◁ ᴛʜɪs ɪs ᴛʜᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴛʜɪɴɢ ɪ ᴋɴᴏᴡ

[Remington Rothfelder]

Closed to Velveteen, and anyone she should choose to invite.

The 17th day of October in the year of our lord 2014

He was whistling Dixie as his thumb moved over the screen of his phone.

The night air was warm. He was near the gulf, so it was humid, and thick in his lungs. He hadn’t really wanted to return to Texas. He’d even told himself that if he went back to the States, it would be somewhere he could get lost in, like the bright twinkling anonymity of New York. He walked the same paths he had since he had been a young boy, returned to the scene of every crime he had ever committed. He had a shotgun’s recoil pad held in one hand, with the barrel resting over its corresponding shoulder. The song abruptly stopped as he hit the call button next to the name ‘Bambi’.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

“Who is this ‘cause you aren’t funny?” The woman’s accent was Australian, and her tone was that same flat distaste he knew well. Remington couldn’t help but smile.

”Hey, Bambs, just callin’ to let ya know I’ll be back in town in a couple days. Putting the finishing touches on a little bit of paperwork I had to do after my pops dropped. The 19th, expect me at that little diner you know I like.” He hung up then before she could respond. He knew he would probably pay for that later, but what was a broken jaw between sire and childe? The reasoning he had given for his disappearance was also…well it was partially true. He intended to divulge more when he knew he had taken care of the ‘problem’. Probably in person, or via the safe connection that was CrowNet.

He smashed the cell phone in his hand and dropped it into the water off of the edge of the dock. He reached the harbor office he had been looking for just moments later and used the barrel of his gun to knock on the door in the back. The place was built like a fortress, and people only used that entrance for one particular variety of transaction. The little panel about eye level pulled open and the man on the other side got an immediate head full of metal, the smell of gun powder perfuming the air. A scream ripped itself from someone else inside of the office, and Remington found himself kicking the door in. Had he been human; it would have been impossible.

There was nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Paperwork indeed.

. . . . .

Two days later.

Barbara was not any different than Remi remembered. That was one of the things he loved about the ‘Over the Moon’ diner. He could have been away for an entire year, and he would have expected to be exactly the same as it had been when he left. The woman was a human, heavy set with dyed red hair that looked like copper ringlets. She had on too much blue make-up, which served to accentuate her bloodshot eyes in the same color. Barb, as she preferred to be called, was in her fifties, and smelled of a mixture of smoke and channel no. 5. “When you gonna make my night and show up naked, handsome?” She asked, winking at Remington twice.

”Depends, Barb. What night did you say you were off work? Fridays and Tuesdays?” A grin said that the two of them had, had the conversation before.

“Dickhead.” She moved to top off his coffee and realized he hadn’t drank any of it then went on about her business. The place had 24 hour service. It was just past two in the morning, and the post-club and bar scene was pouring itself into the little restaurant. They were all drunk, and having conversations about petty things, like who was cheating on who, that Remi was only able to tune into for a few seconds before he would grow disgusted and move on to the next bit of gossip. A few people were talking about upcoming elections. Something about a candidate named Bankcroft.

****. Had he even registered to vote?

[Velveteen]

The call had disconnected before she could respond, though had she had the chance she wasn’t even sure what she might have said. Velveteen stared at the screen of her phone as it suddenly blinked out, having sat idle now for a good minute. Despite what she first thought it was him. He had been gone much longer than she believed he would be. Part of her had hoped that he would return. Part of her had given up hope that that would happen. Her thumb brushed across the screen and she checked the date. The nineteenth was two nights from now. It would be good to see him but her happiness at the prospect was tentative at best. The woman had gone through too much disappointment already to get her hopes up. It was far less heartbreaking when you expected the worst.

The night of the nineteenth…

Though no specific time was given Velveteen didn’t worry about it too much. If he did indeed show it wouldn’t hurt him to wait on her for a little while. What was a couple of hours compared to the months he had been gone without a word? Even her husband was skeptical. As if the stare that he gave her when she told him about the phone call wasn’t enough, the “Yeah right.” that followed was further confirmation and oddly echoed her own thoughts. Though….she couldn’t help but have that moment of hope where she allowed herself to enjoy the possibility if even for the briefest of moments.

