Lone Wolf? (Astera and Open)

[Astera]

Astera lifted an eyebrow at him, trailing her eyes over the black shirt he wore. Nicely tailored, a bit fancy for going out to a cafe, but it showed he had class and that he took pride in his appearance. Her own attire, slightly stylish if not a bit odd but strangely fitting for her if one knew her well enough, was probably a little bit of a contrast to Asher's. It did not bother her, gosh they were only going out to a cafe or another hole in the wall place for a bite to eat, and if he had not offered to take her to dinner she would have done it. Astera was not about to brag and ruin his ego but she more than likely had much more money than Asher did as well as his entire family and distant relatives put together.

Her brow furrowed a little at the look that washed across his eyes. It was a sad look, then almost.... remorseful. Then a smile bloomed across his face and he grabbed her hand, startling her a little with the action. Rather childish, a care-free gesture, and the smile turned to her grin. It was rather infectious and Astera smirked in return to show she was indeed ready and not too bothered by the hand holding... It was just his thing, she figured, and he was not the type of male to attach himself to her for too long.

He must have been burned by another female that he loved, she thought to herself. Poor thing.

"Shall we?"

"We shall," Astera said and allowed him to lead her outside.

[Asher Martin]

Asher grinned squeezing her hand slightly. He hadnt really meant to throw her off if he even had but it seemed appropriate. He didnt bother locking the door because to be honest he didnt really care if anything was stolen. Having as much money as he did had made him somewhat of a compulsive shopper. Mostly it was clothes but a few material things such as the watch that Astera had tried to snag, a stereo system in the living room, and an iPod that he kept in his dresser drawer. He tried not to think about that the only music he had on his iPod was all the music that had been on Shanti's computer. He hadnt even realized how fast they were walking and stopped in front of the cafe. He almost wished that the fancier restraunts were still open but the only thing that would have served any kind of dinner was some greasy bar in the dodgy part of town.

Feeling like he was starting to get clingy Asher let go of Astera's hand and pulled the door open for her. He tried to be sensitive about things like that now. One night stands normally were his thing because it was easier for him to dettach from a girl after one night instead of dating for a week and dumping her. It felt rude and he hated to think of ruining another relationship by thinking of things much to serious for the both of them. Laying down the law in his mind, Asher told himself that he and Astera were strictly just doing this for the night. Nothing more. Pick your poison he said indicating the menu. What a cheap way to show ones already somewhat sketchy intentions.

[Astera]

Astera glanced down as Asher's hand released hers. But, as a gentleman, he opened the door for her. Despite it being a rather greasy bar, it was a bar, and Astera did enjoy bars. And greasy bars, even in the shadier parts of town, did have decent food now and then. As long as it was not bloody if she ordered any meat... and edible and did not smell like human bodily fluids she would be fine. The alcohol seemed more of her thing.

Astera glanced around, seeing that the bar was typical... Cigarette stained, partially naked or naked women on the walls, dollar bills signed and hung all over. Pool tables that had seen better days, a television that showed a football game and men were gathered around to watch the rerun of the game from earlier today. She shook her head with a smirk on her face... It did not bother her coming to this bar, it just seemed a rather amusing date. Date? Was that was this was? Or more like him apologizing for being a bit of an ass earlier in the night? Whichever, she was going to enjoy his company if even for a little bit. She took a seat at one of the tables, ignoring the looks she was getting from the men in the bar. She always got those no matter where she went.

"Let's hope we get decent, clean food. Pub food is usually the best but this isn't necessarily a typical English pub, more of an American bar," she said, keeping her voice low as she and Asher were handed menus and asked what they wanted to drink.

[James Manson]

' Wind me up and watch me go where he stops nobody knows '

The loud grunts and rants of the men, gathered around the television screen, filled his ears. Some pathetic person had scored at whatever sport it was they were playing, but James wasn’t really paying attention. He sat alone at a table in the far corner of the bar, slightly shadowed, hidden away where the dull lights and neon signs could not reach him, save for casting a faint light across his facial features. Leaning back against the chair he had propped his feet up on a short bar stool, one arm resting on the small wooden round table that was sporting a couple pint glasses.

Today, his usually shoulder length blonde locks had been shaved off, give it a week and it would be back to that length. He wore his usual baggy, pale blue jeans, a white, close fitting Tee shirt beneath a dark grey blazer. He continually, automatically lifted his right arm from his thigh, placing the cigarette to his lips, inhaling the deadly concoction, not that he stood any risk of developing lung cancer with his ‘condition.’ His ruggish, un-shaven but handsome features were currently poised with an expression of indifference and content. After the exhilaration and excitement of his recent hunt, he often found himself wandering around one of the many bars littering the inner streets of London, it was calming just to watch the usual hustle and bustle, he enjoyed simply sitting and watching the ‘normal’ people go about their nightly routines; watch the drunkards and their brawls and the seemingly lucky men leaving with women who would steal everything from their pockets after they had fallen unconscious. A few times the landlord had wandered over, trying to enforce the recent law that you could not smoke in any public place, but James must have appeared as the sort of person not to argue with, because after his third attempt, the landlord hadn’t bothered come back again.

The lone wolf was about to up and leave when the pair walked through the door. He smelt them first, nostrils inhaling the strong scent that was sickly sweet to his nose, but invisible to the rest of the bar’s occupants. James knew that London was thriving with other werewolves, but he had yet to come across a pair and he found himself growing curious. Undoubtedly they would smell him, pick him out from the rest, but would he simply remain in his little corner, or should he join them, the excitement that he could start. His lips twisted into a small smile at the thought of it, what was that saying? Two’s company three’s a crowd. Any other person might stay well away, leave them to their date, or whatever it was they were doing, dare not intrude. But then his mind did not work in the same way as most others, he would enjoy interrupting the pair, making a scene out of a perfectly normal situation; stirring as he liked to call it. But first, he would leave them to it; see how long it took for them to acknowledge him. He would watch their actions; try to assess them before he made his move.

Hand moved and he sucked on the cigarette again, pausing before he let the smoke fall from between his lips, dark eyes watching as it dispersed into the atmosphere.

[/blockquote]

[Asher Martin]

Asher smiled slightly making sure he didnt lose his temper. He was after all American but he didnt know if she could detect the "accent". Yes her attittude was smug sometimes but he figured that must be part of her charm. After all he wasn't polite enough to let her insult him. So far she had stayed above the line of insults. I'm sure the food will be fine...believe me it wasnt my first choice either but nothing else is open...unless you want to wait around for something better to open he asked lifting an eyebrow and glancing at the clock across the bar. His brusqueness didnt really seem to faze her anyway. She was tough girl and not the type to take offense easily. Asher stared at the clock a moment longer before letting his gaze sweep over the bar.

He would have been happy to just ignore the male werewolf sitting nearby but he was staring. The male took a drag of his cigarette and watched them both. We they really that interesting or perhaps it just interested him that two werewolves were acting so normally and eating a meal at a pub. Asher met the wolfs gaze, steely eyed, but unchallenging. The male looked tough. Deadly. Not to mention that Asher truly wasnt much of a fighter but he could probably toss in a few good punches. Still he didnt feel like tangling with another wolf tonight. Asher nodded acknowledging the other male wolf and looked back at Astera to see if she had noticed that they were being watched so carefully.