Bonding or Trouble? [Charlotte, Open]

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

Shadis slid onto a stool at the Lancaster’s bar and sighed softly as she lifted a hand to rub at her throat. Ever since she had turned it felt as if she was constantly hungry, well, thirsty. It was a little bit of a struggle to adjust and she tried to shake it off, especially around Elliot. The woman leaned her forearms upon the bar and ordered a scotch, not that she could actually stomach it. It didn't even give her the enjoyment that she used to get out of it, she had just ordered it for the sake of holding a glass within her hands. Idle hands were not something Shadis was used to and it really wasn’t a good thing either, because it left her with too much time to think. In this case, she was more or less tempted to chow down upon some poor senseless son of a *****. As it was, just the smell of them made her want to latch upon one. It was hard, but pride made her stay in her seat grasping the glass of scotch that had been handed over.

Slowly, she twirled the glass within her hands, her brown hues focused upon the liquid as she began to reflect upon the past few days. The woman bowed her head as she pondered about the resignation that she had emailed off to the university that she had been lecturing at in the United States, it had been difficult. She had only done it because being so new at her new life, she figured that it was best that she stayed in Harper Rock for a while. The only question was, was that, what would she do while she was in Harper Rock? Boredom was settling in and she couldn’t sleep at nigh… Well during the day, seeing as the day time was like night time for vampires.

Every inch of her was more than lost as to what her future held in store, but for the moment she just wanted to be surrounded by the sound of people in the background. It was reassuring that she wasn’t dreaming, that all was this was real. The burn in her throat? Only made it even more surreal and she wasn’t sure how to take it all in. When Elliot had reveal the news to her that night upon turning her, that she was a vampire, she had laughed. Shadis still laughed… On the inside, but now she had to be serious. What was she going to do to kept idle hands from straying and an idled mind from going insane? She needed something to do and what that was? She wasn’t exactly sure.

Silently, her brown hues remained locked upon the drink in her hands and she felt the cool glass against her skin. She heard the sound of people talking about nothing and everything and the beating heart of the human that sat right next to her. She smelled sweat and she lifted her gaze and angled her head to watch the bead of sweat roll down over the woman’s neck beside her. The stranger was so close that she could just reach out and… Shadis shook her head and returned to view the drink cradled within her hands, she had to resist. Perhaps she should have sought out a blood bag or something, but it just wasn’t all that appealing to her. It was cold and not exactly fresh, well she guessed it would be fresh in its own cold way. Her right hand let go of her glass and drummed against the bar top lost in thought, if it was one thing for sure, she wasn’t going back on her words to Elliot. She just had to somehow make something out of this new life, but it was the how and what that tripped her up.

[CharlotteC]

Closing up her laptop and packing it away, Charlie stood from her desk upstairs. In truth, she didn't have to actually come in to Bunk Backpackers, she could do everything from home, or from her apartment, or from the den, or anywhere really. That was the perk of having bridged herself into the telepathic powers so long ago. As long as there was a signal - and lets face it, all of Harper Rock seemed to have a constant signal - she could be online any time, any place she wanted. And in truth, she didn't even need the laptop. She just brought the laptop to do more than one thing at once. She would hack from her brain, check her auctions and the security of BP on her laptop and everything else between to two. Oh yes, being a hacker with telepathic skills made things so much more fun in her case. She could stand right next to a cop and he would never know that she was hacking her way though the HRPD system.

Making her way downstairs into Lancaster's, she glanced around for a moment and that is when she heard someone call out her name. "Yo! Char! Get that tiny *** over here and show these people what it means to really shark someone." Called Rhett, her dear, sweet, annoying as hell, thrall. He had obviously been dropping in to use the ATM that Lancaster's offered, because earlier in the night she had received his usual deposit of fifty grand. With a roll of her eyes, she made her way over to the tall lanky man and smacked him playfully up the head.

"Dip ****, telling them I am a shark before hand doesn't help me actually shark them. Spaz!" She said playfully and then handed him her case that held her laptop. Then she took a cue and began to chalk it up as she looked at the two men that Rhett wanted her to play. She could hear the way they spoke, thinking that just because she was a 'little' girl that she wouldn't be able to beat them within an inch of their lives. This drove her to want to show them that Rhett had indeed been right that she could show them a real shark. She continued to listen to what the idiots were saying, every sexist thing under the sun as well as some gibes that clearly were aimed at Rhett and his apparel as well as his clear preference for the male population at hand.

