Odette de Beaufort (la_duchesse) wrote in light_of_may, @ 2010-07-12 12:56:00 |
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Entry tags: | 2009-07-19 |
This sort of love lasts forever
Who: Odette and Liev
Where: House of Interest
What: Once again, hello.
The shop continued to smell of dust and old things and even Odette’s French perfume couldn’t help it. Turning the last page of her book, Odette stood to begin closing her little shop. Business was slow, but she hadn’t really expected any customers. She flexed the fingers she had bruised and nearly broken from a few nights before and scowled when she remembered the news she had heard earlier today. The point was to frame werewolves, not turn the entire world on the fact that there were vampires who could shapeshift. She personally had no need or desire to be hunted, thank you very much (not that she wasn’t already being hunted for being a vampire to begin with, but she ignored that fact).
Odette rose from her seat and walked over to one of several bookshelves and returned the old French tome to its proper place. She posted no hours at the House (as she was wont to call her little shop) and came and went as she pleased. If anyone really wanted to purchase anything, they could check the online catalog. Really. Stretching her arms over her head as she walked to fetch her purse from behind the counter, Odette reflected on the series of events from the previous nights. She’d been in two altercations with two different werewolves - she could stave off getting into another fight. Bloodlust aside, she was ruining way too many pieces of clothing for her standards and, really, the little girl were had not been worth damaging her Burberry coat over.
As she walked across the shop, she briefly caught a vision of herself in an antiquated mirror and stopped to stare at her reflection. She turned slightly this way and that, critiquing herself more harshly than anyone she had ever known (with the exception of her mother but who remembered that bitch?). The navy dress wasn’t much in her style and in the sticky heat of a Michigan summer night, it was even less appealing. She couldn’t wait to get home and get out of it. She ran her tongue over her fangs carefully avoiding the sharp points as she thought about feeding. It was a necessity and she intended on participating in the silly berry thing today. She had recently acquired some fae blood, though she wanted something a little warmer to actually feed on.
Odette pulled the pins that had been keeping her hair up out and let her dark hair fall down. She ran the fingers of her empty hand through it and kept watching her reflection. Vanity came naturally to her and she gave herself another critical once-over. Maybe she should just put up an ad on craigslist or something. Seeking m/f O- fae-blooded for thirsty vampire. Odette felt the absurdity of the entire situation and she laughed to herself. In many ways, she missed the old days when you simply took and asking was out of the question. Since the Light of May - well, really, since someone romanticized the entire blood-sucking process - there had been no actual shortage of eager necks. The only issue was the rest of the body belonging to the neck often got too clingy and that often led to their eventual demise.
After a certain point, there was really no more Odette could say about herself or her reflection that hadn’t already been said. Turning back towards the counter, she decided she could probably still make it in time for a drink at Heme. Purchasing her food was certainly not her style (and almost offensive to her sensibilities) but she had never been before and it was supposedly her reason for moving to this little hovel town anyway.
Watching her from across the road wasn’t an option. Liev knew her too well to think she would not notice him. Of course, everyone noticed him, but that was besides the point. He had situated himself further down the road, well out of his usual range of sight--thus out of hers as well. Suited in grey Armani with a dark, navy blue shirt, he watched her with a pair of antique gentleman’s opera glasses, impressed by how far their focus reached. He briefly considered how he must look to anyone else, before deciding it was immaterial and turning his attention back to the creature at her counter. Her attire curved his lips into an entirely self-satisfied smile; It’s like she knows me.
It was with little thought to any spectators that Liev hopped down off the wall, moving towards the shop with a relaxed and quietly confident gait--a stroll that still somehow overtook anyone walking past him. He lacked the shame for the concept of being any more subtle in his approach to even cross his mind. It was only Odette. Clearly, the front door was the best option, even if she didn’t want him there and he had to put his fist through it. His attention momentarily pulled to one side by a staring human--Why hasn’t your government enforced a curfew yet?--he bowed his head slightly in acknowledgement, then merely quickened his step. He had eaten within the hour, but the gawping moron was practically asking for it and there was always room for more. But no. He had moved to this godforsaken town for her. She was close enough for him to smell her, so he did not doubt that she knew he was here. It would be rude of him to become distracted now. So instead, he stopped just across the road from the shop and waited, hands in pockets. He had all the patience in the world.
