[IC] Things that go bump (Caits and Crawkid)

[MarshiestMallow]

Connor handed her the reins, made sure she was sitting well, and smiled. "You sit a horse well, Lady Elizabeth" He said softly, petting Bessie's neck once more, before stepping back towards the stables.

"Just stay in the paddock, and don't go off the farm's boundaries, and you should be golden" He said, "Bessie knows where to go and where not to go. Be careful at the eastern corner. There's a few pits with some dead demons in them. Haven't figured out how to keep them dead, but creating a devil's trap with iron bars stops them from escaping" He said

He thought for a minute, then nodded. "that's about all" He chuckled to himself, hoping to god he'd be able to pass the farm off to another hunter if and when he died. "have fun" he said, turning back to the stables, to sweep up the iron and salt.

[Crawkid]

She smiled gently at him, not even bothering to remind him how old she was- what time frame she had been raised in.
She listened well when he gave her her boundries, being thankful that they were loose enough to allow her some space to run the horse if she wanted- and she did indeed want.

Staying in place for a moment, feeling the reigns in her hands, she guided Bessies into a relaxed trot around,. this gave her the chance to survey her surroundings too. Everything looked good, and she was indeed careful around the eastern corner, but got a glimpse of his handiwork.

Best not to forget who he is, she reminded herself.

Her grip tightened a bit on the reigns as she thought about it.

He is a hunter...and surely not the only one in the city. She'll lay low here for the next few days, as he suggested, and she'll even try to enjoy herself...but she shouldn't get too attached to anything here. A vampire doesn't belong in a hunter's world..

With a sigh, she looked up and around, not even realizing that she had made bessi come to a full stop around the edge of the farm. She overlooked everything for a moment. This was his home, his world...but her moment here would be fleeting...so she might as well enjoy the ride.

With that thought in mind, she got bessie into a trot for a bit before slowly speeding her up until she was in a full out run. The energy and the wind in her face lifted her spirits for the moment, before she slowed bessie back down to a trot and brought her back to the stable. "Connor, she is indeed a good horse. I may invest in buying a stud for her if you would like."

[MarshiestMallow]

Connor contented himself with cleaning out the stable, giving Bessie fresh straw and water, getting out the polish to give her saddle a nice clean, and essentially wiping out all traces of the ghosts presence. He brought out Bessie's blanket, and hung it over the stall door.

He then went to wait for Elizabeth. He thought on the fact that he had been hanging out with a vampire. It wasn't such a bad experiences, but Connor was wondering if he'd regret it in some way or form. He thought on rumors he had heard, on a cure for vampirism. Every few years he knew some hunter or even a vampire would state they knew a cure. He wondered of there was any truth to it. And wondered if Elizabeth would go for it. It would be nice to have a partner, he thought.

He shook his head as Elizabeth came back on Bessie and smiled. He chuckled, and said clearly joking around "you just want to have a line of horse that aren't afraid of you, but I will definetely accept a stud for her" he said, taking the reins and holding them so she could climb down, stroking Bessie's neck. "Aye, a fine horse she is, and ready for breeding " of course it meant he'd have to lay off using her in his hunts, but he would do so gladly.

He suddenly burst out laughing, then felt the need to explain himself "looks like the farms actually going to be used as a farm, even if it is just breeding Bessie"

[Crawkid]

She fake pouted and slid off of her new favorite horse, "Of course I do, horses live even shorter lives than humans. In the blink of an eye, she will be gone, if i don't do anything.."

She sat down on a patch of grass nearby. Despite her own words, she was happy. The fact that bessie existed meant that horses could be trained to not fear her...quietly, she planned a plan to breed a line of vampire fearless horses. It would come in handy if they never spoke again after this...or when he died. Reminders flashed in her head again- reminders that she's only got a few days with this man and his wonderful horse...but perhaps buying him the stud as a gift could keep things from going completely sour.

She was pulled out of her thoughts as he laughed, laughed about his farm actually becoming a farm. She smiled genuinely and nodded, "mhm..and maybe some chickens or pidgeons too...." she sighed as she remembered some of the farms of her time, "make a more convincing farm...easier to feed yourself...and whatever 'guests' you happen to bring home."

