and if the timing is right to sneak off into the night
As the taxi driver began loading Bill's travel coffin into the vehicle, Sookie spared a few moments to take in her surroundings more fully than she had at any other point in the trip. In a sense, it was strange- for a woman who, in the first twenty-five years of her life, had never truly ventured outside the town of Bon Temps, Sookie certainly hadn't spared much thought to being in Dallas until that moment. Everything had moved too fast for her to do so- owing Eric a favor for letting Lafayette go, barely having any time to get over Rene, being assaulted in the basement of a church, and finally witnessing the willing death of a vampire. It was all so much that Sookie hadn't even fully formed her thoughts on any of it yet, glassy-eyed as her gaze passed over flourishing plants, open fields, buildings several times higher than even the most ambitious places within Bon Temps.
Strange, how one could feel no pang of separation from home, yet feel as though they'd been away for years, all at once. While Sookie had yet to get to know Dallas as a city, and its environment as a culture, certain aspects of Bon Temps already felt so distant. What would it be like to return to Merlotte's? Would it be thankfully quiet to her, were there new customers? Had some even returned as a result of the bar losing their most renowned fangbanger? And how was Tara settling in at the house, one which even Sookie had to admit was heart-wrenchingly painful to live in on her own? She couldn't really begin to fathom how the place might have changed, but something in her gut turned, stomach doing somersaults. She was going home.
"Miss Stackhouse, we're all ready to go here."
Sookie jumped, startled, turning around to face the driver, who gave her a wide smile as he held one of the side doors of the vehicle open. Perhaps that was the only thing she had noticed over the course of being in Dallas- people were more accustomed to the presence of vampires, had been more exposed by both numbers and culture, with Bon Temps being as backward as it was. The prejudice against fangbangers still existed, and there was no doubt of it in Sookie's mind, especially after having just spent the past stretch of time battling with the Fellowship of the Sun. But on the whole, people at least knew more; they could be judgmental, but there was no latent fear or uncertainty over who she was. No one knew what she was, either, the vampires aside.
And telepaths didn't really scare the vampires. Not that she could read any of their minds, anyway.
She'd miss that. Not feeling like such an oddity.
"Yeah, Sook, c'mon!" Jason gesticulated from inside, waving impatiently to his sister. "We don't got all day."
Rolling her eyes at her brother, Sookie offered a murmured thanks to the driver before stepping inside the cab, eyes widening a little still at how new the vehicle was, upholstery practically pristine in quality. The young woman laid her purse on the seat between herself and her brother, before turning around to make sure that Bill was there, safe. Even if she knew that there was nothing more the vampire could do for her in the next few hours- nothing he could do without risking his life, at any rate- it still felt safer to have him by her side, the first man who had never forsaken her by choice, who had never chosen anyone else unless a metaphorical knife was pointed at his throat. She laid a hand on the cool surface of the coffin, wondering if any part of him could sense what was going on, the disquiet in her heart. If he was anticipating the return home. But as she was already getting a few strange looks from her brother, Sookie quickly clasped her hands in her lap again, staring out the window at all of the trees quickly passing by. It wasn't long before she dozed off.
Suddenly, the air around Sookie felt thick and alive against her skin, her heart rate racing while she was left unable to gasp for air. Thud, thud, thud, her pulse went in her ears as she wandered down a dark hall, one vaguely familiar to her. Her hands fell against gingham cloth, red and white checkered pattern bright against the tan of her skin, the whole of herself bright against the washed-out surroundings. Wonder what vampires got against colors, she wondered, almost enough to bring a smile to her eyes until she noticed a light filtering out of a doorway at the end of the corridor. That was where she was meant to go. There was someone there, and it was waiting for her, though not expectantly. No clear thoughts filtered through her mind, no pictures nor scents, no words forming sentences, but still she felt a pull. As she drew closer, she could hear the crackle of a fire, the warmth of the doorknob under her skin. Turning, pushing, she gradually peeked into the room, and-
-ah.
Eric sat in front of the fire, the light casting warmth into his complexion, making him look human- or maybe it was the vulnerability in the curve of his back and tension of his hands. Slowly, Sookie made her way over, eyes widening as she noticed dark, drying trails of tears down Eric's cheeks. It shouldn't have been a surprise. What she had seen on the roof of the hotel was a side of Eric she hadn't imagined possible earlier- desperate, lost, dependent on someone else entirely and fracturing under the possibility of his absence.
"Eric?"
He held his gaze steady, the flicker of flames reflecting in his eyes. "Godric is gone."
