"Quin..." A soft giggle came from a girl pressed up against the side of the movie theater. It was just after one in the morning and the final showing of Transformers had just let out.

"Come on Ama... Let's go back to my place. My parents will be asleep, you won't have to do anything you don't want to, I just want to be with you baby..." He said almost eagerly as he kissed her neck.

Each time his warm lips pressed against her throat a flare of thirst and hunger rose. She could probably get away with taking care of the thirst, but she'd promised herself never to sleep with a human... Not only would they not understand, but it might hurt them.

"Quin you know I-" But her words were cut off as he kissed her. Ama's fingers curled into his hair and she pulled him closer. She pulled away for a moment. "I can't... I'd have to sneak out before dawn, get back home before someone panics."

He'd started kissing at her neck again and she sighed, closing her eyes. It was hard for her to think when he did that. Quin... She'd really grown use to him... She cared about him more than she had any other human. Maybe... maybe one day soon she could tell him. Maybe he could become like her and they could be together. "Stop it Quinton. You're messing with my head when you do that." She pulled away, dragging him out of the ally, back into the throng of people leaving.

"I like you and all, but you know I can't just... Stay at your place. You know what everyone will say and you know I'm not like that." She said as she squeezed his hand. "Please, don't try to ma-" She froze. A scent on the wind that made her tremble. Quinton noticed.

"Look... I swear I'd never do that to you Ama! I know you're not that kind of girl and I like you to! I don't want to hurt you I-"

"No nono! It's not like that Quin! It's just... It's later than I thought. I gotta get home. You should go. It's late too and you've got your brother's graduation thing tomorrow." She had to get him out of there... It... It was a vampire about... Not Kieran... She knew Kieran wouldn't hurt him, but someone else? She didn't know.

"I'll see you tomorrow Quin! I promise! Just go home, it looks like it's going to rain or something." She lied.

The boy frowned, but shrugged, not understanding what was going on. "Okay okay, whatever. Call me though, okay?"

Ama nodded as he walked off, only turning away once his car was pulling off. She began to walk the opposite way, hoping that the vampire would go after her, not Quin.

It wasn't often that Isidore Sauvageot found himself walking home in the middle of the night. Even less often in an expensive suit and Italian leather shoes. On a mortal man, he mused, they may have rubbed his feet raw. Lucky for him that his feet were made of sturdier, less alive, stuff. He shoved his hands into his pockets and allowed himself a breath of a chuckle, small smirk playing on his face.

The evening had not gone as he'd planned. No, it had been better. He'd gone to acquire a painting from an up and coming new artist. It was a gaudy, mismatched thing that passed for modern art, but then, art was not something he enjoyed. What it was, was easy. And Isidore Sauvageot was not the sort of man to put too much effort into anything resembling work. Well, let it just be said that one thing had led to another with this little miss artiste had been quite injured behind her studio. An annonymous phone call had sent the paramedics after her. Too bad about her amnesia though. Those bite marks would be awful hard to explain.

Why let her live? Well, why would you uproot a money tree?

The street was flooded with the newest generation gloating over something or other. Isidore hadn't paid enough attention to realize he was next to the movie theatre. Squalid little box. If he wanted a movie night, he had a lovely little entertainment system of his own, thanks. Besides, most of the new movies didn't interest him. Humphrey Bogart's films, on the other hand...

He felt the presence of another vampire, but it didn't bother him overly much. He leaned against the corner of the building, immersing himself in shadows - a talent, but not a power like that of the Nephim - and watched the human attempting to seduce the equally little vampire. She seemed to notice he was there - not difficult, since he wasn't making too big a secret of it - and rushed her little mortal off to safety. Part of his brain chuckled.

Her tactics were unskilled, and her face betrayed everything. Nevermind that he had once been the same way, those things were not fitting for a vampire. They'd get you into trouble more often than not. One had to be refined about such things.

Falling into step behind her with a stride that could only be called arrogant, he spoke, his voice as smooth and slow as molasses, and with particular attention to his accent. "You do not need to fear me, cherie. I've already had my dinner for the night. The question is, however, have you?"

Ama swallowed hard as she heard the footsteps behind her. Well... At least her plan had worked. Quin would be safe for tonight at least. He'd be okay....

She tried picking up her pace, but the other vampire's words froze her where she stood. His voice was smooth, arrogant yet something in it appealed to her. it was the power in it. A certainty that the vampire side of her thrilled in.

But her more wary side flinched back turning to face him, yet still ready to run if she had to. Fighting was of course a stupid idea... It wouldn't get her anywhere. She stood as still as she could, trying to keep her body from shaking

"Dinner?" She said softly, keeping the trembling out of her voice. "No... I haven't. I'm afraid you interrupted the possibility I had for tonight." She answered politely, unsure of what he was hinting at. Did he think she was going to kill Quin? Had he wanted to watch? Well, he would have been out of luck, because she wouldn't have ever killed him.

Her muscles tensed even as she tried to relax them. It was almost as bad as the night she met Kieran, but she'd grown use to the scent of vampires again, male ones too for that matter. Before it would have driven her crazy, but now she could control herself. "I wasn't going to kill him. So you wouldn't have enjoyed the show much anyway." She said backing up half a step. "What do you want?"

Isidore watched her stop in front of him, but he continued to walk forward until he was only about a yard away. He tried to look as innocent as possible in the near-dark, but it wasn't a look that suited him. Whatever he'd become in his years as a vampire, innocent wasn't even on the list. Still, he tried.

