Aotearoa

[Trillian]

"I imagine so," he replied to Owen for the first set of questions.  "I don't know, I haven't turned anybody into a performing monkey for me," he said frankly, wondering what Owen was thinking.

[Existentially Odd]

"So you've never tested it out, tried to make someone do something against their nature - like a nun have sex or something - to see if they can ever have any free will?" Owen expanded.

[Trillian]

Vincent frowned darkly.  "No," was his curt reply.

[Existentially Odd]

"Do you think they would?  I mean, I'm just trying to figure out if there's any way a person would ever be able to break a vampire's mental hold or not," he clarified, sensing that Vincent disapproved of his line of questioning.

[Trillian]

"It would depend on the strength of the vampire," Vincent said, relaxing.  They were just questions after all, just talk.  But he knew of so many vampires with the ability and the inclination to mess with people just for fun.  He wouldn't introduce another to those ranks and didn't believe it of Owen, who was an emotional and compassionate young man.  "That's the difference between charming and dominating.  There's free will, when a person is charmed into doing your bidding.  There's none, when you dominate them.  Just as well it's a learned skill that takes a lot of practise," he warned, "because those vampires who have the drive and focus tend not to get their jollies from dominating unsuspecting victims."  He smiled, next.  "It's a matter of convenience, to charm and dominate.  It's more respectful and interesting to simply speak with humans as they are naturally.  Like I do, with you."

He'd already told and promised Owen that he wouldn't mess with his mind in any way, and he wondered if the youth finally understood the weight of the promise - shouldered easily by Vincent, and something that could be abused by others.

[Existentially Odd]

He was beginning to see the precarious position humans could be in when it came to associating with vampires and it had him nodding solemnly.  The message he was receiving was that younger vampires might be okay to be around, but that older ones were a danger in so many more ways than he'd ever anticipated.  In so many more ways that Vincent wasn't.  He looked at his handsome friend with renewed appreciation after these thoughts, summoning a smile of gratitude even though he didn't explain the nature of it.

He then took a moment to type a note about being wary of older vampires at the bottom of his document's page but thought of something else even as he did.  "There's no way a human could ever know how old a vampire is, right?  Like, there's not ever going to be something obvious that happens to them after a century or something, is there?  The human's just taking their chances that the vampire they're talking to isn't going to rip into their head and make them do whatever they want or even just kill them, if they're of a mind to, aren't they?" he mumured thoughtfully.

[Trillian]

"A perceptive human would be able to identify vampires easily, but not their age, no.  It's always better to be respectful of all vampires, and better still to not socialise with them.  There are councils in place, in different cities, that rule over vampires.  I've come across a few, and there's a peculiar setup of a kind back home, where there are a number of creatures ruling together with a vampire at the head.  Regardless of their declared intentions to protect humankind, I still noted that there was no human representative in their mixed ranks, and that to me shows their arrogance."  He placed his hand upon Owen's leg, over the robe, and his fingers curled gently and straightened, liking the softness of the material and staring at Owen for a moment before continuing in a much softer voice.  "Another vampire would smell my scent on you, and would likely leave you be in case I was older than them, and protective of you."

[Existentially Odd]

Owen's smile was rueful as Vincent told him it was best not to socialise with vampires; there was no way he was following that directive, when his best friend was one.  He lowered his gaze to the laptop, eyebrows raised with surprise and made a note about the councils - yet another thing he'd been ignorant to, and in his home city!  When his leg was touched he looked back up at Vincent, instinctively shifting the laptop to balance on his other knee to allow the vampire better access to his pyjama-clad and bathrobe-swathed leg.  He didn't notice that his body also shuffled closer and turned slightly at the same time he moved the laptop, subliminally encouraging the contact and wanting to eliminate the distance between them.

"You have a scent?" he asked in surprise.  "What sort?  And how would you be protective of me?"

[Trillian]

"Everyone has a scent," Vincent said with a small chuckle.  "Not just your personal scent, but the smell that helps me and others identify you as human.  Likewise, vampires can smell or sense other vampires.  If a predator shows interest in you," he said, carefully selecting the word 'predator' so Owen wouldn't be too bedazzled by what vampires truly were (with the exception of his close friend, of course), "they'd probably get close enough to you to get my scent off you, and realise that uh, another vampire has laid claim, so to speak."  He was grinning now, wondering what Owen would make of that.  "I suppose it's a kind of territorial thing," he said, and did his best to unsuccessfully hide his growing smile.

[Existentially Odd]

Owen gave a breathy laugh and looked at Vincent wonderingly.  "Have you claimed me?" he teased, leaning his shoulder towards Vincent and grinning broadly.  He hadn't bothered to type this bit about scent yet, as he was quite fascinated with the idea that another vampire would leave him alone because Vincent 'claimed' him.  It would put a dampener on his eventual plan to play with a vampire who would show him just how enjoyable the feeding experience could be.  Fully enjoyable.  "Can I ever get unclaimed?"

[Trillian]

Vincent had almost exactly this type of conversation with Leigh, about wiping Vincent's scent off her so her vampire friends would be more interested in playing with her.

"Yes," he said honestly, removing his hand from Owen's knee and placing it onto his lap.  "It'd take a few showers, quicker with a spa visit, something like a salt scrub or mud-bath or whatever else they do.  You'd have to stop seeing me, too."

[Existentially Odd]

Owen's reaction was instant and obvious.  He wrinkled his nose and gave Vincent a disbelieving look, scoffing as he grabbed Vincent's arm back and hugged it against his body.  "As if that'll ever happen!" he declared.