The immortality of Velvet

Rest and sanctuary

Benjamin moved to stand and walked around his desk slowly, casually, not wanting to spook her by moving quickly. He picked her empty mug up and took it with his, walking over and putting them into the small sink so that he could wash up later. For the moment, he had a guest and didn't want to be rude. He walked back over as she spoke about her problems with feeding. He bent at the knees, squatting lightly down on the balls of his feet beside her. Despite what he might have given off as far as auras, he was nimble and had good balance.

Reaching out, he put his hand gently over hers and squeezed lightly. "It's alright. I won't make you do anything that you aren't comfortable with. You won't even need to feed directly from a person if you don't want to. I have supplies. There are cases of those like yourself. You atleast can keep blood down, unlike some of the more serious cases. I have seen vampires who can't even stand the sight, smell, or taste of it and have to be force fed it, lest they fall into torpor." His thumb stroked the back of her hand in what he hoped was a soothing manner.

"I'm sorry that this has come to pass for you. We'll do what we can to try and make this as easy as possible for you, until you can come to a decision one way or another. You may think of me as your teacher and guardian until then. If you'll allow it, I'lll put you up here, in my home. My children will see to your safety as well as I myself. For now though, you seem tired. Would you like to be given a room to rest?"

She felt somewhat like a child when he came to squat beside her, like an adult not wanting to scare a child or someone with a skittish animal, movements and talking done carefully and gingerly. She couldn't say it went amiss, at the moment she was in fact like a child or a frightened animal, ready to bolt if things look like they're going wrong. She was surprised by his nimbleness but perhaps she shouldn't have been, a vampire was a vampire and despite looks, they were killers if they wanted to be and it was not something that was wise to forget.

Her gaze immediately shooted to his hand on hers, though it was not a gaze that conveyed negative emotion in fact what with her body wanting nothing more than comfort and warmth she twitched the edge of her mouth up in a hidden smile at the action. Even if his words and actions did not match as he spoke of vampires being force fed blood, this made her tense slightly and her brain go to a higher state of alertness, though her body did not betray this as it was too week and low on energy to do so.

There are days the tiredness comes in both forms, physical and mental. My body needs to rest yet my mind needs it to move, to burn the anxiety right out. Without exercise my mind will keep me up all night long, without rest my body will spiral into exhaustion. I once thought my old man weak for falling into the grog like he did, and though I won't go the same way, forgiveness is coming easier than it once did. But to at least be in, over or around soft fabrics to soothe her body while she wrestled her mind into submission after the events of the day was not only something that would please her greatly but it would help the process along.

''Sleep would be lovely, do we sleep in coffins or beds, I haven't been able to figure out and sleep is not available no matter what I do.''

Benjamin chuckled softly and stood slowly, the movement easy and natural as he let go of her hand, stepping back a few paces. Motioning for her to follow, he turned and went to the door, pulling it open and waiting for her to indicate she was following before he went through it. The man stepped out onto the second-floor landing once more and turned to the left, headed down the hall into another part of the house. Though it was spacious for what it was, Benjamin often lamented that the Harlow Estate of old had had to be left behind. The labs and libraries alone would have dwarfed the current residence, but it was what it was.

Hard wood floors lead them to a hallway with four doors, as they lost sight of the foyer passing into the enclosed part of this floor. Going to the last door on the right, Benjamin produced a key and unlocked it, pushing the surprisingly-solid door open. It looked like a normal door, until you realized it was a steel security door. Motioning her along, Benjamin stepped inside and went a bit into the main part of the room before he turned back her way.

The room itself consisted of a large bed, a writing desk with lightweight chair, two large overstuffed chairs on the opposite side with a coffee table squared up with them, and a wardrobe. Another door looked like it lead into a private bathroom, the lights currently off in there. The room had no windows, in fact no apparently entrance other than the door he'd lead her through. Turning, he offered her the key.

"To help you feel safe. The only other key will remain with me, just incase, but I promise you I won't enter your room without just cause or your permission. We do try and make sure that each person's room is their sanctum. You're free to decorate as you like, rearrange things, make it comfortable. I'll provide you a stipend so that you can focus on our training and researching your request, so that you won't have to worry about things." He turned, taking her in and smiling.

"Do you have any questions or requests at all? Anything I can do to help, I will, and I doubt there are any questions you could think to ask that I wouldn't answer for you."