Blood Thieving 2.0 (INVITE)

[Lancaster]

Salty Earth. Freddie tried not to laugh – but he was trying to imagine what Salty Earth smelled like. Earth, he could live with – so long as it wasn’t the kind of earth one might find sodden and muddy at the exit of a sewerage pipe. Salt, he supposed, on its own couldn’t be a bad thing, either. Salt was often associated with sweat and, though sweat generally had negative connotations, it was also resonant with one’s special brand of body odour. Sweat wasn’t always a bad thing. A memory flashed through his mind, then – something he’d once read. It was a memory that came and went with no painful ramifications, a piece of knowledge he’d picked up and retained much like he still knew how to use a light switch and open a fridge. Deodorants, this article had said, were detrimental to the mating process. Sweat and body odour were how human beings were supposed to be attracted to each other. A woman could instinctively know that a man was right for her given the smell of his sweat, and by wearing deodorant that smell was masked. The mating process was stunted. Human evolution could fall due to the invention of body odour preventative.

It was probably all ********, and Freddie didn’t believe it now, even as he assumed he must not have believed it then. What hope could vampires have, vampires who did not sweat? But then, vampires could not reproduce so the whole point was moot. When he laughed, he was laughing at numerous things. He was laughing at salty earth. He was laughing at Hannah’s comment that he could sing, if she could not. He was laughing, incredulously, at his own antics, which Hannah now questioned him about. He did not mind how much she talked. He liked the sound of her voice.

”One – I might be a horrible singer. The whole night could be hilarious,” he said. Which wasn’t a bad thing, given the weight heaped upon their shoulders from the night they’d both just had. Though it was far from over. Things could only get better from here, right?

”And… as far as I know I can’t fly. I kind of just… leapt over it? The fence. I jumped. Really high,” he said. And yet it hadn’t felt like a huge feat. It felt like he’d just stepped over a small hurdle. He glanced skyward, at the buildings around them. If he put his mind to it, how high and how far could he ‘leap’? Again, he laughed. Laughter came so easily. Had it always?

”Christ, maybe I’m a superpowered antelope…” he said. It amused him to think of himself bounding around the city like a jacked up antelope, leaping in and out of the buildings like they were just tall strands of grass in the safari. And then his eyes grew wide and he shook his head. ”No! Not an antelope. I’m a goddamned fuckin’ kangaroo, aren’t I?” he said. And he almost cackled.

And yet, he still did not know the half of it.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

Hannah lifted her shoulders into a shrug. “Maybe, but at least it will be memorable?” She said, the tone in her voice hinting with a teasing tone. “Can't be any worse than me. Maybe just equally.” She laughed though her lips and then smiled. “I'm kidding. I'm sure, like anything, there's someone better and someone a lot worse than either of us.” Hannah slowly nodded her head, but stopped short of the downward motion.

“You...jumped? Over the fence?” Hannah wrapped a hand around his arm, then stopped them abruptly. “That's....almost unbelievable and amazing at the same time.” She looked up at him to see if he would contest what she said-as if Hannah hadn't heard him right. “It had to have been at least....three meters. Maybe more. Just...Yeah.” Hannah looked at him with wide eyes, then shook her head, and came back to Freddie's side so they could continue walking again.

When he compared himself to an antelope, Hannah laughed softly, but at the kangaroo bit, she laughed harder, then covered her nose. “Owww. Don't make me laugh too much.” She pleaded, before finding his shoulder with her forehead again. “Just imagine all the things you might be able to do. Other than leap fences...Oh! How did the bank go? You went, right? Were they able to help you? I hope so. Did you talk to Lydia there? She's always helped me with anything I've ever needed. If not, we can call her in the morn-tomorrow afternoo---late evening. Maybe she'll be there then.” She suggested, assuming they would have been unable to help a man who claimed to be someone he was, or was not...without any form of identification.

[Lancaster]

Freddie was trying to imagine what he might be capable of. The conversation they’d had with Iris at the bookshop came back to him, specifically the start of it. He was a vampire, as he said he was, and quite impressively more. Impressively more. There was no saying which ways his power had branched, or quite how far. And until the situation called for it, he had no idea what he was capable of. It should have terrified him, but he felt a bit like Spiderman. He’d been bitten by a radioactive spider and now he only wanted to climb the walls and leap from rooftops to see what his body did to keep him alive. Push it to its limits and it would show its true colours, right?

