Newborn (Michael and Raffaele)

[Raffaele Spataro - Council]

(Cont.)

Raffaele gave a scoff mixed with a sarcastic laugh at Michael's response. "You have a funny way of showing gratitude, you know." His arms folded across his chest in defiance then to the human wanting him to sit down. "I guess I should've just let you bleed out and die there in that filthy alleyway. Very dignified way of going. I'm sorry I interrupted it." His maroon brown hues stayed on Michael a few more moments, but eventually he softened slightly and moved a few feet from the front of the bed. He knew he could be a bit intense sometimes, but really it was only because he wanted to solve this current problem before more began popping up over the city. It wasn't guaranteed he would be there the next time this newborn was out in an overpopulated city of ripe humans to devour. "It's not twenty questions, it's just a few key important ones. I figured you would want some justice since you nearly died and all, but if that's not really something you're interested in.."

Time was running out. Soon the room was going to be visited by hospital staff, detectives, or both, and Raffaele didn't think trying to hold a room full of people hostage with his abilities was the right play. His eyes moved to the open doorway where people continued moving to and fro in the busy emergency room when Michael had asked him if he'd known someone who was a victim to the man who'd also attacked him. "No. Like I said. Concerned citizen." The sanguine didn't even try and make it sound more convincing because he didn't have the patience any longer now that the minutes were slipping away and his window for information was closing on him.

Apparently that wasn't going to sit right with Michael as the next words to leave his mouth made Raffaele smirk. "Are you seriously bargaining with me right now?" Frankly, he was a little impressed by the human's gall and strength still. He didn't answer right away, but again, he was running out of time. Even if he could use hypnosis on Michael then, it could take time to find all the information he needed, even when the human didn't realize he knew what he did. Pulling that information from his mind wasn't simple if the conscious didn't know what it was supposed to be looking for. Raffaele finally conceded in annoyance. "Fine." 

A few minutes later and the sanguine was rolling a rickety wheelchair into the room with a pile of clothes that he'd borrowed from a neighboring patient that would have to make do. "Get changed. I'll be right outside the door. Just open up when you're ready." Raffaele didn't particularly like this idea at all, but it was the best option for now. Closing the door behind him, he put his back against the heavy wood and folded his arms again as if he was guarding something precious on the other side. It didn't take long for the nurse from before to come over and when she came close enough, Raffaele caught her blue optics in his. His head softly shook from side to side. A very simple gesture, but the woman stopped where she was and swayed for just a brief moment as if suddenly forgetting why she was at the door. With a confused look, the nurse turned and went back to the desk, making him sigh. "Regretting this already," he mumbled lowly, trying to silently will everyone away from the room.

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Michael couldn't say for sure if it was the previous nights wild events, being in an unfamiliar space, or some combination of the two that caused his nightmare. All he knew was when he woke up he felt a combination of relief and anxiety. Relief because he was essentially fine. He was alive and at least relatively safe. The anxiety, however, came from the fact that last night was very much real. The way his dreams made it seem, the person who attacked him didn't seem very much like a person at all. But certainly that was just a dream. His mind trying to make sense of something that shouldn't have happened. He took in his surroundings once again. it looked different in the light almost more empty some how. As much as Raffaele was trying to uncover some mystery of his own, it appeared to Michael that Raffaele was also some sort of mystery. Afterall, who lived like this? He still didn't fully understand the guys hunt for a serial killer either. He stretched out some as he tried to rub away the sleepiness from his eyes. He attempted to stretch out his neck, but regretted it instantly with a soft wince. He didn't know why he thought not even twenty-four hours later he would be better. He guessed it was just wishful thinking. 

