Deep Kiss of Winter.

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson shrugged. "If I can get enough strength back to dance." she said with a sigh before taking a bite of the sandwich and finding that pretty difficult as well. But she forced herself to take a bite of the sandwich and chew it. Still . . . she wasn't looking forward to have to take another bite.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Sensing her distress, Conrad put the sandwich down. "Would you like some custard instead?" He asked. "You don't have to chew it. Just swallow. Don't worry, you'll get your strength back," He stroked her hair. "I'll look after you, it's the least I can do for you since you didn't burn me up when we first met."  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson nodded her head at the mention of custard before she just shook her head. "I want to sleep . . ." she murmured, sounding really quite tired. She was still hungry . . . but her exhaustion got the better of her. It was funny . . . she hadn't needed to sleep nor had she felt tired in so long . . . she wondered . . . what she would dream about . . . Before Alyson knew it, she had just fallen asleep there, hugging her ballet shoes close.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad smiled and tucked her into the bed and kissed her cheek. "Then sleep. I'll wake you when you need food." He continued to stroke her cheek until he was sure she was sleeping then went to the kitchen and threw the sandwiches in the bin and went to the bathroom to shower. He'd work on better securing this place against his brother's when he was done. That way, that way she wouldn't have to worry about people she didn't want bothering her.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Only a week later, Alyson was doing much better and she was able to walk around and eat and live like a normal person within her home. Although being able to sustain the stamina to dance ballet was something that still needed work. Still, it was better than when she was a ghost, so she was perfectly happy to be alive again. She had moved back up to her room, her ballet shoes taking their place on the stand until she had gained enough strength to dance again.

Because Conrad had taken care of her, she had gotten rather used to his presence in her house, so now that she was feeling better . . . she didn't ask him to leave. Instead, she said nothing and just continued to allow him to live in her guest bedroom. She was getting the newspaper again, and aside from enjoying the daily sudoku puzzles, she was finally able to catch up on the world. What she read about shocked and surprised her. In one way, technology had advanced so far since she had died. In another way . . . it seemed that more and more tragedies were occurring. Still, that wasn't what she really read the newspaper for. She was looking for job listings, but those were few and far between. So she had mail-ordered something called a laptop. She looked over at Conrad, an idea suddenly running through her head. "Hey . . . how long have you been alive? Er . . . undead?" she asked curiously, looking up from the paper, unable to follow the current article. These diseases . . . she had no idea what they were talking about or where they had originated.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad had helped her through the week, helping her to walk again. He was enjoying fixing the house and updating it with better plumbing and electricity. He was taking a break, sitting on a chair and drinking some blood. "Hm?" He asked then smiled softly. "I'm three hundred and thirty five years old." He said. "And. . . don't worry about a job." He added knowing she was looking. "If you're looking for something to do I need help updating your house. I'll get the internet up and running once I fix the roof." He added smiling softly.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

"Internet?" Alyson asked, confused She shook her head, deciding not to question it at the moment. "I'm not looking for a job to try and get just something to do. I need it to build my resume. No one's going to believe that my last job was for a ballet studio in 1945." she said with a sigh. "There aren't any stenographers needed anymore though. I'm surprised that New Orleans has lost so many office jobs." she said, frowning. She then realized she had gotten side-tracked. "But that's not important right now. You've been able to see all the advancements and stuff happen right? So you can explain what all these things are. Like . . . the internet. And what is 'online'? On what line? They don't even list the address to send the line!" she said, smacking the newspaper with the back of her hand. "I need to be up to date with all of these things if I'm to get back to living again!" she said, sighing.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad chuckled softly. "I can do that, and I can do you another happy favour. I know a Siren who is looking for more dance teachers. If you're interested. Are you interested? Especially since it would be awkward for you explaining why your birth certificate and death certificate are circling. No human will accept you, you'll be dragged into the federal office and asked how you came back. I think they'll think you're mad if you tell them about vampires and witches." He nodded running a broom over the floor.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson's eyes widened. "I . . . I didn't think about that." she said softly before looking at Conrad, seeming rather scared. "They have access to those?" she asked incredulously. She had thought it was just something the government could get to. She thought that if she kept her head down, didn't get involved with any crimes, then she could be fine. She sighed. "I'll apply for the job for your Siren friend. I need to be able to dance again though." she said with a sigh.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

