[Jaykobell]

It was a charming blond-haired man who sat at a random table in the club. He was alone, with a single, small glass of alcohol in front of him, one that hadn't been touched yet. The night was still young, and by the Gods, he knew he had quite a lot of stress to let out on this night. His posture indicated as much, slightly slumped over in his chair as he toyed with the rim of the little glass.

Of course, this wasn't just your typical "free for all" nightclub filled with underage teenagers with fake IDs and drug abusers. No, this one was a lot more proper, and more for the people who just genuinely wanted to drink for the sake of a good time. Security was a bit tighter here, and no teenager was allowed. It wasn't a bar for the fancy and the rich, but it was definitely for a specific category of people. The atmosphere was a lot more mellow, the dancing was more oriented towards slow dances and waltzes, and you could even come here to have a nice meal with your drink. It was a quiet, proper atmosphere, and that was exactly what he needed when he was stressed.

Ah, what was he doing with his life? For someone with a relatively immortal lifespan, he sure wasn't taking advantage of it. He had a young girl to take care of, one who had been abandoned when she was but a newborn, and that was the closest thing to a "life" that he'd accomplished. Otherwise, his parents were disappointed in him - they weren't actually saying it, but at times, it was clearly obvious they didn't approve of his hobbies and how he was handling his life. Then his older sister was always on his case, telling him to get a grip with his life, to do something with it. She was just as lost as he was, so who was she to give him so much grief all the time? Because she was a few decades older than him didn't mean anything.

He picked up the little glass and chugged the contents in one go. He had no intentions of getting drunk, but getting just a little tipsy, just enough to numb his problems away, would be enough. It was just one of those nights when all those things stacked up on top of each other all at once, to the point where he just needed something to help him take a step back. Just long enough for him to realize that it didn't matter, that eventually things would fall into place.

[Atoli01]

Tonight's accomplishments warranted a celebration. Or, at the very least, a few spare moments to relish in her freedom and calm down. Of course... she wasn't really free. As second she finished one draft was the second that a due date was put on her next. She had narrowly submitted the document in time-- a mere two hours before the specified due date-- though it was still the fact that she did it, and it was done, and it was on time. If she'd have been smart, she'd have been seated at home at this second outlining the novel's next chapter, however, she wasn't. She'd never been one before to work like that. In her defense, she wasn't entirely sure how to go about writing the scene...

And such was the reason she found herself here, standing at the counter of bar and waiting for a nice, fruity drink to up her mood. The brunette twirled a short lock of hair around her finger as she leaned over the counter, flirting innocently enough with the bartender. She had asked the man which drink he recommended fitting the description, and he told her he'd whip one right up. A writer friend of her's had told her about the place, and her curiosity just couldn't be kept at bay. She couldn't say she hated the place; the atmosphere was nice, the aesthetics pleasing, and the music choices much more refined than that of other bars she had been to her in the past. Not only that, but she noted the spark of interest in the bartender's eyes; maybe she could score herself a free by the end of the night!

The woman flashed her trademark dazzling smile at the man and thanked him as he handed her her drink. She left the counter, making sure to add an extra bit of emphasis to her hip movements. Give the guy something to stare at, eh? Quickly, however, she came to the realization that her exit wasn't nearly as suave as she had thought it to be. She had nowhere to sit, and no one to sit with. Being alone at a bar was a thing she'd prefer to avoid, if at all possible. But the woman had Lady Luck on her side tonight, as her eyes which frantically scanned the room locked onto a certain blonde man. Hey! They already had some common ground; he was alone, she was alone... Kill the misery of two birds with one stone! Wasn't how the saying went, but she couldn't muster the will within herself to care.

She strutted across the floor, stopping at the side of the table opposite to the man. "My, my, you aren't saving that seat there for anyone, are you?"

[Jaykobell]

He often visited the clubs and the bars on his own, considering he wasn't really someone who went out with a group. While he did that too, he usually preferred to keep to his own things. That was especially the case when he wasn't feeling well, and when he just needed some time for himself.

Still, that wasn't to say he wasn't against striking up a conversation with a stranger. If someone approached him — which did happen often in this kind of environment — he wouldn't be against having some small talk. He looked around, taking in the surroundings. Sometimes he saw some people — well, some women, really — who looked interesting. He was all for a bit of fun with another, but he had no interest in the intoxicated and the prostitutes. If he felt lonely and another girl also felt lonely, why couldn't they keep each other company? It was all in good taste and in good fun.

