She watched Elijah carefully, noting the amusement in his eyes as soon he spotted the mess from the food on her face. Until he turned to put the water in the bathroom though, she just nodded, waiting until his back was turned before she stuck out her tongue at him. It was a childish move, but she didn't care, that much was obvious as she went back to eating. This time she took her time though, not scarfing things down.
Elyse didn't take much longer, shoving the remaining chunk of meat into her mouth without bothering to cut it into smaller pieces, nor did she bother to check if Elijah was looking back at her. If he was then there was no way he wouldn't laugh, or at least snort at her. After all, watching her; a little human girl shovel a piece of meat into her mouth that barely would fit without the worry of the mess on her face was amusing.
When Elijah returns, he’s surprised to find her plate empty. For a human, she ate so much. Elijah blinked.
Then he chuckled. She hadn’t changed, really. Sill the same Elyse he knew as a child.
“You haven’t changed at all. I’m glad nothing took away your love of food,” Elijah finally spoke, shaking his head. “Are you still hungry? You can have my share. I don’t need human food to survive.”
"I know you don't need it to survive, but it seemed rude to just eat it all," She replied, standing with her plate in her hands and shaking her head, "You can eat it, I'll last until tomorrow morning without food." Elyse talked as she brought her plate over to the sink, wasting no time as she washed it off, "Plus I should probably get to washing myself off before I spread more of a dried blood trail through your house."
She glanced over at him when she paused, drying off the now clean plate and putting it away before pointing to the bathroom, "Are there already clothes in there or do I have to grab some before I go in?"
(Sorry for the really short reply):
Elijah snorted at her comment, though she was right. She was gonna get blood everywhere, and that was gonna be a pain to clean.
“I’ll get some for you,” he said softly, already turning to do just that. “They’d be loose on you, though.”
(It's ok)
"That's ok, they'll work for now." Elyse nodded, wasting no time as she walked to the bathroom door. She didn't step inside, just leaned against the wall as she waited for the clothes that Elijah had promised. Washing off sounded amazing, seeing as she was currently caked in blood, even if it was just scrubbing herself off with a bucket of cold water.
She had borrowed other people's clothes before, so borrowing his clothes seemed like nothing new, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt nervous about the whole thing. When they were younger she had notoriously swiped coats to wear from their friends, and borrowing clothes from him again made her hopeful that their bond as friends was still strong. Even with the obvious differences now.
(Shit. I’m so sorry for leaving you hanging for three days. Motivation to write just leaves me, and I’m completely blank these days.)
Elijah didn’t waste a single second in leaving to retrieve extra clothes. All the while, he was wondering what had made Elyse’s energy shift to something warm, almost as if she was thinking of something. He frowned as he exited his room, then knocked on the door when he reached the bathroom.
“The clothes,” he said to her. “I also… it’s not enough, but I ripped a stripe of clothing you can use to tie around your waist. It may help with the shirt.”
(It’s ok, take all the time you need :) )
“Thank you, I’ll be quick,” She said as she opened the door and looked to Elijah. A tiny smile sat on her face and it was clear she was excited to be able to get into clean clothes. Already her borrowed jacket was folded neatly to the side with her boots, leaving her in a flimsy shirt and equally as worn pants and exposing a frightening number of harsh scars and cuts, but she didn’t seem to notice or care as she took the set of clothes from him and nodded in thanks. Without another word, she closed the door and got to work.
Even as the water was cold enough to make her teeth chatter, Elyse was thankful for it. She took her time washing off, scrubbing off the blood and dirt as well as washing her hair before using the rest of the water to clean her clothes as best she could.
(Thank you!)
Though he knew he didn’t have to, Elijah waited for Elyse outside the door against the wall. He tried not to let himself think of unwanted thoughts—that was his best friend. He shook his head to clear such thoughts away.
“Do you need more water?” he questioned after clearing his throat, accepting the fact that he actually needed a distraction. Elyse with his clothes, and showering, was not a good combination. Especially when everything was heightened as a vampire.
"I think I'm good on the water, but do you have any towels laying around by chance?" Elyse called, wringing out as much water as she could from her hair and looking at the dry clothes waiting for her. The last thing she wanted to do was get her clean clothes wet, and asking for a towel seemed like an easy request if he had any around. If not though, she could suck it up and change quick, if only so she would stop shivering as badly from the cold water.
“I do,” Elijah responded, hearing the shivers in her voice. “Folded in the cabinet. You can take whichever.”
Elijah was grateful for his decision to work on this house, especially away from Lilith’s eyes. She’d taken so much from already; he hadn’t wanted to let her take more.
