Valencia symphony of lungs

fit

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The nights were slowly stretching into something longer. It seemed just yesterday that she would watch the sun set earlier and earlier and feel a sort of sadness for the impending darkness; she thought often, lately, about how ironic it was that she caught herself looking forward to it now. Her life had become something cold and dark, which felt like such a melodramatic thing to say - but it took away the sluggish weight that winter would otherwise come with. It only meant she had more hours to be less of a literal corpse! And anyway, Autumn was beautiful even at night. The leaves turned gold and red, and the night did not take away their lustrous beauty, especially just this side of the full moon. Joaquin had been right about that, if nothing else; her new eyes turned everything into gentle daylight when the moon was at its peak.

It was a luxury now to get away from that cabin in the plains, to be alone for a little while. She did not leave often, to keep Joaquin happy, because he had become such a mean creature when he was displeased. But tonight she had, with the usual promise that it would only be a few hours, and that she would be back soon. She wondered if his ability allowed him to worm his way into her phone even across the county. It was better not to know, probably.

Boldly, she had driven through Alder Heights, more for the sheer sake of curiosity than anything else. And there had been a feeling about it, the whole time, beyond her own gentle anxiety that she was someplace she shouldn't be. It was like The Eyes, but heavier, like a hand on the back of her neck - and then just before she'd made it to the river, she was alone again. That had to mean something - but for now, she wasn't brave enough to find out. She'd have to take a different route back, no less.

Valencia was quieter, almost peaceful, in the long lull of the late night. She'd meandered down a little street full of decorations: skeletons and spiders, ghosts and witches. Not a Dracula wannabe in sight, which was... interesting! In her wandering, she caught herself at the window of a street vendor, staring at the menu, bashfully breathing in the scent of food. She didn't need it, anymore, of course - but there was a temptation all the same, seeing freshly-dunked caramel apples sitting cheerfully behind the glass.

Minerva bought two - maybe she'd take one to her brother, for show if nothing else - and found her way to a bench under a red oak tree. She set the plastic-wrapped extra down beside herself, and considered the shiny, milky-brown shell of the other one, twirling it whimsically on its silly little stick. A moment or two of consideration passed, and then she bit into it, only to be accosted by the most violently sweet flavor that she had probably ever experienced in her life, accompanied by a garbled "WHOA!" to disturb the otherwise quiet street.

look

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Ezra, as usual when he was in Valencia, had gone to the Sunrise Deli to grab one of their Pastrami and Swiss sandwiches. He'd been delighted as the owner recognized him and gave him a sandwich on the house. He'd still left a generous tip, wanting to remain in the good graces of the sandwich king himself. Previously, the nights had been short and Ezra would take his sandwich back to the car and get back to Alder Heights. But with the nights stretching out a little longer, he decided to take a walk through the little village and enjoy his little treat.

Color him surprised to see another vampire sitting alone on a bench, caramel apple in hand. He'd been about to raise his sandwich to her, toasting a shared love of human food, when the words that came from her mouth were loud and full of surprise. Ezra paused in front of her, watching curiously. She felt very young, in vampire years, but he knew that such metaphysical strength could be deceiving.

"First time with a caramel apple or did it break your teeth?" he asked with a small smile.

It was a powerful sensation, which felt like a strange thing to say about taste, but it really was such a sucker punch to every nerve ending in her mouth. There had never existed a sweeter caramel apple in the entire world, she was pretty sure, and she stared at the great hole she'd left in her little snack with one hand over her awkwardly chewing mouth. As the shock began to wear off, a new sensation struck - Eyes. And indeed, there were eyes on her, in the form of a sweater-clad man, armed with a sandwich and a smile.

Minnie blinked at him with an expression that was a little stunned, and then sheepish, her own smile hidden behind her hand as she swallowed.

"Uh," she began clumsily, trying to focus. He sure had that feeling about him, like Joaquin did... and he had no heartbeat. Another one! She felt wariness and excitement alike. Her brother's propensity for fearful mistrust had been rubbing off on her, and yet, what if he was just as wonderful as Eirene? "It's just - so sweet! Like it's not a real apple, just a bunch of sugar." Her words ended in a quiet, uncertain laugh. How ridiculous she must sound.

