Flowers And Frescos

[Mandy]

They entered the gallery shortly after 8:30pm, Mandy clinging devotedly to the steady round of Kerr`s left arm. What a lucky turn of events that this facility stayed open late during the weekend! Seeing as Kerr was never free until the evening hours anyway, such a development proved most paramount to their plans.
 
Together, the couple made their way into what appeared to be a central foyer.
 
"Amazing!" she gasped in awe, her eyes scanning along the crisp, clean lines of the architecture and flitting over various scattered paintings and sculptures. Of course, this was nothing compared to what they would see once they broached the main hall and entered the inner windings of the gallery, but it was stunning none the less. How wonderful that she would have the chance to share in this tantalizing exploration here with someone whom she cared for so much.
 
Mandy glanced up toward Kerr, smiling at his somewhat dumbfounded cast. He looked so salacious tonight.
 
He`d dressed for the occasion of their outing (not unlike Mandy) only she had to admit...his was a far grander attire than that she currently wore. A rather expensive-looking suit of dark blue (Italian perhaps?) provided smart definition to his broad shoulders and chest, a tie of the same deep blue with splashes of red throughout adding a powerful punch of color. Mandy had been flattered and partially contrite to later learn that he had selected this current ensemble in hopes of complimenting her once red hair....once red, because in preparation for their date that evening, she had dyed her locks a rather abrasive hot pink. Oh, how his face had fallen upon seeing the change...not to say that he`d been disappointed at the loss of red. But now...they would no longer match so completely.
 
As for Mandy well, the dress she presently wore was a recent purchase from earlier in the day. It hugged at her waist in a complimenting fashion, flaring out just slightly above the knee. Around the bust line, the fabric was form-fitting with spaghetti straps and a low, scooping back which served to accentuate her snowy, white shoulder blades nicely. The material itself was flowing, and black in color with a sheer overlay riddled in tiny glittering stones. No pantyhose for her this glorious evening out for she chose comfort over style, but it made no difference...her legs had been neatly shaved. To accessorize and top it all off, a simple pair of black pumps graced her feet and a fishbone silver chain found its home draped about the column of her neck. It was all very simple, but elegant in its own way. This was perhaps the most revealing attire Mandy had ever worn in Kerr`s presence and she quietly wondered what his opinion of her now might be, given that he`d had a chance for a better look.
 
She led him through the main hall where other scattered couples and stray bodies moved about on their own terms, seemingly oblivious to the goings on around them. They could all be a thousand miles away as far as she was concerned, she was simply happy to be along Kerr`s side.
 
The question now was....where should they go first?
 
They halted before an intersection of corridors, (three to be exact) each leading into three entirely different directions. How to choose? "Well...which way shall we try first?" she asked with a smile, squeezing Kerr`s arm. He shook his head, apparently as lost as she in these elaborate halls. "Hmmm....perhaps, the left then," she suggested, tugging him playfully down what appeared to be one of the shortest halls. Obediently, Kerr followed (he so seemed to enjoy humoring her).
 
About half way down the hall, a most pleasant fragrance wafted into Mandy`s senses. It started out mute, but became stronger the closer they came to merging with the adjoining hall. "Do you smell that?" she asked with curiosity.
 
"Roses?" Kerr suggested softly....and oh, how right he had been.
 
They cleared the languid corridor and emerged within a vast room with high, arching ceilings, and a fountain at its very heart. There were paintings on the rounded walls and several tiny, sculptured works, but the remarkable thing was not in the artwork. No...it was the veritable ocean of potted roses which covered nearly 80% of the floor span that served to amaze.
 
Mandy broke into a broad smile, deeply inhaling the floral bouquet through her nostrils then releasing it with dramatic prowess. "They`re beautiful!" she exclaimed and bumped her hip impishly against Kerr`s. "Not art, but lovely just the same, no?"

