Getting up at 6:00 in the morning proved just as difficult as Noé had feared it would. He'd had a difficult time falling asleep the night before, largely thanks to how unfamiliar everything was. He'd thought having a proper bed might help, but the bed was springy, loud, and Vanitas was sharing it with him, which wasn't a problem by itself-he'd gotten used to his presence on the road-but it was yet another thing that was different from his home back in Auvergne. So, rather than get the sleep he would need for the next day, he'd spent most of it trying not to toss and turn too much lest he jostle Vanitas.

And really, he wasn't sure why he bothered because he knew Vanitas wasn't actually asleep. He'd barely slept while they'd been traveling and he'd barely slept in captivity and it didn't look like that was about change now that they were free. But perhaps that was why Noé tried so hard. He was lying on his side, blankets brought all the way over his head, and he was pressed to Noé's side even if he wasn't facing him. It was a sign of trust, Noé knew that much, and if Vanitas could finally get some shut eye, well, he wasn't going to be the one to interrupt.

Not that that helped him much. By the time he'd finally begun to doze, Vanitas was gently shaking him, telling him it was time to get up.

"Already?" he groaned into his pillow. "I don't want to…"

"I promised the owner," he reminded, shaking him a little harder. "You need to be the honest counterpart to my duplicitous undertakings."

Noé groaned a little louder. Being reminded of how insane their circumstances were in such blunt terms was not helping his morning headache. He forced himself up, shivering as he did so. There was no furnace in the room and the morning air was chill.

Vanitas watched him as he stood up, stretching the kinks out of his back. The bed was soft and he'd relished in that, but it was, possibly, a little too soft to provide any kind of support.

"Hmm, who would have guessed it?" Vanitas said, his voice teasing. "You really aren't a morning person. I half expected you to wake up fully refreshed despite your complaints."

"Don't be ridiculous," Noé sighed. "Evenings are much nicer. Besides, you've seen me in the mornings plenty on the road. I didn't like them out there either."

"Just living up to the stereotype, aren't you?" Before Noé could protest he continued with, "But it's nice."

Noé stared at him uncomprehendingly. "What is?"

Vanitas shrugged lackadaisically before sitting up to get his shoes on. "Seeing you so put out. It's a good face."

"You want me to be cranky?"

"I said 'put out,' not 'cranky.'" He stood, shoes tied. "It doesn't matter."

"I think it does," Noé muttered as he tightened the ribbon about his neck. It figured Vanitas would be difficult in the morning when he was least prepared to deal with it. He blinked in surprise when he felt a hand wrap about his wrist.

"Allow me," Vanitas said with a wistful smile. "You're not doing it right. I always had to help M- Well, lots of men have a hard time with ties," he corrected.

Noé considered this as Vanitas brushed his hands aside and set to doing the tie himself, careful to make it snug but not uncomfortable. It was also obvious that Noé hadn't been doing anything wrong, but he had a feeling Vanitas was working up to saying something and since he could never be an upfront individual he had to come up with an excuse to get the words out. Noé waited patiently as he finished the tie and then took a deep breath.

"I just think it's nice to see you be honest even about this," he said. "I've never met anyone so foolishly honest or so trusting and… I thought you'd at least have the good sense to hide when you're put out."

"Vanitas," he said with mild confusion, unsure whether he was being complimented or not. "It's just getting up early. It's not that big of a deal."

"Maybe," he allowed, ducking his head, suddenly elusive once more. "I just thought you should know."

"Thank you." He'd mull it over later. For now, he doubted he'd be getting much more out of him. He was frankly surprised Vanitas had told him this much already.

"Be careful when you work," Vanitas continued as he headed to the door. "Your vision is impaired; you could misjudge the distance between hammer and steel."

Noé couldn't help an amused smile at that. "Are you worried?"

"No!" he exclaimed, looking disgusted. "I'm just… Don't go smashing your hand or something. I need you in working order for what we'll eventually be doing."

