Rose, or more known as Thron, stepped out of her car as well and locked the doors. There were only two doors and the 'lock' button was recently fixed, to the 'Chink' sound came to ear as the doors locked. She closed the door and jogged around the car to catch up with Dan.

She felt rather underdressed to be walking into such a place. Dan at least looked presentable, in her oppinion at least, but she wore the Blue jeans with holes in the knees and one across the leg, battle scars from a bad skate experiance. She wore dirty running shoes that were for the most part dead, and a black shirt with a motorcycle printed on the front. Her hair was a mess and make-up was smeared under her eyes from rubbing it. This hadn't been so aparent on the dark beach but now, in the dim light, it was all to noticable.

The Twa Corbis looked crowded to her and she followed her new found...er...company, closely into the irish-style pub. Let him lead, he knew the place better then her.

~*~Reserved for Celtic~*~

Dan Gal Gran waited until Thorn was through the door before following her in. He followed thorn to wherever she was going to sit, his sandles lightly slapping on the tiled floor of the tavern. He saw an empty booth. He pointed this out to Thorn. "There is an empty booth." he said, gesturing to it. He walked over to the booth and sat down with a pomp. He waited for Thorn to sit down as well before asking what she was going to have.

Thorn followed him closely to the booth and sat down across from him, sliding into the booth rather then plopping down. She rearranged the silverware that was on the table, as well as the glasses and the salt and pepper shakers. She picked up a napkin and began to rub at her face where the mascara was again, attempting once more, to rid herself of it.

“Just a coke.” She said, then resumed their previous conversation. “Or maybe you should just move out of there. There are other places that are cheap and not so deep into that bad area.” She looked up at him briefly. “Gone now?” She asked of the make up. She’d gotten some of it that time but her face remained tainted by it.

The pub was aglow with life. Dan Gal Gran had studied his menu as the woman did. He desided on a nice light drink, perhaps a light beer. He ordered one, and looked around. People were toasting and clinking their glasses, or going off on harmless drunken banter.

"Um." he said, responding to Thorn's question. "It is gone enough to be presentable." He said. "Light Beer please." he requested. "Well, I would move out." He continued the conversation. "But I've looked around, and trust me, it is the only apartment within my budget..." He explained. "I really do not have a dependable job, well, no job, actually. I'm living off the money I got when I left..." He trailed off before he realized his mistake, he should try to avoid cuing people on to the fact he had to leave his court in exile.

He'd trailed off and she frowned at him. Well, at least the damned makeup was finally fixed. She smiled at the way he'd attempted to be polit while saying it wasn't gone. Now her black brows knitted in a slight frown.

"Left what? Home?" Leave it to Thorn to be curious enough to want the answer but unconciously give them a lieing route. She ordered her coke fromt the waiter and watched him leave. She picked up the suger packs and sweeten low packs and began to lay them out in a picture form.

A drop of sweat began to form on his temple. He should not have said that, now he had to be very careful in how he worded his sentences from now on. Atleast right now, he had to. The world seemed slower, and it seemed to be all ears, waiting for his lie. Would it be transparent enough to clue the girl on to him being an initiate?

"When I left my home town, after I lost my family." He lied. It was a believabe lie, but he wondered if Thorn could see through it. "Yes, I left my home town with a little bit of money and I have been living off that." He concluded.

Of course she knew he was lieing, but she quickly decided not to push this one. She leaned back aginst the booth. “I see.” Her hands were still moving over the sugar packets. “Dan, where is your home?” Just a curious question. Though one that may have incidently trapped him aginst the wall.

((Sorry so short, I’m not feeling well.))

**ooc: quite alright, I don't post a lot either.**

Dan blinked at the question. He immediately knew she had not gone for his lie, it was a social cue kind of signal. He did not have a good lie to that question, but he could not tell the truth or he would seem crazy, or would he? He did not know. The question was a tricky one. It pinned him against a conversational wall. Could he lie? Would it work? If he failed, he'd have to walk on the truth, if he made it, well, he still would not be out of the hot water just yet. His eyes wavered for a moment, and he looked down at his beer for a second. The light reflecting off the bottle was distorted into a ring that wrapped around the bottles lip. He peeled the label off the beer slowly, chipping at the paper with his nails.

