Humble Tour Guide

Jeremy Hayes. Humble tour guide. Vampire. Blog created: FEB 15th 2018

[donttouchthevase-blog]

malkavian-blue‌:

“There is an off season?” The vampire was confused. What exactly did that mean? What happened when a season was off? Which of the fours seasons was off? He scratched at his neck absentmindedly. “How do people know when a season is off?” Maybe the season was off now and he had interrupted Jeremy’s personal time. Was Jeremy laughing? Or was it the voices? He growled and pushed the sound away.

Jeremy needed something close to the person to locate them and Blue had everything this person ever owned. “Is it worth it? Do they know they are dead? Can they understand?” Blue was staring and his mind continued to fill with questions.

Jeremy chuckled again.

“The off season is during fall and winter. Guest arent allowed to visit the property unless under special circumstances.” He slowly sat up again before swinging his legs off the side of the bed. After making his way to his bookshelf, he pulled out a rather old looking, but well taken care of, book.

“It all depends on the person.” He flipped through the pages slowly. “Too many things contribute to it to say whether for certain they are aware of it or not. They can understand if the connections are strong. Think of it as talking through a two way radio. The further you are from the other person, the weaker the signal and you wont be able to have a clear conversation” Jeremy paused to read a paragraph on the page before continuing to flip through them.

“To make the connection most strong, I would have to have an item close to them, as i have said before, as well as being in a place they frequented a lot.” 

[donttouchthevase-blog]

malkavian-blue:

“You are in a self imposed isolation,” Blue commented rather bluntly. “They are the only company that you have, whether you like it or not.”

He’d stopped petting Atley as he mulled over the possibility of entities being in the room at this very moment…

Atley took advantage of Blue’s apparent distraction and inched closer toward the blood marble. He stared directly at the vampire while very slowly reaching out a claw and grasping ahold of it firmly. And, just like that, the tiny owl had his prize - he’d won. Trophy in his grip he scooted back toward Blue and nipped at his fingers until the vampire resumed the head scratches.

“How would you go about finding someone specific?” Blue asked. His eyes remained focused on their host as he lazily scratched Atley. “Someone who died long ago.”

“Not all the time. During the off seasons not many people come here but I am visited often by a close friend of mine. I am perfectly fine with being alone.”

Jeremy turned to look at Blue but instead shifted his eyes to Atley who had just grabbed the blood marble. He chuckled slightly before looking over the books on his shelf.

“Someone specific? I would need something that was close to them in life. It could be anything they had but the closer that object was to them, the easier it would be to find them.” Jeremy tapped his fingers on his knees for a moment before laying on his back. “I haven’t tried that sort of magic in a long while. I will have to brush up.”

[donttouchthevase-blog]

I think you mean Hearst's Castle, not Heart Castle?

//Ahh I wrote that half asleep but yes i did!

[donttouchthevase-blog]

malkavian-blue:

“The dead?” This was an interesting turn of events. What sort of dead spoke to him? Was he capable of finding a specific dead person to communicate with? The voices in his head began taking all at once. It was difficult to hear his own thoughts. The subject of magic was practically forgotten.

“Why block them? Do they seek you out or are they a constant?” he reached toward Atley and scratched the top of the owl’s head. “Are you quite certain it is the voices of the dead you hear?” It didn’t hurt to check… perhaps Jeremy was just as mad as himself. The Malk was a bit more on edge than he intended. What if Jeremy could find a specific person? What if he truly could communicate with the deceased?

No one has been successful before.

“They were mortal,” he commented offhandedly while still staring at Jeremy.

Jeremy moved the hair out of his face and took off his glasses. Staring at the reflective surface, he thought a moment.

How much did he intend to say about himself. He barely knows this man, yet he has invited him into his most personal space...

The tour guide sighed to himself before setting his glasses down onto the sheets.

“Sometimes they seek me out, some times I stumble upon them. I see them occasional but that requires a lot of energy and you have to be dead quite a while to do that.” He shifted so his legs were crossed but he hand flopped onto his back to stare at the ceiling. “Theyre good company when no one else is around.”

