VATORE 009: Bluff

// QUARQ’S BROOKLYN LOFT //

The winter solstice has come and left its observers far behind. LILITH VATORE, the eldest of the esteemed VATORE family has left her childhood home and now lives in Brooklyn with the strange, almost but not quite elderly, Vampire, QUARQ, under the promise of seeking his mentorship.

Her father had left his two children without any formal training on the seduction of Mortals intended as foodstuff for the waking dead. He had, unintentionally, instilled in them an anxiety, a fear, of Mortals. A fear that’s become increasingly a source of shame for LILITH. As much as she valued her father’s teachings on the necessity of freedom through fruit, she wanted more each day to experience what life was like for her kind before the fruit.

The two have fallen in easily with each other. The Winter had been a quiet season, each of them afraid to talk of serious things as if it were a weight they weren’t yet able to lift.

Today it is a warm day. They’ve cracked the windows and the setting sun brings a warm orange glow to the apartment.

LILITH has risen before QUARQ and has arranged herself upon the living room sofa. She is engaged with a lengthy text on a tablet.

Quietly, as if sneaking, QUARQ leaves his bedroom and enters the common area.

QUARQ

WAT’CHA READIN’?

It seems LILITH was so drawn into the novel that she’s not noticed QUARQ’s entrance.

LILITH

[hastily; embarrassed] OH – JUST SOME OF THE OLD LORE.

QUARQ

HA! YOU REALLY LIKE THAT ONE, EH?

CAT AND MOUSE?

LILITH

[silence indicating a reluctant affirmation]

QUARQ

WELL JUST DON’T LET THE OLD MAN SEE YOU SPENDING YOUR NIGHTS IN THE BED OF SIN.

NOT FRIENDLY, NO, NOT AT ALL.

LILITH

I FIGURED AS MUCH, IT’S JUST SO BEAUTIFUL WHEN IT’S TOLD BY THE MORTALS.

A ROMANCE.

THERE IS SO MUCH PURPOSE TO THEIR ACTIONS, MUCH IMPORT TO THEIR RITUALS.

QUARQ

YOU KNOW; YOUR FATHER WAS A BIT OF A FANBOY TOO.

LILITH

OH GEEZ.

REALLY?

QUARQ

WOULD I LIE TO YOU?

LILITH

[smiles, flashes teeth]

QUARQ

WHY DO YOU THINK HE WAS SO IMPASSIONED WITH HIS HORTICULTURE?

LILITH

I SUPPOSE.

I JUST NEVER SAW THAT SIDE OF FATHER. HE WAS ALWAYS STERN. FORBIDDING.

QUARQ

HE WANTED TO PROTECT YOU FROM THE WORLD. IT IS ALL TOO EASY TO FALL INTO A PIT ONE’S NOT ABLE TO DIG ONESELF OUT OF.

QUARQ walks into the kitchen and removes a hot-plate from a cabinet drawer. He plugs it in and turns to the fridge. It is filled with repetition; a matrix of pattern and color show in the display of tens, even nearing one-hundred, silvery-white self-standing metallic pouches. Each pattern is a code, a clue, to its contents and origin.

He can tell by the scent in the air that LILITH has already helped herself to a post-rise refresher. Horse, by his best guess. He selects one that contains the life source of one particular cattle.

It is not a pleasing, aesthetically-refined meal, but it is enough to set his mind at ease well enough to complete the night’s tasks.

QUARQ removes a metal straw from a drawer and pierces the top of the pouch.

…It’s… grassy. Or is it just that he knows it should be grassy?

He looks at the countertop. And he reflects.

It’s been months, probably more than half a year since LILITH had come to keep him company. And he had enjoyed each moment of it. Even when topics turned on spiky subjects – LILITH had a habit common amongst youth of asking how he “felt” on this or that topic – and it was not his favored manner of discourse for a variety of reasons – QUARQ had been warmed even by her childish fits and eagerness to anger. The world seemed to become noisier and noisier with each passing day – noise that moved without him. But LILITH, dear, sweet LILITH, lavished her attentions upon him, those doe eyes reminding him that he was, in some way, connected to this world.