Chickens...something that could feed all sorts of humanoids including vampires and werewolves. She personally had never had chicken blood and briefly wondered what it wouold taste like...certainly better than cold hospital blood, she thought.

"What kind of horse would you want? A larger fellow, or maybe a racehorse...? I know a guy who still trains warhorses..."

[MarshiestMallow]

Connor guided Bessie into her stall, taking the saddle off. He knew it was getting late, but Connor rarely slept more then four hours a night. He brushed Bessie down, and gave her a sugar cube. "You've been a good horse Bessie" He said. He seemed a bit disturbed. "Chickens make too much of a mess" He said, turning to look to Elizabeth

"A warhorse would be good" He said after a moment, nodding. He started to clean the saddle, and hung it back up, before covering Bessie with her blanket.

He went over to elizabeth, and sat down. he still seemed troubled, and he said softly, "Elizabeth" He said tentatively, "If you could be human again, would you choose to be?" He asked

[Crawkid]

She noticed his troubled expression even back as he was talking about chickens, but she decided it wasn't her place to ask too much. "Not if you treat them right.." she said quietly, looking up at the stars for the duration that he was attending to Bessie. She ad heard what he said about the warhorse and made a note of it. To do that, she'd have to get a young colt and strike a deal with or bribe the man into training it. Warhorses did need a lot of work after all...

Movement caught her eyes and she looked just to see Connor coming over to sit next to her. His question both caught her off guard and saddened her, though she didn't show exactly the extent to which he had brought hurt to her. instead she forced herself to smile weakly. "Is that what you were wondering about...?"

Finding a relatively large rock, she placed it about a yard in front of her. "I find it...disturbing myself, that you should find need to ask that question."

Plucking a few smaller pebbles from the ground, she tossed them at the rock, a couple missing, but most of them hitting spot on.

"With all that you've seen from me...how could you imagine that I like being what I am?" she paused again," I have witnessed everyone that I loved age and perish. I can not attend church. I am feared by all manner of animals. I can't eat food. I hunt humans for blood, and am hated on the spot by anyone who knows what I am and has a lick of sense....there's a long list of small pleasures that humans take for granted, that I can no longer do."

She swallowed, holding herself back. "My soul is cursed...I can only pretend to live amongst humans...and the company of those like me is one that I abhor..." she sighed at this, " The old vampires are slowly dying old, and the new ones only care about blood, sex and money..."

She stared at the large stone in front of her, having run out of pebbles and things to throw at it. "My life should have ended 300 years ago...being human again has been my most dearest wish for all of these years. It is a pit of constantly growing despair...not so bad for the first half century...but afterwards..." she stopped, not wanting to ramble on about small details that weren't important. Taking a deep breath, she decided to definitively answer him, and she did so with a great amount of surprisingly gentle determination.

"Even if I had one heartbeat left to me before turning into a wrinkled, old corpse...I would rest easy knowing that my soul would be in his good graces again."

[MarshiestMallow]

Connor was silent for a long time, pondering what she had said. He knew she disliked her life, just the fact that she was willingly volunteering without taking blood from the homeless was something he had thought strange. She was an oddly holey woman, something he would have thought would have been impossible after three hundred years of living.

He never took being human for granted. Being a hunter, he saw any number of demonic beings, of supernatural beings, and just the simple fact that he could breath, his heart could be, and he was breakable was a blessing to him. It was something he could never take for granted, the fact that he own blood flowed through his veings, his heart pumping it through.

He sighed, and reached over, to lift her face up gently so he could meet her eyes. He took a deep breath, dropping his hands to the ground. "There might be a way" He said softly, "To give you back what you have lost" his tone was serious, as he continued to speak. "There is always constant rumors to a cure for vampirism" He said, his voice soft, but carrying in the night wind, and he was glad for his spacious farm. He licked his lips before continuing, "Potions, things like that. But one that has always been popular is a medallion, which when mixed just right into a potion can reverse the curse. Your own blood will flow through your veins once more, your heart will beat, essentially, you will go back to how you were before you were changed...I believe its out there, for I believe that for a curse to occur, there has to be a way to reverse it. There is no action without a reaction. There's a catch, many believe. A catch that only a vampire who is pure of heart can be cured"

He dropped his gaze briefly, before looking back up at her. "I would help you find this medallion"

[Crawkid]

When he lifted her chin, she looked into his eyes, and continued to do so for the entire time that he spoke. She too had heard the occasional rumors about a cure to vampirism, but although she longed for nothing more, she had ignored them. Her thoughts on the matter had always been that if there was a legitimate cure for vampires, that it would be wide spread already.

