Achronum

Of Blood and Magic

The door slammed behind him unaided as Varis froze at the sight in front of him. Sword drawn, eyes wide and frantic, shaking ever so slightly-- It was the practical all over again. All the boy needed was that unhinged laughter. The terror and uncertainty of that night bubbled up and threatened to spill over as Varis instinctively reached up to touch his ear, terrified he’d find the spot where he’d burned away his flesh and hair. But his fingers found nothing wrong and Varis irritably shoved all of that nonsense down. Ryner and her mind games. He shook off his umbrella, leaning it on the wall as he fixed the boy with an unimpressed stare through his mindless rambling.

What was wrong with this mage? Was he broken? Varis was sorely tempted to turn on his heel and walk back out the door rather than dealing with this imbecile’s moronic rambling a second longer. His skin crawled in disgusted as this child had the nerve to express his concern for Varis’ wellbeing. And asking if there was anything- Varis was here already! What could he possibly want this boy to do that his host of well trained and properly educated mages couldn’t? Varis let out an irritable grunt at the mage’s questions, peeling off his coat and dropping it in the boy’s hands as he pushed past him. He considered shutting himself away in his room but that would probably only leave the boy a more anxious mess so instead he plopped onto the couch, wiggling a little to get comfortable. He snapped at the boy.

“I suppose we have some time before class to muddle through your doubtless myriad of questions. For the time being, yes I am clearly fine, nothing of importance happened, and no there is nothing you can do as I am alive and sitting here in front of you." Varis sighed dismissively, waving off his concerns. "Now fetch us both a drink and kneel. I do need something decent after the week I've had and I believe I'll need something to stomach the retelling of your epic confrontation with the Noila guards."

Interacting with: @Obscene Symphony

Of Blood and Magic

January 7th - 8:15pm

The first night of the new semester set dark and dreary. Heavy clouds threatened ice in rumbling voices and flashes of light until finally snow floated from the sky in a light powder, drifting down in whirling flurries that shimmered in the glow of street lamps. The soft snow quickly piled up on the cold ground and the world quieted. Even the wind seemed loath to disturb the silence and guards passed through the grounds with nary a trace, the falling snow swallowing even their footprints. Mage and vampire alike started to stir, many struggling to brush away the cobwebs of sleep in the face of the bitter cold.

Princess Ryner stared at the Sinnenodel dorm, face pinched and pensive, from her spot on the sidewalk. Her hands stayed bundled inside her coat pockets despite not feeling the cold. She paid no mind to the snow accumulating on her shoulders and stayed deathly still as she counted down the minutes. If classes started without Varis’ appearance, then Aaron’s position would be hotly debated. She managed to keep him under her authority to some degree with this move but if Sybil intervenes and claims him, neither she nor his family would see him again. And she wasn’t about to let an inconvenient assassionation get in the way of her agenda.

The air rippled nearby. Ryner gave a sigh, ignoring it, and continued to consider the house in front of her. The faintest crunch of snow gave her a moment’s warning as Varis took his spot next to the Princess, searching the scene in front of her for whatever had caught her attention. Ryner ignored him and nodded a greeting at Malek, who gave a courteous bow and vanished, leaving the pair to their silence. Ryner snorted at the umbrella Varis carried.

“You’re a vampire. You’re not going to catch your death from the snow.” Ryner pointed out, her voice hushed in the strange quiet surrounding them.

“Don’t patronize me. I don’t like wet clothes, sue me.” Varis spoke, though he lacked his usual ire. “Would you kindly tell me why you’re standing outside my dorm like a melancholy painting?”

“I was under the impression I lost a student. I was here to ensure his partner was okay.” Ryner replied. She huffed a laugh. “I had to put him under house arrest, you know. He was beside himself with worry. He fought a guard in an attempt to come find you.” Varis grunted in reply and just pressed the handle of his briefcase into her hand. Ryner took it.

“Is there anything else you need or were you just here to bother me?” Varis demanded, shaking off the quiet’s spell.

“No. Goodnight, Count Sinnenodel. And the next time you plan your own death, please let me know. I’d love the opportunity to make it permanent.” Ryner waved as she left and Varis rolled his eyes at the receding figure. He fished out his key from his pocket and made his way to the door, rolling his neck as he mentally prepared himself to deal with the boy. He was like Eris’ pet dog-rat, just bigger but equally annoying. Varis folded his umbrella, unlocked the door, and pushed inside.

Of Blood and Magic

_{Dates: December 22nd - January 5}

12/28: Varis

The Isty Bitsy… Snake?

Varis glided silently across the lawn. He’d triple checked the guard schedule; they were in the middle of a shift change and they were conveniently lax in maintaining a patrol on the periphery of the estate during that time. It afforded Varis a little more than four minutes. His stopwatch was running, not that he needed to check it to see the numbers distinctly in his mind, but he wasn’t concerned. He’d run this scenario a hundred times and it would take him just over three minutes to get to where he needed to be if everything went smoothly. He couldn’t help but sneer in contempt at this duchess and her laziness. He would never tolerate this kind of security breach in his own household. Everyone knew the consequences; if they were lucky, they’d be sold off to one of the Astorio arenas as dog chow.

He stopped just underneath the terrace that jutted out of the duchess’ castle like an ugly, malformed ear. Whoever designed this building must have been on some kind of hallucinogenic because only someone with no sense of perspective could have come up with this. It looked like a twenty-year-old fledgling threw paint against the wall and said it was art. Why this vampire hadn’t fixed it all already was beyond him. If he was the one who needed some low grade vampire to guard a life-changing secret, he would have taken one look at this place and decided that it was better off razed and redone with something better than two-hundred year old locks.

Varis rolled his neck as he considered the height. This was the tricky part. He’d gotten rusty over the years and this would be his first time scaling something this high up, not to mention outside. He’d brought three bottles of blood just in case he needed a refresher on the way up; he’d spent the past two nights poring over his plan and decided he should only need one by the time he hit the balcony and one more on the way back down so naturally he brought one more just in case. The extra weight shouldn’t drastically alter his performance but he’d have to stay focused the entire time. He checked to make sure the bag was shut tightly, zipped, clipped, and tied off just in case. The last thing he needed was something slipping out and clattering down on the ground below him. Satisfied, he hoisted the straps a little higher on his shoulders and closed his eyes.

He never enjoyed this. Whatever old vampire came up with this must have been out of their mind to even consider it but considering how instrumental it had been to several of his plans, he probably shouldn’t complain. He could feel his blood writhing and shifting, like it was a living creature rather than a food source, as he concentrated on it. It rose to meet him, eager to move, and he shivered at the sensation of his skin bloating and deflating as his blood shifted and sloshed until it was whirling, faster and faster, against his stomach and chest. Disgusting.

He took one step, and then another, and then another until he was fully on the wall and walking up it. He kept focused on putting one foot in front of another and not the occasional slip of the foot and brief moments of terror before he wrangled his blood back into behaving. Varis remembered the brutal war over the damn scroll holding the technique. Some silly, backwater Duke thought he had a chance against Varis. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the thought. Of course, he didn’t realize it would take a decade to even master this degree of competency or even that it would come in stages; it was supposedly a flying technique. Although it could be he was too young but this was useful enough and that’s all he cared about at the moment.

Remembering the scroll made him remember Malek’s naive grandchild who nearly cost him the scroll and his next step didn’t move him at all. Instead, Varis clapped a hand over his mouth as he almost screamed as he slid halfway down the wall. He growled in frustration and focused again, grumbling as he continued his ascent. Too bad he sold the child; should have saved him as a stress reliever because he was certainly going to need something after this.

He pulled himself up and over the balcony, collapsing onto the stone floor as he stared at the night sky. He hated to admit it but that wasn’t his best performance. He was rustier than he thought. Varis groaned and unzipped the bag, pulling out a bottle of blood, and unscrewing the cap so he could chug it down. He wasn’t really certain what the mechanics behind the blood techniques were but they were exhausting and that was probably the most unsettling thing of all. Varis rarely felt exhausted or drained from physical activity because he rarely did physical activity but this persisted deep in his bones and he did not appreciate it. How the Astorios dealt with this on a regular basis was beyond him; it felt like everything inside of him wanted to come up and then some.

Eventually, Varis got to his feet. The next line of defense was just a locked glass door. A beautiful and ornate glass door, but a few hundred years out of date with a lock to match. Child’s play really. Varis skulked across the landing and knelt so the lock was just above eye level. He nodded a few times and dug around in his bag until he felt the familiar cloth, pulling out a roll and unfurling it on the ground in front of him. Several pockets filled with various picks and tools greeted him and he picked them out and compared them to the lock until he found the ones he wanted. It took barely any time, the old lock clicking open with ease, and Varis packed everything up in a flash and slipped inside before anyone noticed.

The halls were just as expected, large draping tapestries of various conflicts the Astorios believed they dominated. The particular attention to detail of the gorey mess of battle made Varis roll his eyes as he slipped from one corner to another as quietly as possible. He checked his watch. If his informant was honest, he had a little under eight minutes to find the room and get inside. He frowned. He was behind and that was a problem. Security for the room he needed was a bit more complex and those two minutes he lost in the climb were going to be sorely missed. He pressed on nonetheless.

Door 8622 was all on its lonesome in a tiny dead-end side hall. With how it was set up, Varis thought it would have been better protected but not even a single camera could be found. Had there been, it would have been a problem because there wasn’t a tapestry or art piece or furniture for him to at least try and hide behind. He moved quickly and quietly to the door, blinked at it, and sighed. Instead of the easy pin pad and door key combination lock he expected, a shiny new, steel reinforced deadbolt mocked him in the faint light. The damn vampire probably knew and fed him shitty intel to get him caught. The cylinders were probably pick resistant chambers too if they’d installed reinforced steel guards on the damn thing.

Varis mouthed every explicative he knew, repeatedly, as he settled in to try and pick the locks. The clock was down to three minutes and Varis could feel the tension pressing down on him. If he got caught, his little distraction wouldn’t be a lie anymore. This was breaking and entering Lord Pieron’s private record rooms and Varis had seen how the Astorios handle their private affairs. If he could sweat, he probably would be. His hands trembled as he picked up his picks, checking each other against the lock to see what would fit. He took a steadying breath and started.

