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Post by Selena Nightingale on Dec 31, 2008 12:19:22 GMT -6
While Selena waited for James to follow her in the house, she went into the living room and sat down on the couch. There, she kept her eyes on the door, never moving. How am I going to explain all this to him? She thought, crossing her legs. Her mind flew over all of the things she needed to brief him on and sighed.
There was the werewolves, the idea of being a vampire, the rules that the Volturi had set up, the diets, and just general rules that any vampire had to know. She wasn't sure how he would take it all, if he was patient enough to sit through her speech. Then, after that, he would probably need to go hunting. She would go with him if he wanted, but that was completely up to him.
Finding herself fidgety, she stood and walked to the door again. She could see him running through the forest, following her scent. As he got closer, Selena frowned and, knowing he could hear her, asked, "So, what is it you want to know?" She mentally prepared herself for the story she would have to tell.
Why is this so hard? She thought to herself, unable to think of the answer. Probably because she was nervous. She'd never dealt with a newborn before, except for herself. And James had been turned in a rather vulgar way, the way that Selena was strongly opposed to. She sighed and waited for his answer, unable to do anything else.
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Post by James Grimley on Jan 1, 2009 1:51:12 GMT -6
James watched as she ran, her speed was remarkable and after a few moments, realized he was supposed to keep up. James put his lips together and made a pfft, type of sound before disbelievingly chasing after her, how was he supposed to follow her, would he use 'new abilities'? Then again, he could have tracked her even if he were human, but he'd never be that fast, as long as she put weight on the ground he'd find her, but that was a different skill. James slowly began running at first, but quickly sped up as he ran, he knew he wouldn't be as fast as her, he had no idea what he was doing. Eventually, though, he managed to make it to her abode.
He felt as though he should be panting, but he wasn't even tired, maybe there were a few perks to being a fanger. He lightly touched the skin where that crazy woman had bitten him. Vampirism was such a dirty subject. The two best flowing arteried were located in the neck and the groin. The wrist of course was a good choise as well, but it wasn't nearly as full or as easy to access blood from. James shook the thoughts from his head and looked towards Selena's direction. Her eyes were a unique brown, one that he'd never seen before, he didn't even wanna look in the mirror, red eyes and pale skin probably didn't look stunning with his hair and face.
James shrugged at her question, 'everything' wasn't exactly a great answer. "Whatever you'll tell me... But why would you choose to help me?" He asked, he really wished to know. People didn't just suddenly help him out. James wasn't lucky enough to have people be nice to him for no good reason. Though he wouldn't turn down the help. "I don't have any place to go, and I'm a good listener." He told her. He was only a good listener because he hated talking. Listening was so simple yet sometimes it could help people immensely. It had never helped James.
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Post by Selena Nightingale on Jan 1, 2009 13:19:11 GMT -6
Selena frowned at his question. Why did she want to help him? The obvious answer was there, but Selena didn't think it was the real reason why. He said he had no where to go and that he was a good listener, so she figured she'd be talking for a while. She was intent on answering his first question though. She shrugged and a faint smile appeared on her lips. "I don't know... there's just something about you..." She stopped before she said something she'd regret. She spun on her heel and walked to her couch, sinking into it with a sigh. "Why don't you sit down and I'll start." She said, folding her hands in her lap.
"Well, vampires have been around as long as humans have. But we haven't really made an... appearance in the world until the medieval times. That's when vampires started being feared and humans would do the stupidest things to keep us away. You know, garlic and crosses and holy water. I've been around for a thousand years now, so I've been witness to all of this. But we actually try to blend in with humans. There are also the Volturi, who are basically the Vampire Leaders. I know it sounds silly, but they keep the peace with us, and destroy any vampire that exposes us. And since the beginning, we've been enemies with the werewolves. I don't know everything about them and their history, but we have never gotten along. Um... where there are vampires, there are werewolves. There are actually wolves in La Push, and they reproduce more and more as more vampires come to one area." She paused, taking a breath. She hadn't really meant to, but she stuck with vampire history first.
