Midnight Bliss [Anyone]

[lucius]

The comment she made in response to his own caused Lucius to laugh rather genuinely, shaking his head at her. "Oh, low blow to males everywhere. I feel a need to challenge or combat it somehow," he shot back, laughing still as he waded through the water. It was rare anymore that he was allowed such unguarded moments of joking, even though he tended to be rather laid back and sarcastically clever when dealing in business-- it still had that official importance behind it all, in the end, unlike now, where he could just relax as he was.

When she brought up the added bonus of how odd and impossible it would seem for a (former) vampire slayer to be living in the headquarters of one of the world's oldest and most powerful vampires, Lucius frowned, though it was a curious frown-- not a disapproving one. Oddly, that had not even crossed his thought; an unusual occurrence for him not to immediately realize something like that. But, yes, it was a good thing. Hiding in plain sight. The mantra that Lucius preferred to adopt when it came to doing things. "You are welcome. And, yes, it would certainly throw anyone after you for a loop to be living in my domain. An added bonus to the usual security I offer," said Lucius, nodding his head. Clever of her.

When she disappeared into the depths of the water, his eyes followed her from the surface for a few moments. She certainly appeared to be a good swimmer, and after a moment Lucius submerged himself again and swam after her, following her into the deepest end of the pool with little problem. He was rather good at holding his breath underwater too. It was not so much that he was exceptionally fit (which he was) or that he had a lot of practice with such situations (which he did), but that breathing was not so much of a necessity for him to keep going places.

[poss]

Anastasia laughed at his reply of wanting to challenge the statement she had made. "My weapons offer me a sense of security, and companionship like no other. Not a day are they not at my side, willing and excited to do as I ask them. But of course, it is more of a partnership than anything. Best relationship I have ever been in, why would I want to give it up?" She joked, taunting his hopes to challenge it.

Palms gliding along the glittering underwater display of different hued marble tiles, set out in a large mosaic of sorts, she watched him swim closer with a grin, bubbles seeping from her lip line before she was able to control the laugh that welled up inside of her. What an odd activity. To be taking a dip with an elder vampire, someone who months ago she would have surely tried to take down just for the fact that he had lived on this Earth for so long. She shook her head, long hair coiling freely in the water around her twisting in response to her actions. Feet found the bottom of the pool, bending at the knee and pushing off yet again as she made a quick lunge for the surface. The pool was rather deep, nt to mention grand in size width wise as well. She assumed hey used it for Olympic practice of some sort after she broke the surface in a near silent ripple of the water from her head breaking the calm crystalline.


She looked beneath her, eyes not allowing her to see too far beyond a few inches beneath the surface due to her bad eyesight and thus she spun in a slow circle as the tread to remain a float. She searched for him before looking across the pool in case he had played a joke on her and swam to the other side. He would pop up eventually.. right?

[lucius]

"Well, can a weapon carry on a decent conversation? I think not," said Lucius rhetorically, chuckling some yet again. He supposed weapons to her were like his business to him. Always there, useful, loyal, expedient, and completely controllable. But, in the end, somewhat unfulfilling. Well, in the general sense. Specifically, ZaneCorp gave Lucius much fulfillment with his greater goals in life, and he supposed that Anastasia felt similar about her wide array of weaponry.

The ancient vampire submersed himself deep within the water, his keen eyes--capable of seeing so clearly in dark conditions--open and seeing rather well in the depths of the pool. Beneath the water seemed to be an entirely different world. More calming than the busy, bustling, noisy world above. Sound and vision was slightly distorted here, and connection with above the surface essentially cut off except for glimmers of light and shimmering silhouettes now and then. It was a nice feeling; one that Lucius enjoyed quite a bit. And one that, at times such as now, played a bit to his mischievous side.

Lucius slowly came up from the water behind her, turning around himself beneath the surface to match her treading pace. A playful grin passed around his face as he silently resurfaced behind her, realizing she was looking for him. Leaning forward ever-so-quietly, he whispered into her ear at the same time that his hands lightly pressed on either side of her stomach. "Boo," he murmured, not shouting it. "If I were a shark, you'd be fish food."

