Ghosts [Audette]

[Audette (DELETED 5938)]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

<Audette> She laughed then, his sarcasm taking her back to when they were kids. It was a language she had been fluent in, even if her words didn't sound like everyone else's when she spoke. She hardly needed anyone's approval. With this guy, though, it had always been easy. And that had nothing to do with the fact that he didn't lash out with comebacks of his own. Just because he as mute didn't mean he didn't give her **** like any good friend would. She had missed that. "First I need to find a job. My uncle isn't going to let me go without, but...you know me." Even as a kid, if there was something she wanted, but couldn't get it on her own, then she went without. That's just how Audrey had always been. That much had stayed the same at least. "So if you know of any openings..." Another laugh. It was smaller, but no less sincere.

There was a long pause and for a second she felt like her legs would stop moving and she'd be left standing there like some idiot in the middle of the sidewalk, staring off after him. Lucky for her, her legs kept going even while her mouth was having some trouble. Eventually she got it out, though. "I always wondered what it would be like. You know, to talk to you like this. Without paper and pens and signs and everything else." She really hadn't minded their own little language of just understanding one another. Being so close to someone that you could basically read their mind...that was one of the things she had missed most about leaving him behind.


<Jesse Fforde> Jess takes a drag of his cigarette - the last one before he drops it to the ground and squashes it underfoot – and at the same time slides a bemused glance in Audrey’s direction. The reactions to his voice were varied. Some people were surprised, shocked, but ultimately happy. They didn’t question him. Some – like his own sire, who should have given a **** – had dismissed it, had assumed he’d been lying about being a mute the entire time, and hadn’t stopped to think that there might be underlying psychological issues. Some hadn’t even realised until a conversation was in full swing. That’s how much they were so self-involved, how little they paid any attention to other people.

“It’s the most exciting thing you’ll ever do,” he says with a tilted smile; it’s not a regular smile, by any stretch of the imagination. It’s almost sinister, without intending to be. Sometimes, it’s a default setting, and Jesse doesn’t realise when he has slipped back into it. Again with the sarcasm, sharp and barely witty. He shakes his head. “I don’t know anywhere that’s looking to hire,” he says, turning back to the path in front of them. It was a lie. There were people he could ask. But Audrey is human. They are not. It’s not a great idea.


<Audette> "It's cool. I'll find something. I actually have an idea in mind." The local paper. She didn't get a degree in journalism for nothing. And from what she had read...well, to get right to the point she thought she could do a better job. "So where are you staying these days?" It was small talk, yes. But it was safer than talking about their past, talking about what had happened in the last few years she was gone out of his life. It was something distant, something that strangers did. At this point that seemed like the best option for them both. It was obvious, with one look at either of them, that everything had changed. Maybe not everything, but enough. Starting with the basics would be best for now.


<Jesse Fforde> This is the point at which Jesse would get frustratingly vague. Things had changed for him, and they were things that he will not tell Audrey. This is where the easy fall back into their old habits would stop; if he was comfortable before, this is where he begins to clam up, close up, and become a different person. "Over in Swansdale," he says. Vague. He doesn't want to take Audrey home. To his home, where there are ritual tables hidden in the basement and blood bags in the fridge. Where vampires come and go. He would not do as Victor had done. He would not let this human in on their secrets, regardless of the history. It begins to dawn on Jesse that tonight might be a one off. He might drop her at her doorstep, and retreat back into the darkness.


<Audette> Over in Swansdale. That was all he was giving her? She sighed. What did she really expect? It's not like she had been too open either, not really. It wasn't fair to expect him to just open right on up like some best seller for her to read. She hadn't paid for those rights. "Well, that's cool. When did you move out?" Notice how she didn't bother asking how his mm was doing, where she was, if she was even alive. Audrey knew better.


<Jesse Fforde> "Soon as I could," Jesse says. He'd shoved his hands back in his pockets, sauntering along beside Audrey. He doesn't know where they're going, but he's happy to saunter; to take their time. He realises he's not giving her much to work with. Conversation - small talk specifically - had never been his strong suit. One - he was once mute and conversation like this was off the cards. Two - he's only had a year to practice. And he hasn't tried to practice. In fact, has only retreated into silence once he'd realised his humour isn't appreciated and he pissed people off more ofte than not. "I had my own business for a while," he says. These things aren't secrets. "I lived above it, after living in this old, piece of **** apartment for ages. I work over at Honeymead now. Masterpiece Tattoo," he says. It's a business open to humans. There's no harm in giving that piece of information away.


<Audette> "That makes sense. Working at a tattoo parlor. For you, anyway." A hand lifted to touch at her chest, not that her tattoo could really be seen as covered up as she was. At least she knew where to go if she ever wanted any new ink. Jesse was someone she would trust with her body. Back in Saint Petersburg she had went through so much to find the right artist. It had kind of sucked to have to leave him behind with so many ideas still running through her head. The air was chilly, but it was nothing she wasn't used to already. Back and forth her thoughts went, taking her emotions with them. "Maybe I could stop by there sometime. Check the place out. We can have a lunch date." There was no way they were going to fit all those lost years in a walk back to her place, after all.


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse laughs. Lunch dates. See, he's so unaccustomed to ordinary things that he never did assume that anyone would ever suggest he go on a lunch date. This is why he should not have told her where he works. He shrugs. "Its a twenty-four hour place, I work nigh shift. I sleep weird hours. But...lunch date Audrey? Really? I wouldn't have pegged you as a Stepford wife," he says, grinning in his usual teasing way.

