Something Old, Something New (open)

Aishe frowned at Pak.

"You cheated."

The frown wasn't genuine, although the sentiment was. How could anyone score that perfectly in skeeball unless they were employing dubious, underhanded methods? It might have been jealousy; Aishe almost sort of wished she had telekinesis too, if only for the fact that Kiamhaat and Pak seemed to have no end of fun with it.

They had come out to enjoy a night off, but Aishe half suspected Pak of still being slightly shy of the Nachton streets. She couldn't really blame her, she supposed. And she didn't mind spending time with their friend. The arcade had beckoned, though, and they had followed its brightly-lit entry to the fun within. Aishe had already lost at air hockey. Skeeball was only the latest in Pak's repertoire of arcade-driven accomplishments.

Pakpao 14 years ago
“I did not!”

Pak protested. The truth was that sometimes when she went of the deep end in one of her more manic… er energetic phases… she occasionally fixated on skeeball. So she had had –lots- of practice.

“I only cheat at foosball. I never can get those little guys to hit the ball right. And sometimes pool but only if I’m losing very badly.”

She couldn’t help but grin. There weren’t many people in the world that could say they’d beaten Reign at a game of nine ball, but Pak had. It hadn’t been entirely (or indeed at all) on the up and up but she’d won and that’s what mattered.

“Do you suppose this is a non-smoking arcade?”

If nothing else, you should be allowed to smoke after 11pm when all the little kiddies should be in bed and you wouldn’t be contaminating them with second hand smoke.

She wouldn’t say it allowed but it was nice to be out with some one. She was doing a bit better, no where near as jumpy as she’d first been but flying solo still wasn’t much fun for Pak. Sure she –could- do it but she didn’t really like to. It would probably be a while before she enjoyed roaming about on her own again. Regardless, Aishe was always good company and that’s what mattered.
Aishe 14 years ago
Aishe arched her brows at Pak's admission, making a mental note not to take Pak up on a game of foosball at any point in the future. She launched a ball of her own, satisfied when it sailed into the 40 point bracket.

Straightening, hefting her next ball in the palm of her hand, she looked around for the ubiquitous "no smoking" sign. She didn't see it, but she and Pak were hardly the tallest representatives of their race.


"I imagine it is," she answered Pak with a smile. "Why would you want to give me cancer anyhow?"

At Pak's look she protested, "It might happen! I'm young and delicate!"
Pakpao 14 years ago
Without even thinking about it, Pak tossed two balls into the high scoring slot, while grinning to herself, almost able to hear Aishe considering what she’d said about foosball. She followed Aishe’s glance about and had to agree she didn’t see a no smoking sign, but that didn’t always mean anything. As they were still playing, though, she decided to wait a bit before she pushed her luck.

“You are young and delicate like I am sweet and innocent.”

Actually, Aishe was young, but that was besides the point. She snorted at the idea of vampire cancer. Pitching her voice low, so she wouldn’t be over heard and it wouldn’t carry,

“You need practice regenerating things and your lungs and respiratory system are as good as place to start as any.”
Aishe 14 years ago
"Oh, Pak," Aishe said with an air of disappointment, "it's bad enough you're old and jaded... don't add lying to the pile too."

She imagined that if she were Kiamhaat Pak would somehow have managed to lob something heavy in her direction by now. Whether because she had some slight immunity or because she was simply unable to defend herself against that sort of thing, it was a tactic Pak didn't use with her... at least she hadn't yet. Aishe had the feeling her teasing would eventually wear Pak down and some form of retaliation would come her way. Either way, it would be prudent to keep an eye out in all directions, so that was what she did.

She rolled her next ball, sighing slightly as it hopped almost willfully into the lowly 10-point basket, and once again looked at Pak.


"I'd have thought minor lacerations and abrasions would be a good starting point without cutting straight to my respiratory system."

Although, now that Pak mentioned it, Aishe had to agree she wasn't using it for much. It was still a novel idea, that she didn't have to breathe constantly. Blood was still blood, and hers needed some small amount of oxygen to remain alive, but on the whole she really didn't need to breathe as frequently as she did. Force of habit, she mused, kept her doing so.