He was busy looking the other way when he heard someone approaching his table. By the time he'd turned around, there was a woman standing over on the opposite side, and it turned out that she was looking for a seat. He looked up at the brunette as she spoke, and he flashed a small smile. "Heh, I'm afraid not," he replied back, slowly straightening up in his chair. It wouldn't do for him to look like a bum with no manners, hm? "As alone and single as can be," he added with a chuckle, and he raised a hand to motion for her to sit down, if she wanted. "What's a fair lady like you doing on her own tonight?"

[Atoli01]

She grinned at the man's offer. Perfect. "Then we can be alone and single together." She winked and took the man up on it, pulling out the chair to take a seat. "Though I suppose that wouldn't make us alone anymore. Maybe we can see about the single part later?" She meant it half-jokingly of course, though if the stranger ended up meeting her standards, then... But then again, a relationship wasn't a thing that much caught her attention. Maybe a little flirting, a kiss or two, maybe a little farther, but it wasn't anything, she'd figured, that would last. That was what she liked about bars, though. Sad people looking to have a good time, or happy people looking to have a good time, they really all had one goal. Those saps that came to a bar looking for anything more irritated her.

"Oh, I just got done with a big project at work and figured I'd let myself have a little fun. You know, the usual," she replied with a nonchalant shrug. She took a sip of her drink before she set it down on the table in front of her. Sweet. She liked it. Not a clue in the world what it was, but she liked it. She propped her head up with her hand and folded her legs under the table. "And you? It's really a pity for a fine man such as yourself to have been sitting alone. Lucky I came along, hm?"

[Jaykobell]

The first impression he got from this woman was that she was definitely outgoing, and far from being a shy one. There was nothing wrong with that: a tough, independent woman was equally interesting as the gentler, quieter ones. He was interested in all women, really, so long as they didn't have a nasty attitude. "Heh, we'll see about that," he chuckled, raising a curious eyebrow at her, a grin on his face that indicated he would be willing to take the challenge. Settling down wasn't really for him, though, at least not right now; and if this girl was confident enough to bring that topic up so casually, he could only assume that she wasn't too much into settling down, either.

He continued to toy with the rim of his glass as she spoke, a finger circling along the rim. Ah, a working woman: he was familiar with that kind of person. "A businesswoman, hm?" he mused, casually passing a hand through his short hair. He chuckled a little when she asked about his own reason for being here, but honestly, he didn't have much to say. "Ah, just unwinding from all that life has to give me," he replied with a sigh, scratching his head. "So I have to say that I am lucky that you passed right by my table," he added, giving the woman in front of him a small grin; and that moment, something about his teeth stood out. Namely, he had a pair of sharp canines pointing downward, shining under the mellow lights of the club.

"Though, I think I forgot my manners for a little while there," he added as he leaned forward across the table just a little bit, stretching out an arm to offer a handshake to the girl ahead. "My name is Hamilcar. What about you?"

[Atoli01]

"I suppose you could say that. I work with books," she elaborated, a single finger lightly tapping her cheek. Business woman to author was quite a stretch, although if you really did want to be general about things, she did work with a company. A publishing one. She wouldn't delve any further into the subject for the moment, unless the man inquired upon the subject.

But oh, how she was glad to have her importance confirmed by this man, even if it was only for the night. She just loved being able to make a person's night, and she was thankful she discovered the beauty of the bar scene, just for the ease in the thing. She hummed a quiet, "You're welcome~" under her breath as she let the hint of a small smile sink onto her face, matching that of the man's. She took another short sip of her drink, but at that moment, something seemed off about the man in front of her. Unable to make out what had changed, or what it was exactly that she had seen, she wrote it off as only her imagination.

With a bit of enthusiasm, she set her drink back down on the table and took hold of the man's hand, giving it a gentle shake. "I think manners in bars and manners elsewhere are a bit different, so you're fine. My name's Imogen, but call me Immy. No clue why my parents thought to name me that," she responded. She took a moment to drink in the man's features before adding, "Tell me something about yourself. Something, anything. Let's start off light, okay? We have time for that deeper, darker stuff if we have a bit too much." She tipped her glass in his direction, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.