But as she listened to him, it was beyond clear that she wanted to believe him- to believe that her nightmare could have a happy ending. She wanted to believe so much that her eyes were starting to water with how much she wanted it.

Yet when he was done, she found herself pulling away from the thought again. She wanted to believe but tonight had been going so well for her that she just had to be skeptical of how perfect it made her feel. This caused her to smile sadly, and look down again.

"Even if I was the only vampire out there who hasn't completely lost their humanity...I am far from pure hearted, Connor. I hate...I hate a lot. I hate an entire race for being godless monsters, I hate another entire race through my envy of them. I hate the man who changed me and..." she stopped abruptly, realizing where this was going.Quietly, she brought her knees up and rested her chin on them, staring out into the distance. "...I have been...faltering...lately. Perhaps I seem to be a good woman of God...worthy maybe of that cure....but I sometimes have to force it out...because I can convince myself to stay good by saying it out loud..."

[MarshiestMallow]

Connor rose, looking out over the farm yard, "Hate is...powerful in itself. The difference here Elizabeth is that every though you had an entire race through your envy of them, you still help the lowest of them to maybe one day become great. No one is perfect, and you are better than most. Animals are...sensitive creatures, and Bessie doesn't let just anyone ride her. She isn't a normal horse. She had your character judged quite well, even if you don't think you are worthy. Would god let his servants, that nun, speak with you if you were not worthy? Would you be here, instead of just eliminating the threat, being me of course, and going about your life as if I hadn't interrupted it, if you were not worthy?"

He feel silent for a time. "I am by far the less pure person you will probably ever meet. I let a girl lure a werewolf, and got there too late to prevent her being bitten. I've murdered people possessed by demons because until recently, I didn't know there was a way to get the demon out without killing the host. I am not a godly person, even if I do believe he is out there somewhere. I've found myself not caring about the world, and at times just think giving up this pointless war would be better. You see, I died that night the vampire attacked me, even though there was not a single scratch on me. And now I'm just waiting for Death to catch me, even as I defy him victims from supernatural beings"

He turned to her, his expression haunted as he said, "isn't it the natural of every creature to try? The minute you give up hope, the minute you let being what you are consume you, everything is lost. So you push it aside, and do what you know is right" He said, "So you are faltering. Everyone does. But doesn't that mean that we should try and find the medallion, to at least try? You don't have to but I imagine if that Medallion fell into the wrong hands, it could cause a lot of damage and trouble, so I"m going to try and find it anyway" He would lock it away, with the other supernatural items he had that could be dangerous if she didn't come with him to find it.

[Crawkid]

She blinked and stared at him for a while after he was done.

God has his plans. He has his reasons. He works in mysterious ways...

These sort of things ran through her head as she looked upon the young man who proclaimed to have died, though she knew he was talking about his soul and humanity.
A vampire who has maintained her humanity, and a human who thinks he's long lost it. It was too perfect to be a coincidence, she told herself. Just when she began to feel like a little girl again, trying to please her silent father, this boy -who was supposed to be her enemy- has come to her with the answer.

Suddenly, after all of the solumn speeches, the dark air around them was broken by her gentle laughter.

"I will come with you."

She got up and went to wrap her arms around him. " I will not falter..."

Yes, she was sure this would confuse him. But God has brought to her a source of inspiration, a reason to keep her chin up, just as she was faltering in her beliefs. She was sure that if she was faltering as much as she had been lately, that she wouldn't be able to keep being good...that she would start not caring about anything anymore. So, even though they had only known each other for a short period of time, she decided that she would make a pact with this man. He was going on a journey to find something that could grant her greatest wish. She would help him, and be repayed by the use of the medallion. In the meantime, she thought, she would need to open the boy's eyes, like he had for her.

