Lavinia quietly slipped away from the conversation upstairs.
"I'll be back."
Valerie glanced over briefly.
"Where are you going?"
"Downstairs."
Lavinia smiled.
"I'm curious."
No one tried to stop her.
She stepped into the hallway and descended the stairs, the pounding music steadily growing louder with each step.
The moment she pushed through the door leading to the nightclub floor, the bass washed over her.
"...Wow."
Even as a vampire, it was loud.
Almost painfully so.
Normally, her hearing could isolate individual conversations from remarkable distances.
Here...
The music buried countless softer sounds beneath its constant rhythm.
She could still distinguish nearby heartbeats.
Louder voices.
Breaking glass.
Laughter.
But the precision she normally enjoyed had been dulled considerably.
Thankfully, hearing wasn't the only sense vampires possessed.
Her vision remained perfectly clear.
Her sense of smell remained sharp.
The countless scents drifting through the club painted a picture almost as detailed as sound normally did.
Alcohol.
Perfume.
Sweat.
Food.
Blood.
Wolf.
She followed the familiar wolf scent toward one side of the room.
The three werewolves who had entered behind them were still there.
Two men.
One woman.
They stood near the bar surrounded by a small group of curious humans.
Someone asked a question.
One of the wolves laughed before answering.
Another accepted a drink.
They seemed...
Comfortable.
Lavinia smiled faintly.
"So they're getting along too."
She wandered farther into the crowd.
Humans danced beneath constantly shifting lights.
Some moved gracefully.
Others looked as though they had forgotten entirely how legs worked after too many drinks.
When she'd been human...
Places like this hadn't interested her.
She preferred staying home.
Playing games.
Watching videos.
Reading.
Crowded bars and clubs had always sounded exhausting.
Now she simply observed.
Her appearance drew attention before long.
Heads turned.
Several conversations faltered.
The three werewolves immediately noticed the new vampire scent drifting through the room.
The female wolf turned first.
Her eyes settled on Lavinia almost immediately.
Then the others looked over as well.
Recognition flashed briefly across their faces before they returned to their own conversation.
Humans noticed more slowly.
Some instinctively stepped aside.
Others simply stared.
One particularly drunk man smiled and raised his drink toward her.
Lavinia politely nodded back.
The man looked delighted.
Another woman blinked several times before apparently deciding she'd imagined the flawless golden-haired vampire standing only a few feet away.
She simply continued dancing.
Lavinia eventually stopped near one corner of the room.
From there she quietly watched.
Music boomed endlessly.
Bodies moved together beneath flashing lights.
Laughter rose and fell.
Drinks changed hands.
Someone celebrated a birthday.
Someone else danced terribly.
Another person sat quietly watching friends enjoy themselves.
For just a moment...
The world looked...
Normal.
As though the Divergence had never happened.
As though vampires didn't exist.
As though werewolves weren't drinking only a short distance away.
As though people hadn't died only a few nights earlier.
The illusion lasted only briefly.
The scent of wolves drifted through the room again.
Fresh blood from someone who had accidentally bitten their lip mixed with alcohol.
Her own scent of berries and pine lingered softly around her.
The music vibrated through her chest.
Reality returned.
"...Not quite."
She quietly patted her dress smooth.
Then turned toward the stairs.
A minute later she pushed open the upstairs door.
Six pairs of crimson eyes looked toward her.
Then calmly returned to whatever they had been doing.
Lavinia blinked.
"...You all looked."
Rosaline smiled.
"You came back."
"Fair."
She walked farther into the room.
Something felt...
Off.
Not bad.
Not frightening.
Just...
Strange.
She tapped one finger thoughtfully against her chin.
"...Weird."
She couldn't quite identify it.
Had the sports field done this?
Being surrounded by humans?
Seeing wolves chatting casually downstairs?
Watching people laugh as though nothing had changed?
She didn't know.
Lavinia picked up another drink and took a slow sip.
Around the room...
Valerie and Rosaline had somehow become the center of another lively conversation.
Gwendolyn and Adelaide sampled an alarming number of snacks.
