Kieran was relaxed, he finally knew what it was like to love, what it was like to be truly happy. Of course Kanti was still unsure of him, but hopefully she would grow to trust him more and more. It would simply take time and Kieran was willing to give her as much time as he wanted.

Kieran was happily whistling down the hallway of the Mall. He was in a good mood, life was simply wonderful. He raised his head and caught William's height towering his way. He moved among people apologizing when he bumped into them and continued on his way.

He looked up at William. "What did you do?" He now stared at the other vampire that stood before him.

William looked down at Kieran and smiled, “Kid I have had a rough week. Don’t start with me. Besides I guess you can say that I am more accepting of your kind than the last time we spoke”

He started laughing. This laugh echoed throughout the mall. “Come on I need to get that tux final fitted so I can get to my thing tonight.”

They walked to the tux shop and William proceeded to get final fits and alterations made on his tailored suit. As the lady was wrapping it up he turned to Kieran while they waited at the counter. “So what have you been up to since we last met?”

Kieran just looked at him and he narrowed his eyes. "Did you piss your sire off?" Kieran couldn't believe what the hell was happening. William was now a vampire. Kieran shook his head. Must have pissed his sire off real bad to now be a vampire.

"I fell in love. That's what happened to me. I fell in love, or at least I have a crush. We'll have to see what happens. She's the most beautiful girl I've ever seen, but of course beauty is relative." He brushed his ponytail back and looked up to William. He shrugged his shoulders.

William took his receipt and put it in his jacket as Kieran probed into how he actually became a vampire. The point that he must have pissed his vampire off struck William funny and he began laughing.

“He says I did. Man I was so drunk, but apparently I did a fair amount of damage that he didn’t expect.”

Pausing to wipe the tear from his eye he continued, “Enough about me. It sounds like you are the one in real trouble. The boy has a crush. It just goes to show that age doesn’t have a limit on lust or love.” The tux now over his shoulder, “Come on let’s find something to do. I have my thing tomorrow night and I don’t have to hook back up with Dmitri until Thursday.”

Standing outside of the suit shop all the choices in the world lay in front of them.

Kieran shook his head. Why did he always meet people that got into some kind of trouble, namely being turned. Well at least he was taking it well. He wasn't depressed or in a foul mood. He seemed in high spirits as a matter of fact.

Kieran frowned. Trouble? Him? How was he in trouble. "I don't understand you. How am I in trouble? I have a crush it's not the end of the world. Besides she beautiful and kind. I couldn't ask for anything more." He narrowed his eyes. "I'm not a boy and I'm alot older than you are."

Something to do? Kieran was up for it. "Sure what ever you want..."

(OOC: Can Catherine join in at some time? I think that would be fun...)

William looked blankly at him, “Kieran you must be an anomaly to have always had the perfect relationship that never tugged or ripped at your heart,” with a sarcastic grin, “sir I salute you.”

But enough of the puppy love it was time to find something to do. Looking straight ahead he could see the mall directory, but with his new sight realized he did not have to walk over to read it. “Hmmmm…we don’t exactly eat, but we like the fairer sex. What to do, what to do?”

That really was the question, what do two guys that appear to be son and possibly father/grandfather do in a mall of all things.

“Hell kid, I don’t know what to do.” William knew that Kieran was not like Dmitri in the pursuit of carnal pleasures associated to death, destruction and mayhem.

Kieran shrugged. "Don't look at me, I like to flirt. I'm a 16 year old to heart." He was too, if there was a coven he could have eventually chosen it would have been Nephim. He could charm any girl to do anything for him. The only girl he didn't charm fully was Kanti. She deserved respect and was what he gave her.

Catherine was in the mall. She loved shopping. When it came to clothes and fashion, she was there, though she did question some fashions. Some people had no sense of fashion and often it appaled her. Most vampires even the male species did have some sense of fashion though some of the older ones were stuck in their own time and dressed that way, or some time they could relate too.

Catherine didn't see William or Kieran as she walked, she wasn't looking for them. She wore a brown leather jacket with blue jeans that were tight, but not too much. They simply hugged her at all the right places. She also wore black high boots that gave her more height. Her hair fell in soft curls around her shoulders. She prefered it loose. She was window shopping and had stopped to look at the shoes that were in the window of a store.

William spotted Catherine almost right away as she crossed the hall. “Mmmmmm,” escaped his lips as he eyed her.

Without taking his gaze from her he told Kieran, “You want to meet a contributor to me becoming one of the special people. Behold the eye candy across the hall.”

He didn’t know if he wanted to jump her bones or eat them; there was still a bit of displaced anger there.

