A Difficult Discovery

[Mandy]

She woke shortly after 4:30pm Thursday afternoon; the need to get up and paint far more persistent than the need to sleep. And what a strange sleeping habit it had become. It was to be expected however, while in the company of a vampiric love-interest.

 Last night had marked the fourth and final evening Mandy would be required to work a ‘grave yard’ shift (11pm – 7am) for the next several months – thank God for that. It was certainly beginning to take it`s toll, both physically and mentally. Now, she would have ample time to spend with Kerr making the necessary repairs to his seaside home. Her home… if only for now. Not that she was being particularly helpful these days. Her mural project (in one of the larger rooms - ballroom?) had managed to consume most of her waking moments, though she`d no idea why. Kerr didn`t seem to mind however, so it worked out well enough.

Kneeling before one of the panels in progress (her gray, cotton slacks and white tank top offering her both ease and comfort), Mandy plotted out her next move – thoughts drifting between the painting and the strange blonde man she`d run into earlier that morning. She was still curious about him – knowing full well he`d not been human, though powerless to see him for what he truly was. Perhaps Kerr could offer her some incite on the matter? She was definitely interested in his take on her encounter. Slathering a mixture of blue and black onto her brush, she began to paint absently across the wall, anxious for sundown to come so she might pick the vampire`s brain on the entire scenario.

At least it`d be something different to talk about.

Three of the four panels were presently complete; the first (on the wall to the left of the large entryway) depicting a beach front - not unlike the one facing the house - during the day, the one directly opposite to it, showing the same shoreline at night. Both were equally detailed and accurate of the view visible just outside the massive bay windows in Kerr`s living area. Those panels had been easiest to create. Contrastingly, the one situated on the wall adjacent to the grand opening, showed a quaint market place (perhaps in a distant European city?) complete with sidewalk café, cobblestone road and several points of intricate interest, including a cat, which was meant to represent the missing Artemis. There was no particular point nor intimate meaning to the image beyond Mandy wanting to visit a location like it one day. Wishful thinking, perhaps.

As for the forth and final panel – this one was proving to be the most difficult of them all.

It was located on the same wall as entry and to the immediate left. It was meant to convey her feelings toward Kerr – emotion… which was exceedingly difficult for the female to portray as the only method she was able to employ (to adequately illustrate these feelings), was that of shapes and colors. And Mandy had never been very good where impressionism or abstract forms were concerned.

Sighing, she rested her hands atop her knees and rocked back onto her tip-toes – searching the strange combination of seemingly haphazard color for meaning and purpose. There didn`t appear to be any; just like her. Warm tones mixed with cooler hues - her and Kerr - perpetually intertwined though never truly connecting. Contrasting shades, in a state of constant chaotic turmoil, no matter how badly one wanted to blend with another. Perhaps there was some meaning to it after all?

“It`s crap.” She whispered (suddenly disappointed) and set the paintbrush down to rub at her eyes. Kerr didn`t appear any more interested in her now, than he had when she`d first come to him so many weeks before. He wasn`t letting her in, no matter how hard she tried, and all of the distraction in the world (be it artistic or non-human) wasn`t doing a damn thing to improve the situation. Not in the least.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr awoke in his coffin the night after his eventful evening on the town - and that, in itself, was a considerable feat.  He awoke.  He\'d slept.  It was hard to know whether that was because of the pills he\'d taken or because he was simply feeling more together after having seen Ben and deciding to give things a bit more of a chance. He supposed it didn\'t really matter either way, the result was what mattered.  Faith was his mantra now... and even though everything was still largely up in the air, he was more relaxed than he\'d been for weeks.

He and Ben were going to try to work things out.  For now, that was enough to put a smile on his face and have him practically springing out of his coffin (despite the fact that he was naked and Mandy might have been nearby; it was almost six o\'clock, after all).  He pulled on a pair of jeans and wandered off to see if Mandy was home.

He was halfway to his destination when he knew that she was there, painting in the small ballroom as per usual, her mortal emanations making her presence obvious to him.  Still, he continued on, thumbs hooked through two lops at the front of his jeans, the material slung low on his muscular hips and a bare body either side of them.  He gave no thought to the fact that his tattoos were gone, for he was too taken with thoughts of Ben.

"Good evening," he bade cheerfully as he entered the ballroom, strolling up behind Mandy and gazing appreciatively at her handiwork thus far.  He was surprised that they were just about finished, but then again, she did spend a lot of time in here.  "Wow, these look great!" he enthused, oblivious to her downtrodden mood.  He only had eyes for the mural, it seemed.

