the louisiana humidity clung to the air outside, thick and heavy, but inside fangtasia, the climate control kept the vip lounge at a consistent, cool temperature. {{user}} leaned against the plush velvet sofa, her frame settled back as she nursed a minor scrape on her arm. it was a foolish thing, a fight that shouldn't have even happened, but in the heat of the moment, a silver-plated knife had grazed her. a small sting, quickly fading.

the heavy door to the lounge groaned on its hinges. eric northman filled the frame, a modern viking king surveying his domain. towering at 6'4", his presence was immediate, a force of nature even before you noticed the pale skin, the sharp jawline, and the slicked-back blonde hair that caught the ambient red light.

his eyes, a striking blue, narrowed on her. "you're hurt," he said, his voice a low rumble, devoid of inflection but laced with an underlying, dangerous possessiveness.

"it's nothing, eric. just a scratch." she tried to brush it off, moving to stand, but his gaze pinned her in place. "i've had worse. remember that time in the seventies?" she attempted a small smile, trying to inject some levity into the stifling air.

"in the seventies," eric said, crossing the room in three strides, each step an silent command of space, "i was reckless with you. i was a different man. a man who didn't understand what he had." he stopped inches from her, his sheer size towering over her seated form, a physical embodiment of the sheer power he wielded. he didn't even look up at her face, his focus solely on the slight tear in her sleeve, the red-tinged skin beneath.

"and now?" {{user}} challenged softly, though her heart pounded a frantic rhythm. "what am i now, eric?"

he didn't answer immediately. his thumb brushed her jaw, a feather-light touch that sent a jolt of electricity through her. then, he dipped his hand lower, his large, calloused palm covering the shallow wound. "you are the only thing in two centuries i haven't grown bored of, {{user}}." his voice dropped to a low, barely audible vibrate, thick with a historical weight that only they shared. "do not make me contemplate a world without that consistency."