At her little proclamation, he pressed a hand to his chest and tried to look affronted, though he ended up looking more amused. "Me? I was just having a lovely little walk in the moonlight. I was not about to interrupt another's meal. That would be rude." He emphasized the last word, smiling charmingly. It was second nature for him to put on an act in front of others. "Also rude? Being a voyeur. Either I am involved, or I am not. Whatever you and your little friend were about to do, I was not interested until you made me interested."

He shrugged, shoving his hands back in his pockets. "As for wants, there are plenty. Right now, I would very much like a particular painting that the owner is holding out on, a pair of fine leather boots, and a new tie." One blonde eyebrow rose. "If you mean, what do I want from you, then you'll have to suggest something, because I did not come with a shopping list." A pause. A smirk. "Unfortunately."

"I wasn't about to let him get hurt by someone." She said suddenly, with a sharp tone that surprised even Ama herself. "He... He's a good friend of mine." But that might make it seem weird to this new vampire that he'd interrupted her dinner.

Ama never took her eyes off him though, only tensing as he moved closer, not wanting to really back down. That would only show weakness, that much she knew.

She frowned as he said it was unfortunate that he didn't come with a list of what he would like from her... But to her that was a good thing. "I'm sure you'd like nothing better than to see the back of me." She suggested, hoping he would agree and let her be on her way.

But the strange thing was that she didn't know where she wanted to go most... To see Kieran, feel the protection and strength he offered her. Or the warmth and softness that Quin's arms offered. Two worlds... And they didn't really agree with each other did they.

"So, if you have other things that you'd like to take care of, I'll be more than happy to go back to what I was doing." Her nervousness was obvious, her hands fidgeted clenching and unclenching, her eyes flicked back and forth quickly, trying to find a good way out. "After all, sometimes we do things we don't intend. Like interrupt others meals."

The expression on Isidore's face slipped a little - not into one of anger, or loathing. No, it slipped revealing absolutely... nothing. He merely looked at her for a few beats as an inquiring glint stole into his eyes. He watched her tense and knew that he was not liked. It didn't bother him. He was used to being disliked by almost anyone he met. Of course, this was a fairly rare situation for him, so he did what he did best.

He made it up as he went along.

"You love him, though are not, perhaps, in love with him," said Isidore carefully, each word carrying weight. Another beat passed, and he shrugged as if to say what does it matter to me? This was immediately contradicted by his words. "It isn't the wisest course of action unless you intend to turn him. Humans are very... fragile. More than that, though, they are quick to condemn. Trust me." There was nothing ominous about his words. They were said the same way you'd say that there were stars in the sky.

"The back of you? But that would be letting you off easy. After all, you just admitted that you weren't going to eat the boy... yet now you insinuate that I ruined your meal. One of the two has to be a lie, and I'm going to assume that it's the latter. You were being serious when you said you had no designs on the blood of your... friend." He smiled, and it was pleasant. "Besides, if I left and you left, what would I do with the rest of my night? When you get to be an old man like me, you must impose upon the youth for company."

Yes, he was being wholly facetious.

It was odd, how his face could seem so expressionless... She however being so young, couldn't control her emotions nearly as well as he could. Nor could she lie with them as he was doing.

A look of pain twisted across Ama's face as he talked about Quin. About how they'd never be able to be together unless.... Unless she turned him. But the part that got her... Was the quick to condemn. Would Quin hate her if he ever found out? Would he think she was crazy and then when she showed him the truth hate it, fear it... And then condemn her? Chase her away and crush everything?

It was all she could do to keep from slumping her shoulders.

She decided to answer another part of his comment instead. "I don't kill the ones I feed on... I feed on him because he likes it... It's pleasure to him and to me. I don't have to kill him to be happy." She in fact was much happier that he was alive. She'd wanted to go to Quin's house with him, wanted to stay with him and curl up in his arms as he slept. But that wasn't happening now.

"Well I'm afraid I'll be poor company if that's what you're looking for." Ama stated, trying to make her voice sound icy. "I... I'm not comfortable around vampires. I don't like it, never really have." That was a bit of an understatement, but oh well. "I don't see how I could even hold your interest as long as I have already." She pointed out.

Under his more or less pleasant exterior, Isidore watched the thought plant itself into her brain. It was a seed of doubt planted into the back of her eyes. It meant he'd done his job tonight. He was Ishak, after all, and that meant that anything he could do to change her mind about mortals - however slight a change it might be - was his purpose.

Well, that and being beautifully arrogant while ripping into innocent (or not so innocent) victims.

His face remained casually friendly as he said, "You act like a Nephim-in-training, if I ever saw one." It wasn't that Isidore didn't drink during foreplay or sex, but only that he did it for his pleasure and not the other way around. And the thought of having an exclusive mortal lover...? Didn't appeal to him. If he wooed any woman, it was with the intention of turning her sooner or later.

If he could've helped the sharp laugh that escaped him, he wouldn't have. "If you don't like the company of your own kind, cherie, I think you're going to find eternity a long and lonely thing." Her attempts at being cold left him unmoved. In fact, he found it rather quaint. Instead of turning him off her, it made him want to push her buttons. "What is your name?" With a small flourish, he bowed in the way of old nobility and grinned at her. "I am Isidore Sauvageot."

"It might be... But I don't care. Most of the others I know of... I hated them all..." And Kieran had been the only one she'd met so far with any redeeming qualities.

"Maybe... Maybe I wouldn't be so lonely if I'd chosen this. Maybe if I'd ever wanted to be a vampire" The word was almost a curse. "then I wouldn't hate it so much." She didn't know what a Nephim was, and she didn't really care. It sounded familiar, but she couldn't think of where from and she didn't try hard either.

