Bloodsport [2430-2-3 Fri 12:30 am]

[Titus Vere]

"It's less like being paid to eat salad... more like being paid to make a salad for someone else." Titus clarified, since Elijah understood the basics, but not the nuanced difference between assassination and murder. "What I was doing in the below was eating, in a manner of speaking. When I take a contact, I'm forced to kill in the manner specified by the client. It's enjoyable, and there's a certain amount of skill involved in a clean assassination, but... it doesn't sate my darker impulses. For you, it would be like killing something you couldn't eat."

Titus rested his glass on the edge of the balcony again. He was slightly tempted to tip it over the edge, and see how far it fell before it shattered. But it was part of a nice set, and it would have been difficult to find a replacement. "It's not an official arrangement, though those do happen in certain areas of Terra. And... it's not that I want out. Persephone is a wonderful girl. She's smart, and beautiful, and an excellent artist. I'm not certain how I would have coped with Skye if I hadn't had Persephone to deal with some of the more feminine aspects of Skye's needs. She's a good woman, and I do love her, in my own way."

He hesitated. Telling the truth was freeing, but also terrifying, and a hard habit to get hold of. He was so used to lying. And there was a part of him that was slightly afraid to find out what Elijah thought of Titus' true self. There was no one who knew it. Not even Skye had learned how dark and petty and cruel Titus could be. "Persephone thinks that I would be a good husband, and a good father. But she's wrong. And I'd rather she find another man to be those things than try and disappoint her. I'm not loyal enough to be a good husband, nor am I patient enough to be a good father."

"The one time Skye screamed at me, I nearly cut her throat. And she's a grown woman that I could reason with." Titus glanced at the glass, and nudged it, letting it fall off the balcony. It fell, twinkling in the dark as dozens and dozens of lights filtered through it. He didn't see it break, but he heard the quiet sound of it smashing against something hard, half a dozen stories below.

[Eli Wellington]

"Huh. That's be pretty difficult come to think of it," he said, finally realizing what Titus was meaning. "Since I kill by eating and all..." He finally leaned against the balcony railing, feeling a little more comfortable outside as the minutes passed. He didn't drop his hood though. Just in case. "I mean, I suppose I could kill in other ways if I wanted, but then that'd be completely pointless. Total waste of a body."

He listened with interest to Titus' explanation of his relationship with this Persephone. "Oh. So, you don't want to be with her... because you love her?" He thought this odd. But then, he hadn't had a true relationship in... how long had it been now? He couldn't remember, but he knew it was almost as long as he'd been a vampire. Ciaran had been the last. He--

As Titus' glass shattered down below, it was like something clicked in Eli's head. Suddenly what Titus meant made complete sense. And suddenly, he understood Titus as a person even more. "Good idea," was all he decided to say at first. And then, glancing ever so sideways at Titus, he added, "Don't let her trick you into it. She'll think she can change you. She'll be dead wrong."

[Titus Vere]

"It wouldn't make much sense for you to waste food, particularly since I've heard that drinkable blood is rather scarce on Nox. " Titus knew a great deal about weres, simply because they regularly showed up on Guild lists, or under the public bounty lists. He had made a point of speaking with weres, trading money for information, all to have the edge on his fellow assassins. Titus had yet to take on a job involving a were, but the time would come. And when it did, he would be prepared for all eventualities. "Killing for pleasure is an acquired taste. I imagine it would be similar for vampires."

While this conversation was interesting, Titus was feeling a bit encouraged that Elijah seemed willing to relax a little. It would likely take some time to convince the vampire that Titus was a man of his word, and that Eli was safe, at least in this particular apartment. They were under surveillance, but as long as Titus made sure that Elijah wasn't feeding in or around the apartment, Digeo would simply assume that Titus had adopted yet another Below-dweller.

Before Titus could clarify again, it seemed that Elijah clarified it for himself. Not for the first time, the vampire looked at Titus like he was looking at someone else. Elijah spoke as someone with a similar sort of experience. Titus wondered exactly what that experience was. "I have always been of the opinion that you can't change anyone's true nature. You may be able to control it, for a while, but eventually the dams you have built around them will burst and overflow, and the waves will destroy everything you've built."

He straightened up and looked Elijah in the eye, "I kill because I am compelled to kill. Just as you are compelled to kill. I hide my nature to survive, but it's still who I am, what I am. She can't change that, and I'd rather see her alive and with another man, than see her dead by my own hands when I inevitably lose control."

[Eli Wellington]

"It is," Eli nodded. "We've been living off of mostly rodents for... what must be a few centuries now. Animals are scarce. Somehow we still find some bigger animals turning up once and a while. I don't know... maybe the Weres have farms or something..." He'd never really thought about it before. Some of the vampires kept rabbits and the like, to always keep a supply of blood around. Surely the Weres must have been doing some form of population conservation deep in their territories that the vampires hadn't been able to get close enough to.

