Dacian
Vampire (A)
Creature of the Night
Posts: 330
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Post by Dacian on Feb 8, 2009 13:47:03 GMT 1
Why was he anticipating this? She was just one woman – a witch – so why bother? Well for one, she was Edward’s woman. That alone was enough temptation to warrant this whole charade. She knew what he was now, thanks to Edward’s big mouth, but he had hardly expected him not to spill the beans. He would be a fool not to. If anything, Edward earned an iota of respect in doing so. If he was a typical vampire like the one stalking Hogsmeade currently, she would be in danger but what Edward did not know – or refused to believe – was that he was in fact quite an amiable vampire. Cassie was in no danger from him. Apart from stealing a pint or two of blood and leaving her a little dazed and confused, he would not harm her unduly Much.
Sitting now in the bar area, Dacian had procured one of the high-backed armchairs near the fire and contrary to Edward’s request, was shining and sharpening his arsenal of knives. For some reason Edward didn’t like him doing that in public. He couldn’t fathom why. He worked with a self-satisfied smile constantly curling one corner of his mouth and he became even more amused when the occasional patron shot him a sideways glance. He could feel one particular barfly’s stare from the bar boring into him. He responded by picking up one of the shorter, wickedly sharp daggers and playing with it, nimble fingers spinning, twisting and twirling the blade with deadly accuracy. The barfly decided he’d rather drink at home and left in a hurry.
With a conceited smile, he resumed polishing. The hubbub of patrons faded to background noise as he had perfected the art of ignoring them over the last few weeks. If he consented to listen, he tended to get grouchy, and as Vivian had pointed out, she liked him even less when he was crabby. The girl was doing surprisingly well. She was less likely to bite people on sight, but he still had her confined to the basement when they were not going out. She didn’t like it, and complained bitterly, but she wasn’t prepared to strike out on her own just yet. A few more years, maybe, then she’d be ready. Not that he was going to mention that fact; she’d hate him a whole lot more if she realised how long he would want her to stay with him.
So engrossed in his habitual task he automatically ignored the sound of the door opening and closing but the scent that came to him on the cold air jerked his attention free. She didn’t often coming in the evenings; Edward made sure she left before he woke but there was no mistaking her scent. It was Tuesday, but he had been half-convinced she wouldn’t come. With renewed dynamism, he continued to sharpen the knife he was holding rather than letting her know he had sensed her. If she was indeed here to see him, she would come. He listened for her, knowing the sound of her footsteps and her voice from where he had listened from the basement when they thought he still slept. The feeling of anticipation grew, and he admitted to himself that he wasn’t sure if the eagerness was for her blood or simply someone to talk to who wasn’t Hell-bent on labelling him Lucifer’s minion.
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Post by Cassie Vimes on Feb 8, 2009 16:53:29 GMT 1
Cassie wasn’t really one to get nervous about meeting people. Especially not people she liked and she was fairly certain she still liked Dacian. Of course there weren’t normally so many complications. She was worried Dacian wouldn’t be the same once he knew that she knew. She’d made Ed promise not to come over and butt in, but the chances of him actually listening to her were slim. And of course there was the slight concern that Dacian would try to drink her blood.
Even though she’d assured Ed time and time again that she could handle a vampire she wasn’t entirely certain she would be able to should Dacian decide he fancied a snack. Her strongest branch of magic was charms and it didn’t exactly leave her with many options. What could she do, Accio a crucifix? Not exactly that helpful. Or perhaps she could transfigure a drink into holy water. The fact that she was thinking up ways to defend herself from Dacian made her stomach twist with discomfort. It wasn't really fair on him that she was getting herself all worked up over the whole liaison for no reason.
She trudged down the street, walking the short distance from The Three Broomsticks to The Hog’s Head rather than apparating or using floo powder. The snow from a few days before hadn’t melted but had turned into icy slush from the constant foot traffic down the roads of Hogsmeade. At least this time her feet weren’t frozen, she’d had the good sense to go out and buy herself a pair of sturdy boots with built in water-repellent and warming charms.
