SPOLIGHT

I have SO got to stop doing this...

Janis had no idea why the vampire doctor from the Healing Center had contacted her to arrange a meeting. She suspected it might be to talk further about the 'cure', maybe he had some new information, information that could help her expose it for the travesty it was. That would be a nice little gift. Now that her world tour was over she had thought she would get some rest but there was no rest for the wicked. This cure had surfaced and her celebrity allowed her to speak out against it and be heard. Nice little perk that, but it meant her 'vacation' was being eaten up by meetings and interviews. Ah well...there was no rest for the wicked right?

She had ended up arranging to meet him at the Cafe du Monde on the riverwalk. It was a well known spot and she would be safe enough there, from him anyways. It was hard to pull anything nefarious in this public a place and Rocco, her mountainous bodyguard, was sitting at a table nearby. If any funny business happened he would be able to intercede. Why all the caution? For one, Rocco kind of insisted, he was kind of annoying that way. Secondly, the guy was a vampire and you never knew what kind of tricks they could pull, caution seemed wise. Of course there was the nagging little problem of being at the top of more than one hit list. It was nice to be popular.

She had arrived early, at Rocco's insistence, so she now found herself sitting at this crowded cafe overlooking the riverwalk, sipping at an admittedly delicious chicory coffee and waiting for the good doctor to arrive. She was dressed down today but always like a rock star, with faded skinny jeans, black leather high heeled boots, and a stylish but comfortable jersey top done in blue to match her hair and eyes. The initial clamor for autographs when she had arrived had thankfully died down quickly so they would be able to talk in peace.

Falen knew he was running late but the usual vampire requirements delayed his arrival, he only hoped that she wouldn’t be too cross with him. He entered the crowded café and took a moment to survey the place he could not smell any vampires at the moment but he did detect the familiar scent of Kitsune it only took him a few seconds to locate her, he waved and walked over to her table. “Good evening and thank you for taking some time out of your busy schedule just to speak with me.” he said in his usual friendly manner taking a seat across from her he pulled out a few files from his jacket and laid them on the table.


“These were extremely difficult to get my hands on, but after your last visit I was beginning to feel a little uneasy about this “cure” business so using my considerable knowledge of hospital procedure and a little old fashioned detective work I found these in the Executive Administrators office. They never really went back to formula after the first trials of testing they only changed the chemical make-up it still has the same dangerous side effects as before. I warned them many times but apparently I am still too low on the medical totem pole to be taken seriously.” he said bitterly as he pushed the manila files toward her.

She arched a brow and took the files as he slid them across the table. "Thank you so much Doctor." she said with genuine surprise and gratitude. "This is going to make my job a lot easier, but it would probably make yours a little sticky if anyone found out where I got it from." It was definitely a big risk he took. The data on the 'cure' was a closely guarded secret, which was the main reason she distrusted it so much. "Its so important that shifters and vampires alike know the true risks before they make such a dangerous decision. I shudder to even think of the potential for harm globally." She shook her head and slipped the file off the table, tucking it into her purse carefully. It wouldn't do to have someone take a picture of them with it sitting there.

"I don't know how to begin to thank you for taking such a risk but I promise that a lot of good will come of it." she gave him her best sly smile that foxes knew how to do so well. "I may not be on the medical totem pole but I have enough of the spotlight to make sure word gets out." She was a complex creature to say the least, with many different faces. There was the wild and crazy goth rocker, the cool and controlled professional full of biting wit, and the fun loving girl who never really grew up. It was interesting sometimes to speculate on which was an act and which was the real Janis Krow, many had, but no one seemed able to really figure it out. Janis liked it that way. Aside from the adoration of the fans, playing with peoples heads was some of the best fun there was to be had. She blamed her fox.

She looked to him and smiled. "I'd offer to buy you a drink but..." she said with a sheepish shrug of apology and changed the subject. "How long have you been in New Orleans?"

Falen considered her question for a moment and gave her one of his patented “Nice guy” smiles. “Ms.Krow I have been a resident of this fine state for nearly six years now, and surprisingly it has grown on me the time may come when I would have to relocate but as of right now I am fairly content with my situation.” he said kindly signaling for a waitress she was young and quite she was probably seventeen or eighteen with light blue eyes and reddish brown hair, Falen always took the features of others into account and stored them for future reference in his winding maze of a brain.

