Sigried hadn't been out to Ramsa for a long while, and the fact that the town hadn't been completely overrun by Mayhem vampires at this point neither surprised her nor disinterested her, rather, hit her equally from both sides. She was enjoying the surplus of sudden warm weather, allowing herself a moment's leave from Lucien, Elke, Simon, and that disaster for a small vacation without whisking herself off to Italy or Beijing or wherever she suited to go. She was terribly tired of the 'same old, same old'. While Lucien had become an enjoyable sort of plaything, he did have Onyx to attend to, and Sigried would only ensure her head remain completely attached to her shoulders at all instances without having to hide behind Theron if she allowed him to tend to it.
Now after much deliberation on how to handle her free time without becoming completely destructive, she sat on a bench in the small 'downtown' sort of area Ramsa had - rustic, really, in a homey sort of Northern Exposure kind of way. It was as though New York City didn't loom ominously close, threatening to suck in the suburban lifestyle and blacken it with smog and desire. She tipped her head back, enjoying the warmth of the sun as it splayed across her cheeks. She'd finally allowed her skin to gain some colour, although it may have been an illusion, and now displayed only the lightest sun-kissed features behind bright blue eyes and ever-so-dark strands of straight hair. Her lips played in a small, mischievous smile as she enjoyed the silence, simply relaxing for the moment.
Things had been going decidedly well. His methods for pressuring the animal half of shapeshifters to come to surface at will was still in the works, but so far so good, as the saying went. He had managed to get the animal out of his subject, however the reaction had been quite strong and his subject had required sedation. Upon awakening, they had recovered well enough, although they did show several prominent side effects. Luckily, he knew exactly how to go about the next test and how to further perfect his methods.
He was walking through downtown Ramsa, if that was even an adequate term for such a suburban area, hands in his pockets and green eyes unfocused. He was lost in his mind that never stopped moving, walking without a true destination, an event that was quite common with the young scientist. As logical as he was, he was often daydreaming, lost on some other world full of experimentation and Noble Peace Prizes.
Something snapped him out of his inner musings, something in the form of an attractive young woman. His quick paced walking slowed significantly as he raised his head, his eyes shifting to a bench. He was overcome with a need to talk to her--he equated this with her beauty. Something about her was completely memorizing.
"Forgive my staring," he said once he was close enough. He was certain that she had noticed how he had been ogling her--okay, not 'ogling.' Nero was far from a creepy perverted guy, but he was still a guy. He could only help so much that he did. "But I don't think I've seen you around here before. Ramsa's not big enough to not recognize people."
Sigried smiled lazily, blue eyes still unfocused at the sky above. She gradually brought back down her gaze, fluttering her eyelashes as she viewed Nero entirely. My, he was attractive - and a Serpiente, too. She almost smirked, but shifted over on the bench a little, drawing in her arms in and placing her hands in her lap. She wore a simple long black tank top with silver trim at the bottom fitted over a pair of gray wool shorts. The outfit was a bit of city couture paired with black heels, but on her slender limbs it seemed 'right'. Sigried was always in style. She had to be.
"Well, hello," she said coyly, tilting her head a little. "I'm not from Ramsa, so that's probably a good reason why you don't recognize me. Either that or I'm simply easy to forget," she said with a little pout. But Sigried, to any Serpiente, was impossible to forget. "Won't you have a seat?" she asked, gesturing to the spot she'd made. "I'm Sigried. It's lovely to meet you," she offered sweetly.
She was only getting warmed up, of course.
"I'm sure you're hard to forget," Nero answered automatically, smiling politely. He was certain that he wouldn't be forgetting this beautiful young woman anytime soon. She offered him a seat and he gladly took it, watching her through a curious green gaze. Sigried--that was a different name. He couldn't help but wonder its origin.
"Nero," he replied smoothly. "It's a pleasure." He unconsciously laid on the Garrah charm, unaware of the woman's true prowess as a vampire. Even if he had, however, he undoubtedly would have done just the same as he was, only more cautiously. At the present, he was entirely unassuming, completely entranced by her. There was no charm necessary from his end.
His eyes left her, trailing along the sidewalk to find several people wandering as aimlessly as he had been. "If you're not from Ramsa, do you mind if I inquire as to why you're here? I'm fairly sure that there's nothing interesting out this way." He looked back at her again, smiling that same charming smile that he often used around attractive females. He couldn't help himself.
Nero, she thought to herself. What an odd name - like the insane emperor. I wonder if he's insane? How lucky for me! She leaned towards him slightly as he spoke to her, changing her posture to accommodate her new companion. It would have been rude of her to just face straight ahead and not allow him her full attention, would it not? Of course - she smiled, a twinkle playing in her illusion-touched blue eyes.
She studied him as he looked away, observing, and spoke. "Kidding me? This place is bumping. Any minute now a fanfare is going to break out and a parade bigger than the Macy's Day is going to erupt onto the streets," she said with a laugh. She tossed her head, guiding long strands of her silky brown hair away from her face nonchalantly, and smiled again. "I'm just taking the day off. The city is busy, and it's hard to think."
