seven devils

Elisabeth raised an eyebrow. “Underneath the basement?” she mused. “Now who’s ingenious idea was that?” She loved the idea. It was one thing to find entertainment around town, but to do so right where the humans gather and worship. It must stir up problems between the two groups, and she was eager to get in the middle of it. “Now I have high expectations of this place. I’m sure I’ll be visiting regularly at this rate.”

She laughed.  “Not sure.  It might have been Reid’s but who really knows anymore.”  Amari was just so used to things going the way they always had, it was easy for her to fall into a rut and not remember the little things.  “Oh it’s good. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed,” Amari told her as they walked, finally leaving her shop behind.  “But tell me, what sort of trouble have you gotten into since we last saw each other?”

With everything wrapping up, Elisabeth pushed herself away from the counter. “Ready as I’ll ever be,” she replied with a smirk. “I’ll try my best to behave myself tonight.” It was nice to finally find some excitement around here. She had to remember to tone it down for the first night. As she headed out the door, she held it open for Amari. “Lead the way, dear.”

Amari chuckled to herself while she walked with Elsa.  In some ways it was nice to see a familiar face around.  Shadow Falls was a nice town, but Elsa was right.  Things did get boring.  Things got dull.  She liked having new people around to help mix that up, even if it meant new people she hadn’t seen in a century or more.  “You know the best thing about this club it’s underneath a church.  There’s some great fun in being sacrilegious.”

“A whole tour? You really want to spend all that time with me?” she asked with a laugh. It would be logical, travelling across all of Europe while you had the time. She had to wonder how much time that would take. It may be a nagging feeling, but she was doubtful anyone would want to spend that much time travelling with her. Everyone needed time to themselves. “Now I can’t wait. There’s going to be so much to see. But twenty years is going to fly by, right?” 

“Why not?” Amari mused.  After all, a few weeks or months in Europe with Mattie would be nothing in the grand scheme of things.  Sure, it felt like a long time for someone as young as the other vampire, but for Amari?  It was barely any time at all.  “It’s been awhile since I’d truly taken a vacation for myself and it’s always more fun doing things with other people.  The time will definitely fly by.  I wouldn’t worry about it at all.”

This restlessness in his limbs made him hate being an Incubus even more, because he knew what would happen later on. He’d try to get rid of it, only to be confronted with his offensive stamina. A lot more time would be wasted in the attempt to wind himself down. His feet didn’t get the memo, of course. They wanted to run, as fast as he could, just for the sake of it. He ignored them. “I just thought of a third option,” he said, voice still light. “We could see if someone else would buy a drink for us. We do deserve it after all, don’t we?” Nate was glad that he couldn’t see his own grin, it probably made him look like a dumbass. “Shall we go? And uh. While we’re on it, you should also tell me where your shop is. For later and all.”

His suggestion brought a smirk to her lips.  He really was a man after her own heart and she was glad she stepped up to help him deal with that asshole human.  It wasn’t hard, and she might have made a new friend in the process.  “I like the way you think,” Amari told him as her lips curled into a grin.  She could definitely see both of them deserving a little something special.  “We shall,” she agreed.  “There’s plenty of time for that.  The night’s still young, after all.  Let’s have some fun.”

Nate’s heart was pounding so hard, it left him wondering whether it was annoying to a vampire. Logically, he knew that nothing could happen to her. She was wayyyy stronger than this random half-life, but watching her approach the guy was still stressful. More stressful than being in danger himself, despite the fact that he had just met her. There it was. The dude just turned around and left, like he hadn’t followed him all the way here. It was a little freaky, but Nate was too busy taking deep, relieved breaths to care.

“Nate. Prince. I. Thanks. Seriously,” he replied in a pitch that was slightly higher than usual, shifting from foot to foot in an attempt to get alleviate his excitement. “And uh… Shouldn’t I be spending money on you? In gratitude? I can’t take even more advantage of you.”

Amari laughed at his comment.  “It’s no trouble.  Like I said...I have a soft spot for your kind.”  She didn’t often talk about why that was, but she also doubted he would ask.  He seemed simply satisfied with knowing that man wouldn’t be bothering him anymore.  “I mean, if you insist on paying I won’t object if that makes you feel better,” she told him.  “But I’m more tan capable of doing it.  I mean, it really isn’t a problem at all.  Trust me, if I thought you were taking advantage of me you’d be well aware of it.”

