Arlo James

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

That hand so suddenly held out towards him as they walk momentarily seems to catch the vampire off guard, both blue eyes widening slightly at this sudden show of friendship from a girl who had seemed, well, wary of him in the least. He could hardly blame her he supposed, given her prior experience with the horse and yet really how you got bitten by a horse he hardly knew. It was huge. Couldn't you just avoid it? Then again, he'd been hit by a car before and that was arguably bigger and that had still managed to collide with him. Maybe it was better not to say anything, she was coming with him after all and she'd given him that three dollars he needed, if anything she was the one who was probably judging him. Calliel? One eye arches slightly upward though he moves to take that offered hand all the same, Arlo already aware his skin would be unpleasantly cold against her own and yet unless she was going to offer him a blood donation it was likely to remain as such.

"Calliel it is then. Were your parents hippies?"

Well. Calliel wasn't exactly a normal name. Probably no stranger then his own really and yet it still seemed an unusual thing to call someone, the vampire half inclined to wonder if it was, perhaps, a nickname of sorts, maybe even a middle name, his hand releasing her own with the same smoothness in which he'd taken it up before offering his own in turn.

"It's Arlo, although if anyone asks you just pretend you don't know."

It was easier that way. It protected him and her in turn, just in case any of those other vampires happened to be listening, else she happened to run into someone who might be searching for him. If she knew nothing they'd have no interest in her and no further information on him in turn. His name but one of those final few strings of anonymity he so often liked to keep and yet he saw little need to give the horse-girl a fake name. Chances were he'd never see her again, well, outside of returning that three dollars. Arlo having every intention of doing just that. The crowds within that mall were almost oppressive, the vampire aware of the way in which the vast majority of beings seemed to make a rather wide circle around him. It was something of a double edged sword he supposed. To wander around with his hood on and head down so seemed to imply to others he was the very definition of shady and yet to walk around with it off allowed him to be terribly easily identified by anyone who might have been looking for him. It was, as they say, much of a muchness he supposed. The man determined to focus on his newfound companion instead of anything else. It was easy, after all, to pretend their fear of him didn't bother him. He was good at pretending. He pretended about everything, didn't he?

His words are little more then teasing towards the girl, attempting to engage her in some easy sort of conversation as they finally seemed to be going the right way (see he knew he would find it), her shoulders lifting in a sudden, abrupt shrug before declaring she hardly had a boyfriend and that she'd merely gone out tonight for the sake of seeking company. A simper of amusement finding his lips all the same, a playful chuckle rising within his throat once more as he regarded her.

"A social gathering place? You sound older than me."

There is no true harshness in the words, Arlo merely teasing at her in that same friendly manner once more, the girl moving to suddenly grab his arm and bring him to a stop, Arlo glancing around almost quizzically for a moment before spying that bookstore Calliel had found. He wanders easily towards that bookstore then, bright eyes searching for the sort of book no one had written anything in yet, Arlo taking several moments to find exactly what he wanted before he was presented with a veritable plethora of colours to choose from. His features shift to something decidedly pensive before turning briefly to Calliel once more.

"What happened to just plain old black? Why I everything so colourful these days I- oh! There."

He reaches readily for the only black notebook left, pocket-sized, just as he liked, the man handing the cashier that money before taking the book back from her and strolling easily out of the shop. He paused now, fetching his pen from within his shirt, turning busily to that first page before already beginning to scrawl several notes across it. He turned then to a new page, glancing up briefly at Calliel, frowning slightly before beginning to write, something akin to 'blonde hair' muttered between his lips followed by 'horse or pony' before her name was printed in bold letters beneath it alone with a series of symbols that meant something to Arlo alone. A grin touching his features now. Satisfied at last.

"Are you alright to get yourself home, Calliel? Or do you want me to walk you? Thanks for coming all the same, I made a note about you in the book so I won't forget you."