Bryce followed, the grin turning into something slightly less cocky as he slid into a bar stool. He looked at the glasses, brain slightly fuzzy from how long he'd been awake for - perks of not sleeping through the day - and sighed, "Whatever is the strongest and will knock me out in about half an hour." He replied, knowing that if not he might be unable to sleep again today. During his small life time he had been to about every bar he could find, tried every drink he could and not cared whether he liked the taste or not. Not great but an achievement in itself.
Cyprus raised an eyebrow. "You sure about that, kid?" He was moving despite the question, grabbing a few different bottles from below the counter. He wasn't sure what was the strongest, exactly, but he figured if he mixed enough rum and brandy he'd get something that would knock anyone out. "I know we're not exactly friendly but I don't want you stumbling off into an alley somewhere and getting dusted when the sun comes up." The kids was cocky, sure, but that didn't mean he should end up dead.
Bryce simply shrugged a shoulder, resting his head in his hand as he watched the other, “I’m sure. I’ll get home fine and then hopefully pass out when I arrive.” If he didn’t maybe he could take some sleeping pills if he could find any among the mess of paints and random junk in his home. The thought of become dust had his stomach twisting however he was certain he’d make it home, even if he had to steal an umbrella from someone and run for it.
"If you say so." He couldn't have sounded more uncertain if he tried. "How far is your house from here anyways?" They were on the bare edge of what could be considered Toreador turf. If this kid had been turned by someone important he probably lived closer to the center and it could take upwards of an hour to hoof it back home. "And what were you doing while we were still open? I was pretty sure you were just gonna fuck off and find something interesting elsewhere."
“There’s a..” He waved a hand idly through the air, trying to think of how to word a coherent sentence, “Forest not too far from here, I’m sure you’ve seen it but most of it is unclaimed territory, got a house up there away from all the madness in the city.” He sighed, “As for what I was doing… that’s my business now, isn’t it?” He wasn’t too keen to share his passions with some random thin-blood, not at this stage.
Cyprus snorted quietly at the pause, amused, and soon the drink was mixed and he was sliding it across the counter in a tall, thin glass. It looked better than he'd expected, a pleasant golden orange that seemed inappropriate considering how many different kinds of rum he'd dumped into it. "Yeah, I live right on the edge. Surprised we haven't run into each other before, I hike out there when the weather's not too bad."
Bryce picked up the glass, smirking a little as he took a sip. He sighed, “Ah well, I keep to myself. Besides, can’t go out in daylight, I don’t tend to leave the house when the suns high in the sky for obvious reasons.” One of the downsides to being a full vamp he supposed, but the city always seemed more alive at night, and the stars were present so he guessed it wasn’t too big of a deal.
Cyprus was a bit more one foot in one foot out type of guy. He was awake for the last half of the day and the first half of the night, doing his best to keep up with humans and vamps in equal measure. "Obviously. It's the one downside to being fully turned." He grabbed another glass, some more rum. May as well make himself something to drink while he was back here. "Do you ever miss it?"
Bryce hummed softly, taking a moment to think about it. Did he miss it.. quite honestly he didn’t know himself. A part of him said yes, another said no. Sure, he’d lost opportunities but he’d earned more, different ones now he was a vamp, “I’m not sure. Maybe. I miss being able to go out and do things without the fear of dying but..” He shrugged, “I guess I miss it a little, maybe more then I thought now that I think about it.”
"I'd miss it." He drew the sunrise almost every day. Had a few sketch books full of it, pencil drawing after pencil drawing of the sun peeking above trees and skylines and the flat roofs of suburban houses that dated all the way back to the 30s when he'd first gotten bit and realized he could still daywalk without frying. "Suppose that's the one opportunity I've got that you don't, though." He took a sip of his drink, looked the other vamp over with new interest. "Do you think you'd be human again if you could?"
“Tough questions from the bar tender,” He replied, continuing to sip at his drink as if it suddenly became the most interesting thing in the room, “Honestly? Maybe, I miss being able to go out and do shit and not have to manipulate people to drink from them. It would be another worry off of my list of random ones.” Maybe he’d actually have some decent friends that way and make something of his life rather then partying, “Would you go back? If you could?”
Cyprus laughed and kept his gaze steady as he sipped at his own drink. "Depends, I suppose." It was easier for him than it was for fullbloods. He could still pretend at being human. Could still walk outside, could still look someone in the eyes without feeling the need to drink—for the most part anyways. Sure, he got hungry, but it wasn't as all consuming as a full vamp's hunger. "Do I age from this point forward, or do I get to go back to where I started?"
“Ah that’s the thing, if you were to become human now, depending on whatever bullshit magic you use to get there, depends on the effects,” Luckily he was still fairly young, he didn’t have any grey hairs or wrinkles. He still presented like the young adult he looked like when he was turned. He guessed it was a blessing to be young at this point, despite how much he wanted to know more and learn more about the vamp world. But he knew it was going to take a while to get there.
