Invaluable Error

Dia Thames

The Beast lingers just beneath the surface~
Original poster
LURKER MEMBER
FOLKLORE MEMBER
Invitation Status
  1. Looking for partners
Posting Speed
  1. One post per day
  2. 1-3 posts per week
  3. One post per week
Writing Levels
  1. Intermediate
  2. Adept
  3. Advanced
Preferred Character Gender
  1. Male
  2. Female
  3. Primarily Prefer Male
Genres
Dark Subject Matter, Post Apocalyptic, Apocalyptic, Romance, Fantasy (usually Urban fantasy, but I've done high fantasy before too), Horror
The creature of the dark laid back on his couch, lazily watching the TV. It was getting late at night, The Late Show playing while he mindlessly watched it. Lately there had been nothing to do besides hunt. He sat up and sighed, looking at the clock. It was a little after eleven O'Clock. His throat burned a bit as hunting crossed his mind. He had just hunted the night before, coming across a couple hiking in the woods. Vincent had drained the woman clean of blood before slitting the man's throat. He saw no need to gorge himself with blood...plus drinking strait from another male wasn't his thing at all. The Vampire walked towards the front door, walking right past the window, stopping for a brief moment to look out. It was raining pretty bad out there but he found himself starving again. Vincent was starting to feed more frequently now a days so he had to move out here. Dead bodies showing up in the allyways of a city was starting to look suspicious to the Police. Now he lived in a fully functional cabin in the woods hundreds of miles away from the city. Here he could bury bodies and leave them to the wild animals to dig up and eat. By the time anyone found the body if anyone it would be too destroyed to make a positive Identification.

The Creature walked to the door and twisted the knob, pushing it open. He stepped out into the rain. It made it harder to track any scents around here with the fresh scent of the rain, but Vincent never backed down from a challange. It had always gotten him into trouble with his Maker, the Man who had turned him at the age of Twenty-two. His body had not aged a second since then, though it had been nearly fourty years. The bloodthirsty man was thankful for his eternal youth. As he looked around the vampire's shaggy dark brown hair plasterd to his pale body, the cold rain attempting to freeze his already frigid body. The blood-red eyed creature picked up a slight scent in the air...the scent of already spilt blood. Vincent carefully followed it, his body tense with the anticipation of the Kill. He followed it a few miles until he came across a young woman....not looking more than sixteen shaking and crying. Lost and alone....alone...alone. The vampire looked at her, chuckling a bit too loudly. The creature stopped just feet from her.

"Can I help you Miss...?"

Slowly his head raised and he looked at her strait in the eyes. A loud screech echoed as she met his red eyes. Vincent lunged forwards and forced her to her feet and against his body. His Fangs sunk into her neck and she struggled uselessly against him. He Drank until his thirst was satisfyed and her body went limp. Dropping it he slowly walked forwards. While he was feeding he heard a sound. The red eyed creature had no idea just who or what is was but he had to find out....if someone had seen him he would have to kill them too. The exsistance of vampires had to be kept on the down low...or else humans would panic and would start making feeding troublesome. Quietly, like the predetor he was he crept further into the night...attempting to find the source of the sounds.
 
The child, of a mere two years, stumbled forward in the dark rain, not knowing what to make of his surroundings. He had no idea of the racket he was making. He had been out for so long, he could do hardly more than mewl feebly. Farther forward, he heard the sounds of screams, and he moved toward them as fast as he could, which wasn't much. The rain pelted down relentlessly, the infant's temperature falling even lower. Cuts covered the young one's body, scratches from thorns and sticks. His body was so weak, he could do little more than crawl forward on his hands and knees. His dark hair fell over his eyes, and he didn't bother to brush it away.

Eventually, he came upon what he thought was a man. He smiled at him, believing him to be a kindred spirit, with most of his teeth still having yet to come through. He didn't notice his eyes, or his odd demeanor, as he was too young to know what any sort of 'evil' was. A flash of lightning streaked across the sky, thunder following mere seconds after. The rain seemed to pour even more after that, and the boy lifted a trembling hand to the stranger, believing him to help the child, all the while that silly smile never left his face.
 