The air was still in the Michigan heat but the scent still made its way through the shop and to Odette. She didn’t quite recognize the cologne but the smell beneath the cologne was unmistakable. A pause for...oh, she didn’t even know what the pause was for, she just made one. Turning her head to the side, she espied him across the street and smiled. Theirs was an easy relationship -- and casual. He always knew where to find her when the mood struck him, though it never did occur to Odette he was stalking her some of those times. Just like many things about Liev and his non-lies-non-truths did not occur to her. A murder by a werewolf one night several centuries ago, for example, and how convenient that was.
Leaving her purse on the counter, she walked away from it and moved towards the front door of her shop. She crossed her arms and stood in front of the glass door, weight shifted onto one foot. “Hm, how quaint. We match,” she observed, noting the blue theme that defined their clothing choice this evening-morning. She had only recently acquired the dress and decided on something a little more stretchable that wouldn’t tear should she need to make a shift...but that was before she’d read the news. He looked well from her vantage point, not that he ever did not look well when he visited (or just in general). It was a more selfish observation than that, really. A train of thought that ran along the lines of who’s been taking good care of you? But she dared not voice that out. She at least tried to pretend jealousy and feelings of ownership were things of the past and other women and men were inconsequential to her. She thought briefly of Edward and wondered what Liev would think if he knew.
What, not coming out to say hello? It was easy enough for him to pretend he wasn’t put out by the fact she had not even crossed the threshold. His vanity dictated she should have--that it should be a uniform reaction to his presence. His common sense said ”It’s been a while, and some idiot bled on forensic evidence.” Regardless, he was not conducting a conversation across the road and through a door. That was insulting.
“My taste in clothing is never ’quaint’,” he began, crossing the road and adjusting the fit of his jacket over his shoulders, “And this,” he plucked at his shirt, “is my colour.” He stopped just short of the door, leaning his shoulder against the window and stuffing one hand back into his pocket. It was a struggle to keep himself from grinning outright. He revelled in the knowledge that she did not know that, for all intents and purposes, he had installed a GPS system just for her. He enjoyed being able to just turn up as and when he felt like it. After all, he had not invested so much time, energy and--if he allowed himself to admit it--emotion in her to allow her to get away just like that. She could wear her independence on her sleeve for all to see for as long as she wished, but she was still his. As was that brat she’d sired, if he cared enough to really think about it. Which he did, but those thoughts were frustrating and inconvenient.
With a satisfied smirk, he tapped one finger against the door. “Are you coming out, liebschen, or do I have to come in?” He wondered how angry she would be with him if he tore the door from its hinges. She was exquisite when she lost her temper.
She could only just hear him through the glass that stood between them and she smiled indulgently when he claimed blue as his color. She opened the door when he asked and stood aside for him. It would just amuse him too much if she decided to aggravate him. “I have been wearing sapphires since the day I was born, mon cher,” she responded patiently. Despite Topaz being her actual birthstone, her parents had decided it was heinous for her skin tone. Besides, Sapphires were infinitely more regal. “They are my color. In fact, I acquired this shop because of a certain sapphire necklace.” Oh, dear Agatha. Odette briefly wondered where she was now.
Turning away from Liev, she moved to pick her purse up off the counter. “And what brings you to our tiny little town, hmmm?” she asked him, eyes on her purse. She tucked the little clutch underneath her arm before she turned back to face him, stiletto heels making little click-clack noises on the hardwood floor. Her coat hung by the door, on a post that was allegedly from the Civil War, though Odette hadn’t bothered to double check. She was fairly certain no one would be interested in it. She stepped around Liev to brush past him and access her coat. Perhaps the thought that she was on her way out might prove disruptive for him and, thus, entertaining for her.
