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gracevilliers · 7 years

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Housewarming Party || Grace & Various (Chatzy)

Grace was accustomed to parties, although this one was more casual than the affairs she had grown up around. Those were all pomp and circumstance, and though she could always fit in with those circles, she had settled on something low key for this event, thinking it might make people more likely to attend. Besides, there was something charming about watching a handsome, muscular man flip meet on a BBQ in a tank top.

This was her first real house party in so long, and Elena had been frantic trying to research what exactly happened at house parties, in particular house warming parties. Everything she found online showed lots of people dancing, drinking from red solo cups, and eating copious amounts of small foods. Also, she read that it was customary to bring a gift to a house warming party, and though she didn't actually know whose house she was going to be warming, she brought something she felt was appropriate, a candle. She intended to bring a fire starter log, but it was too bulky and strange to carry, so she opted for a small scented candle instead. Now she just needed to try and find who this house actually belonged to.

Alia had never tidied her own place up enough to ever entertain the idea of a house party, so to see Grace’s place in all its immaculate glory was… quite something, to say the least. And as a housewarming gift, she had put dashes of different fae blood to create a special mix, and had poured it into a tiny bottle - the contents of which were enough to last maybe three shots or so. Now, all she had to do was to find the host, but that was proving difficult in the crowded house. And so instead of going on a wild goose hunt for Grace, she instead approached the closest person to her: a woman of the sea, if her senses weren’t misleading her. “Hi,” she said with a grin. “You wouldn’t happen to know where I can find Grace, do you?”

Elena greeted the woman who spoke to her with a wide smile, "Oh hi! Grace?" She pressed her lips together and shrugged, holding onto the candle with both hands, "No, I don't." Elena let out a laugh, "It's funny that you're trying to find someone, cause so am I. Except I'm trying to find whoever owns this house, unless that is Grace, cause then I guess we're looking for the same person."

Grace was doing her best to mingle with everyone. She only recognized a few people here, but she figured that was the idea. She extended her hand to greet the woman, recognizing her scent as merm without much of an effort. "I'm Grace. I don't believe we've met." She couldn't help but give Alia a small smirk as she approached. She was sure they'd spend some time together before the evening was done. "Darling, it's a pleasure to meet you. Please make yourself at home. I set aside some room for gifts on that table." She lifted her eyes to Alia, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek, since they had already become plenty familiar with one another already. "And Alia, a pleasure to see you again." In more ways than one.

Alia was just about to respond to the other woman when a familiar voice interrupted, and her grin only widened. She waited for the introduction round to make its way to her, and offering her hand to the mermaid, added, “I’m Alia.” She made a mental note to drop the gift off on the table. Accepting the kiss on the cheek and returning it with one of her own, she smiled. “Thanks for the invitation. You have… a really big home. Were those really hot springs I saw in the backyard?”

Elena followed suit, leaving the candle she had brought onto the table full of gifts. There were so many there, and so much room in this giant house, she was certain that even all of the gifts situated in one room wouldn't fill it up. "I'm Elena. Grace you have a lovely and very big house. It's probably the biggest I've ever seen, and you have hot springs in the back?" Elena was absolutely astonished, and it was clear on the excitement and surprise on her face.

"Well," Grace chuckled with a knowing look in Alia's direction, but looking back at Elena to keep her in the conversation as well. "It's not all about size. If Roisin had her way it would be the neighborhood's biggest 1950s roller-skating diner. That woman's taste leaves much to be desired. The springs are lovely though. There's a natural pool under the property that you'll have to experience for yourself some time."

Alia raised an eyebrow. “It’s not?” Her tone was intentionally skeptical, though she brightened at the idea of a roller-skating rink. “I like this Roisin already.” There was no doubt that Grace’s home left very little to be desired: if there was one thing Alia absolutely loved, it was hot springs. Perhaps because of the way they reminded her of home. “What do you think, Elena? Shall we take a dip in the springs later on?”

At the suggestion that they go for a swim the hot springs, Elena was at first, thrilled to be invited and lit up at the idea of relaxing in the steaming waters, but after the excitement wore off reality slowly kicked in. "Oh, I would love to, but I don't think I can. Hot springs are usually fresh water, aren't they? I can't really handle fresh water for long periods of time, but I would love to join and just chat, if that's okay?"

It was hard to miss Alia's flirtation. Grace was doing everything she could to metaphorically keep it in her pants in front of her guests, but her little chuckle at Alia's words promised more to come later, if they had the opportunity. "Roisin will be here somewhere. Just look for the beautiful woman with the ugly outfit. I think she was threatening bell bottoms." Grace gave an eyeroll. "Oh? I'm sorry, they are fresh, yes. But I suppose every species comes with its ups and downs. You're welcome to join us regardless."

Alia sent Grace an amused glance. “You seem to hold her in high regard,” she remarked dryly. Her mood dampened slightly as Elena informed them she couldn’t join them in the fresh water. “We don’t have to go to the hot springs now - how about we do something we can all enjoy? Like… a house tour, before our host gets too busy to entertain us?”

Elena never met nor heard of this Roisin person, but from the descriptions she was hearing, the woman sounded like quite the eccentric character. "A house tour!" Elena clapped her hands together, "That sounds nice! I bet a house like this has so many interesting stories as well. Is it haunted?"

Grace wasn't sure whether that was sarcasm in Alia's voice or not, but she chose to clarify. "Oh, she's my most dear friend. Just one with poor aesthetic tastes. And I think the party can spare me for just a few moments." She placed her wine glass on the counter and led her guests inside. "I certainly hope it isn't haunted given the amount I paid for it, but there was a nest of blood dolls in the basement when I first came to view it. Gave Iann and I quite the surprise."

Alia followed Grace as she led them into the house. “Blood dolls? What happened to them?” The way Grace talked about them made it seem like they weren’t there anymore. “Wait—Iann, as in, adorable Iann?” she asked, not caring that Grace most likely would have no idea about the moniker. “Did he help you move the blood dolls?” Iann had saved her life - she wouldn’t put it past him to help out with resettling other individuals as well.

"What exactly is a blood doll?" Elena asked curiously as they crossed over the threshold into the building. "I know Iann too, he seems to get around. He helped me kill a giant crab monster. Well, actually he just sat on it and it got squashed," she explained matter-of-factly.

Fane really wasn't sure whether coming was a good idea or a bad one, they had been sat in the Louis Armstrong airport back in New Orleans where he and Faye had been for the last week together when the invite had been forwarded by his progeny. A part of him had been sorely tempted to just say no, but aware his absence would likely be noted considering parties were... well, they were sort of his domain around Jamara he figured at least showing his face for a little time wouldn't be too bad. Explaining why his corvette sleekly pulled up outside and Fane climbed out getting Faye's door for her. With his gift tucked under his arm he headed toward the gate idly taking note of the decor through the shade of his glasses a small tilt to his head not allowing his uncertainty about being here to bleed through and projecting his typical air of confident nonchalance as he approached the gathering.

"The blood dolls? Oh, I had them all killed of course," Grace said with a casual wave of her hand, then immediately chuckled. "I'm joking, of course. They went with their new mistress to her new house in... Boston? Somewhere in New England? They were very pampered." Explaining what a blood doll actually was was a less casual task. Many people found themselves uncomfortable at the thought. "They're humans who enjoy being fed on, by vampires. Our kind sometimes take them in as live-in companions, but it's never been my thing." She changed the subject as quickly as she could. "Iann is... quite a character." She would have said more, but Fane's entry had stolen her full attention. She cleared her throat, waving him over. Bloody damn that tall handsome man and his ability to make any outfit look good. "Fane, dearest. I was just about to give a tour. Come and join us."

Fane tilted his head as the crisp English of Grace's voice cut through the garden, commanding the attention of all in the immediate vicinity and took a moment to edge his aviators down the bridge of his nose peering a little over the rim at her. A single dark brow arching at her greeting, but opting to keep things civil... for now. "Grace darlin'" he greeted smoothly a slight slant coming to his lips as his own English accent grew a little more pronounced as he drew nearer "pleasure... like always. You know, I'm almost surprised that I even got an invite." Especially considering how things went between them the last time they ran into one another but that was between them and likely none of the other guests needed to know those details. "A tour and no offer of drinks first? Tsk tsk Grace, what sort of host doesn't offer drinks to the newcomer?" it was said as a light needle nothing truly meant by it. That was simply Fane's humour at the end of the day, mildly sarcastic with a touch of mocking thrown in for good measure. He looked over at Alia and Elena with a wider smile taking the time to go over to each woman and press a kiss of greeting to their cheek "you're all looking lovely today ladies."

Alia paused, brow furrowing - and then rolling her eyes at Grace’s joke. “He squashed a crab?” she repeated, remembering the sea spirits well - though she couldn’t say she had squashed any that day down at the beach. When the newcomer arrived, she grinned at him. “Fane!” she greeted cheerfully, accepting the kiss to the cheek easily. “How have you been?” Turning to Grace, she added, “He does have a point. I haven’t managed to find my drinks, either.” Not that she really minded; she was more interested in looking around the house.

It was unwise to forget about Fane's charms. They came in multitudes. Certainly, Grace had changed over the years, and perhaps Fane had done the same, but that part of him still remained, it seemed, and that haircut was very flattering on him. She gave a quick glance to the woman at his side. They had met before too. Apparently, this was a small town. "Oh, how silly of me," she said, dragging her gaze back to Fane with an exaggerated eye roll and a vague smile. "What will everyone have?"

Elena turned when Grace began speaking to someone coming up the walkway. Her eyes landed on the familiar face of Fane, and while she was still new to the nuances of surface life, she picked up that there was some history between Fane and Grace. She smiled pleasantly when Fane pressed a kiss to her cheek in greeting, "You never sent me a message. I waited and waited," she feigned a frown, and then turned her attention to Grace when she asked about drinks, "Salt water for me! Unless you have margaritas. I had one recently and they're so good, especially with the salt around the rim."

Plucking his glasses off his face, Fane tucked them into the neck of his t-shirt giving a winning smile at Alia "oh me? Always getting up to some sort of trouble. Been in New Orleans the last week-- obvious from my tan" he deadpanned considering he couldn't tan anymore but grinned nevertheless. "Happened to deal with an alligator the size of a school-bus," his eyes widened utterly serious "no jokes, huge thing that creature, almost got shot in the process... But I'm in one piece, more or less, fun times all around I'd say." Fane pointed a little at her as she agreed to his point about drinks, "I'll never say no to a whiskey if you wouldn't mind darling?" He offered an apologetic smile at Elena then, "I know... I meant to, I never forgot but all this community town shenanigans the mayor loaded on us had me absolutely run off my feet and then this trip sort of snuck up on me entirely, I do hope you can forgive me? I'll make it up to you, promise."

That was twice he had called Grace darling now, and the word still stirred something uncomfortable in her, that strange feeling that came with a mixture of nostalgia and annoyance, conflicting unpleasantly. She had invited him though. She had meant what she said all those weeks ago about trying to move on, trying to make a new life. "You always did like whiskey, and I'm sure the bartender can make a mean Margarita. Alia?"

