Dammit! Why Didn't I See That Coming???!!! (Malachite)

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa laughed a little.​

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"So, you're a tall, furry, badass fire-shaping immortal Fox-man? Wow! I really hit the jackpot for rescuers."​

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She remembered a time when she thought her shaping abilities made her some kind of bullet-proof superhero. A childish notion, of course. But it made her feel indestructible.​

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They reached Starcreds a few minutes later. Lexa got out of the car and walked right up to the counter. Not many people were in yet, as the morning rush had yet to begin.​

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[member="Malachite the Shoki"]​

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

Malachite chuckled nervously. The jackpot, huh? Of course, not many people knew the flip-side of being a Ruffer... The whole I'm-an-energy-vampire-BWAAAAAAAR! bit... The timing of this was horrible... Why did he have to feed right now, when this woman he'd just met was standing right next to him? At the one time where normal food wouldn't satisfy his hunger... He replied, "Yeah, I guess... Kinda hard to find somebody like me sometimes, huh? I... um... gotta step out a moment..."

He didn't really wait for an answer, but as he stepped out the door a gun was put up to his head. The owner of the gun drawled, "Nice and easy, Foxy... Don't wanna have to off you, but you've got something of mi-" The sudden interruption was the blonde Ruffer's heeled boot crushing most of the bones in the guy's face.

At least he had food now... And he felt no moral qualm about consuming the energy of a guy who wanted to kill him. So, he bit into the man's neck, feeling the rush of energy, before dropping him to the ground and sighing. At least he didn't have to drain Lexa at all. He was beginning to like her.

[member="Lexa Kimene"]

 

[Zayani Brin]

While all that was happening, Lexa was having a horrible time deciding between the mint hot chocolate or the vanilla latte. She stood pondering endlessly with her finger over her mouth and her brow furrowed in frustration as she stared up at the menu board.​

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Meanwhile, the cashier was staring at Lexa's shirt, seriously wondering if they should get an ambulance for her. But she didn't look like she was in pain. Where did all that blood come from though?​

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[member="Malachite the Shoki"]​

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

Malachite came back into the store, wiping blood off his mouth and looking at the menu. Lexa seemed to be having a deep moral dilemma over what kind of coffee she wanted, so the fox just ordered himself a frozen mocha thingy... with the "obscene amount of whipped cream" option. Yum.

He looked between Lexa and the cashier, and thought the cashier was staring at her chest for a moment. He was about to say something derogatory and possibly hypocritical to the guy, but then he noticed the man's eyes drop to the bloodstains and cut on her shirt. Well, that was understandable... So was looking at her chest, but- He stopped himself there. Nobody, including him, needed to know where that thought process went.

Finally, he looked at the black-haired woman, grinning, and asked, "Any help I can give you with deciding, or are you going to stare at that pretty sign with the pictures on it all day?"

[member="Lexa Kimene"]

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa was lightly tapping her mouth, lost in decision-making. Finally, she snapped out of it.​

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"I'll have the make-your-own-combination order. I'd like a combo of mint hot chocolate and a vanilla latte, please. Extra whipped creme and chocolate drizzle."​

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She sighed, content that she'd finally made her choice. She looked at Malachite and noticed a little smudge on the corner of his mouth. Was that blood? Maybe it was hers. But why was it fresh? She chose not to say anything until they sat down.​

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[member="Malachite the Shoki"]​

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

Malachite chuckled a little bit at Lexa's order, and when she got it he joked, "When in doubt, choose both I guess."

He grabbed his frozen mocha off the counter and grinned happily as all the chocolate and caffeine started rolling through his mouth. No matter where he was, he always ordered the same drink, eventually. It was comforting, something that he always used to steal sips of when his dad was looking away. At least that was one memory that couldn't trigger any stress. It always made Malachite feel warm(er) and fuzzy(er).

After a couple of minutes, he noticed Lexa looking at him funny. What was up? He asked, "Do I have something on my face, or are you just having fun there?"

[member="Lexa Kimene"]

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa sipped her strange drink. All the right flavors. This was definitely her new favorite beverage. As Malachite asked her why she'd been looking at him, she decided she'd better make sure it was what she thought it was.​

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She took a napkin from the dispenser on their table and brought it up to the corner of his mouth, wiping off whatever was there. She brought the napkin to her nose and sniffed it. Yep. It was absolutely blood. She gave Malachite a sort of suspicious look as she turned the napkin around to showcase the smudge of blood.​

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"Malachite, why was there blood on your face?"​

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[member="Malachite the Shoki"]​

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

Malachite's ears drooped as he looked at the blood on the napkin, and his tails stopped wagging. He realized that she probably would've noticed his feeding after a while, but not immediately. She was sharp, and he couldn't figure out right now if that made him like her more, or scared him. Right now, he felt scared. The next sentence he was about to say was usually followed by the person across from him screaming, running, and/or trying to shoot him, "Well... You might not know this, but Ruffers are vampiric. Gotta drain some energy from somebody once a month, or I'll starve."

