If there was one thing that Sariah Holloway was terrible at, it was buying gifts, second to actually being able to keep a secret and not telling people what she was up to. And today? Today she was attempting both. It wasn't that she didn't have ideas or thoughts, it was that she had so many ideas in her head that all started clashing with one another and making her doubt what would be best or whether she was completely on the wrong path. So she had spent pretty much all afternoon walking through shops, looking at things, putting them back and moving on, rinse and repeat.

And now it was the evening, all the shops were closing and she was still none the wiser on what to get for Orion. He was really hard to buy for, considering he already had most of the things he needed, she could have gotten him alcohol but that always felt like a cop-out gift and she wasn't sure he would go for anything sappy. Sighing the blonde ran a hand through her ponytail as she stepped out of the final shop still empty-handed. She had wandered so far towards the outskirts of the city that she actually could see the woods and therianthrope territory in the distance.

And suddenly she was struck with an idea. Sariah remembered Orion mentioning the same bar a few times when they had been together, something about a country den she was sure. Pursing her lips she pulled her phone out and started typing out the part she knew on her phone until the GPS managed to find a place not too far from her. If Orion visited there often he probably had friends there right? Maybe she could bargain them for some help in her gift buying task and if not then at least she would get to see the place that Orion seemed to rate so highly, either way, it seemed like a win. 

She followed the GPS which led her down a few different streets until she eventually found herself standing outside the place. She could hear music and chatter inside, though her mind was mostly on her feet which were aching like hell from all the walking she had done this afternoon, frustrating considering she came out empty-handed but she would live. Without another thought, she pushed the door open and wandered inside. The sound of the music echoed louder in her ears, it was nice though, she didn't go to bars often but at least she was able to hear herself think in here. Of course, the moment she walked in eyes were on her, Sariah got that a lot with the supernatural, considering she was nearly always appearing in the first few pages of Evermore daily nowadays.

She tried to shake it off, she didn't really like people staring at her but she figured these therianthropes would probably be especially wary of the human ambassador considering her secret but not really a secret relationship with their alpha. She headed up towards the bar, the blonde leaning both arms on the countertop while she waited to be served. Perhaps she could start with the bartender? Though she suspected most everyone in here probably knew Orion from the looks of things. 

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Kane listened to her and nodded as he cooked before placing the food in front of her, he had made enough for them to share. He offered her one of the two forks he was holding in his hand “How about I walk you home, so you don’t have to pay for a ride home, Or I can give you a ride.” He nodded his in the direction of the window where an old beat up pickup truck sat. “I don’t much like the idea of a lady being on her own at night, I don’t doubt that you could handle yourself. I just personally feel comfortable knowing one of my best friend's girl got home safe and sound.” Kane stabbed a few french fries with his fork before taking a bite. “I don’t need a call from Rion in a few hours hollering at me for not doing what I often do and walk her back.” He chuckled. The Fox could picture that conversation well in his head and he actually pictured Orion kicking him for it.

Kane continued to eat while his eyes flicked around to the different patrons it seemed like everything was well managed and he could take off for a little while. “I don’t have the largest selection of foods, but mostly things that go well with booze, burgers, fries, chicken strips, I also have a decent steak meal as well.” Kane finally commented on her earlier comment. “It was my pleasure to help with his gift, and I will do my best to check my phone,” as she sent her text he heard his phone ding from somewhere in the kitchen “It’s back there somewhere” He pointed over his shoulder to the kitchen behind him.

“When we finish eating we can head out, don’t need you being too tired for work tomorrow. I will likely come back here and close up early, sit by the fire for a bit and call it a night as well.” Kane had no plans just yet and the people he did call friends were often busy on weeknights. Maybe he would give Rion a call check in with him and let him know he had met Sariah and that he very much so approved of her.

