Arno (19th century)

Arno was hired as a captain by a mysterious shipping company that had popped up seemingly out of nowhere in around 1804. His first route was from Genoa to Boston. Arno took the job in a heartbeat, though he knew nothing of the company. All he heard was that it paid well, and indeed it did.

While on his way out of the Mediterranean, Arno overheard something about the owner of the company being strange and reclusive, that he had a mansion filled with artwork, and that his name was Orlando. Arno had a gut feeling that it was his Orlando, so he turned the ship around and rushed back to Genoa just to see him again.

Once he was back in town, he demanded to speak with the owner of the company. He was shot down immediately by his mediators, but he insisted they tell Orlando of his presence. In the meantime, the mediators had him arrested and thrown in a holding cell.

Soon enough, however, Orlando came to him, bailed him out, and took him home. The two hadn't seen each other in ten years, and now they were finally together again. Orlando confessed to having used some of Arno's money to start the shipping company, and that a part of it was also used in his efforts to find him, but that overall, Orlando was surviving using the money he himself earned, and that he'd already repayed most of the money he'd spent from Arno's funds. Of course, Arno didn't care. He was just glad to be home.

During their years in Italy, Arno and Orlando were rather decrepit, as they only drank unenriched animal blood. They did, however, live in luxury, and every other need of theirs was met.

In about 1887, Arno and Orlando moved to London together, as Orlando was drawn to the sunless skies of Britain. He was also very interested in the glamour of it all, though they both would have preferred Paris (where they could not return because of what happened about a hundred years prior).

In London, Arno learned more about the decadent lifestyle, and artistic fashion, and started to indulge and treat himself to beautiful things. Orlando, who was already very much a hedonist, followed suit. The two of them made their large house the favoured meeting space for many queer aesthetes, a mingling ground for vampires in search for blood and carnal pleasures and for any human who would indulge them, though there was a strict vetting process to keep dangerous individuals out.

Arno started to develop an interest in art thanks to Orlando talking about art very often. He started to learn how to draw and paint, and found that he was naturally skilled at it, though he'd never really tried it before. He even sold some of his paintings and made painting a side job of his.

Arno and Orlando made a very good friend in London. Cecil, who had been a vampire since the mid 18th century, still dressed in that antiquated manner, but was a connoisseur of every vampire and their associates that roamed London, and was very helpful in aiding Arno and Orlando steer clear of dangerous, treacherous individuals. Cecil also translated for the both of them, in case their interlocutors' French was rusty.

Around this time is when Arno and Orlando officially got married. They had a vampire-specific ceremony calling on the devils of hell with an afterparty designed for sensualists and aesthetes such as themselves, with many human volunteers exchanging their blood for wealth and treasure. Though Arno and Orlando did tie the knot, they do prefer to keep their relationship open.

Because of the steady availability of human blood (which was given consensually) Arno was able to shapeshift into a bat again, as well as gaining dark vision and heightened strength and speed, something he'd not been able to achieve since his pirate days.

One regular guest of Arno and Orlando's decadent parties was Lysander, a vampire around 200 years old. E was an artist, a poet, and a writer with a flamboyant personality and an inescapable magnetism. Arno and Orlando included em in their "escapades" rather often, to the point that Arno started to develop romantic feelings for em. Upon discussing it with Orlando, the two of them found that they both had feelings for Lysander. They both awkwardly tried to drop hints, but Lysander didn't seem to pick any of them up. Eventually, Arno and Orlando outright confessed to em, and e confessed back, stating e was waiting for them to make an actual move.

Soon enough, the three of them formed a rather solid triad.

• Though vampires don't burn in sunlight if well-fed, sunlight is harsh on their eyes and skin, so they prefer cloudier climates and always carry parasols.
• In his time in London, Arno became a fluent English speaker.
• Arno was reluctant to stop wearing longer, embroidered coats, but made the sacrifice in order to stay fashionable. He did keep his beloved chatelaine, though.
• Arno still has a pocket watch he stole during his pirate days.
• Though he did cut back a lot, he still loves being drunk and/or high.