Ferox was an actor. He slipped into different personas as easily as he slipped into different clothes. At any given period, he probably had as many as five completely separate personas he could pull on--each complete with different mannerisms, dress styles, and even accents.

He was, after all, a bit of a con man in many ways. It paid to be able to fool people.

In any case, that isn't the point. At the moment, he was neither his true self, Ferox Arminius, or the man he'd pretended to be for a few months now, Felix Masterson. No, he was in the guise of a new, well, character he supposed would be the right word. Henry Ellis, a twenty year-old accounting major here at Demaitre University.

Rather than his usual attire of the tailored and elegant, an affection for which Felix and Ferox shared, Henry wore faded jeans, a loose-fitting shirt, a heavy flannel jacket, and an Army green messenger bag. His hair wasn't neat either, looking almost as if he'd rolled out of bed and given it a cursory swipe with a comb.

Your typical college age male.

Reaching Eire's dormitory, he swiped the I.D. card he had manufactured. The door lock disengaged and Ferox--Henry--strolled on in and took the elevator to Eire's room. He lifted one black-gloved hand to knock, and then leaned casually against the wall to wait.

Eire was fast asleep as he knocked. Class had been canceled for the night and so she was taking the opportunity to catch up on sleep. Her desk light was on low, casting a soft glow across the room from where her bed was, and there was Celtic flute music playing softly from the little CD player on her night stand. But other than that no noises, no movement came from her room.

But Jessica was awake, just getting ready to leave for a little party one of her classmates was throwing in one of the other dorms.

Hearing the knock on the door she called out for 'just a minute' and grabbed her small bag that had a few party items in it.

But as she opened the door she frowned slightly. It was almost as if she had seen this guy before... But... Where? Maybe just around. But she definitely didn't know him. "Um... Hi... Eh, if you're here for Eire, she's asleep. I know she hasn't been looking too well recently, do you want me to leave a message for her?" She asked, standing in front of the open door. She'd never seen this guy with Eire... She knew that much.

Henry smiled at Jessica, somewhat shyly, and shuffled his feet slightly. A little unsure about himself it seemed. Safely, he tucked his hands into his jacket pockets. "Hi, I'm Henry?" he said, his words more a question than a statement. "I was wondering if... oh." Good ole Henry's smile dimmed a little as Eire's roommate informed him that Eire was sleeping.

Drat, as harmless Henry would say. Disappointedly he said, "Oh... well... okay." Belatedly, as if just realizing he hadn't introduced himself, Henry stuck his hand out. "Eire's in my history class. The one with Mr. Zwick? So, um, we were all talking about, like, movies before class started 'cause Zwick's always so late... Anyway, I can get some Beowulf tickets for the opening day and I was wondering if, you know, Eire wanted to go. Maybe."

Henry paused, then added, "Oh, you too. I mean, if you like movie versions of 3,183 line alliterative poems written by monks a really long time ago. Heh." He scratched the back of his head. "Well, um, anyway... you can, uh, just tell her that. I guess." He looked a bit embarrassed. And why not? Poor guy worked up the courage to ask a chick out and she was sleeping when he decided to ask. It was a bit embarrassing. Stuffing his hands back in his pockets, he finished lamely, "Well... yeah. If she wants."

Jessica frowned, more curious than anything as the guy stammered slightly he was really kind of cute, and the way he was so shy made her smile eventually.

"Oh? Beowulf? Yeah, I know she was talking about seeing that sometime, so I'm sure she'd be more than willing to go. But... I think if you're trying to ask you out, it's no good. From what I know she already has a guy." She said, doing her best to be gentle with the news. She didn't want to crush the poor guy's heart or anything, that would be too cruel.

But then again, the guy seemed too old for her from what she knew. It would be better for her to hook up with someone her own age. Someone who wasn't so over protective and stifling like she interpreted her boyfriend to be.

"Well hey... I'm really not supposed to do this... But if you wanna wait for her to wake up in the living room you can. I mean I dunno when she'll wake up, but she does every so often, maybe you can catch her then?" She suggested. "And hey, you'd probably be way better for her than her other boyfriend would be I'm sure. But, I've gotta get to a friends place, they're counting on me for a few things. But make yourself at home." She said as she stepped aside to let him in, giving him a wink before heading off.

Henry looked a little nervous at the way Jessica was frowning at him, even though it was more of a "look at the funny little man" frown than an actual cranky frown. He relaxed a bit when she finally smiled, and returned one of his own. Henry might have been shy, but he was pretty cute with his shy, bumbling mannerisms.

"Really?" he said when Jessica mentioned that Eire had talked about seeing the movie, brightening a bit before dimming again when she added that Eire also had a boyfriend. He scratched his head again, a sort of 'tell' that he was feeling uncomfortable. "I didn't know..." Henry said, looking mighty disappointed.

Like a lightbulb, however, he brightened once again as she offered to let him wait for Eire to wake up. "Really? That would be great," he replied, flashing her a smile. Surprise, Henry had a really good one, charming and boyish. Still smiling, he flipped her a wave and replied, "I will."

