|
The bookstore’s checkout area is cramped - just a desk with a register in between displays of books. The clerk today fills quite a lot of the space behind the counter, wearing a black skull-embroidered coat. They’re sketching in a notebook with a box pen rubber banded to a long ostrich plume, though they quickly set both to the side when a customer needs assistance.
The customer who comes in isn't that much different in size from the clerk - wildly curly hair plaited down her fronts, a straw hat, floral dress and brown vest. Myra eyes the clerk for a moment, as if uncertain on the familiarity of this person, before she steps forward and puts on a friendly - if somewhat wary - smile.
"Ahhh, perdón but where are the ahhh books on trees here?" Well, she certainly does look like the kind of woman who would get a book on trees!
Nevy looks up, then pushes away what looks like a tarot card sketch. “Oh - um... botany? That’s... aisle... 6D, I think. Come on, I’ll show you.” They tuck the pen and drawing behind a partition and step out from behind the desk, smiling pleasantly.
"You'll know better than me," She laughs and adjusts her bag, eyeing the other a moment more, "..... I'm sorry, have we met before? You look familiar to me, but I can't recall seeing you last time I was here."
Nevy looks thoughtful. “I can’t think of anything?” They glance between the customer and themselves. “Unless you’re another seelie twin,” they say wryly.
She purses her lips and tilts her head slightly to the side and slightly to the back. One brow raises, and they answer in the same tone, "Last I checked, no. That is not my usual forte."
Nevy chuckles. “Good, once was weird but cool. Twice would just be weird.” The turn a grin on the new customer. “Call me Nevermore.”
"Weird, mmm?" She eyes them a moment before, "Myra," She frowns a bit, then brightens as she seems to recognize the name, "Ah! You are the artist, are you not?"
That draws a grin. “The one and only! You’re a fan?”
"I would like to think so," She chuckles, "I have a copy of your book at my home. And I admit, your work ahhh.... Predator Heart is a wonderful piece."
Nevy blushes. “Wow. I’m glad you liked it!” They pause. “Here - botany and tree care. Are you looking for something specific?”
"It is delightfully primal," She seems amused at her own choice of words, and as they get to the section she bites her bottom lip and looks amongst the titles, "I am.... uncertain yet. Perhaps I will know it when I see it?"
In the end, she ends up grabbing a book more on local plantlife - not just trees specifically. She seems generally satisfied with this.
“That’s a good choice,” Nevy says. “Need anything else from back here?”
"I think that is all for now - you have a good selection here, so I might return in the future."
"Thank you."
The thank you seems to be an afterthought, as if she realized she had forgotten to vocally express thanks.
Nevy nods. “No problem! And yeah, the owner likes having a good selection in here. But let’s head back. I’ve gotten lost back here twice. It gets too creepy even for a goth like me.”
She chuckles, "I can imagine, yes. These stacks are so tall, one might think they could move!"
Nevy chuckles as they head back up to the front desk. “All right. So, this’ll be $24.95.” They check out the book with the efficiency of retail experience. As they’re getting the bag, a necklace - a flat ceramic disk - falls out of their shirt.
She pauses a moment in handing over her card, "... that is a lovely necklace, Nevermore." She seems genuinely impressed and curious, but still careful.
Nevy smiles. “Thanks. I’ve always loved roses, so...”
"Did you make it yourself?"
They nod happily. “Drew up the design and painted it on myself.” They gently lift the disk to give Myra a closer look.
She leans forward to take a closer look, particularly at the symbols to see if she can glean what specifically the necklace is meant to do for Nevy.
"The details are lovely," She smiles and pulls back, "Those are interesting symbols as well - where did you learn them?"
Nevy looks at Myra with a touch of... tentative concern, and also curiosity. “Oh, you know,” they say with a mediocre attempt at a breezy attitude. “Just doodled shapes until I saw some I liked. Why? Do they look like something?”
Myra gives her a look of pure disbelief, but doesn't push.
"They just looked interesting, is all," She doesn't seem to be hiding the fact that they are familiar to her, "I was simply curious about where you might have seen them that possessed you to create such a lovely trinket."
is that a smirk?
