As the doors parted open into the darkened room of the club, Erika walked inside, a regular here. It had been raining outside, and although she enjoyed it a bit, she wanted to get out of it. Shaking her head gently, she tried to loosen her damp hair a bit. It clung together, a bit of an annoyance to her. Brushing slowly by a few mortals that stood in her way, getting a few acknowledging glances from those that knew her here, she made her way to the bar. Still dripping from the wetness she had walked in from, she sat down, nodding to the bartender as she gazed upon all around her with her pale blue eyes. The bartender seemed to know exactly what she wanted, just from her little nod.

She seemed to be quite a bit more pale tonight than normal. No one seemed to comment on it, however, so she just sat and waited for her drink. It wouldn't have mattered if someone did speak to her, anyways... all she could hear was the silence that seemed to come from her own mind. The drink would be hard, just the way she needed it right now. The lingering feeling of being eaten alive from the inside out still stayed in her body, only a fraction of how it had felt earlier.

Erika, for that was her name, closed her eyes silently, letting her mind now take over. Small scars lined the edges of her lips... as well as her neck. Yes, those around her certainly noticed the difference in her. Although the scars were nearly nonexistent, they knew that something was different about the way she walked... the way she looked. She was a quiet one... but not this quiet. The bartender simply handed her her drink, a shot it seemed, and watched her for a moment before walking away.

Some vampires don't have a clue when another is around. Some vampires can sense another of their own kind. Some, such as the Nephim, can smell them, just as they can smell a mortal.

As the brilliantly orange-haired vampire stalks into the Tequila, he picks up the scent of another vampire.

To another's eyes...

A tall, pale young man slides in from the outdoors, the black trenchcoat billowing around him too slick to be cliche. Even damp-- just damp, not soaked-- even damp, his hair is brilliany-- amber-orange with undertones of red.

He's wearing sunglasses, indoors, at night. He doesn't seem about to take them off.

He moves with the kind of grace and confidence most typical to jaguars on the hunt.

Erika's fingers danced along the rim of the glass as she soon realized that it was sitting before her. She wasn't ready to drink yet... for some reason. Sighing softly, she felt around her neck, itching it somewhat. Why did it still hurt?

Leaning her head back slowly, she put the small glass to her lips, taking the drink. She let it burn it's way down her throat, letting a deeper sigh escape her throat. It seemed to help the pain inside that she felt, but not enough. Nodding to the bartender again, she blinked slowly, still a bit dizzy from the prior events of this night.

Why had she taken that alley? Why did she walk to work that morning? Questions seemed to fly through her mind as she drank each shot slowly, setting each glass next to the last, upside down. Either way, she was different now. A different person completely, it seemed, for these drinks that she took did not seem to fulfill anything that she craved. She knew what she was now, but she still did not accept it. She probably wouldn't accept it for a few more days, until she realized that she needed to feed, or she would die from starvation. What a wonderful way to die.

Silently, she sat there, eyes now closed. Oblivious to the fact that another of her kind had walked into the room. She had yet to learn the ways of vampires. For she had only recently been turned.

Tracing his fingers over the edge of his sunglasses yet not taking them off, the amber-haired stranger slips through the room as though following some elusive music only he can hear.

He passes through the crowd, not aknowledging anyone, moving forwards until he reaches the bar.

This vampire slides into a seat, just beside the other. He clasps his long, pale fingers together in front of him on the cool counter of the bar. He could be watching her. He might not be. It's difficult to tell with the sunglasses.

He does not say anything just yet. Instead, he waits, interpreting the information from her scent, her actions, expression. Or possibly not.

A tall, slender and pale man entered the bar to glance around. Usually, he hated people who drank too much, "it corrupted the blood," he always said. He pushed back his short smoke black hair. Tonight he was desperate for a feed, lately, the humans seemed to be here at night. The only people who actually walked into dark alleys these days were hobos and drunks. He figured he'd lure one out tonight before they wasted themselves. It's always easier to trick loners, he saw a woman sitting by herself. Easy prey, he though, then he doubled back. The presence seemed a little unusual, he saw two other pale figures. Curiosity got the better of him, he sat down and ordered wine. After receiving it, he poured some of it into his glass. He looked at the strange figures out of the corners of his eyes. He realized quickly that they were not human.

The shadowed female strangely kept her eyes closed for quite some time, letting the atmosphere and noise slowly sink into her mind, into her soul. This place seemed so different now, seemed like it had changed just as she had. For some strange reason, she could sense two very distinct smells coming from among the people in this bar, which she would much later distinguish as mortals and vampires. For now, she had not one clue whom was whom, and it was most certainly better that way. Worries of a vampire had not yet come to her.

