Horan had finally found himself a new job. It may have been at the zoo, but it brought in the dough none the less. He had to go around distributing food to all the animals. He was also forced to wear a yellow uniform, which he totally dispised. However, it allowed him to enter the bat cage. It was dark and usually fairly quiet. It reminded him very much of some of his favorite places. It also reminded him of the vampires he has met in the past few weeks. Surprisingly, this didn't bother him at all. In fact, it made the place ever more dear to him.

Today, marked the beginning of his second week on the job. He went his normal route and ended with the bats. He stalled for a while in there before he left. He looked at his watch. It was 15 till 2. He knew he wouldn't have anything to do again until five so, he decided to leave the zoo and try to find him a nice shady, quiet spot. He went just past the entrance and found a nice spot to sit down and relax for a while under a tree in the parking lot. He closed his eyes and tried to fall asleep.

((OOC: I am going to rp with my human if that is okay))

Aspen didn't know what always drew her to the zoo. She loved animals, that much was true, but it was the people, she thought, that drew her there. She was generally quiet, so to stand back in silent observation of the people around her, was a pleasure to her. That was how she learned. The people she saw in the city, in this zoo, she saw over and over again. Though they never recognized her, she always recognized them.

Some people might have thought it an odd, creepy habit. Something a stalker might like, but lately she did it to see if she could notice their differences...humans and vampires. The way they walked, talked, saw things. She learned their habits by watching the people as well, she knew most of them better than they knew themselves. It took her mind off of herself, when she got to focus on someone else. She filled her head with thoughts of others, especially as of late, so she wouldn't have to think about what she had learned. Then at night, we she couldn't sleep, she made it a point to avoid vampires...most of the time, because it was easy to see which were human and which were not. She didn't understand why she was doing it, why she was so afraid, but she was. She was not yet ready to have the rest of her questions answered.

So focused on her thoughts, she was, while she walked towards the entrance, that she tripped over something. It startled her and she let out a gasp and turned to see what it was that she had tripped over. It was man and she had barely missed landing on top of him.

"Oh my, I am so sorry." As she watched him, she realized he was not a man she had ever seen before and she had the sudden urge to talk to him and find out more.

"I didn't see you there. I hope I didn't wake you. Oh jeez, I am so sorry." The words she spoke came out in a nervous rush, because she felt so bad and she had to force herself to calm down.

(OOC: I apologize in advance for not posting the next few days. I will be with family <_< and won't be able to post until Sunday :( .)

IC: "It's okay. I couldn't get to sleep anyway." Horan let the remainder of his thoughts finish up. It isn't often someone is offered being turned by a vampire. He stood up and put out his hand to shake with her before she thought he was spacing out again. "Name's Horan. You?" It was odd. Horan used to dread introducing himself, but lately, he's been willing to talk to people. <It's amazing what can change people,> he thought.

Aspen was glad for his kindness. She was afraid he would be angry. As he stood up and introduced himself as Horan, she smiled and shook his hand. He was someone she had never seen before.

"The name is Aspen. It's nice to see you." Her Irish accent was strong as she spoke. She was a little hung over, so her words were a bit slurred. She squinted for a moment, trying to avoid the rays of the sun, which hurt her head.

"I'm sorry to have run over you. I guess I was lost in thought." Horan, she thought. That was a name she hadn't heard...ever. She wondered what it meant, but felt it might be rude to ask.

"Why sleep here, at the zoo, of all places?"

"Well, mainly because I work here. I'll have to go back in to help feed the animals again around five. Since I've got time, I figured I'ld catch up on sleep. Or more aproppriately, try to catch up on sleep."

Aspen looked at the ground in shame. Horan put his hand on her shoulder. "I already told you I couldn't get to sleep."

He leaned back against the tree and yawned without trying to cover it up. He hadn't had many civilized conversations lately, so, his manners were a bit sketchy. "So what brings you here?" he asked.

Aspen felt bad for having interrupted his sleep, but he had told her it was okay.

"I came to watch." She didn't finish for a moment, fearing she might sound silly, or worse, crazy.

"Honestly I come to watch the people. I like to learn their habits, the way the talk, act, walk. Learning about others takes my mind off of other things. Besides, I'm a journalist. If I see something interesting, or something useful, I write a story on it. I mean, a lot of people here may not be what they seem."

Her mind went back, to vampires. Of course, she wasn't completely sure, but she suspected that none were here. Vampires couldn't walk in sunlight, or so she had heard.

"Do you like your job?"

She ignored his yawn. It didn't bother her because she hadn't exactly been around the most civilized of people lately.

<What does she mean 'a lot of people here may not be what they seem'? Does she know about vampires, too?>

He returned to reality before it seemed like he was spacing out. He seemed to be doing that a lot lately, even though he was trying to stop it from happening. He barely heard her question.

"I suppose...It's certainly the best job I've ever had. It gets boring sometimes but that gives me time to be alone with wildlife, if you want to call it that. I especially like to spend time with the bats."

He paused for a moment and realized this made him sound like a vampire. And having a wide-rimmed hat to cover his face from the sun didn't help either. He knew trying to correct it now would make her even more suspicious if she indeed did know about vampires. He now seriously hoped she wouldn't take it the wrong way.

Aspen nodded, understanding. She loved animals, and bats entranced her. They were so tranquil, except for when it came to night. But when was in America, she went through the many caverns in New Mexico, watching as she passed the bats. It was amazing. Most of them didn't even know a thousand humans walked through their home a day. They slept, though a few would dare to open their eyes to peak out. She had a feeling their was more wisdom inside their eyes than most people thought.