Oh she was going to show these jerks. She spoke mentally to Rhett and he nodded and smirked before sitting back on one of the high chairs next to the bar tables that were around the Pub. He was going to enjoy the show. Yes, he was. She began the beat down with her first shot. They had allowed her to break, thinking that she didn't have the power to do so correctly or even effectively. Big mistake. The cue ball sailed quickly across the green felt of the table and slammed beautifully into the pyramid of balls on the other side. The clacking of those balls smacking into each other was actually quite loud and drew the attention of those within ear shot of it. She smiled smugly to the men when both a stripe and a solid went into the pockets. "I'll take solid." She chirped and then continued to make her way around the table to get her next shot.

The next shot went in just as smoothly, as did the next shot after it. The shot after that though she had to really look at, it would need a trick shot, probably two different once. As she rechaulked her cut, she was working out the mathematics in her head, her minds eye slowing all the angles. She could see the different lines laid over the table and the balls. In the background she could hear the guys trying to piss her off to distract her. The good thing about a photographic memory was that she could focus on that and not hear anything in the background. It was, they were, nothing by white noise.

She leaned over and glanced over to Rhett, he smiled and she smiled back. Then she made the shot and as ball curved around one area and hit one ball, it then bounced back and it another and both of them went in to the pockets she knew they would. When she glanced up again, she could see that the guys were no longer smiling or making jokes. They were pissed, oh yes, they were very pissed. Apparently she was going to be getting some more money today. The last of the balls were a cinch, and she leaned against the table looking at the pissed off guys with a smirk. "Eight ball, side pocket." She said as she pointed to something that most people would think was the least likely shot on the planet. They laughed, but their laugh clearly told her that they were nervous that she would actually make it. And with one last shot, she made it. The guys pretty much growled at her as they slammed a large wad of money into Rhett's waiting hand. He thanked them and Charlie replaced the cue on the rack near the tables.

Holding her hand out, Rhett placed the money in her hand and then handed her her bag back. "I'm off to get you more parts, chicklet. See you later." Charlie nodded and put the money into the ATM, watching as one woman stood up and walked away from the bar, leaving another woman sitting by herself at the bar, looking at the scotch in her hands. That's it, just looking at it. She sighed and ran her hand through her own brown locks before she made her way over to the bar, again, a little depressed that Pi once again wasn't behind the bar. She glanced around, but she didn't see Elliot either tonight. Still, she took a seat at the vacated seat and glanced over at the woman who seemed to have a lot on her mind. When the bartender for the night came over, Charlie ordered a whiskey sour. Yeah, she wouldn't get the drunk feeling - sadly - but she could still enjoy the flavors as they mixed around in her mouth.

With the drink before her, she glanced to the woman and said softly to her "Cheers!"

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

Shadis had heard the sound of balls being hit around upon a pool table and it was this sound that she had focused upon. It was a woman’s voice that called the eight ball, side pocket and she had briefly wondered if the stranger had been facing others all on her own. Too prideful to turn around to watch, she remained seated to stare at her drink. A laugh was soon followed by a growl and Shadis silently congratulated whomever the stranger was, as she had obviously been against a tough crowd. The raven haired woman gently shook the drink to make the melting ice within softly clink against the edges of her glass. A woman seated herself down beside her and she heard the woman order a whiskey sour. Shadis was about to move to stand up and perhaps go for a walk to clear her mind when the stranger said ‘cheers’ softly.

Brown hues looked up and to the side so she could view the woman, the woman that had lifted a drink and said cheers. Shadis lifted her own drink as if she returned the small gesture, but it was only half-hearted as she moved to place her own drink back down upon the bar counter. The woman didn’t feel like taking a sip only to cough it back up, she hadn’t exactly gotten completely used to the whole eating habits just yet. It was then that she recognized the voice, the voice of the woman that had called the eight ball, side pocket. ”I take it that the crowd was fairly rough at the pool table tonight.” A simple smile caressed over her dark, red painted lips as the woman attempted to make conversation with the other who clearly wished to interact.

The woman watched the stranger for a moment as she attempted to think of something to say, anything. She wasn’t exactly going to tell the stranger that she was new, oh no, her own pride wouldn’t let her. Shadis would rather find things out on her own, than accept help from someone she didn’t know. However, it would have been different if it had been Elliot. Not only was he her sire, but he had proved to be helpful, especially when it came to learning to better understand her new life that he had given her. It was her second chance, one that she wasn’t about to royally screw up. Shadis remember that the woman had seemed to be searching for someone behind the bar, so perhaps she was a regular? ”Were you looking for someone in particular?”

