We all Die Alone

“I uh– good. I knew Rufus a little bit from my life before all of this. Or one of my lives. And I’m actually running for fun again without looking over my shoulder.” Good things, all good things she kept thinking to herself.

“Was he in your new family?”  Griff asked curiously, unable to help but be concerned for his sister and her soon to be husband.  Scout deserved the world, even if the younger warlock couldn’t actually do anything to ensure she got it.  “I’m glad.  You shouldn’t be looking over your shoulder.”

Renata laughed. “I’ve never been called a control freak before. Many other things, but not that.” She nudge him back playfully. “You don’t. Have much competition, I mean.” Renata found most people weren’t worth her time. Which was saying something, since she was immortal and had all the time in the world.  Then she grinned. “I love it when you call me gorgeous.” She’d been called gorgeous many times over the centuries, but it meant more coming from someone who knew what she was really like and accepted her anyway. 

“I don’t know if I’m calling you a control freak?  Maybe control-assured?  You seem confident, about what you can and can’t control I mean.”  Griffin gave her a soft smile before quirking an eyebrow.  “Really? Could it be cause you’re fairly new?  Because surely there’s plenty who you could be with.”  It was astounding to think he didn’t have competition.  She was beautiful, and dangerous, and everything people fantasized about in a woman.  He blushed a little at how he was idolizing her but he couldn’t help it.  the witch was smitten and he knew it.  “Yeah?  That’s certainly something I’ll likely say again.  You’re very distracting, so compliments are the default when I lose my train of thought.”

“I um– how have you been?” A lame attempt at conversation but at least she was trying. This wasn’t what their mother would have wanted– them barely speaking and Scout was only just starting to feel like her life was on track again.

“I’ve been alright.  I have a new pair...vampire named Renata.  She’s nice.  And you?”  Griff didn’t know what to say, knowing he’d made her angry and upset, but also knowing it might be best this way.  Awkward tension and uncertainty.  That way she wouldn’t miss him when he was gone.

Renata shook her head again. “What if I promise you nothing bad will happen on our date?” she asked. Will you relax just for tonight?” She wanted him to have a good time too, even though she couldn’t explain why. She’d spent the past millennium not caring about anybody but herself, so this was a new thing for her. “I won’t ditch you” she assured him. “You’re one of the only nice people I’ve met here. Even if you do talk too negatively about yourself.” She didn’t like it when he did that. Renata believed that self-confidence was an essential life skill. “I want both of us to have a good time tonight” she emphasized. “After all, we only get one first date.”

Scout took a couple of steps back when she registered that it was her brother standing in front of her. Wrapping her headphones around her phone she looked down at the ground before looking back up at him. “No, I had my music blasting. It’s fine.” She didn’t know what to say or do– the last time they had spoken neither of them had walked away happy. “hi.”

Griffin’s eyes were practically glued to the ground, knowing he should apologize for shouting at the festival at the very least, if not for the words themselves.  He couldn’t apologize for the words themselves, knowing he hadn’t been lying.  “Hey.”

Shaking her head, Renata said “Please stop talking about your untimely demise. Its a mood killer.” She knew Griffin didn’t want her hurting anybody, but she was still of the belief that she could handle anybody who came for him. Besides, they’d be getting what they deserved if they tried to hurt her betrothed. The vampire might have been a predator, but she wasn’t completely heartless or without feeling. Relaxing a bit at his answer, she smiled again. “I like trying new things. And this whole dating experience is a new thing for me.” Besides, she liked that he was suggesting things she wanted to do. For so much of her life (both before and after becoming a vampire), the world had revolved around what men wanted.  “So its definitely not out of obligation.”

“Sorry...I’m used to tossing out casual reminders mainly for myself so I don’t ever relax.  Healthy behavior I know, but I’ll try to curb it with you.”  Griffin smiled a bit at her,  chuckling. “Glad I can be your experiment then...I hope I can make it fun at least.  If it does start to suck, feel free to drag me somewhere else. Of even ditch me if it works out that way for you.”  Looking over at her, he smiled softly.  “I hope it doesn’t though.  I want you to have a good time.”

Renata raised her eyebrows at that, surprised the innocent-seeming witch had lived so much. But she understood. “Sometimes you have to do whatever it takes to survive” As she saw him blush, she grinned widely. After a thousand years, she still loved being able to make people do that. It made her feel more alive, knowing she had that effect on people. “Well, that’s how I see it” she said. “Why? Do you not want to be on a date with me?” Suddenly she was worried he was only doing it out of some sense of obligation.

Griff smirked at her raised eyebrows, always enjoying when he was able to surprise people with his past, even if he’d ultimately failed at it.  “And sometimes you’ve gotta roll over and take whatever life throws at you, even if it is an untimely demise.”  He smiled a bit before her question had his mood taking a sudden turn into concern. “No! no, of course I want to be on a date with you!  You’re fun and interesting and don’t even get me started on how gorgeous you are.  I’m more shocked you want to be on a date with me, and am just surprised you’re not doing this out of any obligation.”

“I didn’t much have a choice” Renata said. “Nobody was around to teach me.” The few vampires she had encountered didn’t seem to want to take her under their wing. Possibly because of what had happened to her sire. “I suppose that depends on your definition of dead” she pointed out. “Some would say I’m dead already.” But she certainly didn’t feel dead.

“The way you talk about her makes it sound like the two of you are close, so she’ll probably come around eventually” assured the redhead. “If not, that’s on her. You shouldn’t be ignored just cause you said something that upset her.”

“Yeah, but I feel like most wouldn’t survive being alone like that.  You learned and survived and it’s quite impressive really.”  Griffin nodded seriously, always one to appreciate other’s survival instincts.  Some people had good ones, others not so much.  He was glad Renata was a survivor. “Not really.  You may be at an odd middle ground, but you’re certainly not truly dead.”

