Pam Swynford De Beaufort (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
lazy_but_loyal) wrote2014-09-06 04:12 pm
lazy_but_loyal) wrote2014-09-06 04:12 pm
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Well, that was an interesting evening.
'Interesting' meaning stressful as fuck, of course.
So she does what she does best when under pressure: she gets herself all dolled up.
She has a feeling Eric will send her out again tonight instead of having her work the door, so she keeps things simple and conservative with a nice fucshia cardigan. The patterned skirt, pumps, and Gucci handbag match as well.
As if they wouldn't.
Heading down the hallway toward Eric's office, she hears...music. He must be brooding. He always listens to that old-world music when he's brooding. But she expects that, especially after what happened last night.
The clicking of her high heels announce her presence before she does. She knocks on the office door out of courtesy and not necessity, as Eric will already know it's her. Upon entering the office, she finds him just as she expects to as well, but she makes no comment on that. She makes no comment on theweird music either.
In fact she makes no comment on anything at all, as she stands in front of his desk, her arms crossed expectantly, waiting for him to say something first.
His eyes are closed, as he sits there, letting the music fill the silence.
He looks tired.
Then he opens his eyes and takes his feet off the table.
"I want you to do your rounds tonight," he says. "I'll need you to stop by Sookie on the way."
Which is - one way to start a conversation with Pam. Likely not the best, though.
He opens a drawer and takes out a filled-in check. It's not for $10,000.
He holds it out to Pam.
Taking the check, she raises an eyebrow at the increased amount, then tucks it away into her handbag.
"Any message I should give her, too? Just to make my visit worthwhile."
Because stopping by Sookie's house is going to take a lot of effort.
"Tell her -"
He gets up to turn off the music, conveniently ending up with his back to Pam.
"Tell her that I appreciate what she did for - me."
For Godric.
The music stops abruptly.
He runs a finger across the backs of the books on the shelf, as if he hasn't already looked at them a million times.
"When you get back, we'll tally up the results. And I'll call Sophie-Ann."
He manages to make it not sound like a concession.
And she's well aware of what he's doing.
She's half-surprised, yet half-not. Her expression won't show a thing, of course. But she is relieved that he listened to her.
Any other circumstance and she'd tease him about it, but this is a life-or-death situation and she knows well enough to hold her tongue. Besides, she would never undermine him when he needs to be at his best.
"What are you going to tell her?" she asks.
He pinches the bridge of his nose. And sighs.
"Just the facts. That he is gone and that we don't know where to."
His finger stops at a random book and he stares at it as if its faded gilded letters somehow holds the key to how to proceed.
"I met him, back when I went to ask her about the Maenad," he continues. "I wish I knew how close they are."
Pam knits her brows a little, but nods faintly, even if he isn't facing her to see it.
"Well, even with Bill missing, I doubt she wants the Magister finding out that she's involved, too. She may still be able to get us out of this. Even if we can't trust her. You know she only has her own best interests at heart."
Which is fine for a vampire in general, but not when you're in a position of authority and have responsibilities. Responsibilities seem to have fallen off the Queen's to-do list lately.
"She's a fucking cunt," he says, hotly all of a sudden.
Remembering his last encounter, her inane chatter, her utter disregard of his grief.
The fact that he has to bow his head to her, even though she is weaker than him.
He clamps down on the rising anger and turns to face Pam.
"Who's coming in tonight?"
Please let it be Ginger's night off.
"It's Ginger's night off--"
So there's that!
"--but the usual suspects, as usual. And Yvetta has a shift," she adds, perhaps as a way to distract him and keep him calm. "She has this new leather corset that she's been dying to show off to you."
He is thankful for small mercies.
And leather corsets.
"I'll hold down the the fort then," he says. And then he adds, "Be nice to her, Pam."
He doesn't have to be specific. They both know who she is.
She gives him her most pleasant look, the corner of her mouth ticking upwards.
"Why do you think I'm wearing so much pink tonight?"
It's her 'nice' color.