"But you can learn about that anytime. Um... vampires can go into sunlight, but you absolutely cannot do it anywhere near humans. We... sparkle... in the sunlight. That's our true self. And if a human saw that, who knows what the Volturi might do. We can only drink blood; animal or human, it doesn't matter. Human is more appetizing, I'll admit it, but I stay with animal. I don't know, I guess it's a guilt thing, if I were to kill humans. But, if you go with the human 'diet', your eyes will remain blood red. On the animal 'diet', your eyes will turn gold. Like mine. Vampires can run very fast, they're super strong and they can hear and see very well. We don't sleep, ever, so there's really no need for beds or anything. You already experienced this, but our skin is ice cold to humans. Nothing besides other vampires can harm us, so you won't have to worry about scratches or scars anymore. And we always appear very beautiful to humans. Predators, luring in our prey. Some of us have 'powers' or 'abilities', like I can heal people by just touching them. Others can read minds or see the future, or whatever. If you have an ability, you'll realize it soon enough. And I think that about covers it..." Selena took a deep breath, letting her words sink in.
occ. ahh sorry, lot of talking >.<
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Post by James Grimley on Jan 1, 2009 21:18:15 GMT -6
James followed her movements with his eyes. There was just something about him? Insane father, dead mother and sometimes a little too intense around people, girls just fell at his feet. Not really, and even if they did, he wouldn’t feel any bit comfortable with it. He crossed his arms and cleared his throat, “I’d rather stand, thank you.” He declined her offer, making sure she never left his eye sight. The way James stood seemed to denounce the fact he didn’t seem to belong in a house, his muscles were tense and his stance made it appear like he was out of place and uncomfortable. The truth of the matter was he was still figuring out exactly what was going on with this whole change.
James listened to her words, careful not to move and keep a neutral expression across his face. Werewolves and Volturi? Obviously, this had turned out to be a far more sophisticated conspiracy than James had thought. It made hi wonder about the government but it was pointless wondering. His attention returned to Selena as she continued speaking of matters that seemed to affect James a bit more than a history lesson. He’d practically begun memorizing her words since she began speaking about how he’d be living for the next… forever.
His eyes showed an unbidden emotion as she spoke about guilt and killing humans. That was a field he was already an expert in, but in a very different way. She finished speaking and he stood silently for a while, embracing the quiet for a long while before uncrossing his arms and speaking. “Okay..." James paused again, not as long as last time, but trying to find the right words to use. "Teach me how to hunt. I think I prefer the brown eyes to the red.” He told her, still keeping his eyes on her, carefully. Maybe her healing powers could heal a mental injury.
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Post by Selena Nightingale on Jan 2, 2009 13:11:57 GMT -6
Selena looked up at James, gauging his reaction. It was hard to really tell what he was thinking; he had the same expression on the whole time, never really showing any emotion. After she finished speaking, he was silent for a while. Probably thinking about everything. Okay... teach me how to hunt. I think I prefer the brown eyes to red. She couldn't help but smile. She couldn't imagine anyone wanting red eyes. She nodded and stood, walking around him and out her door.
She wheeled to face him after she had walked a few feet. She studied him closely, looking for any hints of emotion. "Ready?" She asked rhetorically. She turned around again and lifted her head, listening to see if there were any signs of life. Some squirrels, but nothing else. God, not even a deer. She frowned and turned to face him again.
"Okay, there's nothing to hunt here, so we have to run a ways. Other than that, just give in to your senses. It's all instinct now. You'll be able to smell the animal and follow it. Just be careful, you won't be able to stop if we encounter a human." She suddenly got worried. What if they ran into a human? That would not go well at all. First, Selena didn't know what she would do and second, she didn't know if he'd be able to stop. She'd have to let him, though. Shaking her head, she smiled. "Follow me." She said and took off running again.
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Post by James Grimley on Jan 3, 2009 1:51:49 GMT -6
James watched her smile, and furrowed his eye brows, she made him uncomfortable in that sort of attracted to her way in which he'd never admit to out loud. It was unfortunate she was such a humanitrian because he had been more of a monster as a human then he planned to be as a vampire. Most of his choices hadn't been made for him in the past. It set him at a level playing field. If he screwed up his life for sixteen years, he could make up for it for the rest of time.
