The Small Print [Dom]

[Sephora Forrest]

Sephora stepped into the welcome warmth of the Hog’s Head from the typically chilly conditions outside. She had recently regained the confidence to leave her room at the Three Broomsticks for things other than work and dinner. Not that she was any less wary of the potential dangers lurking out there, but certainly she wasn’t going to hide like a startled animal anymore. That was just over-rated and cowardly.

She walked over to the bar; her black heels making clinking noises against the floor. She was mildly dressed up tonight - wearing a killer pair of heels and skinny jeans to make her look taller along with a plunging v-neck top. She wanted to look good again - just to convince herself that she was breaking out of her frightened shell. She hated feeling defenceless, and for some reason wearing overly flattering clothing made her feel better about herself. Being unnoticed in the shadows made her feel very uncomfortable for some reason.

She ordered the same wine that she had on her night of arrival to Hogsmeade, and had a rather strange sense of Déjà vu. She’d some here to possibly sniff out a meal tonight - she hadn’t been back here since her first night but she still remembered that the owner of the pub had smelt rather nice indeed; although he had been rather dimmed in comparison to Silas. At the time though she hadn’t known the side effects that feeding off Silas could bring though, or she may have rethought her choice.

She propped herself up on a barstool and surveyed the room with a characteristic arrogance; a sense of self importance and the belief that she was untouchable shining through rather clearly. Aside from Sam - she had so far not seen another vampire anywhere in this town. How could it possibly be teeming with them if she had not even seen more than one? Sam certainly hadn’t been hostile either, and she was beginning to wonder whether Silas had told her the truth about the vampire population in Hogsmeade, and possibly in general. Because the more she thought about it - why would any vampire want to hurt or kill her anyway? Just because she was a half-vampire? That made no logical sense in her mind.

She frowned slightly, deciding that now she was over her little vampire scare she really needed to get out more. Since she’d effectively settled here, she’d spent all of her time either in her room, or in a pub or working at a strip club. What was she thinking? Surely there was more to do around here than what she was up to currently. Actually, she was rather disappointed and disgusted about her recent lack of activity - talk about sloth worthy.

[Dominic Spencer]

There it was again, that same wooden door he’d walked through the other night only to be confronted with the woman who’d killed him all those years ago. The whole experience had been draining and emotionally hectic and yet Dominic was back at the Hog’s Head Inn, ready to walk through the same door even though she could be behind it again. The boy took comfort in the fact that there would be people inside and he knew now that the blonde vampiress wouldn’t attack him with mortals around.

This time he wasn’t soaked from head to toe when he stepped inside and this time he wasn’t quite as cheerful as he’d been the previous night. His eyes swept the room for the woman but she was not there. Then and there Dom’s mood lightened considerably. Now he could sit himself in front of the fire without a care in the world, only the seats in front of the fire were taken. In fact the place was packed with what looked like tourists, damn tourists. Instead the young vampire had to settle for a seat at the bar.

He ordered a water and pretended to sip at it as he turned to look at the busy pub. His attention was far more focussed on the people moving about the place than looking convincing with the water however. Their heartbeats filled his ears and made him realise how hungry he was. Sure he’d eaten when he’d woken up but he had a fast metabolism at his age. Dom ran his tongue over his sharp elongated canines in thought. Which one would be the best snack and which of the women would be the best potential romp?

A cool breeze from across the way signalled someone had entered the pub and also served to carry their scent to the flaxen haired vampire. Instantly his head snapped over to see who it had been. The scent was strange, it was vampire and yet it was human too. A half-vampire? Dom had heard of them but never actually met one before. At once he spotted who the scent belonged to and he had to cock his eyebrows at them.

It was a girl and she was hot, definitely his type. Girl was his type really but this one didn’t have to know that. Quickly he ducked away to stand by the fire, hoping she’d sit somewhere with another vacant seat or somewhere with an empty stool beside it. As luck would have it she did and internally Dom cheered. The boy held his glass of water firmly and strode over. ”Uhh excuse me, is that stool taken? One minute I get up to chat with someone and the next minute I’m seat-less,” the young vampire faked a chuckle, complete with realistic nerves. He’d had one hundred and eight years so far to hone his acting and it was on women he practiced.

