βοηηιε βεηηεττ (impsychicnow) wrote in valloic, @ 2023-07-18 11:33:00 |
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Entry tags: | !: action/thread/log, ₴ inactive: bonnie bennett, ₴ inactive: enzo st john |
Despite the size of the house, she didn’t make another noise until she was back downstairs. She was on her way to find Enzo, but made two stops along the way. First, to one of the bar carts the Salvatore’s had around the house that she hadn’t bothered to remove to pour two glasses of bourbon. Second, into the room she used for most of her magic practice, and the storage of her more dangerous or powerful items, spelled so the twins couldn’t get in. With a gesture of her head, since her hands were occupied, Qetsiyah’s grimoire floated off of the shelf reserved for the Bennett Bloodline grimoire’s and followed behind her as she headed back out into the hall.
She found Enzo in the living room, and dropped down onto the couch beside him, offering him one of the glasses.
“So,” she said with a smile, giving him a look that probably hinted she was probably poking at things she maybe shouldn’t be, “I’ve been thinking.” Just as she said it, the grimoire dropped down into her now free hand, and she held it out for him to see. “About us. And the issue of immortality and mortality.”
Despite the multiple floors and thick sturdy walls between them, Enzo had been able to hear and follow each word of the Bedtime-Back-And-Forth routine between his three favorite humans, and of course it brought a smile to his face. The domestic life had only been something he’d entertained for himself for a brief moment in time, but as had become abundantly clear to him in the year since he’d arrived, it meant everything to him.
As the night deepened around him, Enzo let himself slip further into his thoughts. Back in their world, he’d been fully committed to giving up his immortality to live a human life with Bonnie. To have a family, to grow old together. His untimely death had complicated that plan, but this place they’d found themselves in had given them another opportunity. Or, at least a potential opportunity. They didn’t exactly have a cure available here, but it was still something he thought about often, and he knew Bonnie did as well.
As she joined him in the living room, he made no attempt to hide his absolute adoration for her. Enzo looked at Bonnie Bennett like she made the world spin, because for him- she did. He accepted the offered drink in one hand, while he simultaneously wrapped his other around her shoulders and pulled her closer. She had a look in her eye that made Enzo both hopeful and worried, all at once. “And what exactly have you been thinking, love?”
“So glad you asked.” Bonnie took a drink from her scotch, before tucking the glass between her legs, settling into his arms and opening up the grimoire in front of them, carefully flipping through the pages. It was old, many centuries older than Enzo, and completely written in Arabic. Bonnie had been studying it for years at this point to be able to read, understand, and speak the contents inside its pages.
“This belonged to Qetsiyah.” stating the obvious, there was no way he hadn’t noticed her studying it since his arrival. “Qetsiyah being the one who created both the immortality spell, and the cure that goes with it.” Big spells, big magic. Bonnie didn’t think she had the power to pull it off on her own. But Vallo was full of magic occurrences. She knew she had recently missed a big one when people were traveling to an alternate timeline. It had been that occurrence that had given her the idea. If, or when, another big occurrence occurred, she could tap into that magic to fuel the spell.
“With the right boost from Vallo, I think I can recreate it.” Right now, their other options were to hope Vallo sent through the cure, or for Bonnie to go vampire. But at this point in her life she didn’t think she could give up her magic. Her connection with her power had evolved and changed so much since arriving in Vallo. It was stronger than even, and Bonnie had never been so confident in her skills or the path she was on. Cutting it off now would be like cutting off a limb.
Enzo’s gaze flicked from the grimoire’s pages, up to Bonnie’s determined expression, and back again. The words on the pages meant nothing to him, so he just focused on her words as she explained.
I think I can recreate it.
Enzo’s eyebrows raised slightly at that. “You think?”
His hopes wanted to rise at the thought of it, but his more grounded side won out. He needed more information about what all of this entailed before he’d let himself start hoping too much.
“Well, it is a very big spell, and I’ve never done anything like this before. So I don’t want to oversell my capabilities. But theoretically, yes. I have or can get what I need to cast it, I just need enough magic to complete it.” It was hard to know when it would become available. Could be a few months. Could be a few years. Could be several years. She had magic options to slow her aging, if needed, until then.
