Path of the Vampire forum

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

Madison: It had been about a week now that Madison had returned from the Shadow Realm and started living with Luffy. Slowly but surely the apartment was starting to reflect the fact that she had moved in. She had moved his clothes from the master bedroom closet and replaced them with hers, her crafting bench and ritual altar had also been moved from her Beta Tower apartment to Luffy's. In her mind, Madison still didn't quite think of the place as hers too even though when talking to Luffy she called it home but when talking to anyone else, she called the place his.

It was early evening, the sun had just set and Madison was awake, showered and had no clue what to do with herself. The night before she had Kira attune her and taken care of a few no longer welcome guests to Luffy's....their... apartment. Namely Ivy after Madison's unrecognized sibling had her wraith steal from Madison's person. There were a number of things that needed Madison's attention but it was all the same old stuff that always required her attention. Tonight she felt like doing something different. She felt like having fun for once. Wandering out into the living room, she called out to Luffy, "Hey Luffy! You home!?"

Luffy: Luffy was in the room that they had moved his belongings to. With Madison moved into the other room, he had completely rearranged the guest bedroom. He had a small amount of exercise equipment strategically attached to the ceiling and walls. The queen sized bed was replaced with a single. He was currently exercising when Madison called out to him. He had lifted himself up to the bar over head and extended himself out over it. He pushed himself up and lowered down in a series of aerial push ups. "I'm in my room Madison," He shouted out to her.

Madison: Hearing him call out to her, she followed his voice to the second bedroom, letting herself in without knocking. Leaning up against the door frame, Madison stared up at Luffy who was hanging like his monkey from the ceiling. An amused smirk graced her pale lips that shined through her pale blue eyes, "I didn't expect you to still be hanging around."

Luffy: Luffy didn't bother to drop to the ground as she came in. He still had several sets to do. "I find doing push ups this way, far more effective," he answered her. With each movement he could feel his muscles burning. "So what's up Madison?"

Madison: Madison couldn't remember a day in her life that she had exercised for the hell of it other than when she was in high school and it had been required of her. Probably a good reason why she'd always been a tad on the thicker side. She wondered if it even did anything for vampires since their bodies didn't actually function like a normal human's did. "Just seeing what you were up to," she told him, "I felt like changing up the routine some tonight and maybe doing something fun."

Luffy: "What did you have mind," He asked as he reached for the green tee-shirt that his sire had given him. he slung it over his shoulder briefly as he tilted his head at her. He slipped it over his head and pulled his hair back into a ponytail. "I'm not particularly busy tonight. Just getting some exercise in right now." He smiled at her as he went around the room to dig out some proper pants. He grabbed a pair of black leather pants and began to change in the them, forgetting that Madison was standing in the doorway.

Madison: "I wasn't qui..." Madison's comment got cut off as Luffy pulled off the exercise shorts that he was wearing, her eyes growing wide as it was made obvious he wasn't wearing any boxers or briefs either. "I, uhm, I...For ****'s sake Luffy!"

Bringing her hand up in front of her eyes, she was able to gather her thoughts when she wasn't staring at him while half naked, "I didn't really have anything in mind exactly but if you wanted something that might continue your workout at the same time, I bet we could come up with something."

Luffy: He turned as he zipped and buttoned his pants around his waist. "Oh, sorry Madison, I kind of forgot you were right there." He sat down on a chair near the dresser and reached for a pair of leather bracers. "So what kind of exercise did you have in mind," he asked as he fastened the leather to his forearms. He took a moment to stretch his arms and legs while he sat."Anything sounds fun. I've had a fairly productive day. Got a new rifle which is now cleaned and oiled up."He motioned to the assault rifle on the wall mounted desk.

