Chapter Text
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Kara didn't know what she should wear to the dinner. She didn't pack any remotely formal clothes and had a slight social panic when she got the official invitation from the Luthors. The location was a big restaurant in Havensflow, the city next to Skystead and a bigger one. Then she had a moment of sense that she didn’t need to worry how she would be seen by the vampires and picked out a common combination.
Astra was surprised when she heard about the dinner. She offered a ride so that she could be around the restaurant. Kara appreciated that but refused anyway.
"I'd be fine, Aunt Astra," Kara said as she walked to the gates. Kal had told her he would wait for her in his parents' old car. "It's a public place. None of them would do anything stupid. I have Kal there. He'd sniff out anything abnormal."
"Dealing with vampires isn't easy," Astra lowered her voice, "They have a lot of deceiving and manipulating skills."
"I know. I just want to support Kal and meet Laura Luthor." Kara opened the gates, turning around to hug Astra. "I won't eat or drink anything they give me. I'll keep an eye open."
Astra stepped back, a hand touching Kara's chin. "Stay safe, Little Paw."
Kara almost chuckled at the childhood nickname that her parents used to call her. She remembered how she always wanted to grow bigger so that nobody could call her ‘little’ anymore. “I’ll see you later, Aunt Astra.”
___________
“To be honest, I didn’t think it was true that you agreed to come to the dinner,” said Kal as the car began to move. He glanced at her with a soft smile. “What made you change your mind?”
Kara pointed at the scar on her eye. “This.”
“I don’t get it.”
“This scar is a lot of things to me, and most of those things are horrific.” Kara ran a hand through her hair, then regretted doing it because it messed with the braid that Astra had done for her. “There is one good thing about it.”
“What is it?”
“You.”
Kal’s face softened with a grin. “Aw, really?”
“It reminds me that we survived, Kal.” Kara placed her hand on Kal’s shoulder, firmly squeezing it. He had been so small in that night, so fragile and vulnerable. She still recalled his wailing when Lucien struck at the both of them.
“You took shield for me, Kara.” Kal put a hand on hers, tapping gently. “If you hadn’t, I would have died. I’m sorry about the scar on your face.”
“It wasn’t your fault and it's not only me who got it. At least we’re both alive.”
There was a moment of silence in the car before Kal said, “I’m happy that you've decided to leave everything behind. The truce is very important.”
Kara retreated her hand back to her lap. “I never said that I leave anything behind me.”
“Kara,” Kal called her name but she didn’t mind and continued.
“I come to the dinner to support you and you alone. The truce is important, I agree, but that isn’t going to shut my mouth if they badmouth our grandfather for Lucien’s crimes.”
The air became awkward and tense after she finished. Kara inhaled, exhaled and realized she had been slightly heated. The anger in her was usually contained well, unless it was about Lucien. Kara could never keep her calm whenever that monster was brought into the conversation.
"What would you do if you were the Chief of Tribe?" asked Kal softly. "Kill him?"
"I might," Kara answered without hesitation. "Lucien got off so easily."
"I agree." Kal said dryly, "That sounds like you, though. The first thing is to go after Lucien."
"And your first act as Chief of Tribe is to have dinner with the Luthors," Kara simply replied.
"They have reached out to us for years. That shows me how much they don't want a war." Kal's voice was deep and calm. "Me neither. So even if it's marrying the enemy, I'd do it too."
The sarcasm in Kal's response didn't match Kara's passive aggressive comment but it turned off the fire in her instantly. Kal never bit back even if Kara was being a bit of an asshole, which made Kara respect and also get annoyed with him.
"You have the bigger heart than you think, Kara," Kal added suddenly. "Stop vilifying yourself."
"I don't," Kara quickly spoke. "I would go after my personal vendetta, remember?"
"Then why are you coming with me tonight? What is your personal vendetta for this?"
Kara felt her lips dry and she had to lick them several times to feel normal again. Kal's simple question took a jab at a spot she had no map to in her heart and it made her uncomfortable.
"I can't let you walk into the lion's den alone."
Kal grinned, "Your personal vendetta is full of love. So evil."
"You're an idiot," Kara rolled her eyes but smiled.
Their laughter filled the car for a few delightful seconds before it faded away into an easiness rolling between them.
"No matter what you say, you're the one who's supposed to be the Chief," Kal punched jokingly at Kara's left shoulder. "You're the true heiress of Tribe El."
"No. You are."
"I got chosen simply because I can shed my skin. Admit it."
"You don't know that."
"Right, because the Circle didn't ask about your shedding every previous year. Accept it, Kara, you are the rightful Chief."
"I will never be able to shed my skin."
Kal encouraged, tapping her shoulder. "You're a late bloomer."
"I'm already 28 years old."
"It doesn't matter. When the truce is secured, I'd retire and vote for you to be the Chief. You can't say no to that."
Kara couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Half of it was plausible because Kal was always about keeping the fragile peace and being diplomatic about everything and if he stood down from being the Chief, Kara had to take the spot, being the only other member left. The other half was him joking. Kal had a way with jokes that made people confused. She punched his shoulder. "Do not do that! I will kill you if you pull that shit."
