Linguistics (Marquise)

[sephora]

Waking up, Sephora felt good. She stretched languidly in her sheets and thought about the previous night. She had been able to learn how to fight, realizing her own power, and had then helped to keep Marquise from eating her. Sitting up, her hair stuck up everywhere as she padded softly to the bathroom, intent on taking a shower. She had had one last night, but one could never bathe too much, she always said.

Letting the water run over her face and torso, the pain had lessened significantly since the attack. Her caramel skin was not as bruised as it had been, and her arm was healing nicely, so she had been told by the personal doctor that her father had hired, as well as by Nurse Emma. Her ribs, too, were patching together just fine.

After washing away her sleepyness, the girl put on a pair of low-rise jeans and a white button down. A long black necklace and matching black earrings added to her black pumas. Grabbing her back, Sephora headed off to the cafeteria to get some breakfast before classes.

--

After her classes were done, the girl stopped by her dorm room to toss her coach tote on her bed. She wouldn't need it, not where she was going. Brushing back her shoulder-length hair, the girl was careful not to hit her cast on anything as she made her way back out the door, after removing her shoes and carefully putting them away.

Walking slowly towards the forest, Sephora stared at the leafy green trees that guarded its edge. It seemed that they were waving to her, swaying in the breeze. The grass underfoot felt like heaven beneath her toes, and she indulged by allowing a few pansies to pop up around her foot as it fell.

Reaching a great beech tree, she leaned against it and waited. Marquise, the vampire, should be there soon. Sephora was going to fulfill her side of the bargain she had made with him by teaching him Armenian. She knew a slew of other languages, but they would start with this one. The girl only hoped that vampires were good on their word.

[Marquise]

Marquise used his Qi to do one thing, create sunglasses. He was exhausted from the night before, unable to use his Qi he had to shower three straight hours to get the smell of blood off of him. A mixture of the blood that was in his system already, and the blood from Dani.

I have to meet that girl to learn Armenian.... in the sunlight........ it's a damn good thing I don't actually turn to dust in the sunlight. Because that would only relieve me from my headache....[/color]

Marquise took away his fangs, no need to change eye colors with the sunglasses on, his ears were very normal ears, his hair was the brown mohawk that hadn't been gelled up in quite some time with the hair in the back in a ponytail. He was wearing jeans and a white t-shirt, standing tall and fit, but in the sunlight he was unable to hide his pale complexion and visible veins.

"Afternoon, g- Sephora." He said cutting himself off from calling her girl again. She had earned that respect. He didn't feel like killing her at the moment, so he figured he'd show his manners, "Shall we begin then?"

Just don't say the B word....... tooo fullll.......[/color]

[sephora]

"Afternoon, g- Sephora." Sephora nodded, liking that he had obviously chosen to use her name instead of the usual 'girl'. He was wearing sunglasses and had his hair spiked with the ponytail, just as it had been earlier.

"Good afternoon, student." She said in Armenian with a smile. "Yes, let's begin." Sephora said, this time in english.

"Now, I want to start you with the basics. The alphabet and a few simple phrases. How much do you think you can handle in one session?" Sephora tapped her chin thoughtfully, "Did you bring a notebook or anything like that?" If he had, she would have him write down the alphabet, as well as a few simple phrases to practice. If not, it meant she would be spending more time here with him that she had thought, making sure he had them down pat.

[Marquise]

"Did you bring a notebook or anything like that?"

"I have paper," He said, pulling a bag from off of his back, he pulled out a piece of paper and pen, as well as a book to write on, "Feel free to write the alphabet and show it to me, as a mortal I had photographic memory, the same is true for me still. Just a skill I found that I had."

It was true, back when he went to 259 he had photographic memory, making him able to copy fighting styles by watching them performed a few times. It was how he learned to wrestle, it was how he learned kickboxing, and it's how he learned people's little motions that they did naturally, it was how he did his Qi. He remembered exactly what people looked like, and he morphed into that.

"I can learn anything you can teach, Sephora. For instance, Feast of Blood" He spoke the Armenian term exactly as she pronounced it the night he trained her. It was a skill of his, he would have went further and said it in her own voice, but he was unable to mimic voices in daylight, it hindered all of his abilities really.

[sephora]

"Feel free to write the alphabet and show it to me, as a mortal I had photographic memory, the same is true for me still. Just a skill I found that I had." With a smile, the girl nodded. She had always wished for a photographic memory, it would have made learning things so much easier. She had a mind for linguistics, though, so she had never wanted any extra skill there. It was math and science and history she wanted the photographic memory for. A brief thought filled her mind, which she quickly dispelled. The night of her attack, if she had agreed to his saving her, she would have taken his blood. Did that mean that she would have had his photographic memory?