Madison: The sound of the zipper had her peeking between her fingers. Seeing that the coast was clear of male genitals, Madison brought her arm down and proceeded to cross them in front of her, just under her breasts. Her eyes followed the motion of his hand to the assault rifle and smiled. It was exactly like the one she had. Even the same make and model. It was a great weapon and she approved of his choice. "Nice, looks just like mine. Mine probably needs to be cleaned, I can do that later though," Madison paused and chuckled, "You keep asking me what I have in mind after I tell you nothing. What can you really do in a pair of leathers though?"

Luffy: "I've made a few modifications to it. It's got a hair trigger now." He looked down at his legs and grinned at her question of the leather. "You would be amazed what a good pair of leather pants can do. I take these puppies into the QZ to do some zombie killing." He leaned against the dresser and looked over at the woman.

Madison: A horrified look passed over Madison's face as she stood up straight in the doorway, her mouth parted in shock, "You do not wear those into the QZ!? Wouldn't the blood ruin them! Those are probably expensive as hell. You're insane."

Luffy: "So I've been told. They're water proofed. I spray all my leather down with it periodically." He grinned at the look on her face. "On top of that, I get them dry cleaned. Those guys can get out anything, and they don't ask where it came from"

Madison: "Still insane but it's your dime," she said with a shake of her head and laugh. An idea came to her then. All the times that she had called Luffy to come home, he'd always gotten there within seconds of telling her he would be home soon. A mischievous sparkle glinted in her periwinkle blue eyes as she looked at him, "How about we have a race?"

Luffy: His eyebrow went up and smiled "A race would be fun, but how do we keep it fair? I'm pretty quick on my feet, plus I have the power to run even faster." He tilted his head and tried to think about this race would go.

Madison: The smile across her face widened, "I was hoping you would ask that."

Without saying anything else after that, Madison teleported herself from the doorway to the space behind where Luffy was standing in less than a blink of an eye. Still grinning she reached up and tapped him on the shoulder a few times. When he turned around she looked up at him and asked, "So you think you can keep up?"

Luffy: He grinned as he watched her teleport around the apartment. This contest would be fun indeed. 'She's going to make this night interesting,' He thought as he stretched. "Okay Madison, we'll play it that way. What are our check points though? We hitting up multiple places or just one and back?"

Madison: "Hm.." Madison took a second to think about that. One place and back again would be over in the matter of a few minutes. An elaboration of her race idea started to form. "How about several. Otherwise we're gonna be done before we even start really. How about the winner of each one gets to pick the next location but it has to be a further distance than the last one? And we'll do best out of five? Or you know....Until you give up."

Luffy: "Sounds like a good plan to me. Since this is your idea, you pick the first place." He went into the closet and grabbed a pair of black boots and slipped them onto his feet. "So what exactly does the winner of the contest get, other than bragging rights?"

Madison: The blonde telepath was silent for a few moments as she thought about his question. What was there that could really be bargained for other than bragging rights? It wasn't like they ate anything so no one cooked, they each did their own laundry and cleaned their own bathrooms. Her upper teeth bit into her bottom lip as she pondered what it was they could win, "Uhm, hm...How about if I win than you have to...put on an evening gown and wander the Veil shopping center from one end to the other, asking people if they'd like to dance. Both floors. But if someone dances with you, then you're done."

Luffy: He put his foot up on the chair to tie the laces up. He raised an eyebrow and shook his head with a grin on his face. "Okay, but what if I win?" He set his foot down and lifted the other to lace it up. He had some ideas formng, but he would wait to see what she had in mind first. He glanced over to her and grinned.

Madison: He was going to let her pick her own loss scenario? Seemed odd that he would let her but to be fair, he was probably going to shoot down anything that she picked for herself. Madison was actually surprised that he had agreed to do what she said to begin with. Trying to think of something that she really, really didn't want to do, there was only one thing that she could think of. There was no helping the look of disdain that crossed her face as she spoke her possible lose scenario, "If you win, I'll donate a day of my time to Solace."

Luffy: "I don't really like that idea. It sounds boring. How about you run around Veil in a chicken suit clucking." He nodded as he stood up and cracked his knuckles. He did some quick stretches and then looked her in the eyes. "So first marker is where?"