"Ama... Last name doesn't really matter..." She shrugged. She was dead to her family, dead to her old friends... Dead to a life she was happy with. "Besides... I'm sure I won't live too long. I... I don't intend to anyway." Well not as long as most vampires. She didn't want to live any longer than humans her own age. She wanted to grow up... Even though she knew that wasn't going to happen.

"Look... What do you want with me? Why do you want my company? I'm not interesting, pretty or anything like that, so just leave me alone?" She asked. "I want nothing to do with Vampires, I want nothing to do with this life. I never did. I was happy not knowing anything, okay?" She turned away, continuing on her path back to Kieran's place, though she decided she wanted Quin. Kieran wouldn't be able to keep himself safe at least...

Isidore exhaled sharply, but softly, from his nose and it was the only physical clue to his thoughts. These tended to be rather critical of the fledgling in front of him, but it wouldn't do to be overly rude about harsh truths. That didn't mean he was going to spare her feelings, though. Isidore had a mouth, and he wasn't afraid to use it - especially not against someone centuries his junior.

"My, my, aren't we cynical at our young age? And not opposed to whining, either, it would seem." He scratched his cheek, head cocked to one side. It wasn't a very human gesture. "Do you really think most of us choose to be vampires? No. Yet the strongest among us rise to overcome our disgusting beginnings." Isidore did not mention here that he'd been one of the few to actively choose to become a vampire. It seemed unimportant to his point.

"You're right," he continued, "it is a mystery as to what could've interested me about you. I had no idea that you were so awfully weak, as well as being so young." He made the word 'weak' sound like the most vile of insults. She turned to walk away, and for a few moments, Isidore watched her walk away. Then, shrugging to himself, he called after her:

"You can pretend all you'd like, cherie, but that doesn't change what you are. All the pretending in the world can't do that. And your inability to accept yourself will lead not only to your downfall, but to the downfall of your human friend. To not know your enemy - though I do not believe vampires to truly be your enemy, but I digress... to not know your enemy is to welcome the destruction of your ignorant paradise."

Feeling entirely too sanctimonious for comfort, Isidore turned around as well, taking slow, measured steps away. He felt entirely too much like a priest - albeit not one for God. He needed a shower.

She turned around as he called her weak. The look on her face was angry, but she wasn't glaring at him. No, if she could glare at anyone, it would be herself.

"Yeah, I'm weak, so what? I wasn't meant to be this! I wasn't meant to be a vampire! I should have died a human! Every vampire I've seen, including you now, has everything I wish I could have had. Everything that I wanted to be! They're smart, strong, not afraid of anything! You're all beautiful." Her voice which had been raised before fell suddenly. "I'm not any of those things. I'm average at best in every one of those categories. I wasn't meant to have this... It's wrong." Her voice was almost a whisper now.

It wasn't that she didn't know vampires, it was simply that she didn't like what they were. She'd seen enough of them in her first three years to more than know what they were like, what they could do. She didn't belong with them, didn't belong in this world.

"How can I learn to love a life that isn't mine? That wasn't meant for me?" She asked him, her question hovering between rhetorical and legitimate.

Isidore stopped midstep and swivelled around to face Ama, his arms crossed. His eyebrows were slightly raised, but there was a hint of a smile on his face. It said, quite clearly, that he hadn't thought she'd fight back, and that he was pleasantly surprised that she had. It also managed to look amused.

"You think I was meant to be this, cherie?" He laughed, and it was a truly joyous sound. "I will tell you a secret not many know: I started my mortal life as a monk. Unless you were fashioned by the seed of Jesus Christ himself, I doubt very much that you were less likely to become a vampire than myself."

He took a few dancelike steps forward, so he was back where he'd begun. "Besides, to be any of those things, you need to practice them. Believe you are the most beautiful woman in the world, and not only will others see you as more beautiful, those that don't will not have the confidence to tell you that you are not." A pause and a wink. "Though I do not think you are so ugly as you would think."

It wasn't flirting, what he did. It was an appraisal. He looked at her with the same eye he used to look at various pieces of art.

"I would say the first thing to do would be to try, which you do not seem to be doing. The second thing would be surrender. If you constantly look to the other side and believe that the grass, as they say, is greener, then how will you be content? It is the same as when you were mortal. You seem to think more like a human than a vampire, so do as the humans do - think positive, no?"

She shook her head as he spoke. She wasn't pretty, she knew that. She was average, her mixed heritage made her strange and different, maybe even exotic, but not beautiful. She might be able to lie, but that wouldn't change anything. But on the flip side she knew she wasn't ugly. Most of her friends had always said they loved her hair and her eyes, but that was it really. She didn't have anything else.

Ama couldn't help but smirk though as he said the grass wasn't always greener. She knew that of course but... "I was happy though Isidore... I loved my family, my friends... I was happy going to school, hanging out, worrying about homework and exams and pimples... I never thought that things should be or would be better if it was different."

"When you were human... Times were different I know... But weren't you happy being you? Did you really want this? Think it was better to leave everything behind? Watch everyone you love die and everything you know just fade? Hurting those you leave?" She thought of her own parents, who were still hurting over the 'death' of their daughter.

"What is there to be happy about Isidore? Why should I be happy to watch everything I love die around me? There's nothing that I can have in this life that I want that I couldn't have gotten as a human. I can't think of a single thing..." She fell silent waiting for an answer.

What Isidore didn't do was this: he didn't fall over himself gushing about how pretty she really was. He didn't offer any more words of support or encouragement. He could only go so far in being a 'good guy', because he wasn't. In fact, he was a right bastard most of the time.

He considered her words. "Was I happy being me? I wasn't unhappy, but I didn't have family or connections outside the monastery to worry about." He waved his comments away. Had death ever bothered him? No. First, because he was devout and believed that whatever happened after death was good (or bad, depending, but if bad, then whoever obviously deserved it). Then he'd become a vampire and kept his nonchalance about death, while losing his faith.

