De Soto Pharmacy
Large windows on the front and sides of the building allow outside light to shine upon the grey walls with a festive green horizontal stripe. Two cashier centers have been set up on either side of the entrance, though generally only one is occupied at any given time. Neatly lined rows of shelves comprise the majority of the pharmacy, carrying a vast assortment of over-the-counter medication, herbal remedies, bandaging, greeting cards, junk food; pretty much everything one could expect to find on a pharmacy shelf.
At the very back of the De Soto Pharmacy, is the actual pharmaceutical department. A pharmacist is on duty here twenty-four hours a day, filling out prescriptions.
The dark skies of Dallas are clouded over, the wind up high rolling them like the regurgitation of an angry volcano. The air is moist and clammy, bearing the solemn promise of an angry storm. Dallas is quiet; most folks have retired to avoid the impending wrath of nature. As the storm brews, a flash of sheet lightning brings momentary daylight to the night.
A dark figure sweeps across the rooftops, leaping with mighty strength and stalking a mortal below. The first flash of lightning catches him in a momentary pause, as it stands atop a building, with eyes beyond mortal dream watching, waiting. The second flash sees it gone from there, as it switches to a new position in a flash of dark shadow. A close inspection by any that could see would reveal him to be wearing a dark suit, pinstriped, with a black shirt open at the neck. The King of Texas is stalking someone, being careful to remain unseen.
~*~
A vehicle pulls up outside the pharmacy, the flash of lightning marking its appearance. The driver within rests her head against the steering wheel taking deep breaths. The storm is nothing to be frightened of even if it makes her feel tense and jumpy. The door of the vehicle is slowly opened. Alexa steps out, an umbrella opening over her head as she does. The rain may not yet be pouring down but on the chance it does before she enters the building she will manage to remain mostly dry.
As the second flash brightens the sky, the umbrella seems to lift of its own accord, floating away in Mary Poppinesque style.
"My umbrella? Seriously? You had to take my umbrella?" The girl appears to be speaking to herself.
~*~
The dark shadow above watches the vehicle, the number plate long since scribed in his memory. But now the girl is outside, supernatural vision locks on to her, immoving against the threat of a lightning strike or other natural phenomena. Another flash of lightning comes, and the clouds begin to release a fitful spit of rain. William Grant waits for the vehicle to begin moving away before he _moves_, a streak of black against the dark sky. Catapulting from a wall, he captures the umbrella with remarkable, practised agility and lands a good distance away from Alexa, though just along the sidewalk. Then he steps towards her, holding the umbrella in one hand. It is with some difficulty that he forces his visage to bear a smile, friendly as it is.
~*~
The umbrella gone; taken by the wind or by her not-so-friendly poltergeist; means that Alexa stands no chance against the weather as it decides to weep down upon her. The only thing stopping her from being too miserable about this is the knowledge that she has another lab coat inside. There is nothing but a blink as her umbrella is returned to her, pale eyes widening just a tad in surprise. "Thank you," she offers with a smile. "I do hope the umbrella didn't crash upon your head."
~*~
"Not quite," replies the man in front of her, letting the umbrella pass from his grip to hers, failing to find opportunity for skin to skin contact. A gentle, vaguely Southern accent continues through the words, easily and gently letting them come. "There is no problem. I happened to see it come away from you, and happened to be passing it." Still, he continues to study her face, as though committing it to memory.
~*~
"Things like that happen to me all the time," Alexa admits easily, trying her best to pass it off as a clumsy behavior. The umbrella in hand she starts for the door. "Won't you come in out of the rain? I'm sure I can find a towel in the back for you to dry yourself with. I'll even buy you an umbrella in return for returning mine." Her friendly smile continues as she pushes open the door of the pharmacy. "I'd love to get out of this wet coat before it becomes stuck to me permanently."
~*~
"Please," says Will, moving to follow her in, "do not worry for me. A little water has never harmed me before. Do you work here?" His smile hasn't left his face yet, though someone paying attention may notice it is somewhat rigid. "Allow me," he adds, offering hands to assist with the coat. Even a touch through clothing will suffice for his purposes.
~*~
"It may not harm you but my guess is that it's not very pleasant either." Alexa nods as she begins to shrug off the lab coat while he helps. "I do. I've not been working here long which is why I generally get stuck with the graveyard shift." A hand is felt brushing against her shoulder while she struggles with the coat. "Sorry, it appears to be stuck on the arm, could you…?"
Unbeknownst to her, the touch allows him to delve into her mind. Much fear will be found, as well as poltergeist activity, plenty of moving, a small incident with pom poms being lobbed at a young man's head, and from recent memory meeting a vampire the evening previous.
~*~
The flash of his eyes upwards into his head as he reads is likely unseen, but still present. "Of course," he replies, assisting with the offending garment in question. "Pleasant has less meaning when one is without the capacity to catch cold," he tells her. "The night shift is likely to bring various interesting types to meet you. Have you been in Dallas long?" Yesterday's vamp; Marius, as the Whip told him. The rest… no problems, interest yes, problem no.
