A late dinner in Chicago [Open]

Allies. Well, that certainly explained what he wanted Riel for. It made sense, in a way, though Riel knew the word from shady, back-alley dealings between gang members. Betrayal was fairly common talk, among the lowest ranks. The bigger bosses, seen only through distanced windows behind human shields and concrete walls, cherished the word like it was sacred. Riel could catch a grasp of this, could let it thread itself through his mind and subconscious thoughts until it took on a true meaning. For now, however, his focus was geared more towards the here and now. With a nod, Riel stepped back into place closer to the man, compared to the foot or so lag he'd fallen behind him. With human eyes, he observed the world around him, finding the only difference between the now and the before to be the presence of the fallen officer's car. In silence, he pointed a single digit to the vehicle, merely drawing Keith's attention to the only difference in their live-action "find it" puzzle.

Keith looked at the car, puzzled. It was obvious that the officer was in a car. What wat Riel's point then? The vampire decided to stay away from the vehicle. "Hm... I think we should get out of here as fast as possible, then..." Keith told the boy as he started heading where his car was parked. He chose a different, longer road, just to make sure no one was following them. The last thing he wanted was the police trying to catch him. That'd only make his life more difficult- which he didn't want or need.

Riel wasn't sure what to do, now, where to go from here. He wanted to relax a bit, to sleep and fall into his own, twisted Wonderland. However, he wasn't confident in the safety of this endeavor, was not secure enough in his well-being in regards to Keith or anyone that may be pursuing either, let alone the both of them. For all he knew, in his terror, Keith may turn on him or someone may come out of nowhere to go after one, or both, of them. Eventually, this may change, but Riel was not yet at that point.

Soon the two reached the car. Keith unlocked the door, then leaned his back against the side of the car and looked at the sky. He started wondering- can he even trust Riel? Especially after what he saw in the park. Such a difficult situation. Such a difficult ally. Such a life. The vampire sighed, as he started staring at the ground. At that moment a perceptive person would notice what really sits inside the vampire's head- grief, sorrow, regret. "If I only weren't born a vampire..." He said to himself, before sighing. For a moment his imagination started working- showing him a perfect, calm, normal life as a human. He saw his wife, then his son, then himself eating human food with appetite. He then saw himself playing with his son. In his perfect life, he was just a human, a famous musician with a normal life and normal parents. He returned to reality when he saw Riel. The vampire shook his head like he was trying to shake his imagination away. "Yeah... That kid really reminds me of my son..." He thought before scratching his forehead. "Perhaps life is giving me a second chance? A twisted one, but still a chance?". "If you need some rest, we can find a hotel or something." The vampire finally told the weapon as he opened the door to his car.

Riel's eyes drifted their focus back up to the man, and he cast a nod his way before speaking. "Do ya sleep, mister?" He asked, a genuine curiosity to his inquiry.

"I do. However, I don't need to sleep. No, rather, I can sleep to relax. So I do." Keith explained nodding. He noticed that even though he hated being a vampire, answering the boy's questions about vampires was surprisingly fun.

Riel granted him another nod, accepting this in the most easy going fashion that he could. There were still many questions to be had, but the weapon wasn't particularly fond of his own voice. "If ya want'ta sleep, then."

Keith shrugged. "I haven't been sleeping for weeks now. Certainly, a short nap is a good idea." The vampire told the boy, as he folded his arms over his chest. "Let's get into the car then and find some proper place to rest. Unless you want to sleep in the car. Which, I wouldn't recommend." Keith said, before sitting behind the wheel in his car. He took a map from the back seat and opened it. He was looking for a small motel located as far from the city center as possible. It took him a minute or two, but he found one. Keith quickly memorized the location on the map. A sudden thought suddenly crossed Reynolds' mind. He directed his attention towards Riel and asked- "Tell me, how have you managed to survive on your own?"

Riel mentally told himself to remember to ask whether or not Keith slept during the day. Perhaps that wasn't any of his business, but if the man were light sensitive then it seemed to be the opportune time to do so. "Hidin', mostly." There was a way the ly came out that made it sound more like an eh. "I ain't been on my lonesome long. Besides, most-" the word came out as some twisted combination of moist and must, "-people up'in igner some'un they think is 'omeless." He was right in that much; people were notorious for opting out of acknowledging anyone else's problems, lest they make more for themselves.

Keith had some troubles with understanding the boy. "I think I'll need to teach him how to speak properly." The vampire thought. "I see... I see..." Keith mumbled quietly, nodding. Humans were like that. It was something he disliked about them. Vampires were worse though. Most of them were working against each other to prove who's stronger. "Are you ready to move out?" The kishin egg finally asked.

