Accidental Frightening Who: Krist and Connie, and then Felicity! Where: A gas station, and then Felicity's house When: Sunset
Krist had lost the raincoat Tayne had given him several hours after having met him, the piece of paper with the addresses barely saved in time. He'd picked the paper up in his teeth and carried it with him through the forest, not sure what to do with it or with himself. The next morning found him stealing clothes out of the backpack of an unsuspecting - and sleeping - camper on the edge of the forest. The jeans were snug and didn't come down all the way and the shirt left something to be desired. It was all as snug as though it were his own skin and he shoved the paper into his pants pocket to keep it safe.
It was time to make a visit into town.
Walking to town in human form took several hours, and by the time he was there Krist was getting impatient. He wasn't exactly tired, but annoyed at how long it had taken. He stared at the buildings that led into a residential area, looking down one street after another curiously. Finally he found a street corner with a gas station, though what it was exactly was beyond him. His eyes followed the progress of cars on the road, still wondering what it was like to be inside them...
Connie was just pulling in to that gas station, himself, his Harley puttering a little as he coasted up to an empty pump and killed the engine. His baby needed to be fed, so here he was spending his money on one of the few things he actually spent it on: gas. As he stood up and kicked down the kickstand, his tail immediately uncurled from around one leg and lashed, fluffing its fur up again as he fed some cash to the machine and started fueling up.
The tall guy in the ill-fitting clothes, looking frustrated and unhappy, definitely caught his eye. Maybe he was unhappy because his clothes had shrunk in the wash, or something?
Krist turned to watch the motorcycle come into the gas station, eyes widened as it came to a stop and another person got off of it. What a fascinating vehicle... it was like a horse without legs... He turned more toward it, gaze intense as he started to walk - barefoot - closer for further investigation. "What is that?" he asked the man, not noticing the tail right away. Krist shifted and licked his lips, suddenly seeing the tail that uncurled. He startled and took a few steps backward, shocked by the sight of it. He had no idea what to think of it and simply stared.
"What is-- what?" Connie looked around, not imagining just yet that the tall, unhappy-looking guy meant his motorcycle. He wound up guessing from the stare that he meant his tail. "Oh, this?" The tail curled up, almost as long as Connie was tall, and the tip waved at Krist. It'd gotten such great results from Danny earlier, after all. "It's just my tail. It's a pain in the ass, but it's a great conversation piece, doncha think?" He grinned amiably, making no attempt to hide his fangs, but neither looking particularly threatening.
"N-no," Krist replied, taking another quick several steps backward. His heart started to beat a little faster on instinct alone and he tried to remain calm. "I meant the... that." He pointed to the motorcycle, but his curiosity kept his eyes on the tail. "Why do you have a tail?" he added on quickly, as though if he didn't ask now he would never be given an answer. He needed to know. Humans didn't have tails.
If the big guy was going to be nervous, Connie was going to tone it down a little. He curled the tail over the seat of the motorcycle and silently told it to stay there and stop frightening the poor guy, and smiled a little less brazenly. Apparently the guy didn't know what a motorcycle was. Well, that could be remedied, though just how he didn't know what a motorcycle was, Connie had no idea. "This is a motorcycle. It's like a bicycle with a motor, or a car with only two wheels and no roof. Less safe, but tons more fun. And I have a tail because I grew it, about eight months ago. My family kind of does, once we hit one hundred or so."
Krist felt himself overload with information, not sure what to do with all of it. One question at a time, right? He stepped forward again, just a little bit so that he might see the motorcycle better. "A car but less safe. Why would you want one? And why did you grow a tail? What type of family do you have? Are you a were also? -- or, are you... I don't understand." He took in several slow breaths, trying to make himself relax. He shifted, and then did it again, unable to stand still it seemed, his horse nature making him feel anxious.
Okay, okay. This wasn't going so well. Connie held up a hand peaceably, with a small smile. "It's okay, man. I'll explain. I'm not a were, no--" Also? Did that mean this guy was? That might explain a lot. "--I'm a vampire. One of the things my kind of vampire does is grow animal traits as we get older. We also tend to do pretty well by weres, we're connected to the moon cycle, too." And he figured keeping with one line of conversation was easier on the poor guy.
