moral-cipher:

Again, in no particular order:

1. His intelligence. The way he is never content unless he has figured something out or discussed it from every aspect matches my own, and although we may both occasionally annoy each other, I would not be without our discussions for the world. Daniel has a fierce curiosity and a razor sharp wit, as well as a surprisingly large repertoire of literary and other references, which includes classical works as well as the twentieth and twentyfirst centuries. He is always able to take me off guard.

2. His fearlessness and his seemingly effortless ability to face the world head on. Though never cruel, he pulls no punches, either with himself or with others, and is not prone to the self deceptions or elaborate rationalisations which so many of our kind seem to have espoused. This more than anything gives me confidence in his ability to withstand the passing of the years without breaking under their burden.

3. His strange but indomitable sense of humour. Daniel can find something to laugh at in the very worst of situations, and even the smallest of everyday actions may be imbued with a strange kind of wit. I hope it may make his immortality easier to bear, as merely being in his company has made mine.

4. His beauty.

5. His ability to love me. As much as I’ve chided him for his morbid romanticism, I must nevertheless be grateful for his decision to run towards the monster, as it were, rather than away from it. Had he chosen otherwise, I would doubtless have remained as I was – unknown, unloved, unloveable, a drifting revenant preying on humans but hidden from them, until eventually I ceased to desire life.