Athelstan Blackthorne

Elsa’s face went red the minute she heard the whistle leave her best friend’s lips. “Oh god,” she said, running her fingers over her fishnets. “Do I really look okay?” she asked. “I never wear this kind of thing, I feel so naked,” she admitted, biting down on her lower lip for a moment.

“I hope nobody thinks I look bad,” she said. “You though.. I love the costume choice. You look wonderful. Need me to help with anything to finish up?”

“Oh hush you. Your booty is popping and your legs are sexy as hell. If I were not gay and had lady parts.” He snorted at the mental image. “Or maybe just the lady parts bit? I guess....” Pausing he shot her a look. “Fuck off, your foolishness is zapping my intelligence.” Sticking a tongue out, he regretted the action, poking himself with the needle and subsequently biting his tongue. 

“Fuuuuck.” The groan was muffled and warped. Holding the mask out he shot her the best puppy dog eyes he could. “Can you finish sewing these damn tubes in place?”

“Do you always like to feel this sorry for yourself?” Sebastian queried, smirking a little as he set a glass down on the bar and filled it up. “Drink up. You’re acting that pathetic I actually feel a little sorry for you.” It wasn’t, after all, like him to give away free drinks but it really seemed as if the fact he’d been abandoned had done a number on the guy. “You’re not the only person in the world to get stood up or abandoned though. At least they didn’t stiff you with the bill.”

“Ahh.. thanks.” He groaned at the realization. “I think I am more stunned at the fact that I saw it coming.. and showed up anyway. But you do have a point.” He snorted and lifted the glass, eyeing the male a moment before shaking his head. “I don’t usually display my pathetic moments... more often I have the capacity to at least pretend I am not that self-absorbed and petty.” 

How did he end up here? 

Nightclubs were not usually his thing, but a date gone wrong had landed him abandoned and feeling like an idiot in the middle of Le Neptune. He was here, might as well make the best of it. Slugging over to the bar, he collapsed onto a stool, running a hand through his hair. “A blind date....” He wanted to smack himself. “..lets have a two minute conversation then get abandoned in a nightclub... Sure, why not. I’ve got nothing better to do.” 

He pressed his lips together and took a deep breath. This is why he hated the dating scene.  

“Ah, Professor Kennington!” His previously stern glare melted into a warm smile when he noticed her, waving as he approached. “Those books you ordered came in.” He shifted the bags on his arm around, plucking one with her name scrawled onto the side from the rest. “Moving the store around today so figured while the crew works, I’d catch up on deliveries.” He smiled warmly, holding it out to the woman. “There is also the festival tickets inside, coupons, raffles all sorts of shenanigan's planned for this year!” 

“VANYA!” His voice echoed through the hall, feet pounding against the floor as he darted towards the Professor. He knew this was something not even she would want to wait for, so he had rushed over with laser focus to drop it off. It always helped that Vanya was someone he cherished, and someone he had been unable to see recently. Thought now he had an excuse to make the time. “IT CAME IN!”

He was drunk... his emotions were muffled by a thick wall... and he was with the only person he knew without a doubt could snap him back to himself in the morning. 

“Come on Astra, don’t tell me you are not the least bit excited about this time of year!” He shimmied towards her, his movements overexaggerated and downright goofy. “Where’s the booze again?” He paused, realizing he had been doing something before turning his focus on Astra. 

@elsamorgan​

It took him a split second to utter the noises, following them up with a whistle as he draped himself back over the lounge chair, grinning at Elsa with amusement. “Well, expect attention madame!” He chirped loudly, letting his eyes once again roam over the outfit.  

“While not the heaviest piece, the arm is rather inconvenient and awkward... I’ve made Elsa scratch my back and have otherwise had to annoy her several times for assistance already.” ~ A.B

ERIK & ATHELSTAN

“You know you don’t need to murmur,” Erik tapped his ear. Supernatural senses came with perks but it also meant there was no point in trying to be quiet around each other, “All you have to do is ask and I’ll tell you if that’s what you want. I just didn’t think you cared,” He shrugged. There was no point in dancing around things and being nice just to be nice. Her didn’t get along with his brothers. They were always his family at the end of the day but it was a struggle sometimes, “But it’s nice to know you worry,” He added after a moment because it was. He chuckled a little, “She would be but it’s still early,” He said it in a joking manner but it was only a manner of time. He took the tea and sipped on it a little, “I’m not surprised. She is a passionate young woman,” He replied. Erik was very close with Natalie and always believed in her, “And what about you? This bookstore, it’s going well?”