She'd decided to leave Lucien alone for the time being, as addressed before, and honestly that was taking time off. Now she was bored, so she'd taken to exploring every inch of Ramsa, because she hadn't been there before - or if she had, it wasn't long enough to look around. Sigried was naturally curious about many things, so it was perhaps fortunate for her that her power laid in good reserve when she found things that perhaps didn't necessarily want to be found.
"And I'm sure you've just taken a break from your fascinating life as a... hmm.. " she tilted her head, trying to decide what he was. She wanted to actually guess, for once, and so she hazarded, "as an award winning rocket scientist to come into Ramsa for a nice Spring stroll?" she teased. She'd be pleasantly surprised when she found out he was a scientist, even if he didn't work on rockets.
Insanity was relative. Nero was under the impression that he was quite sane, but then he also thought that preforming potentially harmful experiments on half-informed individuals was perfectly okay. Perhaps he wasn't particularly "insane" but rather lacking in several key morals. One of which just happened to be keeping aforementioned individuals completely in the know, especially where risks were concerned.
Sigried's sarcasm regarding the town of Ramsa was entirely justified. Nero grinned. He liked her sense of humor.
The guess about him being a rocket scientist blindsided him. He couldn't help but laugh a little. "Wow, you're close. I'm a scientist, just not one involving rockets. I work on bettering people's lives through medication, although I'm not in the pharmaceutical field. It's more of an everyday sort of scenario versus a cure for a specific ailment." Somehow, he seemed nonchalant about the whole 'I'm a scientist' thing. "What about you, though? What are you taking the day off from?"
Sigried arched a brow inquisitively. She still wasn't rummaging through his brain, but this one... he'd have to explain himself more, or she'd be forced to. "Oh?" she asked brightly. She enjoyed smart Serpiente, they were so much more fun to keep around. Stupid ones generally didn't last long in her presence. The age old 'playing with your food' didn't bode well for them. "Bettering their lives? How?" Tell me....
"Oh, taking the day off from life in general." She pondered, and then spoke more. "The guy that I was seeing, well, as it turns out, he's engaged. Can you believe it? I was such a fool," she said a little woefully, turning up that snake charm just a notch as she fluttered her lashes sadly. The story was, for the most part true - except she really expressed not giving a flying fuck if Lucien had been engaged. But in the more... normal realm of things, it was an unacceptable thing to do, and Lucien was a bad, bad man for even talking to Sigried. Not that he could help it. She smiled inwardly, but managed to keep up her little sad expression long enough for her own benefit.
"Oh well, right? What can you do, but move on," she sang. See how resilient she is? Evil, evil woman.
Nero felt compelled to spill everything to this young woman. His head tilted to one side while he tried to place logic into the situation. He shouldn't discuss this sort of thing with someone he had only just met. No. No, no, no.
"I work with shifters. I'm attempting to harness the animal instinct half of an individual and pressure it out on command. It would be helpful in tight situations, when, for instance, a human might over think something while an animal would just react. But shapeshifters in general have a tendency of being out of touch with their other half and therefore can't use their added skills to their advantage. I'm in the earlier stages of the experiments, but things have been improving rather rapidly and I expect to have this done within the next several months."
He paused. What was he doing? It was as if his entire control, the brick wall of indifference that he had built up, was completely crumbling around him. The worst part was that he didn't really care.
Sigried's explanation regarding a man that she was seeing turning out to be engaged immediately targeted his sympathy. "What an idiot," he responded. "You aren't to blame; you didn't know. He should have been more honest to you and to his finacee. But you're absolutely right, moving on is all you can do. I'm only sorry that it happened to you at all."
She nodded as he spoke, listening intently to what he was saying. Shifters? This is a gold mine! Imagine the possibilities... It intrigued her that he was interested in controlling such aspects, although she wondered if it was purely for scientific progression, or for some means of his own. She needed to know what sort of man she was dealing with here - was he neutral to the feelings of others to further his own scientific discovery, or was he truly diabolical?
"What will you do with all of this information once you've gathered it? I know the recognized scientific community doesn't really seem to be aware of shapeshifters, and I know most of them would prefer to keep it that way," she said. She wondered if he'd find it odd that she wasn't frightened by what he was talking about.
Diabolical? Perhaps Nero was, to some extent, a little less neutral than he would let on. He didn't particularly care for the feelings and needs of his guinea pigs because, after all, they were the same as lab mice. If one were to get too involved with the mice, how could they be experimented on? They might die and what's the use of being sad? To Nero, the shifters that he played with were nothing more than that; nothing more than mice. None of them had yet to make him feel otherwise.
"The underground," he explained. "There are a lot of shifters who would benefit from my research and there are a few who are starting to realize that. I'm relying on word of mouth more than anything. It's a good place to start." He smiled lazily, offering Sigried a half-hearted shrug. "And to appease the humans watching, questioning me, I do some side work with them. I actually brought a mouse back to life for five minutes." He let out a soft laugh, not necessarily proud of the fact that after five minutes, the mouse had died again, but it was surely a start. Of course, the serum that he had used hadn't been strong enough for the mouse, let alone a human or shifter. The likelihood of being able to bring back something of that size was slim to none. It was worth investigating a little more, but passed that, he wasn't even trying.
