20 | A Step Towards Something

                                    

                                          
Saturday, August 18, 2007
I stare down at the plastic card in my hand, proof that I'm allowed by law to operate a deadly, nearly two-ton machine, no matter who else on the road wants to protest. It raises many questions. First, why didn't Sergius place his boarding house closer to the city where public transportation was right around the corner? Second, wouldn't it be weird if a vampire got pulled over 20 years after getting their licence and still had the exact same face as they did in the photo? How do they get around that?
I feel something bump my arm and look up from the card to see Sergius in front of me with a raised eyebrow. He begins to lean against the drugstore shelf and nearly knocks over the neat row of shampoo bottles.
"Would you be so kind as to tell me why you are making that expression?"
I glance over at Nina, who is popping the cap to one and sniffing inside. Third, is this going to become a regular thing? Me driving her around to run errands? Not that I dislike Nina. She's generally quiet, and when we do talk, it's pleasant conversation about literature. But who wants to become an unpaid chauffeur?
Looking back at Sergius, I ask, "You aren't just going to read my mind without permission?"
The corner of his mouth twitches. "Well, Mr. Moody, I've been stepping on eggshells around you for the past month if you haven't noticed. Though, since Nina arrived, you've mostly mellowed out again."
"U-um, Natsu..." Nina's voice calls from beside me. She's holding two shampoo bottles in her hands, the caps flipped open. "Which of these scents do you like better?"
Deadpan, I stare at her. I don't like scents. Why on Earth is she asking me anyway?
She twists her mouth a little, then holds them up near my face. "Well, which is not..." Nina pauses to search for the right English word, "bad?"
I still don't understand why she's asking me. Should I just give her any answer?
"Oh. Nina," Sergius says, "I much prefer floral scents."
Nina looks at Sergius coldly, like he's a complete idiot.
"Ah, teenagers," Sergius sighs with affection. He looks back at me. "So, then, what was it?"
I turn the licence around so that Sergius can see it and point to my picture. "This," then I point to my birth date and the issue date, "and these. How do you get around... not aging? Or anything, really. Government documents, personal records..."
"Oh!" Sergius grins and leans closer. "We're everywhere," he whispers conspiratorially then laughs at the frown his creepy statement causes me to make. "Seriously, though. We have people basically everywhere. Not necessarily in all the smaller offices and such. But higher up?" He nods once.
"So anything can be manipulated," I confirm.
"Yep."
Ah, I'm sure there was extra special manipulation with me—the child of a Nativus and human.
"Nina," Sergius whines impatiently. "Natsu, pick one."
"Eh?"
"Pick which one you like best," he tells me, gesturing to the rows of shampoo where Nina is still standing.
"I don't find sniffing things fun."
Sergius gives me a strange expression with a forced smile. "Do it for Nina."
Eyes narrowed, I stare at Sergius, completely confused as to why I should do anything for Nina.
"She needs your help."