[Baconwizard]

Pewter was a metal, right? Freylan looked at the cross for a moment, a small frown on her face. Her instinct told her that the shape wasn't good. The vampire girl looked back at Clivius's face, hunching her shoulders slightly. "If... you could, that would... b-be better," she murmured, looking a little sheepish. "I-I'm sorry, I was just told... that crosses were bad for us––um, I mean... for vampires." Freylan looked down at the ground as she corrected herself, her hands twisting together around her legs. "I-I don't think it hurts like silver does, though... Grandmother said that silver burns like a fire on our skin. Sh-she had a, um, scar... on her neck." Freylan pointed to the spot, not quite meeting Clivius's eyes. How long had it been since she had ever talked about this? She had almost forgotten... "I-I think it was from an intruder, b-but my father ran the human off. It was before I was born..."

[zapdragon555]

As Freylan spoke, Clivius was already reaching behind his neck and carefully unclasping the cross from his neck. He blinked at it for a moment, wincing inwardly. In a way... something about this made him feel terribly guilty. It was only a necklace, but... he felt as though his father would look on him with disappointment to find he took off the cross for the sake of a vampire. He blinked, steeling his heart slightly. No, it wasn't for a vampire. It was for Freylan. It was for Freylan, who was scared and needed to feel safe. There was nothing wrong with that. His eyes flickered as Freylan pointed to her neck, and for a moment he imagined burns there, his heart twisting up slightly. "O-oh..." he said dumbly, wincing and looking at the ground, then offering an open expression at her. "And... you said... you were the last one?"

[Baconwizard]

Freylan watched Clivius take it off and put it in his pocket, a subtle tension in her shoulders releasing slightly. She looked down for a moment, thinking, then carefully scooted closer to him, to where they were barely touching. If only there was a way to thank him properly. Simple words just didn't seem to do the feelings in her heart justice. All the gratitude, the happiness, relief, regret, affection... love. Freylan didn't know how to say it right. She looked at Clivius out of the corner of her eye, then nodded slowly. "Vampires live a long time, but there never were many of us. There's a book that explains it all, but it's terribly old and hard to understand. S-something about fertility rates, o-or something. But, um... after Grandmother died, i-it was just me. There are vampires living in other places, but none that I know of in these mountains."

[zapdragon555]

Clivius blinked as he felt her scoot closer, and he tried to fight the blush from his cheeks, realizing he'd honestly never been in such close proximity with a woman. Such were rules of being the priest's son. He blinked out of his thoughts as she began speaking again, and he nodded slowly, his expression growing solemn. "I'm sorry," he murmured, his brows knitting in realization. "So... you've... been on your own for awhile, huh." The thought of Freylan living somewhere all alone, afraid to come near the town and staying in the dark forest... he felt his heart pang with sadness. "Where is it that you live...?" he murmured. He hoped it was a nice place, at least. Somewhere cozy... somewhere with books, he knew, since she'd mentioned such things in the past.

[Baconwizard]

Freylan shook her head, disliking that she was making Clivius sad. It wasn't something to apologize for. Certainly, it wasn't something for Clivius to apologize for. She looked at him, studying his profile in the moonlight. The way his glasses glinted when he looked over at her. "Yes," she murmured, her cheeks warming, and she looked back at her knees. "B-but I had things to keep me busy. I walk around the woods a lot, a-and, um... After Grandmother died, I started paying more attention to the stars. They're like my friends, kind of." Freylan let out a small laugh, a little embarrassed by this admission. "They... um, they're constant. A-and they say they're older than everything on earth. So... I like to think of them as my companions..."

Freylan looked back up at his next question, jumping on the chance to change the subject. "I live in a little cabin that my grandfather built. It's a little east of here. Past the creek here, and hidden behind this big rock formation." Freylan picked up a twig and drew out the map in the dirt near their feet, making little lines as indication of the landmarks. "I-it's a bit small––it was a hunting cabin, originally––but... it's home."

[zapdragon555]

Clivius listened to Freylan with a slow growing enchantment, his eyes shining slightly as she talked about the stars. There was something incredibly sweet about the timid, delicate way she spoke and moved, like a fawn or a little bird, and Clivius found himself practically beaming at her, before he caught himself as she picked up a twig and cleared his throat, face flushing as the smiled softened to something a little less odd-looking. "Um... what you said, about the stars... I... I like to think of them like that, as well. Old light, you know... it's comforting to know something that big is out there, not moving too much..."

He watched as she drew a small map, and he stared at it for a long time, wondering if he could memorize it. Oh, but... that would be wrong. It was her home, and he shouldn't just try to figure out where she lived without her permission. But... she was showing it to him. So he allowed himself to look, his eyes softening. "That sounds nice," he murmured, reaching up to shift the glasses on his face to see a bit better.

[Baconwizard]

Freylan turned towards Clivius, her eyes widening at his words. She had almost forgotten that he knew about the stars as well. A happy smile grew on her face, and she nodded her head, eager. "Y-yes, exactly... N-no matter what happens, o-or what's going on earth, they're still out there. Even if they're covered up by clouds, or if the moon is too bright. They're there." Freylan looked down at her scribbled map, then smiled, bringing the little twig up to fiddle with it. "I-it's a little hard to keep up with, sometimes, e-especially in the wintertime. The snow can get pretty high... B-but it's something to do, so... I-I've gotten really good at repairing the roof!" Freylan giggled, attempting a joke, and she turned to smile at Clivius.