Her head angled to the side as she allowed her raven locks to flow over her shoulder in gentle waves. A hand lifted then to gently rub at her throat once more before she set her slight hunger to the side, for now, she needed to focus upon the woman that she was engaging in conversation with. ”I only ask because, ever since moving here, I’ve been told that I could do with a little bit of loosening up. The adjustment has been… A little different than normal So I figured that I would attempt to help someone out.” A little different is right, she thought to herself as her free hand lifted to gently grasp a free lock to gently tug at. The smile stayed firmly in place as her gaze flickered over the woman’s form before glancing back to the scotch which was destined to be left unfinished. Perhaps one day she would be able to complete a drink, but today wasn’t going to be that day.

Shadis allowed her smile to falter a little as if she doubted the woman would even give her an answer. ”Unless of course you already found what you were searching for,” Her voice dropped to a softer tone while her gaze dropped to view the drink that the stranger had ordered. ”How rude of me though, the name is Shadis.” She said as she held out her hand to the stranger beside her, offering yet another smile.

[CharlotteC]

Charlie watched the woman with a fair amount of curiosity, that was one thing she could never shake about her old life - she had always been a curious one. Her own brown eyes focused on the the way the woman lifted her glass, though it seemed as if she wasn't really feeling it, like she had something that was on her mind that was pulling her out of the spirit of the pub. There was something slightly familiar about her, but what, she couldn't tell, at least, not yet. When the girl asked about the crowd around the pool table, Charlie gave her a smile that was both of amusement and just a hint of ego. "Nothing I could not handle, they just were sore losers." She said softly and then took a sip of her drink before glancing once more around the bar.

It was then that the girl spoke to her again, Charlie turned her chocolate hues on the girl once more, her own long brown hair brushing over her shoulder for a moment. Before she could answer though, the girl was explaining herself, and it was almost cute in her explanation of why she had asked who she was looking for. The kind of thing that endeared Charlie to people, but then, she was always the kind of girl who was social, the kind of girl who liked to just sit in places like this, sipping coffee or beer or anything else and people watch. The more the girl seemed to ramble on, the more Charlie's smile grew. Not one of those condescending smiles that others often gave people, but the kind of smile that really lit up her eyes, and showed that she was amused but in a good way. A friendly smile.

"It's a pleasure to meet you Shadis, I'm Charlie and I was just wondering if Elliot was working tonight. I normally see him here or at home." She said and then took a long sip of her drink. "He is normally around here though, especially as of late." She added before setting down her drink and turning to look fully on Shadis, taking the girl in, from her own dark tresses and eyes. It was something about her still that told Charlie there was a connection, but she didn't know for sure, it was just one of those feelings that people got. That she got. Perhaps it was because she could see things differently, she never missed things, could read a person's face like a book, could read their body language. It was just one of those things she learned thanks to her mind not only being photographic, but forever connected to the internet. She was sure the only way around that now was to sleep in a Faraday cage.

"Not feeling your drink tonight?" She asked as she pointed to the girl's drink, it was clear that she hadn't touched it. "Or just too much on your mind?" Both could be equally the answer, but she figured that she would just ask, get to know the girl. Perhaps that would give her the explanation as to why she felt that there was some sort of connection between her and the girl. However faint that connection was.

[Lancaster]

Lancaster sat at the piano.

Long fingers caressed the keys; bits and pieces of music, but none of it was any good. None of it was cohesive. The pieces didn’t fit together. All he wanted to do was write. He wanted to be able to get back up onto that stage and vent all his negativity through the microphone, and the electricity of the guitar in his grasp. If he could just sing…

...he tried that, too. He tried to write the words down. He tried to form poetry out of his emotions, which he couldn’t contain, and he couldn’t control. There was something wrong with his voice. He paced the attic, his boots scuffing and thumping against the wood. From the cupboard, he retrieved a bottle of whiskey and a crystal tumbler and went back to the piano. He needed to get it out. Whatever it took - he needed to get past this writer’s block.

Over and over, he tried. If not the piano, the guitar. If not the guitar, the drums. He bashed at them until there was no rhythm, just noise. Pure, simple noise. Around in circles he went; piano, guitar, drums, pen and paper, piano, guitar… and as he went, he drank. At first, he filled the tumbler. Once, twice, three times. After the third, he started taking swigs straight from the bottle.

After a couple of hours, the bottle was empty.

Lancaster, with his ability to drink and his weakness to poisonous toxins, was very quickly and very thoroughly drunk.

