Beachside Hotel- Cocktail bar on the beach

Whoever said Vampires didn´t survive the sun was a fool.
Proper vampires didn´t even mind it too much, so long as it wasn´t staring into their eyes... Kristin Lilith Sohar, for instance, currently found it rather enjoyable.
Well, yes, the heat was near unbearable over longer periods of time, but the humans thankfully invented something known as swimwear- in her case, a neckholder bikini top, matching bikini bottoms and a thin cloth in a matching color tied around her waist, covering one of her legs like a loose skirt. All of which in a certain shade of red known as crimson, decorated with a rose here and there.
So, what was she doing on the beach? Why, handing out cool drinks in a cocktail bar.
Her job interview took about three minutes- two if you didn´t count her signing the contract, then she was here, on the best holiday location this side of the globe with an easy job and a great view towards the endless ocean....
A dream job, really, if it wasn´t for the annoying tourists. No amount of verbal backtalk, deciving and sometimes physical pain seemed to be enough to drive them away... on the other hand, business wasnt doing bad, thanks to the perverts ignoring the girls on the beach in favor of her.

Chances were, before this was all said and done Almos Lorand would have himself a nasty case of sunburn.  Vampirism aside, he'd never tanned well even in life.  Despite that, he couldn't quite resist the siren call of the beach and hard liquor.  And so he found himself walking towards the bar, dressed far differently than he usually would.  Gone was the coat and t-shirt, replaced with a black sleeveless shirt which served to cover his brands from the public eye.  The slacks were abandoned in favor of dark grey "board shorts" as they were called.  Finally, his keepsake chain had been left in a secure hiding place with the rest of his effects.  No need to disturb random passersby with the question of why the man had a chain wrapped around his arm.  Lounging on the beach had its appeal but for the moment Almos had taken in his fill of the sand and surf.  A stiff drink sounded nice.  Casting a casual glance over the red haired woman tending bar, Lorand occupied a seat some ways down the bar and rested his chin in the palm of his left hand.  "Barkeep, a glass of bourbon when you get the chance," he called, too relaxed to care about how quickly the drink arrived.

Seeing someone who actually wanted to drink something rather than gawk at her, Kristin nodded to him and made a mental note to give him a discount.. unless he´d piss her off during the next ten minutes.
"I´ll be with you in a second." She quipped, then touched the forehead of one of her more annoying customers with her finger.
"You don`t want a kiss from me. You`ve just discovered your facination with men. Live it out to the fullest."
Eyes hazy, the victim of her mind control repeated the sentence slowly, and after a few seconds more, she released him, and got to work, her other admirers now being a bit pale.
"Bourbon, huh? I don`t get that order very often- most of these wimps want Pina Coladas and other girly drinks." Taking a fresh glass and a chilled bottle, the vampiress poured him some with a little smirk, setting it on the counter in front of him. "Enioy."

Sighing contently, Almos toyed with the coaster sitting on the bar in front of him as he waited for his drink.  Vaguely interested in the events at the other end of the bar, he looked over just in time to see the former frat boy wander off and attempt to make out with one of his fraternity brothers, much to the surprise and confusion of their friends.  Raising an eyebrow, Lorand dismissed it as downright weird.  It was none of his business after all.  Looking up at the waitress, Almos nodded his thanks for the drink.  Over the years he'd had his share of men and women of all sorts and even he had to admit that the bartender before him was near the top of the female spectrum.  He could hardly blame half the patrons for giving her so much trouble.  "Thanks.  I happened to develop a taste for it during a trip in the States a while back." he said before taking a sip of the impressively strong drink.  "So Miss Bartender, mind if I ask what all that was about?" the Hungarian vampire asked, gesturing to the former womanizer across the way.

She took a deep breath, then sighed, a lock of red hair falling into her face. It seemed obvious enough to her, but maybe he was from that far out there that he didn´t know about such things.
"Many of those young guys just come here to get laid with a pretty lady in a bikini. I happen to be one, apperantly... i´ve finally decided to serve those that order drinks and ignore the rest. I`d have my hands full giving out slaps and rude words otherwise."
Despite the setback of the now-turned-gay specimen, new teenagers who probably still didn´t have their cherries popped were attracted to the cocktail bar, some of them too young to even drink alcohol.... if they looked cute, though, she made an exception. Sometimes.

