To most, the day was a lovely one. Just a few thin, puffy clouds floated in the sky, giving a little contrast to the bright sun overhead. Just a small cool breeze to keep the townspeople comfortable in that heat, and by definition, it was a beautiful, perfect day.
To most: but not to him.
He wasn't exactly imposing, by any means, though his short brown hair and his glasses gave him a certain label. He was dressed rather nicely, looking nothing short of a child prodigy attending a rich private school. Ironically enough, all of that couldn't be any further from the truth. Under the looks were enough problems for a lifetime; amongst those problems was the fact he had barely any money, and no longer a place to call home. Not until he fulfilled his promise; not until he could accomplish the task he'd been given.
On a bright day such as this, it was difficult to stay focused. He avoided looking up at the sky, even keeping a hand over his forehead to block the sun as much as possible. He was eternally grateful for the breeze and the winds that stirred up now and again, but those were barely enough to keep him from feeling lightheaded and dizzy. A faint sense of nausea was starting to set in, and the fact he hadn't eaten in a while was only making it worse.
"Time to stop, don't you think?" a little voice told him; and although the boy was alone, a sudden voice speaking to him didn't seem to surprise him.
"No," he replied to the voice, frowning at the godforsaken sun over his head.
"You'll faint if you stay under the sun for too long," the little voice reminded him, and he felt something tickling him behind his neck.
"You know that, don't you? Vampires don't like the sun.""So then?" the boy hissed quietly through gritted teeth, stopping under a building's shadow, just to hide from the sun for a bit.
"Tell me something I don't know.""Some human businesses offer blood," the voice continued, and then the boy felt that tickling sensation moving a little bit through his hair, by the back of his head.
"Try asking.""That's a ridiculous and dangerous idea," the boy pointed out to the disembodied voice, leaning against the building to regain some energy.
"What if they don't carry any?""You ignore them; make light of it, and leave," the voice said simply, and the tickling sensation stopped.
"And then you move on to another business. You have nothing to lose anymore; you know that, don't you?"There was no response from the boy, apart from an exasperated sigh as he forced himself straight. He waited for the slight dizziness to go away before he started walking again, quite literally walking into the first business he saw: a little thing called the Plush Cafe. The name alone gave the boy a bad feeling in his gut; a business with that cute a name surely wouldn't be offering something like blood as part of their menu.
But it was true, wasn't it? He had nothing to lose anymore.
He stepped inside the little cafe warily, his eyes flicking this way and that. He tried to keep himself from looking nervous or unsure, though his quiet, somewhat introverted behavior made it obvious that he wasn't comfortable being here.
He waited for his turn, approaching the counter when the clients in front of him stepped aside. He tried to stay calm as he walked up to the counter, though he was nervous at the thought of regular customers hearing his order.
"Hi," he greeted a little awkwardly, his eyes actively avoiding eye-contact with the one taking the orders.
"I... was curious to know if blood is part of your menu," he asked, though he flinched internally at how ridiculous it sounded. He'd tried to speak softly, so the clients around him wouldn't hear it, but even asking the man behind the counter alone was embarrassing enough. He could only hope that his wording had been familiar and casual enough that, in the worst case scenario, the man would think the boy to be a prankster. Maybe brush him off and tell him to get out of his business.