..The Very Next Day (attn Mara, invite only)

Mara continued to listen quietly at Pakpao's tirade. Or, Thai-rade. Whichever applied. When Pak finally ran out of steam Mara spoke to her in the same language, outdated as it was. That should give her at least some credibility. But for the rest...

She stood slowly and moved to the chair that Pak had indicated, perching herself gingerly upon it with her hands extended in front of her so that her arms covered her breasts. Her legs she closed tightly, keeping herself as modest as possible. Nudity wasn't her favorite state, but in this case it would also help lend credibility to her tale.

She sighed at the small woman. "Let's get one thing straight," she began, her tone firm but not hostile. "I know I've invaded your privacy, and that I am technically in the wrong. But your threats will not help here."

Mara glanced at the window and back to Pak, arching one eyebrow. "In the time it would take security to get here I would be gone. And when I go, I will take everything I know with me. Believe me, you don't want that. Please, let us talk together in a civilized manner," she gave a half-smile and indicated her state of undress with a tilt of her head, "or as civilized as possible."

She waited a moment and then spoke again, this time in English. "Just look at me and tell me who you see." Mara's eyes bore into Pakpao's, willing her to make the connection. There was a strong family resemblance. Pak must see it if she looked hard enough. "I'm not playing games," she added quickly, seeing the expression on Pak's face. "Just tell me. Start with the eyes, perhaps."

This was either making way too much sense to be a dream or way too much. Sighing she set down her frying pan. She was going to have to talk to Aishe or some one from security to teach her how to actually fight.

Picking up the t-shirt she'd mentally tossed a second ago Pak allowed a tiny bit of temper to creep in and she physically tossed it before sitting down herself.

Forcing her fight or flight instinct back into a closet she started putting pieces together. For starters there were -no- normal people running around speaking Siamese. OK so she was a vampire. There was no way she'd gotten in past security or MARI so Pak had let her in which meant she was Pĕe. That thought made Pak feel more than slightly violated. Did she have something on her forehead that said 'naïve', 'vampire target', or 'please violate my trust and turn me into a hermit'.

Other than that, she was right, she had Kem's eyes... more or less. And she'd said something about the man she'd gone out with the other night. (That was going to be another issue Pak was sure. She sort of liked Amir and Pak had a feeling that this naked vampire wasn't here about him for warm and fuzzy reasons.)

She'd work that out later. Right now, she wanted to make this all make sense.

"OK PÄ•e what is going on here. Obviously, it has something to do with Kem and Amir. And you seem to have some idea about the evil pig who did this to me. What, exactly, do I need to know?"�

Being both an information whore and very concerned about the safety of her family she continued to be calm and logical. Although, she wished she was at her computer so she could work with MARI. But she couldn't move to the machine now with out drawing obvious questions.

Mara caught the t-shirt this time, more out of reflex than anything else. She wasn't keen on wearing someone else's clothing but she wasn't exactly in Kansas. If Pak was more comfortable with her covered, then she would cover. She peered at the colorful little computer-related logo for a second and then shrugged and slipped it over her head, readjusting herself on the chair to tuck the oversized garment beneath her.

She stared at Pak for a second longer, considering what to tell her and how.

"First, you need to know I know who the evil bastard is," she said. "If you help me, I will help you." She dropped her eyes for a moment. "I work closely with him on a regular basis. I have the means to help keep him away from you, if that is what you want."

She watched Pak's face; from what she knew of this woman, that would be a very appealing offer indeed.

"In exchange, I need something similar from you."

Where to begin? Pak wanted information. What should she leave out? Not all of it. She had to be honest here. Or, mostly.

"Amir is a very old vampire, in spite of his looks. He works for Anantya. I can't tell you he isn't dangerous to your Clan. But I can tell you he isn't dangerous to you."

Well, that was mostly true. Amir wasn't currently dangerous to Pak. That situation could change in the future.

"What you need to know, though, is if he and Kem meet it could be very bad." Mara looked at her hands, twined in her lap. She didn't want to say the next bit, for she knew it was information that could hurt people she cared very much about. She took a deep breath. "Amir created Kem. In Egypt, a long time ago, when he was still very new himself. Back when Kem was still Kiamhaat, and when Kiamhaat was everything to us. Me, and Mahematen and Sennwy."

