undergrounds | in the company of strangers

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in the company of strangers

Kyle had been away for too long, first following Alex and then focusing on his own leads to try to find an old commanding officer. The hunt was futile, leaving him feeling played and used all at once. With Alex out of touch in her search and too many dead ends, the former soldier finally returned to London, feeling a bit reckless and angry while simultaneously eager to connect with recent friends.

A; I CAN'T SEE STRAIGHT ANYMORE (DRINKING)
Generally, as a rule, Kyle made a deliberate effort to avoid getting drunk. With his training and issues, it was a recipe for disaster and he was a responsible enough person to choose not to engage in such an unnecessary risk. Generally. Right now, he felt like shit and had very few responsibilities to worry about.

Which was why he was wandering casually from pub to pub, from early afternoon to late in the evening, having a beer here and a whiskey there. Mostly beer. He wanted to ride the buzz, to sit in his temporary angst like a cliche, 20-something American and make bad choices. Be the stereotype of the loud tourist for once, instead of always trying to defy expectations. He sat at the bar, ordered another beer, let his gaze slip past the wood grain of the counter back into his own mind to block things out. Here, he was just another guy drinking in London. No supernatural bullshit involved. Until, of course, it was.

B; GONNA HIT THIS CITY (HUNTING)
After and in between his bouts of reckless drinking, Kyle opted for another form of reckless behavior: hunting. He was a soldier, not a hunter, as he had explained to at least a dozen people in the last year. Yeah, he killed vampires, but that was the mission. He didn't go looking for the supernatural. Except that now he was. He was bored and angry, with a chip on his shoulder and something to prove, stalking the night and trying to find more vampires, werewolves, witches, whatever. He might not actually attack them, might only get to know them. As a human, it was all dangerous. But it was fun too.

C; WELCOME TO MY HOUSE (AT HOME)
Kyle's plans to move in with Alex were nixed before they started and his invitation to Nancy didn't fair much better. Which meant he returned from Germany to an empty apartment, barely furnished, with the unfulfilled potential of something now lost to time. He dropped his keys on the counter and leaned back against it, staring out at the window. The rumbling of his stomach reminded him how empty his fridge was and he immediately left again for the corner store, to grab some basic groceries and return to cook up a simple meal. Maybe a few drinks too.

[OOC: Feel free to bump into him on his way to the store or, for existing CR, to know or have found out where he lives.]

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They always seem to meet like this.

To be fair, Natasha isn't trying to drink away her bloodlust today. The hunger is there and nagging, but she's out keeping her ear to the ground. With London in the state it's in, it's worth paying attention.

The result is the same, though. Natasha sitting at the bar in the late evening, comfortably after dark, when she spots Kyle—and Kyle seems to have been warming up. She'd run into him at bars before, but she didn't think she'd ever seen him show that he'd been drinking. Tonight, she notices his flush, the difference in his posture, the way he orders another.

One brow rises as she makes eye contact with him from down the bar, questioning. Asking what he's doing here, or what's got into him, or maybe just if he minds her joining him.

Kyle's equal parts annoyed and excited to catch a glimpse of a familiar face down the bar. He pauses a moment as he accepts his new pint, arguing with himself for the span of a couple seconds before he finally gives the humble nod of begrudging acquiescence.

The soldier stands from his stool, taking a split second to right himself before moving off toward a more private table in the corner. If they're going to talk while he's intoxicated and she's looking this good, it's best to do it in a place where he's less likely to make trouble and get kicked out of the establishment.

"You look good tonight," he offers in greeting as he drops into one of the wooden chairs. Although the physical signs are apparent, his speech is fairly clear and his movements, though slower and more deliberate, are not exactly sloppy. He holds his alcohol well enough. At least for now.

That is somewhat reassuring, even if this still seems out of character for him—especially leading with a compliment like that.

Natasha sits across from him, crossing her arms on the table in front of her and leaning in conspiratorially. It makes it easier not to raise her voice to be heard. Her own drink for the evening, a whiskey neat, sits mostly untouched beside her elbow.

