elijah steele.

But the chaos in Juliet's mind disappeared as quickly as it'd arrived. The second Eli embraced her, she felt all that doubt and paranoia and fear fall away, as though he'd siphoned it directly from her. She refound her place in his arms, settling into the warmth he provided. He smelt good, but she felt no hunger, too distracted by his sentiment to struggle with bloodlust. "I missed you too. So much." Her emotions, now heightened by her vampirism, were hard to subdue, and her eyes welled up as a result, dampening the fabric covering Elijah's shoulder.

Juliet had a thousand questions, but she allowed herself this minute before seeking answers, desperate for the physical contact. It had been years since anyone outside of Troyan had hugged her, or offered words of affirmation. It'd been an unfillable void, a longing, a dull, constant ache. She'd died, and she'd been denied her friends. She hadn't even gotten a goodbye, and had been left wondering what they thought of her. Clearly, it wasn't as negative as she'd made herself believe. This wasn't shame, or disappointment. There was no love lost here, the soothing rubs on her back could attest to that. Elijah hadn't shown an ounce in hesitation at flinging himself towards a vampire. He'd said so little, yet healed so much.

"Oh, der'mo, I'm meant to be meeting everyone... an hour ago. What an excuse to be late, you're gonna' have to come with me, 'cause they're not gonna' believe it." Caught up in his own excitement, Elijah began to ramble, trying to release every thought at once. "Maybe we should tell Ben first, though, this is gonna' be... yeah. Okay. I'll call him out first, and then we can surprise the others. Wait, is Mr. Blackwell with you, too? He should come too."

Eventually, the youngest dhampir was ready, flattening his hair with one hand, and locking the door with the other. It was important he kept up appearances, considering who was attending today. He didn't want Isabelle to see him dishevelled, she always looked perfect, even after three rounds of sparring. But all thoughts of his attire, and appropriate time management, melted away the second Elijah jogged passed the supermarket. The sight knocked the breath out of him, and he skidded to a halt, stunted by disbelief as he saw her standing there. "Juliet?"

Of course, Elijah doubted himself, unsure if the encroaching daylight was tricking his eyes. It felt impossible, too good to be real. But so had his reunion with the Lightwoods. In those few seconds, he allowed himself to hope, to believe. Seeing her turn around, he immediately got the confirmation he'd been seeking. It was undeniable, she hadn't aged a day. She called his name in return. "It is you! Ot angela —" With no consideration to what she'd become, Elijah sprang in Juliet's direction, throwing his arms around her the moment he was close enough. He held her close, and firm, burying his head into her neck. She felt colder, but Elijah paid that detail no mind. All that mattered now was her presence here. With him, with them, where she'd always belonged. "This is the greatest fucking day ever. We've missed you so much, Jules."

I should probably go and explain to everyone why I’m not really dead.

The group’s energy only got worse when Adrian arrived. Again, Izzy might’ve been the only one happy to see him, which frankly surprised her, considering he was usually on great terms with Eddie, and was friendly with Juliet. She wasn’t sure why, but everything felt off. There was something noticeably different about Adrian, the way he carried himself, yet she wasn’t aware enough of his condition to realise what it was. It didn’t seem like his typical tipsy behaviour, though. If she’d known, she’d have tried to help before things escalated any further. To her great surprise, Juliet was the first one to break the awkward silence, addressing the man’s behaviour. From there, everything became a total mess. Alec lost control of the room completely, and his second-in-charge, Benji, was one of the main perpetrators.

Izzy continually scanned the room, trying to stay on top of the unfolding argument so that she could find a way to diffuse it, but it moved too quickly for her to keep up. Or rather, it went beyond her understanding, accusations of things she’d never noticed before coming to light. Juliet and Benji’s dynamic was hardly surprising. It was a dynamic she’d been quietly rooting for for years, having encouraged Alec herself to pair them together, if only to force them to face their feelings. Besides, Elijah had, unwillingly, always been in the middle of them, and Izzy believed he deserved better than that. Adrian and Eddie, however, was a total shock. She knew they were close, but apparently it went a lot deeper than she’d ever noticed, too wrapped up in her own relationships to pick it for herself. She was itching to know more, equal parts curious and supportive, but now was clearly not the time.

