Akidlediveydoo, Wouldn't You? {Wilhelm}

[Wilhelm]

How old was he? The girl was most likely going to be shocked by his answer, though it had been quite some time since Wilhelm had even tried to calculate his age.

"My age? Well, I was born in around 1173. I became a vampire in 1191, so I was only 18 years old when I was turned. My actual age is, well its umm around 834 years I believe. I have not really given any thought to where I would go next. I do not really require sleep, and since I have no real home here I generally just wander around. I do enjoy sitting in book stores and reading though, and perhaps I will spend the evening doing just that.

[Aurora Snow]

Aurora's eyes widened when he told her his real age, but instead of commenting immediately, she just nodded and listened intently as he spoke. Someone that old must have seen and heard a lot, so she wagered he might be a little smarter than she was.

It wasn't until he mentioned how much he liked to read that she arched a brow. "Really," she said. "Interesting. You know, I happen to work in this fantabulous place where there are, like, a gazillion books." She smiled proudly. "I'm a librarian. Have you been to the library here?" she asked, tilting her head a little.

Well... he seemed nice. Maybe he could come to the library with her for a while.

[Wilhelm]

A librarian? How wonderful to meet someone in that profession. Most of Wilhelm's knowledge came from books, his self imposed exile generally prevented interaction with people, so books taught him everything...well almost everything. He was still slightly unsure and uncomfortable around people. Though he had finally met several around the city that he was comfortable around, and this young woman might just get placed on that list as well.

" A Library? I knew a city of this size was bound to have one somewhere. Where is your library located? I am quite certain a library would have a far more satisfactory selection compared to Barnes and Noble."

Wilhelm did not sleep, and devoured books at an astonishing rate. Yes, a Library would be a wonderful place to visit!

[Aurora Snow]

"It's not far," she said. She sat down in the driver's seat of her Accord, reached over, and pushed the passenger side door open. "Get in, I'll take you," she ordered/offered. "Besides, at the library you don't have to pay for anything... although I do sit at B&N and read stuff without ever intending to buy it. They seem to encourage it. A few times, I've bought things, anyways, though." She laughed a little.

As she drove, she chattered idly to him, paying mostly attention to the road. The library wasn't far, but she preferred not to end up with a traffic citation because someone decided it would be a good idea to run a light or walk in front of her car.

"So," she began when they arrived finally, "do you know anyone else in the city?" She wondered if he had any friends, really. Aurora needed to check him out.

[Wilhelm]

Ah, an invitation into a motor vehicle! Wilhelm had watched them curiously since they first appeared in the Holy Land, and had been paying lots of attention to the various makes of them in New York. But he had never been given the chance to ride in one. He gladly slid into the passenger side seat and after watching Aurora for a few seconds, figured out how to buckle the safety belt, though it was unlikely a car crash would be fatal to him.  He chatted with her as they drove, enjoying the ride...and surprisingly enough the company.

"I have met a few people, but only one of them I feel I know well enough to call a friend. He is a vampire that goes by the name of West, very sensible fellow, in fact he taught me how to drink blood from the bags in hospitals instead of killing or hurting a person to get it. I also met another shifter girl...I can not recall her full name, but she was a horse, and I believe her surname began with a D. How many volumes does your library contain? The one I frequented in the Holy Land was small and heavily censored since it was in a majority Muslim area of town."

[Aurora Snow]

"Um, I'm not sure. Over a hundred thousand?" she hazarded the guess as she got out, hitting her little key alarm button. She cocked her head at Wilhelm as he spoke of his acquaintances, and immediately wrinkled her nose when he mentioned blood. "Gross," she said. "But, I guess it's better than eating people," Aurora added with a shrug. You couldn't ask for much, she supposed.

She opened the door for him and followed after when he'd gone inside, talking still. "All of it is categorized by genre, and then it uses the decimal system. I wish it were alphabetical by author, but whatever," she sighed. "Is there anything in particular you want? I can look it up at my station," she offered.

[Wilhelm]

Over One Hundred THOUSAND? That was amazing to Wilhelm. He had no idea where to even begin perusing the books. It was like an endless paradise of printed word! He was slightly familiar with the decimal system since he had read about, but in a place like this how could he ever pick a place to start? He just stood there shocked. This was going to be a most wonderful evening. He had neglected to tell Aurora that he read an an astronomical rate, so she was going to be shocked once he plunged into the reading.

"I have no idea where I want to begin. Perhaps I shall just start at the lowest end of the decimal system and work my way to the end? This many volumes could keep me occupied for a year or so! So unless you have any good idea of where to start, just point me to the beginning."

Fantastic, all the books he could read!