"But just think - remaining mortal? Who's to say that you would have lead a content life? Any number of disastrous fortunes could've awaited you. You could've died, old, alone and unfulfilled. You cannot know one way or the other. Besides, it would be the same as if all those you loved died before you when you were mortal. Only then, you'd be a sack of bones, unable to care for yourself."

He frowned slightly. "You speak as if being a vampire is all about death." He wanted to add that only the best parts involved death, but refrained. "There is plenty of life to see as well - many things to experience." A bark of laughter escaped him. "Nothing you couldn't experience as a mortal? Cherie, there are many, many things you couldn't experience as a human. The things I've seen? The places I've been? And yes, even the people I've loved, I would not have gotten had I remained human."

He would've gotten ink and parchment and prayer and devotion and labour. None of those sounded at all appealing.

Ama was glad that he didn't try to argue with her when she said that she wasn't pretty. It told her two things really, one about her and one about him. It told her that she wasn't really pretty, not worth arguing about anyway. And it told her that he was at least honest. After all, what did he really have to gain from lying to her? What was really the advantage to him? She never tried to go fishing for complements, because she didn't need them. She wasn't pretty, she wasn't ugly and she accepted that. She just felt out of place in this world, with so many beautiful people around her.

She nodded though as he spoke, her posture relaxing slightly. But she tensed again as he spoke about mortality and how her life might not have stayed 'perfect' for too long. Well it had taken a bad turn hadn't it? Getting kidnapped by insane cultists was never really a good thing after all. And now, she was stuck in the awkward body of a teenager, not quite a girl and not a woman. Yeah, that kinda sucked in her mind.

Shaking her head Ama pushed his words to the side, not to ignore, but to think about later. She'd have plenty of time later after all.

"Well... isn't it? All about death I mean." She said as she bit her lip. "I'm not like Quin... All soft, warm and all. I don't feel like that anymore, and I want to. His hands, they almost feel like they could burn my skin, but... I don't know. There have been a few good things about this all. But it's hard not to get over the bad. Like never being able to grow up? It would be nice to be a woman, not a girl..." She had to smirk. "And then I might have even been pretty, but now we'll never know."

But Ama was more relaxed around him now, and even moved closer, slipping down to sit on the grass between the sidewalk and the curb. "You said you were a monk. If that's the case, how did you become a vampire? Didn't the Church hunt vampires, werewolves and witches? I mean... You just seem so comfortable like this? Did you have the choice to become a vampire? Or did you ... just get used to it I guess." She asked as she looked up at him.

Isidore was honest, at least for now, but it wasn't that he thought she was ugly, or even just so-so. That was not his motivation. It simply bored him to offer affirmations to others. If they didn't believe it on the first try, why should he waste his time spewing complements on the off chance they were heeded? No. Her self-esteem didn't concern him so much as that.

He watched her relax and wasn't sure to take it as a victory or not. On one hand, it was good that she'd decided he meant her no harm, because he didn't. On the other, he rather liked being the big scary vampire. The uncle that you're never quire sure of, perhaps.

"I suppose you could say that we are dead, but more often than not, the dead do no move, do they?" He moved his arm to demonstrate. "Yet you and I seem to have very little trouble with this little action. Therefore, can we truly be dead? I don't know." He answered her smirk with his own. "There will be those that think you beautiful, and there will be most who will know you are a woman - when you truly become one." The insinuation was that he thought she hadn't quite grown up so much as that. Her body looked youthful, but so too did her mind.

Shoving his hands back in his pockets, he turned his body slightly away from her. It wasn't a conscious gesture. His face contained only a sparkle of it's usual arrogance, but there was something serious in the bones under his skin. Still, his tone was light when he said, "I became a vampire the same way everyone else does. As for the church hunting so called heretics, that did not begin in earnest until after I was already a vampire. I was born a few hundred years before the Inquisition they now call medieval." He chuckled softly. "And if you must know, I did ask to become a vampire, though I did not know what I asked." A shrug of one shoulder. "I suppose you could say I... got used to it rather quickly after that."

"Well I don't need to breath... And well..." She paused for a moment, letting him listen. "I don't hear any normal heartbeats... Do you?" She asked before looking down at the grass, picking at the blades silently in thought. Her own was almost like a humans... Just enough to keep Quin from noticing a difference. But... It wasn't the same. Her skin was cooler... not as soft or as lively.

She stored his next words away again, not wanting to think about them now. She was already in a mood as it was, no need to make it worse.

"What did he tell you? The one who turned you that is. Did he promise you life, youth... Strength and all that crap?" She said with a soft snort. She hadn't even gotten that. She'd thrown herself into the arctic waters... And woke up in a veritable hell of thirst and pain. "What did you do when you realized that he'd lied to you? That it wasn't what you thought?"

Her own coven... The ones who'd kidnapped her, turned her... They'd all been slaughtered by vampires who'd made her lose her mind with fear. Being around Kieran helped her get over that a bit, which was why she could be around Isidore without freaking out... But it still unnerved her a bit.

"Did you want to kill him? Or did you think God would punish him?"

Well, if nothing else, her questions helped reveal the mindset with which she was working. Isidore supposed he couldn't blame her for being unhappy (though he could find it excrutiatingly annoying). Taken as rhetorical, they revealed much about how the girl was turned. The smallest fraction of him felt sorry for her, but he was a man who believed that you were only as strong as what you overcame.

"It was a she, actually," said Isidore softly. He wouldn't say her name, wouldn't even think it. It was his, and hers, and no one else's. "And she told me none of those things, not really. They came later." His face close into itself in introspection. "No, she told me she was lonely, and I volunteered."

