Meeting October 7

God Speed brought mini-cheeseburgers (I guess our discussion over lunch made God Speed a little hungry Grin) and Minnie brought the Banana Empanadas to sweeten the deal. Hoyt brought Adele Stackhouse's Lemonade (all grown up with a bottle of So Co on the side). I held my glass and made a come on motion while Hoyt poured more dixieland nevermind into my styrofoam cup.

It had now been a month since the series went on hiatus, we were now 34 1/2 weeks into the countdown to June and I was feeling the pressure. I was feeling it so much I was considering a road trip to Shreveport to meet the connection, despite the marked urgent email I received from my counselor : Sweetheart, I implore you, the lead counselor and I thought you had agreed not to see the connection in Shreveport and I concur. My only desire is your and your friend's well being. Say you will do it, not because I say so, but because you understand this is for your own good. Yours..

Well, I agreed, and so did Vi and Westexan after I forwarded the email...still, there was nothing that says I couldn't go to Shreveport to visit the bar the lead counselor owned and if I bumped into the connection whilest doing a little browsing, what could the lead counselor say? Besides, I wanted to pick out a book of Erotic Art for the Lead Counselor as a Halloween gift in return for the lovely first edition copy of Justine I kept, not in my stack of 1st editions, but by my bedside.

"Are we still going?" whispered Eric Lover. I nodded and she nodded back at me. Eric Lover grabbed a mini CB and walked over to her seat. She picked up her big bag of crazy and dumped it on the floor and sat down. I grabbed a MCB and sat down as well. She leaned over and sniffed my lemonade, heavy with SoCo and wiggled her nose. "Jeezus Pleezus, Aslinn, if you aren't careful, you'll have to join another 12 step." I made a one fingered hand gesture, but smiled at her and sipped the strong concoction sucking in the taste.

TBF and Nia and Isabella came in with Dude and Violet. God Speed and Hoyt were still fuming at one another and were sitting at opposite ends of the circle. Dude waved and said "Hello gorgeous," and I answered "Hello Handsome," as he went and got his lemonade and MCB. Westexan was munching a Banana Empanada and a sparkling water. Liz and Mel came in and sat down and VikingLover went and sat down with them.

Linzy and Ilovetheviking came in and grabbed their goodies and sat down next to Zaranias and Renee, who were sitting down with a MCB and a lemonade. After some excited babbling, the ritual of the lights began and our four counselors appeared as if from the ether of the room. We quieted and waited for the meeting to begin.

"To begin," said the lead counselor in hid deep, lazy voice, "It has not been lost on me that some of you are discussing coming to Shreveport soon. I will only say this once again that is a detriment to you to do so. I strongly urge you to stay away from the area while she is here, it can only harm you and your well being."

"Why is that?" asked Hoyt. I shook my head...some junkies just don't get it.

You can be addicted, read the books over and over, watch the episodes of both the 1st and second season, trawl the internet for news, lounge around in the forum, email, text and IM your friends, but you could not come into direct contact with the source (AB) or the connection (CH).

"Because, addicts such as yourselves believe that these people have the answers, when in all actuality, they do not. They fill you up with false promises of secrets and intrigues but then they withhold from you. You are not ready to know anything yet. May and June, then you will be ready to know more," said the reasonable voice of my southern counselor. I shivered at the sound of his voice and Westexan and Minnie had twin expressions on their faces somewhere between delight and rapture. It didn't surprise me. I am sure I had the same look on my face.

"That being said," said the lady counselor. I looked at Dude and his eyes closed momentarily as if a memory passed across his mind. If I could have heard his heart, I would have sworn I could hear it skip a beat. Wonder what all that was about. "Let's discuss.. "

"The blood bond, the one between Eric and Sookie, the one he tricked her into having with him," said GS. Eric Lover took my lemonade out of my hand and took a couple of healthy swallows and blew out her breath. I looked at her.

"Very well, the blood bond. What would you like to say about it God Speed," she said.

"Well, I want to know what it will do," said God Speed. "And will Sookie's emotions be true about Eric? Or will they just be about the blood."

"One might say the same thing about Sookie and the blood bond she shares with Bill," said Hoyt, not to be outdone.

It was my turn to drink deeply and gather myself. I looked around the circle.

"Well," began Westexan. "We have to realize something, Sookie was already attracted to Bill. In fact before she even had his blood, she was attracted to him. Remember how she was practically hypnotized by Bill as she walked across the bar toward him. That was before she was beaten nearly to death by the Rattrays and healed by Bill."

"Do you think he might have set that up? Do you think he might have done it on purpose so he could save her?" asked God Speed.

"You give Bill too much credit," I said. The room fairly gasped. "What? Hey, I may be a Bill Girl, but I am not going to give him that much credit. I don't think it was a smart thing to do, he must have been starving to think he could do that, lure those two out, and get a meal out of them without some sort of trouble. Bill has already exhibited that he is not that clever. He often makes mistakes, often to his detriment, and Sookie's. He isn't very good at the underhanded thing."

"Yeah, he isn't very good at keeping secrets," said Eric Lover.

"So, Westexan, you think that the blood bond had just strengthened whatever attraction she may have already had for Bill?" asked GS.

"Well, yeah. Eric on the other hand is much more complicated in his finagling the blood bond between he and Sookie," said Westexan.

"How do you mean?" asked that soft southern voice of our counselor.

"Well, I think he is fascinated with Sookie, because she is different than most breathers, as he said. He could have never have predicted what Godric was going to do, but now that has happened, he has something else to think about," said Westexan.

"And what is that exactly?" asked the Lead Counselor.

"The whole thing with Godric and the fact that even though she doesn't like him much, she showed him compassion. He is fascinated with that. And then the fact that even came up on the roof at all, that has to mean something to him. All that "Don't use words I don't understand" crap. He is clever enough to realize that she is nothing like the humans he has been around. By the time Eric gets around to actually tasting her blood, his head will be spinning. In my opinion, the blood bond will effect him more than it does Sookie, because he will have become fascinated with her," said Westexan.

"And these are your feelings about it?" asked the lady counselor.

"Sure," said Westexan.

"Aslinn, do you have a comment?" asked the lead counselor.

"I do. Sookie has a....special lineage...I think that the blood bond worked two ways for her and Bill. She had his blood and he has had her blood. That creates a powerful link. Could make a reasonable, careful sort like Bill be rash, reckless, do things that are not...smart...in order to protect what he has, even if he isn't quite sure what he has. I think Eric may have a clue now, since the queen has warned Eric not to taste her blood. And Lorena.. " I drifted off in my thoughts.

"What dearest?" asked the lead counselor.
"What if Bill's kidnapping was not orchestrated to get Bill, or not entirely to get Bill. What if it was....to get Sookie? She tasted that Barry. Bill whisked him out of there, but what if Lorena got him again and made him tell her about his telepathy and in a fit of desperation, told her about Sookie being telepathic, too? What if she is after Sookie and if she can hurt Bill in the process.. .." I stopped again. I looked at the group.

"We'll leave it here for now," said the lady counselor.

I got up quickly and began to grab my things up. I wanted to get out right away. I flew out the front doors and opened my car door. I put the key in my lock and a large, white, cool hand clamped gently over my wrist.


Later gator :D