Rein bowed his head under the weight of Richard's hand. His thin frame shuddered with a shaky breath. Jim, the clinging skeleton, likewise rattled, then crumbled. The skull fell off the vertebrae with a solid plop, landing in Rein's lap, while the rest of him lost it's grip and fell backwards towards the ground. Rein's voice was quiet, but it didn't seem he would break in to sobs, more like he would curl up in on himself and hide away the rest of his eternity.

"The first thing I thought about was how to make myself stronger than you to see if I could influence you." He did, in fact, curl in farther. "It's not that I want to control you, I just wanted to know the extent of my power against yours, but..." The watery lilac eyes glanced up apologetically. "am I really such a horrible person that I would do such a thing?...without asking you...without considering your opinion at all..." A few more tears rolled down his cheeks. "But...I still want to. I still want to try." He admitted in his shame. "I wont, though. I shouldn't do that to you. You have been nothing but kind and I really should not think in such ways."

At Jim's reaction, he withdrew his hand reflexively, then looked at the skeletal remains behind Rein's back. Briefly glancing down the cliff, he hoped that none of the smaller fragments, like toe phalanges, got spilled over. That would be a shame, you can't dance that well without having complete feet. And the skeleton danced pretty fine...
Yeah, he pretty much clung to the thought to distract himself away from the weeping thing in front of him. Richard sighed quietly, forcing himself to look at Rein's rather miserable visage.

He murmured reassuringly. "I understand."
He really did. The look he regarded Rein with was warm and sympathetic. Really, if anything, he was relieved. If the boy had moral inhibitions, then it made everything easier. He couldn't possibly have faked that reaction.
"Being tempted is no sin on it's own. It's how you handle it that matters..."
He ran a hand through his hair in thought. If he played that right, reassuring Rein that it would be a very wrong thing to do, it was the best solution he could hope for. Rein's innocent, if naive, good heart was a rare and beautiful thing, even amongst people who didn't interact with human corpses on a daily basis. Richard wanted to preserve it. Hopefully by never having to resort to more violent solutions to the threat he posed to the vampire.
"You're not a horrible person." he said. "You didn't go through with it. But..." he looked at Rein, biting into his lip slightly. "Major atrocities have been committed in the name of curiosity. You must stay vigilant to not allow yourself to fall and lose your better judgment."
He shrugged, then smiled lightly. "I'll admit, I'm a bit curious myself. Maybe later we can..."
Richard paused in the middle of a sentence, surprised by a sudden tugging sensation in his chest. He quirked a brow and tilted his head slightly, perplexed. Was that... fear...?
He slapped his hands on the top of his thighs and laughed with maybe a bit too much joy, considering the circumstances, to sound completely sane.
"It's bound to be very interesting."

Already his body was forcing him back to his neutral state, and the wetness of the tears seeming to simply sink back in to his skin, returning, though he still looked utterly miserable with a shadow of shame hanging over him. He looked up at Richard as the man spoke. His eyebrows raised with a bit of hope as he took in all that was said.

Nodding, a hard determination set into the glowing lilac eyes.

"You're right. I should be more wary." There was a flicker of insecurity. "Will you...will you help me?" Rein seemed hesitant, but if he could rely on Richard, trust Richard to be a more guiding figure, then surely he would turn out right. He didn't want to be a bad person. Richard wasn't a bad person. He wasn't a bad person and he had already endured a long life-span. Really, Richard was what he had been looking for when he came here to Lillegard.

Obvious shock lightened the Lijk's face, though, as the vampire mentioned experimenting. He was a little wary at the laughing, but, really...would Richard want to?

"...You would experiment with me?" He sounded entirely too hopeful. It was something he was extremely interested in looking into, this connection between Lijks and Vampires, and he tried not to get too excited in this moment. If he had permission, then trying to see how far he could go with his power against Richard's wouldn't make him a bad person at all, right?

