capeandcowllogs | i used to fill the sky around with happiness and joy;

Entry tags:

i used to fill the sky around with happiness and joy;

WHO:

xuffasch
WHERE: in the city, somewhere near a blood bank
WHEN: tomorrow afternoon
WARNINGS: n/a
SUMMARY: damian's heard a few hints about what shahrazad really is, and he's looking to verify.
FORMAT: whatever you'd like!

He knew that Ned had mentioned it, but Damian was never quite sure how seriously to take the things the Pie-maker said. The man seemed to fluctuate between genuine honesty and a passive-aggressive sarcasm, so it was hard to pinpoint. It had been a few months since he'd dropped hints about his employee--the woman Damian had talked to on more than one occasion--but now that Damian was fully back on his feet it was time to see whether there was any truth to those claims.

It was daytime, so he was dressed in street clothes--black jeans, black hoodie, red Converse. His attempts at subtlety were a bit misplaced, but in any case it was less conspicuous than the Robin costume. He tailed Shahrazad fairly closely, but was adept at keeping out of sight. When he saw her go into the blood bank, however, his suspicious were nearly confirmed.

Unless she was just anemic, in which case this entire venture would have been a waste of time.

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Shahrazad had made a great effort to stay out the sunlight on the way there. Truthfully she would have loved to avoid going out during the day time when the chances of being burned alive by the sun were greatest. Despite her great love for this time of the day, it could very easily and horrifically kill her. She was careful to be fully covered from head to toe though.

This was a necessary trip. She had been distracted lately. Buffy was gone, things were busy with this new Terran holiday underway at the Pie Hole, and now the need for blood was more than just something that occasionally nagged at her. She was genuinely hungry from days of putting off trips to gather the necessary hemoglobin her body burned through too quickly. Any longer and she might pose a risk to Ned and the people who came to the shop. That was Shahrazad's worst nightmare.

Once inside she goes through the necessary steps of explaining her situation and waiting for them to get to her. She is careful to avoid the windows in the meanwhile and staying covered despite how warm it must be getting now that she's inside the heated building.

Damian takes her entering the building as his queue. He remains at the perimeter, his hood up over his ears. He looks a bit like a mini gangster, except that there's a rather large Rolex on his wrist and he has a sophisticated pair of binoculars hanging around his neck.

He's not sure whether he believes in "vampires." Despite knowing people like Zatanna and having a grandfather who rises from the dead whenever it's convenient, Damian has a derisive view of the supernatural. It's something he doesn't think too hard about, and only uses when it suits him.

Today, as he watches Shahrazad through the glass and desperately needs something better to do with his time, it suits him.

He would not be able to look through the glass for long. Shahrazad is seen and moves from her seat in the lobby to follow a clinic worker quickly. The room she heads into has its windows appropriately covered. She would have to delayer to get the blood after all. Without the window coverings and clothing things would get unpleasant quickly.

Shahrazad removes her coat, jeweled gloves, and rolls up her sleeve. She sits down and once the IV is in her arm she looks visibly relieved. All would appear normal if one could discount the fact a waitress was sitting in a dark room receiving a blood transfusion while occasionally glancing up the bag. She is appearing to be just a little hungry while doing so too.

Losing visual throws a kink in his plans, but Damian's a detective. He silently moves into the lobby of the clinic, trying his best to look like a wide-eyed innocent. Not seeing her there, he slowly makes his way over to the chairs lining the walls and sits down in the one closest to the door, hoping that he'll be able to hear what's going on--or at least observe when she leaves.

There's nothing to really hear for a few minutes until the attendant returns. They have a brief exchange. Even if the words are hard to make out through it should be clear Shahrazad is trying to convince them of something. It seems whatever she said worked since they leave and return with a cooler. Shahrazad exits the room shortly after looking far better with that same cooler in hand. She's going home and none the wiser about being followed thanks to her missing heightened senses.

And as soon as she steps outside, she'll have a small boy shadowing her. Damian could be more subtle about this, but the spy work is getting old fast and now it's more of a challenge to see whether she notices him, face obscured by hood and shades.

It does not take too long for her to notice even with her pressing worry of being burned alive taking priority. If there is one thing Shahrazad cares more about than preventing herself from burning alive it is making sure she never brings danger to the Pie Hole. If someone is following her after she visits the Clinic, Shahrazad can only assume they knew what she was and intended to harm both her and her associates. She cannot under any circumstances allow any harm to come to Ned and his customers.