“I was a vampire before your mother was a twinkle in your grandmother’s eye,” Liev shot back, clearly amused. He knew Odette was possessive, but over the colour spectrum... Well, that was a border he was itching to cross. Purely for experimental reasons, of course. “Besides, they are differing shades, sapphires and my shirt, no?” Keeping his tone amiable--everyone he interacted with was a friend until he decided otherwise--he could not quite resist giving her the once over as he passed through the door. He knew what every inch of her looked like, to the point of Odette being etched into the inside of his skull in three-dimension, but he was a man. And everyone liked a little appreciation, did they not? Liev was of a disposition to give such appreciation as often as possible. There was no crime in it, and any man with a taste for women would agree with him regarding this particular lady.
Leaning on something he had not bothered to check the value nor sturdiness of, he just smiled. Stilettoes were a gift from god. “Curiosity, shall we say.” His gaze fell briefly on the collections of antiques and he remained unsurprised that he seemed to be older than most of them. “And it was in my way,” he lied easily, “Though it seems I have stopped here.” And taken root, but he didn’t feel like imparting that information right this second. He drummed his fingers on the nearest surface, falling silent for a moment. His features had fallen into an oddly serious expression, but his eyes were on his finger tips. “For such a small town, you have rather... colourful local news.” There was a question tacked onto the end of that observation, but he wasn’t going to ask. He hoped he didn’t have to. And he sincerely hoped the answer wouldn’t lead to any degree of anger directed at her.
“Then you have no claim over the color of my dress,” Odette concluded as Liev pointed out that sapphires weren’t exactly as dark as his shirt. She let him look as she walked past him. There was nothing there he hadn’t seen at a much closer proximity. She pushed her hair out of her face as she took the coat off its hanger. Slipping it on, she left the buttons undone but tied the belt around her waist, continuing to listen to what Liev had to say and, of course, what he distinctly didn’t have to say.
Odette turned to face him at the mention of the little bloody accident that had made the news. “Scarlet Oak is a haven for the supernatural. There could be several members running loose in the city - the state, in fact - and I wouldn’t know. I haven’t met the alpha of the area, though I should probably introduce myself. It would only be polite,” she smiled a little, knowing full well that Liev considered himself the only alpha worth bothering to know. “If the fool that left the blood stain was one of his, I’d imagine he’d have taken care of it - though the damage has been done.” And, as an afterthought, “If it was your concern, I had nothing to do with it. I’ve been behaving quite well after the little dog in the church.” She touched the side of her face, where he had cut her. Nothing remained to prove she had ever been hurt but the indignation still burned. “Naturally, I’m sure you only just arrived in town and have been completely innocent,” she smirked at him.
“I was not the one who said we matched,” he countered with amusement. “What’s mine is mine, you may keep your sapphires. You look better in them,” he added, tilting his head in concession. Yes, the lady had been a shrewd investment, though she was more important than a mere blood transaction. Liev unconsciously fixed his suit jacket despite pointedly ignoring the fact Odette was readying herself to leave. His vanity did not allow for his attire to ever appear sub-par. Especially not when stood next to a woman who looked like Odette. She never failed to entice; her curse and her blessing in one, but he was glad of it.
He was doing rather well at hiding his disapproval of Scarlet Oak. He was even listening. But the mention of the alpha knocked his socially acceptable mask to one side and he rolled his eyes openly. “Polite?” True, he did believe himself the only alpha worth knowing. He also knew that belief to be correct. But if Odette introduced herself and the aforementioned alpha knew of Liev’s presence, it would be bad form for him to not do the same. And he would not put it past her to mention him just to he had to make an appearance. Verdammt. He hated social politics almost as much as he hated weres. Almost.
