Faolan made no reply to teh older vampire as he left. he stared after the other for a while though, listening to him enter his study and then closing the door. He sighed to himself before going over to the window and peering outsite. It was still dark so there wasn't that much to see. That would be true for a human but thanks to his vampiric senses he could see as clearly as if it had been mid day and the outside world flooded with bright sunlight. He bit his lip, staring out at the outside world, internally debating with himself whether it was worth the risk to atempt to make a run for it. The other had seemed quite firm in his belief that Faolan would need to be trained in some way to handle his abilities and taught their ways and it might be nice to have someone to fill in the gaps in his knowledge but he was an independant person, well vampire now, and the thought of being tied to someone for so long did not sit well with him, not at all.

He took a little while exploring the house, noting each little feature. There was something subtle everywhere and nothing appeared to be simply there for the sake of it. Everything had an extra texture, slight hint of an image just barely visible, a slight sound just on the edge of hearing. It was incredible. Everything in the house played on his still developing senses, so much so that he felt that even in this short time he was learning how to use them more effectively, picking up smaller sounds than he would normally, using his eyes to pick up every tiny detail of a small portrait in wood that would look like the normal grain of the wood to any observing human. It was incredible. Whoever had decorated this house had to be one of their own kind. No human could achieve this level of mastery.

He found the front door easily enough and hesitated a moment before pushing it open carefully, satisfied that it was quiet enough that the other would not hear it. He made to slip out into the night but something blocked his way. He frowned, pressing his hand against what seemed to be an invisible barrier. His eyes narrowed as he pressed a little harder but whatever it was did not budge. So the other didn't trust him and had made sure he couldn't escape, giving him no choice but to stay here, effectively a prisoner. Well if Warren was to be the jailor then he would be the prisoner, at least for now. So far the other had been nothing but friendly and welcoming, seemingly quite open and willing to accept him into his home but there really was no way to tell if the other had other motives lying in wait beneath the surface.

Well it appeared he would find out what those motives were since he was now trapped here. He shut the door again, doing his best not to slam it, before turning away and venturing back up the corridor towards Warren's study.

Warren could feel Faolan testing the door wards as he did. It was like a gentle touch in his mind whispering front door. The ritual was finished but his work for the night was not fully done. He had much more to do and if Faolan was anything like Warren was when he had been of that age then he was going to try to get into the studio soon. Drawing up energy he warded his studio door and then set to working the rest of the spells he had set down. He did not want to have to hunt down his prodigal child each time the young vampire got it in his head that he did not want to be here for the rest of his expected human life. Young ones these days just did not understand that fifty to a hundred years was just a drop in the bucket compared to what they would be doing.

He could feel the power growing as he called on the dark powers as his friend called it. A small snicker escaped his mouth as the last syllable escaped from his lips. The lights from the windows dimmed as the lines light with a deep violet light burst from the lines he had written for this spell. Wind picked up from nowhere and wrapped around him binding his arms to his body and forcing his head up. Some days he wished that he could do this spell like Vincent did but he had never gotten a grip on it that well. The power flowed up his arms then it sank into his veins. He would have screamed from the pain but his voice was lost in the power. No breath would pass through his lips till this rite was done. One day Vin I am going to lean your way, this is just too much. the power pulled him up above the floor and then his limbs snapped out spread eagle as the power ripped from his body. He fell like a puppet with his strings cut to the floor as the motes of light disappeared into the darkness. They would form the bound he needed so he could find his new charge if he ran.

It seemed like days latter but he know it was only a few moments when he finely got the ability to move back again. Sitting up he saw that the spell had wiped the writing clean off the floor. “so much for the last spell.” His voice crocked out only showing to him how much he could not have done that last spell even if it had not been wiped from the floor.

((I cant time skip them untill we talk about what happens in that time… unless it is just a time skip of a few days.))

Faolan frowned as he stood outside the door to the study. He was sure that he had just heard a crash from within, almost like a body falling to the floor. He reached out for the handle of the study but hesitated to go in. oh he wasn't scared of the other vampire, not that he would admit to anyone, least of all himself, but something didn't feel right.