Taking another sip of his drink, Almos sent a quick glance down the bar before returning his attention to the barkeep.  "That much is easy enough to understand.  You're an attractive woman afterall.  But that kid went from a woman chasing hound dog to a member of the rainbow union like that," he said, snapping his fingers for emphasis.  Leaning forward, he rested his chin in the palm of his hand again stared at her for a moment.  Rather than allow himself to be distracted by her curves, Lorand's gaze never left the woman's face.  "Are you some kind of witch doctor or do you just spike the drinks of every college aged asshole with a hard on?" Almos asked, a slight smile appearing on his face.

A smirk curled in her face- it had been rather obvious, hasn´t it? Even though she had her eyes turned to green for the time being, to blend into the human crowd, this kind of stuff just didn´t happen normally.
"Who knows? Maybe i´m a wandering gypsy woman, telling fortunes and reading palms. Maybe i´m a wizard in a flying car, secretly fighting he-who-shall-not-be-named. Or maybe i`m just a godsend."
Obviously she wasn`t going to say a word about vampireism in public. She could tell the guy wasn´t all that human himself, possibly a vampire created through alchemy or a rather young pureblood, but even then- it would be bad for business.
"And i appriciate that compliment, but that doesn´t mean i`ll go easy on you once you start to be like them." She added with a grin.

Grinning at the red head's playful nature, Almos finished off the last of his drink and nudged the empty glass towards the bartender to indicate that he wanted another.  "Either of the first two is fine by me.  Can't say I'm all that fond of the man upstairs," he replied, referencing the so-called Almighty diety of the Catholic faith.  Leaning back in his chair a moment, Almos stretched his back until it gave a refreshing pop and he settled forward once again with both forearms resting against the table top.  "I'm hurt that you'd write me off so quickly.  Looks go a long way but it takes a bit more than just them to turn me into a crazed beast." Broadening his smile a bit, Lorand held out his right hand with the palm facing up.  "Well then Miss Gypsy, does my palm say about my future?"

Kristin briefly looked at his palm, clearly seeing the auras of darkness that surrounded it, but for good measure, she touched it with a finger and drew some random circles around in it.
"You`ve made a decision you will regret. You´ve obtained a power thats not for your kind to control- and without proper restraint it will soon turn against you. Your body and your soul will pay the price for the ill choice you`ve done in the past, and only in the prospect of death will you realize there´s nothing left for you to look forward to."
Kristin chuckled a bit, withdrawing her finger again.
"I`m sorry, that might`ve been a bit dark. What i meant to say is- your luck in love is increasing today. Work will be a burden to you, but keeping the balance between it and your private life can be a blessing. Be careful with your finances, but don`t be afraid to play the lottery."
She just recited the horoscope she remembered from earlier today, completely out of context. A grin appeared on her face, and she got back to mixing drinks for thirsty perverts.

Well that was...offputting.  Narrowing his gaze as she read his fortune, Almos' nagging feeling that there was something amiss with this bartender continued to grow.  Her correction felt halfassed to say the least.  It wasn't often that a creature as wrathful as Almos Lorand was shaken but this woman had managed to do just that.  Slowly curling his fingers in towards his palm, he finally crossed his arms over one another and leaned forward to prop his elbows against the bar.  His conversation partner went back to mixing drinks for the other patrons and Almos found himself left with a handful of questions scratching at the back of his mind.  "What's your name Miss Gypsy?" he called after her.

A faint smirk appeared on her face as she didn´t even seem to acknowledge the question at first.
"Well, what does it matter? I`m just a gypsy, as you say- we are a mysterious folk. So even if i told you, how would you know it was my real name and not some anagram? Oh well... if you keep it to yourself: Its Kristin... Kristin Sohar."
She bent forward to grin at him.
"Satisfied, Mr Lorand? Or do i need to tell you more about your life before you believe me?"
As much as it was endangering her identity, it was fun to tease this guy. Those newborn purebloods think they were the pinnacle of evolution- blissfully unaware that they´ll never be at that point.
As she felt a tug on her bra strap, she casually took a bottle of Barcadi and broke it on the head of the slightly drunken fan of hers.
"Touching costs extra, and you just gave me all you had.Settle down, sailor."

