interviewee | OPEN RP POST

[Louis doesn't need to watch to know that Lestat is taking down yet another vampire. He trusts in Lestat's strength, even as Louis feels weaker than ever. He feels like that first night, like he's dying all over again.

They have to get to the elevator and Louis pushes off the wall to trudge through the kitchen. Another vampire is after him and Louis ducks behind walls to turn their strength against them.

With the elevator in view, though, something hits him in the back like a freight train. There's no hesitation in the vicious slashing of clawed fingers, ripping through his shirt and then skin and then underneath. Louis can't get a good look at them to catch them on fire, he can't roll over to protect what remains of his back.

His only chance is to call out to his savior. More blood slithers between his teeth as the hands tearing at his back now clench his innards.

His call for help is little more than a pained whisper,] Lestat.

{ It's enough. Lestat hears it over the sound of everything else, like he'll always hear Louis over all things. He moves through the attacking vampires, taking his own hits on the way, but he's determined to make it to Louis. }

Louis -

{ He hauls the vampire off of Louis, making quick work of him. There's a slight struggle now in his own movements, likely thanks to having sustained himself off the vermin of New Orleans for the decades past in his own sense of self-penance. }

Tell me where to go.

{ Because Louis is almost past the point of no return, Lestat lifts him, hoisting him over his shoulder with ease. It will slow them both done, but right now it's the only option. }

[The hands inside him are pulled free and Louis is hefted up over Lestat's shoulder. His vision is blurred, his body weak, but he can hear Lestat's question.]

Elevator. [Louis is still barely a whisper.] Got... got a car.

[Not that the car will help them outrun vampires pursuing them, but it's better than nothing.]

And a... [He's on the verge of passing out, but he blinks himself awake.] safehouse. Lower Dubai.

{ He gets to the elevator, the doors closing just in time. He can hear the doors above being pried open, he hears them tell each other to try and head them off. No, a car won't out run them, but it might provide a diversion. }

Listen to me, Louis. We will send the car out without us to another direction, and I'll get us to your safehouse.

{ It's the best chance they have. }

[Louis sways between consciousness and unconsciousness. His heart is barely beating, but he hears Lestat clear as a bell. Send the car out without them, then go to the safehouse on their own. He doesn't have the wherewithal to nod or agree, only to write the address with his last non-bloody finger on Lestat's leg.

And then he's out completely.]

{ It's too bad, because Lestat feels like he executed it quite well, and Louis doesn't even get to see it. He manages to slip out of the elevator before the roof of it is ripped off, letting them believe they got off on another floor, and then he slips down to the garage. The driver sets off and Lestat waits until he hears nothing else, then he follows the address written for him.

When he feels they're not going to be attacked, he lets himself relax. He needs to get his own strength back and heal his own wounds, but for now he opens his wrist and presses it to Louis' mouth. A bit of something to help his body weave itself back together.</small }

[The safehouse was only ever meant for Armand and Louis. The colors are muted, newspaper covers the windows, and the single coffin underneath the couch would be just enough room for them. Louis instinctively opens his mouth when he hears a pulse beating beneath skin. He bites down weakly on Lestat's offered wrist and drinks in slow gulps. Once he properly swims back into consciousness, Louis's grip is firmer and he lifts two hands to hold Lestat in place.

Forcing himself to let go after he's awake again is one of the most difficult decisions he has to make. Second behind the decision to murder the vampire standing above him. Louis sucks in painful gulps of air as his eyes rise to his savior.]

Lestat?

{ He lets Louis feed, even as he feels his own energy fading. But he lets Louis keep going, just as he always has, just as he always will. Maybe one day he'll learn his lesson, but it's not today. }

One day you'll have to learn to save yourself.

{ Lestat doesn't sound too upset.

He settles his gaze on Louis, watching him for a long moment before deciding now to move around the little space. }

Is there clothing here?

{ Because they both look like absolute disasters. }

[Louis is still a bit blurry around the edges as his wounds knit together inch by inch.]

Wasn't expecting an ambush like that.

[He'd expected something to happen, but an all-out assault was not within his expectations. He should have expected it, but here they are, regardless. The question of clothing has Louis looking down at himself. His shirt is nearly shredded, hanging on by threads on his shoulders, and his trousers are torn, but moreso stained with blood.]

The tall wood cabinet there. [Louis points to a thin cabinet that runs the height of the safe room.]

Did you come from New Orleans to check on me? [Louis asks, though he's not ungrateful in the slightest. If Lestat hadn't come, Louis would be dead.]

You're welcome.

{ Lestat opens the cabinet, looking at the few options inside. He and Louis and Armand are not all terribly different in size. He can manage with something here until he gets something better. }

They've been talking about you since the book was released. We all heard you put your challenge out.

{ And it wasn't as though Armand would come, would he? }

Thanks. [Louis says belatedly. He still leans back on the couch, eyes watching Lestat move over to the miniature closet and filter through the options.]

I heard them. And I said it to silence them.

[To mark his place as an unrepentant master vampire, ready for any threat. As it turns out, he wasn't ready for any threat.]

