We're all mad...

[Lovely]

June 21, 2006
Montgomery Inn


The hallucinations were becoming worse. Mitch was sure he felt the whispers close enough to tickle the hair on his neck and he stopped to look now and then, still hearing the whispers but seeing no one there. He brushed his neck with a cool hand that surprised him and stared at his fingers a moment before continuing down the hall, his fingers stumbling over the old, textured wall. Even in the dim light he could see the patterns clearly even several feet away and he'd been paying more attention to them than the appearance of the woman in the hallway. Mitch paused again to brush the tickle away as if the whispers he'd been hearing were surrounding and flowing around her then stopped curiously. He looked around, clearly confused and a moment later, clearly queasy from the turning and stumbling. He held his stomach a moment before he could speak, gesturing a plea for her to give him a moment's pause while he settled himself to address her properly.

For as disheveled as the man appeared the redhead who had come into the hall was refined and graceful, though there was something wild about her even in her finery. Fiery red locks, curled and flowed over her shoulders like flames licking out, her lips rich, red, and softly pouted, her emerald eyes bright and sharply fixed on the man. It was as if temptation itself had stepped into the hall to beckon him to follow. She waited a moment as he curled and looked as if he might sick up where he stood, it pained her greatly to see him this way. What had they done to her beautiful and strong man? Of course he didn't remember her but she'd been waiting for him to arrive, feeling terribly incomplete without him. The whispers he heard were echos from another life with her that he could not recall when in his fragile human state but now that Jorden had given him the taste and left him in this half turned state, Mitch was struggling with the memories that chased him and tried to make themselves a part of him. Perhaps this is why they went quiet near her, she knew, she remembered, and ached for Mitch to return to her. "Ohhh my love.." She herself whispered now, feeling as if she could cry for seeing what had been done to him. "Oh.. dear crazed Mitchie.. we never did get properly introduced.. maybe.." For a moment she seemed as crazed as she called him, her smile twitching and tugging at her pout but not quite fully showing itself. "I've heard you have quite the appetite... and I have this chambermaid just all limp and doing nothing.. going to waste.." She offered and hoped he would accept, that he would be drawn to her.. that he still loved her even if he couldn't remember it.

The feeling that the hallway was going to dump him upsidedown was fading as her voice floated out to him. Dearest? Okay, maybe he wasn't feeling entirely well and was still hearing things. He rubbed his chin, trying to keep the quiver unnoticeable. "Yeah... heh, an appetite for mice," he muttered, shuddering a moment later at the thought of his newly acquired cravings he couldn't entirely explain, or the way his mouth watered a little for wanting one now as much as the thought was repulsive. His confusion at the situation was rattled loose as he shook his head about her offer. Waste? How, exactly, he wondered, though part of him seemed to know the answer. "Hmm... going to waste's no good, lady."

Her mouth twitched again, a flash of a smile and then the pout was there again, her eyes casting over him and assessing his state of mind and hunger. "Well then.. I shall insist you come to my room for dinner." She spoke with a kindness to her voice, perhaps making the invitation sweeter as she gestured to the door she was standing near. "I'm Bronwyn.. by the way." She told him her name, there was a glimmer in her eyes and she hoped perhaps her name would spark something within him.

The haunted expression deepened and his head shook a little more, his eyebrow raising as though she were the crazy one here. "In there? Lady, are you nuts? Jorden or Annia... if they see me anywhere in the hall or even sense me here...? I c-can't," he stammered, clearly fearful of some consequence.

She understood the fear, given his current state and what had been done to him but it angered her both that it had been done and that he had such fear. Bronwyn growled softly, wanting to find Jorden and make him pay! She did her best not to take this anger out on Mitch and stepped slowly toward him. ""I insist.. and I insist.." She smiled a little dangerously. "You don't know who I am.. do you?" She giggled softly, her eyes glowing a little but the laugh was part in frustration. She'd have to find more creative ways to remind him.

He wasn't sure he knew the answer. The whispers flowed around him and spun him again, making him steady himself against the wall. "I don't even know who -I- am anymore," he admitted quietly. "You insist? Okay, but I'm warning you if either of them are anywhere near here.... I may... um... have to go."

[Lovely]

Her hand lifted and her finger traced softly over his stubbled jaw. "Shhh.. you don't worry about them right now.. I'll deal with them.." She leaned close almost as if she would kiss him, but didn't. "hurry.. I have something tastey for you.." She giggled and spun around once, turning to go back inside, expecting him to follow.

Lindsay's stomach rumbled painfully, still half in the throes of the change, stuck in limbo and ill from too many mice, or maybe not enough. He thought of his curious habit and fell to the wall a little, leaning as the wave passed. "Hope it's a juicy steak," he murmured, only partly thinking that a juicy anything would make this feeling pass.

Bron seemed to understand his pain as she paused and turned back with a sad smile, her arm stretching and her cool hand held out to him. "I'll make you feel better, darling... come with me."

"You a medicine chic or something? We have folks like that back home in Kentucky, but they only have three teeth and live in drafty old one-room shacks, nothing like this place," he chuckled, taking as deep a breath as he could manage, though it was forced, almost like he had to remind himself to breathe.

