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Bon soir. I am Claudia de Lioncourt.

[Small, blonde, extremely curly. A little more articulate and staid in her manner than your average twelve-year-old girl. She's wearing a flowery T-shirt and a backward, pink baseball cap.]

I am seeking information on how family relationships mature as a child grows up, in this world and time. In my old world, it would hinge on marriage, and childbirth, and separation from the ancestral home. But it seems that times have changed. Or perhaps they never were.

I'm given to understand that ImPorts don't tend to have children or anything, but I'm open to hearing stories gathered from the natives. Or your other cultures. Apparently, there is a saying, 'when in Rome.' And it would seem there are infinite versions of Romes to choose from.

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...No. I've never been a mother. But I've stopped caring what people want from me.

Is that what you want when you grow up?

[Awkward pause.]

No, I suppose I've never even thought about it.

But my fathers didn't really want that for me either. The expectation wasn't there.

It's a bit strange that I assumed as much for you.

No offense taken. A lot of women decide to be mothers. I'm just not one of them.

Do you miss your fathers?

Oh, not really! They're here, actually. They came with me to this world. One of them is pitching a fit on this webpage. Service. Program, thing. I suppose I might have missed them if I'd been given the time and space apart, but such luxuries--

[She shrugs, then smiles wryly.]

Do you miss your parents? If they aren't here.

Oh, they're here? Don't know if that's a blessing or a curse, sweetheart.

[ A little pause before she goes on: ]

I don't really remember my mother anymore. She's been dead a very long time.

[The little girl smiles, wryly, more like an adult than a girl as little as she looks. And then it fades.]

Mine as well, actually. I mean-- the woman who gave birth to me. I'm sorry. I don't remember mine much, and sometimes I think that's better.

[ It's funny, but some part of Andy instinctively recognizes... Something in Claudia, even if she can't pinpoint what it is yet. ]

Well. Live long enough and time takes away everything eventually. Maybe you learned that earlier than most.

[Likewise. Kindred spirits.]

Maybe, [she says quietly.] I suppose that's meant to be frightening. Most people don't like endings.

No, most people don't. You don't seem like the type that frightens easy though.

I like to think I'm not. But I suppose... well. I know I'm not the most powerful creature to walk this Earth, not even close.

A little fear is wise, isn't it? Better to push back the ending for as long as possible, if an ending must come.

Well, you're a lot wiser than I was at your age. Probably would've made your mother proud.

[That's a lovely thought. One that, perhaps strangely, had never occurred to her before.]

Is that something you care about, yourself?

Maybe I did, once upon a time. But I'm very old and very tired now.

You don't seem that old, [says the least reliable source of age-related information in the multiverse.] Did you make yourself proud?

I'm older than I look. And I don't think I've done anything too special with my life, kiddo.

[ Wryly: ]

So do your best not to grow up to be like me.

You remind me of someone, [she says, after a moment.] He didn't like himself very much. But other people loved him enough to make up the difference. Or at least, we tried.

It sounds like he was someone important to you.

He was all I had, [Claudia answers, after a moment.] In some ways, he still is. But I suppose I've come to see that that's not how things must be, and perhaps not how they should.

That's a hard lesson to learn, when you're young. But you're not really like other children anyway, are you?

[ It's hard to know what she means by that. Maybe nothing more than the fact that Claudia seems more mature and well-spoken than other children. ]

[She hasn't been very good at pretending, it's true.]

I grew up differently, [she admits with a little smile.] In part because of Louis. In part because of Lestat. I know it's not fair to blame your parents for everything, but I didn't have the opportunity to make many friends besides them.

I suppose you have the chance now, if that's what you want.

Yes. I suppose that's true. And people are quite friendly, thanks especially to the Internet. There are so many people to talk to, about so many things.

Just be careful. Can't always trust people like that, you know? Strangers and candy, that sort of thing.

[That's mostly funny because Claudia herself is a sentient superpredator who sells candy for a living. She smiles, though. In reality, she's yet to eat anybody who's come to the shop.]

Yes, that's true. In every world, I suppose.

[ Andy is oblivious to the irony. Not that she isn't perceptive — Claudia is certainly not like other children — but she has a soft spot for kids, especially girls, and the first instinct is protective, not suspicious. ]

Well. If anyone gives you trouble, you can tell me.

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