Entering the pub it didn’t take long for Cassie to spot Dacian. Mainly because all the other patrons were giving him a wide berth. She could see why they might want to, the vampire was keeping himself busy by sharpening what looked like a rather dangerous collection of knives. Cassie hesitated, if only for a moment, then made her way over grinning as she realised he’d nabbed a spot near the fire. ”Hi!” She perched on the edge of the armchair nearest Dacian, not quite at ease enough to sink into it. ”Well, it’s Tuesday.”
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Dacian
Vampire (A)
Creature of the Night
Posts: 330
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Post by Dacian on Feb 8, 2009 17:33:36 GMT 1
The sound of her feet was different to usual and he first looked to her shoes as she sat. He saw they were new and instantly the smell of new leather reached him. Working his gaze slowly up, hands held in mid-motion on the knife, he noticed she was wrapped up again in enough clothes to be overkill. The weather wasn’t all that bad. Than again, he didn’t exactly feel the cold with no core temperature to maintain. Hell, he could go without clothes if it wasn’t less convenient to do so. He lounged in the chair in the same clothes he had worn when he had first seen Cassie, black jeans and a dark navy dress-shirt unbuttoned to the middle of his sternum (any lower and the scars stared to show). This evening the sleeves were rolled up past his elbow, showing his right forearm to have some healing scars that looked much like dog bites.
He applauded his foresight to sit beside the fire, having guessed she might appreciate it; plus it simultaneously annoyed Edward if he staked out the most popular spot to deprive paying customers of it. Despite all her layers, he could still smell her under it all. She smelt of the bitter cold of outside and a variety of scented toiletries. Her own scent was pleasantly simple but under all of that was mixed Edward’s masculine scent. The vampire’s expression became stern at that. Dacian was well aware of their intimacy, his hearing was impeccable, but to smell him on her was a whole new level of displeasure. What exactly did she see in the boy? He was neither especially brave nor strong nor wealthy; how could he protect her in any respect?
He huffed, finally meeting her eyes. His firmly set face was bordering on impassive, a substantial change to the animated range of expressions he had displayed before. He had to keep in mind that these modern women married for love; there was no such thing as an arranged marriage these days. Where as in his time, a woman would be married to man of influence and power best befitting her rank, now the whole society was in disarray with couples consummating their affections left right and centre. Not that he objected to the consummating, but what was wrong with the old system?
Once his visual inspection was complete, he finally moved and set the knife down on the low table with the others. He sat back in the chair, casually leaning into it. The fact that she seemed nervous had not escaped his attention. At least she had the sense to be wary. “Hello Cassie.” His voice was hollow in comparison to her jovial tone from his disapproval of the company she kept. He paused a while, draping his forearms over the arms of the chair, his eyes always on hers. “How much did he tell you?” She knew he was a vampire, and she knew he was staying here with Vivian – that much he knew – but what else had Edward ‘let slip’ while he was out of earshot? Did Edward even know more than that? His manner of speaking was a little more natural than before. He had held his lips in a certain way on their first meeting – rigidly, to hide the fangs – so now she would see the evidence of what he was as his lips formed the words. His ears strained to discern her heartbeat from the rest, waiting for that leap of fear that signalled a retreat was imminent.
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Post by Cassie Vimes on Feb 8, 2009 19:17:41 GMT 1
Cassie sat quietly, letting Dacian scrutinise her and trying not to fidget nervously. She felt uncannily like she’d done something wrong when he’d been the one to lie… Okay maybe not lie, but definitely mislead her about his identity. Especially when he got that stern look on his face, what was that all about? If she’d known exactly what he was smelling she might have been embarrassed, but as it was her brows quirked down into the smallest of frowns. Perhaps she’d got it wrong and Dacian didn’t want to see her, that she’d just intruded on his space.
Her smile faltered a little when Dacian finally met her gaze. He looked different from before, his face not animated by the flirtatious smile he’d displayed before. He looked less human. Cassie didn’t really feel any better when he put the knife he’d been polishing down either, she knew enough about vampires to know he wouldn’t need a knife if he wanted to kill her. He sounded different too, his voice empty of emotion.
Cassie was having a hard time telling what he was thinking of feeling, if he was feeling anything at all. He looked relaxed, but he didn’t appear all that interested in her, not in the way he had been before. She felt a stab of disappointment, perhaps Ed had been right after all and Dacian had only turned on the charm to try and get at her blood. ”Not much.” She answered, avoiding his gaze by fussing over removing some of her outer layers.
