Defining a Relationship

[Maeve]

Maeve can't remember the last time she had someone over to her place that wasn't a snack or Quinn forcing her way in for an impromptu clan meeting. It's been a while. Now she's hosting over her sorta kinda boyfriend and she isn't sure what to do with that yet. Her simple, one-bedroom apartment, of course, is clean, though the place looks far from 'your average apartment' in terms of being lived in. The most personal set of items she keeps in there are her books and she has a lot of them. Her kitchen, which she does not use, has been turned into her semi-library that overflows from the living room. Considering she is such an avid reader, there are many, many different genres of books from sci-fi to manga to poetry of all kinds. If one were to try and count, she probably has more books of poetry than anything else though.

So, there are books on shelves, on the counters, in the cabinets etc. About anywhere there is open space. Just for Conner, she's made it look at least somewhat neat though.

Tonight, she's allowed herself to ignore the urge to look dressy and has just made sure her blue hair is mostly without frizz. Even her outfit is with less pizzazz than usual. Just a black, v-neck top and dark jeans. Perhaps part of it is that she doesn't want Conner to think he's too special. Or... perhaps her dressing down does give that impression. Either way.

She sits on her couch with a book of 'Poetry to read on your Dead Bed', waiting for Conner Wells to arrive.
BoxingUnicorn

[Conner Wells]

If there was ever a chance for Conner to feel simply ridiculous, this was it. To be honest, before a few days ago he had no idea 'Choco Tacos' actually existed. But now he carries a cooler with two of them, with a piping hot extra-large, stuffed crust margarita pizza in his other hand. Thank God so many places are open past sundown. Maeve certainly wasn't making this easy on him.

But then again, she really hadn't made anything easy for him since he'd arrived...

There again was that sudden rush of uncertainty, and a Bestial grumble. He'd felt it in his apartment when he'd agonized over what to wear to their...appointment. How does one dress up for the woman who gets you in trouble with the local authorities, makes out with you in the woods, and shares poetry with you under the stars? At any rate, he'd settled for jeans and a red t-shirt. Any chance the young Sanctified had to dress casual, he took it.

Finally arriving at Maeve's door, he takes a brief moment to quell the vampire moths in his stomach. ​Relax. She's a...I think she's a friend, at least. We've got to learn to work together. He knocks on the door, and upon opening gives a smile, arms spread with food in either hand and a familiar book bag slung over his shoulder.
"Hey, I made it." And there was the other reason for this: a celebration. They were literally out of the woods.

[Maeve]

When she opens the door, the blue-haired shadow gives an oddly soft smile, "Hey." And she steps aside to let him in. "Here, I'll take that," she says, reaching out to take the box of pizza from him to set it on her coffee table. "You can put the choco-tacos in the freezer." The only thing in her freezer is a tub of the fabled moose tracks ice cream. She seems to have a taste for the less common ice creams. "I can't believe you managed to find some, but it was my first instinct. They're huge in Portland if you find the right 7 Eleven."


She stands in her living room, an arm across her stomach as she holds her other arm, "So, how are you?" She asks, and there is a bit of her that feels this sense of awkwardness. What now? What kind of night is this going to turn out to be? What does she want it to be?


For the last month, she's been going over in her mind possibilities. Does she want something romantic? Something just sexual? Does she just want a friend whom she occasionally makes out with? Just an ally? Normally, she knows exactly what she wants, but in this case, she has no idea. What does he want? And if she did want something more cuddly, could he even begin to handle her? She's a lot and proud of that fact. Does she want to risk dealing with an inevitable fall out?

Relationships always die. Well, that's more morbid than she wants to walk down a rabbit hole for.

Focus.

