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libraryofbabelYou've been a little bit unsure about some of your new colleagues here in Los Angeles, but there's something very reassuring about your direct superior in the Sworn of the Mysteries from the moment you meet her.1
Maybe it's that she's on the unassuming side: "Between us, call me Eleanor," she says. "I don't really care for all the status games, as much as that's part and parcel of everything here."
She's your elder by far,2 even though she hardly looks it, with her soft features and glossy light brown hair, but she—like you—has been relatively careful in keeping up with the news of the day, and the ways of the world outside your little society. It makes her easy to talk to—honestly, maybe even dangerously so. You wonder, a little, if she might sympathize, or be convinced to3—but in the meantime, you're sure you can trust her with a little more of your work.
When you tell her about your quiet personal experiment in trying to shore up new vampires against the pitfalls of one's vampiric nature, she raises her eyebrows, leans in—although you can't help but feel like there's a slightly tense twitch to the corner of her mouth. A worried sort of motion, or maybe a concerned one.4
At first, you're a little worried she's onto something about you—but, well, nothing happens and nothing happens, and you ease into sharing more and more with her. She's never judgmental—always just asking gently probing questions about your ideas.5
And, truth be told—have you ever had a friend like this? When she says that if you ever need anything at any time to call her—for the first time in a very long time, you find yourself trusting that it would be true.
[1] Yi would take an embarrassingly long time to realize that she was gay.
[2] A relative rarity in that time. Some years before, a plague had wiped out many elder vampires, which Yi had felt was a blessing—though she was, upon making Eleanor's acquaintance, glad of her survival.
[3] Eleanor shared Yi's concerns about their fellow vampires and their connection to their humanity, and was a fellow ethicist among the Ordo Dracul academy.
[4] At the time, it gave Yi a slight moment of pause, since if her research gave Eleanor concern, then perhaps there might be some kind of problem with it; however, she was still convinced of its usefulness, especially having tested some of it on herself.
[5] Eleanor was not one to tell anyone else what to do; rather, she asked questions with the intent of helping fellow scholars come to conclusions. In a way, Yi found her to be a little like her early mentor Sophia, but in a less distant way. She could, however, never shake the sense at the time that Eleanor was expecting something of her and she couldn't divine what.
Maybe it's that she's on the unassuming side: "Between us, call me Eleanor," she says. "I don't really care for all the status games, as much as that's part and parcel of everything here."
She's your elder by far,2 even though she hardly looks it, with her soft features and glossy light brown hair, but she—like you—has been relatively careful in keeping up with the news of the day, and the ways of the world outside your little society. It makes her easy to talk to—honestly, maybe even dangerously so. You wonder, a little, if she might sympathize, or be convinced to3—but in the meantime, you're sure you can trust her with a little more of your work.
When you tell her about your quiet personal experiment in trying to shore up new vampires against the pitfalls of one's vampiric nature, she raises her eyebrows, leans in—although you can't help but feel like there's a slightly tense twitch to the corner of her mouth. A worried sort of motion, or maybe a concerned one.4
At first, you're a little worried she's onto something about you—but, well, nothing happens and nothing happens, and you ease into sharing more and more with her. She's never judgmental—always just asking gently probing questions about your ideas.5
And, truth be told—have you ever had a friend like this? When she says that if you ever need anything at any time to call her—for the first time in a very long time, you find yourself trusting that it would be true.
[1] Yi would take an embarrassingly long time to realize that she was gay.
[2] A relative rarity in that time. Some years before, a plague had wiped out many elder vampires, which Yi had felt was a blessing—though she was, upon making Eleanor's acquaintance, glad of her survival.
[3] Eleanor shared Yi's concerns about their fellow vampires and their connection to their humanity, and was a fellow ethicist among the Ordo Dracul academy.
[4] At the time, it gave Yi a slight moment of pause, since if her research gave Eleanor concern, then perhaps there might be some kind of problem with it; however, she was still convinced of its usefulness, especially having tested some of it on herself.
[5] Eleanor was not one to tell anyone else what to do; rather, she asked questions with the intent of helping fellow scholars come to conclusions. In a way, Yi found her to be a little like her early mentor Sophia, but in a less distant way. She could, however, never shake the sense at the time that Eleanor was expecting something of her and she couldn't divine what.