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Leaving Harper Rock so suddenly hadn’t been her intention, but after reading the email from her aunt about a cousin who had fallen strangely, there hadn’t been much of a choice. Not if she wanted to say her goodbye. Deaths were one of the few things that Every hadn’t cut ties with, but it was more of a security thing: if she knew someone from her past had died, she no longer had to worry about them finding her. It helped the shadow keep a better conscious about distancing herself from her humanity. But, the trip to Brazil had brought a little bit more than a goodbye as the rumor about her cousin falling ill had the word encantado attached. In fact, it had opened a can of curiosity and there would be a few more trips made before the end of the year.

Until then, she had to things to do.

First starting with delivering her childe the gift that she’d asked for.

As she stepped through the door of her dwelling, Every shoved the drugged up woman to the center of the main room after using her knife to remove the zip ties that had been wrapped around her wrist. Still woozy from the medication, the woman crashed into the back of the couch before flipping over it and let out a small groan. Afterwards, Every pushed her hair over her shoulder and dug out her phone, sending a text.

Come to the dwelling.

There weren’t many with access to it, her own private little hideaway. Once, the cabin had been her getaway place, but after the damn earthquake, it still had repairs to be done. Looking around the dwelling, she couldn’t remember the last time that she’d been there. Dust sat on the table and bookshelves, too dirty for her usual tastes. Later, she’d work on making the place look immaculate, but until then, she went into the kitchen and ignored the soft whimper that came from the couch and removed three black glasses from the cabinet, getting a glass of cold water for the woman as her pulse rose.

Walking back to the couch, Every handed her the glass of water and handed her a bottle of ibuprofen, speaking quietly, “Tome estes. Take these.” The woman’s blue eyes widened and she gave a nod of her head before the brunette sat down on the coffee table, listening to the questions asked about Canada as Every replied every now and then in broken Portuguese, followed by English.

She had been waiting for only a few minutes after the woman had taken the medication with a small swallow of water before she was on her feet again. They exchanged a few sentences before eventually, the woman curled up into a ball and decided that it was time to sleep as Every moved to collect a hand towel and a bottle of cleaning solution. To those that knew her very well, well enough that she allowed them into her space, they'd know that she was a bit of a neat freak. It wasn't as if the place were very dirty to begin with, no, but the amount of dust lingering around on the surfaces – particularly her counter top – bothered her.

Her mother was to blame, naturally.

Or at least, her mother being so devoted to Every's stepfather.

After what had once been an obnoxious chore to keep the house clean so Dylan would be happy, Every had found solace in cleaning on days where she couldn't escape to the beach. Stormy weather, while it brought the best waves, were not the best days to go surfing when there were the chances of lightning strikes. Some days, as a teenager, when her family wasn't home and it was stormy, she'd turn up the radio or play her favorite CD before singing at the top of her lungs until Michael would get home and then he'd join in. After, at least, she begged him or if he had a friend with him whom she got along with, would do the same.

When someone knocked, Every didn't quite expect it and stopped what she was doing. She listened at the pattern and then as her childe's voice followed, the woman called, “Over here.” A bottle of blood was taken out and two glasses were then filled, the small shadow wiping her palms on the short purple shorts that she wore before stepping more into view. “Gift is on the couch.” Nodding in the direction, Every held out one of the glasses while rolling her shoulder carefully as she tried to work out the sore injury. A bandage was visible after the tee shirt she wore slipped, but she didn't bother hiding it as she blew some of her now short brown hair out of her face.

The last time she'd gone away, she'd missed their anniversary. This time, she missed her own birthday. Even if she wasn't much of a holiday person, she really needed to start rearranging her vanishing acts around less important things, it was decided as she heard the clink of the glass. Reaching over, Every squeezed Nishaa in a one armed hug with her good arm.

"I'm glad to hear that. How's Mari reacting to having to share?" She teased, and then Every moved to take a seat on the nearest chair, pulling her hat a bit lower on her head before eventually tugging it off entirely. She listened to Nishaa explain about her newest grandchilde. It still surprised her, really, to see that the line had come so far in such a short few years, but she wasn't looking forward to the amount of names she'd need to add on the tree. It had been a while since she had fixed it. Maybe she'd get started on it immediately after her childe left.