The night was spent with her husband and several times he had told her to go and every time she responded with a casual ‘Not yet.’ The vampire waiting at that little diner right now was very much like Schrodinger’s cat. He was neither there nor not there….until she turned up to confirm it. As time wore on it was becoming increasingly obvious that she was more worried about about him not being there. Perhaps she wasn’t really making him wait, like she told herself, but instead was prolonging what she perceived to be the inevitable. More disappointment.

Micah had prompted her to go once more and finally she agreed. There were still a few hours before dawn and while it took her a little bit to remember and find the diner in question two nights ago, it was one of the first things she had done after the call, tonight it was a trip that took less than a heartbeat. The power of celerity was a beautiful thing.

Before she entered the small diner, which was exceptionally busy considering the time, she looked through the windows to find her childe sitting there and having an unheard conversation with the tired looking redhead that had likely spent the majority of her life thus far working here. The very next time the door swung open it would be at her hand.

She wasted no time in heading straight toward the booth where he sat with a cup of coffee that was untouched and going cold. Few bothered to even glance her way, most wrapped up in the events of the nights as they discussed them through drunken slurs. Her cool fingertips touched the top of the laminated table as she stood there and looked down at him. Her sterling gaze was steely and questioning though a small smile danced across her lips. “Remington Rothfelder.” A statement more than a greeting and said with all the ease of someone who had just run into an old school friend. She had to admit…that he was here was a very pleasant surprise and despite the lingering apprehension it was actually really good to see him .

[Remington Rothfelder]

• Velveteen didn’t make Remington wait for very long, at least not to his reckoning. But then, she had given him immortality and anything shy of eternity was fair game so far as he was concerned.
  
  And she hadn’t even scratched at the surface of eternity.
  
  He heard his name spoken in that voice that was so distinctly Vel’s, which brought the vampire to lift his head. His eyes were green, but a pale shade, like someone had intentionally diluted the color. It gave the hues the impression of being brighter than they were when the light caught them, and with the artificial illumination sparking just overtop them, his eyes were nearly like a feline’s when viewed in the near dark. As if they had a glow of their own. The effect was brief, and born out of nature, rather than the supernatural. “Bambi.” He returned. Informality in exchange for formality.
  
  It was strange. He had only really been turned a month when circumstances outside of his control had dragged him away from Harper Rock. That shouldn’t have been enough time to get close to someone. Certainly shouldn’t have been enough to miss someone. But it was. And that was how he felt when he peered into her eyes in that moment. It was a feeling that had gone without a name for weeks, or had been misdiagnosed as homesickness. He realized in the little diner as they exchanged their greeting that he felt fundamentally better about life knowing that she was right there, within arm’s reach. Maybe he had just missed the companionship, having someone he could talk to about the darkness that filled his mind every time he saw blood. Or how even the tiniest violence could send him into a frenzy. Make him want to tear the life out of someone.
  
  “I’m gone four months and you go and get shorter. How did you even manage to do that?” His tone did not betray that the words were a joke, delivered deadpan as it was. It wasn’t until a moment later that a grin cracked his features and made it clear he wasn’t serious. “It’s good to see you.” An understatement, hidden as it was after the delivery of humor so that it could be overlooked with some ease. Nobody could have accused Remington of being any good at showing affection. Another thing he blamed on his family, and the way he had grown up. Feelings and emotions made him uncomfortable.
  
  “I’m sure that a lot has happened since I was away, and now that we’re not on the phone, I can go into a little bit more detail about what I was doing out of town.” He continued before moving to stand, and gesturing for the seat across from his. He couldn’t really offer her anything to drink or eat. Or didn’t think he could. Remington just knew that he couldn’t seem to digest food himself, and assumed that was an affliction common to other vampires. He wasn’t sure if it was the kind of thing a person could grow out of or not. But he figured he did owe her something of a direct explanation. He was surprised to see that she hadn’t brought anyone along with her. And then not, all at once. There were some things that a sire and childe needed to do together, that other people had no right in which to take part.

