𝒂𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒉𝒊𝒏𝒈𝒔 𝒆𝒏𝒅

as much as he normally was grateful for the ability to strike fear into others, as it's saved his life many times, he knew the tension would cause more problems than he had the energy for.

his lips are pressed against the glass when the offer is made and isaac gives a pleasant hum. ❝ thank you, that's very kind, ❞ he lifts his mug in thanks and takes another sip. though something tells him that it's not always best to accept drinks from strangers, the way the man commanded the bartender leads him to assume he's a higher up. besides, he's not usually one to refuse a free drink.

his back is sore and apart from a few scrapes on his arms, he has no evidence of the previous evenings. if isaac sat down and collected each "coincidence" of his adventurous nights, he'd get somewhere - but the absurdity of it all causes him to ignore it altogether. he has no idea why he keeps waking up in bizarre situations in the middle of nowhere and believes his ignorance is for the best.

the worst part is always going back to the apartment. while he's doing the walk of shame home, dressed in clothes he'd been lucky enough to find from a lost and found, isaac wishes he lived alone. not that he has anything personal against bowie, even if he's too nosy for his own good sometimes, but there are certain things he prefers not to ever be said aloud. he refuses to think too deeply about it.

lifting the welcome mat because he's lost his key again, he can sense bowie's proximity. as he grabs the knob and pushes the door open, isaac is overwhelmed with the tension in the room - able to sense every minuscule judgement. the smell of his frosted flakes being eaten is ignored.

in his heart of hearts, nathan could have forgiven the turnip mishap. his supplier added a zero, and now he's got ten times the turnips he needs. that's fine. it happens. the real problem is he's stabbed his hand four times in the past hour. each time an ordeal for the sous, who would yelp as loud as she could every time it happened. nathan, of course, wouldn't notice, until then. he needed a break. that's how he found himself at his own bar, 'sampling' his own cocktails. it was still slow, so his sous could handle the prep work for now. when someone approached him, he bristled a moment before greeting them.

"you should try the mai tai." he said, tipping his glass to the invader, a small smile forced on his face.

the first thing he wanted as soon as he was off the clock was to have a drink. it's turning into a tradition of sorts for isaac - with every more bizarre scene he's called to take pictures of for the newspaper he ends the day with an alcoholic beverage. the scene of venue changes frequently, depending on his current savings and how chatty he feels. black + blue was familiar and quiet, with a guaranteed night of warming his chosen bar seat.

Gemma grabbed her pen and paper and made her way through the campus, attempting to catch up with the security. There was a few bodies found drained of their blood and she knew what that meant... vampires.

She followed them closely and stopped at the yellow tape. She clicked her tongue and quickly started to write down what she saw before she was asked to leave before they called the proper authorities.

It wasn't a shock, the vampires usually fed on young students. She sighed, quickly jotting down some more notes before smiling politely at the other standing close to her. "It's a shame about these students, isn't it. Did you happen to know them at all?" She asked with a small smile. "I mean... since you're standing here." Gemma continued.

his camera fumbles around in his hand as he adjusts the lens and swallows the lump in his throat. he's used to capturing scenery, parades, environmental disasters... nothing of the murder category, let alone this much violence. isaac figured being on a college campus would stir old feelings, but it gave him an unsettling feeling not quite like what he's ever felt before.

almost silently, he lifts his sight toward the scene beyond the tape, not needing to get much closer - thank god. his usual news badge stating his official employment is tucked away under his shirt, knowing the authorities would hate publicity regardless. plus, it makes him feel even more out of place somehow.