QUARQ turns, meal taken, toward LILITH. He wants to give her something; he wants to show her how integral her company was.

QUARQ

[quickly; practiced] DO YOU WANT TO GO OUT TO EAT TONIGHT?

The question held more than its apparent weight. LILITH looks up from her book, face filled with the mask of gratitude.

LILITH

TONIGHT? YES. YES, I DO!

The pair had fallen into domestic habit easily enough; perhaps this is what had led to such a long pause before he’d popped the question and opened up a new line of discussion. In the season that had come and passed, neither of them had fed from the living. Not once. V.STRAUD had always been more than generous; hence the collection.

QUARQ had a particular weakness to sunlight – even a brightly moonlit night could cause the eruption of a rash – and LILITH had some aura about herself that led the Mortals’ gaze to linger too long upon her.

No one could quite pin it down but the rare trips out of doors often ended with a stranger coming to her to ask directions and spiraled down into conversations invoking in her discomfort, wherein the subject, without any obvious cause, would start sharing their intimate secrets. It was, of course, a glamour that the young woman could not, as of yet, dispel.

They had passed the cold in the apartment, V.STRAUD’s weekly deliveries keeping at bay the Longing. It was a kindness he permitted all those he counted among his friends; and even some located on the periphery.

LILITH

WHERE WILL WE GO?

QUARQ

IT’S ALWAYS GOOD TO TAKE THE SAFE ROUTE UNTIL ONE MASTERS THE GEOGRAPHY.

QUARQ implied that he intended to make an outing to the Blue Velvet, a bar in an area of Queens admittedly a bit far from their current location. Distances in the dense landscape quickly betrayed the viscosity of the city’s fabric.

QUARQ

IT IS OF NO MATTER. THE VEHICLE IS OUR FRIEND HERE.

A silence falls between the pair. The unspoken truth hung between them; they were ‘stumbling in the dark’. The idiom took on a new meaning for the immortals – this was something that should be easy, provided their capacity to sense photons even in the darkest of places – but wading against age can erode even the most basic functions.

They’d grown addicted, yes, addicted, to the paltry satisfaction offered by the refrigerated blood of animals. It was a quiet, meager existence, but it was familiar to both of them. LILITH had grown tall eating nothing but the fruit offered by her father’s field. It was only after her father’s death and the newly founded friendship of V.STRAUD had she begun to suspect… maybe V.STRAUD was right about the fruit. She hated to concede any ground to the lawless but it had occupied much of her consciousness at his annual NYE fete; V.STRAUD’s “posse” all possessed of such energy, such vigor…

It angered her, tore at her pride. And then the words had entered her mind unannounced.

LILITH

[thinking] Baby food. It’s… baby food.

The revelation clouded her mind, drowning out any reverie the party might have ever offered. Her mind full of bitterness aimed at the lilac foodstuff.

LILITH

[thinking] Puree. Mush. Child’s second sustenance.

It terrified her. Embarrassed her. Enraged at her father – incensed that he’d diluted the truth. There was no such road as the easy for the immortals. Each moment must be shorn from the sheep; the beasts were not about to learn for themselves the finer points of shearing themselves. No. They had been created with hooves instead of hands.

V.STRAUD had later let her in on the intel that her brother CALEB had been seen at their family home, tending the trees. Of all things, performing the spring cleanup. Her feelings were mixed. Happy her father’s legacy was being nurtured, but holding a firm grudge against the fruit itself. It had provided so little satisfaction through the years. Could she even call herself a vampire if she had never even once partaken in the bloodfeast?

LILITH

I’LL BE BACK – I NEED TO TAKE A SHOWER IF WE’RE GOING OUT.