"Not sure I look that much different from any other night," she says, smiling faintly at the comment. "I haven't seen you in a while. I was starting to worry."

It's shortly after Kyle returns home to cook that Nancy decides to stop over. She'd caught word he was back, and if he can stop over at her place, well, she can stop at his. It isn't like they left in the best of terms before.

Knocking politely, she waits outside his door. She's going to have to explain that she's now officially dating a vampire. My, how things changed while he was away.

When the door is answered, she moves in, holding out a bottle of whiskey as a sort of peace offering.

"I heard you were back in town, I hope you aren't busy." Why was he wearing a shirt?

Connor has found that trying to avoid supernatural bullshit is the best way to get involved in it. For the last six months, all he's been doing is trying to avoid this stuff and all it did was get him bitten by a werewolf named Party. (and oh if only he knew that was his name, then his life would truly be a joke.)

So he's trying to do the same thing, be away from it for a little while. He's not even drinking (Ollie is back, he's trying not to make him upset), just has seltzer water. But Kyle is so obviously in a position he's been in before, it's hard not to want to talk to him.

"What are you drinking? Let me get you the next one."

Kyle leans back as much as his chair will allow, hovering precariously on its two rear legs. It makes hearing her a little more difficult, but it feeds his current need for immaturity and petulance. He shrugs at her dismissal of his compliment, then flashes a light grin as she mentions his absence. A vampire was worried about him. It almost makes him laugh.

"Had to see a man about a springbok." It's total bullshit, of course. "But I'm back now. How's the Nest?"

Kyle hesitates when he hears the sound at his door, years of ingrained paranoia kicking in for a second before he moves past them to open the damn thing. He gives the girl a smile and immediately moves out of the way to let her in, closing the door almost immediately behind and locking it to give them a moment's peace. Or maybe to keep the vampires out. Or both.

"Never too busy for you," he replies lightly, accepting the bottle. Kyle moves deeper into the apartment, back towards the kitchen, calling out to her as he goes. "I'm making dinner. You hungry?"

Kyle glances over with an amiable smile, not entirely used to men offering to buy him drinks and finding he doesn't really mind all that much. He's oblivious to the man's situation, but he's been there before, bitten and having to recruit the help of witches to return to being human again. In fact, he's had way too many run-ins with werewolves that nearly resulted in him dying or being dragged kicking and screaming into the community. Nearly.

"Anything on tap," he replies with the same light smile, gesturing for Connor to sit beside him if he likes. Kyle polishes off the rest of his remaining beer. The seltzer water doesn't go unnoticed, though it's hard to tell whether it's mixed or virgin. "Thanks, man."

"you're too sweet," she tells him with a genuine smile.

She takes a moment to enjoy the smell of cooking. "goodness, starving. I didn't know you cooked. But if you don't have enough, I'll be alright." She means it. She was lucky enough that in her life she had never had to go hungry. usually a girl raised under similar circumstances would have had to experience that at least once.

"Let me pour you a drink? How was- where was it you were?"

"No problem," he says, instantly remembering the last click-bait article he read on facebook 10 words to get out of our language, ladies. No problem was the biggest villain of them all apparently. But you can pry it from Connor's cold, dead, hands. He turns to the bartender and orders Kyle another beer.

Kyle might not be used to this kind of attention, but giving it is second nature of Connor at this point. It helps that Kyle is pretty good looking (the eyes, it's definitely the eyes) and in another life where he wasn't dating someone, maybe he'd be more pursuant of him.

Instead, easy conversation is what's on the docket. "Long day at work, today?"

Kyle sets the bottle on the counter and returns to the stove, grabbing some more ingredients from the fridge to add into the existing. He doesn't mind his food being a little uneven in its time cooked if it means having company to share it with. The guy doesn't do too well with being alone for too long.

"Sure," he acknowledges, grabbing a couple glasses and setting them beside the bottle for her. "There's ice in the freezer. And of course there's enough food. You'll have to chat with me until it's ready though. That's the cost of eating at Chez Sutton."