James watched her walk by and slowly turned to face her. Ready? He was always one step ahead of everything and now he couldn't even keep up with a skiny girl. A while ago, he could have ran longer and harder than Forest Gump did, but now he was trying to keep up with a girl, who appeared younger than him. Of course he wasn't ready, but he nodded anyways, after she'd already turned around and turned back.
James nodded to her words but remained silent, if he had a question he'd ask it... maybe. He followed her along quietly, having difficulty keeping up with her, his mind was distracted by all the things he had to keep track of. He quickly wiped it clean and focused on instinct, proving he was an excellent listener, but whether he truly grasped the concept or not was a different story. James nodded again, listening to her words like a loyal dog. He would never do anything he deemed wrong but as long as he wasn't the one giving orders life was a hell of alot easier. James noted her smile. She had shown him a few different ones and he began trying to figure out which smile went with which emotion but now was neither the time nor the place to think about it and instead, stored it in his memory, following Selena vigilently.
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Post by Selena Nightingale on Jan 5, 2009 22:15:07 GMT -6
Selena ran until she could smell some other animals in the area. Thankfully, there weren't any humans around. She stopped and turned to face James. He was a little ways away, but he was catching up. She smiled again as he stopped by her, waiting for what to do next. She took a deep breath and took a few steps towards him. Why? She had no idea. She didn't exactly know how to teach him, so she would show him instead.
"Alright, I honestly have no idea how to teach you, so I'm going to show you. Um.... Don't get that close. I wouldn't want to hurt you or anything." She said, turning around and closing her eyes. There was a herd of deer a little ways into the forest. Three bucks and a few doe. Oh well, it's something to start with. She thought. Hoping he was watching, she followed the scent of the deer and finally found the herd grazing in a small meadow. She crouched in a defensive pose and jumped at the smallest buck. She'd led him have the bigger one if he wanted it.
Her teeth dug into the jugular, welcoming the warmth that flowed down her throat. The animal gave up struggling after a few seconds, dying off quickly. She let the carcass drop from her hands and turned to face James. She looked him over again, looking for any signs of emotion. So far, there was nothing that she could tell.
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Post by James Grimley on Jan 9, 2009 20:08:15 GMT -6
James watched her look over her shoulder at him, he was coming, maybe not as fast, but as long as she chose to go, he would follow behind her. By the way she acted, it seemed like it would be more difficult for her to explain thi than it would be for her to show him. She confirmed his thoughts by her words, always smiling at him reassuringly as though his dog had died and she wasn't quite sure what else to do. " 'Kay." James answered with a nod of his head, he crossed his arms as he watched her. It seemed as though he crossed his arms whenever he was hiding his emotion so she wouldn't know what he was thinking.
James forced himself to watch her dispatch the small dear without a problem, he wanted to turn away but it wouldn't change the fact he would have to follow suit or face other... consequence. He'd killed animals before, he'd killed worse things than animals before. But never a dear with his bare hands and teeth. James swallowed hard before following suit, his eyes fell on the first random deer he saw, concentrating on it before deciding to follow through with what he was attempting as he quietly crept up to it, running towards it as he got close enough. James grabbed hold of it and his mind fell on the neck, just as Selena had done, his mouth sinking into the neck as the unexpected warmth ran into his mouth. He'd always expected blood to be cold for whatever reason, but this was fresh, there would be no clotting, no need to add aspiring to it to make sure it remained a liquid.
He drank his fill before placing it down on the ground, gently and wiping his mouth. His eyes immediately turned to Selena. Were vampires more like animals, the kind that never had wars and violence was only over their young or were they more like humans? Violent, savage creatures that only thought about greed and what would make them the happiest, taking what they want, not what they need. "May I ask you something?"
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Post by Selena Nightingale on Jan 9, 2009 20:57:47 GMT -6
Selena stood back as she saw him about to go. She didn't want to get in his way, just in case. He visibly swallowed and his eyes fell on a random deer. He jumped, landing on his back and she could hear his teeth sinking into its neck. The thought made her thirst return just a bit, but she pushed it to the back of her mind and concentrated on what James was doing. He was pretty good at it already, even for being a newborn. She nodded approvingly as he let the carcass fall gently to the ground. He looked at her and she could see millions of questions there.
