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UNSETTLED

TALULLAH WAS NEVER ONE TO BE EASILY STARTLED.

In the almost three years that she'd been a vampire, that she had been taken under Victoria's wing after finding her on the brink of a death she couldn't remember, she was the last person to ever be shaken up.

She fed unflinchingly, borderline ruthlessly, because that was the way she'd been taught. She was never scared to see the crimson spill from those they preyed upon, knowing they'd be gone before anyone caught wind of what they were doing in the first place.

Even when James started playing tricks on her, jumping out from shadows and following her as she hunted like a phantom, she never backed down. She never showed him any fear, only tossing him groans of annoyance and agitated scoffs and words of try again next time, Jamesy.

None of that stopped him from his antics, as they only ever proved to fuel the mischievous fire that was always kindling inside of him. He could be a pest when he wanted to be, but he watched out for her just as the others did.

They were a family, and her family taught her that she had no reason to be scared of anything. They were the apex predators in life's ultimate food chain, were they not? So, it had always made sense for Talullah to instil fear rather than to show it.

But that look in that human girl's eyes? The way she'd expressed that she knew her, even when Talullah couldn't even identify her if she tried?

She was fucking startled.

The human looked at her as though she was something akin to a ghost. Looking right at her, professing that she knows her. Talullah had come to adopt the belief that humans were all pretty much the same, and she'd never bothered with them for anything other than a meal.

So why was it that the human girl's face was suddenly stamped into Talullah's mind? As if her mind itself wanted Talullah to remember the girl's face?

Had she missed something? Had she—

"I can see you worrying from over here, Tally."

The red-haired woman's voice was clear in her ears, despite the fact that she was on the other side of the abandoned convenience store that they were loitering within.

Talullah rolled her eyes, jaw clicking. "No idea you're talking about," she dismissed in return.

A flash of breeze made her look up, noting that the woman had joined her by her side. They were both perched on a rickety conveyor belt, Laurent elsewhere outside trying to scold James, no doubt.

"Tally," she chastised in a sweet, yet wholly pointed drawl.

Victoria always knew how to get the truth out of Talullah. "That girl, the human," she began tentatively, afraid to say the wrong thing around the woman, "she said she knew me." 

The woman hummed, her head tilted to the side as her gaze pierced the side of Talullah's face. "And do you know her?"

"No," she frowned, legs swaying as she pulled her cheek between her teeth for a beat. "But— but maybe she's from the before."

The before was the string of time coined by Victoria, and included all that had taken place before she was turned— all that had taken place from a time which Talullah herself couldn't remember.

Really, her first memory was of sandpaper in her throat and the urge to snarl at the blurry figure that looked above her. Everything was sharp, crisp in a way that she innately knew was abnormal.

But then, there was nothing.

Nothing of who'd she had been before she died, nothing of where she had come from. It was blank, no matter how hard she tried to remember, no matter how hard she tried to dig for some semblance of an answer as to who she once was.

Victoria had once told her that it was natural, a mere side effect of the transition if it was particularly awful. That Talullah should be grateful she didn't remember the time of her death, because from the woman's point of view that night, it was awful.

It was the only reasonable explanation as to why the human girl claimed to know her, but Victoria was immediately shaking her head. "I highly doubt that," she responded easily, always having an answer for everything. "I found you on the East Coast, don't you remember?"

Something foreign flashed behind her eyes, and she found herself nodding in agreement despite not knowing for certain. Thus, Talullah still wasn't satisfied. "But—"

"When have I ever given you reason to doubt me? Hm?" Victoria asked plainly, expectantly.

The brunette shook her head, shoving her curiosity into the back of her mind because she trusted Victoria. She trusted her, her creator, more than anyone. "You're right," she sighed out, looking at her fidgety hands like she'd just been scolded. "Sorry."

A hand cradled the side of her face, lifting her gaze once more. Red clashing against red. "What've I told you about that word?"

The answer was already at the tip of Talullah's tongue, like some sort of automated reply. "That it doesn't apply to families. That we don't need to say sorry."

Victoria smiled at her, nodding as she stood and retracted her hand. "Stay with Laurent," she told the girl, a command in its own right. "I'm going to find that tracker of mine."

Talullah was no fool; she saw the way James had looked at the human girl on the field. Like it was a challenge. Like it was a thrill.

That was where they were opposites, because despite having a similar reaction to the scent, Talullah didn't care about the theatrics like the blond did. No, she could never quite reign in her hunger around humans. She never got a grip on it.

But Victoria reminded her time and time again that she was but a baby in comparison to the others. That she had an eternity to learn, that she would help as she always did.

"Is he going to kill that girl?" she asked suddenly, unable to stop the words from tumbling out of her mouth. A nasty habit, one undoubtedly from the before.

Victoria almost looked at her like she said something silly, the corners of her lips pulling up into a ghost of a grin.

"Of course he is."

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[ wyn's note ]

bit of a smaller chap, but it's just to get the ball rolling for talullah(+ to showcase her dynamic with victoria... my og punisher stans might recognize what's going on here)

*also forgot to put this in the disclaimer: I've bumped Sam's age up to 20 in new moon cause that dude is NOT 19 LMAOAO therefore dawson is too and technically, talullah should be (but #lol she ain't)

thanks for the crazy support already!! all my love x