— ALLISON GRAY

Kaillen was sitting at the park, reading a book. It was a nice day out and they had the day off. Despite having lived in town for a while now, they still didn’t know much about it or the people who lived in it. They spaced out while reading until they realize somebody had been sitting beside them. “Oh hey, sorry I didn’t see you there.” They said, offering a smile. “Enjoying the weather too?” They weren’t good at small conversation but they figured it was worth trying.

Walking was always a great way to kill some time. Often, Allison found herself suddenly without a task, having to wait several hours on something or someone whose arrival was postponed, preventing her from doing her job straight away -- and so she walked. Wandered. Strutted. Sometimes even skipped, if she first made sure no one was watching. That day, that particular free hour, her walk had taken her to the park. The tried and true. Having felt an itch in her fingers and a need for break, she’d taken a seat at the nearest bench -- already occupied, but the person didn’t seem to mind. Soon the notebook in her bag had a page full of flowers, loose lines around refined shapes so different from the style with which she’d once sketched. Pulled out of her trance by the voice beside her, Allison looked up with a fair amount of disorientation before a friendly smile settled over her lips. “Oh, that’s fine!” she chuckled. “I didn’t want to disturb you, so I just... sat down. The knowledge not to bug someone when they’re reading overwrote the need to not be rude,” she joked. Well, half-joked. It was kind of true. 

“Um, sorry!” Hugo muttered in embarrassment when he noticed the other watching him. “That kid said my fangs are huge and make me look scary. You don’t think so, do you?” he asked, clearly upset by the idea of unintentionally scaring children away. 

“No! Not at all, no,” Allison hastened to reassure him, trying very, very hard to hide the amusement in her smile. “I mean... fangs are kind of scary in all shapes and sizes when it comes to children. Or, well -- human children. I bet if you asked some vampire children, they’d think you look really cool.” The confidence in her voice wavered a bit when her own words settled in with her -- and their implications. 

It’s hard for Ryan not to smile. While there had been a tight knot of anxiety and stress nestled between his shoulder blades ever since the ball, Allison’s close proximity was a damn near perfect remedy. “Oh, I dunno. What if I just went like this?” his arms are a flash, turning to wrap around her waist as he presses his face into the crook of her neck, wiping his sweat riddled skin against hers. After a few short moments he lets out a deep chuckle, withdrawing with a beaming and somewhat proud smile. “Yeah,” the young wolf replied adamantly. “I am totally ready for a low-key few days with you and only you.” Ryan kisses the side of her head, returning to their original position with her molded against his side, an arm shifting to rest across her shoulders. “But first, showers. Because I think you’re right. I might need one. Especially if we’re gonna be trudging around in the woods for a few days.”

“Ahh, no!” Allison bemoaned with feigned agony, squirming in Ryan’s grasp; although rather than try to get away, she only burrowed further in, contrasting the noises she was making. Sweat was the very last thing of Ryan’s she’d ever shy away from -- many nights (and evenings, and days, and mornings) spent together would be null and void, if that were the case. She settled in at this side again with ease, a bright smile illuminating her features. “We need one,” she corrected him. “Or we’ll turn into a couple of skunks instead of wolves.” Her heart swelled with excitement at the thought of what they had planned, so much so that she absentmindedly began to pull Ryan toward their car. “Oh, and, before you ask -- nope, I will not tell you anything about the trail I found,” she grinned up at him, warmth in her eyes. “I want it to be a surprise. Although... I’ve only scoped it out on Google maps,” she admitted sheepishly, “so we might get a little lost... but that’s just part of the adventure, isn’t it?” At least with Ryan at her side, it was.

for @allison-gray.

He hates to think that this is the new normal. That the town is just biding its time until the next tragedy strikes and then they’re left to pick up the pieces once again. Though, Ryan’s come to learn that the life of a supernatural creature was far harder than that of a regular human. And whereas before, he would have pushed all the anxiety down, now he confronts it. Admits that it’s there and then actively works to overcome it. “I think we’re just about finished up in here,” he announces, throwing the last piece of broken chair into the trash pile. Clapping his heavily gloved hands together to clear the dust from them, Ryan turns and flashed a lopsided smile to Allison. “You ready for this mental health vacation or what?” Spending a few days camping in the woods with his fiance and love of his life? Sign him up.