Welp. That’s a double-take. “Wait, what?!”
She gives an innocent look, "Hm? I'm sorry?"
Nevy looks around to see who else might be around, then leans in to hiss at the woman, “What was that about possession?”
Of course, it's as Nevy looks to the door that it opens, letting in a gust of nighttime air and a smol blonde woman in a white dress with floral embroidery on the front, her hair loose and a little wild, like she didn't take the time to brush it before disappearing into the evening to cause mischief.
The guard that Myra had when she came in returns as another stranger enters the scene. She straightens her back and glances over at the newcomer, nods, then back over to Nevy, "It was nothing, I was just attempting a small joke. The symbols are ahhh... familiar to me," a tight smile, "It is a good amulet you have there, Nevermore."
Nevy eyes Myra for a moment. “...Okay...” Then the blonde gets a smile. “Hey, Phaedra.”
"Nevermore!" She pretty much bounces up to the front counter, all big blue eyes and bright smile. "Are we talking about your rose sigil? It's a very good amulet."
"Sí, yes," Myra eyes the woman a moment, "It is lovely craftsmanship, I was saying."
Nevy considers the two women, then sighs and smiles. “Thanks. It’s great for keeping ghosts from causing me problems.”
She grins at Nevy, then turns to face Myra, as if to allow easier eyeing. "Hi. I'm Phaedra. I read tarot cards and stuff."
"Myra. I..... raise chickens and bees," She allows herself to smile a bit, "And stuff."
“Well, you both know I’m an artist. And stuff.”
"Oh, boy. I think we're all using 'and stuff' differently. Which is kinda cool, actually." She grins. "And of course, Nevermore, we're standing inside one of your 'and stuffs' right now, right?"
Nevy glances around and shrugs. “I’m not sure this is ’stuff,’ just... you know. Stuff.”
"Stuff that pays the bills is as important as other stuff," Myra chuckles.
"It's something you do, and that matters to who you're being. And if you don't want to be this, why are you doing this?" She puts her hands on her hips, looking at Nevy. "But being the purveyor of hidden knowledge is a thing to be that's important, so."
Nevy blinks at that phrasing, then chuckles. "You make me sound like Merlin. I work the front desk at a bookstore."
She cracks a grin, "I'm sure Merlin would have loved to work at a bookstore. It sounds right up his alley, doesn't it?"
She nods eagerly. "It's a thing, the wizard in the tower, the Good Magician sought for answers. The Nevermore at the bookstore."
Nevermore chuckles. "Oh, to be worthy of such illustrious company."
As the three talk, the door opens again, admitting a figure only one of the people present recognise. Eyrgjafa's dressed somewhat more traditionally feminine than the last time Phaedra saw her, having exchanged her jeans and teeshirt for a knee-length red dress, with black vine details. "Evening, Phaedra. People I don't know yet."
Ah yes, and yet another person gets eyed by Myra for a moment. Strangers, man. "Hello." Pleasant woman of many words.
"Eyrgjafa!" Phaedra, meanwhile, grins broadly. "Come on over! We were just not talking about the things we do when we're not doing the things we do talk about. Also, this is Nevermore, who probably likes tarot cards better than runes, because they're an artist."
Nevy chuckles. “Nice to meet you, uh... okay, I’ll be honest, I’ll need to hear that name again before I try pronouncing it.”
They look chagrined
"Eyrgjafa," the eponymous völva repeats on cue, pronouncing each syllable distinctly, before rolling her eyes at Phaedra. "The runes are sacred, I'll have you know. Not like your silly tarot cards." This has the air of a well-rehearsed argument.
Myra, however, perks up a bit at the name - though she does not recognize the person, the name does seem to ring a bell. She does not comment on it, however.
"I prefer runes myself," She says slowly, glancing between the two Vampires other women, "Tarot cards are pretty, but...." Shrug.
"Sacredness isn't in the tool itself, it's in the connection between the practitioner, their tool, and the Divine. But the symbolism of tarot is easier to read for the layman without a connection to your Divine, Eyrgjafa. I could take The Tower to anyone on the street and show it to them, and it'd invoke a feeling, a thought, a fear. And that is a holy language."
