Welcome to Gaia! ::

He spoke to her, and that was a start. She smiled to herself.

"I haven't spoken to a vampire since the days of Elizabeth Bathory, so your kind is still pretty foreign to me,"

Jopen said casually. She really didn't want to get into any details about that. . .interesting experience, to say in the least. It also happened to be when she met Lavinia, before she was Mabel walker. Jo had saved her life from the bloodthirsty countess/

"I didn't know vampires could even have children. I guess you learn something new every day,"

Jo mused. She raised her hand to the ruby that held her top shut at her neck and rubbed it thoughtfully. She felt bad that the vampire couldn't ever feel the cool caress of water or the light of the sun. Then it dawned on her she didn't even introduce herself. Jo decided to introduce herself in a moment, she didn't want to say too much at a time, just in case.

"Yeah, I can't have children, it's impossible. The elders sterilized me before I left my old home and prison. And as far as I know, my human form can't produce children,"

Jopen said sadly while she watched the happy-go-lucky teenager romp in the water. There were times she had desperately wanted a little punk of her own, when she was in love, but the thought of losing that child would be devastating. The bad outweighed the good, in her opinion. Jo gazed at the vampire out of the corner of her eye when she thought he wouldn't notice, admiring him. So this was the guy she was going to be with the rest of her life, but hey, she wasn't complaining! She barely repressed an amused snort, which tended to be very unattractive. Jo turned to him and said,

"I apologize for not introducing myself sooner, I didn't really expect a conversation. But I'm Jopen Indigo-Lizard of Cobalt, exiled--excuse me, nobly dismissed--daughter of Knabqam Indigo-Lizard and her mate Jioxom the Cobalt. Oh, and I'm a dragonkin, who can kind of change between my Huplan and Wraynx Aqecks, which is old serpent tongue for human and dragon forms."

Jo could tell the man was getting impatient. When he introduced himself as Imhotep, she could tell he was annoyed and didn't really care what she had to say. Jopen was interested by who he was, though. She had heard many stories about him from some Greek followers of Hippocrates, and later, Roman medics. But she wasn't about to act like she cared.

"A pleasure to meet you. I've heard little snippets about you here and there. But I do believe I have overstayed my welcome, considering I ran into you and began asking questions. Although I have one more: do you have any recommendations about lodging? I only arrived this morning, and I'd rather not live in the mountains like some sort of leper or criminal."

As she talked, Jo pulled her sleeves on and slid her feet into her boots gracefully after brushing the sand off them. While she waited for his response, she went from fixing the cuticles of her fingernails to playing with tiny forks of lightning that danced on her fingertips. It was a terrible habit of hers that typically frightened ignorant mortals, but she never really thought about what she was doing until afterwards.

The girl's timing was impeccable; Jo wondered how long this luck would last. The girl told her that her name was Basima, and then called her beautiful. Jopen smiled at the compliment and thanked her.

"Hello, I'm Jopen, but you can call me Jo if you want! And you're very pretty, too. A natural beauty! Your dad better watch out for the boys when you get older,"

she said with a wink and a grin. Then she remembered the shell she had stashed in her boot minutes ago. She reached inside and pulled it out, presenting it to Basima.

"Here, I found this shell after I clumsily bumped into your dad and I think you'd appreciate it more than I could. If you're ever away and you put the shell up to your ear, you can hear the ocean and the waves calling to you, wishing you back home,"

Jopen told her in storyteller voice. She smiled faintly, remembering her old homes over the centuries. She was a little jealous of the happy Basima, who had a loving father and a home. Jo was tramp, traveling from place to place until it was clear that it was time to move on. Anyone she had that was like family died. Jopen didn't really belong anywhere. She was exiled from her one true home because she was a feared rebel and anarchist. The dragonkin sighed wearily to herself.

Imhotep joked to Jopen, and she laughed. She was sure he could just look at any boy who tried to pursue Basima and cause them to run home, tail between their legs. The girl took the shell from Jo and held it to her ear. When she asked her if she owed Jo anything, she crouched down and tilted her head slightly to the left with a smile.

"You don't owe me anything doll. It's a gift, from and old dragon to a young dhampir. I'm sure it's in good hands."

Then Jo thought for a moment and realized Imhotep never answered her question about lodging.

"Actually, I was just asking your dear old dad here where I could find somewhere to stay. Do you know any inns that would have me?"

she asked, putting her elbows on her knees and holding her chin in her small, delicate hands. A small hermit crab crawled by and she resisted the urge to grab it and race it to the water before a gull could snatch it away. Luckily for the little guy, the gulls all seemed to have gone elsewhere for some reason.

Imhotep offered to let Jo stay with them, and she smiled. She was thankful that she wouldn't have to sleep outside again, and excited she was finally drawing the old vampire out of his shell, if even a little. Jopen rose to her feet, careful not to kick sand anywhere, especially with Basima lounging on the ground next to her.

"Thank you so much, you have no idea how much your generosity means to me. And I'm full of stories, don't worry!"

The last part was directed at Basima, who Jo offered a hand in case she wanted to stand. She turned to Imhotep.

"I tell stories for the simple joy of it. I'm a renowned dancer in other parts of the world--I'm more of a myth now, really--and I used to be an acrobat in the circus. I could work somewhere. Not on the boardwalk of course!"

she laughed. The little lightning that danced around her fingertips were back in her excitement.