Madison: "Deal!" Madison exclaimed quickly, already feeling like she had won by him not choosing the scenario she had presented. She stuck out her hand to him in offer to shake on their arrangement. Her mind started picking through locations of places they could race to. She already assumed she had the advantage for this first one. All she had to do was teleport and while he could run super fast, he still would have to take the stairs down six flights and then cross the river or jump the fence to the location she had in mind, "How about the deserted multiplex in the quarantine zone for starters?"

Luffy: He raised his eyebrow and shook her hand. "The old multiplex is that it?" He shrugged and got ready to start the race. She wasn't making this particularly difficult since he went there all the time. "Just say go and we can get this party started."

Madison: "Hey, don't talk **** already. We can pick further distances each time. This is only the first." Madison chided him playfully. She was already set to go. Running her hands through her blonde hair, the woman rolled her shoulders back a few times and then gave Luffy a playful grin, her mind already focusing in on the deserted multiplex. "Ready?......GO!"

The end of her word drifted and ended oddly as the woman speaking it disappeared from the room. Teleporting was different in Madison's eyes than being summoned or using a tome. When one was summoned or using a tome, it was an outside presence forcibly moving the vampire's body. But teleporting, teleporting was something she did to herself so it always felt a bit more natural to her and she found after months of practicing that she was starting to need to focus less on destinations she was familiar with.

Luffy: She said the word go and vanished. Luffy took off with the power of Celerity and the world became a blur. Of the gifts he had acquired, this one he liked the most. He barely even had to think about most of the places he frequented anymore, just a quick thought and he was there. The speed was a wonderful power. Considering it kept him from jail, he was glad he had taken the time to learn it. He stopped at the door to the multiplex and looked around for Madison.

Madison: She appeared next to the front door of the deserted multiplex a split second after she disappeared from the apartment. The winter night's air was freezing cold and had she breath, it would have escaped her in little puffs. It was one thing that she still hadn't figured out how to fake and had debated taking up smoking again just to make it look like she was breathing but since she was rarely outside, it didn't really matter much to her. Barely a moment had passed when Luffy appeared next to her. Madison met his gaze with a ****-eating grin, "I win and I think that means I get to choose the next location too."

Luffy: "Yup, go ahead and pick it." His muscles tensed up this time as he waited for the location. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he would win it. He ignored the zombie that shuffled past him, something he had never done in the past.

Madison: She thought for a moment on a destination that was a bit further of a distance than it had been to get from Veil Tower to the deserted multiplex. The surrounding districts were immediately not in her options list and her head gave an affirmative nod to herself as she figured out a location that would work. Looking to Luffy she told him her thoughts, "How about the abandoned mansion. You know, the burned out one towards the north end of the city?"

Luffy: "Sounds good to me." He prepped himself and waited for the cue for to go. He had no intentions of quitting or losing. Regardless of the outcome, he was still having fun.

Madison: "Annnnnnd...GO!" Again Madison disappeared from sight. The scenery around her changed from the destroyed ruins of Gambondale to the destroyed ruins of what had once probably been a beautiful mansion. Spinning on her heel, the blonde looked around for Luffy.

Luffy: Luffy walked up behind her shaking his head. He lost the second leg of the race. Things were not looking good for him tonight. "Looks like you won another one Madison."

Madison: He must have slowed down when he saw her already there seeing that he was walking up the front path instead of just appearing right beside her. She cocked her head slightly to the side, "I would almost believe you were letting me win if it weren't for the look on your face. Tell you what, you pick the location this time and tell us when to go. Maybe I'm getting an unfair advantage by have the say so."

Luffy: He scratched his chin and smiled. "We're going to head back to Veil." He readied himself and cracked his knuckles again. "Okay, on your mark. GO!" no sooner was the word out of his mouth then he was off using his power Celerity back to the Veil Tower.