"Where... is my home?" He echoed. "My birth place home?" He asked. "It was a small... sea-side town, up north..." He partly lied. It was true that his home was a sea side colony, but it was not on the land, it was under the water. "I came from a small sea-side town that is north of Bayville, in another state, near colder climates. You know, like Maine, somewhere around there... cold waters, cold winters, almost perpetual winter..." He explained. It was true, he was an artic selkie. He mapped his next words very carefully, for he knew how much of a bad liar he was.

Her steal eyes flicked away from his face as he lied through his teeth. Her eyes flicked down to the coke that had been placed before her. Her attintion was finally brought away from the sugar packets and she picked up the spoon that was wrapped in the silver ware and dipped it Into the coke and fished out the ice cubes from the contents, listening to him ramble on further, deeper into his lie and the further he went, the harder it would for him to find away out. But, luckily for him, the brat liked him and so Thorn decided not to challenge the lie. She was a grand liar, how else could she live her life as Thorn Van Heltin even though she was really Rose Abigail.

Thorn smiled when he stopped talking and continued to fish out the ice, cube by cube, and drop them into the napkin. “It sounds nice.” She smiled at him, though her voice was truthful and honest, she allowed her face to betray her words. She was letting him know she didn’t believe him while also silently telling him that she wasn’t going to make him tell her the truth.

Dan Gal Gran looked down, his deep blue eyes darkened, realizing the true situation he was in. He continued to peel at the label on his light beer. The small ripping noises coming from it. He didn't really want to know how Thorn saw through his lies. He had to tell the truth. He looked back at Thorn and gave a weak smile. Then he looked back down again.

"You... do not believe a word I just said, do you?" He asked. "It is alright. I know you do not need the truth, but I see no other way to make up for my lies than to tell you." He glanced back and forth and leaned in close over the table, gesturing for Thorn to do the same.

"I am.... you are not going to believe me if I say this..." He whispered. "I am not human..." He said, very quietly. "Please don't make a seen." he whispered.

Thorn did as he motioned her to do and leaned forward over her glass of coke and discarded ice. She had one eyebrow raised disbelevingly and her hands folded innocently in her lap.

"Alright then." Was her reply. She reached out and pat him on the head in a dismissing way, the way an adult wouold to a child. Thorn leaned back and took a drink from her glass. Obviously, she wasn't Innitiate. But she was well on her way to being so.

Dan Gal Gran felt a little insulted by being patted on the head, but he supposed it was the expected. Normally when you say your not human people think you are nuts. The truth can seem like a lie sometimes, but it is the truth non-the-less. He sat up, and resumed peeling his label. He stopped for a moment to take a swig of the light beer, then went right back on to peeling the label. He looked down at the table, up at Thorn, and then back down at the table. At long last he sat up and looked at Thorn.

"You took that surprisingly well." He said in a low-tone voice. "I always thought that humans would find me crazy if I told them I was a selkie." He continued in such a tone as no one sober enough to listen in on conversations would be able to hear him. "Are you an initiate as well?" He asked. He hoped the answer was yes, though he had a sinking feeling that she was not.

She silently listened to him speak, trying to decide whether he was crazy and she should humor him further or if he was just kidding around with her. She'd heared of selkie before, in some myth or fairytale or something running along those lines. She slouched into the booth, shoulders hunched slightly, in a relaxed sort of way, her steel gray eyes studying him closely.

Are you an initiate as well?

She raised a slim black eyebrow, in so a thought crossed her mind, maybe she should get that pierced, and then her mind was back on the conversation. "A what?" All she said, and she hid her curiosity not one bit.

Dan Gal Gran slouched in closer as well. He stopped peeling his label, mostly because he had peeled the whole thing off. He had put his elbows up on the table, now his forearms rested on the table's surface as well. The table was slightly sticky, most likely more than one beer had been spilled on it before. He wondered how often that Twa Corbies washed their tables.

"A selkie." He repeated in a low tone. "Seal people. We live in the ocean and can become humans by shedding our skins." He explained in the low tone. "I really come from a court of selkies, I have been exiled from it. That is why I have no family, or, as it were, striped of them." He said in the hushed tone.

His deep blue eyes shifted left and right, looking at the people in the pub. The did not seem paying any attention to him. Good. They were not paying him any attention, therefore he was being quiet enough as to not attract attention.

