vengeance

Late night walks had become a thing for Lawrence recently, especially in the woods. The silence was a blessing. All he could hear the sound of his feet kicking through the leaves as he wandered aimlessly. It was another sleepless night for him, plagued with nightmares and pit of dread in his stomach. Nights like this he struggled to comprehend what his life had come to. He was dead and drinking blood to survive. Lawrence was no longer the young witch who died over 70 years ago. That version of him was naive, docile and carefree, he was the complete opposite now. Sometimes he missed that version of him, but over the years he had come to realise this was for the best. He never wanted to be leader of the coven anyway, it was too much pressure and having an image to live up to.

However, Lawrence’s pity party was disrupted by voices in the distance. He tuned in his hearing to see what, or who it could be. Sounded like chanting or potentially a spell. Curiosity got the better of him and he headed over to where the noise was coming from. He was careful and quiet with his steps, not wanting to alarm the witches and warlocks that there was someone nearby. He positioned himself behind a tree, and tried to make out what these lot were up to. It was not a spell he was familiar with, but he watched as a bright orange light emerged between the four people. He moved back a little further, not wanting to be spotted. This situation was all too familiar to Lawrence. This is exactly what he would when he headed back to Canada to check up on his family. He would watch them from afar for hours, sometimes considering stepping out of the shadows and announcing his presence. He would imagine how his family would react, and what would the coven say. The biggest question was would his family greet him with open arms or a stake.

These trips to Canada became too much for Lawrence though. He watched his parents break their promise, which was to find a cure for him and bring him home, however they focused on his sister instead. She was set to be the new leader. It was too painful to see everyone moving on just fine without him, and fed the rage he felt towards his parents and the coven.

Soon there was another voice coming from the woods towards the witches and warlocks. It was an angry voice, shouting threats. Lawrence crouched down a little. This could get interesting. He saw a familiar face emerge from the woods. He pondered for a moment, trying to search his mind as to where he recognised this person from. Suddenly it clicked. He had seen him around the Salvatore School, but never exchanged words with the stranger. He was too old to be a student, so a teacher perhaps? His search for the answer was quickly interrupted when more witches and warlocks appeared from the dark. 10 vs 1 was hardly fair. Things were getting heated quickly.

Lawrence watched the situation unfold. Now he was faced with a decision himself. He could watch these 10 witches and warlocks take on this one siphoner, he could walk away or he could help.

Lawrence made the decision to help this guy out, as he had a feeling he was not the bad party in this fight. Plus killing a few witches and warlocks may tire him out before bed. The stranger was putting up a good fight though as he knocked the others to the floor. Lawrence quickly assessed the situation, planning the best mode of attack. He searched his surroundings and noticed a thick tree branch on the floor. He picked it up. He watched the coven scramble to their feet, and chose his target. A warlock facing him, with a clear shot. Lawrence threw the branch with maximum speed and strength, and it pierced through the chest of the warlock. His second target was a witch closer to him, with her back to him. Before she had a chance to turn around, to see where the attack had come from, Lawrence was behind her. One swift movement and he snapped her neck. ”Thought I’d help you out” He said to siphoner.


TEDDY AARONSON - hope this is okay!

There was no time for formalities. Things were moving fast. Another witch turned her attention to Lawrence, but he wasn’t taking any chances with her. He was quick to sink his hand into her chest, and rip her heart out. He remembers the first time he ever did that, and he was shocked at his own strength. Even now, it still surprised him. The heart stopped beating seconds after being extracted, and Lawrence casually threw it on the floor. He then proceeded to fight the others.

Between them they managed to take down the rest of the witches and warlocks, albeit the siphoner was doing a better job, but it appeared he had something to fight for. Julian was it? Lawrence doesn’t remember a time fighting for someone apart from himself, nor does he remember a time when someone fought for him. Even his parents didn’t fight for him when he died.

