(A/N): Another Audrey POV letter chapter, but this time it's a letter from Leo, instead of Elaine. I'm sick again. It came on quite suddenly yesterday, and I'm still really not well, but luckily I'd already sorted out this chapter ahead of time, so even if I can't give it the FINAL final check-over (can't focus on reading, right now), it should be fine.

Trigger Warnings: References to trauma in general, references/allusions to child abuse (Tarea and his methods are mentioned, as well as Cipicia), mentions of various instances of violence, plus death or almost dying.

Audrey

About three hours after I sent Cecil off with my letter, he returned carrying Leo's reply- and right as I sat down to read it, Jay rounded the corner into the sunroom. "Is that from Elaine?" It was a fair question, given that pretty much the only times I'd borrowed Cecil in the past was to correspond with Elaine, but no. I hated having to lie to him- Tarea would've called it 'misleading', but I wasn't going to try to soften what I was doing- but if Elaine didn't think it was a good idea to tell him what Leo was, then I didn't think it was my place to do so, in her stead. Of course, if there ever came a time where it was more dangerous for him not to know, I'd be forced to go against Elaine's- and most likely Leo's- wishes and tell him, but until then...

"Actually," I started, already anticipating his reaction to the news. "I sent Leo a letter."

Immediately, his face dropped, and he shot Cecil a displeased look as if he thought the bird had personally betrayed him by delivering both my letter, and Leo's reply. "Why?" He asked sharply, then upon seeing the expression on my face, quickly flushed, and tried again. "I mean... why?" His tone was a lot nicer this time, so I gave him a nod of approval; setting the unfolded letter down on the table beside my chair, I took a sip of my tea to brace myself before I told him,

"I asked him what he got Elaine for Christmas."

He blinked hard, and a second later, his eyebrows furrowed deeply. "I- what?" His confusion was more than apparent, and I couldn't help my little snort of amusement.

"I thought it would be beneficial to keep the lines of communication open, and if we can develop a positive relationship with him so he's not just helping us because he cares about Elaine, I don't think that would be a bad thing. I'm just starting us off on mutual ground- Elaine."

Jay's confusion disappeared completely, and a wicked grin took its place. "That is devious- you're devious!" He sounded utterly delighted, and I wasn't sure if it was just because he still didn't really like Leo all that much, or some other reason. After a moment, his demeanor turned sheepish. "I haven't exactly... endeared myself to him. But... I don't if that's something I can fix, at this point." By the way he said it, I could tell he was also conflicted about whether it was something he wanted to fix. I assume he was torn between wanting to get along with Leo for Elaine's sake, and continuing to dislike him, because of their relationship.

"Funnily enough, just based on what Elaine has told me in passing, I don't think he has a negative opinion of you. I mean, he doesn't seem to be holding that against you- and I doubt Elaine would be very happy about it if he did." Jay looked begrudgingly pleased by that- like he didn't want to show how much he appreciated his little sister's loyalty.

"Still," He said slowly, quietly- then swiftly changed the subject to what he clearly really wanted to discuss. "Do you think he got her something romantic, like jewellery?" It figures he'd be more concerned about Elaine's relationship with Leo, than his own. I shot a blatant, pointed glance at the necklace around his neck- that matched the one around mine- and he scowled in embarrassment. "That doesn't count, and you know it. No, but seriously, do you think-"

I cut him off, already knowing where he was going with this and not wanting to linger on the subject any longer than I absolutely had to. "Jaygar, I refuse to speculate on any of Elaine's relationships, but I'm especially not going to try to read into whatever sort of present her friend got her for Christmas."

Jay appeared suitably chagrined by my chastising, but forged ahead anyway. "I'm not- It's not like I care, really, I just... I'd like to be up to speed on where things stand. And... last she and I spoke about it, she was- she didn't know if he liked her back." Well, it was clear at this point- at least to me- that Leo certainly had feelings of a romantic nature for her, so I guess her fears were unfounded. The question was, did Elaine know that?

"Well, maybe you should ask her about that- You know, Lawrence is ready to take another letter, maybe you should start composing your inquiry now." By his face I knew he wasn't exactly keen on this idea, but knew better than to shoot it down outright, or further try to pump me for information.

"Yeah, maybe," He acquiesced, then dipped his head toward where Cecil was dozing, hunkered down on one of the throw pillows from the couch. "Read your letter- let me know if there's anything to be worried about, yeah?" I rolled my eyes at him fondly and waved him off. Once he'd left, I finally picked up the letter, and got to reading.

