A Semi-Usual Day (Private RP)

[Jordan Hielo]

(( Veranda and Jordan ))

If one were to take a walk down through the busiest part of the plaza, they would come up across a rather large building, two stories high, with two shop signs on it. Through two large windows, one on either side of the door, you could see two different shops, joined together in one common building. One was the treasure shop, owned by one Roland Longfellow. The other was the hunting store, owned by a Jordan Hielo.

Why were there two shops in one building? To house the hunters circle. The second story of the building was home to a large round table, with furs and trophies from hunts all around. Papers scattered the table for job opportunities.

But today was the middle of the week, in the middle of the day. It was time to work, not hunt. So Jordan Hielo sat in his shop, behind the counter with his feet propped up on the table. In his hands, he was carefully fiddling away with a blade, carving some arrows. Taking no notice to the door. Sometimes someone would walk in and look around at the shelves of merchandise, maybe ask him a few questions. He would smile, be polite, chat away. But most of his attention was on the arrows. Some would buy, some would just leave. And for the most part he was having an ordinary day.

Except of course for the fact that his girlfriend had just left him. It just was not working out, for the most part. But Jordan was still a bit put off by it. He tried to not let it affect his day- though his smile wasn't quite as big, or genuine. His usual firm handshake was just a bit weaker. Perhaps this was why he was fiddling away with the arrows so much- to keep himself busy.

After all, it seemed that his relationships hadn't worked out so far. His first girlfriend turned out to not even be alive. The second just left.

Jordan's hand slipped, and the arrow fell to the ground. With a slight sigh he dropped his feet to the ground, and picked it up. While raising his head back up, he bumped his head a bit roughly on the edge of the counter. He grabbed the back of his head as he winced, muttering a curse word as he shook it off and began going at the arrow once more.

[Veranda Kingsford]

Veranda’s insomnia hadn’t been letting up. It had been getting worse in fact. Longer and longer the days stretched on and longer she sat staring at the wall while Julien slept and Cori…did whatever it was Cori did, since Cori didn’t actually sleep, she found out. As a human these fits would come and go, but this was the first time she had one as a vampire, and she wondered how long it would last. Weeks? Months? Years? Being undead meant she could live forever, if you took out variables like being killed by angry mobs and such. And if one lived forever how long was a bout of insomnia? Was three years of not sleeping considered short? Perhaps. But Veranda was still new to being a vampire and not quite used to it, and frankly, she liked sleeping too. She was beyond the point of exhaustion now, and boredom was awful. So what was there to do? Sit in a dark cellar and creep on spiders like Cori? No. Veranda would do what she did best as a human. Pretend to be normal.

She dressed and was out the door, not bothering to be quiet and not caring if either of her male companions would follow to babysit her to make sure she didn’t slaughter half the town like she did Merovech. She didn’t think they would. She gained enough trust from her teachers and herself at this point. When drunken halfwits came staggering up to her she could easily dismiss them now. When half beaten, bleeding, drunken half wits came stumbling up to her it was probably going to be a different story, but as of yet that scenario had yet to come true. That was liable to happen during the night, and she was never alone at night. Who got shit-faced in the day and beaten bloody and tossed out the doors anyhow? The real low lives liked to wait till the sun was tucked away before they came crawling out, and that was fine. It was when she hunted after all. But she was not hungry, and that was good. She wasn’t very social though, and that wasn’t. But she needed some new blades, her large supply of small blades having been reduced. Plus she wanted to get some new whetstones for sharpening. And maybe she just wanted to eyeball a few new pretty sharp toys the same way girls eyed jewelry they knew their husbands would never buy them or they would never wear, but they stared at anyway.

Veranda walked into the town, long strides, confident, and equipped with the short sword on her back that Julien gave her. That and a few hidden blades. With the weather warming up Veranda liked she shed her layers, so her pale legs were clearly visible in the broad daylight as she wore leather shorts, a simple cotton shirt, and a light coat with a hood, which she kept pulled up to block the sun from her eyes. Since joining the undead she had been commanded to walk only at night, so walking during the day hurt her eyes.