"I love bats as well. I have always felt like one of them, being a creature of night myself."

She laughed, out loud, thinking about that phrase, which would be assumed to mean a vampire in books and such.

"What I mean to say is, I don't get out much in the day time and I don't sleep at night, so I wander the streets. It usually gets me into trouble, but last night I got a good night sleep and so here I am."

She laughed again, thinking about how much information she was giving this stranger.
"I'm sorry, you probably don't need to know my life's story."

This comment about bats confused Horan. Two things he knew about vampires was that most could sense whether beings were vampires and they tended not to reveal themselves as vampires to mortals. She either was a vampire and wanted him to think that or she simply acted like a vampire. Either way, it didn't really matter to him. She was somone to talk to and thus someone to pass the time with.

"Don't worry, my life isn't much different. But, I do tend to get at least a little sleep at night."

Horan hoped this last comment would clear up any ideas she had of him being a vampire if she indeed was a human.

"So, how often do you come here?"

Aspen thought for a moment. She realized how her comment sounded and she felt the need to clear it up. Who was she to say that others did not know about vampires? She didn't know, but now that she knew, she felt the need to express that she was not one, to anyone who just might know. She didn't know, maybe he knew about them, but she was sure he was not one. Vampires did not come out in the day time...that she knew of.

"Well, it's not that I don't sleep at night. I just have...nightmares...and tend to wake up and not be able to sleep again. I'm restless, so I usually visit the graveyard," she winked, "My real friends are the ones who keep my secrets...the ones who can't talk."

She laughed, thinking about how crazy she sounded, but she was sure he would know she was joking. At least she hoped so.

"But anyway, when I get the chance, I come here a lot. I am an animal lover myself and I suppose if I had not tried to spite my parents, I might be where you are now...or working as a vet for these animals."

It was nice to know she wasn't a vampire. He had met some rather strange one's recently and didn't want a repeat of any of those conversations.

<Back to the topic at hand> he thought. It was hard for Horan to tell if she was joking or not about the grave talk, but he assumed so.

"So, you really like animals a lot, then. I'm not particularly fond of them as a whole. I just tend to pick a few types that I really like." The only real like of them he had then was with the bats. He thought it best not to name any specifics though.

"Truthfully, I just got the job because I needed the money. I was running out of reserves from my last job. And it's fairly easy and pays well enough. So, why not?"

Aspen nodded, thinking about how she got her first job. She never did have to work in a fast food resturant or anything of the like. She had gotten a job as a journalist the moment she had moved her. Of course, the boss then had a crush on her. She shook her head to herself before responding.

"Yeah, I know how that goes. I'm getting tired of my job. I've held it or, oh I don't know four or five years. Gets boring, the same old thing over and over again. I want to write about something exciting." She looked away a second before mumbling, "Like the things that happen at night, the secrets I am not allowed to share."

She stopped, realizing what she had just said.

"But yes, I really do love animals. I suppose I would like your job." She was envious with how comfortable he was with his job, when she hated her own, though she still did love to write. Excitement was just something she needed to make her feel alive.

Horan heard her mutter something to herself but decided it best not to get involved in her personal affairs. He had his own problems to worry about.

"I thought journalists did write about something different everyday...How can you think that's the same old thing?"

He thought for a second on how well he would do as a journalist. Not very well. He was a horrible writer and had no education past high school. Not to mention that he hated hectic events, especially the ones with a lot of people.

The thought of being so near so many people gave him a chill down his spine. He shivered slightly and then, hoped Aspen hadn't noticed it.

Aspen shrugged, thinking about it.

"I don't know, it's basically always the same story line. I find a person who is interesting, and write about it. Or I write about a major event in the city, but even the riots and such get old. They are mostly about the same time of things and the way they start and end are always the same. Now, if I only could write about something that the whole world had never heard of. That would be the ideal circumstance, not to mention the money I would make off of it." She winked, only slightly joking about the money portion. She didn't need it, but it might be enough to get her out of the damned city...literally.

Horan thought about it. <I suppose that might get old.>

He thought about his job. Perhaps he would think it was getting old in a few months or so. But then again, he never really got tired of his other job. He just learned to live with it. <I suppose I'll just have to learn to live with this job, too.>

He looked back at Aspen. He thought changing the subject might help keep the conversation going. He didn't want to have to go back to trying to sleep.

"I don't know of any stories such as that. Heck, I don't even listen to the news or read the paper. I don't care about the happenings of other people. I only care if it applies to me. The only thing I really like to do is walk around the city at night. It gives me a nice time to think things through."

He only hoped she would follow up with the change in subject.

((I am so sorry. I totally forgot about this thread))

Aspen nodded, wishing she could think that way.

"Everybody's story applies directly to me. It is my job. Surprisingly I hate nosing into other people's business. But that's another story, another day."

She watched him carefully, very glad he had changed the subject. She may have been good talking in writing, but face-to-face...now that was different. Thinking of things to talk about had always been hard for her, unless she was writing an article or a novel.

"I also, as I have said, like to walk the streets at night. It's not as if I have much of a choice, but I suppose I don't mind all that much. What is it that draws you to the dark side?" She asked, winking. Haha, like Star Wars...except nights in Demaitre were real, and real dangers lurked around ever corner.