WHERE Morningside, their apartment. WHEN Nandor’s arrival! WHAT Nandor is getting used to a white, modern apartment & having a friend more than a familiar. STATUS Complete! WARNINGS There’s vague mentions of eating people.
Nandor didn't know how he felt about this place. First with the forest and the strange people coming to collect him. Then with the office and the impertinent questions. Now Guillermo was telling him vampires and other supernatural creatures were all living in the open, following laws. Guillermo was lucky Nandor hadn't already eaten his "rescuers".
He was feeling a bit peckish now, as they exited the elevator at Morningside and he followed Guillermom towards the apartment he claimed to have been preparing for vampires. Someone passed them in the hall and Nandor's eyes followed hungrily. If he were at home, he'd eat first, deal with the consequences later. Or rather, Guillermo would deal with the consequences later. But Guillermo had left him waiting alone at the train with his excuses about Laszlo trapping him. He wasn't sure he could still trust Guillermo to watch out for him.
"I am getting hungry, Guillermo," Nandor muttered as he swept through the apartment door with his cape billowing and his eyes distrusting of the space around him. "And I am very tired of all this walking."
Guillermo was rushing around, trying to fit the plan of an entire week into one hour now. This wasn’t the first time he’d had to do that, but he also had not expected Nandor to show up so soon, if at all. But he’d been thinking of it, regardless.
First came the apartment - a far cry from the residence in Staten Island, but nice - then came Laszlo’s coffin, which Caroline had transported for him here after the arrival. Then came blacking out every window, that part was a lot more tedious, but finished.
He hadn’t gotten any blood yet, for the fridge? Was that how they stored it? He was more used to a cool basement and uh-- warm bodies. He also hadn’t gotten to making anything else really comfortable. He had a full sized bed, that was nice, but the apartment otherwise just had the bare bones furniture it came with. Modern, sleek. And very, very white.
“Okay- Sorry, Ma-” He cut himself off before saying the title, in a desperate bid to break that habit. “Nandor. We’ll go by the Vampire donor office soon? From my research, they have live willing donors and they also have blood bags that are donated.” He knew it wasn’t optimal, but they were under enough scrutiny as it was.
Nandor frowned at the correction. This was not the first time Guillermo had called him by his name since arriving. He didn't like it, but, well. He didn't hate it either. He wasn't sure how it made him feel. There was something unnerving about it. Guillermo had been changing so much lately that Nandor felt awkwardly unsure of his place. Which was ridiculous.
"I could find live willing donors on my own," he answered petulantly. It was night, but it was still nice to see the windows were boarded up well. Maybe his familiar wasn't ready to leave him for good after all. He moved deeper into the apartment and grimaced at the cold and contemporary furnishings. "I will not be drinking from any bags unless I'm very terribly desperate, though. Let me put that on the record right now."
Could you, though? Guillermo didn’t voice that sarcastic response, but his head did tilt in the way that likely showed he was thinking it. It was the same sort of look he gave the camera crew, but he lacked them to unload on now, which meant curbing his tongue even further. He knew all of this would be a rough adjustment, it already was for him and Guillermo handled change better than the vampires he lived with did.
Mostly, anyway. He was good at learning to adapt.
Guillermo followed after Nandor quietly, pausing to stick to the far side of the room so he would watch without being in the way in case his former-master was going to suddenly bolt. “We’ll… cross that bridge when we come to it.” He was pretty sure they would end up there sooner or later, but at least for Nandor’s sake he hoped it was the later part. “Oh! Uh, clothes. I know you have what you’re wearing, and getting exact replicas of your closet is um, impossible, but I had a few things made. They’re in the closet to your left.” A few nice things, taken to a tailor with his first paycheck and altered to Nandor’s measurements. Just in case.
Nandor was oblivious to Guillermo's look. Partly because he was flustered by all of this sudden change and partly because he was just oblivious, full stop. He lifted his eyebrows at the mention of clothes and wandered into one of the bedrooms. Inside was Laszlo's coffin.
"I suppose I'll have to borrow this temporarily." He wasn't fond of the idea and he was sure Laszlo wouldn't love it either, but needs must. If he was going to keep a low profile for a bit, he couldn't very well hypnotize a coffin salesman on his first day. Sighing, he poked his head into the nearest closet. The clothes did suit him well. He tried not to sound belligerent about this entire experience.
"Thank you, Guillermo. These are better than having nothing at all." His sidelong glance was equal parts suspicious and vulnerable. "You really had them made? You did not steal them from your new vampire master?"
Guillermo glared briefly at the coffin in question - he knew Nandor would have to use it upon arrival but the thing just put a foul taste in his mouth. He was annoyed at Laszlo, with everything that went down and with a lack of answers to go with it. Why? being the main one. Why had he had something he was so looking forward to yanked out of his hands when it was just in reach? And now he felt like he was ten steps behind again, rather than finally catching up.