[poss]

Well he had her there. No, weapons could not carry on a decent conversation, nor could they assist her unless she held them in her hands, or they were at least in reach. Useful, loyal, expedient and completely controllable, yes, but not always as reliable as she had hoped. But they were sure comforting to have around, in any situation. No matter the company she held, there always seemed to be a time when she was glad she was so well armed. Any sense of hostility, or a hint of too much mystery when it came to the vampire kind, for she believed that some had the ability to cloud your mind. Anastasia wasn't much for mind tricks, or games of any sort unless discussed prior.

The water around her was calming from the disturbance of the surace as her body had raised from the depths to inhale the crisp night air. However, the calmness was slightly unnerving. Where had Lucius gone? Surely he would come up in due time, but when it came to patience, Anastasia was always a little low. About to drop beneath the surface again, the familiar sensation of her nerves on edge crippled her movement. She froze, and in that very instant his hands touched on either side of her stomach, his words carried calmly to her ear.

Her body became rigid, the tensing of her stomach muscles, her arms, and even her neck for a split second before she allowed herself to turn her head and glance over her shoulder with a crooked grin. "If you were a shark.. I would have shot you long ago." she said. Just the playful taunt of such things brought that feeling of being nude. Naked, stripped of her weapons. Ana never lifted her gaze from him from over her shoulder, no matter how much she wanted to look in the direction of her weaponry, it was more important to keep her eyes on him. The sense of distrust was surely radiating from her as he was behind her- as she never turned her back to anyone, even friends and family never trusted enough for such actions of foolishness. Her heart raced, but she managed to inhale deeply, releasing it with a smooth, gentle sigh in attempt to calm it.

[lucius]

Fear. Distrust. He could feel the two emotions oozing off of the woman who had slain so many vampires in her short life as he floated in the water behind her, his hands comfortably on either side of her and his mouth close to the back of her neck. He briefly--very briefly--closed his eyes, the heartbeat of the woman resounding loudly within the attuned ears of the ancient vampire. Lucius could measure each heartbeat like a drum tempo to a dance. The heartbeats allowed a greater look into what was going on within people, much like his empathetic powers did. Most emotions--elation, sadness, excitement, hatred, love, shock, fear, lying, and so forth--had a slightly different beat to it; different tempos to dance to as blood was pumped through the body. It was a magnificent, enticing, informative sound within the ears of the vampire who listened to it.

And the beat of the cop, or personal trainer, or vampire slayer, or whatever it was that Anastasia was deciding to tell him she was, matched the emotions coming from her. She did not like her current position because she did not trust what Lucius wanted to do; he felt her yearning for her weapons as she reluctantly kept his gaze back on him, feeling that desire for her safety net to be close to her once more. Without her weapons, she was entirely unguarded, unprotected, vulnerable. Lucius liked looking at people when they were completely vulnerable. It allowed one to truly see their character, beneath all of the layers they usually wrapped around themselves to keep their vulnerability secret and safe.

A grin pranced around the handsome face of the vampire elder as he leaned forward once more, his lips hovering inches from her ear. "You're afraid of me, or what I might do. I can feel it," he whispered, as if it were some delicate secret that no others could know of. "Have you ever swam with sharks before, love? It is surprising how docile they actually are to humans when not threatened themselves or starved."

[poss]

Anastasia could sense hostility, fear, anger, turmoil of any sort when she came in physical contact with a vampire. Often it was measured by the sense of power that they held at the time, as often those that felt threatened, or in a vicious state of mind, gathered their energy close to them. Like a feral cat ready to pounce, they recoiled, seeping within themselves to ready for the point of action that they anticipated. However, Lucius, his hands touching the bare skin of her sides, held none of these senses. She felt no recoil of energy, no certainty as to what it was he was feeling exactly at all. The damn elders and their shields. A true weakness to the woman who had only slain onr elder in her entire history as a slayer.

The young vampires were less capable to hide the building of their powers, or if compared to a human, their emotions, fears, as they tensed their muscled and readied themselves. Wading the depths of the water, feet treading slower than they had been before as her heart thrashed violently inside of her chest she could not help but remain tense. Her body was rigid under his touch, still peering at him from the corner of her eye as her head was turned over one shoulder to the ear he whispered in to. A chill jolted up her spine, and for a moment she felt the urge for her teeth to chatter. Had this pool just dropped several degrees, or was it just her? She whispered in the same tone he chose, over her shoulder at him him, "And is this particular shark feeling threatened or starved, Mr. Erif?"