Unfortunately, Adrian’s attitude only seemed to worsen, the man stumbling as he turned to accuse the entire group, pulling skeletons out of closets. She loved him but his behaviour shocked her, not sure anyone there truly deserved it. She knew he was upset, and clearly struggling with a lot of things, but they were all in this together. They didn’t need more division.

The digs at both of her brothers deeply bothered her, always the first one to defend them, and she pressed her lips together, arms folding over her chest. She’d gone from surprised to deeply unimpressed, joining the rest of the group’s stance. Sure, Adrian had been provoked, but now he was crossing the line. Hearing Eli being called a ‘genetic mistake’ made her gasp, a quiet inhalation, causing her to drop her arms. “Adrian!” She chided, willing him to stop. “That’s enough.” But the Moroi wasn’t done, getting one last shot at Benji in. She looked over at him, eyes wide. She’d never seen the guardian so furious. He was always the perfect picture of stoicism, of collected and cool, but it had clearly only been the calm before the storm. She wasn’t sure she could intervene now, wasn’t sure what she could even do to coax him back from doing something he’d regret. She’d never seen him like this, never seen any of them this upset. Distressed, she looked to her big brother, wondering what he could do as a leader. Was there even a solution?

Eli seemed to think so. Her guardian stepped forward, thankfully working on diffusing Benji. The man was still, dangerously still, but perhaps that meant it was working. Izzy was immensely grateful for it until she heard Elijah’s proposal. Again, her eyes went wide, and she waited for the cries of reason, telling him no. Only they never came, as if everyone was trapped in some kind of daze. Shaking her head, Izzy stepped in, taking on the responsibility herself instead, hoping Eli would listen to her.

She didn’t understand spirit use, having only discovered the element wasn’t just a thing of lore when they’d reunited with Adrian. But considering the darkness in the Moroi’s expression, it didn’t seem safe. “Eli… I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Her voice was gentle, a harsh comparison to everyone else’s behaviour thus far. She reached for him just as he had for Benji, a hand resting on his arm. “We don’t even know if it’d work, and if it did, it might harm you. I know he’s really hurting and you just want to help, but there has to be another way. A way that doesn’t mean endangering anyone else.” She met his eye, shaking her head once, resolute. “Don’t do this.”

Feeling the nudge from his best friend, Eddie finally broke eye contact with their mentor and his twitching muscles, blinking over at Mason in confusion. He was almost bewildered by the distraction, so caught up in thinking the fight through, on how to get out of the room alive, he wasn’t even sure what Mason had disturbed him for. But then he saw it. Eddie finally looked over at Adrian, stumbling around behind Mason, and it felt like a punch to the gut. He looked genuinely ill. Eddie couldn’t see any shadows but he imagined they clung onto him, dragging on his expression, weakening his limbs, darkening his eyes. “Fuck,” Eddie muttered in response, his own muscles finally relaxing, changing tact immediately. He agreed with Mason’s plan. There was no winning against Benji anyway, so he may as well remove the antagoniser altogether. He clearly needed the intervention. Eddie couldn’t remember the last time he’d seen Adrian looking this bad. He grit his teeth, remembering the time he’d promised not to use spirit without discussion first. Clearly that promise had broken when their relationship had. Before Eddie could make any moves, the Moroi pushed past them, continuing to antagonise. And it wasn’t just Benji he came for.

Eddie hadn’t been expecting so personal of a remark, the pureblood suddenly whirling around to face him, accusing. He’d been waiting for Adrian to have the last say before finally intervening, terrified now that whatever was said next might be the last straw for Benjamin. But he hadn’t foreseen being dragged into the argument himself. It was the first time they’d made eye contact in weeks, and Eddie was wildly unprepared for the effect it would have on him. Adrian looked so far gone, so unlike his normal self, the usual sparkle gone from his eyes. Suddenly, Eddie realised this too was his fault. They were unable to help his attachment to spirit, but the guardian should’ve done better. He knew that now. They had to have boundaries, he’d worked that through with Mason, but he shouldn’t have abandoned Adrian so resolutely, so completely, without a proper plan. He was so disturbed by the darkness in Adrian’s expression, he hadn’t even begun to process the words that had actually been thrown at him. But when they did, Eddie felt himself shrink.

