Cosmetic Vampirism?

Fontane-Tyler Residence

Three words comes to mind when one enters the Fontane-Tyler abode - work in progress. The entrance hallway opens up to rooms - all three- are large and spacious, are completely empty. The floor, an attractive wooden set. The windows are large and let in incredible amounts of light when the sun is out - but the ceiling is occasionally left unpanelled as some electrical problem is left to be sorted out, and the wallpaper is an ugly floral design. Always, cans of paint can be found tucked to the side The bathroom and kitchen found on the first floor however, are well-furnished with appliances and look rather dapper and ready - with the latter employing a very attractive dark green marble top on its counters as well as the island in the middle of the room.

Up the wooden staircase found near the entrance hallway, three rooms can be found - two obviously meant to be bedrooms of modest size, with the master bedroom having a walk in closet and slight size advantage. The state of the rooms are very much like the downstairs area.

Out back, there is a considerable amount of backyard space, generally overrun by nature. Right beside the house, foundations have been laid out - clearly, someone intends to build a porch here. And soon.


Paint. Paint, paint everywhere. All over the walls, the tarp that's covering the floor, and especially all over the ugly pair of overalls Ivan happens to be wearing, which colors him a very cheery shade of pale sky blue. When he opens the door to his house to welcome in Chloe, he has his baseball cap on backwards and a streak of paint covering the bridge of his nose - completing his 'handy' image.

Did she know there was painting going on? Did she ask? Chances are, Chloe didn't on either account. Which is why she shows up in the clothing she typically wears to the library for work. Her hair is pulled half-back, and she's wearing a summer business suit. Skirt, dressy sandals, short-sleeved suit-jacket, and a very light camisole.

"You have a bit of green on your nose," she points out when the door opens. "Should I change before coming in, or is it safe enough for me like this?"

"It's safe! It's safe! Just…don't touch anything, yeah?" Ivan has a smile on his face, though it looks a bit tired. Holding his arms out, he motions for the woman to follow him in. "Sorry about the mess. Me an' Faith are still trying to fix the place up before moving in. Hey, what d'you think of the color? I chose it!" And he's proud of it, damn it. "Ahem. Anyway, I just wanted to let you know what was going on. Turns out? That ribbon of yours? Advanced piece of magic, right there."

"At least you're not painting the roses red," she mutters, following him, but keeping her hands out to either side to keep her outfit from bumping into the walls. "I was going to ask what you were doing here in the middle of the day. Don't you actually do any work at the mayor's office?" The grin on her face, though he likely can't see it, would show him that she's just trying to playfully give him a hard time.

"I think it looks good, so long as you don't do the entire house in that color. Then again, I'm awfully partial to green since it goes well with my hair." Not her eyes. Her hair. "Advan— so no luck on it then?" This is where she'd slump against the wall, but considering the wall is still woefully wet, she just sort of gnaws on her lip.

"Nah, not really. I just look good in a suit, so they gave me the job." It's clearly a jest from Ivan, building upon Chloe's tease. But when she goes on about green he lets out a sigh, removing his hat from his head. "Ah. So that's why you adore my presence, green eyes. I gotchya. And - hey. I never said I didn't have any luck, did I?" Cue a rather dramatic pause for effect, and he turns to peer at Chloe. "It was more hassle than it was worth. I had to pull on quite a few of my contacts to get it done…"

"Don't I know it. You looked so good in the suit that they just wouldn't leave you alone at that event." Winking at him, Chloe shakes her head. "Oh, hey. Faith didn't flip out over that article, did she? I mean, I know that was the point, to pull some of the heat away from her and all, but just please reiterate to her that I don't have my designs on you or anything?"

There is a nod, and a sigh. "Look, I'll pay you whatever it costs… so long as it doesn't involve my soul or my first born child or anything…" Not that she's liable to have children, being as she's only got three months to live and all.

