"Yeah," Shay sighed wistfully. "I know. But you don't get successful by giving up at the first hard spot." Shay continued following him, watching his face and the cute way his tongue flicked out, Shay assumed at his annoyance. Vito didn't do that.
"Depends," she sing-songed, "I mean I'll totally leave you alone if you for real need it, but right now you're just heading to the cafeteria."
On that note, Shay placed her hand on his arm gently and turned him in the correct direction for the cafeteria as subtly as one could turn a person. That was to say, not subtle whatsoever, but she wouldn't say anything if he didn't.
"Depends on the snake! You wouldn't bite me, would you? How brutish. It's best to save that kind of behavior for our alone time, don't you think? I could trrrry to tone it down, sure, but I'm pretty excited right now so that might be difficult."
Once at the cafeteria, Shay leaned forward and opened the door for him. The lunch room had all forms of food, free, and all you could eat (within reason -- looking at you gluttony Demons).
"So what are you in the mood for today? Besides me, obviously."
♠♠♠
Valentine wouldn't say anything about it; not even a subtle thank you for being guided around for directions. Maybe it was some of his issues that he didn't fully appreciate being guided. In fact, he almost did actually shook her off if she hadn't been any less gentle. All that came from Valentine was a low, incoherent grumble under his breath.
He avoided her gaze as they walked, trying to focus more on the way rather than her. He needed to familiarize himself with his surroundings, after all. "Well, unless you want viper venom in your system, I don't really care if it's public or private. Besides I don't bite for real unless people are actually trying something shady; don't be ridiculous!" The way his gaze seemed to avoid Shay's up until they reached the cafeteria wouldn't have been lost to her.
The next moment Valentine did look at her, he was looking at her questioningly but dared not to say anything. He passed the doors, not minding the presence of others. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble but try not to be full of yourself. Unless you mean you're offering yourself as lunch, that would be fine too. I need a carnivore's diet to live."
He avoided her gaze as they walked, trying to focus more on the way rather than her. He needed to familiarize himself with his surroundings, after all. "Well, unless you want viper venom in your system, I don't really care if it's public or private. Besides I don't bite for real unless people are actually trying something shady; don't be ridiculous!" The way his gaze seemed to avoid Shay's up until they reached the cafeteria wouldn't have been lost to her.
The next moment Valentine did look at her, he was looking at her questioningly but dared not to say anything. He passed the doors, not minding the presence of others. "I'm sorry to burst your bubble but try not to be full of yourself. Unless you mean you're offering yourself as lunch, that would be fine too. I need a carnivore's diet to live."
"Eesh, viper's venom. So no spit swapping for you, huh? Unless you like, milk your fangs. Dad does that." Shay made a face as she thought about it. Seemed uncomfortable.
She strolled into the cafeteria with Valentine, sticking close, so they didn't lose each other in the hustle and bustle, her earlier excitement dying down as they came around more people.
"I would, but I'm not a regenerator, also, viper's venom. I'd give you blood, but you seem more interested in meat, so, you're going to have to deal with this place's food.
"When you say 'a carnivore's diet' do you mean people or just any meat? You seem pretty darn new around here, so I know a few places you could get the goods."
As they talked, Shay filled two trays up with pretty much any meat selection that had, to ensure she got something he liked, before sitting them down at a relatively empty table.
♠♠♠
Valetine stared at Shay, eyes slightly wider than usual. He couldn't even tell what he should look appalled for: the spit swapping comment or the idea of milking his fangs. I mean who does that? Her dad apparently. Well, at least she looked just about as uncomfortable about it like he was. That also sounds like a thought as to why he reminded her of her dad? Huh, wow. Something to ask about later.
"I don't... ugh 'milk my fangs'. Doesn't really sound necessary. I just shouldn't bite the other kids for no reason aside from actually trying to kill them. That's all I really do." His movements seemed rather automatic with Shay around him, like he just seemed more like he was following her instead, much to his chagrin. At least it seemed more of a friendly gesture than... something. In his experience, the meat selection didn't look all that bad. (Didn't look any special either.)
