The next night (Joshua) - Henri's Penthouse

She leaned closer to him.

"They try, you tell them you belong to me. And there are many, but away from the Regency, you're not likely to meet them. You just be who you are, that's what I want you to be."

"What I am" he said quietly, while staring into her eyes and reaching for her face "Is someone who just wanted to live their life the way they wanted to free of outside control, and to have a good time while doing so. Yano, the kind of guy they write songs about."

She didn't knock his hand away. Touch was allowed.

"I know. And I will apologize just this once for that. But now you get to live forever, and I will never take the sunsets away from you."

Softly he stroked her cheek.

"I think I can live with that. My liver will doubtlessly thank you"

She smiled and warmed her skin under his hand.

"Doubtless. Now it is locked in statis in whatever state you put it in."

"Hmmm that's a scary thought" he chuckled "But the doctor hadn't yelled at me much over it."

"So how did you become a vampire?"

She chuckled.

"The short story is that my Sire saw me beating off people who wanted to thieve from me. He rescued me, but not before I'd taken out three of them. He embraced me a month later."

"Cream of the crop eh? Chosen to become something more than you were. How did you react to the whole thing? What did you think of it?"

She nodded.

"Oui, something like that. And it was a different time. I took to it well, and it got me out of the town I was in."

"I couldn't imagine living in the early 19th Century, I could see wanting to get out of that lifestyle. So you've seen a lot. What was the most amazing thing you've seen in the last 300 years?"

She chuckled.

"Oh, that is a tough one. I spent most of the time in Paris. Always a beautiful city."

"Was it as beautiful when the Germans showed up calling?"

She chuckled.

"I wouldn't know. We left, then took the city back."

"So you all get involved in mortal wars too eh? Heh. My grandfather was shot down over France. Tail gunner in a B-24. Bailed out, French Resistance hid his ass and got him to a British sub that took him back to England."

She nodded.

"When your main source of food threatens to blast itself into extinction, you get involved."

"You guys really thought we were gonna push ourselves to extinction?"

Her eyebrows crept towards her hair line.

"After Japan? Oui."

"Yeah, but that was the end of the war. Still, I can see why you guys would pick sides anyway, I guess it's all a power play and struggle along with preserving your food source. God that's strange to talk about..."

She brushed a finger along his hair line.

"We fought on all sides of that war."

Both of his hands were now holding her face as he nodded and leaned in a little closer. "Messy, so messy. What are you people up to in Florida now?"

She chuckled.

"Living our lives. Holding this territory against those who would mistreat the Kine."

"Kine..... you mean. People? Just how many groups of vampires are there anyway?"

She nodded.

"Oui, people. And there are three major groups. The Camarilla, of which I am part, the Sabbat, who will stop at nothing, and the Anarchs, who mostly just want to be left alone."

He snorted "Nice to see some vampires want to be left alone too. So tell me about this Camawhatist and the Sabbat. What's the diff?"

She chuckled.

"The Camarilla is all about protecting ourselves from notice by the mortal populous. We do rule, but from behind the scenes. The Sabbat are raving lunatics who are out for world domination. At all costs."