”No more unbelievable than claws for fingers and conversations without speech,” he said. Amongst other things, too. Should he tell her that he was almost ninety-nine percent sure he could feel what she was feeling, when she was feeling it strong enough? He breathed out and laughed.

”Not to mention the fact I can’t seem to lie. What the **** is up with that? If that’s a ‘side-effect’ then it might not only be incredible things that I’m capable of. It’s a bit too good to be true, to be able to do so many incredible things without some downfalls,” he said with a shrug. It was the mention of the bank that had him talking about his seeming lack of an ability to lie, which in turn had him laughing and shrugging for the second time.

”The bank, then, was interesting,” he said with a sigh, glancing down at Hannah. They’d continued to walk again and, despite his previous hesitation he decided now that he wanted only to be honest with Hannah. **** whatever judgment, or whatever questions she may have. He couldn’t expect eventual honesty and revelation from her if he could not give the same in return – for what little he knew about himself. ”It went well. I told them the truth. I didn’t know who I was but I had a name. At first I thought they weren’t going to believe me, but one of them recognised me,” he said. He couldn’t remember whether the woman had been Linda or not. Could have been. It wasn’t her he was really thanking. ”He vouched for me. It seemed… way too easy, the way I talked my way through it? Uncannily easy…” he said, wondering whether that, too, was a thing. ”Anyway uhm. Turns out I ah… well. Let’s just say I’ve got enough to pay you back tenfold. More…” he said. Saying the actual number out loud seemed crass, so he didn’t.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

"Right?" Hannah agreed with a nod of her head. She never went out of her way to lie, but she did omit things. Which was lying, but for good reasons. Imagine if Freddie actually knew the whole truth? Hopefully, Hannah could come up with something soon, so that it wasn't something he, or she would have to worry about for much longer. With Levi long gone-more than likely aware of who she was and her ties to his 'uncle,' Hannah was no longer very useful to anyone. Especially, Gino. She frowned for a second, not over the final thoughts, but over the thought of Levi. He hadn't stayed in his apartment down the hall, much, but there had been months of...nothing. Was his cat even alive? Was Levi alive? Gino would know...wouldn't he? It led her to believe her original thought. She had messed up. Big time.

"What a downfall." Imagine a life without being able to lie. Could he, or she be able to lie at all? What about a white lie? She was tempted to see, and so, Hannah decided to test it. "How bad is my nose?" She looked at him, humor glinting in her blue eyes as she tested the capacity to not lie. While they walked, she looked at him, making sure he saw the full front profile of her face and not just the side, so he could either truthfully, or not so truthfully state his opinion. "Interesting?" Hannah echoed after him, as they turned the corner, the apartment complex at the end of the block. As the story unfolded, Hannah could understand the word 'interesting.' It sounded like something out of a story, but worked well in his favor.

He mentioned paying her back, and even in the form of tenfold, and Hannah shook her head. "No way." Hannah said firmly, as she slowed her pace down. "Keep it. You're my guest. Besides, you still need clothes and who knows? Maybe one day, you'll want your own..." She looked around and then looked back at him. "Vampire 'pad.' I mean, my place is fine...but you're pretty much confined to the spare room during the daytime. Not that it matters, I guess. But still. You might get tired of me." [/color] Hannah pulled open the door to the apartment unit and headed in, holding the door for him. "Plus, at some point, you'll probably want a job. That could take a while. To figure out what you like doing...what you're good at. So, no." Hannah moved to the elevator and pushed the button for the sixth floor.

[Lancaster]

Freddie laughed. He laughed so hard that he could barely stop himself even when they reached the apartment complex and slipped inside. His presence was supposed to be a secret and he should probably try to keep it down; his baritone laughter bounced off the walls and came back at them, and he had to force himself to quiet.

