Post by varnock acerbi on Dec 31, 2012 4:22:16 GMT -5
Varnock shook his head in understanding. That made a lot more sense than her last attempt. It would make sense that an exchanging of blood would be considered an intimate thing and something as profound and important as giving another eternal life... Well he could see what she meant when she said the circumstances were often intimate. He hoped she wasn't hating the line of questioning though... Even he could tell that she felt a bit embarrassed about something or another that they were talking about. He decided to just let the topic drop if possible.
Now Ellen on the other hand... Oh she was having far too much fun with this. Mildred was much more fun to tease than Varnock was after all. He didn't even get it half of the time, of course he might just be good at hiding it, and that was just not as fun as this. "If I had eyebrows that I could wiggle I would be doing just that in a vaguely suggestive manner. I take it this means you won't be granting anyone eternal youth as a vampire anytime soon then? Never losing Varnock here would be pretty convenient. Most master to familiar relationships aren't as relaxed as the one we have worked out and losing that would be rather annoying."
Varnock just gave her a look. It wasn't a specific kind of look either, just a look. She twitched her ears at him and waited for the conversation to continue.
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Dec 31, 2012 4:41:21 GMT -5
Kitty eyebrows. The thought was cute. She imagined massive, greenish black squares atop Ellen's eyes and couldn't help but be amused. A quick stop in Chinatown and she could probably set Ellen up with a pair... but then again, it was probably not the best idea to take Ellen or any of her friends (if she had any!) over to that area of town. Rumors, of course, but all rumors were based in truth, right?
She felt that not-heat rise again. What was Ellen implying? Surely... It was much too soon for anything like that!
"We-well, it's a very important decision!" She fretted, shifting awkwardly in her seat again out of simple embarassment. "I, I mean, if that was what he seeked, e-er, saught, I wouldn't be too opposed but careless additions to the line are very looked down upon, a-and.." She was getting too flustered. Mildred tried to regain her composure. "Aaaa-anyways, no, I did not plan on siring anyone in the near future, no." She eyed Varnock again. Someone with that much magical blood and history, however... It really was worth thinking about. Her voice grew quiet, as if divulging something secretive.
"It would be my first time, after all.." she mumbled, under her breath. "I'd like it to be special."
Post by varnock acerbi on Dec 31, 2012 5:05:10 GMT -5
Ellen fell out of the chair laughing this time. She was just sitting there, belly up, laughing like a maniac. It seems her sharp ears had caught the mumbled words from Mildred and sent her into another laughing fit. She was probably going to be out of it for a while after that one though. It really got her going for whatever reason.
Even Varnock looked a bit flustered at this point and he was giving Ellen an odd questioning look that she was unable to answer in her hysterics. He knew he had missed something, but he just wasn't sure what. He tried to focus a bit more on the conversation to avoid missing anything else. "What do you mean by careless additions to the line? Did careless turning used to happen often?" He was a bit flustered by the fact that she would consider something like that when he was the example too, even if he wouldn't mention that on threat of death.
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Dec 31, 2012 22:42:34 GMT -5
When Ellen literally fell out of her chair laughing, Mildred's embarassment peaked. Mouth closed, she stared down into her lap for a few moments. She was talking way too much, getting way too flustered, and this was definitely not how she was supposed to be acting. She was centuries old, after all, what was she doing fumbling all over herself like a fifteen year old Sleeper? That damn cat...
She cleared her throat and took a second to look back at Varnock.
"It's all a little... hush hush, but..." She looked left and right on reflex, as if it was some sort of conspiracy. "All this talk about V and the young ones, it makes you think, doesn't it?" Someone had to be getting sloppy. "Anyway, it's definitely a big deal. Most of us know better than to just procreate. Unlike Sleepers." Mildred hadn't realized she'd mentioned it, yet, but she was pretty sure there was a sort of agreement regarding talking about V, which was easily summarized as 'don't'. Caught in the moment again. Who was she, Taylor Swift?
Post by varnock acerbi on Jan 1, 2013 3:51:22 GMT -5
Varnock did his best to ignore Ellen at this point as he eyed Mildred. She had gone silent and started to stare into her lap for some reason. He really should try to move the topic to something else, but this was all so interesting. "V? I haven't heard of them. Mind telling me a bit more? Or is that the main coven all the vampires are a part of around here?"
He nodded as she went on though. He could definitely understand why spreading vampirism about might be frowned upon by whatever hierarchy the vampires followed. It would only add to the trouble when all the missing persons or reports of vampirism had the Agency send someone like him out or even go the extra mile and bring around a real vampire hunter. He honestly didn't like the thought of vampire hunters being brought around, or at least anymore than were already here, and messing with what little order that there was in the area.
