Taming of the Shrill

Dallas Public Library


The library is a rather large building that extends two levels. Security gates at the entrance lead past a long rectangular circulation desk where patrons may check out or return books. Across from the circulation desk is large, archaic looking card catalogue beside which is a computer that is set up to locate books. Following the typical Dewey Decimal Classification System, the rows of shelves are laid out systematically, with large signs overhead so that patrons can find precisely what they are looking for. Study carols and tables line the walls, and one corner of the library is set aside for two separate lecture rooms that can booked for meetings.


An hour until the library closes for the evening, and unsurprisingly it is near-to-empty. A lone librarian is seated at the circulation desk, the faint hum of a photo-copier in the far back of the expansive building can be heard. Several books litter the desk, some open, many closed with colorful bookmarks between the pages.

Chloe is leaned over said books, pouring over the information and soaking it all in. Word after word, engrossed in the tales and history.

The door opens quietly, a silent shadow flits in, ceasing its rapid movement to be replaced by the slender figure of William Grant. Strangely, he is dressed outside of his usual bounds; a chunky black jacket makes his body look larger (or perhaps it is the chainmail underneath). Dark trousers, and even a pair of leather gloves finish the outfit. He is even wearing a scarf, a thin black number that looks easily pulled over his face.

Blue eyes flick around the library, as he begins to tour it with quiet, measured steps. His voice does come, a quiet, "Chloe?" questions whether or not she is present.

The presence of a mind, or rather a dark void, does not go unnoticed. Time for Chloe to take some more medication, but with no one having been in the library at all this evening, it hasn't seemed necessary. The voice causes her to raise an eyebrow, peering in the direction from whence it came.

"At the front desk," she whispers, as though she doesn't really care if he hears her or not.

Heard and noted, the vampire travels towards that place with his usual grace, though making no particular effort to be seen or unseen. "Chloe," says he, as he comes into sight, "Good evening."

The book she was perusing is slammed shut, papers being quickly piled atop it. Without bothering to look at him, Chloe frowns. "Good evening, Mr. Grant. How may we, at the Dallas Public Library, be of service to you this evening?" Her voice is a tad chilly, ire running through it.

"Still annoyed with me?" he asks, mildly. "Pray tell, Chloe Cornett, what exactly did I do to offend you so?" His expression is impassive, though good humour threads through his tone.

"Still annoyed?" Chloe scoffs a little, peering down at her papers. "Do you expect me to be /happy/ when you claim to want me, then scamper off with a barely-legal blonde? Shove me off onto your /assistant/?" Pushing back her chair, Chloe stands and slams her hands down onto the desk. "Just forget it, /Mr. Grant/. It's not important."

Slowly, a single brow lifts, the rest of the vampire's face remaining impassive. "Would you have allowed me to drink of you?" he asks, tone still mild. "I must remind you that you tracked me down when it was obvious that I did not particularly wish to found. Moreover, I do not believe you wish to be used for that particular purpose, and thus I did not ask out of politeness. It is necessary for me to feed from a human occasionally."

"You didn't /ask/," Chloe points out, lips pressing together. "As I said, it's not important. I went to find you to give you information I thought was necessary. I risked my neck going into that place to ensure you got it." She won't bother making that mistake again. "Now how may we assist you this evening?"

"You are being peurile," Will replies, simply. Slowly, he places his hands into the big pockets of the chunky jacket. "The information is likely to be of some use, and I spent the majority of our time in Bloody Mary's ensuring that the general populace did not believe you are important to me, thus sparing you from as much trouble as is possible."

He turns, facing away from her. "I will be certain in future to make sure I ask you first."

"I am not being juvenile," Chloe states. "Why does it matter what they think?" Never mind the fact that she /was/ followed home last night by two fangbangers that wanted to hurt her to find out why she got to speak with the Sheriff while they didn't - friends of the one that was tossed out of the bar. She does not relay that fact to him though.

Will turns back to face her again, the face impassive once more, not even the brow. "It matters because I am the law, the leadership and the power amongst vampires within the city, and I have enemies. I do not wish you to be attacked, hurt or otherwise interfered with. The very reason I wanted you to drink of me; that I am better able to protect you."

Chloe frowns at him, then shakes her head. "I appreciate the sentiment, Mr. Grant, but I don't need protection." Arms fold over her chest, and she winces just a little. "Why are you here?"

"You are hurt," Will says, locking his eyes upon her. His stance shifts slightly, a little more aggressive, though it is hard to tell in the volume of his jacket. "Show me."

