don't worry i don't bite

Raul probably shouldn’t be reading while he walked back to his cell.

He knew that, but he always had a better chance of being ignored if he looked occupied. Of course, it had his dangers and he shouldn’t have been surprised when he nearly ran into someone. He cleared his throat, looked up and muttered a quick apology, “I’m sorry.” He moved then, with the intention of moving past them. Eyes already back in his book.

Dougal was walking back to his own room, carrying his stack of unchecked papers and books when he nearly collided with a stranger. In his surprise, a few of the books slipped out of his grasp and tumbled to the ground. He groaned in exasperation and set down his papers, kneeling down to retrieve his books. “I always appreciate a lover of literature, but not at the expense of others, please,” he uttered, his voice slightly irritated.

“Uh huh! I couldn’t decide so I did both, and so far so good. I have two jobs too so I guess you could say that I like to keep busy” she giggled. Really, work didn’t take up all that much time, as she was only at Exotic Tastes at night, and the Apothecary when Professor Augustus needed her. Or just when she felt like being there to keep up her potions practice, if nothing else. Daisy clapped when the male accepted her offer, mind reeling as she tried to decide where to take him first. There were just so many places.. “Oh good! And don’t worry, we all get silly sometimes. Me..most of the time” she smiled, placing a hand on his arm. “So you’ll have to tell me what you like, so I’ll know just where to take you. There’s the beach and the bakery and the music shop and the apothecary where I work and the one that Miss Raven owns and the antique shop and we even have a mall here! Oh..and the sex shop too” she grinned, giving him a playful wink.

“Two majors and two jobs? Oh my. I only have one job and the thought of it alone already makes me tired,” he replied, chuckling. Throughout the years of his self-imposed exile, he had taken up odd jobs, but had never really stayed long, opting to keep moving around, looking for something that kept him interested. He hoped to be as enthusiastic as Daisy about his new position at the Institute. At the mention of a sex shop, Dougal had to choke back his sound of surprise, passing it off instead as laughter. “My, now I’ve got to see that...as well as the apothecary you work in, of course.”

He snorted when he was told to get lost, all to happy to do just that. He had better things to do than convince some cranky rich fucker to let Noah cheer him up, so he was already turning away when the man spoke again. Lips curling into an amused grin, he hesitated mid-step, considering walking away without answering–but in the end, he couldn’t resist, and he stopped again, clicking his tongue once or twice.

“Well, that ain’t very nice, now, is it?” he said, not bothering to hide the fact he was teasing. “And not even true. I think you’re fundamentally misunderstanding the point of this whole slavery thing, too, honey. What, pray tell, do you imagine I am here for if not to… help.” That was said pointedly and with a little wiggle of his eyebrows, his smile turning wicked with his own amusement.

He thought the other had left him alone, just as he had asked, but he heard the same voice pipe up, this time sounding even more of a tease than before. Amidst his frustrated and frantic rampage, Dougal was so absorbed in his own thoughts that he hadn’t realized the gravity of what had slipped out of his mouth. Seeing the other’s amused smirk and remembering what he said, the professor put two and two together and immediately tried to back track.

“That...that wasn’t what I was insinuating at all,” he sputtered out, his cheeks heating up as he began to feel more embarrassed. Despite being told of his privileges as a teacher, he had hardly given it a thought. He wasn’t even sure if the whole slave-master situation was real and what exactly it entailed. "Look, like I said, this isn’t helping me at all,” he let out, even more frustrated as before as he was clearly flustered by the other’s smooth and charismatic aura, which was so strikingly opposite of his withdrawn and slightly fidgety demeanor.

Juniper perked up hearing his Scottish accent and though he was unhappy she couldn’t help but smile at the thought of meeting another person from the U.K. “Sorry, I’m not smiling at you being unhappy Sir,” she said, her own London accented voice sounding apologetic. “I just haven’t met anyone from the U.K. in awhile is all. But sir, you can leave if you want, I think there’s a form or something you can fill out if it’s just a short visit or something.”

