It was another day, and one step closer to leaving his father's side to make his own way in life. Not that Vlad really minded being apart from his father. Vlad straightened himself, deciding to go and visit his baby sister Giselle. But as he walked along the shore, something caught his attention. A chime? His ears flicked for a moment, trying to pinpoint the sound and he turned his head to look around. The waves rolled over his paws as he stood still, catching sight of a nearby tent. That was new. Curious, he decided to approach.
As Samhain was reminiscing, on the brink of abandoning her tent for a short walk on the beach, she saw a flicker of movement out of the corner of her eye. She stopped, paw mid step, and took a step back, plastering a seemingly friendly smile on her face. It felt fake to her, but she knew it was best to seem pleasant to potential customers. "Hello," she murmured, all charm. She kept her interest to a minimum, but she could feel this young man was not displeased with his life. How odd.
Vlad dipped his head in greeting. "Hello... Are you new?" He tilted his head to the side, looking over the trinkets the female was selling. "I haven't seen you around here before." He offered a smile, though his helmet made it difficult to see. He was a friendly sort, at least to lady strangers.
She nodded, the smile still in place. "Indeed. I am Samhain. Who are you?" She was pretty certain that he was not in need of her wares, and felt somewhat less pressured to follow her typical gimmick. Perhaps she could talk to someone? Without selling her spells? "You would not have. I travel, and this is the first time in some odd years that I have visited the shores. Do you live here?"
"My name is Vladimir, but everyone insists on calling me Vlad..." His tail twitched slightly, suggesting he didn't really care for the nickname but he wouldn't fight it. "I do live here, for the moment. I'm about to move away from my father. So that I can travel." He grinned again, his tail now swaying happily.
"Vladimir is a charming name. Vlad is nice too, but I suspect that you do not prefer that monicker?" She smiled halfheartedly, straightening things to give herself something to do with her hands. It had been quite some time since she had last spoken to someone for pleasure rather than business, and she found even these simple steps to be somewhat unnerving. What did one typically speak to others about? She could not quite remember. "How intriguing! Where do you wish to visit?" She did not know why one would leave their loved ones to travel, but supposed that it must be different staying at home versus being forced out.
"I don't mind being called Vlad." He just shrugged. "Me and my sister were planning on travelling anywhere we could. We really had no idea where. We just plan on going, you know? See what happens." Vlad pulled his helmet off, sitting in the sand and resting it in his lap, propping his elbows on it and putting his chin in his palms. Without the mask, one could now clearly see his flame-colored hair. And he seemed a lot younger than he sounded. "The fun is in the surprise."
SilverWolfSun