"Hey!" Kal made a face. "That hurts!"
"Stop pretending," Kara rolled her eyes but snickered. “I’m not strong enough to even tickle you.”
Suddenly, Kal said something that surprised her. "You know, my first thought when I transformed for the first time was the desire to kill Lucien. I just wanted to rip him apart and break his bones bit by bit."
Kara stared at him, surprised. "You never told me that. Why?"
Kal chuckled, shrugging. "I don't know."
Kara sighed, sinking into the seat. "You can totally talk about that with me."
"I was scared."
"Of me?"
"Of what it could remind you. Kara, the last thing I want is you not being happy. That's why I'm doing my best to secure this truce, Kara. Not because I don't want justice for our family, I do." Kal glanced at her, his eyes were so sad that it jabbed at Kara's heart. "I want you to be able to move on."
Kara faced away to keep herself away from Kal's affectionate look. Moving on sounded easy, but it was not anywhere near her foreseeable future. "What if I don't want to move on?"
Kal's sigh could be heard clearly on her left. He didn't say anything else after that. The ride was short. They arrived at the restaurant not too long after. Havensflow reminded Kara of National City at night. It was lively, bright enough with the lights, but had the stillness in it. The streets were not as wide as in National City, but Kara felt a slight familiarity when she stepped out of the car and the night breeze swept by. The smell of fried chicken was brought along with it, and Kara’s stomach still wanted to rumble, even though she had already ate some before leaving.
“Smells like Jo’s Deep Fried, hmm?” Kal commented, sniffing in the rich, crunchy scent.
“There is Jo’s in Metropolis, too?” Kara asked as she pulled down the zipper of her jacket.
“Yep. You would know if you come to visit me more often.” Kal gave her an obvious look. “My parents ask about you a lot.”
Kara hid a silent sigh. She loved to come to Metropolis more often but the work at the zoo was always exhausting. The job was only an excuse, she knew. She wanted to be close to Kal, too, but he had grown up so much away from her. He wasn’t haunted every night like her. He always wanted to move forward. The difference in them was already proven by how Kal called his adoptive parents ‘parents’ while Kara always used the first name to address hers. In her mind, she had only two parents who had died in the hands of Lucien Luthor.
“I’m busy, Kal,” Kara answered softly.
“I know. It’s just that I miss doing camping trips with you, Kara. I miss you.”
The guilt weighed in Kara made her almost whined. She walked to him and smiled, “I miss you too.” And before she could stop herself, she said, “I’ll find a few days off to go camping with you soon, okay?”
Kal’s eyes sparkled with pure joy. If it made him so happy, Kara could do anything for him. His life was full of potentials.
Kara had expected the restaurant to be quiet but it seemed like any other restaurant with customers and waiters sitting and moving around. She approached the hostess standing right behind a small desk and asked for the name Luthors.
The friendly emotion in the woman's eyes shifted a little as she stood up and led them to a private section. Kara dashed a look at Kal, who was sniffing the air.
"I can't smell them," he whispered into her ears.
"Do you think it's a trap?" Kara cautiously asked. Lena Luthor went out of her way to convince Kara to come, might as well be a trap.
"No," Kal tilted his head. "No suspicious sound of weapon or smell of silver."
The hostess paused in front of a door and bowed slightly. "Here is your room. Please excuse me."
Kara hesitated in front of the door. She would walk into a room full of the beings that could easily kill both her and Kal. It intimidated her a little.
"We'll be fine," Kal reassured and knocked on the door.
The silence was suffocating. Kara had no super hearing but she felt like she could gather every movement of shuffling feet behind the door.
It opened. The first thing Kara saw was Lena Luthor, in a dining dress that cupped around her chest and flowed down to her ankles. Kara only took a quick glance before her attention got drawn in by Lena's voice.
"Good afternoon, Chief Kal of Tribe El and Kara Zor-El," Lena slightly bowed at them. Kara heard that vampires only bowed to higher class vampires, because they thought of themselves as the superior species. Kara supposed Lena was not a vampire yet, so she hadn't had that mindset, but somehow she felt it wasn't the reason. Maybe she was just being polite and respectful.
Or maybe she's deceiving you.
"Good afternoon, Miss Luthor," Kal spoke when Kara didn't say anything. "I hope we arrive on time."
"You do." Lena smiled at Kal and opened the door wider. “Please, come in."
The smell of delicious food distracted Kara for a moment before she saw a long table of people in fancy suits and dresses looking at her. They darted left and right to speak to each other, which irked Kara. She narrowed her eyes at them as Lena introduced her and Kal to the table.
"Everyone, these are Chief Kal of Tribe El and Kara Zor-El, our honorable guests tonight." Lena turned to them, slowly introducing the members of Blood Council and lastly the ones from her family. "This is my mother, Laura."
Kara's chest felt lighter when she looked at Laura Luthor. She didn't change at all since the last time she saw her. She couldn’t recall what she had told Lucien, but her face already brought Kara back to that moment. An eight-year-old child drown in fear of being killed and not realizing that she was saved. The blood from her left eye dyed her view in red, the heartbeat deafened her ears, the shaking limbs trapped her in a position of holding a crying Kal. Kara had been frozen like that for nobody knew how long before instincts kicked in and she ran.
