New York || Day 1

[imaginationswoes]

[Running is the current plan but it isn't going well. She's constantly getting lost and she's reminded again and again that she's never been out of her small town alone. She misses her family and her friends but more than that she is really missing a warm bed. Her feet continue forward, the tall buildings towering on either side of her. It's impressive, as far as cities go, but its to close together.

To much can go wrong.

She must of made a wrong turn because Airy finds herself walking along a very shady part of town. Winter is setting in but she thinks of warmth and she manages to keep herself heated. She has a backpack around her shoulders and it looks like she's wearing a uniform: white button down, green pleated skirt, black jacket and a matching tie. It's most definitely giving some of the people here the wrong idea.]

Shit.

[Airy whispers softly under her breath, a puff of white leaving her warm lips. When she spots two men pointing towards her she runs. Her feet fly across the street and she's about 75% sure they weren't following her. Mist descends on the area and Airy one again curses under her breath. She's only getting more lost at this rate and running around New York after midnight isn't on her to do list.]

Comments

[imaginationswoes]

[Airy gives him a look that suggests that she isn't amused while also trying really hard not to smile. It probably doesn't have the affect she wanted.

She takes his hand and notes how easily he lifts her to her feet. Her toes slip a little until she wills the ice to melt.] Yup but only when I'm on my back. [A pause.] That's not what I meant to say!

[Airy's fingers grip her cheeks and pull down. Why is she so bad at talking to people? Why does she feel the need to say the first thing that comes to mind.] Nothing weird by it but yeah. You are and I'm sure you know it and use it as a little tool against people to get them to do you favors.

[She knows a girl who used to do that but to be fair she was really cute too.]

Anyway, [Back pedaling.] You have a question?

[charitaslamia]

[He laughs, not really trying to hold it back.] I may have gotten out of a traffic citation or two.

[He doesn't comment on her admiration, mostly because he's used to it by now. Instead, he nods.]

Yes. Do you believe in werewolves?

[imaginationswoes]

[Citation? Really? Airy just shrugs but makes a mental note to watch what she says. She is generally against ego boosting if she can help it.]

Ah, sure.

[Airy shrugs, she's never met one but if weird people like her exist then there are probably more weird people out there.]

[charitaslamia]

And what is your opinion on vampires? [Antonio is well aware his line of questioning is strange.]

[imaginationswoes]

[Airy is a little strange when it comes to things like this. Most girls are gaga over vampires and werewolves but Airy doesn't think it matters what someone looks like or what sort of species they happen to be. Given that she's never met either she can't have an opinion on it yet.]

I've never met one so I don't really have an opinion.

[She sounds a little tired. She wishes he'd just get to the point already.]

[charitaslamia]

[They came around a bend, then, and in the distance, a black car sat alone in an otherwise empty lot, though the buildings here were a bit nicer, and the streets were actually lit. He moved to the passenger side and opened the door for her and motioned inside.]

Considering what I've seen of you, I doubt you'd be surprised to learn, should you accept this invitation, you'll be riding to a nearby diner with one.

[imaginationswoes]

[She isn't surprise. She stares at him for a long moment as if a few thoughts ordered themselves and were put into place and then steps up to the car door.

Airy pauses looking over at the man curiously before looking back at the car. It is a pretty car.]

You know that only makes me more curious. [She doesn't think he's lying but she does want to know more.]

And I thought we were getting take out or something?

[charitaslamia]

[He nods, still offering the door for her.]

And we are, only it's in another neighborhood. I'll answer whatever questions you may have.

[imaginationswoes]

Cool.

[Airy feels weird having someone hold open a door for her but she shrugs and slips inside. Her backpack slides over her shoulder and then rests in her lap.

Is it a good idea to get in cars with guys who claim they are vampires? Probably not.

Does Airy care? Nope.]

[charitaslamia]

[He closes her door, then moves to his side, sliding in easily and starting the engine.]

And what are you curious about?

[Surely she must have questions.]

[imaginationswoes]

[There are a lot of questions and most of them sound absolutely ridiculous in her head.]

How about you just tell me what you want me to know?

[That's probably a shorter list of things.]

[charitaslamia]

What I want you to know? [He looks thoughtful for a moment.] Well, I won't be ordering anything when we stop. I don't have a need or a desire for food, at least not human food. [Another thoughtful pause.] I can eat it, but I'm not hungry, though I like cheese.

[He looks over to her briefly as he pulls into the street.] You make it sound as though I've developed some dark mystique. I can assure you, movies and literature have over-romanticized everything.

[imaginationswoes]

[Airy shrugs and tries really hard not to smile when he says he likes cheese.]

Well, I'm sorta used to people not wanting to talk about themselves. For example: What do you eat? Is it blood or something else? How long have you been alive? Have you always had the same name? What about the legends about Garlic or the myths with Longinus and the curse of bloodlust or in other cultures werewolfs and vampires stem from the same myth of shape shifting monsters. Recent stories are all pretty boys which work well for moves. Then there is the myth about sunlight and if I were you I probably wouldn't go around telling people how you'd kill a vampire.

[She manages to say this all at once and then continues without pausing for a breath.]

Then what about the religious implications, the mind sent after watching the rise and fall of different governments and death of loved ones. Really it sounds kinda sad and sucks but then what if vampires don't actually live that long. I don't really like guessing. [She likes guessing as much as she likes surprises... which she doesn't.] Oh! If you can't eat can we hit up Burger King or something then? I could really use a crappy hamburger, fries and a milkshake.