Growling to himself in annoyance he changed the angle of his hand and rather than grasping the door handle as he had originally intended he reached out and rapped sharply on the solid wood of the door. What was the other doing in there? Did it have something to do with the fact that he couldn't seem to leave the house? Questions flitted through his mind like birds flitting from branch to branch in the summer but he pushed them away for the moment, focusing on the door and listening for any sounds within. He debated whether to call out but in the end decided against it and instead rapped on the wooden door again, this time adding a bit more pressure. He was careful not to use too much force though, aknowledging that he was not yet fully in control of his strength and not wanting to accidentally knock the thing off it's hinges. That had happened too many times for him to count and it was something he would rather avoid if at all possible.

Wavering his hand he called back the power blocking the door before trying to stand up. he got to his feet but only barely. Still a bit wobbly he pushed the rug over the circle and sat in the only chair in the room. A knock sounded drawing him back to reality a bit faster then her would have liked. Grumbling he stood slowly to walk to the door. I need to remember to not over tax myself now that I have a child in the house. He needs not know that I can be weakened. Taking a deep breath he closed his eyes and composed himself, he picked up a cane just for the looks before opening the door a crack and slipping through to stand in front of the door. “what can I do for you Faolan? Did I not say that the studio was off limits to you?” With that he slowly walked to the front door and stepped into the night. “it is time we started to teach you what you need to know.”

****************
Twelve years had passed since that night, twelve years of Faolan testing him at ever turn, questioning why they did what they did and why they did not just do what they wanted. Tonight was their first night in a new city and hunting in a new place. He watched as Faolan walked among the well to do in the hotel sitting room. There were not to many here but enough to keep his interest and to provide them food for a time. He was getting better at picking them and leading them to a darken area where he could feed without fear of being seen but Warren felt that there was still much for him to learn, he was not going to be one of the ones that got out of the Awakening stage quickly.

Faolan looked quite nice in his new suit, they had gotten it for him when they had stopped on the train here. the need to keep up with the time becoming a stronger need as the years started to change fashion for men more quickly. Warren could remember a time when one could use the same suit over and over again till it was falling apart before any one would notice the age. Now they changed the cut of it every few years it seemed, a tuck here, another pocket there. Now any one with an eye to fashion would see the age. He twisted his mustash up into the little loops that were going out of fashion but he loved so much. He was going to have to give them up in a year or two.

“may I get you a drink sir?” the waiter had walked up beside him without him hearing the man. Looking up he was startled to see a pair of golden eyes. He had not thought to see those eyes ever again. Looking closely he saw the glint of recognition in them. He smiled a broad smile. “I have the house special that you might like.” He held out a bottle that any one with a vampires nose would know was blood wine, a special vantage that very few could get their hands on this side of the Pond.

“By the gods Vin how are you doing?” he nodded to the wine and then the glass. “I had thought you went back to Oxford.”

Discretely Faolan pulled at teh sleeve of his new suit. It was comfortable enough but still not to his taste, too noticable although in this environment he suposed it made him almost invisible. That didn't change the fact that he wasn't a fan. He hadn't appeared to age a day since his turning fifteen years ago, twelve of them spent in the care of Warren, and as far as he could tell he hadn't aged a day, his body in a sort of stasis so taht he never appeared older than twenty two, the age he had been when he was sired. A small sigh passed through his lips at teh thought before it was pushed to the back of his mind. Now was not the time to think on such things; now was the time to select his victim so taht he could feed properly. He was hungry and the sooner he found someone the better.

He scanned the crowd around him discretely, the men in their newly afshionable suits and the women in elegant dresses that seemed to have gotten shorter since he was turned, showing more skin than was customary a few years ago. it was all due to the changing fashion he suposed but he didn't really care as long as he got a good feed. So far no one had caught his eye and he was beginning to get a little annoyed. He had just gotten used to hunting in their previous area when they'd moved here and so far he was not enjoying the change.