”A few choice curse words and a comment about your daughter seemed to be enough for Ed.” Cassie looked at him again once she was settled, offering another smile and hoping to see even the smallest glimmer of warmth in return. It wouldn’t be much fun if their entire meeting was going to be Dacian interrogating her. ”I’d rather hear it from you, I mean if you want to tell me anything. I think Ed might be a little bit biased.” She quipped. [/font]
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Dacian
Vampire (A)
Creature of the Night
Posts: 330
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Post by Dacian on Feb 8, 2009 20:07:06 GMT 1
‘Not much’, eh? Edward Johns should keep his opinions to himself until he had more facts. Speculation got you into trouble. Thoughts of possibly murdering Edward in his sleep were sidetracked by the removal of some of her clothes. The absence of gloves revealed fine and dainty hands with well tended and functional nails. Taking off her hat mussed her hair a little, but she was otherwise well groomed and the scent of her hair was pleasing. Her coat brought a wave of scent, and he took a deep breath, analysing it and saving it to his memory. Her clothes under the coat gave more of a suggestion to her slender build and it only accentuated her height. So far he had avoided standing near her, but he judged that she would be as tall as or perhaps taller than him when they stood nose-to-nose. It was a little disconcerting for the man whom having grown up in a world where he was the taller-than-average to live through the generations to a point where he was now shorter than most men. To have a woman taller than him was almost embarrassing.
If the removal of her coat was distracting, watching her unravel her scarf had a more than off-putting result. He had to stare, his head angled a little to the side as his eyes watched the pulse beat under the bronzed skin. Dacian did not often sit down with his dinner, so resisting the beat of her heart was putting a strain on him. If she had not been so well wrapped on their first meeting, he might have given up on the game and dragged her out back to have a taste. Luckily she spoke, drawing his attention away sharply. Edward had commented on Vivian? His expression flickered to something dark at that, but it was directed across the room to when the barkeep hovered, watching the exchange from across the room. Edward could sully his name all he liked, but Vivian was another matter.
He pushed that aside for now and he sat up straighter in his chair. He cast another longing glance at her throat before meeting her pale eyes. “My name is Dacian, and I am a vampire.” The second admission to that in as many weeks. Was he getting senile? He relented to give her the slightest of smiles. “Does that scare you?” It should. He hoped it did. It would give him an excuse to stop this game and return to the simple stalk-and-bite method of hunting. But something about this was appealing. Appealing enough to keep it up? Something in her face reminded him he was ruining it, and he adjusted accordingly. He smoothed his frown, and leaned back a little more casually in the chair. It was almost an apologetic strategy. He hadn’t intended to come over quite as strong if she even turned up, but the scent of Edward all over her had ruined that. Perhaps it was some misplaced feeling of jealousy. Edward had snatched his prey out from under him and he had not taken it well. Outdone by a mortal boy; never again in this eternity.
Time to up the game. He leaned sideways in the chair, supporting his chin in the palm of his scarred arm, his elbow supported on the padded arm of the chair. The movement brought him closer to her, and it might be a little difficult to distinguish the new warmth in his eyes between a reflection of the fire or the beginning of that need whose growth was directly proportional to the time she spent sat nearby. She was food, after all. Sexy food.
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Post by Cassie Vimes on Feb 8, 2009 21:19:44 GMT 1
Cassie could feel Dacian’s eyes on her as she fussed with her clothes. Had he looked her like that before she would have relished the attention, but now the hunger in his eyes was not being mistaken for lust. She was surprised that it didn’t really make her any more nervous though, she’d known the risks before she came. She wasn’t going to get scared off just because he was eyeing up her neck like it was a particularly juicy rib eye steak.
She caught the dark look in his eyes as she mentioned his daughter and the way he glared over at Ed. Cassie found this comforting, he obviously cared about her, which restored some of the faith she’d lost about meeting up with him again being a good idea. ”It was nothing bad.” She assured him, coming to Ed’s defence. She wouldn’t be able to persuade Dacian to like him, but that didn’t make it a good idea to make the vampire more annoyed with him. ”Just that you two are shacking up here for a while.”
