I suddenly knew nothing but a hunger.

Vampire. 2760 years, born 753 BC. Owner of The Feeding Room.

[wishingroman-valhallow-blog]

He noticed her look away from him, and a small streak of victorious jubilation flashed through his stomach, before he pushed it down.  She finally seemed to treat him seriously, rather than the ridiculous feint of politeness that had made him so sick earlier.  His eyes darkened slightly when she mentioned she knew what he was, and his hands tightened along the counter that he stood behind, digging roughly into the grains of wood in front of him.  But he calmed slightly when she finally seemed to address the real problem.  A sliver of panic passed through him at the word ‘trust’, but he breathed out, knowing Jemima would want him to go.  His eyes narrowed slightly, and his fingers rubbed along the wood in front of him, but he remained calm.  ”If you know what I am then you would know I have difficulties saying no to requests for help.  But that doesn’t mean I come easily.  Do not think if I come to help it is because you can control me.  I come for Jemima and that’s it, you can be sure.”

[skyvanmorte]

Genies she'd met plenty of times before, though she herself had never been in possession of their lamp or -- whatever vessel the magical being so desired to live in, so to speak. She knew that many were treated as slaves, less frequently these days, or the affairs of genie slave trading was kept in the shadows far better than it used to be, and she knew that she had acquaintances very much involved with the slaver business. It would not have been unlikely to find out that this very genie had gone through the same thing, or something similar. Or perhaps he just had dark thoughts, that too was not uncommon. However, it was more likely he just had a very bad headache. She looked back over at him after he had finished speaking, and an honest look of bemusement came across her features. "Control you?" Sky questioned, turning to face him again. "I would never, and I quite mean that. It's a liking of mine, to tell the truth." She gave the odd man a funny look. Sky didn't think he enjoyed being what he was; she also believed he was so caught up in what he was that he'd forgotten who he was. All this defensiveness, bitterness, talk of control, the likes, Sky thought it unnecessary, and would make certain he knew that. "Thank you for agreeing to come back with me, Nikolai."

[trevor-robinson-deactivated2014]

"Maybe I am," he inquired. Trevor felt her cool hands against his skin and looked up to meet her eyes, his brows raising in slight surprise and confusion. He only shook his head in answer to her question. Prior to that it had felt almost like a dream. Like it had happened to someone else and not to himself. The weight of it all just came crashing down at once. For a moment, he thought he might break down and cry, right here in the middle of the town, right in front of his newfound friend, but he couldn’t. No tears came. He felt more stressed than emotional, which was an odd feeling to have about a death, but it was better than the alternative.

[skyvanmorte]

How fascinating, she thought; maybe he really was an old soul, it would not be impossible, surely, to think that such things could occur. Sky definitely believed that the universe worked in strange ways, and since before Sky's time people had told stories of reincarnation. She trusted that everything must happen for a reason, it must! Otherwise, why would a demon have sought out Sky in that filthy, pauper brothel those thousands of years ago, to grant her the gift of the gods? Of Immortality! She stared into his eyes, bore her own into his, and ran a thumb against his temple. Sky brought his head down and her own forward, their foreheads touching. "Cry soon, Trevor. You will let out all of that grief you hold for your best friend, like a dam that has been stressed by the waters of your emotion for far too long. Far too long." Her voice was hushed and she spoke fast, passionately. "The truth is that unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realise that the situation is over, you cannot move forward. Cry on the morrow." 

[subtleelevation-deactivated2018]

[arabellecrane-archive]

[trevor-robinson-deactivated2014]

The question came as a shock to Trevor, causing him to freeze up for a few brief moments. He debated trying to avoid the question in it’s entirety, but Sky didn’t look like one to take bullshit like that. Sure, he trusted her. He hadn’t known her for very long, but something told him she was trustworthy. He made a split second decision. “I watched a man shoot my best friend in the head,” he stated bluntly. Something about admitting it out loud caused the reality of the situation to finally kick in, making him to have to lean against the wall next to him for support. 

[skyvanmorte]

She didn't look surprised when he told her of his reasons for being in Valhallow. Then again there were not many things that surprised her these days, having lived for so long and searched within every nook and cranny for something new, something grand. And perhaps she did not look like a killer, but she was and she'd done far worse than what Trevor just stated. Something had made him trust her, and a strange feeling that the two would converse much more in the future came over her. "Perhaps you are Absalon." Sky whispered, then stepped closer and did the strangest thing, she placed her gentle hands either side of his face and had him meet her eyes. She said, "You did not realise that it truly happened until saying it aloud just then, did you?"

[trevor-robinson-deactivated2014]

He thought about her question for a moment, anything to take his mind off of things. “…Yeah. Yeah, I do. I refuse to believe that when you’re gone, you’re actually… gone, y’know?” He looked back up at her.

