A Guardian Of Secrets

RP account for Aaron Lightner.[Mun is 21+. Semi-selective.]

[aaronlightner]

A Shattered Peace

[aaronlightner]

Aaron could hardly believe his ears.  What David was telling him, all of this.  He stared at the face of his old friend -- still able to see the soul behind the shell, it would forever be the same to him -- and tried to let the shock of this news wear off.  It all sounded impossible.  On the other hand, Lasher was here, which was another impossibility, so he was more open to believe.

A Mayfair.  A Mayfair in the Talamasca?  And more specifically, a Mayfair that also happened to be the Superior General!  His mind went immediately to thoughts of Petyr van Abel, the Talamascan who had served his purpose in siring the family’s line.  Now, all these generations later, a full circle had brought the blood of the Mayfairs back into the thick of the Order in a prominent way.

The Englishman was hesitant to believe in concepts like destiny yet the circumstances seemed far too exceptional to be mere coincidence.  He was both pleased and wary in learning that the family had reclaimed its links with the Talamasca.  “I see.  That makes sense to me then.  How familiar he seemed, and how reluctant he was to face me.  Of course Lasher would wish to rebuke me from his company with those old tricks.  Knowing that I am a lifeline for the boy to take hold of.  An immediate ally.  Protector of my.. my dear Mayfairs.”

He quieted as David went on to summarize the situation.  Aaron scowled deeply, and even with his own different face it was clear to see the white-haired old man in that expression.  One of those rare occasions when he let grumpiness out through his sweet, calm composure.  And, perhaps even more surprising, was the fact that he reacted to it all with an even greater rarity: swearing.  “Bugger all.  They’ve gone bleeding crackers, they have.  What is going on in their heads to make such a plan?”

Yes, the presence of Lasher bothered him immensely.  Hearing about these dangerous plots from their enemies helped Aaron to put aside concern for himself for the time being.  There were more people in danger from the targeted efforts of the rogue faction.  He reached his hands out to take hold of David’s.  They were as gentle as ever, warm where they pressed upon the cool immortal skin.

“We’ll lend what aid we can.  David, old friend, you must not give in to any doubt.  You are powerful.  More now in immortality than you were as a living man.  I am here with you again, to help you however I can.  Together, we’ll find the solution.  All we must do is decide what first step to take and then the rest will continue to guide us forward with that momentum.”

[aaronlightner]

A Sheep Amongst Wolves

[aaronlightner]

“At the heart of it, I do know that the Talamasca is good.”  Aaron’s eyes left Bianca’s face to gaze off thoughtfully.  “I knew it since I came under its wing when I was just a boy.  They owed nothing to me nor to my parents.  Yet they helped me even still, patient and with such a kindness about them rarely found in this wide world.  It was like being delivered into the hands of goodly priests, and through them I found salvation.  Only their religion was not of God or the Devil.  Only in those founding truths that they bound their souls to.  As I bound my soul to, once upon a time.”

There was a certain logic in her words.  Truths that the Englishman could believe.  Bianca’s points valid enough.  “It is not easy for everyone.  To come into the knowledge of what is out there in the world.  Creatures, magic, existences greater than those of common humanity.  Vampires are only part of it, dear lady, though I daresay you lot are considerably more accessible than other creatures of legend.”  He spread the fingers of a hand, sighing.  “They try, so very hard, to judge who is capable of handling the deeper secrets.”

“Many revelations of unknown truths can drive a mind to madness.  That is what a Talamascan must always be alert of.  Just like with immortality not every soul has the muster to withstand the burden of secrets.”  He smiled sadly.  “Which is precisely why few are allowed into the inner circles.  Most members of the Order are left to remain on the fringes; aware that there is more to be known yet denied the knowledge.  For their own safety.”