"A vampire..." It was said with an edge of fear, Krist no more settled than he had been previously. Those were bad, weren't they? That's what he'd always heard... vampires were blood-thirsty, dangerous. He took in a deep breath, deciding this person hadn't acted dangerous just yet and tried to turn his fears down. "How are you... connected to the moon cycle?"
This kind of nervousness, Connie understood. He got it sometimes-- more than sometimes-- when the vampire thing came up. "Well, the fuller the moon gets, the more active and alive we feel-- and like bitten weres, we have a night where we go crazy, kind of, and have to lock ourselves up. I promise, mister, we're one of the nice vampire houses." He held up a hand-- and the tail, too, as if it were pledging, too-- and said, "I am most definitely a lover and not a fighter. And my name's Connie." In case the fellow cared.
As if on cue, the gas pump clicked that the bike tank was full.
Krist listened with rapt attention, mouth slightly open as the vampire explained himself. His hands found each other as he fidgeted, his instincts and his common sense carrying on a private war in his chest. He wanted to ask questions, but he wanted to run as well. Running would seem foolish though, and he found himself becoming flustered, angry. "My name is Krist," he returned, trying to carry on the conversation. He held one hand up as well, unsure about the action but assuming it was some human thing he'd missed out on picking up earlier on in life. Perhaps it was like a handshake, just without the touching bit. Was the vampire afraid to touch him?
And then Krist nearly shot out of his skin when the click sounded, stumbling backward as though the vampire had made the noise. He was starting to doubt he'd ever fit in.
"Whoah, whoah, it's okay." Both hands came up, both in a calming gesture and what he hoped was a universal gesture for peace-- showing he carried no weapons and didn't want to harm him. Guessing this guy-- Krist-- was a were, the skittishness made a little more sense. Not a lot, but a little; he was acting practically like a wind animal. Connie tried to sound soothing. "It's just the gas pump-- telling me it's done fillng up the bike." He backed up a step, gave Krist more room, and put the pump away, telling the machine no, he did not want a receipt, and then turning back.
"There something I can help you with?" he asked. "You looked kind of...." Pissed off. Unhappy. "Lost."
"Oh... okay..." Krist felt ridiculous in hindsight, moving to cross his arms over his chest. He was still clearly agitated, but at least he wasn't about to run away. He didn't bother to ask about the gas pump, not terribly interested in it for the moment. It didn't seem important. "Actually," he said, answering the question slowly. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a crinkled piece of paper and held it out to the vampire. "Uhh... can you... read this?"
Half-expecting something written in just really bad handwriting, Connie took the note, smoothed it out against the seat of his bike-- it looked almost like it'd been chewed on-- and blinked at the relatively legible words. "Yeah, it's an address and a name. Felicity Jones. Oh, hey, I know her. Are you trying to find her?" There was a second address and name, but he didn't recognize that person.
"Yeah, I... I was told to find her by the other person on that paper... Tayne. He's a human I met..." Krist shrugged and took a few steps toward Connie again, examining his motorcycle curiously without being close enough to actually touch it - or be touched by it, was more what was going through his head. Irrational, but it was how his mind functioned. "Can you tell me how to get to her...?"
"'Course I can." Connie handed the paper back with a smile. One that, for once, didn't bare fangs. He was being super-nice with this guy. And careful. Connie didn't like scaring people, honestly, even though he was admittedly of a scary species. "I can even take you there, if you like. She's an awesome lady, you'll like her."
Krist smiled back, glad to have found somebody that might help him out. It would be a pleasant change to the last year he'd spent out on his own in the forest. "That... that would be really good. I don't know the area... I don't really... come to town very often." He frowned, glancing downward to his bare feet. "Do you think I look human?" he asked a moment later, hoping that he'd done a decent job of dressing the part for the time being.