Again it crossed his mind that he was telling this woman, someone he didn't even know, all about his experimental research. He was hardly an open book. But the more he thought about it, the less he found himself really questioning what he was doing. He trusted her for some strange reason, and he liked telling her these things. She was hypnotizing.
She smiled a little more, that charm kicking up about two more notches. Bringing things back to life? Even if it was only temporary, imagine the possibilities... She would definitely be keeping her eyes on Nero, that was certain. She drummed her fingertips lightly at her knee, tipping her head so that her long, dark hair fell just so, shielding her brightly blue and totally glamoured eyes from the annoying sun momentarily, before reaching up and clearing it away.
"I'd love to see your lab sometime. Really, I've never heard of anything like what you're describing. It's fascinating - it's almost too bad that it has to stay underground, but then again..." she trailed off. You couldn't have everything. She enjoyed the secrecy as much as the next person; it made what she did that much easier, that much more chaotic. Pulling the strings of the dear marionette from behind the stage - it was a living.
"Do you think you could take me some day?" she asked innocently. "I understand if you can't; you mustn't let just anyone around such precious research, but still, it would make me terribly happy." Her face plainly said 'Pleeeease?'.
That curious gaze never left Sigried as her intriguing eyes were momentarily eclipsed by her hair. Nero may not have understood his fascination but he sure as hell knew that he was. His face seemed softer somehow now, more focused and less thoughtful as he watched her actions, his sharp green eyes unblinking. His lips were pulled back in a smile and the snake inside of him was baring its fangs. He tilted his head a little, his shoulders moving with it in one fluid action as he registered her words.
She had him, there was no question. And he was just so damn fascinated that he couldn't muster the willpower to think clearly.
Terribly happy. "Of course," he answered without hesitation. "I'd be honored to take you there, Sigried." That was her name; it felt so easy to say. "Anytime you'd like."
They were sitting so close, he suddenly realized. Her warmth was intoxicating. He found himself just the slightest bit closer not a moment later, his knee brushing hers lightly. Any serpiente would have leaned farther into the warmth and any serpiente would have sought out that physical contact, even if it was brief and fleeting. He hadn't done it on purpose, but it felt natural regardless, as if this woman was someone whom he should admire and try to impress, as if he had something to prove to her.
Such pretty eyes, she thought to herself, watching him as he watched her. She wondered how it felt to be a snake and be just as caught in her gaze as birds fell to theirs. It must've been terribly frustrating when she parted ways, but she'd seen and heard that during the adventure the experience was quite... nice.
She moved her hand a little as his knee brushed her own, and placed it only two inches further, on his own knee. She laughed coyly, softly, and looked away for a moment, as though she were feeling shy. Sigried, for her natural and unnatural life, had never felt 'shy'; she didn't know what it really was, but Elke had explained it to her enough that she felt she had a good grasp on the idea of it.
"I'm not doing anything for the next few hours," she volunteered, looking back at him again, and then sweeping her gaze downward in a girlish manner. She glanced up and smiled, lips curving but not showing her teeth - she wanted a sweet, charming smile, not a cheshire grin.
"If you're not busy, anyways," she added. "I'd hate to be a bother..."
Indeed.
Nero wasn't generally attracted to those shy types of girls. Their coy acts were only mildly irritating, at best. However, what Sigried was doing seemed more endearing than annoying, as if she was something more important and so much better than the average giggling woman.
His eyes flicked down to her hand, the one on his knee, and he raised a curious eyebrow as he looked back up at her. He had no idea, none whatsoever, that he was being toyed with. As far as he could see, which really wasn't very far at the moment, Sigried was just a beautiful woman with a friendly disposition. And because of this shortsightedness, he looked at her through that soft gaze and told her, "Not a bother at all." He returned her smile, just as charming, appearing thoroughly entranced.
He paused then, searching her for a moment before he rose and nodded his head for her to follow. "It's down at the college a couple of blocks from here. It shouldn't take us long to get there." And for one brief moment, Nero pulled himself together enough to wonder why exactly she wanted to see his lab. There wasn't anything particularly fascinating in there for most people, and while she did seem interested, how much of it would she understand? What game was she playing?
But that moment was brief indeed, for the second that he finished the thought, it was gone and she was all he was focused on.
She stood only a second after he did, a smile nearly unavoidable as it crossed her glossy mouth - she did enjoy when her subject had a moment of realization, and then quickly fell back into the fog. Most of them didn't even resist her - Lucien had been as easy to wrap 'round her finger as a section of twin, but Nero seemed a little more alert and aware of the world around him. She found it hard to believe the leader of the Onyx Guild could allow himself to be so run down, but there it was.
She followed dutifully, hands in her pockets as she walked. She tossed her hair out of her face and looked upward, as though she actually enjoyed the sunshine. She did, somewhat, but she preferred moonlight better. It made everything faint and ghostly, bathing the land in a blue light that the sun just could not do. Still, she could not argue with the warmth.
