A Vampire and his Anchor (Niksis & Ms Catailia)

[Niksis]

Vampires, where do they come from? Did they always walk among man? These are the questions that some of the nightwalkers ask themselves as they try to trace their heritage back to where it first began. Vampires descend from Caine, the first murderer, cursed by God. Caine Embraced three childer, who in turn Embraced thirteen. These were the beginnings of the 13 vampiric clans. With each subsequent Embrace, the childe is in a higher generation. The details behind Caine's crime is unknown even to this day. Rumors circulate, though they are just that, rumors. Vampires of the modern world have significant weaknesses, more so than if compared to their older brothers. Stakes do not kill vampires, but if a wooden stake impales a vampire through the heart, then he or she is paralysed until it is removed. Unlike what some movie projections say of the Kindred, Garlic is just a nuisance, a rumor created to throw off the Hunters of old. Sunlight though, this is far more fatal than anything else. Also called the Light of God, it is a part of their curse to never walk among God's chosen again. That is, unless a Kindred can find their anchor to God.

Los Angeles, the city of Angels. To this day Vampires couldn't tell you what it is about the city, be it it's name, it's inhabitants or something else. But Los Angeles drew the Undead to it like moths to a flame. Perhaps it was the thought of being closer to that which banished them so long ago? Regardless, the infernal political landscape of Los Angeles is unlike any that existed before the rebels’ imprisonment in the Abyss, and it is unusual even in the modern context granted to the demons by their mortal coils. The Los Angeles that the Kindred inhabit is one divided by two powerful courts and constantly rumbling with the furtive schemes of those outside the purview of both organizations. The original court, known simply as the Infernal Court of Los Angeles, has been in existence since the Kindred first began to return to Earth. At its head is Baroness Kishar, a straightforward Luciferan Scourge who prefers a face-to-face fight over under-handed skullduggery. This court has secured a significant power base in the city, and it is largely considered the “official” court there.

A second group of Fallen, however, led by the Fiend known as Lady Anat, has brazenly established what she calls the Blood Court of Los Angeles. Populated and governed largely by members of the Ravener faction, this court is quite different in outlook from the Infernal Court. Nonetheless, it actually shares a ruling member in common with that group, and two other opposing members of those groups are like-minded lovers who maintain frequent contact. There is no outright hostility between these two courts as of yet, mostly because the idea of two governing bodies claiming the same territory is such a bizarre concept to the Fallen that they do not quite know what to make of it. Members of both groups are working even now, though, to secure as much power and eminence as they can as insurance against the inevitable day when the courts come into open conflict and must vie directly against one another for supreme influence over the city.

Gilbert Lefèvre was one of these nightwalkers, a Vampire. He was, or is, a french aristocrat Embraced over nine centuries ago by an unknown sire. Gilbert had clawed his way up from the bottom, building his power base, earning allies, friends... and enemies. It had been paradise for him, his voice was heard at Court, his opinion weighed on the scales of decision. That is, until a few hours ago. Someone had found him, found his Lair. They had come for him, scores of Hunters had entered his sanctuary and slain everyone and everything. Gilbert had lost everything, he had gone from being one of the highest regarded Kindred in the City of Angels, to being nothing.

All of his losses paled compared to his Anchor. His power base he could rebuild. Allies could be made again and wealth was just material, but what he had lost of most value, was his Anchor. A woman, someone with a pure bloodline tracing back to Abel or Seth, the sons of God. Anchors was the main power of a Vampire, it was these humans that fueled the Kindred, made them stronger than most others. And Gilbert had found his Anchor, had kept her safe, or so he thought.

Here he was, on the sidewalk. Gilbert had caught a silver bullet to the shoulder before he managed to jump out the window from his twenty story apartment. It had been a rough landing, nothing that his body couldn't take, but it hadn't helped his situation either. The pain was searing through his body. A mixture of pain and anger, who had betrayed him to the Hunters? He would find out, he would get his revenge, but first, he needed to have this damn bullet removed. It hadn't been fatal, but the silver inside of him burned, almost boiling the blood around. It was painful, immensely so but he held it in out of risk of being heard by the Hunters still nearby. Luckily, he had managed to drag himself into a nearby alley, away from prying eyes and with shadows to hopefully hide him form whoever might look for him. Though, with the groaning of the burning pain, hearing him would be easy enough.