“Blind dates? People really do those? I thought that was just a thing in movies.. Definite no to speed dating. I need to really be able to feel people out mentally and emotionally. Speed dating seems like a great way to miss red flags and I like to spot those as fast as I can.” She knew she was being picky, but while she wanted to take her mind off of this- off of her- and move on, she wasn’t sure she would be able to handle something like a blind set up, or spending a few minutes with people. 

“I like that idea the best. Ice cream and pizza will be the best solution, and I love seeing other gays succeed in their love lives so let’s see what good things Netflix can provide us with,” she said, taking a bite of her own food. Elsa was happy that she could rely on him. He understood this stuff, and she needed someone like that.

“Insane carb overload and trashy movies it is.” He quipped. “Finish up and we will get the good stuff on the way back. My place or yours? Apollo might be therapeutic himself.” Polishing off what was infront of him, he downed some water and flipped his phone out of his pocket, loading up Netflix to peruse whatever was new. 

“I was mostly joking about the blind dates and speed dating. You will find the one meant for you someday- perhaps there is more than one person meant to be in your life- we seem to learn best when its someone close to us.” He grinned and prodded her leg beneath the table. “If we are at my place, you are going to end up stealing a t-shirt aren’t you? I swear you are basically my lesbian girlfriend.” He was content, between Elsa, Astra and Isabelle, his support system had really begun to weave together. Noah had begun to spin the threads of his own family, someone he could be there for in the way he so wanted to be. Athel was finding footing, he tried to be there for them all, as they were there for him.   

ERIK & ATHELSTAN

Erik furrowed his brow when he noticed the other’s behaviour. He didn’t voice the concerns but it was something he hadn’t noticed before. Had something happened in the decades since he’d seen his brother or had he just not noticed this behaviour before? He frowned for a moment but then he perked up at the question, acting as though he hadn’t noticed, “Tea? Sure. Why not?” Perhaps this time around, he could make more of an effort with the rest of his family. Seeing Frida had thrown a lot of his life off but some parts had come into perspective. His family in particular. He shrugged, “Sure. I’ve mostly been catching up with people I haven’t seen in a while. Nova, Vanya, Natalie, you know,” He paused, “Other people don’t recognise me but I don’t blame them. I haven’t been here since the 70s but I haven’t started any fights yet if that’s what you’re wondering.”

“I’d worry less if I knew what you were up to.” He murmured, his body moving off of muscle memory, the tea had a sweet smell to it, and he allowed it to steep while checking the tray’s scattered about, selecting a few of wifey’s treats that would pair well. His mind drifted a moment as his eyes landed on his brother, a twist in his gut reminding him he had no right to demand check ins. His jaw tensed a moment and he dragged his eyes to the tea, fiddling with a stir spoon awkwardly. “I don’t mean for that to sound... accusatory. I worry is all.” 

Astra’s temper and wrath were unmatched, and Athel knew that. She almost snickered slightly at the way he entered with his hands up. Their personalities were so different, yet they meshed well. She knew that she wouldn’t need to take the use of magic any farther- he knew better than to sass her in a serious way. Playfully, sure, and thankfully she could tell the difference. As he began to speak, her face softened. 

“A new grimoire, intriguing,” she said, moving to take it from his hands. She ran her fingers over it gently as he spoke of it’s origins. The moment he left, she was going to be all over this. Having friends wasn’t something she was every much good at. She’d only ever been able to keep a few, and it just so happened that Athel was one of them. She was going to be forever grateful for that. “And why on Earth did you get a dog? They’re loud, they slobber, and you have to pick up their shit with your hands. What did you call it?” 

Licking her lips slowly, she perked up at the mention of his family being around. She smirked slightly, the glimmer of darkness still in her eyes as she smiled. “Fabulous. I just love when you drink yourself into a puddle of nothing. Is that tonight or are we saving it for after they leave?”

“Very true, but they are soulful creatures and love deeper than most. His name is Apollo and he is very adorable. Drool and all.” He waved a hand casually and stretched, a noise escaping him that was some mix of a grunt and a moan- it was as if that motion were the trigger, and all of a sudden, his once tensed shoulders relaxed- intense blues dulled slightly as his face fell to its usual empty state. 

Emotions gone. Turned off. Until Astra would force him to turn them back on. He eyed the witch, his mind turning over the conversation and scoffing. “We may never emerge from this damned whole in the wall if we begin drinking to my families bullshit now, Astra.”

