Her blonde hair had grown longer over the past year and the red tips had long since been cut off. It was now half way down her back, and this time the tips were green. It curled gently at the bottom in a natural sort of wave.

Her dress, which was open backed, matched the exact shade of green of her hair. It was dark and fit her curves well, fluttering out delicately at the bottom, trailing slightly on the ground. It tied behind her neck and had a low cleavage line, gaining her a bit more attention then she would have bargained for. Over it she wore a black shawl.

It had been a long time since she had dressed up like this, since she had been out among humans instead of hunting them but she enjoyed plays. And music. About five years ago she had seen "Les Miserables" and had loved it so immensely she saw it every time it came to town. It was just tragic.

And now, walking out of the theatre once again, she felt that same sense of satisfaction she got after each time she saw it. Pale blue eyes took in her surroundings, watching as couple after couple left the theatre hand in hand. How she loved to watch humans, even as she loathed them. They moved so quickly, letting time pass them by. She, on the other hand, in this moment felt as though she was moving rather slowly- the people only a blur as they passed her.

She turned to the left, continuing down the sidewalk. The cool night air touched her skin, sending chills down her spine and making the hairs on her arms stand up. She wasn't sure where she was headed. Not to hunt. Not tonight. Rather, she was in too good of a mood. Too filled with peace to think about it. So instead she walked, consuming the sights and smells with a pleasure that only a vampire could truly feel.

[I'm a bit distracted in class, but I hope this was okay.]

Gabriel had never truly been a fan of musicals, and as such he found this one to be just as perplexing as the few others which he had viewed previously. His problem with them had little do with lack of taste, but rather stemmed from his fondness of books which you can stop and analyze throughout while plays move to quickly for him to really enjoy fully. Still, he did appreciate the music and the wide range of emotions which were shown through both the lyrics and through the pitch and tone of the music. In fact, compared to the vibrant world of the stage the rest of the world seemed drab and quiet and that was truly saying something when one was speaking of a city the size of Demaintre.

Soon though the drabness had washed through Gabriel and taken the passion of the stage away, so that only his own thoughts lingered in the void left by the missing music. He allowed his feet to linger in front of the hall for a few moments before beginning to walk towards the loft he was currently inhabiting. The clothing he wore was one of the outfits which had been left in the loft for him, and as such actually fit into this culture unlike the robes Gabriel had grown used to wearing while in northern India. The black shirt wasn't particular constricting, but the silver buttons running down the middle seemed rather frivolous to him as a few ties would have worked just as nicely. More uncomfortable of all though were the slacks which matched this shirt. Surely his pants in life had been nicer then these, or perhaps he was just so unused to having material rub against his legs that Gabriel was imagining them to be worse then they were.

The fact continued to both him as he turned down a side alley and began to consider just taking the rooftops home in order to speed the removal of the constrictive outfit, but before his thoughts could reach full fruition Gabriel began to sense someone else nearby. Now, to him powers had always been nothing more then a fleeting glimmer, so the sense was little more the feeling of someone watching him from everywhere at once. Perhaps it was something akin to how a priest felt in a holy land? No, for surely no one could be comfortable with this feeling running down their spine. More accurately it was as if heat was licking at the nape of his neck, but from a source far surpassing any fire in this realm. The feeling was hard to describe, but it always meant the same thing in the end. Something was nearby, usually someone he wasn't in the mood to talk to either, but to be fair few living creatures were as entertaining as his books were which meant he was a little biased against anything that could make this feeling spring up on his skin.

The end result came quickly though, for as Gabriel rounded a small curve in the alley his eyes found another being standing a good twenty feet from him. Despite being warned by his feeling Gabriel still jumped slightly at the sight of someone else before regaining the resemblance of composure and trying to force his feet to continue the slow walk towards home. The effort seemed in vain for a good moment until he finally managed to get the nerve to approach her, but it was more along the lines of needing to get by her when the alley was too small for him to slip by. “Um, pardon me, but if I could just get by you.” He spoke with a slight British accent and even the way he spoke made it seem like he was trying to be as quiet and discreet as possible.

It only took her a moment to notice that someone else was near by but it seemed by this point she had already caught his attention. She could sense his awareness of her and she glanced behind her, at the moment seeing nothing. It didn't bother her, didn't frighten her. There were few things to be afraid of being what she was. In fact, she found herself feeling... not unsociable were she to run into someone.

And when he finally did show up behind her, she had felt it all along of course, she casually stepped aside to let him pass. Normally she might have turned and told him to beat it, but tonight was a good night. Her normally pale cheeks had an unusual glow to them, her eyes twinkling dangerously in the moonlight as they often did- but there was no malice in them.