Hearing Dacian say it somehow made it more real and Cassie’s heart gave a little lurch of fear at the words. She looked at him anyway, holding his gaze. ”A little,” She admitted, almost daring him to call her out and tell her exactly how scared she was. ”But I’m not going anywhere. Maybe I’m just not that smart.” If Dacian wanted rid of her he’d have to be the one to leave, there was no way she was backing down. Partly because of the smug look Ed would give her when she returned to the bar so soon.
At least he seemed to decide to relax a little more and as he leaned forwards in his seat she caught sight of the fresh scars marring his forearm. Cassie stared at them for a moment and wanting to ask Dacian how he’d got them, but uncertain if that kind of question was really appropriate. She wanted to run her fingers over them too, like a child who couldn’t just look and had to touch too, but if she wasn’t sure about asking then poking was definitely not an option.
To distract herself she met his gaze again and almost melted with relief at the warmth there. Had she just passed some kind of test then? Whatever the reason for his change in attitude Cassie was pleased. Perhaps they’d be okay after all. ”So, have we covered all the skeletons in the closet? Are we cool now?” She asked hopefully, wondering how patient Dacian would be if she started asking questions. It wasn’t every day you got to sit down with a vampire. [/font]
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Dacian
Vampire (A)
Creature of the Night
Posts: 330
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Post by Dacian on Feb 8, 2009 22:23:38 GMT 1
Edward was mistaken if he thought he could say anything regarding Vivian. Like a protective father, he was averse to the mortal even speaking to her. She was young in all respects, and that promiscuous fool was not allowed to even look at her from now on. He put Edward to the back of his mind now, letting the antagonism dissipate. Dealing with Cassie while harbouring homicidal tendencies for her lover would probably not go over well.
The sound of her typical reaction to fear met his ears through the clamour of other sounds, and he was glad she could admit to a little of it. It suggested she had some sense, though she should really not have met him knowing what he was. Then again, the game would be hard if she avoided him. “Smart, no, but not completely stupid.” He agreed, an amused glint to his eye sobered to one of earnest. “I will not hurt you, as Edward has no doubt implied that I will. I will also endeavour not to lie to you, to the best of my ability, that is.” He flashed a wry smile, propping his feet out and crossing them at the ankles. Deception was a habit of survival, and a hard one to shake. Lying to her would be easier in the short term, but would always cause difficulties in the long run.
He noticed her line of sight, and he realised the scarring on his right forearm was more obvious in the fire’s light. He moved his head from his hand, laying the forearm down on the chair to cover the worst of the scars on the underside. Most of the ones criss-crossing the upper part were more like scratches or blade marks. Fangs could be vicious weapons. He gave a shrug, dismissing the wound and bringing them back on topic. “There are too many skeletons in my closet; it would take decades to cover them all. I suppose that’s the main one though, yes.” The vampire gave her a wide smile, flashing fangs. He couldn’t help but respond to the pun. “I’m room temperature, so I’m always cool.” As a gesture of good will, he held out his right hand to prove it. Having been sat by the fire for a few hours, he was a fair few degrees warmer than usual, but he would still be cold to the touch to a warm hand.
There was an odd sort of thrill about sharing the intricacies of his species with her. It was almost like boasting just to see her reaction. As a witch, she knew he existed – a simple human would be unable to accept he was even real – so he felt little apprehension over broadening her knowledge. It was a similar feeling to imparting his ways with Vivian; not only did she learn, but he felt a smugness in knowing his skills would likely be the most valuable she would ever study. He had lived for over six centuries, he was allowed to be a little conceited.
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Post by Cassie Vimes on Feb 9, 2009 0:10:45 GMT 1
”Charming!” Cassie huffed good naturedly as Dacian agreed she wasn’t smart. For some reason, even as she caught glimpses of his fangs as he spoke, she found herself believing the vampire when he told her he would not hurt her. Perhaps it was further proof that Cassie wasn’t being all that clever. But she was willing to take him at his word. There was a difference between outright lying and cautious half truths, Dacian had not crossed that line with her yet.