The vampire wondered into a clearing not too much further into the forest. He stopped, listening around for the sounds again. After a few moments of only hearing the rain patter onto the inhabitants of the forest they came again. The tiny foot falls of a small creature. They were coming towards him. He paused and watched as a tiny human made his way out of the bushes. Vincent's eyes widened in sheer suprise. By the smell...it was human. But how in Hades did he get out here? The infant was soaked to the bone...and he smelled the child's woulds before he saw them. The poor tike was coverd in scrapes and scratches. From where he stood the vampire could see the child's pathetic tiny frame shaking from the cold. Vincent didn't notice a thing seeing as his skin was already considerably cooler to the touch...he could get sick; but nothing like a human. Human's were so fragile...
The infant's dark hair had fallen in his eyes as he toddled towards Vincent.

When he was close the child reached out a trembling hand towards him. The creature looked down at him and blinked...a bit confused. Why wasn't this tiny human afraid of him? He could so easily become a snack for the blood thirsty monster...but no, he reached out for help. Vincent got closer to him, stopping and looking down. He wasn't too fond of children...before he turned nor after. If a woman said a thing about having kids you could bet she never heard from him again. Yet here he was...considering taking the child in and out of the rain. A frown formed on his lips as he knew that he would have to carry him. The child looked weak and frail. He sighed heavily as he leaned forwards and picked up the young human, looking him right in the eyes.

"You have no Idea what you are getting yourself into little brat. I could very well eat you for a snack and you would still sit here and smile at me like that."

Vincent retraced his steps and went back into the house, setting the child at his feet. He looked at him and frowned once more.

"Stay small human...stay...right here. Don't touch...anything."

With that the vampire disappeaed down the hall, headed towards his room to fetch a pair of clean clothes and a first aid kit he kept in the house as to make everything look less Vampireish and more human like. If the need ever came where the police had to search his house...everything would look...well...normal.

 
The creature picked up the boy, and although he had no warmth, just the feeling of being held, of being touched, made the child believe he was warm again. Through the forest they went, and while the rain didn't let up, and it was damn near impossible for any human to see, the vampire led them both to a house.

Once inside, the vampire put the child on the floor, and instantly the believed warmth was gone, but in the house it was considerably warmer than outside. He told the boy to wait and not touch anything, but the child could do little more than crawl. The house, while not incredibly big, was a marvel for the child, as he had only lived in a little more than a cardboard box. He had no name he could think of, and little memory of what his mother looked like. All he knew was his mother had dropped him off in the forest in the middle of the night, this night, for reasons he couldn't comprehend. He could walk, but not very well, still the toddly, uncoordinated way a child uses when he's still learning.

When the vampire returned, the barefoot child's smile returned with him.
 
When the Vampire returned he held a box in his hands. It was white with the red medical cross on it. He was also in a new change of clothes, Black sweat bottoms with a black tanktop. The creature sat down crosslegged infront of the tiny boy and looked at him for a moment before starting to dig through the first-aid Kit. He began by taking out alchcohol swabs and cleanched his jaw at any noise they tiny human might make as he cleaned the boys scrapes and cuts. Vincent had heard for the first little while it stung but after awhile it would feel better. Then after he had cleaned up his cuts and scrapes bandaged him up the best he could before standing up and cleaning up the First-Aid kit. He left for a few moments to return it then he came back, looking down at the child with a heavy sigh. He looked at the child strait in the eyes with his red eyes and bit his lip while he thought of what to do.

The tiny creature looked exausted so he reached down and picked him up again, swiping the blanket off the couch and taking him back to the office area. Vincent had a couch in there where he usually spent the days he wasn't in town, on his labtop usally doing something unproductive. He set the boy down there and lazily draped the blanket over him. The vampire was at a loss what to do with this small human. Vampires were not programmed to be loving and affectionate...but he had seen some who were an exception to that rule. None the less he wouldn't conform to that so he shut the light off and turned around, walking out without saying a thing. He went down the hall to his room and laid back on his bed with the lights off...it was going to be the longest night of his entire life...

The next morning he poked his head into the office to see what had become of the child.


 
After the vampire patched the boy up, after the boy wept through the pain of the alcohol, he put him to sleep in the couch. It smelled of old blood and graphite, a mixed scent that comforted the child, and he quickly fell asleep despite his still wet clothes and a pervading hunger. He awoke refreshed and hungry, and upon seeing the vampire, he said one of the few words he knew:

"Hungee!"

He repeated it several times, pointing into his open mouth. He poked at his bandages, ran about the room, as though he had been revived from the dead and just now feeling living for the first time in several years. After a while, he stopped moving about and began hopping from foot to foot. "Gotta go bath'oom." he said simply, sticking his hands between his thighs. A dark stain appeared in his pants, and leaked onto the carpet. "Sowwy." The child said before running about again as if nothing had happened.
 