He flashes her a brief grin, then stirs around some stuff. Pasta, vegetables, chicken. Easy food.

"Germany. Hamburg, mainly. It was fine. The currywurst was overrated, the view of the river was nice, and I like that their main government building is called the Rat House." Well, 'rathaus' technically, but the comedy's in leaving out the semantics.

What he says is partially true. Hamburg's the last place he was of several countries and easier to think about than some of his experiences. It also helps avoid him dwelling on how Alex probably won't be back for awhile, if she comes back at all, and his utter failure after so much time and money spent on finding one guy.

"Berlin is great though. You'd like it."

"Nah. Broke up with my girlfriend. Or, she broke up with me." It's the easiest and most understandable way to lay out why he feels like shit. There are a lot more reasons, some infinitely more complicated, but girl troubles always seem to go over well with the well meaning bystander. Besides, it's actually true in a way. He and Alex agreed to separate since she didn't know how long she'd be gone, rather than have him waiting around for her.

Kyle accepts the drink when it's offered by the bartender, turning to face the guy beside him. Objectively attractive, well dressed, looks like he has his shit together better than Kyle does. There's a certain air there, a quality of otherness that makes him wonder if it's another damn vampire he's drawn to himself somehow. Only time will tell.

He glances at the drink, then the suit, then the man himself. "So what's your deal?"

If tourist is the assumption he's shooting for then he's succeeded. At least with Oliver. After all, it is summer and he looks like he's been at it for hours despite it being barely outside of typical office hours. Not that it's a mark against him in Oliver's mind. Everyone deserves to let loose on vacation, and he's always happy to see someone else who grew up in the States even if they only rarely turn out to be from any part he's ever been to.

Once he has his beer he can't quite resist turning to make conversation after hearing the accent the other man had made his own order in. "How long are you over here?"

"oh perfect." She wastes no time in getting ice and pouring them each a healthy amount of whiskey. "Pity about the price, I was hoping to sit in silence." A joke, and she proves it by giving him a cheeky wink and handing him the glass.

"Huh- sounds interesting, to say the least. Do you speak German at all?" Nancy only spoke English. But some would say even her English wasn't English. "I'm glad you seemed to enjoy yourself." Kyle was lucky. He could travel, take two months and see the world. Nancy didn't have that luxury. She'd never even left England.

"I wish I could see it." Maybe one day. If she did as Cesare suggested and found a nice normal human boy. So far, she doubted that as a possibility.

Nancy takes her drink and takes a seat at the counter, watching him. She's going to save her suggestion for after dinner- or at least during. See how he reacted to the idea of meeting some of her supernatural friends, and that could help them figure out living together one way or another. But with Cooper now, she almost doubted it. He was open to meeting Kyle, at least. and not killing him.

that was the important part.

"What?" Kyle can't help the word slip out of his mouth. For a guy who's usually so on his game, Oliver's question comes as a startling and confusing point of inquiry. It's the kind of thing the soldier was asked time and again when he was on tour, stationed down in South Africa. And he knows he walks like a soldier, postures like one at times, and probably exhibits a lot of the same paranoid habits as a result of his traumas. But it still catches him off guard, especially coming from another American.

"I, uh.. I'm not-" He begins, regaining his composure and slipping into a more confident expression. "I live here, as a civilian. Been in the area for about eight months now."

"Oh." It's not the answer he expected, and he's a little embarrassed by the mistake, but he doesn't seem to mind besides the initial confusion. Plus it's kind of nice to run into someone else who lives here. "Me too. It's got to have been about two years."

A little over by now. It's hard to believe how fast the time has gone.

Kyle isn't the only one out, looking for trouble on that night. Perhaps Faolan should know better, considering his position and title. Then again, where Kyle has insisted he's a soldier, not a hunter, Faolan has no such qualms about his own identity. And vampires are a creature that he hates more than anything else. They've ruined his life. And now they'd nearly just done it again. If that wasn't cause for a little revenge hunting, he didn't know what was.

