New Beginnings

[pinkroses]

((Reserved))

 Ichabod strolled into the museum, finding himself relaxing slightly as he entered the halls he had loved so much but hadn’t had time for recently. Some of the exhibitions changed regularly, whilst others had been there ever since Ichabod had been a child, such as the intricate Diplodocus skeleton in the entrance hall and the enormous blue whale model which hung in the North Wing.

Ash had suggested going out to a club tonight, but even though he had been enjoying the distraction from his own thoughts by spending time with Ash the idea of going to a club hadn’t appealed in the slightest. Ichabod had never been much of a club goer even before everything had happened, right now he was definitely not in the mood. Checking out the new vampire club, Venture, where he would probably run into people from the ex-Oligarchy or worse, Ben, just didn’t sound like a good plan.

So instead he’d come here. It wasn’t just the familiarity of the museum which had brought him here, but upon entering the museum a large poster about a display opening in a week caught his attention, mainly for the name at the bottom. Jenna Hall. Ichabod hadn’t ever really met the young woman who had caught Kerr’s attention, but it occurred to him that she might not have even heard about Kerr yet (since Ben had mentioned to Ichabod that she had been informed). There had been so many things he’d tried to get sorted since Kerr’s death, but a large pile of things he’d just wanted to ignore as well. And a lot of those were the duties which involved talking to people.

Ichabod picked up a map of the museum which he already knew very well, but he’d never really looked to see where the offices of the people who worked here were. He located the right area quickly and headed off in that direction. His red sneakers made little sound on the highlight polished floors and he wore a pair of faded denim jeans. Ichabod hadn’t bothered with a jacket tonight, just a simple black t-shirt completed his outfit and his short hair was tousled – not from care taken with wax, but from scrubbing it dry with a towel and then running his fingers through it rather than putting more care into it.

It didn’t take long to reach the corridors which led to the offices – everything was so quiet and Ichabod wasn’t even sure if Jenna would be down here at all. If she was working maybe she’d be at the actual exhibit. He was sure he’d be able to find her at some point, or maybe he could just call her sometime. But since he was here there was no time in looking. Ichabod moved slowly, taking his time to look at a few pictures on the walls, there were some photos of teams who had worked at the museum in years gone by, some in the lobby, a couple taken on location around the world. The fledgling paused, staring at the people in the photos until he was suddenly jerked out of his thoughts by the sound of footsteps coming in the direction he had just come from.

He had no idea why, but his first instinct was to try to find somewhere to hide and Ichabod glanced around panicked for a second. But there was nowhere to hide in the corridor unless he tried to break into one of the offices. And there was no reason to hide anyway.

When the figure appeared Ichabod pressed his back against the wall of the corridor, his eyes widening slightly at the feeling of age he was getting from the man who appeared. Ichabod didn’t usually feel the urge to prostrate himself in front of the vampire, but usually when he met ancients there were other vampires around which helped ease the feeling. This was just the two of them and Ichabod pressed himself back a little more closely to the wall. He knew he should lower his eyes respectfully but he couldn’t help himself from staring at the handsome man, unsure whether he should say something or stay quiet and hope not to be noticed.

[Existentially Odd]

Rigo was very pleased with himself as he securely transported his surprise through the museum, and his occasionally-skipping feet proclaimed it.  He smiled jovially at the guards and other museum staff he passed and they made an attempt at returning the gesture but none of them fully made eye contact, they were all quickly taken by looking with puzzlement at the humming machine/box he was carrying, trying to figure out what it was.  Since it was a cube - about the size of a milk crate - made of smooth black plastic, none of them could see into it to realise that he was, in fact, simply transporting one of the museum's very precious rare books back to the curator who'd entrusted him with its restoration, Dr Jenna Hall (not that she enjoyed being known by her title).

She wasn't expecting him to be finished for another week yet, but he'd been particularly fascinated by the technique for creating the glue to repair the torn vellum in the book and he'd rushed ahead with it.  Now, he was carrying the completed project through the museum in his specially-crafted vacuum-sealed transport case to surprise her!

The top of the case opened up like a normal box to reveal the ancient occupant sitting within on a padded bed of black velvet three quarters of the way down.  Of course, the locks on the case would only be released once the code was typed into the keypad that was situated on one side, beside the control panel and display window that declared the box was currently operating at twenty degrees Celcius and thirty percent humidity (the optimum storage conditions for vellum).  Beneath, lay the complicated system of air conditioner, de-humidifier, computer control centre and the battery that ran it all, piping the exact concoction of air into the box through vents up each of the sides.  He generally had this little box plugged into the wall to charge it before he needed to transport anything small in it; he had a much larger chamber that worked in much the same way set up in his home on the east side to work on his projects in.

Rigo knew his way around the museum quite well by now; he'd slowly built up a relationship with Jenna over the past ten months or so.  He hadn't intended to get back into this side of things when he'd arrived in the city looking for a fresh (anonymous) start, but... self control wasn't one of his strong points.  Especially when he was tantalised with safety, acceptance and being able to drop his guard.  This understanding came to him when he'd met the Curator of the Ancient Artefacts Department, been identified as a vampire by her and realised she was supernatural herself.  He hadn't come to this city for any particular reason but he was stunned to have met so many of his kind and have smelled so many other, mysterious species since he'd got here.  It had relaxed him, to be able to talk to a curator comfortably about the life he'd lived, though he was still wary.

He'd made a game of not telling Jenna anything about himself outright - like his age, he'd only ever referenced it by saying, 'Oh, I'm older than this, I had one for years!' when she gave him something to restore for her.  She knew he was over a thousand but she hadn't yet managed to find something from his exact era; he had the impression she rather enjoyed the little game of trying to pinpoint his details in such a way.  The night she'd handed him a two thousand year old vase and he'd told her with twinkling eyes that he'd never seen one because it was before his time he'd actually seen a spark of triumph in her expression, in fact.  They weren't exactly best friends, but they'd had some interesting professional discussions and Jenna was an avid listener whenever he chose to speak about the techniques he used to restore things or what he'd learned in his life time.  He wasn't sure whether he looked forward to or dreaded the night she became bold enough to ask him direct questions; he was sure to keep things professional to stretch the time between out so he wouldn't have to face it yet.