Celestine and Evelyn had quietly migrated toward the calmest corner of the room, simply observing everyone else.
A faint rush of air brushed past.
Warm hands suddenly covered Lavinia's eyes.
The sweet scent of tangerine and honey surrounded her.
Valerie.
"...Guess who."
Lavinia rolled her eyes beneath the hands.
"You."
Valerie laughed softly.
"I wasn't trying very hard."
She lowered her voice.
"...Something happen?"
Lavinia shook her head.
"...No."
"I'm fine."
"I just..."
She searched for the words.
"...Feel weird."
Valerie rested her chin lightly on top of Lavinia's head.
She inhaled slowly.
The scent of berries and pine filled her nose.
"Then breathe."
Lavinia blinked.
"And don't think too much."
Lavinia gently pushed Valerie's hands away before turning around.
"I don't think that's how thinking works."
Valerie grinned.
"The Divergence isn't even a week old."
She shrugged.
"It'd honestly be stranger if we'd all adapted perfectly already."
Across the room, Adelaide looked over.
She spoke in a perfectly ordinary voice.
Every vampire heard her anyway.
"...I know what she means."
Everyone looked toward her.
"It almost feels..."
She smiled awkwardly.
"...Like I'm dreaming."
Lavinia's eyes widened.
"Exactly."
She pointed toward Adelaide.
"That's it."
"It feels..."
She frowned.
"...Almost dreamlike."
One after another, the others nodded.
Rosaline scratched her cheek.
"I've thought that too."
Celestine quietly agreed.
"So have I."
Even Evelyn nodded.
"It still feels..."
She hesitated.
"...Unreal."
Lavinia looked around the room.
Humans laughed.
Music drifted faintly through the walls.
Her friends smiled.
"...It never faded."
Everyone looked toward her.
"It just..."
She smiled faintly.
"...Became normal."
Silence settled briefly among the vampires.
Rosaline stepped closer.
She lowered her voice enough that only vampire hearing would comfortably catch it.
"...Do you think..."
She hesitated.
"...That's why we killed those people so easily?"
The room became noticeably quieter.
Lavinia thought carefully before answering.
She shook her head.
"No."
Her own voice remained just as quiet.
"We killed them because they were dangerous."
"They attacked us."
"They killed someone."
"They would've kept going."
She looked into her drink.
"I don't regret stopping them."
She paused.
"But..."
"The fact we smiled."
"The fact we talked while it happened."
"The fact none of us froze..."
She looked around the circle.
"...I don't think normal humans do that."
Nobody answered immediately.
Lavinia continued.
"Becoming vampires didn't make us murderers."
"We don't have to kill to feed."
"We've all proved that."
She remembered Kayla.
The blood clinic.
Gwendolyn biting her.
None of those required death.
"But..."
She flexed one hand slowly.
"Our perceptions changed."
She looked toward Celestine.
"We jump off buildings."
"We throw each other across fields."
"We break bones."
"We snap necks."
She smiled helplessly.
"And somehow..."
"...Pain doesn't feel as absolute anymore."
She looked down at her wrist.
Only an hour earlier it had been broken.
Now she struggled to even remember how much it had hurt.
The memory faded surprisingly quickly.
Celestine folded her hands together.
"...Perhaps..."
Everyone looked toward her.
"...That's simply how vampires are."
She glanced around the group.
"We've all experienced something similar."
"To different degrees."
"But..."
She smiled softly.
"...None of us are completely the same people we were."
Lavinia sighed.
"...Sorry."
Everyone blinked.
"I dragged all of you into my weird thoughts."
Rosaline immediately waved dismissively.
"I'd rather hear them."
Valerie nodded.
"Much better than bottling everything up."
Adelaide smiled.
"We're all thinking about this anyway."
Evelyn nodded quietly.
"It's easier..."
"...Together."
Lavinia smiled gratefully.
Before she could reply...
Gwendolyn finished another bite of food.
She swallowed.
Then looked around the room.
"I still think..."
Everyone waited.
"...We're ourselves."