She looked up again, at Pak's difficult to read face. "I'm Mara, by the way," she said softly. "For now. But if you like, you can call me Amaret."

OK better, they all had cloths on. She approved. It had been rather hard to relate to PÄ•e or believe it wasn't a dream when she was naked. Why was it people were always naked in dream? She digressed.

This woman -knew- who he was? Pak frowned darkly, but only for a second before schooling her face back to a totally unreadable expression which she backed up with a wall of subterfuge. It was possible she was an empathy after all.

Pak was not surprised to hear Amir was old and potentially dangerous. She also wasn't sure she believed the 'not dangerous to you' statement. But right now she was feeling a bit... betrayed was to strong a word but she was feeling less than completely trusting.

She was, in no way shape or form prepared to hear Amir was Kem's maker. She knew her friends history and she knew how she'd felt about encountering her own maker. Pak suddenly felt guilty, dirty even for spending time with the man and even enjoying his company. That was terribly wrong. She still, however, refused to tip her hand or give any expression whatsoever. At least until she learned PÄ•e's name.

"My dear god."Â?

All she could do was ask how she would feel if one of her children turned up, alive, a vampire and friendly with her maker. No. She would not be happy, as it was she almost wanted to cry on Kem's behalf.

"I think under the circumstances I'll just keep calling you PÄ•e."�

It fit, she was a ghost, a spirit, of some sort. She had never thought, not in a million years, she would be meeting Kem's daughter. Truly, she had no idea what to say next.

"I can understand why Kem needs to be kept away from Amir, or at least ignorant of who he is. Amir....?"Â?

There was more to the story, she needed to know it.

Mara allowed a little smile as Pak insisted on using her pet name. Very well, if that was what she wanted.

"It's not what you think," she said. Pak clearly wanted to know more. "Amir is a good person. In fact, he looked for him. He tried to find Ki... my father. For a long time. But when he hides, Kiamhaat hides well. He learned..." she broke off, looking at Pak again. "He wasn't always the person you know." She finished abruptly.

She rolled her eyes upward and blew at a stray lock of hair. "Amir knows who Kem is," she said. "I don't know exactly what he will do but Kem is an embarrassment to him." She winced, feeling disloyal to her creator. "He turned someone and didn't follow through, didn't train them, didn't teach them. That isn't Amir's way. It shames him."

Mara thought for a few moments and then shrugged at Pak. "I know because Amir is my creator, too. He is kind, but he loves his Clan and wants his children to be a part of it."

She bit her lip. "There's too much to tell. For years I kept them apart. For a long time I was afraid for them both. I don't want to know what will happen iff..." Mara shook her head. "I never told Amir where Kem was. I tracked him many times over the years. It comforted me to know he was there."

Again she sighed. "I'm sorry. This story is all over the place. But the things I know - you also need to know them. You'll understand everything. You can help me, and I can help you in return."

"He is who I know now."Â?

Smaller than Kem, considerably younger, and yet there was no doubt of the protective done her voice took there. Pak had an idea that Kem had been less than a saint at one point in his life. She didn't care.

Pak couldn't help but snort derisively at the idea that Amir took care of his creations. Well there went that theory. God knew it would hurt Kem to find out his daughter had not only been turned but by the same man who abandoned him. Her head hurt.

"He has a funny way of showing he cares."Â?

Next PÄ•e would be insisting her maker didn't mean to leave her on the side of the road. Still, even though what she was saying didn't make sense, didn't mesh with what Pak knew of the situation, Pak had to concede she didn't know the whole story.

She had, earlier, sat down on her sofa. She was now curled up in the corner, her knees up under her chin trying to piece it all together. Apparently, Amaret still had some loyalty to her father, to Kem. Split loyalties from the sounds of it. To Pak's mind though right now she was trying mostly to help Kem and that she could support. She didn't like the idea of having this knowledge and not sharing it but just right now she didn't see an alternative.

"Don't worry about the time line. I'm pretty good at Carmen. So... you're worried Amir will try and 'claim' Kem and that he's not going to handle that well? You want me to help keep them apart?"Â?