At the news, Every's eyebrows furrowed. "Did you feed on him?" She asked, thinking back to her own habits of killing humans that she'd fed on after noticing that some had begun to turn. It was weird and since the incident with Zachary... she'd taken to blood bags or boosting her blood. It was faster, safer. Cleaner. And it didn't create accidents. Crossing one leg over the other, Every briefly thought about Jesse and pushed it aside. Anger briefly flashed in her eyes only to be extinguished.

The brunette paused, clearly having forgotten the woman's name before asking awkwardly, "Como se chama?" and repeating it in English once more. "Chamo-me Benedita. Bene" Every's hazel eyes moved to her childe as she translated,"Benedita, I'm guessing she prefers Bene." Portuguese was not her strong suit and it was evident as the woman began to plead with her, Every crinkling her nose as she caught bits and pieces of the words.

Whether it was the pain in her shoulder or the woman's voice itself that irritated the shadow fast was undetermined as Every finally snapped, "Pare!" and Benedita fell silent, her eyes widening. She shook her head, sighing.

She squeezed her childe, not ashamed that she had missed her headache. The nickname more affectionate those days rather than an actual headache as she had been in the past. Their banter had returned back to being playful, tension no longer running tight. “That’s good.” And it was. Every was happy that Mari and Nishaa had found each other, that Mari had been there to comfort her after the **** with Paige. The thought of her childe’s ex still made her want to put her fist through the nearest wall - shooting her in the back the last time hadn’t been enough.

“I remember him, yes.” His name had been added to the copy of the un-organized copy of the tree that was really just a bunch of color coordinated lists that made sense only to her on notebook paper. At the mention of childer leaving Nishaa, Every shifted uncomfortably. Even if she wasn't the best at being a sire herself, she didn't like to hear the words past the lips of her own blood. “We all make them, just gotta learn that those that stick around even if just at a level where you can sense them are worth it. It doesn't make you any less of a sire.” She had learned that when Nishaa and Kirill had stayed, even though she had given them and Reanna the option to leave like she had the others.

Her hand lifted lightly, curling around a bullet on a chain necklace that she wore.

She wasn't sure about what to make of the turning, finding it strange - but then again, Every wasn’t one to talk. “Could be like your fangs, something unique to you. I’ve had them begin to turn before I killed them by making sure they couldn't come back, but I no longer feed from the vein.” Considering what was said, the small shadow lifted her good shoulder in a shrug.

What else could she say, really?

Nothing came to mind other than, ”Just be careful. At least he seems to have a brain though, yeah?” Every didn’t like the idea of Nishaa having an oops childe, one that she would entirely regret.

“She was pleading, I told her to stop.” Her eyebrow furrowed as she was clearly exasperated from the argument, “That’s the gist of it, at least. I still have trouble, I usually hire a translator there.” Her mother hadn’t taught her any Portuguese other than a few words, but it had been enough to get her point across when she was younger. Spanish and French had been easier, one because of being friends with Latinos growing up and the other from school. “She speaks very little English, but understands it well enough.”

Every folded her arms in front of her chest, her hazel eyes locking in on the women as she stretched her legs out lightly.

"You should let them in, even if just for a little bit. Not everyone is as persistent as I can be." Every knew she was a lot softer of a person around her childer, the distance more of a front. Nishaa and Reanna probably saw more of her personal self than others, but at varied amounts. Because of their relationship being older, Nishaa was the one would know her better, wouldn't she? "It may make them understand how you operate better."

Folding her arms in front of her chest, Every watched the women quietly without another word about the subject of being a sire. It wasn't as if she herself were the perfect sire, still believing that she learned as much from her childer as the years went on as they did her. Or, at least she hoped that was how it was for them. The question caused Every to lift her gaze to Bene. She knew the word and seemed to recoil. She watched the human woman part her lips, her eyes widening.

“South American folklore has different variations of vampire, but not like us.” Every explained, “The Jararaca and Lobishomen are two she’d be familiar with. One generally appears as a snake, it drinks the milk and blood of sleeping women. The other feeds mostly on women, doesn’t kill their prey. Makes them have nymphomaniac tendencies.” The brunette sighed and took a drink of her blood, “Both, of course, do not share any traits to what we are, and I have yet to run across one when traveling.”

Nor had she run across an Encantado down in the Amazon, as she had been searching for to learn more about the creatures that had came to Harper Rock. She pressed her lips into a thin line behind the top of her glass before setting it down. “Legends have to come from somewhere.”