She looked down at the grimoire, eyes sweeping over the spell. She had it memorized and translated at this point, but refrained from writing it down in any other language. This wasn’t the kind of power she needed to make it easier for people to access. “We know the spell is possible, I just need to play my cards right, and hope Vallo deals in my favor at some point.”
Enzo studied Bonnie for a long moment after she’d finished. The set of determination there made him love her all the more. If she was certain that she could perform the spell with the right boost of magic, then he believed her. When Bonnie set her mind to something, she rarely failed. He worried about the cost, though.
He raised his glass and took a long drink of the alcohol. Heat made its way down his throat and toward his stomach. “Aside from your magic being depleted, what are the dangers to you as the caster?”
Everyone always asks that question these days. It was a weird change of pace. No one back home was ever worried about the cost of the caster, but here everyone was all over her about it. It was sweet, but also annoying at times. Taking a sip of her drink, she shrugged, glancing down at the book.
“It’s big magic. I can probably expect a nosebleed. Maybe a forced nap at the end. The key will be to minimize the use of my own magic.” It was finding enough power that was the key. Bonnie in no way thought she could pull it off without that. She wouldn’t try, it wasn’t worth it. But Vallo had proven to have more than one very magic events over the past few years.
“I don’t really see what anything other than the standard risks of spell work will be an issue. I doubt I’m the only witch who looks for big magical events to help fuel spells. The hard part is going to be waiting for the right opportunity, and having everything in place for it.”
“You’re the magic boss, not me. So if you think this will work, and that you’ll come out fine, then I trust you. But it’s still my right to worry about you now and then.” His tone was light, and laced with humor, but there was still an undercurrent of sincerity there. He knew Bonnie didn’t want him fussing at her over safety, and he did his best not to most of the time, even if the impulse was still there.
Still, despite his concerns about Bonnie, Enzo was now facing down the very real possibility of regaining his humanity in the near future. His mouth twitched upward into a smile. “Guess that means we’d better get back to my bucket list again.”
The corner of her lip hitched up into a crooked smile, “I wouldn’t bring it up if I didn’t think I could come out the other side. There would be no point to that. Whatever outcome we choose, the whole point is to do it together.” She would fight for as long as she had to in order to make that happen.
His mortality was a possibility. Her immortality was also one. But it didn’t hurt to be prepared. “That will definitely give us plenty to do in the meantime. We should be doing it anyway. We never know what this place is going to throw at us.”
His eyes fixated on that smile of hers, Enzo was drawn in by the need to kiss it, to kiss her. To wrap her in his arms and tell her a hundred times that she had made the last several years the most important of his very long life. Mortality, immortality, or anything in between, he just wanted them together.
He set his half-empty Bourbon glass down on the side table, and used his now free hand to trail softly down the curve of her neck until his hand stopped, resting near her heart. “We can start tomorrow.” His eyes darkened as he leaned in close. “Tonight I have other plans.” He tilted Bonnie’s chin upward and drew her in for a warm, deep kiss.
Any thoughts she had of future planning went out the proverbial door when she saw that familiar look in his eyes. Bonnie didn’t bother to respond with words as she dropped the grimoire and set down her glass of bourbon on the table without so much as looking to make sure the remaining liquid didn’t end up on the floor. She returned the kiss deeply, eagerly. It was hard to imagine ever getting enough of his kisses no matter how long they had.
“I’m eager to see all of your plans for the night.” she said softly, smiling as she pulled back just an inch. “We’re already off to an excellent start.”
As Bonnie moved to return the kiss, Enzo tugged her in closer to him. He could feel the soft thrum of her heartbeat and the way it sped up. He would miss that part. Hearing the way he could make her heart race was one of his favorite past times. He’d have to make the most of it while he still could.
With the flash of a wicked grin and the speed of a vampire, Enzo was on his feet with Bonnie in his arms. “Just you wait, Bonnie Bennett. I have all sorts of things in store for you.”