Still the need to change the situation in some way to arrange herself in to a less vulnerable position, her mind searched. Her back was to him- her weapons across the pool and over the ledge. If sh swam for them, who was to say that he would not be there before her, or simply disappear? She hated the disappearing act that so many vampires seemed to pull, it let her feeling foolish, and weak. She sucked her bottom lip in to her mouth, teeth grating against it gently as she thought of the situation she was in. Sure, she felt no sense of hostility, but she new that he was well beyond the years her skill of reading power could tamper with. And thus she began to turn o the spot, hand moving to rest on his forearm to steady herself and she stopped treading water all together, partially holding herself afloat by applying some pressure to his arm as she pivoted, and half letting him do the rest of the work with his hands at her sides. No need to waste any more energy, incase things did get heated. Heart still racing, breath having yet to escape the catch in her throat, as she tuned to face the elder vampire, more vulnerable than she had hoped she would ever be around one of his kind.

[lucius]

The ancient vampire had excelled over the centuries and keeping others from outside of his mind and soul. He could block most creatures from reading his mind, distort most empathetic readings of him, and shield himself from the senses of others. Some were just acquired with his age and practice; others were special gifts he received when drinking the blood of vampires older than himself-- particularly that batch of vampires that were among the first, such as the man who sired Lucius so many years ago in modern-day France. It had to be quite useful in dealing with others, forcing them to use more traditional means to figure out if he was lying and to remain on their toes, much like the scantily-clad and disarmed vampire huntress now dangerously close to him and quite literally in his hands.

Her heartbeat grew faster and faster with each moment, resounding in the ears of the vampire elder. It certainly was interesting and told him much of Anastasia; behind the dangerously capable woman who had walked the streets with him was a girl who realized her mortality and what the creatures she dealt with frequently were really like. "Me? No. I eat well, and I have nothing to fear from a sweet girl like yourself," he replied quietly. He did indeed drop the temperature slightly around them; it was something vampires had the habit of doing in areas. This also caused some steam to rise up from the water around the pair as the warm water came into contact with his cool body.

Lucius could feel the torn decision-making inside of her, and decided merely to watch and see what she did, his hands unmoving from her sides as his head close behind her own as he awaited her next action. It was curious when she began to turn around; on the one hand, her back would no longer be open to him, but on the other it would fit her more closely against him and away from the weapons he knew she so desired to have directly at her side. He remained perfectly afloat as she added her own weight onto his forearms, the addition hardly mattering to him. His fingers lightly moved along her lower back and stomach to help her shift and turn around, and remained firmly planted on either side of her once she was settled in the new direction and facing him. He grinned at her as he heard her heart continuing to race, a soft chuckle briefly escaping his lips. He leaned forward some, almost as if to kiss her, but stopped short. "Relax, Anastasia," he whispered, his face so close to her own. "You have no need to fear me right now."

[poss]

The fact that her weapons were too far away, added to the fact that he was indeed faster than her, and she knew that it was not something she could change. Thus, she allowed herself to remove the only other issue, having her back to Lucius. Sure, he had never threatened her yet, but not being able to read him like she could every one else added to a mystery that she as not just going to swallow and forget. It meant he had an upper hand like no other vampire ever had. Sure, she had been up against one other elder, but she had gone through hell and back to come out on top. A few weeks in the hospital, she had been beaten brutally and left for dead. The vampires mistake, was the exact mistake that Anastasia had made now. They turned their back on her, assuming she was no longer a threat.

He told her to relax, but it was hard when you felt so vulnerable. Someone like Anastasia who ran head first in to a challenge was not one to be pleased when one snuck up behind her. Surely he never felt he had anything to fear, but let it not be forgotten that she was now a resident in his tower. She had access, and if she felt the urge, she would use it to her greatest advantage.