“Evening y’all my name is Sam, I’ll be your waitress this evening so can I take your order?” she looked nervously at the two of them as she took out a pen and a pad of paper to jot down their order, Falen smiled gently up at her and said in a perfect southern drawl. “Certainly ma'am just ah iced tea for me.” he was trying to alleviate her stress by giving her something familiar to relate to and what better use for his skill
in mimicry than this?

“And you ma 'am?” she said calmly only sparing a side glance at Falen who nodded with that same kind smile on his face he could tell that she was a little more relaxed and he didn’t have to guess why:this young girl probably knew who Janis Krow was by her musical career and she was just awestruck. Falen found the whole affair slightly amusing but chose not to comment on it.

Janis laughed softly and gave the girl a friendly smile then held up her empty cup. "Just another coffee please." It was probably odd for someone to drink so much coffee at night but that was the rocker lifestyle for you, up all night and sleep all day. It gave her a bit of a chuckle to think that the vampire sitting across from her had a very similar schedule. She waited while the waitress headed off and looked back to Falen. "Nice accent. That must come in handy at times." It was actually rather amusing to her. Foxes being natural tricksters, it seemed quite entertaining to be able to fool others into thinking you were something you're not.

When their drinks came, she watched curiously to see if he would actually drink it. She didn't know a hell of a lot about vampires since she usually avoided them, but she was spending more and more time around them lately. Always good to be informed. "Six years? I just got here myself. My career keeps me moving around a lot but when my tour ended here I decided to stick around for a while. I'm finding I really like the city. Its been so long since I've been in the states for any length of time. It feels nice." she said with a smile and sipped at her coffee. The night was lovely really, with a soft breeze blowing in off the water and the soft background sound of tourists enjoying their visit. It had her in a pretty good mood actually.

Falen returned her smile as he took a sip of his own beverage. “Yes, it is rather nice I especially like the atmosphere it’s so lively I only wish I could see it during the day, but alas the moment that monster decided to turn me into this…thing my world came crashing down about my ears. I had to learn to utilize my abilities both natural and otherwise namely the accents that I collect it’s all a matter of perspective really.” he said kindly taking another sip of his tea not that he could taste it, but he liked to remember what it was like drinking a nice cup after a long day of studying it was a sense memory that most vampires chose to forget.


“But that is reason enough for me to try and help humans and the shifter community life is precious as a doctor I have learned to cherish it which is why I have never taken a life not even in self-defense , however I have staked quite a few of my own kind.” he continued to take small measured sips of his drink whilst casting a wary side glance just to be on the safe side.

She watched him as he spoke, mildly incredulous. Was he one of those self haters? One one the monsters who believed they were monster? That was so sad. Sure, when she had changed, she had wondered what was happening to her and if she could control it, but she had never considered herself a monster. Maybe that was just stubborness on her part, maybe it was because she hadn't been infected through a vicious attack. She knew there were plenty of shifters and vampires alike who hated what they were. It made the haters' jobs much easier.

"We all use what gifts we have to survive and to make something of our lives Doctor. Whether human, shifter, or vampire we're all in the same boat. Do you really consider yourself a monster? A 'thing'?" her expression was perplexed. He said he never took a life, that life was precious to him and he did everything in his power to preserve it. How could he still think himself a monster? "The haters out there, like the ones pushing this cure, want us to believe the crap they're selling. It isn't being a supernatural, or drinking blood that makes people monsters. I've met plenty of very human monsters."

“In a way I do, but I have dedicated my afterlife to assisting others and to bring those who would dare take a human life to justice. Unfortunately times being what they are my skills as a hunter-of sorts is going to waste. I am not prejudiced but there are times when my temper does get the better of me and as a vampire those feelings are magnified and we have quite the predilection for violence when provoked.”Falen paused taking another sip of his drink of course he was referring to vampire kind as a whole-not just himself. He was willing to omit the fact that he often imbibed vampire blood as a means of sustenance thinking that the subject itself would disgust her.