Madison: She hadn't been expecting him to choose to go back to Veil Tower but she nodded her head in agreement. Readying herself as he cracked his knuckles, she waited for the the beginning 'gah' sound of the word 'go' before she whisked away into the night again. Since they were heading back somewhere public though, Madison didn't teleport straight to the front door. Instead she reappeared off to the side of the door in a grouping of bushes where hopefully no mortal eyes would see her.

Luffy: He paused at the door of the apartment complex and looked around for Madison. He smiled when he didn't see her. Perhaps this time he had one the race for once. He sat down in front of door and waited.

Madison: She was already on her way to the front door when Luffy appeared in front of her. Seemed she had beaten him here again. He hadn't seen her though and was sitting down in front of the door. Madison moved into his line of vision and grinned, "I beat you here again. I believe that makes three doesn't it?"

Luffy: "Seriously?! Well that just bites it. I have to learn that power." He sighed and held his hand out. He lost fair and square and he would hold up his end of the bargain. "Okay, So you won, Guess I need to find a good dress then. I'm assuming you'll want to pick it out then?"

Madison: The grin on her face widened and she stuck out her hand to take his and gave it a shake. "Well since you're offering," Madison said in a sly tone, "and we are right here at Veil that has a shopping center. I suppoooose we could go find you something pretty. Gods know you're not going to fit into anything of mine."

Luffy: He pulled the door open and waited fo her to enter. He shook his head at her grin. "This is going to be a weird night I can tell. Alright let's go get the dress so I can get this over with." He leaned against the door and held it open for her.

Madison: "And to think it's just beginning," Madison said and winked at him as she passed through the open doorway into Veil Tower. It was a Friday night and the shopping center was bustling. Not as busy as it had been during the Christmas season but busy enough that Madison had to pay attention to where she was going. She lead the way to a stand that had a map of both levels of the shopping center, looking to see what shops would work best for them.

Luffy: Luffy followed Madison into the tower and looked around the shopping area. He knew one place that had had women's attire, but he was not about to open his mouth and suggest it. He glanced at Madison who looked pleased with herself on her victory with the race and shook his head.

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

Madison: Her pale blue eyes scanned the listing of shops, looking for one that really stood out to her. There were the everyday big-box department stores but she was looking for something a little more specialized. Madison doubted Catalina’s Secret would have evening wear but it was possible. The only other shop that stood out to her was Forbidden Desires. That too sounded more on the risque side of things but what the hell. She had won and it might be fun to watch Luffy squirm. “Let’s head this way,” Madison said to him and started walking towards the elevator.

Luffy: He followed her to the elevator and pressed the button on the wall. It felt like forever as the machine lurched down to the first floor. He pulled his leather band from his hair and clasped it around his neck as a necklace. He tapped his foot impatiently at the elevator. "So what store are we hitting first Madison?"

Madison: They pair stepped into the elevator and Luffy pushed the button for the second floor for them. Madison stepped towards the back of the small box and rocked back and forth on her heels. While she was standing in the elevator, she started to get nervous. Very rarely did she go shopping in the mall portion of Veil. Normally she practically all but ran to the elevator to avoid people and get to the floor she needed. It helped that Luffy was with her but she was now nervous. When he asked what store they were going to first, she tried to distract herself by smiling slyly at him, “You’ll see.”

Luffy: He turned around and watched her shrink to the back of the elevator.Her sly smile still betrayed some issue she was having. He leaned against the wallas the machine lurched upwards. For a man who was about to parade around his home in a dress, Luffy was utterly relaxed. Then again there was only one time since coming to Harper Rock that he had totally lost his cool. "I see. So we're going to be playing the game that way huh?" He winked at her and grinned.

Madison: “Uh huh,” she replied, trying to keep the grin on her face. The elevator lurched again as it came to a stop, making her stomach drop even more than it already felt and made her feel nauseas. The doors slid open and she moved forward hesitantly, very aware now of the amount of people milling about. When she stepped out, she paused and tried to remember where Forbidden Desires had been on the map. “This way,” Madison pointed, “I think.”

