(A/N): Back in 1966, with Evie, Nuria, Minsi, Lisbet and Jerremyah. Evie's reaction to Lisbet telling her that she has the choice to become a vampire, and visitors arrive to join the party. Tested positive for Covid this morning.

Evie

January 16th, 1966

A- a vampire? They- they would- me?

I stared at them, eyes wide- I'm sure I would have gaped at them as well, if I had slightly more presence of mind. Jerremyah's thumb gently stroked my skin, where his hand still rested on my forearm, as he tried to reassure me.

"You- I- what? I- I'm sorry, I think I might have misheard you. I thought you said something about me possibly becoming a vampire- but that can't be right... right?" Lisbet turned her head, so she and Jerremyah could share a look. Almost immediately, he got distracted from whatever they had been trying to do, and his eyes darted to her lips- she huffed out a tiny laugh under her breath, and turned back to me, struggling to sober herself.

"You didn't hear us wrong. Before anything else, I feel I should reiterate what Jerremyah said- nothing is going to happen, if you don't want it to. I- I don't know how to assure you of that, especially since I already told you that we're a bit biased. Unfortunately, I don't think we'll find someone that isn't biased, until Nicholai gets here." 'Until Nicholai gets here'... Just Nicholai? Did she think Grey was going to be biased as well? Why? Because he was close with them, and would be influenced by their opinions? Or because of our short conversation last night? I didn't know.

"Well, you know I'm not partial to any sort of vampire agenda," Minsi piped up from my other side. "So you know I'm unbiased on that front-" I cut her off.

"But not in general?" She was silent for a second. "Besides, it doesn't matter- I trusted it when Jerremyah said it, and Lisbet reiterating only cemented that for me." They both blinked, as if I had just said something shocking, and the corner of Minsi's lips quirked up.

"I'll admit that I don't hate you." She said, which was... quite the testament. "Which gets rarer and rarer with each passing year, so, I wouldn't mind it if you hung around for a bit. Unlike the others though, I don't see any reason you need to be a vampire in order to do that." Well... she had a point there. "But I suppose my idea of 'a bit' is a little different to that of someone who is over three hundred years old, so maybe that makes sense." I suppose...

I saw Jerremyah's eyebrows were furrowed slightly, and I put my hand over his on my arm, which made him jolt slightly.

"Do you have something to say, Jerremyah?" He blinked again, then quickly glanced at Lisbet as if he needed help- she offered him a small, tender smile, which seemed to fortify him more than it probably should have been capable. He swallowed thickly, and turned back to me.

"Evie..." I nodded, trying to encourage him to continue. "...I- you-" He paused, then sighed heavily, like he was about to admit his deepest, darkest secret. "I think you're great." Now, it was my turn to blink. "I don't know if I've made that clear or not..." I- 'great'? He had said that they liked me- and I had returned the sentiment- but I don't know if I would have said that he thought I was 'great'. "But you... Lisbet's right- you're something special."

Hearing it again from Jerremyah made something in my chest flutter- probably because I knew how much trouble he was having saying it. I had a feeling he wasn't big on saying this sort of thing often- at least, when it wasn't to Lisbet.

"I'm still not sure what that means." They shared another look.

"It's... kind of hard to explain." Jerremyah said.

"Some people are just- well, I shouldn't say it." Say what? "I think that could just be my bias coming through." In what way?

"No- say it. I want to hear what you have to say. Lisbet, you said you want me to see all sides- that includes yours." She hesitated, then leaned forward so she could grab my hand in hers.

"Evie, I... I have this belief, that... some people were born to become vampires- and I think you might be one of those." I... I didn't know what to say to that.

"And... do you think... were any of you, 'born to be vampires'?" The room was silent, before Minsi broke that silence by chuckling darkly.

"Well, that certainly changed the mood." Lisbet shot her a sharp look, before she schooled her features into a small smile, and redirected her gaze to me once more.

"Of course I was made to be a vampire, just look at me!" I'm guessing that she meant because she was all desaturated black and white- pale skin, black hair, looking like a gothic dream. I mean, I couldn't argue with her there.

