Zander laughed along with her, just enjoying the sound of her soft laughter. It was beautiful, and he thought she should know it, but didn't know how to say it without making her embarassed. It made sense to him that she would have so many pets; animals were wise about such things, and knew a person's character from a mile away.

Zander himself had never met a person he enjoyed being with as much as Chase, so he doubted any animals had either. ''Well, those are quite the selection.'' He chuckled, eyes twinkling. ''Not surprising, though. Animals can sense when someone is a good person.'' He hoped he wasn't making it too obvious that he was complimenting her; he wanted to make her feel good about herself without embarassing her.

Zander smiled despite himself as Chase and- Solstice, was it?- hugged each other and were apparently reunited after it being 'so long' since they last saw each other. It was nice seeing Chase happy, for him at least. It made him happy, too.

He gave a small chuckle as Sol asked if he was Chase's boyfriend; Chase's cheeks were such an interesting colour. ''No, no, I'm not Chaston's boyfriend.'' He couldn't help but think, even as he said that, how much he wished he was.

''Although I am a boy and like to think that I am indeed her friend, I'm just her friend, and nothing more.'' He smiled warmly to Sol, holding out his hand in greeting. ''I'm known as Zander, by the way.'' He knew most people introduced themselves differently, but he had never been any good at keeping up with modern ways of talking.

[[Blergh. Fail. -_-]]

Zander smiled warmly again. Apparently, he and Chastone must have given off the vibe that they were going out, if this girl thought they were so badly. He did intend to call her Sol, just as he had intended to call Chaston Chase, but nicknames never really worked out very well for him. He always ended up saying the person's full name.

''It's a pleasure to meet you, Solstice. I've been to Texas before, for about a month, and I found it a very welcoming and beautiful place. You're very lucky to have grown up there.'' He said, his tone of voice genuine. Probably because he found almost everywhere he went to be 'beautiful'. Welcoming... Not so much.

Zander brushed that thought aside and instead thought about other things for a moment, pondering over her name. ''Would your name happen to have anything to do with the summer or winter Solstice? Or is it just a name?''

Zander thought something about Solstice's voice seemed a bit odd, but brushed the voice aside. She was Chaston's friend, she made Chaston happy, and therefore he shouldn't be suspicious of her. Even so, he couldn't keep the slight hint of suspicion from his mind, though he masked it perfectly when he spoke. Practice makes perfect, or so he'd been told.

''Thank you very much.'' Zander said, smiling and giving a slight dip of his head before looking over the supplies he'd need. After a few minutes, he picked up two boxes of live crickets, a tub of pinky mice, and some calcium supplement, before heading over to the counter. He placed the items on the counter, before taking out his wallet.

''You should ask your parents. The summer and winter Solstices have quite a lot of importance in many faiths, Wiccan and Pagan being the most well-known.''

Zander tensed at the word she said. Striga? Surely she couldn't be... But she had called him a vampire after all, even if it wasn't in a language- he hoped- Chase could understand. So, Chaston's best friend was a vampire hunter? How lovely. He just hoped one of her other friends wasn't a werewolf.

''Thanks.'' Zander said, putting on a fake smile to the man at the counter and handing him the money, before picking up all his stuff and motioning for Chase to follow as he headed outside.

''Are your friend always as delightfully pleasant as that?'' He asked, a slightly amused ex
pression on his face, despite the circumstances. It was always funny when human vampire hunters thought that all vampires were terrified of them. Were it not for the fact Solstice was Chase's friend- and Chase was present- he probably would have ended up fighting the girl. 

[[Hehe, sounds fun. :D]]

''Hey, do not worry about it, Chaston.'' Zander replied softly, trying to look into her eyes, even if she wouldn't look at his. ''She is probably only having a bad day. Even if she is not, it isn't your fault.'' He smiled warmly as he walked beside her, thinking.

''Where would you like to go now? Moreover, where has Haku gotten to?'' He turned and looked around, wondering where Chase's lovable pup had gone,

Zander felt like pressing his hands against his ears as Chase whistled, but contained himself. Vampires had more sensitive hearing than humans, but it would weird her out if he did that. Instead, he smiled warmly at her.

''But of course, I'd love to. Was there any specific reason you stopped...? You don't have to speak about it if you don't want to, of course.'' He added hastily, not wanting to put her under pressure about something that made her uncomfortable.

It made him happy, though, that she wanted to start again. However good she had been before, and whatever her reasons for stopping, it was good to play music. It helped the heart and mind grow, at least as far as Zander was concerned.

Zander was silent for a moment, unable to think of anything to say. He was never the best at comforting others, and hadn't especially had any practice over the years, so still wasn't much good at it. Even so, he did his best. ''Well, if your grandmother taught you, you should carry on. Never cry doing something that reminds you of your loved ones; the fact alone that it reminds you of them means their memory will live on forever, so long as you keep doing it.'' He smiled warmly, a soft look in his eyes. He hoped she didn't cry; the mere thought of seeing her beautiful face stained with tears was enough to make him just want to make everything- every last little bit of hurt or pain she'd ever felt- go away.

''I'm coming,'' Zander replied, allowing himself to be pulled along quite willingly, and walking quickly as she seemed eager to be there.