FINN DE LA SALLE
Phoenix
Posts: 264
Age:
651
Occupation:
French Teacher/Mercenary
Status:
Widowed
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen Apr 12, 2024 18:10:47 GMT
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Post by FINN DE LA SALLE on May 8, 2023 19:36:31 GMT
He hadn’t experienced those first losses, not in the same way he did others. The stories from Gadifer had been just that, tales told of what sounded like distant lands, a life that hadn’t been his. A little boy who had survived while the rest of his village had burned. A nightmarish bed time story, but like the flames couldn’t touch him, those horrors hadn’t been able to touch him. It was Joan’s death that had seared those first scars into him. Each time after, it felt like they had healed, only to be overlaid with the next set. Before Bridget he’d sworn never again, but she’d pushed right past his shields, had left him unprotected for the moment he’d stumble down that street to find the stone walls of the cottage tumbled and black, the ashes … the knowing looks on the faces of the villagers. They had known. The shields had gone back up once he’d left Geraint in the same state, pulled in tight at the moments, but never shifted enough to let anybody else in. Until his own son had been standing in that doorway looking at him.
That Alec believed that he regretted the way everything had spun out from that moment meant the world. If he could’ve changed a second of it to save his son from a search that’d lasted decades, from a life that had been just like one he was living, he would have done. Finn nodded slowly, drawing a hand over the lower half of his face, smoothing himself as much as he did the dark bristle of his beard. ”Unfortunately it makes us all who we are. We can’t stop it from happening, not when they aren’t as we are. We live through it and we carry them with us afterwards.” In time Alec would learn that he had done just that with the wife and son he believed he had lost. With Gadifer, with Joan, with so many others, some now splintered off and lost to time like dust scattered on the wind.
The huff of breath Finn let out was faintly amused, one corner of his mouth half lifting. ”Your mother said the same. I was never sure. My own – my birth father – was gone before I knew the sort of man he was, and the man who rescued me after – he wasn’t exactly the sort of man I believed he was at the time.” But Gadifer had been a father to him, the lessons he taught him lingering, showing him that no matter what Gadifer had done before he had taken him in, he was still a thousand times better than Geraint had been. Dark eyes rolled back up to his son again, a low hum rumbling in Finn’s chest. ”Certainly not all bad then. It took me years to realise what I was. There was no one there to ask, nobody who knew who I had been before I was taken in and renamed. You fought well, as bravely as your mother would’ve done if she’d been allowed to go to war.” As a woman – a pregnant one especially – she’d been forced to stay out of the battle she believed would finally give them freedom from the English.
With Bridget and Alec gone he had run again, had continued to run with each death, or as he’d outpaced the years. Sighing lightly, Finn calculated just how long he had been settled this time – longer than in a long time. ”Five years,” he admitted, a little shocked as he realised how quickly time had passed. ”It was supposed to be a trip to another war, but that wasn’t what I found here.” Perhaps it was still brewing beyond his sight, but more important things had started to eclipse it. Finn held his son tight for a moment, something he hadn’t been able to do despite Bridget’s assurances that he would as soon as he returned home victorious. ”I’m glad to hear it,” he told Alec as he finally stepped back. The thought of him leaving again so soon had brought on a burst of anxiety. ”You have other ties here then, good. Do you have an apartment? I have space if you don’t …” The room he had been using as an office would need to be cleared out, but he’d do it. If need be he’d finally turn those keys in for a house, let those roots grow deeper.