She found a place that looked promising, a store of sorts for hunters. Maybe they would have blades? If not surely some whetstones. She slipped inside, ignoring the looks of distaste she got from some well dressed ladies out front, and pushed back the hood, allowing her raven hair to fall free. She glanced about the shop, taking in the sights, and noted something that struck her first. The shopkeeper was incredibly handsome. He could give Julien a run for his money. The thought made Veranda smile, almost giggle actually. She wondered how Julien would react if he knew that thought. Jealousy? Who knew? The mutt had been so distant with Veranda lately it was hard to read him. Veranda had decided to let him do his thing, and she’d do hers. And her thing was to buy what she wanted in this shop with money that may or may not have been honestly come by.

She turned and perused the shelves a moment, one hand on her hip, debating whether or not to strike up a conversation with the shopkeeper. Her eyes landed on a few blades and she paused, looking them over. She lifted a few, tossed them into the air in a few pretty and elegant moves, before setting them back, not satisfied with them. The blades she needed were simple, basic. She wondered if perhaps she should go to a smithy instead? It’d be so expensive though. She turned and walked up to the counter where the shopkeep was.

“I have a question.” She said, flashing a charming smile at him, which also flashed her fangs. She flicked her wrist and produced a simple blade, lightweight, razor sharp and double edged, no longer than her hand from tip to handle. She placed the blade on the desk, where it glimmered in the light, as if daring anyone not educated in the world of weapons to try to touch it. “Do you have a collection of blades similar to these? They’re throwing knives, and I would need them to be about the same length and weight if possible.” She said, leaning against the counter.

[Jordan Hielo]

Jordan hadn't even noticed the woman come in as he fiddled with the arrow. Until that is, she approached the counter. He looked up, eying her over before she began to speak. A pretty woman, of course. Though he seemed to run into a lot of those; Jordan wasn't exactly thinking about that right now. A man just broken up with could go many ways. He was one to not even take a second glance at those he found attractive.

Another thing that went through his mind, were her teeth. Fangs. He had only caught a glimpse of them, but that was enough. Was she a werewolf? A vampire?
Bloody hell, I don't know. It's impossible to tell what's what and who's who in this city

He listened carefully as she spoke, wondering why a woman like this would ever want throwing knives so nice. But, he had to remember that Avaleur was an odd and interesting place. It was hard not to surprise someone here.

He carefully picked up the blade with one hand, twirling it a bit to get a good look. It was a nice blade, and clear to Jordan that it was something worked hard on. He studied the length, and thought of the other blades in his collection.

The elemental then lightly tossed it up in the air a few times, determining its weight. he pursed his lips, looking down at it once more.Coming to a conclusion, he cleared his throat.

"Length, yes, I have a few. But weight, not exactly. And with throwing knives it's bad to have a difference in weight than you're used to. A dire situation could turn fatal."
He looked up at the woman once more, leaning back in his chair as he took the sharp end, and extended the blade with the handle out for her to take.

Most of his throwing knives were a bit heavier, due to the material he usually used. His more lightweight materials went into the arrows, and daggers. Heavens knew why he didn't think to attempt to use the material on throwing knives.

"But that's not to say I couldn't make some, if you wanted. If you're not in need of them right this moment that is," he gave a small shrug, and a tiny smile to boot.

[Veranda Kingsford]

Veranda watched as the man picked up her blade and examined it with care. She was pleased with the way he did so, tossing it, eying it, and decided he knew what he was talking about. She hated going to shops and getting people who acted like they knew things about weapons when they had hardly the first clue. It was incredibly annoying and it made her want to punch faces prior to her death and rebirth. Now she imagined she'd want to slice open arteries. She glanced back behind her as a couple of ladies walked in, clearly the kind who wouldn't buy anything, only pop into shops, look around, and pop out just as quick, until they saw the handsome shopkeeper of course. Veranda turned her gaze back to the man before her, ignoring the whispers and giggles as the ladies pretended to search the displayed items. Considering this man hardly gave a glance to Veranda's exposed legs or her currently well displayed cleavage as she leaned against the counter, he was either not interested in women forone reason or another, or an incredibly professional man. That or Veranda was very much not his type.

