World of Darkness World of Darkness: Attrition - Never Show Crazy Where You Live [Fin]

[Lucien Hunt]

"Psychedelic Mordor?" Lucien asked, half chuckling. "I think they're playing at The Labyrinth this month."

Despite herself, Sarah gave an honest laugh at that, slugging Lucien in the shoulder with a thankfully claw-free fist. "You're a goof, you know that? A rich, cute and tasty goof, but a goof nonetheless."

"Well, coming from an attractive lady who can no doubt kick my butt," He winked with his Cheshire smile cranked to its full wattage. "I have no choice but to take that a compliment, but you forgot Photoshopped."

They shared more laughs before Lucien spoke up again. "So that's how you ended up a Kindred? Wow. That's fascinating. See, I don't know what, if anything that dream had to do with... well, what I can do now, but I do know it all started shortly after that."

"But, hey... you're up. I call Truth, what do you want to know?"

[Sarah Dead-Wolf]

"Hold up." The smile that had previously graced her lips was gone, replaced with a look that was downright cold.

"'Kindred'? Where did you hear the word 'Kindred', Lucian? I never said that. Either you've dealt with us before and lied to me, or...." The sentence trailed off when she considered things he had said earlier. Her eyebrows raised incredulously, then pulled together in a pitbull glare, her eyes focusing in on his like laser beams.

As pointedly as she could manage, she thought, *Are you rooting around in my fucking head?*

[Lucien Hunt]

The reality hit him as Sarah called out his indiscretion. He had been going trough her mind, just the surface thoughts, but still that didn't make it right. He wasn't doing it purposefully, the images and phrases they echoed from time to time and he had no control over when the came or went.

But how to make her understand that?

"Yes Sarah, I have." Honesty was always the way to go, especially when a lovely woman who could rend steel with her manicure was only a few feet from him. "Please, though, before you find your self angry with me understand that it's not intentional. The phrases and terminology just, come and go. I can't control this, I certainly don't mean you any disrespect by invading your privacy. It's not memories, or anything too personal... just current thoughts."

He turned on his side, propping himself up with his elbow and facing Sarah. Just his presence was more intimate than anything Sarah ever recalled before her Embrace, and now her humanity struggled to find the resonance of emotion that would help her remember what lying with a man like Lucien was supposed to feel like. "I'm not the sort of man who would seal from you. Be it your time, your heart, or your thoughts. I apologize for not saying anything sooner, but they way it just blinks in and out, I had just hope that it would not be an issue."

[Sarah Dead-Wolf]

"It's..." Sarah began, and stopped. It's that I don't want you to see how I think, how I look at you and see your blood pulsing through your veins first and the person containing that essential nutrient second.

"It's that I have things in here that aren't healthy to dwell on. For anyone." It wasn't the full truth, but it was as close as she was likely to come to it for now. Or ever, unless... She clamped down on the start of that thought, hard and without mercy. That wasn't up for anything resembling consideration.

"You need to understand something, Lucian. I'm not human, not anymore. Hell, even when I was human in flesh, I doubt I ever was in spirit the way I was raised. What I am now is something different. That term you pulled up, 'Kindred'? It's the polite word for what I am, but I'm not a polite creature. I'm a predator. And my heart - beating or not - isn't tuned for human emotion anymore; at least, not the same way. It's something I've accepted, something I'm reminded of every night." And something I strive to maintain, she left unsaid, as she waged an internal war to keep that delicate balance that she had so carefully established between compassion and instinct, between the human she had once been and the Beast that tried nightly to claim her.

[Lucien Hunt]

"I'll not be foolish and say something like: 'I understand how you feel' Sarah. Because I don't." Words that carried such a breath of sincerity had never before reached Sarah's ears. "What I will say, Sarah, is that I like you. You seem, genuinely, like a good person. Whatever it is you've become there are things within you that no 'condition' may tear asunder. Trust me, of all the things I've seen Sarah, none so far have quite compared to you. You truly are remarkable."