He watched her go, hands tucked back into his pockets, before wandering into the dorm.

"It's okay, just don't do anything to make me regret it or get me in trouble okay?" She said with a grin before heading off. She didn't take another look back, the guy seemed harmless enough, and Eire was a tough girl, she'd be okay, even if she was half asleep.

It was about fifteen minutes later that Eire began to stir, slightly hungry and having to use the bathroom. But from the moment she woke up, she knew something was wrong... Something just wasn't right.

Frowning, troubled by the tremor in her nerves, she moved down the hall to the living room. "Jess?" She called out. But it was so quiet... "Jess you here?"

But her heart began to race as she saw Felix, disguised as a student.

Her eyes flashed anger, seething hatred at him. "You... What the hell are you doing here? What did you do to Jessica this time you bastard?" Her fists were balled up tight, her body wide awake now with fear and adrenaline. Had he hurt her? Had Jess been able to get away? Eire knew that her roommate was going somewhere tonight... And according to the clock, she should have left about half an hour ago.

But when did Felix get here?

Her stomach was twisting into knots of different emotions, making things all the worse for her.

Henry held up his fingers at Jessica's parting words. "I won't. Scout's honor," he said with a grin. Then he wondered if they had anything like the Boy Scouts in Canada and admonished himself mentally. He needed to be careful with offhand comments like that...

Henry faded away almost as soon as the door shut. Like a thin gauze of smoke caught in a breeze, the harmlessly shy air was gone without so much as a whiff left behind. In it's place was the calm control of Ferox. The change was remarkable in its swiftness and completeness.

Leaving Eire to her nap, Ferox absently poked around the dormitory room. It was large for a residence hall, much larger than many college dorms he'd been in. Considering the size of DU that was surprising. It was unimportant information, but Ferox stored it away in the back of his mind anyway. Old habit, noticing even the useless stuff.

When the girl woke, he was stretched out on their couch, flipping idly through an issue of Entertainment Weekly. It was either that or the assorted textbooks lying around. Ferox didn't even look up as Eire charged in, all but breathing flames at him. "Jessica left about a quarter of an hour ago. Hot date?"

Glancing at her over the page, he arched an eyebrow, feeling a jumble of emotions pumping from her. Interesting.

So... So she had gotten away from him... Good. That was all she cared about at the moment.

She gave a soft groan as she ran her fingers through her tousled hair. Her heart slowly began to return to it's normal pace, and as she glared at him once more. Satisfied he wasn't doing anything to anyone she went off to the bathroom and before coming back out she brushed her hair halfway decent.

Making her way back out she sighed, sinking into the chair across the room, not wanting to get too close to him.

"What do you want Felix?" She muttered after yawning.

"I told you I wasn't feeling good last night... I... Just need a few days to rest up okay? It takes three days for the human blood supply to fully replenish from just taking a pint. Can't you give me three days for who knows how much blood you've taken?" She gave another yawn after curling up in the chair.

Not doing anything to anyone? He was reading a gossip magazine. Which, if that was injurious to anyone, it would have only been himself. Ferox met Eire's angry and somewhat randomly sent glare with another arch of his eyebrow, listening rather than watching as she shuffled off to the bathroom.

When she came back, he was reading an article on J.K. Rowling, the only thing remotely interesting in the magazine. Finishing it, he tossed it back on the table where it had come from, figuring he would have been better off going for one of the textbooks.

Rather than picking one up, however, he scooted down lower, comfortably crossing his legs at the ankles and folding his hands behind his head. "I was thinking... you know one thing we've never done?"

Didn't he hear a thing she said?

Well shit... She knew he didn't really care about her. As long as something didn't kill her, he'd probably do it.

She was drifting off again as he simply read the magazine, still exhausted for whatever reason. Maybe she was getting too much sleep? Nah... No such thing. Her eyes opened lazily though as he spoke.

"One thing we haven't done?" She repeated. She then gave a little snort of laughter. "Just one? I can think of a hundred things off the top of my head... First thing I'd absolutely love to do with you would be to saw your head off.... We haven't done that yet have we?" Her bitterness was no where near gone even as tired as she was.

"But if you're looking for just one thing... You're gonna have to be more specific you know." She murmured, closing her eyes again.

Ferox only smiled benignly at the ceiling as she flung some venom at him. "You'd enjoy that, no doubt," he commented, adding, "I don't think I would. But, true, that is something we haven't done." He was having a little bit of fun with her, but hey.

Appearing perfectly comfortable, Ferox said, "I was thinking of something less bloody, actually." He glanced at her, noticing her eyes were open again. "We've never been on a date."

Finally shifting from his reclining position, he pulled himself up into a sitting one, though he did stretch his legs out so his work boots rested on the table. And smiled.

"Oh, I would enjoy it very much... Starting from the back and taking my sweet time to cause you as much pain as humanly possible... Yeah..." She mused slightly as she shifted in the overchair.

"You... Thinking of something less bloody?" Eire opened an eye curiously, wondering if he was just screwing with her. "Like what?"

Both of Eire's eyes opened as he gave his actual suggestion. "A date?" She gave a dismissive snort. "Right... We'll go with it... I happen to think my idea would be much more enjoyable for both of us actually."

