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Lost
Jun 25, 2010 19:44:30 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 25, 2010 19:44:30 GMT -5
Toru listened to Valentine's explanation carefully. The young vampire wanted to understand in case the phrase came up elsewhere. "So I'll be able to go without as I grow up? That's good." He said taking the offered hand. "I was worried." Toru dusted off his pants and then continued walking. "How long can you go without taking anything?" The young vampire asked.
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Lost
Jun 25, 2010 20:09:56 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 25, 2010 20:09:56 GMT -5
"If I'm not under a lot of physical or emotional stress, a month and a half, more or less," Valentine said. He paused a moment to look Toru over and didn't start walking again until he was certain he was alright. "I try not to go too long, though. If I push myself too much, it can have rather bloody results. I make it a point to leave those I take from in good health, even if it means taking longer to hunt."
The people that had been staring turned and walked away quickly, like deer realizing there was a wolf in their presence. Valentine laughed internally. The thought crossing his mind, he said, "Animal blood rarely tastes good, with the exception of herbivores, perhaps. Liver cooked rare is also good for getting out of tight spots because it's a blood-rich tissue."
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Jun 25, 2010 20:15:49 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 25, 2010 20:15:49 GMT -5
The young vampire listened intently and nodded. It made sense that pushing things too far would end poorly. "How do you find people to let you drink their blood?" Toru asked, his brows coming together in confusion. When Valentine mentioned eating animals and livers he cringed. The thought was more disgusting to him than taking a life.
Toru blew his bangs out of his eyes as he thought of other questions to ask his new teacher. "Is it normal for blood to smell strange?" he asked, "I mean from person to person? Some people are bad, others good. One time there was no scent."
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Lost
Jun 25, 2010 20:29:13 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 25, 2010 20:29:13 GMT -5
"I don't necessarily 'find' people. I wait until I see someone that I can persuade easily. You'd be surprised what can be done with words and manners."
"Is it normal for blood to smell strange? I mean from person to person? Some people are bad, others good. One time there was no scent," Toru enquired.
Valentine nodded. "It's quite common, and bravo that you've been using your nose. It has a lot to do with a person's lifestyle. What they eat and drink, where they live. Everything ends up in their bloodstream, even fear and hate and happiness."
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Lost
Jun 25, 2010 20:43:08 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 25, 2010 20:43:08 GMT -5
"Do you have some kind of mind powers?" He asked after Valentine's first comment. Toru didn't quite understand. "I'm nice but every one mean to me." The young vampire pouted. "Probably they don't understand. I am pretty bad with words."
Valentine told him he was impressed that Toru was using his nose. "Well, I don't try. It just happens." The young man nodded his understanding when his teacher spoke about lifestyles. "Makes sense." he said under his breath. "Can it hurt you?" Toru questioned. "Their bad emotions?"
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 0:01:30 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 0:01:30 GMT -5
"Do you have some kind of mind powers?"
Valentine raised an eyebrow and grinned. "Not quite. I've heard it called a lot of things: magnetism, the gift of persuasion, but I don't believe I control their minds. I simply convince them that I intend them no harm and that they want to help me." He looked at Toru and said, "Think about cause and affect. If I were to pinch someone to get their attention, they'd be mad at me. But if I ask them to help me with something and do it a certain way, they're more inclined to go along with me. Not everyone can do it spot on, but I think you could put it to use at least a little."
The red-head was glad when Toru asked about the affects of people's less noble emotions. "Excellent question. I don't think they can hurt you per say, since you're strictly a blood drinker. . . . I, on the other hand, am not so lucky. It's not unusual for my 'prey's' emotions to rub off on me at least a little." Valentine paused for a moment before laughing, "But for some reason I find disgust hilarious. There's just something about when a person's brow furrows and they wrinkle their nose and frown." Oh, how horrible he knew he was. Or crazy, whichever worked best.
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 0:14:12 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 26, 2010 0:14:12 GMT -5
Toru imitated the face, scrunching his nose and frowning. Then he burst out laughing. It was such a silly face. He also didn't believe that he could do the same. He was weak and a push over. "There is no way." He said to the statement. "Look at me. I am tiny, weakling." Toru grinned widely despite how his words put himself down. "I can not even speak with English proper."
