A late dinner in Chicago [Open]

Keith scratched the back of his head. How was that difficult? There was a switch to just turn the shower on. The vampire sighed and took the shower head in his hand and switched it on for the weapon. He obviously made sure to properly present how to do it. "Alright..." The vampire mumbled, then he pointed at the drain stopper. "To stop the water from draining, you just use this plug." He explained patiently. Keith then looked at Riel and smirked. "Okay... Do you understand how to do it now?" He asked.

Riel watched with intent interest, his mask discarded, leaving his hair a mangled mess that was even more obvious, now, given how sterile, bright, and plain the bathroom was. If nothing else, Riel could at least undress himself, though he had nothing to chain into. "Thank you..."

Keith looked at the weapon and realized something. "Wait, you don't have any spare clothes do you?" The vampire said. He felt stupid. It was obvious! He rubbed his chin, trying to find a temporary solution for the problem. "Tomorrow we'll need to buy you some new clothes..." He finally said. "For now...Hm..
Give me a moment." Keith left the bathroom and then their room and returned to his car. He opened the trunk of his car looked inside. He couldn't let the boy sleep in dirty clothes. Keith groaned it was really annoying. Still, he couldn't notice that it was all mostly thanks to his parental instinct. Took a plain white t-shirt and black sweatpants, then closed the trunk and returned to their room. Obviously, his clothes were way too big for Riel, but the boy's clothes needed to be washed. Luckily there was a laundry room in the motel, so Keith could do that too.

Riel would be found in the shower, should his adoptive father go looking for him. He took perhaps longer than he needed to, and used up the entirety of the complimentary amenities to wash himself, at least as far as the shampoo, conditioner, and shower gel were concerned. By the time he was done, his hair was a floppy, wet mess, but he was at least clean.

Keith put the spare clothes on a chair which he put next to the door to the bathroom. "Riel, I've left you some clothes on a chair. They are big, but it's better than nothing. We have to wash your clothes, anyway." The vampire said before he approached one of the beds and lay down on one of it, to give himself a moment to rest.

Without a word, the boy poked his head out to retrieve the clothes. Quickly donning them, he worked to try to dry his messy flop of hair, giving up partway through. Hanging the towel up, he entered the bed area with the pants rolled up as much as he could get them, barely enough to forcibly keep them up on his hips.

That's when Keith opened his eyes and stood up. "There's a laundry room below our room. I'll wash your clothes. In the meantime, you can rest or just turn the TV on or... Just, don't leave the room. You don't want to catch a cold." The vampire told him, calmly. He seemed more... relaxed and less gloomy than before. Keith walked into the bathroom and packed Riel's clothes into a plastic bag and returned to the bed area. "I'll be back as soon as possible. Okay?" He told the boy. Inside his own mind, he was confused. He knew what Riel was capable of. They both were murderers and Riel was just a kid! How could both of them be so calm about what they'd done in the park? "Damn it... I'm the worst. I shouldn't be letting that him hurt people." He thought. No, he wasn't fully correct. When they met, Riel was a dark weapon already, which obviously meant that he killed someone in the past. Or perhaps he was forced to? Anyhow, they both were monsters, but despite that Keith wanted Riel to experience at least some normality in his life.

Riel nodded, seeming content with this arrangement. He didn't exactly know how to use laundry machines, anyway, so he wasn't about to complain about it. Instead, he curled up on the bed, wrapping the blanket at the end of it around his shoulders and looking around the room absently. Since he had never been allowed to watch it, he couldn't work a television, and he couldn't exactly read well, so ironically pursuing the bedside bible wasn't going to be on the to-do list, either.