"Honestly I've never really eaten a person," he admitted, looking rather surprised at the fact. Really he should be more surprised at how she could ask that so casually. "I mean, I almost did once but stuff happened before I got the chance. I've mostly been eating any animal meat. What; do you actually mean there are places that sell human guts or something?"
"I don't... ugh 'milk my fangs'. Doesn't really sound necessary. I just shouldn't bite the other kids for no reason aside from actually trying to kill them. That's all I really do." His movements seemed rather automatic with Shay around him, like he just seemed more like he was following her instead, much to his chagrin. At least it seemed more of a friendly gesture than... something. In his experience, the meat selection didn't look all that bad. (Didn't look any special either.)
"Honestly I've never really eaten a person," he admitted, looking rather surprised at the fact. Really he should be more surprised at how she could ask that so casually. "I mean, I almost did once but stuff happened before I got the chance. I've mostly been eating any animal meat. What; do you actually mean there are places that sell human guts or something?"
"Oooh. So your venom doesn't get in people's system through kissing or anything? I think my dads does. Probably why he gets rid of the venom. Annnnnyway."
Shay turned herself toward him, sitting tall. She had calmed down once they were seated, voice quieter and posture less in his face.
"Just don't eat me, but yeah there are butcher shops for people bits. Guts, sure, but those aren't the parts most want to eat. It's usually, like, the tasty parts. Arms, thighs, etc."
Shay took a burger on the plate and nibbled at it. "Mind if I asked what happened to stop you from eating the person?"
♠♠♠
Valentine shrugged, honestly with no proper answer to give. "I don't really have any recollection of someone dropping dead after I spit in their drink so I probably do need to bite for it to get in their system." Then again, everyone got saliva conscious when it came to him. As far as he knew, his venom didn't work that way. "Pretty sure it's a conscious thing."
On the other hand, he did try it on the live rats they threw at him so that's probably really it. He wasn't too eager to tell her that he was forced to raw meat like that on a daily basis at one point though. Anyway. "Your dad sounds like a snakey guy; I actually didn't think that when you said I reminded you of him," he added. Things to remember for future reference.
"But yeah, guts don't taste all that good. Not even animal guts. I think it's an acquired taste or something because there's this... weird aftertaste in it. Even cooked. I'm not really surprised that human guts aren't popular in the market." Valentine reached out for a plate of nuggets next to him, picking at the food for a moment before popping one into his mouth. "I probably won't kill people just to eat them so I won't actually eat you, you know. Didn't think cannibalism would be legal enough here though."
Valentine looked contemplative as he chewed another nugget. "The cops got him first," he said plainly, "So I didn't get the chance to try anything. I didn't really hate anyone else enough to try again."
On the other hand, he did try it on the live rats they threw at him so that's probably really it. He wasn't too eager to tell her that he was forced to raw meat like that on a daily basis at one point though. Anyway. "Your dad sounds like a snakey guy; I actually didn't think that when you said I reminded you of him," he added. Things to remember for future reference.
"But yeah, guts don't taste all that good. Not even animal guts. I think it's an acquired taste or something because there's this... weird aftertaste in it. Even cooked. I'm not really surprised that human guts aren't popular in the market." Valentine reached out for a plate of nuggets next to him, picking at the food for a moment before popping one into his mouth. "I probably won't kill people just to eat them so I won't actually eat you, you know. Didn't think cannibalism would be legal enough here though."
Valentine looked contemplative as he chewed another nugget. "The cops got him first," he said plainly, "So I didn't get the chance to try anything. I didn't really hate anyone else enough to try again."
"Uh," Shay rubbed her neck awkwardly. "He's a snake guy, yeah. I guess your personality is a little like him, too, but I don't know you that well."