A date... Was he going senile or something? Was he just trying to screw with her? Probably the latter... Date... Right. Like hell they'd be able to have a nice night out. Felix didn't ever really seem happy around her unless she was in some sort of pain. He was never kind to her, never did something unless he was going to get something from her in return.

Dating was about being selfless, not selfish, and she had serious doubts that Felix could ever really care about someone other than himself.

"I'm sure we'd be the ideal 'happy couple' at the movies, out to dinner or whatever..." She rolled her eyes before closing them. "You're an absolute Prince Charming, Felix... But I have no intentions of being seen in public with you. I have no reason to go on a date with you and you with all your wisdom should have known that. So what are you really here for?"

"Actually, starting from the back would be better on my end," Ferox remarked. Calmly, he added, "Considering my spinal cord would be the first to go." Ferox was an odd guy. He could talk about having his head sawn off in the exact same tone that he could discuss the weather or something equally trivial.

"I do, sometimes, think of things that don't have to do with blood," he replied dryly. He was pleased enough with her reaction to the idea of a date. Ferox had been expecting all-out guffaws. "A date, yes. Because I do happen to disagree, mildly, with the opinion that having my head cut off would be more fun. Mildly."

He also would have disagreed with the idea that dating was about being selfless. Having a relationship might be about being selfless, but even that was a stretch. There were plenty of destructive, selfish relationships out there.

"I promise I won't bite," he paused, his lips quirking, "as long as you don't want me to." But he sobered up a little, becoming serious if not somber. "How about this, I won't even touch you if you say not to. Beyond that..." he trailed off, shrugged. "You get a free meal, free movie, or maybe a play... whatever."

"Fine, we'll make a nice circle... Going around to avoid hitting the jugular and the spinal cord... How about that?" She muttered as she pushed herself up.

"Well I disagree that a date would be more pleasant." She said with a sharp smile. "But no. If I wanted a movie, dinner, whatever, I would ask Eamon to go with me. At least then I would have company that I would enjoy being around. Company I could turn my back to every once in a while and let my guard down with."

Setting her chin on her fist, she leaned on the arm of the chair. "You go on dates with people you care about, people you love and want to be around. And you don't seem to care about me in the slightest, and I doubt you're even capable of love... So I fail to see why you'd be interested in going out on a date unless you're just trying to mess with me Felix." She said simply, calling him out on the real reason why he was doing this.

"You've never been gentle with me... So why should I even remotely trust that you're intentions are pure here? Last time you were here you tried to kill Jess just because I refused to give you a blow job." Eire pointed out harshly.

Ferox laughed a little as she gave an alternate possibility for cutting his head off. "Even less fun," he decided.

"'Mess with you'?" he repeated. "Maybe," Ferox conceded. If it wasn't the reason why he was asking her out, it was, at least, a nice side benefit. He met her sharp smile with a slightly amused one of his own. "You spend time with me anyway, Eire. Would you rather go with me to see a movie, with a deal where I keep my muzzle on, or would you rather stay closeted up?"

He shrugged.

"You might be on guard all night, but I did say I wouldn't bite." Maybe Ferox didn't always keep his promises, but he usually did. Of course, mostly that was because he did what he wanted and didn't have the need to lie, but that is neither here nor there.

His smile as she mentioned her roommate was a bit on the thin side. "I 'tried' nothing with your roommate, sugar. If I'd wanted her dead, she'd have been in the ground."

"No, I'd rather not spend any time with you. I want to rest, catch up with my school work and spend some time with my family an Eamon. What you do with me, to me... I've stopped caring. I really have Felix." She said as she stood from the chair. "You can't do anything worse to me than you already have, and even if you come up with something... Oh well. I'll deal with it. It's not like I'm a stranger to pain anymore, and hell... If It wasn't for Eamon, I'd have forgotten what gentle hands feel like... What kindness is like." Eire said simply, brushing her bangs out of her face and behind her ear.

"I'm going back to bed. Just give me the weekend to finish my school work and catch up with my parents, please leave Jess alone, and I'll meet you wherever on Monday okay?" She said with a sigh as she started to head back to her room, stopping at the beginning of the hallway.

"And if you still have that weird fantasy of a date, perhaps we can do something then if you've still got that bug." Her voice for some reason was softer than usual. Not really resigning, or defeated... Just worn out. Arguing with him, simply dealing with him, took out so much energy it seemed.

"Good night Felix. Happy hunting if you're hungry, just please, stay away from the college." She gave him a sleepy smile of sorts and headed back to her room.

Weird fantasy of a date? Ferox mulled that one over and decided it didn't bother him a bit. It probably was a bit odd to ask her out on a date when you considered the two of them. After all, he had a very good idea how she felt about him, had had a good idea even before her repeatedly expressed desire of removing his head in the most painful way possible.

Yes, she hated. Had good reason, he supposed. Still, she never should have offered her throat to a wolf, so to speak, if she hadn't at least courted the possibility of it being bitten.