 

[Ms Catailia]

The night was a typical warm summer night. The air was thick with unusual humidity though and it felt stifling as she walked to work in her black fitted scrubs. Luckily she didn't live far from the hospital, unluckily she lived close enough that the gun shot that just rang out into the air and the shatter of glass near by was not unusual. Suddenly a chill came over her though, filling her body with an unease, and urge of some sort. Was this curiosity she was feeling? Who ever goes toward the sound of gunfire? It must have been a few blocks away and so she was sure she was safe, and yet suddenly she felt cold on such a warm evening. The hospital was just a few more blocks the opposite direction but for some reason her feet began leading her toward where the noise had come from. The city streets were still busy on the Friday evening, not many walking but plenty driving. She felt alone though, as though the world had faded away until she found the reason for this uncomfortable feeling inside of her. It was as though she had lost something valuable and she was searching for where it could have gone. Retracing steps she had never taken before.

Brianne Winters, or more well known and Bryn, was the average typical woman. Well, she liked to think of herself as a woman but at barely twenty-two, she still had so much left to learn about the world. She had been told often about how naive she was, about how she really shouldn't give so many people the benefit of doubt. She was the kind of girl that people worried about because she just didn't have it in her to see the bad in the world. Bryn didn't mind though. She enjoyed the wonders and mysteries of the world, and life had rewarded her handsomely for it. She believed as long as she was doing something to help, whether it be simple things like not passing judgement or paying it forward somehow, or by helping to save people's lives at the hospital she worked at. As long as she was helping the world in some way, she was content.

Bryn had lived in foster care most of her life. She didn't know who her parents had been and she didn't mind the constant bouncing around due to regulations and serious violations by her foster parents. She had seen awful things from drug abuse to sexual abuse, violence, cruelty, and the utter destruction of those who shared her rather miserable childhood. Bryn had always kept positive though and learned at a young age that as long as you held on, things did get better. She had been the nurturer of every family she lived with. She would be the one to stand up for the other kids, hold and sooth them when they were upset, mend them when they were hurt. She was the one who had made sure all her temporary brothers and sisters were cared for and loved. So she had known at a very young age that the medical profession was where she wanted to be, specifically as someone who worked closely with the patients. A nurse.

There had been many parents that had tried to adopt Bryn as she grew up, but they all fell through for one reason or another. Being the positive outlooker that she was, she considered that Fate had a different plan for her and she had counted herself thankful many times when she had been around to help her temporary siblings. She didn't like to imagine what would have happened had she not been there, but luckily there was no point in doing so because the present was all that mattered. The blonde never worried about the past, nor the future. What would come, would come. There was no other truth than that, so she never allowed herself to worry for too long. Life was meant to be lived in the moment, it could not be predicted. Bryn simply followed Fate's path.

That led her toward the corner in front of her but she heard something. Ignoring the urges to move toward where the gun shot had come from, green eyes looked down into the darkness of the alley beside her. She listened closely and heard heavy breathing, some groans of discomfort. Could it really be the gun shot victim? "Hello," she called out into the dark alley, squinting her eyes as she pulled her phone from her pocket to illuminate the alley with the blue of her screen. Her eyes widened with what she saw, the male sitting there with blood staining his shirt. He looked to be suffering. "Hang on." Quickly she changed to an app that turned a flashlight on and knelt down beside the man. "My name is Bryn, I'm a nurse from the local hospital. Could I please take a look at your wound? Its a gun shot wound, correct? If its clean entry I can easily remove it to save you from more discomfort. It looks like its not anywhere near anything lethal." Her voice was confident and clear with a soothing tone to it. She didn't want the male to panic, hoping to keep him calm and remove the bullet before calling an ambulance. The last thing that would be good for him was to put too much stress or panic on his injured body.

She quickly pulled her side shoulder bag off of her shoulder and reached in for a pair of gloves. She always made sure she was prepared with some things but now considered bringing a full on first aid kit from now out. All she had was some antiseptic, bandages, water, alcohol swabs and gloves, although for now that was all plenty necessary and she felt lucky to have ever lugged that stuff around in the first place. As if any part of this situation was lucky.

 

[Niksis]

Her tone was soothing, as if it alone could calm the mightiest of beasts, angelic even though perhaps only to his ears. Gilbert couldn't enjoy the serene nature of her tone for long though, before the burning pain of the silver bullet lodged into his shoulder overtook him again. She told him it wasn't lethal, a sentence that amused the Vampire somewhat, despite the pain. Of course it wasn't lethal. The silver wouldn't have killed him by itself, the nature of it was to burn, to cause discomfort. And it burned, a lot. Though the stranger offered to help him, while Gilbert would rather be without the help, for fear of her finding out too much, the truth was that he couldn't do it himself. He didn't have the tools to remove the bullet and the silver prevented his body from naturally rejecting the object and close around it. Instead, he adjusted where he sat, there was no reason to try and hide or prevent it anymore, might as well have this human help him, he could always feed on her or run off once she was done.

