Welcome to Gaia! ::

( I have added a new rule stating that no one person is allowed more than 10 posts per day. I am sorry for the limited posting but a few of us are getting left behind, and if it remains without one then we will soon be unable to catch up. I hope you understand my dilemma, if anyone has any questions or issues with this addition feel free to confront me. Thank you. )

"Frank reads minds?!" Lance asked exited and curious. "Wait!" He closed his eyes. Hey! Frank! If you can hear me......yell Mango! He waited a moment and put a finger up to his lips making a shushing noise. "If you hear the word Mango Than I think I'm in love." He jokes keeping his voice low. Lance crouched down a little trying to listen as hard as he could.

Al Looked up at him and reached out a hand, taking the photos from him gently. She put them back onto the pile and turned over the top one. The truth was she was basically raised in the library and she did not like to talk about it. "Who was Mallory’s mother?" She asked changing the subject drastically. She never talked about her human years to anyone and if forced to she would punish them.

"In love? Well then I shall be terribly jealous." Mallory jokes in return, keeping his voice soft. Lance's strange reaction made Mallory's lips curve upward into a smile. He did not try too hard to listen. After all, he certainly already knew Franky could read minds. His own had already been read twice. He knew Franky meant well with his words, but it still bothered him. What privacy did he have if his thoughts were so vulnerable? Mallory blinked, then laughed as his ruminations were interrupted by Franky's shout. "Ah! I am outdone."

Alphonse was taken aback by Alexia's strange, seemingly random question. "Mallory's mother... her name was Betty Davis. A very lovely woman. She worked as a dry cleaner, so I saw her often. So many clothes in need of special care. She led me on quite the chase. I was one of only a few such experiences for her; she was not easy to be had. And so of course, I had to have her."

((You haven't missed much outside of a lot of talking. After Asher went to bed and Dawn wandered the halls saying she was sorry, I originally had Alphonse speak to her, but he changed his mind. So both your characters are pretty much free. Nathaniel talked to Franky, then to Alexia and now I actually don't know where he is. Alexia went out to bring back six guy friends of hers. She's in her room organizing stuff with three of them (And Alphonse is in there chatting her up), the other three are in the parlor. Two in the parlor are asleep, one is chatting with Mallory. Franky stopped by the parlor, talked with Mallory, then Mallory showed him to the kitchen and returned to the parlor. Franky's still in the kitchen eating. Hope that helps a bit, if you pop back on and decide to post.))

Mallory just laughed more and shook his head when Lance winked at him. What an odd man. Mallory conveniently ignored his own participation. "I am sure you could learn to do the same. My father always said it was not a talent that interested him. Which is almost too bad; I might have learned to defend against it if I had any reason to believe it would become a concern."

"I haven't the faintest idea where she is now. She left me with Mallory just starting to walk. Run is more accurate; I swear he has been running since he was able to stand upright on his own." Alphonse smiled and was content to speak of his own past. Betty's only claim to his locked away emotions was that she had given him his son. He only regretted that he hadn't been ready to receive such a gift.

"I have neither had the opportunity nor the drive to learn before now. But... you have this skill, monsieur?" Mallory sits up straighter in his chair, watching Lance hopefully. "I would gladly learn it, if you could teach me. I do not think I dare ask anyone else lest they wonder what thoughts I wish to hide. A very counterproductive situation, as I am sure you understand."

Alphonse nods, though he does not really agree. "Perhaps you are correct. But she did not exactly leave a phone number behind when she took off. I would not know where to begin looking for her. And she would not be glad to see me. You see, in answer to your second question, she left because of me." It occurred to Alphonse that telling Alexia these things would sour her opinion of him. And yet, he felt a compunction to speak the truth about this part of his life. Though he spoke with Alexia, he felt he owed it to Mallory. "I was not ready to be a father, mademoiselle. I was very unhappy when I learned of the pregnancy. What woman would stay? I am only surprised she did not go sooner."

Mallory at first just watched Lance, then finally tried it himself. He kicked off his shoes and mimicked the way Lance was sitting. "A bubble. I think I like that one myself." He murmured softly then took a deep breath. As he breathed out, he imagined a bubble forming around him as if from his own breath. It was simply easiest for him to imagine it this way; a barrier of his own making, a part of him as resilient as he is. The thought pleases him.

Alphonse sighed. "Not supportive? That depends on your definition of the word. She lived in the lap of luxury at my home and wanted for nothing. But I did not love her. I resented her pregnancy. I never said, but she could tell. It is terrible, but it is also the past. It cannot be changed, cannot be rewritten. All that I can do, what I must do, is to learn from it. Judge me as you like in regards to Mallory's mother; I do not suppose I can blame you. But I never abandoned either of them. I've always provided for my son. I did the same for her and would have for the rest of her natural life. Perhaps I even would have come to love her as I now love him. It was not enough; she decided it was not enough. And when she left, I did not chase her."

Lance kept his breaths even then released his control. He was not really that worried about anyone getting into his mind; he had nothing to hide, yet. "Understand?" He asked in a calm cool voice as not to interrupt the boy's concentration. "It takes more out of you that one would imagine but it works." He smiled lightly and uncrossed his legs.

"Support is not money or space, it's a emotional feeling.” She stated and took up the next pile. This was of her years with the boys. She looked a lot more carefree in the photos, and her hair had been dyed with bright pink streaks, her face was still very moral looking. In the years after that she had given up the idea of fitting into mortal society and started to blend with the vampiric side of things.