That wasn't the point in any case. Ferox had been curious, that was all. Curious about what the girl's reaction would be, and curious as to whether or not she would take him up on it. He supposed she had, in a roundabout sort of way.

Mostly, he was curious about her. Not what one would expect, perhaps, but he was a curious creature by nature. Even about unimportant things. It had occurred to him that while he and the girl had shared flesh, they knew nothing of each other. That made him curious.

Ferox pulled a shhort, thin case from his bag. It was about the width of a cell phone, perhaps the length of a pencil. In fact, that was what it looked like, a thick pencil case. Considering what he was, one might suspact that inside the featureless black box would be something gruesome--a finger, perhaps, or some such thing.

Instead, when opened, the light caught on a heavy but finely-made gold chain from which diamonds flamed white. Fire, Ferox had thought when first he'd seen it, both hot and cold. On a whim and for amusement, he'd bought it. Now, he scribbled a note and laid the box on top of it.

For Eire,
Made me think of you.
Wear it Monday.

When she woke the next morning to find the necklace on the counter, Eire very nearly passed out. As it was, her breath caught in her throat and her head swam as her eyes took in the brilliance of the stones. It was the most beautiful thing she'd ever seen and she couldn't help but brush her fingers over it gently, making sure it was real. That it wasn't her imagination.

But the weight of the chain, the brightness of the stones...

At first, she was hoping Eamon had sent it for her, but she knew that it hadn't been.

But as she saw the note... She, for the first time while thinking about Felix, smiled. Maybe... Maybe he was different than she thought. After all... Besides his wild and almost insatiable hunger... His strong temper and will... She... She really didn't know anything about him.

"Fine... You win." She sighed to no one as she shut the lid with a slight click.

--------------------------------

Monday, night was approaching and Eire was getting ready. She was dressed simply, but still nice for whatever he might have in mind. She was wearing a dark emerald green long-sleeve sweater and a long black skirt. The sweater was v-cut so the necklace fit perfectly around her neck, falling just above the neckline of the top.

She didn't have any diamond earrings to match, so she put in a pair of gold chain earrings instead.

All she needed was the where and when to meet him and she'd be there.

Assuming that Eire would be in her dorm room, that was where Ferox went to pick her up. It never occurred to him to meet her somewhere. Using the fake I.D. again, he swiped it to get through the doors before heading upstairs. The student on duty never even looked up, too engrossed in whatever computer game she was playing.

Though he was, technically, using his Henry Ellis persona, Ferox was dressed in his favored, casually elegant way in black slacks, a dark blue dress shirt, and a black wool coat that fell to his knees. It was typical Ferox, simple but tailored perfectly.

He lifted a hand and knocked twice, before tucking his hands back into his pockets to wait. As he did, he wondered what sort of reaction he'd be getting. Indifference, in that venomous Eire way? Outright disgust? Perhaps even cautious civility? Any way it went, Ferox expected it to be an entertaining evening.

As she heard the knock at the door she was just putting the finishing touches on her makeup. But as she finished everything she frowned. Who could that be? Felix still hadn't called her... Could it be him? That didn't make too much sense... But Oh well.

"Just a minute!" She called out to whoever was at the door.

Jess was in class, so she was the only one there at the moment.

Making her way to the door with a distracted sigh she opened the door and blinked slightly as she looked up at the person before smiling slightly. "Oh. Felix. What are you doing here? I thought we were just going to meet up wherever." She said as she stepped aside slightly. "But... Thank you for the necklace. It's absolutely beautiful, I've never seen anything like it before." Her smile grew brighter then as she brushed her fingers against it.

"Come on in for a sec. Just need to get my phone and wallet together." She said, moving off. But the oddest thing was, her voice contained none of it's usual venom, in fact, she was for once actually pleasant around him.

When she opened the door, Ferox offered Eire a slight smile--a simple curving of the lips was all. A subdued, careful expression that showed little. But it warmed a bit at her greeting, which was, for once, entirely without hostility. That was a positive sign.

His eyes flickered down from her face as she pulled the door open. On another, one might have thought he was trying to look down her shirt. With Ferox, it was obvious he was only looking at the necklace, which was a glittering contrast to her dark green sweater.

"It looks good on you," Ferox said cordially, smoothly. Even sincerely because, well, it did. Absently, he reached a hand out, grazing the edge of his knuckle over the line of her jaw, then dropped it. Hands off, he reminded himself. Comfortably, he tucked it back in his pocket as he stepped in, saying, "Take your time. No hurry."

Ferox smiled again, and for once the expression seemed genuine--charming even. "Are you hungry? I can buy you dinner, if you'd like."

She tensed slightly as he touched her, but relaxed quick enough. He wouldn't hurt her now... It would just be stupid. "It falls just right too." She said with a smile. It wasn't that she was afraid of him touching her, it was more so the fact that she wasn't used to him touching her in a remotely kind manner.

"Well, it's not like I have a lot to get together. I was just finishing up when you knocked. I was just expecting you to call really." She said as she slipped her phone into a little black purse.