It seemed like Alia was surrounded by charmers today. “How did you manage to almost get shot when dealing with an alligator?” she mused aloud. “Was this another adventure for the museum?” And when Grace asked for their drinks, she added, “A margarita too, please.”

Elena perked up when Fane described his adventure, "Oh! That's a reference!" She gasped excitedly, practically bouncing in her sandaled feet, hair flipping, "I know that reference! It's from Harry Potter!" She was positively beaming, pleased with herself for understanding and being able to fit in so casually.

Grace gave a nod, excusing herself to disappear for a few moments only to return with a tray of drinks. Two whiskeys and two margaritas. When the tray was empty, she set it aside. "You must have so many stories I haven't heard," she said when she returned, giving Fane a long gaze. "Since you've been alive for several hundred more years than I was originally led to believe," she said with a shrug, keeping her tone pleasant, but him to read into it what he wished. "We'll have to make up for lost time some day. But first the tour, yes? Alia, you must be keen to see the bedroom," Grace said, placing a hand on the small of the naga's back.

Fane recalled his first attempt of trying to explain Harry Potter to Elena so her understanding had him snapping his fingers and pointing at her "that's the one! I'm guessing you've started to read the books at my suggestion? You should totally ask Faye about defence against the dark arts when you get the chance, and be sure to call it exactly that because that's what she teaches at the academy" Fane couldn't help but enjoy irking Faye with his Harry Potter references when it came to her magical capabilities. No matter how profound she was, there was no escape. As Grace returned his eyes slid over to her, taking the drink and keeping his own gift tucked under his arm for now. "I told you plenty of them, though circumstances were hardly ideal let's be honest" he answered with a slightly pointed glance in her direction but left it at that as she took on her role of hostess. Now wasn't the time for causing hassle or for spilling unsavoury truths to the populus. They could blame one another for eternity for all he cared, so long as he had alcohol he wasn't going to kick up a fuss.

“Pleasure trip?” Even to Alia’s ears, the words sounded illicit. “But that sounds exciting! Certainly an adventure, and even better that it wasn’t for work.” She grinned at Elena’s response, finding her enthusiasm catching. Taking one of the margaritas from Grace with a “Thanks,” she took a sip of it. The hand on the small of her back brought the tiniest of smiles to her face - she was a tactile person - though the tension between Grace and Fane soured it slightly. Flirtation was all well and good, but being used made her feel… well. It wasn’t a nice feeling. “I’m keen to see everything,” she said, if a little stiffly.

Despite enjoying the company of others, Iann wasn't particularly good at party settings, not when he didn't have some sort of purpose - like finding a certain person to ingratiate himself for favours or scoping the place out in the hopes of stealing something. Merely socializing in crowds, however, was just not something Iann ever got used to. Still Grace Villiers was essentially his first big 'commission', so to speak; and she did seem to have a sort of open-door housewarming, so he felt he should show up. Who knew - maybe ol' Gracie had more vampire friends looking to buy big property in Soapberry. He'd been drifting for a while, when he thought he saw Adorable Alia with the tall blond woman herself - and Villiers' hand hovering at the small of Alia's back. He pitched an eyebrow, and smirked slightly, watching with a slight curiousity at the gathered - and rather eclectic - group of people he knew.

Elena took one of the offered drinks, licking at the salt on the rim as it was her favorite part before sipping the drink. She saw that Grace put her hand on the small of Alia's back, and wondered if that was something necessary for a house tour. She wasn't sure, as this would be her first official one, and so she simply mimicked the action, putting her hand on the small of Grace's back.

Iann nearly spit out his mouthful of club soda when Elena gracefully rested her hand on the curve of Grace Villier's backside. Oh my god, if only Iann had a camera (he forgot his phone had one).

Grace could tell Fane was doing his best to be pleasant too. She wondered if inviting his partner to join them would ease things at all, but she seemed to have vanished in the crowd for a moment, probably having found a mutual friend to speak with. Never mind. At the touch of the merm's skin on hers, Grace stiffened slightly, but only momentarily, thanks to her lack of expectation. "Well, the more the merrier, I suppose," she chuckled, an arm around Elena's shoulder and the other around Alia. "Everyone here is so friendly. And we didn't even get to taking a dip in the springs yet."

At Grace's proclamation that everyone was so friendly, Iann hustled over, seeing it as a good opportunity to interject. "Ms Villiers! Geez, look what you did to the house, it looks completely different," Iann said, then grinned and gave Alia a friendly nudge. "Nice seeing you here, Alia. And you Elena." Iann winked at Fane. "You too I guess, Savin," he teased.

Alia brightened as Iann approached, almost wishing she wasn’t in her human feet just so she could nudge him back with her tail. “You’re right on time, Iann. Grace was just about to give us a tour.”

Iann couldn't help but ask, "Us? Or just you?"

Cassie saw the flyers here and there, but didn’t make much of it. After all, the name Grace Villiers, didn’t ring any bells. She was only further intrigued when she heard the name and mention of a house warming party multiple times through her errands or work day. Cassie eventually acquired the address, and made her way to the home, certain that even if she didn’t know the hostess she’d see someone familiar. She brought along a bottle of red wine and left it on a table near the entry way, feeling a little bit better about the random appearance. Weaving through the small clusters of people she picked up a few veggies from a tray to munch on. An eyebrow raised when she heard the hostesses name, Cassie approached closer.

Alia fixed Iann with a playful look. “Why, Adorable Iann? Are you jealous?”

"Maybe a little," Iann said, taking Alia's hand and putting it around his back and grinning a bit more.

Grace welcomed Iann with a smirk. "Everyone is welcome to join. It seems you are quite the little social butterfly, darling." Adorable Iann was a rather interesting nickname, although not entirely inaccurate. Flirtation seemed to be in the air in more ways than one. "A very quick tour. I can't leave my other guests for too long, you know."

Faye had made her way to the nearest bathroom as they'd arrived, making sure she didn't look too windswept after the ride over in the convertible. She checked herself in the mirror, turning her neck this way and that and checking her glamour. The long marks of Fane's fingers were hidden, as were the purple-black bruises that still lingered on her skin. She'd only glamoured them because well... she looked like someone had hurt her. So for sake of having to explain herself a thousand times, Faye had glamoured them over. For now. She quickly picked Fane's tall form out of the crowd and made her way over. "Miss anything?" she said sotto voice, unsure what the current going on were as her hand touched his back.

"Yes you can, Ms Villiers," Iann snorted as he looked around at the other guests. "We're obviously the most interesting group here. Oh, housewarming present --" Iann reached into his pocket and pulled out two matching magnets - one a rooster and one a cat, both beautifully carved and obviously craft-made. "Here you go. It's a cock and a pussy - traditional housewarming gifts."

Cassie still within earshot of Iann and Grace and a few of the others snorted when she side glanced to see Iann pull out the magnets. “Nice, really nice.” She murmured.

Iann heard Cassie's unmistakable voice (how could he mistake that persnickety mutter as anyone else) and looked over at her, only to find her eating vegetables of all things. "What the hell is that?" Iann asked, pointing at Cassie's carrot stick. "Did you - shit, are you trying to be like...vegan or something?" A vegan werewolf? Would Cassie go that far to avoid her wolfishness??

Fane had ended up losing interest in the tour with the level of flirtation that existed between his ex and the other women lingering around. The house itself was beautiful and thus for most of it his interest was taken by that he'd stopped by one particular painting when he felt a familiar hand at his back and his body swayed back into the touch relaxing as the familiar voice reached his ear. "Nothin' much," he answered honestly his voice low turning away to face Faye more directly "just social niceties I s'pose and Grace being... well, she's Grace."

Cassie turned and stepped closer when iann noticed her, glancing down at the last baby carrot in her hand. She wrinkled her nose at Iann and opened her mouth to stick out her tongue with mashed up orange carrot. “No, not really. It was the only thing I could find on quick walk through.” Cassie offered the carrot out ot her, “You want it? It’s rabbit food, truly. Trust me, i’m not ditching meat anytime soon."

Grace snorted at the gift, rolling her eyes and immediately affixing them to the fridge. "Well, since I like a little bit of everything, I'll display them with pride." She led her guests on a small tour, thankful that Fane seemed to have been distracted when his partner Faye rejoined him. She wasn't gone too long though. It would have been unseemly.

Iann mostly tagged along with the tour to watch Alia and Grace, since he'd originally given Grace the tour of the house in the first place. And there was only so much decor of rich fancy places that Iann was interested in - no, the two women were far more curious. His tagging along was probably a huge crimp in Grace's game, but he didn't care since he had Elena and Cassie to keep him company and he thoroughly harassed them both. "Do you two know each other? Elena, this is Pe - I mean, Cassie. Cassie, this is Elena."

Alia smiled at the not-vegan werewolf. "And I'm Alia," she added.

Elena she looked over at the brunette woman named Cassie and smiled, "Hi! It's so very nice to meet you," she bounced forward to give the other woman a hug.

"Oh right! This is Alia..." Iann said, looking abashed. "And this is the lady of the house, the Honorable, Esteemed Lady Grace Villiers."

“Hmm?” Cassie turned to the other woman, suddenly embarrassed and finishing the carrot in her mouth before offering her hand to Elena and pulling back when the woman was clearly bounding forward to hug her. “Oh-oh-“ She stuttered, looking unsurely at Iann and then nodding a quick hello to Alia as well.

Grace was beginning to think the merm hadn't been on land long. It made for an awkward but entertaining number of encounters. And Grace didn't even have to be drunk to enjoy them. "Oh, I could never go vegan either. There's plenty of BBQ food, for that exact reason."

Elena had finished off her margarita while on the tour, and her face had a nice flush to it now as her body wasn't used to alcohol. "You smell lovely," Elena complimented Cassie as she pulled back from the hug, "Like... vegetation," she smiled brightly and then clung onto Iann's arm, as he was so far the only person she knew most at the party.

Faye glanced around as Fane commented, giving a low hum in response. "Oh? You mean she's bein' a traitorous, murdering bitch?" Faye said so that only Fane could hear. "Not a great way to treat your guests..."

Alia watched, amused, as Elena wrapped her arms around Cassie, before turning to Grace. "I didn't know you had that many titles attached to your name."

Cassie lips curled into amusement at the compliment from Elena, and getting a closer smell of the girl herself, confirming she was a mermaid, some of the strangeness settled into place. “Thank you.” She said kindly, “That’s a new one, I assure you.” She looked over at Grace and smiled brighter, “Barbeque, that’s amazing. And great to meet you. I uh, left some wine by the front. I didn’t know what else to bring…"

Grace waved her hand. "Just Iann being dramatic as usual. Just Lady will suffice. I believe you need to be a judge to be 'the honourable'.” She chuckled, lightly touching Alia's arm and whispering that she would be back soon before disappearing to mingle with some more of the guests. She hadn't spoken to Faye since she had arrived and decided to take the opportunity, walking over with a blissfully ignorant confidence. "Faye, I'm glad you could make it. I had no idea you and Fane knew one another. I'm glad he still has excellent taste."

