Risvegliare [Esmeralda/Invite]

[Cosimo Alessi (DELETED 6612)]

Waking up on the couch was strange to Cosimo. He woke with a start, all of a sudden as the sun sunk below the horizon. The first thing he was aware of was the room in front of him. It was different to what he was accustomed to; but the spare room in the penthouse wasn’t what he was used to, either. His life was in a transitional stage, and there was no permanent place for him, yet. Not including this massive estate, of course, which he knew was a permanent bastion within which he was welcome. A room to stay, however? This, surely, had to be only temporary.

But why was he on the couch?

His mouth was dry. His throat itched. Burned, even, with a thirst that he wasn’t accustomed to. Every night he made sure to feed. Like any human being would eat breakfast or dinner, a religious meal, Cosimo made sure to sink his teeth into at least one person every night. It seemed devious, to think of it that way. Evil. But he never hurt them. He made sure not to hurt them. It took a few seconds for him to piece the puzzle together, and for his memory to snap back into place.

Yes, he had fed. But he had been seen. He had been seen by a girl dressed all in white, who had then requested to be turned. That was why he was on the couch, because she was in his room. Well, not is room, but someone else’s room. A spare room. Maybe it didn’t belong to anyone. A transient room. And he had not replaced the blood that he had lost, which was why he was thirsty. Was that the beginning of a headache? Surely not.

Cosimo sat up, and looked toward the door that led to the spare bedroom. The door was still mostly closed; had he not closed the door entirely? No, he hadn’t. He’d left the door open just a little. Like a parent leaving the door open for a child who might be afraid of the dark. Or who might need to find their way to the bathroom in the middle of the night. Standing, he made his way toward that door now. Rather than barge in, he paced in front of it. There was a familiarity accorded to the girl within. Esmeralda. A connection that could not be denied. But the hours of sleep had taken away the surface sheen, and he was uncertain, now, how to act.

There were things that needed to be achieved. Maybe after those things had been taken care of, Esmeralda could meet Elizabeth. There was a plan. There was no need to be uncertain. All he had to do was wait for Esmeralda to wake up. So he paced, while he waited, continuing to go over that plan in his head as he did so.

[Esmeralda Craft (DELETED 6851)]

Esmeralda had been awake for a while. A good hour or so. She stood still, hands behind her back, half leaning against the bed whilst she fixated on the door. Her eyes had glazed over in that distracted way they often did, her thoughts totally elsewhere whilst she fixated on possibilities and what had happened to her - what she had asked for. She felt blessed, like her Sire had honoured her and bought her to another plane where things were different and more important than before. Esmeralda knew Cosimo didn't see it this way, but that wouldn't stop her little mind from believing it to be a sort of holy transition.

She heard him move as he rose and her head moved for the first time since she awoke, tilting in his direction as if her pale eyes could see through the walls. She had forgotten about breathing once more, her chest as still as her heart and lungs, no more active than that of a corpse. When she first woke up in this stranger's room she had gasped and tried to make herself breathe but the idle and unimportant task faded in and out of habit. Her eyes followed her Sire's movement as she heard it, and her lips twitched upward in amusement as she realised that he was pacing - back and forth, back and forth, as if troubled or undecided.

She knew once she moved he'd know she was awake, and that she would need to talk to him, and for the moment the silence of the room was pleasant on her brain. Her thoughts were always so loud and the world just added to that. So for a moment longer she savoured and used it, seeing behind her eyes the multiple ways the day - no, the night - would go. Then she swallowed, and took a step forward.

Then something she did not anticipate assaulted her - hunger. Something she had been to distracted and neglectful to pay full attention too. Of course she would be hungry, thirsting for the life source of the city, but she didn't realise it would be so loud.. It pumped in her ears and burned her throat, like an adrenaline to drive her mad. She moved quicker, and then the door was open without her realising she had touched it, and she faced Cosimo. Her eyebrows were drawn together in frustration, like a little sulky child. She tilted her head, looking at him with her large eyes.

"I'm.. I'm hungry.."

[Cosimo Alessi (DELETED 6612)]

Of course it was something Cosimo should have expected, that Esmeralda would be hungry. It was something that he knew, that he had dwelled upon, but as he had paced and his thoughts had drifted the thought was pushed aside. Now, when the door opened and Cosimo was greeted with the sight of his new and first childe, he was assaulted with the first task at hand. There was no point planning, was there? They could let the night take them where it would, dictated by the things that Esmeralda first needed to know, and the questions that she asked. Cosimo swallowed, and nodded.

”As am I,” he said, honestly. They could go and feed together, and in doing so he could show Esmeralda all the ways that it was possible. He pushed his hands through his hair and nodded again, leading his childe toward the door to the outside.