With these thoughts in his mind, he was the one who became surprised when he rounded the corner and entered the corridor that led to Jenna's office.  A young vampire was not far beyond him but, instead of continuing to walk by, he quite suddenly pressed himself against the wall and... tried to look inconspicuous?  Rigo's steps faltered and slowed as he cocked an eyebrow and gave the pretty young thing a curious look, wondering what on Earth was going on.  In fact, he turned to look over his shoulder to check that there wasn't something or someone behind him (there wasn't) before his gaze fell to his box and then down along his body.  He wasn't wearing anything unusual - some black jeans, black lace up leather shoes (not shiny or polished), a pale blue T-shirt beneath a dark blue button up shirt (buttoned over his navel only, sleeves rolled up to his elbows), beneath a black vest (unbuttoned) and some leather straps on one wrist, nothing out of the ordinary - so he decided it had to be his box freaking the boy out.

"Don't worry," he assured Ichabod, beaming a comforting smile the young man's way, "it's not a bomb.  It's just a book!" he said of his humming black cube, resuming his walking until he was before the young vampire and sort of thrusting it towards him in order to prove its safey before he pulled it back against his body, a hand either side of the large container.  He looked very pleased with himself to have solved this mystery and explained it so swiftly.

[pinkroses]

Ichabod blinked in surprise as the vampire thrust the box in his direction and dropped his eyes from the stranger’s face to look at the box which he’d hardly even noticed until that moment. Most of the older vampires he’d met had been aloof, or cruel, people like Themba and Lazarus. But he couldn’t imagine seeing Lazarus in a museum unless he was causing trouble. And this one seemed so pleased to be able to tell him he had a book. Ichabod couldn’t help feeling wary, but he eyed up the box which was being presented to him, his gaze flickering back to the ancient for a second.

Now they were closer he didn’t seem quite so intimidating, they were about the same height and Ichabod was more well-built than the older vampire, but he knew very well that physically  there was no doubt this stranger could take him. And probably in just about any other way as well. He had fed before leaving the house and his cheeks flushed a little pink at being told not to worry.

He swallowed nervously as he focused on the box, expecting that he was supposed to comment on it since it was being presented to him like that. So, obviously if it was in a box like that it was to keep it safe, protect it. And especially in a museum like this, it must be to keep it in the best condition possible. The way it was humming indicated there must be some pretty high tech gadgetry going on there – maybe he should look into getting some of Kerr’s things stored and protected since Ichabod wasn’t quite sure how much looking after some of it needed.

“What book is it? How old is it?” Ichabod asked, raising a hand slightly as though he wanted to open it, but the locks made it obvious it wouldn’t open so easily.

[Existentially Odd]

Rigo scoffed good-naturedly and pursed his lips thoughtfully as he looked over the very young vampire dressed in street clothes.  He didn't look like he belonged here but he wouldn't have put it past the museum to be an equal-opportunity employer, given his relationship with one of the curators; this kid could be someone just finished his shift or... starting, more likely.

"And who are you and what are your credentials that I should tell you such things?" Rigo responded blithely, turning his body slightly so that his cube was a little farther out of the youngling's reach.  The words were said in good humour but his raised eyebrows indicated that he was serious about getting an answer.

[pinkroses]

Ichabod let his hand drop back down to his side, a look of disappointment on his face at being questioned rather that getting answers. He hunched his shoulders in a small shrug, embarrassed again at being found here when he wasn’t even sure if he was allowed back here. If only he’d just wandered around the exhibits like he’d originally planned.

“My name’s Ichabod,” he said quietly, wondering if his name would be recognised as being one of Kerr’s fledglings. It wasn’t like there were many other people nowadays who shared his name, but he wasn’t going to bring it up. “And I don’t have any credentials really, just interest,” he added. Maybe the other vampire was right to be wary – after all, Ichabod and his family had learnt all too recently how much harm a book could do.

[Existentially Odd]

Rigo's right eyebrow lifted while his left lowered.  "Well, Ichabod, if you don't have any credentials, why are you in the corridor to the curators' offices?" the Italian enquired, his words undulating with his rolling accent and his playful tone.

[pinkroses]

“I… I was, uh, looking for someone,” Ichabod said, glancing down along the corridor. He hadn’t got as far as Jenna’s office yet and he wasn’t sure which it was. And in truth he wasn’t sure if he wanted to see her at all which made his words sound unsure and perhaps like he was lying in the older vampire was suspicious.

“It doesn’t matter though, I guess, I should probably go. I doubt she wants to see me anyway,” Ichabod said, taking half a step sideways, disappointed that he wouldn’t get to find out what book was in the box.

[Existentially Odd]

Rigo simply looked at Ichabod, taking his little step to the side and looking rather flustered; he was young enough to still get colour in his cheeks and the ancient found him quite beautiful because of it.  His face was handsome in a simple, uncluttered way, his hair endearing in its messiness and his mannerisms pitiable.  He looked to be a pup slinking away with his tail between his legs, unsure of himself and intimidated... by his presence?  The thought only occurred belatedly to the elder and surprised him.  There was obviously more to the story of him being here near Jenna's office in the first place too, from the way he said she likely wouldn't want to see him.

"Well, if it's Doctor Hall you're speaking about," he began, turning towards the opposite end of the corridor and taking a deep sniff before he started down that way with long strides, apparently being led by his nose tilted into the air, "I don't think either of us are in luck.  She appears to be out of her office!" he declared, taking another pointed sniff to confirm that Jenna's enticing scent was not present before he spun on his heel to face Ichabod once more.  They were a couple of metres apart now but he could see he had the youngling's attention.  He juggled his container onto one hand and lifted his knuckles to rap on the curator's door for good measure, waiting for it to open obediently but without any conviction it would do so.

[pinkroses]

Ichabod watched Rigo with curiosity as the older vampire headed off towards the office, led by his nose. The fledgling was unable to stop a small smile from drifting over his face. As well as he had known Kerr, his sire had always been able to amazing Ichabod by showing off his skills at odd moments, even when it was the tiniest thing. Kerr had been so busy with work, then there had been the trip to Austria, and now with Kerr dead it felt like months since Ichabod had seen something like that. Even just the knowledge that the older vampire’s sense of smell was so heightened was impressive to Ichabod who felt like he was always trailing behind his brother when it came to their supernatural skills. It was a stupidly simple skill and one which would improve more with age, but he couldn’t help himself wanting to know more. And maybe getting an idea of how old this vampire was.