In attempt to settle the race of her heart, knowing how it aroused temptation in vampires, her breath drew in long and deep, holding a moment as she turned to face the man who had given her the first startle in years. The exhale seeped forth as she met his eyes, head moving back a few inches to separate their faces. Her stare was somewhat cold, searching his eyes for any motive. "No need to fear you right now..?" She perked a brow in question, a smirk twisting her lips in an amused manner, raising a hand from the water and placing the pad of her index finger over his lips, in a way to silence him momentarily. "Such words could be taken as a threat, Mr. Erif. I would watch your tongue if I were you." She said, once fully turned, no longer treading water, just allowing him to do the work. Savoring her energy in case it was needed for later.

[lucius]

Lucius felt her attempts to still her heart some, and indeed noticed Anastasia beginning to calm herself; at least to be more calm than she had been just a few moments prior. Her words brought a coy grin onto the handsome face of the vampire elder. Lucius rarely made statements demanding finality; things, situations, and people always changed. It was the way of things. For now, the woman resting on his arms had absolutely nothing to fear from the vampire. She was of no threat to him, and him none to her, and he bore no ill will towards her whatsoever. In fact, he was rather enjoying his time with her so far-- enough to invite her to live within his grand headquarters. But, being the man of history that he was, he knew the way of things. Her mistrust of him as great as it was, the chances of her eventually turning on him were eye. Humans were controlled by passions, and unlike the other species, the passions of humans tended to change quite often. Almost as if with the wind. Likewise, his own interests could suddenly become quite opposed to her own and, while he would take steps to ensure her safety if he could, when it came down to the wire, Lucius was quite the creature of self-interest.

But, for now, he was enjoying himself and her company, and hoped to keep it that way as long as he could. Before he could offer a response, her hand was upon his lips whilst her head withdrew slightly from his advance. His lips formed into a smirk against her finger, his eyes focusing on those of the former vampire huntress. He felt her placing most all of her weight upon him, but again it was as if were not too large a burden upon him. He aided her in the endeavor, his hands remaining firmly at her side.

"I have no desire to threaten you, love, but if I were to ever make a threat, it would be much more pronounced," he replied with a light chuckle as he looked at her. "Do you think I mean to threaten you, my dear? Not all vampires are mindless, heartless, lustful, blood-sucking creatures. Do you not trust all vampires to be around a mortal as yourself, or do I get special privilege in this fear?" His voice was light-hearted, even playful, as he waded with her in the water.

[poss]

For crying out loud I'm running from a comedown
God forbid I know I've been a letdown
Reaching for the sky while leaving in a gutter
Kicking and screaming I am singing bloody murder

At this very point in time, no, Anastasia was far from a threat to him. Without weapons, and without most of her attire altogether, she was about as threatening as a butterfly to the windshield of a passing car. However, this does not mean that if she were currently clad in her chosen weaponry that things would be different beyond the fact that it would ease her state of mind. Being vulnerable in any situation, with anyone no matter they human or not, was something she enjoyed. In other words, she liked a challenge, and enjoyed competition, but was a very.. very sore loser. If things never went her way people ended up getting hurt, or worse. His presence, however, began to have a calming effect, and without giving notice her muscles began to relax. No longer a rigid mass, yet she still made him keep her afloat, and thus, his hands busy.

I'm alive when I'm vulnerable
I'm out of control, I'm losing my soul
I can't be your angel when I'm living like a devil
Can't be your lover when I'm living like a rebel

He began to speak, even with her fingers still lightly over his lipline to silence him. A man who didn't take no for an answer. She managed a grin, breaking eye contact to look in the direction of the street as a car passed by slowly. She spoke in response to his question, hand slowly lifting from his mouth, her gaze returning as she began. "Oh, Mr. Erif, do not think too highly of yourself."Smirking, a slight pause before she continued, leaning forward in the manner he had earlier, as if her words were a secret from the water itself."I am sure you do not mean to threaten me, but finding such a loop hole in your word must raise some questions, you see. I can not gallivant around with a man who wishes for my head on a platter- and if I do, I would feel much better if I was the cat, and not the mouse in the situation."

Don't want your pity and I don't want your help
Don't try and save me go take care of yourself
I'm alive! Sick of the pain I'm sick of the sorrow
Sick of today I'm sick of tomorrow

The cloud cover seemed to have parted, a lick of the moon breaking through and dancing across the rippling surface of the water that surrounded them, the rain having let up moments ago. "No.. Lucius, I believe it is?" No longer being so formal, she chose to use his name for the first time tonight. "The trust is I trust no one, and to put it simply, I believe that is why I am still alive." Smiling, her response stated as fact.

