Oops...(Open)

[Penny Parker (DELETED 8460)]

There wasn't much to be said for this particular night, except that it was a little more humid in Harper Rock, than usual. Other than that, nothing of note that would have made it seem more exceptional, than most.

Having finished up a session of yoga, Penny made her usual track from the corner studio to the train station. It was a quick walk, only a few blocks, due east.

Along the way, she passed one of her favorite stops on her route, The Bubble Tea Emporium.

It didn't live up to it's name, at least not by way of the definition of emporium. It was small and lighted with cheap fluorescent bulbs that buzzed and flickered. There were posters of different scenes of China hanging on the walls, here and there. When you walked in, your ears would be greeted with the clang of a bell that hung low enough for the door to hit, as it swung open. The bell immediately alerted the worker that stood at the ready, behind their counter.

"Hello, Welcome." The cheery voice of the old Asian lady that worked there, chimed out from behind the counter that was located near the back of the store.

"Hi." Penny answered back, as she made her way past a few candy aisles and up to the counter. On one end of the wooden counter sat a sign that said, order here and the other end of the counter had the register. The lady stood in between the two.

Since there wasn't a line, Penny advanced straight to the spot where she was to give her order. As she moved closer, the woman recognized her face as a regular. She smiled, revealing a lovely set of gleamingly white teeth. Penny couldn't help but wonder what type of toothpaste the woman used. Looking from the woman to the menu that hung behind her, she quickly started to make a choice in her head. Decisions were the worst for her, especially when it involved food or beverages. Her dark eyes flickered across the many listed flavors that were available; of course they just had to have over 23 different flavors and combinations.

As Penny chewed on her lower lip, the woman spoke up, interrupting her obviously futile attempt at making a decision. "We have a limited summer flavor. Honeydew. You should try. It's very good." The woman nodded with her words.

"Hmmm." The thought of it was appealing to her. "How about..." She paused and then pointed up at the sign, "honeydew with strawberry." The raise of Penny's brow along with the smile that made an appearance, was a sign that she was happy with the idea of this choice.

"I can do that." The woman nodded and quickly got to work on making the beverage.

Penny walked slowly around the few aisles that the store housed. Mostly, they were filled with candy and magazines. After tucking a loose strand of brown hair that had come loose from her ponytail, she reached for a packet of black licorice. This was her favorite candy. She carried it over to the end of the counter where the register sat.

The sound of the blender was harsh and assaulting to her ears. Luckily, the procedure to make bubble tea was a quick one, especially in deft hands of the lady that was making it.

Within moments, Penny was walking out the door, drink in hand and her licorice tucked away in her pocket.

As she walked, she chewed on the tapioca balls that had made their way up her straw. She loved the texture of them, as she rolled them around on her tongue just before biting down on them, with a satisfying pop.

Rounding the last corner, before reaching the station, Penny spotted what looked to be a kitten. It was tiny and its black and white fur was filthy. Being a softie, she immediately started to call for the pathetic little thing. "Here, kitty..." She leaned over a bit, and held out her hand, pretending to have food. Just as the kitten started to move a little closer toward her, her yoga bag that she was carrying on her shoulder shifted. This frightened the kitten and sent her running with a hiss.

Penny straightened back up and with her attention focused on the fleeting kitten, she turned and walked right into another person. The impact of the collision had caused the lid of her tea to pop off and more than half of its content to spill.

[Ambrose Acheron]

The ancient vampire, Tizoc, better known as Ambrose has be out of sorts of late. He had failed. He had selected those of pure decent or the native people of this land for his Brood thinking some thread of common purpose would unite them. It hadn't. Torn apart by infighting, petty bickering and decisions that he could only believe came from the subtle manipulation of outside forces, his lineage had practically torn itself apart from the beginning.

He spent many a night wandering through the city. The stench of "civilization" becoming less and less foreign to his senses, the lights and sounds becoming less offensive to ears trained to pick up the breaking of twigs in the underbrush during hunts. He could almost block them all out while he maneuvered through the concrete jungle. He had learned recently to block out a great many things. Though his heart was heavy with the dismal showing of his blood's potency, he had not given up hope that once more his line may rise once more. It was a matter of time, careful selection and planning. He had turned three in one night upon his emergence from the Fade. That was two more than he had sired during the duration of his time before.

Only one had been worthy of the gift of immortality, the powers and responsibility that came with it. Only one. Coahoma.

