festive rainbow mirror summoning!

[incanted]

There are now one dozen Bells.

They and most of their friends are all here on Planet Rainbowsand II, to celebrate the addition of Sarion, the elf one, and Aurora, the one with a sister.

Comments

[self_composed]

"I probably should've. I probably would've if - no, I just should've, plain and simple," sighs Stella. "It's not like you were doing anything that made me feel unsafe."

[edgeofyourseat]

"Would've if...?"

[self_composed]

"If you hadn't wanted it to be a surprise and there'd been a conversation about it first. We spent the next several days pretty distracted."

[edgeofyourseat]

"And then you just... kept being distracted," sighs Alice. "Until now."

He hugs Stella.

"I love you," he says, less happily than usual.

[self_composed]

"I love you too, I'm sorry," Stella murmurs.

[incanted]

Aurora's going to take a couple steps backwards now with a very uncomfortable look on her face.

[edgeofyourseat]

"I liked that the hurting part was a surprise," he murmurs, "but maybe - not the rest of it."

[self_composed]

"I'm sorry," repeats Stella quietly.

[edgeofyourseat]

He sighs again, and cuddles her a little.

[incanted]

Aurora thinks she has learned a potentially valuable lesson here. She leaves.

[self_composed]

Stella's not so readily disentangled from the situation. She pokes at Alice's thoughts, when enough of a silence has elapsed to make her nervous.

[edgeofyourseat]

He loves her. He loves her a lot.

But that's kind of the problem, isn't it? He loves her, and he can't ever stop doing that, and that is something she made happen on purpose, and when he asked her if that was why she made him think it wasn't, but then it turned out to be part of it after all.

[self_composed]

[I'm sorry,] she says again.

[edgeofyourseat]

[I know,] he says, hugging her gently. [I just don't know if—I don't know what to do about it, I don't know what you can learn from this, what you can do differently to make me not so sad about it, it's not like this is the kind of thing that happens twice.]

[self_composed]

[It's - ugh - it's not logically impossible to stop being a vampire. If you want to stop your ingot power will probably help, even though we can't send you through Downside like Nathan.]

[edgeofyourseat]

[...okay,] he says. [I - don't even know if I want to, but I kind of feel better knowing it's an option.]

[self_composed]

Stella shivers and hugs him.

[edgeofyourseat]

He cuddles her. [What's up?]

[self_composed]

[I wanted it for fucked up reasons. That doesn't mean I didn't want it.]

[edgeofyourseat]

[You can have feelings about that,] says Alice, dropping a kiss on her shoulder. [And, you know, all things considered, I'd rather know about them than not.]

[self_composed]

[I think I freaked out Aurora. I think she's glad she heard that story because it means she's got fair warning against turning into me. I don't like that. I don't like that you might want to stop being a vampire specifically because you don't like the bond effect as opposed to any of the other effects.]

[edgeofyourseat]

[I still love you,] he says. [I still would love you, if I stopped being a vampire. I just - wouldn't - be forced to.]

It is an interesting fact of Aurum vampire physiology that they do not cry.

[self_composed]

Stella is silent.

[edgeofyourseat]

He hugs her.

[C'mon, I know you're thinking something in there, it's not like you ever stop,] he says gently.

[self_composed]

[Today of all days I am doubly glad that you cannot read my mind,] Stella murmurs. [Everything I'm thinking makes me feel like a terrible person and I am glad I can be a terrible person in private so it wouldn't hurt to look at myself more than it does.]