She rolled her eyes a little, not really because she was annoyed that he'd explained what she hadn't wanted him to explain, mostly to let him know that he'd explained the wrong thing.

"I know what a Selkie is, Dan," She wasn't being as quiet as he, but her tone was so casual that no one would pay her any mind. "What did you mean, am I innitiate? Innitiated in what?"

Dan Gal Gran blinked. He knew the answer would be no, but he really had hoped that it was yes. His eyes dimmed slightly. He understood the social cue that Thorn had given him. He didn't need to explain that, but he really felt it necessary. That was a mistake on his part. He glanced over at the bottle of light beer. It was empty. He drank a lot in his last swig of it. He looked at Thorn again.

"Initiate... part of the magic society." Dan said. "If you are initiated to the society, then you know completely about magic. Humans that claim magic exists are often locked up in loony bins so their ideals cannot harm other." He said, continuing in his low tone. "It is often assumed that magic is just what cannot be explained, but it still exists, without human belief." He concluded.

"..." She stared at him for a moment, a blank unreadable expression. Finally, she sat up straight from her slouched back position, streached her muscles in her back, and then leaned forward over the table a little, chin on hands and elbows on the table top. The stickiness was felt and she wrinkled her nose and pulled her elbows back of the table.

"Yyyeah." She sounded unconvinced, the only problem was that this was actually sounding intriging to her.

Dan Gal Gran sat up too. He really wished he could have another beer. Just one, but he knew that this was his only money, he could not spend it on luxury, especially trying to drown the doubts of some girl he met only today. It was a sticky situation, but she was off his case. She didn't believe a word he said, so he was pretty much off the hook, at least, so he thought. Was he really of the hook? Or was she playing with him? Who knew.

Is she playing with my head? Does she really NOT believe me? 'Cause that would be just great. Does she? She doesn't look like she does, but I'm not so sure about it. Maybe? I'll rest with maybe, but I won't play all my cards just yet, I can't risk it. If she believes me, then I can either play the rest, or fold. If she doesn't, then I can play my full hand!

"Yeah, I'm pretty full of it." He said. "I don't know how much of that I just drunken babble." He said, of course, none of it was. "I mean, I'm in a bar, and I tell you that crap, and probably half of it is fake, made-up, or stuff like that." He lied. All of his little bravado to pretend that he was 'full of it' was a lie. A very transparent lie, because he had just gone from serious to trying to re-assure Thorn he was making it all up. He had never been a good liar, too out going for that. He was a very friendly selkie, once you got to know him. "Yea." he murmurred.

Once again, Thorn raised that slim black eyebrow, curious once again. She wondered briefly if she’d found herself tangled up with some impulsive liar or something. She nodded her head as he spoke, floundering around with his mismatched claims. She looked at her glass and took another quick drink of the coke, then returned the gray gaze to him.

“Just stop.” Not a shout or anything, no, more like a flat demand. “Just…” She looked around for a minute. “So. What exactly brought you to Bayfield of all places?” Different subject. Good. Maybe this would slow down the conversation.

Dan Gal Gran stopped, just as requested. He looked straight at Thorn, is deep blue eyes devoid of light or anything else. He nodded to her question, wishing ever so much he had another beer. His mouth was a little dry, but he could not spend any money on the beer, it wasn't a good idea.

"Bayfield? I don't know." He mused. "I'm not sure why I came to Bayfield. I just... happened upon it one day, it was just there. I had wandered very far from my home, and I had almost given up hope of finding a suitable place near the water in which to recoup my loses, and Bayfield just happened to be a shining beacon of restoration and ressurection to me. I felt that all of my dreams could be rebuilt in Bayfield, because it was a city, and from what I had heard about cities, dreams can come true in them." He nodded as he spoke. "But that is all a romantic idea, dreams coming true in big cities, but I can't let a few truths get me down, I have to look above the dirty streets to the sky above, my goals are as high as the sky, and as long as I try, anything I wish can come true!" He seemed to be in higher spirits as he spoke these motivational words. He was driven by a motivation right now, a sudden transition between denial to optimistic hope had just happened.