[MarshiestMallow]

Connor was shocked at her laughter, and he looked to her, even more shocked when she hugged him. It seemed...suddenly real that he was offering to help a vampire. Was this the last shred of his humanity dying? Or to help her, was he redeeming himself? He didn't know. A dark cloud had hung over him for the last four years, and even though he had tried to remove it, fighting the supernatural, it was always there.

But he had never been hugged by a vampire, and rarely by a girl. Except if he had saved them. He was just a tad shy with girls, and right now he could feel his face heat in a blush. he swallowed, and pulled away, to look at her. "Well then" He said. clearing his throat. "We should get back to the house. Sunlight is coming" He said, before checking once again on Bessie, seeing she was settled, he started back to the farm house, waiting to see if Elizabeth followed

He seemed troubled, and disturbed, but he gave her a smile, "Its going to be a long, trying time, but we'll succeed" He said positively.

[Crawkid]

Of course she followed him, she wouldn't be caught dead outside when the sun came up. Ha.

She sensed something was bothering him but wasn't about to ask him about it. She was sure that if it bothered him for long enough, that he'd bring it up with her again, like he did last time. She paused in thought and absently looked to the east , staring at how the sky was starting to lighten in anticipation of the sun. Someday, she would be able to see it without having to take her medication and oiling herself up with sunscreen. She sighed and continued after Connor.

"Long and trying, hmm? Well, I suppose it could be."

She put some more hurry into her step, obviously ready to be inside now. "Do you get hot water out here?"

If she was going to be out here for two more days, she was going to make herself at home..and first thing to do was to wash off the horrible residue from the layer of sunscreen that probably has become useless through the course of the night. She glanced back at him, waiting for her answer but also reminding herself that this human has been up for a long time...and weren't humans supposed to go to sleep at night? Maybe it was her fault because he felt he needed to tend to his guest. She'd have to apologize for her selfishness if that was true..even so, she'd have to thank him too...because being an inconvenience to him through the night was worth the guilt of being a bad inconsiderate guest.

[MarshiestMallow]

Connor nodded, "Yes, there is hot water. The bathrooms down the hall to the left" He said, "Its really just a bath, there's no shower. I've been meaning to install one, but I just get distracted" He said, "I do however have a dryer and washer, if you want to wash your clothes. You can borrow a robe to do so" He said, as he went to the kitchen, putting water in his kettle, and boiling some water to make himself a coffee, going over to his book shelf, beginning to look through titles.

That took all of about two minutes before he grimaced, and went over to his computer, connecting to the internet with his mobile modern, beginning to search the internet. He went to make his coffee, slipping into research mode, ,he began to immerse himself in searching for any hint of the medallion any sign of the tale or anything that would be helpful.

He yawned, but drank his coffee, sitting back down at the computer, completely oblivious to what was going on around him, as he slipped his glasses on to read the computer screen, and make notes.

[Crawkid]

Honestly believing that the hot shower was mankind's best invention, she was a bit disappointed to hear that there wasn't one, but she didn't show any of that. That would be rude- especially after he's been so hospitable to her. Nodding in understanding, she went to work grabbing a robe and slipping into the bathroom.

There she proceeded to scrub herself clean,relax, soak, rinse, dry and slip on the robe. When she was done, she put her clothes into the wash and looked for, and eventually finding, the stash of blood. She prepared it like how she had seen him do it but quietly drank it out of a coffee cup, muttering something about a chalice with some amusement.

Since he was so absorbed in his research, we can all assume that time will slip by unnoticed by the young hunter. But however oblivious he may be to the happenings around him, it might slip into his mind that there was something in that room that shouldn't be there.

Elizabeth has sunken into an armchair or couch (whichever one is actually there but armchair is preferred if it's available XD) and was sleep...and the odd thing that wasn't supposed to be there, was the sound of a person breathing while they were asleep.

[MarshiestMallow]

Connor pushed away from the computer god knows how much time had passed. He blinked, taking his glasses off and rubbing his eyes sleepily. He ran a hand through his hair as well, mussing it up even more.

He frowned with puzzlement, glancing about seeing Elizabeth asleep. That wasn't strange, he knew vampires slept. No, what was strange was the sound of breathing. He was pretty sure Vampires didn't breath.

He rose, a little perplexed. He glanced at the time, not wanting to wake her, he decided to puzzle this out later, glancing about to see if there was any danger, the sun, he assumed was sitting awake behind the thick curtains hang over his windows.

