Breaking the Mold

[Saccharin]

Rebecca\'s eyes opened and she rolled onto her side, her arm snaking across the bed. As a human, she had needed ample amounts of time and coffee to rouse herself in the mornings. As a vampire, it felt like someone had flipped an internal switch and she was suddenly on and ready to go. It was a fortunate turn of events, considering her recent inability to consume caffeine.

She grabbed the pillow next to hers, pressed her face into it and breathed in deeply. It smelled of Archer\'s shampoo. Since he wasn\'t there, the pillow would have to suffice until she decided to drag herself out of bed. She took another deep breath and sighed happily. Just when she\'d resigned herself to a destiny of too many cats and a penchant for lobbing rocks at the children who entered her yard, Archer had appeared, swept her off her feet and then gifted her with immortality. Even if she wanted, she couldn\'t have written a better story herself.

Of course, there was a catch, but she considered having a diet that consisted only of blood and not being able to go out during the day inconsequential when she now had eternity at her feet. There were other things she\'d gained, but not having to worry about what would happen when she died was probably the best part of the packaged deal.

She relinquished her hold on the pillow and was mid-stretch when she heard Archer\'s voice answered by an unfamiliar one. A guest? The content of the conversation wasn\'t such that she could piece together who it was, so she\'d have to get up and investigate.

Rebecca made an outfit of a loose fitting white tunic shirt that was gathered at the waist and dark denim jeans. After buttoning the front of her blouse and rolling the sleeves up past her elbows, she flipped her head over and ruffled her hair, then pinned a portion of it back with bobby pins. Despite reading enough about dark and brooding vampires that she felt she should wear black, Rebecca still gravitated toward loose, flowing clothing in bright colors.

Barefoot, she made her way out of the bedroom and toward the voices, coming to a stop at the end of the hallway. She\'d wait for a lull in the conversation before moving farther.

[Trillian]

"It has to be awe-inspiring," the strange fellow said.

Dressed in a white mink fur coat, unbuttoned so that his bare chest could be seen, white jeans and golden platform boots suitable for disco dancing, and a tall Dr Seuss Cat-in-the-Hat style hat, The strange vampire who called himself Digital was certainly awe-inspiring in his own right.

"So, very large then,” Archer confirmed.

He was sitting in one of the armchairs, holding one of his ankles across the knee of his other leg, regarding the bizarre creature in frnt of him.  He\'d come to the door, this demented prophet of sorts, with the knowledge that Archer understood about machinations and clockwork, as well as the fact he\'d recently sired a young woman.  The fact he\'d known about Becca wasnt a surprise, for vampires could usually smell others and their ages, but knowing she was a redhead, a librarian, and referred to as \'the ballerina\'s daughter\', held Archer\'s attention.

At first he\'d believed Digital to be a threat, then he\'d figured him as a mostly harmless loony, but the mad were never to be trusted - much like a stray and gentle dog with a history of abuse at the hands of a master should never be trusted completely.  Archer was smiling and nodding along with Digital\'s grand plan.

By the time Becca was moving towards the lounge, Archer was showing Digital to the front door.  He\'d sensed his fledgling rising for the night and was anxious to remove Digital from their apartment before she had more contact with the madman than necessary.

"Come back in three weeks," Archer said, even as he was shoving Digital out the door.  Lucky for him, the prophet didn\'t mind being shunted.  With the door closing behind the fashionably challenged pimp-styled, Archer turned around to find Becca had entered the living room by now and had most likely seen Archer shove out his \'guest\'.

[Saccharin]

She remained frozen where she stood, mouth slightly agape, as she tried to process what she\'d just witnessed. By what she\'d gathered in the short amount of time it\'d taken for the odd man to be propelled through the door, he\'d been inquiring about hiring Archer for a job.

What she couldn\'t figure out was why he felt Archer could create anything that\'d be appropriate for him. Her sire created beautiful time pieces from delicate gears, wires and countless other things she couldn\'t even begin to guess the names of. How could a vampire who looked like he\'d been sired in an alley between a whorehouse and a disco club think he was meant to have something Archer had created?

"He doesn\'t want a watch, does he?" she asked, her eyebrows lowered in a visual manifestation of her confusion.

