Barefoot Bum

[Saccharin]

[Reserved]

Roughly two years ago, Halwyn had been in a position of relative power.  The supernatural community had looked... in his general direction for guidance.  Mostly they had looked to Lazarus, the ancient vampire that claimed to have been sired by Jesus himself. Not only had he claimed a distinguished pedigree, but he had been very eloquent and powerful public speaker.

In fact, Lazarus had always seemed to look forward to the very meetings Halwyn dreaded.  He\'d attempted speaking at some of them, but he always grew annoyed with the formalities and sheer amount of time spent explaining things.  The younger vampire also hadn\'t dealt well with being cooped up in stuffy rooms. There had always been a bunch of odd smelling creatures he hadn\'t even heard of before then. Meanwhile, there had been so much to take advantage of outside.

So he had left Lazarus to deal with the formal shit and he had gone out and celebrated like he should have to begin with.  His enjoyment was cut short when the Oligarchy formed itself.  It had never even crossed Halwyn\'s mind there might actually be supernatural creatures out there that enjoyed hiding away like so many rats.  He considered the comparison quite apt, because they were certainly sneaking around and feeding off scraps while making sure to pick up their little brown pellets of excretion so no one would guess they had been there.  

He also hadn\'t entertained the idea they would hold absolute authority so quickly after having formed.  It had rightfully scared the shit out of him.  He had announced himself as an instigator and he certainly didn\'t want to be made an example of.  He quite liked his head where it was.  Firmly attached to his neck. The wisest thing Halwyn could have done at that point was to disappear.

His hiding place was not something he was proud of, but it had been the best he could do when he lacked both money and time. Only a few hours had remained before sunrise by the time he made it to the city limits.  Not enough time to sunlight-proof a house, but enough time to evict someone recently deceased from their new home in the earth. There he had fallen into a deep sleep that hadn\'t lasted nearly as long as he would have liked.  He was expecting to get through at least a decade, but only two years had passed by the time his sleep was interrupted.  

Lack of planning had bitten him in the ass again, because the grave he\'d taken over was next to an empty plot reserved for an Esmeralda N. James, wife of Timothy E. James.  Stupid bitch had picked a grand time to die.  The racket caused as they lowered her into her plot hadn\'t compared to the constant clang of shovels against sod and dirt as the gravediggers created the hole to begin with. His sleep disturbed and the likelihood of dosing off again slim, he had heaved a great sigh and waited for night.

Even though modern graves weren\'t as deep as they used to be, it took Halwyn nearly two hours to dig himself free.  Still, getting oneself vertical under five feet of dirt was no easy task - even for a vampire several centuries old.  Plus, he was groggy. And hungry.  Fuck, he was hungry.  As he clawed his way to the surface, he was half glad he only slept a couple years. He couldn\'t imagine the gnawing feeling he would have had to endure had he lasted an entire decade.

The hunger accompanied him as he stumbled into the city.  Prior to burying himself, he had been clad in a very attractive outfit, but it was now unidentifiable and crusted in dirt. His fingernails, hair and even eyebrows were similarly dusty brown. Surprisingly, no one really paid him any mind as he shambled through the streets. He wouldn\'t have noticed one way or the other, as he was occupied both by his churning insides and the chunks of dirt that kept sliding down the inside of his pants to the inside of his shoes.  Every now and again, his steps turned erratic as he would throw a leg out and shake his foot, hoping to dislodge some of the dirt.  

Finally, he realized the fruitlessness of his actions and found a bench to sit on so he could remove his shoes one at a time and shake them clean.  Except, when he put them back on, more dirt slid into them.  It was going to take a shower or a long bath to free him completely of the brown stuff, but he was too incoherent from hunger to take that into consideration.  Instead, he growled, removed his shoes and socks again then kicked them to the side.

Halwyn stood up once more. Maybe he\'d find a bum soon.  There were always bums.  This cheered him a little and he laughed as his shoeless feet smacked against the concrete when he made his way down the sidewalk.

