Second-Hand [Elizabeth Naarc]

[Cosimo Alessi (DELETED 6612)]

The reaction was not favourable. Although Elizabeth told him to keep eating, there was only a little bit left, and Cosimo was no longer hungry. Even if his stomach might have screamed for that last mouthful, if he were in a calmer state of mind. Now, he felt like he wanted to throw it all back up again. The sweet smile on Elizabeth’s face seemed to entirely contradict her words; but then, they were all kind of like blood rushing in his ears at this point.

These were the things that he heard:

• 1. Public did not necessarily mean safe and
  2. There’s no point in running, because I will track you down.

It didn’t matter that she had told him to rest easy and that she meant him no harm. Those words were like water over a fish’s back, through one ear and out the other. Cosimo’s face was surely white as a sheet, freshly bleached, and a shudder ran through his limbs. It took a while for him to swallow down the bile that threatened to rise in his throat; to clear that throat and finally say what he needed to say, and ask what he needed to ask.

”It is from experience that I know that vampires do mean to do harm, and they can enjoy it at the same time,” he said, trying his hardest to keep the tremor from his voice and no doubt failing. Slowly, he put the lid back on his meal; maybe he would keep the rest for later. Or give it to the next homeless man that he saw on the street. He would not throw it away. He knew not to waste these things, now.

”You say you will not do me harm. If that is true, you will let me leave. Now that you have told me what you are, what are your intentions?” he asked. It wasn’t particularly a question that he wanted to know the answer to. But it was pertinent that he find out.

[Elizabeth]

She noted the lack of color in his face now, but Elizabeth did not take her eyes off the male. She 'tsk'd when she heard him say that vampire did mean to harm and that they enjoyed such a thing. Maybe it was from personal experience, which made Elizabeth question just who this Cosimo was. She, and most in her household did not go out of their way to harm others, most of all humans, unless they meant to harm her family first in some regard. In fact, Elizabeth believed most vampires tended to shy away from the human populace for the biggest reason of all...the fear of a second holocaust. Only this one would be far more damaging than the last due to the modern advances and the rapid progression of vampire abilities.

Elizabeth laughed lightly at Cosimo's question about her intentions. "I must admit, I had none when we first met this evening. I just wished to help you sort your life out a little. Then I had entertained the idea of Lisa, my Lisa of attaining you as one of hers...but she is far more pickier than I am. And I am too fond of my Elise to make you like she is...a human woman I care a great deal about and would never harm." Her voice was light and even slightly whimsical as Elizabeth chattered away. "But then, as the night progressed and our conversation continued onward...well, let us be frank. I cannot let you just leave. Not with knowing my secret." As she spoke, the area around them started to grow darker as the street lights seemed to miss the concrete and buildings they were near. "I really do not want to hurt thee. But it seems that is going to happen no matter what. How much it hurts, depends entirely upon you, Cosimo."

[Cosimo Alessi (DELETED 6612)]

Cosimo was confused. He could have been insulted, but he didn’t have the focus to think about it, or to notice. He didn’t have the particular ego attached to those who chose to be insulted by such things. By the fact that one might not have him because she was too picky and he didn’t reach certain standards. Or the fact that though he was human, he was not important enough or pretty enough or fragile enough to be beyond harm. He was just some stranger on the street who had stumbled across the wrong woman, and he didn’t expect to be anything more to her than… what? Blood, ensconced by meat. A meal, maybe as delicious to her as the spaghetti was to him.

The lights began to dim and Cosimo found his voice again, already pushing himself up from the cement, glancing over his shoulder to find the door to the restaurant. It seemed so far away, now. Like a light at the end of a tunnel, and he had to make a break for it.

”It is not a secret that you alone possess. It is a secret that I know from others, so I do not see why you need to be the one to… extract it,” he said. He wasn’t told of any intentions. He wasn’t being offered any choices, or time to prepare. ”It is not a secret of yours that I asked for. You cannot tell a man a secret he did not ask for and then proceed to harm him for knowing it. That is … it is unreasonable and it is… wicked,” he said, trying to search for the appropriate words.