Then she blinks at Myra. "Ooooh, you're into that sortuva thing?"
Nevermore looks between the others, then nods. "I'm not much of a fortune-teller, really, but... I kind of agree with Phaedra. Art can say things it's hard to say any other way."
"That's true of any art, really. Song. Dance." Beat. "Divining." She glances at Myra, then. "Which set do you prefer?"
"My father was more into the divining than I am, but he taught me about the runes and their significance when I was a child," She waves a hand vaguely, "I prefer any that are carved out of organic material. Wood, bone..."
"...Clearly, you two should be friends." She gestures between Eyrgjafa and Myra, grinning broadly.
Nevy chuckles. "Clearly." They look to Eyrgjafa. "Where did you learn to read runes?"
"Reykjavík, before I moved here." Not entirely true, but. Eyrgjafa nods at Myra. "Wood's good. I'd make a bone set, but the only ones I'd want to use are not an option right now." Beat. "Rhea's getting me a fancy set, apparently, which'll be interesting," she asides to Phaedra.
"Petrified wood would make an beautiful set..." Myra considers wistfully with a soft sigh.
"Rhea likes to take care of her people. I think she's so flashy about it because she's afraid about how she doesn't always have the words. Also, whose bones are those?"
The question is asked before she even thinks about it.
That draws a triple-take from Nevy. Then they look at the others, to see if that struck anyone else as odd.
Myra sideeyes Phaedra's choice of words and Phaedra herself, but says nothing about it. The Mage will remember this.
"Nobody you've ever met. Or ever will, if Rhea and I have anything to say about it." The comment about not always having the words gets Phaedra squinted at.
There's a small 'oh', as the lightbulb goes on, and then she nods a few times. "I feel that way about my uncle, if I'm honest. But...I guess I've chosen to get my revenge by living well, now. By choosing who I get to be. You understand."
Myra glances over at Nevy to see if any part of this conversation might mean something to the goth. If they share a glance, there is a perked eyebrow of Questioning.
"They... uh... say that's the best revenge," Nevy says, shrugging one shoulder in answer to the Eyebrow. "Sounds like some bad history there."
She smiles a little, "We all have our bad relationships. I know I have."
"I do understand, yes." She glances at Myra and Nevy then. "More on Rhea's side than mine, but I'm not fond of the man either."
Phaedra crosses her arms over her chest, sinking into herself a little and getting smoler, not looking at Nevermore. "I grew up in a religious cult environment, one ran by my uncle. Judge me for hating him, if you want, but I don't think I'm ever going to not gonna do so."
At the mention of religious cult environment, Myra snorts - it's partly a growl, and wholly displeased. "Here's hoping the bastard is dead, hm?"
When Eyr says "The man," Nevy's eyes widen. At Phaedra's words, they grimace. "Ugh. No, I'm not judging either of you. Some people deserve a nice flaying."
Eyrgjafa nods. "I would happily make the blood eagle of him, if he ever came close enough to do so." She glances at Phaedra, moving closer. "No, I don't think I ever will judge you for hating your uncle."
"Not dead yet. But I got away." She offers Myra a tiny, sheepish little smile, and then just sorta...leans in to brush her shoulder against Eyrgjafa. "I'm free to choose, now. So that's enough, for now."
Nevy looks disgusted. "I don't know if I'd want to use someone like that in something like divination. That sounds like a recipe for bad futures to me."
She nods, "It is, yes. Better than...." She trails off then waves her hand, brushing away the topic, "It is a good spot to be away and your own, no need to dwell on the bad pasts. It will get us nowhere, hm?" She tucks the book she purchased earlier into her bad and puts on a smile, "This talk makes me want to pull out my old books. Perhaps I might skim those tonight, too."
"Oh, I would likely not use them." Beat. "Unless I disliked the person I was giving a reading." She smiles at Phaedra then. "The freedom to choose is important, yes."
