Arlo James

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

It wasn't his business he supposed and yet, Arlo could hardly shake the feeling that a woman like this, young, pretty, intelligent and with an obvious sense of humour, seemed so out of place in, well, a building like this one. It was hardly that River Dale was bad exactly. It was simply the cheaper end of town. A lot cheaper. A number of society's outcasts seemed to have taken up refuge in the rundown apartment buildings and cheap rental market. Single parents, juvenile delinquents, down-on-their-luck Werepacks, drug dealers, thieves and.....him. A vampire even other vampires didn't want around. Not for the most part anyway, those few select friends he had made excluded. Somehow, Carolina didn't exactly seem to fit into any of those moulds. Not that he was judging, hell, he was hardly in a place to do that and yet despite his easy words, ready humor and ready willingness to poke fun at even himself- Arlo was hardly a complete fool. Girls like this didn't live in places like this for no reason at all. Either she was running from something or someone, else she'd gotten herself into trouble with the wrong people. A part of him was almost inclined to ask about it, almost and yet- what business was it off his, really? Maybe once he knew her better......if he ever saw her again after tonight and yet maybe he would. That offer to come back and inspect her styling once it was actually styled promoting that grin to his features again. That smile particular toothy and yet he could hardly help that could he? Arlo one of the few vampires so in possession of four fangs rather than the usual two on the upper jaw alone. Arlo Possessing those smaller and yet equally functional bottom teeth in turn.

"Sure, why not, eh?"

Whether or not that was a genuine invitation he hardly knew. There was every chance she would have no desire to actually see him again and yet Arlo was used to those very sort of interactions. He'd lived by them- once. Being forgettable had become a near talent when he decided to employ it and yet he saw little harm in befriending a woman who lived in his building. Chances were they were going to run into each other again all the same. His bright blue gaze shifted to that grey tabby then, Carolina's fingers running delicately through its fur, the animal seeming readily appreciative of the gesture. Greyson, eh? Seemed a fitting name for a cat that was....grey. His own comment about the cat he had once owned readily fell from his lips then. Arlo nothing short of chatty when the mood should strike him. Indeed- the vampire was perhaps one of the few genuinely good-natured vampires in the city. One night yet jaded by centuries of living, even if he still struggled with several aspects of his existence. He was nothing if no the eternal pretender. As if nothing in the world was ever wrong and everything had a bright side- as if that attitude could somehow convince himself in turn. That sudden comment on his not-cat being a raccoon prompting that easy snort.

"Nah, it turned out to be a Panda. A Red Panda. I'd never seen one before so I thought it was just a really weird looking cat. She literally ran right into me on the street one night, chasing fruit, of all things. Course, then she turned out to actually be a human so that was another surprise. She didn't tell me for like a year. We've been dating a few months now."

That easy grin found him once more, the very fact he had treated his girlfriend as a pet for a year apparently failing to concern him in any sense. Arlo easily waving off her promise not to stomp around like a clydesdale (he was pretty sure that was a type of horse....or a cow). It wasn't like he would wake up anyway and it appeared they shared that similar nightly schedule. Then again, a lot of people in this building seemed to be up at night. The blonde woman's soft comment upon that job seeing his handsome features frown. His shoulders lifting slightly.

"I can't help you much there. I'm a musician, most of my work is free lance stuff but I know the Hunter guy who runs that cafe in the East sometimes hires Were's to work there. If your looking for night work though there's a Bistro and Bar somewhere in the South- they don't cater for me so I don't know much about what's there. The Ark is all Were's though and only open at night. Might find something there."

Why he was trying to help her so much he hardly knew. Hell, maybe she reminded him of him a little bit. It had taken him months to find any sort of work and yet his appearance at Seb and Dorain's wedding had all but launched his career into the stratosphere and suddenly there was more work then he could handle. Still, he knew how hard it was when there was just...no money. That query on his roomate readily saw that soft chuckle hum from within his throat. Mi a veritable law unto herself and downright bloody deadly with a broom. Carolina seeming all but convinced a broom wasn't nearly big enough to take her on. Maybe she was a really big animal. Arlo's head tilting ever so slightly as if a different angle might afford him that knowledge. Frankly without tasting her blood he had no real idea and yet she smelt kinda like....a cat. His gaze lingering on her still as she tucked a few strands of hair behind her ear, asking after his own dealings with vampires instead. Arlo softly shrugging once more.

