The Newborn

Full Name: Emel Avci Age: 27 (Looks 25) Species: Vampire Occupation: Bartender at Pete’s

open starter for all @theislestarters  Location: Modes du Rosseau - The Lanes late night shopping

     Working late wasn’t her favourite thing, however staying open for an hour or two later wouldn’t impact on her ability to go and view the Flower Moon later, and so she sucked it up in order to participate in the community event, although she questioned how many folk would be wanting to purchase or commission a piece of her clothing on a whim.      She sat at the front counter which doubled as her drawing station. the cash register built in a few feet to her left, idly sketching to pass the time. The melodic tinkling of the bell above the door didn’t even bring her eyes up from her page, simply speaking the line she’d had to quote a dozen or so times prior that evening out of habit. “If you ‘ave any food or drink, I would ask zat you please leave it on the table by ze front door as I do not wish for you to ‘ave to purchase something you do not want if you accidentally spill it, merci.” an eyebrow lifted as she sighed and finally allowed her eyes to flick up to the potential customer, checking that they followed her wishes.

Emel had been excited about the Flower Moon as soon as she heard about Summerset hosting festivities all throughout the island.  It was one of the first times she actually felt normal since turning and she wanted to soak it in as long as possible.  Going on a little shopping spree, Emel found herself strolling through the lanes and found a beautiful fashion boutique that Emel simply had to browse through.

The moment she walked in, she was greeted with a request to put any food or drinks by the door.  Emel raised her hands showing that she didn’t have anything.  “I’m empty handed tonight, I promise.  Though it really would be a shame to spill anything on these masterpieces.”  She said as she nodded towards some of the clothes that were in front of her, already in love with them.

Lucy smiled gently at the young vampire. “You learn, you look after yourself and in years to come you’ll have your own stories to tell.” She nodded as she listened to her speak. “Keeping busy helps. Holding onto things you enjoyed in your human life. He helps remind you of who you are. The hunger gets easier. You will always need blood but it won’t always control you like this.”

"Well looking after myself has never really been a huge problem, even before all of this.  But I’ve had to learn this new life all by myself.”  Emel shrugged slightly, knowing she’s come a long way since when she was first turned.  “That seems easy enough, I always loved traveling and frankly I can’t see anything more perfect for this lifestyle.”  She laughed lightly.  “Thank you, I think I really needed a talk like this.”

Kathy rubbed her lips together, thinking a little too much about what the woman had said. Maybe something lurked deep in Summerset. “Oh!” Kathy exclaimed excitedly. “The sea floor is exactly what i’m talking about. Of course… i’m not saying sea monsters exist.” She paused. “They probably don’t.”

"Well isn’t the rumor that over eighty percent of the ocean is unexplored?  That is an absolutely terrifying thought.”  Emel shook her head at the idea of so much being left unanswered.  “Though you’re probably right, I feel like if sea monsters did exist that would not be part of that eighty percent.  We’d have to know about them by now.”

  her gaze lingered from the girl for a moment, wondering if she was with the culprit who ruined her pants. the least they could have done was hold their coffee higher and get it on her top. turning her attention back to the brunette, it took phoebe a moment to process the question. her thoughts easily a pit to get lost in. “oh –” her brows jumped, realizing what she was offering. why was it so surprising for someone to help? “–thanks. i really - appreciate that.” the words felt unnatural for her to say, either due to the lack of gratefulness she typically felt or the lack of reason to be grateful. 

Emel grinned and nodded when she accepted the offer.  She sat in the open chair across from her and started digging through her purse for the goods.  “Oh you’re welcome!  I’m happy to help!”  Once she found the pen she handed it over and started pulling out napkins.  “Honestly my purse has a little bit of everything in it, but I definitely never leave home without the stain remover.  You never know when someone’s going to be clumsy.  I’m sorry the other person didn’t even stop to see the mess they created.”  Emel said with a shake of her head, “People could be so rude sometimes.”

Doug laughed, shaking his head. He couldn’t say he’d ever met a vampire quite like this one. “I think that guy is doing just fine… his sure stupidity and can do attitude will get him through any dark situation in life. I believe in him.” 

