There's a mist of darkness that appears on the edge of the gate onto Eilam's property, just beyond the interior of it. Lacrima appears--- long purple hair. purple eyes. pale complexion... but she's wearing the normal clothes Norie wears. People are looking for Norie Okana. They are not looking for Confused Vampire Lacrima.
She looks at the small manor. She expected maybe something bigger. She shrugs, and begins walking up the pathway/driveway as she walks to the door and ponders.
Nrg... fine.
She knocks on the door simply three knocks. Normal, strong knocks. She figures that's a good start.
Then she realizes she didn't text she was coming. Well. Whoops. Maybe he'll like the surprise.
The manor is small, certainly, but also fairly old. Not that it makes it seem larger, there was a fair bit of lawn, lots of well-kept trees of various kinds. A lot of pink cherry trees, though, especially lining the main pathway. No one can say Eilam dislikes pink. The manor looked to be a strange mixture of western-influenced design, but also an era home that was made to try and 'look' western while still maintaining some level of Japanese taste. It works more because the entire place looks like it was built to design and less like it was upgraded over time.
The knock on the door was answered after about twenty seconds by a confused-looking older Japanese fellow in his mid 50's or so, looking more like he belonged in a business tower in tokyo with how he was dressed. "Can I help you?" then a pause as he looked to the gate, "..." how did she even get past the gate? It was locked with a number pad combination AND a physical key too! Had Eilam given her one? It would seem Eilam was not really the one to answer, though once the door was open, she would be able to see inside. The interior was rather sedately decorated, comfortably lit, light classical piano music playing from somewhere, a pleasant flowery smell, likely coming from a fair bit of plantlife in the forms of an indoor garden-style setup with various decorative pleasant-smelling flowers. Even a staircase leading up in the main foyer area.
Lacrima eyes dart around the front door as she waits for it to answer. The smells are nice at least as she's assaulted by them as the doors open. She looks up at the man. Welldressed. Older. She makes a connection of 'Butler' or 'Caregiver' or 'both'. Surely someone who gets as tried as Eilam needs help around the house in some form. Right?
Lacrima doesn't waste much time though. "Hello." she gives a soft bow. She'd introduce her name but.. she hasn't decided on one- and using 'Norie Okana' is out of the question currently.
"I'm here looking for Eilam Hisakawa-kun. Is he here today?" she asks politely.
A few more moment of pause from him and he steps back, offering her a path inside, "If you would wait here in the foyer, I will be back shortly." and once inside, he shuts the door and disappears through a nearby door. The interior of the foyer, once she's inside, has various paintings and photos hanging, a lot fairly old, some newer, men and women young and old. Just an assortment of life documented in the paintings. Possibly people from Eilam's past. There was several couches and recliners and such here and there in the foyer to wait in, and after several minutes the older man comes back out.
"It would seem that while he was not expecting you, he is happy to have your company. And... wanted me to let you know you can come again at any point." And with that message given, he turns and raises a hand for her to follow. The path was fairly simple, clean, warm lighting, looking more like a happy family home than anything. It might even cause a bit of irking, because really it /does/ feel like a family home and not just a rich guy's bachelor pad. She would be led to a wide, tall door that when opened after a knock and a few seconds seemed to be an office of some sort. Clean plush carpeting, warm tones in the walls and colors, shelves with various books and papers and even a large desk off to one side. At the moment, Eilam was seated in the center of the room towards the left in a large plush recliner, a set of computer monitor shanging from the ceiling on one of those mechanical arms that would allow him to move it around and work from various points in the room. He seemed tired today, not near as tired as he had been last she saw him in the church, but certainly not at full capacity. And then the butler left, closing the door. "So you decided to come after all. Did you need something, or... did you come to talk?" He pushed himself up a little, offering a hand towards several chairs she could pull up if she wanted. Rather comfy-looking office chairs. Expensive ones. Eilam was not one to skimp on comfort.
Lacrima walks along the way, and eyes the various portraits. And books. and framed photographs. Her eyes trace along the way as she purses her lips a bit as all this did was make her think about why she's here. She's here for a specific purpose afterall, today. Not just for a visit.
She had to do this alone, so she left Jiaying back at her home. She was honest about what she was doing though. She had questions to ask.
