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Lamara lives in a truly ridiculous house. In fact, it's a property with like 4 houses situated naer together, most of them around a central courtyard, in an absurdly wealthy part of the Philly suburbs. When Atalo wanted to talk, Lamara told him to come by around midnight, if that was convenient for him, and just ring the doorbell at the door of the main house to let her know he'd arrived.
Presumably that's where she meets him now, dressed in loose and flowing clothes that leave her shoulders and arms, and the tattoos that cover them, bare. She and Henevi both seem to favor clothing in that similar sort of style, so Atalo is probably used to seeing it.
She leans lightly against the door and smiles at Atalo when it's open. "Good evening, my friend," she says to him with genuine warmth. "Do you want to come in, or go for a walk? There's plenty of privacy here either way."
Atalo's arrived with Cerberus in tow, as normal. The hound's apparently never been more then a few metres from his master, but now sits a short distance back, observing the meeting with canine curiosity. Atalo's dressed in leather armour with a grey cloak tossed over it, a bulge on his back indicative of the axe and shield he's taken to carrying. "Good evening Lamara." He responds with a quiet smile, lacking her deep warmth but likewise appearing genuine. "I'm happy to follow your own desires, thanks for agreeing to speak."
Lamara glances out at the night outside and then admits, "it's a little cooler than I prefer, if I'm being honest." Lifting at one corner, her characteristic easy smile shifts in character. "I'm a little more sensitive to the temperature than you folx seem to be. Come on in, we'll go sit in the lunarium." She motions for him to follow and heads toward the back of the house.
"An admission, I rarely feel temperature changes unless they're extreme. For that sort of thing, it's best to keep me aware." Atalo answers with a nod, turning to pad after her. Cerberus follows, unless dogs are to stay outdoors. "What is a lunarium? I assume it's connected to the moon."
"It's like a solarium, except that vampires can use it without starting on fire." Lamara laughs lightly and shrugs. "It's what Henevi and I have taken to calling ours, in any case. It will mean we can still see the night, but not feel the cold."
It only takes a few moments to reach the room, which is oversized like everything else in the house, with plenty of room to host a small party within its glass walls. She moves toward a couch, where she seats herself and pats the spot beside her in invitation.
His lips curve as he chuckles quietly. "That is very much preferred, yes. The sun's something I've no protection against." There's a pause then, a flicker in his expression, but whatever it is he shakes it off, resuming in his quiet tone a moment later, amusement gone. "Do you enjoy the night?"
Once they reach the room and she invites him to sit, he removes his cloak, axe and shield, lying them down carefully before sitting next to her with a slight nod, head canted in quiet thought.
Lamara thinks about Atalo's question while he's stripping himself of much of his gear, her expression distant and pensive. Once he sits she starts to answer. "I've been on a night-oriented schedule for almost two hundred years," she tells him as she shifts a little closer, not close enough to touch or invade personal space, but enough to make the conversation feel more intimate. Like she's sharing secrets, even though none of what she's saying is. "There's a lot I love about the daylight world, but I've also come to truly appreciate the night. 'Either the Darkness alters, or something in the sight adjusts itself to Midnight, and life steps almost straight'." It comes with an intonation that suggests she's quoting something.
He turns to her as she moves closer, though he takes care to avoid physical contact. "Two hundred years gives a great deal of time to adapt. And I feel more than your sight will have adjusted. The night is more secretive, quieter, more serene. Where the sun burns, the night soothes, yes?"
"Night is quieter, which is both a blessing and a disadvantage," Lamara answers, wearing her steady smile. "A lot of the important work I need to get done for Henevi I can only do during the day, when the bustle of human life is most condensed. I cherish the night-time hours that I get as well, though. They give me time to think, to connect. It feels like a more intimate time, and some of the best conversations I have - even with the living - are at night."
"Hm." He considers this. "I hadn't given that thought, that it's easier to hide when there's more to see you. But I can understand it, I think. Who sees one more face in a crowd?" The Gangrel nods slowly. "I hope I offer a good conversation to add then, living or not." He reaches out as if to pat Cerberus, then realizes he's not there and withdraws his hand.
"You do," Lamara answers with a laugh. She reaches out to put a hand on Atalo's arm, just for a moment. "I enjoy talking with you. You're always so welcoming and supportive of the members of other Acolytes, and everyone else." She tilts her head, looking at him with a slight shift in perspective. "You wanted to talk about something, though. I'm sure it wasn't me, was it?"
"You find I am?" This actually seems to surprise him. "I, hgn. My duty is to the Circle, in terms of being Guardian. Phaedra, Henevi, they offer far more in terms of support." He glances at her hand when she rests it on his arm, musing.