It occurred to Isidore that he was being far too free with his personal information, so whatever seriousness had be in him fled, and he grinned at her. "There have been plenty I've wanted to kill - many that I have killed. None that I know of have been killed by God, so far. If he exists, he has left the building, as the saying goes."

"She?" And She had been lonely.... But he had a reason to be there... He had someone. Someone who'd taught him all about this life and shared things with him.

"I... I didn't really have anyone. I kind of have Kieran now... But he just took me in cause he felt sorry for me. He's the first vampire I've spent any time with since these old vampires, the Amman I think, killed everyone in my coven. Well... I don't know what really to call them." She shrugged, picking at the grass.

"They're all dead, but that's fine by me."

She looked back up at him. "You didn't answer my question though. Did you want to kill her? Did you hate her for what she did? Or were you two lovers? But that'd be kinda weird for you being a monk and all I bet." She grinned then. "She thought you were hot and wanted to rock your er- robes off I guess." She chuckled then, not really sure why. She was always careful to keep her mind from going to those kinds of things... She was easily distracted, and that wouldn't be a good idea now.

"You two still together? Or did you just get bored with each other?" She began her bought of questions again.

Did Isidore feel sorry for her? Hard to say. There was some sympathy underneath his exterior. He could feel it pulsating in his breast, but he ignored it. He knew all too well that sympathy, though slower than passion or rage, could move one to do things he or she would regret later.

He ignored the probing question into the 'she' he'd mentioned, and instead focused on the rest. "It is unfortunate, truly, that you did not have a sire to teach you the proper way of things." The proper way being the Ishak way, of course, with everything else about the vampiric society being just generalized information. "If they called the Amman to them, they were both stupid as well as incompetent. It is good that you do not mourn them."

With a chuckle, he continued, "I did not hate her, nor did I want to kill her. You are correct when you assumed that we'd been lovers." Isidore grinned at her lasciviciously. "She thought I was attractive, yes. Who was I to argue?" It was a rhetorical question. Isidore knew he was attractive in his own way.

"But no, we are not still together. It has been nearly five hundred years since I saw her last. But it was not because of boredom that we parted." He leaned against the brick wall of the movie theatre. "If you live long enough, you will discover that to travel with anyone for too long... it is not always the best thing. There were things we both wanted to experience without each other."

She moved to a lounging position, leaning on an elbow as she listened to him. "Well I guess that's a good thing... You know? Exploring on your own. Living..." But she wasn't sure if she was one to do something like that. She would have been happy staying in the city she was born in... Staying there all her life.

"Sooo I'm guessing though that's why all the vampires are good looking? Because other vampires think they're hot and turn them to enjoy them." She nodded in understanding. "That makes sense... And the fact that the people who kidnapped me were crazy explains why they turned me." She smirked. "Five hundred years huh? Soo... How old are you then? I take it you've seen a lot?"

"Sorry if I ask a lot of questions... I've always liked history... Been too curious for my own good. And well the good thing about vampires is I get to hear first hand history lessons. It's about the only thing I really love about it. A couple of other things, but that's my favorite." She smiled slightly.

"You wouldn't mind telling me a story would you?"

"It's something you must do, if you wish to live safely as a vampire. Of course, there will be others who might tell you something different, but it is my opinion that to remain in one place for too long is to invite trouble. Too long, of course, is up to your discretion."

Isidore laughed at the way she worded her thoughts. It was a surprised thing, as if he did not expect to find himself so amused. Truth be told, he hadn't. As true as his advice to her had been, he'd thought that all he'd get to do is goad her tonight.

"Turn them to enjoy them, you say. You make it sound as if the vampiric race is founded on nothing more than lust - make those of us turned because of beauty seem like prostitutes." He shook his head. "The more you associate with our kind, the more you will find out that there are numerous reasons for turning others, and although lust does come up often, it is not the only reason. There are those here in Demaitre that would make you eat those words."

Rolling his eyes, Isidore looked at her with a raised eyebrow. "Does it matter how old I am? Younger than a millennium, older than five hundred years, obviously." He sniffed. "Truth be told, I couldn't give you my exact age even if you wanted it. I don't remember. As for what I've seen, it is simply this: enough."

It hadn't even occurred to him that this should bother him. He went purely on power. He was stronger than many, weaker than some. It was all that mattered now.

"What sort of story would you like? I have no talent for stories, but I will do my best, I suppose." He made it sound like a chore - like people were constantly asking to know every detail of his life. Only the glimmer in his eyes attested to the contrary.

"Well doesn't it? Just about everything leads back to sex somehow, and well, I'm not exactly immune to the urges that come with this whole vampire thing. You think that I feel nothing right now? Maybe what She felt for you? Maybe I'm lonely. Maybe I want someone I can spend half a millennium with." Her eyes were mischievous, but she stayed where she was.

"And I'm not saying you're like a prostitute... You just follow the way things go... Those who are beautiful and talented get pampered and get somewhere. It's just the way things happen. Not your fault. My mother always said beauty was a curse and a gift in one. But everyone who looks good always get somewhere. Or smart. I mean you wouldn't see me ending up in any big college... Maybe something small, but nothing even like the university here." But she would try to apply sometime maybe. She had time to study, and she was able to learn a lot quicker now... Maybe she could actually do something.

"What sort? I dunno." She grinned. "Just pick something... Something you saw that you think changed the way the world is today. Doesn't even have to be big and world shaking. Maybe even just the way you see the world." She gave a shrug, grinning up at him.