"Oh please!" Jerremyah said, and Lisbet's eyes swung to him. "You could have stayed human, if not for everything- you could have gone back to being a nun if you wanted-" A- a nun? Lisbet was a nun? ...Huh. Interesting. "Or gotten married, popped out a couple of kids-" Her face sharpened, and he cut himself off, clearly rushing to bite his tongue. "I just meant- you had options. I didn't." Her expression immediately changed- softened slightly. She seemed less angry, and more almost... disappointed? Hurt and frustrated? It was kind of hard to tell.

"You felt like you didn't have options." She said quietly, and he turned his head towards her, his eyebrows furrowing, and his lips dropping into a slightly pout.

"You weren't there, you don't know." I had the distinct feeling that this was an old argument, that I had unwittingly stumbled into. He turned again. "Nuri- you were there, tell her how pathetic I was!" Considering that he used the term, 'pathetic', he didn't seem all that broken up about it. Nuria rolled her eyes, looking fondly exasperated, in her own, honed steel kind of way.

"You were pathetic." He threw a hand in her direction, and spun back to Lisbet, rather enthusiastically.

"See? I didn't-" Nuria's commanding voice cut him off, without her even needing to raise it.

"Of course, you're still pathetic, just in a very different way." His enthusiasm disappeared, and he looked more than a little done with this whole situation.

"Yes, thank you, Nuri. You are just... the biggest help." She smirked at his exasperation, and shrugged lightly.

"That's what I'm here for, right?" My eyebrows furrowed.

"What about you?" All three of them turned to me, and they all seemed surprised to find that my question- and attention- was directed at Nuria.

"What about me?" She asked kind of tersely, and I marveled at the difference between this woman, and the one who had left her sanctuary, just to fetch me a fresh breakfast. A breakfast that, unfortunately, only Minsi was really having the chance to enjoy.

"Were you, 'born to become a vampire'? Why were you turned?" Her eyes bored into me, and I became very aware of how quiet the room had gotten. I chanced a look around, and saw that Minsi was distracting herself with the remaining pastries as if her life depended on it, while Lisbet and Jerremyah were staring at me like I had just pushed a bit too far. It was this, that made me open my mouth again, to say, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to- I just thought... everyone else was talking about theirs, so I figured-" She cut me off.

"I did what I was told." I- what was that supposed to mean? "Someone I trusted told me to, and I did. There's not much more to it that that." She said simply- but judging by the look Jerremyah shot me, there was a lot more to it than that.

"...Right. Um... Lisbet, what about you? I know you and Jerremyah weren't together when he turned you, so... why?" Yet again, they shared a look, but even after that, she hesitated.

"It's a bit... complicated. It's a long story- those things usually are. Basically, I... I got on the bad side of the wrong people, and it was either turn into a vampire, or die at their hands. Considering how I felt about Jerremyah-" She reached over and grabbed his hand that wasn't on my arm, and squeezed it- which he looked absolutely, utterly, thrilled about. "-it wasn't much of a choice. I had to fight him for it, though." He smiled at the side of her face so tenderly, that it almost choked me up.

"You know that had nothing to do with you, and everything to do with me." And his control issues.

She turned to him and opened her mouth, clearly about to say something- before the three vampires jolted, and a split second later, a moderately loud trill rang through the room.

"That'll be the boys." Lisbet said, starting to move to get up, and a second, louder noise sounded- more of a chime, this time. Seeing my confused expression, Minsi took pity on me.

"Perimeter alarms. One for when they enter the yard, and one that's about two hundred feet out- an early warning system." But... we didn't have to arrive two hundred feet out- had they not 'apparated' in? "Nuria's wards are quite advanced- they allow for different people to have different levels of clearance. Close, trusted friends- like Jerremyah, Lisbet and I- can apparate directly into the yard, and reasonably trusted allies can apparate into the extended perimeter. Everyone else has to approach from a further distance." So despite the fight she had put up last night, Nuria considered Grey a, 'reasonably trusted ally'? Interesting.

Nuria disappeared through the double doors, and Lisbet hesitated beside me on the couch, before she jolted slightly as Jerremyah squeezed her hand- much like she had done his- and when she realised what was happening, the corner of her lips quirked upwards.