Voices started carrying down the hall, their footsteps getting louder. Varis muttered a curse when he slipped on a pin and the whole damn thing reset. A voice laughed, just around the corner.

He managed it just in time, slipping off the lock, pulling the dead bolt, and all but throwing himself inside just to hastily shut it behind him. Hopefully, it was such an out of the way location that they’d just glance, see the door shut, and move on. The footsteps stopped.

Varis closed his eyes.

And then they continued, unhurried and unrushed, another soft laugh ringing out into the still air and Varis slumped to the ground. Ryner owed him. The favors she traded did not equal the stress he was going through. Still, he pulled himself to his feet and gave the room a better look now that the constant threat of Lord Pieron’s axe wasn’t quite as imminent. Varis could feel his blood pressure rising.

Filing cabinets. So. Many. Filing cabinets. They hadn’t had the common decency to modernize their systems at all? Varis groaned, hand hand running down his face. How in the ever living fuck was he supposed to find something in here? There had to be forty fucking filing cabinets and none of them had labels! Not a single one! The little slots, the little metal frames meant for labels? All empty. It was everything Varis could do not to slam his head repeatedly into a wall.

So he opened the nearest few, hoping at least the file names would help. They did seem to be organized alphabetically so Varis started rifling, looking for a project named Midnight Genesis. What that meant, he didn’t know, but it was a stupid name. Pulling open cabinet after cabinet, he found the M’s scattered across two and quickly discovered that the Astorios were incredibly unimaginative. There were seven projects just labelled “Marn 1-7” and at least six midnights with different adjectives. Hopefully, they all had some connection but still. They had the entire language to work with and they repeated themselves constantly. That and family member names. Over and over again. A bunch of barbarians, honestly.

It took him long enough but finally he found the Midnight Genesis file. He plucked that right out and stashed it away, planning on reading it once he made his escape. He closed the cabinet and zipped shut his bag, intent on quitting this horrifically inefficient place, when another idea struck him. He had a lovely little Astorio as his new neighbor. Maybe there was something on Victor here he could leverage against him. Varis grinned wickedly.

Now, it wouldn’t be under Victor Astorio because if he knew old vampires, they would slight him even here. No, no. Victor’s family were honorary Astorios, gifted the name for services in the war, but he sincerely doubted they’d be under their new name. What was that name? Varis snapped as he thought, the name on the tip of his tongue. Strigois. That’s right. Varis skipped right over to where the S section should be and poured through it eagerly.

And find something he did. Several somethings. He giggled like a child on their birthday as he lifted them out and into his bag. Perfect. There would be something there he could use to keep the Astorio under his thumb. He bid the room adieu, locked it again, and slipped out the same way he came in, little more than a shadow on the wall, and just as ignored.

Except he missed the prickle on the back of his neck as he slipped back into the forest as a heavyset woman watched from the balcony, expressionless.

Testing well everything!

Theloved


Requiem for A


Andrade

Testing well everything!

_{Dates: December 22nd - January 5}

12/28: Varis

The Isty Bitsy… Snake?

Varis glided silently across the lawn. He’d triple checked the guard schedule; they were in the middle of a shift change and they were conveniently lax in maintaining a patrol on the periphery of the estate during that time. It afforded Varis a little more than four minutes. His stopwatch was running, not that he needed to check it to see the numbers distinctly in his mind, but he wasn’t concerned. He’d run this scenario a hundred times and it would take him just over three minutes to get to where he needed to be if everything went smoothly. He couldn’t help but sneer in contempt at this duchess and her laziness. He would never tolerate this kind of security breach in his own household. Everyone knew the consequences; if they were lucky, they’d be sold off to one of the Astorio arenas as dog chow.

He stopped just underneath the terrace that jutted out of the duchess’ castle like an ugly, malformed ear. Whoever designed this building must have been on some kind of hallucinogenic because only someone with no sense of perspective could have come up with this. It looked like a twenty-year-old fledgling threw paint against the wall and said it was art. Why this vampire hadn’t fixed it all already was beyond him. If he was the one who needed some low grade vampire to guard a life-changing secret, he would have taken one look at this place and decided that it was better off razed and redone with something better than two-hundred year old locks.

Varis rolled his neck as he considered the height. This was the tricky part. He’d gotten rusty over the years and this would be his first time scaling something this high up, not to mention outside. He’d brought three bottles of blood just in case he needed a refresher on the way up; he’d spent the past two nights poring over his plan and decided he should only need one by the time he hit the balcony and one more on the way back down so naturally he brought one more just in case. The extra weight shouldn’t drastically alter his performance but he’d have to stay focused the entire time. He checked to make sure the bag was shut tightly, zipped, clipped, and tied off just in case. The last thing he needed was something slipping out and clattering down on the ground below him. Satisfied, he hoisted the straps a little higher on his shoulders and closed his eyes.

He never enjoyed this. Whatever old vampire came up with this must have been out of their mind to even consider it but considering how instrumental it had been to several of his plans, he probably shouldn’t complain. He could feel his blood writhing and shifting, like it was a living creature rather than a food source, as he concentrated on it. It rose to meet him, eager to move, and he shivered at the sensation of his skin bloating and deflating as his blood shifted and sloshed until it was whirling, faster and faster, against his stomach and chest. Disgusting.

He took one step, and then another, and then another until he was fully on the wall and walking up it. He kept focused on putting one foot in front of another and not the occasional slip of the foot and brief moments of terror before he wrangled his blood back into behaving. Varis remembered the brutal war over the damn scroll holding the technique. Some silly, backwater Duke thought he had a chance against Varis. He couldn’t help but roll his eyes at the thought. Of course, he didn’t realize it would take a decade to even master this degree of competency or even that it would come in stages; it was supposedly a flying technique. Although it could be he was too young but this was useful enough and that’s all he cared about at the moment.

Remembering the scroll made him remember Malek’s naive grandchild who nearly cost him the scroll and his next step didn’t move him at all. Instead, Varis clapped a hand over his mouth as he almost screamed as he slid halfway down the wall. He growled in frustration and focused again, grumbling as he continued his ascent. Too bad he sold the child; should have saved him as a stress reliever because he was certainly going to need something after this.

He pulled himself up and over the balcony, collapsing onto the stone floor as he stared at the night sky. He hated to admit it but that wasn’t his best performance. He was rustier than he thought. Varis groaned and unzipped the bag, pulling out a bottle of blood, and unscrewing the cap so he could chug it down. He wasn’t really certain what the mechanics behind the blood techniques were but they were exhausting and that was probably the most unsettling thing of all. Varis rarely felt exhausted or drained from physical activity because he rarely did physical activity but this persisted deep in his bones and he did not appreciate it. How the Astorios dealt with this on a regular basis was beyond him; it felt like everything inside of him wanted to come up and then some.

Eventually, Varis got to his feet. The next line of defense was just a locked glass door. A beautiful and ornate glass door, but a few hundred years out of date with a lock to match. Child’s play really. Varis skulked across the landing and knelt so the lock was just above eye level. He nodded a few times and dug around in his bag until he felt the familiar cloth, pulling out a roll and unfurling it on the ground in front of him. Several pockets filled with various picks and tools greeted him and he picked them out and compared them to the lock until he found the ones he wanted. It took barely any time, the old lock clicking open with ease, and Varis packed everything up in a flash and slipped inside before anyone noticed.

The halls were just as expected, large draping tapestries of various conflicts the Astorios believed they dominated. The particular attention to detail of the gorey mess of battle made Varis roll his eyes as he slipped from one corner to another as quietly as possible. He checked his watch. If his informant was honest, he had a little under eight minutes to find the room and get inside. He frowned. He was behind and that was a problem. Security for the room he needed was a bit more complex and those two minutes he lost in the climb were going to be sorely missed. He pressed on nonetheless.

Door 8622 was all on its lonesome in a tiny dead-end side hall. With how it was set up, Varis thought it would have been better protected but not even a single camera could be found. Had there been, it would have been a problem because there wasn’t a tapestry or art piece or furniture for him to at least try and hide behind. He moved quickly and quietly to the door, blinked at it, and sighed. Instead of the easy pin pad and door key combination lock he expected, a shiny new, steel reinforced deadbolt mocked him in the faint light. The damn vampire probably knew and fed him shitty intel to get him caught. The cylinders were probably pick resistant chambers too if they’d installed reinforced steel guards on the damn thing.

Varis mouthed every explicative he knew, repeatedly, as he settled in to try and pick the locks. The clock was down to three minutes and Varis could feel the tension pressing down on him. If he got caught, his little distraction wouldn’t be a lie anymore. This was breaking and entering Lord Pieron’s private record rooms and Varis had seen how the Astorios handle their private affairs. If he could sweat, he probably would be. His hands trembled as he picked up his picks, checking each other against the lock to see what would fit. He took a steadying breath and started.

Voices started carrying down the hall, their footsteps getting louder. Varis muttered a curse when he slipped on a pin and the whole damn thing reset. A voice laughed, just around the corner.

He managed it just in time, slipping off the lock, pulling the dead bolt, and all but throwing himself inside just to hastily shut it behind him. Hopefully, it was such an out of the way location that they’d just glance, see the door shut, and move on. The footsteps stopped.

Varis closed his eyes.

And then they continued, unhurried and unrushed, another soft laugh ringing out into the still air and Varis slumped to the ground. Ryner owed him. The favors she traded did not equal the stress he was going through. Still, he pulled himself to his feet and gave the room a better look now that the constant threat of Lord Pieron’s axe wasn’t quite as imminent. Varis could feel his blood pressure rising.

Filing cabinets. So. Many. Filing cabinets. They hadn’t had the common decency to modernize their systems at all? Varis groaned, hand hand running down his face. How in the ever living fuck was he supposed to find something in here? There had to be forty fucking filing cabinets and none of them had labels! Not a single one! The little slots, the little metal frames meant for labels? All empty. It was everything Varis could do not to slam his head repeatedly into a wall.

