fifty shades of stefan } { tonight the (whoo!) will hit the fan [1922]

[somanyadjectives]

[Continued from here.]

The thing that Stefan loved about the twenties is that everything is an indulgence. Even the simplest thing, like taking the girl that he and Rebekah were sharing earlier out and finishing the job is treated like something rare and delicious. The entire atmosphere just screamed luxury and the seductive taste of the forbidden. It's the simple pleasures that have kept driving him forward since Damon left him reeling and bloody, rather than drowning in the guilt and self-loathing that makes him want to stab a stake through his chest.

This? This is infinitely more fun.

His voice is a low, seductive purr as he pushes Maria - Maria Walsh, from Oklahoma City - up against the wall and let his lips tease over her skin. She gives a soft, breathy giggle as he does, not making any move to push him away, but for the sake of propriety needing to put up some kind of protest. "Oh, Mr. Salvatore. What would your girl say?"

He gives a soft chuckle against her skin, taking in the scent of her blood with a deep breath, before murmuring. "I don't think she'll mind."

And with that he'll sink his fangs into her neck and start drinking her dry. Her blood tastes like whiskey and cigarettes, that delightful combination that goes right to his head in a way that no high ever could. God, he loves this decade. He hopes it never ends.

[Continued here.]

Comments

[somanyadjectives]

"He is." Rebekah's eyes sharply study her for a moment, before turning back to Stefan with a small smile. "Stefan, darling, why don't you go get us some drinks. Maybe you can figure out where my brother wandered off to."

Stefan glances between the two of them for a moment, before he decided he didn't want to be caught in this crossfire. Like the smart man he is, he gets to his feet and makes his way over to the bar. "I'll be right back."

[diana_abel]

So much for a warm reception.

Diana stepped off to one side, so Stefan could pass. She didn't want to seem like she was jealous or on her guard. Desperately, she wished she could warn him that there was danger, that there was a trap waiting to be sprung. But she saw no good way to do that without looking suspicious.

And she'd been so happy to see him.

Her smile wavered just slightly.

[likeaweapon]

Rebekah waits until Stefan disappears around the corner towards the bar, before moving to the side in the booth and gesturing for the other woman to sit. "Please. Sit. I've met so few of Stefan's friends, but ... I suppose that's because we haven't known each other that long."

[diana_abel]

Ruth's lessons began to kick in. Diana smiled a courtier's smile, easily taking a seat in the booth. She pulled her legs up onto the bench, neatly arranging the fringe of her dress around them. Like a cat of some kind. She set her elbow against the back of the booth, resting her chin in her fingertips. Easy and comfortable. Casual.

Not at all afraid of what was clearly a superior predator.

Diana didn't need to look at the woman's aura to know that she was something powerful. She could feel it.

"How long have you two been together?"

[likeaweapon]

"A few months. My brother and I relocated here from New Orleans, and Stefan has been so generous with helping us. He really is ... quite the gentleman." The look on her face turns a little devious at that. "At least when he wants to be."

[diana_abel]

Diana was starting to feel a chill down the back of her spine. Something was wrong. Beyond the fact that she didn't like Stefan's dame.

Something was very, very wrong.

"You don't have to sell me on Stefan," she said lightly. "We've been friends for years."

Probably best not to mention that one night in the park...

[likeaweapon]

"Have you?"

How interesting. Rebekah doesn't seem all that impressed, because she knows Stefan has friends. It's simply a matter of whether or not she's one of the friends who are also friends with Katherine. This Lexi he's avoiding certainly isn't, but Diana remains to be seen.

"He's relatively young, for one of us. Are we talking a few years or a few decades?"

[diana_abel]

As far as Cainites went, Diana was relatively young. Hardly a neonate. More like an ancilla. She wasn't sure how much leverage that would give her, but she'd use everything in her arsenal.

"I met Stefan when he was just a baby," she said. "Must have been around 1864. I don't know. I'm not great with dates." A lie. But it made her sound older. "Back in Virginia."

Her fingers ran along the fringe of her wig. And for a second, she heightened her senses again. Somewhere out back, she could hear Denise and Christine talking in hushed tones. No sign of trouble yet. That was good.

But Diana caught a whiff of blood, suddenly.

[likeaweapon]

So a long time then. Still not a threat, as Stefan clearly is not in love with her - he's impulsive enough that if he was he certainly would have made a move by now - but still something to be wary of all the same.

"Then you must know his brother, Damon? Or his sire, Katherine?"

[diana_abel]

"Only by reputation," she said, shaking her head. And neither reputation was exactly sterling.

Then again, neither was hers. In some circles.

She smiled absently again, pressing her fingertips to the back of her ear. "I've been to New Orleans. A long, long time ago." Her niece had been kind enough to help burn part of it down. "Charming place."