Drunkenness commonly led people to think that they were doing the right thing. That something they had done was amazing, absolute genius. Lancaster thought he’d found something. As his vision swam and numbness overtook him, he stumbled down the stairs. Genius, yes. He had a masterpiece! Or so he thought. He had to share it. Absolutely had to.

Of course, he thought that his steps were normal. Even though he stumbled and had to hold on to the handrail to keep himself from tumbling *** over head down the stairs, he himself assumed that he was only in a rush; that his clattering noise was due only to the hurried pace with which he needed to carry himself to the stage - the conduit. The elevated pedestal from which he could share his discovery. Warm hands caught him as he came through the door from the backpacker’s. The Australian laughed, and clapped eyes upon one of the regulars.

”Jim!” he said. ”How’s it goin’?” he asked, exuberantly. At least Lancaster was a happy drunk, rather than an angry one.

“Lancaster! Fine, fine. You’re back! We thought you died! Where’ve you been, man?”

”Dead! Yeah, mate, I died! I don’ recommend it. Don’ go tryin’ it any time soon, yeah?” he said, slapping the man on the shoulder before lurching away, headed directly for the stage. No, he couldn’t stand around chit-chatting to the natives. He had to play. He was determined.

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

”Oh! I’m just not feeling my drink tonight. The last few days have been rather weird and I’m craving a different kind of drink.” Shadis smiled at the woman as she pushed her drink away from her. Indeed, she wasn’t really craving alcohol, but blood. It was something that she was aware that she had to drink, but the bagged stuff just wasn’t all that appealing. ”Anyway, Elliot is upstairs practicing his… Her words drew off as her brown gaze spotted Elliot stumbling downstairs and started talking to what appeared to be a regular about death. ”Music.” Her gaze followed Elliot’s movements and she shook her head, he was wasted, how was that even possible? ”Excuse me for a moment,” She said to Charlie and slipped off her stool and managed a smile at the regular who had been watching Elliot walk towards the stage.

Shadis clamped a hand over Elliot's shoulder and slipped into his path so then he couldn’t make any more progress towards the stage without having to step around her. ”Hey there Elliot, I don’t suggest going up there, at least not until you sober up and drink some coffee. Extra black is what I would recommend.” A forced smile made its way to her lips then as she looked up into those eyes of his. What possessed him to get drunk? How did vampires even get drunk? She blinked as she watched his face for a moment before peeking over his shoulder at Charlie again. Perhaps a friend might pull him out of whatever he was feeling. ”Elliot! Your friend is here actually, Charlie. She wanted to talk to you, but you were upstairs. Now that you’re here you can talk to her.” What else was she supposed to say? Why the hell are you drunk and talking about your personal death experiences to a patron who might think that you’ve just lost it?

She angled her body then and held the hand out that wasn’t holding Elliot’s shoulder, towards Charlie and another smile graced her lips. ”Trust me, you will feel so much better once you talk to a friend and I’m sure that you would enjoy her company for a change.” The man was her sire and while she liked to think of him as her friend, probably her only friend, Shadis wasn’t exactly sure as to how to deal with a drunk sire. A sire, that half the time saw everything in a negative light. She had never ever known a depressed human before and she did wonder if he had been like this before he had been turned. It would certainly make sense that he would be like this now, unless vampirism changed personality traits then he might have been a well-adjusted man in his human life. He had said that he had been a vampire for four years and that he didn’t drink human blood, instead he drank vampire blood.

Another smile graced her lips and she nodded towards Charlie once more, ”Come on, this is not something that you want to do right now. Talk to Charlie first, it would be rude to ignore your friend who had dropped by to see you.” If anything, she knew that it was important to have an anchor, especially if one was prone to getting depressed. Shadis was too vain and prideful to get depressed and had scolded herself severely after she had tried to commit suicide, but what kept Elliot sane? What made Elliot want to get up to keep pushing through the days ahead? The woman had struggled to get even a smile out of him and now he had literally gone off the deep end. He was talking about having been dead, something that he probably shouldn’t have said to a human. However, who would believe a drunk anyway?

[CharlotteC]

Charlie arched her brow as she looked at the girl, especially when she said that she was craving a different drink. She smirked a bit, then nodded to her before she took a sip from her own drink and then glanced around again that is until she said that Elliot was upstairs, then Charlie began to shake her head. Though she had played a round of billiards, she knew that Elliot couldn’t have been upstairs, unless he had appeared up there while she had been playing her game. She had just come from upstairs, after all, she had just finished her job for the day.