"I can learn anything you can teach, Sephora. For instance, Feast of Blood"

Wonderful, thought Sephora. She could teach him all the languages she knew, which were many, in order to keep him as a trainer. She wondered if what he would do when he was done training and she was done teaching. The girl wasn't sure if a vampire would allow her to live after she had worn out her use and knew his secrets. Changing her train of thought, she took the paper and pen from him.

"Come closer, so you can see what I'm doing." She said, patting the ground beside her. Once settled, Sephora began writing out the Armenian alphabet, pronouncing each letter and the way it sounded as she went. After that she wrote out basic verb endings, explaining each as she went.

"Do you have any questions?"

[Marquise]

Marquise' eyes shot back and forth darting across the paper, he had memorized it, then he associated the sounds she put to them with each letter. It took some doing being a foreign language, which was a little harder considering he had never tried doing this with foreign languages before.

"No, I'm quite educated on the alphabet now, I think I'm read for phrases and sentence structures."

Yes.... It's a pain in the ass, but if I ever want to pass off myself as an original, or an elder, I'll need to know a lot of languages. Aremenian was a good choice, Romanian, French, Latin, Greek, Mandarin, and I suppose Japanese since I'm in the country that speaks it. Yes, these are some of the languages I need to learn. Of course.... what I do with the tutors when they are done with their usefulness will fully depend on just how hungry I am at the time.....[/color]

His voice was harsh and a little shrill, but in all reality he was a lot less intent on killing Sephora. For once he was actually thankful he hadn't drained her dry that night. Of course, turning her would have also been in his favor had she asked him too.

She never did answer whether or not I was allowed to turn her in case of her dying...... I will have to ask her again later to remind her just how serious I am about this.....[/color]

[sephora]

"No, I'm quite educated on the alphabet now, I think I'm read for phrases and sentence structures." Sephora nodded and set the paper down. She folded her legs and rested her cast on her left knee.

"Alright, we'll start personal pronouns, as you'll need those to use any vocabulary I teach you." So she picked the paper back up and wrote them out, pronouncing each as she had done before. Some of the pronunciations were far far different than english, so she asked him to say each one after she said it.

"Very good." Sephora said with a smile. This must be how it felt to be a teacher with an accomplished student. What a good feeling. "Now, let's use those in sentences."

I have dark hair, she has light.

"That sentences not only has personal pronouns, but has the possessive verb tense." She went on to explain how to use that senteces with different pronouns and tenses.

She went on to speak very basic sentences, such as asking how much things were, where the bathroom was, and where one could buy basic narcotics. Well, minus the last one, Sephora stopped herself and had to be reminded -again, by self- that not everyone found drugs as ordinary as she did.

[Marquise]

"Alright, I believe I got that...." Marquise said, learning everything and tring it out. "Excuse me miss, where is the bathroom? Where is the train station? How are you doing today? Yes, that's good. I think I understand this language, a little more practice and a larger vocabulary and I should be fluent within the next two weeks." Marquise knew it seemed strange, but that's how it worked for him, he saw the patterns in the sentence structure, where each verb was placed, where each subject went, how past and future tense worked, all he needed now was a vast vocabulary, which took a lot of time.

This will grow to a great skill..... Armenian ... now if I could learn Georgian and Turkish I could find victims in Eurasia where the Paladin's can't find me...... yes I don't believe they go to that part of Europe.... maybe there will be others like me......[/color]

"You're a lot better at this then my old Latin teacher, that's for sure." Marquise said, faking the slightest bit of sentimentality. It was always best to act human whenever in daylight, otherwise the monster that is me becomes more apparent then the pale skin and veins showing.

[sephora]

"Excuse me miss, where is the bathroom? Where is the train station? How are you doing today? Yes, that's good. I think I understand this language, a little more practice and a larger vocabulary and I should be fluent within the next two weeks." Sephora nodded, astounded. His memory was amazing, she simply had to say something, tell him what it meant, and then he knew it. She had never met anyone like this. The girl wondered if perhaps his memory had been enhanced because of his vampirism, or if it truly had been like this when he was human.

"You're a lot better at this then my old Latin teacher, that's for sure." Upon hearing that, Sephora let out a good-natured laugh, the first laugh she had had around the vampire. "Perhaps your Latin teacher did not have so eager a student, at the time." Then repeating this in english, she shrugged, "At any rate, I believe this is the best way to help you learn vocabulary, especially because of your astounding memory." Then again, she repeated herself in english. Sephora could easily see the whole repeating herself getting old easily, but if it was going to help him learn, she would do it. "Before I start listing words, is there anything in particular you would wish to say?" Sephora repeated herself in english.