So he opened the nearest few, hoping at least the file names would help. They did seem to be organized alphabetically so Varis started rifling, looking for a project named Midnight Genesis. What that meant, he didn’t know, but it was a stupid name. Pulling open cabinet after cabinet, he found the M’s scattered across two and quickly discovered that the Astorios were incredibly unimaginative. There were seven projects just labelled “Marn 1-7” and at least six midnights with different adjectives. Hopefully, they all had some connection but still. They had the entire language to work with and they repeated themselves constantly. That and family member names. Over and over again. A bunch of barbarians, honestly.

It took him long enough but finally he found the Midnight Genesis file. He plucked that right out and stashed it away, planning on reading it once he made his escape. He closed the cabinet and zipped shut his bag, intent on quitting this horrifically inefficient place, when another idea struck him. He had a lovely little Astorio as his new neighbor. Maybe there was something on Victor here he could leverage against him. Varis grinned wickedly.

Now, it wouldn’t be under Victor Astorio because if he knew old vampires, they would slight him even here. No, no. Victor’s family were honorary Astorios, gifted the name for services in the war, but he sincerely doubted they’d be under their new name. What was that name? Varis snapped as he thought, the name on the tip of his tongue. Strigois. That’s right. Varis skipped right over to where the S section should be and poured through it eagerly.

And find something he did. Several somethings. He giggled like a child on their birthday as he lifted them out and into his bag. Perfect. There would be something there he could use to keep the Astorio under his thumb. He bid the room adieu, locked it again, and slipped out the same way he came in, little more than a shadow on the wall, and just as ignored.

Except he missed the prickle on the back of his neck as he slipped back into the forest as a heavyset woman watched from the balcony, expressionless.

Of Blood and Magic

_{Dates: Dates: December 7th - December 21st}

12/14: Maddie/Aaron

A Secret Forged in Life Magic

The faint buzz of her phone and the soft light of her lock screen proudly displaying whatever notification roused her from the doze she’d just slipped into. She’d just been zoning out and she felt herself grow calmer, heavier, and her eyelids had just shut when her phone yanked her out of it and she blinked against the light. She debated ignoring it but she was up and she didn’t really have a reason to so she flailed in her phone’s general direction until she managed to grab it and yanked it off its charger. Too much effort to roll over. It took her eyes a few moments to adjust to the light, always keeping the brightness at full because it was easier now that she really was nocturnal.

> Hey, are you up?
> I’m sorry to bother you, but I could really use your help.

Well, that was strange. A text message from Aaron during daylight hours? A knot formed in Maddie’s stomach. It must be serious if he felt it couldn’t wait. She should let Ari know but she’d taken to bed a while ago already and she wasn’t sure how the Countess would feel about being distrubed so early in the day. She struggled out of the cocoon of covers and sat up, swinging her feet off the bed before responding.

> Yeah, sure.
> What’s up?

There was a long moment of what looked like indecisive typing before the next message finally sent.

> Can you meet me on the edge of the woods behind the dorms?

Warning bells rang loud and clear in Maddie’s head. Edge of the woods, huh? This had Do Not Get Involved written all over it and Maddie was so tempted to listen. Getting a vague request for help during the day, weird. Getting asked to go into the woods where the vampires wouldn’t be able to tell what they were doing? Shady as fuck. Maddie groaned, already knowing she’d lost this debate as soon as he asked for help because Aaron was not the help needing kind of guy but it didn’t mean she had to like it. This sounded complicated and she really didn’t like complicated.

> Yeah, give me ten. Gotta get dressed.

Maddie threw on the first things she found, jeans and a shirt and a jacket because winter sucked, toed on her boots, grabbed her focus and keys, and slipped out back as quietly as possible. Maddie scanned the treeline and found Aaron at the edge. If she didn’t know better, she’d say he was skulking around out there. She sighed, shoving her hands in her pocket like him because it was fucking cold, and trudged out across the frozen grounds to meet him. Hopefully, today wouldn’t get any weirder.

Aaron wasn’t too comfortable with the situation either, looking around nervously for a campus patrol or weird daytime walker or anyone else who might see him out when he wasn’t supposed to be. He hadn’t really thought this through, but at least Maddie agreed to come, so it probably wasn’t the end of the world. Still, he didn’t want to stay out in the open—literally in broad daylight—any longer than he needed to, so when he saw Maddie emerge from around the dorms, he quirked his head for her to follow.

He brought the two of them into the shade of a large spruce a little bit behind the treeline, close enough to see the dorms but deep enough that anyone looking from the paths probably wouldn’t notice them. Giving Maddie a grateful, if a little pained, look, he cut right to the chase, glancing around one more time before pulling his hands from his pockets, holding them out with palms down for Maddie to see.

In sharp contrast to Aaron’s usual, put-together style, his hands were a mess: blood, both dried and fresh, was smeared all over them, still seeping slowly from nasty gouges over each of his first three knuckle joints. The skin was torn and ragged, and upon closer examination, little bits of stained tree bark could be seen stuck inside the wounds.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice,” Aaron said quietly, opting not to linger on the obvious. His hands looked painful, but he seemed more bothered by his request than his injuries. “Do you think there’s anything you can do?”

Maddie didn’t say anything as Aaron led her a little further into the trees. Apparently she didn’t know better; this was definitely skulking shit. She hadn’t thought Aaron capable of it honestly. She looked over her shoulder, making sure no one was watching as the pair stepped out of sight, because they really didn’t need anyone spreading any weird stuff about the two of them considering some of the things she heard that already spread about Aaron.

Aaron was on edge as he spared her a pained smile and revealed his hands. Maddie gasped quietly and gently too one, ignoring the bite of the morning chill. They were a mess. Gross and dirty and bloody and Maddie realized why he came to her. He’d mentioned how his outlets were all physical on their Titan viewing night and Count Sinnenodel must have taken them all from him and so he turned to punching trees where no one would see. Her heart broke a little.

“Fuck, Aaron.” She muttered, not even bothering to keep up the nice pretense she had while in view of the vampires. She pulled out her knife and held the tip above the wounds. She felt the familiar rush as the green mist floated down the edge of the blade and drifted over the wounds. Life magic for her was a thrill; the same feeling she got when she rode a rollercoaster with a long drop or when a Titan match went down to the last second and you jumped up as the timer buzzed, screaming and yelling. It felt like she was experiencing every positive emotion at once and all heightened to the extreme; overwhelming joy, happiness, exuberance, and it was all she could do not to smile. She’d been told that was poor bedside manner.

Usually, the wounds would start knitting themselves together as her magic settled in but she felt something heavy against her magic. It wasn’t much more than usual but it felt like she was moving in standing water rather than an empty field. She wasn’t sure what that feeling was but she poured more magic into it and watched as the wounds closed, the bits of wood stuck to the newly healed skin. She repeated the process on the other hand and when she was finally done, slid the knife back into its sheath.

She tucked her hands back into her pockets and let out a long sigh. “I don’t know what to say here, Aaron. I can’t say anything about this you don’t already know.”

Aaron visibly relaxed as Maddie’s magic set in, some of his tension melting away as the familiar warmth of life magic flowed over him. If the procedure took any longer than normal, he didn't notice; it was kinda bad, he'd admit, but he was paying more attention to that little shot of vitality than how long it lasted.

He sighed as Maddie finished, flexing his newly-healed fingers and peeling off bits of tree bark stuck to his skin. “Thank you,” he said, momentarily ignoring Maddie’s disapproval.

Crouching down, he scooped up a handful of snow and rubbed his knuckles with it, scrubbing the blood off his hands as best he could before it started itching. “I won't make a habit of this, I promise,” he assured her, kicking some fresh snow over the pink stain at his feet. “I would appreciate it if you could keep this under your hat, though.”

As the rush of life magic wore off, a bit of worry started creeping back in, Aaron remembering how this must have looked. “Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not a violent person,” he insisted, “I just couldn't sleep and the arena is closed during the day and--well, you know.” He stopped himself from saying anything further, knowing that every extra detail he gave was just another loose thread to be tied up. He liked Maddie, and respected her, but the two of them were more alike than was convenient; especially with her mistress, he couldn't expect her to actively protect him if someone started prying. It wasn't like some big huge scandal—he just didn't need any extra scorn from Varis right now and the infirmary would have put the injury in his records—but among nobles, the gravity of the incident mattered little. Their arrangement for his stress management sessions was strained enough with the Countess without meeting behind their vampires’ backs.

“Thank you,” he repeated, giving Maddie a grateful look. “Sorry for getting you out of bed. And good job, by the way.” He held one hand up to show Maddie, the skin as good as new, if a little stained. “I'm impressed; the best I can do is some shoddy little illusions.”

She appreciated his restraint. They had a mutual understanding; they kept their vampires’ business out of their conversations, regardless of the situation. He was loyal to a fault and she wasn’t willing to cross the person in charge of the rest of her life no matter how kind they were. She nodded when he asked her to keep it quiet; she wasn’t about to go blab to the rest of the mages. That would only make everything more complicated and that, at least, was something she could control.

“Well then you’re lightyears ahead of me; I can’t make any illusions.” She joked. “And you’re welcome. I’m just glad you stopped when you did. Any more damage and I’d have had to turn you away. I’m only going to ask one question and then that’ll be that. Do you feel better?”

Aaron chuckled along with Maddie, nodding at her admittedly logical warning. Of course, she had a way of getting to the heart of things while staying on the surface; her question was expertly crafted, and it was easy to tell she'd grown up under Sinnenodel influence. She wasn't talking about his hands, she was talking about the underlying issue she didn't want to know about in the first place. It was touching, in a way.

“I do, thank you,” Aaron answered honestly; even now, a bit of much-welcomed fatigue crept into his voice. He tilted his head toward the dorms. “I owe you one.”

"I only helped my friend out. You don't owe me anything." Maddie waved it off. She pulled her coat a little tighter around herself. "I think I'm ready to head back inside. Get some sleep Aaron. Sweet dreams." She waved, offered him one last smile, and hurried on her way, thoughts now only of a warm bed and sleep.

_{Dates: December 22nd - January 5}

12/23: Maddie

Coming Home, Going Home

Crash! Bang! Clang!