She seemed to like the decor at least. It seemed friendly. And homely. It made her feel comfortable. She looked to the butler as he left, closing the door. This put her more at least as she took a deep breath.
"Hello." she says softly.
"I wanted to talk." she says softly with a soft breath as she looks around and then Eilam motions to a chair and she sits down softly, pulling it up indeed, easily enough as she wraped her arms around her front. "I had... questions. I guess. About things. N' stuff..." she says quietly.
"Um... how are you... though?" she asks first it seems.
Eilam watched her, curious. As she moved, as she spoke. Her body language, specifically, was what he was eying. Sometimes people spoke a lot more with what they didn't say than what they did. "Honestly? I am dying. But I am always dying. I have been for hundreds of years. Such is my life. Or lack thereof. But as morbid as that sounds, the day is not too bad. The sun was nice out, so I was able to spend most of the day sleeping in the sun. Even if my ... curse, or whatever it is, prevents me from tanning or burning in the sun, it is still nice to feel it."
A pause, then, "And dinner is soon, if you want some too? Roasted, spiced beef with stewed potatos, carrots and rice. Sounds a bit pretentious when I say it like that but I enjoy my treats. I have worked enough over my time to get to this point after all, why not?" Reaching up towards the monitor, Eilam uses a finger to poke something or another then slide it, the piano music getting a little softer. "What type of music do you like? I personally enjoy orchestral music. Though I may just be old-fashioned." An attempt at a joke. It might not be that funny.
Lacrima shakes her head. "I can't get sunburnt either. And even if I do 'in my disguise' I can make it go away because it's just the disguise getting injured..." she says softly.. then looking a bit sad because she's talking about her 'former self' like a disguise. Exactly like she fought for months that she wasn't. She closes her eyes softly as she opens them when Eilam offers food.
"I don't need to 'eat' to sustain myself. But I'd like to, if that's okay." she says softly. "It makes me feel better.. to 'eat' she says softly.
"So..if you don't mind." she says softly, accepting.
"Um. I dunno. I kind of like. Dancey.. stuff. Orchestral works." she says softly.
She head tilts a bit. "Um." she sort of lays her hands against her lap as she looks down.
"I dunno if you watch the news. But I ran away." she says quietly. "I'm staying at Jiaying-chan's- please don't tell anyone where I am. Okay? I mean. Like. Officals." she says.
She sort of looks down again.
"Um. I had a question..." she asks softly.
"How do you... handle living so long in an offical way...?" she asks.
"Do you change your name every so often?" she asks. "Or.. just. Keep a super low profile...? or.. move around or...?" she asks, with wide eyes.
When she mentions wanting to eat, Eilam reaches up and taps the monitor a few more times, a touchscreen it seems, before pushing it aside and returning his attention to Norie. So she liked dance music? Hm. He'd have to look into such to find out some things for next time she came. "I do not. Not directly. I pay attention to headline feeds and pick and choose what to hear. I have employees who pay attention otherwise and if I miss something, or they notice something, they inform me. I will not tell anyone though. I value my privacy, and respect others."
Though her next question had him smile a little. "It used to be much easier. Before the world was connected as it is now... it was quite easy to simply move and be a home birth. No documentation. Now... it is harder. There are records of everything. You can hardly scratch your nose in public without a camera seeing it."
A small sigh came out of him. "I have been trying to set up something for myself over the past thirty years, paying those who know how things work to help me. Helping them. I would not say friends, but... associates, perhaps. Every four or five years I move to another place. Always moving. A new name, slightly different. And eventually I cycle. I have... thirty four homes across the world in various countries that I directly consider my own. While I am not there I leave them to families to take care of, give them a home, an income. Allow them to manage part of my estates and in effect they keep my income steadily growing. This one, too, is such. It is a... generational thing. Sometimes the next generations do not wish to carry on, or are... incapable, but for the most part family traditions and wealth are good for that. The man you spoke with? Kaito Soru. His great aunt was a friend of mine the last time I was in Japan. I stayed in this manor after it was built for several years then gave it to her to care for, and now that I am in Japan again... well, I am staying here again. He is gracious enough to work for me until I am gone again, considering I am his primary source of income for the rest of his life and fund his family. Now, though... as far as new names and such... I have been setting up identities ahead of time, falsifying births, doing such in such a way that when they are of age I can simply... be them. A bit much, but for now it is working. For how long I cannot say. Why do you ask? Simply curious?"