Toru looked up at Valentine and made the 'ew I just saw something gross' face.
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 0:28:08 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 0:28:08 GMT -5
"Yes, and with that attitude you'll never learn," Valentine said. The word 'learn' came out 'lairn', his Irish accent finding it's way to the surface. "Just because I'm a horse compared to you doesn't mean you can't learn a few things."
He watched as the younger vampire's face scrunched up with disgust . . . and very promptly was hugging himself because he was laughing so hard. He couldn't help it, it was uncontrollable!
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 0:40:28 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 26, 2010 0:40:28 GMT -5
Toru stuck his finger in his mouth as he thought. "Well I guess I could learn." He said without removing his finger. "Atorey is an excellent vampire and he's the same as me." The young man pulled his finger out with a 'pop' and scratched the inside of his ear. "Hey, one more thing." Toru asked, his green eyes looking at his finger with slight interest. "Where do you live?" The young vampire wasn't sure how Valentine got to work everyday. "Far?"
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Jun 26, 2010 0:45:38 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 0:45:38 GMT -5
Valentine supressed a snicker at Toru's amusment with mouth sounds and his drool covered finger. In many ways he was still so much a child. But maybe that was a good thing.
"Where do I live?" Silly, that he hadn't thought to tell the boy when he'd asked him the same question earlier. "I've been staying at a boarding house a few blocks from the bar, got there before I decided to start working. Haha, but I'm sure the woman in charge and the other tenants all think I'm insane, what with my 'odd sleeping habits'."
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Jun 26, 2010 0:53:44 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 26, 2010 0:53:44 GMT -5
"Probably." The boy offered before stuttering an apology. "I just mean we sleep strangely." Toru wiped his finger on his sleeve and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "Can I come sometime?" He asked hesitantly. He'd like to see where Valentine lived, it'd be interesting.
A whistle came from behind them and Toru looked over his shoulder to see an older man giving him a thumbs up. With a sigh he said, "I wish I looked more like a man."
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 1:09:31 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 1:09:31 GMT -5
Valentine patted his shoulder to tell him there was no need to be sorry. "Yes, you can come sometime. You're a pupil and friend, after all."
The red-haired vampire shot the man that whistled at Toru a very nasty look, and immidiately he averted his eyes and went on his way. He felt sorry for poor Toru, knew how much it irked him when people confused him for a woman.
"Everyone looks the way they do for a reason," Valentine said in an attempt to comfort him. "If it makes you feel any better, I'm of the opinion that a vampire with freckles is less intimidating." He gestured to the brown flecks that spotted his skin here and there.
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Jun 26, 2010 1:16:39 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 26, 2010 1:16:39 GMT -5
Toru looked up at Valentine and closely inspected the freckles that dusted his cheeks. He stood on his toes and poked a few of them. "I don't know." Freckles would be the last thing people would notice if Valentine got angry he was certain. Still, when Valentine had given Toru permission to visit his home he smiled like a cat. He clapped his hands together and made a small noise. "I'm happy." The young vampire exclaimed.
Toru was really starting to look up to Valentine. The young vampire really admired the red-head. He was strong and assertive, yet gentle. Everything Toru wanted to be but couldn't manage.
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 1:42:15 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 1:42:15 GMT -5
Valentine was a little surprised when Toru reached up to touch his freckles, but he had to laugh. Particullarly at the tone of his, "I don't know." No matter how irritated he got, he managed to pull out a good sense of humor.
"I'm happy that you're happy," he said in response to Toru's declaration. "Though I must warn you, my living space may be a bit scary. I'm a natural slob." The older vampire considered for a moment whether to joke about the 'man-eating dust bunnies' under his bed, but feared Toru might take him seriously.