[skyvanmorte]

She was right to have swerved the subject; he looked as if he was relieved as a result of her distraction. It was only brief but there was a familiar grievance in Trevor's eyes that Sky had seen, and experienced, many times before. It suddenly made her ponder why he'd come to Valhallow to live. Sky nodded her head, "I know. I believe that anything we lose comes round in another form, it is partly why I don't grieve at loss."

Sky paused, then asked, "Why are you here in Valhallow, Trevor?"

[trevor-robinson-deactivated2014]

Trevor’s smile slowly dropped as she spoke, though he tried his best to hide it. He didn’t know whether to be amazed or scared. Last time he checked, he hadn’t said anything to her about why he was here. In a way, his best friend was executed too. Killed off for the good of another group. Though it only took one blow before Archie’s life was taken from him. “He, uh… he seems like a nice guy,” was all he could manage to get out before choking on his own words.

[skyvanmorte]

Oh, it looked to Sky as if she had said something to Trevor that'd hit a nerve, made him recall something that perhaps he did not want to recall. A flicker of bemusement passed through her bright eyes, and she looked to his fallen smile, then back up. She said, "Do you believe in reincarnation?" Sky couldn't help but step closer to him, "Old Souls."

[trevor-robinson-deactivated2014]

"Hm, you never know. Anything’s possible. Old me could’ve been anywhere, really." He shrugged as a bright smile came over him. "Why, did you know anyone Trevor-worthy back then?"

[skyvanmorte]

Her expression lit up when he said that anything was possible, because she believed that too; wholeheartedly. Her interest in him grew in that moment. "Yes, you're right. Anything is possible. I think the exact same." Sky said, watching him with bright eyes. "Perhaps not Trevor-worthy. I think you are similar to a man I knew once, but you're both of separate worth." She stated, adding, "His name was Absalon, a gentle man. But he was never quite the same after his best friend died. You see, he was killed right in front of Absalon. Executed. It took eight blows before his head was off."

[wishingroman-valhallow-blog]

His expression soured at her comment.  A bubble of anger seemed to be seething in his stomach and the memories of that evil laughter started ringing in his ears even more.  His eyes turned dangerously dark and instead of the hesitant petulance that had marked his demeanor earlier, he had a much cooler, deadlier anger to his voice now.  ”I owned a business that’s very purpose was to please customers, vampire…” his words were icy as he pronounced the last word, and his gaze stayed strong and fixed upon the girl in front of him.  Laughter echoed in his ears and a low throbbing seemed to surround him, but he continued on.  ”I found it to be the least rewarding thing I could have done.  I asked you what your friend’s disease was, and you have not responded.  Now unless you tell me, I can help you no further.  I care nothing for the refined graces you seek at the moment, so unless you feel more forthcoming with your information, what need is there for me to be forthcoming with my manners?”

[skyvanmorte]

Sky paused, and turned her body again to face the man head on. She stood in the centre of the apothecary, just beneath the small chandelier, her soft hands clasped calmly to her front. His eyes caught her undivided attention. They'd darkened, and they intrigued her. Right then the vampire was a stark contrast to the eeriness Nikolai was emitting. Whilst a dark cloud had seemingly moved to loom over the man, Sky just shone brighter. So much so that it came across eldritch, as if the queerness in his voice and eyes stirred something in the deepest pit of Sky. It made her inwardly dither, and she had to look elsewhere. "I know what you are now, most definitely." She murmured to herself, taking a couple languid steps towards a particular plant. "The reason I said it is confidential is because I can't simply bring her here for you to, say, diagnose. Jemima would have at least trusted me enough to come back to my home had I asked. But could I ask the same of you?"

[trevor-robinson-deactivated2014]

Trevor laughed softly at the absurdity that she’d find him more mature than his age, but accepted it nonetheless. It was a welcome change. “Perhaps you’re right. Maybe I’m a reincarnation of someone from the 500s BC. Maybe we were friends,” 

[skyvanmorte]

Sky smiled at him, listening to his laughter and reciprocating it when she responded to his comment. "Now that all depends, do you think that you would have been in Scandinavia back then?"

[trevor-robinson-deactivated2014]

"Ah, that’s… that’s something completely different then." He sent her a sympathetic look. "Oh, I’m twenty. And I’ve already heard all the jokes about my age in relation to my looks, so I wouldn’t even try if I were you."

[skyvanmorte]

Sky noticed the sympathy in his look, and replied with confusion. She didn't think her old profession was a big deal in the slightest. It put food on the table every night and that's what had mattered. "I promise I was not even thinking about making jokes about your looks. On the contrary I think the way in which you come across is far older than twenty." Sky said, tilting her head to the side. "Perhaps you're an Old Soul."

