Evelyn Géroux (aberrated) wrote in shadowlands_ic, @ 2017-10-27 21:54:00 |
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Entry tags: | adrien green, evelyn geroux |
Who: Evelyn and Adrien
What: Vampire meeting
Where: One of the local vampire bars
When: A couple of days ago
Rating: PG
The past few months had been a roller coaster of emotion. Just when she thought that there wasn’t anything to surprise her any more, Evelyn had turned Matthew and was dealing with everything that came with it. She had a new appreciation for the man that taught her everything that she knew. How he had put up with her, and didn’t stake her was beyond her. Not that Matthew was hard to deal with, but new vampires in general was that way. Constantly worrying that he was going to attack people. Keeping everyone safe. It was a full time job, on top of her already full time studies.
Right now though she needed a break. She just wanted to get a drink of blood, and breathe a sigh of relief. That was why she was at one of the holes in the wall, and going up to the bar to get a drink.
She glanced over at the guy next to her and gave a nod of her head in greeting. “Is this place a decent place?” she asked.
Adrien wasn’t used to being chatted up while at his second most frequented watering hole -- the vampires who came in didn’t tend to be conversational, for one -- most were on their way to work (as was he), and while some were decidedly familiar with one another (and not averse to occasional greetings amongst themselves), they tended to give him a wide berth.
He suspected they didn’t care to be reminded that they had something in common with him -- that they were all on similar footing.
He didn’t take it terribly personally -- it wasn’t a part of his life he particularly revelled in, even though it was a necessity, and if he had to spend a half-hour two or three times a week taking his infusion in silence, so be it.
The woman’ s question was a little bit of a surprise, then -- the place was relatively empty at this hour, which he supposed was the reason she was talking to him instead of someone else. He raised an eyebrow by way of acknowledgement. “Hm,” he replied, shortly, looking over at his wineglass, full of a rather opaque and recent vintage. “Decent enough for the price,” he finally settled on. “Sometimes they mix the donations, it’s not as fresh as it could be, but there’s no additives, and they don’t let it go off.”
Evelyn could tell that she had kind of caught him off guard. That wasn’t terribly surprising, considering how empty it was in here. She tended to stick out like a sore thumb. A sore French thumb, who still had her accent. Even in a vampire bar, she wasn’t sure that women were all that welcome. Still she was here, with paying money and that should be enough. She nodded her head a little. “I suppose there isn’t a whole lot of choice around here, as it were..”
She never thought that vampires were friendly types, but she had always been a bit on the other side of that. Never finding a reason to be grumpy and sour like some of the others. “I hesitate to ask what kind of additives they put in over here at some places..”
“Animal blood, mostly,” he said, curtly. “Sometimes, colored water and cornstarch. As if we can’t taste the difference.” He looked over at her and shrugged. “Better than the alternative,” he added, with a hint of a frown.
He was no hunter -- stalking humans as if they were prey held no appeal, and was an enormous risk to boot.
“I speak French tolerably well,” he added, slipping into the language, having noted her accent. “Have you been here long?” He asked, more to be polite than anything.
Her nose wrinkled at the very idea. The cornstarch and food coloring. How demeaning. "I'll be on the look out for that, thank you." There was no way that she was spending her money on an easy glass of blood, only to have it be some watered down waste of a good drink. She didn't mind animal blood that much, though it wasn't the best - it was better than the alternative, for the most part.
She looked slightly surprised when he spoke French, but smiled congenially when he did so. "Ah, how wonderful. It has been quite a number of years since I have actually spoken the language.," she answered in return. Vampires tended to be from a little bit of everywhere so the fact that he spoke wasn't the surprising part. Evelyn shook her head, "No, only a month or two. I was in Belgium before. But I am here to go to school.".
That wasn't the only reason. They'd hadn't been able to stay, once Matthew had been turned.
“Ah, Belgium, I see,” Adrien replied. It explained her accent and turns-of-phrase. “And what are you going to school for?” He asked, once again slipping back into French.
The woman seemed friendly enough -- unlike the usual patrons of the place -- and he wondered if her not being English might have something to do with it.
