@marcos.diaz

[heliophilous]

with everything that's gone on lately, i had a question.

if given the choice, how many people would stay here and how many people would leave? i get that it's a pretty personal question and don't feel like you've gotta answer. i'm just curious considering the way the place has changed lately and the people that have been lost.

could you live your life here? or would you leave and take your chances?

Comments

[heliophilous]

You have decent taste in pizza.

[ that's what you were getting, kol. he reaches for another slice, slowly, and sits back. it was kind of strange to think of him as being very old and looking that young but he chalks it up to the whole vampire thing. fountain of youth in a way. ]

Beyond that, I don't know you very well to boost your ego.

[gradual]

( that has to be the worst compliment he's ever received, but not everyone can be as charming as he can be. kol takes another big bite of the pizza slice, quite frankly enjoying the meal despite knowing full well that it's not doing a thing to sate his hunger for blood. )

Then perhaps we ought to get to know one another. ( because why not? he hasn't made a friend in like ever. and there's always a first time for everything; supposing this one makes it out of here alive. ) You must like it here despite your wish to return home.

[heliophilous]

Should we?

[ or were you just trying to get him to lower his guard before you tried taking a bite out of him, kol? naughty naughty. ]

I like it okay. I've lived in worse places and I've dealt with worse circumstances. I can deal with this just fine. I wouldn't ever choose to vacation here but it's fine and I'll get through it.

[ he hopes he'll get through it. ]

[gradual]

Simply okay? Well, I do hope the woman you're sleeping with will never hear about that. ( according to his niece, marcos here is her roommate's boyfriend. but he likes it just okay despite everything that's going on in the romance department. my, my. )

Now back to me. ( because that's always an interesting topic, isn't it? ) How exactly am I old? I don't look it. Any idea? ( does marcos already know about vampires is what kol's curious about. like how much has caroline told him? )

[heliophilous]

That's really none of your business. [ so, shut up, kol. he was being vague with you for a reason. he wouldn't be as guarded with caroline and she knew that. he hopes she knows that, at least. ]

No, you don't look old but I know you are. Probably not as old as I heard but the sentiment's the same. You're old and you're dangerous and I probably shouldn't have come here but I wanted to help.

[ answer your question, kol? ]

[gradual]

( he'd argue that just about everything is his business if he wants it to be because he can do anything, can't he? but marcos starts saying the word old three times in a row and kol can't help but let out a roll of his eyes. )

Age is just a number though, isn't it? ( he might be over a thousand years old, but he doesn't feel it in the least. ) And I'm not going to murder you. You brought me pizza and for that I'm ever so grateful. ( he is capable of playing nice, especially when one isn't threatening to destroy him or any member of his family so live and learn. )

Now since you've got secrets of your own, you won't mind keeping mine, would you?

[heliophilous]

That your vampire?

[ he shrugs. ]

I won't tell anyone if you don't go around trying to eat people that I care about. [ maybe he should amend that to 'eat anyone' but he doesn't. ] I understand that it's necessary but keep it discrete.

[gradual]

An original vampire. The first of our kind. ( that needs to be specified. he's stronger, faster and just better in all aspects. it's unfortunate compulsion doesn't work around here. ) But let's get to the part where you're threatening me. How quickly do you suppose you'll find yourself missing a vital organ if you or your girlfriend decide to go about telling tall tales about me?

[heliophilous]

It's not a threat, it's request. There are plenty of other ways to get what you want. Besides, let's not kid ourselves and say you haven't been thinking of biting me since I walked in. I'm not stupid.

[ maybe he was stupid for coming here but whatever. ]

I don't care who you are. Just get your blood from people I don't know.

[gradual]

Fair enough, I suppose. Believe it or not, I'm not looking to make enemies. Well, at least not if I can help it. ( he shrugs and takes a sip of his beer before reaching for another slice of pizza, ever so hungry. marcos is certainly right about one thing. kol does wish he could take a bite out of his neck. fresh blood would do him plenty of good. ) Will you be providing me with a list of people you know? ( kol might want to do him the favour of sparing his life and that of his friends because he's been so brave. knowing what he knows about him and yet, he's here anyhow. ) I do hope it isn't a mile long.

[heliophilous]

No.

[ which probably isn't helpful or something but he's not going to write some list of 'no biting allowed' people for kol to stay away from. ]

Maybe you should ask Caroline what she does. I know she has other alternatives to people. She might even share with you.

