╳┊ weight of war.

               “I’m very much attracted to you also, wolf boy” no, he didn’t mention her name when speaking of the type of woman he usually falls for, but the connection was there and she simply felt like filling in the blanks, even if in five or so minutes they were reaching for a different topic. “I prefer crashing weddings than ever being in one; I’m guessing that’s something you’ve never done? Or does the bad boy Brennan come out to play every so often?”

                    “Oh come on now, I think you’re setting the bar on being bad way too low,” a grin flourished on his countenance all the same, taking a brazen step to reach out to the vampire looping her in close. Most connections between the two were spurred on by Remi’s sybaritic behalf her allusion to a mutual feeling only prompting Brennan to garner a rare sense of comfort; the vampire normally pushing him outside of said succor. “Though I have to say I can’t even picture you crashing one, if we’re on the trend of being honest.” Grin transformed into a more subdued smirk, raising a brow as if expecting her instant rebuttal. 

              “Oh don’t pretend like you know me” but he did .. a part of her anyway. A part that she didn’t show just to anyone. Brennan had wormed his way into that deep pit and begun tugging on it; it was safe to say it made her wild that he could bring it out in her without so much as her own permission. “Now, why is it such a handsome young man like yourself hasn’t found someone to spend the rest of his life with? Are you the marrying type, Brennan?” more general questions that ticked quietly in the back of her mind. Her arm slung in between his and she began to pull them along the path, crowds of people parting to make way for the King and Queen of the supernatural. “Marriage, kids - does any of it interest you?” the thought of kids for her was well out of the picture despite not wanting them anyway; besides, she’d already been there and done that .. many a lifetime ago.

              “And this is where I say you had me at hello and we have ourselves a white wedding” her tone had turned, as it always did when these two walked down this treacherous road yet never meeting the end of it. It was her own fault; her feelings reaching out to him only for them to be snapped away the moment he went to grab onto them – she wasn’t afraid to lust or love, to care for someone deeply; she was just simply a difficult woman, and perhaps with Brennan, the thought of him living forever unlike many others who she loved and happily lost, in someway intimidated her … he wasn’t going anywhere, he would always be there.

              “I like it very much” without so much as an invitation, perfectly manicured nails ran their way through the new hair just as he did; once again their hands touched, though this time Remi pulled away and forced a somewhat normal smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes. Time passed and the two Originals remained in silence, her bright blue eyes occasionally gazing upon his as a million questions now stood between them. It had become too easy for Remi to push aside any sort of feeling or thought obtaining to anything in her life; but with Brennan, that skill she had mastered in all her years would be for nothing; past encounters between the them both made sure she couldn’t walk away from this so easily. “Well I hope you didn’t go having too much fun while I was away –” the words that spilled into the crisp air tasted like  jealousy; she was afraid of what her features might give away.

               stepping back into town after months on the road with Maddox felt slightly odd for the original. This place had always, and would always be her home - but she couldn’t help feel a little out of place waltzing through the busy streets with a excited Kenzie on her arm. “Like I said, everything is falling into —” her words suddenly cut short when bright blue eyes spotted another original; one who didn’t share her taste for blood and preferred walking on all fours. The last time she saw Brennan the two were sharing what could only be an intimate moment atop a grassy hill, hands intertwined while the sun spoke to them that morning … Remi left the very next day. “I’ll see you at home” words spoken to the younger vampire, though her eyes didn’t stray from the man before her. “Are you sure you’re an original? I swear you’ve aged”

“We were.” She shrugged, unable to every fully commit to being okay with any of her siblings for the simple fact that she swung back and forth on every grudge she’d ever held with the ever changing moon. “And then we weren’t.” However unfair she could be, her line of thinking couldn’t be swayed, even now with the semblance of a relationship forming with Brennan despite everything. “I’m trying to work out whether I’m pissed at you today or not, so sue me.”

          “Are we back to the whole ‘avoiding me’ stage of our eternal family drama? I thought we were cool,” a strangely nonchalant phrase for Brennan to ever utter, especially to Cassidy. Yet he figured with such track record when it came to family matters that it was the only thing he could toss out that wasn’t far to deep to reel them back in to such wretched spiral of fighting that they had suffered through the past few years. 

              Save for her family, and Cassidy ( a friendship that blossomed many, many moons ago ) Brennan was the only one who caught a glimpse of the other side of Remi. It was rare and even somewhat unheard of for her, yet sometimes the cold hearted killer became suppressed by something else entirely - someone capable of laughing and enjoying the sunrise slid through the cracks; perhaps unaware that she was doing it, or rather unaware that he, Brennan Talbot, was the reason her usual demeanor vanished in the blink of an eye. “And what makes you think I’ll get sick of you? It hasn’t happened already and I’m sure you’re well aware I have a short fuse and yet here we still are – I think you might be stuck with me; so let the learning begin” intriguing as it may seem, Remi was more than happy to hear the novel that was his life, but at one point or another she would have to share her own adventures, the good and the bad .. silence once again filled the air, the sun now risen to it’s full lighting their path back home. Remi had only shared a handful of her darkest secrets in her long life; would Brennan be granted the key to it all? “If the rest of your secrets are as amazing as your love for waffles, then I’m in for one hell of a ride aren’t I?”

