As they drew farther from Dementia, the crowds thinned and soon, they were able to walk side by side again.

Trotting up the steps to her townhouse and pulling her keys from her pocket with hardly a sound, Danae twisted the lock, then waltzed inside, putting her keys there, kicking off her shoes there and setting her bag just there. The same spot, the same place, just as always.

She was a methodical woman, after all. Once inside, she shut the door behind Greer, then turned to smile at him.

"Come in; Make yourself at home. Shoes off, if you will. Just waxed the floor last night," she told him, then with a smile, she made her way through the hallway and into the kitchen, setting the tattered bag from Dementia Marketplace down on the counter.

Shoes off, if you will. Just waxed the floor last night

Greer kicked his shoes off without a second's hesitation. He then put them one on top of the other, next to Danae's shoes, and followed after her.

Her little place was nice. Not too frilly or girly, he thought, but also not the house of a business-obsessed control freak. It had a welcoming air, a hint of sophistication and a stronge dose of down-to-earth sensibility. Not a bad place at all.

Greer followed Danae into the kitchen and stopped, standing with his heels together and his arms tight against his sides, not sure of what she wanted him to do. Sit? Stand? Help her? Speak? Keep silent? He wasn't even sure if he should clear his throat and ask her, so he decided to just stand there and await direction.

Danae felt him standing there and out of the corner of her eyes, saw the stiff posture he had adopted.

Chuckling softly, she motioned for him to come to her side as she set up a cutting board and laid vegetables on them. Handing over a knife, she turned her head and smiled at him once again.

"You don't mind helping me, do you, Greer?' she asked as she moved to the bag, removing the rest of the items and putting them away.

You don't mind helping me, do you, Greer?

"Oh, oh no, not at all!" he said, just glad for some kind of direction. Greer rolled his sleeves up and accepted the knife, going right to work on the vegetables. This was something he could do, even if he couldn't fix a vehicle or take apart equipment or anything handy... He could read, he could memorize things and he could work in the kitchen.

Greer had them all chopped up in neat piles within a few minutes, humming quietly (and probably tunelessly) to himself.

Danae watched him out of the corner of her eye, wondering just how a librarian had become so proficient in vegetable-chopping.

Giving a slight smile, she turned back to putting the groceries away before reaching far up into the cabinet to get a pan. She made a note, once again, to bring the pans down to the shelf as she jumped and finally grasped the handle.

"Jeez..." she said to herself, setting the pan on the eye, turning on the heat, and starting with the meat passed as chicken that she had bought at Dementia.

Greer watched Danae hop up to get one of her pans and had to smile. She was too short to reach them up there but too stubborn to stand on a chair.

Interesting...

"I could get those down for you," he said. "Put them on a lower shelf or something, if you'd like." He had a feeling she'd say no. And he had a feeling she liked things being just a little bit hard in life... to keep her excited, keep her moving.

Hmmm.

"I could get those down for you," he said. "Put them on a lower shelf or something, if you'd like."

Looking up from the stove, she flashed him a smile. Not the kind that beamed, but the kind that subtly glowed. "No, no...That's alright. I don't mind, really."

It suited her, the pans being just there. So what if she couldn't exactly reach them without standing on her tiptoes?

Looking away, Danae set to cooking the chicken, finally taking the vegetables he had cut for her and tossing them into the pan as well.

The stubborn effiency definitely didn't escape his notice. This was the kind of woman who did things herself, thank you. There was an aura of quiet strength about her that he liked already. Someone had raised her right and more importantly, she had learned along the way from the ones who raised her.

Danae was so different from Raelin, too. So very different... it seemed they could be night and day if laid out beside each other, yet they would surely love and protect each other like sisters. Opposite halves of a whole, sun and moon...

And he couldn't help noting that Danae was beautiful even in her kitchen, tossing food in a pan.

Glancing back to see Greer watching her, she smiled again, her lips barely curving, then went back to stirring the amalgam of food within the pan.

Tossing spices here and olive oil there, she soon had it simmering away as she placed a lid over the pan, the steam from the food rising, clouding the glass.

Lost in the concentration as she was so apt to do, Danae brought out another pan, this one from under the counter and filled it with water. Without realizing it, she had begun to hum while adding seasoning to the water, then setting it too on the stove to begin boiling away.