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 1:49:32 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 26, 2010 1:49:32 GMT -5
"That doesn't fit." Toru said, once again sticking his finger in his mouth. He lifted his lip slighly to probe at his fangs. "You're too..." the boy trailed off not knowing how to word it properly in English. "No mind." He waved his hands in front of him and giggled. If he couldn't convey it properly, he'd just look silly. His face stayed forward but his green eyes moved to look Valentine up and down. The man was everything Toru wished to be in appearance. Tall, masculine, powerful. His hands ran over his skinny, somewhat toned stomach and he sighed.
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 1:58:50 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 1:58:50 GMT -5
"Well, whether it fits or not, it's true." Valentine grinned somewhat roguishly when he said, "It drove my mother to frustration when I was a boy. Her idea of organized and mine were two completely different things."
He scratched the back of his head, tousling his red hair slightly. "She wasn't fond of my stubborness, either."
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 2:07:02 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 26, 2010 2:07:02 GMT -5
A laugh escaped him when Valentine spoke of being stubborn. "Atorey is the stubborn most person I know. He does not know what the word 'no' means." Toru grinned as he thought of his brother fondly. "I know not how many times I say to him, 'no Atorey'." The boy shook his head. "Never listens and always gets his way."
Toru spoke of the rape as if it were a cherished, loving childhood memory.
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 2:20:04 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 2:20:04 GMT -5
"Ugh, Lilly," Valentine said, rolling his eyes. "She's a sweet girl, really she is. But there are times I'll try to get her to do something, or stop doing something, and she'll turn and smile at me and bat her eyelashes. . . right before she does the opposite of what I said. Though she comes by it honestly, I suppose. I was the one who turned her, after all."
The memory of that night didn't smart as much now, and he was glad of it. It was as if that 'incident' was meant to happen. Lilly had been at times over the past hundred years the only reason Valentine was still sane.
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Jun 26, 2010 2:26:20 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 26, 2010 2:26:20 GMT -5
"I say again, she and Atorey would be best friends." Toru hugged himself and smiled at the thought of his brother. Though he did hate Atorey, he also loved him. The other vampire was his twin brother after all, and Atorey loved him so much. "I bet they would go around being stubborn and rebellious."
"Balentine?" Toru asked. "Will I get to meet her?" the young vampire tilted his head to the side. "I can meet you to my brother too. That is if I can find him again."
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Jun 26, 2010 2:40:02 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 2:40:02 GMT -5
"Hopefully you'll get to meet Lilly," Valentine said with a nod. "She'll show up sooner or later, always does. And I'll meet Atorey if you want me to."
Part of him was genuinely curious about the fellow, in a morbid sort of way. It seemed he and Toru were polar opposites. Perhaps if they ran across the other twin he could understand a bit better, and maybe Toru could learn more about himself with someone present who wasn't so completely sweet natured when required.
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Jun 26, 2010 2:58:40 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 26, 2010 2:58:40 GMT -5
"I do! I really do. I love Atorey." When Toru said this it shocked him slightly. His brother had been terrible to him, but he still loved him. A small noise came from Toru as his emotions turned to sadness. He missed Atorey. He missed him very much.
No. He didn't need his twin. Especially not now that Valentine was here to take care of him. Toru liked Valentine. When he thought this he started to wonder. If Valentine liked him, would he do the same thing Atorey had done?
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Jun 26, 2010 11:14:43 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 11:14:43 GMT -5
Glancing up at the sky, Valentine saw that dawn would come sooner than later. "Well, I suppose that we'd best say goodbye for the night. I don't know about you, but I'm less than bright-eyed and bushy-tailed when I don't get enough sleep. And you have yet to feed."
He stuck his hands in his pockets as he pondered his own 'dinner'. The red-head really didn't feel like having to search, and he wasn't bad off just yet. He would wait.
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 18:42:06 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 26, 2010 18:42:06 GMT -5
Reluctantly Toru nodded. "I'll see you soon." The vampire said with a wave. He turned and began to walk the way they'd come. The night had turned out to be very helpful and unbelievably enjoyable. Toru was a little sad that it had to come to an end but he reminded himself that there would be other chances to get together like so.
On the way home, he was able to find a good meal and with a smile went home and crawled into bed.
