Of Prophets (Closed)

[Elizabeth]

'We have nothing but time.'

Those words had stilled Elizabeth, and she could not help but stare at Alaric. Perhaps everyone knew such a thing; every vampire that was, and yet so few had ever stated such a thing. It was something that she had saiid at least two times, but perhaps closer to a handful over the course of the years. The exact same idea and wording. And so, while his smile seemed to be heavy, hers was the exact opposite.

"Indeed, we do seem to have an ample supply of it." Elizabeth nodded her head, then glanced down the corridor passage way they had traveled down. "My evening is free now that this order of business has been handled. I had not planned on going into any of my shops." The blonde haired telepath informed Alaric as Elizabeth took a step in the direction from where they had came from. "And so, my night is yours. At least, what is left of it." Elizabeth stated, casting a glance in Alaric's direction, evaluating his height, the stubble upon his facial features and the clothing in which he wore.

"Hmm. Where to begin?" Elizabeth asked rhetorically, before deciding to start from the information she knew. "I believe the year was 1810....there about." Elizabeth started quietly, her blue eyes moving from Alaric to the darkened corridor. "Our sire had started receiving dreams...or perhaps visions is a better word for it. And in those dreams a beautiful Crow had told her things...spoke of this place." Elizabeth's blue eyes bounced to Alaric again, watching his facial features as she retold the story. To some, it would perhaps seem far fetched, but to Elizabeth, not so much. "Before this city, you see...if one had died, that was the end. One never returned-it was not an option." Elizabeth knew this first hand, having seen others die in the nights long forgotten about, or at least rarely spoken about.

She stopped, turned and looked towards Alaric. "She arrived here about a year before I had. She had shared her dreams and the things that had been said, and I suppose, like anything stories were told. Some for, and some against her. Those who believed arrived here and lived for a while, while those who did not...I imagine are no longer with us, or have taken to very good hiding. I cannot say which is true, but I think..well, there has to be at least someone else out there, somewhere. But, perhaps not." Elizabeth conceded that most people would disagree with her upon that thought-which was their right to do so. She, however, would not stop believing there was at least one other vampire somewhere in the world, outside of Harper Rock.

"How does one feel about arboretums or...stars? There is an observatory not far from here..."

[Alaric von der Marck]

Alaric nodded, knowingly – he had died while in this city but it had been mere coincidence that the others were here, or were on their way. Or perhaps it was no coincidence, now that he thought about it. The city was special, and maybe it acted as a magnet. It was his subconscious that had led him here.

”Stars, I do like the stars,” he nodded, agreeing with their destination before attending to what Elizabeth had told him, revelations slow to unfold in his mind. Revelations that may never be proven true, or false. Mere inquisitions that he could chose to believe or to let go.

”I was here before you,” he admitted. ”I was born in Germany, fifteen-seventy – I came to Canada when the war ravaged Germany. I did not think there would be anything left of my country, and I was concerned about the safety of my family. It was in sixteen-twenty-one that we migrated to New France – that is what Canada was, then. That is when I settled in Harper Rock, when we began to build the estate that still stands. I was killed in seventeen-ninety-four,” he said with a frown. Before Isabel had even received her messages, before any of them had come to this city for its supernatural properties. Was he one of the first to have been killed? What would have happened had he decided to stay in Germany?

”I am agreement with you. It is unlikely that we were all killed. There must be someone, somewhere…” he thought. They were outside by now, and his eyes lifted skyward – as if the stars might be able to tell him where to go, might be able to direct them to other elders, somewhere. So long as they were careful with their second chance, they’d have plenty of time to find out.

”I did not know that it was possible to come back from death. This… is miracle, for me,” he said. Often he woke with a start all tangled in his sheets, as if from a nightmare that none of it was real. It was always a struggle to pull himself out of it.

