[Meara] Tea Leaf

[Bjorn]

There was something familiar about the name Quartermaine, though he couldn’t place his finger on it. Meara mentioned the shop in the mall, which Bjorn didn’t recall visiting, but he presumed that was as likely a reason for the name to ring a bell as any. The thought came and went without consequence.

Long strides coming to a stop, the vampire cocked a brow at the candy shop before them. Hands in his pockets, he cast a side glance at the redhead before returning his attention to the decorations. There were plenty of people inside, which wasn’t a surprise considering the season. He shrugged at her request, brow furrowing at her mention of craving. Was she not a vampire? Did blood-infused candy exist?

Bjorn was set to follow her in when he onslaught of warm air and voices reached his ears. He squared his shoulders and paused at the threshold, shaking his head.

“No, I don’t... do candy?”

As Bjorn spoke, he stepped to the side, holding the door open with one arm as two teenagers ducked out. He returned his attention to Meara inside the shop before stepping past the threshold. If he didn't venture too far inside, perhaps the crippling anxiety that sourced from being in small, crowded places wouldn't get him. Hand tucked back into his pocket, he let the door close behind him and loitered by the window display, nose scrunching at the overbearing sweetness.

“What are you getting anyway? Won’t you be sick?”

[Meara]

“Allurist.” Meara commented to Bjorn with a wink as she stepped up to the counter. She figured that was all she had to say to answer his inquiry about whether she would be sick or not. Her eyes looked over her choices as a young man stepped in front of her. “Can I help you, miss?” Blue eyes looked back and forth as she weighed her options. “I’ll have a pound of peach rings please.” She said cheerily, now eager for her treat.

“Here, I’ll give you a little extra for the price of a pound. I’ve not seen you come in before and I’m happy you’ve stopped by.” The clerk commented as he poured a little extra into the bag of peach rings. Her right hand fished into her pocket for a debit card, which she handed over in exchange for the candy. “You certainly know how to make a girl a repeat customer.” She drawled as he ran the card. He spun tablet on the stand, leading Meara to swipe her signature onto the screen. “Much obliged.” She said in thanks as he returned her card and she returned to Bjorns side. She noticed the wrinkle of his nose, and decided to loop her arm through his and pull him outside. She didn’t want to cause another vampire to be sick because of all the smells that might be overwhelming.

Once outside, Meara took a small handful of the rings out of the bag, and stuffed the remainder in her backpack. She eyed the candy in her hand then stuffed a piece into her mouth. An elated smile showed on her features as she savored the taste of the candy, loving the way it reminded her of southern summers. “Ok – sorry about that. Anyways…how long have you lived in Harper’s Rock?” Meara queried as she moved to start walking down the boardwalk and return to their conversation.

[Bjorn]

The one-worded response did little to explain her actions. Bjorn knew of Allurists, but he’d never seen, or heard of, them consuming human food—let alone gummy sweets. He presumed she alluded to there being a digestive advantage to being an allurist, which surprised him, for thus far he had believed that all vampires were the same on the same boat. He huffed, somehow vexed by the new piece of information. He only witnessed part of Meara’s interaction, turning his back to them to inspect the various items lining the storefront. If he’d had the constitution for it, he would have been inclined to get some fudge. He scrunched his nose up at the caramel cubes, imagining the pasty texture they’d have in his mouth. His mind craved, but his body didn’t.

His train of thought was interrupted by Meara’s hand closing in on his upper arm. The telepath followed without complaint, glad for the crisp air that washed over him as they exited. He watched as the redhead sorted out new purchase, and cocked a brow when she popped a bright yellow-orange ring into his mouth. Surely that couldn’t taste nearly as good as it once had.

“No need to be sorry, but seriously? How is that even—you know what, judge not and ye shall not be judged,” he said, settling on one of the very few bible verses he knew. If Meara was able and happy to consume peach rings, then who was he to question or judge her for it? He’d never been particular keen on confectionary, even as a human, and his now-pointless food snobbery was showing. Let her enjoy the damn thing in peace, he thought to himself.

