Arlo James

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

It was almost bizarre, really, the way he had come to enjoy the company of that little creature. She never spoke, at least, not outside of those little barks and purrs and yet in some fashion Arlo liked to think he understood her. It was frivolous, surely, a trivial ideal and yet for whatever reason he enjoyed the idea of it almost as much as he enjoyed that utter warmth she emitted when she was wrapped about him on laying atop him. Those sweet, girlish concerns of her own mind and how she surely shouldn't have been lying with him in this fashion were lost upon him entirely. The vampire merely reaching one hand forward to stroke that russet fur like he would a pet cat. It was an idle action and yet it was oddly comforting. The man assured he might well have liked to simply turn the tv on and spend the rest of the evening just as they were. Yet- that nagging wound bothered him still. It stung and ached with every movement of his muscle, far more then he truly cared to admit too and yet he was never going to be comfortable until it was attended too. At least he didn't have to go alone- that was something right? For half a moment the man almost considered that the Little Bear might be cold and that maybe he should leave her inside and yet.....for whatever reason the idea of wandering those snowy streets alone was particularly dismal to him today. Arlo holding out his arm again to let her clamour on up it and wrap about his neck. Her nose pressing against him hardly missed.

"Yeah babe, I know, be careful next time and don't get stabbed, eh?"

Well- it was a pretty close translation. Almost. With his newly furred scarf fitted the vampire made his way back out and onto that snowy street- one destination in particular in mind tonight. That park usually busy with people at all hours. Not so crowded as to be annoying and yet not so sparse as to make his actions seem unusual to anyone who cared to look. Besides, if someone went missing for a few minutes in a park no one ever tended to panic- after all they'd just wandered off right? What the vampire had not taken into consideration was the sheer amount of couples that littered that space. The Christmas spirit seeming to have resulted in some ungodly desire to intimacy to the point almost no one was alone. He knew from experience, a particularly terrible one, that couples were difficult to separate and that it often required both to be taken down in case one came to the defence of the other. That was far more effort than he was willing to indulge in tonight. Another sigh fell from his lips, the man commenting on that ice rink to his Little Bear all the same. After all, he could hardly fault those couples from coming here. It was romantic, it was pretty, it was exactly the sort of a thing I guy would do to make his girlfriend smile.

His little companion, for her part, seemed utterly taken with those twinkling lights, the way she lent from his shoulders to get a better look at them hardly missed. Had she never seen fairy lights before? Whoever owned her didn't take her out nearly enough- of that he was sure. His gesture towards that rink and subsequent attempts to explain the measures he was willing to go to in an effort to impress a girl while keeping his pride intact earned him a lick to his cheek. His features wrinkling slightly with that sensation as another chuckle fell from his lips. His companion in the least seeming to find him amusing. That's all that mattered right. It was only then that the blue of his gaze finally settled upon a lone woman walking away from the crowd, her jacket pulled tight and hands tucked into her pockets. He waited a few moments, assured she might be with someone- Arlo searching for a boyfriend or companion of any sort before falling into step behind her. God he felt like a stalker. Worse then that he felt like a predator. This was exactly the sort of thing people ended up in jail for. Arlo entirely aware that if she turned around and saw him and started running he'd hardly have the nerve to chase her. He hated scaring them, the humans at least. His own kind and vastly preferred prey he held truly little care for but this girl, just minding her business and walking home? He felt like a...criminal.

It was some attempt to distract himself, he supposed, from his own less then gentlemanly actions and just what he intended that saw him speak to his companion once more, the vampire content to imagine that in a far different world, or at least- one with cameras that this would surely be one of those romantic scenes movies seemed to believe convinced happened every time there was snowfall. The Panda however, hardly seemed taken with the idea, her tail flicking suddenly to fling into his face. Arlo very near getting a mouthful of russet fur as a huff of surprise left his lips, the man waving his arm to shoo that tail away with a muttered complaint. Well- someone didn't like romances then did she?! Fine. He wouldn't mention them again. His eyes rolling lightly in amusement all the same before he thought out loud once more, the idea of simply asking the girl to let him feed one he'd toyed with before and yet never truly committed to if only because, really, there was no totally right way to ask someone that. Little Bear, however, seemed to have decided she was done talking to him, laying her head on his shoulder instead as he angled his face back to scowl at her.

"Women."

It was no more than a mutter beneath his breath and yet that amusement laced it all same as he continued on behind his newest victim, his feet crunching in that snow as they began to approach the end of the main path, the girl turning to head down a smaller, narrower track that Arlo new cut across through a more wooded area before coming out near the centre of the city. It was not a particularly wise choice for a young woman to make, especially alone and at night, the irony of that thought not lost upon him as he moved to fall back into step behind her. He had barely taken another few strides when that woman suddenly paused, Arlo hardly having time to press into the shadows before she turned, a soft gasp parting her lips as she took a nervous step back. Arlo caught between lunging at her and attempting to reassure her. He had to say something, anything, the woman staring now at the Little Bear on his shoulders wide-eyed, her hands nervous clutching her handbag.

"I....umm....you see. Would it be alright if I were to bite you? I'm - Jesus Christ!"

The words had barely fallen from his lip, the woman evidently taking offense at his rather poor attempts at an explanation, swinging her handbag with force as if it was an entirely leather-based weapon. It was his own reflexes that surely saved him in that moment, Arlo leaping backwards, one hand resting on his Little Bear to keep her from falling off as he did- that bag barely missing him as she prepared for a second swing.

"Take it easy!"

God- she was going to bring the whole park on them in a minute, her shouts starting to echo. He had wanted to avoid this, all of it, Arlo left with truly little choice now as that webbing flung from his hands, binding her rapidly and sending her tumbling to the ground. He moved quickly then, lifting the Panda into the nearest tree as he bent down beside the flailing girl who now seemed petrified beyond belief and yet attempting to explain anything was only going to make it worse. A sigh of sorts falling to his lips at just how he seemed to be forever in these situations before he reached to lift her free arm, his grip near vice-like, keeping her still as his teeth sunk into the flesh of her wrist. Thank god for the venom, the sedative acting quickly to silence her and leave her barely awake as her entire form abruptly relaxed- allowing Arlo to feed in peace. She hadn't gotten much of a look at him, of that he was sure and yet, this time, he made no effort to reach for her purse and pilfer those coins from her. She'd had enough for one night. The vampire instead reaching for those bindings the moment he'd sealed the wound, freeing her now before gingerly pushing her off the path and onto that softer bedding of leaves. She was surely going to call the police once she was capable enough and yet he planned to be long gone by then, his tongue sweeping across his lips to catch any remaining blood before holding his arm out for Little Bear once more.

"Come on Chicka, she'll be alright. She's not hurt."

He was quick to hurry up that path, following it back down and out into the main area of the park again, Arlo turning to look back behind him just to make sure she hadn't recovered too quickly. One hand at last reaching to rub against Little Bear's ear again. God he felt so much better! He felt alive. He paused briefly then beside that ice rink, pulling at the neck of his shirt to peer within and eye that wound that he was assured was fully healed.

"How's it look, Chicka?"