Mara shook her head at Pak's criticism. They all changed over the years. Not a single one of them ever stayed exactly the same. Time had its effect even on something as sustaining as a vampire. And she hadn't been there. She knew Kiamhaat, but not Amir. Mara couldn't ever try to pass Amir off as the concerned father type but she knew he'd tried to find his "firstborn."

"I don't think. I know," she said. "Just as I know that my father belongs here, with your Evenhet, and won't leave it. He may not seem like much of a fighter now, but he can and will. He won't want to know about Amir. He'll fight. And I don't want that to happen."

Given time, perhaps, Kem would accept Amir's presence. Also given time, maybe Amir would learn to live and let live. He had been with Subira for far too long to see anything but what Subira saw.

"I... care for Amir," she said, "but I won't lie to you. He's been working at the same job for far too long and it has colored him. He sees only what he's been trained to see, anymore. And I know my own father. They're both proud, both stubborn. They will not see eye to eye. I don't want either of them hurt."

Mara gritted her teeth against that idea. No reason to tell Pak that she hoped one day they might be able to exist in the same space together, but her father's forgiveness didn't come easily. Not for this one thing. And Amir's eyes needed to be opened again. Neither man was the same as he once was.

"I wish I could tell him myself, or show him myself," Mara said, her expression genuine; wistfulness mixed with a sadness from long ago. "I was going to, early on. But when I saw him..." She shook her head. "He wasn't well. He was, I don't know, insane maybe... for a time. I was a little afraid."

She shrugged her shoulders beneath the oversized tee. "Time moved on and he didn't. Not for a long while. And when he seemed to come out of it, it was with a chip on his shoulder about fifteen miles wide. He wasn't... safe. To anyone."

She thought back to everything that had happened over the years. Pak should know. Mara owed her the entire story, for her little scheme.

"He thought we'd have done well for ourselves with him out of the picture," she said. "The whole city had been afraid of him. Some of them thought he was god-touched, some thought he was evil. After the trial it was generally accepted that the latter was the case, and our entire family was shunned. My aunt remarried to provide us with a home and some shelter, but it wasn't at all like living at home."

Mara frowned. She'd put her past behind her, with Amir's help. Her father hadn't had that support. "We were beaten, starved, abused, raped. They turned Mahematen into a monster. I had three children before I was sixteen years old." Her pale eyes bored into Pak's. "How could I ever tell him that? How could I ever show myself? He'd want to know, wouldn't he? What had happened to us?"

She stayed quiet for a moment and then said, "Ha-Neferet committed suicide. Mahematen finally broke out of it himself, left Giza, and worked a long time before getting married. I chose this. It was death or undeath, and Amir was kind to me."

Perhaps, just perhaps, she was being judgmental and prejudice based on her experience and her knowledge of Kem's history. Pak kept her protective rather closed off posture but tried very hard to listen neutrally.

What she did see was that PÄ•e genuinely cared for Kem. At least she thought she did, she gave every indication that she did. Pak admitted to herself she was still a bit suspicious of the whole situation, but for now, she was going to give this woman the benefit of the doubt. If for no other reason she didn't want Kem mixed up in anything violent. He had enough on his plate with the wolves and the clan as it was.

"What exactly is Amir's job?"Â?

Some how that seemed relevant to this conversation. If it was tainting Amir's outlook on life etc she wanted, maybe even needed to know. It defiantly sounded like both men had their share of prejudices.

Again, she lapsed into listening mode. Pak tried to remember her first days, and years. They hadn't been pretty. Still, Pak knew she'd been relatively lucky she'd found some one, crazy as he was, who could at least give her some idea what had happened.

It was very hard to listen to what Amaret had to say. Especially as she had -no- idea what had happened to her own children after she'd been turned. She didn't know if PÄ•e knew that and was playing on those feelings or if it was just coincidence.

She opened up a bit, her legs folded beside her rather than tucked her chin and her eyes softened somewhat. She hadn't cracked, not yet but she was warming up. Maybe PÄ•e wasn't wrong to find some support from Amir, maybe she wasn't wrong to have chosen this life and maybe she wasn't wrong in asking for help here.

Pak made an abortive move forward, to offer some kind of support. But held herself Mara seemed to have a handle on her past and she didn't know her that well.