[Sephora Forrest]

Sephora looked up as she was approached by a young man who was probably about her age, or at least around twenty. She really would have to stop saying ‘her age’ soon enough as it would hardly be accurate.

He was wearing rather, er, ‘eye-catching’ green skinny jeans - a colour that she never would have worn herself. His blonde hair looked as though it was carefully styled too. Great; she’d been approached by a pretty boy. Pretty Boy was carrying a glass of water which appeared untouched, which Sephora found rather unusual - surely you’d come to a pub to drink… well at least something other than water, considering the reason she had come here.

She could only raise an eyebrow at his little introduction speech - she wasn’t entirely sure what to make of it. It almost sounded like he was some little college boy who had no idea what he was doing. His clothing style could have suggested he thought far too much of himself - or perhaps the idea of confidence was what he was trying to put into people’s heads.

Sephora shrugged nonchalantly, “Does it look like there’s someone sitting there? It’s all yours.” Normally she wouldn’t waste her time of day with guys like him, or even guys in general, but today she felt like assessing his worth - aka whether he would be a good possible meal or not.

She was momentarily distracted by the arrival of her wine, which she reached out and grabbed a little too quickly, then remembered that people weren’t used to her moving too fast and pulled the glass more slowly towards her. Traces of the effects of Sam’s blood still lingered, and she had to constantly remind herself how fast her arm was supposed to be moving. The older vampire’s blood had thrown her perception way out of wack.

“So,” she began, taking a delicate sniff of her wine before sipping very little of it. She was looking for a decent feed and didn’t want too much else filling her stomach. “Where are you from? I haven’t seen you around here before. Did you just leave school or something?”

[Dominic Spencer]

Meeting a half-vampire was so exciting and nerve wracking. Dom wondered whether or not she could scent him like he could her and if his humanly charade was worth keeping up to test her to find out. The boy smiled at the girl, being careful not to let his fangs show, and sat down next to her immediately. So far so good, she hadn’t rejected ignored him which was a good sign but no girl he’d ever met, or cared not to remember rather, had blown him off on the initial introduction. ”Thanks,” he nodded at her with a smile.

Something that the young vampire had taken notice of right away was her ice blue eyes. They stood out in stark contrast against the girl’s skin and demanded attention. Dominic definitely wouldn’t have minded looking into those eyes later on from on top of her. His less-than pure thoughts brought a devious smile to his face which he had to look away to hide. Finally, a mischievous spark in his eye, Dominic looked back to the strange girl when she started speaking.

The flaxen-haired vampire regarded the wine and wrinkled his nose. He’d loved the stuff when he’d been alive but since then he hadn’t been able to touch it, although he did like the colour. A deep red, the colour of blood which only served to remind him that he wanted a snack. ”I’m from London actually, where’s your accent from? Australia? Nice country but there’s too much sun for my liking. My kind don’t do too well in the sun, English people I mean,” Dom joked, pretending to take a sip of his water.

”I left school awhile ago so I’m heading around country for a little bit. What about you? I’m Dominic by the way; Dominic Spencer but most people just call me Dom,” the boy spoke up happily, holding out his hand for the girl when he introduced himself.

[Sephora Forrest]

She continued to regard him out of the corner of her eye, waiting for an opportunity that would allow her to catch his scent. A direct breeze would be necessary as the room was quite crowded. Oh well; she could be patent when she wanted to.

Overall, Sephora thought there was something rather odd about him; something she couldn’t quite put her finger on. She decided to dismiss it for the time being however - everyone had their quirks. But no; there was something about his manner that seemed all too familiar, something that reminded her very strongly of someone that she knew perhaps. This was likely to puzzle her for a while, so she attempted to push it to the back of her mind for the time being else she would never be able to concentrate.