[donttouchthevase-blog]

malkavian-blue:

“The dead?” This was an interesting turn of events. What sort of dead spoke to him? Was he capable of finding a specific dead person to communicate with? The voices in his head began taking all at once. It was difficult to hear his own thoughts. The subject of magic was practically forgotten.

“Why block them? Do they seek you out or are they a constant?” he reached toward Atley and scratched the top of the owl’s head. “Are you quite certain it is the voices of the dead you hear?” It didn’t hurt to check… perhaps Jeremy was just as mad as himself. The Malk was a bit more on edge than he intended. What if Jeremy could find a specific person? What if he truly could communicate with the deceased?

No one has been successful before.

“They were mortal,” he commented offhandedly while still staring at Jeremy.

Jeremy nodded before shifting his eyes to the ground in a bit of a self-conscious manner.

“Most of the time they seek me out which why I must block them. Me being here for so long, I had to block them out. If I hadn’t I probably would have gone a bit crazy.” He laughed half-heartedly before closing his eyes and sighing. “It’s all dependant on the place. Sometimes just a few whispers in the wind. Other times I see them fully just as you are standing here in front of me.”

Chewing on his lip before reaching over to grab and fiddle with his watch, Jeremy only half noticed the offhanded comment.

“Everyone has someone they wish was still around but it’s tough to find and speak to them. It feels as if something is blocking it. Must be the personal relationships that interfere with everything... Perhaps for the better...” He was more so speaking to himself but was definitely loud enough for the other to hear. 

[donttouchthevase-blog]

@malkavian-blue

“They are everywhere and they are nowhere. Here,” he tapped the side of his head, “but mostly here,” he pointed to a vein on the back of his hand. “They speak, they listen. They are constant. They are a curse. They are… necessary.”

Blue watched his host carefully. The other vampire appeared incredibly relaxed - he only wished it came so easily to himself.

Atley finally managed to calm himself and leapt off the Malk’s shoulder to stand next to the ink-covered blood. The owl reached out with a claw but immediately froze when he felt a pair of eyes on him. Sheepishly, he paced the length of the table before returning to Blue’s shoulder and taking his place against the vampire’s neck.

“What of yourself?” he’s refocused on Jeremy. “It is said that magic speaks. Can you hear it?”

Jeremy had been staring that the wall while the other had spoken. It had taken a moment for him to snap out of his daze.

“I can hear more than magic.” He waved his hand around then shrugged slightly before flopping back on his bed. “The dead speak to me as well. Depends on the place and time of course. But here.... it is quiet most of the time.”

Jeremy stared at the ceiling before turning his head to stare at Blue. “I have found a way to block them from this place. I can’t have them here for too long. They get loud and I..... don’t like that.”

[donttouchthevase-blog]

@malkavian-blue:

Atley’s squawking only increased when Jeremy held up a finger and stepped away to retrieve a book. Even Blue paused to glance between the pair, the look on the Malk’s face was one that clearly showed he didn’t want to be a part of this argument. Atley did not like to be told to wait - even for a moment. Blue shook his head and waited for the owl to finish his rant before speaking.

“I hear many voices, including Atley’s,” Blue’s own voice trailed off as he continued coating the sphere in ink. In all his years the Malk had never been able to properly articulate just what the voices of animals sounded like in his head. Certainly nothing like the unseen, but still very clear.

“His actions are human-ish…”

That’s not what he meant.

Blue stopped and placed the blood-marble in the lid of the ink jar to keep it from rolling away and then turned to face Jeremy. “Atley has a distinctive accent.”

Jeremy stopped looking at his book before nodding slowly. ”I see... Voices...” He blinked before putting the book away. taking a pause at the shelf, he nibbled his lip for a moment before turning back towards blue and Atley.

Sitting at the end of his bed, Jeremy watched the other vampire in silence before flopping onto his back. “Where do the voices come from?” Having hear voices since starting his training, he quickly learned there are many different voices and many different sources. Though he didn’t have much experience with other immortals, he did have a lot of human interaction.