Why don’t you go meet her? You seem to act like you’re a lady killer.

Kieran followed William's eyes and saw the woman. A vampire clearly, younger that him about 300 years. She seemed harmless. She was eyeing shoes and clearly debating whether she should get them or not. Kieran's face broke into a smile. "Pretty, how is she tied into this?"

Catherine was completely oblivious to the two men who watched her. Those shoes were so perfect and with special clothes she could show them to Julian. A soft smile graced her lips. She wouldn't be wearing the shoes for very long, neither would she wear the 'special clothes'. She walked into the store, tried shoes on and come out with a bag with her new shoes. Her next stop would be la Senza. Her eyes danced with excitement.

Catherine was clearly entertained with the idea of her shopping expedition. William eyed the bags in her hand. New shoes, clothes, lingerie, and he bet the next bag was accessories or make up.

He had moved across to watch her try on the shoes and was leaning against the wall talking to Kieran waiting for her to come out.

“Looks like someone is getting lucky later,” he said with all the subtlety of a brick hitting a window.

“Not all of us are so lucky.” Still unsure about how he felt about this female. “Kid I want you to meet the witness to my birth.”

Catherine froze, stopping dead in her tracks. She slowly turned and looked at him, her eyes showing annoyance at her thoughts being disturbed. "It's not like I had a choice." Her voice dripped with venom. "I wasn't going to attack a vampire at least three times my age. I would like to live. Attacking a vampire that has live a millenia, isn't in my books or on my to-do list, especially if he's a Tarepha." She then turned to Kieran and since he hadn't done anything to her, she gave him a courteous nod.

Kieran rolled his eyes. "He's blaming anybody that was there for his situation." He turned to William. "Attacking a vampire that is a millenia old is simply crazy. I don't blame her for not helping you. Tarepha are simply cruel, she did the right thing by staying out of the way." He paused before continuing. "I'm surprised that he decided to change you and not simply make you a smear on the wall. I'm sure he could have done that." He turned his eyes back to CAtherine. Yes she was very pretty. At her nod, he swept her hand and placed a gentle kiss on her knuckle. "My lady."

Catherine smiled at Kieran. "At least you have manners."

This woman had spirit, ‘good’ he thought, that would make it all the more worthwhile when the day came.

Putting on a strained smile, “I think you misunderstand me Cat. No one asked you to get into my fight. To tell the truth I really don’t remember why it started, I had been drinking a little more than usual. But I will tell you this. You don’t really know the guy. Dmitri seems to be a decent enough fellow. Lord knows I’ve met worse.”

He stepped into her space a bit, “but you need to understand that now that I know what we are capable of you could have stopped me from being so fucking stupid.” The forced smile turned into a sneer.

The new William did not possess the first instinct of rational logic when looking at his own situation as mortal William did. “Better wipe your lips kids, don’t want cooties,” he said before walking away not allowing her the opportunity of a nature retort.

Catherine eyes narrowed and she cut him off, using a touch of her high speed. "I tried to stop you. Did you listen? no you fucking didn't, once you attacked him it was out of my hands. It did say it was a bad idea, I did try to take your mind away from the thought, but did you listen. No, you didn't." Transfering all her bags to one hand, she pointed a finger into his chest and pressed hard. "Don't blame me for your failures or your missteps. They aren't my fault." They weren't simple as that.

Kieran rolled his eyes at that comment. "You do know that you are talking to someone that has lived six centuries. I don't beleive in that crap, hell cooties didn't even exist in my days. It's all in kid's imaginations. I am no kid." He paused and looked at the heated argument that him and Catherine were sharing. "I think you two need to work this out. So I'll let you be and bopefully you'll work it out for the best." Kieran was wondering how his last comment would be received by William. Catherine had simply shrugged at what he had said.

William stopped, tilted his head, and started laughing. Laughing at the absurdity of the argument they were in.

“Damn your hot when you are angry,” is all he could muster while he was laughing. Truth be told, he really didn’t hear the kid protest his age. This was probably because to William, he was for all intents and purposes was a kid in an adult world.

“You folks keep talking about age and power and god knows what else. Stake me if I ever get as centrally minded.” His face softening a bit, “Come on Cat, let’s start over and have that drink we never really had.

Revenge could come another day if the opportunity presented itself, but for now he was content to engage fully in this rocky start.

Catherine straightned abruptly and if she had been mortal, her cheeks would have flushed in true anger. Was that all men thought about? Sex? Yes she was Nephim, but she never used sex as a tool, oh no, sex was too sacred for that. Sex was between a man and a woman that shared love. That was her view and it was very catholic, but that was as far as the catholicism went. Everything else had been thrown out the window with her age.

