EIRA QUEEN.

Her first instinct was to wipe away any traces of blood that may have been a remnant of her last meal. "Howdy," Eira echoed once she made sure she was in the clear. "Do I have to call you officer right now or does Woody work?"

"Ouch." It wasn't worse than anything Eira had heard Greta spit over the years, but it was still unpleasant. The tone alone was giving her unpleasant flashbacks. "Did someone fuck up, or are you just unpleasant in general? I know the type."

"Friday Night with Blue? Is this a regular thing?" There was something vaguely salty about Blue. Maybe even a little fishy. Eira took a second to look at the hand before she reached out to shake it. "Eira. You've got an interesting name, and that's coming from someone whose never been on the 100 most popular girl names list."

Even just hearing her voice made Henley's entire body freeze and tense up as she tried her best to not let all the air get sucked out of her lungs. She'd been undoubtedly avoiding Eira ever since the discovery that the other girl was turned. Aside from the fact that Greta was surely going to find a way to get Henley to kill her, she also had her own mixed feelings about the whole vampire thing. It was instinctual, really, but impossible to ignore. She somehow got her shit together so she could answer as she let out a deep sigh and shook her head. "Are you really gonna make me answer that?

"How long do I have before you turn and run off to pretend like you didn't see me?" It was quite literally tempting the wolf, but Eira couldn't stop herself from drawing closer. She wanted to feel her for a second, smell her. She craved a proximity that had grown up with that was now being denied. One hand toyed with brunette strands of Henley's hair. "You have split ends," she pointed out. "Being heartless is not an excuse to let yourself go." It was easier to be mean than to cave into her feelings. I love you? I miss you? She didn't deserve to say either of those things after causing all this trouble.

@snwhite

Despite the awkwardness that came from an extended period of no contact, one pale hand waved in greeting. "Fancy," she repeated. "You come here often? I haven't seen you in — well, honestly, I've lost all track of time recently. Must be a side effect of this immortality thing. You look good, though." A little less like she was on death's door now that she was actually dead.

"... I'm... sorry?"

"Look, it's a long story. If you knew it, you'd probably actually be sorry. I'm feeling self pitying today."

"Boy troubles?" Nico mused with a sarcastic smile as he threw back his drink and shrugged. "It's too bad you're stuck with your pretty face for all of eternity."

"Boy troubles. Girl troubles. I'm apparently open to conflicts of all kinds." Eira's own drink had been abandoned up until that point, but she reluctantly picked it up and swallowed the entirety of the glass in one burning swallow. Her blood intake was low as she could possibly maintain it without starting to feel like she was going to shrivel away. Hunger had long been a friend that gnawed at her insides. The only positive was that it made the effects of the alcohol all the more prominent. "I could always maim myself or something, but I'm too attached to it at this point." Eira wasn't smart or cunning or even particularly resourceful. She was pretty. That was what she had, and she clung to it as pathetic as it was.

"Which part? The having an easier life if I was ugly bit? I promise you, it's true. For starters, I'd still be alive."

"You do know that wandering around the woods at night is stupidly dangerous... Right?" Henley didn't think it had to be said out loud, but she was feeling snarky. It was rare that she wandered into anyone else this late at night while out in the forest.

It never got any less painful — or awkward. They'd run into a few times ever since the initial reunion, but each time Eira had found herself growing more and more tired. Love didn't last. She knew that. Her stepmother's love had faded. Why couldn't her love for Henley? It would have been easier if she could bury herself in James and forget all about the shivering wolf who had once stood in her yard, vulnerable and bare. "We both know it's not the woods that are dangerous for me." It was Henley. "I'm surprised you're off your leash tonight. Or is it a perpetual metaphorical one?"

6. snow white and the seven dwarfs (1937) dir. david hand

ANA DE ARMAS for L’Officiel photographed by Thomas Whiteside

That was a new one. Eira really had thought that she had heard them all; at least this surprise wasn't entirely unpleasant. "That's really flattering," she shifted from one foot to the other. "But I think my face being anywhere probably isn't the best."

"Being pretty doesn't actually get you anything around here." Nothing but stress and heartbreak, that was. Eira knew that better than anyone. She felt like carrying around little warning pamphlets that exclaimed don't get too pretty or you may get your heart eaten! but that made her sound like a crazy person. "I hate to break it to you."

"I guess I can overlook it, just this once." There was a playful edge to Nico's tone as he grinned at her next statement. Nico made a point to make sure everyone knew who he was, especially barely-fledgling vampires. "I lean into it. It's my entire schtick. I can't be big bad Nico Dios if people know where I am all the time. I've gotta say, I don't think we've met yet. You clearly know who I am, but who are you?"

"That's very kind of you. I won't tell anyone. We wouldn't want anyone to know you acted out of character." Eira leaned back, arms crossing over her chest. "Spot on. We haven't. Unfortunately for introduction's sake, the less my name gets out, the better. Though, I doubt you're going to rat me out to the casters."

"I'd say that I could write a book on it, but I hate writing. And reading. Either way, you're right. It's not your problem and I wouldn't want it to be."