ཻ۪۪♡. 𖦹ׂ ₊˚⊹⋆. ⟡.

"You're always thinking deeply about something," Natalie commented instead of answering, wrapping her arms around herself. "Ever since I moved here I haven't left. I made this my home, but in a way I was mostly hiding. I was hiding from my past and hiding from having to be a vampire out in the world and hiding instead of doing so openly. But I managed to eke out a life for myself here. I wouldn't consider myself passing through in any way."

MALAKAI GLANCED SIDEWAYS AT HER. ❝ yeah , well . somebody has to keep the town supplied with unnecessary philosophical questions . ❞ his gaze drifted back to the fountain , watching the water fold over itself . ❝ besides , thinking's free , and i've got a lot of time to fill . ❞ he hoped the joke landed , but there was some truth tucked beneath it . he listened without interrupting , his expression still thoughtful as natalie spoke . when she finished , he nodded slowly . ❝ i don't know , ❞ he said after a moment . ❝ i think people give hiding a worse reputation than it really deserves . sometimes it's fueled by self-preservation , you know ?? biding your time long enough to become something else . . . ❞ his shoulders lifted in a small shrug . ❝ i mean , if you built a life , made friends , found reasons to live . . . doesn't sound like you were standing all that still to me . but , honestly , i think most people are hiding from something . they just give it nicer names . fresh start . reinvention . moving on . ❞ a faint smirk tugged at the corner of his mouth . ❝ sounds a lot better than saying , ❛ i was scared and didn't know what to do next ❜ . ❞ his eyes lingered on the water for a second longer before returning to her . ❝ and , for what it's worth , i don't think putting down roots means you technically have to stop running from something . ❞ his expressed . ❝ sometimes i think , if you're one of the lucky ones , you can find something worth running toward , too . whatever that may be . . . ❞ his own words surprised him a little as he said them . maybe because , for the first time in a long while , he finally realized he had the chance to decide what he wanted for his so-called future despite being a ghost .

ALEAZARA HUMMED LIGHTLY IN THOUGHT, but for only a moment , because that's how quick it took for her to understand kaia's sentence even without having to hear the end of it . she fought her hardest against the frown that threatened to betray her own expression . one thing about aleazara was that had learned early on how to be strong for other people . it only was later on in her years that she learned how to be strong for herself , and still , struggles at times with it to this very day . ❝ i knew it was something , ❞ she responded . ❝ by now , i can just tell how stress looks like on you . . . ❞ she commented , not because she was prying , or being back-handed in any way , but simply because she'd known her long enough , and to aleazara , to be a friend is to anticipate being there for them . ❝ listen , i know some things are too difficult to talk about , so i'm not asking you to overshare , but , ❞ aleazara put emphasis on the word , as she glanced down at the coffee that was in kaia's hands . ❝ — dare i ask if that coffee is even still warm ?? or is it practically a historical artifact at this point ?? ❞ she questioned and one eyebrow lifted . ❝ because , you've been waiting for me probably with the same cup for how long ?? thirty minutes , or so ?? ❞ she sighed , and disapprovingly shook her head . ❝ we simply can't have you punishing yourself with bad coffee , okay ?? that's no way to treat yourself , so , let me go real quick and buy you another ?? ❞ aleazara offered her service with a little encouraging smile .

Kazamir's off seasons were predictable. When he wasn't at the Flores house, he was hunkered down at his cabin in the hills—close enough that he could reach civilization quickly if he needed to, far enough that no one could bother him unless they knew how to find him—or lounging in the branches above the nearby woods. He swung in the breeze for a second, and as he dangled from the lowest branch, he smiled behind the leaves.