Of course, it's not a particularly intelligent way to approach a situation. But honestly, revenge never particularly was.

Faolan's checking his revolver for the third time to make certain it's fully loaded and that he has plenty of ammo to spare when he realizes he's not the only person skulking about this particular building that is supposedly abandoned and yet actually occupied by vampires. And that in itself is cause for investigation...

"And here I was going to offer to take my shirt off for you, but now it's too late. You've hurt my feelings," he teases in retort, making sure the food's alright before returning to gave her his attention.

Kyle takes the glass and a sip from it, shaking his head a bit. "Hell no. I learned a few words, but I only speak American." Which, as it turns out, is different than English. "You should come with next time."

Next time, when it's actually a vacation instead of a hunt for a missing person. But he could make that happen, could take Nancy with him someplace. The girl needs to be treated better and have better things in her life. "How about you? I mean, I know you missed me, but how are you otherwise?"

With everything happening with the nest, with Simon's death, Alex in the wind, Natasha considers her concern very rational. Especially when at the moment, she can't have too many friends. Maybe having Kyle back will help balance out the pressure from the nest at least a little.

She can use every little bit she can get.

So when he asks about the nest, she answers honestly, her voice low so as not to carry. "In my professional opinion? Getting ready to start a war."

"Oh yeah?" Kyle immediately drops back into his usual ease, finding it equally comforting to speak with a fellow American. "Where you from? What brought you here? You're the first American I've met since I moved here."

He flashes a smile, taking a sip of his beer before returning his attention to the other man. Kyle is definitely excited by the prospect of sharing a history and gaining a nostalgic sense of home after being away for so long. He offers his hand. "Kyle Sutton."

Connor Walsh: Looks like he has his shit together. Actual shit together: none.

"That's rough," but the words don't sound a sympathetic as they could. Connor's never been one for commitment and warm feelings, at least not until Oliver. But he's still trying to figure that one out, too.

He seems to preen a little under the attention, content to be looked at. "Law," it's one of those good answers that's all encompassing; this is why I look nice, this is why I'm tired. "I'm working as an apprentice for a defense attorney."

"Surprised they haven't started one already," he admits, somewhat cavalierly, as he rocks back and forth on the two legs of the chair. Kyle's voice isn't loud and carrying, but it's clear he's not as concerned with their privacy as he might normally be either.

Alex started this, he can't help but think. The vampires were bad, but Alex killing Millicent has pushed everything into a level that's untenable. War seemed inevitable when he left and to hear it hasn't happened only means that it will be all the more brutal and lethal when it eventually does happen.

"Good thing we have the Night Council to protect us," he replies with a laugh, clearly sarcastic, before he almost catches himself forgetting. "Not that you need protecting. Or do you? I don't know how they feel about you."

"I wouldn't say I need protection," she says, but more people she can take care of herself than because she thinks the vampires won't target her. "They've been trying to court those of us who aren't part of the nest to join up. Since bribes and promises didn't work, I expect threats will be next."

She shrugs at it. "You missed the party. Which is a good thing—you would have hated it."

She snaps her fingers. "Damn it, and I was hoping for a free show." She's all grins.

"God, I'd love that! I've never been able to travel." she didn't have the means, and her business kept her tethered. Of course she wouldn't turn down the opportunity if it presented itself.

She waves the idea of talking about herself away. She can't tell him that she spent the last few months working on removing Norrell from this realm, dealing with the police, and dating a vampire. So she'll stick with something lighter. "Oh nothing exciting. Work, mostly." Okay, so don't blame her but she's got to mention him: "Spending time with my boyfriend, too." And he did take care of her. Mostly.

"But my life is hardly interesting."

"Oliver Hampton," he shakes his hand eagerly as he introduces himself. "I'm from Newark, in Delaware, but I lived in Philly before I moved here. I guess I was looking for something different."

After a decade there it had started to feel more like home than his original city. He still misses it sometimes, especially having been back so recently.

"What about you?"

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