Honestly, she’d love to see an incubus try and take advantage of her.  It would e quite amusing to watch them flounder upon realizing they were fighting way out of their league.

Her eyes lit up. “You would take me? Really?” The more she thought about it, she knew travelling with someone would be ideal. Her hunger was bound to get the best of her, and the last thing she wanted was to find something in a foreign country. “We should plan something! I bet if I talk to him, he’ll let me go.” While it may be easier to keep him in the dark, she had a hard time keeping anything from him. Like a child, she had to tell the people she was close to about everything in her life. “So what if we planned it for waaaay in the future. So that way we have time to warm him up to the idea but we also don’t have to wait a hundred years. How about like… twenty?”

“Of course I would,” Amari replied easily.  It had been a good decade since she left the country to travel.  It would do her some good to get out of the United States and revisit some of her favorite places.  She’d like to see exactly how much the centuries had changed things.  No doubt it would make her sad and put in perspective exactly how much life she had lived, but she enjoyed revisiting those places.  “It’s a date.  Twenty years from now we’re going to Spain.  Might as well do the whole tour of Europe while we’re at it.  I mean, if you’re interested that is.”

“Oh, really? I never really considered that as an option since I’ve always been under the impression that it would do the opposite but perhaps I’ll take that approach,” she told the woman, fingers tapping against her jaw as she thought it over silently. “It’s the theme song from Paw Patrol - that little kids show about dogs that rescue people. For some ridiculous reason they make these songs so bloody catchy and it’s horrific. Add Halsey’s Without Me into the mix and… well, you get the point.”

“It doesn’t work for everyone, but it usually works for me,” she explained.  There was something about listening to it that allowed the song to run its course and get out of her mind.  “Huh...dogs that rescue people?  I bet that is fun for kids but absolutely obnoxious for you.  Things like that make me very glad that I’ve never had children.  I couldn’t handle that chaos at all.”

So she was a vampire then, that explained the strange sense of familiarity. Maybe she reminded him of Zeke on some unconscious level. Nate crossed his arms, contemplating her words. What sort of expression should he make? He wasn’t used to asking for help in a context like this, he’d always had to deal with the crap life threw at him on his own.  “If you’re sure,” he replied cautiously. “I don’t want to get you in trouble.” At least there were no witnesses around, that should count for something. Then again, everything was possible with his luck.

”Uh, thank you.” Absurdly, he felt a little flustered by her words, but not in a bad way. It was nice to be looked out for. Even if it was by someone whose name he still didn’t know. Seriously, he’d have to ask her when this was over. “It’s rare that anyone says anything nice about my people.” Including himself, because he loved to shit-talk what he was.

“I’m sure,” Amari reassured him while nodding once.  She knew she could handle this.  He didn’t need to thank her.  she’d hope that if roles were reversed and he had the ability to do something for her, he would have.  “I won’t get trouble.”

Without another word, Amari offered him a reassuring smile then headed straight for the man that had been watching him.  She compelled him to leave, to forget what he had been doing.  Once he left she was able to relax.  Returning to him, she shrugged.  “Now that he’s gone, can I buy you a drink or something?  You seem like you could use something to calm the frazzled nerves.  I’m Amari, by the way.”

Mattie’s gaze moved to the ceiling as she sat deep in thought. She had a point, she had plenty of time now to explore, even if she waited another twenty years to do so.  “Ooo Spain would be fun!” Mattie could not think of a place that would be off limits. She rarely traveled and she rarely heard of anywhere too dangerous or to avoid. There would be no safety concerns as a travelling vampire; at least Mattie did not think so. She only had one problem that always stops her from travelling. “But… my dad wouldn’t want me to leave the country. Definitely not alone.” She made a pout. “Maybe I can in a hundred years, but that sounds like forever away!”

When Mattie mentioned her father, Amari paused.  It had been such a long time since she had to consider how someone else would feel about her doing anything.  After centuries of total freedom it seemed almost strange to hear someone pausing what they wanted to do because of someone else.  “Well...if you ever decide you want to go before that hundred years is up I’d be happy to take you and show you around.”  After all, she knew better than to question the girl’s willingness to leave her father when she was such a young vampire, but Amari wanted her to be certain she had the options to spread her wings if she wanted to.