“Was?” The ‘dog’ froze Liev’s expression in its almost petulant disapproval, though the tension in his face added an unpleasant final touch. “What dog, what church?” It wasn’t really asked in a manner than left neglecting to answer a viable option, but then no one really told him that something he considered his had been damaged--or, in this case, hurt--without giving an explanation. “If you would,” he added as an afterthought, running his tongue over his teeth a little impatiently. He wanted an answer, not a lesson on his manners. And as for the rest of the conversation; “I’ve been... around. I just don’t leave tracks.” Which was a lie. The deeds to his house had his name and signature all over them. One case of identity theft decades ago, and Liev now had his own bank account and the means to operate above-board. But then he did not bleed all over legal documents.
There we go. Liev’s thousand-yard stare was charming in its own way, but Odette loved making him show some form of emotion. It was like a game - one only she really played, but nevertheless, it was her own form of amusement. “I haven’t met him just yet,” she clarified. “Though I intend to and while you’re here...” she trailed off pointedly. “...unless you don’t plan on staying. In which case, there is no need for introductions, I suppose.” Odette smiled petulantly again, dimpling ever so slightly.
She slid her right hand into the pocket of her coat as her fingers twitched to give Liev a pinch on the cheeks for the blatant disapproval on his face. She reflected that it would be in bad form and perhaps it would be best to keep her hands to herself in this case. “I would imagine the Lycan would have to be put down for endangering the rest of us,” Odette explained. “I would hope the area’s alpha would have that much sense at least.” She waved a hand dismissively at his questioning. She realized a little belatedly she probably shouldn’t have mentioned it, especially as she didn’t quite finish the job.
“The priest in the Orthodox church is a werewolf,” Odette pursed her lips before continuing. “I was provoked.” And then here comes this little news tidbit...and I’m not entirely sure I didn’t leave evidence at the church either. Though I can’t imagine that the dog would have suffered my unholy blood staining his altar steps.” She looked away for a second before returning her gaze at his face. She looked a little bit like a child that had just been caught doing something her parents did not approve of.
In an effort to divert attention, however, she quickly followed with: “You have been around? And I wasn’t your first call? That is in bad form, mon cher.”
Liev’s eyebrow rose slightly and he chided himself for the loss of control. The implication that he certainly was meeting this alpha as long he was here was mildly irritating. The fact he knew he really would go for her bothered him even more. It had nothing to do with the other alpha, but rather the concept of following a request that had not been voiced. “I’m not going anywhere,” he stated, trying to pull his poker-face back into place. “That doesn’t mean I am going to exchange pleasantries with someone who can’t keep control of his subordinates.” If he was going to ‘be polite’ at Odette’s bidding, he certainly wasn’t going down without a fight. Or at least making damn sure she knew he didn’t want to go.
Liev’s features had fallen back into his usual expression, but the tension there remained. As restrained as he sometimes tried to be, he was seriously considering hunting the creature down, ripping out his windpipe and stirring his blood into the communion wine. He didn’t hear what was essentially an admission that Odette might have made her own mistakes, just that one of the hounds had caused her to bleed. “They let those things into church?” The question was pointless, since all god-fearing weres seemed to attend mass, but it was impossible to hide Liev’s disgust. It was written across his face. In his mind, vampires had more of a right to attend church than those bestial hybrids--did Gabriel not have a family in his name? “You have nothing to be concerned about,” he finally added, his mind reaching back to the part where Odette may have left evidence elsewhere. One hand raised to brush her jaw in reassurance, falling back almost immediately. There was nothing to worry about because as far as he was concerned, nothing had happened. Anyone who said otherwise would be removed.
Diversion successful. Breaking into a smile, he had to laugh. “This is my first call, liebschen. I have only been here a few days.” And there was only so long he could stay away from her when he knew she was in the vicinity.
Odette had always been one for the pleasantries. They were, after all, her life when she was alive. It had been several centuries since she last attended court, but she had enjoyed it all the same and the courtesies of her class had been drilled well into her. “I will attempt to get in contact with him and let you know when we should all get together and have a nice little drink,” she said, smiling genuinely. She enjoyed little get-togethers for the most part. They were the idle part of the non-life that she appreciated - all the time in the world.