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ALEC DE LA SALLE
Phoenix
Posts: 40
Age:
276
Occupation:
Mystic Grill Bartender, Hunter
Status:
Married
Partner:
Lucian Ackerman
Played by:
Emma
Last seen May 5, 2024 18:58:25 GMT
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Post by ALEC DE LA SALLE on Jul 16, 2023 17:16:26 GMT
Ever since Alec had found out that he was adopted he’d had so many questions about who his father was. The letter his parents had written had explained some of his past but they had told him more about who his mother was than who his father was. For a long time Alec had known that he was different before finding out that he was a phoenix but after learning the truth he had come to realise that he must have inherited that from his father rather than his mother. Alec had stopped ageing a long time before finding out what he was but learning the truth had made him want to find his father that much more. His mother had died the day he had been handed over to his adoptive parents but he had hoped that his father was still out there somewhere and now it turned out that he had been right about that after all. It seemed a little surreal that he was finally face to face with the man whose DNA he shared after all these years but so far this was going better than Alec had thought that it would and for that he really was glad. There was something about Finn that seemed so sincere and Alec honestly believed that if the guy could have been there for him while he was growing up then he would have been. It would have been so much easier navigating this world with his father by his side but then again he knew that if things had worked out differently then he wouldn’t have met Lucian or Evangeline and the other people he had met along the way and he knew that he wouldn’t take that back for anything in the world. “Have you had anyone who has stayed with you over the years?” he asked, unable to deny that he was curious about anyone who might be a part of Finn’s life. Alec hadn’t seen Lucian for decades but he still had Evangeline in his life and he really was glad about that. It made navigating the world as an immortal that much less lonely and meeting other hunters along the way had done the same even if the majority of them were human. As his father spoke again, Alec nodded. “It’s difficult trying to figure out who people are. I never doubted that my adoptive father loved me but he and my mother had a vision in mind for the person they wanted me to be and it didn’t matter how much I disagreed with it,” he shrugged. They had been good to him in their own way, they had loved him and they’d made sure that he’d had everything that he’d needed but they had been too busy to spend time with him a lot of the time and when they had spent time with him they had tried to turn him into someone that he wasn’t. He had hidden parts of himself from them because he had felt sure that they wouldn’t accept him fully and he would be lying if he said that he wasn’t worried that the same might happen with Finn now but he knew that he had to give the guy a chance. Listening intently as his father spoke, Alec felt a smile touch his lips at the compliment. “Thank you,” he said sincerely. He wanted to know more about her but he hoped that there would be plenty of time for that. “It still took me a long time to figure out what I was and I only found out when I died and came back to life,” he shrugged. Fortunately Lucian had been there for him though and he knew that it would have been a very different story if he hadn’t been. Alec wasn’t sure why he was surprised when Finn said that he had been in town for five years this time but he was. “You found someone worth staying for?” he asked, unable to deny that he was curious. He wasn’t sure what had convinced him to stick around but Finn was glad that he had done. “If you’ve been here that long does that mean you’ll have to move on soon?” he asked even though the truth was that he was dreading the answer to that question, especially now that they had finally found each other. Hugging Finn tightly, Alec nodded as he asked if he had an apartment. “Thanks for the offer but I have a house in town. One good thing about living this long is that money isn’t an issue,” he chuckled. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily, I promise.”FINN DE LA SALLE
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FINN DE LA SALLE
Phoenix
Posts: 264
Age:
651
Occupation:
French Teacher/Mercenary
Status:
Widowed
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen Apr 12, 2024 18:10:47 GMT
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Post by FINN DE LA SALLE on Aug 13, 2023 19:34:31 GMT
For a time he had wondered if he was cursed, some dark mark placed upon him when he had failed to perish in the fire that had taken the life of his parents. Every who had been close to him since had died, each loss cutting him free of the life he thought he’d been tethered to. It was inevitable, but it should’ve taken decades for those losses to come, not a handful of years in most cases. They deserved long, blessed lives. That connection to him seemed to cut them short though and in the end Finn had thought it better that he remained alone. No others would have to die thanks to his presence in their lives, and he would not have to try and hold together the shattered parts of his heart every time it was crushed. Move on every couple of years, start over, let those he stood beside move on without the curse transferring to them like it had to so many others.
At his son’s question, Finn’s mouth firmed into a thin line. He looked up at Alec and shook his head. ”None,” he confirmed hoarsely. Mystic Falls had brought some back, but they were connections he’d gone decades or centuries apart from. ”Some have come back – most I didn’t expect to. This town will do that to you if you stay long enough. Have you found any others from your past here?” Perhaps it was some sort of divine hand that had brought Magnus here, or even the damned dragon who had taken the ring that had been all he’d had left of his marriage, but even that was unlikely. Mystic Falls was just a mecca that drew people together – and chewed some up in the process. Gadifer would’ve found some wonder in the place, as would Bridget, but neither’d had the chance. Finn’s smile was pensive, but remained on his face at Alec’s explanation. ”They sound much like my father. He saw me as his opportunity to raise a child as he believed they should be. I didn’t entirely disagree the way you did, but I didn’t know any better until after he was gone and I was able to see the world for myself.” Without Gadifer steering things. It had been both a shock and an adventure, one that had led him to Joan in the end.
