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Basil’s stomach growled again and she grumbled alongside it. She’d been ignoring it for nearly an hour, hoping not only that the hunger would pass but so would the intense craving for pizza. It was stuck in her head, however, no matter how hard she focused on the screen of her little laptop before her or how she was sitting in a twenty-four hour Starbucks and had just had a slice of lemon cake. It just wasn’t the same as a slice of hot pizza with gooey cheese and perfectly added toppings…

Not helping!

Basil groaned softly as she saved her document yet again—a compulsive habit she picked up in high school after losing two pages on an essay. Now she saved every time her fingers left the keyboard and apparently minutes later, just in case. It was probably time to pack up and call it a night anyway. A glance at the clock confirmed she’d been working at the little table for three hours and she didn’t think she had anything to show for it. She had so many final projects due over the next six weeks that the thing she loved was starting to torture her and make her regret three years of schooling.

It was the business model that was driving her insane. Trying to budget everything was a nightmare as that had never been an area of math she enjoyed despite her dad trying to get her to love the subject. Measurements and angles were things she could do easily but calculate tax and whatever else accountants would get paid to do for her was not fun. But the overall proposal was coming along no matter how much she didn’t think it was. And then she had to finalize the last few sketches she’d been working on the last week and turn them into something tangible that could be showcased at her final presentation.

Basil carefully gathered up her notebook, sketchbook, laptop, and various other bits that covered the table, tucking them all into her messenger bag before finishing off the remainder of her passion tango iced tea. The cup was tossed out before preparing to go outside. It was warming up but still chilly, especially after the sun set so the hoodie she had reformed with paint and patches was put on and the scarf that wasn’t technically hers followed. Nocturne had accidentally forgotten it a couple of months ago when he and his sister last visited for dinner and while he could use a little fashion help sometimes, he did have great taste in accessories as the multi-coloured knitted scarf showed.

Making sure she had everything, Basil called out a parting to the staff and slipped out into the cold night. Should she get pizza? What kind? Important questions and since there was a pizza place a short walk from where she currently stood and her car was parked along the way, it made sense to finally give in and feed the craving. With a smile and a bounce to her step, Basil made her way along the mostly deserted sidewalk, thinking about what toppings to get.

Jasper was cruising the streets without any real destination in mind. He had the night off – finally – after working through since the previous weekend. He didn’t mind, had taken pride in doing what he could to help make Indulge run smoothly for Fig while she was babysitting the club and their Sire was away on business. Sure, he wasn’t high ranked and still had a lot to learn, but he took what jobs he was given seriously, and did them well. But now Rafe was back, and Fig had told him to take a night to himself. He’d given her a kiss, told her she’d done a wonderful job (in his opinion) and then fled before anyone issued different orders.

As he walked, Jasper sipped on the contents of a takeaway cup; while most people would assume it was holding coffee, the fact was it was holding the contents of a blood bag. It wasn’t anything special, just the run of the mill stuff from the blood bank, but it got the job done, even if it wasn’t as nice as fresh, warm blood from the body. Or as delicious as the mage stock Rafe had shared when Jasper had first met Moonlight… or Nocturne, though the not-mage didn’t know he knew that, which amused Jasper.

Speaking of the null, Jasper paused and took a deep breath, sure he was mistaken – but no, that was definitely the scent of his frenemy, and Jasper grinned suddenly, tossing his now empty cup into a trashcan as he walked by it. He adjusted the direction he was walking in, making his way across one street and then turning a corner. Jasper was confused, though, when the only person he saw walking in the vicinity was a young woman. Moonlight’s scent was definitely coming from her, but so was another scent and Jasper paused, frowning before the pieces fell into place. Shifter.

Jasper paused, suddenly uncertain. Shifters could be dangerous, and he knew she’d sniff him out as a vampire as easily as he’d known what she was – see! He was paying attention to his lessons from Fig! He couldn’t tell how old she was from where he was behind her, but even if she was the same age as him, she’d been a shifter her whole life; he’d been a vampire for under three years. Jasper chewed on his bottom lip, considering his options.

