Private RP

[faderbroderson]

Godric hated paperwork, but it seemed these days there was always some to be done. These ones had to do with his personal finances, the very worst kind. There were matters of percentages to be seen to, and properties and taxes and all other such nonsense that made Godric long for the simple days he spent sleeping in caves and bathing in streams

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[mrjanuary]

Eric had been enjoying the last few years on his own, especially now he was in London; only a few, but he'd made his way as a naval officer in port, screwing around on half pay while his fake ship awaited orders to attack Napoleon's fleet. He hadn't bothered with actually buying a commission, but he'd gotten the coat and hat and some papers which would survive a cursory glance. If the port authorities got more curious, he'd just use a spot of glamour or have luncheon.

More interesting than the usual nightly activities of sharking other officers at whist or taking a bite out of the buyable ladies was the girl he'd turned -- liberated, he thought of it -- a fresh young thing, quite opinionated and exceptionally bold. She'd been sweet, a virgin at the time, though she hardly was now despite being but nineteen. To be honest, Eric was quite enjoying teaching Pamela the rules and quirks of their mutual condition. She was an apt and enthusiastic pupil, even a fortnight since her death, with better control than Eric had anticipated in one so young.

Pamela was, however, his first child, a fact which lead him unavoidably -- though why should he want to? Godric would indeed be proud -- to his maker's doorstep. He needed advice and the opportunity to preen and show off his little peacock.

Eric led his child through the narrow streets of London. "Have I told you yet of my maker?"

[twinsetandfangs]

"Oh, is that why we're here?" Pam asked, glancing around them for any opportunities to linger in the foggy streets. The nocturnal dwellers of London were so much more interesting than the diurnal. Furthermore, Eric had made it plain that they wouldn't linger in the city of her birth overlong in case of attracting attention, so she was drinking in all the new details she'd never noticed as a living, breathing woman. She was fond of London, but it seemed... so much smaller now. There was a whole world to see and eternity to see it in, after all.

"I believe you mentioned that he was yet living -- so to speak," she recalled, thinking aloud. "And that his name was..." She paused, chewing one full lower lip with sharp ivory-white teeth thoughtfully. "No, it escapes me," she admitted with a thoughtless shrug.

"I thought we were going to go to the officers' club again? I do so love their uniforms. They're so... tidy, and they think themselves worldly. It's almost charming."

[mrjanuary]

"Godric," Eric supplied, smoothing his waistcoat and frock. "His name is Godric, and he is already more than a thousand years old, and you are to be on your best behavior." He raised an eyebrow at her, to impress upon the seriousness of his command.

"If we have time, perhaps the club... otherwise, they can wait until tomorrow. This is important, perhaps the second most important vampire you will ever meet," after me, of course.

Eric gave her a private, affectionate look, one conveying both a calculated concern for her propriety in company and intense amusement at her common rudeness. "Do you understand, Pamela?"

[twinsetandfangs]

And here's the eyeroll that will become so familiar to him over the centuries they will spend together. It has its own affection to it, too, but it is, nevertheless, the dismissive expression of an impatient young woman.

"Godric. Rhymes with 'Eric'. Got it."

[mrjanuary]

Hrm. Behave, Pamela, or I will reign you in. Eric wills the thought straight into his child's brain as he rings the bellpull at the front door of the smart brick building Godric currently stays in. "Do not make me regret this."

[faderbroderson]

Godric has a butler, whom Godric shoos away with a dismissive gesture and a glance. The butler, well aware of his master's nature, backs respectfully away. If his master wishes to answer the door himself, this was no visitor he likely wishes to meet, in any case.

Godric does indeed answer the door himself, opening the heavy wood with casual ease as the tailcoat of his butler disappearing around the corner. He looks up at his child, eyes warm, before glancing at Pam. She smells of Eric, and it's clear to him immediately that Eric must have turned her.

[twinsetandfangs]

Pam knows she's to be 'on her best behavior'. Pam knows that the dried up old stick of a vampire she's about to meet is as old as the hills and important enough for Eric to cease being fun for the evening.

Pam doesn't expect Godric.

"But you're just a little boy!" she blurts as the doors open, surprise writ plain on her pale features.