"You do this sort of thing at a college? I'm surprised nobody else has found out, yet," she said thoughtfully. "Do you keep your notes encrypted? I have heard that some scientists will do that so as to deter anyone from actually gaining knowledge from their research before they want it to be known." Sort of like a magician, you could say.
She grinned pleasantly at him.
But Nero was always alert, every second of every day. He lived his life analyzing, searching, questioning; a lot of people didn't quite achieve his level of awareness. However, even this critical mind was at ease around Sigried, was lost inside her game and he could do nothing to stop it. And it wasn't even as if he didn't want her to, he certainly felt alright with it, so he really didn't feel much of a need to wonder if this was as it seemed.
The serpiente king wasn't someone Nero respected. Not because of anything personal, hell, he didn't honestly know Lucien, but Nero didn't take to authority figures well. He had stopped respecting them when he was young, back when he only just realized how much smarter he was than everyone else. Once he knew that, he began to question why they were good enough to be in charge. What had they done to prove their worth? And from there, everything spiraled downwards. Suddenly, Nero really didn't care what their opinions were. And maybe in there somewhere, on top of all of this, was the primal instinct of wanting to be in charge, because wasn't he good enough?
Sigried spoke to him and he heard every word. She was so. . . engrossing. "You could say that," he answered with a grin and a slow nod of his head as they walked along the sidewalk. "Most people can't even read my handwriting in my notes, let alone understand most of what I attempt to convey." He looked a tad sheepish at this, laughing under his breath, but yes, he wrote his notes so quickly that his words hardly looked like much of anything. On top of the fact that he wrote shorthand, something which everyone did differently, and his inability to say what he meant in the simplest form, his notes may as well have been encrypted.
"But the college funds a lot of my research. I have a lot of side studies to keep them occupied. I also assist with tutoring and the like, so I do my fair share. No one really questions me." He shrugged a little.
Sigried was all the while wondering what precisely she wanted to work to her advantage, here. She'd have to see the work herself, but she was positive she wouldn't understand all of it, even with simple explanations. She was smart, sure, but she was definitely more adept in the language and history and art area of things as opposed to math and science. Ah well, she'd take what she could and do with it what she felt.
"So, you have full run of the facilities? Wow, that's amazing. The more I talk to you, the more I realize how utterly brilliant you are," she said, eyes never leaving his features. It was her natural awareness to the environment around her that allowed her to pay attention to him and not walk into something - she wondered if she'd ever been so graceful as a human, but oh, it was so long ago. Was it really worth thinking about?
No, probably not. "It must be pretty nice to be able to see your creations come to fruition like that. I suppose science really is an art all itself," she mused.
Nero took her compliment and grinned. It made him feel really important and accomplished, two of his favorite feelings. "Thank you," he replied automatically. His eyes then slid to Sigried, studying her features carefully. She was so pleasant.
"Yes, it really is something else." He glanced back to see where they were walking, unable to do so without looking like Sigried could, and he led them across the street and passed a few storefronts. The hospital was just up the road right off of the main street and the college was up along the left side. When they approached, he popped open the entrance and held it for Sigried, then walked her through the hallways towards his laboratory. There was still a bit of a walk left.
"So, what exactly are you interested in science-wise? Or are you just curious?" He raised an inquisitive eyebrow and smiled brightly, not really worried about her answer. He did want to know, but no matter what she said, he wasn't going to not show her whatever it was that she wanted to see. She probably could have said that science was a terrible thing and shouldn't be allowed to be done, and Nero still would have shown her around his lab.
"Just curious, really," she admitted. "I just don't often meet people smart enough to even be able to do a fraction of what you do." She turned up that charm a hair more, enjoying the old saying that flattery got you everywhere. The man's ego nearly rivaled her own, something that surprised her in some ways, and didn't in others. She was impressed by his knowledge, truly, because anyone who enjoyed meddling in the lives of those around them on the notation that they were all lab rats was someone that she would devote at least a few hours to.
"Besides, labs are interesting in their own right. They always look like something's about to happen, even if nobody's there. I was interested in chemistry when I was younger, but it wasn't my strong suit. I'm an art buff - I run a gallery in the city. Some of it is nice - I try to limit the abstract stuff to things that I feel are actually worth something. I hate when people present me with scribbles on a paper and massive price tags. I guess they don't realize it's not expensive if they're still alive," she chuckled.
"It's a little more boring than your job, of course, but I like it. Lets me be around things I'm familiar with all day."
And flattery really did do wonders on Nero. He found himself swelling with pride, his smile curving a bit more at the edges. She was right, most people couldn't even begin most of what he did, let alone get as far along as he had. That knowledge was what kept him at a distance from most people, his world revolving around his work. He didn't have time for most relationships, save a couple, and that was what may have made this spectacle a little peculiar to an inquiring viewer. It wasn't like Nero at all to bring someone he didn't know into his lab unless he was planning on playing with them.
"An art buff?" he repeated, looking highly interested in everything she had to say. He laughed along to her comment, nodding his head in agreement. "I don't know a lot about art or what's accepted as quality aside from the obvious, so I never understood modern art. I'm almost positive that I could make something of that caliber and I can't even color in the lines." He smiled, adding sincerely, "It sounds interesting though, seeing what people can create. I'm sure it's far from boring."
