Hrothbert &quot;Bob&quot; Bainbridge

*grudging and slightly apprehensive*

I have your cat.... He's helping me stave off the peeps.

From:

*not going to say he's relieved that Dwayne isn't ~~permanently~~ dead... although, honestly, he is*

*all business* Ah... good for him.

From:

.....
*disappointed*

From:

...

*not sure what else he could have said, orders the journal (which has been floating alongside him) to close and levitate back to his office, glances after it with a faint expression of regret*

*..and turns a corner and walks straight through Dwayne*

..!!

From:

*sigh, eyes journal regretfully and puts it away*
.
.
.
*sensation of ice water permeates him as he rounds corner*

Wha-?! *violent shiver*

From:

*steps sharply to one side, knowing without sight that he's just walked through one of the school's ~~MANY, MANY~~ vampires*

*swings round to confront him as Marco, with a startled yelp, shoots down an adjacent corridor after a line of frightened Peeps*

... *sees who it is, swallows his words lest he say something unfortunate, and manages with an effort to keep an absolutely professional straight face*

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*stricken look as he catches sight of Bob, hates himself for displays of emotion but can't help it*

....

*glances up and down corridor for any onlookers and swallows hard*

Can we talk?

From:

*is just as uncomfortable with the emotion, but recognizes that the moment can't be put off*

I suppose nothing is preventing us. *nods curtly, jerking his head toward an unoccupied alcove*

From:

*winces at Bob's tone and ponders sardonically that the ghost could be his father all over again, follows Bob to the alcove and shifts uneasily, can't think of anything to say...*

I screwed up.

*...past the obvious*

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*doesn't know about this unfortunate congruence -- would probably be easier on Dwayne if he did, but such such is life--*

eyes him searchingly, trying to figure out whether he's sincere or just trying to ingratiate himself... though his persistence is a good sign*

*reserved* ..That is moderately obvious.

*of course, the degree of responsibility is arguable, but he waits for Dwayne to bring up that point himself*

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*clenches jaw and tries finding the words he wants; can't quite get it, though he knows his chosen words convey rightly enough what he wants to say*

I should have been killed.

From:

*neutral* In earlier times, you might have been.

*meaning: but you weren't; now what are you going to do about it?*

From:

*scowls suddenly*

I did not mean to. *enunciates each word carefully and clearly* I had no control over what I did at that time.

... I'm not saying I'm not at fault. *remembers Vivi* Fuck, I think I should have been hunted down and killed for it. My pack hates me, my friends hate me *eyes Bob pointedly* and as far as I know the ministry could just be waiting for the right time to come in and haul me to Azkaban. I would deserve it. I DO deserve it....

But for some reason I can't fucking stand the thought of you being pissed off at me. Fuck knows why I care, but I do. I'm doing everything I can to make it up to Vivi. Though I know I can't ever. And the Harry Dresden guy has been avoiding me like the plague, so I haven't been given a chance to try making up for it.

What more do you want from me? *serious, steady look; is quite willing to do most anything at this point*

From:

*a grim look, all the centuries of unblinking self-knowledge showing on Bob's face -- has Dwayne forgotten who this old ghost is, what he was in life?*

*quietly, doing his best to restrain his own tongue* Should you exist as long as I have, you will learn that actions matter more than intentions. You really think I am angry at you? I said before, you've done nothing to me. What reparations you make to your victims is your own affair.... *a little of his torment shows through without his willing it* ..As mine is being obliged to take the part of mortals whom I cannot defend.

What I want... *voice sinking* ..is to know how -- or whether -- you intend to prevent the same thing happening the next time we all lose our minds.

From:

*goes quiet*

....
*glances around to make sure there are no eaves droppers*

*stares at Bob and feels both angry and resigned*
You're asking me to change what I am. What I am is a vampire. I kill people. I enjoy it. I do it without sympathy or remorse. It's how I live and survive.

But... before that bout of insanity I would never have even thought of killing or harming a child. What good is it for my pack if we kill off our food before it matures enough to eat? As far as Harry goes.... *pauses to think, decides honesty is a blessing and a curse*... I wouldn't have gone any where near him. Not here. Not now. Maybe if we had met as strangers on the streets of Santa Carla. But not now. As it stands I've endangered my entire pack by my unwitting actions.

*grudging* I'll start taking my potion again. And I will have Paul take steps to ensure my compliance with Dumbledore's rules. Paul has already been ordered by the head of my pack to punish me for my transgression *can't stop a violent shudder at remembering previous punishments, gets haunted look that he can't suppress*; I'll just ask him to add to that punishment.

From:

*bitterly* ..No, I am not asking you to change what you are. Go ahead and kill on your own time; that's between you and the Wizengamut, or whatever passes for it overseas. I am asking you to ward yourself against whatever it is in this school that changes what you are -- not in body, but in mind.... *stressing the distinction* Which is in your best interests as well, since it will protect those clan loyalties -- *muted fury in his voice: angered and disgusted at the situation that the school apparently triggered on its own* -- which Hogwarts evidently made you forget.

*waves an irritated hand* If you feel you should be punished, that is your call. Will it do any good? Will it hold you back next time, or be forgotten along with everything else? The only part of your punishment that interests me is the part that will affect what you do in the future. *penetrating stare* You are, of course, the best judge of that.

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*goes quiet for a moment*
I've already taken steps for that. But it's hard to prevent something when you don't know what it is you're shielding from. Hogwarts didn't exactly give indications on what type of changes occur and how.

*grim* You don't know David. The punishment will stick, and if nothing else it will doubly remind me why Hogwarts isn't like Santa Carla. I keep forgetting that I can't act normally here. I won't stop killing, but I need to tone it and other similar behaviors down.

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Cat?

[ooc: Knows Marco. Doesn't know Marco has an owner.]

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*some time after the above, when Bob is back in his office*

Ah -- yes. A hairless cat tattooed with Chinese koi -- he was seen in the halls today, but went his own way. *dryly* Still chasing marshmallows, no doubt.

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*Remembers that friendly cat* Is he your cat?

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Inasmuch as he allows it, yes.

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He's very friendly. What's his name?

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Marco. *rueful* Not that he answers to it.

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Marco...nice name.

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