Contact [SVR]

[Bug (DELETED 9849)]

WEARING

Once Charlie’d left him to his own devices, Bernard moved away from the bar in search of a warm drink.

He nursed a cup of hot chocolate to stifle any chance of breaking his three month streak of sobriety, and moved idly about the tents to keep himself from growing bored. Along the way, he pocketed his tie, discomforted by the pressure about his neck, and sufficiently warmed by the drink and scattered heaters to sport a loosened collar. An outdoor event in February had struck him as odd, but the organisers had clearly considered the implications and planned accordingly.

Just as he exchanged his drink for a cigarette, the phone in his pocket vibrated.
Seldom did he keep it on anything other than silent.
(Not that he would have heard it ping over the music and conversation.)

Pocketing the unlit cigarette, Bernard begun walking in the indicated direction, curious as to what he’d find upon reaching his ‘destination’.

[Odessa]

w e a r i n g

"You owe me for this."

The words fell on deaf ears as the blonde that had forced her hand turned, waved a hand, and disappeared into the crowd. The moment her back was turned, she thought to bolt. She even grabbed her phone and slid from the seat - but it was too late. As she made her way to her feet, her phone tinged, and the app filled the screen. The app, that against her will, Starla had downloaded and filled out for her. Her jaw tensed, and she narrowed her eyes on the blaring words indicating that a match had been found. For her. A match for her.

It was almost laughable.

Tossing her hair over her shoulder the Latina ran the pad of her thumb over her crimson stained lower lip and frowned. She still had time to disappear. It was what she was good at, after all, but something held her in place. Something told her to see this through, to see just who had been unlucky enough to be paired with her. Within seconds, the frown shifted, and a devious smirk took its place as she lifted her dark gaze to scan the crowd. It would only be a moment, and her match would appear - and then, her evening could begin.

[Bug (DELETED 9849)]

As a coder, Bernard didn’t undermine the validity of the algorithm used to pair people up. Code was simplistic in nature, and did what it was written to do. It was the human component — the answers to the registration survey in this situation — which threw it all into turmoil. He himself had answered most of them falsely given his ill disposition towards the whole event. No doubt there were some participants who’d answered candidly, seeking a successful relationship. He hoped, for her sake, that his ‘blind date’ wasn’t amongst the hopeful.

20 ft
10 ft

Glancing up from his screen, Bernard sought out the few singles hanging around. The lace hem of her dress caught his eye. He approached, and the phone indicated the red and blue dot were in the same spot.

“Odessa?” he inquired, British accent twisting the name to some variant of Odysseus. Taking in the length of her legs and the bright shock of red across her lips, he pocketed his phone and offered his hand to shake, “Bernard.”

[Odessa]

When the man approached, her name rolling from his tongue with an accent she struggled to place, she found the situation laughable. While he was attractive – for an older man – he was also unmistakably human. The scent alone was enough to cause her lips to curve, but it was the sound of his blood pumping steadily through his veins that allowed the smallest of laughs to escape. “Si, I am Odessa,” she responded, fathomless dark eyes locked on orbs of blue as her slender – and chilled – hand slid into his. She allowed the touch to linger for only a second before she was pulling away and running that same hand once again through her hair.

In that moment, when their skin no longer connected, she realized she hadn’t the slightest idea what she was supposed to do. She didn’t date. She didn’t choose the men in her life, or what she did with her evenings. This was all entirely new, and she didn’t like the unsteady sensation is caused in her chest. However, her face remained impassive as she lifted a hand and waved it towards the tents. “I am not sure what is expected to happen, Bernard, but if you have any ideas…”

[Bug (DELETED 9849)]

Bernard had learned a thing or two about vampires since meeting Charlie. Every time he believed a rule cemented however, he’d find himself faced with an exception. Obsessed with symmetry and logic, it was at times hard to accept the exceptions. Which was why, for the most part, he ignored them. Instead, he focused on what he knew: pale and cold skin, no billowing clouds of warmed breath, inhuman reflexes, and so on. It wasn’t fail proof vetting, but it worked on most occasions. He lacked the ability to otherwise sense the undead, except for Jesse, whose presence tickled the human’s amygdala in a way few predators did.

Odessa’s presence didn’t set off any alarms, but he believed it safe to bet on vampire. In any case, it didn’t matter. If he’d learned anything from his divorce, it was that a woman needn’t be undead to be the death of him. That said, he didn’t expect anything too extreme or untoward to happen to him tonight.

“I’ve walked around… there is dancing, if you’d like. The dodgems and a few other country fair games… Food, drink… Would you like something to drink, or…” He’d forgotten how one did these things. After his marriage, alcohol and wads of cash had been his crutches when navigating women. Now, he had neither.

Bernard pocketed his phone, trading it for the pack of cigarettes.
“Do you smoke?”

[Odessa]

He didn’t run like she had expected him to.

The fact he remained before her, a look of ease about him, spoke volumes of the man. Did he know what she was? Could he sense the danger that crept beneath her skin and darkened her veins? What, if anything, would he do if she were to step beneath the light that swayed from the tents entrance? Would he cringe away in disgust at the way her flawless skin would morph into something grotesque? The thoughts flooded her mind as she stood there, one brow arched and a hand on her hip, fingers tapping away with an unsteady rhythm.

“I would rather not deal with the catastrophic tantrum my ‘friend’ would have if I were to drink, so no,” she responded as she bit into the corner of her lip to control the devilish smirk threatening to appear. When he mentioned dancing, she glossed right over it, her features shifting for a moment to something dark, before she shrugged. “I don’t smoke, but if you saw a game of interest...”

In the back of her mind, the little voice she kept locked away told her to show more interest, to at least try but she didn’t see the point in it. She wasn’t looking for love. ****, she wasn’t even looking for sex. She was there because if the infuriating tether that bound her and the ***** that killed her. Of course, she said none of this aloud. Instead, she curled her fingers around the back of her neck and watched him.

[Bug (DELETED 9849)]

There was an undercurrent of bitterness that soured her lovely accent when she spoke of her friend. Or so Bernard thought to himself. He considered her words, but chose not to dwell on the matter. Of course, he could always ask, but the lines had only just been drafted, and perhaps she’d share more of her own accord along the way. He didn’t ask. If anything, as a recovering alcoholic, he knew all too well the weight of seemingly innocent questions. Instead, he returned the cigarettes to his pocket. The itch could be scratched later. Games sounded like the best way to entertain them both, or so he hoped.

“There are a few this way, we could take a wander,” he replied, offering a friendly smile and his arm. He foggily remembered the last time he’d been to a carnival. Too drunk for his own good (and eventually those of others), he’d been deemed a ‘mark’ early-on and lost most of his cash. Tonight, he’d have his wits about him.

“How good a shot are you? I’ve got my eye on a cuddly toy.”