ALEAZARA'S EXPRESSION BRIGHTENED just a fraction when he admitted that he did have the time . while out here , it always impressed her how easily it was for him to fit right in , like he was part of the landscape , tucked somewhere between the trees as if the forest had personally presented him to aleazara . ❝ ah , so it's not my sparkling personality that drew you out of the trees , ❞ she observed . ❝ but , my uncanny ability to whip together some baked goods from scratch . hm , okay , that's good to know that my bribery is working then . ❞ she joked , and shifted the basket into both hands before carefully pulling back the red gingham cloth covering the contents . ❝ but , yeah , to answer your question : i was hoping we could walk a little together ?? it was only today i realized i haven't seen much of the forest , or , at least , not as much as i would liked to have seen already . when i come out here , i usually just track you down , give you these kinds of things , then call it a day , but , i'm hoping today that i can sway your mind with some lemon bars ?? ❞ she revealed . ❝ and blackberry hand pies ?? ❞ aleazara offered him the basket . there was a brief pause as she glanced around at the surrounding trees , gentle sunlight filtering through the canopy overhead . ❝ . . . and maybe you can show me a favorite spot of yours , or something like that ?? ❞ she suggested .

YURI LET OUT A LONG EXHALE through his nose the second caleb admitted he wasn't landing the move tonight . relief came first . irritation followed immediately after . he stayed crouched for another second , watching caleb get to his feet . the limp earned an unimpressed look . ❝ mm , right . definitely fine . ❞ yuri rose and followed alongside him toward the nearby seat , arms folding across his chest . ❝ listen , before you decide suffering is somehow part of the process , ❞ his tone was dry , but there was too much familiarity behind it to sound harsh . ❝ let me tell you one thing . when i find myself how you are now , i like to remember what my umma used to say to me as a kid : ❛ 몸은 거짓말 안 해 ❜ , the body doesn't lie . ❞ he quoted his grandmother and made sure to repeat in back in english as well so caleb understood . ❝ — so , maybe tonight is just your ankle staging a protest ?? you have been fighting with that routine , like , practically all week . besides , if you break yourself , then vi , lilith && i are stuck splitting up all your classes while you sit around being injured and annoying and stuff . . . ❞ he sighed , not really upset , more just tension released . he momentarily glanced around in thought . ❝ so , hear me out , here's my idea : how about we pivot ?? let's order some take-out or delivery from wherever you want , and we take it easy for the rest of the night , yeah ?? how's that sound , hm ?? ❞ yuri suggested , showing his love in a careful way .

"I mean, a little bit of blood sacrifice wouldn't hurt," Aurelie joked. "If anything, it might make me better, by some type of witchy magic or something."

❝ABSOLUTELY NOT,❞ NIMUE LAUGHED, nearly choking on her coffee . ❝ i draw the line at cursed fashion . if your designs suddenly start coming-to-life , or whatever , because of some mysterious crazy blood-magic ritual , i'm totally reporting you to town hall and taking full credit for noticing the warning signs . ❞ she smiled over the rim of her mug before gesturing towards the room aurelie had just come out of . ❝ pour your coffee , little miss seamstress . then show me what kept you awake all night ?? ❞ nimue suggested with endearing support .

❝CAREFUL,❞ HE SAID, FOLDING HIS ARMS across his chest . ❝ i hear that's how it starts . one day you're buying a record by a band you've never heard of for background noise , next thing you know you're hanging pictures on the walls for atmosphere , then you're grocery shopping with a plan instead of by pure instinct but , by then , it's too late , and you're already on the road to self-improvement . ❞ he joked . there was something strangely comforting about hearing his friend talk about apartments and decorating . such normal things . the kind of things that malakai had only the chance to envision as some sort of distant future , at least , when he was still alive . ❝ honestly , though ?? ❞ he added , quieter now . ❝ i'm glad you're doing it . making the place feel like yours , i mean . i kinda regret not caring about that when i was alive . you know what they say : ❛ personalize everything or die with nothing to your name ❜ . ❞ his gaze drifted briefly toward the shelves of other records before returning to pj . ❝ you know . . . back then , it always felt like we were waiting for the next bad thing to happen , whatever the next problem would be , or the next road bump we'd have to navigate to get to the next place , to the next disaster . ❞ a dry laugh escaped him , because he wasn't necessarily sad about it all anymore . ❝ but , honestly ?? it turns out having somewhere you actually feel like is a sort-of safe space is kind of underrated , i will admit . ❞ he joked and tapped the edge of the record sleeve . ❝ also , dude . if anything , this year alone has taught me that looking beyond the familiar is usually where the good stuff is . ❞ he confessed , thought one it further for only a moment , then continued on: ❝ so , what else is the apartment missing ?? ❞ he asked the other . ❝ or are we at the stage where you're finally admitting you need some decorating advice from a dead guy ?? ❞ he actually let out a little chuckle and , compared to the mood that seemed to linger after the ghost spell had been broken , for malakai now , this new era of his was like the sun creeping over an area where the fog finally begun to lift .