Kieran shrugged and left he wasn't needed. He looked back and wonder how the night would finish for William, hopefully Catherine wouldn't mangle him too much. Some female vampires didn't take disrespect very well and so far Catherine seemed to be one of them.

Catherine looked at him, suspicious, then nodded. "Fine, let's have a drink. Don't try anything." She shrugged. "You'll get to learn that some vampires could rip the skin from your bones simply looking at you, I've heard that it's quite painful. You'll heal but it will be painful."

“Look we don’t need to talk about vampire foreplay right now, I don’t even know why sex is on your mind,” he said with a grin.

Turning towards the center of the mall he realized they had picked up an audience. So he held out his hat and said, “Donate for the performance or get the hell out of here.” He probably showed a little bit a fang when he said that.

The crowd dispersed pretty quickly, “Come on I know the perfect place to get a beer.”

They walked in silence for a little bit before he started some idle chit chat. “I want to thank you for not stopping me. I really like this lifestyle it has its perks.”

He looked over at her because he knew that comment would more than likely throw her off center a bit. “Standing in front of the door he held it open and they stepped in. The next thing they heard was unmistakable.

“Sit anywhere you like hon.” A restaurant themed in orange and white stood before them.

Catherine sighed. "You know exactly why it's on my mind. Though I can get rid of the thought quickly." She closed her eyes and then reopened them. "Done." She didn't know if she liked him or he simply annoyed the hell out of her. So far she agreed that the second was more probable.

She followed him and rolled his eyes at the suggestion. "It does have its perks and I like them as well, some of them are simply amazing." She loved the endless money she had to spend. Charles had left her a bit of a fortune and she had proved to todays lawyers that she was related to him, which wasn't true at all. She had ended investing it all, simply because she could. It was wonderful.

When he opened the door, she narrowed her eyes. "You are such a perv." It had to be hooters, typical, so typical. Most men had only sex on their mind and he had to be one of them. She let out a soft growl as the waitress spoke. Catherine wasn't it the best of moods. Her mood had been ruined by William.

He smiled, “The fact you call me a perv has more to do with you than me. Look around Kitty and tell me what you see.” The restaurant was full with the normal crowd that sure included lonely horny guys, but the couples were present, families and even a bachelorette party. “There are some stools at the bar.”

William walked over and sat down waiting for Catherine to decide if she was coming or going. He was having fun playing the buffoon, even though he was probably more educated and exposed to culture than most any vampire he would ever run into.

Waving down the tank topped brunette behind the bar he ordered a beer. After she walked away, “Thank god we can still get a buzz.”

Turning on the stool and hanging his tux on the bar rail he tipped his hat back on his head and leaned against the rail looking at the crowded bar.

Catherine narrowed her eyes, but couldn't help the small smile that graced her lips. He was right, she was being a sexist, if a woman wanted to do this job then she was welcome too. As long as she wasn't forced into and it made her happy, it was ok. She had to be ok with it. Catherine followed him and placed her bags next to her chair, tying them down and to her with her telekinesis, she would know as soon as someone even touched her bag.

She took a deep breath and looked cooly at the barwoman. "White wine." They better have white wine, she wasn't about to drink beer with him. She preferred wine and that was that. She was used to having her way. "You can get a buzz, but it mostly depends on your healing capabilities. I can barely get a buzz."

“To be fair Cat you are probably a much more conservative drinker than I am.”

The beer and wine appeared after a few moments and he reached back grabbing it. Taking a large draft off the top of his mug he made a sound of satisfaction with his beer. “I will miss my steak and potatoes dinners though. What do you miss after all this time?”

He was genuinely curious. After three hundred years what does one find they miss?

“It seems my sire missed companionship and is trying to reclaim some semblance of civility as a result of whatever relationship he is trying to build with his vamp woman.”

He took another drink.

Catherine shrugged. "I can drink a lot more than most, trust me. I drank a man under the table once, it was fun I forgot about that." She smiled remembering how she continued drinking even after he had passed out. She loved her healing ability, it even got rid of the alcohol she consumed.

Catherine shrugged. "Well his vamp woman is having some influence on him, he is a lot more civil then the last time I saw him." She shivered remembering and shook out her head. "I miss the sun and the ability to eat food. Some of these meals interest me. coming from a different century, some of these meals are completely alien to me." They were too, she knew what they were and what they looked like, but she didn't kow there taste and she would never have the chance to try.

He turned his head and looked at her. “So I gather you didn’t pick a fight with a freaking monster of a man. How did you end up in our predicament?”

This condition he now called life was as much his fault as anyone’s, if not more. He should have known fear or anything other than rage that night, but what has happened has happened.

