Filling In Time

[pinkroses]

Seb was still as a statue as Kerr spoke, drinking it in with relish. He’d always loved hearing people’s woes, and after so long with just his own dreams it was delightful to have a truly interesting drama being painted for him. He could see thinking on it brought up emotions which were most often unwanted with the younger vampire though. Seb reached out to lightly rest his hand on Kerr’s knee in what was meant to be a comforting touch.

“I’ve been insensitive. Prying where I most likely shouldn’t, but thank you for indulging me,” he said with a nod of thanks before taking his hand back to rest on his own knee. there were definitely some very personal reasons behind this hatred, but Sebastian wasn\'t about to urge Kerr to let go of that. With someone as dangerous as Lazarus it would be wise for Kerr to keep it in mind.

“It seems as though I missed some exciting times, for supernaturals at least. Lucy was terrified then, as I’m sure many humans were. And again, I’m sure I’m lacking many of the details, all my girl knew was that it was dangerous to be on the streets one night and then… calm returned and he family knew nothing about what had been going on. I assume that was when your dragon took control, stretching his wings as it were. There would probably have been no city for me to wake up to had he not, do you think?” he said thoughtfully.

Perhaps it would have petered out by itself, supernaturals would have grown bored and gone back to their own ways. But with that freedom, why should they have done so? And more would have come. The city would have been razed to the ground.

“And of course, I’m sure you must worry it could happen again. With Lazarus still out there and I’m sure others who remember those times fondly.”

[Existentially Odd]

The ancient\'s touch relaxed him and again, the urge to wither before him and present a subservient puddle of acquiescence rose within Kerr.  He settled for an adoring smile and a droop in his posture, gazing worshipfully at Sebastian for a while before he answered.

"Possibly so," he agreed when Sebastian asked if Kerr thought there\'d have been no city to wake up in, should the Apocalypse have continued.  "The supernaturals certainly enjoyed the coming-out party - and word travelled far and wide, for it brought my family and I here from Ireland, so that we could relish the freedom."

He paused as Sebastian continued speaking, addressing his very prominent fears with great insight... or perhaps he was reading Kerr\'s mind?  One as old as this one would be highly skilled at it and be able to do it without him knowing, he was sure - though it wasn\'t like Kerr was withholding enough information to warrant it.  The notion made him quite uneasy, of course, for Sebastian could gain all sorts of private information from him in such a manner; he started scanning actively for the other vampire\'s possible intrusion, just in case.

"Especially considering the vampire Lazarus partnered with to create the whole thing is also back in town and I know they\'re very likely to be hanging out together.  People are watching them... it\'s about all I can do," he shrugged, his expression resigned.  Really, going to see Lazarus and then Halwyn had likely hurt his cause, for he\'d made the one painfully aware of the other, but he\'d probably do the same thing again, given the choice.

[pinkroses]

Seb hadn’t been trying to scan Kerr’s mind, he’d just considered what he might have done had he been in Lazarus’ position. He’d be angry, and want back all that he had lost. So as he wasn’t prying he didn’t notice Kerr’s scanning, although a brief glimpse would have told him.

A frown flickered across the ancient’s face as Kerr went on, and ended in a very defeatist manner. That was really all he could do? Seb wasn’t about to suggest Kerr do something as drastic as kill Lazarus, or his partner, he’d been on the wrong end of an idea like that and would never condone it, but there were other options.

“That’s all you can do? Can’t you keep them apart? Send one of them away? Or both of them?” Seb asked, tilting his head to one side. If it was about defending his city, there was bound to be something more Kerr could do.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr\'s eyes twinkled and he laughed somewhat wistfully at the notion of being able to keep Halwyn and Lazarus apart.  If only!

"Well, sure... if the Oligarchy was a dictatorship but - unfortunate as it may be, in some respects - it\'s a democracy and every supernatural has rights.  They\'ve done nothing wrong - yet.  It would be a violation of their civil liberties for me to force them into anything - or even out of the city.  But don\'t worry, if they set a foot wrong, it\'ll give me great pleasure to punish them," he grinned at Sebastian, possibly looking a little too eager at the thought of punishing Lazarus, but it couldn\'t be helped.

[Trillian]

Jenna had readied herself in record time.  She undressed quickly and put her dress on, slipping it on so that the golden shimmery dress fell gracefully to her ankles, and the strap went over her head for the halter top part.  It wasn\'t the dress that would take time, but the rest of her.