They came up to Nero's lab. He looked the slightest bit perplexed when he noticed that the door was open, but he didn't think much of it. "Here we are." He turned his head and grinned at her, all teeth, and walked into the room. . .
Only to find Aimee there.
His first thought was that it must have been time to eat (lunch, maybe?). Not because he instantly associated Aimee with food, but because she always came around about that time; that was when they were both free. But regardless, he didn't seem at all deterred by her surprising presence. He waved and made room by the door for Sigried to come in. "Aimee," he then greeted pleasantly. "This is Sigried. She's here to see the lab." And he lingered just a little too close to Sigried as he said this, completely engulfed in her charm. Nero didn't seem to notice any of that though, perfectly zen as he was.
It wouldn't have been entirely off the wall for Nero to associate Aimee with food, since she DID have a habit of showing up around lunchtime with food that he'd sorely need. He tended to get so caught up in what he was doing that he forgot to eat, just like the stereotypical scientist. He did amazing things, though.
Not all of them in the lab.
"Nero!" she called out pleasantly, looking up from the book she'd been reading while she waited for him to get back. She hadn't thought it'd take long, but she hadn't quite been expecting someone to be with him, which was why she stopped her progress towards him and the welcome kiss she'd planned for him. She didn't mind public displays of affection, but they weren't Nero's cup of tea. Actually, being overly social wasn't really his thing, so why the strange woman being invited back to the lab? What was going on?
"Oh. Hi, Sigried, I'm Aimee," she introduced herself, offering her hand and just trying to get a feel for the other woman when she approached. Something wasn't right here, especially with this woman and the way Nero was getting so close to her. Upon getting closer, it was pretty obvious. She only worked with vampires just about every night. So, what did this vampire want with the lab, and Nero?
Not good. "So, you wanted to see the lab? Nero doesn't invite many people back here," she remarked, being subtle about putting the information out there that she'd noticed something was wrong, but she didn't want to turn this into a confrontation too quickly.
"Hi, Aimee," she replied warmly, taking her hand only as lightly as perhaps Elke would have. Sigried's smile actually broadened a little with the thought of her sibling, but only because she realized that she might be able to involve Elke into causing damage without her even realizing it. She let that smile change into a grin as she placed her hands behind her back, fingers twined within eachother.
"It's nice to meet you. And, yeah, he told me he didn't, but I've never been in a lab before, and he said it wouldn't be any trouble to show me around. Really, it's quite fascinating. I work around art all day, so this is a nice contrast. Maybe it will inspire a new nook in the gallery," she trailed off, turning to look around.
Really, it was stupid how quickly Sigried could switch from sinner to saint, and with the way that she projected herself it was nothing less than innocence. A little naive, a little too pretty of a face, but definitely not as old as she was; not even half. A fraction, maybe. Animals can sense vampires, sure, but their age? Sigried smiled back at Aimee.
"Are you a scientist, too?" she asked, voice eager, inquisitive. She looked back at Nero. "You've been keeping secrets. You never mentioned someone else," she said with a girlish wink. She looked back at Aimee. "Is your work the same as his?"
It was really sick, what she was doing.
And it was sick how Nero was reacting.
He grinned, vapid and calm, green eyes moving from Sigried to Aimee and back again. He felt a lot more vacant than he had in a very long time, and he honestly couldn't say that he disliked it. His zen was welcomed, embraced even, whether it was the workings of a vampire or not. Nero would never ever admit that however, because when this was over, he was only going to be angry. Not okay, pleasant or enraptured at all.
Sigried and Aimee were talking, although Nero really only heard sound rather than words. Sigried's voice was drawing him in much more, though, which would never have been true if not for her game. Because Sigried was playing his strings just right. She winked after addressing him, and his clouded mind turned his grin coy. "I apologize," was his answer coupled with an offhanded shrug.
Aimee's work. Instinctively Nero's eyes narrowed and his focus turned to his girlfriend. He unconsciously brushed arms with Sigried, the one with a respectable job, and said nothing at all. Aimee the stripper who displayed her body for easy money. Who danced for desperate men, who played with their testosterone, who Nero ultimately didn't trust. What was she up to? Who was she with? Those stripper friends were infecting her.
Sigried just felt so much better to be near right now. She felt so much more positive than Aimee did. She just appealed to him, with her smile and her eyes and that serenity that she made him feel. And he was locked where he was, a marionette for Sigried to toy with.
No, Aimee had no idea whatsoever how old Sigried was, but she'd have liked to know. The more she knew, the more prepared for this situation she'd feel. As it was, she didn't feel at all prepared, and she knew that was because she wasn't. This was bad, and she didn't really have a whole lot of options from the start. What did the vampire want?
"Oh, I'd imagine it'd be an interesting contrast," she agreed easily, not fooled by the daintiness of the handshake. Such things didn't matter with vampires. "I like to think I am, but I only help where I can right now. I'm still working on my degree."