“Mm, indeed,” she nodded lightly. “This little doggie is a priest...and we have a new cardinal from the Cyri os si Vyri,” she added. “We’re practically taking over the religions -- well, those that have accepted us, at least,” she shivered a little at the stories of the Muslim cleansings. She wasn’t one to be frightened of anything or empathetic in the least bit but the thought of being burned left her with a bad taste in her mouth. She saw the lift and drop of the hand but pretended not to notice...or care that he’d decided to withhold his affection. Her feathers were only lightly ruffled, however. He was just getting used to being around her again, was her reasoning.
She smiled when he laughed. It was the kind of laugh that comforted her despite her temporary and frequent bouts of insanity because it was real and sincere. Liev didn’t laugh for much, if she remembered correctly and wolves don’t change too much, at least not wolves as old as they. “Where are you staying?” she asked, sweeping an imaginary speck of dust off the edge of his suit jacket. “Please tell me it’s at an acceptable location and not a rundown little hovel where you have to sleep in the closet.”
Well, that was reasonable enough. It meant he didn’t have to do anything until called upon. “In Ordung... Alright,” translating things he had already said had become second nature over the centuries. Except when he didn’t feel like it, or it was quite obvious what he had said had not been pleasant. Though he had been amused to discover that just raising his voice lead many to think he was angry. So he didn’t. “But only because refusing that smile would be a sin.” Against god and man. This time, itching for contact, his thumb did brush her cheek, lingering just long enough for him to remember the dog again. A muscle twitched in his jaw.
“The religions that matter,” Liev answered with a slight smirk. His attention conveniently glossed over any and all noticeable reactions to his halted gesture. If he hadn’t followed through with it, it hadn’t happened. Admittedly, he really was not used to company, never mind company that knew him so well. Knowing Odette could read him to a certain extent made him wary of how much he wore on his sleeve. The fact there was just the two of them at present held no sway over the matter.
Liev’s eyes followed her hand, brows furrowed. Again, his vanity did not allow for the belief that there had been anything on his suit. But logic dictated that had there been anything there, Odette had fixed it, so it was not worth his attention. Though she was the only person who could boast being able to actually touch him without risking losing her forearms. No one put their hands on anything belonging to him, and Liev was definitely his own vampire. “I am staying in an acceptable location that isn’t a hovel where I have to sleep in the closet,” he repeatedly obediently, though his smile gave away that he found his lie a little too entertaining. “South Muldrow Street,” he was suddenly quite pleased with his hovel. If only because Odette might find it offensive to her tastes. But he was not confessing that she had described his house right down to the last detail.
Odette indulged in a little self-satisfied smile. Yay, I win, she thought childishly for a second before remembering that: first, it wasn’t really a battle and, second, even if it was, she had not won anything significant. She did, however, smile happily at Liev’s version of a compliment. It wasn’t much but he was her sire and that was enough. Even though she knew spending another century or two with him was out of the question, his approval still meant a lot to her. There are just some things you simply can’t outgrow, even though she’d felt she’d outgrown Liev’s company.
She inclined her head in acknowledgement of his statement but kept silent until he confirmed that he wasn’t living poorly. “Uh-huh,” Odette responded, only half-believing him. She gestured to the room around her. “Feel free to take anything that catches your eye in the shop,” she offered generously, which seemed highly uncharacteristic of Odette. Nevertheless, it was the thought of her things in Liev’s home satisfied a mildly twisted part of her that spurred the offer.
Liev allowed himself the luxury of returning that smile--anyone outside watching closely enough to notice his fangs needed a better hobby. That said, he was trying to cut down on the facial movements for that very reason. There was no way in hell he was going to fade into the shadows completely for fear of someone noticing his rather distinct overbite. Better that he just keep the pokerface on and let people think he was just staring. And right now, he was. God gave him eyes, it was only right he should use them.
