How the hell are you still alive

Finally. A day off, with no child to look after. It was incredibly silent in her hut and the forest around it. she knew the area so well. All it’s sounds and smells. This was also one of the reasons why she quite often knew if there were some intruder or someone she didn’t know walking around. Most often she just let people pass, but other times, it was hunters who she needed to take care of before they got too close to killing anyone she held dear or she had to check out if people were lost.
But as of right now, she laid in her couch and knitted a sweater for herself. She sat and spoke to herself about the different methods she used and different kind of things she would say to the kids. As of right now she mumbled a song where one mentioned the name of the person next to them. She remembered it so clearly how the pack-kids had been standing in a circle and who everyone was, their name, their parent – yes quite a deal.
“And next to Amanda is, Sophie. And next to Sophie is Lilly. And next to Lilly is… Reginald?” Her nose had caught onto a smell which was so well known to her. Or, well, she hadn’t smelled him for so many years, but it was her first love, so of course the smell was deep in her system. She let go of the two sticks and sat up, listening. “It… It can’t be,” she mumbled and knitted her brows getting up from the couch and approached her front door. She opened it slowly, exiting and didn’t lock it. She sniffed a little to catch up to where he exactly were so she could figure out if she was right or wrong. With a sharper breath, she hurried towards the smell and the sounds of leaves getting crushed under his feet. As she got closer she slowed down to a normal speed and eventually just walked. As she got through the woods, she could she how a figure, which looked a lot like Reginald’s, were approaching. As she got a better view she stopped. “Reginald?” she breathed out, completely breathtaken by the moment. She drew a deeper breath in, “Reginald!” she called out and started to jog towards him with such a wide and happy smile.

ATTIRE: Link
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He had just needed a quick break before heading to work, and Reginald, he did his best thinking outside in the woods. It was freeing and comforting, even when it was raining. He liked the rain, standing there feeling the drops gently hit your face, almost as if your worries got washed away. Reginald had found a little safety place last month, not because he was running from anything, but because it was nice to have a place to go. So, a tree that almost was hollow, allowing him to sit there without getting soaked, just sitting and meditate while listening to the sound of the rain pouring down outside. He had shown this to his granddaughter Katelyn, giving her a little solitude place as well if she needed it.

After he had been sitting there for around an hour, it seemed like the rain also settled, just a little bit at least. He got out from his little safe spot that was hidden away by the forest, and brushed himself a bit off as he stepped further into the forest, trading himself towards the town border. Reginald! He stopped for a moment, pressing his brows together before turning his head in the location of the voice that called out to him. He saw the small figure jogging towards him, being Elisabeth. He chuckled a little bit, "I'll be damned," he breathed out as the warm smile lifted on his lips, not that he had much of a choice her smile had that affect on him, you couldn't help but smile. He hadn't seen her in years. "Elisabeth, the last person I thought I would see here, what are you doing here?" He asked keeping that bright smile on his lips, well she could ask him the same, but what were the chances?

Hearing his voice only made her happier. It was truly him. Even though he asked her a question, she chose that she would jump up and hug him, laughing happily. As her feet hit the ground, she looked up at him and placed her hands on each side of his head. She may or may not be standing on her toes to reach properly. She was slightly speechless and shook her head a little before she was able to reply. “I, I live here. I got a hut nearby,” she explained. Her smile never disappeared. She was just so happy to see him. “But,” she frowned a little, “Excuse my language, but how the hell are you still alive?” she asked. No, Elisabeth didn’t wish for him to be dead, but she definitely wondered how a human she met almost two-hundred years ago could still be alive. Any other human she had met during that time had died.
It wasn’t really because Elisabeth looked that much different from when they had met, but back then she was covered in big dresses and her hair was done so elegantly. Compared to know, her hair was just in a simple bun and her chest was more visible than back then and one could see her ankles. Of course, it would also be weird to see her in a dress from her time. She let her light brown eyes leave his eyes shortly to look him up and down properly. She noticed that he too had changed – and but even though, she still believed he looked great. She just wondered how much he would have changed through the years. What had he spent his life with? Had he found another love, settled, and got a nice and caring family? Gosh, she had to tell him about Aaron at some point too. Their son. Neither of the males had met each other, but she had told tales to Aaron about his father and she could almost feel the excitement from Aaron when she would explain that his father was in town.