Shay grabbed pieces of food that were small enough that she didn't need to take much time chewing. It was interesting to her, his venomous physiology. "Good to know that it's not in your spit or anything, but, I guess it wouldn't be? Venomous isn't the same as poisonous."
Shay had never asked Vito if he milked out the poison for that reason. Maybe one day she would, but there was something downright embarrassing about the conversation topic.
"Yeah, I imagine," she commented on the guts with a face. "Cannibalism is... I guess people still get freaked out about it, but some creatures have to eat human meat, so Manta Carlos makes sure they get it. Otherwise, they'd have to go off killing people. I can give you the address for the butcher shop."
Shay wasn't a big eater. Both because she was rarely hungry and because her body so often wanted to throw up whatever it was she ate. Pleasant, she knew.
"That sucks. Whatever he did, I'm glad he's behind bars. Rotting in some dank cell is worse than being eaten, anyway. I don't think I've ever completely hated a person either, at least, not really. It's... kind of hard to explain." Now she tore apart a nugget, wanting to eat it but not doing so.
"Are you some type of Demon? I'm a Reaper if you know what those are."
♠♠♠
"It'd be nasty if that stuff mixes with my spit, though. Let's be real here," Valentine grimaced. It wasn't actually anything he thought about before but now he suddenly wondered how that would work if that was the case. Would his body have had an immunity against his own venom then? Something didn't sound right in that assumption if he had anything to say about it. "At least I haven't accidentally killed anyone out of petty spite."
Valentine chewed his food thoughtfully as Shay spoke. It... made sense, in a way. Considering there were well... non-humans as they told him, in the island it would definitely be safer to have human meat distribution under some sort of control rather than allowing random huntings going on. That would be put the entire city in some state of alarm if that were the situation. "Well, I can't really judge if some people can't survive without it," he simply said, not even further questioning the subject. "And I do wanna try so I want to know the name of that shop for later."
His eyes just seemed to observe the nugget Shay only seemed to play around with. A side thought occured for a second but it was just as easily replaced with their conversation. "A bunch of illegal things; I couldn't remember everything honest but I'd really just rather never see him again for the rest of my life," he explained to her, sounding rather casual despite its weight.
His tongue flicked again, for the how manieth time that day, looking as if he was considering something. "I've heard about reapers; haven't really met one — until you I guess? I guess that explains the weird-tasting magic around you. And as far as I know, my pops said we both were. It's been years since then so I... dont' remember everything he said about it, but he said something along the lines of about having demonic origins?"
Valentine chewed his food thoughtfully as Shay spoke. It... made sense, in a way. Considering there were well... non-humans as they told him, in the island it would definitely be safer to have human meat distribution under some sort of control rather than allowing random huntings going on. That would be put the entire city in some state of alarm if that were the situation. "Well, I can't really judge if some people can't survive without it," he simply said, not even further questioning the subject. "And I do wanna try so I want to know the name of that shop for later."
His eyes just seemed to observe the nugget Shay only seemed to play around with. A side thought occured for a second but it was just as easily replaced with their conversation. "A bunch of illegal things; I couldn't remember everything honest but I'd really just rather never see him again for the rest of my life," he explained to her, sounding rather casual despite its weight.
His tongue flicked again, for the how manieth time that day, looking as if he was considering something. "I've heard about reapers; haven't really met one — until you I guess? I guess that explains the weird-tasting magic around you. And as far as I know, my pops said we both were. It's been years since then so I... dont' remember everything he said about it, but he said something along the lines of about having demonic origins?"
"Yeah, that's why I was wondering. You couldn't share drinks or anything. Would be right messy." On that note, Shay took a drink of her water.
Shay ate a little more before she dusted her hands off of grease and whatnot. "I mean, we've had two cannabilistic murderers, and people don't like them, obviously. But people just don't want to die. So, the usual still creeps them out a little."
She grabbed her school bag from her feet and opened it to grab a sheet of paper and a pencil to write the address and name of the shop down. "Name is Jack's. It's downtown, owned by Bradley Davis. He's a big part of that maneater community.