Usually one to fuss about her hair and makeup until it was picture perfect (even if Kerr was waiting for her), the first attempt at pinning her hair up and curling a few tendrils about her face and ears was acceptable to her.  Her makeup took the most time, but as Seb and Kerr began speaking about the Apocalypse and Oligarchy, she\'d already finished touching up her foundation and reapplying her lipstick, and was now paying careful attention to her mascara.  She\'d decided to skip applying eye-shadow, feeling on the spur of the moment that it would be too much, and she wanted to present herself a bit more naturally.

Spraying her perfume near her cleavage, she finished off everything with a thin chain with three star diamonds and matching bracelet, slipped into nude high heels, and hurried out of the bathroom carrying her clutch in one hand, and everything else in the other.  She would have to drop off her work clothes back at her office, along with the bits and pieces she wouldn\'t be taking with her to see the show.  Jenna had to stop herself from checking in on Kerr and his friend, instead not detouring past their doorway and heading for her office straight and true.  Dumping her belongings on the desk in a way that was very unlike her, she hurried out and locked up her office with her key, then made it disappear into her clutch before heading where Kerr was waiting.

She could still hear voices as she approached, as they were still conversing.  Kerr had probably heard her walking past back from the bathroom, though she hadn\'t actually moved to their doorway - an advantage of his enhanced hearing.  She paused for a second before rounding the doorway and making her entrance, feeling oddly self conscious when both men looked her way.

"Kerr, thank you for waiting so patiently," she said graciously, drawing closer to him.  She gave him a bright smile before turning her gaze to Seb, expecting Kerr\'s good manners to prove themselves once again and introduce her to the handsome stranger that made her feel fluttery in her tummy.  The feeling came combined with a sinking sensation however, when she realized (now that she was closer) that he was a vampire also.

[Existentially Odd]

As Jenna walked into their section of the museum, Kerr stood, automatically returning the smile she gave him and looking her over appreciatively.  "It was no trouble at all. You look beautiful," he murmured quietly as he encircled her waist with an arm and leaned in to press a kiss to her jaw.

He marvelled, as he straightened away from her and turned his attention towards his companion once more, how his innards were being overworked tonight. If he wasn\'t quailing before an ancient, he was being subjected to the fluctuations of his hormones and fighting off the lust Jenna very naturally aroused within him.

"Jenna, let me introduce you to Sebastian. Sebastian, this is Jenna, the museum\'s finest asset," he boasted, gently drawing her closer to where the ancient was sitting, expecting they\'d be able to explain themselves to one another better than he would. He watched Sebastian closely, wondering if he would sense Jenna\'s supernatural nature straight away. Her fire demon heritage hadn\'t been immediately apparent to him at first, though she\'d never smelled completely human.

[pinkroses]

Sebastian stood up as Kerr did, a polite smile on his own face as he held back, letting the ‘hands-off’ couple greet each other quite intimately. His smile grew warmer as Kerr drew her closer, introducing her beautifully.

“I have no doubt as to the truth of that,” Seb replied, his gaze flickering for a second towards Kerr before returning to the woman before him. She was stunning, and that dress was helping in all the right ways. She looked as though she might have taken hours to get ready, but Seb and Kerr both knew that wasn’t true and the fact she’d put it together so quickly made it even more special in Seb’s eyes.

“Jenna, it is a pleasure to meet you,” he said, holding out a hand for hers and if she accepted he would bow down before her to brush his lips across the back of it before releasing her gently. Now that she was close enough for him to easily catch her scent she knew she wasn’t just human, but it would take a little longer for him to be able to place what the extra scent was, beyond her enticing perfume.

“I hear you are going to the theatre tonight. Is this your first time to this show?” he asked, a part of him wanting to tell them not to go. With Kerr’s reactions to him he was sure the Luminary wouldn’t take much convincing to stay and keep him company, but he didn’t want to interrupt their evening, tempting as it was. Although if Kerr and Jenna were just friends as it was claimed, surely Kerr could have no objections to Seb perhaps seeing her again on a different occasion.

[Trillian]

At the introduction, Jenna made a small noise upon her breath, to imply Kerr was taking it a bit far, but when Sebastian made a comment of agreement, she gave him a pinched smile before keeping her gaze on Kerr at her side, holding her protectively.  What she didn\'t realise, and couldn\'t control, was the reaction her body was having while in the presence of these two men.  Vampiric or not, she was tingling all over from the touch of one and the sight of the other.
 
Once Sebastian spoke her name, she made eye contact with him once more and offered her hand to him as he expected.  Once her hand was grasped and kissed, for a split second she considered pulling it away but let it fall back to herself after his lips brushed the skin.  The memory of the kiss upon her hand felt like it was scorching her, and she had to suppress the mad urge to suck upon it.  How would such a thing look!?
 