"I've no objections to talking about you." He offers in assurance. "But yes, there was something else. And." He pauses, thinking. "It might be best to start from the beginning. How much did you know about Anna-Marie, and how much about the Changelings?"
"Don't sell yourself short, my friend." Lamara's smile doesn't falter. "I've seen the way you welcome people when they come to your shop. I've seen the way you listen to other people when they need someone to listen to them. I've felt your stalward presence, even when your protection wasn't needed. I think that you're a rock to more people than you know."
Her head un-tilts and shakes. "I try to stay well out of messes like that. Ghouls who get mixed up in those kinds of affairs often end up dead. I don't know much about the Changelings, except that they exist."
"You're aware then, that both me and Henevi will protect you if need be." A nod. "But I won't ask you to be involved, simply to listen so I explain. In truth, I know little finer details about them myself." He clasps his hands in front of himself. "I'm not sure if I'm what you see of me. Most times, when I greet and speak to people, I'm just.. trying to stick to phrases and manners that fit." A pause.
"But yes. Changelings are, from what Mearcstapa told me, those who escaped from very powerful, very cruel beings and keep themselves hidden to stay safe. Anna-Marie has threatened them numerous times. And the last time was when one, who I have some affection for, was in my store. I ran out of patience, staked her, and offered her to them. I believe they took her to the roof and waited for dawn."
"You can only protect me when you're there. If you're not, then all you can do is avenge me, and at that point I'll be beyond caring," Lamara answers sadly. "It's better if I just stay out of the way in the first place." She reaches out to put a hand on his arm again. "It's not what you say that often matters the most, especially to the people who know you. It's what you feel in your heart. Your desire to protect people. The intention behind your words, even if you can't find the right ones."
Lamara listens to the rest with interest, this time not removing her hand from its contact unless Atalo seems uncomfortable. "How do you feel about that?"
"Do you think others see that?" He asks her quietly. "I'm old Lamara. Not as old as some, but I think I'm, hgn, faded somehow. I struggle to connect and understand others." Fingers tap together. "Satisfied." He decides. "She threatened someone I cared about, and I was able to put an end to that danger. Frustrated, because I made sure she didn't injure that person when she tried, and later learned she's a Changeling herself and not helpless. And I'm worried I implied I felt she needed protection."
"I know Henevi does. I'm sure that others do too." Lamara's smile is one of quiet sympathy. "A lot of older vampires feel that way. Henevi struggles to relate to people too, in her own way, even though for someone of her age she's surprisingly tender hearted."
"If you didn't know that your friend was one of those Changelings, I think she'd find it understandable that you'd want to protect her," Lamara says in a soothing tone. "Very few mortal humans can stand up to a vampire who is trying to do them harm, so if she hadn't told you what she was, it was reasonable for you to not take chances."
He nods. "I suspect I'm not the only one, mm. It's part of the nature of having seen so much time." Atalo offers her a smile back. "Thank you."
"As for my friend, I think you're right. Her not being human makes it easier, though I will stress I was aware she was a Changeling before this. I'd still determine to stand between her and a sword though, given it can't truly harm me. But apart from worries about the impression I gave, I.." He pauses, grunting in quiet frustration. "How do I show interest without being rude or unwanted, and to feel natural? I've not been with a lover for over a hundred years and my last was a werewolf,."
"I think it's also, partly, forgetting what it's like to be human," Lamara suggests. "Henevi only spent 20 or so years being a human being, and even if you only count the time she's spent awake, a couple of hundred years being a goddess who has humans worshipping at her feet. It's easy to forget how to relate to people as people after so long."
When Atalo does finally get to the heart of what he's struggling with Lamara laughs and leans forward to put her arms around him in a hug, brief but affectionate. "Oh Atalo," she says as she leans back. "That's something that, in my experience, most people struggle with. Even the living. The main thing that seems to change it is experience."
He nods. "Much more time as a vampire, yes. Joining the Circle, learning our ways and then living through several centuries. It does have an impact as you leave humanity behind."
He pats her arm carefully as she hugs him, looking her way to listen. "Then, I should simply act. Explain this to her and see how she responds?"
"Usually just acting is the best way, in my experience," Lamara answers, and her shoulders lift briefly before she goes on. "Tell her what it is you like and admire about her. Try to make it about the things that are her choices, not just the qualities that came to her by happenstance. Like if it was me, someone telling me that I'm pretty, or beautiful, or hot, or something like that? It doesn't mean much to me. Someone telling me that they admire my tattoos, or like the way that I did my hair or makeup today, or about something I said that really meant a lot to them? Far more effective, and less likely to make someone feel objectified. People want to feel seen, to feel understood."
