Dealing With A Wildcard

[Trillian]

"Closed doors, blacked out windows... backs of cards," Timo said slyly, aware that he was bragging.  He had to control himself because he was playing into this guy's hands.  He didn't look particularly happy either and Timo felt like he was groping in a dark room, trying to turn on the light and assign himself some value.  He was beginning to think maybe he wasn't as special to Mr Fangy-Face as he'd expected.  "Purple lines," he said carefully before watching him intently for clues.

[Saccharin]

Vomas nodded. "You can see beyond things, then." It made sense, that Timo had been able to win game after game because he couldn't just deduce what a card could be, but could actually see it if he looked past it. A useful ability for a con-artist.

"What about the lines? Do they lead somewhere?" He met Timo's stare, then, and his gaze was just as intent as the human's.

[Trillian]

Timo saw more interest in the lines thanks to the demanding tone of the question.  He didn't need to lock eyes with Mr Dark And Brooding.

"They might do, I've never bothered following them," he said.  "They cross over a lot at the city's central park and I don't go to the park much because of the--"

Too much information.  He was offering too much information.  He had to start bargaining for something otherwise this guy was just going to drain him of it and possibly drain him of life next.

"--you know, I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.  How about you send up some lobster dinner and wine and dine me and tell me your name?"

Timo smiled winningly, sure that his handsome countenance would charm this bloodsucker, because he wasn't dead yet.  That was always a good sign.

[Saccharin]

When Timo first started talking, Vomas turned his entire body toward him, eager to hear more of the lines that intersected at the very place he'd been drawn to when he'd first come to the city. But he turned away again when Timo stopped himself and began bargaining again.

"You would have this entire level reeking of shellfish?" He snorted. "No. Wine, perhaps, and my name, but I will not tolerate lobster in here."

[Trillian]

"So much for being a classy hotshot," Timo complained, then thought it might not be a good idea to upset this guy.  This vampire guy.  Red Man.  Funny, the more he interacted with Mr Scowly Jowls, the less afraid he got.  No matter how much he told himself that he should be more intelligent about his behaviour, he couldn't help cracking wise.  "So what's your name, big man?"

[Saccharin]

He shot a glowering look Timo's way. "Vomas," he said, pronouncing it 'voh-mahs'. "My name is Vomas, though I'm rather fond of Mr. Mighty."

[Trillian]

Timo laughed.  His laughter was rich and genuine because Vomas had surprised him by acknowledging the nickname he'd said out loud.  Was he actually beginning to respect this guy (for his personality rather than his Red-Man quality, which had commanded a kind of avoidance respect, as an antelope would respectfully give a lion a wide berth) or was Vomas just better at conning than he was?  Wouldn't it be easy for vampires to win people over?  Just charm them and gobble them up?

His laughter died away.

"Okay, Vomas.  You didn't give me a last name so I guess we're on a first name basis.  I don't suppose we'll be eating together.  That's not how it works right?  You don't go all shiny or anything in the sunlight?"

[Saccharin]

"No, we won't," he said, his brow wrinkled. "And I wouldn't go all shiny in the sunlight, I'd burn. Although, the carbonized remnants would be shiny."

Vomas paused and shrugged, then changed subjects entirely.

"When you were young, how did you cope with seeing beyond, as you do?" It was easy to imagine a child reeling away from closed doors, but perhaps Timo had been just as brazen as a youngster as he was now.

[Trillian]

There was hesitation before Timo's answer.  He licked his lips and sat back on the sofa, pushing himself further into the cushion to try and get himself comfortable.  His hands remained on his lap, covering his crotch.

"I don't remember seeing anything different when I was young," he said, and if Vomas was being especially perceptive, he might understand that this was a lie.  "Most of my sight kicked in when I hit puberty.  Either that or I learned how to switch my vision around that time.  Hard to say."

He made sure to maintain eye-contact with Vomas throughout his statement.  Perhaps a little too much.

[Saccharin]

He looked askance at Timo. "I want to share something I learned a long time ago," he said. "Many people think liars won't look you in the eye, but it's the ones who do that you should be wary of."

Vomas reached over to pat Timo's knee, like a coach preparing his runtiest little leaguer for bat. "Now. Why don't you try that again, but with the truth this time? Otherwise, I'll have to go digging myself and that's no way to start a friendship."

[Trillian]

With his words thrown back at him about friendship, Timo's too-wide-smile soured and he glared at the coffee table instead of at Vomas' face.  He didn't want to talk about this; not when he wasn't ready to and especially not to this asshole.  He didn't have much of a choice however, so he delivered the truth as woodenly (and briefly) as possible.

"I grew up fast because I saw things and knew things I shouldn't have.  Innocence was for other kids.  I learned to use it to my advantage.  The end."

He wondered if this would meet Vomas' standards.  If he was pressed, he would offer more - perhaps give an example - but he wasn't going to offer it freely.

[Saccharin]

He lifted his hand towards Timo, then lowered it again with a sigh. Wanting to avoid talk of the past was understandable, but mending wounds be damned - he needed to find a path that would lead to some answers.

If it required picking at scabs, then he'd do so.

"I sometimes wonder what it would've been like if I'd remained in the dark," he admitted with a bitter smile. "I like to imagine I would've lived a happy and long life, but it's more likely I would've died to some disease that's treatable now. Plague, probably. Or the flu." Something quick, if he'd been lucky, but the times being what they were, it would've been painful regardless.

"What do you think your life would've been like if you'd been like everyone else? If you'd kept your innocence?"

[Trillian]

Timo wasn't sure what Vomas was getting at, until the point smacked him in the face.

"I never wanted to be like them.  I like being able to see.  They have it easy, but fodder is still fodder no matter how blissful they have it.  They're worse than sheep because sheep don't have the capability of understanding.  Them, they just don't want to know," he sneered out this last sentence until he realised that Vomas had taken him to a dark place.  He adopted his winning smile, that for all appearances would be genuine except it didn't reflect in his eyes.  "How about we talk more about the shit I see and forget the history lesson?" he offered.  "It's not like it'll give you insight into anything other than my fucked up childhood.  Okay?"

[Saccharin]

Inside, he was triumphant, but he was careful to keep his expression neutral. "Alright. We were discussing... purple lines, wasn't it? You said they intersect at the park?"

He knew exactly what they'd been discussing, and what it might entail and he was desperate to hear more, but so far, overt signs of eagerness made Timo think he could force some sort of payment from him.

"Where else do they cross?"

[Trillian]

Timo thought the tactic was to get him pent up and then relax him with a change in topic, being the thing that Vomas wanted to know most.  He was resentful that it had worked smoothly on him and also irked that the mind-games weren't being played to his advantage.  This Red Man--vampire, this vampire--was wily and Timo decided to speak frankly, lest he be antagonised again.

He gave the vampire his grudging respect.

"Closest to the big tree in the park and closest to that... zen garden bridge.  There's a mess of them at the gazebo too, like the builders put it there on purpose.  That's all at the park," he added needlessly.  He'd found the hotspots because he'd followed them, but he didn't always follow them.  "There's a bunch of them in the West, up this side street with all the weird shops?  The biggest purple line goes straight into the Quarter.  I didn't go in there."

He shrugged.