just keep me where the light is

he’s  still  a  little  skeptical  but  he  decides  to  let  it  go.  he  loves  a  grudge  as  much  as  the  next  person  but  it  has  to  have  heat  to  really  be  worth  his  troubles.   “  yeah,  robbing  people  blind  is  definitely  cheaper  in  the  long  run. ”   tongue  clicks  against  his  teeth,  turning  away  from  the  tables  and  towards  the  teas.  he  could  use  something  with  a  little  THC  in  it;   he’s  been  nursing  a  children-induced  migraine  for  roughly  …  too  many  days  to  even  keep  count.   he  winces,  rubbing  his  temples.   “  look  …  i’ll  be  real  with  you.  i’ll  take  anything  you’ve  got  with  enough  THC  to  knock  out  a  horse.   or  double  that,  if  it’s  CBD. ”   he’s  a  chill  dude  by  nature  but  sue  him  —  there’s  no  such  thing  as  being  too  chill.   “  pineapple  mango,  if  you’ve  got  it. ”

“  great  business  model,  terrible  customer  service. ”   the  observation  is  made  idly,  boots  clunking  against  the  floor  as  he  makes  a  beeline  for  what  looks  like  it  might  be  something  you’d  use  if  you  were  going  to  put  a  curse on  someone  you  didn’t  like.  quick  observation,  however,  makes  him  scrunch  his  nose  up.  he  was  a  hunter  once,  after  all,  if  he  couldn’t  tell  the  difference  between  real  witchy  things  and  something  fake  he’d  probably  be  a  pretty  bad  one.  “  not  judging  but  do  people  actually  fall  for  this  ?   serious  question. ”   his  whole  life  revolves  around  making  things  that  shouldn’t  work  actually  work  by  sheer  power  of  thought,  so  he  has  no  moral  ground  to  stand  on.   “  if  so  —  hey,  good  for  you. ”   it’s  a  shitty  economy  out  there,  you  gotta  do  what  you  gotta  do  to  keep  the  money  coming  in.   he  gets  it.  

“That should be my slogan,” Cordelia idly commented as she quickly levitated the last of the crystals to the top shelves. As the other spoke, Cordelia rolled her eyes and reached for the iced coffee she’d left sitting on the counter. “Ay, it only works once I’ve used some spell work. I’d be a total moron to leave magical items sitting out for someone to come and snag. That would be a bad business model, especially considering the shitty economy you were so kind to mention.”

She agrees, a little reluctant but he’ll take it. He is neither in the best mood nor in the best position to argue with a witch - or anyone with that matter. Still trying to come to terms with the fact that he is alive again. Honestly for a while there he thought he was hallucinating, or that somehow he had woken up from a coma and he never really died. Memories of where he had spent the last decade started to pour in and so did the absolute agony of realizing that his hunger was back, which only meant one thing.  ❛ What makes you think I’m not immune to it? ❜ Chances were he wasn’t anymore but he has not had the chance to test the theory. Probably should start sipping it again considering the possibility that originals might be walking around or that he may encounter people trying to use vervain as a weapon. She calls him fangs again and he sighs, annoyed.  ❛ Well I don’t. That’s not my name, Abracadabra.❜

Cordelia couldn’t help the smile that pulled at her lips. “Oh, I’ve got lots of other tricks up my sleeve that I would just love to have the opportunity to try out.” She definitely had a few ideas that came to mind immediately, little tricks for her own protection, but she really didn’t feel like doing all of that effort at the moment. “Regardless, I guess thanks for not biting my face off.” SIghing, she looked down at her phone on the sidewalk. “...And I also didn’t feel like dealing with listening to them anymore, so.”

it’s almost ridiculous how many times, by now, he’s wanted to be alone and instead, he got someone trotting up to him to throw punches ( metaphorical and otherwise ). it’s sad, but he’s used to it  —-  and, in the long run, maybe it’s the better circumstance. he has enough bullshit to stress over, anyway. “ ditto, ” comes the response, after a moment during which he withholds a sigh. “ all twenty of them are thriving. ” he wonders if he should question her wellness in return, but she seems fine. and, truth be told, he’s not …  that caring of a person. “ teamwork saved the day, i guess. ”

Wiggling her own fingers as though to accentuate her first point, she nodded when the other spoke. “Good, good. It would be a damn shame to have to be disfigured from a stupid off-season snow storm.” Sighing, she looked over the other. “Teamwork? I guess that’s what you could call me carrying most of the magic on my back, but yeah, okay.”

“There are some exceptions though,” he wouldn’t say that all the kids he met were that way, but most of the times, they could be really annoying, “See, I ‘ave a feelin’ you don’ believe me,” he grinned, knowing well that it was definitely true, and he couldn’t blame her, “Maybe if I use my powers, I would be able to smell the alcohol? To catch the scent and all.”

“Mmm, not really. They either are from the jump or turn into one later in life.” Shrugging, Cordelia couldn’t help but roll her eyes. “No, no I do not, because you definitely don’t give off the innocent vibe. But if we can call me a Disney Princess, then I’ll let it slide. And yeah, go ahead, Fido. See if that helps. I don’t know the inner workings of being half dog or wolf or whatever it is you identify with.”

“Well you said it yourself,” Jules said looking over at the woman.  "It is a school so I’m thinking the chances are slim.“  Which was a shame because he felt a shot of whiskey would warm him up.  The cold was finally getting to him as he tried and failed at stopping himself from shivering.