The follower was just a weak human, why was he this stressed out about him? Even before awakening into an Incubus, he hadn’t been unsettled by something like this. Teen-Nate would have turned on his heel and socked him in the jaw, no questions asked. Then again, he’d also have ended up in the back of a police car for such a drastic measure and Nate wasn’t into that. Still, he found the possibility of getting too used to this life of safety even less attractive. Growing soft had never been his style, paranoid Incubitch that he was.

Nate shook his head, brow furrowed. “As grateful as I am to you and not to implicate that you can’t handle yourself against him, it’s just…” He trailed off, making a helpless, entirely useless gesture. “I don’t want to drag you into this even more. I shouldn’t have in the first place.”

Amari could tell he just wanted the situation to end.  It was a bad situation but she couldn’t fault him for asking for help.  Especially when Amari didn’t mind giving it.  “It’s not a problem,” Amari told him.  “People like that are a problem for all of us, no matter our species.  It might be for the best if I just....compel him to forget what he was doing.”  Perhaps she could try and compel his hatred of the supernatural right out of him, but she doubted that would work.  Altering someone’s personality was a little different from the surface level mind control vampires possessed.

“And maybe I have a soft spot for your species and don’t want to see you stressed out.”  After all, vampires and incubi were related in some ways.  They both required mortal energy to survive, it simply came to them in different ways.

“For completely scientific purposes,” Gianna started as she propped her elbow on the table and rested her chin against her palm, fingers slowly tapping against her cheek in the process, “How would one go about getting rid of an incredibly annoying song out of their head? I’ve tried just about everything and now said song and a song by Halsey are now doing a lovely mashup in my head which has made it much worse.”

“Usually I find that listening to the song a few times gets it out of my head,” Amari suggested.  Sometimes it didn’t work, but it usually did.  That was all she could really ask for.  “What song is it?”  Truthfully Amari was hoping it was one she didn’t recognize so she didn’t run the risk of accidentally getting it caught in her mind as well.

“Then what’s the problem?” Elsa chuckled lightly. “I suppose you have the option if it was a long day. It’s nice to have.” She hoped it would never come to paying for a meal, but it was good to know her options. She took a step back from the register. She was ready to see what this club had to offer. “I’m not keeping you from closing, am I?” A hand gestured towards the register. “We should be saving some conversations for when we get to the club. I doubt we can spend the whole night feeding and ignoring each other.”

Amari laughed and moved towards the register so she could finish up.  “Not at all.  Give me five minutes and I’m all yours,” she told her.  It wouldn’t take her long to finish up and they could be on their way.  Between her increased ability to do things and the fact that she’d been closing this store for nearly two decades, it wouldn’t take long at all.

After a moment she disappeared into the back to lock up the cash from the register and finished the remaining things.  When she reappeared, she smirked at Elsa.  “Ready?”

He wiggled his eyebrows, voice turning conspiratorial. “I won’t tell them if you don’t.” Maybe he was starting to get delirious — he had been followed all the way here, by a guy who might or might not be a dangerous extremist and yet he was talking about fashion. Of all fucking things. His nerves were frayed, but there wasn’t much he could do to put his mind at ease. After all, the source of his problem was still standing behind them.

Supernaturals never got to catch a break, this was just another example of it. For every positive change there was at least one negative one. Like the thing with the cure. “I admire his tenacity,” he simply replied, pointedly not sounding admiring at all. “I hope he gives up soon.” Nate hadn’t really thought of a back-up plan.

“If he doesn’t I’ll have to make him,” Amari said.  Assuming he wasn’t on vervain she had no problem compelling the creep to leave them alone, but she wanted to be sure it was the only alternative before doing something she could potentially get in trouble for.  Not that the man would remember what happened either way.

She tilted her head inquisitively.  “Should I give it five minutes or just take care of it now?  I’d hate to keep you from something you need to do because that asshole can’t take a hint.”  Since the news of the cure, everyone seemed to be more on edge than before, so they could truly never be too careful in this situation.