[Mandy]

His voice had startled her, though only just. In truth, it`s familiar timber brought more joy and relief than surprise, even if it had been unexpected.

“Evening.” She greeted, a little less enthusiastically than usual – her present handy work sufficiently putting a damper on their expected reunion. Eyes glued to the panel before her, she repressed a faint snort at Kerr`s compliment. It appeared genuine, though considering all her previous efforts, she`d have understood if it wasn`t. “Great is a matter of opinion.” She sighed, and climbed stiffly to her feet. Only then, did it become obvious to her how long she must have been painting. Her entire body felt tight.

“Sleep well?” Mandy asked, finally turning to face the man who dominated her own sleepless nights – astonishment hitting her belatedly as her artistic eye instantly noticed the absence of Ben`s name plastered across the plain of his handsome physique. She blinked (as though to clear her vision), staring quite shamelessly at the vampires chest and lower abdomen. No – she hadn`t been imagining things. Ben`s name was truly gone! But how?

“Where… how did you…” She sputtered, her gaze shifting beseechingly between Kerr`s face and the vacant patches of skin, “H-his name is gone?” Mandy made a deliberate point of not saying \'Ben\', in case it squashed whatever good mood her companion appeared to be indulging.

[Existentially Odd]

"Actually... I did," he grinned broadly, when asked if he\'d slept well.  He was considering telling her that he\'d been to see Ben - startled to realise he felt guilty about it, for some reason, and actually didn\'t want to tell her after all, like it was some sort of secret - when she looked at him and noticed the tattoos were gone.

Shit

He\'d completely forgotten about that.  He should\'ve put a shirt on... crap!  "Oh.  Yes," he answered with a nod, his smile fading and his expression becoming more sombre immediately.  "I found myself constantly staring at the tattoos and figured it wasn\'t helping me move on at all, so I went and got the magic binding them all in place released last night.  It was a spur of the moment decision," he explained with a sheepish shrug, tucking his fingertips into the front pockets of his jeans.

Kerr had phrased himself quite deliberately and he hoped she noticed what he wanted her to in his words, getting the impression that the magic binding his tattoos had been an all-or-nothing deal; it had only just occurred to him that he\'d told the witch to remove all the magic, when he hadn\'t had to.  He simply hadn\'t been thinking.  But when Mandy found out her name was gone, something anxious and slithering in his gut told him that her reaction would be even worse than Ben\'s - and he hadn\'t expected Ben to care at all.  This time, he knew Mandy would care, because she\'d been nothing but delighted for him and with him when she found out about the tattoos he\'d got, so he expected an extrapolation of Ben\'s reaction.

Would Mandy be so forthright as to demand if he\'d wiped her out of his heart as well as off his body?  He couldn\'t imagine it, but that nagging feeling of guilt and shame wouldn\'t leave him, so he was bracing himself for the worst, watching her warily.

[Mandy]

“All of them,” She repeated softly, eyes now lifting to the place where  her name once wove perfectly with Kerr`s existing Celtic knots as though it had always been a part of him. The lettering had never been particularly large or noticeable, but to Mandy`s keen eye, she saw (with ease) that her name was no longer present. Her heart sank at the seemingly alien sight. Biting her bottom lip, she looked quickly back to the wall, hoping to stave off tears (at least until Kerr left the room).

She could understand his need to erase Ben`s existence from his body, but hers as well? After everything that they`d been through together? She would forever bare the scars of Kerr`s influence in her life (across an otherwise smooth back), but he could not even give her the liberty of a tiny, almost unnoticeable place, hidden atop his skin?

It was like a slap in the face, even if it was never intended to be.

Her mind exploded with a volley of confusion and unreasonable despair, though Mandy in no way intended for any of it to touch Kerr`s thoughts. It just seemed so… so… unfair! Even if he still felt nothing for her in the way of a romantic connection, did he not (at the very least) value her friendship enough to give her that simple consideration? How should she react? What should she be feeling? Was it wrong for her to be upset? It was a terribly tumultuous place to be.

Forcing a weak smile, Mandy pivoted back to the panel that she`d been working on and retrieved her paintbrush from a mat atop the floor. She didn’t want to break down in front of him now.

 Don`t you dare cry.