[Existentially Odd]

He looked down at her, doing his best to smile casually but failing pretty badly.  He was just too far out of his comfort zone, and she looked amazing enough to make him forget to pretend to breathe; the sensory stimulation was heady, especially in a room so intoxicatingly filled with scent.  If he hadn\'t been fighting the urge to bury his face in her tempting décolletage before, he was certainly of a mind to do it now.  Beautiful aroma, beautiful woman, beautiful lighting; all backed by a beautifully orchestrated scene.

He made a fist with the hand she wasn\'t connected to, forcing himself to remain calm and look away from her.  The fountain was lovely - he glanced at it.  Ah, some art on the walls.  Yep, glanced at that, too.  And the roses.  There they were, in their little pots; delightful.  But... there was Mandy, and he was all too quickly staring at her once more.  The dress she wore fitted her perfectly and displayed so much skin, he was concerned that she would gather followers of adoration wherever they went.  The fact that he was tall enough to catch the curve of her plump, handful-sized breasts out of the corner of his eye every time he looked at her was distracting enough that he was glad there was a lot of appreciating to do, and not too much talking.  He could very well drool.  And he\'d promised himself absolutely no leering, hadn\'t he?

"Lovely barely describes it," he agreed, the brown depths of his eyes glistening as he stared at her.  He didn\'t look around again; he didn\'t mean the room.

[Mandy]

Her cheeks tinted a deep pink at Kerr`s implication, feeling as though at any given moment, she might fall victim to an all encompassing swoon.

  There was no denying that she enjoyed the way he looked at her, how he appeared unable to look at anything else. Wasn`t it funny that they should start out the evening with full intentions of appriciating the arts only to find that in the end, it was Mandy who recieved any measure of admiration at all...as though she were a statue of the Goddess Venus herself! True art? Well,she`d heard it said that true art was a medium best enjoyed by the masses however, if that was honestly the case, than call her anything but! For the only eyes she desired to have enjoying the many splenders of her body, belonged to the very person who now stood directly at her side.

   She smiled with a warmth reserved only for him, her hand slipping down the length of his arm until it found his. How wonderful that his skin felt a little warmer tonight, perhaps the \'exercises\' Mandy had shown him the previous eve were starting to work? Anything was possible! Her fingers tenderly fondled his until at last, she intertwined her digits within Kerrs, their hands now clasped in the more intimate verson of \'hand-holding\' most were not typically used to. She shivered against him. Was it not deplorable that here they were, lost within an amazing sea of art and culture, and the only thing she was able to think about was how wonderful it would be to wrap her arms about Kerr`s neck and cover his face with feverish kisses? Hmmm....did he already know of her desires....

  A mischeivious expression filled Mandy`s features as she recall Kerr`s unique ability to read minds. Was it possible that he was reading hers now? For if he was, then he would most certainly be alerted to the escelating aching she experienced for him deep down inside. Dare she play into such a game? Her sensable sensabilities told her no...but her spontaneously inclined heart demanded her, yes! Yes! Yes!

  Not certain if her attempt would even be successful, she concentrated on a singular thought, adding as much detail to it as was humanly possible. She focused an image of the two of them, ducking out in some side gallery corridor close by, and Kerr, ravaging her with his fervid kisses...across her face...down her neck...between the cleft of her firmly set breasts....

   Perhaps her tease would not be recieved...after all, he did say that he was not in the habit of dipping into anothers mind uninvited. But she had invited him before.

With a coy little grin, Mandy awaited his repsonse.

[Existentially Odd]

He smiled blissfully back at her blush, enjoying the tinge of blood to her cheeks. It only added a more alluring shade to her healthy skin. When her warm fingers curled between his, he gave her a small squeeze, interested in the texture of her skin. It wasn\'t rough, exactly, but it did have a tougher feel to it than his eternally-preserved flesh did. Once, he\'d had calluses from real work and painful blisters; his fingers had been able to resist being cut by all but the sharpest of machetes (generally because they\'d been cut and healed over before). Now, they were ghosts of those hard-working times, the blood he\'d ingested to sustain him for the past centuries softening and amending past mishaps and eventually wiping them away as if they had never been.