Maddie groaned into her pillow before peering irritably at her phone. 7:12pm. Who the fuck on this campus had the balls to make this kind of ruckus in the noble area of the dorms? The guaranteed silence was the greatest perk of living there and now some dumbass woke her up before the sun was away. Hopefully, they would also wake up Count Sinnenodel because the sooner this jackass’ hide was flayed, the fucking better. Ugh, but it was still daylight so even if they did, the snake couldn’t come out to do it. She buried herself deeper into her duvet and slammed the pillow over her head.

The noise stopped after that, a guard or something probably shooing off whoever was attempting to sabotage the nobles’ sleep schedule, and she dozed off again. She’d never have gotten this kind of sleep at home with her siblings and her parents and her uncles and aunts and cousins and grandparents. It was always a noisey mess. Maybe that’s why she took to the Academy so fast. It was quiet and no one there to break down the door when she over―

“How long are you going to sleep, you lazy daughter?” The door slammed open and Maria Vasquez came storming in, yanking back the covers and prying Maddie’s pillow out of her hands. Maddie scrambled to get them back, confused, but just sighed as she slumped down onto her bed again. “I know you’re about to wake up anyways. The whole family is here and we made all your favorites.” Her mother continued, pushing aside the blackout curtains. Those hadn’t been in her room before and Maddie was grateful they’d given her some. Her mom turned and looked at Maddie, smiling.

“I’m just so happy to have you home.” Maria sighed, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “It’s like my heart is whole again. Now, come downstairs and help me set the table.” Her mother swept out of the room just as quickly as she’d entered. Trust her mom to tell her she missed her and then start assigning chores all in one breath. Maddie laughed and pushed herself up.

Her room changed since she’d left for the Royal Academy. Before her sister shared the room with her but now Adrina’s side sat empty. She could see where poster a and pictures had hung for years, the sections just a bit lighter than the rest of the wall, and while they had discussed the change while she was here last, it didn’t change the fact it was weird. It made sense of course and she appreciated the privacy and personal space but eighteen years of shared room experience screamed at how different this was.

Maddie rolled out of bed and stretched, meandering around and shrugging herself into the first things she found. A pair of jeans and an old faded out t-shirt, perfect. Her mom could gripe at her all she wanted but Maddie was tired and it was just the family. Usually now, she’d secure her focus but she wasn’t going to class, she wasn’t practicing, and she wasn’t around Ari if she needed her magic for some reason or another. Should she bother? The other mages in the family did but they had normal foci; just wands they’d grown attached to. Hers was a knife and her family sometimes forgot the difference between everyone’s stuff, especially the little ones. She didn’t want one of them trying to grab it and play with it but at the same time, leaving the key to her magic laying around, out of arm’s reach, made her feel uneasy. She had magic now and the idea of not being able to call on it when she needed to was unsettling beyond belief. It was hard to imagine she’d lived an entire life without it.

She strapped the knife in place on her side. Maybe she’d get something that she could hide it in; Amaris might have someone at her home that she could talk to about it because now that she thought about it, carrying a chef’s knife around on her hip was kind of weird. Great, now she felt self conscious. She shoved her phone in her pocket and left those thoughts stewing in the room while she headed out. Her room was the last one upstairs, directly across from her mom’s crafts room and next to her oldest sister’s room. Well, her second oldest since the other one moved when she got married. That’s probably where Andrina stayed now. Family photos still lined the walls, in between the garish wall decorations her parents loved, and she ran her hand along the worn railing of the stairs as she went down.

Maddie couldn’t help but stifle the giggle at the discolored carpet on the fifth stair, when her and her sister decided running with paint was a great idea. Or at the slight bend in the banister where she’d gotten her knee stuck between the railings and her abuelo used butter after she’d nearly dislocated it trying to struggle out. She didn’t know how she’d survived her childhood without more injuries but they really did get into a lot of shenanigans.

“Aunty Maddie!” A screaming child slammed into her as she stepped off the stairs, nearly knocking her back onto them as they wrapped their arms and legs around her. Her nephew beamed up at her and she laughed as she picked him up, situating him on her other hip. Natallie, her eldest sister, followed behind him, wrapping them both in a hug and giving her a peck on the cheek.

“He’s been talking nonstop about how excited he is to see his favorite aunt again.” Natalie laughed, gently taking him from her. “Aunt Maddie’s tired, Alex. Don’t go bothering her so quickly!”

“He isn’t a problem, Nat. He is so big now though. I can’t believe he’s only six.” Maddie gave her sister a look that Nat clearly ignored and continued talking. Something about how Josue’s promotion and how they purchased a house. But Maddie was just so confused why Nat took Alex from her. Nat had dumped him on her at every opportunity for two years but Maddie was fine with that. She loved playing with her nephew, even if he was an energetic little monster, but before she had a chance to say anything, Nat was off to talk with Uncle Hector, taking Alex with her.

Maddie shrugged it off as one of those maternal instinct things magazines were always spouting. Getting her own space, wanting family time and all that. She caught a flash of red and black in the living room and followed it out to the back patio. Andrina dropped into a patio chair, clearly still stuck in the goth phase mom hated if the black and red band t-shirt was anything to go by, and picked up a can of beer out of the several scattered across the table. Their Aunt Veronica was across from Andrina and waved as Maddie stepped out into the night air.

“I see the princess finally decided to wake up.” Andrina giggled, waving Maddie to sit down. Veronica swatted at Andrina’s shoulder despite her own laughter. “Come on, pull up a chair, grab a beer, we won’t tell!”

“No, I’d rather not.” Maddie snorted as she sat in a chair, kicking the one next to her out and propping her feet up on it. “What’s going on?”

“Andrina was just telling me about your pa--”

“So sis, sister, Maddie, Mads!” Andrina interrupted loudly, slapping her hands on the table. “How’ve you been and all that? It’s been great here, with my own room and everything! Only took Nat gettin’ preggers and hitched but hey, improvements all around!” Maddie stared at her sister. What the fuck was that? She exchanged a confused look with Veronica and decided it wasn't worth it. She must be drunker than Maddie thought.

“Uh, yeah. I mean, I’m glad I don’t have to see your shitty posters anymore. As much as I love seeing bone thin, half naked guys screaming into a mic with more eyeliner than I’ve ever owned on, I’ll pass. I have better taste.” Maddie said dryly above Andrina’s outraged shrieking. Why had she missed this again. “What have you been up to? Finally dump that jackass or are you still on and off again?”

“We’re taking a break.” Adrina shrugged. “Whatever, he’ll come crawling back again soon enough. It’s all good.”

“And what about you? Any special someone in your life?” Veronica asked as she took a swig. “Remember, you can get with someone with lots of money now.”

“No, no one like that.” Maddie laughed. She had so many other things to deal with right now, romance was at the bottom of the list. “And besides, the Countess is technically supposed to take care of most of my financial needs. She’s been understanding so far; I doubt I’ll get into a situation where I’m leaning on a significant other desperately.”

“You never know. Those vampires are sneaky creatures. We’ve all heard the horror stories.” Veronica shrugged and Maddie frowned. Marivaldi aside, Ari had been nothing but kind and understanding this whole time. She was a stark contrast to their neighbor, the literally the heir of the snakes himself, and she was warning her against Ari? Maddie was going to reply but Andrina stood suddenly, knocking the chair back (Maddie found the source of the noises earlier apparently, drunk ass bitch).

“Oh look, we probably need to help mom set the table! Let’s go!” Andrina gave a fake laugh and grabbed Maddie before pulling her inside away from Veronica. Maddie yanked her arm away from her sister as soon as they got inside and gaped at Andrina.

“What the fuck?” was all she got out, gesturing to the entirety of outside.

“Look, we all know how your kind gets about your vamps.” Andrina whispered, eyeing Alex playing on the other side of the room. He’d stopped, his Lord Pieron action figure frozen in midswing, and turned a curious look to the sisters. “And that’s fine. It’s totally fine, we get it. You serve them, you are loyal to them, but your kind can get a little… defensive about it. I’m just trying to keep you from getting upset about it, that’s all.”

Maddie stared at her sister. Defensive? Sure, she was going to dispute her Aunt’s concerns but she wouldn’t have gotten upset about it. First Nat and now Andrina acting weird as shit. Maddie didn’t even know how to respond to that but the opportunity was taken away when she felt a tug at her focus. Her hand snatched around the offender and she looked down to see Alex with his hand wrapped around the hilt, his wrist in her grip. She laughed at the guilty look.

“Why do you have a knife? Mommy says you can't carry knives.” He pointed out. But before Maddie could respond, Andrina had him in her arms.

“You can’t touch that, Alex! Never touch your Aunt’s knife, understood?” Andrina snapped at him. “Now go find, mommy okay? Dinner is probably going to be done soon so Aunt Maddie and I are going to go help grandma okay?” Alex nodded and rushed off, excited to finally eat. Andrina didn’t meet Maddie’s gaze as she too hurried off, bounding up the stairs instead of into the kitchen.

Maddie was just so confused so instead of dealing with that mess, she made her way to the kitchen. She took a deep breath and let out a pleased hum. The intoxicating aroma of her mother’s carne asada enveloped her and she never wanted to leave this kitchen again. It was an easy recipe but it was just so good, she couldn’t help but love it. Her mother really did mean all her favorites because this was literally in every single one of them.

“My love! Come here!” Her father bellowed, wrapping her in a hug and lifting. She smacked his back repeatedly as he crushed the air of her and when he put her down, she took a deep breath as he laughed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to meet you when you came home but business at the restaurants has been good and I couldn’t get away but you are a sight for sore eyes! I have missed you every day!”

“I missed you too. I’m glad the restaurants are doing well! I was afraid you’d tank without my free labor when I left.” Maddie joked as she grabbed the silverware. She ducked her dad’s half hearted attempt to swat her and she headed into the dining room and started setting the table.

The issue didn’t occur to her until she finished setting the table actually. Her mom said the whole family was here and while they did splurge on a large dining room table because of how often they had company, it wasn’t enough for everyone. Normally if it was everyone, they’d just lay everything out buffet style and people could grab what they wanted and wander the house but this meant there were at most twelve of them and four of them were the people who lived here. Nat, Alex, and Josue made seven and Uncle Hector and Veronica made nine. There were way more than that.