[zapdragon555]

Clivius' eyes widened at that, and before he could stop it a laugh escaped him, his shoulders jumping as he chuckled. "O-oh, I'm so sorry, I don't mean to laugh at you. That's just... it's..." Clivius flushed slightly, glancing away and pressing a hand to his face to try to make the flush go away. Very cute, he wanted to say, but oh, what an unorthodox thing to say...! "Y-your laugh is beautiful," he said softly, then stiffened up, face coloring scarlet in realization as he stared at her like a deer in the headlights. "I mean--a-ah... agh... oh, I'm sorry," he mumbled, covering his face in his hands and ducking his head, embarrassment radiating off of him.

[Baconwizard]

Freylan's smile grew a little wider at his laugh, and she stared at him for a moment. She had made him laugh. His cheeks were pink, and his shoulders shook, and his face looked so much younger with a relaxed smile on it. Shifting slightly, Freylan beamed, trying not to show the ticklish feeling that was rising up in her chest. "Eh?" Freylan straightened, her cheeks flushing a bright red. Beautiful? Her laugh? She swallowed, the smile now a permanent fixture on her face, and she brought a hand to tug at her bangs, trying to hide her face. "Y-you're too kind..." she murmured, pleased with the compliment. She looked back up at him, an earnest look in her eyes. "Y-your laugh is beautiful, t-too!"

[zapdragon555]

Clivius tentatively peeked out from his cover of hands, his face a brilliant shade of red. Oh... she didn't mind what he'd said? She was even... smiling? Laughing? A surge of happiness rose up in Clivius at that, lowering his hands to fidget in his lap as he chuckled, when Freylan's words silenced him. "B-beautiful?!" he stammered out, seeming to flush an even darker shade, which was really saying something. He looked utterly stunned for a moment, his fingertips a little pink, a stark shade against his white knuckles. He let out the embarrassed tremor in his voice with a soft chuckle, looking a mixture of pleased, and not quite knowing what to do with himself. "Th-that's... that's very nice of you," he murmured softly.

[Baconwizard]

Oh, Clivius was so flustered. It was obvious by his demeanor, the embarrassed chuckle in his voice, the flushing in his face and hands. It made Freylan's heart flutter in her chest as she stared at him, his skin soft in the moonlight. She wanted to touch him. The urge to reach out and brush her fingers over the red flush on his cheeks was almost irresistible; she had to tighten her hands into fists to stop them moving. Swallowing, Freylan looked away, nodding her head. "I-it's true..." She mumbled, her own face growing hot at her own thoughts. Maybe it was because of the huge rush of emotion earlier, that she was suddenly feeling all these strange things. Clivius had held her and assured her and accepted her... it was hard to believe that it was all real. Freylan cleared her throat slightly, then looked back at Clivius. "Will... you make it back into town before sunrise?" She asked, glancing at the faint hint of lighter sky on the horizon.

[zapdragon555]

Clivius blinked out of his dazed expression and looked at Freylan, then up at the sky, his eyes widening a little with dismay. "Oh..." he mumbled, squinting at the shades of yellow beginning to peek over the horizon. "Well... no, it isn't likely. My father will certainly be up soon..." Clivius bit his lip, looking nervous, then moved to start packing things up from his seated position. "Ah--w-will you be alright? In the light..." he murmured, quickly stuffing the soup pot back into the basket it came in.

[Baconwizard]

"I-I'm alright," Freylan said with a small smile, a little pleased and confused by Clivius's concern. "The sun doesn't come up over the mountains for a few hours... Y-you should go home, though." Freylan began to fold up the quilt that Clivius had spread out, admiring the pattern of the squares. It was old, like her own quilt, but it was soft. Looking back up at Clivius, Freylan let out a breath, allowing herself to relax. "Can we meet again tomorrow?"

[zapdragon555]

Clivius nodded, then looked to the quilt and blinked. "Ah, y-you don't have to... th-thank you," he said softly, chuckling sheepishly and picking up the small square of quilt, laying it in the basket over the pot. He looked up at her words, and his eyes lit up in a smile. "Yes, o-of course! I'd love to..." he said with a nod, looking over at the telescope. "I'm... not certain if I'll be able to sneak out with that, though. I'll be sure to bring it as soon as I can, though," he said with a small nod of conviction, standing up with a soft wince to begin taking down the telescope. "I'll bring some more of my books, though, i-if you like..."

[Baconwizard]

"Oh, th-that's perfectly fine," Freylan murmured, watching as Clivius began to take the telescope down. It was amazing, how it could slide into such a compact shape, not even close to the size it was before. Freylan was half convinced it was magic. Her light brown eyes seemed to almost light up the dark at the mention of Clivius's books, and she leaned forward despite herself. "Yes, please!" She gasped, a smile growing on her face. "I-I'd love to see some new books!"