→ As soon as night fell, the mansion was a hub of activity. Even if no one usually roamed the halls, each room was host to anything from blood baths to cookie baking. At the moment, Bernadette was party to the cookie baking. Lewis had offered to teach her because she'd been threatening to take apart the oven to see how it worked. Instead, she was learning about its mechanics by kneeling down in front of it and peering in the window to watch the dough rise and bubble. When a knock came at the door, she paused, looking at Lewis. "Who knocks?"

→ When Pilot first arrived in Cold Water Flats he didn't have a single clue as to where he was going. He'd left in the middle of the day and had ended up there by nightfall after hitchhiking. Langston didn't know he was gone yet but he hoped the vampire didn't come looking for him. His clothes were disheveled and he was a little bit roughed up from the guy that had brought him there but he made it with no problem. After listening to chatter in Mabel's, he heard about the mansion and made his way over there. Knocking on the door, he just looked around and waited for someone to answer.

→ Lewis didn't have an answer for Bernadette and she waved him off, heading to the front door before a more innocent member of her household could make it. Maybe it was that Sullivan, or perhaps Hunter had come to visit. Or another kind of hunter--a strangely polite one. Opening the door, she was relieved to see one so small looking as Pilot. "That's funny, I didn't order take out." She smiled at the boy.

→ Pilot knew that that he was right in assuming what he had about the house. And because the whorehouse he'd worked in had catered to vampires he knew that he would be all right here if he could just convince this woman to let him stay. "I need a place to stay the night." Pilot said. "I can pay for the night, if you want."

→ With the topic of pay so quickly brought up, Bernadette wondered if this child knew what he was dealing with. Sometimes wayward humans came to them, stumbling onto the property and begging for a better life. Bernadette rarely granted much more than a swift and painless death. But this one was different. He was uniquely beautiful and he seemed almost familiar, though she couldn't place him. "Although the estate is grand, we're not a bed and breakfast."

→ "No, but I can offer you services that most people can't." Pilot said, looking at her with a level gaze because he wasn't afraid. "I'm sure that you are always in need of a warm body and a meal." Those were things that he could offer and things that she was sure they didn't have an abundance. Mostly because accidents happened and he was sure they were always looking to replenish their supply.

→ "I see." His words were clear enough, and true enough. Usually Bernadette liked to seek new humans out herself, watch them for awhile. The ones that came right to them were either bait or crazy. But Pilot looked like neither. He carried the look of a donor and she stepped outside to slip a hand around his shoulders and usher him inside. "Fair enough, small one." Lewis bounded into the room, all exuberant energy. "Who's this?" He asked pleasantly.

→ Pilot came into the house with ease, not at all unsettled by the fact that Bernadette's hands were cold as she touched his shoulders. Looking up when Lewis came running in, he didn't smile or anything, just said, "Pilot. My name is Pilot."

→ The lack of a smile was nothing but a challenge to Lewis, who smiled readily. "Pilot? What a weird name. I'm Lewis, this is Bernadette. We just baked cookies, are you hungry?" Bernie laughed quietly to herself at Lewis' display. She had expected nothing less from him, though she kept ahold of Pilot's shoulders. "Lewis, go and get our guest something to eat and drink." The boy obeyed, and Bernadette turned her attentions back to Pilot. "I don't care where you've come from, but I need to know if you can handle this place. It's not the safest for you. I can only guarantee your safety up to a point."

→ "I can handle it." Pilot said. "I worked in a house that catered to your kind." There was no way that he wouldn't be able to handle it, and if he died then that was a risk he would take. It was the same risk he ran at the other house. "Your hands are cold, have you fed?" Because if she was interested he'd let her feed off of him. Most vampires told him he tasted sweet.

→ This could only be one of Langston's. She wondered if he knew, but honestly, she was stronger than him, so it didn't matter if this was a betrayal or not. She had offered a strange sort of sanctuary to less deserving before. "Out of the frying pan and into the fire." She used the old cliche and withdrew her hands from him. "I have not fed tonight." And he was alluring, but wanting anything too much was a sign to deny it and so she did. "You should stay longer than just one evening." An offer of her own.

→ "How much longer than one night?" he asked, not wanting to commit himself to anything in case Faris came around to find him, to take him away from this place. Though he knew thechances were slim to none. That coming to this place just because it was on a piece of paper didn't mean his brother was here.