They were probably just coming after dinner, just in time for desert. Maddie shook her head. Typical of them, dip in for the good stuff and dip out just as fast. Her contemplations were cut short as her mom yelled through the house that dinner was ready. She shrugged and headed into the kitchen to help bring out food.

They settled down and conversation flowed, spanish and english in equal measure, and Maddie relaxed, the earlier tension at her observations easing away. It was nice being somewhere that she didn’t have to consider how her actions would affect another; she could just relax. Dinner was amazing and she almost cried as she shoved all the familiar foods in her face as fast as she could, choking at one point and drawing a laugh out of everyone at the table. Not that she cared, as she laughed along with them, and everything was okay.

Until Maddie was seeing her uncle and aunt and sister off for the night and Andrina was passed out on the living room couch. She settled in to clean up after dinner with her parents, her dad joining them after she finally got Andrina upstairs. He returned grumbling to Maddie’s laughter and got put on dish drying duty. Late night music played, a mix of slow dance songs and easy listening music, and Maddie felt the concerns of the night collapse over her. She shouldn’t ask; she could already tell she wouldn’t like the answer but she needed to know why everyone was so weird.

“It was nice seeing everyone again. Nat is doing great and Alex is so big. Andrina is ‘drina. Glad to know that hasn’t changed.” Maddie stared, focusing on the plate she was cleaning. Behind her, her parents shared a tense look. “But it was weird. Nat took Alex from me really quick and Andrina thought I was going to get into a fight over my vampire and she yelled at Alex for touching my focus. And then it was basically only the immediate family and Uncle Hector and Aunt Veronica? Why didn’t anyone else show up?”

There were a few beats of silence as they continued working. Her dad sighed and put down the glasses he’d been putting away. The radio was deafening.

“My love, you know how the family is. It’ll just take a little bit for them to adjust.” He spoke softly. “You’re involved with some pretty powerful vampires now and you can do incredible things, Maddie, that they just don’t understand. They’re just a little spooked. They just have to remember that beyond all that, you’re still their family. They’ll come around.”

Maddie felt numb as her dad explained why her family avoided coming to see her. All the aunts and uncles that she’d shared birthdays and holidays with, that had been there for her her whole life, scared of her? Her own sisters all acting like she’d suddenly changed into some new person, ready to defend her vampire at the drop of a hat or freak out at her nephew, the nephew she helped raise and love, because he did something silly? Maddie scrubbed the plate a little harder than necessary, swallowing back the frustration and the hurt at the thoughts. Her parents put down what they were doing, wrapping her in an embrace, and she forced herself to relax into it.

It felt like she was losing her home.

Testing well everything!

_{Dates: Dates: December 7th - December 21st}

12/14: Maddie/Aaron

A Secret Forged in Life Magic

The faint buzz of her phone and the soft light of her lock screen proudly displaying whatever notification roused her from the doze she’d just slipped into. She’d just been zoning out and she felt herself grow calmer, heavier, and her eyelids had just shut when her phone yanked her out of it and she blinked against the light. She debated ignoring it but she was up and she didn’t really have a reason to so she flailed in her phone’s general direction until she managed to grab it and yanked it off its charger. Too much effort to roll over. It took her eyes a few moments to adjust to the light, always keeping the brightness at full because it was easier now that she really was nocturnal.

> Hey, are you up?
> I’m sorry to bother you, but I could really use your help.

Well, that was strange. A text message from Aaron during daylight hours? A knot formed in Maddie’s stomach. It must be serious if he felt it couldn’t wait. She should let Ari know but she’d taken to bed a while ago already and she wasn’t sure how the Countess would feel about being distrubed so early in the day. She struggled out of the cocoon of covers and sat up, swinging her feet off the bed before responding.

> Yeah, sure.
> What’s up?

There was a long moment of what looked like indecisive typing before the next message finally sent.

> Can you meet me on the edge of the woods behind the dorms?

Warning bells rang loud and clear in Maddie’s head. Edge of the woods, huh? This had Do Not Get Involved written all over it and Maddie was so tempted to listen. Getting a vague request for help during the day, weird. Getting asked to go into the woods where the vampires wouldn’t be able to tell what they were doing? Shady as fuck. Maddie groaned, already knowing she’d lost this debate as soon as he asked for help because Aaron was not the help needing kind of guy but it didn’t mean she had to like it. This sounded complicated and she really didn’t like complicated.

> Yeah, give me ten. Gotta get dressed.

Maddie threw on the first things she found, jeans and a shirt and a jacket because winter sucked, toed on her boots, grabbed her focus and keys, and slipped out back as quietly as possible. Maddie scanned the treeline and found Aaron at the edge. If she didn’t know better, she’d say he was skulking around out there. She sighed, shoving her hands in her pocket like him because it was fucking cold, and trudged out across the frozen grounds to meet him. Hopefully, today wouldn’t get any weirder.

Aaron wasn’t too comfortable with the situation either, looking around nervously for a campus patrol or weird daytime walker or anyone else who might see him out when he wasn’t supposed to be. He hadn’t really thought this through, but at least Maddie agreed to come, so it probably wasn’t the end of the world. Still, he didn’t want to stay out in the open—literally in broad daylight—any longer than he needed to, so when he saw Maddie emerge from around the dorms, he quirked his head for her to follow.

He brought the two of them into the shade of a large spruce a little bit behind the treeline, close enough to see the dorms but deep enough that anyone looking from the paths probably wouldn’t notice them. Giving Maddie a grateful, if a little pained, look, he cut right to the chase, glancing around one more time before pulling his hands from his pockets, holding them out with palms down for Maddie to see.

In sharp contrast to Aaron’s usual, put-together style, his hands were a mess: blood, both dried and fresh, was smeared all over them, still seeping slowly from nasty gouges over each of his first three knuckle joints. The skin was torn and ragged, and upon closer examination, little bits of stained tree bark could be seen stuck inside the wounds.

“Thank you for coming on such short notice,” Aaron said quietly, opting not to linger on the obvious. His hands looked painful, but he seemed more bothered by his request than his injuries. “Do you think there’s anything you can do?”

Maddie didn’t say anything as Aaron led her a little further into the trees. Apparently she didn’t know better; this was definitely skulking shit. She hadn’t thought Aaron capable of it honestly. She looked over her shoulder, making sure no one was watching as the pair stepped out of sight, because they really didn’t need anyone spreading any weird stuff about the two of them considering some of the things she heard that already spread about Aaron.

Aaron was on edge as he spared her a pained smile and revealed his hands. Maddie gasped quietly and gently too one, ignoring the bite of the morning chill. They were a mess. Gross and dirty and bloody and Maddie realized why he came to her. He’d mentioned how his outlets were all physical on their Titan viewing night and Count Sinnenodel must have taken them all from him and so he turned to punching trees where no one would see. Her heart broke a little.

“Fuck, Aaron.” She muttered, not even bothering to keep up the nice pretense she had while in view of the vampires. She pulled out her knife and held the tip above the wounds. She felt the familiar rush as the green mist floated down the edge of the blade and drifted over the wounds. Life magic for her was a thrill; the same feeling she got when she rode a rollercoaster with a long drop or when a Titan match went down to the last second and you jumped up as the timer buzzed, screaming and yelling. It felt like she was experiencing every positive emotion at once and all heightened to the extreme; overwhelming joy, happiness, exuberance, and it was all she could do not to smile. She’d been told that was poor bedside manner.

Usually, the wounds would start knitting themselves together as her magic settled in but she felt something heavy against her magic. It wasn’t much more than usual but it felt like she was moving in standing water rather than an empty field. She wasn’t sure what that feeling was but she poured more magic into it and watched as the wounds closed, the bits of wood stuck to the newly healed skin. She repeated the process on the other hand and when she was finally done, slid the knife back into its sheath.

She tucked her hands back into her pockets and let out a long sigh. “I don’t know what to say here, Aaron. I can’t say anything about this you don’t already know.”

Aaron visibly relaxed as Maddie’s magic set in, some of his tension melting away as the familiar warmth of life magic flowed over him. If the procedure took any longer than normal, he didn't notice; it was kinda bad, he'd admit, but he was paying more attention to that little shot of vitality than how long it lasted.

He sighed as Maddie finished, flexing his newly-healed fingers and peeling off bits of tree bark stuck to his skin. “Thank you,” he said, momentarily ignoring Maddie’s disapproval.

Crouching down, he scooped up a handful of snow and rubbed his knuckles with it, scrubbing the blood off his hands as best he could before it started itching. “I won't make a habit of this, I promise,” he assured her, kicking some fresh snow over the pink stain at his feet. “I would appreciate it if you could keep this under your hat, though.”

As the rush of life magic wore off, a bit of worry started creeping back in, Aaron remembering how this must have looked. “Don't get the wrong idea, I'm not a violent person,” he insisted, “I just couldn't sleep and the arena is closed during the day and--well, you know.” He stopped himself from saying anything further, knowing that every extra detail he gave was just another loose thread to be tied up. He liked Maddie, and respected her, but the two of them were more alike than was convenient; especially with her mistress, he couldn't expect her to actively protect him if someone started prying. It wasn't like some big huge scandal—he just didn't need any extra scorn from Varis right now and the infirmary would have put the injury in his records—but among nobles, the gravity of the incident mattered little. Their arrangement for his stress management sessions was strained enough with the Countess without meeting behind their vampires’ backs.

“Thank you,” he repeated, giving Maddie a grateful look. “Sorry for getting you out of bed. And good job, by the way.” He held one hand up to show Maddie, the skin as good as new, if a little stained. “I'm impressed; the best I can do is some shoddy little illusions.”

She appreciated his restraint. They had a mutual understanding; they kept their vampires’ business out of their conversations, regardless of the situation. He was loyal to a fault and she wasn’t willing to cross the person in charge of the rest of her life no matter how kind they were. She nodded when he asked her to keep it quiet; she wasn’t about to go blab to the rest of the mages. That would only make everything more complicated and that, at least, was something she could control.