Connie could definitely tell that. The guy definitely didn't look like he came to town often. "You look just fine," he promised, and he kicked up the kickstand on his bike. "Your clothes don't fit very well, but I'm guess you had to scrounge for them, right? So that's understandable." Connie had, had times in his life where his clothes didn't fit very well, either. "You think you can brave a ride on this baby?" he asked with a grin, patting the handlebars of his Harley. "Or should we hoof it?"
"I... I don't know..." Krist approached the bike slowly, looking it over cautiously. He reached out to touch the smooth metal, his fingertips traveling the surface easily. "We can try this...?" He thought he could handle it, given he understood more about it now. It wasn't that scary when he put it into perspective... and hell, he'd nearly been killed by a truck prior to this. What harm could a motorcycle provide. "What... do you mean by hoof it?"
"Hoof it. It's slang for walking." Connie swung up onto the bike's seat and slid forward, giving Krist plenty of room. "Sit here, astride, like you would a horse. There's platforms to put your feet on, behind mine, here." He pointed to one of them, and curled his tail around his own leg so it wouldn't get any funny ideas about accosting Krist while they rode.
"Oh..." Krist nodded again, feeling like he did a lot of that these days. He laughed at the directions and climbed onto the bike behind the vampire, feeling huge and awkward on the motorcycle. "It's funny you would say that," he told Connie, "because that's what I am. I have never ridden a horse though. I've wondered what it would be like." He put his feet up on the platforms and examined the bike casually, reaching down to touch it, explore it further from where he was seated.
"Oh, wow, really? A horse? That's kind of awesome." And it explained some more of the skittishness. "I can't ride horses, not unless they're weres and are letting me ride them. Animals and my family line of vampires don't get alone. --Look out, I'm starting the engine, it's gonna be loud." And it was, when he revved it up, especially to a were's senses.
Krist nodded, as though Connie could see through the back of his head. For all he knew, the vampire could do that. He didn't really know much about them, aside from that they were supposed to be very bad news. "Well... I would let you ride me," he said easily, shrugging with it. It didn't bother him, the idea of it. After a lifetime of doing it everyday, it wasn't too big of an issue anymore. It was more strange not having that these days than anything else. Krist braced himself for the sound of the engine, but still wasn't prepared for it when it actually came on. His eyes widened and he blinked down at it, feeling the vibration and unsure about it. "This is... loud."
That sounded like the awesomest idea ever. Going riding with Krist-the-horse. Connie hadn't been riding since... god, since he was alive. That would definitely have to be something he took the guy up on. He looked over his shoulder and grinned. "I know. I've learned to live it it. And this is just when it's purring, not when it's roaring. You gonna be okay with this, or you wanna walk?"
Krist shook his head firmly, brow lowered slightly over his eyes. "No, I'm fine with this. Let's go to the place on the paper... the person you know." He didn't really know why he was going, but Tayne had made it sound like a good idea -- and Connie had seemed to feel positively about her as well. "Do I... hold onto something then...?" He hesitated, only finding Connie's shoulders.
"You could hold onto me, or the seat under you," Connie suggested, waiting until the guy was more settled. He didn't wanna take off and lose his passenger. "I'm not gonna be going very fast, so you won't really need to, but if you want something to hold onto, my shoulders or waist is pretty traditional for a passenger."
Krist knitted his brow together, reaching around Connie to hold onto him like he'd been told to. He clasped his hands together and pulled closer to the vampire to feel a little more secure. "I have to admit... this is a big new... experience for me. Normally it's just me on my own feet... or hooves, most of the time."
"New experiences are good, though," Connie said, tossing Krist a smile over his shoulder before starting them moving towards the street-- slowly, so as not to startle the guy, and with a lower-level put-putting sound than the roar of a true acceleration. Though he was entirely sure he could heal from a broken hip or back from being yanked on in a panic by a terrified were, it wasn't necessarily a pleasant thing to have to do. "I pretty much live for new experiences."