“It might be that those who feel themselves left out from it all are acting out.  That they feel they deserve something more than what they have been handed.  My would-be murderers believed themselves to be part of a greater plan.  Lives were lost in their fervor for greatness.  I believe this instance is no different.  Those who would rise against the Talamasca, against your Coven, believe they have the right to do so.  That makes them dangerous.  Their belief in the cause.”

[aaronlightner]

A Shattered Peace

[aaronlightner]

There was very little in this world that could rattle the likes of Aaron Lightner.  He possessed far too much experience and seasoned years for much to shake his unflappable composure.  Tonight that had changed.  The Englishman hurried into David’s bedroom as soon as the immortal moved to let him enter.  His hands were fidgeting together in a sign of great distress.

“I had not wished to worry you.”  He started off, never a great sign in any conversation, even among friends.  Aaron’s eyes weren’t their old shape or colour yet his soul was firmly visible within the new set.  They sought out David’s once he had settled to stand in the man’s room.  “I had hoped it was all just a bit of paranoia.  That Julien’s warnings weren’t so urgent.  That maybe we still had time and hope on our side.  Yet tonight I saw him myself.”

Aaron drew in a deep breath.  He was trying to restore his composure, to regain the calm that was lost to him by his sudden fright.  His fingers rubbed at the point where his wrist had been caught in the grip of the spirit.  “It was him.  Lasher.  He is here upon the island.  He showed himself to me, David.  Rarely did I ever see him so visibly when he was a ghost before.  I felt his power.”

“I do not know what brought him here.  Was it the young man from the Talamasca?  The one they say is the Superior General?”  He inquired curiously, not having spoken directly yet to the young man known as Miller even if they two were the only ones awake during the daytime.  It seemed that the man was ever busy, working constantly within his office space, and aside from popping in to leave coffee in the room with him Aaron had not dared to interrupt him for a chat.

He regretted it now.  Not having taken the time to make his personal assessment of Miller.  There was just something about him that made Aaron want to tread with caution.  Had it been the presence of Lasher all this time warding him away from breaching the gap of silence?  “If we thought our troubles were great before this is only making matters worse.”

[aaronlightner]

A Sheep Amongst Wolves

[aaronlightner]

Aaron sighed when Bianca said she did not favour a war.  It was a conclusion that he feared would be reached regardless of how often he sought to caution these vampires against such a drastic event.  He nodded at the wisdom of her words.  “Many would be rid of them because of their observations.  That the Order has made a study of their kind.  Yet, truly, I believe that it has always been done with the intention of learning.  Of finding allies.  Those who were oblivious to the interference of the vampires that participated in its founding.  The mere humans trying to seek mysteries in the wide world.”

He felt full of food, enough that he put his napkin down upon his plate and pushed it gently aside.  Aaron rested his forearms upon the table instead to speak with her.  “I am glad they were there for you.  They were there for me too.  And for David.  I believe that the Talamasca has helped more than it has hindered.  As a shelter for those with no other place to go, and as a tool of learning for those with the ability to appreciate its noble missions.  Unfortunately, as with all things in time, the original intention has become lost.  I doubt the Order knows what its identity is any longer.  What its true purpose is.”

“These radicals.  I believe they are trying to find that purpose down destructive roads.  Upsetting the balance of peace, of what the Talamasca stands for.  I do not know what it is they are searching for at the end of their road but I cannot imagine it will be good.  Belief is a powerful motivator.  What I wish I knew was what exactly it was they believed in so strongly that they would compromise everything.”

[aaronlightner]

A Shattered Peace

Maintaining a day time watch of the Night Island was a quiet line of work.  Aaron did not mind it.  In fact, he relished the moments of silence.  He made good use of the time to continue the in-depth research of trying to identify the shadier members of the Talamasca’s ranks.  The Englishman had sifted through files, sorting them into a system he thought best narrowed down potential candidates to be later looked into.  Those with much to hide.