If only everything about him could be washed clean in such a way. He broke from this train of thought when he noticed the expression on Mandy\'s face... it almost looked like she... had a pain...? He frowned, about to ask her if she was alright when it flickered, then reset itself. Like she was concentrating so hard, had noticed his attention return, then doubled her efforts to... get him to...? Then it dawned on him! She was possibly trying to send him a mental message; he obliged by focussing on her thoughts and

oh dear

felt his own cheeks flush with every ounce of liquid in his system (it seemed, anyway).  The blood then rushed rapidly downward as he became as enthralled as he was aghast.  She certainly was forward!

"You vixen," he growled at her, swallowing the saliva that seemed to be pooling in his mouth. His grip on her hand tightened, his gaze fell to the place she\'d last shown him kissing and he was awash with dizzy images of his own as he watched the plump orbs rise and fall, faster by the second. Her chest was flushing too, as her images effected her and she noticed him looking (though she wouldn\'t have realised that the rapidly-flooding veins he could see running beneath the sexy veil of her skin was more than half of the seduction).

He decided to play her at her own game and placed another image over hers, in her mind - complete with the segway of him gripping her by the waist and lifting her to carry her away from the position she would have them in - that of him shoving her back against a nearby wall. Forget some side gallery; his image had her pinned between him and the wall in this rose-infested room, one hand up her skirt, the other mashing a breast and his lips nibbling and kissing from her cleavage up to her throat. He concentrated on letting her feel a lot more of the power of his mind, drawing neatly on past experiences she had had with men nudging up against her, pelvis to pelvis, and forced her to imagine what it would be like to feel his hardness against her softness, rocking harder and faster as he kissed up her neck and towards her ear.

Adding his own perspective, he imposed the presence of his tongue stud upon the image. He flicked the lobe of her ear with it, ran his burning lips down her jaw and then forced the pierced muscle into her open mouth. It took barely any psionic energy at all to bring up the memory of last night\'s kiss (he was surprised with how willing she would have been to take it further and was pleased that he hadn\'t been imagining her eagerness, then) and induce the feel of it in their shared fantasy. All the while, his illusory self ground her against the wall, the smell of the roses mingling with his Calvin Klein:Eternity cologne and the intimate scent of where their lusty bodies met.

It was heady stuff, and not just because he was having to exert a fair amount of mental control to accomplish it. In attempting to teach her a playful lesson (wish to toy with him mentally did she? Ha!), he\'d learned one himself; he had no advantage over her. He had supernatural abilities, certainly, but his infatuation with her weakened his position and evened the playing field markedly. Matching her bold moves would not lead to him retaining an upper hand, it would only lead to him sinking with her.

And right then, standing stock still with gazes and hands locked in feverish embrace in the middle of a public showroom (that anyone could happen upon them in) at an art gallery... that really didn\'t seem like such a terrible thing at all.

[Mandy]

Oh Lord.....it feels so....real.

Mandy found herself breathing harder and faster the longer she and Kerr stood, lost in each others minds...tiny pearl-like beads of twinkling sweat soon glistening upon the supple mounds of her exposed breasts. It was amazing. Here they were, woven together in the primal throws of passion...and neither had moved so much as a muscle to accomplish it. To a passer by or nosey onlooker, they would have appeared as nothing more than a couple holding hands in the middle of a large room...well, unless they wielded around for a better look of their faces, and took in the finer details of their heavy set breathing. But other than that, all would seem on the proper up and up. If only they could truly know!