"Or something.. I have all my teeth though.. is that alright?" She stepped closer to him, still offering the hand. "Does it hurt much?" Her other hand lifted to brush a stray lock of his hair back. "I can't believe he did this to you.." She murmured softly, looking very disappointed in Jorden and concerned, pained and sad for Mitch.

"Heh... I'll live," he snorted out automatically. It had just been a sick dream or some kind of hypnosis, he was sure of it. As a logical man, a man of science, there was nothing he could comprehend other than sort of ruse to make him partake in what he'd done or believe what he'd seen. There was no mistaking that his fiancee was left murdered, but had he really taken up the shovel after doing such horrid things to the remains? The wave of nausea slipped over him harshly and the room pitched. "I think... I think I better sit down."

Her arm slipped around his waist and she supported him with a strength you would not normally expect from such a graceful lady, so fine and seemingly gentle. "Almost there.. and then no one will see you.. and you can rest a little.." She assured him softly, leading him a bit further to the door of her room.

He was in no state to argue and nodded gently, trying to keep the swell down in his throat. "After you, lady.. thanks."

She used her key to unlock the door and guided him carefully into the room, closing and relocking the door behind them, she brought him to the couch and shifted to help him sit down. The long gathers of her old stlye dress caught on her heeled boot and the edge of the table, causing them to tumble a bit, with her catching his head swiftly and softly in one hand before it slammed off the arm of the couch and her to fall against and a little on top of him. She giggled softly, smiling at him, her green eyes seeming to penetrate deeply into his. Her room was fashioned as the other suites were and her bed was in view, the covers neatly pulled back as if expecting her to be there soon. Near the bed was the crumpled chamber maid she'd promised Mitch.

"My god.. is she alright? She's not moving," Lindsay panicked a little, seeing the form on the ground and trying to reach out to her from the couch he'd been led to. He looked up into the woman's eyes above him, mesmerized a moment by the tint of jade and crisp apples that shone in them and shook his head as if trying to clear a fog that was settling in. "She's... y-..what? Did you say something?"

[Lovely]

"She's not in any pain." Bron murmured softly, her finger coming to rest against his lips and quiet his panic. "Shhh.. " She let his head rest back and smiled. "I'm going to take care of you now.. don't worry.." Her eyes seemed to twinkle a little as she shifted away from him, picking up a flask of fresh blood, she'd drained from the girl, a bottle of wine, and a few powders, mixing them in a goblet.

He laid still, suffering a brief chill at her touch and yet a yearning he couldn't describe. Lisa was still a clear memory in every layer of his being, but Lindsay felt that familiarity wane in favor of his curiosity for this woman, the chill he felt not being one of cold but of want. His breath shuddered, sudden as he remembered it.. had he been holding it as she watched and touched him? His attention turned to her activity as he laid there. Syrups and poultices? Powders to effervesce some heavy liquid she poured that he could not clearly see, but the scent... Was that....? He was sure it was just the bouquet of the particular wine she mixed, but the scent made him thirsty for it, whatever it was. Thirst. My god, he thought, the parched pain and cracking in his throat was suddenly overwhelming and he propped up slowly, waiting for the offer as he swallowed uncomfortably in search of something to soothe.

She swirled the liquid and sipped it to taste the flavor and smiled, it would do, she brought the goblet to Mitch, nearly sliding into his lap as she came to sit. "Drink this." She demanded in her soft tone, the drink was dark and thick but smelled faintly sweet, a scent that was much like her own. Her curious eyes watched him and her hand reached to brush his cheek in a tender touch. "You need a good shave.." She played along the stubble that was bristling from his face.

He jerked a little from the brush on his cheek. "I do not," he defended, grinning a little. He didn't mind the touch... he just minded that he didn't mind, not quite understanding what was coming over him in the presence of this strange girl. He looked at the goblet, the fine crafting of it.. antique and treasured, he realized, taking it to his lip. The scent was as thick as the liquid itself and gave him a 'buzz' that made his eyes haze and sting but his thirst demand it. "What the f*ck's in this thing?" He asked and grinned, not refusing it, but curious to know, especially if he'd pass out afterward. He didn't wait for an answer and took a sip, savoring it a moment before taking another large gulp and handing it back. "Join me. I hate to drink alone."

"A little of me.." Her voice was almost not there, but heard like a faint echo. Bronwyn reached to take the cup from him and she took a small sip, handing it back. "I made it for you." She was polite in sipping it with him, but wanted him to have the most of it, to temporarily help the ache and burn she knew he must feel. The hunger that tore at him and could not be satisfied.. for tonight would not plague him... perhaps even for a few days if he drank it all and allowed her to tend him. Her eyes shifted over his jaw and cheek then to his eyes again. "Will you let me?" Her finger hovered near his chin, and swept in a motion to indicate she meant to trim his whiskers.

"Why?" He asked, smiling and lightly giddy as he watched her. The room flowed into softer focus one moment then sharply etched the next. "It keeps the chill off," he said, looking at the contents of the cup again before draining it off, holding the cup at his lip to gather every drop before handing it back, his eyebrow raised and seeking her approval for having finished it. "Sure as hell better not let me do it. I'd probably bleed to death," he chuckled, letting the warmth of the drink settle in and numb him as he rested back and watched her. "Really. Why? I mean... you invite me in here for a drink and want me to shave? That's a pretty weird pick-up, lady."

