fifty shades of stefan } { don't believe the lights are shining, any place but there [1904]

[somanyadjectives]

[Continued from here.]

Ten years, as promised, and Stefan doesn't forget. Evening of the first night of the World's Fair has him standing on the bridge facing the statue of Saint Louis, hearing the faint sounds of revelry in the distance. There is so much he wants to do and see, but a promise is a promise, and he isn't going to abandon his date for the evening.

Provided, of course, that she remembers and elects to attend, but that's another matter entirely. For however long it takes, he will wait.

The past decade hasn't been a particularly easy one. The absence of his brother is starting to weigh on him, and while he wishes he knew where Damon is or what he is doing, he also knows that Damon promised him an eternity of misery. That is a promise that he knows Damon fully intends to keep, no matter how sorry Stefan is. He can only hope that he can keep being better, top prove to him that he isn't the burden that Damon believes to be saddled with.

Damon left because Stefan couldn't control himself. Clearly allowing Lexi to teach him control and prove that to Damon is the only way to try and bridge that gap between them.

All the same, he stands and waits for Diana, the first thing he's been excited for in almost ten years. If she doesn't arrive on the first night, he'll continue to wait for every night until she does arrive. Hopefully it will be sooner rather than later, though. There is so much of the fair to see.

[Continued here.]

Comments

[somanyadjectives]

That particular question catches him completely off guard. It's not tat he wouldn't have considered it on some level, but the idea that vampires can't procreate has been something of a comfort over the years. To hear that someone undead can have children is unsettling.

"No. I didn't."

[diana_abel]

Her eyes flitted from side to side once again, before settling back on Stefan. It was a rare occasion--especially these days--for Diana to wear a serious face. But this was a cause that mattered.

"They're called dhampir," she said softly. "The poor things. Born of Cainite and mortal parents. Most of them grow up thinking that they're human. But they can learn Cainite abilities and become powerful. All the benefits of being a vampire without any of the side effects."

[somanyadjectives]

That sounds incredibly dangerous. And incredibly lucky. Stefan actually doesn't know quite how to feel with all of it, because of the complications it meant, but on the other hand - all of the benefits with none of the downsides is not a bad thing.

"I take it that things aren't necessarily easy for them." Nothing in this world ever is.

[diana_abel]

"There are some of our kind who think of them as a sign of the Apocalypse," she said softly, making it very clear in the twist of her lip what she thought about that idea. "I think they believe that killing them will delay the inevitable, somehow. Stupid goops."

Sadly, the Sabbat weren't the worst of it. At least they just out and out killed their dhampir victims. What the Children of Eden did? So much worse.

"Others," she said softly, "want to use them. After all, when you have all the benefits of being a vampire without any of the side effects, you know what you're singularly built to do?"

[somanyadjectives]

Stefan can't imagine being singularly built for anything, but he's so completely out of touch with this world that he doesn't know how to even begin to process that information. He pauses for a moment, trying to think what witches would do if they had something with all of the benefits, none of the weaknesses.

"I'm assuming some kind of soldier?"

[diana_abel]

"Yes," she said softly. "The kind that destroys vampires. They're utterly stripped of their own individuality. They believe that they exist only to kill. To open windows and doors and let in the sunlight."

It was normally such a beautiful thought. She could still imagine what the sunlight looked like.

But that happy little sentiment was twisted now. With the thought of how it could happen to her without warning.

[somanyadjectives]

He frowns at that, understanding exactly what she means but not liking any of it. "Children shouldn't be used for things like that." No matter what kind of children they are.

[diana_abel]

She'd known, somehow, that Stefan would see it that way. Which is why she'd broached the subject in the first place.

"That's what the Order of the Silver Crescent does," she told him gently. "We see to it that no children are forced to be used like that. That they know how to use their powers for their own sake. Not for anyone else's."

A twittering over her head caught her attention. She turned to see a sparrow flying away from them. It was a pretty picture. It made her think of some of the dhampir they protected. Sparrows with broken wings. They were taught how to fly.

And most of them left.

"I'm not saying you need to make a decision now. You shouldn't. But...promise me that you'll think about it, all right? About joining us some day?"

[somanyadjectives]

Stefan nods slowly in agreement. He isn't sure what he'll want or when but this definitely sounds like something that could be of interest to him. He nods in turn, letting the information filter over in his head as he does. "I'll consider it. Provided that I can learn more about it."

[diana_abel]

"There's only so much I can say," Diana admitted with an apologetic wince. While a part of her understood Artemis' need for secrecy, another part of her found it terribly inconvenient and annoying. Really, how did she expect to recruit when people didn't know what they were getting into?

Paranoia was written in the nature of Cainite culture, really. No Kindred ever dared to trust another.

It was tragic.

Deciding to bend the rules just a little bit, she added, "But I can give you an address."

[somanyadjectives]

He gives a small smile at that before nodding. He can understand the need for secrecy. It's an every day fact of a vampire's life. But he can take the address and take the time to investigate from there. It's not like they didn't have all the time in the world to do so.

"An address I can work with."

[diana_abel]

Artemis annoyingly refused to let Diana carry around little cards with the address on them. Too dangerous, she said. They might fall into the wrong hands. So for a whole week, she'd drilled Diana, forcing her to commit the address to memory.

It had been frightfully easy. She'd just set it to a song and rehearsed the chords a few times.

Unfortunately, she couldn't let Stefan write it down either. He'd have to learn the song.

"Repeat after me," she said quietly, leaning close so that her lips hovered over his ear. And she began to sing, voice sweet and clear. "2963 Priscilla Avenue, Los Angeles, California."

[somanyadjectives]

"2963 Priscilla Avenue, Los Angeles, California."

Should be easier enough to remember. Stefan's also always had a fairly decent memory, so he'll be able to commit it well enough until he can write it down in his journal later.

"I'll remember."

[diana_abel]

"All right," she said, nodding in approval.

She gave his arm a little squeeze. "Now. No more talking about solemn things. We only have a few hours before sunrise and I want to see everything."

[somanyadjectives]

He grins a bit at that, before taking her hand and pulling her towards the door of the exhibit and out into the fair itself. "Well, then. Let's not waste any time."

And off they go!