for a little while?" Greygorry took a second to consider it, once again eyeing me past his two friends- he seemed more curious than anything, and he was less intimidating than Nuria, so I let it happen.
"I'm sure I can persuade her- I have quite the silver tongue, as you know." My eyebrows furrowed.
"Well, that doesn't sound very pleasurable." There was silence for a second, before Greygorry barked out a laugh that reminded me rather strongly of the other man in the room.
"I meant," He said, once he had recovered, but he still wore a small grin. "That I would smooth talk her. But maybe you're right- maybe using my mouth in other ways would be more effective. Une belle idée, pour une belle femme, Sirène." I didn't know much French, but I could guess most of it. I knew 'belle' meant beautiful, and 'femme' meant female, or woman. Judging by that, he had mentioned a beautiful woman- probably. There was also the word 'Sirène'... it sounded like 'siren'. What that... like... the mermaid sort of siren? I mean... now that I think about it, they'd never said that Sidonie was a vampire, I'd just sort of... assumed.
"...Is Sidonie a siren?" Greygorry blinked. "Is that a thing that's real? Or- oh, is that rude to ask?" Now, it was Lisbet and Jerremyah's turn to laugh- clearly they were trying to smother their amusement, but they weren't doing a very good job.
"I-" He started, then stopped. "No." No?
"'No'? 'No, Sidonie isn't a siren', or 'no, it's not rude to ask'?" He paused again.
"The- both. Sidonie's a vampire, like the rest of us. You- you, are the Siren I was talking about." I- what? Either something was getting lost in translation, or I was about to learn something shocking about myself.
"Uh..." I glanced at Lisbet and Jerremyah, who looked like they were about to burst from the effort of not falling about themselves laughing. "I'm- I'm sorry?" Somehow, Jerremyah started putting himself together.
"He- Oh," Laughter bubbled out from between his lips, and he slapped a hand over his own mouth in an attempt to hide it. A few seconds where his shoulders quaked silently later, he pulled said hand away once more. "He doesn't mean 'Siren' like Merfolk-" Oh, was that the proper term? "He means 'Siren' like... 'vixen'." Vixen? Was that some other sort of supernatural- "'Femme Fatale', 'Seductress'... however you want to say it." My mouth dropped open.
"Wha- Me?!" Shocked, I gestured to myself, as if to make sure they knew who they were looking at.
"Yeah, you!" Jerremyah said, reaching out to pat my knee reassuringly- then he spun back to Greygorry. "She was flirting up a storm with Nuria, too!" I choked on my own saliva, at Jerremyah's proud declaration.
"I wasn't- that wasn't- I mean-" They seemed amused by my flustered rambling.
"Don't bother, your scent's been giving you away since I walked up to you at the bar." My... what? Was doing what? What did Lisbet mean by that?
"Oh, you poor thing," Greygorry said, and I would have thought he felt bad for me, if he wasn't still grinning. "Don't worry your pretty little head about it." I blinked- he thought my head was pretty? God damn it, I couldn't let these vampires distract me with their flirting- whether it was real or not. "We're all a little bit like that- you'll fit right in." There it was again- Jerremyah had said something similar earlier: 'You're going to fit in real well with us.' What did they mean by that?
"What is that-" Lisbet cut me off, talking over me.
"So you'll come to us, if Sidonie lets you?" Greygorry blinked, but Jerremyah didn't look surprised. He did, however, reach back once again, this time lightly wrapping his fingers around my ankle, as if the contact might comfort me. He... wasn't entirely wrong...
"I... yes?" He seemed unsure, but not, I suspected, about his answer- but Lisbet's behavior. "Lisbet, what's-" She cut him off, now.
"As I said, nothing's been decided." His eyebrows furrowed. "It's not just us- Jerremyah and I- that needs your guidance." He stared at her for a second, before understanding crossed his face, and his eyebrows now shot up, before once again lowering.
"Oh. Well that... complicates things." What was anyone talking about, at this point? "I think that... Well, I think my guidance isn't enough to... present all sides. I would like to bring in help- someone with a... different stance on things, if you will." 'All sides' to what?
"Who are you thinking?" There were a few seconds of silence after Jerremyah's question, where Greygorry just stared him down- somewhat unhappily. "No- you can't be serious- him?!" Who? Clearly, someone Jerremyah wasn't fond of.
"You really need to put this little rivalry of yours aside-" Jerremyah cut him off.
"There is no rivalry- ugh!" Lisbet reached out to rest a hand on his arm- much like he had done to me.
"I know you have your... issues, with him, but even you have to admit, there's no one else we know whose... opinion, differs from our own so greatly. Well, except for maybe CJ, but Lord only knows where he is right now- and his opinion is... well, I'm not sure which way he'd lean on this- but we know Nicholai will always be firmly against it." CJ? Nicholai? Clearly, these were other vampires- but why did their opinions matter so much?
"Um... Who's Nicholai?" Lisbet turned her head to flash me a tight smile.
"Nicholai is a friend-"
"He bloody well is not!" Jerremyah protested, and Lisbet rolled her eyes, before continuing rather pointedly.
