Red lights (Glade)

[Elijah Brooks]

It’s raining tonight - the misty sort that gets into your bones.

Eli pulls his blue woolen coat snug around his body; even though it has a hood it’s doing little to keep out the damp chill. He watches the sky as he walks hurriedly between awnings for shelter. The clouds hang low and stream across the sky in bands of grey. Tall buildings, towers, and cranes pierce the heavens like shiny swords. Every shop window, welcome sign, and streetlight wears a halo. The city seems to get a little crazy when it rains because he’s jostling for arm space and ducking away from umbrella spokes with every step. It’s even worse on the roads; car lights beam past him in rows of red and white and stir up waves of gritty water. It feels like he’s seeing double when he stops at a crossing; looking at his water-logged boots he observes a trembling reflection in oily puddles. He isn’t that nervous. Not yet.

Crossing the street, Eli manages to break away from the worst of the crowd and continues his walk to the Moonlight Lotus Cafe in relative peace. It’s actually a good thing that the nights are so vibrant; he couldn’t imagine meeting complete strangers alone in the dark. It is impossible to predict just who he is meeting from one night to next. Tonight’s mystery guest hasn’t shared a single detail with him - not even enough to figure out whether Eli should be expecting a man or a woman. It doesn’t matter to him one way or the other and he’s used to ironing out the details of their exchange when they meet up in person - so their contract stays between them. It’s just that Eli is uncharacteristically nervous tonight and not even the safety of being in a public internet cafe can help quell his fidgeting heart.

Eli takes up the first table by the door and settles in. The first thing he does is peel off his coat and fold it - wool side out - over the seat so that it’s like an extra layer of cushioning. The inside of the coat is lined with grey silk where ornate florets of black thread compete with the modern styling of his outfit. He tugs on the sleeves of his red jumper once he’s sat down so that the cashmere covers the white of his knuckles. With both elbows on the table, Eli has one fist resting under his chin and the other closed around his smartphone. He rereads his emails from tonight’s guest, but it doesn’t make him feel any better either. He knows the person’s alias - Glade - and that’s all there is to it. He knows that they found his hidden message and they agreed to meet him here; to look for a man in red wearing a rose brooch.

The reminder pulls his head from his phone and he looks around the cafe. There are few empty tables, but only a handful have more than one person. A lot of the people here look like they’re lost in their own worlds; some are writing blogs, doing their homework, uploading their snaps to Instagram, having loud conversations through a video messenger, and there’s a few there just playing games on their devices. It’s kind of how he expected it to be: intimate and informal. There’s not a single one of them who look the type to intervene if things look like they’re getting violent, but their strong moral compasses will have them phoning the cops in seconds. Eli doesn’t think this meeting will lead to anything extreme like that, though; he’s rarely - if ever - felt unsafe.

Anxiety gradually becomes excitement and Eli is feeling a lot better about this whole thing. Now all he has to do is wait for the mysterious Glade to pick him out; a rose amongst thorns.

[Glade (DELETED 11640)]

What a world it was, when Glade was turned, things were...strange. At first it was disbelief, it wasn't exactly a typical turning. He was thrown out a window and only was fortunate enough to turn while falling. But, it didn't actually take long to figure out what he could or couldn't do at first. Daylight was an absolute no which he didn't even bother to question, so he'd had little trouble there. It was all the other things, like the black blood, and the lack of a shadow, ironically. However, the web had turned out to be a much more major factor then he would have expected for an underground civilization. And while he didn't find this Elijah Brooks on any of the vampires forums, it was still a part of how he came across him. He caught the code pretty fast, it wasn't exactly supposed to be supremely difficult he imagined. Though there was a good bit of time going piece by piece so he knew what it actually said.

He knew who he was looking for, where, and when. Or at least he knew what he was told. The man was giving blood, for a price, to vampires. Glade hadn't had too many issues getting it himself quietly. But, someday, that might not work out so well, so if he reduced the number of feedings by force then he would also reduce the chances of ever getting caught. And he just hoped that was a fair trade for some human knowing his face. The cold didn't bother him anymore, not as he was, but he still wore a good coat to keep up appearances. Besides, he didn't like the way the water clung to someone when it was just nonstop raining on you. He managed his way into the café letting out a breath as he did so. He pulled off his coat half folding it across his arm as his eyes glanced around the far ends of the room from one side to another...where was...oh, he was far closer to the door then expected. The man didn't look like a hunter so that was a good sign, and neither did anyone else here. But, there was always the chance. That was why there was a pistol hidden inside the coat after all. He made his way to the table and tapped his hand on it smiling at the man, "You wouldn't happen to be Elijah Brooks would you? Glade." he added his name afterwards. He spoke relatively quietly to avoid anyone else hearing it, just in case the man needed his own name kept secret.