We should be safe here for now.

We won't be staying here. I have obligations state side.

{ He closes the cabinet, turning back to look at Louis. }

We'll wait until our strength has returned to us, and dawn will be upon us soon.

{ He'd always tried to teach Louis to keep to himself, keep his head down. Yes, they can have their fun and be dramatic and swan into rooms, but never draw attention to what or who they are. Now here they are.

It's maybe moderately better than the hovel of a home he'd had in New Orleans. }

The tour. [Louis remembers out loud. Lestat is going on tour. He wanted to go see the first stop of the tour, but will he be able to now? Will it be safe for either of them if Louis shows his face?

Maybe he shouldn't care what any other vampires think and go regardless.

The mention of dawn has Louis standing up, wobbling for a moment before he's upright. He lifts the seat of the couch to reveal a coffin beneath. The last time they shared a coffin was before Louis attempted to murder Lestat.]

You can sleep in there. I'll make something work.

I have a single out now. Your visit seemed to have inspire me.

{ They'll both have to suck it up and get in the coffin, it will give them the best option to recover. They can handle it. He starts to strip off his own blood-stained clothes, because God forbid he sleep in anything soiled. }

Louis de Pointe du Lac, you're going to get in that coffin.

Yeah?

[Louis remembers the last time Lestat wrote a song for him. Maybe this time he'll hear Lestat's voice and not Antoinette's.

Dawn is rapidly approaching and Louis stubbornly remains over by the fridge, where he knows blood bags chill. Louis bends down to open the fridge and offers the bag to Lestat.]

I won't. [Not unless Lestat really wants him there.]

Suit yourself.

{ Lestat won't push Louis. Pushing him has never worked before. Not pushing him hasn't really worked out well for him, either, but Lestat's come to learn that Louis will ultimately do the sensible thing on his own terms. The pull of the coffin and its promising rest will call to him.

He drains the bag and settles into the coffin, leaving the lid open. }

[Louis takes the empty bag to the sink and sets it there. Lestat is more than right about the call of the coffin. Every time he looks at it, his body screams to lay down beside Lestat.

But is that what Lestat wants? Would sharing a coffin with him change anything?

Louis sighs and pulls out some fresh clothing from the closet and dresses in silence. And then dawn must have risen because the call of the coffin is inescapable. With careful feet, he steps down into the coffin, laying almost on top of Lestat.]

{ He waits patiently, not moving as he listens to each of Louis' movements. He only moves once Louis is laying with him, reaching up to close the lid an envelope them in darkness.

It's a strange sensation. Lestat had abandoned any hope of being in this situation with Louis again, but their encounter in New Orleans had given some flame to the embers again. Even if they went their separate ways, there was a promise of something there.

But the thoughts in his head give way to sleep, the familiar weight of Louis being a welcome comfort. }

[Louis wakes up a couple hours after sunset, needing additional rest to heal his wounds. They aren't completely knitted shut, but he won't be bleeding everywhere any more. There's a familiar warmth, a smell like home, and Louis opens his eyes to see Lestat with him in the coffin. Louis blinks a moment before remembering the previous night: the assault, the escape, and now the safe house.

Louis shifts to better watch Lestat, not yet moving to leave the coffin.]

Is there something on my face?

{ Lestat doesn't open his eyes, but it's evident he's been awake at least before Louis has been. }

Are you feeling better?

No, nothing. [Louis finds he’s surprised that Lestat is here with him. Louis wouldn’t blame him if he left. There are a multitude of reasons to go and yet he remained in the coffin with Louis, a breath apart.

At the question, Louis does a mental assessment if his condition. Parts of him still feel raw and open, while others scabbed over night.]

Feels like I got ripped open.

Not to be crass, but you were.

{ Lestat should be mad at Louis about it. A part of him is, the way he'd always been frustrated when Louis would ignore sense and do something to put himself in harm's way. Mostly he finds he's just exasperated thinking about it. }

We'll be here another day, no doubt.

I remember that.

[Louis reaches up to open the coffin and his body screams at him for moving. Scabs break and open and Louis hisses in pain as he lifts the lid and begins to crawl out.]

Will that be alright with your tour?

It seems there's no option, is there?

{ He's certainly not leaving Louis to fend for himself. That will only end in disaster, and there's no way Lestat could perform if he's feeling distraught.

He sits up when the lid is opened, giving his hair a shake even though it's hardly messed up, and turning his gaze on Louis. Lestat presses his lips together for a moment. }

I do have some qualms with how your book painted my character. Just in case you were wondering what I thought of it.

[Louis leans against the counter as he tries to absorb the pain as it pulses through him.]

I’d expect you would.

[He knew that Lestat wasn’t dead, that his and Claudia’s attempt to murder him failed.]

I know I lied about the fight. Among other things.

[Louis tugs off his bedshirt and tosses it to the side to get a good look at the damage. His body looks disfigured, nearly glowing purple and blue from what has healed. His back is much worse, not that he can see it.]

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject