Table-top discussion

[Adrian (DELETED 4904)]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--

* Aysel Johari sat at a quiet table in the back with a steaming cup of bland coffee, realizing she had zero clue what Adrian looked like, and therefore no idea who she was waiting for.
* Adrian walks into the Station Net Cafe, wondering where Aysel was, not to mention who she was or what she looked like. He stood in the doorway for a moment, looking around for anyone who seemed like they were waiting for someone. In the back, he saw a woman sitting down. 'That might be her,' he thought to himself. Walking up to her, he introduced himself, "Nice to meet you. I'm Adrian. You must be Aysel."
* Aysel Johari rose from her seat with a warm smile, standing at 6'4" in her heels, she gazed at the man called Adrian and her smile turned in to a grin. "Salaam alaikum." She said in her exotically accented voice. "I am AJ. Please have a seat."
* Adrian smiled, looking up at the woman before him. Taking a seat, he said, "It's nice to actually meet you. When you first emailed me, I honestly had no idea what to expect," he admitted. "Maybe I should've asked for what you look like."
‹Aysel Johari› I would have said... plain, average. Long hair, blue-ish brown eyes, copper skin. And freakishly tall. *she grinned as she sat and picked up her coffee for a swallow* I admit I should have asked the same. I have never randomly emailed some one before.
* Adrian watches her drink her coffee. 'Ok..' he thought. 'She must be an Allurist. Same as me.' He was starting to be able to tell some of the different Paths apart, now that he's been a vampire for a while. Out loud he said, "I wouldn't say 'freakishly.' Not sure what I'd say, but 'freakishly' isn't it." He smiled at her, admiring her looks. "And I'll have to say, it's been a while since I last had a... date like this."
* Aysel Johari smiles back at him "A date?" she asked curiously "I have had very very few of those, but I am a sucker for good coffee. Sadly this isn't it. And I am only six feet, but like any woman, I do love my high heels."
* Adrian laughed at that. "Well, I call this a date since I have no idea what else to call it." He paused for a moment in thought. "So, why did you want to get together?" he asked. "It's not like I am that important or good-looking."
* Aysel Johari chuckles softly "That makes two of us." she shrugged a little. "I suppose it's because I like the way you think. I am all about vampire secrecy, and I have helped on a couple of bounty kills with my sire, but I prefer a less violent way of doing things. Seems we think alike."
* Adrian nods. "So it appears. Who is your sire, by the way? Just curious."
‹Aysel Johari› My sire is Every Andras. She's the childe of Micah Andras.
* Adrian looks at Aysel, deadpan. "Oh really?" He says. "So it appears that our sires are on opposite sides." Adrian slowly smiles. He knew he wasn't in any real danger from Aysel or Tytonidae. He hasn't helped Madison in her crusade at all, nor had he done anything against Tytonidae. "I do have to admit," he said. "I do find it curious that you contacted me when my sire is going against your family. Sorry, but I do. Just being a little paranoid."
* Aysel Johari shrugged gently and sipped her coffee "It is okay, a lot of people are paranoid. My sire doesn't tell me what to think or who to talk to. I don't know your sire at all. And it's not like I am going to cry to Eve because you have different thoughts than I. That is the kind of behavior I left Turkey to escape."
* Adrian 's smile grew into a wide grin when he heard her words. "So we are more alike than we know. Madison doesn't tell me what to do either." He shrugged. "So, Turkey, huh?"
‹Aysel Johari› From what you said, Madison isn't around much. *she nodded* Ayn al-Arab. It is on the border of Syria. What about you?
‹Adrian› "Grew up in an orphanage down south. It's how I got my last name. Left it 8 years ago when it burned down. And I still have the physical scars to prove it," he said. 'And the mental ones too,' he thought.
* Aysel Johari frowned gently, reaching across the table she touched his hand gently in sympathy "I am sorry you had to experience such a tragic thing."
* Adrian smiled slightly, touched by her sympathy. "Thanks," he said, putting his other hand on top of hers. "That means a lot." 'Should I tell her about Courtney?' he thought. 'Nah, not yet.'
* Aysel Johari her smile was gentle and she gave his hand a gentle squeeze, though she didn't pull away when he covered her hand "It is never easy when something or some one is taken from us. The mental wounds leave scars on our hearts and minds that do not go away."
‹Adrian› "You sound as if you know from experience. Too much experience," Adrian said, concern and curiousity warring within him.
‹Aysel Johari› "You could say that." She agreed quietly, looking at her coffee for a moment before speaking again. "My only boyfriend was murdered in front of me when I was 18. We were in Saudi Arabia at the time."
* Adrian frowned. "Oh god," he said, almost a whisper. "How?"
* Aysel Johari tightened her grip on his hand and bit her lip. "He was possessed by something evil and it made him slice his own stomach open." She was almost whispering now, not wanting any humans who might be around to over hear her.
* Adrian lightly squeezes her hand. "That's horrible. I can't imagine how bad it must've been. When my girlfriend died in front of me in the fire," he whispers to her. "I was practically inconsolable. I could hear her screams for days. She still haunts me." He admitted this quietly, so that only she could hear him. "But know that you are not alone. You can always talk to me about it." He smiles faintly at her. Despite just meeting Aysel, he already felt a sort of connection with her,
* Aysel Johari smiled gently at him, holding his hand across the table. "I try not to think about it, it was eight years ago, oddly enough. What a small world. Some times I think Ibrahim still haunts me but I think you mean she really truly haunts you, yes?"
* Adrian laughs gently. "Yes, she most definitely does," he said. And she does. Throughout the conversation, Courtney was trying to distract him and cast doubt in his mind about the woman sitting in front of him. "In fact, I see her right now."
* Aysel Johari resisted the urge to both look around and withdraw her hand from his comforting grasp, after all, it was innocent. "I do not think I could take it if Ibrahim haunted me. He was not a nice man. Do you still love her?"
* Adrian shook his head. "When we were together, I did. Now, I am not so sure. Since the fire, and since she started to haunt me..." He paused, biting his lip. "No, I don't, and I think her ghost realizes that. I loved the idea of her. The idea of a happily ever after. But after all that happened, I don't. Some things have to pass away, despite how much we want to hold onto them."
* Aysel Johari nodded as she listened to him, using her free hand to sip the now cold coffee "It is a hard realization to come to. I recently discovered that myself. It was not that I loved Ibrahim, and I knew happily ever after would not happen for us. His family eventually would arrange him to marry some appropriate woman. But I think part of me always thought it would be arranged for us, so I could at least marry a man I knew, even if he was evil."
‹Adrian› "Better the evil that you know, than the one you don't, huh?" he said. "I think... I think I can understand that."
‹Aysel Johari› "Exactly." She agreed, realizing they'd gotten off topic and not really caring. "Luckily they think I finally accepted one of their arrangements and are leaving me alone. Now I get to live my life as I see fit."
* Adrian smiled. "Well done," he said. "Freedom is always a nice thing."
‹Aysel Johari› "I agree. What about you? What brought you here?" She paused and looked at their hands sheepishly "I suppose I should let you have your hand back..." she said reluctantly.
‹Adrian› "Ummm... yeah," he said uneasily, pulling his hand back with reluctance. Trying to focus on the question, he said, "To put it simple, I was looking for my family. My real family, since I was raised in the orphanage. Eventually, my search led me here. And I found Madison."
* Aysel Johari wrapped her now free hand around the cold coffee cup. "Sister?" She asked curiously to keep the conversation going.
* Adrian laughed. "Thank gods no," he said. "Cousins."
* Aysel Johari chuckled softly. "So what do you do to occupy your time, besides hunting down family?"
‹Adrian› "Well, the hunting family part is over now, since I found Madison. Apparently, my mother and father are still alive, and she knows where they are. So if I want to see them, all I have to do is ask her. Not going to yet, of course." he said. "But in the meantime, I work for Ariadne at The White Rabbit. I do sales for her. Other than that, I just walk around town, learning how it is. And I listen to different sorts of news and gossip. Considering my position, I try to stay on top of information."
‹Aysel Johari› "I wouldn't think gossip would be integral to sales?" She queried curiously. "I work the bar at the Necropolis. I also hack computers, which is more fun than it sounds."
* Adrian smiled. "Sorry. I didn't mean to mislead you," he apologized. "I meant my position in the current conflict as Neutral."