He could hear the edge of disbelief in that response, but ignored it. It was the rest that interested him more. Are you included in that offer? It was on the tip of his tongue, to the point where he let something of a school-boy’s smirk betray that possible interpretation while scanning the shop itself. He poked and prodded at a number of things on display--all of them some level of shiny--before a thought rather obviously occurred to him. “Do you have, um... vorhänge...” He frowned. It wasn’t often that chunks of his vocabulary went missing, but regardless of the fact he had spoken it for centuries, English would never be his first language. “Upholstery. For the windows.” He waved one hand at her in a silent request for help finishing his sentence, because it wasn’t going to finish on its own. And if they didn’t come to an understanding over it, he risked having to sleep in the closet for his duration in Scarlet Oak.
Odette raised an eyebrow. “Curtains?” she asked him. Of all the things -- window dressings. She was offering him couches and bookshelves, mantlepieces and grandfather clocks...and he wanted curtains? She took a brief survey of the room, not that she needed to. She knew her inventory like the back of her hand. It was second nature to anyone that felt like the whole world was theirs. An inventory was necessary.
“I don’t have any here at the shop,” she responded, still confused as to his request. “Cloth dries, wears and tears. Especially things that are meant to receive as much sun and beating curtains do.” Odette crossed her arms and regarded him rather oddly. “We can go purchase some brand new ones at sunset,” she offered.
Eyebrow arching in mild disappointment, he looked around again. “And you are sure you do not come with that offer?” The question was almost absent-minded, as though he had asked before and merely forgotten the answer. Truth be told, this was just one of those thoughts that he had to voice or risking smirking at until it fled his mind. And that could take a while. Decades, even. “Then I want that,” he declared, pointing at a rather splendid-looking couch that, despite its antiquity, was still younger than him. But faring rather well, nevertheless.
He perked up at the idea of shopping for new curtains. “Excellent. I’m tired of sleeping in the closet.” Said in all seriousness. “Don’t look at me like that--the curtains let light in. People these days decorate their houses as if they expect me to come with my coffin.” He was ranting a little, but it really was absurd. He missed the heavy, velvetine drapery that the French aristocracy had once favoured. Interior decorating had since taken a turn for the worst. “I don’t even know where I left it.” In England, perhaps. Though he did actually have a headstone in Germany, which he could only assume was his parents’ doing.
Odette smiled in a manner that said yes, no and everything in between. She moved away from Liev back towards her counter. He had picked a rather favoured piece but a promise was just that and it was going to her sire, which meant it was still technically hers but simply loaned away. “I’ll leave a note for the delivery men,” she informed him, rifling through papers on the desk and retrieving one. “Here,” she gestured at the sheet with a pen. “Fill in your address and it’ll appear at your door in a few days.”
She tut-ted at the admission that he had been sleeping in a closet. “Why did I simply know you would be foolish enough to come with absolutely no furnishings?” she smirked at him affectionately. This was where she would have normally offered the use of her apartment but as they were still playing that game, it would not do for her to be so forward. She was a lady, yes, and ladies were trained to be coy and smile smiles that meant half a dozen things and promised everything and nothing all at once. No, Liev would not have the offer. Not yet, at least.
Liev’s features slipped back into a self-satisfied, knowing ghost of a smile. His most common display of what was presumably emotion. He liked it when the phrase ’I want’ actually got him what he wanted. The fact Odette had offered first was conveniently pushed aside to make room for his ego. “Danke, Fräulein,” he moved to take the pen, leaning in closer to her than most gentlemen would while he filled in his details in his oddly formal hand. Men didn’t quite write like that any more, but then they tended to behave much worse than him around women--see, times had changed for the worst.
“Because,” he began, “You know me well enough to know it has been a long time since I stayed anywhere long enough to acquire any.” Actually, any furniture he had ever really owned as a vampire had been for her benefit. Couches and beds and rugs and... things were luxuries he could easily live without. He fell back into old habits all too easily when she had left. And now even the couch was coming from her. “I do have a car, though,” he added almost defensively. Even if it was out of gas.
