Glass Fingerprints

[Ace]

Ace's head pounded, a sudden rush taking ahold of him as he staggered back into the bookshelves, sending a few of them crashing to the ground. The dust-laden books sending up clouds of it as they fell, surrounding the confused Vampire in a screen of hazy, glittering dust.

What was he doing? Why was he reacting like this? A few months ago if he had been caught all of a sudden, his teeth would already be deep into her neck by now, sucking out the life that he lived for.

Through the haze, he saw her, still clutching the book to her, backed against the door. She looked terrified, but beyond that, she was stammering apologies as best she could. Bemused at her actions once again despite all of the confusion, Ace managed to pull himself together. Standing up tall, he walked slowly through the swirling clouds of dust and approached her, making sure to stop quite a few feet from her - just in case.

"Why are you apologising?" he asked curiously, his green eyes reflective.

[Lynette Pearlcombe]

Lynette's shoulder's shot tensely up to her ears when she heard the crash of books. As he stepped forward toward her, her eyes grew wide, but she didn't dare move an inch. Frankly, she was also wondering why her fragile body hadn't yet been snapped in half.

"Because - I upset you and acted like a squealing child - and I ruined it - I didn't mean to!" She burst hopelessly, pressing her back even harder against the door. "I lost myself - I didn't mean to!" She urged him to understand her, though she knew she was turning into a scared, rambling puddle of insistence.

She had never felt more sincere, insistent, or petrified in her life. Once... a distant voice reminded her.

[Ace]

Ace paused, clearly struck with something new dawning on his face - the realisation that, had he not reacted as he had done, she would most likely have been content to continue reading, with him watching her. In short, she might not particularly have minded that her host was a bloodsucking fiend.

"Calm down, please, calm down," said Ace, his tone gentle yet commanding. Surprise only barely visible in the slight raising of his eyebrows, he took another slow step forward. "I'm sorry - I really didn't mean to react that way. It's been a while since I've been in the company of... of humans... and..." He shook his tousled blonde head amusedly. "I suppose I'm just a tad jumpy anyway."

After a pause, he held out a hand to her, his eyes seeking hers. "My name is Ace. It's a pleasure to meet you. I hope you can accept my apology."

[Lynette Pearlcombe]

Lynette's mind was eased only slightly as the tone of voice he spoke to her with was gentle, nearly maternal seeming. Letting out a shaky voice, she rested her frail white hand in his, biting her lip and trying to disguise the shocking feeling of ice cold flesh.

"It's okay," she murmured, all confidence she had posessed earlier seeming to drain from her. She felt like a child again, looking for her mother's leg to hide behind while meeting strangers. "You don't need to apologize." She slowly unclenched her fingers from the book, though she was sure as she stared down at it, unable to reach his gaze, had her fingernail marks dug into them.

"I'm Lynette." She added softly, eyes flitting up to meet his for a brief moment.

[Ace]

Ace's eyes were still wide, searching her face for a flicker of fear, or doubt, or anxiety. He found nothing.

Letting go of her hand, her human warmth lending a feeling that was so craved and so familiar to him, Ace replaced his ice-cold hand into his pocket. For a few moments the pair of them stood amongst the darkening haze of early eve, dust clouds swirling indefinitely around them, just looking at each other. Ace's face betrayed slight confusion as he looked her over once more - why wasn't she afraid of him?

"A pleasure," said the Vampire shortly, before looking again around the ramshackle shop. "Er... you can keep reading... if you wish."

He faltered on the last three words, and averted his gaze.

[Lynette Pearlcombe]

Lynette hesitated. She looked up to meet his intense gaze again, though this time slight questioning was lying beneath her gentle gaze.

"Are you really the owner of this store?" She blurted out suddenly, having realized the reason she felt an unusual jolt in her stomach. The Ministry wouldn't allow a Vampire to own a shop on the main street of Diagon Alley, would they? It would be a difficult situation, seeing as the sun was pouring through the front window not long ago, showering the room with warm light.

She flushed slightly at the outburst but didn't waver. Her eyes doubted around the room for a minute, half expecting to see the lifeless hand of an old antique book shop owner to be peeking out from a desk or behind a bookcase.