“How wonderful that someone could do that for you.” She began, trying to make the comment sound light and casual, “Kinda takes away from the significance of getting one, but I guess it`s more for decoration anyway.” She chewed at her tongue as a wave of nausea filled her stomach, “Too bad you couldn`t market something like that to mortals. I know several coworkers who would love to get a few removed themselves.”

[Existentially Odd]

Every word she said was like a knife piercing his heart and he knew he\'d caused her pain far beyond his intent but he was torn between acknowledging that and playing it cool.  Two very obvious paths stood before him now and he wasn\'t certain which he should take.

His heart said that he should move to her, acknowledge her pain and admit that he hadn\'t had to get rid of all the new tattoos but that he had unthinkingly and that he could get them back at any time.

His mind said that that was a pathetic excuse to make and that he should continue deceiving her, allowing her to think he\'d had no choice so that she would continue to distance herself from him emotionally.  Her believing this nasty act of him would only help her lose the love she still felt and move on.  It was a way of forcing her to accept that she didn\'t matter to him like she wanted to, it was physical and emotional proof that he didn\'t care.

Except he did.  He hadn\'t wanted to hurt her - or Ben, for that matter - when he\'d got the tattoos removed.  Even though it had been a romantic gesture made in a time of extreme happiness by him, as a means of expressing his joy at the turn his life had taken (and as an alternative to proposing to Ben, from memory... thank God that hadn\'t come about), it had been something he\'d done for him.  He\'d carved the names of everyone significant to him into his body as a way of acknowledging their influence on his life.

It had been for him, damnit, a fact that became clear to him when Ben had dismissed his gesture as tacky.  He\'d considered getting them taken away until he was appeased, but had, in that time, also come to the conclusion that the tattoos weren\'t really about anyone on his skin, so much as they were a statement he wanted to make to himself.  Sawyl, Dei and Meinwen at his back, behind him, Mandy upon his sleeve, always close to his heart but never touching it, Ben branding his mind, body and soul.  They were his tattoos, fuckit.  If he\'d wanted them gone because they\'d been soured, then he believed he had every fucking right to do that!

It just didn\'t seem fair that everyone was now so devastated by his decision that all he could think about were their feelings, not his own.  It was a damn good thing Sawyl had never found out what he did, or he\'d probably be copping it from him as well.

Still, all that didn\'t change the fact that he could see Mandy wavering before him, struggling to put on a brave face, even if he was looking at her back.  He owed her more than deception, after what she\'d been through for him; he owed her for supporting him even now, when he had no-one else (and again, there was that guilt when he thought of seeing Ben the night before and not telling her outright, because he wanted to covet that for himself).

... or is it because you don\'t want her to turn her back on you, in case things with Ben fail and you need her to catch you again, when you fall, you selfish prick?
I never knew I was so selfish before
Broken hearts do funny things to people, champ

Kerr walked up behind Mandy and wrapped his arms around her waist, closing his eyes as he leaned down to press his face into her hair, then he slid around to her cheek.  "I\'m sorry," he whispered, pulling her hard against him, feeling like shit but still not admitting that he hadn\'t had to take all the tattoos in one go.  It seemed that he\'d never realised how deceptive he was until Ben had cornered him, either, and now it was coming out of him in all sorts of ugly ways.

[Mandy]

The brush of his words against her cheek sent a rash of goose bumps along the surface of her skin - practically melting her heart. And somehow, it made her feel suddenly guilty for showing any sign of hurt at his decision. How the hell had he managed that? She was the one that he`d erased.

It was his choice – he needed closure.
But closure from me as well? I`m still here! I`m still trying to help!
You might remind him of his past, maybe you should just leave?
I can`t! I love him too much.
Well… perhaps his mind wasn`t entirely there last night then? If you won`t see it for what it is, then find a reasonable excuse and move on. Drop it.
Drop it…

She fought reason... fought all impulses to simply turn and reciprocate the embrace. What was her purpose in this equation anyway? Why was she still there? Was Kerr trying to tell her something by getting her name removed, something he hadn`t the heart to say out loud? Mandy didn`t even want to consider such a thing.

Resisting the urge to take him in her arms and force a kiss upon him (and oh, how she`d had to battle this impulse since moving in), Mandy instead cupped his arms where they wrapped about her slender waist, allowing her eyes to flutter shut. “There’s… there’s nothing to apologize for. It`s your body. If you needed to get rid of them to move on… then I`m happy for you, Kerr. I just want you to be happy too.”