"Nuri will take care of." He said softly, and as I watched, I saw him him stroke the back of her hand with his thumb- even as he echoed the movement on my own arm. "Grey won't make any trouble- well, nothing she can't handle." They were both quiet for a second, then, he huffed out a laugh. "You could always try, but I wouldn't recommend it." What? Oh, they must be able to hear our new visitors- which meant that they could hear us, too. Well, that was something I hadn't thought to be anxious about.

I started hearing sounds- the sound of people approaching- and a few seconds later, Nuria came through the doorway.

"Behold," She said, and waved her hand towards the open doorway. "A randy tosser, and a man who would have been much happier dying an embarrassingly human death." It took a second for him to appear in the doorway, but when he did, I had to admit, I could see why he had his hands full with women.

Neither the fire, nor the photographs, had done Grey justice. He wasn't as tall as Jerremyah- I could tell that immediately, especially because I had Nuria to measure him against- and that wasn't where the differences ended. Honestly, he had more in common- at least physically- with Lisbet, than Jerremyah. Oh! Hm...

His hair was longer than Jerremyah's- and black like Lisbet's, but curly, rather than straight as a sheet like Lisbet's, or tantalizingly tousled like Jerremyah's. The bottom of his curls brushed the top of his shoulders, and unlike Jerremyah, he was cleanly shaved. He didn't have dark eyes like Lisbet, but I couldn't tell what color they were, from this distance.

Where Jerremyah was wearing his plush knit sweater and jeans- and had worn a white t-shirt and leather jacket last night at the club- Grey was wearing a black button down shirt, rolled up to his elbows, and a pair of- fittingly- charcoal gray trousers.

Briefly, I wondered what my friends would think of him- Lou had thought Jerremyah was trouble, whereas Hettie had been enticed. Vi and Pip hadn't had the chance to say much- which was unusual for Vi, and completely expected for Pip. I'm sure Hettie would like him- there was just enough of an edge to him that she wouldn't think her was, in her words, 'a posh tosser'. Whether that slight air of sophistication would be enough to persuade Lou that he wasn't the worst of news, I didn't know.

His eyes swept across the room, and as they landed on Lisbet and Jerremyah, his face lit up. Then, they slid sideways, and landed on me. Then, they bounced down to my shirt, and back up to my face. His grin dropped into a teasing smirk, that was strongly reminiscent of the man on the other side of Lisbet.

"Bonjour, douce Sirène." There it was again- that use of, 'Siren'. I know he was greeting me, but that other word, I didn't know. When I glanced at Lisbet and Jerremyah, they both looked a lot happier- she looked relieved, and he was grinning- so I figured he was playing nice.

"Um... hello!" His smirk intensified.

"Je me demande si vous avez un goût aussi sucré que vous en avez l'air." This was a rather one sided conversation, wasn't it?

"She does." Jerremyah said, and as Grey quirked an eyebrow upwards, mine both furrowed. Lisbet rolled her eyes.

"Il parle de son sang, pas de sa... chatte." 'Sang'? Wasn't that what Lisbet had said, when trying to call him through the fire? Château Du Sang?

"Je suis prêt à me porter volontaire pour tester le goût." Jerremyah snorted, and Lisbet rolled her eyes again. Then, a hand appeared on his shoulder, interrupting any further conversation.

"Budge up- you asked me to be here, the least you can do is let me in." Grey stepped aside, and behind him, I got my first look at the man that could only be Nicholai.

He was taller than Grey- quite a bit taller. If I had to guess, I would say he was the same height as Jerremyah, or maybe even a little taller. He also had black hair, but it was much shorter than Grey's, and straight rather than curly. He also seemed to have light colored eyes, along with extremely pale skin, but he was much more casually dressed.

He wore a grey, long sleeve, soft looking shirt with buttons part way down the front of it, but the buttons were open to reveal a beaded necklace- almost like prayer beads. His jeans were a looser cut than Jerremyah or Grey's bottoms, but they looked good on him. His outfit made him look more approachable- but his face gave me the opposite opinion. He didn't look... scary, exactly, but he just sort of looked like he didn't want to be here. Which, considering that he was apparently supposed to be 'against' this, I supposed that was probably true.

His eyes hit Lisbet, and he flashed her the slightest of smiles- then, he reached Jerremyah, and that smile disappeared completely. Still, he gave the other man a respectful nod, which Jerremyah declined to return.

