Fangs and Scales [PRIVATE]

[Maria]

Maria had to make a face in response to his comment about losing a limb, "Excuse me?" she asked in a both surprised and uncertain voice, "That....yes that would be something to remember." she grimaced at the thought of having a limb cut off. Or anything even remotely closed to that made her shudder. Maria really wasn't that much of a fighter. Sure she could handle herself, but she didn't go around attacking things. Certainly not things that were dangerous enough to remove a limb.

She seemed to get quite happy again in reaction to his push on the idea of a boat. "Yeah?! I like it. Definitely gonna look into it. Then I could really find somewhere to go swimming, oh, and make money...naturally. Sure I could make a business out of it." she tapped her chin thoughtfully, "You know I bet I could go wreck hunting too."

The Encantado nodded vigorously about the odd way to meet someone. Weird and unexpected. She cocked her head as he said he should find a way to repay her. Having to stifle a laugh as he asked about riding a bike. He did have good ideas though, she held her hands together and smiled, clearly enjoying his suggestions, "I think I should take you up on that. Lemme think," She sat there for a few moments, legitimately trying to think of something they could do, "You know dancing actually does sound like fun...but I've never played laser tag! Honestly I don't even know if they have that in Harper rock but they definitely should! I could go for either of those things. Honestly a lot of stuff is rather fun to me, I think I'm just a cheerful person? You do video games? No skip that, I can probably do that online. What I can't do is dance, play lasertag, or skate alone, and it still be fun. Those just don't make sense."

"Oh there's the ramblings again," she said laughing at herself before looking back at him, "Sorry bout that. But yeah we should definitely do something!"

[Marty James]

Marty had noted her surprise, with mention of losing a limb to the fae. He would not elaborate, as not to freak her out unnecessarily. Maria seemed more intune with nature, it was likely they would do her no harm. That was unless she was ever turned by a vampire and Marty silently prayed she would never have to experience such a thing. The conversation had continued on a lighter path. With mention of wreck hunting, his mind swirled at the possibility of such an adventure. He hoped she would get her own boat one day. It was an amazing feeling to do something you loved for a living. Marty hoped to find that himself again, but knew not where his dreams could possibly take him next. For now he was well taken care of, his sire was still around so at least he was not facing the world alone. He tracked things down for her and for now that was enough.

With her positive reaction to future activities, Marty felt pleased with his suggestions. "Dancing is always fun! With so many styles, you could really have a good time. Do you have a style of dance you like? I can't claim to be an expert, but have tried out many different styles during my years of travel. Dance transcends beyond words, so was always a great way to be social in countries where I didn't know much of the language." A smile lingered, as he spoke. Reminiscing on times where he had danced a night away. From formal halls and parties, to night clubs or secluded bonfires in nature. He refused to admit his tap dancing days.

" Laser tag is a must then. I'm not sure if the city has a place that offers that. Sadly don't think I will be leaving town anytime soon, or I would say we fly off to the best place to play. We could settle for our own game. I can get the equipment to play, and we could just hit up some abandoned place around town. It's exciting to play with multiple people but would work just fine with the two of us. If anything we could play in a building in the QZ and just strap a few sensors on zombies." He laughed with the last part, half joking. Zombies didn't bother him but knew that was not the case for everyone in the city. Recalling the first time he had seen one, he had still been human and the reality of zombies had shaken him.

" I'm glad you enjoy so many things. I must agree, you do come off as a very cheerful person. Nothing wrong with that at all, I just hope nothing in this city ever changes that. As for video games, online is good and all but have you had an arcade experience? They have fallen in popularity over the years but such places can be a lot of fun. Nowadays you can find arcade games in all sorts of places. Bars, coffee shops, malls and those sorts of places. Cato and I went to this one place, had all sorts of games but I can't remember the name of it." He rambled on, excited to get out and do things he had not done in awhile. With the state of the world and its current situation, this was likely for many people at the moment. " Never a need to apologise for rambling though. I do it all the time. It just makes for engaging conversation." With this he had taken a step up stream, cringing a little as his foot sunk into the grim of the riverbed. He wanted to head back up the river but didn't know if he could swim against the current since his swimming skills were lacking. Walking in the river was not an enjoyable experience.