She smiled a little as he spoke, his tone softening and he seemed to become more relaxed. That was better. Closer to what she had in mind for small talk. She wondered at what time it was and noted that he had emptied his beer bottle. She looked down at her glass, having mostly emptied it. The napkin next to her was drenched, the iice having melted.

"That's...nice." She smiled. It was sincere, it sounded odd coming from someone that looked like her. She was set on pissing off her parents, driving the cops absolutly mad. She was one of those people that left the impression that she hated the city, Not really though. And that showed on her smile as he spoke.

Dan was now happy again. The attempts to mask the truth and the lies faded away, melting like the tides back into the great ocean. His deep blue eyes were lit again, no longer reflecting bad thoughts or memories of the past. He was now free of the consuming memories that ate at his soul.

"So, why did you chose this city? Or do you have parents here?" He asked, trying to continue the delightful converstation. "Thorn... that is a very... interesting name. I am curious as to why your parents named you that. Normally humans name their children adjectives like 'patients' if they which for the child to possess that certain trait or normal names like 'April' or 'Jennifer.' 'Thorn,' the only human name I could even possible infer that to would be the name 'Rose,' but only because, as they human saying goes 'even the sweetest rose has thorns.'" He is tone was not inquisitive, just a thought.

Thorn could not supress the glint in her gray eyes. The smile that had been lingering on the corner of her lip broke through as he spoke of her name. She picked up the fork and began to poke at the soggy napkin. It made a protesting squish and water leaked out onto the table.

"I grew up in Bayfield." She replied. "About three different areas of it. My parents still live around here." She sat up a little straighter, one elbow on the table, she was now attempting to mop up the water with the wet napkin. She chuckled softly. "'even the sweetest rose has thorns.'" She repeated his words softly. Then she nodded. "My name is...was Rose. Of course, if you tell anyone, I'll kill you." She held up the fork, the sopping napkin stuck to the end. It fell off and landed on the table with a squishing sound and a little splatter of water.

'I'll kill you.' These words were as intimmidating as the gesture. Dan Gal Gran had never guessed her name was actually Rose, but had assumed that her parents wanted to be a little different and name their daughter after one of a rose's attributes. Her fake name, Thorn, seemed to match her personality much better than the name of 'Rose.' He had seen and smelt roses before. They were very sweet smelling, but their thorns hurt. She was the business end of the rose bush. He began to smile.

"This rose has many thorns." He said in a joking manner, smiling as he did so. His smile faded, then he grew less wimsical, but still light. "So, you were born here? And grew up in various places of Bayville?" He repeated her words. "So, does that mean that you moved multiple times? Moving is hard, but I guess, as long as you keep the same school you won't lose your classmates and friends..." He said, musing over the topic.

The bartender called for last orders, as it grew time for the bar to close, as well as the conversation. Not much time left, but the conversation could still close in a good or bad way. The last call meant no less than 10 minutes from closing time. It was late, Dan Gal Gran wondered how late it was. At what time did this city sleep? He looked back to Rose and waited for an answer.

((My brothers on and dosn't want to sign off. I'm going to reply on his SN because I'm not going to be home for the rest of the night to reply.))

As he may not know, being new, she'd learned many times before, from various people, that this city never rested. It was always pumping somewhere. She took the last drink from her glass and set it down, pulling some money from her pocket.

"I didn't have too many friends. Mostly boys. I never had the same school and finally I gave up. My mom homeschooled me and my friend, Jason." She smiled at the name. It was a smile with saddness and happiness in it. She looked to the bar. "Sounds like closing time."

Dan Gal Gran nodded slowly. He felt a little tired. He tried to fight back a yawn, but it came anyway. He was tired, and there was no denying it. It had been a long day. He picked up the empty bottle of light beer and dropped it into a nearby recycling bin. It felt with a tink as it hit the other bottles in the recepticle. He stretched, making a little straining noise before exhaling. His arms dropped losely to his sides, hanging limp before re-animated as he began to walk for the door, reaching out for it, he held it open for Thorn.

"It is late." He said. "We best be getting back to our homes, and you to your family." "I had a good time this evening, Ms. Thorn. I can walk from here, I just need my duffle bag." He said.

She exited through the door held open for her and pulled her keys from her pocket and unclipped them from the belt loop. She turned around, walking to the car backwards while looking at him.