"Some day, he might... it isn't like we don't have time. What do you need from me now? Amir must already know who Kem is, it isn't like you run across some one with his coloring ever day."Â?

Or every week, year, century... yeah that one meeting in the arcade would no doubt be enough for Amir to know he'd found his missing 'child'.

Mara was definitely willing to be forthcoming, but she wasn't about to give Pakpao information that deeply involved Anantya, and specifics regarding Amir's abilities. Her personal loyalties might lie with her creator and father but her Clan loyalties were still to Anantya and always would be. She shook her head at Pak.

"It isn't relevant. Suffice to say Amir, and many of his contemporaries, would be happy to see their wayward children returned to Anantya. For Amir, Kem represents his failure to do something properly. I don't know what steps he'll take. He will tell me when he decides."

It was said with utter certainty. Of all Amir's children, Mara was the only one who didn't work with Subira. Amir wouldn't want Subira to know about Kem; therefore Amir would let Mara in on his plans and most likely no one else. Mara had more freedom to move about undetected than Amir did sometimes. Amir knew that and he trusted her.

Pak's motion toward her was not lost on Mara. Though she showed no outward sign, she gave herself a mental pat on the back for at least having read Pak properly, having used the right words. She allowed a soft smile to touch her lips.

"Someday, yes. I've spent a lifetime, it feels, following him. Checking in on him. Making sure everything is all right." Her face fell in unfeigned frustration. "And even when it wasn't all right, I realized I couldn't step in and help."

The frustration was fleeting. "He is happy here and now, and he's finally learned to let history be history. Someday, maybe, we can look at each other again." Raw longing tinged her next few words and her voice rose slightly. "I would know my father's embrace at least one more time before I depart this life!"

Mara closed her eyes and shook her head. "I would rather see him enjoy what he's got now before we throw a wrench in it. If he knows who Amir is, I am afraid of the consequences. My father... he seems so peaceful now. He regrets what he was for several hundred years. But it can surface again, and I think it would if he knew who Amir really is."

Mara's fear was very real in her pale eyes. "They would fight each other. And one of them would lose. I don't want that to happen. I need eyes and ears. You can help be those. I'm asking you to be careful. Don't let them get close. And be a friend. To them both."

Her eyes held Pak's with sincerity. "They are both good men," she repeated, with conviction. "We don't always make perfect choices in our lives, and if the gravity of the mistake were proportionate with our life spans, well, the mistakes can have effects that course through the years and through the centuries. This one could end well, but it's not the time for it yet. Help me watch over them both until it is, and in return I'll help watch over you."

She took a deep breath, having talked more to Pak than she had to anyone recently. "I can help you learn of your creator. or I can help keep him away from you. Either way, don't rule out the fact that this reconciliation could be yours, as well. He isn't a monster, Pak." She smiled at the younger vampire, wondering what Pak's response would be if she knew Amir was Bao's creator and therefore, her own... well, grandsire. Probably not favorable, not yet.

"You're stubborn too. But try not to miss the forest for the trees."

What was good for Amir and Kem could be good for Bao and Pak as well. There need not be a rift between them always. But it wasn't the time for Pak, either. Mara could wait.

Note to self, so some serious snooping on Amir. Although, Pak was certain he'd not have left much of a trail, if any. It could take years, if not longer, to find out what was really going on there. But Pak knew better than to press the issue, that would only burn this tenuous bridge. And as she really disliked the sound of 'I don't know what steps he'll take' she decided the bridge was more important.

"You've spent more than a few life times, if we're going strictly by the calendar year."Â?

After all Pak knew how old Kem was, it wasn't hard to do the math and figure out about how old PÄ•e was.

Pak breathed a sigh of relief. This shouldn't be too bad. Her guest seemed to have a very practical, sensible view of the situation and she approved of her determination; both to keep the men from each other's throats and to reunite with her father.

Eyes and ears she could have and she would do her best to keep them apart but... Pak shook her head violently.

"I'm not sure I could even look Amir in the eyes knowing this."Â?

How would she feel if Kem got all warm and fuzzy with her maker and she found out about it. Hurt, betrayed... less than happy to say the least. How could she could do that to her brother?