She hadn't spoken to him in several nights. She was still within the Fade. Still, the elder heard her voice in his mind at times. He wondered if he was going insane when it first happened. The persistence and more importantly the relevance to situations he had been in since his awakening showed him it was less a mental issue and more a welcome haunting. He still longed to hear her, more so he longed to touch her. The smell her, to...

His thoughts were abruptly cut off as he impacted something. No, not something, someone.

Instinctively his hand shoots out, clasping the woman by the shoulder in a vice like grip to prevent her flying backward. Liquid flies up from the container in her hands as he steadies her and the breath catches in the vampires throat.

Had he moved too quickly? Would she notice? Ambrose didn't wish to harm anyone this evening and the streets were too busy to do so even if he had.

He levels his deep brown, nearly black eyes on hers. "Are you alright? I'm sorry about your beverage. I can replace it if you wish..."

For now, no mind tricks, no, he will wait and hope their encounter registered as mundane within her mind.

[Penny Parker (DELETED 8460)]

Her eyes were wide, as she was caught on the edge of her heels in the strong grip of the one she had just ran into and she was quickly steadied back to her feet. The suddenness of it all, sent a shock of adrenaline through her body and a skip in her heartbeat. A quick gasp escaped from her lips before she closed them tight.

The pink liquid had dropped down the front of her and pooled at their feet. She hoped it had spared the man, who now seemed to be apologizing to her, slowly she looked up, hoping against hope.

"No, it's not your fault. I...am so sorry. " As her brown eyes met his, a drop of her drink made it's way off the tip of her nose.
"Did any of it get on you?" She quickly started to look over the man.

[Ambrose Acheron]

Her eyes raised, met his. Instinctively Ambrose gauged the woman. "You have fast hands... you managed to save me from your drink. Do you practice sleight of hand? Perhaps martial arts?" His eyes never move from hers. At any time the vampire is ready to manipulate the mortal's mind. People all around, subtlety is the key here.

With his left hand he motions down his shirt, dry, unstained by the spill, to his pants, equally dry., a diversion. With his right hand reaches out, plucking the cup from her hands and tossing it into a nearby trashcan. "Let me replace the drink I caused you to lose. It's the least I could do."

Motioning toward the Emporium once more Ambrose gives her a smile. "It's been some time since I've bought a lady a drink."

[Syn (DELETED 7911)]

Syn paused within her typing for a moment to slide her finger along the mouse pad as she stared at the screen and what she saw wasn’t exactly something short of a violation of the code. To be seen feeding was one thing, but to have evidence of it was simply careless of the vampire. The woman felt no rage, no disgust and not even disappointment. It was just a simple case that she would have to delete the evidence that had been created. Ever since her turning and loss of emotions, she had been far more efficient than she originally thought that she would be. The vampire had managed to finish up old projects, resign from her job in California and essentially moved to Harper Rock without so much as a hitch. The only problem, was that her mother kept calling, worried that the moved to Harper Rock was far too sudden and reckless.

As someone who didn’t exactly do recklessness, she could see why it would seem like a reckless move, as she had no incentive that her mother could see, which would lead to her moving to Harper Rock. However, she did have massive incentive to move. After her business trip to Harper Rock and her tryst with Cedric, the woman had fallen pregnant. Within the space of a month, she found herself flying back to Harper Rock only to die in explicit pain. Syn remembered the loneliness she had felt as she hid away underneath the desk before she took her final breaths. Then, when she awoke, her emotions had been stolen from her. There was no frantic panic, nor anxiety attacks, just plain logic which had her at an advantage at most times. Most times, she was alone doing such activities, which didn’t bother her none. If she wanted physical touch, she would seek it out, for now, she wanted for nothing.

You found some evidence which suggests the identity of a recently sighted vampire. Unfortunately, it does not give enough information to reveal their identity.
File "Evidence" has been deleted.

Her finger lifted from the delete button as she moved to close her laptop, only to slide it into its case. While the evidence hadn’t been enough to reveal the identity of the vampire, it was enough to confirm that vampires existed, even for the skeptics. It couldn’t be allowed to remain out there. Slowly, she rose from her seated position and slung the strap of her laptop over her shoulder as she placed the money for her untouched coffee, upon the table. The woman had been seated in a café that was generally open during the night, a café that the woman visited often to sit and think for a while. It was a human habit really, to need to sit in a different environment, but she couldn’t help but admit that it did help her to avoid being found out, should the silencing of a triangulation fail.