“Why is this happening to me?” It was a bit dramatic, but to be fair, so was she. “It’s so cold I feel like my hands are about to fall off and there’s not even a bottle of wine.”

❛ Well that depends on your perspective, doesn’t it? I have a long list of witches who have been less than friendly. ❜ Silas, Qetsiyah, the travelers, Kai ( and yes he is counting him as a witch even though his access to powers is different ). Hell, he could even throw the heretics into the pile of people with witch powers who have killed innocents and done horrible things for selfish reasons.  ❛ I admit that I didn’t make the best first impression but we all have bad nights. ❜ He sighs, part of his wishes he had stayed home tonight since he is not really feeling like himself and that usually doesn’t end well. Stefan doesn’t want to start making enemies.  ❛ Yeah, it’s not exactly safe to be walking around alone at this time of night without some kind of defense system. ❜ Another sigh and Stefan runs his hand across his face to brush the sweat from his skin.  ❛ Look, I’m sorry I tried to bite you. I’m not usually like this. How about we start over? ❜ He takes a step closer, stretching is hand for her and waits to see if she’ll shake it.  ❛ I’m Stefan. ❜

“...Fair,” Cordelia agreed, arms crossing slowly over her chest. To be honest, she couldn’t exactly claim to be Glinda the Good when she spent her days selling concoctions passing as potions that usually led to vomiting and diarrhea. It was just so fun to hear the distress in the voices of returning customers when their faux-spells didn’t work. “Being nice is over-rated anyway.” She wasn’t murderous, at least. Well, not now. “Bad night, he says. Attempted murder is my rebuttal.” But there’s a half-smile on her features. “You’re the lucky one, fangs. I’ve been drinking vervain in my tea since before I could walk.  That would’ve made for an even worse night.” Cordelia eyed his hand for a  moment, staring for a few beats before extending her own. “Cordelia. Gotta say, I like fangs for you more.”

“Okay, that’s a good poin’, kids are really ‘ard to deal with, I was a sain’ as a kid, though, so can’ say the same ‘bout myself,” he had a grin on the corner of his lips as he allowed her to pull him, the smug smile indicated that it was a lie. He was a little devil, was grounded a few times, always getting into trouble, fights, but for good reasons, “Let’s see if the same can be said ‘bout the ones from this school.”

“Kids are assholes, and that’s putting it kindly.” Cordelia made a face at the thought, and then rolled her eyes. “Yeah, okay, Mother Theresa.” She rolled her eyes, though looked back over her shoulder at him with a smile. “I can almost guarantee you that it is a fact. There will be alcohol somewhere in this damned building, it’s just our job to find out where.”

Whatever. He’s had enough witches playing around inside his head to know that his hunger and her blood are not worth the migraines. This does make him think of Bonnie though and a part of him feels immensely saddened by the memory of what he did to her. Yet another thing he can’t change.  ❛ I;ve had my share of bad witch experiences. No offense. ❜ In hindsight, she has probably had bad vampire experiences. He watches her as she pulls something out of her bag and he’s not sure if its his delirious state or if the situation is actually funny but he starts to laugh.  ❛ Well, I can see that you’re prepared for anything huh? ❜ She’s smart for doing that considering the state of things. Doesn’t make it any less annoying.  ❛ I put my weapons away so you can put away yours. ❜

“Yeah, well. Same could be said for your kind. I like to think that witches are at least a bit more friendly. At least I don’t greet people with vein-y eyes and fangs.” Granted, Cordelia had probably done just as much harm as any not-so-friendly neighborhood vampire, so she really couldn’t say much in that department. “No offense.” She nodded in agreement at being prepared, though pursed her lips slightly as she debated actually putting away the bag in her hand. She wasn’t exactly sure if she trusted him yet, but after a moment the debate in her head ruled that it was probably okay. She slid the hex bag away, then held her hands up to show they were empty. “Always prepared, love. It’s the nature of being smart in today’s world. Especially in this cursed city.”

❛ Hell seems cozier than here. My name is Vivi by the way.  ❜

“I think I can agree that even hellfire sounds more appealing than this.” It was so cold. Cordelia was fairly certain her fingers were about to snap off, and she was starting to feel dizzy. “Cordelia.”

      “ I don’t know anything about that.” Azrael shrugged, having come here due to the blizzard. More so dragged here for so call safety. 

“Then as of right now, you are useless.” Letting out a frustrated sigh, Cordelia crossed her arms over her chest. “First there’s snow, and now I’m stuck here with no alcohol or phone service. What else is going to go wrong?”

“ IN ANY CASE NO BURNING DOWN THE SCHOOL . though at this rate we might need to set a chair on fire  , “ delphine says . she understands cordelia’s need . she wants out of here too , but there are larger issues at hand . “ im COLD . “ the blonde says frustrated . “ the DEAD don’t feel cold ‘delia . i hardly want to go out there and find out what else i’ll feel in the thick of it and there’s no way i’d ever let you go WITHOUT ME . we stay put. “

“But Delphine.” Her objection came out as a whine, and the pout on red-stained lips matched the petulance in her tone. “Yes. Set a chair on fire. Go with that. I can do it right now.” Though when the other objected to being cold and Cordelia was once again reminded of the fact that her friend was in fact dead, Cordelia frowned. “Right. You feel cold, too?” That was worrisome. Heaving a heavy sigh, Cordelia nodded. “Fine. I guess here is better than out there. For now, anyway.”