[Velveteen]

The use of the nickname he had given her that very first night caused her lips to twitch into a crooked grin. For a moment her gaze was lowered and she noticed the ashen grey pallor of the skin that stretched across her hand. The fluorescent lighting was certainly not the kindest to her and before anyone noticed the woman who looked like the living dead she flipped the leather hood over her head to shroud her face in shadows and dug her hands into her pockets. She had been so distracted with the thought that he’d not show that she forgot about where they were meeting. Too late now. “Four months? Has it really been that long?” Her grin supported the facetious tone of her voice as she teased the man right back.

She wasn’t the greatest with open displays of emotion either so in that the pair were very much a like. Perhaps that was just one of the reasons that they did click the way they had. He was very easy to be around. “I’ve barely had time to miss you.” The the way her eyes caught the smile that lingered on her lips made it obvious that was a huge lie. “But I did anyway.” She finished with a casual shrug of her shoulders. Without realising it she had just done the same as he had. Hidden the affection behind a moment of humour. As for the comment regarding her height….she let that one slide for now.

When he stood and offered her the seat opposite him she slid into it gratefully and leaned forward, attempting to be as inconspicuous as a walking corpse in leather could be. It was indeed a very good thing that most in the small cafe were either too inebriated or too busy trying to get laid to pay too much attention to another body. She never did get too many details as to why he disappeared; Only that he would return soon...something she had given up hoping for as time drew on. “Lots probably has.” She responded, removing her hands from her pockets to fold them on the table before her. “But yes, I would really like to know what has gone on with you. Where did you go and why? What kept you so long? Is everything ok? Are you staying this time?”

The questions came one after the other and even though he had already told her they would talk she couldn’t resist getting the more pertinent points out of the way before delving into the details. She would never admit it to him but she had felt responsible for his leaving. Like she had failed yet another one somehow. Velveteen’s track record as a sire was not a good one and it seemed that those she turned were prone to disappearing, never to return. Depending on his answers then maybe she could finally let that go. Though he wouldn’t have come back if that was case would he? So used to the disappointment was she that even now she still expected the worst.

[Remington Rothfelder]

• He smiled to that. Barely had time to miss him? He knew the truth, even if she didn’t say it outright, even had she not clarified just a second later. But that was Remington. He was not one of those men that needed assurances of his place in the world or in someone’s heart. He was more than happy to exist, and rip what he wanted out of life and death. He didn’t care much for opinions. Anyone’s opinion really save for that of the woman seated across from him. But he could ironically read her fairly well. Maybe it was because they operated on the same wavelength, or seemed to. But Velveteen appeared to be one of those people with him Remi shared a rare bond. That connection where words didn’t need to be said to express truth.
  
  He could see it in her.
  
  There was an ease there, like two friends that had known each other a long time. Separated, but able to pick right back up where they had left off. And yet, on top of it, an unease that Remington couldn’t quite put his finger on. He supposed it would reveal itself with time.
  
  “I will be staying. I returned to Texas to deal with some issues in my family, but my family is all dead now.” That was mostly true. His father had been killed, but he also had a mother, two younger brothers. He didn’t really consider them his relations though. Ironic, considering how much he had hated the man that fathered him for so long. He had even put his dad in the hospital at one point. But at the end of the day, it had been that man he had mourned for in his own way and not the woman who had given him life.
  
  Maybe he only had room in his life for one of those.
  
  Barb glanced up from where she was pouring someone else coffee, and looked to Velveteen for a moment. She gave Remi a look as if to say ‘another one?’ She wore that disapproving look that said he needed to stop bringing his girlfriends and boytoys to the same place or she was going to have a word with him. His own return expression said that she needed to back off and mind her own ******* business. She got the hint.
  
  “I had to head out of town because my father was killed. He was murdered in broad daylight, in his car. Two bullets to the head. I knew for a long time that he had been working with one of the Mexican cartels, and that business was not always so friendly between them. He was wealthy even without them, and made it clear frequently that they needed his ability to distribute product to most of the States in the south. Eventually, I figure, they got tired of his playing hardball and decided to make a statement.” He paused, even as he lifted his hands, his back coming to rest against the wooden chair’s support behind it. He used his thumb nail to dig at dirt caught under another nail. The story seemed outlandish enough that if anyone was silly enough to be listening in, they would probably think of it as the plot of a book or movie. Or something of that nature.
  
