Exposure [private]

[Masquerade]

[[Hurr, crap post :D]]

Cain tossed another chunk of reinforced concrete out of his way, grunting quietly as his shoulder popped (thankfully more loudly than painfully). He paused, straightening up to check the surrounding area for movement. Nothing. Breathing a sigh of relief the young Hunter paused long enough to wipe his brow on the back of the thick work gloves he'd donned before he bent back down, resuming his search for workable metals. Preferably aluminum.

He'd left the safety of his workshop in the Tower, following the orders that had filtered down to him from the higher-ups. The doors on the ground level, where most Vampires entered and exited Gargoyle Tower, were to be shored up. Metal needed to replace glass, both broken and non, and many of the windows needed additional work. Considering his own room was a veritable fortress by current New Pork standards, Cain supposed he had at least some expertise in the area. He'd gladly accepted (not like he had a choice, however) and set to work gathering the needed materials.

But just what had compelled him to make his excursion outside during the day?

Vampires were nocturnal predators, that's what everyone knew. His skin, already pale when he'd arrived in New Pork, hadn't gotten any darker during the last few months. He didn't have any build-up resistance to the sun; hell, he was surprised he hadn't come down with a nasty case of rickets yet. Cain sighed again, giving up on his current pile of rubble. There wasn't anything there to find. He gazed forlornly at his forearms, already starting to redden; he was certainly going to peel later.

"Bugger." he mumbled, turning and shuffling over towards the next pile to be picked through. If he was going to burn while looking for supplies, it might as well not've happened in vain.

[V.S.]

Jason was entirely uninterested in that person he could see.

He already knew several things about him, quite easily. The first was that this person was someone in the same tribe as he was, Vampires, and the second was that this person was someone he had not seen before. Judging by his pallour, which was fairly visible from the short distance away Jason was, he did not venture outside often.

Jason plucked at his own sweater at this point, always one to wear long sleeves no matter what the weather. He pondered a little, what colour the skin hiding under the dark material must be. It certainly never saw the light of day like his face did, and never felt the lick of flames like his fingers did.

... No, not getting distracted. Returning to the matter at hand, being uninterested in this one before him, who seemed to be searching. ... Searching? What for, he wondered.

He may have normally preferred to leave people alone, but now he was wondering and that curious sort of feeling wasn't something to leave alone. He stood up slowly from behind the stack of rubble he liked to consider his own, his heavy gaze firm on the other boy, and asked, "What're you looking for?"

((Whee for crap intro/first post. ))

[Masquerade]

Tinker sifted through a mass of re-bar, most of the concrete that had once encased it having crumbled and fallen away to expose the interlaced bars inside. He evaluated each piece individually, finding most lacking in potential usefulness but setting those lengths still fairly straight aside. He clutched a piece of the stuff defensively as a voice interrupted his private train of though.

Spinning around wildly, the young Vampire was obviously startled, worried that a Wildcat or perhaps even a dreaded Cigarette had snuck up while he'd been working. He should've known better; he was too close to the Tower for something like that, it would be suicide for another Tribe to enter Vampire territory, even during the day. At least, thats what he told himself.

The young man was a Vampire- a Hunter, according to the red mark on his his cheek. Hypothetically, he had nothing to fear, but he didn't know this ones name. And without a name, he had no idea what sort of reputation he'd gained. Chatting it up with someone who could potentially be an axe murderer wasn't a particularly comforting idea.

"I'm looking for-" ah crap, he was talking too quietly. He mentally kicked himself and continued in louder voice. "I'm looking for metal."

[V.S.]

Jason had to grin at the other's surprise -- not the most comforting of grins either, but something akin to an animal baring its teeth. He found that sort of thing amusing; he wasn't really the type to sneak up on others, since he normally preferred his own space, but he was also very quiet and did manage to shock people.

... Metal, eh? "Why?" Jason queried, walking a little bit closer to crouch next to Tinker's 'keeps' pile and examining the bars without touching them. He seemed comfortable, by all appearances, but he was keeping more than half an eye on Tinker, just in case. He wasn't one to trust particularly easily. He pushed a strand of dark hair behind his ear and waited, now looking at Tinker directly.

[Masquerade]

Cain started, backing away as the other boy came closer, on edge even though his interest seemed to lay with the bars he'd selected as usable. He didn't like the look of the others grin. Too much like a rabid dog.

"The Tower isn't secure enough for her tastes." he said, trying to sound confident. "I'm supposed to help with making it harder to get in."

The logical thing to do would be to go back to work, ignore the boy until he left, but... Cain wasn't that comfortable turning his back on him. Too many of the Vampires were volatile; one quickly learned to keep a wary eye on ones comrades lest one end up dead.

[[ Crap post, again]]

[V.S.]

