Lemon Eyes

[Adele Holst]

Adele watched the hybrid's dramatic exit, chewing on her lip. The girl made her uncomfortable, and their conversation before the arrival of her friends had been upsetting to say the least. There was little Perrin's heir wanted to do more right now than crawl into bed and pull the covers over her head. The evening prior to Lucia's appearance had been exhausting; she wanted sleep. With Damian's help recently, she'd been able to experience restful sleep; it was new, and nice. Yet she felt compelled to keep an eye on the hybrid. In the study tonight, numbers would be on her friends' side; but she didn't trust the girl.

Amara's voice brought her attention back to her friends; she hadn't realized she'd been clenching her jaw. "See ya."

Looking to Quinn as he spoke, Adele nodded. Yes, she would be joining them. At his concern, the blonde brought a small smile to her lips, "I've just got a lot on my mind." It wasn't anything against Quinn, but she didn't want to get into it at the moment.



Sitting cross-legged on the window sill, Adele leaned back into the corner of the window and wall. This was her preferred spot; from here, she had a good view of the entire study. Including the door in. She didn't always sit there; over the years she'd become more comfortable with everyone. But tonight, she wanted a good view of everyone and everything in the room.

Listening to Okello address everyone, the young woman nodded to herself. Okello had always been like the big brother she'd never had; but he'd really stepped up during this whole mess to look after the others. She counted herself extremely lucky to have such a good friend as him; especially given how he'd had her back during the attack on the den. He'd handled everything the last week or so with a calm and level head. Part of Adele wondered how he'd feel about Lucia if he knew what Pablo had gone through. But she wouldn't betray her best friend's trust by sharing that information without his consent.

Shoving her hands in the front pocket of her hoodie, the werewolf took a deep breath to relax herself. The hoodie still smelled strongly of Damian, and it brought her a surprising amount of comfort. The thought of interacting with her sire's son used to fill her with anxiety and regret. But recently he'd shown her a great deal of care and understanding; and affection, in his own way. Adele could still taste his lips; she blushed thinking about it.

Quinn's cheerful interjection about Lucia's beauty brought her attention back to her present company. The blonde wanted to roll her eyes; leave it to him to make comments on an attractive woman. She watched Okello's response to their friend's probing, but had not expected him to bring her in on this topic of conversation. "I..." She'd never really thought about it before; if she liked girls or not. For the most part, she didn't consider herself a sexual person in general. But she couldn't deny her current attraction to Damian. Either way, Adele realized Quinn was only giving her a hard time and she was overthinking this all. "She is... Very pretty." She conceded, looking from Quinn to Rachel. Adele refused to believe, however, that Pablo had lost his head because of the hybrid's beauty. He wasn't the type of man who liked someone only because of their looks.

[Pablo]

“Regardless.” Okello cut in before Quinn could speak his triumph. It was a bit surprising Adele had given a genuine answer. “I do not believe that to be the case. His state is not from simple adoration. Adele agrees with me.” He looked at the others one by one. “When he’s fully recovered, we will speak further on the matter.” Okello withheld a sigh. Nobody wanted Pablo back more than him. Why did it fall to Okello to be the adult in the room? No, he knew why. Matters were far simpler before. If only he had his sire’s easy nature. He felt so rigid and official. “I’ve spoken with the Pack Mother. She insists that Lucia did not intend this. We should not resent her for this.” Once again, he met their eyes, lingering longer on Adele’s. “Unless of course she tries again.”
One by one the pack confirmed their understanding. Whether it was by a simple nod, or a shrug of the shoulders. They seemed to be taking it rather easily. Okello had wondered if that fact she was biting him to begin with was worth a matter of contention, but Alena had told him it was not uncommon among those of vampire descent to bite their loves. It made his insides wrench and squiggle just thinking on it. “Final matter regarding Lucia. Do not let it be forgotten, she is just as much lycan as she is vampire. And like us requires flesh. Try to invite her on a hunt. I intend to extend an invitation to our weekly excursion.”
Khaleel’s head snapped away from his book. “Do hybrids experience transformation as well?”
“I believe so. Why don’t you ask her?”
The twins shared a quick silent exchange. “Very well. Shamir and I will be go hunting tomorrow. Any of you are welcome to join.”
Okello sighed, that seemed to cover everything. A bottle was held out him. “A drink, boss?” Caden said appearing at his side. That earned the younger man a roll of his eyes. That was not a title that he wanted to grow accustomed to. He took the bottle anyway.

(Hey Quinn.) Rachel’s voice. (I bet if she bites any of us, it’s going to be you. And you’ll probably deserve it too.)
(Me?!) He looked at her incredulously.
(Yeah, you. You’re a tease and a flirt.)
(He was flirting with her earlier?)
Quinn glared at Amara. Why did everyone assume he was a flirt. (I was being friendly.) That was all, why did he always suffer these accusations. (Addy back me up here.)