In the process of looking around (and behind) her, she noted the crwd here was considerably older than she'd have expected. Granted, it was the middle of the night, but the arcade was reasonably full and at least nine tenths of the custom looked to be adults.


"I never knew this place was this popular," she observed out loud, curious as to what Pak would make of it.
Pakpao 14 years ago
“Lying takes too much work. Besides, would a liar have told you that they were a cheat?”

She countered. If Aishe hadn’t been questioning her innate skeeball skills Pak would have had one of Aishe’s balls roll back down the little ramp and land on the girl’s feet. But that would only raise more honesty issues. Something of a catch twenty-two.

Easily tossing her last ball in this set Pak pulled her tickets from the slot and stuck them in her pocket. Some day she’d cash her stockpile in and that would make some poor prize lackey’s life miserable.


“Too easy and too obvious. Now if you wanted to try an amputation that would be one thing but I wouldn’t think you’d want to call that much attention to yourself.”

The crowd didn’t really surprise Pak, but she’d spent her fair of time here.

“It has its moments. Some nights it’s deader than we are. Not a bad mix tonight though, and they’d all probably complain about a clove. Bastards.

She signed, irritated.
Aishe 14 years ago
"I'll settle for merely 'exaggerating the truth' then," Aishe said, unwilling to admit Pak was either innocent or sweet. Kiamhaat had told her far too many stories.

She looked surprised at Pak for a moment.
"But I'm still new at this," she argued mildly. "Easy and obvious works for me!"

All joking aside, she'd already managed to test herself on several occasions, some intentional and some accidental. It was nice to know everything worked as well for her as it seemed to for everyone else.

Pak's next comment made her burst into laughter.
"I've never heard that particular comparison before," she said, covering her mouth with her hand to keep any onlookers from seeing anything pointy. She tended to think her fangs were quite delicate and cute, but cautious as ever, Aishe wasn't about to risk being seen.

Dropping her voice she whispered,
"You're terrible," but there was a grin on her face. "We can go someplace else in a little while."

She didn't dare point out that the arcade had been Pak's idea, not hers.
Amir 14 years ago
Amir hadn't forgotten his promise to Bao. He had laughed to himself when he saw the woman from the magazine picture entering the arcade with a friend. Feeling much better than he had earlier that night he followed them inside, flexing his newly-healed wrist with satisfaction. The place was crowded enough that he was able to keep tabs on both women as they bought drinks and played air hockey, then moved to the skeeball chutes.

He shook his head to himself as he played his own game, figuratively and literally. How easy it was to listen in on the conversation, even with the music playing and the crowd around them.

Well, at least Bao's tastes were good. Pakpao was slender and pretty, very easy to underestimate as were many females of their race. Her bright blue eyes were indeed lovely and she was certainly spirited. Her companion, too, wasn't hard to look at. The younger woman had long, thick black hair and pretty green eyes, a face that was somewhat "girl-next-door" sweet, and a petite figure. Amir liked her accent, placing it immediately into the Middle East. Soft, though, as if she had lived in the US for a while.

Pakpao's next words were graced with a fairly outdated Siamese curse. He glanced at the two women and offered a tentitive smile, letting them know he'd overheard them and was approachable and possibly one of them. It wouldn't do to overwhelm either woman. If Pakpao was as jumpy as Bao had implied, then she was a fly best captured with honey.

Amir glanced at the two again and let his eyes flick back away, almost shyly now, looking as if he were making an effort not to pay attention to them. He tossed a ball up the ramp, easily popping it into the smallest basket and nodding to himself with satisfaction. Games had been invented to keep other skills sharp, after all. All games. For all skills.
Pakpao 14 years ago
Pak ‘harrumphed’ at the idea that she would exaggerate. Apparently Kem had been telling stories. At least Pak was blaming this on Kem and not her own actions. Because, as previously stated, she was sweet and innocent.

She only wiggled her eyebrows at Aishe’s giggles feeling rather pleased with herself that she’d been a bit witty. It wasn’t something she’d said before and might save the joke for another outing with vampires.

She laughed.


“What you want to leave so you can win at something? Or we aren’t going anywhere until you win? Do I need to start throwing games?”