Surrounded by dead witches and warlocks there was one witch left to kill. She had her eyes on him. Lawrence was running on pure adrenaline with a mixture of anger, although he had no idea why the anger was present. Maybe he was imagining this was his coven, and he was taking them down one by one, tearing them apart as he went along. The veins around Lawrence's eyes appeared, and his eyes grew darker. His fangs appeared, and he was ready to sink his teeth into this witch. He was seconds away from making him move when he heard the siphoner call out. Lawrence held back, and his face returning to normal.

Julian was the stranger’s son, and the whole scene that had just played out made some kind of sense. Having your child taken by someone is a pain Lawrence would never experience, and he could not comprehend the love a parent feels for their child. The chance of that even happened was taken away from him a long time ago, and he tries not to dwell on it. Lawrence watched as the life was drained from the witch by the siphoner. Soon as the witch dropped to the floor the orange light went out.

Lawrence gave Teddy a small nod after he introduced himself and he announced he was leaving. He had his kid to rescue, and Lawrence wasn’t going to stand in his way. He was about to leave when Teddy stopped, “I don’t know why you helped me, but they’re keeping him hostage at my apartment. He’s only two, he—” Lawrence was about to explain why he helped, but remembered that time was not on their side. “There’s no way there’s ten of them in my apartment, so if you wanna come and help me out, I’d really fucking appreciate it.”

He pondered for a second though. He wasn’t usually one to help witches and warlocks out, but Teddy was fighting against his kind. On initial assessment, Teddy seemed like a half decent guy, so he decided to give the guy a hand. Plus Teddy just wanted to find his two year old. Lawrence shrugged. ”Yeah sure. My plans for this evening were looking bleak anyway” He stepped aside letting Teddy lead the way back into Mystic Falls, ”So, your mother sent these guys then?” He gestured towards the dead bodies.

TEDDY AARONSON

It was clear Teddy had some personal family issues and Lawrence knew better than to pry, especially when it seemed like Teddy was tearing up. "Yeah. She does sound like a bitch" He agreed. Lawrence knew being the first born to the Coven leaders is a difficult role to live up to, and if you fail there can be serious consequences. "I'm Lawrence by the way" He realised he had forgotten to introduce himself, as he was too busy snapping necks and ripping hearts out. He glanced down at the blood still on his hands and wiped them on his jeans. Another pair of good jeans ruined by blood.

Lawrence trailed behind Teddy, keeping up with him at ease. He'd forgotten how slow humans moved, but Teddy was moving relatively fast for human pace. They both arrived at the apartment block.

“You can get up there in seconds, right? Floor ten, apartment ten-oh-nine. Just… make sure he’s okay.”

Lawrence nodded, and left Teddy and ran up the stairs as quickly as he could, whilst reciting the apartment number in his head. Lawrence had no idea what had pushed him into helping Teddy, as he tended to stay out of other people's business, especially when he could end up killed as a result of mendling. Perhaps he had a slight bit of sympathy for the Siphoner and found himself understanding the situation Teddy was in with his Coven. Plus these guys had his kid, and Lawrence wasn’t going to stand by and let an innocent child get hurt.

He arrived at 1009 in seconds and lingered outside the door listening in. There was no screaming or crying child, which was good news. It was silent inside the apartment. Lawrence decided against kicking the door down as he wouldn't be able to enter Teddy apartment without an invitation. If he were to kick the door down and the situation escalated Lawrence would be stuck in the corridor, looking in, which was useless. He patiently waited for Teddy, whilst listening into the apartment for any signs of the child's distress. Although as he stood waiting he felt an anger rise inside of him. Pretty low blow using someone's child to get to them, and they have the audacity to look down on vampires. By the time Teddy emerged from the elevator Lawrence was ready to help him kill whoever was inside the apartment. ”You need to invite me in”

TEDDY AARONSON

Lawrence followed Teddy into his apartment. It was the bane of his life having to be invited into people's homes. Where did that even come from? He started to wonder when Teddy would start losing his magic, and needed a recharge. Lawrence wasn’t overly keen on the idea of Teddy using him as a battery pack, as he knew it could kill him, although this would have been a very elaborate plan to kill Lawrence. Teddy seemed like a trustworthy guy.