Staring daggers at the red head, Almos' mind raced as he tried to uncover the significance of her name.  Sohar.  He'd heard that before, somewhere among the books he'd devoured during his research into the secrets necessary for countering the power of God.  However, he couldn't connect the final pieces of the puzzle and remember what it actually meant.  There would be time for that later though.  This woman knew his name which meant she was either an agent of the Church or something even older than he was.  Either way he did not like being toyed with like this.  "Cut the crap woman.  There's no gypsy alive that gives off the kind of aura that you do."  As she bludgeoned another handsy fan, Almos leaned across the bar to recover the bottle that she'd poured his first drink from.  Snatching it and popping it open, he took a swig and dropped his voice to a whisper.  "I won't pretend to know what you are.  So long as you're not another insufferable agent of Him," he said, pointing a thumb skyward before taking another drink.  "I have nothing to worry about now do I?"

So he was beginning to get it- but still, he was much mistaken. So much so that Kristin actually felt like playing innocent, except whenever she tried she failed at it.
Dropping the slightly bleeding, unconcious drunkard she had by the neck, Kristin looked back over to Almos.
"An agent of the church? Who, pray tell, do you take me for? Regardless, i don`t have any reason to tell you more. Actually, you have my thanks."
Looking around for a quick sweep of the situation, the creepy dude and her harsh actions towards the grabber had turned most of her fans down as they slowly retreated in fear.
"Its not gonna help my business, but i`d rather serve one good customer than a dozen crappy ones. Just don`t push your luck too far, young man. Its thin ice you´re treading on if you`re trying to find out who i am."
As if nothing happened, she got him another glass and smirked.
"Want some ice with that, honey?"

Resigning himself to the situation, Almos sat back in his chair and sighed.  She had him in a corner here.  She held all the cards and it simply wasn't worth it to push things into a fight.  He ran his fingers back through his hair and finally nodded.  "Ice sounds lovely," he finally said, holding out his glass to the red head.  "Alright, I've asked my share of questions for a while.  What exactly do you want to talk about now?" he asked, propping one foot up on the now vacant bar chair next to him.  Perhaps the woman had the right idea.  His life normally revolved around the supernatural and demonic forces of the world.  This was his vacation afterall, why go out of his way to spoil his relaxation when he could just let things go for once?

Pouring some crushed ice into the glass, Kristin filled it with the Bourbon he had snatched away earlier- now ice cold and  far more enjoyable than before.
Upon his inquiry, she cocks her head.
"Me? Huh, what could a gypsy woman want from a guy like you... I wonder." Seeing no one else around for now, she decided to drop the act.
"I suppose i could start asking what you`re doing in the sun. Doesn`t that feel awful on your skin? I`m used to it but you young fullbloods- hell, Alucard doesn´t like it either."
Her smirk faded a bit, but a part of it remained as she had to adjust the bra that the guy from before tugged out of its proper place.
"Not to mention the ocean isn`t the kind of place for you people. I thought i`d be safe from you vampires here for a while due to that."

So much for every day conversation.  As soon as the coast was clear the red head was right back onto the supernatural.  Pulling at his shirt a bit, Almos revealed a small glimpse of the brands covering his torso.  "I've put a great deal of effort into self-preservation against meddling exorcists.  These handy markings have the added benefit of making the sun bearable."  At the very least, he knew a bit more about her now.  She'd dropped the name of Hellsing's famous hunter as well as a history with vampires.  That greatly narrowed down the possibilities of what exactly she was.  "Personally I find the ocean relaxing.  One of the few things that can actually calm me down come to think of it," he paused to take a sip of his drink.  "Shame that I can't cross it as I please."

"Thats what a swimmingpool is for. An ocean in a nutshell, so to speak."