”I will tell no one your secret just as I have told no one… no one… they would not believe me. Why would I tell anyone?” he said. He was dealing with a vampire. He would not tell her what he once was. That would only put him in more danger. For now, he did his best to stand. To back away slowly, rather than to run. To run, he thought, would be to become the prey to the hunting predator.

[Elizabeth]

A twitch of her lips might have been seen if the air between them wasn't getting darker and darker with each passing second. Wicked. Elizabeth hardly thought herself wicked, and so she couldn't help but smirk a little at the thought. Not many people, or anyone had ever called her such a thing before.

"You know others like me?" There was a tone of intrigue to her question as Elizabeth shook her head. Why would others tell him they were a vampire and not make him one? Was he flawed? Her eyes flicked over his disappearing frame as he inched backwards, attempting to get to a well lit area. He hardly seemed physically flawed. She hadn't any concerns with his mental capacities either. Socially? Perhaps. He was alone, and not very well groomed and appeared to live upon the streets. Cosimo was socially flawed.

"Your choice would be to continue to live like this, over finding your place elsewhere with others? A place you could belong? Find meaning again in your life? You would rather live in uncertainty day in and day out, rather than embrace a new beginning? A new chapter? Honestly?" She could certainly understand the freedom aspect to his life-had things been as they were centuries ago, but not these nights. What good was a life of freedom and choices, when constricted by things like a lack of income?

"Is that what you are saying, Cosimo?" Elizabeth stood slowly, and as she did this, the shadows started to dwindle from creeping towards him, to receding back to her and then vanishing completely; the telepathic woman looking at him with a confused glance as her head was tipped to the right, eyes unblinking and unwavering.

[Cosimo Alessi (DELETED 6612)]

Cosimo hadn’t really thought about it like that. A new chapter. A new beginning. All he could remember was being savaged by creatures that he was supposed to be able to kill. Maybe he hadn’t been a part of the Paladin cult long enough to be entirely brainwashed but after his experiences, vampires didn’t much appeal to him. He wished he were stronger; he wished that he weren’t so afraid. He wished that, in this moment, he would be able to defend himself.

In all his terror it had not settled, in his mind, that this Elizabeth did not mean to harm him. She meant it. She didn’t want to hurt him. Instead she was offering him something else. She was offering him the opportunity to live life on the other side. To become… he licked his lips, at least he stopped backing away. He heard Elizabeth out, the notion that he could get off the street, that he could live a different life in comfort and security – it appealed to him. Even if he had to make sacrifices. He was all about the silver linings and if the pros outweighed the cons, then where was the choice?

”I do not know their names. They were… they were monsters. I have been taught to believe that vampires are monsters. Is that what you are … are most vampires… are they monsters? Will I become one?” he asked. This woman didn’t seem like a monster. She seemed reasonable, and even caring. Yes, caring. That was what she had shown him.

”What place are you offering? How many others?” he asked. He was imagining some kind of den, with walls covered in grime and old, cobweb-matted chandeliers hanging from the ceilings. Or was that too cliché? Where would she take him, and how could he be sure it was where he wanted to be?

[Elizabeth]

Monsters. At one time, Elizabeth would have been placed in such a group. In her more younger years; though every once in a while, the woman could do some acts of the monstrosity kind, when she was consumed inside her own mind. These nights, Elizabeth preferred to believe that there was something more to their existence. The Crow herself was living proof of that. That a vampire could possess such power and surpass those before them; their predecessors.

"Are there not monsters among you now, Cosimo? To tell you that what you have heard is not true would be a lie, but not all of us are monsters. A small fraction of our populace in actuality. Just like your species." Elizabeth took a small step back as she thought about his other questions. She was not the type to give away information that was too personal to those that were her family, but she could give him just enough to answer his question thoroughly.