Lacrima frowns and crosses her arms carefully as she listens and just looks down as she purses her lips. "Just. Jiaying and Sora-chan think that it might help if I got a new identity... said I was some exchange student... because I can speak spanish." she says softly. "Cuz of the whole vampire thing." she says softly.
"They think... 'Maria' might be a nice name, with a japanese surename because maybe 'one of my parents' is japanese so that's why I'm in Japan and all that..." she says quietly as she sort of fidgets a bit.
"I dunno how easy that is or not. To fake that sort of thing is all..."
"I figured.. you might have some experience with it." she says quietly.
"Because... wouldn't people wonder about the same person being around for hundreds of years?" she asks quietly as she looks back up at Eilam.
"I figure I'll need to do this again anyways...." she mutters.
"Maria."
Eilam seemed to think about that only to laugh a bit, "So cliche for a vampire-related name, but it's a nice name. Is that implying you are... embracing your nature, or are you still trying to control it? I would be happy to do what I can to help, and if you want a new identity... I can certainly help, but chances are you will do something to mess that identity up. The only reason I have lasted this long was I started this before this new world and age came about. You starting fresh... I imagine it will be much harder. And you are still young."
There was a knock at the door and after a moment, Eilam gave a simple, "Come in." and his cook, which happened to be Kaito's wife, made her way in with a push cart with a large portion of the food that was made, along with a few plates and various bottled drinks in the form of water, soda, etc. "Do you need anything else?" Eilam shook his head, then offered a hand towards Lacrima. "If my guest needs anything, otherwise no. But to our conversation, I guess give me a week to think on it? I would rather not just... hand you a new car and have you drive it into a ditch, so to speak, without thinking about precautions. If you get what I mean."
Lacrima blinks merely once. "Huh?" she asks. "No...it was chosen because it was a common spanish name. No one would look twice at it..." she says looking down as she purses her lips. "Do you think it's cliche? I dunno what else to pick...." she mutters.
She softly crosses her arms. "No, you're right. It's not like jerks like Kukai will figure it out. But what matters if the mundanes---? belive him. He can say I'm 'Norie Okana' all he wants... if the police come and see my paper is order and I look nothing like 'Noire', he'll look like a looney." she says.
She frowns a bit. "I'm more worried about the..."
"Police and the like." she mutters.
She sort of settles. "I dunno if I'm asking for help." she says quietly.
"I just wanted to know how you handle it..." she says as she eyes the food. "Thank you." she says softly. "No this is fine." she says gently as she releases her arms crossed aginst her chest defensivly finally.
"Mary, and thus Maria, are common Christian names. A lot of stories like to pair demonic vampires with 'holy'-themed women, or men. If you like the name by all means, I apologize if my laughing bothered you, I was simply amused by it." Raising up once the cook left, Eilam brought the short cart over and pulled it between the two of them. The smell was... rather seductive by all rights. Slow-roasted meat cooked until it was practically melting, carrots and potatos soft enough you could mash them with your fingers, a thick gravy, a giant bowl of fluffy rice with butter and just in general, heaven.
Enough that Lacrima might notice Eilam was just kind of enjoying staring at it. "I have my vices. Meat like this is one of them. For the longest time I did not... have the luxury of meat. Had not the energy to hunt and... butcher my own meat. As it became more convenient over the centuries to pay others, I have come to enjoy certain things."
Some might consider serving guests first, or women first, but Eilam hardly seemed to care. He simply took a plate and started getthing himself bits of everything before sitting back with it and realizing it was probably a terrible spot to eat. So, raising up again he sat it on the tray and moved to grab a nearby stool, nudging it over to where he was. "You may be able to hold a plate and eat out of it, but I do not trust myself to such a thing, haha. At times I can barely hold a fork without it shaking. Thankfully tonight is not such a night, but no harm in being safe."
And then he began to eat, hungrily. "Please do not starve yourself. It is not an enjoyable thing. I... tried that before. When I was young. Tried to die. Many ways. It made me appreciate how nice food is. Even if I do not need it."
Lacrima prepares her own plate in the meantime. She doesn't ask or wait to be provided or anything. She's a big girl, as far as she's concerned. The amount on her plate seems to be more than she could potentially eat. But she seems to eat just fine. Never slowing down. Never seeming to deal with fullness as she goes on.