”I feed from the source,” he said. He didn’t even grimace, the way he said it. The source. From the vein. It was fresh, that way, like tomatoes picked straight from the vein, tossed through pasta made that day, with oil of olives that were grown in his grandmother’s garden. He was a man who’d liked his food fresh and crisp and full of natural flavour, so of course he would be a vampire who’d prefer his food fresh and from a source that wasn’t full of badness.

”But I do not kill. And if it makes you uncomfortable, there are rats. And there are blood bags, from the shops. Which would you prefer?” he asked, leaving it up to Esmeralda. Though, whether she decided to feed from the source or not, she could come with Cosimo while he went about his business. She could watch, and learn by observation, so that she would know what to do if the time came that she was forced to feed from a human.

He wasn’t sure whether he’d said all this the night before; he was nervous, in his own way, and he didn’t want to mess this up. He didn’t want to let Esmeralda down by not telling her the things she needed to know. Better to repeat himself than to not say anything at all.

[Esmeralda Craft (DELETED 6851)]

She didn't have to think about this answer in that moment, because she had previously thought about it as a human, to great length. Esmeralda saw this kind, and now herself, as a higher state above the humans that busied their lives in the daylight. Even when alive she thought it was a natural order for her to be food for these beings, so drinking from 'the source', as her Sire put it, was to her the proper and certainly the most appealing way.

"The 'source', Sire." She said with a light, distant giggle. That term amused her, the way it made it same so much more humane, and less bestial than simply saying 'people'. "Are there rules? About who we drink?" She asked curiously, presuming that some of the humans would be more fair game than others. The corners of her lips lifted into a smile as she wondered if those who are 'off limits' would taste better, like children or those who belong to another.

Thinking about tasting anything fuelled her hunger, and her smile dropped back to a straight line as she was reminded of the burning thirst. She stayed a few steps behind her maker, feeling it was fitting, and tried to think of ways to repay him. She had money, but that would never be enough of a thank you to the man, the being, that had made her his Childe. Already she had a sort of fixation on Cosimo, as she saw him like a father, the connection between them being undeniable after the turning.

[Cosimo Alessi (DELETED 6612)]

Cosimo laughed as he led Esmeralda out the same way that they had come in. There were a couple of reasons for his laughter, the first begetting the second. He laughed because she called him Sire. It sounded like something out of the Victorian age; something a butler would call his boss. It was far too formal for the likes of Cosimo. The first bout of laughter reminded him of his usual optimism; and just like that, with the snap of a finger, he knew that this was not something to be anxious about. What he had done was not something to regret. It was not something to worry about. It was something that Esmeralda had asked for, and now she was here. And her survival, her existence, was something to be celebrated.

”Please, it not sire. It is Cosimo. Or… well, most people, they call me Cosi,” he said. He was her sire, of course. But it wasn’t something that needed to be stated every time they greeted each other; it wasn’t something she had to shout from the rooftops.

As he led her out into the crisp night air, he nodded, and then shook his head.

”I do not think that there are any rules. I think, the only rule that exists is that you are not seen, and that you do not reveal vampires to any other living soul,” he said. He glanced sideways at Esmeralda with a sheepish grin. ”It is a rule that I broke, obviously. I do not think it turned out as bad as it could have, but that does not mean that I can do it whenever I like,” he said. He took in a sharp breath as he peered through the darkness of the trees, toward the lights of the city that he could see through the foliage. He had a thing about taste, Cosimo. He liked to take his blood from those with clean blood. Fresh blood. He had been a bit of a culinary expert, as a human, and nothing seemed to have changed now.

”We will… go and see what we can find,” he said. This would be a first, leading a hunt. Whether or not they found two people together that they could each take their meal from would be up to fate, he supposed.

[Esmeralda Craft (DELETED 6851)]

His rejection of the formality amused Esmeralda. It would not stop her - though she would not speak against him in that moment - because the word truly suited him. Not just in the literal sense but she could see within him that he was a guide, a helping hand, and someone she would regard highly. Certainly above herself whilst she felt so fresh and driven. Her chilled blue eyes were wider than ever (If possible) at the prospect of this new taste.

She swished the fabric of her dress gently with each hand as she followed him, always a step behind. "You're always breaking rules, Sire." She said, very matter-of-factly. "They surround you. Neglected." Her ghostly voice picked up into a laugh as her fingers walked up your back without actual contact, as if she was touching your aura, or soul, or whatever you would call it, instead. She often made assumptions about people in this way. Occasionally wrong, she felt she wasn't this time. Cosimo had too much mischief in his expressions.