"Lisbet." His tone could almost be considered fond. "Jerremyah." This, could not. His eyes moved to me, and his heavy, dark eyebrows furrowed. "I must say I'm intrigued. Normally, you call me after, so I'm glad that this time, you had the presence of mind to call me beforehand." 'Normally'? Did they do this sort of thing often?

"They said you would be against this." He blinked, as if he were surprised that I was even talking to him. "I would like to hear why." He stared at me for a long second, then glanced at Lisbet- who was smirking at him? His gaze landed on me again.

"You want to hear my opinion?" Why did he sound so shocked?

"Of course. That's why you're here... isn't it? Lisbet and Jerremyah know that they're biased, and Grey said he thought that we needed someone here who isn't immediately going to be all for it- and apparently, you're their go to. So yes," I finished a bit lamely. "I want to hear why." He stared at me again, completely silent, and after a few seconds of this, I realised why it was so unnerving to me- he was completely still, not even breathing. I shifted, slightly uncomfortable, and he very clearly took note.

"I make you nervous." He said, which I thought was an odd thing to say, after all that.

"No-" He cut me off.

"Don't try to lie- vampires can tell when you're lying." My eyebrows furrowed.

"Because you can smell it?" He shrugged, and after a second, I assumed that was all the answer I was going to get. "You're not breathing, and the human statue routine is a little creepy, if I'm honest, but you don't scare me." He blinked, once again looking shocked at my abruptness. "I trust that Lisbet and Jerremyah wouldn't have let you come her if they thought you might hurt me- and neither would Nuria." If only because my blood would be hard to scrub off the couch. I didn't mention Minsi, because I didn't know how well she knew him- if she could judge that sort of thing.

Jerremyah's hand squeezed my arm, ever so gently, and when I looked at him, he was staring at me with wide yes- so was Lisbet. They both looked shocked, but... definitely pleased. Did they not think I trusted them? That was kind of insane, considering how far I had let them take me, so far.

"Oh, I get why you like her now. I mean, I enjoyed her before this, but- I get it." I blinked- this was the first thing that Grey had said in English since they'd arrived, and this is what he chose?

"What is that supposed to mean?" His only response was a mysterious smile, so I turned my attention back to Nicholai. "I will be the first to admit that my experience with vampires- and this world of magic in general- is severely limited-" He shot Lisbet an almost apprehensive look. "-but... it seems to me that you're all just... human, plus a little something else." Nicholai blinked, and his face started to contort, before Lisbet held up a hand as if to stop him.

"She doesn't mean that the way you think she does." She blurted, and by this point, I could tell that he was on his way to becoming furious... for whatever reason. "At least, I don't think so. Why don't you use your words, and ask her?" He looked like that was the last thing he wanted to do, and that's why I wasn't just taking pity on him and answering- like I usually would.

"...why?" A man of few words, wasn't he? Still, I didn't like the idea of making someone uncomfortable, so I gave in.

"Jerremyah told me that certain people treat you all differently, because of what you are. Poorly- inhumanely. I thought that was awful- and stupid- because to me, you're just... human, plus." He stared at me like I was speaking in tongues- but he wasn't the only one.

When I glanced around, I saw Grey looking at me rather intently- like I was something much more interesting. Someone. Lisbet had a small, surprisingly almost tender smile on her lips, and Jerremyah... Jerremyah was looking at me like I had hung the moon. Was that just because I had inconvenienced Nicholai by not answering him before he had asked?

Nuria's eyebrows were slightly raised, which I guessed was about as 'shocked' as she got- extenuating circumstances notwithstanding. Minsi looked amused, and more than a little proud- of me? I didn't know what else it could be for, so I guess it must have been, but I wasn't sure why. It was a pretty simple statement- not exactly groundbreaking.

"Certain... certain people?" Nicholai asked, sounding a little lost, and Jerremyah huffed a dark sort of laugh.

"Hunters, mostly." The muscle in Nicholai's jaw twitched, as he clench it.

"...ah." Hm, was there a story there? Had he had bad experiences with Hunters, in the past?