"I suppose I can do that," she told him, with a polite sort of grin. Her German accent had faded over the years but it was still noticeable.

"I'm sorry, but did you just see Les Mis?" she stopped him. Probably not the best place to spark up a conversation all things considered, but she didn't really seem to think about how odd it might have been. Her grasp of the way things worked in the human world was still a bit... off. But, as it were, it didn't matter for he was not human.

"What did you think of it?"

How very unusual, she found herself thinking. Even when she was in the best of moods, her conversation skillls usually...lacked so she didn't even try. But she felt herself compelled to speak to him. Perhaps it was the fact that she had been gone for a while, locked away in her home- for lack of a better word- a banishment of her own choosing. She thought he might have been the first person she had spoken to in months. She was even silent in choosing her prey. The sound of her own voice was loud in her ears, foreign, but now that she had spoken she didn't want to stop.

"It's tragic, really..." she told him slowly, her voice shaking a bit. Not from nerves but because it was so abrupt to her, the sound of it. She was out of practice.

Gabriel paused for a moment at her comment as his mind seem to slip off for a moment, so for a good minute or so he just stood there looking at her before nodding, “Oh! Is that what was showing? I had a feeling it was something I had read before, but I couldn't place it at first. So, that was the work of Victor Hugo then? Quite a moving piece even if it was a little fast for me.” It was always strange trying to relate the words on a page into the real world, but now that the small script of a dusty little book began to drift back into his mind Gabriel could see the connection between paper and stage.

“Yes, I do suppose it was a tragic tale, but following quite the tragic life when you consider his time as a convict.” Gabriel conceded to himself that he'd never truly appreciate the work of a playwright as much as the world of an author, but some matters were simply a matter of accepting your faults. The overall darkness of the alley seemed to creep in on Gabriel as he stood there and let his eyes scan the narrow passage until finally they reached the small gap between buildings and began to breath again. “I was unaware that there were any others of our, ahem, kind inside of the theater this evening.” He seemed quite uncomfortable at the moment and as such just kept his eyes up at the skin and tried to think about other, more pleasant, environments.

It was very unlike him to stay near anyone for very long and as such he could already feel his nerves rising some, but to make up for this the immortal slipped his hand into his pocket and began to stroke the old leather of a book spine. Almost immediately he started to calm down some and even let his eyes go back to her for a few moments. “Have you ever read the book? Or?” That seemed like a silly question, but as he had learned the rough way over the years not everyone was as avid of a reader as he had become during his life. “I was given a ticket to this by a friend..., but he had just left my name with the..um...the ticket taker, or maybe the usher..., regardless though I wasn't sure what I was even here to see and to make matters worse I was alone in this box—mind it was quite a nice box--, so I had no one to ask and was forced to sit through the entire performance wondering what I was even watching. And it was all very perplexing and I had no idea what to do because leaving would have been truly rude, but staying hardly seemed like a good idea either as I wasn't sure if I was even in the right place and I had to ask an usher where I was suppose to- I'm...I'm rambling aren't I?”

He blushed slightly and looked away before addressing her more directly, “More importantly I'm being rude and I haven't even asked if you enjoyed the performance, so...did you enjoy the performance?” Gabriel wasn't exactly the time to interact with other, so on the rare occasion which he did find himself in a forced social event the man found the odd need to fill every moment with speech. (I have him overusing the word and, but it seemed like a good nervous habit.)

Amara listened, rather patiently, studying him as he spoke. She couldn't help but grin. She had never seen someone more uncomfortable with speaking with someone... other than herself. Though she handled it differently. It made her sort of... like him. A rarity in her case. She wasn't sure she'd feel the same the following day, but her pleasant mood had her wishing he would keep speaking with her.

"You aren't rambling, really," then she paused, "Well maybe a bit..."

She gave him a warm smile. They were out into the clear, night air again and here and there people passed them by. She felt so open to the world around her. She wished she could have stopped one of them and shouted, "Do you see?" But she realized that was an urge she would not follow through with. With all their beauty, Amara still hated humans. It always went back to how they had destroyed the world about them. Perhaps she should go somewhere else... somewhere where there weren't big cities but only open air- only nature and herself. It was a trait that she had probably inherited from Vontae- her love of all things beautiful and her mixed feelings about those that had ruined them. However Vontae was more forgiving than herself when it came to humans. He saw more of their inward beauty while Amara often chose to look at the darker side of things. She wouldn't admit outloud she was bitter and perhaps jealous of their humanity and their irresponsibilty- but she knew that was part of the reason she disliked them so much.