She listened as he finally spoke, he explaining that he did not have any blades that matched the weight of the ones she carried. She took the blade back, but didn't put it away. She absently twirled it slowly in her fingers as the man stated the obvious about a blade with the wrong weight being a dangerous thing. The women behind her giggled again. Veranda found the noise irksome. How could anyone have such an annoying giggle? Did a man exist out there find those giggles attractive? Surely he couldn't exist. It was almost dismaying to realize how impatient Veranda was becoming with mortals in such a short time. With Cori's demands of being night walkers she never dealt with people in the day anymore. It was like the skill was slipping away, and Veranda was pretty good at at least pretending to be a people person. It was vital when she was a conning thief. But no more. Still, she refused to become some vampire that hid in the shadows like Cori all the time and stood staring creepily as a means of interaction with humans.

"I could wait for them. How much would it cost me for you to make these throwing knives?" Veranda asked, hearing that awful giggling again. She heard one of the ladies make some remark about Veranda's boots and the vampire resisted the urge to bury the knife she held into the woman's eye socket. Woman who were raised with any kind of priviledge were the most annoying women ever. They whispered and laughed and acted so arrogant and high and mighty, until you slipped into their bedrooms at night of course. And opened their throats. Veranda glanced at her blade, and a thought, the one Cori had been nursing all this time, spoke up and told her to put the blade away and stop acting like a damn hot headed fool. Veranda gave the thought some consideration while she waited for an answer from the shopkeeper.

[Jordan Hielo]

He paid no attention to the woman as they entered- it would be rude, after all, to ignore the customer right in front of you. Besides- Jordan only had to take one look to have the feeling that they weren't there for the shopping.

He expected nothing less. Often people would just wander in and out to browse, and Jordan knew that many would not even think about buying anything. It was what he expected having a shop in the shopping district of the city.

Though from the girls giggles here and there, perhaps weapons were not the things they were browsing.

"It's hard to say, I can only give an estimate. But my estimated usually aren't too far off," he smiled again, looking up as he thought about the costs of his lightest metals. Some were very expensive, with transporting and how they removed it. Others not so much. And Jordan knew enough about his profession to know that some of the cheaper metals were just as good as the expensive ones. Not always, but usually.

He finally came to the conclusion on the best material to use for a blade such as this, and replied to the woman.

"Fifty coins for ten blades ought to do it. If you want we can bargain for it though," he offered. Jordan never was one to care for money. All he really had to pay for were clothes if he needed them, materials for work and he had to pay off for his home and shop. Everything else he could make, hunt or find.

He was known to go down to the bare minimum for selling his things. Most did not take him up on his offer to bargain- those who knew him did, and always got a nice deal on their part.

He looked back at Veranda, an eyebrow slightly raised and one side of his lips moved up just a bit, as he listened carefully.

[Veranda Kingsford]

Veranda watched the man as he thought over his answer carefully, and she couldn't help but admire his features again. He was a handsome man, and she didn't really care if she was obvious in eying him. He had a pretty face after all. She felt a tad guilty in looking at another when her heart was set on Julien, but Julien wasn't here and it wasn't like she was throwing herself at this man. Besides, it also wasn't like she and Julien were married. Hell, she and Julien weren't even really together. There was just some sort of awkward attraction between the two that neither were willing to acknowledge quite yet for one reason or another to each other. Their situations were delicate still. And admiring this stranger wasn't going to destroy said situation. He offered her an estimate, and Veranda once more flashed a smile.

"By all means, offer me an estimate." She said, a tad flirty, but she didn't layer it on. She wasn't interested in taking the man to bed. Or eating him. Actually it was a good opportunity to make sure she was still capable of her basic female interactions with men. Perhaps a man who didn't seem the best to respond to her wasn't the best choice but she supposed it was better than staying at home and sitting in bed staring at the wall.

