Here on a Whim (Cadence)

[Esme M. Lolland]

"Oh, by no means is my list boring, I'm just trying to get a feeling for who you are, and it seems that your true self is much more entertaining than you lead on," Esme explained, it seemed that Cadence was unaware that Esme could sense something different about her.

Esme couldn't quite figure out if Cadence was making fun of her name or she truly did like it. It hadn't been often that someone had to make fun of it, Esme thought it was a pretty name, but there were some buttmunches in the world who couldn't help but ask if she got the name from her grandmother. She couldn't tell if Cadence was like those kids or if they had some weird from one girl without a normal name to another type of bond.

Whatever it was, Esme felt that she should be a bit more truthfully around this girl. She'd speak softly, but she felt that Cadence was someone she could share a few things with. That was, after all why she had offered her a drink. She laughed as she said that she'd prefer to use her employee discount and waited until she was done making her drink before she whispered over the counter.

"Well, I've definately met some pretty interesting characters," Esme looked around quickly, just in case there was someone she hadn't noticed who decided to listen in, no one. "I've met a couple of vampires, and a fallen angel or two and a couple of others as well. That's why you make it on my list of more entertaining people. I've yet to meet someone like you, whatever it is you are. And typically when I meet something new, I always get an interesting story to come along with it."

Esme hated when she was called out like that in front of a group, but it was quiet so perhaps Cadence wouldn't be too upset. And if Cadence was anything like herself, which Esme was banking on her being, she was just as curious as to what Esme was. In the end she was hoping it would be an "eye-for-an-eye" sort of exchange.

[Cadence]

Her true self? Certainly Esme wasn't referring to her being a werewolf, there was no way for her to know that. Did she think there was more to Cadence's personality than she was letting on? She took a drink from her martini and smiled when the woman laughed.

The smile left her face almost as soon as it had appeared. Vampires? Fallen angels? Others? It took a moment for her brain to process what Esme was telling her. Either this was some cruel joke or the woman sitting across from her knew about the supernatural world. She didn't think it was a joke, she was almost positive that Esme was serious. If she'd been joking, then would she be leaning across the bar and whispering like this? No, of course not. Esme's whispers were as loud as most people's voices to her enhanced senses.

Esme had said whatever you are. So she didn't know what Cadence was, only that she was something not human. That sounded familiar, it had been almost exactly what she'd been thinking about Esme only a few moments before. Cadence debated with herself for a moment. If she told Esme the truth, would the woman run off, believe the horror movies' version? But she'd said that she'd met vampires....

"W-" She had to clear her throat, which was suddenly tight, before her voice was more than a squeak. "Werewolf." She whispered it, her voice sounding ashamed even to her. It felt so good to say that word after so long, to finally admit to being what she really was, liberating, freeing. She recovered quickly, turning back to face the woman in front of her. Cadence took another sip of her drink. "You?"

[Esme M. Lolland]

Esme remained quiet as Cadence processed all that she had said to her. It seemed that Cadence was trying to figure out whether or not Esme was worthy of hearing whatever it is she had to say. Esme was just hoping that she hadn't stuck her neck out there just for Cadence to deny what was going on, to call her a liar and even a crazy person if the mood struck her. Esme was hoping that Cadence would accept what Esme had told her and decided that Esme was a person to confide in. And above all else, Esme hoped that she was willing to share with Esme because the same curiousity overtook her as well.

And then it slipped, almost like a hated word. First a small bit of the word and then the word in it's entireity, spoken in a squeak that showed a bit of hatred. And then a look of relief seemed to pass over Cadence's face, even for a short moment. "And so the witchling meets a werewolf," Esme commented quietly, "It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, Cadence." Esme offered Cadence a hand, as if they had just met and hadn't been spending the last few moments talking kindly to one another.

Esme smiled after a moment, "Just to let you know, this isn't going to make me think any differently about you. You will still be the nice bartending lady at the Marine, if that's what you were about to worry over. I just like meeting new types of people, I never really mind too much about what they are," Esme clarified. She never really cared about what a person may be, and she didn't want Cadence to close up just because she had admitted this one little fact. It didn't change anything in Esme's mind and she wanted Cadence to understand that.

