"I realize you are reluctant to name what you are, but that does make it rather hard for me to place if such an age is advanced for you or not. For a human, that would be exceptional, but human you are not."
George taps the side of his cup lightly as he thinks, the sound almost more like stone than nails. There's a risk to sharing more, he has no way of knowing whether this place is safe from the Gentry or not. Given that Dimitri had to contend with Them in a similar situation, the signs point more towards not. But if anyone can handle themselves it'll be a vampire who's over a millennia old. Plus Erin wandering around without a Mask likely poses more of a threat than mere words.
And lord help him he wants a peer he doesn't have to hide from.
"Knowledge of what I am can be dangerous, even explaining what the threats are is dangerous. So if I am to tell you more, I will need a more concrete assurance than 'your secret is safe'. Both that you accept the risk, and that not a single word of what I am will pass your lips to someone who doesn't already know."
"I am no stranger to dangerous information. I accept the risk and I do not do so lightly. My word as a vampire, I will not tell a single word of this to anyone without your explicit consent or unless they can prove they knew it already. I do take my word very seriously."
George nods solemnly, rebinding this more detailed promise into the Pledge. He spends some time in silence, collecting his thoughts on a complicated subject into the most pertinent information for right now.
"I'm a Changeling, in the common parlance. Human, until I was taken by the Fair Folk, held in Their domain at the whims of my Keeper, and eventually escaped.
"Therein lies the complexity of age. By years lived the mundane world, I'm 38. Years since my birth, 132. Time experienced? That's more difficult. I'd wager at least 200 years, possibly approaching 3 or 400.
"I'm neither old nor young for what I am, but in my social sphere, by the ages we each claim for ourselves, I'm the oldest by about a century." He smiles, looking off into the distance for a moment, "That's including some who were taken around the same time as me, you can make of that what you will."
Erik waits in patient silence. He gets the impression it's much like if someone were to ask him for his own history. There's a lot of it to put in order.
He's silent for a moment even after George lays out that complicated truth in front of him. He's heard of Changelings, but never encountered one (that he's aware of.) There is a lot he can make of this. He doesn't have to stretch his imagination very far.
"You are a survivor. That is what I make of it. And, if you are similar to me, you have regrets about how you survived. I won't ask about that, but you have my sympathy if you want it." And his promise of silence, of course.
"Thank you." George says with a small smile, glad of the Mask that means Erik won't see how weak it really is. The worst thing is always how little he regrets what he did — what he became — in Arcadia.
"I've been out for just shy of eight years, which is not half so long as it seems and far longer than it feels."
"Yes, I know what you mean. To me, eight years is barely a blink, yet much can change so quickly." He had Max in his house for less time and somehow those seven years seem more profoundly impactful to him than the hundred years that came before.
"And now, so soon after, you are here in a new place once again. How are you handling that transition?"
"Oh, this is fine. Losing everyone you've ever known and starting over in an unfamiliar world is far easier the second time."
He laughs, and it's genuine. As much as he cared for the friends he's gathered in London over the last 8 years, it doesn't hurt the same to have lost them as it did his friends and family from before Arcadia. He's had practice now. Wasn't expecting for it to happen again as such, but it wasn't much of a surprise either.
"Rebuilding my business will be annoying, of course, but at least it's something universally transferrable. Even if I doubt it will be anywhere near as lucrative here as I'm used to."
Erik can't bring himself to refute George. How many times has he picked up and restarted? More than he cares to count. The sting does lessen with each one.
"I don't know what you are used to but, yes, business is slower here than it might be with a less static population. I assume you are male, so we may be in some direct competition, but I'm not concerned about that. I have my own advantages."
"One of my specialities was financial domination, I'm not sure that's an ethical offering here. Especially with the rates I charged." He'll miss those clients the most, and not just because of the money they brought in.
"Some direct competition is unavoidable, but I operate within a fairly specific niche. I'm a professional dominant, and I don't include any direct sexual contact as part of my services. That doesn't exactly suit everyone who is looking for a sex worker, no matter their preferred gender. Which is part of why I wanted to be sure to meet you, I prefer to have colleagues I know and trust to refer potential clients to if I'm not going to be a good fit."
"I don't think I know enough about that to say if it is." He can guess but he doesn't want to make false assumptions when he hasn't been initiated into that particular subculture.
"But that does suit me rather nicely. I offer more straightforward and traditional services that might leave clients like yours wanting. I'll be glad to have a trustworthy place to refer them to. I think we should get along just fine."
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lordoftheozarks) wrote2023-06-13 08:20 pm
no subject
no subject
George taps the side of his cup lightly as he thinks, the sound almost more like stone than nails. There's a risk to sharing more, he has no way of knowing whether this place is safe from the Gentry or not. Given that Dimitri had to contend with Them in a similar situation, the signs point more towards not. But if anyone can handle themselves it'll be a vampire who's over a millennia old. Plus Erin wandering around without a Mask likely poses more of a threat than mere words.
And lord help him he wants a peer he doesn't have to hide from.
"Knowledge of what I am can be dangerous, even explaining what the threats are is dangerous. So if I am to tell you more, I will need a more concrete assurance than 'your secret is safe'. Both that you accept the risk, and that not a single word of what I am will pass your lips to someone who doesn't already know."
no subject
no subject
"I'm a Changeling, in the common parlance. Human, until I was taken by the Fair Folk, held in Their domain at the whims of my Keeper, and eventually escaped.
"Therein lies the complexity of age. By years lived the mundane world, I'm 38. Years since my birth, 132. Time experienced? That's more difficult. I'd wager at least 200 years, possibly approaching 3 or 400.
"I'm neither old nor young for what I am, but in my social sphere, by the ages we each claim for ourselves, I'm the oldest by about a century." He smiles, looking off into the distance for a moment, "That's including some who were taken around the same time as me, you can make of that what you will."
no subject
He's silent for a moment even after George lays out that complicated truth in front of him. He's heard of Changelings, but never encountered one (that he's aware of.) There is a lot he can make of this. He doesn't have to stretch his imagination very far.
"You are a survivor. That is what I make of it. And, if you are similar to me, you have regrets about how you survived. I won't ask about that, but you have my sympathy if you want it." And his promise of silence, of course.
"How long since you escaped?"
no subject
"I've been out for just shy of eight years, which is not half so long as it seems and far longer than it feels."
no subject
"And now, so soon after, you are here in a new place once again. How are you handling that transition?"
no subject
He laughs, and it's genuine. As much as he cared for the friends he's gathered in London over the last 8 years, it doesn't hurt the same to have lost them as it did his friends and family from before Arcadia. He's had practice now. Wasn't expecting for it to happen again as such, but it wasn't much of a surprise either.
"Rebuilding my business will be annoying, of course, but at least it's something universally transferrable. Even if I doubt it will be anywhere near as lucrative here as I'm used to."
no subject
"I don't know what you are used to but, yes, business is slower here than it might be with a less static population. I assume you are male, so we may be in some direct competition, but I'm not concerned about that. I have my own advantages."
no subject
"Some direct competition is unavoidable, but I operate within a fairly specific niche. I'm a professional dominant, and I don't include any direct sexual contact as part of my services. That doesn't exactly suit everyone who is looking for a sex worker, no matter their preferred gender. Which is part of why I wanted to be sure to meet you, I prefer to have colleagues I know and trust to refer potential clients to if I'm not going to be a good fit."
no subject
"But that does suit me rather nicely. I offer more straightforward and traditional services that might leave clients like yours wanting. I'll be glad to have a trustworthy place to refer them to. I think we should get along just fine."