Arden (eternitylasting) wrote in summerview, @ 2019-03-20 17:50:00 |
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Vegas had been a good idea for a really long time. Just enough noise and distraction to keep himself hidden but then he must have slipped up somehow, must have let familiarity get the better of him, must have not been paying enough attention because one minute he was alone and the next he was there. This time at least he hadn't killed any of Vincent's friends not like the last time he'd tracked him down and if he could be alone then he would have been because it was better for all involved to not get too close. Alberto was unstable at the best of times, more so now than when he was younger, it was almost as if age was getting the better of him. In a way it was probably a really good thing that Ace had moved on when he had because Vincent knew that if he'd been in Vegas when Alberto had turned up then Ace might not have survived the encounter.
Of course packing up your entire life and hightailing it across the country wasn't all that easy when daylight was not your friend and you needed food of the blood variety though thankfully Vincent was well versed in survival. Not by any means necessary but still survival all the same. Of course it wasn't the journey that might kill him but rather the time alone and the nightmares that haunted his sleeping hours where he'd wake up with his mother's name on his lips and cold sweat coating every inch of his body. He hadn't slept alone in years, decades even, an the adjustment was difficult. He had spent so many years running and evading Alberto that he was exhausted truth be told and he was heading towards a sanctuary city in the hopes that it might be the solution, might cease this constant and endless hunt, and maybe just maybe he could find the means to end Alberto's life. Vengeance had been and remained very much one of Vincent's driving forces especially with what his Sire had done to his family and made him do to his mother. There were some actions you could never take back and ending her life was one of those things and he got particularly morose around a certain time of year, but nobody knew. Well, nearly nobody. Ace knew but then Ace knew everything whereas everybody else was kept at a distance. His arrival in Summerview was quiet, unobtrusive, easy even, but then he was supernatural so he figured that might have helped. Plus it was late and the only people up at this time were the ones watching the bridge and even then after a good long hard look by a large man with tattoos he was granted admission. As he didn't have a place to live just yet he checked himself into the Satyr and once in his room he did his best to shed the stress of looking over his shoulder constantly though easier said than done. The curtains were closed and his suitcase was lifted, clothes being pulled out and hung up as just because he was running didn't mean he had to look bad while doing it. Vincent now sat on the edge of the bed and leaned forward, pushing his hands into the dark curls and just breathing, tempering the panic and calming the rush of emotions. The first thing he did after getting settled into his room was take a shower, change his clothes and go right back out again as he was new in town and he knew the benefits of familiarising yourself early on. He happened to be passing an establishment called The Long Way Down when he thought he'd heard the sound of crashing from the nearby alley so he went round to check out the noise. Clara looked at the boxes that she'd been trying to haul into the garbage that had, instead, toppled over her head and fallen on the floor, the carefully packaged boxes falling everywhere. She rubbed at her forehead and sighed heavily. Though she'd been the one to volunteer taking things outside - because she wanted to make sure she was pulling her weight (literally) - she really was weak for her size. She understood that it was a species thing; she'd learned that young. Comparatively to others of her size and build her upper body strength was laughably lacking. Pushing her hair back from her face, tucking the blonde strands behind her ears, she dropped gracefully into a crouch to start picking things up, but some of the items in the boxes, cans and the like, had started rolling away down the alley towards the mouth of it. Man. She glanced up, seeing someone standing there and she lifted a hand in greeting. "Hey," she called, feeling a sudden sense of tumult ripple over her which caused her to take in a sharp breath. "Sorry- ain't nothin' to see here save me and my klutzy ass." Of all the people he was expecting to see a slender blonde was not what he was expecting to see especially with the amount of boxes surrounding her. "You need a hand?" He asked, trailing into the alleyway to collect some of the wayward items that were making a break for freedom. "Looks