[Trillian]

Ben had found someone to drink from and had been quite pleased with himself about how his mental powers were coming along.  For a three year old vampire he was more advanced than most, but he also pushed himself much harder than others - plus he\'d started with a talent in mental communication because of his style of projected thinking as a mortal which had helped focus his mind before becoming a vampire.  He was slow to tap into his vampiric strength however, usually doing so by accident, and only once used his celerity, by accident also.  He was keen on improving his telekinetic abilities, which were showing more promise than the physical skills, but that was slowgoing and tough, and usually tired him out.
 
Tonight he\'d been dawdling around the city, exploring areas he hadn\'t visited before and finding little shops to lose time in before they began closing.  The shops in the city centre closed at a ridiculous time in this city, and so he\'d finally realised how late it was getting.  He knew it was likely Kerr and Ichabod had returned to the penthouse by now, and so he was hurrying back, not really sure where he was in the city and finding his way home by following the blood-call of his sire (which was far better and reliable than any GPS).
 
He was cutting through yet another alley when the smell hit him.  He\'d never smelt a vampire who\'d just come out from going to ground before, and so he initially mistook the overpowering scent as belonging to an Ancient.  The earthy quality didn\'t come with that odd headspinning feeling of wanting to submit, however, and as his steps slowed he took a closer look at the source of where the smell was coming from.  He continued further down the alley until he was at the mouth of it and saw a bench, a pair of very dirty shoes and socks beneath them that belied what Ben could smell thanks to the soft breeze bringing it down the alleyway to him.
 
Frowning, because he\'d been certain he\'d smelt a vampire and not just dirty shoes and socks, he turned in the same direction Halwyn had, but only because that was his way home.  It wasn\'t too long, a couple of minutes in fact, before he caught up to the original source of the smell, and found himself dropping into step behind a filthy vampire.  His natural step was quicker than the one in front of him, but he found himself pacing him because he was so busy staring and thinking about the fact he\'d never seen a dirty vampire before; anyone with a bit of age was established, well-dressed and clean.  He didn\'t guess about a vampire going to ground.
 
It was only a matter of time before he was going to get noticed, though it truly was coincidence that every turn the other vampire took was the same way Ben needed to go (though he was taking turns one block earlier or later than he would\'ve, to keep the dirty vampire in sight).

[Saccharin]

The farther Halwyn walked, the more confused he became. Before he had left, the homeless seemed to be on every corner. At the very least, he should have encountered one sleeping in one of the many alleys he had been through, but there were none. It really did figure that the one night he could have gone through a smorgasbord of bums he couldn\'t find a single one.

He felt his luck had changed when he heard the faint  sound of rustling near an alleyway dumpster. It triggered in him the instinct to move silently and press his back against a wall where he hoped to hide in the shadows until he could determine the source of the noise.  There his bare feet encountered a sea of broken glass. Several pieces immediately found their way into his heels and when he automatically took a step away, more imbedded themselves into the balls of his feet. Surprised by the shooting pain, he glanced down and then remembered he had parted with his shoes several blocks back.

Awkwardly walking on the sides of his feet, he moved to a nearby plastic crate and eased himself onto it after flipping it over. Then he dragged one foot onto his knee and began the arduous task of prying pieces of glass from his now bloody skin. Halwyn growled, unhappiness clear in the sound. He needed to find blood, not fucking lose more.

In his misery, he almost missed the tickling sensation between his shoulders that should have been obvious to him for a number of blocks. Someone was watching him.  He glared into the night, not sure where or what they were. The vampire wasn\'t even able to sniff them out as he could only smell dirt and his own blood. That combination was an unfortunately effective scent blocker.

"If you ever wanted to know what a bad night looked like, this is it," he said loudly for his observer\'s benefit.

The source of the rustling heard him too and scampered away on little rat feet.