Ezra watched with growing interest in the woman with her apple, wondering if she would ignore him or -

Ah, there was the answer. It was very sweet. Perhaps she had not partaken in many sweet treats since she’d been turned. Or maybe this one caramel apple was just particularly sweet. Or maybe she was, herself, a little Eve enjoying something that had been forbidden.

Her answer left him with some more questions and he stepped forward, nodding to the space beside her. "Mind if I sit with you? I’m curious to find out more about the apple you have."

Oh! She did sort of mind! But that was just nerves talking, and she didn't want to mind, and she definitely didn't want to be rude. Also, that he was curious about the apple - or maybe that he would admit it - had a sort of charm. So she laughed, and patted the bench beside her in invitation. It was then that she'd notice the sandwich in his grasp, and this spun her perception somewhat. Was it... normal to eat human food? Just for fun? She hadn't, and Joaquin never did. But there was probably little to nothing normal about the Heartgrove siblings as they were now.

"I have... another one," she admitted timidly when he sat, picking the plastic-wrapped novelty up from beside her. Cautiously, she held it toward him. "If you'd like it."

She was friendly, and Ezra was always appreciative of that. Some vampires were a little crazy. And scary. But not this lady, who was patting the bench and offering him a surprise second caramel apple!

Ezra took the seat, but wouldn’t take the apple just yet. "Oh, well that’s very kind of you! But surely you bought two to have for yourself or give to someone you already know." He smiled and then stared at her intently. "Unless you can read the future and knew I’d be coming."

He didn't take the apple, but questioned her instead, and Minnie held it uncertainly in the space between them as she listened. In theory, the second one was for Joaquin, who... she had never seen eat human food, as a vampire. Who would probably not really enjoy it, maybe? Or worst case scenario, if he was in a bad mood, would belittle her for wasting money on it.

The stranger seemed to grow suddenly serious. Maybe she could read the future, and saw him coming! She stared back at him for a beat, a little wide-eyed, before registering that he was... probably not being serious! Right?

Minnie laughed brightly, if a little awkwardly, and tested her theory. "I can! I saw you coming. And I thought, hm, this guy has a sandwich. He'd love a candy apple." Her smile grew, toothy and silly, and she wagged the apple at him again.

Ezra had been around for a while and had ran into all sorts of people with powers. But he’d get to meet someone who could read the future, so he assumed it was just her leaning into his joke. He gave a laugh and took the apple then. "Only if you insist, and if I can give you part of my sandwich."

Before she could say anything about that, he was already carefully pulling a chunk of the sandwich off from the end he’d not been eating from. Vampires didn’t really have germs that could make each other sick, but it still seemed gross to give her some from the side he’d been eating from.

He’d hold the newly formed sandwich out to her.

Okay. Okay! That went well enough. Minerva worried she was forgetting how to have normal(ish) conversations with other people, sometimes. He laughed, and took the apple, and was turning right around to give her part of his sandwich. She beamed at him, and started to reach for it, but her hand stopped just shy of it as she considered the insides.

"Oh. This is going to sound... so stupid," she warned him, and her smile turned apologetic. "I don't eat meat." Saying it out loud, several months in to vampirism, was... kind of hilarious, and she laughed again, covering her mouth with the hand that would have otherwise taken his sandwich. "I'm so sorry. God. A vegetarian vampire. Is that the silliest thing you've ever heard?"

The woman seemed set on taking the sandwich offered, until her hand stopped and she instead started explaining.

And Ezra felt foolish. Of course it seemed silly to him to be a vegetarian vampire, but not necessarily for the reasons she probably thought he’d find it silly. But that didn’t matter, because Ezra wasn’t the type to make fun of someone’s eating preference, especially when they didn’t even need to eat.

He gave a smile to show that he saw the humor of the situation, but shook his head no all the same. "It’s not. I know plenty of vampires who are ehhh about all kinds of food. Some don’t even want to try food at all and think it’s just a waste." Sorry Alby.

Mostly though, Ezra just felt silly holding two halves of his sandwich with a caramel apple resting on his lap. "I take it that picking the pastrami off won’t be good enough, since the meat touched everything?"

He knew plenty of vampires - that bit stuck with her, in particular, and her brain threatened to spiral out into a million questions like how many! and how old is this guy? and - focus. He had moved on, and there was a funny sort of kindness about him and his idea of simply taking the meat off. Which was, admittedly, something she had absolutely done as a human - pepperoni pizza? No problem, give the dog all the pepperonis!