"-of mine. He's done us some favors in the past- which is one of the reasons Jerremyah doesn't like him. Jerremyah's right- there's no rivalry." He looked pleased by this. "Nicholai doesn't bother to indulge my mates petty antagonizing- usually." He looked a lot less happy, now.
"That's not- I mean, he's- he can go- ugh." He crossed his free arm over his chest, fuming silently, even as he stroked my ankle with the pad of his thumb. It was... distracting, to say the least. "Fine. If Nuria allows him entry, then I'll allow it, too." Oh. Smart. He was leveling them with an impossible offer, because he knew Nuria- paranoid Nuria, with several locks on every door- would never let-
"I'll allow it." Nuria's voice could be heard loud and clear through the door, and Jerremyah's ever so slightly smug look dropped in a flash. He spun to the door, mouth agape.
"You- but you-" Even with a door between them, her voice was powerful enough to cut him off- or maybe he just respected her opinion that much.
"I like Nicholai." She said simply, and Jerremyah's jaw clicked shut. "But even so, I wouldn't let him anywhere near this place if I wasn't very sure that he has no desire for power- political, physical, or vampirical." Was that not just the same as 'physical'? "If I were the introspective type, I might say that Nicholai and I are mirror images. I want to be left alone, in peace, and Nicholai..." The rest, she left up to interpretation.
"Not alone," Jerremyah said, and there was silence on the other side of the door. "No new people- strangers- but not alone- right Nuri?" There was a brief second of hesitation, before she replied.
"No... no, not alone." Jerremyah seemed pleased by this, but I couldn't help but feel bad- no strangers, and yet... here I was. Invading her home- her sanctuary.
"That settles it then- I'll get permission from Sidonie, and on my way to you, I'll ask Nicholai to join me. If all goes well, we should get to you-" His eyes darted to me, curiously enough. "Er... in the morning? About... eight?" It was silent for a second, as if he were waiting for confirmation- confirmation from me?
"Good- that should give Evie time for a few hours of sleep. Contact us here again, if something comes up. And Grey?" He paused, clearly focusing on her, quite strongly. "Thank you. You always come through for us, and... I don't know what we would do without you." His expression softened.
"Don't get all sappy on me, you know I can't handle it." He didn't sound terse, or rude, but instead, rather... fragile? Maybe he really couldn't handle it, and it wasn't just a snappy comeback.
"Alright, alright, I won't. Jer?" Jerremyah tilted his head to the side.
"I'll save my gratitude to be expressed in person. Might give Evie a good show." Um...? Greygorry chuckled.
"Right, well... I'll be sure to look forward to that, Mon Plus Proche. Evie..." I was surprised by him addressing me directly. "I look forward to seeing you in person. Je parie que tu es encore plus jolie de près." Lisbet huffed out a laugh.
"Okay, Monsieur Langue D'argent- save it for tomorrow. Close connection." Unlike last time, the fire didn't go out on it's own, so Lisbet had to extinguish is manually- or, well, with a stream of water from her wand, anyway.
We stared at the fireplace for a minute, in silence, before Jerremyah turned to me, smiling- it was slightly strained, but not anything to worry about... or at least, I thought so.
"Come on- let's get you to bed, yeah?"
(A/N): Evie: 'There's no pictures on any furniture in Lisbet and Jerremyah's room at a certain height- I wonder why?'
Jerremyah: 'I don't want to smash them when we inevitably have sex on every convenient surface.'
Lisbet: 'We've already attempted all the INconvenient ones.'
also
Lisbet: 'Jer... You know from experience my knees don't get sore that quickly.'
Jerremyah: *thinking about the time he bought her knee pads, only to be reminded- in great detail- that she didn't need them*
Jerremyah: *blushes* 'R-right.'
Translations (French):
Salut, Ma chérie Sœur. = Hello, My dear Sister. (Both meaning of Sister)
Mon Plus Proche = My Closest. (Basically my best friend, but more. I made this one up, as far as I can tell, so if the grammar is iffy, please let me know)
Une belle idée, pour une belle femme, Sirène. = A beautiful idea, for a beautiful woman, Siren. (Siren can mean mermaid, or vixen, like a sexy woman- a femme fatale, or a seductress, like Jerremyah explained)
Je parie que tu es encore plus jolie de près. = I bet you're even prettier up close.
Monsieur Langue D'argent- = Mister Silver Tongue.
Château Du Sang = Technically Château means castle, but it basically refers to any large French country house. Du Sang is Sidonie's surname, and it means 'Of Blood' (clearly, she most likely changed it when she became a vampire). Normally I think if I were going to call the place basically 'House of Blood' I would call it 'Château de Sang', but as 'Château Du Sang', it's basically the equivalent of, say, 'House Last Name'- if we use Greygorry as an example, it would be 'Château Chant'. As far as I can tell, anyway. So basically, Château Du Sang is Château Sidonie.
Also, 'Oxhorn's Atomic Honey Bombs' are named after the youtuber Oxhorn, who does Fallout Lore videos. I've been watching him a lot lately (I've been watching him for years, but especially lately), because he's really good to have in the background while I write. Seeing as he does Fallout lore, I figured the Atomic Honey Bombs were a good fit, and the Honey was because... well, Jerremyah.
Incendio = Fire spell.