Arlo James

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

Alright. He'd been later then he'd intended to be by the time he finally made it to the restaurant and yet Cadance hardly seemed to mind. His efforts to explain the pitfalls of google maps seemed to inspire some measure of understanding within the dark-haired woman as she insisted she'd pretty much experienced the same thing- and they were going to be all but doomed once google invented its own cars. Were they really going to do that? Was that a good idea when its navigation system couldn't even seem to tell him where he was? That easy grin found it's way to Arlo's features once more, the vampire content to chuckle softly in response. Maybe this Cadance chick was alright. At least, she didn't seem mad at him. His agent had said whoever she'd spoken to on the phone had been....kinda abrupt....and a dude. Hmmm. Maybe Cadance just had a grumpy receptionist or something. That very thought was brushed away as Arlo moved to turn his phone over in an effort to focus entirely upon the business at hand, his efforts to explain his....disdain for working with vampires only seemed to prompt a near confused look to the other woman's features. Her words earned her a baffled look from himself in turn. Him? A vampire?

"Sorry, didn't my agent discuss the whole vampire thing with your...reception guy or, well, whoever the dude who called us was?"

She had said she had. Hmmm. Maybe she had forgotten? It hardly mattered, he supposed, Arlo content to brush the concern away with the ease in which Arlo was so often content to brush most things aside. His attitude, more often then not, far more casual then it surely should be. The very notion that several of those more pertinent details had failed to line up with this meeting so hardly seemed to occur to him as his blue gaze focused on Cadance once more, the young woman offering that explanation for Blue Moon Lagoons recent change of ownership and upper management. The previous vampire owners apparently having run into trouble with another bar. That very news prompted both Arlo's eyes to lift.

"Ooooh I think I heard about that. There was a bunch of like vampire bar...turf wars or some shit going on for a while. Some really weird like....country bar burned down or, well, got burned down and it went from there. It was on the news one night."

He was almost proud of himself for remembering it really. Arlo's interest in watching the news was a decidedly....debatable thing. The Crusnik, on occasion, inclined to remember that world events occurred and that he probably should pay attention to them sometimes. Then again, Abby was usually up to date enough to let him know if anything critical was happening. That news, otherwise, was so often little more than...doom and gloom. The very kind he was hardly interested in hearing about. The world had enough of that he was damn near certain. Still, the notion that Blue Moon was rebranding, or working towards it, was intriguing. He'd heard of the place, who hadn't? Blue Moon and that Syn place were the best known vampire bars around. If Blue Moon was moving away from that vampire clientele it was, in the least, a place he'd be willing enough to play for the night. It had been awhile since he'd done any live shows beyond those online charity concerts and tv appearances.

Arlo's lips parted, those further questions on his tongue all but cut off by a sudden squeal. Their waitress, apparently having recognised him. He'd...forgotten how loud they could be. Hell, he'd nearly forgotten what the fan girls were like after so many months at home. Had they always been this...high pitched? Still, it was nice of her to....er....squeal for him he supposed. Arlo made every effort to offer her that grin in return. His own fangs flashed with that very gesture and yet the waitress hardly seemed perturbed as she excitedly asked for that photograph or interview. Surely he could sign some paper for her if thats what she really wanted, a napkin or something? His agreement seemed to produce another shrill squeal of delight before she all but tore back into that restaurant. Arlo left blinking at the space she had once been before that chuckle rose from his throat once more. Maybe he'd missed it, the fans, just a little. At least, he;d missed the ones who weren't afraid of him. His query on whether or not the waitress was coming back was met with Cadence's own amused laugh, the woman insisting her ears were still ringing- but at least Arlo had gotten service as opposed to her iced water.

"I dunno if I'm much luckier, she came out but....I honestly don't know if she's coming back. Hang on, I'll try waving at her. Oh, no, she's just waving back at me. Now I'm stuck waving to her. This is the hill I'm going to die on. Okay, stopping waving now."