”Do you hear them often?”

[donttouchthevase-blog]

malkavian-blue:

“Cell phones are tricky,” Blue confessed. The Malk still had no idea exactly how many functions the small device in his pocket had. These modern gadgets were both a blessing and a curse.

Blue entered the room and made his way to the nearest level surface. He removed the cap from the jar of ink, placed it on the table, and promptly dipped his finger into the midnight colored liquid. “I may wander… I may not…” The vampire was focused on the sphere as he spoke. “Trouble follows my feet.” Blood-marble cradled in the palm of his hand, he began poking at it with the inked finger - smearing the liquid across the surface and watching the orb intently.

Atley had lost interest in the blood and had turned himself to face Jeremy. Still fluffed up and clinging tightly to Blue’s shoulder, the owl was chirping and clicking rather rapidly at their host.

Jeremy chuckled softly as he nodded in agreement about technology being tricky. He didn’t get it much at first but lately, they have been so incredibly helpful.

Especially his watch.

Hazel eyes shifted from the ink jar on the table that the other vampire had sat there before moving to the bird making sorts of noises at him. 

“Wh-... Actually....” He held up a finger before turning on his heel quickly and sorting through his books. As soon as he found the one he was looking for- a very old, cracked leather book- he opened and flipped through the pages. Stopping on a page he quietly read to himself before he grinned over the pages at Blue.

“Have you ever heard his voice? The one he were to speak if he was a human....ish?”

[donttouchthevase-blog]

@malkavian-blue

Blue made a face. He hadn’t even started his experiment and Jeremy was advising against it. Of course the Malk was far too stubborn to listen. He was about to open the ink jar when the raven appeared.

The newcomer’s arrival caused Atley to freeze in place. This other bird was easily four times Atley’s size but it wasn’t fear that held the tiny owl, but curiosity. Not only did this rather large bird make human like noises, it magically coughed up pieces of paper. Atley made a low noise that sounded like a combination of a hiss and a growl. Had he not been holding an eye in one claw, he would have probably begun shifting his stance to something a bit more predatory; he may have been small enough to sit in Blue’s pocket, but Atley believed himself to be equal to a grizzly bear.

Blue however was ready to strike should the raven be a threat. He wouldn’t hesitate to drop everything in his hands to defend his owl - lucky that hasn’t been necessary.

“Fancy carrier pigeon,” Blue quipped while walking past Jeremy toward the door. He was in a hurry to get inside and test a theory.

Jeremy chuckled at the now poofy Atley with a gentle smile. He waved his hand before closing the door behind them.

“Lie is harmless but he isn’t mine. A friends. He sends me notes through carrier.... raven.” Jeremy sighed almost annoyed yet in a pleasing way. “Refuses to use the damn cell phone I had gotten him.”

Combing back his wet hair, Jeremy led them down the hallway and up the stairs to his room. 

“If you wish to roam around the building, feel free to do so. Everything not on tours are generally hidden from the sun.” He took off his vest and folded it into a drawer. “Though if you feel the need to stay here, do that as well.” 

Taking off his watch, he set it on the end table near his bed then proceeded to grab a book off the shelf. 

[donttouchthevase-blog]

malkavian-blue:

As far as Blue was aware, he had no knowledge of any sort of blood magic. Unless he started conjuring things in his sleep, and as long as Jeremy was telling the truth, the sphere should be harmless. Though the voices in his head made him a bit uneasy about it.

He shifted Atley to his shoulder, by now the rain had washed away most of the blood on the eye he was holding so the Malk was less concerned about damage to his suit. Blue’s eyes were trained on the sphere as he walked through the gate - still rolling the marble-like blood gracefully around his hand and ignoring the few voices that were encouraging him to drop it.

“How easily does it shatter?” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small jar of iron gall ink, shook it, then turned his attention to Jeremy. “And if it should shatter, would it return to a liquid state?”