Behind her the women snickered again, and Veranda felt another homicidal urge, but the calmer, colder side that was growing to be the inner vampire told her to ignore them. Focus on the pretty face in front of her. Good advice. And she actually took it. Julien and Coriander both would be proud. Finally the shopkeeper gave her an estimate. Veranda looked at her blade, picturing ten for fifty coins. She could easily get that much money, but he mentioned bargaining, something Veranda never really dabbled in before. And the little curve of the lip made it hard to say no.

"Thirty." She replied, dropping the price drastically, tossing her blade into the air in a smooth and elegant move before she caught it and stowed it away. She straightened, no longer leaning on the counter, and waited to see how he'd respond to her offer.

[Jordan Hielo]

That ever so small curve of the lip very quickly turned into a smirk- not a large one, but still a smirk. He wasn't expecting that. Just a moment ago the woman was being flirtatious; or so it seemed. And she was quite the good looking woman.

But his thoughts did not stay on her appearance for too long; the ice elemental was more focused on her personality. The feeling of strength that emitted from her. To drop the price so drastically, so quickly. She had to be one that was not afraid to take what she wanted.

For some reason, it made Jordan more interested in her. Conversation wise, at the very least.

He lulled her offer over for a moment, before retaliating with a new one.
"Forty. And," he placed a finger up, to show he had more coming, the grin becoming wider, "I'll throw in an extra two blades."

His attention- before mostly on Veranda and just a little on the other ladies, as he usually did when there were many customers in his shop- was now solely on the woman standing in front of him.

Fangs in her mouth, a nice appearance. Wielding throwing knives, and not being afraid to bargain for what she wanted. Jordan couldn't help but find this woman the most interesting person he had met all day. Perhaps all week.

[Veranda Kingsford]

Veranda watched him thinking over her offer, noting that he seemed more interested in their transaction when she decided to bargain. He actually smirked, became more engaged, and his focus became more centered on Veranda. Probably because, unlike the two behind her, she was a willing and paying customer. Veranda waited as he thought patiently, enjoying his expression, and when he did come up with a new offer, he even tossed in a couple of blades. She found the offer tempting. She stood, tilting her head back to think it over for a moment.

Behind her she heard another round of giggles and something somewhat heavy drop to the floor, followed by gasps and more giggles. The two seemed to have dropped something and found it terribly funny. Veranda found it terribly distracting. Perhaps that was the point, to get the good looking shop keeper’s attention. Veranda didn’t think dropping his merchandise on the floor was the right way to go but they weren’t the brightest two girls either. She looked back to Jordan, leaning back down on the counter.

“Thirty five coins for twelve blades, and…” She said, mimicking his gesture and lifting a finger, “I’ll even scare off the two ninnies behind me before they wreck everything in your store.” She smiled, flashing her deadly fangs again. She shouldn’t do that, flashing her fangs and practically scream that she wasn’t human by doing so, but it was hard not to. Showing your fangs seemed incredibly natural to her as a vampire, especially when interacting with humans. She never realized how much one smiles when dealing with people on a daily basis. Oh well. If the man had a problem she’d come back tonight and deal with him later. Simple as that. Then lay low.

[Jordan Hielo]

He had winced as he heard the item hit the floor; never a pleasant sound in a shop. He didn't even bother to look at the item. It was surely damaged in one way or another, with that thud. Jordan would be surprised if nothing was damaged. Even if the merchandise was sturdy enough- the floor would have taken a hit.

As for the new deal, Jordan knew he was probably getting ripped off. It was nearly thirty coins to make twelve blades themselves; but Jordan liked her, in the way that one would find something (or someone) fascinating.

He pondered her offer for a moment. He knew that if he kicked these two woman out of his store, he would seem rude. One way or another. And surely their friends and family would not walk into his store again; if they shopped there.

What better way to fix it than to let someone else do it?