"I'm a Crusnik. A vampire that eats other vampires, don't worry, no one's ever heard of it. There used to be more of us so far as I can gather but vampires hunted most of us down- still, here I stand. Hypocritical bastards most vamps are though. Happy to bite everyone else but don't like getting bitten themselves."

That scowl found his features then at the very thought of it. Arlo suspecting, largely, a great deal of aggression towards him from those other vampires simply came from the fact they didn't like not being the apex predator. Not that Arlo tended to think of himself as being particularly predatory. Still.....he had.....had his moments. He was almost feral over Sebastian's blood and Seb gave it willingly. His gaze flickered briefly away from the young, blonde woman then only to fall on that scrap of newspaper poking from one of her moving boxes. A singular image catching his attention as he plucked it from the pile then. All this time and they were still going on about the wedding! Arlo turning that picture towards her then only for the woman to rather audible gasp. Arlo, perhaps, mistaking the meaning behind that gasp entirely as he chuckled.

"I swear to god every woman who sees a picture of either of them makes that sound. It's like your all pre-programmed to do it."

Those words were teasing all the same, Arlo chuckling readily then before offering that easy assurance he had met Dorian once before. The vampire quick to catch his words, attempting to pass off that meeting as no more than a passing thing. After all, he'd promised Seb he wouldn't let anyone know where they lived. Then again, maybe Carolina already knew. The girl suddenly uttering Sebastian's name at the mere glance of that picture as Arlo frowned slightly. Did she know him? Christ, she wasn't some jilted ex-lover was she? Carolina's mention of having met the other vampire a few years ago with several other run-ins in between at least managing to settle Arlo slightly. Were they friends then? Although....he hadn't seen her at the wedding. Maybe it was better not to stay anything just in case. Hell, she didn't even look like she knew about the wedding. Had she been living under a rock?

"I dunno if he's exactly a thousand years old, hold on, I can probably google this. They have wikipedia pages."

Arlo stepped easily away from the woman then, placing his shopping bag on the counter only to collapse down onto her sofa as if he'd done it a million times before, that phone fished from his pocket as his fingers taped easily at the screen, his feet resting on a cardboard box in front of him. The man answering her other question as he searched.

"Dorian? No, he's not a vampire. He's a Fae actually. First Fae I've ever even met, they're almost extinct as a species apparently. Ah, here you go. 'His Royal Majesty Dorian Valerio Ellington-Brownlow-Cust-Aragona, formlery Aragona', blah, blah...here it is. 'The five hundred and sixty three year old Fae King of Italy and it's associated kingdoms married his long term partner Sebastian Felix Ellington early in 2018 in a ceremony reportedly worth over forty million dollars that was attended by the world's royalty and diplomats. Sebastian, formly styled the Baron of Belton, was crowned His Royal Highness Prince Sebastian Felix Ellington-Brownlow-Cust-Aragona of Italy on his wedding day.' Jesus, that's a lot of names to say..."

In fact, he remembered Sebastian near panicking over those very names only months before the wedding. Seb having feared that Dorian wouldn't want to take his name or remove it entirely, the couple, instead, having merely taken all their family names just like Arlo had told him they would. Ha! He'd been right. He'd tease the man about that later. Arlo glanced back towards Carolina still holding that scrap of newspaper innher hands. His voice softening then.

"Seb's a pretty great guy eh? He was....decent to me, when not so many other people were and Dorian, I think you'd like him. Everyone likes Dorian, he's one of those people you know? The kind that just...draw other people to them. Seb's the same. Did you really not know about this wedding? I thought the world knew. I can keep reading if you want to know any more, there's plenty here?"