“Would you be able to smell her if she was in there? Or her scent here from when she went in?” Ichabod asked, his eyes flickering to the door where he could hear no footsteps approaching. His gaze eagerly returned to the other vampire now he knew that Jenna wouldn’t be appearing to have a conversation he really didn’t want.

[Existentially Odd]

"Yes, I would - she has a very distinctive scent," Rigo quipped, winking at Ichabod but saying no more because he didn't know how well the young vampire knew Jenna and it wasn't his place to openly discuss her supernaturality.  He took another breath in through his nose (in the general direction of Jenna's doorway) and could tell that she hadn't been there for an hour or so.

"Hrmm," he pondered, the hand no longer hanging onto the book transporter tugging on the hairs of his chin as he stared at Ichabod.  "She's been gone an hour, I'd say, judging by the amount of her I can smell in the air.  She's likely to still be in the building, probably working on her exhibit - I'll text her!" he declared, his hand coming away from his beard so that his index finger could point at the ceiling in sudden enlightenment.

With that decision made, he set about cradling his box between both hands carefully and placing it on the ground at his feet - in front of Jenna's door.  Although he appeared to have no trouble hefting the box and nimbly transferred it from one hand to two, when it landed on the smooth hard ground the thud it made gave away the fact that the cube was not a light, empty box at all.  It simply appeared so due to his superior strength.

He straightened and reached towards his back pocket for his phone, believing he was about to do them both a favour.

[pinkroses]

An hour? He could tell she’d been gone an hour? He lightly chewed on his lower lip as Rigo played with his beard, eyeing up the stranger for a few seconds before he realised Jenna probably would be appearing soon.

He stepped forwards quickly, raising a hand in a ‘wait’ gesture. “Oh, um, well, if she’s not here and she’s just left work she probably won’t want to come straight back. She might have plans. And if she’s at her exhibit maybe we could just go look for her? It wouldn’t take long and we wouldn’t just be stood here waiting and… what’s your name?” Ichabod said, letting the last words rush out as he realised he’d been rambling a bit and needed to wrap it up.

[Existentially Odd]

His pose - bent slightly forward at the hips, left hand digging into his back pocket and expression somewhat surprised (yet intrigued) around his swiftly-blinking eyes - was quite comical as Ichabod's commentary washed over him.  It was quite difficult to decipher, though he concluded that the youngling definitely wasn't interested in seeing Jenna right now, after all.  Why then was he lurking outside her office?

A variety of scenarios - each more implausible and clandestine than the one before - flickered through his mind as he finally withdrew his phone, transferred it to his right hand and straightened.  "My apologies," he said with his left hand pressed humbly to his breast, "I am Frederigo Tripada," he declared with much tongue rolling and just the right amount of dramatic intonation.  As he spoke, his left foot pointed forward, his right arm became bent behind his back and his left hand described a flourishing curl in the air before him as he bent at the waist in a courteous bow.

Smiling as he straightened once more and his posture returned to something far more casual, his gaze remained locked with Ichabod's.  "But please, call me Rigo.  And then explain to me why it is you're lurking outside Doctor Hall's office, yet you're not overly... keen to meet with her," he grinned slyly, half turning his head and looking sideways at the youngling in a most conspiratorial manner.

[pinkroses]

Although Ichabod had begun to look concerned when Rigo had reached for his phone the small smile returned at the older vampire’s elegant introduction and bow. The way his name rolled off his tongue sounded so appealing. Ichabod knew he would butcher it if he tried to say it and so didn’t attempt the whole version, although he mouthed the name silently to himself to help him remember it.

“Rigo,” he repeated with a shy smile, hoping he wasn’t too off, but his American accent was nowhere near as enticing as Rigo’s beautiful accent. His gaze flickered downwards at the question and the smile slid from his lips faster than it had appeared.

“I had… news for her. I don’t know if she already knows, she might but…” His voice trailed off as he frowned at the floor. He didn’t want to go through telling Jenna if she didn’t know. And if she did what was he supposed to do? Offer his condolences?

When he’d been angry at Connor it had been so easy to shout it out, Kerr is dead, he’s dead. Gone. There’s nothing to be done about it. There’s nothing anyone can do. Dead.

But suddenly the thought of telling someone else, a stranger, just felt wrong.

“I don’t really want to talk about that,” Ichabod said quietly, folding his arms across his chest as he glanced up at Rigo again, more defensively than aggressively. Suddenly Rigo’s smile didn’t seem so appealing when the conversation topic had turned like this.

[Existentially Odd]

Rigo's expression softened as he saw how deeply troubled Ichabod was and though he hadn't asked directly about what business he had with Jenna... he now found himself curious.  Internally, he chastised himself and vowed not to ask.

"Alright," he crooned, nodding as he cradled his phone in both hands, making no move to use it just yet.  "So... I gather you actually don't wish to speak with Doctor Hall, you were visiting out of... obligation?  And you'd prefer not to be here when I call her to tell her I have a surprise delivery?" he guessed, at a bit of a loss as to how to proceed when they both found themselves in the same place with diametrically opposed purposes.

The best he could do was warn Ichabod of his intentions, giving him time to leave... though the childe didn't seem too stable to Rigo.  He looked quite lost, in fact, hanging around a door he didn't want to open; was it a metaphor or his reality?

[pinkroses]

Ichabod lowered his gaze again, staring at Rigo’s mysterious box for a few seconds before giving a small shrug. He didn’t want to leave now he’d decided he should talk to Jenna. But maybe it would be better to check if Ben had told her first, it had been a spur of the moment decision to come this way and he could so easily put his foot in it. He hadn’t really known what he was going to say anyway.

“I guess… I could wait until another time. It doesn’t really matter,” Ichabod said, feeling a lump swell up in the back of his throat, hoping the older vampire wouldn’t hear it in his voice, or sense he was lying, or look into his head to see what he was thinking about. He instinctively put up his mental barriers, although if Rigo wanted to pry Ichabod knew he wouldn’t have much of a defence against it. It did matter. All of it did. But if Jenna didn’t know then it might be better to let her enjoy meeting up with Rigo tonight. And if she did know then Ichabod reminding her of her previous lover would just mess up her evening with a possible new lover.

