Blood Bond (PG) Challenge 159 9/7/14

[darkstarrising]

This is my entry for the seven sentence challenge. The usual disclaimers apply. I don't own the characters, but I love to play with them.

Please enjoy!

Blood Bond

He called me brother.

The word just slipped out, but I know he meant it.

Turn me back.

I didn’t really have a choice; deny him and I lose him.

Give him what he wants and I become Cain to his Abel, not the kind of brother he deserves.

I see myself in his eyes, begging for his forgiveness, all the while knowing I’ll never forgive myself.

Three centuries separate us, but by blood, we are now bound together, brothers forever.

[allegrita]

I love the Cain and Abel reference! What a cool idea. Josef knows what Mick is asking him to do. Maybe more than Mick does. For Mick it's the tragic urgency of the moment; Josef understands that in a long life, there are consequences to every big choice. I can see Josef facing it with real foreboding. Because it could have ruined their relationship... assuming Mick survived it at all. But in the end, they really were brothers. (Or "dad" and "son," but don't tell Josef that.)

Great answer to the Challenge!

[darkstarrising]

I love the Cain and Abel reference! What a cool idea. Josef knows what Mick is asking him to do. Maybe more than Mick does. For Mick it's the tragic urgency of the moment; Josef understands that in a long life, there are consequences to every big choice. I can see Josef facing it with real foreboding. Because it could have ruined their relationship... assuming Mick survived it at all. But in the end, they really were brothers. (Or "dad" and "son," but don't tell Josef that.)

Great answer to the Challenge!

Thanks, alle That first line 'He called me brother' was the inspiration and that led to the Cain and Abel reference. You're right, though about Mick making what might be a 'snap decision' not thinking through all the ramifications. Josef, however, knows that granting Mick's request could be disastrous.

[librarian_7]

I like this a lot. Josef is a quick thinker, and he's going to see the many ramifications of this act, far faster than Mick probably would. (Not that Mick is slow, let me add, just that Josef has centuries of experience to draw on.)

Great job!

[Lilly]

dsr - this is just wonderful! SO much is distilled down to its very essence here. These are seven very powerful lines. I totally agree about the Cain and Abel reference -- it was unexpected and totally brilliant. At 400 years old, Josef is no stranger to difficult decisions. He's had to make them and he's undoubtedly had to live the consequences. But true friendships -- those, I think, have been more rare. And we can certainly feel the weight of that here.

[jen]

This was wonderful!

The statement that Mick was caught within the moment was precisely what occurred. He sought the blessing of being returned to his former state, the one that he had longed to be free of since his bridge gave him her wedding gift. Josef had witnessed the gradual, hard fought acceptance Mick gained over time and koved his friend enough to both give him what he wanted and regret it. too.

Thank you!

Jenna

[darkstarrising]

Thanks, ladies Glad you enjoyed this peak into Josef' thoughts.

[nutmegger911]

This is good, DSR. Really good. Very well done.

[darkstarrising]

This is good, DSR. Really good. Very well done.

Thanks, NM, Glad you enjoyed it!!

[diane31]

This is just... wow!

I was so moved when Mick called Josef brother, that it should take such extreme circumstances for him to admit their bond, and right at the same time it is to ask Josef for something so difficult... I don't think I fully realized either that Josef fears the possible ramifications for their relationship, which makes it all the more poignant. I've often wondered if Mick anticipated Josef's reaction when he asked him, even knowing what happened with Sarah, because he knows Josef feels so differently than he does about vampirism. You show so well how incredibly difficult this is for Josef, and how selflessly he loves Mick by doing it.

[darkstarrising]

This is just... wow!

I was so moved when Mick called Josef brother, that it should take such extreme circumstances for him to admit their bond, and right at the same time it is to ask Josef for something so difficult... I don't think I fully realized either that Josef fears the possible ramifications for their relationship, which makes it all the more poignant. I've often wondered if Mick anticipated Josef's reaction when he asked him, even knowing what happened with Sarah, because he knows Josef feels so differently than he does about vampirism. You show so well how incredibly difficult this is for Josef, and how selflessly he loves Mick by doing it.

Thanks, diane31 Glad you enjoyed it. It was difficult for both men - for Mick to ask and for Josef to agree. So different, yet each is important to the other.

[Shadow]

I really like seeing Josef's viewpoint here in this moment. This wasn't an easy thing for him, and neither choice was a good one. I'm not sure if Mick ever realized just quite how much he had asked of Josef. It's amazing to see so much portrayed here in just a few lines!

[darkstarrising]

I really like seeing Josef's viewpoint here in this moment. This wasn't an easy thing for him, and neither choice was a good one. I'm not sure if Mick ever realized just quite how much he had asked of Josef. It's amazing to see so much portrayed here in just a few lines!

Thanks, Shadow Josef really didn't have a choice if he wanted Mick to survive. Leaving him human was a death sentence, a permanent one. Yet to take away something that Mick had fought so hard to find had to be difficult.