#immortalitae

it was rare he took commission work from strangers nowadays, even rarer he’d agree to crafting magic items. was a craft he’d toiled with in his youth, and while it proved useful, it was something he had little interest in. found, with the gift of time he’d be given, he rather spend it in meaningful ways. would rather enjoy himself, than waste times doing things he didn’t care for. but his curiosity had been piqued, had never had a vampire cross his threshold, certainly never had one ask him for something outright. “if you’re so concerned about the look of it,” which in his opinion was ridiculous, couldn’t fathom the importance of its aesthetic when its function was its sole purpose. “i can charm it for a price —- no one will see it’s true form but me. otherwise, your ring is ready.”

“Aren’t we all just haunting each other?” she asked, tipping a glass of wine to her lips. “I am both haunted, and well ... I do hope I leave the kind of impression that lingers after I am gone,” she purred.

A smile curled her lips, as her dark eyes flashed a warning when they met his. Reaching up she knocked his hand away from her chin. “I’m sorry, you must not have been properly warned about who I am, John must have let you down there,” she said. Zatanna had never really liked to be told what to do, perhaps it came with the fact that she had been spoiled rotten her whole life. Her father never really telling her no. And so when anyone tried to tell her what to do, she always felt compelled to do the opposite. She reached up and knocked his hand away. “Tell me what to do again, and I’ll have to remind you I’m the boss.”

she wrapped her arms around his neck, throwing herself against him. his body was hard, and cold, and she found it didn’t bother her. just like the sharp teeth that her tongue brushed against didn’t bother her. some days she wondered if her taste in men wasn’t unlike those women that collected exotic pets. that buried their face in the fur of a tiger and then were shocked when it wasn’t a pliant little kitty cat. but the thing was, tigers had always liked zee. and lions, and bears, and wolves. she flirted with etrigan. summoned a demon once with a love spell. and besides, this particular predator liked her well enough kiss her rather than kill her. she was magic after all, none of this should be tried at home.

“I always wonder why guys never have to dress up as sexy .... anything. Where’s the guy version of sexy kitten. Just some black boxer briefs and a pair of ears,” she said, glancing over to the man talking to her. A celebrity maybe? Manuscript always seemed to have celebrities at their party. “I’m sure the better costumes are down in the lower rings.”

“So the good news is, I’ve got the penthouse suite all booked up through the end of the week,” Zatanna said, breezing into the room, wearing all silver, and showing off her long expanse of leg. (Encased in rhinestone fishnets of course.) She’s got her phone in one hand, a shiny little clutch in the other. She was staying on theme it seemed. Changed out of her show outfit into her party clothes. “And we’ve got enough time for me to grab dinner before we leave, and as for you, you can just have a nip of me if you want, and I haven’t heard back from John, and I can’t say if he got my texts or not. I’m not convinced he reads them half the time,” she said, sliding her phone in her purse. “Sound like a good start to the night?”

He gives in to his resistance and moves close. His arms are still croseed, but he rests his head against Lestat’s shoulder. “Maybe,” he murmurs. “Doesn’t seem to be what anybody else ever thought about me. I was a bad man who did bad things... Now, I figure if they knew, they’d say I’m something worse.”

“People... People fear sickness. They come to me. Because I can heal them and because I speak of God, perhaps that connection allows the Spirit in where there was faithlessness. I don’t deny that.” Paul smiles a little, hoping, perhaps, to relieve his own uncertainty as much as his visitor’s doubts. “I’m sure it could be perceived as manipulative, but I assure you, I would heal any atheist as soon as a believer. It’s not a tactic. Merely a... side effect.”