Emel laughed easily at the memory, it was one of the first ones she had after she turned so it was imbedded in her.  "Oh he certainly is well prepared for anything that comes at him in life.  I’ll even be the first to admit that I can get behind the five second rule, but ice cream?  That just crosses a line I would never be able to do.”

location: the book bank

open to all // @theislestarters

Jude had a book in mind when she stepped into the shop, she really really did … but as usual, she’d picked up more than a few additional titles on her way to the front counter and was still browsing the shelves when she saw someone pick up a book with a cover that caught her eye. Curious and hoping the other person would put the book back on the shelf for her to snatch up, she hovered nearby — trying not to alert them to her presence.

Which of course was when one of the books she was holding in her arms fell - hard - on her foot.

“Fuck.” She hissed in pain, grimacing as she bent down to pick up the volume — a balancing act that required not allowing the other books slip out of her grasp as well. “Typical…”

Emel had a lot of time on her hands, like a lot, so one of her goals with her new vampirism was reading more of the classics.  Her parents used to look down upon her for not being very well read, so she wanted to show everyone - including herself - that she could.  The only problem was that she had absolutely no idea where to start on her journey.  So Emel found herself at The Book Bank browsing the shelves.

She was looking at a copy of Anna Karenina with a pretty cover, when she heard the commotion just next to her.  Emel immediately put the book back and rushed over to help.  “Are you okay?”  She asked spotting the other in case more of her books started to fall.  “That’s quite a haul you have going on there.  I can take some if you need any help!”

Lucy smiled as the younger girl spoke, she enjoyed people who had a curiosity for the world around them. “History books are often told in a simplistic way. I suppose the saying goes, unless you lived it, you’d never know for sure,” she nodded. “I have a few stories of my own, yes.” Her eyes softened at the girl, she’d assumed she wasn’t very old. That this new life was recent to her. “I can promise it does, yes. It does get easier. You’re only two. You’re still a baby in our kind. Do you still struggle with the blood?”

"True, it’s usually just a summary and then you can use that as a starting off point to learn more if you wanted to.  That’s kind of what I’m most excited about all of this, just getting to experience things first hand.”  Emel visibly relaxed when she was assured that it does get easier, she just wished it happened sooner rather than later.  “More than anything.  It’s like the thirst is always there and there’s so many people around that it takes everything in me to not do anything.  And I’ve tried staying away from people but that just didn’t work for me, so that’s why I picked up this job.  I figured if I’m busy doing something it could keep my mind busy.”

“I mean, also depends on the person. Some people might like it,” he laughed, knowing he was rambling now. He wasn’t bad with relationships, he’d had his share over his life. He just hadn’t settled in a while. “Oh come on, they must like music. Even stuff from when they were younger. My dad loves some Wham,” he said, smiling at the thought of his dad listening to the songs.

"I guess that’s true, like maybe the people who’s love language is quality time.”  She wasn’t one of those people, but that didn’t mean they didn’t exist.  “Oh you are seriously overestimating my parents, I can’t even imagine them being younger.  My father was probably born in a suit.  But Wham definitely is an interesting choice to go with.  They always get in your head.”  Emel laughed.

Ethel smiled. There was always an innocence around younger vampires that she found charming. Perhaps it was all of that immortality and they hadn’t yet had the realisation of how long eternity was? “Ah my sense of humour has not aged well, it still gives me a good giggle.” She smiled, tilting her head at the young woman. “It is very nice to meet you. I don’t believe i’ve seen you around before… not around our kind of circles anyway. How old are you my darling?” 

"Honestly it was a fun one, I promise.”  Emel’s smile faltered just slightly at Ethel’s question.  “Is it that obvious?  I’ve only been this for two years.”  She said a bit quietly, in case one of the few customers in the bar decided to listen in on the conversation.  “Honestly I haven’t really met anybody until I got here.”

Kathy half smiled politely, just glad someone was there to help. The last thing she wanted was to get lost in the woods with no one about. The thought made her shudder. “Maybe… it could be an evolutionary instinct. Although that would suggest there was a reason that we are that way.” She laughed, although the grave reality of that was terrifying. “I guess it’s the same as the evolutionary theory of trypophobia or nyctophobia.”

"I guess that’s true, like I don’t want to think what happened in the past to make our brains react that way.”  Not that it took much imagination for Emel.  After all wasn’t she now one of those monsters to be feared in the dark?  She tried not to think about her new reality too much.  “My brother tried to explain that to me once when he was deep diving something for research.  I never admitted it to him of course, but honestly it’s an interesting theory!”

