Cruenti - Ju and Jezz

Ju and Jezz

Julian was not used to having guests visit his home so frequently, let alone having anyone stay for several days, maybe even weeks. As soon as Evey left, he turned towards Jezz, trying to recall anything he might have seen about her in the past. This situation was not exactly what he'd been used to...

Jezz wasn't necessarily used to this either, but she was too light and fluffy a personality to let awkwardness linger. Besides, he must've been surprised that she wasn't surprised about vampires.

"I've seen weirder stuff being a secretary to a PI than vampires," she chirped, then pursed her lips. "Uh... So, do you mind showing me where I'll stay. I promise I won't get in your way."

She smiled at him. Ju only raised an eyebrow, refusing to return her smile.

"This way," he said curtly. "There's some extra space on the other side of my library."

He began walking towards the towering shelves, not even bothering to see if Jezz was following him. Jezz followed behind, looking around at the area, noting how immaculate everything was. Which was perfect as far as she was concerned. She was a bit OCD herself after all.

"How big is your library?" she asked as she trailed behind.

"Large enough," Ju sighed, pausing at the edge of one row to straighten a few books. "I've been collecting these works for as long as I was able. Just one way to keep the images in my head at bay."

"Books are good for keeping the real world out. That's why I like comedies and happy endings. There are too many tragedies in real life."

Ju shifted his eyes to stare at Jezz.

"These are mostly resource documents: journals, histories, encyclopedias and the like, not fairy tales."

He began walking again.

"You can stay in the extra room I sectioned off when I bought this warehouse. Cei insisted I make a place for guests, even though I don't usually have them stay longer than a few hours, at worst."

"Worst?"

She smiled, amused that the man thought having people was a bad thing. Well, it was if you were a perfectionist like him, she figured. Oh, and your brain was always on. Jezz shrugged and followed.

"You should try some fiction. Good fiction will suck you in and the rest of the world will fall away. Much more easily than encyclopedias. Though a good journal and history will captivate as long as the writer is good."

Ju took a deep breath and shook his head.

"I wish Evey had explained how my ESP works before she passed you off to me. The last thing I need is a non-existent series of memories to be lodged into my brain. It's hard enough distinguishing my life from everyone else's..."

Jezz clamped her hands over her mouth, immediately after a gasp.

"Oh! Oh, I'm so sorry. I thought you just needed to tune it out. I didn't know it was absorbed like that?"

She sped up, moving up beside him. Her eyes reflected her worry.

"Is your ESP uncontrollable?"

"I see everything everyone else sees, simultaneously with what I my own eyes take in. It isn't so much uncontrollable as it is difficult to manage."

He stopped in front of a screen divider.

"You can stay here. Try to keep things in order. I don't spend much time here, so a little disorganization in this space I should be able to cope with."

"Uh, sure."

Unlikely there'll be much disorganization. She was neat freak.

"I really appreciate you letting me stay here. Oh, and uh, I guess, if you're ever in a pinch, the least I can do is let you have some my blood."

She shrugged. Ju stared at her briefly, not sure what to make of this offer, before he slid back the screen to reveal the small bedroom. A simple mattress, already made up in a bed, lay in one corner of the space, a low table with a lamp on top sitting beside it. A wide dresser was on the other side of the room, topped by a mirror that made the area look a little bigger. The last corner of space was filled by a beanbag chair.

"Oh, this is very nice," she said, wandering in. Honestly, she'd been expecting a bed and a crate. Maybe. Jezz turned to face him and beamed.

"Thank you so very much!"

"The bathroom is three rows down," Ju said, pointing in the direction, ignoring her gratitude. "Is there anything else you need?"

"Yeah, where's the food?" she asked with a smile. The corner of Julian's eye twitched.

"In the kitchen. What other place would I keep food?"

"Where's the kitchen? I must've missed it on the way in."

Jezz's smile stayed honest and guileless. Ju rolled his eyes, figuring he'd better just show her where it was. Heading back through the bookshelves and past a small area that had been sectioned off for an office, they arrived at the kitchen. It was surprisingly large, given that the cruentus didn't need to eat, but it would certainly make preparing meals easier with all the counter space.

"Oh, this is nice!"

She walked past him, and toward the kitchen, checking to see if he had any food at all. Jezz quite casually checked the cupboards and the fridge. Ju stiffened, clenching his fists as she looked through pantry.

"I just stocked them," he said, trying to keep calm. "There's plenty of food."

"Wonderful! I'll make you dinner."

Jezz paused and turned to look at him. She nibbled on her bottom lip.

"Do you want dinner? I'll make whatever you like."