"Hey," came a voice from behind. "Haven't seen you around here before." Faolan turned around and his eyes landed on the man standing behind him. He was tall, about half a head taller than Faolan, with dark brown hair and laughing blue-grey eyes. he was wearing trousers and a shirt of the current fashion but over that he wore a millitary coat, his eyes catching the emblem of the Air Force before returning to teh man's face. So this one was millitary hmm? Interesting.

"I'm new," he replied smoothly. "Faolan, Faolan Aeron." An eyebrow was raised at his name but he'd grown used to that. It was quite a common response.

"Interesting name," the other commented, brushing it off. "Captain Nick Cutter." He held out a hand and Faolan shook it. There was a slight hint of an accent in the other's voice, possibly from one of the more southern states. It didn't really matter though. The other seemed to be the most interestng human here tonight and that was all Faolan cared about at the moment. He glanced towards Warren and saw him in conversation with someone although from this distance he couldn't tell who so he turned his attention back to teh human and offered a charming smile of his own.

"Pleased to meet you, Captain Cutter," he drawled.

“I had planned to but something came up and I got a job as a PI.” Vincent sat down next to Warren and poured the wine glass’s full. “ but that was almost forty years ago. I see you have yourself a new one.” Vincent barely nodded at Faolan as they watched him strike up a conversation with the human. They both watched silently as he seemed to dance around the human trying to find a way into getting him alone.

“he was one I found, he is turning out to be quite good at some things but I still have to watch him when he feeds. I hope that a change of city might help him gain confidents so that I don’t have to keep an eye on him.” Reaching out he touched Vincent’s hand before pulling back. It had been far too long since they had both seen each other. “Have you found someone worthy of the blood?” before Vincent could answer he went on. “I am finding it harder and harder to find someone that will take us as we are and not laugh at us or pull a gun. You know I am getting quite tired of so many people with guns these days. Its becoming harder to keep a good suit. Can you believe that just a few nights ago I was gunned down for…” he leaned in close to Vincent before whispering. “Performing a hit on Capone’s turf?” Vincent raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “I know, me performing a hit. I was just stunned.”

“well Warren times are changing and if you don’t start changing with them then your going to accept the true death sooner.” Was all Vincent said before taking a swig of the wine. A few of the patrons gave him a dirty look weather it was from him taking a drink of whine when he seemed to be a waiter or that he had disrespected the wine by swigging it Warren could not tell nor did he mind. There was very little chance that Vincent was actually a waiter here. looking back at Faolan he wondered if Faolan had noticed that he had been picking more men as of late. Something in him stirred but he forced it down. There was no reason for him to be feeling that way about who Faolan took as his food, they were just food it was not like he was spending more time with them then he should.

“well I should find out how my child is doing now that he seems ready to take the young man off. Thank you for the drink Vin, maybe we will see each other around.” Vincent nodded as he took away the bottle and glasses, he disappeared into the crowd before Warren’s eyes. that man is one of the most memorable yet unremarkable men out there. I really wished he had taken me up on my offer that one time. Maybe faolan… Shaking his head he tried to drive the thought from his mind. He would never take advantage of Faolan that way.

"So what brings you here?" Cutter asked curiously, tilting his head as he gazed at Faolan. "We don't get many travelers coming through here. Where're you from?" Hmm...so this human was a nosy one eh? Well that was no problem. He'd grown much better at lying over the last few years. Not that he'd been bad before, just not brilliant.

"The area where I lived before was becoming unsuitable," he replied vaguely. There were many reasons that the captain could probably think of and he would naturally asume one of Faolan didn't say it directly. The depression taht had fallen over the country a few years ago was still ripe and many humans were finding it harder and harder to stay above the bread line. He suposed that their kind was lucky in taht respect; they didn't have to worry about starving because there wasn't enough to eat or enough money to buy what they needed but it was still noticable and as the depression took its tole many humans turned to...other means...to get hwat they needed for their families.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw that Warren had finished his cinversation with whoever it was and was mow drifting toward him. He kept his face calm and didn't aknolwedge him in any way lest it catch the human's eye so he turned his attention back to the human again and offered a wry look. "Well that and I tend to get quite bored very easily. A change of scenery was recommended. I was told it would hopefully calm me down a little and allow me to focus more."