[Aysel]

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay--


‹Aysel Johari› "ohh right." She grinned at him. "I'm only neutral as far as the killing people who aren't on the bounty list. I think if you are on the list then you get what's coming to you. It's why I was in the QZ last night. I didn't want my sire to kill me, and I know she would."

* Adrian nodded. "My neutrality is mainly from the fact that I haven't been around long enough to be on either side, and know what I am doing. It's basically my sense of self-preservation., you could say. I'm not going to support either side, nor am i going to against either side."

‹Aysel Johari› "Probably a good idea. I feel the same way. Eve only turned me recently. I lived her as a human for quite some time before that thought."

‹Adrian› "When were you turned?"

‹Aysel Johari› "Not long ago. September 12, to be exact. What about you?"
‹Adrian› "November 7. So a little over a week ago."

‹Aysel Johari› "Wow... well... welcome to Harper Rock and to the life of a vampire." She paused thoughtfully. "Do you have a place to stay?"

* Adrian shook his head. "No, I don't," he said, truthfully.

* ‹Aysel Johari› nibbled on her lip in thought, Doc's words running through her head about how she was to nice and it was going to get her killed. She ignored the little voice and smiled again. "You can stay at my place if you want. It's a little bare since I just bought it, but there's plenty of room."

* Adrian was shocked. She was offering him a place to stay? At her place? He could hardly believe it. "Well... um, sure. If you're offering, I guess I can accept it," he said. He felt a little guilty about accepting her offer, considering how they just met today.

‹Aysel Johari› › "If you're to worried, you don't have to be. Most of the time I crash at my sire's place, so aside from Zakar, you'll have the place to yourself."

‹Adrian› "Who's Zakar?"