He couldn't help but laugh as she jumped on him in a hug, making him close his arms around her and lift her up in hug before letting her down to the ground again. She lived here, making him raise his brows a little bit. Her smile couldn't anything but keeping the smile on his lips steady. But, Reginald caught a frown by pressing his brows a little bit together, followed by a laughter  as she asked how the hell he still was alive. That was a good question, they had never got to that. Their time together hadn't been long a few good years, his immortality hadn't been brought up, he understood why she was confused. "It's quite a story really, a good friend of mine gave me immortality a long time ago - which explains why I'm not just a ghost from your past," he chuckled a little bit. The full story was far more complicated to explain, and he couldn't really go into full details about it. It was a powerful spell, and he was lucky that Cassian had done it, Reginald was grateful for his immortality it meant he could spend the rest of his life with Juniper. "How have you been? It's been ages," he asked with a ender chuckle. It sure had been, and odd enough for someone who always met people from his past  - you never really knew when or why people would show up in your life again, but he was blessed with the chance to see her again, hoping life had at least been kind to her, because she deserved that.

Elisabeth couldn’t contain her smile and folded her arms around her torso, tilting her head a little to the side as he said it was quite a story really. Her hair followed her head, silky soft and shining. She raised her brows a little as he explained that a friend of his had given him immortality. She looked down, chuckling as he joked about not being a ghost from her past. She looked back up at him with a warm smile.
The smile faded a little as the question about how she had been met her ears. “Thing was great but this year has been harsh on me,” she said pulling on a sad smile, and moved a lock of her hair behind her ear. “I lost someone I thought was my mate,” she said and shrugged a little, almost as if it wasn’t a big deal, but it was the biggest issue for her. “There’s been quite some mess with the pack I’m in, but it’s getting better again,” she said and nodded a little. “What about you?” she wondered. It had been quite the years and she just imagined that he must’ve experienced a lot of things being such a free man as he was.

This year had been hard on her? He pressed his brows a little bit together, he was sorry to hear that. Not that he had had the most easy year, at least he was now a free man now. She had lost someone she thought had been her mate, losing someone you loved was always tragic. It didn't matter how good you got at hiding the pain, it was still there, he himself was a master in putting on a mask to repress his deepest emotions. Mess in the pack she was in, didn't sound very good ether. But it was getting better. "That is always something," he chuckled a bit, placing his hands on her shoulders giving them a soft squeeze before letting his arms fall down to his side again. What about him? Reginald took a deeper breath in, "its been a rough couple of years," couple of years was putting it nicely. It had been more than just a few years. "I was place in jail in Nepal after trying to make a plan to flee with two of my sons - or yeah, they weren't mine biologically, but you know - they are my boys" he took a deeper breath in. He remembered having wanted to take Nigel and Jamie with him, getting them away from everything that their father wanted to put on their shoulders. "their father heard of my plans, and wanted to stop me. So, he got rid of me, one of my boys got me out last month - other than that the last 35 years have been a bit hard," he breathed out feeling his heart ache a little. Reginald was still so very thankful that Nigel had gone through all of that to get him back out, and he was so happy that he had found Juniper again and they had gotten. "But I'm out now, and things are taking a turn for the better. Which is really all we can hope for to happen, isn't it?" He asked chuckling a bit, feeling his eyes a bit wet from being overwhelmed by the feeling of gratitude.

Reginald then took a deeper breath in. "Since you mentioned you lived closer by, maybe we could get a cup or tea and catch up? Instead of standing out here in the rain," he suggested giving her a warmer smile. He would really like for them to catch up, it was rare and then at the same time not, to meet someone from your past - but he always liked listening and hearing what people had experienced in the time they had apart.

