Is it the Full Moon or are we Crazy? [Bennett/Faustus prp]

[[Estelle]]

The whole island of Faetasia always seemed to be silent at this hour. Day dwelling creatures were all tucking themselves into bed and the nocturnal creatures were just stirring. Not even a breeze rustled the leaves of the forest or the grass of the fields as the last glow of the sun settled behind the horizon, giving the sky over to the moon, which sat full and bright on the opposite side of the sky. Very few were out an about, and all the woodland creatures were trading shifts, much like the Kats, either just waking or falling asleep.

Bennett, however, had always been an early riser. This time of night was her favorite. Much like how she imagined the mortals who enjoyed the sunrise, she enjoyed the silence and welcoming that the moonrise offered. That's why she had set up a small home near the beach so that the moment she could step outside, she could watch the moon rise from the waves and ascend into the sky. It was beautiful.

The small cabin, if you could even call the one roomed, no windowed structure wasn't anything fancy, but it was hers. She could come here to get away from her father and away from his constant work. It wasn't that she didn't love her father, she did, but she wasn't about his clan and his revenge. It was disgusting what Giovanni had done to her father back in the old days, but it was not her battle and she wasn't interested in the way things had been run in the old days. There was a new, better way to live. Grendel would lead them, and it would be better than the old ones could ever have hoped for.

Sighing, Bennett settled into her usual seat on a large piece of warped driftwood, the white, dry wood wrapping around her like an armchair. The moon danced on the waves of the ocean, and she let her mind wander, watching the night twinkle into existence as the world of the night came to life around her.

 

[Noir Songbird]

"The moon is lovely tonight, isn't she?"

Faustus was never one for formal introductions. Instead of giving her a name, he simply approached from down the beach. With no regard for her preference as to his presence, he sat down a few feet from Bennett, his attention seemingly entirely on the sky and not at all on her. He was not uninterested in the beautiful Cainite, but he had already done all his observing in previous nights.

Creepy stalker? Perhaps. Was he often particularly aware of the fact? No. It wasn't as if he'd learned many social graces from either of his parents, after all. Once his mother had realized he was too mad for Gangrel, she had left him to his own devices and he had, in his humble opinion, thrived in the wilds alone. He might be more like the Malkavians than his mother liked, but he had plenty of survival skills.

This was one of his good nights. The vampire, born of wild Gangrel and mad Demi-God, tended to avoid others on the bad ones unless they were prey. On good nights, he was fairly well put-together, if a little off in manner and action. On bad ones...well. Best not to think too much about it.  

[[Estelle]]

She barely even moved when he spoke, only shifting slighting, angling her body away from him slightly. Bennett had known she had not been alone many nights on this beach, but she had not expected the stranger to approach after so many nights. His scent was familiar, so she knew that he was the one with whom she had been sharing the moonrises with. Flicking a piece of silvery hair out of her face, she glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, trying to place him.

"Yes. She usually is."

Her words were soft, no hostility in her voice, even though the vampire sitting nearby was a stranger, potentially dangerous. However, Bennett guessed that if he had seen her, and known her presence, perhaps even been watching her all these nights and had not harmed her, then he was not a threat at the moment. The calmness in her voice was mimicked in her body. Moonlight danced off of her silvery white fur as she tipped her head to look at him curiously.

He seemed familiar in appearance, although not, perhaps, entirely vampiric. Curious. There was no doubt that he was a vampire, but he was different. She took a deep breath, trying to recognize something in his scent, but could tell nothing besides he was the one who she had been noticing. How frustrating.

"Sometimes I think she ought to live in the sea though. The way the waves bring her to life is just..." Bennett sighed, watching the reflection dance on the waves.

 

[Noir Songbird]

Faustus was cleverer and more perceptive than most gave him credit for. He noticed her shifting away. "Afraid of me, pretty girl?" He asked casually, as if the answer affected him no more than the daytime temperature on Saradonia. And honestly, while he was intensely interested in her, it really didn't. Faustus was not one to worry much about frightening someone.

Goodness, she was beautiful, though. He mad no attempt to hide that his eyes traced her over. This was the closest and best look he had gotten at her, and while he usually preferred his women a bit more wild, her refinement was appealing in its own way.

"Ah, the sea. Lovely in her own way, though I think I prefer land. The forest." A beach wasn't his typical environment in any way, shape, or form, but he had followed the scent of fellow Kindred and had remained because she intrigued him.