[Jaykobell]

Book, was it? Hamilcar wasn't much of a reader, though he knew that his parents both enjoyed reading and writing. The thought passed in his mind as to whether or not they might've heard of this particular woman before, but that would be a question for another time.

The night had started just right between the two of them, and admittedly, he liked where this was going. She didn't sound too fazed by his lack of introduction, and her own had been good enough to make him chuckle. "I think your name is just fine, Immy," he replied to her comment, returning the handshake as they properly sealed the introduction. "I can't tell why my parents named me this way, either, though you could say... Mine come from a different era." He showed his teeth a little as a he grinned and hinted at something more, and while his canines were slightly visible, it was hard to tell.

He sat back down once they were done shaking hands, and he was going to ordering another small glass before Imogen asked him to start talking. That was fine and good, up until she seemingly allured to... something more. At that part, he showed his teeth as he grinned, making the canines visible again. "I do like the deeper, darker stuff, if I say so myself," he laughed, relaxing a bit in his chair, now that he knew Imogen seemed like a casual kind of girl. No need to stand up straight and be prime and proper: just decent. "Ah, something about me..." he started, mulling it over as he looked back at his empty glass, circling the rim passively again. "Well, I'm the second youngest child of a family of five. My father started a successful business, and my oldest sister is running it with him. I live on my own, and I guess I consistently prove to my parents that I'll never be as successful as all my other siblings," he said, and despite how depressing his description was, he said it all with a smile on his face. Those problems did bother him, but he was with someone now; so there was no other option but making light of them and playing the carefree card.

"What about you, hm?" he inquired afterwards, tilting his head at her. "You mentioned working with books, is that right?"

[Atoli01]

Something itched at the back of her neck whenever the man smiled. It wasn't an unpleasant feeling necessarily, but it was one that made her crane her neck to try and spot anything off, an itch that just couldn't be scratched. Once more, she tried to wave the thought off, and smiled when the man agreed to the little game. "Then maybe I won't have to get you as drunk as I thought, then. Things are no fun if we're all too drunk to remember a thing." Her voice was light-hearted and chipper, as if she had been telling a joke to a young child.

She listened attentively to his more in-depth introduction, and the way in which he divulged the information made her smirk. "Then make that two rejects sitting at this table, then. We seem to have so much in common!" She didn't have any siblings in her case, but it didn't make her parents like her any more. "Oh, but parents can be a real pain, hm?" Again, leave the information ambiguous. His asking would be enough proof to her that he was interested. And, surely enough, the first question returned to her was concerning the very first subject which she had left open. "To answer your question, I'm actually a writer," she told him. Her finger traced the rim of her glass as she stared into the light pink beverage. "Romance. Stuff that would get turned into chick flicks if given the chance. Keeps me going, what can I say?" Her eyes flicked up to him, watching for any sort of reaction she could get.

Now, she only needed to ask him about that smile. Attractive, but something else in it too. Teeth...? Lips...? No, teeth.

[Jaykobell]

"Heh, well, I don't quite recommend anyone get that drunk," Hamilcar replied, tapping the rim of his glass. Which was still empty. "Different strokes for different folks, but yes, I like remembering what I did. I also like it when I have enough lucidity to make my own decisions." Indeed, there was enough of the fact that his parents didn't approve of his... hobbies. If he got insanely drunk and did horrible mistakes, they would probably disown him right then and there. Ah, he really needed another glass, now...

As Imogen continued to talk, Hamilcar could easily pick up that she seemingly had her own parental problems. He let her speak for a time, taking in the information she had to give him. Small talk was the best way to settle into a friendly relationship, one that wouldn't make the separation awkward, but also not disheartening. You couldn't get too attached when you came here, but you couldn't really stay numb to everyone else, either.

After Imogen was done talking, Hamilcar was about to reply, when a waiter came by their table. He'd noticed Hamilcar's glass being empty, and so he offered him another glass. Hamilcar was grateful for the waiter coming by, since he hadn't had the guts to interrupt his conversation with Imogen — or more like, he just hadn't had an opportunity to awkwardly interrupt it. He thanked the waiter as the employee left with his empty glass in order to go get him another one.