[Cadence]

She smiled at took Esme's hand. "Yeah, you too." It seemed like they were introducing themselves for the first time, which in a way they were. They had given each other their names, but they hadn't really said anything about themselves until now. It still surprised Cadence that she'd told her deepest, darkest secret to a woman she'd just met but now she was glad that she had.

"A witch, really?" She couldn't keep the interest from her voice. She'd never met a witch before and if the movies weren't right on werewolves then they certainly weren't right about witches either. "Like double, double toil and trouble?" She asked, her voice still low, and then added. "No offense, I just meant are all the movies and books right?"

Cadence smiled. She had begun to wonder if Esme would think of her first as a werewolf and then as a person. It meant a lot to her that the woman had even thought to add that. She could get to like Esme, she decided. It also made her feel a little guilty for not holding back her curiosity. "Thank you, Esme. You'll still be the first new person I've seen in this place in weeks instead of the first witch I've met." She laughed softly.

But she wondered if Esme knew the whole truth if she'd be so accepting? Probably not, it was most likely best to keep some things to herself, specifically the details of her first full moons.

[Esme M. Lolland]

Esme smiled inwardly, how amusing it must be to see these two girls shaking hands after they had talked for about 5 minutes as was. They were already pretty well acquainted to the plain eye, and now they decided to shake hands? Either they were a pair of bird brained girls or they were just really strange... one of those descriptions actually did sort of define the girls correctly.

Esme began to giggle when she heard the enthusiasm in Cadence's voice, she obviously hadn't met a real witch before. 'Double, double toil and trouble' made Esme laugh even harder. She remembered when she believed in all of the things that she learned in the movies. If she hadn't become a witch she'd still believe that vampires were afraid of light, although she had already met few vampires who travelled freely in the daytime with only a few precautions. So she could see very well where Cadence was coming from, really.

"Well, even though I've been practicing for five years there's still a lot I don't know myself. We definately cast spells, just not like in Harry Potter. But unlike other witches, I actually pay attention to Wiccan beliefs, so I'm not quite sure if it helps or not. As for things like riding broomsticks, I don't know yet... I'll have to ask my teacher about that, I want to ride a broomstick. That would be fun," Esme began to think outloud.

Esme smiled, she wasn't really worried about not being a normal human anymore... she was tired of trying to hide who she was, but she wasn't going to make the girl feel uncomfortable. "Weeks, huh? This place must be jumping, huh?" Esme joked. It seemed that a pleasant little friendship was about to develop betweeen the two of them.

[Cadence]

She couldn't help but smile, a little embarrassed, when Esme started to giggle. Alright, so she had probably sounded like a kid asking what they were getting for christmas. She just couldn't help it, she'd always been easily excited and she'd always been curious about the world she was a part of but knew almost nothing about. In a way, each new bit of information was like a christmas gift to her.

Cadence nodded, she'd figured that it wasn't anything like harry potter. "Aww, man there go my hopes and dreams, here I was hoping for a visit to Hogwarts." She laughed and tossed the woman a wink. She couldn't help but light up at the thought of riding on a broom stick. "Well, when you learn to fly I'll trade you some free drinks for a ride." She'd always wanted to fly, and bungee jump...but all in good time.

"Jumping is not exactly the word I'd use. We have a lot of regulars. Like, ok, see that guy over there?" Her voice was still a whisper as she pointed out a man towards the back of the pub. "I've been here two years and he's been here every day since I took the job. That's the case for most folks here."

For a moment the thought of taking Esme outside and picking up her car popped into her head but she pushed it aside, dismissing it as ridiculous. It was the excitement of finally talking to someone getting to her head. She smiled to herself at the foolish idea and took a sip from her drink.

[Esme M. Lolland]

"Nope, I didn't get that fated owl with my acceptance letter, sometimes I still think it got lost, went to the wrong house. Maybe Hermione got my place at Hogwarts," Esme joked back. "Once I'm positive I can fly without having to file an insurance report I'll be giving you the first ride, and don't worry about the drinks, you can use your employee discount on the broomstick as well." She was starting to like this girl, she reminded her of an old friend, conversation was just starting to flow easily with her.

