(A/N): The aftermath to Lisbet saying that she knows Jerremyah is the one that turned the Twins.

Leo

Jerremyah looked like he wanted to deny it, but because it was Lisbet leveling him with the accusation, he couldn't. "Lisbet..." This was apparently all the answer Jo needed.

"You motherfucker, you lied to us!" She started to stalk towards him but Danniel stepped in front of her, and I finally realised why he'd looked so worried.

"Jo, you need to calm down." Oof, not a good idea dude.

"This prick hunted us both down, bled us dry, and turned us into vampires, and then had the audacity to lie to our goddamn faces and say that he found us! How are you not more upset about this?!" There was a second of silence, where Jo and Danniel just stared at each other, before the color left her face.

"Jo..."

She shook her head, and Danniel stopped whatever he was going to say. "You... You knew... didn't you?" That's why he had looked worried when Lisbet had started talking about Jerremyah feeling responsible for them- he had already known that he was their sire.

"...yes." Jo took a step back, away from Danniel, and I took a step forward in order to put an arm around her shoulders. She didn't throw it off, so I assumed as long as I didn't hinder her in any way, she would let me stay where I was.

"I'd start explaining, if I were you," I advised Danniel, trying to send him a look that showed him I wasn't angry with him, but I was a little disappointed.

"It wasn't like we were talking about it behind your back or anything- he didn't tell me, and to be honest I was never completely sure- but he left me in the woods to go feed, and when he came back with you..." Jo winced, and I rubbed her arm in an attempt to comfort her. "He reeked of you-" Neither I, nor Jerremyah unfortunately, missed Lisbet's clearly displeased reaction to that. "And he was covered in blood, more than if he'd merely fed, and I knew that the only other time I'd seen him like that was... after I woke up." He glanced back at Jerremyah, who looked like he'd rather be anywhere but here, and Lisbet, who looked concerned- for Jo, for Danniel, or for Jerremyah, I couldn't tell.

"I also knew the chances of one person coming across two separate but related vampire attacks slash turnings- without encountering the attacker- within a few days of each other was extraordinarily slim." Jerremyah at least had the decency to appear chagrined- whether by the act itself, or the poor quality of his lie, I couldn't tell.

"That doesn't explain why you didn't tell me!"

Danniel inhaled slowly, not removing his steady gaze from Jo's. "Now's not really the best time to talk about that-" Jo cut him off, taking a step towards him again- not because she wanted to be close to him, but because she wanted to get all up in his face. Danniel, to his credit, didn't step back, but I wasn't sure whether it was because he was being brave, or because he didn't think Jo would attack him. I wasn't so sure that she wouldn't, though.

"I think now's the perfect time to talk about that, thank you very much," She bit out, and I saw Danniel hesitate.

"Well... at first, it's because I didn't know you that well. And then..." He seemed to brace himself. "And then you said if you ever met your sire, you would kill them." She had? "I knew if Jerremyah thought you were going to attack him, he'd attack you back, and I knew without training he'd kill you easily." I looked to Jerremyah, and he shrugged.

"If I had ever considered either one of you a threat, I would have killed you in a heartbeat." He smirked. "Or lack thereof." Lisbet glared at him.

"Do you lack all concept of tact, or do you just enjoy riling people up?" It was clear by the look he gave her that it was the latter. He also probably wanted to make a remark about how he would enjoy riling her up.

"So, I was planning to tell you my suspicions eventually, when I thought, maybe..."

Jerremyah laughed in a not very nice way. "Maybe she wouldn't get absolutely annihilated if she decided to come after me? You'll be waiting a while, pal." I could tell Jerremyah's 'pal' comment chafed Danniel, but he tried not to let it show, probably because we all knew Jerremyah would enjoy such a thing.

"You have to let your guard down some time, sire." Uh oh. She wasn't considering trying to make good on her threat, was she?

"Jo, if Jerremyah joins the clan-" I started, but she cut me off.

"He'll be off limits. I know the rules, Leo." That didn't reassure me as much a she clearly thought it would.

"And you can't leave the clan in order to get around that rule, either." Jo's eyebrows furrowed like she hadn't been considering that very thing. "Because as much as I prefer you to Jerremyah, clan comes first, and I really don't want to have to kill you to protect him." Jo pointedly eyed the arm I still had around her shoulders, and I shrugged. "What? You wanted me to lie? The rules that will keep you from killing him are the same rules that mean if someone attacks you, we're required to come to your aid. You can't have one without the other."

"Any other rules I should know about ahead of time if I'm going to join your little slumber party?"

I watched Jo scowl, then turned my attention back to Jerremyah. "It's simple, really. You support us, we support you. If anyone attacks one of us, it's an attack on all of us. Because of this, it's expected that clan members do their best not to encourage hostility or animosity from other parties, and at least make a sincere effort to foster positive relationships amongst your clan." I raised my eyebrows at him, and he rolled his eyes in response.

"I am capable of civility, you know." Lisbet snorted, and he looked exasperated- which, welcome to my world.

"Are you? That's news to me." Jerremyah glared at her, but it didn't carry much heat, before the look transformed into one that very much did carry heat, in a very different way.

"I'm sure you remember how... courteous, I can be." I grimaced at the obvious innuendo even as Lisbet flushed bright red.

"Right, well. That's enough of that." Jerremyah smirked at me, but Lisbet had the decency to look embarrassed- probably because she knew we all knew she was already struggling not to fall for this man's charms, again. "Jerremyah, any other questions?" He considered this for a second, more pensive than I'd previously thought him capable of.

"Just the one." Just one? That's good, at least this will go by quickly- he gestured to Herc. "Who the hell is he?"

(A/N): Leo, finding out that Danniel kept his suspicions about Jerremyah being the Twins sire from the rest of them: 'I'm not mad, I'm just disappointed.'

30/12/24 - Whether Jerremyah would've killed the Twins if they attacked him is a bit of a toss up. Yes, Jerremyah can have a bit of a ruthlessly practical streak at time- a 'do what needs to be done' mentality- but he's also someone who knows that he's capable of causing great violence, pain, and grief, and as such, is prone to bouts of depression. Still, whether he was depressed or not at the time of the attack, there's a pretty good chance he would be reluctant to kill them anyway, since he already suffered the 'Oh God, what have I done?' with both of them once right before he turned them, and would probably be pretty reluctant to do it again. There's a good chance he'd do his best to rehabilitate them, essentially, and if he couldn't, then he might choose to restrain them until he can take them somewhere they can be taken care of (say, by Nicholai) and then peace out to remove the immediate temptation of killing him. I think Jerremyah in that sense is equal parts, 'you tried to kill me, now I'm going to kill you', and, 'I know what it's like to make a mistake. Let me teach you how to be better, even if I'm not entirely sure how, yet'. Also, Lisbet's reaction to Jerremyah's 'I am capable of civility, you know' is because the last time she saw him he was a growling, practically feral, obsessively overprotective mess, and she's basically being like, 'Oh, so NOW you remember how to be civil?!' and Jerremyah's like, 'Those were extenuating circumstances! ...also, I'm very sorry.' Also also, Lisbet's 'Do you lack all concept of tact, or do you just enjoy riling people up?' line is very Nicholai-to-Jerremyah, which is fitting.