"Evie, our dear friend Nicholai here," I had a feeling that this was the only time Jerremyah would refer to him as a friend- in order to add to his discomfort. "Comes from one of the more prominent Vampire Hunting families." Oh. "Or at least, he did... before they got wiped out." Nicholai winced, and I thought it was a little harsh of Jerremyah to come right out and say that- even it they were Hunters.

"And that's why you're so reliably against people becoming vampires?" He paused in his building anger, and frowned at me.

"...I'm sure that's part of it." He said, then clearly hesitated, glancing at Lisbet, as if for reassurance. "I... I don't know how much I'm supposed to tell you." I shrugged.

"You tell me whatever you want to tell me- whatever you think I need to know, in order to get your point across." He considered this for a second.

"I do not, personally, care whether you do or do not choose to become a vampire." I blinked. "I do, however, care if you only choose to become a vampire because you have been misled into thinking that it's all sunshine and rainbows." Oh. Well, I guess that was fair.

"And I don't want Nicholai to mislead you into thinking that all vampires are miserable sods." Jerremyah chimed in, and Nicholai rolled his eyes at him, even as Grey dropped a hand onto his shoulder.

"Let's face it, friend- you're the vampire equivalent of a storm cloud." Nicholai's eyebrows furrowed, but he didn't exactly look offended by it.

"Says the vampire equivalent of a hot summer's night, spent staying up late reading." Hm... that was almost poetic. Clearly, Grey was pleased by this assessment.

"Careful, Nicky, or I might think you're trying to make a pass at me." He didn't sound upset by the thought, but a joke was a joke, and not much could be assumed by that.

The corner of Nicholai's lips quirked up, and for the first time, I realised that he was rather handsome. It wasn't quite as in your face as Jerremyah or Grey's attractiveness, and he certainly didn't play it up as much as Grey did- Jerremyah's clothing accented his attractiveness, but it felt secondary to me. If he had liked a potato sack, he would have worn it with the same confidence as his leather jacket. I hadn't realised that Nicholai was handsome, because he was so sour faced all the time.

"Careful, Rey Rey, or I just might." Grey winked at him, and Nicholai's smile intensified, and it lit up his face- he should really smile more. "Anyway," He turned his attention back to me, and sobered slightly- unfortunately. "I am known to be a bit... pessimistic, especially when it comes to vampirism." I saw Jerremyah roll his eyes.

"That's an understatement." Nicholai's eyes hardened slightly- in fact, it was barely perceptible to me- but that was the only sign that he had even heard him.

"But I am not the only person- even in this room- that has had a negative experience with being a vampire." There was a growl from my left- Jerremyah. Ah. Clearly, Nicholai had heard, and was lashing back at him in his own way. So much for what Lisbet had said about him rarely indulging Jerremyah's 'petty antagonizing'.

I pulled my arm back, so I could take his hand in mine, and squeeze it. Immediately, the growling cut off, and his eyes swung to me- his lowered eyebrows shooting upwards. In an instant, he went from rage, to pleasantly shocked.

"He's just trying to get a rise out of you." Maybe that was obvious, but Jerremyah's face twisted.

"I know that, but that doesn't make it any less effective. Tête de nœud." I didn't know what that meant, but I guessed it was impolite- especially because of the way that Grey grinned.

"After all, we have no way of knowing that she won't inherit her sire's control problems." The growl started up again, before Lisbet placed her hand on his chest, and immediately, the growling ceased.

"Hush." She said it so softly that it was almost like a one word lullaby. Jerremyah's eyelids drooped, and I marveled at how quickly she could calm him down- with just a touch, and a single word. "Actually, Nicholai, if Evie does decide that she would like to become a vampire, we were going to have Nuria do it." His eyebrows shot up, and he glanced at the woman in question, who looked completely unmoved.

"And you're alright with that?" He asked, clearly skeptical, and Nuria shrugged.

"Sure- if Evie wants me to." He studied her with a discerning eye.

"It would be your responsibility to-" She cut him off, pointedly jerking her head in Jerremyah's direction.

"I am well aware of a sire's responsibilities, Nicholai- and I assure you, there are no control issues to inherit, here." Her caustic tone made Jerremyah duck his head, even though it wasn't directed at him. Nicholai wasn't swayed, but Grey...

"Have I told you lately how hot your 'take no shit' attitude is?" She glared at him, but that just made him happier, if anything. He looked like he might be about to swoon- not that I could blame him.