"Alright, deal. Get them out and I'll let you know when to stop by, and such," he spoke in a lower tone, as to make sure the two wouldn't hear him.
It really was awfully rude of him to say; and he knew it. But his day did not have a good start, and trying to earn enough money to fix any of the damages? It would surely ruin his day, one way or another.

[Veranda Kingsford]

Veranda let the shop owner ponder her offer, and she was glad to see it didn’t take him long to reach a decision. She grinned, fully exposing her fangs as he agreed to let her scare the women out of the store. Such deadly things were her fangs, but she wouldn’t put them to use…much. She liked this guy. He let her have fun like Julien did. Who knows? She might actually have found a potential friend in this city that wasn’t a death obsessed vampire. My how weird the world could be. She reached out and patted the man on the cheek, a gesture no normal woman would do since it would be proper, but Veranda was far from a lady.

“Deal.” She said, turning quickly and she walked over to the two girls, who had just picked up the item, whatever it was, and put it back on the shelf. Both women looked Veranda up and down with distaste in their eyes and glanced at each other before openly snickering, a thing that’d bother most other girls and even Ver, if she wasn’t on a little mission that was. Veranda simply smiled, flashing her fangs again.

“My, what supple young ladies we have here.” She said, stepping up to the two, crossing her arms. Both woman peered down their noses at her. Veranda didn’t mind. She reached out and took hold of one silky lock of one woman’s hair, twirled it in her fingers, before the woman recoiled, looking disgusted. “Yes, I think you’d both do nicely.” Veranda said softly.

“Do nicely for what?” Spat one woman, and Veranda’s hand shot out, gripping the woman by the throat and she dragged her forward till their faces were inches apart. Veranda bared her fangs again.

“Do nicely for a snack I think.” The other woman gave a little shriek, looked to Jordan, but Veranda took hold of her hair and pulled her back. “I wouldn’t worry about him dear. As far as he’s concerned, you two purchased a lovely dagger as a gift for your father and left. He thinks this shop is totally empty. The perks of having powers over the mind you see. For all you know I could be a man standing here, but simply looking like a woman to fool you.” Veranda bluffed, watching with glee as the two women paled. Veranda actually didn’t have the powers to control anyone’s mind yet, and doubted she’d gain such powers, but it was a nice cover for the pretty shop owner should the girls come running back with knights and demand to know why he didn’t lift a finger to help.
The women both let out shrieks and tore from Veranda’s grip, which the vampire allowed, and she watched with amusement as the two women stumbled their way out of the shop and away down the road. She tilted her head before giggling, then turned and walked back to Jordan. Alas, her time was short with the shopkeeper now, but the looks on their faces was totally worth it.

[Jordan Hielo]

Jordan did feel slightly bad; in all honesty, he did. He felt a bit of a tug on his chest, as if he should have gotten up to do something. But at the same time, they were not buying customers. And Veranda was. Still, Jordan felt bad. But a sliver of relief washed over him when they left.

It was after all a win-win situation. Veranda would get her blades, Jordan would have a customer (perhaps), and he had also been rid of any more damage by giggling idiots.

He was surprised the rude thought had crossed his mind- giggling idiots- so he quickly sent a prayer to whomever would listen, asking for forgiveness, before Veranda walked back over.

"That was quite the show," he stated with a smile. And really, it was. Creative, entertaining. He wouldn't even get into trouble with it, to his luck.
"Suppose it's time to hold my end of the deal!"

He calculated in his head, and began his sentence, "The blades should be ready in th-"

The elemental stopped mid sentence as he stared down at his desk. His calculation was wrong- usually, Jordan would go home at a specific time to spend time with Myra. But, seeing as how there was not much to go home to, he realized that he could spend most of the night here, then go home.

It made him a bit sad; the effects of the breakup seeming to hit him more now. He gulped down the lump in his throat, before wiping the frown off of his face and smiling up at Veranda once more.

"Tomorrow morning, I think actually. Stop by whenever tomorrow and I'll have them for you. Do you want any fabric on the handle, or markings on the blade?"