“Look, um, I should go. You call her, give her your book and… yeah, enjoy your evening,” Ichabod said turning to walk away, but he stopped when he’d only taken a couple to glance back at Rigo. “Uh, you… could you not tell her I was here? Please?” he asked, a pleading note to his voice.

[Existentially Odd]

Rigo was at Ichabod's side in a blink, his left arm gently draped around the slightly-taller man's shoulders and a total look of sympathy on his face.  "You know, technically, I imposed and you were here first.  My excitement overwhelmed my sense of decency and I sincerely apologise for that - you seem upset and I know you don't want to talk about it!" Rigo declared ostentatiously, raising his right hand and pressing it onto the air, palm outward, to reinforce the point, "but it seems like you have some rather important business with the good doctor and I, well, I'm just an overeager business colleague!  I can wait!  How about I make myself scarce while you conclude your business - I can just come back later!" Rigo announced enthusiastically, waving off invisible objections to the contrary as he took a step away from Ichabod.

The ancient was looking at him hopefully, his deep brown eyes encouraging the younger vampire to accept his apology and allow him to redeem himself by reversing their positions, as they should be.  He hadn't really intended to frighten the childe off so much as force him (in his own devious way) to acknowledge something of the business he needed to conduct with Jenna, so that Rigo could guess as to the right course of action.  Seeing the pretty young thing's forlorn exit and listening to his wish for not being identified as being here (simply because he didn't get to do things properly, he assumed) twisted the old Italian's heart and made him sorry he'd even said anything.  He was confident this could be fixed!

[pinkroses]

Ichabod’s shoulder’s tensed up slightly as Rigo’s arm slipped around his shoulders, but then he forced himself to relax them, not wanting to insult the older vampire. His gaze followed Rigo as he apologised and gestured dramatically.

He stayed silent for a few second, watching Rigo warily. He couldn’t really get out of seeing Jenna now, at least when he’d been loitering in the hallway there had still been the possibility of just leaving without meeting her. Ichabod took in a steadily breath, then gave a tiny nod of agreement that he would see Jenna, but he felt bad about making Rigo leave as well, especially when he had his mysterious box.

“I don’t know Jenna, I don’t have her mobile number or anything… could you help me find her?” he asked hesitantly. If Rigo disappeared then Ichabod knew it could take him a while to find Jenna – there were a few areas where exhibits were changed regularly, and the museum was quite large and not the kind of place Ichabod would considered practising tapping into his celerity to speed around (if it even worked). He’d stopped Rigo calling before, but maybe it would be helpful. Or Rigo could follow his nose.

[Existentially Odd]

"Of course," Rigo agreed, his demeanour affable though he found the fact that Ichabod didn't actually know Jenna to be rather odd.  What could this news be that a veritable stranger felt compelled to loiter outside the office of someone unknown to deliver it?  He looked down at his phone, the fingers of his left hand flying over the screen as he sent a text - Greetings!  I'm at your office with a SURPRISE!  Are you returning soon? - to the object of their discussion.  He didn't bother introducing himself, as he expected his name would come up on her phone with his text, so it would be redundant.  He spoke to fill in the silence once he was done typing, watching Ichabod with his left thumb hovering over the face of his smart phone, waiting for action.

"There, I've sent her a text asking when she's likely to be back at her office and she always replies promptly so I anticipate we'll find out very soon.  You know, I've only known her a few months myself - I've lived in the city about a year now and when I came here, I vowed that I would stay out of restoring and conserving artefacts, I was here for a fresh start but oh, of course I couldn't resist coming here to the museum and then I met Jenna and of course I couldn't keep my big mouth shut about what I do so naturally I ended up working for the museum to help them out because they don't have anyone local with my skills and though I hadn't intended to, I really do love it, it's a labour of love - the all-knowing 'they' say it and it is so true with - oh.  Oh dear, it seems Jenna's gone home for the night," Rigo said as his attention was caught but his screen coming to life, his expression crestfallen.

He glanced up from the text at Ichabod before he looked worriedly back at the screen again and read aloud the message on it.  "Ohh sorry!  I've been working extra hours with the exhibit opening and I left work early tonight because I was exhausted - can we reschedule for tomorrow night?  Hrmm.  Well, she obviously needs the rest if she's not offering to come back so, uh, I'll reply that that's okay?" he asked Ichabod awkwardly.  They didn't really have any choice in the matter; Rigo wasn't about to insist Jeanne turn up to accept her surprise package, nor to alert her to his young companion's presence.  He watched Ichabod to see how he was feeling about definitely not seeing Jenna after all, his thumb still poised to reply.

[pinkroses]

Ichabod dropped his arms to hook his thumbs into his jeans pockets to wait for Rigo to text Jenna. He’d been expecting that Rigo would know where the exhibit was and they would go there together, but texting was faster and had been the vampire’s intention in the first place so he didn’t know why he was surprised it had continued that way.

“Ok,” he said softly at Rigo’s declaration of what he’d done, before he fell silent to let the older vampire talk, satisfied to stay silent as Rigo explained how he’d met Jenna and how they had become friends. He’d always loved to hear Kerr talk about anything, he’d had so many brilliant tales, but he didn’t know how his sire had met Jenna. He’d never asked. But when it wasn’t Kerr talking about how he’d met someone he’d dated and who had become his lover, it became more interesting. Rigo was so enthusiastic about his work – restoring and conserving artefacts - it was a delight to hear him gush about it and Ichabod found himself edging closer slowly.

He caught himself when Rigo’s attention drew him back to why he’d been here as Jenna replied and he glanced down at the phone grasped in the ancient’s fingers, pouting thoughtfully for a few seconds before responding.

“Sure, yeah, you should reply,” Ichabod said, his dark eyes returning to meet Rigo’s and he felt some of the tension leave his body as he realised he wouldn’t be seeing Jenna tonight and he didn’t need to at all because she didn’t know he’d been here. Maybe he could actually plan what he would say next time. But for now he didn’t need to worry about it.