Whilst Benji’s reaction to having his love life dragged out into the spotlight was blinding rage, Eddie’s was mortification. Shame consumed him, sucking away all the testosterone-fuelled tension he’d felt earlier and replacing it with utter humiliation and regret. He’d failed, broken almost every rule in the rule book, and now everyone knew about it. He’d only confided in Mason, his best friend having spotted it from a mile away, but he hadn’t wanted it to get any further than that. He’d cut things off so suddenly with Adrian for exactly that reason. It couldn’t get out, it couldn’t jeopardise their working relationship, they couldn’t take Adrian away from him. Eddie’s cheeks burned, unable to form a reply, afraid to even try. The dhampir wasn’t entirely familiar auras and all that their colours meant, but Adrian had framed his wording in such a way that Eddie understood regardless. In fact, he was sure everyone in the room had. There was certainly no chance of denying it or going back now. The truth was out there.

Adrian continued on, seemingly unbothered by the lack of reply, turning his accusing gaze on the others. Eddie was left reeling, deflated, his mind racing. He could barely pay attention to the following remarks, desperately trying to figure out how they could come back from this. What would the Lightwoods think? Would he be reported? He didn’t think Benjamin would hesitate at the chance to make Adrian’s life a little worse, not after what he’d done today. He wondered how far his mutual relationship with the fellow guardian went, how much Benji could be trusted now that he’d been pushed. They were usually on good terms, their dynamic one of mutual respect and understanding. Eddie looked up to him. He wanted to be as good as him, do what he could do for Adrian’s sake. Surely, there was a way out of this, one that wouldn’t involve the elders, and him being stripped of his title.

Eddie tuned back in at ‘genetic mistake’, hearing Isabelle’s gasp. As expected, things were now spiralling beyond anyone’s control. He had to get Adrian out of there, now. He was certain those last comments would have sealed the deal for Benji. Eddie took a few steps forward. But then he paused. Shoving royalty? The dhampir blinked, confused. At Barcelo? Benji had been at Barcelo? “He what?” Eddie asked, the question a near whisper, as if asking it of himself, asking if he’d even heard Adrian correctly. His brain was struggling to compute any more shock. “He did what?” It took Eddie far too long to piece it all together, overwhelmed. By the time he had, Adrian was muttering nonsensically and Eli had stepped in, offering to siphon him. But the moment he understood, Eddie’s head snapped up, meeting Benji’s gaze. That anger he’d thought had been zapped from him entirely returned in a flood.

In his distraction, Eli hadn’t noticed Eddie’s flip in temper, questioning what’d gone down at Barcelo. It was an emotion he’d never seen in the other dhampir, a reaction triggered from a place of overprotection, which only made more sense with the revelation of his relationship with Adrian. Unfortunately for those around them, Eli was in no place to withhold an outburst of his own, because that rage had been directed at his brother. “No!” Any relatability between the pair had been tossed aside with the shove, Eli’s eyes darkening as he barraged himself in front of Benji. Almost everyone in the room was stronger than Eli physically, especially when he wasn’t juiced up, but he was still fast. His condition also left no room for rational pause, often acting without taking a moment to consider the consequences. “Don’t touch my brother.”

Now that Eli’s body was in a position of fight or flight, adrenaline coursing through him, it was impossible not to seek an energy source in preparation. His fingers clasped around Eddie’s wrist, his grip firm, using the element of surprise in his favour. The glowing began, scarlet burning around his clenched hand, his inhalation deep as he felt the dhampir magic settle into him. But even after he returned to his natural setting, Eli didn’t let go. He found himself wanting to demobilise Eddie, a feeling born from revenge, however overreactive it seemed. Witnessing someone take aim at Benji was rare, at least outside of constructed scenarios, and Eli couldn’t swallow down the anger it stemmed. He kept draining, ignoring the shocked gasps and shifting figures around them.

Which was why, when Adrian showed up to training after all, Eddie didn’t immediately relax, like he might have before. Instead, his body tensed up entirely, jaw clamped with the sheer effort made to not look back in the Moroi’s direction again. He’d clocked the cigarette, seen the irritated expressions on everybody else’s faces, and had immediately been flooded with guilt. Adrian didn’t deserve this reception, and he was itching to intervene, to de-escalate. But he kept reminding himself that it wasn’t his place anymore to interrupt. Boundaries. Boundaries meant letting Adrian fight his own battles, from time to time. To deal with his own fallout. He could handle it.