"Oh... With classes I got a late lunch... So I'm not really hungry now. I mean, I probably will be later. Did you have anything in mind for where we're going?" She asked as she sat on the arm of the couch, tilting her head slightly with a little smile. "Admittedly I was curious as to what you've been planning for this whole escapade."

Ferox frowned. "I'm sorry. I didn't even think about it," he said. Again, amazingly, he sounded sincere when he apologized. And, well, if he was faking it, he did a hell of a job. "I figured all your classes would be out and everything by this point," he added, neglecting to say that he actually knew all her classes would be out by now. He'd seen the schedule when he'd looked up her dorm number.

Didn't seem wise to mention that, however.

He stayed where he was as she perched on the edge of the couch, casually leaning against the wall inside the door, and just looked at her for a moment. "You know, I don't think I've ever seen you wear a skirt before," Ferox commented, his dark grey eyes sweeping her from top to bottom. He smiled again. "You look good in one."

Since she seemed to be done, he moved to extend a hand, but seemed to think about it. He wasn't sure if she'd taken him up on the 'hands-off' offer or not, so it seemed smarter to play it safe. Ferox shrugged lightly as she asked about what they would be doing and said, "Up to you, really. The Nutcracker will be performed tonight, starting at seven, if that kind of thing interests you. Or there's always a movie."

"That's okay." She said with a smile. "My last one was from four to five thirty. I ate right before it."

She had to laugh though as he said he'd never seen her in a skirt before, and it was true. "Well, you're not likely to see it again, even if it is a long skirt like this. I forgot to do laundry this weekend, so all my dress pants are dirty. Well the two pairs I have anyway." And that was really the truth. She would have worn her black dress pants, but they were kinda dirty at the moment.

"The Nutcracker huh?" She gave a little smirk. "Normally I'd make some vicious joke, but I think I'll be good tonight. But, I think a ballet would be fun. Besides, we're both dressed for it, so why not? Good way to start off the holiday season." She said with a smile as she moved to get a light black jacket from the small closet.

"Hey... Umm. I was thinking, we don't really talk a whole lot, and I know we've had this arrangement for a while, but I still don't know anything about you." She said as she pulled the jacket on. "And well... Even if we can't be friends in the actual sense, maybe we can try to be something close to it?"

"That's too bad," Ferox remarked, adding, "Like I said, you look good in one." It was odd to hear him talk good-naturedly, at least to Eire. A typical conversation usually consisted of trading barbs and never lasted long anyway. Still, Ferox could be quite charismatic when he wanted to--he'd simply never bothered with Eire before.

He smiled, a little thinly, at her comment about the name of the play. "Well, I set that one right up, didn't I?" he asked dryly, though slightly playfully as well. Ferox glanced down at himself as she added that they were both 'dressed for it' and gave a quick laugh. "I guess we are."

"No... we don't," Ferox said thoughtfully, moving to help her into her jacket--as any well-mannered 'gentleman caller' would do. His fingertips brushed lightly over the back of her neck, then he stepped back. "We could. Try, that is." He smiled, pulling the door open and gesturing for her to step through.

Mulling on it a little bit, he finally spoke. "How about this, you can ask me any question you like, but I won't guarantee I'll answer it. And vice versa. Sound fair?"

"Yes you did." She murmured as he brushed at the back of her neck ever so slightly.

"But it would be kinda nice just to get to know you personally, not carnally." She said simply as she moved to the door.

"That sounds fair though. After all, I have no intention of sharing everything with you and I'm all but positive that you'd never tell anyone everything. No offense, I just don't think that you're not Mr. Touchy-Feely..." She said simply.

And it was just the kind of person he was... And to be honest she was like that too. There were things that she didn't tell Eamon.. Things she didn't want people knowing... Like about her mother... Alex didn't even know all of it, and it was his sire that was involved in that whole story.

"I've got one for you though, and I'll be disappointed if you don't answer it." She said with a little smile. "Have you ever made love to a woman? I don't mean just had sex, I mean actually made love, like you wanted to please her because you cared for her."

His lips twitched a little as she spoke. He could have made some crude joke about being, or not being, a 'Mr. Touchy-feely', but decided not to almost immediately. Pointless thing to do. Especially when he and Eire were getting on so well. They hadn't exchanged one pointed comment yet. How about that.

A slight line appeared between his eyebrows at her question. It wasn't as if he was annoyed or anything of that sort, the query just wasn't what he'd been expecting. When Ferox replied, however, his voice was easy and unruffled.

"I would say yes, though perhaps not in the way you're thinking," he replied after a moment. Glancing at her, he continued, "I made love to my sire. But I couldn't exactly say it was because I cared for, again, at least not in the way you might think." Ferox frowned thoughtfully, trying to figure out how to phrase himself. "We had a... tricky relationship. I loved her with all I had. Madly. Passionately. I also hated her in the same way." He gave a slight laugh. "She could make me go blind with pleasure, but she saved her nastiest tricks for me as well. I wouldn't break like humans did."

It was odd how he said it. There was a trace of something like affection in his voice as he spoke of his sire, but an underlying layer of an emotion darker than bitterness as well.