Vincent had regretted sticking his head into the office, cause all that ensued there was pure chaos. The child that had been practically lifeless before was now filled to the brim with energy. He had slid off the couch and was running about the room. As the child spotted him he pointed to his mouth several times and repeated the word "Hungee" which he guessed meant "hungry". The vampire got a bad feeling in the pit of his stoumuch as he started hopping from foot to foot. The small human stuck his hand between his legs before stating he had to go to the bathroom. And...before Vincent could say anything, or do anything for that matter the little boy wet his pants. After apologizing he began to run about again. Vincent sighed and hung his head murmmering to himself: This is not happening Vincent....it's just a dream...A terrible one...time to wake up...please.

But much to his dismay it wasn't dream. The child was still here and was still creating a mess in the Office. He went over to the child running around and stopped him in his tracks. A growl escaped his lips and his piercing red eyes potrayed just how upset he was with the child. Vincent Picked him up by his two tiny arms and held him away from him as he walked down the to the bathroom. He couldn't believe he was taking care of a child after, even in his human years, vowed not to have any. Yet now he was stuck with washing the child, the child clothing, and soon would have to feed it. Children were so much work and required alot of patience of which he had none. The red eyed beast set the child down near him and filled the tub with warm water. After it was at the right level he shut it off and undressed the child, placing him in the bathtub. A scowl was burned into his expression now, looking down at the child in the bathtub.

"Listen Brat! You DO NOT use the bathroom on my carpet.You use the toilet. Stay here and just don't touch ANYthing."

He grabbed the clothing and turned about, leaving the bathroom. Vincent went to the Closet where the washer and dryer were tucked away. The creature put the childs clothing into the washer before grabbing the cleaning suppiles he went into the closest town to get. Vincent went into the office and scrubbed at the spot until he felt satisfyed with it's cleanliness. He returned the supplies and went back to the bathroom, sitting on top of the toilet near the bathtub/Shower. He just sat there and stared off into space for a little bit before looking the child in the eyes, mummering what he had been thinking about.

"Where in Hades is your mother anyways...? No mother just drops her kid off in the wilderness for no apperent reason..."

Awkwardly...mostly for him...He helped the child clean up. Not having anything for the child to wear just yet he went into his room and pulled out a bug of clothing that had been left here by the last family. They had a few small children who at the time he bought the house were afraid of him. The vampire tried to get them to take the clothing but they insisted he keep it...even when he insisted there would be no small children around...not ever. In the bag were a couple of old outfits. They were a bit worn but there was packaged underwear that was brand new. He took an outfit and dressed the child. After dressing him went and moved the kids clothing to the dryer. The vampire then went back and looked at the kid....he couldn't believe he was talking to a small child who barely had the means of communicating the simplist things.

"What kind of food do you eat...?"
 
Once in the bathtub, the boy played with the water, spilling much of it over the sides. He laughed while doing so, his smile looking as if it might split his cheeks. The water was a little hot for the child, but he didn't mind terribly. He talked to himself while the vampire was out, but mostly it was the mindless babbling of a young one. When his stomach gurgled in hunger, he giggled, saying, "Tummy talking!" When he saw that the vampire had returned, he pointed to his midsection, repeating his previous sentiment. Then saying, "'ou smell icky. You want water, too?" and throwing a handful of water onto the vampire, laughing at his distress.

After he had gotten clean, he was dressed in clothes smelling of mothballs and old linen. The pants were two sizes to big, and needed to be rolled up, but the shirt fit reasonably well. When the man left again, the boy followed him, to great big machines he had no idea what they were used for. "What that?" He questioned, pointing, but quickly becoming bored and poking himself in the eye. "Owie!"

When the vampire asked him what kind of food he ate, the boy merely looked at him and said, "Hungee!" multiple times, as he had done earlier. Then, the child clung to his leg, impairing his movement. "Hungee, hungee, hungee!" He shouted, half joking, half not.
 
When Vincent came back he spyed the mess of water around the front of the tub. He giggled and motioned to his stoumuch. In delight he told the creature it was talking. To tell the truth he had almost expected this from the child...it was just another mess he had to clean. Vincent went over to the sink again and retived a towl from underneath the sink. He dropped it on the mess of water around the front of the tub, soaking up the water. While he was cleaning it up the boy exclaimed that Vincent also 'smelled icky' and splashed water on him, soaking his hair and the upper half of the front of his tanktop. As the Vampire sighed heavily the child laughed at his frustration. After the Bath and dressing him as he went to go place the child's clothing in the dryer small footfalls indicated he was being followed. The child watched him as he put his clothing in the dryer then proceeded to ask what it was. Vincent turned to him, getting dor to his level and looked at him.