"So tell me, pretty girl, who are you to live out here all alone?"  

[[Estelle]]

If she had been capable, a blush would have stained her pale cheeks. She thanked the Gods that she was what she was. Her tail flickered slightly as leaned over, placing her elbows on the edge or her natural seat, much closer to him now; she was refusing to let him think he scared her, because he did not. There were very few things that truly frightened her. He was simply not going to be one of them. Perhaps he would become a threat, or a nuisance, but never frightful. A grin tugged at the corner of her lips at the thought.

"Afraid? Of you?" She giggled, letting the grin spread across her full lips. Not totally unaware of his gaze, she began adjusting one of the buckles on her tail. "Amused perhaps? Or curious. But not afraid."

Once the buckle was to her liking, she sat up, curling up in her seat once more, although not removing her eyes from him. She considered what he said about the sea and his preference and she just shrugged. Bennett liked the beach and the ocean because it was the exact opposite of the tombs in which her father lived. This was a place that felt like it was hers.

"I don't live here all the time. Just some of the time. You happened to catch me at a point when I've been out here a lot." Considering the real question he had asked, she looked back out to the ocean. He didn't really need to know her lineage. "I'm Bennett." That would be as much of an introduction as he got. It was true that Ashur didn't care for his name to be spread around too much. There were ears that didn't need that information.

 

[Noir Songbird]

Oh, that was good. Faustus's delight at her moving closer was quite clear on his face. He had utterly no skill at hiding his feelings, perhaps a symptom of his lineage or his raising, one or the other.

"Oh, good, I would hate to frighten you." He said, and he then proceeded to scoot over and invade her personal space a little. "Amused or curious, how interesting. I can certainly entertain, or satisfy your curiosity, or both, as you prefer, m'lady."

"I am quite lucky indeed if this is only your part-time home." Now he was truly intrigued. Where did she usually stay? Why not here all the time? But while he could not hide his feelings, he could keep his questions for now. Perhaps he would learn through observation, or perhaps he would blurt them out later. "Bennett, hmm? Pretty name for a pretty girl. I am Faustus." No last name; it would mean nothing to her anyway.  

[[Estelle]]

So far, she was quite delighted by this exchange. Bennett was not used to this sort of attention, as the only interaction she had was with the members of her own clan, and frankly, she had no interest in them. It was like-what was the old phrase? Mixing business with pleasure. She didn't want to become more tangled in the clan because it would make things complicated when the time came to truly leave for Grendel.

This time, she didn't move when he invaded her space as she had when he sat down. She was finding that she rather enjoyed his presence, even if she was still questioning how she came to be in it. "Faustus, hm? How does it make you lucky if this is only my part time home?" That was a good place to start getting answers. "After all, if I'm not mistaken, you've been on this beach nearly as much as I have lately." It seemed appropriate that he knew that she knew he'd been there lately. Her mismatched eyes landed on him again. "Which seems strange for someone who prefers the forest to the beach.

She was becoming more and more at ease, which meant she was more and more curious about who this Faustus was. If there was one way Benny took after her father, it was in her curious nature. She had a tendency to want to ask questions and piece things together. However, she'd learned that you often got more information by asking less direct questions. There was no guarantee he'd answer if she simply asked if he'd been watching her. This seemed more tactful.

 

[Noir Songbird]

Faustus had few exchanges with others, and most of those were brief, and for a reason. This...this was fun. A beautiful beach, a beautiful moonrise, and a beautiful girl.

"Because it was luck that we were in the same place at the same time, my dear," Faustus replied. He thought nothing of revealing that he had been watching her. "It is your presence that has kept me here, dear Bennett. I would have returned to my woods long ago if I did not have you to watch." no, he saw no possible reason that could be considered creepy or off. Ah, the benefits of being utterly insane and totally socially unaware.

He had absolutely no worry about tact. Best to lay his cards on the table, so to speak. If she happened to see something wrong that didn't cross his mind, then, well, that was what happened.  

[[Estelle]]

Bennett paused for a moment at his admitting that he had been watching her so easily. While she had suspected it, she had not expected him to admit it so freely. Her mismatched eyes brightened. This conversation was pleasantly easy; usually she had to work information out of the new clan members she found. They were used to being alone and usually not up for talking and she had to play hard. This was, comparatively, fun for Benny. For a moment she considered if it was strange that he had stayed here just to observe her, but rather than let it bother her, she took it as a compliment. There was no malice in his confession, so she felt no reason not to be complimented by it.

