Path of the Vampire forum

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay—

Jayden: Jayd kept his hands in his pockets, staring at the ground. He was pretty pathetic as a human, but he was never this mopey or easily depressed as he was after his turn. He still grinned though. There were plenty of things to be excited about still. As he kicked a can, he glanced up just in time to see Dhara through the window of a convenience store with her back turned to him. He snuck in, without a sound so he could be back to back with her and make it seem coincidental. The real coincident was the fact that when he randomly picked up a magazine to make it look like he had been standing there reading the whole time, it wasn't exactly a proper magazine.

Dhara: She sighed and set down the book, crinkling her nose. Why was everything lately about bondage or sparkly vampires? What happened to the classics? Shaking her head, she took a half step back, bumping in to someone, which caused her to jump in surprise and turn around. "Jayden!" She said happily, her dark mood instantly lifting. "Forgive me, I did not see you there. What brings you out tonight?"

Jayden: He made a pretty good show of being startled at having her bump into his back, turning around quickly to 'see who was there', "Oh! Dhara! No, it's my bad. I'm just grabbing some entertainment and junk food from the convenience store, yanno?" He held up the magazine only to realize a naked woman was on the cover. His face went several shades of red even to his earlobes. When he dropped it, it was worse, a spread with a man topping a woman while being topped by another man. His face paled and turned a sickly green. This time not from the embarrassment but from the shock. Is that what men do together? Never. Ever. Not in a million years, "N-N-N-Not that entertainment! I grabbed the wrong magazine!"

Dhara: She smiled when he recognized her, eyes moving to the magazine he held up and she blushed as much as he did, her freckles standing out thanks to the coloring of her cheeks. "I see..." She drawled slowly, not sure what to think, that is, until he realized what he held and he began to blush and stammer. It only got worse when the magazine hit the floor with a splat and opened. Her eyes moved automatically to the page, then to her companion who was looking slightly green. She couldn't help the laugh that escaped, and she bent to pick up the glossy paper, closing it without looking and managing to place it back on the rack, brushing a hand through her hair. "What kind of entertainment then?" She said with another good natured laugh, trying to brush off the slip.

Jayden: Put his hands over his face to hide it in shame. He wished he were like Eve now. He wanted to fade into the shadows and pretend he never existed. He took a deep breath and brought his hands away to rub at the back of his neck anxiously and gave her a sheepish smile. Using his free hand he picked up a business magazine. The poor boy was all work, it would seem. Though he did also grab a gaming magazine as well, "Usual stuff? Business Economics. Video Games."

Dhara: She watched him with a small smile on her lips. "You didn't really come in here for stuff, did you?" She asked, not that she could say for sure as she hadn't even seen him come in. She reached out and picked up a magazine about music, paging through it idly, though she was watching him.

Jayden: Nodded, vigorously, "I did! It'd be stupid to come in if I didn't want or need anything in here, yanno? And it was just so fortunate that a friendly face happened to be here too." Jayd was a bad liar when it came to women. He glanced at the ceiling in a tell-tale.

Dhara: She laughed softly and shook her head, but let it pass, keeping his secret for him. "So..." She said as she put the magazine back. "Plans for this evening? Besides boring business magazines?"

Jayden: Grinned, sheepishly, "Later on I have a way late meeting. The day got busy so I had to push it back but it still has to get done. I'm just taking a little breath time." Which wasn't entirely true. But it was one of the few things he could lie about -even to a woman- and seem completely sincere. Because he regarded it as protecting them from the truth. While he could go out during the day, he didn't like it as he was generally way too sleepy. "What about you?"

Dhara: She shrugged one shoulder and sighed, looking out the window of the store for a moment. "Nothing. I'm sort of wandering around aimlessly." She was completely honest about her lack of plans for the night. "I was thinking of walking down near the river for a bit."

Jayden: "River? Sounds fun. Gimme a minute and I'll join ya until I have ta go?" Jayd grinned and went to the back to grab a two liter of Code Red Mountain Dew and then went to grab two hot dogs, a large slice of pizza, and a container of nachos that he drowned under the cheese machine. He went back over to her to wait and see what she'd be grabbing so he could snag them and add them to his purchase.

Dhara: She laughed softly, half following him, she moved to the cooler and grabbed a bottle of water and another of juice. "Sure, I'd love the company if you're going to invite yourself." She teased him, but in truth, she was really glad of the company. She'd been far to mopey lately. "Can you walk and eat at the same time?" She asked curiously, moving towards the counter to pay for her juice and water.