→ "No need for a contract." Her perfect mouth curved into a smile as she put her cool hand beneath his chin and pressed her thumb up across his lower lip. "Go and find Lewis. He'll be in the kitchen with milk and cookies no doubt."

→ Pilot looked up at her, sensing that small amount of danger that he always felt when vampires were touching him, and looking at him like that. "I can stay until my brother comes for me." Pilot told her and then he turned to go and find Lewis. He looked over his shoulder at her and then kept on going, finding the other man easily becaues he'd watched where he was going when he left.

→ Lewis had a plate at the kitchen table and two glasses of milk. He was waiting for Pilot and as soon as he saw him, he sat up a little straighter. "Why did you come here? Bernie brought me. I ran away from home, did you run away from home?" He launched into questions, pushing the plate of cookies towards Pilot and gesturing for him to sit down.

→ "I came to find my brother. I think he might be in this town." he took one of the cookies and had a sip of the milk. "Thank you. For the cookies and the milk." He put the glass back down after he'd had his sip.

→ "Really?" Lewis thought about his sister, always having a twinge of guilt for leaving her, but his father never treated her like he'd treated Lewis. "If you don't find him, this is a nice place to stay. How did you know about it? I would have been too afraid to come here if I hadn't been brought." Lured was more like it, with promises from Bernadette's motherly persona.

→ "I was sitting at Mabel's diner and I heard some teenagers talking about this place. It sounded too familiar so I thought I would come up and see for myself. It wasn't hard to see Bern for what she was." Pilot was sort of quiet other than answering questions, mostly because he was sort of nervous about everything.

→ "Familiar?" Grabbing a cookie, he took a bite, too big for his mouth so he had to tilt his head back to chew so he didn't lose any. It made him laugh and have to drink a big gulp of milk to wash it all down. But before Pilot could answer that query, Lewis was on to something else. "Come and pick out a room." He reached across the table and took Pilot's hand, tugging him up and out of the kitchen toward the stairs.

→ Without protesting, he let himeslf be drug out of the kitchen and along towards the stairs. He was looking around, watching people in the house. There were vampires out and about. Boy came bounding down the stairs past them and he knocked into the two of them. Pilot fell into Lewis and just about went down but he managed to stay on his feet.

→ Lewis blew a big raspberry at the departing Boy, holding on to Pilot. After a second, he still hadn't let go and he grinned at him. "Bernie was right. You're very pretty." Even though the woman hadn't spoken it outloud, she'd communicated it to Lewis all the same. Sometimes she slipped into the human mind.

→ "I'm nothing special." Pilot said softly as he continued up the stairs with him, letting Lewis keep a hold of him. "Do you like living here?" The boy seemed like he did but he wasnt going to assume anything.

→ He hesitated a bit at that. Liking living here and making the best of it were two different things. Lewis had always thought he loved it at the mansion, but ever since his trip to Wolf Haven, he wasn't positive anymore. "You are special." Lewis focused on that instead. "You would have been dead by now if you weren't some kind of special."

→ Biting his bottom lip, Pilot wasn't sure what to say to that. He knew that he was different than a lot of people but he didn't think that meant he was special at all. "I'm surprised she didn't just kill me anyway." When they got to the top of the steps he looked down the hall and saw a tall man in a very nice suit headed in their direction. "Lewis, just who I was looking for." Elgyn said and then his eyes drifted to Pilot. "Who is your friend?"

→ Lewis hadn't wanted to run into Elgyn. That would be the first time he'd felt that sentiment. "This is Pilot." He said quickly. "We're going to pick out a room for him; he'll be staying for awhile." His grip tightened on Pilot's arm and he knew it was pointless to try and hide such a move from Elgyn, but he tried anyway.

→ Elgyn hadn't really given too much of a look to Pilot until Lewis hand tightened on him and then suddenly he was very interested in the other boy. "Well he could always stay in my room tonight and pick a room for himself tomorrow>" he brought his hand up and caught Pilot's jaw, his eyes still on Lewis as he did it.

→ "No--I mean," he looked a shade of jealous though if it was of Elgyn or Pilot one couldn't be sure. "I mean, it's his first night and Bernadette wanted me to show him around." He knew better than to lie to any one of the vampires, but especially to Elgyn. He licked his lips anxiously, having the urge to crawl all over Elgyn and beg him to take him instead.

