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It's night time once again. If Elisa had left Atalo a message during the day, it would have been after sunset when it was returned. Luckily, it still gets dark relatively early.
He's sat at a table in the quiet coffee shop, currently without drink. Though the dog on a leash and lying down next to him has a bowl of water available, even if he seems uninterested. Dressed in the same white shirt and jeans he wore the last time he and Elisa met, Atalo is tapping the table in quiet thought, expression neutral as he ponders.
Elisa is much more put together today than she was at the library, despite having taught for much of the day. She's carrying a messenger bag that looks quite heavy, but also like she's used to carrying it. She smiles as she sees Atalo and gives him a wave. "I'ma get a drink and I'll join you" she says before going and ordering herself an iced chai and a cookie. Once she gets her order she comes over and sits down, dropping the bag to the floor alongside her chair with a relieved sigh. "Evening" she says, and then leans over to let Cerberus sniff her hand. "How are you today?"
"I've not been awake for long." He admits, smiling lightly and speaking once she sits. "It's a downside of working nights and sleeping days. "So far, we're both doing well for ourselves. How was your own day?"
Cerberus raises his head, studying the offered hand with an almost haughty expression. At least until Atalo sighs and issues a single command in Greece, at which point he dutifully sniffs at Elisa's fingers, also inspecting her bag for a moment.
"Ooof, I could never work nights. I just don't do well once it gets past midnight or so." Elisa shakes her head. Once Cerberus has sniffed her fingers she lifts her hand to take a sip of her drink before continuing. "I brought you a couple of books my colleagues reccomended. I stuck to newer stuff - figured those were more likely to be ones you'd not found on your searchings." She leans over again, and pulls three books out of her bag and puts them on the table. "I'll need them back when you're done, but there's no real rush."
"Then, it seems it's in the twilight we'd meet most often." Atalo muses, nodding. He reaches down, scratching behind Cerberus' ear. "That seems workable." A pause. "If we keep meeting that is. Though, I'd have to at least once to return these books." He seems to remember to smile after a moment, reaching out to take them and study the covers. "Thank you Elisa. I've not come across these before, and they should help me with these studies of mine."
"Well that's poetic" Elisa says, taking another sip of her chai. "I see no reason not to meet again, unless you suddenly turn into an obnoxious ass or something." She smiles and shrugs. "And in that case you can just drop the books off at the Temple library. So no worries."
"I'm fairly set in my ways, so in that respect, you've nothing to worry at." He nods simply, offering another smile. "And it was entirely unintentional poetry, I admit." He glances at the counter, but holds off getting a drink just yet. "Did you meet success with your students today?"
Elisa lets out a short, but not entirly humorless laugh. "Well, I tried. Whether they got anything out of it remains to be seen." She gives another shrug. "Honestly, they're not bad. Could be a lot worse. So how's the thrift buisness going for you?"
A nod to that. "Well, they've got the chance for it, hopefully some of them are wise enough to take it." Atalo smiles, rubbing his chin. "I'm hoping to get a few boxes sorted soon. Unpacking donated clothes is a bit of a lottery. Most are on the plain or worn side, but every so often, something stands out. Like a good quality leather jacket or a butterfly dress. It's surprisingly what people toss out at times."
Elisa nods. "When I was growing up, our church had this huge rummage sale every year. Like, really huge. Got mentioned in some tourist guides even. They had a whole 'boutique' section for the really nice stuff. I got two really great leather jackets there." She pauses a moment and wrinkles her nose. "Got some gross stuff too though. 'Specially in the children's section"
He nods. "That sounds really good, especially for family events and hunting for diamonds in the middle of everything there. Community, that matters." His smile grows slightly. "And hopefully the 'gross stuff' was easy enough to avoid."
His head cants as a thought occurs. "Are you religious Elisa?" There's a pause, then. "If that's a question you're happy to be asked."
