Cold, Dark And Raining

[Black Philip]

Reserved for Max

As we left the White Rabbit it started to downpour. I gave Dreki my jacket to place over his head, not really caring if I got wet. I was happy that Dreki couldn't see exactly where my business was. I like living in the Brazilian quarter. The people here are great, and while there's a lot of crime, it's not a bad place to be if you're a Private Investigator. Drunk drivers, courthouse muggings, shit the cops don't care about or won't touch, they all come to me. I had Dreki on my arm, and focused mostly on the journey to my place. I would chat of course. Dreki seemed like the chatty type. We approached my building, which even included a street side storefront and I had to let Dreki go to unlock the burglar bars and finally the door. One of the trans prostitutes came up to me. She's cool. Her name is Lola. She was soaked from head to toe, and had obviously been working all night in the rain. 

"Who's the twink," she said in Spanish. She was Mexican, and despite being called the Brazilian Quarter lots of Latinx people lived in this part of town.

"He plays piano," I answered back in Spanish, unsure if Dreki spoke it or not. "What do you want Lola?"

"Booze," she said, seemingly happy to get to the point.

"One sec," I replied, bringing Dreki inside and flipping on the shitty florescent lighting. I sat him in a chair, and went to my oak liquor cabinet pulling out the shittiest bottle of whiskey I had. I also found an old hoodie that was too big for her, but it had a hood, and would help keep her dry. Lola seemed pleased for the bottle and placed on the oversized hoodie. She kissed my cheek before scuttling off to her next destination. I shut and locked the door, and walked back to my desk, sitting in my chair and looking across at Dreki like he was a client who'd just come in for services. Daredevil here to get my help. What was it his PI said in the comics? Start at the beginning.

"So, it's shitty, but it's mine," I said about my place. I wasn't sure how to start this little game, but would wait for Dreki to make the first move. We were both so wet.

[Maxpphire]

He smiled amusingly upon hearing Lola's Question, not minding it much. While he was only an inch shorter than Drew, he was much thinner. He heard her response and how much more excited she was once her request was heard. He had sat patiently in the chair awaiting for Drew to take care of her. He leaned forward a bit as to not get the chair wet, or at least not anymore wet than he was. His now translucent button up would reveal a white T-shirt that acted as an undershirt.

"Oh it's not too bad, I've seen worse." He mentioned "Well given my sight that might not mean much to you" He joked "Anyway, Lola seemed friendly, hopefully she enjoyed the booze you've picked out for her?" He just made it clear he could understand Spanish at the very least. It was just one of many languages he was fluent in. He shivered a bit, cold from the wet clothes that now stuck to his frame. He was thin, but not in an unhealthy way, it seemed to fit his frame well.

[Black Philip]

I uncorked a good bottle for Dreki, and grabbed a tumbler. I didn't have any ice downstairs, but it was freezing in here, so the bottle felt nice and cool to the touch. I started to wonder if Dreki felt cold. I remembered cold and it could be a real bummer. I realized I was going to have to get him some fresh clothes. I placed the bottle and tumbler in front of him before reclaiming my leather jacket and drying it real quick. I love this jacket because someone dead gave it to me, and so unfortunately for Dreki, it came first. Once satisfied, I turned to him.

"So my upstairs is shit, but you need fresh clothes. Warning, they are gonna be big on you for the most part."

With that I went to the front door and opened it, locking it up behind me and then going through the street entrance to my flat. I changed myself up there too, throwing off my wet clothes that seemed to not want to come off. I chose a pair of sweatpants and a fresh tank top. My hair was combed into my normal swoop and because of the rain I even put my boots back on. For Dreki I grabbed the smallest tank top I owned, figuring his tallness would make up for some of the size differences. Only my basketball shorts would fit his bottom half so I grabbed the smallest pair I had of those too.

Once back downstairs, I gave Dreki the fresh clothes and the towel I'd also snagged. "I'll turn the heat on."

You should've done that before going upstairs moron.

Sigh. I know me. I know.

