PARTIES: @lukas-dark-miracles & @stainedglasstruth TIMING: Late May LOCATION: Something Wicked News SUMMARY: Lukas goes into the office to drop off some papers and finds Arden working late. CONTENT WARNINGS: N/A
Lukas liked his freelancing writing position. It meant that he could make some money that wasn’t tied to his Sire - not that he had a problem with that. It also meant that he could write which was something that he loved to do. Even when he was a priest - often the quiet time before masses when he wrote his homilies was part of a comforting routine. He grew to miss it over the years - the ability to give advice was something that he always loved to give- so it felt natural to pick up the metaphorical pen and write advice columns. So, with the deadline being the next day, he had gone to the office to drop off some of his proofs. While they were sent digitally - he always felt better if there was physical ones as well.
He hadn’t expected to meet anyone at the office as the sun had set a little while ago. So, when he heard the scuttle of life he for a moment paused his hands still holding the envelope as he cleared his throat to make the other aware he was there.
“Oh Hello,” Lukas said, his head tilting slightly at the younger woman. “I haven’t seen anyone else at this time. Forgive me I haven’t gotten to meet most of the team - I’m Lukas the freelancer.” He reached out his hand for a shake wondering if that was the smartest for him to do.
—
The awful stench that had been hanging in the air for nearly a month was really starting to kill Arden. On a bad day, a strong perfume could set her off, so between the stress of everything that had been happening recently and the stinkiest perfume that was the smell of sulfur and burnt charcoal that lingered outside, she was in hell. That was to say, she wasn’t at peak performance these days, and she was a little behind on her work. So, she had stayed late at the office, intent on playing catch up.
She was just about to finish up and head home when she heard someone clearing their throat over the music quietly drifting from her computer. Startled, Arden’s head whipped up as she tore her gaze away from the screen. There was a strange man in the building, and that realization did nothing to calm her heart rate. She was opening her mouth to ask him what the fuck he was doing there– in a more polite manner, of course– when he began to speak.
Lukas the freelancer, right. She knew of him, of course, but had never seen him before. Because he apparently came in– her eyes flicked down to check the time, and fuck, when did it get so late– in the evenings. Hmm… Maybe he worked another job during the day?
“Hi,” she greeted, examining the man. He was older than her– maybe mid thirties– seemed to take care in his appearance, strikingly blue eyes behind his glasses. She couldn’t get a good read on his vibe yet. “Yeah, I usually head out a lot earlier, but I needed to catch up on some things. I guess I lost track of time, though.” Standing, she accepted his handshake. “I’m Arden. I must admit, I was beginning to wonder about our mysterious new advice columnist; it’s nice to finally meet you.”
—
Lukas had meant to introduce himself to the other newspaper writers, but he found timing to be complicated at the best of times. It wasn’t exactly that he couldn’t come out at earlier times, but he found it uncomfortable to do so. He figured as he grew in his new life he’d feel better about it, so he hadn’t managed to push himself to do so. After all, he had time immemorial to meet people, and he didn’t need to worry about it. Still, he thought it was nice to finally meet someone on the team.
He briefly shook his hand, careful not to pause too long on it. He found that people felt too warm to him as of late. Although he knew well enough that people couldn’t necessarily tell by a touch he was a vampire, he was always cautious of it. He didn’t want to frighten the younger after all. Lukas laughed at the idea that anyone was wondering about him. “ Sorry to be a mystery. I just usually am busy during the day. It’s nice to meet you as well, Arden,” he said, saying her name mostly so he could remember the name to her face. After all, he’d need to be at least a bit weary of her looking into him. He didn’t think it was such a big deal when he came back from the dead, but he thought it might be a bit annoying if he was looked into.
“Tell me, are you the same Arden that just wrote the piece about the Metal Crab Cult?” Lukas said, pushing up his glasses a bit. He had a habit of reading the paper only so he knew what his co-workers seemed to like to write. While he was a freelancer it was important to do. “It was wonderfully written, in any case. A fascinating bit of journalism.”