Richard smiled, pleased. "Of course I will." he said softly. "You shouldn't have been left alone to figure out these things. Don't your people have a... system for this?"
A vampire had his sire. Although, Richard didn't really have his for support... and he turned out fine anyway. Not that everybody agreed, but he didn't care about their opinion. Vampires were mostly a sorry bunch and he didn't want anything to do with them or their petty covens, their hierarchies and their drama... it was almost like they used it as a way to kill time. Which, of course, was completely true.
He had better things to do.

But if Rein looked up to him like that - which he clearly already did, to some extent - he would be able to mold him, however awful that sounded. But, well... whatever got the job done. It's not like he was going to disregard the boy's own wellbeing while pursuing his own goals.

At least not until the two conflicted.

He nodded slowly, stretching his fingers absent-mindedly. Already they were feeling colder and somewhat stiff. "Sure, I guess." He furrowed his brow and looked to Rein sharply. "On my terms, though, and with extreme caution. I don't want any accidents to happen. You've seen what happens to surrounding furniture when I lose control, right?"

Rein smiled wide at Richard agreeing to be his guide figure, but it fell at the mention of his people.

"My people?" He shook his head. "No...we don't really have a "people". I've only met one other and that's normal, as he was the one who helped a friend and I gain immortality. But he left immediately, and my friend and I we split up directly afterwards to do our own thing. You're not supposed to contact others of our kind, only occasionally bump into them, and even then, it's rare that you acknowledge each other." He hummed and watched Richard quietly, though he cowed somewhat at the sharp look, eyes widening and shoulders hunching slightly rather submissively, backing down.

"Alright." He almost squeaked and nodded. He paused, thinking. "...The theatre chair?..." His eyes widened, then, almost in fear. He was strong...he broke furniture if he got out of control...his phylactery? Oh, no no. That would be absolutely the worst thing that could happen. Having Richard hold his phylactery would be the most direct and strongest route to tunnel his power in, but...that would put it in direct harm if Richard merely clenched his first. Oh, he could hear the metal frame cracking and the gears crushing together already and he flinched, curling in on himself slightly. Dust...

"Yes...yes, I agree. Lets use the utmost care..."

So, there were more of them. He didn't know if all of them were practicing necromancers, though - but he was sure he'd find out in due time, now that he was on a straight road to gaining more of Rein's trust. He could afford to take it slow.
Listening with interest, he found his gaze sliding down to Jim's skull, lying in Rein's lap. The skeleton was entertaining, sure, but an eternity with only zombies for company...
"Sounds pretty... lonely." he said quietly.
Wait, did he say that out loud?

He shook his head and smiled, all harshness vanishing from his expression. He didn't mean to make Rein that concerned.
"Don't worry. We will simply go somewhere where there's nothing to be destroyed, right?" He chuckled. "Since you don't count, all should be fine."
He guessed that not even the boy would be in danger, really. Judging by what happened so far, his body's reaction to the necromancer's influence was far from aggression. Unless he used it as a cover-up to take some anger out on the unfortunate soul. Oh no, I can't stop myself from attacking you in a way that, while agonizingly painful, won't allow you to die too quickly...! What an heinous thing to do that would be. But... maybe it would convince Rein against ever trying to control the vampire again. And since he would be doing it 'against his will', Richard would still seem the good guy in all this. Huh...

Poor kid.

He couldn't resist a yawn. "...Sorry. Well, it will have to wait until later, I suppose. I can't imagine having to stay awake all the time, though." He smiled lightly. "Don't you ever get bored? Aren't there any other nocturnal creatures around? You know I have a job to do here and won't be able to accompany you every night."

Rein's head snapped up, eyes sharply pinning the vampire for his words. It seemed like there might have been a flash of indignation, but it soon just died into a flat and almost ligering sadness. He gave a small shrug in answer.

