She had found her way to London, well, the trains atleast managed to get her there, a line from Portsmouth to Kings Cross Station. And at that she had become lucky, she saw a wix after leaving Kings Cross, they did have some weird outfits here. And she followed them, soon finding the way into their magical areas, Diagonalley they called this one. It was weird for it to be named after a direction, it was such a weird name, why would you choose that as a name of a place? Was there another magical location in England called Horizontal? She couldn't wait to visit Vertical.

So far she had found the location and the way to get in, so she decided it would be best to get herself some funds and find her way through some London streets. She knew the way back, so it didn't matter if she went exploring. But that was yesterday now, now was today. It was night, she had already taken some generous donations from people and now she was looking for shelter, but she could not pass up on this.

Prey, it was around eleven in the evening, and this person was now leaving what appeared to be a club called Calaveras, they would be easy to take a surprise donation from, and as such she had followed for a bit, although something was off, he didn't really seem drunk, however that didn't matter, meant most likely he had more money as he hadn't spent it on alcohol, this was very good.

She decided that while they were in the dark streets of...knockturn? It was a better name nonetheless. Now it was her time to strike, so speed up her walking to catch up to him. Next tactic was how to play this, she knew English, she hated speaking it, but she could, either she could just try slipping the money from the pocket as she want past, but she was behind and with so few about it would be noticeable, she didn't want another encounter like a couple nights ago now. A lost damsel approach could be best she figured, especially in somewhere as dark and grim as this, who wouldn't want to help out the little lost french girl from the scary alley?

"Pardon monsieur." She said softly but raised enough for it to travel, he would likely see her face but it mattered little, would he really get the magic police after a pickpocketer? Especially if he has had a few to drink, besides she would dump the non money anyway so what does he have to complain about. "I ah, seem to have lost my way." She said as she moved closer, she needed to get into arms reach, otherwise she can't really rob him can she?

Another day done, and Nate Briggs had locked up the backdoor of Calaveras for the night. He very often took the walk through Diagon where the restaurant was down through to the end of Knockturn on foot at a pace much slower than the hectic charge of a busy kitchen. A nocturnal constitutional of a sort. That, and if he just Apparated everywhere he wanted to be he'd only ever see two rooms and a toilet. He had come to an awkward peace with his current predicament. The predicament that had him watching the new for Theodora Kingstreet's movements, over his left shoulder for Lorelei Hunt, and over his right for Kurby Bagnold. Cinead Tawse and the Ministry, if you can believe it, didn't currently make the top three threats.

It was in this nine-fingered, devil-may-care existential peacefulness that the vampire found him. He didn't know that of course. He slowed just enough to turn halfway and take a look. Young, thin, graceful - definitely did not belong in Knockturn Alley. Nothing that belonged here would ever draw that much attention to itself not after sundown.

"You'd better Apparate to somewhere nicer, then," he suggested unhelpfully.

Apparate? Oh yes the popping thing she's seen people do, what did she remember about it...she'd learned that you had to be trained to do it, so that helped, lie, she should lie, she was not qualified. Simple solution, tell she's a vampire, not efficient here. Lie and say she is not trained to do so. He was not falling for her damsel approach, she would have to work harder at it, she can do that, she has had tough sells.

"Non, I am not how you say, trained? Practiced?" She hoped that not everyone could do so, he was walking and she'd seen others do it, if it was easy they would do it all the time, simpler and quicker, never be late, if awake. Although he may be sentimental, if spooked he would. She doesn't want that chance, she spent time following this prey, she spent too much time following, meaning she needed to get from him or she has wasted her chance.

"Monsieur, s'il vou plait, I would appreciate your help to find my way." She approached to lean into him a bit, her lips slightly parted in the hopes to give herself that slightly lost and scared look to herself, like she is latching onto the first person in the naive belief they will be her knight in shining armour. It had worked on people before, and she had no doubt that someone in a seedy alley would usually love to take advantage of that, especially after leaving a club. A 'perfect' evening to their nights, foolish for them to expect anything but their money to be taken from them, walking into such an obvious trap.

Nate had presumed his friendly Knockturn hostility would have been sufficient, but the pale shadow of a witch kept up her efforts. French, by the sound of her, and either new to Knockturn as she claimed or she thought he was. It made the hair on his neck stand-up.

"It's a road. Go that way," he replied against his better judgement. He pointed up the way he'd come and the way she'd come if geometry could be relied on. If his mother ever taught him anything it was not to talk back when the shadows talk to you. Maybe she was some very lost muggle muggle, or maybe she was a dangerous white glow attracting moths. Don't trust the gentle and bright, he'd heard once, but didn't know where.

"Whatever you want, I don't have it," he said and pulled his wand out to hold it at his side. And then, he very pointedly turned and kept walking. Whoever or whatever was turning his blood cold could find her own way home.