Huh. Now Jason's attention was directed at the Tower, his black eyes studying it intensely. Tall, solid... Well, as far as he was concerned it was fine, but it certainly wasn't his opinion that mattered. He'd learned that easily, and a while ago.

"And who are you?" Said in such a way that suggested Jason didn't think him one to reinforce the strength of a building -- it was asking for his name, but more asking for who he was, really. Why was he the one chosen to be in charge of something so important?

... Could be considered stepping on toes, or even just outright rudeness, but that was alright. He didn't particularly mind; his eyes slid back to the metal now, and he picked a piece up out of the pile with a blistered hand. Interesting.

[Masquerade]

"Tinker." Cain said sharply, the combination of unused adrenaline and the boys tone beginning to make him edgy. Well, edgier. He lowered his tone quickly, not wanting to start a scene. "They call me Tinker."

It seemed to stupid to just stand there, clutching a piece of metal like he could actually protect himself with it. He made himself busy, turning back to the pile of rubble and resuming his search. He wasn't really paying attention to what he found, though, too focused on the other Vampire. It was all too easy to imagine that this boy was one of the truly blood-crazed, one of the monsters that served the Crows bidding. He tried to suppress a shiver and failed.

"You got a name?" he asked, more out of his own curiosity than anything else.

[V.S.]

Oho. Someone was getting touchy. That just drew another of his queer grins, this one wider than the last. "Tinker." Jason repeated, wishing he dared tack on 'bell' just to see how the other boy would react. But pushing so far was not quite his style, and especially not with someone he'd only just met. Yes, it would be amusing, but hardly conductive to any... good interaction.

Eh. What was he concerning himself with that for? ... Right, Tribe. Best not to alienate someone who seemed to be highly regarded, helpful and of the same rank as himself. Yes. Good idea, then, to hold back. His expression returned to being something closer to neutral.

He ran his hands over the metal bar, deciding that it was rather too cold to keep holding on to. He placed it back in the pile none too gently, resulting in the clang of metal on metal.

The sound made a smile twitch at his lips as he drew both hands towards his person and wiped them on his sweater. Only then did he reply, "You can call me Varyl." No indication as to if that was really his name or not, but it was what he was going by for now.

[Masquerade]

The sudden harsh clang of metal on metal made Cain jump, his head whipping around and eyes wide; as though he expected to see some terrible phantasm looming over him. Nope, no boogieman. Just a smiling Tribe-mate.

Annoyance was swiftly replacing fear, although a strong sense of self-preservation kept him from saying anything. Something about the boy creeped him out. Maybe it was just the fact he was another Vampire, and all the Vampires seemed to have 'issues upstairs'. Maybe it was just him getting more and more paranoid as time went on. Whatever it was, Cain was in no rush to piss off 'Varyl'.

"Did you want something?" Or did you just feel like harassing me. Cain bitterly wished he had the courage to say the last half verbally but... well. There was a reason he wasn't reputed amongst his Tribe for bravery.

[V.S.]

What did he want, hm? Now that was a good question, unlike any of the others previously spoken in this conversation. Well, in all honesty, there hadn't been anything specific that had drawn him to Tinker's company, just that he'd felt like it. And he really didn't need any better reason than that, did he?

... But then, that would be getting on quite rude and we'd never want that! So then. An offer? Something to keep on with the talking anyway; Tinker was interesting and Jason wasn't yet keen on returning to his quiet solitude although his hands were getting to be quite cold and he didn't like that. "I'd offer to help, but," some kind of suitable excuse, one that made sense... of course! Simple, "it seems my hands are too cold."

[Masquerade]

...Cold?

Cain had to pause, glancing up at the sun then down at his red forearms. Was he the only one feeling the heat? Maybe it was his burn making him feel overheated, combined with unnoticed dehydration. Yeah, that had to be it. He was tempted to suggest that the boy wear gloves, but he felt that would seem far too much like he was asking the boy for help. Not that help wouldn't be turned down, but Cain had reached a mindset where he was feeling unusually touchy (probably a result of too much sun), and he was determined to to finish what he'd started.

"Poor circulation?" he asked, examining what appeared to be a piece of a road sign. He flung the thin metal sheet to the side, pulling free the re-bar that had been concealed beneath it and adding to his pile. "I get that in my feet, sometimes."

[V.S.]

((Bohaha. Crap.))

Jason looked to the sky just as Tinker did, smirking. Yes, it was warm enough as far as the weather went, but he could be comfortable in something nearly twice the current temperature. And his hands were always cold unless he was... attending to them..

"Yes and no." He slid his hands into his pockets now, clenching them within the material. That would do well enough. "Sometimes, but usually it's my own fault." Cryptic, but who didn't love a few mysteries, eh?