"I guess I'm weird then." She winked at him, taking the cup in her hand and smiling that he'd finished it all. "I want to.." She reached to touch his cheek again, still smiling softly. "I think there is a very handsome fellow underneath.. and you'll feel better if you're cleaned up a bit.. and like you said you can't.. the drink will help with the shakes.. give it a little time.. meanwhile.." Her eyebrow arched, asking him with her eyes if he would trust her to let her.

He shrugged, feeling a little more relaxed than he had since 'arriving' after his ordeal a few weeks beforehand. "Guess it'll grow back, right? You're not some crazy razor weilding maniac I should've read about in the paper or anything, right? Nah... nah, you wouldn't be. Nevermind," he murmured, watching how her eyes shimmered. She called him handsome? "So what happens in 'a little time'? Do I get up and sing Dixieland and tapdance on the table or just pass out so you can have your way with me?" He was getting more comfortable as he watched her, the nausea fading quickly to feeling saited in his hunger and thirst for the first time in days, it seemed. "So what's your name? Can't keep calling you 'lady', lady."

[Lovely]

He was smiling and relaxing... which in turn made her smile a little and reach for his hands. "A bath, nice and warm will make you feel even better."

"So would more of whatever was in that glass... what was that... crack?"

"Yes.. it was crack.." She laughed softly. "Would you like me to make you more?" She shifted to stand and touched his cheek with cool soft fingers. "If I make you more will you indulge my bath idea... maybe a trim if not a shave?"

He smiled, confused, almost waving her off, but enticed and feeling drunk, though still quite aware and alert just the same, maybe moreso than he remembered being since... "Why are you doing this? Lady, I'm just visiting here... or I was.. I think. Don't even know how long I've really been here," he muttered, getting a shiver. Jorden was somewhere nearby, maybe looking for him for some chore he'd forgotten to complete or some undesirable task he'd find himself doing before he'd had the ability to protest. He propped himself up on arms he couldn't feel due to the strange numbness, yet he felt stronger than he'd been, not weak and worn from the work he'd been doing. He looked at his hands as if they were not his own for that moment, again confused and nodded. "Trim's fine. Really."

"As you wish." She murmured softly, letting her touch linger a moment longer, to reassure him. She too sensed her 'brother' nearby looking for his slave-pet.. but he would have to do without. Her eyes narrowed -focused on her door as she waited, half expecting Jorden to poke his head in. "Let me fix your drink." She smiled softly, turning to go back and once again mix the concotion that numbed and strengthened him.. helped to heal him in new ways that his enthralled, ghouled form needed to retain something of the man he'd been before.

"I shouldn't stay," he said, watching the door himself. It was much like having a hook in his soul, somewhere out of touch, out of reach, but when pulled, reeled him where it would and left him helpless against it. The tug was there, begging him off the couch, but something else besides his weariness seemed to fight against it. "You shouldn't," he swallowed dryly, remembering the burning feeling in his throat that first night.

She chuckled and turned back, holding the glass in her hands. "Sit down.. and be quiet." She commanded in a harsher more firm tone, handing him the glass and waiting for the door to open. "He won't make you leave." She said more softly, her eyes casting to the man, noting the change, knowing what was happening to him. "Not if I tell him I want you to stay."

"Not allowed," he whispered, repeating a litany he didn't believe in a voice that held none of the sharp reason such a man of knowledge and science should have had. He jerked, suddenly aware of her and the glass, reaching for it and holding it close like a man marooned and in search of a foothold in civilization and the familiar. "What? Tell who what? Why? Lady, I don't know what's on your mind, but I... I have no clue what I was going to say," he added, saddened at his loss, reaching for the thought that eluded him and reaching for the reasoning behind his sweat and chill... had something frightened him?

"Shhh.." Her finger brushed his pale lips and her green eyes seemed to glow. "I only want to help you feel better.. You are on my mind tonight.. only you."

There was a sharp rap on the heavy wooden door, followed by the rattle and turn of the handle. In the doorway stood Jorden in a most menencing posture, though it seemed wasted on the smaller flame haired woman.

"I was just leaving," Mitch muttered. "Trouble with a bottle I was assisting our guest with, Master Jorden.." The voice held the tremor of a boy caught stealing cookies before dinner, but his eyes held a silent fury as they watched the man who held him. These words were not his own, though they formed in his mind and used his voice.

[Lovely]

"Is that so?.. our guest.. looks quite capable of opening her own bottles.." He smiled, his dark eyes casting to Mitch coldly for a moment before turning more affectionately on the redhead.

"Mitch.. was actually.. staying.. for a week at least. Jorden." The girl countered, not even the slightest falter in her voice. "I like him J.. you don't have a problem with him assisting me.. being sort of my personal assistant for awhile do you?" Her lips curved slightly and her eyes sparkled with a challenge. Daring him to deny her.. daring him to tell her no and let her kick his ass clear across the county.

Had he told her his name? He couldn't remember as he watched between the two, waiting to be pulled out of the room by his hair or worse. He hadn't been denied the drink in his hand. He looked at the murky liquid and drank it down quickly rather than letting it waste in the glass. What did she need a personal assistant for? She liked him? Who was this woman, he wondered, watching Jorden's reaction.

