damon marcello

I could tell when I first saw Yumi through the window of the book shop that she seemed so at ease, so comfortable compared to how she usually is. She was so absorbed in that book that this world no longer seemed to exist for her. There was only the world of fiction inside that book. It's enchanting, in a way.

I do wonder to myself if she ever chose places like this to feed. I wonder if she could pick up on their fictional worlds if they were book worms like her when she tasted their blood the way she can take on their personalities. That could be interesting.

She is shocked by my arrival here but recognition flashes in her eyes and she shakes her head vehemently, trying to come back from the edge of embaressment she seems to find herself in. I tilt my head and smirk, my eyes twinkling with adoration and amusement as I watch her ramble on. I chuckle at the end. "Well I expected to find you here or a quiet cafe so I checked them all until I came here. I was looking for you, after all." I move past her to trail my finger tips across the books on the shelf idly. I smile softly before turning back to her.

"I often enjoy the company of a good book in my spare time. I also keep a journal. Bet you didn't know that. I've had one ever since my boyhood, well before I was even turned." I raise a brow, waiting for her reaction to this new tid bit of information.
She seems surprised that I would be looking for her at all, her eyes looking at me in awe or something akin to this. She asks why and I find my smile widening. "I thought we were friends, Yumi. I enjoyed spending time with you and I wanted to see how you were doing. It's been some time since we last spoke. I'm sorry I left so suddenly." My voice softens near the end, my apology genuine as my gaze looks over her expression. I know I didn't just abandon Isolt when I left and I want to rectify that, if I can.

She looks down, bashful at my playful tone, her fingers dancing along the edges of the book and her next words make the guilt wash over me as fresh as the first day I saw Isolt when I got back. I slowly reach out, my fingers cupping her chin to slowly lift her gaze to mine. "I'll always come back, no matter what it takes." I say softly. She then says that they missed me and were worried. I smile again. "I'm sorry I made you worry. I missed you too."

She asks after my relationship with Isolt and I assure her that things are fine. She seems happy enough that we're doing good. I ask if there's anything she could think of that would fit Isolt and she shakes her head, saying that whatever I have should be fine and I smile, slowly pulling the ring from my pocket to show her. "What do you think of this? Honest opinion now. Tell me if you think it should be bigger....or more twinkly." I don't know how this whole ring thing works or how to know if it's the right one. I just know it was my mother's wedding ring and it holds a lot of sentimental value to me.

As the eldest son in our family, it would have been mine to give to my future bride anyway during that time. My mother died of consumption when I was a young teenager and I made sure to go back for the ring after I was turned. It was rightfully mine, after all. I cleaned it up nice and got it sized for Isolt, hoping that she would like the vintage look to it. It's something from my time and I know how much she wishes to belong in my world. She just had no idea that she IS my world.

When I ask to buy the book she's holding, I'm actually surprised that she was so eager to take me up on it. I smile and pull out my wallet, ready to pay for it so she can take it home and go back to her own little world. She repeats my question of what she's been up to, as if she has to think about it or she's surprised that I would care. I nod. "Yep, I want to know everything. New friends? New house? New books? Excite me with all the rich details."