She wasn't going to go into detail, mostly because it wasn't necessary, and because she wasn't giving the vampire any more information. With Nero's blank look, and what? Did he really look at her, smile at her like that? He apologized for not telling her about Aimee? That alone was enough to upset the leopard, but there was suddenly that LOOK out of him when Sigried mentioned work. Fortunately, Aimee didn't know the extent of Nero's thoughts right then. If he'd have said it all out loud, she really wouldn't have known what to do, but it wouldn't have ended well. There was a reason she and Nero didn't talk about her working at All Hallows all that often, and that was because they didn't agree on it. She saw his point of view, what she knew of it, but he'd never told her all that before. He was never that horrible to her.
Sigried withdrew her hand, surprised by the brush on the arm as Nero passed her. His thoughts, his real thoughts on the matter of what Aimee did, which Sigried was now privy to, almost startled her. She'd had him centered around egotistical and devious, but she'd never imagined he'd display such a promise for ruthless behaviour. To be a very neutral partied scientist was one thing, but to have such ideas about a loved one...
She was an opportunist, after all.
She wandered away from what would slowly become a fray, and went to a table, picking up a small flask of a bright blue liquid. She didn't shake it, of course, but it was blue, and so bright - like liquid ozone. She held it up to the light, reading the label. It didn't sound toxic, but then again, it wouldn't matter it if were. Not like it could hurt her.
"Working on your degree? I had to bypass college. I got lucky, but that's all it was. The gallery was a one in a million chance. My sister went," she said over her shoulder, smiling in that deceptively sweet way. "She used to try and work as a waitress and a bartender between classes to earn money. She would fall asleep on her textbooks. It was hell - she made it, and she does well now, but I really hated to see her so worn out."
She paused, and it was a very dangerous pause. Slipping out with her power, she gave Nero a mental nudge. What does Aimee do? she wondered inside his head, so casually and nonchalantly that, combined with that power of hers, he could have easily mistaken it for a real, verbal question. She smiled again to Aimee, and turned back to the flask, setting it carefully down. It looked like the T-virus. She wanted to get a picture, to show Elke. She was so proud of herself.
Nero thought it. He did. When Aimee was out dancing, late late at night, Nero wondered what she was really doing. If there was more to it, if she was spending extra time around those people. And when he thought about it, logically of course, he took a moment to reflect on just how women of that nature acted. Their persona, in general, and how completely free they were with their bodies. And Aimee had told him that she didn't take personal customers, that she didn't sleep with those men, disgusting pigs with no real lives to speak of, and Nero wanted to believe her. It was hard, though, in the end. She stripped, and wasn't that really just one step away from prostitution?
When he had those thoughts, plaguing and dark and worrisome as they were, he often reflected on their relationship. Was it worth it? Did he really have that much patience and that much love for this woman? Did he trust her to stay out of trouble, to keep safe and to be true to him? And what bothered him the most was how he had to convince himself that it was all true, that he really did love her and it was his own insecurities that made him feel the way that he did.
And on some level, he was proud of her. He was proud of how gorgeous she was, how she could do what she did and be good at it. That he was the one that had her. He was proud of her intellect and how open she was about it with him. That she could best so many with her knowledge alone. He was proud to be her boyfriend.
But when he questioned his feelings, he knew that there was a major problem. It was her job that he disliked so horrendously that it dipped into his logic and blinded his rationale.
That fucking job that wasn't even fit to be called a job at all.
When Sigried asked him what Aimee did, he may or may not have thought it was out loud. His answer was verbalized, though, in a simple, "You should ask Aimee what she really does." And his expression shifted, cold and calculating, the look he gave his experiments, the look that he never gave to people that he deemed above a mouse. And he focused that look on Aimee.
There was no way she could have been oblivious enough not to tense just a little when Sigried went on about her sister in college, and herself. She wasn't sure she believed it, given vampire ages, but it was possible that this one was that young. There was no way for her to know. She wasn't stupid, though. Mention of work, then all that about trying to work, waiting tables and bartending, through college? Either the vampire knew and wanted to be a bitch, or Aimee was just that unlucky. She knew that Nero was thinking about her job. She knew he wasn't happy, and she knew the vampire was making things worse.
There was zero she could do about it.
No, that wasn't true. She could play this with dignity and calm, and she could keep herself from overreacting. Freaking out was just going to make things worse. "I dance at All Hallows," she answered, and her tone definitely wasn't proud, but she was sure to avoid sounding guilty or ashamed. She wasn't ashamed of her job. There was a lot about it that she was actually proud of, including the fact that she could do it to begin with. There was skill and talent involved, and it wasn't something she intended to keep doing, but it did what she needed for the time being.
"I tried waiting tables and bartending, but you're right. Falling asleep in your books doesn't help you learn the information, and I've had a pretty heavy course-load, so I tried something different. It's not mainstream, but it works," she explained, and she wasn't going to defend it further than that. The look Nero was fixing her with hurt, and that was because she knew it. It was that detached, cold look of his, the one he used on people he didn't care about more than to watch the results. The thought that he might not care about her right then, even if it was only for the present time, upset her more than she wanted to admit, and the emotion made her want to leave or snap at him, but she wouldn't. The vampire was messing things up like this. He never looked at her like that, and he never behaved like this. Suddenly a vampire's around, and this is how it went? She was going to do what she could to keep reminding herself of that fact. The addition of a new variable to an old experiment yielding extreme results wasn't uncommon. If Nero was going to give her that cold look, then she could calculate it out just as well.