"I volunteer down there, sometimes. So I'll tell him your name and say you'll be dropping by soon. If you have any specific requests I can tell him to put them on hold for you."
Shay nodded, sympathetic, and watched as his tongue flicked again. Snakes tasted the air, correct? Vito had mentioned it before. He got a better scent of things with his tongue than with his nose. Shay wanted to experience such a sensation.
"Yeah, I get that." Shay didn't know what she'd have done to someone who wronged her enough that she'd consider killing them. It was a line she'd tried to never cross, for fear that once over it, she would enjoy the taste of the hunt too much. Too much anger and too much a predator in sheep's clothing.
"Maybe? People say my magic and blood tastes... different. I'm not only a Reaper. I've got witches blood, I think. Life magic. Kind of weird for a creature of death, but whatchya gonna do?"
Trying for subtlety, Shay inspected Valentine while they were close. "You don't look very Demonic, so origins sounds about right. I always think Demon when someone is all snake-like. It must be the old Catholic upbringing. Are you coldblooded?"
♠♠♠
"Not like anyone wanted to share anything with me since they all think I'd contaminate their food or shit," Valentine muttered mostly to himself before taking a sip from his own drink. He didn't push the topic any further, finding no other interest in it.
Valentine took the scrap of paper when it was passed to him, briefly reading the words scribbled in before slipping it into his bag, in-between pages of one of his notebooks so he wouldn't mistake it for trash. "I wouldn't think most people would like cannibalistic murderers. With exception of people interested in that sort of thing," he said, making a face for a moment. He propped his elbow on the table, chin resting on his palm while his other hand only poked around his plate as he ildy ate. "So like I said, I haven't really eaten a person; Is there some sort of "intro to human meat" I should consider? Like what's the best seller, what to recommend a first-timer and what I should probably avoid if I want to try again. I'm curious."
He let his thoughts wander for a bit, almost vaguely aware of the food he was eating, and half-hearing the girl sitting across him until she directly adressed him again. "Pops said he was more snake than demon; but in my case considering that would be more human if I'm half I think? My mom was human if I remember right," He frowned for a moment, a little in thought. "I am cold-blooded though which kind of-- really confuses the human bit somewhere." He sighed. He hated trying to make sense. "I need to get my Biology right. Anyway, it hasn't really messed me up yet so I think the snake-demon thing just over-powered everything else.
"But you though... A reaper with life magic? Ironic. I can't fully say it's weird but that sounds kinda painful. Almost like there's two forces in your body and one part is trying to fight the other. Would be really bad it your body's just trying to fight itself. That's... not the case, is it?"
Valentine took the scrap of paper when it was passed to him, briefly reading the words scribbled in before slipping it into his bag, in-between pages of one of his notebooks so he wouldn't mistake it for trash. "I wouldn't think most people would like cannibalistic murderers. With exception of people interested in that sort of thing," he said, making a face for a moment. He propped his elbow on the table, chin resting on his palm while his other hand only poked around his plate as he ildy ate. "So like I said, I haven't really eaten a person; Is there some sort of "intro to human meat" I should consider? Like what's the best seller, what to recommend a first-timer and what I should probably avoid if I want to try again. I'm curious."
He let his thoughts wander for a bit, almost vaguely aware of the food he was eating, and half-hearing the girl sitting across him until she directly adressed him again. "Pops said he was more snake than demon; but in my case considering that would be more human if I'm half I think? My mom was human if I remember right," He frowned for a moment, a little in thought. "I am cold-blooded though which kind of-- really confuses the human bit somewhere." He sighed. He hated trying to make sense. "I need to get my Biology right. Anyway, it hasn't really messed me up yet so I think the snake-demon thing just over-powered everything else.
"But you though... A reaper with life magic? Ironic. I can't fully say it's weird but that sounds kinda painful. Almost like there's two forces in your body and one part is trying to fight the other. Would be really bad it your body's just trying to fight itself. That's... not the case, is it?"