Finally, though, curiosity won out. He wanted to know why she smelled like Moonlight; maybe she was his girlfriend? Jasper was sure his master would find that information useful if it was true… Jasper started walking again, pulling a five dollar note from his pocket as he went. “Hey!” he called, modulating his voice to not be threatening, and holding up the five dollars. “Did you drop this?” He paused, not getting in her space as she turned to him, and he smiled charmingly. She was very pretty, which he would certainly expect of Moonlight’s girlfriend.

At that 'hey', Basil felt a chill run down her spine. No one else was near her and the volume told her the man wasn't calling across the street to his buddy. She could keep walking but that might encourage the man to chase after her and escalate the situation so instead she slowed and glanced over her shoulder to at least acknowledge she heard him. As the bill was waved and his question asked, Basil frowned and felt a trap. "If I did, you can keep it as a reward for being honest." She'd heard about set ups like this where a gullible soul approached to take the offered item and she was grabbed and often ended up being trafficked. That was a hard pass.

As she turned away to continue to the pizza place, the wind picked up and her nose twitched. She knew that scent. Vampire. It wasn't death and decay like so many assumed his kind would be but it was just... wrong. Off. It could be enjoyable but also slightly twisted. Her family knew a few vampires that had always been kind to them and she and her siblings were raised to not treat an entire species with prejudice because of a handful of bad members. But they were also raised to know how dangerous vampires could be and to be careful around them given their strength and cunning.

Basil was at a loss. She didn't think turning her back on a vampire was wise as it could be seen as a slight and all the motivation he needed to drop being civil and take what he was after. But what was he after? Just a snack? She definitely didn't have anything else to offer him given her youth and status.

Carefully she stopped and turned to face the vampire but didn't move towards him. She eyed him up, taking in his delicate features and wondered how old he was when he was Turned and his age now. She had read some Anne Rice in high school and thought about Armand being sixteen for five hundred years. Looks were deceiving when it came to a lot of preternatural being.

"What do you think I can give or do for you?" She worded the question carefully, not wanting to accidentally offer her services to the vampire. Some words could be binding, promises assuredly so.

Jasper shrugged at the response, taking what she said and not pushing the issue. He shoved the note back into his pocket, pleased he didn’t have to give away the tip he’d received the other night, but also not sure how to get her to talk to him as she turned back around and seemed ready to take off again. He pursed his lips, tapping his foot as he thought for a few moments. He started following her, not rushing or attempting to chase her or anything, just going in the same direction. When she suddenly stopped and turned around, he took three more steps before he stopped, too. He really wasn’t interested in spooking her more than he already had.

When she asked her question, Jasper tilted his head and studied her. He hadn’t expected her to know him, and was pleased when it appeared as if she didn’t. He didn’t like being known by people he wasn’t familiar with. Especially since Nocturne worked with the Guardians, and for all he knew, this girl was on their roster, too. Jasper nibbled on his bottom lip, before holding his hands out in a peaceful gesture, and taking a couple of steps closer so they could speak more easily, while still retaining a healthy distance between them. It wouldn’t make any difference if they were six feet or twelve feet apart, when push came to shove, but whatever made her feel better about the situation.

“We have a mutual friend,” Jasper said easily, still studying her thoughtfully. “How do you know Nocturne Jackson?” Deciding to practice, he poured some compulsion into the words, staring the girl in the eye. Jasper was usually really good at enthralling, it was one of the things about being a vampire that he had taken to really well, and he expected it to work without too much hassle.

“I doubt that,” Basil replied, not sure who they would both know. Her brother had befriended a vampire last summer but from all of his excited babbling about it, this one didn’t match the description. Cody’s vampire—Karl, she thought his name was—was a lot more muscular and sounded more put together and impressive than this one currently seemed to be. She was going to attempt to leave after all when she winced and grabbed her head as two conflicting desires crashed together.

Normally she was better at keeping up mental walls—not that they had ever truly been tested, as far as she knew, anyway—but with the stress of final projects, being hungry, and being a bit on edge, Basil hadn’t put a lot of thought into her defences or avoiding the vampire’s gaze. “Damn you,” she growled as the vampire’s compulsion defeated her and took over with her last free thought being he had best hope he meddled with her mind a bit more if he didn’t want to be a bear’s chew toy when they next met.