Think about business, Jordan. You can't get upset every time someone leaves you.
He really did not have luck with that; crushes, dates, girlfriends, even regular friends. He didn't seem to hold onto them for very long. But perhaps he could make a friend of Veranda here, if she decided to come in again.

Jordan now hoped even more so now for her to become a regular customer.

[Veranda Kingsford]

Veranda listened as the shopkeeper spoke, about to give her a time estimate for her ordered blades, but a sudden change seemed to overcome the man. He grew silent and a sadness seemed to drop over his face. Ver watched this change with interest, it was a bit morbid but she couldn’t help herself. She was, after all, a vampire. She wondered what the change in mood was about. Some sort of bad thing must have happened in his life. She wondered what. Someone die? Who knew? She felt a tad bit bad for him. But it would probably be a bit rude to ask, and they had started off this little transaction so well, she’d hate to pry and ruin it. She continued to watch with glittering eyes as he seemed to muse over his issue before he regarded her again.

“Tomorrow morning? Fantastic! You work quickly. I like it.” She said, flashing him a smile. It wasn’t a flirty smile this time. “I don’t need anything fancy on the blades. No fabric or markings.”

Veranda opened her coat and dug into it a moment and pulled out her coin purse. She leaned against the counter as she counted out the coins, then she piled them in a neat little tower on the counter and pushed them over towards the shopkeeper.

“Here’s your payment. Thanks for the service.” She leaned against the counter on her elbows again. “My name is Veranda by the way. Veranda Kingsford.” She said. She was glad that she didn’t feel the usual anxiety when giving her last name. Veranda was once part of a noble house, the house of Kingsford, but being in a new place entirely, what were the odds of anyone ever hearing of the noble name? Not like Merovech. Avaleur was like a complete restart.

[Jordan Hielo]

Jordan quickly counted the coin on the desk in his head, his eyes moving down the tower quickly. With a smile, he dropped them into his hands, before shoving them into a drawer in his counter.

"Jordan Hielo, at your service," despite having the last name of a town in the elemental island of Matelle, most did not expect the man to actually be from there. Or be the mayors son.
In Avaleur, background usually never mattered. It was an interesting thing to say- a conversation starter. And that was it. And Jordan liked that a grande amount.

Now that his mind was back on Myra, he wasn't feeling nearly as good as before. His eyes a bit sad. But nothing else showed it; he kept it hidden. He just hoped that this new customer did not notice.

He took note that the blades would be simple, and felt a bit relieved. A bit less work. Despite the fact that he loved to make nice looking carvings, and tight fabric on the handles, he had to admit the blades were hard enough work.

"A pleasure doing business with you, Ms. Kingsford," he looked up at her once again and smiled. But before she could say anything, he continued to speak.
"Out of curiosity, what do you want the daggers for?"

Perhaps he was curious. Perhaps he just wanted to continue the conversation. Or he didn't want to be alone just yet. Maybe a mixture of all three.

[Veranda Kingsford]

Veranda smiled. Jordan. She liked the name. It suited him well, with that pretty face and all. She watched as Jordan counted the money and scooped the money into a drawer. With that the transaction was complete. Veranda purchased blades from the shopkeeper, and she was quite excited about it. Veranda always was excited over new blades. Sometimes the excitement got dangerously close to arousal when applied correctly, but that wasn’t something she’d openly admit to anyone. Probably not even Julien. One of her many strange quirks. Veranda was a strange girl.

She tilted her head, seeing the sadness in Jordan’s eyes again. He tried to cover it up with a smile, but it didn’t quite reach his eyes. Why was he so sad? It was only making Veranda more and more curious. What happened to him? Someone die? Someone leave? She wanted to ask, and was seriously considering asking too. Before she could though Jordan asked his own question. Veranda smiled again, this one a predators smile.

“Oh, I don’t know. Why else do people get sharp blades?” She asked, smirking. “I want them to cut people. Whether to defend myself or…not. Does that bother you?” She asked softly, eying him. She wondered what his reaction would be. If he was smart he’d have gathered she was a dangerous person. If he was observant, he’d have seen her fangs. Worse case, she ran out the shop like she planned. She doubted she’d have to though.

