To Tía there wasn’t much of a choice left to her in regards to becoming a vampire. Of course Benjamin had given her one, said he would go away by himself, that she could stay with the husband she didn’t love and the life she’d been pressured into because her mother needed money. Though those years without him close had been cold and empty for her. Like the sun was missing. The warmth, the easy relaxation, the laughter and sense that life was easy and worry free. That was how having her best friend by her side had always made her feel, whether she was seven like when they first met, or past two hundred like she was today. The stark difference between how she saw Benjamin, and how his controlling creator saw him, was that she actually cared about him. What he dreamt of, what he needed, what made him happy. Amun only cared about being in control of Ben so he could use him. If it was the last thing Tía did, she would make sure that no one controlled Benjamins life, no one but himself. “fi ‘ayi waqt.” Anytime. She replied, a small smile on her lips despite the situation. “We can, if thats what you want. It makes me a bit uncomfortable, being in such close proximity of the Volturi.” she admitted, pursing her lips a bit. There seemed to be a mounting wall of threats starting to form around them. One being Amun, the other being Aro and the rest of the italian clan. And the harsh truth was she couldn’t protect her friend from the latter. Amun she could stand up to, but the Volturi were a great force when they decided to be. And if Aro thought he could use Tía to get Benjamin, she knew he would. About to step back out from the bushes, she halted when he spoke again. “la daei lilaietidhar Benji.” There’s no need to apologize. Her tone was gentle, reaching out to cup his cheek. “All I care about is your happiness. You needed more freedom, so I covered for you. Its really simple. I’m always here for you. And we’ll deal with whatever comes together shamsi.” my sun. He was scared, she could tell. Perhaps getting out of here would making him feel a little bit better. Lowering her hand, glancing over the bushes, she then turned back to him. “Do you think we should sneak out or just use the main entrance?” She’d just asked when she heard screams, and could smell flames. Grabbing Benjamins hand, Tía couldn’t help but step out from the bushes and a bit closer to what had been a lively party not many seconds ago. The sight of burning bodies.. vampires by the smell of it though, had her stare openly and hold onto her best friends hand even tighter. “'aghniat..” Dear god. she mumbled, stunned by the display.
of the earlier days he remembered what he thought was important to. most vampires move on or come to without ties to their history as humans but he never forgot tia, or the time they shared before they found themselves on completely different paths. she had been the only one he truly cared for as a human; whether as a cousin or a best friend. she was the only one who knew him inside and out, and had amun known what benjamin knows, he would’ve gotten his wish sooner than he thought. tia encouraged him with love and affection while amun. . . didn’t exactly encourage him. amun believed benjamin owed him something even though he didn’t quite say so out loud. he’s childish not stupid. he knew what amun wanted. if tia, however, asked him to use his ability as a weapon, he wouldn’t second guess her. in fact, he wouldn’t think twice about it. sometimes benjamin didn’t remember amun wasn’t actually his uncle but rather a vampire who sunk his fangs into him and never let go.
benjamin’s expression was soft in that moment. the only reason, he always knew, he tolerated amun was because tia was there. if she wanted to keep going, benjamin realized he would be okay with that -- but that also meant dealing with amun so they’d never have to look over their shoulder because of him. one thing at a time, right? it’s easy to be brave when she’s near. “i don’t deserve you, ya kamar.” MY MOON; two halves of a whole. he realized that if tia was the moon, yasmine was the stars. if he could breathe, he’d probably not be even then. at least he had been right about one thing. . . not being able to do this without her. his only regret was leaving her behind even if she had encouraged him. even if someone had to distract amun. at least in volterra, with so many bodies, amun would be slowed down and distracted. he’d have to talk to . . . maybe not. favors from the volturi don’t come so easy. before he can answer her as to how to make their escape, benjamin watches the scene from beside her, wide eyed for a moment. strange how this time he panics but only internally. this time he blinks through the chaos and looks at tia, “are you dark?” invisible if you will. sometimes he’s not even aware she did it but in this moment of fear, he wasn’t sure if she was or if he needed to calm her down just enough for her to focus. his nose didn’t smell yasmine and whatever hearts that beat seemed to be slipping away into the night. benjamin’s worry was now on tia. “let’s go.” he said, squeezing her hand as tightly as he could against her own pressure.
