Here on a Whim (Cadence)

[Esme M. Lolland]

"Tell me about werewolf-dom. I mean, I've seen as many werewolf movies as the next person but if something as popular as Harry Potter is wrong, then those things must be as well, right?" Esme asked. She was really interested in this werewolf and what she was capable of, she didn't want to make her feel bad about it, but with an open-ended question like the one Esme had just given she could leave out as much as she wanted. Just a little bit of information would be more than enough.

"As for your array, it's not as extensive as my own, but that's because I wander the streets aimlessly like a lost puppy," Esme joked, and then she thought better of it, maybe Cadence wouldn't enjoy jokes about dogs. "Sorry," she apologized quickly for the joke. "But as for your mystery man, I'd like to say I could help but there are so many different things, many of which I still haven't met. If I ever run into a man in the forest, I'll make sure I ask what he is for you," Esme laughed.

"You don't seem antisocial to me," Esme said, "You're talking to me, anti-social people wouldn't even have continued this conversation. Would have left me hanging after I asked about the pay... maybe handed me an application and been on their merry way. But maybe I should take you out on a night on the town with me. I'll pay." Esme knew that it may have been wreckless to invite the girl anywhere when she had just met her, but there was such an easy going connection between the two that she couldn't deny.

[Cadence]

She took a drink of her martini to gather her thoughts. How did she describe most of the things that went with being a werewolf to someone who couldn't possibly ever fully understand? She smiled at the mention of werewolf movies, that seemed like a good place to start. "They don't have everything right, no, though the way they make werewolves look is surprisingly accurate. The half man, half wolf form that looks really awkward on two legs? That's pretty much right. They've got the full moon part, too. And the...uh....hunger." She looked down to avoid the woman's eyes as she said that last part, both hoping and not hoping that Esme would understand what she meant by hunger. Most people weren't exactly comfortable with the idea of taking down woodland critters and eating them raw.

"You don't have to be bitten by a werewolf to catch it, its a lot easier than that. Think of it kind of like a flu virus, I guess, though it's not exactly like that either. I wasn't attacked in the middle of the forest or anything. In fact, I didn't notice anything different until well...the full moon, obviously." She hated that her words made her sound like a walking contagious disease, even though that was sort of what she was. Cadence didn't really understand how the virus was passed, that was just her own personal theory. She'd dissected the weeks before her first change, the only thing she'd done differently was kiss that guy at the prom. She couldn't think of anything else.

The words had just tumbled out, she hadn't really thought about it, she'd just said. Now though, she edited her narration to exclude the parts about the lack of control, the killing she knew that she'd done and the pain of the shift. That last was just because she'd always hated sympathy. She skipped straight to the upsides of being a werewolf, a smile crossing her face. "We're a lot faster and stronger than humans, hence my car comment from before." She winked. Again she had the ridiculous image of picking up her car just to show off. "I'm not sure what else to tell you...."

Cadence laughed at the woman's joke and then laughed harder when Esme apologized for it. "No..no, it's fine, really." She said, trying to catch her breath in between the bouts of laughter. "You can call me a mutt, but only if I get to make wizard of oz jokes." She winked and resisted the urge to yell 'I'm melting.' Cadence rolled her eyes and shook her head when Esme said the next time she met a man in the forest she'd make sure to catch his species for her. "Thanks."

Cadence shrugged. "Alright, maybe not anti-social but I spent a long time trying to be invisible and hide in plain sight..if you get my meaning. That's why even though I've been here two years, I still know next to nothing. I'm not usually this talkative, it's just nice to talk to someone I don't have to hide from." She laughed. "And do you always offer to pay for everything? Careful, one of these days someone's going to take you up on it and empty your treasury."

[Esme M. Lolland]

Esme was starting to get a little cautious around Cadence. She knew that the girl was just trying to explain how she has no idea how one becomes a werewolf, but there's the whole idea of contracting it just by talking to her. Esme shifted uneasily in her seat, but she knew that if these people in the pub had been served drinks and talked to Cadence for years, there was probably no chance that she'd be the unlucky fool who'd become a werewolf. But thinking about it, Cadence was doing pretty well as a werewolf, so she would be able to deal if fate was that cruel.

Esme smiled as Cadence winked at her."I don't know what exactly to ask, the whole werewolf thing is new to me. I feel kind of like a kid on their birthday with all of the information that I wouldn't even notice you forgot to tell me something really important."

Esme thought about the deal, "Sure, why not. I like a little bit of witch humor every now and again." Esme for a second thought that they could shake on the deal, but after the last late handshake she didn't want them to seem like handshaking freaks. They were already strange as it was, being marked as the pair who liked to shake hands would be way too much.

