Nikola Tesla (electromagnet) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-05-16 20:07:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, mavis dracula, nikola tesla |
Who: Mavis & Nikola
What: Words of advice
When: Backdated to after Nikola returns from honeymooning
Where: Baxter Bakery
Warnings/Rating: Low, talking of vampire stuff
Mavis had spent several days with her new friends, Alex and Lorna, who assured her they could handle a baby vampire if she suddenly got the urge to bite. She’d also done a bit of experimenting to see if she could protect herself from the sun with a giant umbrella and the strongest sunblock lotion she could find. Luckily, Audrey at work had been very supportive and willing to work with her, so Mavis could work the after dark or early morning hours and not worry about sunlight coming through all the lovely windows, which helped a great deal. The other thing that had worried Mavis was Scud’s reaction to her fangs, considering he had been nearly eaten alive by a couple of sexy vampiresses in his dreams, but they were still speaking so that seemed like a good sign. Still, she’d done as Uncle Nikola had asked, and kept a detailed journal of her dreams, and any changes she had noticed in waking life.
She wondered what sort of discussion, exactly, he might be storing up to have with her when he returned--and just hoped that it wouldn’t be to ship her back home to her father on the next redeye out of California.
Now that Mavis was having Dreams and experiencing changes from them, there was no way that Nikola was letting her go anywhere. He wanted her close. Not only was she a wonderful girl and close family friend (all right, all right, he said it. Friend. More than just business associate) but if she was turning into a vampire, he wanted her by his side.
Honeymoon came and went, and Nikola was as pale and pasty as ever--even though he’d just spent a week in Italy on the beaches. (Well, strike that, he spent a week in his hotel making love to his new wife.) He showed up to the cafe where Mavis was working. It was early enough in the morning that the sun was on the other side of the building. He pulled his sunglasses off and stepped into the line for a coffee.
Mavis wore long sleeves, and a baseball cap to keep her hair out of the food and drink--which also doubled to shade her eyes in the event that she had to stay late. She couldn’t do much yet about hiding her fangs, especially when she smiled, so she tried to smile with her mouth closed, and speak with a stiff upper lip. When she saw her Uncle Nicky, though, she couldn’t help it. The smile broke across her face like sunrise in the east, and those two, sharp, little canines peeked out like miniscule twin daggers.
“Good morning!” She had to annunciate carefully to keep from lisping--or cutting herself on the baby fangs--but she was still as perky as ever. “What can I get started for you?”
She was absolutely beautiful. Nikola broke into a grin himself, though his vamp face didn’t come out right away. He could will it on or off. There were a lot of things he could do with the proper control--something he was hoping that he could pass along to her. He wondered for a moment if her dreams were from the same universe as his, but then realized it must not be so. He wasn’t allergic to the sun, and he didn’t have fangs.
“Breve Cappuccino,” he said, giving her a bright smile. “Small.”
Mavis rang up the order, and set to work fixing the drink. When it was ready, she came around the corner to hand it to him instead of sliding it across the counter. "I've got time for a quick break, if you don't have anywhere to be right away. How was Italy?"
“Nowhere to be,” Nikola said. He’d been hoping she could take a few moments so they could begin what was bound to be several conversations about her dreams. He wanted to help in whatever ways he could, and listening was the best first step.
The Dream-World-Nikola was starting to think of her as a minion already.
“It was wonderful. Warm, beautiful, spent the lot of it with the most amazing woman ever created. Now tell me about your dreams.”
If Mavis had known Dream Nikola was thinking of her as a minion, she probably would have challenged him--which may or may not have gone down very well. Best that the challenges wait until she’d had a chance to grow into herself.
She told him about the dreams, which seemed to her like a montage of childhood memories. Dracula’s lullabies. Learning to crawl--on the ceiling. A love for sweets and candies. An overprotective father’s warnings never to go ‘out there’ into the human world. She also told him about all the side effects she had observed immediately upon waking--most of which he already knew from their brief exchange of texts.
“I haven’t tried to walk up the walls yet,” she mused as she concluded the list, “It’s all just a little hard to believe. And I could really go for a steak right now, but I haven’t had red meat in years. I feel like it would make me sick to have more than a few bites.” If she were human, that is.
“I’m glad that you’re listening to your instincts.” Nikola said, sitting with her at a table toward the back of the room--away from any windows. He’d listened to her dreams, silently giving her his full attention.
Mavis nodded, sighing under her breath. “I’m not sure what else to do, really. I mean, so far, it’s just a craving; like having a sweet tooth, or being curious about sex. The changes don’t seem to have hampered my ability to consume normal food or drink, and there’s so many variations on the vampire mythos in popular culture that I don’t know what to expect.”
Nikola realized that he was going to have to tread lightly. He’d embraced his own changes. It was something of a bit of pride for him, actually, but he could understand how terrifying and unnerving it might be to someone who wasn’t as willing to accept the change. Nikola saw this as his birthright--as his ascension into the top of the food chain. He was taking his rightful place in the higher race. Some might not see it that way at first.
“I’m not sure if you’re going to be able to look at popular culture as a sign for what’s to come, I’m afraid,” Nikola said. And he had some genuine empathy for what the girl was going through. “You haven’t bent and succumbed to any of your new instincts, I take it?”
“Well, no, not exactly,” she said, “I mean, if I can still eat, then what if it’s like an addiction, and once I start indulging, I can’t stop myself?” That was what truly concerned her, more than giving up her vegan lifestyle. She liked to eat healthy, but if veganism was no longer healthy for her, then she was perfectly willing to change. It was losing control and endangering the life and liberty of others in her pursuit of happiness that she was afraid of.
“I’ve talked to some people, but whatever changes need to be made, I want to take it slowly; to make sure I can handle it. Physically, and psychologically.”
Nikola could only smirk at her words. “Mavis, you are stronger than addiction.” The now that was supposed to end that sentence hung in the air, unspoken but impossible to misinterpret. “You can handle it. Physically and psychologically. I’ll be here to help you every step of the way, should you need further guidance or assistance.”
He paused for a moment. “It’s a difficult thing to stomach, I understand. You’ll have to figure out what’s best for you.” He didn’t indulge that often, and only from Lulu. So far.