𝑨𝒆𝒔𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒕𝒊𝒄𝒊𝒔𝒎 - 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑽𝒂𝒎𝒑𝒊𝒓𝒆 𝑫𝒊𝒂𝒓𝒊𝒆𝒔

「Chapter 16」

"Mmm these beignets are delicious!" Davina said happily, taking another bite of the warm pastry.

Elias nodded in agreement as he enjoyed his own snack. "Better than I expected, honestly."

As they ate, Elias felt the now-familiar fluttering that signaled one soulmate's proximity. He glanced around casually, tuning out the buzzing from his phone for now.

When it rang insistently, he finally answered Damon's call.

"Hey there," Elias greeted.

"So you're really on a 'family vacation' in New Orleans?" Damon asked skeptically.

"I am," Elias confirmed. "Feel free to ask Enzo if you don't believe me."

Damon just snorted. "Figures you brought him instead of me. No wonder he's been making himself scarce."

"If you and Stefan came, it definitely wouldn't feel like a relaxing vacation," he pointed out reasonably before taking another bite of sweet beignet.

Damon just scoffed. "Yeah well bringing Elena was clearly a genius move too with all the vampires here that knew Katherine."

Elias rolled his eyes. "Enzo's watching out for them just fine."

"Oh yes, one vampire playing bodyguard, real safe," Damon snarked back.

Before Elias could retort, he sensed that now-familiar magical soulmate intuition spike sharply. Damon's next sly words made everything click into place.

"...Which is why we're here now too."

Whirling around, Elias spotted the awkwardly disguised Salvatores lurking nearby. He hung up on Damon abruptly.

"Time to go," he told a puzzled Davina around another mouthful of pastry, already steering them determinedly through the crowds. 

Elias crossed his arms, ignoring the vampires' pathetic disguises to focus on their unexpected presence.

"What exactly are you two doing here?" he asked pointedly.

Damon just shrugged as if it should be obvious. "Helping, clearly."

Elias quirked a brow at Stefan who simply held up his hands innocently.

Behind him, Davina piped up curiously. "Who are they?"

Before Elias could respond properly, Damon snarked, "Who the hell are you?"

Davina bristled. "You're vampires," she accused flatly.

Damon rolled his eyes. "No shit, Sherlock." At Elias' reprimanding slap, he grumbled but settled.

"This is my friend Davina," Elias explained, then added wryly, "And these are two stalkers who apparently followed my family to New Orleans."

Davina studied them critically. "Yeah, they totally look like creepy stalkers," she declared, ignoring Damon's offended huff.

Stefan diplomatically stepped in. "We simply wanted to provide backup, ensure all was well," he soothed.

Elias shook his head in exasperation. So much for subtlety with these two barging in uninvited.

Damon scoffed, clearly disgruntled at Elias' independent scheming. "Well maybe if you actually bothered to keep us in the loop instead of running off on a whim..."

Elias crossed his arms defiantly. "I wasn't aware needing check-ins and permission before travel plans."

"We've just got more experience is all," Damon blustered arrogantly. "Could've offered some guidance."