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Jan 1, 2013 22:29:03 GMT -5
Oh, crap. Mildred realized her mistake too late. Careless turning was one thing. That was something up for debate and discussion. V, on the other hand... It was a sensitive matter, one that the order seemed to be happier ignoring. In fact, she didn't even want to really let Varnock in on information about the Ordo Dracul, either. Sure, he seemed nice, but this was their first real time talking. What if he really was a vampire hunter? You never knew. Vampires were patient, and so their hunters had be even more patient. She had no doubt that a seasoned one would put up with her embarassed flounderings about siring and sex. She had to be careful.
"O-oh, it's nothing." Mildred said, waving her hand. "Something like that." She hoped that would sate his thirst for knowledge, though she was starting to think that nothing would... ever. That was the nature of scholars, though, wasn't it? "Perhaps a story for next time." If there was a next time. For all she knew, he was going to follow her home and vampiremurder her or something, though she doubted it.
"Though.." She did feel some kindness towards him. "I wouldn't do too much digging around about it in the meantime, if I were you." It was just a vague, friendly warning, but still. You never knew who was the wrong person to ask about such things, after all. She almost preferred the siring talk...
"I know you've mentioned vampire hunters," she started, changing the topic. "But have there been any vampires in your family through the ages?"
Post by varnock acerbi on Jan 1, 2013 22:44:45 GMT -5
His eyes flashed in curiosity for a moment. He could tell she was leaving something out, but he doubted she was outright lying to him. For now he could wait though. If it ended up being serious he could ask around at the Agency to learn a few things. He was a tad confused though. Maybe it had been an accident on her part to even mention it or maybe she hadn't expected him to ask. He would leave the subject alone for now though.
He raised an eyebrow at that. A warning, however casual, often sounded like a threat. This did not sound like a threat, but it did sound like quite a warning to him. He gave a small shrug and nodded. "I'll avoid the subject for now then. I do want an explanation after that though. You have me quite curious now."
He leaned back a bit and took on a thoughtful expression. Surely there had been some in his family... Who hadn't had at least one at some point in their tree? He couldn't bring any that he knew about to mind though. Most of them turned themselves in and were killed or ran off to never be seen again. "Probably. I can't say I remember any that lived longer than turning themselves in to the hunters of my family though. Most ran off when it happened so I never really knew about it all."
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Jan 1, 2013 23:30:29 GMT -5
"I see," she said, still feeling a little awkward. The change in conversation was a little too obvious, and she knew it. Still... She had to settle her own feelings on the matter before going into Vampire politics. And maybe find out more about what was going on, as well... Then again, she'd never cared before. Why the sudden interest? She had no real desire to turn informant. His curiosity was contagious, that was all.
His and Ellen's, she corrected herself as she looked at the cat. Part of her wanted a pet again... but perhaps something better than a pet. Something like Ellen.
No, she was falling too fast into this whole magic thing. She could feel it already. She ought to just take it slow, learn and master one thing at a time. That was good. That was the right way to do things. She had to savor it, after all, something new in all of this old. It made her feel young again.
Post by varnock acerbi on Jan 2, 2013 0:00:48 GMT -5
Ellen had finally managed to recover from her laughter and jumped back into her seat with some traces left in small chuckles. That had been hilarious. She hadn't had a laugh that good in ages either. She had to say that she quite enjoyed Mildred's company. Good laughs and some good conversation was always nice to have. She had missed a bit of the conversation though, so she was listening pretty carefully now so she didn't miss anymore.
Varnock nodded. He had more or less studied all his life. He was either doing that or reading. "Most of it, yes. I was trained from a young age by my family since I was the second in line as head of the family. I brushed a lot of the training off in favor of reading though. It payed off in the end with my rather interesting mastery of books and paper."
He paused. He wondered if it would be too much to ask her more... "What have you spent time studying in your life? Surely many things have caught your interest in that time."
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Jan 2, 2013 0:48:26 GMT -5
What an interesting question. Whatever his intentions, she enjoyed conversation with him. Plus, someone who'd studied magic all his life... Well, it wasn't the same as years and years of being alive, but meeting someone with more knowledge than her was always fun. It made for good conversation, which she always craved.
"I've studied many things, of course..." She trailed off, not wanting to really go into her ennui and general lack of interest in many of those 'many things'. She decided to list off some of her more recent 'hobbies'. She raised her slim fingers, counting them off slowly and meticulously. "Recently I've tried handling guns and marksmanship. I've studied languages,"that I forgot due to boredom, she thought to herself inbetween the lines, "literature, network security, and now, I suppose, magic." She smiled thinly. "I'm sad to say that there's plenty of other things that I've long stopped bothering with and have become useless. I don't have perfect memory, you see..." She sighed. "Something I could probably fix if I felt so inclined."
Post by varnock acerbi on Jan 2, 2013 1:08:09 GMT -5
He listened as she listed off a few of the things she had studied recently. Most of it sounded like things he could use for his work for the Agency. He was already a pretty good marksman and he had a few languages under his belt from his knowledge absorption from books, but network security... Now that sounded interesting. Working on a perfect memory might help as well even if he was getting there with his mental based powers augmenting him.