[wishingroman-valhallow-blog]

At her words his eyes narrowed and his shoulders began twitching in discomfort.  Jemima would be yelling at him right now.  He was meant to be nice to the customers, but he just couldn’t bring himself to trust this one.  Her smile and feigned elegance, it just rubbed him all wrong, and reminded him of the girl who had stolen his heart so long ago.  He stared at her broodily for a few long moments before looking away with a pained expression.  ”I speak to strangers the way I like to speak to strangers.  Sometimes I charm, and other times I insult.  Surely it’s my prerogative to deal with people as I wish…” he said petulantly.

[skyvanmorte]

She looked at him with an expression that questioned why he was being childishly sulky, but whilst it was clear that he was trying to be as difficult as possible to converse with right then, the vampire took it in her stride and handled it with ease. Her eyes drifted upward, to a glass container containing some weird looking bug creatures inside. They looked to be staring back at her. "You don't sound as if you've owned a business before, Nikolai." Sky lightly conversed, "Speak to strangers the way you want to speak to strangers, unless they're your customers. In which case you feign politeness, however hard you might find it." 

[trevor-robinson-deactivated2014]

"I mean, it’s not bad or anything, just a bit surprising," he shrugged, "As long as you enjoyed it, that’s all that matters, right?"

[skyvanmorte]

"I cannot say that I did. I was nine and the job was but means to an end." Sky replied, inclining her head. "Might I ask how old you are?"

[trevor-robinson-deactivated2014]

"Forever twenty four," he noted, "not bad." Trevor gave her a dazed look. "A brothel?" he asked, making sure he heard her correctly.

[skyvanmorte]

Sky let out a soft laugh, nodding her head. "Forever twenty four, yes indeed." She said, and hadn't she sacrificed a great deal for her immortality. "Yes, a brothel. People are always so taken aback my that and I still cannot comprehend why. Perhaps because the job is no longer so common." Her brows twitched inward some.

[trevor-robinson-deactivated2014]

Trevor nodded at the clarification. “Alright, then when did you become one?” He thought for a moment before shaking his head. “Wait, you don’t have to answer that, that came out rude.”

[skyvanmorte]

Sky answered almost immediately after he'd asked the question. She found it to be a completely reasonable question filled with completely ordinary intrigue, and when someone was interested in knowing more about Sky, well, Sky was more than happy to oblige. "I was twenty four, and working in a brothel."

[wishingroman-valhallow-blog]

Nikolai shoved the voices from his head, though the effort of doing it made his temple twinge and his brow wrinkle in pain and annoyance.  She seemed to be attempting to charm him with her smiles but he just found the woman’s smiles and grace irritating at the moment.  He rubbed his temple furiously as she spoke lightly, and then glowered over at her.  ”She’s not here…” he muttered, before sighing slightly, knowing he shouldn’t be so gruff and that Jemima would scold him for his words.  ”She’s off doing errands.”  

When she took a step further into the apothecary, Nikolai instinctually stepped back from the woman.  She seemed to be glowing slightly and he could only look at her from the corners of his eyes.  Her voice was accented with an old-fashioned seeming tongue, and Nikolai’s eyes narrowed slightly at the woman.  ”Well I am Nikolai and I’m here looking out for the apothecary while Jemima’s gone.  She’s not coming back today, so if you need help either make your problem not be confidential…” Nikolai’s temple twinged again and his lip raised slightly in an internal snarl, “…or get lost.”

[skyvanmorte]

Sky was disappointed to hear that Jemima was out running errands, and would have asked the man when he thought she'd be back if not for the fact that he seemed irate, and perhaps with good reason. A split second of curiosity -- on her part -- had sparked when she'd first entered the apothecary, but it'd gone just as soon as it'd come, like a piece of wood that'd been trying to catch fire, and briefly it glowed an orangey red, but all together nothing came of it and the wood returned to its dull brown soon enough. If she'd thought he would have responded to any of her inquiries, Sky would have asked if he'd tell her why he acted in such a way, but she didn't think he would answer, so she wasted no time with inquiring. Instead she asked, "Do you always converse with strangers like this?" Sky's expression darkened only the smallest amount, "Or have I done something to offend you?" She said, straight.

[trevor-robinson-deactivated2014]

He whistled lowly in attempt to express his awe. “Clans? Like little vampire families? Or weren’t you one at that point?” he leaned forward, curious to hear more about Sky’s past. She was like a walking history textbook.

[skyvanmorte]

She grimaced a little at her poor choice of wording, then shook her head. "Perhaps I should have used the word tribes, would that have made it better? There were lots of tribes -- human tribes, that is." Sky explained, using her hands for some of the explanation, "I was not born a vampire."