Something about one of the kids caught her eye. She wasn’t sure why. Her first thought was he was far too young to be out this late, and on a school night too. When he managed to make eye contact she returned his smile, almost out of reflex. Her own smile didn’t last long and was vaguely nervous. Was he watching them?

OK even if he was, it didn’t mean anything. Aishe was cute and about his age. She wasn’t terrible to look at and had been hit on before and didn’t –look- too much older than he was. So there wasn’t anything to worry about. Still she wasn’t quite ready to strike up a conversation with someone who wasn’t going to be lunch or already known to her. Although, given that he seemed to have heard them maybe he was looking for a nosh as well.

Pak absently popped another token in the game and started another set.
Aishe 14 years ago
Aishe quirked a grin at Pak. "Heck no, I don't want you to lose just for me. Youth and beauty over age and treachery any day. I will triumph!"

She didn't miss Pak's sudden distraction, or her uncharacteristic smile. Turning, she looked over her shoulder to see a younger man drop his eyes and deftly roll one of the wooden balls up the skeeball ramp. She looked him over for a second. He was pretty cute. Turning back to Pak, she favored her friend with a wide-eyed expression of curiosity.

"What's with the guy? Do you know him?" She dropped her voice even lower. It was very easy to hear each other in here, if one was actively listening and had better-than-usual hearing. She glanced back one more time, but the dark-haired man was intent on his game, waiting resolutely for each previous ball to roll back down before picking the next one up and rolling it.

"Pretty cute," she murmured to Pak.

Normally, she might not have made that observation out loud but she was supposed to be encouraging Pak to be bold and friendly and outgoing, right? Wasn't that how she was supposed to get over this shyness of hers? Besides, according to Kiamhaat it had been a very long time since Pak had had a date. Not that it was any of her business. At all. Nope.


"Go say hi." She kicked Pak in the ankle. Delicately.
Amir 14 years ago
This game, he liked. Not skeeball. That, he was just pretending to focus on while most of his attention was on Pakpao and her friend. As intended they had noticed him there and there had been a token exchange of glances. Pakpao's friend had turned to look at him, and he couldn't help thinking she was very pretty, even if he was biased. He placed her light accent into Egypt and wondered briefly what to make of her.

Vampire, both of them. He'd overheard enough of their conversation already. He had to assume she was Evenhet as well as Pakpao. His research had painted Pakpao as a fairly reclusive person but she seemed comfortable with this woman. It stood to reason that they shared a common Clan. Whose offspring she was, he couldn't guess. He kept his nose from wrinkling up in a sneer at the idea that she might be one of those who didn't know their creators, couldn't trace their lineage, like mutts on the street.

Pakpao had smiled at him, however, and like a good shy boy he had looked away and done his best to seem harmless and a little intimidated. This was Bao's child, and therefore, he mused, his grandchild, he supposed.

The two women had dropped their voices even more and were conferring, but it didn't take a genius to figure out who their topic was. He paid attention to his game instead. Both of them. He was enjoying the sound the wooden skeeballs made when they rolled against each other, a wooden "thock" that sounded oddly out of place in the arcade. After each toss, he waited to hear that noise before picking up the next ball, aware that it would happen regardless of how fast he threw them but savoring the sound and enjoying the symmetry of removing one ball while the previous one rejoined its fellows.

Meanwhile, he waited to see if Pakpao and her friend would move in the direction he intended. If not, he had other methods.
Pakpao 14 years ago
“I think you have that backwards.”

Pak observed casually.

At Aishe’s questioning she took another, more deliberate look at the young man playing near them. He wasn’t aggressive or pushy, at least he wasn’t coming off that way. Maybe almost shy. It wasn’t her experience that boys of his age were terribly shy, but it had been a –very- long time since she’d dealt with any teenagers for any length of time.

She only snorted delicately.


“And I could be his great-great-great-grandmother.”

Was that enough greats? She didn’t think so, she probably needed two more in there, at least. Pak couldn’t help but be aware of the –huge- age difference between Kem and Aishe and it didn’t bother her at all. She, however, wasn’t exactly looking to rob the cradle. Besides, A) it was different when you were both vampires and B) her last serious relationship had been with a mortal and that had ended….abruptly.