Jayden: He grinned and put his things down on the counter before her, and then snagged her things to put with it. Looking like a smug little puppy that had managed to yank the tug of war toy away and run off with it, "Yeeeaaappppp! --Oh, do you want something to eat to? If so, hurry up and grab it."

Dhara: She blinked at him and shook her head, feeling dumbfounded as the bottles vanished from her hands. "No... thank you. I am not hungry. But I appreciate the offer."

Jayden: When the items were paid for, the food items that were contained -the hot dogs fully loaded in their cardboard containers, and the nachos in their plastic container were put into a bag and slid onto Jayd's arm. He handed her the two drinks that belonged to her and grabbed his two liter and slipped his free hand under the thin cardboard that served as a holder for the large slice of pizza. He headed over to the door and used his back to push it open and held it for her, "Ladies first." He grinned and took a large bite from the pizza with a shrug, "I can eat more than this when I'm not focused entirely on my work." Not that he needed to eat. Food was just an addiction he couldn't kick. "Besides, I'm a dude. I could eat a walrus and I probably wouldn't gain any weight." Which may very well be true. Even when he was human, it seemed like he could eat an entire cow and he never gained any.

--The following transcript was a live chat roleplay—

Dhara: "I'm not complaining. I think it's a nice trait. I'm the same way. I do love food, just sometimes I get far too busy." She led them towards the river, enjoying the night air. She drew a large lung full and blew the breath out slowly, the tension leaving her shoulders bit by bit.

Jayden: Had finished his pizza slice, relatively quickly on the way there. And had drowned it down by drinking a quarter of the two liter without even stopping for a breath. He walked slowly, considering his legs were long enough that his normal strides could easily overlap hers if he didn't regard them, "Been up to anything good?"

Dhara: "Not really. Moping about mostly. I need to get out of my funk." She said with a laugh, watching him guzzle soda. She opened her juice and took a swallow. "I did peek at your clothing store. I was a little intimidated so I didn't go in.”

Jayden: Blinked at her words. Both the idea of her moping and her words about feeling intimidated made his lips twist into a downward motion. It was quickly replaced with a silly, puppy smile, "Neh? Intimidated? Nothing to feel intimidated about. That shop is to make women feel happy and confident. If you felt intimidated, I guess I didn't do a very good job." He took out one of the hot dogs, devouring half of it in one bite.

Dhara: She watched him and laughed again, she couldn't help it. His face was like an open book some times. "It's not your shop. I think it's just me." She tugged on the long black skirt and smiled up at him. "I am not exactly fashion forward and your shop doesn't seem to cater to hobo chic."

Jayden: Pursed his lips, "I'll have to fix that!" He grinned. Finishing the rest of the hot dog, he washed that down with a large gulp before digging out the other, "So. Still plan on sticking around?"

Dhara: She blew out a breath and look away, hearing the river in the distance. She brushed the streak of black from her eyes, blending it with her white hair. "I don't know. I was thinking of leaving. Maybe travel the world again. Get out of Canada."

Jayden: Shrugged, "Canada isn't a bad place. This place is just messed up." He looked up at the night sky before glancing over at her, "It'd be a bummer to see ya go, but it'd probably be in your best interest too."

Dhara: "Because of all the things that go bump in the night." It was a statement, not a question and she looked at him from the corner of her eye. "Honestly it's not those things that make me want to leave. Which is crazy because it should be."

Jayden: He froze a bit with what she said and looked back up, "Yeah, there are plenty of creepers around that will do bad things to pretty girls. Drag ya in the back alleyway and have his way." He was intentionally dragging the conversation toward the idea of HUMAN creeps and nothing of supernatural persuasion. It was too dangerous for humans to talk about or know about the latter.

Dhara: "Or the ones that drag you off and you wake up wandering the street with no memory and a sore neck." She eyed him for a moment, then sighed as they reached the river, listening to the water. "Funny how you can be brave in the face of the scary things and scared in the face of the normal things."

Jayden: He rubbed the back of his neck, awkwardly and sighed, "Do you remember what I told you before? Absolutely, no matter what. Don't talk about such things. It's not safe." Jayd seemed to be quite human, most humans and vampires he came across couldn't even really tell he was a vampire, unless they priorly knew. Something about his aura and complexion, something about the way he didn't have sharp teeth, whatever it was, Jayd didn't mind. He wasn't very vampiric in nature anyways. He gave her a crooked grin, "Speak for yourself. I'm afraid of everything."

Dhara: "What are you gonna do? Tie me up and lock me in a basement?" She teased, settling on the bank of the river. She slipped her boots and socks off, revealing tiny little feet that she stuck in to the cold water. "You? Why would you be afraid of everything?"