[Existentially Odd]

His mouth twisted wryly as he pressed an apologetic kiss to her cheek.  "I honestly didn\'t anticipate it having a huge impact on anyone but me," he murmured, liking the feel of her warm arms covering his.  "It was something I didn\'t put a lot of thought into before I got them, and something I obviously didn\'t think through when I told the witch to break the spell binding them to me, either.  It\'s not like I can\'t get them put back," he offered weakly.

The words felt hollow, though, because they were.  He wasn\'t keen to go back to the tattoo parlour anytime soon to get the tattoos he\'d once taken such pleasure in ordering put back.  Apart from the fact that Sabrina would think him a raving, indecisive lunatic, she\'d gloat over the fact that she\'d told him not to get all the tatts removed in haste and she\'d been right.

He couldn\'t exactly promise to go back and get Mandy\'s name alone put back on his arm since she was the only one he was sure of, either, because Ben would see that as a hideously insulting gesture.  Kerr wouldn\'t blame him, even though he knew that he and Ben were a tentaive proposition at best, whereas Mandy deserved a place of permanency upon his body, for the loyalty she\'d shown.  Loyalty Ben hadn\'t.

No, getting the tattoos back was going to be like walking a minefield in itself and it wasn\'t something he was willing to do without talking to the people he wished to immortalise first.  This time, he would ask Ben if he wanted his name back on his body, and where, and get Mandy\'s opinion on where her name would go... it was a daunting prospect and something best left to the indefinite future.

[Mandy]

His explanation was intended to ease her angst, of this Mandy was certain, however… admitting that getting the tattoos had been something of a spontaneous venture in the first place, only served to further break her heart. Try as she might, she couldn`t shake the spontaneous assumption to follow…

... she`d been added as little more than a mistake before, and that mistake had been corrected tonight. Just perfect.

“It`s fine,” She whispered, hating how wonderful Kerr felt pressed against her back, holding her so tight. The kiss had nearly taken her breath away. “Don`t worry about it, okay? I`m serious. Just… get feeling better, alright?”

Mandy refused to be the bitch that made a big deal over something that was essentially not hers to dictate. Just be the supportive friend, as always. Let him hold you when he needs a hug, suck on your neck (when it suits his hunger), and offer a little comedic relief when the moment falls flat. That was what she was good at, after all. Just... be Mandy.

“I have to leave for work in a few hours – my last midnight shift ever. Well… maybe not ever, but at least for the next few months.” She suddenly explained, changing the subject to something less painful, “And I don`t think I can paint anymore tonight anyway... my eyes are starting to cross.” Was that very funny? Who knew – her entire body felt numb.

[Existentially Odd]

"Ahh, so you\'ll be working days from now on and I\'ll see you a bit more regularly at night?" he murmured, nuzzling her face and trying not to be obvious about the fact that she made him hunger.  He was fighting the urge to kiss her neck and pierce the vein within it, though.  "That will be nice."

Truthfully, the thought of her being home each and every night from now on caused a conflict within him.  He and Ben were going to be talking more, probably visiting each other\'s houses as they worked out the best course of action for resolving Ben\'s heinous actions and ensuring it never happened again.  Mandy was bound to figure out that they\'d talked.

On the other hand, the secret of his and Ben\'s reunion was something he felt like holding very close to his chest for the time being.  He was more aware of his fledgling\'s pulse across the city tonight than he had been in weeks - either because he\'d had a full day\'s rest behind him and was able to concentrate on their blood bond better now or because Ben was moving about the city and just happened to coming closer to the coast tonigh, he wasn\'t suret - and he didn\'t want to share that.

He tried to tell himself it was because he knew it would hurt Mandy to know that he was giving Ben a second chance, but that wasn\'t all of it.  Mostly, he didn\'t want her to influence his decision, because it was a tenuous enough thing as it was.  She was his voice of reason, she\'d been around long enough now to know how he\'d suffered at Ben\'s hands.  If he told her he was thinking about going back for more punishment, he was pretty sure she\'d tell him he was a fool and to not be so stupid.  That would be bad because... well, because he still wasn\'t entirely convinced he wasn\'t a fool for giving Ben the chance to hurt him again.  Only time would tell and the longer he got to be sure he\'d made the right choice (without recrimination from others), the better.

[Mandy]

She resisted the urge to say, “Will it?” as the initial inclination was, and in it`s place nodded. “Maybe we can start doing things together again?”

