A late dinner in Chicago [Open]

Riel shook his head, slowly at first before picking up the pace in such a way that showed how eager he was. Really, he'd have eaten the molded part of the bread if he'd been any hungrier. Like, for instance, now. "No, mister." He said, seeming to jump up, standing at his full, though meager height before the man.

"Alright, let's go then. It's quite late so... shops are closed and restaurants aren't... safe for us. In this case, I think we'll just visit the drive-thru" Keith told him slowly, trying to make a satisfying plan. Fast foods weren't healthy at all, but Riel seemed to be starving, so he should eat at least something. Reynolds started leading the way towards the parking lot where his car was waiting for his return. The vampire was avoiding light, always keeping close to the shadows and dark places. Of course, light bulbs weren't as bright as the sun, but in the dark his eyes could rest. Being a vampire is such a pain sometimes.

Riel obediently followed along behind him, sane enough for the moment that it felt best to him to just follow. After all, food was an option, and he desperately needed it. Riel watched where his partner went, taking note that he seemed to really dislike light. That didn't quite make sense to him, but he wasn't aware of the man's sensitivity; Riel just assumed that Keith was trying to hide.

Keith sighed with relief once they reached the parking spot in which he had left his car. "Alright, kid, get in." The vampire told the boy, opening the door for him. The car was one of the last good things from his previous life. The last thing that would make him feel a little bit better. Keith quickly sat on the driver's seat and relaxed slightly.

The boy obeyed without question, looking around the inside curiously, unsure. Feeling the cold metal of the buckle against his skin, he pulled at it, surprised to find that it moved, the belt itself fed from somewhere unseen. "Mister... wha' dis?" He asked, pulling it further to show the man what he had found, a look of pure confusion on the child's face.

Keith looked at the boy, surprised by Riel's question. Has he never been in a car before? An almost unnoticeable smile appeared on the vampire's face. For the first time in many months, he smiled. It made him feel both weird and nice. A nice, pleasant feeling he almost had forgotten about ran through his body. "Well, Riel, this is a safety belt. Let me show you how it works." Keith said, then he fastened his belt slowly. "As the name implies, we use these for safety. You know,
accidents can happen anytime, these belts keep us in our seats during accidents." The vampire explained calmly and slowly, trying to find the simplest words to tell the boy why he should use safety belts.

Riel's face scrunched up a bit as he tried to mimic the man's actions, taking several minutes before he finally got his hands to obey him properly and click the buckle together. Smiling, he tugged at it, making sure that it was secure, before looking up at him. "Is dis 'ow you open et?" He asked, pointing at the button.

"Yes, kid, exactly." Keith told him, nodding. For some reason, the kid's innocence was working positively on the vampire's mental health. The kishin egg turned the engine on. His car was quite old and the engine woke up with a pleasant yet loud roar. "Alright, kid, do you know how to use a radio?" He asked pointing at the device.

Riel's face screwed back up for a second, his attention on the device. His family had a radio they had used, but he'd never been allowed to touch it. A few marks on his skin remained the proof of that. He shook his head, trying to figure out where in the vehicle there could possibly be a radio, expecting to find the same contraption they had had back home. "No, mister."

Keith sighed quietly and closed his eyes for a second. He was surprised with the boy's lack of basic knowledge about simplest devices. The vampire started playing with the radio, mostly to show Riel how it works. He was looking for something nice to listen to and he found a nice song on the radio.

Dark Necessities by Red Hot Chili Peppers :

Keith pulled out sunglasses out of the pocket of his coat and put them on. "Alright, kid let's go." The vampire said, before they set off.

Riel nodded, watching and absorbing the information as it was presented to him. He was a quick learner, but that only meant so much when there wasn't much presented to him, usually. For now, though, it was quite useful for him. Closing his eyes, he slowly tried to relax in his seat, pulling the gas mask off to give the illusion of some sort of normalcy. It was a thing that Riel lacked, but he certainly had the guise with his still childish appearance.

Keith looked at the boy for a second. If he didn't know the truth about him, he'd think he was just a normal, yet homeless kid. The fast food "restaurant" wasn't far, so the vampire needn't start complaining about blinding lights on the streets. So bright, his sunglasses weren't helping much. Soon they arrived at their destination. To avoid getting attracting unwanted attention, Keith decided to just use the drive-thru. He ordered a hamburger, 6 chicken nuggets, french fries and orange juice and it was all for Riel. Well, not every day you celebrate finding an ally in a world full of damned meisters and their weapons. Right after they got a bag of food, he handed it to the boy. "Here you go. Like the French people say- bon appetit" Keith said and then pulled over to a parking space to let the kid eat in peace.

Riel peaked inside the bag with interest, his eyes somewhat buggy and saliva building in his mouth at the smell. His stomach growled loudly as the presence of food registered to his brain, and he timidly reached a hand in the bag, eyes glancing at the vampire from the corners, worried that he might bat his hand away. When no scolding came, he began fishing out a handful of fries, taking them and almost shoving them in his mouth. A sort of moan escaped him; the flavor was not exactly the most exquisite. It was fast food, afterall, but he had not eaten in such a long time that it was like a godsend. Fighting his every urge to gorge on the food, he ate as slowly as he could force himself, all too reminiscent of times in the past where he'd eaten too much, too fast, after having nothing and almost immediately loosing it all in a mess of stench and bile.

