Settling In

"Vampire's aren't so bad; ending their time on Earth would cause many problems."

He had been friends with vampires for years. The entire pack and been on friendly terms with their supposed enemies.

Giacinto had been his closest friend. The one that showed him that not all vampires were bad, even if they had questionable morals.

"It's the Elves that need to cark it."

"Why Elves?"

He asked eying the man curiously.
Aeker had a moment of emotion but calmed down quickly, it was a rarity that anything managed to get him worked up at all.

Though the history of his family had long been splattered with the blood of humans and immortals alike.

"Because they're cruel, selfish bastards," he answered simply.

He had loathed Elves for years.

At first it was on behalf of Alek who didn't seem to have any hatred towards them even after all they had done.

And then on behalf of Coilean.

And then Moe.

"They've caused a great amount of pain to my family and for that I cannot forgive them."

"I see, it's nice to see you have passion for your family same as me, even if we are at opposite ends of the spectrum."

He replied with an affirming nod, Aodh clearly loved his family, Aeker clearly did not.

He did not dislike this man, despite his rather appalling greeting him seemed like a pleasant enough man.

"I take it that you are apart of Aleksandr's pack?"
He said warmly, remembering the man he had met so briefly, the alpha wolf.

"I have nothing but my family. My father and brother and niece and dog. They're all have."

Without them he'd be nothing but a lost, meaningless man with a flashy car and a shitty attitude. His family was what made him whole.

"Aye. Alek is my father."

Aeker nodded softly, a nice sentiment to have, family.

"You are not much like your father, I'll give you that."
This man was nothing like the collected, polite gentlemen he had sat and had a drink with, nothing at all.

Probably why Alexis had taken interest in him, she had little patience for polite men who would not challenge her and dote on her hand and foot, those were the ones who did not live very long once she got bored of them.

"My brother's the one that took after Alek."

Though Coilean still had times when he acted like he used to, he was now very much like Alek. He was calm, cool and collected. Nothing like he used to be.

"I'm my own being and, though I have been influenced, I'm still very much the same man I was when I met Alek eighteen hundred and twenty years ago." He couldn't believe that it had been that long. He had just turned eighteen hundred and forty seven and he had been twenty seven when he was turned...

Time flew by when you had forever to live.

Aeker chuckled softly

"You're a lot older than your demeanor would lead one to believe, Aodh."

Slowly he was beginning to see why his sister had taken interest in him, he certainly was interesting though he could not help but wonder how deep her affections ran.
Was he another play thing or something more, he'd have to confront her about this later.

Heaven knew this one could not be devoured like the others, not unless she had a death wish.

"It's a defence mechanism."

His lips curled. "People underestimate the young. The younger I act the more people underestimate me and the easier t is to take the upper hand should I need to."

Aodh's life has been full of fighting and surviving.

He rarely let his guard down. He always had some form of defence should something happen. Whether it be a hidden weapon, his Lycanthory or his act, there was always something.

"I see, I've not had much interaction with lycans, I would of thought that they were more like wolves.
Using intimidation to warn off any would be enemies."

He replied, stroking his neck slightly as he thought on the matter.

"I do what you can to survive."

His lips curled into a dark smirk.

"And I can intimidate just fine when I want to. But again with the act."

"I'm friendly, flirty and open." His eyes flickered open and the dark expression morphed into a light, wide grin, eyes sparkling.

"No one would think that I would be capable of intimidation."

Almost everything the Lycan did was to cover his tail and make things easier for him.

"Deceptive." little scamp, keeping the last of his reply to himself considering the male was twice his age.

Now he could see it, plain as day, his sister knew he was hiding another side of him, curiosity would definitely be playing a major factor in all this.

"Curiosity killed the cat." He mumbled to himself quietly, not meaning to have said it out loud.

"Is there any other way to be in this world?"

His tongue ran over his lips as he turned his gaze back to the high branches of the tree.

"It's a dog-eat-dog world. To survive is the greatest goal. I'll stop at nothing to do just that."

His eyes flickered back to the man at his murmur, arching an orange brow curiously.

Aeker shook his head, dismissing his little slip up.

"I see, that's a very animalistic view point.
Can you live contentedly by merely surviving?
To survive is to exist, nothing more, surely truly living would bring far more satisfaction?"

The vampire found himself in solitude a lot of the time, far too much time to think and he often talked far more philosophically then he meant to.

"Strip a man of everything that he is and all that's left is an animal and it's instincts to survive." Many times had he been stripped to nothing more than instinct.

"It would, Aeker, but it's not always possible."

He stretched out against the tree. "I live when I can but other times I merely survive."

Aeker nodded, he had seen those animalistic instincts at work when Alexis got lost in her insanity.

"Then I hope for your sake Aodh, that you get more time to live.
What use is living for eternity if you can not enjoy it."

He replied with a soft chuckle, his features smoothing until he was smiling warmly at the man.

"I enjoy what I have," he murmured, returning the smile with a soft one of his own.

"I just don't have everything that I want to enjoy."

He wanted a family. A lover, children. Good friends. A little yappy dog that'd never shut up.

He wanted to be human again and live like the average human with their petty problems and shitty jobs and happy moments in the midst of the swirling grey monotones of boring life.

"Why not?"

Aeker asked flatly, there were so few things that was unobtainable for them.

"Your eternity is not as restrictive as mine, I don't see why you can't have everything you desire."

It was true, he would never see the sun, he did not blend in with human society and even if he did as the sun went down so much of that world was swiftly locked away.

"Someone that will love me, flaws and all - and trust me there are a lot of them - won't just magically appear."

"Neither will humanity."

He gave a quiet chuckle. "I don't have everything want to enjoy because some things I want to enjoy are impossible for me to have."

Aeker shook his head softly.

"Impossible for you to have or are you denying yourself them?"

He asked, raising a quizzical eyebrow at the man, the vampire could see no just reason why he could not have what he wanted.

"I apologize if I am being blunt, it is rare that I sit and talk with anyone."

"A little of both," he replied truthfully.

Aodh waved a dismissive hand. "It's fine. Blunt is my middle name." At times Aodh could be pretty damned blunt himself. He didn't mind people asking questions about him or digging for answers to questions they hadn't asked.

"I don't usually sit and talk like this myself."

"What are you punishing yourself for?"
There had to be a reason he would feel the need to deny himself the pleasures he desired in life'

"I suppose it is indeed." Aodh did not pull punches, he had asked him quite openly about his relationship with his sister after all, not something that usually comes up in polite conversation.

"I must admit it makes for a nice change."
He said with a subtle nod.

He shrugged. "A lot."

Aodh had royally fucked up numerous times in his life. He'd been the bad guy and the victim. He'd done things to others that he was so ashamed of that he'd tried to block the memories.

"But sometimes I don't think its so much punishing as hiding."

"Hiding, I see."
He could relate to that, for almost 700 years he had hidden in his sisters shadow, to afraid to do what had to be done.
No one understood hiding more than he did.

He gave a soft hum and looked back at the man, there was much more to him then he would let on.

"You can't hide forever."
He replied matter-of-factually

"I can try."

His silver eyes turned to Aeker then hardened to steel.

"The last time I stopped hiding and shared my feelings with someone, they threw them in my face."

He shook his head.

"Never again."