”I’m serious when I tell you, Hannah… I mean I really hope I wasn’t some kind of crime lord,” he said, voice hushed in case anyone should be listening in. ”But if I wanted I could buy ten ‘pads’ and still have enough leftover to not have to work for at least… five decades,” he said. It wasn’t as if vampires had to eat and Freddie hadn’t exactly been inclined to window shop when he wandered the streets. He was certain he could live on a frugal income. Five decades? It’d probably last him long than that.

They wandered into the elevator, and Freddie felt like he could speak more openly. He doubted there was surveillance listening to their every word as they rode the lift up and down – and was honestly surprised that Hannah still wanted to use the damned thing after the other night. But at least, if it broke down again, they’d both be stuck this time. No need to have a whole conversation without their phones.

He sighed and faced Hannah, now, scrutinizing her nose properly now that they were in the light. He’d just admitted he had enough money to buy his own place and get out of her hair, but… he shook his head.

”Your nose looks bruised,” he said. It wasn’t a lie. There was a dark bruise blossoming on the rise of Hannah’s nose and spreading under her eye. Freddie had no idea what that meant for the structure beneath, or whether she should go and have it plastered, or something. It might just feel broken, it might not actually be broken. It did look a mess, though, blood still smeared where it should not be. He offered a cheeky smile – he knew what she was trying to do. And she’d soon see for herself, anyway.

He waited until they were inside her apartment, as he was peeling off his jacket, to reply to the last part. ”It wouldn’t matter if I had to sleep in a coffin during the day, Han. It wouldn’t matter if I had a huge condo and a luxurious mattress made from the finest swan feathers, with a flat screen television and a ping-pong table at my disposal. It wouldn’t matter, because as long as that sun is in the sky I’m dead to the world. You know I woke up on the floor the other night? Serious. I didn’t make it to the bed and must have just collapsed,” he said, making a tower with one arm and bringing his hand down into his other hand with a loud ‘smack’.

He didn’t hesitate to meander into the kitchen to open the freezer, like it was his own. He rifled around to find something to put on Hannah’s nose, and continued to talk to her while he was at it.

”And I feel like we keep having this conversation. I don’t know whether you really want me gone or whether you’re just insecure,” he said. He’d found an old bag of peas which he dropped on the countertop to be used soon. But first he put his hands on Hannah’s shoulders to urge her into the bathroom. It would be easier to clean her up in there. ”I’m happy here. It’s not too small and I’m not tired of you. If you get tired of me, though, just say the words…

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

Any other person probably would have laughed when Freddie compared himself to a crime lord and thought nothing of it. Knew that he was joking, but Hannah didn't join in on the laughter. Instead, there was a deep seeded sense of dread. Freddie might not really remember who Lancaster was, but what if he was pretending he didn't know who he was? What if he was more or less planted into her life and she just let him right? No second guesses, until now, that was.

Bruised. She imagined that was true-which meant he wasn't lying. But then again, had he even wanted to lie then? There was no reason to lie, because eventually, Hannah would 'see' for herself. She nodded, then again sighed. “I'll probably call in tomorrow then. I really don't want to have to explain a crazy scenario...not that I could make something up...” Hannah groaned, then followed Freddie into the apartment.

The clapping of his hands vibrated off the apartment walls, but Hannah wasn't bothered by how loud it was. Instead, she was focused on the things he had said. Did he like T.V.? Ping-pong? Were those things he once had and now didn't? She decided to ask. “Do you think you might like ping pong?” Keeping the conversation off the crime lord part was good for them both, so she focused on the more pleasant possibilities. “I wonder if that's a vampire thing...or just a you thing.” Hannah said, trying to compare the things she knew about Levi (which wasn't much) to Freddie. They never saw each other during the day time, so it was difficult to compare the sleeping arrangements the other had. And as for the telling the truth thing...Hannah found Levi to be pretty truthful on most things, but like her tended to omit certain details. Hannah decided that must be just a Freddie thing-which in essence made it a her thing now, because he was her prime source for vampire blood now.