“De rien, mon cher,” she responded, watching as he wrote. She didn’t even bother to hide she was memorizing where he lived now. She would be paying a visit and decorating. Hopefully, he would consent and if not - she would do it anyway. And his proximity - well, she risked it and touched his hair ever so gently. Her fingertips grazed the hard surface of the product in his hair before she dropped her hand. If she was questioned, she would deny having ever touched his head even if it was painfully obvious.
Odette gave him a look. “Nevertheless, you should have kept a few pieces in storage so you would have them when you needed them. They do do that now, you know,” she said with a bit of an attitude. It was perhaps the aristocrat in her but she hated empty rooms. Detested modern, sparse, clean rooms. She herself dressed without much frou-frou but her rooms must be furnished. “And I would assume you can drive this car?” which was perhaps a little mean to say but this was Odette and Liev’s skin was a lot thicker. She took the shipping slip from him and signed the bottom before slipping it into the box that the moving company would be picking up in the morning.
There. Now she had it in black and white that he lived in a less desirable area of town and exactly which undesirable house was his. Given that he had followed her to Scarlet Oak, he believed she was welcome to know at least that much. Not that he minded, as long as she didn’t advertise his address, but she was not stupid. But she had touched his hair, and his smile became that much more smug. He wasn’t going to mention it; it was enough that he knew she had. He was just going to direct that smile at her instead of the paper.
Both eyebrows raised at that tone. Almost in amusement, but nevertheless. As much as he wasn’t used to company, he was no longer accustomed to people giving him any display of attitude without knowing their tongue, windpipe and anything that came attached would soon be decorating the floor and that he would now need a new suit. But this was Odette. “Why? So I could forget which country they were being kept in?” She had a point, and Liev would admit that if his arm was twisted, but then so did he. In the past he had been known to skip across the continents in a matter of months. “You would,” he stated, tone neutral. He was hard to offend, but he still did not take kindly to anyone attempting it. But again, Odette. “It’s not a decoration.” Though it was a thing of beauty. Another reason Liev didn’t have furniture. He spent his money on boys’ toys.
“The movers will come by in the morning and take care of it -- they’re surprisingly reliable...and honest,” Odette mentioned as she gathered her purse up again. Most likely because they knew she would have all their eyes gouged out if they touched anything that wasn’t supposed to ship out. “Well, my dear, what did you have planned for the rest of the morning?” she asked, using the English term of endearment. “I can’t imagine you would walk all the way across town simply to see me.” Well, she could. But it would be more prudent to declare she couldn’t. Ladies and their sensibilities and all that, you know.
She had been on her way to Heme to check out the new place but she wasn’t sure if she wanted Liev to know she had intended on visiting the vampire bar. Most members of the Canis Lycaon did not, to her knowledge, mingle much with humans and other vampire families. That was for the sociable little folks like the Cyri and Azrael. Their house preferred cemeteries and dying werewolves for company. Nevertheless, she hadn’t been out in a while and she missed having the comfort of someone else around.
“The door will be open. Tell them to stay away from the closet,” Liev straightened his jacket again, playing with his cufflinks, “Disturbed sleep fuels my appetite.” He flashed a momentary grief; the more socially acceptable way of baring one’s fangs. But he really would eat the delivery staff if they came near him. And anyone else who tried to enter his home uninvited. There was nothing like having breakfast walk itself to your door. As for his plans, Liev drew a blank. He had really only planned this far, which was, perhaps, a mistake on his part. “Yes, you can,” he corrected. And god knew he had travelled further because seeing her had seemed like a better idea than his other plans.
“But no, no plans.” Again, a definite mistake on his part. He had been too focused on her. Finally choosing to notice that she was dressed to leave, he gave a somewhat apologetic bow. “But I have interrupted yours.”