He steps close and runs a finger along the edge of her collar.
"It always makes me a little uneasy when you dress up like that," he murmurs. "You hardly look like you."
Smiling. Just a little.
She looks up at him with a smile of her own, one that reaches her eyes.
"But you like it," she insists, her tone sly and playful.
"I do," he agrees. "And I like it even more when you do your job. Get to it, Pam."
With a slow and sassy blink of her long eyelashes, Pam turns on her heel and sashays out the door. She can only hope that Eric keeps his head on straight and that when she returns later tonight, the place will still be standing.
Meanwhile, Eric walks back to his chair. There's half an hour till they open. It'll be fine.
What can go wrong?
----
Area 5, the area of which Eric is sheriff, is not a small area. It includes Shreveport and its surrounding parishes within twenty miles inside Louisiana state borders. There are a lot of vampires living in these backwoods. And a lot of V dealers. More than there ought to be, but Pam really can't give a shit. If vampires want to subject themselves to being drained for whatever reason, they can go have a ball.
It's the human dealers that are especially repulsive, though. They range from hot shot college kids with trust funds, to suit-and-tie bankers and lawyers (they're the users more than they are dealers), to toothless rednecks raising goats. But the only thing that matters in the end is that they pull in the cash. They know the consequences if they don't pay up on time, and worse, if they're found out.
In any case, getting a visit from Eric's special little enforcer, who is often in a bad mood because she's had to tromp through pig mud in her favorite shoes, is always a treat.
Pam knocks on a ratty trailer door.
A chained dog starts to bark at her; she glares at it; it shuts up and slinks back into its crate, whining.
The door opens.
"Miss De Beaufort!" the man exclaims. He's wearing only a stained wifebeater and boxer shorts. The sound of a baseball game can be heard blaring on the TV. "I- I wasn't expecting you!"
"I enjoy catching people off guard, although it can have its drawbacks," she says dryly, eyeing his clothes with distaste. "I'm here with a message from Mr. Northman."
If the man was panicked before, he's even more panicked now.
"I swear I'll have the money ready-"
"It's not that, Mr. Alfonse. Right now he just needs you to sell more, and sell faster."
She reaches into her handbag and pulls out an insulated pouch containing several small vials of vampire blood.
"But I haven't sold all of the first batch you gave me yet."
"Then you'd better," she says sweetly, "or else my next visit won't be such a pleasant surprise."
He looks uncertain about this, but as he turns the bag over in his hands, he nods. "All right, Miss De Beaufort, I'll try."
"I'm sure you'll do your best. Also, I'll take what cash you have now and pick up the rest in a couple of days." It's as fair a warning as she can give him.
"Sure thing, Miss De Beaufort. Whatever you say."
Humans can be very obedient when the proper amount of pressure is applied.
"Uh- would you like to come in?" he asks.
Pam's expression doesn't change even as she eyes the sorry state of the inside of his trailer. "No, thank you. I'm in kind of a rush and I wasn't planning on getting deloused."
He gives her a blank look, then utters a short bark of a laugh, mostly out of nervousness. "I'll just be a sec," he says, before shuffling inside. He returns shortly with an envelope, which he hands over to her.
She flicks at it. "It's a little thin, isn't it? But I suppose it'll do in short notice." And she slips it into her bag. "Remember what I said. You don't want to disappoint Mr. Northman."
"Nope! No, no, of course not!"
"Good to hear." She smiles again, toothily. "Ta-ta for now."
And she disappears into the night at vampire speed, leaving Mr. Alfonse speechless and his dog cowering with its paws over its snout.
----
Oh, Bon Temps, how Pam abhors you. The rural backwater town had become even less appealing ever since Sookie Stackhouse came into the picture. Fortunately it's on the tail end of her errands, and as she knocks on the old house's door, it's with a forced sense of cheer.
Sookie peers through the window at her.
"May I?" Pam asks. Nicely.
The girl opens the door and invites her in quite easily.
