Who: Caroline and Miriam What: wine night/catching up Where: Caroline’s When: Sun. evening Warnings: low Status: closed/g-doc
With the sudden bloodlust subsided, Caroline returned to feeling like her normal self. She was grateful for everyone that had stepped in to help keep her away from people. Killing was something Caroline rarely did and though she was still rather young for a vampire, she usually possessed apt control over her hunger. What happened last month scared Caroline and she was relieved Lizzie and Hope had managed to put up a barrier, keeping her from leaving her bedroom until the cravings had run their course.
It also helped having people to distract her during that time and to keep Lizzie safe from her. Obviously, she owed a big ‘thank you’ to quite a few people for stepping in and one of them happened to be her friend, Miriam. After the cravings subsided, Caroline wanted to have Miriam over for a wine night to thank her and to talk. They didn’t exactly have the opportunity to do much of that during Caroline’s crazy bloodlust situation.
The blond had procured a number of expensive wines for the night and cleaned up the living room for the two of them. Not that she and Lizzie made much mess, but Caroline liked to clean; it distracted her. She’d just finished taking out some wine glasses when she heard the other vampire at the door. Using a little bit of her super speed, Caroline covered the distance and opened it, greeting Miriam with a smile.
“Hey.” Caroline immediately embraced her in a hug before stepping back and letting her inside. “Thanks for coming and for everything else last month. I really appreciate it.”
The blond led them back into the kitchen where she had her full display of wine and wine glasses ready for the evening. “So, I bought a few different wines for us so pick whatever you want.”
Miriam, thankfully, avoided the whole blood cravings, which worked for her, thank you very much. So, she hadn’t minded helping out Caroline or making treacle for Jacob. A night of wine sounded good to her, though, after everything.
She didn’t bat an eye when Caroline opened the door before she barely knocked. “Hello Caroline,” she greeted her friend with her slightly accented voice. At the hug, Miriam returned it and then followed her to the kitchen. “Oh. Wow.” Caroline definitely bought a lot of wine. But, Miriam preferred her wine to be expensive and delicious, since she couldn’t really eat food outside of blood.
“It was my pleasure. I would be happy to start with a white and then switch to red later.” Miriam didn’t prefer to follow up reds with whites.
Okay so maybe Caroline had gone a tad overboard with the wine, but she just wanted to have a good selection for someone that was clearly a wine connoisseur like her friend. Besides, there was a part of Caroline that felt as if this was a celebration of sorts. She’d dealt with the blood lust and come out on the other side without having killed anyone. It was a big deal.
The blond motioned to the selection of white available. “Pick whichever you want,” she replied with a smile. “I’ll have a little of whatever you decide to go with.” Caroline wasn’t picky about which order she drank wines in, but rather that she simply had the wine to drink, but she’d learned a thing or two about wines since meeting Miriam. The other woman knew her wine and Caroline, who was always up for learning something new, was fine with picking up as much as she could from the woman about wine etiquette or whatever.
Miriam examined a few bottles, before she chose a white that she thought would have just the hint of sweetness she wanted for the night. And if Caroline wanted to celebrate not giving into her blood lust, well Miriam would raise a few glasses and toast the occasion.
While Miriam knew a lot about wine and could pick out flavours most humans couldn’t, she knew Matthew could give her a run for her money.
After the brunette vampire poured wine for both of them, she held it up to her nose. Not quite what she’d expected, but the lemongrass notes worked well with the hints of honeysuckle.
“To you and making it through your cravings.” Miriam smiled and lifted her glass in salute of her young blonde friend.
Caroline, being somewhat clueless about wine, thought it smelled pretty good and when her friend offered a toast, Caroline eagerly raised her glass in return. “Without killing anyone.” Caroline tapped her friend’s glass and took a sip. It wasn’t bad, but Caroline always preferred white wine to red though she knew they both had their merits.
She led Miriam into the living room and claimed a spot on the couch, patting the cushion beside her. It had been a while since the two sat and had a glass of wine, just talking about stuff so Caroline was looking forward to it.
“So, what’s been going on? Anything exciting?”
Miriam settled herself on her friend’s couch, near Caroline, with the wine in her hand. She took a sip. “And I’m glad you managed to not kill anyone!” Really. It would have been bad if Caroline lost control. Thankfully Caroline had her daughter to help.
“Not really. I met a nice guy, Jacob, at one of the bars. He’s from London in the Nineteenth Century. We had a friendly conversation. Hints of flirtation. Work is the same. How about you? I mean besides the blood lust.”
“You and me both.” Caroline frowned and she took another sip from her wine glass. Unless she had to, Caroline didn’t kill. Her very first kill still haunted her even if she’d been a fledgling and didn’t have a clue what was happening to her when it happened.
Caroline instantly looked interested and smiled over her wine glass. “Oh, hints of flirtation huh? Those are the best kinds of flirtation.” Not that Caroline had been that subtle when she’d flirted with Geralt. It was a little hard to keep it subtle when you were talking to the embodiment of a romance novel cover. “And I know Jacob. He seems like a nice guy.”
