Arlo James

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

What an odd chirpy little creature she was. The vampire hardly oblivious to the squeaks and huffs and chirps he was afforded with by way of response in those moments that followed his feeding, the creature seeming almost put out by his command to hold the wallet and yet the moment that blood so splashed hotly against his tongue the very world itself was lot to the utter haze of bloodlust. Maybe it would change, one day, maybe in hundred years he would learn some greater level of control over himself and yet here and now he was nothing but a slave to it. Nothing in the world capable of encouraging him to pry his fangs from his victims neck as he relished each and every molecule of that liquid that ran down his throat. Even his Little Bear forgotten in that interim before he is so rewarded with the utter bliss of his deadened form animating itself and life so flooding his veins. It is that warmth that so seems to stir back his awareness, Arlo reminded of his companion by the feeling of heat around his neck where her small, furred body so reacted with his now flushed skin to create that sensation of glorious heat and warmth. These were surely the moments he relished the most, these precious few seconds before he needed to flee in which the world was vibrant and bright and he was full.

Experience however, had so taught Arlo several valuable lessons. Lingering now would bring him no pleasure, his own vampiric venom worked only when there was enough blood within a body to carry it throughout his victims form, that electric jolt too having weakened with every passing moment. Vampires decidedly resilient beings and as such it would be mere moments before he woke. A ravenous, furious vampire was a battle Arlo had no desire to fight today, the man turning quickly to flee from the park. Assured his prey would wake up confused, alone and with little to no idea as to who or what had assaulted him. Anonymity was his survival and it was that, above all, he so strove to maintain. At least when it came to his own species. The creature upon his shoulders another matter entirely, the vampire seemingly unbothered by her, at least for the most part. Arlo so having achieved a level of affection for that russet-furred oddity in this moments they had shared. Her abhorrence at his feeding having gone unnoticed, that warmth she provided his neck decidedly pleasing.

He turns easily into that nearest alleyway, welcoming the embrace of those shadows once more that hid them from the world at large, Arlo leaning back against the nearest box before seating himself atop it to begin his pilfering of that stolen wallet- disappointing though it was. The little animal leaned closer, the vampire shifting just so as to allow her to peer into that wallet as well before he plucked the coins and several low value notes from within it, one coin held abruptly up to his newfound companion, after all, she seemed inquisitive enough- his gift met with a distinct turn of her head. A scoff passing his own lips.

"Finicky thing aren't you?"

It was little more than a mutter, the azure blue of his gaze turning away from her russet form, emptying the wallet of anything of value before tossing it aside and into the depths of the rubbish within the alleyway. His attention returning to the creature upon his shoulders. It would not bode well for him, were she to tell anyone about him. He had only just arrived in this city and he intended to stay for as long as he could avoid those Hunters or worse still- the local coven. The little creature one of the very few whom had ever seen his face let alone witnessed his crimes against his own kind and as such she had become a liability- even if by his own making. His hunger perhaps, having clouded his judgement in so bringing her along in the first place and yet impulsiveness had always been something of a weakness for the man. How unfortunate it would have to be to do away with his new little pet if she proved to be too....talkative. The sudden, gleeful chirping he is rewarded with sees his gaze lift once more, the young man allowing his lip to quirk into something of a lopsided grin at the sound before she proceeded to brush against him like a cat. She was cute- he supposed. The vampire content to take this as her answer for now and yet time alone would tell whether she had been honest with him. One handed extended forward, a force of habit, he supposed, his fingers rubbing softly behind her ears once more before his attention turns abruptly upward to eye that sudden falling rain.

"Oh fuck this. Come on Chicka, let's get out of this and then I'll take you back to where you came from. We've just got to make a stop first."

Arlo was ever the busy man, if nothing else, one hand reaching out to scoop the creature up and place her back upon his shoulder- the vampire assuring his hood was in place before stepping back out and onto the street- attempting to hug the wall as he did and use what little guttering of the shops and buildings about might shield him from the rain. It was hardly a far walk to that rather dingy apartment he called home, the building as old and tired as the rest of the street and yet he never stayed long enough to bother with anything more luxuriant. One hand fumbled those keys from his jeans pocket, the man taking the stairs two at a time, head nodded to several people he passed in the hallway before unlocking the door to his own apartment.

"You know, for a bear or cat or whatever you are, you have a really judgemental face, Chicka. I like to think of this as temporary living,"

One hand gestured almost grandly to that decidedly...basic living space. Arlo hardly one for decoration in any sense of the word, the vampire pausing to place the Bear on the dining room table before passing through the unused kitchen and into his own room. One hand runs almost absentmindedly though that wealth of black hair, his free hand reaching for the draw on the nightstand beside his bed, the man barely having opened it before that banging at his front door drew his attention- a mutter upon his lips as he strode back out and towards it- one eye lifting in surprise at the sight of his human next door neighbour. The woman speaking before he could offer her any kind of greeting. Those men are back again, out the front, the ones you told me to watch for. Fucking hell. He turned easily away from his own door once more, telling the woman to go back to her own home and lock the door, handing her those crumpled bills and coins he's pilfered not an hour before, Arlo striding easily to the window to peer down and onto the street, those three singular, vampiric figures easy to disconcert from the darkness below, especially with his recent feed so assisting his vision. I can goddamn see you, Arlo! You come down here or we'll come up there! This, Arlo new already, was hardly an empty promises, two of the others already heading for the lobby door.

"I think we better leave, Chicka. I don't think they like me."

There was little true amusement behind that tight smile he afforded her, the man, for whatever reason, so seeming content to pretend as if anything was entirely alright- yet didn't he always? He waits only so long as it takes the little creature to clamour back onto his shoulder, Arlo slipping out the front door, heading hurriedly for the nearest staircase before the pounding of footsteps upon it sees him pause. The staircase, so unfortunately, was hardly going to be an option. Up- the only real path left to them, Arlo turning once more to hurry up those stairs and onto the roof of the apartment building. This far higher than he recalled, the man striding to the edge to peer down several stories to the street below. They had minutes at best.....minutes to find a way off the roof before those less than agreeable vampires found them. His gaze turning suddenly towards the building next door, one separated by a rather substantial gap and the street below.

"Do you think I can jump that far?"