During the day he occupied himself watching television, listening to music -- continually reassured by the immortals here that he was not at all disturbing their rest.  On occasion he would walk along the beach at a distance from where the ashes of vampires had fallen, to watch the boats moving back towards Miami in the distance.  A boat came daily to check that the food was stocked.  An arrangement made by Daniel, he imagined, who still seemed attuned to the needs of his mortal guests.

When the hours crept closer to dusk, Aaron was blithely moving about the kitchen.  Tea was put on, and coffee for the other mortal in the Villa.  Not that he had taken a chance yet to sit and speak with young Miller.  The man avoided him, uncomfortable with his presence or simply too awkward on how to approach a conversation.  Aaron didn’t press him.  He knew that the chance would come soon for them to chat.

Humming, he checked the clock as he took the kettle off.  The immortals would soon be waking.  He would feel them coming alive as their energies awakened.  Like bright spots of light appearing out of nowhere.  Aaron couldn’t be certain what bit of activity they might have tonight.  In a way it was like being with the Mayfairs again, another lot that never seemed capable of a quiet evening.  He felt homesick for them.

“I’ll just ring Rowan later.”  He promised himself in a quiet murmur.  The Englishman turned to open the nearby cupboard where mugs were stored.  A well stocked kitchen despite its lack of use.  Aaron’s hand extended up to reach for one with reaching fingers --

A hand closed upon his wrist.  His face turned quickly to find himself practically nose to nose with a face he hoped never to see again.  That smiling face, not quite human, at odds with the harsh grasp of the fingers that simultaneously burnt and chilled the flesh around his wristwatch.

Hello, Aaron Lightner.

Aaron gasped as horror flooded into him.  His heart beating a quickened rhythm.  The panic of a rabbit cornered by a wolf.  A soundless shout of alarm died upon opening lips as he stared in alarm at the shadowy figure.  Lasher!

Then it was gone.  Vanished, as quickly as it had come.

He sought to get his bearings.  To recover from that ambush.  Lasher, here?  Why had he come to the Night Island?  Was he seeking to target him?  Aaron couldn’t fathom why the spirit would select him specifically to reveal himself to.  Or was there some source closer that had brought the ghost there?

Normally he might have let David rest undisturbed.  Tonight, as soon as it seemed that he might get a response from the waking vampire, Aaron was straight at the other Englishman’s door to slap at it urgently with an insistent palm.  “David?  David, are you awake yet?  David, please, I need you on your feet.”

[the-gentleman-chronicler]

Remnants || (RE: Burning Men)

[the-gentleman-chronicler]

“I doubt so many vampires would just go marching out into the sunlight if they had any choice in the matter.  Especially if they were moving as one mind, one collective.  I cannot fathom any reason why Amel would kill so many this way.  He has always used others to do his bidding.”  David was struck by a sudden, horrible thought.  What if this happened because of Lestat?  Could a reckless act have caused such sweeping destruction?

It was an item of concern.  Yes, he had given voice to his approval for Lestat becoming the new Core.  Since no one else stepped forward to take the position, of course it fell naturally to his Maker.  Still, the issue remained that Lestat’s actions were often impulsive.  Act first, question later.  If this situation had arisen due to the vampire’s carelessness then it would indeed need to be brought up as a subject of discussion.

However, he didn’t believe this to be the case even if it were the most logical theory.  Lestat had taken his role as the Core seriously since coming into the role.  It matured him in whole new ways.  Though the old fire of spirit inside the immortal remained it was tempered by the knowledge that his actions could directly effect those around him.  David knew that something else must have caused this.

“I am not sure if reaching out to the Talamasca is the best option.  We should wait and speak with Lestat first.  Once we exhaust all potential insight within our ranks then we can move forward.  If seeking out information from the Order ends up being the best course of action then we’ll do so.  I simply hesitate to become indebted to them in any way.  Especially since we still possess their files.  Perhaps a trade could be arranged somewhere down the line.”