She bit the bottom of her lip as Kerr`s projection grew increasingly heated...the images more...venturesome. She repressed a throaty moan as she became aware of a growing dampness between the hidden cavern of her thighs. It seemed as though he wished to beat her at her own salacious game...could she allow him such victory over her? Never! My God...she was surprised at her own voluptuousness tonight! Did she say tonight? Since her first meeting with Kerr would be closer to the truth. The strange things was, she just couldn`t understand why he effected her so...why she felt so incredibly close to him, as to think nothing of engaging in an act such as this mental foreplay of sorts...hmmm, she probably never would.

And it wasn`t illicit or dirty, or self-indulgent or wrong....it just was. They appreciated the temples that were the others body without exception and even though their minds played out an intensely heady dance of the senses within...it was innocent...pure.

But she could still not allow Kerr to win.....

Allowing her eyes to close (blocking out distraction), Mandy`s hand tightened about Kerr`s painful soft fingers. She imposed an image upon him, of herself finally breaking free of the trance his searching hands and blistering kisses had placed her in, and reaching down for the clasp of his finely tailored slacks. She made short work of the barrier, popping the button and unzipping the fly, all the while sucking seductively upon the bottom cushion of his lip. A surge of sweet embarrassment filled her as she intended to follow through on the mental act...she could not hesitate now, to do so would be to admit defeat and then, there would be no living with herself for the remainder of the evening.

Her illusionary self slipped into the open seam of Kerr`s pants, fighting her way through a thin layer of fabric until her fingers at last wrapped about the firm appendage she`d been so keenly seeking. Her kisses grew more desperate, her free hand more demanding of his tangled mane as she rhythmically began to pump his incompressible accessory, delighting in the deep, guttural sounds emitting from the back of his throat. Oh...this sweet torment they now enjoyed, it was all so bewitching.

  Mandy swallowed, her entire body feeling quite dizzy and flushed...but she refused to give in. Not when the pleasure was so complete and the stakes so playfully high.

Who would be the first to crack?

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr licked his lips and cast his gaze toward the ceiling.  He tried very hard to distinguish what sort of artwork might be set into the tiles or... plaster or whatever the fuck they put up there in art galleries (he was sure there\'d be something fancy up there)... anything to distract himself from succumbing to her wiles.

He lost the battle very quickly.  He was aroused to the point of unexpected rigidity, and not feeling at all calm enough to continue simply playing this little game.  Her pulse was racing fit to set her afire and the thought of tasting it while he filled her was all that he could entertain.  He let go of her hand and staggered towards the fountain, dipping his hand in and pressng the cool liquid to his face before turning to look at her once more.

"Touché," he told her thickly, inhaling deeply and shoving his hands in his pockets in an attempt to balloon the fabric forward and conceal his lust.  He\'d never realised that sexual desire and bloodthirst could combine to create such a powerful aphrodisiac; had he even an inkling before now, he wouldn\'t be in his present, near-ingénue situation.

[Mandy]

A wave of satisfaction filled Mandy`s chest as Kerr conceded to her, and yet...she maintained the strangest feeling that while she may have in fact won the stand off....there was no one victor in this \'battle\' of the minds. Yes, he`d pulled away first and taken refuge in the cooling waters of the nearby fountain...but before that moment, they had both shared in the most intimate exchange Mandy could possibly fathom. Their minds had melded together and in effect...made love. So while she would tease about her win and boast in fun for the enjoyment of the hour, she knew deep down inside...both had emerged victorious from their interlude.

Mandy flashed Kerr a frisky grin.

"Are you feeling alright...your looking a might bit peeked?" she knew very well what afflicted him now, but she simply could not resist the jest. She wiped the back of her hand across her forehead in hopes of removing any traces of lust from her brow and with a new surge of energy, joined Kerr at his side.

She looped her hand about his elbow and implored him to sit with her on the fountain edge. He followed of course...he never did deny her.