The vampire left their room and went downstairs to the laundry room. He took Riel's clothes out of the plastic bag and tossed them into the laundry machine. Then he programmed it and sat on a bench. Drying the clothes wouldn't be a big problem and they also could just take their time in the morning to get ready to move out.
The vampire started thinking about his weapon. It seemed like the kid had been through a lot and that he found him in a good moment as apparently, he was on the verge of death from starvation. At first, he was just thinking of him as his ally, someone who would make his survival in the world easier. However after seeing how much Riel needed to learn about basically everything Keith realized that Riel was just a lost child who'd lost innocence too soon. There was a problem though- Their souls were already corrupted. They just couldn't stop killing and start living a normal life. There was no going back to full normality for them. That wasn't fair though. Riel was too young for that. Who made the boy eat a human soul and start killing? Whoever that was deserved to suffer.
Keith closed his eyes to think. Riel's sudden shifts in behavior were also worrying. During them, he was a different person. What caused it?
"I need to take care of that kid... I don't care that we're monsters now... He's still a child..." The vampire thought out loud. Riel was reminding him of his son who'd died because of his vampiric family. Perhaps he was really given a second chance? The vampire clenched his fist and teeth. "In this fucked up world... I want us both to survive... " He muttered, as he stood up. "I don't know what happened to his father... or to his family in general... But I'll try my best to replace them." He told himself. Keith sat down waiting for the laundry to be done. He then collected it, putting it back into the plastic bag. The vampire then left the laundry room and returned to their room. "I'm back." The kishin egg announced. He seemed a bit different. Almost normal. Almost determined? Motivated? His gloomy aura disappeared. Keith walked into the bathroom to put Riel's still wet clothes on a heater to let them dry. He then left the bathroom, and walked into the bed area.

When Keith found him, Riel was laying in a haphazard bundle on the bed, curled up beneath the blanket with half of his remaining burger discarded beside him. It appeared that he'd finally seen fit to try to eat it again when sleepiness won out, rendering him fully, thoroughly unconscious. In contrast to his previous appearances, he seemed almost serene, a comfort on his face that was uncanny for anyone that had seen the death pass through his eyes during conflict. Riel had never had the comfort of a proper bed before, and the safety to being here, cheap motel or otherwise, was almost too much for him to have resisted, allowing him the first pleasant sleep he'd had probably ever. In lieu of snoring, the occasional coo slipped out of his lips until he adjust his head onto the pillow.

When Keith saw the boy, he smiled widely, for the first time in a long time. Riel looked so innocent in his sleep. Too bad both of them ended up with red souls because if not for that, the vampire would do everything to just raise the kid normally. Well, in their state he could at least try. Keith sat switched off the lights in the room and sat on the bed. They were just a pair of unlucky people who got their lives ruined. Reynolds looked around the room, his eyes could finally rest from bright, blinding lights. He lay on the bed with his clothes on and stared at the ceiling. For the first time in many weeks, felt normal. For the first time in many weeks, his sins gave him a break. For the first time in many weeks, he felt relaxed. Keith put his hands behind his head and rested it on them. He crossed his legs and closed his eyes. Keith didn't even notice when he fell asleep like a normal human after a long day of work.

Normal sleeping habits, for him at least, would have had Riel waking up approximately every hour, on the hour, in case he needed to change his sleeping spot in fear of authorities. In the comfort and safety of the motel and Keith's presence, however, such a habit was postponed, allowing him about three times the normal amount of rest before he awoke. The first time this happened, he seemed almost panicked, bolting upright and looking around. His eyes weren't as attuned to the darkness as the vampire's were, for fairly obvious reasons, but they were enough so that he could make out where he was. Once his heart settled down, he curled back up, taking another bite of his burger before wrapping it and setting it on the side table. Another three or so hours later brought him to a more groggy wakefulness, but he only pulled himself under the rest of the covers and fell back asleep. With each pass, he woke harder and slept easier.

After a few hours of sleeping Keith finally woke up, surprised by how deep he was asleep. He took a look at his wristwatch. It was 4:40 am. "Woah... This has never happened before... I only wanted a two-hour nap..." The kishin egg thought quietly, before standing up. There still was time until the sunrise and there was no need for him to put his sunglasses on yet. Keith looked at Riel. He couldn't help but smile. Riel was a very cute child. The vampire started walking around the room, planning their day. Obviously, he needed to get used to being active during the days again.

Riel hardly stirred while Keith moved about the room, waking up for a brief instance to catch that he was moving but settling back to sleep almost as quickly.