[Elizabeth]

There was a confession that he liked stars, and while Elizabeth did not feel one way or another about them, she believed them to be useful. In her guild days, she had used them for purpose of travel and direction telling. Now? Now they were nothing more than a permanent fixture in everyone's lives and would outlive all of them-even vampires, Elizabeth reckoned. Since that was his preference, Elizabeth nodded her head and began walking once again, this time with a little more purpose, towards the exit.

"Before me?" Elizabeth echoed, tho she knew it to be likely. She had been forestalled by other things personal to her, and so it was not unlikely that she had been one of the last to arrive. The blonde haired telepath remained quiet, but nodded her head, as she listened to Alaric's story. Fifteen seventy-which implied he was older than some elders she knew, but a few decades younger than her. Still, the time frame from when she was born, to when he was born had not changed dramatically. Politics had, but clothing had not much, nor had any significant advances.

When Alaric confessed to living here centuries before others, Elizabeth stopped and tilted her head towards him. There were many places within the world...why here? Had he been influenced in ways Alaric did not know or understand, to come here? Or had it been a lucky whim? "Why...how did one die?" Elizabeth asked as they came to the entrance of the sewers. "Forgive me-that is a morbid topic, yet..." Yet, she could not help but wonder. Among with other things. Had he met Cobb? Befriended him before any other had? Had he met the 'Crow' without knowing? A tinge of jealousy started forming within the woman, just at the mere thought of someone-anyone meeting her (even without their knowledge), other than her.

As they moved outside, Alaric shared his thoughts on others, and she found him agreeing with her. It was reassuring that there was someone-an elder none the less, that shared her view points on that thought. As if there was some form of hope ebbed within those shared thoughts between the two. Hope that there was another place like Harper Rock that was safe for them all, for her. She sighed at his thoughts of death and coming back..."Yes, though it had taken a long time, it seemed that while she was right, she did not know how long it would take to come back." Or perhaps that was all Cobb's doing-a fleeting thought that seemed silly as the thought entered Elizabeth's mind, but he had betrayed them and any thoughts or mention of Cobb made the woman credit him with more than what was potentially possible for one man, and one man alone.

"There." Elizabeth pointed west of the park limits where a building stood, having been beautiful in a previous lifetime. Now, the building had spots where it was crumbling near the top and had been overgrown with weeds and other various foliage. The door remained clear, only because once or twice a year the building was used by government officials for scientific purposes, but no one actively worked there anymore.

[Alaric von der Marck]

Alaric peered at the building Elizabeth presented to him. It was crumbling at the edges and it looked old. It felt old, like Alaric himself felt old – at times he, too, felt like he was crumbling around the edges, as if, were he to touch his own cheek the rise of it would fall away like ash. Parts of the building could almost have been standing before his death. Death, the topic at hand.

”I was betrayed,” he said, brow furrowing as he spoke the words, gaze dipping groundward, unaware that those were the first words that would pass his lips when asked how he’d died. Although it was a story he’d told, it hadn’t been a question he’d answered. It wasn’t the hunter who’d landed the final blow that was afforded the majority of Alaric’s discontent, it was the family member who’d allowed the beast into his home. A hunter was a hunter, trained to kill and, like a good soldier, like any animal surging forth on instinct, it would do what it was told – whether by a higher force, or by instinct alone. The one that betrayed him, however, had done so by choice.

”The hunters were gaining force and gewannen an dynamik… dy… momentum, ja? This you know. One of my own, a von der Marck, he let the hunter inside of the home. Told it where I sleep. The sun … I could not defend myself, it was too late,” he said. He remembered it as if it were yesterday, even though he’d spent two centuries in that hell. The final words of the hunter struck true and were more the death blow for Alaric than the sword that was thrust through his heart. There’d been problems, yes, but Alaric had not thought it would go so far as death.

”Why? Religion, ich denke,” he said. ”I am happy to be alive again. I am thankful for the second chance. Are you not?” he asked, now peering up the side of the abandoned observatory; they’d reached the property, and he allowed Elizabeth to lead the way inside.

