| Of pencils and purses. |
[11 Dec 2006|09:13pm] |
It seemed like a great idea at the time. Hit the bars, go out for a drink, maybe a play a bit of cards. See what the slot machines had to offer. The entire city of Vegas was at Elian's fingertips, and as the normally social character he was, he decided to hit the town in attempts of seeing what kinds of new and interesting people he could meet. And maybe win some money in the process.
But, as expected, the slot machines weren't entirely all that giving, and Elian realized he wasn't as good at blackjack as he would have hoped. The real mode of day, however, was conversation, and he had met a couple of cool guys while trying his luck at cards. The blackjack table was shared with three men around his age who all appeared to be friends. One of them was stalky and went by Brian; the second had flaming red hair and went by Patrick. The other was covered head to toe in tattoos and went by Greg. Elian seemed to befriend them in no time, making idle conversation and sharing a joke every now and then with them as the cards were being dealt.
As time wore on and money ran out, Elian had eventually excused himself from the table, deciding to press on. He'd decided to head back home before he had the urge to gamble away his rent money. Perhaps the shortcut he chose to get home, however, wasn't the greatest of ideas.
"Hey, where you goin, Eli?" came a familiar voice from behind him, "Thought we were all friends back there. Now you're ducking out on us."
Elian turned around and saw the three men from inside the casino. "Hey, no hard feelings, guys," he replied with a friendly smile, "Just had to get home. I gotta work early tomorrow."
"And you're not going to invite your pals?" Patrick asked, and the three men laughed heartily and approached the solo Elian. "C'mon, I thought we were getting along kinda great back there, don't you think, boys? Couldn't you at least invite your new friends over for a bite to eat?"
"Uh, heh, hey now," Elian told them with a forced smile, stepping back as the three of them approached. This was definately an odd way to treat a new acquaintance. "I uh, I really gotta go, guys. No offense, really."
"Oh, there's lots of offense, Eli," Greg told him, face suddenly changing, eyes yellowed, fangs protruding. His two other friends followed suit. Before Elian could react, he was being absolutely mauled by three larger men.
( We don't do this for a living. )
( A new friend. )
( Knowledge is power. )
Another outrageous wink and Elian waved goodbye to her. "Take care, Chloe. And thanks again."
Hands slid into his pockets and he left the casino feeling somewhat better than when he arrived. Yeah his back ached, he was bruised, and his neck sported two new puncture wounds, but he was a tough guy and he wasn't going to let it get him down.
Besides, he'd made himself a new friend. Seemed to him that's really all that mattered. If he really did have friends from the past, back before he lost his memories, they certainly didn't seem to care enough to find him.
So forget the past.
The future was really all that he cared about now.
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