He’d made Caroline laugh when she’d been dealing with the blood lust. It had been a nice distraction to read his silly grocery list.
“Well, I actually, um, hooked up with someone,” Caroline replied with a shy smile. “It was unexpected, but really, really good.”
Miriam hadn’t killed in centuries, unless you counted the occasional deer, which Miriam didn’t. It helped keep her hunting instincts contained and then she felt much happier to drink from bags. But neither did her past kills bother Miriam. She did what she had to for survival.
“You did a really good job, Care. Really.” Miriam had seen what blood lust and blood rage could do to other vampires and Caroline had managed rather well.
“He does seem nice,” Miriam responded thoughtfully. “He’s funny. But it’s been so long since I flirted. Or, so long since I remember.” Obviously if she had a boyfriend here previously then she probably did flirt a little.
“You hooked up with someone? Who?” Miriam couldn’t be happier for her friend. Maybe Miriam didn’t do hookups or relationships, but it didn’t mean she couldn’t support her friends who did. In this town, she sometimes wished Gallowglass would show up. She thought Matthew’s nephew might enjoy this town away from reminders that Diana ended up with Matthew.
“I had a good mentor,” Caroline replied softly. Stefan had been there when she first transitioned. If it wasn’t for him, the blond vampire didn’t know how she would have managed it. If she would have managed it; she was positive Damon would have staked her instantly. In fact, he almost did if it wasn’t for Elena and Stefan stepping in. Caroline offered her friend a reassuring smile. “I have a feeling you’ll find it’s like riding a bicycle. Once you start, you just fall right back into it.” Plus, Miriam had been with someone here before, though, obviously, she didn’t remember that now. It didn’t matter; Caroline was sure her friend would become more comfortable with it the more she did it.
If Caroline had been human, she would have blushed, but being a vampire, her cheeks remained stone cold; she did,however, smile sheepishly as Miriam asked his name.
“His name is Geralt. Very different from the types I usually go for, but he just kind of came out of the river and I was there. It was like seeing the embodiment of a romance novel cover. The attraction was instant, at least for me, but I think he felt it too.” She hadn’t expected it to be more than just one night, but then he’d asked her to go riding with him and Caroline, in turn, asked him for help when she was dealing with the bloodlust. It was already evolving into something else, but Caroline didn’t mind that.
“I’m glad. Not every vampire does.” Of course Miriam knew not every world seemed to care about consent to become a vampire like in her world. Not that Ysabeau was given a damn choice.
“Perhaps. Sometimes I feel disloyal to Bertrand, even now.” A feeling which she realized didn’t make a lot of sense, given her mate had been dead longer than they’d been together. “But it did feel easier.” And maybe Miriam needed an opportunity to meet someone new. Of course, she’d be happy if Chris showed up too.
“Sometimes I wonder if it would be easier if my previous relationship was still in town.” But then again, Miriam would have to get to know them all over again, which sounded difficult.
“Oh. I think I know who you mean. He’s definitely an attractive man.” Not Miriam’s type, but she could understand the attraction. “So, he’s making you happy then?” Caroline’s happiness was the only important part when it came to her hooking up or dating anyone in Miraim’s opinion.
“Yeah, I definitely get that.” She’d come across too many vampires back in her world that didn’t have the kind of mentor Stefan was to her during her first few months as a vampire. Even now, she didn’t think she would have survived those first few months without his guidance.
Caroline nodded sympathetically. “I get it. Sometimes I feel the same way about Stefan too. But then I remind myself that he would want me to be happy. He’d want the best for me. He didn’t give up his life so that I would waste mine. He gave me a chance.” And as difficult as it was to take sometimes, Caroline always tried to take that chance whenever she could. She knew, wherever Stefan was, that he would understand because if the roles were reversed, she’d want the same for him.
At the mention of Spike, Caroline took a small sip of wine. Billy Idol Wannabe was not her type, but she did actually like him. She knew the previous version of Miriam liked him too. They seemed to be happy. “Even if he was, you’d still have to start over. You have to look at it as maybe this is the chance to meet the one person. Obviously, that person will never replace Bertrand, but maybe just be that someone that will make you feel complete or, at least, happy.” That’s how Caroline looked at it anyway.
“Attractive feels like an understatement, but yeah, definitely,” Caroline replied with a smile. “I wasn’t expecting it to be more, but then he asked me to go riding and it kind of started to evolve. I asked him to take care of Lizzie when I was dealing with my blood lust and he was there for me. I wasn’t expecting it, but it’s a pleasant surprise.”
Miriam felt grateful that at least most of the vampires in her life were good mentors. She knew not everyone was so lucky.
“I would like to be happy. It’s hard. But I should at least try.” Bertrand would want her to move on…especially after multiple centuries of being without a romantic partner. And she’d want Bertrand happy.
To be honest, if Caroline described Miriam’s past relationship in that fashion, she probably would side eye her past self. He definitely didn’t sound like Miriam’s type. But obviously something attracted her to him. “You offer good advice, my friend. And I appreciate it.” She wanted to find someone.