Elisabeth pulled on a small sad smile as he agreed that it was always something that it was going in the right direction. As he placed his hands on her shoulder it was like a heavy comforting blanket was being put on her. Grounding her. It only lasted a moment before his hands slid down to the side and she automatically took a deeper breath in at the same time with him. Her brows turned a little upwards, worried, as he explained that it had been a rough couple of years. Not just a year like for her. He had been in a jail in Nepal because he had tried to flee with his two boys. She could feel her heart sink a little. She was almost touched by how he had cared for the boys even though they weren’t related to him by blood.
The boys’ father had put him in jail and he had only just gotten out last month. She nodded a little already feeling thankful for the boys having helped Reginald. Thirty-five-years was a very long time to be in jail. The sad smile turned more truthful and happier as he explained that everything was changing for the better. She nodded agreeing; “Yeah. That is all we can hope for,” she said. Her eyes glistened a bit just like his. “I’m really happy that one of your boys got you out,” she exhaled.

It was quite the turn of topic when Reginald suddenly suggested to catch up at her place. She raised her brows a little before she pulled a wide smile like earlier. The news were shoved under a carpet. “Sounds good,” she agreed, “Follow me,” she said and slowly turned, waiting for him to tag along by her side

I’m really happy that one of your boys got you out.
Reginald nodded so was her, very much indeed. He could only have dreamt about about how they were doing. The only sole contact he had had really had been Letha when she had found him - but still, contact to any one had been hard, and sometimes it still took him by surprise that he was a free man. It was mostly when he slept alone, whenever he hadn't Juniper by his side, because the cold reminded him of the solitude and loneliness, therefor the forest was his friend - it helped reminding him that he was alive, connected to earth still.

He preferred speaking behind close doors rather out in the open, you never knew who was listening, and the region of Athena, it was like everything was interconnected and he just wanted to catch up. So, a brighter smile grew up on his lips as she agreed to the idea. Reginald quickly started to follow her, at least the rain wasn't too bad now, not that he complained, he liked the feeling of the rain, especially after he had gotten out, it was so fresh and soothing. He looked to he shortly as they walked overwhelmed by the nostalgia of just walking in the woods, but he didn't speak much, not about more than the weather and how beautiful everything were around them, despite the forest had begun to get ready to go into slumber.

They walked next to each other. Little Elisabeth next to her first love, with a towering height. To be real, everyone had a towering height if they stood next to Elisabeth. She didn’t really mind that it was small talk on the way back to her place. After all, it hadn’t been that far away, so within a short trip they reached her home. The door was still open from when she had hurried out of the door to find him. “I eh… I was in a hurry,” she chuckled a little. The sound of her voice made two hens run around in the little area she had fenced in for them, clucking happily to see her outside. It wasn’t like she wasn’t going outside, but they just hoped for some extra food. Hungry hens. She opened the door a little further to let him get inside and followed him right after and closed the door. Even though she was small, and her home wasn’t the biggest, it still had enough height for any normal height person. After all, Romeo and she had been living here together. She got rid of her shoes and put them on a rack. “Make yourself at home,” she said with a wide smile before she went towards her couch to pack away the sweater she had been knitting. As she put it down into a box and put a lid on it she felt shivers down her spine and arms. She put the box underneath the couch and got back up to her feet to look towards him. She should be telling him about Aaron, she should… she should… “Tea, yes” she said and started to walk towards the kitchen to put on a kettle. If he didn’t want anything, well, then she might just make something for himself. She then turned towards the fridge and opened it to show him what else she had to offer “I also got juice and…” No. Cool down, Elisabeth. She looked over her shoulder towards Reginald. Why was she getting anxious? Was it simply because he was present that she felt like she was two hundred years younger?
She swallowed a lump in her throat. “I was pregnant when you left,” The words had suddenly just left her mouth. She blinked a little surprised by herself. She had simply put the elephant in the room. Great.