Peas were put on the counter and that made her laugh a little. It seemed to come so naturally to Freddie. To grab peas as a solution. Either he had gotten into a couple brawls in his life, or maybe it was something he had seen on television. “What? No! That's really not it at all.” Hannah shook her head as he urged her into the bathroom. “I mean-I don't want you gone.” Hannah opened the small closet in the bathroom and grabbed a washcloth out of it. “You know I don't mind you being here.” She added in, because hopefully if she said it, he would know that it had to be true. Because it was. “Maybe a little insecure. Or...something.” Hannah wasn't sure she could peg it as true insecurity. She knew his life had to be a lot different than what it was now.

“You might remember how great life was one night. When you hit your head from falling out of bed one day.” She moved to the sink to wet the washcloth after turning on the sink. Her eyes glanced to him, or more so his reflection from the large mirror above the vanity, causing Hannah to inch back and turn around. Not believing what she saw, or that it was Freddie. “Holy sh--wow!” Hannah breathed out as her eyes made contact with the Freddie in the doorway. “Sorry. I remember you saying--that was unexpected.” Hannah slowly admitted, before turning back to the mirror to start cleaning off the blood around her nose.

[Lancaster]

For a second Freddie had no idea what Hannah was exclaiming about until he saw himself in the mirror and cringed. ”****, I’m sorry. I forgot about that,” he said, as if the image of himself in the mirror was something he could help, something that he ought to apologise for. It should have disgusted him more than it did, but maybe it was something he’d grown used to, in his past life. It very quickly lost the scare factor after the first night he’d seen it.

”I usually put a towel up when I’m in here by myself. I ah… here, you should just face this way,” he said, turning Hannah around and pulling the cloth from her fingers. This way she could look at him while he cleaned the blood from her nose, rather than see the lingering figure of a mostly decomposed body hanging out in the background. Or he could have left the bathroom completely, but he wasn’t done talking. He was swift with the cloth, making sure it was doused in hot water so as to scrape away the dried bits of blood more easily, and more careful around the parts that looked most thoroughly bruised. It wasn’t time, yet, to poke and prod and figure out whether it was really broken.

”You are such an optimist,” he said to Hannah with a smile. But, he had thought about this. And the visit to the bank had only confirmed it. The thoughts had been churning in the back of his mind even through all the chaos and excitement.

”You keep saying I might have this wonderful life I’ll remember and suddenly want to go back to. But what if I didn’t? What if … look, I went to the bank. I was recognised. I must be local, right? I must live here. In this city. Whenever you’re sleeping I go for walks and no one’s stopped me in the street. If you’d seen my face plastered anywhere with ‘MISSING’ splashed beneath it, you’d tell me right? No one’s looking for me, Han. And I… I mean I mentioned it before, didn’t I?” he said, then stopped. The blood was all gone and the hand with the cloth in dropped to his side, the other still resting against Hannah’s neck. He could feel her pulse, there, the heat of life that ran through her veins. He sighed. He laughed. He sighed again and shook his head.

”It sounds insane. It does. Iris, she mentioned that this could have been done to me. But what if this isn’t the cause of someone else? What if it’s just me? Please, for me, can you stop saying I might have something better to get back to?” he asked earnestly, not once tearing his gaze from hers.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

“No. It's okay.” Hannah exhaled softly, smiling up at him. “I just--I didn't know that it would be like that.” It didn't bother her, it had just startled her briefly. She was turned away from the reflection of him; that wasn't what she saw day in and day out, so Hannah could focus on the real Freddie in front of her while he tended to her nose. “It doesn't bother me. What I saw.” Hannah informed him quietly, her gaze dropping down to the cloth Freddie had taken from her. Slowly, everything he said started making sense. If the person at the bank knew him, then he lived here. For how long? No one knew, but he did. She hadn't seen any missing posters or signs either. It seemed as if Freddie was well and truly alone. Well, before Hannah had ran into him in the sewers.

“It's you? Freddie, I don't think it works like that. Amnesia." Hannah frowned after stating her thoughts--not that she was an expert. Was that even possible? To just forget an entire lifetime? An entire possible, thirty or forty years? Her head nodded slowly, before Hannah leaned forward and connected her forehead to Freddie's chest. “For you. Yep. Of course.” Hannah resigned to agreeing with Freddie. She could and would try harder not to suggest, or implicate the things he might be missing out on.