"True enough," admitted Isidore. "Sex is a huge motivation for both our kind and for the mortals." He looked at her criticallly, weighing her words carefully. Then he smirked. "Ten minutes ago you were loathe to talk to me, yet now you toy with flirtation?" Leaning in closely, he said gravely, though still smirking. "Do not promise me something that you have no intention of following through on. I am a player, not one to be played."

Returning to his careful distance, Isidore ran a hand through his hair. "Those who are beautiful also suffer the most tragedy. Beauty in mortals is fleeting. Ours is not. That does not mean that there are some among us who are exempt from suffering because of it." Isidore was not one of those people. So far, being attractive had almost always worked in his favour. There was the odd run-in now and again, but he felt she'd accurately described him, at least. Of course, it would do no good to say so.

"Being smart is a talent, like anything else. Given enough time and enough persistence, one can learn it. One merely needs to have the inclination."

Isidore thought about the things he'd seen. There were plenty of stories, of course, but there was also much death. Many of his stories were only amusing in the context of ripping people apart (or mostly apart), or toying with them... Stories he didn't feel she'd properly appreciate, given their conversation so far. Thus, he started:

"After the death of Queen Elizabeth the first some years before - of England, I should hope you know - I worked as a biographer in the reign of King Charles the first. One of the few people documented by history that I can claim to have known... not well, but extensively, was Sir John Suckling. Do you know him?" Isidore didn't wait for her response. "He toyed with the idea of having me write a biography for him. Trace his illustrious lineage, and all that. Decided against it of course. In any case, he was a poet, having gone down in history as one of the Cavalier Poets. Quite liked their philosophies of life, if not their actual poetry. It was them who invented the term, carpe diem: you only live once, so you might as well do it now. Their manners in love were also somewhat to my liking." Here his eyes twinkled. "One of his poems - Sir John, that is - happens to be my favourite because I find it utterly dreadful."

Moving away from the wall, Isidore said with a voice full of vigor:

"Out upon it, I have lov'd
Three whole days together;
And am like to love three more,
If it prove fair weather.

Time shall molt away his wings
Ere he shall discover
In such whole wide world again
Such a constant lover.

But the spite on't is, no praise
Is due at all to me:
Love with me had made no stays
Had it any been but she.

Had it any been but she
And that very face,
There had been at least ere this
A dozen dozen in her place. "

Isidore grinned. "Rather charming, wouldn't you say?"

So he had gotten around a bit in his day? Then again, England wasn't too far from France, easily accessible even to a vampire. She shook her head as he mentioned some poet though. She'd never heard of him she had to admit, but poetry wasn't her cup of tea. The authors all tried to sound too self-important she thought. Using big words when smaller ones would have done just as well.

Ama couldn't help grinning at him though as he finished the poem.

"So... You're the love 'em and leave 'em type huh?" She said as she played with a blade of grass.

"That would suck for the women... A great night of sex and then you just..." She plucked a blade and then let it fall back to the earth "Vanish into thin air after..." She shook her head making a tisking sound. "That's a bit mean isn't it? Just showing a woman what she could have and then taking it all away again? That's why I don't like the whole idea of the one night stand." She shrugged.

"I'm not a slut or anything. Well... Not by choice anyway. Before, with my coven, it was either starve or... Well yeah." And sure she had her fun with Kieran now, but that was a mutual need and she was only with him. She wanted Quin, but reused to do anything where she could lose control or hurt him. "But I mean don't you think that's unnecessary? To just get rid of them? Cant two adults have sex without any special ties to it and agree to meet again so long as the sex is good again?" Typical loose morals of her generation? Maybe. But the fact her vampire side liked sex, enjoyed in immensely and refused to give it up was much more probable.

"I don't remember ever saying anything of the sort," said Isidore innocently, his eyes wide at her. "I only said that I found the poem amusing because it was so vile."

What Isidore didn't do there, was admit that he was what Ama had called, the love them and leave them type. It happened more frequently among mortals, but yes, it did occur. Of course, the lady (or man, depending - Isidore was fairly openminded) would have to have a certain je ne sais quoi to even tempt him. If they didn't have that indefinite something, Isidore just wasn't interested.

"And you speak as though women don't have the appetites for short-lived liasons. Men are, perhaps, the more frequent initiators of such things, but there are many women who do not find it at all... mean, to have things conducted in such ways. Mutual pleasure is one thing. Mutual friendship is quite another. It helps if they go together, but if they do, why not give yourself wholly into a relationship with the other?" Isidore shrugged one shoulder.

"Besides, perhaps I am a man of strong emotions? Perhaps to stay with anyone for too long to is leave me unable to extricate myself from the situation? To demand more than the original agreement?"

Despite the glint in his eyes, Isidore did not make it readily apparent as to whether he was being honest or not.

"Oh you love it and you know it." She said with a snort of laughter and rolled her eyes.

"Well I'm not saying that I would give up a night of fantastic sex just because it would only be once and I might never get it again. But I guess if I wasn't expecting more than once, it wouldn't bother me at all." She shrugged as she pushed herself to her feet. All this talk about sex was making her hungry, making her want some action. But Kieran told her that she had to control it... Control her emotions, her desires...

"Why wouldn't they? Well... Maybe because they don't want to risk what they already have? Especially if you're in an open relationship, and you have a friend with benefits you might not want to go exclusive with them simply because if it went back to that 'just friends' thing, it would be awkward and just fall apart. And people wondered why I never had a boyfriend in school." She rolled her eyes. "All this stuff's too complicated, with humans especially."