—
It was a quick handshake, but jeez, his hand was cold. “Oh, there’s absolutely no need to apologize. Is this more of a side gig for you?” she asked, voicing her earlier thoughts.
Oh no. Arden wanted to laugh, but also to shrivel up and die. He’d seen the joking crab article she’d made for that crab shirt person. She’d also just needed to write something fun, though she had put probably a little too much effort into it. “You saw that? Oh shit, well that’s mortifying,” she chuckled, grimacing slightly. “I wrote it as more of a joke than anything.” If Nath had put it up on the website without telling her, she was going to kill him.
And by kill she meant annoy the shit out of him because she wouldn’t be able to pay her rent if he wasn’t alive to give her a paycheck. He was also a pretty good boss, she supposed. Ugh.
“But th– I appreciate you saying that,” she smiled, pushing past it. “I quite enjoy seeing your column every week.”
—
Lukas nodded slightly with a smile and said, “Yes. I find writing very enjoyable but I am pretty preoccupied with other matters. I do get to write the occasional op-ed for other papers though.” Some of them were Catholic papers, which Lukas did find a bit amusing if it wasn’t technically sacrilegious.
Lukas' head tilted slightly at the other’s thoughts on her own article wondering if he should have even mentioned it. Reflexively he almost said language - a habit of him being well a priest but he managed to stop himself before he did. “Oh - still it was an interesting piece of writing, even if it was for a joke. You have quite a way with words.”
It was true, at least for Lukas. He did enjoy reading the younger's work, and most of the work the newspaper did. It was one of the reasons he had applied. “Thank you,” He said with a smile. “I do hope people like it after all, although I do have to say sometimes I get some very strange questions. It can be rather difficult thinking of good replies. Still, that’s part of the fun isn’t it?”
—
Other matters. That was very unspecific. She could understand him not wanting to share much about himself with her, a total stranger, but man, the mysterious freelancer really seemed to want to stay mysterious. It was a slightly annoying trait to someone like herself who enjoyed solving mysteries and getting definitive answers. It simply piqued her curiosity even more. “Oh, that’s great,” Arden smiled. “I do some occasional freelancing on the side myself– op-eds are fun. Are there any topics you tend to flock to?”
He looked confused at her explanation, though she couldn’t exactly blame him. There wasn’t a good way to say ‘a stranger on the internet thought it’d be funny, and I committed to the bit’ without sounding strange. “I appreciate you saying that.” The smile she gave him was genuine, even as she tried to push the embarrassment aside. It’s fine, she’d just think about this moment in the middle of the night and wish for the sweet release of death.
Her eyebrow raised ever so slightly as he thanked her. Lukas was almost certainly not a fae, then. That meant, as much as she didn’t want to have that conversation again right then, she should warn him. “You know, there’s a superstition about thanking people here– something about owing a debt to another– so most folks try to avoid it. Just as a heads up,” she shrugged, feigning nonchalance. “The column has been pretty fun. You’re a good writer, and it’s obvious you’re trying your best to help people. And there definitely are some interesting questions, yeah,” she laughed.
—
Lukas nodded at the idea that op-eds were fun. It was interesting to him to debate an opinion, but that didn’t often happen as of late. After all, She was rather hard to debate with and he was often not wanting to upset her. “Honestly anything that catches my eye - but I know that’s not a particularly good response,” He said with a bit of a laugh that managed to go to his eyes, “I speak a lot on subjects mostly in the humanities and somewhat related to philosophy, I believe the last one that was just published was a response to an op-ed on how artificial intelligence spells doom for Descartes thought experiment.” He had thought it was rather silly, but knew that most people weren’t particularly eager to discuss it. It was at least safer than him admitting he was also writing on religion which - he probably shouldn’t be.
He tilted his head slightly at her advice not particularly understanding it, but accepting that maybe it was true. Although Lukas was from Wicked’s Rest and hadn’t heard anything about it before. Then again it might have been her subtle way of saying she wasn’t human. “Fair enough. I hope you don’t take offense.” At her laugh he smiled again and said, “I appreciate it. I think if someone asks for advice that they should at least be taken seriously, although I must admit sometimes it is hard to understand some of the questions. Still, that’s what research is for.” Pausing for a moment he continued and said, “I don’t mean to pry, but is that why you're still here? Are you working on something? I’d admit that I’m not sure if I can help but I am willing to try.”
