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[pixiesweat]

It was a regular day for Manuel. In other words, he had nowhere to be, nothing to do, and no motivation to do anything other than wander around aimlessly.

The anniversary of his sister’s death had come and gone. The emotional turmoil had faded away, but he felt curiously flat, like it had taken the rest of his emotions with it.

He’d had a quick breakfast before he left his flat, but hadn’t even thought about eating anything since then. He didn’t know how long it had been. He wasn’t keeping track of time. He barely felt hungry, and more importantly, he didn’t care.

He walked around, considered stealing something from a convenience store he passed, just because he could, but there wasn’t anything appealing enough to be stolen even for no reason. Eventually he came to a bench, sat, and watched traffic passing by until it was making him feel irritable instead of just empty.

He stood, and that was when the lack of food finally caught up with him. The sudden change in position made his head swim, and he staggered just enough to put himself in the path of someone who’d been about to walk by.

“Sorry,” he said, once his head had cleared enough for him to realise what had happened.

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[old_man_gavril]

"Whoa," Gavril said, shifting on his feet and moving to catch the kid as he shifted on his feet.

"You all right?" he asked, giving the kid a look.

Inside of him, his lupine hunter's senses were working on him. Not human, not entirely. Seemed a bit off. Maybe lack of food? Weak prey. Why'd he been running into so many folks like this?

But he didn't address it, not yet. For all he knew, this kid was the bad kind, but he wasn't one to judge negatively without reason. He'd see what was up, first.

[pixiesweat]

"Yeah," Manuel said, straightening and looking up at the guy who'd caught him. "Sorry."

[old_man_gavril]

"Don't worry about it, kid," Gavril assured him, gently.

He was wondering how to broach the subject of getting this kid a meal. He was clearly hungry; Gavril could just about hear it. Then again, he could also tell that the kid wasn't entirely human.

"Y'know, wobbling around like that, someone might think you were starvin' to death." He'd decided on that as a decent lead-in. Hopefully it would work. Gavril didn't like seeing suffering that was undeserved. This kid looked about as downtrodden as they got.

[pixiesweat]

"I'm okay," Manuel said. "I was just..." He couldn't think of a good excuse to explain away nearly passing out. "I'm fine."

[old_man_gavril]

"Uh-huh," Gavril said, rolling his eyes.

"Look, kid," he began, leaning in just a little bit. "I know when someone's hungry. I own a pub, it's kinda my business," he said.

"I'm going to my pub, getting it started on opening up. You follow me, there's a free meal in it for you. If you don't trust me, whatever, that's fine."

[pixiesweat]

Manuel watched him for a moment, uncertain and considering.

"Okay," he said, more because he was very susceptible to suggestion than out of any real desire to eat.

[old_man_gavril]

"Good deal. C'mon," he said, gesturing for him to follow.

"My name's Gavril, by the way," he said, glancing over his shoulder, if only to make sure that the guy was still following. "The place is Wolf's Head. It's actually not far from here."

[pixiesweat]

He was still following. "I'm Manuel," he replied.

[old_man_gavril]

"Nice to meet you," he said, though he'd decide on that later. Then again, if the kid tried to pull a fast one, he was in for a surprise.

He descended the steps leading to Wolf's Head, which was plainly advertised on the streets above, along with the "Help Wanted" sign next to them.

He fished his keys out of his pocket and selected a stylized stainless steel key that featured a wolf's head, and it slid into the antique brass lock. He gave it a twist, and the door opened.

"C'mon in," Gavril said, walking in ahead.

[pixiesweat]

Manuel followed him in silently, glancing around. After seeing the key and the lock, he was curious what the inside of the place might look like.

[old_man_gavril]

The front door had a friendly sign of carved oak and ash, which said that they were closed for now. But Gavril didn't bother flipping the sign to open, yet. There was still plenty of time for that.

He hit the light switches, and while the lighting was artificial, the fixtures diffused the harsh fluorescent light into a much softer, more natural-feeling light, giving the pub a cast of being just comfortably dim.

The pillars that flanked the back of the bar were ornately carved in a scrimshaw style, featuring small figures engaging in wood-stiff battles with each other. Over the center of the back of the bar, the titular Wolf's Head was mounted, an ornately painted and hand-carved wooden gray wolf head that looked down upon the bar as a king might; regal, silent, and observant.

All the surface tops within the pub were made of a finely-polished and rich, dark hardwood.

"Welcome," Gavril said, and he gestured to the bar, heading to go around it and behind to where the grills were. "It'll take me a bit to get the grill fired up." Working with wood was always a bit of a pain. "What can I get you?"

Gavril's bar was clearly stocked with a modest array of taps, liquors, and even several surprisingly good vintages of wine. From overhead a variety of drinking vessels hung, ranging from regular and wine glasses to mugs of wood or clay, and even, perhaps more as a joke, mason jars. Gavril wasn't making an explicit offer of alcohol to the kid (he wasn't sure if he was underage), but he didn't care one way or the other.

[toujours_impur]

It wasn't every day a pretty boy swooned into his path, and Sirius wasn't going to waste such a gift. His arms moved to steady the other man, lingering there even after he'd regained stable footing. "Oh, certainly no apology needed," he murmured, smiling a little.

[pixiesweat]

"Uh," Manuel said, embarrassed and awkward. "...thanks."

[toujours_impur]

Sirius gave his arms a little pet before reluctantly letting go. "You look a bit...dazed," he observed, arching an eyebrow. "Can I take you home?" He paused, grinned a bit, and added, "That came out wrong. Can I help you get home?"

[pixiesweat]

"I'm okay," Manuel said. "Really."

[hardertohide]

"Whoa," Dutch let out as she instinctively reached out to help the kid right his balance. She frowned at him, her hands on his shoulders. He looked familiar. "All right?"

[pixiesweat]

"Yeah," he said, then looked at the person who'd reached out to steady him and realised who it was. "...hi."

[hardertohide]

Dutch frowned at him a beat longer; his reaction confirmed that she did know him, although she couldn't quite place him. "Where do I know you from?" she asked, pulling her hands back and shoving them in her coat pockets, watching him curiously.

[pixiesweat]

"Uh," he said, not quite sure how to answer that. "You know. The time we got... attacked."

[hardertohide]

"Right!" Dutch nodded as it all clicked into place. "You're the completely human kid."

[pixiesweat]

He instantly blushed and looked guilty when she said that. "Sorry I lied to you last time."

[hardertohide]

"Are you?" Dutch asked honestly. If he'd lied, he'd probably had his reasons. He didn't owe her anything.

[pixiesweat]

"Yeah," he said. "I shouldn't have lied when you already knew."

He felt like it had been rather insulting to her intelligence. It hadn't even been a good lie.

[hardertohide]

"All right," Dutch stated. She was going to argue against him if he was inclined to tell her what he was now. "Are you going to come clean now?"

[pixiesweat]

He wasn't sure if he should tell her anything specific. He shifted uncertainly on his feet.

"How much do you know about?" he asked. She clearly knew about more than just vampires, but that didn't necessarily mean she knew about faeries.