"But, come on, let us not deal with the things we are," He rubbed her hand gently, showing no signs of concern for her claws or cold skin. "Or are not. Let us find solace from our respective curses by enjoying each others company. It's still your turn, 'am I rooting around in your head' was thought not spoken, and thus doesn't count. So shoot." He grinned as he laid back down his head disappearing into a fluffed up pillow knowing Sarah caught wind of his conclusion that hinted at perhaps he'd heard everything she was thinking a moment ago.

[Sarah Dead-Wolf]

Shoving more weighty concerns to the side for the moment, Sarah thought on the topic. Claims of inhumanity aside, her brow furrowed in an altogether cutely human fashion before she finally asked, "What's the extent of your powers for now? What can you do?"

[Lucien Hunt]

"Oh, honestly I don't know. I've not bothered to experiment with it at all. I've sort of hoping that if I ignore it it'll go away." He looked through the mirrors, talking to the reflection of Sarah. "So far... People minds seem like open books to me. I can read their thoughts sense their emotions, and even alter them, I think. I can sense whenever a conscious mind enters within a certain are of me, which is kind of cool, since I never get sneaked up on any more. Oh and animals, I talked with a parrot at a pet store about a month ago, that made me reevaluate my sanity, let me tell you. Great bloke though, you'd have liked him."

"My spatial awareness is just off the charts. I just know where everything is now, but I've noticed this only seems to relate to my own things, or things I'm familiar with, and doesn't extend to people, just objects." He looked at her from the corner of his eye, tilting his head slightly. "Nothing as cool as out running the 8:15 to Sacramento, or becoming mist, or dominating minds with a glare but hey, you vampires get all the cool gimmicks."

[Sarah Dead-Wolf]

"Well, I can at least understand the sanity issue with the parrot. First time I found myself having a conversation with a coyote, I halfway figured I'd gone over the edge somwhere along the way." She couldn't help but chuckle a little at that particular memory.

"The rest though... yeah, that's gotta be different. Mind you, I wouldn't know a damned thing about outrunning trains or reading minds. The mist thing, though, that one I've seen. Creepy as all hell, but its part of my heritage; I might get to figure it out someday, if I'm careful and keep myself together.

"Aside from that? Well, I'm not getting any older. The whole not-needing-to-breathe thing is kinda handy, too, even if it makes it hard to hide what I am in the winter; turns out that people kinda notice when it's below freezing and they don't see your breath. I get a little bit of an odd boost from certain phases of the moon. And... well, you saw the claws. That's about it for now, really."

[Lucien Hunt]

"So, what now?" He asked. "I mean, after this evening will we see each other again or are we required to keep away from one another. What's the etiquette for stuff like this, you know, except don't don't go telling other people."

[Sarah Dead-Wolf]

"There's an etiquette for it? If so, I haven't seen that one around Barnes and Nobles. Aside from keeping it all on the Q.T., I'm pretty sure it all gets played by ear. Well, except for that earlier munching bit. That... well OK, probably would have happened eventually anyway, but could've been done better. How you feeling, by the way? I did take more than I'd planned to, and well, I'm kinda surprised you're not feeling woogier than you're showing."

[Lucien Hunt]

"Ah, no I'm okay." He shrugged it off and for the first time tonight she saw Lucien show some sign of machismo. "It's kinda weird, but after you... um, 'munched' me, as you put it, the wooziness started to fade away. I'm still a bit lightheaded, but it felt like whatever it is that allows me to do what ever it is I'm doing, made reparations with my body. And I could have taken you... I just, you know, with you being a girl an all I didn't wan to hurt you."

He tried with every ounce of willpower he possessed to keep a straight a face.

[Sarah Dead-Wolf]

A battle of expression was being waged in Sarah as well, but it wasn't mirth that was being contained.

"... it felt like whatever it is that allows me to do what ever it is I'm doing, made reparations with my body..."

If what he said was true, it was very, very possible that Lucien could be the rough equivalent of a bottomless mug. Just let whatever mystical whatsit he had rebuild his blood supply out of thin air or puppy-dog tails or whatever, and the man could be a banquet. It took no small amount of self-control to keep her appetite from showing in her posture and on her face.