“Hello,” she said specifically to Laura. The vampire slowly stood up, hesitated. “You were there.”
“I was,” replied Laura with a soft smile.
“You saved us,” Kara blinked the weight in her eyes away. She turned to Kal. “That was her. She saved us.”
Kal looked at Laura, curious and grateful. He walked forward along with Kara and both of them placed a fist on their hearts. They waited. Laura glanced at everyone else before putting her fist on her heart too. Then she smiled.
“You both have grown into such marvelous individuals,” Laura spoke, her voice shook a little. “I’m sorry I couldn’t do anything more.”
“It’s all in the past now, Ma’am,” Kal replied. Kara’s heart dropped at the words but she didn’t express any disagreement, only stepped back to leave diplomatic presentation to Kal. She held her hands behind her back the entire time until they all sat down at the table.
Kara passively listened to the conversation and the questions that other vampires who were the leader of their clan stated to Kal and how he responded to them. He strived for peace, and seemingly the vampire did the same, too. Kara didn’t know what to feel about it, but at least Kal was having the opportunity to do what he wished.
“Kara Zor-El, why don’t you try the beef?” asked Lena Luthor when Kal was in the middle of the conversation with the other leaders.
Kara turned to her and abruptly answered, “I’m good.”
The not-yet-vampire woman offered a smile. “You don’t eat the food because you don’t trust us.”
True. “No. I already ate something before coming here.” Kara kept a straight face and didn’t give away any indication that could oppose Kal’s efforts.
“You can try the wine,” Lena suggested. “As you can see, my mother and everyone else don’t drink anything and your cousin would drive, like he said. You can at least drink this Beringe bottle with me. And if you’re afraid I would poison you.” The woman smirked as if it was a ridiculous idea, opening the cap of the bottle and poured out for herself a glass. “I’ll go first.”
Kara watched Lena drink her glass until she put it down. A provoked smile curved up her lips. “What are the chances that you poison yourself just to kill me because you will eventually become a vampire after death anyway?” she taunted and earned a chuckle from Lena.
“Wow, a werewolf’s stubbornness is truly something. Alright, I admit that it could be a chance. I guess you just have to take the leap of faith.”
Kara shook her head. “I still love my life pretty much, thank you.”
Laura, who sat on Lena’s other side, crouched over a little to join in their conversation. “Your braids are amazing, Kara Zor-El. Did you do it yourself?”
“Thank you. My aunt did it for me.” Kara’s stomach sank a little as she continued. “She knows the El’s braids. I can’t do it myself. I never knew how.”
Laura reached out to place a hand on Kara’s. Her skin was cool and fresh, not startling Kara but giving her a sense of comfort. Kara couldn’t decide if it was the vampire magic or not. “I am so sorry for what my brother did to you and your tribe.”
Kara took in a deep breath so she wouldn’t get emotional. “Words don’t bring them back, but thank you anyway.” She knew she sounded rather distant and impolite in a way, but she just couldn’t let the past be the past.
Laura retreated her hand. The atmosphere seemed to drop and the silence filled the air. Only now that she noticed that the rest had been watching their interaction.
She found the eyes of the vampire with appearance of young people but had existed for centuries stared at her with curiosity. Kara sent them a proper and social smile. “I hope I didn’t interrupt your truce talk.”
They shared a look with each other. Kal arched an eyebrow at her. One of the vampire spoke up with a mirroring smile that cast no sincerity. “No, you didn’t. In fact, we would like to hear more about your thoughts on the controversial past between vampires and lycans, since you are one of the few who witnessed the incident.”
“ Incident? ” Kara’s teeth grinded so strongly that she felt like her jaws could snap apart. She took a deep breath and calmly exhaled to keep her cool even though Kal already shifted on his seat as an reaction to her. She threw him a soft smile to reassure him before looking directly into the vampire who asked and spoke, “The incident that you’ve just mentioned was a massacre. Please use the correct word to talk about the past, if you want to truly discuss about it, Master-”
“-Maxwell Lord.” Lena gently reminded her. In the split of the moment in the subtle anger, Kara still felt grateful of Lena’s good-timing assistant and planned to thank her later.
“Master Lord. You want to know my thoughts? I’m afraid I wouldn’t be able to keep our civilized atmosphere if I truly state my mind.”
Maxwell leaned forward, knitting his fingers together. “Do you wish for vengeance? Do you want to pay back for the lives of your people whose blood was sucked dry while they were sleeping? Do you want to bite Lucien Luthor?”
The word struck a scary cloud into the room. Kara was surprised that he asked so directly like that, especially right in front of the other Luthors. It gave her a sense that Lord Clan didn’t particularly like Luthor Clan.
It didn’t matter because her blood was hot under her skin. Her fingers curled up inward, trying to keep herself together. She could feel the tip of her tongue losing the grip of control. Kara tore her eye away from Lord and glued it at Kal, who was also trying to keep his cool. It was obvious by the way his jaws clenched hard.