Maybe they would actually have a chance to start building something again?

Clinging to that hope (thrusting the still-fresh hurt of being wiped clean of Kerr`s body to the sidelines, for now), Mandy turned to place a chaste kiss along the vampire`s jaw, wishing it could be so much more, but grateful that she had enough restraint to leave it at that. What kind of message would she be sending if she made him believe that everything was perfectly fine, when in truth, she ached like she hadn`t in months? That she was a glutton for abuse? That it was \'okay\' to break her heart again and again? At least disappearing to work for several hours this evening would give her an opportunity to properly examine all that had happened there tonight, and perhaps better arm her emotions for the days to come.

Not wanting to move (but aware that something needed to happen soon, least she do something foolish), Mandy began to shift within Kerr`s arms. “Will you go out after I leave then, or are you planning to head off soon?” She referred (of course) to the vampire`s need to satisfy his hunger.

[Existentially Odd]

Doing things together again... hrmm.  He wasn\'t sure how that would work, with him needing to fit Ben into his life again somehow, but he hypothesised that Mandy\'s mortality would be helpful in this case.  Although she would be home nights now, she couldn\'t stay up through all of them, she\'d have to sleep if she wanted to be any good at work the next day.  He could spend time with Mandy at the start of the evening and then he could meet up with Ben and when she went to bed... to talk, he supposed.  Or accompany him to counselling sessions.

Whatever happened at either end of the scale, it made sense that that was how things would have to be, until Mandy knew about Ben and he having a second go.

"Think I\'ll stay until you leave," he said with a secretive smile, linking his fingers in the small of her back as he held her still and gazed appreciatively down at her.  "If you can\'t paint any more, is there something you would like to do before you head off to work, instead?" he queried in his usual well-modulated voice.  Funny, but all his thoughts of Ben were making him pay extra attention to Mandy, like she was the lover he was supposed to be devoted to and Ben was the one interfering, encouraging his lust and his will to cheat.  It was absurd, in fact, but it was exactly the way he felt.  Guilty.

[Mandy]

Bewildered; there was no other way for Mandy to feel. She didn`t understand Kerr`s sudden interest in her (it certainly paled the previous weeks of civil niceties and quiet remodeling), and this, following the obliteration of her very ‘mark’ on his person. Not that she was complaining, but it was all still very difficult to digest.

On one hand, she wanted to gracefully bow out of further interaction with the vampire for the remainder of the evening, retreating to the merciful solitude of the bathroom in order to brood and cry over recent discoveries. On the other – that damn, persistent desire to be forever at Kerr`s side could simply not be overlooked. She`d once told him that she didn`t mind being second to someone, as long as she was granted a small part of his affections. Perhaps having any of his attention now would be worth the anguish she would no doubt experience after he retreated to his coffin?

“Do…” She whispered, crushing thoughts of them intertwined – naked – on Kerr`s massive, king bed, “Well…” Mandy swallowed, his hands feeling firm, though pleasant on her lower back, “Maybe we could go for a walk along the beach? It looks to be a pleasant night, might be nice?” Or very bad, depending on the intensity such a beautiful moment might provide.

[Existentially Odd]

His eyes lit up and he smiled approvingly at her, giving a nod to confirm his agreement.  "Yes, that does sound nice.  Are you ready to go now?" he enquired, loosing his fingers and sliding his hands forward, around her waist until his right hand was linked in her left.  He suggested she might want to grab a coat and possibly change shoes, offering to wait on the terrace for her and heading out without further ado.

The wind wasn\'t too high tonight, but it would still be noticeable as they walked down the long switchback staircase that was attached to the enormous cliff they lived upon.  Kerr wouldn\'t feel any ill effects of the cold but he was worried about Mandy, hoping she dressed appropriately.

He was gazing up at the moon when she emerged, turning to smile at her when he felt her close by, his gentle expression loving as he looked her over.  He held his hand out for her to take when she was within touching distance and then they began the extensive (and rather difficult) descent from the stone terrace just outside the ballroom.  There were two other ways to get on the staircase from the terraces on the lower levels of the house and they passed them rather quickly; it was much tougher going from there.

Kerr kept turning to check that Mandy wasn\'t suffering unduly on their climb, holding her hand tightly and subtly turning himself so that his barely-clothed bulk blocked as much of the wind as possible.  The problem was, the currents loved to scream around the ragged outcropping that someone eccentric had once decided was the perfect place to build an exhorbitant house into, and so he couldn\'t do a whole lot of good, especially since they kept moving and the wind seeme to come from different directions each time it blew.