Titus essentially summed up his thoughts as he spoke. Summed up his memories, even. "Wolf in sheep's clothing, as they used to say," he commented. "Or, more often than not... in human skin." He glanced at his hands, noting the way the city lights hit his pale skin. Something about it seemed more noticeable up here than down in the Below. Perhaps it was because they were all pale down there, or maybe it was the lights themselves. He would have to figure out new tricks to disguise himself, if he were to spend more time here.

[Titus Vere]

It seemed that vampires and weres knew very little about one another's respective spheres. Titus had suspected such a gap existed when he began to inquire about vampires and discovered that most weres had very little accurate or useful information, besides how to kill them, of course. It was as if someone had erected a wall between the vampire settlements and the were settlements, and both sides barely ever glanced over the wall, except to capture people from the other side and kill them.

He would have liked to answer Elijah's question, but for everything that Titus knew about, the farming of livestock was not one of them. Most weres were unlikely to speak of where their meat came from, and the few who would talk were infuriatingly vague, or pointed to the shipments of meat and livestock that occasionally went to Nox. It was likely that this was a simple survival mechanism. If no one knew where the supposed farms were, or convinced themselves that they were unaware of their presence, then they would be able to continue to conceal that information, even under torture. A highly necessary and vital function when living among a planet full of superpredators.

Titus looked over at Eli once more, silently marveling to himself at how similar their minds thought. For the past few years, Titus had resigned himself to being always alone, always behind a mask. But Elijah had seen Titus without his mask, and he had not been repelled. Instead, he had found a kindred spirit. It was... better than Titus could have ever hoped for. Of course, it was still early to completely trust Elijah, and so a bit of him held back, quietly evaluating the best way to deal with vampire if he decided to attack.

He was about to ask Elijah if he had any idea how his world had become so divided between vampires and weres when he heard the soft chiming of an incoming call. "Excuse me, but I have to answer that." Titus told Elijah, "I would recommend you stay here and enjoy the view."

Titus entered his apartment, but left the door open. Closing it would simply make Elijah suspicious. And if by some slim chance, the call was from Digeo and was about the vampire in Titus' home, it would give Elijah a head-start. Titus very much doubted the call would be about that, but you could never be too careful. And he would rather not lead Elijah to believe that Titus was about to double-cross him or something equally tedious. He fully intended to cultivate his friendship with the vampire to it's full extent, if possible.

He picked the viewscreen facing away from the balcony and answered the call on it. It wasn't Digeo who answered, but one of the Guild's late night minders. "Is this channel secure?" The woman asked, even before Titus could greet her.

"Of course." It was a stupid question to ask. Titus ensured that every signal entering or leaving his house was secure. He was, after all, an assassin.

"We have a situation. I'm sending you the details. This has to be taken care of in two hours time." The woman's hands flew across the controls on her end, "This is a Code-White, so take the appropriate measures. Contact us when you've finished." The viewscreen blinked out, call ending as quickly as it had begun. Titus ignored the rudeness, though he made a note to speak to Digeo about his hiring practices. Titus checked his messaged, and went over the information. It seemed that a reporter had stuck his nose somewhere it didn't belong. This meant that he would need to disappear, and it would be up to Titus to make it look as if he had taken a hasty vacation.

Titus committed the details to memory and purged the message. He approached Elijah again, "My deepest apologies, but it appears that I have been tasked with a new and urgent assignment. If you can wait a moment for me to retrieve my tools, I would be happy to escort you to the nearest elevator and send you home."

[Eli Wellington]

"Of course," Eli nodded as Titus made his leave. Not to be completely left off guard, Eli glanced around the balcony, just in case. Titus didn't seem like a social person, so the announcement of someone contacting him was either incredibly important, or a ruse to leave Eli in a trap. Eli liked to be aware of his options in the event of either outcome.

He was awfully high up for a jump off the balcony, but there were certainly places nearby--ledges, other balconies, etc--that an escape would not be impossible. The location was probably intentional, if Titus' job had him thinking like Eli as much as he assumed. Like a hunter who sometimes found himself being hunted. Well thought out escape routes would always be important, even in his own home. Of course this meant that if the location was intentionally chosen for it's logistics, Titus would be aware of them, and be prepared in the case of someone else discovering them.

As Eli's mind was running through his possible options, he caught the sound of another voice, and his curiosity got the best of him. Noticing the door was still ajar, he peered through the crack, doing his best to get a good look at where the new voice was coming from. It seemed it was a screen, like the ones he'd seen Grace communicating with on her ship. Titus was in fact receiving a message, but whatever it was about, the voice on the other end never truly explained. He had to assume there was more information than he could see or hear.