Dear Ms Folley- sorry, Audrey-

Y'know, actually, I think I MAY have heard of her, but I'm not entirely sure- you'll have to refresh my memory.

Oh, good! I'd been concerned he wouldn't appreciate my attempt at humor, but not only did he seem okay with it, he was indulging me in a bit of banter.

Yeah, I think sending a letter was the best way to communicate, considering that Jo and Danniel are on watch right now-

Ah, okay- good to know, I suppose. Should I say hello? Put out lemonade, or something- Or would that just be weird? I'd think about it more a bit later.

not that they're dangerous to you, but they're under orders to come get one of us before interacting with you unless it's an emergency, just because they haven't had all that much experience with humans since they were turned.

And apparently, the experience they had had was with Elaine, if what she'd told me was anything to go by- which I had no doubt it was.

Speaking of sending a letter- what's the owl's name?

Which owl? Cecil? Why, had he done something?

And are they normally so... Well, I don't want to sound like I'm speaking ill of them, but... do they usually act like there's nothing going on in that feathery little head of theirs?

Yeah, that was Cecil, alright.

I feel I should start by reassuring you that you don't have to feel guilty for needing- or wanting- protection, even if the only people in a position to provide it happen to be much younger than you.

That- that was nice of him, but... it didn't really help to assuage my feelings of discomfort.

It's... I know I'm not always the best about that sort of thing myself, but... it's okay to rely on other people, sometimes. It's okay to HAVE to rely on other people, sometimes.

At the end of this, there was a small smiley face that seemed to have been added by another hand, and it invoked a kind of shocked pride- my galleons were on Lisbet, just given what I knew of their relationship. It- It was a big thing to say- to admit- and it did make me feel slightly better, if only because I knew I was clearly helping him come to terms with something similar.

I asked Lisbet to help me figure out what to ask you for, since you seem insistent on needing something to give us in return

Ah, yes- Lisbet it was, then.

and the only thing we could come up with was information.

Hm?

Now, obviously, you don't have to tell us anything you don't want to, but I think it would be helpful for us to know, and you're pretty much the only person who can give us this sort of information- or at least, your unique perspective of it.

What... what sort of information did they want from me? What could I even give them?

A few days after Lisbet and I visited you, we added two new members to the clan.

Uh oh... why?

This was planned before our visit, but since we weren't sure how they'd interact with the existing members, I thought it best not to tell you about them at the time, in case they weren't a good fit. Now that they've been here a few days, I'm confident that they work well with us, but I'm still not sure if allowing them to take watches would be the best idea just yet. One of them has some issues with staying in control, and I wouldn't want to bring him in before we've figured that out. The other COULD take watches right away (pending permission from Elaine) but I don't want to ask him to choose between his duties to his new clan, and maintaining solidarity with his friend- and I also don't want to alienate the former, although I highly doubt he'd care.

It was nice of him to wait for Elaine's permission, but I couldn't see what that had to do with the information he wanted from me.

The reason I'm telling you this is because both of them are far more familiar with your ex-husband than the rest of us- and while they don't hold it against YOU in any way, they REALLY don't like HIM,

Yes, well, they could get in line.

or Hunters in general. Please note we're not planning to take them on in any way, we just want to be prepared to defend ourselves if need be- and anything any of us knows about the way Hunters operate is either vague or outdated- or both. So, absolutely anything you could tell us would be a massive boon.

I- hm... I wasn't sure what I could tell them that was in any way useful, but I'd do my best. After all, I had no real allegiance to the Hunters anymore- not since Lyndon had been killed- so it was no skin off my nose to provide these particular vampires with the details they needed to be able to protect themselves.

I should explain that both sides of my family have Hunter history- the Ellwoods and the Melifluas-

I knew about the Meliflua family's involvement, but not about the Ellwoods'- but I guess if his father was above a certain age, then maybe I wouldn't have heard about it, because it had been before my time.

but while I think maybe Hunting may have been in my future, it was never explicitly stated, nor was I officially trained.

Good. Given how Tarea had trained Jay in particular, that was probably for the best.