She got up to the prey, he was not very willing, on edge, she could have fun with him, the ways to stalk him, he was defensive, he likely had money, or knew things, both were good, money she needs, information is power, the information would be more useful then money. Especially if he was from around this dingy alley, he didn't look like he wanted to be caught, she supposed most people wouldn't want to be caught in an alley.

But he was being most unhelpful, it was fairly rude to say the least. Most uncooperative and trying to get her to go away, this would not do, what if she needed directions? Of course she didn't but the idea that if an innocent lost girl came here and asked him he would just leave her to her fate, not help her out. It was somewhat disgusting that he would leave someone like that in this place, she was pale sure but what if she was just unused to being outside. If anything taking his money seemed like the least she could for karma, she would need more from him.

He started pointing down the alley, she turned to look while her hand glided deftly as it reached for his pocket, in an attempt to lighten his load. This was the least amount of justice she could do for someone who would leave a poor girl stranded in a dark alley, filled with lowlifes and...worse things.

A vampire's unnatural swiftness and ability to weave a shadow easily outmatched a work-weary wizard. Nate did not detect her. In fact, what made him move wasn't any shuffling in his pocket nor the sound of two sickles rubbing together, it was that he'd stopped hearing her. He'd told her to leave him alone and she had, by his senses. This was on the surface desirable but in reality cause to check back over his shoulder again.

He expected to see her further back but when he turned she was nearly at his hip! Nate startled, swore, and put a few paces between them. For a second, he aimed his wand at her and stared. Grey. Wrong in stillness. And something overall lacking. A vampire. He'd bet on it.

"For fucksake..." he grumbled and let his wand hand drop. With his hand out like this, the state of his index finger was probably easy to see now. While all his other nine fingers were fleshed and pink, his index was made only of bone.

"This is exactly what I need," Nate muttered to himself and began patting his pocket for a cigarette. Must be in the other pocket, he thought, but no. He looked up at the vampire. He seemed exceedingly tired. He was being very politely mugged by an undead abomination French vampire. What a lovely night. He held out his off-hand and wiggled a finger.

"At least give us back the cigarettes."

He didn't rightly remember what else he was carrying on him.

Sade at first was amused by his reaction to her suddenly being by his side, although that turned into cautious smugness as he drew a wand. That was not something she was fond of. She didn't think most people liked having men waving their sticks at them, even if it was a decent length it still seemed rude to do so. She made sure as he was pointing it at her to hide the money on her person, didn't want him quickly wanding it out did she, it was hers, she had won it fair and square. Her prey had no say anymore.

She kept watching as he seemed to relax somewhat, although she was not sure if it was being tired or just fed up, both of these things could work, perhaps he knew the superior predator was around and he had no way of stopping her. She doubted it, people could be very dumb, especially when considering he was seeming to miss one of his fingers, well that was the wrong term, he had flayed one of the fingers. It didn't seem like a good thing to do, likely not self inflicted, unless he was dumb or into that sort of thing.

Cigarettes? Oh yes, she supposed she didn't need his, she still had some of her own and he had sort of caught her, he deserved that atleast. She pulled the pack out and tossed it towards him, then pulled out another sort she had taken from a muggle. She rolled a couple and pulled a lighter with a smirk. "Oui, monsieur may have them back." She said calmly as she offered one of her own rolled ones. She didn't even need to smoke, well, she didn't feel anything from it, she doubted she could take any damage from them, she supposed it was just force of habit.

She held her two between a couple of fingers and stretched her hand out in an offering of sorts. Her other reaching for a lighter in her pocket. "You do not want the money back aswell?" She asked, it was curious that someone cared more about a few cigarettes over their money.

Nate caught his pack of cigarettes and put them back in his pocket, and then waved off the offer of the vampire's homemade cache. Never accept anything in Knockturn Alley, especially not a favor or anything you didn't pay for. It wasn't that they were all traps but you could never tell.

Oh, right. His money.

"I dunno," he said. "How much is it?"

He rarely carried more than ten galleons. He certainly would like his money back, but it might not be worth the trouble.

"So, what are you, a vampire? What kind of vampire picks pockets?" he asked and leaned against a building. "And then gives it back?"

He wondered then if she planned to bite him. That's what vampires did, didn't they? Hunted and fed and put on fabulous airs or creepy grins, while humans' blood went cold.

"Who said I'm returning the money." She casually remarked, putting one rollup away as she lit the second, covering the lighter from the wind as she did so. He was an odd one, he seemed uncomfortable to her, but not too scared of her, even suspecting she is a vampire, he was interesting prey. Even if she didn't make much this experience was a very peculiar encounter and something she hoped she remembered, if her memory doesn't go again.

"Maybe I will keep them non? Maybe I'm interested in why you want these more then your money." She moves her hands back and then leans onto the wall herself. "I can make an offer for your money back."

"Et oui, je suis Vampire. Et toi?" She glared towards him, head tilted down with a smirk over her features, maybe she can get more from this then she thought if this didn't make him flee, atleast she would have the money however.

