Path of the Vampire forum

She had never been one for certain emotions, preferring to avoid them or hide them behind other feelings to keep moving forward in life. Pain, frustration, and some would even say numbness were the ones she’d always been at peace with in her twenty-five years of life, although her heart had stopped shy of twenty-three. She’d loved before and she had lost it, but she’d never found the sense of emotion that he brought and she had no issue admitting that it frightened her. Complete was something that Every had never thought that she would feel and as she sat on the edge of her bed, turning the old engagement ring over in her palm.

Old fashioned, she knew that it had once meant a lot to someone – the woman that it had been given to her before, for example, but to her, it meant nothing. She’d never worn it properly. It had been on a chain around her neck worn occasionally to keep him happy so there wouldn’t be any comments made by his parents. The funniest thing was that she didn’t even remember the man that had given it to her very well, she didn’t remember the feelings or attachments that were brought upon by the ring and even the anger that had caused her to stuff it deep into her lockbox hadn’t appeared.

It was because of this that Every knew her relationship now and her relationship then were entirely different. While she had cared and loved Hadrian, his name was only registered because of Micah and a journal entry from the past, she didn’t think the emotions for him ran as deep as they did for others. Closing her hand around the ring, Every pushed herself up off the mattress with her fists before moving to grab the silk handkerchief that she kept it in and collected her denim jacket. “I’ll be back in a little bit, guys.” She said to the three dogs of various ages sprawled about the bedroom.

As usual, Arsen, the kitten given to her by Reanna, was nowhere to be found as she tucked the ring away into the back pocket of her jeans before she pulled the jacket over her sweatshirt and made her way out of the apartment. Every had made her mind up with what to do with the ring and she knew someone that would do it for her without question, but there was another motive involved. She knew her childe had been hurting since she’d seen her again, and it made her want to shoot the other woman because of the pain she created. Every wanted to check up on and talk with Nishaa, something that she knew she had to do.

It wasn’t because she was her sire, because of the loss of two childer she hadn’t fought for, but because once upon a time, even if she didn’t remember specific details, Every knew that Nishaa had saved her. She’d been spiteful, distrusting and she hadn’t wanted to sire again after the stuff that had gone on with him, but her headache had changed that just by pushing her limits. And she knew that it was because of Nishaa, Reanna and Kirill, that she found strength where she had slipped. But, none of it could have ever happened had Nishaa not come into her life and shown her that staying in the past only let her be worthless.

Lifting her hands to straighten out the golden owl pendant and chain resting around her neck, a soft, genuine smile crossed her lips as she thought about the words engraved on the back. Things, it seemed, were beginning to look up and it was something that she thought she needed. When her necklace was straightened out, Every pulled her hair over one shoulder while she continued to walk towards the Eyrie grounds before removing her tome from her pocket. Once she was just to the fence, the shadow spoke the words and found herself beside the altar which she used the edge to scrape snow off her boots. Afterwards, she shrugged out of her jacket and made her way to the elevator to the second floor where she headed to find her childe. “Headache?” She called, doubting anyone else in the faction would answer to it.

For a long time, there had been a time where Every didn’t believe in romantic love. She didn’t consider the emotion to be true or even a possibility. Fairytales had always been scoffed at and even the mention of happily ever after would cause the young woman to roll her eyes. “It’s pointless” was always her response when her aunt or younger sister would call her on it, “because they never exist. If you aren’t able to save yourself, then maybe you should be in the position beforehand.” As she got older, her disbelief shifted to skeptics. She doubted it, but she no longer thought it never existed. That is, until she was surrounded by it constantly with Micah and Velveteen. They opened her thoughts more to the concept and as she found herself facing the emotion herself, Every didn’t know what to think.

Truthfully, she still didn’t.

Every had since accepted that it was a true thing, that rather than it was something fake, it was a certain person that made everything easier to take grasp of. To understand. And with that, there was also the chance of being hurt, that the fear that one felt was entirely normal. Despite the fact she knew she’d been hurt in the past and damaged to the point she didn’t think she’d be able to trust again, the small brown-haired shadow had been proven wrong once more. And while she still felt fragile on occasion, Every was happier than she had been in a long time. She felt secure in her relationships, secure with her family and most importantly, she felt secure with being herself around others.

She wasn’t surprised in the least when she found Nishaa asleep on the forge. With her return, Every doubted that her childe even left The Eyrie often and in some ways, she could relate. In others, she couldn’t. Wandering up behind the taller woman, she set her hand lightly on the woman’s shoulder and shook her gently until she awoke. She leaned down to brush a kiss against her cheek before moving to sit down as the woman sat up. “I don’t think very long, forge is still hot.” She reached over to hover her hand over the coals, looking to her childe in concern, her hazel eyes showing as much. When it came to those she cared about the most, she felt no need to try and hide as much. They sure as hell didn’t do it for her.