Maybe two hundred some odd years wasn't enough time, Pak half snarled at the idea that her maker was a good man. She couldn't even express what he'd taken away from her. At least Kem had the illusion that his family had managed. Her children had looked at her with fear. She quickly got herself back under control though. This wasn't her issue, she'd manage one way or another. For now she was just worried about Kem.

"I don't know him, I don't want to know him, I don't know what he wants from me and I have no desire to find out."Â?

She had a feeling he was half looking for her and she didn't want to be found. A few nagging questions poked at her though. She did wonder about the animal who'd made her and why. Pak, however, squashed those and stood by her original statement.

"I like the trees."Â?

She said more to herself than anything and stubbornly crossed her arms over her chest.

"But I'll help so long as it doesn't compromise Evenhet."Â?

Mara inclined her head in acknowledgment of Pak's calculations. "Yes, and I would spend several more lifetimes doing it."

It hadn't been time wasted, for her. She didn't think she'd had many moments of regret over the course of her very long life. She'd taken a gamble and it had worked out, for the most part.

Pak's continued views, though, had her worried. She remembered just how very young Pakpao was, really, and she frowned. Her eyebrows drew together and created a little furrow between them.

"You see with narrowed vision," she said quietly. "Tell me you've never made a mistake in your life, yet you still strive to be a good person. You've too many years behind you for hypocrisy. Or perhaps, too many ahead of you."

It wasn't difficult for Mara to be defensive of Amir. Her words could be extended to Bao, too, but in Mara's opinion he had done worse than Amir. She didn't always understand her younger sibling.

"I see. Should what you want change, you have only to ask and I'll help you in return. For now, then, I will do my best to ensure he leaves you alone."

She wasn't certain she could do that, especially knowing all she knew about Bao and Amir's connection. She wouldn't mention that to Pak though; she already had enough prejudice against Amir for his history with Kiamhaat. What would she think if she knew he was related to her, as well, through Bao?

As much as these little details could get confusing, Mara still reveled in them. What intricacies they wove, all of them, with their long lives. She never failed to be amused by it. She returned her attention to Pakpao, though, and once more inclined her head in understanding.

"Believe me. I have no interest, currently, in your Clan. This is strictly personal. In the future, should we need to contact each other, perhaps we could arrange to do so in a more neutral setting."

Mara was hardly going to admit to her massive discomfort here. She could escape, she was sure, before she was caught, but she didn't relish the amount of explaining she'd have to do. The Evenhet were not to be sneezed at; they were a strong Clan in their own right and Mara respected their independence, if not their ideals. She wouldn't be getting anywhere near Liefde or Meridian in the future.

"I am sorry I had to contact you the way I did. I'll try to make it up to you."

She offered Pak a slight, soft smile, unaware of any family resemblance as she did. "Thank you for listening to me."

They still had so much more to discuss, but they had made a connection and that was something, at least.

"Even if it was a mistake. I have at least some idea what it cost the man he inflicted it on and I know what Kem means to me."Â?

Pak found it -very- odd that Kem's own daughter, a woman who'd been tracking her father through all of this would still support, even defend Amir. It was very confusing.

Still, she reasoned, it couldn't hurt to keep her own eyes and ears on Amir. Pak highly doubted he'd slip up and tell her something earth shattering, but it would be a hell of a lot easier to keep them apart if she at least knew something about Amir and his schedule. Although, no matter that she'd grown to like him, her trust was going to be in very short supply around Amir. Still, for Kem's sake she could fake it, after all even Bond had a cover.

"If it ever comes up I had no idea who Amir was and it is all just a freaky coincidence."Â?

Yeah, there would be guilt, but what the hell. It wasn't like she was totally sane as it was, what was a little guilt complex.

Pak's opinion of her maker was very skewed, very prejudicial, she'd only met him twice and both times had been violent. That said she wondered exactly how much she was asking of Mara and worried it could be... not good.

"I appreciate it but, well be careful. It would be a damned poor thank you to get you in any kind of a fix in the mean time."Â?

She really did think she owed PÄ•e a thank you for this information as well.

That was an idea, it didn't hurt to have a reasonable connection with Anantya. Not that she had any illusions of being a diplomat, but having resource was a good thing.