Michael jumped at Raffaele's voice, turning to see him. He'd been caught off guard. Obviously he knew that they guy was here, but he hadn't heard him enter the room. Michael cleared his throat in attempt to recover and remove any early morning raspyness. "'Morning," he mumbled. He took the guy in, who appeared to be fully dressed. He really couldn't remember if that was what he worse yesterday. While he could recall their conversations, some of the finer details were blurry. Probably because he was still waking up. "Early riser?" he asked as he stretched out his limbs and pushed himself into a standing position. He was thankful for the sunlight he allowed to stream in he moved to it almost instinctively, enjoying what little warmth he could get from it through the window. "I guess I'm alright," he sighed, deciding to be honest. "Still reeling a little, I guess." It was pretty crazy to think just hours before he had been attacked badly enough to require a hospital visit and surgery. It hadn't fully hit him even now that he very well should be dead. 

"No, that's no necessary. I'll be fine." He was in a great deal of discomfort, but he'd only taken the pills last night out of desperation. He didn't want to take anything unless he absolutely had to. He had hated the way the pain meds had messed with his head at the hospital. He didn't want to risk feeling foggy like that again, unless it was absolutely necessary. "I'm starving, actually," he admitted. As if on cute, his stomach growled in agreement. He'd had dinner the night before, but going through such wild events took a lot out of him. "You must be too, huh? Sorry, you've been taking care of me and I didn't even think about you." This man he hardly knew saved his life and inconvenienced himself and Michael hadn't so much as considered maybe the guy was hungry too. "You know what," he said, moving to grab his wallet off the table where he left it. "We can stop at that stand you mentioned before. I'll buy whatever you want too. It's really the least I can do." It would be the smallest repayment he could make. "And then the library?"

[Raffaele Spataro - Council]

Raffaele leaned against the kitchen island as Michael began to wake, nodding to his question. "Early riser, indeed." He couldn't help the slight smirk that followed in his answer. He watched the human's movements and behavior when he relayed that he was alright, though hearing that he was still reeling was of course to be expected. Imagine if he really knew what it was in the dark that had almost killed him. He had only had to tell a few humans in his long lifetime about what was really out there in the world and their reactions were usually never controlled, but they did seem to find comfort in knowing they weren't going insane from what their memories were telling them really happened.

He was a trooper though. Michael still refused the painkillers which was admirable. Raffaele watched as he reached for his wallet then, smiling at his offer which was so thoughtful yet completely useless to him as a sanguine. "It's no problem at all," he replied, reaching for his set of keys to the place on the countertop. "Just glad I could help. Really, you're helping me a lot in the end here. Food and the library sounds like a good plan. If you need to rest, don't hesitate to say something. Seriously. I'm sure you probably want to get back to your place at some point too. There's probably a patrol car sitting there waiting for you, so if you have some back way in, maybe you can get home for a bit without them knowing if that's what you want still."

Raffaele led the way out through the door and into the quiet hallway. The city noise was instant as they stepped outside which was something he never cared for. His European countryside living would always be more inviting than this chaos. The smell from the bodega was wafting down the block which was probably more apparent to him than Michael given his enhanced senses. His dark eyes moved up to the street's tree cover which lined the entire sidewalk, blocking much of the morning sun and making it much easier for him to be outside. It was not a mistake that he'd chosen this street as one of his places around the world. 

A line had formed like it normally did at the small shop. He'd had an understanding that this hole in the wall was considered one of the best in the area. "I hear their breakfast sandwiches are the best around," he mentioned, joining up with the queue and feeling extremely human suddenly. He didn't have to fake it very often when it came to having to eat, but this was rather necessary to keep up appearances. "Coffee drinker?"

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Michael stretched a little as he found his way to his feet, trying to ride himself of the stiff muscles that could followed a trip to the hospital followed by a night on the couch. Despite stretching out his legs and arms and back, he was more careful with the movements of his neck, trying his best to to distrub it. He was hopeful if he just didn't move it, the wound would heal and the pain would vanish. It certainly helped some to get a little movement in, but even stretching couldn't totally rid him of the annoyances of the events of last night. Or the memories that couldn't and wouldn't totally leave his mind. It still didn't add up or make sense. 