Silently, she pushed through the door and out onto the street where her blue eyes found the sight of Ambrose talking with what appeared to be a human girl. Syn paused for a split second, just to confirm her suspicion, to listen to the girl’s heart beat before she ventured forth to greet Ambrose. As far as she knew, Ambrose was her leader and it was only proper to greet such a man instead of avoiding the encounter. ”Evening Ambrose, such a lovely night, is it not?” The woman greeted him as she approached him. Syn paused as she reached them so then her gaze could peer at the human with thought. Was this human even aware of who stood in her presence? ”I see that I have seemed to have interrupted something here. I was just on my way back home.” A nod of her head was given to the girl, but there was no emotions displayed upon her face that suggested that she was even sorry for the interruption.

[Wearing]

[Penny Parker (DELETED 8460)]

Penny stammered for a second, as she tried to regain some of her composure. Indeed her cheeks had pinkened a bit at the embarrassment of it all. The man had been kind with his words, as he served her back some of her dignity, with the casual ease of a simple compliment. Which he followed up with questions that she wasn't sure if he really wanted answered. Maybe he was just trying to be polite. She knew of this technique, because she often employed it, herself.

"No, I mean yes...I...mean. Yes, I have practiced martial arts." She didn't go into any detail with explaining how she trained under her father in Muay Thai. This way she answered his question, without making things any more awkward; at least, that is what she had hoped.

While she spoke, her attentions followed his hands, during the time that he showed her that he was, in fact, spared from her drink. Penny was more convinced that it was from the outcome of sheer luck, rather than from her skill, as he had suggested. Still, she was thankful. That was one less embarrassment. Then before her eyes could travel back to his, he had already relieved her of her empty cup and flung it into a nearby trashcan.

The man then graciously offered to buy her another drink, while gesturing them to return to the Bubble Tea Emporium. Not wanting to be rude, she nodded and started to accept the offer, just as a woman approached them. The newcomer greeted the man, that Penny had bumped into, with familiarity, addressing him by the name of Ambrose.

What a delightfully strange name, Penny thought. It was definitely not a name she had heard before. She liked that, names that were different, unlike her own. She wondered where it had derived from, not that her name gave any indication of her origins.

As the woman talked to who was now known to be Ambrose, Penny took the opportunity to rummage through her yoga bag and pulled out a towel to wipe off her face and dabbed at her shirt in a fruitless attempt to clean the drink from her shirt. Thank goodness she was wearing a black t- shirt and not a white one.

[Ambrose Acheron]

The elder smiled, his age of course not apparent to onlookers. The short Mexican stands at five and a half feet, appears to be in his late thirties or early forties, but his eyes... his eyes seem aged beyond what his features say is possible. Those eyes now move to Syn and his smile widens. "You aren't interrupting niña. I was just about to replace a drink I spilled with my clumsiness. You should join us."

He turns back to Penny. "This is Syn Laceflower. I am Ambrose Acheron. I'm sorry, I..." there's a brief pause, like the man is searching for the right words. In reality he is. His mind connects to the internet, The Google is questioned and the answer received. Ambrose loves The Google. "...never did get your name." His accent is a mixture of Hispanic mixed with something else, something hard to place.

He gives Syn a glance and into the woman's mind flow the words Help me. I need to seem natural.. It was something he'd hoped to learn from his childer in exchange for teaching them the old ways, granting them immortality and unimaginable power. He'd been disappointed. All he had received was icy coldness, bickering, problems, and heartache. He hoped this one, his great grandchilde would be different.

[Syn (DELETED 7911)]

Syn silently listened to the words exchanged and she quietly paid attention to the human and her movements. Blue eyes watched the girl dab at her shirt with a towel that she had pulled out of the bag that she carried. Did she not have a spare shirt to simply slip on over the top of the ruined one? The fledgling quietly mused as she glanced back over towards Ambrose the moment that she heard his words within her own mind. While she would have pondered upon this ability, the man seemed to need her help. How? She wasn’t exactly quite sure. The woman had lost contact with her emotions so she felt a void of nothingness where they should have been. A blink was given then before her attention was drawn back to the girl. What did one do in such a situation? Most people would apologise and continue on their way, but not Ambrose apparently. He was… A gentleman, as one would call it. A rare specimen... In a manner of speaking.

Slowly, the corners of her lips turned upwards in what she could only imagine just as to what a smile would be and she angled her head to the side. ”Yes, indeed my name is Syn Laceflower, but I don’t believe that we caught your name exactly?” She enquired as her gaze continued to watched the human for a moment, taking the time to listen to her heart beat for any signs that she wasn’t who she was supposed to be. To make sure that she was not some spy only pretending to have ‘accidentally’ bumped into Ambrose. How was she supposed to give Ambrose a good example of being… Natural when she felt something? The woman asked herself as she was more than suddenly aware of her own form and the way that she positioned her body. Did she looked natural right at that point?