"I did read the book when I was younger, actually. I used to love to read. Especially as a girl. It was an escape from the outside world- because in novels even tragedy is beautiful. It's not so in the world around us. As for the performance, I enjoyed it very much. I always do. I am not sure why it has become such a favorite- but it may be that I can relate in some ways," she shrugged, "I guess we all can. That's why people write. Or moreso, that's why people read. Or in this case, see a play. The music was beautiful though. So stirring."

Amara fell silent. She had never been a good talker. She rarely did such a thing and was glad at the moment she was not alone in her awkwardness of conversation. But music she could talk about for years. It was a passion. Her favorite had to be the violin. She hadn't learned to play it until after she had been turned but it's strange sound lifted her soul to a level she had never experienced before the first time she heard it and she couldn't help but beg the man who played to teach her. A man in the subway. She grinned at the memory. It was one of the few fond ones.

"Do you like music, Gabriel?" she asked him, using his name. He hadn't told her, but it was one of the things Amara always picked up when first meeting a person. It was the least private thing about them and the easiest thing to pick up on, without even trying. She hadn't even realized she was saying it until the word had slipped past her lips.

“I know I'm rambling, but I just get nervous around new people and it's not like I meet people often, so I have a tendency to talk when I'm around people because it's just a little habit of mine. If it gets back you can just tap me on the shoulder or something and I'll quiet up, but I'm just..well it's nice talking to someone about something for once, but I tend to get a little caught up and then...” He quickly shut his mouth and made a hand gesture to demonstrate his point, but then tried to walk in silence until she brought up another subject which sparked his interest.

“Perhaps that is why people read. In a book you know what will happen, and you know none of it can hurt you. The most minor thing in life will hurt you more then any book.” He paused for a moment before regaining his thought, “Though I still think I prefer books over the real world for the most part. I mean it's not like the world is bad or anything along those lines, but I just like reading about these epic tales or tragic love. It gets to me.” He paused to take in his words for a moment before beginning to walk slowly.

“Music, well yes I do suppose I'm fond of music. I played a little when I was younger, but I haven't in quite some time.” He paused for a moment and listened to the wind running off the buildings and all the world seemed silent for a brief second. Then her words actually hit him and he paused in his walking, “Did I tell you my name? I don't recall mentioning it to you, but then again I was rambling on quite a bit. I mean it is theoretically possible that I muttered it while talking, but I don't remember saying it...”

He was one who supported manner to a full extent, but in truth Gabriel tended to be so forgetful and unsocial that he never really managed to introduce himself properly, “Well, since it seems I must have given you may name somewhere during my speech could you favor me with your own? I mean I do understand if it's not the sort of information you like giving out, but maybe since we seem to be getting along decently. I haven't scared you off at least, so that's a good sign.” He had to catch himself in order to stop the rambling before it started up yet again, but all the while he was actually able to keep an eye on her. That was until he realized he was looking at her and then suddenly shot his eyes back to the ground and blushed mildly.
(I know it's very short compared to what you gave me, but trying to get something out before bed so my mind is a little out of it. By the way, interesting violin thing you added in there...because old Gabriel actually had a few rps taking place with him playing the violin in the subway.)

Amara listened to him for a moment, giggling slightly and shaking her head after he said she could stop him if she would have liked. She wouldn't. She liked to hear him talk. It gave her more to think about. Besides as she was also rather socially awkward- she preferred it. She had the opposite problem from him. She could not think of what to say.

"I also prefer books over the real world. Things always end up the way they are supposed to. I don't believe in a 'good' world. It's positively horrid here..." but she didn't go on about that subject. She didn't want to have to explain herself. It wasn't because she was, what was that term, "emo"?... but because she hated the way things were. Despite what she was she hated the way people murdered so violently and the way they truly loved very little. They disgusted her. And maybe she was being hypocritical considering her biggest joy in being a vampire was generally the thrill of the kill- not that she would tell him that.

"A writer's true job is to touch the souls of the people who read their work. The same goes for all artists. I, too, love the way a story or a painting... or a piece of music can touch my very soul. There's something almost...magical about it."

She supposed she always thought that the one good thing humans had created was music but she had never really stopped to think about all the other works of art. They did very well at using their tragedy to create wonderment in their abstractions.

"You played? May I ask what?"

She stopped for a moment as he asked her for her name unsure if she would like to tell it.

"You didn't tell me your name, Gabriel. Forgive me if it seems rude, but it was so easy to read. I can't hardly help it. As for me, well, my name is Amara."

She couldn't help but give it to him, after he was opening up so much with her. It was, after all, only a name. The least private thing about a person. What harm could it do? Besides, he was considerably adorable.