[Trillian]

Archer smiled as soon as he saw her; his fledgling, his prize (though knew better than to openly refer to her in such a manner).  He had claimed her as completely as a man could claim a woman, if she wasn\'t his prize after that, then what was she?

"No, he does not," Archer confirmed, accentuating the negative with a further shake of his head.  "But I can deliver what he wants, without trouble."  He straighted his posture, rolling back his shoulders.  He was fully dressed in dark grey trousers and an off-white shirt.  He would\'ve looked quite smart if not for the absence of shoes, and his long sleeved shirt was rolled up casually to his elbows and open a few buttons at the throat.  "You\'re still rising late," he observed, careful to let only a tiny hint of his disappointment show.  He\'d thought himself patient enough to wait for his fledgling to waken, but he\'d been on his own for so long that it was difficult to make the conversion (even though he\'d been aching for it).

[Saccharin]

With far more grace than she\'d possessed as a human, Becca closed the distance between them. She slid her hands through the gap remaining between Archer\'s relaxed arms and his sides, then joined her fingers behind his back.

"I didn\'t mean to," she said, frowning up at him. Lowering her head before she could see if his expression changed, she rubbed the side of her face against the front of his shirt, only pausing when a button nearly caught itself in the corner of her eye. "Well. I mean... I stayed in bed for a little bit after waking up, but not for long." She tightened her arms around him in a brief hug. "I\'m sorry."

Despite having initiated physical contact with Archer because she wanted to smooth away the lines that formed in his face when she\'d let him down (it happened more often than she liked), she enjoyed being close to him. Without doubt, it was an improvement over hugging a pillow that smelled vaguely like he did.

[Trillian]

Physical contact was always the best way to console him; the best weapon she had against any rising disappointment.  It was like bile in his throat - though of course he didn\'t taste any, for such functions had been lost to him.  Emotions, however, were as much an impact as he needed.

Her closeness soothed him.  It was why he\'d sired her after all, to relieve himself of the loneliness he\'d begun to feel after spending centuries on his own.  She was to fill that gap, that aching need to be with someone, to share everything with them.  She was very good at cementing their bond.  He didn\'t know if she was a master manipulator or if he\'d simply chosen well.  His ego demanded the latter.  If she\'d played him into siring her over Ami (not that she would\'ve known he\'d made a choice between them), then she deserved the reward.

He doubted it.  He\'d chosen her because, well, she\'d been more controllable.

Much like his late wife, really.

He broke his reverie with a sharp shake of his head, and lifted his hands to meet her embrace, linking his fingers together at the small of her back and lowering his head to nuzzle her.  He found his mouth near her own and toyed experimentally at her lips with his tongue.

"Are you very hungry?" he asked softly, knowing she would be hungry when rising because she was fledgling, but uncertain how ravenous the thirst would be.  She\'d consumed blood late in the morning, as close to sunrise as possible.

[Saccharin]

Rebecca leaned into him, her lips parting slightly as she felt the wetness left by his retreating tongue. She chased after his mouth with her own, stealing a few kisses before he spoke.

Hunger didn\'t center itself in her stomach anymore, it became her. It was incredibly annoying that she struggled to think of anything else other than blood when she went too long without it, while when she\'d been human she\'d been able to put off eating for a few hours without issue. Her stomach would rumble its complaints, but she could ignore it. She found things easier to deal with when she\'d had something to satisfy her appetite before bed, but it stirred again when she even thought about drinking.

"Am now," she admitted, loosening her arms from around Archer in anticipation that he\'d step away from her.

[Trillian]

She was beginning to read him well, for he moved away, though his hand lingered upon the small of her back.  He pressed her gently, maneouvering her towards the kitchen, where the only thing they used was the fridge and the microwave.

"Baggie or something a little more lively?" he asked, already predetermining her response for he was moving in the direction of the former.  Eventually she might get bored with his controlling ways, but right now that was what a fledgling mostly needed.

She was lucky the blood she was ingesting was human blood, supplied by Risk (at a reasonable price per baggie).  He\'d spent a small fortune paying the annual fees to get access to the VIP room.  It was for her that he\'d done it.

[Saccharin]

Since it likely wouldn\'t be the last time she fed for the night, she didn\'t protest when Archer went for the refrigerator and the packets of blood within.

"Are we going out tonight?" she asked as she moved to stand near the microwave. She hoped they would. While she enjoyed spending time with Archer regardless of the setting, being out in the world was like none other.