“Not any easier than a normal glass orb. Perhaps a bit stronger given its contents. I still highly recommend not.... doing that.”

Jeremy brushed the hair out of his face, inhaled deeply before stretching with his harms over his head. Fixing his shirt slightly he moved to head inside.

“Not it will stay solid. It only becomes a liquid if the wielder so chooses to. I would keep it in a locked box of some-” 

In the middle of his sentence, a rather large raven landed on Jeremy’s head. It stood there for a moment before pecking at his glasses. After Jeremy tried to move the bird’s beak from his glasses, the bird started to make a coughing noise.

“sort....” Jeremy sighed and held up his hand in front of the bird’s mouth. After a few strangled coughs, a small rolled up piece of paper plopped onto Jeremy’s hand. “Thank you... Now be off. I have company.” After a noise of confirmation, the bird flew off and Jeremy tucked the soggy piece of paper into his vest pocket.

“Forgive me. We better get inside.” He looked at the lightening sky on the horizon. “Follow me”

[donttouchthevase-blog]

@malkavian-blue

Blue’s eyes became fixed on Jeremy. The Malkavian took in absolutely every detail of their host. When the appropriate time comes…

“I am sure he would appreciate that.” The appropriate time was at least a couple years away. What does this mean? The vampire gave a slight shrug. It was a valid question. He would have to ask.

With the sphere firmly enclosed around Blue’s fingers, Atley has busied himself by nibbling on the shoelaces that were draped across the Malk’s wrist. Much like a toddler not getting his way, the owl knew doing something he shouldn’t would give him the attention he wanted - though his plan backfired. “If you cause me to drop my shoes, you will not get to play with the marble.” Atley immediately stopped his assault on the shoelaces and pretended to examine the eye still firmly locked in his claw.

“I have many questions,” he was now staring at the blood, “some I will have to discover on my own, some… ” Blue rolled the sphere around in his hand as he focused on the dark spots contained within. “Most importantly, how safe is this?” Atley wasn’t the only one he had to worry about getting ahold of it.

Jeremy paused just outside of the estates gate. With a hand laid gently on the latch to the smaller door near the side, he smiled and turned his head towards the two.

“I can assure you, I am much more dangerous and unpredictable than that sphere.” His smile widened just a small bit, showing his fangs, before he opened and waled through the gate.

“Only people with a high proficiancy in blood magic can gain access to the magic with in the blood. Though I would be careful about shatteriing it. Some of the magic, if the orb were to be broken, can be released and is very unpredictable in what it might do.”

Giving a magic infused blood orb to someone who didnt know how to weild it was probably not the best idea for him. His master would be so displeased with him but yet he couldn’t help be curious about what the other vampire would do with it.

Either way, he enjoyed the company of Blue and Atley. Probably more so now that he knows the other is immortal just as him. 

[donttouchthevase-blog]

malkavian-blue:

“Did you want to try and take them?” Unaware Jeremy’s comment about his fingers had been sarcastic, Blue paused to stare. The Malk rarely acknowledged his unusual strength but certainly had no problem using it when the occasion called for it - even sometimes when it didn’t.

Blue remained frozen in place until the umbrella reappeared, then continued on. He only gave the magnetic umbrella a passing thought as his focus was still on the sphere of blood in one hand and Atley with his own bloody souvenir in the other.

“Atley would like one of everything.” Blue responded to the question in complete seriousness - if Atley has his way, the owl would indeed own everything. As the smaller sphere of blood broke free and circled, Atley screeched in excited approval. “As much as he would enjoy his own blood-marble,” he gave the bird a look, “I do not allow him to keep objects with any sort of magical properties. He is too young for that yet.”

Blue closed his fingers around the sphere and gave it a gentle squeeze to see if it was in a solid or liquid state. He needed to learn as much about this item as possible.

“Ahh... Then I shall give him one when the appropriate time comes.” Jeremy kept his gaze always pointed to the highest part of the road as he walk. Once and a while he would close his eyes, deep inhale then hum softly.

