Truth and Books (invite)

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

OOC: Backdated to April 1st

She was almost home and Hannah was looking forward to it because she was finally off tomorrow. Which meant that she and 'U' could start working towards getting him some answers about vampires. Hannah had suggested going to a bookstore she used to go to until the holidays cropped up and life got busy, but had to wait until 'U' got some clothes. He couldn't just wander inside a bookstore with just a towel on.

The brunette shook her head and with that the image of 'U' waltzing into a bookstore in just a towel. She doubted any woman would mind seeing that, but Hannah didn't want to risk ruining their chances with the owner of the store. It was important they met with her and got as many details about vampires as they could. Tonight.

Hannah parked in her spot in the parking lot, locked the door and made her way into the apartment complex. Her eyes glanced towards the pool that greeted anyone that came inside, and the front desk. She grabbed her mail from the box, locked it once again and then moved to the elevator after giving the guy at the desk a quick wave and smile.

The mail was sorted into junk and bills, putting the bills on top of the pile, as the elevator ascended. When the doors slid open, Hannah stepped out and looked down the hallway. It was a force of habit, even still. Her eyes bounced to her door when Hannah realized what she was doing, and made her way towards her apartment. Once the door was open, the mail was ceremoniously set at the small table near the door, and her book bag, by the door. The clogs she wore were set near her bag, before she called into the apartment. "Hope you don't have plans tonight. I'm off tomorrow, so I thought we could go to the bookstore tonight." Hannah turned away from the wall that she had neatly tucked her clogs against, her eyes landing on 'U.' "Oh. Hi." She said with a smile and a shake of her head. Hannah hadn't even seen him there, nose and eyes focused more on the mail than her roommate.

"Just give me a few minutes to change and then we can go?" She asked, moving further inside the apartment once her keys and phone were set in a dish she purposely put near the door so she wouldn't forget those things on her way out anywhere. "Five minutes tops." She promised, going so far as to hold up a hand of fingers, before slipping around 'U,' to go change. When Hannah emerged, her light pastel colored scrubs had been replaced with jeans, a white top and a leather coat; hair remaining as it had been when she got home for the night. "Ready?" She asked, before realizing something. Had he ever been in a car before? She didn't know, so Hannah asked. "Ever been in a car-well, truck before?" It was sort of a truck, tied in with SUV features. "I like cars better, but my car wasn't cutting it for Canadian winters..." She explained, before laughing at herself. "Forget it. I'm a really good driver, promise." Her phone was tucked into her coat pocket, car and apartment keys in her left hand, while her right, waved him to the door. "Ready to find out all about vampires?" She asked, a hopeful smile on her features. "Am I going too fast? I'm going too fast, right? I'm sorry." Hannah took a breath and then exhaled it. "How was your night so far?" She had to remind herself that he needed things to be taken slow, even if she were excited to help 'U.'

wearing: https://s-media-cache-ak0.p i n i m g.com/73 ... a02c95.jpg

[Lancaster]

Only a couple of nights had passed since the vampire had been taken in by the human. Where Hannah had been thinking of names, the vampire had been reading books; with no clothes to leave the apartment, it was all he could do. Read books, and watch television. There were plenty of different names that crossed his path but none that stood out, none that struck a chord. But he had to have a name. He couldn’t go around telling people he didn’t have one.

It was just before he slipped off to sleep that he finally decided. The vampire had basically commandeered the laptop that had been leant to him, and quietly, just before sleep, he listened to music. Music calmed him, and he often found himself humming along to different songs, his fingers itchy. Classic rock was his flavour of choice – Queen, and David Bowie. He knew the names of the members of Queen, the band’s lead iconic. Although the vampire was quite certain that his own proclivities did not align with Freddie Mercury’s, who wouldn’t want to be associated with that legend?