Needing to do something other than sit there and look blankly at this potentially never-ending meal ticket, she summoned up a halfway convincing chuckle at his comment of not hurting her. "Trust me, Romeo; getting in a scrap with me would be decidedly unhealthy. I've killed things that make you look like a palsied squirrel." Immediately, she regretted the statement - talking about killing isn't exactly the kind of thing that necessarily sets well with whom you're currently sharing a bed. But the words could not be unsaid, and so they lay there, heavy and ugly in the air.

[Lucien Hunt]

She really needs to get out more. "I was kidding Sarah, besides, I'm not much of a fighter. That's good though because knowing someone like yourself can come in handy, you'd be great at tossing bimbos off my leg." He grinned and nudged her playfully. "And I'll have you know that palsied squirrels are quite ferocious, don't underestimate my patented palsied pile driver."

"So, all you time is spent drinking blood huh?" His remark was casual. "No time for play? What does Sarah so for fun?"

[Sarah Dead-Wolf]

"For fun?" Sarah looked at Lucien like he had just sprouted a second head. Which, for all I know, he might be able to do.

"Let me try to put this in perspective. I have at the best of times - that being dead winter - about fifteen hours of night. At worst, like now, more like eight or nine. During those hours, I need to feed. That feeding can take anywhere from an hour on a really lucky night to the whole damned night when I'm unlucky. Hell, some nights I go hungry altogether... and that ain't healthy, because my short fuse gets snipped even shorter when I'm hungry.

"When I'm not hunting, I'm dealing with the other little details of nightly existence. Getting clothes to replace what gets torn up in the hunt, usually off someone's backyard line. Scrounging change from storm sewers and drunks so I can run what clothes I manage to keep in one piece through a laundry. Finding a good spot to hunker down for the day.

"In the precious few moments that are left, I've been trying to make contact with werewolves who might be able to point me in the direction of my cousin."

She took a look around Lucien's expensively appointed bedroom, then locked eyes with him once more. "Fun isn't on the menu."

[Lucien Hunt]

Lucien yawned. It was late, and even Sarah could tell that he's fighting back the drowsiness for some time simply because his falling asleep would leave her alone. She seemed like she needed somebody, a friend to help show her all the things she'd let go of when she gave into the curse that ran crimson in her veins. "That's a shame," he said finally, still mixed in with the tail end of the yawn. "You should go out with me sometime. We'll walk the beach, or go catch a movie or another party on campus. Who knows, you might like it."

He winked and Sarah could see the pink in his eyes. The late hour, and the lack of blood in his system, were taking their toll.

[Sarah Dead-Wolf]

Sarah dodged the recommended social events by taking advantage of the fatigue that was visibly pulling Lucien down into the realm of slumber.

"You're fading pretty quick there, bud. Look, how does this sound: I'll take you up on your offer of a place to crash for the night; have to admit that a sun-proof room like this sounds good. You go ahead and crash, and I'll do likewise when things get a little closer to dawn, OK?"

It wasn't that simple, of course. Eventually, she simply had to keep talking with the underwear king about increasingly inane topics until nature took over and Lucien fell asleep. By that time, dawn was approaching... which left Sarah to make her own preparations.

Soft bed or no, there was no way in hell that she was going to sleep anyplace as open as that, even in a windowless room. All it would take is a shaft of light from an open door, and everything she was would go up in a pyre. So by the time the sun crested the eastern horizon, Sarah was ensconced in the farthest recesses of the spacious walk-in closet, quite literally dead to the world.

[Lucien Hunt]

As the set on the following day Sarah awoke in her place from within the closet. Although she didn't need it, a blanket had been placed over her with a thoughtful gesture. The vitae did it's job slower than usual this evening it seemed and as her body slowly shook off the grogginess of sleep she had the opportunity to look around the empty room. The house was quiet, the room securely locked from the inside, as well as the bathroom too. A silent accord hung in the air that tugged at the withered heartstrings of the paranoid vampire's soul. You're safe with me. it said.