In through the door comes a young woman with a messenger bag slung over one shoulder. She's wearing jeans, a white blouse, and a pair of low-heeled pumps, and sporting a pair of tortoiseshell glasses with darkly tinted lenses. When she steps into the cafe, any of the rest of the conversation going on drops noticeably in volume and a few heads turn her way, not because she's the sort of beautiful that turns heads -- she could be, depending on your type -- but out of a general sense of unease. People who have noticed her seem to shift nervously for a few moments before returning to conversations in quieter tones.
Atalo, of course, can sense the Beast in her immediately, and can also probably guess from the reaction of the mortals in the room to her presence that she's a Nosferatu.
She'd known the question would come up the minute she'd mentioned church, but it still makes her sigh. And tense slightly, though that might be due to the arrival of the woman who just walked it. She shifts slightly in her chair before saying "Sorta? If you really pin me down I'd probably admit to being spiritual more than religious." She breaks off a bit of her cookie and nibbles at it. "It's... complicated. Not in a bad way," she says hurriedly. "Just... well, faith should be complicated in my opinion."
"I will not pry into anything you consider private." Atalo tells her, a little formally. "To share some of myself, most would likely consider my own beliefs pagan. To me, they're simply mine, without need for a label." He leaves it there, opening his mouth to shift the topic slightly when he catches sense of the new arrival. His head snaps round and he's staring her way briefly, in unison with Cerberus. It only lasts a moment, and he's turning attention back to Elisa, though the dog is still focused on the new arrival. "I.. yes." He states simply to Elisa, taking a moment to calm his ruffled Beast and trying to cover for it.
Alex's response to the reaction her arrival elicits from people is a faint press of her lips, like she has definitely noticed it, and is kind of annoyed by it. For anyone observant and paying her mind, it's probably clear she's not cultivating it on purpose. After a moment she moves toward the counter to place an order, where she's exceedingly polite with the barista who is doing the same, with their best customer service smile in place.
Elisa shakes her head. "It's not private, it's just... well, conversations about faith can go real bad real quick with the wrong sort of people. Not that I think you're the wrong sort of people." She glances over at the strange woman and then down at the table, trying to figure out what it is about the woman that bothers her so much. She tries so hard not to be judgemental, but she seems to be failing and that annoys her.
"What sort of paganism, if you don't mind me asking?"
Atalo adjusts his chair slightly. It's only a minor move, but it's such that if Alex looks their way, he'll be more visible to her then Elisa. He pats Cerberus again, musing something to him in Greek and keeping half an eye on the other vampire as she gets her order. "Thank you. Though I appreciate you don't know me well enough yet to be sure." He smiles slightly. "I gained a respect for the Greek pantheon, Artemis in particular, before coming to America. To me, she represents not just hunt, but self sufficiency and watching out for others. My work for the thrift store takes some inspiration from those beliefs."
It doesn't take long for Alex to get her drink, and once it's in hand she moves away from the counter a few steps and searches for a place to sit. In that search her eyes fall on Atalo again, drawn by the Beast that resides there but nowhere else in the room, and then it moves to Cerberus and she smiles, but immediately lifts her eyes away again as she drifts that way, pointedly not paying attention to the animal while she approaches.
"I'm sorry to interrupt," she says in a voice that to Atalo no doubt sounds just fine, but might send shivers up mortal spines. "I couldn't help but notice the pup, and I was wondering if it might be okay to say hi. I understand he's probably on duty, and I'll leave you alone if the answer is no." She flashes Elisa a smile, apologetic.
Elisa nods. "I got really in to Greek mythology for a bit when I was younger. I always kinda liked Artemis as well, but for me the draw was that she basically was the one who said 'to hell with this' to the whole patriarchal expectations of society at the time and instead ran off with the wolves." She smiles slightly, mostly at herself. "I was also really into wolves at the time."
When the woman comes over, Elisa shifts her chair back slightly, ostensibly to give the woman easier access to Cerberus, but it also happenes to put Elisa just a touch further away. But she manages to muster up a polite smile.