He’d decided. He would tell Hannah as soon as she returned. Though when she did return it was after the vampire had only been awake for about five minutes. He himself hadn’t dressed properly, his hair dishevelled. He was otherwise wide awake, having discovered that during the day he was dead to the world. Completely dead – nothing could stir him. He didn’t even dream. There was no getting any word in before the woman disappeared to change, and the vampire followed suit, slipping into the clothes that she had bought him. They fit, at least, even if he wasn’t sure whether they were his taste. But until he got into a shop and browsed, he couldn’t say, exactly, what his taste was.

Back out in the main space, Hannah was still talking. When she finished, the vampire laughed, the sound deep and genuinely boisterous.

”I’ve decided you can call me Freddie,” he said. Completely unrelated, but it was the first thing he’d wanted to tell her. With that out of the way, he could focus on the rest.

”My night started about ten minutes ago, and I’ve done absolutely nothing. Dead to the world, see, until that sun is completely gone,” he said with the subtlest of winks. ”I’m sure your driving is just fine, and I’m sure I’ve probably been in a car before. Honestly, mate, I don’t think I’m ancient,” he said, still laughing. ”Lead the way! I’m as ready as you are,” he said. He didn’t have keys or a wallet or a phone. He had nothing but the clothes on his back, and even they weren’t his. Honestly, he was looking forward to getting out in the world, even if he did feel like a useless piece of flotsam.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

"Freddie?" Hannah echoed after 'U' had said the name, before nodding her head. "Freddie it is." What 'U' decided to be named was up to him and thankfully he picked a name and didn't even give her options to try and narrow it down for him. Hannah wasn't about to ask him how he came up the name-she just hoped he hadn't gotten the name while watching a movie--a specific horror movie she had seen in her mid-teens.

"Oh. Really? Does it feel like the best night---or day, of sleep ever when you wake up?" She asked while Hannah pulled the door open and headed down the hallway. She moved to the elevator, pressed the button for down and turned to look at 'Freddie.' "Not sure how you feel about seat belts, mate..." Hannah threw the word he used at her, back at him "...but it's sort of a rule in my car. Just so you know. I know you guys are practically invincible, but...please."

The door to the elevator glided open, and she stepped in, waited for Freddie to get in and then pressed the button to the main floor. "How's your blood supply in the fridge? Running low? I don't know how much blood vampires need..." She trailed off as the elevator door opened and an older gentleman in his late fifties got in, looked at the numbers on the wall and nodded. "Just let me know when to pick up more." Hannah said with a nod, letting the conversation lay there between them, because she could have been talking about buying anything.

When the door opened to the main area of the building, Hannah pointed to the entry way of the door. "It's a black and chrome colored thing. A Ford. I think...it's big enough?" She wasn't sure because Hannah had only ever had one other passenger in her new truck/SUV thing; Her younger sister.

[Lancaster]

The thought of the horror movie hadn’t even crossed the vampire’s mind. Perhaps he’d never watched it. What he did not know about himself was that television had never been high on his list of priorities, or that he’d gravitated toward books and record players, pubs and live music. All things to be re-discovered in the coming weeks and months.

Or maybe he’d just become a completely new person, with new tastes and new preferences. Can anyone really change that much? Could he change the core aspects of his being, the base code? He was at least confident enough not to re-think his choice of name after Hannah had questioned it. It wasn’t the right name. But it was a name.

The whirlwind continued all the way to the elevator, where they were joined by a third party who didn’t look like he was at all interested in their conversation, but he sure could hear it. Would it matter if he overheard? The vampire erred on the side of safety and remained vague, until the car reached the floor.

”Yeah, I have enough. And I’m good now, well enough to go get it myself,” he said. They slipped out of the elevator and, once out on the street, their company went in a different direction. The vampire eyed the car and glanced sideways at its soon-to-be driver. Should he be concerned? He almost suggested they should walk; he hadn’t been out of the apartment for a few nights, and a walk would do him good.

