sooooo... more?
Mar. 29th, 2009 01:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lavandarlizard2I feel like I should have more to post today, but if I start free-forming, it's going to turn into a rant. O.o Don't have quite enough energy for that right now. Instead, you get a bit more of Ctik. ^__~ Not nearly as cool or interesting as Lestat or Twilight, I'm sure, but probably more the norm among vamps. ^____^
BFB – Part 102 – Good Vamp Hunting
Master Gorgsch was indeed waiting for us. Ctik and I bowed; Heero inclined his head in greeting. The Goblin ushered us into an office in the otherwise deserted bank. At least, it looked deserted; I thought I could hear some faint noises somewhere in the distance. Maybe the night staff doing whatever they do in the vaults?
The whole business took less than an hour, which surprised me. When Heero and I opened my account last year, it took almost two hours for a single account. I’d had questions…
Apparently, Ctik didn’t. He nodded at all the right declarations, signed at all the “x”s and only hesitated when asked for an address. Heero stepped in and suggested the temporary box at the Castle post. The Goblin raised one disapproving eyebrow, and Heero clarified, “Mr Vrostek does not have a permanent address yet; he is in the process of house-hunting.” That seemed to please Master Gorgsch; he muttered something about loans, mortgages and financing.
When we were finished, Ctik had in his possession a checkbook, a debit/credit card and a large chunk of local cash.
He offered us dinner in return for a quick tour of the town, so we walked around for a bit, introducing him to the high points of the place and finishing up at a steak house on the highway.
Heero and I eat there occasionally, but it’s not our favorite place, so I was curious as to why he picked it. Immediately after ordering, though, he excused himself and disappeared.
“This is very… um… rustic,” said Ctik, looking around at the stereotypical “Western” décor.
“For some reason, the whole ‘cowboy’ thing is popular for steak restaurants,” I explained. “Not sure why… Maybe the ‘stockyard’ concept?”
“Stockyards? They do not actually butcher the animals in the kitchen, do they?” he asked with some concern.
“Not anymore,” I grinned. “I’m sure all their meat arrives in a reefer truck.”
He looked relieved. “Oh. Good. I’m never quite sure about Human progress,” he confessed. “There are times when I still expect to see streetcars or horse-drawn carriages on the streets.” He sighed wistfully. “We had a lovely carriage once… A matched four-in-hand to draw it. We even had a driver and a footman.”
“Wow.” I didn’t know how long ago that might have been, but it sounded like something only the wealthy would have.
“That was a long time ago,” he said as if reading my thoughts, “When people were gracious and no one hurried. Not that I consider it the ‘good old days’; not at all. People died from simple scratches or in childbirth. The diseases ran rampant… Socially… well, we’ve come a long way from those days, if not yet far enough.” He shook his head. “I prefer these modern times, when people are not bought and sold like animals, and my family and friends are likely to be healthy and long-lived.” He poked at the ice in his glass of water. “Selfish, I know, but I really don’t like to make new friends because the old ones have died.”
I hadn’t thought about that; it must be hard to remain the same while everyone around you ages and finally dies. “How do you deal with it?” I asked, trying to imagine myself going on and on and losing Heero… Not at all a pleasant thought. I shuddered.
Ctik sighed heavily. “It’s not as bad with adults; people I’ve met socially. It’s the children of my own family that distress me most. Watching them through their entire lives… and then standing at their graves. There seems never to be enough time… As for dealing with it… Well, I am not as introspective as some. I do not rant and rave and fling curses at the gods. What is the point? Nothing answers those curses; no earth tremors or lightning bolts come. Human beings are mortal; all things die, eventually. Even I will fade away at some point. It may be in a few years or it may be in a few millennia. Perhaps there is a congregation of the already-dead somewhere waiting for us all; perhaps not. It is wasteful of what time I have to indulge in that sort of speculation.” He shrugged and smiled at me. I could barely tell that his canines were a little too long for comfort; I wondered if they magically changed when he was preparing to bite someone. “Last night,” he continued apologetically, “I was almost hysterical with relief that Heero agreed to help me; I have managed to calm myself since then. I’ve never been a very good vampire, but I’m usually not so melodramatic.”
Heero returned then, setting a tall glass in front of Ctik. The vamp’s eyes lit up like a neon sign, and I caught the metallic scent of blood.
“I hope this will suit you,” Heero said blandly.
“Heero! Oh my! Thank you! Yes, indeed; this will suit me perfectly!” He took a tiny sip and sighed happily. “Oh, yes…”
I looked at Heero and he shrugged. “Honor demands that all parties be at their best when discussing business matters,” he smirked.
The glass was a dark color, masking the contents, and a stalk of celery garnished the drink. A Bloody Mary, indeed! I poked Heero under the table and grinned at him.
Smugly, he produced a parchment listing of properties for sale and spread it out on the table.
BFB – Part 102 – Good Vamp Hunting
Master Gorgsch was indeed waiting for us. Ctik and I bowed; Heero inclined his head in greeting. The Goblin ushered us into an office in the otherwise deserted bank. At least, it looked deserted; I thought I could hear some faint noises somewhere in the distance. Maybe the night staff doing whatever they do in the vaults?