If there’s anything these last few years had taught Allison, it was that you couldn’t take care of other people if you didn’t first take care of yourself. Even as Ryan had taken care of her when she’d been at her lowest, she’d seen growth in him, too, seen him learn how to take care of himself in the process. It was an important part of human existence, even if you weren’t technically very human at all. After lending a hand wherever they could, Allison knew she and Ryan needed to take some time to themselves, some time to work through the emotional impact of the last few days. What had started as a day trip quickly evolved into camping, something Allison felt distinctly excited about. Her face lit up at its mention, a new spring in her step as she walked to stand by Ryan’s side. “More than ready,” she beamed, a certain tinge of contentment in her face as she looked out over the work they’d gotten done. “All that’s standing between us and the wilderness now is a shower,” she joked. Well, half-joked. They did need to shower -- and return home to get their luggage. Slithering an arm around Ryan’s waist, Allison looked up at him with a warm smile. “Are you ready to become the most refreshed you’ve ever been?”

She felt a little guilty, and she knew she’d been going a little harder than usual, pushing herself beyond limits to try and improve herself. She couldn’t be that vulnerable again, it was too hard to deal with the idea that they could all be that vulnerable, and she didn’t want to fail like she had again. “I’m not that good,” she replied quietly, “Just since I turned so… about a year.”

He had been expecting she wouldn’t want alcohol, having watched enough of the people in town to notice who came in for alcohol and who didn’t. Yet, where he would once tease or make some joke about being a bore he merely nodded in response and began to get Allison  his ‘finest’ non-alcoholic beverage, silently deciding to put a bit of Nick flair in it. “Fine.” he commented, though ‘fine’ wasn’t how he felt. On one hand, he had Scout back to normal and coming to terms with what he’d done whilst his emotions had been switched off. But on the other, there was the devastation that had occurred after. Madge, Jonathan’s loss stinging for the mere fact he could do nothing to help his friend. Then, there was the gut-wrenching moment he’d realized Delilah was missing and finding her after near Jack’s body… being helpless was a feeling he wasn’t used to and he was struggling to come to terms with it.  “You?” he asked in returned, as he placed a Shirley Temple on the bar with a flourish, and an umbrella added for extraness that no one asked for. 

The main thing that had she had taken from the chaos of Blood Moon was that she needed to be prepared to fight, at least be prepared quicker then she was. She’d already begun training when she turned, but now she was stepping it up in response to the Clave attack. She wanted to be ready to protect her family, and she knew she couldn’t rely on her abilities. They’d been so vulnerable on the Blood Moon, and she’d been unable to defend herself if she’d been attacked. The other plus side to training harder? She didn’t think about Madge. She swung at her opponent, a huff leaving her lips as she straightened. “Again.”

Had it been in the aftermath of anything but tragedy, anything but what the Blood Moon had been -- despite the fact that she hadn’t even been in the midst of it -- Allison would have, at some point, asked herself what she was doing there. She’d never been the type of person to work out, and least of all so with the goal of learning how to defend herself or others; but like many others in Hollow Grove, being reminded of what it feels like to be human put the fear of vulnerability into her. It had seemed like as good an idea as any to join Emma when the opportunity presented itself. Her aching shoulders and stinging palms begged to differ, though. “Just, um-- Just a sec,” Allison said with a breathless laugh, wiping a sheen of sweat off her forehead. “You’re really good at this... how long have you been training?”

At the rate the week had been going, she was already walking with an earpiece in. It wasn’t because it looked cool, or that she figured it was something that helped her with current work. No. Since after the event, she’d been running around like crazy, making sure everything was in place, everything was going smoothly. First, she was making sure that Haylee had everything she needed, even though she couldn’t see her, she made sure the girl had everything. Then she had her house, the furt=niture, the security to deal with. Finally, she had to recognize classes for herself, something that would make her not only depend on her being a vampire but also her own skills. “No, I don’t want to do a fucking class? Who do you think I am?” Annoyance was full in her voice. She had more than enough money in her bank account, enough to last her ten lifetimes, thanks to her parent’s money. She hung up on the man and leaned against the wall, as her hands ran through her thick brown locks. Sliding down the wall, she simply sat on the ground, and as she felt someone walk by, she simply shook her head. “It’s okay. I’m not homeless.”

