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"Awesome!" Karia grinned and jumped to his feet. It seemed like the doll in Sam's hand was screaming a bit, but the guy probably deserved it. "Hmm, from here… it's a few blocks that way." He gestured to the right, his appearance shifting. This time, he was going to change his hair too. He's learned his lesson.
Sam nodded. He put the doll's arm back on with a pop, putting it in his pocket as he stood.
"Alright then." He put his hood up, humming slightly.
"Ready to go?"
"Yep." Karia nodded and started towards the door. Normally, he just teleported to the other side of the door, but with Sam there, it would be better if he just opened the door and locked it after him. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small keyring. After flipping through a few, he found the right one. Karia undid the deadbolt and opened the door for Sam. "After you!"
Sam stepped out when prompted to, hands deep in his pockets. He turned back to Karia.
"Where are we eating?" he asked.
"Oh, it's this really cute restaurant I got to a lot. The food is good a pretty cheap too." Karia locked the door and started down the hall towards the exit. "I'm sure you'll like it." He glanced over his shoulder to make sure Sam was following him.
"Alright. Sounds good to me." Sam followed behind, keeping silent. He pulled his hands out of his pockets eventually, fiddling with a different doll than before. It looked old. Sam had definitely had it a long time, perhaps even a favorite?
Karia nodded, quickly leading the way to the restaurant. He wanted to ask Sam all about his powers and the dolls, but that seemed like the kind of thing to talk about over dinner. It could wait for a few more minutes.
A small bell rang as he pushed the door to the restaurant open. Karia made for the first open table and sat down, giving one of the waiters a friendly smile.
Sam was mostly indifferent the entire way, only looking up occasionally to make sure he was still following Karia. He sat in the seat opposite Karia, setting the doll down on the corner of the table.
"What would you suggest?"
"Hmm. Everything here is pretty good, but the fried pickles are amazing." Karia tapped his chin, trying to think of another plate, since his first choice was more of an appetizer. A waiter came up with menus and water. "Oh, I'll look through this and tell you the best ones." He grabbed a menu and opened it. The menu was pretty short and mostly pub food, so it wouldn't take him too long to read through it.
Sam thought a moment.
"The pickles sound good," he agreed. He waited patiently for another recommendation, looking through his own menu. He let out a slight hum, toying with the doll again.
"We'll get those, then…" Karia hummed softly, scanning the menu options. "Oh, this sandwich is pretty good." He tapped 'club sandwich' on the menu and looked up at Sam. "And you can't go wrong with an old-fashioned hamburger." He gave him a crooked smile, eyes drifting towards the doll. "So… what is the deal with those dolls?"
Sam nodded a bit when Karia pointed to the club sandwich. He's probably go for that, seeing his menu down. His eyes actually lit up a bit when the dolls were mentioned, even when his face stayed neutral.
"Well," he said, picking up the doll he had sat on the table, "here's a basic explanation of a complex situation. When I cut someone, enough to draw blood, I gain control of their physical body. I can't control what they think, but I can control what they're made of, how much they can move themselves, how much they feel, and pretty much everything else. I do it to those who threaten me, those who cross me, and just horrible people in general. I avoid doing it to the pure, but I can't always avoid it. I torture the ones I targeted, but I usually try to be nice to ones who simply saw something they shouldn't have. I usually turn them to dolls because it's a preference." Sam seemed to brighten up the more he talked about his dolls. He held the doll in his hands gently, smiling by this point as he looked down at it.
Karia smiled and leaned forward slightly, not wanting to miss a single word. He nodded every once in a while. "Wow. That is… amazing. I love it! Gods." Karia shook his head slightly, slightly in awe of the power Sam had. It was very useful, and it seemed like Sam really liked those dolls. "It's a very practical way to get rid of enemies." He laughed slightly. "Probably more useful in a fight than what I can do."
Sam looked up, the smile still lingering on his face.
"Yeah… Fights usually don't last long, even if there are a lot of people." He ran his finger once over the head of the doll in his hands. "Plus, doing this makes the people practically immortal, so no matter what I do to the dolls they won't die. Keeps me immortal too." He listened for a moment, head tilting.
"The shifting? Is there anything else you can do?"
"I bet. Only having to draw blood instead of killing them all the way sure would make it easier." Karia tilted his head at Sam slightly. "You're immortal? Ha, that's kind of cool." He smiled at him. "Yeah. I can do that teleporting thing I did to get us out of trouble as well. I guess it would help a bit in a fight, but it takes a lot of practice not to make a fool of yourself." Karia shrugged. "And it just confuses people instead of getting rid of them."
Sam nodded a bit.
"Still, it could lead to a lot of different strategies, depending on what you have proficiency in when fighting." He still seemed to be happy, but he was slowly returning to how he was before.
"I mean, the remaining lifespan of the people I take is added to move on, so…" He shrugged a bit. "I'm not like one of those psychos who do it to kids. That's just sick."
"Yeah." Karia nodded. He usually fought with a sword and teleporting helped him sometimes. It didn't usually work when there were a lot of people, though. "Oh, I see." Karia nodded, a slight smile appearing on his face. "That's good. I'm starting to like you." The waiter appeared and he turned to look at him.
"Hello, what can I get you guys?"
"I'll have the fried pickles and the club sandwich." Karia answered, glancing at Sam.
"Alright. And you?" The waiter turned to look at Sam as well.
"Oh." Sam blinked a bit. He wasn't used to people liking him. Usually, he was too busy fighting or messing with his dolls to notice. He looked up when the waiter came.
"I'll have the same," he said. "But no tomato." Sam couldn't stand it, and he doubted Karia would be okay with him dolling the waiter if the sandwich came with it anyway.
"Alright! We'll get those out to you as fast as we can!" The waiter scribbled their orders onto his notebook and walked towards the kitchen.
"Heh. You're going to love this, I just know it." Karia gave Sam a smile. It seemed like he wasn't used to people liking him, or something like that. "Do you not like tomatoes?" He didn't really care that much, but it was something to talk about.
Sam tilted his head a bit at the first statement, offering a faint smile.
"No, I don't. I… Not just a taste thing," he admitted. "I've had bad experiences involving them." He shrugged a bit.
"Huh, that makes sense." Karia nodded slightly. A movement in the window caught his attention and he glanced towards it. If it was one of those people who had gone after him and Sam… Luckily for them, the person wasn't one of the people looking for him and Sam. Unless they recognized Sam, they would be fine.
Sam hummed a bit. He'd put his hood down when they came inside, humming a bit.
"What's wrong?" he asked, seeing how Karia was looking out the window.
"Hmm?" Karia looked back at Sam and smiled. "Oh, I just thought I saw one of those guys who were chasing us. But it wasn't." He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "I just need to get one peaceful meal today and I'll be fine."
Sam let out a sigh.
"It would be nice to have some rest," Sam agreed. "I usually don't stay in the same place for long… I was planning on leaving town tonight." Sam shrugged a bit. "But I don't know if I'm going to do that anymore."
"Oh, no, don't leave!" Karia exclaimed. He'd just found someone interesting, and there was no way he was letting this man out of his sight. Well, maybe out of his sight, but not out of his reach. "Yeah, you should stay! If you need a place, I have room at my place for one more person." He grinned, then looked up as the waiter approached with their food. "Ooh, that was quick. Awesome!"