The house, however... Well. The walls and ceilings are still crawling with withering branches and vines left over from when those otherworldly nature freaks took over.
"Now, why'd you have to go and kill that Maenad?" Pam says, casting her gaze around the room. "She's a terrific decorator."
Sookie has just one thing on her mind, though. "Any news about Bill?" she asks eagerly.
"No, just making my nightly rounds," Pam replies. "And Eric wanted me to give you this." She presents her with the check.
Sookie takes it and stares at it. "This is too much. It's only supposed to be ten."
Pam smiles. "We know. Eric wanted to give you a bonus for going above and beyond."
The girl doesn't look as if she knows exactly how to respond. After trying on a couple of different expressions, she finally says, "Well, tell him thanks. I guess."
It's all Pam can do to keep from snorting and rolling her eyes. "I'll say you sounded more appreciative than that."
Suddenly she gets that familiar shiver again, the echo coursing throughout her body, and it visibly moves her, so much so that Sookie notices.
"What was that?"
"It was Eric, calling me," Pam explains. "I should probably check in."
"He can call you?"
Pam doesn't stick around to enlighten her with further explanations. She's off in a blur out the door.
***
[NOTE: Dialogue and narration in scene with Eric written withonceaviking. Dialogue in scene with Sookie taken directly from True Blood episode 3x01.]
'Interesting' meaning stressful as fuck, of course.
So she does what she does best when under pressure: she gets herself all dolled up.
She has a feeling Eric will send her out again tonight instead of having her work the door, so she keeps things simple and conservative with a nice fucshia cardigan. The patterned skirt, pumps, and Gucci handbag match as well.
As if they wouldn't.
Heading down the hallway toward Eric's office, she hears...music. He must be brooding. He always listens to that old-world music when he's brooding. But she expects that, especially after what happened last night.
The clicking of her high heels announce her presence before she does. She knocks on the office door out of courtesy and not necessity, as Eric will already know it's her. Upon entering the office, she finds him just as she expects to as well, but she makes no comment on that. She makes no comment on the
In fact she makes no comment on anything at all, as she stands in front of his desk, her arms crossed expectantly, waiting for him to say something first.
His eyes are closed, as he sits there, letting the music fill the silence.
He looks tired.
Then he opens his eyes and takes his feet off the table.
"I want you to do your rounds tonight," he says. "I'll need you to stop by Sookie on the way."
Which is - one way to start a conversation with Pam. Likely not the best, though.
He opens a drawer and takes out a filled-in check. It's not for $10,000.
He holds it out to Pam.
Taking the check, she raises an eyebrow at the increased amount, then tucks it away into her handbag.
"Any message I should give her, too? Just to make my visit worthwhile."
Because stopping by Sookie's house is going to take a lot of effort.
"Tell her -"
He gets up to turn off the music, conveniently ending up with his back to Pam.
"Tell her that I appreciate what she did for - me."
For Godric.
The music stops abruptly.
He runs a finger across the backs of the books on the shelf, as if he hasn't already looked at them a million times.
"When you get back, we'll tally up the results. And I'll call Sophie-Ann."
He manages to make it not sound like a concession.
And she's well aware of what he's doing.
She's half-surprised, yet half-not. Her expression won't show a thing, of course. But she is relieved that he listened to her.
Any other circumstance and she'd tease him about it, but this is a life-or-death situation and she knows well enough to hold her tongue. Besides, she would never undermine him when he needs to be at his best.
"What are you going to tell her?" she asks.
He pinches the bridge of his nose. And sighs.
"Just the facts. That he is gone and that we don't know where to."
His finger stops at a random book and he stares at it as if its faded gilded letters somehow holds the key to how to proceed.
"I met him, back when I went to ask her about the Maenad," he continues. "I wish I knew how close they are."
Pam knits her brows a little, but nods faintly, even if he isn't facing her to see it.
"Well, even with Bill missing, I doubt she wants the Magister finding out that she's involved, too. She may still be able to get us out of this. Even if we can't trust her. You know she only has her own best interests at heart."