"Kerr..." she began, the heat from before thankfully beginning to reduce, allowing her to converse with him outside the realm of desire...for that was not the only reason she cared for him so. He gazed down upon her, his face nearly as shinny as her own, and a twinge of admiration rushed her veins. He was the most beautiful thing that she had ever seen. Beyond architecture or works of painted art, beyond the stars at night or well potted flowers...he was nothing short of an angel.

"You are an amazing person." she whispered softly and reached up to brush a small river of perspiration from his temple. Would this moment live on through all eternity, Mandy would not have protested it. It was everything she had ever imagined in a partner; humor and excitement, lust and unimaginable affection. In four days, she had fallen for this man more completely than a life time with anyone else would have ever accomplished. She hoped that he sensed this.

She leaned up against Kerr`s side, her head resting upon his mildly shuddering shoulder. This was where she belonged....

"I would be with you forever were it only possible." she breathed softly, and closed her eyes to savour the feel of his touch.

[Existentially Odd]

His head whipped around and he gaped at her in astonishment.  What?!!  Forever?  How could she... why would she even say such a thing?  Was she nuts?  She had to be!  Apart from the fact that she knew next to nothing about him (his doing, admittedly but... damn, for her own good), they\'d known each other a total of maybe eighteen hours. Hours!! Eighteen of them! He didn\'t flatter himself with the notion that it was his fault, either; no, this little debacle was to be placed squarely in her tender, soft-hearted lap. He should have followed his instincts when they told him to run from someone so obsessed with emotion! Someone so heart-wrenchingly nice.  Well... perhaps \'run\' was being a tad melodramatic. More like... acknowledged that she would be typically driven by emotion where he was motivated by simple curiosity and he should be wary. Treat her gently. Okay... keep it in mind, at the very least.

Now if he\'d been that cautious, he might not be in this position! He obviously should never have kissed her. Nope. Not a peck. He\'d awakened a hungry dragon of desire within his loins; she\'d kicked the mule of love in the guts and set it a-braying. Though... maybe love was a little strong. She hadn\'t actually said that word. Not specifically. Just that she\'d be an immortal by his side, were it possible. Ohh, the tangled webs...

"I..." he began, but his mouth closed again, of its own accord. He didn\'t know how to finish that sentence! What was he thinking?

I think it\'s about time you were made aware that it is possible... care to drink up?
I don\'t think you know exactly how long forever is, dearheart, because I can tell you, four hundred years hasn\'t exactly been a party!
Oh you could... yep, totally within the realms of possibility, but I\'ve only ever sired two people and I swore I\'d never do it again \'cause - let\'s face it - look how well that turned out!  So... you\'re shit outta\' luck, sorry.  Catch you when you\'re reincarnated or something.

"I\'m not amazing!" was what eventually blurted out and he was fairly pleased with it. There was a tinge of desperation in his tone, yes, but he hoped only he was able to pick up on that. It was appropriately modest, while having the right amount of conviction. Yes, it would do. Best not to touch that \'forever\' thing. He weakly stroked her hand where it rested upon his arm, attempting to wrangle his flying thoughts.

[Mandy]

Mandy blinked in quiet contemplation, peacefully enjoying the gentle caress of Kerr`s hand against hers. His touch was so calming.

Her mind skimmed over the details of her statement to him, and the more she evaluated it...the more she found herself regretting having ever shared such an utterance. Oh how quickly the optimistic fall.

His response had seemed a little...despondent. But, that was Kerr`s way...was it not? True, her comment had been slightly premature (and for future reference, she would attempt to think things more completely through before blurting out the first impulses of her heart), but it had seemed the right thing to say at the time...the only thing really. Perhaps something more to the effect of - "I would be with you - in this moment - forever were it only possible." - might have been a slightly less intimidating statement? It was conceivable, but there would be no turning back the clock now to amend her overly emotional words.

On the positive side, he did seem to recover relatively quickly from her slip, assuming of course, that the comment had startled him in the first place...which was a most irrefutable certainty as normal people did not jump head long into such heady confessions of affection mere days after a first meeting. Maybe Arvis was right? Maybe she really was foolish after all?        