She felt suddenly giggly, and had to swallow them back but a few small sounds escaped.  She hoped that both men would think it a normal reaction to having one\'s hand kissed, but Jenna knew it wasn\'t normal at all - not for her, anyway.  It wasn\'t like her hand hadn\'t been kissed before.  Sebastian had done it charmingly though, while the others had been either sleazy or a bit stiff.
 
She felt like she was staring at Sebastian for far too long.  It was difficult to know what was normal behaviour when her heart was rocketing in her chest and her groin felt like it was throbbing with need.  What the hell was happening to her?  Swivelling a little so that she was turned more towards Kerr, and looking up at him, she answered Sebastian\'s question.
 
"It\'s my first time to the show, but I\'m sure Kerr\'s seen it before in different variantions.  Even though the story is relatively young, Kerr\'s had enough time to see it interpreted in many different ways by a whole assortment of talented actors and singers, no doubt."  She stopped talking quite suddenly, feeling as though her behaviour was ridiculous.  She glanced at Sebastian, wondering if he thought her a foolish creature.

[Existentially Odd]

Kerr was hyper-sensitively aware of Jenna at the best of times; when her pheromones kicked into overdrive as she was placed between the two vampires, his body reacted at just as instinctive a level.  All his talk of Ben was easily dismissed with the way his nostrils flared and his pupils dilated when he looked at her, his grip tightening marginally upon her warm flesh.  It was odd, though, for he wasn\'t touching her in any untoward sort of way so... was it the kiss on her hand she was reacting to?

Having an intimate knowledge of the woman he had an arm wrapped around made him arrogant.  He believed it highly unlikely, for he\'d made such a move numerous times when they had been lovers (though he\'d made a habit of holding her hand to his mouth rather than releasing it, and generally continuing the kisses from there).  It made no sense that the woman he\'d taken such a long time to woo would react like a giggly schoolgirl now.  It wasn\'t the style of one who only slept with men she was in love with.

Yet... there she went and spoke, her actions contradicting that generous thought.  Why was she answering the other vampire but staring directly at him with her bright, loving smile on display?  He frowned mildly at her, noting that shy little look directed towards Sebastian at the end and feeling a sudden, unfounded stab of jealousy.  She really seemed to have become flustered by Sebastian\'s presence!  He\'d have thought it was him and their past relationship, if it weren\'t for that little look... though part of him was still insisting he was imagining things, for he was taller than her and could easily have misinterpreted a simple look from this angle.

"Actually... I haven\'t seen it at all yet, which is why I\'m so looking forward to it," he allowed, glancing from Jenna to Sebastian.  His look felt calculated, for he was wondering if Jenna could sense what an aged being the ancient was.  That might go some way to explaining her... nervous?... reaction.  Yes, that made some sense, actually, for he\'d bowed to it himself (never mind the fact that not every vampire felt this way towards an ancient, let alone a fire demon).  "We should probably get going, sadly.  One of us needs to eat before the show," he joked indulgently, widening his eyes at Sebastian for effect.

As he spoke, he withdrew his arm from Jenna\'s waist, preparing to shake Sebastian\'s hand before they departed.

[pinkroses]

Sebastian couldn’t help but grin at Jenna’s giggly reaction. With the way she’d been at first, protesting against the praise from Kerr, he had worried that she would be a little uptight, but when she smiled properly she was even more enticing.

He tore his gaze away from her as Kerr spoke, and almost invited himself along to dinner and the play, but he could tell by Kerr’s whole demeanour that he would most definitely not be welcome. Funny how things could change so suddenly. It was obvious Kerr hadn’t given up his possessiveness of the human just yet.

“Of course, how rude of me, delaying you terribly. Thank you, Kerr for indulging my questions so delightfully. I hope we run into each other again, and the same goes for you Jenna. It’s a shame we don’t have more time now,” he said softly, his blue eyes moving steadily between the two and accepting the handshake when Kerr came to offer it.

[Trillian]

Jenna was surprised when Kerr made an excuse to leave, especially when he used her to make it.  She very almost interrupted, declaring that they had a lot of time, for they\'d not arranged for her to leave work so early.  They had an extra forty minutes or so, thanks to his early arrival and her getting ready so quickly.  To contradict Kerr, however, would\'ve been rude and shown him up in front of Sebastian, and she was socially aware enough to not do such a thing.  She soured on Kerr a little, however, for forcing her into accepting his words.  Sebastian was a gentleman, much as Kerr was, which both surprised her and didn\'t.  She could tell by his manner and tone that he was likely much older than he looked, but she had no idea of how old he truly was and such knowledge would\'ve floored her.