[member="Lexa Kimene"]

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa's expression was a mixture of shock and confusion. She looked at the napkin, and then at him, then back to the napkin, then back to him. She slowly sat the napkin down with the bloody side on the table. Her hand instinctively traveled to the side of her neck. She looked down at the table while rubbing her neck, letting this information soak in.​

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"Whoa. So.... Um.... You drink blood. From people. Every month. Like, real blood........ That's....... A little bit........ AWESOME!!!!"​

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Lexa suddenly exclaimed, so loudly that some of the other patrons turned to look at her. Her face was covered in child-like wonder and amazement. He was a tall, furry, fire-shaping Fox-man vampire, too??!! DUDE!!!! ​

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[member="Malachite the Shoki"]​

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

Malachite rolled his eyes and leaned his head on one hand while the other absently tapped away on his coffee cup. Maybe it was just because he was one himself, but he hated other vampiric people. They let themselves get portrayed as glittery, expressionless, monotone people who had no lives except getting into fights with wolf people. It was horrible, wrong, and aggravating.

And also there was one other thing, "Lexa, nobody - and I mean nobody - in their right fucking mind drinks blood. Vampires eat energy. The only reason that there's blood on the napkin is because I kicked the crap out of the guy after he put a gun to my head. I didn't even bite a vein. Blood tastes disgusting. Well, except in steak... Yum..."

[member="Lexa Kimene"]

 

[Zayani Brin]

"Oh. Still though, AWESOME!"​

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Maybe it was the mint-cocoa-vanilla-latte talking, but Lexa was really excited by this new fact about Malachite. Sure, seeing at happen might be a bit disturbing, and being on the receiving end probably isn't fun, but still! She took another drink and smiled ecstatically.​

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"You're like, the coolest person I've ever met, Malachite! Seriously, everything about you just screams cool!"​

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[member="Malachite the Shoki"]
​

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

Malachite blinked at Lexa... This was probably both the strangest and most gratifying conversation he'd had with anybody ever. His tails wagged behind him as he took another sip of his coffee. As he thought about it, he realized that the phrase summed up the last few hours. Strange and gratifying.

He stuck his tongue out at Lexa and replied, "Nah, you've been way cooler about everything. Vampirism, waking up in a random guy's car, and the same random guy's little mental breakdown. All I did was pick you up and jump over a wall... And then beat up on some guys who were trying to steal my car. You've had to deal with a lot more today."

Taking another sip, he grinned and finished, "But if you think I'm cool, then who am I to tell you different?"

[member="Lexa Kimene"]

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa shrugged. He did have a point. She should be just a little shaken by last night's events.​

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"I guess I should feel uneasy, to stay the least. But my brother Azekor taught me how to take a punch and move on. I learned a long time ago not to let a little thing like getting stabbed to near-death get in between me and a good time."​

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She took the lid off her drink and took another swig, getting a whipped cream mustache.​

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"After all, if I hadn't ended up three-quarters of two feet in the grave in that alleyway, I wouldn't have met you!"​

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[member="Malachite the Shoki"]​

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

Malachite chuckled at the whipped cream that had dripped its way onto Lexa's face. He reached out a finger and brushed it off as he replied, "Well, I'm glad I found you. Not so happy about how or why I found you, but y'know... Good things happen in weird ways. And," he grinned as he wiped the cream on a napkin, "I think we could probably bear each other for a while."

He took another sip of his coffee and cocked his head to one side before continuing, "Especially since you seem like a smart enough person to be not living on this hellhole. Any real idea where you're headed?"

[member="Lexa Kimene"]

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa had to think about that for a moment. She'd been planning to go to Ryloth next. She'd heard of some fun job opportunities there; She was a bit short on funds. But then again, she'd also felt like going to Dantooine for a while. So really, nowhere in particular.​

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"Not really, no. I just go wherever I feel like going next. Right now? I have no idea. I could literally go anywhere."​

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[member="Malachite the Shoki"]​

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

Malachite smiled and laid his head down on the table a little tiredly, waiting for the buzz from the coffee to kick in. If he thought of it, he could probably go anywhere... Except Endor. Him going to Endor would be like asking for the whole planet and all its little furry Ewoks to spontaneously combust. He pushed the thought out of his head, and simply shrugged as he replied, "Same here... I always just wander around and take my old Silverback around with me. The only place I don't want to go to is Kamino because y'know... Fire isn't exactly useful in perpetual torrential downpours."

[member="Lexa Kimene"]

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

(Tags... /lesigh)

[member='Lexa Kimene']

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa swept some more of the whipped cream on her finger, licking it off before she replied.​

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"Well, we could always go to Ryloth. I want to see the night side of the planet. I hear they've got bio-luminescent plants there."​

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[member="Malachite the Shoki"]​

 

[Malachite the Shoki]

Malachite thought about it for a moment. Ryloth was an interesting place, not even counting the weird things in the Shadowlands. Glowing plants were the least of it, but those were pretty, and he'd only been there once before. He opened the top of the coffee cup and tried to knock back the rest of his drink... And then he got brain freeze. He let his forehead collapse against the table, and gave Lexa a sidelong look.

"Yeah, that sounds fun. There's a lot more to the Nightside than glowing plants, though... There's plenty of things that taste yummy when you roast 'em... Barbecued gutkurr... yum."

[member="Lexa Kimene"]

 

[Zayani Brin]

Lexa couldn't help but laugh a little when Malachite's head hit the table again. He must've downed his drink a bit too hard. She shrugged.​

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"I've never been to Ryloth before, so I figured I might as well go. You should probably introduce me to the cuisine. You know, so I don't accidentally wind up eating poisonous mushrooms or something."​

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[member="Malachite the Shoki"]​