He nods to that, head canting in thought. "Simply, I feel that she has a strong spirit, and, I see her as wise. That is what I say. She's physically beautiful , but from what she's said, I've the impression that means very little to her. I will try to understand then." A slight smile shows. "Thank you Lamara."
"I think you're on the right track, then." Lamara's encouraging smile comes with encouraging words. "At the very least, if you tell her how you feel, she will hopefully feel respected and appreciated. It's a strong foundation for a relationship, whether that's a romantic one or a platonic one."
His dark eyes study hr, intent and thoughtful and for a few minutes he says nothing. Finally he speaks up, voice set. "They're fools. Any who see ghouls as nothing but servants and extensions of themselves. Arrogant and clearly blinded, given they can't see the obvious. We forget our humanity as time goes on. You provide a link. The Circle seeks to be stronger and to broaden our nature, but we still need to understand the world, even for those like Henevi who are worshipped. You offer that connection."
Lamara laughs. It's unrestrained, clear, bright, and joyous. "Yes," she says. "Exacty like that."
M
"How many see it, aside from me and Henevi, that you've met?"
Lamara thinks about her answer briefly before giving it. "More here, now than any other regime I've lived under." She shrugs. "Did you know that my previous... owner... before Henevi was Invictus? He was one of Adelgrief's supporters, who died in the transition of power."
"I know he mistreated you. I don't know more details then that. But I do hope he suffered." For a moment Atalo's teeth glint in a savage grin before it settles. "And then Lamara took responsibility for you? And yes, this city is very different to many others."
"Apparently she had coveted me already," Lamara asides, sotto voce, like she's sharing a secret with Atalo. "When he died, she asked to take care of me, and took me in. I was hesitant at first, but I couldn't imagine living without her now."
He nods slowly, then carefully, briefly, touches fingers to her cheek before dropping his hand. "Henevi is wise too. There's a reason she holds the place in the Circle she does." He leaves talk of the blood bond unsaid. "If you're comfortable with it, I would ask about friendship. Even if that's an attempt to clarify I see as more then simply a ghoul."
Lamara's smile is loving, even if not necessarily in the obsessive way that ghouls often love their regnants. "She cares deeply for others, in her way." With another tilt of her head she asks, "are you asking if you're my friend? If you are, then I consider the answer to be yes."
"I was, yes." He dips his head slightly. "I'm a battered creature myself Lamara, similar to Henevi in ways. But I've not forgotten how to care either, at least not yet. I'm hoping to hold to that." A smile. "Thank you again. I know you're often busy."
"Making time for your friends is part of having them," Lamara says as she leans in to give Atalo another hug. "It's always good to see you. If I can help you stay connected to the mortal world, or to provide a conduit through which to find those connections, I'm glad to do that."
After only a brief purse of her lips she says, "have you ever considered coming to my organization's meetings? We have classes that are designed to give people good tools for engaging in constructive discussion around relationships. While outwardly it's around sex, we do have quite a few asexual members and in many ways the conversational constructs are the same for sexual relationships and others. You wouldn't be the weirdest person in the room most of the time, either, and people won't judge."
His head tilts thoughtfully. "I admit, I've not given thought to sexual relationships for a long time. I haven't lost those desires, but they're often secondary to emotional connections, when I find them. If you feel it might be good, then I'll attend a meeting, even if it's simply to gain a greater understanding regarding others."
"None of our members start actually engaging in sexual relationships until they've been part of the organization for a while and demonstrated that they're safe and considerate partners, at least while they're with us," Lamara explains with a shake of her head. "You'd be under no pressure to do so if you weren't comfortable, either. Early on, it's mostly a social group that also has classes on how to discuss likes and dislikes, things like that."
Atalo muses this, drumming fingers on his thigh. "Do you mind if I speak to Rosalyn first?" He asks. "To see how she feels about my thoughts and what I say to her? If I wasn't seeking a relationship, taking part with your group would feel more settled, but, hgn." He flounders. "I need to see if there's a foundation first and what it is. But I am grateful for your offer, and your support."
"Of course I don't mind." Lamara's hand waves dismissively. "Do what you think is right for you."
"But I would still like to come, I'll, speak to you about it soon?" He ducks his head. "The advice would certainly be a welcome thing."
"Perfect. Feel free to call on me if you have questions or need guidance, too." Lamara reaches out and pats his leg. "It's what friends do for each other."
"Thank you, again." He smiles, standing and collecting his equipment. "Please feel free to do the same if you or Henevi need anything from me."
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