[mrjanuary]

Eric's initial impulse is to facepalm, hard, with dismay and a dose of infrequent embarassment; his second impulse is to turn that smack from his own forehead to the back of Pam's. "Pamela!" he scolds in a sharp undertone.

"Godric, my apologies. She is... exceptionally young. And blunt. As you can no doubt tell. It is good to see you again." Eric spares another glance at his child, his unruly child who evidently never learned to adequately govern her tongue or general impulses. "May I have the pleasure of introducing to you Pamela Dudley."

[faderbroderson]

Godric, far from being offended, is amused. "I can tell already that she suits you," he responds teasingly. Oh yes, blunt and impulsive? Why, he can't imagine a single creature, freshly turned, who ever possessed such qualities...

He looks her over more carefully. Blonde, pale skin, a true beauty with a core of strength. Eric had chosen well. "Pamela." He nods politely, but with the air of one who knows that he holds the position of power. Now that the initial burst of shock is over and done with (after so many years as an eternal teenager, it comes as no surprise), he does expect the deference he's due.

[mrjanuary]

"She is quite entertaining, and how she died makes for a very amusing story," Eric said with a smile, his hand at the small of Pamela's back.

"May we come in?" The house isn't, of course, a mortal's home and thus he could come in without permission, though he won't; it would be both rude and ill-advised. The butler's swift exit was proof enough that Godric could deal with any manner of vampire that appeared on his doorstep.

[twinsetandfangs]

"She is able to speak for herself," Pam drawled softly, the ghost of a smile pulling at her full lips. She's amused at herself, her own reactions and assumptions. Of course Godric could appear so physically young -- she herself would never age another day, after all.

It was all so new and exciting.

Inclining her head slightly -- she'd danced with royalty on more than one occasion and only offered that much deference (respect, but not toadying; she's not the sort) -- Pam smiled at Godric. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I would say that Eric has told me so much about you, but I've already proven myself a liar if I took that tack."

[faderbroderson]

Godric's smile widens. He notes the gesture of respect that still leaves her pride very much on display, her sarcasm and her wit, and decides he likes this new child of Eric's very much.

"Please, come in," he opens the door wider, stepping aside to let them inside. "If Eric has told you so little of me, and he has such entertaining stories of you," his eyes move to Eric's, glimmering with mirth and a subtle joy at his child's visit, "then we shall simply have to share."

[mrjanuary]

Eric stepped inside the well-appointed if somewhat modest foyer; Eric remembers the halls of his youth with a faint nostalgia. They at least deserve those.

"Honestly, we've not had the time. She's but two weeks old," he explained, "and we've been spending much of our time at the officers' clubs... when we haven't needed to be practicing her self-control." Pamela was a quick study -- at least, he thought she must be, thinking back to his own death -- but she was greedy, most of all. Checking her considerable, amusingly unladylike, appetite was the highest priority in her enculturation.

Eric smiled, glancing around -- the gilt mirror, the inlaid console, the pale pastel walls. "It's... civilized."

[faderbroderson]

Godric snorted a little at Eric's comment. "Too civilized." Some days he was tempted to track mud inside, simply because he could. And who would dare scold him for it? "In fact, your visit has allowed me to procrastinate on some of the bureaucracy of my civilized life, for which I'm grateful."

He led them into the sitting room, which like the rest of the house was tastefully furnished for the time. "Please, sit. May I get either of you someone to drink?" He had one or two who were expendable enough for Pam, if her control was yet imperfect.

[twinsetandfangs]

Pam's lips curl upwards at Godric's words. 'Too civilised', indeed. She seems to feel that way a lot around human society lately. Well, feel it more, at least.

And then the smile turns even more brilliant. "Absolutely. I'm famished. Someone to drink would be delightful."

Waiting for Eric's lead? Um, well, he didn't say she had to.

[faderbroderson]

Without replying, Godric gestured over his shoulder and the butler made his way over quickly. He looked a little nervous, undoubtedly because he had heard Eric's remark about Pam's self-control issues.

"Bring me David, please." David was not one of his usual snacks, but an employee in his household. David had been stealing from him. Godric had been meaning to deal with it for the past two days, but this seemed a perfect and creative opportunity. Before the butler could scurry off and do as he was commanded, Godric held a finger up to hold him there a moment.

"Eric?" He would gladly spare one of his usual snacks for Eric. They were all delightfully tasty.