“Why would you want to stay out of doing something you obviously enjoy doing so much? Surely if you love it and it’s helping the museum you should carry on as long as you want to? Is that a book you restored for her? Or one from your collection or something? Does it need to get back somewhere to keep it right or is it ok in the box for a bit?” Ichabod asked, his fingers itching to see the box and distract himself for a while with Rigo. It wasn’t like he had anyone waiting for him at home, or even next door (upstairs anyway) since no doubt Ash would have gone to Venture without him. Ash was happy enough doing her own thing, whether or not Ichabod was there. He was a lot more confident than the youngster when it came to going out on his own and Ichabod couldn’t really imagine Ash going along with something he didn’t want to just to spend time with someone like Ichabod would.

And hopefully Rigo would consent to give the fledgling a little more of his time, even though he no longer had a reason to hang around.

[Existentially Odd]

Rigo began texting back when he was told to - Sounds like a plan - I'll text first next time!  Rest well :-) - but when Ichabod fired so many questions at him he couldn't help but glance up at the youngling and quirk a bemused eyebrow.

"This box is mine but the book inside is the museum's property.  I don't think it's needed urgently but the repair on the vellum pages interested me - it's not something I've done a lot of - so I worked on it a little more speedily than was necessary," he smiled, sliding his phone into his back pocket and wlaking over to pick up the box.  He continued speaking as he walked back to Ichabod, expecting the boy would fall into step with him and they'd both head out through the museum, towards the exit, together.  It wasn't as if they had anything holding them here now.

"I'll take it home and plug it into the electricity tonight so the battery doesn't wear down, although... I could possibly put it back into the chamber but... no, I'll just leave it in there.  The less fussing with it, the better.  It can stay in the box until I bring it back tomorrow night," Rigo smiled, leaning slightly towards Ichabod as he spoke, his manner triumphant simply because he'd just managed to talk himself into a decision.  Sometimes he talked and talked but he never did manage to figure out what he meant in the slightest, so there was good reason for him to look so proud of himself.  In doing so, of course, he'd completely forgotten that he was asked why he wanted to get out of conservation and restoration.

[pinkroses]

Ichabod did as expected, matching Rigo’s pace, his shoulders turned towards the older vampire a little as the walked. He noticed that there was no response to his initial question and although Rigo seemed friendly Ichabod was still intimidated enough to stop him from asking again.

“It sucks that books are there to be read but obviously the more people handle them the more they deteriorate. I mean, nowadays I guess it’s not such a big issue, because everything’s so mass produced, but not that long ago it would have been so difficult to make a book, and I guess that must be kind of a rare one, especially if it’s written on vellum. And it’s got to be kept in that, so people can’t even enjoy it properly,” Ichabod said, Rigo’s rambling narrative of his plans bringing out the more chatty side of Ichabod as well in his response.

He heard himself though and knew it was quite a sudden change from how quiet he’d been just a few minutes before. Now he wasn’t going to see Jenna he could relax a little at least, even if he was with someone so much older, but the realisation made him hesitate when he probably could have carried on spouting more rubbish or firing another string of questions at Rigo. He couldn’t just completely cut off though so he forced himself to go on, hoping Rigo wouldn’t have noticed the pause, or at least wouldn’t comment on it.

“I wouldn’t even have a clue how to start repairs to something like that. I guess the museum must be pretty happy to have you. The library has some pretty old volumes too, I don’t really know how far back their things date though.” No, more recently he’d been more often at the Oligarchy Library than the city one. But that was gone now, and after the incident in Austria he hadn’t found pouring over all sorts of information as appealing as it had been before. There was the nagging feeling that someone should still go back there to get the book Kerr had been going to collect, but as far as Ichabod was concerned now that was someone else’s problem. He’d lost too much already over that damn thing.

[Existentially Odd]

Rigo took the opportunity of Ichabod's pause to fill it in, so he didnt find it unusual in the slightest.  "Not just anybody would be able to read this book anyway, it's written in Classical Greek and very few people speak that, or read it - I've seen some debate that it's a 'dead language' but I don't know if I believe that when there are still vampires around who speak so many of the old languages!" he quipped, a cheeky smile lifting one corner of his mouth as Ichabod continued commenting.

"Yes, the museum's happy to have someone so close who can do these repairs with such a fast turnaround - oh!  You asked why I'd want to get out of the business when I love it, I remember now.  Well, you see I didn't know that this city was so filled with superntaurals when I came here!  I've previously moved around every ten years or so because it gets difficult to explain to people why you look so young when you should've aged at least a little in the decade they've known you and it becomes a huge drama to create a persona that can be explained on a human scale, to produce credible documentation about where I studied and stories about how I learned my amazing skills and so on, and so forth, that I decided this place would be the black hole city.  Every century or so I take some time to drop into a black hole, you see, where I don't get to know anyone meaningful and I spend, oh, I don't know, fifty or so years just keeping to myself until a new generation or two have emerged and then I might start getting back into society the way I want to," he explained with a dashing smile.

As he spoke, his voice was filled with colour and tone, lilting not just with his unusual (basically Italian-sounding) accent but with the flair of his enthusiastic speech.  It would be quite obvious to Ichabod by now that Rigo enjoyed talking about himself, though the young vampire wouldn't know that there was another level of perception in the ancient that was carefully observing the youngling, noticing his restrained air, the tension around his eyes and the sadness within them - especially when discussing books, unfortunately.  It seemed he was interested in finding a diversion and Rigo was all too happy to oblige; he didn't have to speak only on books either, but the topic was set for now.

"But then I got here and mio dio if the first person I met wasn't a vampire!  I've spent more than a millenium meeting less than fifty kindred and suddenly, I arrive here and I meet almost that many in a month!  And there are so many other kinds of supernatural here!" he exclaimed, though he leaned more obviously towards Ichabod now that they'd left the office area and were walking through the museum itself.  Staff and visitors were milling around but not too close, so he simply had to make sure his voice was kept at a reasonable level - a difficulty, when discussing a subject that still filled him with surprise and glee.  "I've since found out it's likely because of the ley lines, though they didn't draw me, this was just my next destination by default.  Still, the population here is decidedly 'in our favour' if you know what I mean, so when I met Jenna, I didn't even have to make up a story - she picked me for what I was and there were no difficulties at all, before I knew it, I was back in business!"

