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Post by demikara on Dec 3, 2019 17:14:04 GMT -6
It was that time of year again. Brandon wasn’t surprised to see someone at the gravesite. He wasn’t surprised to see that it was Catherine either. Quietly, he laid down the bouquet of flowers he had brought his cousin and took a step back so he was beside Catherine. The bouquet was simple, white and yellow flowers. It was almost cheerful, if not for the fact that it now lay on a grave.
Today’s date, different in only the year, was on the tombstone in front of them. The name on the stone was simple. Emily Hammerstein. They hadn’t been the same age. Emily was, or would have been, a little older than him. They hadn’t been close, but Uncle Izaak had hated the magic that Brandon had little choice in having. It had been a difficult environment for them to get to know each other in. They had still managed to be friends at least, but not close. Never close.
“Mary doesn’t talk to me anymore.” He admitted to his aunt. “She hasn’t since the funeral.” As if it was his fault that Emily had been infected and the infection killed her. He had never enjoyed the family’s ties to Cedar Ridge and as far as he was concerned, the pack was at fault for her death. Uncle Izaak blamed magic and thus Brandon and Catherine for bringing it into their lives.
It wasn’t true. It wasn’t their fault that the infection had killed her. She had known the risk and they had grown up knowing that was a risk if any of them ever wanted to be turned. Everyone knew the risk, but Emily had wanted this, had wanted this lifestyle and it had cost her life to try and get it. And they’re family, never the most solid of things, had fallen apart. “That’s not quite true. I got a nasty letter, once it got out that I was turned.” He had read it, every word, and had it committed to memory.
Why he should survive being made into a vampire and his cousin shouldn’t survive being made into a werewolf was beyond him. They should have both survived. Neither should ever have been turned in the first place. He would have died from cancer, but at least he would have been human, cancer or not. It should have been his choice. And it wasn’t, and he was turned and Emily had been infected and he had survived against his will and she had died against hers.
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Memories
Dec 4, 2019 0:35:29 GMT -6
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Post by Circe on Dec 4, 2019 0:35:29 GMT -6
"I think..." Catherine began, her voice cutting through the stillness of the cemetery. Today, Greenwood was shrouded in a cold cocoon of mist and fog. Lending a dreamlike softness to the otherwise harsh outlines of the bare, dormant trees and stone graves. "On some level she believes her father is right." Izaak had been all manner of furious, going so far as to accuse Catherine of deliberately forcing Emily's hand in the issue.
Looking at the small bouquet of flowers, and the single white rose atop the headstone she frowned. Lately she had been too busy, too distracted, too much of anything else to really think about it as the date of her step-daughter's death steadily approached. "Mary hasn't said much to me either." Sure, there had been the strained calls and tense visits after she'd returned to Dallas; they had both foolishly thought that they could learn to have a healthy and happy relationship. Catherine had been wrong, and the moment Mary found out from Izaak that she had been appointed to Dallas as a Warden things fell apart.
"I still don't understand why." Emily had always been adamant that she wouldn't be turned, but when she had began her first serious relationship that quickly changed. And in January of that year, she had consented to being brought into the pack. But not everyone survived, for whatever reason the infection and change killed them in the end. It wasn't a slow agonizing death, it struck quickly and mercilessly.
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Post by demikara on Dec 4, 2019 11:27:44 GMT -6
"Uncle Izaak is a jerk." Brandon said simply. He was not fond of his uncle at all, grateful only for the connection to Catherine it gave him. He largely credited Catherine with his rescue as a child as well, even if none of them had been able to stop the edict that came down from the council: death or permanent probation for something he had been taught against his will. It had been succeed at necromancy or die as well. Much of his life had been 'do this or die' in one form or another and he knew exactly how far he was willing to go to not die. Some people never found that out, but he had the privilege to learn that lesson young. Uncle Izaak and Aunt Catherine had rescued him from that life style, but of the two, Aunt Catherine had always been more accepting. There was more than one reason he had insisted on staying with his aunt during the divorce.
"And I don't know why. For so long she was content on the edges of the pack, and just being friends. And then...that stupid boyfriend of hers talked her into it." He blamed the boyfriend for her death. Had he not talked her into it, had he respected her original wish to not be turned, then he'd still have his cousin and his friend. At least the death had been quick. He knew what it was to die slowly in stages and wouldn't wish that on anyone. The vampire closed his eyes, not wanting to see the grave still. It was hard being here.
It was right, being here.
It was like a holiday visit to see his cousin, but the worst sort of holiday visit there was.
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Post by Circe on Dec 5, 2019 9:34:40 GMT -6
In the unseen, personal lives were something that were often held closely and tightly to the chest. Ingrained to the very core, it was a thing borne of a life lead in the shadows full of half truths and white lies meant to protect themselves and those that they loved. But for some when the lies came undone, crashing down all around that was their downfall. Even those who were well connected, moneyed, or privileged were not exempt from this, and often it was them that had to fall the furthest. Catherine was no exception to any of this, despite her power, connections, and ability horrors had still happened.