like you might need one." "If y'all don't mind," Clara replied with a weak smile, pulling a couple of the boxes closer to herself. "Sorry- last thing you wanna be doin' is hangin' around garbage cans with a stranger, I'm sure." Since the entrance to the pub was just off to the left hand side of the alley she figured that he'd been headed there to start what was, probably, going to be a good evening. She tilted her head as he approached, realising that she didn't recognise him at all. There was a pain in her chest that she knew wasn't her own, and everyone's pain felt slightly different. She'd know if she'd felt this before. "Ain't seen you before, you a newbie or a local returnin' home?" "Nah, not at all," Vincent shook his head and moved closer to where the boxes and the blonde was. She smelt... not human, but it definitely wasn't a scent he was familiar with, which probably meant she was a rarer breed of creature. "Chivalry isn't in fact dead as some may have led you to believe." He offered her a disarming smile as he picked up a couple boxes and made it look so easy as he put them into nearby trashcans. Mena the MagnificentLast Wednesday at 19:03 Clara chuckled, “Ain’t that the truth, though you’ll have a hard time convincin’ me. I’ve only met two since I moved here an’ you’re the second one.” Getting to her feet, she brushed her hands on her pants and then held one out for him to shake, offering a warm smile. Even in this light, his smile was charming, handsome. It was nice. “I’m Clara.” When the hand was offered Vincent brushed his own off on his jeans and took it a moment later. "Pleasure to meet you, Clara. I'm Vincent." Belatedly he realised he hadn't answered her question earlier. "And to answer your question from earlier, I'm new to town. Just arrived in fact." She was pretty and she had a nice accent so Summerview was looking up. “Then this ain’t the best welcome you could get, rummagin’ around in trash with a stranger,” Clara looked a little apologetic, “but I am real glad for the assist.” Boxes restacked she moved to pick them up again, taking a deep breath before doing so. "Trust me it's not the worst welcome I could have had and have had." Vincent shot her a reassuring smile before he frowned when she insisted on picking up the boxes again. "Hey now I was helping you with those." He was a vampire after all and it definitely came with perks even if it hadn't been his first choice at a future. Clara stilled as the box was lifted out of her hands even as she'd managed just about to get herself upright with it. Her arms had already been shaking with the effort of holding it, though, and honestly that was one of the worst things about being a unicorn. There were a few others, but the extreme lack of upper body strength was definitely up there. "I dunno," she pointed out with a little smirk, "don't think that speaks all that highly 'bout places you've been if the bar's set that low for a greetin'." Vincent gave a warm laugh and arched an eyebrow. "Well, I was in Vegas and before that there were some very questionable places I hit up before finding my way to the bright city of neon and strip." He shifted to deposit the boxes into the opening of the nearby trashcan which was pretty damn high so there would've been a struggle for Clara. "Is that all of them?" "Uh, yeah, for now. I ain't takin' the next lot out," she told him, tucking her hair behind her ear again as she did. "I passed through Vegas once, it was a little... lil' too intense for me." She looked up at Vincent and nodded, "Thanks for helpin' me out, I appreciate it." "Vegas is that," Vincent agreed with a smile. "It's a lot to take in and if it's not your thing then it's super overwhelming." He shook off her thanks. "My pleasure. I mean, I figured I might as well make a good first impression on the person I met here." "I'm the first person you met here?" Clara asked, looking somewhere between pleased, delighted and then also quite embarrassed. "Damn, then that's even a worse impression there's definitely more important, interestin' people to meet here. But if you wanna come in for a drink, y'all can have your first one on the house on account of you helpin' me here." Vincent's lips tugged into another relaxed smile. "A drink would definitely be appreciated. Haven't had one since I left Vegas behind in my rear view mirror." Which was in his opinion completely unacceptable. He jerked a thumb over his shoulder. "I assume I need to go in via the actual entrance?" Clara chuckled, "Yeah, probably for the best. But if y'all head straight for the bar I'll fix you up good an' proper, I promise." "Alright then," Vincent remarked with a nod of his head before he took a couple steps backwards not once taking his eyes off Clara. "I'm going to hold you to that, Clara." With a grin and wink he turned on the heels of his boots and started back towards the front of the bar itself. |