“Well then you’re lightyears ahead of me; I can’t make any illusions.” She joked. “And you’re welcome. I’m just glad you stopped when you did. Any more damage and I’d have had to turn you away. I’m only going to ask one question and then that’ll be that. Do you feel better?”

Aaron chuckled along with Maddie, nodding at her admittedly logical warning. Of course, she had a way of getting to the heart of things while staying on the surface; her question was expertly crafted, and it was easy to tell she'd grown up under Sinnenodel influence. She wasn't talking about his hands, she was talking about the underlying issue she didn't want to know about in the first place. It was touching, in a way.

“I do, thank you,” Aaron answered honestly; even now, a bit of much-welcomed fatigue crept into his voice. He tilted his head toward the dorms. “I owe you one.”

"I only helped my friend out. You don't owe me anything." Maddie waved it off. She pulled her coat a little tighter around herself. "I think I'm ready to head back inside. Get some sleep Aaron. Sweet dreams." She waved, offered him one last smile, and hurried on her way, thoughts now only of a warm bed and sleep.

_{Dates: December 22nd - January 5}

12/23: Maddie

Coming Home, Going Home

Crash! Bang! Clang!

Maddie groaned into her pillow before peering irritably at her phone. 7:12pm. Who the fuck on this campus had the balls to make this kind of ruckus in the noble area of the dorms? The guaranteed silence was the greatest perk of living there and now some dumbass woke her up before the sun was away. Hopefully, they would also wake up Count Sinnenodel because the sooner this jackass’ hide was flayed, the fucking better. Ugh, but it was still daylight so even if they did, the snake couldn’t come out to do it. She buried herself deeper into her duvet and slammed the pillow over her head.

The noise stopped after that, a guard or something probably shooing off whoever was attempting to sabotage the nobles’ sleep schedule, and she dozed off again. She’d never have gotten this kind of sleep at home with her siblings and her parents and her uncles and aunts and cousins and grandparents. It was always a noisey mess. Maybe that’s why she took to the Academy so fast. It was quiet and no one there to break down the door when she over―

“How long are you going to sleep, you lazy daughter?” The door slammed open and Maria Vasquez came storming in, yanking back the covers and prying Maddie’s pillow out of her hands. Maddie scrambled to get them back, confused, but just sighed as she slumped down onto her bed again. “I know you’re about to wake up anyways. The whole family is here and we made all your favorites.” Her mother continued, pushing aside the blackout curtains. Those hadn’t been in her room before and Maddie was grateful they’d given her some. Her mom turned and looked at Maddie, smiling.

“I’m just so happy to have you home.” Maria sighed, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “It’s like my heart is whole again. Now, come downstairs and help me set the table.” Her mother swept out of the room just as quickly as she’d entered. Trust her mom to tell her she missed her and then start assigning chores all in one breath. Maddie laughed and pushed herself up.

Her room changed since she’d left for the Royal Academy. Before her sister shared the room with her but now Adrina’s side sat empty. She could see where poster a and pictures had hung for years, the sections just a bit lighter than the rest of the wall, and while they had discussed the change while she was here last, it didn’t change the fact it was weird. It made sense of course and she appreciated the privacy and personal space but eighteen years of shared room experience screamed at how different this was.

Maddie rolled out of bed and stretched, meandering around and shrugging herself into the first things she found. A pair of jeans and an old faded out t-shirt, perfect. Her mom could gripe at her all she wanted but Maddie was tired and it was just the family. Usually now, she’d secure her focus but she wasn’t going to class, she wasn’t practicing, and she wasn’t around Ari if she needed her magic for some reason or another. Should she bother? The other mages in the family did but they had normal foci; just wands they’d grown attached to. Hers was a knife and her family sometimes forgot the difference between everyone’s stuff, especially the little ones. She didn’t want one of them trying to grab it and play with it but at the same time, leaving the key to her magic laying around, out of arm’s reach, made her feel uneasy. She had magic now and the idea of not being able to call on it when she needed to was unsettling beyond belief. It was hard to imagine she’d lived an entire life without it.

She strapped the knife in place on her side. Maybe she’d get something that she could hide it in; Amaris might have someone at her home that she could talk to about it because now that she thought about it, carrying a chef’s knife around on her hip was kind of weird. Great, now she felt self conscious. She shoved her phone in her pocket and left those thoughts stewing in the room while she headed out. Her room was the last one upstairs, directly across from her mom’s crafts room and next to her oldest sister’s room. Well, her second oldest since the other one moved when she got married. That’s probably where Andrina stayed now. Family photos still lined the walls, in between the garish wall decorations her parents loved, and she ran her hand along the worn railing of the stairs as she went down.

Maddie couldn’t help but stifle the giggle at the discolored carpet on the fifth stair, when her and her sister decided running with paint was a great idea. Or at the slight bend in the banister where she’d gotten her knee stuck between the railings and her abuelo used butter after she’d nearly dislocated it trying to struggle out. She didn’t know how she’d survived her childhood without more injuries but they really did get into a lot of shenanigans.

“Aunty Maddie!” A screaming child slammed into her as she stepped off the stairs, nearly knocking her back onto them as they wrapped their arms and legs around her. Her nephew beamed up at her and she laughed as she picked him up, situating him on her other hip. Natallie, her eldest sister, followed behind him, wrapping them both in a hug and giving her a peck on the cheek.

“He’s been talking nonstop about how excited he is to see his favorite aunt again.” Natalie laughed, gently taking him from her. “Aunt Maddie’s tired, Alex. Don’t go bothering her so quickly!”

“He isn’t a problem, Nat. He is so big now though. I can’t believe he’s only six.” Maddie gave her sister a look that Nat clearly ignored and continued talking. Something about how Josue’s promotion and how they purchased a house. But Maddie was just so confused why Nat took Alex from her. Nat had dumped him on her at every opportunity for two years but Maddie was fine with that. She loved playing with her nephew, even if he was an energetic little monster, but before she had a chance to say anything, Nat was off to talk with Uncle Hector, taking Alex with her.

Maddie shrugged it off as one of those maternal instinct things magazines were always spouting. Getting her own space, wanting family time and all that. She caught a flash of red and black in the living room and followed it out to the back patio. Andrina dropped into a patio chair, clearly still stuck in the goth phase mom hated if the black and red band t-shirt was anything to go by, and picked up a can of beer out of the several scattered across the table. Their Aunt Veronica was across from Andrina and waved as Maddie stepped out into the night air.

“I see the princess finally decided to wake up.” Andrina giggled, waving Maddie to sit down. Veronica swatted at Andrina’s shoulder despite her own laughter. “Come on, pull up a chair, grab a beer, we won’t tell!”

“No, I’d rather not.” Maddie snorted as she sat in a chair, kicking the one next to her out and propping her feet up on it. “What’s going on?”

“Andrina was just telling me about your pa--”

“So sis, sister, Maddie, Mads!” Andrina interrupted loudly, slapping her hands on the table. “How’ve you been and all that? It’s been great here, with my own room and everything! Only took Nat gettin’ preggers and hitched but hey, improvements all around!” Maddie stared at her sister. What the fuck was that? She exchanged a confused look with Veronica and decided it wasn't worth it. She must be drunker than Maddie thought.

“Uh, yeah. I mean, I’m glad I don’t have to see your shitty posters anymore. As much as I love seeing bone thin, half naked guys screaming into a mic with more eyeliner than I’ve ever owned on, I’ll pass. I have better taste.” Maddie said dryly above Andrina’s outraged shrieking. Why had she missed this again. “What have you been up to? Finally dump that jackass or are you still on and off again?”

“We’re taking a break.” Adrina shrugged. “Whatever, he’ll come crawling back again soon enough. It’s all good.”

“And what about you? Any special someone in your life?” Veronica asked as she took a swig. “Remember, you can get with someone with lots of money now.”

“No, no one like that.” Maddie laughed. She had so many other things to deal with right now, romance was at the bottom of the list. “And besides, the Countess is technically supposed to take care of most of my financial needs. She’s been understanding so far; I doubt I’ll get into a situation where I’m leaning on a significant other desperately.”

“You never know. Those vampires are sneaky creatures. We’ve all heard the horror stories.” Veronica shrugged and Maddie frowned. Marivaldi aside, Ari had been nothing but kind and understanding this whole time. She was a stark contrast to their neighbor, the literally the heir of the snakes himself, and she was warning her against Ari? Maddie was going to reply but Andrina stood suddenly, knocking the chair back (Maddie found the source of the noises earlier apparently, drunk ass bitch).

“Oh look, we probably need to help mom set the table! Let’s go!” Andrina gave a fake laugh and grabbed Maddie before pulling her inside away from Veronica. Maddie yanked her arm away from her sister as soon as they got inside and gaped at Andrina.

“What the fuck?” was all she got out, gesturing to the entirety of outside.

“Look, we all know how your kind gets about your vamps.” Andrina whispered, eyeing Alex playing on the other side of the room. He’d stopped, his Lord Pieron action figure frozen in midswing, and turned a curious look to the sisters. “And that’s fine. It’s totally fine, we get it. You serve them, you are loyal to them, but your kind can get a little… defensive about it. I’m just trying to keep you from getting upset about it, that’s all.”

Maddie stared at her sister. Defensive? Sure, she was going to dispute her Aunt’s concerns but she wouldn’t have gotten upset about it. First Nat and now Andrina acting weird as shit. Maddie didn’t even know how to respond to that but the opportunity was taken away when she felt a tug at her focus. Her hand snatched around the offender and she looked down to see Alex with his hand wrapped around the hilt, his wrist in her grip. She laughed at the guilty look.

“Why do you have a knife? Mommy says you can't carry knives.” He pointed out. But before Maddie could respond, Andrina had him in her arms.

“You can’t touch that, Alex! Never touch your Aunt’s knife, understood?” Andrina snapped at him. “Now go find, mommy okay? Dinner is probably going to be done soon so Aunt Maddie and I are going to go help grandma okay?” Alex nodded and rushed off, excited to finally eat. Andrina didn’t meet Maddie’s gaze as she too hurried off, bounding up the stairs instead of into the kitchen.