The sun has finally set when LILITH, QUARQ are ready to leave their flat. The moon is hiding behind buildings, street lamps set the street with their dull yellow-orange glow.

QUARQ’s car is parked inside his apartment building in a shelter occupying the first/basement level. They walk around to the entrance, narrowly avoiding a hasty driver who crosses their path. QUARQ waves his hand disarmingly.

LILITH

THEY COULD WATCH FOR WHERE THE HELL THEY’RE GOING.

QUARQ says nothing. They reach QUARQ’s car, a roomy Cadillac, black, affectionately cared for. The glossy paint is impeccable, the leather seats aged into comfort but still gleaming from a recent polish.

QUARQ

OLD THING SHOULD SERVE US WELL THIS EVENING.

I THINK WE NEED GAS.

QUARQ is a patient driver despite a habit for disregarding speed limits. He backs out of the space and navigates toward the exit. As they crawl over toward the exit, LILITH reaches up and presses the garage door fob. The door opens, slowly, noisily.

QUARQ turns on the radio. It’s WQXR, a local station that plays classical music. No need to tune away.

LILITH has no idea how old QUARQ is. Had he heard these artists in their heyday?

The detail of age seemed impolite to pry at. So she’d left it in the recesses of idle curiosity. She hoped, prayed, even, that QUARQ was not a telepath as she’d heard from rumor was possible in their kind. If it were true, he’d been saving her the humiliation of stating plainly the insecure status of her mind’s data.

Perhaps it was better this way.

LILITH

YOU TAKING THE BQE?

QUARQ

IT’S THE ONLY WAY TO FLY.

The transit to Queens is slow but LILITH has nothing to complain about. This path is one of her favorites. To their left, across the East River, rise Manhattan skyscrapers. They imply a promise of progress, of prosperity. How many secrets lay behind those glass panes? Did any of them hide a pair of eyes behind their reflection?

The quiet felt good. Most mortals could not stand these gulfs, the anxiety common in non-telepathic specie. Even with her brother, LILITH had developed a habit of idle chit-chat. It had always come from a place of fear and longing, nothing new created in the filler dialogue. LILITH thinks back to her current painting, wherein she attempted to depict fireworks. But it brings no peace.

A pit forms in her abdomen. Tonight? Was she really ready to get on the stage?

LILITH

IT’S NOT TOO LATE TO TURN BACK.

QUARQ

[pause] TURN BACK?

LILITH

MM.

QUARQ

ANOTHER NIGHT DINING ON OLD GRAVY?

LILITH

[pause]

[reluctant] WHEN YOU PUT IT LIKE THAT…

QUARQ

THAT’S WHY WE’RE GOING TO THE VELVET. IT’S SAFE.

IF WE FAIL, WE CHOCK IT UP TO A DULL NIGHT AND GO HOME.

THE BARMAIDS WILL GIVE US A PICK-ME-UP IF WE ASK NICELY. THAT’S ONE OF THE REASONS I CHOSE TO MAKE AN APPEARANCE THERE.

LILITH

IT’S NOT THE THIRST I’M WORRIED ABOUT.

[pause]

WELL, IT’S NOT NOT WHAT I’M WORRIED ABOUT.

QUARQ

YOU MIGHT GET A WRINKLE.

Of course such a thing was impossible. But that doesn’t mean she didn’t have a tremble in her hands.

The Blue Velvet was established as an investment by V.STRAUD. It operated as a sort of safe space, a home-away-from-home for those friendly to his cause. It was located on a well-known walkable street. QUARQ had tried to make a habit here, to be recognized as a regular. But the Winter of Seclusion had kept him at bay. Not that he complained. He could hardly imagine returning to bachelorhood anymore. And after all, that’s how it had been in the old days: one Elder, one Younger.

Finding parking is lucky; when he drives up on the sidestreet, a station-wagon is preparing to make its escape.

QUARQ

HEY, LOOK AT THAT; A STATION-WAGON. YOU DON’T SEE THOSE AROUND MUCH ANYMORE.