→ Elgyn tsked and tightened his grasp on Pilot's chin as he looked at Lewis. "What if I just want you both?" He asked, raising one eyebrow. Elgyn was often selfish when it came to the humans in the house, claiming the ones he liked as his own property. Usually those humans ended up dead, except for Lewis.

→ That was Lewis' fear in this case, that a night of fun for Elgyn would turn into death for Pilot and he didn't want that. He felt a little attached to the other, afterall they'd shared cookies together. But under Elgyn's touch, Lewis knew full well he'd be helpless to prevent anything from happening to the other. "Then you'll have to take it up with Bernadette." He said bravely, straightening and tugging on Pilot. "Come on."

→ Elgyn was so shocked by Lewis' resistance that he just sort of stood there, dumb founded as the boy went whisking off with Pilot in tow. Pilot moved easily out of elgyn's grasp, following Lewis as they walked away. He didn't glance back at Elgyn, didn't bother. "What room is your room?"

→ Lewis' heart was beating so fast he could barely talk. Part of him delighted in the idea that perhaps he would pay for that little bit of insolence, but most of him was scared witless. "Down this hall." He veered to the right and came upon the first door. Going inside, he shut it behind them, locking it as if such a measily concoction of metal and wood would keep Elgyn out if he wanted to come inside.

→ Once they were inside he just sort of assumed that they weren't going to be searching for another room. "Do you want me to just stay here?" The bed looked big enough and he was used to staying in a room with someone else becaues usually he slept with Faris. But now Faris was off somehwere with the wolves and he was alone and liked very much that Lewis was paying attention to him.

→ "I may have started some problems for you." Lewis admitted, relaxing very slightly now that they were in his room. "Elgyn is--well he's very unpredictable and I've never talked like that to him before. He's the one to watch out for here. No one else is as dangerous as he is." With that out of the way, Lewis glanced at the bed. "I suppose you could stay here tonight if you wanted."

→ Looking around the room, he walked over to the bed and sat down on the end of it. He was tired from all the travel but he had sort of expected to feed someone tonight so he wasn't as tired as he had anticipated. "I'll remember that." Because the idea of getting killed before he could find his brother was a bad one.

→ Lewis slept on a vampire schedule, so he wasn't tired at all. But he figured that Pilot might be. "Are you going to go to bed now? I have pajamas that you can borrow if you like." Now that he was relaxed again, he was nothing but friendly, going over to sit next to Pilot.

→ "I don't have to go to bed." Pilot said, thinking that maybe Lewis would be interested in other things but he wasn't sure. "I can sleep in my boxers if you don't mind." Unless he would prefer him to wear pajamas, in which case he would do that instead.

→ Looking pleased, Lewis shook his head. "No, I don't mind at all. Gee, let's see. A good looking guy sleeping nearly naked next to me. Yeah, I think I can handle that." It seemed safer to hole up in his room for the rest of the night, unless they snuck out later. "What do you do for fun?"

→ "Nothing." He said. "have sex.' That was the only thing he could think of that he did for fun when he was on his own. Even when Faris was there they were always on the verge of being together even if they hadn't slept together yet. He wished they would have, before his brother left.

→ Lewis quirked a brow at him. "Really? That's all you did for fun? You must have a cock that could tow a car." He stood up and looked around his room. There was nothing much in there; they simply couldn't stay cooped up. "There's a hedge maze out back, let's try to sneak down there without running into anyone."

→ "I worked in a whore house. When my brother still worked there I would spend time with him and we would play xbox, but he was taken away so I left and now I don't do anything for fun." he got up so they could go down to the hedge maze and he was wondering if he was going to be stuck with Lewis all the time. "Do you know if there are werewolves around here?"

→ Treating him more like a new playmate than an actual person, Lewis hardly heard him. But at the mention of werewolves he stopped short. "Why?" Was his first question. He wasn't sure he wanted to answer that question, though if Pilot knew about vampires, then he probably already knew werewolves were real. He went back out through the kitchen, into the backyard.

→ "Because my brother is one. And a werewolf came to the house where we were staying and took him. Said that he had to go and live with people like him and that I couldn't come. But I need to find him, I have to find my brother."

→ Lewis frowned and shook his head. "No, I don't know where they are." He was lying and he felt badly about it, but he couldn't let Pilot go taking off to Wolf Haven just yet. It wasn't a complete lie since he wasn't sure hot to get there exactly.

→ That made him frown a little bit and his shoulders slumped slightly but he just followed along with Lewis. he'd stay with the vampires here then, until he could figure out where to go next.