I'm addicted to the misery in my head
I better stop before I end up dead

[lucius]

Her suggestion to not think too highly of himself was met with a chuckle from the ancient vampire. One of his largest vices was the fact that he did indeed think rather highly of himself; vanity was a curse in more vampires, particularly for one the age that Lucius was. It had been bred in him since when he was but a mortal noble in Rome. However, the elder managed to transfer much of his vanity into looking like confidence. And confident, indeed, was what Lucius Erif was. It was that which allowed him to build what he had built, accomplish what he had accomplished, and continue to survive in a world that, for centuries, seemed constantly bent on destroying him and making it so he could exist in peace no longer. It had failed for some time now.

As Anastasia leaned closer into him, Lucius let out a light chuckle. "Head on a silver platter? Come, Ms. Steele, that is so antiquated and cliché. I haven't had a head put on a platter in at least 1600 years. Heads on pikes not so long ago. Now it's just unsanitary to ask for heads on anything except little plaques to put on the wall," he said, though he personally did not engage in that, he knew of others who liked to keep such things as trophies. Lucius was far too sophisticated for something so juvenile and barbarous. It was certainly not his thing. But, he was merely playing with her, as the joking tone of his voice suggested, emphasizing further his lack of hostility and concern at that moment.

The blue eyes of the media magnate glanced upward as the moon shown brightly down on them, his eyes color changing slightly in the clear moonlight, the darker blue transforming to a much brighter blue. He looked back at Ana as she spoke, surprised to hear her use his first name. Her shift to a lack of formality was interesting, and may have signaled her growing comfort with the situation, which was good as she was already quite clearly resting in his grasp. He gave her a curious, almost sad glance in response. "No one to trust? That is... unfortunate, for someone like you, not damned like myself. Of what use and pleasure can a mortal life be without someone to trust? It makes it so... lonely. It as if you damn yourself to the same fate as my kind without the benefits."

[poss]

For crying out loud I'm running from a comedown
God forbid I know I've been a letdown
Reaching for the sky while leaving in a gutter
Kicking and screaming I am singing bloody murder

Confidence was a full trust; belief in the powers, trustworthiness, and reliability of ones self. Believing in yourself was something that today's world had forgotten was possible. It was an assurance, a strength of mind, body and soul. To know that you had the ability, the power, the unwavering state of mind to accomplish anything you set your mind to. So much rested on such a simple word. And yet, the thought of having confidence was somewhat overlooked, as well as over used. Anastasia had confidence, but to say that she believed in herself.. or trusted herself.. let alone felt she could rely on herself, was far from the truth. The more she thought about it, the longer she tested her own limits and faced the demon within, she was realizing that she was losing the battle. She had a sense of confidence about her- her bold 'fearless' attitude, but surely, it was not actual confidence in consideration of the actual definition.

I'm alive when I'm vulnerable
I'm out of control, I'm losing my soul
I can't be your angel when I'm living like a devil
Can't be your lover when I'm living like a rebel

It seemed that her words amused the elder vampire, his chosen tone of voice bringing a smile to her face, however cocky it may be, one corner of her lipline twisting as she gazed at him with a deviant stare. "And so I get the first taste of just how old you are. Interesting, you say 1600 years like it was just yesterday. Could I possibly ask you to share with me your precise age?" Her head tilting as she raised her hand from the water again, palm out to him, in a gesture she wanted him to mirror the image and meet her reach as he told her. She wanted to get a feel of something she had never experienced before. Sincere curiosity, "I am able to sense a vampires power through physical contact, and when I concentrate, I can often get a feel of their estimated age. Yet, I find that once they reach the grand age of one thousand, I am at a loss." It was a secret, to be honest. The first person she had ever shared such information with, even those she had known for years were clueless. Yet, to sense the age often took a lot of concentration, not just a little like she had tried to make it sound. "But shhh... Let us not tell anyone my little secret, shall we?" Offering a smirk yet again, and a wink, her hand still raised, dripping down her forearm.