"Of course," Noé replied, though he couldn't keep the good humor out of his voice.

"Impossible vampire," he muttered, reaching for the doorknob. Then he paused. "And don't let anyone know what you are!" he barked before finally shutting the door behind him.

Hm. That was a good point. Noé hadn't planned on telling anyone he was a vampire, but, well, he probably needed to be extra careful to keep it to himself all the same.

Noé hastily finished getting ready, which mostly entailed getting his hair in working order. Unfortunately, until Vanitas procured their change of clothes, there was very little he could do to make himself look presentable. While he'd bathed, his clothes still bore the wear and tear of travel; dirt was caked about his trouser's knees, the seams of his sleeves were torn slightly, and there was the faint odor of rain and grass on all his garments. Glumly, he accepted he would simply have to hope whoever he was working for wouldn't mind his state of disarray too much or else Vanitas's efforts in getting him a job would be for naught.

The clerk at the front desk gave him directions just as Vanitas said he would. It wasn't all that far away, although considering how much walking he'd done recently, most things probably wouldn't seem all that far in comparison.

Once he was out, alone, he realized he would have to be diligent not to get distracted. Excitement coursed through him; he was in Paris, the capital of France, making his way through the world. He'd never dreamed he would actually get to do something like this. At some point, he'd simply accepted that the outside world wasn't for him; he had to stay and help his village. He'd never considered that maybe, just maybe, there was something more out there for him, that he could do something else.

He couldn't say he was glad he was kidnapped and sold into slavery, though. That part had been terrifying and chilling in its inhumanity, but the adventure afterwards? Meeting Vanitas? Seeing all of this? It could almost make up for it.

The smithy wasn't on the outskirts of the city as he'd half expected. Instead it was amid the rest of the bustle of the city. Noé supposed this made sense; there were carriages everywhere and people would need their horses cared for and that meant horseshoes. Briefly, he wondered how well he'd do at this. He's helped the Bonhommes as a blacksmith, not a farrier.

How hard can it be? he wondered.

The owner of the inn and the smithy-named Geoffrey-greeted him excitedly, proclaiming he had a lot of shoes to get through. He didn't even seem to notice the state of his clothes, which was a relief. Although, hadn't Vanitas said he ran an inn for "questionable" sorts? Maybe he just knew better than to care.

"It's not easy running two businesses, you understand," he said in a low tone. "But it pays the bills."

Noé nodded understandingly. "How long would you like me here for?"

"Hm? Oh, your friend was quite strict about that," he said, sounding cross. "He said no longer than four hours."

So until about 10:30 or so in the morning. Hm, that certainly left Noé a lot of free time afterwards. As he was ushered to the anvil and shown where the tongs, chisel, hammer, and shoeing box were along with numerous other tools, he wondered if Vanitas had set the time in an effort not to overwork him or because he needed him for his own purposes later in the day. What was particularly frustrating was that he could see that going either way.

Luckily, the job wasn't particularly difficult. In fact, Geoffrey seemed frankly amazed at how good he was at it.

"Are you sure you've never made these before?" he asked in bewilderment. "Even if you've been a blacksmith, this is a little different."

"It really is the first time," Noé confirmed, but offered no other explanation for his skills as he hammered away. He'd made a few mistakes at first-Vanitas had been right about it being a little more difficult with the use of only one eye-but it hadn't been anything significant. Indeed, within an hour he'd all but mastered the craft. He worried this might mark him as "unusual," but Geoffrey was pleased, not suspicious. It should be fine.

Things drifted into a comfortable pace from there. It was nice to have something to do to get his mind off of more unpleasant thoughts. While there was plenty to be excited about, there was even more to worry over, and worry had never been something Noé had dealt with well.

At the forefront of his concerns was Vanitas's book. He didn't fully understand why it was so important, but he got the impression that it could be dangerous in the wrong hands. Vanitas had said it gave him certain powers, even when it wasn't nearby. Could someone else put those powers to use?