Iann looked down at Elena and jostled the merm gently, "Hey you. Having fun?" He looked up when Grace mentioned his name. "I'm not dramatic! I'm sure those are all her titles...impressed?" he grinned at Alia, as Grace drifted off to greet Faye and Fane chatting a few paces away. "What do you all think of her new home? I helped her find it."

Fane raised a hand to stifle a snicker at Faye's salty attitude. Struggling to help the smile that did appear on his lips as he responded softly "well... I mean, there's been no backstabbing yet but that doesn't mean there isn't time to end up like the Caesar salad being offered up outside with the barbecue... Watch out for friends wielding knives" he grinned at his history joke but when he noticed Grace approaching out of his peripheral and took a sip of his drink thankful he spoke before she was near enough to hear their conversation. Though her remark did earn a slight arch of his brow as he regarded her and then Faye with a marginal smile. "Oh we know each other," he agreed looking at Faye then "very well."

Faye saw Grace coming, and while she'd only met the woman once - and truly liked her goddammit - there were some things that Faye just couldn't look past. Though she wouldn't make a scene. She did have a tiny bit of tact about her. "Grace," Faye greeted in return, a smile on her face. "I was wonderin' when I'd run into you. I was startin' to think I was gonna have to hunt you down to say hello."

Otto stepped into the house, still tentative. He received an invitation and wasn't so gauche as to turn it down, but he didn't know Grace Villiers very well. Vampire social circles were tight-lipped when the wanted to be, years of having to keep themselves hidden. He aired on the side of caution with a bespoke suit Teddy had picked out for him long ago. His gift was a bottle of expensive wine and a wine-opener with a golden-lined agate handle. He'd grabbed both from a local shop before making his tentative way to the party.

Elena nodded emphatically, hair falling into her face so she pushed it back, "So much fun," she responded to Iann with a smile. "I drank a whole margarita all by myself," she boasted. "You found this house? That mustn't have been very hard. It's so big."

Alia grinned. "Somehow I doubt that. And maybe," she narrowed her eyes at him teasingly, nodding as Grace excused herself before turning her attention back on the group. "You did? It's a nice place, seems to suit her well. And the hot springs out back!"

Fane was forced to bite his lip a little to try and keep his smile from blooming and instead dipped his head reaching out and immediately placing a hand to touch the small of Faye's back in a soothing fashion "Faye" he admonished lowly "that's not how we treat our hosts..." even if her choice of words was amusing to say the least.

Grace couldn't really miss the intonation. It seemed Fane hadn't kept his new woman in the dark. Good for them, she supposed. She was more upset at Faye having turned out to be taken than she was by Fane having a new lover. It was funny how time changed things. "No hunting necessary, thankfully." She waved a hand at Fane's interjection. "Oh, not to worry. I don't mind a little banter. She's wonderful, Fane. You should be proud."

Cassie eyebrows furrowed as she listened to Faye and Grace’s exchange. She had no idea of the background the two women had, but she could easily tell through their body language, or perhaps more Faye’s that something was tense. She was going to keep out of it, and turned her attention to Elena talking about a whole margarita. “You found this Iann? I’m not surprised.” A teasing grin grew, “You should become a realtor."

"Wanna go look at the hot springs? They're - well. They're hot. Probably way more enjoyable in the winter, but then again you must enjoy basking in the sun, Alia. And merms like water. And werewolves..." Iann squinted at Cassie. "Well you should come along anyway." At Elena's comment, Iann grinned. "What kind of margarita? Please tell me it was lime." What was the alcohol tolerance for a merm, Iann wondered. He also wondered if tonight was the night to find out. "No - I - well I helped her shop for it. Grace wanted to buy a home, and I'm the guy who helps people find their right home, you see. Want another margarita?"

Faye smiled. "We do yeah. Quite well. And they say taste improves with age. Or so I'm told." The words were said lightly, and with no malice. And honestly, Faye felt only a slight irritation and rumble of ire in her chest. People could change. She knew this for a fact. But it was still a shock for Faye to have learned about Grace. But for the sake of propriety she really was doing her best.

Otto tried to grab Grace's attention so he could drop off the alcohol and free his hands. He took the opportunity to look around and see mostly strangers, acquaintances, or people he hadn't spoken to lately.

Iann laughed, "Pegs, I AM a realtor! Kind of. I mean, I show people houses and then I take a commission...so." He pointed at Cassie. "It's your fault, you got me all invested in houses, thanks to the Germaine house." He looked at Alia. "Where are you living again? Near Vinegar Tom?"

Cassie cringed at the mention of the hot springs. “Oh I don’t know. I’m not a very good swimmer.” But she was happy when Iann picked up on her realtor comment. “I’ll take that fault.”

Alia nodded. "In Vinegar Tom. Are you looking to rent a place there?"

Elena "What does a lime taste like?" She mused, "I don't remember. Is it green or is it yellow?" She mumbled, not meaning to say those words out loud. "I do want another margarita, but you should have found a hot springs made of sea water. I'm thinking of renting somewhere. Is Vinegar Tom a nice place?"

Otto approached Grace first, before disappearing from the room completely. "Ah, forgive me- I, well I don't mean to interrupt, um, your conversations. But I've brought you a gift and was wondering where I should place it?"

Iann "I'm looking to upgrade you, Alia. Unless you're in the market for a sugarmama instead..." he was being a jerk and he knew it, but it was Alia and she was adorable, like always. "Vinegar Tom is a dump, don't go there. Let me make you a good margarita instead," he nodded over to where the bar setup was, motioning to Elena and others to follow if they wanted. "Alia, what do you want to drink? Pegs, you too, if you're drinking. You leave the baby with Lopez?" Iann shooed the paid bartender away and picked up a small lime, showing it to Elena. "Lime. It's sour and tangy and goes well with salt."

"Oh I'm more than proud of her," Fane answered smoothly with the self-assured confidence of an individual that knew where he stood in terms of his relationships but for the sake of propriety he adjusted the box he had kept cradled under his arm for the time being having been about to hand it over. "But, considering this is your party..." Fane paused as Otto stepped in then his words falling to the wayside as he brought the box he'd been carrying back down to his side deciding to wait before he offered the item. Perhaps at a more quiet point of the evening.

Grace was impressed with Faye's wit. Her beauty spoke for itself. It had made itself abundantly clear the first time they had met. The number of women in this town who were considered eligible to her charms seemed to dwindle down every time she turned her head, and she had yet to find a man worth her time. "Well, it was nice to see you again. Hopefully you can also attend the gallery opening when it's ready." At the sight of someone trying to grab her attention, Grace excused herself again, greeting Otto with a light touch to the shoulder. "Ah, hello. This is lovely. I'll have enough alcohol to last me at least a week at this rate," she teased, taking the bottle gratefully. "Are you a friend of Roisin's? You're...Otto, yes? She mentioned you."

Elena leaned her elbows on the bar and looked at the small green fruit Iann held up before her, "It's cute."

"Lime's a little sour," Alia answered. "It's green. Lemon's the yellow one. There are some hot springs in the sea, but I don't know if there are any in Soapberry." She paused, and then laughed. "A sugar mama? What are you implying, Iann?" At the talk of Vinegar Tom, she added mildly "I like it just fine. --And I'll have another margarita, please."

"Margaritas for all," Iann said, because he really did enjoy making margaritas for obvious (and totally not stereotypical) reasons. There was just a succinct joy in salting a rim.

Otto "Roisin? I-" Otto swallowed and blanched at the name. He'd spoken to her, at some other mostly vampire gathering and it hadn't gone well. He was never the most, erudite, with his words but he certainly didn't expect so much vitriol. It left a bad taste in his mouth. "Uh, well I do know her, of her- I mean to say we met before, but ah- Yes, alcohol is the sort of standard house warming nowadays. Forgive me, had I known you better I would have gotten something more thoughtful. A book perhaps, I was thinking about bringing one of poetry but uh-" He had thought better of it an left it in the car while he went to the shops.

“Ugh, definitely don’t go to Vinegar Tom.” Cassie agreed with the rest. She scratched her nose before responding to Iann. “I guess I’ll drink, do they have mango margarita? And yeah, Lilo is home with Addie. This wasn’t super planned so, yeah-“ She let out a breath, “No babysitter."

Elena gasped at Cassie, "Do you have a baby? I haven't seen a baby in years!" She moved closer to Cassie, "Can I meet your baby?"

Grace exhaled. She must have misunderstood the context in which Roisin had mentioned him, but she was glad Otto had come. She needed more vampire friends in town. "There is nothing to forgive. I love wine, and the tall, dark and handsome strangers who deliver it to me. What do you do for a living, dear?" She wanted to keep him talking, anything to keep Roisin from coming up again after the initial stiffness her name had summoned in him.

Cassie was slightly taken off guard by Elena’s sudden and enthusastic response over the mention of Adeline. She blinked, “Yeah, I have a daughter. She’s home with her daddy right now though-“ She smiled weakly, “I’m sorry.” Cassie did feel a little bad, considering how excited the merm seemed. “I bring her out and about a lot, so I’m sure she’ll meet her eventually."

Faye nodded her goodbyes at Grace, her stomach rolling with mixed feelings. She hadn't sensed anything bad from the woman when they'd met. But... God, she needed a drink. "Do you want a drink?" she asked Fane. "I could sure use one."

"All I'm saying, Alia," Iann said, as he shook the mixer because fuck that blended nonsense, on the rocks was the best. "My pal Dani Savin - child of that Savin over there -" he nodded over to where Fane was, (dressed, honestly, like he was going to a gay fetish night afterparty after this party) "- has a loft with an empty bedroom. And if you haven't met Dani yet, that's fine. I know she'd love another roomie. I live there too, hm? Three's company, only you know. More...ah..." He tried to think of something. "Less...Mr Roper? I guess?"

"He is a professor at the University, as am I." Teddy stepped up next to Otto, offering a slight bow to Grace and mentioning, "I brought a token as well, but left it in the front hall. You must be laden with them by now. I'm Teddy Aynesworth, by the by."

Fane raised his glass already filled with liqueur that Grace had already happened to get him. "I've got one but I'll come with you to get another then maybe we can find a little more... acceptable company" Fane paused before adding "for once I don't want to actively cause a scene... Not yet at least." There was still time.

Grace didn't need to be greeted with a boy, but it was endearing, she had to admit. She wondered if her mild flirtations had summoned him. Her flirtation was harmless, merely how she tended to converse most days. "Nice to meet you, Teddy. I do enjoy a bit of academia. A noble profession."

Alia was glad to be in front of the bar instead of behind one for once, and was quite impressed as she watched Iann fix their drinks. “You’re a pro at this,” she remarked, and then glanced in the direction he had indicated. “I don’t know,” she said, frowning slightly. “I’m quite comfortable where I am.” Except in the winter, when her shitty heater hadn’t worked…And she had really liked Iann’s workshop, that time he’d fixed her up. “Maybe I can come visit you guys again sometime.”

Otto nearly choked at the last part as he handed over the wine. "I well, I- um," he swallowed, blinking as he persevered. Perhaps she was just being polite. Moreover, it was very dark in the room and she certainly couldn't make out much of his 5'8" frame self to conclude 'tall dark handsome' was in anyway applicable to the scrawny peevish thing he knew himself to be. "I- he's right, professor of vampire studies actually. I work mostly teaching fledglings."

