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[ stefan’s rightfully sour mood doesn’t phase him, though it’s typically his role in any twosome. the melancholic type.]

Oh. [ mouth and eyes rounding. it’s certainly an answer. ] You’re the first vampire I’ve met who can enjoy such things. [ he taps his finger against the glass. ] Astarion insists anything but blood tastes like swill.

[ which takes away a positive he was going to offer about damon’s condition — a world of food and drink! gale glances at him, then, undeniably curious about the nature of this so-called cure. too good to be true, he would think. ]

Would it help to discuss your unlucky start in the manor — or, ah, would you prefer we speak of just about anything else?

Our vampires can taste. And even eat. But, it doesn't sustain us.

( Coffee warms their bodies. Alcohol helps curb cravings, especially for young vampires. A lot of vampires are lushes, Gale. )

My unlucky start? ( that's a way of putting it. ) I guess that depends on what you'd call unlucky. Damon being here and alive. Albeit, from after Tyler bit him. ( he slips. only subtly. damon wasn't back there. he disappeared into oblivion when the other side collapsed.

Bonnie, too. ) We're from different times in our lives, apparently. Is that common?

A fair point.

[ damon here and alive. any pretence of neutrality softens into sympathy. he doesn’t have siblings, but he’s always been close with the family he does possess. ]

I don’t know. It’s understandably something individuals often prefer not to disclose — I was once behind Astarion, but I’ve since caught up, and now Shadowheart is from our past as well. It’s not unusual, I suppose.

I guess the last thing I'd want to be is unusual.

( He supposes it's easier for him to be here, than Damon. Klaus' ritual "killed" Elena, thanks to her uncle John. Her father, John. But, he has a lot to catch Damon up to, if he even wants to be. )

He's from a much more tumultuous time. A breakneck pace of events that didn't let up.

( And then this month dragged on, and other than the wedding neither of them attended or the burning down of the chapel -- they were focused on - well, Damon. )

[ Gale leans against the wall, head tipped back. ]

There’s no easy way to navigate these…misalignments. [ measured, in this as in all things. ] I myself stood at a precipice, two radically divergent paths before me. Astarion did not reveal all he knew to me, back then — and I think I’m grateful for that.

[ for allowing his agency to remain intact, for not trying to sway him one way or the other. it isn’t a universal experience, surely, but it’s one example for stefan to consider. ]

It wouldn't be fair to him, to know certain things. And I'm not planning on telling him.

( unless he asks. but, he doesn't expect him to want much from stefan for a while. he'll live with the burden of everything else. of his own actions, of klaus, of silas. whittemore. and the Travelers. )

I can understand that.

[ it’s possibly the only reassurance he can offer. it was better, that astarion didn’t taint his perspective. it will be better, for him not to force shadowheart’s future upon her. knowledge is a burden. ]

It’s — a lonely path, though, isn’t it?

I've walked the lonely path before.

( Isolated himself. Changed jobs. Lives. This is no different. And what he's done, his brother may not forgive him. )

There are some things I can't hide. I won't. But nothing unnecessary.

[ gale nods, sipping his drink as he turns over stefan’s answers in his mind. ]

Well, you’re not alone at this precise moment, now are you.

[ a statement of intent. gale has also trudged that narrow, winding path, and he’d do most anything to keep others from it (overstepping, drowning, anything). ]

[ lighter, ] The manor makes isolation difficult, besides.

( It's not for nothing, at least, and he turns his head, acknowledging Gale. He's not. Maybe it means something for him to hear all this. )

Does it. Because of the musical rooms?

[ his shoulders lift in verbal answer before he speaks. ]

Certainly. And events seem to throw us together at regular intervals. Parties. [ a beat. ] Horrors. We were all made human, rendered without magic or augmentation, during the last great trouble — and we faced it together, for the most part.

You had no choice.

( He's not going to be the Stefan he was. Can't even isolate himself if he wanted. Needs to push away the guilt he feels for making the choice for Damon. Damon is alive. Not a monster. Not buried. Not worse. He's alive. )

It won't be long before it happens again, and this time Damon will be just as defenseless.

( But alive. )

But alive.

[ a thought shared. ]

And not wholly defenceless, when he has you. [ finger tapping the glass. ] I can help as well, at least to an extent. I’ve warded Astarion and I’s rooms against intruders already.

But alive.

( living. breathing. )

Really. Intruders not including vampires. How so.

[ with a look, edging toward teasing: ] Magic, Stefan.

[ another drink. ]

I was once the most accomplished wizard of my generation. Of the past several, in fact.

[ spoken with more truth than ego, though there’s a glimmer of the latter in his crooked smile, to be sure. and a little wistfulness, in his faraway look. ]

( he smirks, draining the rest of his glass and setting it down between them back on the desk. )

I mean, how does your magic distinguish between intruders. Does it require everyone to have an invitation? Or, does it work each time someone tries. Just inquiring into the logistics. I'm not against it. Damon probably won't be. But, I need to know how it works. And, maybe I might want one, too.

( But, at least if he has knowledge, he knows how it works. he believes Gale. he comes off as a scholar. and a good person. and real help.

he hopes it doesn't bie them in the ass. )

It’s — my magic isn’t so rigid, [ relenting, ] though I appreciate your interest in the technicalities. The weave that composes it is all around us, you see, so I need only to thread it thusly. [ an accompanying gesture, free hand threading the needle. ] To use another spell as an example, I could direct a fireball your way and make it so you did not feel the lick of a single flame.

[ as for the aforementioned technicalities, he waves a hand. ]

It can be otherwise tailored, of course. To allow specific individuals, respond to a code-phrase, punish offenders. If you can imagine it, it can be done.

Edited 2025-05-28 22:05 (UTC)

And, what if we made it so that everyone would need a proper invitation. That would fall under code word?

( That seems to be the simplest and keep protections from other vampires. According to Buffy, this place is crawling with them. )

[ gale tips his head to catch stefan’s eye. grins small but sure. ]

Then you can bring me a bottle next time.

[ as thanks. ]

I have good taste.

( And that's a promise. )

Thank you, Gale. I promise, I won't be throwing myself off the roof any time soon. Or, Damon. I can't guarantee Damon won't be doing the throwing.

A good thing you’re still a vampire, then.

[ he’s not getting involved in all that! ]

You’re very welcome.

[ with a final swig, he stands to leave. there’s only so much comfort that can be given at this hour, in this situation, isn’t there? and he imagines it wiser to be elsewhere, when damon wakes (and his favoured vampire awaits him, besides). ]

And you know where to find me, my friend.

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