As Shadis looked over, Charlie followed her gaze and she was shocked at seeing Elliot… drunk. Now that was a sight. Before Charlie could say anything, the girl was excusing herself and moving over to him with a sureness that even she didn’t have. And it was then that puzzle pieces fell into place and she had a feeling that she had gained another sibling. My, Elliot did indeed enjoy his strays, her, Skylar, this new girl… She watched the girl and over the din of the pub listened to what she was saying to her. Apparently, she had been downgraded from progeny to friend. It was equal parts saddening and amusing. The amusing side is what allowed her to keep her smile on her face as she watched what was happening.

Her own drink was pretty much forgotten about as she watched this new girl speaking with Elliot, she was motioned to and that made her smile just a bit more amused so that it showed in her eyes. She arched her brow at Elliot in a silent question but said and did nothing else. She really didn’t need to, if she needed to, she could speak telepathically.

It was also amusing to Charlie that this girl was so keen to get him to talk to her. He clearly did need someone to talk to and she was more than willing to listen to him. Hell, he had listened to her on countless rants. She always wished he would come to her when he needed to walk, she liked two way streets, and she always wanted to help him, help the family in any way she could. That was why she built so many guns, not that she needed too, Pi was better at that. Pi was good at everything. Though, Pi was gone for a bit. Maybe that is what was bothering him. Though she would give her right arm to be able to get drunk.

[Lancaster]

The words swam in circles around Lancaster’s mind. Deep down he knew it could be a good song. It could be a great song. It spoke of all his fears and insecurities. It told everything that he was fine; this was who he was. He was the one to be given up on. He cared, he loved, he empathised and he would continue to do so. There was nothing wrong with a bleeding heart; and yet, sometimes, it overwhelmed him. Sometimes a person could care too much. A person could be wrong in caring too much. Sometimes, too much care could smother a person.

The song would relay everything, all of it, but not in so many words. Brevity can say a lot. It was melancholic. Maybe it was depressing. Maybe it was self-indulgently sad. But Lancaster wasn’t aware, yet, on how it could be perceived. Whatever the case, he wasn’t given the chance to find out. A feminine hand gripped his shoulder and he turned to face his newest progeny. Shadis. She hadn’t disappeared. He didn’t know whether to be shocked, or relieved. Or just plain happy.

For a few long seconds, Lancaster hesitated. The greatness of the song that he had stuck in his head wouldn’t let him be; he was determined to play it, but couldn’t deny that Shadis had a point. He wasn’t exactly sober. Could he really do the song justice? There was that nagging feeling that if he didn’t, he’d sober up and realise it was a steaming pile of ****. He wouldn’t have written anything worth anything, and he’d sink straight back into the writers block that he’d been suffering for months.

Had Pi even noticed? Did she care? Did she know how much it tortured him, that he couldn’t write? That he couldn’t play?

Thoughts of Pi were banished as Shadis gestured to Charlie. Friend, she called her, and Lancaster laughed. Charlie was there, too. Had they conspired together? No, couldn’t have. They should know each other. How did they not know each other? But then, the Crownet … yes, he had introduced Shadis by name, and Charlie had responded, hadn’t she? Lancaster’s memory was fuzzy, but he nodded, willingly heading back toward Charlie rather than toward the stage.

”Chaaarlie,” he called, his weight no doubt disconcertingly heavy as he hugged the smaller woman. Sometimes, Lancaster acted a lot like a Doberman who had no idea of its size. He just wanted to be treated like all the other regular dogs. Why couldn’t he do the things they could do? With his arm still around Charlie’s shoulder, he glanced between the two women.

”Shadis is… she’s Shadis. I ‘ntroduced her on the ‘net,” he said, beaming, as if he’d achieved something great by the introduction. ”I didn’ turn Charlie but she’s d’Artois. She’s… ‘dopted, I ‘dopted her,” he said with a curt nod. It was a strange thing to say, he realised. She was a grown woman but he had ‘adopted’ her. But, that was how their world worked. People liked to use the familial terms, the familiar kind of adjectives. Charlotte’s sire was ****, quite frankly, and Lancaster had hoped to do a better job. He hiccoughed.

He’d probably failed at that, too, but he continued to beam. He didn’t say what was on his mind, instead swaying against Charlie.