[pinkroses]

“I did Classical Greek for, like, two months at school. I couldn’t get my head around the different alphabet though, not when I was taking other classes, I just didn’t have time to focus on it,” Ichabod said with a small shrug. Maybe he had time to do it now, but he hadn’t even thought about studying properly since before Austria.

As Rigo went on Ichabod was more than happy to listen. It was refreshing to hear someone chatting about something exciting – not mourning, not wanting food or sex, not bitching about their problems.

His step faltered slightly as he gazed at Rigo with wonderment, his own lips curling into a smile at the handsome look on the Italian’s face.

“Every hundred years? You just… hide away? And you only met fifty in a millennium?” Ichabod said, his voice lowering into a loud whisper. He’d lived here his whole life and when he found out about vampires and Risk and the Oligarchy – it felt like there were vampires and other supernatural creatures everywhere. Ichabod knew it was something to do with the laylines, but he’d assumed there were plenty of other places like this in the world. How could there not be? But how could Rigo not have found them in his incredibly long life?

“You don’t go to ground or anything? Don’t you get lonely not making friends or anything?” he asked, skipping a couple of steps to keep up with Rigo, his stomach fluttering with the excitement of speaking to someone who had been alive for so long. To go into a black hole for 50 years at a time – and from the sounds of it he’d done it several times. He could hardly wrap his mind around even thinking about someone so old.

[Existentially Odd]

"You studied Classical Greek?  Why, even for a short time that's marvellous!" Rigo commended, his grin broad, before he went on to explain more of his lifestyle.  It didn't seem so odd to him, but apparently Ichabod was thoroughly surprised by it.

"Yes, every century or so and well, perhaps more than fifty in fifteen hundred years," he considered, making a play at looking abashed that he'd exaggerated about the number of supernaturals he'd met in his life - until he lifted an austere finger that told Ichabod he was still standing (mostly) by his original claim, "but not many more!  Not nearly as many as I've met here in a year!" he asserted, completely ignoring the fact that he'd just altered most of his timelines too.

"I'm never lonely!  What is this... 'go to ground'?  What does that mean?" he demanded in a curmudgeonly manner, squinting imperiously at the young vampire beside him.  He prided himself on being knowledgeable - he was very vain about it, in fact - so the idea that he, with all the languages he spoke and the career he'd had, didn't know something that an infant knew caused him to be quite abrupt about acquiring some understanding of whatever the childe was speaking about.  His eyes glinted, showing how eager he was to understand.

[pinkroses]

Ichabod gave a shy smile at Rigo’s praise, but the look faded away as Rigo went on, and suddenly added another five hundred years to his timeline. He hadn’t been around ancients enough to be able to judge at all how old he might be, but with the way Rigo had changed it so easily perhaps he’d be able to add on another half a millennium without batting an eyelid.

“Oh um,” Ichabod blinked as Rigo suddenly questioned him on going to ground and seemed so interested in finding out the answer. It felt like it had been ages since someone was really interested in what he had to say. With Ash it felt like conversation was just a means to stick in another comment about himself.

But how could Rigo not know about going to ground? Sleeping away fifty years sounded better to Ichabod than going into self-imposed wakeful solitude. But unlike Rigo, Ichabod would become far too lonely living like that to be able to stick with it.

“It… some vampires bury themselves and sleep underground for a while. I’m not sure how it works really, but then don’t seem to get hungry… but I suppose it’s only really older ones who do it… like I couldn’t, I’d get too hungry, but you…” his voice trailed off as he gestured at Rigo with wide eyes. He knew well enough that it was considered rude to ask a vampire how old they were, but the question was right on the tip of his tongue and it was hard to keep it inside.

[Existentially Odd]

"But I'm old enough to be successful at it!" Rigo finished on Ichabod's behalf, laughing warmly at the thought, his head tilting back to allow the rich sound easy passage from his belly, showing that he was genuinely amused by the comment rather than insulted.  When he sobered, he was grinning at his companion again, his eyes dancing.

"But sleeping underground?  How terribly boring!  I've never heard the like!  I couldn't imagine doing such a thing, even though I manage to bury myself in my work when it's necessary - but you know, it's only been necessary really in the last few centuries, once people started to communicate globally and the population advanced to the proportions it has.  In my first thousand years, I spent my time happily travelling from village to village, meeting artists touted through word of mouth and spending almost their lifetimes with them studying, learning, debating.  The only time I came close to total withdrawal was when my lover and sire was killed and even then I absorbed myself in creating a city beneath some mountains rather than sleeping!"

Rigo's expression was a mixture of scorn and grief; even now, fifteen hundred years on, he ached for his lost love and the connection that he'd had with that one vampire, so long ago.  It was an old pain, true, more nostalgia than genuine misery now, but he wondered every night how different his life might have been if he hadn't been forced to experience it alone.

[pinkroses]

Ichabod couldn’t help but smile at the comforting sound of Rigo’s laugh. It was warm and reassuring – when it led on to Rigo explaining more about his life Ichabod was eager to hear. He had always wanted to go travelling – perhaps he hadn’t been as enthusiastic about it as Ben, but the idea of going around the world, meeting people and learning from them was definitely an attractive one. Especially when compared with sleeping underground.

His smile disappeared abruptly as the ancient went on and suddenly reminded Ichabod of why he had been searching for Jenna and all at once the ache in his chest which had disappeared for a couple of minutes returned like a kick in the gut.

That Rigo was claiming he’d built a city barely registered after the mention of the death of his sire. He’d withdrawn completely – but he was here now, back out in the world. He glanced up at Rigo, pain in his own eyes as he saw the grief in Rigo’s.

“And… did that help? Does it get better?” he asked quietly, praying for a positive answer but there was no hope in his eyes. It felt like this pain would never end.

[Existentially Odd]

"It helped me," Rigo shrugged, tilting his head enquiringly as he observed Ichabod over his box.  The look in the youngling's eye triggered a suspicion that had perhaps been building throughout their whole conversation but which was only really obvious now.  "You... know this pain?  The loss of a sire?" he queried, his exuberance very sharply toned down with the raising of this serious topic.

[pinkroses]

Ichabod hesitated for a moment then gave a small nod in response. Shouting it at Connor had been so easy, when it had still been raw, a wound begging to be poked. But now he was more ginger about talking about it.