When Sebastian mentioned that he wouldn\'t mind bumping into either of them again, she had to bite her tongue from announcing to him that he knew where she worked therefore could do so easily.  Really, she was entertaining mad ideas.  It wasn\'t like Sebastian didn\'t already know such a thing, and it wasn\'t like she wanted him to visit her when Kerr wasn\'t around, did she?

"Nice to have met you," she said with a dulcet smile, quite pleased that this at least sounded normal, albeit a little more softly than she would\'ve spoken.  She knew it didn\'t matter to a vampire, who would\'ve heard her easily.  She wouldn\'t have to go through the whole \'excuse me?\' dance that those with mortal hearing went through.

[Existentially Odd]

"Yes," Kerr agreed with Sebastian, feeling slightly guilty at his comment that it was a shame they didn\'t have more time now, because Kerr knew they did.  He didn\'t feel the need to explain that, however; that little spark of jealousy had him turning with a pleasant smile, gathering Jenna back within the circle of his arm and walking her out towards the staff exit, where he\'d parked his car.

Once they were out of earshot of Sebastian, Kerr spoke to Jenna.  "He\'s a nice man," he commented mildly, wondering how enthusiastically she\'d agree.  He deliberately left his statement banal to see how much she\'d expand.

[Trillian]

"Oh, do you know him well?" she asked just as mildly, regaining her composure now that she was out of the sphere of Sebastian\'s influence. Her heart continued to beat quickly, only beginning to slow down, and everything seemed to be going slowly and sound artificial in her mind, thanks to the injection of adrenalin her body had offered her.  She didn\'t look at Kerr, watching where she was going instead.

[Existentially Odd]

"No," Kerr answered lightly, his voice rising to an airy octave as he remained determinedly casual.  Part of him was certain that Jenna was more interested in Sebastian than she was letting on - the slowing down of her body now that she was left with just him was testament to that - but most of him wasn\'t sure he wanted confirmation.
 
It was silly, really, and selfish, too - he recognised it on a conscious and very logical level.  He had Ben and Ichabod in love with him, how fragile was his ego that he wanted to retain Jenna\'s emotions, too?  It made complete sense for her to move on, since they were no longer together... but their weekly outings - even after a two year break - felt so natural that he was comfortable with the thought that she hadn\'t.  He was certainly still smitten by her and loved her, why shouldn\' she continue feeling almost the same, as he did?
 
Still, he couldn\'t resist digging, his mouth spitting out words that his brain hadn\'t had a chance to screen and approve before they were out there and spoken aloud.  "I only just met him while I was waiting for you - thankfully you missed my instinctive bowing to him.  It\'s just my first impression that he\'s nice.  He\'s certainly enthusiastic about the world and the city, which doesn\'t always happen in beings who\'ve been around two thousand years."
 
He deliberately dropped Sebastian\'s age at the end for effect, to see if he could draw her out with that little tidbit, eyeing her off in his peripheral vision.  He wasn\'t sure of the ancient\'s true age, of course, just that he felt extremely old.  Very much like Lazarus, in fact, whom everyone could label as two thousand and eleven, given his creation story.
 
Sebastian felt to be that old to Kerr, though he didn\'t think any older.  It was a difficult thing to judge, however, for beyond the age of a thousand, most vampires felt the same to him - to be revered and worshipped, regardless of their personality, simply because they were so aged.

[Trillian]

She was curious when Kerr spoke of bowing to Sebastian and looked over at her date, unable to even imagine him performing this act, when the fact of Sebastian\'s age poured out of Kerr\'s mouth and her eyes widened to their extremes.  She was still tingly all over, and being held safely by Kerr was only prolonging that, but the tingles intensified further at this news.

"Two thousand..." she began repeating, but her mind continued onto other things, touching other subjects rapidly.  "Imagine what he must\'ve experienced, or what he owns!  I imagine if he\'s kept some mementos through the ages that he must have some amazing possessions, if he\'s anything like yourself, Kerr," she said, lightly touching him as the vampire she was with entered her consciousness, though briefly.  "The stories he could tell, my goodness.  How good is a vampire memory?" she asked Kerr, but didn\'t wait for an answer.  "I wonder if he has only the haziest recollection of events, or they\'re sharp and clear in his mind.  What a shame it would be if he\'d forgotten anything historical!"  she looked eagerly at Kerr, expecting him to join in with her excited conversation.  He usually did, when she spoke of her latest acquisitions for the museum, so why would this be any different?