"What I want is for you not to put things out of order, but as it is, you need to eat, so that seems to be inevitable."

He unclenched his fists, closing his eyes and taking a few deep breaths.

"If you want to cook something, fine, but I will get what you need for you. I can't have you disrupting their order."

Jezz blinked at him.

"I know where everything goes."

She looked back at everything she had taken out, and in a moment everything was returned exactly where it had been originally, down to the direction they were facing. She turned back to him and moved away from the counter.

"You want to double check? I have a photographic memory, and you pretty much keep everything in your cupboards almost exactly like I do. I keep the office in extreme order, it drives Davidson..."

She trailed off.

"I kept everything in the office in order, and it drove Davidson crazy because he was such a slob," she said, her voice whispery soft. "I don't even know if he's alive. Suddenly, he doesn't seem like so bad a boss. He was actually pretty sweet when he wasn't being a slob or a lech..."

"He's alive," Ju grumbled as he went to inspect her work. "Hooked up to several machines, but still alive. The nurses at the hospital took good care of him."

He stopped to adjust one can, twisting it ever so slightly to the right.

"There. Now it's in order. You were close."

Jezz felt horrible. She moved next to him, looking up towards the cans.

"Which one was it? Oh, god, I'm so sorry! I must've been nervous."

She was so close she could smell his aftershave. Simple, clean and nice. She looked up at him with a horrified, contrite expression.

"I'm so very sorry! I promise, I won't do it again. Which one was it, how was it and how did you fix it, so I know not to make the same mistake again?"

He practically stumbled back from the force of her enthusiasm, his glasses sliding a bit down his nose.

"The tomato paste, second from the right. The seam on the label has to line up with the grain in the wood."

Ju pushed his glasses up.

"And you didn't put them in the right place when you pulled them out anyway."

Her eyes widened in shock. Then a determined look came across her face.

"Show me."

"I'm not emptying all of my cabinets to show you where food must sit when it's being prepared," Ju said with a frown. "Tell me what you need for whatever it is you're planning on making, and I will set the item in its proper place."

"But..."

Her lips pinched together.

"What if I want something when you're not available? I don't want you to go out of your way or have to fix my mess."

Jezz wasn't sure if she was hungry anymore. She stepped away, eyes fixed on what he was going to do and where he placed every item. She would memorize it when she watched him do this.

"I was going to make some teriyaki salmon with canned vegetables. I don't know if you have frozen ones. I didn't get a chance to see the freezer."

She watched him intently. Ju closed his eyes and furrowed his brows, growing tired of his guest already.

"If you learn as quickly as you seem to, then it shouldn't take long for you to figure things out. There are several varieties of frozen vegetables in the freezer. What do you need?"

"Stir Fry," she said quietly. "I cook really well, you know. I'll be making enough for two, so give me two salmons and a whole bag of the stir fry veggies. I'll use it up. Show me where the skillet is, the olive oil, the spices and the teriyaki sauce, and I'll have this all done for you in about forty five minutes."

Ju opened his eyes as his face relaxed, although he also frowned.

"I don't have any salmon, let alone two of them. I'm more used to cooking for one, and then only when the mood to eat fancies me. I'm afraid that would require an extra grocery run..."

He shivered a little, remembering the Wal-Mart.

"Do you have any kind of meat? I can make teriyaki anything."

She smiled at him.

"Chicken?" he asked with a shrug, honestly not sure how this was going to work. It was odd having another person wanting to cook in his kitchen.

"Chicken is fine. I like chicken, and I can add some nice spices to it. I promise, it'll be really tasty!"

She beamed at him.

"Oh! Do you have some rice too? I can make fried rice. Homemade fried rice is the best."

He answered by getting a tin out of one of the cabinets and setting it on the counter, carefully aligning the label with the edge of the sink: RICE. Jezz paid close attention to his movements, how he placed them, and what was the defining characteristic. The label was aligned with the edge of the sink.

"What else do you need?" Ju asked. "One item at a time, please."

"Bag of stir fry vegetables."

Jezz smiled at him, infinitely patient. He walked to the fridge, opening the freezer and removing the unopened bag of vegetables. Ju placed this behind the tin of rice by about an inch, parallel with the sink's edge. Jezz noticed exactly where he put it and how far, memorizing it. Once filed away, she looked up at him again with a smile.

"Teriyaki sauce?"

And so it continued until every ingredient was lined up in a grid-like pattern by size and shape, each an inch apart from each other. Ju left briefly to take his jacket off before returning to the kitchen.

"Now, how do we make this?"

Jezz, beaming, went through each of the steps, defrosting the chicken, saturating it in the spices, cutting it up and tossing it into the skillet with the olive oil. She told him to put in the veggies and rice, and had him pour the teriyaki sauce as she fried the mix all together.

