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[doesitanyway]

@trevor.belmont | ■ ▲ ◌ ▼

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[powerofgod]

( he joins trevor at his table without much preamble, and as he sits — )

Eighteen. I wouldn't have chosen it for myself, but it hasn't given me considerable difficulty.

[doesitanyway]

I suppose an age over two thousand would have raised some eyebrows. At least you can get in here.

[ He signals for a server to come by when they're free, to get Godric something. ]

Ah, what am I saying? They probably don't even check, with how you carry yourself.

[powerofgod]

( that does inspire something of a laugh, a brief huff of sound accompanied by an upward quirk of his mouth. )

No. Even back home, no one ever tried to ask for my driver's licence when it was not my intent to come across as young. I can pretend it well enough, but it is not my preference.

( but there were times when it was advantageous. )

[doesitanyway]

Don't tell them I'm not legal either, not in this time and place.

[ His tone is flippant -- clearly the restrictions are bullshit to him. ]

What would you like?

[powerofgod]

( he turns towards the bar and studies it curiously. beer, of course, was the beverage of choice for his people. water was not often potable but liquor always was, and it was common to have beer with every meal. romans drank wine for similar reasons. godric has sampled liquor throughout the centuries by way of drunken victims, but he has not given especial thought to the concept of drinking now that he is human once more.

nothing he sees catches his interest overmuch, and so he shrugs. )

Your secrets are safe with me, Mr. Belmont. In the meantime, why don't you endeavor to surprise me?

[doesitanyway]

Trevor, please. You know my tragic backstory now, I think we're on a first name basis.

[ He tilts his head at the request for a surprise, a slow smile curving his lips. There are many options, Godric, that challenge even his tolerance and palate. ]

Hmm. How much do you want to enjoy tonight now vs regret it come morning?

[powerofgod]

Trevor, then.

( there's mischief afoot, and godric regards trevor levelly enough. )

I prefer to live my life without regret, thank you. Perhaps don't test the limits of a mortal metabolism just yet.

[doesitanyway]

Ruin my fun, why don't you? I think I know one you'll like.

[ When the server comes by Trevor orders Godric a beer as well, but a spiced wheat ale he's fairly certain is inspired by the Celtic recipes where they added herbs.

Look, when you drink as much as Trevor does, you pick a few things up. ]

Your liver will survive, I promise.

[powerofgod]

( he is still adapting to the idea that scent can be but a precursor to taste. humans have a smell to them — he could tell blood type by sweat, most times. but this is an altogether different experience.

this smells familiar. not unlike something he may have been served at home, and almost involuntarily his fingers curl around the mug. it's so small a thing, but it tells him that trevor has been paying attention. it's.

thoughtful.

hm. )

No doubt. And what of yours? I assume you've sampled the future's wares at length, to know what an ancient Celt may favor.

( that subtle call-out tho. )

[doesitanyway]

Just an ale, for now. None of the beers here are quite as strong as I'm used to but yes, I've sampled many things. The liquors run the gamut if you're feeling curious later.

[ Trevor knows he's a drunk, it's fine. Well, it's not, but he doesn't particularly care what people think, either. ]

Steer clear of tequila unless you're willing to endure a headache, is one thing I've learned. I've a friend with a taste for the stuff and oof. Granted we did finish off a bottle.

[powerofgod]

I like to think I have rather more restraint than that, Mr. Belmont.

( he has no real desire to become drunk. he has lived too long to find curiosity in such a state. )

But I am sorry for your hangover, such that it was.

[doesitanyway]

I'm sure you do, Mr Northman.

[ Trevor... likes to think he does, and is choosing to drink, but he's been called an alcoholic a few times since being here which seems to imply actual addiction. He hums at his glass. ]

It wasn't the worst I've ever had, but I'd still spare you from it. Have you ever even had one, yourself?

[powerofgod]

( he lifts one shoulder in something like a shrug. it looks like a very... young gesture on him. )

I suppose it's possible I experienced such a thing in Rome, but I recall so little of my mortal life I cannot know for certain.

[doesitanyway]

[ The gesture does look out of place on Godric, but what he says brings up a different topic. Trevor leans over the table to address him. ]

There's a question. Do you think you forgot because you wanted to, or is the mind a finite thing, only able to hold so much of one's memory? I've never had a chance to ask someone as old as yourself.