Her eyes scanned over the food and her stomach growled just from seeing it, she did need to get home soon but she figured if he was offering food then she didn’t need to make her own dinner tonight and it looked seriously amazing. Taking the fork she gave him an appreciative smile and reached over to eat a few of the fries and then some chicken and she hummed in satisfaction as she finished the mouthful “Mm this is seriously amazing, you should have led with the food if you wanted me to come back” she laughed softly, the company was pretty great too, it seemed like Orion really did keep good people around him. She listened to him as he offered to help her get home, she sensed it was part of the way he was raised because most people didn’t give a damn when it came to caring about the safety of others “Oh you don’t need to go out of your way” she spoke softly but she could tell he wasn’t taking no for an answer “Alright, but you’ll probably need the truck cause it’s like a 40 minute walk home” she had come here from the office which sat in the middle of the city but she lived further to the other side.

She was still digging into the food, not wanting to leave any because it was really tasty and she was enjoying it, she realized she was more hungry than she probably realized which made her remember how long of a day it had been “Comfort food is where it’s at, you can’t go wrong with a menu like that, something for nearly everyone” she laughed softly “Well maybe not vegans” she commented thinking that the things he listed were mostly meat based. She had a plan now, about what to buy for a gift and in the process she had made a new friend which was nice, she was glad to get the chance to meet him and see for herself what all the hype was about.

“Being tired for work is pretty much my default” she admitted with an amused chuckle “Workaholic life” she spoke and scrunched her nose, her body was so used to getting only a few hours sleep nowadays that it just felt normal now but people kept telling her she needed to take a vacation and perhaps they were right. She just didn’t know if she could put everything down right now with all the strange things happening and the potential to need to send out a task force. She struggled to switch off normally, let alone when there was danger lurking around every corner. “Alright, total me up and this time I’m not taking no for an answer” she spoke sternly as she gave him a wry smile.

Kane bowed his head at her compliment “Why thank you” He said with a slight smirk upon his lips “I will keep that in mind for next time I meet a random friend, to lead with food” He chuckled. Picking up another fry himself and eating it happily, Kane was rather proud of his food, he was proud of his bar in general really. “It is not going out of my way to help a friend, and I am glad you agreed. A 40-minute walk is like a warm-up for me” He teased the blonde. “Plus it is a beautiful night out I could use the time out of the bar, even if for a drive.” Maybe he would pop in and see Rion.

“Yes, I find most enjoy comfort food, even other supers like myself. It is not just a human thing” He whispered to her with a wink. “Yes, I do believe I have forgotten some food for the Vegans…. Maybe you could help me with that menu if you know of some comfort food I could offer for that class of people.” The kitsune often forgot that people out there did not eat meat as that was a large portion of his own diet. He tried to rack his brain for food that he could serve but all he really came up with was Salad which seemed very unoriginal even to him, he was sure that crowd would be rather unimpressed with him if all he offered was a salad.

Kane continued to eat his food while she ate hers listening to the female talk about how she was always tired and a workaholic, she needed more downtime much as Orion did. How did they find the time for one another? That was likely a challenge in and of itself, Smiling at himself as he pondered if he would ever be able to find that for himself. He had ruined his one shot long ago with Kadrin and than again with Zeus, he wasn’t sure if there was a third out there for him or not. If she was he wasn’t sure she would handle how he kept himself so busy with his work.

Let alone be okay with his past which in the last while had started cropping up here and there to haunt him again, within his dreams and little things appearing at the Den itself. Kane had kept it to himself he was not sure who he could really talk to about it even yet. “Please, Ri let me…” She insisted on paying .. letting out a sigh with a smirk “I can see more and more why he likes you the way he does.” He stated again and went to total up the food but giving her the friends and family discount on top of the total, handing her the receipt. 

She laughed as he mentioned leading with food “I mean, who can say no to food right?” she certainly wouldn’t trust someone who didn’t like food or couldn’t appreciate a good meal, Orion definitely liked eating with her and she had good memories of them chatting over their many dinners together, she’d even gotten into cooking a little recently. She liked how traditional both Orion and Kane seemed to be, they were raised well it seemed “Well I couldn’t have you getting into trouble over me” she teased softly as she hopped off the stool and put her bag over her shoulder.