“Actually I am a little grateful for most of my supernatural gifts they at least allow me to do the things I was never really able to do as a human, in a way I think of myself as blessed and cursed-one never really out weighing the other but in a sense they are perfectly balanced.” he wasn’t much of a philosopher unless you took into account his lifes philosophy but to him the scales analogy seemed the only way to describe how his life was affected and how he utilized his abilities as a cohesive whole.

She considered his words carefully. "I can understand the violence you're talking about, we shifters feel it too, but I think of it as just one of those things." she said with a shrug "Of course for kitsune, our beast craves lust more than violence, but both can be harmful. I've never believed such urges made us monsters though. We all know that its possible to control those urges and do a great deal of good with the gifts we've been given. I think in the beginning I thought it was a curse, but I had a very hard time of it, and no one to teach me. I got through that though, and with the help of a very good friend, I came to see it as a gift."

She looked to him then. "But it says a great deal that you strive so hard to do good, that is what makes you not a monster. I've seen shifters and vampires do monstrous things, and I've also seen humans do monstrous things. I think we all have good and bad within us, that's what balances the universe." she really was getting philosophical lately, scary. She would have to remember to take some time to work on some new songs. She laughed softly and took a drink of her coffee. "I'm not used to getting into such deep conversation with men I just met. I've had far too much heavy thinking for my liking lately. "What do you do when you're not trying to save the world Doctor?"

Falen had never really considered that, true he did love to read there were quite a few medical journals he still had to get around to, also there was his running he loved to just take a relaxing jog into the woods. But as far as something that wasn’t related he was absolutely shocked to discover that in ninety years he did not have a hobby. “Well, I am not exactly the type who keeps a diary or collects stamps…I suppose that I have in my pursuit of doing what I can to help others…I forgot to help myself along the way, it’s sad I know suppose there is always room for improvement though.” he said kindly a smile crossing his handsome face looking down at his half empty glass the ice had already melted a bit, of course he wouldn’t be able to taste it watered down or no.

So, perhaps it was a good thing he couldn’t otherwise it would have put him off all together, it was one thing to be a vampire, but he wasn’t about to lose his daily routine just because he had to do the change over from day to night shift. “I suppose I am quite boring but most work oriented blokes are…in a way.” he took another sip of his tea just to have something to do, he was never one for long winded speeches even in medical school, but he always muddled through somehow.

She arched a brow as he spoke. "Really? That's so unfortunate. You have to make sure you make time in your life to just have...fun." of course she wasn't really the best to talk, with her whole life being work, but she did still find time to go wild every once in a while. She laughed a little. "It isn't the man who is boring, I'm sure you must be hiding some fun in there. You just let yourself get caught up in everything else." She leaned forward, her coffee cup held between her hands. "The trick is to just let yourself be silly every once in a while. Do something just because you want to."

She leaned back again with a smile, thinking of various silly things she had done or could do, and took a drink of her coffee. "Of course even I fall into the same trap. My schedule keeps me working double time plus all the other stuff on top of it. I don't necessarily have the life I wanted when I was younger, but I do try to have fun whenever I can get away with it." What was it about New Orleans that was making her realize just how empty her life was? That was the only negative about the place but it smarted.

“I suppose we are all guilty of the same sin, the sin of working ourselves too hard we must at least take time out for a little respite. I actually do not require that much rest but as a doctor I would actually suggest that you rest more even shifters have to sleep, sorry about this old habits and what not. Occupational hazard I’m afraid for a doctor this is precisely the reason why I can never seem to spare even an hour of my time, I suppose the myths are true about how a vampires feelings are amplified after they are sired.” he could have kicked himself for saying those things, first he tried to tell her what she should do and then he tells her that he will always be a stuffy man. It was a wonder that he ever left the house without his PDR and a stethoscope to boot. “How could I let this happen to myself? I would have thought after a few decades I would have changed a little-at least.” he thought bitterly as he finished his tea.

“Well I believe that I have prattled on enough for one night, I trust that you will keep me informed of the latest goings on as I will no doubt do the same. I promise you if anything dodgy is brought to my attention you will be the first to know my dear.” he said sincerely looking over at her with an expression that was filled with concern