The Nosferatu Adventures
page 242, chapter 242
Out of Time
The Scrapbook Conspiracy
Our heroine breathed in the crispness of the city air, her mouth overcome with the staleness of it; the hint of gasoline clinging to her senses as she turned the corner passing a car wash. The map she'd gotten from the corner store by Loki's apartment seemed such a foreign thing to her now, in it's bright colours, after having gotten used to the more or less cruder versions that Vlad's men had used. Modern life. Shaking her head, our heroine snarked at herself for the lost feeling she had now. This was the kind of life she had been living before Bacchus and Loki had dropped her in the Darkest Forest a decade before. She should have been more then happy to return to it. Sighing, she found herself at a small intersection, one direction seemed to be businesses, while the other turned off near a school. "This can't be right?" she mumbled to herself as she double checked her notes. According to the news clippings, this was the center point of where all the werewolf attacks had happened. "Who would be stupid enough to attack in such a high profile place?"
Closing her eyes, our heroine cracked her neck shaking out her shoulders. Her ears twitched as she listened, breathing slowly, decoding the city's smells. Her hazel eyes sprang open as she caught the scent of wet dog under the heavier smells of the uncollected trash, of a hair salon, of a paint store and a small Scandinavian deli. Heading straight, she followed the trail. "Now, let's just hope I'm not walking into a dog groomer."
The door to the little shop jingled as it was gently opened. Our heroine blinked craning her neck as she was overcome with a blast of scents. Dried herbs, incense, melted wax, cranberries, and dust. Slowly, she made her way around the front room of the little occult shop, her eyes sparkling as she did. If only Loki bothered to pay her for working for him, she'd actually be able to buy some of the items.
"Can I help..." she turned as the male voice broke out of the dim. "Mom?" The male was practically on top of her, his arms flung around her tight, his nose pressed to her shoulder, then her ear as he rapidly began sniffing her hair.
"Excuse me!" our heroine was appalled at the idea this middle aged man was calling her his mother. The smell of wet dog suddenly extremely powerful.
"Rufus, did I hear a customer?" Matilda asked as she entered from the back room, a deck of tarot cards in hand.
"Rufus?" our heroine stood mouth open in shock, eyes wide.
"This is Nosferatu." he said proudly, still holding on to her with one strong hand as he turned slightly towards the other female. His free hand behind him shaking as if a tail.The grin on his face making him look as if he were drunk. Matilda dropped the tarot cards letting them scatter to the floor in a mess, the shock clear in her eyes. Clearing her throat, she bent to pick up the cards, bowing her head slightly as she stood.
"So you're her." it was a statement not a question as she ran her hands through her frizzy hair finger combing it. Licking her lips, Matilda bit her nails, slightly bouncing on the balls of her feet.
"Yep yep." Rufus said gleefully, his eyes bright as he moved back and forth from one foot to the other in a semi-danced shuffle. "My mom. Well, not really...clearly not my mom but you know what I mean..." he hugged our heroine once more picking her up with a big squeeze before carelessly dropping her back to her feet.
"Rufus." our heroine said again, still in shock herself. "You're not...but you can't..."
"Familiars. Just like Finn." he said nodding as he grabbed hold of his jacket with both hands raising his chin. "We died." he stated matter of factly letting out a long sigh. "Then Loki brought us here..." he was about to say to help with The Seer, but was distracted as the door to the shop opened. Our heroine turned to see the sandy blonde male standing there looking lost. "Can I help you?" Rufus asked taking a large step around our heroine towards the customer.
"Buddy of mine said he got his tea leaves read the other week, thought I'd come by and give it a try." the 6foot tall man said as he closed the shop door behind him. Clearing her throat again, Matilda remarked she'd get the tea things ready, as she left the room. Rufus mumbled something about helping her as he began to follow, turning back around sharply on his heels, once again hugging our heroine before all but skipping into the back room. "Friend of yours then?" the guy asked as he leaned on the counter.
"Ah yeah he is. He grew up with...me." she replied finding herself captivated by his smile. It was a little crooked, his lips stretched over teeth as if they were fighting his mouth. Our heroine was tempted to stick her fingers in his mouth to check for fangs. A clock chimed in the hallway signaling that it was 1pm. Swearing, the female figured she better get back to the office before Loki had her head. Only, the guy wasn't moving to let her near the door. He seemed to have planted himself directly in her way, one knee bent, legs crossed at the ankle, his butt in the air as he leaned on his crossed arms, his leather jacket making noise as he did. "Excuse me. You're sort of blocking..."
"Arthur." he replied not looking at her.
"Arthur. Well, I'm late getting back from my lunch break so..." she finally had to shove past him to get to the door. Shaking her head in disbelief, our heroine walked as quickly as she could without using her werewolf speed as she headed back to the office.
Tune in again for another installment of the Nosferatu Adventures starring your heroine...me(straight up story. Ever notice how many 6 foot tall, blondish blue eyed men there really are in the world?)
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