Usually, by now, Claudia would be off somewhere killing several innocent people along with Lestat..but tonight, she wanted some time to herself. She had gone through a bit of a tantrum, but she was calmed now..or at least as calm as Claudia could be. She sat in her bedroom, on her bed that she never slept on, humming as she combed the hair of one of her dolls. She'd been grooming each of her dolls for the past hour. The ones that were looking far too ragged, she sat in a small pile to go in to the trash. She had far too many..but thinking about it only made it worse. Each doll represented a year of her life that she'd never grow, and it only made her angrier. 

She decided that it would be best if she got rid of some of them, that way it would be harder for her to keep track of an estimate of her age. Her door was closed mostly, but there was a slight opening to it. This signaled that she was allowing Louis and Lestat to enter, if they so chose. 

Louis was pacing back and forth in the living room, pondering his life, or what was left of it, and attempted not to dwell on the fact that he was cursed for all eternity. It was a difficult task, but lately he was trying to have a better outlook on his new found way of life. While partaking in his little walk, he was startled by a noise coming from Claudia's bedroom. He paused momentarily, eyeing the slightly open door for a few seconds before walking towards it. "Claudia?" he called out, waiting for her to answer.

When she did not respond, Louis quickened his pace only slightly, approaching the door and pushing it open slowly. "Are you alright?" As the door opened, the dim light from the candle at her bedside brought her into view, sitting upon her bed clutching one of her dolls.

Claudia heard her name being called but she stayed silent for the time being, mostly because she heard him walking toward her room. When he opened the door the rest of the way, she paused in her humming, and she removed the brush from her doll's hair. "Hello, Papa Loius." She spoke in a small voice. "I'm fine...are you alright?" she asked with a small tilt of her head. "I hate to see you sad..come. Sit." She spoke mostly like an adult. It was a little odd to hear some of the things she had said come out of such a sweet looking little girl...Especially when she got angry.

She moved to the side, allowing him room to sit with her. She placed her doll down beside her to be polite.

Louis flashed her a smile and went to sit down next to her on the bed. "And how are you tonight, my love?" he asked, finally reaching the side of the bed and sitting down upon the comforter. He glanced over at the doll she had placed next to her, smirking as he saw that it's blonde hair was perfectly combed.

She couldn't lie to Louis. If no one else, she was always her most honest with him. "Sad, papa," she spoke quietly. "But as always, I will be okay." Spoken as though the words were coming out of the mouth of a woman, Claudia stared up at him with innocent blue eyes. "I'm getting rid of some of my dolls.. they remind me of how old I truly am, and it makes me ill. May I burn them?" She asked with a small tilt of her head. 

It was really quite alarming how it must have sounded, coming out of the mouth of such a young girl... but it was the best way she could think of getting rid of her memories. Completely demolishing them. 

Louis simply stared at Claudia as she spoke, wondering why in the world she wanted to get rid of such beautiful and expensive dolls. He eyed over the mountain of small figures behind her, noting that some of them were old and tattered. He recognized a few of them from the early days, the first few that Lestat and himself had picked up for her.

Louis glanced back at Claudia's sweet face, staring up at him with want and wonder, as if asking him to please allow her this one action. "If that would make you happy, Claudia my love, you may get rid of them. But, don't you think it would be best to only burn the damaged ones. We could give the others to the church. There's no use in burning perfectly good dolls is there?"

The lust for violence was only calmed by Louis. Where Claudia had wanted to set the dolls on fire, completely killing any memories of her years that had been lost being a young girl, Louis was convincing her to give them to children - real children - in need. "Very well," she spoke, sounding rather defeated. "I shall donate some of my dresses to them too, Papa." She had oh, so many. Professionally tailored for her, of course, and made from the finest cloth. 

"Papa Louis," she rested her hands on her lap, sighing quietly. "Can't we go somewhere? I'm sick of being here." It wasn't just being there that had been driving her crazy..she was desperate for some sort of change. Anything would have done. She couldn't change her appearance, she couldn't change her voice.. she couldn't change anything. Maybe some other scenery would be a temporary fix. 

Louis smiled when Claudia offered some of her dresses along with the dolls, feeling extremely proud of the young lady she had become. "I'll get some boxes together for us to store them in." He placed one of his hands on her back, rubbing it gently and smiling down at her, her curly hair brushing against his sensitive fingers.