LILITH

A “STATION-WAGON”?

QUARQ

YEAH.

[pointing]

HIM PULLING OUT.

WE USED TO CALL THEM – “WOODIES”.

LILITH

“WOODIES”, HUH?

QUARQ

SILLY NAME FOR A CLASSY CAR.

I KNOW YOUR FATHER WOULDN’T –

WOODEN’T –

HAVE APPRECIATED IT BUT IT’S REALLY GOT A NICE LOOK TO IT, DON’T YOU THINK?

LILITH

YEAH… I GUESS SO.

[pause]

GOOD PARKING WE GOT TONIGHT.

QUARQ

I’LL SAY.

QUARQ parallel-parks the car against the sidewalk. He just barely fits but isn’t that always the case? When he swivels around to look over his shoulder, he stretches his hand over and grasps the side of LILITH’s seat. A stolen moment of closeness, taken gladly.

When they climb out of the car, the noise of an elevated train rumbles in the background. Mortals clamour down the sidewalk; noisy, drunk. In the sun’s season, the clock is kept up late – the workday has been done for hours.

The buildings are of medium height here. There is enough rise to hide the moon’s hateful glare but the clatter of the trains retains the air of the working class.

And the safety of the car is gone. QUARQ walks over to join LILITH on the sidewalk.

QUARQ

IT’S NOT WHAT I WOULD HAVE BOUGHT BUT THERE WAS JUST NO CONVINCING HIM. HE ENJOYS THE SOUND OF BIRDS TWEET-TWITTERING ABOUT.

LILITH turns a dubious eye down the careworn street.

LILITH

WOULDN’T THINK YOU’D GET MUCH WILDLIFE OUT HERE.

QUARQ

NO, BUT HE GETS IN THOSE FOUL MOODS.

THE CITY REMINDS HIM TOO MUCH OF ‘HOME.

V.STRAUD refused to speak directly about the place he hailed from, but instead often left cryptic commentary in these drawn comparisons.

QUARQ

RENT’S SKYHIGH IN THE CITY, TOO, I SUPPOSE. IF HE’D GONE FOR WHAT I WAS PUSHING, HE MIGHT NOT HAVE MADE IT TO THE TOAST AND CARAMEL.

LILITH

WHY DIDN’T WE GO THERE INSTEAD?

QUARQ

DID YOU REALLY WANT TO SEE THE OLD MAN IN THE FLESH?

I BELIEVE HE’S BEEN MAKING FREQUENT APPEARANCES.

LILITH

DANGEROUS.

QUARQ

YES, IT IS.

AND I DIDN’T WANT TO GET TIED UP IN A SOCIAL VISIT.

LILITH

FAIR ENOUGH.

LILITH’s boots produce a consistent drumming rhythm against the cement. CLAK CLAK CLAK CLAK CLAK… But they walk quickly, soon encountering a couple in front of them moving slowly, covering all lanes of traffic. The two vampires are forced to slow their pace. The Mortals are too close to continue their previous discussion. The current slowdown only heightens their anxiety. But they try to quiet their impatience. What good is it to shout?

They finally reach the bar. Generous windows allow for a preview of the crowd. It’s busy, loud; it smells of loose wallets. The air is thick with the boozy perspiration of the Mortals crammed tightly into the speak-easy.

LILITH, QUARQ push others aside to grant themselves entrance. Not yet interested in the performing space, they muscle in to the bar. The barkeep recognizes QUARQ and waves at him, bidding him welcome.

BARKEEP

BIG Q! LONG TIME, NO SEE! HOW YOU BEEN?

QUARQ pushes up into the singular empty space at the bar and slaps his hand on the counter. It is faintly sticky, as it always was.

QUARQ

OH YOU KNOW; NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN.

The barkeep nods as if to acknowledge his date, but she is absorbed in looking about the crowd.

BARKEEP

WHO’S THE PRETTY LADY?