“Are you implying that you could easily handle me, Mr. Talbot?” A singular brow quirked at him before she swiped her jacket from behind the bar, chuckling to herself. “No, you can definitely check in and I really appreciate it. Not sure… Though your question leads me to believe if there is one, it’s not very well known.” Her nonchalance about her own safety might have been startling were it not so relegated to the very bottom of her worry barrel. “Regardless, I don’t think anybody’s going to mess with me if you’re walking me home.”

He laughed, a lopsided grin tugging at his lips before he looked down, he was right. Prescott didn’t tell people where he was going or where he was. Not even his family members, it was something he was trying to get better at but only managed to make a small change – or progress, whatever you wanted to call it. “We could just go another level and get ourselves an owl – Harry Potter shit – ah see you thought I wasn’t hip but I am. I know all about the wizard shit and what not.” He teased his younger brother before returning to his serious tone, “Ah yeah. They’re a strong bunch. Have you seen Cassidy?”

On the bright side, Brennan was in town and didn’t hate her. That was a start of the positive things in her life. Though as of late that list was longer than it had once been. She was a nurse, had managed to finish a career and get a degree – had a brother she texted every day and a family. She had some sense of purpose which was a lot more than where she had been a couple of years ago. “I don’t know about that, B. I think it pretty much means that you are just going to start forgetting things. Should I pull a 50 dates kinda thing and make a video for you to remember me when I am gone and dead?” It was sort of depressing to think that there was going to be a day where Brennan would be the one to bury her. It was not often that she thought about these dark thoughts but when they managed to come into her head they tended to stick. This one was probably due to the fact that she had just run into Kevin. “Come on, B – you have to give me a foot massage and then we have to watch some stupid tv show and get high – and yes I mean high –” she whispered with a smirk on her face, “I got some and I might have gotten a couple of beers – whatcha say? wanna join me and be a frat boy?” She questioned the Original werewolf as she shrugged walking into their place.

          He knew life was considered to be on the more bittersweet side of things for Ezri; or just plain sour when he genuinely thought about it. And perhaps Brennan could only hope that his roommate would just focus on the little things in life instead of all the shit that was just plain bad. It took him a long while to take such route and so for some with a normal life span like Ezri; it might as well take all their life. Still, Brennan had gone from hating the part of him that was a wolf to being enchanted by the immortality that came with it. An obsession with science, literature.... and anything and everything in between allowed such immortality to feel like a breeze. When you didn’t focus on the fact that everyone around you that you could come to care for would soon die. Everyone except your family. And half the time, the Talbot’s were seen butting heads and giving each other the silent treatment than attempting to get along. He scowled in a teasing bout, “Yeah, yeah, let’s go.” He followed her through the apartment door shooting her a pointed look that had a hint of a joking tone to it. Brennan could never actually be mad at her, especially when it came to silly things like such tasks she had mentioned. “Must you try to corrupt me?” He clicked his tongue as if in disapproval, offering a shake of his head to back it up, “Well, I’ve got an 8AM lecture tomorrow, but I won’t protest to a couple of beers and then some.” His lips tugged into a small grin, shrugging his laptop case off his shoulder and onto the little kitchen table that fit snugly in the room. 

“Hey uh – hi, Mr. Talbot, great class today. Awesome lesson, I loved that one part about the stars and stuff. Nebulas. I just wanted to ask about the paper we got back today, the Black Hole one? Yeah you gave me a D. I can’t show my mom a grade this low, she’ll start crying. Can I get extra credit somehow? My algebra teacher gives me extra credit all the time.”

          “I must say, I was surprised,” Brennan murmured in regards to Jonah’s low grade. “You’ve always been an outstanding writer in your papers, some would say the best in your class. Rough week?” It was a question posed with the raise of a brow, sort of a take it or leave it moment as Brennan clicked on his laptop in hopes of finding a sheet that could give some form of extra credit that he wouldn’t have to make up on the spot. 

              “It’s a gift of mine. You’re not overly predictable so don’t worry” genuinely laughing around him became so effortless that sometimes she didn’t know she was doing it, let alone enjoying the moments where he made her laugh. Remi Carmikael, the cold blooded killer with no remorse for any of her actions somehow slipped into a different skin around Brennan. Granted she was still the same and would never change for anyone but if onlookers didn’t know any better they would simply see two people who clearly had the hots for one another; and more. Remi removed herself from the swing and extended her hand out to Brennan; the sun was about to rise and it was her favorite part of the day. “I’ll be sure to surprise you every once in a while so you’re long life doesn’t get too boring, old man — come, you can watch the sunrise with me and then buy me breakfast” always so bossy no matter who was in her company. The blonde held the wolf’s hand and led him up the hill to her usual spot, the sun beginning to stare them in the face as she sat down, her free hand enjoying the tickling sensation the grass gave while the other still sat gently in Brennan’s. “Alright new question – one thing you’ll never get sick of no matter how long you live for?”

              “And how old are you to think that a drunken woman is going to listen to a man when he say that something isn’t a good choice?” She asked in a matter-of-fact tone before raising her eyebrow in return. “Who gives a shit? It’s the first nice night out since god fucking knows, maybe we’ll even get some snowfall and we can make some stupid ass snow angels or some shit.”