Maddie was just so confused so instead of dealing with that mess, she made her way to the kitchen. She took a deep breath and let out a pleased hum. The intoxicating aroma of her mother’s carne asada enveloped her and she never wanted to leave this kitchen again. It was an easy recipe but it was just so good, she couldn’t help but love it. Her mother really did mean all her favorites because this was literally in every single one of them.

“My love! Come here!” Her father bellowed, wrapping her in a hug and lifting. She smacked his back repeatedly as he crushed the air of her and when he put her down, she took a deep breath as he laughed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to meet you when you came home but business at the restaurants has been good and I couldn’t get away but you are a sight for sore eyes! I have missed you every day!”

“I missed you too. I’m glad the restaurants are doing well! I was afraid you’d tank without my free labor when I left.” Maddie joked as she grabbed the silverware. She ducked her dad’s half hearted attempt to swat her and she headed into the dining room and started setting the table.

The issue didn’t occur to her until she finished setting the table actually. Her mom said the whole family was here and while they did splurge on a large dining room table because of how often they had company, it wasn’t enough for everyone. Normally if it was everyone, they’d just lay everything out buffet style and people could grab what they wanted and wander the house but this meant there were at most twelve of them and four of them were the people who lived here. Nat, Alex, and Josue made seven and Uncle Hector and Veronica made nine. There were way more than that.

They were probably just coming after dinner, just in time for desert. Maddie shook her head. Typical of them, dip in for the good stuff and dip out just as fast. Her contemplations were cut short as her mom yelled through the house that dinner was ready. She shrugged and headed into the kitchen to help bring out food.

They settled down and conversation flowed, spanish and english in equal measure, and Maddie relaxed, the earlier tension at her observations easing away. It was nice being somewhere that she didn’t have to consider how her actions would affect another; she could just relax. Dinner was amazing and she almost cried as she shoved all the familiar foods in her face as fast as she could, choking at one point and drawing a laugh out of everyone at the table. Not that she cared, as she laughed along with them, and everything was okay.

Until Maddie was seeing her uncle and aunt and sister off for the night and Andrina was passed out on the living room couch. She settled in to clean up after dinner with her parents, her dad joining them after she finally got Andrina upstairs. He returned grumbling to Maddie’s laughter and got put on dish drying duty. Late night music played, a mix of slow dance songs and easy listening music, and Maddie felt the concerns of the night collapse over her. She shouldn’t ask; she could already tell she wouldn’t like the answer but she needed to know why everyone was so weird.

“It was nice seeing everyone again. Nat is doing great and Alex is so big. Andrina is ‘drina. Glad to know that hasn’t changed.” Maddie stared, focusing on the plate she was cleaning. Behind her, her parents shared a tense look. “But it was weird. Nat took Alex from me really quick and Andrina thought I was going to get into a fight over my vampire and she yelled at Alex for touching my focus. And then it was basically only the immediate family and Uncle Hector and Aunt Veronica? Why didn’t anyone else show up?”

There were a few beats of silence as they continued working. Her dad sighed and put down the glasses he’d been putting away. The radio was deafening.

“My love, you know how the family is. It’ll just take a little bit for them to adjust.” He spoke softly. “You’re involved with some pretty powerful vampires now and you can do incredible things, Maddie, that they just don’t understand. They’re just a little spooked. They just have to remember that beyond all that, you’re still their family. They’ll come around.”

Maddie felt numb as her dad explained why her family avoided coming to see her. All the aunts and uncles that she’d shared birthdays and holidays with, that had been there for her her whole life, scared of her? Her own sisters all acting like she’d suddenly changed into some new person, ready to defend her vampire at the drop of a hat or freak out at her nephew, the nephew she helped raise and love, because he did something silly? Maddie scrubbed the plate a little harder than necessary, swallowing back the frustration and the hurt at the thoughts. Her parents put down what they were doing, wrapping her in an embrace, and she forced herself to relax into it.

It felt like she was losing her home.

Testing well everything!

Maddie Solo

Coming Home, Going Home

Crash! Bang! Clang!

Maddie groaned into her pillow before peering irritably at her phone. 7:12pm. Who the fuck on this campus had the balls to make this kind of ruckus in the noble area of the dorms? The guaranteed silence was the greatest perk of living there and now some dumbass woke her up before the sun was away. Hopefully, they would also wake up Count Sinnenodel because the sooner this jackass’ hide was flayed, the fucking better. Ugh, but it was still daylight so even if they did, the snake couldn’t come out to do it. She buried herself deeper into her duvet and slammed the pillow over her head.

The noise stopped after that, a guard or something probably shooing off whoever was attempting to sabotage the nobles’ sleep schedule, and she dozed off again. She’d never have gotten this kind of sleep at home with her siblings and her parents and her uncles and aunts and cousins and grandparents. It was always a noisey mess. Maybe that’s why she took to the Academy so fast. It was quiet and no one there to break down the door when she over―

“How long are you going to sleep, you lazy daughter?” The door slammed open and Maria Vasquez came storming in, yanking back the covers and prying Maddie’s pillow out of her hands. Maddie scrambled to get them back, confused, but just sighed as she slumped down onto her bed again. “I know you’re about to wake up anyways. The whole family is here and we made all your favorites.” Her mother continued, pushing aside the blackout curtains. Those hadn’t been in her room before and Maddie was grateful they’d given her some. Her mom turned and looked at Maddie, smiling.

“I’m just so happy to have you home.” Maria sighed, pressing a kiss to her daughter’s forehead. “It’s like my heart is whole again. Now, come downstairs and help me set the table.” Her mother swept out of the room just as quickly as she’d entered. Trust her mom to tell her she missed her and then start assigning chores all in one breath. Maddie laughed and pushed herself up.

Her room changed since she’d left for the Royal Academy. Before her sister shared the room with her but now Adrina’s side sat empty. She could see where poster a and pictures had hung for years, the sections just a bit lighter than the rest of the wall, and while they had discussed the change while she was here last, it didn’t change the fact it was weird. It made sense of course and she appreciated the privacy and personal space but eighteen years of shared room experience screamed at how different this was.

Maddie rolled out of bed and stretched, meandering around and shrugging herself into the first things she found. A pair of jeans and an old faded out t-shirt, perfect. Her mom could gripe at her all she wanted but Maddie was tired and it was just the family. Usually now, she’d secure her focus but she wasn’t going to class, she wasn’t practicing, and she wasn’t around Ari if she needed her magic for some reason or another. Should she bother? The other mages in the family did but they had normal foci; just wands they’d grown attached to. Hers was a knife and her family sometimes forgot the difference between everyone’s stuff, especially the little ones. She didn’t want one of them trying to grab it and play with it but at the same time, leaving the key to her magic laying around, out of arm’s reach, made her feel uneasy. She had magic now and the idea of not being able to call on it when she needed to was unsettling beyond belief. It was hard to imagine she’d lived an entire life without it.

She strapped the knife in place on her side. Maybe she’d get something that she could hide it in; Amaris might have someone at her home that she could talk to about it because now that she thought about it, carrying a chef’s knife around on her hip was kind of weird. Great, now she felt self conscious. She shoved her phone in her pocket and left those thoughts stewing in the room while she headed out. Her room was the last one upstairs, directly across from her mom’s crafts room and next to her oldest sister’s room. Well, her second oldest since the other one moved when she got married. That’s probably where Andrina stayed now. Family photos still lined the walls, in between the garish wall decorations her parents loved, and she ran her hand along the worn railing of the stairs as she went down.

Maddie couldn’t help but stifle the giggle at the discolored carpet on the fifth stair, when her and her sister decided running with paint was a great idea. Or at the slight bend in the banister where she’d gotten her knee stuck between the railings and her abuelo used butter after she’d nearly dislocated it trying to struggle out. She didn’t know how she’d survived her childhood without more injuries but they really did get into a lot of shenanigans.

“Aunty Maddie!” A screaming child slammed into her as she stepped off the stairs, nearly knocking her back onto them as they wrapped their arms and legs around her. Her nephew beamed up at her and she laughed as she picked him up, situating him on her other hip. Natallie, her eldest sister, followed behind him, wrapping them both in a hug and giving her a peck on the cheek.

“He’s been talking nonstop about how excited he is to see his favorite aunt again.” Natalie laughed, gently taking him from her. “Aunt Maddie’s tired, Alex. Don’t go bothering her so quickly!”

“He isn’t a problem, Nat. He is so big now though. I can’t believe he’s only six.” Maddie gave her sister a look that Nat clearly ignored and continued talking. Something about how Josue’s promotion and how they purchased a house. But Maddie was just so confused why Nat took Alex from her. Nat had dumped him on her at every opportunity for two years but Maddie was fine with that. She loved playing with her nephew, even if he was an energetic little monster, but before she had a chance to say anything, Nat was off to talk with Uncle Hector, taking Alex with her.

Maddie shrugged it off as one of those maternal instinct things magazines were always spouting. Getting her own space, wanting family time and all that. She caught a flash of red and black in the living room and followed it out to the back patio. Andrina dropped into a patio chair, clearly still stuck in the goth phase mom hated if the black and red band t-shirt was anything to go by, and picked up a can of beer out of the several scattered across the table. Their Aunt Veronica was across from Andrina and waved as Maddie stepped out into the night air.

“I see the princess finally decided to wake up.” Andrina giggled, waving Maddie to sit down. Veronica swatted at Andrina’s shoulder despite her own laughter. “Come on, pull up a chair, grab a beer, we won’t tell!”

“No, I’d rather not.” Maddie snorted as she sat in a chair, kicking the one next to her out and propping her feet up on it. “What’s going on?”

“Andrina was just telling me about your pa--”

“So sis, sister, Maddie, Mads!” Andrina interrupted loudly, slapping her hands on the table. “How’ve you been and all that? It’s been great here, with my own room and everything! Only took Nat gettin’ preggers and hitched but hey, improvements all around!” Maddie stared at her sister. What the fuck was that? She exchanged a confused look with Veronica and decided it wasn't worth it. She must be drunker than Maddie thought.