All the things she\'d learned to ignore took on such a brilliant light when she experienced them with her new senses that she could spend hours just staring at say, the dew gathering on a blade of grass under the gentle glow of the moon. She smiled to herself, thinking it an interesting enough line that she might try to insert it into her most recent attempt at a short story. Except... it was set in a desert during the day where the closest source of water was miles away from the main character.

Eh. Technicalities.

[Trillian]

Her desire to go out had been curbed a lot in the initial stages, though once she\'d passed the slavering idiot vampire fledgling stage of the first month, he\'d taken her out to risk where he could keep an eye on her while also teaching her how to feed.  There was something else about Risk, however, that sometimes it could host live bands, and every now and then he would wonder when Ami and her motley crüe would show up.  So far he hadn\'t seen her, but he was both looking forward to and rueing the day that he would; considering how he\'d left things with her.

"Yes, we\'ll visit Risk tonight, and perhaps a walk in the park or on the docks," he told her while opening the fridge door and extracting a bag for her.  "Depends if you want to smell the flowers or the ocean," he said, figuring Risk would be a quick visit and the walk would be the highlight.

[Saccharin]

Even if Archer hadn\'t been able to sense her excitement, her broad grin would\'ve been a strong clue for her sire. For someone who had thought herself most at ease while home and in quiet libraries, it had been quite a surprise to discover that she could be equally at ease while in a club. She never ventured far from Archer\'s side because she was easily overwhelmed by overeager humans and intimidated by other vampires, but she still enjoyed the sampling of the club she\'d had so far.
 
She leaned against the counter, her hip biting into it uncomfortably, but not enough that she moved away immediately. "The tulips should be blooming," she said, also thinking it would be a good opportunity to replace any floral arrangements that might be wilting in the apartment. "So my vote is for the park."

[Trillian]

Tulips.  He smiled at her, still taken at her prettiness.  There was a brief period of mourning that he had taken her from daylight - pretty things should see the sun - but in swapping it for eternity instead meant she would never wilt.

There was a greenhouse within the city limits, advertised as Midnight Blooms.  The address was to private estate with public access for a fee, and he was positive a vampire owned it.  He\'d wanted to see it a while now and now that she spoke of tulips the desire to go there was stronger than ever - but he wasn\'t sure about taking her to another vampire\'s private land, especially when they sounded old enough to be... well, intolerant.  Most ancient beings seemed to dislike fledges, for some reason.  He wanted to check it out without her first, but didn\'t want to leave her side either.

"Risk and the park, it is," he said.  "Are you going to wear a dress?" he asked, though it was more of a suggestion.  He liked her summer dresses, though they were too cold for winter.  But she didn\'t feel the cold anymore.

The microwave beeped.

[Saccharin]

She looked down and fretfully tugged at the corner of her white tunic-styled shirt. Knowing he wouldn\'t have suggested she wear an alternative to jeans if he\'d wanted her to wear jeans, she quickly decided to find something else to wear. And anyway, she hadn\'t put much thought into her current outfit, so wasn\'t that attached to wearing it out. If a dress would please him, then she\'d wear a dress. "I can change," she offered brightly, releasing her shirt.

When the microwave beeped, she went to a nearby cabinet and removed a ceramic mug. Though emptying part of the blood packet into the vessel wouldn\'t totally eradicate the taste of plastic, she preferred it to puncturing the bag and feeding directly from it. "Do you want one too?" she asked as she placed the mug she\'d taken for herself on the counter, poised to lower another if Archer requested it.

[Trillian]

He shook his head.  "I\'ll find something at Risk," he told her with a tiny smile flitting at the corners of his mouth.

Her offer to change her clothes pleased him, though she really didn\'t have to try so hard.  He liked that she was still eager to, however, for he\'d heard tales of fledges tiring of their sires after a mere few months.  He\'d chosen her to be his fledge quite quickly, in hindsight, and it had been a gamble that she was exactly the type of woman she presented herself to be.

Luckily for him, she didn\'t have a deceptive bone in her body.

When she came out of the bedroom wearing one of his favourite dresses, a flowing, pastel patterned garment of greens, pinks and yellows, he offered her his arm for the taking, and led her out the door and to the club (where they both received quite the surprise).