Arlo's gaze turned near guilty back to Cadance as he lowered his arm once more.

"Seriously, don't wave at her, she's just gotten more excited. We might get molested when she comes back now."

That amusement tugged at his lips all the same, his attention returned to Cadance in full as she spoke about the virus that had plagued the world of late and the effect it had taken upon nearly every industry. Those bars and clubs and nightspots seemed to close one after the other. Even if that Corona Beer seemed to be gaining popularity. Cadence's voice shifted slightly when she spoke about that live music though. Her lamination at the loss of it nothing short of genuine as she spoke near....passionately about being on stage. She lent forward toward him then, her violet gaze near intense as she spoke about that...feeling of being on stage- of being the center of it all. Of playing the sort of music that brought every single person around you to their feet and how fucking glorious it was. How easy it was to spot another musician.

"What did you play?"

It was hardly the question she'd ask him and yet Arlo found himself far more intrigued by her band experience than by that offer to play at her club. At least for the moment. It was rare to find another musician in this town. Hell, he'd only been trying to convince Sebastian to join him on stage for fucking years. The vampire content to insist it wasn't exactly appropriate for the Prince Of Italy to be playing concerts. Arlight, maybe he had a point, but still. Seb was beyond good on that keyboard. It was a fucking crime to waste that mans talent. This Cadence was probably wasting her's too. Running that club when she should have been playing at it. All at once the young woman seemed to realise just how carried away she'd gotten as she sat abruptly up, only to insist he hardly had to answer now. Rather, she wanted to enjoy that meal first while she tried to woo him. Woo? He;d heard Sebastian use that word before. Was that what she'd meant by letting him have her stage for the night? Or did she mean a, well, real stage? Arlo's features frowned ever so slightly in contemplation before he merely shook the thought aside. He was pretty sure he'd know if she was flirting, pretty sure. Maybe. Not that it mattered he supposed. Not when he had Abby waiting at home for him. The WerePanda the very reason he'd...changed his life around.

"I do kinda have one request, you know, while you're wooing me. My girlfriend comes to all my shows. She likes to watch from backstage, the crowds kinda freak her out. It's cool if i bring her right? She won't take up much space. Hell, I can fit her in my jacket if I- oh, wait no, I didn't kidnap her or anything like that. She's a Were like you, just a small one and sometimes she just rides in the back of my hoody. Here, look."

So maybe he was inclined to forget, sometimes, that he needed to explain just what Abby was. If only to stop people giving him that very look Cadance had only a moment ago. Arlo reached smoothly for his phone once more, the man turning it over before opening up that picture file and turning the screen back towards Cadance to show her that picture of Abby and himself. Abby, in her Red Panda form, sat neatly on his shoulder, her cheek pressed to his own, the both of them grinning at that camera. Arlo flicked to the next photo then. This one displayed them in much the same pose but with Abigail in that far more human skin. Her long red hair was as vibrant as her gaze, her arms wrapped around him.
"That's Abby. She's my...everything really."

That grin at the mere sight of his companion all but lit up his features then before he placed the phone down once more. Cadence's mention of that vampire friendly menu saw his gaze cast downwards to the laminated paper in front of him. Huh. Maybe he really should explain the vampire thing.One hand lifted to rub at the back of his hand near anxiously once more

"Yeah, ummm, about that. I'm not a vampire. Well, I mean, I suppose I am. It really depends who you ask. My agent should have gone over this with you. I'm a Crusnik. I...er....eat vampires, I guess that's the best way of putting it. That's why I don't do vampire bars. I get hungry, I want to bite them, they freak out or they try to kill me. That happens a lot too. So, you know, best to...avoid that. Vampires don't like being....prey you know? For what it's worth though I really only feed on vampires, I'm not really interested in any other species' blood so i'm not going to like...maul a witch or a human or you or something. I've been....trying to learn to eat human food again though. I'm kinda okay with pasta. Italian's invented pasta didn't they? Or was that pizza?"