Sighing softly, she played again with her empty glass, opening her eyes to wait for a new, full one. It took a long time for her to get a buzz from her drinking, regardless of the drink's potency. She needed to feel that... needed to become 'detached' from the world around her. Brushing a bit of her golden hair off of her shoulder, somewhat of an instinct, she stretched her neck from side to side. Certainly, she did feel better than she had minutes ago. But her pain, she did not realize, would last for an eternity.

"You know," the amber-haired young man beside her murmurs, leaning towards her,

"Those won't really work."

By gesture, it's an easy guess that the "those" refers to the drink that the other has been pouring down her throat.

His tone is fairly neutral. She seems young, but he isn't going to insult her by assuming that much.

The woman slowly gazed at the amber-haired man sitting next to her, pale blue eyes seeming to grow more dull, as if the life had been sucked out of them. After blinking a few times, she opened her mouth to reply.

"You seem to be under the impression that I'm 'trying to do something', love. What won't work? And what exactly am I trying to get to work?"

Her tone was just as neutral as his, as if she were having some mundane conversation with someone she knew. Taking another drink, she let out a soft sigh. They always tasted better if you had more. The first one seemed to burn... but as time progressed, it always became better.

"And I must ask... why are you so interested...?", she seemed to whisper, closing her eyes again. She had already seen his face. Looking at it again wouldn't help her. Nor him.

"Getting drunk. Quenching the thirst," he answers quietly, turning away from her as she has from him. His words are still fairly neutral... after all, her words are guarded. They haven't yet revealed the information he's looking for.

A shrug. "I'm interested because you seem new." New here? New to drinking (certainly not)? New to... other things?

The colorless man had seen enough. He finished his wine and was about to leave when the bartender called over to him. The bartender began to argue when the vampire began to look at him. The bartender walked right up to him and called him back. He paid for his drink and waited patiently. A little while later the bartender entered the restroom. The slender vampire followed silently, without speaking a word. A few minutes later the vampire returned with more color on his face and with a look of small satisfactory if you looked closely enough. The bartender was no where to be seen, he stopped at the two pale people before him. The money he had given the bartender was noticeably sticking out of his pocket.

"What do you know? He had a few good drinks in him."

He pushed back his dark hair and took a quick glance at the pale figures waiting for some sort of response...

Raising her brow slightly, it was obvious that the young woman was intrigued now. Perhaps she had been a bit rude... No, that was how she always was. Secluded, to herself... it was not often that people spoke to her, or that she spoke to them. This conversation she found herself in would most certainly be an interesting one, no doubt. For this new sense of smell told her that this man beside her was of the more 'rare' scent, whatever that meant.

Without looking over at him, she smiled, eyes still closed. "You ask me so very many questions, love... but I do not even know your name. Would you rob me of such a pleasure?"

The bartender seemed to have left, so the woman's eyes flashed open, reaching to the bottle that he had left there. It seemed to be strange that she needed him to pour it for her... perhaps it was just so he knew how many shots she had taken? No matter... she wished for another, and she poured it herself, once more letting her fingertips dance along the edge of the small glass.

"I am certainly not new here... and you've guessed correctly about 'drinking'. But your last question intrigues me, I must admit."

Looking over her shoulder at the taller man standing behind them, she blinked. It was obvious that she did not share the same sense of humor as he. Simply shrugging, she turned back around, closing her eyes again... waiting it seemed for the right moment to drink this last drink for tonight.

|| ooc: Feel free to tell me if post too long or boring, please. ||

... He sighs. He thinks to himself "well it was a corny joke, unfortunately the 1930's were a corny decade and thats when he was bitten. What a bore." Now that he had fed he would be able to leave, but then again, he felt there would be something unusual happening here. He decides the best thing to do would be to wait, but it was stuffy in here and one of these might be an from a coven who wouldn't agree with his actions. Grabbing his dark trenchcoat he puts it on and heads outside and flies to the top of building, brushing back his hair he begins to wait.

"Certainly not... call me Nico."

Nico pauses, hunced over the bar, tracing his long fingers over the countertop in invisible, impermanent designs. After a moment, he lifts those fingers and slides his sunglasses from perching on his nose to nestling in his hair. His eyes are as brilliant an orange as his hair, though many a mortal has mistaken them for brown. Generally with encouragement.

"You realise," he says, glancing up at her, "That those questions weren't spoken aloud?"

As the other man hadn't stuck around long enough to be replied to, Nicodemus does not bother replying to him.

((You might have noticed that I post short, most of the time, but I don't mind long, as long as it's well-written.))