As the room went quiet once more while Titus scanned the screen, Eli turned back to glance out at the city. There was so much strangeness about this world he had yet to learn. All of the new technology was only half of it. The politics, the way of life, it was all so similar and yet incredibly foreign at the same time. After so many years, he'd thought he was incapable of being surprised ever again, but the humans' world was a new adventure every day. The fact that he wouldn't be bored anymore, at least not for a very long time, excited him to no end.

Titus returned, seemingly needing to cut their night short. "Understandingly so," Eli nodded, doing his best to hide his disappointment. "That sounded like a pressing matter... whatever it was about." On the other hand, more excitement to save for another day, he realized. "Shall we head out, then?"

[Titus Vere]

Titus was glad to see that Elijah was so understanding. Though it almost seemed as if he was perhaps a bit disappointed. That was good. Titus was a bit disappointed himself. The rest of the evening could have been quite... profitable. But there was no reason why they couldn't resume their discussion at another date, perhaps some time soon.

"Of course. I'll just retrieve my things and be down. Feel free to look around." Titus headed for the stairs at the end of his home. He didn't like leaving people alone in his apartment, but his things were upstairs, and he would need them for a Code White. Besides, if he invited Elijah up to the bedroom, it would be too tempting to neglect his duty, and then there would be questions. Titus reached the top of the stairs and entered his study, This pre-packed tools were sitting in a back in his closet, and he grabbed them. He was still dressed for hunting in the Below, and though it wasn't perfect for this mission, it would do well enough.

The assassin shut his study and headed back down into the living room. He shut the balcony door as he passed it, and locked it tight. Titus glanced at Elijah, and found himself compelled to say something, to ensure that he would see Elijah again. He stopped with his hand on the door's handing, turning to face the vampire. "Would you care to join me for dinner in two days time? I can provide you with a way of locating my home again, and I can see to your dietary needs, if you wish." He paused, and once again, let himself be honest with Elijah, "I want to see you again, without any interruptions."

[Eli Wellington]

As Titus disappeared once more, Eli hovered in the entryway of the apartment. He was still surprised at the way people lived on Terra. Titus was considered extremely rich, and yet his home was surprisingly small. It was certainly larger than the tiny places he experienced in the Below, but Eli had definitely been expecting... well... his mansion.

The hazards of living on such an overpopulated planet, he supposed.

When Titus returned, he turned his focus away from his surroundings and back onto the human as he spoke. He smiled, not doubting for an instant that the assassin had ways of providing Eli with blood. "Of course. Although I'm afraid you're going to have to contact me, since it's so easy to lose track of day and night in the Below, and I'm still adjusting after being on a ship for so long. I have a padd, so you can likely find me via that."

[Titus Vere]

Elijah had a padd? That would make communication easier. Though it would be difficult to find Elijah on the Network, particularly since Titus had a feeling that someone else had set his account up. False accounts were abundant and often very difficult to sort through. But there was a work-around. Titus reached into his pocket, pulling out his wallet and pulling out a thin square of plastic with a small barcode embedded in it. He held it out to Elijah, "Hold this in front of your padd's camera. It will send your padd's contact information to me. I will be sure to send you the invite after darkness."

He stepped outside, waiting for Elijah to follow before shutting the door and ensuring that it locked. He set it to prevent anyone but Titus from entering or exiting. The last thing he needed was someone dropping by and bothering Sunny when she was already rather high-strung from tonight's unpleasant revelation. Once that was finished, he walked Elijah to the elevator, not bothering with the hack card. He fed the necessary fee into the elevator, and gave Elijah a polite nod, "I hope to see you soon."

[Eli Wellington]

He decided not to even bother asking how a piece of plastic would give his padd the info it needed. The answer would probably need further questions in order to even begin to wrap his brain around. So he took it from Titus and tucked it into the pocket inside his coat without a word, deciding to chalk it up to magic for now, and he'd leave the technological investigations for another day.

He pulled his hood over his head once more as they headed out, and he followed Titus towards the elevator, trying to keep an eye on their surroundings so he would recognize the area later when he returned. Finally they reached the familiar elevator, and Eli nodded in response to Titus. "I'll be waiting."

The door opened, and he stepped in, noting there was someone already inside. Nice. He smirked as he slowly turned around to face Titus once more. He shifted his eyes quickly, motioning in the direction of the other man in the elevator, and then sent Titus a wink just before the door slid closed once more.

"Morning," the man broke the silence.

Eli just grinned at him, baring his fangs.