By kicking Pak’s ankle Aishe had just given permission for Pak to throw things at her the next time the younger vampire deserved it. Pak rubbed the top of one foot against the assaulted ankle of the other and shook her head. She did manage another smile for the kid but…
Aishe 14 years ago
"Couldn't possibly," Aishe argued back good-naturedly.

Rolling her eyes at Pak's insistence, she dismissed the comment about great grandmothers, having firsthand knowledge that appearance was no indicator of age in their world. Obviously this young man knew something about them, for their conversation could have been overheard with someone whose hearing was on par with theirs. He had, thus far, politely not bothered them. But clearly he was interested in them.

Aishe, being the trusting sort, decided to say hello. With a sunny smile at Pak she turned and approached the black-haired skeeball player. Watching as he tossed several balls straight into the 100 point basket, she laughed softly.


"Come here often?"
Amir 14 years ago
So. it was the pretty Egyptian who had taken the bait, not his child's little mistake. Not too surprising. Given what Bao had related to him, Pakpao was likely to be skittish. No worries. Amir had confidence in his ability to win people over. Not everything was all fists and weapons for him.

As the dark-haired woman spoke, he deliberately tossed one of the skeeballs into the minimum point basket as if she'd broken his concentration. Turning and summoning up his "good boy' smile once more, he tilted his head at her.


"Generally only when it's lively," he said softly, loud enough for her and her companion to hear but not loud enough that the general populace could make out the words.

Casting a sideways glance at the girl he added in a conspiratorial fashion,
"If you'll pardon the assumption, I might suggest the laser tag arena if you're here for the same reason as I."

((ooc: I'm assuming there's a laser tag arena. I think every big huge arcade place has a laser tag arena!))
Aishe 14 years ago
Aishe wasn't surprised at the man's immediate implications; in fact, she allowed herself a laugh. Her eyes danced as she glanced in the direction of the laser tag stage.

"I would imagine the fare there is a little young. Although the ambiance is intriguing."

She was intrigued; Aishe loved meeting new people, especially new vampires. The one thing she'd learned was that everyone had a story to tell. Sometimes many stories. And for one such as she, who had spent her relatively short life seeking stories out of the past, the prospect of meeting people who had lived through history was attractive and irresistable.

She noted the man had an accent, very understated, but similar to her own. It didn't surprise her, for he had the appearance of one born in a similar region as she. His skin said he had spent his youth outdoors; his eyes were deep dark pools that, for the moment, seemed friendly enough. He was not tall, nor was he physically imposing. As specimens went, he was handsome but not very frightening. Still, Aishe knew better than to assume anything. It didn't mean she wasn't going to be friendly though.
Amir 14 years ago
Amir caught himself grinning genuinely at the girl. She seemed plucky enough. "You'd be surprised," he said to her. "It's very popular, and at this time of night everyone with an ego to feed is in there trying to outshoot his pal."

Amir wasn't exaggerating; he'd certainly taken advantage of the dimly-lit maze of carpeted pillars and blocks. His newly-healed wrist and back were testament to just how easy it was to waylay not one, but several players. He shook his head.


"I guess in a way it's not really fair. We do have the advantage."

He did not need to verify their identity, but he knew they would want confirmation of his. Amir didn't hesitate to give it. His goal here involved having Pakpao trust him. There was no reason to hide anything yet.

Focusing on her friend, since that seemed the only way to get to her for now, Amir held his hand out.
"My name is Amir, by the way."
Aishe 14 years ago
Aishe shook her head, unable to argue with the man's logic. Clearly, he wasn't a newcomer to the arcade, or, she thought, to the hunt.

"I had never considered it," she mused, "but you've given me some food for thought." Her eyes danced at the unintentional pun and the look on his face said he recognized it too.

She clasped his proffered hand without hesitation, for with her particular ability she had found that meeting people also offered her a somewhat unfair advantage in sizing them up. She was gaining control over the gift and she invoked it now at the contact of their hands.

The colors she saw floating in the air around him were well-defined and sharply angled, indicating that she was seeing some of the dominant aspects of his personality. Dark red indicated someone with a strong will, possibly very stubborn. There was also a yellow tinted with orange - a perfectionist. Possibly more than that since it was so strong. This Amir liked details, organization. She saw yellow often as a sign of intelligence and good education. Over everything was a sort of fuzzy gray, something she saw (along with the dark red) almost every time she used her empathy on a vampire. It meant they were being guarded, or withholding information. That was certainly the case here, as they had just met.