“We’ll get you something else later on, but-- yeah. Oh-- you have your dirt, right? You showed up with your backpack?” If he didn’t they had a whole host of other issues, given there was no way for Guillermo to travel to Nandor’s home country (or as close as possible) from here. He would’ve done it if he could, despite the surge of annoyance at the new vampire master comment.
Guillermo bristled. “He’s not my master, he’s just my employer. I escort him around to a few bars or clubs and get paid to make sure no one stakes him. That’s it.”
"Ah, yes." Nandor swept his cloak over one shoulder so he could show the backpack that was underneath. It held dirt from his ancestral land and was the only way he would sleep in peace and not lose his powers or his mind. If he had ended up here without it, well. The thought made him visibly cringe. "I will need somewhere very safe to store it. I cannot trust this bag or this place. I am almost nervous to let it out of my sight."
He narrowed his eyes for a moment but the look didn't last long. He didn't particularly have the energy to argue with Guillermo about working for another vampire. And he certainly wasn't going to admit it made him jealous just as when Guillermo had left to be the familiar to that girl that had turned out to be human after all.
"Maybe your employer knows a way to carry it on me that is not quite so cumbersome." He sounded more curious than judgmental now. "How do the vampires here handle their dirt?"
While Guillermo couldn’t blame Nandor for not wanting it out of his sight - he worried about the same thing, what happened if it got lost - he had to roll his eyes just a little at the comment about his employer. When Nandor had a thing, there was no stopping him.
“Uh-- I don’t think they do? I’ll have to do more research but I don’t think all of the vampires here need their dirt to sleep, actually. But,” He paused and glanced around, Guillermo didn’t have anything here but he had a few ideas for how they could store Nandor’s dirt. “I have an idea. I think a fanny pack would work. They’re back in style and take up a lot less room or bulk than a backpack. You can also hide it under your cloak.”
And, as an extra bonus, it would selfishly be something Guillermo enjoyed seeing, Nandor with a fanny pack. Kind of like when he was “human” but without it being a creepy cult Nandor needed saving from.
While the mention of a fanny pack might have insulted a knowing human, it only served to peek Nandor's interest. His fashion sense was seven hundred years in the past. And humans were very strange about getting rid of all their pockets! He needed all the pockets he could get.
And it served well to not think about vampires who didn't require ancestral dirt to stay strong. Or whether they were all better vampires for Guillermo.
"The little fat purses on a belt, yes?" He grumbled the question, but sounded interested as he adjusted the annoying backpack. "That would be better than this weight on my back." Awkwardness settled in as he fell quiet. It was so rarely just them. The apartment felt quiet as a tomb. Nandor frowned. "Have you explored the city? I would like to look around. I don't…I'm not ready to sit still here."
“That’s them,” Guillermo looked pleased at Nandor knowing, and also just at the thought of his former master wearing one. Maybe he could talk Nandor into a sparkly holo one, or they’d get lucky and find something velvet to match most of his wardrobe. He made a mental note to be on the lookout for something he figured Nandor would like.
“Uh-” He had gone a few places, for groceries and for work, mostly just down the corner or to the vibrant underground life that Vallo had to offer. “Not really? A few clubs, and the grocery store. But!” Guillermo pulled out his phone and waved it a little. “GPS and maps can go a long way. I bet we could do some exploring uh-- together? If you wanted?” Why did he feel so unsure about that question when they had known each other for so long?
Nandor hummed, as if he were in deep thought. Really he was just trying to stop himself from sounding too enthusiastic about Guillermo’s offer. He was still feeling stung by leaving on the train by himself and showing up her to find Guillermo with a new vampire…boss? It was a comfort at least that he did not think of this interloper as a master.
“…Alright. Fine.” He adjusted his hidden backpack and the cloak to cover it, and then smoothed his hands over his hair. “Let us see the sights, Guillermo. And find this so-called blood donor place before I decide rules are meant to be broken in dark alleys.” He swept out of the room and moved for the front door, but since he had no idea where he was going, he paused there and shuffled his feet like a child waiting for instructions. His voice at least was commanding, if a bit petulant. “Chop chop. Lead the way!”
It felt shockingly familiar to stand a little straighter as Nandor made his orders known, eleven years of being at the ready in an instant felt like second nature. “Oh! Yeah! Okay.” With a speed only usually seen during the moments he was wielding a wooden stake, Guillermo gathered up his things: phone, keys, wallet, and followed along.
Guillermo threw a look over his shoulder as he brushed past Nandor’s sturdy form. “Blood donor place first, just so you don’t get snappish with me if we get detoured.”