[gradual]

( for someone who doesn't want to be bitten, the man seems to be unable to talk about anything else. if kol hadn't been desperately needy for blood before, he's certainly focused on it now. he can hear the rush of blood in marcos' veins, the thumping of his heart... ) She mentioned something about an El. ( of course he'd been wary about believing her. )

[heliophilous]

[ marcos shrugs. ]

Yeah, one of the...I don't know, AI or something. They might know where to get some. Just message them. I don't know how good they are at answering but they're probably better to talk to than Cassius.

[gradual]

( he has got trust issues a mile wide. suppose he gets in touch with this el and he gets himself labeled as a vampire. wouldn't that put a target on his back whenever whatever or whoever it is decides they'd like to be rid of his kind? or perhaps they already know what he is. all those experimentations he must have been part of. this thing embedded in his chest... )

I had meant to stay off the fresh stuff... ( he had wanted to be good for the love of his life, but he'd accidentally killed his girl while he was under the control of the ancestors. long story short: he no longer sees the point of a blood bag only diet. ) I'll think about it. Is Cassius also some sort of an A.I.?

[heliophilous]

Yeah, but he's a prick.

[ blunt but true. he has no love lost for cassius. he doesn't know a lot about el to really make a judgment there but at least they're helping. ]

Just my opinion but it's also the truth. [ eff cassius. ]

[gradual]

And what do you think about this glowy thing in our chest? ( kol's been thinking about the ways in which he can try to remove it. but seeing as to how he's lost the ability to heal himself, it's going to be risky to attempt anything. ) Aside from the weird empathy bond or whatever, perhaps it can also kill us in an instant. ( who knows what its true function is. ) Has anyone ever tried to remove it out of one of the dead? ( surely someone's died here before. )

[heliophilous]

[ well, there's something marcos hadn't actually thought of before. he puts a hand on his chest, rubbing the spot where the blue emanates and cringes. ]

Not that I know of. They're usually too concerned about bringing those people back, you know. You die here, you come back.

[ as far as he knew anyway. ]

I haven't heard of people staying dead. I've heard of people disappearing and going somewhere else but not permanently dead. Not the people with the blue in their chests, at least.

[gradual]

Is that so? ( how very interesting. what's to stop him from killing just about anyone now if they'll simply spring back to life? isn't that convenient? it shouldn't be a problem for him to have a bit of a feast every now and then, right? no hard feelings and all that? )

How exactly do you bring someone back from the dead?

[heliophilous]

I'm not the guy to ask about that. I haven't died so I don't know what goes into it. I'm gonna guess advances in medical technology and praying but...

[ he shrugs. ]

If you really want to know, you're going to have to find someone that's died and asked or die yourself.

[ not that he was encouraging that. ]

[gradual]

And what if I said I'd be willing to play the part of the lab rat for the sake of "science and research"? ( yes, he's quite psychotic indeed. ) Surely someone can dig this out of me after I'm dead. ( he taps a finger to his chest. he's likely not the only who's awfully curious about it and there's also the fact that he doesn't particularly care about being brought back to life even. perhaps dying in this world might also give him that opportunity to return back to where he came from. or if he does end up dead for good then he'll be at peace, won't he? )

Now I'm betting Caroline would be more than happy to snap my neck. Shall we rope her in? ( someone ought to remind him that he's got his niece that he ought to think about. the poor girl's just recently lost her father. )

[heliophilous]

Two things.

[ wtf kol wtf. ]

What happens if that kills you? Do you want to die? [ and if so, why? you had a long life ahead of you, crazy or not. ]

And I'm not going to ask Caroline to kill you. No matter how much you might piss her off, I think she'd have to be provoked into doing that and I'm not going to just ask her how she feels about killing another person. No.

[gradual]

It's not murder if I'm saying you can do it, is it? ( he finishes yet another slice of pizza, seemingly looking as if he intends on staying alive at the rate he's gorging himself and yet here they are discussing this. )

And it might or might not be a permanent death for me. ( it doesn't quite matter to him. ) I suppose we'll find out then, won't we? ( there's nothing to lose really. this new life of his in this strange world isn't exactly one that he's fond of. and it's not as if he hasn't died before already. it wouldn't be a new experience. been there, done that. )

[heliophilous]

No, but it's still killing someone and that can affect a person. [ he's still not going to ask caroline this. absolutely not. if he wants to do this, he can ask her himself and see what happens. ]

Are you really going to do this?

[ kol wtf. ]

This is a stupid idea.

[gradual]

Perhaps we can do this together. It'll be our little secret. ( no one else has to know. ) Have you ever killed someone before? ( asked so casually as if they're discussing the weather. kol has ended the lives of more people than he count so it's really no big deal to him. )

[heliophilous]

Yes.

[ he doesn't know why he makes the decision to be honest but he does. he has killed someone before. multiple someones, in fact. ]

You think this means I want to kill you?