Striking Looks
May 3, 2018
The beaten black steamer trunk at the foot of her bed stuck out. It was marked with the scars of traveling in stark contrast to the pristine condition of the new furniture it was surrounded with. Clara shut the trunk and nodded with a satisfied smile. She felt an itch to see the city for a night without a Danse or cousins to preoccupy her enjoyment. She stepped out her basement rental unit and walked down the mostly empty streets, conscious of any people that might wander by. People. They're people. Remember they're not just vessels. Clara shrugged off the nagging thought asking what sort of person had to remind themselves of that.
Clara found a suitably busy intersection with stop signs instead of lights. It would do for her purposes. Cars rolled by, slowed, and one after another drove off. The Daeva began the process of debating what pose would be best to catch entice a motorist to stop for her.
Clara Hitches A Ride
The trouble with hitchhiking was balancing the delicate scales of being approachable but not boring. Clara knew she would have eyes on her just for standing on the corner. The trick was to trigger a spark of longing; that was in the pouting lips, the distressed eyes, the ruffled hair that might hint at a bad night. Having legs certainly helped, and showing them guaranteed a stop.
She spotted a car around the corner. The car slowed for the inevitable head-turn, Clara made eye contact with the boy driving alone, and she could see his face light up when she stuck her thumb out. He was all but hers in that moment, but Clara had her lips part and mouthed "Please?" His brakes screeched to a halt up to the sidewalk. Clara let her body feel the ghost of life as she opened the door.
Vitae Expended: Blushed
"Hey! You shouldn't be staying out here so late. Creeps are out, ya know?" The driver behind the steering wheel was college age. He was a red head with a bad case of bed hair. Clara's eyes noticed his thin frame was lightly muscled, but his green-gray eyes demanded her full attention. He's cute in his own way. Like a puppy in a pet store window with big 'Adopt Me' eyes.
"Yeah?" Clara let the boy drip with anticipation in the silence and waited to see what sort of clever comment he was setting up for. An interminable moment passed until both driver and passenger opened their mouths to speak, paused to let the other go first, and let the car fill with the sound of shared laughter. A honk behind them forced the driver's eyes off of Clara and on the road. "Good looking out on stopping, by the way. My name's Clara. Clara Verne."
"Hey, don't sweat it. My name's Leaves."
So the dance began. He started by explaining that yes, his parents gave him the name Leaves. It took his driver's license to dispel Clara's hyped-up doubts. He told her how he was in community college but he had trouble sleeping and driving sometimes helped. She explained she just moved here and didn't really have anywhere to go; she just wanted to go anywhere. She liked that he understood without bogging her down in question after question. Leaves had a stop to make, he explained, along with wherever she'd like to be dropped off. She said her crib was fine, after he finished his errands. Watching Sacramento from behind a window screen was probably best.
His stop was in downtown, which gave Clara the chance to get a lay of her prime hunting ground. Leaves took time to point out various spots: Garden Grounds, Club Raven, and the Nox stood out to Clara and she marked each in turn. Leaves picked up steak burgers with fries. Clara started her practiced excuse for not eating, but Leaves just scoffed playfully and explained he didn't buy any for her. "This ain't a date," he explained. He must think that was cute.
The trip back had Clara staring out the window, a bit annoyed that there wasn't a different route to take back East. Leaves said something her ears heard but Clara hadn't registered.
"Huh?" She asked as she turned to face the road and give Leaves a glance to the side.
"I said you're probably the weirdest hitchhiker I've ever had." He took a bite off a burger in one hand as he steered with the other. "I mean, here I was slowing down and giving you chance after chance to play tourist."
"That what you were doing?" She asked conscious of the glances he stole to look her way in between bites and checking the road.
"Yeah, call me a sucker. The detours probably cost me two bucks in gas."
"Don't got bread on me at the moment, mon petit chou."
"That's fine. How 'bout you give me your number and I can take you downtown sometime? You can find an ATM and pay me back the four bucks you'll owe me."
"Uh huh. That usually work, Casanova?" Clara couldn't help but smile at the little nervous ticks years of practice revealed to her.
"You tell me."
Clara gave him her new cell as soon as they stopped at a house two blocks down from hers. She thanked him for the ride, got out the car, and paused mid-motion in closing the door. Leaves' eyes were watching her, trying to look for a hint of something indiscernible. She offered him a smile and mimed a phone with her thumb and pinky up against her ear and mouth. "Call me!" She shut the door and pranced in the direction of a house she'd never been to before.
Once his car was out of sight Clara made her way to the pastel pink house two blocks down. She entered through the side door to find the unchanged anonymous room. She walked to the mini-fridge sitting on a kitchenette counter, fished out a blood pack and tore it open with deft fingers. She slurped on the nub that ruptured the plastic; precious blood filled her mouth and washed down her throat. She regarded the remaining pack in her fridge with an apathetic look. Just one left. Even if I wanted to hit the road, it'd be a rough trip. Vampires and cities go together like earthquakes and collateral damage. She needed to choose eventually, here or somewhere else didn't matter so long as the Laws of the Domain weren't ridiculous. She decided she would reach out to the local Kindred first thing next sundown. The remainder of the night was spent on the tedious activities of securing the lease over e-mail, unpacking, and occasionally checking her phone.
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