There was nothing in Amir's aura that suggested he was any more or any less than what he appeared - a fellow vampire. The dark red was typical of those who had lived for some time, she'd found. Stubbornness and a will to survive were necessary to make it past the first few centuries of life unless they had been very sheltered. It was a color Kiamhaat had in spades, and she was well-acquainted with it. The gray, too, was typical. No vampire revealed everything about themselves in one meeting. Again, guardedness was a necessity for them. She'd have been suspicious if she hadn't seen it.


"I'm Aishe," she said easily. Turning, she indicate her companion. "This is Pak."
Pakpao 14 years ago
Pak was happy enough to let Aishe be the social one. She was still a bit leery of strangers. Perhaps she was too suspicious of new people, especially of late, but she was of the opinion that Aishe could be too trusting. So, she was simply being the ying to her yang, or something like that, to find a happy medium.

Watching the other skee ball player, she decided that so far he seemed OK and not terribly likely to do anything rash. In fact, he seemed pleasant enough, hell he actually smiled again. Of course, he wouldn’t know that part of that had to do with running through the mall and nailing Kem with a water gun, laser tag was for wimps. She liked crowds and H2O, it was just more fun.

As Aishe shook his hand Pak could only assume she was making use of one her particular talents. While Pak didn’t like empaths as a general rule, she wasn’t above making use of the information.

[Well… what do you make of him?]

She sent, more than a little curious. Pak also recognized her queue and offered her own hand.


“Nice to meet you.”

OK so it wasn’t exactly chatty, witty or otherwise engaging but she did manage a decent smile and a good handshake. She was also a bit thankful for her subterfuge, just in case Amir shared Ashie’s abilities. No sense advertising her feelings to every one in a five-mile radius.
Aishe 14 years ago
Pak's voice in her head was surprising, but not entirely so. Aishe knew Pak was still a little jumpy so it stood to reason she'd want the lowdown.

[The same I would make of any vampire I'd just met,] she said with a mental shrug. [He's probably older than he looks, and he's a little reserved, but that's it.]

If Pak wanted to know more she would be happy to explain later on, or in further sendings. That was the long and short of it though. Aishe was guessing on the man's age, but she had seen a good deal of that hardcore survival instainct pop up when she used her empathy around older vampires, so if her theory was correct it meant this Amir had more than just a couple of years under his belt.
Amir 14 years ago
"You too," Amir said, shaking first Aishe's hand and then Pak's. He made note of Aishe's name, satisfied in his guesswork. It was an Egyptian name with particular meaning. He wondered if it fit her personality.

"I don't suppose you'd let me buy you both a drink? I haven't been in Nachton very long and it's good to meet some new people."

That wasn't too big of a stretch. Rule one for liars: stick as close to the truth as possible. Amir was never opposed to meeting new vampires. What he did with them once he knew where they'd come from was another story. Obviously Pak was a special case, but her dark-haired friend might have to be controlled. He wasn't going to burn that bridge before he crossed ti though; plenty of Evenhet were from very old lines. Perhaps she, too, would see the sense in reuniting their Clans.

In the meantime his thoughts were carefully hidden behind a friendly and apparently open mask. Amir hadn't gotten where he was these days without learning the fine art of the bluff and using it as needed, whenever he needed.
Pakpao 14 years ago
OK she was obviously being paranoid. She knew Aishe wasn’t a mind reader and that there wouldn’t be a lot to gather in a twenty second meeting. Pak actually smiled and her ‘voice’ actually had a bit of a laugh to it.

[Alright Karnack, I get your point. Let me know if he gets super odd on us.]

Still it was enough to get her to relax a little bit.

She absently cocked her head at Amir wondering just how honest the offer was. But decided that even if he was some kind of hard-core killer she wasn’t alone. Besides, both she and Aishe could mentally shout for help pretty good if they had to.

Willing herself to let her guard down a little bit Pak nodded.


“If you don’t mind a little clove smoke… I think Aishe needs a reprieve from my incredible skee ball skills.”