"Amazing - much like beauty - is in the eye of the beholder." she began softly, noticeably deflated as she reflected upon her headstrong nature. She looked up at Kerr`s profile (praying that she had not lost him entirely) and squeezed the slender fingers of his hand. "I`m something of a drama queen, aren`t I?"

It was humbling to admit to an obvious flaw, but she felt the need to explain...to salvage what she might - to regain face and hopefully, get things back to where they`d been not 5 minutes before. It had been like this earlier that day with Arvis also. Oh, how she regretted that little fiasco with supreme disdain as well. She`d managed to take a completely innocent expression of concern (for her very well being, no less) and twist it into a personal attack...on herself...on Kerr...it made no matter now as she knew she`d been completely out of line in the first place. Damn this flighty heart of hers! Was she not capable of feeling things like an average person at all? She shook her head.

  "I was rude to Arvis earlier this morning while running on a similar, overly dramatic impulse..." she sighed. "I just don`t understand why I need to blow things so utterly out of proportion all of the time.....does it ever make you uncomfortable around me?"

[Existentially Odd]

Just as he was about to concede her point that she could well find him amazing where he considered himself ordinary (for a vampire), she mentioned Arvis.  He tingled with awareness and that smell was vaguely recalled - unfortunately, not strongly enough for Kerr to define what it was yet.  She\'d seen Arvis that morning?  The scruffy little stranger had made good on his soppy grins and turned up to see her, driven only by the impetus of her vague words that she wouldn\'t mind chatting with him again?

Kerr didn\'t know how he felt about this news in particular; just that it was bad.  Unsettling.  Arvis was a stranger - even more so than Kerr himself, and look how giddy she was with him already! - and non-human... that was enough.  But the way that he seemed to be deliberately seeking Mandy out - his Mandy - was the most disturbing of all.  Kerr could only surmise that Arvis intended her harm... or maybe it was him?  Could Arvis be attempting to get at Kerr through her?  That was the most shocking thought of all!

"You... saw Arvis this morning?" he asked slowly, unable to stop from frowning at her.  Gone were all thoughts of addressing her dramatic tendencies or even explaining that yes, he was uncomforable around her (but for reasons he was not able to explain at this point).  All he could contemplate was the possible danger she was in.

[Mandy]

She blinked, caught slightly off guard by the conversational direction Kerr had chosen to pursue. That was right, she had forgotten to mention her run in with Arvis earlier that day, and to her great astonishment...Kerr appeared quite agitated by the mere mention of the newcomer\'s name. She turned at the waist to gain a better view of his porcelain fine features and nodded, rather unaware.

"He was leaning against a tree outside the building as I was heading out to pick up a dress. Said that he`d been in the neighbourhood...invited me to coffee," she paused, trying to decipher the curious expression crossing Kerr`s face. He was as impossible to read as she was to deter from her passions. "I turned him down...but ended up agreeing to have him tag along as I picked out a new hair color."

Thoughts of her despicable display during the early morning hours flooded back into her mind as she made to recall the particulars of that horrible outing. God, her impulsive behaviour was going to land her in a whole heap of heart-ache one of these days. Mandy frowned in self disgust and searched Kerr`s eyes. "I treated him very poorly at the salon...and here he`d only been trying to warn me."

[Existentially Odd]

The back molars on Kerr\'s left side suddenly began to tap against each other as his jaw twisted and he processed this comment. Warn her? What the fuck would Arvis have to warn her about... except himself, of course! But no... he would have been warning her against Kerr, no doubt; it was the only logical conclusion. Right. So he needed to avoid saying the same thing to her, for she\'d only end up distrusting them both if each was as determined to warn her against the other, as it seemed they were. Kerr needed to appear the better man... while still warning her against trusting Arvis... fuckit. That line was obviously out of the question, so what angle should he take instead?

