The immortality of Velvet

Tentative Attraction

She wakes up like she is hooked up the mains. No sleepiness, no slow warming up. Within seconds of realizing she was unconscious she is on her feet, eyes wide, dreams not just forgotten but erased. She drinks in the feedback of all her senses. Aside from her own noisy breath, despite not needing it, there is nothing to be heard and the room is simply too dark to see much at all. That is until her eyes adjust to the darkness, almost too fast and she feels like a camera went off in front of her, her vampiric senses come to the forefront. She feels she would rather stumble to the light switch, like any normal person would do when waking up in darkness.

She made herself travel towards the door anyhow, looking to get a better glance at the place but to do that she would need to grab her host, she had no intention to snoop around uninvited like an unwelcome guest. She wasn't the best person around but never let it be said she would forget her manners in a place where she was the guest. She picked up her clothes, grimacing at their dirtiness while knowing that she may have to take a trip home for a change, if she was sure it would be safe from her maker now that she had sought help with Benjamin.

Dressed properly, she left to the hallway and was sure to lock the door behind her. She used her senses to take her down the hall and towards his room, now that she was well fed, remembering how he smelt and felt in her proximity to him the night before. She got to a door that she hoped was his and made a soft knock on the door, tentative in her nervousness.

Benjamin was laying in bed with his eyes shut, one ankle crossed over the other and his hands on his stomach comfortably. He wasn't sleeping necessarily, but he was more relaxing without having any real thoughts. A nice, empty feeling as he floated through blackness devoid of sight. His bed was comfortable and he'd learned years ago how to turn his brain off. He'd never slept much since becoming a vampire, but the last few decades he'd been positively alive with energy after what many would consider a short nap. The power of the blood, it seemed.

He heard the soft, tentative knock at the door and let his eyes slide open, glancing that way. He swung his legs over the edge of the bed and moved to stand up, walking over to the door and opening it. He wore a pair of long, soft black pants without any markings, that some called 'pajama' pants. Otherwise, he wore a plain white short-sleeved undershirt and was barefoot. He smiled as he saw who it was and inclined his head. The room behind him was dark, but with her senses she could see that all of the walls were covered in bookcases crammed full and little else. Besides the books, his room was rather spartan.

"Velvet. I trust you slept well? Please, come in." He stepped to the side, holding the door for her and lifting his hand to the light switch, pausing for her to see him do it so she was warned about the change. He flicked it on casually and then shut the door behind her, walking over to his bed and sitting down on the edge. He motioned for her to sit on the end of the bed, basically the opposite side of the corner.

When the young vampire's knock was met with the opening of the entrance before her, she smiled. The thought that she may have been interrupting something worried her a moment, she took in his lesser dressed state and took a second to appreciate his form. Not as... discreet about it as she felt she could of been however she entered the room at his invitation, skirting close by him.

She braced herself for the light, squinting heavily and cursing when it came on and flooded her vision. ''Knew it was gonna happen and still, still wasn't ready for that shit.'' She chuckled lightly before taking a seat on the bed. ''As for your question, sleep came and it had it's ups and downs.'' Her calm expression was once again replaced with her furrowed brows, in place frowning or smiling. The actress in her worried about the lines they'd cause were she human any more.

''I feel I need to be clear with you. Stress in people in my circles, aspirational and cold hearted actors and singers and whatnot is less "fright or flight" and more "tend and befriend." It's how we're wired, to be part of a group, to socialize and feel safe within those connections. I can tell you, honestly, that though I sought you at a time of stress, I can feel this becoming a great... connection for lack of a better word, attraction or not. When would you like to start the search?''

Benjamin took in what she said, putting one foot up as he half-turned to face her more fully. He'd caught her looking at him, though he didn't seem to mind it. In truth, he'd taken her in. She was very attractive, and he appreciated her form mightily. She was one of those that, in another time, he would have written about, adding as a feminine companion to his titular hero in one of his books. Unlike Holly, he imagined that she would be a wonderful basis for an actress character. His mind drifted a bit, thinking about the next book he might write. Then he came back to the present, his mind following what she had said.

"An interesting way to handle stress. I'll admit, this sort of thing isn't precisely new to my understanding, but it isn't something that I thought was that widespread." He reached out, his hand going to her arm. He rubbed up and down her upper arm warmly as he looked at her eyes. Given her type of vampire, it could be risky to stare to long into those, though many said the same thing about his Clan.

"I have already begun putting out some feelers, reaching out to those that I know that may be able to give us answers. One of the things we need to do is to make sure you are fully satiated with blood so that a battery of tests can be run. I have a few rituals known to the magics of my Clan that might aid us in our overall search. Telling us precisely where your lineage comes from will be one step on that path. I warn you: This will be a long road. Things may not proceed at a quick pace. I hope that you will trust me in this. Vampires, after all, measure our lives in decades and centuries rather than months and years. So some of my contacts may be slow to give us the responses we need. I will be hurrying the process as much as I can."

He smiled just a bit, a lop-sided smile that was a tad rueful. "I hope you won't mind that I enjoy your company between now and then. You are a fascinating young woman."