Slumping into a chair, the vampire swung his feet up and whistled a slow tune. “The bastards keep showing up- I think I am free of all their shit and here they swoop in again. I don’t understand their thought process. Are they all Sadists?” He was not one to talk, in this state, he could pluck feathers off a bird and bash its head in with no remorse. “Oblivion will need to wait, but we can still drink!” He announced, standing again in search of what he wanted. 

ERIK & ATHELSTAN

“What? Not happy to see me?” Erik asked with a playful smirk. He tried to cover the hurt from seeing the clear dislike on his brother’s face - that’s what it looked like to him anyway. He shrugged, “Fine. My return has been… interesting to put it lightly. What about you?”

The question made him wince, a visible ripple through his person that he struggled to put a cap on. Shaking his head the male released the keychain in his hands before moving towards a table, his fingers shaking slightly as he put on some water to boil. “I suppose I am the same.” Broken. Struggling. Healing. Guilty. The reason. All the shit he couldn’t say was burning against his throat. “Care for so-some tea?” He covered the stutter with a pat to his chest, shaking his head and swallowing down the emotions pushing up on him. He would need to reach out to Astra soon. 

Staring at the clock, watching the time tick by, the witch grew more and more impatient. Athel was late, and she had very thin patience. Tardiness wasn’t something she accepted, and it was maddening to her that others were so willing to just take their sweet time and doddle. She tapped her foot, staring at the window from where she sat. She knew the saying about a watched cauldron never boiling, but she couldn’t help it. She adored him for some reason, but how dare he keep her waiting?

When Astra finally saw him out the front window, she used her magic to whip the door open once he reached it, letting him inside before using the magic to slam it shut. “You’re late,” she spoke coldly. “What the hell took you so long?”

@bookwormvamp​

“Fuck sakes!” He started, the door had slammed open before he touched the damned thing. Holding his hands up placatingly, he entered Astra’s home. Her questions was valid, he was late and he did owe her an explanation. “I adopted a dog... paperwork and store runs, plus getting him settled with Noah before I left...” He shrugged a bit and sent her an apologetic smile. “I brought you one of those grimoires though. Figured you might find use in it.” He held up the leather bound tome cautiously. “This ones from somewhere in Jerusalem, apparently its writer has been dead centuries and this was just unearthed a few weeks ago.” 

Astra, while being entirely over the top sometimes, had been a good friend to him. Every rose truly had its thorn, Astra simply primped her thorns as often as her petals, those who didn’t mind the occasional prick would find her insanely loyal and wiling to help. They’d been meeting every two weeks or so since his return- of all those he held dear to him, Astra was the only one who knew just how difficult it had become, dealing with the heightened emotions. 

“My family is in town.” He almost whined, moving towards a chair slowly, still wary of her anger. “So there may be some binging.” He was a horrible drunk. Either too clingy or quick to shoot insults. Though Astra never seemed to complain much about his coping mechanisms. 

“I need your advice. I feel like I’m in a bit of a pickle,” Elsa began, licking her lips slowly. “I bumped into my ex, and I swear on my fairy’s honor that I didn’t seek her out intentionally, but when I saw her face and heart her voice I felt like my heart was stuck in my throat because she’s so pretty and I’m a useless lesbian who misses the love and companionship of another woman,” she said. “What do you propose as a solution? I’ve never.. I’ve never been good at picking people up and flirting. It’s not a strong point for me. It’s not like it’s a fresh breakup either, it’s been some time. I need to move on, and I thought I had, but I guess to move on fully you need to do so with another person.”

@bookwormvamp​

Athelstan paused mid bite, the noodles dropping back to his bowl as he considered the predicament she described. “Normally I would just suggest getting out there, but I suppose you are out there... We could try setting you up on some blind dates? Speed dating? Anything to just get your mind moving from the past into what you want for your future. Even if nothing comes of any of them at first, your weeding out what you don’t want.” He shrugged absently, picking up where he left off and shoveled more noodles into his mouth. A sip of water and he was pulling out his phone, he knew of a few ideas, and there had to be something happening in the area that could provide them with a chance to hook her up. 

“Alternatively, we can buy a shit ton of ice cream, order a pizza and binge watch Netflix’s entire LGTBQ library?” He snickered, knowing full well it would not be their first time doing such things- after all, the anniversary of his planned proposal turned breakup had been spent much the same way. It was the bonus of spending time with Elsa, the two had some similar issues and understood the others reasons for being upset. “Whatever you wanna do baby~boo!” He quipped, grinning at her over his food and sticking his tongue out in efforts to make her smile and/or laugh.