Griffin sighed and shrugged. “At this point the staying away is my own fault. And we were close once....there’s a lot we don’t know about each other now.  This is definitely on me now.  But she’s better off not being around me anyways.”

“That sounds awful” Renata said with a frown. She couldn’t imagine having to watch what she said for fear of it getting her hurt. Being a millennium old certainly seemed to have its advantages. Shaking her head, she said “I don’t have to do anything except marry you. But I want to be on a date with you.” The council had only said they had to get married. Dating was never in the rules.

“It’s not all bad.  I survived.  Working with criminals and cartels was the easiest way to make a living under the radar.’  Griff shrugged a bit before her words made him blush a little, pleased she actually wanted to spend time with him.  So far she seemed pretty perfect, and having her actually wanting to be on a date with him put more pressure on it sure, but also was a relief.  “True.  I guess I didn’t think about it like that.”

“I can relate to that” said Renata. “I mostly figured the whole vampire thing out on my own, too.” Most people would find it a shock she lived past her first year or two as a vampire, considering she had no sire or other vampires to guide her.

“Then that’s her problem” she said with a casual shrug. “Some people don’t like hearing the truth, even when they ask for it.” Renata knew this from first-hand experience, thanks to her tendency to be blunt. “She’ll either come around eventually or she won’t. Nothing you can do about it.”

“Seriously?  You figured out vampire-ing on your own?  That’s pretty incredible.  And you’re not dead?  That’s just amazing.”  Griff was impressed, knowing her control had to have been practically nothing at the beginning and yet here she was, a little crazed but not too terribly so.

“It makes sense.  I didn’t really intend to tell her how my life has gone the last two years and it just...came out.   And that plus my own opinions on myself and my short life-expectancy upset her, understandably so.”

Renata grinned at the irony of being paired with someone who was so different from herself. “I’m never careful with my words” she said. Boldly, almost proudly. “Life is too short for that, even when you’re immortal.” Then, at his confession, she laughed. “That’s very nice of you” she said. “I promise not to tease you too much.”

“My life would be over already if I wasn’t careful...not to say I don’t ramble, but I’ve learned some things shouldn’t be said in certain situations, so I don’t.  Say them I mean.”  Griff blushed, knowing he sounded like an idiot.  “Don’t worry, I can take it.  And of course.  I mean, you already have to be on a date with me, I might as well do my best to make it at least mildly good.”

Sighing a bit at the question, he shrugged and looked at his feet. “I explained to her exactly how and what had happened to me while we were separated, and explained in rather Frank terms how hopeless my situation is. She didn’t like it too much, I stormed off and we haven’t spoken since.”

“I guess so” said Renata with a shrug. “My marriage basically consisted of my parents selling me off to a vampire, then him being destroyed within days of our marriage. Right after he turned me.” She had no idea what the normal martial experience for a woman of her time was, because she had never gone through that herself. Smiling back at the witch, she said “Perfect! Which should we do first?” Now she was really looking forward to this. Which, before she’d come to New Orleans, she wouldn’t have thought possible.

“Ah.  Alright.  So tumultuous and short then.” Griffin lifted an eyebrow before smiling brightly.  She seemed to be happy about the options presented, and he intended to do what he could to make sure she was happy.  “Maybe the dancing?  There’s a place down the way I’ve heard of.  And then we can catch a late movie after.”

“That’s good” said Renata. “People should be willing to do what they have to in order to survive.” She didn’t understand people who felt the need to live by some sort of moral code. It must make their lives very hard, having some sort of rules they had to follow. Then she raised her eyebrows. “Why weren’t you ever fully trained?” That struck her as unusual for a witch. “Although at least you can do useful things.” Not that Renata had much need for money, thanks to her ability to compel humans. But the ability to be unseen must definitely be useful.

“I suppose you’re right about that” she said. She certainly wasn’t going to take on the high council. She enjoyed being alive far too much for that. Then she smiled. “My last husband didn’t seem to care what I thought, so that’s a new one on me.” He’d forced this life on her, after all. She was still getting used to how different Griffin was from her sire. “I look forward to meeting her” she said. She was surprised to find that she was telling the truth. For some reason, she wanted to know about the people and things that were important to her betrothed.

“That’s pretty much how I am.   And I ran away before my training was complete.  I and my sister only took one grimoire with us when we ran, and I wanted her to have it when I decided to run off on my own to keep her safer.”  Griff shrugged and pushed his hands in his pockets, offering the woman a smile. “But they’re useful skills from time to time.”

The witch looked at the vampire with a sweet smile, delighted that he liked his fiance at all.  And she was getting a little less scary as they spoke.  “As long as we’re together, I’ll always care.”  He didn’t anticipate that would be long, the gorgeous woman likely to soon bore of him, but for now it was nice.  “Yeah...that’ll have to happen at some point...I should likely see her.  We had a...difficult fourth of july discussion.”

“It wasn’t something that was done when I was human” said Renata. “A lot of couples didn’t even meet until their wedding day.” And after she’d become a vampire, she’d had no interest in dating. She’d been too focused on her own survival. At the mention of dancing, she smiled widely. “I’d like that.” She’d always liked dancing, even if she tended to move to her own beat rather than the music. “A movie could be fun too” she added, trying to seem nice. “I haven’t seen a lot of those.” Although The Wizard of Oz was still her all-time favorite.

“I mean, yea, but surely you guys did stuff with your husbands?  Like, picnic’s and stuff?  I don’t know...can’t say I’m all that great at history.”  Griffin smiled a bit before shrugging. “Guess I’ll have to try and make it extra special then.  Dancing and a movie it is.”  The witch grinned at her, content to just see if he could give her a nice day.