interviewee | OPEN RP POST

[I am the night is the last message he sends out into the network of mixed voices that scrape through his mind. However, the moment he does, he can hear claws scraping along the walls of the apartment. Louis stands up from his chair and tunes his ears to the sound of the minds closest to him.

As soon as he does, though, glass splinters around him as several vampires break through the window. Before he can turn away from them, one female vampire is on top of him, clawed fingers buried between his ribs.]

There's no way you're-- [Louis strikes back despite the pain, but it's not nearly enough. The others climb onto other parts of him, his arms, legs, and one grips his head. Louis bucks but the first female vampire digs her fingers deeper into him and he can feel her curling her talons around his ribcage, ready to rip it from his body.

To say blood surrounded him like an ocean would be an understatement. He's losing strength even as he struggles. The vampire at his head digs their claws into his muscles and arteries and Louis knows he has but moments left. There is no more struggle, no more need to fight because this is his end.

I deserve this is the last thought in his head before his vision begins to darken.]

{ They say the definition of madness is doing the same thing and expecting different results. Lestat, by definition, must be mad, because he can never stop this merry-go-round with Louis. Almost eighty years should have taught him better, but, alas, the heart wants but the heart wants.

They always find their way to one another.

And in this case, that's a good thing for Louis. Lestat had heard the voices, too, any vampire could have. The call to arms about his book revealing their truths. Lestat follows his own path to Louis, checking on those closing in on him, and it seems he arrives just in time.

One of the vampires on top of Louis is pulled off and thrown back out the window she came from. Another one gets set alight and screams, backing himself away as Lestat reaches his hand down to grab at Louis' and pull him up. }

Come on, Louis, you're not meant to die this way. I think we should find our way out of here, no?

[Louis expects to have his head ripped off and die instantly. Or perhaps to have his ribcage torn from him and suffer a long, painful death. Distantly, he hears steps and then the claws are gone. Blood follows where taloned fingers once were and someone is pulling him upright.

He hears the voice and he attempts to open his eyes. He even tries to speak, but blood spills from his mouth, splattering onto the stone floor.]

Le-stat. [Louis words are stilted as he tries to stand but fails.] There... more.

[Because Louis has no doubt there will be more coming to kill him.]

I know, mon cœur, but what do you expect when you invite them all so brazenly?

{ Even as they talk, a vampire lunges at them and Lestat's clawed finger nails tear into its neck before he presses his finger to Louis' lips. No point in speaking. }

Now let's see that's fighting spirit of yours, hmm? We both know you're stronger than you like to say you are.

[Louis sees the next vampire approach and then have its neck torn apart in one breath. The bloody finger pressed to his lips tells him not to say anything and Louis is grateful because blood is filling his mouth again and when he tries to stand up proper, he sags against the wall.

Another vampire approaches and Louis exerts the energy he has to set it on fire. It looks like this will be a full on siege of the apartment. They have to get out of here, but Louis doubts his own strength when he's bleeding so severely.

He climbs up the wall with bloodied hands and steadies himself before giving a curt nod.]

{ Lestat smiles, quick and brief because this isn't the sort of situation to smile in. They are in grave danger. Lestat's strong, of that there's no question, and Louis has Lestat's blood in him, but their odds aren't exactly that good.

It doesn't stop him from trying. Imagine having gone through everything he did to save Louis, just to have him die this way?

The moment Louis nods and Lestat smiles at him, Lestat is gone, a blur of speed and strength as the apartment's walls shake under the force of two vampires colliding into them. It does enough to distract some from Louis, but Lestat doesn't doubt that others will pick up on Louis' weak state and try to finish the job. }

[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.]

for @malicieux

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