#alluringsin

[grexsed]

love ya’ll

[ashenroyalty]

   “thank you for the invitation to dinner,” cole cleared his throat, stepping into the mansion after being told he could set foot inside. while dana had opted to stay, he’d chosen a small apartment a mile south, choosing solitude over a family of different species. “i’m cole winters.”

[adrianarousseau]

An irate sigh left Adriana as the vampire looked at the fading runes still singed into her wrists, albeit fairly faded. “The witches said it would take time for them to disappear,” she commented lowly, though as she looked up there was a small smile on her lips, “--I do not doubt that they prefer it takes as long as possible.” 

[giaguillory]

Every time she came back into the house, it seemed like the number of vampires had increased--they were multiplying, and their hostility became only more transparent with each new appearance. “What’re you doing, having some kind of a party?” 

[levireynolds]

Levi had been well-near catatonic since the sudden loss of Cole and the departure of Dana--he had kept to himself in a tucked away corner, eyes wide and staring forward as he played over the brief list of events that’d befallen since arriving in New Orleans. Cole has warned him about witches, and now Cole was dead because of a witch. And Solomon was the murderer--but he was defending himself, too. Levi had heard it all--he couldn’t unhear it. It didn’t make him any less unsure. “I need to leave,” Levi said suddenly, standing up in a hurry--and knocking over the contents of a table as he did. “Shit--fuck--I need to...I need to go. Dana’s...Dana’s got to be waiting for me.” His tone implied his desperation to believe that. “She might be worried.”

[luxcasta-blog]

slowly, quietly, elinei’s worst fears were being realized.

first it was duke: police offers pulling him away for questioning about a murder investigation. about a dead girl, drained of blood, and she could only watch with wide, disbelieving eyes as they took him away, as the first string was plucked in the series of events that unraveled around them, around her. an anonymous tip, they said, and for the rest of the morning, she shut herself inside her room. worrying herself sick, to the point of being sick.

and if anybody noticed that the new maud lewis painting was damaged, they didn’t say anything. 

the only reason she came out was the insistence of red, that something happened with adriana and they needed her. something was apt, indeed, and fingers brushing the bloody strokes, saw in horrific, nostalgic fascination the signs of a hex. the language was unfamiliar, but solomon, red and odie translated it easily enough together. porteuse de guerre, she thought in her native tongue. the one who will bring the war. there was a drop in her stomach, an endless pit that only grew as time went on. 

the witches were making their stance very clear in the advent of war, and it frightened her.

she knew in time, slowly, it was they who they would turn to. she, who has been through what the rest has not. she, who had been on the side of the humans’ and fought with them and immolated an indeterminable amount of vampires in the name of france, in the name of humanity with the brilliant flash of her light. 

for france, they echoed. the words haven’t given her comfort in a very long time. 

she thought of adriana and her want for revolution. of halcyon days where vampires ruled, the uprising she had been brought up and trained to crush since she was five. she had lived through a war, and paid the price for her survival. she was immortal; both 166 and 21 at once, and didn’t know how to be anything else.

would the witches’ come for her, too? in peace or in strife? would they come in the full knowledge of her past, of what she had once did?

she was afraid for herself. she was afraid of herself. 

because war changed people, and what if she comes out of the other side, this time, not as elinei but mélisande? all it could take was one moment in the sun, and she would be a weapon once again. she, who never really fitted in one way or another, caught between the supernatural and humanity itself. the only times she ever felt like she belonged was with her lovers, her family, and when she was light itself to ensure the survival of her fellow humans.

how easy would it be, to slip back into that role?

elinei was scared it would be far too easy than it should be, that she would fit right back, like a jigsaw piece, and like that it’d all be over. that being a soldier again would be as natural as being, and she wouldn’t have to suppress her powers, and sunlight would pour out of every pore in her being.

"for france.” she murmured under her breath, head pressed against the headboard. “for survival.”

she no longer fought for her country, shouldering the burden of sustaining the life of the human race. if she was going to fight, it wasn’t going to be for either of those things. not anymore.

for my family. 

[grexsed]

“It’ll be fine, Levi.” Duke was saying to Levi as they pulled up to the mansion. He’d forgotten how much he missed the smell, the aesthetic, the way it made him feel. The two of them had been gone for a little over a month and not much had changed except now the humidity was even more thick. He sighed, parking and stepping out of the car. The sun was low in the sky, casting an almost angelic glow over the land. As if the sky was trying to remind him how magical home could feel. 

He slammed the door shut and looked over at Levi, a small smile on his lips. "They probably won't even care that we're back." Duke shrugged, going to grab his suitcase from the trunk. In his heart of hearts, he knew that wasn't true. Their family was too close, shared too much, for them to suddenly not care anymore. If anything, they'd be happy to have Levi and they'd tolerate Duke. 

But he'd never underestimate their ability to be kind.

"Do you want me to carry this for you?" He called when the trunk swung up, revealing both of their bags. 

[ashenroyalty]

    in hopes of masking his irritability, the common mood for elias, he went off in search of someone who he was sure could brighten his mood. though, with the air in the house, it was unlikely anyone could fit the bill. wandering outside, admiring his new daylight charm and the warmth on his cold skin. “beautiful morning,” elias spoke with a light smile, settling down in the shade with the other. “what’s wrong?”