[Elijah Brooks]

In the short moments before Glade is to arrive, Eli considers the alias and what it could mean. He’s an artist and therefore a very accomplished daydreamer, so he can quickly imagine a person behind the name. The first thing he pictures is a pair of deep-set eyes; as mysterious and pale as a foggy moor. Skin, the colour of silver yew bark, comes into focus next; it spreads like moonlight over high cheekbones and a turned up nose before folding into raspberry soft lips and shaping the jaw into a pretty point. Auburn hair dances around her shoulders in beachy waves; preserving the rays of her last ever daylight. She wears an emerald green sweater dress - though she no longer feels the cold - and a pair of nude pumps. She’s still in possession of her grandmother’s crucifix too; the gold chain is tight to her throat and the delicate pendant sits within the crease of her collarbones. Her petite frame and height easily fools people into believing that she’s a freshman in college, but behind the Bambi eyes and Snow White smile, she is a killer.

A rapping of knuckles on the table alerts Eli to the fact that he’s no longer alone and pulls him sharply out of dreamland. He stares up at the other individual past the point where it is considered polite, but for long enough that understanding grips him. Suddenly that dumbfounded expression on his face melts into a warm smile; he stands to greet his companion at long last.

“Yes, I am. Hi,” Eli says softly in return. He offers his hand to the vampire for a tender handshake; his own skin smooth, hot, and pulsing ever-so-lightly from the rhythm of his kindling heart. “Pleasure to meet you,” he adds, then takes a seat. “Thanks for joining me tonight.”

To Eli’s surprise, Glade is not the woman he was picturing at all. As it turns out, Glade is not even a woman, but a tall, raven haired gentleman with piercing blue eyes. At least his imagination was spot on with the skin colour - of what Eli can make out beneath a dense beard, heavyset eyebrows, and a full head of thick hair. It ages him in a way that a cold dark cellar ages expensive wine and makes Eli look like he’s still sucking on juice boxes in contrast. Glade looks like the type of man who’s lived the kind of experiences that Eli has only read about; the kind that change the core of who you are as a person. It’s almost daunting to be in his presence, but it’s too late to walk away now even if he wanted to. The best solution in this scenario is to let the buyer talk so Eli can understand just what to sell.

[Glade (DELETED 11640)]

Glade smiled and took the hand with a nod, his mind was in the area of caution and suspicion. Rather then the manipulative fox he often otherwise would be. As he shook the hand he was fully aware that his own cold grip would have been a bit of a clear note of warning had he lived somewhere a little warmer. He could feel the blood running through Elijah, and reminded himself there were people present. The deal was payment for blood, and they'd be discreet about it.

He sat down and sighed in thought, "Before we get very far I need you to understand something, I may not be a fighter like some are. But if you're a hunter or in league with them, I can still make your life pretty painful if you decide to mess things up for me." normally, Glade would never be so threatening, but he was a vampire now in a world where threats could lie anywhere, his face softened now and the smile returned for a moment again before dissipating into a neutral expression, and holding his hands up defensively for a second, "That said, I have no intention of making this any harder for you then it needs to be. I can only guess you've done this before given where you put that message so I would hope you understand we're not all completely crazy. I'm willing to make an exchange fairly regularly. Just run me through how exactly these things normally go for you," he said leaning back. Even now his voice was low and quiet, he was listening carefully to everyone moving, watching every individual who may be within earshot or watching them. Making certain nobody else was catching onto their conversation, while also being ready to get the heck out of there if someone was.

He, admittedly, was still a bit on edge. They were in public, and he didn't feel safe about that right now, not talking about this. The sooner they could get this officially over with and out of anyone's eyes the sooner he'd feel safe. Public opinion could potentially be against him if he were revealed as a vampire and he didn't like that idea.

[Elijah Brooks]

Glade's hand is as cold as his attitude, but Eli doesn't mind. He is still smiling as they sit opposite each other and only adjusts his lips into a soft line when Glade gives him a warning. Eli has always been the type to stay grounded when things get tense and the pressure amps up. There's no real need to panic in most situations and as far as Eli's concerned, dealing with vampires is not much different than dealing with regular people. It's perfectly natural to feel the way Glade is feeling in that moment - he's seen it before. He also watches with contentment as Glade's shoulders relax and a soft smile creeps onto his face.

“Well alright then. Let me just reassure you that I understand your apprehension,” Eli speaks calmly; his lips curl into a confident smile and he leans forward slightly. “But I have done this before and it doesn't benefit me to share your information with anyone. Just like how I've shared my information with you, I expect that we're agreed about discretion.”