Shaking away the sentimentality Sarah noticed the duffel bag sitting upon the meticulously made silver bed. The envelope atop read: "To: Red"

[Sarah Dead-Wolf]

This, Sarah realized, could be promising. It could also be vastly disappointing; if the bag was stuffed full of lingerie, she wouldn't get much use out of it other than flossing her fangs. It could even be a trap, if the budding wizard had suddenly decided that maybe hooking up with an undead monster wasn't the best idea to come along and left her a nice phosphorous bomb as a send-off.

As a compromise, she opened the envelope before moving on to the dubious duffel.

[Lucien Hunt]

Quote:

Sarah,

My apologies for not being here this evening to greet as you awoke but business has pulled me away. I also apologize for falling asleep so early, I'm afraid I'm no quite the night-owl you are. You'll find the doors are locked from the inside to ensure your safety although I was quite frightened when awoke to fin d you gone. I assumed a stray ray of sun zapped you into nothingness. Please don't do that next time, I don't think my heart could take it.

Feel free to make use of the shower, I took the liberty of doing some shopping for you. Consider it a token to budding new friendships. You'll find the house empty. Lou, my bodyguard, and Rosalin, my housekeeper, were given the night off and I told them to go away because I'd be having an orgy of epic proportions and I didn't want any of the young nuns-to-be to feel awkward with those two in the house looming.

I've included a cellphone amongst the bags' contents. Please do stay in touch, you'll find my number programed in there already, both cell and home.

Best wishes Sarah.

Your friend,
~Lucien Hunt

With a tug on the zipper Sarah found Lucien was true to his word. Within she discovered several pairs of blue and black denim, t-shirts of various colors but nothing to 'girlie' thankfully, long sleeve flannel shirts, socks, and two pair of hiking boots. Amongst the rest was a denim skirt and top that wasn't Sarah's style but she was thankful it wasn't trampy even if it was just wishful thinking on his part. Underwear and bras were tucked in the side pockets each matching the others in color, pattern, and fabric. Three were thongs which helped to remind her that, delicious as he may be, Lucien was still just a man. She rolled her eyes, trying to conceal her grin.

Very funny, Rich Boy. she sad to herself as she lifted a leopard print undergarment ensemble. A wallet, the cellphone, a pair of sunglasses and an envelope were the last items she discovered. Her hands tumbled the thick envelope around of a moment before opening it. Two thousand dollars in twenties stared back at her, leaving her speechless.

[Sarah Dead-Wolf]

Two hours later, the smell of diesel was heavy in the air as Sarah shoved the duffel into a locker at the Greyhound Station. Important things - the phone, the wallet with ten crisp twenties in it, and the sunglasses - were already on her person in various places; the rest was quickly locked behind the anonymity of a sheet metal door at the princely sum of four bits. Toting it all around was just an invitation to lose it, either in a fight or - more likely - in a mad dash for cover somewhere. This way, she at least always knew where to go for her things.

In the near privacy of a filthy restroom, the locker key was tucked way where noone would find it, unless she was subjected to the type of search that meant she was in a hell of a lot more trouble than loosing a bag full of clothes and money. With her few new worldly belongings as secure as she could make them, Sarah headed back out into the night.

Back at the posh estate of one Lucien Hunt, a note was carefully penned on the back of an opened envelope.

Quote:

Lucien,

I didn't expect this. And I don't have the words to thank you for it. All I can say is this: you may have helped me find some of that spare time, and for that I can never repay you.

I can't stay at the house; I need open spaces. But I'll be in touch.

~Sarah

[Lucien Hunt]

Smiling softly Lucien carefully folded the envelope, struck a match and after a few moments of burning set it softly in an ashtray resting on his dresser. If vampires existed, and Lucien was now going to find himself dealing with them, there need be no evidence lying around the house to prove as much.

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow." He said softly as embers flickered in his eyes. "See you soon, Red."