Following what Elijah said, she quickly located a towel and dried herself off as fast as she could. Elyse wrapped her hair up in the towel and took only a minute to tug on Elijah's clothes, smiling at just how big they were on her. At least they were comfortable, and after she used the extra piece of cloth to tie the shirt and the bottoms slightly tighter, they didn't look terrible. She glanced over the outfit, shrugging before patting her hair slightly drier and hanging the towel up to dry. No one would be able to tell how thin she was at least. Not like they could in her normal clothes that were currently hanging up in the bathroom as well to dry.
"Thanks again," She said as she finally opened the bathroom door, a look of confusion and also amusement on her face as she saw that Elijah was just leaning against the wall, "Did you really stand there the entire time I was washing off?"
Elijah had meant to walk away, not wanting Elyse to know he’d stood near the bathroom the entire time, but he’d gotten lost in his own thoughts and hadn’t heard her come up to the door until it was open. She was looking at him confusedly, and Elijah shook his head.
“I had nothing better to do,” he defended himself, instantly pulling away from the wall. “I wanted to be close in case something happened.”
Then he paused, and despite himself, trailed his eyes over her form. In his clothes. His jaw clenched. Not what he should be thinking about. He looked away, pretending his gaze hadn’t really lingered.
She shook her head and snorted, watching him glance over her slowly before he looked away. Strangly enough she felt her cheeks flush, but responded anyway, "You know you have vampire speed right? If anything happened, you could've whooshed over here in milliseconds and saved me from the imminent danger. I can wash off without getting myself in dangerous situations."
Elyse couldn't hide the tiny twitch of a smile that pulled at her lips anyway though, even as she walked to the couch and sat down with an undignified sigh, stretching out over as much of it as she could; which wasn't much. It was the first real 'smile' she had been able to summon in months, and that fact alone was enough to shock her internally.
“I’m stronger than most vampires,” Elijah said, keeping his eyes away from the female, hands in his pocket. What he was saying wasn’t a lie, but it was also an excuse as to why he’d been standing there. “But full-blooded vampires are faster. Especially those who have lived longer than I have. I couldn’t take the risk.”
He knew it was a terrible excuse, and so did she. He still said it anyway, despite the real reason being—what, exactly?
The fact that they’d been apart for so long. The fact that he wasn’t about to let her out of his sight for too long. The fact that he failed her once, horribly, and he wasn’t going to do so again.
“I’ll take the chance though. I can handle myself Eli, I’m old enough to protect myself,” Elyse replied, glancing over at him and studying his face, “I’m not a child anymore, I don’t want to have to be watched every second of the day.”
It was a pointless argument, but she knew the more she repeated it the more Eli would hopefully realize she was right. After all, she wasn’t a child, and spending the little bit of a childhood that she had running had ingrained instincts to protect herself in her head. She spent years leaning to protect herself from vampires like Elijah, and she could hold her own. At least for a few seconds.
Elijah opened his mouth to say something, then clamped it shut. She was right. She wasn’t a child, she could protect herself just fine. She was a vampire hunter. He shook his head.
“Okay,” he finally responded. “It’s getting late. We should get some rest, then we leave here tomorrow. We’ll discuss our strategy then.”
(Do you want to go through with the idea we whipped up soon? Or wait a bit longer?)
She looked almost surprised when he just agreed with her, but a tiny tiny smile pulled onto her face as she nodded, "Are we headed towards Lilith and taking our shot at defeating her? Or just heading somewhere new?"
Elyse sat up on the couch, then slowly stood as she glanced between the couch and Elijah's bedroom. It seemed rude to take the bed again, especially if they were leaving so soon, but at the same time, she wanted to relish the feeling of an actual mattress under her one more night. Whether it made her selfish or not, a mattress was a rare commodity that she desperately wanted to make use of. She wanted to offer to share it with Elijah, but the chance of him wanting to was low, and she didn't want him to be uncomfortable. It was a painful decision to sit back down, but she did so, motioning to the door and glancing at him, "You can take your room tonight, I'll sleep out here."
(Wait a bit! :D Also, you wrote Ezekiel 🤣 Sorry my replies these days aren’t longer 😅)
Elijah watched as Elyse looked at the couch and then his bedroom, giving both a couple of glances as if she wasn’t sure if she should take the bed again. Elijah bit back a snort and shook his head when she sat back down on the couch.
“Take the bed,” he told her, rolling his mismatched eyes. “I don’t need sleep all that much. The couch is perfectly fine for me.”
(oops sorry lol, he's a character in a different vampire rp I'm in XD I've done that more than once in the other rp too, dang similar names. Also you're all cool!)