"Have I told you lately how not. Interested, I am?" A laugh echoed from behind me, and we all jumped.

As one, we turned, and while Jerremyah was on his feet in front of me in the space between two of my blinks, on either side of me, Lisbet and Minsi closed in- I was confused for a second, before I realised that they were trying to shield me. Protect me. Then, my heart swelled at the gesture. Nicholai and Grey stepped up beside Nuria, and I didn't know whether it was because they wanted to protect her, or they wanted her to protect them.

Nuria, however, was the only one who didn't look worried. She had been shocked initially, but then, after a second, her face had... split into one of the biggest smiles I had ever seen. If you had asked me before this, I would have thought that her face wasn't capable of making that expression. She stepped forward, away from the two men at her side, as if to greet the man that had appeared in the opening to the hallway that lead to the bedrooms- who looked like he was about as much of a threat as I was.

"Khaldun!" She exclaimed, and he smiled, but even having only known him for barely a second, I somehow could already tell that it was unusually small for him. "Khalli!" She stepped towards him again, and he held up a hand, to slow her approach.

"Not a social visit, I'm afraid." Jerremyah, who had almost entirely relaxed in his position in front of me, suddenly stiffened again.

"Oh God, I hate these damn prophecies..." The man- Khaldun, apparently- shrugged weakly, then tried to roll some of the tension out of his shoulders, and shake it out of his arms.

"They're certainly not my favorite part of this whole thing." I barely had time to wonder what they were talking about, before his eyes started to cloud.

At the start, they had been a lovely dark brown- similar to Nuria's- but then, rather quickly, they had started to turn white. Completely white. Both the iris and pupil changed dramatically, but even the sclera changed to the same pure white- but his eyes weren't just solid white, they were swirling, like there was an endless amount of mist trapped beneath his eyelids.

I thought this was as bad as it was going to get- but then, he opened his mouth, and started to speak.

(A/N): Evie: 'Lisbet's hot. Jerremyah's hot. Nuria's hot.'

Greygorry: *shows up*

Evie: 'Grey is much more attractive in person.'

Nicholai: *smiles*

Evie: 'Nicholai is actually quite handsome when he smiles, I didn't notice because he's so gloomy.'

also

Greygorry: *walks in*

Greygorry: *sees Evie in the dreamboat shirt*

Greygorry: 'Oh my god, yes! This is fantastic! Can't mention it, don't mention it!'

Translations:

Bonjour, douce Sirène. = Hello, sweet Siren. (Greygorry)

Je me demande si vous avez un goût aussi sucré que vous en avez l'air. = I wonder if you taste as sweet as you look. (Greygorry)

Il parle de son sang, pas de sa... chatte. = He's talking about her blood, not her... fanny. (Lisbet)

Je suis prêt à me porter volontaire pour tester le goût. = I'm ready to volunteer to test the taste.

Tête de nœud. = Dickhead (stupid person/imbecile).

Explanations:

Chatte can mean both cat as in the feline, and also a variety of slang for female genitalia.

'Son' can mean 'her/his/its', and is the masculine form- which means it's used with a masculine gendered word (like 'sang' = 'blood').

'Sa' can mean 'her/his/its', and is the feminine form - which means it's used with a feminine gendered word (like 'chatte' = 'cat/fanny')

Fanny = Female genitalia (UK slang).

'Making a pass' at someone means to try to get them to go out with you, or to have sex with you. Basically, Grey's like, 'careful, or I might think you're hitting on me', and Nicholai's like, 'I might be ;) '

Also, Nicholai's back! My baby!

Pronunciation:

Khaldun = Cal-doon.

Khalli = Cal-ee/Cal-lee

Also, I said Nicholai is 'sour faced', because the faceclaim I have for him is Tyler Hoechlin- who played Derek, in Teen Wolf, who was once told not to be such a 'Sour Wolf'. My original faceclaim for him was Joe Manganiello, but he's a bit older (Joe Manganiello is 46, Tyler Hoechlin is 35, and Nicholai was turned at 32.)

I just want y'all to know ahead of time that you probably aren't going to be wowed by the prophecy. I did my best, and it says what it needs to say, so I'm okay with it, but I'm not the happiest with it.