Though Allison froze momentarily upon hearing the brunette’s words, she recovered quickly. Despite the fact that the woman seemed -- for all intents and purposes -- healthy, that didn’t deter Allison from the reason she’d stopped by in the first place. “That’s good,” she smiled, a tinge of amusement amidst friendliness. "I can tick one concern off my list,” she added jokingly, although cleared her throat. “I was just wondering if you’re okay?”

Nick stretched idly as he glanced up at the door to Nina’s opening, being the only one manning the bar for a moment whilst someone took a break, the bar fairly quiet, something that didn’t surprise him given the circumstances. He gave a nod, before indicating for the newcomer to take a seat. “Drink? First ones on the house today.” he offered, figuring that more than anything people deserved a drink. 

Having been safe inside her and Ryan’s home, the chaos of the Blood Moon hadn’t quite had its full effect on them. Whether it was lucky or not that they’d chosen to “retire” earlier than everyone else, Allison couldn’t say. Part of her was glad no harm had come to either of them, but... part of her had wanted to be out there and help people. Help in any way she could to prevent the tragedies that had befallen. She might not have been able to do that, but she was still able to be there for people in the aftermath. “Your finest non-alcoholic beverage, please,” Allison said by way of greeting, knowing it was otherwise superfluous information -- at least to Nick. It was with a friendly albeit gentle smile that she took her seat, arms folded in under herself as she leaned onto the bar. “I just came to see how you were doing.”

“Huh?” Snap! It was a famous last word – well, more of a noise – if there ever was one. A text from Ryan had distracted her for only the briefest of seconds, and those seconds had been all mother nature needed to deliver Allison a good whack. ”Ow, oh, dammit,” she exclaimed, clutching her forehead. In spite of the searing pain quickly abating, Allison let out a laugh; she must have looked like straight out of a comedy sketch. “Can we agree that the next time I’m about to walk into something, you just go ahead and tackle me?” Rubbing the spot where she’d been hit, Allison added, “It’s for my own good, trust me.”

The harbor was not a spot Imogen frequented often. The place had little to no appeal to her, it’s focal point being water and boats. Hell, even fucking yachts. Who brought yachts to a safe haven? Opinions aside, today she was in the mood for something different, her familiar home turf of the woods being uncharacteristically uninspiring, especially since the snowy weather covered everything. Thus, she turned to the water. Specifically, the docks. She was staring out at the ships docked when she sensed a presence nearby. Rocking back on her heels, she mused aloud. “On a scale of 1 to 10, how terrible would it be of me to take one of those things out for a joy ride?”

Bodies of water were always good inspiration -- people hadn’t painted the seas and lakes and watery landscapes for hundreds of years for nothing, and Allison found herself overflowing as she wandered the docks, listening to the cold harsh sounds of rocking boats, creaking wood, and swaying water. It made her fingertips itch, part of her wanting nothing more but to return home so she could get started on the mural she’d been planning for a while; but the walking was too peace to quit just yet, so she kept strolling. She slowed down somewhat when she came upon a slightly familiar figure, the brunette’s words painting a smile on Allison’s lips. “Well, I don’t think it’s the worst thing you could ever do morally speaking,” she half-joked, “but it’s probably going to be pretty terrible for you when you get arrested. So... if the pros outweigh the cons...” Allison trailed off, not entirely wanting to encourage Imogen to do it. “I won’t say anything, but, if a cop asks me about it I’m not going to lie.”

Hearing Allison’s explanation made Callie chuckle a bit, before she finished slipping on the shirt over her uncovered torso. She hadn’t mind that she had walked in, and was grateful it wasn’t some random stranger. Swinging the door open, she placed her hands on her hips and smirked. “Okay, so what are we thinking? Yay or nay?” 

Trying to temper the amusement in her smile, Allison waited for her friend to get dressed. While she wasn’t the most stylish person she knew, she was glad she could be of some help to Callie nonetheless; her opinion clearly meant something, otherwise the two of them wouldn’t be there. “Hmmm,” Allison pondered, looking Callie up and down. “It looks good, but... does it come in green? I feel like that’d really make your eyes pop.” She let out a chuckle, “That sounds so awful, make your eyes pop. Who came up with that saying?”