[Conner Wells]

The moths are stirring again, and this time it's amplified by Bestial worry. Just drop off the books and food and run! But that millisecond of indecision passes by as he's propelled into the room. By what? Perhaps something in him was stronger than his predatory fears? Only one way to find out...He goes to the freezer to deposit the precious dessert. "Took a bit of digging, but thankfully there was a grocery store in-town that had them on display in the freezer section." ​He realized then that he'd subconsciously avoided Blushing through the entire trip to Maeve's apartment. Saving all that juice for something else then? Conner smothers his inner demons as he notices the stacks and stacks of...books? "That's actually a really good use of space, given that people like us don't really cook." He deposits the chaco-tacos, then almost smacks himself upside the head. "Oh! Of course..." He slips the book bag that Maeve had lent him in the Barrens off his shoulder and hands it to her. "Thanks again, by the way. The pulp fiction was actually kind of cool." Something else to think about aside from sacred texts and his own hunger and enmity with wildcats.

He turns to the blue-haired Shadow, and his own arms are locked to his sides. "I'm...ah...good. Very good. I'm glad to be back." He'd forgotten how awkward first...whatever this was can be. Or was this technically their third? He looks around the room; at the books, at the coffee table with the pizza, at the ceiling. Quit being a child! She invited you in. Then he looks at her, pale and blue and and black and dear God remember when you had those hips in your...STOP THINKING!!!

"Do you mind if I sit down? It's...I just miss couches, you know? After sleeping on rocks for a month." In a way, it's almost freeing knowing that he can be as jumbled as this and Maeve won't judge him...so far.

[Maeve]

"Oh, thanks. I, uh, didn't feel like getting a two bedroom was justified just because I had a bunch of books. Thankful the kitchen has so much cabinet space," she chuckles a bit, "And I'm glad the books helped..."


He asks to sit down and she nods quickly, "Oh yeah, make yourself at home." She gestures to the couch and then walks over to lean up against the arm of the couch. "I'm glad you're doing better. I'm, uh, sorry that you uh, well, I guess we both had to go through it, but you know." She kind of stumbles over her words.


"Your place doesn't have a couch?" She then asks curiously before moving to sit down on her couch, making herself comfy. She gazes over at the pizza for a moment and without a second thought she is opening up the box and picking up a piece, blood moving through her dried up veins until cheeks become rosy and skin becomes a gentle warm. She picks up a slice of the pizza and takes a bite, savoring the taste of the chunky tomatoes with the sauce and cheese. It's comforting, which very much feels like how this situation is. It's an awkward that is slowly moving towards comfortable. Comfortable is nice. This is nice.

[Conner Wells]

"I mean, a whole room just as a library doesn't sound half bad." Goodness knows his own collection of books had grown large over the years, which was why he was beginning to convert some of the more valuable ones to PDF files. "But I see your point: make best use of the space you have."

He accepts Maeve's offer to sit on the couch, grateful to have the distraction of pizza in front of him. Yummy vomit fuel. But it was more than that, at least to him. This was something outside of the worries of Kindred life. Something to remind him that he could have a connection with someone that wasn't bound by blood, fangs, and immortal angst. He looks from the pizza to Maeve as she stumbles through her...apology? More like a statement of fact. He sits for a moment, pondering the words he'd been sitting on for the better part of a month. "Well, the way I see it, redemption stories are some of the most satisfying. There's loss, suffering..." A brief wince. "And then catharsis: the return to peace." Here he allows a self-deprecating smirk. "Besides, now you know I'm not just a horny asshole." Bullshit, just give it time...

He feels the couch shift slightly as Maeve sits down, sees the color pulse across her form as she digs in. There's something intoxicating about the transformation, and yet there's a vulnerability to it. If he had saliva he'd be...Oh yeah, real-people food. Conner wills his own transformation from pale monster to pseudo-living man and takes a bite of his own slice of the pie, but not before a quick, silent prayer over his meal. Old habits die hard. "Not really; it's a studio apartment, so I've got a bed, a desk, and not much else." Good Lord, how he'd missed talking with his mouth full. He takes a bite almost too large for him. "My Sire was never one to encourage indulgence in accommodations, since we were mostly out during the nighttime." He swallows, looking over to Maeve as if suddenly seeing her for the first time. ​"You know, we actually don't know that much about each other, do we?" They'd certainly spent some time together, and they knew each other by name. They'd even kissed once, but apart from that they didn't really know too much about their likes, dislikes, pasts, hobbies... Well, now you know she was probably vegan at one point. He leaves the subject open for Maeve to fill in, to gauge her comfort level.