Keith couldn't help but watch the boy. Obviously, he knew that fast food was not a proper way to feed children, but still... it was a good deed, but obviously, it was not enough to cleanse him from his sins. At least, for the first time in many months, Keith experienced a peaceful feeling on his soul. However, his instincts were always there with him, trying to unleash the vampire's violent nature. Keith was hungry. Hungry for blood. A quiet voice inside his head said that a young, fresh blood must be delicious. Keith looked away from the boy and tried to ignore the voice. "No! I have my code of honor! I will NEVER hurt a child!" Keith thought, closing his eyes.

Riel knew nothing of the man's inner conflict, knew only what he had seen thus far, and he had already seen Keith feed. As such, he had no reason to assume that he was in any danger from the man's hunger... not that it stopped him, much. Riel was, reasonably, a bit of a paranoid child. Yes, he was combatant and could hold his own in a fight, but that did not mean that he didn't still expect danger at every turn. After all, his father was dangerously abusive and Riel had brought his demise by becoming a Dark Weapon. He knew what basic humans were capable of. He knew what he was capable of. With Keith being immeasurably, for Riel, older and more experienced, letting his guard down was something he, instinctively, simply could not do. Being on guard had never hurt Riel in his past, thus he never came off of it. As such, he ate his food with his eyes peering at the man through their corners, silent save his chewing. He was a surprisingly clean eater, in part because being otherwise would simply waste his food. Burning through the fries and nuggets as though they were nothing, he moved on to the drink while he waited for his stomach to adjust and settle. He doubted he could consume the burger, but he'd at least check to see if he could before leaving the bag, even if he could eat it later.

Keith closed his eyes for a second and then looked through the window. He needed a distraction. A distraction that his own mind gave him. The vampire started wondering- What human food tastes like? For him, anything that humans eat was tasteless, no matter how hard he tried to feel the tase. This little issue was turning every dinner with his wife and son into hell on Earth. So, he only knew the taste of... No, no, no, he had to stay away from such thoughts. Keith rubbed his chin and looked at Riel. "Hey, Kid, let me know if you're tired... The night is still young for me and might need your help with... hunting..." The vampire told him.

By the time Keith had spoken to him again, Riel had learned that, no, his stomach could not handle the burger. As it was, it didn't seem too happy with the amount of food it already contained. Both he and his stomach would get over that, however. As long as he took it easy for a bitm he would be fine. "If you want, mister." Riel said. In his current lucidity, what with his stomach being full, he didn't see any problem in helping the man that had fed him. Afterall, Riel wasn't confident that he could take the man on in a one-on-one battle, so owing him was definitely not an idea he wanted to entertain.

"I am not forcing you, worry not." Keith said as he closed his eyes. He folded his arms on his chest and started thinking- where would be a good place to ambush innocent people. They could always return near the club, but becoming drunk by drinking the blood of a drunkard was not something he wanted. The vampire looked through the window and stared at the fast food restaurant. They would easily kill everyone inside. Hell, he alone would be able to do that! They surely had cameras installed everywhere, so it didn't sound like a good idea. What if... What if he cut the electricity first? Bad idea, the cameras probably had an emergency power supply. He could always destroy the evidence by clearing the computers after the mass murder. Still, bad idea. The restaurant probably had an alarm that could be triggered easily. Also, if he wanted to follow his rules, he would leave a few witnesses. In the end, he came to a conclusion that attacking a restaurant full of customers is a bad idea. What if he went the classic way and just went to a park and waited for a lone victim there? That sounded like a much safer plan. "Hm... alright. We're going to the closest park in the area now. It's a good place to hunt." He commented as he started the engine.

Riel nodded, pulling his mask on securely and making sure it was properly fastened. He could take it off when they got there and act as a sort of bait, if Keith wanted it. That's how Riel got his soul food. He remained in silence as his new ally drove, however, ignoring the the remainder of his meal. He could eat it later, he kept telling himself, over and over like an obsessive mantra.

Riel obviously could eat later what was remaining of his meal, but Keith planned to get him a proper breakfast in the morning. After all, a healthy ally is the best ally. The park was a bit far from the fast food restaurant, but luckily they got there quite quickly. The vampire parked his car a few streets away from their destination and stopped the engine. "As I said, kid, I'm not forcing you to join me. However, I'd like you to at least keep an eye on me, okay?" Keith told him, before leaving the car. He took a deep breath and sighed. "I need blood... fast..." He thought.

Riel nodded, climbing out of the car and joining him as he walked. He didn't say anything the whole time, looking around and using his sensitive hearing to his advantage. Having to be out in the daytime, ever, was going to be a pain. Though for obviously different reasons than his companion, Gabriel hadn't spent a lot of time out in the daylight for a while, resulting in his eyes being very well adjusted to the dark, but poorly suited for the brightness of the sun. He didn't miss it.

The two finally entered the park. It seemed rather empty, but he was sure he would find at least homeless people sleeping on benches. Keith started walking down a random path, hoping to find an innocent prey. He really hoped he wouldn't leave the park hungry.

They were lucky, in that there was, in fact, a homeless man asleep on a bench not far off. Riel noticed him, but his eyes didn't much linger, instead taking in their surroundings and making sure that Keith wouldn't be interrupted.

Keith noticed him too. The vampire closed his eyes for a second, allowing his muscles to relax a bit. Once he was ready, he approached the homeless man, slowly and in silence. Reynolds pulled a knife out of his pocket once he found himself close enough to his prey. He wanted to kill him first. "Uhh... It's better than nothing... Biting a dirty person is... awful..." The man thought. Then he violently pressed his prey to the bench using his vampiric strength and put his knife to the man's throat....

Riel watched with relative disinterest in the older egg's actions, seeming unphased when the victim became startled, eyes opening suddenly. His grovelled voice seemed to lack words, implying that he could not form any, for one reason or another, resulting in guttural, panicked grunts as he struggled helplessly.