Jayden: Shuddered at the thought. It sounded so brutish and violent. He shook his head violently before staring at her, "Because everything could hurt me. I'm a pretty pathetic coward." He grinned again, though it was half-hearted.

Dhara: She laughed softly and looked over at him for a moment, then sipped her juice. "Things can only hurt you if you let them. Sure there's physical pain which sometimes you can't avoid. But spiritually? Your heart and soul and that thing that makes a person who they are? No one can hurt that without permission."

Jayden: Tilted his head a bit. Wondering if what she said was completely true. He believed it to be so to some extent, but not completely. Sometimes it was impossible to not be hurt, "The fact we let people into our hearts gives them permission to hurt us. The alternative to not getting hurt is to close everyone out of your heart, in which case you're hurting yourself by denying yourself the fundamental necessities of social interaction which helps you grow as a person to become a 'self'. So... Which do you think is worse?"

Dhara: She didn't say anything for a long time, simply watching the water as she mulled it over, then sighed. "Right now? I would say letting someone in your heart and them hurting you is worse than shutting every one out. But that's probably a biased view because I'm still trying to get over some one."

Jayden: Grinned, though it wasn't one that held any humor or good-will, "Yeah. Right now. I'm fighting that exact same demon. But instead of completely shutting off. I want to expand my world with more people. That way it'll take more than just one person to make my world crash in around me." He leaned down to pick up a rock and skipped it into the water.

Dhara: She watched him, canting her head at his talent. That was something she had no idea how to do. "But why? Wouldn't it be safer, and maybe even smarter, to keep people away?" She sipped her juice, realizing she was being depressing. "Has it ever happened to you before?"

Jayden: He sat down the sack and two liter to pick up a bunch of flat rocks, beginning to skip them across, "Having my world crash in on me? More than I'd like. But that's not just the fault of other people. It's my fault. Because I kept my world so small that it was easily toppled over. Besides, in actuality, it's not smarter to block people out. It's a fact that humans are social, pack creatures. We need each other. If you look at psychology, humans tend to go crazy when they're in complete isolation. A person can feel isolated even when they're surrounded by people... And usually, that isn't because of the other people, it's because that person is doing their best to keep everyone else out."

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

Dhara: "Hmm..." She said thoughtfully, standing up, she wiped her hands on her skirt. "This is my first time, but I'm willing to believe it won't hurt forever." She blew out a breath and smiled at him. "Enough being depressing... will you teach me how to do that?"

Jayden: Blinked at being asked to teach how to not be depressing. He skipped the last rock and brought a hand to cover his face. His shoulders shook with laughter. That was unexpected. He was probably one of the mopiest persons he knew. Since becoming a vampire, he more often than not felt like something was missing and it made him unbelievably sulky. When he quelled his laughter, he glanced over at her, "Facts. If you want to be happy, be ready to realize the science of psychology and medical perspectives is a part of the emotional well-being. Children are happy, children laugh more than adults. A lot more. Laughing releases Endorphins. Laugh a lot. Even at yourself. Remind yourself socializing, while tricky for hermits, is important. And just.... Look on the bright side. Calculate everything."

Dhara: She stared at him, head tilted to the side, wondering what he was talking about. Finally she realized her sentence structure had confused him and she laughed softly. "I know how to be happy. I meant could you teach me how to skip rocks."

Jayden: His face went red when she told him he had misunderstood. He looked down, up, rubbed the back of his head and grinned sheepishly. He gave a slight nod and picked up a flat rock, going to stand behind her and putting it in her hand. He carefully gripped her wrist to show her the correct motions, "Movement from the wrist. Then you just time when you let go. Practice until you find the right placement of your wrist and timing to let go." He let go of her and backed up.

Dhara: She looked at the rock in her hand, then studied the way he positioned her wrist. Drawing in a breath, she drew her arm back and then forward, letting the rock go, where it plopped in to the water and promptly sank, causing her to laugh. "Practice is right. How did you learn this?"

Jayden: "What do you think? I am a guy. Do you know how many little boys spend their afternoons skipping rocks?" He grins. Grabbing up more flat rocks. Though he moved his arm, the motion for actually getting the rock to skip was in his wrist. The arm movement had been just for extra power to get it to do a lot more skips. He handed her one of the rocks to try again.

Dhara: She took the rock and watched him, studying his wrist movements, then tried again. She got distance, but no skips as it once again sank and she laughed. "I wouldn't know. My childhood was not very normal."

Jayden: Jayd repeated it again, this time slowly for her. Still, despite the slowed motion and lackluster because of such it managed to get two skips before it sunk. He then handed her another.