Michael waved off the man's response. He didn't think he was being too helpful. Not yet at least. Maybe he'd prove to be later thought after they visited the library to talk to some of the people there. "I'll be fine," he insisted. He wouldn't be an inconvenience if he could avoid it. "Right," he sighed. He forgot about the cops for a moment. He would probably have to deal with them sooner or later. He was hoping for the latter. He didn't know what he would say to any of their questions. He wasn't ready to deal with it. "I'll figure it out," he assured. He wasn't sure how he'd get into his apartment but surely there was a way. He knew after yesterday and whatever happened today, a nice, warm shower would be in order. 

Michael followed Raffaele out into the hallway and out the door. The familiar sounds of the city we're everywhere. People talked on phones as they rushed around, others scolded children, others kept to themselves. Cars stopped and drove with traffic. It was one of the first things he experienced in the past day that felt familiar. It was almost comforting to him. He shoved his hands into his pockets, hoping to remain as casual as possible dispite the bandage on his neck. Luckily for him, the city was fully of things to pay attention to and he was likely the least interesting among them. As they neared the bodega he could smell the food wafting from it. He didn't realize how hungry he truly was until he smelled it. Almost as if in cute his stomach softly growled. He tried to ignore it, sure that Raffaele couldn't hear it.

He joined the line, leaning to the side slightly to see what was offered here. "What's your favorite?" he asked at the mention of the breakfast sandwiches. Surely since he sometimes lived here he knew. Michael softly chewed on his bottom lip and he considered the options in front of him. There were a million, but there was enough, and it smelled so amazing he couldn't imagine any of it would be a bad choice. Or maybe he was just that hungry. He offered a soft smile. "Yeah, definitely," he admitted. "I don't think most of us who live around here would survive without it," he joked. "

[Raffaele Spataro - Council]

Raffaele slipped his sunglasses on, hoping the line would move along quickly. Mundane activities were only slowing him down and the need to find the newborn, but of course, he remembered what it was like to be hungry; as a human. His family had to work to get their meager meals on the table and it wasn't the easy kind of labor. They had gotten very lucky in catching the eye of the wealthy given his father was an excellent horse trainer and he was sure to follow in his footsteps. At least, that was the plan those many centuries ago. Then hell came to meet him in the form of a beautiful woman at the tavern and everything changed. 

"My favorite?" he questioned, giving himself a moment to quickly scan the chalk written menu above the counter. "The bacon, egg, and cheese." He was pretty sure that was still a classic most humans liked, right? Frankly, he didn't care enough to think on it too hard. There were more important things to think about right now. His eyes landed on the coffee bar which had every imaginable type of coffee that could exist lined up for their customers. Raffaele nodded towards it then, indicating that that was actually the most powerful of the smells which were hammering his senses. "Seems you have your fair pick then to continue on in your survival of the world."

Once he was holding the warm sandwich in his hands, they quickly exited the shop as it was entirely too small to stand around more than one needed to due to its popularity. The line still wrapped around the block as people waited. Raffaele peeled back the aluminum foil on the meal he had just ordered and looked to its contents. He should've picked something more simple and not this complex in flavors. Sure, he could eat it, but it would do nothing for him. Taking a bite, he mechanically chewed at the food as any normal person would. The oddity of the simple behavior was somewhat foreign since it wasn't something he did often. Blood consumption didn't require this amount of involved work.

"I'll call for a car to come pick us up to get to the library," he said matter-of-factly, finding it tough to get through the bacon and its overly salty taste. Raffaele didn't have to glance up to know the sun was rising steadily as the sun tended to do. Moving away from the shaded canopy of the street wasn't something he overly cared to do on any given day. He pushed a saved number in his phone and waited until the familiar voice on the other end picked up. "Yes, we'll be at the apartment. Have someone sent, please." The sanguine hung up and glanced over to Michael with a forced smile. "Shall we?"

Within a few minutes, an all blacked out car arrived at the steps of his building. Raffaele opened the door and motioned for the human to enter. "After you. You can tell the driver the address on the way."