‹Azraeth› Az was pretty good at remembering faces, and he took a few seconds to dedicate the features of the various men to his memory on the off chance he came across them in the future and decided to let them know how he really felt about being shot. Drunken fools. When Cordelia turned back to him, he gave a shake of his head. "Flesh wound." He said, without having bothered to assess it. "Looks far worse than it really is." That, and the lovely folks at the hospital didn't need to see his skin stitching itself back together. "I have a first aid kit at the Temple though." He said before pulling away a blood covered hand from his shoulder, to motion towards the street once more. He needed to get out of public as soon as possible. He normally would have used his tome to disappear, or teleported, but that would have been too conspicuous with someone's eyes on him.
‹Cordelia› Looking over at the couple, standing shocked while one had caught the latter half of the encounter on his cell phone, she gave a nod as she slipped her weapon back into her bag, clicking the safety back on. "If you say so," she said lightly, one hand straightening out her hair. "Guaranteed that one guy had more than just a flesh wound, courtesy of me. I'm probably going to be questioned if Mr. Cell Phone Video posts that online." She looked down at her red dress, before starting towards the temple he mentioned. "Do you live there or something? An old Gothic church is an odd place to live.."
‹Azraeth› "Maybe." He said as he waited for traffic to clear enough for them to get across the street. "Like I mentioned before. Crime rate here is pretty vulgar, so the cops might question you, but they also might not even care. Buried under bigger issues." He admitted before the lights from passing cars faded enough for him to begin towards the temple, motioning for her to come along with him. He left a trail of blood on the ground behind him, little spots of it. Of course they were nearly invisible on the asphalt.
‹Cordelia› The crime rate was going to work in her favor for once. Sure, this had been a self-defense situation, but the video probably started after the first guy raised his weapon. "Hopefully it's the latter of the two, even though that shows incompetence in the legal system," she scoffed, looking both ways before following after him, not noticing the blood on the ground, more focused on their destination. "But you didn't answer my other question. Do you live where we're going?"
‹Azraeth› "You said it, not me." He murmured. Though it was true. Az had very little faith in the legal system in Harper Rock. But then, he had that very tiny spark of anarchy in his blood, which seemed to come with being a Worthington, and he never could quite grasp the idea of administrative or enforcement authorities, who couldn't also be respected. "Either way, I wouldn't be too worried. If need be, I can always testify on your behalf." He said with a smile finally returning. The gunshot had thrown him off, but he felt that calm confidence sliding back around him like a veil. "No...it's more like a family owned thing, also open to public. We bought a church, and basically use it to bolster tourism. Lots of history there. I guess you might consider it a family business?" He mentioned when they finally began to approach the looming building.
‹Cordelia› "Wow. Okay, you own this?" She stared up at the building, honeyed eyes skimming the architecture, mouth gaping open. "This place is fantastic. Fabulous, even." Her eyes returned to Azraeth, a smile curling her lips. "I can come inside, then?" She had a little bit of a childish expression of giddiness.
‹Azraeth› "Sort of. The building is in my brother, Nikolae's name." Nikolae, of course, wasn't really his brother, but the two of them could pass as siblings, so Az tended to use that description when talking to mortals, who were unaware of vampires. The corner of his mouth tugged even more firmly when he realized she was smiling and he gestured towards the cathedral. "It's just old." He replied before making his way up stone steps towards large, wooden double doors. "Of course, of course. Everything inside is antique, but carefully maintained. We wanted to keep the feel, atmosphere, and age of the temple intact."
‹Cordelia› "That's incredible. How long has it been in your family?" she said as she followed him up the steps to the entrance. She'd never been anywhere (manmade, at least) that looked quite like this. The only thing comparable was a high school trip to the Winchester Mystery House, and even that was its own experience. Another unique place on her list. "I'm not even going to touch anything. I promise."
‹Azraeth› How long? Az struggled to remember that, actually. "It has to be close to five years now. Definitely four. I know, not exactly the longest history, but we love it." He said even as he made his way inside. The floor was stonework, and at the very end of the large chamber which made up the front, there was an altar. As usual, the dead clung to the Temple, spirits wandering around as if they were still alive. The place nearly buzzed with supernatural energies. Haunted. "You can touch what you like. Most of it isn't breakable." He said as he made his way towards the altar, rifling around behind it before he brought out a first aid kit and began to strip off his coat and shirt.
‹Cordelia› Following him, Cordelia was lost in looking around. She barely acknowledged that he'd spoken as she stared, taking swivelling steps down the center aisle to take in everything as if it would change. She didn't notice the spirits, the aura of the place - she was a bit lost in the architecture. "This place is fantastic." She'd said the same word three times so far in the evening. "What kind of church is it? Aside from Gothic, of -" She stopped speaking as she caught sight of the altar table, tilting her head at the sight of it. As if entranced, she moved towards the altar, trailing her fingers over the table, whispering, "Beautiful."
