The passion and interest that burned in his gaze was not lost on the woman. Aleyda's own gaze mirrored his interest, although she had thus far managed to suppress anything other feelings or emotions that threatened to rise, or worse, to show themselves. The man was drunk, that much she could tell, despite the fact that he held himself together particularly well even in such a state. She briefly wondered what it must be like to have even the smallest relief from the pain, to numb it or at least dull it, for even the briefest of moments. She supposed it didn't matter at any rate, she preferred her mind intact and her faculties completely under her control at all times, if she could help it, and it didn't matter how good you were, how tolerant or controlled you were, the alcohol would affect you in some way or another, even if it was simply to loosen your inhibitions or alter your judgment or memory, or numbing you. There was always an effect. Perhaps it was for the best, however disappointing it might be.<br/><br/>She glanced at the empty bottle and momentarily considered offering him some more, but it was, perhaps, better that he not get any more drunk than he already was. If he asked, she might consider it, but thus far he had not, so she left it alone. "Water?" she offered as she downed another pointless glass of the liquid. Not even the tiniest hint of a buzz, nothing to even faintly dull the edges of the pain that hid in the dark recesses of her mind, tucked neatly away in their own little boxes, hidden behind a carefully constructed wall to protect her from them.<br/><br/>She contemplated the information he gave her, mulling it over as she poured another glass. It was a curious conundrum to her. If her goal was to wipe out supernatural creatures and she was somehow involved in the death of her family, why had vampires been the ones to hunt them all down? And if she was after supernatural creatures, why kill her family? As far as she could tell, they were, at least for the most part, normal humans. Her mind wandered back to her father's research. She didn't know what he'd been researching, she had only been a child. She had been a curious child, but her father had been extra careful to keep her away from whatever it was. Did the answer lie in his research? The only problem was that pretty much everything had been destroyed, and what remained was locked away tightly and even she hadn't managed to find a way to get her hands on the notes.<br/><br/>She wondered if the woman had been the one to kill her family at all. What if it was about his research? And what if she wasn't the only one that wanted it? The vampires could have gotten to it first and killed everyone in the family on the off chance that they knew anything about the research. Or perhaps she went after those that remained in search of someone who might hold the answers she sought, but when they didn't have what she was looking for, she killed them. One way or the other, she was the last remaining member of her family, outside of the woman, which she assumed was the reason that the woman had sent many people after her, why the first few had tried to capture her, and why the woman wasn't the only one who had attempted to take her life. They wanted something they thought she had, or else they wanted her dead so no one else could get their hands on it. There were too many questions, too many possibilities. She needed answers. She sighed internally and stared down at the glass in front of her, swirling the liquid around as her mind ran through the possibilities.<br/><br/>The large army didn't scare her, although she wouldn't underestimate them either, she simply wouldn't let the threat of an army keep her from trying. She glanced up from her glass, regarding the man when he said that the woman feared something. "Or someone." she spoke the words almost absentmindedly as she thought about it. Was it her? Her father's research? The supernatural? Or perhaps it was some combination. "People like her rarely care about the lives lost in pursuit of whatever goal they have in mind. The lives of others are meaningless to them outside of how useful they can be in furthering the agenda." she replied and shrugged before taking a long drink.<br/><br/>"It has to be personal. It's really the only option that accounts for everything. The question is what is she after? What is the goal? And what makes it personal?" she spoke thoughtfully as she leaned against the counter and looked up at the man. She didn't know much about the woman's past, or if she did she didn't remember. "Obviously it somehow involves me. I think it might have something to do with my father's research. The only problem is that I know next to nothing about it. The only thing I know is that he was extremely secretive about it, protected it very well, and it was dangerous. I remember my mother and my grandfather telling him many times that it was dangerous. My mother even pleaded with him to stop before it was too late, before "they" found out and came for us all. And no, I don't know who "they" are, although it is quite possible that she was referring to the vampires that killed them." she speculated, despite the fact that she hated doing so.<br/><br/>"At any rate, most of his research was destroyed when they killed everyone and burned our home to the ground. I know where he hid the copies of his notes, the problem is getting to them and getting in. It's impossible without the key, believe me, I've tried everything else. Problem is, I have no idea what the key is, what it looks like, or where to even begin looking for it." She sighed before downing the rest of her drink and placing the glass on the counter with a light<span style="font-style: italic">clink</span>. "If I'm right, the only way to find the answers we need is to find that key and figure out what kind of research my father was doing, and how it involves her." she went on before standing up straight. "But that can all wait until morning, I assume.  I doubt we could get much done tonight anyways, and certainly not without some rest." she paused, regarding the man carefully once more. "I suppose there's no harm in letting you stay here, if you wish. You know, so long as you don't try to kill me again, hm?" she spoke the latter with a light and airy tone, a somewhat playful smile, making it obvious that she was only teasing and didn't truly expect that he would try to kill her.