She tilts her head at Nevermore. "I think...it'd feel like triumph to do so. To be a person, when they're reduced to being only a tool."
Nevy nods. "I guess I can see that," Nevy says. They give a little smile. "So, I was thinking I might design a tarot deck, myself."
She perks up, "Oh? I would be interested in seeing that. Do you have any ideas for the cards?"
"And will you let me buy a copy of the deck, when you're done? Please?" Her mood instantly lifts, the shroud of gloom dissipating in the promise of a new deck.
Nevy smiles. "I'm trying out some designs. I'll be posting progress online." They look at Phaedra. "Of course! I know there are places online that custom print cards. I'll have to see what the cost would be."
"What kind of style do you work in?" Eyrgjafa asks. "I might not use the cards myself, but I know Rhea collects them."
Nevermore smiles and brings up their instagram. "Here - this is my latest piece, Predator Heart."
Myra grins at the piece, "That one is my favorite so far."
Phaedra leans in to look at the phone and the instagram and there's a soft gasp when she sees that piece. "It's like..." Trailing off, as a hand moves to rest over her own heart, and she smiles.
Eyrgjafa blinks once at the piece. "Interesting work. What inspired you to make it, if you don't mind my asking?" She glances at Phaedra and nods, smiling at the younger woman.
"A conversation I had with a friend," Nevy says. "About desire and hunger, and how they can eat you if you aren't careful."
"It's very true, though..." She nods quietly. "Though, I guess I see something...holy, in that sort of desperate need."
She considers this a moment, "I can see that, I think. An almost sacred struggle, balanced between the Beast and the Human, so to speak?" Not like the Primal Wilds is the realm of Beasts, oh no not what attracts Myra to that picture at all.
"Something I know I struggle with, at times," Eyrgjafa nods, before glancing at Myra, arching an eyebrow at her. "Something like that, yes."
Nevy raises an eyebrow at that. "That's... kind of like it."
Phaedra turns her moon-pale gaze onto Myra quietly, glancing into the depths of her soul.
Myra draws herself up, glances between the two Not Alive people. Nevy gets a brief look of concern, and Myra lets out a breathy laugh.
"Interesting."
"...How so?" Eyrgjafa's eyebrow arches even further.
Nevy glances between the other people in the shop, "Am... I missing something?"
"Welp." Phaedra moves slightly, making sure Myra can see both her hands are visible and empty. "Yeah, there's a thing, but I don't think it's a thing-thing, just a thing. But it's okay, because it's not going to become a thing-thing. I think?
Myra holds up her own hands in the same gesture, looking warily amused, "I don't intend to make it one, no. You?"
Eyrgjafa blinks, glancing between Myra and Phaedra. "Well, I can't speak for anyone else here, but I'm not here to pick a fight."
Nevermore looks panicked. "Please don't. My boss would kill me if anything got broken." Then it shifts to irritation. "And what exactly are you going to be not-fighting-here over?"
"Uhm." There's a pause, a glance at Eyrgjafa, then a rush of words. "IjustthoughtMyramightbeawerewolf."
Myra bursts out laughing. Full On Gigglefit.
"...Phaedra, honey, I don't think there are any werewolves in Philly. Maybe the suburbs."
Nevy rubs the bridge of their nose. "Okay. Everyone here is spooky. Right."
"She's not actually a werewolf, if that helps anything!" This is said to Nevy, as if Myra needs to be defended like that.
She wipes away a tear with a snort, "Nono, I am certainly not."
"...What are you, then?" Eyrgjafa asks, looking genuinely curious. "Or are you not allowed to tell us?" She glances towards Nevy, then.
Nevy looks curious at that, looking at Myra expectantly.
Phaedra says nothing, with a glance at Myra to make it clear that what she reveals or what she conceals is her choice, here. Not that Eyrgjafa won't get the scoop later, of course.
"..... It depends, really," She eyes Nevy for a moment, "'Everyone here is spooky', you said?" Her tone suggests a gentle request to elaborate, please.
Nevy sighs. "I speak to ghosts. Can... channel them, if I have to."
Eyrgjafa arches an eyebrow. "Yeah? How do you do that?"