[Maxpphire]

"Thanks" He said as he accepted the clothes. He stood up to change, not terribly worried that Drew would see him in his boxer briefs. They were a plain blue in color, which would have stood out a bit compared to his other black and white clothing. As he removed his two tops, the two scars on his back were easy to see now, almost as if he had wings or something, they did match the same type of burn scar that covered his left palm as well, since he was left handed he would have reached out for the drink with this same hand. He dried himself off with the towel before putting on the new clothes, even removing his hairtie and letting his hair down. The clothes seemed to fit him alright, maybe a size too large but nothing would be falling off of him at least. He put his clothes off to the side for now as he sat back down, and took a sip of the drink. While he knew alcohol doesn't actually make people warmer, the warming sensation it had was welcomed.

"Really, I do appreciate you having me as a guest. If I say anything you don't wish to answer, then feel free to just say that you don't want to answer." He started off as he relaxed in the chair a bit. "I'll go ahead and start off, what do you do for a living?" He asked figuring a simple question wouldn't reveal anything too dangerous, and that at worst, Drew could ask back if he didn't have his own questions.

[Black Philip]

I chose not to look because I'm not a skeez. Well, at least not that big of a skeez. He changed quickly though, and actually looked better in my threads then I thought he would. I plopped into my chair and threw my feet onto my desk, the boots creating a heavy thud as they landed. Then he went right into the game. No sense in overthinking it for now.

"I'm a private investigator," I answered truthfully, saying no more than what was requested. "Are you actually blind or how do you see?"

I didn't explain the context of my question, and unlike Dreki I wanted to maximize my questions to the good stuff.

[Maxpphire]

"Ah, jumping into it I see." He mentioned coyly, as he thought for a moment as how to best describe how he sees. "I suppose it depends on your definition, but really all I can see is one solid flat color, and everything is outlined in another solid and flat color. I cannot tell you what those colors are but they contrast eachother nicely. I have no way of seeing fine details, and any sense of depth perception I have is just me guessing. Alcohol does distort these lines." He explained to the best of his ability. He was able to use this ability to get around and function without a cane but that's about it.

"What's it like being a Vampire?" He asked not even asking if Drew was one. He was more interested in Drew's reaction to being accused rather than just straight asking. It would tell him more information than if he were to ask the two questions separately, figuring it best to kill two birds with one stone. He knew it took a lot of gall to ask such a thing, something he wouldn't be able to as easy do as sober. He took another sip from his glass.

[Black Philip]

Speaking of jumping right in, Dreki was either very smart, very observant or had abilities I couldn't see. His guess was accurate though, and I decided trying to mislead him wouldn't serve me very well. To be honest, I was impressed. I smirked, not that he could see it, and moved myself to be sitting on my desk, closer to Dreki than I had been the moment before. I pulled out a pack of cigarettes, the room would smell faintly of them anyway, and lit one, taking in the acrid smoke and blowing it away from where Dreki.

"It has it's up's and downs," I answered honestly. "The powers are cool, and I don't really miss day time, but cheese steaks and pizza were big losses and honestly getting drunk is so much harder than it used to be." Now his turn. "Why do you see outlines of people instead?" I was really asking if he was made in a lab or in the womb but decided this was a nicer way to ask. Since when do I care about being nice?

[Maxpphire]

He took in the information that he was given, he didn't seem surprised but came to a realization that the names the facility used for the DNA options they had was more than just easy descriptions given the abilities that they could give, but rather, what it actual was. He swirled the liquid in his cup before taking another sip. Reasons why he didn't go with Vampire DNA were included in Drew's response in missing some of his favorite foods. That and he wanted to experience the day time at least once while being able to see. He took a sip of his drink, thinking on how to phrase his answer to Drew's question.

"I was born blind. Genetics play a part in that, my Dad was also blind. Used a seeing cane for most of my childhood, both of my parents had died when I was 16 and was placed in the foster care system. They labeled me as special needs due to being blind and didn't want to place me with just anyone, which was kind of stupid, really the only need I had beyond most kids was them to not change the furniture around weekly without informing me and no one does that so often anyway." He spoke, kind of ranting a bit. He didn't seem to like the foster care system very much. He shook his head getting back on track.

"After the first home I was placed with turned out to fail spectacularly, I guess the incident caught the attention of some facility. They adopted me on the spot and promised that they would help me be able to see. Since people were cruel, I wanted to do anything to get rid of my seeing cane so I agreed. They home schooled me to finish up my high school education, and paid for my college at the cost of infusing my DNA with Angel DNA. I had a choice between that, Vampire DNA, Demon DNA, and some others that I don't quite remember right now. With weighing the pros and cons of them all I choose Angel. It didn't seem to go as planned and thus these outlines is what I was left with in being able to see. I have a few other abilities as well, their helpfulness really depends on the situation, but it's nothing I can defend myself with."