Her head jerked slightly when he mentioned the sun, but really Sephora realised she was being paranoid. After fearing a vampire attack and being on constant guard, she had begun to take even the silliest things the wrong way. How paranoid was she?

“I’m Sephora Forrest,” she replied politely, shaking his hand. On contact however, her muscles tensed a little in surprise - his hands were freezing. Colder than hers even. Must have been that glass of water he had been holding. “But I guess you can call me… Seph, if you wish.” No one had called her that since school, and even then that had been when she actually had friends. She’d developed some rather anti-social behaviours once she got to high school.

“I grew up in Australia,” she continued, still puzzling over pretty boy Dom - possibly the reason she was still even giving him the time of day, “But I was born in England - that’s where I got my skin tone from I guess. Never was one for the sun much myself either - my skin gets sunburnt pretty easily. It’s cooler over here too. That’s why I’ve moved back here for work.” She paused, wondering whether or not to mention where she worked. Probably not - she was still personally disgusted in herself for getting her job at Scores as it was. Had she really been so desperate at the time as to warrant working at a strip club in exchange for protection against vampires? Most of the men in that club deserved to be eaten by vampires.

Still, the contact with Dom’s hand had given her the possible chance of picking up his scent. She rested against the bar with her elbow and laid her head against her hand so her palm would be close enough for her to at least get some indication off it. But for some unknown reason, there was very little scent left on her hand from him at all - it was very faint and very, very odd. Hauntingly familiar almost. This of course only served to frustrate Sephora further - why could she not figure out why he seemed so familiar? She was certain they had never met before, and yet why else would he trigger something in her memory?

She wanted to bash her head against the bench - memory lapses had been happening far too often lately. Actually, Sephora wondered whether that might have had something to do with it. Perhaps he was the mystery man that she had fed on the night that it seemed her memory had been wiped. He wouldn’t remember her either. But this just didn’t seem right in her mind. Good grief this was frustrating!

Sephora sat up a little straighter and turned her body to face him; so that she could have a proper look at him in the hopes of realising what little piece of information she was missing in this puzzle. She drummed her fingers against the bar both in frustration and in thought. Perhaps asking questions would get her further. So Sephora chose one of the most basic questions that had first jumped to her mind when she had first set her eyes on him.

“Why the water?” she asked, offering him a cheeky half smile without showing off any of her teeth for a good reason. There was something off about his smile she decided. It just didn’t look right. Maybe he was faking it. “This is a pub - why would you come here to order a glass of water?”

[Dominic Spencer]

When their hands shook the boy too took note on the temperature of her touch. Her hands were soft and cool to the touch but did not have the icy bite normal vampires had. What else was different he found himself wondering. Did she have fangs? Could she heal like he could? Was she supernaturally strong and fast? If so how strong and fast? All of these things he’d be more than willing to find out somewhere private.

”Nice to meet you Seph. Growing up there would explain it,” Dom chuckled, still smiling. The mention of skin tone had himself checking his own. Next to some of the people around him he probably would have glowed in the dark. His own skin was deathly pale which was a rather appropriate way to describe it really. ”Yeah I burn pretty easily too so I know your pain, not that I mind. I’m more a night type,” technically what he’d said was the truth. Dropping hints about what he really was to Seph was starting to get rather entertaining.

Like her, Dom had her scent on his hand and mimicked her with leaning on his arm so he could take it in. It was so odd, vampire, yet not vampire. The whole curiousness of Seph made the young vampire wonder what her blood was like. Vampire blood was like an aged wine, bitter and not something Dominic would drink unless in dire need but half and half still circulating with a heartbeat was unknown territory for him.

Lost in thought about various things, Sephora snapped the boy’s attention back to her with a rather odd question. It was odd yes but he supposed it made sense really. ”Why the water? Well it seems I can’t really stomach anything else these days. Had a bad run in with some alcohol a while back,” he explained cheerily. Well alcohol was part of the reason he was now almost one hundred and nine if that counted as a bad run in with the stuff. ”I guess I came here because I like the atmosphere? I don’t know really but it’s nicer here amongst people than being at home by yourself don’t you think?” Dom shrugged, again pretending to take a drink of water.