Phaedra grins at Nevermore broadly. "Which is why you're so good at making an amulet to prevent possession. You know about them."
"Ahh, a true Medium," she smiles, "I believe some have come to call what I am a ahhh... Willworker?" She glances at the other two as if to confirm.
Nevy raises an eyebrow at Eyr. "Magical goth powers," they say with a smirk Phaedra gets a nod, then, "Willworker?" Nevermore considers that for a moment.
"Who's Will?"
Eyrgjafa shrugs slightly. "There are many different terms for different groups."
"She works magic through the force of her will, rather than through the use of specific tools or magical items or blood or rituals, primarily. I mean, there are tools and rituals, but if you took them all away, put her naked in a room, she'd still be a force to reckon with." Phaedra grins, clearly in open admiration of all this.
She nods at Phaedra, "Succinctly put, yes."
Nevermore nods slowly. "O...kay," They say. Then they nod. "Thank you. For not..." They wave a hand. "Talking over my head."
Eyrgjafa glances at Nevermore. "I can't speak for her society, but I'd recommend not spreading this stuff around, by the way. People tend not to like it becoming too widely known."
"I used to be a psychic, myself. That was...part of why my uncle paid so much attention to me. Not a medium, though. Clairvoyant, prophet, reader of signs. I like where I am a lot better, though, now." She nods sagely. "Even if it comes with a few downsides."
Nevermore nods. "That, about keeping peoples' secrets? That, I've been told. Pretty much every time I talk to someone." They look at Phaedra and nod. "Even with the, uh... predator heart?" They say with a lopsided smile.
She nods, "I had my own gifts as well, before I became what I am. My own early connections to nature, being able to take others wounds with a touch...."
"And we're glad to have you, Phaedra." Eyrgjafa smiles slightly. "Especially with how you called Banan out in front of everyone."
She gives Eyrgjafa a grin before turning toward Nevy.
"Hokay, so my beliefs about what we're calling a 'predator heart' because the word Beast is too real to use are a little left of center compared to most people. I believe that there is something divine in our nature, and that the Beast is a core of it, that all Beasts are one, recognizing itself in the body of others, shards of something altogether more holy than we like to think about. Like...it is deeper, bigger, more powerful than anything else I've felt, all-encompassing. And that's awesome, in the sense the word originally was used in. And awful, too."
Nevermore nods. "I... the way it was described to me was..." They shudder. "Scarier than I'd like to see in person."
Myra doesn't say anything to that (yet?), but Nevy's shudder brings about a moment's pause.... then she reaches out and offers - without touching yet - to pat them comfortingly on the shoulder. There there, buddy. Is okay.
"Phaedra's views are... not quite the same as mine, but." She shrugs slightly. "I think both Beast and Human are important, that we shouldn't let ourselves lose sight of either." Beat. "Of course, one of those tends to be more common than the other."
"I mean, it's really not surprising our views are different, given." She grins. "But, uh, yeah. Anyway."
Nevermore nods. "Anyway." They frown. "Oh... be careful if you walk around by yourself. There's... hinky things going on."
She perks up, remembering a Certain Note she saw somewhere, "Hinky things, hm? What sort of?"
"Rat spirits, ritual sacrifice, and kidnapping?"
"...Those do seem 'hinky'," Eyrgjafa nods, returning Phaedra's grin.
"Yikes, as if there weren't enough issues already in town..."
"Ahhhh....." She nods, "I believe I saw something about that, a note I have been meaning to follow up on. You are in on the case, too?"
Nevy nods. "I'm trying to help as much as I can.
"Well, as long as it's being handled." Eyrgjafa shrugs slightly. "I might look into it, if I have the free time."
"I'm already dealing with, you know. Other things." Eyrgjafa's shot a bit of a glance as she says 'you know'.
Myra nods then glances at the time, "Speaking of heading home, it is late and I should go," there's a hint of playfulness as she says, "I'm not quite a nocturnal being. Perhaps we will see each other again."
Nevermore nods. "It was nice to meet you."