[Adele Holst]

When Okello resumed speaking, Adele glanced around the room. These get-togethers weren't the same without Pablo; she couldn't wait until he was able to be among everyone again.

Her friend's words concerning Alena's insight brought her gaze up to him. She held his eyes for the duration of his attention, but as soon as he moved on, she cast her golden eyes to the floor. Sighing quietly, the lycan chewed her lip momentarily. Okello was probably right. Lucia hadn't meant for things to go so horribly, they'd just been put in a shitty situation. The hybrid had been manipulated, she could practically hear Pablo's voice reminding her. Adele had been a little more on edge since Rome and finding Pablo in that cave; she knew she needed to chill out. Try to give Lucia the benefit of the doubt.

Adele held a hand out toward Okello for the bottle after he'd taken a swig, but nearly choked when Rachel took a playful jab at Quinn. When the young man called upon her to aid in his defense, the blonde nodded, Quinn's the friendliest I ever see him when he's around a pretty girl. She poked her tongue out slightly at Quinn before smiling with a quiet laugh.

[Lucia Drusa Severa]

Gazing into her full length mirror, Lucia turned slightly to see how her dress rested in the back. She'd changed out of the white dress, and put on a purple summer dress with thin straps and an open back that exposed the skin from the middle of her back, up. The skirt of the dress was looser, but short, and fell a few inches higher than her mid thigh. The front of the dress fell in a lower v-neck, but showed only a minimal amount of cleavage. Around her neck hung the chain with the key to the cell in her father's room. The hybrid studied her reflection, determining that she looked well enough to meet Pablo's friends. There was a soft glow to her crimson eyes, yet it hardly registered to Lucia. She'd over-indulged the previous night. Her anger and despair had brought the deaths of a couple dozen humans that she'd fed off of liberally. Yet none of them seemed to slake her thirst. Not the way Pablo's blood could. Or even Petite Woof's. She had no reason to be hungry; yet she felt almost empty. Like something was missing. The girl had tried not to think about it. But it had remained in the back of her mind, and it only added to her longing for her pet. She cocked her head to the side, looking at herself in the mirror. No, not her pet, she supposed. That wasn't quite right; especially not here in the den. A twinge of guilt struck her for thinking of Pablo like that; but she realized she wouldn't have been able to have him with her in Oslo if he'd been anything more than a pet. It'd been necessary there.

Brushing some hair over her shoulder, Lucia lifted her chin a bit, resolving herself to going upstairs. She found she was a little nervous; she was going to meet Pablo's closest friends. He'd assured her in Oslo that they'd like her, but she figured they'd probably heard that she'd done some terrible things. This situation wasn't ideal; but she smiled, trying to display Pablo's optimism. Knocking on the door to the study, Lucia waited a moment before opening it and stepping within.

There were more people present than she thought there'd be. For a moment she wondered if she'd gone to the wrong study, but her crimson eyes quickly settled on Okello before noticing Adele in the back. "Good evening." Clasping her hands in front of her lap, the hybrid looked around at everyone, smiling softly.

[Pablo]

The moment there was a knock on the door the room went silent. It continued for a moment as Lucia stepped into the room, every head turning to face her. Quinn took the prevailing silence as a small victory. Lucia had changed dresses and she was just as beautiful in this one as the last. There hadn’t been nearly as much exposed leg, they were long and slender. He turned back to Rachel smirking with satisfaction. As if he had just made a point. Before turning back to greet Lucia.
Okello took a quick glug from the bottle, the liquid a fierce burning. It took something quite intoxicating to get a lycan drunk. Quite literally poison to a human. How the pack kept acquiring more he was unsure of, let alone whoever brew the drinks. There was a knock on the door, he handed the drink back to Caden as Lucia stepped into the room. His packmate eying Lucia, before looking back at up at Okello, and then chugging from the bottle. Perhaps he’d underplayed the hybrid’s appearance. There was an otherworldliness to her. But it went beyond attraction. There was an allure to her, sometimes it was unsettling.
“Lucia, I’m glad you can make it.” Quinn said stepping up towards Lucia. Well, he had invited the girl. Let him handle her for now. It was actually relieving that he didn’t have to deal with every matter. “Let me introduce you to everybody. I’ll make it quick. Keep up.” His friend turned to the group. “You know, Okello, Amara, Addy. That’s Khaleel and Shamir.” They waved back smiling friendly. “They’re twins.” It didn’t need to be said. “That’s Caden.” The young man nodded at Lucia. “He doesn’t say much, don’t worry about him.” Caden glared, Quinn didn’t notice. “And this is Rachel. This is pretty much everybody. Aside from Pablo, there’s one more of us, but she rarely makes it to our uh social functions. I’ll explain later.” He flashed Lucia a smile. As much as they liked to tease Quinn, he was actually quite friendly. In some ways more so than his sire. It was his smile that got his friend into ‘trouble’. “Can I get you something to drink?” And he rarely thought things through. “Wait, Do you drink?”