When she asked if they could leave, however, Louis's smile softened a bit. He would have loved a change of scenery himself, but unfortunately for them, Lestat was part of their small family and seemed quite at home in their current dwelling. "I'm not sure Lestat would go for that, my love."

Claudia knew that Louis had been with Lestat for a very long time..and if Louis thought that Lestat wouldn't go along with them willingly, then perhaps he was right. Still though, it wouldn't deter her from attempting to convince the two of them to leave...even if she had to use her manipulation to do so. "Very well," she spoke softly, in a rather defeated tone. After a moment, she stood up from the bed, and moved to stand in front of Louis, gently resting her hands on his shoulders. "I suppose then, we'll have to convince him to see it our way.. won't we, papa? Don't worry," she mused reassuringly. "We'll not leave him behind."

Louis smiled down at his daughter and brushed a strand of her curly hair behind her ear. Such a sweet and innocent thing she was, and yet, so mature as well. It had taken him a while to get used to the fact that while her body remained the same, her mind and spirit aged as the years had passed. She looked like that of a young girl, frail and kind with innocent eyes, but she was much more than that.

He chuckled deeply as she spoke of trying to convince Lestat of seeing something any other way than his own and gave her shoulder a gentle pat. "I'm sure you will make a very convincing arguement, my love." He flashed her another smile and leaned forward, wrapping his arms around her and giving her small body a gentle squeeze.

A giggle chimed from Claudia when he pulled her close to him. She loved hugs from her Papa Louis. Although their skin was normally cold, when he had her in his arms it was so warm...it felt like home. "I hope so," she mused, speaking of how she wanted Lestat to agree to leave with them. They were both important to her.. she didn't want to think of leaving either one of them - but she'd do what she'd need to do to be happy. 

"Where will we go, Papa?" She asked, leaning back to look at him with wide, excited eyes. "We should go to Italy. Rome!" Someplace posh. Like Lestat, Claudia was far too pompous to ever settle for anything less than the finer things in life. 

Louis chuckled as Claudia excitedly spoke and started suggesting places for them to travel to. He didn't want her to set her hope to high, for Lestat might not agree to go at all. Even if he did, he wasn't sure of how far he would be willing to travel. He didn't need Claudia getting upset because they weren't going to a place she had already decided on. He grazed her cheek with his hand and smiled at her.

"My love, let's not get carried away now." he said, placing her gently back on the bed. "I don't want you getting excited about a trip that may not happen. I will do my best to convince him, but I can not promise you anything." He reached his hand out, gently brushing under her chin and sighing. "Why don't we wait until we an answer out of him before making any further plans?"

Although Claudia had faith in herself that she could convince Lestat to go along with her plan of leaving New Orleans, she decided to allow herself to give in to what Louis had asked of her..that she wouldn't get her hopes up just yet. Still though, the girl looked positively deflated. "Yes, papa.." she spoke softly, with a hint of a pout. Normally this would be where she had some sort of tantrum, but Louis had a calming effect on her that ebbed the hissy fit away. Still standing in front of him, with her hands clutching his shoulders, she leaned forward and kissed the top of his head. 

Once she stood upright again, she released her grip on his shoulders, and turned to walk toward the french doors that led out to a balcony. "I'm sorry I'm so restless, papa.  I need a change.. something.. something has to change." 

Louis watched Claudia walk towards her balcony, a saddened look on his face as he listened to her speak. He knew she was restless and knew that the fact that she didn't age was nearly tearing her apart. From the beginning she had always dreamed of growing older, like the women she saw in the streets when they went on their little outings. He stood slowly and walked over to meet her, his arms swaying at his sides.

As he reached her back, he placed his hand on her shoulder and smiled. "Why don't we redecorate your room? Or get you a new wardrobe? I am sorry that I can not do more for you, but I can certainly try to make your life more fulfilling."

Claudia knew that Louis was doing everything that he possibly could do to make her happy..and she never wanted to seem as though she didn't appreciate every little thing he did for her. When he touched her shoulder, she let out a soft sigh. Although the idea of getting a new wardrobe was appealing, it was normal..she hardly ever wore the same dresses twice. However, perhaps a bit of a redecoration of her room would be a good idea. 

"My room?" She spoke, quirking a brow. She turned to look at him, and suddenly, her eyes were brightening. "Could it be more grown up, Papa?" Her room was decorated of that like a little girl. She wanted darker colors, and silk sheets. She wanted a room like a grown woman would have.