"And has it?" Cutter asked curiously.

"I supose a little," Faolan allowed. "But then again it's still quite early days and I supose I'm still a little tired after traveling so we'll need to wait and see I supose."

Stopping to talk to a woman who seemed interested in Warren he watched Faolan from the corner of his eye. The man the woman was with give Warren a warning look but Warren did not seem to notice. Kissing her hand he smiled and bowed to her. There were a few pleasant words exchanged and then the gentlemen stood up to speak with Warren but then he stopped as Warren looked at him. A few more words were exchanged but this time it was the woman that was getting offended that her escort was not paying her any attention, before Warren bowed to them both and moved on.

’If you need help just tell me I can control him no problems, but I believe that you are about ready to bring one in on your own.’ Warrens mind voice was gentle and calming. To it was a fatherly warmth but something else seemed to lurk in the dark corners of it. He stopped at another table not far from Faolan and bowed to the young woman there that had been left on her own by her escort. He asked her what she was doing alone when she was the pretty’s woman in the room. He acted shocked and amazed when she told him that she had been left for the gambling tables. Taking her hand he lifted her to her feet. “Then let me remedy that and take you on a turn about the dance floor.” With that he put action to word and swept her off her feet. Not much latter he was persuading her to walk with him to a more secluded spot where he could feed on her, and where Faolan could lead his meal without questions being raised. There were to many people out there that would take it amiss if a man danced with a man but would not if one lead the other off to some sort of game or sport. ' When you’re ready I have a spot. No one will bother us here and you can say that there is a good game of some sort that he might want to place a wager on if you think he is the type'.

Thankfully Faolan was used to Warren's voice appearing inside his head so he didn't jump or start like he had the first few times it had happened. Well who could blame him when a voice starts talking to you and you know for a fact it isn't your own? It had taken some getting used to but thankfully now he was able to listen to Warren and not show any outward reaction.

"I've heard that there might be an oppertunity to have some fun tonight," he hedged, looking at Cutter who looked at him curiously.

"What sort of fun?2 the other asked cautious but curious. Good he wasn't a complete idiot. Faolan mentally nodded his head in approval. At least he hadn't chosen an idiot to feed from. Their blood always tasted.....well let's just say he much preferred the blood of people that actually had some form of intellegence.

"How do you feel about card games?" he asked, deliberately lowering his voice to a hushed whisper so taht the other had to lean a little closer to hear him. Cutter's eyes brightened slightly and a grin spread accross the other's face almost immediately. So the other was into card games hmm. It looked like he'd made a wise choice.

"I'm rather partial to a good game of poker," Cutter replied easily, his smirk widening as Faolan grinned up at him. Well that had certainly been easier than he'd thought it would be. Either humans were getting stupider or he was getting better. He thought it might be a conbination of the two but he didn't dwell on it. He'd gotten his human and that was all that mattered. He gestured for Captain Cutter to follow him and he began making his way in the vague direction Warren had just left in with the woman all but wrapped around his arm. He refused to aknowledge the small spike of jealousy he felt towards the woman that was so close to Warren. He had his own meal so why shouldn't the other vampire feed tonight? It was a silly, irrational emotion and he put it out of his mind as they entered a more secluded area of the hotel.

Warren had fed quickly and now she lay on the floor not far from where he stood the shadows would hide her from any human that happened to walk this way. But this small lounge showed signs of not being used in some time. Maybe it was because it was small enough for a small party but not large enough for music as well. Maybe it was because the owner did not want to have to redecorate it at this time. The walls were covered it a tiny rose print, almost to small for human eyes to tell what they were. Warren smiled at the thought that this had been made for his kind and their needs. It would suit perfectly to bring a party here to feed on. He dabbed the tiny bit of blood from the corners of his mouth.