[Marquise]

"Yes, I wish to learn the following words.... blood... neck, tear, bite, rip, head, off, fountain, paint, walls, consume, devour, drain, and a few other choice words having to do with actions of a forceful nature, words I wouldn't bother you with." Marquise smelled blood in the air, and he was no longer stuffed, instead his blood lust had felt stronger then ever, the sunlight had drained him. He looked over at Sephora weighing her usefulness with the taste of her blood. He remembered it well, of course, not well enough.

Perhaps I should just test her blood again, see just how sweet it was, and then weigh in how much I truly need her.....

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you. You never answered my question on the night we first came in contact." Marquise didn't use any of his Qi, he remained the same, his voice just became a little dryer from the sunlight and he was getting a bit thirsty, "If you were ever to face death, would you want me to save you? And by that I don't mean save you from the big-bad and rush you to a hospital. I do mean, however, would you ever wish to become what I am in place of dying?"

[sephora]

"Yes, I wish to learn the following words.... blood... neck, tear, bite, rip, head, off, fountain, paint, walls, consume, devour, drain, and a few other choice words having to do with actions of a forceful nature, words I wouldn't bother you with." Sephora stared at him for a moment. All of these words were what she had expected him to ask, but thinking it was different than actually hearing it.

"By the way, I've been meaning to ask you. You never answered my question on the night we first came in contact." She had just opened her mouth to start speaking the words he had asked for, but closed it at his words. Flashbacks of that night overtook her for a moment. Hearing his voice while clinging to a tree, her lifeblood slowly draining from her mouth. He had carried her to a clearing and had watched over her until Miss Lunari had come. Sephora had never understood, after finding out what he was, why he hadn't killed her then and there. He had covered her eyes at one point, taking the blood that had flowed from her body, but not actually hurt her. Sephora remembered his promise of healing, of giving her life. She had reached out for him at one point, not fully understanding, but wanting him to help her.

Sephora rested her good hand on her cast and listened for a moment to the forest behind them, whispering and breathing heavily. It was a peaceful day.

"If you were ever to face death, would you want me to save you? And by that I don't mean save you from the big-bad and rush you to a hospital. I do mean, however, would you ever wish to become what I am in place of dying?" Her eyes lifted, and Sephora's blue orbs met his red ones. She really didn't know what to say. The girl knew that most people would recoil and say no immediately.

In truth, Sephora wondered what it would be like to be a vampire. It seemed fascinating and she would love to have his memory, but would she? How would the forest react, if she became such a thing? Would she lose her abilities and her connection with nature? Sephora just didn't know.

"I..." She started, still looking at him, "I don't know." Sephora stuck her fingers into the ground, calla lilies grew and bloomed about two feet in front of her. "I haven't decided. Ask me later."

Blood, Neck, Tear, Bite, Rip, Head, Off, Fountain, Paint, Walls, Consume, Devour, Drain, Cut, Bite, Anger Then repeated the words in english.

[Marquise]

He memorized the words, each one with more importance then the last. She also felt free to add a couple he hadn't thought of, "If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask. I don't know everything sadly, but I have a pretty decent amount of knowledge that my sire taught me before she vanished."

"I shall rip the heads off of everyone, fountains of blood will paint the walls as I devour and consume you all."

Hahahahahahaha.... HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAA......[/color]

"Ha.... hahahahahahahahaa.....HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA" Marquise cleared his throat, "Sorry, please excuse me, learning a new language has become very amusing. Especially this language, it's so beautiful and at the same time it adds to the meaning of the words..."

[sephora]

"If you have any questions about it, feel free to ask. I don't know everything sadly, but I have a pretty decent amount of knowledge that my sire taught me before she vanished." Sephora nodded. She did have a few questions, primarily if he offered to turn all of his victims, and if not, why he was interested in turning her.

"I shall rip the heads off of everyone, fountains of blood will paint the walls as I devour and consume you all." He said this in Armenian. Sephora continued looking at him, wondering if all vampires were as vicious. She didn't want to be vicious.

"You are catching on quickly." She said with a smile and repeated in it english, though his previous sentence still put her on edge. If she had said a deliberate no, would he have killed her then and there? "Sorry, please excuse me, learning a new language has become very amusing. Especially this language, it's so beautiful and at the same time it adds to the meaning of the words..."

Sephora nodded, though his shrill laughter had put her on edge. "I do have a few questions, that would help me make a decision." She repeated herself in english. "Are all vampires the same in attitude? I mean to say, if I became a vampire, would I behave like you, or would I retain a semblence of myself?" Sephora repeated herself in english, though the second language was less poetic and had to be phrased far less delicately. The last thing that the Armenian girl wanted to do was offend Marquise.