[Maria]

He didn't explain dismemberment, which was probably for the best. There was enough lone body parts today. She'd definitely end up thinking about it later. But for now it was better to just look at the happy things, like boats, and dancing, and lasertag.

She nodded in agreement about dancing and a variety of styles. However she held up her hands and shrugged at the question of style, "Not really. I've never really studied it a whole lot. It is kind of one of those things that...is universal I guess? Like smells, and food? No matter where you're from there'll always be people into it. Open to learning though!" she responded, she was certainly interested, but hadn't a clue about where to go with it. She'd not had a dancing instructor much over time so that could cause some issues. She got the idea of some of it, but it wasn't so easily implemented.

"Heh...maybe not do the zombies bit." She said just a little grossed at the idea of even trying to do that, though she quickly returned to her usual self. It wasn't like she particularly feared them. She knew they were relatively easy to re-kill, but that didn't really make it less gross. "Rest of that sounds good though! Besides I'm not really a great marksman-" she feigned the motion of firing a gun, "Could get some good practice in, especially if we ever find more people to do it with at some point. Though I'm quite sure you'll utterly crush me the first dozen go aruonds."

She hummed in thought at the matter of an arcade experience shaking her head. "You know i really haven't, though I do feel like I've seen somewhere around here that has arcade games? Nightmode maybe?" she said in thought. That was another thing she was definitely going to end up looking into, it was one thing to play on a computer or console, but arcade games were supposed to have a very specific experience. It had probably been quite a long time since she'd done that.

She smiled as he told her not to apologize for rambling, "Sor...I mean thanks!" Maria saw him cringe at the attempt to move upstream and swam up beside him, "Want some help? I could pull you up river with me maybe? That way you won't step on any more rusty hooks eh?" she offered still smiling.

[Marty James]

" It just depends on the style of dance. Some require previous instruction, simply because if done wrong, someone could get hurt. Like that time I went line dancing." He could not help but laugh with the memory, before continuing on with the conversation. " I have seen dance studios around town. If that's something you would be up for, we could find a place that could teach us both something new." He would be up for such a new experience, so long as it didn't involve uncomfortable shoes or weird tight clothing.

" Many types of dance involve little to no experience. Just moving to the beat of the music. Though even then, you still have to be careful." He had not elaborated, but knew first hand dancing with the wrong person could get you punched in the face by said persons significant other. " As for laser tag, we can do without the zombies. The game could be good practice but nothing compared to shooting an actual gun. I'm actually an ok shot, if you ever wanted someone to practice with. We could go old school and shoot cans."

He was trailing off topic, but the thought of arcade games brought him back. " I bet we could find a place easily that has a few arcade games. We could even try and hit up a place tonight, if you wanted? Maybe we could find pac-man or space invaders." Thinking on this, he wondered if she would be ok with him inviting Cato along. It was not often the two were apart but he would not bring it up just yet.

As she swam closer, and offered to help him up stream he considered it. " Would be best, to avoid rusty hooks. The murky bottom definitely holds its share of surprises. I'm just worried when I drive under. Like if I went face first to the bottom, that would not be fun..." Laughing, he squirmed at the thought. " My technique is definitely lacking, but perhaps I could get better with practice. A little help couldn't hurt. So how would this work. I could go under, try my best to swim and you could pull me along so I don't get lost to the current?" He realized he could just get out of the water, and walk along the shore line. A man in his boxers walking along the river might have attracted unwanted attention though, not that he could see anyone out and about.

[Maria]

Injuries, right, especially if you were going full blast she imagined that a misstep could end up with a good sprain or break. Not a pleasant thought. He said there were dance studios around and she clapped her hands together, "Neato! Then yes! We ought to!" she agreed, "Heh...we've got quite a list of things to do don't we?"

He certainly seemed to have knowledge, as he said, about dancing. She was not familiar as much with the issue of dancing with the 'wrong person.' That was just not a problem that she'd certainly ever run into. Though, it probably helped that she was more restrictive when it came to more romantic relations than most of her species. She believed it'd get int he way of truly getting to see what humans were like. That probably didn't put her on her species best side, but it wasn't like she really talked to them much in the first place.

