Kaseki had eventually woken up again, jolting up and falling off of the bench, followed by a loud yelp. He felt his face to make sure he didn't get badly injured then stood up, dusting himself off. "Yikes…" he mumbled, scratching his head and slightly messing up his already messy hair. He sat back down on the bench and picked up the book he had previously been reading, opening it back up again. "Where was I? Oh, right…" he muttered to himself before flipping to a page and continuing his reading. He tapped his foot against the backing of the bench, humming as he continued reading. For someone who forgets things easily, he seemed to be quite a fast reader. He finished the page he left off on and began reading the next, mumbling the dialogue sequences in the book to gain a better understanding of the discussions in the book. He kept reading for almost an hour then sighed, placing the book on his chest and staring at the trees and the sky, sharing glances between both.
you never cease to amaze, do you?
Theron cut off the song with a sharp whine of the violin and looked around, the familiar voice nowhere to be seen. He set his things down carefully, his hands shaking as he ran a hand through his hair. He glared around, now just pissed that he had managed to still think about him even after all these years. He wasn’t supposed to think about him. He wasn’t a part of his life anymore. He had made that decision long ago when he left with without so much as a goodbye or an explanation. Theron had never knew why he had left, didn’t really care at this point since early he wasn’t coming back. He packed the violin back up and started walking through the park, needing to get his work before 10:00.
As he walked, his thoughts went back to the white haired individual he had chased last night. Looking back on it now he understood how a stranger chasing a smaller looking person looked very suspicious to others. With an embarrassed laugh, he shook his head and glanced up at the sky. forgive me, I’ve never been good at outright talking to strangers. he continued on, keeping his gaze averted from others in the park
Kaseki began reading aloud, scratching his head at times and occasionally spacing out, staring at something in the distance. He soon fell asleep while reading aloud, his hands letting go of the book he held above him, causing it to drop and slam down onto his face. This startled him awake with another yelp. "Ow!!!" he shouted, smacking the book and yelling at it as if it were a person. His eyes suddenly went blank and he grabbed the book, shoving it in his jacket and standing up. He ran a hand through his hair, making sure he wasn't going crazy. Then he realized, he'd already passed the point of crazy by running out of the bookstore with no means to an end, nor a reason to go with it. He opened his mouth and felt his fangs, then quickly slammed his mouth shut. "Yep, still there," he mumbled. slinking off to another area in the park. Others were staring at Kaseki, but he really didn't care. Every single time he tried to sleep, he had been woken up by something, so he was pretty exhausted. "Nnn…"
(Quick question, is Kaseki an actual vampire or are the fangs an aesthetic he likes?)
(he's a legit vampire but he tries to act like he's not so others don't sus him out i-)
Theron picked his head up and looked around as he heard a yelp. Not being able to figure our where the sound came from, he continued on, though a bit more slowly in case he saw anything unordinary. Checking the time, he decided to take a quick detour to a cafe a few blocks from his work to grab a quick breakfast. He sat by the window and pulled out the book he had been reading beforehand, fully enthralled by the story by the time a waitress came by torn asked his order. He decided on a pumpkin muffin with dark hot chocolate no whip cream, a typical breakfast for Theron though it wasn’t much. He went back to reading after the order was taken, resting his head on his hand and growing comfortable in his chair as he disappeared from the world for a while
Kaseki had walked out of the park and towards a bunch of buildings. He spotted a cafe and looked in through the window adjacent from where the stranger was seated, wishing he had the money to go in- so he just stared for a bit and then shoved his hands in his pockets, walking away. "If only I'd listened to him then… Maybe I'd be able to go in there," he mumbled to himself, speedwalking at this point. He hadn't noticed the stranger from the previous night in the cafe and took a few deep breaths as he walked past more and more buildings. "Nnn…" he groaned, and suddenly bit his arm as he kept walking, trying to suppress any urges he could possibly get in an area like the one he was in. He didn't bite down hard enough to draw any blood, but he still bit down hard enough to cause himself a minor amount of pain. "Eck- I forgot how weird it is to do that," he said after pulling back, wiping his mouth in case he had accidentally drawn blood.
Theron picked his head up once his order came in, catching a glimpse out the window, almost immediately recognizing the man staring at him. He saw when he started walking away, half expecting them to go inside, disappointed when he didn’t. He stood slowly, trying to decide if he should go after them. Last time he did that he got on a full cardio work out, he wasn’t really in the mood to do that again. He glanced down at his breakfast and smiled softly. lets hope you don’t drink blood, vampire. He ordered one more muffin, sticking to classic blueberry and a hot chocolate before he jogged back outside, scanning the area for the white haired man. He walked in the direction he last saw him go in and searched the area, hopping he hadn’t gone far.
