William and Jodi strode through the mall doors as if they were something out of the movie. However, they had only been together twenty-four hours they seem to be getting in step with one another quickly.

Tonight’s mission was simple. They were going to go shopping and get new looks for the same reason, it was a change of life and it deserved a visual statement. At least that was how it was playing out in his mind.

He knew that the twisted girl that walked beside him was not mentally healthy, but on the other hand, his new bloodlust placed him in the same category. She still had a few more tests to run through, but those would be different from those from the night before.

Tonight he was meeting back up with Dmitri, his sire. He had needed to go off for personal reasons that he did not elaborate on, which was fine with William it allowed him to explore the vampire world and explore it he did. There was still so much more to do, but that would come in time.

Not having a predetermined meeting time, they had parted ways agreeing to meet back up either here or at the King’s Tavern Inn.

That would come in time. Right now, they were here to shop and shop they would.

As they strode down the center of the halls, making people move from their path, he asked, “So what should be go for leather, denim, or something more classic like dress clothes?”

Jodi relieved as they entered the mall, the sidelong stares cast at them confirmed that the tall man next to her was indeed, real, and not a complex creation of her imagination. She did not think that even her own inventive psyche would be able to generate an entire shopping mall full of stores and people.

Falling in step with William comfortably, moving her own feet somewhat quicker in order to keep pace, she let her eyes roam the massive structure. Malls were not her forte. Shopping for her was done at an easy in and out department store, buy things in multiples to reduce the amount of times she had to return.

As people scattered in front of them she would sneer at anyone bold enough to catch her eye. Maybe malls weren’t so bad. Heck of a lot of intimidation could be done at a shopping mall. People in here were like flocks of birds in the park. One sharp step towards one and the rest of them react.

Snapping her attention back, she listened carefully over the noise of the area to William’s question. Having no particular long-term experience with any of the clothing options, she grinned, “Why just one! We could wear leather jackets, dark jeans and really nice shoes.”

“Works for me kiddo,” William said as they continued to walk down the hallway.

There was a directory a few feet in front of them and that is where he decided to stop in order to figure out where they were going to shop. The only place he was sure of in this mall was the Hooters over on the east end of the mall.

“So Blackbird I am thinking we want something a little dark and definitely durable.” His eyes scanned the directory looking at the variety the mall offered. “Okay, let’s start with the jackets there is a good leather store just a few store fronts up.”

Moving away from the kiosk, they made there way into the store. With a loud voice, he addressed the people behind the desk, “A good trench and new hat for me and give the young lady whatever she wants.”

He pointed over towards the women’s side of the store and said, “Have fun, it’s on me keep your money,” and he walked off towards the items meant for his gender.

Looking at the directory, Jodi only saw colours and words that meant nothing to her and instead just waited for the decision to be made for her. She genuinely did not care what store they went to.

“Dark, dark sounds fine.” She murmured apathetically, again following obediently as he took her over to the leather store. Met with the strong scent that always accompanied such venues, upon entering Jodi wrinkled her nose a little.

Her benefactor leaving to do his own purchasing, Jodi beckoned a saleslady over with a curl of her finger. “Here’s the deal,” she said candidly. “I don’t dress well enough.” As if that were enough information, she waved her hand toward the clothing racks expectantly.

“Oh…kay…” The saleswoman, having worked here long enough to have dealt with some unusual customers, led the way graciously. “What kind of style are you looking for?”

“Dark,” replied Jodi, surrounding by black leather jackets. Then, darting her eyes back and forth in an exaggerated manner, added, “And pricey.”

Smiling the forced smile of the retail business, the saleswoman selected a few options, from long trench coats to short bomber jackets, she presented these before Jodi. Before even judging the style, Jodi looked at the price tags. She shook her head. “Higher.” These rejected, new ones were brought forward. These ranged from $399.99 and up, and Jodi deigned to give them a look over.

She tossed away a brown one, glaring at the woman for having brought something that was not ‘dark’ and focused more on shorter styles. Her mindset was more on mobility, and something longer might get in her way if she was going to have to rely on her physical abilities for this job. Then again, why settle?

Shrugging one of the bomber jackets on, she was pleased with the fit and addressed the saleswoman again, “This size, 3 short ones, two long, and a couple other ones for good measure. Add a couple belts too. Hey, and a hat. Make ’em dark. I don’t care the hat size, I’m not gonna wear it. Whatever I want, right?” She laughed.

William kept an ear on Jodi and was pleased to see that she was taking full advantage of the situation and was still rebellious to some extent seeking perhaps to push his buttons through his pocket book. It was cute really and somewhat laughable. This poor kid had no idea of the dangers and thrills that lie in front of her, which really made it all the more fun for him.

Sorting through the options William decided he would go a bit cliché and just become the dark and mysterious cowboy that wanders into town. Moreover, in the modern age that meant leather. He could pick up the black shirts in another store.