Ivan smiles faintly, clearly amused by her words. "Your designs? Don't worry about it, Chloe. I told you already. She knew I was going, knew who I was going with, and even better - thanks to you, we had really, really hot sex after the whole event. In fact, I should be thanking you again. After all, I bet it must've been somewhat cumbersome and all…" Ahem. "Well…how much does this matter to you, Chloe?" The way he asks this question ought to make the psychic become alert.

"Yes, my designs. You know, after all that speculation and how good we looked in that photo, I'm sure anyone who didn't know either of us would think there was something going on there." Chloe is about to say more, but the only thing she can manage thanks to the over-share is, "Geeze, Fontane. Tee Emm Eye, okay?" Even if he's verbally being honest, and it's much better than his own speculations about how a girl looks under her skirt, it's still got that bit of 'ew' factor.

"That all depends," she says, mind now on full alert, delving into his (and trying to avoid the icky bits), to find out why he's asking that.

"Oh c'mon!" Ivan can't help but laugh, the severity of before gone now as he ends up grinning boyishly at the woman. "I didn't even say anything graphic! Wait, you're a virgin aren't you? If I recall correctly. Anyway, you're right about the photo and all, but luckily, the only person who matters does know us well enough.

But now, it's time to sober up. And crossing his arms over his broad chest, Ivan purses his lips slightly. His mind is blurry - purposefully so. "What if I asked you to hold off on killing yourself."

"I haven't been a virgin for a very long time," Chloe says simply and matter-of-factly. She's not going into any details, and she's not going to explain the hows or whys of it. "It doesn't matter if you said anything graphic, Ivan. It was there in the recesses of your mind."

But his question sobers her up considerably. "For starters, I'm not killing myself anymore than anyone getting plastic surgery is killing themselves. Changing my makeup isn't going to make me dead." She'll just be around in another form. "And secondly, it's not my timeline, it's Will's. If you really want me to hold off on it, you'll have to take it up with him." She's already asked to push the date back until after the wedding.

"I can't help it, okay! It isn't my fault you can read my mind!" It really isn't. That's what she gets for probing. So ha. But when the discussion continues, Ivan can't help but wrinkle his nose with slight distaste. "Did you really just compare becoming a vampire to cosmetic surgery? Last I checked, getting lipo didn't stop your heart from breathing, or make you burst into flames when you stood in the sunlight. Maybe I just haven't had much exposure with cosmetic surgery though, to be fair…" Beat. "Ah. I suppose it was worth a try, though."

"Well how is it different? So I change my appearance, and instead of wandering around with botox'd fish-lips for a month, I just hang out after dark. Which is what I do now mostly anyhow." Chloe will never understand, no matter how many minds she listens in on, why everyone is so against her doing this. It's a choice, it's not like it's being forced on her.

"What's the matter? Afraid to talk to Will? It's not like he's some scary monster. I've met an honest to goodness scary vampire, and let me tell you it wasn't any fun. Will's super nice in comparison."

"You idolize him. Put him up on a pedestal. Look at him through rosy glasses." Ivan intones, not really looking to discuss the issue of Will any further. After that, however, he ends up shaking his head in denial and walking off. "Everything is different, Chloe. You'll be no longer human. Your values, your grips on your humanity will slip away. You'll become a parasite, living off of others, worst comes to worst. And you wont be able to appreciate the warmth…the simple joy of breathing any longer…"

"Untrue on all parts. I've met young vampires, and all of them retain their humanity. By the time my humanity is gone, it will be hundreds of years. Besides which, there's nothing parasitic about drinking from a bottle, unless of course you drinking beer is parasitic." So there. Chloe steps to the side to avoid the wall, and then shakes her head. "It doesn't matter. It's my decision." And that's all she's saying on that.

"Did you find out anything useful about the ribbon? Beyond the fact that I'm screwed and it's super-powerful magicks that means it's not easily broken?"