Greer blinked at her, entranced by even this simple domesticity. She was definitely the sorceress and he was more the dull earth man, sitting at her feet and begging to be made an apprentice. Greer had felt that way about most of womankind in general, but some ladies more than others. Danae was certainly a shining example.

"Can I... help you? With anything else?" he asked finally, clearing his throat, shifting his weight from foot to foot.

Moving about the kitchen as if on air, Danae turned to him and smiled, shaking her head slightly as his question met her ears.

"Unless you'd like to watch this while I change...there's really nothing left to do," she told him with a smile, skirt swishing about her knees as she moved around the kitchen.

"So...Greer," she began, leaning up on her tiptoes to grab another bottle of spices before returning to the stove. "I know next to nothing about you, save for the few details of you being a friend of Raelin's and the current librarian...There has to be more."

There has to be more

Greer's eyes widened at this, even though Danae wasn't looking at him to see his reaction. Has to be more? It had been a long enough time since anyone had looked at him once, never mind looked at him twice. He wanted to ask her what the hell she was talking about but realized she wasn't just messing with him. She really wanted to know.

He cleared his throat. "Well... I like to read. A lot. And something about the color of my hair seems to attract the scum of the earth. When I'm even noticed at all, that is." This was already most of his word-quota for the day, but he decided to move ahead while he had momentum. "Yes, I knew Raelin." Had an affair with her was what he meant to say. A loveless affair.

Finally, the food was at a standstill, left only now to simmer and she turned to him, leaned back against the counter with her arms crossed subtly over her chest. Tilting her head, she caught only a glimpse of his wide-eyed reaction before his eyes turned to her again and she offered a quiet smile.

Knew Raelin...At that, she could only smile, casting her gaze downward for the moment. She had learned much of Raelin's past and knew all of the present...And she knew of Greer.

"Read, huh? Most people won't admit to that these days...God forbid they be intelligent," she said with a smile, before using her arms to hoist herself up onto the counter behind her. "So...You read...You knew Raelin...Your hair is a magnet for scum...What else?"

So...You read...You knew Raelin...Your hair is a magnet for scum...What else?

Well, put like that, his life really did seem boring. It seemed like one of those old colorless movies he'd heard about, those black and white films that had been splashed across movie screens long before he was born. His life sounded far too simple for the plot of one of the books he loved so much.

Greer sighed. His life sounded as boring as Raelin had realized it was.

It was hard to put into words the truth, though, that somewhere under all of the masks he wore, Greer Maddox wished many things. He wished for adventure and to do something wonderful, to earn the love of someone breathtaking and not to be forgotten. He wished many things, some of them so shadowy and mysterious that he only contemplated them in dreams. But not the least of which to wake up in the arms of someone who actually loved him one day. To some night not have cold and meaningless love, or loneliness. Even one night.

Silence... Raising a brow, she slipped off the counter and walked to where he stood, stopping in front of him and tipping her head back.

Apparently, she had struck a nerve, hit a vein, and somewhere along the lines, it was this very topic at hand, the subject of his life, that had changed him so.

"I apologize...if I've said anything to hurt or offend," she offered, reaching up and laying her hand on his arm. "I tend to be naturally curious and most times, my constant questions come in such rapidfire succession that I hardly know what I'm saying until...Well, until moments like these."

"No!" he said, surprised at his own voice. "No, no, Danae. You didn't say anything wrong. I just don't have people ask me questions often besides, which way is the bathroom? You know."

He swallowed and then bravely went ahead. "I've never talked much. Not like everyone else. I can quote you anything you want to hear but... coming from me it takes longer." Greer felt his face warm up a little. "I'm one of those people who dreams. Intensely. About living."

With her hand still resting on his arm, grounding him here so that he did not search for some escape within the depths of his mind, the planes of fantasy that resided there, she offered a reassuring smile. Slipping her hand into his, Danae tugged gently, passing by the stove to turn off the flames as she led him toward her living room.

Once inside, the food cooling on the stove, Danae took a seat on the couch and pulled him to sit beside her, never letting fo od his hand. Within him, she saw a man who sacrificed himself, and yet still, was neglected when all was said and done. "These dreams...Will you tell me about them?"

Will you tell me about them?

How to put them in words? He'd seen more than enough dawns that brought about the same old world when he had prayed for a new time to awaken in. Maybe a time when he could be a spy, an agent, a brave knight, an assistant to a prince. When he could ride a horse and collect magical rings or sit and just ponder the world beneath of a tree of knowledge.