Dhara: She drew in a breath and eyed the rock, then the water. Her tongue poked from the corner of her mouth as she focused on the task. Finally she tossed the rock. It hit the water, skipped once, and sank, but it was enough for her. "I did it!" She shouted excitedly, jumping up and down and clapping her hands.

Jayden: He watched her concentrated expression in amusement and silence until she finally managed. Though it was only one skip. He grinned and held out a hand for a high-five, "Ya did it! Way ta go!"

Dhara: She gave him a high five and grinned, taking up her juice for a sip, she then not so slyly stole another rock and tried again, and managing two skips this time. "Okay I can see why this is fun!"

Jayden: Chuckled, "It's also pretty calming." He took a seat on the water's edge, sitting the rocks between where he was sitting and Dhara was standing before leaning back and pulling his sack and two litre over to him. He grabbed out the nachos and began to consume as if he had wasted so much energy that all the food he had devoured before had been used up already.

Dhara: She sat with him, shifting her bag, she revealed the lute hidden under it. Pulling the cover off, she placed the 15 stringed instrument across her lap and began to play. Her long fingers were nimble and light as they danced over the strings. "This is how I relax."

Jayden: Jayd threw the container in the sack with the rest of the trash and finished his two liter, putting it in the sack as well. He then flopped back, with his arms back behind his head to listen to her play, shutting his eyes.

Dhara: She wasn't sure what kind of music she liked, and she was wondering if she should have her violin instead. Nevertheless, she stuck with her lute, keeping the melody bright and happy as she played for him, letting the music wrap them in comfortable silence.

Jayden: His lips quirked up at the sound. Lutes were so unusual in this day, it felt like he was in an MMORPG to be hearing one. He tapped his foot, idly, to resound and echo the beat of the lute.

Dhara: She grinned when she saw his foot tapping, looking at him only for a moment, then back down to her instrument. "So when are you going to show me these video games you like so much? The ones you said have bards in them?"

Jayden: Jayd blinked his eyes open, sitting up. He put two fingers between his lips and whistled. --Only to have his shoulder bag that had been vacant roughly thrown at him by an agitated Thrall who had been ditched and keeping a distance when Jayd had first spotted Dhara. Luckily he caught it after it hit him in the head. He glared out into the dark at the figure hidden just beyond sight, "You're not a ninja, so knock it off, cool guy." Taking the laptop out. He connected it to his phone's net and brought up a MMORPG for her, using one of his free spaces to make a new character, he handed it over to her.

Dhara: She stopped playing when he sat up, giving a little shriek of surprise when the bag came flying out of the darkness. "Guten Abend, Dante!" She called out, figuring that's who was lurking. Cradling her lute like it was made of glass, she scooted closer to him and took the device, staring at the game interface curiously. "I've never played a video game before."

Jayden: Chuckled, "This one is pretty old school, so. Do you want an elf, human, or beast-man? Male or female? Pick your look. And then after that do you want a tank -a fighter, an archer, or a mage -which can be a healer type or a battle-mage?" He showed her how to move the mousepad over the interface.

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

Dhara: "I feel like you are speaking Greek." She said with a chuckle. She set the device down and took a few moments to pull the leather case over her lute and lace it securely before picking up the phone again. She was pressed against his side, leaning in to him and slouching a little as she worked the controls. She picked a female elf with white hair and amber eyes. "Okay... now about the archer and mage stuff?"

Jayden: Jayd went rigid at the contact. His face several shades of red. He hadn't quite figured out what type of friend Dhara was. A sister-like friend, or a one of the boy's kind of friends. In either case, she was still a girl. So he leaned back some, in an awkward way. He could still see the laptop just fine, "An archer is a ranged fighter, obviously. Uses bows and arrows. A mage can be a fighter, using ranged magic, or an aiding character using buffs and healing magic and ****. A fighter or tank can take a lot of damage and keep going and uses melee weapons."

Dhara: She didn't notice his embarrassment, too focused on the screen. Nibbling on her lip, she thought about the stories she'd red about elves. "Can there be a magic using archer?" She asked curiously. In books Elves had magic and could light arrows on fire with a thought.

Jayden: He nodded. Calmed down now that he was backed away a bit from the physical contact. He then realized she probably couldn't see him nod since he'd leaned back, "Yeah. Like fire arrows, thunder arrows, so on, so forth."

Dhara: "I want to do that..." She murmured, clicking through the options until she got what she wanted, typing in a made up name. She then clicked through to the tutorial. "Now what?"