"Probably not as good as you, I still need to see you at the Fainting Goat," Iann said with a grin, as he poured them all margaritas. He looked at Cassie. "No mango anything, but I'll add some mango liquer to it, should make it more sweet, hm?"

Elena maintained a bright smile as Cassie explained that her daughter was at home with her father. What an adorable landfolk image. "That's okay, besides, I don't think babies can have margaritas." There was some kind of age limit on drinking here, she wasn't sure how old the person needed to be to drink, but apparently it was old. "Maybe I should meet this Dani Savin," Elena started, picking up her margarita and licking the rim before sipping it, "I think I could live in a loft."

Teddy hummed in agreement with both Grace and Otto, continuing, "What made you want to open your lovely home to the town, if I might ask? You never know who might come traipsing through."

Faye nodded and they made their way to the where the drinks were being served. "Tequila on the rocks." She raised a hand in greeting to the people she knew, seeing Iann and Cassie, and then Teddy and Prof. Leitner speaking with Grace.

Grace 's eyes widened with interest. She had made the boy flustered. Perhaps he wasn't used to being openly complimented. Some people didn't know how to react. From Grace, it wasn't exactly 'false', she never outright lied, but it was all superficial. It was just how people in her circles had spoken to one another. "Vampire studies. Fascinating. It's very refreshing to live somewhere we can discuss these things openly." She had once contributed to a world that had wanted to destroy vampires. "Well," she shrugged, answering Teddy's question. "I'm new to town and I haven't made very many new friends yet. I wanted to change that."

Iann found the divide of the bar counter between himself and others comforting, it gave him a purpose and a design, so when Faye came over, he was happy to make the drink as the poor bartender stood there and fumed. Whatever; Iann would make sure buddy got his tips. "You should meet Dani Savin," Iann agreed with Elena. "And I thought you were happy living in the sea?" He nodded in greeting at Faye. "Having fun? Do - ah - do those two vamps know each other?" Iann asked of Grace and Fane.

“No mango?” Cassie repeated sticking out her tongue again, “Blasphemy.” She chuckled at Elena’s deduction that babies could not have margarita’s. “No, definetly not.” She followed Iann giving a small wave to Faye as well.

Otto waved to Faye with a slight nod and smile. It was always a pleasant thing to see his colleagues about. His gaze swept around the room when he saw Iann and cringed, remembering how he'd disappeared so abruptly. The fallout with Teddy about that wasn't the most pleasant and he wondered what Iann was feeling about it. So caught up he was he almost missed Grace's next comment, and still hadn't managed the hand off of the wine before it slipped from his grasp and crashed to the floor.

Fane set the parcel down on the side for the time being and necked his whiskey. If that wasn't an immediate answer to Iann's question there was no telling what was. "You could say that," understatement of the century but he didn't elaborate now was hardly the place much as he was tempted. Instead he got the bartender to order another though just as he did that there was a sudden smash and Fane peered over his shoulder "well, this party is certainly off to a smashin' start isn't it?"

Elena "I do love living in the sea, but sometimes I get so tired and apparently it's not good to fall asleep on a bench in the park"

Otto was mortified. "Oh dear god, no I am so- I didn't- shiesse- What I mean is-" He cringed at the mess, shards of glass and deep red liquid spilt all at his feet. "My apologies, I can, I'll clean this up. No need to worry, um, point me in the direction of the towels and dust pin and I will, uh, sort the mess."

Grace shot Iann a warning glare at his question, able to pick up his voice from across the room. "We're--" She was saved from explaining, but not quite by the bell. Otto, also caught up in the awkwardness of either this situation or one of his own, sent his wine shattering on the ground. Grace took a step back, only just managing to keep herself from cursing under her breath. "No harm done," she muttered, waving over one of the housekeepers to clean it up. "Perhaps we should take this back outside onto the veranda."

Iann heard the crash (who wouldn't? The ceiling was vaulted, the acoustics were great) and looked up to see - "What the fuck?" he muttered, then handed Faye her drink and stepped out from behind the bar, squinting at the stooped-shouldered man with Grace and Aynesworth. "Leets?? I thought you were in -" he stopped himself suddenly thank god, glancing at the others before glaring at Otto. "Well at least you're not dead. Again."

Teddy raised an eyebrow at the red wine that was soaking into his trouser legs, the hostess's shoes, the floor around them. "Jolly good party," he remarked. "I always say it's not a proper do unless at least one thing or body part gets broken."

Faye just looked at Fane and shook her head with a little smile. Though she frowned at the smashed wine, looking to see if anyone was going to help the Professor. Iann moved in that direction though after handing Faye her drink, to which she nodded her thanks.

Otto looked up, "Ah yes, of course. The help..." He nodded thin lipped and mortified. The situation only compounded by Iann's glare. "Uh- I'm- Well no, not dead again." He looked apologetically again at Grace and Iann. "The veranda sounds lovely at least."

"How's Addie?" Faye said across Fane to Cassie.

"No, you're just here," Iann snapped, then looked at Aynesworth for a moment, because obviously HE knew Leitner was back, obviously. But Iann didn't know until a fucking party. "I see how it is," he muttered, feeling that same slight swell of jealousy he felt at another party months ago - the bonfire night with Cassie, regarding her and Lilo Lopez. He looked at the mess, not really caring who cleaned it up; Grace Villiers probably had minions for all that. "Welcome back," he said brusquely, and then stepped away from the group and their discussion about curricula, extricating himself away from Otto in particular.

"Not to worry, darling. They're very well paid." Grace led Otto and his... friend? Partner? They hadn't made that exactly clear, out onto the veranda again, away from whatever drama was lurking with Iann. The BBQ was still going, and though Grace had no need to consume food, she quite enjoyed the normalcy of having it around. "You must tell me more about your vampire studies. I hear Faye teaches Defense Against The Dark Arts. I've never known a school with such a fascinating curriculum."

Cassie jumped at the sound of the glass shattering on the floor, but it looked like others had it covered, so she didn’t move from her spot, turning and smiling to Faye when the witch addressed her. “She’s good. Having some quality time with her Papa.” She finally smelled some of the BBQ on the air from the vernanda and asked, “Have you eaten yet?” It was mostly a question if Faye would join her. She didn’t really want to go out alone now that she knew other people at the party.

Teddy interrupted before Otto had a chance to start stammering and mumbling about his fledgling vampires and their nonsensical individual dogmas. "Indeed, I myself lecture in Philosophy. Particularly on Ethics and Morals among Supernaturals. It's an enormous and unfathomably wide topic, utterly brilliant." This of course gave the insinuation that Teddy himself, as the teacher, must be brilliant as well. Teddy had not even acknowledged Iann Cardero, since the man was ridiculous and best let severely alone. He internally congratulated himself on this decision and subsequently assumed that was why Iann stormed off.

"I- uh-" Again Otto’s attention was torn between the lovely anodyne conversation Teddy, Grace and he were meant to be having, and the aggrieved young Iann. "Do forgive me, yes it is wonderfully fascinating Ms. Villiers but I should talk to you about this later. But I really must go get something else, uh, sorted. If I am so rude not to come back today I should like to call upon you in the future?" Otto smiled, posing it as a wonderfully polite question. The most composed he'd been since coming, then he did the unthinkable for him. He left trailing Iann before he could storm off completely out of sight.

Grace thought perhaps it best not to ask any questions about what the situation was between Otto, Iann and Teddy. They could sort that out in their own time, and she had no intention of causing any more damage to her brand new house. She exhaled, taking in the fresh air when they made their way outside. Otto, it seemed, had other plans. "You must do as you see fit. I do hope to talk to you another time," she said with a nod.

"Iann,” Otto said. “Please, Iann do stop I'd like to- I need to talk to you will you please... Just."

"I really need to come and see her. Bring Wyn now that Addie's a bit older. Not that they could really play yet but..." Faye shrugged, shaking her head in the way of mothers talking about their children. "I haven't," she said to the eating part, and as everyone seemed to be moving outside, Faye touched Fane's arm and indicated where she was going if he wanted to accompany them.

Iann went to sulk not unlike a teenager in one of the quiet hallways, which had some very lovely paintings and other things to keep his interest as he fumed. But with his arms folded, glaring at nothing (because even he wasn't sure why he was so angry...he just was), he looked over to see Otto's figure silhouetted in the hallway entrance. "What? What is this?" he demanded aggressively. "You just fuck off and then you're back and - and - " And what? It wasn't like they were close. Iann wouldn't even consider Otto his friend. He was just like...a something. Iann didn't even know what, and right now he was feeling hard-pressed to remember. "Did you have a good time?"

Teddy smiled at Grace. "Professor Leitner tends to be somewhat ... scrambled, even at the best of times." He got a cider for himself, offering one to Grace, and continued, "I'm very fond of him, and it's true he needs more vampire friends, but he requires patience. Reams of it."

Grace accepted Teddy's offering with a grateful nod. "Indeed." It was quite a formal term of address, a curious one, and really there was no way getting around this without just asking, indecent as it may have seemed. "If there's one thing vampirism teaches, it's patience. Is he your partner?"

“Yeah! Anytime really. Addie is playing with toys more and she can lift her upper body up when she’s on her stomach so-“ Cassie chuckled, “She might be a little more interesting to Eowyn now.” She glanced back at Fane before walking out to the veranda with Faye and collecting a plate that she could get food on, “How’s Eowyn been doing?” She asked, “You’ve had a bit of change recently, yeah?"

Otto came upon the skulking Iann at once, and at once he had a sudden surge of irritation. Her was this man who'd put him through so much, needlessly, and here he was worried he'd hurt Iann's feelings. "No I did not have fun as a matter of fact. It was horrible, horrifying, I wish I hadn't gone but then I needed to go and well, when I- when I came back..." Otto sighed and most irritation melted away. "My phone was melted. There was, uh, fire of sorts. Then when I come back I discover Mal Ojo's phone is disconnected, and it's gone. I have no idea where to reach you and, well, I had my hands full of, other things... Concerning things... in the midst of trying to track you down and remembering your blasted phone number. It's that horrible e-phone you got me. I was too reliant on it."

Fane looked down as Faye touched his arm and with a final glance at the scene unfolding inside figured it best to leave it as is. It wasn't his business and frankly he wasn't here to get embroiled in any more commotion than necessary. Still, considering Cassie and Faye were occupied with their conversation he pressed a light kiss to Faye's cheek affectionate before slipping away towards Grace figuring he could speak to her a little whilst she was free. "Seems like old times hm? Never a dull party whenever we went to one... or hosted one for that."

Teddy was delighted by Grace's question and the way she'd delivered it. There were so few people in Soapberry who understood the art of chatting at a party whilst not being dull as a doorknob! "He is, yes," Teddy said, his voice brimming with excitement. "Yes, Otto is my partner." From the way Teddy's heart was going staccato, he realized with a shock that he didn't really talk about their relationship with anybody, finding most other people either too witless, aggravating, or inappropriate to bring Otto up with. Grace, though, seemed the perfect mix of parlour manners and barely knowing each other. "I fell in love with him when I first saw him, in fact, but I'm not the sort who has partners and it took a while to sort out."