”What brings you here then Seph? You could have had wine at home,” the blond vampire asked pointing at Seph’s glass, a cheeky smile on his lips. No harm in reciprocating the strange questions, especially of it kept the conversation going. Nothing worse than long awkward silences. ”Apart from the charming company of course,” Dom joked.

[Sephora Forrest]

Ok, now Sephora was getting suspicious. The way he said things - it was almost like there was implied second meaning. Though what that meaning could be she was still mystified about. She could demand to know outright - but that felt like losing. And it would just look plain stupid if he wasn’t in fact implying anything and she was just reading far too much into it. The only way she was going to puzzle the whole situation out was if she kept him talking.

“It depends whether you’re a people person or not - I don’t usually talk to people all that much,” replied Sephora dryly. Damn right too - most interactions she had with humans were food related. Being around people without a full stomach was distracting and painfully annoying at the best of times.

Ok, so maybe her first impression of pretty boy Dom had been incorrect - he certainly wasn’t a shy college boy. She should have guessed as much from his clothing. She didn’t react this time however, this was far more interesting than sitting around and waiting for another meal to come along. She considered how to answer his question - she could be daring and start dropping double meanings herself, but perhaps that was what he wanted. She had never bothered to ask Silas whether vampire hunters existed, but she guessed that there would be wizards who were more than happy to get rid of them. She might be walking straight into a trap - baited into revealing her true self before being murdered.

“I didn’t have anything to drink but water back where I am staying - and a nightlife is something I enjoy far too much to be staying in my room on my day off. No - I came here to perhaps socialise a bit before maybe catching a bite to eat.”

There - let him make what he liked of that. She was more likely to get somewhere by dropping cryptic comments and with just simple small talk. If he was indeed a vampire hunter than she would just have to be on her guard. If he thought that she had swallowed his trap hook line and sinker she might be able to get the jump on him should things take a turn for the worse.

“You say you’d rather be here than at home alone - are you renting a room here or something? Hogsmeade doesn’t seem like a very lively place for someone who is travelling to stop in,” she commented, trying to further sus out the situation on what he was exactly - (relatively) harmless boy, vampire hunter or something else entirely.

[Dominic Spencer]

As the two of them sat there at the bar, the boy tried his best to hone in on Sephora’s heartbeat. At first the throng and rhythms of the people around them made it difficult and made Dominic assume that she didn’t have one. But after concentrating a little harder he found her rhythm which almost made him jump in surprise. He hadn’t expected to ever find it and it wasn’t like he was good at it either. Whenever he tried to concentrate on someone’s heartbeat he got bored and focused on the much more interesting parts of them.

Dom had to snort indiscreetly at Seph’s comment about talking to a person or not a person. He was sort of a person; at least he liked to think he was. The association that vampires were monsters was one that the blond tried to distance himself from as much as possible. He refused to kill his prey, refused to isolate himself from human company and refused to let himself fully embrace that he had to drink a person’s blood to survive. Once he’d even tried to eat again but had made himself extremely sick by doing so. Maybe he was still in denial, eighty nine years on.

”Well then is the wine worth the trip out?” the young vampire asked nonchalantly, swirling his glass of water in one hand. He didn’t miss the girl’s double meaning in her words, so she was catching on with what he himself was doing. The thought made Dom chuckle and grin at Seph, he liked her already. ”A bite to eat sounds good,” he commented offhandedly, stomach turning impatiently.

”I am staying nearby if you’re interested,” the boy remarked almost suggestively, ”a small rental cottage on the outskirts of the village not far from here actually.” Small didn’t even begin to cover it. He hardly fit in it let alone any guests he might have. The only really redeeming feature of it was that it had a basement that kept the light out during the day. ”How about you? Wait, I guess you’re around here if you work here. Do you mind if I ask what you do?” the flaxen-haired vampire asked lightly, still with a mildly suggestive smirk across his face.