Pak couldn't help but grin at her, OK yeah defiantly Kem's daughter. Maybe that's why she'd set the frying pan down and hadn't called security, it wasn't too hard to see. She must have picked up on some of it subconsciously and responded to it.

"I'm glad I did and glad you found a way to get a hold of me. Maybe you'd like a more typical method?"Â?

Pak smiled slightly, with a teasing edge. She was starting to like Mara a bit. Not totally sold, after all she had some weird acquaintances, but there was something about her 'cat' that she thought was good.

Mara's eyes grew hard and she blinked a few times at sudden blurriness. "I know what he means to me too," she said softly but intensely. How dare this woman imply that her own father meant any less to her? "But I've seen both sides of the story and I know Amir as well as I know Kiamhaat."

She softened, though. She knew Pak was being protective, and she knew the value of friendship. "I'm glad he has you. And Aishe."

It was the first time she'd named the young woman her father lived with. Mara knew of her, and had done her homework to some degree. What she saw, she liked. And there was no denying the change she saw in him.

"You're both good friends to him."

She nodded, losing the last of her brief annoyance at Pak's plan and smiling again. "When confronted, always go for ignorance and innocence."

Pak's warning met a shake of her head. "He is not to me what he is to you," she said. "I will be perfectly safe." Her lips twitched up slightly. "Besides, I have seniority."

There, let Pakpao have a little bit of knowledge about her creator. Vague, and not much, but should she fear she'd been turned by some milleniums-old monster, those could rest. Mara was certain she could influence Bao away from Pakpao for now. It was a simple matter of information-dropping, although she would prefer to remain on good terms with her younger "brother."

Mara was finally able to meet Pakpao's humorous expression with the same. "I'm glad you did too."

She glanced at the window. "I could use the fire escape... but that is an awful lot of ladders to climb. My paws might get tender." She chuckled. "I do have a cell phone. But it might be safer to have a less trackable method. How else can I get a signal to you, if need be, in a timely manner? Or the other way around?"

Pak only raised an eyebrow. She'd been very careful in her phrasing, never doubting Mara's love for her father and only stating that this was her friend, her brother they were talking about. But she never belittled Mara's commitment, god knew she'd probably risked a lot involving her at this point. That said, however, no matter how much Mara was devoted to Kem, Pak also believed that without actually being part of someone's life you could never know them completely; watching from the sidelines did not count. Mara might be split in her loyalties, she might want to protect them both, she might even be a child of both, but Amir had been her father longer. In the long run, that meant something. Just what, Pak wasn't sure of yet.

Just how long -had- PÄ•e been stalking them? That was a disconcerting thought. Still she'd never taken an active roll until tonight. Well at least she seemed to approve of what she'd seen. Still a bit creepy, but Pak decided to forgive her.

"I'm afraid he's probably a better friend to me than I deserve but... I'll take that. And she's... above average."Â?

Pak was more than slightly found of Aishe as well. They didn't have the same type of relationship but the young vampire was on a very short list of people Pak actually trusted. Well except for the empathy thing. Some day she'd undoubtedly accidentally hit Aishe was the full force of what she was feeling (good or bad) and the girl would probably be knocked over.

That comment caught her off guard and Pak dropped a bit of her reserve to actually laugh. She wondered if Mara had any idea how funny that was.

"Most people who know me wouldn't believe innocence for a second. Ignorance I should be able to sell though."Â?

What the hell did that mean? Did Anantya have ranks? What where they Freemasons? Or was there a relationship there? Hmmmm that seemed, possible. Pak shied away from the idea and again forcibly put any curiosity out of her mind. It wasn't worth it.

"I'm thinking a Bat signal over the skyline of Nachton isn't going to cut it. Throw away email address or a prepaid cell is probably our best bet. Your call."Â?

Pak had no idea how wired PÄ•e was. She, however, would re-route a throw away email through a few blind servers and then to one of her two primaries. It would be easy and damned hard to trace and quite frankly her preference, but she could improvise.

Mara didn't respond to Pak's modesty; she just nodded her head once in understanding. She had very few close friends, herself, and while she didn't feel entirely the same as Pak, she did understand the value of having someone to care about who returned the sentiment. She nodded again at the younger vampire's assessment of Aishe. Mara didn't know a lot about the woman her father lived with now, but what she'd seen she accepted.