“Uh, yeah. I mean, I’m glad I don’t have to see your shitty posters anymore. As much as I love seeing bone thin, half naked guys screaming into a mic with more eyeliner than I’ve ever owned on, I’ll pass. I have better taste.” Maddie said dryly above Andrina’s outraged shrieking. Why had she missed this again. “What have you been up to? Finally dump that jackass or are you still on and off again?”

“We’re taking a break.” Adrina shrugged. “Whatever, he’ll come crawling back again soon enough. It’s all good.”

“And what about you? Any special someone in your life?” Veronica asked as she took a swig. “Remember, you can get with someone with lots of money now.”

“No, no one like that.” Maddie laughed. She had so many other things to deal with right now, romance was at the bottom of the list. “And besides, the Countess is technically supposed to take care of most of my financial needs. She’s been understanding so far; I doubt I’ll get into a situation where I’m leaning on a significant other desperately.”

“You never know. Those vampires are sneaky creatures. We’ve all heard the horror stories.” Veronica shrugged and Maddie frowned. Marivaldi aside, Ari had been nothing but kind and understanding this whole time. She was a stark contrast to their neighbor, the literally the heir of the snakes himself, and she was warning her against Ari? Maddie was going to reply but Andrina stood suddenly, knocking the chair back (Maddie found the source of the noises earlier apparently, drunk ass bitch).

“Oh look, we probably need to help mom set the table! Let’s go!” Andrina gave a fake laugh and grabbed Maddie before pulling her inside away from Veronica. Maddie yanked her arm away from her sister as soon as they got inside and gaped at Andrina.

“What the fuck?” was all she got out, gesturing to the entirety of outside.

“Look, we all know how your kind gets about your vamps.” Andrina whispered, eyeing Alex playing on the other side of the room. He’d stopped, his Lord Pieron action figure frozen in midswing, and turned a curious look to the sisters. “And that’s fine. It’s totally fine, we get it. You serve them, you are loyal to them, but your kind can get a little… defensive about it. I’m just trying to keep you from getting upset about it, that’s all.”

Maddie stared at her sister. Defensive? Sure, she was going to dispute her Aunt’s concerns but she wouldn’t have gotten upset about it. First Nat and now Andrina acting weird as shit. Maddie didn’t even know how to respond to that but the opportunity was taken away when she felt a tug at her focus. Her hand snatched around the offender and she looked down to see Alex with his hand wrapped around the hilt, his wrist in her grip. She laughed at the guilty look.

“Why do you have a knife? Mommy says you can't carry knives.” He pointed out. But before Maddie could respond, Andrina had him in her arms.

“You can’t touch that, Alex! Never touch your Aunt’s knife, understood?” Andrina snapped at him. “Now go find, mommy okay? Dinner is probably going to be done soon so Aunt Maddie and I are going to go help grandma okay?” Alex nodded and rushed off, excited to finally eat. Andrina didn’t meet Maddie’s gaze as she too hurried off, bounding up the stairs instead of into the kitchen.

Maddie was just so confused so instead of dealing with that mess, she made her way to the kitchen. She took a deep breath and let out a pleased hum. The intoxicating aroma of her mother’s carne asada enveloped her and she never wanted to leave this kitchen again. It was an easy recipe but it was just so good, she couldn’t help but love it. Her mother really did mean all her favorites because this was literally in every single one of them.

“My love! Come here!” Her father bellowed, wrapping her in a hug and lifting. She smacked his back repeatedly as he crushed the air of her and when he put her down, she took a deep breath as he laughed. “I’m sorry I wasn’t here to meet you when you came home but business at the restaurants has been good and I couldn’t get away but you are a sight for sore eyes! I have missed you every day!”

“I missed you too. I’m glad the restaurants are doing well! I was afraid you’d tank without my free labor when I left.” Maddie joked as she grabbed the silverware. She ducked her dad’s half hearted attempt to swat her and she headed into the dining room and started setting the table.

The issue didn’t occur to her until she finished setting the table actually. Her mom said the whole family was here and while they did splurge on a large dining room table because of how often they had company, it wasn’t enough for everyone. Normally if it was everyone, they’d just lay everything out buffet style and people could grab what they wanted and wander the house but this meant there were at most twelve of them and four of them were the people who lived here. Nat, Alex, and Josue made seven and Uncle Hector and Veronica made nine. There were way more than that.

They were probably just coming after dinner, just in time for desert. Maddie shook her head. Typical of them, dip in for the good stuff and dip out just as fast. Her contemplations were cut short as her mom yelled through the house that dinner was ready. She shrugged and headed into the kitchen to help bring out food.

They settled down and conversation flowed, spanish and english in equal measure, and Maddie relaxed, the earlier tension at her observations easing away. It was nice being somewhere that she didn’t have to consider how her actions would affect another; she could just relax. Dinner was amazing and she almost cried as she shoved all the familiar foods in her face as fast as she could, choking at one point and drawing a laugh out of everyone at the table. Not that she cared, as she laughed along with them, and everything was okay.

Until Maddie was seeing her uncle and aunt and sister off for the night and Andrina was passed out on the living room couch. She settled in to clean up after dinner with her parents, her dad joining them after she finally got Andrina upstairs. He returned grumbling to Maddie’s laughter and got put on dish drying duty. Late night music played, a mix of slow dance songs and easy listening music, and Maddie felt the concerns of the night collapse over her. She shouldn’t ask; she could already tell she wouldn’t like the answer but she needed to know why everyone was so weird.

“It was nice seeing everyone again. Nat is doing great and Alex is so big. Andrina is ‘drina. Glad to know that hasn’t changed.” Maddie stared, focusing on the plate she was cleaning. Behind her, her parents shared a tense look. “But it was weird. Nat took Alex from me really quick and Andrina thought I was going to get into a fight over my vampire and she yelled at Alex for touching my focus. And then it was basically only the immediate family and Uncle Hector and Aunt Veronica? Why didn’t anyone else show up?”

There were a few beats of silence as they continued working. Her dad sighed and put down the glasses he’d been putting away. The radio was deafening.

“My love, you know how the family is. It’ll just take a little bit for them to adjust.” He spoke softly. “You’re involved with some pretty powerful vampires now and you can do incredible things, Maddie, that they just don’t understand. They’re just a little spooked. They just have to remember that beyond all that, you’re still their family. They’ll come around.”

Maddie felt numb as her dad explained why her family avoided coming to see her. All the aunts and uncles that she’d shared birthdays and holidays with, that had been there for her her whole life, scared of her? Her own sisters all acting like she’d suddenly changed into some new person, ready to defend her vampire at the drop of a hat or freak out at her nephew, the nephew she helped raise and love, because he did something silly? Maddie scrubbed the plate a little harder than necessary, swallowing back the frustration and the hurt at the thoughts. Her parents put down what they were doing, wrapping her in an embrace, and she forced herself to relax into it.

It felt like she was losing home.

Of Blood and Magic

Date: December 31st; 12:07am

“Our next story involves the recent attack on Count Varis Sinnenodel, heir to the Sinnenodel household and Chairman of the Board of Green Vision Inc, one of the largest clean energy companies in the recent decades. Earlier tonight, Lord Salazar Marivadli approved a seven year lease of all power facilities in Marivaldi territory to the energy giant. Lord Marivaldi said that while he is optimistic about the two houses working together, this is still only a trial run.”

A video of Lord Salazar Marivaldi, outside the Marivaldi estate dressed in his Council robes, plays in the top left corner.

“Tonight, we’ve laid the groundwork to explore a developing relationship between the Marivaldi and Sinnenodel families and illuminate a future when the divide between our philosophies closes even more. While Green Vision Inc still has to prove itself capable of fulfilling the promises it’s made tonight, I have no doubt they will succeed as they have done so since their inception.”

The camera returns to the vampire broadcaster.

“Since taking the position of Chairman of the Board just under a decade after the official announcement of his position at Lady Sybil Sinnenodel’s side, Count Varis Sinnenodel has rapidly and aggressively expanded the reach of Green Vision Inc, bringing the once Astorio held Emerald Sun and the independent Seafoam Turbines under their umbrella, and consolidated all other Traditionalist held energy plants into a single renewable energy giant.

His aggressive business policies have often rankled even those who consider him an ally and have left a growing number of political enemies in his wake. We reached out to a number of those disgruntled and confirmed in both families that there was an incredible amount of vocal dissent against the proposal.”

The Gifted - Concluded

James Kingston

---

Location: Entranceway -> Casper and James’ room
Skills: N/A

James snuck a kiss out of Casper and then waved goodbye to everyone after Casper finished ribbing Jack. He was glad they got everything figured out with Jack; Casper would have been devastated if anything happened to his little brother. He hummed as he led Casper upstairs, unwilling to let go of his hold on his boyfriend, and guided them to their shared bedroom. He took the opportunity to indulge a little more in Casper’s kisses before he pulled away and stared at Casper seriously.

“So this might kinda be dramatic and shit but I almost lost you today and I was so fucking scared. I was there, trying so god damned hard to shut that hole but I couldn’t and who knows if you would have been okay by the time I could if Callie hadn’t helped. I was fucking terrified, Casper.” James wasn’t proud of how his voice cracked at the thought but he kept going. He wasn’t really a words guy; he was way more comfortable with hugs and kisses and other physical ways of communicating it but it was important and it should be said. “And I was just thinking about how much worse it’s going to get. I mean fuck, there’s a bomb somewhere out there that’ll make this whole area unlivable and we’re probably going to go deal with it because why not send the least qualified people to do it. But while I was thinking about that, I realized I’ve never actually told you that I love you. And yeah, this is cheesy as shit, danger and all that fun stuff making me think about this, but I just really wanted to make sure I told you that I love you.” His adoration was written all over his face as he looked at Casper like he was the sun in the sky.

“And while I’m on the cheesy romance train, I really think maybe this is why you’re the first relationship I’ve really put effort into. You’re perfect to me. I love hearing you talk, I love it when you smile and that little half one you make when you’re about to tease someone, and all the other things that make you, you. And I really hope I make you as happy as you make me.” James carded his hands through Casper’s hair and loop them around his neck, absolutely lovestruck by the man in front of him.