“Well, he sounds like he makes you happy and that’s all I care about. I’m glad he was there for you. You deserve nothing less.”
At her friend’s words, Caroline reached over and squeezed Miriam’s hand briefly. All Caroline wanted was happiness for Miriam too. After so long, she deserved it. She deserved to find that second great love of her life. “You should definitely try and I’ll be here to help you find it,” Caroline replied encouragingly.
“I do my best.” Caroline wasn’t sure who might consider Spike their type, but who was she to decide who was attracted to who? As long as they loved each other, what did it matter? Miriam had seemed happy with Spike at the time and, really, that was all that mattered to Caroline.
The blond smiled. He did make her happy and she did hope they had a chance to spend more time together, especially now that she wasn’t dealing with severe blood lust anymore. She even asked Lizzie to help her with a suitable riding outfit; something that was fashionable and yet functional.
“Thank you, Miriam. Having your support means a lot to me,” Caroline returned. “And yeah, I guess we’ll see what happens.” After all, in Madison Valley, there was no guarantee someone would be there tomorrow.
Miriam looked at Caroline. “I’ll let you know if I find someone, but please don’t hold your breath.” She said it jokingly, but Miriam kind of meant it. Sure, in theory she wanted to find happiness, but it seemed easier in theory. She returned the hand squeeze.
Happiness with someone besides Bertrand still sounded unbelievable to her. But, if someone said she’d been happy, she had to believe them, even with a dose of skepticism.
“You’ll always have my support unless you date someone truly evil.” Miriam did draw some limits. And Miriam agreed everyone here should find happiness while they could in this town.
Caroline laughed “I guess it is a good thing that I don’t have breath to hold,” she joked. Caroline knew it wasn’t easy to find happiness or allow yourself to find it. But even Miriam trying to find it was a good start. It meant she had hope and that was always a good thing to have at least in Caroline’s book. If you had hope, there was always a chance, no matter how bleak or impossible the situation seemed.
At the mention of having Miriam’s support until she dated someone truly evil, Caroline downed what remained of her glass of wine. “Well, I guess it’s a good thing I didn’t end up dating Klaus then…” Caroline trailed off with a weak laugh.
“You want me to refill your glass? I’m going to refill mine.” At the mention of Klaus, Caroline felt like she should just down the rest of the bottle.
Miriam snickered. “God, can you imagine if we had to relearn breathing? How absolutely inconvenient.” Was it a good start? Miriam hoped so, because she felt like she deserved something good. Right? And she could hope.
“I didn’t know you back then, so it doesn’t count.” She knew of Klaus’s reputation, but hadn’t met the other vampire yet. “Besides, we all have pasts we’d like to forget.”
“Yes please. Might as well bring the bottle over here.” Not like Miriam could get drunk, at least.
“I am more than okay with that,” Caroline replied. “Besides, we never actually had a relationship. There were feelings. Always. But we never were together back home.” It just never worked out that way and in the end, Caroline and Klaus ended up good friends. Granted, Caroline felt that the feelings they had would always be there to some extent. They had a connection and that was something that was difficult to forget.
“I’ll bring the white and a red over.” She flashed Miriam a small smile. She appreciated her friend saying it didn’t count; it was just another reason that proved why Miriam was a good friend to Caroline.
The blond took the opened white and one of the reds before heading back into the living room. She refilled both their glasses generously.
“I hope the red is good. I just made a guess. You’re more of the wine expert.”
Miriam stared at her friend with curiosity. “Why didn’t you date?” If they both had feelings for each other, it would make sense they’d try and date? Maybe? But what did Miriam know? “At least you two remained friends.”
She put a hand on her friend’s arm. “It’s wine. There are very few wines I won’t drink.” And most of the bad ones had names like ‘blackberry merlot’. After a sip, a rare full smile filled Miriam’s face. “It’s wonderful, Caroline.” It had notes of currents and oak, with a hit of sweet as it hit her throat.
“It was complicated,” Caroline replied softly. “It just…never was the right time. He went to New Orleans and I stayed in Mystic Falls. We found other people and when I finally came back into his life, he was-” Caroline broke off and reached for her wine glass to take a sip. Recounting how she came to New Orleans to see him one last time broke her.
“He was going to die to save his daughter. His entire family.” Caroline took another sip quickly and when Miriam moved on to the wine, the blond took the opportunity to move past Klaus. He was with Camille here and she’d been with Stan and now potentially Geralt. It was clear the two of them were just not meant to be together.
“Thanks, Miriam,” Caroline replied, taking comfort in the hand on her arm. “I just didn’t want to end up picking a bad one. Hence all of them in the kitchen.”
Miriam recognized a subject change and didn’t press her friend. Sometimes these things happened and she knew it was better to focus on the future.
“I hope to meet Geralt soon.” If he made her friend happy, that’s all Miriam cared about.
Caroline was relieved Miriam didn’t press on the Klaus subject. If she ever ran into him, no doubt she might find out more about it anyway.
“I’ll be sure to arrange something soon. Maybe for dinner or something,” Caroline replied with a smile. wrap!