His hand lifted swiftly, one might expect he was going to strike, but instead his fingers slipped into the glorious silken locks and pulled a few strands to tuck behind her ear. He chuckled, shaking his head slowly. "You little.." He leaned to meet the hand which he took in his other and lifted to his lips. "Of course.. whatever you like.. what is mine is yours while you are here." He let go of her fingers, watching her carefully and then turned swiftly, lunging towards Mitch and grabbing for the front of his shirt. "Don't displease me.. by displeasing her.. you are at her disposal until she decides otherwise.. anything she wants.. you do -you get.. She is currently one of if not the most esteemed guest we have. Understand?"

Mitch's eyes shone with the comtempt that would have him lambasting the man for assuming he was an idiot which Jorden likely knew well he wasn't, but that mattered little. Whatever the man had done, whatever spell was rendered that made Mitch ill and quiver as if terrified by his own shadow caused him now to nod in agreement. "Of course," he leered, feeling he could rip free from the invisible bindings and rip the man's throat out for his suggestions.

"Jorden!" Her voice snapped in anger. "Stop being a bully and get out of my room!" Her foot stamped in frustration and perhaps warning as her arm cast out and she pointed in the direction she wished him to go. He'd pissed her off a bit as she'd meant for him to leave Mitch be not intimidate or rough him up further.

Jorden took a moment before he complied, his smile curving as he stared at Mitch. "Lucky man.. the lady likes you.. " He let go and stepped back, his hands flaring out in surrender as he spun on his heel and headed out the door, with one last look at the woman and a slight bow. The door clicked shut softly behind him.

The goblet dropped from his hand as the door closed and the shiver wracked through him, the sensation of a snake slithering through his nerves, or barbed wire, taking its time to catch and rend on its way, snagging and scorching painfully for a moment. He'd taken this drink much faster than the first and it seemed stronger. Jorden's voice both echoed and faded as the room pitched a little. Setting the heels of his palms to his eyes that saw with an unusual clarity as much as they ached with a chaotic blur, he whispered his curiosity to her. "What... what did you give me?"

"I already told you.. a little of me and the rest.. well it's better not to know what's in our medicine..hmm?" She bent to retrieve the fallen cup and set it down on the table. "Come on sit down.. you drank that a bit fast.. It must be hitting you as much now.. "

[Lovely]

He hadn't remembered rising from the sofa as he turned and saw that he was standing a few feet from it, having moved at some point and ventured toward the door. He looked from her to the cup, apologetic in his glance, hoping it hadn't been damaged. "Something's hitting me, that's for damned sure," he muttered, feeling numb, but invigorated, feeling his surroundings as something warm, not chilling and feeling the air move around him as air, not a fingering chill that had made him ache for days, weeks, however long he'd been lost in this place to his own mind. He snickered a little, thankful for whatever she was doing, but not sure how to thank her since he wasn't sure exactly what she'd yet done. "Hoping you're the sweet part of whatever that was. Never tasted anything like it. You're a good cook, I guess."

"I hope I'm the sweet part too." She chuckled softly, her hand on his arm to reassure him and perhaps help him stay with her rather than slip into the chaos as his mind cleared. "I hope this means you are starting to feel better?"

"I feel...," he paused, realizing only that he -did- feel, but better was relative to what? "Better, sure. Thank you," he nodded, a slight smile forming from the wonder about this woman. Most esteemed guest and someone Jorden cowtowed to... that made him wonder more. "Who are you really? What was all that?"

"Who am I really?.." She chuckled again. "Well there's a long story.. I am simply .. Mischief..Kisslinger " her eyes sparkled with a teasing and she extended her hand to him. "..and that was me.. telling Jorden to back off, because I wanted you to stay and him to leave you alone."

He took her hand in his, still curious, offering a kiss to her knuckle and thinking over the name as he rubbed the light dampness over her cool skin. "Kisslinger... a lingering kiss... and mischief, now that I can see," he grinned, offering for her to take a seat on the sofa ahead of himself since it was her own room. "I still don't understand... why, but I guess that's not going to be answered."

"Why.. what?" She countered softly, slipping to a graceful pose on the cushions of the couch. The air around her seemed touched by her sensual yet lady-like pressence.

His hand rose to line through his mussed hair. The offered bath would probably do him a world of good, though he wasn't feeling as tired as he'd been and the nausea seemed less, though he ached, strangely ached, like a man who'd been asleep too long. "Why are you helping me?" He asked directly, though the smile remained, glad for whatever reason she'd found and glad for the company of someone much more pleasant than the rodents in the stables and the stale odors of the basement where he'd been sent to clean up the place.

Her eyes glanced away from him for just a moment and she smiled softly, bringing her gaze back to his face as she attempted to gather the right words to explain her motives. "I.. it's a little difficult to explain.. I just.. see things that most don't or don't know they do or ignore if they do.. I passed you and I saw something so much more than what you appeared.. Something in you, reached out to me and what I felt I couldn't ignore." She chuckled softly. "Yeah, you probably just joined the ranks of those who think I'm nuts.. it's alright though.. I probably am a little.. How about we just leave it at there was something about you... and I like you."

"I'm a psychologist... everyone's nuts," he smirked and nodded, though not in agreement so much as understanding what she was explaining. "Well thank you, then. And with the fog lifting, I really wonder how you can possibly like this... I'm a wreck."