Come to think of it, there was an awful lot about this book he didn't know. He'd have to correct that if he was going to spend a significant amount of time looking for it.

The hours went by at a peaceful pace. He lost track of time, content to focus on the constant hammering of metal until it formed a perfect shoe when he heard a soft shuffle to his side.

When he looked up, it was to Vanitas leaning against the building frame-it was a large, open section in the back that opened to the alley, no doubt to prevent overheating-, but he looked different. For one, his posture was more relaxed than he'd seen it so far, and for another he'd found his change of clothes. It was a striking transformation from rags to a fitted waistcoat, a decidedly un fitted black coat with enormous sleeves, and a big, blue bow about his neck. He had an earring in the shape of an hourglass on now as well; it seemed noteworthy in that Noé doubted it was something he'd bought. It must have already been in his possession.

"You look nice," he said sincerely.

Vanitas couldn't quite hide how pleased that made him, but he walked over at an even pace and leaned down to inspect his work. "How did it go?"

"It was fine," Noé said with a yawn. "You were right; it wasn't very difficult."

"Good. You'll be happy to hear I picked you up a change of clothes as well." He hesitated. "I wasn't sure what you might like, so I just picked out whatever would fit." He held out a bag, refusing to look at him as he did so.

Curiosity piqued, Noé grabbed it and took a look inside. Every article was carefully folded and he didn't want to touch any of it for fear of getting grime on it, but from what he could tell Vanitas couldn't have possibly picked any old thing. The material looked nice, and the colors were fashionable, if somewhat subdued in tone. It was a gentleman's outfit, not the eccentric piece Vanitas had put together for himself for which he was grateful. He wondered if he could really wear this while working on horseshoes. Probably not; he'd have to sort out his old clothes for that.

"Thank you," he said with a smile. "It will be nice to get into it."

"Ready to leave then?" he asked, appearing almost awkward. "I figured I'd give you a more thorough tour of Paris."

He'd said the magic words.

"Truly?" Noé exclaimed, all desire to be diligent about his work gone. "What will we look at first? On the way here I saw this cafe with this incredible staircase leading to it in an alley-"

"Wait, wait," Vanitas interrupted. "We can't go off exploring every cafe you find interesting."

"Oh," he replied, disappointed.

"Instead I will show you the major landmarks so you can get yourself about. Then you can go to whatever cafe you like."

"And you'll come with," Noé clarified.

"I… I suppose so," Vanitas mumbled. "If you like. Now come on; your shift is over."

It was so strange that he was already done with his workday. Even the Bonhommes had worked him longer than that. He looked curiously at Vanitas as he walked at his side and wondered if it had been difficult to convince Geoffrey of the short shift or not.

"How did things go on your end?" Noé finally asked when it became apparent Vanitas wasn't going to offer the information of his own accord.

His demeanor immediately changed, becoming more pleased. "Quite well, actually. I made a contact that I think should prove trustworthy. His name is Dante."

"He's a dhampir?"

"That's right."

Noé tilted his head. "What are they like?"

"What, dhampirs? Like anyone else I suppose." He frowned at that. "People are all the same, regardless of their race or creed."

"How do you mean?"

He began walking faster. Noé wasn't sure if it was conscious or not, but something about the topic was bothering him. Just another mystery, he thought to himself.

Just as he was beginning to think Vanitas wouldn't answer, he finally said, with absolute conviction, "They're all ugly, selfish creatures. Whether they're human, vampire, or dhampir doesn't matter. That's what I mean. You've seen it." That last bit was proclaimed almost defensively, as if he were anticipating Noé's disagreement.

And disagree Noé did, but more than that he hated the sudden shift in his companion. Before this sudden anger he'd been about as cheerful as Vanitas ever was, almost excited. Now, it was like looking at a different person, one who surely wasn't capable of the kindness Noé had seen throughout their time together.