It all seemed to be going relatively smoothly, Eddie letting out a breath he hadn’t realised he’d been holding when the cigarette was put out. There was certainly awkward tension, an obvious shift in mood that made Eddie feel like shit, but thankfully, Adrian had decided to play along. Or so he’d thought. Eddie’s eyes widened at the remark, not having expected it. He’d thought the hard part had been over, but tensions had been flared once more, now bordering on aggression. Worriedly, Eddie’s eyes flicked over to Benjamin, scoping out the reaction. Unfortunately, he’d been right to be concerned. Benji’s expression had gone from one of annoyance to sheer rage, his fists curling dangerously, and with the verbal confirmation that Adrian was harboring very real resentment toward Eddie himself, he realised silence was no longer an option. Not if he was to keep the peace, keep Adrian safe and the rest of the group placated.

Seeing Benji turn, Eddie shoved his guilt aside and quickly intervened, snapping. “— That’s enough, Adrian. Leave her alone.” Thankfully, this stopped Benji in his tracks. The man was still obviously rigid with anger, but Eddie didn’t want to see him pushed any further. He was their mentor for a reason, he was known as a god for a reason. He didn’t want to see him anywhere near Adrian when he was like this. Continuing on, desperate to defuse the situation, Eddie tried his best to ignore the deep sting Adrian’s final words had caused and made his tone soft this time, keeping his gaze focused on Benji despite addressing Adrian. The more tension he noticed in the mentor’s body, the more his own muscles responded accordingly, feeling protective. “You don’t have to do this, okay? Just - go.”

Hands clasped behind his back, posture stiff, Benji appeared to listen to Alec’s every word, seemingly attentive. But in truth, he was working on his breathing, attempting to get himself into a meditative state, or as close to one as he could manage. He’d discovered a combination of faith and focus was the only way he could make it through his training sessions with her, but it took some time to completely surrender over to. Fortunately, he knew the briefing and expectations well, having worked with the Lightwoods to set the assignments in the first place, and could now wholly focus on lowering his respiratory rate. He was halfway through reciting a Russian prayer in his mind, feeling the slowness of his breath, when the smell of smoke hit his nostrils. Having dulled his senses, it took Benjamin a moment to make the connection, but Adrian’s smug voice dispelled any mystery.

Immediately, Benjamin’s jaw tightened, feeling the tension he’d just worked on draining away return to his muscles. If the Moroi had just slipped in quietly, actually shown some respect for the process for once in his life, perhaps the dhampir could have let things slide. But Adrian seemed intent on causing drama wherever he went. Already, Benji was planning on chewing him out, though he did muster enough patience to think his wording through first. Perhaps it was better left for the Lightwoods to deal with. The Moroi were his superiors, after all. But to everybody’s surprise, Juliet herself piped up.

As always, her voice sent electricity through him, the sound a reminder of her presence right beside him. He would’ve become consumed by the sensation had he not noticed the biting edge in her voice, an impatience that went beyond mere irritation. Although he felt the same upon hearing Adrian’s sarcasm, he felt concern for her, wondering what the source of her frustration was and how he could solve it. The answer should’ve been obvious, but he rarely spared a thought for himself, all protective instinct and dutiful follower. His frown grew, wondering what signs he’d missed, when Adrian provided the answer for him. Hearing his name, Benjamin’s head snapped up to look at the royal.

He almost couldn’t believe it. The elementalist seemed more alert than Benji had ever seen him. How could he have been so callous? Seeing the grin, the dhampir’s eyes narrowed, feeling the anger shoot through his limbs immediately, his fists following suit. Embarrassment and rage cycled his veins, heartache that the fracture between him and Juliet was so obvious to everyone else, fury that it had been dragged out into the limelight without either of their permissions. Suddenly, nothing seemed more important than wiping the grin off the Moroi’s face. He took a step in the man’s direction, only for Eddie to quickly intervene. Right then, respect for his fellow dhampir was the one sole thing stopping Benji from smashing Adrian’s face in. Eddie was his guardian, and he’d done the right thing by de-escalating. Benji continued to battle with reason, fingers aching with how tightly they were curled, but he attempted to breathe. He could come back from this, pull himself back from the knife’s edge, so long as the Moroi behaved. But Eddie had given him too easy of an out.