Iann listened, trying his hardest to frown as heavily as possible, his face a mass of lines and wrinkles as he glowered at Otto. But the more the vampire talked - and he was surprisingly eloquent, without all that goddamned stuttering and stammering - the more Iann's frown unwound itself. "Your phone melted? What - did it get swallowed by a fire salamander or something? Why was it horrible?" He waved a hand, trying to dismiss something that was ultimately one of the most recent painful moments in his own life. "Mal Ojo's gone. It blew up...or imploded. It crumbled, it's gone. But...yes. E-phones are terrible for that, aren't they. Why carry a little black book around when all your contacts are e-recorded in your e-contacts list?"

Grace couldn't help but notice the quickening of Teddy's heart as he spoke about Otto. An enviable feeling, and not just because her own heart could no longer beat. It had been decades since she had felt anything resembling love, except for Roisin, and that wasn't romantic love. "I can't claim to have such a thing. I'm a bit of a free spirit, I suppose, but it must be nice. Have you known each other a long time?"

"She's getting so big already," Faye said wistfully, thinking of when Wyn was that age. She gave Fane a smile that said they would meet up in a bit and moved off with Cassie, collecting her own plate and putting bits of food on it. She had to admit, Grace had outdone herself. "She's good. She um... stopped talking awhile back. Last time I heard her say anything was when we went shopping right before you had Addie."

"My great-grandson." Otto sighed and ran his tongue over his lips. "Which is sadly the answer to both those questions. He is the reason it's so horrible, and melted my phone. He says it wasn't purposeful but I, well, I certainly have my doubts about that." As he spoke his hand worked through his hair, growing more concerned as Iann talked. "It's gone? My god. Iann are you alright? Is everything- well of course everything not alright but- Well, are you alright? that's important."

"Oh, believe me, I had no intention of being anything other than a free spirit. I certainly didn't expect to be entranced by a skeletal vampire dressed in leftover haunted house costume." Teddy sipped his drink thoughtfully. "We've only known each other a few years, five or so, I'd imagine. It gets hard to keep time when you've lived as long as we have, eh?" He tucked some hair back into place when the breeze lifted it, saying, "Which reminds me -- I can't quite place the era of your sense of style, my dear, and it's a dreadful blow to my ego. Tell me, what era is your decor based in?"

"Don't talk to me about me," Iann sniped, because for Iann, his news was old news - and to recount it here, standing in a hallway awkwardly with Otto Leitner so long after it happened, just seemed tedious and redundant. Especially in light of this whole 'great-grandson' thing. "Is this..." Iann tried to do the math, but generational things were difficult to grasp when he was all emotionally compromised (stupid emotions). "Anna's child? How old is he? Why the fuck did he burn your e-phone?" Because of course Iann couldn't stand to talk about his own travails in this environment, but he fully expected Otto to answer all of his intensely personal questions.

Cassie nodded as Faye mused about Addie growing quickly. It was exciting right now, but she imagined she would miss the infant days soon enough. But at the news of Eowyn she frowned, “What, really?” She chewed her lip, moving forward in a small line that had formed, “Do you have any idea why? I mean, is it still cause of…Chris?” She felt bad about bringing it up but it was the only thing she could think of. “You’re with Fane now though, so that has to be going well?” She scratched her chin, “Either way, I’m sorry to hear it.” It was just so unlike the toddler she remembered, “Maybe some time with Addie will help."

Grace already liked this town, and this conversation was proof the house warming party had been a good idea. She'd finally met some decent men, and they were in a relationship with each other. It was ironic, but amusing. They'd make good friends, she hoped. They seemed academic and thoughtful, and not without their own interesting stories. "I suppose you can't control love," she mused, watching the smoke from the BBQ weave tendrils in the air. "How sweet of you to ask. I was turned in the Victorian era. I try to keep the aesthetics, but a bit of 1920s doesn't hurt either."

"Yeah," Faye said quietly, a small frown on her face. "And that's really all I can think of. His leaving. I mean... it's been months now. Almost a year. And she had started talking less and less right after, just a word here and there, like that day we went out. But now..." Faye shook her head. "Nothin'. Though... Fane is teaching her sign language. And how to communicate with pictures. Other wise she's still the same though." Faye sighed, though a smile touched her face as Cassie mentioned Fane. "Yeah. It is. Really well. We um... we went to New Orleans for a week just a few days back. Spur of the moment kinda thing. It was..." Faye flushed a little bit before moving back to the topic of Addie. "I hope so yeah."

Teddy bounced on his toes. "I knew it! Or rather, I'd hoped but didn't want to disappoint myself." He tipped two fingers to his forehead as a gentleman would touch his hat to a lady, and said, "It was 1850 when I became the embodied nymph of the River Thames, well within Her Majesty's reign. You wouldn't believe how rare it is to find somebody else from that era! This is tremendous." Grace was growing more and more astonishing by the second, it seemed; Teddy could probably use some more friends himself, and this seemed very promising.

Otto was taken aback by Iann's abrupt-ness. Of course he wanted to hear about him, who was he to tell Otto what to talk about. Otto did well enough to swallow his pride. "I'm just concerned and- well-" He sighed again, well acquainted with Iann's style of third degree questioning. "He's Anna's little brother, not uh, my Anna, the Anna that was named after her great grandmother. Or- ugh- I know it all gets very confusing but I do often call them grandchildren to not, well, draw attention. He's too old to be acting the way he is I can say that certainly and he was able to burn it because- because-" Otto nearly stopped himself and closed his eyes. "Because he's an atronach. They all are, Anna, my ex-fiance Anna was one and lied to me for years about it..." He raised his eyes at Iann in an implicit 'are you happy now' gesture.

Grace beamed at Teddy's enthusiasm. "Well, I knew you were a London boy thanks to the accent, but the embodied spirit of the River Thames?" Grace turned toward the man, extending a hand to touch his shoulder. "I think I'm going to like having you here, darling. It's like..." She chuckled, shaking her head at her own sentimentality. "It's like having a little piece of home." She touched her glass to his. "To new friends."

Concerned? That mystified Iann, because he knew Otto wouldn't just say something like that and not mean it. But he wasn't going to try and address that right now. Instead, he tried to wrap his head around what Otto was saying, decipher the words spilled out in that particular and slightly infuriating 19th century Austrian way. "One day you're going to have to draw me a tree," Iann finally said, because it was really the only way he was able to understand the Germaine family lineage. These people and their immense families, Jesus. (As if it was such a crime to have families). "So this is all just some brat throwing a fit and burning your phone. Family drama, great," Iann said sarcastically, but then he sighed. "I guess I have no reason to be pissed off." He paused, aching to say 'but Aynesworth knew you were back', but he didn't. Instead he asked, "When'd you get back to Soapberry then?"

"To new friends, from old places." Clinking lightly, Teddy drank, finding the touch to his shoulder quite pleasant. He'd been rather sentimental all evening, so Grace's comment seemed to fit right into place with the mood of the conversation. "It could be so dreadful back then, really, but as the years have gone by I've realized that all eras are dreadful and glorious in their own ways. Tell me, Grace--" first names seemed the right thing, at this point, "--when did you come here, to Soapberry? Were you longing to see the New World?"

“Sign language, oh that’s great!” Cassie smiled, “I wanted to teach Addie when she gets a little bit older. It’s better than having to consistently decode screeches and cries.” She shrugged and then offered a reassuring smiile, “I’m sure she’ll come back around. It’s just a little blip.” Her brows rose at the mention of a vacation, “Wow New Orleans. I’m jealous. I’m really happy for you though. You two seem really content together.” And Cassie knew Faye deserved it, after so much. “We’ll have to make it happen.” Cassie nodded, making a mental note to keep her calendar open.

“Yes, dreadful family things I've been roped into. Apparently he'd gotten himself in a bit of trouble so I was dispatched to set him straight." Otto sighed again, not used to having so many people enter his life all at once. "I got back a few days ago, Teddy was the first person I visited and well. I arrived in such a state, and that business of uh, not finding you. Well-" He hadn't had to care about more that one other person's feelings for so long. It made him uncomfortable. "A night out seemed, acceptable. I didn't want to turn down an invitation..."

He was correct, of course. All eras had their beauty and their cruelty. At least Otto and Teddy could live openly in this one. "Very wise," Grace agreed with a nod. "I've only been here a few weeks. I came to visit my friend Roisin." There was that name again. She hoped Teddy wasn't somehow involved with whatever had made Otto blanche at her name. "Then I ran into Fane. A piece of my past that I... wasn't expecting. Curiosity made me stay, but I've been living between the UK and the US for some decades now."

"Only a few weeks! And yet you contrived to have your home so well-appointed in that time, impressive." Teddy nodded in satisfaction. That sort of precise, exacting knowledge of what one wanted and what one preferred was already commendable; added to efficiency, it was basically like manna to the nymph. He himself never moved into any sort of rooms or flat or other living arrangement without having it furnished and arranged to his specifications beforehand. "I'm afraid I haven't met Roisin. Does she work in the town?" Teddy was curious about what this elegant vampire could have shared in the past with Fane (who was harmless but, in Teddy's toffee-nosed opinion, something of a buffoon), but he would bide his time on asking further questions regarding that time in Grace's life.

So wait. Iann (still allowing himself to think selfishly) rolled Otto's last words over in his mind. The vampire had come home to seek out Aynesworth (understandable) and...him? Well shit; now Iann felt a little bad. Iann was pretty sure that if he returned to Soapberry after a long trip, that Otto wouldn't be first on his list to find. Okay so...okay. Iann pushed off the wall, sauntering over towards Otto. "Yeah, yeah yeah, okay. You needed to relax, I get it. Grace Villiers is really...ah. Well she's an exceptional person," Iann settled on saying. She wasn't exactly 'nice' or 'lovely' or any of those banal complimentary words, not in Iann's opinion anyway. He hooked and arm into Otto's and led him back out to where the bbq was. "I'll come over tomorrow or something and you can tell me everything, hm? I want to know what happened to you and Anna and this - this great-grandson and...atronachs! Jesus..." He looked over at Teddy and Grace, who were still chatting. "I'm staying with Dani Savin now, in their loft."

Bartender waggles eyebrows at Elena. "Hey gorgeous, want me to freshen your drink up? You look...thirsty." He jiggles his man-breasts to impress her.

Grace gave a small smirk, rolling the ice around in her glass absent-mindedly. "Well, I suppose I am a woman who knows what she wants." And the wealth to be able to afford it. It was a luxury she was accustomed to. It was to her relief that Teddy wasn't familiar with Roisin. It let her paint her own picture. She smiled with affection as she spoke of her, not unlike Teddy had as he spoke of Otto. "She is my dearest friend. We met in the 1960s and sadly her sense of style hasn't much progressed since then," she chuckled. "She works at the Museum. I suppose I have a way of attracting academic sorts."

"Dani?" Otto’s eyebrows flew up to his hairline, then he collected himself. "Ah yes- they're uh- well a good professor by all rights. An excellent roommate I hope?" His eyebrow raised again, more controlled as he posed the question. "As for a visit, I should like that. I do worry you though. The curmudgeon will be staying for a time."

