1x1 with Earth Angel

Mystic Falls was always his home. As many times as he tried to get away from it, Tyler Lockwood always came back. Granted he was born here, but he’d ran away from here plenty of times too. The spectre of his true self lingered in the shadows of the old estate that had been in the Lockwood family for too damn many years. The Lockwood Family Curse was hidden away among the nooks and crannies of this mansion if one knew where to look. He’d not known what secrets lay in the old Lockwood Estate. He knew what was under it thanks to his Uncle Mason. If only he’d been able to see all of it before now, then his life would have been radically different.

The big place was empty of people now. Tyler still had the furniture in place, but given the grand parties and crowds he’d seen so many times growing up as the only child of Mayor Lockwood and his wife, it was dead silent. Caroline had taken good care of the place while Tyler had been away. Now that he was back, he had to have a place to stay while back home. He still let the Estate be used when the Salvatore Boarding School needed the refuge. There was a whole wing he kept to himself.

He’d found more of a reason to stay around lately when it came to Mystic Falls as a whole. Damon and Elena Salvatore were married with kids. Tyler found himself in the role of uncle spoiling the Salvatore kids any chance he got. Given he didn’t have any blood siblings of his own, growing up with Elena meant something. These kids that were born in the 90s all grew up together, so spoiling their kids was his right and privilege. He wouldn’t be gone too long from his birthplace. He did have roots here.

There was also another reason he kept Mystic Falls on his itinerary. Her name was Laurel Collins. She was one of the teachers on staff at the Salvatore Boarding School. After a long and active pursuit of the gorgeous brunette, he was finally getting that chance with her that he had wanted for so long.

Right now Tyler was looking at his own reflection in the mirror. He had three days growth on his chin and his upper lip that didn’t make him look too much like a wild man. He wanted this day to be perfect. He didn’t want one hair out of place. He didn’t want anything to veer off course too much. He hoped that this just wasn’t too much to ask. Given how his life had been so full of hellhounds, gods and bayou witches lately, he just wanted to be a normal guy with a girl on a date.

How long had it been anyway? Tyler tried to remember but just put it out of his mind. He’d tried to date after Liv died but couldn’t manage to find the time for it, especially since he’d died himself after that. Coming back from the dead put a helluva damper on a guy’s love life.

Satisfied with his appearance right down to the dark blue jeans, he told himself this was going to be informal. Laurel Collins wasn’t exactly your typical girl, but she didn’t like a fuss to be made over her. Tyler just so happened to believe she was the most beautiful girl in the world. He was actually going to meet her at The Mystic Grill after her classes were over for the day. If his teachers had looked like her, he would’ve actually liked school a lot better than he had growing up in this town.

He bounded down the steps of the Lockwood Estate with keys in hand. He may have skipped a few on the way down. He couldn’t tell. He was finally getting things to go his way so that put a spring in his step. He emerged from the catacombs of the Lockwood Estate into the warmth of a late summer day. He cast a glance toward where his new ride was waiting. Tyler climbed into his Jeep and headed into Mystic Falls. The Mystic Grill and his future was waiting.

The short trip to the main drag of Mystic Falls took virtually no time at all. Just ahead was his destination. The Mystic Grill parking lot was nearly full. Tyler pulled his Jeep up into a spot near the door and climbed out. Laurel was going to meet him at the Grill after work. He may have been a bit early, but who could blame him. For once in his life things were finally going his way.

~*~

It was quiet in this section of town. The lovely view of nature was spoiled by the touch of human hands. A sweet little brown bunny with a white puff tail was scampering across the lush green grass. The ground under the darling little thing started to rumble until it finally split.

The crack was largely unnoticed. The little brown bunny had just gotten out of the way of the initial break in the soil. The crack in the ground started to increase as the underground vibrations were becoming more intense. The widening split parted just enough until a long scaly green tendril emerged from the crack writhing like a snake. On the top of that tendril, a serpentine eye opened turning toward the heart of Mystic Falls.


 

Tyler Lockwood/Cerberus