Empathy hit immediately, though the root of it took a while to realize. He claimed not to understand love, and that she couldn't understand loyalty to a maker, but the two seemed so much more synonymous than the vampire could ever hope to admit. Being devoted to someone and idolizing them, it made Sookie think of her grandmother, the way that her heart still ached from the gaping hole there. Maybe the two had their differences- gran hadn't wanted to go, Godric had- but the shock and the sense of loss, they were constants. Sookie extended a hand, resting it on Eric's shoulder, murmuring softly. "I know. I'm so sorry."
To this, the vampire had no response; gradually, Sookie reached a hand under Eric's chin, coaxing him to raise his gaze. Not knowing how to ease the pain, she instead went to the source of it, brushing her lips against his cheeks. Maybe it was too much. There was no reason for the intimacy. And yet, maybe he understood as well as she did what they were doing, for Sookie felt a hand reach for hers, grasping and pulling her back. Her breath fanned against his skin, although enough to give the impression that the vampire was breathing. Bill liked to pretend, at times.
It wasn't like any other kiss she'd had, trying to seize every moment possible with Bill- this one was slow, torturous, waiting with baited breath. Sookie ran her fingers down the length of Eric's fangs curiously, considering only for a minute before she turned her head to the side. Suddenly, he was close, a searing pain tearing through her skin-
-and Sookie's eyes flew open as she sat upright. Or tried to, at any rate, palms sinking immediately into sand as the sun shone down relentlessly above her. No longer was she riding in a cab, with Jason by her side; it seemed like she'd been transported into the very picture of Hawaii as painted by television commercials. One hand went to her neck- very thankfully uninjured- as Sookie got to her feet, breathing heavily.
"What the fudge...?"
Though there was a path which lay behind her, clearing a way through the apparent jungle, Sookie made off in the direction of the ocean instead; jungles and forests meant places and people to hide behind, too much room for surprises. Even if vampires couldn't survive the sun, Sookie could remember her conversations with Sam, weeks ago- vampires weren't the only dangers out there, and it appeared that their known existence was only scratching the surface of what was. The vast ocean seemed to provide no further answers, though, as Sookie slipped out of her shoes, keeping them hooked on her fingers as she ran down the length of the beach, kicking up sand as she went.
"Jason? Jason? Jason Stackhouse, I'm not sure how you might've pulled this off, but you'd better get down here right now, 'cause you've got a lot of explainin' to do. Hello? Is there anyone out there?"
[ ST/LT welcome! Everyone is welcome (don't worry about swamping me, I love threads)! If you would prefer not to thread out a moment just after her arrival, free to bump into Sookie while she's in the rec room or in the new resident crash room; I'm flexible. Tags may be slowish while I study. ♥ ]
Strange, how one could feel no pang of separation from home, yet feel as though they'd been away for years, all at once. While Sookie had yet to get to know Dallas as a city, and its environment as a culture, certain aspects of Bon Temps already felt so distant. What would it be like to return to Merlotte's? Would it be thankfully quiet to her, were there new customers? Had some even returned as a result of the bar losing their most renowned fangbanger? And how was Tara settling in at the house, one which even Sookie had to admit was heart-wrenchingly painful to live in on her own? She couldn't really begin to fathom how the place might have changed, but something in her gut turned, stomach doing somersaults. She was going home.
"Miss Stackhouse, we're all ready to go here."
Sookie jumped, startled, turning around to face the driver, who gave her a wide smile as he held one of the side doors of the vehicle open. Perhaps that was the only thing she had noticed over the course of being in Dallas- people were more accustomed to the presence of vampires, had been more exposed by both numbers and culture, with Bon Temps being as backward as it was. The prejudice against fangbangers still existed, and there was no doubt of it in Sookie's mind, especially after having just spent the past stretch of time battling with the Fellowship of the Sun. But on the whole, people at least knew more; they could be judgmental, but there was no latent fear or uncertainty over who she was. No one knew what she was, either, the vampires aside.
And telepaths didn't really scare the vampires. Not that she could read any of their minds, anyway.
She'd miss that. Not feeling like such an oddity.
"Yeah, Sook, c'mon!" Jason gesticulated from inside, waving impatiently to his sister. "We don't got all day."
