The Park, Thursday Morning

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan might've gotten back to the island late last night - it wasn't going to keep him from his morning jog. It was... nice, especially now, with the island this quiet. Might still be taking some time to shake his melancholy, but after days holed up with his parents, the silence was something he could appreciate.

Along the beach, then up the stairs. Up more stairs, along the road-- and finally into the park, where he stopped by the side of the duck pond to take a breather. Have a sip of water.

Mutter, "Huh, guess flamingos moult, too," to himself as he leaned down and picked up a feather.

Feeling melancholy didn't make him less distractable, as it turned out.

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[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

Allie turned up a few minutes later, carrying two cups of coffee in her hands.

"You're back."

[not_a_whiner]

"More or less," Kaidan agreed, standing up from where he'd been squatting by the pond. "Hey."

[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

"Hi," she smiled. "How was the trip back? And one of these coffees is for you if you want it. Otherwise, well, I guess we'll find out if the flamingos like a hot drink on a cool morning."

[not_a_whiner]

"I'll take the coffee," he said, with a tiny smile. "Thanks. And the trip back home was fine, really."

He wasn't about to bother her with tales of him moping around the house.

[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

"That's good," Allie said as she perched in her usual spot on the back of the bench and held out the extra coffee. "I've heard vague tales of Portalocity layovers from hell. Something about four hours killing time during the French Revolution."

[not_a_whiner]

"Yeah, so have I," Kaidan said, taking the coffee and a seat on what space remained on the bench. "But I think the Alliance has a deal going with Portalocity-- never really had any layovers."

[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

She wrinkled her nose and shook her head. "Then I hope I haven't jinxed your next trip home, because I would feel really bad about that."

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan shrugged. "I don't know," he said, "The French Revolution... sounds interesting."

[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

"If you don't mind possibly losing your head," Allie observed. "I like mine where it's at, thank you very much."

[not_a_whiner]

"Hey, I can look after myself," Kaidan said, "...And I'm not French royalty. As far as I know."

[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, given what you've told me about what you do out there," she said, waving a hand towards the sky, "I have no doubt you can."

"Actually, speaking about traveling places we don't belong. Jack's going to try and take me to one of his classes in January. We figure it'll be a safe way to figure out if I can get off island and go to some place that isn't home."

[not_a_whiner]

Kaidan's eyebrows went up, then he nodded. "Good idea," he said, approvingly. "Jack's world... well, it's got people like you, so you won't have trouble explaining some... stuff, but it's a safe place. At least from what I understand."

[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

"Not his world," Allie replied. "His class is in current day Maryland (or possibly Virginia la!) Which in some ways is better. I'd rather avoid other supernatural types off island."

[not_a_whiner]

"Huh," Kaidan said. He'd have to ask Jack about that. "I guess I can understand why you wouldn't be a fan..."

[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

"Exactly. Most of the vampires I've met don't inspire much in the way of warm and fuzzy feelings. I don't ever want to be that cold and detached," she admitted with a sigh.

[not_a_whiner]

"I don't know about vampires in Jack's world," Kaidan admitted. "I... don't really know about the whole supernatural thing in anyone's world, really. But he seemed pretty fond of some of them."

[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

"He's lucky then. I appreciate what Kanin did for me, don't get me wrong. But he wasn't the type to look after a human kid," Allie replied. "We crossed paths and I intrigued him. It's the only reason he saved me."

[not_a_whiner]

"You'd have to talk to Jack about it some time," Kaidan said, a little awkwardly. "He's got stories."

[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

"I've heard a little. He said the vampire that took care of him was the inspiration for the character of insert meta here Sherlock Holmes. It's hard to picture," she admitted. "But I guess it's possible and that makes me feel a little better. Like I have a chance of making it as me, if that makes sense?"

[not_a_whiner]

"No, it does," Kaidan said. "I mean... when I figured out what I was? I was part of the first generation of human biotics. To have good examples... well, it can save a lot of heartache. And a lot of worrying about what you're going to grow up to be."

[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

Allie winced. "First generation? That had to be hard. At least I have examples of what not to be. But to not even have that? For what it's worth though? I think you're a damn good example of what to be," she said sincerely.

[not_a_whiner]

"Thanks, but... I don't know," Kaidan said, shaking his head. "Nah, we weren't completely without examples. They'd drag in biotics from other species to help us out. It just... didn't go so well."

[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

"I do." Stubborn vampire is stubborn. Deal with it.

"It didn't go well, and you were caught in the crossfire?" Allie asked.

[not_a_whiner]

"All the kids were," Kaidan said. He wasn't eager to start a pity party for himself here. "Humanity had only just ended a war with this species - most of them were veterans. So they pushed all the kids around. Eventually, the camp had to be shut down."

[allie-vamp.livejournal.com]

"Kids. With veterans from a war. Who thought that was a good idea?" Forget pity, she was more outraged. Call it the dashing of a naive hope that other places were more civilized.