Nate kept silent for a long while then, uncomfortably aware of the pulse in his neck. The only French he knew was about laughter and crying, learnt from his mother's scratchy Edith Piaf records; the friendly French/English cognate confirmed the situation well enough. Oui, vampire. She looked young, but that didn't mean anything. Whatever being lived in that waif's skin now had been there, could be, decades longer than the original girl. The vampire, then, had all the time in the world.

Nate scuffed the toe of his shoe in a crack in the pavement, turning over a broken shard of cobblestone.

"Does this usually work for you," he asked. "The whole pretending-to-be-lost bit? Do you earn a meal that way?"

He ought to Apparate away.

Did she earn a meal this way? She supposed sometimes, she doesn't like feeding off of people this way, she doesn't like feeding at all. But that was more likely to do with her feeling guilty over it, but there wasn't another way for her to feed, either she attacked people or she fed when they were asleep. She preferred the latter, and she did her best to pay back for it.

"Meal? Non, shelter? Oui. I find a few fall for it and I take their money. Drunks are easy but don't often have much." She glanced at his neck before looking him over again, she didn't need to feed but it was worth sizing him up, though she doubted he could outrun or fight this close. She had speed and if he fled she was in danger, so she would have no choice but to go all out incase he tried telling someone.

"My, so you call. Meals, shouldn't know what happens. Or I am doing something very wrong." She said with smoke exhaling from her. "You earn meals being robbed?" She smirked as her hand jingled his money to tease.

Nate took a step away from the wall, a step away from the vampire. Good idea, generally, to step away from vampires. He didn't understand what he was trying to say, but he did see her look at him like he was a kebab. He lit a cigarette and his face was momentarily illuminated in a yellowy-orange glow.

"Why not break into homes," he asked . "Shelter, valuables, finite incantatum."[1]

He was, of course, speaking from experience. He wondered if a vampire's unique attributes would be better suited to the exercise than wizards' tools. By now, he was out of the burglary game, though. It was too risky; he'd made too many 'friends'.

1.	Nate's using the incantation as if to say, that's that, or bob's your uncle.

"What if I have. Or I am just looking for a place? You seem to know a thing, why not join? Get more then this." She held out the money before tossing it towards him, this was interesting enough, in the first place she likely spent more time then the amount of money he had was worth, and secondly this was a good enough outcome that she didn't need the money from him, just someone to talk to was turning out well.

"But say that I have money, I just need somewhere safe to sleep. Where might you recommend?" She eyed him up and down again with a small smirk on her lips. "Or perhaps if you are not so scared, might share non?" She teased, her tone attempting to imply a joke with it although her lack of communication in the past year or so has not helped her with talking, but she has to her knowledge a way around, she was not wanted, people were scared of her, she could only come out at night, what sort of person would willingly want to talk to her.

She exhaled and closed her eyes. "Do not fear, I fed recently and can control myself." She opened her closest eye to look at him. Partly for expecting an attack and to make sure he isn't running yet, she wanted to toy with the prey more before releasing or they run.

Nate made an uncealed look of repulsion at the idea that he'd share a residence with a vampire. He may be a walking bad decision but he didn't have a death wish. Holy hell. Maybe the vampire was joking, likely he supposed, but the though chilled his bones and turned his stomach. Looked human, sounded human, once human but ... not human. Not possessed, not alive, not dead. Whatever they were Nate wanted to stay as far from them as possible, but you couldn't just go running and screaming. He heard a rumor it just made them hungrier. And this vampire? She was odd and unpredictable and unsettling.

"I recommend you find a wealthier mark," he snarked. "Knightsbridge, maybe."

Poshest neighborhood in the city. Nate took a long draw from the cigarette. On the exhale, he made a pained face.

"Look. This whole bit, I don't need it. I'm dealing with enough shit to have 'consorting with a vampire' on the list. Find your snack or your sickles or your coffin someplace else, or let me know and I'll hex your face off."

The whole speech came out as more weary but there was a note of irritation leaning on desperation. He was on parole and being closely watched.

Hex her face off? That was an unusual term, can he remove her face? Interesting, interesting indeed. He really didn't seem to like her, which was both intriguing and funny to her, why would he be so scared, well obviously she drank blood, not enough to kill however. Even with that as the case she wouldn't kill him, she already said she wouldn't feed off him. Or atleast she hoped she did, but she supposed it was good he wanted nothing to do with her, means he is less likely to tell of theft. Although she did give it back so was anything truly stolen?

"By wealthier, you mean anyone worth any amount of time?" She asked with a smirk, trying to get a rise out of him, he wanted to be rude, she can be back. "If I robbed from wealthy then someone may care."

She heard the weariness in his voice, but she didn't think that excused pure rudeness. "Fine then, you have my permission to leave, go leave back to your crevice." She leaned onto the wall, a mocking smirk taking over her face. "Just know that your tone isn't how you speak to a lady. Be nicer if you ever want someone."