Luffy: "You know, if you're uncomfortable we don't have to do this tonight," Luffy said as he followed her out of the elevator. He looked around the area and scratched his head. "Okay what store are we looking for here?" There were quite a few people walking about the area.

Madison: “I’m fine,” Madison lied unconvincingly as she started to move in the direction she had pointed towards. The urge to move quickly through the crowd of people was hard to resist as she felt safer sticking closer to Luffy. Her eyes darted back and forth from one wall of stores to the opposite wall, searching for the sign that would designate the shop she was looking for. Spotting it, she pointed it out, “That one.”

Luffy: "I don't believe you Madison. Still having issues from what happened?" He looked at the sign and his hand went to his face. Forbidden Desires. He shook his head slowly. "This is going to be a very long night isn't it Madison?"

Madison: Her brow furrowed in confusion as she looked at him, her social anxiety for the moment as she tried to figure out what he meant. Her voice portrayed her visible confusion, “What do you mean ‘from what happened?”

Luffy: "The attacks on you. Of course if you really don't wish to talk about them, I'll understand." He looked into the shop and shook his head. She was going to pick something. He wasn't sure what the dress would be, but he knew it was going to be an interesting night.

Madison: "Oh," Madison shook her head in a negative fashion before saying quietly, "No, I've been like this from before then."

She had almost said that she'd always been anxious in social situations but in all honesty, that wasn't true. Her problems in dealing with people and being in groups and crowds had started after Mike died. Then they'd only amplified after becoming a blood thieve and then being turned. Even though it had been almost two and a half years since he died, she still didn't like talking about it. Madison gave Luffy a small smile and nodded towards the store, "C'mon. We've got a dress to find."

Luffy: He followed her into the store quietly. He looked at the array of dresses and then back at Madison. He hoped that there were dresses long enough to cover certain parts. Considering he wasn't wearing underpants, Luffy didn't want to deal with the awkwardness that would occur if his dangly bits began to flop around for the world to see.

Madison: With a name like Forbidden Desires, the racks of the store were filled with lingerie. Bits of colored lace and silk that left little to the imagination when worn. There were some dresses and Madison made a beeline to the rack. She started rifling through what was there, noting that most of them were more risque than they were appropriate for a formal setting. The bet had been for an evening gown and not for a 'come **** me' type dress. Plus none of the sizes that she could find even looked like they would come close to fitting the rather large man. But wanting to make him squirm a little, Madison pulled off a fiery red number. It was strapless and short cut, with a slit on either side that would run from the thigh almost all the way to the waist, stopping around the hip area. Showing it to Luffy, Madison could barely contain the ****-eating grin on her lips, "What do you think?"

Luffy: He looked and dress and shook his head. "I think you're forgetting I'm kind of free falling here. Don't you think it'll be embarrassing for the other guys here to see that?" He reached for a light blue with spaghetti straps. The clothe dropped just above the knee. "This would be a safer bet don't you think?"

Madison: Teeth bit into her lower lip as she stifled a giggle at the thought since she had completely forgotten that Luffy was free-balling it. Turning around, she pushed clothing aside and put the red 'come hither' dress back on the rack. She tilted her head and pondered the choice in Luffy's hands. "It'll look good with your eyes," she told him, reaching out to look at the tag and saw that it was even too small for her, "Don't think that's your size though. What size pants and shirt do you wear?"

Luffy: "I wear a men's large shirt and my pants are a 34-36," Luffy answered the blonde woman. He set the dress back on the rack since they determined that it wouldn't fit him. He went through the racks trying to find a size he thought would fit him. He sighed as everything was far too small, having been designed for women instead of a six foot tall man.

Madison: Madison looked around for a saleswoman. Spotting one, she raised her hand to flag her down. The saleswoman approached them, the forced smile that she gave every customer plastered on her lips. The woman glanced at Luffy before focusing in on Madison, "What can I do for you?"

"I was wondering how large your sizes that you carry go?" Madison asked politely.