Keith noticed the movement in Riel's bed but didn't want to risk waking the boy up. The vampire sat on the bed and pulled his old walled out of the pocket of his trousers. He opened it to take a look at a very important photo he put there many months ago. It was a photo of his wife and son. He smiled at it, remembering the day he took it. "If life really is giving me a second chance... I'll use this chance well... for you Martha..." The vampire thought before he closed his wallet and put it back into the pocket. He then looked at sleeping Riel then closed his eyes. He decided to nap in a sitting position, waiting for the boy to wake up.

ooc: The word order for the sentence about the photograph makes it seem like he'd taken the son, rather than the photo, just so you know; English can be annoyingly strict.

ic:

Riel forced himself to stay awake the next time he stirred, stretching as he slid unceremoniously out of bed. Looking around in the relative darkness, he made his way to the bathroom to wipe the salt deposits from his eyes and make use of the facilities there. Returning back to the room a few minutes later, he went to see if Keith was awake or playing at being a gargoyle.

OOC: Fixed. I will post later ^^ (And thank you :D)

Keith watched Riel in silence, he didn't say a word to not scare him by an accident. However, when the kid went to the bathroom, the kishin egg stood up and turned on the lights, waiting for his partner to return. "Good morning, Riel." The vampire greeted him quietly Riel left the bathroom. Keith standing in front of a window, not looking out to not hurt his eyes.

ooc: No prob :) I knew what you meant but I know that keeping the habit can cause problems xD Trust me, been there

ic:

"Is it?" He asked, seeming genuinely confused on whether it was day or night, due to how much he'd slept as well as the fact that Keith was awake. Horror stories from his siblings had painted vampires as nocturnal, creatures of the night that slept and hid during daylight hours. Still, he didn't seem bothered no matter what the result might be.

Keith looked at the boy and nodded. "Yes, it is." He told him quietly. It was probably six o'clock, but the vampire wasn't sure and he was too lazy to check. He put his jacket on, the pulled a pair sunglasses out of a pocket of his jacket and put them on. "I've noticed you need more clothes. That's why our plan for today is to take you shopping." Keith told him calmly as he pushed the curtains aside, to let the sunlight in. It was very bright outside, but because Keith had his sunglasses on his nose, it wasn't as problematic as it would be if he didn't put them on.

Riel winced as his eyes slowly tried to acclimate to the change of light level. He was far more accustomed to the dark, as it was generally easier to hide in it, especially with his mask. With dismay, he realized that he wouldn't be able to wear it today if they were expected to be seen in public. He'd have to pretend to be normal. As such, the boy offered a slow nod, not terribly eager to undergo the plans of the day.

"You don't seem too happy about it." The vampire said as he slowly approached the weapon. "However, I can't let you just run around in the same clothes every day.It's unhealthy. Also, let me remind you that yesterday you needed spare clothes." Keith didn't notice it but his the tone of his voice and his words sounded a lot like a parent lecturing their children. "Alright, but before that, we should get you something to eat for breakfast. There is a cafeteria in this motel." The vampire seemed almost untouched by the bright sunlight, which for some, would be surprising.

Riel's head tilted slowly, most of the words not quite hitting home. Other than outgrowing clothes, he'd never seen any real reason to change them. However, he couldn't argue that he didn't feel better now that he was clean, so he had to guess that this had something to do with what his partner meant. "Oh.... kay....?"

Keith scratched the back of his head. Seriously, how incompetent his parents could be? Riel clearly had huge lacks in education. He didn't know basic things! The vampire sighed. Perhaps he just had to change his approach. "Alright... Tell me, do you feel... hm... refreshed... comfortable... good... in clean clothes? Hm... in other words... do you feel better than yesterday?" Keith asked him. He was calm and he was speaking clearly and slowly.

Riel nodded. He was certainly a bright, quick to learn kid, but he simply didn't know the things that would help make his intellect actually show through. He'd been living on the streets for a while, now, and before that hadn't been terribly much better, crowded with the siblings that basically raised him but hadn't been able to make up for the maltreatment their father gave them. It wasn't his fault, at least not consciously, that his mother had died in childbirth to him, but that hadn't made any difference to the man that was supposed to have taken care of him. "Clean is healthy?" He said, seeking clarity in the man's words, "An' new... like bought... ish clean?"