sunset story [Noah]

[Elodie Levesque]

"Came into this world
Daddy's little girl
And daddy made a soldier out of me
Oh, oh, oh
Daddy made me dance
And daddy held my hand
And daddy liked his whisky with his tea
And we rode motorcycles
Blackjack, classic vinyl
Tough girl is what I had to be"

She had played it loose and cool that night at Halcyon Springs, she usually always did. But he knew her better. He knew her nearly as well as her twin sister. Papa always knew. Elodie Ivy Levesque was no stranger to the dark underbelly of the world, of society. In some ways, she had actively participated in it, reveled in it, contributed. With her flaws and her eccentricities, Elodie's motives were simple: family was everything. She would live and die for them. Live and die. God above, she had so many questions. As her thumb swiped up on her phone, the younger twin called up her father.

"Papa? It's me. Yes, Elodie. It still amazes me that you always know. Yeah. I know. I need to speak with you." She fell silent on her end and her usually placid, if not stony, face relaxed. The shift in emotion was clear and present in her body just as much as her facial expression. Her slender, bony shoulders slumped and fell from their tense, drawn up position.

"Right after sunset, sounds ominous," she teased her father. But she knew why. The sun was his foe now. "Well, we could meet for dinner?" Would he know, like he always did, the tone of her voice - the inflection, the unspoken "last supper" reference? If she were to get her way tonight (and boy, was she used to getting her way), Elodie would soon join him in the newest venture of the family. The dead walked and she wanted to hear that marching tune. "See you soon. Je t'aime, papa."

After the call ended, Elodie rose from her seat on the edge of her bed to walk toward the floor to ceiling window. With a new found solace and hopefulness behind her gaze, the young woman pushed aside the heavy curtain to stare out over the city of Harper Rock. The sun was steadily sinking, the light against the horizon grasping with invisible greedy hands.

[Noah]

Could you kill your own children?

That was what it took, after all. Nothing less than bringing them to the certainty of death and grasping that incorporeal thing known as a soul at the last second. He had done it with Aubrey already and the girl would never know how scared he had been for her during the process. That fear collected in his chest again as Elodie spoke to him over the phone, always the more reckless of the twins.

Better question, he mused. What happens if you don't?

Noah had brought his family into the lion's den. And for all his bluster about becoming predators with Caligrace, he knew that would be a long road. Better vampire than dead, at this point. And that was assuming the only threat he had to worry about was what lurked in the city.

Despite having heard nothing from his Montreal contacts, he could not shake the feeling that wasn't entirely true.

As the sun disappeared over the horizon, Noah made his way out into the city. Earlier in his exploration, he had found a small cafe tucked near the river. Its name, charmingly enough, was Riverside Cafe, and it was there Noah had told Elodie to meet him.

"Two, please," he greeted the hostess as he entered. "And a corner spot, if you don't mind?"

She didn't. Carrying menus and silverware, the hostess guided Noah to a secluded table in the back of the cafe. He had told her what Elodie looked like and to please guide her here when she arrived. In the meantime, Noah glanced down at the menu, his stomach turning over at the thought of the consequences of eating again.

[Elodie Levesque]

Permission was given by Noah's writer to lead his character to finish up the thread.

She arrived shortly at the Riverside Cafe not long after her father. In the pit of her stomach laid a nest of vipers, coiling and rolling. Elodie did not get nervous. But dying? How could she think something wouldn't go wrong. Things generally always went wrong, she should know. The hostess recognized the dark haired young woman immediately and led her back to the corner table to Noah. Once the employee filtered away, leaving a menu behind, she settled into the comfortable seat across from him. She smiled warmly at him, noticing immediately the pallor of his skin. Her heart flip-flopped in her chest.

The conversation was short, to the point. Their emotions however, were on display for each other. Elodie, the worry evident in the way she held her form, the furrow of brow and repetitive wag of her left ankle. Always the left. Noah had the same pulled down brow and his hands would wring together every so often as they spoke in hushed voices. Vampire. She could barely say it out loud. It was an unknown tune in her ears each time it was said.

Elodie had decided even before arriving that it was what she wanted. He detailed the process, leaving nothing out. He knew she wouldn't want it that way. His younger twin liked to prepare, be ready. Even though she had asked for her last supper, that last meal to slake her hunger, Elodie barely touched it. The well made ribeye topped with fresh vegetables and the sweetest smelling cherry glaze she had ever met. And yet, and yet.

Once they left the cafe, father and daughter walked the streets that one day they would know too well. After arriving home, Noah would ask her a final time if this is what she wanted. "Yes, papa. I'm sure." There was a sweetness to it, that fleeting sensation. Being turned into a vampire was not something she had ever dreamed about, even when 'forced' to read those silly trashy books growing up. The soul was a tricky thing after all, it was nothing like she had expected.

Her eyes opened, blinking at the harsh light. Slowly, Elodie rose from the prone position she had awoken in. Her voice creaked and cracked from disuse. Two words were uttered into her surroundings that was seen by new eyes. "I'm hungry."