Propping himself against the brick wall behind him, Gilbert nodded and spoke. Despite his french roots, his tone had taken an american hint to it after so many years of exposure to it. "Thank you... Bryn." he said through gritted teeth. His entire body shivering from the pain and the only thing keeping him from going into shock is the unnatural resilience of his kind. "Just... nnng. Just remove the bullet." Gilbert said still through gritted teeth. It was only a matter of time before the Hunters would find him. And who knows what they'd do to her, if they found out she helped him.

Gilbert had come to America back with some of the very first settlers. Determined to exploit this 'New World' as they called it. It had so much promise, so many opportunities awaited those brave enough to seek it. Even to this day, America is considered the New World. Just like back then, it is now a place where Kindred come seeking power amongst their fellows. It had been what brought the french aristocrat turned Kindred to America as well, the promise of power. It had not been easy though, as others had the same thoughts as him, it was bloody, volatile and glorious. A political battlefield far more dangerous than any real one, where a single wrong word could spark a war. In fact, the was for independence was due to a misunderstanding between a Vampire in the New World and one England's many Princes. What had started as a minor conflict between two Vampires quickly engulfed the entire continent as well as England, France and Spain. Every subsequent war over the New World after that, and before that, was the works of some power hungry Vampire somewhere in the world, most wars were though few Mortal knew the truth.

Gilbert had been a french aristocrat, born to luxury and status. He had wanted for nothing in his youth and had every options in front of him. His educated reflected this, that is, even before he was turned he had been highly educated and intelligent, something that had only increased with each passing century. By all means, Gilbert had been an Ancient in the Vampire society, a fifth generation Vampire, four times removed from Caine the Murderer. Where most of the Vampires of today's world can call themselves thirteenth or twelfth generation. Though all of those years, all of that experience and power meant nothing now. Gilbert had nothing, well, aside from his own life of course. He would have to start anew, though first he had to survive the night.

It was in moments like these, moments of fatality, that your past flashes by you. All of your decisions, good and bad all come back. He saw it before him, all of the wars he had been a part of, the battles he had commanded personally through the centuries. The love he had felt, love that was fleeting and temporary, considering he would outlive any lover he had ever found. He saw his parents long gone, his Sire, wherever He might be these days. It all flashed by his eyes until it all culminated into one bright figure, a figure of pure light, a figure with wings sprouting from it's back. The features were hard to make out, the figure content with just watching though as the light faded, the figure's face became more visible, until it was entirely visible. With the light gone, the once bright figure was replaced by that of the innocent, naive and beautiful face of the Nurse before him. Had it been a sign? Or was it just a figment of his imagination. Gilbert didn't know, the only thing he did know, was that whoever this Bryn was, she had a draw to her. Like moths to a flame, he felt himself drawn to her, felt how his entire body seemed to physically have a need to be closer to the woman. She was like a magnet, pulling him in.

Gilbert had felt this before, this pull to his entire being. It had been a pull he had felt when he discovered his Anchor years and years ago. With her at his side, he had managed to carve out a good portion of Los Angeles for himself, perhaps it had been this that caught the attention of the Hunters, he wasn't sure. What he did know was that for a Vampire to find it's Anchor, that was rare. For a Vampire to have more than one Anchor in the world was even rarer and for a Vampire to find his Anchor in the same city as his first, that was nearing on impossible. Thought of what would have happened had he found both Anchors at the same time did cross his minds, thoughts that quickly faded once more as the pain of the bullet overtook his mind once more.

 

[Ms Catailia]

She couldn't believe how calm he was being, as most would be sobbing their head off and stuggling against her.  The blonde certainly wasn't going to complain though, this just made a difficult situation a little easier. Glad her hair was already pulled up in a bun since she was on her way to work, Bryn slipped on her gloves. She had set her phone in on the ground so there was still light but she could have her hands free. "Let me help you with your shirt," she said with her gentle voice before reaching toward the bloodied white button up. She was careful, yet thorough in her removal of his buttons, slowly seeing all that muscle hidden behind the fabric come into view. If she hadn't been so focused and professional she may have taken a moment to really appreciate his form. Not bothering to remove it off his arm, since that would probably hurt his shoulder more, she simply brushed her gloved hands over his skin to push it to the side some.

