For Emcee

[onceaviking]

Eric's room is neat, cool, and quiet.
He turns the light on as he steps through the door and it bathes the room in a soft glow.

The bed is made. White Egyptian cotton, a blue bedspread . it reminds him of waves.

He turns and looks at Emcee. Quietly.

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[i_am_your_host]

Turn of the century. Perhaps it was before Emcee's time, perhaps it was just as he entered the world. But he is familiar with the fashion of the period, as the bustle had just gone out of style and the long, layered skirts were evolving. Miss De Beaufort must have looked stunning in those tightly corseted dresses.

He watches Eric's face in profile as he speaks.

"You came to her aid."

In only the way a vampire does best, he assumes.

[onceaviking]

"I did. I ripped his throat open after he called her a whore. My hand was covered in his blood but even though I licked it off my fingers she did not flinch. We spoke a little. I cautioned her against the dangers in the streets at night and told her that a lady should be more careful. Her answer?"

And here his lips curl into a smile, the way it still does when Pam says something that amuses him.

"If I meet a lady, I'll let her know."

He chuckles.

"I had gotten blood all over her dress and so I left her with some money before I disappeared. Standing so close to her, I could feel the warmth of her body through her clothes, and then gone, into the shadows."

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee does flinch, a little, at the thought of what Eric could have done to his attackers if he hadn't held back.

But despite that, he notices a flicker of genuine warmth in his smile, hears it in his voice, when he speaks of Pam. It's obvious that he cares for her, but Emcee keeps that notion to himself this time.

"I can understand what you saw in her," he says quietly.

"What happened the next time you met?"

[onceaviking]

"I went to her establishment and she showed me what was on offer," Eric purrs.
"But I wanted her."

Not that her girls hadn't been attractive. They had.
But he had made up her mind.

[i_am_your_host]

He smiles a little, half of it hidden against his arm.

"And did she agree?"

[onceaviking]

"Not at first. She was not, as it were, on display. But everyone has a price."

Another, smaller smile.
"And she had a problem that I was able to take care of for her. Someone was preying on her girls, leaving them dead and bloodied and broken. A young vampire and his Maker, who, by the way, ought to have known better."

The smile turns sardonic.

"So I went up and - schooled them."

[i_am_your_host]

"That's awful," he murmurs, blanching at the thought of those poor girls, who must have been all-too-easy prey.

"I'm sure Miss De Beaufort was very grateful for your assistance. ...What did you do to the vampires?"

[onceaviking]

"I chastised the Maker for not teaching her Progeny how to behave. And I refrained from killing him when he attacked me. A vicious little thing, but practically a baby vamp. He didn't know any better. So they left. After Pam had insisted they pay her for the dead girl."

You can hear the pride.

[i_am_your_host]

Even after all that, Pam still had the sense (and the audacity, perhaps) to seek recompense for her financial losses. Yes, he can certainly see why Eric would be proud of her.

"Even then she was bold, wasn't she?"

[onceaviking]

"She was," he agrees, his voice almost soft.
"She was. And then I bedded her. I told her what I was and she didn't shy away."

[i_am_your_host]

She must have fallen in love with him right about then, but Emcee doesn't say this aloud. The affection is already obvious in Eric's voice.

"And you said she chose you to turn her," he says, also softly.

[onceaviking]

"She asked me. And I told her no. I wasn't ready to be a Maker."

His eyes are distant. Remembering. Her voice. The tears welling up in her eyes. Turning his back on her, getting dressed.

The sound of the knife through her soft flesh and the scent of blood.

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee knits his brows as he sees his expression and demeanor shift almost dramatically. He's at least learned that being a Maker is a great responsibility and that decisions like that cannot be taken lightly.

After a moment, he asks quietly, "What made you change your mind?"

[onceaviking]

His eyes flick to Emcee and away again.
"She killed herself. And I wouldn't let her go."

Not 'she tried'. Had he not intervened, she would have succeeded.
Though couldn't might be more precise than wouldn't.

It's only Mausi. It doesn't matter. He can tell him this.

[i_am_your_host]

He gasps, putting his fingers to his lips. His eyes are wide, blinking at Eric.

"You saved her life."

Again.

No wonder their bond seems as strong as it is.

[onceaviking]

"I did. And I made her mine."

And that is stronger than any claim on any human will ever be.

[i_am_your_host]

He feels the weight of his words, even if as a human he may not completely understand their meaning. All he knows is that they deserved eternity together-- yet at the thought, he realizes that it may not be so anymore. And that saddens him.

"I think she chose wisely."

[onceaviking]

Eric's lips curl, just a little at that.
And then he stretches.

"Dawn is approaching," he says.

[i_am_your_host]

He shifts a little and sighs into the pillow, his gaze still on Eric, though his eyelids are starting to droop.

"I'll try not to wake you. Like the last time."

[onceaviking]

Eric turns his head slightly.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he says.
He just did.
He's a vampire. That's what they do.

[i_am_your_host]

He huffs a short chuckle.

"It's all right. You didn't hurt me."

(That time. At least.)

[onceaviking]

Eric closes his eyes.

"No," he murmurs. "I didn't."

[i_am_your_host]

Emcee will leave before Eric wakes, as usual. (How there came to be a 'usual,' he'll never know.)

He struggles to keep his eyes open.

"Hopefully I'll get to see you again before you leave. One more last time before the next. Of which I'm sure there will be one."

[onceaviking]

Eric slants a look at him.

"Perhaps," he murmurs.
"I will be leaving soon. "

Not saying anything more because he doesn't quite trust himself not to say something he shouldn't. Oughtn't.

[i_am_your_host]

Sometimes he can be a perfect blend of cynic and optimist.

"Then I will see you soon," he says, and that is that.

Following his impulses, he leans in and drops a quick kiss onto Eric's shoulder, before settling back down on the pillow, a small, cheeky smirk on his lips.