Ferox pushed the front door open for Eire, his stone colored eyes dipping down to hers. "So. My turn. When did you first learn of vampires? What drew you to them?" he asked, then paused for a moment. "I guess that's two."

He had never cared for a woman? He had never loved someone so completely before like she loved Eamon? In a way, she felt sorry for him, sorry that he had never really felt that emotion. Maybe that was why he was the way he was...

She could only speculate. But she was sure he was telling the truth, some vampires were just cruel... And you only know what you're taught.

"That's not a problem." She said with a smile at his question. "I thought you already kinda knew. I was eleven, twelve. I just moved here from the states with my dad and step-mother. I was in the park late at night, the one in my neighborhood, and Jean found me. She took me in really, I still don't know why, but I was so fascinated with everything and I loved history. Talking with all the vampires, it was just amazing... And the feeling of being bitten, it was so wonderful. It was addictive really, and I just met so many fascinating people who all loved me. It was impossible for me to stay away too long." She said with a smile.

"Even if I wouldn't feed a vampire, I'd still sit and listen to their stories, listen to what they knew. History was always my favorite subject, and well so it was just kind of a place for me to be."

She gave a shrug as they went out of the dorm. "Okay, question for you, do you drive or do you want me to drive?" She asked with a chuckle.

Ferox would have disagreed with the thought that he had never cared for a woman. He had cared about Isold. Just... well, just not the whole 'my heart is your heart' thing that humans seemed to sigh over. They had loved each other in their own ways, but it had been love.

A twisted, blackened, destructive one perhaps, but love nonetheless.

He listened as she spoke about Jean and her explanation about how the two had met. And how Eire had been introduced to the vampiric, well, underworld. Ferox said nothing, but inwardly he shook his head. The ancient simply didn't understand it. Any of it, but mostly the tameness of the vampires she had met. Had Ferox been that first vampire to find her, meet her... well, that story probably would have ended before it ever began.

"I can drive," Ferox replied, pulling his keys out of his pocket. He gestured towards his car, a midnight black Corvette. A sixty-nine Stingray that Ferox had put considerable time and money and elbow grease into rebuilding. Not that it mattered. He had plenty of each. It was a bit flashy, but hey. He was your average guy in some ways. Slick, muscled cars was one of those ways.

Ferox did like his toys.

"Okay. Let's go for something simple. Favorite color?" he asked, walking around to the passenger side to unlock the door for Eire.

"Good, I'm running low on gas... Old trucks ya know... Horrible gas mileage." She shook her head with a sigh.

But as she lifted her head and saw the car that he drove, she was stunned, her amber eyes were opened wide with awe. "No... Way..." She had to resist the urge to ask him to pop the hood, aching to see what was under it. "God... That thing is beautiful..." She said with a soft murmur, her fingers running along the rooftop lovingly.

"I've always wanted a car like this... Or one of the older Camaros..." She turned to Felix with a naughty little grin. "Cars like these really turn me on. What year is it? Sixty-Nine? Seventy? God it's hot..."

"Huh? Favorite color? Uh... Dark green... Burgundy, Dark blue... any of the jewel tones. Not too picky." She said, her attention still fully on the car. Such a thing of beauty.

"Believe me," Ferox muttered, "I know." Old trucks weren't the only thing that got horrible mileage. Muscle cars did too. It wasn't the wince-worthy price per gallon that he minded, though. Just the sheer annoyance of having to fill up all the time.

He stroked a hand over the black metal, the way one would stroke a hand over a lover. Still, gas-guzzler or not, this 'Vette was worth it.

Ferox grinned at her reaction. "It's a sixty-nine. I also have a sixty-seven Impala," he waited a beat before adding, "And a fifty-seven Thunderbird." Not to mention the sweet, sweet sixty-five Mustang he had his eye on... was probably going to buy. Damn, it was nice being kiss my ass rich.

Cars were a real weakness of his. The sleek metal, that panther roar of the engines. Didn't matter that he could fly. Nothing beat the kind of thrill fast, muscled machines gave. Well, okay, some things did, but that wasn't the point.

He studied the car some more himself. Ferox would never get tired of looking at that thing. "I'll have to show you my garage sometime," he remarked. It was... something of a showplace, really.

Eire audibly moaned as he gave a list of his cars. "And I've just got Dad's miserable ol' S10..." She whimpered distraughtly. "I'd... Well I might kill for this thing... Might, Felix, so don't get any ideas... Depends on who, the situation and whether I could get away with it." She said simply.

"God I would love that Felix. I've got a thing for cars, always have since my dad taught me how to work on them. Older ones are fantastic..." Well, they didn't call'em pussy cars for no reason.

"But we should get going. You said it started at seven? Well, we got a bit of time, but better seats are always good." She said as she slipped into the open door he held for her. So, that was one thing they had in common, cars. Vintage ones too. Maybe they had more in common than they thought.

Ferox couldn't help but give a slight laugh as Eire all but drooled over the car and at the thought of the rest of his collection. "Nice to know that it's only a 'might'," he said with faux sincerity, his dark eyes showing the barest glimmer of laughter.