Esme looked towards the guy that Cadence was pointing at. For some reason Esme felt that she may not have been able to keep up with a job where she had to see the same faces in the same places everyday. She may end up gong crazy after some time. She needed change, and Cadence's job didn't seem to offer that too often.

Esme was starting to wonder what Cadence was capable of, but the moment that she thought she could ask she rememberd how Cadence had felt when Esme said that she'd stay that random bartender girl. She didn't want to make Cadence feel uncomfortable, she had a feeling that she didn't tell people what she was too often. If Esme was one of the first, she didn't want to scare her out of ever telling anyone again.

[Cadence]

Cadence laughed at the Hogwarts jokes. She couldn't help it, Esme was easy to talk to. She suspected once they got to know each other better, if they got to know each other better and she hoped they did, the woman would be easy to confide in too. "I'll hold you to that." She grinned, knowing it was entirely possible that witches couldn't actually fly. "I can't take you flying or anything that dramatic but let me know if you ever get your car stuck." She laughed.

"But you did say something about a teacher...?" She trailed off and then realized that she was interrogating the woman when she'd just meant to continue the conversation. She winced. "Sorry not trying to play 20 questions or reenact the inquisition here, you don't have to answer that." Everything was just so new, she couldn't help herself for wanting to know more.

It had been so long since she'd had a friend. Since she'd been a werewolf, she'd been spending her time making sure that no one got close enough to notice anything odd. She didn't have to hide from Esme, though she still thought she should probably keep the more gory details to herself. The thought of having a friend like that was liberating, exciting.

[Esme M. Lolland]

"I'll keep you in mind when I get a car, then," Esme joked.

Esme smiled when Cadence asked about her teacher, "No I don't mind. I actually like answering questions. Well, I was introduced to my teacher by one of the vampires I met at a bar, actually. He works and lives with her. She's very capable, pretty well-known in folklore, actually... yeah," Esme didn't want to tell her too much about Morgan, but she felt that keeping secrets wasn't the best of ideas, either. Friendships were always formed on trust.

Esme really liked this girl, she was so much like herself. She was curious, wanted to know so much and felt like she was missing out on so much. Esme knew that this girl would be the perfect friend for her. The two of them could start to figure out things about this crazy world together, they would be an unstoppable duo.

Esme began to wonder if the Councill would give her a chance to spend time with Cadence, she hoped so... but being a new tool for the Council, she may end up being kept in an ivory tower until needed the most. Pensievely she took another sip of her drink, "So, what do you know about the supernatural world?" Esme thought that would be a safe enough question... it was a last minute thought though. Although most everyone she had met as of late were allies of the Council, there were those who hated them, had to be, and she had pretty much already told Cadence her teacher was part of that group. If Cadence was one of those ones who hated the Council, she was in big trouble.

[Cadence]

She laughed. If they did become friends then Esme would figure out soon enough that Cadence was her own personal tow truck. It saved her money during the winter weather at least, and she didn't have to call in favors from her neighbors to help with the heavy lifting. On top of that, she really didn't have to worry about getting out of shape. There were upsides to being a werewolf, you wouldn't catch her complaining about the strength, speed or increased metabolism.

Talk about an adventurous life. Esme had met a witch because of a vampire that she'd met in a bar. Cadence found herself thinking that maybe she should get out more. She raised her eyebrows at the mention of folklore. She'd done a lot of reading after realizing what she was, some of the books had included sections on folklore. She figured that since Esme hadn't given a name, it wasn't exactly free information and bit her tongue for the time being.

"Not much, though obviously I could tell you all the intimate details of werewolf-dom." She shrugged and rolled her eyes, her voice even lower than before. "I met a vampire a while back down in an abandoned train tunnel...and another werewolf wandered into here not to long ago. Then there was a guy who I met...well actually he found me sleeping in the forest" She smiled a little embarrassed. "But I know something was off about him." She sighed. "Unfortunately that's about the extent of my experience. I've...well...been sort of anti-social for awhile." She shrugged again and took another sip from her drink.