As they entered the apartment Lawrence assessed their surroundings, looking for weapons to use, if needed, and sizing up the three warlocks inside. He spotted a fork lying on a table nearby. There was one warlock who was clearly stronger than the others, so he needed to be taken down first. He assumed this was the Ivan guy that was mentioned earlier. The other two were feebly looking, and easy targets. Probably just following orders from the big guy. As the pair started to exchange heated words, Lawrence geared himself up as he knew things were about to escalate. However, he wasn’t expecting the warlock to send Teddy flying backwards into the drywall, leaving him and three other warlocks.

There was no hesitation, and Lawrence didn’t even wait for Teddy’s body to hit the floor before grabbing the fork from the nearby table and launching it at Ivan's eye. As he was preoccupied with pain Lawrence sank his teeth into his neck. It had been at least a year since Lawrence had bitten a human, and he had forgotten how intoxicating it was. Usually Lawrence would stop just before the person died, but he was aiming to kill this time.

His enjoyment was disrupted by the other two weaker looking warlocks. "Ahhh!" Lawrence’s teeth unlocked from his victim's neck as his head was filled with a searing pain. The pain knocked him to his knees, and Lawrence reached up to grab his head, fresh blood spilling from his mouth onto the floor. He hadn't realised the one of the pair had snapped the wooden leg off a chair in the apartment. The burning sensation in his head was swiftly replaced with the table leg piercing through his chest. It was mere inches from his heart. Inches from killing him. Lawrence wrapped his hands around the leg and ripped it from his chest. These two were amateurs and out of their depth. "You’re supposed to aim for the heart". Lawrence sped forward and snapped the neck of the warlock who tried to kill him, before turning his attention to the other one. His fangs were apparent, and his eyes were dark. He was furious and wanted to shed blood. The lone warlock backed off and ran from the apartment. They weren’t prepared to die today.

Lawrence calmed himself down, glanced over at Teddy. "You okay?" He walked over and offered a hand out to Teddy. "The big guy is still alive by the way, so fill yer boots" Lawrence could hear shallow breathing coming from the warlock bleeding out on Teddy’s floor.

TEDDY AARONSON

For a moment Lawrence thought Teddy was dead and felt a sense of relief when he opened his eyes. Dealing with three dead bodies and a child would be a bit too much. He then heard the child calling for his father, and was hoping the little one didn’t leave his room to see the mess in the apartment. It would take a lot to explain this away to a toddler, but thankfully Teddy locked his door. Another sense of relief.

Lawrence stepped back a little as Teddy caved in the skull of this Ivan guy lay on the floor. “You’ll see my mom soon enough. I hope you both rot.” Now Lawrence had seen a lot of blood in his lifetime, but he had never seen someone's head explode in quite a way before. It was disgusting, yet fascinating and it was one hell of a mess to clean up. He was a little annoyed one of the warlocks had managed to get away, it felt like an unfinished job. Lawrence had made sure to remember his face though, in case they ever cross paths again. No one tries to stake him and gets away with it.

“I can’t… thank you enough for this.” He wasn’t use to being considered the good guy in a situation and it gave him a sense of achievement. He had done a nice deed for someone else, which was rare for him, but it felt warming, which was a feeling he hadn’t felt in a long time. Lawrence smiled. I don’t know why you helped me, but I’ll never forget it. He wasn’t 100% sure why he helped either, but he knew it was his unresolved anger towards coven. “I hate controlling covens, and going after someone's kid is pretty fucked up” He replied, but with that Teddy grabbed hold of his shoulder. Lawrence helped to balance the siphoner by grabbing him by the other shoulder. “I don’t have anything to offer you, I’m sorry. I can give you a change of clothes or…” A fresh jumper would go down a treat right now, but he lived in the same apartment building a few floors up. He could get from here to his apartment without someone spotting him covered in blood. He was keen to get in the shower as well. “I’m fine, I actually live in this block, a few floors up, but thank you anyway” Lawrence responded.