  “So I’ve spent four months systematically destroying that particular gang’s presence north of the Mexican border. I would have gone deeper into the south, and actually found the men responsible for giving the orders, but I figured I’d caused enough collateral damage to account for the loss of my father. I was actually breaking into one of the last warehouses where product was sorted for distribution when I called you.” And that was that. Short, sweet, and to the point. He didn’t see much point in elaborating further or adding fluff to the story.
  
  Conversationally, he added. “And how have you been?”

[Velveteen]

Her shoulders remained slightly hunched as she listened and her head bobbed every now and then in understanding. The shadows beneath clung to her features and her hands were tucked under arms that were folded on the table in front of her. It was plainly obvious that she was far less comfortable than the man across from her who looked rather at him in the small diner. Truth be told, this was nothing new for Velveteen. Even prior to her turning, run of the mill situations for most would make her feel completely out of place. She was processing the information he had shared and it took a little while to register that he had actually asked her a question.

“Me? Oh yeah. I’m fine. I usually am.” The white of her smile could be seen in the darkness that shrouded her as she reassured him with a smile. “I am sorry to hear about your family…” There was short pause before she continued in a voice that would have little more than a barely audible mumble to those around them but she knew without a doubt that Remington would hear her just fine. “Though it is probably for the best considering…” There was no need to finish the sentence. It was pretty obvious where it was going. Sympathy was not one of the easiest emotions for Velveteen but years of pretending had made her able to feign most emotions which was usually done entirely for the benefit of others. But such was her way. She refused to feel sorry for herself so why would she feel sorry for others? Some considered it cold and heartless but that was just who she was.

As she sat across from Remington she felt that despite his absence and the brief time they did spend before he disappeared that he was on a similar wave length. Her lack of empathy for his situation was likely more a mirror of his own emotional responses. He did not appear the type to dwell. Like her he was a survivor and emotional baggage was a luxury that simply weighed you down. He felt the need to avenge his father and that was something she could respect but now it seemed it was time to move forward and that made her smile. “It sounds like it was quite adventure. You left no loose ends that could come back to you I hope?”

Her head tilted to the side and her nose wrinkled a little in disgust at the sickening cloying stench that filled the area. It still quite amazed her how dull her senses used to be in comparison. Sometimes this was a very good thing but currently it was not the most pleasant of experiences. “Think we could take this outside? It’s getting a little….stuffy in here.” Her question poised before he even had the chance to answer the last. Already, she had begun to move her from her seat, confident that he would agree.

[Remington Rothfelder]

The answer she gave was taken at face value, and for a moment, Remington appreciated the haunting way that only the whites of the woman’s eyes and her teeth seemed to be visible. Some might have called it creepy, but Remington never had been…normal when it came to that sort of thing. He’d always been drawn to the things that should have been the most dangerous, and always felt most alive in dealing with the things that should have killed him. So it came as no surprise that the thing, or the person that actually had done him in, he felt closer to than just about anyone else. Maybe that was unnatural or premature or something, but he wasn’t the kind of man to question his instincts.

“I agree. Nobody looking for me means I don’t have to worry about anyone finding out. I honestly don’t care for what is left of my family, and they are very well aware of that.” His mother, for example. But that was a story for another day. He had been a loner in life, so continuing his journey through the shadows without the trappings of the world he had lived in before was just fine for Remington. He had Andras. And he had…well he wasn’t sure if he was still welcomed in Tytonidae. That was one of the things that he needed to discuss with Vel, but he wasn’t going to bring that topic up in public. It could wait for them to make it to privacy.

“There shouldn’t be. I left behind a pretty sizable enemy, but I stuck to the shadows when I was taking care of business. I was a ghost. I’m pretty sure that there’s no way they could have identified me.” And even if they had, he doubted they wanted to mess with him after the number he had done on their people. None the less, it was a loose end, just not one that he could take care of immediately. As strong willed as he was, and as good as he was in a fight, he wasn’t adequate to take on a foe was large as the cartel. He wanted to. He wanted to see the boss man dead, for what had happened to his father, for the order that had been given. But he didn’t have a choice but to wait.

Wordlessly, he stood and tossed some crumpled dollar bills on the table before he made his way to the door, tugging it open for Bambi to pass through. He agreed. The nature of what they had to talk about was a little bit too sensitive to be done in any kind of public setting. The important thing had been getting back in touch with her. So when the both of them were outside, his hands stuffed into his jacket pockets so that his boots could thunk against the sidewalk. Halloween would be coming soon, and the streets would be littered with children discarding candy wrappers that would decorate the asphalt with bursts of colour in every variety.