Reginald noticed the hens, making him chuckle a little bit - something never changed, and Elisabeth being around living creatures or anything that could give her a sense of company was always welcome, in one form or the other. Reginald walked inside the house, and let his eyes wander around the space, "its alright," he waved off her comment about having been in a rush, it wasn't like he expected a place to be spotless just because he arrived. Reginald took his shoes off, and his jacket just like she did, before he entered the home further. He still looked around, it seemed like she was living here by herself, which made sense since she had mentioned that she had lost her love earlier this year. "You have a lovely home," he complimented following her to the kitchen. Reginald could sense she was nervous about something, he wondered what, hoping she wasn't afraid of him. After all despite them being in love back then, he had still been a hunter back then - the reason why they had to split, her parents hadn't allowed him near. Which was understandable since they most likely had heard terrifying stories about him, most people had. And it was odd reading those stories, when they were praised in the hunter world, in myths, but when you read the same stories out through the eyes of the supernatural, he sounded more like the monster than he had liked.

Elisabeth cleared her throat, making him press his brows together. I was pregnant when you left. The shoe dropped, and Reginald almost for a second lost his balance, widening his eyes a little. He placed his hand towards the wall so in case of him losing his sense of grounding he would at least have the wall. Reginald took a deeper breath in, now he had been faced with a lot of things over the years, but he had never expected to actually have a child that was his by blood. He remained silent for a moment looking towards her, as he took a deeper breath in. It meant the kid would be a bit over two-hundred years old. Reginald couldn't blame her for not having involved him, she had barely known he was still alive. "Okay," he breathed out allowing her to tell him more if she wanted to. Despite the blow in his face with these news, there was a happiness unfolding in the unknown, knowing that he actually had a child. He could only imagine the kid having gotten all the best from being raised by Elisabeth, there was no doubt about it.

Elisabeth was glad that he didn’t really care that she had been in a hurry or hadn’t been cleaning the place for his arrival. After all, it had been quite some years since they have seen each other, and her routines had changed a lot. She looked towards him as he complimented her home. “Thank you,” she exhaled with a glad smile. She did take it very personally when people talked about her home. She liked it too herself. It was very homey and down to earth, just like how she liked it. Always baking something, and sometimes being able to hear the hens discuss the latest nights events.

She could feel how he felt slightly lightheaded. Surprised. It was indeed some news. Happiness. “Aaron. His name is Aaron,” she said with a warm smile. “Please, take a seat,” she said and gestured to one of the stools, she would follow him if he listened. “He’s a real sweetheart,” she exhaled and merged her fingers. She took a deeper breath in, “He was a human and… When he realized that there was a difference in our mortality, he made a vampire turn him,” she picked a little at her nails before she looked back up at him. “He might be a mommas boy,” she said maybe a little shy, but who could blame him.

Aaron. Reginald took a deeper breath in, feeling the slight heaviness of not having been in his child's life, not having known he had a son out in this world who had not been able to know his father. Elisabeth gestured him to sit down, which was when Reginald realized how he was almost leaning against the nearest wall for stability. But he moved himself from the wall and found the chair and sat himself down. He's a real sweetheart, Reginald was happy to hear. And the way she spoke about him in present tense, made him believe that he was still around, spiking a light of hope in Reginald's eyes. But then Elisabeth took a deeper breath in, making Reginald press his brows a bit together saying he was human. Reginald forgot to breathe for a second, vampire - his own flesh and blood had chosen the path of becoming a vampire. Many years of being taught and teaching others that supernatural creatures were bad, it was hard not to fall upon a sense of disappointment, even thought he didn't like it one bit that it was the first feeling hitting him. But it twirled around as well, because he had also learned on his own by people that he had encountered over these years; creature didn't make the man. And as she said, Aaron was a sweetheart. Elisabeth wouldn't lie to him about that. It was a tough pill to swallow, who could really blame the old hunter. He might be a mommas boy, the affect of those words however made him breath a little bit more out. The boy had chosen to become a vampire to not outgrow his mother, leaving his hunter side of his mind, he could nothing but understand wanting to live on and not leave people behind. If he had chosen to die of old age a long time ago, there was so many things he would have missed out on.