"...can I get your number? To maybe talk again sometime? You're cool, even if you aren't a werewolf."
"A pleasure. I... apologize if I scared you too much earlier," The mention of werewolves brings a quick grin and she considers a moment.... before nodding and exchanging numbers, then looks questioningly at the others as if asking if they also want her number for FRIENDSHIP reasons.
Eyrgjafa returns Phaedra's glance with a smile, before she turns to Myra. "Could I grab it as well?"
Nevy grins and nods. "Please!"
Aaand numbers are exchanged! Woo!
"You didn't scare me too-too much. I think I started the nosy there, and I should probably be sorry for it?" She pulls out her phone, sending a text once Myra's number is in it. The phone is a solid 5-6 years out of date.
Eyrgjafa also sends Myra a text for confirmation, before glancing at Phaedra again. "We should probably get you something more modern than that, by the way." She nods at the archaic phone.
Myra is - perhaps thankfully, perhaps sadly - not as technologically involved as Mearc and doesn't bat an eye at the out-of-date phone. Hers is probably a year or two old. "Eh, I'll live. You all.... take care, yes?"
And with that, Myra is out.
Nevy looks at the two women. "So... I'm guessing you two needed books?"
"My phone works fine." She glances at it, then at Eyrgjafa. "And I needed a place to be, more than anything. Sometimes it's boring visiting the same three or four places, night after night. I don't want to grow up to not have a social life, yanno?"
"Yeah, but I'm reliably assured newer ones are more secure. Which is important, for us." She glances at Nevermore. "What Phaedra said, but also I do want books. Do you have anything on Slavic fertility goddesses?"
Nevy nods at Phaedra, then blinks at Eyr. "Um... That would be... world religion, I think. Aisle... 4? F?" They beckon. "Come on. If I remember right it's down the aisle from self-help." They lead the way into the bookstore's crowded, messily-stacked shelves
Phaedra follows as well, when Nevy starts to lead, because she doesn't want to be left out.
Eyrgjafa goes to beckon Phaedra to accompany them but then stops halfway through, noticing that the other vampire is already doing so.
Nevy walks down one aisle, curses, and backtracks to turn down the next. "Where the heck... Ah! Right. Over here." They gesture.
"So many books...so much knowledge." She looks around with a look of wonder on her face.
"If you want to catch up on the things you missed, I'm sure we can make that happen." Eyrgjafa glances at Phaedra with a smile. "Correspondence classes still exist, right?" She asks Nevermore, before turning to the shelves, scanning through them and picking out the occasional title.
Nevy shrugs a shoulder. "Mostly online, I think, but yeah."
"I might need a computer, but...I could maybe do that. Take classes. Try to make up. Start way back with GED prep courses and stuff? Maybe. I'm...mm. I missed a lot of what a lot of people take for granted."
Eyrgjafa shrugs slightly. "Like I said, we can make it happen, if it's something you want. I'm sure Rhea would be more than happy to contribute."
Nevy hesitates. "How much... have you missed?" They hesitate. "If you're willing to talk about it?
"I was homeschooled growing up, by people who didn't want me knowing anything. I...really don't know anything about science, or most of history, or a lot of the books people read in schools. Math, I can kinda work through if it's simple. I'm not stupid, I just...don't know what I don't know. And most of what I do know is symbols and ideas and meaning that tie into the supernatural, things that helped me be the prophet."
"Well. History is something that's easy enough for us to cover. Science, too." Beat. "You might need maths lessons for that first, though." Eyrgjafa shrugs again, glancing at Nevermore. "I've no idea what fiction American children read in school, though, especially this era."
"Usually old white men," Nevy says flatly. "Some of it's good, a lot of it's self-important crap."
"Eugh. I got enough old white men. Anyway, the answer to the question you thought you were trying to ask, Nevermore? I've only been like this for a few years. I'm practically an infant, in our culture. So it's not like, like I'm some really, really old person who's lost touch with the modern day. I just never was in touch with it."
"No, the really, really old person who's lost touch with the modern day would be me." Eyrgjafa grins.