Kaseki was now sitting under a tree, pulling out the book he had been reading. "If only… Oh well, might as well not think about that. It wouldn't help my mood out anyway," he mumbled as he flipped to the page he left off on, scanning the page. He used one hand to hold the book, the other to feel the arm he had previously bitten. He still wanted to make sure no blood was drawn, and when he discovered that no blood was drawn, he let out a sigh of relief. "Phew…" he exhaled, putting the book down and taking off his jacket, revealing bandages covering his upper arms. "That's better… I was starting to overheat," he said aloud, not directed at anyone but himself. He put the jacket aside and stretched, then grabbed the book and continued reading.
Theron eventually made it back to the park. At this point he didn’t really care if he was late for work, his worries over the man he seemed to keep running into was more concerning than his job at the moment. He asked a few people very awkwardly if they’d seen a white haired man run past. Some gave him off looks and never responded, others gave him vague directions but nothing of help. He eventually just started wandering around the park, his eyes scanning the trees and fields until they settled on a black blotch against a large oak. He tilted his head and slowly walked up the figure, a sigh of relief escaping him when he recognized the white hair. He stopped a few feet away, seeing that the man’s now exposed arms were covered in bandages, whether that was a fashion choice or those were injuries, Theron couldn’t tell but they did make his heart race a bit faster, initially thinking that they were wounds. He bit his lip in thought, knowing that he probably let seemed very stalkerish now. He shook off the thought and waved a hand in greeting, trying to catch the man’s attention without startling him too bad.
Kaseki looked up from his book and spotted the stranger, his eyes slightly widening. He wasn't scared or anything, he just didn't know what to say. He waved back at them, smiling nervously. He quickly put his jacket back on to hide the bandages, since he didn't want to make the other worry too much than they probably already do. He was still silent, and he quickly looked back down at the book, beginning to sweat a little. He wiped away the sweat with his jacket sleeve and didn't make any further eye contact with the stranger, nor did he say anything that would bring attention to him. He just kept quickly scanning the pages of his book, making excuses for himself so he didn't have to say or do anything other than read the book.
Theron frowned a little, knowing that he probably freaked the man out. He knew he was being weird, but he couldn’t back down without an explanation now. He cleared his throat bit and waved the bag with the muffin in it. “Uhm, I saw you earlier at the cafe. I noticed you didn’t go in so I thought you were interested. In the food! Not me! The food! So I uh, bought a muffin and some chocolate in case you wanted any and couldn’t get some, not saying that you’re incapable of getting them yourself of course! But just a gesture since yesterday was a bit awkward…” he trailed off slightly and looked away for a moment. “I’ll just go so you can enjoy these without me rambling. Glad you like the book.” He smiled softly, seeing the the other had gotten quite a lot done since yesterday. He set the food down a few feet away from the man and turned to leave. “What’s your favorite part so far?” He blurted our, knowing he said he’d leave but not being able to resist the urge to ask and turning back to them.
Kaseki accepted the offer and was about to go back to reading when the question was asked out of nowhere. "I…I don't really know, there's a lot of parts that I like so far…" he said, his usually quiet voice gaining some extra volume. He seemed sad that they were going to leave, and he immediately broke eye contact with them. He fumbled with the strings on his jacket and mumbled something to himself. He seemed to be in dire need of a friend, or maybe just someone to share a connection with, since he felt like he had previously messed up his chances with having a friend after running away like he did. He went silent right away, not wanting to sound weird by asking them to stay. He must've already given the stranger a bad impression of himself by running away like a maniac last night, so he didn't wanna accidentally do anything too drastic than he already has.
Theron smiled softly, debating whether to make an attempt to make it to work relatively on time or to stay with the white haired man. He decided to stay, not really worried if he missed a day of work. He sat a few feet away, laying his violin case beside him. “Uhm, do you mind if I stay a while? Of course I understand if you prefer to be alone at the moment, without some stranger bothering you.” He lowered his gaze and played with the grass, not wanting to bother him if all he wanted to do was Be alone. “Are you alright,” he whispered softly after a few moments of silence. “I get it if you want to alone and stuff but…are you safe?”
Kaseki looked over at the stranger and kept his nervous smile. "I would like that… But if you have to go, I won't mind…" he said, but it was a clear lie. He really wanted someone to talk to, but he didn't wanna be a burden either. He bit his lower lip, which caused his fangs to show again, but at this point, he didn't care. He needed to suppress the urge to bite something. "And yes, I'm safe. You don't have to worry about me," he replied to the stranger's question, then asked a question of his own. "By the way… what's your name?"
He visibly sighed in relief and offered a small smile of his own. “I’ll stay as long as you want me to.” He replied, noticing the fangs with a bit of surprise, never in a million years wouldn’t he have guessed his nickname would have been accurate. He peeked up slightly and blushed, forgetting that he had never asked a name or given his own.
“Oh! My name is Theron.” He replied softly. “What about you?”