"I just like the power in them, the grace," he said idly. It might seem odd, this love affair for muscle cars he had, considering he could get around just fine without a car at all, but... What was the point of making money if he didn't spend it?

Ferox gave the black hood a light pat. "I had this baby up to one-twenty once... She'd have given me more but, well, we were just getting to know each other."

"Gotcha," he replied, closing the door for her before letting himself in on the other side. The interior smelled of the rich leather seats, which were bloodred contrasts to the black exterior. Ferox slid the key into the ignition and the car just purred as he turned it on, purred like a big ol' cat.

Like those commercials said, what was important was when he turned his car on... it returned the favor.

He pulled out of the parking spot, turned to look at Eire. "So, anyway, it's your turn."

This car was perfect. It was... Oh it was heaven. The scent of leather... The way that engine purred... It was like a contented tiger. Just like her in some ways. She could purr just like the car did, if you knew how to turn her on.

"Huh? Oh, my turn... Uh damn... Uh... I would ask if I could take this thing for a spin later... But God only knows what trouble I'd get into. The truck can barely break eighty..." She muttered. "God this thing is beautiful though." She nearly moaned.

"But anyway... Just a simple curiosity... What was the last thing you ever ate as a human?" She asked, her hand running affectionately over the door handle of the car. There was very little that she wouldn't do for a car like this. Maybe one day... One day as a vampire she'd be rich enough to get one... or ten. Well Seven at most... Drive a different one every day of the week.

But what about a Camaro? She wanted one of those too... And a Monte Carlo... And God it would be sweet to have a '73 Pontiac GTO...

She even thought for a second about asking Eamon to buy a nice car like one of those for her... But no... She couldn't do that. They were expensive as hell and she wouldn't want him to spend that much money on her. He spoiled her with love and affection, she didn't need his money too.

"Yeah, don't ask that," Ferox said, thought fairly good-naturedly, "I'd hate to have to turn you down after we've been getting along so well." Just because he could, he pressed the pedal down as he pulled onto one of the deserted backroads. Ferox had pretty much memorized the layout of the city and could get from place to place with ease.

The car gave a throaty growl and gave an eager jump forward, engine thrumming as the needle climbed.

"The last thing I ever ate as a human?" That one was out of left field, Ferox thought. Frowning a little, he tried to remember... it had been quite a while ago, after all. "Hm. Probably something like a rabbit or maybe a bird of some kind... I don't really remember now. Huh."

He shrugged a little. Food in his day had been something you ate to keep from starving to death. Not for pleasure as people could now. "All right, my turn again. What are you majoring in at DU, and why?"

She gave a playful little pout. "Ohh, I promise I won't hurt it! I swear, you think I'd wanna hurt this piece of art?" But she wasn't really going to fight it, after all, what if something did happen? God she would feel so horrible... Besides, it was more exhilarating to be sitting in the passenger's seat as he urged the car faster. It was like her heart wanted to match the speed of the vehicle, pounding away in her chest.

"Fair enough... I know the memory seems to be the first thing to go with you old folks." She teased with a smile.

"But I don't have a major yet to be honest, because I don't know what I want to do." She said with a shrug. "I want to do something with history, or anthropology, but the only thing I can do with those degrees is be a teacher and I don't know if I want to do that." She said with a shrug, a wide grin of delight on her face as she watched the road begin to blur by.

"I always thought it would be need to be an Archaeologist... Maybe a curator for a museum... But those really don't pay, even if I would absolutely love them." She said simply.

"Why did you become a vampire?" She asked, looking over at him.

Piece of art? Nah... pieces of art didn't do anything. This baby was a machine and a class-A one at that. The perfect kiss of gears... the whistle of the wind against the windows. They were pushing ninety and the Stingray was just purring right along.

"Old folks, huh?" Ferox said wryly. "I'll give you old," he threatened teasingly, pouring on the gas a bit more. With a happy growl, the car surged forward smoothly, passing the century mark without a hitch.

With a sigh, however, he began to ease off the gas. They were getting closer to the theatre now, and traffic was an increased possibility. The last thing Ferox wanted to do was wipe out at... he glanced at the speedometer, one-oh-three. And dropping.

"You can do more with history degrees than teach," Ferox said, glancing over at Eire as the needle fell into a more acceptable speed range. Around eighty. "There's always research, if that would interest you at all. That's how most knowledge is discovered, going through old documents and the like."

At her next question, he paused for a moment to think about it. "I didn't have a choice, exactly," Ferox hesitated again, this time to downshift. "My sire didn't ask my permission. She wanted me as her fledgling, so she took me. That was all. I can't say I complained, however. I was ambitious as a human and the idea of immortality and power... it greatly appealed to me."

The car rumbled impatiently as they slowed for a red light. "Do you intend to be turned?"

She felt her heart drop with the speed of the car. Adrenaline... She needed the thrill, the excitement, the danger. Well there was hardly any danger, Felix knew well what he was doing. But still.

Maybe that was why she was never able to leave the vampires... Being around something so wild... So dangerous... And perhaps that was why she couldn't quite keep her mind off of Felix at times...

