Take my advice ('cause we are bad news) Who: Nic and Lucy Where: Heme When: Night
With the recent killing of a local teenager by possible vampire, Heme was the place to be for the juiciest of gossip. As such, Nic requested to work inside this evening, just in case a fight needed to be broken up... and to keep an ear out for what might have really happened. He knew both weres and vampires were dangerous creatures, so either one could have been to blame for the girl's death. Everyone had an opinion on it, that was certain. There'd already been one heated argument in the last 24 hours and he was certain it wouldn't be the last.
There were very few things that interested Lucy in Scarlet Oak, and Heme was one of them. There were vampire bars in New York, of course, but they usually had so many cops sitting on them that it wasn't any fun. Or worth the risk. Curious as to why someone would choose Scarlet Oak of all places in Michigan - or, hell, choose Michigan at all - for the first local vampire bar, Lucy decided to investigate the place for herself. Galen wasn't likely to be happy at the idea of his little sister going to Heme, but then again, he hadn't seemed all that pleased with her whole hitting puberty, growing up, and going off on her own thing either, so she figured he'd get over it the same way.
Cell phone in her pocket, purse in hand, and wearing plenty of silver, Lucy stepped into Heme and took a look around. The place was a little overdone for her taste, and a quick pass by the nearest fountain alerted her to the fact that the liquid wasn't actually blood (she used it enough in her spells to know better, and no proprietor in their right mind would make so freely available the very thing they were trying to sell), but at least the place didn't seem boring.
Just when things seemed to be calming down, Nic heard shouting from the bar. A word or two and he needn't interfere, but when it continued he quickly made his way through the crowd, hoping to stop anything before it became more than a shouting match. He was just in time to catch a man's hand as it pulled back to punch-- but his grip wasn't enough to stop it. Nic's strength didn't match a vampire's, so all it did was slow it down, giving the other man--not a vampire, Nic noted--time to dodge. "Outside. Now," he told the vampire, who looked infuriated before obeying without a word. Nic glared at the other man, who shrunk back then quickly disappeared into the crowd. Whatever he was, he knew better than to hang around. With a deep breath, Nic stepped outside to have a brief conversation with the vampire, explaining Heme's policy before sending him on his way. An almost hit was better than an actual hit, but when Nic stepped back inside he was wishing for a drink. Too bad that was off limits so long as he was working.
Lucy had noticed the argument and watched most of it out of the corner of her eye. When the man she assumed was the bouncer led the vampire outside - and she knew it was a vampire because all the shouting hadn't exactly hidden his fangs - she quickly slipped into the open space left at the bar before someone else could. She ordered a drink, something sufficiently sweet without putting her in the realm of unbearably girly, and waited for the bouncer to return. He didn't look all that older than her, though if he was a vampire that wouldn't mean much. As soon as he got close enough, she made eye contact to get his attention and gave him a smile - just a shade off a smirk. "That happen a lot in here, or do I just have excellent timing?"
"Not often," Nic smiled back with a little laugh that showed his teeth. "This is usually a pretty tame crowd, but everyone's on edge since that girl got killed. National news and the arguments that followed haven't helped." There were many vampires, Nic had noticed, that honestly wanted to live like every other human. They wanted the same rights, the same treatment, and in return they wouldn't hurt a soul. He had respect for them and understood how this must set them back. Just because one vampire might have done wrong, didn't mean they all would, but it was certainly easier to fear them. The weres weren't all that happy either, so the combination of them running into each other and voicing their opinions... didn't always end well.
Lucy found the uproar over the girl's murder more than a little ridiculous. Granted, she was a journalist, so she knew how things worked from that end. But considering the number of women and girls that got assaulted, raped, or killed on a daily basis just about everywhere, the outrage over one girl being killed by either a vampire or a werewolf just annoyed her. It was an excuse for bigots to get up in arms about the things that went bump in the night, a category Lucy probably fell into herself. "Good to know." Not that she was worried about getting hurt, but Lucy liked knowing what kind of place she was spending her time and money in. Though arguments occasionally amused her, the place being peaceful wasn't going to turn her off. Especially not when she had other things to keep her attention, like bouncers that weren't vampires - that surprised her. "I'm surprised they have a non-vampire working here," she admitted. It seemed like a liability to her.