Eli knows that he's putting his life on the line with each new vampire he meets; not simply from the threat of being dinner, but from the threat of overzealous vampire hunters too. Not everyone who lives in darkness has darkness in their heart and not everyone who lives in the spotlight is all that bright. The only way to understand who a person truly is, is to take the leap of faith and find out. He is hoping that he can trust Glade just as much as he can be trusted and while he's hardly the one to feel comfortable taking the first step, he doesn't shy from it. In acting more confident than he is, Eli finds that he can be strong. Eli brings his fists up under his chin, fingers sprawl over each cheek, as he gazes at the vampire in front of him.

“To answer your question about how this whole thing works. Well. That's almost entirely up to you,” he adds. “It depends how you'd like it. Everyone's different.” Eli lifts one shoulder in a casual shrug. “For example, I can get it bagged for you or you can arrange a direct delivery. We can get to know each other or remain complete strangers. It's your dinner and I'm your chef.”

There are no pauses or inflections in Elijah's speech - it feels too suspicious. He has practiced these lines over and over and finds that most people latch onto his hidden messages fairly well. Glade is smart enough to understand just what he's talking about and Eli doesn't want to insult him with any unnecessary fuss.

“I just ask that you respect my health,” he says stoically, his brows lifting for a moment. “We can arrange regular meetings or deliveries, but we both need to agree a time and place. That's all. You can pretty much ask me anything and I'll do my best to get it. How does that sound so far?”

[Glade (DELETED 11640)]

Elijah seemed like he was probably going to be fine for keeping it a secret, at least intentionally speaking. Course he'd probably done it before, and given that, probably understood what might happen if he were to betray a vampire. Glade could only imagine how many threats he'd had...or, well that wasn't entirely fair he'd had some threats himself but they were mostly made while he was being attacked so it was still a bit of a different matter.

The use of the terminology for dinner and chef certainly made Glade feel uneasy, though not visibly so, he just adjusted his head as he listened and thought. He had not gotten entirely used to feeding on people quite just yet. He still did it of course, it was a necessity, and sometimes there was something much better about drinking it straight from a human rather then just paying for a bag of it. Course he wasn't going to have it bagged, he could get that easily enough anywhere. As for respecting his health, that was perfectly acceptable, he'd have done that anyway. Glade was a thief, and a trickster, but he wasn't going to directly harm someone...even avoided direct conflict with people he hated. However in their case it was just because he preferred to screw them up from the shadows, ironic for him to do that now.

He tapped his fingers on the table again, and looked up for a moment, "Hmm," he groaned for a moment, "Yeah, alright. You know Quarintine? Near Wickbridge station, I don't expect you to go in. There's an abandoned shop near the entrance I think, probably a more convenient place unless you can think of one. As for time, just needs to be at least three hours before sunrise and obviously give me some time to get there. Otherwise, I don't really care. And for knowing each other, that's not exactly something I had any time to think on. I have zero problems with humans, just have to be careful around most of them so that's really up to you."

Well, that was about everything he could think of to be addressed, it wasn't like he could eat or drink anything here. That was an ability he'd lost when he was turned, and about the only one he really felt had any kind of impact on his life. He wasn't a foodie or anything but there was some pleasure in variety of something that you could have without having to worry about getting your head blown off. "I guess, I need to know what the price would be, and for if I were to be a...repeat customer." the wording still felt so wrong but that's just how things were going to be. That's how the world was for him now and, like violence, it was something he was going to have to get used to.

[Elijah Brooks]

Eli sits back to listen to Glade’s proposal; he also watches his reaction as closely as he is able to to avoid appearing overly eager or overly cautious. He is both of those things on the inside, though: his stomach is so tense that it’s becoming a workout for his abdominal muscles just to be sitting there. He somehow manages to keep his shoulders lax and his legs from shaking, but the only way to keep his anxiety from showing in his hands is to clench them together like he’s making a vow; his pinkies stick out from the wall of fingers and thumbs and connect at the tips to form a v shape on the table. Glade, on the other hand, appears more agitated than nervous, like he just wants to get this whole thing over with. He sits like a sculpture - barely moving, but expressive all the same. To the observer, he gives the same impression as Rodin’s bronze sculpture: The Thinker.

“I have been there before,” Eli says valiantly, only to finish in a hushed voice, “apparently ears are valuable ingredients.” Eli shrugs his shoulders and smiles before returning to his normal speaking volume. “So I can meet you at the shop with an agreed time if you send me an email to confirm. Unless you want my phone number?”

