deathoftheauthor | the city

( Louis is worried for a moment when he sees Lestat's name pop up on his little screen so soon after they've parted, and it's a relief when the reason for it is so benign.

... also, yes, yes he did. )

I wonder. We've gotten coffins up narrower stairs than those, haven't we?

Why, did you find one you like?

Mmmm...

[ A noise of thought to most but Louis will surely recognise it more as the sound of him completely making up his mind. ]

The time period of the style here is confused, to say the least. I wonder if other people have brought the furniture they found in their apartments and replaced them with items here.

[ A muffled sound, like him getting to his feet from sitting. ]

It isn't a legitimate Chesterfield, but it will do.

Oh?

( The sound of Louis' interest sparking to life. Lestat knows his tastes so well... )

That's a timeless style. Well spotted, Lestat. Is it leather or velvet?

[ He keeps his voice level but he is incredibly satisfied by the praise, and by knowing his choices have pleased Louis. ]

Leather. Not real, so it won't last a century. A couple of decades at most.

[ Listen to him, talking like they're in their own world. ]

There's an armchair and footstool, too, if we're feeling particularly adventurous.

What could be more adventurous than an armchair?

We can bring them home too, presuming we don't have to abandon the couch on the street. I think I'm still strong enough for that.

Oh, you think so, do you? Well, it seems its decided.

Even so, I won't let you have the honor of throwing our current couch off the fire escape. I'll reserve that right for myself.

I'll survive the disappointment somehow. Perhaps we can burn the remains afterward.

You can do whatever you like with it, I plan to forget its existence entirely once it leaves my hands.

[ He almost sounds wistful; imagine him swooning over murdering an ugly couch. ]

How is your search for dirt going, amour? Have you resorted to scooping handfuls from the ground outside yet?

Ah... not yet, no. I wonder how well that would work? I don't know how anything grows here, to tell the truth, with no worms or insects to speak of. No, but I've found a bag of potting soil...

( He says it with a certain amount of skepticism, worried that he's going to make some obvious error. )

You don't think it's too late in the year for it, do you?

[ He laughs a bit at that, sorry Louis. ]

My dear, I have absolutely no idea! It very well could be, or it could be the perfect time. It's not like you have any guides to read here that might speed up the process... but I have more than enough faith in your quest for the answer. Your determination can be quite impressive.

( And to think he accused you of being a farmer. )

I have nothing to lose, I suppose. I wish they had more seeds to choose from, or something a bit more mature... Perhaps there are still other shops to peruse, I don't know. I would dearly like to find some jasmine.

You know, there might be someone here with more knowledge of this kind of thing than I, even where you might find more seeds, or… cuttings, or however it is that plants are cultivated. I know you prefer the insular lifestyle, but it might be a good idea to ask an expert rather than your devilishly handsome companion. If you were asking me whether I prefer records or cassette tapes, I might have more to say to you on the matter.

But.... jasmine. [ A noise of thought, some idle rummaging; he's clearly reminiscing. ] Any reason for that one in particular?

I'm talking to my devilishly handsome companion because I enjoy it, not because it serves any practical purpose.

Jasmine has a number of meanings... love, attachment, good fortune. Some others, less relevant. But most importantly for me, it blooms at night. And if you'll forgive my nostalgia... it makes me think of home. No matter where I am, the scent of jasmine in bloom always brings me back to New Orleans.

[ He knew it, he just wanted to hear Louis say it, and the soft sound he makes in response says more about his satisfaction and shared nostalgia than any words ever could. ]

Ah, you could find a whole host of flowers that bloom at night, get some trellis panels and cover the wall by the window with them. That way, everyone in the city will know where the vampires live.

( Louis lets out a quiet laugh, as charmed by the idea as he is amused by Lestat's audacity. )

Do we want everyone in the city to know where the vampires live?

Hm, well, I suppose we could. There's no harm in it here like there once was. They either don't believe us, or have experience with our kind already. I've yet to experience a mortal who I thought might lose his mind at the revelation-

[ A sudden pause, so quick it actually cuts him off mid-speech. ]

Actually. No, that's not entirely true..

[ Wrenching himself back, his voice is a little louder than before when he continues: ]

But anyone would need to know their flowers to have any kind of suspicion, anyway. And be awake at night, which is a time we can protect ourselves the most. I don't see the harm in it.