"Didn't I already tell you.. I saw much more than what you appeared to be. Who would have passed you and thought, he's a psychologist?" She continued to smile softly, her eyes sweeping gently over him. "You are a wreck, part of why I brought you here. So I could help you not be a wreck.. the bath.. there are even fresh clothes.. thought maybe it would feel good for you to feel like a real person..like a man again."

[Lovely]

"I can't tell you how long that's been... since ... I felt anything," he said, knotting his brow and looking at his hands again. "Besides pain and ... I don't feel sick... not now. It was like this... I can't explain, this hunger like I'd never felt in my life that nothing... a craving for something I couldn't find."

"I understand.. to be caught half way in between two states of being.. not one nor the other.. it's like a living hell." She spoke as though she truly did understand.

He nodded and sat back into the corner of the couch, turned partway to face her. "It makes no sense... none of it... none of this. Halfway in between what? I really can't remember how long I've been here, but I remember... some things that I can't tell if they were real or dreams... nightmares, really. I never used to remember my dreams..."

She nodded, watching him -her smile faded some. "Half way between human and not.. I wish I could tell you it was all just a bad dream.. but I can't.. what you think you remember is probably truth.. " She licked her lips and forced a soft sigh out. "You didn't believe before.. did you?"

"Believe... what? In what? Don't believe much of anything that doesn't have proofs and theorems or some formulaic reasoning on paper. That's all I ever believed in. Not sure that's what you were after. I believed in Santa Claus until I was four... broke my mother's heart when I told her there wasn't one."

"I still believe in Santa Claus." She smiled again, lifting her eyes slowly to try and meet his. "So you don't believe in us.. in me?" She seemed amused and sad at the same time. "No wonder it is extra hard for you.. You really don't know what you're a part of now.. do you?"

"What 'us'? Lady, I don't even feel li-... of course I believe in you. I'm talking to you aren't I?" His expression faltered a moment and he looked away, then back to her. So many unexplained things... he tried to reason, make it all make sense. "Well, hell, if you're Santa Claus, I must be the Mad Hatter," he grinned, leaning back and crying out to the ceiling. "That's it... that's what it is, isn't it? I've f*cking lost my mind... and you're the nurse and all this isn't real and you're going to tell me to take my bath and my meds and rest, right?"

"I'll play nurse if it will help you get comfortable and rest.. but no I'm not one and yes.. this is very real.. I'm real.. and I'm not Santa Claus.. but if sitting on my lap and telling me what you want will help.. I'll give it a shot." She smiled more fully this time, glancing a sharp tooth before her expression faded back to normal. "This isn't going to be easy is it? You don't believe -so if I tell you.. you'll think I'm joking... so why don't we get that first step over with now, hmm?" She leaned forward a little and propped her chin on her hand, gazing at him intently. "I'm a vampire."

"I was better off when you were Santa Claus," he muttered, feeling compelled to shrink back a little, yet drawn closer at the same time. "Alright, I'll humor you. Say you are... or some cultist sanguinist who has a fetish and so on.. you drink blood or whatever... what has that got to do with me?"

"Well what I do.. really had little to do with you until I came across you earlier... but Jorden on the other hand.. well I'm not positive why, but apparently you seemed like a good dinner but he changed his mind halfway through... you ask me what I have to do with you, why are you at this Inn Mitch? What brought you here? Why do you stay? Why did you come to my room with me? Why did you stay when Jorden told you to? Why any of it Mitch..?"

[Lovely]

"Because I'm out of my skull," he hissed quietly, believing that more than anything else. His head tipped back to the cushions and he swallowed dryly again. Jorden's words controlled him.. ever since.. it had to be a dream... Lisa had given up and left him, he'd told himself, thinking his fiancee had simply gotten cold feet and went home to her mother. The dream he'd had, thinking he'd ... what he'd done.. that couldn't have been real. His head jerked up at the thought of it, the words this woman has uttered, the reality that couldn't be and the room pitched, sending him off the couch to her washroom in a few rapid strides, seeking relief from the porcelain bowl and its cool comfort. The second drink had been strong, but little of it came up as his nerves twisted and tried to expel it.

She gave him a moment of modesty and then rose and moved to the bathroom, silently she appeared beside him, holding a towel out for him. She hesitated and then offered a small cup of water from the faucet for him to sip. "I'm sorry.. I'm sure you'll hate me and that saddens me.. but you'll be completely lost if I didn't.. at least try."

"Try what?" He rasped out, clearing his throat from the sickness that graveled his words as he took the towel and water. "I'm just not feeling well is all. Nothing you did."

"I brought you from delerious to lucid.. I give you the truth and it's not happy news. Perhaps you would rather I'd left you as you were.. lost.. slowly going completely insane.. perhaps it would be happier.. easier there.."

"This isn't insane? You're telling me you're a vampire, lady. You bring me in here and give me some weird drugged drink...," he said, turning and sitting down on the floor, curling up a little and drinking the water that in itself tasted strange to him in ways water never had a taste before yet it didn't slake the thirst that was beginning to drive at him, his throat still feeling dry and burning. "How am I supposed to just take that... lying down? I mean, I've had some pretty interesting come-ons in my time, but this takes it," he said, looking at her strangely, considering his words as he heard himself say them. The clarity in his sight made her seem to glow radiant and sultry though he'd not noticed it before as he did now. "I'll tell you what though... if this is insanity... it looks damn good on you."

