Archie hadn't been in from work long, late as it was. Long enough to have stripped off his suit and changed into something more acceptable for sleepwear, certainly, but he was still warm from the snack he'd indulged in an hour or so earlier, and he had the happy tingles of a little vampire whose senses were all working as they should be.
He loved Repose at night, of course. He could wander around in the day just fine, but things were brighter and more vivid for him in the darkness. He liked smelling all the human bodies around, listening to their slow pulses. He liked working out where other strange inhuman cousins were lurking, enjoyed the cocktails of their not-quite-perfectly-mortal scents.
But then there was something new tonight. Something that made the heart in Archie's chest jump, like muscle memory of a thrill.
The scent of one of his own. A vampire. The meandered in and out of the Masquerade periodically, but none of them seemed interested in him. And by now he knew all of them. But this one was new, and that was what excited him.
He had enough sense to pull on some shoes before he made his way back outside. Certainly the other vampire might not be seeking company, and certainly they'd know Archie was here. If they hadn't come seeking him then they were probably not bothered. But he was.
The chill of the night air didn't really bother him. He was in a thin tshirt and pajama bottoms, but what did that matter? It took a moment to pick up which way the other was moving, and then he followed, as noisily as seemed permissible. Not stalking. Archie didn't want to surprise them. He wasn't looking for conflict.
They were older than him, he could tell that, too. Many were, to be fair. That's why so many of the ones at the Masquerade simply ignored him. He might as well be mortal for his measly century of existence. His footsteps sounded as a fair warning of his approach, which was bringing him rapidly nearer if his sense of smell could be trusted.