"You know, how a single girl can't just have sex with a guy because she likes sex, cause if she does she's a slut or whatever, but if a guy with a girlfriend has sex with another girl it's considered cool?" She moved towards him, not feeling as hesitant about him as she had been, standing within his reach really. "I'm sure you've always noticed those kinds of double standards. How a man with several mistresses was exalted, yet a woman was scorned for being too free with her body. You mentioned Elizabeth before, her father was a perfect example of that."

Isidore held up his hands in a way that implied surrender. Whether he was surrendering to the fact that he loved the poem, or to the fact that he was not going to argue, was unclear. He gave no inclination one way or another.

"What is life without a few risks?" asked Isidore. "You may think it safer, but it only becomes tedious as the years roll on. With eternity before us as vampires, I do believe that we must admit things may not work out... but they may work out better than we imagined. I would most certainly take a chance on the second with the posibility of the first. After all, there will be other opportunities for sexual relationships."

With long fingers, he picked a piece of hair off her shoulder, looked at it, and discarded it. "A devil's advocate might say that Henry was trying merely to solidify a claim to the throne with a male heir. A devil's advocate might also say that it's highly likely that Elizabeth was not the virgin queen that her people thought." Isidore waved his hand. "You will find that such things are immaterial in our world."

Our world. The world of vampires. If she could only accept it.

"Oh I'm sure she wasn't any virgin." Another roll of her eyes. "I don't think there's any way that someone can go a lifetime without falling in love. Or at the very least in lust enough to bend a few rules." She said with an almost arrogant certainty. "Her and Raleigh were pretty close, as were several other of her court members. Women aren't the only whores after all."

Sighing she ran a hand through her hair as she looked down at her watch. She didn't care that it was late after all, but if someone saw her out here, and Isidore was with her... Well, things wouldn't look right. Another reason why she hated looking like a teenager. She'd never be 'inconspicuous' out alone at night.

"I better be heading back to Kieran. He tends to get a little worried if I'm out to late and don't tell him. What can I say, he treats me like a stray pet that he brought home. It's kind of nice, having someone I mean. But still a bit annoying." She made a little face. "Besides... I kinda need to talk to him." She said with a sheepish grin.

Isidore could not help but chuckled at Ama's evaluation of Queen Elizabeth, not only because it was terribly apt but bcause she spoke with certainty about things she'd never seen. Not that that annoyed him, no, quite the contrary. It spoke to great potential. After all, Isidore was an undead lying machine, and could be absolutely certain about matters he was wholly ignorant on.

He'd found, over the years, that if you spoke like you knew what you were talking about, others would question their own knowledge. They'd most likely just believe you.

Another thing that didn't bother Isidore? Apperances, excepting his own physical appearance.

"A bit annoying?" said Isidore flatly, before shaking his head. "You are far kinder than I would be." He took a deep breath. "Well, if you feel you must, run off to your little keeper, and while you are speaking to him, advise him on educating you on the covens. Tell him Isidore Sauvageot the Ishak said so."

He bow, flourishing a hand in front of him like she was a Lady of old. Taking hold of her hand, he placed a chaste kiss on it. "Enchanté, mam'selle." Smiling, he turned to stride down the sidewalk, his expensive shoes clicking on the cement.

Who said chivalry was dead?

As he turned away, Ama grinned. So he'd fallen for it huh? Thinking that she actually had to go home. Sure Kieran tended to worry about her, but he knew she could take care of herself. It wasn't as if he'd come looking for her.

She held back a laugh as she headed her own way for a little bit, but then shimmied up the escape ladder of the theater and made her way across the roof.

This vampire made her curious, and more than just about his past and what he knew... But she was itching to have a bit of fun with him... Just a romp, and well, a man like him wouldn't mind that one bit she thought.

Once at the end of the theater's roof she lept to the next, landing silently on the gravelish type surface.

So... What was he really about. She'd just barely seen his outer shell. She wanted to see what he did, where he lived. Usually she wasn't so curious, but well, something had sparked her interest with this vampire. Maybe because he seemed dangerous? Even if he wasn't it was as if she were facing her own fears about vampires. One like him, who didn't really care about much didn't hurt her. It was kind of a good feeling after all.

Besides a far off siren wailing into the night, the path that Isidore took was more or less silent. Most of the humans were tucked away into bed, and only his shoes made any noise. Truthfully, he was not so mortal that he couldn't have walked silently if he'd wanted to, but it didn't bother him to make noise. If anything, it drew attention to him, and Isidore liked attention.

His pace was fast, probably fast enough that any mortal would've had to jog to keep up, but not so fast as to appear outside the limitations of the human race.

Did he know that he'd been duped? No, he didn't, not fully. Did he suspect that her story was not entirely truthful when she'd asked to leave? Yes. But he'd figured that the truth would come out sooner or later... or wouldn't. If it did, he would be interested in seeing what happened in the follow-up. If not, Ama would become one more acquaintance that faded into obscurity.

He felt a presence at his back, and had his suspicions. A hitch in his step, barely noticeable to anyone who wasn't looking, caused his stride to falter by the merest fraction. During this hitch, he peered over his shoulder, and despite not seeing anything, he couldn't help but smirk.

She froze, pulling herself back into the shadows of an air conditioning unit as his step faltered. He'd seen her? Maybe... He could have after all... Well maybe not seen, but caught her scent? Heard her footsteps? Anyone of those would tell him that she was following. She had to be more clever. Maybe she could just try to follow his scent? Let him get ahead and then just follow him...

That could work. And the vampire part of her was excited by the prospect of a hunt.

So she watched waiting for him to get beyond a certain point when she would be out of his range. Waited until she could climb down silently and unnoticed to track him. Once he was there, she shimmied down the fire escape and took to the sides of the buildings on the same side of the street he'd been on. He was far ahead enough now that she'd probably blend into the shadows, or be mistaken as some human out in the middle of the night maybe.

