Same Kind of Vague

Who: Alexis and Kavin
Where: Nevermore
When: Morning - 11 A.M.

Kavin had been slowly working himself through books at Nevermore. How better to learn about the paranormal than to read books on the various different forms? Nevermore was just the place to do so and every month or so he'd go in and buy a couple books randomly. He hadn't been in a while and felt that a trip to the store was long overdue, so when he headed into town to do some errands, he figured he'd pop in and grab a book or two.

The store didn't hadn't changed much since the last time he'd been inside. He made his way towards a shelf and scanned over the spines of the books, not looking for anything in particular, just something to catch his eye.

The store might not have changed, but the staff certainly had. Alexis was still learning where all the books went, which books were rare, which weren't available to reorder, and which were just complete bullshit. It made sense, in a way-- a bookstore of this sort could not survive on informational material alone. In addition to what seemed like reference book after reference book, there was also a healthy fiction section that supplied books of only the supernatural sort. If she wanted to read the newest novel in vampire fiction, it was there for her as well.

But Alexis wasn't into the fiction, especially when it came to vampires. Fact was her thing, though today's reading material centered around the elements and how they applied to magic and those who used them. She sat behind the counter, fingers drumming quietly as her lone customer browsed. He seemed to know his way around.

Kavin glanced up at the counter as he made his way down a row. She's new. he thought to himself as he continued his slow pace past the shelves. He gave her a smile and a little flick of his hand in greeting before letting his eyes move back to the books. She couldn't have been older than him. Most likely younger in fact. He was curious if they might attend the same school. If they did, she must be new there as well. Perhaps she just moved to town. He wasn't about to be rude and settle her into a line of questioning like that, instead he figured he'd start small. "You're new here." he told her rather than asked. "You're not the same girl who was here last time I came through."

Alexis gave him a little wave in return, then marked her place as he began to talk. "That's because I started yesterday," she smiled. "I think you're thinking of Harper: college age, brown hair, very professional." Not that she wasn't, but Alexis had already noticed a distinct difference between them. She wasn't sure how Harper would have handled customers individually though. "Anything I can help you with?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, Harper. That's right." he said with a nod. "I'm just looking. Thanks though." He glanced up again at the girl. "How do you like it so far?" he questioned. "Working at Nevermore and what not."

"It's pretty cool," she said. "I never envisioned myself working in a bookstore, but Nevermore's different. I like the subject matter." Alexis was pretty sure she'd have been bored in any other bookstore. While she liked books, she wouldn't have been interested enough in all of them to be able to help customers.

"Yeah." he agreed with a upturning of one corner of his mouth. "Definitely different. You're into all the paranormal stuff?" he questioned, hoping that he asked in a way that didn't seem like he believed nor disbelieved. He was curious why the girl liked the subject matter. He grasped the bindings of a book on psychics. He hadn't read much about them lately. Perhaps he needed a refresher course.

"I think you should be to work here, but yes, I am," Alexis answered. This was usually a conversation that it took an event to bring about, a discussion concerning what was going on around town or whatnot. Working in Nevermore presented the option to just admit it and move on, or so she hoped. If not, she had her story and she was sticking to it. "What about you? Just browsing or a reoccurring customer?"

"Recurring customer." he told her. "I'm in here a lot. Guess there are a lot of topics that intrigue me." He wasn't about to tell her that he was researching so that he'd be prepared to kill paranormal beings. Not exactly the best way to start a conversation with anyone.

"Like what?" she asked, curious to which sections he frequented. Some were definitely more filled out that others. She'd noticed, for instance, that the books on demons, vampires, and lycanthropes was far more extensive than that on fae or angels, probably due to their darker nature. Then again, some things were harder to document than others. There were tons of books on witchcraft, but every one seemed to go in a different direction, making it hard to decifer what made a good book.

"Everything." he admitted. "No set species I really frequent more than any other. I like to have an extensive knowledge on this stuff. Guess it's just my 'thing'. I think everyone has something they're interested in. Cars, movies, music. Paranormal stuff is my thing." He shrugged a bit. "You new to just the store, or the whole town?" he questioned.

"Well then, you've gotta have a favorite," Alexis laughed softly. "Even guys that like cars have that one style of car that does it for them, right? So if you had to call yourself an expert in one subject, which would you go with?" Assuming a boy her age could be an expert in any of this. There was still so much to know, and that was coming from someone who had spent her entire life surrounded by it. "New to town, as of this year. Moved up here from Tuscon, Arizona."