“— No,” Benji interrupted immediately, the edge in his voice dangerous. “He should stay.” If the man weren’t a Moroi, he would’ve made it an order, but unfortunately, he had no real jurisdiction. Still, he wouldn’t be letting him off that easily, not after he’d taken aim at Juliet, had made their issues so public. Only, this time his voice had lost its malice, replaced by condescension. Two could play at this game. “I mean, you’ve finally shown up. You’ve come here to work, haven’t you? To put in some actual effort? To show your guardian some respect? It’s a good thing.” His smirk was suppressed, but barely, his eyes not leaving the Moroi’s. “A sign of progress. I mean, I can’t recall the last time I’ve ever seen you sober. Seems like we’re all finally getting to meet the real Adrian Ivashkov.”

Noticing Eddie exhibit a similar stance to himself, Mason tried to meet his eye, a pleading look in his expression. He was more than willing to fight for his best friend, but going up against Benji was a ridiculous notion. He’d wipe the floor with both of them. He only hoped it wouldn’t reach that point, and that the tension could be diffused in time. Eddie intervened with his first attempt, but Benji didn’t take the bait, the verbal damage had already been inflicted, and their mentor began to combat it with his own. “Alright, easy —” Mason’s voice was drowned out, clearly not being registered by either party.

At a loss, Mason could do nothing but wait for Benji to finish, and once he had, silence descended over the room. He was hoping it would goad Adrian into leaving, but as Mason glanced back at his former charge, he knew instantly what the outcome would be. He couldn’t take anyone physically, but he’d never backed down from a fight where words were the ammunition. The tell tale signs of excessive spirit use were all over Adrian, too. The longer Mason stared, the more of it he saw. The darkened eyes, the twitching, the expression that flickered between here and a plain no one else could see. “Eddie…” Mason reached over, nudging his best friend, trying to get him to redirect his attention. He was so focused on Benji, on protecting, he’d fell behind on spotting it. “He’s slipping. You should get him out of —” his voice again was cut off, Adrian already brushing past the duo, clearly having his next reply loaded. This wasn’t going to end well. “Adrian. Don’t. Leave it.”

“Oh, I’m the real Adrian Ivashkov either way. Sober or not, I’m honest. The same can’t be said for you. You see, Benjamin, the upside of my extended sobriety is that I have access to my magic. I can see your aura, and what a picture it paints,” Adrian smirked, now focusing on the sea of colours surrounding them all. “Don’t worry, you’re not the only one. I’ve seen less masking at a masquerade ball. Even those closest to me are guilty of it. Like my guardian,” he started, pointing in Eddie’s direction. “You tell me to go. You pretend you don’t want me around anymore unless it’s official, that what we had was wrong. But you look at me, and the space around you bleeds purple,” his tone become unstable, flickering between poetic and angry, the most obvious sign of excessive spirit use. His sessions with Wanda, whilst precautions had been taken, were clearly making him ill. With no Eddie to balance him, he was slipping. If anyone tried to stop him, he didn’t acknowledge them, continuing on with disregard.

“Jace, you hide behind bravado and confidence, but you’re as damaged as the rest of us. Baby Steele, pretending you could be the perfect guardian, when you lack the most basic form of discipline all you dhampirs were raised with — emotional control. Jules, you hate the system as much as I do, with valid reason, and you continue to show up here and play dutiful, why? What does that do for you beside further your pain?” Adrian’s fingers twitched, so he clenched his hands, fingers scratching along his palms. He’d spent a long time watching his friends, trying to understand them, and whilst he couldn’t be certain he was completely correct, he felt as though he was close enough. He’d always been an excellent judge of character. “Alec, I don’t know what your deal is. But it’s something. Your sister is the only one who’s colour doesn’t betray her,” he muttered, glancing at Isabelle with a temporary fondness. “Mason too, most of the time. At least he tells me hates me to my face, instead of hiding. I’m not the one who isn’t being real here.”