"Network security... Like how electronic security works and how to break through or install it? That sounds potentially useful and I'm always looking into new literature. As for your memory as you gain more skill in focusing your mind on your illusion powers you should gain more mental power as well. I might be able to give you a few tips if you need them though."
He paused again... Sure he had asked what she had learned and what her history was, but he hadn't actually asked what she enjoyed doing. "What do you like to do to pass the time anyways? I've been rather curious about how that might work considering how boring some things may get after too much time on the subject."
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Jan 2, 2013 1:19:43 GMT -5
She smiled a little ruefully. Better memory would be wonderful. There was just so much packed in there, the little things often slipped the cracks. It was mostly the old stuff, really, unimportant and obsolete. But it was odd to forget things like what exact color dress she'd worn on a certain day, things like that. Everything else was just up to practice, and like she often though, there was just too much time on her hands for that.
"Sort of. It's little things, like for personal websites." She did spend a lot of time online, after all. It was work that any well-trained professional could do quickly, but she was still a little proud of it. Computers were the future, after all, even if Vampires would surely be arriving very fashionably late to the party. "If I worked at it, though, I don't think that'd be too far out of reach." She made a mental note to get the textbooks out again, even if it was just to show off in the future. Sure, it may have been a little childish, but everyone liked to please someone.
"As for passing the time..." Her thoughts drifted back to the many lazy afternoons spent indoors, with the industrial strength shutters closing her off from the outside. It was embarassing. There was no way she could say she just liked to hang out, by herself, not doing anything. She didn't like it after all. It was just what she did. "I like to..." What did she like to do? Well, what was a more interesting thing that she liked to do?
"I like to watch people," she said, already feeling a little lame. "They're all so different, and there are so many stories to each and every person." She felt herself starting to blab a little, but he did ask, after all. "You can literally spend a lifetime looking into someone's life." She kicked her legs a little. "It can be addicting in its own way."
Post by varnock acerbi on Jan 2, 2013 5:28:59 GMT -5
Personal websites... Not exactly what he was looking for in network security, but it was definitely a start. Something involving security could surely help him in his work for the Agency. Getting in to places was never a problem before, but you never know when a paranoid mark will need a little something extra to get near enough to complete the job. He would have to take a look into that at some point... That or master some sort of way to master electricity to overload such things.
"People watching? I can't say I do much of that outside of jobs unless I'm judging the emotions of a customer to try see how my offers are going over. I just don't seem to have much time for it usually. Ellen on the other hand loves to watch people and bother them as much as possible. Although I can see it taking a lifetime to look into another persons life considering they have lived a life of their own." He had tried to make it into a bit of a joke, but it sounded bad even to him.
Post by mildred bagley-aldaine on Jan 2, 2013 5:44:17 GMT -5
She smiled again. This time it was a small, sad one. Still, it was a smile, and she'd found herself smiling more times tonight than she generally smiled in weeks. She supposed that was a perk of being allowed to be honest with someone, someone who knew enough to be able to talk about such secret things with. Even if she couldn't quite trust him with anything organization-related information-wise, being able to share anything more than her name just in general was nice.
Perhaps that was why she felt a sort of camraderie with the familiar. People watching all the time... She supposed a cat would have a different view of people's lives than a regular person would, too. Maybe they weren't so different.
"It's definitely something for bored people to do," she said, trying to laugh about it without making herself look too stupid. "I assume being busy like you are leaves little time to sit around and watch people." It was meant as a compliment, really, even if she didn't quite understand his adventures. If she really was to accompany him on one sometime, she'd definitely be interested in finding out what exactly he was doing.
"The only real problem with that is getting attached." She tried to feign disinterest by checking her nails again, but it was something that truly bothered her. "Sleeper lives feel so short and sweet." Her voice grew a little pained. "They end much too fast if you get attached." She avoided thinking back to when she had made that same mistake, early on in her undead life. "It's much easier to stay above it all, like many of the other Vampires do, but it's so boring..." She sighed. "I suppose that's the price you pay, though."
Post by varnock acerbi on Jan 2, 2013 15:39:53 GMT -5
It wasn't that he was busy all the time though... Was he? Really he did his best to stay busy to avoid getting bored and doing something stupid. People watching did sound like something he might end up doing to pass time eventually though. As terrible as some of his jobs were though, he honestly enjoyed the thrill of it all. Something like watching people wouldn't be able to live up to that.
"It sounds like a lovely way to pass the time though. People are just so interesting after all. So many thoughts and minds different than your own." He trailed off as your next few words caused him to lose what little steam he had. He could hear the slight change in tone and it caused him to frown slightly. Something bad, or maybe just natural all things considered, had happened to her at some point he guessed.
Ellen could tell the conversation was straying off into a sad place and that didn't sit well with her. She had to do her best to break through this or the both of them would be moping around for the rest of the time they were talking. "Well if age is a problem all you need to do is stay with another vampire right? You said turning someone was intimate so wouldn't a pair be created rather easily that way?" She sounded like she was hinting at something again.
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