The woman looked her up and down, "I'm sure we carry your size, what size are you?"

"Oh...It's not for me," Madison replied with a smile and used her thumb to point at Luffy, "It's for him."

The saleswoman's mouth dropped for a moment as her gaze returned to the large Viking beside Madison, "I uh...I don't think we have anything that would fit him."

Luffy: Luffy simply shook his head as he listened to the exchange between the two women. He carefully retied his hair behind his head and continued to dirg through the dresses for something that would be close to what was needed. He completely ignored the shock on the saleswoman's face "Are you absolutely sure you have no plus sized dresses at all?"

Madison: Luffy was so casual about his request that it almost caused Madison to burst out laughing. She managed to keep it in though and she could only imagine the thoughts running through the other woman's head. The sales lady looked over Luffy again, trying to maintain a professional and non-judgmental stance but it was written all over her face that she didn't often get men in the store shopping for themselves, "There might be a few things towards the back of the store in the plus size section."

The saleswoman pointed to the back of the store and Madison tugged on Luffy's shirt a few times, indicating with a nod of their head where they were supposed to go. Looking to the sales lady one more time, Madison asked, "Do you have a fitting room back there too?"

The woman nodded slowly as though she really didn't want to tell Madison that they did. Madison smiled and thanked, letting her know that they would call her if needed and started heading towards the back of the store. Once Luffy and Madison had their backs turned, the woman had her cellphone out and was texting quickly.

Luffy: They went to the back of the store where the plus garments were located. "Well that woman was fun wasn't she," Luffy commented to Madison. The sarcasm dripped off his words like acid as he went about searching for a dress to wear. There many colors and styles. Luffy just shrugged his shoulders and turned to Madison. "Okay you pick the dress. I think these will all fit."

Madison: "Something like that," Madison mumbled in reply to Luffy's comment about the saleswoman being fun. Automatically she started going through the rack in front of her and started picking off dresses that she thought might work. Occasionally she would walk up to Luffy, hold a dress up in front of him and **** her head to the side in contemplation before either putting the dress back or handing it to him to hold. By the time she had gone through the whole rack, Luffy was holding four different dresses in four different styles and colors. One was the blue he had picked out earlier, in the same style that he had grabbed but in the hopefully right size. Another was a soft peach halter top that was probably a bit shorter than he would have liked, slightly cinched at the waist and the skirt flared out a bit. The third one was a blood red with thick shoulder straps but a plunging V-style neckline. The last one was a seafoam green bandeau style top that the skirt felt straight down from. "There," she told him, "Go try these on."

Luffy: Luffy took the dresses and headed into the dressing room. He stripped down and slid the blue dress over his head. He returned to the sales floor to show Madison. He held his arms out to the side so she could get a good look at him. "Well, this is option number one."

Madison: Her hand flew to cover her mouth and the smile across it as Luffy exited out of the dressing room wearing the blue dress. When he held his arms out for her to get a better look, she burst out laughing. He looked absolutely ridiculous wearing a dress. With the hand not covering her mouth, she pointed her finger in the air and indicated for him to turn around.

Luffy: He turned around slowly as he rolled his eyes at her laughing. He made a full rotation and returned back to face her. 'Well, what do you think about this one?" He tilted his head and waited for her to respond to his question.

Madison: "I like it," Madison told him nonchalantly before her grin widened even more and her pale blue eyes sparkled mischievously, "It makes me want to see the rest of them."

Luffy: He sighed and went back into the fitting room. Off came the light blue dress and he was reaching for the peach one. He slipped it over his head and smoothed it out. He looked into the full length mirror and frowned. He was completely hanging out for the world to see. "Oh hell no," he shouted out before sitting on the edge of the seat. "There is no way I'm going to wear this one!"

Madison: Upon hearing Luffy shout from the other side of the fitting room door, the telepath moved forward and brought her face right up against the edge of the door so she could peep in on him through the crack. Laughter erupted from her throat and pushed her back away from the door so she could attempt to calm herself. She called out to him in between bursts of laughter and gasps for air, "Take it off then....and try the next....one!"

