Book!Verse Dalaric

[thisismybar]

Continued from here

Ric licked at the trickle of blood that escaped before Damon's skin knit back together, breathing harsh and heart pounding.

There could be little doubt that Damon had enjoyed himself, feeling the release against him and echo of it inside his own satisfaction, but he was still... shocked at himself. He had never in his life bitten someone hard enough to break skin. At least not someone he liked, or in an intimate situation.

"Sorry," he managed, breathlessly. "Are you all right?"

Comments

[prodigalsavior]

Damon still had shivers running over his skin, but he chuckled a little bit at the question as he pulled back to give Ric an amused look.

"Is there anything in my reaction that suggests I'm not...?"

[thisismybar]

"Bleeding...." He was human, give him a break. His tone was wry and bemused, though. Aware that Damon was probably okay, if somewhat rattled by himself. "Not usually something I go for, in this kind of... situation."

[prodigalsavior]

"Vampire," Damon said dryly. "And it's something I don't mind at all..."

[thisismybar]

"Not a vampire, but... okay." He was going to accept it. "Let's get out before the water runs cold. We should... try to make some plans."

[prodigalsavior]

Damon kissed him once more, tasting the blood that lingered with a shiver of pleasure. He probably could explain better, but he did not feel so inclined.

Then he stepped back and nodded. "Good idea."

[thisismybar]

Ric was eventually going to stop thinking he was going to lose his mind at any moment and start pushing for answers, but. That time was not right now. He turned the water off, grabbed towels and handed one to Damon. "I'm thinking Oregon."

[prodigalsavior]

Damon dried off quickly, wrapping the towel around his waist when he was done. "...Why Oregon?"

[thisismybar]

Ric dried and went for his pants, though he wasn't concerned about getting fully dressed, yet. "You mentioned Seattle. I realized I've never been off the east coast. Pictures of Oregon were pretty." It was really that simple. He had to pick a direction. Pretty pictures and another coast were as good a reason as any, right?

[prodigalsavior]

Damon considered, then nodded. "It is pretty. Most of the West Coast is. And vampire friendly from about San Francisco up, though there's a stretch of Northern California that's almost as bad as LA." For sunlight. "Portland is a great city. Eugene is fun for an alternative kind of crowd."

Each had their pluses--Portland was big, easy to get lost in, to hunt in without detection. Eugene had plenty of easy pickings and, while also filled with more people who sort of believed in vampires, also more people who thought they were cool, not evil.

[thisismybar]

The remark about vampire friendly made Ric pause and look at Damon a little quizzically before he realized what Damon wasn't saying - maybe, he thought. "Portland's probably more my speed, though I need to do some investigating. I'm not sure I want to end up in another small town." Which was weird, in a way, but not. Boston was not small. Neither was Durham. Mystic Falls had been the departure from the norm for him, in a lot of ways. "Are you going to come out with me, when I go to look around?"

[prodigalsavior]

Vampire friendly as not sunny 350 days a year. He shrugged a little at the question about his coming with. "If you want. Nothing keeping me here but bad memories." A d a clingy brother and....Elena. Who he was better getting away from. "I'd thought about going back to Europe, but it isn't as if anything is waiting for me there."

[thisismybar]

"I wouldn't mind the company, if you're up for it, but it's your call. I just want to get out of here before my counter part turns up and I get too embroiled in... the people and things, here." He grabbed his shirt and pulled it on over his head. "I got a chance to start over. Might as well take it and see what I can do with it."

[prodigalsavior]

"Probably a good plan," Damon murmured, scooping up his jeans to tug them on. "They're very good at embroiling. That they haven't already descended en masse is a miracle."

[thisismybar]

"I remember you mentioning needing to get away," Ric murmured back, finishing getting dressed without any concern for how he looked. "How long do you think it'll take us to get out of here?"

[prodigalsavior]

Damon shrugged. "We should have everything today. We can leave tonight if you want, if we drive."

He was not going to Oregon without the Lamborghini.

[thisismybar]

Ric stared. "You want to drive from Virginia to Oregon?" He didn't know why that surprised the shit out of him, but it did. After a moment, though, he looked a little... interested? Wistful? Something. It actually sounded like fun. "That sounds really impractical."

[prodigalsavior]

They hadn't driven anywhere, yet, so, admittedly, Ric hadn't been in the car, but Damon's mouth set in a stubborn line. "I'm not leaving my car. Haven't you ever heard of a road trip? Are you in some kind of a rush?"

Besides...he kind of hated flying.

[thisismybar]

"I've got... about fifty years, give or take," he said, watching Damon's reaction with both exasperation and amusement. Neither mean, but more fond. "I'd rather get there before Christmas, though." He headed out of the bathroom and then winced at the sunlight coming in and headed for the bedroom he'd been crashing in.

[prodigalsavior]

"It's July," Damon pointed out, following him to the room, avoiding the sun with the ease of long practice. "It's approximately three thousand miles across the country. To see things, if you want to, it's probably good to stick to no more than four to five hundred miles a day, sometimes less. But even if we only went two hundred miles a day--less than three hours driving--we'd be there in two weeks."

Yes, he was being literal, but, really....it wasn't that far, especially if you were coming from centuries of it taking months to do a trip like that.

[thisismybar]

"I think I'd rather go with four hundred miles a day and take weekends off." He was still finding the idea both a little exciting, and a little daunting. It sounded... fun? "There are only so many days in a row I can take sitting in a car." He pulled the shades down more properly, and then sat down on the edge of the bed. "Leaving tomorrow, take our time, allow for detours and maybe some time off, we could easily be there by fall, then...."

[prodigalsavior]

"Four hundred miles a day, minus weekends, and we'll be there in nine days, with the two off," Damon said, uncertain if he was being teased or not by the fall comment. "Depending on how many detours or more time off you're thinking...."

He was willing to take as much time as possible, because...where did he have to be? And he liked traveling. It made hunting so very easy when you were always just passing through.

[thisismybar]

He smiled, faintly. "I can do the math," he said, unoffended and gentle. "I think I'll be less frustrated if I mentally block it off at a couple of weeks, though. I'm not always the most patient person in the world. Building in some time for detours, car trouble, and traffic will keep me from getting grumpy about it."

[prodigalsavior]

Damon shrugged a little, then nodded. "All right. It isn't as if we have a time and place to be anywhere..."

[thisismybar]

"The only deadline I have is late August. I want to be settled somewhere by the start of school, so I can get into the school system as at least a substitute." He was kind of stubborn about that. He could not live off Damon forever. "And if we can get out of here at sundown, I won't object."

He would object to having to drive in the sun, though he was writing that off as some kind of extended, odd, hangover.

[prodigalsavior]

Damon found the mere idea of having a job ridiculous, but humans were funny that way. It wasn't as if he missed the money spent on Alaric's behalf or ever would. It came, it went, it was well invested, and if it ever disappeared, he'd just compel a millionaire to leave him his fortune or something.

But he didn't argue. "All right. After sundown sounds good."

He probably should let Stefan know he was leaving town. He wasn't going to.