Her personal safety and honesty were two things she valued rather highly. It was more than she got from some of the men she’d met on her travels, although thankfully things usually fell on the lying side of the equation rather than trying to hurt her. ”Well I can’t ask for much more than that.” Cassie said with a sweet smile, feeling a little of the thrill from the night before seeping back in now that things were going so well. Or as well as they could under the circumstances.
Cassie looked a little sheepish as Dacian seemed to notice her staring at the scars on his arm. He shifted, hiding most of them from view and leaving only a trail of thin silver scars visible, not nearly so attention grabbing as the ravaged underside of his arm. She looked at him as he spoke, his wide grin revealing his fangs fully to her, now that she could see them she really didn’t know how she’d missed them before. Dacian must have had plenty of practice at concealing them.
”Well, I doubt anything could top being a vampire anyway.” She said, looking at him with interest as he held out a hand to her. While she knew about vampires in general it was only what little the school had taught her and mostly that had involved ways to stop them eating you. What she was far more interesting in was the quirks that made them different, but her teacher had looked at her oddly when she asked and after that charming paper aeroplanes to fly around the room seemed far more interesting.
Cassie reached out tentatively, letting out only the slightest gasp at the feel of cool flesh against her skin. It was an odd feeling, though not unpleasant and so she let her fingers entwine with his. That didn’t mean she wanted to be pressed up against him on a cool night, not that it was even a possibility. The lightest of blushes rose on her cheeks and if she happened to forget to let go of his hand, well that couldn’t be helped. [/font]
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Dacian
Vampire (A)
Creature of the Night
Posts: 330
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Post by Dacian on Feb 9, 2009 0:35:00 GMT 1
Dacian wasn’t used to smiles like that directed at him. Generally at this distance, a woman was too distracted by struggling for her perceived life to make small talk. He couldn’t help but watch the curl of her mouth as she did smile – it was a novel experience. The touch of her hand was warm on his hand but at the unexpected intimacy of her hold on him, his hand flinched back a little. That he definitely had not been expecting. When had been the last time a woman voluntarily held his hand? He had to strain his memory for it, and that in itself was a sobering thought.
He watched their hands as he returned it within her reach. The scarring at his wrist looked like an almost impossible wound at close inspection, and it looked as if it might have killed a mortal man. He did not shy away this time as he laced their fingers again, his expression harbouring something suspiciously like awe. His face still angled downward, he rolled his eyes up as an amused smile played at his lips. “That’s true, I suppose. I am usually on top.” The smile broadened a little, and he returned his gaze to their hands before he could catch her reaction.
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Post by Cassie Vimes on Feb 9, 2009 23:36:04 GMT 1
Cassie looked at Dacian as he flinched from her grasp, eyes wide and searching. She never would have expected Dacian to be show such uncertainty. Of the two of them Cassie had more reason to shy away. After all she wasn’t the one that could tear a person’s throat out with her teeth. And he came across as so self assured, the way he’d been charming and flirtatious the first evening they met had left no room to doubt his confidence. He had offered his hand to her, had he not truly thought she would take it?
She smiled broadly as he reconnected their hands, glad that she hadn’t over stepped the boundaries somehow. Their first meeting had been far simpler, flirting with no limits, now Cassie had no idea what she could and couldn’t do. Trust Cassie Vimes to have to worry about scaring a vampire off. And Ed, he only confused matters further. She gave his fingers a little squeeze as they laced through hers, her eyes only lingering on the scar on his wrist for only a moment. Previous experience had taught her staring wasn’t appreciated.
For several seconds after Dacian’s comment Cassie could only blink. Then she threw back her head and laughed. It was a loud laugh, the kind that drew attention from the other patrons. Mainly in the form of glares, raucous behaviour wasn’t appreciated in The Hog, especially not when you were in the company of the many with the pointy knives. She leaned back towards him, taking a few deep breaths to suppress a final burst of giggles that threatened to bubble up.
”Dacian!” Cassie scolded, pretending to be scandalised. She tucked a couple of stray strands of hair behind one ear hesitating for a moment before curiosity finally got the better. ”Your daughter,” She blurted, not waiting to see if Dacian would react well the to change in subject matter. ”What’s her name? I didn’t think vampires had children in the traditional sense of the word. Can I meet her?”
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