[Lucia Drusa Severa]

The silence as she entered the room was nearly palpable. For a moment, Lucia thought she'd walked in on something she wasn't supposed to have seen. But as Quinn stepped forward, greeting her with a smile, the hybrid relaxed her shoulders, smiling easily in return. This werewolf had been so nice to her, inviting her to hang out with him and the rest of Pablo's friends.

Her crimson gaze followed Quinn's direction as he introduced the members of the pack she hadn't met before. When the young man explained that Khaleel and Shamir were twins, she rose an eyebrow to him. Did he really think that needed to be explained, or was he joking around? Regardless, Lucia tried to get a look at the cover of Khaleel's book to discover what he was reading. Perhaps she'd be able to discuss her favorite books with him at a later time. The thought made her surprisingly happy. Smiling at Caden and Rachel, her eyes scanned the room as Quinn finished the introductions. "It's a pleasure to meet everyone." Lucia offered a graceful curtsey to the room. "I am Lucia Drusa Severa." For a moment, the girl had almost included her paternal lineage as part of her introduction; but she managed to stop herself, remembering where she was.

Her attention returned to Quinn as he offered her something to drink. The hybrid's smile turned into a grin, revealing her fangs. Oh, if only he were offering her his blood as the drink. She'd had to go so long without Lycan's blood already. Alas, she remembered Okello's assertion that she wasn't to bite any of them. "I appreciate your offer. However, I don't believe you have my preferred vintage."

Lucia looked around the room again, determining where to sit and who to approach. After a moment's deliberation, she moved toward the twins, her curiosity getting the better of her. "May I join you?" She looked from one to the other. "I wanted to ask what you're reading currently?" Holding out a sliver of hope that he might be reading a topic of interest to her, the girl smiled pleasantly.

[Okello]

Okello felt a snicker in his mind as Lucia offered a curtsy to the room. (Amara’s right, it’s a little much.) He was inclined to agree, had practically thought the same when first encountering Lucia, but he couldn’t deny the girl’s grace. There was a fluidity to each and every one of her movements, despite her uptight bearing. Though he’d spent little time around the hybrid, much of her seemed to be odds with herself. She carried herself like an aristocrat but did not know personal boundaries. Of course, that may have been circumstantial. As far as he was aware she hadn’t tried to embrace anybody aside from Adele, and him. What was there to make of that?



Quinn cocked his head as Lucia’s smile turned into a grin, exposing her fangs. The first sign of her vampirism, and she was none the less pretty for it. It was cute the way poked out from beneath her lips. “Well.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Do you mean wine? I think I can find a bottle for next time.” That was a little fancy for any of their taste, but one of the old farts had to have a stash somewhere. He felt an elbow jab him in the side. Rachel with the face that asked how stupid you could you be? (She means blood, dummy.) He wasn’t sure about that, after all technically they all had that vintage.



Shamir couldn’t help, but smile as Lucia approached, out of nerves more than anything. He wasn’t sure what to make of the hybrid. His sire had not been himself the few moments he had spent in Pablo’s enclosure, and the pack mother had made it evident Lucia was to blame. She appeared friendly enough, and that suited him well enough, but she was also so, fancy? And that was nothing like his friend. “Have a seat.” Shamir leaning against his brother’s armchair gestured to an open chair. “Oh, Lucia don’t get him started, he won’t stop, please.”



Khaleel lowered the book, eyes jumping between Shamir and Lucia. “Do you mean that?” Lucia appeared genuine. “I’m sorry, the others are all illiterate buffoons. I don’t think they’ve ever picked up a book in their life. This,” He held out the book. “is a memoir of a lycan who lived in the den decades ago. The pack mother has gathered quite a collection, and I’m trying to make my way through everything. Wait, should I refer to her as your mother? Or is that informal. The nature of lycanthropy is of great interest to me, I wish to understand our kind on a more scientific level. I’ve found little on the subject. This author does question what may happen to lycan and vampires under specific circumstances, but it’s all speculative. I think this was written during the 60s. He spends much time wondering what would occur to a lycan if you’ve put them on the moon. It’s humorous thought to entertain that’s for certain. But without any experimenting pointless. That lead me to thinking, and you may know. The Pack Mother, um your mother is quite resourceful. Has she ever tried, that is to send a lycan to the moon?”