Which is fine for a vampire in general, but not when you're in a position of authority and have responsibilities. Responsibilities seem to have fallen off the Queen's to-do list lately.
"She's a fucking cunt," he says, hotly all of a sudden.
Remembering his last encounter, her inane chatter, her utter disregard of his grief.
The fact that he has to bow his head to her, even though she is weaker than him.
He clamps down on the rising anger and turns to face Pam.
"Who's coming in tonight?"
Please let it be Ginger's night off.
"It's Ginger's night off--"
So there's that!
"--but the usual suspects, as usual. And Yvetta has a shift," she adds, perhaps as a way to distract him and keep him calm. "She has this new leather corset that she's been dying to show off to you."
He is thankful for small mercies.
And leather corsets.
"I'll hold down the the fort then," he says. And then he adds, "Be nice to her, Pam."
He doesn't have to be specific. They both know who she is.
She gives him her most pleasant look, the corner of her mouth ticking upwards.
"Why do you think I'm wearing so much pink tonight?"
It's her 'nice' color.
He steps close and runs a finger along the edge of her collar.
"It always makes me a little uneasy when you dress up like that," he murmurs. "You hardly look like you."
Smiling. Just a little.
She looks up at him with a smile of her own, one that reaches her eyes.
"But you like it," she insists, her tone sly and playful.
"I do," he agrees. "And I like it even more when you do your job. Get to it, Pam."
With a slow and sassy blink of her long eyelashes, Pam turns on her heel and sashays out the door. She can only hope that Eric keeps his head on straight and that when she returns later tonight, the place will still be standing.
Meanwhile, Eric walks back to his chair. There's half an hour till they open. It'll be fine.
What can go wrong?
----
Area 5, the area of which Eric is sheriff, is not a small area. It includes Shreveport and its surrounding parishes within twenty miles inside Louisiana state borders. There are a lot of vampires living in these backwoods. And a lot of V dealers. More than there ought to be, but Pam really can't give a shit. If vampires want to subject themselves to being drained for whatever reason, they can go have a ball.
It's the human dealers that are especially repulsive, though. They range from hot shot college kids with trust funds, to suit-and-tie bankers and lawyers (they're the users more than they are dealers), to toothless rednecks raising goats. But the only thing that matters in the end is that they pull in the cash. They know the consequences if they don't pay up on time, and worse, if they're found out.
In any case, getting a visit from Eric's special little enforcer, who is often in a bad mood because she's had to tromp through pig mud in her favorite shoes, is always a treat.
Pam knocks on a ratty trailer door.
A chained dog starts to bark at her; she glares at it; it shuts up and slinks back into its crate, whining.
The door opens.
"Miss De Beaufort!" the man exclaims. He's wearing only a stained wifebeater and boxer shorts. The sound of a baseball game can be heard blaring on the TV. "I- I wasn't expecting you!"
"I enjoy catching people off guard, although it can have its drawbacks," she says dryly, eyeing his clothes with distaste. "I'm here with a message from Mr. Northman."
If the man was panicked before, he's even more panicked now.
"I swear I'll have the money ready-"
"It's not that, Mr. Alfonse. Right now he just needs you to sell more, and sell faster."
She reaches into her handbag and pulls out an insulated pouch containing several small vials of vampire blood.
"But I haven't sold all of the first batch you gave me yet."
"Then you'd better," she says sweetly, "or else my next visit won't be such a pleasant surprise."
He looks uncertain about this, but as he turns the bag over in his hands, he nods. "All right, Miss De Beaufort, I'll try."
"I'm sure you'll do your best. Also, I'll take what cash you have now and pick up the rest in a couple of days." It's as fair a warning as she can give him.
"Sure thing, Miss De Beaufort. Whatever you say."
Humans can be very obedient when the proper amount of pressure is applied.
"Uh- would you like to come in?" he asks.
Pam's expression doesn't change even as she eyes the sorry state of the inside of his trailer. "No, thank you. I'm in kind of a rush and I wasn't planning on getting deloused."