"We should do this again, I had fun too." SHe frowned. "I usually don't." Probably because she spent so much time trying to be a rebel. "I can drive you if you'd like." She offered, they reached the car and she unlocked the door and grabbed a pen Clicking it open and closed over and over, she waited for his answer.

Dan Gal Gran reached across the passanger's seat and grabbed his bag. The duffle bag gave a little wvip as it was moved across something that gave resistance to it's movement. The zipper on the bag was slightly open, and the gray colored object flashed for a second. Dan Gal Gran looked up at Thorn, his deep blue eyes wavered for a second in thought.

It is a nive invetation, but I think I can walk... I could use the exercise. But it is a really nice offer, plus this could furthur bolster a friendship. The best thing I could use a friend right now. Ah hell! Why not?

"Sure." Dan Gal Gran agreed. "Why not?" He said nodding. "I think I'll take you driving offer." He said, getting into the passanger's seat.

**Ooc: Bah, can't think of it to seem informal, yet polite!**

She smiled and took his hand, writting down seven digets on the back of his hand. Obviously her phone number. She nodded, toss the pen in tha back, and the walked around the car and climbed in. "Where exactly is you place at?"

OOC: sorryso short

He looked down at his hand, and studied the numbers. He assumed it was a phone number. It was seven digits long, and it no doubt had the same area code as the rest of the city. He fascended his seat belt, which locked into place with a little *click*. He gathered up his duffle bag and held it in two hands. He contimplated the directions to his house. One way to describe it's location was 'the bad end of town.'

"My place?" He said. "It is in the bad end of town." He summarized. "Somewhere near the Empty Glass Pub." He said. "I can walk from there." He explained. "It's not too long of a walk, just a couple of minutes. I do not like going there though, to the Empty Glass Pub. I'm afraid I'll get shot." He sighed.

Thorn eyed her new found friend from the corner of her gray eyes, pulling the seatbelt across her chest. When satisfied with the *click* of her own seatbelt, she turned the ignition and pulled the door shut. This time, she did not roll down the windows but instead turned on the air conditioner.

“I’d be scared too. I almost don’t like living at my place.” She didn’t, she lived alone. That’s what bothered her. If only she could get a pet, a cat maybe, a little black one with white feet named Jinx. But she wasn’t allowed to have pets in the apartment. So she was lonely. She drove silently towards the bad end of town, allowing him to make the conversation.

Dan Gal Gran watched the bright lights of the city's nightlife flicker by him as he sat staring out the window. All of the people walking around on the sidewalk, oblivious to each other's worries, just focused on themselves. The road and Twa Corbies payed out slowly behind the car. As he sat the air conditioner blew some of his hair around.

"What do you not like about your place?" He asked, looking at Thorn. "I do not know where you live, or who you live with. Do you live with your parents?" He asked.

"My place." She smirked in the darkness, slowing to the speed limit after realizing she'd been speeding. "I live alone. No parents. I couldn't handle them anymore." More like they couldn't handle me. "I can't have any pets for some reason. I supose the worst part is that I live alone."

"Not nearly as bad as your places location though, so I shouldn't complain."

Dan Gal Gran nodded slowly, the shadows fell upon his face. He looked out the window again, his transparent reflection looked back at him, staring at him as he stared out the window at all the people on the sidewalks of Bayville, and the city itself. His gray hair tossed a little bit in the air conditioner's wind.

"You could not handle your parents? Why? Parents are a blessing. We should always honor our parents, they brought us into this world, did they not?" He asked. "I do not know about your family, but I am curious as to why you left them, and why you could not handle them, without meaning to pry, of course." He said.

"Because," shadows danced across her face, causing her to look darker. "They are Asses. Darla's a drunk, Ted's an addict, fucking crackass. And they fight all the time. But they're both too much of fuckheads to divorce. They cheat on eachother and spend their time running in circles trying to cover up their afairs and snoop in eachothers bussiness as well. The only time eaither of them say anything to me is if I've done something wrong or they're asking about the other."

She'd started swearing more, and her voice came a little louder then before. It would be obvious to most at this point as to why she did most of the things she did. Sure she was angry with her parents, but she loved them and starved for their attintion, even if it were bad attintion. If she drank and smoked and pretended to want to pick up some male hooker, then they'd yell at her.