It was with Joan – after Joan – that he had come to learn much of who he was. He wished it would’ve been a less painful process, but each death had taught him something about it, as he imagined it would have done for Alec too. Finn smiled wryly as his son explained. ”I bet that came as a shock. You don’t expect to give yourself over to death only to come around again.” His stomach swam at the thought. How many times had he clawed his way free of the dead on a battle field? Or from the very earth itself? At first he had wondered how many deaths it would take for it to stick, but now he knew there were very few things on earth that could actually kill him. Settling back in his seat, Finn chuckled and shook his head. The intention had never been to stick in Mystic Falls, but it had happened in the end. He should have grown tired of waiting for the war he’d heard was coming to start. That feeling hadn’t come though. Perhaps it had slowly been eroded by the emerging truth that he might have had a son out there. ”There has been nobody here that way, but I learned that I might have had a son out there … it made a difference. Perhaps in future there will be a reason to leave – another death to avoid, but for now, this is my home.” Just saying that aloud felt a little like he was tempting fate.
As though he feared being separated, Alec asked if he was soon to leave. Finn patted his son’s back before he eased away from him. ”Not any time soon. When you get to my age, you can eke things out a little…” It was harder when you were only a handful of years away from your teens though. Now his life would be entwined with his son. Finn offered up his own spare bedroom, but it seemed as though Alec already had it covered. ”I’m glad to hear it. I would have offered what I had, but it seems as though you’ve stood well on your own two feet.” And pride certainly struck then. ”Do you want to meet for dinner? We could eat at the Grill, or the Diner, unless there’s somewhere you need to be.” His own evenings were perhaps sadly empty now that he didn’t need to bury himself in his research.
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ALEC DE LA SALLE
Phoenix
Posts: 40
Age:
276
Occupation:
Mystic Grill Bartender, Hunter
Status:
Married
Partner:
Lucian Ackerman
Played by:
Emma
Last seen May 5, 2024 18:58:25 GMT
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Post by ALEC DE LA SALLE on Sept 25, 2023 21:46:22 GMT
Alec still couldn’t believe that he had actually found his father after such a long time. His adoptive parents had loved him, he had never doubted that, but they had thought that they knew what was best for him and they had never really cared if it wasn’t what he wanted. He had always had questions about his father since the letter his parents had written had told him that his mother had died when he was just a baby. It had taken him a long time to find out that he was a phoenix but he had always known that if she was like him then she would have survived and been able to raise him. That had left just his father as being like him but it had taken Alec a long time to find him and now there was a part of him that was worried that this was just a dream. It was Lucian who had helped him piece together that he was a phoenix and since then there had been a few people who had stayed with him but for a long time he had been on his own. It seemed he wasn’t alone in that, though, as Finn was soon saying that he hadn’t had anyone stay with him either. “My friend Evangeline convinced me to come here. I’ve only been here a few days so I haven’t really met anyone else yet,” he admitted. Whether or not he would find anyone else from his past while he was there he had no idea but he knew that he would find out soon enough. “It sounds like we’re more similar than I realised,” Alec admitted as his father spoke again. “I think they always knew the person they wanted me to become even if that wasn’t who I wanted to be. There were some things about me that they never would have accepted,” he shrugged. He had never told them that he liked boys as well as girls because he had known that it only would have disappointed them. He wasn’t sure how Finn would take it but Alec felt comfortable in his own skin now so it wasn’t something that he was ashamed of, not like he used to be back then. “It did. I was captured while fighting in a war and I was tortured. A friend was on the opposite side and he eventually freed me but they captured him. I went back for him and that’s when I was wounded. He helped me figure out what I am,” Alec explained. He knew that he wouldn’t have been any the wiser without Lucian helping him figure it out and he was beyond grateful to him for that. “How did you find out you’re a phoenix?” he asked, not sure whether Finn’s experience was similar to his. “Give it time and there might be,” Alec offered as Finn said that there hadn’t been anyone he liked romantically yet. “I hope you’ll be able to stick