Let's Play!

Ajora sighed, looking over the man, not liking the idea of wondering about alone again, but thinking it'd be just fine, so she spot hesitantly.



" Your welcome to go your own way, if you'd like."

"I can't." That was all that the man said as he got up, trying to swipe a little of the mud off of himself.

Ajora made a small face.



" Why? If I'm causing problems, then just go the other way."

Ajora made a small face.



" Why? If I'm causing problems, then just go the other way."

Kai avoided looking at her.



"I just can't." With that, he took the bags and began walking back to the car.

Ajora watched him a moment before turning the other wya. He couldn't, she could

Malykai noticed she wasn't there when he got to the car. He just sighed and fished through a bag to find a pair of clothes he could change into. The man proceeded to find the nearest public bathroom and changed (except for his shoes, as he had forgotten to grab those). He returned once more, looking at the stuff. His eyes fell on the forgotten card on the floor.



Slowly, the man bent over and picked it up, turning it over and looking carefully at the writing. Kai sighed, putting it down on the seat over before moving back to the trunk and pulling out the two identical boxes that held his shoes.

Ajora was entertaining herself at the fountain court of the mall, watching the local band playing, not half bad. Where to next after this? She'd not gotten to that point.

Kai looked up a moment too late. A shadow pressed over him, which was strange. He found that suddenly he was whacked over the head. The man sprawled across the concrete. He was scared out of his mind, even as he snatched the box that had fallen beside him and ran. With his chest heaving, he stopped behind a portapotty, looking around and trying to see what was going on. He heard nothing. The man ripped open the box (seeing as barefoot stinks) and his heart fell. He found himself pulling on those green high-tops that Ajora had chosen.



As a pair of hands reached over and grabbed him, pressing a chloroform-soaked cloth into his face. Even as he was knocked out by it, he couldn't stop those words from echoing in his head, those words he couldn't bring himself to say to Ajora.



You sentenced me to death.

Ajora heard the echoing thought and froze, mid-caramel-apple-eating, looking back the direction she'd come from. cr@ap. Now what could she do?



Well, since staying put didn't sound good, she darted off towards Kai.

Unless she had been standing there at that exact moment, there was really nothing that could be done about it. Whenever she made it to that spot (if she ever did) Ajora would find that Kai was already spirited away without a trace. The trunk was still wide open, the other box of shoes spilled across the pavement, and Lucian's card cast carelessly on the upholstery from where Kai had dropped it.

Ajora looked to the shoes, and the scattered clothes and the wide-open trunk. Making a small face, she shook her head, not sure where to go now, looking about. Crap

That really was a bummer. It would probably take her a minute or so to pick everything up.



The card with Lucian's phone number flickered slightly, caught on the breeze. But it didn't go anywhere as the corner was stuck in the crease of the upholstery.

As she cleaned up the car, she looked to the card that hadn't managed to blow away, making an odd face as she lifted it up, dialing the number slowly. Why not? she was at a loss.

The phone rang only twice before a man answered. He sounded to be probably older than dirt.



"Linguine's house of whores. Which whore would you like?" A younger male (probably in his thirties) laughed suddenly, and a rustling could be heard along with his voice.



"Dad, keep your hands off my phone."



"I'm just saying, you'll have more interesting phone calls if you answer it that way." Suddenly the younger guy's voice was speaking more clearly into the phone.



"I'm sorry about that. Who is this?"

ajora made a small face at the phone, shaking her head.



" ajora, actually."

The man was silent for a long moment. Then, all at once...



"OH! The girl from the bar! Honey, I was beginning to think that you wouldn't call. I would love to talk to you face to face." He laughed suddenly.



"Not like a date or anything, and I promise I'm not a creeper. You can even pick the place and bring your boyfriend if you like."

" I would if I could."



she sighed, looking to her feet.



" when?"

"Um... any time after thirty minutes from now. My laundry is in the dryer and I have a casserole in the oven."

" where?"



She asked again, not planning to make the plans at all, as this was all still a bit weird.

"I like Luigi's Pizzaria in that strip mall over on um... Broadway. Do you like pizza?" Well, at least he was friendly, right?

Ajora shrugged slightly. It had garlic.



" it's fine, there in 45 mins?"



Could Kai live that long? .... certainly so.

"Sure thing. See you then." He almost hung up before remembering something.



"Oh, I'll wear a lime green tie and a t-shirt." Considering that she didn't' know what he looked like.

