into that good night

“What a strange city we live in…” Alex agreed with a smirk.

“I got myself killed, that’s on me. I didn’t kill myself when I was resurrected like this, and that’s on me. I’ll own up to that. That burden is mine to bear, but the rest? None of that is weighing on my conscience, and I’m not going to feel bad about any of it.”

“True.” While Alexander couldn’t say that he entirely approved of his brother’s schemes, he could at least offer him some sort of measure of encouragement from time to time. “No problem. Have to appreciate those moments while they last.”

“At least your misery isn’t caused by decisions other people made for you, David.” he spat at his brother, his temper getting the best of him. “I’m not asking for your pity, or your understanding, I’m just telling you the way things are.” 

“It’s not as boring as it sounds. It wasn’t all wiping noses and helping with homework.” It was funny to think back to her life before she was a mother, and how she’d loathed the idea of being trapped at home with tiny humans. Then she’d had the twins, and the moment she saw them the ideas she hated morphed into something else, and she found herself relishing her moments with her children. It was those things she was thinking about with a smile on her lips when he asked about her family, and the smile fell and those happy memories melted away. “I -” She tried to come up with a way to say her children had all died, but she couldn’t find a way to say it without feeling nauseous at the idea of having to say it out loud. That, and the fact that she knew she herself should have been six feet under made the situation all the more perplexing for the witch. “ - don’t know.” 

“The world we live in.” was all the original could offer his son. “Sometimes it’s easier to think the world is good than to see it for what it really is.”

“And here I thought our family mostly liked tourists because they brought fresh meat to the city, now we extort them in addition to eating them.” Alexander replied with an eye roll, though he did offer his brother a weak smile in show of approval. “Smart move though. Kuddos, David.”

“They aren’t wrong, I don’t think I ever really deserved any of you, least of all you and your siblings.”

“I’m not mad at you. I don’t blame you, or harbor any resentment about it toward you. It was her decision, her actions, she dug her own grave.” Yet it didn’t make it any easier to accept, or make it any easier to move past. “Now we’re both dead and miserable, how is that any better?”

“Rose.” she offered with a smile, taking his extended hand with her own and shaking it gently. “I wasn’t one to make enemies, I was a stay-at-home mom, but I’ll keep it in mind, just to be safe.”

“Really?” Given everything that had changed, she hoped that at least something familiar would be in the city. “Thank you for letting me know…”

“Touché.” the witch admitted, her smile fading at his next comment. “Oh. I used to have acquaintances there… ” 

“You know about as much as I do.”

“Yes. Have you heard of it?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “I was, yes. But this isn’t my original body, so I wasn’t reanimated, so, not a zombie per se.”

“It made a name for itself, the same could even be said for Mystic Falls.” she offered casually, pausing at his accusations. “I wouldn’t say I’m a zombie…”

“New Orleans.” How the hell had she ended up in New Orleans? “I always heard this place had a peculiar history when it came to the supernatural.”

“Yeah, I’m not from around here, no.” She knew she was out of place, but given his reactions, she had a feeling it was worse than she’d thought. “I know who I am, I’m just trying to figure out the rest right now.”