[Sounded like that, yeah.]

[I don't even know if he'll be back. Anytime soon, I mean. I'm pretty sure there's no getting rid of him in the long run.]

[Not without drastic measures, maybe. He's awfully persistent.]

[No drastic measures, please.]

[Okay.]

He sighs. [Thanks.]

[You're welcome. I don't suppose you know why he's so interested in popping up in your life on a regular basis?]

[Because he likes me?]

[Or something.]

[Really, that's why. He likes me and he's Rayne and this is how Rayne likes people.]

[Why does he like people in this way?]

[I'm supposed to know?]

[Well, I'm not planning to ask him.]

[He'd lie, anyway.]

[Among the reasons I'm not planning to ask him. I mean, I could tell if he was lying, but that doesn't tell me what the truth is.]

[Does there have to be something more to it than 'because he's Rayne and that's how he works'?]

[That doesn't tell me what the - moving parts are.]

[Mm?]

[Well, impulses to do things are made of stuff, even if they're mostly just smaller impulses. I don't expect humans to have a 'like people by intermittent stalking' basic indivisible drive. Vampires maybe, the Aurum kind.]

[Intermittent stalking isn't exactly how he likes people. But, I don't know, intermittent stalking is not a surprise coming from him. He just - he doesn't like very many people. I might be the only one, actually. I've never seen him get like this about anybody else.]

[Also vampiric. Have you ever seen him eat solid food?]

[A mated vampire wouldn't leave you alone for stretches as long as he does anyway, I guess.]

[Right, definitely never let him visit Aurum.]

[He's already on the definite-no-list for when Jan'es back.]