[Sephora Forrest]

She almost chuckled at the suggestive note in Dom’s voice - her ego needed some flattering after being rather deflated over the past couple of weeks. Surely he couldn’t be a hunter - he was too young - all of the double meaning comments that he was dropping were just some kind of strange pick up lines maybe. The smug feelings that had been conjured up disappeared rather rapidly however at the mention of her employment.

“I’m renting a room at the Three Broomsticks,” she replied, “I’m still not sure whether I should get something more permanent yet.” She was still a little unsure about Hogsmeade, and she didn’t know if she would have to fly the coop any time soon. “As for my job well…” she paused wondering whether to continue with the truth or simply lie. He didn’t look like he was old enough to be even let in the door at Scores, so he was unlikely to know of it. “I work at this place called Scores. You’ve probably never heard of it.” She hoped he hadn’t anyway.

Sephora finished her wine, and called for a second glass. She was feeling rather reckless and cocky - she wanted to do something. Something to prove that even as a half vampire she could cope in this world just fine, despite what the evidence had so far shown. She wanted to know what Dom was - whether he was a vampire hunter or just a rather amusing meal. If he was a vampire hunter, she reasoned, he was unlikely to know that she was only a half vampire - therefore she had the advantage. She wasn’t going to run screaming from a cross anytime soon.

With this in mind, Sephora turned on her usual hunting charms with a well practiced smile spreading across her face. “You know, a cottage sounds good. I was just beginning to think that this pub was getting a little overrated,” she purred, intending to get him alone somewhere dark where she could interrogate him and get some dinner at the same time. Killing two birds with one stone. And besides, he was beginning to look like the best meal around. “Maybe we can head back to your place for that bite to eat?” And some more wine perhaps would be nice.

[Dominic Spencer]

There had been a hint of a smile, the flutter of her heart told him so and it made Dom himself crack a broad grin. He was getting somewhere with this Sephora, the half-vampire, or at least he hoped he was getting somewhere. ”The Three Broomsticks is a nice place, of what little I’ve seen of it,” the boy approved with a nod of his head. ”I would have been staying there but unfortunately the place was full.” Indeed that was the truth, but instead he had to make do with his little cottage thing. He would have preferred the pub though; hunting would have been much easier with prey coming to his door.

At the mention of Scores the young vampire stiffened slightly, the smile fading for a moment. ”I’ve heard of it, even went there once but it is not a place I’ll be going back to. And please know that I have nothing against you working there, it is most certainly not my morality that put me off the place, more a run in with the proprietor,” Dom sighed, giving the girl a reassuring smile. He thought no less of her for whatever she did in Scores, heck, if he was lucky she’d be a dancer. He’d missed his chances with the ones he’d seen the other night.

Dom eyed the wine enviously, wishing he was still able to drink it. He could have ordered it from the bar infused with blood but that would reveal to Sephora, prematurely, his true nature. The boy found himself almost jealous of the half-vampire; obviously they could still enjoy some, if not all, human comforts. With a sigh he resigned himself to the fact there was nothing he could do about it but what he wouldn’t do to be able to enjoy chocolate again.

The sound of Seph’s voice distracted him and his gaze and attention snapped back to the girl beside him. Her smile almost made the boy fall off his chair in shock, he knew his charms were good but were they really that good? Even so, her sudden change in attitude, although suspicious, was encouraging. Dom listened to what she said and chuckled quietly in reply, ”Well I don’t really have anything there to eat or drink but that can be easily rectified.” The boy called for a bottle of whatever it was that Seph was drinking and glanced back at the girl eagerly.

”Well then Seph, whenever you’re ready to leave I’ll gladly lead you to my humble cottage,” he said softly, again his tone suggestive. He was slightly wary of her motives but pushed it aside. He was a full vampire and was more than capable of holding his own against a half. Anyway he doubted things with Seph would go awry, her thoughts, hopefully, were just on the same track as his. If all went well Dom would be getting to know her much more intimately soon enough.