"Grab my phone. I know its going to be hard, but I need you to hold the light up for me so I can see easier," she explained as she grabbed one of alcohol swabs and unwrapped it. "This might burn." Bryn had no idea how ironic that phrase was as she gnetle wiped away some blood to try and see the wound clearer. Luckily the bullet hadn't gotten lodged too deep but she still wished she had some tweezers since taking the shiny piece of metal out would be much more painful with her fingers. "You got lucky. Was it not close range? It didn't seem to get very far into your shoulder." What was that smell? It was as though his flesh was burning or something. Was there something on the bullet searing his flesh? Those concerns just made her work faster, though she kept her thoughts to herself so as to not scare him. Bryn quickly prepared a bandage patch with antiseptic and set it on her knee for once she got the bullet out. Leaning in close to him now, she teased the flesh before working her fingers to draw the bullet closer to the surface. Carefully and as gently as she could, she slipped a finger in to the wound to draw it out the rest of the way until it made a tinking sound as it fell to the ground.

As soon as it was out she grabbed the bandage she prepared and pressed it to the wound, intending it to only be temporary while they waited for an ambulance. "All done, you did great," she spoke, trying to give him an assuring smile as she removed her gloves. "Now let me call for an ambulance and the doctors can patch you up and send you on your way." She spoke as though they wouldn't hold him there, wait until the police could question him. She spoke as though bullets to the body were as normal of a wound as tripping and scraping your knee. She had no reason to assume he had been involved in something illegal though, or something truly dangerous. Maybe he had just been a victim of circumstance. He was dressed rather well, maybe someone had robbed him and fled before she got there. That seemed the most likely in her mind.

Foster care in Los Angeles was never an easy road. Those green eyes had seen many things in her life, many cruelties and shocking things. One thing she had learned from all that though, was that the world preferred surprises over clichés. Everyone led such complex lives, complicated by their own decisions and surroundings that it was hard to tell right from wrong. Because of that, Bryn had chosen to look more toward the positive answer than the negative. Most would choose to hate the world and trust no one, but whether the good in people was just easier for her to see, or she had been lucky in the people she had come in contact with, the blonde had seen enough good in the world to keep believing in it. After all, it led her to situations like now where she was able to help the injured male before her. He had been all alone in an alley, maybe scared, and she had found him and helped him. How many other people in the world got to be able to help people like that? It was something she lived for.

 

[Niksis]

Being calm was not a problem, once you've lived for nearly a thousand years you become extremely patient and have seen some shit. A bullet to the shoulder was nothing, compared to some of the things he had happen to him. Though thanks to his unnatural resilience, not a single scar existed to tell of his past. Not that this all helped with the pain though, that searing pain was stinging through him, burning him to his core though he would not show such to a Human, that would be weakness, and a Vampire wouldn't show weakness to anyone. Once his shirt was unbuttoned some, his hardened, pale marble chest was shown. A body hardened by centuries of physical activity and various wars. And as she moved his shift about, Gilbert shifted slightly where he sat, giving her an easier time moving the cloth aside.

Gilbert reached for the phone as instructed, this human was willingly helping him, the least he could do is help her, help him. Groaning again, he spoke "Just put your finger in and pull it out." of course, to a Vampire that made sense, for a normal human, such a thing would probably only make things worse. In contrast with the searing pain of the silver bullet, the cool liquid she poured over the wound only eased the pain, instead of adding to it. When she reached for her phone, Gilbert reached out and wrapped his icy fingers around her wrist "No need for an ambulance. Just get me to my feet." he said, using his grip at the young nurse to stand back up. In a single, swift, unnatural movement, Gilbert reached for her wallet. He wanted to know more of this woman, find out who she was and where she lived. She had helped him and was in danger now, not to mention the pull he felt, she was special, he knew.

He looked her in the eyes, staring deep into her soul for a long second. As if searching for something, someone. Then, just as quickly as his world had crumbled, he bolted into the darkness of the alleyway. His speed unnatural, a blink, that was all the time one had before he was suddenly gone, with her wallet in hand. He needed to get away, far away from the Hunters that was most likely looking for him. Though before he disappeared, he did have time to say two words "Thank you." And then he was gone, as if he had never been there, aside from the blood on her gloves and the intricate silver bullet on the ground. Those two things were the only proof of his existence, let alone his presence.