Noé stopped in his tracks. Vanitas reluctantly paused as well, turning toward him from where he'd sped up ahead.

"I don't like that face on you," he announced without preamble.

"What?"

"I don't like it," Noé insisted. "And you're wrong. That isn't what everyone is like."

At that, Vanitas's ire, previously undirected, honed in on him. "Oh? And I suppose you know all about people seeing as you've spent so much time around them?"

"I know enough," Noé replied, undaunted. "If everyone were as you say, there wouldn't be anyone left in the world. Not everyone can be like those slavers."

"Enough of them can," Vanitas replied bitterly. "And they're hardly the only problem with the world. If you think otherwise, it's only because you haven't seen enough of it."

"I could just as easily say that about you. Seeing nothing but the worst in the world is just as slanted as only seeing the best."

Vanitas huffed and crossed his arms. He looked very much like he wanted to continue the argument, but instead he shook his head. "Whatever. Keep your delusions if you must. It's not my job to educate the country bumpkin."

Noé's eye twitched. "You have a very difficult side to your personality."

"Look," Vanitas began, anger hot all over again, "I don't need you here."

"I never said you did."

"And I definitely don't need some holier-than-thou attitude either!"

"That's not what I intended," Noé replied tiredly.

"Then what is your point?" Vanitas exclaimed, face red and hands trembling.

"The only point I'm making is that there is good in the world, and I don't like seeing you believe otherwise."

"What I do or don't believe is none of your business," he said angrily. "Like it or dislike it, it's the truth. You can't ask for more than that."

Noé glanced away, almost guiltily. He didn't think he was wrong, but maybe Vanitas had a point. Neither of them said anything after that. Eventually, Vanitas led the way and Noé followed awkwardly behind. The tension could have been cut with a knife.

Is it wrong to correct someone about this? It didn't seem wrong. In fact, Noé felt pretty certain it was worse to let someone believe there was nothing but evil among him. And yet, Vanitas was clearly angry, much angrier than Noé had ever seen him.

Maybe the problem wasn't Noé's own philosophy. Maybe, unintentional though it had been, he'd been dismissive of Vanitas's own life experience. While they'd both been slaves, Vanitas had been one for much longer. Furthermore, he'd implied his life before that hadn't been so great either. Noé had trampled all over that life experience; how could he expect him to change his tune simply because Noé thought the world could be kind?

Granted, Noé hadn't seen much of the world being kind of late, but he knew it could be. How else could a vampire be taken in by humans and raised with nothing but affection otherwise? Especially when, as he was learning, there was a great deal of tension between the species?

"Vanitas," he finally said. Unsurprisingly, he was ignored. He repeated himself and this time Vanitas did stop in the middle of the road. His shoulders were stiff, but Noé knew he was listening.

"I shouldn't have berated you," he said quietly. "That was unnecessary."

Vanitas was still frowning, but he didn't seem as angry as before. His eyes slid away before closing. "You're so difficult," he said, but there wasn't any bite to his words this time. "Perhaps I was also… misguided. Trying to convince someone the world is an ugly place… Hm, what a thing to do," he finished wryly. "Though I must confess, I still think you're wrong."

"That's all right," Noé replied easily. "I think you're wrong as well."

At that, Vanitas barked out a laugh. "I guess we'll see. Regardless, we're at the first stop of our tour."

Noé glanced up at the sign adorning the building. It looked quite well-to-do and everyone about them was dressed in the latest styles. This was a place the aristocracy went.

"The Galerie Valentine?" he asked. It wasn't an obvious touring spot as far as he could tell. He'd never heard of it.

"Indeed. It's relevant mostly because of what you are," he said pointedly. "While most humans treat vampires as 'things that exist somewhere,' the government doesn't have the luxury of holding that stance."