She crossed her arms over her chest and smiled. "That was excellent, even for a newborn." She commented quietly. Now that he was done, she didn't feel the need to stay away. She stepped towards him, judging his expression cautiously. Selena wouldn't admit this to anyone, but he made her a little nervous. She always felt as if she had to do everything perfect while he was watching her. Probably because he was learning the ways of the vampire, but still. Her smile disappeared as she thought about this, not able to come to a conclusion for her paranoia.
Can I ask you a question? James asked, breaking the silence. Her eyes flew to his and her smile returned. "Of coarse." She responded, letting her arms fall to her sides, changing her mind and pushing them into her pockets.
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Post by James Grimley on Jan 9, 2009 22:54:35 GMT -6
James listened to her words, as she crossed her arms. She smiled again at him, her teeth were brilliant white and perfectly straight. It was good for a newborn? You'd be surprised. James thought, but replied instead with a "thank you." She'd said it rather quietly and whether she'd wanted him to hear or not, he'd caught her words. Was it normal for people to be good at killing? What if it was inherited? His thoughts made the look in his eyes become intense as though he was looking further than Selena, at something beyond. He hoped she wouldn't delve into the situation but it was highly unlikely such would happen. Murder wasn't something new for him, but that was none of her buisness and if she asked, he'd have to force himself not to snap at her. She'd only been nice to him and it was only fair. He still didn't fuly understand why.
James watched as she seemed rather nervous or something, first she crossed her amrs, then dropped them, then finally slid them into her pockets. Either nervous, or simply indecisive. "Have you ever killed a human?" He asked, there was no hesitation in his voice and almost no emotion. It was a personal question and he judged it to be extremely personal for Selena. But he never apologized for asking about it like most people would. He just stood there with his arms crossed as usual, staring at her with a little less intense look than before.
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Post by Selena Nightingale on Jan 13, 2009 21:55:11 GMT -6
Selena had been a bit nervous right before he opened his mouth to speak. She had gotten a bad feeling and she closed her eyes as he spoke. Have you ever killed a human? His question shouldn't have surprised her, but it did and her eyes fluttered open and met his. Should she tell him the truth or no? Why even bother lying? She had nothing to hide. But it was definately something she wasn't looking forward to.
Um... Yes. Once... Back when I was first created... I killed a few before I realized how... guilty i felt. She said. She hated revisiting the topic of her past. She felt as if she should be over it by now, since it had occurred about a thousand years ago. But the thought still bothered her. She could still picture the look of her victims right before she killed them and it gave her chill as she stood there.
But there was something that bothered her more. When James had asked it, he didn't seemed sorry about asking it. It was as if he talked about this sort of thing all the time. With a frown she pulled her hands from her pockets and crossed them over her chest. She really didn't know what to say after that. She didn't want to ask him the same question, only because it made her a little uncomfortable. Her eyes flickered to the ground and she kept them there, a little afraid to meet his gaze again.
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Post by James Grimley on Jan 14, 2009 1:00:05 GMT -6
James watched her reaction to a question. It wasn't that she was indecisive. She was nervous and James was sure he was the catalyst to it all. But she was extremely honest and that certainly won her brownie in his book. Not that brownie points did anything...
"Thank you... for telling the truth." James told her, he smiled for the first time he'd met her, a genuine smile, part of it gave off the fact he was easily reading her body language but part of it was reassuring her he wasn't the most evil person on the planet. That title was reserved for someone else he knew; mainly his father. She had somehow surprised him, not asking any sort of question back. Most people would have. James thought about saying something in return, to at least be equal, but as he saw her look down, he realized not only was she nervous around his-which was understandable- he probably made her uncomfortable. He certainly could have that affect on people.
James looked down at the ground and uncrossed his arms. He wasn't like other people, but she seemed to share the same quality, just in a better way. He kept the smile on his face, "it's okay to feel guilty about something you don't fully understand,or can't fully control." James shrugged at her, his mind raced with the things that had happened today, he expected himself to start hiyperventilating, he was suddenly thrust into a world like Harry Potter or something. Suddenly nothing was as it seemed. Selena seemed like the only safe, stable thing right now. So he smiled at her, whether it was for this reason, or no good reason at all.