[Elizabeth]

Elizabeth nodded at Alaric's statement. Yes, he was betrayed. They all had been, even if they did not know Cobb. At least, that was what she assumed he meant, until Alaric shed some further light upon his thoughts. When he inquired what she already knew, Elizabeth nodded her head. Yes, she had known such a thing, which was why she had gone to the singular person who was of her blood. To warn them, to get them to leave, all of them. An act of cowardess? To some, perhaps. To her? There was nothing Elizabeth would not do for those of her blood-born or sired. Retreat and return another evening, and others to dwindle their forces had been her strategy, one that did not work, obviously.

Yet, Alaric's story was different. Betrayal of a different kind. One of born blood and one that caused her to frown. She too knew that form of betrayal, and it had almost cost her, her life when she were human. It had cost the lives of her children that had never made it to term, those that had been born weak and had died within a handful of days. So much betrayal and loss. "I am most sorry." Elizabeth said, before adding upon her thoughts. "I do not believe that Louvel would do such a thing to thee. If one is worried about a repeated occurrence. He thinks most highly of thee." The tone of the human kin of Alaric's implied as much to Elizabeth.

There was a prolonged silence between the two of them at the other elder's shared thoughts and question. During this time, Elizabeth moved closer to the door that was locked, while her hands combed through her hair. Using two items as 'bobby pins', she revealed an 'l' shaped torsion wrench, while the other held a 'hook pick.' "Yes, and no." Elizabeth admitted openly as she came to a crouching position, inserting both tools, one at a time, listening carefully for the hook to work its way to a certain point. "Sometimes." The pitch in her voice grew softer, while the woman concentrated on what it was she was doing. "I have been free much longer than thee...I say that not to brag." Elizabeth smiled as the 'hook' found its positioning and there was a soft 'click' of the lock opening. "Six years and in most those years, I have been more unhappy, than happy. While I am glad to have been given a second chance, not all second chances are...glorious." She stood and slowly turned to face him, while each tool was once again placed within her hair, to be held there securely.

"I am well aware that second chances do not come around often and are what you make of it, but..." She lifted her shoulders into a shrug and offered a small smile. "I tried a different route this time...something that others had before their demise and have found that I, unlike they...should not meddle in things I know very little about." She laughed lightly, before offering a wider smile. "But, we are here for stars and to not take away from their allure, perhaps that conversation is best left for another evening." It had not been her intent to focus on her misfortunes, or any misfortunes tonight, yet here they were.

"In my previous life, before our long death, I used the stars to travel. And for entertainment as well. Crafting shapes that may, or may not have been there. It passed the time and silence." Elizabeth said as she pushed the door open and led them to a small main floor, no bigger than a bedroom, before stairs would take them up to the top. "They were the closest thing to the sun as well. Bright, yet not harmful." She continued, while climbing the stairs. While she suspected most the kindred did not miss the sun, she did with each passing year Elizabeth had not been able to see it. "I imagined them to be just as wonderful as the sun...my human life revolved around it greatly. It was a loss that took some time getting over." Even now, Elizabeth wondered if she were 'over' it.

[Alaric von der Marck]

Alaric laughed and nodded. No, he did not think that Louvel would do such a thing. But Louvel was not his only family; there were plenty others who visited the estate on occasion, some that he would trust more than others – even if he hoped that he could trust them all with his and each other’s lives. Given the slip-ups that had occurred in the past, if Alaric was betrayed he did not think it would be done on purpose. It would be by accident, some of them misunderstanding the privacy the elder had requested. It was tough to try to fit back in. Once upon a time the estate had been his. His own hands had helped to build it. Everyone who lived in it would look to him for permission to make changes, to organise gatherings, or guests to stay. It had not been something he had asked of them. It was something they had done on principle.