“I’ve been here since January. Sometimes it feels like yesterday and other times it feels like a lifetime. What about you?”

He was more than happy to move the conversation along. He’d been here for so long and he still didn’t know half of what he should regarding other vampires. He felt a little daft for that, especially considering Lancaster’s allurist nature. Then again, Bjorn had never seen the man eat, and his interest in the powers he’d seen the man wield had been of an entirely different nature.

[Meara]

A small playful smile crossed Meara's lips as she listened to Bjorn's barely contained incredulous response to her ability to snack. She honestly hadn't figured out she could eat until Alex told her it was possible. Meara admittedly was a little bit clueless as to how all the differences between vampire paths played out, but this reaction was suggesting there was more than met the eye because all she knew really were allurists. She continued to much on her treats as they meandered through the park, The scenery was becoming more familiar, which suggested they were closer to near 8D. As Bjorn continued to speak, he confirmed her suspicion that he was indeed significantly more experienced than herself.

"I think I got here in August, but Alex didn't change me until maybe like beginning of September?" She pursed her lips together. When one didn't get to see the sun, everything sort of had a tendency to blur together. She couldn't honestly remember offhandedly how long it had been between all of her training and re-education. However, Meara noticed she seemed to be getting the hang of it. Hadn't been caught feeding in weeks, attracting the attention of fewer cops and guards. "Its been kind of a crazy couple months."

Bjorn wasn't so old that he didn't recall what being a fledge was like, but old enough to know what was a good or bad idea. Mea reached up and turned her hair out of her face, eyes looking up to him. "So if there is a piece of advice other than don't get shot by the cops that you would impart on a greenhorn like me, what would it be?" She wasn't sure if Bjorn would bite on the slight turn in conversation, but it was worth a try. As she came into contact with more and more of her kind, she was trying to absorb the experiences they had to offer like a sponge.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn had yet to regain memory of what had happened the night of his turning, but he doubted he’d frame it quite as lightly as Meara did hers. With Halloween only a few days away, not much time had passed since the beginning of September. He glanced at her, blank gaze a practiced cover for passive scrutiny. In spite her connections, the redhead still carried an air of naivety about her, and an unblemished innocence that wouldn’t have lasted more than a few months. Somehow, he wasn’t surprised by her answer.

Not that he was much better, really. Then again, he had come a long, long way since January. He had much to show for himself in spite of how little he believed it to be. Perfectionism and self-imposed high-standards were a fault he’d carried over from his mortal life. Clearing his throat, he shrugged noncommittally to her question. His mind was reeling with suggestions, but he didn’t feel confident in voicing them all. There was still so much left to learn.

“Uh,” Bjorn dragged the sound until his lungs were empty. Inhaling through his nose, he frowned, his mouth opening and shutting twice. He cleared his throat again and conjured a less that stellar answer. “I guess I’d, uh, suggest you don’t do anything that’ll get a bounty placed on your head? Some of these pasty assholes have the mental capacity of a sea cucumber and’d do anything for a shooting target that shoots back. So, I’d start by keeping my fingers out of other people’s pockets and satchels.”

If he glanced down at her and grinned at her expense, it was done to avert her attention from the story that clearly hid behind his passing aggression.

[Meara]

"There are bounties? How do you get one or get rid of it? Do people work as bounty hunters?"

Meara practically blurted her string of questions out as they came to her mind. No one had mentioned any of this sort of things to her. Maybe it was an extension of the not getting shot by the cops. However, the way Bjorn relayed his advice told her that it was likely he had some experience with the bounty thing. Maybe he could elaborate more.