"Sorry about that," Hamilcar apologized lightly, chuckling just a bit. "Parents can be a little overbearing... but I do love mine. They do support me; I can't really complain," he replied to that comment first, chuckling a bit. As much as they disagreed with his hobbies, they still continued to give him money and they still let him do just about whatever he wanted. "But from your own words, I can't tell if that's much of the same for your own parents, hm?"

By the time he was done talking on the matter of parents, the waiter was back with another glass of alcohol. Hamilcar thanked the waiter, and he immediately took the opportunity to take a sip. "As for your job," he started again, once he was done taking a few sips of his drink, "you don't sound like the romantic type," he teased, and he was clearly trying to hold a grin in, but he failed to show a mouthful of teeth again. "I thought the romantic girls were all shy and quiet — not quite so colorful as you are." He didn't mean it in a bad way, either, which was why he was grinning and making playful expressions. Still, sometimes the girls got upset when he said those things, not taking too kindly to his jokester personality. Imogen seemed capable of taking a jab or two, though, from what he could tell.

[Atoli01]

She waved off Hamilcar's apology nonchalantly, telling him, "No, no, don't worry about a thing. We are here to drink anyway, aren't we?" She couldn't get mad a man for getting another drink at a bar. It'd be like yelling at a person for wanting to go swimming at a beach. "Ah, my parents? Hmm... they're nice people, but they expected me to take a different path in life. Like... being a doctor, or police officer," she responded. It was really a hassle, in her mind, that angels were always expected to be all for those surrounding them. Not all of us were holy, benevolent creatures twenty-four seven. "I visit them sometimes, but they don't really want to have much to do with me." Of course, she couldn't blame them. She was basically the laughing stock of the family, regardless of how much fame she allotted.

She chuckled at his teasing. "Yes, as for my job..." she took a deep breath, another grin appearing on her face again. "I think it's better for people in the genre to be a bit more... outgoing. I don't quite believe in death of the author, to put it quite simply." She saw more than anyone in the business the amount of wallflowers there were in comparison to writers like her, but things simply couldn't come off as realistic and fantastic if one only had their head floating up in the clouds all day. It was like an artist playing around with one of those wood dolls, to see the perfect angle. "Things just... work better with a reference."

After a moment of staring once more at the pink liquid in her glass, she looked up at Hamilcar and wagged her finger in his direction. "By the way-- I haven't gotten to ask my question. What's the deal with those teeth you keep flashing?"

[Jaykobell]

Hamilcar chuckled when Imogen spoke of her parents. "It sounds like our parents are alike, as we are to each other," he pointed out with a chuckle, taking another small sip of his glass. "My parents have equally high expectations out of me, and all of my siblings, of course." He sighed a little at those words. "I suppose I can't blame them. They had a hard time when they were younger." "Younger" was a bit relative here, but as far as his parents were concerned, it fitted the bill enough, for the sake of the conversation. "Though it's unfortunate your own parents can't get over themselves, for your sake."

Hamilcar raised an eyebrow at Imogen's comment on "death of the author". That was short-lived, though, as he chuckled a little at her following comment. "I can't quite say I know what 'death of the author' refers to. You might need to enlighten me," he said, shuffling a bit in his chair again to get a different position. If he always stayed in the same position, he'd get numb and tense fast. "But I agree on references. Artists use those all the time, don't they?" He tapped his glass and laughed just a bit at that. "Not that I'm one myself, mind you."

He tilted his head when Imogen started pointing at him, and he blinked when she questioned his teeth. "Hm? What teeth?" He took a second to pass his tongue over his teeth — keeping his mouth closed while he did that, of course — and it took him a few solid seconds to catch on to what she'd meant. When he did realize what teeth he'd been "flashing", he just laughed; and then there they were again.

"I'm sorry. Do you mean these?" He left his mouth open and he tapped one of the canines, which were really the only teeth that technically didn't belong there. They were such a part of him, though, that he didn't consider them "abnormal" the same way humans did. "Well... I'm not sure if you've met a vampire before?" he asked, and then he took a small sip of his drink before chuckling again. "If not, well, you've met one now."