[Ace]

Ace paused for a moment. What would be better - lying to the girl in the hope she might be persuaded to keep him company, or telling the truth and perhaps finally giving her decent reason to be terrified. Either way; to Ace, defeat was certain.

With a shrug, he met her gaze with guilty eyes. "I am now."

He looked down at his bedraggled white shirt, and saw tiny spots of blood on it that Lynette had apparently not noticed; the smear of a bloody handprint on his trouser leg was completely unnoticeable on the dark material, but he knew it was there. Once again, there was something like shame in his expression as he refused to hold her questioning gaze. Once again he was trying so hard to be something he could never be.

[Lynette Pearlcombe]

"Oh."

Lynette suppressed a shiver as she stared at him, able to read his guilt in the way he was standing with his head hanging down. For a brief moment she thought she almost felt a jolt of sympathy for this man. Though, the knowledge of what he was capable of kept her glued into her place. Eyes trailing down the front of his shirt, she found what she had overlooked. She swallowed hard, bringing the book up to her chin, like she might hide behind it.

"Were - were you planning on doing that to me?" She asked, her voice only reaching a whisper. Her eyes were wide, realizing that it was possible that she would not leave the room alive.

Her fingertips twitched toward her wand pocket, though she feared what would happen if she drew it. Not as much what he would do to her, but what she might do to him. She bit her lip. He didn't seem so ferocious, as the vampires were made out to be in the books. He seemed to posses a Vampire's elegance, but not the manic hungry anger in his eyes.

Yet, she reminded herself grimly.

[Ace]

Ace didn't watch her reaction - he had seen it all before. There had always been somebody to hope that, despite Ace being a Vampire, the nature that came with it was void, leaving a humane being that they could relate to. To some extent it was more true in the blonde Vampire that stood before her than in most others; but nevertheless, he was a creature that fed on the life of others, and nothing would ever change that.

He sighed inwardly at her question - now there was fear in her voice. Trying to ignore the illicit thrill that coursed through him at the familiar note of terror, he shook his head slowly.

"I was..." he said honestly, recalling the sense of power he had been drunk with when allowing her into the shop he now saw as his. "I saw you outside and thought... easy prey. But then you came in, and I saw how much passion you had for the written word. And then... I couldn't. I wouldn't."

He looked at her, seeing her hand move slightly to where he was certain her wand was hiding. Would she believe him?

[Lynette Pearlcombe]

((My heartfelt apologies for the delay.))

Her fingertips gently dabbed her temples and she squeezed her eyes shut. When she opened them again to see him still standing before her, she realized it wasn't a dream. If it had been, she realized distantly, she would have sat up boltright in her bed when she had spotted his fangs. Anyhow, her dreams were never this logical. If it was a dream, his head would have already bloomed into a blueberry muffin or something of that nature.

"I - I think I read somewhere that the more passion, or life I suppose, a person has, the more enticing a Vampire would find them." She said, her shaking voice derailing her attempt at sounding defiant. Why am I giving him reason to snap my neck in half? The hysterical section of her mind was clawing to regain control, but she fought it down.

"But," She plowed on, swallowing the lump in her throat. "I don't imagine you're much of a normal Vampire...Ace."

[Ace]

Ace couldn't help the smile that splintered broadly across his face. Not that she had known it, but this stranger had paid him what was, in his eyes at least, a very high compliment. After all, hadn't his conflict of the past few years been all about being a 'different' kind of Vampire?

"You imagine correctly," smiled the Vampire, his green eyes twinkling almost as much as the tips of the pointed fangs as he grinned charismatically. "As it goes, I don't usually choose the fiery-spirited type. I prefer the meek, the passive, the loners... If I had a choice, I'd pick the one who had a far-off look in their eye, like they were somewhere far away - a dreamer, I suppose." He took another step towards Lynette, leaning in towards her conspiratorially. "It's my own, personal belief that Vampires seek out a likeness to their own spirit in their victims, and slaughter them in order to suppress their own humane side. But, of course, that's just a theory."