They both turn back to look toward LILITH. She is wearing an open-backed shirt, glittery with implied sequins. Her hair is perfect, straight out of Egyptian mythology.

QUARQ

THIS IS LILITH – LILITH VATORE.

Upon hearing her name, she turns around and meanders over to the bar. Unfortunately there is but one open seat.

BARKEEP

LILITH! NICE TO MEET YOU.

I’M SORRY TO HEAR YOU BEEN KEEPING UP WITH THIS OL’ CREEPER.

LILITH raises her hand to greet the bartender.

ZOE

BARKEEP ~ ANOTHER ~ PLEASE.

BARKEEP

YOU WERE ON THE VODKA-TONIC, RIGHT?

ZOE

INDEED-A-ROONIE.

Seated to the right of the empty seat is the young woman ZOE BECHAMEL. She wears a plain black dress but that’s not what strikes LILITH immediately. No, what seems most striking is her chocolate skin, warm and unmarred, just faintly gleaming underneath the dim light.

The barkeep procedes to quickly fill the request. With a bubbling gush of carbonated liquid, ZOE looks back to the newcomers and a smile breaks across her face.

ZOE

HI, ALL.

The barkeep spikes the drink with a wedge of citrus and hands it off to ZOE.

BARKEEP

ZOE. THIS IS MY MAN, QUARQ, AND HIS DATE, LILITH, WAS IT?

LILITH tries to push in closer to get a good view of the young woman.

LILITH

LILITH VATORE, THAT’S ME.

ZOE

LILITH, HUH?

I BET YOU GET A LOT OF HELL FOR THAT NAME.

LILITH is more than aware of her namesake in Judeo-Christian mythology. It’s a strange comfort, and raises the question, “Why?”

LILITH

OH, I DON’T REALLY MIND IT MUCH ANYMORE.

ZOE

D’YOU GO BY “LILLY”?

LILITH

“LILLY”? OH, I… UH… [stammers]

QUARQ

YOU COULD ALWAYS CALL HER “VATORE”.

The barkeep seems to sense the latent awkwardness in the conversation and tries to salvage what’s left of the piecemeal introduction.

BARKEEP

ZOE HERE IS A BIGTIME CHEF. JUST GOT A PROMOTION.

QUARQ

AH… YOU WORK IN HOSPITALITY.

But ZOE is loathe to accept the compliment. She raises both her hands, modest to the very last.

ZOE

OH, GEEZ, HARDLY. I’M A GLORIFIED LINE COOK.

BUT MY BOSS LET ME DESIGN A FEW OF NEXT SEASON’S SPECIALS…

BARKEEP

SEE WHAT I’M SAYIN’?

QUARQ

NICE. VERY NICE. I, UNFORTUNATELY, AM STUCK BEHIND THE BAR. ARTISTRY FORGOTTEN IN FAVOR OF ABSOLUTE PRECISION.

ZOE

AW YEAH… I CAN SEE THAT.

LILITH, WHAT DO YOU DO?

QUARQ leaves his position nearest the bar and motions for LILITH to be granted entrance.

She gently pulls back the stool and sits upon it. In a moment, the free silence is nearing expiration, but QUARQ breaks in.

QUARQ

LILITH ENJOYS HER DAYS AT OUR LOCAL GYM, HOPING TO BREAK INTO THE AMATEUR BODYBUIDLING CIRCUIT.

GO ON, TOOTS. FLEX ‘EM.

LILITH looks back at QUARQ with indignant embarrassment.

LILITH

“TRUST FUND”?!

QUARQ

AW, YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, BEAUTIFUL.

LILITH

“BEAUTIFUL”.

QUARQ

AW, QUIT WITH THE DAMSEL ACT. SHOW MISS ZOE YOUR GUNS.

LILITH sighs but tries to get into the moment, smiling ever-so-slightly. She turns toward ZOE and flexes her bare arms. LILITH has made significant progress in her regiment, and it shows. As does her slight dehydration…

But the show is more than enough to impress ZOE.

