Right at the Cusp

Okay, this was odd.

Calan had been snooping around the Forbidden Forest that day - why? Well, honestly, why not? He had never explored it before, despite having been on Manta Carlos for months now, and was constantly hearing new ghost stories about the place. The thing was, unlike many others, Calan wasn't afraid. A vampire and a child of rather unfortunate circumstances, he lived and breathed the darkness. In Calan's mind, there was little worse he could meet than what he had already become aquainted with - lest it be the eldritch society of Manta Carlos or the monster that haunted his home in the US - and so the Forbidden Forest was little more than an upscale haunted house.

Calan had always loved haunted houses.

It was on the return trip from his escapade that he discovered something... rather odd. There was a small girl situated just outside the forest, staring blankly into its dark depths. Calan, what with his night vision, could see perfectly fine in the shadows, but he couldn't help but think the girl was nearly blind in them. She was straight-faced, expressionless, not quite somber but definitely far from smiling. He at first wasn't quite sure what to make of it, but being a prankster at heart... it didn't take much deliberation.

Calan floated over so as to be silent, hiding himself behind shadowy bushes as he sized up his prey. He crept closer, closer still, until he was but a few feet away and directly in front of her. As he neared the edge of the forest, a ray of moonlight caught his eyes, and their blue depths flashed a dazzling crimson, suddenly visible amongst the black.

One moment, two, and then...

"BOO."

He pounced. Literally.

A scrabble of flailing limbs and red hair later and Calan would find himself on top of Eroshay, hopefully 'pinning' her to the ground if all went according to plan. However, his grip was light, as he didn't aim to actually trap her. "Heya," Calan said, his fangs showing as he grinned. "Staring is rude, you know."

((Hope this is okay. xD @Arcadia @FoxalypticWorld ))

Mike could never handle staying in one place. It was just so difficult for him. He never knew why though. Mike decided that a walk might help him clear his mind. He needed to find a power supply and something to infuse magic into technology. So far he had found nothing.

He decided to stroll across the edge of what people called the Forbidden Forest. Mike always found himself getting drawn to places and things that always sounded off limits. He didn't know why he was drawn to that either. As he continued his stroll he noticed a figure sitting on the ground....only for it to get trampled by something else. As Mike went to inspect it, he couldn't help but shake his head. "That's just plain horrible. Scaring poor children."

Calan for the life of him couldn't keep a straight face. After no more than two seconds of silence, he snorted, before breaking into well-intentioned laughter. Conveniently, he also forgot to let Shay up. "Oh my go... oh my... okay..okay," he tried. "Darkness — I suppose you could say I am," he chuckled out, but really, he didn't seem intimidating at all.

You know. Besides the whole 6-foot, muscular, red-eyed fang man part. I mean, that could have been a little intimidating. Just a little.

Calan glanced over at the new arrival, merely grinning at his words. "Aw, c'mon. Just having us both a little fun here~!" he replied. However, it was about that time that Eroshay started kick-flailing, and Calan just couldn't take it anymore.

The teen let her up with a bubbling laugh, falling back on his heels. He thought he felt tears in his eyes, but he wasn't sure. "High-highlight... of my day... god," he managed, and finally was able to get a hold of himself a few moments later. He wiped a tear from his eye, fixing an amused look on Shay. "Bite? You saw my fangs, right? I'm not afraid of any biting," he snorted. "Sorry for scaring you, but you just looked so damn lonely I couldn't help it." Of course, leave it to Calan Marshall to speak his mind, but what are you gunna do?

Mike soon laughed as well. This whole scene was just plain idiotic for him. "This is perfect! Some.....OSIRIS! What the hell is fang boy over here?" A calm voice soon started talking in his head. Fang.......boy........let me-OH! I believe we read about that. I think he's a vampire. Then again I can't see so I can't make sure." Mike checked out Calan head to toe before nodding.

This just made Mike's day. A nice walk turned into a wonderful turned of events. Mike's robotic eye kept switching its gaze between Calan and Shay. "Anyway I believe it's correct to exchange names here correct? I am Mike. But that's Mr. Keith to you young lady." Mike's organic hand pointed to Shay before he made a small bow.

Calan chuckled enthusiastically at Mike's comment. "I know right?!" he said, definitely pleased with the situation. However, it wasn't Eroshay that he was laughing at, but her reaction. It was funny as all get-out, and while the girl herself wasn't a joke, he felt the skeptical was. I mean, it wasn't every day that he called "the darkness", now was it?

He nodded as Mike introduced himself, still quite pleased. "Calan Marshall, pleased to meet yo--" he began, before he was cut off by the girl in front of him. Well, perhaps that was inaccurate; he was cut off by her small fist hit him in the cheek. Really, it wasn't enough to hurt him, but it caught him off guard. "Whu-hey!" he muttered indignantly, but yet another punch connected - this time with his temple. He dodged the third one aimed for his throat - alright, that one might have ached a little, had it hit - and caught her fists with the fourth and fifth attempts.

Calan pouted, his eyebrows furrowed. "Hey, now, what's the sense in that?" he asked, seeming quite put out. "I'm not laughing at you - it was just funny!" Calan grinned, trying to seem a bit less intimidating, but the light ever-so-conveniently caught his fangs. Literally only his fangs, and his now-violet eyes. He probably seemed a lot more frightening than he meant to be. Oops.

However, the illusion would soon be ruined. Calan gigglesnorted - and quite loudly at that - as Eroshay retorted to Mike. "Ouch - man, even the kids are disrespecting~" he said.

He once again forgot two key facts. One, that he was still holding Eroshay's fists, and two, that he had probably traumatized a lonely little 11 year old (and was doing nothing to fix it, either).

Oh yeah, and he also forgot to ask her name. How rude!

Mike laughed. He laughed harder and harder every second until his chest hurt. "Such disrepectful children these days. It is actually rather funny how children like to test boundaries." I believe a person punishes a child that breaks rules correct? Mike rolled his eyes. "Please Osiris. I can't punish a child for saying my first name. I mean I can but why would I? So anyway.....Calan. What are you doing here? I assume scaring children is not your original goal correct?" A man like you wouldn't know the goal of a plumber even if he explained it to you. Mike chuckled at that. This was an already funny situation only amplified with the AI's muttering their opinions.