Path of the Vampire forum

Make ‘em smile and you can make ‘em do anything and Jack certainly had this pretty young lady grinning like the Cheshire Cat. She may have directed her attentions towards his friend the behind the bar, but Jack had played this game enough to know that her thoughts were all directed towards him. Tito yelled back, “You got it, dear!” As he poured her a beer, Jack caught him shooting him over an ‘I told you so’ look. Then the little, lady’s eyes caught his. Jack kept his most charming of smiles plastered over his lips, “Drinks are on me tonight.”

Then she stood up with a bit of a laugh. Jack was sure to keep his eyes in hers, but instead of continuing his game of attraction, the musician received quite a shock. It was her pointy pearly whites that he noticed first. Not a full mouth of them, but two very specific ones that stroked the legends and fables Tito liked to tell. When the word ‘vampiress’ fell from the girl’s lips, the world seemed to go silent for a moment. Then the young guitarist began to laugh. It was a hearty and amused laugh, nothing obnoxious, but very genuine.

Tito gave him a strange look when he brought over the two pints. One for the lady and one for Jack. Jack hadn’t ordered, but sometimes he didn’t need to. Tito was a good man like that...a good man who had to be putting him on. “What is this, man?” He asked the barkeep, composing himself a bit, but letting a giggle or two escape between his words, “A vampire, talent agent?” Jack motioned towards the card she placed on the table, “You’re really going above and beyond here to try to convince me that your ghouls and goblins are real.” He turned back to the lady, “those fangs are quite marvelous, by the way, much better than you can get in a costume shop. Did you make ‘em yourself?” Placing the glasses on the bar, Tito picked up the small business card and examined it, "Not a talent agent, my friend, but an artist.” He gave the lady a wink as he passed the card to Jack, patting him on the shoulder as he leaned in to say, “What’d I say, only a matter of time.” Tito took the girl’s debit card and his tip. Jack had completely forgotten his offer to buy her beverages for the evening. He looked from the card and back to the petite girl who was hopping back up onto the barstool. His amused look mixed with a bit of perplexity.

Her business card had a bit of a sweet, spring like smell to it. Not something that Jack would have pegged a vampire to choose...if she was truly one of those creatures, that is. The young lady was holding out her hand to him. He took it, giving her a firm shake, “Jack...Jack Diddly. Quartermaine, like the hunter?” He’d loved novels about adventure and exotic places when he was a boy and Allan Quartermain had been a reoccurring protagonist, fuel for the child’s imagination. “Obliged that you enjoyed the set, but I gotta say, I’m not much of an artist,” he said placing her card on the table and motioning towards his paper flower with the expensive leaf, “that’s about the extent of my ability.” May had been the artist. He could feel the painful tug at his heart as he remembered her detailed sketches and the vibrant colors she used to incorporate into her works. He hoped that the hurt didn’t rise to his eyes, not the time to mourn.

Tito brought back the girl’s card, “Should I keep it open or close it off?” He asked Alexandrea referring, of course, to her tab. As he walked back towards his register, Tito shook his head and gave a bit of a laugh, “You can always play here, my friend.” It was a bit of a bust aimed at Jack. He’d had offers before, it wasn’t a stretch. Jack wanted to yell back something about the bartender’s ridiculous notion that his music had some kind of supernatural ability to bring in customers, but he held his tongue. There were more important matters at hand currently. Jack sized up the woman across from him. There was no way. “It certainly sounds like you have some balls, yourself there, little lady. You expect me to believe that you’re a vampire? Alright, I’ll bite then,” Jack made sure to place emphasis on the word ‘bite’ as he shot her a wicked grin. Clearly, he was a fool to challenge a vampire.

With an exaggerated sigh, Alex went ahead and dove right into both of the males memories. Between that and the wraith's intell, she felt pretty confident she could win this game and stood back up from her barstool, rising to her full hieght. Which wasn't very impressive on it's own but when Alex had her abilities all 'turned on'? Could be pretty damn intimidating.

"Leave it open, thank you." She smiled warmly at Tito, practically beaming with kindness at the human. It wasn't an effort to do so at all for the Allurist, she already liked the barkeeper a lot. The last thing she wanted was to scare or offend the man who was just trying to make an honest living. Alexandrea could respect that. There was a time when the blonde couldn't understand that, but she had always respected it.

Turning her focus back onto the night's entertainment, Alexandera put back on her toothyist grin and chuckled wickedly. A little fun was overdue and if he couldn't take a bit of back and forth now? He wouldn't fare well with the rest of the family. Plus she would bet her left titty that he was going to be an Allurist. He already seemed to have some kind of special magical ability with his music.

She had to force herself to not rush things though, despite how eager she was getting to get to actually see Jack and Meara side by side. They would be Epic, Alex was positive. Her more selfish side couldn't help but picture the crowds of shoppers that the two together could bring back to the mall and the Clocktower.

"You've got me!" Alexandrea sang out laughing; "I'm no more a vampire than... you." The blonde raised a slender eyebrow at Jack and winked. "You're not some blood-sucking monster, are you? Should I be scared... of you?"

She went all out as she spoke, the whole nine yards. Batting her eyelashes, the quiver of her voice, a shaky but pouty lower lip... she even took a small step back at the end, as if in fear.... but still leaned close towards him, close enough to almost be in his personal 'space'... but not quite.

As the small artist moved to stand, Jack took a swig of his brew. It was a smooth, hoppy beverage with a hint a grapefruit. Though it was superior, it was a far cry from the beers of his youth. He almost felt fancy drinking it, but it quenched his thirst like nothing else and made him forget about life for a little while. Leaving her tab open, she obviously planned on sticking around. Jack wondered what game this little lady had in mind. He also wasn’t completely convinced that Tito wasn’t somehow complicit, especially with the friendly way she regarded the proprietor.

Alexandrea smiled wide, exposing those shimmering fangs again. Even in the dim light of bar, there seemed to be a shine to those pearly whites of hers. Jack couldn’t help, but laugh in response to the wicked little snicker that escaped her lips. It was rather infectious. He couldn’t imagine what she was cooking up in her mind. Pretending to be a vampire meant one of two things, she was some kind of actress working on behalf of whatever organization was pushing this supernatural narrative or she was legitimately crazy. Jack secretly hope it to be the second. There was something about her reactions and expressiveness that made the petite girl rather likeable.

When she accused the musician of being a vampire, Jack had just taken another sip of his beer. He almost choked on it, trying to stifle another round of chuckles. He placed the glass back down on the bar, closing his eyes and shaking his head as he struggled to swallow the brew. “Honey, I’m the most vicious monster that you’ll ever meet,” were the words that finally escaped his lips once they were free from the alcohol, “hope that big ol’ sack you brought is filled with pitchforks and torches.” He opened his dark blue eyes and brought them back into Alexandrea’s. She was very near to him, almost intimately close, he picked up a faint flowery, but heady scent. He leaned into her, closing the remaining space, “You should be very afraid,” all the mirth was gone from Jack’s voice as it took on a very grim tone. A dark smile graced his lips.

The urge to pull her into his arms was quite strong. Probably fueled by one part of the few rounds he’d already enjoyed and by one part of the adorable and fun charm this Alexandrea displayed. It was definitely powered by the pull of the loneliness that filled the pit where his heart had once been. Something held Jack back though, like an invisible, protective arm. Maybe it was just the desire to play the long game. He leaned back, reached for his beer, and took another sip, never letting his eyes leave hers. “So do all you Canadian ladies put on your fangs before you head out to paint the town red?”