She wasn't the first one to make such a comment, but Nic had gotten used to it at this point, realizing people were curious. What could a human do to control a vampire? Nothing, really, unless they employed some kind of supernatural means. That was exactly what he did, even if no one knew exactly what those means were. "Equal opportunity workplace," Nic smiled. "I get the job done, so that's what matters, right?" They wouldn't keep him employed if his methods weren't effective, but so far it had worked out. Most vampires didn't even understand what had happened when he asked them to leave; they tended to think it was their own decision, since it wasn't so far out in left field. It was just the opposite of what had gotten him in trouble, forcing vampires to do things that they'd never even consider.
"Of course," she replied because it was the truth. Of course she also wanted to know what those means were, because she knew please and thank you weren't going to cut it if a vampire truly wanted his or her way. Not that Lucy had any specific designs to be bossing vampires around, but it would be a handy trick to have in her arsenal, should the want or need arise. And if another human was doing it, that meant it might be something she could learn. But he wasn't being forthcoming - at least not yet - so she'd have to continue not knowing for another day. Ah well.
In the meantime, she held out her hand, her silver rings no longer a threat now that she knew he wasn't a vampire. "I'm Lucy," she introduced herself. He didn't look that much older than her, and he worked in a vampire bar, so he couldn't be entirely boring, which meant that he was someone she wanted to know. Finding interesting people in Scarlet Oak was turning into a bit of a quest for her. "How long have you been working here?" Not that Heme had been around all that long overall, but it couldn't hurt to ask.
He knew she was dying to ask because he would be too if he were in her shoes. He just didn't want to have yet another conversation about what he was in front of way too many vampires. Nic could keep his voice down, but he was always sure that someone might hear him and the word would spread. Until someone got it in their head, most people wouldn't consider that he might be a necromancer because it didn't seem to be an option. So long as they thought he was nothing more than a legend, he was safe.
"I'm Nic," he said. "I've been here just over a week. Definitely the most interesting place I've ever worked." Being a policeman ranked up there, but that didn't allow him into the minds of vampires each and every day. Plus, there was a lot more paperwork and sitting behind a desk than he enjoyed. At Heme, he was on his feet and out in the action, even when nothing was going on. "Came to Scarlet Oak a bit before that. Yourself?"
"Just over a week," she replied, inadvertently echoing him. "I live in New York City, most of the time; I'm at NYU. But my brother moved here," Lucy still didn't completely understand why, even if she understood him being an empath and that getting in the way of his job. Well, she didn't completely understand, since she'd never experienced anything like it, and her own talents were definitely a gift rather than a curse, but she could extrapolate. She would never want to feel everyone else's feelings all the time; people were fucked up enough when they could only feel their own emotions. "So I'm using my ever-dwindling summer vacation to visit and check the place out." After all the traveling in the first part of the summer, she could handle being stuck in a small town for the rest of it. At least now that she'd discovered the more interesting spots.
"I grew up in New York," Nic smiled, now noticing her accent. It had been so familiar to him that he'd thought nothing of it. "My whole family's there. Love the city, but I wanted a change for a while. Thought this was about as different as I could get." He was glad now that he hadn't given her his last name. It meant little around here, but back home it was easily recognized as mafia. It had made living in New York difficult at times, even for someone as low on the totem pole as Nic was. "So are you bored yet? Kinda slow here compared to New York." Scarlet Oak was just a tiny fraction of the country's biggest city and if she was used to being entertained all the time then she'd have to work a little harder to find that here. Then again, if she was looking for some peace and quiet, Scarlet Oak was better... though with the way things were going lately, it was just as wild here as a big city might be.
