Tom nodded his head slowly at the incoming information. His mind was racing, trying to decide where he may or may not get said symbol tattooed. Maybe he would just constantly keep holy water at his disposal. So many maybes and what ifs clouded his brain these days, it was sometimes hard to sift through it all. His eyes refocused on Cara at the question directed at him. “It’s something I mostly keep to myself. My Mother and my work partner know, though. Took quite a bit of convincing, and I think my Mom is still skeptical of it all, but I gifted her a vervain bracelet on her last birthday, which will protect her from the vampire, at least,” Tom stated, cocking his head to the side as he shrugged his shoulders. “Wait, so you’re telling me that you have a whole slew of business cards with varying last names? That’s wild,” he added with a smile.
Cara nodded in return, “For most, seeing is believing. And even then, you have no idea how many people witness a supernatural creature outright and still choose to bury their heads in the sand. To come up with some sort of explanation, or to deny it happened altogether. …Not that I can blame them. Once you know what’s out there, everything changes. How can it not?” Her brow then furrowed in confusion, “Vervain – what is that? Is that a plant?” She didn’t know of any such thing that would fend off a vampire, but she also knew there were different types of vampires. Different breeds, so to speak, and that meant there were different ways of stopping them. A smirk tugged at her lips at his question about her business cards, “Varying first names, too; I just gave you one that actually matches up with my real one. Taking on different personas to gain access to certain locations or to pertinent information is part of the job. It’s not legal but it’s what’s necessary to save people. People like Lilah.”
“Yeah, I know that all too well,” he’d had his own run-ins with the supernatural, yet even he still struggled to believe in it. Tom pulled a small purple sprig from his pocket. “Vervain is a herb, of sorts. I keep it on my person constantly. A bracelet and usually a sprig or two, in case someone needs some. It’s the most potent herb that can be used against vampires. It can burn them if they come into contact with it, and incapacitate them if they ingest or are injected with it. If a human ingests or holds vervain somewhere on their person, they are protected from a vampire’s compulsion,” Tom explained, his words getting rushed and ramble-y. “Here,” he smiled, handing the purple sprig to Cara. “I’ve got my bracelet. You take this.”
His smile was genuine, as he was enjoying his time with the woman. He still didn’t want to leave her in this weakened state, and he would stand his ground if she tried to make him leave. “Well, I’m grateful that you’ve trusted me with your real first name, Cara. While I don’t agree with breaking the law, I can understand it.”
Cisco backup 