"Canines can make good company, I've found. Cerberus isn't exactly a wolf, to his sorrow, but he's a distant cousin." He beams, face becoming more expressive as Artemis is discussed, though it becomes a touch guarded, but still polite as the unknown Kindred approaches. He turns, offering Alex a hand. "I'm Atalo. Hello." He offers simply, before glancing at the ghouled dog that's still watching Alex carefully. He mutters quietly to him in Greek and Cerberus settles a hair, sitting up in reply to the command. "He's fully grown. But you can say hello to him, yes."
Alex lets out a soft laugh at Elisa's words and says, "I think a lot of us go through that phase. The wolves one, I mean." Then, with a pause, she adds, "and saying 'to hell with this' to the patriarchy, although that's less a phase and more a revelation, isn't it?"
She takes the hand that Atalo offered to her and shakes it. Like the rest of her, there's an unnatural perfection to everything about her, and that includes her perfectly manicured nails. "Alex," she answers him with a smile. "Nice to meet you."
Then she crouches down and extends a hand for Cerberus to sniff. She seems to know a thing or two about dogs, since she crouches in front of him instead of leaning over him, and situates herself with her body a little sideways, instead of facing him square on. She gives him a chance to sniff and show whether he's interested or not before reaching out to touch. "I feel like every good dog is a little pup, even when they're old and grey. You're a very good boy, aren't you?" She glances up. "What's his name?"
Cerberus accepts the pat and sniffs at Alex's hand, but somehow has the manner of appearing bored, yawning and lying his head back down once attention is off him. Atalo offers a slightly rueful smile, but nods at Alex. "Cerberus." A faint smile at that titbit of information.
(Still with us Hawkwolf?)
"It's a bit of both," Elisa says. "I went to an all-girl's high school, and there were certainly those of us that got more 'smash the patriarchy' than others at different times." She holds out her hand. "My name's Elisa by the way"
Alex gives Cerberus a brief bit of affection and then stands up again, where she takes Elisa's hand and says, "Alex. You know, I wonder if being at an all-girl's school would make someone more or less prone to being irritated by the patriarchy. I hadn't really considered that before."
Atalo tilts his head, processing some of this before he smiles, nodding. "I'm not sure where my place is in all that with my beliefs, but, I'm not one who tends to try to tell others what to do." He pats Cerberus gently, listening.
"Eh, it depends," Elisa says, wobbling a hand. "My school had lifers - girls who'd been students there since like kindergarden or first grade, and they tended to be less 'smash the patriarchy', mostly because they often hadn't really experianced much of it first hand. It was more academic for them." She shrugs. "Kids like I was who only entered for high school were more likely to get all activist-y"
"That makes sense, and lines up fairly closely with what I was thinking might play out," Alex says with a nod. "I went to public schools, so my experience was pretty different." She turns back to Atalo, considers him a moment, and finally shrugs. "I don't know enough about you and your beliefs to really guess," she admits. "Sorry if I steered the conversation of course. I'll leave you both be, if you'd like."
"I, think you are welcome?" Atalo glances at Elisa to check her thoughts. "I tend to spend a little too much time with just myself, so, speaking to more people feels a good idea to me. I. Me and Elisa were talking in general, and getting to know more about one another." A slight smile. "And I feel that if you face more challenges in life, you'd be more invested when it comes to thinking about them, perhaps?"
"No, please! Take a chair" She might be speaking just a little too fast, covering her lingering discomfort with expected politeness. "And yea, our converstations have tended to ramble."
"Or more annoyed at having to deal with them over and over," Alex answers as she pulls a chair out and takes a seat. She puts her coffee down on the table, slides her bag off of her shoulder, and puts it down next to her as she lowers herself into the chair. "I suppose that in a lot of ways our challenges make us stronger, but sometimes I'd be happy with fewer of them."
