Chapter 6:Dumb

I'm not like them
But I can pretend
The sun is gone,
But I have a light
The day is done,
I'm having fun
I think I'm dumb
Or maybe just happy.
(Nirvana)

The new manor was huge. Mainly in regards to the expanse of the land, but the house itself was probably a little more than two vampires needed; especially during the daytime.

Felix was ecstatic about getting his own room. Of course, he didn't mind sleeping beside his maker every night, but the cramped, stale hidey-hole was getting a little old. Persephone had gotten to work immediately, preparing the new house for its occupancy.

The previous owner of the house, who had died some 80 years ago, hadn't had any family to pass the property on to, so it had remained exactly the way he had left it after he had passed. The furniture, artwork and décor were that of the 1930s, and gave the house that touch of antiquity which Persephone loved so much. The only items she had brought over from the house by the bayou were the artifacts she had collected over the past few millennia.

The manor didn't have the best indoor plumbing, but aside from bathing, there wasn't much use a vampire would have for a working kitchen or bathroom. As luck would have it, the electrical wiring had been updated a few times since electricity had become common in households. Felix flicked on a few lights as they walked through the house and took in their new surroundings.

Glancing out the large, arch-shaped windows that looked onto the front yard, Persephone sighed. The company that usually provided vampire homes with light-proof shutters, (the aptly named 'Light Quellers'), had told her that they were booked up and couldn't make it down to the property for over a week. After failing to find a safe place to spend the day, and deciding that sleeping in the ground outside wasn't very appealing, Persephone decided that they would have to send one more night in the crawlspace under the other house. What the Mickens' didn't know wouldn't hurt them. Plus, the trapdoor was well-hidden, so there was no chance of them being discovered and exposed to the scorching sunlight.

"How far does this land extend out?" Felix asked as they stood out in the front yard once more. He was staring off into the dark woods that surrounded the property, almost dreamily.

"It's around a hundred acres, so quite a bit, I would imagine," she replied.

"Geez. When you buy, you really buy."

She smiled and stared down at the faint outline of what must have once been a grand driveway. It extended from the front gate all the way up to the front steps, moving around in a large circular shape before joining back up to the original path. The section of garden that sat in the center of the driveway, in front of the house, was overgrown with weeds, green grass and dead shrubs. Persephone stood for a moment, trying to imagine the best way to restore it to its former glory. Gravel was her best bet for the driveway; she hated the look of cement and cobblestone seemed so outdated and impractical. And once the circular garden had been cleared, some new flowers and a fountain would look perfect.

"Hey, Pers!" Felix called, "Do you smell something weird?"

For the first time in perhaps ever, Felix looked cautious. He was still staring off into the forest, but now he took a few steps back. Persephone lifted her nose to the air to see if she could pick up anything out of the ordinary. But whatever had been out in her woods was now gone.

With a few hours before sunrise, Persephone set to work cleaning the house, managing to convince Felix to lend a helping hand. Now, housecleaning is a fast and easily done task for a vampire, but for two vampires it was a breeze. They had the entire place spotless within a couple of hours. Hands-on-hips, Persephone seemed a little disappointed by their swift work. It was one less thing she had to worry about, but at the same time it was one less thing she could spend time doing if she wanted something to occupy herself with. These days, though, there was plenty to do. At five a.m., they returned to the crawlspace to sleep in the dirt one last time.

Felix was still asleep when Persephone rose the following evening, which was probably a good thing; two vampires might have been a bit much for Tommy to handle seeing suddenly appear near the bottom of the staircase. He stood in the kitchen doorway, a carton of orange juice raised halfway to his mouth, his head tilted at an angle ready to drink.

"Oh, uh…"

It wasn't often that Persephone had trouble finding words, but she hadn't anticipated running into any of the Mickens'. Tommy was supposed to be starting work at Merlotte's that day, and his parents had driven off somewhere together a few hours earlier (she'd heard the car leave the bumpy driveway). She had no idea why she hadn't sensed Tommy returning home, and then, realizing that he was wearing only a pair of jeans, no shirt or shoes, she knew why; he'd made his way home via animal form. She hadn't been listening out for an animal. There was so much wildlife in the area that it seemed pointless to keep track of any of it.

"What are you doin'?"
He lowered the carton and stared at her suspiciously.

"I wasn't expecting anyone to be home."

"Not a good way to start an excuse, but I hope you got more of an answer than that."

"My new house isn't finished yet. I thought it would be harmless to spend an extra night here."

Tommy raised an eyebrow and gave a sort of half-shrug as though to say 'no harm done', but he still seemed put off. She realized he was a little nervous about being alone in a house with a vampire. Make that two. Felix emerged from the secret door that led to the trapdoor in the floor, pretending to rub his eyes like a child that had been woken in the middle of the night.

"What's happening, ma?" he asked.

If Tommy had been put off before, he was definitely weirded out now. Felix stalked off towards the kitchen to see if there was any Tru Blood left in the fridge (which he new perfectly well there wasn't), passing Tommy closer then was necessary with a psychotic grin. Persephone closed her eyes and sighed. When she opened them again, she found Tommy gazing at her curiously.