She smiled brightly.
"The human me..."
She lightly touched her own chest.
"...was a little different."
"But..."
She looked toward Lavinia.
"I don't think she's that different."
Then she looked around at everyone else.
"I think we're still us."
"We just..."
She searched for the right words.
"...Understand the world differently now."
Several vampires laughed softly.
Lavinia smiled.
"...That sounded surprisingly wise."
Gwendolyn puffed out her cheeks proudly.
"I can be wise."
"You absolutely can."
The uneasy feeling lingering in Lavinia's chest didn't disappear completely.
But surrounded by six familiar scents... berries and pine mixing with tangerine and honey, roses and caramel, cocoa and cherries, cream and fresh leaves, lavender and chai, and vanilla and chocolate... it felt lighter.
Whatever becoming a vampire truly meant...
She was glad she didn't have to figure it out alone.
The rest of the night slipped by far more quickly than any of them expected.
Questions gradually became conversations.
Conversations became laughter.
Drinks disappeared.
Plates emptied.
Eventually people began stretching, checking their phones, and realizing just how late... or rather, early... it had become.
Valerie stood first.
"I guess we should head out."
Several of her friends looked toward the windows instinctively.
"...Already?"
She nodded.
"The sun's coming."
That alone was explanation enough.
Goodbyes were exchanged around the room.
There were handshakes.
Small hugs.
Promises to keep in touch.
Several people thanked the vampires for answering so many questions, while others admitted the night had completely changed how they viewed them.
Lavinia smiled warmly as Hannah thanked them for coming.
"We were honestly pretty nervous."
Lavinia laughed.
"So were we."
Hannah blinked.
"You were?"
"We'd never been to a party like this either."
That earned another laugh.
One by one, the seven vampires stepped into the hallway.
The nightclub itself was quieter than before.
Not quiet...
Just quieter.
The crowd downstairs had thinned considerably.
Some people were leaving.
Others still danced with the endless determination only late-night clubs seemed capable of producing.
The vampires made their way outside without incident.
Cool air greeted them immediately.
Lavinia breathed in deeply.
"...That's better."
The heavy scent of alcohol lingering inside the nightclub disappeared beneath fresh night air.
Above them, the sky had begun the slow transition toward morning.
Still dark.
But no longer the deep black it had been only hours earlier.
Valerie checked the time.
"It's almost four."
Rosaline looked upward.
"We've still got a while."
"About an hour and a half."
Nobody suggested lingering.
Sunrise wasn't immediate.
It wasn't even close.
But vampires simply didn't enjoy unnecessary risks.
Jumping off rooftops?
Perfectly fine.
Throwing each other across fields?
Fun.
Breaking bones?
Hardly worth mentioning.
The sun...
That was different.
The sun wasn't something any of them wanted to experiment with.
Not unless absolutely necessary.
They began walking through the quiet streets.
Traffic had become sparse.
Only the occasional car passed by.
Streetlights stretched long shadows across the sidewalks while cool wind drifted between buildings.
It carried countless scents.
Trees.
Concrete.
Rain lingering somewhere far away.
Humans sleeping behind apartment walls.
The faint sweetness of the vampires walking together.
The breeze lifted strands of golden, silver, orange, crimson, green, teal and blonde hair.
Lavinia smiled quietly.
Peaceful.
The city felt peaceful.
Without warning...
Weight settled onto her back.
"Lavi."
Lavinia barely rocked forward.
She instinctively reached beneath Gwendolyn's thighs before the latter could slide.
"You could've warned me."
"I knew you'd catch me."
"...Fair."
Gwendolyn rested comfortably against her back, wrapping both arms loosely around Lavinia's shoulders.
Her silver-white hair brushed against Lavinia's cheek.
"...Comfortable?"
"Mhm."
The others looked over.
Valerie grinned.
"I was wondering how long it'd take."
Rosaline nodded.
"I figured it'd happen eventually."
Lavinia adjusted Gwendolyn slightly higher.
"So?"
Gwendolyn rested her chin on Lavinia's shoulder.