Shahrazad activates 'haste' and disappears from the sight for a couple of seconds. Then she is appearing in front of Damian as if out of thin air. She is quiet only a second as the molecules she put into hyper-drive begin to calm themselves. It was a taxing ability to use, but she needed to make it clear to whoever this was she was not someone to be taken lightly if they meant to harm her friends. The fact that this person appears to be a child does not deter her. The people in her home country after all could be centuries old and appear to be ten.

"That's far enough. Identify yourself and tell me your intentions. I will not ask twice." Shahrazad speaks with a level of authority that seems unlike her. Although she is still polite it should be clear she means business.

He blinks a few times at her sudden reappearance, but after all it isn't the strangest thing he's ever seen, and it only serves to further prove his point. He smirks, and then lifts off the hood, revealing his face.

"That was impressive."

Shahrazad stares down at him dumbfounded. She was prepared for someone who would wish to destroy her and her friends. "Damian..." She blinks a couple of times before sighing in relief. "Thank you, but you mustn't do that. I could have hurt you!"

Another second passes before something important dawns on her. "Why were you following me? You're not..." Afraid of her? Please don't be.

He scoffs at the idea that she could have harmed him, rolling his eyes. "No, you really couldn't--" He cuts himself off, remembering that he's supposed to be a civilian. And as much as he hates that label, it's an identity he has to assume, so he shrugs.

"I was following you because I was curious. Not many healthy women take regular visits to blood banks."

"No, they do not," Shahrazad concedes carefully. She is tempted to leave it there. The subject would come up sooner or later. Perhaps if it came up now she could help him see she was not someone to fear. From her point of view, a little boy would be afraid of her.

"Damian do you understand why I need to go there?"

Damian, in his juvenille way, likes to believe that he understands everything. So he puffs out his chest and rolls his eyes. "Of course. You go there because you need blood."

He says this without much care, but then amends: "The Piemaker let slip what you are."

"Oh." She is going to have a long talk about how dangerous that is with Ned later. Shahrazad hesitates a moment before continuing.

"Damian... is that alright with you? You're not afraid I'll try to...?" She quickly adds in sincerely, "I would rather die first, but if you didn't trust me I would understand."

He has to scoff, again, at the very idea. "There is very little I'm afraid of. Vampires certainly don't make the list." He rolls his eyes. There are probably no circumstances under which he'd find her frightening, and his disdain probably makes this clear.

His disdain is actually a huge relief for her. For one long moment she stares at him with increasingly glassy eyes. She is not sure if he's just being brave but, it's more than enough for her not to be feared. "Damian..." She is leaning down to his level to try to give him a one armed hug unless he does something to stop her. "Thank you."

He's not expecting the hug, and therefore doesn't react to it for a moment. Once he realizes what's happening, however, he squirms away, cheeks bloated in the most childish of pouts.

"What do you have to thank me for? I was spying on you."

"And you mustn't do that. Someone may get very upset in the future." Shahrazad chides lightly as she lets go. She is too happy to even consider being upset that he was following her around. "But that doesn't matter now. You accept me for who I am. That's a very precious gift to give someone so I thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am very lucky to have a friend like you."

Damian continues to be nothing but baffled by her attitude. If she is a vampire, then she has power; why should she care how others view that? Her thanks seem genuine (he knows how to read body language to tell if someone is lying), so he has to believe her. But he still just offers her a darkly incredulous look.

"If that's how you choose to view it, go right ahead."

"I will." Shahrazad straightens up. She is satisfied with the way things turned out regardless of that look. She was doing well if this was all she got in reaction to being discovered considering how her last trip to the world "outside" filled with Terrans went.

"I have to be going home now. Would you like some pie? I'd be happy to treat you."

Damian huffs, then just nods.

"I suppose I should get something out of all this."

Shahrazad begins to walk. She'd offer her hand but, somehow she doubts Damian would take it. "I'm sure Ned will have something especially delicious for you!"

Damian falls instep beside her, still giving her a searching look. Weren't vampires supposed to be terrifying? She's just... unwarrantedly nice. "Most of his confections are at least acceptable."

"Just acceptable?" Shahrazad teases. "I thought younger people were fond of all treats."

"I am far from a typical child."

"I never called you a child." Shahrazad reminds him gently. "You are unusually wise for someone your age though. I thought you would be able to appreciate sweets like them still."

"I suppose I don't mind them." These are lies--he loves sugar. But he has to keep up appearances.

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i used to fill the sky around with happiness and joy;

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