But his scent was still fresh, and she growled with pleasure and excitement. This could wind up to be a fun night after all...

The smirk didn't leave Isidore's face. In truth, he was quite flattered. It wasn't often he was stalked after a chance meeting. He couldn't hear her, or see her, but he walked with the certainty that she was still behind him. Part of it was arrogance, part of it was because he knew the hunter's nature.

It was often his guise, and he had plenty more practice than the girl at his back. He knew all the tricks.

The temptation to take off into flight was almost overwhelming. He wondered what the expression on her face would be to suddenly find herself without a trail to track. That, however, might defeat the purpose. He'd wanted her to be more like a vampire, and lo and behold, she'd followed his advice. It was almost adorable.

The middle class neighborhoods disappeared behind them as they entered an area littered with more upscale lofts, gleaming in wood and plaster and glass. Isidore walked past most of these.

As they moved into the suburban areas, where large buildings and the likes gave way to smaller houses, she took to the roofs again, using the odd angles for shadows to hide in.

Where was he going? Did he live in one of these houses? It seemed a bit odd for him. Ama could see him in... Hmm... A high class apartment. Like the ones they'd build near the business district where all the big business owners bought weekday places in the city before heading out to their lake side or whatever resort for the weekends.

But out here in suburbia? Ama had lived in something like this. A little older, well, a lot older actually. Her house had been built in the early eighties, but it was kept up well and wasn't that worn it seemed. It was given lots of love. Her heart ached a little as she thought of her family, but the hunt kept her focused.

He was maybe two hundred yards ahead. She could faintly see him in the streetlights or maybe that was just something else that moved.

Isidore's scent was still strong though, so she knew she was heading in the right direction. She just didn't know where he was going to end up.

There was one building towards the end of the development that had fewer windows than the others. It was still the epitome of modern construction, only lacking in the walls of glass. It was a building for people who weren't looking for their own personal fame, and who still valued privacy.

Isidore walked up the curling sidewalk that led up to the entrance. He glanced behind him once more, still unable to see the girl - woman? - that pursued him, and made a visible show of shrugging. He removed his key from his coat pocket and unlocked the door, disappearing inside.

As he was waiting for the elevator, he wondered idly how she was going to get in. But that was her problem. It was her hunt. Let her be inventive.

He watched the entrance as the elevator doors shut in front of him.

As she saw him walk into the building, she darted forward. It was an interesting building to say the least, looking more like an office building rather than apn apartment complex to her eyes... But who was she to judge?

Ama watched as his elevator went up to the floor he must have been staying on, the numbers at the top of the doors letting her know where he was going. Or at least getting off.

So using her typical route of fire escapes and this time using the few balconies to help her around the building. One on the floor was already occupied. Another looked lived in but was empty of a person, and one more was empty of all things, as if no one was even there. She wasn't there to bother him... She just wanted to watch. Ama knew she was starting to accept what Kieran had told her. Not everyone was like the vampires she grew up with.

Isidore wasn't like Kieran, but he wasn't like the others either, he was something different all together and that made her curious.

Isidore entered his apartment, and due to the drawn curtains, it was very nearly pitch black. Although the dark didn't bother him, he flipped the switch in the hall as a matter of habit, and it seemed like the entire apartment was suddenly filled with a dim, romantic light. No fluorescent lightbulbs for Isidore.

Undoing the buttons of his blazer, he hung it up on an antique coat hanger and continued with the first few buttons of his shirt. He took out the tie that had held his hair back and ran a hand through it. His living room looked like something out of a catalogue - more superficial than personal. It exemplified a bachelor pad - if most bachelors could afford antique sofas and items. Art hung on the walls, nothing fancy or famous, but there was an inherent violence to them all - barely contained instinct.

He undid his cufflinks as he walked to the windows and threw open the drapes. Looking out over his neighborhood, he rolled up his sleeves. Green eyes scanned for any hint of Ama, but saw nothing. He wasn't concerned. He knew she was there.

Lights came on in the apartment next to the one she'd been staking out and her head snapped over. There... That had to be him.

She made her way over, as silent as a shadow. Taking a glimpse at the shadow on the balcony he appeared to be facing away, though she wasn't quite sure. it was a side profile that seemed to take his gaze away from her. She took a quick peak though and saw that she was correct. His golden hair was loose around his shoulders, and he seemed to be undressing.

Part of her wanted to stay there. To watch him and see him be himself. That was why she was here wasn't it? To watch him? To learn more about him. He was a curious man no doubt, and she wanted to figure him out.

Ama knew though that there could be more important things to watch than him changing. Maybe nothing quite as enjoyable, but well, it didn't help her figure anything out but what she already knew.

Pulling herself up to the balcony above his she lay on her stomach and leaned her head over the edge. She didn't know when it would be safe to go down there, but she'd figure out something.

Isidore stood with his hands on his hips, surveying his abode for a moment. He looked down at himself and wondered if he should change. The thought made him chuckle, wondering if his little spy was close enough to see him do such a thing. Letting out a breath, he slipped off his shoes as he walked towards a wooden cabinet. It contained a stereo, that, when switched on, began to play baroque music.

It was all so very stereotypical, and that amused him.

Retrieving his shoes, he walked into his bedroom and flicked on the light. Compared with the living space, it was positively modern - all sleekness and function. He placed his shoes in the closet, and unbuttoned the rest of his shirt. He liked to think that he was attractive - liked to know he was really attractive, rather. Inspecting the shirt, he found the smallest drop of blood on it, and tsked at himself.

The shirt he chose instead was less formal, though still a button up. He put it on slowly and carefully.