“Master Lord, this is a friendly dinner, not a trial or an interrogation.” Lena spoke up, her voice was low and different from how she had talked to Kara before. “Kara Zor-El is my honorable guest, which means that she is your honorable guest as well. Or have you forgotten your manners on another Clan’s property?”
Maxwell Lord didn’t seem offended by the seriousness in Lena’s words. He smirked as if she hadn’t basically told him he didn’t know how to behave properly. Perhaps this type of comment wasn’t too unfamiliar with him.
“Of course not, Miss Luthor. I do not dare to challenge Luthor Clan’s authority especially right in front of the Luthor heiress herself.” Lord raised two hands as if to back off, but didn’t sound anymore sincere. “I simply just want a good explanation of what happened that brought down Luthor Clan’s reputation and power overnight. But I guess it was not all a bad thing after all, since it made you the next in line.”
“Be careful of what you’re implying, Maxwell,” Laura Luthor seethed. “Nobody here has forgotten about the little stun you pulled at the Blood Council months ago.”
Only then Maxwell Lord seemed to be affected by the warning. His face reformed into an innocent one as he replied, “That was an impulse. A mistake. The Council has forgiven me.”
“In the exchange of your future seat in the Council,” Lena calmly added. “The seat that will become mine. A non-vampire kicked a legacy vampire out of the ring. I thought I taught you a lesson.”
Kara knew anger. She befriended it. Now she saw it visibly on Maxwell’s face with his teeth bared, fangs overgrown, his eyes were red like blood. He growled and tried to charge at her, which alerted everyone. In the blink of an eye, all of the vampires reacted instantly. They morphed into the creatures of the night with crimson eyes, large fangs and nails. The perfection had been swept aside. Even Kal himself already crouched over the table in the position of transforming to block his path.
And Kara had also moved to be in between Maxwell Lord and Lena Luthor. She didn’t even plan to do anything, or that she could do anything against a raging vampire. She stood no chance, yet her first instinct was to put herself in front of Lena. Perhaps in the back of her mind, she always remembered that Lena was still human and that she was as vulnerable as Kara.
“Lord, if you come another step closer to Miss Luthor, you will face worse consequences than you already got,” a Clan Master voiced out, his nails pointed toward Maxwell.
“Don’t think we’re afraid of you.”
“We will kick your ass like she did.”
Kara didn’t see it at first, but the two vampires that sat on Maxwell’s sides were actually on his side and they two raised their opinions. “She cheated! Master Lord would never lose to an infant like her! She’s a paw-licker!” One of them shouted, seething obviously.
“She favors filthy dogs over her own kind!” The other one added. “A traitor!”
Kal's deep growl shut them all up. His teeth were bared and the skin started turning dark. The vampires seemed to be alerted of a werewolf's anger close by, which could only result in a bad bloodbath if they didn't hold back.
"Enough," Lena finally said as she stood up. Kara pulled back a little to leave her some space. Lena didn't even flinch, her pose was straight and confident. Kara couldn't help but watch in awe. "Master Lord, Master Cassius, and Master Clarence, I'm afraid you all have overstayed your welcome. Please depart from our property or I have to force you to leave.” The woman stood still as she finished, simply staring at the trio. “It would get really ugly.”
Maxwell Lord retreated into his human form, fixing the suit and didn’t say a word when he walked past Lena and left the room. The other two followed his lead, not forgetting to throw a nasty look at Lena. When they were all gone, Lena turned to the other masters.
“I’m very sorry for the inconvenience that you have met in a dinner that I host, Masters.”
“Miss Luthor, I didn’t put Maxwell above behaving like a child like that, regardless of how old he is,” a Master spoke and the other two agreed with a confirmative nod.
“You’re always the voice of reason, Master Rhazien. If this wasn’t your property, I would have duelled him.”
“I thought the same, Master Ciro. I would gladly join you. Lord is only big.”
They laughed and chatted with each other. Kara couldn’t believe they all were just a blink away from tearing Lord and his allies apart. Vampires did have deceiving appearance, but Kara didn’t expect it to be quite different from the usual assumption. Vampires were usually seen as cunning and charming creatures while hot-headedness was more of a werewolf trait.
Interesting.
Lena then looked at Kal and Kara. “I am tremendously regret putting you both in this idiotic quarrel between the vampires that has nothing to do with you. This is such a failure.”
“We’re both very sorry,” Laura added, slightly bowing along with Lena.
“It’s not your fault,” Kara felt awkward with the courtesy in the Luthors’ manners. It was foreign to her and the werewolf culture in general. Respect was displayed differently on both sides. With werewolves, sometimes it seemed rough but they were all open and honest with their feelings. Vampires seemed to hold back a little but they also bit harder.
"And it's not a failure," Kal added, shrugging. "You treated me well. I feel respected and safe on your property. The Circle would know about this."
Lena's eyes sparked up with joy and relief. It wasn't Kara's intention to pay so much attention to Lena but the woman intrigued her in a way. Kara had no idea what Lena was up to, but so far, she felt the sincerity.