It’s when the subject of price comes up that Eli is visibly more nervous. He takes a deep breath and tries to control how quickly the air flows back out so that it doesn’t make a noise that suggests he’s frustrated. He is a little frustrated though. It’s not because of anything Glade has done, but because the subject of money seems like a taboo subject - worse than giving your life blood away for free. Eli feels the same way about selling his pieces of art. It’s difficult to put a number of worth against something that, to the creator, is invaluable and yet superfluous. There is nothing to stop any vampire from getting their blood for free, so how could Eli - some kid with sweet blood - dare to put a price tag on it?

“Uh. Well. I’m not sure if a bulk discount is really possible on this service. The more I have to give, the more of a toll it takes. You understand?” Eli mumbles through one of his fists before brushing it through his hair. When he’s resting his jaw across his palm, he adds, “I mean, consecutively, it takes a toll. I also have to respect my other buyers, so the price can vary, but I start with a base of $650 and negotiate from there.”

[Glade (DELETED 11640)]

Glade chuckled at the mention of ears and half nodded, of course, zombie ears. They didn't technically have a huge amount of value given how many there were. But if you were a ritualist they certainly could come in handy, they had another value as well, that organization trying to push down the zombie population as much as possible, or at least contain it, they paid a rather hefty price for the ears. He'd made use of that a few times, it was an easy way to practice and made fairly good money. He nodded again at the mention of an email, "Email works, phone number might be convenient for the sake of time but email is probably fine." he answered with a shrug

He smiled slightly and raised an eyebrow as Eli got nervous as money came up. That was actually rather comforting, it took a great deal out of the chance that he had any intention of betraying him. And his answer also helped to further that idea. Glade breathed in and out and leaned back in thought twisting a finger in his beard for a few moments, "Yeah, makes sense, I can follow with that. About how often would you be able to do this? Specifically in my case." he asked returning his hand to the table.

It was a fair price, a bit more then a blood bag from contraband store but it was fresh from the vein, so it had a certain aspect to it that was just a bit further. He needed to know ahead of time, just how often he could get this. It'd make it easier to organize things, and if he could schedule it, he could work everything around it.

[Elijah Brooks]

There’s a sound that comes rumbling up from the vampire’s chest; a pithy, breathy noise that is a lot like laughter. Eli doesn’t know why he’s so surprised to hear Glade chuckling all of a sudden. He knows that vampires can laugh - if they can still pass air through their voice box in order to talk, then they must be able to laugh too. So it’s the reason behind the chuckle that has Eli startled. His brows furrow lightly, his lips curl up to greet his right ear, and there’s heat blossoming over his cheeks. He glances down at his own hands, which found their way into his lap once he realised that Glade was laughing on his account. He shouldn’t have been bothered by it - people laugh at him all the time; astounded by his naivety even for a 22 year old. He begins tugging at his own sleeves until a thread pulls away from the rest. He unravels enough of the crimson cotton to wrap around two fingers by the time he hears Glade speak again.

Eli takes a moment to consider Glade's question. It’s a matter of sitting back and taking stock of what he can afford to give and whether or not that will satisfy the vampire. Eli’s lips scrunch together as he looks Glade up, down, and side-to-side. There’s not a massive height difference between them, which he remembers from standing to shake Glade’s hand when they first met. It’s clear, however, that while puberty seems to have hit Glade like a truck, it is still driving down the road toward Eli. The crimson thread is tightened around his fingers. Eli moistens his lips before answering.

“I think daily is doable,” he says and nods his head; his lips lifting into a decisive smile. “A couple of times a day would be kind of taxing, but if it’s a matter of urgency, I’ll do my best to help.”

It’s at this point that Eli wonders what else there is to settle between them. They’ve gone through the basics and he does get a good enough vibe from Glade to trust him. There are things left he wants to know about Glade’s dining habits, but those kinds of questions aren’t acceptable in a public forum. Before they can go anywhere more private to finalise their agreement, Eli wants to make sure that Glade is happy with how things have been progressing.

“So. Do you have any further questions for me?” he asks. Somehow, his voice doesn’t betray how nervous he is.

[Glade (DELETED 11640)]

Glade nodded again in thought as he answered his question on how often. Daily, that might be a bit much to pay for at present. Sure he could pay it, but it would be a bit taxing. And while he preferred otherwise, he could still take it from someone he ran into if he had to. He'd have to decide on that later, "Well I may not be able to do so daily, there are some cheaper ways to get things and eventually that may occur. But perhaps weekly would work, at least for now." he responded.

Then came the possibility of any further questions, he leaned back, glancing to the side in thought tapping his fingers on the table, "I don't think so, especially here. Things all seem to be well and good on this." he shrugged trying to think, would that be the end then. He would see Elijah's reaction after that, if it sounded like it was over, then Glade would be ready to go, if there was anything left to do then they'd move onto that.