#starter .

          ❛             ah - ! christ , woman , what the devil do you have in that bottle ?!            ❜          jamie was no stranger to pain , but still , the concoction she poured over the wound on his shoulder burned so deep into the meat of his muscle he swore he saw stars. he flinched , drawing his limb instinctually closer , before throwing her an exasperated glance.          ❛             it was redcoats , sassanach. who else would bother ?            ❜          they'd been ambushed a town over , he & dougal. while his uncle escaped with mild scrapes , jamie bore the brunt of what was a fortunate blowback of the englishman's pistol. it had exploded in his hands , though the buckshot tore through jamie's skin , leaving him a lot more bloody than he would like.

still , claire's hands were gentle , feverish in their need to hunt for a worse area of the wound , though careful as to not anger the pain further. whatever she'd splashed on him still stung , leaving the scotsman to exhale a quivering pant through his teeth , reaching out his good hand to touch the woman's wrist , running his thumb across her pulse & searching her face with a hunger that seemed to gnaw at him from the inside out. he loved it when she looked at him.          ❛             i'm fine. truly. i dinna ken what might've happened if that soldier had fired proper , but .. m' alright , lass.            ❜          

a slurred giggle escaped amos's jaws before he had the chance to attempt seriousness , twisting on his heel to face the vampire with blown pupils & glitter sewn curls.          ❛             how humble of you !            ❜          the immortal shouted over the music , the base seeping into his bones & reverberating through his core. this particular club was packed , everyone rolling on something , or like amos , a lot. it should be shameful , admitting that being this high was one of the only ways amos could combat his grief. you'd think after centuries , the loss of a loved one would fade. if anything , that emptiness only seemed to grow.

amos blinked against the harsh lights of the dance floor , the man before him wavering in & out of vibrant colors , so fluid it was hard for the oracle to discern what was strobe or aura. a wave of chilly unease arched through him , as it always did beneath the sharp gaze of a vampire , but his neck rolled to the side instead with a crack , ignoring the warning of danger to arch himself closer with a wide grin.          ❛             hey .. holy shit , i do know you , don't i ?            ❜          his brain was a jumbled haze , but he recognized lestat. not from the set he'd done at the concert venue a few days ago , but from decades prior.

amos's occult shop in new orleans had long since shut its doors , but back in the 1920s it had been thriving. they'd crossed paths many times , though amos vaguely recalled lestat having two people by his side back then. here , he was alone. time had a horrible way of robbing you , didn't it ? amos blinked & swayed on his heels , the room going muffled as the dj moved to change the next set of songs , leaving the immortal to shake a bump onto his thumb & inhale with a groan , returning his attention toward the vampire with a dimpled grin & flushed cheeks.          ❛             word .. word of warning. i told you back then , too , but my .. blood tastes fucking awful. i wouldn't try it.            ❜          

          ❛             a hilarious deduction coming from you.            ❜          although his words were barbed , his grin was not. while toothy & dangerous , it was genuine as it spread across the vampire's lips as he leaned back , heaving a soft chuckle as he polished off the rest of his wine.new orleans had yet to be unkind to him , considering how many trips aro had taken to the states over the years. once crawling with vampires at the peak of its conception , it had wound down to a rare scattered few. imagine his surprise , however , after learning there was a vampire owned business in the french quarter , & one of the faces amidst the crowd was familiar. he hadn't seen lestat in years , mind you , but what were a few decades to an immortal.

          ❛             what is it with new - age vampires & their incessant need to pretend to be human ?            ❜          aro's voice dripped with disdain , not necessarily at lestat , turning in his seat to peer through the sea of patrons to hunt for a vein to open. the wine had gone stale on his tongue , he needed something stronger.          ❛             owning a public business , living in public housing .. it's like you're all attempting to put down roots that can never actually grow.            ❜           ah , he was talking about carlisle again. although lestat & louis's situation did have it's parallels. dark eyes flickered with amusement as they returned to the other vampire , twisting the stem of his glass as a frown touched the corners of his mouth.          ❛             how do you deal with the inevitable boredom ?            ❜          

elena let out a soft , humorless laugh , one that caught in her throat & hissed its way through her teeth.                   ❛            vampires ? jesus , you can't really be serious.            ❜              while she was a relatively good liar , she hated lying to the people she cared about , sam included. the winchester's had been like family to her & her parents once , ages before they died , before the brothers & john had more or less fallen off the grid. elena had been raised on stories of the supernatural , warned about them , yet when they'd arrived in mystic falls she hadn't felt that expected fear or disgust.

instead they'd become her friends , they'd protected her when everyone else seemed to turn their backs. elena gilbert was too kind for her own good , a perpetual bleeding heart that was often taken advantage of , despite her chilly , ice queen exterior that held most at arms length. the girl frowned at sam , arms folding across her chest with an incredulous scoff.                   ❛            look , i think i'd know if vampires were roaming around mystic falls , okay ?            ❜

                   ❛            it's a two headed guzzark , gus , & yes , they can hear you.            ❜              remind me why i was permanently sanctioned to babysitting duty ? wrangling a toddler was one thing , keeping shawn & gus in line was something else entirely. at least this particular offworld market was entertaining enough to keep them busy , though i'd already lost shawn in the crowd. hopefully mina had an eye on him , or maybe even a leash.

those leashed children in theme parks didn't really make sense to me until now. i threw the other human a glance , a small grin curling at the edges of my jaws.                   ❛            honestly , it's nice having you guys around , awkwardness with meens aside. i can't really remember the last time i spent time with another human without it being weird. you two just make it funny.            ❜              taking gus by the shoulder , i steered him carefully away from the stall we were standing at , leaving the duel headed creature to peer after us as we continued to walk.