His teeth banged ruminatively together as he searched her hazel eyes for clues, thinking as fast as he could. In reality, she\'d just stated that she\'d spend eternity with him... so he had to have the upper hand, right?  Right, so all he had to do was make sure he didn\'t lose it.  Probably making dire warnings with no evidence to back it up was not the way to stay ahead of the game. Hrmm... and what if Arvis knew more about him than he knew about Arvis? The ruffian could well have sensed that he was a vampire because of his supernatural abilities, where Kerr had yet to figure out the other male\'s exact nature. This raised an interesting proposal - one that could possibly solve both his problems in one go.

"You know," he said thoughtfully, his expression arranged deliberately to convey his deep uncertainty in sharing with her what he was about to (he hoped), "I\'m not sure Arvis is the one who should be warning anyone. But then... I don\'t know him very well," the native Irishman conceded with a bashful shrug. "Perhaps I\'m wrong to not want to trust him immediately, just as his instincts are wrong in warning you not to trust me. Maybe the two of us just need to get to know one another a little better?" he offered lightly, raising his hand briefly in a \'Well, what do you think?\' type action.

[Mandy]

"Perhaps I\'m wrong to not want to trust him immediately, just as his instincts are wrong in warning you not to trust me."

   That was funny. She hadn`t exactly told Kerr that Arvis had tried to warn her about, him. Perhaps he was reading her mind again? And while that would be fine, it made her suddenly realise that this whole psychic thing was going to take some getting used to. To be mindful of both her thoughts and what she actually chose to verbalize, would not be an easy task for one so....spontaneous. In the end, however...the plain fact of the matter was this; Kerr felt concern for her...and that was all that really mattered in the long run.

 How to answer him?

   "I don`t know..." she drawled, sounding at odds with herself. "He seems nice enough, but I don`t want you to think that you have to become his friend simply on my account."

[Existentially Odd]

A snort of disdain had left him before he had time to process a more regal response. He and Arvis friends? Unlikely, considering the underhanded way the other was dealing with Mandy, and the very odd sensation Kerr had endured whilst touching the fellow. No, there was something wrong about Arvis, and even though Kerr didn\'t know exactly what it was, he knew enough to understand that they were more likely to be combatants of some form, rather than friends.

"There\'s no chance of that; but I was of the opinion that if I got to know him better that it might put both of us at ease. You because you wouldn\'t have to feel torn, and me because I would know the man\'s intentions."

Kerr frowned, feeling his age all of a sudden.  Morbidly, he realised that Sawyl was right in too many ways; Mandy was just a food source and he would outlive her many times over. What future did they truly have? Why was he tormenting himself? Long ago had the boy vampire made the point that they - alone - could be one another\'s companion and all else would be sport. Kerr had never felt that to be the truth, but nor had he argued the point with any vehemence.

And now there was a mortal who was causing him to question his blind acceptance.  Forcing him to make choices that he\'d never considered it would be necessary to make. Perhaps he should be treating it as the sport Wyl insisted it should be, treating her as a fun diversion and nothing more... though that concept ground so harshly against his grain that it made him feel ill. Like the boy in Risk earlier; they hadn\'t become fast friends or long term anything, but each had been satisfied in his own way and the mutual benefit of the encounter had carried over to a satisfactory conclusion.

Respect. That was the core of it, really. He respected Mandy, despite the knowledge that she was anything but a permanent fixture in his existence. He always treated others in the manner he wished returned to him, unless they did him a heinous wrong - and then his wrath was felt. So was he respecting Mandy\'s existence by not telling her about himself, or was he disrespecting the potential she had for pleasing him, even if their relationship might span the equivalent of a single beat of a butterfly\'s wing, in the vast and continually-renewing forest of his immortal life?

He wanted to tell her. Now. He turned to face her, gripped her hands in his own as their knees pressed together awakwardly. Was this the right time, though? The right place? He opened his mouth...