“Do you have any question for me about it? Or are you keen on finding out about those answers yourself?”

Jeremy always had fun playing little puzzles here and there with certain people. The ones who would be most fun. He hoped Blue would give him the more fun option but it was hard to say for him.

[donttouchthevase-blog]

@malkavian-blue

“I touch a great many things I very probably should not.” Blue shuffled Atley to one hand and accepted the sphere with the other, taking a moment to study the arrangement of the darker bits. “These inclusions, they are your doing?” He rolled the marble-like object gracefully around his hand, “Part of your magic? They certainly do not occur naturally.”

He wondered if the sphere was able to withstand submersion in water - or perhaps wine. He then wondered how much effort he would have to put into discovering the many uses it was deemed to have.

Atley shuffled closer to get a better look. Blue would no doubt have to keep this particular object safely contained in a jar, otherwise it would end up in Atley’s box of collected items.

“How long will you keep the… creature alive? Or is it now gone with the waves?”

“I’m surprised you still have all your fingers” Jeremy mused to himself with a slightly chuckle. He reached for his umbrella on his arm only to find out it wasn’t there. “Oh hell” 

Sighing heavily, he snapped his fingers twice and it appeared in the air in front of him just long enough for him to grab it.

“Oh it is far gone with the waves. As are the other two.” He noticed Atley staring at the orb and tilted his head. “Would he like one as well?” His eyes shifted from the bird, to the orb and up to Blue.

“Those are apart of the magic, yes.” For a moment, the sphere in Blue’s hands rippled and out came a smaller that floated around his hands before merging back into the larger. “It’s quite easy to get the uses out of it but then again I’ve been doing this for over a hundred years so I guess my words don’t hold very much weight...” He chuckled again.

“I suppose it is a bit dangerous to leave a magically charged item to someone who doesn’t know how to wield it but seeing as the blood belongs to someone who is already dead... It doesn’t matter much.”

[donttouchthevase-blog]

@malkavian-blue

[donttouchthevase-blog]

@malkavianblue

The Malk’s eye twitched when Jeremy mentioned he could very well be a rare from of vampire. As obsessed with knowledge as he was, the idea that he didn’t know something didn’t sit very well with Blue. “I have ways of discovering…” His voice was unassuming but the unseen knew otherwise and they began giggling in their own unhinged way. Blue could only stare at Jeremy’s smile, sapphire eyes locked onto the other’s lips until he spoke again…

“Have?” Blue was suddenly confused. He looked back at the mortals trapped in the sand. “What do you-”

Jeremy already had his back to Blue and was making his way back toward the road. “I suppose now is as good a time as any?” The vampire shrugged and Atley flew from his shoulder to retrieve one of the trapped individual’s eyes. After an ear piercing scream from the stranger, the owl had returned with his bloody prize firmly grasped in a claw. “No blood on the suit,” he held his hands out for Atley to land - once safely perched, Blue started back toward the road.

“So you made yourself a zombie and set it lose on the beach?” Blue asked as he appeared at Jeremy’s side. “I assume he will live until this has dried up,” he reached over and poked at the blood sphere.

”I was merely joking...” Jeremy kept his eyes on the sphere. “I am a normal vampire. However, I do know an extensive amount of magic. The corpse will stay animated as long as my powers deem it so.”

The tide was quickly rising and following the pair at their heels as Jeremy hummed. “Though would they rather drown or be torn apart by their friend... tough decision to make” The screams had gotten louder but soon faded beneath the waves.

His intent gaze hadn’t left the orb until Blue had poked it. The ripple rounded around the orb before finally calming and returning to a smooth surface.

”do you have a habit of touching things that aren’t yours..?” Jeremy’s pupils still glowed a faint purple as his hands and fingers slowly wound around the sphere. After compacting it in his palms and rubbing them around the sphere, he opened them to show a blood red sphere.

It looked almost to be made of colored glass and within it, smaller flecks of darker shades.

Jeremy eyed it a few moments longer before handing it over to Blue.