"I'm not going to take my clothes off in the library!" Chloe glares at him briefly, then rolls her sleeve up a ways to show the first sign of a thin gash. "See? A minor injury. I'll live." Though she does also bear distinctive bruising from being gripped around the wrist. "Not like you /care/," she mumbles.

"Show me," Will repeats. "You know I am able to assist. When did this occur?"

"Mr. Grant, this is a public facility, and it's still opened. Whatever dirty librarian fantasies you may have will have to wait." These thoughts are ones she's quite used to, after all. Chloe shakes her head slowly. "I'll not remove my clothes at the circulation desk."

"I shall close the library if necessary," replies Will. "Tell me where you are injured, and tell me who by, and why." His stance is still slightly uneasy, slightly more aggressive than usual.

"Torso, shoulder, arm, neck." Chloe does remove the scarf accessory she was wearing, folding it neatly as she does so. Her neck is bruised a little more, a thin cut to the side of it. "I was jumped on the way home." She doesn't give a who or why, though.

"Who and why," Will says, unrelenting. "Chloe, this may be extremely important."

"Why do you /care/?" Chloe shouts this at him, then exhales a deep sigh. "I was followed from the bar. They weren't vamps, I don't know who they were. Fangbangers, fanatics… I didn't think to check. They got rough, I got out my mace and sprayed them. Like I said, I'll live."

Apparently unbothered by the shouting, Will studies what he is able to with a sweeping, practiced eye. "I need you to do something for me. I need you to remember their faces, and think it very strongly. Are you able to do that?" He offers forwards a hand, palm upwards. "Then I will help you heal, and tell you how we are going to find Rose Tyler."

"I don't need help healing," Chloe replies adamantly. She continues to frown at him. "Why do you care? Why do you work so hard to push me away one night, and then pretend to care the next? Stop toying with me!" A smidge emotional, but she's not had the best time of it since last night. Nor does she reach for the hand just yet either.

"Push you away?" Will queries, mildly. "I was attempting to ensure your safety. I obviously did not succeed. Perhaps I misconstrued your view of our relationship. Now. Your hand."

"The anger, the insult, and the purposefully making me jealous. That was all meant to ensure my safety?" Chloe shakes her head at him, sighing exasperatedly. "We don't have a relationship," she states coldly, though in truth she realizes that is likely what he wants to hear. Her hand is /slammed/ into his. She thinks of the two. Both male, both larger than she, both from the group of the guy who caused the scene.

"My anger was not directed at you, insults were given to dissuade anyone from believing you were important and the jealousy likewise," Will says, gently. "We do have a relationship; though it is not a romantic one or a sexual one, but perhaps leaning more towards friendliness." As her hand touches his, the whites of his eyes appear, holding in place for a few seconds. They snap back. "I recognise them. Thank you. I hope we are able to put this altercation behind us." Though his voice is still impassive.

"Do you generally share bodily fluids with your friends, Mr. Grant?" Chloe draws her hand away, crossing her arms over her chest again. After a moment, she pinches the bridge of her nose. "Forget it. Tell me about your plan to find Rose."

"The mortal ones, occasionally yes," Will replies. "You have met Erica." His smile that flicks open is dryly amused. "Though I have not fed upon her. We are going to interrogate someone."

Again, he's attempting jealousy. Chloe grits her teeth, tosses both hands into the air and mutters something incoherent. Literally incoherent, not just quiet. "Why do you need my help to interrogate someone? Can't you just nab them, then do that vampire voodoo thing on them to get what you want?"

"I find you, when not angered, to be a calming influence," says Will, "and you will be able to find things that I may struggle to obtain." A light shrug touches his shoulders, and a wry smile comes forth. "You should not feel anything in regards to other women. Erica has drunk of me that I may protect her and that she may perform her role more effectively."

"I have no doubt it's much the same way with spiders and flies. Entice them in with a little taste so that their own dinner desires can be fulfilled. Nice to know you have extra meal plans." Chloe hmphs, then turns away from him. With the scarf removed, and her hair pulled up into a chignon, the bruising upon her shoulder is very apparent. "I will do it for /Rose/, to ensure her safety."

"Why do you feel it necessary to insult me quite so much?" Will asks her, pointedly. "Why would you assume that my wanting to feel the taste of your blood and wanting to claim you as my own would ever mean that I do not feed from others, that I do not have close ties to others? I have no wish to anger you."

A look is given to him as he asks it, and Chloe just shakes her head. "Forget it." If she need explain, then it's really not all that important. "When do you want me to help with Rose? Where?"