"Those are two machines that cost alot of money. Do not touch them or go near them for that matter. Only the monster is allowed to touch them and the monster is me."

He stood back up, still looking at the child and asked him what he ate but all he kept repeting was that he was hungry. The child clung to his leg and repeted it again and again. It seemed as if the small human took delight in Vincent's misery. Vincent dragged him into the kitchen and searched though the cupboards. Finally he found onecan of Spaghettios. Suprisingly it wasn't expired. The Vampire sighed as he looked from the can of human food to the boy. It had been over fourty years since he had cooked anything. The creature wouldn't be suprised if he failed at preparing something as simple as canned Pasta. Following the instructions he felt like a child... but he followed them and managed to cook the food without burning it...terribly. Pouring some of it into a bowl he set it in front of the child and the child in a chair a bit out of reach from the table and food. He looked at him.

"Be careful...it is a little hot."

Vincent placed the spoon in the food and scooted him closer to the table. The creature sat and watched him as the usual chaos ensued once again.
 
"Monster, monster, monster, monster!" The child laughed, repeating the word as he got ready to eat the food. When he brought the spoon to his mouth, "Owie, hot, hot, hot, monster, hot, no, monster!" He blew on it in a ridiculous fashion, until he felt it was sufficiently cooled down. He once again brought the food to his mouth, and ate about half a spoonful, before spitting it out and crying, "Bad taste, icky!" He got himself down from the chair, put his hands out like an airplane's wings, and ran around, laughing and shouting, "Bad taste, icky monster, bad taste, icky monster."

He ran down the hallway, repeating, "Cannot find me!" He found a room, apparently the vampire's bedroom, and went to the bed, hiding under the covers, still whispering "Cannot find me, monster," like a mantra. "It dark," He giggled, the same smell of old blood and graphite permeating the bedclothes of the cushions. "Where am I?" The boy asked no one in particular, just another part of his game, then laughed once more.
 
Vincent watched as the the boy blew on his food in a ridiculous fashion. He looked like he was trying way too hard to cool it down. But The creature concluded that to this boy...it was all one big fun game. Vincent hardly thought so though...just in the morning hours watching out for this little child was annoying him a bit but mostly starting to wear him down. Then he took a bite of the food and declared it bad tasting. What did he expect? He was a vampire and as one he didn't need to know how to cook...only how to lure, hunt, and seduce his prey. That being much easier than pleasing this young human boy. He climbed down from his perch on the chair and started to run around again, his arms spreadout much like an airplane.

The child ran out of the kitchen and down the hall. With that Vincent jumped to his feet and followed the boys scent down to his room. As he came though the doorway he heard the small child giggle and ask no one in particular where he was...but Vincent would awnser that question. He saw the tiny lump in the sheets and pulled back the covers, a frown on his lips. He picked up the child by his arms again and held him away from him.

"This is My bed...I sleep in here. I do not want you in here either. I don't want my room smelling like human."
Vincent went out of the room, shutting the door and went back to the kitchen, setting him back in his chair.

"You eat. I do not have anything else for you right now. Eat and you can go play...Play in the park with other little kids okay?"

He sat down in the seat next to the boy...half expecting to be coverd in a bowl full of canned pasta any second now.
 
When the vampire found the child, he laughed as if it was the funniest thing ever. Back at his seat, with the food in front of him, he put his hand into the soup, and spread it over the table. Giggling, the boy continued, creating an even bigger mess. Pretty soon, the food was all over the boy and the table, and little spatters of this were on the vampire. After he had finished his "artwork" he looked at the vampire and laughed.

He ran off into the hallway again, expecting to be chased by the vampire. He ran his hands downs the walls, creating red-orange streaks that smelled of Spaghettios. At the end of the hallway, he turned around, running between the vampire's legs. Turning around, he attempted to do the same again, but got caught.
 
When he in annoyance pulled the child from his bed and shut the door he just laughed. Laughed like the creature had just preformed some hilarious circus tricks. The vampire brought him back to the table to eat his food but he would soon regret that. Instead of eating the child found it quite nessary to make ANOTHER mess. The tiny human buried his hands into the now cooled soup and commenced splashing, splashing tomato sauce all over. It saturated the table, floor, the tiny boy, and the Vampire. Vincent didn't even bother to stop him, seeing as this was becoming quite normal. His eye brows twitched in annoyance as the child giggled at the scene. It didn't matter what he was doing it seemed that he was having the time of his short life. An Alarm set off in him as the little boy slipped out of his seat.