“Two months ago now,” he said quietly, lowering his gaze to the floor. “Every night I wake up it still shocks me not to be able to feel him. I know I have to get used to it sometime, but it’s not changing.” Maybe it would take months, years or decades. Until then there was just this gaping hole.

His steps slowed as they reached the foyer of the museum and Ichabod folded his arms across his chest, suddenly feeling cold.

“Do you have to go home now? Could we… do something?” Ichabod asked, biting his lower lip slightly. For a few minutes he’d been able to forget what worried him, Rigo was the only person who had been able to help him do that and Ichabod didn’t want to lose him again so easily. Ichabod didn’t want to have to ask Jenna how to find Rigo again.

[Existentially Odd]

Rigo contemplated his precious cargo, knowing the battery life had a few good hours in it and would allow him to socialise for a while, before he looked back at Ichabod.  "I could be persuaded," he grinned more naturally, understanding the childe's need to find distraction wherever it arose.  He could believe that he was a very intriguing proposal altogether and didn't blame his companion for wanting to spend more time with him; especially when they shared such a heartbreaking commonality.  "What did you have in mind?"

[pinkroses]

“Oh, um...” Ichabod glanced around for inspiration, suddenly feeling put on the spot even though he’d initiated the idea. He’d never been good at asking people to do things and hadn’t really thought beyond doing… something. And the thought that he needed to persuade Rigo to stay with him was just added pressure – if he didn’t come up with something good he would lose his chance for distraction.

“Well, uh, there’s the park, the gallery, or a film, or, I dunno, do you like going to clubs or anything? Or we could just… stay here, but I mean, you’ve probably been around this place so many times already so that’s a boring idea. Is there… well, is there anywhere you’ve been wanting to go since coming to the city that you haven’t got the chance to yet?” Ichabod took in a deep breath as he managed to make himself stop rambling and he watched the ancient warily. Maybe this was a stupid idea anyway and he should have stuck with his initial worries. He’d never met an ancient vampire who had been anything but twisted and terrifying. Why should Rigo be different?

[Existentially Odd]

"No, I've explored the city fully - I'd have been a fool not to, with the sights on offer here!" Rigo exclaimed, answering Ichabod's last question first.  He didn't have the heart to point out that it also would've been incredibly stupid and dangerous for him to become a resident in a city with such a high supernatural population and not be aware of the lay of the land; who was in charge, what the presiding political viewpoints were, his escape routes out of the city should everything all go to Hell - the usual checks that had kept him alive through countless wars and times of strife.

Of course, an infant like Ichabod wouldn't have ever faced such hardships as to need to develop the instinct to know how to get away from exploding volcanoes or rampant protestors, so Rigo felt it pointless to mention how he'd prowled the streets continuously since arriving here.

"I'm not overly a fan of clubs with music so loud that you can't hear yourself think, let alone converse, but I adore quiet little nooks and crannies that feature solo musicians playing instruments live or, ooh, karaoke, I love karaoke bars and open mic nights!" Rigo informed his companion enthusiastically.  "Failing that, all the galleries in the city inspire me too - my primary interest in this life is art, I started out a millenium and a half ago as an artist and I doggedly pursued every famous artist and revolutionary technique I've ever heard of in my lifetime - well, until the world just became too big to keep up with them all, anyway - so I'd happily accompany you to the artistic destination of your choosing also.  Do you have a car?"

[pinkroses]

Ichabod’s heart sank a little as Rigo first rejected his question of whether there was anywhere he had yet to explore, and then the idea of a club (although he wasn’t a huge fan of clubbing either. It was much better as a vampire when he could communicate mentally rather than shouting over the music, but was still a little overwhelming for the fledgling when there were so many people around). He’d never really warmed to the idea of karaoke, but Rigo seemed so enthusiastic about it that Ichabod almost wished he knew somewhere to take him for that.

But eventually the older vampire threw him a bone. The gallery Ichabod knew well enough, but then learning that Rigo was an artist – a proper one, not just someone who painted for fun – made him again feel hopelessly inadequate. What was he going to say at the gallery that could possibly impress Rigo? Or at least interest him enough to encourage him to stick around a while longer?

It was fortunately really that when he found a conversation topic he enjoyed that Rigo could keep talking enough for two people.

“Yeah, I do. I can drive us if you don’t have one? Or I could leave it where it’s parked for a while, it doesn’t matter,” Ichabod said with a small shrug. He still had the car he’d taken the night he’d left the Beach House, the Oligarchy car which no one seemed to have cared that he hadn’t returned. The sleek design fitted in well with the other expensive models at the Capital and Ichabod had never cared enough about cars to be inclined to buy one of his own.

“Were you a famous artist? I mean, do you have any pieces I might know? It’s amazing that you’ve had the time to try out so many different sytles and techniques… I guess that helps with your restoration stuff?” Ichabod asked, wanting to find out more about Rigo’s past and hoping that by asking the ancient to tell him more his own nerves might be less obvious.

[Existentially Odd]

Signifying further that Ichabod was in charge (despite having an obvious lack of confidence in such a state), Rigo immediately put his mind to rest over the car situation.  "Oh, I have a car out in the lot but I'll just leave my little box in it and follow you to your car, I'm quite happy for you to drive us," he smiled, ready to tackle the rest of those questions.  As he talked, he led them out of the museum and towards his car as their first stop, true to his word.

"You're correct, my artistic foundations certainly helped with my restoration and conservation techniques, simply because I learned the way everything was made.  As for being famous, nooooo," he laughed with a playful, extended growl, "I was not the one seeking fame or my fortune, I was only ever interested in sharing techniques and ideas.  I met thousands of struggling artists and though you might find my likeness in a statuette or two - and more than a few paintings - you won't ever find anything by me.  When I began my career, I was an artist in residence in the royal palace, creating artefacts to order rather than having my own time to craft.  Fame never lured me, I was just happy that I wasn't forced to till fields all day!"

Aware that he'd taken over the conversation once more, the brunette paused and looked assessingly at Ichabod.  "What about you?  How do you fill your spare time?"

[pinkroses]

 Ichabod listened intently to Rigo’s explanation of how he’d lived. He’d not got to the stage of having to explain why he wasn’t aging, or wanting to not let people know who he was in case they became suspicious. In this city he’d never really had to hide what he was, although he knew it was a very different story in many cities all over the world and in different times.