"What event lead you into becoming a Vampire?" He asked taking yet another sip of his drink. Him taking sips of the drink kind of was replacing his normal nervous tic of chewing on his fingernails. However he was thoroughly enjoying the conversation, and something about Drew, well, he enjoyed being around Drew. It was hard for him to describe but in a sense he didn't want the night to end, and if it had to, he'd want to come back. He was honestly debating asking Drew something a bit more sexual in nature, the Alcohol getting to him a bit more, him having gone home with Drew, usually he was doing something else by now, but he decided that at least, right now wasn't the time. This was his first encounter with a vampire, he finally knew that one of his abilities was that he could sense non-humans, he was curious about a few things, but at this point more curious about the man who was the vampire rather than vampiric abilities.

[Black Philip]

So Dreki grew up in thr system too. Well goddamn. It wasn't the same as me by any means. He'd had loving parents till he was sixteen. I spent my whole life not being wanted by mine. I wondered if they were still alive. It was possible but they be in like their late sixties or seventies. I'd never met them and had no desire too, but I did wonder one thing. Why the fuck were they so indifferent to my existence that they left me in a dumpster to die? That I wanted the answer too. I understood foster homes failing. I bounced out of several in my time. I had been an angry shit hole though. I wonder what did it to Dreki. Was being blind too hard for the fuckwads cashing that social services check?

Then he mentioned the facility and I took note. I'd recently been hired to investigate a facility giving humans supernatural powers. The Central District had asked me to learn what I could, and what do you know. A patient just happened to be in my office. He didn't know that I was looking into the facility. Well, what a perfect game of twenty questions. Angel DNA? Demon DNA? Vampire DNA? I thought I was still Drew with human DNA and it was my blood that made me a vampire. Were we just a different species? The Camarilla would hate to hear that shit. I needed to know more about this whole thing, and I was right when I thought Piano Man would end up becoming a case.

"I was a cop," I began, letting the words roll out of me slowly. "I was tracking a package bomber. I caught her and she made me a vampire before abandoning me."

I had left out a lot, but what fun was it if I didn't make him ask more questions? I decided to give him just a tad more though, a tease of what was to come. "She said I had the observational eye and right amount of suffering to be a part of her clan."

Let's see what Dreki did with that one.

[Maxpphire]

He had poured himself one last glass and then corked the bottle up. He knew his limits and that he was slowly reaching his, and the way he poured the drink was a big hint at this. He had brought the glass right up to the lip of the container, and had his pointer finger inside of the glass all the way to measure out exactly how much he poured himself. The glassware making very light noises as they had came together, signifying how gentle he was with them both. He seemed to be extra careful given how the alcohol was hitting him right now. Some not so great thoughts about his father flooded his mind, after having just talked about his very short experience in the system was. However if it wasn't for that, then she would likely still be suffering. Did what happen truly make him a better person or just more bitter? His eyes seemed unfocused, but he was still listening.

"The right amount of suffering," He repeated before he responded, "What an ass." He seemed annoyed with the package bomber for such a thing. You can drown in an Inch of water, and you can drown in several hundreds of feet of water, it didn't matter, and to fight for whoever has it the worst was just stupid, but to claim someone has 'The right amount' was just fucking pretentious to him. The right amount would be none, which is basically impossible to achieve. No matter the family, no matter the money, no matter how perfect life seemed, there was always something. He learned that much being a teacher in high school. Having had rich, smart, or otherwise perfect seeming students just break down for what might have seemed to be nothing to those who were in poor or abusive homes. Everyone has a different tolerance for such things.

"Also no question for me this time around? I'll suppose I'll let you ask two after this one, but dare I ask, what did she mean by the 'right amount of suffering'?" He took a sip from his glass, awaiting the response.

[Black Philip]

I was surprised I forgot to ask a question, and made a note to ask two on my next turn. I'd been thinking of the prankster bitch who killed my Wesley, and then made me into this. Don't get me wrong. I love being a vampire, but it would've been nice not be a Caitiff and have a sire who cares. Oh well. I got Zeph now, and of course my longest loving relationship, booze.