Sigried was forgetting that they were in Aimee's control zone. She wasn't going anywhere just yet.
"So, lucky with the gallery? At least you admit it. I wouldn't dream of leaving it all to luck, myself, or bypassing college. It's hard work, but you don't get anything worth it without a little work," she offered, smiling as though the talk of her own job didn't bother her. Any other time, it wouldn't. Moving on, plz.
Sigried smiled, a sort of dangerous smile. She made a little pleasant 'hmm'ing noise, turning fully to face Aimee. Her hands planted behind her against the table as she leaned casually on it, raising one of her eyebrows. She ran her tongue across her lower lip for a moment, and then spoke. Carefully. Measured. "It's extremely hard to keep an art gallery running, but it isn't something they can teach you in school. Sure, I could have taken a business management class, or even an art history class, but unlike science, art is not precise. It's left up to the eye of the beholder, or in this case, the eyes of wealthy people who think they have taste. It's lucrative, and it leaves me open to do other things instead of being utterly tied down to one career. I'd have wasted money going to school over it; you can't learn the trade unless you're submerged in it."
She smiled again. "But art and science are polar opposites, so I suppose it's not something you'd be expected to be familiar with. All Hallows, you say? My sister has been there before - her... close friend is a bouncer there. Elke," she said. "But I'm sure you see so many people it'd be hard to remember her."
Now, that was a lie. Elke was memorable for everyone with feline blood. She leaned forward, off of the counter, and walked back to where Nero was, standing close enough to him to put distance between herself and Aimee again, but not close enough that she was touching him.
"It's pretty amazing that you can have a functioning relationship and still dance. I don't think I could ever trust someone that much - but then again, the last person I trusted ended up being married in the end," she said with a sigh. That was the same sad story she'd given Nero - and how. Weren't they all having problems with broken trust, lately?
Do you really trust her? Look how mean she is to me, like she's got something to hide. Sigried projected the thoughts again, that snake charm muddling them up in the course of the dialog. Had she said them? Her voice was certainly expressive enough, heavy with the feeling that perhaps she intruded, perhaps she should leave.
"I should probably go," she said, tossing her hair back and looking at Nero. "It seems like I've intruded on something." Did he really want her to go, though? If there were any other Serpiente in the building, they'd have been beating down the door at this point. She was a beacon, a ray of light, burning - and it made them want to be close to her.
Aimee didn't have shit on her right now.
Sounds. The feminine lull of words, biting undertones masked in pleasant falsity. Coldness slathered in kindness. Nero heard them speak, pretty lips and tongues insulting yet feigning innocence. Yin, womanly, immature, cutting, picking, dissecting.
He stood silently, impassive as they attacked each other, disgust and dislike masquerading as casual conversation. It sounded like high school, that deafening showdown between two queen bees. They were trying to outmatch the other, kill them with kindness, but he knew that no one believed it. He didn't, so surely there was not a chance in the world that the women believed it either.
And then Sigried said something that struck Nero the way she had surely intended. She could never trust someone who danced, that was what she had said. Not that much. Nero's lips pursed together, anger and frustration and agreement falling on him all at once. And then she asked him, do you really trust her? and he found himself unsure of an answer. That hesitation bothered him.
Regardless of the charm, the spell Sigried had him in, Nero had enough of his own sense to realize just how horrible that was. He wanted to say that he did, that he trusted her and he knew she would never do anything to hurt him. She loved him, didn't she? But how could he be so sure? That seed of doubt that weeded inside of him was starting to grow and grow. He didn't think that he knew what the answer was.
Sigried announced that she should leave. She looked at him. Expectant maybe, knowing. That bothered Nero.
He had an answer for Sigried after all.
"I trust Aimee, Sigried," and it was the truth. "But I don't trust everyone else." His eyes shifted, pupils pulling in tight, slits against the green base. And maybe, in that moment, he knew what was happening. Maybe he knew that Sigried was playing a mind game with him.
Maybe he did.
"I think you should stay, though. You aren't intruding. I haven't even actually shown you around yet, have I? That's rude of me. You came here specifically for that reason." And he smiled, the corner of his mouth twisting, open, friendly, sincere.
Maybe he didn't.
Aimee was expecting this to get worse, really. The vampire had Nero messed up, that much was obvious, and Sigried definitely had wiggle room on this one if she wanted it. Aimee wasn't expecting the bit about Elke, though.
She knew Elke. That was Marius' sire. She liked Elke, but that was because there didn't seem to be a rotten bone in the woman. She was a vampire, yes, but one of the best examples of such that Aimee couldn't ever complain about her. She just felt nice to be around, and it made sense to Aimee how Marius could be such a nice guy. Who could have been sired by Elke and not be?