”You can get many different uses out of it. Though the tricky bit is finding out how” He chuckled as they continued up the mountain.

[donttouchthevase-blog]

@malkavian-blue​

Blue was immediately drawn to the quick maneuver using sand. How delightful it would be to have the earth open up and swallow someone whole? He would have to tell his grandsire about this trick; Keegan would appreciate this just as much.

Cautiously, he approached the nearest of the trapped pair - leaning closely to examine the individual’s eyes. “Average,” he mumbled to himself as the unseen agreed. Atley danced from side to side on the vampire’s shoulder, stopping occasionally to flex a claw. “Not yet,” Blue nodded and reached up to scratch under the owl’s beak.

After a quick study of the subject stuck in the sand, Blue backed a safe distance before turning his back on the individual and redirecting his attention to the small orb of blood that was forming. Blood magic? But what kind?

“You continue to intrigue,” the Malk focused on the blood. “A lone immortal, in a rather remote location, with some interesting abilities.” Blue collected a small handful of falling rain and released it over the orb, “I truly must know, what kind of vampire are you?”

Jeremy continued to focus on the blood draining from this person’s nose. His mouth parted just slightly whispering something in an unknown and unusual language. As soon as the blood stopped flowing, he released the person’s head to let their limp body fall to the ground. 

“A rare kind im guessing by you not knowing.” Jeremy held the floating blood orb between his hands as he slowly stood. The dark circles under his eyes had deepend but his smile was still bright.

“Do you wish to have the other two? One?” Jeremy lazily looked back at the two before turning on his heel and started to walk back towards the road they had just come from. Pausing his step slightly, he waved his hand.

The waves started to lap at the two trapped persons’ legs and the body on the ground shifted slightly and lift its head. The body, obviously dead, started to try and lift itself from the sand while slowly crawling towards the trapped pair.

“Do make a decision before he gets there, though i doubt hes in any hurry.” Jeremy continued to walk slowly while still focusing on the orb between his hands.

[donttouchthevase-blog]

malkavian-blue:

While Blue could appreciate Jeremy’s enthusiasm, the Malk, as a member of a Camarilla, had the Masquerade to uphold - though he would admit he did that somewhat loosely.

“Drumming up business in the off season then?” he smirked as the stranger clutched blindly at the sand.

Blue had never intentionally involved an innocent in his fun, so this event was a strange thing to witness. He wasn’t necessarily opposed to such an action, he’d just never seen it from this vantage point before. The unseen however, approved wholeheartedly. Blue smiled at their giddiness, “Is that what you would have me doing to everyone we pass on the street?”

As Jeremy approached the group Blue elected to remain back. The closer he got the more tempting to join the fun and he had Atley’s safety to consider. Reaching up, he scratched at the owl’s head, then ran a hand through his hair - resting his arm idly on top his head while holding his hair back. It was much easier to witness the spectacle without the ocean breeze whipping his hair around his face.

“Does all your power rely on hand gestures?”

“No. I just feel more connected to it if I’m doing so...” He stood over the gasping person before the took in a sharp inhale and coughed. Coughed so hard, in fact, a few drops of blood flew out of their mouth. 

“Oh hush it wasn’t th-” Jeremy stared at the stand in front of them both before snapping his head upward at the other two. The sand and water around their feet suddenly swallowed them up to their calves and trapping them in their place. “Stay” He flashed another one of those cute smiles before brushing the hair out of his face. 

“I would say I’m sorry for this but... I’m not” He shrugged before staking the umbrella into the sand and rolling up his sleeves. Kneeling down, he grabbed the person’s face and held his tightly. 

Their face went flushed quite quickly. The rest of their body went limp and the only thing holding them up, was Jeremy’s grip on their face. “Shh” 

Blood started as soft drip out fo their nose before becoming a steady flow. Jeremy watched it closely as he angled the persons head so it didn’t drip down onto their face. 

The blood didn't hit the sand but instead hung in the air just between the two and slowly started to form a perfect sphere.