Path of the Vampire forum

* Seiji leaned back against the cool brick wall, his eyes glazed. The empty street before him, coated in a sheen of light slush, gave him no clues as to his whereabouts. Already quite used to this sort of occurance, he quietly ran his thumb over the iron suppliment in his palm, letting his mind wander without stopping on any thought in particular. With a light shiver, he tugged his collar up, as if it could ward away the chill in the air better this way. The same dusty coat he always wore, with its jagged edges and inability to keep out the cold, but the light fleece was a comfort and reminded him of things. Home things.
* Jaxon perched on the back of a park bench, feet on the seat of the bench, bent over to peer into a book of spells he'd acquired. Whether they were legitimate or note he wasn't yet sure.
* Seiji lowered his eyes from nothing in particular, focusing on a small park across the street. He found himself walking before he could even process he was doing so. Or at least, he intended to, his eyes fixed on a familiar head. He made it across the street, but just as he reached the bench, his foot slid sharply inwards. His hand, outstretched to tap Jaxon's shoulder lightly, slammed against the back of the bench instead, followed by a loud yelp as somehow Seiji managed to slide halfway under the bench, face to the sky. He curled his fingers against his chest, cringing at the ache in them.
* Jaxon jerked his head up at the commotion, then leaned down and peered at his old friend. He flashed a small smile and scooted down to crouch on the seat of the bench. "Hello monster. What're you doing out this time of night?" He chirped.
* Seiji couldn't, for the life of him, recall why Jaxon had fixed on such a particular nickname for him. If he'd asked at some point, he'd long forgotten what the answer was, and never really cared to ask since. Offering an awkward, slightly embarressed smile, he used his uninjured hand and a good deal of wriggling to pull himself out from under the bench and into a sitting position. "Hey, Jax. I was just.." he hesitated very briefly. "..out for a walk. Or um.. a slide," he added lamely, shaking slush from his hair and coat. "What about you?"
* Jaxon snickered and shook his head with amusement as he scooted to the side to offer the other man a spot to sit on the bench. "I see that. Little cold for sliding. Or walking." He countered, glancing up at the nearest street light curiously.
* Seiji couldn't suppress a slight shiver as he crept around the bench with exaggerrated caution. "Couldn't agree more," he laughed softly, easily, as he took the offered seat. "Thanks." Nudging the coat tighter around himself, he blew air into his palms, flexing the fingers of his right hand to reassure himself nothing was broken. The suppliment he'd had early had vanished, likely eaten up by the slush when he'd fallen, or perhaps tossed a great distance away. Seiji cast a curious glance at the book in Jaxon's hand, hesitating before asking, "What're you reading?"
* Jaxon tilted the book toward Seiji with a warm smile and shrugged. "I found it in one of Whit's boxes. Supposedly it's spells. Not so sure I believe it. But I like the pictures," He responded, and flipped to a page with elaborate designs of dragons in flight.
* Seiji leaned forward, his eyes lighting up. "Wow," he breathed, resisting an urge to trace the images with his finger. As he moved, a gleam of something metallic caught the light near his hip, ducking out of sight again under his coat. "It's beautiful."
* Jaxon flashed a small smile and nodded as he looked to the page himself. "I know. All the monsters in this town and I haven't yet seen anything as beautiful as this." He shook his head and sighed wistfully. "What have you been up to?"
* Seiji flinched the same span of breath Jaxon said 'monsters'. He leaned back quickly, dropping his gaze to his lap, his smile fading to a mere shadow. "Oh... um. Not much really." A small, quiet sort of shrug. "Work, I guess... mostly work, blood tests, stuff like that."
* Jaxon wrinkled his nose and tilted his head curiously. "What sort of blood tests? Something wrong? Are you okay?" He asked warily, and abruptly put his hand on the mans forehead to test his tempature.
* Seiji flinched in surprise, looking somewhat flustered by the concern Jaxon displayed. "O-oh, no, it's nothing big, really," he mumbled into his collar, studying his hands a moment. Awkwardly he pulled his sleeves over his fingers, but despite his initial flinch, he didn't seem to overly mind Jaxon's hand against his skin. Seiji's forehead was cold to the touch, as was much of his skin, even what was covered.
* Jaxon frowned to himself and shook his head, withdrawing his hand. "I think you're clammy." He stated, then shrugged with a crooked smile. "Though I guess I wouldn't know too well. I'm not a doctor. Just a... clerk." He added.
* Seiji shifted slightly, his lips tugging up at the corners as he glanced sideways at Jaxon. "The doctors are just keeping an eye on my blood pressure," he explained, looking down again. His fingers found the front of his coat, pulling it tightly closed, up to his chin. "It's been a bit low is all.." He spoke softly, with the same sort of tone one might use when trying to convince someone that a tornado was a 'light breeze' without much success.
* Jaxon squinted his eyes at the man, then closed his book and stood up abruptly and extended his hand to the other man. "Let's go get some hot cocoa." He offered and tugged his own coat on a little tighter.
* Seiji blinked owlishly at Jaxon's offered hand. Though the words were phrased in a sort of question, Seiji got the sense it was less optional. If he minded, it didn't show, and after a brief hesitation he took the offered hand, his own digits freezing to the touch. "S...sure," he agreed, nodding once and even smiling with a little more energy at the thought of a warm drink with good company.
* Jaxon tugged Seiji up by his hand and flashed a grin, tucking the book into his bag before pulling gloves out and donning them. "I haven't seen you around in a while," He stated as he led the way to the street and then down the sidewalk.
* Seiji stumbled a little at the tug, but fortunately no catastrophic result occured. For once. Tugging his sleeves over his hands, Seiji trailed after Jaxon closely, his shoulders hunched against the cold, and his eyes occasionally flicking about uneasily. "Yeah... you either.. it's been awhile," he agreed in far more words than were necissary.
* Jaxon kicked a pebble out of the way as he walked. "I wasn't sure if you'd left town or not" He admitted before turning up the ramp to the little diner. He grasped the door and pulled it open, holding it for Seiji.