"My name is Erika, love. And perhaps I did not realize it. But certainly, that is an interesting ability to have. Are you trying to impress me?"

She turned to meet his glance, raising a brow once more. Speaking through the mind was a very interesting ability. Erika had to admit that she thought he had just been speaking to her normally, vocally. Perhaps he had, or maybe he hadn't? She couldn't tell. Maybe he was just playing tricks on her, causing her to become confused. For some strange reason though, she believed him. Why not? Erika had been subject to such things before. Ever since she had been turned, at least. Bodiless voices seemed to pop into her head, not necessarily speaking to her, but she replied to them just the same. The funny thing was that they never seemed to speak back to her. Perhaps the mortal on the other end had thought it was a ghost.

Either way, Erika simply stared at Nico now, tilting her head only slightly to the left. Brushing her hair slightly over her shoulder, she blinked. His eyes were a strange orange hue... Her own pale blue eyes seemed to lose life by the moment, almost a strange gray color.

"But all of that aside... why are you so interested in me?"

|| ooc: Hopefully I write well enough for you. I only want to enjoy this, as do you. ||

"I don't know, Erika-- are you trying to impress me?" A smile tugs at the corners of his lips. After all, it was she who had heard the thoughts.

Nicodemus shrugs, looking away again. "Just a curious bird, I suppose. You seem new to the night." A euphamism, certainly.

((Oh, don't worry about it, I'm not that picky. I only complain about length when it's difficult-to-read length, and even that it's a matter of being able to read it rather than 'being good enough' for me. As for you, you know how to use length, so enjoy.))

"Perhaps I am... yet you still have to answer my question. Are you afraid to, love?"

Erika continued to gaze over at Nico, blinking a few times as to emphasize her phrase. After a few moments, she turned to look at the bar in front of her. Where had the bloody bartender gotten off to? She sighed softly, taking her next shot. Maybe she would have a few more, for it did seem that she did not feel a buzz in the least. Her 'thirst' was not quenched, as Nico had put it. Maybe he was right, maybe it would never be quenched by this.

"New to the night. Interesting. Perhaps you know more about me than I do."

She simply smiled again, letting her head rest on her hand. She looked over at Nico again, waiting to see what he would say.

Glancing back at her, Nico spreads his hands defensively, smiling just that little bit. "I thought I had?"

He blinks for a moment, the smile not fading, not widening. "I may know more about some parts of you than you do. Some newer parts?" A suggestion.

"Newer parts. Ah... I see what you're poking at. Either way, why do you want to help me? I've done nothing for you, nor do I think I 'can' do anything for you."

Erika's accent hung in the air, lingering for a bit for those around to hear it fully. She was obviously of British decent, her accent making it show.

"And where is the bloody bartender? I shouldn't have to pour my own drinks."

She shook her head, pouring one either way. Only staring at it now, she broke her glance at Nico, closing her eyes again. For some reason they hurt, possibly from keeping them open for so long. It had been quite a few days since she had slept peacefully.

The other vampire shrugs. "A number of our kind never learn to live their new... ah, life. Those ones tend to make it hard on the rest of us. I'm just playing Good Samaritan, as it were..."

A brief frown.

"And I don't think the bartender's coming back. That was in Ishak who was just with him."

"I don't buy that, love. There has to be something in it for you, no one just helps anyone else nowadays."

She shrugged, frowning as well. It was quite difficult for her to accept help from anyone, regardless of what they knew or who they proclaimed to be. But it was true. Erika did need to find things out, possibly from someone else, because as it was, she knew nothing about it. Anger slowly rose through her body... not towards anyone but herself. She hated feeling helpless, and having to rely on other people. Which was what she had to do now.

"Ishak... It would help to know what that was."

She leaned her head back, swallowing another drink. To any around her, it would seem that she was trying to get drunk. But she was only trying to quench that 'thirst' that Nico had mentioned.

Nicodemus pauses, slipping his sunglasses back down over his amber-orange eyes.

"Perhaps we can go somewhere more private to talk?" he suggests, making as if to stand.

"Perhaps that would be a good idea. I will go with you, where ever you'd like."

She didn't care right now, about whether or not this Nico was going to help her or was just trying to trick her into doing something for his benefit, or worse. Erika wanted to know what was happening, and what she needed to do. She wanted to be able to control these new abilities that she found herself having. Standing to her feet, she blinked, waiting for him to walk.

"Where is it, that we will be going?"

"Just outside." He stands, brushing invisible dust off his traditionalist black trenchcoat. White fingers on black cloth.

"Let's go for a walk."

"Outside... good. I need to walk, either way."