"I went right past bored and into curious," she answered with a small laugh. "'Kinda slow' is an understatement; I'm genuinely trying to figure out how they all fill their time." Not that Lucy always had to be doing, doing, doing, but she liked having the option of going out and discovering something new every night of the week if she wanted to. Not to mention that as a journalist, the thought of having to cover the news for such a small town made her wince. It would be suffocating. "Scarlet Oak's got its interesting points, though. Thankfully, or I'd probably be at home watching yet another horrible SciFi movie or something." Or playing with her magic just for the sake of playing with it, which sometimes led to interesting results but backfired just as often. Her spells were a lot more potent, not to mention likely to work, if she had an actual purpose behind them.
"Going to the same place over and over isn't so bad if you like the crowd," Nic said. "And sometimes it's nice not living at high speed all the time. When I was living in New York, it felt like time passed faster. I know that's not the case, but still." He shrugged. "So what are you going to school for?" She had to have pretty high aspirations if she was a student at NYU. They were selective when it came to their students and, as a private school, had the ability to choose from the best. If he'd had any idea of what he wanted to do with his life upon graduating high school, Nic might have wanted to go to college, but he was still just as lost when it came to that sort of thing. Day by day was the way he lived and at the moment a vampire bar was a pretty interesting place to work, even if the job didn't pay shit.
"If you like the crowd," Lucy echoed to make her point. "I haven't really found a crowd I like yet. Fast, slow, or otherwise." Or a crowd at all, really. And Lucy actually kind of liked living at high speed, if only because it more efficiently weeded out the people who couldn't hack it. If you could take care of yourself in New York - stay safe, have fun, get all your work done, and not kill yourself doing it - you could do it just about anywhere. "Journalism," she answered, her tone changing just a little, making it evident that she was talking about something she genuinely loved. It was competitive as all hell, especially in New York, especially in the current economy, especially with the supposed death of print media, and that was part of what Lucy liked about it. She fully intended to win a Pulitzer by the time she was 30.
Nic didn't really have a crowd either, so he knew where she was coming from. He'd been trying, but most of the people he met were vampires, and they were wary of him by default. While he didn't blame them, it made it difficult to build any kind of a friendship with someone that wanted to keep him at arm's length. "I don't have much of one either," he said with a wry smile. "But if you want to hang out sometime, I'd be game. There are a few people I could get together." Not a lot, but she might get along with those he did know. At the mention of journalism, he could tell immediately that that was her passion. It was like she lit up as she said it. "Are you working on a piece right now? Cause I'm sure there's plenty to write about."
"Sure, why not?" He was interesting enough to work in a vampire bar and obviously not anti-supernatural, so it couldn't hurt to get to know him a little better. There was also a good chance that the people he knew weren't boring. Not to mention that maybe she'd luck out and figure out how he kept the less savory vampire patrons in line. "I'm not working on anything specific at the moment, mostly just taking notes and getting to know the place. Saving some things for journalism's equivalent of 'what I did with my summer vacation' when fall term starts, too. Well, and I'm doing some follow-up research on some of the places I went earlier this summer." She'd been reading a number of Spanish-language news sources, and that took some time; she was nearly fluent, but the variations between countries and the sheer size of the vocabulary that could be used in a single issue of a newspaper meant she spent a lot of time with her dictionary.
"Awesome," Nic smiled. He'd have to call her the next time he went out. They could explore Scarlet Oak together and pick up more people along the way. "Where were you earlier this summer?" he asked, since she mentioned it. "You're a lot more ambitious than I've ever been. All I ever wanted to do with my summers was relax and forget about school until I had to go back to it." And she was busy taking notes. Well, she also aspired to have a real job, whereas Nic was currently happy with being a bouncer. Life was too short to waste on any more schooling than he'd already had. He didn't want to look back on his life and feel like he'd spent the entire thing attending classes.