—
“That’s fair,” Arden shrugged. It might not be the most specific response, but it was honest, and it was certainly easier to write on topics that you found interesting than slogging your way through a piece you didn’t give a shit about. “Being knowledgeable and opinionated in so many different topics is a good trait to have. Even more so for a columnist.”
Her eyes lit up when he mentioned his latest piece. “Oh, that sounds fascinating. I must admit, I’m a bit of a novice when it comes to philosophy– I’m more familiar with some of the more well-known and bigger picture ideas than I am with the specifics. But it is a topic I do enjoy contemplating.” She should really see if her mother still had some of her father’s books on philosophy. That would mean going to the house and having a conversation with her mother, though, and that was something she would rather prefer to avoid.
Her hands flew up in a placating manner as she shook her head. “Oh, no, none taken,” Arden reassured. Just don’t need anyone unknowingly getting bound to a fae. “I think that a very admirable way to look at it. This town does tend to attract some more eccentric individuals, so I understand there being some difficulty at times. If you ever need help with research, feel free to reach out. I’m a nerd,” she admitted with a grin, “I find it satisfying.”
“Oh,” she looked down at her desk, a nearly finished document open on her screen. “I was just catching up on some work– some things that needing editing or double-checking, mostly. This smell’s been triggering my migraines, and I’ve been trying not to overdo it, so I’ve been a little behind I’m nearly done for the evening, however, I appreciate the offer.” She flashed him a smile before cocking her head to the side. “What has you coming in, though?”
—
Lukas gave a light laugh at the idea and said, “I appreciate that, although I think it probably makes me pretty awful at dinner parties.” He wouldn’t really know, he didn’t tend to go to small gatherings of people - or hadn’t for a long time. Still, his Sire often said it so he figured it was probably true. After all, most people probably didn’t want to talk to him about such specific topics.
He nodded slightly and said, “I thought it was at least. I’m hoping it does well enough as a piece.” He wasn’t surprised that she wasn’t more familiar with philosophy, most people didn’t spend their time on such specific questions and answers - especially with much bigger things happening around. “That’s fair enough. I assume that you are more focused on news and the like, which I think is rather important. However, if you do want to know more on philosophy I never mind talking through it.” He found that it was easier than reading it at the very least. While he knew it was necessary to be specific when writing philosophical texts, it didn’t make them any less tedious. “Epistemology can be rather tedious when you can’t talk about it, ironically.”
Lukas nodded, still noting that he might want to stop saying thanks to people in case. At the offer of help he couldn’t help but chuckle a little and say, “I might have to take you up on that. I’ll admit I’ve been having to use the internet to look up some words but I don’t think they are really in the context that it was given.” He hated to admit the fact that he was bad at language - but being a priest and then mostly talking to a centuries old vampire for the majority of his life had limited his vocabulary in a very specific way. “I think I’m fairly good at figuring out what their asking, but I’m not that proud to admit where I might not.”
Lukas nodded slightly, knowing that the smell had been bothering a lot of people. He wasn’t quite sure why it wasn’t with him, but he had decided to not look particularly into it. After all, he wasn’t looking for more mysteries. “I’m sorry to hear that. I think resting would be the best when you can.” At the question he remembered that he was probably waiting to long here. It wasn’t necessarily the conversation, although he did find Arden fascinating in her replies. He didn’t really want to go home and knew as soon as he left he would have. He didn’t realize the other would have figured that out. At the fact being exposed he gave a sheepish grin and said, “ You are quite right I did have a mission - I have to admit I get pretty distracted by conversation, but you should finish your work. I just needed to drop my papers off and I’ll get going.” Moving towards the closed door he put his carefully printed drafts into the bin making sure that they didn’t move fixing his glasses as soon as he was done.
—
She laughed. “Maybe you’re just not having dinner with the right people, then,” she shot back, thinking of the wide variety of nerdy dinner conversations she’d had over the years.
