Though any normal human might not have noticed the intensity of his gaze, they would have surely felt it—like a nagging feeling in the back of their head, that small burning one occasionally gets when someone is staring too hard at them. A normal human might have shifted uncomfortably, and their eyes would have looked around for whatever was causing this disturbance. They may or may not have known what they were looking for, but once or if they found it, they would have been slightly startled and even more uncomfortable. But none of this was so for the petite Alice. She knew that Jasper was watching her with an eagle's eye, watching every movement and calculating every split millisecond. And she was not uncomfortable. Her smile stayed in place, yet it was an ever changing smile. One might not realize that a smile in itself can be so expressive, but the slightest curve in Alice's lips, the slightest change to it, conveyed an entire new set of emotions. Curiousity, to astonishment, to excitement, to a mixture—all could be read in that smile, if only the other person knew to look. But just as Jasper could study her so intently, so she could study him. She noted the smallest ticks in his expression when something she said caught his interest. She noticed the black of his eyes, and the way his throat seemed to clench and his face seemed to tense when he realized the hunger rising up in him. She watched, fascinated, as he calmed his hunger and brought his focus back to her.
He might have found her fascinating, but she found him to be the most interesting thing she'd ever come upon in her life as a vampire. The first of her kind that she'd ever met, the hope for her future…he was already so much to her. Her smile fell as he began to recant his past to her, her expression becoming serious, but still she leaned forward as though to hear better (though they both knew it was not necessary) and her eyes were wide with disbelief and enthrallment. So this was the world she had never known? In her minds eye, she formed a picture for everything he told her. It was as though she were watching a movie. Three young beautiful women, each with midnight black hair and pale skin, blood red eyes that shown in the night. They were not exactly like the real ones, but to Alice, they were real enough. The stereotypical vampires of lure. Vividly, her mind painted pictures of everything he told her. As he spoke her small hand moved from idly tracing the scars to holding his, as though she might never let go. Cold skin upon cold skin was surprisingly warm to her, for she'd never felt another vampire's touch. She knew that her skin was cold and hard to humans, but his was warm and soft to her, only slightly marred by the scars that she barely noticed as she looked upon him. As his tale washed over her, her dark eyes closed to imagine it all. A beautiful, charismatic, human Jasper living the less than legendary life of a soldier. He was unmarred by scars, but in her mind glowed just as wonderfully as he did now. He was still handsome, and there was a smile on his lips. It was a carefree smile, one that knew nothing more than the trials of war and the accomplishments of his young age. It did not yet know the darkness of night. She imagined, again, the three dark women as they squabbled over him as though her were just some sort of toy for their own twisted play.
Yet what made her open her eyes again was the recount of how it felt to be changed. For a moment, she stared at him, taking in those small details, and a bit of disappointment settled over her despite her resolve to not look back on her past. That burning was the only thing she had to go off of, the only hint she had towards her human life. But now she knew it was nothing that could help her, because it was only the memory of her turning. At least she knew that she had been human before that memory, but it gave her no leads. Truly, she had no where to search for anything in her past. It would be a depressing thought for anyone, but Alice smoothed it over in a matter of a few split milliseconds. She couldn't dwell on it. Sitting in front of her was a new future, a new chance to make memories that would eventually be the only past she'd need. Given enough time, the need to know who she really was might fade until she was completely content to exist within the only life she knew. Her small lips pulled back into a gentler smile now, the disappointment leaving her as she continued to hold his larger hand within her small one.
What was fascination for her was his ability. She listened with wide eyes, intent on catching every detail. So…she wasn't the only one with an ability? And apparently, it varied from vampire to vampire. Not every vampire had one. Had she been able to see the future as a human too? She didn't have time to think over this, because a moment later his ability washed over her. Immediately, everything seemed…darker. Though she knew he was doing this, it was hard to fight. Her thoughts took a turn for the worst and her features fell, grip on his hand loosening. Maybe there was no future with him after all. What if he turned his head away in an instant and left her alone again? What if she spent the rest of her life wandering, trying to control her thirst, trying to find out who she was? The depression washed over her, draining her eyes of their normal sparkle even as she tried to fight the affects. As quickly as it had set in, it was gone, and her hand clenched at his again—not too hard, but harder than a normal human. She was excited now, and as the new feeling washed over her, it grew until she was leaning impossibly forward. This atmosphere was one she fit right into. The bright smile formed over her lips again, and suddenly her feature was no where near as bleak as it had been a second ago. Alice might have been the perfect companion to such an atmosphere, as it was this sort of feeling that she almost always exuded. "Tell me more." she whispered in a hushed, excited voice that would have just been a buzz to anyone else in the room. Her speech, even for a vampire, was impossibly fast when she grew this excited. Even when he withdrew the atmosphere again, she didn't budge, still impossibly captivated by his story.
Yet his recount of his depression sobered her up immensely. The tale of Peter and Charlotte was a fairy tale, and it gave her hope that even vampires could find love and not be alone. That minor detail was nothing compared to the longing she felt when she heard of Jasper's depression, and for a moment she wished that she could have found him sooner. She wanted to save him, wanted to save him with all of her long dead heart. She wanted to give him a reason to smile again, for everyone deserved to smile. How horrible a thing it must have been, feeling the emotions of those you were killing. It made a shudder ripple through her, eyes closing for a moment. "You're not a monster, at least not any more than I am. You have the desire to change, Jasper. And you will. I know it." The petite woman promised, her eyes opening again to catch his gaze and hold. She could see the hunger there now, watched it flare as the door opened and the scent of human blood, mixed with the strong smell of the woman's wet skin and hair, washed over them both. Her own hunger peaked a bit, and she had to swallow and gather her wits before she could answer him. But when she did, she smiled again, that impossibly bright and knowing smile.
"Don't worry, Jasper. You won't bite her."
Without waiting for him to answer, she darted out of her seat at a speed faster than any normal human, tugging him to his feet and rushing them both out the door—she was careful to keep her speed down that time, making sure the humans noticed nothing. A few glanced at them, stunned by the impossible beauties. The men were gaping openly at Alice, who shot a few a friendly smile, and the woman who had just came in stopped in her tracks to watch Jasper. There was a longing in her eyes, in the eyes of the men, but Alice did not let herself nor her new companion stay around to feed that desire or their own. Once they were out in the street, she quickened her pace, laughing as the rain danced down upon her and matted her dark hair and her clothing to her body. For a moment, she let go of Jasper's hand, skipping ahead and twirling into the downpour, her arms held high above her head. Carefree, free spirited, full of hope for the future and a longing to get there as fast as she could.
For the first time in her vampiric life, she felt true hope and eagerness.
It wasn't long before she'd lead them to the outskirts of the little city, and then she shot Jasper a challenging look. They'd approached the edge of a set of woods, and there was no one around to witness them. In a childish gesture, she wiggled her finger in a 'come hither' motion and stuck her tongue out at him before taking off at inhuman speeds into the trees. Let him catch her if he could. "I'll tell you everything as soon as you've caught me." her voice called out from the trees, probably 100 feet ahead in only a split second. She'd apparently stopped to give him a chance, because there was a pondering in her voice. "Hm. Looks like I'll have to lose on purpose after all." The observation was followed by a peal of laughter, and it was obvious that she'd seen herself winning if she really wanted to. A second later she'd taken off again, the sound of her footsteps only perceivable to his unnatural senses.