"Sometimes I dream of being a spy. In the old days. During one of the wars. Or of working for MSI. A vampire woman, again and again. I see her, I think she must be from a book. I see her often and I know what to say in those dreams."

A vampire woman...Every part of Danae said that it was no character from a book, but a true to form vampire that haunted his dreams. But then, if she had yet to harm him...Pressing her lips together and turning moreso to face him on the couch, Danae tilted her head in curiosity, listening to the words as he confided in her.

Dreams were hard things to share, if only because of the implications they held and the secrets within. Close to the soul, they were a part of the person that held them and any word against them could shatter all hope...Dreams, fickle things, they were.

"A spy..." she echoed with a slight smile. In her own right, Danae was a spy for the otherworldly and as he told of wanting to become a member of MSI, Danae could only wish that he never would. THe life would swallow him whole and any wide-eyed innocence that he possessed would be swallowed. She knew, all too well, how jaded one could become...In MSI, there was no choice. All the world became mediocre and in that, it was the only way to live. "I do believe you'd make a wonderful spy, Greer."

I do believe you'd make a wonderful spy, Greer.

A smile chased across Greer's face, making him feel suddenly very warm and happy and almost relaxed. At least she hadn't laughed at him. And she was listening!

"Well, I blend in pretty well, except my hair. I could do something about that. And I could have traveled a lot, since I've never held on to anything. I can remember anything I read, you know. And I'm a good listener." He could just imagine himself in a long black coat, with a hat pulled over his eyes, standing against a building and watching the smoky, grey world around him. Learning secrets, carrying them like the books he carried within himself.

Chuckling quietly as he went on, his visions of a world that could come to pass amused her. Danae smiled as he spoke, crossing her legs and turning toward him on the couch.

"I see..." she said with a nod, finally feeling that she might someday be able to understand that quiet librarian sitting beside her now. It was not as if he was a complex man, in her mind, but merely that so little was known about him. His origins, his purpose, his wishes and dreams...None of that had ever been told to anyone and Danae had made certain that any and all that worked near or in conjunction with MSI were adequately profiled. But then, Raelin had said he would be of no trouble and Danae had agreed, satisfied with her near-sister's judgment.

"And if you were a spy, I do hope you'd be working for the Light side," she mused, knowing full well that his heart was too pure to turn to the Dark that threatened them each and every day. But then, in a world where Greer was a spy, perhaps the battle between Light and Dark would not happen...One could dare to dream.

And if you were a spy, I do hope you'd be working for the Light side

Greer nodded. "Oh of course! Of course I would. I think I could do a lot of good, too... Every time I find books about the world, before, I study all of it..."

He looked over at her, pleased that she was accepting of this idea. "Most people would have laughed at me," he said finally. "Thank you for listening, Danae."

Even Raelin would have never sat down and listened to his musings. They hadn't had a relationship like that. He couldn't really remember if they'd ever talked about much of anything at all.

It seemed that he had been so neglected in his world, cast aside for something more interesting...but then, she wondered if any had taken the time to know any part of him.

Patting his hand, she smiled, shaking away the gratitude he offered. "Why thank me for something I'm enjoying?" she asked, her hand remaining on his arm as they sat side by side. "I'm intrigued...I spend day after day with those who have lost their imagination long ago, knowing that what lies in the shadows is far more complicated than anything they could dream...To hear someone's dreams who has not been jaded by the things that creep in the night, it's honestly refreshing, Greer."

Standing to her feet, she beckoned for him to follow. "Come, let's continue this over dinner," she told him as she retrieved the plates from the cabinet and set them on the dining table in the next room, carrying the food next in order for it to be served.

Greer watched her get up, finding himself entranced by her grace. It had been some time since he'd watched anyone this way but he couldn't help it... she was a lady. She was everything Raelin was, but she was also more. Different. She was sweeter, maybe. Maybe?

He realized he'd been watching her instead of helping and bit into his lip. "Oh! Can I help you with anything?" he asked, leaping to his feet and following her.

Danae glanced back in time to see him rise from the couch and a slight smile crept across her lips before it faded just as subtly.

Sauntering into the kitchen, she gathered the rest of the meal and proceeded to the table, casting another reassuring smile Greer's way.