Within a half hour, the food was done, and Jezz waited for him to bring out the plates so she could serve both him and her. He'd been cleaning up as they went along, returning things to their proper place so there would be less work after the meal. Ju eventually brought down the plates, and went ahead and set the silverware on the table. Jezz served them and carried the plates to the table. She then brought the skillet with padding to place beneath it in case he wanted more. She also brought the glasses he had already taken out and then handed them to him so he could place them where he wanted to.

At last, the table was completely set, and the meal was ready. Ju pulled out Jezz's chair for her and waited for her to take a seat before he sat down himself.

"It looks good," he said, staring at the food. "Do you make this often?"

Jezz was surprised at the show of gallantry, but didn't comment. She just smiled softly, blushing a little, taking the seat.

"Cooking is a hobby of mine. I really enjoy it, and I like creating new dishes and perfecting old ones. So... yes. I make it often."

She smiled at him as he sat.

Ju took up his utensils and tried the dish, taking a small bite of the chicken. He chewed the piece in his mouth for a while before swallowing. After a bit of a pause, he nodded.

"It's very good," he told Jezz. "You're a good chef."

Jezz flushed under the praise.

"Thank you," she said, her voice soft. She began to eat as well, taking her time, while she tried to think up what would be good table conversation. After his initial compliment, it seemed that Ju had nothing more to say, and he sat silently as he continued to eat. The time it took him to chew one bite, however, showed he would probably be at the table for a while.

Jezz wondered if talking about vampires would be suitable table talk. Well... only one way to find out.

"So, uh, what's the difference between real vampires and the ones in books and movies? I assume there are a lot of differences."

"Many, though it depends on what books and movies you're comparing reality to. Some are closer than others."

He reached for his drink.

"What specific features are you curious about?"

"How exactly do you age? If you do, that is. I mean... are you immortal?" she asked, her voice soft and curious. Her question made Ju smile a little.

"We are only immortal in the sense that we will not die of old age or disease. It is still possible to kill a cruentus, albeit it isn't necessarily an easy task."

He ate another bite of food.

"When we are young, we may choose whether or not we age, but it is a one way street; like humans, we can't go back to a younger age. Both the solis and the ambae have this ability, but the mature noctis cease to age at all."

"Solis, ambae, noctis? There are different types of vampires?"

She leaned forward all the more curious.

"What makes each one different?"

"Age, primarily, and abilities," Ju explained. "The solis are the youngest vampires, and are still mostly human. They only gain their vampiric traits at night, otherwise they are exactly like they were before the change."

He took a sip of his drink.

"Ambae, like myself, are vampires full-time, although we can still go out during daylight hours, unlike the noctis. They are more like your classic vampires and are highly sensitive to sunlight. Additionally, each level is more powerful than the one before it, with the solis being the weakest and the noctis being the strongest."

"Wow..."

She felt like she could ask him questions all day. Another series of them just popped into her head.

"Are there vampire histories and mythologies? Like how vampires came to exist and all that?"

"Hundreds, all from different cultures of cruenti. The popular belief right now is that vampirism is a gift to mortals who are worthy of power beyond their lesser brethren. Coming in at a close second is the belief that vampires are cursed by some higher power."

Ju seemed to be enjoying answering her questions almost as much as he was enjoying the chicken, although he wasn't smiling like he was before. His answers were so matter-of-fact...

"Do vampires have any special powers? You said as they get older they get stronger. Like magic?" Jezz asked. Maybe if she changed the subject away from history he would smile again. He had a nice smile.

"Many," he confirmed, although Jezz didn't get the smile she'd wanted. "Most are stealth related, such as being able to blend in with the shadows and move at incredible speeds, or hunting related. Limited hypnosis and the ability to enchant prey are important to keeping our existence hidden from most mortals."

Her brow furrowed.

"What's wrong, Mr. Kent? Are my questions making you uncomfortable?"

"Call me Ju," he insisted. "And no, they aren't making me uncomfortable. Why do you ask?"

He ate more of his dinner. Jezz shrugged as she ate some more of hers.

"You were smiling a moment ago, and then you stopped. I thought it was a question I asked, that's all."

Ju shook his head.

"No, I was just concentrating on my explanation. I don't usually smile when I'm focused."

"Oh, all right."

She smiled at him, ate some more and then continued her questions.

"Can vampires turn people into zombies?"

Ju stopped midway through lifting his fork to his mouth to stare at Jezz. His lips twitched as they slowly turned up into a smile, and then wider as he started to laugh. The question had completely surprised him, and he couldn't help but find it funny.