He took off down the hall and the red-eyed creature flew to his feet in pursuit. Vincent watched in horror as the child ran up and down the hall, streaking his dirty, food covered hands all over his walls. Vincent chased after him and followed him up the hall, cornering him. But it was to no avail as the child simply ran between his legs. The Vampire whirled around as he began to streak more food onto his walls. He ran up to the child and caught him by the arm again, tugging him down the hall to the bathroom. The Vampire took out a wash cloth and ran it under hot water before wiping the boy clean of his mess. The Clothes he had just dressed the child in were now a mess as well. As he pulled off those clothes and led him down the hall to the dryer he scowled down at him sourly.

"You DO NOT do that with food! You eat it! You made another mess I have to clean! Stop making messes!"

He dressed the boy before taking him back into the office, taking his laptop with him or anything that could be damaaged by the careless toddler. Vincent shut the door and put the stuff into his room, locking the door before going to shower himself. WHile he showered he decided that it was time to take the child out of the house. It was only about Noon but the child had caused more chaos than he thought ever possible for anything that small. He stepped out of the shower and went and dressed into jeans and a black dress Shirt, leaving the top few buttons undone. The vampire went out and scowled as he cleaned the pasta and sause from the walls, table, and floor. It took him some time but he finnished. Then Vincent sighed and went to the office, opening to door to see what had become of the room.
 
The vampire left the boy in the he had slept in, and the child heard the shower being turned on. Figuring he should "try" to be quiet, he quickly grew bored, and spun around on the wheeled chair. His tiny arms soon grew tired, and he got down, looking for something else to do. Finding a notebook and a pen, he drew on the papers inside, not caring whether or not something was written on them.

One picture was a scribbly mass of black ink, with a white smile and two white circles for eyes. Another was of a black cat slash person, who was standing in front of a dark forest-like mass. The child drew more nonsensical drawings, some of them one could make nothing out of. When the vampire came back, he held up the first one, saying, "Look it."
 
When Vincent walked into the room he saw it wasn't a mess but the child sat on the computer chair, holding up a drawing. He walked into the room, towards him. The vampire took the note book into his hands and looked at it. He looked though them, confused by some of them. The creature looked down at the child.

"What...are these...?"

He held up the non-sensical drawings for the child to see but as he did to his horror he recognized the notebook. It was his note book that he kept track of his finances in before doing bills on the computer. To his horror almost every page was filled with the nonsensical musings of a two year old. IN frustration he slapped it shut and picked up the child. He didn't say anything but it was clear even to a two year old that he was angry. The red eyed man went into his room and stuffed small shoes into his feet from the old bag of clothes, luckily they were only a little big. After he tied the shoes the man took him out to an big SUV. It looked nearly new and was black silver in color. Vincent plopped him in the front seat, covering his lap in the lap belt before going around to the otherside and climbing in and starting the car. As they pulled out he put his seatbelt on and drove off down the dirt road. It was long and bumpy...it was over ten minuets before they hit pavement and were on thier way into the city.
 
The child could tell that he was angry, his body language said it all. "Sowwy," He said, before not caring anymore. When the vampire started putting shoes on him, he asked, "Awe we going on a twip?"

Once in the car he announced, "It so big! Where awe we going?" He continued saying that, his voice vibrating with the rocky road. When he stopped, he opened his mouth, creating a "ayuhayuh," sort of sound. After a while, the dirt road became asphalt, and the fun from the uneven road was lost. The child continued with his previous way of entertainment, saying, "Where we going, where we going?" over and over again.

The city rose over the trees eventually, and the child awed at it in silence.
 
Vincent had to refrain from snapping at the child as he repeatedly asked where they were going. Not only that but during thier trip on the uneven road the tiny human felt it was nessary to make an array of annoying sounds. But right now he would have prefurred that over his constant talking. That went on every minuete or so until they reached the outskirts of the city and the city broke though the trees. It was a big city but it wasn't anything like New York or Los Angeles. It had lot's of thriving businesses and a few parks. It was a place where alot of people lived and raised thier families. His whole point was to get the child somewhere he could entertain himself without breaking anything but now he had a brand new Idea. Familys...all he had to do was find a woman who thought the kid was adorable and pawn him off on her. It wasn't his job to raise the child...nor was it responsiblity but women had more of touch for those kind of things.

