He folded his fingers around hers gently, not possessive or even protective but simply... comforting. A simple human contact that spoke silently of his support for his friend as they talked about things that might be unpleasant. He, too, was surprised that her skin, though cooler than his own, was hardly lifeless, but found reassurance in it as he smiled at Samuel's name falling from her lips.
"A gentleman," he murmured fondly. "And a gentle man. He swore he'd never, ah, fed from another person before, only the gods at the shrine. It's good to know that you have that option, when the need arises."
Isla was a healer. She might be kind... but she was not so gentle as the bookmaker. The profession did not allow for timidity or fragile hearts, and Jigano didn't doubt that she would do what she needed to, in order to survive... but neither would she endanger someone unnecessarily. He returned her smile, flexing his fingers around hers as she squeezed, finding it a little strange to be sitting so near to a vampire - a thought he kept in the back of his mind, but after discovering Sam's... status it was hard to be as afraid of the Ascended as he had been of the bloodsuckers of his world.
"Then I shall hope it continues to be a choice you don't regret," he smiled, sincere in spite of his own reservations over it. She knew well enough that time might change her current feelings on things, and it sounded like there was still much to learn, but: "What advantages, may I ask? Aside from an aversion to sunlight and a need for replenishment, Sam wasn't as forthcoming as my curiosity would have liked." His admission was rueful, but not entirely regretful. He had learned a bit from his debacle of a conversation with Remi, after all. "From one researcher to another, I'd be interested to hear your observations on the transformation, what you've gained... and what you've lost, if it's not too painful to talk about it."
"A gentleman," he murmured fondly. "And a gentle man. He swore he'd never, ah, fed from another person before, only the gods at the shrine. It's good to know that you have that option, when the need arises."
Isla was a healer. She might be kind... but she was not so gentle as the bookmaker. The profession did not allow for timidity or fragile hearts, and Jigano didn't doubt that she would do what she needed to, in order to survive... but neither would she endanger someone unnecessarily. He returned her smile, flexing his fingers around hers as she squeezed, finding it a little strange to be sitting so near to a vampire - a thought he kept in the back of his mind, but after discovering Sam's... status it was hard to be as afraid of the Ascended as he had been of the bloodsuckers of his world.
"Then I shall hope it continues to be a choice you don't regret," he smiled, sincere in spite of his own reservations over it. She knew well enough that time might change her current feelings on things, and it sounded like there was still much to learn, but: "What advantages, may I ask? Aside from an aversion to sunlight and a need for replenishment, Sam wasn't as forthcoming as my curiosity would have liked." His admission was rueful, but not entirely regretful. He had learned a bit from his debacle of a conversation with Remi, after all. "From one researcher to another, I'd be interested to hear your observations on the transformation, what you've gained... and what you've lost, if it's not too painful to talk about it."