”The sleep thing? I have to say it’s the location. It’s far better for the soul to wake up in an actual bedroom and not some corner of a sewer, immediately defensive,” he said. And it was true. Every night he woke up feeling fresh and alive, so full of energy. Like he could take on the world and then some. And he could only laugh as he climbed into the passenger seat of the truck.

”I may be a giant, but you don’t have to strap me to the roof or anything. I fit,” he confirmed.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

When Hannah was nervous, the woman tended to talk excessively. There were few times when she could remember having 'word vomit;' when Hannah met Levi for the first time, now with 'Freddie,' and encounters with members from the Serpents. Gino was the rare exception, probably because Hannah wasn't nervous around him. Her opinion of the guy that more or less was her 'boss,' wasn't so much that he was scary (even if he probably was), but one of he needed to be 'taken care of' in some aspect. Not that she knew how to take care of someone anyways, but there was a smoldering fire that was still glowing, waiting to be set ablaze when the time was 'right.'

Did Hannah know deep down that 'Freddie' could fit in her car? Probably. But there she was, making small talk with the guy who may or may not be a 'Freddie.' Who could be a serial killer, could be...anyone really. What if he worked for the Serpents? Or even Gino? While they walked in the parking lot, the thought had her narrowing her eyes. Everyone she met, even at work, Hannah was careful around. Still professional, but maybe not as outgoing as she once was before Gino came around.
Stupid nerves.

"I don't know if anyone else works with her...hopefully not for our sake." Hannah offered with a small smile, as her car was automatically unlocked with a press of a button on her key fab. The lights illuminated as a hand came up to point, but then dropped as she realized once again, he wasn't 'old' and would probably be able to put two and two together. She pulled the driver side door open, and looked over the top at 'Freddie,' as the brunette stopped herself from completing the descent down to the driver's seat. "Any certain type of music? Or just silence?" Hannah asked, before she found the driver's seat and accommodated 'Freddie's' preference for the ride to the bookstore.

****

Once the car was parked on the side of the road, Hannah turned the key towards her to shut the vehicle down for now. Her blue irises swung over to the bookstore, while a finger pointed to its direction. "That's our place." While Hannah pointed it out, she made no move to unbuckle her belt or move from her seat. "Maybe this is something you should do by yourself? Vampire to vampire?" While Hannah was more than happy to point 'Freddie' in the right direction, there were some subtle reservations. How much should she be allowed to know about vampire things? Hannah didn't go around sharing what little things she knew about blood thieves to anyone. And then there was the problem with meeting a new vampire and her 'fang boners.'

[Lancaster]

The music choice wasn’t as easy as it could have been, but once the technology was figured out, the vampire eventually found a station that he liked. Old school rock. Anything with actual instruments. He skipped over pop music or rap, though really he found he was happy listening to anything, and could appreciate anything. Maybe he was still honing his tastes. Whatever conversation there was on the way to the bookshop – any that he himself instigated – mainly had to do with music. It was hard to find topics of conversation when one’s memory was completely wiped. There was no point of familiarity with anything.

When they finally reached the shop and Freddie unbuckled himself, he paused, surprised, as Hannah suggested he go in by himself. It wasn’t that he was apprehensive. He wasn’t afraid – which was something else that he could learn about himself. He was curious. By the way Hannah had talked about the owner of this bookshop it seemed as if she knew the woman personally. Freddie didn’t know what she looked like – he could easily ask for her at the front counter. Still, he shook his head.

”I need to ask her what I’m capable of. If… you taking my blood is going to be a regular thing, you should be aware, too,” he said. He realised halfway through that the deal wasn’t set in stone and maybe she wouldn’t take from him regularly – it was just a payment he hoped she’d take. A few other things clicked, too – the realisation that vampirism was once a secret, but now wasn’t so much. Politics. It was all there, just now how he was involved in it – if he was involved at all. All he knew was that he didn’t care whether Hannah knew. In fact, he thought it pertinent that she should. He glanced at the shop and opened the passenger door, then turned back to Hannah.