[Jordan Hielo]

Jordan stared, thinking about that for a moment. So, in his assumptions, she was probably a vampire. Probably. But he wasn't sure. And he had to consider the fact that he just saw her brutally threaten those two women, right in front of him.

But he had to ask himself... why? People would kill to get a fresh start, kill for people not to know who they truly were. Especially in Avaleur. So why bluntly show it to him?

He remembered her question, and soon realized that it didn't bug him. After all, if he was truly bugged, he wouldn't have been thinking about why. He would have been thinking about how- how to get her out of his shop, that is.

"Not really. As long as I'm not at the end of your blade, I don't see why I should be bothered. Avaleur is filled with different types of people... as long as I'm not on anyone's bad side, I don't care who anyone is. Or how anyone acts."

She couldn't be all that bad. She helped him out after all; for the daggers, that is. But that was still pretty nice. Not to mention to bluntly show her true self- if that was her true self- he felt like he could trust her. At least, less than a friend, but more than a random stranger.

She wasn't exactly a stranger anymore, anyhow. He knew her name after all.

"But I might watch how you act in public... I know some are bothered by my cold skin. So to see a pretty woman like you bare her fangs? People don't take too kindly to it. Mostly the humans, but hey. That's still half the population."

[Veranda Kingsford]

Veranda tilted her head as Jordan gave his answer, and the answer suited her fine. That was the general rule of Merovech. She was beginning to think it was the general rule for Avaleur. She had yet to meet anyone who particularly cared about anyone doing dangerous activity. As long as they weren’t on the receiving end no one really cared. It was nice. She doubted she’d be so lucky as to think an entire city was this way. But the crowd she normally hunted in was, so that was a bonus.

“No worries love. I have no intention on pointing my blades at you. Not seriously anyways.” She said, twirling a lock of her ebony hair between her fingers. She paused as Jordan explained that she was being a bit too bold. It was true, she was, and Cori would be throwing a fit right about now. Julien too probably. But Veranda was always the type to get herself into trouble. Julien could testify to that. She couldn’t help it.

“Oh, you’re right. It’s hard to suppress myself I guess. I was never the type to do so before. I mostly come out at night, so it isn’t like I have to try hard to hide who I am. Different story during the day.” She said. She’d really have to watch her smiling, but this man made it easy to smile. He was making the awkward feelings between herself and Julien forgotten for the time being. Her complete screw-up in Merovech forgotten. For once it was nice to chat with a person and not kill them.

“What are you anyways?” Veranda asked, reaching out to once more touch the man’s cheek. He mentioned that his skin was cold, and the first time Veranda touched him she hadn’t noticed, being undead herself. Besides, the pat had been quick. This time, with her hand firmly placed on his cheek, she could feel what he meant. She never encountered anyone like this, so her curiosity was once more peaked.

[Jordan Hielo]

As much as he did worry- he worried about anyone being shunned for their race- it made him happy to see her at least embrace it. After all, many went to great lengths to hide who they were. Even Jordan would often wear gloves. But while working, he could not be as precise with his work if he had gloves on.

Then he realized that the only thing that indicated whom he was was his cold skin. Of course speaking of it, Veranda would probably not know what he was.

"I'm an ice elemental," he stated, placing his hand palm-up on the table. Quickly, a layer of ice began spreading through the middle of his palm. With a smile he looked back up at Veranda.

"I'm not exactly threatening, but, I have my strengths I suppose."

Whenever Jordan would tell someone of his race, he would always show them a trick. Often he would make the shape of a flower, or such. But, to a pretty customer like this? He thought it might be rather inappropriate. Just showing how he could create his ice would do.

[Veranda Kingsford]

Veranda pulled her hand back as Jordan put his forward. After a moment ice seemed to flow from his palm and puddle there. She blinked, surprised. Well that explained why he was so cold. He could generate ice. That must have been convenient to everyone in the hotter months.