She snickered at the way he called his kind supers and she tilted her head slightly “I think if computers hadn’t been my calling I definitely would have wanted to be a chef” she mused with a soft laugh “though that would mean making a lot of great food I’m not allowed to leave” she pouted a little and shook her head “A professional food reviewer” she corrected with an amused look on her face “You can make some really great burgers with falafel” she spoke with raised brows, she’d tried a few veggie burgers before and she didn’t mind the taste at all “Though you can never really measure up to a good beef burger” she laughed “Oh I could never last as a vegan” she admitted with a shake of her head “Fries are also good” she added with a chuckle as she ate another bite..

“Well this definitely beats the leftover chicken I have in the fridge” she admitted as she polished off another few bites of the food and hummed in satisfaction, he seemed like a good person to her, caring for others and being generally thoughtful and kind. This bar was obviously his pride and joy and she could see ways it reflected his character, the way it was so laid back and easygoing and the decor was traditional the way he seemed to be. She was quite an independent person but even she could appreciate someone who had a really chivalrous upbringing and demeanor.

She smirked at him as he gave in and let her pay and she handed over her credit card to pay for it with a triumphant smile “He’s definitely called me miss independent a few times” she admitted with a light chuckle as she took the receipt and tucked it into the top of her bag, she was definitely one of those people who tallied up all the money she spent. “Guessing you have people to help you out with the bar?” she asked with a raised brow, she hadn’t seen any employees around but he seemed pretty happy to leave it “I haven’t been for a sunset drive in a while” she mused with a soft smile “Usually in bed by 9” she teased with a shake of her head.

“I have yet to meet a single person to ever say no to food.” Kane couldn’t help but smile each time she laughed or smiled. He could tell he had found a good friend in Sariah she was easy to talk to and conversations didn’t seem hard to stumble from one topic to the next. “A food Reviewer does sound like a pretty swell job, now doesn’t it.” the thought of tasting different foods and being paid for it had never occurred to him before, his mouth slightly watered at the thought. “Maybe I should close down the bar and get into that instead” He teased.

“I could never survive without the best food group... Meat” Kane was the definition of a meat-eater, his menu for the bar certainly did give that away for sure. “Well do you know of anyone I could contact to ask what they would see as some great menu options?” Kane loved his menu as it was, but what could it hurt to add a few items for the non-meat lovers out there.

“Leftover Chicken can still be great, but nothing beats a freshly cooked meal” Kane rarely had leftovers for himself when he sat down to eat he could certainly eat. Only times he seemed to have leftovers were when he had company over and he kicked for a larger crowd, which was not all too often.

“I don’t really have any employees per se, but I have friends who help out, I pay them or they ask for drinks, or food. Win-win all around.” Nodding his head in the direction of someone to let them know he would be taking off shortly. “Well, we will be sure to take the longer scenic route back so you can take it all in.” Offering his arm out to her “Shall we Miss?” Kane wished he could be in bed by 9 PM “I am never in bed before 1 AM, usually closing up and cleaning before going to bed to get up and do it all again.”

“If they say no to food I’d suspect they were a zombie who wanted to eat brains instead” she nodded sharply as though it was pure fact before she scrunched up her nose and laughed softly, well if valkyrs, therianthropes, and fallen stars existed then zombies weren’t such a stretch right? Though they gave her the creeps in movies so on this occasion she would hope she was wrong. “Well it would be amazing as long as the food is amazing” she laughed “Plus you kinda have to like everything, no room for picky eating when you gotta eat quite literally anything and everything” she had a few foods she actually couldn’t eat because they made her feel sick so perhaps it wasn’t her calling after all.

“Is there even such a thing as a vegetarian therianthrope?” she pondered out loud, she didn’t think so because they all had primal animal instinct so they craved meat, to deny that might actually drive them nuts and she wasn’t sure they would be able to stop themselves when in their animal form. She shook off the deep thoughts and smiled “I have a friend who’s vegan actually, I can ask her if she can give you some tips on healthy eats” she nodded a little, Holland wasn’t an in your face vegan but she did give some good advice about how to source good produce.

