(no subject)

[enfant]

 I shall die a thousand deaths before you ever commit, I suppose. How absolutely predictable.

Who are the other vampires in residence? I very much care to acquaint myself with them, especially if their nature is widely known. My dear fathers would never have approved of such dalliances.

Comments

[errersansbut]

Be careful, mon ami. [ despite still disapproving of such things, the words are spoken fondly. ]

[enfant]

Louis, my love!

[ Hope you don't mind a springy limpet, because now you have one. ]

[errersansbut]

[ he could never mind. he doesn't waste a moment wrapping his arms around her and his smile is immediate. only claudia. ]

You've been missed.

[enfant]

As are you, always.

[ Baw, squeezing him as tightly as she can. ]

I'm frightened, Louis. We've never met vampires so very different from ourselves before.

[errersansbut]

[ he pulls back a little, enough to gently rest his palm on her cheek. ]

It will be all right, I promise you. [ said as he brushes the pad of his thumb against her cheek bone. ] I'm told there is a vampire from our world there; Khayman is his name. He is kind, Claudia.

[enfant]

It shall be the death of me if Armand arrives, new friends or no.

[ Clasping his hand back to her cheek. ]

[errersansbut]

[ if his heart could ache, it certainly would now and he feels the effects of it even so. ]

No. [ it's more a harsh whisper than anything else, but his expression has fallen. he won't be there and so, again, he cannot protect her - the knowledge is crushing. ] No harm will befall you.

[enfant]

It's not like when we traveled together, Louis. These aren't the half-maddened creatures that tormented villagers, they are smart and have centuries of experience.

[ She might act like a tough nugget, but the second she arrives all her confidence will drain away to find a menagerie of adult blood-suckers hovering around in fascination. ]

Shall I be a doll for them? Keep them at bay from asking too many questions with my looks and charms? I think so.

[errersansbut]

And you are just as intelligent as they are, if not more.

[ his frown deepens and he adverts his gaze. ]

Their laws differ from ours, Claudia. Things could be different there, you could be happy. More than anything, it's another chance for that. [ because above all else, he wishes for her happiness. ]

[enfant]

I will never be happy without you.

[ It's not the childish part of her talking, but the deadened heart that will miss her only family. Then again, she is who she is, and losing Louis seems abominable in any circumstance. ]

hbjknlm you're killing me

[errersansbut]

[ he raises his other hand and slips his fingers into her curls, leaning in to press a kiss to her forehead. ]

Whether we are apart or together, I will always love you and my thoughts will always be with you. Would that I could be with you, mon ami, to protect you and care for you.

all the sads ;;

[enfant]

[ Shaking her head, she pouts in dissatisfaction, voice fracturing as she reels off her complaints. ]

I need no protection or care, that much I can fool anyone into giving me, but the sound of your voice? Your arms, my love? My father's embrace in our coffin? Louis, I am told I will arrive in the day, just as when — as when I — [ Blinking back the blood. ] The day. I will have to hide like an old porcelain toy scrapped inside a wardrobe!

[ Tiny fists ball in his clothes, torn between clinging and the desire to beat down. ]

How am I to be brave, knowing this?

sob ;;;

[errersansbut]

[ he pulls her against him, arms wrapping around her once more to hold her to him. if it were possible, he would never let her go - never let her experience the bite of the sun again or experience the distress of being alone. ]

They are cruel beyond belief, to toy with you in ways such as these. [ the memories of her tucked against him in their coffin and the memory he has of finding her, curled tight to combat the rays of the sun that were unstoppable - these memories are so vivid he often still dreams of them and awakes with his own blood tears upon his face. ]

You must be brave, Claudia. There are no other options despite how much I wish there was. You are strong and clever. You must survive and thrive no matter your surroundings. I beg of you, mon ami.

[enfant]

[ Burying her face from the world in his coat, she languishes in the safety of his embrace like the greedy soul she is, reluctant to give him up as her nerves tremble and shiver back into place. He smells like home, the only one she has ever known or cared for. ]

I love you. [ Nosing along his collar, she sighs and distractedly pets his hair, curling it around her fingers as if sunset is just hours around the corner. ] I will do as you ask, somehow.

[errersansbut]

[ and he holds her tightly to him. if she's greedy, he's likely just as greedy, savoring these lost moments that would never come to fruition without places such as these. but he's grateful, oh how he's grateful.

but she's alive (alive as he's ever known her to be barring the brief flash of humanity he stole from her ages ago) and here and oh. he can almost imagine his heart contracting though the organ is long dead. ]

I love you, too. I always will. [ his words are hushed now, but spoken with no less sincerity and warmth. ]