"Sure...You can help me by eating all this food that's been cooked," she told him as she took a seat on one side of the table, leaving the other side open for him.

Greer sat down in his designated spot, feeling nervous and awkward, as if he was suddenly a teenager all over again and sitting down to eat with a stranger. He shot her a quick smile. "Oh, uhm... yes. I would love to help you," he said, stopping short of saying 'I love food.' He really didnt know what else to say, so he nodded quickly and smiled again.

The food looked delicious. He couldn't remember the last time someone had cooked for him, and even so... never something like this.

"It looks wonderful," he said. Back to three word sentences. Oh well, it certainly felt like more familiar territory.

Danae smiled back at him, then served them both, portioning the food onto his plate before setting it in front of him. Years and years of training had taught her grace and poise, and when she had thought it was done, Antony had tossed her into classes for etiquette and now, when the Lords and Ladies that remained came to dine, Danae was seated at his right and Raelin at his left, before their demeanors were the rise and fall, the balance, the light and dark, of MSI.

"Thank you, Greer," she said with a nod, and with a simple bow of her head, she blessed her own food, then took a bite, glancing up at him with a quiet smile. "So...Greer, you mentioned working for MSI..." she began, not bothering to tell him that while he worked at the library, he already worked for MSI considering where the ownership rested. She had begun to wonder, somewhere in the back of her mind, if he would work for them. She knew that he was no investigator and perhaps with some time and training, he could become an acceptable resourcer, but...where he was needed would be something far more simplistic, and because of that, she hardly dared to ask...

So...Greer, you mentioned working for MSI

Greer nodded. She'd listened! And remembered even! He smiled a little, amazed at this person he had seemingly randomly bumped into. Maybe Danae Walker was the very shape of his destiny, the hand needed to take him from the shadows of his life and push him into something greater.

"I've always thought I might be good at it... I can remember large amounts of information," he said. "Really! I have a very good memory, especially where books are concerned. I could be useful with something, I'm sure... maybe reading through texts for information that people needed... I don't know. Something! I know a lot about the old myths and stories too. I know about ghosts and demons and vampires." He was particularly pleased to say that. He'd definitely done his share of reading about those subjects. "Other things too."

He took a bite of the dinner Danae had made. "It's very good," he said. He paused and looked at her, meaningful and serious suddenly. "The best I've had in a long time, and probably the best anyone's ever made me."

Her mind had already begun to work for a way to bring him into the ranks of MSI, but she knew that it would be a long and tedious process. To bring in an outsider with no experience, save for the books he read, it would be a detailed process that would surely give her cause to rip her hair out. And yet, something in his eyes said that he was worth it...

As he turned serious, Danae glanced up at him, catching the look and giving him a tender glance in return. Reaching over, she laid a hand over his, comfortable with touching him, though she knew not why. "It was my pleasure, Greer...I hardly have such wonderful company." A quiet laugh slipped past her lips then, a hint of melancholy accompanying it. "Actually, I hardly have company at all." But hadn't that been her own fault? She closed herself off, and yet somehow, she still had those friends who would fight by her side...Yet still, Danae Walker was as removed from the world as she could be, placing the veil of welcoming before herself...Always.

Being called wonderful company was a compliment of the highest order. Greer beamed at her, eating his meal with a new kind of pleasure. He was good company. Wonderful company! No one had said something like that in a long time.

Even then he was already deciding that he would do just about anything this Danae Walker wanted him to do. Having a friend was a precious thing and this was one opportunity that he didn't want to ruin. He wouldn't let her feel the loneliness he'd felt for so long. If people didn't come over and share meals with her, he would.

"I'm surprised you don't have company all the time, or at least people trying to come over. I'm sure anyone who's been here once would want to come again, and you'll have to build a fence one day to keep them all out."

It was kind of him to say, but in some way, Danae knew that she had brought this life upon herself. For years, she had hid herself away within the grand record halls of MSi or had spent the days and nights traipsing what was left of the countryside with her investigators, Marcus and Raelin. She had cast aside a life...the hope of a family, of a future, and she had buried herself beneath her work. She had become the midnight lover to the files and the charts and all those things that she knew she must complete.