Nevy blinks. "Ah. I see." They wince. "You tell yourself, 'that kind of thing can't happen today,' but..."
"You haven't lost touch, Eyrgjafa. Who was it giving me advice on my phone a few minutes ago?" She snickers. "But yeah, uh. I might want to...try to learn some. Maybe."
"I had to get told that, you realise. Mine was even older." Beat. "Then again, only a few people even had home phones, back in my day."
"You had to talk uphill to the telegraph both ways?" Nevermore can't resist the snark.
Phaedra laughs. "Boy, and I thought I was the roastmaster in the room."
Eyrgjafa just looks blank. "Is this some reference I'm not getting?"
Nevy chuckles apologetically. "It's a reference to the type of story parents are supposed to always be telling their kids." They deepen their voice into the lowest alto it allows in an attempt to evoke the archetypal Dad. "Why, when I was your age, sport, I had to walk to school, uphill, in the snow! Both ways! You don't know how easy you have it with your school buses and your hippy-hop music..."
"Exactly that. 'You kids don't know how good you've got it, with your world wide webs...'"
"I do not sound like that!" Eyrgjafa gasps, horrified. "...do I?"
Nevy chuckles. "Not really. The 'back in my day' just... echoed it, a little."
"It's just weird to think about how different 'your day' is, sometime, given how young you look. But with us, that means nothing."
"Oh, I know, believe me." She glances at Nevermore. "My aunt is twice my age, and looks like she's Phaedra's. And there are even more extreme gaps than that, in our society."
Nevy's eyes widen. "That's... pretty intense. How do people... deal with that much time?"
"Note, of course, that we mean aunt by Blood, not by blood. Like, if I were to talk about my sire, that's a VERY different person than an actual parent to me. She was the one who rescued me. I'm now sort of under my...first cousin once-removed's wing?"
"To be fair, some of us actually like our sires. Or had that liking forced upon them." Beat. "Like I said earlier, though, I'd happily make the blood eagle of mine."
Nevy mouths "Forced to..." in a sort of horrified fascination. They clear their throat. "Do... I want to know what that means?"
"No, you don't wanna know. Some sires are power-tripping assholes. Actually, broader, some of us, in general, are power-tripping assholes. So, uh. Careful getting to know us, on the whole, beside the whole secret thing."
"Some are 'just' deceptive pricks. But that's not my story to tell." Eyrgjafa sighs. "Most of us have Blood relations in the city, to varying degrees of closeness, but nowhere near all of them are anywhere near as close as being first cousins once-removed." She shrugs. "I have a lot of distant cousins, but only one aunt. Or sister."
Nevy nods slowly. "How paranoid should I be of you two?"
Phaedra, for what it's worth, considers the question for a moment, chewing over possible responses. "Well. I mean. Hm. 'He's not a tame lion.'" Hoping the literary reference will hit.
Eyrgjafa glances at Phaedra. "If that's a reference to something, I don't get it, but. I didn't speak English until after I became a vampire, so."
Nevy nods, catching the reference. "Okay." They give a little smile. "I... suppose the fact that I'm asking the question and still have, you know, fluids, says something about that."
"In short I'm saying that while we're not actively a danger, we're still kinda dangerous in our own right. Like, I might not be a fighter, but any of us can lose control and become very dangerous very fast. But...what you should really be paranoid of, with me, is how much I see. I dream true dreams, and I see real things. That's sort of my actual 'job', you know?"
She shrugs. "Which is how I got in trouble with Myra earlier. I did the metaphysical equivalent of peeking up her skirt and got myself caught."
"And if I wanted to, well. I could easily learn to make you want to please me." Eyrgjafa shrugs slightly. "I can't manage everything Phaedra can, but by the same token she can't do everything I can."
Blink. "Please never ever do that to me. Ever. At all."
"The fact that we're still talking normalishly is kind of a sign that's not in the cards. Maybe. Probably."
"I did say that I could learn to do that for a reason." Beat. "But no, unless you screw up really badly, it's not likely to ever happen."
Nevy shakes their head. "That's just... being forced to want something? That's... horrifying." They look even paler than the mild exsanguination caused.
