* family / DUTY !

Billie was under the impression she was alone in the coffee shop (save for the employees) when Rene addressed her. She couldn’t help but jump at the sound of his voice. Enhanced senses be damned. “Uh, thanks.” It was funny; Billie did not recall asking a man she did not know for his opinion on where she should and shouldn’t be and when. “Pretty sure I can myself though.” With a sigh, she turned her attention back to her book.”

“pretty sure we all think that, at some point or another.” he’s sure kiera did. he loved that girl, more than anything else in this world ; but she had surely thought that she knew best, and that she was capable out in this world alone. look at where that had gotten them all. “but far be it for me to presume.” 

❝ Is that so?❞  The brunette questions, her head cocking to the side. Obviously she has no desire for caffeine but she’s ordered a hot drink off the menu nonetheless. If she happens to meet anyone tonight she’ll need her hands to be as close to room temperature as possible. ❝ But you’re out. And so am I, some would call that fate.❞ The vampire grabs her drink from the barista who’d taken longer than needed to pour a simple cup of coffee ; as if he’d been distracted for the past few minutes since her arrival. She mutters a quick Thanks and a wink his way, placing a few bills in the TIPS jar.

“and others would call it foolish.” he very clearly thinks of it as so : terse anxiety radiating from him, though it isn’t... for him. rené doesn’t care for his own safety, because he is aware he really can take care of himself. no one is going to get the jump on him, at least, and that makes wandering the streets at night that much easier. a young woman all on her lonesome, however - that caused a SPIKE in his worry, if nothing else could. “at the very least, you should have come out with company.” 

He has a headache, trying to process all the energy and emotion around him is a task. One that’s quite daunting for the rather reserved vampire. Still, he’s attempting to stay sane, make good on appearances and what not, even with the chaos going on around the city. “I know but I’ll be fine, trust me.” Jasper remarks softly, using his powers to calm down the human male. The anxiety the mortal carries is far too palpable and Jasper just wants it to stop.

becca’s an er nurse she worked odd shifts, and so it wasn’t that uncommon for her to out after dark. “ thank you ? “ she questions confused, unsure what was meant by that. she knew what had happened but she’s always careful. “ after what had happened, you’re right. but i’m careful, thanks for the concern it’s nice when people look out for each other. “

Dark eyes flicked away from the words in her book and towards the person who spoke as Jess frowned at the stranger who had spoken up. “That sounds like something someone who was trying to make me feel safe around them would say,” she countered smoothly with a slight smirk. “Go ahead and try me, old man. See if I’m not safe,” Jessica tacked on, feeling the sense that this man was not in fact dangerous at all. Challenging him just came naturally and her instincts told her doing so wouldn’t cause trouble.

“kids,” and coming from him, it sounds a lot like when HIS kids called him boomer, ”you hear what you want to.” and that’s that. rené isn’t being horrible when he turns away from her. he just doesn’t particularly care anymore, focus now on motioning to the barista who was beginning to prepare his drink. “to go, thank you-”

*   VALENTINE’S   DAY   ALPHABET   /   accepting   !

GIFT.   is your muse good at gift - giving or do they struggle to get it right?

rené… tries. that’s maybe the most important facet of who he IS, as a person ; he tries his best, but he often falls short. he feels he KNOWS the people in his life, but when it comes to going out and purchasing them something that displays that… sometimes he’ll hit the mark, mostly he won’t. you can TELL that he went out and chose whatever he chose with love, and he’s AMAZING at gift wrapping ( he had plenty of practice when his kids were still young enough to be spoiled easily ), it’s just… the content that sometimes doesn’t line up.

𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐑𝐘𝐎𝐍𝐄 𝐖𝐇𝐎 came in contact with matilda gracia de la cruz hawthorne adored her. she was just one of those kids that made you SMILE because she said the funniest things. and right now, naive kids are what the city needed after the death of one of the young girls ( that gaia had never met ). usually matilda would talk to strangers, despite gaia saying not to many times, sometimes to say something endearing and sassy or to give them a flower she picked.

“ 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐈𝐋𝐃𝐀 𝐆𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐈𝐀 ! “ gaia takes her eyes off her munchkin for a second to pack up their things and the next moment matilda’s running away. gaia’s moms told her who matilda got it from and it wasn’t cris. “ i’m so sorry, “ gaia apologized in the middle of matilda giving a stranger a flower she had picked for them. 

at the end of the day ; rené was a father of THREE. he understood how quickly little kids could move when your eyes were off them, even if you only glanced away for a second - and he knew the PANIC that grew in the pit of your stomach when you looked back to find them gone. kiera had done it once, in the middle of a supermarket. reaching to grab his youngests preferred cereal on the top shelf, he had turned around to discover his eldest had made a break for it - disappearing around the corner at the end of the aisle before he could even fully register. 

there he was. she’d managed to not cross paths with a single rouzier, let alone her father, since arriving in seattle. now that he was in front of her, kiera couldn’t HELP but stare -  her mouth opening and closing as if she was contemplating calling out to him. it had been two years, but felt like so much longer. to say a part of her felt it had been missing since she was turned was probably a cliche, but it didn’t make the idea any less true. she was such a daddy’s girl, she thinks the urge will ALWAYS be there to run to him when things get hard. it takes everything in her to keep her feet firmly planted on the ground. that IS until his gaze shifts to her direction, and she feels the need to disappear behind a group of people. @honcrables​

he was not here to ENJOY himself. the winter wonderland pulled together brought rené no real happiness ( though it was not DRAMATIC to admit, he felt, that nothing had in quite a while ). some [ special ] clients didn’t feel comfortable in office settings, and he clung to them the most. if they wanted to meet somewhere in the outside world, he would happily oblige to ensure their continued business. the lapel of his thick winter coat turned upwards, hand grasping it near the neck to keep the warmth inside, frown pronounced, his deep brown eyes scanned the crowds of people as they came - searching for a familiar face, though he could not have imagined how familiar a face he would FIND.

he did not immediately react. this was what happened, with loss ; when rené looked outwards and saw his daughter stood across the crowds, he could NOT be sure that he was not clinging to dust, and nothing more. this girl would straighten up and reveal herself to be two foot taller than his child. she would smile, and he would see she was different. she would LAUGH, and it wouldn’t be the bells of kiera’s chuckle, the one that he sometimes feared forgetting altogether. this would not be the first time he had thought that he was seeing a ghost, and it would not be the first time his heart sunk anew with realization - except when she saw him, her eyes danced with recognition, and her features did not morph to truth. as she steps behind a crowd, rené’s thoughts have so completely left his CLIENT that he spares nothing more for them - breaking into quickened strides so that he would reach the group before she disappeared, and a bellow of “kiera!” quick to leave his LIPS.