Riel offered a single, quick nod, seeming ready for whatever plan he had. Part of him was slowly getting the feeling that he'd be perfectly free to just run off and make some sort of escape for his own, but the current arrangement seemed to suit him just fine.

The kishin egg started the engine and handed Riel the map. "Be my navigator. We are here." He said as he pointed at their location on the map. "...and we're going there." Keith pointed at the location of the motel he'd chosen. What was the point of asking Riel to show the way even if he learned it by heart? Reason number one: It would prevent him from taking the wrong turn. Reason number two: he wanted Riel to just know where they were going.

Riel spent what felt like ages staring at the map for a long while, not saying or doing anything else. However, soon his finger was dashing about the map and tracing lines, going over the various routes before settling on one that looked like it would avoid the biggest chunk of the city. This done, he seemed satisfied and pointed to the road, directing him towards an adjoining one. After several attempts, he finally managed to read the road name aloud.

Keith simply followed his navigator's advice, quite happy he had one finally. Remembering roads way too time-consuming, so having someone who would just be looking at the map made everything easier. Soon, after some time they arrived at the motel. Keith looked at Riel and nodded. "Good job, kid. Alright... wait here and I'll get us a room." The vampire said before leaving the vehicle and walking towards the reception, leaving the dark weapon alone.

By the time he came back, Riel was standing outside the car, licking something off of his finger. There were marks around the car where someone had tried to force themselves into the passenger's side, presumably to get to him. marks on the ground lead away, fading into the concrete. There was no sign of anyone around, but Riel's eyes were shining again, much like they had on their earlier hunt.

Keith looked at him, failing to hide how surprised he was to see the boy in such state. The vampire sighed and slowly approached the boy. He already knew what happened, but he decided to ask anyway- "What happened?" The vampire asked, rather coldly.

Riel pointed in the direction of some bushes and a forest behind the motel, shrugging as he finally cleaned his hands. "Someone saw me in da truck an' tried to take me. I.... fixed his mi'take."

Keith seemed slightly surprised and slightly confused. He left for five minutes! How on Earth would something like that happen in such short amount of time?! The vampire sighed and approached the bushes to make sure the corpse isn't too visible. "Did someone see you?" The kishin egg said after a moment of silence as he looked at the weapon.

Riel shook his head, nonchalant about the situation, "No 'un." He said, looking around to figure out which room might be theirs.

Keith sighed loudly and shook his head. "Let's just go to our room. I'll deal with it... later" The vampire said as he started leading his partner towards their room. About five minutes later they found themselves in a small motel room. It had two beds, a tv, a small fridge and obviously a toilet. "You can go and take a shower. In the meantime, I'll try to get rid... of the body..." The kishin egg said.

Riel's brows knitted. He knew the overall concept of a shower, but he'd never used a tub or shower before, himself. Growing up, he'd used a basin or simply just a rag or sponge to wash himself. Since his awakening as a Dark Weapon, and subsequent homelessness, he'd relied on the rain to bathe himself with. Obviously, that hadn't been terribly effective. Stepping into the bathroom, he looked around the room in dismay and confusion. The poor boy didn't know how to work anything, here! Several minutes passed where he fiddled with the sink's faucets, flushing the toilet multiple times as he tried to understand what was going on with... well, plumbing. The bathtub led him to further confusion, as he didn't realize for a while that he had to turn the knob to work the water. Trying to get the shower to work was a completely different issue. He didn't think to ask for help.

Keith, in the meantime, made sure the area around the crime scene was safe and that there were no witnesses around. Then he started to use his abilities to get rid of the corpse. After all, they didn't need troubles or unnecessary attention from anyone. There was a river near the motel. The vampire put his gloves on and took the body to the river. Then he just tossed it into the water and returned to their motel room. Keith was curious whether Riel was done with the shower or not, that's why he knocked on the door to the bathroom. "I'm back." He said.

Riel pulled the door open when he heard the knock, looking up at the man pitifully, his gas mask hanging freely on one side. No progress had been made in the way of bathing. This was because he could not figure out how to work the showerhead itself or the drain stopper, rendering him permanently in a cycle of bath water draining from the tub, unable to take a bath or shower. A single, broken word fell from his lips as he pointed at the plumbing contraption: "Help."

Keith looked at him, giving the boy a puzzled look. Did he really not know how to use the bathroom? The vampire took his coat off and tossed it onto a bed and walked into the bathroom. With a sigh he asked- "What do you need help with, Riel?" The kishin egg asked the boy. He didn't realize that his parental instinct returned at that moment. Reynolds looked around the room. He assumed that Riel needed to have everything explained.

Riel pointed at the bathtub, moving out of the way as he went to explain, "I cahn't get da water ta stahp drainin' or da shower to 'urn on." He still seemed pitiful, but he was moving to take off his mask, now.