Kristin quipped, actually mixing herself a drink for once. Probably just for practice.
Either way, it seemed like she wasn`t going to give off more cues to her identity just yet.
"Aren´t you gonna watch the beach girls, now that celibacy´s chains no longer bind you? Who knows, you might find a virgin in the middle of those depraved whores."
Obviously she didn`t think too highly of them, but in truth she held them in much higher regard than the beach boys- afterall, they endured them without resulting to violence like she did. That was something admireable.

He watched her mix another drink with mild interest.  He never had that much desire to learn the finer points of mixology, prefering to keep things simple.  With a shake of his head he dismissed the idea.  "I've had some mixed history with women.  Those that interest me generally wind up worse for ware after the fact and I wasn't able to find any eligable men in the crowd.  Getting drunk in the shade was the next best option.  Apparently I wasn't alone in that idea." he retorted, toasting the red head with his half empty glass before finishing it off once and for all.

"Men can be pigs, i agree with the popular opinion of that- but every so often you find one thats actually decent, if you know where to look. With women and men its very alike- the pretty ones are ususally those you cannot stand, because they`re under the impression they can get anyone and don`t need you." Pouring the drink into her own glass, she took a sip. It burned, was hard to swallow and nearly drove tears into her eyes- excactly how she liked it. Feeling pain was to feel alive... you could feel good in a dream, you could feel nothing when you´re dead, but you could only feel pain in this life. In a way, this was a blessing, just like pleasure.
"Of course there are exceptions, and even those who are pigs and bitches simply have a rough shell. A shell you can penetrate to find a weak, fragile being inside that seeks comfort but is too proud to ask for it. I`ll let you decide whichever i am."

Almos couldn't help but laugh a bit at the latest turn in their conversation.  "You're surprisingly romantic you know that?" he said, sliding his empty glass from one hand to the other and back again.  He stared at the wet streaks left behind by the perspiration on the glass surface.  All this talk of relationships and inner nature was quickly stoking his temper.  There were bad memories tied up in that type of conversation.  Memories that he would like to avoid for the moment.  "I abandoned any interest in all that long ago.  Even if you find something worthwhile, sooner or later it crumbles into ash.  I enjoy a bit of kink more than the next guy but I'll avoid dooming myself to disapointment all the same."

Kristin shrugged, taking another sip from the ice cold drink.
"Maybe. Romantic fantasies is all i have, anyway. Relationships and me end in desasters... even in a short lasted war once. I´ve decided against them and towards one night stands long ago."
Even if she didn´t get any. She was just too damn creepy for most people- even vampires apperantly feared her. Damn immortality. She downed her drink, setting the glass down on the counter.
"You suggest a topic then, if this one`s too awkward for you."

Assuming a more relaxed position, Almos set both of his feet on the bar chair next to him and crossed his arms over his chest.  "Very well.  Why did you decide to take the blood's offer?" She had called him out on asking too many questions already but the tone of their conversation had calmed considerably since then.  Now that the elephant in the room had been taken care of it was worth another shot.  In the end the worst she could do was say no.  At this point Almos' curiosity was great enough that he was more than happy to catch such a risk if it meant uncovering a little more information on the woman standing across the bar.

Kristin´s eyes became slits as he asked that question... seemed like he was getting weary of her. He wanted to dig deeper.. into realms he didn`t belong to.
"It was the only thing i could do. The other option would have been to die... and i´ve fallen far from the right path to expect anything good after that. The cooing voice in the blood told me i`d have an alternative... and i took it, regardless of the consequences."
She lied, straight out front, without remorse about it. He was asking the wrong questions. He was asking the wrong person... why did she become a vampire? Well, he`d have to ask someone else about that.. and that wasn`t going to happen. Even if it was, it was doubtful HE would answer this guy after all he had done.