"I see…"

"This is where Count Parks Orlok works. He's from Altus and he handles vampire affairs in the human world."

Now Noé was decidedly curious and peered in through the windows more intently.

"Dante seems to think we should meet him, make contact. You understand."

"How come?"

"Hmm, what do you think?" Vanitas asked, crossing his arms.

"Because I'm a vampire," Noé began consideringly. "Furthermore, if he has contact with other vampires, he might know something of the book. If he does, he might be able to give us a lead or we might be able to do something for him to earn this information. Either way, we would have a valuable connection."

"Not bad," Vanitas said approvingly. "You're much better at connecting dots than you let on. Why ask me if you already have the answer?"

"Because I'm curious what you think. Besides, I'm new here; I could be missing something obvious to everyone else."

"You could, but I wonder how likely that is," Vanitas said contemplatively. "You get side tracked by right and wrong, but you're quite efficient at making connections and retaining information."

"Thank you?"

"Perhaps you should come along on some of these escapades sooner rather than later," Vanitas continued to himself. "You're a skilled fighter… Could be a shield…"

"I must disagree," Noé said stiffly. "Contrary to that… one event, I have never fought anything."

Vanitas arched a brow. "With what we're going to be doing, you'll likely see a lot more of that sort of thing. You should consider whether that's something you want."

It was hard not to feel exasperated with Vanitas on occasion, especially when he was essentially repeating himself. He was the one that asked Noé to come with, but he had also dropped several hints about how dangerous the undertaking would be without giving any real information on why or how it was dangerous. He needed to make up his mind.

"I'll do what's necessary," Noe replied with a shake of his head. "Shall we introduce ourselves to Count Orlok now?"

It truly was a beautiful building and contained the most finery Noé had ever seen. It was also very quiet. It was hard not to feel awkward in his rundown clothing.

"Vanitas, maybe I should change?" he asked hesitantly. On the one hand, he really didn't care about clothing that much. On the other, he knew basically everyone else did.

Vanitas blinked in surprise, then had the decency to look abashed. "Yes, you're right. I should have thought of that. Let's see, there must be a washroom somewhere…"

Noé found himself being ushered about, Vanitas taking on an almost paternal role as he pulled him along, giving instructions to 'leave the hat; we're indoors' and 'make sure the waistcoat is snug.' Noé would have been annoyed if Vanitas wasn't being so earnest about it. He may have grown up in the countryside, but he knew what was expected of him when it came to making a good first impression.

Once he was in a stall (Vanitas waiting impatiently outside it) he got to changing as swiftly as possible. The waistcoat was, indeed, snug and fit perfectly along with everything else. Everything was black, the trousers, coat, and hat, save for the waistcoat and cravat, which were more of a mulberry. Vanitas had even picked out shoes, which he hadn't measured for, but somehow still fit well. He placed his old clothes in the bag. With some washing and a bit of sewing they'd do fine for day-to-day work.

When he stepped out, Vanitas lit up with what Noé could only describe as delight. "Everything fits?"

"Yes," he acknowledged. "You chose well."

"Yes, I thought that color would bring out your ey- Well, I thought it would suit you," he finished with a sniff. "Now that we both appear as proper gentlemen-" Noé wasn't sure Vanitas's getup counted actually- "we can make our introductions. Come along."

Their footsteps echoed throughout the hall. It was hard to contain himself now that he looked like he was actually supposed to be here. He wanted to explore every nook and cranny of the place, but Vanitas kept a firm grip about his arm and wouldn't permit it. Perhaps it was for the best; it was quite a large building. Afterwards, he promised himself. Once they'd taken care of their task, he could explore to his heart's content.

Unfortunately, Count Orlok proved to be difficult to reach. The door to his office was locked.

"Ah, that's unfortunate," Noé sighed. "I suppose we'll have to try la- What are you doing?" he asked in alarm as Vanitas crouched, inspected the lock, and then, with a coy look tossed at Noé, proceeded to zap the lock open just as he had back with the slavers.