Marty agreed to go without the zombies, and said that if she wanted he could also help her learn how to actually use a firearm. She gave him finger guns, "Long as I don't shoot someones eye out! I think I'm a lot more of a...wack em with a stick, or kick them, kind of person. But I guess that doesn't help very much if you're getting shot at does it?"

Ohh, could go to the arcades tonight! "Well yeah! Might as well! Not like I'm going to be going to sleep anytime soon at this rate." she added with a chuckle. Much too much excitement for that too happen.

She nodded as he mentioned going face first into the bottom. Yes she was a good swimmer but sometimes even she'd made mistakes when trying to avoid something else in the water. Mostly it was going headlong into a fish that was hidden or something though. He asked about how they'd get it to work. Pulling him with one hand would be a bit hard. So he'd either end up above her or bellow her. She ran her fingers through her hair in thought, "Well...hm, two options I guess. You hold onto me from behind, or I hold onto you from behind?" she offered shrugging, "Try and loosen up a bit, think about...er, a snake, but...sideways. A worm! Like a worm...that's not very graceful is it...Um. Move your entire body like a wave. You'll get a better feel for it when I'm swimming with you. Just try and do what I do. Keep your legs and feet together like one limb."

Maria bit her lip and then shrugged, "Best instructions I got? I know some people learn that way so it's possible."

If he was good with that, then he just had to grab her from behind or vice versa.

[Marty James]

As Maria made finger guns, Marty could not help but smirk. " Never underestimate the power of a good whacking stick! Just have to get close enough. Helps to take cover, until you can get in close. I promise to make sure you don't shoot your eye out. If you happen to shoot me, it's ok. Would not be the first time. I once dropped my gun, and managed to shoot myself in the foot." The thought at first made him laugh, but then brought on a moment of sadness. He remembered who he had been texting that night, and it pained him to know she was gone now.

With her mention of not going to sleep anytime soon, his mood brightened. " Sadly I do have to sleep at some point, but we still have a few hours before the sun comes up. Luckily I'm not like some vampires. I can make it home before passing out. Have seen some that just fall out, asleep with the sun. Like some sort of vampire narcolepsy." Shared, as he remembered the last time he had watched this happen. Marty had seen a vampire walking through the sewer. She suddenly just fell out, face down in the filth.

As she discussed his options for swimming up river, he tried to loosen up as she suggested. He did this by moving his head and arms, but his legs refused to budge for the moment. "Be the wave…. Be the wave…" He repeated the words to himself, knowing going against the current would be something entirely different. He was grateful for her assistance. She had mentioned some people learned this way, but wondered if this was true. Perhaps children learned this way, but she didn't seem to be judging him. Turning his back to her, he was ready to give it a go. " Alright, I think I'm ready to give it a try." He would wait for Maria to take hold of him, putting full trust in her, before going under the water.

[Maria]

Maria laughed a little about 'good whacking stick's' and got a little advice on using them. As well as joking about it being ok if he got shot, "Well just cause you can heal doesn't mean I want you to have a hole through your toes." she said, "That just sounds very unpleasant."

Even though she might not have to sleep just yet, it did seem he'd end up having to. She had momentarily forgotten about the issue of sunlight. Though she realized she hadn't known that it made some sleep while others could keep going. "Well at least you're lucky in that regard. I can only imagine having to just...drop asleep when the sun goes up or down. That sounds awful."

She smiled and laughed quietly as she saw him repeating the words to himself. Not mockingly, it was just...funny to see. He said he was ready, she swam up behind him, and wrapped her arms around him, "Heeere we go." she said before they ducked under, her tail did most of the work, launching them through the water. Even with the added weight and encumberment of a whole extra person, one normally larger than her, they moved rather quickly.

This was something she loved, the waters. And sharing it made it so much better.

