Path of the Vampire forum

Kit walked into Grosetto’s and took a seat, grabbing a menu on her way. Nothing on it looked appealing in the least but she could barely remember the last time she’d actually eaten. It wasn’t that she was starving herself or actively denying herself in any way, but much like tonight, the thought of food made her stomach do this weird twisty thing that made her think that the first hint of food going down would have her running straight to the bathroom to throw it right back up. There had been a constant I’m-about-to-throw-up feeling over the past few weeks and it didn’t matter that she rarely threw up when she actually did eat, that fear still kept her from eating nearly as much as she should. It was a problem, but she was dealing with it. Kind of.

The server came over all bright and bubbly, making the feeling in the pit of her stomach rumble up even higher. Kit didn’t reply, barely even focused on the words that came out of that perky mouth, she simply put the menu down and pointed at something. She didn’t know or care what it was she pointed at, it was all likely to taste the same, anyway. Some of the perkiness seemed to dim and Kit recognized that she should care, that she should feel bad, but she couldn’t find it in herself. In another life, maybe. The less perky server made a grab for the menu and Kit let her take it while muttering “Tallest glass of rum you have. Keep ‘em coming.” This was the real reason she’d fought the urge to not eat tonight. She’d made a deal with herself to not drink on an empty stomach, and she really wanted that drink.

Kit didn’t immediately recognize that the man was talking to her - why would he be, when she had done nothing to invite the attention of anyone. When the server returned with her glass, one that wasn’t nearly as tall as she was looking for, her eyes glanced up enough to see that he was looking at her. She didn’t look away as she moved the glass up to her lips, taking a healthy enough drink that most would assume it was a glass of water if they weren’t close enough to be able to smell the alcohol.

Without saying a word she placed the glass back down on the table and leaned back in her chair, assessing the man and wondering what it was he saw that made him want to strike up conversation. She wasn’t about to tell him a thing; she had no one to trust or count on but herself. “Maybe I just like to drink. Is there some rule saying a chick can’t drink unless something’s wrong?” It almost made her want to chuckle that she was pretending to be offended by something that was true, for her at least.

She hadn’t been a big drinker before, only indulging occasionally at social gatherings and even then it was very much at the “social” level. She had had a few times during her university years where she had gone all out and made some drunken mistakes. She took another drink, thinking how long it had taken her to work up to this level of drinking. There had been a time where even this much would have had her incapacitated, but her weeks of self medicating had taken their toll on her tolerance.

“Do you just sit around looking for girls drinking away their sorrows so you can rush in and fix them? Preying on those you feel are vulnerable?” Her expression darkened in a way that seemed at odds with the bright blue and purple that ran through her hair. “You might as well just keep on lookin’ if that’s the case. Playing with broken things can get you cut up awful good.”

Kit looked back down at the place-mat in front of her, fully expecting the man to go on his way and make no further attempt to draw her out.

That had not been the reaction she had expected. She had expected him to react in much the same way that the server had, by acknowledging her back-the-****-off cues and giving space, and the requested rum of course. Speaking of, the server was back with another glass, setting it down without a word and walking back off. Kit hadn’t even finished the one she had and was already being supplied with another - it really was good service here, maybe she would come back a second time. All depending on how this conversation went, of course.

“Perhaps it is more that there are more…” She paused for a minute, replaying his words in her mind before continuing. “Preying creeps than good Samaritans nowadays. We are taught ‘better safe than sorry’, and trusting a stranger leaves you more likely to be sorry than safe.” She stopped herself from commenting that, in reality, it wasn’t just strangers that one had to guard themselves from nowadays. There really was nowhere or no one that was truly safe.

The server returned again, setting down her plate of food and taking the now empty first glass away. “Well. You can come join me if you like.” She took her first bite of the dish, the food itself tasting like nothing at all. That was one thing she missed and was looking forward to getting back. An appetite. The desire to eat and to enjoy the taste and sensation of eating again.

She wasn’t going to cry. Nope. Not in front of some preying creeper who was likely trying to make her as vulnerable as possible before striking. She could feel the way each breath felt different as she tried to contain herself. Each breath made the volcano inside her that much stronger and that much closer to erupting into something she wouldn’t be able to stop.

Kit wiped at her face, checking that her eyes hadn’t started leaking without her even noticing. That had happened once and it had taken her five minutes to realize why the lady cashing her out at the supermarket was looking at her with that look. She took another bite, chewing as quickly as she dared and forcing it down, and then quickly chasing it with what was left of her second rum. For once, it didn’t help the constant burn that the volcano caused.

Once assured that she could speak without throwing up, she lifted her hopefully dry eyes up enough to flicker at the man before returning them back to her plate. “Neither. I don’t cause or heal, I just am.” She wasn’t going to tell the stranger that she had been prey, that the last person who had preyed on her had taken their time and caused more damage than she would have ever fathomed would have been possible. There was nothing left in her to prey on, but she wasn’t going to turn into an animal either. There wasn’t enough hope or goodness left in her to allow her to be a Good Samaritan either.

Her eyes took in the man’s hand as she debated her next step. She had already invited him to dine with her, though she noted now that he hadn’t brought his food, lending more to the thought that he was just another preying creep. She couldn’t make out what it was he was after though, not that it mattered as she honestly had nothing left worth taking. She took the offered hand and gave him a half smile that never reached her eyes. “You can call me Kit, if you wish.”

She pushed the nearly half full plate of food away from her, not even wanting to look at the offensive dish any longer. The server plopped down another full glass, taking the empty one away without a word. She was feeling the effects, her muscles loosening and leaving her feeling all light and free. She wasn’t happy by any stretch of the imagination, but there was a nice haze between the soul crushing pain and the rest of her.

Slouching back in the chair she made more eye contact than she had previously. She still wanted to know what his angle was and what he was hoping to gain from this. Maybe she should have just stayed in tonight, after all.