[Trillian]

Ben had dallied near the mouth of the alley when Halwyn had slowed down, and drew closer when the other vampire stopped to sit upon a plastic crate.  Ben\'s shoes crunched over glass when he approached at the invitation (well, sort of an invitation) and found his gaze drawn to the healing wounds as glass was plucked out of the soft tissue of the vampire\'s feet.  He couldn\'t help but internally wince out of compassion.

"Did you need help?" he asked, though didn\'t really want to be taken up on the offer if the other thought he was wanting to assist with glass extraction.  He was asking on a more holistic level; if this creature\'s bad night could be turned into something better.

Normally Ben would\'ve turned the other cheek and mentally declared the other\'s problems as not being his business, and would\'ve made the effort to avoid their confrontation now.  With Kerr as the Luminary now, however, he felt an odd sense of obligation.

[Saccharin]

His glare softened as the young vampire came into his line of sight. It was difficult for him to stay annoyed when there was a pretty face in front of him.

"Well I\'ll be," he drawled with the beginnings of a smile tugging at his lips. "What\'d I do to deserve a guardian angel?"

Halwyn, finished with one foot, picked the other up and began working on it before actually responding to the other vampire\'s question. "If you can get me to a blood supply, a shower and some fresh clothes, then I could definitely use your help."

Once his job was complete, he rested his foot back onto the ground and wiggled his toes experimentally. Though he hadn\'t been able to remove all the glass, his body would force out the rest. It wouldn\'t be a very pleasant experience, but it would be better than trying to dig out the rest with a pair of tweezers and a needle.

He stood up and patted at the front then back of his pants, creating plumes of dust. His forehead creased as he frowned. "Fuck. My wallet isn\'t here. I don\'t have any money if that\'s what you need in exchange." To further his point, he turned out his pockets and then quickly shoved them back when clumps of dirt came tumbling out.

"Eheh," was his weak response.

[Trillian]

The corners of Ben\'s mouth twitched a smile at the guardian angel comment and his brows rose minutely when he was requested blood as well as a shower (expected) and a change of clothes (also expected).  He\'d expected a request for a place to crash as well, but perhaps this filthy vampire didn\'t trust him for such a thing just yet.

"There\'s a vampire-friendly hotel not too far from here, that houses willing donors," he said, wondering if this vampire knew about Risk and all it offered.  "I live there," he said, thinking of the penthouse and all the empty rooms below reserved for vampires or other creatures in need.  He didn\'t mention it just yet, for the money comment would require a lot of explanation as to why this particular hotel wouldn\'t request money for a vampire in need to stay the day.  "You\'ll be able to clean up there, and I don\'t need money," he added wryly, for his personal finances had taken a huge leap thanks to his quickly successful modelling career begun in New York many months ago (and he really had to contact some of the companies he\'d signed contracts with, now he\'d lost his manager).  Before that he\'d been living with so little cashflow he\'d been forced to sell his car - so he understood what it was like without money, and it warmed him up to the dirty vampire just that little bit more.

"I\'m Ben," he said finally, standing in front of the dirty vampire while his nostrils flared to take in that odd old-earth smell that reminded him of Ancients.  What kind of dirt had this vampire rolled around in that made him smell that way?  "And you are?" he asked as he held out a hand for the shaking.

[Saccharin]

He reached out to grasp Ben\'s hand in his, but caught sight of how dirty his palm was and retracted it quickly.  It was embarrassment that led him to attempt wiping it off on his pants before he allowed it to be shaken.  However, his pants were just as dirty and it achieved nothing. He gave a small shrug as an apology.

"I think it rained before I dug myself out. Was pretty muddy," he said, hoping the other vampire would understand. "I\'m Halwyn. It\'s been a bit since I\'ve been in the city, so I didn\'t know about a vampire hotel. Seems like a good idea to me, though.  Especially now." He grinned - his teeth oddly bright in contrast to the dirt on his face.

In the past, he\'d always charmed his way into getting all the basic supplies he needed to survive, but it became an impossible task when he was covered in dirt and gaunt from hunger. Even bums gave him a wide berth. Now he was depending on a vampire a fraction of his age to make him presentable again. If he hadn\'t been used to accepting handouts where he could get them, Halwyn would\'ve been mortified.