He had a question on the tip of his tongue but before Rigo gave him a chance to ask a question was being directed his way instead and Ichabod gave a small shrug, glancing down bashfully.

“Oh well, I was studying, I mean, I am studying, history and literature, more literature. Kind of a mix of eras, I need to choose more specifically what to write my final piece on, but I haven’t really been…” He hadn’t picked up his books to study for ages now and he’d been ignoring the emails from his tutors. But they’d been told about a family emergency last time he’d left (to be sired) so perhaps they would be that understanding this time as well. But that had been when he’d just started his course, this was when he was supposed to be graduating shortly. He couldn’t put it off indefinitely.

“I’d like to write one day, but I don’t know if my stuff any good or anything, it’s probably just self-indulgent stuff no one would ever want to buy,” he added with a small smile. Did it matter if anyone bought it? He had enough money that he wouldn’t even need to find a publisher, he could get it printed himself. But no doubt it would end up being a waste of money and Ichabod wasn’t about to just throw it away.

“You said you worked in a palace? Really? In… Italy?” Ichabod guessed, more than happy to try to steer to the conversation back towards Rigo. He imagined he would run out of interesting things to say a long time before the ancient. “You talk about it like that was nothing important, it sounds amazing,” he said with a genuine smile.

[Existentially Odd]

"Weeeeell, it's Italy now, yes, but it was the Ostrogoth kingdom then, in the city of Ravenna," Rigo smiled, heading for his vehicle and cradling his precious cargo in the curve of one arm as he reached into his pocket and found his keys, not pulling them out in order to unlock the vehicle.

He placed the box in the boot so that it wouldn't catch the eye of anyone walking by and cause them to decide to break in and grab it - and just the thought of that made him a little more nervous, in truth, but he did his best to bite down on it as he closed the lid and had a good stare about the parking lot in order to be sure they weren't being watched from any direction (except by the museum's cameras, of course).

"It might sound amazing, but I wasn't surrounded by glamour in my dingy little workshop, I assure you," he laughed, deciding he wasn't being observed and looking at Ichabod with free hands now and waiting for him to set off in the direction of his car.  His vehicle made a soft clicking noise as he re-locked it.

[pinkroses]

“Ostrogoth?” Ichabod repeated in an attempt to stick the name in his memory so that he could look it up later. It wasn’t a name he was familiar with but with meeting Rigo he definitely wanted to find out more. Italy had such a rich history, and obviously one before most people thought of when they considered it.

“Whereabouts was it? Compared to what’s there now?” Ichabod asked, watching Rigo’s wariness. He almost suggested again that they take Rigo’s car instead since the older vampire looked concerned about the safety of his box, but there was no point repeating that conversation and Rigo seemed to satisfy himself that everything was safe enough here.

“Oh right, but… you can’t have missed out on all of it living there,” Ichabod said as they set off towards his car. “But I guess if you weren’t interested in going out and finding that kind of thing then you could have avoided it well enough,” he added with a small shrug as he slipped his hand into his own pocket to pull out his keys as they walked together across the carpark. He glanced sideways at the vampire, trying to imagine this well dressed extrovert who now loved karaoke hiding himself away in a dingy workshop and avoiding the delights of palace life. It was difficult to do thought and Ichabod turned his gaze away as he realised he might have been staring with a small smile on his lips.

“I’d love to go see places like that, to see what it was like that. I feel like I’ve missed out on so much just by being born in the wrong century,” he said as he unlocked the car and since they had arrived at the passenger side first Ichabod pulled open the door to let Rigo in first before he moved around to get in the drivers side.

[Existentially Odd]

"Ravenna's still there - thank you," Rigo smiled appreciatively as Ichabod opened his door for him and he slid into the passenger seat, waiting until his companion was settled behind the wheel, belted in and driving out of the museum's car park before he continued speaking.

"I think that's a curse all romantics believe; I was born in the wrong century!" Rigo cried dramatically, flinging a hand to his forehead and thrashing his head back and forth against the seat briefly before he returned to normal, looking ahead through the windscreen rathar than at Ichabod.

"Everything seems better than what you're living with now but the three billy goats could tell you all about the dangers involved in moving to greener grass.  Not everything is what it's cracked up to be.  The threat of deciding who your sovereign is every other week and putting up with each new one's guards pissing all over the place to be sure you'll stay in line grows terribly wearying, I assure you."

[pinkroses]

Ichabod gave a chuckle at Rigo’s display, glancing sideways at the ancient with a smile before returning his gaze to the road.

“I guess you’re right, I mean, obviously you are, but… you know, you lived through it. The power of hindsight’s pretty strong I bet. But you’ve already seen so much, so many different times and places, it’s not fair of you to tell me to be content with what I’ve seen when you’ve done it all,” he said jokily, although it really didn’t feel fair. And although he didn’t say it Ichabod knew that right now just about anywhere in the world had to be better than here, or any time.

“I’ll have to add Ravenna to my long list of places I need to visit and make sure I actually go and do it. One day I will,” Ichabod said, pressing his lips together into a thoughtful pout at the idea. He’d always wanted to travel, but going to Vienna with Kerr had Ben had been his only trip abroad and Kerr had taken care of everything. Hell, they’d flown in a private jet. Ichabod had no idea how vampires went about travelling like that without such things. Maybe Vomas would know – but he probably had a Hell of a lot of money too. And Jake. Maybe Sam, but Ichabod wasn’t sure how to get in contact with him since they’d only really socialised in the Oligarchy library in passing. It suddenly seemed like there was a lot more to planning a trip than there had been when he’d been human and thought he’d just take a rucksack and go. 

“How do you travel? I mean, you don’t have a private jet, do you? Have you left America recently?” Ichabod asked, his questions flowing from his train of thought rather than leading on directly from their conversation. Surely not all vampires were savvy with their money and could afford such things – Lazarus for one. No, they couldn’t all be millionaires. But Rigo had some fancy gadgets for his work so he had to be pretty well off. And Ichabod suddenly realised that his question could have been quite rude and he bit his lower lip, glancing at Rigo apologetically.

“Sorry, you don’t need to answer that, about the jet and stuff, it’s none of my business.” Rigo obviously liked to talk about himself, but what was that saying? Never discuss religion, politics or money.