"I forget how old you are that things like 'food in packages' is probably a luxury." she admits matter of factly.
"You walk into a market and buy your things and that's it." she says as she eats.
A pause.
"But I don't have a 'devil' or 'demon' to be paired with." she says matter of factly. A pause. "I don't /think/ Natsumi-chan is a devil or a demon or at least..." she purses her lips. "She just protects the stars..." she says quietly.
She blinks once at Eilam. "Natsumi-chan. Right." she says looking down awkwardly.
"Girlfriend." she says softly. "I dunno how she loves me. But she does." she says quietly. "..and I can't even say it back because I choke and feel like buring whenever I try." she says.
"...all I feel is weird sinking inside when I think about her." she says.
"I'm told that's love. It doesn't feel bad. I know what 'bad' feels like. I know if it was 'bad' because I can feel 'bad'..." she says quietly.
She just sighs.
"Maria works, regardless...." she says quietly.
She's still eating a brisk pace despite her talking. Eating between sentences.
Eilam listens as Lacrima speaks and smiles a little as she continues. That was something. Eventually he adds a rather simple, "I am happy for you." and then, "It has been... a long time since I let myself feel that way about anyone." if she looked, she might notice Eilam picking at his food a little. "She did not care if I was ill, she was happy to be with me. Or so I thought. I proposed to her, and after she agreed, I... showed her about my condition, explained things. It took me a lot longer than it should have to get over having her inform the nearby church that I was some kind of witch or demon."
He got a bit quiet at that, drinking from a bottle of coke that he'd taken for himself. "Since then... well, I have not bothered. If I want companionship or comfort, there are other ways to get such. As crass as that sounds, I suppose if I only live life in four or five year increments, friends and companions are best kept separate." He continued to pick at his food a bit more before finally saying, "I will help you get a new identity, but I am not going to just give it to you. I would like you to take the time over the next few weeks to write out your plans on how to keep yourself safe, on what you think the dangers of something like this is. Consider it homework." that got a small smile out of him. "There is no right or wrong... but it is something you need to accept for yourself, and not simply have me give you a way of life. This is still your life, and your world. You have to figure out how to govern it."
Lacrima sighs and rolls her eyes. "I feel like I have feelings about 'the church' but those are probably mental impressions from the guy who had this power before. I've never actually been really religious so..." she shrugs.
"If anything the church in town makes me feel more comfortable. Like this place. This place makes me feel comfortable. I think for the same reasons. The Architecuture." she says softly.
She nods. "I'll do it, even if I don't accpet your help. May help me figure things out in my head...."
She shakes her head quietly. "There's lots of magical types around in Tokyo... boys and girls... who'd understand your condition or be similar boats." she says quietly. "I'm really sure after... 'living through two apocalypses' and 'dying and coming back from the dead' and stuff like that, that lots of people here wouldn't bat an eye at your condition." she says softly.
Then a pause.
"I mean! It is a big deal! But.. what I'm trying to say is that, if you ever think about that again... this may be your best chance to find people who will understand maybe...?" she says quietly.
"Nrg. I'm bad at this. So bad. I should shut up." she says as she literarly tilts her plate and jams her mouth full of the rest of the food on it so she can't talk.
Eilam Hisakawa watches Lacrima as she talks, then she shoves the food in her mouth. It made him smile. "I suppose it is a pity for me, then, that you have a girlfriend. Because I just found you doing that absolutely adorable, the... you trying to backpeddle and fix what you were saying. I might have been tempted to hit on you then, perhaps. Oh well. Guess I will just have to settle on letting you know that was adorable. And I might consider it if it comes up, but I would rather just have friends for now. No reason to... push things."
He was far more willing to let things simply be flings or amusement for himself than actually try to commit his feelings. Not that many if anyone would really /know/ that. ...in fact, when was the last time he told someone about that? As he thought about it, he really couldn't remember. "Do not... share my history, please? It is... mine to share, or not. I am trusting you with that. Oh, and... if you get hungry? The offer remains to come to me. I do not know if I can really... offer, but it is there." and rather conversationally he adds, "Though if you harm anyone I know, you will not like having pissed off an immortal. Even a sick one. I am far too creative for my own good in ways to threaten others."
