milliways_bar | (no subject)

Sunshine is glad to have received the clean bill of health from Dr. Lecter. Knowing her reflexes and motor control are back to normal, and having proof, bolsters her self-confidence significantly, even if it doesn't make her exactly eager to head back into the lion's den that is the Goddess of Pain's office. She'll need to get in touch with Jay regarding the stealth audio equipment before she heads back, anyway.

She comes down the stairs today with her the skinsuit Jay gave her on under her tanktop and sweatpants, water bottle in hand, ready to go practice for a few hours. Rae can't quite quell the look on her face, realizing she has to go past the vampire to get to the door, but she isn't willing to go out of her way to avoid him, either.

Eric's eyes flicker up and back to the phone in his hand. As she approaches, he says, "good evening, miss Seddon."

Neutrally .

"Good evening, Mr. Northman," Sunshine replies just as evenly, as though she weren't on her way outside to practice killing vampires.

She does spare a glance towards the interesting-looking phone - cell phones aren't yet common in her world and time.

His fingers are moving, lightening fast, across the screen.

"Have you spoken with Doctor Lecter recently?" he asks. En passant.
Figuring he'll tell her about the blood drinking. Just to make her uncomfortable in a way that won't be obviously antagonistic.

Rae's eyebrows rise momentarily, as her mind flashes back to the drawing Dr. Lecter had been working on the last time they spoke. How the doctor had been dwelling on Eric as a 'problem' in Rae's life.

"Yes, just the other day." She watches him, made uneasy by the return interest. "Why?"

"Did he mention any side effects of having ingested vampire blood?" Eric asks. All polite interest.

It'll be interesting to find out if he's even told her that.

One of Rae's frustrations is that everything she thinks shows up on her face. It would be so useful if she could hide her reactions to unsettling things.

"Not at all," Rae says, stiffly, suppressing a shudder at the idea. "He said he could see why they use it as a drug, but that the sexual side-effects you mentioned must've just been your own one-track mind playing tricks on you."

Yeah, he mentioned it. But she isn't happy about it.

Edited 2014-05-21 15:39 (UTC)

So he did tell her. Interesting.

"He was very accommodating," Eric says, off-handedly. "Friendly even. I told him of so e issues were having, with humans killing vampires, and he had some very good points concerning the profile of such individuals."

Did he tell her that too? Eric's money is on no.

"Dr. Lecter works with the FBI in his world, helping catch killers, so he'd know about that stuff," Rae reasons, though her face is settling into a concerned, wary frown.

"I imagine he was friendly to you," she murmurs, "before the spoon incident."

("I was being very clumsy, and broke the teacup stumbling over a rat. He never suspected a thing.")

Eric tilts his head a little.
"So he told you about that as well?"

She'd imagine that he was being friendly. Before.

Even more interesting.

"Yeah," she says, frowning still. Her voice is quiet. "The other day in the kitchen, after you had left, I had mentioned to him how silver isn't well liked by Others in my world. We had joked-"

- well, she had joked -

"- about tossing a silver spoon at you to see if the same were true in your world. I hadn't taken it seriously - just as something to clear the tension in the air."

His eyes narrow.

"You have an interesting taste in friends, Seddon," he says. Voice calm and natural. "Such an accomplished liar. I wonder, do he ever lie to you too?"

Edited 2014-05-21 17:57 (UTC)

Rae's mouth twists slightly in a half-assed attempt at a dry smile. "I've noticed that about my taste in friends."

She would admit it isn't beyond the realm of possibility that Dr. Lecter has been lying to her.

('... never suspected a thing.')

But until she has proof of that, she will continue trusting the word to have merit.

"I mention this because you said he was friendly to you, and then the next time I saw him, he spoke of a successful experiment with you and the silver spoon, while sketching a very detailed image of me beheading you with a sword and great prejudice."

And instead of entertaining her at all, the image very much disturbed the baker.

He lifts an eyebrow.

"Did he now? Interesting. Considering that he previously was being very frank with his advice regarding targeting humans hunting vampires.before his little - experiment."

"He was likewise frank about practical ways to deal with you, should you became a problem," Rae mutters.

She isn't liking this. Not at all. She would much rather not be hearing this, compounded with her side of the experience.

"Which, for the record, I don't believe will be the case. You - as far as I can tell - abide by the rules here, and you take your debts seriously. I may believe you to be the scum of the earth, but that's personal, not because of what you are."

He smiles widely.
"Should I be flattered by that?" he asks, clearly amused. "It does seem to be a popular opinion at the moment. Which is unfair. I am practically a kitten."

Soft, adorable. Deadly if you're a mouse.

Edited 2014-05-21 19:24 (UTC)

"You can be flattered by it if you choose." The most anyone could make of it is to know she doesn't specifically want to kill him.

"But your comparison is likewise unfair. An insult to even the scummiest of cats," Rae remarks.

She hates Eric's guts (and the rest of him, too) but she believes he will keep his word. And she will continue believing it right up until the moment he gives her reason to stop.

He shrugs.

"Not a kitten then."

He should like to see that drawing of Hannibal's. To gauge the depth of his lying.

And Sunshine is right. He does tend to keep his word. Mostly.

Rae would rather not linger in Eric's company - already so soon he has given her troublesome things to think about. Things she would rather not think about, thoughts she would rather not pursue.

So, as ever, Rae doesn't do what she'd rather not do.

"Though a thousand-year-old kitten probably would get pretty scummy," Sunshine mutters, stepping away from Eric's table in an effort to signal an end to their discourse. She doesn't say that there are other similarities between cats and vampires that make the comparison more valid. Both like to play with their food.

Their minds work in much the same way.

"Kitten or not, at least you know here I stand," Eric replies, carefully neutral. Subtly suggesting this may not be the case with others.

This is, of course, a lie. In general at least. Eric lies and cheats whenever it suits him. But he is in fact pretty straightforward with Sunshine. They both know where they have each other.

"That is true," she admits, reluctantly. They both know where they stand in relation to one another. It is one of the few good things about Rae's interactions with vampires - things are quite straight-forward. With most vampires, at least. Vlad is not most vampires.

It's with other humans that things get complicated: The Goddess of Pain, and now Dr. Lecter, being prime examples.

"Keep yourself out of trouble, Eric." Sunshine says as she steps away. It's the closest to well-wishes from her he will ever get.

"You know me," he says after her.
"I'm trouble that happens to other people."

He is still not certain why she didn't let him burn. Maybe she's just too soft?

Eric's ego gets an unimpressed eye-roll from the baker, and nothing more. She knows what to expect from the vampire in that department, too.

She only wishes everything were as predictable.

Troubled thoughts turning over in her head, Rae heads towards the door and out into the shadowy grounds of the bar.