"Do you make your home in the woods? It must have been difficult to make a temporary home out here where there is little protection during the day." That was the reason why she had salvaged the small shack. It was too far of a walk to make from the cemetery and make it in time for the moonrise. So she made a makeshift home. For a moment, she considered how long it had been since she'd been home, but then shook the thought from her head. There were enough of the new blood around to help her father for the time being. Surely, her presence was not missed too terribly.

Idly, she began unwinding one of the cross chains from her paw, looking him over again, noticing the quirks in his appearance. Tilting her head slightly to look at the card in his hair, she furrowed her brow slightly. That was something she'd seen before, and not on him. Something like a gift, but Bennett had no idea from whom or for what. It was interesting. In fact, his whole appearance was interesting. Not entirely put together. Eclectic. She mused on that as she waited for him to answer about his own home.

 

[Noir Songbird]

Faustus would certainly consider the act of observing from afar behind a sign to be complimentary. It was the majority of interaction he had with non-prey, at the very least. Bennett was the first in a long time he'd chosen to actually speak to.

"Ah, I found myself a little beach-cave to hole up in." He gestured vaguely in the direction he had come from. "Or maybe I built it, dug a hole in the sand. Hm." He considered, as if he actually couldn't remember, and then shrugged it off as unimportant. He had shelter during the day, did it matter if he had found it or made it?

To Faustus's eye, it was Bennett's put-together appearance that was strange. He caught her eye on the card in his hair and reached up, lifting it off. It didn't seem to have any visible means of attaching, except perhaps the simple belief it ought to. "Interested in my little hat, lovely?"  

[[Estelle]]

She frowned a little at his unclear answer about how he came to stay on the beach. That did seem odd to Bennett. But it didn't come off like he was lying to her, but more as though he couldn't be bothered to remember. That was strange. How could he not remember how he had survived the days on the beach? Wasn't that most vampires primary goal? Staying alive? Curious. Her paws continued to toy with the chain in her hands until he pulled the card from his head.

"Yes. It just seems familiar, and I'm not sure why." She extended a paw, taking the card from him to examine it. How had it been fixed in his hair just a moment earlier? Rather than wrapping her cross back around her paw, she set it down trying to examine the card better. What a curious thing it was. It didn't appear that there was a fixture on it. No clip or ties. Just the card. "Where did it come from?"

Her eyes lifted from the card to meet his again, truly curious about it's origins. His uncertainty of his temporary home had been forgotten by Bennett, who was now solely curious about this little trinket. Somehow she felt it might explain where he came from. And at the heart of it, that's what she was curious about, though she would not come out and ask that question. It was too personal and she didn't have an leverage or authority over him as she did the recruits. So, she had to piece it all together.

 

[Noir Songbird]

Faustus chuckled at her frown. He honestly couldn't remember, and it really didn't matter that much to him. Shelter was shelter, built or found. But her curiosity about his card, now there was something worth worrying over. His origins.

"Oh? Have you? Perhaps you've met one of my siblings, or god-siblings, or my father himself, though that isn't likely." He said casually. "Meeting my father, that is. My god-siblings, it's more likely." He blinked. Oh, he hadn't actually told her who his father was, had he? "My father is the Mad Hatter. A demi-god, one of the fertility-givers. Apparently he found my mother interesting enough, or wild enough, or what have you that they spent enough time together to make my sister and I." His sister. He hadn't seen her since they were babies. How sad to think on.

The vampire thought nothing of revealing his heritage. She already knew the important part, the dangerous part. After all, just being the son of the Mad Hatter, what did that mean? But being one of the Kindred...that was a world of secrets and lies and night-stalking and prowling. That was the secret.  

[[Estelle]]

The child of a Demi-God. Now that was something impressive. He had interesting blood, that was for sure. But the Mad Hatter, she had heard the stories of his god-children. They were often eccentric on the best days; on their worse, well, they were considered insane. She tried not to let her musings over this show. This did make him different than the usual Kindred. And who was his mother to have caught the attention of one so...unique?

Bennett shook that thought from her head, understand that even the old and powerful made mistakes. Her father, for instance. While she did not lament her existence, she did not believe her mother had been worthy of someone like her father. She had been a clanless whore, mothering who knew how many other children to other Kats. It was disgusting. And she'd taken off with her sibling. Bennett didn't even remember the other child, although her father had said there was another to prepare her in the event she ran into one who looked like herself. Yes, she knew too well of being ashamed of a mother, so she decided not to press anymore about that. Besides, how interesting could she have been. After all, Mad Hatter was insane, and could have been in a state of unbalance when he joined with the Kindred. She was probably nothing, much like Benny's own mother.

