Path of the Vampire forum

Tonight was a pretty chill night for Charlie, she had spent a good amount of time working on improving gun parts and creating more guns (not that she needed them) that she could add to her arsenal. She was the kind of girl that liked to be prepared for the bullies to come knocking because she had somehow said or done something that tapped the stick up their back sides. A slight smirk came to her face as she headed down the streets now, pulling her leather jacket around her a bit more.

She didn't feel the cold anymore, in fact, it was warm to her, she could have walked around in a tank top and shorts if she wanted, but instead, she dressed the part of someone dealing with the winter months in HR, a place that was colder than her native Maine but not by much. Beneath her jacket was a black hoodie, and beneath that was a long sleeved shirt. Her jeans were black, and of the skinny variety and were tucked into her black leather boots. Boots that came up to her knees and had a good 4 inch heel to them. Pushing her glasses up the bridge of her nose again, she continued to walk down the street.

Every once in a while, she would brush past someone, slipping her fingers into their pockets, pulling out things like cellphones and makeup, she even managed a camcorder. Those were always fun. And then she took in the scent of baked goods and coffee. She closed her eyes and just enjoyed the smell. She didn't need to eat, or drink for that matter, and she never actually gained anything from eating or drinking - something that still depressed her from time to time - but she could do it. And often did, if for no other reason than nostalgia and to appear human. She hated obeying the masquerade, was just counting the days when she could be free to be her out in the open without the threat of the bullies trying to bite her head off. Yet, she did it... because while she was prepared for a battle, she wasn't going to go to them and kick their doors in. She was one... they were a legion and all of them older than her.

With another deep breath, she decided to walk into the Voodoo cafe, a place that she normally didn't go to, but she was in the mood for food and drink, plus she could sit at a comp and do some damage as well as using the connections of the city to check on her auctions. Once she had something to nibble on and coffee in hand, she moved to sit at a computer, bringing it to life so that she could see what kind of havoc she could cause online. It was a bit funny to use one computer and then just use her mind as a second one. And then she also had her smartphone as well, three computers at her will. She glanced around, making sure everyone was concentrating on their own things and then her hands moved to the keyboard and began to fly.

She just had to remember to type at her old speed - which was still pretty damn fast - and not at her celerity induced vampire speed. It would be hard to explain how she was able to do a good 1000 words a minute.

Charlie had been well into her second hack when she got that feeling, you know that feeling you get, the feeling that is telling you that someone is watching you? Well, that was the feeling she was getting, and yet, she didn't really respond to it. As an allurist she constantly had people watching her, looking at her, staring at her... she was used to the attention by now and knew how to work around it and how to use it to her advantage. She could sweet talk with the best of them now, had been able to for years.

Still, the feeling of the gaze on her called her attention. Her fingers continued to fly over the keys, and then, she stopped. She sat back and lifted her triple chocolate muffin and began to break off bite size pieces, popping them in her mouth as she let her gaze rest on the screen, as if she were watching something but at the same time her photographic memory was coming into play. With her wider view on the room, she was able to take in everything in her peripheral vision and then mentally explore each part of it. A lot of the people in the cafe were doing their own things, working on programs or hacking or stealing information. Yet there was one guy who seemed all the more interested in her than she normally attracted. She popped another piece of her muffin into her mouth and then set it down on the edge of the table so that she could get to work on more things.

As she worked on a needed script for something she needed to make, she used her mental access to the internet to hack into the CCV of the cafe. That way she could keep an eye on the guy that was keeping an eye on her. Watching the watcher. Charlie licked her lower lip for a moment and continued to type up the script, working on the code, getting in just right because she wanted to make some good quality stuff. As she was working, her mind was still hacking and at the same time working over the 'photos' she had captured, checking out more of the guy without even looking directly at him. Things about his appearance made her wonder about what was going on in his life. There was something that made her wonder... made her remember... her first day that she had come here.

That's when things fell into place for her mentally. She smiled at the screen and decided to put her theory to the test. She stood in that moment, and lifted her arms high over her head, her eyes closed, her head moving from one side to the other as she stretched out. And then she started to make her way towards the counter again, looking at the candy that was being sold. Clearly Charlie was letting her sweet tooth flag fly today, but mentally, she was watching the guy from the cameras as well as keeping an eye on him through the reflection of the glass counter. She wanted to see what he would do, but something told her, she knew what he was going to do... both choices. He could go for what she had in her pockets, which actually wasn't much except what she had already stolen, or he could go for what she left on the desk which was only her coffee and muffin. Either option would prove her theory if he went for them.