around, I’m not planning on going anywhere for a while.” It had taken him such a long time to find his father and Alec knew that he didn’t want to end up being parted from him so soon. “That’s great,” he nodded as Finn said that he could drag things out a little. Alec couldn’t deny that he was surprised by the offer to stay with the man and there was a part of him that thought about accepting it but at the same time he knew that he didn’t want to make things weird when they had just found each other so he knew that he needed to be honest. “I’ve had to but it hasn’t been too bad,” he admitted as Finn said that he had stood well on his own two feet. “I do appreciate the offer though,” he added, not wanting his father to think that he was being ungrateful. “Dinner sounds great, there’s nowhere I need to be,” Alec assured him. “Do you need time to finish what you were doing?” he asked, knowing that he had interrupted his father without meaning to. FINN DE LA SALLE
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FINN DE LA SALLE
Phoenix
Posts: 264
Age:
651
Occupation:
French Teacher/Mercenary
Status:
Widowed
Played by:
ANGE
Last seen Apr 12, 2024 18:10:47 GMT
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Post by FINN DE LA SALLE on Oct 25, 2023 19:52:55 GMT
It always came back to those connections. Finn could feel the tethers from his heart to those he’d known before he’d driven into Mystic Falls expecting to find a war here. They had tugged lightly every time he’d considered moving away and finding another battle to throw himself into. Now he was glad they had. Boredom, or frustration, might have kicked in eventually, but now Finn knew that he wasn’t likely to go anywhere without his son. Hopefully Alec would feel the same and would stretch this stay out beyond just a few days. Finn made a low sound in his throat, one corner of his mouth tipping up almost wearily. ”Just give it time,” he told his son. Mystic Falls likely still had a few tricks up its sleeve. Some he didn’t want to see, but Alec wasn’t one of those things.
Eventually he would tell his son all about how he’d ended up in the French court, and what had happened to his parents – a mystery that he still hadn’t quite gotten his head around given that one of them had to have been a phoenix for him to be one. That wasn’t a conversation for now though. They had the time to share all of those years now, something he never thought he could have with his son. ”I would say that it was a different time, but there were always some who were more open than others,” Finn said tightly. ”I promise I won’t make those same demands of you.” Finn touched a hand to his chest, like it would add weight to the promise. He knew that Bridget would have been the same, she hadn’t inherited her father’s narrow mind and it didn’t seem as though Alec had either.
Finn felt the ghostly scars of a thousand wounds flicker across his skin. It had been in battle that he’d first learned of his abilities too. A sword to the throat leaving him without a single mark. Most deaths had been far more agonising, some drawn out like Alec was describing now. He would have done anything to save Alec from that, but Finn knew that there was no way to change it, what they were meant that they were doomed to this. ”It means the world to have someone in those situations with you – especially one who would turn against what they know to save you.” Whoever this friend was, he would have thanked them for making sure that Alec didn’t flounder through the knowledge the same way he had. Finn’s mouth curved into an almost bitter line for a moment. ”I didn’t have a name for it, not at first. I believed I was perhaps a miracle. Gadifer had taken me to the Barbary Coast, one of the Berbers attacked me with a sword, it left no damage.” He lifted his hand, pressing it to his throat. ”After I was killed at Compiegn I found people who helped me to start putting the pieces together.” After Joan had died he’d been desperate for those answers.
The chuckle that rolled out of Finn was a little doubtful, but he couldn’t rule out ever finding someone to at least partially take Bridget’s place, not even after all this time. ”That’s the plan,” Finn admitted, glancing around the classroom. He wasn’t sure if he could take the students for that long, but there was always another job he could turn his hand to if he had to. If he was anything, it was flexible, after all this time he needed to be. He nodded slowly as Alec almost admitted the same. ”It’s always open,” he assured his son. There was no way on earth he could’ve imagined this happening tonight. Relief filled his expression as Alec agreed to dinner. Finn went to stand before Alec mentioned what he’d been working on. Brows rising, he glanced down at his desk and cursed lightly. ”I should finish these first. Let’s meet in an hour, I’ll knock these out and then I can put work aside for the night.”
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