"How old are ya?" As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He knew never to ask a woman her age, but the fact that she drank and smoked and looked no older than 16 confused him. And no one denied her drinks. Maybe even humans could feel her power. She didn't snap at him, but turned slowly and a slight smile slipped across her lips.

"Old enough. Just like you. Where's your car?" She slid off the stool, stubbed out her cigarette on the counter and heaved her bag higher onto her shoulder. "ya buy this, I'll buy the next one," she said. Somehow a cigarette had appeared behind her right ear. She strutted out of the bar. He slapped down his cask and hunkered after her. He was being obedient. And he didn't like doing that. When he was outside, she was a considerable distance away. He jogged to catch up to her. What was he doing? He stopped in mid-stride. This was foolish. Since when did he, and the animal within, have to hunt to eat? Since when did he have to follow someone like they were the alpha. That wasn't right. But his nose caught her smell and he saw his feet stepping forward. He needed a shower when he got to wherever he was going. A cold one. "Are ya comin'?" she called. She was already at the bar's parking lot, wandering aimlessly between the pick-up trucks.

"It's this one," he said, fumbling with his keys. She approached the vehicle, a rusty blue Ford pick-up truck, with pale, ripped leather seats and a dusty dashboard. "It runs," he said in response to any questions she might have. She smirked and ripped open the door and slid across the seat. She dropped the bag between her feet and sat on her hands. "So where ya headed?" She shrugged and looked out the window. She jiggled her leg.

"It doesn't matter. Wherever you're tryin' to go is fine. Ya don't have a woman with ya do ya?" she asked, taking the cigarette from behind her ear and popping it between her lips. She didn't light it. Her eyes flashed a cool cerulean. He laughed at the thought. The last woman he'd had was three weeks ago with short, red hair and a sweet demeanor.

"No, there's no woman. I guess we can head East, maybe go for a city?" he asked, switching into gear and pulling out of the parking lot. Her tongue stud clicked angrily against her teeth and she grabbed her forehead in her hand and stared out the window. "Ok, or we can go somewhere else."

"The city is fine, I just have some bisness to handle. Whatever, let's go," she said. The clicking slowed to a rhythmic tinkling. He looked over at her. The curly tendrils springing from the center of the large bun she'd made at the back of her head. She was still jiggling her leg and her skirt had slowly worked its way up her leg to reveal a large portion of her tanned and toned thigh. "So, where ya from? Ya parents don't worry about you?" She turned and looked at him out of the corner of her eye. He could see a flash of fire engine red.

"I take care of myself. I told ya that. If I gotta keep repeatin' it, we might as well cut the shit," she said, glancing again out the window. He smiled to himself but was careful not to chuckle. He saw so much of himself in this 5 and a half foot tall being it was incredible. And that animal sense. It never really left when he first considered the presence, but loomed ever present in the back of his mind.

"I was just wondering." Silence enveloped both of them and he wondered what shade her eyes turned when she was ignoring someone.

"They're dead. They died when I was ten." He glanced over at her but she hadn't shifted. His eyes helplessly drifted down to the revealed portion of her thigh. Oh, yea, that shower was going to be ice cold.

"Oh, sorry," he coughed out. She cranked the window lever until a cool breeze enveloped them. It was stuffy in the car but he hadn't thought to offer to roll it down. They weren't automatic so he couldn't do much to accommodate her. "How long you been floatin' around?"

"Lost track. Why do you drive this shitty thing?" she asked, her tone harsh and angry. She lit her cigarette and blew smoke out the window. She turned to him, her eyes a gentle green that looked like ocean waves floating back and forth across her iris. She wasn't angry but she was probably annoyed. He made a mental note to keep personal questions to a minimum. "Like of all the cars ya coulda jacked, ya took this? Was it 'cause there were n locks to begin with?" Her cigarette dangled between her lips. He could hear the gentle hum of her heart. Instead of thudding he usually heard whenever people looked at him, she was unusually calm. No matter what he did he couldn't get his heard around her.

"No, actually, because I didn't steal anything. I paid for this, and it runs. That's enough," he said. She huffed and blew a stream of smoke through her nose.

"I can get ya a better one," she said casually. He looked at her and scowled. What did this little lady know about cars? He didn't know much about them either, not that he could remember anyway.

"And how do you propose to do that?" he said. She smiled mischievously and took another pull on her cigarette. He thought she'd say that.