“True that, sometimes I’m so busy rushing around I forget how important it is to just sit and enjoy something” which sounded really obvious but it was so important to stop sometimes and realize the world is continuing to spin whether you want it to or not and therefore sometimes you just need to stop and take it all in “Everything feels so fast-paced in the city” she mused with an amused shake of her head.

“Oh that’s nice, so it’s all really flexible then” she commented and nodded, not how she knew how to run a business but then she was corporate through and through and this was much more the family-owned and run touch “A scenic route through the city of Evermore” she grinned “Who could say no to that” she threaded her arm through his and let him lead the way out of the bar and onto the streets of Evermore “Damn, so you’re a night owl and a half then” she commented as she glanced up at him “I get tired too early for that” she laughed “Not a crazy college kid anymore unfortunately” she pouted a little, she missed how easy things were back then.

“Zombies?” He laughed “I can sort of see how your logic went in that direction.” He teased. Kane tilted his head at her next few comments.”Hmmm ya, I like food but not all food.” He made a face “I don’t see me being a food critic anytime soon. I think I shall stick to my day job.” The Therian chuckled at the thought of having to eat everything made his stomach hurt a bit, he would likely judge the food on his own tastes and not those of others so he would likely fail if he even tried but to each their own.

“Hmmm I would not think there are any.. I mean we are animals… and most of us have a meat craving .. so I am going to go with no?” Though Kane made a really funny face as if he was seriously pondering if it were even possible. He personally had yet to encounter one so it may have been possible but he highly doubted it. “Perfect, Just send any ideas my way and I will mull them over and see about expanding my menu.”

“Yes the city is very fast-paced it is why I like the outskirts, and well the Therian territory it feels much more laid back and at ease. One with nature and all that jazz” He held up his hands making another funny face and a show of being jazzy at the same time. Looking down at the woman who threaded her arm through his “I guess I just never really had a reason to change and not be a night owl, I own a bar, I am a single guy no family well Rion and his offspring” Kane loved Rion and the kinds very much they had become such a big part of his life he couldn’t imagine not knowing them.

They had given him the family experience he had never had growing up though knowing Rion and Ri had somehow managed to make a relationship work in all the craziness of the supernatural. Made Kane realize just how much he truly missed the one woman who had stolen his heart many years ago, he had somehow never let go of that feeling even after trying to date others and being very unsuccessful. Kane missed Kadrin and he was not even sure he would ever see her again if he missed the idea of how they use to be, or simply the idea of who he was when he was with her. Trying to push those painful thoughts aside he looked back down at her as they walked.

She laughed softly, in a supernatural world it kinda felt safer to assume everything you ever heard that was strange was probably true and go from there so the possibility of a zombie apocalypse? She wouldn’t put it past anyone “Hey in this world I wouldn’t even bat an eye if someone told me zombies were real so” she shrugged a little. The face he pulled at the thought of eating every food said it all, most people had something they didn’t like eating after all “Yeah me too, I’d rather not subject myself to mushrooms” she wrinkled her nose, the one food she really couldn’t eat at all.

It was a perfectly valid question and yet she had to think deeply about it, by logic, being vegan is a personal choice so she supposed that a therianthrope could refuse to eat meat if they wanted to but their make up was different so she wasn’t sure if they could actually fare without meat. After a moment she shrugged her shoulders “I think they could be one but they would suffer a lot of deficiencies” she nodded slightly, that was her sciency opinion anyway “I will” she nodded a little “Do you get many visitors who aren’t therianthropes?” she asked curiously.

“Always been a city gal myself so I guess I kinda like the hustle and bustle, I think living somewhere quiet would kinda freak me out” she laughed, she was so used to hearing cars racing by outside her window when she was sleeping that silence would likely be off-putting to her “Funny how we can live in two different parts of the city and have such different views of it” she laughed at his little show of jazz hands “That’s true, at least being up late at the bar you get to be around lots of interesting characters I’m sure” being in an office she was around the same people most of the time all day, which was nice but could quickly become routine. 