 

[Ms Catailia]

Everything had moved so quickly after she took her phone from him that she barely had time to comprehend what she had seen. He told her not to call and ambulance. She helped him up but when she was about to argue about calling, there was just a blur of him, the air shifting around her and the lingering smell of his cologne. She had heard him say thank you but by the time she managed to blink her eyes rapidly, sturggling to understand what just happened, there was no one there. The alley was empty and quiet and she was suddenly all alone. Her green orbs looked down at the bloody gloves and shine of the bullet on the ground but other than that there was no evidence anyone had been there at all. Bryn was left with an odd sensation, one she could only imagine was abandonment. It was an odd feeling to have for someone she wasn't even quite sure had been there. How many people in the world could just disappear like that? He couldn't possibly been real.

Then whose blood did she have on her gloves and where had the bullet come from? She knelt down and carefully grabbed the inside out gloves, using them to pick up the still blood soaked bullet. The blood looked almost as though it was burned into the carved edges of it. If her phone hadn't just played the tune for her five minute alarm, she would have been lost in thought for much longer. "Oh no!" Quickly she wrapped the gloves around the bullet and stuffed it into her bag. She would never make it on time and the doctor on duty today was always so mean to the nurses. Putting her bag on her shoulder she quickly left the alley but stopped and stared in the direction of the feeling she had had earlier. Nothing was compelling her to go that way any longer. She wondered what that had been, that urge, and if it had anything to do with the man who just disappeared. Maybe she was too tired, working too hard. Maybe it was just a figment of her imagination or she had blacked out. But she remembered the cold feeling of his hand around her wrist and she couldn't help but think there was something more than her involved here. Who was she to believe the impossible couldn't be possible?

Bryn had been incredibly distracted at work that night. By the time she got home after her fourteen hour shift she was too exhausted to think about what had happened. With her black curtains drawn, she allowed sleep to take her. She had slept longer than usual since she knew she had the day off. It was near dinnertime by the time she rolled out of bed. She spent until early morning looking things up online and trying to clean the blood off the bullet so she could see the designs easier. Neither came up with any clues and she was beginning to think maybe she had imagined it all after all, maybe the gloves and bullet had been there before and she had just stumbled across it. But none of her theories made sense. The blonde had even gone back to the alley but there were no clues there either. Everything came up empty and she was beginning to feel hopeless. She had done everything she could think of. She had search the recent police reports, she had called the hospitals in the area to check for anyone with a bullet hole that had been admitted, she had search a hundred different ways of describing the bullet. All that ever came up with silver bullets though was vampires and vampire hunters. Not that that theory was anymore farfetched than any of the others she had thought up.

She was just wandering now the streets now. It was coming on two am and she was so caught up in her thoughts about the night before that she didn't even notice how late it had become. Another night where the air was awfully warm and the air was thick. She was glad to be wearing navy pleated shorts and a navy and white horizontal striped babydoll t shirt to combat against the warmth of the night. The short length of the shorts and the blue flats she wore made her legs appear longer than the 5'4" petite girl she was. She never paid much mind to her appearance though, her blonde hair somewhat messy as it lay down around her shoulders to her midchest. Her mind was distracted by all the possibilities but the only one she didn't want to entertain was that she had been in shock. Considering she found out her wallet was missing from her shoulder bag before she had gone out this night, she wasn't sure if maybe she had simply wiped the memory from her mind because she had been mugged. Her lack of injuries made it easy to push the thought out of her mind but the missing wallet was hard to ignore.

 

[Niksis]

The night was still young for Gilbert and his kind when he finally found a safe haven for the day. Not that he would need it yet, but with his own Haven destroyed he would have to find somewhere, anywhere that would give him shelter for the nuisance of day. It was here that he thumbed through the wallet he had stolen, "Who are you?" he said, though mostly to himself as he looked through her ID cards. "Brianne Winters" he mouthed her name in a whisper, knowing her name would be the first step in locating her. "What do we have here? A receipt?" he continued as he found an old receipt from a small store. Assuming, based on what was bought, the store would be somewhere nearby to where she'd live. Standing from where he had seated himself, Gilbert began to head in the direction of this store, hoping to find out more.

The shadows aided him as he moved from one to the other, he knew that the Hunters would not be satisfied until they had found his body, something Gilbert would do anything and everything to prevent from happening, naturally. Swiftly, he allowed his unnatural speed to carry him across the city until he eventually found himself at the store marked by the receipt. It was a quaint little shop run by some local Indian, nothing standing out from the rest of the neighborhood. Having nothing better to go off of, Gilbert began asking around, showing them pictures of Bryn in the hopes of one of them recognizing her. "Bryn? Yeah, she lives right over there." one of the women in the store pointed out, "Why? Is she in some sort of trouble?" she followed up, concern in her eyes. Though quickly, Gilbert shot the idea down with a winning smile "Not at all, she just dropped her wallet, I'm returning it." it was only half a lie, really.