They parted way after that. Lena and Laura walked Kara and Kal to their car. Kal shook hands with Lena and Laura. Kara just stood there and watched them. Then Laura and Lena turned to Kara and repeated the act. It was a bit weird, but funny to Kara. They all barely knew each other, but acted a lot like well-known acquaintances, yet it didn't feel out of place at all. Kara had no idea why.
"Good night, Kara Zor-El," Lena said when Kara shook hands with her.
Kara smiled faintly, feeling the gentle warmth from Lena's palm against her own. "Good night, Lena Luthor."
And even if their handshake was a tad longer than necessary, or the good night wish hadn't been brought up between Kara and Laura as well as Lena and Kal, Kara didn't realize that.
She was busy with the strange lingering heat that didn't stay on her hand alone but travelled across her body when she noticed the pink streak ran on Lena's usually pale cheeks in the last moment. It was odd and out of place.
But it certainly wasn't not appreciated.
___________
"Lena Luthor kicked those Masters out of her home?" Astra gasped, surprised. Kara's aunt pulled her legs up on the bed, excited to hear about what happened in the dinner. Kara had changed into more comfortable clothes and ready to go to sleep. She climbed on the bed as well.
"One of them was being very disrespectful," Kara shrugged. "I was impressed by how calm she was. Lord was going to jump at her."
"A Lord, huh?" Astra hummed thoughtfully, "Lords and Luthors haven't gotten along for centuries."
"How come?"
"Luthors are the oldest vampire bloodline, Lords are the second." Astra gave her a knowing look.
"I see. The oldest bloodline would be the most powerful, right? It's not the same with us." Kara couldn't help but compare the two systems.
"True. They value the bloodline and the legitimacy like us, but they don't have the pack mentality. There is always a war going on between the clans."
"Wasn't Tribe Tog at odds with Tribe El too?"
"Still is." Astra nodded, frowning. The buried anger was dug up for a moment. "Chief Ke-Tog was very bitter that your great grandfather broke off the engagement between your grandaunt and let her married Lucien."
It was a rough time, as far as Kara could recall. Tribe Tog was officially against Tribe El. Kara had been only a child, but the tension was thick enough for her to remember.
"Why did my great grandfather let my grandaunt marry a vampire?"
"I have no idea," Astra slightly shook her head. "Some said that Var-El was pursuing peace. Some said that Lucien used magic to make that happen so he would be able practice manipulating werewolves."
"What do you think?"
Astra was one of the most knowledgeable in Tribe Ze. All of the things Kara had learned about the werewolf and vampire history, she got it from her aunt. Kara looked up to her the most even though she didn't raise her.
"I don't know for sure, but Kalya Var-El and Lucien Luthor might have been in love with each other." Astra sounded like she was thinking about the past. "She always seemed so happy when she talked about him."
"Why would he murder her and her family if he was in love with her?"
"There are still a lot of mysteries surrounding the real story behind Lucien's action. Nothing can excuse that kind of behavior, of course."
“I still don’t get why Lucien is still alive,” Kara grunted, dropping to her back. “The Circle barely did anything at all. My family, our family, was murdered and Lucien is still breathing.”
“I have no idea, either.” Astra gently ran her finger on Kara’s scar. “It’s one of the reasons why I no longer have faith in the Circle.”
“Me neither. I don’t have faith in anything except for Kal, you, and the Danvers.” Kara sighed. “I want Kal to achieve the peace he wants, but I always feel like I’m only one shed away from hunting Lucien down and stupidly starting a war. I truly don’t belong here.”
“Oh, Little Paw,” Astra cooed, “You are one of us.”
“I don’t feel like that. Everyone here keeps distance from me because I don’t smell like a lycan. Not entirely. Kal is amazing, I love him, but he feels sorry for me. The vampire assholes were waiting for me to snap or something. And the Luthors, whom I’m supposed to despise, are trying to work with Kal to bring him what he wants.” Kara bolted up to the sitting position. “Humans stare at me but at least they don’t push me to move on or tell me how to feel, which is exactly what everyone else has been doing.”
Kara’s aunt pulled her hand back into her lap. “I’m sorry about that, Kara. I didn’t know that was how you were feeling.”
“It’s okay. I’m leaving soon.” Kara didn’t mean to sound dismissive but her mind was tired at the moment. “Skystead isn’t the place for me.”
“For now, maybe,” said Astra with a sad smile. “Someday, it might change. No matter what, I hope that you can find peace for yourself.”
“I’m fine.”
“I know. But are you happy?”
Kara knew what answer would be correct, but she refused to tell the truth. “I am.”
Astra didn’t look convinced but she got off the bed and crouched down to kiss Kara's forehead. "You should sleep now. It's late."
"Good night, Aunt Astra.”
"Good night, Little Paw."
Kara didn't sleep right away. She thought about the dinner, the truce, and the thing that sparked up the demise of her family. She hadn't met grandaunt Kalya a lot because her grandfather had been very against the marriage between Kalya and Lucien.
Kalya was told to be kind and energetic. Kara hardly remembered much from her. She lived far away from the tribe and she hardly came home ever since she got married. Kara heard her parents talk about it a few times, how distant Kalya had been to her family. She had thought it was the truth until she got older and had a different perspective.