Lacrima doesn't blush, or react or even scoff and choke as she eats and chews her food as she swallows a little hard and then drinks water after as she clears her throat. She does raise a brow. "You haven't though about that for a while, but'll still hit on girls?" she asks quizzically.
She purses her lips and shrugs. "I've been. Trying to avoid. Attacking people." she admits.
"Sometimes I don't have a choice in the matter." she says. "Instead, I use a trick Utau taught me." she says. "Get dressed up. Go to a nightclub. Get an alcholic drink. Wait for boys to hit on you. Lie about your age. Let them follow you or lead you to an alley. Then make them question thier life choices about what they just did." she says flatly.
"Mmmm?" she asks. "No. I don't talk to people about you." she says. "I mean. About the secretive stuff." she says. "But you don't come up often. At least not to people who don't already know about you like Jiaying-chan." she says softly.
"...besides. Hitting on me would be lost." she says softly. "I don't really. React. To flirting in general. Even I didn't catch on Natsumi's approaches until she actually just straight up kissed me..." she says softly.
"I would, and do, yes. While not everyone is one to enjoy getting hit on, it does tend to lighten the mood in most situations and lets people get along a bit nicer. After all, would you not be at least a little more friendly with someone you knew thought you nice to be around?" and while Eilam did not really condone such a thing, abusing others trust with clubs and the likes... he also wasn't one to judge. "I guess it is also just who I am at this point. I enjoy flirting too. Makes me feel like I'm not going to fall over dead for a little bit, having a fun conversation with someone. Besides, people are cute when they get embarrassed."
Eilam put his plate back on the cart and nudged it out of the way, "You, though... do not really react. I admit it confuses me, because I have been alive quite a while and those who do not really... express much are fewer than you might think. But I admit part of me wants to try and get something out of you and I know it is not fair to you to treat you like a project like that. Especially since you will be around like I will be. So perhaps in time?"
Lacrima also places her empty plate onto the cat as she looks down.
"I don't feel many positive feelings Eilam." she says quietly. "I just...don't." she says. "Negative feelings come really easy. I still feel some 'positive' feelings. But Not. Like...."
"It's like trying to reach happiness but you keep falling short at 'merely content'." she says.
"Natsumi-chan.. gets reactions from me though." she says. "She makes me 'blush'. I don't... 'blush'. Nothings made me blush for the past.... well. Since I've been this." she says quietly.
"It felt so odd. So warm. Like...I'm so cold? I feel so cold and it's just... burning. In my cheeks." she says softly.
"Then you do feel. You just cannot feel on a whim. I cannot claim to know anything of magic or vampires, but maybe when you do not think too hard and just... go along at someone elses pace, you can catch their enthusiasm? It is part of why I enjoy flirting as I do. Often I will push myself harder than I should, but i enjoy living life at anothers pace. I am happy for you, though, that you found someone who can do that for you. Keep her safe, yeah? That is something that only you can accomplish. You are forever. She is not. It is your duty to keep her safe if she is that important to you. Until such a time it is only her memories... she is still here, and if she really makes you feel, then you owe her."
Eilam seemed content at that and slowly pushes himself upright, "That said, I am getting a little exhausted. I was already close to passing out when you arrived. If you would like to accompany me? We can talk more in my room until I am asleep, and I suppose you could either show yourself out or stay. You have nothing to fear from me, I doubt I could harm you if I tried. I probably would not have the energy to move you off if you so much as sat on me, haha." Not to mention whatever magic.
Eilam Hisakawa adds, "Think about it like this... you know how I said you are the center of your own world, now? Even if your world is dark and cold, hers is not. Live in her world. Or even in mine, if you wish to try."
Lacrima nods. "I'll stay if that's okay." she says quietly. "Just for the night." she says quietly as she gets up and smooths her clothes out as she sighs.
She sighs and just shakes her head. "You and Jiaying say the same thing. I know the feelings are there just... this... garbage blocks them. If I was a human with dark energy... I'd be able to feel like a friend of mine does. But I'm just. This dark thing so it's harder for me." she says quietly.
She just shakes her head.
"I'll text Jiaying and let her know where I am so she isn't freaking out." she says softly as she removes her phone from her pocket. Tap tap text. Beep! there.