Sylum Advent 2017: December 15th

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Title: Just a Chance Introduction
Author: Ladyholder
Rating: PG
Summary: Fate has a way of getting things started
Artist: Taibhrigh

 

Rainer University, Cascade, Washington

Jim wandered around Rainier University, wondering what had pulled him there. He had been home from Peru for only a few months and had been living with his many times Great-nephew. That had been getting a bit irritating and he had been thinking of moving on. William was a business man to his fingertips and reminded him strongly of his father. Both of them would be better for him moving out.

Pulling his attention back to 1986 instead of 1738, Jim tried to figure out what had gotten his attention. After 246 years as a vampire he was used to following his instincts and something had fired them up.

Walking around the campus wasn’t getting him anywhere and neither was keeping his senses at the norm for a human, let alone a vampire. He needed to extend them out like he had when he had lived in Peru. It was risky to be that open, but he had plenty of coping mechanisms. The easiest sense to start with was smell. Settling down on a bench on one of the greens, he got started.

The campus had all the standard scents for a location within a major city and he slowly dismissed each scent as he catalogued it, no matter how disgusting. Then he went through the scents of nature itself. The artificial scents the students wore were acknowledged and then let go of. Weaving through what was left was a rich earthy fragrance that tickled his hindbrain.

Humming lightly, Jim dialed scent back down to his normal range and repeated the whole exercise with his hearing. That proved to be a bit more problematic. Random car horns were a bitch and a half, but he eventually got them dismissed. Voices were next. Thanks to the advent of cheap playback machines, there were a lot more voices to filter out, But he had adapted and overcame that without losing any time. That left Nature. The natural world was full of noises he knew and they were easy to let go. That left the beating of one specific heartbeat.

Jim tilted his head slightly to zero in on the location and nodded. It was coming from the same general location he had noticed the scent originating from. Standing up from his spot on the green, Jim started hunting for the source. His hunt quickly pulled him away from the academic buildings into student housing.

As he moved in and out of the dorms, Jim circled in on the strongest source of scent. The sounds of the heartbeat were lost in the press of the buildings and the din of students moving in and out of them. He was outside one of the shabbier freshman halls when he saw him. Young, white, male with dark curly hair that hit mid-shoulder and a quick grin as he moved between a car and somewhere in the dorm.

“Blair, honey, I’ve got to go!” the red-headed woman in the driver’s seat called when the young man trotted out again. Blair scooted over to lean in the window. Jim pushed his hearing out and listened in.

“That was the last load anyway, Naomi. I’ll unpack when I go back up,” Jim heard.

“Okay, honey. Well, you’re here now. Eli Stoddard has your guardianship for the next two years and I’ll swing by to check in when I get close,” the redhead told him. “Don’t do anything too rash and remember you are not considered an adult in the US for another two years.”

“I’ll be fine, Naomi,” Blair told her. His voice was unexpectedly deep and smooth, with hints of other accents around the edges of his words. It was an unexpected facet for someone Jim was certain was underage. “I’ll be too by busy studying to get into trouble.”

“If you’re sure?” Naomi asked.

“I’ll be fine. You had better get going before Conrad leaves without you,” Blair told her.

“Right. See you later, sweetie!” Naomi called as he stepped back from the car and she took off. Blair headed back into the dorm with a wave, Jim stared at the young man’s back and sighed. God, his ancestors and the little people all had to be laughing their collective asses off at him. Whoever Blair was, he was both his mate and his Guide.

He was so screwed.

It was the hardest thing he had ever done, but Jim turned away and headed for home. He needed to get to researching, call Benton and find a job and move out. He wasn’t leaving Cascade for a while.