ZOE

NICE! YOU’VE GOT SOME SERIOUS GUNS FOR A SKINNY GIRL!

LILITH

“SKINNY GIRL”!

QUARQ laughs. The princess could get offended at anything.

ZOE

I MEANT IT AS A COMPLIMENT! IT’S A GOOD THING!

ZOE reaches out and pats LILITH on the back. Her hand is warm against marble skin. LILITH finds it surprisingly soothing.

QUARQ

SHE CAN’T TAKE A COMPLIMENT TO SAVE HER LIFE.

LILITH

[harumff] THAT’S NOT TRUE!

QUARQ

[to ZOE] MODEST TO A FAULT, MY DARLING.

LILITH folds her arms in mock indignation.

BARKEEP

YOU TWO HAVING THE USUAL?

QUARQ

ALWAYS. THANK YOU. PUT IT ON MY TAB.

BARKEEP

YOU GOT IT, BOSS.

The barkeep squats and fusses in a cabinet beneath the counter. When again standing, the barkeep is holding two metallic pouches strikingly similar to those in QUARQ’s refrigerator.

ZOE’s eyes follow the offering with obvious curiosity.

QUARQ intercepts.

QUARQ

“RECOVERING ALCOHOLIC” SPECIAL.

YOU KNOW WHAT THEY SAY…

EVERY DAY IS A VICTORY.

The vampires pierce the top of their pouches with the given straw.

ZOE watches, almost bashful.

ZOE

I BEEN MEANING TO CUT BACK, MYSELF…

She watches the pair drink and turns back to encounter her own glass.

QUARQ

A.A.

WORKS WONDERS.

ZOE pauses, as if thinking, considering, and then raises her cup in toast.

ZOE

CHEERS!

QUARQ quickly removes the straw from his mouth.

QUARQ

MY GRACIOUS. WHERE ARE MY MANNERS?

He raises his drink to bump against ZOE’s glass.

LILT follows suit.

LILITH

CHEERS.

QUARQ nods his head but says nothing, letting his gesture speak for itself. The ritual moment passes and the three return to their indulgences.

In the background din, someone sits at the piano and begins to play.

QUARQ

DID YOU SEE THE ECLIPSE?

ZOE

THERE WAS AN ECLIPSE? HUH. NO.

I GUESS I MISSED THAT.

QUARQ

IT WAS JUST AFTER DAWN A FEW DAYS AGO.

IT’S NOT OFTEN US NEW YORKERS ARE GIFTED WITH SUCH AN OPPORTUNITY. BEING SO FAR FROM THE EQUATOR.

ZOE

AW, MAN! I’M SORRY I MISSED IT.

LILITH

WE DID SEE THAT BUS THAT CRASHED INTO THE BUILDING IN BROOKLYN THOUGH. NOT TOO FAR FROM OUR APARTMENT.

LILITH lies, and her companion recognizes the falsehood.

QUARQ

SIXTEEN WERE INJURED. SIXTEEN! OF COURSE IT’S NOTHING COMPARED TO THE TRAIN WRECKS OF YESTERYEAR…

ZOE

YOU BOTH FROM BROOKLYN? THAT’S A TRIP.

QUARQ

NOT TOO FAR FROM PROSPECT PARK.

ZOE

NICE, NICE. ASTORIA, MYSELF. I WORK IN THE CITY SO I WANTED A QUICK COMMUTE.

SO WHAT BRINGS YOU ALL THE WAY NORTH?

LILITH

SNOWBIRDS.

ZOE

HAHA.

The barkeep leans over, glass in hand.

BARKEEP

DON’T LET ‘EM FOOL YA. THEY’RE FRIENDS WITH THE OWNER. BIG SHOTS.

ZOE

OOOOO! I’LL SAY.

LILITH

[thinking] Friends… Yes… “friends”.

QUARQ, LILITH place their empty containers behind the raised barrier.