He shrugged. "Guess you've got a point there." he said. "Werewolves then. I know more about them than anything else." Mostly because immediately after the fight that resulted in his scar, he'd found every book he could locate on the topic and study up on it so he'd never be put in that position again. "New, huh? You go to school here or..?" he questioned. It wasn't polite to ask a woman's age, young or not, so he'd worked his way around that question.

Werewolves. She wondered why, but that wasn't something to ask, was it? Was it okay to be nosy when working in a store like this? "Why werewolves as opposed to other lycanthropes?" she asked. That didn't seem too bad a question. "I'm a junior at Marquette Senior High School," she smiled. "What about you?" He looked around her age, but looks could be deceiving.

"They interest me more." he said with a shrug. "Not sure why." A junior. He probably didn't have any classes with her. It was a small town, but sometimes people blended into the background or he didn't notice them. "Yeah. Senior." he told her, walking towards the counter and setting the book he had down, offering his hand. "Kavin." he told her. "Kavin Reid."

"Alexis Byrd," she said, taking his hand. "Nice to meet you, Kavin. I'm surprised I haven't seen you around school." It was a small town and it felt like she'd seen everyone, even if she hadn't met them. "So, what're you into now?" she asked, gesturing to the book in his hand. "Find something new?"

"Nice to meet you, too." he agreed, handing her the book. "I'm outta town a lot. Doesn't much surprise me. When I am there, it's not for very long. We probably just don't have any classes near each other. A bit surprising in a small town I guess, but you'll see a lot more of me since you work here." he chuckled. "Psychics." he answered, gesturing to the book. "Haven't read much about them lately."

"They're not my specialty either," Alexis said. While she knew psychics could be dangerous, they also appeared completely human, making them difficult to identify unless they were actively using their abilities. That didn't mean she hadn't heard of some getting out of control before. Some even managed to get themselves on a hit list. That was what happened when people were scared of you. "I figure I'll have time to read up on everything, now that I'm working here. What's got you traveling?" she asked.

"Work." he said simply. "My dad's business... it involves a lot of travel, so I tend to be outta school at least a week or so a month." He gave her a quick smile and a little shrug. "Gets me away from classwork for a bit, so I'm not complaining." Not that he minded classwork even when he was at school. He seemed to whip through it pretty fast regardless.

Alexis' smile faded slightly and she stared at him. It was weird, hearing that story from someone else. And it made it far more difficult for her to say the exact same thing if asked. "What kind of work does he do?" she asked, hoping he'd say something completely normal, something that didn't match what she told everyone else. It was too late to work up a different story, but it was just so... odd. No, not odd. She was just being paranoid. Other people had parents that traveled that did not involve supernatural activity. Then again, Kavin was in Nevermore... and was interested in werewolves.

Damn it. he thought to himself before giving a shrug. "This and that." he told her. He wasn't going into detail with this girl. He didn't go into detail with anyone. It was none of her business what his father did. "How much for the book?" he questioned, pointing to the paperback in hopes of taking the girls line of questioning away from his father and his work.

She wanted to call him on it, pull the answer out of him so she could know if she was right or wrong. But that would be giving in to a paranoia that she refused to accept in herself. Plus, it was poor customer service. "Oh, right," she said, picking up the book to look up the price. Nevermore books ran higher than normal, but then it wasn't like they were mass produced in quite the same way. The price rang up on the register and she smiled, reading it to him. "Will that be all?" she asked.

He nodded. "Yeah, that's it." he told her, sifting through his wallet trying to find the cash beneath the cards. Having just returned from London he still had some of their currency in the billfold. Shifting it aside he grabbed American money and handed it to her. "There you go."

"Thank you," she said, trying not to be nosy at this point. Everything she wanted to say would be poking into his business, so it was better just to be a good little bookseller at the moment. "I guess I'll see you around then," Alexis said, handing him his change.

He took the change and stuffed it and his wallet back in his pocket, taking the book as well. "Yeah, you should. Just got back into town yesterday. Won't have another trip for a couple of weeks hopefully." he shrugged. "But... things always come up. So yeah, see you around I guess. Alexis, right?"

"Yep," she smiled brightly. "It was good to meet you, Kavin." And she'd be on the watch for him, now that she knew he believed. Her list was growing longer, longer than it had ever been in another city. Then again, Marquette was unique. It had a bookstore like Nevermore, for one thing, and it seemed to be doing fine. That didn't surprise her; if she'd been in the dark, she'd have been looking for answers herself, and Marquette seemed to open a can of worms when it came to questions.