Jor-El, Kara’s grandfather, detested Kalya’s marriage. It was not a secret. Kara could understand why Kalya had been reluctant to visit home. And after tonight, seeing a small part of vampire pride, she could imagine how hard it had been for her grandaunt Kalya to keep everything to herself.
It begged the question of why Kalya was at Tribe House two weeks before the massacre. Apparently Kalya wasn’t forbidden to come home. Astra told Kara that Lucien was the one to bring Kalya to the gates. Vampires weren’t allowed to walk into any Tribe House. It had always been like that since forever, perhaps. Obviously, Lucien had violated that rule.
Why?
What happened exactly?
Why did Lucien kill Kalya? Why did he kill Kara’s family?
But it didn’t matter anymore. Kara would leave Skystead tomorrow morning. Everyone can have their peace, Kara would be out of here.
__________
“How was your trip?” Alex asked from the other side of the dinner table with her mouth full of pizza.
Kara finished her drink and grabbed a new slice of pizza before answering, “It was fine. Kal became Chief, I spent some time with Astra.”
“So nothing out of the ordinary.”
She thought about the last day in Skystead and decided to add. “We had a dinner with the Luthors, though.”
Alex shot a surprise look at Kara, her chewing stopped. "Luthors? As in the Luthors?"
"Yes."
"How did that happen? I thought you hated them." Alex moved to sit closer to Kara on the couch.
"I hate Lucien. His family isn't on my good book but his sister saved me and Kal." Kara still shuddered when she considered the possibility of Laura Luthor not showing up on time. "I also met the vampire that saved me again."
"How was she?"
"She seemed kind and polite. Her daughter did, too. That's what vampires do."
Alex blinked, surprised. "She has a daughter?"
"Yes, why do you ask? It's not a weird thing for a vampire to have kids."
Kara's adoptive sister shrugged, "Because Astra told me vampires had to die to become, you know, vampires. It's a little bit weird to know it somehow works."
Kara never thought of that. The vampires were born human, and only turned into vampires after they died. Many vampires had extremely young look because of it. Lucien, as Kara remembered, seemed to be like a twenty-five-year-old at the time of the massacre. Laura looked around Eliza's age so Kara didn't notice the possible age of the vampires.
"I don't know. Maybe she had her daughter when she was still human."
"That's likely to be the case." Alex gave Kara a soft look. "How are you feeling, going back with everything?"
Kara dropped to the backrest of the couch, looking up at the ceiling. "It was weird. The place that has been haunting me for years. It was so silent, familiar but also unfamiliar. I felt so lost."
Alex pulled her into the arms. "I'm sorry. It must have been hard for you."
Kara didn't say anything but tightening her arms around Alex. On the contrary to what Kara tend to think, a part of her truly wanted to leave the past behind. Not that she would ever forget or forgive, but she belonged to the human world now. Kal was different. He had no memory of the trauma, and he had his duty to fulfill at the Tribe.
Kara had nothing there.
It wasn’t Kara’s home.
________
She had thought that was it. She had thought the supernatural part of her life would stay hidden and far away from her forever. She had thought the peace that everyone talked about was going to be fine.
But she didn’t expect to find Lena Luthor at the zoo on a rainy day after cleaning up the wolves cage. The woman wore an almost black attire, her hair up in a bun, was holding a black umbrella to shield herself from the rain. Kara was wearing her raincoat so she didn’t recognize Lena at first through the rain drops. Lena’s voice, on the other hand, was still fresh in Kara’s memory.
“How’s everything down there?”
Kara froze for moment and let go of the hand shovel to lift the cap of her hat up. “Lena Luthor?”
The woman’s lips spread into a polite smile. “Hello, Kara Zor-El.”
“Why are you here?” Kara asked right away.
“I need to talk to you.”
Kara finished her work quickly and got into the staff room to take off the raincoat. She checked her smell and knew that she was a stink bomb due to the last hour of scrubbing the cages. Lena was sitting in the common office waiting as Kara recommended. Kara took a quick shower and came to meet Lena.
When she walked into the room, Lena was casually talking to Winn Schott, Kara’s co-worker. Lena noticed Kara right away and Winn left the room to leave them to talk. With only her and Lena in the same space, Kara suddenly sensed nervousness. She had never been alone with Lena before, and it shouldn’t matter, but Kara still felt it creeping on her chest. Was it because Lena was a Luthor? Was it because Lena was born from the family of the vampire that had caused her so much pain?
“What do you want to talk about?” Kara went straight to the subject without doing a small talk.
“I need your help,” Lena answered immediately.
Kara chuckled dryly, “What can I possibly help you with?”
“My mother.” Lena looked straight into Kara’s eye. “She’s dying.”
The information surprised Kara. She doubted that Lena lied to her about something so serious but a part of her didn't let her react to the news the way she usually would. "What happened?" Kara asked, pulling the towel up to wipe her face. "I thought she was already, you know, dead."
"Technically, yes. Something is happening to her. She can't feed. She vomits every time she does, animal and human blood alike. It's getting worse." Lena sat down on the bench, frowning. "She's going feral."