"Hey. Hey-hey-hey. That's not happening. You're safe, alright? We're not about to do anything to your head. Okay?" Her tone of voice switches to something reassuring and coaxing, and she reaches out to touch the sleeve of Nevy's coat.
Nevy nods. "Okay. That's... good."
"Yeah. I don't want to be that kind of person." Eyrgjafa sighs. "A lot of the other vampires I know... let's just say that they aren't as scrupulous as Phaedra or I are."
Nevy looks worried. "Do you know... Lethia? Rena? Guy?"
"Lethia and Guy, yes. Lethia's someone who I have a lot of respect for, but she also scares me a little, I guess. I mean, there's a lot that goes into that, and a lot of that really shouldn't end up applying to you? And Guy...he seems like a lot, but he's really encouraging. I don't always feel like he knows what's going on with me, but he always seems like he wants to be there for me, at least."
"I'm not in the same affinity group as Lethia, where I am with Guy, but that seems an accurate description." Eyrgjafa nods. "Rena, though... even before she was one of us her life wasn't pleasant, and her sire was one of the worse ones."
Nevy considers Eyr. "She seemed pretty intent on stopping the kidnappings..."
"...I'm going to have to meet her, at some point..."
"Kidnappings? Oh, the rat host thing? Yeah, that tracks."
Nevy nods. "The first time I met her, she was sleeping in an abandoned 7-11 people thought was haunted. It was..." They chuckle, looking a bit uncomfortable. "Awkward."
"She doesn't have a proper place to sleep?" She looks at Eyrgjafa with concern clear across her face.
"I think she doesn't want to be feeling indebted to one of us for providing it." Eyrgjafa sighs. "I keep trying to convince her we're not like that, but. It's slow going."
Nevy nods. "Okay. So she's... pretty okay, then?"
She defers the question to Eyrgjafa with a glance.
"Define 'okay'?" Eyrgjafa grimaces.
"Is she... any more likely to hurt me than you two?"
An uncertain shrug. "I don't know her to judge, but anyone can lose control. That's always a thing, especially when we're hurt or scared or angry. That's a risk, always."
"I wouldn't say so, but yeah. Hunger, fear, anger? Those increase the risk of us losing control, just like they did in life."
Nevy nods. "Okay. Sorry, I'm... just still learning where the edges are, in all this."
"A few really big hints? Don't light a fire around us, ever. That's a quick trip to losing control out of panic."
"Stay away from us if you're bleeding, too. And I mean far away. We can smell it really easily."
Nevy nods slowly. "All right..."
"But I mean. A lot of us try not to drop into that state of mind, if possible, because, like...a.) it's bad for secrecy and b.) losing control isn't pleasant."
"Yeah. The people who like staying in that state... they tend to end up getting put out of everyone else's misery, sooner or later."
Nevermore nods. "Okay." They roll their shoulders and chuckle. "You guys came here to buy a book, and I feel like you've just been teaching me."
"No, I came here to hang out, maybe make friends. I've done that." She laughs. "Though I probably should go out and find dinner. Uh...are you okay with us mentioning that we do things like that, or do you want plausible deniability?"
"Mind if I come with, Phaedra? I haven't eaten in a bit." At the question, she pauses, glancing towards Nevermore.
"I mean... I feel like it comes with the territory." They look uncertain. "Unless... you're not going to hurt anyone? Not badly, I mean?"
"Not badly, no. That'd be shitty of us. If...you want a demonstration at some point, text me. But not doing that at your work, because that'd also be shitty, honestly. Necking on the clock, what would your boss think?"
Eyrgjafa chuckles quietly, but nods. "I try not to take more than someone might give when donating from any one person. Safer for them and me."
Nevermore blinks at Phaedra. "Uhhh... that's... I'm... No, thanks." They glance at Eyr. "Good. That's... that's good."
"Fair. Anyway...where are we going for dinner?" She offers Eyrgjafa her arm with a grin.
"Hope Bros? I haven't eaten there in a while." Eyrgjafa shrugs slightly, taking Phaedra's arm with a smile.
|