Now, for some reason, it felt like so much work! But it also felt rude to say no to such a reasonable compromise! If Minnie had a pulse, she might have blushed; instead, she laughed again. "Oh. That's pretty smart, actually." She reached to take the sandwich from him them, with more confidence. She could... take the pastrami back to Dude, if this guy didn't want it!

Oh, except it was apparently a good thing. Ezra had human friends before who’d been vegetarian and they refused to eat anything meat had touched.

But maybe there had been a different reason for this vampire. It was fine, all the same. He smiled and pulled open his sandwich. "I can take the extra!"

He resisted making a crude joke about meat and buns.

The important thing was that nothing was going to waste! (Honey, you got a big storm comin'.) She beamed brightly at him, "Perfect!" And let him do the honors. She had some thought about the irrelevance of germs, too - they literally bit people. Germ factories.

"So... do you eat a lot of, like, food-food?" What a weird question. It felt less... revealing than asking him if that was a normal thing to do.

And Ezra would happily take the meat and slap it on his sandwich, knowing already that it would probably make it taste even better.

He was just getting his side folded back up when the question came and he looked to the woman with a smile. "Yeah, definitely more than the average vampire. Sunrise Deli considers me a regular. Got this sandwich for free."

And he’d take a small bite then so he could chew and swallow quickly. "This isn’t your first time eating food-food after turning, is it?" Because he’d feel sorry for her if it was.

More than the average vampire! Minnie considered him with a look of intrigue, her many questions twirling around wildly again. That he should be a regular at a sandwich shop of all places, and to get a sandwich for free, seemed a statement - and it made him seem a little safer, to boot. The logic was silly, maybe, but if a guy was so nice that he got free food from a little restaurant, he was probably okay!

His question, despite her trying to pin him as a nice person, made her uneasy. She looked at him a little wide-eyed, brow furrowed. "What gave it away?" she asked, genuine. Was her newness so blatantly obvious? Was she a walking target?

It had really just been a guess based on how she felt metaphysically. He didn’t know many vampires who were decades old and still felt like a baby.

He gave her a kind smile. "Just the way you feel, mostly. Though it was just a guess." He’d been around for a while anyway. Had some knowledge about everything.

"Food-food makes us yak, by the way. In case you didn’t know." Since that had been the whole reason behind his question. Better to know about it now and prepare than to go along merrily and then suddenly upchuck.

The way she felt? It took her a second, but she'd realize there must be something on the other side of the feeling of "Eyes." What did she feel like, she wondered? A much smaller pair of eyes? His explanation was a mixed bag. Concerning, because that meant anyone she crossed paths with might guess at her newness with ease. Soothing, in that it was just the way it was, and she was not parading around like a fool.

She might have relaxed, if not for the next round of explanation. Yak! Her expression turned to one of gentle disappointment, and then some confusion. She considered his kind smile, and then the sandwich in his hand, and then the food in her own grasp. Then back to his face, head tilted ever so slightly.

"And you still... eat a lot?" she questioned. Even as she said it, she realized he must not mind it terribly at all.

So she didn’t seem to know, as he suspected. The question wasn’t one of surprise to him, and he nodded at it. "Yeah, I’ve been around for a while. And this all used to taste like it was all just burnt to a crisp. But then something happened that made food taste as it should to us and I just want to make the most of it. A lot of this wasn’t around when I was alive."

That usually made sense to humans but a lot of other vampires couldn’t exactly relate; not being able to get over the sick that always came with it.

There was one question answered that she hadn't asked - well, kind of. He'd been around for a while. What was a while? Centuries? Decades??? If she weren't so absorbed by the idea of food and barf, she might have spiraled out over the idea that she might be around for centuries and decades. But this man, even knowing he'd be sick later, ate simply for pleasure. The near future was gross, but right now was... kind of inspiring. It was a weird combination.

Distantly, she wondered when she'd... be getting rid of her bite of apple!

"Well. I think that's perfectly fair," she decided with a nod, as if punctuating her point of view. Her own food sat idly in her hands all the same. "Can I ask... how long you've been around?"

She asked another not unusual question, though he pretended that he was confused by it- "Like in the area or in general?"

Ezra wouldn’t actually let her answer that because he could just as easily answer both. "Couple years here. Couple centuries in general."

He could be more specific with each, but ever since he turned 270, it wasn’t as fun to say his age. :(