Jezz blinked and then beamed. The fact that she had made him laugh brought a happy flush to her face. She was glad he found her question funny. She began to quietly giggle too. That probably meant that they couldn't turn anyone into zombies. Ju had to catch his breath before he was finally able to explain.

"No, no. Nothing like that. There is a condition that can occur if a human drinks vampiric blood, but it certainly isn't becoming a zombie."

Jezz's jaw slightly opened in surprise.

"Something can happen to human if they drink vampire blood?"

She blinked.

"Wow... What happens? Do you know anyone like that?"

He nodded, finally regaining complete control as he went back to eating.

"It gives them temporary abilities, like heightened strength and endurance, but it also makes them more attracted to the vampire who fed them, which can be good or bad, depending on the situation."

"Oooh."

She paused and took another bite. When she swallowed she looked back up at him.

"I guess it's like a drug then, isn't it? I figured people would want more after getting those abilities..."

"Just the blood alone can be addicting, abilities aside. Some ancillae – that's what they're called – don't even know they've ingested vampiric blood. They make very loyal servants to vampires because of this. It also allows them to live indefinitely, as long as they have cruenti blood in their systems."

Ju finished off his meal, folding his hands in his lap.

"I don't really approve of using ancillae as servants, but there are certain advantages to the practice."

Jezz stared, fork halfway to her mouth. She put it down carefully.

"Does that mean if a human drinks vampiric blood they're technically immortal as long as they continue to do so?"

Ju nodded again as he rose from his seat.

"Yes, but if they aren't careful, they will also become completely enslaved to the vampire who feeds them. The more sips one takes from the same cruentus, the more enthralled one becomes."

He picked up his plate.

"Since you made dinner, I'll make dessert. What would you like?"

Jezz blinked and flushed.

"Uh, oh. Uh... I don't know. What do you have?"

She was both fascinated and a little scared at the thought of becoming completely enslaved to a vampire. She looked up at him and felt her face heat.

They really didn't need to give their blood to anyone to enthrall them. Ju looked like a scientist, but he was really, really handsome. And she had a thing for nerds.

She smiled up at him.

"Well," Ju began, washing his dish as he thought out loud. "Cei gave me her family's recipe for tiramisu..."

"Oh! I love tiramisu." Jezz beamed up at him. "I would love some."

She got up.

"Here let me help you with the dishes."

She stopped and looked at him.

"Is there some way in particular that you wash the dishes. I would think that as long as there's no mess and you put them away it should be fine right?"

"They get rinsed off before they go in the dishwasher. And the counter must be wiped off afterwards."

Ju finished cleaning off his plate and placed it in the dishwasher, knowing Jezz would be watching to learn how to do it herself. Jezz nodded and quickly finished the last two bites of her food. She picked up her dishes and headed toward the kitchen to watch him and learn how to do it.

"Will you teach me how to make it? I haven't really experimented with desserts yet."

"Of course," he said, giving her the faintest of smiles. "You showed me something new to cook. I should return the favor."

Jezz flushed again and nodded.

"All right."

She helped him rinse and then watched him put it all away into the dishwasher. Once finished, she asked, "What's the recipe?"

She nibbled on her bottom lip.

"Do you want me to get the ingredients for you? I know how to put them on the table now."

He thought about it for a moment.

"It'll be a test," he decided. "I need to print out the email she sent me. I'll read off the ingredients, and you can get them out. We'll see how well you do when I come back to the kitchen."

Jezz smiled and nodded, surprised that she was excited with the challenge. Well, she always liked a good challenge. She knew she could do it. She just hoped he would be happy. Maybe even a little impressed?

She hoped.

She could hear the click of the keyboard keys and the whir of the printer as Ju got the recipe.

"Are you ready?" he called from the other room. Jezz nodded. Over the next half hour not only was she tested on her memorization (all correct thank you very much!), but she helped them with the judging of the ingredients, tasting and confirming and adding a little of her advice when he asked for it as she watched him make the tiramisu.

Once finished, the dessert was put into the refrigerator to cool.

"About an hour before it's ready to eat, right?"

Jezz asked Ju once the door was closed.

"Basically," he confirmed. "Depending on how cold you want it. I think Cei modified it a bit from her family's original recipe; somehow, I don't think some of these ingredients were available when her parents were still alive..."

Jezz tilted her head curiously to the side.

"How old is Cei?"

"The last time I checked, she was in her seventh century."

Ju walked out of the kitchen and into his living room, sitting down in one of the armchairs. Jezz's eyes were wide as she followed him.

"Seven centuries. Lord, what do you find to do in all those years?"