“Our little siblings have been best friends since they were little,” Basil answered freely thanks to the enthrallment. She didn’t find it odd to discuss her family or the Jacksons with a vampire, happy to know Nocturne seemed to be socialising some more again. “He and Lyric spend some holidays with us and even though Noct’s older than all of us, we would hang out when Lyric and Cody were off playing.” He often seemed content to sit in silence with his own company and whatever crazy thoughts only Nocturne seemed to come up with but sometimes he would humour her and actually hold a conversation. When he did let someone in like that, Basil found he had an interesting sense of humour and was almost charming.

An eyebrow arched delicately at the girl’s comeback, but Jasper didn’t let it distract him from his new mission, instead he smiled as the compulsion took hold, watching as the girl relaxed after cursing at him. He had no ability to read the young woman’s mind – an unfortunate shortcoming of his current youth – but that wasn’t an issue at the current time, as she began to speak about how she knew Nocturne Jackson. Jasper listened curiously.

As she finished speaking, Jasper patted at the pockets of his jeans, and then dug out a packet of cigarettes from his back pocket, lighting it up with the silver lighter he still carried. Taking a drag, Jasper blew smoke rings as he considered the young woman before him. “Tell me, sweetheart,” Jasper said mildly, pouring more compulsion into his words before taking another drag of his cigarette. “What’s your name?” The compulsion was still strong, making sure to keep a good mental grip on the girl so she didn’t bust out and cause him trouble.

When she told him her name, Jasper considered her thoughtfully. It was certainly an odd name for a girl, but it did seem to suit her. Strange, but suitable. He smiled to himself, flicking the ash from his cigarette onto the ground before taking another drag. He really didn’t have any good reason to continue smoking, but it was a habit he’d had for far longer than he had been a vampire, and despite it all, he found it hard to kick. Besides, it was familiar and that tended to settle his nerves when things went outside of his normal routine. Like compelling a Shifter in the middle of a dark street.

“What does Nocturne do in his spare time?” Jasper asked, genuinely curious. He decided to get some more information on the young man that still hadn’t called him back. What else could this girl possibly know about Nocturne, that Jasper could have fun with? “What is his favourite colour? Favourite number? Most embarrassing nickname?” Jasper took another drag of his cigarette, being careful not to lose eye contact with Basil, or let his voice lose the level of compulsion. He wasn’t sure what she might Shift into, but he was pretty sure she wouldn’t place nice if she escaped his clutches before he wiped her mind.

“Oh. And why don’t you give me that scarf?” Jasper smiled mischieviously.

As the vampire took the first drag of a cigarette and blew out smoke rings, Basil's nose wrinkled in disgust and she took a step back. Being a shifter, her sense of smell was incredible and cigarettes ranked high on the list of smells she preferred to avoid. Sometimes it felt like it clogged her senses, leaving her stuffed up like she had allergies. At least they were outside and with the light breeze picking up here and there, Basil was able to move to the side and find a spot where the smoke was less likely to bother her.

She gave a light laugh about Nocturne's hobbies. "What doesn't he do would be the shorter answer. He likes to try his hand at pretty much everything. But gymnastics and martial arts have always been big for him." She wasn't sure what kind of martial arts specifically or even if he did gymnastics regularly still since they weren't in constant communication but they did seem to be some of his more preferred activities.

At the rapid fire questions, Basil laughed again. "I'm not sure about his favourite colour or number, but really? His name is Nocturne, do you really think he needs an embarrassing nickname? Also, it's Nocturne. Do you think anything embarrasses him? I know he loved Winnie the Pooh tales as a kid and he has the nickname of Tigger from his gymnastics but he likes the name." If he did have other nicknames, she didn't know them but Basil stood by her belief that Nocturne wouldn't be embarrassed by a name. She knew from her own experiences that you had to own your name and make it yours. She didn't let anyone try to take it away from her with insults.

"And what is your name, vampire?" Basil asked just before the scarf was commented on. She frowned and a hand went to her neck to stroke the scarf. The compulsion to hand it over was strong, just like speaking so freely about a man that was extremely guarded. But she didn't want to do it, couldn't. "The scarf isn't mine to give," she finally stated, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. She didn't own the handmade item, which meant she really shouldn't have been wearing it either but she couldn't just give it to someone else. "Nocturne made it and forgot it the last time he visited."