By lamplight, by candlelight, by the glow of the moon and stars, she had come to live, breathe, and remain only for MSI. It seemed rightly so, she had decided, when her affections for the vampire who had been by her side for so long would not look twice at her in fear of what she might see, that truth within his eyes. Lost in thought, she finally turned to Greer and to him, she offered a grateful smile, inclining her head for the kind words he spoke.

"A charming scene to imagine," she said with a chuckle as she rose to clear the table of their used and dirty dishes. "And yet, I cannot see that myself, Greer. Those who choose solitude rarely burst into the light again."

He rushed to get up and help her, nearly tripping over his own feet. He finally regained control of his limbs and grabbed the remaining plates.

Choose solitude. He had certainly done that enough in his life, or rather, after realizing that most people found him as bland as the wallpaper, he had just kind of accepted it.

"Well..." he said, and hesitated a moment, "I think you're wonderful and whether you choose solitude or not, worthy of the highest compliments, best company and of course... you're very good at cooking." He felt his face warm up and realized he was probably blushing.

A warm smile took her face as he helped her gather the things from the table, setting them aside. When he left, she would finish the cleaning and get it all behind her. It was in those late night hours that she could not sleep; it seemed all the better to keep her idle hands busy, knowing that from time to time, she was able to lay rest her thoughts as well.

"You're far too kind," she told him quietly, looking away when she noticed the blush rising in his cheeks.

Wonderful...He thought she was wonderful, and yet, she could not feel so. In her eyes, she was ordinary. In her mind, she was plain...And in her heart, she was tired.

Glancing at the clock, she noticed the time and nearly sighed. It was late and surely he would need to be going. "You're all those things as well, Greer," she finally said, reaching out and touching his shoulder lightly before withdrawing her hand. "Thank you...for coming tonight. I suppose you'll be leaving now?"

Greer nodded when she asked him if he would be leaving. "I... If you'd like me to. You look tired," he said, not at all unkindly. And before he could stop himself and or think about what he was doing, he reached over and touched her cheek, looking at her color and wondering if she ever slept soundly. "White tea. Sometimes it helps me sleep," he whispered to her. "It's very soothing and relaxing. I could make you some tea before I go."

There were many times during the period that Danae had known Greer that she had found his quirks endearing, his demeanor charming, and in all of that, she had never questioned why Raelin could not be with him. She had the Dreamwalker, a being far greater than any man...And she had loved truly, with her whole heart. There was no love that could compared to that...

Danae offered a soft smile and fought against turning into Greer's touch as it fell to her cheek. He was far too kind for his own good, much too innocent to be jaded by her...And beyond all that, her heart, however much she wished it were not so, belong to someone else...

Someone who did not want her...

And so, why should she turn away the one man who wished to be her friend? Nodding slightly, she touched his hand, her fingers curling around his as she smiled once more. "White tea sounds like a good remedy to try," she replied quietly, looking into faceted eyes that seemed to change with every sway of the light. "Come on...I think I have some."

He got up and followed her, glad that she hadn't thrown him out. At least she'd understood that he was only trying to help her, just trying to make things a little easier on her.

"There's plenty of stories of white tea being miraculous. Or, you know, at least soothing. In history I mean. And books." He smiled quickly and pushed his hands into his pockets. "Tea's a wonderful thing... no wonder if survived the change."

Danae cast him a smile as he followed her, glancing back over her shoulder. Setting the kettle to heat, adding the water after she had turned on the stove once again, she leaned back against the counter, her arms crossed over her chest.

A quiet smile rested on her lips, watching him as he stood there, hands in his pockets like a young college boy. Danae could remember them, at least...The intelligent ones with their shyness and uncertainty. He was adorable, in his own way, but then, it seemed as though he was uncomfortable in his own skin.

Shaking the thoughts away, tearing her eyes from him, Danae pushed herself away from the edge of the counter and looked through a cabinet, bringing down a glass container filled to the brim with all sorts of teas, some loose, some bagged...Some simply...odd. Sifting through, she found what she searched for...Pure, white tea.

As she opened another cabinet and brought down two cups, she glanced over at him, nodding to his statement. "Oh, absolutely...It takes something grand to survive the changes, I believe..." The porcelain cups clinked against the counter before Danae dropped a bag into each one. "You'll join me for a cup before you go, won't you?"

And she had to admit, that for the moment, she did not wish for him to go...For the moment, the idea of being alone was all too close and much too weighted in her mind.