"Beyond excellent. I'm hard-pressed to find out what Dani Savin isn't good at - but then maybe that's just part and parcel of Savinism," Iann mused, but then he came to a full stop, tugging Otto closer. "Wait what? What?? Your great - that great grandson is here? In Soapberry? With you???"

Elena had been practically licking at the edges of her glass, trying to get every last bit of salt off it when the bartender asked if she'd like another. His man-breast jiggling went completely unnoticed to her though, "I would love another," she set her glass down and smiled lazily at him.

"You have the sexiest mouth, I just want to suck it off your face," The Bartender said lasciviously, because he really really badly wanted her to get the message as he begane mixing her a new drink and showing off his guns.

Ephram was trying, these days, to make himself go to situations that were on the formal side. Not that this was technically formal, it said so on the invite, but in Ephram's mind anything held in a 'manor' or 'estate' or the like meant it was more swank than he was used to. Thankfully, there was a bar in a quietish corner with a pretty girl propping it up, so he made his way over and straddled the seat next to her. "Hey," Ephram said, reaching out a fingertip to draw lightly down her nose. "You doin' okay in there? You keepin' hydrated?" Touching her had let him know she was a mermaid, which meant that she could be in serious trouble with the amount of booze it seemed like she'd been socking away. Then the bartender slid up, doing some kind of boob-dance meant to entice the mermaid girl and Ephram stared at him flatly. "Look, buddy," he said, "unless you wanna get slapped with sousing a girl who ain't used to liquor, buzz the fuck off."

"Yes..." Otto answered tentatively, and with a little guilt. He had left the child, that was too old to be thought of a child, alone with a charm of deep sleep. "Well, not with me and..." Otto frowned, his sharp vampire ears picking up on some truly offensive nonsense. "Dear god," he turned to look out at the opening to the hallway. "I hope Ms. Villiers isn't being overcharged for that buffoon to insult her guests."

"Stop being distracted with your exceptional vampire hearing!" Iann shook Otto by his bony shoulders. "Not with you and what??"

Elena was taken aback when the man who suddenly sat beside her touched her nose. It was such a strange interaction that she had never experienced before on her time above the surface, and for a moment she just stared at him, then she touched her own nose. Maybe there had been something there and he had wiped it off, or maybe it was a new way of greeting people. There were so many ways of greeting people on the surface it seemed, so after the man told off the bartender, who had just slid her another drink, she did the same to him. Sliding her finger down his nose and saying, "Hi." She picked up her margarita and sipped it.

Teddy picked up easily on the wave of fondness in Grace's voice and smiled. "How lucky for me that you do, my dear," he murmured. "I am very much looking forward to seeing you again in the future, but for now, I shall stop being so greedy and let you attend your other guests."

Otto gritted his teeth as the molasses thick accent replied back. Emphram, the snobbish vampire sniffed to himself. He thought this was supposed to be a classy event. "Wha-" Otto turned back to Iann. "Oh no, so sorry. It's just. He's home now, I haven't left him in the car with the windows cracked or something like that."

Bartender was no match for the town Sheriff and he backed off immediately, saying. "Hey no harm no foul, no goose, no fowl."

Iann would slap Otto to get his attention back, because the vampire currently seemed utterly distracted, but Iann just let him go. "Well whatever, I'll still come over tomorrow and I can meet him and everything, it'll be great."

Ephram blinked instinctively at the path of Elena's finger, but didn't stop her. Christ but she was lovely, even clearly six sheets to the wind. He ignored the weirdo bartender and said to the merm, "I'm Ephram. You been here long? You had a lot of those?" He tapped the rim of her margarita glass, idly licking off the crumbs of sugar (sugar? really?) that the bartender had fixed it with. It seemed the bartender had duly fucked off as ordered, so Ephram leaned his tall self over the bar to squirt a glass of fizzy water for Elena, swapping it for her second margarita. "Try that," he encouraged. "It'll tickle that cute lil nose of yours."

"You'll love him I'm sure. He's unflinchingly rude and holds no affection for social mores or good manners." Otto felt as if he very much needed a drink after all this talk. Of course he had none, save for the ounce of wine drying on his pant leg. He wet his lips and sighed. "Or you'll hate him utterly."

"I'm Elena," she greeted, "I've been here since the start," she wasn't sure when that was to be honest, but she'd been there a while, "This is my third," or maybe it was her fourth. She hadn't been keeping track, and didn't know she was supposed to. "Oh," she took the fizzy water from him when he swapped it for her drink and took a small sip. "It tickles!" She exclaimed with a giggle, but the taste was awful compared to the margarita she had been drinking before. "Who are you, Ephram?" She asked, looking at him over the rim of her glass she took another drink.

Grace smiled, giving Teddy an affectionate smile. "It was lovely to meet you, dear. I hope this isn't the last time we talk." And yes, she really should get around to speaking to her other guests, although part of her had to admit that what she wanted most of all was to see where Alia had got to. All in good time, she told herself, returning to the party.

#chatzy #with: group #house warming #sbsevent

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rydenbolt · 6 years

Text

@thisbrutalbelle

Honorable mentions @scarlettxruby @strangerein @monsterbyamile @ianncardero @ephrampettaline

(Finally, edited and posted, way late! Tagged for everything under the sun because when these two talk about their fucked up lives, they need all the tags. Hope I didn’t miss anything, if I did, let me know! Also, we are missing the first few posts, they got lost in action lol Under read more because long, with disturbing convos.)

If the young wolf was bothered any by Bella’s lack of face paint, he didn’t show it. And as a matter of fact, he totally wasn’t. He hardly noticed the difference. But that was just Ryden not knowing anything about makeup in general. Neither his mom nor Sarah used much. So he ended up uneducated in these things. He still wondered what lash curler was used for. When Bellamy explained things further about what Ruby had done, Ryden couldn’t help cringe at that. That was… bad. Bad, bad move. People were probably shocked. “Yeesh… Well, I guess shit happens when you get drunk.” He shrugged. “I was there when she got bit. We weren’t sure if she would turn. I mean, there’s still a tiny chance she won’t, right?”

Bella pulled her lips to one side. She had known Ruby a while even if they hadn’t interacted often. Bella always hoped Ruby would mature a little, pull herself together, but it always seemed just out of reach for the human. Still, she didn’t know of Ryden’s exact relationship with her so didn’t intend to say anything when there was no specific need. However, as he continued she immediately ground her teeth. Of-fucking-course Ruby was turned directly in front of someone, of course she had dragged them into something like that and they were now stuck with that, with seeing that and feeling that worry for her she had incited in Bellamy, and in her ex-husbands, and Bellamy just folded her arms. “Honestly? Tiny, super fucking tiny, depending on when she was bit maybe bigger but…fuck, were you okay?” she asked him, unfolding her arms to reach up, the tips of her fingers moving his head this way and that before trailing his arms and feeling for any bite marks.

“I’m cool, babe. If there was anythin’, it’s long gone.” Ryden hummed, letting her turn his head this way and that to inspect him. It was nice, having someone to worry about him in a town full of basically strangers. “Don’t worry sweetness. I’m a tough cookie~ Wanna grab a drink with me by the way? I am thirsty yo… This heat, I can’t…” Ryden fanned himself with his hand a little - he wasn’t good with heat in general, being a furnace himself, but a place full packed of people, all this energy being burned into the air had Ryden practically drenched in sweat. For once, he just craved water. Gallons and gallons of it. In a pool he could submerge himself in, if possible.

Not noticing anything worrying on his form she let her hands fall. For all the two flirted with one another Bellamy knew it was mostly an outside amusement to the two of them. Perhaps one that bordered on inappropriate but they’d talked about things, and Bellamy trusted Ryden and that trust wasn’t based on nothing. He’d shared with her, he mattered to her. Perhaps most people were strangers but Bella felt like they were friends. “You definitely deserve a drink,” she smiled, starting over to the bar, lifting her hand and assisting in fanning him though it likely made no difference. “What is your place like, by the way? Because I can’t imagine your bath or shower is going to be very relaxing,” she teased him as she raised her hand and a bartender immediately came over. They brought Bellamy one of her usual drinks but waited for Ryden to order before grabbing it.

“Oh, well, I bunk with a nymph at the train tracks in this house he lives in. It’s cool, kind of reminds me of one of my childhood homes. Like… the fourth out of at least ten, heh.” Ryden joked but honestly, he haven’t had a proper bath - like, fill the tub up and soak in for hours - in months. Maybe longer. He took showers regularly though, while on the road, managing. If Ryden was anything, he was resourceful, easily swimming in whatever waters life decided to throw him in. He ordered water and a bunch of ice, and please make it a bucket-full, yes.

That sounded so weird, train tracks, she didn’t know there were that many places around there but she hadn’t yet been to Ryden’s home. Why go to his when her own was large, full of food, and had an amazing sauna bath? “That’s a lot of homes,” she noted. “Did you live with your parents?” It was hard to imagine people without them, purely because Bella had both until she was a teenager and her father bailed on them, but logically she knew that wasn’t always the case. “Well if you ever need an escape you can always use my place, I’m only there half the time anyway.”

“With my momma. We moved a lot cause we got evicted a lot. Cause we were piss poor.” Ryden explained, not looking phased about it. “Aww, babe. Not fun if ya ain’t there.” He gave her a gentle pinch to her side. His water was served and he practically chugged it down in one go, spilling some down his chin and chest. Then he dipped his entire hand into the bowl of ice, taking a handful and rubbed it against the back of his neck with a groan.

Bella nodded her head. She’d had friends like that but it had never been her life and she knew she could never totally grasp what that was like for an eight year old child. When she was eight she cried that the church wouldn’t put her in the Christmas pageant because she sounded like a screaming cat when she sang. “I lived in a white picket fence cul de sac Barbie dream house,” Bellamy told him. “But I still would have run away and lived with you because I made dumb decisions,” she smirked, looking at her own drink for a moment. She had run away sort of, thrown out actually but she could have gone back if she’d got sober. “Aww, maybe another night. I told Miles I’d crash at his place tonight,” she stated and the two of them needed to talk about him springing on her at the fry place whether or not she wanted to meet his kids. “But when I have a free night you can come over and we’ll wear swimmers in the sauna and watch movies and I’ll put you in a fancy robe.”

Ryden just had to bark out a laugh at that. “Baby, that sure would’ve been a very, very bad decision. Teen me was piss poor, on the streets most o'the time, kicked out of school and on a good path to become a criminal and a coke addict. No girls should be havin’ any o'that.” He admitted because it was true. By his eighteenth year, Ryden had no prospects, no future and no brain. And until Sarah came along, things weren’t any better. “No problem babe.” He nodded, totally not bothered by Bellamy choosing Miles over hanging out with him. It was perfectly normal and he had no problems with that. “Shit… You actually do have a sauna at your place, huh? You’re not shittin’ me??”