"Soon. Explain. Do you feel something growing between us?" Will asks.

"I said forget it." Chloe moves to seat herself at the desk again, rolling the chair up to it and randomly begins to rearrange papers, refusing to look up.

The vampire continues to study her, not quite touching, though drawing close. "Your hand again, please," says he, holding his own forth. "Think of the face of the larger of the two men. Then I shall explain."

Sighing in a resigned manner, Chloe drops her hand into his. The thoughts of the scuffle, and the larger of the two men are broadcast as well as she's able. It /was/ dark, and she was more concerned with getting away than with memorizing their visages. While she concentrates, her eyes remain down on the papers, though she's no longer focusing on them quite as intently.

The vampires eyes do roll up again, but this time only for the briefest of moments. Instead, his body moves at high speed, face and lips dropping to rest briefly on the back of Chloe's hand. "For good or for ill, I feel an attraction dangerous in scope to you, Chloe Cornett. My nature will make it difficult. As will a tendency…" He trails off, allowing her to finish should she wish.

There are several things that happen in that brief moment. The first is the widening of eyes. The second is an increase in heart rate, as she's uncertain of his intentions. This he may hear, as well as feel depending upon how he has hold of her hand. The third is a laugh. Loud, clear, joyful. Shaking her head, Chloe steals a glance, and finishes, "… to the shrill?"

"Yes," says he, expression impassive again. "Now, we must move. First you should drink, then we shall go to the address I have and garner the truth from this girl. I do not accept the possibility that she is not complicit in something. Afterwards, I shall make her forget anything occured."

Okay, so on some deeper level, she realizes that his little show and admission were just to butter her up and get her to do what he wants. Chloe accepts this, and simply asks, "Is it necessary for me to do that, in order to heal before coming with you?"

With hand still touching, Will looks into her eyes and slowly shakes his head. "Remember I feel your emotion. Cease attempting to deceive yourself. It is not necessary, but I would advise it."

"I just feel as though you're asking me to jab a straw in your neck." Chloe, grinning sheepishly, looks at him. "It's weird for me. The thought of biting you, or drinking your blood just to make myself feel better. Won't it weaken you?"

"Not appreciably," Will replies, "for I have recently fed. I drink a large volume of synthetic."

"No chance you could… uh… just accidentally bleed on me again?" Chloe laughs nervously, still giving him that sheepish look. Blood doesn't make her squeamish, but it's truly not a situation she would have ever figured herself to be in.

Will continues to just look at her. Then he lifts his hand from hers, and lifts wrist to his lips. A small, liquid sound slithers out as he pops fangs and makes a tear into his wrist. "Before I spill everywhere or heal." He holds the freshly pumping limb up towards her face.

That… really doesn't help. Chloe makes a face, wrinkling her nose up at him. She looks to the wrist, sees the blood starting to drip downward, and forces herself to lap it up. Her lips then close over the wound, and she suckles, though after about thirty seconds she stops and peeks up at him.

For a moment, it looks as though she's going to be ill. Instead, she rushes to her purse which lays on the floor and grabs a bottle of water, downing it as swiftly as she can to rinse the coppery taste from her mouth.

The vampire merely looks down at her, watching with some interest. The wound is healing even as she releases it, and Will ensures cleanlines by licking up the remainder from his arm. "A moment for you to heal, and grow used to your gift being strengthened. Then we go."

Chloe finishes the bottle of water. She wipes at her lips to ensure there is no blood remaining upon them. Then she gets it - it's less about the wounds and more about her ability. She nods, leaning back against the wall. While the bruises don't exactly dissipate, they do lessen from their glaring purple to a faint yellow. The gash upon her arm begins close up.

Will watches and waits. "I have a balaclava to ensure that you cannot be recognised. I will call you Jessica. You will call me Barry. What we are doing is not particularly legal. Oh, as I recall. I also have a gift for you at my estate."

"A… alright." Chloe just tries to wrap her head around what it is he's wanting of her. To read the girl's mind? Wait, what? "A gift for me? A very odd time to mention it…"

"I was reminded by the illegality of our actions," Will replies, dryly. "A file. Now, we are leaving. Simply drink in as much of her mind as you are able." Then the vampire begins to walk towards the door, towards the outside. "I will carry you much of the way."

A quick decision is made, since she'll have to come back to close up properly after their mission is complete. Chloe reaches down to grab her keys, so she can at least lock up in her absence. "You got the file?" That gift seems to make her quite happy. She moves around the desk to follow him toward the door.

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