[Trillian]

Ben\'s hand remained outstretched while he watched Halwyn\'s swipe his hand on his pants before his own was grasped and shaken.  The comment given him as explanation as to how he\'d become so filthy had Ben raising an eyebrow.  He guessed correctly that \'dug myself out\' meant this vampire had gone to ground and then risen again.  How long had he been beneath the dirt?  When Halwyn gave his name, Ben\'s eyes widened for a passing instant because it was a name he was most familiar with - not that they\'d ever met.  Lazarus had spouted it at him a couple of times on his story-telling brags when he\'d been hooking up with the blonde Ancient.  Taking over the city was a story he\'d told Ben twice, evidently, but he\'d been happy to repeat himself when he\'d discovered Ben didn\'t remember it the first time around.

"I\'ve never met a vampire that\'s gone to ground before," he said carefully, debating whether to admit he knew Halwyn\'s name or not.  He wasn\'t sure if recognition would be a good or bad thing.

[Saccharin]

"Yeah, well. It\'s not high on my list as something I want to repeat," he said, his mouth caught up in a scowl.  "It\'s great for those times you don\'t have an alternative, but... I\'d honestly suggest having an alternative."

The longer they stood still, the stronger Halywyn\'s desire to be doing something else became.  He would have kicked at the ground to release some of his tension, but his feet were still raw and he had to satisfy himself with shoving his hands in his pockets to fiddle with the pieces of earth still inside.

"Should we get moving?" He asked, hoping dearly they would start toward the hotel soon.

[Trillian]

Ben nodded, considering Halwyn\'s advice as extremely useful.  He\'d have to ask Kerr about going to ground, and if he\'d ever done it, and would he ever do it, and did he know of anyone that had done it.  There would be many questions on the topic, and Halwyn would likely get asked many of them while on the walk to the hotel - or the Chambers, as Ben best knew them, though he was unlikely to call the Crest as anything other than by its old name because of who he was going to be walking with.

"Hey ho, let\'s go," he said quietly and with a smile, using a phrase he\'d picked up from Lazarus, and watching Halwyn to see if he would make the connection.  It was silly, perhaps, to give a clue like that, but it wasn\'t like Lazarus was the only one to use a phrase like that.

[Saccharin]

The phrase was familiar to him and the only person it reminded him of was Lazarus. Since Ben was evaluating his reaction, he would see Halwyn\'s look of recognition in his raised eyebrows and small smile if he knew what to look for.

"They\'re forming in a straight line," he mumbled.  Unfortunately, in remembering the phrase, he also remembered the tune he associated with it.  Now it would be stuck in his head for several nights.

When they started walking, Ben might have also noticed Halwyn walking at a much faster clip than he had earlier in the night.  Having a destination that ended a shower, new clothes and a nice warm meal gave his stride purpose.

[Trillian]

Ben wasn\'t familiar with the line Halwyn used, for he was far too young to know it.  He let it go, not understanding the quote and figuring it was a reference that didn\'t really include him.  Maybe it was a private joke between him and Lazarus, or maybe Halwyn hadn\'t picked up on Ben\'s use of \'hey ho\' at all.  Ben wasn\'t familiar enough with Halwyn\'s expressions to know what a look of recognition was or wasn\'t, despite his searching for it.  It was hard to know if he was thinking of Lazarus, or if he\'d thought Ben\'s words amusing in their own right.

Ben had a lot of questions for Halwyn about what it was like being in the ground (thinking of his own time in the ground, but that didn\'t count considering it was part of a completely different ritual), and perservered with his questioning whether Halwyn had answers for him or not.  If the other vampire wasn\'t chatty, Ben could do enough chatting for both of them by musing his hypotheses out loud.  If his questions were answered, however, Halwyn would find himself on the sticky end of a very intense interview, for Ben was tenacious when it came to finding out information on subjects about vampirism.


continued in His Other Half