Caim slammed the brakes on his bike and swerved into an alleyway to avoid an incoming truck. Life as a courier was not all he had thought it would be, and though now he was away from the clutches of madmen, adjusting to a new city was never easy. Though dealing with Mirk was always too difficult to be worth the bother.

A hazy blue light detached itself from a window and floated down to him as he pulled a few letters from a box latched to the back of his vehicle. It took a while for the young man to notice, but when he did, he took an immediate swing at it with his free hand.

The wisp faded into smoke and Caim swore.

A few pops in the direction he had just came from warned him of the appearing agents. Mirk was persistent, he had to give the man that much. He grabbed his sword and ducked behind a bin, leaving his bike to attract attention. Then he slowly pressed against the door behind him and entered.

The smell of sugar hit him immediately and he slid the slightly oversized sword onto his back, where it sat neatly against magnets strapped to his torso. He stared at the colorful merchandise for a moment, then started scanning the shop for another way out.

"Is there some occurance I should know about, young man?" a soft, male voice questioned. "I mean you no harm- but others appear to. Why??"

Caim spun on his heels, his hand already reaching for the sword on his back, but he stopped once he got his nerves under control. "Uh..."

He ducked behind one of the stands of sweets just as the door opened a crack and allowed a young boy and girl entry. They were identical, pale, and extremely creepy.

"Master Mirk is looking for this boy." One of them held up a photo of Caim. "We offer reward."

"I have seen that boy run past here two minutes ago running west. I don't know anything else. Unless you are customers leave." D told them. He didn't do this kind of stuff.

The twins sighed, scanning the shop quickly with their dark eyes before leaving. Any normal child would have probably jumped at the opportunity for sweets, but not those two.

"Damn," Caim muttered as he stepped out from his hiding place. "Sorry for the trouble, I'll uh... buy some chocolates shall I?"

D watched silently. When they left, he sighed and locked the door.

"If you wish. It is not required I wished to get rid of them. Would you like to stay here a while?" D asked converstionally.

Caim turned slightly at the sound of the door locking, but it was time a shop like this was closed wasn't it? And it kept the kids out. He looked up at the shop owner, then his gaze softened and he nodded. "Sure, just till I get my breath back if that's ok..."

He looked down at the package he had grabbed from the bike. "Well, I should deliver this too at some point, but I can't make out the name anymore."

"Name's Caim, do you think I could use your phone to call the company too?"

"Yes, phone is there, my name is D, and I meant you may stay as long as you like. You do not have to leave."  

--Last edited by Neko Wolf on 2009-10-12 23:00:56 --

Caim almost laughed, but D didn't seem the kind to take that as a joke, so he coughed instead and smiled as politely as he could. "Well, I appreciate the offer, D... but it would be dangerous for you to keep me around. I have a few enemies trying to play catch-up."

"It's probably best if they don't trash your shop doing it."

"Ha." D said. "I am no more human than you are, dear boy. My shop is is in no danger."

Caim gave the man a hard stare, then tilted his head to one side. "I guess there's no real use hiding it. Though I'm a little curious. What's in it for you to help me out?"

"Shall it be required for me to gain in the process of your aiding?" D asked with a raised brow.

"No," Caim shrugged, it was a point. "Though most people tend to help others when there's something in it for them."

"You don't seem the type to get lonely," he observed, looking around the candy store with some interest. "Just wondering why you'd take a random off the street."

"Yes, people would...."

"Oh but I do get lonely. Please stay." D smiled. "Have some candy. Are you hungry? Thirsty? Tired, even?"

Caim stared at D for a moment longer. Then he relented and the guardedness faded from his aquamarine gaze. "Sorry, I think I've been careful of people so long now that it's a habit. Some sugar would be good, and maybe some water?"

Now that he was more relaxed, Caim figured he would call the company the next day. And since D seemed confident... well, no reason not to impose on him for a few days then.

"Thanks," he said after a while. "I was going to have to look for a place to go anyway, now that they've found me."

"Yes of course. Regular or cherry water? D asked softly. He watched the boy walking around with a smile. "Anytime," D said. He loved company. His dove came out of nowhere and landed on his shoulder, watching Caim, cooing softly in approval.

"Cherry water?" Caim stared at the dove, then tilted his head on one side. For a bird, it sure looked intelligent. He coughed and returned his attention to D.

"Sorry, I've never had cherry water before. I'll give it a try though." This was probably showing a lot of trust to a stranger, but if D wanted to poison him he could have got more out of it by selling him out earlier.

D drank some of his cherry water first to show it was safe, then handed it to Caim. "Yes. She is intelligent." D smiled. "Sorry. Vampiric tendencies to read minds."

Caim took the glass politely and said his thank yous before looking at the bird again. He was about to reach over and pat her when D's next comment made him jump back.

"Uh. Vampire." And in his thoughts he said 'damn'. Then '... shit, he can probably read that.' And 'wait, do I believe him? Maybe he's just a goth and that was a good guess.'

"..." After a long moment of silence, he sipped the water gingerly and finally said. "Are you really a vampire?"

D smiled, His fangs showed as the dove jumped onto Caim's shoulder, cooing to be petted. "Think something that couldn't be guessed."