"Well, that is something to be proud of. That is not only interesting, but powerful blood." She finally said, still turning the card over between her paws. That did explain how it had been fixed to his hair. Some sort of magic. Looking away from her and to the card, an idea dawned on her. If he was really the son of Mad Hatter, what implications did that carry? She eyes his appearance once again. He seemed sane, a little odd, but not insane. Perhaps it was his mother's genes that were dominant. He certainly did not seem insane. Or perhaps his father's insanity was just dulled to mere eccentricity. Watching her for days didn't make him crazy, did it?

Thoughts raced through Bennett's mind as she tried to piece together who Faustus really was. None of those thoughts truly went to his mother though. They were all on his father and how he could be affected by his genetics. Her mismatched eyes searched his for an answer that she knew she would not find. For once, she was almost certain that only waiting and spending more time with him would answer her questions of his potential sanity.

"It must be nice to know your heritage. I don't even know half of mine." She wasn't ready to tell him about her father yet, but she felt like she owed him something since he told her who his father was.

 

[Noir Songbird]

Faustus watched hierarchy silently, letting her turn over whatever thoughts she was turning. But suddenly he was a fire with curiosity. He knew her movements, her habits, but very little of her herself. Certainly nothing of her heritage. Goodness, what if she was related to those dirty Sabbat vampires? Mother would not be pleased. But she was too pretty for the Sabbat, surely.

He turned the thought over in his mind. Well, he would have to ask her sometime. She didn't seem to have the particular arrogance that most Clanned vampires had, as if being part of the group made them So Much Better. Perhaps it did, but what did it matter anyway?

Faustus sighed. "Mother was ever so disappointed with me." He said. "I don't know that she thought much on her choice of paramours. She had so hoped to have children worthy of her Clan, but I was too...Malkavian for her. One as I would never have fit in with the Animals of Clan Gangrel." He tilted his head. "Interesting and powerful perhaps, but certainly not always the best." Not on the bad days, the days when he couldn't get his thoughts into a line and he babbled for hours on end to any one and anything, or the days when he hunted simply to kill, shred, tear, not to eat.

"Only half?" Faustus asked. "How does one know only half their heritage?" He asked. It was strange to him. Mother had never hidden who she was, or who his father was.  

[[Estelle]]

"I've never met my mother, and my father never speaks about her. She took my sister with her when she left." She was quiet for a moment. It was true that Bennett didn't know who her mother was, and that, at least to her, meant she should be ashamed. But then a grin spread across her lips and the wrinkles in her forehead smoothed as she giggled a little. "Then again, I suppose one could say I have a rather large family, not even counting the extended ones."

It was true that she shared blood with some of the new ones, because they all came from the same lineage, it just got lost through history. Ashur had left few alive, mainly not knowing of their location or existence. But those few had sired while he slept beyond the veil, spreading his blood to those who they deemed worthy. That had yet to be proved at present, however.

"So your mother is a Gangrel?" Bennett mused on that for a moment. A child of the Hatter and an Animal? How...interesting. She thought about that for a moment until recalling his mention that he was not always the best? Scoffing in her head, she wondered how anyone could not be good enough for the senseless Animals of the Gangrels. "Certainly you are better than they are. You shouldn't spend your time among the riff-raff unless you want to become the rif-raf. You, while interesting, seem much more civilized than they are." Now that was her lineage coming through.

Ashur always made his opinions of the clans very clear, and while some of them Benny was sure were skewed, there were some that seemed spot on. For her, the Gangrel were one of the more accurate. They lost themselves so far to the Beast that they lost their sense and civility. It was a shame because there was so much that could be learned from them if they were more in control of themselves. But to hold a conversation with a Gangrel? Impossible.

As she looked out over the ocean, she wondered if his father's tendencies had corrupted him. He had mentioned being too Malkavian for the Gangrel. He certainly didn't seem like those seemingly raving lunatics, Bennett knew that if he was, he could snap in an instant, which was what she feared in a sense. Then again, what was passed off as the ravings of lunatics, Ashur had warned her, were often insights into a deeper realm of spirit. There was wisdom to be found if you could listen to them without going mad yourself. Suddenly, she found herself even more interested in this male sitting next to her.