â Â tell me something good. Â â
He had to admit he wasnât used to being approached so casually. On the contrary, people seemed to jump out of their way - consciously or not - when they came down the boardwalk. Every so often, however, one brave human decided they wanted a piece of whatever they might have been offering.Â
Marko was bent way over the counter of a dart-throwing game. He had been making eyes at the attendant who was, honestly, less than thrilled and had used the first excuse he could to deal with a customer that was not Marko. Not that Marko was really a customer, seeing as he hadnât paid for anything and continued to pluck darts from the back of the counter and toss them at the pastel balloons that were tacked to the board.Â
When someone else approached the booth, he hadnât noticed. Crowds were flowing all around the pier and he had better things to pay attention to. That is, until she spoke. He turned to look at her, slightly annoyed that she would ignore those hard-coded survival instincts to say something to him, and then stopped to consider her.Â
They looked about the same age. That is to say she was probably about eighteen, a little older than Marko was when he was turned. She was close enough that he could smell her distinctly apart from the others on the boards - flowery perfume mixed with her natural scent, slight sweat, and, of course, blood. She was pretty...and brave, apparently.Â
 Marko leaned on the counter on his right elbow and looked her up and down. Something good? He licked his bottom lip. âIâm free tonight,â he said. How was that for âgoodâ?