Stripping his clothes in the dressing room, he tried on multiple styles for fit and flexibility. At the end of the fittings, he had selected most of the outfit pieces that he would wear for the months to come.

The sales assistant that was helping him took the clothes up to the front and rang up the two orders. He was about to state the total when William looked at Jodi with a smile and without knowledge of what she had purchased said, “I don’t really want to know. It is not relevant. Put it on this card,” and he handed over a credit card across the counter to the sales clerk who quickly rang it up.

“Have these delivered to this address and room,” he wrote the address down on a slip of paper and handed it over with a couple $100 bills.

“Yes sir,” was all the clerk had to say.

Turning back to his partner in crime he said, “Come on I need some shirts and a new hat before we run into Dmitri.”

Jodi was noticeably disappointed that she was permitted to keep all her selections. Which was oddly ironic, considering most people in her position would have greatly appreciated such an opportunity. She, instead, pouted a little, leaning against the counter while William paid for their items. Catching the eye of the saleswoman who had helped her, she glared and mouthed silent and incoherent obscenities at her.

As they left the store, he indicated that his direction for further purchases, and mentioned a name- something she had yet to get out of him on any account. However, he was obviously not referring to himself, possibly indicating that she should ask about this person. At the very least that she should ask who Dmitri was.

Yet, vague was the style of her counterpart, so instead of questioning anything, she shrugged. It was possible that if she asked, he would refuse to answer her anyways, for his own amusement.

“Yes sir,” she said in response, imitating the overly courteous tone of voice the clerk had used with him. “Whatever you say, sir. Shirts and hats it is, sir.” She refrained from giggling but could not help a juvenile smirk.

“It’s not the first time I’ve heard someone pull that sir crap on me smartass.” He continued walking thinking again about Vietnam and a vampire or vampires and the assignment he received after the finding of the village decimated the village that he was sure now.

That thought was short lived as they came upon the hat store. Looking at where they were he grinned and realized where he was. “I am going into buy a new hat. You need to clean up a little mess I made two nights ago in the family bathroom right around the corner there.” He pointed over to the left where a hallway disappeared. “You will have to move the ceiling tiles to get to it.”

He walked off into the hat store wondering how she was going to handle the dead mother he had battered and drained of blood and the little girl he had snapped the neck of and then stuffed up into the ceiling tiles on the beams.

This would let him know what kind of problem solver she really was.

“Sorry, sir.” She replied curtly as she sauntered off in the indicated direction. Upon arrival, she glanced around casually, checked each stall, then hopped up on the back of a toilet and slid the nearest ceiling tile over. It was almost second nature, although she could not recall the last time she invaded the ceiling of a public washroom. Safely inside, she slid the tile back over, but not quite into place.

The stench was the first thing to really hit her. She had blamed it on the less than satisfactory conditions of the room below, but now realized its true source. “Ah, fuck.” She groaned. Corpse disposal was not an easy job, she would have to work fast. Jodi had no thoughts on what family was missing these two people, or how short the child’s life had been cut. To her, they were merely empty, rotting shells. They meant nothing.

She jumped down from her perch and returned to the hall. Casually kicking the locked handle off the nearby janitor’s closet, she entered the cramped walk-in room and snatched out supplies. First, the coveralls, so that any repeated trip to the closet would not be anything for a passer-by to note. Now, known as “Earl,” she took buckets, gloves, a mask, a convenient hammer and more. In addition to the rest, she gathered up every bottle with the corrosive hand sign on it.

Well-equipped, she hobbled back into the washroom, shooed out a woman washing her hands, and locked the door behind her after placing the “Out of Order” sign on. This was not the easiest way to do things but she certainly couldn’t go dragging a couple corpses through the crowded mall.

Tossing her supplies up into the ceiling and following up herself, she set to work. Using her pocket knife- proven useful to have around, she set to sawing the limbs roughly from the bodies. This was the hardest part. Using her own body weight, the hammer and the blade to sever the dead flesh, she felt sweaty and tired by the time each body was in easy-to-handle pieces. “Bastard.” she spat, directed only to the fact he was making her go through this much effort on her first week.

Next, the buckets and the chemicals. She slipped on her white mask and, snapping the tops off bottles, began pouring. She used the strongest ones for the metal buckets, and the milder ones for the heavy duty plastic ones. Or was that rubber? Either way it was not metal and would not last as long, in her opinion. Soaking each detached body piece separately, first in the mild chemical bath and left to dissolve in the stronger one. Her first set of gloves began to peel and she was forced to use a fresh set and be more careful in the handling.

The bones themselves were not going to dissolve, not quick enough for her anyways, but she did soften them somewhat in the chemicals before placing them in the bundles of removed clothing. With her trusty hammer again, she smashed them. This she enjoyed. Possibly making more noise than she should have. Once sufficiently crushed, she gathered them into a garbage bag, clothes and all. She carefully poured the contaminated and dirty chemicals back into their respective containers- although spilling a little was hard to avoid. Any nasty chunks or stubborn pieces of bone were added to the garbage bag.