At Brandon's mention of her now ex husband, her face twisted briefly into an expression of pain. She had thought she loved him when they had started out, and that it wasn't just some fling to entertain her along the long span of centuries. For a time they had been a family, and Catherine had happily lived as a human the best she could. But when the girls had grown older, they had begun to ask questions and she couldn't bear lying to them. Perhaps it was her fault after all, she had been the one to teach the Mary and Emily how to navigate the unseen as allies; even if they had little to no magic of their own.
"Women do things for love.. for people we think love us."
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Post by demikara on Dec 7, 2019 19:22:51 GMT -6
Brandon thought over his failed relationships and sighed. "Women aren't the only ones." He admitted quietly. He had been in too many failed relationships to even think that women were the only ones who would do things for love that they would later regret. If they lived to see the later. So far, in that, Brandon had been lucky. His cousin had not been. They hadn't always gotten along, but no one deserved to die like that. He knew he couldn't have talked her out of it, but he still kicked himself for not trying to do just that. The vampire looked down and closed his eyes. And now there was a grave where there should be a cousin. He should have at least tried.
She had barely been in the Unseen, right at the edge of Unseen and Mundane and this had happened. Would it have been different if she was wholly mundane? If he was the Unseen cousin and they never knew about his world? He liked to think so. But it didn't matter because whether they liked it or not, his cousins and uncle were in the Unseen. And sometimes the Unseen extracted too high of a price to be paid.
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Post by Circe on Dec 8, 2019 10:25:17 GMT -6
"True enough." She had witnessed Brandon's string of on again and off again relationships to know it never ended well for the other. After Izaak, Catherine had preferred to keep most people at arm's length or further, afraid of what an attachment or possible growing fondness would bring her. The now failed family, was something that she had made every effort to maintain and keep together. When Brandon had come to live with her, she had done everything to make sure he had a relationship with what family he had left. Emily's death had been the final straw in a long, and tumultuous relationship between Catherine and Izaak. Now all that was left was fear, regret, and anger towards one another. Occasionally Izaak still tried to make her life difficult, by either refusing to cooperate with her officers or forcing her hand when it came to getting cases through the mundane system. For the most part now, they all had their separate lives; Mary, Izaak, Brandon, and Catherine.
"Emily's choice was not ours, but there was little we could do." The only time the others lives intersected with one another was this time of year. Neither Izaak nor the other daughter, Mary, had been to the cemetery yet and it appeared that they likely never would. It was something that both seemed intent to push as far from their minds and memories as possible. Catherine didn't blame them, but as a child she had been taught that the dead were worthy at least of remembrance if not respect; something often lost on Izaak and Mary.
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Post by demikara on Dec 11, 2019 17:31:47 GMT -6
Brandon stayed silent, not certain how to respond.There was little they could do, but he still blamed himself for it. Focused on the grave stone, he didn't notice as Izaak came up behind him, a bouquet of flowers in his arms. Izaak cleared his throat, letting them know he was there. "Brandon. Catherine." That was about all the greeting they would get. He blamed their sort for what happened to Emily. If she hadn't have been so close to these two, maybe she never would have fallen in with the werewolf who killed her.
Brandon turned to look. "Uncle Izaak? I didn't expect to see you here."
"She was my daughter Brandon. Of course I'm going to visit her grave." On the day she died, it seemed only right to come see her. He came on her birthday too, though he didn't tell others that. He wasn't going to forget his little girl.
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Post by Circe on Dec 11, 2019 17:47:02 GMT -6
"Hello, Izaak." Catherine replied, her tone was civil and carefully neutral. She wasn't about to give Izaak an opening to accuse her of bad behavior or disrespecting Emily's memory. But she still considered herself lucky to have even been addressed at all. Catherine knew that he and Mary still found Emily's death painful and it's nature a mark on the memory of what to them should have been otherwise spotless. With every milestone and every important event, the absence of the daughter and sister was keenly felt by all parties.
Stepping aside, she allowed her now ex husband to approach the grave. There was no sense in denying him this small ritual or rite, especially if it provided the man with comfort. Cruelty wasn't something she was interested in treating the other with, and would have rather he known how much it had hurt her too once she had found out about Emily and the werewolf. That there had been arguments, heated debates, and every effort made to explain to Emily just how dangerous it would be. Not everyone survived being turned and there were external factors at play that she couldn't even begin to understand. But she had done it for a boy who she thought had loved her, when in reality he hadn't even come to the funeral.
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Post by demikara on Dec 11, 2019 17:57:12 GMT -6
Izaak placed the flowers on her grave and remained kneeling there several minutes before he stood. "I hate those damned werewolves for what they did to her, you know." He admitted to them, talking mostly to himself. "They got away with barely a slap on the wrist and she ended up dead." For something she hadn't ever wanted before that damned relationship. She had been content to shun the unseen world, like him and Mary, aware but on the edges. There was no need for them to join it after all, not when all it had to offer was pain. He had no clue how Brandon could stand to be in it, not after what had happened to him as a child.