Don't want your pity and I don't want your help
Don't try and save me go take care of yourself
I'm alive! Sick of the pain I'm sick of the sorrow
Sick of today I'm sick of tomorrow

The gaze he offered her took her by surprise, and it was apparent by the expression released through her own eyes. He was genuinely disturbed by the fact she trusted no one. Lucius was.. it seemed, saddened by the fact. She had never thought of it that way- never truly taking in to consideration the fact that she, or the vampires for that matter, may live the rest of her life alone, never knowing what it was to love. How could you love someone if you could not trust them? Before you get to that point, surely you had to believe in yourself, and we have already touched on that note. It wouldn't be happening anytime soon, that was for sure.

She sucked on her bottom lip absent mindedly, biting it without thought as she thought of how to answer his question. She cringed in pain, licking the slight blood from her lip in surprise o the sudden pinch of pain.. The hand she had raised, she lowered to his chin, attempting to coil a finger beneath and lift gently to give him more of a confident appearance yet again. Just another look in to just how.. human.. these vampires were. Emotions. She had never seen them so up close and personal before. " Are you capable of Love, Lucius?" She asked, narrowing her eyes with interest, searching hsi own for the answer. It was obvious, she had never believed it possible for the vampires. They were just monsters, after all.

I'm addicted to the misery in my head
I better stop before I end up dead

[lucius]

It was not so much that Lucius sought to keep her in the dark of his age for reasons such as fearfulness or paranoia; he was on of the ancients and usually had no problem revealing that fact. It was, rather, that it was just more information, and information was power; if someone wanted some power through knowledge, then he wanted something in return, usually. It was just good business. He was going to continue to play coy with her, but when she lifted her hand up in the hair and revealed her special power, he thought better of it. She revealed one of her secrets; he supposed it would only be proper for him to reveal one of his own secrets that he held.

Removing his hand from her side, his other arm simultaneously wrapped around the lower back of the huntress to continue supporting her wading in the water. "That's a very curious power. Useful, no doubt when dealing with the normal rabble," he said, smiling as he pressed his palm against Anastasia's, his gaze focused in on her own. "I am older than most vampires in existence. I predate the rise of the lycans and almost all of them as well, save for the ancient werewolf-lycans like Hiroshi that my kind used to create the rest of them. I was born one thousand-eight hundred and thirty-four years ago in Rome, under the reign of Caesar Marcus Aurelius. My sire was one from the first generation of vampires." Lucius tilted his head, watching her reaction closely as he revealed that he was no mere vampire elder, a title reserved for most vampires who lived for a millennium, but one of the ancient vampires. He smirked lightly. "I'll keep your secret if you keep mine."

The smell of blood breaking through skin made its way to the media magnate's nostrils, his eyes shifting down and noticing Ana's bleeding lip. Had he been younger and weaker, he would have unassumingly put his lips upon her own to drink up that little bit of blood through a kiss, but Lucius excelled and self-restraint. He allowed his chin to be lifted up, the fullness of his face now visible beneath the moonlight as he glanced at Anastasia while they floated in the water.

Love. It was a dangerous and odd word. The way that vampires, and many immortals, saw the world was different than how the humans did. Love had different connotations and feelings to it that he could not use words to explain to Anastasia with. But, in the common sense, he figured yes. "Yes, I can love, and I have loved," said Lucius. Several times he had fallen in love, usually ending up rather poorly. One did not live as long as he without everyone he cared about eventually dying. Even the immortal ones. "But, I am of the damned. Love is a gift too precious to be easily kept for us. For mortals, though, in your brief existences, there is so much more chance, and so much less time, to suffer the loneliness that my kind are, in the end, cursed with."

[poss]

Anastasia understood the ways of most vampires. It was not often they would give up a secret without a price. And the fact that most of their prices, or payment options, were in blood, she always tried to have something to offer rather than her neck. Ana had never been bitten on the throat before. Sure, during a wrestling match with a few vamps she had been bitten elsewhere- such as the inside of her elbow four years ago. The damn walking corpse had crushed the bone between its jaws and she needed surgery in order to use her left arm again. Luckily, she was not completely out of commission due to the injury, her right arm was still in working condition. Trigger finger was all you really needed if you didn't want to get up close and personal.