"I've faced in my life, but, not any recently I admit." Atalo muses. "Running my store. That's a thrift store." He explains to Alex. "Has a few, but nothing I'd considering unduly taxing, all things considered.
"You're lucky," Elisa says, with a small smile to let Atalo know she's not trying to critizie him. "Though if I'm being fair, I probably could avoid a lot of challenges if I didn't purposfully throw myself at them."
"You run a thrift store?" Alex asks with interest. "Where is it? I'd love to come and check it out and see what you have in stock some time. I love shopping in thrift stores. Sometimes you find some fascinating things in them. I imagine that being a business owner always presents some challenges, though."
"That's what I said to Elisa." He muses, smiling more widely. "I do find some unique items now and again, but, hm." He offers Alex a card showing the address. "You're both welcome to visit, though I know I've said that before Elisa." He chuckles lightly. "And, what sort of challenges?"
Elisa laughs lightly. "Not to speak for our new friend here, but there's a lot of finantial stuff with running a buisness that I know I'd never be able to keep on top of. Without direct debit, I'd barely be able to pay my bills on time, much less deal with buisness stuff"
"I don't have experience with the topic, but I know that most small businesses fail, which would generally imply it's harder than it seems," Alex answers with a slight shrug. "You would certainly know more about what the challenges are than I would, since I can't speak from experience, just from hypotheticals." She gives Elisa a smile, and there's just something wrong with it. One of those things that's obvious, and then a half a second later it's gone, and it's impossible to put a finger on what it was. "I'm good with numbers myself. That part of it would be less of a challenge than... I don't know, being certain I have the right location."
"It's challenging at times, mm." He concedes. "I tend to do things on paper, but I've been told I need to actually get computers in place. Which I suspect is the truth.. And what do you do for an occupation Alex?"
Elisa gives a mock shudder at the idea of doing any sort of bookkeeping by hand. "I'd have though a computer would be a necessity." She tries to smile at Alex, but it fades even before it's really there, and her gaze slides off the other woman's face. "Well, everyone's different I guess."
"I'm kind of still working that out," Alex admits with a wince, like it's a sore point. "I've been going through a lot, things that I definitely couldn't maintain a job or go to college through. I have financial support from my family, which I'm grateful for, but I need to figure out something soon." With a flash of a smile she adds, "I'm a computer geek, though. Software development, security, networking, you name it and I've probably dabbled, at least. I can't imagine doing bookkeeping by hand either."
"Hm." He considers Alex. "Well, if you're happy to send me your resume, and working at a very quiet thrift store for not much money could appeal.." Oh, wonderful offers. "But, mm, I do need to get more stuff in place. And, I'll note again, I would enjoy showing you my store Elisa. Maybe.. part of that is showing off." He smiles ruefully.
"Okay, okay," Elisa says with a laugh. "I'll make sure to stop by sometime this week." It's obvious that she's more comfortable talking to Atalo than Alex, but equally obvious that she's trying to fight against that. "I'd think IT stuff would be easy to dip in and out of, if you needed to. And isn't it something you can often do remotely?"
"I'm certainly open to talking to you about it more," Alex tells Atalo with a smile. "I'll put an updated resume together. Do you have a business card, or a way for me to get in touch?" She tells Elisa, "yeah, sometimes you can do it remotely. At least the parts of it that don't involve actually physically setting something up, which is easier and easier to avoid doing in the modern world, with the cloud and everything."
"Yes." He smiles widely and offers a card to Alex. "Call me and we can talk more." Atalo nods. "I met someone who.. well, stubbornly talked me into getting a system set up. But he's already got a dedicated job." He smiles at Elisa. "Thank you. I'd enjoy that."
"Can't say exactly when it'll be - we're getting close to the end of term right now, but I'll find the time one of these days." She leans back in her chair and sips her chai. "Huh, I suppose that's true. So easy to forget how modern so much stuff actually is. You'd think I'd be more consious about it, being a history professor and all"
Alex takes the business card, looks it over, then leans down to tuck it into the bag she'd been carrying when she came in. "Well, that means this trip was actually more productive than I expected it to be." She takes out a phone and glances at it. "I should probably get going, though." She pushes her chair back, like she's about to get up. "Thank you both for letting me sit with you a bit."