[Remington Rothfelder]

The answer she gave was taken at face value, and for a moment, Remington appreciated the haunting way that only the whites of the woman’s eyes and her teeth seemed to be visible. Some might have called it creepy, but Remington never had been…normal when it came to that sort of thing. He’d always been drawn to the things that should have been the most dangerous, and always felt most alive in dealing with the things that should have killed him. So it came as no surprise that the thing, or the person that actually had done him in, he felt closer to than just about anyone else. Maybe that was unnatural or premature or something, but he wasn’t the kind of man to question his instincts.

“I agree. Nobody looking for me means I don’t have to worry about anyone finding out. I honestly don’t care for what is left of my family, and they are very well aware of that.” His mother, for example. But that was a story for another day. He had been a loner in life, so continuing his journey through the shadows without the trappings of the world he had lived in before was just fine for Remington. He had Andras. And he had…well he wasn’t sure if he was still welcomed in Tytonidae. That was one of the things that he needed to discuss with Vel, but he wasn’t going to bring that topic up in public. It could wait for them to make it to privacy.

“There shouldn’t be. I left behind a pretty sizable enemy, but I stuck to the shadows when I was taking care of business. I was a ghost. I’m pretty sure that there’s no way they could have identified me.” And even if they had, he doubted they wanted to mess with him after the number he had done on their people. None the less, it was a loose end, just not one that he could take care of immediately. As strong willed as he was, and as good as he was in a fight, he wasn’t adequate to take on a foe was large as the cartel. He wanted to. He wanted to see the boss man dead, for what had happened to his father, for the order that had been given. But he didn’t have a choice but to wait.

Wordlessly, he stood and tossed some crumpled dollar bills on the table before he made his way to the door, tugging it open for Bambi to pass through. He agreed. The nature of what they had to talk about was a little bit too sensitive to be done in any kind of public setting. The important thing had been getting back in touch with her. So when the both of them were outside, his hands stuffed into his jacket pockets so that his boots could thunk against the sidewalk. Halloween would be coming soon, and the streets would be littered with children discarding candy wrappers that would decorate the asphalt with bursts of colour in every variety.

[Velveteen]

The bitter bite to the cold air that engulfed her as she stepped outside was more than welcome and far more pleasant smelling then the cloying stench that filled the small diner. She mimicked her childe and dug her hands into the depths of her pockets. Her head went from one side to the other as she inspected the street before deciding which way to go. Her gait was casual and unhurried when she did begin to move. She didn’t need to be anywhere, not yet.

There was short silence while she mulled over the few things he had shared with her thus far. It wasn’t an awkward silence but more a comfortable pause that is offered shared between friends or kindred spirits. A simple understanding that didn’t need words as a diversion. “Good.” She said finally- while the delivery was somewhat formal she was pleased to know that that he had taken precautions so as not to attract attention, let alone have it follow him. “Though if you do need help, I will be there. You only need say the word.”

It was funny how some people seemed to work well together or even compliment each other whilst others would repel each other in a heartbeat. They hadn’t known each other long, nor had they spent any length of time getting to know each other, yet they clicked. Somehow. Both aware that they had all the time in the world to learn the details that would eventually find their way to the surface. There was no hurry. Time. They had plenty of it. Neither pushed the other and both understood not to push. They would learn what they needed to know when they needed to know it and now that he was back, Velveteen was sure that he felt the same.

“I am glad you came back. I was….beginning to wonder.” Her chin tilted skyward as she studied the heavy clouds for a moment. There would be more snow yet. While most probably dreaded or just simply accepted it, Velveteen was still very much a kid when it came to the snow. As much as Micah hated the cold he never argued when she would drag him outside so she could play in it. Yes, play. Snowballs, snowmen, snow angels, she loved it.

“Though...what happens now? Do you plan on picking up where you left off?” She was of course referring to Tytonidae. She hoped his plan was to return but that would of course be his choice. “Have you changed your mind on wanting to join Ty?” She really didn’t want to sway his decision one way or the other but the hopeful look in her eye as she waited for his answer was likely more obvious than she thought.