A Late Night's Stroll [open]

[Harvey (DELETED 7471)]

Harvey walked out of a café angrily. "Fired. Again." He thought with a hint of sourness. It was his third time in the last six months to be fired from a store. Of course, he never blamed himself personally for being fired, but rather his co-workers and managers.

The night's air was cool. "Perfect for a walk," Harvey said to himself. The night's peaceful breeze ruffled his brown hair. He stopped at an office building and groan as he remember his parents. How they wished he had a good paying job! How they wished their younger son would take a college education. "I don't need college!" Harvey used to say to his parents. He himself wished he listened to them. Instead, he walked past the office building, mumbling to himself.

After a few minutes of aimless walking and pondering, he sat down on a park bench, all alone in the dark with his face in his hands.

[Caligrace]

Quiet.

She hated it, she hated that there was no noise, no bustling of her employees. She hated that she had been left alone with her thoughts, thoughts that plagued her mind and weighed on her heart. It had been two weeks since she had snuck out to see her father, two weeks since she had realized all that she had done. Of course, it wasn’t entirely her fault. All she had actually done was show up to a club – the rest of the story rested on her creator’s pretty blonde head. It was her hands that were soaked in Caligrace’s blood, not her own. Yet, it still didn’t ease the guilt in the pit of her stomach. It continued to churn until she felt nauseated, the blueberry shake she had consumed at closing time threatening to bathe the paperwork strewn across her desk. With a resigned sound, she took that as a sign that she needed a break – or that she needed to escape. They were one in the same in her mind.

Pushing from her chair, she smoothed out her pencil skirt and removed the pen from her hair, allowing her crimson curls to fall freely about her shoulders. The relief was instantaneous, and the sound she made caused her to be grateful that she was alone. She knew that leaving the paperwork for the next night would cost her greatly, but true to her nature, she found herself rather uncaring for the moment. It would bite her in the *** as usual, but for the night – she just needed out. As the thoughts raced one after the other in her mind, she quickly grabbed her bag and stepped out into the night, thankful that she had chosen one of the busier streets for her club.

The asphalt was bathed in the neon blue and pink lights from the MYTH sign, and once again she was awestruck at how far she had come. It was one of the reasons she couldn’t fault Freyja for what she had done, for the life she had stolen – because she had also given her everything she ever dreamed of. Everything she had worked for, every penny she had saved had finally had a chance to mean something. For now. You’re going to falter, you know you are. You’re going to hit the ground. What if you catch something on fire? Or hire the wrong person? Her thoughts warred with the joy she had felt, the anxiety causing her to clench her fists at her side. She hated that she couldn’t control it, but she knew that the bitter demon in her mind was right. She was still young, still new to this life.

Quickly, she locked the door before double – and triple – checking the security system before she tossed the keys into her Prada bag, fingers rushing to make sure the snap was secure. She knew what lingered in the streets at night, and she wasn’t about to risk them having easy access to her belongings. Though the street was more deserted than usual, she couldn’t help but feel… off. Something was amiss, the usual drunken emotions that bombarded her becoming overshadowed by another. Something darker, more desolate beat at her, causing her red painted lips to twist into a frown. The desperation called to her, and before she knew it, her expensive heels were echoing off the walls as she made her way to the source.

Are you crazy? Why are you approaching someone in the middle of the night - on a deserted street, no less? What if he's a psycho? Oh, god, what if he preys on redheads? Just turn back.

Once again her subconscious piped up, the thoughts sending her nerves into overdrive. She knew what she was doing was foolish - even for a vampire - but she couldn't seem to stop the momentum of her feet. Before she really knew what she was doing, she was in front of him, her eyes filled with concern.

“Hey, sugar. You alright?”

[Harvey (DELETED 7471)]

Harvey opened his mouth to speak, but shut it quickly. He had no emotional energy to say something witty to this woman who approached him. Instead, after a moment, he said quickly, "yes, I'm fine. Now please leave me alone— I have no care for talking to anyone right now." He scowled at her.