"You shouldn't do that," Noé chided. "We're trying to make a good first impression and- And of course you're opening it now…"

"Good morning!" Vanitas exclaimed as he flounced through the door. "My name is Vanitas, no, not the vampire, but rather a regular human! With a specialty!"

Noé stared at him in disbelief. Who was this gregarious person?

"Get this man out of here!" The red-faced angry man with the scars was presumably Count Orlok. His two servants were definitely vampires and they looked outraged. Their fingers had turned into very lethal-looking claws.

Ah, Noé realized with mounting horror. We're going to be sent to jail at this rate.

"Pardon us!" Noé exclaimed, shoving Vanitas aside. He let out a disgruntled oof as he hit the floor. "My friend is a little overzealous."

Completely unexpectedly so! Noé thought in shock.

Count Orlok blinked suspiciously, but he held up a hand to stop his servants. "Red eyes," he said a little more calmly. "You're a vampire."

"Yes, sir. We came to introduce ourselves. We were told it would be wise to make ourselves known to the … vampire authorities?" Good God, it sounded insane now that he was saying it aloud.

Vanitas sat up with a glare. "That's what I was doing," he said with annoyance.

"Vanitas, I don't know what you think you were doing, but that was not an introduction," Noé replied in exasperation.

The two servants glanced at each other uncertainly. No, they were not making a good impression and those two were no doubt wondering how long they'd have to listen to this before they could remove them from the premises.

"My name is Noé, and this is Vanitas. We have lost an item and we were hoping either for your help or an equitable exchange for the information."

"Hm. Your manners are a lot better than this human's. I assume you're his guardian?"

"Absolutely not," Noé exclaimed. The last thing he wanted or needed was to be responsible for Vanitas, who was clearly someone that did whatever he wanted whenever he wanted and whose moods bore no consistency whatsoever.

"If anything, I'm his guardian," Vanitas ground out, frustrated at how he was now being completely ignored.

Orlok didn't deign that with a response. Noé had a feeling he didn't believe either of them.

"And what kind of favor are you hoping for?" he demanded. At that, Noé glanced at Vanitas. While he wasn't keen on him making another scene, the truth of the matter was that this was Vanitas's request and he didn't know how to explain it to this man.

Vanitas sighed, dusted himself off, and stood back up. He was significantly calmer and more like himself when he replied this time. "We're looking for The Book of Vanitas. "

Everyone in the room gaped at him. Orlok sputtered in renewed anger. "Absolutely not! For one, it doesn't exist and for another, if it does, it ought to be destroyed!"

"Is it really that dangerous?" Noé asked, mystified. Vanitas shot him a despairing look.

"I-Is it really that dangerous?" Orlok asked faintly. "Of course it is, you fool! You know what it can do to our kind!"

Now did not seem like a good time to admit he did not. Internally, Noé cursed. Yet another "obvious" factor to vampire society eluded him. He swore the second they returned to their hotel, he was grilling Vanitas until he told him everything he knew.

"Listen," Vanitas said seriously, "this book was given to me by the vampire whose name it bears. If I don't find it, someone else will and that will mean all kinds of trouble for your lot. I don't plan on using it to hurt anyone. I can't say the same for anyone else."

"As if I'm going to believe something like tha-" Orlok gasped in shock as Vanitas removed one of his gloves. Noé hadn't said anything about it, but it was quite unusual. It was long and black and had claws built into it. He wasn't sure he liked it all that much.

With it gone, his mark glowed unhindered. Noé could feel the power emanating from it even at a slight distance. Apparently, so could every other vampire in the room.

"My God," Orlok breathed. "You really are kin to the blue moon."

The light-haired servant quaked slightly and glanced at his partner. She shook her head, whether to tell him to remain still or to express disbelief, Noé wasn't sure.

"I am," Vanitas said darkly. "And the book is missing."