Arlo James

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

He could hardly help that almost bashful look that managed to cross his features at the admittance of just how Abby and himself had met. That he had believed his future girlfriend to be nothing more than a cat and then a small type of bear for over a year was perhaps not the most traditional of meeting stories and yet- very little about Arlo was traditional in any sense. The young vampire a veritable law unto himself in every way. He'd already anticipated that laughter that bubbled over from Carolina's lips. Arlo half inclined to admit she actually had a rather pretty laugh. Feminine. Light. In fact- it was the exact sort of laugh that suited a girl that looked just like her. She was pretty when she smiled. Most people tended to be, at least when they smiled genuinely. Arlo still somewhat baffled by how such a person was living in a place like this and yet, really, it wasn't his business. Maybe she was just really bad at managing her finances. That soft utterance that the story of how he'd meet Abby was by far the most interesting she'd ever heard only further prompted that grin to his own lips. That hand lifting to run through the black of his hair once more.

"Knew about me? Babe, I used to stick her down my shirt as a way of carrying her around. I'm pretty sure she saw things no chick wants to see so early in a relationship."

He lent easily back against that kitchen bench then in that same laconic manner he had of doing most things. Arlo never a truly rushed person in any sense. His features frowning slightly as the young woman mentioned that lack of work and her hopes for finding something. A girl like her would easily be able to find a waitress job if nothing else, right? She had the looks. Arlo shrugging lightly as he suggested a handful of those options that might exist for her. The Ark, it seemed, holding more interest for her- although why wouldn't it? Who didn't want to be with their own kind? Well, he didn't, but he was an anomaly anyway. His head nodding simply at her words.

"So I hear. Word on the street is the Alpha and Beta don't like vampires so I steer clear of it, can't tell you much about it, sorry. Hell of a riot there a few nights ago though. Something to do with monkeys and horses.....I dunno...."

His head shook lightly, dismissing the thought. He had little to nothing to do with the Ark in any sense. He'd never even been to the place, only passed it. If Carolina needed work though she might be able to find it there, Arlo oblivious to any unfortunate run-ins she'd already had with that pack.The vampire caught off guard by that sudden query on his music.

"Oh...umm..."

He'd only just re-entered that music scene after years away from that spotlight. That very success the band had had in his teenage years the very reason he was the...way he was now. So much of that life, his human life, a time he almost wished he could forget. There was every chance she'd know the name of that band even if she'd likely been to young back then to go to any of their concerts or arena shows. And yet- Arlo hardly wanted to face those questions now of just what had happened to his first band- and to him.

"I think you'd be too young, chicka. I might look like I'm only about twenty four but truth is I'm nearly, well, forty."

It was easier to simply try and brush that question aside before she could ask any more or press for the name of his band. He was almost glad for that question on exactly what sort of vampire he was. It provided a subject change he could likely distract her with. That same pleasant, easy demeanor hardly faltering from his features even despite that inner turmoil that surrounded his death. The amount of people who believed there was only one species of vampire was almost baffling really. Then again, those sanguine vampires like Malek and Sebastian and Damon made up at least ninety five percent of the population. Crusnicks like him were nearly non-existent, rarer then even those succubus and incubus vampires (although he'd long suspected that Seb was some crossbreed variant of the later) and those psychic vampires like Chizue. The man unable to prevent that slight bitterness that came with the assurance vampires were hypocrites. Never happy to get bitten- well- most of them weren't. Carolina's sudden response was unanticipated as both his own eyes lifted to regard her. Was she being hunted by someone? The way she spoke was....odd.

"Are you alright, babe?"

It was bold, he supposed, even to ask- and yet that change in her voice was hardly missed. Her offhand comment on that bite, in the least, prompted that simper to his lips again as he chuckled. She was right. It wasn't as if his victims got nothing out of it after all. His venom got them so damn high they didn't know what was going on. It was only then that the scrap of newspaper from one of those packing boxes seemed to catch his eye. Arlo plucking it free only to turn it around to the young woman whose gasp prompted a roll of his eyes. Was there no woman who did that? His comment, it seemed, striking a cord as she shot him a sharp look. Arlo chuckling once more.

"I've been beaten up by enough girls to know that ain't true."

He offered simply. Even so, she clearly recognised Sebastian. That first hint of unease managing to find its way into him all the same. Was she some....ex-lover? Some jilted one night stand? Great. Maybe it would be better if she didn't know how good a friend he really was with Seb- and Dorian in turn. Maybe he could pass their friendship off as some passing acquaintance or...something. He'd promised Seb, after all, that he wouldn't let anyone know where he and Dorian lived- let alone about that....feeding he sometimes shared with the Englishman. Even Dorian didn't know all that story he was sure. The very idea Carolina didn't even know about the wedding was, well, surprising to say the least. It had been on every tv and in every newspaper for months. He wandered easily toward her couch then only to tumble back onto it with that phone in hand, bringing up that wikipedia page in search of Dorian's age. He'd been.....sort of close.

That almost bitter note in Carolina's voice seemed to lace her lyrics in response to that wedding. Arlo glancing up from his phone screen to eye the woman once more as she lent against the window. Her cat leaping onto the table to get a better view of the world. He couldn't blame the girl really. He knew how it felt not to have....anything and to see someone you knew doing so well....it was hard. In that he could sympathize.

"I guess that comes with being royalty."

He offered simply, that far...softer smile finding his lips then as he offered it before finishing off that paragraph with all its unholy long names. Christ. Surely Seb wasn't going to use all those names on everything was he? Then again, they'd only used Aragona-Ellington at the wedding. That was still long and yet far more reasonable. Carolina's mention of tax forms prompting that snort of amusement from the vampire.

"You know? I don't reckon they even pay tax, I mean, why would they? If your the King and the Prince and you paid tax, wouldn't you just be paying yourself?"

Was that how it worked? He never had been good at money. Still, he could hardly prevent that genuine like he had for Seb and Dorian in turn. Carolina readily agreeing to the fun Seb could be before offering that flicker of information about where she'd come from. Did she live in....the country? Like really far in the country? Maybe.

"Are you from, like, Wyoming?"

That was country right? He'd seen a picture once. That might have been Montana. Still. It was far and without...buildings. Maybe they didn't get television there. Still, he nodded readily at her assurance people like Seb and Dorian tended to just find each other. Hell, she didn't know how true that was, especially if she'd never seen them together. Seb and Dorian had a way of....moving around one another, of existing together unlike anything he'd ever really seen. They were, well, perfect. That query on how he knew them suddenly saw him hesitate once more. How much was he supposed to say? Did you get arrested for talking about royalty when you shouldn't? God, maybe he should just be honest about it, or, mostly honest. He was pretty sure she didn't need to know all the details of their unusual friendship or how...obsessive he was over Sebastian's blood and how Seb liked getting high from that venom. Maybe he could give her a watered down version of that friendship. At least...the socially acceptable version. Arlo glancing up toward her then.

"Seb and I met when he punched me in the mouth. I kinda deserved it that night. I met Dorian at a party a few months later when I asked him if he spoke English. Abby and I...kinda went to the wedding. They asked me to provide the music."

That almost sheepish look found its way onto his features then and yet could she really blame him for holding back on how close a friend he was with the royal couple? He hardly knew her that well, after all.

"I'm sorry you didn't know Seb had gotten married and you ended up hearing it from me- and an old newspaper. Were you and he....a thing once? You don't have to answer that if you don't want."

Arlo never did seem to fear asking those questions outright. Even when he hardly meant to be impolite, the woman offered that escape clause all the same.