”Whatever I learn in there I’m just going to tell you anyway, so I don’t see why you shouldn’t come,” he said, stepping out the door and closing it behind him. He paused just beyond the hood of the car to look back, brow arched inquisitively, waiting to see if Hannah would join him or not.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

Hannah didn't really know the woman in the shop all that well. She was 'nice,' in a weird and strange sort of way. The woman who owned the 'bookstore,' for lack of a better word had been kind and helpful when Hannah had been here before. It was a store, that had books-but was more of a specialty bookstore. The owner more or less 'revived,' books from a state of perpetual oblivion, and gave it a new life and purpose. Hannah had found the first and only book she purchased Levi around his birthday there. An accidental and rare find, while the woman shopped for the guy/neighbor/target.

"Oh." Hannah finally said with a nod of her head as 'Freddie' stepped out of her SUV. "Alright." Followed after the 'oh, as the woman opened the driver side of the door and stepped out of her car. "I...uhhh, sort of haven't been here in a while." The brunette confessed as a hand tucked a few free flying, dark colored strands behind her ear. "Kind of...well, since before this." Hannah tapped at her lips, figuring 'Freddie,' would more or less catch her drift.

"But, yeah. Okay." The sound of reservation still lingering in her voice, as Hannah pressed the locking icon on her key fab. Hannah pushed off the door with her right hand, then came around the car to stand next to 'Freddie.' "Her name is Iris." That much Hannah remembered, only because it was a unique name in her opinion; and she knew how the woman looked. It was hard to not have a lasting impression, and Freddie would soon see why himself. Just after they found her; which wouldn't be too hard, she thought to herself as Hannah opened the door to the book repair shop.

[Lancaster]

Feddie waited until Hannah joined him before crossing the street, arm outstretched in invitation even though he took no hands and laid fingers against no smalls of backs. The sensation was there, the welcome into his bubble of space, the urge to guide. There was a foreign sense of hesitation when Freddie knew he felt none. The hesitation was not his own; inherently he knew that. It was a strange new thing, but he didn’t question it. He didn’t make a thing of it, and instead just tucked it away.

”Is that a problem?” he asked, vaguely pointing to his own lips. The hesitation could have been read in her tone of voice – he took it and ran with it. The ‘shop’ wasn’t really a shop in the traditional sense but a cabin. As soon as they stepped inside he could smell the books. They were vintage, not new. It was the scent of time. Most would say that time was not a material thing, that it could not be touched or seen. But it sure could be felt. It definitely could be seen in the grey of a person’s hair and the dust curling from the edges of these pages.

A low bass hum reverberated from Freddie’s chest – a tune that was not on the radio, triggered by the name Iris. Freddie didn’t even realise he was doing it. Long fingers grazed over the spines of the books on show, distracted momentarily before searching for a woman who might go by the name of Iris.

”This is a nice place,” he murmured. He liked old things, he realised. He glanced over his shoulder at Hannah, offering a light smile. ”Why haven’t you been back? Did you come looking for something the first time?” he asked, curious. If Iris was in here, perhaps the sound of voices would bring her out and into the open.

[Iris von Drol]

A t t i r e

The steps taken through the second floor of the renovated farmhouse left those within earshot privy to the subtle clicks creating a delicate sound in the wake of her moving feet. Both of which were were well fitted and covered in Victorian button up above the ankle fashion. In place of the standard resilient buttonry know for the mid to late 1800’s genuine high quality pearls were set from the outside of the lower leg trailing down to the last expertly polished layers of nacre at the sole. A soft hiss of multiple layers of black linen and cotton skirting trailed behind her. All of this as well as the scent of out of place fresh lavender added to the clues that she was present should anyone be dropping in or roaming about as customers were known to do within the walls that housed two of her four local businesses. Iris welcomed one and all without reservation.