Her eyes narrowed and she nearly took offense to his suggestion that she'd been trying to come on to him. She shook her head a little, and accepted his ending compliment with a slight tilt of her head. She dropped down on her knees in front of him, slinking over him a bit, offering more of her sensual curves to his eyes. "If I had only wanted to seduce you.. I wouldn't have gone through such lengths. I would have merely taken you to bed and had my way with you. If all I wanted was your body I wouldn't care if your mind was gone."

Mitch untangled himself a little, finding himself drawn to her similarly to how he'd been inexplicably 'called' toward Jorden when he was near, but this was entirely different, his body reacting in ways even Lisa hadn't managed to find from him. "Would I still have to shave?" He asked, reaching a tentative fingertip to her knee to assure she was real.

Her lips curved gently and she shook her head. "You don't have to shave.. but a trim would be nice." Her knee moved under his finger, her leg sliding and she shifted a little closer to him.

He couldn't make it make sense. They couldn't be real but the truth was she was real and he could sense and understand that she believed what she'd told him. Why would she make it up? She was right about that. If all she wanted was a toy, she could have knocked him out with the drink, not defend him and offered to keep him for a week. She'd said a week? Or longer? Mitch shook his head a little, listening to the voices hiss and curl around his thoughts... her voice, his own, Jorden's, the other guests he'd attended at that man's whim and all the echoes of the walls of this god-forsaken hell he'd stumbled into. The sounds grew louder, mostly her voice though she said nothing as she hovered and tended. "So... saying I believe.. at least I believe that you believe what you say... what does that mean? What's happening to me to make me feel like this?"

She bit her lower lip, seeming to think about what and how to tell him. "It's a kind of madness.. humans really aren't meant to linger between.. It really has to be one or the other. You were tasted, bitten, drained.. but not fully to end your life nor given enough of one of our kind to cross fully into our world and become one of us.. you were not turned, but you were changed. Our blood mixed with yours, our powers.. humans are taken under control. Slaves, toys, companions.. lovers.. depending on who you are and the one who has their eye on you. They choose what purpose you serve."

[Lovely]

He listened carefully to what she said and how clinical it sounded. "What purpose will I serve when you're done saving me, or whatever it is you're doing, then?"

"Whatever purpose you find.. I have a hope perhaps you'll find a place with me.. but that is just a foolish girl's hope. I will not make you a slave or drive you further to madness. I am not like the others." She smiled softly, glancing down and lowering her lashes.

His hand lifted from her knee to touch her cheek and lift her gaze back to him. "No, you're not like the others. I'm not even sure what the others are or how many of the 'guests' here are 'others', but you're different from all of them. Thank you. I can think, I can see, the words in my head don't seem to be ... stuck, or whatever you want to call it."

She nodded gently, looking into his eyes for a long moment, her hand lifting to softly cover his on her cheek. "I'm glad that I could help.. "

He smirked, partly shy and partly curious, keeping his hand beneath hers, his thumb feeling the cool skin, his fingertips not feeling much more warmth or ripple of pulse he'd expected. Perhaps it was true... what did that mean? "So what did you see... beneath all this that made you stop? What if I said.. that purpose.. finding a place with you.. had crossed my mind in a flash or two while I've been here? That is, if you can deal with whatever it is that I've become. If it's not a dream, then what I've done...," he shook his head, swallowing back on the fear of the realization that Lisa was truly dead... violently and atrociously taken from the world and defiled further by the hunger and thirst he hadn't been able to explain.

Her eyes lit up and seemed to sparkle and dazzle with delight, her lips curving further in a sweet smile. "You.. you have? I didn't.. think you noticed me." Her admission was soft and shy as she had grown in that moment of wonder. Her fingers curled around his and her face titled into his hand a bit. "What you've become.." She shook her head. "You do not have to be only what he has made you be.. What you have done.. dear sweet man.. what was done to you. You didn't choose. This was done to you. You have simply survived, because you are strong. You have not been made completely mindless because you are strong and your will and mind are more than he realized. Your spirit is stronger than you realized to have endured and survived. I do not care what hunger or pain has driven you to. I have killed to feed.. it is the way of things."

Killed to feed... the words chilled him. "Being strong willed used to get the smart slapped out of me with the flat of daddy's old leather belt back home," he grinned. "That's nothing compared to what this pain has felt like."

"I am so sorry that you have suffered as you did.. if I could I would ease that for you or take it wholly, but that is beyond my power." She shifted and inch or two closer to him, she did not have much warmth in her physical form to offer him, but there was warmth in her eyes and smile.

"Can only do what you can," he murmured quietly, letting his hand curl along her neck and close the distance between them as he leaned up to her. "This will either kill me or cure me, right?" He asked, settling a tentative kiss to her cool lips.

[Lovely]

She leaned to bring the kiss more fully to them both but remained light and gentle as he was when responding to his lips. Hers were cool but so soft and sweet on his, her hand rose and traced his jaw line lightly.

The voice that had been lingering and echoing around his thoughts wrapped as gently around them as her kiss, like light rain on a withering leaf. Just like that rain, her touch seemed to invigorate and whatever was left of the drink was coursing its power through him now, no longer making him ill, but making him want. The want built in the kiss, the hunger that drove him and the tempation that honed the sensation uncurled him from the floor to pull her into his lap and deeper kisses.