"I said if worst comes to worse. And, young vampires retain their humanity. That's the point. When you're young and naive, you're good. But the older you get, you lose all traces of it. I've met just as many vampires as you have, Chloe. And I've not been shielded by a King while doing so." And with that, it's done with. There's nothing more to discuss.

"I have a contact of mine whipping up a counter-charm as we speak. A sort of anti-ribbon, that I think you'll have to wear for the duration of the time, until the original spell wears off. Okay? It's the easiest way to combat it - as trying to break the spell could take weeks and weeks of preparation and one ridiculously elaborate ritual that I'd rather avoid."

Chloe would argue that she's not been shielded by the King, but the truth of the matter is she's been protected since day one, even if it was partially without her knowledge until later.

"Could you possibly get them to make it like a choker? I can get away with wearing a new piece of jewelry for a while, but wearing a weird ribbon tied around my wrist is a lot more difficult to explain…" Although she can likely work a ribbon into anything and find a way to wear it — in her hair even. "If not, I'll figure something out. And I still owe you for this, Ivan. I'm willing to pay, or offer a favor in return."

"Sure deal." Ivan offers to the woman, a faint smile on his face. "It'll be an amulet of sorts, from what I know. Probably some girly locket that you can fasten to some sort of jewelry piece - like a choker, necklace, or bracelet. I'll ask for it to be as discreet as possible. And - no. No, it's fine. I don't want anything in return, not really. Just…take it as a token of our friendship, yeah?" Beat. "I should have it for you before the end of the week."

"Oh, perfect!" Chloe looks as though she's going to hug him, but holds back in case his girlfriend is around. Not that hugging a friend is a bad thing, but having seen into Faith's mind, and the jealousy? Something she wants to avoid. Then again, she really wants to avoid Faith too, for fear of having the mind snap back on her and have both of them wind up crazy.

"I will pay you back though. Some day. You just remember if you need help learning what an opponent is up to in the mayor's office, that I can read minds, hmm?" Sure, that's cheating and all, but it's helpful too.

"I'm not going to lie," Ivan admits, grinning broadly. "That'd be mighty useful. Hey, you wouldn't happen to want a job at the office, eh? No interest in getting into politics? Because with your gifts? That'd be fairly amazing for us." He attempts to cajole brightly and easily.

"Lil' ol' me? In politics?" Chloe just goggles at him and then laughs. "She-it, Fontane. You know I don't have the education for that, and while we both know I could catch on real quick, it's a far stretch to have a librarian suddenly up and join the mayor's retinue."

"We'll start you off nice and easy," Ivan continues on, a broad smile on his face as he continues to speak. "You'll be my office aide or something. And then from then on, we could have you promoted due to excellence and all. Ah, you know what? Seriously. Think about it." Replacing the hat upon his head, he then adopts a super-hero pose, placing his hands upon his waist. "Anyway…I guess that's all I had to say. Thanks for dropping by."

"Wait, seriously? You want me to work for you?" Does he not see that going over horribly? Chloe snickers a little, then nods. "Well I'll think about it, sure, but I won't be running around picking up your dry cleaning, capiche?"

Then he's dismissing her, and she has to laugh again. "Look, you and Faith should come by sometime for dinner. I'm not the world's best cook, but I can barbecue up a storm. Not the apartment though, too small. I've got mama's house until the next full moon, so come on by any time, alright?"

Offering a small wave as she turns to show herself out, she adds, "You might want to go with something sunny in the kitchen. A pale yellow with the right accessories'd look mighty nice."

"Yeah I'm serious. Why wouldn't I be?" Ivan challenges, looking quite confident in his words. "And, fine. But you still get Starbucks duty! And you know what? We just might, Chloe. I hope you meant that invitation and weren't just trying to be polite, because you'll soon be faced with two very hungry mouths to feed." He accompanies her to the door, before blinking at her suggestion. "Ha! Alright! I'll look into it. Thanks, man!"

Unless otherwise stated, the content of this page is licensed under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 License