Krist prepared himself for the worst, his heart pounding hard enough to be heard for miles as he struggled to act like nothing out of the ordinary was happening. "This is cool," he said, repeating the same words Squid had used, not sounding as casual as he would have liked and not really sure he meant what he was saying. Being on a bike was probably not something he'd seek out anytime soon after this, though... at least the vampire was trying to help him. "Do you eat people?" he asked suddenly, trying to talk over the wind.
Somehow, Connie didn't quite believe that Krist was enjoy himself. He, too, had pretty enhanced hearing, and he could hear-- and in fact, feel, against his back-- that racing heartbeat. "I feed off people," Connie corrected with a little chuckle, pausing at the edge of the street, then turning them onto it, towards Felicity's house. "Sometimes. And only if they say I can. Otherwise, there's blood banks. But I don't eat them. I don't kill, and I try not to take enough to hurt anybody."
"Oh." Krist made a face, half smile, clearly satisfied enough with the answer. "That is good then. That is... uh, cool." He thought about it for a while, brow knitting as they went along down the road. "So then you are like me a little bit," he said, restarting the conversation. "You... graze on people. Like a horse would, maybe. And... you... what is a blood bank?"
"Graze on people. I like that," Connie said thoughtfully. "It's a lot less threatening-sounding than feeding on people. Thanks, man! As for blood banks-- those're places humans usually donate to, when people need transfusions. Vampires can go there and get blood that's been donated to drink instead of feeding on a live donor, usually in return for some of our own, since our blood has healing power and stuff." He turned them into the residential districts. Scarlet Oak proper wasn't a terribly huge place, thankfully.
"Wow..." Krist hadn't realized being a vampire was so much more complicated than he'd thought it was. It didn't sound as bad though, the way Connie explained it to him. He wondered if all vampires were good like him, and assumed they must be. The person that had told him all of these things hadn't been the most trustworthy source, anyway. "Do you heal quickly? Is that what you mean?"
"We do!" Connie grinned, coasting down the street at a slowish speed, looking for Felicity's house. "From most things, anyway. And our blood shares that power. If you were hurt, I could feed it to you, and you'd heal as fast as we would. --That's Felicity's house, up there." He pointed, slowing down a little more.
Krist was fascinated by the idea that Connie's blood could heal him so easily. He blinked upward to see the house being pointed out as they approached it, looking it over top to bottom. "Felicity..." He wondered who this woman was and why Tayne had sent him here, and then wondered if he would ever see that man again. And then this vampire who had been so helpful... would he see him again? It wasn't as though Krist could hand out a cell number or an address. He didn't own anything; didn't have a means to contact these people. Krist was convinced that once Connie drove away, he would likely never see him after the fact. It was depressing, but Krist wasn't sure what to do about it.
"Do you want to go in and talk to her?" Connie asked, bringing the bike to a stop at the curb in front of her house. "I'll go with you, if you want," he added. He certainly wouldn't mind seeing Felicity again, and with someone he sorta-kinda knew to back him up, maybe Krist wouldn't feel so nervous. Even Connie had been a bit nervous faced with an actual social-worker, no matter how awesome she'd turned out to be.
Krist climbed off of the bike when it stopped, watching the house a moment before returning his gaze back to Connie. He'd asked him a question... "I... yeah, I would like to talk to her. It would be nice if you came with me... thank you." His voice was quieter than normal; he was totally unsure of his footing right now, of what he was doing. What if this was some sort of mistake? What if this Felicity person wanted to keep him, trap him like he had been before?
Connie killed the engine on the bike and slid off, kicking up the kickstand and letting Krist climb off, too. "I was nervous when I met her the first time, too. I'd never met a social worker before. But she's pretty cool-- this is what she does. She helps people who're like us and need help." He beckoned for Krist to come with him, and started up the walk to knock on the door.
Krist followed behind Connie, brow low over his eyes as he glanced around the yard and outside of the home. He fidgeted with his too-tight shirt, the wind cooling his stomach and making him feel awkward, his bare feet scraping on the cement of the sidewalk as he hesitated. He wasn't sure he wanted to be here anymore, but... here he was, and the vampire was heading up to knock on the door anyway.