Her firey locks flowed over his shoulder as she was lifted into his lap and leaned up to the deepening kisses. Her arm wrapped around his shoulder and her fingers slid into his hair and held him gently. She could almost feel the emotion and power that coursed through him.

Anger, fear and all the base, raw instincts of survival worked around the fire in his veins, portioning it off to warm him and soothe him, make him feel and ache in different ways as the realization built and carved deeper into his mind of what he'd done, what he'd become already and what he didn't understand of what he continued to turn into. Desire, greed, lust, temptation and the subtle passion wove around these feelings as he tasted her and her freely given offers, making him envision things he'd never before thought or dreamt of, or now wondered if he had and did, thinking it was never possible. The confusion wore the edges that sharpened and cool tears spilled over as he continued to seek explanations and solace in her touch. "Please make it stop," he pleaded softly against her cheek.

Her arms tighted around him and she held him almost protectively, her lips moving against his temple. Faintly whispered words soothed over him, it did not take away any of what he felt but were calming none the less. Her gentle kisses swept like feathers over his cheek, tasting his tears and brushing them away softly. "I can't make it stop.. I can only do what I know to ease it.. it's best to feel.. know you are real than to be blind and numb."

"Then don't let me feel afraid," he murmured, curling more snugly into her embrace, smelling and sensing in ways he'd never before encountered, the salt of her skin, the sweetness of her breath, each piece of information full of new and different experiences. "Ease it, then. I don't want to be left in between."

She held him, curling with him, their forms entwining and overlapping. "I'll not let you be left.. " She caressed his cheek, knowing what her blood did to other creatures. She'd never been able to sire or have a companion. "I have been without.. alone for so long.."

Mitch worked gently to ease her long wait, driven nearly to a different kind of madness as impatience bit harshly at him. "Well I am a doctor... let's see if we can cure you," he teased now, shifting the bulk of her skirt from his intended path.

She blushed a little, giggling and looking semi shyly at him as he exposed her silken skin and pushed her skirt aside. "Planning to give me some of your medicine now, are you?" She teased lightly, still gentle in her touch over him.

He shrugged slightly, still teasing, but shifting to provide her a better view of himself and what her healing was doing to him as the emotions and tensions coursed through him ten-fold. "Alright, then... physician... heal thyself...," he said, offering whatever of himself she would take.

Her eyes swept over him and she offered her hands to him, smiling and showing clearly that she liked what she saw. "I've not had my evening bath.. I was going to skip it and let you take one .. Would you join me for mine?"

"Orders are orders," he grinned, more that she'd asked than Jorden had insisted that he please her. "I like 'em really hot."


[[Scene edited due to content. Unedited version continues on our sister site, edited version continues below]]

[Lovely]

Her smile started to fade away as he first answered but his grin made her pause and tip her head, listening to what was not said. Her smile slowly curled back onto her lips and she chuckled. "Good.. so do I."

"I'm not saying I believe all this yet, okay? I'm just... I need...," he paused a moment, feeling the chill work through him again as flashes of memories stunned him. He shook his head to clear them as best he could. "Nevermind... bubbles?"

"time to sort it all out in your head?" She offered softly, letting her hand curl and rest on his shoulder. "Yes.. of course.. I adore bubbles." She let go of him and shifted to rest on her feet, ready to slowly rise.

He reached out her, not wanting her to go far. "Time later to sort it out," he said softly, pulling gently to bring her back down to him.

She came back down, her knees falling around his legs, her arm stretched and her palm on the wall behind him. She brought down a tender kiss with her, delivering it sweetly to his lips as she met him where he sat.

"Never like to keep a lady waiting on my account," he said, watching her expression, the deep green of her eyes, and feeling how she'd landed around him. One arm reached to pull her hand from the wall and secure her balance on his shoulder instead. The other snaked around her waist to pull her closer and ease her longing. "If it pleases, m'lady."

Her smile was curious now as she leaned close but didn't quite kiss him again. "And what would please Mitch?"

"Cleaning up after," he admitted boldly, feeling... even smelling what having her that close was doing to him to ensure he wasn't letting go for a while.

"clean.." She started and then laughed softly, shaking her head with the chuckle. "Whatever you'd like my dear." Her mouth came to his again with more taste of her passion in her kisses.

"Thinking I like you, lady," he said quietly, shifting and curling to meet her if she would take him in. His hands met behind her at the small of her back to provide support for her as he rocked her back a little.

He rocked and she held onto his shoulders, her thighs shifting slightly to settle her over him and help her cling to him as he moved. Her mouth seemed suddenly hungry for him as a deeper kiss met him now.

*****

He was alive, that much was ceratin, and he now ached physically where mentally he was calm, watching the images collide in his mind... the violence, the pain, the inhumane acts all clear and sharp, but not carrying the barbs and hooks that had pulled on his nerves before. He chuckled weakly as he sank down to kiss her shoulder and roll aside. "Thank you... are you alright?"

His voice reached her as her eyes closed attempting to blink the mist away, but a few stubborn tears rolled free anyway. "Yes.. I'm alright." She murmured softly, her hands resting just above her head on the cool tile floor.

[Lovely]

He turned toward her voice a moment then away, his hands brushing over his face. "I've really lost it. I'm sorry. I don't know what... I couldn't stop it.."