“Wow, that...hadn’t crossed my mind,” he replied as the realization dawned on him. In his frustration, the possibility of just filling out forms and asking permission didn’t even occur to him. He could get so wrapped up in his thoughts that common sense just flew out the window. “Huh,” he said to himself, wanting to laugh for how stupid he must have seemed.

Dannie looked at him with a small shrug” Sadly, I do believe so but.. I am sure that with holidays coming up and such you would be able to leave and get your things maybe?” she offered hopefully. She looked over at him once more “ Literature that sounds like an interesting subject, what made you want to teach that, I am a dance major myself “.  Dannie looked at him as he looked a bit uncomfortable about her telling him that she was a slave” I wasn’t always one, but yes.. part of the fine print that they don’t tell the grant students, although sometimes it’s not all that bad mostly”  He had said his home was far away and that made her a bit curious “ I hope that this question isn’t like overly personal but where was your home before here” she asked.

Hearing the reminder of the holidays, Dougal immediately perked up. So, there was hope. After all, it wasn’t like he was going to be stuck there forever...right? “Well, I’ve always loved books, even as a child,” he replied proudly. “And I’ve been around...a while. There isn’t really a better way to pass the time.” He shrugged and leaned against the wall, half-relieved and hopeful. He slowly felt his stress melt away. 

Charlene bit her lip when the Professor wasn’t really nice. “Can I help you somehow, Sir?” She asked and wished she had just left it and not talked to him at all. But at the same time she would have thought about it the whole day then.

Noticing the collar on the girl, Dougal chuckled lowly. “You’re a slave, aren’t you? What exactly do slaves do around here?” he asked, half-teasingly, half-curious. No one had exactly spelled it out for him yet, but he was no lamb himself. He didn’t want to assume...but there were only so many possible meanings for what a slave was meant for.

Oh my. Hard to say. All love songs, honestly. Wouldn’t It Be Nice by The Beach Boys is the first that comes to mind, though. Never fails to make me nostalgic and wish I had someone to dedicate it to.

Quite a few, actually. Not that I’d tell you who, though.

“No, no, no, you’re quite alright. You didn’t disturb me in the least.” Lily took another small step closer, letting her cane lead ahead of her. “And I’m very sorry to hear that something is wrong. Perhaps I can help?” A smile, soft and meek as her voice, graced her lips as she held out a hand to him. “I’m Lily, by the way. Well, Liliana, but Lily is far less of a mouthful. I take it that you’ve only just arrived here, Sir?” She knew the first few days of a new arrival at The Institute could be overwhelming. To be honest, the overwhelmed feeling never truly went away in full, she’d found, and if there was any way that she could help ease the transition for this new face she’d do her best to help. “It can be a little much her at first.”

Dougal shook his head, officially giving up on his useless rampage. “Ah, I’d rather not think about it anymore,” he admitted. He doubted there was any way to retrieve his old items given his current situation. The professor shook the other’s hand graciously and returned a gentle smile. “Pleasure to meet you Lily, I’m Dougal, but you can just call me Doug. And yes, I arrived yesterday.” He nodded at the other’s comment. “How long have you been here?” he asked, suddenly curious.

“What?” Anneke asked, looking up from her half-eaten cake to the person she’d felt staring. She was aware someone sitting at a table eating a whole cake by themselves wasn’t exactly a common sight, and it was also a bit unusual for her since she preferred to indulge at home by herself. “I had a craving and vampires don’t gain weight.”

After his last class of the day, Dougal decided to treat himself with a cup of coffee and some pastries. He found his way to the Southern Moon Bakery and Cafe and ordered himself a pile of sugary treats he’d probably regret later. Looking around, he realized he wasn’t with anyone, so eating his plate all alone would look more than pathetic. That is, until he spotted someone who was also alone. He hadn’t realized he was staring when the girl looked up and addressed him. “Oh, I’m not judging at all,” he quickly said. “As you can see,” he looked down at his equally full tray of food, “I’m also one hell of a hungry vampire.” He grinned and added, “Mind if I join you?”