[Jesse Fforde]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

<Audette> This is more like it. More like the Jesse she's used to. A grin swept her features and her shoulder rolled back. "People gotta eat, Fforde." She was laughing then. He had always made her laugh. But whether that was a good or bad thing was really hard to decipher right now. They weren't far off from reaching that cushy little flat of hers, and it made her hesitate on the inside. Was he going to leave and say goodnight once they reached the place or would he steady up and come inside so they could continue this chat? Even if it crumbled to sharing crazy instances and beers.


<Jesse Fforde> "Sure," he says. "But 'lunch date' implies some restaurant with crisp white tablecloths, or some booth somewhere with waitresses and their..." he shudders. "Give me a huge bacon lettuce mayo roll from the nearest greasy takeaway shop any day," he says. Sure, he'd once liked those rolls. More bacon on them than bread. How many whole pigs had he consumed in his life time? He assumed a faux serious expression, as if he's got something heavy to admit. "I'm allergic to eating," he says, managing to keep the smile from his face. "In front of other people. I break out in hives."


<Audette> Audrey's feet actually did stop then, hand reaching out to halt him on the side of the street. She turned then, obviously not believing a word of it, her face alight with humor. "That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard anyone say. Allergic to eating in front of people? Yeah right." Her head shook as she resumed walking, hands making little gestures as she talked. It was a habit that was brought out by him and him alone. "You're like...the king of stuffing your face and not giving a **** about what other people think while doing it. Unless you've wussed out on me over the years. Is that it? You a proper boy now?" Doubtful with all those tattoos.


<Jesse Fforde> "Woefully. When you left, I went to a dark, dark place. It changed me, Audrey. I'll never be the same again," he says, still managing to keep his face entirely clear of any expression bar seriousness. Again, he's teasing. There's no truth in any of it. He had been curious, yes. He had been upset, but he wouldn't admit to it - it hadn't been something that had hindered his daily functions. He shrugs. "I did grow up though. I got my **** together. Seems like you did, too," he says. He doesn't have to be 'proper' to have his **** together, by any means.


<Audette> For a moment her heart seemed to stop beating. If he was telling the truth she was as good as done for. A little voice reminded her that Jesse wasnt that kind of person, though. If he had somehow developed feelings like that...had it taken her leaving for it to happen? No. No, these were the craziest kinds of thoughts. Focus, Audrey. Her head shook and she rolled her eyes. "Right. I'm sure it was a brighter place than these damn streets with their shitty lamps." Up ahead another streetlight was sputtering. It was horror movie creepy, but she didn't seem too phased by it. "I guess that's what happens. People grow up." Another shrug.


<Jesse Fforde> The entire time, Jesse had been privy to the fluctuation and rhythm of Audrey's heart. Human heartbeats are a constant reminder of what he is and what he craves. They are also an indication of emotion. A very basic indication, but an indication nonetheless. He arches a brow at his companion, but says nothing. Gives nothing away. He clears his throat. It's habit, this thing that he does. Flirting. It's a way of life he's got to try to shed. Though, he is less crude than he used to be. He grins. "I like dark places," he says. "Things are more interesting in the dark."


<Audette> She grinned. "They certainly can be." It wasn't a suggestion. Nothing like that. Just memories. Of them as kids, goofing off after curfew. Of her back in Russia with the friends she'd made. "Unless you wind up in some back alley with a guy you don't know trying to do lines off your breasts in the middle of a snow storm." It didn't happen to her, just a friend, but he didn't know that.


<Jesse Fforde> He arches another brow at Audrey, turning to stare at her, as if trying to see past the exterior of her skull to the memory within. Whether it is her memory or not. Jesse narrows his eyes; he himself was talking more profoundly. Of dark places, like the Shadow Realm. He'd been dead for a whole weak. Legitimately, actually dead, but alive at the same time. In a place that sends other people insane, he'd wanted to stay. But he couldn't. There were people waiting for him to come back. The same smirk lines Jesse's lips as he responds, slowly - out of place. Testing how much Audrey might have changed. "But I do not have breasts. I am a man. And that sounds like a good place to be."


<Audette> "It's not a good place if you don't even like the guy. Vomit breath and all." She gagged a little at the thought, but grinned nonetheless, hand reaching out to playfully pinch at his lack of a D-cup. "I like you better without woman parts. And I like all these pretties you've got going on." Her fingers ran lightly over the numbers on his face. They were so cold that she wouldn't have noticed anything out of place. Pulling back, she shoved her hands in her pockets and looked forward, serious and quiet again.


<Jesse Fforde> Jesse isn't used to people touching his face. He knows people want to, but they don't. Grey had. It's Grey's fingers that have claimed that 21 as their territory. But Jesse does nothing as Audrey's fingers return to their pocket. "No woman does not like me," he says, rolling his shoulders, grinning that mischievous grin of his. "I don't vomit and my breath smells like roses," he says. Though at the moment, his breath probaby smells of stale lungs and old blood. He's never thought to test what his own breath smells like, when he doesn't even need to breathe. It doesn't fog the air like it should. "But I am not pretty," he says, narrowing his eyes faux threateningly. "I am rugged, in a colourful kind of way."


<Audette> "Oh, in a colorful kind of way?" It seemed like a night full of laughs and head shaking on her part. It was certainly a good way to start her time back in the city. "I'll give you rugged, but not in that mountain man sort of way. That scraggle doesn't exactly count as a beard, you know." She might have reached out and toyed with the scruff on his face if her hands weren't nestling up to the warmth her jacket provided.


<Jesse Fforde> "We ninjas need to be light on our feet. Mountain men are not light on their feet. They are good for the muscle, but they have no brains," he says, serious again. But then laughing under his breath; the laughter breaking from him like the hiss of gas from a soft drink bottle. "Beards are for pussies. Trying to make themselves look like men," he says. "I'm just lazy. I shave it off every now and again," he says with a shrug.