"It can be...but I have Neferure. It's not so bad." As long as he never lost her, Rein figured he could be okay. Nef had become something like his sister, a family that he didn't have to give up. As Richard went on, though, talking about how he was not included and everything would be fine if they had nothing around them, he seemed hesitant still. His expression and posture was that of unrelenting wariness, but he offered no words of explaination. He would just need to be careful. As long as his phylactery was out of the way, it should be fine...no? That was all that really mattered in this experiment. If his phylactery would be in danger, then he would be loath to admit that this test would simply have to go unchalleneged. And since...well, he really wanted to try this, he just had to make sure it was safe. Which, also, might be a good reason why they should wait a bit on this. He might want to talk to Neferure first anyway. She would murder him if he did something reckless...again.

Smiling at the yawn, he chuckled lightly.

"It's alright. Perhaps you should go to bed. I'm sure we'll see each other again soon and we can test the compatibility between us, but I think the sun will be rising." He drew up his knees and used them to rest his chin, thin arms wrapping around thin legs, Jim's skull rested in the fold of his frame. "It's not so bad once you get used to it. I havn't met any other nocturnal creatures yet, but I assume there are some... I know you are busy, I do not expect you to entertain me all the time. Please, do not worry about me. I really don't mind." Rein tried to offer a reassuring smile as his eyes twinkled brightly. He was okay...really. He'd been alone with his thoughts at night for years already. It was just something you got used to, he supposed, like that small little gnawing hole in your chest that persisted as you sat alone talking to a skeleton. He had chosen this, and it would only be silly to regret it now.

At the look, he quickly put on an apologetic smile. It was terribly rude of him to let that slip out, whether or not it was true, but it got harder to focus the closer the dawn crept. Just part of the package, really.

Neferure, hm. There had a story to her, and he was curious about it, but the hour was too late - or early - to ask about it now. It would have to wait. So, she was also immortal, or very long-lived. He had her down as intelligent, if with an air of somebody who's used to getting things done her way. But she listened to reason, and as much as he hated the prospect, he had to take into account what would happen if he had to follow the worst scenario. Being a 'sister', Neferure would certainly play an important part.
Trying to figure out why was Rein still hesitant was beyond him at the time. Maybe the following night he would think about it... just another thing to add to the growing list. He yawned again.

"Yes... indeed." he said, looking away from Rein and to the sky. It was graying visibly, and the temptation to wait for just the tiniest slice of the sun's face to appear resurfaced in his mind. It wasn't that he really missed the daytime, it was just the forbidden fruit effect kicking in. With the advent of high quality television the desire got worse - throughout the hundreds of years he had completely forgotten what it looked like, and now he could watch the pink-tinted rays of sun peek over the horizon in full HD. It was a weird feeling.

At what the boy said, however, he turned his head sharply and looked at him, blinked, then started chuckling breathily. Do not worry about me, he says... Richard couldn't help but laugh. Oh, Rein had no idea what kind of a Pandora's Box he had opened by merely existing...! The vampire was sure at that point that whatever was yet to happen, whether he managed to save Rein from himself or not, whether they stayed friends or turned enemies, whatever the results of their experiments would be... for as long as they both existed, he would be worried about Rein.

Richard rubbed his hands together, regarding the boy with an amused look. "We've got a lot to teach each other, you know that?" he said as he got up, various cracks sounding throughout his joints. Uh oh. He shouldn't have been sitting so still at that time of day.
"You've already taught me something, kid, and for that you have my gratitude." He moved his shoulders in an attempt to restore some blood flow to them. "Said thing being... Sometimes life leads you to do this."
He smiled down to the curled up necromancer, then turned around, spread his arms and took a step to stand at the cliff's edge, in a Christ the Redeemer pose.
And then, ever so slowly, he tilted forward and allowed himself to fall.
A second had passed, and a small winged silhouette rose against the backdrop of the pallid sky. The bat flapped his wings in rapid succession to hover in front of Rein for a moment.
"And then," he said. "you better be ready to handle whatever comes out of it."



((Lol wow. Long post is long.))