Looking down at the woman who lay on some pillows he had laid out, he saw she was smiling at the dream of them. he smiled knowing she would have a tale to tell that few would believe. As Faolan walked closer Warren lit a small light on the table and moved his human out of view of the table. Keeping to the shadows he watched as Faolan walked in with his man, he had left a deck of cards and a pair of dice on the table not knowing which ones would make the story complete. A small ping of dislike for the man and the way he looked at Faolan was all the feelings Warren allowed himself before focusing on the human ready to cloud his mind if he needed to. A thought of how easy it would be to kill the human form here confused him, he could not understand why he felt this way towards a human he did not know.

As they entered the room Warren had mentioned Faolan's eyes quickly skimmed it, taking in the tiny flower dotted wallpaper and the gaming utensils set on a table. He smirked. Warren had certainly thought of everything. As cutter entered behind him Faolan turned and saw the other's eyes light up as they fixed on the set of cards provided.

"Will anyone else be joining us?" Cutter asked, striding past Faolan towards the table with the cards.

"No," Faolan replied smoothly. "Just the two of us." Before Cutter could reply to taht Faolan had slipped closer to him, mentally chiding the human for making it so easy and used his supernatural strength to hold the human in place. From there it was child's play to take what he needed from teh human, biting down on the tender flesh of the other's neck and taking the rich, hot blood into his mouth. It was warm and sweet on his tongue and he savoured it, drinking deeply but being mindful of how much he was taking from the other. When he felt the blood beginning to slow down, not coming to where he sucked as fast as it had originally he pulled back and carefully tended to the skin on the neck, closing the wounds as he had been taught.

Letting out a small sigh of relief he carefully moved the human to one of the chairs dotted around the room and sat him so that when he woke he would simply think he'd fallen asleep. Thinking for a moment he picked up the set of cards Warren had brought earlier and placed them by the mans hand on the chair's armrest. That taslk completed he looked to his adopted sire and raised an eyebrow, silently asking for cinformation that he'd done this right.

Warren watched as they tread the dance right before Faolan would feed. Part of him wished that he had had a chance to tread this dance with Faolan before he was made one of their kind. Just his movements now made his own fangs ache with longing. He had not felt this way in a long time, maybe it was only because he had not truly sired this one yet he acted like it. The relationship was missing that they would have had. He watched the human struggle then fall under the sway of the wave of pleasure their bites inflicted on humans.

Walking slowly out of the darkness Warren smiled at his pupil watching him feed. It had been some time since he had last drained a man dry and Warren did not really worry about him doing it again any time soon. Now he was more of fallowing instinct that seem to draw him to Faolan. “My dear you are getting so much better. Soon I think you will be able to hunt without me, I will miss that.” his voice was soft and low, his hands reaching but stopped as Faolan placed the man in a chair. “he will have an interesting time explaining why he is here with her when they are found. She will wake before him.” Stepping forward he wiped Faolan’s lips slowly then just as slowly his eyes locked with Faolan’s he licked the blood from his own fingers. “you need to drink a bit more cleanly though.”

He had tired to explain how to catch a human mind and hold it so that he did not need to physical hold the human but it seemed he had not gotten the idea or he did not have that gift. Maybe he would have to find a way of teaching it to Faolan. “Now I think it would be wise if we were to leave the club before these two start to make the long climb back to the living.” Taking his hand as he had done so many times before without thought he lead him down one hall then into another till they were lead outside. “shall we go for a movie? I heard that there were a few good ones showing now.”

Inside Faolan was pleased to receive the praise from his teacher but he didn't show it outwardly although as the other ran a finger over his lmouth to clean the blood he couldn't help the instinctive parting of his lips at the sensation, allowing the older vampire to get all the blood. His eyes followed the other's movements as the other finished the little blood he had wasted but before he could even think of doing anything stupid he shook himself from the strange half daze and refocused on the outside world.