Bella scratched the back of her neck. “Basically was what I had,” she scrunched up her face. “I drank a lot back then, I mean, I drink now but my vampire body can take it. I drank to black out then and didn’t really…live up to my potential or whatever. All my friends were either drop kick addicts like me or dealers,” she ran her hand over her thigh, putting her drink down. “That’s sort of why I…choked you that first night we met. All your…tattoos freaked me out.” Bella swallowed saliva in her mouth, staring at her fingers still, watching as they balled into tiny fists hard against her thighs. “Reminded me of someone I knew with you that close to me, all I could see was your inked skin.” Obviously she didn’t feel that way now, she knew this was Ryden and that she was safe with him. Fortunately his words lifted her a little. “I do, and a steaming hot rain shower,” she smiled at him, lifting her head as he had her feelings. “And more bathbombs than I could ever need.”

No wonder they hit it off so quickly - Bella and Ryden were more similar than they realized. The young wolf nodded in understanding, the way a former addict would understand another one of their kind, without any further elaborate explanations on the topic. He knew exactly how it was. “Yeah I guess… us bein’ bitten and turned was kinna both a blessin’ and a curse, yeah? Cause when Sarah…” He swallowed a lump stuck in his throat. It was odd to be able to talk to someone about it so freely - to someone who knew enough of the story to understand. “When Sarah was killed, I woulda prolly gone back to it. Shit, the next day, when I came back from the police station and took care of everythin’ I… I took a hit so hard I fuckin’ lost meself so deep down the rabbit hole I reached China. Stayed coked up till the funeral. God knows what I did in that house those few days. Prolly contemplatin’ killin’ myself with a rusty spoon, heh.” He could laugh about it now, sure, but it actually mortified him. It mortified him that he broke the promise he gave to the woman he loved. He promised her he’d not get into trouble again, stay out of jail and get clean. The minute she was gone, he broke all of it. And that made him a trash of a person. Looking back at Bella, he was surprised to get an explanation on something he’d already forgotten all about. “That someone hurt you, baby?” He asked, although of course, Bella wasn’t obligated to explain. At the mention of a rain shower, Ryden groaned. “Oh my god, I always wanted to try those… Shit, baby doll, I might just take ya up on that offer and come over for some quality bath time.”

Bella usually would have laughed at his play on words but the fact was it wasn’t funny that something like that had happened, that Ryden had fallen down into that dark place when he lost someone. It was a twofold kind of hurt that Bellamy herself couldn’t completely grasp because she had never lost someone that exceptionally dear to her. Really she didn’t think his wife would have held his actions against him, surely she’d have been able to understand from where ever she was. Besides, Ryden was clearly clean now, a few days of hurt couldn’t possibly make or break who he was. “Was it the funeral that made you stop?” she asked him, hands still on her thighs. Hurt sounded like an exaggeration because at the time she was already so fucked up, what was this one act? What was the importance of it done a few times in the grand scheme of things? And really if she said yes other times… Bella shook her head, knowing her thoughts weren’t right but still feeling them anyway. “Yeah, I guess, sort of. You know how it is when you’re like that, it’s like you don’t really know what shit was really happening and what…what you did to be a part of it.” At his agreement of coming over to try the rain shower though she smiled happily. “A puppy and a doll having a bath, it sounds like we’re toys in some kids playroom,” she giggled.

Ryden huffed, chuckling bitterly. “No. Made me wanna do it again. The bite made me stop. For obvious reasons. It was just… bigger than that.” Ryden watched her as she practically admitted nothing but actually said far more than she meant. Ryden instantly figured it out. He dropped what was left of the ice back into the bowl to melt. “I lived in a bad hood. Like… real bad hood. There was this guy there, one of our neighbors, when I was twelve. He was sixteen an’ he was… well, he knew shit. He smoked, he had a few tats. He spoke like he put up with no shit. He could drive a car. Yanno. Cool stuff stupid boys like us found so fuckin’ impressive. So we flocked to Benny. Benny was our god. So one day, my momma sent me to the store, and I see Benny hangin’ out in the hallway, no shirt on, smoking a cig. He calls me up. I drop off the stuff, come up and am like, what’s up B? And he gets me into his apartment and asks me if I want some.” “Now, where I lived, ‘want some’ meant only two things. Not a snack. Not refreshments your momma brings to yer room for your friends. It meant, ya wan’t some crack or ya want some pussy. I froze. And said yeah. So he opens his bedroom and there was… this girl. We all knew her. I can’t… remember her name for the life of me but we knew who she was. She did things for a fix. Yanno. And she was lying there on the bed, naked as she can get, drugged up outta her mind. Benny closed the door. And there I was, standin’ like I crapped my drawers, twelve years old, scared shitless. Scared to hurt her, scared to get out and get beat for bein’ a pussy. Or worse, a fag. My hood suffered no homos.” “So I just stood there for long enough for Benny to think I did somethin’. And when I got out I put my zipper down, just to make it seem real. And outside in the livin’ room, Benny had called up other kids from the block in the meantime. And the next kid got in right after me…” Ryden ran his tongue over his teeth, looking away for a second. “I didn’t dare to get out of my room for days. Couldn’t get it out of my head.” He looked back down at Bella. As random as this story seemed, he shared it for a reason. He shared it because maybe Bellamy would share hers too. Because he could guess really well what happened to drunk, drugged up girls when they went out. And it was horrible. Absolutely horrible. But then a smile twitched his lips apart and he threw an arm around her, pulling her close. “Sounds so fuckin’ cute I think I’ll die, yo~”

Bella felt awful things down her spine as Ryden spoke, immediately feeling out of place in the crowded restaurant that had become a club for the night. Her hands made their way from her thighs to her arms and wrapped around herself, fingers buried in the fur of her jacket. She knew exactly the kind of guy that he was talking about because that was Jason to a T. The tats, the drugs, the car, all that stuff that made him seem like hot shit even though he was one of the only other white people in their neighborhood. The more Ryden spoke the worse Bellamy felt, a churning in her stomach as he spoke about seeing this girl, lying on a bed completely fucked up. Bella knew what that was like beyond a shadow of a doubt. Admittedly she was scared of what Ryden would say next, after all he was twelve, it wasn’t just happening to this woman, it was happening to him too. This shady fucking guy telling him to do this awful and fucked up thing. But he didn’t, he pretended but he didn’t and that made her feel a little relief. To imagine Ryden would have been hurt that way, to have the memory of doing that would have broken her tiny vampiric heart. Still, it was traumatizing but at least he could look back and know he hadn’t done it. “I think you were pretty strong not to cave. All these people telling you that to be something you had to do this fucked up thing and you didn’t,” she said, still clinging to herself, already wishing she had more drinks than what was before her. Yet the cocktail was still there and she reached for it, finishing the whole thing. It was habit now more than addiction. The only thing she could be addicted to now was blood but it was the idea that she could get blacked out and fucking forget like she’d done throughout her youth that made her still instinctively reach for her drink. “I don’t know if where I lived was bad, but…I hung out with bad sorts of people because - because my life wasn’t real, least I didn’t believe it was. There was this guy, Jason, and he would give me rides places and when I didn’t want to be at school I’d drive around with him while he dealt and we’d fuck and steal from convenience stores, and then, you know, eventually we’d be somewhere everyone was drinking and smoking and doing shit and sooner or later I’d be blacked out. I honestly don’t remember like half of being a teenager but…,” she paused, placing her glass down in case she grasped it so hard she broke it. Bellamy hadn’t told anyone specifically what had happened, the first person she tried to tell had told her it was her own fault, and so telling others became too scary. What if they felt the same? Iann and Ephram assumed but never asked, seeing how much Bella blamed herself. “I remember some stuff, hazes of things. I remember him climbing on top of me and my hands not working, like I tried lifting and pushing but nothing happened but laughter. And there were others, his friends, whenever I was like that and whenever I was just…fucked. I don’t know how often it happened but…when I was fine I mean, I still slept with him, I still slept with lots of people, probably even the people that…whatever. So, why wouldn’t they think it was okay, you know? If I was sober I probably would have said yes.” Immediately she was trying to justify it, trying to say how it was okay what had happened, that her feeling like she had been hurt was stupid because she had done things before or after that allowed it. She was so young, and so lost, and now it was hard not to blame that stupid girl, even if it still made her sick to think of what had happened. “I don’t think it was anyone as young as you were though.” Think being a key word that frightened her even more.

“How could I cave in? Everythin’ in me screamed against it. It’s not strong. It’s… shit, it was wrong and I just couldn’t do it…” Ryden shook his head. Looking at him, everyone probably thought he had been picking up girls early on with that pretty face and smooth talking, leather jacket and the bike. He didn’t. He’d barely managed to get himself a girlfriend in high school after this and they haven’t done much till he was eighteen. Things like these happening throughout his life made the teenage Ryden into one very withdrawn, angry boy, scared of ending up like his no good dad, who got a seventeen-year-old pregnant and left. Scared of becoming a bully while at the same time being scared of what would happen to him if he didn’t fit in. Would some little fuck come up to him and pull out a knife, stab him in the gut cause someone spread the word around that he was a homosexual cause they heard he didn’t play around? Would someone wait for him in a dark alley, beat his face into the concrete within an inch of death because he went chickenshit on something everyone else seemed so proud of? Growing up with these uncertainties was not happy camping. Not in the least. And sometimes even Ryden himself wasn’t sure how he got past his twenties. Listening to Bellamy speak, it was hard not to give this guy Ryden’s face. Ryden understood perfectly well why Bellamy reacted the way she did that night at the Horned God. When she was talking about Jason, Ryden clearly saw himself. That was his life too - dealing, living on the streets, robbing stores, vending machines, ATMs, stealing cars and selling the parts or just going for joyrides before leaving the vehicle wrecked up in some ditch. Drinking, doing coke, doing some pot, meth even. Crack. Whatnot. Ryden had been everything but strong as a kid. He’d been a fucking coward. As cowardly as this Jason dude. Given, at least he’d never forced himself on anyone. If he beat someone up it was because they would strike first. If a girl said no, he backed away. If he was too drunk or high, if he blacked out, he blacked out where no one would see, where he wouldn’t do something stupid. Mostly next to a dumpster, in his own puke. Or in some ditch. Or on a bench. It was sad, pathetic, stupid. Not much different from that prick Bella hung out with. “Babe… Between a yes and the silence there’s a whole world of difference. A guy needs to be one seriously sick asshole to touch a girl who’s not feelin’ well. To touch a girl who… blacked out. Who can’t speak, can’t move… It’s sick and those dudes make me wanna barf. What they did was… it was rape, baby. It was not fine, it was not okay just cause ya slept with 'um b'fore. It was sick and it was rape. End of story. No excuses. The only thing ya did wrong, baby doll, is that you didn’t love yourself enough to walk away from it. To walk away from an asshole who would leave his girl helpless, defenseless for every ugly, vile motherfucker to hurt and use.”

