"It's very comfy," Max agrees, nestling into the pillows again once he has his drink in hand.

At the looks from both of them, he gives a half-hearted shrug. "I tried a cigarette once, but it mostly just stank. And when my dad smelled it on me, he gave me the talking to of my life. My grandma died of lung cancer before I was born. I...didn't know until he told me that day. I guess I took it to heart because I never touched another one ever again after that. And now, where I work, I wouldn't be allowed to anyway." Max looks briefly at Lucas when he says that.

One time Max asked Erik what he thought of smoking and was treated to a nearly two-hour-long tirade about what hell the fifties and sixties had been for vampires all over. The stench of cigarettes permeated everything. A vampire's sensitive nose couldn't escape it. Sometimes, Erik will complain that certain suits he wore from that era still carry the smell like a stain. In short, the vampire can't stand the smell of smoke anywhere near him without getting pissed off.

"Let's just say my employer is, uh, staunchly anti-smoking."