Realising that the girl was still shaking, and still completely unaware that he had absolutely no intention of killing her anymore, he backed off immediately. Perhaps his description of his favourite prey wasn't the best way to calm the girl.

"Erm..." he looked about the dusty, now darkened shop. "Would you like to sit back down? Or... well, you can go now, if you'd like."

[Lynette Pearlcombe]

The invisible corset that had been shortening Lynette's breath loosened slightly as he backed away. She jerked her head noncommittally when his question slipped out between them. This is insane, she thought. But a surprising tug in her stomach made her think twice. Staring at him determinedly, her hysterical side tried one last grab for control before falling to the dirty floorboards.

"I'd like to stay." She blurted when she realized the way she felt. "If that's alright."

She sidestepped several feet before moving forward again. A petal of nervous laughter whispered from her lips. She headed slowly to her seat. She moved as if a wary dog was watching her. It occurred to her that he may be offended by her caution, but she was slowly shaking free of it. Sinking into the chair, the cushion sucking her up cozily, she smiled vaguely at him.

"Are you the meek, passive loner, then?" She asked him carefully, her voice reaching a much shyer version of his conspiratorial stance earlier.

[Ace]

Ace was pleasantly surprised at her choice to stay, but he only allowed a slight eyebrow raise for a few seconds as he offered her a chair, then settled into his usual easy grin, his bright green gaze twinkling playfully at the nervous laughter that dropped from her lips.

"No, I wouldn't stay I was meek or passive," he said, his eyes laughing although his tone was still casual. He leaned thoughtfully against a tableful of dusty books. "But I am definitely a loner. I've tried living with others, hunting in a pack, even having friends - but it doesn't work for me. I don't like having to answer to anybody."

His eyes flicked back to her, sharp and penetrating. "How about you, then? Are you a meek and passive loner-type, or is there something I'm missing?" He grinned.

[Lynette Pearlcombe]

"Unfortunately, you appear to be right on the money." Lynette said, though her smile betrayed that she perhaps didn't find it completely unfortunate.

"I mean, the other Ravenclaws tolerate me, but their company is so often...boring." She cringed. "That sounds awful, doesn't it?" Her eyes crinkling in vaguely apologetic smile as she mulled over his words. To her frustration, she found that she was putting more effort into her conversation with Ace then she would with most people. Not the flow of the conversation, as that was casual, but she was taking extra care not to sound like a bumbling idiot. She found that this perfectionism was making her very slightly tongue tied.

"We are different." She declared finally. "Or, our opinions are." She lowered her voice to an artful murmur, as if gently letting him in on a secret. "I may be misinterpreting your words, but I can't imagine seeing friends as people you need to justify yourself to - or even work for. No, that's parents. I think friendship is very much like love. A healthy friendship is one you don't need to work for. The connection is just there. I wouldn't answer to my friends, as you put it. They'd be more like an accesory to knowledge and feeling." She sighed and added meekly as she gazed up at him, "There's more to it then that, but there's only so much I could put into words and still be able to look you in the face."

[Ace]

Ace listened to the girl, realising once again why it was he loved the company of humans so much. It was because they were so different than he was, or could ever be.

"I know where you're coming from, trust me... but in the end, all friendships are self-serving. You have friends in order to make yourself feel better about being who you are - in a way, they are an extension of yourself. You can tell a lot about a person by seeing who their friends are."

He looked at her thoughtfully.

"But that isn't even the reason I don't believe in friendship. The thing is, I like being able to do what I want, when I want. Maybe that's selfish, but that's me. Say that something you want to do, or say, would hurt the feelings of one of these so-called 'friends'. You wouldn't be able to do what you wanted to do because you would let their opinions or feelings stop you. Your own judgement becomes jaded by theirs. I just don't have time for that. I prefer company like this; an exchange of thoughts and opinions without any of that messy sentiment."

He sighed, realising he had just given a very narrow view of what friendships were, and even as he said it, he didn't believe his own words. What about Kiki, what about Wilting Rose, what about Branwen? Were they just self-serving additions to his own personality?

"And look, don't worry about saying anything to me. In my time, I've seen and heard it all." His eyes twinkled dimly.