VALENSIA'S EYES IMMEDIATELY LIT UP at the question . ❝ psychic ?? ❞ she repeated , pointing at herself . ❝ no , no . if i was psychic , i'd know where my lighter is , ❞ she paused , then gestured vaguely toward him . ❝ honestly , it was the whole vibe . you have very strong ❛ i know where the nearest first aid kit is ❜ energy . also , i'm pretty sure i have seen you around the hospital when my grandmother was in there for an extended stay . . . ❞ sia explained , ❝ plus , you got that tired-look about you , like , ❞ she caught how that might have sounded judgemental despite her intentions . ❝ you know , the kind that could only come from good , honest , responsible , hard work . . . ❞ she continued to survey him , mostly thinking out loud at this point . at his next words , though , her amused grin softened . ❝ huh . ❞ for once , she didn't immediately fill the silence . ❝ that's actually kind of annoying , ❞ she admitted after a moment . ❝ because i was low-key hoping chaos had some sort of divine selection process . it would've made things feel way more personal , but i guess it is true what my little brother says to me , and ❛ the universe really doesn't give a shit about me ❜ . ❞ her gaze dropped briefly to everything scattered around her feet before she slowly started picking up the items and returning them all to her purse . ❝ sorry . that probably sounded weird , or too much , but . . . whatever . i just — ❞ valensia shrugged one shoulder . ❝ sometimes it feels like crazy stuff happens around me so often that eventually i start wondering if i'm the common denominator , y'know ?? is it me ?? am i the problem ?? ❞ the admission slipped out more easily , and honestly , than she intended . thankfully , she recovered quickly . ❝ anyway , if you happen to see anyone that's not me carrying around a bedazzled lighter , i'm completely expecting you to take them out , and steal it back for me . i'm holding you too this , too . ❞ she declared, and chuckled .

"Surely, you could look for the lip balm in a less dangerous way. Why are you balancing like that? You look like you're going to topple over onto your head. You know, you could just kneel on the ground and look, right?"

VALENSIA GASPED LIKE HE HAD suggested something completely unreasonable . ❝ kneel on the ground ?? ❞ she repeated , horrified . ❝ for a scholary professor and alleged genius , you really seem to have forgotten who you're talking to ?? ❞ she gestured dramatically to her outfit , especially the tights . ❝ these tights were expensive , and i don't want to risk ripping a hole in the knee , or something . ❞ still , she obediently stepped down from her precarious balancing act , muttering under her breath as she did . ❝ heaven knows all my other pairs are already torn up . ❞ she rolled her eyes once her two feet were planted firmly back on solid ground . ❝ actually , that probably doesn't help my argument . ❞ valensia then almost immediately became distracted and pointed at him . ❝ besides , why are you acting surprised ?? majority of our lives up to this point is basically you telling me not to do something , and me usually eventually doing it anyway . we both know this dance , we got a good routine going , don't you agree ?? ❞ she asked , sarcastically . there was affection beneath the teasing , as familiar as taking a breath . ❝ honestly , if i started making sensible decisions all the time , you'd get very bored . you wouldn't know what to do , nobody would . i give this town some well-needed pizzaz , and i'd be taking away some people's favorite hobby , which seems to be gossiping about me . ❞ she exhaled with slight annoyance . she leaned over to dust off some phantom lint from against sullivan's shoulder . ❝ but , seriously , you need to relax , sully , or . . . would you like to look under the bench for me ?? pretty please ?? ❞ she pleaded .