Making an odd face at the apparel choices, she nodded slowly.



" alright, see you there."



she replied, casually making her way towards the destination now. she had nothing else to do.

After of course his laundry being done and pulling the casserole out of the oven, Lucian left for the place. As he walked around the strip, looking for the girl, it was plainly obvious that he was the person.



He was wearing a park of dark jeans and a black muscle shirt with a lime tie, loosely tied. The guy was in his mid thirties, and seemed completely comfortable with a smooth confidence... the kind the more perceptive would pick up on as an indicator of gay. However, with all of this, one had to wonder why Lucian resorted to clothes as an indicator of who he was. Why? Well, see, Lucian was completely albino. Literally. From the snowy hair all the way down to the red eyes.

Glancing up as the guy came into sight, she inwardly groaned. GREAT!!! Just what she needed upon her hands. wonderful. hurray.



She groaned and let her head fall to the table, eyes closed.

Lucian slipped into the table on the other side.



"Feeling alright, hun? You didn't have to come."

Ajora looked up, sighing to herself as she pulled herself up the rest of the way.



" Sort of did. A friend asked me to."



Yep, leaving it at that.

"Well, I can honestly say that I've never heard that one before. So, tell me something about yourself." Lucian's eyes rested unbreakingly on the girl as though studying her. He didn't seem to blink enough.

" I'm a girl."



Yep, she was bristling alot right now. Her mind was surprisingly on her little missing kai at the moment... He was such a little guy, he needed someone to keep tabs on him.

Lucian laughed lightly, looking up to order a pizza before speaking.



"Actually, I figured that out about you. Obviously though, you've got something special. Come on, tell a stranger a secret or a surprise. What am I going to do with it?"

" Your a guy. In my experience, can't be trusted with either bit of information."



Ajora replied flatly.



" Why care, anyway?"

Lucian looked taken aback.



"Hey doll, don't discredit the entire gender! We aren't all bad." He shrugged at her question, and seemed to be thinking carefully about how to respond.



"Call it curiosity, I guess." But he frowned now.



"I guess I had you pegged wrong."

Ajora sighed as she stared at him.



" Everyone pegs me wrong lately, what picture did you paint for yourself?"



she was trying to figure out how this man could help her find little kai.

Lucian crossed his arms now, obviously on the defensive.



"I don't know. I thought that you were something different than what I see all the time. Guess I was wrong." With that, the man pulled a few bills and lay them on the table.



"Sorry to have wasted your time." Lucian picked up the entire pizza and carried it off with him, walking into the nearest little alleyway between the buildings.

Ajora grumbled, and growled, and left the money upon the table and followed after the weird guy.



as she watched him stop in the alley, she stared at him.



" I'm a vampire in need of help locating a seriously deranged physic."

Lucian's eyes widened, stopping in the middle of his scarfing a piece of pizza - the thing still in his mouth and everything. After all, that was why he had stopped. Pizza was always better when it was warm. The man's eyes lit up and he swallowed as fast as possible, actually speaking through a partially obstructed mouth.



"YUUS! I KNEW IT!" The man chewed and swallowed, the rest of his words rushing out after he had cleared the pizza.



"I knew that you were too resonating to not be supernatural!" He looked like he might break into a little dance any minute. "I mean, I don't know if you have ever been around an aura reader, which I'm not exactly, but surely they would have noticed it. I mean, you're THAT resonate. Not that I've ever met a vampire before, so I don't know if you're all like that or if it's just y... Wait. A psychic? Your boyfriend?" He blinked a couple times, processing now as he stole another piece of pizza out of the box.



"And you want my help? What kind of trouble is he in if he couldn't avoid it and you couldn't save him from it?"

" Your not going to believe me if I told you, however, it pretty much comes down to shoes, if I understand his gibberish right. However, I'm not certain where he is, or where he's been taken, or why, or for that matter, if he's still alive with where he's been taken."

Lucian fully laughed.



"Yeah, shoes are rather troublesome." He placed the pizza down.



"Now, simply because I do want to make a good impression on the first person I meet of a new species, I guess I can help. Besides, finding him should be easy. Can't guarantee he'll be alive, you know, but I can help you find him." He reached out and held his hand behind her back upper back, though an inch or two away.



"You'll need to lean back a little, love."

ajora glanced to him, making a rather ' I don't trust men' face before doing as he asked, with a few grumbles involved.