"Yes. There are records of me in history." He said. "Don't worry, I'll take good care of you, until you tell me you no longer require it." He added quickly. "The telephone like is working so I'll teach you how to use it." He held out his hand for her smiling softly. "Shall we?" He asked holding out his hand to take her to her room and show her how to use the phone line. "So, this is a handset." He began showing her how the phone worked. "Then you have the buttons, this one, the green one," He began. "You press this to answer if the phone is ringing, the red one is to hang up. So I programmed my number into the phone." He made sure to go slow then gave her a quiz on how to do something with the phone.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson rolled her eyes. "I know how the telephone works." she scoffed as he led her to it. What she saw, however, was not what she was expecting. "How does it work?" she asked, eyes wide as she turned over the device in her hands. "I mean, I know that it can call and how to make those calls, but how does it work?!" she asked. "It's so tiny! And there's no wires!" she exclaimed, completely blown away by this technological advancement. "Wait, are there even telephone operators anymore?!" she asked, looking at Conrad, seeming rather lost. "Green button answers, red one hangs up. Numbers get pressed." she said before laying the phone down on the bedside table. She was afraid she would break it. It was just so small compared to what had been coming out before she had died.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad smiled softly and sat with her. "Here, try this number." He said handing her a ten digit number that was his cell phone number. He knew he should have gotten her a corded phone. "No there are no operators any more," He smiled softly. "If it helps, there's a corded phone in the kitchen. He tried his best to explain things to her without using the word, magic. "Yes, you press numbers instead of using the rotary dial you just press the buttons."  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson pushed in the numbers, having a bit of problems with it at first, afraid that she would break the phone, but she was able to call his cell phone . . . whatever that was. When that started going off, her eyes nearly bugged out of her skull. "What?! That's insanity?! It can fit in your pocket?!" she asked, suddenly finding herself rising off the floor. Once she noticed this fact, she yelped and instantly tried to get back down. "What the hell?! I'm human right?! Why?! Why is this happening?!" she asked, concentrating a lot to try and keep her feet on the ground. She sighed as she sat down and didn't feel her body trying to . . . float away or anything. "I don't get it . . . I could fly as a ghost . . . that was the first thing I learned how to do . . . I just . . . why can I still do it?" she asked, ignoring the phones, dismissing it as advanced technology and trying to figure out what was wrong with her instead.  

[Hikari_Mamo]

Conrad chuckled until she started to float. "Hey, hey calm down." He said grabbing her and hugging her knowing that would help keep her from floating. "We'll figure it out. It's okay. Just deep breaths." He kept trying to calm her. He hoped she didn't disappear on him. "We'll figure it out, we'll figure it out if I have to kidnap that witch and make her tell us what's happened." He stroked her hair. "It's okay we'll figure this out." He whispered to her.  

[chibi_blue_mouse]

Alyson sighed and then frowned a bit after she took a few deep breaths to clear her head. "I wonder . . ." she murmured and concentrated on what it had felt like to be able to move through things. Sure enough, she fell right through the chair and Conrad's arms. "Whoa!" she yelped, losing her concentration and landing on her butt on the ground behind the chair. "Okay . . . so I guess I can still do those things . . ." she said, looking at her hand as she clenched and unclenched it. She was alive . . . and she could do ghostly things . . . she wasn't sure if she should be scared or psyched that this was happening. "Gonna have to get those under control too then . . . before applying for that job." she stated, trying to stay task oriented, focused on the facts.