Odette smiled. “They know better than to go around touching things,” she reassured him. “They are very professional -- and well-trained.” And there he went. Odette sighed internally and tried not to bash her head against her desk. Liev was the strangest mix of man-child she had ever encountered. One second he plays the cold, aloof stranger and the next, he turns into a child in need of nurturing - well, a child with fangs and a man’s physique. She settled for rearranging her hair with a free hand. “Is that so?” she said, trying play it off cool and failing slightly.
She tsked and then looked at Liev. He had to have seen this coming the moment he confirmed he had come only to see her. “I have no plans that cannot be put aside for another day, another time,” she said, walking around the counter and extending a hand. “You can accompany me home, if you like,” she began to offer. “Or,” she cracked a lazy grin. “...we could hunt.”
“Yes, but so am I,” Liev replied, though the remark likely made little sense to anyone but himself. Nevertheless, he had had centuries to hone every sense he had and there had been times he had woken up to find he had destroyed an intruder in his sleep. Or just sleepy enough to prevent him from remembering the action. Whichever, the result was the same. An eyebrow arched, amused. “You cannot blame a man for crossing that vast ocean of space and time that is Scarlet Oak to see an old acquaintance.” That was, maybe, a touch tongue-in-cheek. Or perhaps he was just mocking the town. Again, the result was the same.
Ah, the lady did not disappoint. Trying not to let the satisfaction colour his eyes too much, he took her hand and dropped a kiss on the back, with an affectionate squeeze of her fingers. Some things just came naturally. Like his reaction to that grin. Running his tongue over his teeth almost subconsciously, he cocked his head to one side. “How do you like the sport around here?” More to the point, how would he like it?
Odette had to concede that point. Liev was nothing if not efficient...perhaps a remnant of his soldier days or perhaps it just came naturally with age. Either way, it made him all the more dashing in her eyes. Odette sighed inwardly. Okay, so maybe she was still completely infatuated with her sire even after all these years. It couldn’t be helped, she supposed. He was her sire and not entirely unpleasant. Far from it, in fact. “I feel so flattered,” she touched her chest over the still heart gently and rolled her eyes. “All that for me? The entirety of Scarlet Oak, was it? Such a large distance to cross.”
She stifled the girlish squee that threatened to make her blush when his lips brushed the back of her hand. You are far too old for silly things like that, she scolded herself mentally. Stop behaving like you are sixteen and this is your first lord. “Oh, cheri. It’s like buffet. With all the supernaturals running around, you are bound to find something to your tastes. A little fire elemental here, a little mermaid there...it’s a cornucopia of blood types.”
“Anything for you, my dear,” said in English and with every almost-sincerity a vampire could fathom, and even in the knowledge that she wasn’t taking him entirely seriously. If Liev had his way, the majority of Scarlet Oak would be fang-fodder by now and its dogs would be hanging from the smouldering rafters of whatever buildings remained. An almost romantic image; buildings did not quite burn the way they used to. No doubt he would be left feeling disappointed with the scene. Where were they again? The hunt.
With talk like that he was hungry again. He pretended to consider it, though his decision was fairly standard when given that kind of choice. The list of the Scarlet Oak residents appealed to his more base instincts. “I don’t know about you, liebschen,” because every lady was entitled to their own decision, “But I feel the need for something that fights back.” And if he returned with war-wounds, all the better. How conveniently he had forgotten the need for a low profile.
She squeezed his hand and while she’d taken enough beating than she cared to for the week, she realized she wouldn’t mind watching Liev hunt. Or hunt by his side again. She frowned internally at her romantic side that threatened to burst from her but she managed to quell the desire to hit herself over the head. Leaving her clutch on the counter, she began tugging him towards the door. There was always some sort of excitement near the graveyard. Or... “If you stand close enough to the forest, you can hear the howling of dogs,” she informed him with a smile. “If that’s the fare you’re seeking tonight.”
With an open smile, Liev allowed himself to feel more than a little smug. He was getting his way without ever having decided what that way truly was--or rather, that was how he had chosen to view it. “I love that you know me.”