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Olivia could feel the moment that Allison’s body lit up, and it only made her own excitement grow. Being pregnant was terrifying at first, but she was adjusting better than she imagined she would. Granted, she was past the worst of it for the moment, and she could finally eat again, but she also didn’t feel the crushing anguish at the prospect of telling Logan and potentially running him off. But now they were in a decent place, and she didn’t have to be shy about it. “Well, they’ve been mostly one sided up until now, so I’m not sure if that’s good or bad,” Olivia answered, a blush tinting her cheeks as she sat up a little. “Fifteen weeks…today actually,” she said with a smile that radiated all over her face. She was the definition of glowing. 

He grins, watches her curtsy and then steps closer. The dance is easy, slow, a gentle sway from side to side yet it’s the closeness that he values most, always. That overwhelming calmness that spreads through him whenever she’s near reaches him now, steadying the nervous beat of his heart. Ryan rests his cheek against the top of Allison’s head as she burrows closer to him, his own body matching her sigh of content. The ambient noise form inside grows and distantly he can hear the start of a countdown, though he’s drawn away and to Allison as she speaks. Words escape him for a moment, as they always tend to do when she looks up to him. But her words. He cannot think of anything more to say — she’s spoken exactly how he feels. “True,” he concedes. “It’s been… tough. But.. you’re right. It’s been good,” a pause, grin widening – distantly, ten! nine! eight! “Thanks to me? Pretty sure it’s thanks to you.” Ryan finds himself caught there and — God, he cannot stop looking at her. One of his hands shifts up, cups the side of her cheek, thumb brushing over her cheek. “I don’t think I could’ve gotten through this year without you. And I – ” five! four! three! “I love you, Allison Gray. With everything that I am, I love you.” Unconsciously he shifts forward, connecting their lips on the distant chant of one. Cheers break out from inside, fireworks burst overhead. Or at least Ryan thinks they do. He’s too consumed with Allison, the feel of her against him, the taste of her lips — to care about anything else.

The countdown beginning inside didn’t escape Allison’s notice, but she didn’t pay it much more mind -- her attention focused on Ryan, they could miss the segue into the new year for all she cared. She’d miss a thousand countdowns just to stand with him, just to be this close to him and feel safe in a way she’d never before experienced. It didn’t quite seem like that was the plan, however -- as the crowd inside chanted for all they were worth, Allison grinned up at her boyfriend, his words melting every portion and inch of her heart. Ten! Nine! Eight! Allison turned her head ever so slightly, burrowing into his hand. Five! Four! Three! And with those last words, the entire year she was leaving behind came to a culmination in that one kiss, that one romantic moment that had Allison feeling like the happiest woman on the planet. She couldn’t think of a better way to start 2019, though she could hardly think at all to begin with -- the kiss deepened as the fireworks roared above their heads, Allison’s arms slithering around her boyfriend’s waist as she leaned into him. Warmth filled her entire chest to the point of bursting, and she felt -- though it was quite cliche to say -- as if she could fly; if she and Ryan just leaned back a little over the railing, part of Allison could not see them fall, only float. Only fly. That’s what it felt like to kiss him, to be with him, to have spent these last two -- in a few months, three -- years with him. And she couldn’t wait to keep feeling this feeling for so many more to come. 

“Over nine centuries on this earth and I still don’t know how it feels like the year has passed both agonizingly slow and incredibly fast at the same time.” He eyed the date in the corner of the newspaper he’d been skimming through. Letting out a small sigh he gently tossed away the pages away. “October was yesterday but March was decades ago.”

Interest lit up Allison’s face as Emmett spoke, her body instinctively shifting to reflect that. “Nine centuries?” she said, smiling in astonishment as she arguably focused on the wrong part of what he was saying. “You must have seen so much...” There was a ghost of an impulse to apologzie for the implications of that, though Allison squashed it -- after all, talking about age with supernatural beings wasn’t the same as talking about age with humans, she’d learned. Where it could be an insult to the latter, it was a sign of power and status to the former. “It’s funny how it feels the same no matter how old you are, but... I can barely even comprehend actually being as old as you are,” Allison clarified with amusement.