[CharlotteC]

Charlie, for a moment was amused by his drunken ways, it reminded her so much of herself and her friends back in Maine and back at MIT, but the moment that he hugged her, she could feel something in him. Something that made her instinctively wrap her arms around him as well, wanting to offer him comfort in any way that she could. However, because he was acting so happily at the moment, she kept her smile in place as best she could and kept one arm around him as he had around her. She leaned her head against him for a moment and then he reminded her that he had indeed introduced the girl on the family board. "Ahhh, well now I feel stupid that I didn't put two and two together." She said with a soft laugh of her own and then looked up at Elliot again.

There was a small part of her that actually did beam with pride and she felt like preening a bit, but aside from lifting her shoulders - despite Elliot's weight - she didn't do much else other than smile up at him and then look back to Shadis for a moment. "As he said, I'm the adopted child." She said with a soft laugh and then held her hand out to the girl, "It is a real pleasure to finally meet you in the flesh Shadis, and glad to see that Elliot here will have yet another person around to bug him insistently." She gave a soft giggle then and continued to lean against the man, her one arm resting around his waist, both just because it felt comfortable, but also to keep him from swaying too much.

~I don't know why, but you didn't fail.~ She said to him telepathically, keeping a real proud smile on her face as she looked up at him. If anything, she was the one that failed him, because she hadn't spotted something that was going on with him, but she wouldn't fail him again. Charlie leaned her head a bit more against Elliot but kept her gaze on her newest sibling.

[Shadis (DELETED 7818)]

The woman gave a lop-sided smile as she listened to the drunken words that Elliot spoke and a shake of her head was given the moment that he tried to say something about her. Elliot didn’t know her all that well, not enough be able to introduce her to anyone at least. As for the Net, she figured that he meant the CrowNet which was interesting because she didn’t remember much about those who responded. The Net wasn’t exactly something that she was savvy about, preferring books over the internet. Her brown hues flickered over Charlie’s form the moment that Elliot mentioned that she was adopted. Was the stranger a vampire? She didn’t give off the same aura as one and she angled her head in thought. She bit her bottom lip and wondered just as to what Charlie was exactly. If she wasn’t a vampire, then why would Elliot adopt her?

Shadis managed yet another smile before she moved away from Elliot and Charlie. Her feet took her back to the bar and she slipped onto a stool, her gaze watched the drunk swaying form of Elliot. Why he had gotten drunk was a mystery, but it made her question the man’s sanity. He mentioned a lot about Pi and that she wasn’t there. If they were married and he truly loved her, then it might explain his drunkenness. However, he seemed rather ok, when she had first met him. Or not. When she had first met him, she had been, after all, half out of her own mind after returning to Lancaster’s after a funeral. Everything about that night was basically a haze, a dream that she barely remembered even happening. A frown creased her forehead as she nodded her head at the bar keep who simply poured her yet another whiskey. It may be just another drink that may just sit there, but it was the only comfort that she was able to seek.

She crossed her legs as she leaned an elbow against the bar counter while she cantered her head to the right, watching the two interact. Indeed, they seemed very much like family and she wondered just as to where she fit into this world of theirs. Perhaps it was time that she delved back into what she knew best. Her occult studies, perhaps now she could put theory into practice. A smile graced her lips then, ”I can’t say that I feel all that stupid. I’m rarely on the Net so even if you had said something after my hello, I probably wouldn’t have noticed. The internet is rather dull for me. However, it is good to know that you are Elliot’s adoptive… Daughter?” Her words lingered upon the question and she pursed her lips for a moment. It was the only other explanation; that she was a daughter, especially considering that Charlie had followed up as being the adoptive child.

”However, it probably would have been better if we had met on a more…” Her gaze drifted over Elliot’s form and she smiled once more, ”Sober night. Besides, I feel way out of my comfort zone here. I have no skills when it comes to counselling the drunk. I’m not sure as to what I can do here, his… problems date way before I even came into the picture.” Which was true. The woman didn’t even know the whole story which made it all that much more complicated. He had helped her and yet she didn’t know how she could help him. What was she to do? He was the reason why she didn’t leave, the reason why she stayed to keep him company. Especially after their talk after she had just been turned. He looked so depressed, but now he had slipped passed being depressed to being drunk. Shadis lifted her glass as if she was about to take a sip and glanced over the brim towards Elliot. What am I going to do to make sure that he doesn't keep getting this drunk? She asked herself.

Gently, she placed the glass back down upon the bar and offered yet another smile, ”Perhaps Elliot, you can sit here at the bar, drink some black coffee and sober up a little. Then, if you still feel as strongly as you do about your song, you can go up there and play it for us.”