Eire listened though as he he spoke about his sire, about how he really didn't have a choice to be turned. The more she learned about his past really... The more she began to pity him... Well not pity perhaps... But understand why he was the way he was.

Granted he'd been alive a long time, but it's your first few years that make all the difference about who you become. His earlier years had been tricks, deception, pain, suffering... It was all he knew. And she pitied him that he didn't know anything else.

"Yeah... I want to be turned. I want to be a vampire. But... Not yet. Not until I actually look like an adult. I've seen so many vampires that are literally trapped in themselves because of when they were turned. And... I want to find the right sire. Someone that I love and will want to be around for a really long time." She smiled softly, her thoughts turning to Eamon now, wondering what he was doing.

"And well Eamon agrees that I shouldn't be turned yet, and I love him so much. So I guess that he would turn me if I asked, if I was sure it was what I wanted. But I want to wait at least until I graduate. I guess kind of like getting married." She smiled. And now that she thought of it... Wouldn't that be perfect? To be turned on her wedding night? She chuckled at the thought. God she was a hopeless romantic sometimes.

"Do you have any fledglings? Well yours or ones you've ever adopted because they needed a home?"

Ferox probably would have been annoyed with Eire for pitying him. Actually, scratch the 'probably'. He would have been quite irritated at such thoughts... you know, if he had been eavesdropping in. Which he wasn't. He could have, but it didn't seem to go with their nice night and all that.

His 'early days' weren't anything to be all pity-party about. They were what they were and, hey, Ferox liked himself and his life just fine as it was. He was sire-less and fancy-free nowadays. Could and did do exactly what he pleased. So what if odd and/or violent things happened to please him? He could get away with it. Who knew what kind of person he'd be now if things hadn't happened the way they had? Ferox could have turned out like some bleeding heart Enashe that he despised. No, thank you.

Fortunately, he was completely and utterly unaware of the direction her thoughts had shifted.

"Be sure," he said suddenly, after a moment's silence listening to Eire. Ferox glanced at her, a surprising intensity in his dark eyes, saying, "I'm not trying to warn you off. That's not my place. But, be sure. Because being turned... it isn't like marriage. You can't divorce yourself from it, or annul it. And immortality, well, it's all in how you approach it. It can be a gift or a nightmare." Ferox fell silent again.

For him, it was a gift. But that didn't mean it was that way for all.

He turned his attention to her question. "Fledglings? There have been a few. But, I hope you don't mind overly if that's one of the topics I avoid," Ferox replied.

[[Translation: Ferox's roleplayer hasn't made her mind up on that little point. :P]]

"Do you think you would ever have a fledgling?"

"Oh, I know I want to be a vampire. I've known that for sure since Jean told me what she was. I... I had asked her that night to turn me, to be my mother... I remember the sad smile, how she pulled me close and stroked my hair. But she said no. I was upset... But then she explained to me that I wouldn't grow up if she did that. I'd have a young body forever and it wasn't a good thing. Even I could have thought of that." She hadn't thought Felix would have been interested in the story before, but who knew... He might actually want to hear it.

"But she promised me that one day, I would meet a vampire that would want to cherish me, love me and make me his fledgling. And that when the time came, he would be the one to turn me. And I guess I thought it sounded so romantic at the time. Like a Fairy Tale Prince... Or a Knight in Shining Armor." She gave a laugh, her sheepish smile reflected in the window of the car as she looked out.

"To me... It would be both... To watch my family grow old.. And die... I know it will hurt so bad. But I know that my dad won't want to live forever, neither would my step-mom. But some how i know that even if I weren't to be turned, I would still outlive them, and have to suffer through their deaths. But at least I will have Eamon with me to go through it all."

She listened to his brief bit about his fledglings and shrugged. "Suit yourself I guess. I mean those were the terms we set up at the beginning. But I have to admit, not answering makes me even more curious." She chuckled.

"But... I don't know if I could see you with fledglings... I... I just see that as something were you need to be kind, patient... And loving... But to be honest, those traits are just kind of hard to find in you." She admitted with a pained face. "I mean... I try to see the good in everyone. And I have to admit... The only thing about you that I've found honorable until tonight was that you keep your promises. I've always been told that fledglings are like children, delicate, scared... You... You just don't seem like the kid of person to deal very well with that."

Unless his fledglings turned out to be twisted creatures much like Felix himself...

"Me? I... I don't know to be honest." She bit her lip slightly. "If it was to save someone who didn't want to die, yes. If it was someone I loved and wanted to be with who knew what I was... Yes." She said with a soft sigh. "God forbid something happen to Eamon... but... I don't like being alone. I don't like being on my own, I never had, even when I was a baby. My dad or mom would always be holding me." She shook her head with a sigh. "But I guess it all depends on the situation." She answered finally.

She bit her lip for a moment, contemplating her next question. This one had been bothering her for some time now, and she fet that now was as good of time as any to ask. "Why do you keep playing with me Felix? I... I'm sorry... But I have to know... There are times, I just feel like a toy to you... I want to feel like a woman... I want to feel like I'm giving you something you need as a man. I guess that's why I feel so bitter sometimes... So angry..."