"My place. My family, Cosimo." Elizabeth started with the simplest of the questions that didn't require any further expanding on her answer. It was direct and to the point. Just what he wanted to know. "That is what we call each other. A family. Not many see things the way we do, but they are mine. I picked them and as I said, I am picky." The woman looked down at her shoes, admiring the intricate detailing of the work done on them before replying to his how many comment. She had to think for a second. "Enough. Not too many. You have already heard me speak of one. But I believe there are two dozen or so of us. Some more talkative than others, but they linger, watch and listen." Regan was one of those Elizabeth was absolutely certain checked in from time to time without ever saying a word. A bridge that would one day be mended, she hoped.

"But, if that interests you not, then I will wish you an uneventful evening and hope you do find your way to my Lisa's place. She will not bite, unless you ask." There was a quirk to her lips at the joke she made, as Elizabeth took another step back. Was she done with Cosimo? Not exactly. She just wanted him to make the choice before she ended up planting him in her rooftop garden tonight. They always seemed to flourish better when they came to the conclusion she had, on their own.

[Cosimo Alessi (DELETED 6612)]

It was a lot to process.

This blonde was a stranger to Cosimo and yet she was offering him a place in her family. What she called family. And she was expecting him to make a choice straight away. But was it really a choice? She was throwing something down on the table before telling him to go stay with a friend. She was backing away, and he wondered whether it was because she was trying to show him she wasn’t a danger to him. It felt like a trap. It felt like reverse psychology.

Given that all he knew about vampires was that they should be killed – words of the cult that he had spent only five minutes of his life within – of course he was going to have his doubts. But she had her point. Monsters lived everywhere. Vampires weren’t born, they were made. And what were they made from? Humans, who may have been monsters to begin with. Elizabeth had not been a monster so far. She had shown no signs of monstrosity. Only curiosity. And of course she spoke to his ego, too. She was picky. And she was willing to pick him. He took a step forward.

”But you do not know anything about me. Why is it that you would pick me?” he asked.

It would be a lie to say that he wasn’t interested. He had no job and no friends in this city. They were all back in Italy. He would not associate with those that his father had forced him to associate with; his friends were his neighbours – the good people who did not make much money, and who he would not call for help. One – they wouldn’t be able to help him. And two? He didn’t want to lead the men to them who’d be searching for him.

If he could make his own way in the world… this was what Elizabeth was offering him. A way off the streets. A step up. A way to… maybe begin again. But he wanted to know why she had picked him. And, of course, he was still aware of the other vampire in the street – the one that was still there. He knew it was still there, lurking in the shadows. Waiting for an opportunity.

[Elizabeth]

They always wanted to know why. Maybe she talked too much, but it was a fair inquiry. Why him and not the other person down the street? Or the woman in the cafe drinking whatever she ordered, a few buildings down?

"Would you rather I leave you to him?" Elizabeth looked directly at the other vampire-or at least in the area he had been lurking in a few minutes ago. When her gaze returned to Cosimo, her eyes were bouncing with mischief and amusement at her own question.

"It is true that I know not your life story, Cosimo, but I see your potential and it is great. If you embrace it. As you have done now. More would wallow in self-pity at their misfortunes, yet you do not. Have not. Your optimism is an endearing quality and something that speaks to me personally." It wasn't that Elizabeth was an overly optimistic individual-quite the opposite in reality. When her moods went south, Elizabeth was often prone to bouts of crazy, or helplessness-so much she was often thrust into the vathia. But Cosimo was a breath of fresh air and reminded her to stay uplifted, even when the situation was dire. She wanted to retain that optimism and Elizabeth wanted to possess it. Slightly selfish in nature, but the two of them would both be winning in this situation if he agreed her proposition.

"What is holding thee back? Will you miss this life?" She wasn't asking it out of malice, some people are comfortable with the way their life was, even if an outsider believed they deserved more or better things.