"Arvis knows s-something about me, I think. Something that you don\'t know but that... I want to tell you. Soon.  When the time is right... before he says anything."

His throat worked as he attempted to swallow air, feeling too conflicted to think straight as he watched her for her crucial reaction. \'Soon\' was vague enough to give him some time, though again, he couldn\'t help questioning his stupid concern over it.  Why should he care if she got hysterical and ran from the building because he tried to tell her vampires were real? So what if she lost her mental faculties because of it? Lost her life?  She was mortal, he was not, it was the natural order of things.

But... then the other half of his mind just gave the respect speech again, nice and loudly, reaffirming that he was more than that, and that without mortals - even with all their inane concerns and maddening frailties - eternal existence would be both dull, pointless and impossible. He should rely on them to make it a life, in fact, not simply an existence. Mandy had more life in the nail of her pinky finger than he\'d led in the last century; his was not a reality made outstanding by the quality of it, that was certain.

The age-old vampire debate.  Humans: Food or entertainment?

How the fuck had he got himself here?

[Mandy]

She was just about to tell Kerr that she didn`t feel "torn" in any sense of the word when he mentioned the prospect of Arvis knowing something about him....something she did not.

Arvis knew more than she? As close as the both of them had become...this perfect stranger had an edge over her? Mandy was speechless. Perhaps they hadn`t been foreign to each other after all...it would certainly serve to explain why either man was attempting to sway her judgment on the other. And here, she`d just assumed it mild jealousy. Perhaps they were long time friends...or rivals? Ah, it may be a silly theory, but what else was she to conclude? How else would a stranger they had only sat with for a few moments in time, know something about Kerr that Mandy (having probed the very brink of his intimacy) had not already discovered for herself? She was taken slightly aback at the prospect. And the really startling thing was...whatever this information may be...she got the distinct impression that it was not going to be something good.

Enter the flow of irrational thought.

Something...undesirable...about Kerr? The statement made no sense to her at all. He was sweet and kind and charming in ways she`d never known. A little rough around the edges when it came to kittens, maybe...but he seemed to have a good heart and even better intentions. What could be bad...something Arvis might want to warn her about? One idea materialized, one that she could see being negative to the point of meriting a warning. Perhaps Kerr intended to use Mandy after all, to reach his own ends and take what he would...and then, as soon as he was done with her, it`d be \'hit the road, Jack\'. A play boy action of sorts....typical of her neighbours behaviour three doors down. If Arvis was truly on her side of things (and these two had some manner of acquaintance prior) she could see why he would want to warn her against such a thing.

Or perhaps, a more horrible notion. She licked her lips. Was it possible that....but no, it would be too painful for words. It couldn`t be so. Was it possible that Kerr, was...married. Her heart sank. Oh God...she`d never even asked him if he was attached before.

And suddenly, everything seemed to become so clear.

She stood abruptly, unable to keep a slightly injured expression from touching her face. Come on now, Mandy...don`t go being dramatic again or allow yourself to jump to conclusions so quickly. But oh...it made so much sense! If not married, then he surely had another! Why else could he only see her at night? It was because he had a lover to keep satisfied during the day! Lord...and she was his entertainment after hours.

Mandy swallowed hard, her insides tightening violently and her chest beginning to heave. What if she was just the flavor of the week....what if he had a wife....children!? Her eyes quickly darted to Kerr`s left hand, searching for a tiny golden band of any form. There was nothing...but that didn`t mean he couldn`t have just removed it on her behalf.

Calm down...discuss this with him in an orderly fashion. You don`t know for sure...you`re jumping to conclusions that are going to first embarrass you...then render you miserable and alone...like you were before. You don`t want to be alone again...do you? her breathing became labored despite herself and she felt dizzy.

"I...." she gasped, clutching tightly at her chest. "I...can`t breathe. I need some, air."