Esme knew exactly what Cadence knew about not having to hide from people. She had learned that she spoke so much more around people who knew about the world that her other half was from. All of her friends from school thought she was stuck up because she never spent time with them and she didn't talk around them because she didn't know what the newest TV show was or she hadn't seen the newest movie.

"I tend to offer to pay because I have so much money. I like when people take it off of my hands. My parents are super rich and they never spent time with me and my brother so they got into the habit of paying us because they were so guilty. I've got more money than I'd ever want so I try to use it for the benefit of others. Besides, I only offer to people I like," Esme smiled and winked, taking another sip of her drink. She tipped it towards Cadence and added, "This is really good, by the way."

[Cadence]

Cadence sighed when Esme shifted in her seat. She should have edited her story a little bit more it seemed. "You're not going to catch it, relax. I'm pretty sure you have to exchange bodily fluids of some sort. As long as you don't kiss me, we'll be fine. I'm one of the only bartenders you don't have to worry about spitting in your drink." She shrugged. "You smelled like fear." She added by way of explanation softly.

She nodded when Esme said she didn't know what to ask. "Well, if you think of something, feel free." She finished off her martini and tossed the glass in the back. She thought for a minute and then pulled out the cd's, which included Panic! at the Disco, Stevie Wonder, Foreigner, The Who and the Chicago soundtrack, from under the bar. "Pick one and I'll put it on the speakers."

Cadence laughed, trying to erase the awkwardness from the contagious disease conversation from before. Coming from a past where her family never had had much money, not that they were poor but they weren't rich by any means, Cadence couldn't completely relate. She wouldn't let that show and ruin the upbeat mood of the conversation. "Well, you won't hear me complain. A night on the town sounds..fun." She hadn't seen much of London, it would be nice to go out on the town.

[Esme M. Lolland]

Esme was confused as Cadence explained that there needed to be an exchange of bodily fluids, how had she known that she was a little scared? It couldn't have been the shift in her seat, the movement was so small, so natural that it shouldn't have alerted Cadence of anything. It was only after Cadence explained she smelt like fear that she understood, nodding she took another sip of her drink, finishing it off.

"Could I have another? Or something else, it doesn't matter to me." Cadence placed a few CDs on the counter in front of Esme. She looked at them and then around herself at the group of people in the room. She would have loved to have Cadence put on Chicago, but she didn't quite know how everyone else would take it. She picked up the Panic! At the Disco CD and handed it over to Cadence, "Pretty interesting selection of music you've got there."

Cadence seemed like she could use a night on the town, and what's a better night than that one? "I hope you don't think I'm strange because I'm asking this, but what time do you get off of work? Maybe we can have a night on the town tonight... maybe I could even call up a few friends to hang out with us if you'd like," Esme knew it was short notice, but she didn't exactly want to go home just yet and Cadence was alot of fun. Hey, maybe she'd even be able to coerce a few of her friends from the supernatural world to go with them.

[Cadence]

Cadence smiled and started to mix another Lemon Drop. It was almost tempting to give her something strong and bitter, just for the fun of it, but she wouldn't be that mean..well at least until she knew the woman a little better of course. She didn't know what kind of sense of humor Esme had yet, maybe she wasn't a fan of pranks.

She watched the woman sort through her cd's, catching her linger for a minute on the Chicago soundtrack. "Good choice." She smiled and put in Panic!, swaying slightly to the familiar rhythms of the songs. "You should see the rest of my case. I've got everything from Metallica to disney soundtracks." Cadence laughed.

She laughed harder when Esme asked what time she got off work. She'd had countless guys, and girls, ask her the same thing looking for a date, it was just so strange to hear it in any other context. "I'll be done here in an hour." Her mind whirled with all the thought of what Esme's friends were, or even who they were based on her comment about folklore before. "I'd love to meet some of your friends."

[Esme M. Lolland]

Cadence had about the same taste in music as Esme, that was surprising. It seemed the girls have much more in common than either one could realize. "Oh, my apartment's just about as bad, I've got Dido and a few American death metal bands. My brother laughs at me everytime he looks at my music collection."

Esme smiled when Cadence said she got off soon, but that meant that Esme would have to rack her brain quickly to figure who would be available for a last minute party. They could go to that dance club she met Vlad in and she could definately call up the Council to see who was up for a night on the town. Yeah, they were old but that didn't mean they probably didn't know how to party like a bunch of teenagers when need be. And then she may have been able to get in touch with Mya, she would be a fun addition to the party. But Esme couldn't quite figure out who else to call up. She did know that she'd have to call within the next 15 minutes.

"They are definately an interesting group of people, you won't be sorry after meeting all of them," Esme said.