To have such conviction at such a young age was strong though. Bellamy didn’t imagine many of those kids walked into that room able to not do anything because obviously Ryden had been scared about it being found out he hadn’t done anything. This older kid, in a place where no one was really looking out for you, people would do what they had to. Didn’t make it right, didn’t make it okay, but also didn’t make it fucking easy to not become something awful. “But to be twelve and to think it was wrong, to know it was wrong and to not do it even though you had some fucked up guy telling you that you had to… I mean, that’s fucked up what was happening and you did the right thing, puppy,” she said, reaching out and taking his hand in her own, squeezing it gently. He didn’t much feel like a puppy anymore but he was still that to her, incredibly sweet and loyal and clearly not willing to hurt people without cause. As Ryden said what she had seen in shows, heard in ads and read on the internet she knew logically he was right. These were things she had told herself but it was hard to believe it. It was hard to think someone you considered a friend would really want to hurt you, that they did it knowing it was wrong, and beyond that it was hard when she had been told before that it was her fault, that she put herself in that place. Believing that was so much easier than believing that she really had been…raped. A word she barely liked to think, and certainly felt uncomfortable saying. “Takes a while to love yourself,” she mused, still holding onto Ryden’s hand. “Moment I found out my parents had me to perpetuate the lie that their relationship was I just…I don’t know, didn’t figure I really mattered very much. And so it was easier to get drunk and forget I existed. You had a reason you turned to everything you did, right?”

“Yeah.. well…” Ryden shrugged his broad shoulders, suddenly looking small and shrunk despite his bulk. “I wish I stayed that kid… That kid might’ve not done some other stuff I did.” He brought her hand up, kissing over her knuckles real quick before he lowered it down again, returning the gentle squeeze. “Yeah, it does… Live and learn I guess.” Reaching for another sip of the ice cold water, Ryden shrugged again. “I suppose, but I went about it in the stupidest way possible. I was just sick of bein’ poor. Sick of seein’ momma cry over bills she couldn’t pay. Sick of her not havin’ pretty things like make up, clothes, purses, what not. Sick of seein’ her work eighteen hours a day for minimum wage, tryin’ to raise a kid on her own. So, instead of helpin’ her out the right way, I went lookin’ for shortcuts. Given, the place I lived at didn’t teach me no better but my momma did try. And I didn’t listen. Apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, I guess. My old man was the same way. Guess it’s in my blood.” Looking back at Bellamy, expression softening to one not usually found on Ryden’s features. “I’m so sorry, sweet thing… So sorry for the things that happened to ya. No girl deserves that. Wish I could take it away, wipe that slate clean for ya.”

Bella wished the same. That she could have done something for him, made it easier. Nothing he said sounded shocking considering the people she had surrounded herself with as a human. It’s why she paid ridiculously well at Erzebet’s, why she was pretty fucking lenient about people taking time off. How could she not pay someone with kids enough to support them? How could she ask they miss their birthday for something as stupid as bringing people their food? There was always someone else who had a free day. With his lips on her hand she smiled gently. Such an odd time and place for all of this but the loudness of the dancing people helped make it a little easier. “You still have your Mum?” she asked him, wondering if she even knew where Ryden was now. “And when you’re a kid it’s easy to just…want to make things easy because shits already so fucking hard. You really think you’re like your Dad now?” she questioned. “Wish I could for you too,” she told him, moving closer and wrapping her arms around his middle, soft cheeks against his firm chest, getting neon paint on her cheeks but not minding in the slightest. “I never told anybody that though, so…,” she rolled off, hoping Ryden got the implication. She wouldn’t say anything about his stuff to anyone, and she was sure he would do the same.

“Yup, still got my sweet momma.” Even though Ryden only had her, he loved his family nevertheless, despite all the stupid stuff he did. Genna was the only person in Ryden’s life who never gave up on him, never left him and was always there. She was the reason he was here now - to keep trouble away from her. To at least keep her safe. Wrapping his arms around Bella as she hugged him, he shrugged his shoulders. No one could hear them in this noise and to any who had nothing better to do than pay attention to them, they couldn’t ever guess what they’ve been talking about. “I don’t know… Sometimes? I try not to be.” He really didn’t know. Because he knew that partially, he was being irrational about it. This like father like son enchanted circle was still something Ryden was trying to run away from. And he wasn’t sure how far away from it he’d gotten. “Yeah…” He muttered softly, kissing the top of her blonde head. “I’ll take it to the grave, babe. Scouts honor.” He promised as he let her go.

“You should bring her by,” Bellamy told him, a smile coming onto her face as she realized Ryden wasn’t alone. Her own mother was in her life but she’d never been close to Bellamy, Louise had always created a purposeful distance between herself and her daughter. Besides, if his mother truly had done so much for him then she deserved to have some things done for her. “Treat her to some spa treatments at Antoinette’s, dinner here when it’s not like this,” she insisted. Maybe he didn’t want to see his mother here, or maybe he wanted more control over what he was before he brought her by. “Well, I think you’re wonderful, and if your dad sucks then you’re not like him to me,” Bellamy assured, squeezing him gently as she held him in her arms, it was hard to let go after all of that. It was a strange relief to let it out to someone, to really share. Bella knew that for Ryden he’d probably shared with Sarah, and perhaps others from before he came here, but she was happy she could possibly bring him some relief in the town as he was giving her. “As if you were a Scout,” Bellamy teased, pulling away and looking up at him with that big grin on her face.

“No.” Ryden refused, instantly, shaking his head. “No, she can’t come here. I can’t let her… I can’t let her know these things. Nope.” God how he’d love to bring her here. Take care of her. Pay her back for all the things she’d done for him and have her not work another day till the rest of her life. God, he’d love that. But she can’t know about the supernatural world. About what he’d become. The thought of her being scared of her own son, of a child she gave birth to but had been turned to something else now… He couldn’t stand seeing her realize this. Seeing her afraid of him. And more terrifyingly, he could not endanger her by bringing her here with him. He was away from her for a reason. It made him tense up instantly to even think about these things. Chasing those thoughts away with a roll of his shoulders, he managed a small smirk. “Thanks, babe. Appreciated…” But her teasing did earn her a pout. “Oi! I’d make a mighty good one if they took me in, let it be known!”

Bella watched him shake his head, frowning a little as she tried to understand. She’d seen how others wanted to keep their families separate and assumed she just would never be able to understand. Her mother and father hadn’t loved her the way most children were loved and kids knew that so Bellamy had never felt very capable of loving them back. Iann she loved like family but…he had always known. “Perhaps you could pay her a visit then, borrow some of my cars, take her to a nice dinner, go see a show or something,” she suggested with a smile. Whatever the case if he had his mother Bellamy didn’t want him to lose her because of what he was now. “I mean, you might have looked cute in the little uniform with all of your tattoos, and admittedly I love the idea you know how to tie a knot or two but, come on, boy scout?” she asked with a raised brow.

“Yeah… maybe one day.” Ryden concluded this particular topic with that, because going deeper into it would require explaining who the Man in Black was and what exactly Ryden was doing here, so far away from home. And that might endanger not only Bellamy but maybe even others he’d met in this town. If they didn’t know, they wouldn’t have the need to protect him and in turn, the Man in Black will not lash out and hurt anyone for it or worse. If he tries to pass through this town. “Hey, at least it could be a good porn movie theme.” He shrugged, giving Bellamy a wicked grin, especially if she proclaimed that that was gross and totally inappropriate.

Ryden seemed quite resistant to discussing his mother which was strange considering all he had shared. There was no intention on her part to push though, signaling the bartender to bring her another drink as her own way of acknowledging the conclusion of the topic. She was sure that there was a reason, there had to be but Ryden had already shared so much of himself Bellamy knew that she didn’t need to be greedy, eventually she would know. When he felt comfortable enough with the topic itself, or with himself, or whatever it was that was blocking him. “Well if you ever decide to do it then we know what your first movie will be,” she smirked. “Personally I don’t think I have the personality for it but you? I could see it.”

“Nawww, contrary to all beliefs actually. I would seriously be bad at it. I mean, yeah, sure, I’d look good on camera or whatever but the moment I’d have to do it, I’d be like… yeah, nope, camera shy, sorry, he’s hiding now, byeeee, heh.” Although Ryden liked to joke about it and had the kind of vulgar humor that would make any prude’s skin crawl, it was the truth. Aside from how he looked, he wasn’t really made to be a porn star or alike, and neither did he plan to do it. Still, he did admire the people who could. “I guess we’ll both just have to settle for sendin’ amateurish nudes to whoever’s interested, heh.”

Bella snorted as he said he’d be camera shy, amused by the picture of a confident Ryden becoming quite small the moment a camera was turned in his direction. “Mine are not amateur, any picture of me is practically art,” she insisted, though her phone filled with selfies said quite the contrary. If she needed that many shots of one outfit or make-up look from one angle then it lost its credibility as art and just became insta-hoeing. “I’m sure yours are amateur though, awkwardly angled ab shots with your sweatpants vaguely visible. And with all your tattoos photoshopping yourself would be much harder,” she happily teased, linking her arm with his own. It was nice they had relaxed, especially since eventually he’d have to get back up on stage.

“Oooh, excuse us mere mortals standin’ in the presence of such greatness~” Ryden chirped with a wide grin, giving the petite vamp a little nudge with his elbow before they linked their arms together. “Yeah, I’m terrible at it but hey! I always looked better in person. That sure counts for far more likes than on Facebook.” He shrugged, ordering another glass of ice-chilled water. Because he was still kind of dying.

“Facebook? How old are you again?” Bella continued to tease, watching as he ordered more water. She’d never know what that sort of need felt like again. The need of someone living to quench a thirst not because they were an unholy creature but because they’d been sweating like mad for hours in a very crowded location. She missed it and thoughtlessly her fingers trailed along the warmth of his arm, hoping she might feel it by proxy. She didn’t. “How many of those are you going to need to get back up there, puppy?” she asked, raising her hand for another cocktail. It would do nothing but…it would feel like she wasn’t just standing there like a strange dead thing.

“Olllddd~ Still stuck in the age of VHS and push button desk phones.” Glancing down at her, Ryden gave her a look. “You know what? You’re a slave driver. Fine, fine! I’m goin’!” He moved to leave, but it was obvious he was joking about it.

Bella rolled her eyes. She was twenty-four so she could still remember VHS tapes and push button desk phones but they were definitely hazy childhood memories. It was actually weird to think of, remembering using a cordless house phone to call her friends in elementary school. Then in high school everyone with their colorless nokia phones. When he pulled to leave though she just gripped him tighter, pulling him back to her. “No, I need you for as long as you can spare for me.”

Of course Ryden didn’t intend to leave yet, so it was easy to pull him back to sit. The party was perfectly capable to go on without him for at least another fifteen minutes. He grinned at her. “Oh, she needs me now. Go figure.” He took another long sip of ice water. “So, ya been to get some fries and didn’t bring me some? I’m miffed.”

“I actually felt a little bad leaving without you,” Bella admitted. Ryden had worked so hard on the party and to leave for something like fries felt cruel but she hadn’t wanted to abandon Miles in favor of Ryden, especially when he was busy. “You didn’t miss much but a little drama though.”

“S’okay, babe. Drama’s not my thing anyway.” Ryden reassured her, definitely not annoyed because he’d been left to manage by himself. As a matter of fact, he’d hardly noticed anyone was gone. They had a full house tonight and he was kept busy. And talking about busy, he would have to go up there soon for real. Maybe after another drink with his baby doll though.

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