The whole business took less than an hour, which surprised me. When Heero and I opened my account last year, it took almost two hours for a single account. I’d had questions…
Apparently, Ctik didn’t. He nodded at all the right declarations, signed at all the “x”s and only hesitated when asked for an address. Heero stepped in and suggested the temporary box at the Castle post. The Goblin raised one disapproving eyebrow, and Heero clarified, “Mr Vrostek does not have a permanent address yet; he is in the process of house-hunting.” That seemed to please Master Gorgsch; he muttered something about loans, mortgages and financing.
When we were finished, Ctik had in his possession a checkbook, a debit/credit card and a large chunk of local cash.
He offered us dinner in return for a quick tour of the town, so we walked around for a bit, introducing him to the high points of the place and finishing up at a steak house on the highway.
Heero and I eat there occasionally, but it’s not our favorite place, so I was curious as to why he picked it. Immediately after ordering, though, he excused himself and disappeared.
“This is very… um… rustic,” said Ctik, looking around at the stereotypical “Western” décor.
“For some reason, the whole ‘cowboy’ thing is popular for steak restaurants,” I explained. “Not sure why… Maybe the ‘stockyard’ concept?”
“Stockyards? They do not actually butcher the animals in the kitchen, do they?” he asked with some concern.
“Not anymore,” I grinned. “I’m sure all their meat arrives in a reefer truck.”
He looked relieved. “Oh. Good. I’m never quite sure about Human progress,” he confessed. “There are times when I still expect to see streetcars or horse-drawn carriages on the streets.” He sighed wistfully. “We had a lovely carriage once… A matched four-in-hand to draw it. We even had a driver and a footman.”
“Wow.” I didn’t know how long ago that might have been, but it sounded like something only the wealthy would have.
“That was a long time ago,” he said as if reading my thoughts, “When people were gracious and no one hurried. Not that I consider it the ‘good old days’; not at all. People died from simple scratches or in childbirth. The diseases ran rampant… Socially… well, we’ve come a long way from those days, if not yet far enough.” He shook his head. “I prefer these modern times, when people are not bought and sold like animals, and my family and friends are likely to be healthy and long-lived.” He poked at the ice in his glass of water. “Selfish, I know, but I really don’t like to make new friends because the old ones have died.”
I hadn’t thought about that; it must be hard to remain the same while everyone around you ages and finally dies. “How do you deal with it?” I asked, trying to imagine myself going on and on and losing Heero… Not at all a pleasant thought. I shuddered.
Ctik sighed heavily. “It’s not as bad with adults; people I’ve met socially. It’s the children of my own family that distress me most. Watching them through their entire lives… and then standing at their graves. There seems never to be enough time… As for dealing with it… Well, I am not as introspective as some. I do not rant and rave and fling curses at the gods. What is the point? Nothing answers those curses; no earth tremors or lightning bolts come. Human beings are mortal; all things die, eventually. Even I will fade away at some point. It may be in a few years or it may be in a few millennia. Perhaps there is a congregation of the already-dead somewhere waiting for us all; perhaps not. It is wasteful of what time I have to indulge in that sort of speculation.” He shrugged and smiled at me. I could barely tell that his canines were a little too long for comfort; I wondered if they magically changed when he was preparing to bite someone. “Last night,” he continued apologetically, “I was almost hysterical with relief that Heero agreed to help me; I have managed to calm myself since then. I’ve never been a very good vampire, but I’m usually not so melodramatic.”
Heero returned then, setting a tall glass in front of Ctik. The vamp’s eyes lit up like a neon sign, and I caught the metallic scent of blood.
“I hope this will suit you,” Heero said blandly.
“Heero! Oh my! Thank you! Yes, indeed; this will suit me perfectly!” He took a tiny sip and sighed happily. “Oh, yes…”
I looked at Heero and he shrugged. “Honor demands that all parties be at their best when discussing business matters,” he smirked.
The glass was a dark color, masking the contents, and a stalk of celery garnished the drink. A Bloody Mary, indeed! I poked Heero under the table and grinned at him.
Smugly, he produced a parchment listing of properties for sale and spread it out on the table.
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no subject
Date: 2009-03-29 09:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-31 02:36 am (UTC)Nature is expected to take the oldest first; vampires are certainly swimming against the current in that respect. ^___^
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Date: 2009-03-29 10:17 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-31 02:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-29 11:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-31 02:32 am (UTC)It's the whole "parents should not be burying their children" thing. >_> Screws up the order of things.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-30 12:51 am (UTC)The celery stalk was a nice touch. *grin*
no subject
Date: 2009-03-31 02:30 am (UTC)Camouflage; Heero's doin' it rite! ^___^
no subject
Date: 2009-03-30 01:02 pm (UTC)Heero is indeed ready for everything isn't he? A stalk of celery indeed.
Excellent as always.
no subject
Date: 2009-03-30 01:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-03-31 02:27 am (UTC)Heero does like things to be fair, but I think in this case, he's leaning towards liking the idiot vamp. ^____^
Hey! Lookit me! Finally got a LJ!
Date: 2009-04-01 07:33 pm (UTC)