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Post by Selena Nightingale on Jan 14, 2009 21:37:33 GMT -6
Selena's gaze flew to his as he thanked her for telling him the truth. While her eyes had been on the ground, his arms had uncrossed and he looked sincere. Then he smiled for the first time and Selena was a bit taken aback. He had a nice smile, and she wished he smiled more often. "it's okay to feel guilty about something you don't fully understand,or can't fully control." He said after that, still smiling. Normally, Selena would have returned his smile, but she was actually pondering his words.
Was it okay? This was the question she had struggled with for years, and now she had someone to talk to about it. Maybe James could help her find the answer. Maybe he was right... But who knew? She did know that if she were capable, she would have gotten emotional right there. Sometimes it was a shame that she couldn't cry, but in cases like this one it was a good thing. She hated looking weak in front of others, especially males.
Really? She asked a moment later. It was sort of a stupid question, but it was the best one she could come up with. On the bright side, she was getting James to open up a bit. He hadn't told her much about him at all, and Selena was fine with it, but she was a little happy that he was starting to... just a little bit. She couldn't help it then, a small smile danced at the corners of her lips and she let her arms drop.
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Post by James Grimley on Jan 15, 2009 0:16:50 GMT -6
Selena's reaction had surprised him quite a bit, she was hanging onto his words with hope shining in her voice. He watched her reaction as his thoughts wandered in many directions, then she posed the typical question a kid would when you tell them they get to go to Disneyland and they don't believe you. He knew one example he could use to explain what he meant and the smile slowly slid off his face as he hid his emotions again, not wanting to let her know exactly what he was thinking about. Not that she'd be able to randomly guess but she seemed like she was smart.
"Yeah. Really." He told her, a hint of teasing in his voice, but it was hard to catch. Then his words became more serious. "When you end up in a car accident and your car kills someone because someone else hits you, is that your fault? Someone takes a kid, teaches him to use an automatic and to make sure he joins their army, he gets blindfolded and ends up shooting and killing someone. Is that the kid's fault? A doctor accidentally knicks an artery and a patient dies of blood loss. Is that his fault? People make mistakes, nobody's perfect, not a vampire, not a human. Nothing. All we can do is be good and hope that eventually the good outweighs the bad." James told her, his voice was reassuring but in a nonchalant way.
He knew from experience that doing good sometimes took the edge off. James looked down at the ground as he slipped his hands into his pockets and began walking back to Selena's place at a human pace. Not that she wouldn't be able to keep up, but this place was gorgeous, it was no natural, James inhaled a breath of fresh air, closing his eyes for a second as all the scents entered his nose. It was amazing, he could smell the scent of the dead animals the strongest, but there was the smell of flowers, of nature. It smelt clean, untouched by human pollution. It was relaxing. James turned to Selena, his eyes showing he was a bit more relaxed, "So... if you don't mind my asking, how old are you?" He asked, averting her eyes and scratching the back of his neck. It was a very uncomfortable question for him. For all he knew she saw the rise and fall of Christ himself. The question was even harder to ask then his murder question, but she would never know he was nervous about asking it. At least this time he'd used manners.
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Post by Selena Nightingale on Jan 15, 2009 17:08:05 GMT -6
Selena listened to his words and nodded. He was right. She had been a young newborn who had no idea of what she was doing. She had learned from her mistakes and she could walk away from that successful because she knew she would never do that again. She nodded, her smile widening a bit. You're right.
She watched as he turned around and started walking back to her house. He was walking at a human pace, which was rather slow for Selena, but she didn't mind. She easily caught up with him and looked around. It was absolutely gorgeous out and Selena was enjoying herself. So... if you don't mind my asking, how old are you? Selena couldn't help the laugh that followed. She looked over at him and grinned. Well... I don't want to scare you or anything, but I'm old.[/color] She joked, looking up at the sky. It was getting a little darker. I'm 1000.[/color] She admitted, hoping she didn't scare him off or anything. So you can imagine how long that guilt has been eating at me. I haven't told anyone about that. Except you.[/color] She rambled. She noticed then how cheesy that sounded and decided to stop talking unless he asked her something or if she had to ask him something. And since she knew how old James was, there was no point in asking. [/blockquote][/blockquote][/size][/font][/color]
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