“If I had a super awesome life like yours, I would do that too,” she replied with a shrug. For many years of her childhood she considered how cool immortality would be. There was even times after becoming a vampire that she was excited for an eternal life. “So did you go out and explore the world right away, or did you help out your family for a while?” she asked. “I kind of wish I went out and traveled. Now I’m just lazy. But it’s not like I want to leave town anyways. I love it here.” In the few years since she moved into town, she could not find anything bad or upsetting. It seemed to be the perfect place. “So if I do travel, where should I go first? I bet you’ve been everywhere, right?”

“I did some exploring,” Amari confirmed.  “I lived all over Europe.  Spent time in the Caribbean.  I’ve travelled all over the country as well.  It’s one of the nice things about being a vampire.  You truly do have all the time in the world to do the things you want to do.”  She did still take vacations now and then, leaving Shadow Falls for a refreshing change of pace.  However, she was content in her life here.  Maybe eventually that would change.  “I haven’t been everywhere.  I really want to travel to Asia.  I haven’t really been there at all, but if you’re looking for vacation spots....Spain is incredible.”

Elsa’s lips twisted into a grin. “Reid? Then I guess you got your club after all,” she said with a laugh. That bit of information made visiting the club more intriguing. However, the idea of feeding rooms was a bit unsettling. They had its use for legal stances as well as helping many vampires. For someone like her, they were boring. She spent centuries with the thrill of finding her own meals, and she did not intend to change that now. “But that is where the fun is. You either luck out and find the right person right away, or get to convince them otherwise.” She shrugged her shoulders lightly. She knew here she would need to behave, but she hated following the rules. “I doubt any human would enter a vampire’s club if they were against our nature.”

Amari chuckled.  She and Reid were close, but she would never consider Saints and Sinners even remotely hers.  That was his baby, or well, his and Gabe’s.  They managed to make it work and she was very proud of what they’d developed.  “Oh you’re right about that.  Usually the humans at Saints and Sinners are the ones looking to dabble in the supernatural.  You can usually find a meal outside of the feeding rooms too, if you’re willing to put in a little work.”  Sometimes that was much more fun.  She and Reid had made a game of it before, seeing how many they could each feed on in an hour without using compulsion.

“Well that would be super cool.You could get so much work done if no one could see you to distract you. And you could sneak out when you’re grounded and no one would know!” Sure, you could use the magic to fighting or spying. Mattie simply loved the practical side of it. A little magic would boost the day and make it run in a more convenient way. It was another moment when she forgot about the magical strengths she had for being a vampire.

Mattie’s face fell immediately. “Oh… Well then I totally wouldn’t want to do that.” It was terrifying to think of time catching up to you with no warning. She knew if it was her she would live in fear, never knowing if that day would be today. “At least you don’t have to worry about that now. You get to live forever and have nothing to worry about.”

The more Mattie spoke about Amari’s magic, the more Amari wondered how much magic had changed in the last few centuries.  Was it harder to remain in the shadows in a world artificially lit by those LED lights?  Did that limit what could be done if the whole world was brighter?  Honestly, she didn’t know but found herself itching to ask a darkness witch.

“That fear is part of why I became a vampire,” Amari admitted.  “I was terrified that the day would come I would simply die with no warning.  I enjoyed my immortality and the power that came with it.  I did not want to give that up, even if it did cost me my magic in the end.”

The sigh from the other woman was something that Nova had grown long used to and it reminded her of the days where she talked to nobody whilst still in the orphanage and the nuns attempted to encourage her to be more social. It wasn’t a trigger per se but it brought her back to much lonelier times since back then she wasn’t free to wander as she pleased like she was now. Yet, a soft smile tugged on the corners of her lips, “If you’re willing to do it I am more than willing to give it a try but I feel like I need to remind you that meeting new people isn’t easy for me. ‘Cause, you know, stuttering, anxiety, yadda yadda I’m a mess yadda yadda,” she told the woman with a small shrug. “Life has never really been fair. If it had been, I would have been adopted with my sister instead of left to waste away.” Nova wasn’t one to talk about her twin sister but she’d slowly given up hope on seeing her again so she figured why not.

Amari felt bad for Nova if she was honest with herself.  The girl had a shitty life.  She’d been through so much in such a short period of time and that wasn’t fair.  However, there was only so much that Amari could do to help her cope with that.  “I’m always willing to help you out, Nova,” Amari told her.  The girl was one she had a soft spot for.  “And you aren’t a mess.  Everyone struggles with different things, so if you look at it like that then I guess all of us are messes in our own ways.”