Not a dollar or a crowd could ever keep me here

[yearrounder]

Who; yearrounder and whoever wants to comfort a crying teenage girl.
What; Minor breakdown. It’s been building up for a while.
Where; The library
When; Tuesday, afternoon/evening
Rating; G-PG
Status; OPEN; ongoing

Comments

[burnforalltosee]

Vlad stepped to be in full view of the girl. An exceedingly tall man, he was, though his look and the way his shoulders currently rested portrayed very little in the way of purposeful intimidation. Dressed in regal Victorian clothes of a strange green, the top hat to match, he regarded her with dark eyes hidden beneath small glasses with starkly blue lenses. Dark hair curled beneath and around his jaw, framing handsome features quite vividly. A moment before he pulled up a chair a good deal away from her to give her a bubble of space, sitting in an extraordinary proper way. It was like a man walked out of the earliest set of movies, movies he had never seen, but was quite comparable to.

"Mercy me, child, your eyes are puffed to the brim with tears you stop too soon," he said quietly, his manner and voice genteel, compassionate. "There is no shame in such things, do not feel obliged to hide. If there is a matter you feel need to unburden yourself, you have my ear, truthfully. I have not met you yet, but that is of no concern."

He pulled his top hat off to sit in his lap. The dark hair grew much longer in the back, near his elbows. The tea shades were taken off. Such entrancing eyes, should she take him in fully, should she dare to gaze that far up. A pale hand with finely jeweled rings moved out betwixt them, a simply of offering of touch hidden in a gesture of propriety. "I am Vlad."

[yearrounder]

All she did was shake her head, after a moment of well-disguised staring. It wasn't the strangest thing she'd seen around here, someone dressed like they'd walked of the set of one of those dreadful period films, but it was still just a little bit of a shock for her to see it. And she knew if she'd stop and think for a moment it would make sense. As much as she enjoyed the comfort of a modern world, why would people want to live in a way they were unfamiliar with?

"No offense," she finally started, just a little uncertainly (was she supposed to be formal or something?), "but I don't really like discussing my personal problems with strangers."

[burnforalltosee]

All she had to do was look into those dark, handsome eyes, and tears would never think to cross her for a week, perhaps more. How such a young woman, gold-crowned and bright, could hide away her sorrow was difficult to imagine. Certainly, yes, those modern women were stiff with their feelings, perhaps because of the tightness of the corsets and the like around their waits. It would make it uncomfortable for beneficial sobbing, doubtless.

His hand pulled back. So she would not shake, perhaps that was a modern thing as well. A moment later and he crossed his ankles over each other, adapting a more casual demeanour where he sat, how he looked.

"Are there any in this place that are not strangers?" he asked, a question meant to take one off guard, to make one think, perhaps even stammer. "We have all been, as to my understanding, taken from many many different worlds and planes of existence. What can we know, truly, of each other in this place?"

[yearrounder]

Bitter much? Still, it earned the first real change in her expression, shifting slightly into confused and less upset, even if she was still both. Had she missed some memo? Were they not supposed to be comingling with people from other worlds now?

"People can still be friends, you know. Just because they're from somewhere else doesn't make them any less worth knowing." And it meant that she wasn't entirely alone.

[burnforalltosee]

Vlad? Bitter? No, not about such measly, unimportant matters as those which were being discussed. Still, a common ground needed to be acquired hastily for her to think of him as anything more than a strange older man in vintage clothes and with the accent of his homeland.

"That was not my meaning, I apologize," he supplied, bowing his head slightly in acknowledgment of his silly error, of the lack of clarity in his words. "More an issue, ah...how is it said...of the conjoining of such ideas. Where does one go from being complete stranger from completely different world...to being more than cordial, to being thought of fondly and as of kindred spirit. What can be universal throughout these many many represented, myriad realms of reality, what theory or processed thought can there be between them all that can be held to fast, and heartily, where sameness can be found. Where one can look another and feel companionship of the most wonderful kind. What commonness can someone from London, 1897 AD, to someone of...2008, 2011."

[yearrounder]

"Lots of things," she started, then realized she couldn't really think of anything specific and just shrugged instead of continuing. Now that she thought of it, most of the friends she'd made around here were from pretty much the same time that she was. There was probably something deep to be said there of the nature of humanity across time, but she wasn't in the mood to dig it up.

"I don't know. Lots of things."

[burnforalltosee]

He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees as interlaced fingers went up to his chin, the pointers of them up, smashing thoughtfully against his mouth. Eyebrows, so well kept for such a hairy man, furrowed as he puzzled it out.