Supplies returned to the closet, she simply had to toss the garbage outside in the dumpster. It was not the cleanest, easiest, or most efficient method, but how does one normally dispose of bodies in shopping malls? She removed the “Out of Order” sign, washed up in the sink, and left.

William had not indicated a place they were to meet up, so she just sat on a bench perpendicular to the washroom hallway.

Dmitri had decided to head to the mall a little early. Angelia was off doing her thing and would maybe join them later, though it was all up to her. She had already shown her dislike for his own fledgling and if she didn't want to meet him, then Dmitri wouldn't push her. Some might refer to the way he acted as being whipped, while he preferred the term compromise. He didn't want to lose love from her, especially since he had spent over a millenia lookin for her.

His eyes caught the towering form of William. He wasn't alone either. Dmitri found the thought interesting and filed it away for further referring to. He followed the couple and laid back as they entered the first store and then followed them as they moved on.

His ears caught the comment that William said. He frowned but didn't say anything. As soon as he approached the family bathroom, he knew exactly what his fledgling had done. He rolled his eyes and it seemed that his fledgling was diligently following into his footsteps.

He returned on his steps and caught sight of William. He could feel a connection to his fledgling that puzzled him, yet he knew that often a fledgling and a sire had a connection. He had had the same with his own sire.

He walked into the hat store and strode to his fledgling. "Long time no see, youngster."

William still had his reflection and was standing in front of a full-length mirror when he heard the voice of his sire.

Continuing to try on the various hats he had laid out beside him he did not miss a beat in responding, “Hey old man, what you been up too.”

It was down between two different styles of black hats and in truth William had already decided on the one he was going to get, but he turned around and asked anyway.

“Tell me honestly, Dmitri. Is this me?”

As he faced him, he saw that Jodi must have been done with her task as she was out sitting on a hall bench patiently, or impatiently would be more accurate, waiting for William to reappear from the store. He decided that he liked her.

Dmitri rolled his eyes and let a small smirk. "Nothing much, told my wife and she didn't take it too well. We are presently working through it." Dmitri shrugged his shoulders, he wasn't about to expand on that. He had to keep some secrets to himself.

Dmitri shrugged and glanced momentarily at the hat. "I honestly don't know. How about you ask, your little friend? I don't do hats and I'm not about to give an answer about how you look in one." He shook his head. "It isn't part of my responsibilities."

William started to laugh, “Trust me when I say you are eminently more qualified to give me fashion advice than my little friend as you called her.”

Then he stopped laughing when he realized the rest of Dmitri’s comments. “Oh god, you are married. I guess you really are damned. Trust me I have been there.” Shaking his head, “But hey, I hope it’s a good marriage I can’t imagine what a divorce for our kind would be like.”

Putting the hat, he had down on his head down he picked up the other one, moved the counter, and initiated the same buying ritual as he had in the other store. While the cashier was ringing things up and boxing the hat, William turned around to face his sire again.

“So it’s been a fun couple of days. I must tell you this thing just gets more interesting every night. I am starting to feel blessed actually.”

Tilting his head a bit to the left to look past Dmitri he looked to see what Jodi was up to, out on the bench. “She doesn’t have a clue what the hell is going on. She is just a sick little girl with real potential. Actually, she is my new employee.”

Dmitri looked down at his clothes. He was wearing a pair of dark blue jeans, with sneakers, dark as well though one couldn't tell if they were black or simply a dark colour. His shirt was a button style one and it was white. A deep contrast with the rest of his clothes. He wore a black leather jacket to top it off, no hat. "I only care about the clothes that I wear, nothing else when it comes to fashion." Unless you counted what Angelia wore, but that was an entire different matter.

Dmitri lifted an eyebrow. "Well at least you are having fun. Angelia was worried that you wouldn't adapt. That at least isn't true. You seem to be doing very nicely." He took a pause to glance at the sales clerk, then shrugged. "Nice job with the bodies in the bathroom."

Dmitri glanced over to the young mortal. "Keep in that way. I won't have my own fledgling turning someone, when he doesn't even know all there is no know about vampires. Your education is still lacking." Dmitri was to blame, he knew it, but he had two lives to deal with.

The cashier handed the paperwork and credit card to William who took it and pocketed it.

“Turn her? Hell no, she is going to be my guardian and other things. Remember, we don’t do to well in the daylight and it will be good to have a human to run the chores, clean up messes, and give me a little recreation here and there.”

Turning his head towards her, “Oh I tell you my friend, she is something special.”

Retuning his attention back to the clerk, “Make sure that is delivered by tomorrow afternoon like I said.” The clerk nodded understanding and moved off to his next task, which was to put all those hats William had pulled down back.

“So tell me. What do you want to do now that we are back together?”