Kara swallowed at the last word as she sat down as well. Feral was something she had heard before from Astra. An overthirst vampire would go into a mindless state and they would have little to no control of what and how they did things. Thirst had always been a problem with vampires because unlike with werewolves, vampires had no other option but blood. When they couldn't feed for a long time, they would become feral and blood was the only thing in their mind. And like any other living creature, if they went starving for too long, they would eventually die for good.
"Why do you think I can help with it?" Kara genuinely asked because she couldn't find any connection between her and a feral vampire.
"It's all a speculation." Lena took a deep breath, seemingly adjusting her words a lot in her head before continuing. "You might have the only type of blood that can help her."
"I don't get it. If she can't drink human blood, how is that different with me?"
"I think you might be a lycanpire . A hybrid."
It took Kara a few seconds to take in the words. She stood up and stepped away from Lena as if the girl was going to stab her. "You're wrong."
"Think about it. You haven't shed your skin after all these years. It could be that you were affected by-"
"I am not a hybrid," Kara gritted her teeth, her hands clenched hard as if she could break her own bones with it.
Lena's eyes went wide for a moment before they softened in a guilty manner. She gently stood up, facing Kara. "I'm not even sure if you are, but you are the only person that might help my mother right now."
A proud Luthor said she begged Kara. She hadn't seen that coming. "I don't want to have anything to do with you or your family."
"I get it. If I'm not desperate, I wouldn't come here to bother you." Lena walked closer and her voice even dropped to a whisper. "Please. She's my family."
Kara gulped as her guts twisted. She thinned her lips and coldly answered, "Your family took mine away."
A flash of guilt and shame washed across Lena's face, reddening her cheeks. "She saved you and your cousin," Lena said with a cracking voice.
"Because her own brother was slaughtering my tribe." Kara narrowed her eye at Lena. "Do you think I feel lucky that I got saved? Grateful? I still have nightmares from that night. And now your fucking uncle is still alive. So excuse me for not kissing your mother's feet over being stopped from getting killed." Kara shook her head slightly, pointing at her left eye. "I have to live with this and am reminded every single day how I lost my family."
Lena blinked rapidly, taken aback. "I-I didn't mean that. I just want-"
"You want things from me." Kara spat with sarcasm. "You're the same with your clan, Kal, and the Circle. Always ask and demand. Well, I refuse this time. Just because I came to that dinner doesn't mean I would be at your service and cater to your need, Miss Luthor. "
The shorter woman's eyes watered but she looked away quickly. She was breathing hard and for a moment, Kara wondered if she was being harsh on Lena. But then she got rid of the worry and kept a straight face. Lena was saying Kara had a part vampire, and Kara could not accept it. She hated vampires. She couldn't be one of those bloodsuckers.
"I'm sorry." Lena muttered, turned her face to look at Kara. "I really am sorry for what happened to your family. There is nothing I can do in my powers that can bring them back. I was out of line to come here and ask you something like this.” She lowered her head, bowing. “You can insult and hate me all you want. On the behalf of my family, I will take it all even if you want to take it out on me. Just please, save my mother. I would repay you with everything.”
Kara sighed, crossing her arms. Her brows knitted together, a train of jumbling thought rushed through her. Her heart beat fast and her chest felt heavy. Saying all of those things out was good, but to the wrong person, the weight still sat on her shoulder. What should she do?
“I need to think about it,” Kara quietly said. “You should go.”
Lena stood straight, nodding. She pulled out a small piece of paper and wrote something on it. “Here is my contact number. If you don’t want to get involved with us, I’d totally understand it. Thank you your time.” She adjust the bag on her shoulder and left the room.
The piece of paper stayed in Kara’s pocket for the rest of the day. It was when Kara went back to her apartment and took off her clothes to take the second shower of the day. Not that she had forgotten about the talk with Lena but when she was all alone, she had the time to think it through.
Kara set the piece on the counter and stepped into the shower. With the mildly warm water running down from her head, Kara’s mind seemed to isolate from the reality around her and focus on the words Lena had said.
Lena was desperate, and she didn’t even hide it. Kara could see it in her eyes, and she knew why it was so familiar. Kara herself had that desperate look when she arrived at the Danvers and couldn’t realize that her home had gone. She had spent the first few years thinking one day she would return to her family and her parents would welcome her into their arms once again.
It had taken her years to fully accept that the family she knew was gone. Ten years after the massacre, Kara came to her tribe’s cemetery for the first time. She had spent the entire week to clean up the weed and set down flowers in front of each tombstone. Loss was a scary thing, and it left a giant hole in her heart.
Would she want the same for Lena?
No. Obviously not. Nobody should go through such a great loss like it. If Kara was in Lena’s shoes. she would have done the same.
Had she been so harsh on Lena? The woman was just asking for help. And Kara turned her down coldly.
Was I being irrational?
