“I am,” Eden nodded, “close to both my parents and my brother, Mason. He’s older, he’s an elemental as well.” Gifts like hers tended to run in families, were usually things you could trace back through the years, getting stronger with each new generation that attained them. “Mason is three years older than me; he’s a chef, actually, back in London. I should give credit where it’s due and admit that he taught me everything I know.” Free cooking lessons tended to come with the territory when a family member was culinarily inclined. “I can imagine. Hospitals aren’t exactly the type of places to shut down for a holiday or close early when things are slow.” He’d chosen one of those fields that never slowed down, that people always needed at any hour of the day or night – she could imagine that it had made dating, having a relationship, impossible. “Before Jaida hired me, I was working for one of her clients in Switzerland as his personal assistant. I swear, the man couldn’t bloody pick out his clothes for the today without someone giving him their opinion. It paid well, but the hours were completely nutter and he was a complete basketcase. It was a relief to get away, to try something new.” You just had to go after what gave you the life you wanted and sometimes that meant altering your career path. “So many of them are bloody dull; they think you ought to fall at their feet because they’re old or rich or some particular race. If Vivian throws another gala, perhaps I’ll drag you along so you can suffer as well,” she teased with a smile. So date…five?....maybe. Eden was mostly kidding, but it wasn’t completely out of the question.
“Faes can be fucking scary, really.” She’d met a few in Vivian’s clubs that she’d never want to piss off. They tended to rank right up there with an irate sire exercising their muscle over a childe they were particularly fond of – you didn’t want to run into either in a dark alley. “It makes you wonder a bit just how many were species there are. I’ve heard about were-birds and fish, things like that, but…were-hedgehogs? Were-hampsters?” Alright, so she was getting a bit ridiculous, but it really did make you wonder! “I mean, you can shift into anything you imprint, right? So I suppose a were could be…anything.” There had to be plenty of supernatural races that hadn’t even been discovered yet, so she wasn’t reaching all that much. Talk of exes probably wasn’t the best idea for a first date, especially not if there was anything sort of lingering feelings. Eden knew that she was moving past Shannon, but it was still a bit of a sore spot. If things went further between she and Ian, then they would undoubtedly talk about their past relationships in greater detail – they didn’t have to bare those wounds tonight. “I’m glad,” she’d intended to say thank you tonight, but she’d wanted the two of them to have a good time as well, to enjoy one another’s company. Charlie, of course, had to follow the two of them as they stood to move outside to share their after dinner smoke. “It’s a vice we share, then. I’ve tried to kick the habit a few times, but its never managed to stick.” The nicotine was always stronger than whatever method she tried. Cigarette lit, Eden slid off her heels, let the shoes drop into a pile beside her seat, and curled her legs up beside her in the chair next to Ian, “It’ll grow perfectly out here, I’ll just need to find the right place for it.” Working out here always seemed to calm her down so adjusting her garden wouldn’t be any sort of a hardship for her. “It’s gorgeous out here in the winter, when everything ices over. Fall is my favorite though, what with all the trees out here.” Sometimes she got a bit too preoccupied with nature, forgot that not everyone cared about it as much as she did, but Eden felt like Ian would be one of the few to understand.