Emiel is no stranger to grief. He’s lived a long treacherous life, and has lost many of his friends and family along the way. He can barely even remember the family he had as a human, having been torn from them by his circumstances. As the years went by, Emiel had distanced himself from feeling attachments. The people he’d lost had made it harder and harder for him to even want connections. Leaving before the worst could happen was easier, simpler. That way, nobody could leave him wanting. Abandonment came easy to Emiel, a harsh reality that he was willing to be cruel. Selfish, and scared. He had thought his existence, his unattached lifestyle, would be his self inflicted curse for as long as he remained alive. He thought he was okay with it.
Until Ayla. Ayla had been just like any other person coming into his life. Emiel had been expecting a brief partnership, a short period of connection in their separate long lives. He’d expected to forget her name as he had with so many others.
But she was different. Sure, he’d met many positive optimistic types that tried to understand him, but they’d ultimately failed. Ayla was different in that regard, while she may not have entirely understood him, it didn’t matter to her. She stayed regardless of understanding. And her attitude was contagious, and for the first time in centuries Emiel felt himself getting attached. He’d tried his usual tactics, running away and cutting things off before he could begin feeling much more. His walls were well guarded, his fear making him a coward to his own feelings.
Yet, Ayla continued on. She wasn’t reliant on Emiel, she could handle him leaving her. The simple reason she didn’t allow it was because she wanted to stay with him. Emiel had been overwhelmed, unsure.
Allowing Ayla to stay with him was, and is, a decision Emiel will never be able to forget. She’d been… everything. The light that brought him a sense of peace and belonging after years of being alone and jaded. The very second he relented, the very moment he’d stopped running, the two of them were inevitable. He hadn’t known at the time, just how much he was capable of feeling. Loving Ayla was simultaneously the hardest thing in the world, and the easiest. It opened his world up again, to knowing himself and more strangely, knowing others.
The two of them, together, were an unstoppable force. Their coven, formed slowly over the years, were like family. Emiel would’ve never become the leader of a coven before his life was changed. He would’ve never been someone to rely on, and the very fact that they relied on him, truly, will haunt Emiel for the rest of existence.
He failed them.
This grief, this failure, it’s unlike any other. He is no stranger to grief, and yet. The long arduous process of opening himself up to feeling love changed everything. The loss he’s suffered in the past, the losses that made him cold, they’re nothing compared to what he’s lost now.
Not only Ayla, his love, his soulmate. He’s lost almost the entirety of their coven. The home that they built together, the family he never wanted but now misses more than anything.
There’s only six of them now, a far cry from the coven they had molded. The five of them mean more to Emiel than anything else in this world, and he will do everything in his power to keep them safe. Yet, he knows his own power is useless. He couldn’t keep the rest of the coven alive, not even at their strongest. He knows what he has to do.
Matias Del Rosario is not a man Emiel would especially consider a friend. In fact, he’d go so far as to say he dislikes him. Not for any particular reason other than he’s the leader of a coven in the same Dawn Creek that Emiel and his coven resided in. While there has never been any reason to fight over food, it’s still a tense situation to be in. Any scarcity in resources could end in bloodshed.
It’s the only choice Emiel can make, though. The Del Rosario coven is stronger, and the hunters haven’t found them. Emiels coven needs sanctuary, they need a place to go. The hunters are still here, they know they haven’t gotten everyone. They’ll keep tracking them down. Emiel will not watch more of his family die. The Del Rosario is their best chance of survival right now, even if it means he has to give up his pride and beg.
Matias’ seaside mansion isn’t a place Emiel has ever been, or ever expected himself to willingly visit, but he’s seen it before and knows where it is. He’s brought the five of his remaining coven members, and although it may be seen as some sort of threat for all of them to be here, Emiel hopes Matias understands that there's no feasible way they could survive an attack, there's a chance he’s heard some of what has been happening. Maybe he’ll help them out of pity. Or maybe he’s a kind man, and Emiel is simply projecting. He simply didn’t want to come alone and leave anyone behind. He can’t bear to be separated yet.
As the six of them approach, Emiel is shocked to see Matias right away, leaning on the railing of a balcony facing them, as if he was expecting them.
Emiel stops in front of the building, looking up at Matias. It’s a very upsetting metaphor for the current situation. Emiel makes sure his coven is behind him, no one stepping a foot closer than him.
“Matias Del Rosario,” Emiel shouts, addressing him finally. Matias is already watching them, so Emiel begins explaining right away. Their survival depends on the outcome of this conversation, so Emiel feels nervous. Another feeling he never would’ve experienced had he never cared about anyone.
“The hunters attacked us, my coven has been torn apart. Those you see here now are the only vampires remaining alive. I am here to ask a favour, I know you owe nothing to me, but I hope you respected Ayla enough to hear me out. I need-” he pauses, swallowing his pride. Matias’ face reveals nothing about his opinion, “I need a place for my coven to find safety. They are all that matters to me.”
Emiel lets out a long breath, and with his final words puts the final nail in the coffin of his dignity, “I am offering to step down as my coven's leader if that's what it takes for us to stay here.”