She picked up her own trench which she had sat down on her stool when she came in. It was of the same material and color as the rest of the attire she wore. Black and leather seemed to suit her, and she wore it even before she had been turned. Putting on the long cloak, she walked ahead of him now, towards the door.

"Let us make this a long walk, if possible."

Following behind, nicodemus nods, even though she won't be able to see the gesture.

"Very possible."

A quick-- but not supernaturally quick-- sprint brings him to the door first, which he opens with a gracious expression but not a word.

"A courteous gentleman, I see. Thank you, Nico."

She tried to smile, and it came out as a small one. Erika walked out the door slowly, taking in the scene around her. Not many people around, at least not as many people as there were in the Tequila. Privacy would be easily acheived out here, if that was truly what Nico wanted. Turning around to face him, she sighed.

"Is Nico a nickname of yours? I prefer to call people by their true name, if that is not a problem to you."

Shrugging, the amber-haired vampire steps out into the night and closes the night club's door behind him.

"Call me Nicodemus, then."

Gesturing down the street, he begins walking. it's a non-verbal 'let's go,' essentially-- one of the many non-verbal cues that people act on every day.

"What questions did you have?"

"Perhaps I do not even know my questions, love. You seem to have the answers to them regardless."

She silently walked beside him, glad to be walking at the slow pace that they walked at. It was true, she did not even know where to begin to ask, or even what to ask him. She wanted him to just tell her what to do... but she didn't want to seem so desperate. Of course, Nicodemus probably already knew how desperate she was.

"But I do wish to know how you know so much about me already... and why I could hear you speaking in my mind."

"It's... a vampiric talent. Some of us can use it. Few of us, really... you're lucky."

He pauses, staring ahead as he walks, his hands in his pockets. Though the night is chilly enough to turn breath into clouds in the air, Nicodemus' remains invisible.

"I don't know so much about you. I just recognize my condition in others."

"Ah... I see. I do wish though... that you did know more, because I do not seem to know anything about what I am to do, or what I am. If you could read my mind right now, which I assume you already have, you would know that."

She simply shrugged, shaking her head lightly. Yes, it would have been so much better if he just told her what to do, what she needed to do. What was strange was that she would have listened to what he said, and she would have done it, regardless of what it was. Being desperate was horrible... a sinking feeling. She wanted so badly to get out of it.

"I don't know a lot about you... but I know about what you are." A pause.

"I've been a vampire for a long time, now-- and you, a short one. How long?"

The question's a bit abrupt, perhaps. How long has she been a vampire?

"Four days. Exactly. Possibly a bit less, but that does not matter, does it?"

She sighed, shoving her hands into her pockets a bit roughly. Strangely enough, Erika's breath seemed to be just as invisible as Nicodemus's. She enjoyed closing her eyes... letting her other senses just guide her along the dark streets. So, she closed them, still walking in step with Nico.

"Four days... have you had anything explained to you yet?" the other asks, concern brushing the smooth-toned voice.

"More importantly, have you fed yet?"

"No... and... no. No to both questions, I am afraid. The one that turned me... he left me there, in the alleyway... covered in my own blood, as well as his. I tried to call for him, but he had stitched my mouth closed. Quite a hindrance. And quite painful, I must add."

She spoke about it all nonchalantly, considering the fact that it had been the most painful and frightening experience of her life.

"And about feeding... I... don't know where to even begin."

Nicodemus pauses, pressing his mouth into a line.

"I see. But you know what you are?" he asks. A relevant question, considering.

"Of course, love... I can feel it inside of me. But I still... I still need to accept it. Do you understand that?"

She opened her eyes now, her pace quickening only slightly.

He nods. "I do. I think I do, at least."

He pauses again, sorting things out in his head... or, then again, perhaps not.

"Feeding doesn't have to be about pain. It can be about other things, as well."

"Such as...?"

She turned to look at him, her eyes glowing even more. What was it about him that made her stare so? It was intriguing. As they walked though, she continued to just wonder at what was running through his mind. It would have been so helpful to be able to control this ability that she had, to be able to know what Nicodemus was thinking about.

"I must admit... I do feel a bit weak..."

It was a slight lie... the truth was, she felt very weak.

"Pleasure." A smile. The obvious answer.

He continues to walk, lifting a hand to adjust his sunglasses.

"You need to eat. You can starve yourself, like a human-- but it's unlikely to be pleasant. Some of us are similar to large predators... we can go days without a meal. I can. Since you're still standing, it sppears you can, too."

Seth decides that enough is enough. Even vampire hunches can't be trusted all of the time. He flies off looking for some other way to spend his time. Now that he had fed for the night he looks for some entertainment. He looks for a place that is obviously inhabited by vampires.