Havenwood, NY

Iris didn't normally drink a lot during the week, just a pint or two as she sat in her favorite booth at Miller's Tavern grading papers. But Wednesday afternoon had meant the Arsenal match at Southampton, which meant that she'd booked it down to the tavern as soon as she was able after school had let out for the day. The afternoon had been spent pounding pints and making a ruckus, mostly on her own, but with the blessing of the people who worked there and had missed her English antics. The afternoon had blurred into evening, then into night, and before she realized it, the match had been over for several hours and she still had a stack of physics exams to grade.

The rest of her night had been spent drinking cups of coffee and frantically trying to prepare for the next day, until she dozed off at some point. She woke to the sound of her alarm, and swore as she turned it off, her head pounding as she stumbled to the bathroom to try and make herself look presentable. After a quick shower, a fresh change of clothes, and a touch of makeup, she shuffled into her small kitchen where she prayed Liam had been his usual sweet self and brought her a proper cuppa and breakfast, the way he often did when he knew she'd had a few drinks too many the night before.

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The letter he had received from Anna—Diana now—had been a mild surprise, but it was an emotion Elijah had quickly gotten over. Instead, he spent the next two days admonishing himself for not expecting the unexpected from his Maker. When the younger vampire quit berating himself, he quickly penned a response and sent Victoria to take it to Durant Manor that very day. Instructions accompanied the raven to whomever took the letter that a shiny bauble of insignificance should be sent back with the creature as payment for services rendered.

Since he'd known her, Victoria was always eager to please given her limited capabilities outside the full moon. With her task completed, Elijah spent the rest of the day planning when to take up Diana's invitation. As he thought, the vampire did several sketches of the Von Klimburg building, adding watercolor as the mood struck him when he finally concluded that a week from today wouldn't be overly suspicious. When that day arrived, he closed the gallery promptly at six, gathered the 11x14 portfolio he'd made for Diana and as Elijah approached the manor, it was with mild trepidation.

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It had started as idle conversation, both Joseph and Emma griping about being the only single parents in the class. It moved on to friendly conversation, then some light flirtation, then as much flirtation as he could reasonably get away with when in earshot of five year old children. Finally, Joseph had decided to take the plunge (after some pointed insight from his daughter, Ana) and ask Emma out for coffee after drop off on Friday morning.

He figured Loaf Around was the best choice, especially since it was close to the police station. It wasn’t out of the ordinary for him to spend most of his day there when he needed a change of scenery. Working from home was great, but sometimes he needed public scrutiny to feel motivated to get anything done.

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