The crowd at Manny's was the standard fare.

Being the sister city of New Orleans, Cascadia was rife with artsy absinthe drinkers, opium nests and brothels.

Being the sister city of New Orleans, it was also full to bursting point with Poppy Z Brite's fans, and goths.

Cale, although he resembled the stereotype. Was no goth.

He sat gingerly fingering his glass, his pale, slender fingers encircling the amber heat the glass witheld. His free hand ran it's path through his ruffled black hair.

[i:efa9c698f5]"Another JD, Cale?"[/i:efa9c698f5]

He looked up smiling, he could've looked cherubic, but the sorrowful glaze in his eyes told stories that denied that innocence.

[i:efa9c698f5]"Sure Manny. Stick another on the board."[/i:efa9c698f5]

Manny smiled warmly. He scratched his handlebar moustache and turned to go.

[i:efa9c698f5]"No problem kiddo. You can pay next time."[/i:efa9c698f5]

Cale smirked.

[i:efa9c698f5]"Thanks big guy. I owe you."[/i:efa9c698f5]

He watched the mountainous Manny walk to the bar then turned his attentions to the denizens of the bar.

The amber heat was thankfully fuzzing his head. He could happily watch the other patrons, and construct life stories for each without feeling any of his own pain.

He made eye contact with a few of them, as always they smiled before returning to their drinks.

[i:efa9c698f5]"Such is life."[/i:efa9c698f5]

He looked up.

((test

Anya was different, and that to the others of her kind was a hideous crime, for what she enjoyed more than anything was the company of humans, to the extent that she often shunned her own kind to be able to enjoy them.

To her own kind this was perversion, like a man sleeping with an animal to satisfy his needs. Anya loved them as friends and lovers, rather than just simply exploit them for her own means, as many did.
Anya despised the narrowness of her kind and hated what their lives had become. Hiding themselves away in the shadows only appearing in the human world to feed. This is the way she had been raised and she had broke free, discovered there was a different way to live. A way to accept the technology that the humans had to offer and embrace it to use to your own advantage.

It was no wrench for her to leave her so called family, she was tired of been shunned and made to feel guilty for not been normal.
Some theorized that she must have human blood somewhere in her family and Anya had embraced the possibility only to be told sternly that it was impossible.

But yet she still felt drawn to humans, and not just to feed, she fed of their energy, the love for life they had was intoxicating and they could give her what she was now looking for.

It was her first night her and the energy she had felt when she walked into the bar was intoxicating.

(hope its ok for me to join your story...ive sent you a prvate message

((hey! nice posting! on a more personal note i have to say i simply love it when people add depth to the city...too often it's just a place where our chars live. Cascadia (especially since it's fictional and our creation) should have a life of it's own, and we should really take advantage of the fact that we have pretty much full control over it's facts and statistics

keep up the good work

((Feel free. I deliberately left the ending open.

Cale's eyes travelled upwards. Finding little purchase in their orbits, they settled on the new speaker instead.

"Sorry?"

She was magnificent. Tall, slender yet full of hip and breast. Her olive skin shimmering even under the garbled light of Manny's bar.

"I said such is life. You looked so engrossed in the others around you. If I intruded upon a private moment I apologise. I was merely affirming what you seemed to be thinking."

Cale blinked once. Twice.

"No you didn't intrude. I was just..."

He smiled then, his large brown eyes suddenly full of wonder.

"I'm Cale...and you are?"

Her smile widened as her eyes seemed to shine even brighter than they did when his gaze first fell upon her.

"That depends whether you wish to look upon me as a friend or an enemy, or maybe even as a danger to yourself, but either option you may still call me Anya, I can be as true a friend that you ever wished for, but the same goes for the other two as well"

For all that she said seemed harsh, her lilting voice made it sound like an invitation and she could have been threatening to kill him then and there but still he would have returned the smile. The confidence that she felt in herself and the sheer way that she acted , which she had perfected over the years , meant that she could do just that, get away with murder.

Her skin seemed to glow with radiance and as she sat down next to him her bare arm brushed against him and he flinched as if he had received an electric shock.

" I do apologise, it happens all the time, one of theose problems of the modern world you know"

Cale looked ather confused and she smiled.

"static electricity, it's such a nuisance, don't you think?"

Cale nodded in agreement, but the shock he had got was nothing like he had ever felt before and he would certainly not put it down to static.

"So tell me ...Cale, whay are you sat here alone? I have an excuse I'm new to the area so what's yours?"

Her eyes were as black as ebony and he felt them looking at him closely while she waited for an answer.

[i:f773bf7dd3]"Excuse?"[/i:f773bf7dd3]

He brushed a rogue hair away from his eyes, trying to read something from her own.

[i:f773bf7dd3]"No excuse Anya. I just enjoy watching the world roll by. It's therapeutic."[/i:f773bf7dd3] He smiled warmly before offering her a seat.

He waved to Manny. The appearance of such a fine figure in his bar brought Manny almost running.

[i:f773bf7dd3]"What'll it be Anya?"[/i:f773bf7dd3] Cale asked smiling. His large dark brown eyes glinting with vibrant, child-like life. He continued to smile as she sat slowly beside him.

[i:f773bf7dd3]What brings you to Cascadia?"[/i:f773bf7dd3]