It was understandable, that desire for a piece to do well, that anxiety that the work you thought highly of and worked hard on wouldn’t be as well received as you’d like. Arden gave him a reassuring smile. “Well, I’d love to give it a read when it’s published. And, AI is a pretty hot topic these days; I’m sure it’ll do well.”
“That is true,” she nodded. “I’m also a bit more familiar with the ethics side of things. But I might take you up on that offer sometime. I agree, though, it is a subject that is much easier to discuss than read about. And I’d be happy to help where I can.” She dug into her pocket, pulling a business card out of her wallet and offered it to him. “You have my work email, but if you ever need to reach me, my phone’s the best place to contact me.” “And, hey, it’s a good thing, being able to admit you need help.” It was one she certainly struggled with.
“Oh, it’s okay,” Arden shrugged. “I’ve been trying to take it easy, and working on finding some medication to help out, too.” At his bashful expression, she felt the need to reassure him. “It’s okay, I was literally just about to finish up, and I appreciate the conversation.” It was true, she was pleasantly surprised to have been able to finally meet and speak with him. As he walked over, she sat back down into her seat, quickly checking over the open document. “I’ve probably kept you longer than you intended, though, I apologize. I understand if you need to get going,” she flashed him an apologetic smile.
—
Lukas chuckled with the other and shrugged, “You’re probably right. I’ll have to expand my dinner parties.” After all, soon enough he would have a lot of people around him. Maybe some of them would be interested in philosophy. It was certainly possible.
“I’ll make sure to send you a copy,” Lukas said with a nod especially at her assessment. After all, AI was the latest in a craze of apocalyptic dread. It might actually be fascinating to write on that as well. He’d have to remember that. “I appreciate the vote of confidence.”
Lukas nodded thinking that it was usual for people to start with ethics, although he didn’t have too much fun speaking on that particular subject with Her. When you simply didn’t care about the subject, it got a little - wonky. It was hard trying to form the words to describe that though. Still he took the other’s card and nodded, “I’d love too. I always thought if I hadn’t become a writer I would have liked to be a philosophy professor, so you can let me know if I chose the right career.” It wasn’t fully a lie, although he had always wanted to be a Priest. What was a priest if not a writer and speaker after all? At the confirmation that she wouldn’t mind helping he nodded again and almost said thank you - but instead said, “I appreciate it.”
“I hope you find some,” Lukas said simply his mind now going out the door and down the street trying to figure out what else he was going to do with his night. He supposed he could start checking on his flyers to make sure they were properly viewable. “No worries. I am always interested in talking to others and it’s nice to finally meet other writers here.” He said with an easy smile. It was true enough, even if he hadn’t properly sought any of them out. While he was sure he could move around earlier in the day, he really didn’t prefer it. He felt a lot more comfortable at night, and probably would for a few decades more. “It was wonderful to meet you, Arden. I wish you luck on your next article and that you get home soon.”
—
“I would appreciate that. And anytime,” she smiled. Sometimes you just needed someone to hype you up a bit in your writing. Her mind flashed back to that evening at the Red Eye. Arden had gotten off the tiny stage feeling miserable, and Andy had entirely turned her evening around with her compliments. …it had also helped that she was adorable, though.
A philosophy professor, that was interesting. She grinned at the comment, smile softening at the mention of her finding medication. “I appreciate it.” Even if his attention was already elsewhere, she would take all the well-wishes given on that specific matter because fuck these migraines.
“Likewise, it was nice to finally meet you, Lukas.” She caught his eye, mirroring a smile back at him. “I appreciate it. I hope you have a goodnight.” The door shut behind him, and she was left alone with her thoughts once again.
Well, she had met the mysterious advice columnist, although meeting him had not helped make him much less mysterious. If anything, Arden was only more curious about the man now. He seemed nice, and she had enjoyed talking to him, but… He didn’t come in before sunset and his hand was icy cold. Sure, there could be other explanations, and even if he was, that didn’t necessarily make him bad. Still, there were red flags, and, even just generally, something about him put her a little on edge. Her eyes lingered on the door for a moment before she turned back to the computer with a sigh.