‹Aysel Johari› "He's um..." She crinkled her nose as she tried to figure out how to describe Zakar. "He's the person my family arranged for me to marry. We're just friends now though."

‹Adrian› "Oh," he said, nodding. "So just making sure, you are completely serious about this? I don't want you to feel like I am forcing you."

‹Aysel Johari› "Not at all. I am totally serious." She smiled and reached out to take his hand again, giving him a gentle, reassuring squeeze. "Honest, I do not like the idea of you sleeping where ever you can. It is too dangerous for that."

* Adrian smiled, and slightly squeezed her hand too. He liked how kind she was, and how reassuring it was to have his hand in hers. "Thanks," he said. "This means a lot to me.'

‹Aysel Johari› "Anything for a friend." She said, leaving her hand in his like she wanted to. "I know we just met and all, but still. Friends are hard to come by."

‹Adrian› "They sure are," he agreed. "It's nice to have you as a friend."

‹Aysel Johari› "You, too." She chuckled softly. "By the way, it's West Towers number 1403. It's just south of here."

‹Adrian› "Oh really?" That's right across the street isn't it?"

‹Aysel Johari› "Yes, convenient to everything I need. Like I said, I don't have anything in the apartment but there is a terminal in the lobby, and sewer access and stuff like that."
‹Adrian› "Wow," he said. "I honestly don't know what to say."

‹Aysel Johari› "Say you won't stop talking to me after tonight and we will call it even."

* Adrian grinned. "Deal."

* ‹Aysel Johari› laughed softly and looked across the table at him "I have no idea what to talk about now..." She said almost shyly.

* Adrian looked at her. He wasn't sure what to talk about, either. "So, you still would like to talk with me?"

‹Aysel Johari› "Mmhmm. I enjoy your company. I like you. Do you still want to talk with me? I think I might have creeped you out with my offer."

‹Adrian› "I'm sorry if it seemed like that. It didn't creep me out at all. It merely took me by surprise." he said. "And yes, of course I still would like to talk to you."

‹Aysel Johari› › "I suppose vampires aren't known for being nice. I'm surprised Madison didn't give you a place to stay."

‹Adrian› "Well, with what's been happening lately, I'm not surprised that she didn't. I think that she is convinced that your line would use me against her."

‹Aysel Johari› "Not my line. Ty. Two different things. And they probably would, if you gave them reason to. They can be kind of ruthless."

‹Adrian› "My mistake. And I am trying to not give them a reason to."

‹Aysel Johari› "I think you haven't got anything to worry about."

* Adrian realized that they got back to the topic that they were originally talking about, in a circular fashion. "And what makes you say that?"

‹Aysel Johari› "Because you're intelligent enough to weigh your options before randomly jumping in and choosing sides. It is stupidity that gets one killed around here."

‹Adrian› "Ah. If only some of the others of our kind could understand that." he said. "I'm getting tired of reading death reports on the Net."

‹Aysel Johari› "I usually try not to read it. One thing I've noticed is our kind will always find a reason to kill someone... be it legitimate or some imagined insult."

‹Adrian› "I'm trying to stop reading it. But I still want to know what's happening so that I know what other sorts of news is traveling around and seeing what other people are missing."

‹Aysel Johari› "I glance now and again, to keep up I supposed. But I try not to read the threads where people are arguing back and forth, I can never see any good coming from those."

‹Adrian› "I do the same. As soon as I see that people are arguing, I move on to a different thread. Occasionally I leave a comment, but not often."

* Adrian bowed his head, smirking. "Thank you for the compliment."

* ‹Aysel Johari› chuckled softly and looked at him. "So..."

* Adrian arched his eyebrows. "So?"

‹Aysel Johari› "Um... you didn't get any coffee?"

* Adrian realizes that he was too focused on her and never got any. "Um... I guess I didn't."

‹Aysel Johari› "Well..." She glanced at her watch and smiled. "Perhaps it is a convienent excuse to meet again? This time you get a coffee as well. I am sure you've got things to do before sunrise. I know I do."

* Adrian smiles. "I'd be glad to meet again." He stands up. "Would you mind e-mailing me when you'd like to meet again?"

* ‹Aysel Johari› rises as well, shaking her head. "Not at all. Seems the best way to get in touch."

* ‹Aysel Johari› stuffs her hands awkwardly in her pockets and nods. "Yes, and I can safely assume that means I'll see you again."

* Adrian nods too. 'This is awkward.' he thought. He quickly moves forward and gives her a quick hug. "Yes you can."

* ‹Aysel Johari› chuckles and relaxes, returning the hug with a smile before stepping back slightly. "Well... good night then."

* Adrian smiles. "Good day, you mean," he jokes.

* ‹Aysel Johari› laughed softly and nodded. "Right... good day, sweet dreams, rest well."

‹Adrian› "You too." He turns and walks away, making sure to get a quick coffee before he heads out. As he reaches the door, he waves back to her.

* ‹Aysel Johari› waved back and sat down, fiddling with her phone for a few minutes so she wouldn't look like a creepy stalker by leaving right behind him.