"Good to meet you." He smiles at Alex politely, nodding. "And thank you. I'll see how things look when you're in touch." A thoughtful look to Elisa. "The world does seem to change very quickly. I do my best to keep up, but it doesn't always work."
"You're welcome," Elisa says, almost by reflex. To Atalo she says "It can be hard, especially if you're not a real tech-y sort of person. I'll admit I still get all confused with smartphone stuff"
Alex stands, picks her bag up, and slings it over her shoulder. "Have a good night, both of you," she says as she picks up her cup -- which she never actually drank out of -- and buses it herself, and then departs. Letting the mortals in the cafe settle back into something more comfortable, without the Nosferatu's presence in the room.
"I'm glad it's not just me." He nods at Elisa. "And, have a good night Alex." He waits for her to leave, checking how the humans seem to react. "All alright?" He asks Elisa quietly once she's gone, rubbing his mouth."
Elisa lets out a breath as Alex leaves, tension melting from her shoulders. "Yea, no, I'm fine." She almost seems like she wants to say more, but stops herself, shaking her head. "Sorry. Just feeling weird there for a moment"
He nods, reaching towards her shoulder and then stopping with his hand in mid air. "I.. mm." Seeming unsure he rubs at his mouth with his other hand, returning both to the table. "Do you want another drink?" He offers quietly.
She's glad that his hand stops before actually touching her shoulder. It's meant in a friendly way, she's pretty sure, but she's also not ever really been a fan of casual contact the way some folks are. Instead she stares at the dregs of her tea for a long moment before finally shaking her head. "Thanks, but I'm fine." A beat. "Yea, I'm fine." Then, mostly to herself. "That was weird."
"A little bit. She was, felt a little intense?" He ponders a moment. "But, best to maybe not dwell? I." He seems to flounder. "Sorry. Before, we were talking about rare clothing, I believe? And religion and spiritually, to a small degree?"
"Intense, yea, that's a good word." Elisa shakes herself and forces herself to smile. "A bit of all that. It was wandering. Not that that's a bad thing"
"No. I am glad to be able to know you better. And, wandering doesn't trouble me either. Did you want to ask me anything too?"
Elisa taps her chin, thinking. "So are you from Greece originally, or is it just where your ancestery's from?"
He smiles. "Originally, yes. But I've been away quite a while. I do think I might visit again one day, but for now I'm settled here. I came to the US about ten years ago."
"Oh, that's cool. You speak English very well." Her face flushes suddenly. "Sorry, that was rude as hell of me." She shakes her head. "You'd think by now I'd know how to think before I say stupid shit like that"
"Well, I learned most of it before I came here." He smiles slightly. "Direct, perhaps. But apology accepted. And if you get to know me better, you'll find I say my own stupid shit sometimes. You should feel free to tell me if I miss it when I do."
"That, I'm good at" Elisa says with a sardonic smile. "After all, there are few people more likely to say stupid shit than college freshmen. So how's the US been treating you?"
"Truth is. I've, well, I live here, got involved with charities, but, I spend more time then I maybe should tucked away in my store." He admits. A wry smile shows. "A small confession. I might have used meeting you at the library as motivation to try and 'get out more'. Mostly as I appreciated the conversation we had."
"Well, if you're not a really extroverted person, that can be an easy habit to fall in to. I know I've had some times in my life when I've gone out way less than I should. I'm glad I could encourage you to get out a little." She smiles. "Though if you really want to do that more you should get involved in a social group of some sort."
"Well, I am to a degree. With the charity work, but, I should try being more active in it from time to time." He nods once. "I don't mind just having peace and quiet in the store with Cerberus, now and again. But, not all the time." His head cants. "Do you mind me asking a faintly personal question?"