‹Azraeth› His shirt was off, which revealed pale flesh and etched muscle. Azraeth never would have won awards for his body, but he was lean and firm, and there was enough of a 'v' shape to his chest that he wasn't quite the dinky nerd boy he'd always been before having been turned. He used some antiseptic wipes to clean up blood on his arm. The wound was still there, thankfully, which meant he didn't have to go to a lot of effort to hide it from Cordelia. "It was originally Catholic I believe. These days, when it is used, it's more private than that. Our family occasionally sacrifices virgins." He said casually as he reached for a bandage large enough to place over the bullet holes.
‹Cordelia› A bubbling laugh escaped her as she lifted her eyes from the table finally to look at him. She took notice of his appearance idly - as if filing the information away - but focused on the wound as she picked up a bandage and handed it to him. "I really hope you're kidding," she said, her facial expression falling sort of flat. "If that's why you brought me here, you'd be sorely disappointed in your sacrifice failing."
‹Azraeth› He chuckled softly as he took the bandage from Cordelia, carefully laying it into place, double checking it was covered. "Of course, I'm kidding." Mostly. He did occasionally use the altar for sacrifice, but virgins were hard to come by, and human sacrifice was overrated. And that was when he realized something. His attention flicked right back to Cordelia. "Tell me, have you ever wanted to become part of something bigger? Like really throw yourself into a whole new world?"
‹Cordelia› "Good, then," she sighed, as she looked around the temple again, taking in the sights of it. Then he asked her that question. "Well, I did move to an entirely new country with no friends or relatives to support me here."
‹Azraeth› And there it was again, that nagging feeling at the back of his mind. No friends and family. Would anyone miss her if she disappeared? "Well without sounding too culty, my family accepts new members. Not like...as wives or sister wives or anything." He wasn't explaining things very well. So he cast his gaze towards the door as if to see if anyone was coming in. "What if I told you, we could be your family?"
‹Cordelia› The brunette's eyes cast downward to the stone floor suddenly, as she bit her lip. "Family?" She looked back up at him. "I've never really had a family, it was always me, my friends, and my books. Then there was Alex. He taught me to shoot. Other than that..." She breathed a sigh. "I've been alone for years."
‹Azraeth› A girl and her books. Maybe that was what it was. Az saw some of himself in the woman. He had been on his own for along time. Alone, but not lonely, fine distinction there. He understood what it was to be a solitary and independent creature, who also felt the need to be part of something. Anything really. He sighed himself, weighing options for a moment. "If I show you something, you can't freak out." He said, his head finally lifting so he could lock his gaze right onto hers.
‹Cordelia› "I swear I won't. I'm not the run-screaming kind of girl, in case you didn't notice that outside," she said, her tone dipped in a hint of sarcasm as honey eyes met blue. "Your eyes are fascinating, by the way, where'd you get the contacts?"
‹Azraeth› "They aren't contacts." He answered, even as he pulled his bandages off, giving them a toss to one side before he hopped up onto the altar, seated with legs dangling, body leaning closer towards Cordelia so she could catch sight of the wound. Mystical energies began to move through him then, and in a matter of just a couple of seconds, the hole was completely closed, not even scar tissue left in its wake.
‹Cordelia› Furrowing her brows, Cordelia tilted her head, confused. "What do you mean, they aren't - oh my god." And then she was gaping, open mouthed and wide-eyed, at what had once been bloodied flesh becoming whole once again in a matter of seconds. "That's incredible. Like...like..." She couldn't even come up with a direct association. The only thing coming to mind for her was a manga she'd read ages ago.
‹Azraeth› "Well it's not normal." He agreed even as he reached for his shirt once more, and realized it was too much of a bloody mess to be put back on. "There are a lot of names for what I am, what my family is. Without using any specific nomenclature, because stereotypes are stupid, suffice it to say we have certain abilities. You're...unique, strong. I can see that. I want to give you the chance to have those same abilities."
‹Cordelia› So her similarity was close, in a way. "You can make me able to do things like that?" she said, still gaping, occasionally stumbling over her words as she was in a touch of shock. But she was flattered he thought she was strong. "I've been trying to be strong for years. You can make me stronger?"
‹Azraeth› "To an extent. Being what I am...it comes with a lot of benefits, but there are also a lot of draw backs as well. If you do, you won't be able to step into the sunlight anymore. You'll need to feed on blood to sustain yourself. There are people who go completely insane when the change happens in them." Which. Gave away what he was, but he didn't want to say the word still. Too much drama wrapped up in those two syllables. Too many cliches, and stories, and expectations.
‹Cordelia› Catching on, Cordelia grinned quite brilliantly. "I understand. Sometimes, the benefits outweigh the bad things, though. This would be one of those situations." She winked, shifting to lean forward, both hands on the altar now. "Just tell me what you need to do, and what you need me to do. I am game for this."