“You alright, Nish?”

Her lips twitched lightly in amusement as Nishaa started to justify herself, a soft shake of her head being given a moment later and Every simply lifted her hand to show she didn’t need to. “Just be more careful in the future, wouldn’t want to burn the tree down.” She smiled, looking over the weapons that had been worked on in interest. She liked that her childe had taken a shine to creating something that was both beautiful and deadly. Every reached over and ruffled the woman’s hair gently.

She watched her get up and take the water to put out the coals in the forge, listened to the hiss of the steam as she felt the warmth from where she sat, watched the smoke lift into the sky. She could remember when they would do that back home after a bonfire on the warm sands of Santa Monica. It was just one of the many little things that she missed, but it didn’t bother her any more. If she felt like being nearing water and having a bonfire, she’d just have to find a nice, safe patch by the river and keep an eye out for fae.

“That’s not good.” Every chided at her childe softly, shaking her head. She hadn’t been getting much of it in the previous months, but now she was content to say she was getting better at resting and falling back into a better cycle. There were times where she still slept alone, something she wasn’t fond of, but the weight of her necklace was a reassuring one. And because of it, she didn’t mind the weight of the object in her pocket. It felt right. She needed to get rid of it once and for all.

She’d been in The Eyrie a lot lately, staying near Nishaa and Reanna because of everything that had happened. She’d gotten tired of the accusal that she’d never been there enough for her childer and she wanted to make it a point that no one couldn’t say it again. She was almost always within reach, now.

The concerned look slipped away from her features as she blinked owlishly at her childe. And then it dawned on her, her eyes closing as she shook her head. “Nothing’s wrong, and no one.” She didn’t feel any guilt as she thought in a bitter tone, “that I’d prefer to” before she straightened up in her seat so that she could dig the ring out of her pocket eventually. Every wet her lips lightly by sliding her tongue out briefly and then tugged on the bottom one with her teeth. “Actually... I want your help with something. Do you remember what I told you about the vampire before you? My ex, and childe, Hadrian?”

A simple question to start it all off.

Every wasn’t too concerned about the idea of her childe burning down the treehouse, really. She knew Nishaa was responsible and that she’d likely had just fallen asleep, there were always more intentional ways to set fire to something. Someone, she knew, would have smelled something burning and come down to investigate. It had been proven when so many had shown up to fight against the rogues when they’d swarmed and broke through their defense mechanisms. As she watched Nishaa play with the ring, she thought once more about the one in her pocket – she could imagine the weight of it resting against her thigh.

“Sleep can help settle your thoughts, Nish. Don’t push yourself too hard.” She frowned and didn’t push any further on the matter. It wasn’t something that she could talk about herself, really, as there were days where she would work straight until the sensation to rest took over and she’d conk out somewhere around the Eyrie, in her apartment or even on a shaded, thick branch if she were lounging about on one.

The confirmation gave Every a small nod. Brief bits of the last conversation that she’d had with the man flickered through her mind. It had been one of the first times that she’d shut down after killing her family, her hand automatically moving to pick at her fingernail as hazel eyes lowered to the ground lightly. Why was a good question, but there were too many ways to answer it. “I’m a heartless, cold *****.” Rolling her head on her shoulders, she pushed the thoughts out of her mind as she reached into her pocket to feel the cool metal.

“I’d like you to do something for me... I’ve been meaning to ask sooner, but, with memories returning...” Nishaa had been the one to shoot her and she didn’t want to go into how much of what she had lost, but as she bit down on her bottom lip, her hazel eyes lifted and she set the ring lightly in her childe’s hand. “I’d like you to turn this into a bullet for me.” She said softly, “Because I’m intent on putting things in the past in the best way that we know how. I’m happier these days and I don’t need this laying around in my apartment.”

Her brown hair fell over her shoulder, tickling the side of her neck with its motion, “I can’t sense him and because of that, I don’t think he’s alive. So, I can’t hit him in the head with it as a ring. I might as well fire it through a gun into some stupid ******** that can’t follow the rules anyway.” Her fangs showed briefly in the smirk that crossed her lips and she glanced to the ring that rest around her childe’s neck, and then back to Nishaa’s features. The brunette damn well couldn’t wait until Paige contacted her again, she’d give her a taste of diamond – one hit for each letter spoken.