"Perhaps only the concept of humanity," he said at long last. It sounded, it looked to be very dear to him. Something he had much in the way of experience with. Certainly not the very opposite, certainly not things he had long before renounced and been devoid of. "Concepts of love and compassion, though concepts of corruption and greed as well. The basest, the most illogical, and the most rational."

A moment's pause, and then, with a pleasantly ringing chuckle, "Ah, but what common ground can be found outside of such things?"

[yearrounder]

This conversation had taken a really weird turn. And this was not the best moment for her to be getting entangled in strange philsophical debates about the nature of humanity. Not that she could really relate all that well--she was only half-human, after all, and she'd spent most of her life isolated from the the rest of the mortals. She shrugged, though, and looked off at nothing in particular on her right.

"I guess. I don't know. It can't be all bad."

[burnforalltosee]

"No, there is no situation we can find ourselves in where things could not be worse," he said, tone and look more cheerful than the "weird" conversation before had been gifted. Dark eyes were strangely warm, and were she to look at him, fully-faced, her drying eyes to his, she would find far more joy than one could ever imagine.

"Dear girl, I have a sense to my person," he said after a moment, and if she had not looked at him by then, it would be impossible for her to resist. And were she to resist, mercy! By all means, his tricks would need honing. "You are not what you appear to be. You are far more profound than any girl with your apparent age should rightly be. Your wish to be left alone, should that be it entirely, would be readily accepted and respected, if only you were to say the word. However, in the case of such a command, you are free to call for my ear at anytime, child. I would like to know your name before, if you would honour me so."

[yearrounder]

She did look, but her expression was all confusion this time. It was hard to figure out what it was he was trying to say, but that kind of went with the clothes. She really wasn't what she appeared to be, but she wasn't going to say it. She wasn't ready for that yet, still stubbornly clinging to the idea that she'd be lynched if the Underworld found out who her mother was and she hadn't done anything to help.

"Annabeth," she finally answered, softly, ignoring the rest of it for now. Hopefully, it wouldn't be brought up again and she wouldn't have to explain herself.

[burnforalltosee]

Annabeth, she of favour and grace. How fitting, should she ever reveal her true origins.

"Annabeth, a true pleasure," he returned, inclining his head in proper greeting. His eyes were cast to the table then, spotting the names on the spines easily. "You are...performing research?"

[yearrounder]

She shrugged, turning back to the table to look at the books she'd piled on top of it, most of them laying open to techincal drawings and pictures of pictures of old blueprints. All of it all written in the Greek characters that her dyslexic eyes could make sense of. If it had been English, she'd have thrown all of them across the room in frustration.

"Sure. Kind of. Nothing exactly useful, but whatever, I guess."

[burnforalltosee]

Ah, English, such a taxing language to learn. He knew the grammar and the meaning of words most excellently, Harker had been completely correct in that regard, but it was a matter of speaking them thoroughly, with conviction, and properly that was the biggest issue he had. Of course, in his time, a flourished f could pass for an s with little difficulty, but, ah, the books here were so pleasant, and some with such strange spellings. The English he had studied for London seemed to be used only in certain instances, and not at all in quite man more.

"It is useful if it keeps your mind occupied," he said quickly, clearly believing in the terrible idea of being lured into the devil's snare of idle hands and lazing mind. "It is not a life worth living if nothing is being learned, that I have always believed, and was taught by those around me."

[yearrounder]

"I guess." Not in a very assertive mood, this one. Unusual, but a stranger wouldn't know that. And she didn't precisely care at the moment. She was supposed to be a leader--and here she was all but reduced to a child.

Too bad. She felt like she'd earned it.

"There isn't much call for an architect around here." A strategist, now, that was different. But no one was following through with anything and who even had the time or desire to listen to a teenager?

[burnforalltosee]

Many here were nothing more than children to Vlad, and she ought not to feel any sort of shame at that. She had not inquired further to his name, of course, and it was not without notice. However, such a young girl in her state was not to be expected to delve in things that, to her, were of no importance.

"An architect?"

He was definitely interested, and it was impossible not to notice. "Is that your passion? I have studied it in my days, but I have never had the mind for it. That must be a wonderful gift to hold!"

[yearrounder]

"I guess so. It's mostly just a hobby." Because that was easier than explaining her last big project, and a whole lot more believable. It's a hobby was much more simple than I saved Olympus and they rewarded me by letting me redesign it for them. Oh yeah, Olympus exists and it was destroyed last summer. Did I mention I'm a daughter of Athena? Yeah, she's real too. Not as tall as most people expect.