Elisa waves a dismissive hand. "Not at all. Go ahead"
He nods, patting Cerberus briefly. "I wondered if you were currently in a relationship."
A
"Oh, ah..." She flushes slightly. "Not... at the moment. It's not... something I think about much."
"Ah." He pauses. Cerberus gets another pat. "Something to respect and acknowledge then. But, I still would be glad if you visit my store when you have chance. I do enjoy the opportunity for conversation."
Elisa looks equal parts flustered and confused, and she tries to cover it by playing with the empty cookie bag. "So do I. It's nice to talk to people outside of academia. And my blog friends."
He takes a moment to reply, choosing words carefully. "Was there a new blog post recently that you liked? And I'd agree. Good to talk to people outside of my workplace activities."
She perks up a bit. "I'm actually working on one. Covering the fashion show a couple days ago. Did you hear about that?"
"A little. It was cancelled, I think? And there were protests?"
"Protests, yes. And the stagehands staged a wildcat strike, which is why it got cancelled. It looked like it might get bad for a little bit, but me and a couple other folks were able to keep things from breaking into violence"
"You were there?" He nods, then considers her. "When passions run wild and angry they're not always easy to stop. How did you do that?"
"Yea, I usually try to go to things like that." She gives a sardonic smile. "You'd be surprised how quick cops'll back off sometimes when they know they're being recorded by a 'respectable white lady'." Her smile fades into a more thoughtful look. "I can't take all the credit though. There were a bunch of people doing that sort of stuff. And something got the cops spooked at one point, so..." She shrugs. "Luck was a big part too"
"Let me know if something like it happens again? I should get more involved in things sometimes." Another of those pauses, as though he's thinking something through before he smiles slightly. "What was the line? In my experience there's no such thing as luck? But I'm glad you weren't hurt, regardless."
"Sure. Are you texting familiar?" She asks with a smile, but considering he's mentioned not being super familiar with computers, it seems a good idea to check. "Thanks for your concern. I don't want to get injured in stuff like that but..." She shrugs. "I have health insurance and sick leave. Lots of other folk don't"
"I'm slow, but I can." He smiles, before nodding. "And that's true. The world often seems unbalanced. Not that I object to you having health insurance, but others should too."
"Well if I'm telling you about stuff, you just have to read, not type. I ask only because my dad can't even figure out how to read his texts half the time, so I figured..." She lets the words trail off. His other statement makes her frown, though she also nods. "Oh I agree. Just another 'fun' result of our messed up capitalistic system"
"Mm." A light chuckle. "Just reading then. That I can do, mm." Fingers drum the table as the messed up system comes up. "Another reason for me to get more involved. I feel my efforts help, but, I'd be glad to be able to do more. I think I'll ask some of the people I know for advice."
"It's hard, I warn you. The system's way bigger than any one person and it's really easy to feel like you're making no difference even when you're working your ass off." Her sigh is resigned. "It's worth it though, even if sometimes you have to remind yourself of that"
"I feel that's part of the importance of support systems? Not just to make a difference, but to remind people they are? And while I'm not the most inspirational person you'll meet, I will try to remind you of that if need be. I suspect you'd offer me the same."
Michael/Laura/Atalo (Him/He)Yesterday at 9:48 PM
Elisa's eyes crinkle at the corners as she smiles. "Oh indeed, on both counts. I'm always happy to help out people who want to make the world a better place."
He smiles in turn, nodding. "Then we have an accord and something to work on." Checking the time he frowns, standing reluctantly. "I've a shift soon I need to cover, or I would stay to talk longer. I'm very much hoping we can again."
"I should probably go too. It's been really nice. I really will try to stop by your store soon!"
He smiles widely. "Thank you. I take more pride in it then I should, so I'll be glad of that." He pauses, then offers her a hand. "Until next time Elisa. Be well?"
She grabs her bag and stands up. "You too. Have a good evening"
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