She had no idea where exactly they were going so she trailed behind him for a moment while she got open her phone and pulled up her address on the map so that she could show it to him and flashed the screen in his direction “This is where I live, as you can see, quite literally in the middle of the busy city” she laughed softly “There’s a park about a 5 minute walk away if I need peace and quiet” she kept it up in case he would need it for directions, she noticed he was looking a little sad and nudged slightly against his side and smiled “Don’t be sad it’s over, smile  because it happened” she chided knowing that look well.

Zombies seemed like a far fetched idea but maybe she was right given what he himself was a man who could shift into a fox.”I don’t think I would either, mind you I really don’t want my brains eaten.” Kane couldn’t really help himself he liked to tease and make light of things it was the only way to keep things fun and not so serious all the time. “Ah the age old weakness to mushrooms” Kane teased her once more. “I sure wouldn’t want to have any deficiencies I mean one would think it would slow us down quite a bit. Not my kind of thing that is for sure.”

Kane tilted his head off to the side at her next question “Actually yea I do, I think just about every species comes to the bar. I guess each faction has their fair share of love for country, and wooded areas” The Therian smirked. “I agree Evermore does not seem like it would be that large but in fact it is more like a bunch of smaller cities within a rather large one I guess. Sometimes it feels like we are all coming from different parts of the world than from the same city.” Which was true.

“Oh my dear you have no idea the characters I have run into in that bar, It has gotten shot up on more than one occasion, I have had men and women alike think it is okay to just start strippin’ up on the bar, I’ve had to haul people out for being so drunk they thought they were in the washroom and dropped their pants and pissed all over the dance floor.” He shuddered “Not fun to have to shut down the bar in the middle of the night on a Friday night to clean it up, I tell you.” He had many an angry customer from those nights.

When she pulled out her phone he gently removed the device from her hand using his fingers to zoom out on the map, committing the location to memory. “I think I know where that is, though once close I am sure you will be able to direct us the remainder of the way.” Handing her back her device. “On the topic of stranger characters I am sure you know your fair share as well, being an ambassador and all.” Kane had heard stories from Orion about people he encountered so Kane was sure humans were no different.

She wrinkled her nose at the very idea of having brains eaten “Do you think they’d go for people with high IQs first because then I might really be in trouble and I also hate running so that would count against me too” she laughed at the hypothetical situation, she had seen a fair few zombie movies but who even know what a real zombie outbreak would be like. “Mushrooms are like my mortal enemy, I can’t even eat foods which have touched them” she shivered a little remembering the few times she had accidentally eaten one and how unpleasant of an experience that had been “Any foods that you literally cannot stand?” she asked with raised brows.

She did imagine that the bar probably saw mostly therian clients considering it was placed right in the middle of their territory but relations between species was in a much better place than it ever used to be nowadays so she wasn’t surprised to hear that it saw a range of different species dropping in. “It’s definitely a very unique city, I like how diverse it can be, it means you see something new every day” she liked the idea that the world was ever-changing and seeing lots of different cultures and backgrounds around her.

She widened her eyes when Kane talked about all the things his little bar had been through, she probably shouldn’t be all that surprised considering they were talking about a city filled with the supernatural but still it seemed like such a laid-back and relaxed place that it was hard to picture those kinds of things happening in her head “Damn, never a full day’s rest then” she commented and nodded her head, well at least it wasn’t mundane and boring, she would hate work that felt like that “Guessing a fair few people have been told not to bother coming back then?” thankfully she didn’t really have to deal with rowdy people as an ambassador, she was more likely to encounter political backstabbing than that.

“Yeah of course, I just didn’t wanna send you the completely wrong way” she responded as she followed him over to where she supposed his truck was parked, when he asked about meeting strange characters in her role as an ambassador she laughed a little sarcastically “I definitely have a varied workday, that’s for sure” she spoke and shrugged “Not only do I work closely with the other ambassadors I also run an entire business, one whose job is to protect the human population and some of our members can be pretty eccentric” she laughed and shook her head “But by far the most interesting bunch is our privy council who act as advisories to the organization, can you imagine having the mayor, the defense general, CEO of Everectronics and Evermore Daily in the same room?” she shook her head a little “Actual madness” she was learning to be quite the adept businesswoman with time though.

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