Luffy: He shook his head as she laughed. He figured she must have somehow seen what had happened when he put the dress on. He took the thing off and tossed it aside. he dropped the green down over his body and stepped out. "Okay so my dangles don't show on this one. What do you think?"

Madison: She had finally gotten her laughter under control by the time Luffy came out, now wearing the green ensemble she had chosen. The sight made a new fit of giggles start. It was starting to hurt Madison's stomach and sides with how much she was laughing, she actually felt like crying. "Yeah, no dangly bits, but I think I like the blue one better. But there's still that red one yet."

Luffy: He turned around and went back to try the last dress. He tossed it over his body and returned to show Madison. "Alright, this is the last one you picked out."

Madison: Again she couldn't help but grin and snicker as Luffy stepped out in the blood red halter top dress with the plunging V-shaped neckline. His pale skin seemed even paler against the color of the fabric. The portion of his chest that was showing was completely flawless and the muscles she could see were well defined. Her laughter faded away as she bit into her lip and thought about the options. Slowly she circled him, eyeing him up and down in the garment. "I like the way this one makes your skin look and how it shows off your chest but the blue one really brought out your eyes. I'll let you pick which one you want to wear."

Luffy: "Well, I'm already in this one, so let's go with it" He grabbed at the tage and pulled it off before reclaiming his clothing from the dressing room. He tossed his clothing over his arm and went to stand beside Madison. "Okay so now what do we do? Pay for it and walk around?"

Madison: Taking the tag from Luffy as he came back to stand beside her, Madison threaded her arm around his and led him to the cash register. She smiled at the saleswoman who was staring at them, obviously still a bit flustered. Handing the tag to her, Madison pulled her bag up onto the counter and pulled out her wallet. The bill ended up coming to a hundred and fifteen dollars plus tax but it was well worth it, even if she had been the one to win the bet. A hundred bucks and some chump change was nothing to her now that she made thousands in a day. She handed the woman her debit card, signed for it when she ran it as credit and then asked her for a bag for Luffy's clothing and thanked her when the sales lady handed her the receipt.

Taking his clothes from him, Madison dumped them into the shopping bag and held on to them herself instead of handing them back. Looking up at Luffy, she wanted to make sure he remembered the deal before he left the store, "You have to cross from one end of the shopping center to the other, both floors unless you can convince someone to dance with you to the music playing over the loud speaker."

Sticking a couple of Steal Blocks into heavy canvas backpack, Alexandrea left her shop in Morgan's hands and exited the 8th Dimension mall. Veil Towers was a short walk away but not as close as Beta Towers had been, Alex wondered why Madison had chosen to move there and not someplace more quiet than a busy mall. Alexandrea had never liked being around large crowds of people but the anxiety she felt sometimes seemed to be happening more often. It was why she used celerity so often to get from one place to another.

But she had promised Madison she would get some steel blocks for her and bring them over tonight and Alex always kept her word. Walking the street to get accustomed to the hustle and bustle of the people around her. Early evening was the busiest time in Harper Rock. When the humans still walked the streets and the growing population of vampires were beginning to venture out. Alex was grateful for the daywalker power so she could get outside when the streets had fewer occupants.

There seemed to be a lot less humans in town now than when Alex had first arrived in Harper Rock as a teenager, and and fewer still since she returned to the town just over two years ago. That worried her a great deal. She wondered sometimes if the vampires might actually outnumber the humans now.

Arriving at the mall, she went inside and looked around for the elevator, realizing she didn't know exactly where Madison's new place was. Easy enough to fix, she simply called out to her friend in her mind.

*Youuuu whoooo... Mads! I'm here. Where do I find you at?*

As she waited to get a reply, Alex looked around the mall. It wasn't too hard on the eyes but it was no where near as nice as Odin's. It didn't even have a shark.