Doug grinned, rather proud of himself when it came to the terrible joke he’d probably read on the back of a christmas cracker in 2007. “A woman of her word.” he joked, scooting to the bar stool closest to her. “Whatever you have on draft is fine. There are worst things that could haunt you.”

Emel was already getting a drink ready for him, picking something that was fairly decent as far as beers went.  She slid it over to him.  “I guess that’s true.  One time I saw a guy full on drop his ice cream on the sidewalk of Paris and just picked it up as best as he could and continued eating it.  To this day I want to know why he thought that was a good idea and if he’s doing okay.”

@emelavci​  (the call)

   her was stuck on the stain on her pants, some person accidently bumping into her on her way out leaving phoebe wet and slightly annoyed. her own drink forgotten to the side as she tried to dry it before walking home. any one who passed she paid no mind too, that was until a slight chill surrounded her. a feeling consuming to most but it was familiar, welcoming actually. glancing up phoebe assumed the source was a woman only a few steps away. 

   “did you want to sit? i’m going to leave in a second.”

Sure Emel didn’t need to hang out at the coffee shop, not like she could really enjoy coffee like she used to, but she still enjoyed being in cafés and feeling normal.  She had brought a good book with her and was searching for a table to sit at when she saw the whole collision play out in front of her.  Emel decided to approach her to see if she needed help, not to mention it was one of the few free seats in the entire place. 

“Oh don’t you worry.  You need any help?  I come bringing a Tide Pen and napkins.”

“I think it’s incredibly corny, probably even more so with women though. Mothers have to love you,” he laughed, shaking his head. “I don’t think my mom even knew how to use iTunes when people did use it. But no, isn’t it all streaming now?”

"Oh definitely works the best with mothers, I definitely wouldn’t recommend this approach with a romantic partner.  I can’t imagine that would go over well.”  Not that Emel was particularly successful on that front.  “See I can’t think of a time that my parents willingly listened to any music, they’re kind of the definition of sticks in the mud.  But yeah I think everyone just does streaming in pretty much any entertainment they want.”

“I gave it away didn’t I? Not far off. I was born in 1790,” she told the other girl. “I am 231 this year,” Lucy said, her tone soft as she spoke. “The stories never quite tell them like they actually happened. And they are always so one sided,” she said. “How old are you?”

"No, you just gave a very good clue.”  Emel pointed out, happy to be at least close to the right answer.  “That’s really amazing though!  That’s what they always warn you in school if you had the right kind of teacher, that it gets muddled either through the one sidedness or through the analysis of the winners.  But the stories you must be able to tell!”  Emel paused, her next question matching the same soft tone.  “Does all of this ever get easier?  I’ve only been turned for about two years, so it’s all still pretty new.”

“What is a napster?” Clara asks, still not following. “Just Craig. I haven’t had the pleasure of meeting the lists.” 

The fae claps her hands in mozarella-induced excitement. “Oh? Well, if you’re basically the person in charge, you should consider hiring some entertainment. Or even better – an open mic! Think about it, you could scout local talent and benefit from having some free entertainment. I might even deign to perform a song or two on your opening night.”

"You’ve never heard of Napster?  It’s like the original free downloading of music.  Sure it probably ruined your computer in the process but the thrill made it all worth it.”  Emel laughed, remembering the hours she would be trying to download something.  “Oh well you simply have to meet the lists too, after all the lists are what made Craig famous.  And your wise words of wisdom of course.”

“Now that’s not a bad idea.  Especially an open mic night.  Who doesn’t love a little karaoke or just vibing in front of the mic.”  Emel was actually thinking about it, and she was sure that no boss would actually say no to the possibility of more customers at the bar.  “Oh you’re a performer?”  She asked curious.

“Blood red, of course.” Ethel knew the joke was bad. But it was delivered with every ounce of confidence of one who had lived for centuries. Her eyes looked over the girl, wondering how old she was. Surely not very? She didn’t know of any over a century old that still worked in bars and saw this life as charming. “I don’t believe we’ve met. I am Ethel.” 

Emel couldn’t help but laugh, both the simple answer and the confidence of the delivery got to her.  “You know I should have guessed that, but it’s good.”  She shook her head but quickly got her wits back together when Ethel introduced herself.  “It’s nice to meet you Ethel,  I’m Emel.”