[Maeve]

Maeve watches him do something. What was it? Was he praying over food? Religious boy. Sometimes she forgets that fact. That he's part of the Lancea. She cocks her head to the side a little, but doesn't say anything yet.

He makes his horny asshole remarks and she can't help but laugh, "Good to know, but I don't think there's much wrong with someone just being a horny asshole. I do prefer people with some personality though." Prefer people? What a weird way to put 'people I'm attracted to'. But will it come off that way? She looks at him carefully and she recognizes that first the first time, they're both blushed up together. They could have real cuddles if- Nope. Focus.

He's right though. They don't know all too much about each other. "Then why don't we remedy that?" She says before taking a bite of her pizza. She chews for a moment, thinking, before swallowing. "We could just talk, or we could play a game? Like twenty questions, but with a twist perhaps? If you're not too scared." she teases a little bit.

"Two truths and a lie?" Games do make the awkward first parts more fun. And what should the victor get? She tries to think of answers that aren't overly touchy, but it's difficult.

[Conner Wells]

Conner raises an eyebrow at Maeve's remark. "Is 'horny asshole' a personality?"Because if so...A violent game of spiritual footsie occurs in Conner's head as Beast and Man wrangle over influence. "I mean, I'd hope you'd like someone who tries to be nice..." Shit! "...Or that anybody would, for that matter." He resumes eating the pizza, already on his second piece. Stress-eating was a habit of his he thought he'd curbed. Apparently not.

Still, the idea of an icebreaker to help ease the tension helped soften the Shadow's worries. "Sure, yeah. That sounds good. I'll start." As guest, he figured it was only polite. He thinks for a moment, trying to discern which lies would be most believable for his whirlwind life. "Okay, here goes. I've been trained in swordsmanship, I've stood at the top of the Golden Gate Bridge, and I've been punched through a solid brick wall."

[Maeve]

"It can be, which isn't always a bad thing. We're all a bunch of assholes generally. Or, at least, that's my perspective." She remarks, finishing up her first slice before going in for another. "Honestly, I like lots of different kinds of people. Nice people are a good time when they loosen up."

She listens to his choices for truths and a lie and she considers carefully, "Hmm... For some reason, I can believe you've been punched through a wall. And you seem like the kind of person who would be interested in being good with swords. I'm gonna say you haven't stood atop the Golden Gate Bridge." And now she wants to see what he can do with a sword. Kinda hot when she thinks about it. As her mind begins to wander a little pinkness comes to her cheeks and she suppresses it.

Her beast growls at her to pounce and she has to take a large bite of pizza to try to focus more on the taste of it than remembering the taste of him. That was so long ago. Too long ago. Nope. Noooope. Calm down. Just let things flow naturally for once. Like, damn.

[Conner Wells]

Conner thinks about what exactly loosening up would look like for him. If only she'd seen me at the Ten Ten Room. On second thought, maybe not . Why not? What does she mean to you other than an escape? An outlet?

Conner winces at Maeve's guess. Less at the answer and more at her process of elimination. "Ouch. Sad but true. Though I have stood on lots of skyscrapers and looked over the city lights, possibly while brooding." A chuckle, muffled through a mouthful of pizza. He barely notices the change in color, but leaves it alone for the moment. Though internally there is just a bit of smugness at seeing her affected by him. "Now if you want to know the specifics of how I wound up through that wall, you'll have to work a bit harder for it." He offers a playful grin, he'd let her decide how valuable his embarrassment was to her.

"Okay, your turn."