She dropped her hand back to the fabric of her nightdress. "Do different people taste different? Different blood types, even? Different races? Do the elder taste dusty, or aged like fine wine? Or are the young ones the delicacies?" Questions fell from her mouth as she became more and more distracted by each word. She could visualise it. She could see how fun it could be. She was no foodie, but she was accustomed to very fine meals simply due to her family's wealth and staff. It was ridiculous for her to eat something like fast food when a chef lived only a floor below her, on call like a doctor. This thought made her smile. A doctor on call would be useful now. One that takes the blood donations at hospitals. It could be served in one of those fancy, old glasses her mother hoards in the dining room.

Esmeralda was going a million miles an hour in her head, which wasn't unusual for her, but certainly was never this exciting before. She had been given such an outlandish opportunity and hoped she could take full advantage of it.

[Cosimo Alessi (DELETED 6612)]

It was an odd way to talk about rules. But it was fitting, in a way. He snorted, and shook his head; when he turned, it was in time to miss the gesture Esmeralda had made, her fingers crawling up his back. The hallways were not new to him; even while distracted, it wouldn’t take them long to get out of the building.

”I do not break the rules on purpose,” he said. Maybe he resented it, this assumption that he was a rule breaker. But in the end, it was entirely untrue. He’d never been the kind of person to live by the letter of the law. He’d lived outside of the law – sheltered first by his mother, but then taken under the wing of his father. There, he had learned how to evade the law. To break the rules without being caught. To get away with it.

In this life, he respected his sire. He tried to do what she told him he should. The rules were not broken out of some kind of revenge, or stubborn reluctance to follow them. He shrugged his shoulders.

”I… am very new to this. It is not that I have broken the rule on purpose. It is that sometimes I take the wrong step,” he said, turning around to look at Esmeralda as he said it. They definitely would have to go and collect some of her clothes; he couldn’t walk around with her in her night clothes. But her thirst should probably be the first thing that they take care of.

”And si. I do think that people, they do taste different. I do not think it depends so much on age, but on lifestyle,” he said. Cosimo had loved his food. And he had hated fast food. He liked everything to be fresh. ”So I think that the question is – what kind of food do you like best?” he asked. It was still odd to look at the humans in this city like it was some kind of buffet. But he couldn’t help it.

They stepped out of the front door into the brisk air. Where they went next depended on Esmeralda.

[Esmeralda Craft (DELETED 6851)]

It was a peculiar question for Esmeralda. She liked food, sure, but she just ate what she was given. Fine foods, but at the same time, boring ones. Roast meat and stodgy, home-made bread with vegetables that could only be described as dull. She supposed that she liked spicy food, on the occasions she’d had it outside of her home. Things with actual taste. That would be desirable.

"Exciting things." She verbally decided. "Food that doesn't hate itself." She grinned. That statement was silly but made sense to her - how could a damp piece of broccoli be content with its outward appearance, or taste? Her childishness had solidly positioned itself within her attitude towards food. Sugary, flavourful and generally bad for her. The stuff she wasn’t always allowed. She tried to apply this to people, and to their blood, and struggled. Healthy people, who don’t hate themselves, or unhealthy people whose blood is full of sugar.

She shrugged, just to herself. “Can you tell? What people taste like?” She asked her Sire curiously. Esmeralda wondered if it was their smell, or if it was just down to their appearance and good judgment on the part of the Vampire.

[Cosimo Alessi (DELETED 6612)]

Cosimo had no idea what she meant when she said food that doesn’t hate itself. Applying it to what they would be eating was the best way to try to understand – humans that didn’t hate themselves. Cosimo figured they wouldn’t be too hard to find. That coupled with her next question, however, and Cosimo had to shrug.

”I suppose it is a judgement,” he said. Just like you can tell that a restaurant will be good if it has been given five stars. Though, sometimes you could find a dive in the wall, somewhere out of the way and seemingly unhygienic with food that was to die for. Sometimes it wasn’t so easy to judge what a person’s blood would taste like, depending on how they looked. It was like judging a book by its cover. But at least it was easy enough to figure out the genre, broadly speaking.

”You will know that drinking from the homeless, they will taste unhealthy, si? Drinking from the gangsters, the same. If it is someone young, they will taste more… robust, yes? Someone old, it will vary. If they are out walking their dog, and they are dressed in designer clothing, then they will not hate themselves. Or you might guess that they do not hate themselves,"

Keeping the request in mind, however, he turned right, heading West toward Gullsborough. It was where all the mansions were. Where all the rich and wealthy and well-to-do resided. Having money did not necessarily mean that these people did not hate themselves, but they would treat themselves well regardless of how they felt. They’d have money to buy all the best organic food. They would eat gluten free. They would drink all the best wine.

”We will see what we will find,” he said, finally. He’d never hunted with someone in tow. One at a time, he figured – less likely to be discovered, that way. Maybe they’d be lucky and find someone walking in the park again. By themselves, and easy targets.