Kaseki seemed happy that Theron was going to stay, and it kind of showed. He eventually went blank again but was still sweating. He once again wiped the sweat away with his jacket sleeve and replied to the question, "I'm Kaseki… It's nice to finally meet you…" He immediately bit his lower lip again. "Nnn…" he groaned under his breath, hoping that this will be enough to help hold himself back. He soon stopped biting his lower lip and looked back at his book. He started to once again frantically scan the pages, hoping to stall just enough to where he could find something to talk about.
“It’s nice to finally meet you as well.” He gently nudged the bag with the muffin in it towards Kaseki, assuming that he was hungry. He watched him for a moment longer before unpacking his violin again and beginning to softly play, seeing that kaseki had grown quiet again. He truly didn’t want to make him uncomfortable by just rambling so he figured playing music would help sooth the obvious tension. He started off with a softer song, sounding more like a lullaby than what he had previously played. Theron shut his eyes as he played, enjoying the softer, slower paced piece.
Kaseki grabbed the bag, carefully picking it up and placing it on his lap. He opened it up and pulled out the muffin, eating it almost right away. He seemed pretty hungry, for sure. He also seemed to not realize how skinny he was compared to others his age, but at this point, he didn't really care either way. He was just glad that somebody was finally willing to talk to him. As he was eating, he heard a violin begin to play and quickly glanced over at Theron, then looked away again. He kept a straight face, and he wasn't sweating like he was before. A few drops of sweat formed on his face now and then, but he wiped them off with his jacket sleeve almost immediately. He took a deep breath and calmed himself down, then finished off the muffin. "Lunari…" he mumbled, shooting another quick glance at Theron, supposedly directing what he mumbled towards the other.
Theron continued to play as the other are, a small smile on his lips. His eyes flickered opened when Kaseki spoke he stopped playing for a moment and tilted his head “Lunari?” He repeated softly with a tilt of his head. It sounded familiar to him but he couldn’t put his finger on it. He smiled softly when he saw that the muffin was completely gone and offered him the rest of his pumpkin ones. “Don’t worry, I’ll get more later.” He reassured, also nudging the cup of hot chocolate towards him while he took a sip of his own
Kaseki began to sweat again, realizing he said that aloud. "I- I mean- Uh—" he kept stammering for a good minute, then calmed down. When the pumpkin muffins were offered to him, he looked at them occasionally but didn't actually eat them. He laughed nervously then averted his eyes back to… well, whatever he could look at that could give him an excuse not to make eye contact. He kept mumbling to himself, making sure only he himself could hear the mumbling. He suddenly brought up 'Lunari' again as he mumbled to himself, and he began scratching at his legs. "Nnn…"
A true this point, Theron thought the mumbling was a normal thing for Kaseki. He was still concerned about him, seeing that he didn’t really eat much of Thebes breakfast and the fact that he seemed extremely uncomfortable in the heat, though he wondered why he didn’t just take off the jacket. Theron went back to softly playing his violent, falling into a rhythm of sorts after a few moments.
He glanced back up when he saw that Kaseki was scratching his leg roughly. He reached out and gently put his hand on top of Kaseki’s not wanting him to start bleeding due to the excessive scratching. “Hey,” he shut and opened his mouth, looking for anything to say that would distract him. He glanced around a bit, not being able to meet his eyes. His gaze settled on the book he had bought. “Tell me what you’ve read so far.” He urged gently, keeping his voice down so only Kaseki could hear. “You’ve gotten pretty far into it since last night.” He noted with amusement. “If love to hear your thoughts on it.”
Kaseki continued scratching until Theron placed a hand over his, causing his face to turn a faint shade of red, but he managed to shake it off. "Well…" he began, then went on about what he's read up to now and how he really liked the way the book was written, especially with the horror aspects that he's seen so far. He now seemed extremely calm, no more scratching or mumbling or anything. He basically seemed like a regular person- minus the white hair, fangs, and all that. He actually seemed…happy. He was already happy, but now it was showing in a way that it hadn't before the book was brought up. He even had a bit of a smile on his face, not that Kaseki really noticed, of course. He seemed to show a special interest in the horror aspects of not just the book in question, but he also seemed to know a lot about how other authors write particular horror stories, or how some authors just slide hints of the horror genre itself into their books. It seemed like not only an interest of his, it almost came off as an obsession. After a few minutes of rambling, he finally took a deep breath and went quiet, letting the other add to the pretty much one-sided conversation.
Theron smiled softly, glad to have finally found a topic Kaseki enjoyed. His hand remained on Kaseki’s as he spoke, hoping it didn’t bother him. He was amused and very surprised at how much Kaseki knew about horror, not only talking about the book but also about the horror genre in general. Theron himself had never really been into horror, having not really found many books that had interested him other the one Kaseki had, but he did appreciate the genes for what it was. He glanced up when Kaseki grew quiet having would have loved to hear him happily talk about anything for hours on end.
“You talk about horror like I talk about romance. I’ve never really gotten into horror, save for that book and a few others.” He explained sheepishly. “Any recommendations? Preferably something less gruesome for now, just until I build up enough courage to actually get through a violent death or something.”
