New Beginnings

[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.