But...Sigried was her sister?!
The surprise showed on her face for an instant, and she wouldn't deny it if Sigried had said it. Being a vampire, Sigried probably would have noticed even if she hadn't shown it in an expression. Then, after dropping that bomb about her sister, Sigried went on to explain how she could never trust a dancer in a relationship. Bitch. Nero was the one she was worried about, now. She cared about him, more than she wanted to admit, and if he agreed with the vampire...
No, he wouldn't. That wasn't who he was.
She didn't say anything, though. She looked to Nero, waiting for HIS reaction, because she knew that was what this was about. She didn't know what Sigried's purpose here really was, but it wasn't good, and she obviously wasn't fond of Aimee. Now, it was just whether or not Nero would fall for it, and what he'd think afterwards. For their sake, Aimee hoped he didn't fall for it as hard as Sigried seemed to be trying for, but she had no way to know until it happened.
THERE.
She actually breathed a low sigh of relief when he said it, and she couldn't argue with the logic. As long as he trusted her, that was what mattered. He didn't have to trust everyone else, because she would never do that to him, and as long as he knew that, that was what mattered. She was safer in All Hallows than tending bar in 99% of the places in the city, because of a few things: Eden, Nikki, Drake and Marius. Those boys alone would never let anything happen to anyone who worked in that club. The latter three walked Melisande home every night, and no girl went out to her car without an escort. It was just the way things were done. They were all close, and Eden wasn't willing to risk his people. For a club environment, Aimee felt very safe, so having Nero trust HER was all she needed.
Everything would be fine.
Well, not everything. Sigried was still being allowed to hang around and see the lab. Aimee wouldn't personally be following along for that. She had a lunch break between classes that she'd hoped to spend with Nero, and she just wanted Sigried to leave so that she could. She wouldn't be seeing him again until later.
And for that, Aimee was going to get to be Sigried's plaything at some point, but she said nothing, nodding and smiling warmly. "That's good, then," she breathed. "If only my life had been so easy." She cast a strange sort of look at Aimee, then - and there was the insanity floating to the surface, like a dead body in the East River. Bloated, pale, and very, very diseased - just a flicker of it, in the strange smile she had, the way her eyes narrowed just slightly, and the soft, almost inaudible laugh that left her mouth.
Oh, yes.
And then it was gone. She was turned back to Nero, nodding and smiling, clasping her hands together in eagerness to see the rest of the laboratory. "Do you have anything that explodes?" she was asking, voice curious, amused. She liked explosions, especially chemical ones. They made all sorts of pretty flames of different and unnatural colours, like an inferno of the Aurora Borealis - she hoped he did. She didn't even so much as glance back to Aimee as she followed him on, like an excited child - the moment, it seemed, had passed entirely.
Strange.
Aimee's relief - he hadn't noticed it. Nero was an intelligent man and noticed a lot of things, but emotions just weren't his forte. Aside from being completely engrossed in the vampire, which he knew he was and couldn't entirely protest to, all things considered, he was always disconnected from feelings. That was why most relationships with him, friendship or otherwise, generally didn't do so well. Especially not coupled with the fact that his first priority was usually his experiments.
Things like that tended to happen and it was always his fault.
He stood idly, listening but not really hearing what the women were saying. Then the attention went back to him and his face brightened considerably at the mention of his chemicals. "Of course," he answered easily as he gestured towards his cabinets. "I try to keep most everything on hand - you never know what will be necessary." His eyes shifted towards Sigried as he finally asked, "Is there anything in particular that you wanted to see?"
He wouldn't let her touch them. She would have had to ask directly because that was something that just went against everything he stood for. Non-professionals couldn't touch his chemicals without his supervision. The professionals, of course, included himself and...
He glanced over at Aimee - finally - and let brief recognition wipe across his face. He had almost forgotten that she was present, but that really wasn't his fault. Aimee was important to him. More than he would admit.
But he wanted Sigried to stay. He liked her. Later he would blame her, but at the moment, he liked her. And that left him in a dilemma. Aimee was there to spend time with him, not the vampire, but Sigried just... something about her felt nice to be around. All it took was for him to glance back at the vampire to be stuck again, his dilemma suddenly wiped clean.
He was in such deep shit and he knew it somewhere in his mind.
Sigried shrugged a little, still smiling. "I don't know the names, but I know if you mix certain things together, they burn different colours. Can I see that? It might inspire a new painting, who knows. I could credit you for it at the gallery," she said cheerfully. She knew he probably wouldn't normally give a flying rat's ass about art, considering how scientifically-minded she could see he was, but the offer to credit him might fluff his ego a little.
"Can I sit?" she asked, gesturing to a stool near several of the beakers and other odds and ends. "I promise not to touch anything," she added solemnly, holding her hands up like a child would to show an adult they weren't doing anything.
Aimee was far from her mind at this point, regardless of how close physically she was in the room. She wasn't going to let the shapeshifter spoil her fun - and of course, she'd get her later. She almost laughed out loud, because it was so... so Wizard of Oz. I'll get you, my pretty! She ran her tongue along her lower lip and looked to Nero, waiting for his answer.