"They bother me even more now that I've moved out on my own." She mimiked a bad immitation of her moms voice. "Why can't you come home. Quit drinking, your underage. Why do you live alone. It's too dangerous. Whose your father with now?"

She'd let that little secret slip. Her Identification cards all said she was 'twenty.' She'd mentioned she was under age to drink.

Dan Gal Gran blinked. Slowly, a faint understanding washed over him. He nodded slowly, his gray hair shaking a little. He understood now. He understood fulling.

"So," he said, looking at Thorn. "Your actually underaged? That is very interesting. You drink because it causes trouble then? You do these wrong things to get attention?" He said. "I am very sure your parents love you, and you love them, but you are unwilling to admit it. You try to get their attention by misbehaving, because they will pay attention to you if you do." He nodded again.

"It is not neccessary to misbehave to get your parents' attention. All you need to do is talk to them. Tell them to sit down, stop running around, and have a serious talk. I have learned one thing without my family: there is always a light of hope. I believe that one day, I will see my family again. Just have hope and persistance, with that you can weather any storm, any time." He said. The lights danced by them on the road, the orangish color of the city streets cast light shadows over the city. In the sky, a few faint stars twinkled feeblily through a veil of light pollution. They passed shops already closed, with their security blinds pulled down across their windows and fronts, their entrances hidden behind locked cross-bar gates. The city streets grew dirty and unkept. Plastic bags were common, along with liter along the sides of houses. They passed boarded over buildings and low-income housing complexs. They were in the bad end of town now.

As he spoke, Thorn’s fingers tighten on the steering wheel, the leather beneath her fingers making a soft squeaking cracking sound. When he was finished she was speeding, not too noticeably fast, but her speedometer had jumped at least ten miles per hour and she slammed a hand down on the steering wheel.

“I have talked to my family,” she almost shouted the words, her voice sounding even louder in the closed space of the car. “They didn’t listen. I tell them I love them and they go about their business. They didn’t want kids! That’s fine with me. I don’t care!” She took her eyes from the road and glared at him for a moment, then looked back at the road. “And what do you know about me and my family. You’ve never met the fuckers.”

She was short tempered. Always had been. And he’d struck a nerve.

Dan Gal Gran looked taken aback. Had he said something wrong? Well, obviously, otherwise she wouldn't be mad. He sat, and thought, her words playing back to him in his head.

"They didn’t listen. I tell them I love them and they go about their business. They didn’t want kids! That’s fine with me. I don’t care! And what do you know about me and my family. You’ve never met the fuckers."

She had never really not been without a family entirely, so she did not see it from his point of view. To him, a family was a good thing just to have, because you know deep down inside that they will love you, but so things are when you have been striped of them. Dan Gal Gran just sat quietly in the car, replaying the conversation, picking out little bits and pieces that he should not have said. Perhaps, the issue of families was a touchy subject for Thorn. That was somewhat apparent. It did not seem like you average family, more like a family in one of those dramas or soap operas. Parents with substance abuse issues and other bad things like that. Thorn seemed to be the child of a problematic family, that title was blatant from the way she talked about her family. Most people take a sound family for granted, but some are without sound families or any families at all.

"Sorry." Dan Gal Gran muttered softly, looking at the ground. He looked up, and saw the Empty Glass Pub coming up. He looked at Thorn, looking apologetic. "I can walk from here." He said. He got out of the car and turned around. "Thank you very much, Ms. Thorn." He said. He grabbed his bag, closed the car door and walked toward his apartment building, jingling his keys in his pocket as he did. He stopped for a moment, opened his duffle bag, removed a red Sony Walkman from it, popped in a CD (Linkin Park: Meteroa) and pressed the play button. Then he continued walking toward his apartment. He reached the doors and went inside the building.

**ooc: bah, cannot find a way to conclude it in a 'to-be-continued kind of way. I'm going to assume that Thorn would stop for Dan when he said he could walk from here.**

She glared after him as he got out of the car and said nothing. She was angry beyond words. She didn't want him in her car anymore so she did not argue when he said he could walk and she pulled over.

She regreted giving him her number or for going and getting a drink with him and for letting him in her car. Then she felt bad for blowing up at him, for making him walk the rest of the way.

Thorn shut off the car, too angry to drive, and waited. Finally, as she calmed down more, she started the engine and went home.