You're correct, I'm not just half vampire- my maternal grandmother was a full-blooded veela, which makes me half vampire, quarter veela. Elaine didn't tell you because she was worried you would react badly- like others have, in the past. She also didn't tell you that Jonothan is my uncle, my mother poisoned me, or that Lisbet was the one that shoved me through your window, because she wasn't sure how you'd react- or whether I would want you to know. I didn't think you were insensitive- in fact, I appreciate your candidness. There's no point in trying to tiptoe around the subject or pretending like you haven't picked up on it, so... in future, please don't feel bad about bringing something up- and I'll try to be a little more upfront about things, if I can be.

Thank you, Leo

PS: Lisbet here- Uh... sorry? I don't know what to say, other than to apologise, and try to explain WHY I did what I did. I was doing some undercover work for a friend of mine, in order to figure out what Jonothan was up to. In doing so, I was expected to play a part in all of the plots he had a thumb in- including attacking his nephew (Leo), to honor a deal made between him and Leo's mother. Leo wasn't willing to come quietly- I think he was worried about what would happen to Elaine (and the rest of you) once he was out of the way- so I employed some... violent persuasion. It- He continued to fight us until Nicholai and Shari arrived, even though we all knew he was bleeding out, but it wasn't enough. I bit him to help him heal, and the pain made him pass out- and I ensured that Jonothan and I got away with an unconscious Leo, by threatening to break his neck. It was only after Jonothan had already delivered Leo to his mother that I found out what sort of person she is, so I put the squeeze on Jonothan to find out where they were, and brought him home... unfortunately, she'd already poisoned him at that point.

It's not- He's been cured since, and managed to get himself out of the 'deal' she trapped him in, so it's not something you need to worry about, but... yes, it did happen- and it's something I try to make up for each and every day, even if he refuses to hold it against me the way he probably should. It- I hope I can make up for my part in the attack on your family as well, but I understand if you want me to... step down. Step away, so to speak. Just, please know that it was never about your family- or even about Leo, really- and outside of that particular mission, I would never, EVER harm any of you- if only because it would upset Elaine, which would inevitably upset Leo... and that is something I can no longer abide.

That... was a lot to take in. It took me a few minutes, split between staring at the parchment, and then out the window toward the back of the house, where this encounter had taken place, two and a half years prior- Oh, Merlin... it was bad enough when Leo had been shoved through a window by some unknown, enemy vampire, but now that I knew it was Lisbet? Someone who was not only a friend to him, but quite obviously a parental figure- it was even worse than I'd first thought. And Nicholai, that must be Leo's mysterious father- this was the first time he'd been mentioned by name, which I thought was more than a little odd. Still, it made sense that if Leo was, in fact, trying to avoid talking about him specifically because he was worried about likening him to Tarea simply because they were both fathers, Lisbet wouldn't have the same issue, and used his name freely- without even really thinking about it.

When everything had finally sunk in- Jonothan being Leo's uncle, his mother poisoning him, and Lisbet being the enemy vampire who had shoved him through the window- I grabbed a cushion from beside Cecil and buried my face in it to muffle my curse, so there was no risk of Jay overhearing it. It was only a split second after I pulled the cushion away that I realised that while Jay couldn't hear it, the two young vampires outside almost certainly could, and now, with flaming cheeks, I choked out an equally quiet, "Don't repeat that- and don't hold my foul mouth against me, please."

(A/N): Audrey: 'I have to take care of my traumatised children while still maintaining my ability to remain my own person with my own wants, needs, and goals.'

Lisbet: 'Uh... got any pointers, on that?'

also

Lisbet: *trying to keep Leo's ears clean*

Audrey: *can't swear in front of Jay and has to muffle it with a cushion, apologises to the Twins and tells them not to repeat her inappropriate language*

Leo: *has quite the potty mouth, already*

Jay: *curses like a sailor whenever his mother can't hear him*

Jo and Danniel: *currently holding a swearing contest in the woods*

So, Lyndon is not a NEW character, but this is the first time I've given this character a name, and he was only briefly mentioned in Chapter 23: Reveal and Research. He's Elaine's uncle, who was killed by a werewolf the year before she went to Hogwarts- and I've decided that he's Audrey's brother, rather than Tarea's, for reasons that will become apparent, later.

Also Leo reveals all his secrets so abruptly and so casually because he knows from experience that if he reveals all of them at once, people tend to get overwhelmed and thus can't focus on any one thing in order to pile onto him about it. There's too many things to talk about, so certain subjects inevitably get missed- he's basically trying to do a buy one, get one free special on his secrets/trauma.