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 18:56:42 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 18:56:42 GMT -5
Valentine was at work the next evening before Toru was. His theory was that if he came in before the younger vampire, it would make it easier to ward off any more of Marceau's touchy-feely inclinations. The red-head gagged mentally. Had the idiot no pride or honor as a man? To harrass poor Toru that way in particullar was vulgar on too many levels, not to mention unnatural.
Undoing the first couple buttons of his dress shirt so he didn't feel choked and rolling up his sleeves, Valentine did a quick inspection of all the glass ware behind the counter and wiped down the bar.
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 19:06:46 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 26, 2010 19:06:46 GMT -5
Toru managed to wake and get to the bar on time the next evening. It was a miracle because of how tired he felt; too much excitement in one day he figured. After pulling on his uniform he went out to the bar to find Valentine already there, wiping down the bar dutifully.
"Evening." The young vampire called out with a grin. "You are early."
Toru opened the place up and then moved behind the bar to stand next to Valentine.
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Jun 26, 2010 19:23:55 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 19:23:55 GMT -5
"Just a little," Valentine replied to Toru's greeting.
He watched as customers poured in a little at a time. The red-head started making his rounds of the tables, taking orders and refilling glasses. The occasional person paused a moment to gawk at Toru, only to recieve a warning glare from the older vampire. Things went quietly for a while, with no sign of their pig of a boss. No news was good news, Valentine supposed.
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 19:59:21 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 26, 2010 19:59:21 GMT -5
The young man spent his time behind the bar dealing with the customers that sat at it. An hour went by with no sign of the boss. Toru hoped that meant he wouldn't be coming in today. Normally he came as soon as the place opened up to hang around with his no good buddies. The first half of the night went by with out a hitch. Things worked smoothly and Toru was actually enjoying himself. He felt calm and clear headed.
The second half proved to be a little rougher. The front door opened to reveal a short man. His bright blue Asian eyes looked out from between strands of sandy styled hair. His elegant outfit much too expensive for him to be a resident of this area of town. He ran a delicate hand with long rainbow fingernails through his hair as he strode up to the bar.
Toru's heart nearly fell out of his butt at the sight. His green eyes bulged and he shot to the floor hiding from the other man who looked exactly like him.
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 20:10:40 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 20:10:40 GMT -5
A sudden thump reached Valentine's ears and he felt the accompanying vabrations through the floor boards. It had come fromt he bar. He paused to look in that direction to find he couldn't see Toru.
As he scanned the bar, his thoughts stopped dead. There near the bar stood a man that looked identical to his purple-haired friend with blue eyes. Atorey.
Valentine walked towards the bar calmly. Approaching Tory's twin he asked, "Can I help you, sir?" His question overlayed the mental 'feelers' he sent out, trying to get a better idea of the vampire's mood and any other useful information he could glean.
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 20:15:03 GMT -5
Post by starlessnight on Jun 26, 2010 20:15:03 GMT -5
"Whiskey." Atorey answered with a flat uninterested tone. He sat down with his back to the bar and his elbows resting on it casually. He hadn't seen Toru drop behind the bar.
Toru was curled up beside the small sink behind the bar. His hands covered his ears, lost in the sea of purple hair. He relaxed slightly when Valentine came behind the bar. Bright green eyes looked up at the red-head with fright and worry. It was far too soon to be talking to his twin. Toru still wasn't sure how he felt and he didn't want Atorey to get angry with him again.
Atorey scanned the bar with disappointment. This place was a dump, why did he even bother to come here?
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Lost
Jun 26, 2010 20:35:09 GMT -5
Post by cloudedstormrunner on Jun 26, 2010 20:35:09 GMT -5
"Yes, sir." Valentine poured Atorey's drink and carefully slid it down to him. Inconspicuously he reached back and patted the top of Toru's head to calm him. The red-haired vampire picked up a glass and pollished it with a clean rag. He would stand there as long as he could, keep himself between Toru and his twin.
He watched Atorey surrepticiously. There was a sense of slight annoyance and boredom coming from him, but he hadn't seen Toru so far as he could tell. The two might be twins, but they couldn't have been more different. The scent of blood and alcohol followed Atorey. There was a hard glint to his eyes, a cruel curve to his mouth. It was like night and day.
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