Rein just sat, looking at the other man, with a questioning expression on his face. He wasn’t quite sure why the other was laughing; he didn’t think he had said something particularly funny. Though, the man did seem to be becoming more open as the day neared, perhaps a vampire thing. Maybe it was like being drunk or just extremely tired. Another interesting thing…he wondered where Richard spent his days. He simply smiled though, when the vampire addressed him.

“I’m glad, and you have taught me much as well.” Rein inclined his head. The more he knew, the stronger he was. His smile brightened a bit more. He really believed that speaking with Richard would be great for him in the long run, he didn’t know of much that could go wrong. He winced just slightly at the creaking bones of the elder man, that didn’t sound healthy. He was about to say something, but stopped, a wary expression coming over him as Richard stepped up to the edge of the cliff. He listened, but his eyes widened as the man tipped forward.

Springing forward, Rein gripped the edge of the vertical descent, looking over frantically for the man whom he had failed to react in time to catch. Worry over took him. As immortal as Richard may be, he still had to heal and that fall would not be kind to flesh. He ran over in his head what he might be able to do to locate all the pieces and help them join together fast in light of the rising sun. He would need to get down there and get him indoors before- he blinked stupidly as a bat winged up in front of him. Though, his worry melted away as Richard’s voice came from the small flying thing, and he gave a weak chuckle.

"Well, sure, we should do that sometime together...suicide jumping." Hey, if Richard wanted to go leaping off of cliffs, he'd join him. Though, he figured that the vampire was talking about something more serious, like choices and decisions. Sometimes, yes, you had to just take a chance and dive off the deep end. But, that was the thing: the consequences. His smile never left, but the joking air did. "I think we can handle it. We have to."

Didn't they? They were immortal. They had to take what came at them, there was no reprise of eternal sleeps or even, for him, dreams. They were forever going to wake to endure a new day and face the results of what had happened before. But this, he thought, was also what made them stronger, no? Rein tilted his head, glowing eyes wide and studying the small creature. He reached a hand out underneath him and used the other to make to poke the bat lightly.

At first he scoffed a little at the idea, but then he laughed, realizing Rein wasn't serious. Even with death being a slap on the wrist, as it was for the necromancer, suicide jumping hardly seemed an enjoyable pastime. And, well, while Rein would be comfortably dead and unconscious as he recovered, Richard wouldn't be spared from having to set his own shattered bones. It was an experience he could do without.
Why was he putting thought into this, anyway? He shook his head.

But, yes, Rein was right, they would have to handle this. Richard would. He dove into this counseling business headfirst, underestimating the fall that it would prove to be, and the only thing he could do was sprout wings before he reached the ground.

Nimbly dodging Rein's slender hand, he laughed again. "Oi, there." he said. "Don't touch me. I feel weird enough having conversations like this without physical contact to top it off."
Richard fluttered his wings furiously, trying to shake off the numbness that was setting into them, then moved to circle around the boy's head. "I suppose this is goodbye, for now." He smiled, not that it was very visible on the small snout. "Have a nice day, my dear. I hope to see you again soon."
With that, he bowed his head, then rose above and over the lanky figure to fly towards the castle. There was just about enough time to make himself comfortable before the the sun appeared over the gray horizon.

"Alright alright." He chuckled as his finger missed and the bat spoke again. Reing tried to keep his eyes on the transformed vampire as he winged about his head, but it was difficult, as his next didn't go full circle. He nodded.

"Sleep well, Richard. Talk to you later." Rein watched the small figure disappear into the graying night quietly. When he lost track of him, the boy sighed and turned around to stare out over the ocean, returning his chin to rest on his knees. The castle wouldn't come to life with many people for some time yet, and with nothing better to do, the lijk just figured he would sit and watch the sun rise to shine again on his never ending waking hours.

He didn't know how long he sat out there. But it wasn't until the bright orb in the sky was high above the horizon when he picked up the pieces of Jim and walked off.