Arlo James

See what it's like to be a vulture's lunch

Damon was an unnerving sort of creature. Arlo unable to put his finger on exactly what it was about the man. Maybe it was just the way he held himself, the way he talked, the way he kept flickering those lights like some sort of unspoken threat that was all too clear. It was...dominance. Yeah. That was it. Something about this Damon fellow almost exuded it, putting Arlo on edge in turn. After all, the younger vampire almost by definition was the opposite of that. He ran. Ninety percent of the time he ran because he was faster than his victims, because he wasn't built for fighting- at least not really. He played the coward because cowards lived to see another day and in the end that was all Arlo supposed he truly cared about. Surviving another day. This other vampire seemed almost inclined to tread directly upon that idea. He was hardly moving and yet Arlo had the distinct impression he wasn't allowed to leave even if he wanted too. This one was more dangerous than the others. Malek had been older he was sure, but Malek was calm in an entirely different way and frankly Arlo was rather sure the guy had some sort of crush on him. He wasn't sure. He suspected it though. As for Sebastian, well, Arlo had liked him too. His manner had been easy, confident but easy. Nothing about Damon said easy at all. Maybe this had been a bad idea to begin with and yet, ever the survivor, Arlo was entirely sure there was a way out. Few excelling at pretending as if everything was fine so well as Arlo did. The man entirely capable of acting as if nothing bothered him. This the only shield he had, for now, against Damon's far too calculating nature. He'd worked out that much the man in the least. He just needed to work out a way to get around it and get himself out of here. Maybe he'd leave this bar alone for a few nights afterward. Yeah. Wait for the heat to cool down.

Damon mention of blood managed to grab his attention all the same, even if he pretended otherwise, those bright blue eyes watching the other man beneath that wild mop of near-black hair. He could almost picture it, he could almost taste it, that blood running down his throat- though it was hardly human blood he envisioned, rather, he was entirely content to wonder just what Damon's might have tasted like. God he could smell it from here. The busboy hadn't exactly been filling after all. He'd been a snack if anything and yet enough to see him through the night. His own tongue shifted, Arlo clamping his jaw to prevent him licking at his own lips. The younger vampire simply reacting to the older one and yet he was almost ashamed that he had. His gaze jerking away almost stubbornly again. Damon almost seeming to find it amusing. Great. He was making the night better for the other guy. Those almost baiting words seeing his features frown, Arlo knowing exactly what those words were designed to do, digging at him and searching for some response. The younger vampire uninclined to react beyond correcting him. Damon so believing as so many other vampires wrongly did of his own feeding habits.

"You can't kill what's already dead. I can drain a vampire dry and all it does is leave them starving. I am thief- not a murderer. There's kinda a difference, bud."

He snorted softly all the same, Arlo not entirely sure he believed even his own principals in this but it was what it was. He hadn't killed anyone in years. It was better that way. Easier. The man hardly commenting on the idea of simply turning off his humanity. What good would that do other than getting him murdered by hunters faster? Besides what....what if he couldn't turn it back on? He'd already ruined his life, did he need to ruin his afterlife too? That thought of it more terrifying then he cared to admit. Arlo far less at peace with his existence then he truly cared to show beneath that shield of stubbornness and that often ever-optimistic attitude that seemed to be a little shaky tonight all the same. Hunger so having a way of shifting his personality in a way he abhorred and yet was often powerless to stop. His response to Damon's question of how long he had been here perhaps a little shaper then he intended it to be and yet why not dig back a Damon a little all the same? This guy was a bit of a jerk. Those lights suddenly flickering again, drawing his gaze towards them. Alright then. A powerful jerk. That entirely dark promise merely seeing Arlo's lips set in a thing line as that hunger truly begun to claw at him again with Damon's proximity. God he was trying to help the guy get away and he was still standing here?! What the hell was wrong with him? Why wasn't he leaving? Arlo's fingers clutching at that wall now in an effort to keep himself back. Jumping Damon seemed like a truly poor idea and yet....god he didn't smell half bad did he? Hunger and self-preservation waging a war within the man now, his pupils dilating readily in that predatory way. Fingers gripping harder at the wall as Damon asked about his maker before claiming he was doing him the favour. Arlo managing something akin to a short, sharp laugh.

"You're a jerk you know? Anyone ever tell you that? My Maker died three years ago."

He was trying to help the guy and Damon seemed more intent on laughing at him- or sighing dramatically. He was apparently good at that too. Could he not see Lukas there on the floor? Did he have no idea of what one bite from him could do? Arlo one of those few vampires to possess a truly unique venom. One designed entirely to bring other vampires down within seconds. He was designed to hunt his own kind. Damon seeming either entirely oblivious or convinced he could handle himself. That making Arlo all the more wary in turn. That, perhaps, the only thing stopping him from lunging at the man altogether.

"No I...I don't think that. You just don't get it, look....I....why don't you just shut up?"

He managed a groan of sorts, fighting back those few threads of control, one hand running through his dark hair now. His finger loosening upon the wall before the threat of ripping out his fangs seemed to pierce that haze of bloodlust within his mind and afford him a momentary control. Arlo oblivious to the very tact Damon was attempting to employ. The younger vampire more content to just hate on him right now. Because it was easier to do. That hunger fading at least a little from his gaze, his thoughts clearer, at least, clear enough to attempt to get a little bit of blood from Damon willingly all the same. Food still very much on his mind. His efforts apparently not going over all that well. Damon stepping suddenly forward. Oh god. Arlo's hand was already reaching for him to pull him against him to feed, his gaze flicking briefly to meet Damon's own. Oblivious to that power at play as it seized him. Arlo's action halted. His hand stilled mid-air. Behaving did seem like a good idea. A great idea actually. He really shouldn't bite Damon even if he wanted to. The idea of it suddenly seeming wrong somehow. Arlo hesitating briefly at the command to hold out his hand as Damon's power wavered slightly in the face of his natural stubbornness pressing back. Why? Why should he do what this guy said at all? That rebellion however, lasted barely a moment before his did just that. Letting Damon take his hand in that grasp of agreement before releasing it. The other vampire simply stronger. Arlo shaking his head abruptly a moment later, a faint touch of confusion tainting his features before he shrugged it off. He was still hungry, Damon still smelled damn good but.....biting him really seemed a bad idea. For now.

"You want me to get in your car? Aren't you supposed to bribe me with candy or a puppy or something first?"

His lip quirked readily, his personality, it seemed- inclined to begin returning when not distracted by hunger. Arlo following all the same, that wariness still intact.

"You know bud, I'm gunna be kinda pissed if it turns out the only power you have is some ability to flick lights and make it look like you've got some skill. Just saying."