[powerofgod]

Mm.

( he takes another slow sip of that beer, savoring the spices. he sets the glass down neatly on the coaster, and folds his hands in front of him. )

The vampires of my world have perfect memory. Eidetic. We cannot forget anything that we have seen, said or done except by magical intervention. But humans do not have that, whether you think of it as curse or luxury. Do you recall your prepubescent years with perfect clarity? Or are they a jumble of thoughts, impressions, scents? I was turned at sixteen while I was slave in Rome. I cannot say that selective remembrance wouldn't have been a self-preservation tactic at that point.

[doesitanyway]

I remember some events with perfect clarity, others are as you say. It does seem to matter what the event was. But I'm sorry for your time in slavery whether you recall it or not.

[ He doesn't need to say he remembers being driven from his home perfectly, every detail of it. But the before and the after come in bursts, and he does find that his mind lingered on the negative until very recently. ]

...do you still have it now that you've been changed?

[powerofgod]

I have no benchmark for my current existence, but I believe so. The memories I make now are not as... sharp. But they are still quite clear, and I recall much. It is possible that the synaptic pathways created during my time as a vampire enabled my mind to handle more information than what a human of my physical years could be reasonably assumed to retain.

( it would be a shame, to lose the information he knows. two thousand years of human history, gone in an instant. it was different on the roof of the carmilla, he was not the only one who had lived those years. here... it is nearly a weight. )

[doesitanyway]

I'm sorry, synaptic what now?

[ Any inference Trevor might make by context would likely be wrong -- he just doesn't know what that word means, and knows Godric won't make him feel foolish or stupid as some do because terms simply didn't exist in his time. ]

[powerofgod]

Ah.

( he considers a moment, how to pare his meaning down. he is hardly an expert on the human brain as it was never necessary for him to be so, but it is nearly impossible not to absorb knowledge by osmosis when you have lived so many centuries.

then: )

Consider the mind a dark labyrinth. Each new thing we learn lights a corridor, and allows regular travel down that hall, which in turn enables us to use the information stored there. Does that make sense?

[doesitanyway]

It does, yes. I took your meaning, that you've expanded your mind in a way, but didn't recognize the term. Perhaps I'll look it up later and see if there's too much unfamiliar terminology on the network encyclopedia.

[ Trevor isn't stupid -- and he does like to learn -- but it'd be rude to be absorbed in searching for an explanation while they're chatting. He offers Godric a smile of thanks. ]

I can't imagine what I'd do with that much time on my hands. Learn everything I could, perhaps. How many languages can you speak?

[powerofgod]

I find that there are... certain barriers to learning about contemporary subjects. It presupposes you have existing knowledge or understanding of fundamentals, which in turn makes it more difficult to parse basic information. I will assist you if I can, you need only ask.

( he cocks his head at the question, considering. )

Perhaps a few hundred. More, if you count the ones I know that are extinct by human reckoning, or if you hold different dialects to fall under the same linguistic umbrella.

[doesitanyway]

I did ask after a tutor of sorts, once, but was summarily ridiculed. It's been far better to ask friends to explain their meaning, yes. Thank you, Godric.

[ Trevor nearly chokes on his next sip at 'a few hundred.' ]

...I didn't even know there were so many. Your mind is an impressive, priceless thing.

[powerofgod]

At last count, I believe there were perhaps just beyond six thousand languages on Earth alone. In that context, it's hardly impressive when you consider how long I've lived.

( he has a tendency to immerse himself in a culture. picking up languages is easy the more you know, the better your memory and pattern recognition. it's almost cheating. )

But I thank you. I do wish I had used it more for the betterment of mankind in my time on Earth.

[doesitanyway]

I'm sure it's a limitation of my time period that I could only name a few dozen. There are countries on the map now I've never heard of, and my own is lost to time. Let me be impressed.

[ He tilts his head. ]

Who's to say you didn't? In all that time, even one man can influence quite a bit.

[powerofgod]

Then please, be as impressed as you wish.

( his voice is light, tone just shy of being teasing. )

You're quite optimistic for a man who hunts monsters, Trevor. Has anyone ever told you that before?