Considering her answer, Almos eventually turned his empty glass upside down and pushed it aside.  He'd had enough to drink for a while.  Going much further would be depressing.  "A transformation out of necessity eh?  I suppose that's a more noble incentive than many of us have when we say yes."  Hauling himself into a standing position, he slipped his hands into his pockets and leaned his back against the bar, looking out onto the beach and ocean close by.  Lorand licked his lips and continued speaking without meeting Kristin's gaze again.  "Personally, I've never believed the decision to become like this to be right or wrong.  It was a change, nothing more nothing less.  Of course, looking down from on high I suppose you must think very poorly of me."  Almos took a guess at the depth of her knowledge.  She'd known his name without him ever speaking it.  It wasn't too much of a stretch to know how he came to be the way he was.

Kristin raised an eyebrow. It had been an obvious lie, but he seemed to buy it right away... well, no reason to argue, if her fluke worked.
Still, she could answer his next question truthfully.
"No, not really. We both made the worst mistake we could`ve possibly made- throwing away our humanity and our mortality to become something sinister. I would give you advice like 'Live your life to the fullest, then kill yourself before its too late and you`re immortal like me' but that´d be ridiculous. Once you get to the point where you want to kill yourself its far too late already- because you realize you deprived yourself of any kind of hopes and dreams, of preservation, of a peaceful rest. All that follows for us is the dark pits of hell- and i can spoil it for you, its not very enjoyable down there."
A faint smirk curled on her lips.
"Your only chance is that someday you´ll find someone more powerful than yourself who puts you out of your misary, so you don´t have to do it yourself."
Sighing as she realized he would probably ignore her warnings, she gave up on it.
He was one of those young vampires, there was no way he`d think ahead to that point yet... that point that she and Alucard had reached long ago, where Life just wasn´t fun anymore. ..well it was, but you had to enforce it. And it always had a bitter aftertaste.
"Don`t say anything- You think i´m a senile fool for thinking such suicideal things... well, how old are you, a hundred years? Maybe two hundred?  Once you reach the fourth or fifth century things go downhill. And if you lived as long as i have... well, sucks to be you."

Arms crossed over his chest and his feet propped up on the neighboring stool, Almos did give the woman's a fair bit of weight. He may not agree with her conclusion, but he could at least respect the experience behind her words. Gnawing a bit on his lower lip as he mulled over her grim advice Lorand finally settled on a suitable answer. "I've only been this way for about eighty years but no, I don't think you're a fool. You said you had no choice but to become this way, of course you'd come to see it as a curse. But me.." the Hungarian trailed off a moment and licked his lips. "I threw away my soul without regrets and started killing to my heart's content. Just between you and me, I have no intention to stop until God Himself decides to come and visit me." A ghost of a smile appeared on his lips. "Now wouldn't that be something?"

A chuckle was the answer.
"That would be a sight to see. He`s nothing like you would expect. The bible and the media over-romantized him a lot."
As she realized she might have given off a bit too much, a series of screams from afar distracted her- looking over, she spotted a group of ghouls and a laughing youngster. In the middle of the fricking day.
Must be one of those artifical ones she heard so much about- sucessors of the Millenium project.
Part of her was content with this and would just have him do his thing, then leave, but safe to say it would be bad for business.
Mentally noting to brainwash the people later, she took an old Winchester rifle from underneath the counter and chambered it, aiming over the counter to put one of the ghouls out of their misary.
"Youngsters these days... nothing`s sacred to them anymore. Not even the early afternoon siesta."

Before he had time to comment on this woman apparently being on a first name basis with God of all things, and oh how he would have loved to persue THAT conversation topic, panic erupted near the bar. Another freaking vampire had decided to show up. Groaning, Almos rubbed the bridge of his nose. This relaxing day was becoming increasingly exhausting. Between overeager baby vampires and whatever the woman across from him was, Lorand had just about had his fill. Rising to his feet, the former monk reached into his pocket and grabbed a fifty dollar bill, tossing it onto the bar in front of the now gun wielding woman to cover his drinks and tip. Yawning, he stretched and turned his back on the ghouls and nearby vampire, uncaring for the plight of the beachgoers. "It's been fun Gypsy Woman. I'll leave you to your admirers then," he said making his way out of the bar area and away from the chaos of the beach. A nap sounded lovely right about now.