But he could not picture how she would have been turned centuries ago in a time that by all practical accounts was foreign to him even though he had the academic studies of the era down.

William was ready to actively listen to and speak with Catherine on a more civil level now that he had blown off some steam and had a cold one in his hand.

Catherine smiled remembering her sire. "I ws seduced by a man. I left my friend's house late one night and was riding back, because we all rode horses back then and I saw him on the road, he seemed lost and I being the good soul that I am tried to help him and ended up kidnapped."

She paused in her story. "He told me exactly what he would do and I simply accepted it. My family never understood me. I was the black sheep as well as the middle child. My older sister was the typical beauty, blond hair, blue eyes and my younger brother was a boy. I was never good enough for them, so I embraced a different life and I enjoy it."

She smiled, nostalgic. "After that I never wanted anything. Charles was rich and made sure I missed of nothing. I think he worshipped the earth I walked on, though I never quite proved it." She never would be able too, Charles was dead, killed by men that had hunted them. Her revenge had been fulfilled, though she still missed Charles.

The fact that Catherine had knowingly chosen this life was interesting to him. This Charles must have been quite a guy to convince her to join him in this life. It was a bit sad that the immortal lover and mate she had taken was dead though. Charles death was clearly no small event as William saw it with his new understanding of vampires.

“I’m sorry to hear you lost your husband. I have lost a wife before.” He took a drink of his beer as his past life with her began to occupy his thoughts. It had been years since he had thought about her and her accidental death.

Then kind of out of the blue he decided to change the topic, “You look nice tonight. You must have a real lucky fella out there waiting for you.” Smiling he turned towards her, “One of the first thing Dmitri was clear about is his feelings about interspecies romance. Are you seeing a human or one of us?”

Catherine could feel his pain as well as understand it. She knew what it was like to love someone and to lose them, though there were times where she wondered if she truly loved Charles. She had chosen this life because she had been stuck in a life she didn't like. Charles had given her the choice and she had taken it, though now feeling love from Julian and with him, she understood the difference between true love and the love you gave because it was required. Two very different things.

Catherine would have blushed at his comments on the way she looked, but instead raised an eyebrow. "Dmitri is it?" She filed the knowledge away for further reference. "He is a mortal, not a vampire but you don't choose where love appears it simply does appear. I fell in love with a mortal, it does happen."

All he could say was, “I will take your word for it.” He had vowed upon her death to never expose himself to that kind of risk again. William learned to redirect his love towards strays that he could use his resources, knowledge and talents to put back onto a good path. It’s what made him decide to interact with Kieran in the first place. That relationship led to the events that placed him on the stool with the Nephim and sired by her coven’s polar opposite, a Terepha.

“Well all things being equal it was a good life and it’s one that I can maintain in this condition if I want. There are just so many things I could do now though that I may make a radical life change again.” He began fondling his Harvard class ring, the object most directly tied to the last major life change he made.

“Do you want a ride anywhere? Just because we move fast doesn’t mean you need to. My truck is outside and I should be getting ready for my date tonight,” he said gesturing towards the tux hanging off the rail with his head.

Catherine smiled had him. "I don't need a ride, thank you. I can shadow walk and I'm in no rush to go anywhere though I thank you for the offer." Catherine was exactly the same, she enjoyed helping and that included giving help to anybody young and old. Hell she had helped Julian hadn't she. She made him happy again and she would keep it that way.

She smiled at him and downed her glass of white wine. "I should be going and I have to find something to eat and perhaps look around for clues. I'm looking for someone and I should be going. It was a pleasure to meet you, William." She got up and picked up her bags. She placed a light kiss on his cheek and left the restaurant to return to Julian's appartement.

He watched Catherine leave the restaurant and wiped the spot that she kissed his cheek and tasting the minute residue that resided there. Smiling he picked up his garment bag and went back into the chaos of the mall hallways.

“I am going to enjoy myself when that day comes,” he whispered to himself.

Ducking down the hallway that housed security and the restrooms he made his way down to the restrooms. A lone mother with toddler were making there way into the family bathroom. Seeing they were alone he noted the cameras position and pushed his way into the restroom with her and the child out of the direct line of the camera.

The woman had little time to scream before William extended his jaw and sank in fangs deep into her neck draining her of blood and life. The toddler stood frozen in fear as he watched his mother’s eyes lose their spark.

Turning to the boy who now realized he was next, William grabbed him and drained what little offering the boy could provide. With the slaughter of his prey complete he turned to cleaning up and hiding the bodies in the ceiling.

As William left the mall and walked to his parked truck he reflected on his actions he realized he had no remorse.