[Aurelius Lawson]

Aurelius watched as Aurora walked into the Library with a man dressed in white. He was obviously a vampire, and unfamiliar with the NYPL, but he seemed benign enough. Aurelius decided that he ought to introduce himself.

"You wish to start with the Beginning, sir? Perhaps you should start with History, where everything begins. The History department is my specialty here, and I would be more than happy to direct you to whatever you would like to read. My name is Aurelius Lawson, and I am the head of the History and Biography departments. Miss Aurora here is the head of Fiction, including Fantasy, Sci-Fi, Horror, Suspense, Romance, Historical Fiction, and Mystery. Hers is the largest single department here, since Fiction contains so many sub-genres."

While he spoke, Aurelius made a very slight contact with the man's mind.
I do not know your intentions here, but so long as you do no harm to anyone here, I shall not interfere with you. Unless you prove that I should do otherwise, I mean you only good will.

[Wilhelm]

As Wilhelm was trying to decide where to begin his reading he heard someone approach him. He turned to face this new comer, and quickly realized he was a vampire. Wilhelm was more than a little surprised to find this new comer was the same sore of monster he was. The past few days since arriving in New York had been most shocking indeed, finding so many of his kind to exist, as well as discovering the shifters. He was further surprised at the vampires words. Perhaps this vampire had not quite been able to perceive his exact age.

" My name is Wilhelm, and I honestly forgot my surname some time ago. Not to sound rude, but I believe you have underestimated my age. History only tends to interest me when there is an amusing narrative attached, the past 8 centuries have been far to real to me unfortunately. If you could point me to the beginning of the general fiction area, I will just begin there and read until I am weary of it."

When the other vampire's thoughts touched him, Wilhelm was briefly alarmed. Why this warning? Perhaps this vampire had met the insane vampire Priest his friend West had spoken of? But no, Wilhelm felt only a protectiveness of the thousands upon thousands of volumes of knowledge and of those that tended them. Wilhelm decided to put Aurelius as much at ease as he could. He lifted the slight mental fog that hung around him just enough that Aurelius could glimpse the large broadsword he had unsheathed from beneath his robe and spoke again.

"Friend, I mean you nor anyone else in this place harm. I am simply a lover of books. I will not do harm to anyone unless they first do harm to me. This is my sword, The Harbinger, I forged it alongside my Father just prior to the first crusade, I carry it always, and it is my safe guard against those that would do me harm or do harm to those I count amongst my friends, such as Aurora."

[Aurelius Lawson]

Aurelius noted the presence of the sword. Nodding in appreciation, he spoke again.
"It gladdens me that you come here with peaceful intentions. I thank you for being honest with me. It is a rare and valuable quality, anymore. If you are looking for Fiction, then Miss Aurora here is most capable of assisting you. If you seek an interesting narrative, you may find it in Biography, which is also within my demesne. If you need assistance with anything, you may be sure that you can find it from Miss Aurora or from me. I bid you good day, Mister Wilhelm."

Aurelius nodded farewell to Wilhelm and Aurora, and he turned on his heel to return to his office.
He wondered if Wilhelm noticed the gesture, which indicated a certain measure of trust. Few vampires would turn their backs to each other without considerable worry.
Aurelius opened the newest edition of a biograpy of Queen Elizabeth I. As he read the preface, he listened detachedly to the conversation in the lobby. It wasn't eavesdropping so much as chaperoning: even if this fellow seemed beneficent enough, he was still new to this place.

Aurelius wasn't sure if Aurora knew he was a vampire, but he wasn't going to bring it up to her. Until she indicated knowledge of it, he would maintain the pretense of humanity. He knew that his vampiric aura wasn't the most overtly obvious thing out there, so generally only stronger vampires and witches actually noticed it. There was no telling if Aurora fell into the category of 'most observant', and Aurelius didn't feel comfortable about reading the mind of a friend and colleague.
He hoped that Wilhelm wouldn't give him away. Aurora always seemed most calm around humans.

[Wilhelm]

That was a strange encounter Wilhelm thought. Well, no need to let something like that distract him. He turned to Aurora. He did actually want to start at the beginning of the fiction section and just read. He did not really have a preference for what he read, rather he just found great pleasure in the act itself and the absorbing of the knowledge contained in the books. After he watched Aurelius return to his office he turned back to Aurora.

"Who exactly was that man? I thought you were the librarian of this branch? At any rate where does your fiction section begin? I am ready to begin my reading, and I hope sincerely that I am not keeping you from any work you may need to take care, it was not my intention to be a burden on you, but to simply indulge my love of the written word."

Given Aurora's shock and surprise when she realized he was a vampire, Wilhelm decided not to bring up the issue of Aurelius being a vampire. If she did not know it was not his place to reveal another vampire's  existence. If she did know, he felt she would bring the topic up in her own time.