He gives her a blank look, then utters a short bark of a laugh, mostly out of nervousness. "I'll just be a sec," he says, before shuffling inside. He returns shortly with an envelope, which he hands over to her.
She flicks at it. "It's a little thin, isn't it? But I suppose it'll do in short notice." And she slips it into her bag. "Remember what I said. You don't want to disappoint Mr. Northman."
"Nope! No, no, of course not!"
"Good to hear." She smiles again, toothily. "Ta-ta for now."
And she disappears into the night at vampire speed, leaving Mr. Alfonse speechless and his dog cowering with its paws over its snout.
----
Oh, Bon Temps, how Pam abhors you. The rural backwater town had become even less appealing ever since Sookie Stackhouse came into the picture. Fortunately it's on the tail end of her errands, and as she knocks on the old house's door, it's with a forced sense of cheer.
Sookie peers through the window at her.
"May I?" Pam asks. Nicely.
The girl opens the door and invites her in quite easily.
The house, however... Well. The walls and ceilings are still crawling with withering branches and vines left over from when those otherworldly nature freaks took over.
"Now, why'd you have to go and kill that Maenad?" Pam says, casting her gaze around the room. "She's a terrific decorator."
Sookie has just one thing on her mind, though. "Any news about Bill?" she asks eagerly.
"No, just making my nightly rounds," Pam replies. "And Eric wanted me to give you this." She presents her with the check.
Sookie takes it and stares at it. "This is too much. It's only supposed to be ten."
Pam smiles. "We know. Eric wanted to give you a bonus for going above and beyond."
The girl doesn't look as if she knows exactly how to respond. After trying on a couple of different expressions, she finally says, "Well, tell him thanks. I guess."
It's all Pam can do to keep from snorting and rolling her eyes. "I'll say you sounded more appreciative than that."
Suddenly she gets that familiar shiver again, the echo coursing throughout her body, and it visibly moves her, so much so that Sookie notices.
"What was that?"
"It was Eric, calling me," Pam explains. "I should probably check in."
"He can call you?"
Pam doesn't stick around to enlighten her with further explanations. She's off in a blur out the door.
***
[NOTE: Dialogue and narration in scene with Eric written with
onceaviking. Dialogue in scene with Sookie taken directly from True Blood episode 3x01.]
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Swanning in like they owned the place, Sophie-Ann in grey silk and furs, the Magister in his usual business attire and dour expression.
The Magister was worried about the V. Very worried. So much of it in such a small area. If vampires had gone missing?
Of course not, Magister, he lied all the while Sophie-Anne stretched and writhed and went on and on about how selling the sacred blood was a travesty.
He could kill her.
That she offhandedly mentioned that they ought to discuss business in the bar because she had had his office tapped did not help his mood.
They both put on a show of being appalled at the very notion that one of their own would get involved in the V-selling, as the Magister believed was the case.
The moral anarchy!
The Magister did not seem convinced but there was little he could do, apart from stressing the grave nature of the matter. So he left and Sophie-Ann went straight to what she really wanted.
For Eric to move the rest of his - inventory.
The IRS were on her heels as well apparently.
He tried to reason with her, he tried to stay calm, but she simply did not understand the mechanics of the situation. And she felt the need to get in his face about it, fangs bared, her fingers curling around his balls.
Literarily.
He managed to not tear into her, kept his reaction to a snarl, when all he wanted was her blood sprayed across the wall.
So he told her that Compton was missing. That he knew about the blood. At least he knew about Eric's involvement.
He should have known how she would react.
With indifference.
"Let him rot," she said and left.
He stood there. Fuming. And unsettled.
A little while passed.
Then he summoned Pam.
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Except for Eric.
She can feel that his anger and frustration haven't dissipated.
"What the fuck happened?" she asks, bewildered.
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"And the Magister. He's found out about the V. Not the details. He wants me to put an end to it. And Sophie-Ann is being investigated by the IRS and wants cash. So she wants us to flood the market. Now."