"It isn't right, Uncle." Brandon agreed quietly. He was all for a bit of quiet revenge, but the exact who of the boyfriend had been kept from him, for probably just that reason. He of all people couldn't afford to end up in hot water with the council and if he murdered some one, he'd be in very hot water indeed. But he still wanted it seen done, and if he had a name he'd do so. Emily had been as close to him as a sister at one point, before the divide had happened. Before the divorce when they began to grow apart.
He had steadily gone deeper into the Unseen and she and Mary had stayed at the edges.
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Memories
Dec 11, 2019 18:23:42 GMT -6
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Post by Circe on Dec 11, 2019 18:23:42 GMT -6
Catherine looked over at Brandon and frowned. He still seemed eager to find and make the one who had turned his cousin pay. Part of her agreements with the Council was to not stir up any trouble, but that tended to conflict with the courts who were more than eager to attend to this slight, perceived or not.
"They've been untouchable for years," Catherine ventured. If she had been able to figure out who had infected and turned Emily, she would have. Because there seemed to be no way that it had been voluntarily.
"...we still miss her too Izaak. She was just as much mine as she was yours."
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Post by demikara on Dec 11, 2019 18:50:56 GMT -6
"The packs and the courts are both untouchable." Izaak noted, sour. "It leaves people like me and the girls in a terrible place." They were human and just human and just on the edges of the unseen and barely hanging on there even. Or perhaps the unseen was barely hanging on to them. "That's partly why I work in the mundane world. There we can at least all pretend to be on the same level." Though not well then either and he knew it. Still, it was better than it was in the Unseen.
Brandon watched quietly. He wasn't about to get between and his aunt and his uncle on this, not when he knew full well his uncle was right. He was nearly untouchable because of his position in the court. And he wasn't the only one like that either.
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Memories
Dec 11, 2019 19:00:36 GMT -6
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Post by Circe on Dec 11, 2019 19:00:36 GMT -6
Izaak's comments stung, if only because it reminded Catherine of how untouchable she could be if she allowed it. Daughter of a Councilor, descendent of the first vampires, and a beloved of the fae queen. If that wasn't untouchable, she didn't know what was. "I know Izaak, I wish there was more I could do." She said gently. Her reaction to the current case her group had been handed, hadn't been anything other than personal.
"Cedar Ridge has... been over reaching lately. They've likely expended most of the good will afforded to them by the community." Catherine hesitantly explained. If this was ever an opportunity to make them pay, then this was it. She just needed to figure out a way to make it all above board and legal, or else she risked more than just herself.
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Post by demikara on Dec 11, 2019 19:13:44 GMT -6
"Would you like the name of that boyfriend of hers?" He knew it. He had met him long before they idea of turning Emily had come up. He had even liked the boy somewhat, as much as could be expected in the circumstances. "I know you're untouchable as well. You could finally do something about it." That sounded like a dream for him as far as he was concerned. And if anything, it wouldn't reflect on her at all. The vampire court would easily absorb it all. "Or have that damned court do something. I know either of you could do that."
He kept abreast of the news. Catherine had power that they had never discussed in their marriage.
Brandon looked up, eyes narrowed. "Yes." He wanted the name. And he would use his power to do something about it.
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Memories
Dec 11, 2019 19:21:20 GMT -6
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Post by Circe on Dec 11, 2019 19:21:20 GMT -6
Silent, she regarded Izaak carefully. Who had told him these things and more importantly what had they told him. "Izaak, I..." She started to say but Brandon had already spoken.
Placing a hand on Brandon's shoulder, she shook her head. This wasn't a situation to dive head first into, and Brandon could be impulsive given a chance.
"Firstly, I cannot even begin to think why you think I'm untouchable. Secondly, as much as I want that.. I'm not really sure I want to risk my license."
The two barely spoke outside of the niceties required when their worlds overlapped. There was no reason to, he had his life and she had hers.
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Post by demikara on Dec 11, 2019 19:30:42 GMT -6
Brandon subsided, listening to his aunt. If she said no, there would be a reason, despite his desire to handle it now. He didn't have a license to risk after all, other than the lifelong probation and if he violated that what would they do? Broadmoore was an option, but they'd never consider it one, not with Tyrus as part of the courts now. They'd consider it a vacation. And they wouldn't kill him and risk upsetting the courts. He knew what being untouchable was.
"La Principessa Caterina." Izaak said simply. "The council isn't going to touch the princess. The only reason they touched to former leaders was the willing surrender of them." And that was the simple truth. Had there been even an inkling of a fight, the council wouldn't do a damned thing. "His name is Steven Filks." Izaak gave them the name as if it was poison. "He's 24 now and persona non grata in the pack after Emily died because of him."
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