Rolling her eyes at her brother, Sookie offered a murmured thanks to the driver before stepping inside the cab, eyes widening a little still at how new the vehicle was, upholstery practically pristine in quality. The young woman laid her purse on the seat between herself and her brother, before turning around to make sure that Bill was there, safe. Even if she knew that there was nothing more the vampire could do for her in the next few hours- nothing he could do without risking his life, at any rate- it still felt safer to have him by her side, the first man who had never forsaken her by choice, who had never chosen anyone else unless a metaphorical knife was pointed at his throat. She laid a hand on the cool surface of the coffin, wondering if any part of him could sense what was going on, the disquiet in her heart. If he was anticipating the return home. But as she was already getting a few strange looks from her brother, Sookie quickly clasped her hands in her lap again, staring out the window at all of the trees quickly passing by. It wasn't long before she dozed off.
Suddenly, the air around Sookie felt thick and alive against her skin, her heart rate racing while she was left unable to gasp for air. Thud, thud, thud, her pulse went in her ears as she wandered down a dark hall, one vaguely familiar to her. Her hands fell against gingham cloth, red and white checkered pattern bright against the tan of her skin, the whole of herself bright against the washed-out surroundings. Wonder what vampires got against colors, she wondered, almost enough to bring a smile to her eyes until she noticed a light filtering out of a doorway at the end of the corridor. That was where she was meant to go. There was someone there, and it was waiting for her, though not expectantly. No clear thoughts filtered through her mind, no pictures nor scents, no words forming sentences, but still she felt a pull. As she drew closer, she could hear the crackle of a fire, the warmth of the doorknob under her skin. Turning, pushing, she gradually peeked into the room, and-
-ah.
Eric sat in front of the fire, the light casting warmth into his complexion, making him look human- or maybe it was the vulnerability in the curve of his back and tension of his hands. Slowly, Sookie made her way over, eyes widening as she noticed dark, drying trails of tears down Eric's cheeks. It shouldn't have been a surprise. What she had seen on the roof of the hotel was a side of Eric she hadn't imagined possible earlier- desperate, lost, dependent on someone else entirely and fracturing under the possibility of his absence.
"Eric?"
He held his gaze steady, the flicker of flames reflecting in his eyes. "Godric is gone."
Empathy hit immediately, though the root of it took a while to realize. He claimed not to understand love, and that she couldn't understand loyalty to a maker, but the two seemed so much more synonymous than the vampire could ever hope to admit. Being devoted to someone and idolizing them, it made Sookie think of her grandmother, the way that her heart still ached from the gaping hole there. Maybe the two had their differences- gran hadn't wanted to go, Godric had- but the shock and the sense of loss, they were constants. Sookie extended a hand, resting it on Eric's shoulder, murmuring softly. "I know. I'm so sorry."
To this, the vampire had no response; gradually, Sookie reached a hand under Eric's chin, coaxing him to raise his gaze. Not knowing how to ease the pain, she instead went to the source of it, brushing her lips against his cheeks. Maybe it was too much. There was no reason for the intimacy. And yet, maybe he understood as well as she did what they were doing, for Sookie felt a hand reach for hers, grasping and pulling her back. Her breath fanned against his skin, although enough to give the impression that the vampire was breathing. Bill liked to pretend, at times.
It wasn't like any other kiss she'd had, trying to seize every moment possible with Bill- this one was slow, torturous, waiting with baited breath. Sookie ran her fingers down the length of Eric's fangs curiously, considering only for a minute before she turned her head to the side. Suddenly, he was close, a searing pain tearing through her skin-
-and Sookie's eyes flew open as she sat upright. Or tried to, at any rate, palms sinking immediately into sand as the sun shone down relentlessly above her. No longer was she riding in a cab, with Jason by her side; it seemed like she'd been transported into the very picture of Hawaii as painted by television commercials. One hand went to her neck- very thankfully uninjured- as Sookie got to her feet, breathing heavily.
"What the fudge...?"
Though there was a path which lay behind her, clearing a way through the apparent jungle, Sookie made off in the direction of the ocean instead; jungles and forests meant places and people to hide behind, too much room for surprises. Even if vampires couldn't survive the sun, Sookie could remember her conversations with Sam, weeks ago- vampires weren't the only dangers out there, and it appeared that their known existence was only scratching the surface of what was. The vast ocean seemed to provide no further answers, though, as Sookie slipped out of her shoes, keeping them hooked on her fingers as she ran down the length of the beach, kicking up sand as she went.
"Jason? Jason? Jason Stackhouse, I'm not sure how you might've pulled this off, but you'd better get down here right now, 'cause you've got a lot of explainin' to do. Hello? Is there anyone out there?"
[ ST/LT welcome! Everyone is welcome (don't worry about swamping me, I love threads)! If you would prefer not to thread out a moment just after her arrival, free to bump into Sookie while she's in the rec room or in the new resident crash room; I'm flexible. Tags may be slowish while I study. ♥ ]