He is managing to keep his hands from balling into fists. Barely.
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There are a couple of things she can refer to with that what. Like Sophie-Ann actually bringing the Magister here. And basically her insanity in general.
"Jesus Christ, we are not her fucking get-rich-quick scheme," she retorts. "She's aware that Bill is missing, right?"
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"She made it abundantly clear that she didn't give a fuck. He can't drag her down. Only me."
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"Your money- oh, wait. The Queen's money. It's all I was able to collect on short notice, but I did warn everyone that they needed to sell faster."
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"It won't be enough," he says. "She want it all sold. Now. We'll have to think ..."
He closes his eyes.
"The flamboyant one. What's his name? Lafayette? He does consistently better than the others. And he's got upscale clients, not just lowlife. He's our best bet."
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It had always been a little ironic that Lafayette was still their top V dealer even though he'd been chained up in the dungeon for, well, dealing V. But hey, they'll let bygones be bygones.
"I was going to see him tonight after Sookie when you called me. I suppose I could go back, give him another batch of V."
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"She got the money?"
He knows she did. But he can't very well ask Pam how Sookie was.
"And yes. Do that. And make sure he understands that this is important."
Fucking Sophie-Ann.
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"She did. She was a little surprised, but grateful."
A slight exaggeration.
"She also asked if there was any news about Bill. Believe me, I would've told her if there was."
Just to get her off their backs.
She was hoping Eric would suggest seeing Lafayette tomorrow night instead, but it looks like she's Bon Temps-bound again. She'll make it especially clear to him.
"How much exactly does the Magister know?"
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"He knows that there are excessive amounts of V in Area Five. And he strongly suspects that vampires are behind it. Sophie-Ann believes she got him off our backs, but I am not so sure. It's not like he trusts me."
As well she knows.
"He wants to run a public trial."
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Oh, they have a long, rocky history with the Magister.
"Does Sophie-Ann trust you?"
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He may have been pissed off yesternight. it is nothing compared with how he feels this night.
"She is too vapid and self-centered to form solid opinions on anything. including my loyalty."
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How many times had they called her a cunt in there?
"Well. Now you'll just have to conduct business in the dungeon until you get the room swept. This is fucking ridiculous."
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She can tell how he feels.
She can feel how he feels.
"We move the blood, the Queen is forced to lay low, the Magister has nothing on us, things go back to normal."
It sounds good.
Too good.
And then he is reminded of what Pam said. Regarding Sookie.
"And I will have to look into Bill Compton's disappearance."
Perhaps she will be grateful?
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Funny. It almost feels like those early days when the Authority kept tabs on them, practically breathing down their necks. She hated the lack of freedom then, and she hates the reminder now.
"Sounds like a plan," she concedes, not entirely convinced that any of this is going to work out.
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Then he runs a hand over his face.
"Sometimes," he says, " I am half of a mind to say fuck it and just -"
Sophie-Ann would be so dead. So very dead.
But he can't. It's not like when he and Godric traveled across the world. Times are different now.
And he has responsibilities. He's got Pam.
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"I don't think we even have the choice to say 'fuck it,'" she sighs.
Slowly walking over to him, she lays a hand on his arm.
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"If push comes to shove, we can dispose of the leftovers and pad the envelope."
He has some cash put away. She knows that.
She may not be aware of the full amount though. It's been amassed over quite a long while after all.
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A beat, as she looks up at him with a raised eyebrow.
"But it's not coming out of my shoe allowance."
She's still allowed to be sarcastic.
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"We should be able to leave your shoe allowance alone this time," he says.
She always could cheer him up.
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That's what she's here for. They can't both be pissed off and moody. Nothing would ever get done.
"Guess I should go see our fabulous little friend before Merlotte's closes."
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"We'll weather this."
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With a nod and a sigh, she moves past Eric to prepare for a last-minute excursion to Bon Temps. After packing another baggie full of V into her handbag, she heads toward the exit.
"Don't wait up."
And she's gone.