David turned to gaze upon his old friend.  “You trust them still, don’t you?  You love the Talamasca as you always did.  Even if your allegiance with them caused you your end.  I say, old boy, you are a sight more forgiving in your heart than myself.”

[aaronlightner]

“Of course I still trust them.  And yes, David, I love the Talamasca even today.”  Aaron answered honestly.  He saw no reason to lie about it.  That in all of this he tried to champion for the sake of the Order, for all the good it had done across the centuries.  For its purpose and its presence in the world that deserved to continue on into eternity alongside the very creatures that spoke of going to war against them.

“I cannot reconcile in my heart any belief that these actions are being conducted with the authorisation of the Talamasca as a whole.  Surely it must be operations of a smaller cell.  It makes no sense for them to compromise their integrity to like.  To endanger the future of the Order.  Even if the Elders have left their posts in overseeing how things were run it boggles my mind to even consider that the Talamasca might turn so quickly against its very nature of existence.”

His hand touched gently upon David’s shoulder.  “This could only be from other influence.  Something outside of the Order.  A new power that we cannot understand.  One that is careless.  You notice how the remains are left so openly scattered?  When Akasha moved across the world she left such evidence in the wake of her destruction.  Why?  Because she wanted it to be found.  She wanted the mortal world to know.”

“This is similar.  Or so it feels to me in my bones.” He took in a deep breath and sighed.  “We can wait to reach out to them if that is your wish.  Lestat may have counsel to offer on this.  Since he is, in essence, your leader then I suppose it goes without saying that we should not act further without his input.  Even though it pains me considerably to have to defer to such a creature.”

[the-gentleman-chronicler]

Chasing Spirits || Open [Talamascan Tribulations]

[aaronlightner]

Aaron was attuned enough to feel the changes of the energy in the room.  His eyes moved across the candles, noting the fact that despite a lack of draft in the space the flames were shuddering, as if the spirits were attacking those dots of light.  He had witnessed this before in rituals, and in the misguided attempts of those seeking to conjure spirits.  Rarely did those endeavours end well.

His gaze was eventually drawn to David to silently watch on as the man called upon the spirits.  He was well aware of how powerful his old friend once was as a priest.  Spirits were pulled to the immortal with a magnetism that startled many.  Aaron knew from being so long in his fellow Englishman’s company that to walk alongside the other man meant walking with ghosts.  Though from his observations since their reunion it did not seem that the vampire was nearly as open to acknowledging them as he was before.

When the black mass manifested itself in the room he shuddered.  The energy of it was dark, heavy.  A malicious and powerful presence that made any experienced Talamascan take care when they stepped into its domain.  Only in this instance the entity had come to them.  It had no place binding it.  A person, instead, with whom this thing had traveled.  These spirits were often predatory and it was apparent from the effect it had upon Marius that the ancient vampire was giving it what it needed to remain.

He looked reluctantly away to Bianca when she spoke to him.  “Yes?  What is it, Bianca?  What is it on your mind?”

[aaronlightner]

A Sheep Amongst Wolves

[aaronlightner]

“You could never ‘pester’ me, Bianca.  I promise you that.”  Aaron’s hand returned near his plate once it was released and he smiled across the table to the woman.  “You’ve raised many valid points, having done so with grace and wisdom.  It has given me something further to consider for the future.  Though you are quite correct that there is no rush forward.  Our danger is not so harrowing that we need to feel hasty with our decisions.”

His face softened, thoughtful.  “I’ll think about it.  For David’s sake, if for nothing else.  It’s a weighty choice.  While I might be suited to it as you suggest given my life experience it is merely a matter of working through the remainder of my apprehensions.  It is nothing that we need to dwell on.  There are far more pressing issues worthy of our attention.”

“David has become convinced that there may be no option further down the road than an engagement of war with the Talamasca.  I do not share that assessment.  I think there may yet be an opportunity to resolve things peacefully.  Of course, I am not the majority in these circumstances.  It is all of you, the vampires, that will undoubtedly decide how we eventually proceed.  My only contribution here is to be a voice of human representation.  Not that I expect that will carry weight.”