“If you ever need help━or anything at all, I’ll be there in an instant. I give you my word.” Lawrence made eye contact with Teddy, this guy was seriously thankfully for his help. Who knows there could be a time he needed a warlock’s help and would call on Teddy. “Sit down,” He said, guiding Teddy towards the sofa. “Would you feel better if you siphoned magic from me?” This man had earned his trust, and Lawrence was willing to help him get back to full strength. There was an option to give Teddy some of his blood, to help him heal but he thought it would be best to go down the siphoning route first. There was always that chance Teddy could die within 24 hours and he would be like him, or one of those heretics and Lawrence would feel guilty if that happened.

“How are you going to get rid of the bodies?” He paused for a moment, “The small one could go out with the trash” The scrawny dead warlock on the floor could easily fit into a trash bag and be thrown down the chute, but it was Ivan who was going to be an issue. The big ones were always an issue. “Or cloak them” Although he wasn’t sure cloaking would work on a dead body.

TEDDY AARONSON - i love these two

Dry heaving wasn't what Lawrence wanted to hear. He could handle blood and guts, but sick was another thing. He had never been good with sick. He was praying Teddy wouldn't throw up, otherwise, he would have to leave "No" Lawrence wasn't about to accept no as an answer though. Teddy wasn't looking too good and needed to heal somehow. “I don’t think I’d be able to hurt you too much if I tried, though. You can heal instantly…” Lawrence sat down next to Teddy put his hand out. He knew the siphoning could kill him but he hoped Teddy did not take too much magic, but then Lawrence just had a stake driven through his chest, inches from his heart. A little siphoning wouldn't hurt him. "If you kill me just bury me with the others" He said, glancing over at the dead warlocks, "But please just siphon from me because you're pale as hell, and how are you going to clean this mess up if you can barely pick up a spoon" Lawrence's eyes fell down on his offering hand, wanting Teddy to take up his proposal.

“Were you part of a coven?” The vampire was a little surprised by the question, but it was an obvious one to ask. “You mentioned that you hate controlling covens, you have in-depth knowledge about spells and… you know what a siphoner is.” He rubbed his forehand with his fingers vigorously, "Erm..." He paused, perhaps for a little bit too long. Sometimes he becomes lost in situations and forgets he no longer can do magic. It brings him back to reality, crashing hard at times. "Yeah, I was born a witch, and belonged on a small coven in Canada" He explained. It was always hard to admit that out loud. Lawrence couldn't help but notice Teddy's eyes narrow slightly, and he hoped the Teddy didn't distrust him for not mentioning it sooner but it was something he tended to keep to himself. They didn't exactly have time to share personal secrets earlier, whilst fighting off the warlocks. "My parents essentially kicked me out of the Coven when I was turned. They detested vampires" Even though it was their fault he was turned, "They faked my death. Told everyone I died in a hunting accident" Lawrence quickly stopped himself from oversharing with someone he had just met, but there was a part of him that knew Teddy could relate, given the scenes which had just unfolded. "Sounds like your coven fucked you over too?"

Back in New Orleans, it was common knowledge that he used to be a witch and he would sometimes help some of the witches in the quarter with spells and rituals. Often he would just do it off his own back because he missed the magic. Throughout the years Lawrence kept on top of his magic knowledge and still studying spells, rituals, and hexes. At first, he was looking for a cure for his vampirism, a search that consumed decades of his life. Eventually, he gave up because realistically if there was a cure out there someone would have found it by now, but his mom's words would sometimes loop in the back of his hand. She told him there was a counterspell for everything, you just have to be smart enough to find it. Was that it? Was he not smart enough to find it?

TEDDY AARONSON