It was a waiting game right now.

She continued to play like she was just looking at the candy, watching his reflection. He seemed like he was wondering if he should do what he was thinking about, or at least how he was going to do it. Charlie felt the brush of his bag and in that moment, her head shook just a little. What was it about her that she was recently bombarded with little thieves trying to pick her pockets nightly. Just like she did with the last person to stick their hand in her pockets, she reached back and wrapped her hand around his wrist. The kind of grip that was to tight to escape easily but not so tight that it hurt, and the strike was viper quick.

"I seem to be finding a lot of you lil thieves this week." She said with a slight laugh. Despite the fact that her words might have sounded like she was upset, she really wasn't in the least. Her chocolate eyes glittered with amusement and she stood straight as she looked at him. "Not that I can throw stones..." She said as she held up a watch with her other hand. "You're new here though, I can tell." She said as she looked him over. He was cute and she had to admit, he had tried his best. Unfortunately, his best wasn't good enough for her dexterity and speed. "I'm Charlie." She said and then released him, but not before putting herself between him and the door.

After all, she may not be one to get violent against people, but she wasn't going to let him get away with her stuff. Especially since she had another little thief that she caught the night before waiting for some much needed gear to help her break into the buildings far easier without getting caught. Though, she had to admit, the law seemed pretty lax on humans when they got caught in this city, and both of the thieves she had caught and been human. Perhaps it was because she herself read as human now, having spent way too much time with them in her job she suspected, but the human thieves seemed to like her as their mark now.

Perhaps she would start a faction of thieves... she knew there was a guild for them, but she didn't know if they were active anymore and if they were if they were kind to humans. At least she knew she was kind to humans and would never harm them... unless they wanted her too... or pushed her to do it like hunters and paladins once did.

Charlie gave a bit of a smile as she listened to him. He had the skills needed to be a pretty good conman if he were trained up just a bit more. He was sweet too... something that didn't always fly well in this city. Still as she stood back a little more to take in the appearance of the male before her once again, she nodded a bit and spoke "Well, I don't forget... ever... however, apology accepted." Then she leaned in and said in a more quiet tone that was meant only for him "Especially since I was testing you." She then took her step back again and smiled a more Cheshire cat grin.

"There is one thing you don't have to worry about with me, is me turning you in. If I turned you in, I'd have to turn myself in." She said with a soft laugh and then slid her hands into her pockets, a thing that was meant to protect anything that he might try to go for again from being picked up. "I get the feeling though that you are new to the city. Am I right, Marcus?" She asked, she pretty much could tell a new person just from seeing them by now, but he seemed to hold one or two of the qualities she had when she first came to the city. This endeared him to her and she really loved helping those that seemed so much like she had been.

At his first question, she gave a nod and smiled a bit and then motioned with her head that he should join her back where she had been sitting. With her path, standing in an area like this without doing anything was likely to draw the wrong kind of attention and that was something that neither of them wanted. Then he was asking about her test and if he had passed. In a way, he had, and in another, he hadn't. His attempt on her was the pass, but the fact that she had felt it, been ready for it, and caught him in the attempt meant that he had failed.

"Well, that depends on your perspective I guess. You took the bait, and then the bait bit back." She teased and winked to him before she continued on with what she was going to say "At the same time, I think I could help you." She said and then sat down at the computer she had been at before, using her foot to push the empty chair beside hers out for him before she picked up her coffer and took a sip of it. "I've lived here for three years, lots of people come and go, there are some though, that come for reasons unknown and for even more unknown reasons stay. Usually, the main reason they stay is that they don't have a place to go back too. The other is that they are running from someone."

She continued to watch him and see what he would do, after all, she was no longer blocking his path, he could ditch her. He could join her and chat. He could attempt to kill her but that wouldn't work. A human? Against a vampire? Yeah, hunters got in a good shot every now and then, but at the same time, they had to hunt in huge packs to bring down a single vampire. "Tell me what your story is?" She asked as she looked up at him and sipped her drink again.