Sunday, December 28th, 2008 Who: Lucas and Klaus What: Meeting Where: Student commons When: Evening Status: Incomplete(?)
Klaus was sitting on the couch in the common room, watching TV. The dorms seemed to be pretty much empty since everyone was away for the holidays. He'd spent his first day afraid to come out of his room since he didn't know who or what he would run into. He sniffed a bit and hugged one of the couch pillows. He was watching the Venture Brothers and wearing his favorite Batman shirt. For an extra pick me up, he also had on a cheap Batman Halloween mask. It wasn't really working though so the mask was currently pushed up to the top of his head. He looked a bit pathetic but essentially harmless.
Lucas had gone to check on his sister and make sure she had settled in after he had sent his initial journal post. There wasn't much there that would lure him back to his room though--just his suitcase and his laptop. So he'd set to exploring, wandering through the mostly empty hallways with his hands tucked into his pockets.
He looked jaunty and cheerful as he moved; not quite like he belonged just yet, but it didn't appear like he was worried about not fitting in. The sound of the television going lured him towards the common room though, and he paused in the entryway to try and figure out what the other guy was watching. "... Venture Brothers?" The batman mask was... a new one, but who was he to judge?
Hearing a voice behind him, Klaus nearly jumped out of his skin. He fell off the couch and jumped back up, looking around and saying, "Nobody saw that!" Which of course wasn't true. He looked at the man seeing that he was human (sort of anyway, he wasn't sure anyone was completely human here) and he bit his lip. He didn't feel an urge to rush at him and rip his throat out or anything but he wasn't comfortable around humans.
"Whoa, whoa..." Freeing his hands from his pockets, Lucas made a staying motion, grinning reflexively. The kid was jumpy as hell, that was for sure. "Saw what?" He could humor him--there was no harm in that.
"You okay?" He looked... almost scared, which had Lucas glancing behind himself to see if there was something there he should be worried about. He wasn't scary--at least, he didn't think so--so it had to be something else. Although he was almost immune to random scary shit thanks to his sister.
"Uh... Yeah. Just kinda, um... Having a heart attack. You scared me," he admitted and sat back down on the couch. He made room so the man could sit too if he wanted, but Klaus was way on the other end of the couch. He was clearly not okay with personal contact. He tried to smile and ended up flashing fang, which made him clap a hand over his mouth. "Ah hell..." He pulled his mask back over his face, hoping to maybe hide his embarrassment. It wasn't going to work of course but it was worth a try.
"Sorry about that." Slowly lowering his hands, Lucas approached the couch and then slid onto the cushioned seat, at the opposite end from the jumpy guy. Jumpy vampire more like--spotting the glint of a fang, one brow quirked upwards.
He had to fight a grin when the mask slid into place, just because it was a little random. Rather than stare, though, he looked towards the TV and relaxed backwards. "So what episode is this, anyway?"
"Um... Showdown at Cremation Creek Part 2," he replied. "It's one of my favorites because of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Klaus Nomi. It's pretty campy." He waited a few minutes until he'd gotten himself back under control. When he did he pushed his mask up on his head again. He was still pretty tense though.
It wasn't even so much that the guy was bugging him. He seemed nice. He just hadn't been around anyone besides his maker and other vampires since he'd been turned.
"Ah. The Phantom Limb..." He relaxed even further into the cushions, in the vain hope that if he was calm, Batman would as well.
Amused at the mental nickname, he glanced over. Nope--still tense. "You want me to head out? I'm Lucas, by the way."
"I'm Klaus. I'm not used to being around... People," he told him honestly. "Not since I was changed anyway. So I'm uh, I'm trying to get used to them." He didn't mention that it was pretty difficult or the reason behind said difficulty. It hurt to talk about.
"Nice to meet you." It just looked like it hurt to talk about it, so Lucas didn't press. The kid was like a wound up spring, ready to fire. "How old are you, anyway?"
"Um... I'm 22?" He said, as though he wasn't completely sure that was the right answer. "I had my birthday in October." He pulled his legs up and wrapped his arms around them, turning back to watch the TV. A small smile appeared on his face from something Hank Venture was doing, but at least it was there.
"Ah." His sister's age. Assimilating this, Lucas looked back towards the TV. A moment later he snickered lightly at the antics of the cartoon characters. He had spotted the smile from the corner of his eye, but didn't comment on it--the less he brought attention to him, the better, or so it seemed. "I haven't had a chance to watch this in weeks."
"I've got the series on DVD... My stuff was waiting for me when I got here." That made him shiver. Someone had gotten into his apartment and taken his stuff. So this was planned. He was trying to focus on the positive though as he pointed out, "They brought my Batman pajamas."
"You've got a thing for him don't you." Slanting a wry glance at him, he chuckled.
"Which movie was better?" Maybe talking about something he obviously liked would help.
"The Dark Knight was the best, they didn't utilize Ra's Al Ghul to his full capabilities. Same for Scarecrow in Batman Begins. Batman Forever and Batman and Robin were monstrosities..." He shook his head sadly. "The Dark Knight was perfect." That also brought a smile to his face. Also small but still there.
"Joker creeped me out." He had to admit it. "Ledger made that character into the stuff of nightmares--all the other movies and shows he's just been... well, a joke."
"That's why his Joker was perfect. Nicholson was creepy but he wasn't... He wasn't enough," he said. He took the mask off completely and set it aside. "Sure he wasn't chemically scarred like in the comics but unlike most fans that's a minor detail."
"Frankly it's more tragic and realistic than chemical scarring." Lucas was content with the conversation, which hadn't gone so into depth that he'd lost track. And the mask was gone, which was a good thing.
"That's what I liked about it. Sure they weren't necessarily cannon. But they're amazing and some of the best Batman story telling I've ever seen. Hands down." He looked over at Lucas and added, "So you're... Are you a Batman fan or humoring me?"
Shrugging both shoulders, Lucas lifted his hands and spoke as he waved them a little, as if judging the difference between two invisible objects. "Column A, column B... I doubt I'm quite the same avid enthusiast that you are, but I've read a few comics and seen a few movies in my day."
Klaus smiled a bit and looked a little self conscious as he said, "Actually I got my bachelor's in sequential art." When he realized that Lucas might not know what that means he added, "I basically got my degree in comics."
"Really?" Brows arched curiously, he shifted in his seat, so that he was half-facing the younger male and leaned against the arm of the couch. "No wonder you're so in the know." His own degree was not nearly so interesting. And it made him feel old--so he left it unmentioned.
"It's what I want to do. I'm not the most talented artist but I love writing the stories," he started to uncurl a bit. He wasn't so tense or worried now. He hadn't jumped on Lucas and tried to kill him so he was doing okay so far.
"Which is really the more important part of the whole process, isn't it? Art can be great, but a shitty story ruins the whole deal." Watching him, Lucas shifted around to make himself comfortable again, but to where he could still watch the vampire.