"...I was thinking."
"Oh?"
She looked toward the sky.
"Even if everything becomes the worst it possibly could..."
The others gradually grew quieter.
"I'd still like every single one of you."
Silence followed.
Not awkward.
Simply warm.
"So..."
She smiled.
"...Don't worry too much."
Rosaline smiled first.
Then Adelaide.
Then Evelyn.
Even Celestine's normally composed expression softened noticeably.
Valerie chuckled.
"...You really know how to say things like that."
Lavinia nodded with exaggerated seriousness.
"I agree."
Everyone looked toward her.
"No matter what happens..."
She straightened her back proudly.
"I'll always side with all of you."
Valerie slowly turned her head.
"...Lavi."
"Hm?"
"Was that..."
She twisted dramatically from side to side while walking.
"...a proposal?"
Lavinia blinked once.
Then nodded with complete confidence.
"Yes."
She raised one hand grandly.
"Congratulations."
"We're all married now."
The silence lasted approximately one second.
Then every vampire burst into laughter.
Rosaline nearly doubled over.
Gwendolyn laughed so hard she almost slipped off Lavinia's back.
Adelaide covered her mouth.
Even Celestine quietly laughed into one hand.
Valerie looked absolutely delighted.
"Oh..."
She clasped both hands dramatically against her chest.
Her voice became unbearably sweet.
"...We're married now."
Lavinia immediately regretted speaking.
Valerie continued.
"So..."
She smiled brightly.
"...You'll be providing for all of us from now on."
Lavinia stopped walking.
"...What?"
"That's how marriage works."
"It absolutely isn't."
"You've already proposed."
"I didn't know there were financial consequences!"
Rosaline immediately joined in.
"I'd like a mansion."
Adelaide raised one finger.
"I want a greenhouse."
Gwendolyn smiled.
"I just want snacks."
Celestine thought for a moment.
"...Tea."
Evelyn looked embarrassed.
"...I don't really need anything."
Valerie nodded approvingly.
"See?"
"Evelyn is very considerate."
Then she looked back toward Lavinia.
"The rest of us..."
She smiled brilliantly.
"...are expensive."
Lavinia stared blankly ahead.
"...Is it too late for a divorce?"
Six vampires reacted instantly.
"What?"
"No."
"Absolutely not."
"You proposed."
"You can't take it back."
Rosaline pointed accusingly.
"Responsibility."
Adelaide nodded deeply.
"You've made your decision."
Gwendolyn smiled.
"We're family now."
Valerie folded her arms triumphantly.
"The court has spoken."
Lavinia groaned dramatically.
"I've ruined my life."
"You did."
"I've become financially responsible for six vampires."
"Correct."
"I should've stayed quiet."
"You really should have."
Their laughter echoed softly through the otherwise quiet street.
Pedestrians glanced toward them before continuing on their way.
The city remained calm.
For several minutes nobody spoke.
Only footsteps filled the silence.
Lavinia carried Gwendolyn without complaint.
Eventually...
She spoke quietly.
"...Thank you."
No explanation followed.
None was necessary.
The others understood anyway.
Rosaline smiled first.
Then Valerie.
Then everyone else.
Valerie answered for all of them.
"...Don't thank us."
Adelaide nodded.
"If one of us is happy..."
"We're happier too," Rosaline finished.
Celestine smiled gently.
"If one of us is hurting..."
"We'll probably hurt too," Evelyn added softly.
Gwendolyn hugged Lavinia a little tighter from behind.
"So..."
She rested her cheek against Lavinia's head.
"...We'll all just stay happy together."
Lavinia laughed quietly.
"...That sounds easy when you say it."
Gwendolyn smiled.
"I think it is."
The seven vampires continued walking beneath the fading stars.
Morning still waited beyond the horizon.
The world remained uncertain.
Humans struggled to adapt.
Werewolves searched for their place.
The future promised challenges none of them could fully imagine.
Yet surrounded by familiar scents the uncertainty felt just a little less frightening.
Whatever tomorrow brought...
They would face it together.
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