“Not threatening? I could think of a few dangerous uses with that kind of power.” Veranda replied, smiling at Jordan and the ice in his hand. She didn’t know the extent of his abilities, but she thought being able to generate a sharp piece of ice and slicing someone’s throat with it would be nice. She’d never have to use blades again.

“I’ve never seen an ice elemental before. Are there more elementals of different types?” She asked, reaching down to gently touch the ice in Jordan’s hand. She pulled her fingers away to eye the moisture on her fingertips. An interesting ability indeed. Veranda heard of ice manipulation, but not anything like this. She realized there was a lot in the world she didn’t know. And thanks to Julien’s blood she had all the time in the world to learn. The idea of going out and discovering new things, learning, made her a tad bit excited. There could be more to her existence other than butchering people and spreading the fear that Coriander thrived on. It was a nice thought anyways.

[Jordan Hielo]

Jordan could probably think of a few dangerous uses for his skills himself- but he also did not like to harm or kill except for food and protection. Those thoughts, otherwise, were useless to him.

As she touched the palm of his hand, he had to wonder if there were men flirting with Myra at that moment. His mind was wandering back to her more often than before, but in the presence of Veranda he dared not show it.

He wondered if Myra was thinking about him right now. Probably not.

"Ahh yes, there are," he chuckled slightly as he took a second to answer her question; it was trivial to himself. But to zone out like that. He was a tad bit embarrassed.

"There's fire, water, earth, air. Those are the more larger groups. Then there's the smaller ones, ice, metal and electric."
He gazed at her eyes for a few moments, before lastly saying, "I'd be happy to answer any more questions, if you have any."

Was he just drawing out the conversation longer so as not to be alone? If that was the case, Jordan would never admit it to himself.

[Veranda Kingsford]

Veranda waited the few beats it took for Jordan to answer her question. The man was clearly broken over something. Her curiosity burned so much more. Who was it that made him so sad at a moment’s notice? Probably a woman. Only women could shatter a man so thoroughly. Veranda wanted to see the woman who could attract such a pretty ice maker like Jordan. Then she dismissed the idea. Why would she care? Whether the girl was beautiful or not, Jordan must have cared a great deal. Actually, the vampire wanted to know the details of the separation, but it’d be rude to ask still.

She gave a nod as he listed off the different types of elementals. There were so many! And they all looked perfectly normal. She wondered how many walked the streets right now. She also wondered if their blood was as good as a human’s. She eyed Jordan’s neck a moment, wondering. She wouldn’t bite him though, not professionally, not personally. She liked this guy, and apparently he enjoyed her company too. She looked at his eyes just as he gazed into hers, a moment of silence ensuing.

Following Jordan’s statement Veranda, though her face remained perfectly still, had to bite back a laugh. Quite the eager one to share knowledge wasn’t he? Did he have other motivations? Probably. Men usually did. But she wouldn’t complain. He was, by far, the most interesting non-vampire she met since she turned. After this little taste of socialization, the boy back home might find it harder than ever to keep her home. She supposed that’d be a nightmare for them, considering the last town she lived in she slaughtered damn near everyone before Julien could find her and stop her. So to have her walk the streets, day or night, alone was probably a tense subject for the still. Not that Ver cared. She was bored of the run down house, the woods, and only getting a taste of life when she was chaperoned. If she wanted to go out more often she would. She only needed to have care and not kill everyone.

“I have no further questions at this time. None appropriate anyways.” She said, teasing him a bit. But it was the truth. She doubted he’d be comfortable in answering questions that followed the line of her asking about the general temperature of his groin. Was it cold down there too? The humanity…or lack thereof in Veranda’s case. She tilted her head as she heard, a distance from the store outside, the high pitched, anxiety filled voices of the woman from earlier. They were coming back. That meant they brought friends. “I’m afraid our time draws to a close. Our ladies are back. Probably with knights or some nonsense. Do you have a backdoor or alley window I may use by chance?” She asked, pushing herself from the counter.