She smiled and shook her head, her hand sliding across the smooth tile to brush and play with a few spikey unruly locks of his hair. "You were amazing.. now shh don't apologise for that.. I thought we both enjoyed it very much.."

"You're crying," he said, not even having to look, he could smell her tears. He'd never been able to do that before.

She nodded again, dabbing at her eyes with her other hand, this one still toying lightly with his hair. "I am.. a little. I've been alone for a very long time.. just a bit overwhelmed.. I'm sorry.. that was pretty intense.. just kind of hit me all at once.. that's all.. you didn't do anything.. wrong..or upset me." She reassured him softly.

He shifted his hands away to his chest and looked up at her. "How long is a long time? If you're a.. if you've been like this a while?"

"Been like this awhile?" She laughed again, her smile shining softly at him after the sound faded. "Are you asking me how old I am as well? I might scare you away if i answer either.."

"Scare me and get it over with while I'm numb," he grinned. "I don't care how old you are. Just wondered how you've been alone at all."

She paused a moment and then sighed. "I am five hundred and eighteen years old.. and I have been... without a companion.. of the non related variety for most of that time."

"Doesn't seem right at all," he murmured, admiring her in no subtle fashion. "Here I was thinking I had to be robbing someone's cradle to be thinking what I was thinking or doing... yeah, well... looks like I'm just a pup in your eyes."

"I didn't really think about it.. or you like that.. when you live this long age becomes meaningless. I'm really only twenty.. was turned on my birthday.. I'll always be twenty.."

"Then I'm back to being a dirty old man," he grinned. "I don't remember how long I've been here, but I remember a thirty third birthday once. So maybe in some way I'll always be 33."

"33 kinda has a nice ring to it.. seems like it might be a good age to be.." Her fingers played with the mussed locks of his hair and she smiled beautifully at him. "Is your hair always like this? I adore it.."

"Only when it's being bad like the rest of me," he said, returning the smile. "And I've been very, very bad. About that bath?"

"I thought you were very, very good.." She winked and then glanced towards the tub. "I'd love a bath... if you're interested?"

"Lady... interested doesn't even come close," he murmured.

Her eyes lit up at his comment, truly appreciating and enjoying his company. "I suppose this means we have to get up.. one of us has to fill up the tub and all."

[Lovely]

"What's the rush?" He shrugged a little, feeling numb enough not to move although the surroundings weren't exactly the best for lounging. He moved to sit, finding far more strength than he'd bargained on.

She watched him rise up and her smile shifted, pleased at how much 'better' he seemed. "No rush.." She murmured, one arm sweeping down to shift her skirt a bit to give her some cover and modesty as they 'lounged'. "Just thinking how nice and relaxing it will be.. once in.. we won't have to move for awhile.. unless we want to."

"You're as clever as you are beautiful," he said softly as he moved further toward getting up and turning to help her. "You don't need to do that," he added, watching her cover herself over. "I was actually hoping to help get those out of the way and see what you really look like under all that hoohah. It's really pretty hoohah... for a 500 -yr old."

Her hand reached towards him, offering for him to take it and help her up. "The laces are in the back.. if you want to help me get all this out of the way.. but you'll have to do the same." She motioned to him, indicating if she was to be undressed he should be as well.

"You drive a hard bargain, lady, but I think I'll manage," he said, reaching to untie her first since he was mostly undone already and let his muddied jeans slide further to the floor.

She chuckled very quietly and worked the dress down off her chest and eased it down her torso and over the gentle swell of her hips, letting it sift to a puddle of cloth on the floor and then stepping away from it. She was completely bare and standing in front of him, her foot sweeping the discarded dress off to the side. "Still alright for a 500 year old?"

"More than alright," he said quietly, pausing a moment before sliding off his work shirt and the t-shirt beneath it. If the room was cool, he no longer noticed. All that remained were the boots he bent down to unlace and kick off, well away from her dress. His muddied and bloodied rags revealed well worked muscles beneath and a few marks of bygone injuries from hard work he'd seen long before coming to the inn. He stood slowly for inspection, if that's what it was to be called, moving back beside her to admire her more closely. "So more than alright," he shook his head, amazed more by this woman.

Her fingers raked through a few of her long locks, brushing her mane back over her shoulder. her eyes followed along his form, her tongue licking at her red lips as she admired him. She took a step closer to him, reaching out with light gentle fingers to trace over muscle and flesh, her whole being appreciating his. "Gorgeous." She stated simply but meant it fully.

"Yes, you are. So much I can't believe, but what confuses me most... is why or how you could have ever been alone," he said, sliding his arms around her. "And there's something else. You will think I'm nuts, but there's something to all this. Like I've known you or seen you... not just here, I mean, some other time or place."

She let him pull her in close, her eyes shuttering at the way his arms felt encircling her. She shook her head at his last words. "I don't think you're crazy.. I feel the same.." Her arms draped over his shoulders, her hands working a firm massage over his muscles.

"We're not getting to that bath really quick, are we? Not that I mind," he said, leaning in for another kiss. "You really don't think it's nuts?"

Her bare form curled to him when the kiss began, a full body reaction, her skin sliding along his and pressing against him. "I really don't think it's nuts." She smiled, locked in this tender embrace with him, feeling wonderfully close with him.