Allowing himself to be led out of the building by his teacher was almost second nature for Faolan at this point. He had spent so many years learning how to feed and following Warren's directions taht they were almost second nature to him now, ingrained into his body and soul but there were times when he resisted, when he did not listen, when his rebellious streek shone through. This was not one of those times however and he followed along quietly.

"It depends," Faolan answered Warren's question after a moment of thought. "We have plenty of time before the sun rises but..." What would be the point in such a thing? Most of the movies he had seen were dull at the best of times and he doubted tonight would be any different. He preferred to be active, not sitting around watching something he knew wasn't real, was just acters playing parts. He could see that they were not really who they pretended to be and the lack of sincerity meant he did not find the experience as enjoyable as others did.

As he feed on the sweet blood of the young man that Faolan had feed on he wounded if Faolan had meant to do what he did. It was so tempting to just lean forward and run his tongue over those soft lips and let it dip into him. His lips had been soft and warm from the feeding, and they looked so… no he was his child, even if just by the laws. Shaking his head he let the thoughts pass.

Looking back at Faolan Warren wondered what he was going to do, soon he felt that Faolan would be ready to go out hunting on his own, then what would they do. He wanted so much to spend so much more time with his child but not in the way that others would think. His fingers interlaced with Faolan’s and his thumb gently rubbed the skin of Faolan hand. How long had it been since he had last had a lover, even a human one? His mind asked mocking him. Still he did not want to accept what he was feeling for Faolan, that was not right for him to feel. Looking back at his child he sighed, which was not a common thing for him to do. “well is there anything you would like to do tonight? The city is big and there are clubs we could go to to pass the time.”

Faolan glanced down at his hand which was now being held gently but firmly by Warren. He cast a glance at the older male from the corner of his eye but made no other moves to mention the contact. It was a comforting sort of feeling, not constricting so he allowed it to continue, even enjoyed it slightly as he felt one finger begin to rub soft circles over his skin. He let out a small sigh and thought. Was there anything he wanted to do? Not really, nothing that he could think of anyway. Clubs were boring unless you wanted to hunt and feed but since that had already been taken care of there wasn't much point now was there?

The silence between the two stretched as Faolan tried to think of something he wouldn't mind doing with Warren for the rest of the night. He lifted his free hand and rubbed his chin thoughtfully as his eyes flicked from one direction to the other, looking for something to catch his eye but nothing did. In his human years Faolan would have known what to do now, would have had a hundred and one suggestions but now they all seemed dull, their effect on him muted.

"Truthfully? Nothing. Nothing in this place holds my attention. You say there is much that we can do but I do not share in your vission. Personally I'd prefer to return home and finish what I started last night." The previous evening Faolan had started his first independant written creation since becoming a vampire. He did not yet know what would happen in said creation as it was to be a novel but he had spent long enough picturing the characters, mentally ironing out their personalities, strengths, weaknesses, flaws, everything and he had to write it down before it slipped from his mind. He knew that was unlikely but he preferred to have things down on paper, to know that they were there if he wanted or needed them.

Sighing warren let Faolans hand drop from his as he turned towards where the car had been parked. “alright I will take you back to the house but I feel that I need to be out and about tonight. If you need anything Sasha should still be awake.” He tried to keep the disappointment from his voice as he walked. He had wanted to spend some time out and about amongst the people and with him. At first his want to improve his writing had been well for Warren. He had not had to deal with him but to teach and then they had their time alone to work on what they needed to work on. But now he was starting to crave more time with Faolan, not working on art or dealing with vampire stuff. He just wanted to get to know the man behind the fangs.

The car ride back was quite as he thought of what he might do while Faolan did his work. Maybe Vincent was not that busy tonight and they could catch up on what had happened since the last time they had seen each other. He had looked rather well and prosperous since the last time. He also needed to find the prince of the area and present himself and Faolan soon. The Prince would not be happy if they kept hunting in the city without presenting. He wounded what would be a good present to this new prince.

He had heard that the prince had just moved here to this town not to long ago but was well liked by the locals. He wondered what the vampire was like to have so quickly gotten into the elders graces and been named prince in a town that claimed would never have a prince again.