"I will look forward to meet him, if that is possible," he broke the silence and scratched the back of his head a little bit. Overall, of course he was a bit conflicted, but nothing that was taking over the excitement of the fact that he had a son. And he wanted to meet him, hoping he would want to meet him as well. That they possibly could become family.

Elisabeth knew that choosing to get turned into a vampire seemed like a foolish thing to do, and might even be more difficult to Reginald, now that he was… Had been a hunter? But on the other hand, she was a trybrid, so it couldn’t be that bad, could it?
But there it was, Reginald wanted to meet his son. Of course, he wanted to. She understood that so well, the only thing was, that she hadn’t been thinking that far herself, “I can try and ask him if he’s okay with it,” she replied gently, “Do you have a phone or maybe an address so I can find you and tell you about whether or not he wants to meet up?” she asked with a wider smile. The kettle slowly started to boil. “I’ll get us some tea and cups,” she said and got up from her seat to go to the kitchen and fetch them bot cups and find the different containers of different teas. Sometimes, she even mixed them for an even better tea. “Do you need milk, sugar or honey?” she wondered and looked over her shoulder, ready to find anything.

Reginlad nodded, understanding the boy needed to be willing to go through with a meeting and not just be forced to meet with his father. The last thing Reginald wanted was to force Aaron into anything, and despite what had told Aaron of stories, and what she hadn't told, at some point Aaron could learn about his father's true origin, and it was not like anyone sought it to be nice that Reginald was one of the most famous hunters who had walked the Earth. Then there was his fondness of the women of the supernatural that by now seemed more like a pattern to show he hadn't belonged into the hunters world despite having been merged into their ways. "I have both," Reginald took a deeper breath in and fished out his phone from the pocket, it was a very old model, after all it was an old one he had gotten from Nigel after he had gotten out of prison - Maya had begged him to get a better one for months by now, but as long as he could text and call - he didn't need anything else. "You can just type in your number," he placed it on the table and pushed it towards Elisabeth. Reginald then took a deeper breath in as the kettle boiled signing the water for tea was ready.

He sat a little bit back as she got up, taking all the information in. "I have an apartment down in the city center of Aston, but to be fair I live mostly with my girlfriend just outside Grounds of Lily," he informed as he breathed out, looking at her getting the cups. "No, just plain," Reginald replied as she asked if there was anything he needed. He had gotten so used to the plain version of most foods when he was even allowed the luxury of getting a cup of coffee or tea when he had been locked up. Besides, Juniper had the best tea, so he rarely needed any sweeteners. "Your family still have that big pack of theirs?" he wondered not having kept track in many years, so it was mainly out of curiosity he asked.

Elisabeth doubted that it would be a problem for Aaron to meet his father, but as usual, Elisabeth was quite good at sensing the situation, even though Aaron couldn’t be read like everyone else. She had learned, and he was her son after all. No matter what Aaron would choose, she would respect it, and she was certain Reginald would respect it too. Elisabeth was relieved that he had both phone and address that she could contact him on. She took the phone as he pushed it towards her, and put in her number as he had requested. She handed it back to him, so he could name her whatever he wanted in his phone.

Elisabeth looked over her shoulder as Reginald explained where he lived, “Grounds of Lily is also such a nice place,” she said with a warm smile. She nodded a little as he mentioned he just wanted his tea plain. Two plain teas. She poured the boiling water over the teabags in the cups and shortly. She put them and a box of homemade cookies on a tray and carried it to the table. She looked at him while she emptied the tray by the table. “Well, yes and no,” she said and looked down on one of the teas before she pushed the now empty tray a little away. “The family grew and there was some changes along the way,” she mentioned and sat down folding her hands in her lap. “I had some years where I left the pack, and there was a lot of things happening while I was gone,” she explained, “But one of my…. Great-great-grandnephews is the alpha of the pack now,” she explained and made a small gesture with her hand to show that it was far more than just great-great-grandnephew.