"Yeah she was a bitch," I confirmed. "What she meant was that the clan I was supposed to be in have a common trait, mental illness. It gives us crazy good insight. I didn't get the clan stuff though. All I got was the flaws. My powers are all different than the rest of people of my clan. So I'm crazy. Want to hang out still."

I smiled as that was actually my first question. How did Dreki feel about being with a crazy vampire? "Who runs the facility you were made at?"

[Maxpphire]

"Honestly I was debating asking for some casual fun, or at the very least some coffee some other night from now." He responded to Drew's first question. "That hasn't changed, but of course, mental illness has me crazy as well." His tone was light-hearted yet truthful. He took a sip from the glass knowing that was a bit of a jump. He had no idea if Drew was gay or not, single or not, but what was the point if he didn't take the risk. Technically being his question this time around.

"For the facility, I'm not exactly sure who runs it, but the person who adopted me, Dr. Hofflan, was in charge of my case. He still sees me as somewhat of a son of his, but I don't make contact with him too often. Just a busy adult doing busy adult things." He explained, but also part of it was he regret his choices a bit. He was more trying to run from his past more than trying to embrace it, however his Adoptive dad would refuse to let him see and visit that other child involved in the incident of his first group home without having going through him first, and sometimes used that kid against Dreki to see him when he wanted to. It was frustrating to him, and as a result he really only talked to him when called upon, which was about 2-3 times a year at this point.

[Black Philip]

So Dreki wanted to get down. Well, I had to admit he was pretty cute, and a hunger from within rose to the surface. For a few moments I debated going right over and swapping spit with him, but then figured that might not actually be a good idea. The image of a certain nymph popped into my mind, and while we weren't official yet, I realized I'd be jealous if he did stuff with another guy. Should I hold myself  to the same standard? When he said he was crazy too, it helped me relate to him even more. So he was a kid from the system who struggled to find his way. I made a note about a Dr. Hofflan and then realized Dreki forgot to ask me something this time.

"What do you do for a living," I asked, curious to learn more about Dreki.

[Maxpphire]

He noticed he didn't respond to him basically asking him out, but instead responded to try and get to know him more. He took a sip of his drink and took this in for a moment. He didn't feel is was quite a rejection since after all Drew was making an effort to get to know him better, but he didn't quite take it as acceptance either. A weird limbo between the two, he always felt like he was stuck in such a limbo, at the mercy of others. He was used to it given his life experiences, but internally he wasn't quite happy with being in such a position. Was it a bad idea for him to take that jump and ask? He didn't know quite yet, but a certain loneliness tugged at his heart. A loneliness he was already used to hiding from others.

"I'm a teacher at the local high school. Specifically I teach German and Music." He responded in the same tone of voice he's kept for most of the night, a peaceful drunkenness came across it. "The students are not aware of my blindness, but do find the classes I give fun, considering how I don't give out any paperwork at all beyond what I am forced to." He gave the little addition figuring it would be a fun fact to add in there.

"What are your hobbies?" He asked this time, figuring that Drew would answer in time if he wanted a more intimate night, or to meet up casually for coffee, or whatever caffeine or drug imbued blood that Vampires could use instead for a similar effect.

[Black Philip]

So he was a teacher. Well, how sweet was that. Little Dreki was pulling on my heartstrings, and outside the storm wailed. My vampire hearing picked up the rustling wind and the fat drops of water hitting the ground were each the banging of a low drum.I wondered how his students wouldn't be aware of his blindness. True, he covered it well at first, but even in the bar I'd been able to clock it. Maybe I'm just that good. Actually, I know I'm that good. I opened the window a bit so Dreki would be able to listen to the storm with me.

"I like booze, fucking, reading up on demonology and shit, and oh, I'm a pretty dope photographer."

I'd only learned to do it for the PI work, but I'd ended up liking it. Zeph had been my latest model, and the shots I did of him turned out great. I wondered if Dreki would ever model for me. Maybe I'd just track him one day and take some candid shots. God I'm a creep.

"Top, bottom or vers," I said, letting my dirty side come out a bit. Just because I'm on a diet doesn't mean I can't look at the menu.