Finders Keepers

[all_too_familiar]

Sometimes witches have powers before they turn. But this is rare, uncommon.

More often, a potential witch displays almost nothing out of the ordinary at all. Just, say, a little more skill with people, a little more natural charisma. An extra dose of something that could almost be called luck, if one were paying attention and on the lookout for witches.

There is one such maybe-potential, right over there. He's not from around here, but he is fluent in Italian and French and German and he professes that English is his first language and laughs when people call him a liar because of his perfect accent. He might not be the most powerful, but a polyglot witch could be useful for something. And who knows, maybe there's more to it.

Maybe someone would care to find out.

Comments

[all_too_familiar]

Blair quietly offers to lead them to good people to eat. Ironically, they are very bad people to eat, but that makes them good food. He refuses to eat non terrible people.

He asks his innocuous questions intermittently. Is there anything that he should look out for that can kill him? Are there characteristics the Volturi have besides killing people that break the Masquerade? Are there lots of witches, and if so, do they know any ones of note? Does he have to eat people, are there alternatives? (His quirky diet is one of the most inconvenient things about him, but he doesn't make it very inconvenient.) Are there any other things about being a vampire that he should know? Are there other assorted fantasy creatures that exist?

[alicornucopia]

His covenmates don't mind indulging his picky eating habits, although he has to make sure to find enough for everybody if he doesn't want them eating whoever's convenient, and he has to do this under secrecy constraints.

They don't mind telling him all about these things. As far as they know they do have to eat people. They... can drink water? It doesn't help or anything but they can. There used to be werewolves; not anymore. They have met the following witches...

[all_too_familiar]

... And vampires are vulnerable to fire.

Well. This was starting to get annoying. Finding enough terrible people for three hungry vampires was - difficult. He didn't always manage it. Sometimes Danuta and Gavriel ate people that were not terrible. That's enough deaths on his conscience. He has newborn strength, and a much calmer more focused mind than an ordinary newborn. He can, after spending enough time with them, track them wherever they go. He can fix this, and he doesn't need anything else from them. They don't suspect him.

And so they don't see it coming when he rips Danuta's head off and turns Gavriel to a pile of Graviel with a mixture of surprise and newborn strength. They were expecting to fight him together, if he ever got 'feral' and tried to kill them. Of course, since he's not feral, he avoided this problem.

He reattaches his arm and the foot he lost in combat, humming. Then he retrieves his packet of matches, and checks Danuta's head for facial expressions. Any of note before he sets them both on fire, or is it stuck on surprise?

[alicornucopia]

She looks hurt. She is hurt. She liked him. She was proud of him.

[all_too_familiar]

Well, she made him kill five people, and she was going to kill more, and more, and more, and in order to stop her peacefully he'd have to chase around and get them terrible people and what if they saw another potential witch, what then? A fourth vampire to feed.

She and her mate get to burn.




Their signatures disappear from his head.

There are others besides his sister, now - humans he happened to talk to, the person who sold him the matches. But his sister is the clearest. His sister is Definitely Thataway instead of - existing somewhere in the world, maybe able to be found if he focuses. But always, he can find his sister.

He - doesn't think he wants to see her. He barely remembers anything more than the signature of personality. Is this signature of someone who would - think of him as a monster? Hate him for the people he's killed?

Would she be safe around him?

He's pretty safe around humans, but he doesn't like the risk. Not with the one single person he remembers from his human life. He's still new to this, still leaning on his power to recall how not to eat people. He wants something better.

I want someone who will understand this and can help, he thinks, and -

It's almost like when he was looking for terrible people for his coven to eat. Almost. It's fainter, but more specific. It's thataway. If he pays attention and follows it...



It turns out to lead to America.

That's okay, though, he can swim.

He winds up in Wisconsin, eyes still newborn-red but looking very non-threatening.

[alicornucopia]

His signature belongs to a vampire. Who is, impossibly enough, working as a doctor.

[all_too_familiar]

Blair thinks this is several things, but the most prominent of which is promising. It is promising.

Well, he doesn't have an identity anymore to make an appointment, so - he waits outside of the hospital with a book to pass the time. He can be patient.

[honey_twining]

The doctor notices him.

Another vampire, this one bronze-haired and with his own privacy-invasion power, approaches slowly.

[all_too_familiar]

Blair looks up from his book when he notices the new vampire.

And the new vampire's eyes.

He closes his book.

"Hello," he says, when the vampire can hear him and humans can't. "Sorry for being in your territory, I won't eat anyone while here, I - find myself in need of some assistance."

(He is trying to think of how to word his explanation of his past. This involves thinking about his past.)

[honey_twining]

"It's no trouble about the territory," the new vampire says. "You're here to see Carlisle?" He points at the hospital.

[all_too_familiar]

"Is that who's in there? Yes, please."

[honey_twining]

"What about? Where'd you hear of him?"

[all_too_familiar]

He's getting a sense of the vampire, even from this distance. What is that, feeling like a voyeur a lot? Hm.

"I'm a witch. Part of my power lets me find people. The other part - will not let me just see humans as food. I have been eating only horrible people that deserve it," except for the ones when he first turned, except for the ones his covenmates ate when he couldn't find them suitable food, weighing on his conscience like little anvils strapped to his feet, "but I want to know if there are alternatives, or if there's a way I can be safe around humans. My power led me here."

[honey_twining]

"We can survive on animals. Not everyone knows that, but we can."

[all_too_familiar]

"Oh," says Blair, blinking. "And no harmful effects?"

[honey_twining]

"Cosmetic ones. It tastes terrible. You'll be a little weaker. Nothing else."

[all_too_familiar]

He suspects he won't mind the taste, but the weaker... he bets he will. He likes being strong. But it might be worth it. He'll have to try it, otherwise how will he know?

"Okay. That's good to know, thank you. Did it cause the eyes?"

[honey_twining]

"Yes."

[all_too_familiar]

"Cool. I'd still like to meet Carlisle, if that's okay," says Blair. "If he can work as a doctor - I want to learn something like that control."

He is not exactly against killing people (obviously) but he really really really hates the idea of killing people he doesn't mean to kill. He has not slipped up once, since - since. He never wants to slip up again. Ever. Especially not with his sister.

[honey_twining]

"It's exceptional. I'm not sure it can be learned. But he'll be off work in a half hour."

[all_too_familiar]

"I can wait."

He tilts his head.

".... Are you a witch?" He wonders, on a hunch.

[honey_twining]

"Yes."

[all_too_familiar]

He suspects that prying beyond that is a bit - well, he recalls the last time he pried beyond that was because the prologue to murder. He does not want to murder this vampire. Or imply that he would in any way like to murder this vampire. He doesn't. Nor invade his privacy, despite his privacy invasion power of tracky goodness.

He nods, instead.

He decides not to bring up his potential as a witch being why he was turned. That just seems - broody and angsty. Pass on both.

[honey_twining]

"It's not why Carlisle turned me," Edward mentions of his own accord.

[all_too_familiar]

Mindreader.

He is not really offended by this, just taking in the new information.

"Glad to hear it. I hope he also skipped the, treatment I got as well?"