She was the first person he'd met so far that hadn't moved to Pax within the past six months; interesting to note such a thing, that suppose a more permanent form of residency at the building did, in fact, exist. The thought of various tenants moving in only to leave shortly after was an unsettling notion at best. Considering the condition of the building and the neighborhood surrounding it, hardly did it seem right that so many of the apartments were left empty--if the parking lot was anything to go by, unless the majority of his fellow neighbors chose to utilize the public transport system.
It was possible these strange thoughts were only being touched upon due to the startled state Karin had been in when she'd approached him. Residual feelings of unease, perhaps, brought on by the darkness and the wild look in her eyes that for a split second, had absolutely nothing to do with running into another person on the beach. Dominic mentally shrugged off the irrational ideas, thinking only that his imagination clearly was getting the best of him. Strong emotions were catching, and maybe fiction writing would have been a better career for him to have pursued than an editorial, informative one.
"That's rough, but the pay off must be worth it. Helping people, I mean. It's an honorable thing to do." There was sincerity in his tone, although he couldn't imagine surviving the hectic schedules those employed in the medical line of work did. It was enough that he managed his own job, nevermind the extra hours he tacked on willingly. "I write for a local magazine and that usually keeps me busy, so I haven't met many people here, either. But it's a nice place, from what I've seen."
The people around the fire seemed a little more lively the closer Dominic and Karin got to them, but that was only natural given the hour and what could only be the hopes of new company joining in on their nightly revelry. Smoke from the fire curled upwards into the starry sky, creating vague designs before eventually disappearing. Dominic watched it for a moment before glancing towards the ocean.
"I think I've spent more time at the office or inside my apartment than outdoors," he admitted, at the risk of sounding like an overworked introvert. "Tonight's a good change from the usual."