“Which brings me back around to you, Benjamin. The perfect role model, the most resolved guardian. But your head doesn’t align with your heart, does it? You’ve sworn yourself to a way of life that punishes the two people closest to you. Your brother is a genetic mistake and your lover is a mortal enemy of your species. I mean, no offense,” he said, shrugging apologetically in Juliet and Eli’s direction. “You know I don’t care. But he should. If our elders showed up here tomorrow, would he throw himself in front of you?” Adrian paused for thought, but it was the smallest of moments. “Maybe, actually. I know he has no issue with shoving royalty, considering how eager he was to push me up against the wall in Barcelo. I wonder if God heard the confession for that one, let alone the rest of you.” It was a cheap shot, but Adrian had long since surpassed rationality. His temple began to ache, and he wiped over his face, trying to brush the intensity off.

“Rose was right about all of this. This whole idea is an empty fucking oath,” he quietened, finally, wondering who’d come for him first. At least if it was Benjamin, a punch could knock him straight into the hospital, where the painkillers would be easily accessible. If Eddie and Mason would even let that happen. Now that Adrian had stepped back, he noticed how tense their postures were, always ready to protect despite themselves. He didn’t want it, it was only furthering their problems, and his own confusion. “We aren’t even supposed to love unless they tell us to, but we do anyway. We betray ourselves for a broken system. Enough’s enough. No more… we’re going to end up scared and confused. No. More,” Fragments of his argument with Eddie spilled over into the present, and soon enough, Adrian’s rambling became incomprehensible, only for himself.

It only continued to worsen with further involvement, and Eli felt the power in the room charge up. He was drawn directly to Adrian, and he could practically see the hum of magic filter back in as the effects of the Moroi’s cigarette wore off. This was spirit. Most of it, anyway; Eli imagined the resentment would’ve been there regardless, considering how it’d ended at Barcelo. Unsure of his next move, of whether or not he should call it out, the dhampir remained still and silent, but prepared. If this became physical, he’d be beside Benji in an instant. Confrontation was a trigger from him, but he was still trained in dealing with it, and could swallow down the intensity of his own emotion temporarily if it meant protecting his family. Nothing was more important.

For a moment, Eli considered taking Isabelle’s hand to regain stability, his stress rising as the back and forth played out, hating how targeted Benji had become. The comments about himself stung, but were easily dismissible. The ones aimed at the person he loved the most were not, and as the anger pressed at him in retaliation, he dismissed the idea of falling in line with his charge. He didn’t want to drain some of her power by mistake, or prove Adrian right. It was already blindingly obvious without the magical aura confirmation that he was in love with her, and Adrian hardly needed be reminded of further ammunition.

As soon as the words genetic mistake were uttered, Eli knew he finally had to step in. He himself wasn’t overly bothered, Adrian had already made it apparent he saw Eli as an equal, but it was certain to make Benji furious; and that was the point. He’d already noticed the way Eddie was staring his brother out, ready for the first space closure in case he needed to defend. Which is why he had to be fast. Benji could handle any altercation with ease, deeming fighting even more pointless. They shouldn’t even be arguing when all they had was eachother. Eli darted forward, his hand gently grasping Benji’s shoulder from behind. “Don’t. It’s not his fault. Well, kind of. The spirit’s all over him. He feels like a fucking magnet to me,” he was itching to drain it, and that was obvious by the desperation in his tone. “Whatever it is, don’t react to it. It’s making him worse. And you know how you’ll feel after, if you do this,” Eli muttered, gesturing to Benji’s still clenched fists. “It’s not worth it.”

Adrian continued to ramble, and Eli glanced at him in confusion, no longer understanding his point. He was also interfering, purposely or not. “Stop being a prick! I’m trying to help you.” He now spoke to more than just his brother, voice carrying across the room. He’d certainly been heard, now, because the Moroi paused in his surprise. “You’ve been using spirit. Too much. I can feel it. Let me take some of it from you, then maybe you’ll stop picking fights you need Eddie to finish.” Eli sighed, and softened his tone. “It’s obviously hurting you. If I drain some of it, it won’t be so bad. You won’t need to act like this, and this doesn’t need to get any worse.” Eli’s gaze then flickered between Eddie and Benji, as if asking for permission. “I can handle it.”

Dick & Rachel in every scene || 15/?