[Atoli01]

She found herself grinning just the slightest bit at Hamilcar's request. It didn't surprise her; she figured that most people outside of the writing circle wouldn't know much about it. Not only that, but it made her feel a bit of power when she had the ability to teach others things they didn't already know. "Death of the author. In the most basic sense, the belief that a book and its author should be looked at as two separate entities entirely. But I think there's quite a bit to be learned about the author through his or her books, and vice versa." Just like a person's taste in music or art was a defining quality, so was the writing an author produced. "That is to say, I'm not afraid of including my own experiences in a story, so long as they fit," she went on to say, showing him a small smile and hoping he understood what she was getting on to.

She leaned back in her chair after the question was posed, waiting for Hamilcar to register her words. It was quite funny, the confusion that was written across his face in the first few moments. It seemed he realized what she meant however, when he answered her question. It surprised even herself, but she simply... wasn't very shocked. Instead, she merely brought her hand to her glass, letting her fingers rest in the condensation now forming on the side, as she looked up at him. "Ah, is that so? It seems we have another thing in common then, go figure! Not that I'm a vampire, but I'm not exactly human either." His secret was out; she doubted Hamilcar would be one run off and announce her's to the entire bar.

[Jaykobell]

Hamilcar listened, his hands cupping his drink, as Imogen spoke. First by explaining the meaning behind the death of the author, and hinting at something more. He noticed her quieting down just a bit after he'd showed her the canines, though. One hand let go of his glass so he could prompt the arm on its elbow, and then his face on his fist, looking over at Imogen curiously; all the while with a smile on his face, of course. "Well, everything so far has been very fascinating, much like this concept you described," he pointed out, closing his eyes as he relaxed and let the words sink in. "I don't suppose one of your future books will involve the protagonist meeting a charming vampire in a club?" he teased, opening just one eye to look back at her.

"But in all seriousness," he added, prompting himself up from his fist, "I'm a bit surprised to hear you're not human. It does make things all the more interesting; so pray tell, what are you, Immy?" He was fine with humans, but he honestly didn't meet non-humans all that often. They preferred to stay away from the humans, considering the usual prejudices they had over inhuman creatures. Even if those creatures adopted a human form, their more striking characteristics were often enough to earn them some nasty looks, and sometimes more. From one non-human to another, though, it was always all in good fun.

[Atoli01]

Ah, what a clever question. She smiled to herself as she traced patterns with her finger on the outside of her glass. "Well telling you right yet would ruin the fun in it, wouldn't it? Though... if that said charming vampire continues woo the protagonist as he is now..." she flashed Hamilcar a mischievous grin, as if she was challenging him. If there was one thing she had to admit, it was that Hamilcar had wracked up more points with her already than many other less attractive, bumbling men she had met in the past wracked up in an entire night. She was enjoying herself.

"Well if you really must know... I'm an angel," she answered him. It was probably because of the fact that she wasn't exactly human either that she had no problem believing that the man was a vampire. Well, that, coupled with the teeth, of course. Unless he had gotten some... interesting surgery done, or was wearing fakes, those were definitely proof enough. "I mean... I know I'm an angel by behavior," she laughed, though she didn't believe the words herself. "but I actually am an angel." Thinking back on it, she had never told such a thing to someone who wasn't an angel themselves. That kind of thing... wasn't brought up in conversations with humans, and if it was, it was only said ironically. Which, of course, she laughed at and joked about.

[Jaykobell]

Hamilcar laughed when Imogen refused to tell him about the book, though she had given him yet another challenge. It was a bit of a hard situation for him; he was a bit more comfortable with quieter girls, considering he wasn't too much of an outgoing guy, himself. He was definitely friendly, and he could definitely talk, but Imogen made him sound like a timid little recluse.

He was surprised when she admitted to him that she was an angel. That had been completely unexpected, and honestly, he didn't think there were any angels on earth. Of his knowledge on angels... to be frank, he didn't think they existed in that manner. Admittedly, her angel origins did tie in with something else of his, but that wasn't something he was willing to disclose: nor was it something he should disclose. Not unless he'd been given instructions to say it.

He had seemingly stared off for a moment, eventually shaking his head and trying to clear his head. "An angel, eh? That's unheard of, at least for me," he admitted, looking down at his drink. He was almost out again, what a downer. "Which does make me wonder how this charming vampire is supposed to keep wooing the protagonist," he teased, though this time, he was being somewhat honest. He was familiar with vampires and humans, and a few other non-humans, but angels? No, he couldn't say he'd ever met any before.