“Do you believe it has really reached that point, Bianca?  Can you yourself see any result in this except for war?  I’m afraid I cannot perceive this from the angle of those who have been a focus of investigation for the Talamasca.  I was always one of them.  In a way, I always will be.  Would you be able to forgive the Order for these slights done against you and your loved ones?”

[dr-rowan-mayfair-blog]

Pale Kings & Princes: Mayfair Medical, 1:17am

[aaronlightner]

While he listened to the background noises that indicated Rowan was shifting locations, Aaron made up his mind that there was no hope for further sleep.  He went to put on a kettle.  Exiting his room he made a small gesture to David who had been drawn again with concern, possibly even catching the threads of the conversation with his sharp hearing.  His immortal friend loomed politely on the peripheral of Aaron’s sight as he went about getting tea on.  “I am sure Michael knows the gist of what is going on.  Those visions were too powerful for such a limited audience.  Julien wouldn’t have left him in the dark unless he felt the stress was dangerous to Michael.  Then again, part of me suspects that Julien would be tickled pink to have the man in that shadowy realm with him.”

He leaned against the counter nearby and kept in check the heavy sigh that sought to escape.  Strange how old he felt in the moment.  As if the new bones and sinew meant nothing in comparison to the weathered polish on his soul.  Accompanying that was a frustration that made the Englishman cross.  An emotion unfamiliar to him.  “My suspicions are that he has latched himself upon a new source of energy, knowing that he would be unwelcome there among the Mayfairs that were, for centuries, his battery of power.  That he might turn to the Talamasca -- who had once aided him with their misguided purpose -- seems inevitable.”

“As for the rest:  Yes, I am quite safe.  Reunited with my old friend David Talbot.  We have run into a spot of trouble ourselves with the Order.  Not that we will not come to your aid if you should need it.  My primary fear is that because of our actions the family may become targets.”  Aaron drummed his fingers upon the counter.  “The psychological profiles of me within the records are very clear.  That my loved ones are my weakness.  So my concern here, Rowan, is in knowing that you are all safe there.  It might be wise to put everyone on alert as they did when Lasher was rampaging about.”

[aaronlightner]

Aaron, did you and David ever kiss? Perhaps when the two of you were younger, deep inside the Talamasca Archives. Curiosity and attraction too hard to deny.

You have a very vivid imagination.  I applaud you for your creativity.  I cannot say that any such event ever took place between us.

There was that one drunken evening in 1968 but that doesn’t count.

[deadlyxgentleman-archive-blog]

This is an open invitation to ask my muse whatever you damned well please.

Inbox is always open and I know someone must hold curiosities.

[aaronlightner]

My biggest wish is that David got Aaron a new body, and turned him. Then they lived happily ever after. The End.

[Then there would be no way for them to psychically communicate with each other any longer.  How on earth would they manage to stand in a room together silently judging everyone else?  Goodness.]

[the-gentleman-chronicler]

Remnants || (RE: Burning Men)

It was a little over thirty years ago that David found himself examining with grim studiousness piles of ashes that once were vampires.  That was in San Francisco, after nothing further could be done for Jesse Reeves, after he was left with nothing except questions for the fate of vampires everywhere.  Only back then he had been an old man bending gingerly above those remnants, in a rumpled suit that he’d not changed in over a night, internally hoping that his hip would allow him just a little extra time before it began to hurt as it often did when he exerted himself too much.  ‘Out of practice on the field’, is the excuse he’d often used.  Anything to avoid touching upon the more obvious fact that a man of his years had no business undertaking forensic study of a vampire’s remains when there were perfectly sturdy young Talamascans to do it for him.