A few more areas of her body were adorned with scar tissue, one rather messy bite having nearly severed her foot from her ankle. It seemed when you get the blood suckers angry, they grab and take a bite out of anything they can get their mouths on. So far however, they were just battle scars. She had always come out the victor, and only ever two or so vampires had escaped to never be seen again. She didn't hunt the young vamps unless they attacked first, usually her prey was the elders. Only ever a single vampire over the age of 1000 had found death at her hand, however. Most were around the age of six to seven hundred. They seemed to be on more peoples hit lists than the others.

She sensed his hesitation, her hand raised above the surface of the water as she described to him her ability to sense a vampires age through the strength of their energy upon physical contact. Surely it was a great enough secret to be payment for his own, however she was about to lower her hand in defeat before he met her palm with his own. The fact that they had already been touching, his other hand holding her afloat, did not seem to lessen the affect of his palm when he spoke of his age. It would seem she had been taking a midnight dip with an elder, and this sparked her interest even more so than before. In response to the energy of his words, of his touch, her body tensed if only for a split second- much like that of a man who was just shot. Rigid, breathless for a moment before she exhaled softly and released the tightness of her muscles. Powerful, yet still he was withholding just how powerful.

Her hand fell from his chin, back beneath the surface of the water when he allowed his chin to be raised. The moonlight allowed a great amount of detail to be taken in in those few moments of silence between replies. It would seem this elder had been in love before, and yet.. she sensed he feared it in some way great or small. Anastasia had never allowed herself to get close enough to anyone to ever even come close to love. Since the death of her mother when she was ten, witnessing how hard it was for her father to cope over the next six years helped her decide it wasn't something she would be seeking any time soon. His words were wise, and she found herself speechless as to how to respond. Nodding gently, she decided to touch on a side note. "You say damned as if you do not enjoy immortality. Or am I wrong?"

[lucius]

The brief tensing and rigidness that overtook Anastasia's body beneath the touch of Lucius was immediately noticeable by the vampire elder, but he showed no reaction to it whatsoever, his blue eyes remaining focused on her own and trying to get a read on her-- though, no from any of his more powerful standpoints; he was generally trying to just see what her eyes held in regards to the news he gave. It was not every day one stumbled across one of the ancient vampires-- or anything ancient and still walking and talking, for that matter. As she let out a breath and allowed his muscles to relax once more, he merely grinned somewhat.

"Does my age make you even more worried of being so close in my presence and so far from your guns?" asked Lucius, his arms remaining around her and keeping them afloat in the water. The liquid still turned to mist around Lucius when the warm water coincided with his cool body. She was warm, though, beneath his touch. He could understand how surprised she might be at his age. Lucius was unaware how many of his kind still existed-- for the most part, the ancient vampires tended to be reclusive and secretive, delving into the mysterious unknown and preferring lives of solitude. He knew of at least seven others, but past that he doubted there were a handful more. Of those immortals that were ones humans--vampires, werewolves, lycans, necromancers, and a few others--the vampires were the most powerful in being, tended to be the most well-learned, and yet had a more difficult time surviving, succumbing often to their own corruption.

Lucius, though, had survived a very long time. As she questioned his thoughts on immortality, at once a blessing and a curse, he paused. His blue eyes shifted away from her gaze to stare up at the moon, contemplating it. The moon, like him, was one thing that had not changed since he had first seen it. And yet, there was the irony of it all. Vampires did not change while everything else around them did; therefor, most vampires after just a few hundred years were unable to adapt, and ended up suffering for it. "I am damned not so much for my immortality, which is itself our blessing and our curse, but for the prices that must be paid for that immortality. We must slay the innocent to survive, and after so long, the slaying drives you mad, even if you target just the villainous ones as I do, for eventually you realize that you are still more human than you are a beast, and that all things good in you and noble in you and worthy of existence in your stem from the humanity you still retain. And it eventually causes you to love humans still, and wallow even more in the pain of having to kill them to survive," said Lucius, his eyes remaining focused on the moon, the blue growing paler by the moment. "And after so many years of living, I realize why I am damned. It is because I am pointless. The Immortals are frozen in time while the world around us changes, rendering us useless and unneeded. We have no purpose in existence and yet, shunned alike by both God and Satan, vampires fear the sunlight still and what doom awaits us when we leave this world..."