[Aurora Snow]

Aurora was fairly aware of the things around her, but she didn't know about Aurelius' current state of affairs. Her brother did did, but he'd also made it a point not to tell her. At least the only two consistent vampires in her life were neutral, if not considered 'good', so she had little to worry about for the time being.

She walked on with Wilhelm once they had encountered him, because this post went way too fast for me to bother trying to break down, and laughed a little. "No, there are different people for different sections. I mean, this place is huge - how could I run all of it? My section is Fiction, which I guess makes sense since my name is Aurora - like Sleeping Beauty. Heh, anyways, he has history, I do this... there are other people who run the magazines, periodicals, et cetera.." she trailed off, walking to her own section.

"You won't keep me from my work. It was my day off, why do you think I was in the park?" she laughed.

[Aurelius Lawson]

Aurelius had heard enough to know that Wilhelm meant no harm and that Aurora was comfortable being alone with him, so he stopped listening and focused on his book. He let CATNYP loose from the office, allowing him to wander freely around the Library. Every few moments, he paused in his reading to search the cat's mind for anything odd or out-of-place. After nearly an hour, he was satisfied that all was as it should be in the NYPL, so he mentally called CATNYP back to his office.
He gathered his belongings, set some water and dry catfood out for CATNYP, and locked the office door behind him.
He walked casually back out of the Library, weaving through Fiction.
"It's getting to be dinnertime, so I'll head home now. I'll probably come back this evening, if things start to get busy. Good afternoon, Miss Aurora, Mister Wilhelm."
Wilhelm, stay as long as you like, even overnight if you wish, but leave everything as you found it. Good afternoon.
Aurelius left through the front door, whistling softly as he turned toward Central Park.
He headed for one of the more secluded areas of the park, watching the people going by, searching the crowd for someone who was both physically healthy and mentally susceptible. New York City met his needs, and he spotted a tall woman walking by his bench.
"Ma'am, do I know you?"
She startled visibly, but he sent a wash of calming, sleepy thoughts into her mind.
Have no fear, my dear. I'll not harm you. Go to sleep.
She swiftly drifted into unconsciousness, and he carried her silently behind a stand of trees. He fed carefully, taking less blood than she would have given in a hospital donation. As soon as he was done, he set her carefully on the nearest park bench and hid behind a tree, watching over her while she pulled herself together.
Wake up, my dear. Forget. Nothing happened; it was all a dream; you're hungry, and you should go grab some dinner.
She soon shuddered back to consciousness, none the worse for wear. The puncture wounds on her neck had already healed, and her purse was sitting next to her, untouched.
She stood up, brushing herself off, and walked away hurriedly, heading for the nearest hotdog stand.

Aurelius sometimes helped at Single Earth, but he wasn't officially a member. He preferred to make his own rules about when and how he fed. At least he had never killed a human or left one injured.
He took the nearest road that led to Greenwich Village, heading home.

Time to go see what Aidan was doing.

[Wilhelm]

((Old Thread was kinda old, and my Wilhelm channeling is kinda rusty, hope its alright...))

Wilhelm listened as Aurora told him the lay out of the library. She was just simply the fiction sections head, interesting. He knew that he would been spending the majority of his time in the fiction section, so it was very fortunate indeed that he had met Aurora. When she mentioned the concept of a "day off" Wilhelm was puzzled. When he had been human, they worked every day from dawn till dusk. He thought she had simply been taking her midday meal outdoors, as he had done in life.

"You have days off from your job? Does that mean that the Fiction section is closed when you are not there to tend it, or do others work there as well? I would really enjoy being able to read as much as possible, and your company is rather pleasant as well."

It was true, Wilhelm was beginning to remember what being normal was like. What talking to another person was like. After all those years in seclusion, it was actually quite enjoyable to be around Aurora, or any of the other few people he had befriended in the short time he had been in the city.

[Aurora Snow]

"We have to have a day off," she explained. "Other people can run my section when I'm not there, I'm just more in charge of it than they are. We all have responsibilities, though, and none of us really outrank each other, so..." she trailed off. "You can read as much as you want. I'm just going to tell people you're a friend from out of the country and you don't have a library like this in your city, which is mostly true. I'll just leave off the 'really old and not human' bit. Can you fake an accent if you have to?" she asked. "Actually, nevermind. They'll just leave you to your business unless you need help, and then it will only involve finding things for you - or showing you how to do it yourself."

She still couldn't imagine not having a day off. "I'd lose my mind if I didn't have a day off," she muttered. "I have school and stuff, too, so I can't be here all the time. Maybe you can help me with my history class," she said with a giggle.