[Ha. I didn't know that. I just remember when I used to rp Amara she found herself often alone, violin in hand. I never created the story of how it came about. Funny that I should choose that.]

“It was easy to read? Well, I suppose each of us inherits their own abilities from the Him, but I've never been particularly adept in reading anything into people. In truth I can hardly even sense others nearby, but I don't think that's what were discussing.” He paused for a moment while beginning to think of exactly what it was they were discussing before continuing forward, “Well, since I never introduced myself, I'm Gabriel Lanorus and it's a pleasure to meet you Amara.” He smiled slightly before continuing to process everything she had told to him.

“Hmm, I suppose it is their job to touch our souls. To me I know I'm reading or seeing something special when I feel my skin tingle. It's as if the divine is breathing on my neck and through them I feel so much more then, well everything. I can't describe it, but it's as if there is just more to be seen and felt, and somehow I've been given the key to take it all in.” He paused in his steps and turned to face her, “Do you know what I mean? See, the world is so deep as it is. I can smell the air and take in the scent which these cars produce and the smell of each and every man and woman who walk by me. I can see details which so many people just walk by every day and never even notice. It's not a gift, but it's just because I take the time to see those things. The world is an amazing place, with happiness and grief working so intricately in all of our lives. Without one the other ceases to be and without both life is simply existence.”

He smiled even more broadly now, as he began to relive the Eureka moment which all of this had come to him in, “I don't know what I'm trying to say, or even why I'm trying to say it, but maybe that's why I'm saying it. The world allows me to say whatever is on my mind because it gave me the ability to communicate with you and with so many others.” It was then that he paused and actually took in what she was saying, “But you don't seem to see this place the same way I do. I love books because they reveal things to me which I'd have never seen in the world, they add an element to life. I don't know what that element is, but they send me into this enlightened state whenever I find myself gazing at the worn pages of an author's frantic hand. It sounds a little off, but I can't give it justice.” He stopped talking then and began to walk in silence again, suddenly feeling as if he had failed in some great task by not being able to explain why he loved...everything so much.

“What I played?” The question brought him out of the silence again and made him think back to a different life, “Oh, well I've played flute, violin, and piano at various points of my life, but I preferred the piano over the flute. Like I said though, I've been away from most music for many many years now because of where I was staying. I mean it's not like I was banned from playing or anything, but I didn't really seem right at the time, so I tried to avoid playing and stuck to book reading along with some exercises at night time. It was a pretty nice place, but then again anywhere outside of the sun is pretty nice, unless of course your in a fire or in like a...sealed box because both would be terrible. Or a sealed box in a fire....that would be very very bad, but what if it was daytime outside of the box?!” He shivered quite visibly and then forced away the thoughts of boxes, “Though..I've never liked boxes.”

She listened intently to him, surprisingly in silent agreement. They may have interpretted the world in different ways, but they both saw that same mysterious beauty in it. She had seen it as such before she was turned, so when he said it wasn't just a gift she knew what he meant. Amara had felt that way too.

With pleasure there must be pain. This she knew. She did find the world beautiful in a way that he did. Yet she tried so hard to escape reality. Perhaps it was because she felt that it had been destroyed by human hands, but most likely it was something else. Something she would not delve deep enough to dig out. She didn't want to bring up memories that she had forced down long ago.

Amara found herself absolutely absorbed in what he was saying. It had been a long time since anybody had held her attention so long. She didn't care to be polite. If anything was uninteresting she would simply change the topic or lose the company. This man was certainly far from uninteresting. Only moments before she had ran into him, she had felt the way he was now speaking. About sights and smells- but it hadn't come as a revelation to her. She didn't get those often. Books did not do for her what they did for him.

It had been a while since she had seen something new... or even tried. She took joy in the world around her- well the nature part anyway. Even as a human she had trouble understanding humanity. She often wondered how people could be the way they were- so cruel and distant and cold. Yet she herself had become one of those people and now she was so set in her ways she didn't think it would ever change. And despite his difficulty in explaining how he felt Amara felt she understood what he meant- yet still did not comprehend how he could feel that way. She wished she could love the world the way he did. Then life, her undead life, might take on a different meaning for her.

He was talking about music now (she noted that he played the violin too, but said nothing)- but went off on a tangent that brought a smile to Amara's face.

"Yes, that would be quite horrid," she laughed softly, "I don't think anyone likes the idea of being confined in a box. And we, as vampires, are supposed to take to it. I never did. A monsterous idea, if you ask me. I'm glad things have changed."

[I'm sorry. I'm really distracted by work. I hope this made sense. She is thinking too much and a little off topic, as am I.]