[Marty James]

As Maria put her arms around him, he felt no warmth; this surprised him. He had not taken her for a vampire, but honestly didn't know what had granted her the ability to change in such a way. Not that it mattered what she was. Over the short time spent with her, he found her to be kind and worthy of trust. Even though they had only just met. The moment they entered the river, Marty did best to recall the advice she had given him. Be the wave, he told himself in thought. Keeping his legs together, he did his best to move and not get in her way. Reaching out with his arms, he mimicked swim strokes he had seen done before. He knew not if it made any difference, she seemed to be doing most all the work and appeared to have no trouble pulling him along.

The feeling of weightlessness overtook him, as he gave into the joy of the experience. It felt as if they moved much faster than the current had pulled him down river. He found himself even more impressed by her skill. This time keeping his eyes open the entire time. Marty was able to see many things littering the river bottom, despite the dark murk of the water. It all seemed to be over so fast, as soon they were coming up to the surface. The moment he came above water, he could not help but share his joy. " That was awesome! No wonder you love to swim so much. "

His smile held bright, as he wiped away the water that lingered on his face. His eyes looking to land. He could see the rusty fishing lure he had thrown on shore, but his clothing was nowhere to be seen. " No, this can't be happening." His gaze moving left and right, as if maybe he had misjudged where he had put his things. They were nowhere to be found. Though pinned with a small dagger to a familiar tree, it looked to be a note. At the base of the tree he could see his tome, along with his cell phone. " I seem to have jinxed myself." He had mentioned before the possibility of someone stealing clothing, so of course this would happen to him.

[Maria]

Their arrival was relatively short, but it was fairly enjoyable, bringing someone along may slow things down a bit, but sharing it added to the fun. There was only so much Marty could really do to push with them, there was the odd issue of size. her tail was rather long and naturally moved more and different than legs could. But, regardless, they made it.

Maria smiled in response to what he said, "Oh yeah, cleanest river or not, it's just...pleasant." she said. Wasn't the best at the wording for it. But he felt it, so it didn't really matter how well she could express it. And he certainly looked like he had enjoyed it.

However, she saw that joy fade as a new issue came forwards. His clothes were missing. She grimaced as she saw and heard his reaction. Yeah, not the best circumstances. He was clearly looking pretty hard, and then found the note. She wasn't really sure what the Tome was though but he had his phone. What he said might happen to her, had gone onto him, she gave a sympathetic smile, "Yeah...that's not ideal." she said.

"Well I doubt you'd look good in my clothes." She joked, somewhat, "Not sure if it helps, but I could get mine, and then go to find yours?" she asked. Unsure really what other options there were. Running around with only a pair of wet underwear didn't sound the most enjoyable.

[Marty James]

With mention of not looking good in her clothes, he could not help but smirk to himself." Would not be the craziest thing I have ever done, but you would be right. No need to track down my clothing, quite sure I know the culprit." How hilarious Cato must find himself. Marty thought to himself. The dread of the situation fading, the more he thought about it. The two were often harassing each other in such ways, it was a testament to the bond they had. Cato had at least been kind enough to have left him an easy way home. His only hope would be for Pandemonium to be empty when he tomed in to grab some of the clothing he kept stashed.

" So you know the place Nightmode? I'll just go change and can be there in 10 minutes give or take. Want to just meet me there?" This depended on his ability to go unseen. He could think of a couple people who would likely want an explanation seeing him like this. Marty knew his sire was prone to being on the computer in the common area. Silently he hoped if she were, that she would be asleep. With the way of his luck, Marty doubted it. Would not be the first time she would have caught him in an awkward situation. The situation was considered typical for him, and it would be assumed drinking was involved. Because usually it was.

Slowly he made way to the shore line. Each step an uncomfortable sensation he still was not used to, until reaching dry land. Making way, Marty gathered his few belongings. Ripping the note free, he shook his head, reading over Cato's remarks. " He is lucky I like him…" He said this more to himself, light laughter held in his words. There were no hard feelings, but Marty would certainly find a way to get Cato back for this. Looking back to Maria, he smiled. " I promise not to be long. Thanks for the swim, even if it ended on a sour note for me." With that said, Marty would use his tome and vanish right before her eyes.