Tonight, while others discussed their response to this event, he was crouched down near an unidentifiable pile of ash and bits of brittle bone.  Aaron stood behind him to hold a steady beam of a torch down upon the mess, not that David required it for the light.  He let his friend do so merely to let the other Englishman feel that much more useful.  What helped him more than the presence of that unnecessary beam of light was the fact that Aaron made a perfect soundboard for him to think aloud, as he knew that the other former Talamascan would help to retain the details and findings uncovered in his examination, utilizing the little tricks of the trade they both had mastered.

“Bones here as well.  I cannot imagine that any of these were pushing more than a number of decades in age.  Thank God they’re scentless.  Horrible to consider the stench we’d be enduring otherwise.”  The words had no sooner left his mouth before David regretted them with a sharp pang in his heart.  How easy it was for him to fall into the old patterns.  To treat these deaths as merely another target for study.  Circumstances had changed.  It was no longer possible for him to disassociate himself from the crisis around him.  He could not simply hang up his jacket at the end of the night and stretch his weary mortal bones while thinking himself lucky for a change to be purely human.

These were his brothers and sisters.  With names he had never known.  Faces he might never have recognised.  David couldn’t wash his hands of this when he was immersed in the epicenter.  He straightened with a sigh to stand at his full height, brushing his fingers together that felt soiled by contact with ash and sand.  “I expect that the Talamasca’s Agents are also at work making these same observations.  I can feel the buzz of their minds nearby just as I’m sure you can.  Something drove these immortals to this act.  If it was not Amel, then what was it?”

[aaronlightner]

“So many of them dead at one time.  There is no sign that this was done by a particular immortal.  This wasn’t a vampire going about burning people like in the past.  Footage of this has been all over the internet, even if not on the news networks any longer.  The beauty of today’s technology -- young people and amateurs all over the place can film these moments so easily.”  Aaron observed, his voice quiet.  The beach had taken on the vibe of a cemetery with all this dead littered across the sand.

“They acted as if in a trance.  It’s hard to judge if they went into the sun of their own volition.  I think it far more likely that they were guided into this.  As the rats and the children did with the Pied Piper.  We’ll need to ask Lestat when he arrives.  And Amel, yes, to see what he knows.  As reluctant as I am to trust the word of a spirit I think he would have the most input on this matter.”  Lowering the torch down, his hand lifted to rest upon David’s shoulder.  He squeezed it gently.  “There is little that could be done to stop this.  You shouldn’t feel guilty.  We have no way to know whether the Talamasca did this or if it were another hostile source altogether.  You’re aware that there are more unknown mysteries out there.”

As much as he put on a brave face, Aaron was shaken.  He was the only one awake during the daylight hours.  And the first to have discovered the grisly scene of those piles outside.  Waiting until sunset when the many vampires gathered on the Night Island woke to inform them of the news had been agony.  He’d felt powerless to do anything in that interim, except to pull the curtains in the free rooms shut so that he did not have to keep looking out over the mess of those former bodies.  “It’s ghastly business, all of this.”

“Should we reach out to them?  The Talamasca?  Daniel seems to think that we can trust the central branch.  Their intelligence gathering skills are quick and thorough.  I wouldn’t doubt that they already have theories in mind of what happened, and why, and if it will happen again.  Shall we try to message the Superior?”

[aaronlightner]

A Sheep Amongst Wolves

[aaronlightner]

“My dear Bianca, I don’t base my decision upon any such beliefs.”  Aaron explained as he lifted his glass for her to pour in another helping of wine.  It did help to loosen the tension in his shoulders, a persistent knot that had been present since he’d left London.  “I am a man educated in the supernatural.  I know that becoming a vampire does not mean instant damnation of a soul.  That isn’t what causes me such hesitation in embracing the possibility of immortality.”

He went silent long enough to take a thoughtful sip from his glass.  Organizing his thoughts into a way that made sense when shared with another.  “It seems very rare that all those who have entered into immortality do not, at a point in their existence, regret it.  From all that I have read in my studies of your kind, of those novels, there is often a struggle of self which one faces after their turning.  There is a transition, clearly so.  A change from one creature into another.  That in itself is what makes me reluctant.  The notion that there is a possibility of me becoming a man I do not recognise for the purpose of learning how to survive an eternity.”