Using the information he had gotten, Gilbert made his way into the locked apartment, she wasn't in, maybe she was at work? She looked like she had been headed to work. Deciding that waiting was better than trying to find out where she worked, Gilbert made himself at home. Slowly, he walked to the bathroom to wash himself, it had been a rough night and the Hunters had caught him by surprise. The shirt he had worn when she had found him had been ditched in place of a purple one while he still wore his dress pants and fancy shoes. "Good evening, miss Winters." he greeted her from the darkness of her living room the moment she walked into the room.

 

[Ms Catailia]

After letting her thoughts consume her for a few more minutes, she figured there was no point in wandering about aimlessly. Maybe she should just let it go, after all, she had exhausted all of her options and was still left with a mystery. Some rest would do her good, after all she worked the next night. As she made her way home, Bryn wondered why she was so concerned with finding him as it was. Could she being trying to find peace of mind? Was she worried about his condition? Or did it have something to do with that terribly lonely feeling she had felt when he suddenly disappeared? Maybe it was just as simple as wanting her wallet back. As she drew nearer to her apartment, she made a mental note to call and cancel all her cards. She'd have to get a new license as well. Should she make a report with the police?

She froze as soon as she was about to go up the steps to her apartment building. There was a strange feeling inside her, she couldn't quite place what it was. It was something soothing, comparable to coming home after being away for a long time. It was a warm comfort that she wasn't sure she had felt before. Could she really be that relieved to come home? Bryn couldn't explain the feeling any other way but it was drawing her into the building, up the flights of stairs until she was standing outside her door. Someone is in my apartment, she thought to herself with a hand resting on the door knob. Taking a deep breath, she opened the door that should have been locked and stepped into the darkness of the apartment. His voice filled her ears and left her filled with that strange feeling, so much stronger now that she was in her apartment. Or was it because she was closer to him?

Slowly the blonde hung her purse on the hooks on the back of the door, closing the door behind her. She knew she should be scared but for some reason the stranger that she had removed a bullet from standing in the apartment that should have been locked didn't seem to bother her. It was such a confusing feeling as her primal fight or flight instincts were all but forgotten for a strange new feeling. Her home had always had a comforting feel about it, a small and simple one bedroom apartment. She had furnished it with plush furniture, light colored wood and somewhat of a natural vibe. It was meant to relax her after working stressful shifts at work and now it seemed to do its job better than it had ever done. She reached out and flipped the light switch to set her eyes on the man, confirming that his voice was indeed the same. So he wasn't just a figment of her imagination...or maybe she was crazier than she though. "and who are you? I didn't quite catch your name yesterday before you did your disappearing act." Her voice was calm, as if talking to a friend and not the stranger that had a bullet wound yesterday. "How's your shoulder?"

 

[Niksis]

The strange feeling had been shared between them, somewhat. Gilbert had felt it before, as if something missing was suddenly being filled. As if a need and a want, a craving was fulfilled. He could sense her nearing and the closer she got to the door, the stronger this feeling became. Like something he had been without for an eternity was coming back to him. And when she finally turned on the light, that alabaster colored skin of his was a bright contrast to his dark purple shirt and long black hair. His teeth flashing in an almost blindingly bright flash of white as he smiled her way "My name is Gilbert Lefévre." the Vampire said and despite his american accent, the french one took over when he said his name. "And I never got to thank you for saving my life." Gilbert continued as he walked towards Bryn with her wallet in hand.

"I believe this is yours." He offered as he held out her wallet. He had not meant to steal from her, but simply wanted to find out where she lived and who she was. She might not know it yet, but she had just become one of the most important Mortals in all of Los Angeles. "My shoulder? It's fine. Barely a scratch." he grinned at this. Once the bullet had been removed, the silver no longer aggravating his skin and flesh, the hole had begun to seal itself rapidly. "Lovely apartment you have here, if a bit small." Gilbert commented as he began to walk around the room, observing and looking. Going through any pictures or portraits, books, movies, everything. He was cataloging everything she owned, trying to figure out what sort of person she was. She was his Anchor, he could feel the unnatural pull coming from her, as if her body wanted his. He resisted it, she was far too important to scare away, not now. Instead, he took in everything that was in her room and saved it in his minds eye.