”I want to be a doctor,” she said with a straight face. She waited to see if he laughed maybe, or even sympathized. Reaching for a lofty goal as a vampire, to something that was better left to mortals. ”I have done a number of things in my life, but this is one I had always wanted to be, even before I was turned. They have a Women’s School for Medicine here in London, that is why we are here.”
And not somewhere else. There were probably better places to be, but she wanted so badly for this. “What is it that you do?”
A vampire desiring to be a doctor was unusual, but he could understand the drive to not be limited by one’s circumstances of birth. He nodded gravely. “I see,” he said, “best of luck to you.” He noted the use of ‘we’ -- apparently, the woman had a partner -- a Sire or a Childe, he couldn’t be sure
“I am a research librarian and archivist at the Institute,” he replied, equally carefully.
While Evelyn knew of the Institute, she’d never really had any dealings with them, and so she just nodded her head. “Thank you, and to you as well.” There wasn’t any reason for her to be rude. “Is it a good place to work?”
“Hm,” Adrien replied. “That depends, I suppose,” he added. “The library is a good one -- the best private collection in Europe,” he said, shrugging. “The opportunity to work there is one I’m grateful for. But…” he shook his head. “There’s only so far those opportunities go.”
It was more complicated than that, of course -- there were things the Institute did that he found disturbing, wanted to keep an eye on -- but his temporary companion was most likely simply asking to be polite.
Evelyn looked thoughtful as she contemplated it. She hadn’t thought about it much, but no she supposed there wasn’t much room for moving up. Moving up to what? Head Librarian? What was that? Was it any different? “That’s understandable..” Maybe one day she’d want a look at the library, if that was at all possible. “Is the Institute in connection with the Night Watch?” she asked, realizing there was a lot of things she hadn’t found out yet.
“It is a private research consortium,” Adrien replied. “While the Night Watch and Scotland Yard both occasionally make inquiries, and the Institute has been called upon to serve the Crown, it’s a separate entity.”
He looked over at her, curiously. “Have you or your partner had dealings with the Night Watch?” He asked, before frowning. “Pardon my impertinence. You don’t need to pay me any mind.”
There was a shake of her head, just so. “It is all right, I don’t mind. We haven’t had any, as such. Though like I said, we haven’t been here very long. I have heard about the awful murders that are happening in Whitechapel though.” And that was bad enough in itself. “What do you think of them?”
“Nothing good,” he replied, frowning. “A serious business, no doubt, and one I suspect is more than just a simple madman.” This brought to mind a thread he was trying to pull on, and he frowned, leaning closer. “You encounter any vampire recently by name of Stahl?” He asked, quietly.
Evelyn had to pause for a moment and think about his question. Stahl. Stahl. Hm. “I don’t think so, but I suppose that a name might be fleeting, with the passages of time.” She had changed her name a time or two. “Does he go by something else? You suspect him of these crimes?” she asked.
“It’s a family name, a name of a coven,” he replied, his voice low. “I don’t know if they’re involved, but they could be, and they’re bad business regardless.” He frowned. “You see them, you turn and walk the other way.”
He took a sip from his glass. “They might be disguised, but they spent a good long while in Georgia, so if you hear a drawl, and it’s one of us, it’s a reasonably decent bet they’re up to no good.”
There was a small nod of recognition, something that said that she understood. At least in the way that she had run into those types before. Not every vampire was monstrous, but there weren’t a lot of good ones out there either. Most fell somewhere in between. Evelyn knew and understood that. “I will keep that in mind, thank you.” She was grateful for the warning. She didn’t want to get on anyone’s bad side, while she had to watch over Matthew.
“Duly noted. People move from place to place, but it is hard to leave one accent behind for another.” She finished her drink and set it down on the table. “Your conversation has been most obliging. Thank you.”
“Likewise,” he added, tipping his head. He realized he’d never asked for the lady’s name, nor given his. “Mr Green,” he said, “pleased to make your acquaintance.”
She smiled at him, “A pleasure, Mr. Green. Ms. Geroux.” Evelyn gave a small curtsy and then headed out of the establishment, thinking of their conversation.