[Marquise]

"You wouldn't be as I am, not nearly as......Soul less. In life I was possessed, by my own will. For years I lived with two voices in my head, the demon one who wanted blood, even if it was my own, and the soulful me, the one that was a roman catholic. I covered my body in crosses to keep the demon from leaving me, so that I could borrow his strength. In essence, I never had a real Qi, instead I just let the demon have more control over my body. Then before I knew it my body was dying from the demon, but I wished to stay alive to kill the very demon that took my parents lives. Next thing I knew I was waking up in my coffin. I had no recollection of what happened, but I could guess. I dug myself out and I fed on the nuns and pastors of the church, and immediately tested out the myths, having realized what I had become. For several years it was like nothing had changed, only that the demons voice had become louder then that of John Kamp. My sire mentioned being able to reclaim one's soul. I considered it, but I soon became disinterested with it. You see, if you have been a vampire for a long time as I have, and you regain your soul, you begin to feel guilt. I don't have a taste for guilt. I rather enjoy my remorseless nature, it's free. No, somebody would have to force my soul back into me. And I would do my best to make sure that never happens."

"I would hate to see a talent like yours only manage to survive a humans life time. Besides, I would very much like the company of another vampire." Marquise relaxed a little, his blood lust had dispersed with the thoughts of actually becoming Sephora's sire. "I picture you as being a little more eccentric, talking to plants more then humans...... possibly even a little insane as a vampire. Although, if you somehow regained your soul, I would imagine that not much would change with the exception of your heart no longer beating and a weakness in the sunlight."

Marquise could kick himself for exposing his weakness, he didn't mean to say that. He was becoming too truthful. He revealed too much information. He decided he'd give this girl two years, if she didn't turn by then, he would consume her when she least expected it. It'd be easy considering he knew where she slept.

[sephora]

"You wouldn't be as I am, not nearly as......Soul less. In life I was possessed, by my own will. For years I lived with two voices in my head, the demon one who wanted blood, even if it was my own, and the soulful me, the one that was a roman catholic. I covered my body in crosses to keep the demon from leaving me, so that I could borrow his strength. In essence, I never had a real Qi, instead I just let the demon have more control over my body. Then before I knew it my body was dying from the demon, but I wished to stay alive to kill the very demon that took my parents lives. Next thing I knew I was waking up in my coffin. I had no recollection of what happened, but I could guess. I dug myself out and I fed on the nuns and pastors of the church, and immediately tested out the myths, having realized what I had become. For several years it was like nothing had changed, only that the demons voice had become louder then that of John Kamp. My sire mentioned being able to reclaim one's soul. I considered it, but I soon became disinterested with it. You see, if you have been a vampire for a long time as I have, and you regain your soul, you begin to feel guilt. I don't have a taste for guilt. I rather enjoy my remorseless nature, it's free. No, somebody would have to force my soul back into me. And I would do my best to make sure that never happens." Sephora listened quietly. At first, when he had started out in Armenian, she had been about to interupt him to put in a compliment on his pronunciation, but she was glad she didn't. The decision she made about vampire's behavior was that one could tell by their manner of being turned. She would never want to be a monster, but living forever and having such a memory would be a gift. The girl smiled inwardly at the thought that her father would love it, this way there would always be a Tsorovan to watch over the business.

She was shocked, though, to hear that he had drained all of the clergy and holy sisters, especially after having heard he was at one point roman catholic. Sephora supposed that in itself was a testament to Marquise's lack of humanity. She wondered if being his companion as a vampire would have any negative affects on her process of thought and behavior.

"I would hate to see a talent like yours only manage to survive a humans life time. Besides, I would very much like the company of another vampire. I picture you as being a little more eccentric, talking to plants more then humans...... possibly even a little insane as a vampire. Although, if you somehow regained your soul, I would imagine that not much would change with the exception of your heart no longer beating and a weakness in the sunlight." He had once again begun in Armenian, and the girl was once again pleased at how well he did at the language. She smiled at his vision of her being a vampire, an eccentric plant-talker. It was exactly how she pictured it herself, of course, an eternity to live amongst nature and glean Her secrets.

Sephora's thoughts paused over his last bit, though, which was in english. A weakness in the light? Hmm, that was interesting. That meant that Marquise was weak right now. She didn't do anything, of course, because the girl did not believe in hapless killing, nor did she fool herself into thinking that at this close of a range she would be safe from retaliation. She figured he could drain her in moments.

"So then, you are stronger in the night." She had said this more for her own sake than as a question. Sephora also repeated herself in english. "You said you had a. . . sire," she stumbled over the word, never having used it before, "previously. I assume that is whom turned you, but what does it mean, to be a sire?" She repeated herself in english. Mainly Sephora was wondering if he would get any sort of benefit from turning her, perhaps control. If Marquise turned her and then had control over Sephora and her power, she wasn't sure she wanted that.