~*~
"Four, maybe five years," Alexa says, not thinking anything of answering the question. "It normally brings me people needing to fill prescriptions from the hospital, and some who try to purchase things over the counter that are not for over the counter consumption." In essence though, the graveyard shift is usually quiet, which gives her time to study herbalism. "You remind me of the man from last evening," she says, as the offending garment is finally off her body. The camisole underneath is a little wet but hardly unlivable. Walking through the aisles, she flips up the counter top and goes to extract her dry lab coat from the cubby.
~*~
The slightly damp vampire follows her with his eyes, stepping slightly closer to a acceptably social distance. "I bear a confession," says he. "The man you met yesterday is a friend of mine; we are both amongst the immortals. When he explained your resemblance to someone we both once knew, it was natural necessity I would want to see you myself." His smile broadens for a moment, a gentle and easy smile that does not speak of a creepy old man. "I am William Grant, and the resemblance is uncanny." Already finding it difficult to lie to that face. Dangerous.
~*~
Two vampires in as many days is maybe a bit much for Alexa. She bears no one ill will, but it is a stressful thing to be sure. When the new lab coat is slipped on, her back turns to him and she works on her breathing techniques. Diligently trying to keep her poltergeist at bay. "Marius," she says finally as she pulls her hair out of the coat and settles it over her shoulders. "He was rather pleasant to speak with, though I'm sure I must have thrown him a little with my garb." There is no underlying calm within the woman. She's still struggling to keep the ghost from bothering her at her place of business. "William Grant, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance. I'm Alexa Whyte, and I must say I'm extremely curious as to your friend."
~*~
For a long moment, the vampire simply allows her a smile, his head dipping in a greeting. "The pleasure is mine, Alexa," says he, indulgently. He takes a half-step back on the pretense of looking at something to one side. "In what way are you curious? I do not feel you will have thrown him; if anything, the pair of us are likely more comfortable with such than any modern person."
~*~
"Did he not tell you?" Alexa gently laughs at that, fussing with the front of her lab coat to make sure that it is even. "He ran into me as I was striking a tent from one of my SCA events. I was dressed in medieval garb." The question comes as little surprise, thus a response is already forthcoming. "He mentioned that I looked very similar to this woman you both know. Who was she? I ask, so that I can see if it's possible I am a descendant."
~*~
"When one has lived through a period, it is a blessing to see it recreated well," Will tells her, with the hint of a nod of acquiescence. He does shake his head, and an ancient pain touches at his eyes, though it is rapidly hidden behind an impassive mask. "It may well be best for another to seek, for the person has been dead for three and a half centuries. With you permission, I would be honoured to investigate the tree for you?" Or at least throw money at it until someone does it nice and discreetly.
~*~
"It is my belief that he was upset at the lot of us for playing at being lord and ladies, though I may have simply gotten the wrong impression." Alexa reaches back to tie her hair in a messy bun which allows more of her face to be readily seen now. "I don't know why you'd want to spend your time investigating someone else's family tree, though you're welcome to if you'd really like I suppose. Maybe it will set both your minds at ease if you were to find that it's simply a matter of genetics."
~*~
The response from Will is faintly humoured; well amused. "It is disquieting to hear such talk, when one is not expecting it," he explains, easily, taking the opportunity to study the woman again. "The woman," he says, turning to study something else, "was very important to me. I must know if she has descendants." Definitely just studying something facing the other way. Definitely. No trace of tears.
~*~
"Then you certainly have my permission, sir." Still a sir, though she's not in garb. Calling him Mr. Grant just seems wrong to her for some reason. "If that is the case, I would like to know. Maybe it would answer some questions I've had myself." Alexa is curious as to whether this woman was also afflicted by a poltergeist. It would explain a lot if it was simply something that followed her due to the resemblance.
~*~
Still studying, a hand lifts to touch at Will's eyes. A cuff touches at his lower lid, and he speaks again. "Someone will contact you. Do you have details, or would you rather take mine?" Finally, he turns back, the faintest smear of blood still present at the edge of his eyes. Otherwise the full mask is in place. "Truly, truly uncanny. If I had not been told…" He would probably have just killed her, just in case. Advance warning meant he could steel himself against the thought, and investigate first.
~*~
Moving to the front of the counter, she flips through the card holder until she reaches hers at the back. "I should warn that I don't have a cellular phone, but you can call this number and reach me any time after midnight." Alexa is the only one in after a certain time unless she has to call off sick due to the poltergeist. Quietly, with nary a word she holds out a box of tissues to him, so that he may dab at his eye if he wishes.
~*~
A hand lifts, waving a dismissal of the tissues. "That is perfect," says Will, quietly, as he brings forth a gentle smile. "Even the voice, if not the accent. As mentioned, someone will contact you with questions and queries regarding what you already know." A nice, easy way to check out virtually everything about the girl.
~*~
"Alright," Alexa replies, settling the tissue box back onto the counter. "I appreciate this, sir." The voice, the accent mentioned, but she does not go into her demeanor she uses with the SCA. The vampire seems unsettled enough as it is. "I apologize again for the umbrella. I should perhaps get to work though." The pharmacy is far from being busy, but there are nightly routines she must see to.
~*~
Another nod comes. "My apologies for causing a slow to your work," says he. "I have been out of turn, indulging myself in the ancient past. Thank you for your time." With that, he turns once more, taking quick, quiet, measured steps towards the door and away.