Jayden: "Now follow the tutorial. It'll show ya everything. If you hit any bumps, wake me up!" He grinned and flopped back down to shut his eyes and rest up a bit before Dante would be killing him to make it to the meeting later.

Dhara: She chuckled softly, then gently touched his arm. "If it's alright with you... I'd rather spend time with you rather than looking at a screen... I am sure I can try this game at home or something.”

Jayden: He jumped up at the touch, but jumping to his feet like he did caused too much momentum nearly caused him to go face first into the water. He quickly sat back down with a sheepish grin, "Jeez. No rest for busy men, I guess."

Dhara: She flinched when he somehow went from being on his back to his feet and nearly landing in the river. "I am sorry I startled you. Perhaps you should head home with Dante and have a nap before your meeting? Naps are awesome."

Jayden: "Even if I wanted to, Dante wouldn't let me. He'd say it's too far out of the way to make it to the meeting on time." He tried to mimic his thrall's irritating blank face and monotonous voice, "Idiots like you can sleep no matter where you are so--" He was cut off by a rock being thrown at the back of his head, "Ow! Not a ninja, you shadow-lurking-********!"

Dhara: She laughed softly, a blush creeping over her cheeks at his colorful language. "What does he mean "idiots like you"? I do not think you are an idiot."

Jayden: Grins at her, though it's not a happy one, "He's young looking, right? Despite how serious and capable he is? It's because he is. He's still a minor. Bad life, so he's got a bad attitude and way of talking, but he's a good kid."

Dhara: "I think he seems very sweet." She said honestly. "He was nice to me when I came to return your paper. And frankly, you are young looking as well so..." She trailed off, knowing she looked rather young as well.

Jayden: Blinked, he tended to forget that he had been turned at eighteen and a couple years had passed since then. He chuckled, "But I'm actually 20, despite how cute and youthful I look~" He was being a smart alec with the last part of his sentence. He hated being called cute.

Dhara: She laughed softly. "Down right adorable." She drawled. Adorable was her least favorite thing to be called. She felt like a puppy. "I'm 20 as well." At least she thought she was, but she wasn't going to get in to that with him.

Jayden: Blinked at being called adorable. His head drooped down, looking quite like a puppy that had lowered its ears. Due to the shame. Even if it had been said jokingly. "Jeez. Men don't like to be called that sorta stuff, yanno? Cool, or awesome, or super handsome."

Dhara: She laughed and nudged him. "I don't know many girls who like being called cute and adorable either. It always makes me feel like a puppy or something." She regarded him for a moment. "I do think you're pretty awesome though."

Jayden: Grinned brightly, lifting his head back up. He rubbed the bridge of his nose with his index finger awkwardly with that puppy grin still plastered. Despite not liking being considered like a cute little animal, he really was like a little puppy. "I'll keep that in mind about ya."

Dhara: She chuckled and handed him his phone back. "Maybe next time we can watch that one movie with the um..." She paused with a small frown, trying to remember the name. "You know... the things you made your robot after?"

Jayden: Took the phone and laptop back, putting them in his bag and tossing the bag into the darkness where Dante was waiting. He gave her a nod, "Gremlins? Sure! It's a comedy Horror movie though, so are you okay with them making a bit of jokes about death?"

Dhara: "I am okay with that." She finished off her juice and held on to the bottle. "Besides, it would be nice to a movie with a friend. I don't have very many friends and if I am going to take your advice..."

Jayden: Grinned and nodded, "Movies are great for making friends, so let's work hard, yeah?" He glanced over to where his thrall still waited just out of normal human sight distance in the dark before glancing back to her, "And you still have my number, yeah?"

Dhara: "Um..." She rummaged in her bag, hoping he didn't notice her clothes rolled up in there, and finally found her phone, then scrolled through it. "I do yes." She showed him the screen of the rather simple device. Like an old school cell phone before smartphones came around.

Jayden: He did in fact notice and he pursed his lips, but kept his nose out of it until she was ready to tell him things on her own, "Great. Then we'll set a date for watching the movie." When Dante finally came close, he rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah. Meeting, meeting." Though the thrall's greeting was in all appearances cold, he still did greet the woman with a slight nod.

Dhara: She smiled warmly and stood up as was polite. "Good evening, Dante. It is nice to see you again." She looked the man over, then look at Jayden with a smile. "Just text me and we can work something out when your schedule allows. For now I bid you good night, lest Dante box my ears for making you late."

Jayden: Jayden snickered which earned him having Dante's nails dig into his ear to start pulling him along, "Ow, ow, ow! I'm sorry! --G'night, Dhara! Sleep well! I'll text ya soon!"