Now, who was he to tell them what they could and could not do? He had been absent for two centuries and his family had made themselves at home – as they well should have. Many of them had grown up within the estate’s halls, and once their parents had left they grew used to doing as they pleased. It would not cross their minds to ask Alaric whether he minded about specific things. It was not something they were accustomed to. Alaric shrugged.

”Sometimes I think about investing in a property that none know about, somewhere to sleep during the day where I will not be found, not even by family. But I think to do so would only garner more distrust than breed trust,” he said. Especially after the recent issues with Judah, knowing that a Paladin had had access to his sanctuary. It caused him anxiety he should not have in his own home.

He listened to Elizabeth, then, curious even after she’d said it was a conversation best left for another night. He wanted to ask what it was she had meddled in, and what she had done differently. But, perhaps she did not wish to talk about it yet. So Alaric let the topic drop.

”The sun is a star,” he said with a slow nod. ”It is easy to imagine that the stars that we look at could be host to their own life-giving planets. They are suns, in and of themselves,” he said. He had not thought about it that way. Now, when he looked at the stars it would be all that he would see.

”I miss the warmth of the sun but I do not think it grieves me as much as it does you. When I wake of an evening I like to go walking. I do not put shoes on, because I like to dig my toes into the soil. You can still feel the warmth of the sun, sometimes,” he said as those very feet climbed the stairs behind Elizabeth.

[Elizabeth]

As they ascended the circular staircase, Elizabeth listened to everything Alaric said. 'More distrust,' implied that there was distrust already among him and his human family, which seemed peculiar to Elizabeth. Louvel had seen anything but distrusting of Alaric, so it must be another that Elizabeth had not met. Her steps slowed, allowing Elizabeth to turn her body half way to Alaric as she stopped on the stair that she was upon. "Tell me, do your kin do everything near, or around you and your property? Do they not do things outside of it-things you do not know about?" It was a fair question. Elizabeth did not know everything that her childre or thrall did, nor they with her.

"I spend most my time at the tower, but I have many of city properties. Apartments, penthouses, a boat or two..." Elizabeth glanced in front of her, as to take her eyes off Alaric to not make him uncomfortable with her repeated attention upon him. "I think it is how one broaches the subject that would make a difference. If one ever decides to." She turned once again to the direction they had been traveling, and continued her ascend to the top floor.

Her heels clicked upon the thing, but sturdy metal, as her eyes glanced up at the night sky through the dome shaped window. At the reminder that the sun was a star, Elizabeth smiled warmly to Alaric. He was not wrong, his knowledge on the matter had surprised and pleased her though. The blonde telepath nodded in agreement, and only smiled more when he made the claim that stars were suns in themselves. It was an analogy Elizabeth had never heard, but appreciated. "I suppose you are right in saying that." It was a unique perspective that Elizabeth would think of when she looked at them from now on.

"I have never thought to try and do such a thing." Elizabeth admitted as she slowly turned to look at the other elder. "Most of my gardens are controlled by an artificial source of light. It is not the same." She had asked Louvel something about Alaric and had not pursued the thought further, but now that they were here..."Do you share a kinship to the earth as Louvel does?" She could find out, of course, but had wanted to her it from Alaric personally, no matter the answer. "I had seen it by accident when he had delivered a shipment of berries to my bakery." She explained, wanting him to know that Louvel wasn't going around displaying his abilities for just anyone and everyone.

[Alaric von der Marck]

Alaric chuckled at the question and shook his head. ”Of course I do not know,” he said. They did plenty outside of the estate of which Alaric was not aware; they spent time with friends that they had made before they were even aware it was possible that a great elder of theirs could be brought back to life. Alaric did not begrudge them their lives outside of the estate and away from his immediate mental reach. As much as he thirsted for their company, he was beginning to realise that he could find company of his own, unrelated to himself, that would sate his desire to banish loneliness. He nodded.

”The subject has been broached, as you say,” he said. He lowered his eyes. Although he did not have to keep an eye on his footsteps, he did so anyway. Soon they would reach the top of the staircase and his curiosity would get the better of him.