( Louis makes a quiet sound, a little hum that says he's taking something Lestat said more seriously than perhaps Lestat would like him to. )

I met a gentleman who told me he tried to attack you. Is that true?

[ Lestat takes a moment of pause, seriously considering an attempt at derailment - Would you like full length drapes, Louis? They have a lovely dark green set here with golden fringing... but ultimately knowing Louis is very unlikely to let it drop. ]

... Yes. He would have shot me if he had his gun.

Lestat...!

( A helpless little exclamation of concern. He's glad Lestat's being honest enough to admit it, and a gun wouldn't do any lasting damage to him, but the thought still makes Louis' stomach drop. )

Well, thank goodness he didn't. He knew my name, and when he told me the reason, I knew that he must have made quite an impression on you...

[ He'd been expecting that, but the way it makes his heart flip to hear such obvious concern wasn't something he'd been expecting, so he can't help the telltale sound of a smile in his voice when he replies. ]

Louis, don't worry. I told you I wouldn't get into anything I couldn't handle. But yes, he has made a lingering impression on me. He's quite the tortured soul, very complicated, but full of an earnestness you rarely see in modern men. I assume, because he's not a modern man. He didn't know what a rock star was.

[ A little laugh, but one that sounds oddly strained. The longer he speaks, the more troubled he sounds, until it's obvious that the dam has broken because he's just blabbering. ]

He thought I'd been sent here by some unknown master vampire when he saw my username. I had to convince him it was the name of my band and nothing more. He's been tricked by a friendly face before, but I couldn't let him think I was trying to harm him. I don't know if what I did was the best idea - lying to him like that, pretending to be a stupid mortal dressing up in costumes, reassuring him that I am nothing to worry about when it couldn't be further from the truth - but it's what I did regardless.

Oh, Lestat...

( Louis sits with a heavy, sympathetic sigh. He feels a twinge of something beneath his concern, an uncomfortable identification with those qualities Lestat is describing so fondly. But there isn't any time to dwell on that, not when Lestat sounds so sincerely distressed. Louis wishes he were there so he could embrace him, but perhaps Lestat wouldn't be able to say all of this if he had to look Louis in the eye. )

I want to tell you what a reckless fool you've been, of course, but how could you have known? Especially if you still believed you were alone.

[ The sound of Lestat drumming his nails on whatever hard surface he's currently near, even as Louis talks, like his body is trying to expel energy without knowing how.

Louis' sympathy is surprisingly soothing, and not for the first time Lestat marvels at his natural instinct to keep things so close to his chest when this kind of comfort is so readily available to him. He'd been so desperate to seem strong around Louis once, enough apparently to starve himself of the affection he craved. ]

... I miss you already, how can that be.

[ His voice is quiet, so quiet, he doesn't even know if the phone will pick him up, but he can't bottle how badly he wants to feel Louis' hands carding through his hair, even if there are no more sympathetic words to be said, even if it's just the silence of quiet consolation. ]

You would be right to call me a fool. [ His voice is at it's normal volume again, and he permeates it with a heavy sigh. ] But no matter. I'll deal with the consequences.

[ Then, another sudden pause as if a thought has struck him suddenly. ]

You know his face, yes? Keep alert when you are not with me. I would like to think he wouldn't, but I fear I might have gone against your wishes and brought danger to your doorstep again.

I'm not afraid. I've learned to look after myself.

( But he says it so gently, forgiving Lestat for everything without even needing to say so. )

Where are you, mon ami? I've seen enough seeds for one night.

[ Lestat loves to hear that he's not afraid, knows full well that he can give as good as he gets, that Ethan is only a mortal when the cards are drawn and Louis has vampiric strength even if it's weakened like they all are in this place... and yet still - impossibly, selfishly, full of guilt - he worries.

When Louis asks his location, he is genuinely surprised for all of a second before eagerness kicks in and all he wants is for Louis to find him, here, now. ]

... The furniture showroom in the mall. I can come to the exit.

The mall?

( Now he's concerned again, and if Lestat is listening closely, he can hear Louis' steps pick up speed. He's heard that it's safe now, but he hasn't been back himself to confirm that it's true, nor has he thought to warn Lestat away. )

I'm on my way. I'll be just a few minutes. But you're all right?

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