She sat down in one of the other seats carefully.

"Travel and read a lot I would think. It would be really boring otherwise."

"Cei says she spent most of her time with her pater, her creator, though from the stories she told me those weren't the best years. After we met, it was mostly working on her experiments."

He stretched out his legs, relaxing a little.

"Occasionally, she'd go out to parties, but I preferred to stay in."

"So you and Cei are scientists? I guess the experiments had to do with being vampires right?"

Jezz flushed watching him stretch, but remained firmly intent on what he was saying. Ju sat up in his chair, leaning forward on his hands.

"She's trying to find a cure."

Jezz stilled and blinked at him.

"But... Wow..."

She shook her head and her brow furrowed. She also leaned forward.

"Why?"

"She was one of the many who had no choice in whether or not she became a vampire."

Jezz bit her bottom lip.

"Oh, that's awful. The person who did this to her must be a horrible person..."

She stopped her eyes widening.

"Do you think that's who's trying to kill Evey?"

He was silent, unwilling to respond to her question. He didn't need to tell her that he knew exactly who had tried to kill Evey, but he didn't want to name him...

Jezz searched his face and then felt dread fall to the pit of her stomach. She paled.

"Do... do you think he knows I'm here?"

Ju thought about his response carefully before he answered her.

"No, nor do I think he cares. At this point, you are neither a threat nor a benefit to him."

Jezz relaxed, letting out a long sigh.

"Ah, thank goodness..."

Then she stiffened.

"But he does care about Evey, doesn't he?"

Ju nodded slowly.

"As long as she is a threat, she'll be in danger."

He stood from his seat.

"The tiramisu should be about ready."

Jezz bit her lip. How was Evey a threat? Her friend was a good detective and so very nice. Maybe it was just that. She was a good detective and nice. And whomever this was was evil. She lingered only a moment and stood following him.

"Uh... Ju... I really want to say thank you for letting me stay here. I really, really appreciate it," she said softly. Ju pulled the dessert from the freezer and set it on the counter.

"I'm sure Evey would have had a fit if I had refused. Thank you for being a tolerable guest."

Jezz blushed. You know, she told herself, tolerable is not really a compliment. But coming from Ju it certainly felt like one.

"I try. Thanks."

She smiled and moved close to him to collect her dessert. Ju cut a piece for each of them, handing Jezz her plate before he walked over to the table. He set his plate down before moving to her chair, holding it out for her as he had at dinner.

Jezz still wasn't sure what to make of his... gentleman tendencies. No man had ever held out a chair for her, and he'd already done it twice now. She carefully sat, putting her plate down in front of her. He was so strange and yet... so normal. She couldn't imagine that he was really a vampire.

"Thank you," she said softly.

"You're welcome," he answered with a polite nod as he moved to his seat. "I haven't had this in a long time; I wonder if it's as good as I remember it..."

"When was the last time you had it?" she asked, her spoon just about ready to dig into the tiramisu. He thought about it, but ended up only shrugging.

"I don't remember. It must've been at least fifty years since I've had Cei's recipe."

Jezz stared. Wow. Fifty years. She looked back down at her tiramisu.

"You don't look a day over twenty five!" she chirped, looking back up at him with a smile. She kind of felt like she was dreaming. Ju smiled sheepishly before he took a bite of his dessert, chewing it slowly.

"Actually, I was changed when I was nineteen. I never bothered aging much since then; I've been too focused on other things."

Jezz was quiet for a long moment. She took a spoonful and looked up at him.

"Did you want to be changed?"

Ju lowered his head, deep in concentration.

"My mater offered me the choice before she changed me. I wasn't very healthy as a mortal and barely able to take care of myself. The barrage of images that ran through my head was too much for me to control. The change helped me learn to manage it."

Jezz blinked in surprise.

"So that meant you were psychic before you became a vampire? I thought... I thought you got them when you became one. One of the stories I remember hearing was that vampires gained psychic abilities when they were 'turned'."

She winced. She must sound like an idiot.

"Only telekinesis and hypnosis, but nothing more," Ju explained. "Some rarer abilities – psychic or otherwise – are sometimes carried through bloodlines, but not always."

He smiled a little more as he looked up at her.

"You're very curious."

Jezz blushed. She took a spoonful of her tiramisu and ate some before she spoke again, wanting her heart to stop beating so fast. Smiling made him really handsome. She shrugged.

"Evey says that's what'll make me a good detective one day. But really... I've never met a vampire before. I can't help it."

She smiled back. Ju took another bite of the dessert.

"Well," he said. "You'll have plenty of time to ask questions. I have a feeling you'll be staying here a while."