"I would like to meet her someday," was the only comment she made on that topic. That day was far in the future.

The idea of a bat signal had appeal. Given Mara's usual modus operandi, she didn't have much access to electronics. She gestured at herself. "I'm not sure. I can't always carry a cell phone," she said, her smile peeking out again with slight humor at the idea of strapping a phone to her collar. "I'll give you my number though. It's not a perfect system but as long as it's not an emergency, either of those will do just fine."

An emergency, she imagined, would constitute a chance run-in, or perhaps an appearance of Pak's creator that she needed intervention in. It brought up another reminder.

"Incidcentally," she said softly, "Go to your meeting. He won't be there." Mara held Pak's pale eyes with her own. "But take someone with you anyway. Sometimes the people close to you need to feel needed, too."

She stood, crossed to Pak's desk, and in careful print wrote her contact information on a post-it note.

"It was... a pleasure, Pakpao. Thank you for hearing me out." There was much left unsaid, in Mara's opinion. Hopes, speculations, chances. Ifs and maybes. For now she simply held out her hand, shaking Pak's.

"Now, if you would be so kind as to open the window...?"

Mara enacted her change once more, letting the borrowed tee collapse around her as she shifted smoothly back into her cat shape. She delicately stepped out of the puddled cotton on the floor and walked to Pak's foot, rubbing her cheek gently before crossing the room to the window and sitting patiently.

"Well you will probably have the opportunity to some day."Â?

She hoped that Mara and Aishe would get along once they finally met. But she also knew finally could be a long way off so there was no point in worrying about it now.

Pak started slightly at the information that her guest had just given her. Freely, without being asked. A show of good faith maybe? If it was, it was a good one. Without thinking about it, Pak let a little sigh of relief escape her. It would be nice to go out and not have to look over her shoulder. She wasn't sure she'd take some one with her but... maybe. Needed was one thing, clung too and imposed upon was another; Pak was trying to avoid the later.

Standing she easily accepted the offered hand. This was a start. A start to what she wasn't quite sure, but a start and a good one.

"Look me up any time. Especially if I might be able to help."Â?

OK she was a little jealous of this whole shape-shifting thing. Maybe later she'd try and turn into an animal. Of course, with her luck, it would be a fish. Maybe she wouldn't try too hard. She smiled as PÄ•e rubbed up against her and had to check the urge to pet her.

"You'll have to tell me what proper etiquette is here next time. I think I might stop leaving tuna out for you though."Â?

Opening the window she grinned.

"I see how a cell phone or a laptop might be a bit of trouble. I'll leave my number under one of the wiper blades of the Bird tomorrow night. You don't seem to have any pockets to put it in now."Â?

Mara couldn't laugh as a cat, clearly, but she gave Pakpao her best "amused kitty" blink, waving her long tail just a little bit.

When Pak told her where she'd leave the number, Mara simply nodded at her. She could swing by and get the information.

She hopped out onto the window ledge, no sign of fear at being so very high up. Mara loved heights and was secure in her abilities. She had no worries about falling from the fire escape. She picked her way easily down the ladders, hopping lightly from one to the next without looking back.

Once she reached the ground she disappeared into the shadows, waiting until she was well out of sight to turn and glance up at Pakpao's window. Altogether, their meeting had gone as well as Mara had hoped. Maybe better. She liked the young vampire. It would be easy to work with her, hopefully. And perhaps they could help each other, after all.

((ooc: Mara out))

She watched PÄ•e hop on to the fire escape and make her way down to the ground. Even being on the thirty-first floor it didn't take the cat vampire long at all. She -had- been planning to work tonight, now she had a lot to think about.

Pak found her cloves and sat on the window ledge for a while going through two of the cigarettes trying to run through the meeting in her mind. Trying to sort out what it meant. Finally deciding she wasn't going to work out anything more tonight she stood and started back to the computer to get some of her work done. As she sat down, however,

"Crap! What am I going to do with all this cat stuff?"Â?

Irritably she stabbed at the keyboard. She'd work out the cat paraphernalia later, there was work to do now.

((OOC... Pak out.))