“So, think it's broken?” Hannah asked, lifting her head up and away from the center of Freddie's chest. “It still hurts, but...I can smell yo-again. Now that the blood is out of the way.” She laughed a little before her right hand gently pressed the bridge of her nose. It still smarted, but nothing felt misshapen or out of place. “I think I hit her harder.” Hannah confessed, almost feeling proud. But then again, she had years of training at the expense of the Serpents. “Think you can still take me on our date in public?” Hannah leaned back against the vanity, then claimed a spot on the corner of it, attention placed on him. “I might be able to out sing you after all.” Hannah teased, knowing that was probably unlikely. Her singing usually consisted of staying in her car, or the shower. Maybe for a good reason too.

[Lancaster]

Freddie’s face hardened, though it was only briefly. Where only a split second before he had been relieved by Hannah’s insistence that his image in the mirror didn’t bother her – he did wonder, now, how she might be able to unsee that, every single time she fed on him from here on out – the relief was outweighed by the smallest spark of irritation.

He was a vampire. He’d leapt a fence without breaking a sweat or straining a muscle and his fingers could turn into claws. He could feel what Hannah was feeling, and could speak directly into her mind. He could connect to the internet with his brain, any need for physical technology of any sort moot. This wasn’t the first time he’d insisted that he didn’t think it was quite right – that the cause for his amnesia was a lot closer to home than any of them could guess. Amnesia didn’t work like that, no. Not ordinarily. But what about any of this, about them, was ordinary? Who really knew what the vampire mind was capable of, given how much it could already do?

But, Hannah had agreed that she’d stop trying to tell him he had somewhere better to be, and that should be enough. That, coupled with Hannah’s slip up about her nose and what she could now smell, and the irritation was mostly banished. She didn’t have to believe him if she didn’t want to, and he could continue to think his silly thoughts without voicing them out loud – at least until he had some kind of evidence. It did sound insane, he had to admit. And no one wanted to keep company with the insane, did they?

”Maybe that blood in your veins gave you some added magic calcium, and it’s just a bruise. See how it feels in the morning,” he said. ”I still think you’re beautiful, bruises and all. The public will have to mind their own business,” he said, giving Hannah’s neck a reassuring and gentle squeeze before his arm dropped and he slipped out of the bathroom door.

”I’ll leave you to get cleaned up. The peas and I will be waiting for you on the couch,” he called over his shoulder, heading out to the kitchen to wrap said peas into a tea-towel, ready for application.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

Hannah laughed softly, before the comment rendered the laugh short of its full potential. She blinked, then felt her lips pull up into a smile. 'Beautiful' was not something she would have put into how Hannah looked tonight, far from it. However, the compliment was absorbed, as her thin lips followed through with the full smile.

Before anything could be said, Freddie was heading out of the bathroom, and reminding Hannah about the peas. "Okay." She called after Freddie as he vanished from her line of sight. The tap was turned back on, the cloth finding itself submerged in warm water. Pink filled the bowl in the sink as she squeezed it out and then once again applied it to an area near her nose, dabbing it gently. Hannah did this for another five rounds, until she was sure she got all the blood from around her nose and left cheek, before the washcloth was dumped in a dirty laundry bin in her room.

Hannah's scrubs were replaced with red, white and black flannel pajama bottoms, partnered with a red tank top. The traditional ponytail Hannah sported during work hours was pulled out for a quick brushing. After one last glance at her nose in the mirror above her dresser, Hannah made her way out of the room and to the couch. "Hey." Hannah offered a small wave and smile to Freddie, as she stopped in front of the couch.

Her blue eyes dropped to the peas that had been wrapped in the thin towel, and pointed to them. "If you're not a crime lord who needed to use peas a lot due to street rights-then you probably took care of people in your other life." She reached for the peas, as Hannah claimed a spot next to Freddie. Both legs were brought up as Hannah turned her body to face him. Her toes were buried between two couch cushion while the side of her temple connected with Freddie's shoulder for a comfortable resting spot. "Where do you go on your walks?" Hannah asked, eyes on the side of Freddie's neck as she took a deep breath in through her mouth, before sighing softly.