"No, it's your bed, I'll take the couch. It's comfier than my bed back in base anyway, I don't mind sleeping here," Elyse replied, laying down on the couch as she talked and laying her head on her arm, "Are we leaving right away in the morning?" As much as Elyse was ready and tired enough to go to bed, she also wanted to talk to Elijah. They had only spend a little time together, and she wanted to make up for all the lost time and spend time with him. From how reluctant he had been to talk about himself when they had first met though, she had a feeling trying to start up a conversation wouldn't be any different now.
(Trust me, I’ve fought against the same thing 🤣🤣 Who knows how many times I’ve accidentally written another one of my characters)
“Elyse, you’re sleeping on the bed. I’ll drag you there if I have to,” Elijah said, his tone a warning that let her know that he wasn’t joking. Not at all. “And yes, we’re leaving at first light. Nighttime is where the vampires are most restless, so the light would be our protection for the most part. At nightfall, I’ll be training you. Lilith is one of the strongest vampires to exist; you’ll need a fighting chance, even if it is to run away.”
Because he’d make sure she’s able to get away if things go south. There wouldn’t be any more blood on his hands, not of his friends.
“No, I’m staying right here, you’re taking your bed. You should know that I’ll come right back here once you finish dragging me there anyway,” She replied, sitting up again and tipping her head to the side in curiosity, “What are you going to be teaching me? I know how to fight, or at least keep myself from dying for a few minutes, and I’m not leaving you there if things go south. Running is something I’m not going to do.” When she was younger running had gotten her teammates killed, and had almost gotten her killed as well. There was no was in hell that she was going to risk Elijah’s life just because she was human and fragile in the hands of vampires.
Elijah closed his eyes, breathed in, and then exhaled. It had gotten a little annoyed. He wished she’d at least listen without being told a dozen times, but if she wanted the couch, she could have it. He tried.
“I’m going to teach you how to hold yourself against a vampire. What to expect, what their weaknesses are,” Elijah said, turning around to face his room, irritation seeping into his words as he continued. “And yes, you will. I don’t want to have your blood on my hands, Elyse, and that will happen if you don’t listen to me.”
Elyse let out a frustrated huff, scowling at him but replying, "I will do what you want when you're training me, and I will listen to what you tell me to do up until the point that we're going to go deal with Lilith, alright? At that point though, then it becomes my decision around if I'm going to run or not. I'll even take the bed tonight, just give me that agreement." She crossed her arms as she talked, looking up at the tall male and watching as he looked around the room, anywhere but at her. Whether it was because he was frustrated or if he was just trying to not start a fight though, she couldn't decipher.
Elijah moved before he realized what he was doing and gripped Elyse’s chin tightly between his fingers. Enough for him to hold her in place. His eyes flashed heatedly, his teeth gritted.
“I don’t think you understand what’s at stake, Elyse,” he growled, the sound nearly animalistic, eyes smoldering with anger he tried to tame. “You think you understand how vampires work just because you’ve had an encounter with a couple of low-lives? You think if our plans are foiled, we’ll stand a chance against Lilith? You think we can just drive a stake through her heart and be done with it? It’s not that simple. If our situation is compromised, she’ll make me cut you down. She’ll make me drain you of blood slowly, keep you alive while reminding me that no matter what I do, I’ll be at her every beck and call. And when your torture is finally over, she’ll carve out your heart and feed it to me. So I assure you, Elyse, if I know you’re remotely in any danger, I will drag you away if I have to if it means it’ll keep you safe. Regardless of what you say. It’s a goddamn promise.”
Then he pulled away sharply, his chest heaving with each breath he took, as memories swarmed in his head. He tried to push them away and rubbed at his face. He knew if he hadn’t been given the order to kill Elyse, if he hadn’t met Elyse, he would have been content being her slave. But he had, and there was so much more at. If he didn’t take her down, he’d lose his family all over again. Only this time, it would be permanent.
As much as Elyse's eyes held a fire of stubbornness of her own, his words drove home too deep. She knew the risks, knew that she was easier to kill than a bug, knew that her stubbornness was a death sentence, and yet it felt different to hear that someone knew this too. That someone bothered to care for her enough not to want to put her in the way in danger. Instead of doing the reasonable thing and apologising though, she threw up a wall of anger and frustration, anything to hide what his words meant.
"Whatever. I need fresh air." She snapped back, twisting her chin out of his grip and rubbing over where he had tightly grabbed her. In one fluid motion she was standing, glaring daggers at his chest as she shoved past him. "Do not come out to get me. That is a threat," Elyse added, her words sharp and full of the anger she pushed into her voice, "I am not a little naieve girl Elijah. Do not treat me like a child and scold me for knowing what I want to do with my own life."