The main reason for the confused winds was the structure of the area they were heading for.  Patterson Cove belonged to him now, but it wasn\'t easily navigated in any sense of the word.  The cove was roughly a horseshoe shape, with the steepest cliff on its left - that was the one the house sat upon (mostly... it was sort of in it, too) and the one the staircase was attached to.  The cliff opposite didn\'t jut out into the ocean quite as far, making the mouth of the bay uneven.  Not only did the air therefore travel these oddly-shaped faces at differing speeds, but it followed the walls around and into the curve of the cove, swirling upward and about in a violent, breathtaking display (when it took water vapour with it and became visible, that was) at times.  The funnel effect didn\'t seem to be in high gear tonight, for the ocean wasn\'t too rough, the tide was out and there wasn\'t any spray hitting them as they descended, but the wind was certainly making its presence felt - enough that talking wasn\'t easy to do, as well.

When they finally reached the bottom, there was a lot more sand to walk on than usual, because of the retrograde tide.  Kerr enjoyed the feel of it beneath his toes, surveying the space with a satisfaction that had his squeezing Mandy\'s hand.  He set about walking them around the usual curve of the beachline - unless his companion had other ideas about exploring the islands of rockpools ahead of them - understanding that Mandy was an artist and believing that the line where the tide usually stopped would be the best place for her to spot pretty or unusual objects like shells or driftwood.

"It is nice down here," he commended, smiling at her as they dawdled slightly apart, causing their arms to be a bridge extended between them.  "It\'s rather a lot more quiet than I expected - and everything looks so far away," he mused, tipping his head back playfully and looking up at the moon again - as he had been at the top of the cliff - and feeling like they\'d dropped down into another world.  He wondered if Ben would like it down here and hoped he would.  He hoped he\'d get to show it to him, in fact, sometime soon.  Guiltily, he grinned at Mandy.

[Mandy]

Mandy repressed a violent shiver as Kerr`s arms slipped from around her waist and latched onto her hand; it`s presence instantly missed as he let her go to wait out on the veranda. Why did he have to be so damn charming when she was still aching inside? Maybe she could let the hurt consume her later and simply enjoy this out of character cheerfulness he was presently exhibiting? God knew, those moments had been so far and few in between as of late.

Hurrying to her room, which was essentially Kerr`s room (as Mandy had grown accustom to sleeping in his bed), she retrieved a nearly new suitcase from beneath the mattress and recovered a pair of baggy khaki, cargo pants, a beige, hooded sweater and plush socks from it`s depths. It was \'nice\' out, sure, but even Mandy knew that a costal breeze could be chilly after dark. Slipping the sweater over her tank (the boat neck still revealing much of her defined collar bone and shoulders) and hopping into her slacks, she headed pointedly for the exit Kerr had utilized – her socks the final addition before toeing on a pair of worn runners. It was casual, though perfect for a late night walk on the beach. The entire scenario was saturated with such romanticism, it was almost too much to withstand.

If only Mandy could still the rapid beating of her heart.

She met Kerr on the patio with a surprisingly earnest smile; taking his offered hand with far more enthusiasm than she knew was merited. Fingers entwined, he led her down the rustic path, his doting gazes (to ensure that she was managing well) only adding to her overall adoration of the vampire. Surely, she would later come to regret conducting herself like some school girl in love, when mere moments before, he`d gutted her from the inside-out.

"It is nice down here… It\'s rather a lot more quiet than I expected - and everything looks so far away,"

 Mandy nodded, squeezing back as Kerr`s grip tightened around hers – allowing him to lead her as he pleased, “It`s beautiful - so much more so than during the day, really. You can`t see that slivery lining along the water when the sun is out.” She pointed toward the seam where sky met water, indicating a long, glistening thread of flickering light, cast by a pale full moon. She`d have to add that eliment to the midnight panel of her mural project later. It certainly demanded to be captured by an artistic eye.

She fell silent as the interest surrounding the refraction of the moon began to gradually fade, wondering what she could possibly think of to say next. Revisiting the issue of Kerr`s tattoo`s was obviously out of the question, as was the nature of their uncertain relationship (which was all she really wanted to explore). It was a lose – lose situation. The best Mandy could offer, was her silence. Let Kerr set the tone for the remainder of their conversation and see where it all went from there.

Christ, but this sucked.