Myth and Truth

"And how may times have you met this... Piers?" Oliver's question was odd to Vivienne. Did he know him? She wanted to ask, but before she did, she wanted to gauge him a bit more. "A few.. He was at the ceremony for the Circle.." She kept her eyes trained on Oliver, waiting to see even a flicker of uncertainty from him. Oliver remained stoic as he nodded, thinking the best way to respond. "Well I think the best thing in any case with a new acquaintance is to be tread carefully. One does not know a person overnight." Vivienne nodded, taking in his words thoughtfully. He was right. It would be completely ignorant to rush into even a friendship with anyone considering who she was but especially considering who Piers was.

"He invited me to his home for a party tomorrow. He said it's black tie." She looked to Oliver. He nodded. "Yes, I hear vampires relish in formalities. A lot of them are considerably older so it makes sense if you think about the generations from which they've come. They're incredibly antiquated in the sense that they hold onto a lot of traditions and normalcy from their past... To them, it's all they have to hold onto their former lives." To Vivienne it was starting to make much more sense now. Perhaps some of those vampire movies and books weren't so far off. "Do they... Okay." She sat more upright in the chair, enjoying the free flow of the conversation and that some of her burning questions were being answered. Especially by someone that wouldn't be bothered by the avalanche of questions she had.

"What about them is true? I mean I know books and movies and all that always say they can't walk in sunlight, they hate holy objects, they don't have a reflection in a mirror... How much truth is there to any of that?" Oliver nodded, "Some of it is true.. To be honest, miss, it depends on the vampire and how strong they are, what their bloodline is. For example, the most powerful vampire defeats many of the typical myths about their kind whereas a young vampire or one that was turned by a low level vampire will have more weaknesses. I'm sure at some point in time the lack of a reflection or weakness to holy objects affected many a low vampire but to the more noble, the higher ranking vampires, while some things make them uncomfortable, most of them can overcome the typical disadvantages... With the exception of sunlight."

Vivienne thought this information over, remembering something and turning her eyes to Oliver once more. "But... Piers.. He appeared in my office. In the middle of the day." Oliver stiffened and stood in an uncomfortable silence as he thought how best to answer her. "Then I would consider that perhaps he's a lot more powerful than you think."

Butterflies flew in her stomach at the thought, sending her insides in a summer sault. She could sense that there was something Oliver wasn't telling her but she realized it wasn't a good idea to press him further. She tipped her head back to empty the glass with the bourbon. Oliver held out the silver tray to her and she placed the glass on top. "Another one, miss?" He asked and Vivienne nodded. Tonight seemed as good a night as any to indulge after the information she just had.