"How was your first day at Merlotte's?" she asked conversationally.

"Borin' as shit. I was taking orders from Sam all day."

"He's your boss."

"He's my brother."

Persephone didn't really know where to go with that, so she changed the person of interest to someone less trying.
"Did you meet Lafayette?"

"Yep."

If he was trying to keep the conversation to a minimum, he was succeeding. But there was no way Persephone was going to let him get away with it; after all, difficult juveniles were her specialty.

"And?"

"What? He's alright, I guess."

Felix sauntered back out from the kitchen the same way he had gone in, passing by Tommy and stopping beside Persephone.

"I guess ya'll be goin' now?" Tommy asked, "I know this used to be your place and all, but it's got our stuff in it and I don't think my ma would much like you being here alone."

"Yeah, 'cause I need some more stained wife-beater shirts to add to my wardrobe," Felix muttered, smirking to himself. Persephone gave him a piercing look and glanced back at Tommy with a softer expression.

"You're not staying?" she asked.

"Ain't enough people to cover the shifts at Merlotte's, so I got to go back and work double. Nice of Sam to call to tell me when I'd already left."

"I'm kind of thirsty," Felix interrupted, which seemed a little rude and selfish, but it was serious for a vampire so young. Persephone looked back at him and nodded.

"I might see you later," she said, and then she and Felix disappeared through the front door.

Tommy walked over to it and stared out into the empty yard. The flowers were all beginning to close for the winter, but their sweet scent still hung in the air. He breathed it in, picking up more than the scent of the garden, then turned around and went to find his discarded shirt and shoes.

"Sam's family is straaange," Felix said as he and Persephone walked up through the front gates of the manor.

"Hm, let's see: them poor, you serial killer?"

Felix chuckled and spirited up to the top of the stairs near the front door. "Dibs on the bedroom on the second floor. The one with that huge four-poster bed."

Persephone cocked an eyebrow at him and grinned mischievously. "Only if you get there before me."

She took off before he even knew what she meant. It was an unfair race, seeing as she had a good few thousand years on him, but it was all out of fun. She collapsed on the bed he had so fondly described, and relaxed into the soft duvet.

Felix smiled, before dropping down next to her. They stared up at the velvet canopy that draped down over the side of the bed frame.

"What's up, Persy?," he asked after a few minutes. Because of their blood bond, their emotions were almost transparent to one another, especially when they were so physically close. He was picking up some very strange emotions, things which she was usually very good at hiding. He frowned and turned his head to face her. She was deep in thought, her face completely still.

"You thinking about Godric?"

"In a way," she sighed.

She got up and walked towards the bedroom door.

"A crate of blood was delivered today. It'll be in the fridge. I made sure they unpacked it. I'm going down to the bar."

She left the room and Felix pursed his lips. Something was definitely up; she hadn't added her usual 'Don't leave the house, please'.

It was a relatively quiet night at Merlotte's that night. Jessica, who was working as the hostess, stood with her back to the front door, leaning back against the wooden side of one of the booths. When Persephone walked in, Jessica sighed and picked up a menu, failing to notice who the new customer was.

"Welcome to Merlotte's" – she passed her the menu- "If you'll just follow me, I'll- Oh, hi Persy. If you're looking for Sam, I think he's out the back. He's been a grumpy ass all night."

Persephone smiled, but shook her head.
"I think I might take one of the booths tonight, if there are any free."

The last part had been a sort of a joke, since there were hardly any customers in sight. She headed for a booth towards the back, taking a seat and flicking through the menu just out of curiosity.

She was soon approached by Tommy, who seemed a little confused about her playing customer rather than being off with Sam.

"Did you want to order anything?" he asked.

He looked tired, his slumped shoulders and the light circles under his eyes confirming this. Either he hadn't gotten much sleep, or being on his feet all day for a double shift wasn't agreeing with him.

"Uh, yes. I'll have the burger with the lot, a side of fries and a diet coke, please," she ordered, watching him take all this down on his writing pad.

He turned to deliver the order to the kitchen, before realizing that the order had been a joke. Turning back with a questioning look, he caught her smiling.

"True Blood. A-negative," she told him. He nodded and continued to stare as though trying to work something out about her.

"That's not very nice," he said, trying not to grin, "First you break into my house, then you play jokes on me when I'm runnin' on like three hours sleep. What's next? You gonna fuck my brother?"

To his surprise she actually laughed at that one. He went and got her drink, returning a short time later to deliver it.

"What are you doing later tonight?" he asked her casually.

"Besides marauding for flesh and devouring children?" she joked. She had chosen the wrong moment, as Arlene walked passed carrying an empty tray. She stopped dead, horrified, and then turned tail and fled to Sam's office.

"Sam, I need the rest of the night off!" they heard her call out to him, "I got my kids to think about!"

A/N: So now I'm up-to-date with my editing and I've successfully moved all the chapters from Quizilla! The only problem is you'll now have to wait a little longer for new chapters, since I'll have to start them from scratch. I think I need to go back and re-watch season 3 just to refresh my memory, and then find that outline I had for the story...

A big thanks to everyone who has read and reviewed so far – I look forward hearing from more of you!