[charitaslamia]

[He smiles broadly at her stream of questions. It would seem he'd opened the flood gates.]

I do eat blood, though it's nothing supernatural, and so what blood doesn't factor in. Suffice to say, much like other foods, different vampires have different preferences. I, for instance, am not a fan of pork. Garlic is a very strong smell, and it offends the senses, but if a vampire were starving and craven, it would do little to ward him away. [He frowns slightly.] We can ruthless, heartless, and murderous, but so can humans. Many of the "myths" are simply that, old wives' tales making boogeymen out of people.

[Her further questions give him more pause, but he does turn the car toward a strip of businesses, a Burger King among them, as he continues.] We live our lives in cycles, much like the lifetimes of humans. I was born in the fall of 1467, in a small settlement outside Madrid.

[imaginationswoes]

People are the boogeymen of the world.

[She replies absently as if this is an argument she's had before.]

I have no idea where Madrid is.

[The truth is she doesn't even know where Ohio is. Maps aren't her thing.]

Let's see... [She holds up her fingers and counts.] 1467... 2015... that's 548 years. What do you do for that long?

[He shouldn't write a biography, it'd be like an encyclopedia of books.]

[charitaslamia]

[America.]

Madrid is in Spain, and they are, yes.

[He chuckles.] Several things, some of it boring. I traveled the world, wore many different faces.

[imaginationswoes]

You didn't really wear peoples faces?

[She clearly has idea idea what he means and she has to force her mind to stop wandering. Being in a moving vehicle isn't the best place for her imagination to run while and yet masks begin to appear around them and around the car floating in mid-air.

Airy groans suddenly feeling frustrated. She needs that milkshake.]

[charitaslamia]

[For all appearances, at least, Antonio doesn't look annoyed with her, but he does laugh lightly.]

Ah, no. I simply moved and changed my name. Antonio is my birth name. I use it occasionally.

[imaginationswoes]

So how many places have you lived? Can you tell me about them?

[It takes a few minutes for her to will the masks away but they slowly blink out of existence. Mostly it's the ones outside of the car that worry her. Luckily, Airy's noticed that people will try and come up for reasonable explanations when ridiculous things happen around her.

Her parents were doing it until the day she left. Only her best friend believed her when she mentioned what was going on.

As they near the drive through Airy leans over to look closer at the menu. She's totally fine with just leaning over Antonio to order.]

[charitaslamia]

[Antonio leaned back to give her space to order, a smirk of amusement on his face he made absolutely no effort to hide. They processed the food quickly, being the middle of the night, and he paid without any protest.

It wasn't until they were driving away, and heading uptown, that he thought it wise to resume their conversation.]

I've lost count. I've lived in the highlands of Scotland, several places across Europe, spent time in Mongolia and what is now China.

[imaginationswoes]

[When food is involved Airy usually has a one track mind. She orders changing her mind mid-order to the chicken tender-crisp meal and then making sure to get extra sauce. With her food in hand she sits back taking a long drink of her iced coke and then unpeeling her sandwich. The first bite is big as hunger sets in. Chicken, lettuce, tomato and mayo fill her mouth as she looks over towards Antonio.

She swallows and takes another long sip of her coke and then continues with her train of thought.]

That sounds so cool. I'd love to travel like that. [She sort of is now but she can't afford to leave the US and getting on a plan sounds like a bad idea unless she's knocked out.]

Where are we going now?

[Another few bites, these smaller and more manageable for her mouth to chew and her sandwich is gone. She takes another log sip of soda and digs through the bag for her zesty sauce and fries.]

[charitaslamia]

It has its appeal, to be sure, but it also comes with a degree of loneliness. [Or that might simply have been him. It was difficult to say, really.

He appreciated the zeal with which she ate her food, even if it was the over-processed muck they served at these places.]

That depends, really. How long has it been since you've slept?

[imaginationswoes]

[Airy doesn't care and as they zoom in his fancy car across town she pops fries in her mouth. After the first one she makes a weird face and then declares that her fries are cold. At which she decides to cover them in the sauce so it might mask the strange texture and taste of cold fries.]

I'm sorta expecting a life of loneliness now. [She says it as an offhanded comment and then changes the subject before she can dwell on her own words for too long.]

Slept? I am not really sure. I've been walking since...[Her phone had lost it's charge and her watch broke so she really didn't know the time.]

Sometime when the sun was rising. [She got chased out of her sleeping place from last night.]

[charitaslamia]

This power is a part of you, Airy. I'm sure you can learn to control it. [He frowns in sympathy at her cold french fries. It certainly didn't sound appetizing.]

I see. Well, if you're willing to continue trusting me, I have a bed.

[imaginationswoes]

[Airy finishes her food and the carefully rolls up the bag to keep the mess off his nice leather seats. She looks out towards the window noting the dark tint to the windows. He probably hates sunlight.] A don't know about controlling it...

[A light white star appears in front of Airy and she freaks out, quickly extinguishing it with her hand.]

Sorry...but um... you mean it? What if I set things loose around where you live? [If she could please charge her phone, not that having it could possibly backfire.] Or hurt you... somehow...

[As many excuses as she has the idea of a bed sounds amazing and he's a Vampire right? He can probably handle whatever her imagination cooks up.]

I don't really know what happens when I sleep...