Stimulating is something Armand can agree on. Rarely, nowadays, did he have enough company to muse upon the ins and outs of humanity - the them versus us reflection that settles upon an undeniable bias of one who deems himself primarily cursed by his affliction. Albeit, Armand is aware he possesses more freedom than some others changed by the dark gift. He can still enjoy, when he feels like it, a stroll in the sun. He can go a while longer without eyeing up his first encounter like a famished beast. But, as settled upon, the grass is greener.
There's a brief, half-amused smile that decorates Armand's lips when referred to as a fucked up little beast, paired with a huffed out chuckle. ❝ Ah, you are certainly not the first, nor the last, to refer to me as such. — but, yes, that is what we mostly become. No one with a fulfilling, unharmed life wants to live forever - usually. ❞
With hands resting upon his lap, he watches Clark with pursed lips. Listens with a patience unforced. Black curls tickle his shoulder with the slight tilting of his head. A sign of some form of comfortability with his surroundings. Armand still holds a natural, never removed guard around himself - still, perhaps a layer or two of bricks are temporarily set aside for this conversation.
❝ It is no surprise that so many become literal Molotovs. I have seen many vampires light the flame and stand within it. I cannot speak for other creatures and their preternatural experiences, but being stuck as you are, changed in a moment of suffering... It eternally lingers. ❞ The vampire turns his face, looking away for a moment. Half a millennium of introspection and the heaviness weighs almost as strongly as it initially had. ❝ Our kind barely possess the capability to move on from what brought us here. ❞
Doubt courses through him like a secondary lifeline. It puppeteers him in a way difficult to control. It shows in his views, his opinions, his actions.
Armand takes a slow breath and looks back towards the other.
❝ -from one old man to another, please, continue. ❞