“David was my friend for decades.  I know him better than any brother I might have had in other circumstances.”  His eyes moved to a midpoint in the air as he sank deeper into his thoughts, giving voice to them.  “Much of the time when I am with him I see the man I always knew.  That soul that I felt such a strong bond with, as another kindred spirit in this wide world.  Yet there are times where I look at him as he speaks, and I watch his mannerisms, or I listen to his words, and standing in front of me is a stranger.  I think he cannot help it.  He might not have any awareness of how much he has slipped from the man he once was.   Not to say that who he is now isn’t wonderful.  David shall always be a wonderful creature.”

Aaron placed his glass down with a sigh.  “As perfect a solution as it sounds that I should be turned, joining him in eternity, I worry that it would lead to the undoing of everything that we are together.  That I may become a stranger to him just as much.  And I am not sure I could endure the breaking of a bond that is stronger than blood, mortal or immortal in its essence.  I doubt that David has considered such an aspect of it.  How much I would be altered as a vampire.  How much of myself I must lose in the process of discarding a mortal life.”

“I have always lived by the Talamasca’s dogma.  To do no harm.  To never revel in the suffering of others.  I am shaped around its teachings, molded by the touch of a lifetime spent in scholarly learning.  I pretended to be my own assassin and doomed myself to a lifetime of imprisonment out of guilt for the death of a man who intended to murder me.  Bianca, I’m just not sure it’s for me.”

[aaronlightner]

"I do not believe we have spoken enough Mr. Lightner. David seems to keen on keeping your company to himself." Seated on the sofa the immortal had not bothered to shut the door as a sign that he had welcomed himself in the home.

Aaron continued to stand in frozen silence as he gazed at the vampire currently at home on the sofa.  His book remained clutched in his left hand.  The right was quite empty, quite so, given that his teacup had gone dropping out of it when he was downright shocked to find a fairly foreign immortal where there had not been one before he’d gone into the kitchen.

The teacup remained untouched on the floor, even as the mess of it spread in a pale brown circle of wet.  As if it were perfectly acceptable for it to be there, thank you very much, and cleaning it didn’t seem so much a priority when one found themselves coming upon a vampire in their house.  He’d get to that eventually.  Right?  Right.

There was a fixed polite smile on the Englishman’s mouth.  The aged soul inside, with its seasoned control, hid the fact that behind his openly polite expression he was, in fact, internally screaming.  “O-oh.  Well.  Rude of him, that.  The Vampire Armand, I presume?”

[aaronlightner]

“I’m flattered to hear you say so.”  Those were generous compliments paid to him by Armand.  He was still mulling over the information that David had spoken so much of him, so kindly.  It made him wonder what conversations about him were going on without his knowledge.  Touching, in that sense, to consider how much he must be on the other Englishman’s mind since his return.  Aaron was almost overcome by warmth towards his absent friend.  “I think you’re being very kind to call me ‘weathered’.  That old body, my old self, was a far more dapper creature.  Quite easier to pull it off.  This one hardly manages a suit with that old fashioned charm.”

That calm moment of peace was interrupted when he found himself the target of bolder affection.  A cold kiss upon his cheek, the proximity of the vampire.  Aaron didn’t think that his face could burn any hotter than it felt.  Not without him turning into a furnace of flames.  He ducked his face away with a boyish shyness.  “G-goodness me.  You’re quite a forward one, aren’t you?  I forget how easily affection comes to other Europeans.  Or perhaps I’m just terribly out of habit.”