Kara knew what ticked her off. Lena said she could be a lycanpire, a combination of werewolf and vampire. It was not an uncommon knowledge that lycanpire only existed in theory, because there had been a lot of attempts to create one, but the existence core of the two races were so different that there could be no compromises. A werewolf couldn’t make another to become one, and a vampire could only turn someone by biting and exchanging a part of their blood with that person. It was a difficult process and occasionally it failed. A werewolf’s blood was toxic to vampires so it could easily explain how a lycanpire was impossible to create.
To come up with the theory of Kara being a lycanpire, Lena Luthor must have tried every other way. Now Kara felt so bad for scolding Lena earlier today. She had flown all the way from Skystead to National City to ask for help. Kara knew her anger had gotten the best of her in that moment, and frankly, she didn’t know what to feel if she helped Lena and it was confirmed that she was indeed a lycanpire.
It was impossible. Yet, Lena was trying. Who wouldn't do whatever it took to keep their loved one from danger?
Kara couldn't count the nights she had the dream of not running off alone to find Kal. Instead, she dragged her parents out of the Tribe House, towards the gates, and got caught by Lucien in the last minute. And they were killed in front of her, over and over, with a silver dagger going through their heart from the back. She always woke up after the dream, half-way through a scream. Kara had no idea if the dream or the guttural cry out to her parents but she barely cared. What could be worse than watching your family die in front of you?
Kara knew exactly what she should do. Especially for someone like her.
_____
Kara didn't have to wait for too long before Lena picked up the phone. The woman sounded rather uncertain at first.
"Hello?"
"It's Kara Zor-El."
"Kara!" Lena's voice took a high note. "I'm sorry, Miss Zor-El. I've been waiting for your call."
Kara couldn't help but feel slightly glad that Lena sounded eager. The guilt she had over her attitude in the morning became lighter, but was still there. "I've been thinking about request."
"Yes?" Lena's one-word-response was slightly shaky. It suddenly dropped a ton on Kara's chest again.
"But first, I want to apologize for how I spoke to you today," Kara slowly said, making sure Lena caught every word and the sincerity behind them. "You were asking politely and I treated you poorly. I'm sorry, Miss Luthor."
The gasp from the other end of the line was heard. Lena stayed quiet for a moment before she replied. "I was at fault first for asking such a big thing from you. And for assuming you could be a lycanpire."
The word still didn't sit well with Kara but she closed her eyes to take a calm, solid breath. "Maybe, but I will help you."
"Really?" Kara swore she could heard Lena's smile, which was ridiculous because they were on the phone. "Are you serious?"
"I am."
"Can I ask why?" Lena quickly added after the question that seemed to be spoke straight from her mind, "Not that I'm not grateful of this, but you didn't seem like you wanted to help me earlier. What changed your mind?"
Kara unconsciously touched her scar, felt the coldness running along with it. Her heart knew the answer.
"Because I will not let someone watch their loved ones die in front of their eyes without doing something. I'm not Lucien. I won't let the cycle of loss continue."
"I see. Thank you so much, Kara Zor-El. I owe you my entire life."
"You don't owe me anything. Your mother saved me. It's the least I can do."
"Thank you again. I will never forget it."
"I do have questions. How do we do this? How will I save her?"
"We can talk about it on the plane. I will arrange everything so you and I can return to Skystead as soon as possible."
"At least let me inform my boss first."
"Oh, I forgot. You have a job."
Kara couldn't stop a quick chuckle but reigned herself in so it would come out as a cough. "You literally were at my work today."
"Yes, how silly I am. Please tell me your day off dates tomorrow so I can prepare the flight."
Suddenly, a thought came up into Kara's mind that she was surprised it didn't occur sooner. She immediately asked, "How do you know where I work?"
"I asked your cousin."
"And he just gave you the address to my work?" Kara frowned, "He did that without consulting me first?"
"I asked him not to tell you."
"Why not?"
"I want to ask you in person and gain your help on my own. I'm desperate, yes, but I won't force or manipulate you through your family. I may have the vampire bloodline in me, but I refuse to do things their way. If I fail, then I fail. I hope you'd understand and not get mad at Chief Kal."
Kara smiled. It was probably naive to think she could move on from the hatred she had for this family. It might never go away. But as far as this went, she didn't hate it like she thought she would. In fact, she had a massive respect for Lena Luthor for taking risks.
"I understand. I hope I can truly make your mother feel better."
"Me too, Miss Zor-El."
"I will call you tomorrow."
"Yes, please."
The line went quiet as if neither of them knew what else to say but still wanted to keep on communicating. Kara thought back on her own childhood, on the nights she woke up and cried alone. Lena must be feeling something like that at the moment. What would Kara want to hear right now?
"You'll get through this. Both you and your mother," Kara said almost as a whisper. She was afraid of what her words might seem to Lena Luthor.
"Hope is a walking dream. But I'll try to remember that." A pause. "Thank you again for doing this, Miss Zor-El."
A part of Kara wanted to tell Lena to lose the formal addressing, but she held her tongue in time. They weren't friends. They weren't close. Instead, she said, "You're welcome."
Another pause.
"Good night."
Kara swallowed and muttered good night back. The line was still on after that. She waited for a few seconds to see if Lena hung up. When she finally did, Kara saved the number into her contact list, and went to bed.
There was no nightmare that night.