Take off your silver spurs and help me pass the time and I will give to you summer wine

[longedfordeath]

Southeastern Asia's hot nights had swallowed Louis up, holding him in a bright and velvety sway. Hội An was a picture of a city, a town of sculptures and architecture laced through with canals, pressed up against the Pacific ocean and dotted with bright paper lanterns. It was a jewel, shining on its own, brilliantly and brightly enough for Louis' presence to go unnoticed. It seemed unlikely that anyone here would bother to look at the people on the streets around them when there was so much beauty to take in.

He did not expect to be spotted, nor did he expect that he would have spotted another of his kind.

When he noticed the vampire woman he tried to follow behind her inconspicuously. She must have been newly made, or they would have known each other; it was possible she was so young that she wouldn't notice his presence among the mortals. That had been true of him once. But then again, she may have better mastery of her skills.

Comments

[soldier_blade]

She didn't usually stay long in any city once a raid had been complete. If she were human, there'd be paperwork, things to be settled, and it would only be a matter of time before the military had her packed up for another operation-or perhaps she'd be allowed home.

Well, she had no home, not anymore, and there seemed little point in staying around otherwise. Besides, the town she'd been turned in was similar to this, not as posh, but glitzy, loud-and seedy. She wondered if it was a perverted sense of nostalgia that had her linger in this part of the world.

The lights and scents were distracting enough, she revelled in that, even as she tried to ignore the subtle signs of humans with less noble intentions. Tourists filled this part of town, but she was too seasoned as a human (even as a vampire) to not see the underworld of the city at night. If she were still human and not conditioned against it, it would've made her sick instead of just anger.

She was still lingering on these thoughts till the scent of something...someone..caught her attention. The smells of humans were so distinct, yet similar, mingled with the scent of grime and cooking spices.

The smell of another vampire stood out like a sore thumb-or perhaps the ingrown wariness from her time as a human had only increased once she'd been turned.

Carefully, she made a sharp, deliberate turn towards an alleyway. Out of the way and impossible to get out for a human, not for a vampire.

[longedfordeath]

When he began following the vampire Louis suspected she didn't know of his presence, as none of her behavior heralded suspicion. The woman simply continued on her way, turning down an alleyway. Before he moved to the corner outside it, Louis assumed that she had followed a human to that place so she could feed.

It was when he stood still nearby that he realized he had been tricked. By scent and sound he realized that she was alone in the alleyway, and was now waiting for him.

He pondered his next move for some time, staring up at the dark sky through the city's lights. If he followed her into the alleyway she might be threatened and attack. If he left, she might flee. After reviewing the stakes he turned and, ever the gentleman, stepped delicately into the dark alley.

[soldier_blade]

Indeed, she was waiting for him, her arms folded over her chest. Had she been a wolf, her head would've been down and her teeth bared-as it was, she was still bracing for an attack. Her personal experience with other vampires, while not hostile, hadn't exactly endured her to them either.

"What do you want?"

Her look was one of contrast; pale gold hair, silver/blue eyes and marble skin, and yet the sharp, hard features would would've looked more akin to an amazon or the shieldmaidens of lore. As a human woman, she'd been forced to hold her own in a male-dominated career path, and it would've been fair to say that this side of her only became sharper once the human in her was killed.

But she was still waiting for him; waiting for an explanation, or waiting for an attack-whichever came first.