However, his last phrase was a direct dig at Meara for her earlier actions. She fished a bright red as she pipes another peach ring between her pink coloured lips. "You're right. I need to practice on humans more. Vampires are too fast." Blue eyes glanced up at the taller man before she grinned. "Do more than the cops shoot at you if you misbehave?" Mea inquired as they seemed to be nearing the other end of the park.

[Bjorn]

Bjorn scratched at his brow, and only replied once his hand was tucked back in his pocket.

“Yeah, bounties are a thing. Boba Fetts to spare too. There used to be a violations list where you’d end up if you got caught enough times doing something too... vampire-y. List’s gone now, but it seems the cops have picked up the slack. **** up once too many, and someone might come bust a cap up your ***: vampire or human, cop or civilian. Everyone is packing.”

He shrugged, pausing for breath.

“Bounty list is still around, but from what I’ve seen, you could just look at someone the wrong way and sayo-fuckigng-nara. Nothing to do with secrecy anymore, just their candy *** feelings. That’s why you got to watch out who you cross.”

He let out a breathless laugh.

“It’s pretty fucked.”

[Meara]

Now Meara was convinced Bjorn had been on the wrong end of all of this stuff based on the amount of profanity he laced into the already colorful reply. There certainly was more than met the eye with the lanky gentleman that was walking with her towards her house. If anything, it made her want to spend more time with him to see what else there was to learn. He was actually really interesting in her eyes.

"I do remember a human that was packing. he shot me right in the gut as I went to nom on his neck." She subconsciously rubbed at her stomach as she recalled how bad the event had startled her. It was the first time she had ever been hurt in such a manner. It felt like it took an eternity to heal up. before she continued, she glanced around to make sure there were no officers within ear shot. "And if I never see another cop again, it would till be too soon. They seem to notice me all the time and its really terrible since I never had problems with the law before. And they are everywhere! Outside the shop, on the train platforms, near the cafes. You name it, and there they are." Meara gave a bit of indignant huff as they stopped at the end of the park, waiting for the light to change.

"I suppose it makes sense given all the weird supernatural things that occur in this city. People gotta survive no matter what species they are." She commented with a wiry smile.

[Bjorn]

Bjørn had had a few unlucky encounters with police in the past few months, but it was nowhere near as frequent as it’d once been. He was becoming better at talking himself out of confrontations with security guards, which meant a lot fewer bodies being dropped and alarms being raised, but Meara was right about the increased presence of law enforcement throughout the city. Even now, as they walked through the small park towards the riverbank, there were uniformed officers noticeably patrolling the area.

“There’s cameras everywhere, and there’s talk of law enforcement tapping into private security feeds too. If you’re getting noticed, you might want to try changing up your routine and see if that helps,” he said, grounding his heel into the sidewalk as they waited. The feeding was implied. An older woman had come to stand next to him, and he glanced curiously down at her. When she met his gaze, the telepath offered her a close-mouthed smile. When she returned it, wrinkled eyes crinkling up at him, he winked at her before glancing back at the light across the street. Why were they stopping at the light anyway? The New Yorker in him disapproved.

[Meara]

As Bjorn mentioned the security cameras in buildings, Meara had a hint of realization. She had been doing a good job then by disabling all of those security feeds during her looting runs through different businesses and office complexes around town. She had been having a hard time not being noticed, but she didn't think it was from snacking. After her first few mistakes, she had indeed altered her behavior to stop getting caught. But there must still be other things that she was doing wrong that was causing her to stay on their surveillance lists.

Whent he light changed, Meara tugged Bjorn with her as she crossed the street. "Yeah I'll keep trying to change up what I've been doing, maybe that will force them to leave me the hell alone if they cant prove I did anything bad." Meara wrinkled her nose in disgust as they continued down the street. They were within a block or two of the Mall now. She let her blue eyes glance up at her traveling companion, and gave him a bright smile. "Hey I just wanted to say thank you for giving me a second chance to make a better impression. I've had fun getting to talk and know you more than a guy at the end of a gun."