He outright sputtered at Armand’s question.  “I-- I beg your pardon?  Offered himself to me?  Whatever do you mean by such a thing?  I can assure you that there is absolutely nothing of a sexual nature between David and myself.  Nor will there ever be.  And there are no plans at all for me to join him in eternity, either.  I am content with a second lifetime only.  Not one that stretches on into forever.  Has he told you otherwise?  I’ll lump him if he did.  Vampire or not.”

[the-gentleman-chronicler]

Chasing Spirits || Open [Talamascan Tribulations]

[aaronlightner]

Despite the gravity of the proceedings around them it was impossible for Aaron not to find amusement in David’s sudden absorption with Armand when the other vampire entered the room.  Not that he could blame either David or Bianca for welcoming the immortal so warmly.  For all that people implied that Armand was difficult he found no difficulty in the slightest when interacting with the vampire.  In fact, in their few conversations since his arrival, their host was considerate to his needs and quite kind if reserved.

Aaron nodded politely to the three as he moved to take a place in the room as well.  Being the only mortal here put him in a position where he might be more vulnerable to the antics of the spirits.  While the other three beings in the room had an immortal’s resilience to see them through the worst, he lacked that benefit, and therefore opted to take further caution.  The Englishman moved to pick up a medallion of Saint Michael that had served him well in the past.  His touch paused upon it with a softening of features as he experienced a bout of homesickness for loved ones at a distance.  And he sent up a quick, silent prayer that Michael and Rowan were protected through their own battles.

As he moved off to stand to the side to allow David plenty of room to work there was a shift in his mind that could be felt to the minds of the immortals in the room.  A sense of him locking up within, clicking defenses into place to guard against anything unwanted that might seek to manipulate or attach to him.  There was an emotion of anticipation beneath his placid expression.  Eager to see this done.  Since once this smaller hurdle was cleared they could focus their attention completely upon the more powerful unwanted entity that continued to lurk in the shadows.

“I’m ready, David.  Bianca, Armand.  There is a chance that whatever motivates these spirits may try to attach to your energy.  A psychic parasite, of sorts.  If you both protect your minds as you would against any unwanted invasion, it should be effective enough to keep them out.  Close your minds up tightly.”

[aaronlightner]

A Sheep Amongst Wolves

[aaronlightner]

“I greatly appreciate your condolences.”  He smiled gently at Bianca, once again touched by her need to conduct such a human sentiment.  It was becoming all too easy to tell which among the vampires spent more time with mortals than those who did not.  They seemed more in touch with the world around him, and knowledgeable in regards to the plain suffering that was part of a mortal heart.  “She had a wonderful life.  She was loved by many in her time.  I am sure that the family still honour her in their ways.”

His attention turned to the food that was set out before him.  His manners were fastidious; a gentleman’s gentleman, with all the fussy breeding of a pampered British upbringing.  Aaron waited to pick up his wine glass in echo of Bianca.  If he drank it heavier than manners dictated, then that was just too bad.  Hopefully she would forgive him if he looked like a common lush emptying his wine glass without taking the time to really enjoy it.

The timing of it came at the wrong moment as he listened to Bianca speak.  Her last question had him sputtering wine into the glass again.  Quite undignified.  Aaron put the wine down with a cough to reach for his napkin so he could quickly dab at his lips.  A delicate shade of pink emerged on his cheeks.  “Oh.  Oh, no, dear lady.  There is no plan at all to turn me.  I’ve no intention to become anything more than what I am today.”

He looked away from her, the topic one that troubled him.  A conflict about it in him that was undeniable.  “I mean this with no offense to you, of course, Bianca, but David and I are both keenly aware that I don’t have the capacity to live as a vampire.  My soul adamantly rejects the idea that I might ever become a killer, even a practical one.  I have lived as a scholar since I was just a boy of seven under the guidance of the Talamasca.  My morals have since been shaped around the dogma of doing no harm, of never turning my back on those in need.”

“It pains me to consider that I might one day part from David’s company again.  But if I were to become a vampire, as he did, I do not think it would strengthen me as it did him.  I believe it would break me.”