One too many times had she been caught out on the fact that she didn’t consume any of the coffee that she was served by the waitresses at cafes. Luckily enough, she had her laptop with her, so it just seemed natural enough that she would just simply get lost within the work that she was focused upon and forget about such a beverage. However, even if she had still been human, chances were, the waitresses would still be clearing away mugs of coffee, due to forgetfulness of such things. It was just how she was. Focused, but it had turned into insane focused ever since being turned and not having to deal with pesky emotions. Although, Syn did wonder just as to whether some things would be different if she did retain her emotions in her immortal life. Would she have handled the sudden turn just as well? Or would she have gone off into a hysterical panic?

A blink was given then as she almost forgot that she had been engaged in a conversation with two other people and another fake smile found its way to her lips. Although, she tried to look apologetic, which probably turned out to be more of a grimace than anything. ”I’m… Sorry. I’m just recovering from a bout of the… Flu.” Yes, the flu would be understandable, as a person with an illness wouldn’t be one hundred percent. ”Uh yes, I would quite enjoy a beverage, although I must admit, I did just enjoy a coffee, so I’m more interested in having a friendly chat. I’m new, as is my friend, Ambrose to Harper Rock and we would enjoy getting to know some new acquaintances. Expand our social circle.” Syn swept a hand out to the side and made another attempt at a smile, ”Lead on, as Ambrose and I do not know just as to where you originally got your drink from.”

[Penny Parker (DELETED 8460)]

Penny shoved the towel back into her bag and pulled the drawstring closed. Her mahogany eyes gazed over the woman, that she then knew to be Syn Laceflower. Yet another interesting name, she thought.

As the woman spoke, Penny felt a tad bit uneasy. She didn't know why; her words were friendly enough. This feeling caused Penny's spine to go stiff and she stood straight, reaching her full height of 5'2. That's when she took note that she was actually taller than Ambrose, though not by much. It was significant only in the fact that she often found herself to be the shortest in a room. Still, the man's presence was anything but small.

"I'm Penny Parker. " Her voice lifted up over the sound of sirens that were going off in a distance. They sounded like an ambulance, nothing that alarmed Penny. She was used to the sounds of a city, where police and ambulance sirens were as common as the sound of birds in a wooded park.

After she introduced herself, her attention remained on Syn. The woman seemed to be lost in thought for a moment, but then Syn gave something like a smile and mentioned having had just recovered from the flu. This caused Penny to twinge slightly on reflection of her first feelings toward the woman. This must be it, the reason she felt a bit uneasy. The poor woman had been sick recently. She knew all too well that after a good case of the flu, she was not herself for weeks. Her uneasy feeling was immediately replaced with sympathy. Then as if to solidify that thought, Syn explained that the two of them were also new to the city. She immediately felt the connection of empathy that one feels when they meet another person that is in a similar situation as themselves.

"I am new myself, so I totally understand." Penny said while motioning toward herself, before turning toward the direction of the store. She smiled and pointed at the Bubble Tea Emporium. "I got it from there. Though, I will say you don't have to actually buy me another drink. I still think it was my clumsiness that caused it." Penny had already started walking. Her steps were light and she smiled as she talked, looking over her shoulder at her new acquaintances. "So how long have you been in Harper Rock?" The question was directed at the both of them.

Since they were not far from the store, it didn't take long for them to reach it. Penny stopped in front of the door before pushing it open. "There really isn't a place inside to sit down..." Her gaze shifted between the two, waiting to see if they might have a suggestion.

[Ambrose Acheron]

How long had he been in Harper Rock. The question strikes him as immensely funny, he gives a little chuckle. "Too long. sometimes it seems like lifetimes." His hand reaches out to hold the door open for the two ladies and he steps in after them. He reaches into his back pocket, pulling out his wallet and getting his cash ready for when they make their selections. "There are a few places in the city where people gather to socialize. I tend to stick to my... family. Some of them."

He glances up at the menu. So many selections of tea. Conspicuously absent is damiana tea, one of the herbal drinks of his culture. Perhaps he could find it with the Google later on. He continues to peruse the menu on the wall behind the counter as he waits for the mortal woman, Penny, to order.

A glance toward Syn tells him she likely will not be partaking. She is young yet and hasn't mastered the ability to consume solid food. He does envy her some of her abilities though, the Path of the Shadow remaining elusive to the ancient Allurist.