”It was a plan, before my death. There were those in my family who were willing to sacrifice their mortality, to spend eternity as heads of family. It took time. They were made aware of what they would be giving up. It is something that I have offered a select few, now, as a possibility for the future. If it is something that they desire. If they express the wish…” he shook his head. He would know how to proceed should the situation occur. It was not something he would give lightly.

At first Alaric was confused by the question; she had seen what? She had seen that Louvel was good with plants, that he had a green thumb? But then Alaric remembered a conversation that he had had with the Keeper, a conversation about Louvel’s mother, about the things that she could do. Louvel had not gone into any detail about what power he himself might hold, and nor had Alaric witnessed anything that the Keeper was capable of. Louvel was modest, in all things – and if he did not require help, if it was not of importance, then he would have no reason to share. Alaric shook his head.

”I am not sure what you have witnessed, but I have never been very good with plants,” he said with a wry smile.

[Elizabeth]

She knew the answer before Alaric told Elizabeth as much. Everyone enjoyed doing things with and without people, so she did not expect any different answer from the other elder. She would have been surprised to learn that everyone did everything together at all times and were a completely open book with the other. "I have, perhaps, almost a dozen properties within the city. Most have been abandoned for months, if not years. I hire staff to come in monthly to clean them, otherwise, no one has ventured inside most for some time." Elizabeth slowly began, before getting to the point.

"If one ever requires some privacy...or time to oneself...I would be glad to share a key with thee to one of those places. Some are bigger than others, but I guarantee one will not be bothered by any of mine." Elizabeth moved away from Alaric to allow her back to find the concave metal shaped dome of the top of the building. Very slowly a heal was removed from each foot, and placed to the right of her, before the woman slid down to the metal surface beneath them.

"If the time comes-when the time comes for what it is that weighs upon your mind so, you will find that what was once heavy, is light and comes naturally. There will be no hesitation from you, or they when taking the next step. The step towards eternity. It will be like the stars. When things are aligned right, the results are beautiful, memorable and amazing." Elizabeth glanced to the left of her and pat the metal besides her as her left ankle crossed over her right. "As for Louvel, what I saw was impressive. His abilities are very well developed. And not something that needs to be lost, should his journey lead him to one filled with eternity." While his abilities may change with the siring process, Elizabeth believed that it was ingrained within Louvel and would transfer over, much as it did with her. Only altered. It would not be the same, but nothing ever was when one journeyed down the path of a vampire. "Come. I will show you." Elizabeth offered with a smile as she tucked her legs under her frame and took a kneeling position.

[Alaric von der Marck]

Alaric would consider Elizabeth’s offer, though it was not particularly privacy that he was after. It was permanency, a place to live away from the von der Marck Estate, to relinquish old ghosts – his own included – and start completely fresh. He clung to memories and traditions, all of which were long gone. The new generation – and every generation that had come before them, since Alaric’s demise, had taken care of the Estate. He could leave the future in their capable hands.

These were not thoughts that he dwelled on, however. These were not decisions that he had yet decided. He followed Elizabeth with ease, sliding down the metal and settling at her side. ”You are an optimist,” he said, amused and surprised – not because he didn’t think Elizabeth could be an optimist, but because it was always a surprise, or dozens of small surprises, when getting to know someone. The more time Alaric spent with Elizabeth, the more he enjoyed her company. The more he got to know her, the more he got to like her. He was not certain that it would come to pass in the way that Elizabeth had described. He felt that there would be objections and hurdles through and over which they would all have to run. But, it was nice to entertain the notion that, in the end, she could be right.

The fellow elder had said that Alaric should watch, and so he nodded, sitting back a little. He had no idea what to expect – except that it could be some ability that Elizabeth was capable of, that had only strengthened with time. In the back of his mind, Alaric made a mental note to ask Louvel more about these abilities of his, next time that he saw him.