A Quiet Evening (Solara)

[Doc]

Doc sat in the booth at the diner, oblivious for the moment to the events going on around him. He was writing in his journal. Why did he chose the diner for this pastime? Mainly because he tended to compartmentalize. The lab was a work place, not meant for past times. The hole was his playground, no ties to who he was could be found there. The apartment was open to the spawns. He was not going to write in it while were they were there, it would only pique their curiosity and make them want to know what he was up to. The less they knew the better. Eyrie that was also a place for work, but work of a different sort.

So somehow without him realizing it, he had chosen the diner as the appropriate place to write in his journal. Currently he was writing about KK who was knocked up with a fadebeast. The interesting part of the case of KK was that she wanted to let the gestation go to term, because.. maybe it was a real baby. He wondered at that mindset. KK was not an idiot. Logically she knew it was a fadebeast, yet she wanted to let it go to term. Was there some sort of fadebeast gestational psychosis that was causing it? Was it due to the metabolic changes in her body that caused it? Or was it a psychosis born from the desire of a child left over from her human days?

Those questions then raised others, how to test. Humans had fluids and cells that changed as diseases or illnesses exhibited themselves. Vampires had none of these aspects. So the way to determine outcomes in a predictable manner was yet not discovered; at least by him. This gestation however, could go a long ways to filling in the gaps of information that he currently had. KK was scheduled for a ultrasound, he hoped that would open up at least on avenue of information. Because it was clear, the ‘normal human style’ of testing was not going to work.

The waitress came by to check on his coffee, it was still untouched. She just shook her head and went back to her other customers. She wasn’t complaining. He never demanded attention, and he left a tip that was three times what he paid for the single untouched cup of coffee he always ordered. It was actually nice having a customer she didn’t have to jump through hoops for. At first she thought he had been waiting for a date that must have stood him up. But over time she realized, he just wanted a place where he could be left alone. She envisioned him have a nagging wife and loud obnoxious children; because he did wear a ring. Poor man, having to hide in dinner to get some peace.

[Solara (DELETED 5209)]

"Got any money on you?" Solara looked at the woman next to her as they walked the streets, panhandling for some cash or pulling a few items out of shopping bags, purses and pockets. More like Solara was panhandling while Cristine, the girl on her left was busy with her sticky fingers. Cristine always made more cash when they worked the streets like this, but Solara didn't agree with the idea of taking something that wasn't hers or earned by her, like panhandling.

"Ummmm." Solara dug her hands in her sweatshirt and pulled out a crumpled wad of bills. "Maybe like eight bucks?" Solara said quickly before she actually took the time to count it. "Make that seven and some change."

"Well, I don't feel like eating at that place by the shelter again. I'm tired of their cold fries and shitty service." Cristine rolled her shoulders as she spoke her opinion about the place Solara was sort of fond of. Not for the food, but for the regulars that were in there. The people on the streets that came in for coffee or cheap, greasy food. "Okay." Even though she was fond of it, Solara really didn't care where she ate, because, oh wait-she was a vampire! "I'm not really hungry, so you can pick the place."

"How about that place?" The dark haired woman next to her asked, pointing at some small diner they must have passed at least a hundred times before while they got money off the city streets. "Whatever you want. I don't care." Solara assured Cristine again before Cristine looked both ways and took off across the street, weaving across cars that were parked, waiting for the light to change at the end of the block. Solara looked both ways, then again before she crossed after Cristine.

Neither one of them were dressed as if they cared about what they looked like. Solara tomed to Nyla's home a couple times a week to shower and get a fresh change of clothes, but it had been over a day since she did that. Conserving water and the environment was a big deal for Solara. Her hair wasn't the bright blonde it normally was because it was just a little greasy from a day and a half of no showering, but Solara didn't particularly care. It would get washed tomorrow. Cristine, on the other hand looked as if she hadn't showered all week and due to Solara's vampire senses, she knew that to be true.

Solara's clothes were also a lot "fresher" than Cristine's, the woman wearing a dress that couldn't be completely seen under the sweatshirt she had on, but the bottom half was still very visible. She got the thing at a thrift store, and it was obvious someone made it and that the woman didn't care for high end fashion. Almost as much as she didn't care about her appearance. Cristine wore some jeans that had a few stains on them that couldn't be washed out, along with a few holes and a thin, long sleeved dark blue shirt that was starting to fray at the bottom of it. So when they both walked in to the diner, getting a few looks wasn't a big surprise.

It didn't bother Solara, being looked at. She was used to it by now. The blonde haired woman pulled out the cash from her hooded sweatshirt, as if letting them know they weren't here to loiter, then followed Cristine to a booth. She sat across from Cristine and grabbed the small menu that was sticking out behind the napkin dispenser and gave it a look over, as if she was thinking about getting something to eat, but it was just to stop from looking around and seeing how many eyes there were on her and Cristine. Solara could only be polite for so long before her mouth ran away with her at times.

"I'm going to have a bacon cheeseburger. You aren't going to eat anything at all? Breakfast at the shelter isn't for about nine hours." Cristine reminded Solara, as if she had forgotten that. Probably because Solara was never around any more for breakfast. "No. I scored some take out earlier. From that place behind the grocery store in Bullwood. That Asian place." Solara smiled, put the menu down and started playing with the bracelets on her wrists as the waitress came over and started taking Cristine's order.