He drove around for a little while before drivings though a McDonalds and Picking up a six piece chicken nuggets without any sause...a meal that he could not imagine the child making a mess of. The Vampire opened them and handed them to him before he drove down the street to a huge park. There were lots of children playing and citizens of this city walking around the park either for relaxation or to watch thier kid. The man waited for him to finnish his food before turning him loose on the huge play ground to play with the other children. He sat back in a bench near the play ground and looked exausted. This kid was really getting to him...he had to find some lady to pawn him off on soon...or this was going to be the death of him.
 
After finishing the food, the child ran off to play, instantly finding other children to do things with. After a while, one of the children's parents asked him where his mother or father was. Instantly, he pointed to the vampire, smiling, and saying, "The monster's my daddy." The mother thought this was the cutest thing ever, and tittered a bit.

Rachelle Levine crept behind the man sitting on the bench, camera ready. She shook her natural red hair to one side to keep it out of her eyes. There was something about this particular man that was different from the others at the park. He had a certain...air about him, that drew her to him. The light danced through his hair, and Rachelle marveled at it as she rolled into his shadow.

Making the final checks, she snaps the photo with her old fashioned camera. The photo came out of the slot in the front, already developing. The snap of the camera flashing alerted him to her presence. Or, if that hadn't, then certainly her shout of,
"Yes!" would have told him someone was fooling around behind him. She stood up, apologizing profusely. "Sorry, it's just I'm so used to photographing birds and animals, I get used to not asking permission. Here," she handed him the photograph, "You can keep it as an apology. I'm Rachelle, by the way." The woman smiled, moving around to his front, and holding out her hand. "Damn! You're even better from the front!" She laughed, sitting down next to him.
 
Vincent frowned a bit as the women here watching their children chatted and whispered about the two year old child playing on the playground. Appently he had told other children and their mothers that he...was his father. The vampire sighed in frustration. What was the child going to do next? It seemed he caused problems no matter where he went. Not only that but the entire time he had been here he coud feel a preasance about him. He Couldn't determine a spesfic scent because of all the humans around but it was definitely a human. As he sat there in the sun he tried to ignore it, trying to seem as human as possibly though it was hard with how pale he was compaired to the humans. The day was cloudless and sunny. Luckily for him he caught the bench in the place where there was no shade. The sun beat down on him relentlessly. It didn't hurt him...contrary to popular belief amung humans...and it did not make him sparkle either. It was beyond the vampire just exactly how humans came up with that one. The sun just drained his energy faster. Suddenly he heard the flash and click of an old fashioned camera...something he had not heard in a long time. It brought back memories to around the time he was first turned...those cameras were the first thing he saw. The Maker gawking at his creation and snapping photos like humans seemed to like to do at the birth of their child.

He turned to look at the person taking the picture. It was a woman who seemed excited that she had just taken a picture of what was probably himself. Then she looked at him and apologized, explaining that shew was used to taking pictures of animals so she wasn't used to asking for premission. Afterwards she handed him a photograph, telling him to keep it as an apology. She then gave him her name...Rachelle. It was a pretty name for a pretty woman who had a full-head of red hair. Rachelle moved around to the front of hiim and extended him her hand. Hesitantly he reached out and took it, shaking it briefly. As his hand slid out of hers she complemented his looks as she came around and sat next to him. As she laughed he forced a smile and chuckled a bit. He handed he the photograph back as he looked her right in the eyes.

"It's fine. You can keep it if you'd like. The last thing I need is a picture of myself. I"m just here with...my...Adopted son. He felt cooped up at the house so I brought him out to play. It would be a shame for anyone to waste such a day."

He smiled charmingly at her before looking back off to the children and watching them play.
 
"Which one is he?" Rachelle asked, looking out amongst the sea of children. "Let me guess, it's that one over there. The little kid with the black hair." She pointed him out, getting it exactly correct. "He's cute. If I could have children, I'd definitely want him to look like yours. Not like that one over there." She pointed at a five year old who had curly red hair and freckles all over himself. Standing up, she put one foot on the bench and leaned into it slightly. "But, alas, that is the curse of the Levine family: infertility in half the offspring." She took off her hat, placing it over her heart in a way only seen in cliche' plays.

She laughed, sitting back down.
"Sorry, I sort of have a thing for theatrics. But, I guess you can kind of tell by my outfit." She gestures to her colorful jacket, ripped jeans, and brown fedora.