On this particular night she would be discovered in the routine that had become a rather familiar one for the one who was surrounded by the tools, conveniences and decor of the Victorian era by choice. The Leg O Mutton sleeve of her black riding jacket squished flat as she leaned her left side on the door that would allow her to access the stairway down to the first floor and held it open. Her free hand removed the small hat that was perched forward on her head and allowed it to dangle in her hand resting at her side. She had neglected to deal with it earlier in her rush to retrieve the nearly forgotten parcel that was expected within the previous hour to Ms. Nogglesworth. The bridged telepaths prompt and dependable reputation served her well once again and the package was finally in the hands of its intended recipient.

The clues she was generously leaving behind as she moved about were fishing out a return in the scents that caused her to arch a brow. Above the lavender that lingered at the surface of her own wrist and the nape of her neck were slightly foreign notes of coconut and freshly soaped skin. For the most part it was warm, sweet and generally revealing. The hygiene brands perhaps had changed but the source that wore them was already catalogued in her memory for quite some time. A vampire relied on these abilities and heightened senses for survival. It seems Hannah had arrived which was not entirely a surprise since she was an employee at Once Upon a time. The gradual widening of her cornflower blue orbs was inspired by the fact that the woman was not alone. Her glance to the massive grandfather clock hand carved centuries before she was born displayed a rather late hour for Hannah to be moving about where she was no longer on the hourly clock for a shift. At such hour it was generally the all but dead that paraded through with their requests. Typical business hours for the book restoration ended at 8 p.m and no later as far as the public is concerned.

“Good Evening, Hannah.” The pale natural face topped with loosely wrapped blonde hair presented with a welcoming set of wide blue eyes. She stepped further in the room that would hold the books that were mended or awaiting repair. Her attention shifted to the gentleman in her company. “Welcome to Once Upon a Time.” Her head dipped once and subtly. It was just enough to the side in a casual acknowledgement. “If there is anything I can assist either of you with please let me know.” A few steps back were made gracefully possible with the sweep of her hand setting the skirting to the side.

[Hannah Lynn (DELETED 8242)]

"I don't know. Maybe?" Hannah said with a lift of both her shoulders as her eyes fell on the woman who owned the bookstore. There were two problems; the first being what Hannah had pointed out to Freddie, and the second was that Hannah had worked here very briefly during the holiday season, but had to abruptly quit because of...her fang problems. Being an avid reader (when she could be), coming in here to find a rare and unique book for Levi had sparked a deep seeded interest in a different field of interest for Hannah. One that was more calm, quite and pleasurable.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy her real job. Hannah enjoyed it and was good at it, but there was a sort of monotony to it. Maybe monotony wasn't even the right word, as so much...predictability. After a while, an injury seemed the same; categorized by break, fractured, torn or pulled muscle. From there the treatments were different, as were the exercises, but a torn left calf muscle was the same as a torn right calf muscle; just as a fractured hip of patient X, was the same as a fractured him of patient A.

"I was looking for a book, a rare one." Hannah said just above a murmur as Iris approached the two of them. Hannah reached out for Freddie and placed a hand on his shoulder, preferring to keep him close. He could potentially make a good barrier if it was needed. Freddie was a giant after all. Hopefully, he wouldn't be. "For a....for someone's birthday. A neighbor's. Before I worked here a couple of days." She finished the thought as Hannah made eye contact with Iris. She waited until the woman was finished talking, before looking at Iris a little awkwardly. It was amazing how she remembered her name; Hannah hadn't felt as if she made a good impression-or any form of impression, really.


"Hello, Iris." Hannah rubbed her right hand over her left arm, as if she had an itch to scratch. "I-this is Freddie." She dropped the pitch of her voice while looking around the fairly empty business. "He needs your help." The brunette concluded as her eyes fell on Freddie, keeping her distance from Iris, just in case she smelled too good to pass up.

Hannah Lynn Other None Luck Resist lunging at Iris for her blood Succeeded