Cyprus laughed, running a hand through his hair. The grey steaks were more prominent here, almost white beneath the lights. The only part of him that ever seemed to age. "If I went back, then I think I'd stick with vamp. But if I could just go human from here…" He trailed off with a shrug, an almost wistful smile on his face as he sipped at his drink. "… well, it's a much better time. How old are you, anyways? I'm guessing… forty? Maybe forty five?"
Bryce fiddled with the chain around his neck as he nodded, “Forty three,” He replied. He took a swig of his drink, glad of the burning down his throat, “Half way in between your two guesses, so good job for getting close.” He looked back towards Cyprus, “What about you? With those grey hairs you’ve gotta be over eighty, right?”
Cyprus glanced down at the chain before his attention was drawn back to Bryce in general. "Surprised you even know what the greys mean, full blood. But yeah. I'm… somewhere between a hundred twenty and a hundred thirty, it's been a while since I've really kept track." He stopped after his hundredth birthday. It was just starting to get depressing, and anyways, there wasn't anyone to celebrate it with. "How long have you been dead?"
“Over twenty years now,” Bryce tried not to think about that, about the years of his life he’d lost to the plane of the dead. He should have been over it by now but there was still a small part of him that held onto that realisation, despite wanting to forget the fact, “I try not to think about it, however hard that might seem. But hey, what can you do now huh?”
"Well vent, for one. Complain, scream, cry, throw tantrums…" He laughed quietly as he trailed off. "I did a hell of a lot worse than you're doing now when I was a fledgling and I was only in half as deep. I'm kind of surprised that your only act of rebellion as far as I can see is hitting the club scene a little harder than the other vamps your age."
Bryce shrugged a shoulder, “Hey, times have changed old man, some of us prefer to drink until we forget then fuck off home and sleep it off.” He downed the rest of his drink, grimacing a little at the burning sensation but he brushed it off and recovered a moment later, “I like to think that even for a vamp I’m civilised, I’m not gonna go murder or destroy a store.”
Cyprus laughed quietly, grabbing the glass. "Alright, alright, I'll admit I'm not exactly up to date with what the fledglings are up to these days." He grabbed Bryce's glass and this time the cocktail was considerably less strong and almost candy sweet. "And I can see why you like to think so. You've got your head on your shoulders, kid. That's more than most full vamps can say. Bet you haven't even killed someone yet."
Bryce bit his lip as he nodded. He’d never had the nerve to take a life, even the thought of it sent his stomach churning. His ‘friends’ and tried to get him to kill a human, tried to bribe him but he didn’t take it, just accepted the insults that followed and moved on with his life, “Yeah, haven’t been able to take a life yet. Dunno if I will. I mean I’ll probably have to at some point but not anytime soon.”
"It's… hard." His voice was deadpan and he sighed quietly, realizing that probably wan't the best response. "Wait as long as you can, kid. It's not worth it." The worst thing about drinking someone dry was that it almost was. For a few days you felt whole and happy and human again. Everything was crisp and bright and you felt so on top of the world that the guilt didn't catch up until you came down, which only made you want it more. His mouth was watering just thinking about it, fingers white where they gripped the edge of the counter. The wood was starting to dent. "But… I suppose you didn't come here for life advice, did you? This is all a bit unsolicited."
He smiled a little, looking down at his drink for a moment before back to Cyprus, "I mean I'd prefer not to be given advice, I mean I'm sure can figure this shit out on my own, especially about killing, I'm not an idiot." He sighed, his smile vanishing as he took a swing from his drink. He didn't need advice, right? He'd been doing this whole vamp thing for a while, he knew what he was doing. Why should he want advice from a thin-blood of all people? He shook that thought away. They were being civilized right now, even though most of the time he'd rather punch a thin-blood in the face.
Cyprus met his gave with an amused smile. "I'm sure you're not kid, but that doesn't mean you'll figure everything out without your sire helping you. Where is your sire anyways, I'd have thought the guy who turned you would be a little less laissez faire about where he let his fledglings roam." It wasn't like the kids was thin-blooded, in theory he had someone looking out for him. Hopefully trying to keep him out of places like this that weren't exactly hospitable to his type. Then again, even full bloods had their problems. Maybe his sire was dead or something.
Bryce smirked a little, though it wasn't amused, more annoyed then anything else as he stared at his drink with a sudden bitter distaste, "The asshole disappeared on me a few years back," He replied, biting the inside of his cheek, "Gave me some ground rules, helped me for a while and then up and left for some odd reason," He shrugged, "Suppose it doesn't matter, guy was an idiot anyway and less then helpful half the time." Luckily he'd found some vamps to help that weren't complete nut jobs, however most were always 'busy' and he barely saw them more then once a week.