[likeaweapon]

Her face flickers for a moment, something that's almost akin to sadness. She misses her home in New Orleans, more than she can say. She knows that she's ruined that for her and her family, and it is her cross that she must bear, but she still misses the life she used to have.

"It is. My family has lived there for many years."

[diana_abel]

Diana caught the flicker. And for the first time, she didn't feel like a cat, ready to bear her claws at this woman. Or, probably more appropriately, she didn't feel like she was ready to pounce at her.

She switched flawlessly over to French.

"It sometimes reminds me of Paris," she said, smiling sadly. "All of the gaiety and the life, busting out of the seams. I miss it sometimes."

But only sometimes. She hadn't been in the best of places back then.

[likeaweapon]

The touch of French makes her smile, a bit more pleased than sad memories of New Orleans in the past and she nods, responding in kind. "As do I. I haven't been back to Europe in a very long time, let alone Paris."

But she loves the United States as well. They're a brash, industrious melting pot of people. It's quite amazing to see.

[diana_abel]

"Me neither," Diana said, warming up by the second. She'd been unfair, she supposed. She might be just as defensive, if she saw a beautiful woman eying her latest beau. "But I would love to go back, someday."

Paris in particular. So many memories. On the other hand, they were all wrapped up in Joseph.

Idly, her fingers played with the engagement ring she still wore.

"You know what I miss the most about Paris? The way the air smells."

[likeaweapon]

Rebekah considers for a moment as she tries to remember. It had been so long ago, and odds are they haven't left on the best of terms. She's tried to forget the things she loved there, if for no other reason than protect her own heart for the things she missed. Even the things she shouldn't.

"I can't say for sure. It's been centuries now."

[diana_abel]

Centuries. That was frightening.

Diana shrugged, trying to remain calm. "It's the bees knees," she replied mildly. "Not like the air here."

[likeaweapon]

Yep. She's a scary one. She smirks a bit at that, before leaning back in the booth. "I wouldn't say that. America has it's own charms. The people here are so much more willing to go after what they want. They ... lack inhibition. There's something refreshing about that." There's a pause. "Provided they don't go too far, of course. Men can be scoundrels when given too much leeway."

And that tendency for depravity usually earns them Rebekah's teeth in their neck if they're not too careful.

[diana_abel]

"And how!" Diana agreed, perking up a little. "The people here are just so...hungry. For everything!" It was the first thing to occur to her when she arrived in California, anyway. The newest of the new. Still rough around the edges and primed for...anything.

She leaned in a little bit, lowering her voice. "Between you and me," she continued, "I think there's something special about vampires who are from here. Something different. Like your fella."

[likeaweapon]

Her eyebrows climb slightly at that, before glancing over her shoulder in the direction Stefan left in, before turning back to her, and leaning in to look at her more closely. There isn't much of a difference between her and Stefan, beyond the fact that she's an Original and he is most assuredly not. That must mean there's something different about Diana.

"How do you mean?"

[diana_abel]

"I don't know if I can explain it," she said. "It's like...they, more than any other vampire, experiences the sense that anything is possible."

Probably because the New World, unlike the old one, wasn't en-mired in tradition and The Way of Things. The world was still taking shape and still figuring out what it was. Which meant that all the vampires there were doing the same.

"They're all a lot younger too," she added. "You know how young people are."

Diana knew. She desperately wanted to feel that way.

[likeaweapon]

She hums softly in consideration, before nodding. She thinks she remembers what it was like to be young, but sometimes she can't help but feel it's slipping away, the older she gets. "I'm afraid I don't." She doesn't say it to be condescending. In fact, there's something more wistful to it than anything else. "I haven't been young for much longer than it has been since I've seen Paris."

[diana_abel]

The wistfulness earned Rebekah some sympathy in Diana's eyes. It always meant something when an Elder wanted that lost youth.

It meant that they weren't so far gone...

"I think," she said, "that if things go the way they're going now, one day the vampires born here are going to rock the foundation of the world as we know it." For the better, of course. Diana had so much faith in them.

[likeaweapon]

She hums softly in agreement. She wouldn't be surprised. They always did seem to have some influence in things over the years. But theirs is also a secret to be kept, which can be difficult if they're doing things that will change the world.

"Perhaps. But that is a risk for all of us, in the end."

[diana_abel]

It was only a risk if you feared change. And Diana, over the decades, had become someone who embraced it.

She looked forward to the new world.

It had to be better than the last one.

Changing the subject, Diana found her eyes drawn to the pendant hanging from Rebekah's neck. "That's beautiful," she said. "Where'd you get it?"

[likeaweapon]

"This?" Rebekah glances down at the necklace around her neck, one hand raising over it protectively. It's one of the few things she still has left of her mother, and she doesn't intend to lose it for anything. "A witch gave it to me, a very long time ago."