He sat down in another chair, sighing, grabbing a cushion and laying his head on it. He could not sleep though, and that frustrated him, as much as his lack of information frustrated him. He grumbled, and sat up straight.

[Crawkid]

(and now for the shortest post I have ever done in my long rp by post life :D )

Elizabeth continued to sleep.

(Feel free to shoot me now XD)

[MarshiestMallow]

Connor eventually sighed, and rose. He putted around in the kitchen, cooking himself a meal, and tidying up as he went along. He went do to check that Jacob was still trapped, and was enjoying his time as a dirt ghost. The ghost was there, most likely flickered away where ever ghosts went to when they didn't want to show themselves. He went back up, to eat his lunch, and whittled away the rest of the hours until dusk by continuing to research, finally rising once more.

He went over to Elizabeth, now so curious about the fact that she was breathing that he just had to ask. He shook her gently, trying to wake her.

[Crawkid]

It didn't take much trying. Dawn to dusk was a long time to sleep- and for your traditional vampire who slept during the day, it would be about time to get up anyways.

She blinked awake, glancing at him before the urge to yawn and stretch over took her and the spent the next couple moments doing just that. When she was through she smiled, appearing ready to take on the day -er night.

Noticing that Connor was right next to her, she remembered that she awoke because she was shaken. So with another, but much shorter, yawn...she got up out of her resting spot. "Yes? Was there something I could be helpful with?

Although she asked this, she continued about her activities while she was awaiting her answer. These activies being noticing that she was still wearing her bathrobe, and scuttling over to throw her clothes into the dryer- something she had forgotten to do before dozing off. it wasn't too long, and she was once again next to him in no time. After all it would have been rude to ask a question and then not allow him to properly answer it. There was plenty she'd have to fix and do too, so that she didn't feel like a rude and overbearing guest..but he did wake her so his issue came first.

[MarshiestMallow]

Connor knew it would have been easy to wake her, watching as she yawned and stretched, before noticing that he was there. He stilll had his glasses on after putting them back on as he continued to research, but didn't notice this. As she noticed him, and asked if there was anything she could help with, he started to speak, until she disapepared, and returned in moments.

He thought about just how to ask her if she had been breathing. For some reason it seemed almost...rude to ask if one breathed or not. It was a strange question to ask in any case. "Uh, well" He said, feeling his face heat in a blush. "You were...breathing as you slept. Do vampires always do that when they sleep?" He asked, running a hand through his hair.

"I was given to understand that Vampires didn't need to breath-oh" He said with wary amusement, "Do you breath when you sleep because your other senses aren't as heightened when you sleep?" That seemed a reasonable reason for why she had been breathing. Or maybe he was just making a fool of himself.

[Crawkid]

She blinked, noticing that it seemed hard for him to ask the question...and when he did ask, she found herself smiling. "In order to aswer that question, one might ask a question in return. But I'll just cut to it and explain it anyways." She sat back down, but this time at the kitchen table. "We'll start with the reason why I breathe at night. I was taught to do it by force of habit. Of course vampires don't need to breathe, but humans do. And since the man that became my master after my first one died realized that I had every intention of attempting to blend in...he taught me to breathe while I sleep...because for some reason humans don't notice that you're not breathing while you're up and around but they do when you're asleep or unconcious."

She pauses at this part, almost pouting because of how irritatingly picky human conciousness is...but she she shrugged it off because it really was no big deal. "and vampires breathe all the time, but only when we are about to talk. Being completely preserved as you were when you died and were turned means that our lungs are preserved as well...It makes it really conveniant because we need to be able to expand and collapse them again so that we can force air over our vocal chords so that we can speak." She smiles, "I've been keeping up on human biology as a sort of...twisted...hobby...thing.. anyways, theoretically we should be able to do the same thing with our hearts...but since we were never able to control them during our human lives, learning would be a great deal harder and it would take more energy and focus. It would take a vampire who's completely dedicated and obsessed with the task to learn....I....I wouldn't be able to. I'm not that desperate...and it's been much too long since I've felt anything like that in my own body..."

she trailed off in thought, her hand coming to rest over where her still heart would be. Soon, to her anyways, that wouldn't be a problem for her. At least, that's what she believed.